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Economic and cultural regions of the United States of America

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The administrative structure of the USA. The main economic regions and their main industries: the Northeast, the Great Lakes, the South, the Plains, the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Region. Cultural achievements: literature, philosophy, painting.
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Contents

Introduction

1. The main economic regions and their industries

1.1 The administrative structure of the USA

1.2 The main economic regions and their main industries

1.2.1 The Northeast

1.2.2 The Great Lakes

1.2.3 The South

1.2.4 The Plains

1.2.5 The Rocky Mountains

1.2.6 The Pacific Region

2. Cultural achievements of the country

2.1 Literature, philosophy, painting

2.2 Music

2.3 Theatre

2.4 Cinema

Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix

Introduction

The United States of America is the third largest country in the world in population, and it is the fourth largest country in area. Until the 1500s, what is now the United States was largely a wilderness. Small groups of Indians lived scattered over the land between the Atlantic and the Pacific. People in Europe saw in this vast "new world" a chance to build new and better lives. Through the years large numbers of immigrants from Europe and from almost every other part of the world settled in the country. Except for black Africans brought in as slaves, these immigrants came seeking the rights and the opportunities that had become part of the American way of life. As a result of this immigration, the United States today has one of the world's most varied populations. It has been called "a nation of immigrants".

Today the United States of America (commonly referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.

At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with about 309 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest both by land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.

The USA is a country of great differences. At the same time, it has surprising similarities when one considers its size. The differences are partly a result of the geography. One cannot generalize about the weather, the landscape, or even the way of living because the nation occupies nearly half of a continent. In it can be found high mountains and the flattest of prairies, tropical heat and arctic cold, fertile valleys and deserts. There is a variety of natural resources. All sorts of products are raised, and there are industries of every kind. Some of the most densely and most sparsely populated areas of the world are found in the United States.

There are many large and modern cities, but a great proportion of the country consists of open land dotted with farm-houses and small towns. In some regions small communities are still provincial. In spite of this, however, and in spite of the size of the country, there are striking uniformities in the American scene that surprise foreign observers. There is an appearance of the country as a whole that might be said to be typically American. The usual town of average size, in any part of the United States, has its "main street", with the same types of stores selling the same products. Every town has the same type of drug-store and supermarket. There is some variety of architecture, due to the differences in climate, locality, and national backgrounds of the people. Yet, many American residential areas, especially new ones, tend to have a similar look. The similarities result from the extreme mobility of the population and the interchange of goods.

The topic of this course paper is rather actual one in the comprehensive study and attracts lively interest as it draws different ways of life in large and modern cities of the greatest country in the world. The country accounts for two-fifths of global military spending and is a leading economic, political, and cultural force in the world.

The course paper consists of two sections. The first section marks out and describes the main economic regions and their aspects. The second section shows the cultural way of life, the cultural achievements of the country in art, music, cinema, etc.

As the course paper deals with the economic features of the country so the aim is to mark out and inquire the main aspects of economic regions of the USA, to understand its role in the modern economic life of the USA.

On the one hand, "economic and cultural regions of the USA" is rather interesting and fascinating topic to chose, on the other hand it's rather difficult and complicated topic which requires solving different problems with the help of definite methods. So in my course paper I will try to perform all the tasks facing me.

1. The main economic regions and their industries

1.1 The administrative structure of the USA

At the Declaration of Independence, the United States consisted of 13 states, former colonies of the United Kingdom. In the following years, the number of states has grown steadily due to expansion to the west, conquest and purchase of lands by the American government, and division of existing states to the current number of 50 United States [7, p. 46] (Appendix A):

Alabama (AL) Montana (MT)

Alaska (AK) Nebraska (NE)

Arizona (AZ) Nevada (NV)

Arkansas (AR) New Hampshire (NH)

California (CA) New Jersey (NJ)

Colorado (CO) New Mexico (NM)

Connecticut (CT) New York (NY)

Delaware (DE) North Carolina (NC)

Florida (FL) North Dakota (ND)

Georgia (GA) Ohio (OH)

Hawai'i (HI) Oklahoma (OK)

Idaho (ID) Oregon (OR)

Illinois (IL) Pennsylvania (PA)

Indiana (IN) Rhode Island (RI)

Iowa (IA) South Carolina (SC)

Kansas (KS) South Dakota (SD)

Kentucky (KY) Tennessee (TN)

Louisiana (LA) Texas (TX)

Maine (ME) Utah (UT)

Maryland (MD) Vermont (VT)

Massachusetts (MA) Virginia (VA)

Michigan (MI) Washington (WA)

Minnesota (MN) West Virginia (WV)

Mississippi (MS) Wisconsin (WI)

Missouri (MO) Wyoming (WY)

1.2 The main economic regions and their main industries

The United States is the leading economic power in the world. It is a fully-developed industrial country with a very solid agricultural basis. Its people enjoy a high standard of living though there remain many important social problems which are to be solved. Highly-advanced technology provides a system of communications and transportation to tie the country and its people together.

The states of the United States can be grouped into regions that have common historical, economic and physical characteristics. From this point of view we can single out six major regions. They are: (1) the Northeast, (2) the Great Lakes, (3) the South, (4) the Plains, (5) the Rocky Mountains, and (6) the Pacific states. In some cases, these economic regions include the same areas as the major physical regions. [14, p. 79]

1.2.1 The Northeast

The Northeast is made up of the New England states and the Middle Atlantic states. The New England states generally lie east of the Hudson River valley. They are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The Middle Atlantic States are New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland.

The manufacturing industry and trade have made the Northeast an urban region. About 80 percent of the people live in cities that produce goods like steel, clothing, and books.

The Northeast was the first region in the United States to industrialize. In the 1800's, factory owners used the fastmoving rivers flowing down from the Appalachian Highlands to power machinery for textile mills. Important resources of iron ore, coal, limestone, and timber provided for growth of industry. Today, manufacturing employs more people in the region than other activity.

The region's largest cities are ports built around good natural harbours. They are Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. New York is the largest city in the country and of the major cities of the world with more than 7 million people. But the New York metropolitan area - the city with the closely connected suburbs and smaller cities - has over 9 million people. Baltimore and Philadelphia are among the largest cities in the country. Buffalo is an important river port and grain-milling centre. Pittsburgh produces steel and steel pr...

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