United States of America

National symbols of USA
The American Flag
Bald eagle - a symbol of sovereignty and power. He is also a national symbol of the United States. In one paw he holds 13 arrows in the other an olive branch, symbolizing the fact that the United States "wants peace but always ready for war."
US Coat of Arms

The United States of America (USA), commonly referred to as the United States (US), America or simply the States, is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal district. The 48 contiguous states and the federal district of Washington, D.C., are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The United States is the fourth-largest country by total area and third largest by population. It is one of the world's most technically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The geography and climate of the United States is also extremely diverse, and it is home to a wide variety of wildlife.

The capital of the USA is Washington.
The United States of America (USA) is a federal republic

Currently, the population of the USA is over 312 million people. It is one of the most diverse places in the world. Many nationalities and races inhabit the USA. Several centuries ago the population of the USA accounted only 3 million inhabitants. Native American people have come from Indian tribes. The first immigrants who settled down in America were the English and the Dutch. Later on, Hispanic and Asian settlers flocked to the USA in large numbers. The country was even once called a “melting pot”, because of its multinational population.

New York is the largest city in the USA and the biggest sea-port. It is situated in the mouth of the Hudson River. New York was founded by the Dutch. New York is the city of skyscrapers. The highest of them is the 102–stored building. There are many other places of interest in New York: Central Park, Times Square, Rockefeller Centre, the shopping districts and the United Nations Building. In Manhattan, at Broadway, there is Columbia University, one of the biggest universities of the USA.

Another large city of the USA is Boston, one of the first cities which were built on the Atlantic coast of America. It is an IMPORTANT port and a financial and cultural centre. It has three universities.

Chicago is one of the biggest industrial cities in the USA and the second largest after New York. Los Angeles, in California, is the center of modern industries. Not far from Los Angeles there is Hollywood, the centre of the US film industry.

There is the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York. It was a gift to the United States from the people of France. However, the grand opening of the statue took place only on October 28, 1886, ten years later than the planned date. The author of the statue is the French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi.
The statue was built from thin sheets of copper minted in wooden forms. Then the formed sheets were mounted on a steel frame.
The height of the statue from the ground to the tip of the torch is 92.99 m.
The Goddess of freedom holds a torch in its right hand, and the tablet in the left. The inscription on the tablet reads "July 4, 1776" (written in Roman numerals) – this is the date of the Declaration of Independence. The Goddess stands with one foot on the broken chains.
The Goddess wears a crown. There are 25 windows in a crown which symbolize gemstones found on the earth and heavenly rays that illuminate the world. It is believed, that seven rays on the crown of the statue symbolize the seven seas and the seven continents.

US Independence - is celebrated on July 4 is one of the most popular in the United States. July 4 held various parades, lit fireworks, family picnics in nature, sing songs in English
Labor Day - usually celebrated on the first Monday of autumn, held mass demonstrations, celebrated the end of summer and the beginning of the college football season is this weekend
Thanksgiving Day - celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, one of the most favorite family holidays Americans. On Thursday, the fan Americans gather with family at the table, which is decorated with a turkey, and pray in English to God for blessings bestowed upon them. In New York, organized a grand parade of inflatable toys
Columbus Day - celebrated on the second Monday in October honor of Columbus' discovery of North America in 1492. On the anniversary of the opening of its state population attends various celebrations and church services
Christmas Day, December, 25th: is a family holiday. Christmas and New-Year's Day. People stay at home and spend the time with their families. Everybody tries to come home for Christmas. People send cards or Christmas greetings to family and friends away from home. Every family tries to have a Christmas tree, which is beautifully decorated. Santa Claus comes from the North Pole in his sleigh, dressed in red cap and jacket, entering the house from chimney. He is a merry and fat individual. He has gifts of whatever kind you may wish for — nothing is too fabulous nor too trivial for him to provide.

The fates of many famous people of America have very much in common. Thus, one of the most well-known statesmen of the USA, Abraham Lincoln, was born in 1809.
His father was a poor farmer and the boy had to work much on their small farm. But he read a lot, too. When he grew older he felt a strong interest to law. He became a lawyer and he always tried to use the law to defend people. In 1846 he was elected to Congress. There he said he was against slavery. In 1860 he became the President of the USA. In 1864 Abraham Lincoln was elected the President again, but a year later he was killed by his enemies in a theatre in Washington.
An American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, was born in Ohio in 1847. His family was not rich and the boy’s education was limited to three months in the public school. When he was 12 he started to work. Several years later Edison learned telegraphy and became a telegraph operator. He wanted to improve the telegraph system and worked very hard at it. After a few months of work he built a transmitter of a new kind. This was his first IMPORTANT invention. The other two of Edison’s greatest inventions were the gramophone and the electric lamp. Edison believed that only work could bring success.