The United States is one of the largest countries in the world.

On the continent of North America, it

stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean over a distance of more than 4,800
kilometers. Its total area including Alaska and Hawaii is about 9.8 million square kilometers.

The capital of the United States is located in Washington, D.C. The major cities in the United States,
with a population of over 1 million, are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia,
San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas.

The U.S.A. is a federation of fifty states. The largest state is Alaska, the second largest is Texas, and
the smallest is Rhode Island. The ten most populous states in 2008 were: California (over 36
million), Texas (over 20 million), New York (almost 19 million), Florida (18 million), Pennsylvania
(over 12 million), Ohio (over 11 million), Michigan (10 million), New Jersey (8.5 million), Georgia
(8 million), and North Carolina (over 8 million).

Within its physical geography, the United States has varied landforms, climate, natural vegetation,
and soil.

The eastern part of the U.S.A. is a vast plain along the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey in the
northeast to Texas in the southwest. To the west is higher country called the Piedmont, an area of
rolling hills that stretches from southern New York southwards to Alabama.

The Appalachian Mountains extend from Alabama in the south to the Canadian border in the north.
The highest mountain in the Appalachians is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina (2,037 meters).

The Interior Lowlands, stretching from the Appalachians to the Rocky Mountains, contain some of
America’s richest soils. They include the Central Lowland and the Great Plains, and make up much
of the central part of the country. In a few places plateaux rise above the plains, e.g. the Ozark
Plateau to the south. The Great Plains are drier than the rest of the area.

The western part of the United States is a land of mountains and of sudden, great changes in
elevation. The West includes three important mountain ranges: the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade
Ranges and the Sierra Nevada Range. The highest peak of the Rocky Mountains is Mount Elbert
(4,399 meters) in Colorado. The Rocky Mountains stretch along the entire western part of the
United States from Canada almost to Mexico. They have many beautiful pine forests and clear lakes.
The “Rockies” are broken into several separate mountain units.

East of the lowlands are the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade mountain ranges. The Sierra Nevada
look like a massive section of earth tilted upward, with the highest segments exposed towards the
east. Although the western borders of the Sierra Nevada are reasonably gentle, on the eastern side
the mountains rise in some places more than 3,000 meters. Volcanic activity contributed to the
formation of the Cascade Range. Some of America’s best known volcanic peaks, such as Mt. Rainier
and Mt. St. Helens in Washington, are found there. Between these two highland regions is the area
of the Great Plains. There are also areas of plains along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Alaska is far to the north along the Pacific Coast past Canadian British Columbia. There are
mountains in the north and in the south of Alaska. Central Alaska has plateaux. The highest peak in
the U.S.A., Mt. McKinley, is in Alaska. It reaches 6,193 meters.

The twenty islands of Hawaii are volcanic. Only seven of them are inhabited.

The longest rivers are the Mississippi (3,779 kilometers) and the Missouri (3,726 kilometers),
flowing from the north and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River is also the
traditional dividing line between “East” and “West”. A number of its tributaries include the Platte,
the Arkansas, the Ohio and the Tennessee rivers. The Potomac River, nicknamed the “Nation’s
River” flows through the capital of the U.S.A., Washington, D.C. Other major rivers are the Columbia
in the Northwest and the Colorado in the Southwest, the Rio Grande, and the San Joaquin-
Sacramento rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean. The Rio Grande, the fifth longest river in the
United States, is woven into America’s national mythology. It was the scene of the Spanish imperial
quests and US conquest of one third of Mexico’s territory. The Colorado River, which flows through
parts of seven western states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, California)
and the Grand Canyon, binds and defines the West of the United States. The picturesque
Yellowstone River flows from the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Wyoming to the
Montana/North Dakota border.
The United States has a great number of picturesque lakes. The northern state of Minnesota is
known as “the land of 10,000 lakes”. The state of Michigan, formed of two large peninsulas, is
surrounded by four great lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie. Together with the Lake
Ontario and their connecting channels, they all form the largest fresh surface water system on
earth. Great Salt Lake, situated in northern Utah, is much saltier than the ocean. It is the remnant of
a prehistoric glacial lake in the Great Basin.

The most fertile land in the United States is in the Midwestern “Corn Belt”. Maize (called “corn” in
American English) is grown in the moister, eastern area called the “long grass prairie”, and wheat is
grown in the northern, drier area called the “short grassprairie”. There are some deserts in the
West and nearly tropical areas in the Southeast, vast timberlands in the Northwest and fertile
valleys in the hilly eastern regions. Death Valley in California is an interesting geographical feature
about 160 kilometers long (north to south) and between 16 to 30 kilometers wide. There is no
vegetation at the bottom of Death Valley because of a lack of water. Some of the most impressive
wonders of nature in the United States are the Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone,
Glacier and Yosemite National Parks.

The U.S. has a great variety of climates. The wettest region of the US includes the mountains near
the Pacific north western coast. California has a warm climate. Extremes of temperature occur in
the North of the US. The northernmost areas near the Canadian border have a very short growing
season and long, cold winters. The Appalachians and the eastern coasts are generally humid with
varying temperatures. Southward the temperature becomes moderate; the growing season is
longer, winters are milder, and summers are hot. The South is a humid subtropical zone with short,
cool winters and long, hot summers. The southernmost climate is tropical. The climate along the
northern part of the western coast resembles that of Britain. In the northern, inland part of the
country the extreme temperatures may reach 360 C in summer and plunge to - 400 C in winter. In
the eastern part of the country the differences between summer and winter are not so extreme.

The United States has immense natural resources. Iron is a major natural resource. Three-quarters
of American iron ore comes from the Lake Superior region. Coal, oil and natural gas are common
sources of energy in the United States. Other rich mineral deposits include copper (Arizona, New
Mexico and Utah), gold (gold mining in the U.S. takes place in the western states including Alaska),
lead (the U.S. is the world’s largest producer and consumer of lead metal), silver (Idaho) and zinc
(Tennessee, Missouri, and New York). Uranium is mined in New Mexico and Wyoming.

The United States has many forested areas. Some of them have become national parks, like the
Yellowstone National, founded in 1872. The national parks are run by the National Park Service.
Large forests of redwood and fir trees grow on the north-western coast.

Thanks to the thousands of kilometers of coastline and modern city ports, such as Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Charleston, Mobile, New Orleans, Houston, San Francisco, and Seattle, the
United States has become one of the leaders in world trade. The five Great Lakes, linked to the
Mississippi waterways make cheap transport via water possible.

Wheat and corn are grown in the central prairies and the plains states. Corn, used as hog and cattle
feed, is probably the most important of all American crops. Iowa produces about one fifth of the
total United States corn crop. Cotton and tobacco are grown in the South. Citrus fruits are grown in
California and in the semitropical areas of the Southeast. Apples are grown in the Northwest and
Northeast. Cattle are raised throughout the plains states.

The mainland United States is divided into four Standard Time Zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain,
and Pacific. When it is noon in Poland, it is 6 a.m. in New York, Boston, Washington, DC, and other
Eastern Time Zone areas. In Chicago, which is in the Central Time Zone, it is an hour earlier (5
a.m.). The next time zone, referred to as the Mountain Time Zone, includes the Rocky Mountain
States of Montana, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. This time is eight hours earlier than in Poland.
Finally, the Pacific Time Zone comprises the states of Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada.
The time difference between these and Poland is nine hours.

The outlying U.S. areas include: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, minor
Caribbean Islands, Wake, Midway, and other Pacific Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern
Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the
Republic of Palau.
Puerto Rico (9,104 square kilometers) is a self-governing territory of the United States with
commonwealth status. It has a distinct Caribbean/Hispanic culture. Puerto Ricans cannot vote in
U.S. national elections, but are represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by one resident
commissioner, whom they elect for a four-year term and who has no congressional vote. Puerto
Ricans are free to relocate to the U.S. mainland, have access to employment, health and welfare
benefits, and can join the U.S. armed services.

MAJOR RIVERS OF THE UNITED STATES MAJOR LAKES OF THE UNITED STATES
Alabama-Coosa (966 km) Superior (US/Canada) 82,414 sq km, 406 m
Arkansas (2,348 km) Huron (US/Canada) 59,596 sq km, 229 m
Colorado (2,333 km) Michigan-Erie (US/Canada) 58,016 sq km, 281 m
Columbia (2,000 km) Ontario (US/Canada) 19,477 sq km, 237 m
Mississippi-Missouri-Red Rock (5,970 km) Great Salt Lake 4,662 sq km, 5–8 m
Ohio (1,579 km)
Platte (1,593 km)
Potomac (616 km)
Red (2,080 km)
Rio Grande (3,060 km)
Snake (1,670 km)
Tennessee (1,049 km)
Yellowstone (1,110 km)
MISCELLANEOUS DATA ABOUT THE UNITED STATES

HIGHEST POINT Mt. McKinley, Alaska, 6,198 m

LOWEST POINT Death Valley, California, 86 m below sea level

POINTS FARTHEST APART (50 states) Log Point, Elliot Key, Florida, and Kure Island, Hawaii
(9,429 km)

GEOGRAPHIC CENTER (50 states) in Butte County, South Dakota (west of Castle Rock)
44°58'N 103°46'W

GEOGRAPHIC CENTER (48 contiguous states) in Smith County near Lebanon, Kansas
39°50'N 98°35'W

o between Alaska and Canada 2,475 km;

BOUNDARIES o between the 48 contiguous states and Canada
(including the Great Lakes) 6,416 km;
o between the United States and Mexico 3,111 km.

The population of the United States in 2008 is estimated to reach 303,000,000 million, which
includes about 242 million white Americans, about 39 million African-Americans, 16 million Asian
Americans, nearly 5 million American Indians and Alaska Native, and almost 1 million of Hawaiian
and other Pacific Islanders. People of Hispanic or Latino origin, who can be of any race, numbered
in 2006 nearly 36 million.

The inhabitants of the United States are a mixture of many different nationalities. The United
States has been called “a nation of immigrants” because the country was settled and developed by
generations of immigrants from many European and non-Europea countries. The majority of
immigrants came from Europe in the years between 1861 and 1914. Until about 1860, the vast
majority of the population in the United States was WASP, i.e. White Anglo-Saxon Protestant along
with Irish Catholics as well as a certain number of Germans, Dutch, and Scandinavians. After that
year, almost 30 million immigrants arrived from Europe. They were Italians, Germans, Poles
(about 2 million), Ukrainians, Czechs, Russians, and many other nationalities.

In Europe, famine, poor harvests, rising populations and political unrest caused an estimated 5
million people to leave their homelands each year. In Ireland, a blight attacked the potato crop, and
c. 750,000 people starved to death. Many of the survivors emigrated. In one year alone, 1847, the
number of Irish immigrants to the United States reached 118,120. Today there are about 39
million Americans of Irish descent.
Jews came to the United States in large numbers beginning in about 1880, as a result of fierce
pogroms in Russia. Over the next forty-five years, two million Jews moved to the United States. The
U.S. Jewish population today is more than five million.

Until the early 1970s, immigration from Europe prevailed. In the 1970s and 1980s more
immigrants came from Latin America and Asia than from Europe. Apart from legal immigrants, it is
estimated that there are currently about 6 million illegal immigrants in the US, the majority of
them coming from Mexico, and Central and South America.

The immigrants who settled in the U.S. brought with them not only their skills but also a different
cultural heritage which many of their descendants maintain. For example, many Jewish immigrants,
who were persecuted in Europe, contributed significantly to the development of commerce,
science, literature, and the arts in the U.S. Today America is a multiethnic nation, although 94
percent of all Americans were born in the United States.

Immigration has contributed to the rapid growth of the Asian and Hispanic populations since the
1960s. In 1997, 38 per cent of the Hispanic population and 61 per cent of the Asian population
were foreign-born, compared with 8 per cent of the white population, 6 per cent of the African
American population, and 6 percent of the Native American population. The increased immigration
of Asians and Hispanics over the past several decades is largely the result of changes in
immigration policy. In particular, the 1965 Immigration Act ended the system of national origin
quotas that had previously restricted immigration from non-European countries. The Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986 also contributed to the increase in the documented Asian and
Hispanic populations by legalizing a large number of immigrants who had been residing illegally.

While immigration of Asians and Hispanics has increased, population growth has slowed
dramatically for the United States as a whole, largely due to declining fertility rates among non-
Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites. As a result of this declining fertility, the non-Hispanic
white share of the population has fallen since 1970, and the non-Hispanic black share of the
population has increased only slightly.

The United States has also been called “melting pot” because the new land offered a unique
opportunity of assimilation and integration for many different nationalities. Today the “melting pot”
metaphor, which implies a smooth assimilation resulting in homogeneity, is replaced instead by
the more realistic “salad bowl” or “pizza” metaphors, which mean that various ethnic communities
make up American society without losing their cultural attributes.

America’s population reveals remarkable ethnic diversity which includes people of different race,
color of skin, nationality, and religion. Race distribution in particular states is uneven. In
Mississippi, African-Americans make up about 35 per cent of the state’s population, compared with
1 percent in Wyoming. In Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital, Afro-Americans form the majority (70
per cent of the population).

In 17 states, Hispanic Americans form the largest minority. The American Indian and Alaska Native
population amounts to 5 million, which is about only 1.5 percent of the whole population. However,
it is believed that 20 million U.S. citizens may have an admixture of Indian blood.

It is estimated that in the year 2010, 40 percent of the population of California will be Hispanic,
Asian, or black. Similar demographic changes will be taking place in most metropolitan areas of the
United States. This will have an impact on the evolution of American life. Excluding Latin barrios
(neighborhoods), every large city in the U.S. has many ethnic neighborhoods, e.g. Chinatowns in
New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles; Italian (Little Italies), East Indian, Vietnamese, Arab,
Polish, and, of course, black districts, such as Harlem in New York City.

For a long time the core of the American way of life has been the Protestant tradition founded on
rationalism, a strong sense of discipline, management of time, respect for the individual, etc. Now
traditional Protestant values are being supplemented by new values introduced by ethnic groups.
For example, Hispanics bring to American society a strong Catholic element, including such values
as a sense of compassion and sharing as well as adherence to the bonds of extended family.

As indicated earlier, the number of the inhabitants of the United States is a little over 303 million.
75 percent of Americans live in metropolitan areas. However, metropolitan areas are becoming
increasingly suburban, i.e. c. 60 per cent of residents live outside great cities. Since 1986, the U.S.
population has grown faster in rural areas than in urban locations. Approximately, 25 per cent of
the U.S. population lives in rural areas. In recent decades, many Americans have changed their
residence. A large number of people have left the Northeast and Midwest to move to the South and
Southwest. These states of the South and Southwest are called the “Sun Belt” because they usually
have sunny, hot weather. In the last twenty years, the number of people in Florida and Arizona has
almost doubled. In the same period, the population of Texas has grown larger by one quarter.
Many companies have set up their factories and offices in the prosperous Sun Belt.

BLACK AMERICANS

Among the flood of immigrants to North America, one group came unwillingly. The first Africans
were brought to America by Europeans in the 17th century and they were sold in slave markets.
Some 500,000 blacks were brought over as slaves from 1619 until 1808, when importing slaves
into the United States became illegal.

President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 marked the beginning of a long struggle by
black Americans for civil rights and equal opportunity. The problem of race and color prejudice
still remains one of America’s greatest moral dilemmas. In 1835, a French visitor, Alexis de
Tocqueville, observed that whites and blacks were “two foreign communities”. In 1944, the
Swedish scholar, Gunnar Myrdal, wrote a book entitled An American Dilemma, in which he stated
that American blacks still could not escape the caste condition into which they were born. It was
not until 1965 that Afro-Americans began to participate fully in the social, economic and political
life of the United States. Now Afro-Americans hold high federal and state offices, including seats in
Congress. However, some critics of the U.S. argue that it is still a segregated nation. It is true to say
that even at the beginning of the 21st century many blacks feel unequal in American society,
although racism is officially outlawed.

Today there is certainly much more contact between the races. Surveys indicate a sharp decline in
racist sentiment among whites. However, race relations are still a source of conflict, particularly in
urban communities. Many cities have become more segregated residentially than they were in the
1960s. One reason is that the violent crime rate is statistically highest among young black males.
Again, statistically, black men commit violent crimes at a rate six to eight times higher than whites.
It seems that one of the ways of reducing racism in America is to reduce the black crime rate by
improving the quality of life of the black population in inner cities. Many blacks live in poor,
disorganized, drug-infested neighborhoods which create favorable conditions for the growth of
juvenile delinquency and crime. This fact is a byproduct of their still unequal socioeconomic status.

HISPANICS

Hispanics tend to place great emphasis on family life. They usually have larger families than other
Americans. Hispanics can be divided into Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and other Latinos. They
live all over the United States. However, two thirds of Cubans live in Florida; more than two thirds
of Puerto Ricans live in the Northeast and about three fifths of Mexicans live in the West. Some
Hispanic communities live in very distant places, e.g. Chicago, where Mexicans are concentrated in
the Little Village and Pilsen districts, and Puerto Ricans live in Logan Square and Humboldt Park. In
Chicago, Mexicans constitute 65 percent of Hispanics and Puerto Ricans about 22 percent. Puerto
Ricans are also the largest Hispanic group in New York City.

THE NATIVE AMERICANS

The ancestors of the American Indians came from Asia about 10,000 years ago. At that time the
Bering Strait was frozen, so animals and people could pass from Siberia to Alaska on foot. They
gradually spread all over North and South America.

The Algonquin Indians were the first to meet English settlers. In 1621 the early English colonists,
known as Pilgrims or Pilgrim Fathers, settled in Massachusetts. They were indebted to local
Indians who had shown them how to cultivate and harvest maize, squash, and pumpkins. After
their first harvest, the Massachusetts Pilgrims decided to thank God for the abundance of crops.
They organized a feast and invited the Indians to share it with them. This was probably the origin
of the celebration of Thanksgiving Day in the United States on the third Thursday of November.
Thanksgiving was probably an adaptation of the Amerindian (American Indian) Green Corn
Ceremony, once widespread among the native peoples of eastern North America, who gave thanks
for successful crops of corn.
There were over a quarter of a million Indians living in the American West. The Sioux, Blackfoot,
Crow, Cheyenne, Comanche, Apache, Pueblo, and Navajo were independent tribes. They were often
at war with one another and with the United States Army. One by one they were defeated and
driven into reservations. The reservations were often located on poor land with few resources.
Therefore, Indians could hardly make a living and preserve their way of life.

When the early settlers arrived in the West, the Apaches lived in thatched huts, or in tepees made
of animal skin. The Apaches hunted for their food. They fought fiercely to keep their lands but were
mercilessly defeated by the United States Army. In 1886, their leader, Geronimo, led a group of
Apaches from a reservation in a final fight against the invaders, but he was defeated and again
placed in a reservation. Today, descendants of the Apaches live in Arizona and New Mexico.

The Pueblo Indians were mostly farmers. They grew corn, beans, and squash. The Pueblo Indians,
who live in New Mexico and Arizona, are well known for their art.

The Navajos are the largest group of American Indians in the United States. They live in Arizona,
New Mexico, and Utah. In the mid-1800s, the Navajos fought against white settlers. The United
States Army prevailed and forced them to march several hundred kilometers to a reservation. The
majority died along the way. This is known in history as the “Long March”.

Today, the Native Americans are among the poorest and least educated people in the USA. It is hard
for them to find employment, so many of them remain apathetic and unable to live outside their
reservations, although there are a few exceptions, for example, the Mohawk Indians are favored in
the high rise construction business; they have contributed to the building of many skyscrapers in
New York City.

POLISH AMERICANS

Polish immigration to the United States followed in three major waves. The first wave of
immigrants, from the late 1800s to World War I, came to America mainly for economic reasons.
Many immigrants were illiterate and unskilled laborers in their own country. The majority came
from the southern and south-eastern parts of Poland (the Tatra Mountains and Ma opolska region).
These early Polish immigrants had been registered as citizens of Russia, Austria or Prussia because
Poland did not exist then as an independent country.

The second wave of immigration took place after World War II. It consisted primarily of ex-soldiers
serving the Allied Forces in the West, ex-POWs (prisoners of war), labor camp prisoners, dissidents
and intellectuals from refugee camps all over Europe.

The third wave of Polish immigrants arrived in great numbers after the introduction of martial law
in 1981. Some of them were expelled by the Communist authorities as dissidents. Others won their
visas in the US visa lottery. Many of the new immigrants were highly skilled professionals. It is
estimated that the number of Americans of Polish descent is more than 10 million. There are many
Polish ethnic organizations, institutes and clubs in the U.S.

The Polish American Congress (PAC) represents Americans of Polish descent. It is a federation of
over 3,000 Polish American organizations, such as the Polish National Alliance, Polish Women’s
Alliance, Polish Roman Catholic Union, Polish Falcons and others, including veteran, cultural,
professional, religious and social associations, with a total membership of over one million. The
PAC promotes civic, educational and cultural programs designed to further not only the knowledge
of Polish history, language and culture, but to stimulate Polish American involvement and
accomplishments.

Polish Americans live in all parts of the U.S., but only Chicago and New York City have large Polish
American communities. In Chicago Polish American cultural and economic life is concentrated in
the Polish neighborhood called Jackowo, which takes its name after the Polish Church of St. Jacek.
There are many Polish shops and pharmacies as well as offices with Polish-speaking lawyers. Poles
of Chicago, with a population of over 300,000, account for one in four of the non-Hispanic residents
of this city. About 50,000 Poles came to Chicago in the 1980s, mostly as a result of introducing
martial law in Poland.

The Polish community has a local Polish-language press, radio and television. In the Polish
restaurants, waiters serve tons of Polish pierogi, kielbasa, bigos, golonka, golambki, etc. There are
also two distinct Polish neighborhoods in New York City. One of them is located on the Lower East
Side of Manhattan and the other in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which has many Polish bars, restaurants,
bookshops and shops, e.g. Mazur Meat Market, Podlasie, Staropolski Deli, etc.

FAMOUS POLES IN AMERICA

Mieczysław Bekker 1905–1989 engineer; developed mobility systems for luna rovers.

Zbigniew Brzeziński 1928– scholar and political writer; National Security Adviser to President
Jimmy Carter.
Franciszek Gabryszewski 1919– fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean War.
Francis S. Gabreski
Korczak Ziolkowski 1908–1982 sculptor.
Tadeusz Kościuszko 1746–1817 Polish patriot and America’s Revolutionary War hero.
Thaddeus Kosciusko
Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski 1824–1887 Brigadier General in the Union army.
Helena Modrzejewska 1840–1909 actress; famous for her
Helena Modjeska interpretations of Shakespearean roles.

Ralph Modjeski 1861–1940 Helena Modrzejewska’s son; a famous engineer and bridge
constructor.
Apolonia Chałupiec 1899?–1987 a popular Hollywood star.
Pola Negri
Jan Ignacy Paderewski 1860–1941 a great Polish pianist, patriot and statesman.
Kazimierz Pułaski 1747–1779 a Polish aristocrat and cavalry officer in the service of the colonists
Casimir Pulaski during the American Revolution.
Stanisław Ulam 1909–1984 mathematician; one of the creators of the American A- and H-bombs.

It is not easy to distinguish the main regions of the United States because areas often overlap. Historically, the United
States was divided into New England, the Middle Atlantic, and the Southern States. Gradually, the territory of the
United States was extended westward. At present the following four major regions can be distinguished in the United
States: the Northeast, the Midwest, the South, and the West.

THE NORTHEAST

The Northeast includes New England and the Middle Atlantic region. It is the most economically and industrially
developed region.

The Northeast covers nine states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

NEW ENGLAND

Is the smallest cultural region of the United States and the cradle of modern America. The name
was given by the English Puritans who settled there in the early 1600s. It consists of Connecticut,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Four of six New England states
were members of the original thirteen colonies. Throughout the centuries New England retained
its unique character. Farming, shipbuilding, fishing and trade became its most important industries.
In the 19th century the American Industrial Revolution began in New England. A number of
factories were established in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Originally, the region
was settled by Protestants. Now the majority of the population of New England are Roman
Catholics, except in certain rural areas where Protestants still predominate. Several important
universities and colleges are concentrated in the region. New England has many recreational sites,
e.g. White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, Green Mountain National Forest in
Vermont and Acadia National Park in Maine.

CONNECTICUT

Is the southernmost of New England’s states. It consists of a narrow lowland area, extending north
and south through the central part of the state and bounded east and west by highlands.
Connecticut has cold winters, rain and fog. However, the summer temperature is often very high
and humid. The chief industries are the manufacturing of aircraft engines and parts, submarines,
helicopters, machinery and computer equipment, electronics and electrical equipment, medical
instruments, pharmaceuticals and retail trade. The soil is generally fertile. Chief crops include
mushrooms, vegetables, sweet corn, tobacco and apples.

The state capital is Hartford, and major cities include New Haven and Stamford. Many of the names
of towns are of English, Biblical, or Indian origin: Greenwich, Cheshire, Durham, Cornwall, Avon,
Canaan, Quassapaug, Quinnipiac. The very name of the State itself is derived from the Indian word
“Quinatucquet”, meaning “upon the long river”.

It is interesting to know that the first hamburgers in U.S. history were served in New Haven,
Connecticut, at Louis’ Lunch Sandwich Shop in 1895. Louis Lassen ran a small lunch wagon selling
steak sandwiches to local factory workers. Because he did not like to waste the excess beef, he
ground it up, grilled it, and served it between two slices of bread. This is how America’s first
hamburger was created.

Maine lies farther northeast than any other state. It is mostly hilly, with abundant forests. It has
very cold winters and cool summers. The White Mountain National Forest stretches over an area of
nearly 800,000 acres, and the forest covers a landscape ranging from hardwood forests to the
largest alpine area east of the Rocky Mountains.

MAINE

Gained its statehood in 1820. The state is one of the chief producers of paper and pulp in the u.s.
maine also produces 99 per cent of all the blueberries in the country, making it the single largest
producer of blueberries in the United States. However, in the 20th century, Maine became a major
tourist attraction and the state adopted the slogan “Vacationland” for its license plates. Tourists
enjoy in Maine vast areas of relatively unspoiled wilderness, ski-friendly mountains, and its
hundreds of miles of coastline. Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island is a popular tourist
destination in Maine.

MASSACHUSETTS

Became an English colony in the 17th century, when groups of English Puritans made settlements
at Plymouth (1620), Salem (1628) and Boston (1630). Massachusetts was the initiator of the
revolution in the American colonies. In the 19th century, the state was the centre of literary activity
and reform movements. Today it is one of the leading industrial states in the USA, particularly
famous for its textile industry. Massachusetts is also a center of the electronics industry and
scientific research. Massachusetts has always been famous for its high standards of education. The
first public school in the U.S., the Boston Latin School, was founded in 1635.

The name Massachusetts comes from Algonquian Indian words that mean the great mountain The
Commonwealth of Massachusetts entered the Union on February 6, 1788, as the sixth state.

BOSTON

The largest city in New England and the capital of Massachusetts, now with a population of almost
600,000, was established in 1630 by John Winthrop, ten years after the landing of the Pilgrims in
Plymouth. Soon the city became the financial heart of the American colonies. Boston has been
called the “Athens of America” because of its renown as the educational and cultural centre of New
England. There are about thirty colleges and universities in the Boston metropolitan area.
Downtown Boston has many narrow and winding streets. Across the Charles River is Cambridge,
the home of two famous institutions of higher learning, Harvard University and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Harvard, founded in 1636, was the first college established in North
America. Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897. West of Boston is the
historic town of Lexington, “the birthplace of American liberty”. It was on Lexington Green on 19
April, 1775, that the American War of Independence began. North of Boston is the town of Salem,
notorious for the witchcraft hysteria that broke out in 1692. Tourists usually visit the Witch
Museum and the House of Seven Gables, made famous by the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Is mostly hilly and wooded, with many lakes and rivers. It has harsh winters and mild, short
summers. Before the American Revolution, New Hampshire residents seized a British fort at
Portsmouth in 1774 and drove the royal governor out. New Hampshire became the first colony to
adopt its own constitution. The state’s most important natural resources are its hardwood and
softwood forests. However, New Hampshire is also a highly industrialized state. It produces
electric and electronic machinery, plastics, paper, textiles and leather goods. Recently tourism has
become the state’s leading industry. Many visitors come to enjoy the state’s picturesque beaches,
mountains and lakes. The largest lake, Winnipesaukee, is dotted with 274 inhabitable islands,
while along the Atlantic shore 29 kilometers of curving beaches attract numerous holiday-makers.

The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections
held in the United States every four years as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and
Republican nominees for the presidential elections.

Rhode Island, the smallest state in size in the United States, is now densely populated and highly
industrialized. Its major industries include electronics, metal and plastic products, boat and ship
construction. It is also an important centre for jewelry manufacturing. Rivers and the sea are the
state’s most important natural resources. Despite its name, most of the state of Rhode Island lies
on the North American mainland.

Rhode Island has a flourishing fishing industry. In rural areas small-size farming is well
developed. The state has cold winters and warm summers. The weather is extremely changeable.

Providence, founded by Roger Williams as a haven from religious persecution in the 17th
century, is an important site of colonial history. Brown University, located in Providence, is one of
the oldest institutions of higher learning in the US.

Vermont has long, cold winters and short, warm summers. The Green Mountains
constitute the dominant feature of the state. The rivers of Vermont flow either into the Connecticut
River or into Lake Champlain. Vermont has limited areas of arable land, but the state is attractive
for tourists and holiday-makers. In the winter thousands of skiers flock to Vermont. In 1777,
Vermont proclaimed itself an independent state and in 1791 entered the Union. It was the first
state to be admitted after the adoption of the Constitution by the thirteen original states.

The Middle Atlantic region – stretching from New York south to Virginia – was a pivotal
area in the early development of the American colonies and the United States. It is composed of
New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The region became the major centre of heavy industry in
the 19th century and provided employment for thousands of immigrants from Europe.

Named by Charles II after his brother, the Duke of York, later James II of England, New
York had been explored earlier by the French and the Dutch. Dutch immigrants moved into the
lower Hudson River Valley in what is now New York State. Before Europeans began to arrive in the
16th century, the New York area was inhabited mainly by Algonquian- and Iroquoian-speaking
Native Americans.

New York holds its premier position in wealth and population by reason of its being an
industrial and commercial State. It has been officially described for tourist interest as ‘the State
that has everything’, partly because of its striking contrasts.

Eastern New York is dominated by the Great Appalachian Valley. The rest of New York
State is hilly, sloping gradually to the valleys of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario.