Economy
Economy
- The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world.
- Private individuals and business forms make most of the decisions.
- In this market-oriented economy the federal and state governments purchase needed goods and services
- US firms are at, or near, the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers, medical, aerospace, and military advances.
- At the end of World War II, their advantages have narrowed.
- There has been a gradual development of "two-tier labor market" caused by the onrush of technology.
- two-tier labor market is where those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technological skills of those at the top and so fail to get some benefits such as health insurance coverage and comparable pay raises.
- 55% of the US's consumption comes from imported oil.
- The nation went into a recession during 2008 due to sub-prime mortgage crisis, falling home prices, tight credit, investment bank failures, and global economic downturn.
- In an effort to fix this Congress passed a $700 billion TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program), which eventually led the US out of the recession.
- The GPD of American composition by sector of origin is agriculture 1.1%, industry 19.5%, and services 79.4%.
Government
Government:
- The United States government is a constitution-based federal republic with a strong democratic tradition.
- The government is made up of three branches, the executive branch, judicial branch, and legislative branch.
- The power of the executive branch is placed in the President's hands and is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws made by Congress and appointing the heads of federal agencies.
- The executive branch's general description is the branch of federal and state government that is broadly responsible for implementing, supporting, and enforcing laws made by legislative branch and interpreted by the judicial branch.
- The judicial branch is the branch that interprets laws made by the legislative branch and administers justice.
- The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court, which consists of 9 justices who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
- Finally, the legislative branch consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which together form Congress.
- The legislative branch is the part of the government that writes, debates, and passes laws.
- The people of America is made up of two political parties, the Republicans and Democrats.
American Revolution
American Revolution
- The United States was the first colony to successfully break away from its mother country.
- On July 4th 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by Congress, declaring its freedom from Britain.
- The US decided to break away from Britain because Britain was overtaxing tea and stamps and that made many colonists angry that their tea cost more than it would in Britain.
- The actual war lasted from 1775-1783.
- It was supported by France.
- In 1770 colonial resistance led to violence, leading to the Boston Massacre when British soldiers opened fire on a mob of colonists, killing five people.
- In December of 1773 a group of Bostonians dressed up as Mohawk Indians, boarded a British ship transporting tea, and dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor.
- This tea dumping became known as the Boston Tea Party.
- The Boston Tea Party angered Parliament and they passed a series of laws called the "Intolerable Acts" which led to the making of the Declaration of Independence 3 years later.
- By autumn of 1781 Greene's American army was able to force Cornwallis and his men to retreat from Virginia.
- By October 19, they, along with the help of France, they managed to trap and overpower Cornwallis and forced him to surrender.
- Despite this setback, Britain forces still remained in Charleston and its main, powerful army stayed in New York.
- Neither side took decisive actions throughout the next two years until the removal of British troops in Charleston and Savannah in late 1782, which brought an end to the conflict.
- British and American negotiators in Paris signed a preliminary peace treaty in November where Britain formally recognizes America as its own nation.
- This treaty was called the Treaty of Paris.
- Thus ended the 8 year long war.