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摘要 美国是个充满魅力的国家，吸引了许多人去关注她。这篇文章包括美国的历 史、文化、经济、民族的梦想和美国精神。通过这篇短文章，你能够大概了解 这个充满魅力的国家。美国的魅力超越了仅仅是在经济学上提到的美国，包括这个能够在一定程度 了更多的完善和活泼的形象,她展示着人类的智慧和魅力。 上影响整个世界的经济、政治、文化和世界局势的国家值得你的关注。 关键词： 美国 魅力 人类
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The Charm of the United States of America
Introduction:
The United States of America is a country that I want to travel round. We have to say her has the ability of get the attention of the human being. We are surprised to see their economy and everything about them. Some thing is necessary for us to learn from her effects which are connecting with the position in the world. So to learn the country is important to blossom into the super country. Even though the history is not very long, it is a miracle for the cultural and spirit in the USA. Ⅰ.The History of the United States.
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, yet its territory was occupied first by the Native Americans since prehistoric times and then also by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The largest settlements were by the English on the East Coast, starting in 1607. By the 1770s the Thirteen Colonies contained two and half million people, were prosperous, and had developed their own political and legal systems. The British government's threat to American self-government led to war in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776. With major military and financial support from France, the patriots won the American Revolution. In 1789 the Constitution became the basis for the United States federal government, with war hero George Washington as the first president. The young nation continued to struggle with the scope of central government and with European influence, creating the first political parties in the 1790s, and fighting a second war for independence in 1812.
The United States is a varied land - of forests, deserts, mountains, high flat lands and fertile plains. The country lies mostly in the temperate zone but there is a very wide range of climate variations. The continental United States stretches 4,500 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. It borders Canada on the north and reaches south to Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. The United States covers a total area of 9 million square kilometers (including Alaska and Hawaii). Alaska is the largest in area of the 50 states, and Texas is the second
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largest.
In the middle of the 19th century, white Americans of the North and South were to reconcile fundamental differences in their approach to government, economics, society and African American slavery. The issue of slavery in the new territories was settled by the Compromise of 1850 brokered by Whig Henry Clay and Democrat Stephen Douglas; the Compromise included admission of California as a free state and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act to make it easier for masters to reclaim runaway slaves.[38] In 1854, the proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act abrogated the Missouri Compromise by providing that each new state of the Union would decide its stance on slavery.
Ⅱ. The Cultural of the United States.
The culture of the United States of America is a Western culture, having been originally influenced by European cultures. It has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore. Today the United States of America is an ethnically and racially diverse country as result of large-scale immigration from many different countries throughout its history. Its chief early influences came from English and Irish settlers of colonial America. British culture, due to colonial ties with Britain that spread the English language, legal system and other cultural inheritances, had a formative influence.[2] Other important influences came from other parts of Western Europe, especially Germany, France, and Italy.
Original elements also play a strong role, such as the invention of Jeffersonian Democracy. Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia was perhaps the first influential domestic cultural critique by an American and a reactionary piece to the prevailing European consensus that America's domestic originality was degenerate. Prevalent ideas and ideals which evolved domestically such as national holidays, uniquely American sports, military tradition, and innovations in the arts and entertainment give a strong sense of national pride among the population as a whole. American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, military and
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scientific competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements.[1] Despite certain consistent ideological principles (e.g. individualism, egalitarianism, and faith in freedom and democracy), American culture has a variety of expressions due to its geographical scale and demographic diversity. The flexibility of U.S. culture and its highly symbolic nature lead some researchers to categorize American culture as a mythic identity; others see it as American exceptionalism.
It also includes elements which evolved from Native Americans, and other ethnic subcultures; most prominently the culture of African American and different cultures from Latin America. Many cultural elements, especially popular culture have been exported across the globe through modern mass media.
The United States has often been thought of as a melting pot, but recent developments tend towards cultural diversity, pluralism and the image of a salad bowl rather than a melting pot. Due to the extent of American culture there are many integrated but unique social subcultures within the United States. The cultural affiliations an individual in the United States may have commonly depend on social class, political orientation and a multitude of demographic characteristics such as religious background, occupation and ethnic group membership. Ⅲ.The Economy of the United States.
The United States of America is the largest and most important economy in the world. In 2010, The US economy was responsible for 20.218 percent of the world‘s total GDP or US$ 14.624 trillion. Yet despite leading the world‘s economy for more than a hundred years, The US economy is now facing its greatest ever challenge since World War II. This challenge has been a result of both domestic and international factors. Domestically, the US economy‘s frailties were cruelly exposed during the 2008 financial crisis. The US economy has found it harder to recover from the 2008 financial crisis, believed to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, as compared to previous downturns. Consumer confidence within the country is at all time low, perpetuating the slow economic growth since 2008.
On the international front, it is increasingly likely that the US will lose its status as the
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world‘s largest economy. According to the latest IMF forecast done in April 2011, China is expected to overtake the US by 2016. This has come as a major surprise for the global community – previous forecasts had predicted China overtaking the US by 2035 at best. [4]
The economy development of the USA
For many years following the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the danger of recession appeared most serious, the government sought to strengthen the economy by spending heavily itself or cutting taxes so that consumers would spend more, and by fostering rapid growth in the money supply, which also encouraged more spending. Ideas about the best tools for stabilizing the economy changed substantially between the 1930s and the 1980s. From the New Deal era that began in 1933, to the Great Society initiatives of the 1960s, national policy makers relied principally on fiscal policy to influence the economy. The approach, advanced by British economist John Maynard Keynes, gave elected officials a leading role in directing the economy, since spending and taxes are controlled by the U.S. President and the Congress. The economy and living standards grew strongly during this era, but a period of high inflation, interest rates and unemployment after 1973 weakened confidence in fiscal policy as a tool for regulating the overall pace of economic activity. Following a series of periodic credit tightening measures designed to combat inflation, a
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combination of loose monetary policy and record budget deficits, both financed with foreign direct investment and public debt, became routine economic policy after 1981. The U.S. economy grew by an average of 3.8% from 1946 to 1973, while real median household income surged 55% (or 1.6% a year). The economy since 1973, however, has been characterized by both slower growth (averaging 2.7%), and nearly stagnant living standards, with household incomes increasing by 10%, or only 0.3% annually. The worst recession in recent decades, in terms of lost output, occurred during the 2008 financial crisis, when GDP fell by 4.1% from the spring of 2008 to the spring of 2009. Other significant recessions took place in 1957–58, when GDP fell 3.7%, following the 1973 oil crisis, with a 3.1% fall from late 1973 to early 1975, and in the 1981–82 recession, when GDP dropped by 2.9%. Recent, mild recessions have included the 1990–91 downturn, when output fell by 1.3%, and the 2001 recession, in which GDP slid by 0.3%; the 2001 downturn lasted just eight months. The most vigorous, sustained periods of growth, on the other hand, took place from early 1961 to mid 1969, with an expansion of 53% (5.1% a year), from early 1991 to late in 2000, at 43% (3.8% a year), and from late 1982 to mid 1990, at 37% (4% a year). Since 1976, the US has sustained trade deficits with other nations, and since 1982, current account deficits; the nation's long-standing surplus in its trade in services was maintained, however, and reached US$140 billion yearly in 2008 and 2009. In recent years, the primary economic concerns have centered on: high household debt ($11 trillion, including $2.5 trillion in revolving debt), high net national debt ($9 trillion), high corporate debt ($9 trillion), high mortgage debt (over $15 trillion as of 2005 year-end), high unfunded Medicare liability ($30 trillion[citation needed]), high unfunded Social Security liability ($12 trillion)[citation needed], high external debt (amount owed to foreign lenders), high trade deficits, a serious deterioration in the United States net international investment position (NIIP) (-24% of GDP),[40] and high unemployment. In 2006, the U.S economy had its lowest saving rate since 1933. These issues have raised concerns among economists and national politicians. The United States economy experienced a crisis in 2008 led by a derivatives market and subprime mortgage crisis, and a declining dollar value. On December 1, 2008, the
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NBER declared that the United States entered a recession in December 2007, citing employment and production figures as well as the third quarter decline in GDP. The recession did, however, lead to a reduction in record trade deficits, which fell from $840 billion annually during the 2006-08 periods, to $500 billion in 2009, as well as to higher personal savings rates, which jumped from a historic low of 1% in early 2008, to nearly 5% in late 2009.
In 1980, the U.S. public debt was $909 billion - or an amount equal to 33.3% of America's gross domestic product (GDP). By 1990, that number had more than tripled to $3.2 trillion - or 55.9% of GDP. In 2001 the national debt was $5.7 trillion; however, the debt-to-GDP ratio remained at 1990 levels. Debt levels rose quickly in the following decade, and on January 28, 2010, the US debt ceiling was raised to $14.3 trillion dollars. Based on the 2010 U.S. budget, total national debt will grow to nearly 100% of GDP, versus a level of approximately 80% in early 2009. The White House estimates that the government‘s tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion in 2009. The U.S. Treasury statistics indicate that, at the end of 2006, non-US citizens and institutions held 44% of federal debt held by the public. China, holding $801.5 billion in treasury bonds, is the largest foreign financier of the record U.S. public debt. Ⅳ. The Vision of the United States
National pride will be easily established when you wear a United States flag charm or a United States country charm found in the United States travel charm section at Chains-and-Charms.com. Show off your pride while still managing to keep fashionable with your charm bracelet. At the same time, you can also show pride for your state by wearing a charm symbolizing your state. North Carolinians can wear a North Carolina state map silver charm or a Tar Heel gold charm. Either way, people will surely notice where you are from when you wear these charms. A total North Carolina theme could be garnered by purchasing a charm featuring the state bird, flower or any other symbol you may think of that represents North Carolina. All 50 states have a good amount of charms to choose from, and even Washington DC has a few charms so that no state is left out.
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Not only would these charms serve as a way to proudly show where you are from, but also to show where you have been. Traveling to other parts of the country often results in the desire to bring home a souvenir. But why bring home a plain and ordinary souvenir when you can simply buy a state gold or silver charm and wear your memory on your charm bracelet? The Liberty Bell silver charm from Pennsylvania, the Statue of Liberty gold charm from New York, the Sears Tower silver charm from Illinois or the Golden Gate Bridge gold charm from California would all make perfect memories for you and yours to keep with you at all times. Perhaps your goal could be to travel to all 50 states and reward yourself with a beautiful charm from Chains-and-Charms.com to go along with the states you have visited. Or perhaps you have moved around from state to state quite often. Purchasing a state charm or a state symbol charm would be the perfect way to decorate your charm bracelet and recall all the places you have lived at in the past. A simple Massachusetts state map gold charm would suffice enough, or you could get more specific and buy the Boston skyline silver charm - or even both. With the option to change charms on your charm bracelet, there will always be room to add to or change your bracelet as you move around. Ⅴ.The spirit of the United States
Jesse was working several months at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, basically doing legal writing. Although interested in International Law and Human Rights activism, some time later, the current songwriter of These United States realized that his strong temperament and scarce patience was incompatible with the bureaucratic labyrinth, and decided to embark himself on a new journey towards his true passion: music.
Since then, Jesse‘s career, together with the four other band members of the American band ―TUS‖, has been hurried and prolific, with the band releasing four albums over the span of three years: ―Crimes‖ and ―A picture of the three of us at the gate to Garden of Eden‖ in 2008, ―Everything touches everything‖ in 2009, and ―What Lasts‖ in 2010.[3]
These United States‘ sound could be defined as an insight into the rustic and earthy
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pleasures that life has to offer. Their metaphorically charged lyrics are body-staggering and mind-trembling; a musical gift for the senses to embrace. On break from the strict touring schedule that will lead the band across several states in the US, as well as London, Norway and Germany, bandleader Jesse Elliott took the time to speak with IDEAS from a friend‘s house in the countryside of Kentucky. One of the things that intrigue me is how your particular vision of the world translates or doesn‘t translate to other people. Recently especially, I have tried to be more attuned to what my own thoughts are and not to worry so much about the language of music as a whole, but more about how my particular vision or dialect comes across when you can successfully show the tiny corner of your own soul and stay true to who you are and what you think. That is my rambling made up answer to the surprise quote.
‗A picture of the statue of liberty was the symbol of free and democracy. To set out and explore something without
knowing
exactly where it was going to end up. So it
was an adventurous feeling to me. The second one, ‗Crimes‘, was more about a specific idea. A group of friends that are trying to get together and enjoy each other‘s company and make something that is instructed on a particular place at a specific time. ‗Everything touches everything‘ was, on the contrary, more spread out over different times and places, and the really first album with an idea behind it, being this all the motion of what was going on in the States when we were coming up with the election of Barack Obama. And the last one was about an experience, placed in a very short amount of time.
I am always interested in characters, stories and mythology taken from a particular
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part of society where I grew up, the slightly more conservative middle east of the US, so there are a lot of mythologies of Christians, biblical or political references, and conceptions of American writers which affect me in some sense because I know those characters better than I might know others. However, the lyrics attain more to the entire human condition, no matter what the culture or background. Besides, I am not particularly attached to any special religious view point. Ⅵ.Conclusion:
When we know the United States, we will be eager for getting there. The United States is a desirable place .In my mind , the United States is the standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It is also designed to serve as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. In order to ascend our own culture and economy, we need to study the United States, also need find our weakness from them, so as to improve ourselves. I hope that readers can from my article about the United States get some of the information, and also can get some help for their traveling and studying abroad.
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Bibliography
[1]. Jensen, E.‖ History from Unexpected Characters.‖ New York Tim, April 16, 2010, p.21.
[2] Tansy, Vito. The Charm of Latin America. New York: Case bound Hardcover (B/W), December, 2009.PP.112—132.
[3]Raymore & Flannigan.‖ The spirit of the United States Constitution and separation of powers principles.‖ Reader's Digest, December, 2007:pp.23—54.
[4]Wikipedia.‖ Economy of the United States. ―Last modified 2011, 12 on 4 June 因篇幅问题不能全部显示，请点此查看更多更全内容