美国概况考试小结.docVIP

The United States of America, also called America, the States, the US, or Uncle Sam, is so vast in size and so complex in its ethnic origins that it seems to defy any kind of compact generalization. The United States is 9, 372, 614 km2 in size, with its continent extending 4, 505 km east to west, 2, 574 km north to south. The Great Lakes——the biggest body of fresh water in the world The Grand Canyon(大峡谷)——Intermountain Region The mountains, hills, plateaus(高原), and plains of North America form seven major physical regions. The United States also includes an eighth region, the Hawaiian Islands, which lies in the Pacific Ocean. Pacific Coast, Intermountain Region, Rocky Mountains(洛基山脉), Interior Plains, Appalachian(阿巴拉契亚造) Mountains, Canadian Shield(屏障), Coastal Plains, Hawaiian Islands. The dry western part of the Interior(内地) Plains is called the Great Plain. The eastern part is called the Central Plains. Chicago, St. Louis, and Dallas are in the Interior Plains. ●The Formation of the Union ①The Declaration of IndependenceTo confront the British Parliament’s revenge against the Boston Tea Party, the first Continental Congress met in 1774. In 1776, the continental congress made the decision that independence should be declared. The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson. Finally, the Declaration states that the colonies were “free independent states.” ②Adopting the ConstitutionTo cement the union, all states had a meeting and finally decided to adopt the Constitution. But there were some approvals, also some conflicts about it. Especially about the term “slavery” which led to the civil war. ③The Civil WarEleven states seceded from the Union and created a separate Confederate nation for Lincoln being elected president who claimed that he would respect slavery where it existed. And then a civil war broke out. And the northern victory restored the Union and released the slavery ④The Gilded AgeHistorians refer to the years between the Civil War