United States
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
United States Food Main article: Cuisine of the United States An apple pie, surrounded by some other icons of American culture. Mainstream American cuisine is similar to that in other Western countries. Wheat is the primary cereal grain. Traditional American cuisine uses indigenous ingredients, such as turkey, venison, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup, which were consumed by Native Americans and early European settlers.[citation needed] Slow-cooked pork and beef barbecue, crab cakes, potato chips, and chocolate chip cookies are distinctively American foods. Soul food, developed by African slaves, is popular around the South and among many African Americans elsewhere. Syncretic cuisines such as Louisiana Creole, Cajun, and Tex-Mex are regionally important. The confectionery industry in the United States includes The Hershey Company, the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. In addition, Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, is the largest globally distributed snack food company in the world. The United States has a vast Breakfast cereal industry that includes brands such as Kellog's and General Mills.[citation needed] Characteristic dishes such as apple pie, fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs derive from the recipes of various immigrants. French fries, Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos, and pasta dishes freely adapted from Italian sources are widely consumed.[465] Americans generally prefer coffee to tea. Marketing by U.S. industries is largely responsible for making orange juice and milk ubiquitous breakfast beverages.[466][467] The American fast food industry, the world's largest, pioneered the drive-through format in the 1930s. Fast food consumption has sparked health concerns. During the 1980s and 1990s, Americans' caloric intake rose 24%;[465] frequent dining at fast food outlets is associated with what public health officials call the American "obesity epidemic".[468] Highly sweetened soft drinks are widely popular, and sugared beverages account for nine percent of American caloric intake.[469] Sports Main article: Sports in the United States Swimmer Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time. The market for professional sports in the United States is roughly $69 billion, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.[470] Baseball has been regarded as the national sport since the late 19th century, while American football is now by several measures the most popular spectator sport.[471] Basketball and ice hockey are the country's next two leading professional team sports. These four major sports, when played professionally, each occupy a season at different, but overlapping, times of the year. College football and basketball attract large audiences. Boxing and horse racing were once the most watched individual sports,[472] but they have been eclipsed by golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR. In the 21st century, televised mixed martial arts has also gained a strong following of regular viewers.[473][474] While soccer is much less popular in the United States than in many other nations, it is played widely at the youth and amateur levels; even so, the men's team has been to the past six World Cups and the women are #1 in the women's world rankings. Tennis and many outdoor sports are popular as well. While most major U.S. sports have evolved out of European practices, basketball, volleyball, skateboarding, snowboarding, and cheerleading are American inventions, which have become popular in other countries. Lacrosse and surfing arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate Western contact. Eight Olympic Games have taken place in the United States. The United States has won 2,301 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, more than any other country,[475] and 253 in the Winter Olympic Games, the second most by 2006.[476] See also United States portal • Index of United States-related articles • Outline of the United States • List of United States cities by population • List of metropolitan areas of the United States • List of official United States national symbols • United States at Wikipedia books References 1. Jump up ^ 36 U.S.C. § 302 National motto 2. Jump up ^ Simonson, 2010 3. Jump up ^ Dept. of Treasury, 2011 4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "United States". The World Factbook. CIA. September 30, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010 (area given in square kilometers). 5. ^ Jump up to: a b "U.S. POPClock Projection". U.S. Census Bureau. (figure updated automatically). 6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "World Economic Outlook Database: United States". International Monetary Fund. November 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013. 7. Jump up ^ "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011". Newsroom. United States Census Bureau. September 12, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2013. 8. Jump up ^ "Human Development Report 2013". United Nations Development Programme. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013. 9. ^ Jump up to: a b Feder, Jody (January 25, 2007). "English as the Official Language of the United States: Legal Background and Analysis of Legislation in the 110th Congress". Ilw.com (Congressional Research Service). Retrieved June 19, 2007. 10. Jump up ^ The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge, Second Edition: A Desk Reference for the Curious Mind. St. Martin's Press. 2007. p. 632. ISBN 978-0-312-37659-8. 11. Jump up ^ Onuf, Peter S. (1983). The Origins of the Federal Republic: Jurisdictional Controversies in the United States, 1775–1787. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1167-2. 12. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Adams, J.Q.; Strother-Adams, Pearlie (2001). Dealing with Diversity. Chicago: Kendall/Hunt. ISBN 0-7872-8145-X. 13. Jump up ^ http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/12/science/la-sci-sn-paisley- caves-20120712 LA Times 14. Jump up ^ Greene, Jack P.; Pole, J.R., eds. (2008). A Companion to the American Revolution. pp. 352–361. 15. Jump up ^ Bender, Thomas (2006). A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History. New York: Hill & Wang. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-8090-7235-4. 16. ^ Jump up to: a b Carlisle, Rodney P.; Golson, J. Geoffrey (2007). Manifest Destiny and the Expansion of America. Turning Points in History Series. ABC-CLIO. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-85109-833-0. 17. Jump up ^ "The Civil War and emancipation 1861–1865". Africans in America. Boston, MA: WGBH. No date. Retrieved March 26, 2013. Britannica Educational Publishing (2009). Wallenfeldt, Jeffrey H., ed. The American Civil War and Reconstruction: People, Politics, and Power. America at War. Rosen Publishing Group. p. 264. ISBN 978-1-61530-045-7. 18. Jump up ^ White, Donald W. (1996). "1: The Frontiers". The American Century. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-05721-0. Retrieved March 26, 2013. 19. Jump up ^ Maddison, Angus (2006). "Historical Statistics for the World Economy". The Netherlands: The Groningen Growth and Development Centre, Economics Department of the University of Groningen. Retrieved November 6, 2008. 20. Jump up ^ The European Union has a larger collective economy, but is not a single nation. 21. Jump up ^ "OECD Better Life Index". OECD Publishing. Retrieved November 25, 2012. 22. ^ Jump up to: a b "Household Income". Society at a Glance 2011: OECD Social Indicators. OECD Publishing. April 12, 2011. doi:10.1787/soc_glance-2011-6- en. Retrieved November 25, 2012. 23. Jump up ^ "Crisis squeezes income and puts pressure on inequality and poverty". OECD (2013). Retrieved July 26, 2013. 24. Jump up ^ Income distribution and poverty – OECD. OECD 25. Jump up ^ "Census: U.S. Poverty Rate Spikes, Nearly 50 Million Americans Affected" CBS. November 15, 2012 26. Jump up ^ [1][dead link] 27. Jump up ^ "U.S. Workers World's Most Productive". CBS News. February 11, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2013. 28. Jump up ^ "Manufacturing, Jobs and the U.S. Economy". Alliance for American Manufacturing. 2013. 29. Jump up ^ "Trends in world military expenditure, 2012". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. April 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2013. 30. Jump up ^ Cohen, 2004:History and the Hyperpower 31. Jump up ^ BBC, April 2008:Country Profile: United States of America 32. Jump up ^ "Cartographer Put 'America' on the Map 500 years Ago". USA Today (Washington, D.C.). Associated Press. April 24, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2008. Jump up ^ DeLear, Byron (July 4, 2013) Who coined 'United States of America'? Mystery might have intriguing answer. "H From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses of "US", "USA", and "United States", see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation). United States of America Flag Great Seal Motto: "In God we trust" (official)[1][2][3] "E pluribus unum" (Latin) (traditional) "Out of many, one" Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner" Menu 0:00 Washington, D.C. Capital 38°53′N 77°01′W / 38.883°N 77.017°W Largest city New York City Official languages None at federal level [a] National language English [b] Demonym American Federal presidential constitutional Government republic - President Barack Obama (D) - Vice President Joe Biden (D) - Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) - Chief Justice John Roberts Legislature Congress - Upper house Senate - Lower house House of Representatives Independence from Great Britain - Declared July 4, 1776 - Recognized September 3, 1783 - Constitution June 21, 1788 Area 9,826,675 km2[4][c] (3rd/4th) - Total 3,794,101 sq mi - Water (%) 6.76 Population - 2013 estimate 317,188,000[5] (3rd) 34.2/km2 (179th) - Density 88.6/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate - Total $16.724 trillion[6] (1st) - Per capita $52,839[6] (6th) GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate - Total $16.724 trillion[6] (1st) - Per capita $52,839[6] (9th) 47.7[7] Gini (2011) high · 39th (2009) HDI (2013) 0.937[8] very high · 3rd Currency United States dollar ($) (USD) Time zone (UTC−5 to −10) - Summer (DST) (UTC−4 to −10[e]) Drives on the right[g] Calling code +1 ISO 3166 code US Internet TLD .us .gov .mil .edu ^ English is the official language of at least 28 states; some sources give higher a.