United States

The United States, a country between Mexico and Canada, is in North America and has more than 300,000,000 people. It is known for its democratic government, which is divided into executive (the President), legislative (Congress), and judicial branches. The United States leads the world in its military power, farming, industry, and technology. The U.S. was founded when it declared independence from Britain on July 4, 1776 (this is now a holiday in the U.S.). It experienced a Civil War in the 1860s and took part in the First and Second World Wars.

States

The U.S. is divided into fifty states, which are represented on the U.S. Flag as white stars in the top-right corner of the flag. While each state can make some laws on its own, the states are united by the federal government. Two of the states are not connected by land to the rest of the country. These are the states of Alaska and Hawaii. Hawaii is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The most populated of the U.S. states in California, but the largest is Alaska.

Politics

Politically, the United States has two main political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. Republicans dominate in country areas and small towns, while Democrats dominate in the big cities. Over the last 30 days, the Presidency has switched parties every 8 years. There are a couple smaller political parties, the Libertarians and the Greens, but the large population and size of the United States makes it difficult for new political parties to make permanent, large-scale progress.