Country Information - USA

The whole area of the USA is separated in four different time zones. The landscape of the country is pretty different. The state has two frontiers, the one in the south to Mexico and the other in the north to Canada. In the east and west the USA is surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, the pacific and the Gulf of Mexico.

The USA is a traditional immigration country. In former years most of the immigrants came from Europe. Also nowadays 70% of the US inhabitants are descendants of former US immigrants from Europe. In the 19. century people from Africa and Asia started to immigrate to the United States of America. They mostly moved to the south of the country. Till today the states keep their cultural diversity.

As a matter of principle the USA is the more hotter the more you go in the south. Because of the big area which the country includes there are some significant climatic differences. In the inland the climate is changing during the year. The pacific islands Hawaii and some parts of Florida have a tropical climate. On the contrary Alaska has a polar climate. In some parts of California are Mediterranean temperatures with some heavy rains.

1550: First immigrant in the north from Europe

1756 – 1763: War between the UK and France

1763 – 1783: American wars of independence

1789: George Washington becomes the first president of the US

1861 – 1865: American Civil war

1865 -1914: Industrial revolution

1929: The „black Friday“ announces the world economic crisis

1945 – 1964: Cold war between Russia and the States

1962: Missile Crisis

2008: Barack Obama becomes the first colored president

The United States of America have the strongest economic power in the world. This is mostly because their land is rich of raw materials. However, the US had to face extreme losses during the financial crisis and are now on the way to recover.

Similar to the political system in Germany, the United States of America obtain the principal of division of powers. The USA are a presidential republic. At a federal level the congress is the law-making part. If a new law gets introduced, first of all the senate, as well as the Representative chamber, have to acquiesce. The president of the United States does have a lot of power, compared to the German one. The main difference is that the US-president does have a power of veto, which can only be outvoted if 2/3 of both houses vote against it. The United States and Germany have been in an amicable relationship for quiet a long time. The US always assisted Germany in political and economical ways, especially in the times after war. Until today they work together and are closely related.