Nancy Dickmann - The United States in 100 Words

Culture

The United States is a big melting pot of different cultures and traditions, all of which contribute to our nations distinct Americanness.

American Values

Equality, liberty, Independence, and freedom are just some of the many values which make the people of the United States proud to be American.

Look out for the symbols on each page. They show which them the 100-word entry relates to. Some entries relate to more than one theme.

The United States came into being in 1776, which isnt really all that long ago. The history of the landand of the people who have lived theregoes back much further. Scientists still cant agree when humans first arrived here, but it was likely at least 20,000 years ago. The big, busy, but abandoned city of Cahokia was founded around the year 1000 near modern-day St. Louis. Yet those populations arent the oldest living things we have found. In the nineteenth century, paleontologists competed to excavate the most spectacular dinosaur fossilsincluding the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, discovered in 1902.

We often use America as shorthand for our nation, but the word actually encompasses much more. The two continents that share the name contain over 35 countries and a huge variety of cultures, languages, and landscapes. The name probably comes from the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. He wasnt the first European to reach the New World, but he was probably the first to realize that it was a separate continent, and not connected to Asia. In 1507, a German mapmaker included these newly discovered lands on a map, labeling them as America. The name stuck, and the rest is history!

When European explorers first traveled to the Americas, they traveled the only route open: across the Atlantic. The dangerous journey took months, but that trickle of early travelers soon turned into a flood. The Atlantic is now one of the worlds busiest shipping routes. Up and down the east coast of North America, harbors large and small served as entry points for goods, immigrants, and tourists. But the Atlantic occasionally reminds us of its dangerous nature, as well. It was home to the iceberg that sank the Titanic, and each year harbors fierce hurricanes which travel westward to Americas shores.

America has thousands of miles of wild, rugged, and beautiful coastline along the Pacific Ocean. It includes sunny beaches, coastal forests, and Alaskas snowy grandeur. In 1804, President Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the new lands to the west. The explorers followed the Missouri River until they reached the ocean. Their expedition helped to open up the west to settlement. Settlers arrived by covered wagon from the east, and immigrants came by boat from Asia. Now tourists drive along the Pacific Coast Highway to gaze in awe at the sweeping views, redwood trees, and crashing surf.