27. American flag and other official symbols of the country

The flag of the United States of America (the American flag) consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the original thirteen colonies that rebelled against the British monarchy and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and The Star-Spangled Banner (also the name of the national anthem). There are many symbols that represent the United States of America. Some of the most popular ones are the Stars and Stripes (the US flag), the Great Seal of the USA, the bald eagle (our national bird), the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the US Capitol, the White House, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty (a gift from France), the Gateway Arch (in St. Louis, Missouri), Mount Rushmore (carved on a mountain in South Dakota), the Alamo, The Star Spangled Banner (the national anthem of the USA), The Pledge of Allegiance, Yankee Doodle , Uncle Sam (a cartoon figure designed by Thomas Nast), the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, Gettysburg, Monticello, Mount Vernon, the Golden Gate Bridge, the World War 2 Memorial, and many other

28. The usa: establishing the nation and state system

The United States has operated under a two-party system for most of its history. For elective offices at all levels, state-administered primary elections choose the major party nominees for subsequent general elections. Since the general election of 1856, the major parties have been the Democratic Party, founded in 1824, and the Republican Party, founded in 1854. Since the Civil War, only one third-party presidential candidate—former president Theodore Roosevelt, running as a Progressive in 1912—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote. Within American political culture, the Republican Party is considered center-right or "conservative" and the Democratic Party is considered center-left or "liberal". The states of the Northeast and West Coast and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "blue states", are relatively liberal. The "red states" of the South and parts of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are relatively conservative. The winner of the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama, is the 44th U.S. president. All previous presidents were men of solely European descent. The 2008 elections also saw the Democratic Party strengthen its control of both the House and the Senate. In the 111th United States Congress, the Senate comprises 58 Democrats, two independents who caucus with the Democrats, and 40 Republicans; the House comprises 258 Democrats and 177 Republicans. There are 28 Democratic and 22 Republican state governors. The terminology used to refer to Native Americans is controversial. Native Americans today have a unique relationship with the United States of America because they can be found as members of nations, tribes, or bands of Native Americans who have sovereignty or independence from the government of the United States. In the early 19th century, most Native Americans of the American Deep South were removed from their homelands to accommodate American expansion with some groups presently residing in Alabama, Florida, Lousianna, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee. By the American Civil War, many Native American nations had been relocated west of the Mississippi River. Major Native American resistance took place in the form of "Indian Wars," which were frequent up until the 1890s. Their societies and cultures still flourish amidst a larger immigrated American populace of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, and European peoples. Native Americans who were not already U.S. citizens were granted citizenship in 1924 by the Congress of the United States.