About-the-USA.com

 A "learner's guide" to the United States, About-the-USA.com is a website for anyone looking for clear, concise and up-to-date information about the world's largest democracy, in particular students, travelers, and anyone looking to understand American  mentalities and the American way of life.
    Launched in the fall of 2023, this website still has a long way to go
    It divides into two parts, though there is plenty of interlap between the two. On the one hand About-the-USA.com is a destination guide, providing concise practical information pages for those who plan to visit the United States, particularly first-time visitors. Other pages,explain key aspects of institutions and  life in the Unted States, and are written  more generally for students needing an introduction to American studies, in colleges and universities worldwide.
    

►  Web pages
       (See also introduction in French)

Visiting or traveling in the USA

• U.S. Visa and ESTA information - formalities to be completed before traveling to the USA
• Preparing a visit - ten essential things to check out before visiting the USA  (aussi en français)
• Accommodation - the visitor accommodation sector in the USA has its jargon and its prticularities.
• Buying and paying - a guide to prices payments and tipping
• Hotel finder - Search for hotels and vacation rentals throughout the USA
• Tourism in the USA - cities, theme parks or the great outdoors -  the USA has plenty to offer
• Interactive tourism map - a selection of over 60 of the major tourist cities and sites in the USA
• USA city finder - Table and interactive map showing the 50 biggest cities in the USA
• America's National Parks - The USA led the world in the preservation of natural heritage areas
• The American Indian Heritage - Native American sites and culture
• Train travel in the USA - What is possible and what is not..
• Driving in the USA - lots of useful and practical information for tourists and visitors
• Six great American road trips -  East coast, west coast and central USA
• Historic Route 66- map and route guide
• Finest steam heritage railroads in the USA
• Finest American forts and castles
• Greatest art museums in the USA
• New York - The most visited city in the USA
• City break destinations 1  - Popular cities in the eastern USA
• City break destinations 2  - Music cities in the American  Heartland
• City break destinations 3  - From Seattle to Las Vegas, the best in the west
• Tourism in California; discover About-California.com, a short guide for visitors.

American institutions

• The Constitution of the United States - the documents that establish the nature of American democracy
•  The American Presidency.  Executive power. Though the President of the USA is the most powerful person in the world, he has a lot less domestic power than many heads of state.
• The United States Congress - Legislative power. A quick guide to the  legislative assembly of the United States
• The Supreme Court - Judicial power. The Supreme Court exercises the ultimate judicial power in the United States.
• Political parties in the USA - Democrats, Republicans and the others
• How United are the States? The federal system 
• Health Care and Social Security   
• Religion in the USA and how it is changing.
• The American university system - higher education in the USA, universities and colleges.
• Languages in the USA

• The Regions of the United States There are no constituted "regions" in the USA, but  regional areas are often used  for economic, stastical and  analytic purposes, with the number of regions varying from two to ten.

► Book / ebook  

•   A Background to modern America -  people, places and events  that have played a significant role in the shaping of modern America. A C1-level Advanced English reader for speakers of other languages, higher education, and anyone wanting to  learn some of the background to today's USA.  Twenty-two texts, with vocabulary guides and exercises.

    The United States of America is a country that fascinates. Some love it, some do not; many admire it as a bastion of demoracy, the leader of the free world, and the nation that others turn to when the going gets rough.
    With almost 300 million inhabitants, the United States is the largest western democracy by population, and by far the most powerful. It is also a country that has so much to offer the visitor in terms of tourist attractions, history and natural heritage.
    Modern American history goes back no further than the sixteenth century, when the first Europeans began to settle on the great continent of North America; but the real history of the USA goes back much further than that, being the history of the native Americans, also known as Indian tribes, who inhabited the continent long before white men and women from Europe first set foot in the "New World".   
    Like many other parts of the world, the USA has its ancient history and its early history, as well as its modern history. In the vast expanses of the West there are cave dwellings and old adobe settlements dating from long before the sixteenth century; there are amazing prehistoric sites with their dinosours and petrified forests.
    The USA was the country that invented the idea of National Parks, pristine natural areas that were designated is part of the nation's heritage to be preserved in their natural state for generations to come..

USA facts in brief

Surface area: 9, 826, 630 square kilometres
Capital: Washington, D.C.
Biggest city: New York (9 million inhabitants)
Currency: the U.S. Dollar
Population (2023) : 340 million
Median age of the population: 38 years
Language: there is no official language, but English is the de facto language of the USA, the first language of about four Americans out of five. 17% the population speak Spanish
Religion: there is no official religion in the USA, but aboiut two thirds of the population define themselves as Christian. The number of practising Christians (those who attend church regularly) has been declining for years, and now represents under 50% of the population.