A General Survey of the US

    Covering the central part of North America, the United States is a vast country toexplore. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states with stunning landscape and variable geography, also an exciting mixture of cultural diversity and diplomatic controversy. In this chapter, we will go through some basic facts about this country.

  Country Name

The official name of this country is the United States of America, usually shortened as the United States, or US, USA. On July 4, 1776, The Declaration of Independence announced that the 13 North American colonies would be the United States of America, free and independent of Great Britain.

Here, I’d like to draw your attention to the term America. Even though some people sometimes use this word as a general idea to indicate the United States in literature, it actually refers to the lands in the Western Hemisphere, including the continents of North America and South America. So America and the United States literally stand for two different things.

In oral English, America is always used in its adjective form, such as American English, American culture, etc. And another way to call this country is the States. Youcan say, for example, have you been to the States? I’m going to the States for a few days.

Just like John Bull of the UK, the United States also has a nickname, Uncle Sam, which is a common national personification of the American government or the United States in general. The origins of the term are unclear. According to legend, the image is derived from Samuel Wilson, a meat provider who supplied rations（每日食品配给） for the soldiers during the Warof 1812. There was a requirement at the time for contractors to stamp theirname and where the rations came from onto the food they were sending. Wilson'spackages were labeled "E.A – US." When someone asked what that stoodfor, a coworker joked and said, "Elbert Anderson (the contractor) andUncle Sam," referring to Sam Wilson, though it actually stood for the United States.

However, Uncle Sam didn’t get a standard appearance, until the well-known"recruitment" image of Uncle Sam was created by James Flagg, inspired by a British recruitment poster. It was this image more than any other that set the appearance of Uncle Sam: the elderly man with white hair and a goatee,wearing a white top hat with white stars on a blue band, a blue tail coat, and red and white striped trousers.

This image was later used extensively during World War II. And the American Congress officially recognized Uncle Sam as a national symbol in 1961.