Module 2: United States of America

A brief overview of its history, geography, government and

economy

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Presented by: Al Lun, Savita Katarya

History Topics

• Land of immigrants• Experiment to form a more perfect union

– As engraved in a plaque at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty

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Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ……..

Native Americans

• Migration from Asia ... 12 to 40 thousand years ago

• Some, such as the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture, developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies

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Early European Settlements

• 1492, a Spanish expedition headed by Christopher Columbus reached the Americas

• In 1606, the Virginian Company of London sent an expedition to establish a settlement in Jamestown, Virginia

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Mayflower

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September, 1620 Transport the pilgrims from Southampton, England to Plymouth, MassachusettsA symbol of early European colonization of the future US.

American Revolutionary War• July 4, 1776: Thirteen colonies of Great Britain

declared independence– Declaration of Independence

• September 17, 1787, United States Constitution was adopted at the Philadelphia Convention– Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional

amendments guaranteeing many fundamental civil rights and freedoms, was ratified in 1791

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Some famous founding fathers• George Washington

• John Adams

• Thomas Jefferson

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George Washington (April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797)

• A part-time military man, Washington was a wealthy famer (planter) from Virginia (Mount Vernon)

• Commander of the Continental Army during the War of Independence

• Crossing of the Delaware was the turning point of the war

• First President of the United States – 25,000 dollars a year salary

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John Adams (March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801)

• A lawyer from Braintree, Massachusetts, outside Boston

• Came from a line of English farmers • A graduate of Harvard College, a lawyer• Member of the Continental Congress which voted to

declare independence from Britain in 1766• Served in emissary roles in Europe

– In 1777, and again in 1779

• His son, John Quincy Adam became the 6th President of the United States

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Thomas Jefferson (March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809)

• Author, scientist, horticulturalist, great thinker• Graduate of College of William & Mary• Founder of the University of Virginia• Principal author of the Declaration of

Independence• Delegate from Virginia to the Congress of the

Confederation (Continental Congress)• Ambassador to France• 3rd President of the United States

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United States Idealism--A Journey

• 1776 Declaration of Independence– “All men are created equal …” is the

founding principle and idealism

• 1862 Emancipation of Slaves by Abraham Lincoln after the Civil War between North and South

• 1920 Women’s suffrage movement and women were finally allowed to vote as a result of the 19th Amendment of the U. S. Constitutions

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Abraham Lincoln (March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865)

• Born and raised in a one-room log cabinet in Hardin County, Kentucky– “Honest Abe”

• Self-educated, became a lawyer, and a Congressman in 1846

• 16th President • Led U. S. through its greatest internal crisis, the American

Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery – Gettysburg address

• Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

• “…government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”

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Civil Rights Movement• John F. Kennedy

– James Meredith enrollment at the University of Mississippi

• Martin Luther King– “I have a dream speech”

• delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

• Robert F. Kennedy– "Some men see things as they

are and ask why? I dream dreams that never were and ask why not?"

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Cultural diversity and inclusivity

• IBM was among the earliest U. S. corporations that implemented equal opportunity employment under founder Tom Watson, Sr

• IBM’s diversity and inclusivity emphasis– An official HR program– Groups include:

• African American, Hispanics,• Asians, Women, GLBT, Veterans

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Geography

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USA Size

• Total 3,717,813 sq mi9,629,091 km²

• Land 3,536,294 sq mi9,158,960 km²

• Borders– Canada 5,526 miles

8,893 km– Mexico 2,067 miles

3,326 km

• Coastlines 12,380 miles

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Third largest country in the world

50 StatesLower 48, and Washington, District of Columbia, the nation's capital,

Alaska, Hawaii

Mountains, Oceans and Prairies

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From the Mountains, To the prairies, To the Oceans, white with foam

Lyrics from “God Bless America” – an American patriotic song often sung in many service organizations’ opening ceremony

Celien Dion

From Rochester To West Coast and Back

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I-90W1600 Miles

Yellow Stone Park

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3,468 square miles

WyomingMontana Idaho

Prairies and the Great Plains of the United States

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Prairie – tall grassAmerican bison (buffalo)

The Great Plans of United States:

North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansa, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota …

Rocky Mountains

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Mt. Elbert, Colorado

Pacific Ocean (West Coast)

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Oregon Coast

Santa Monica Beach

Rochester to Boston, Mas

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I-90E 1200 Miles

Atlantic Ocean (East Coast)

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Florida Coast – Daytona Beach

Massachusetts Coast

Boston

Hyannis Port

God Bless America – Song by Irwin Berlin

• From the Mountains

• To the prairies,

• To the Oceans, white with foam

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Weather Map of IBM Locations

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CA:AlmadenSan JoseSanta Teresa

Texas: Austin

New YorkPoughkeepsieWhite PlainsYorktown

NC:Raleigh

MN:Rochester

OR: Beaverton

Average Seasonal Temperature

Average January Min to Average July Max• San Jose California: 41O -- 84.3O • Austin Texas: 40.5O -- 95.2O • Rochester, Minnesota: 3.2O F -- 80O F • White Plains, New York: 22O F -- 82.5o F• Raleigh, North Carolina: 29.6O F -- 89.1O F

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Coldest Spot• International Falls, MN

– - Record Low -60Fo F -51Co

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Government

FederalStateLocal

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United States Federal Government • Three branches of government

– Legislative Branch• House of Representatives• Senate

– Executive Branch• President • Vice President• Cabinet, executive departments and agencies

– Judiciary• Supreme Court• Courts of Appeal• District Court

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State Government

• Same concept as the federal government• Executive, legislative, judiciary

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Economic Statistics

• Third by population at around 300 million• GDP 14.3 Trillion 23% of world

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Lessons Learned

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Where is Minnesota?

• Many Non U. S. colleagues may only know the major U. S. cities or states

• Good idea to where your U. S. colleague’s location is – For example, where Rochester is, where

Minnesota is

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