New York

In 1626 two ships of the Dutch colonists arrived in the mouth of the Hudson River, set up their first settlement and named it New Amsterdam. In 1664 the colony was captured by the British fleet under Duke of York and renamed New York.

Today New York is the largest city in the US and one of the largest cities in the world. It consists of five districts: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond. The heart of the city is Manhattan. It's the most beautiful part of New York too, its tall buildings reach the sky. The most famous skyscraper in the world is Empire State Building with 102 floors. But the tallest building in New York is the World Trade Centre which has 110 floors. From the top floor you can see the whole of New York. The bronze Statue of Liberty is on Liberty Island. It was presented to the United States by France in 1886 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of American independence. Manhattan is crossed from north to south by avenues and from east to west by streets. There are eleven avenues and about 300 streets. Broadway near Times Square is a place where most theatres are situated. Wall Street is America's financial centre, it symbolizes the money market and financiers of the US. The United Nations Headquarters occupies the area from 42 to 48^th Steets. Bridges and tunnels link Manhattan with the other districts of New York.

Among the places of interest that visitors can see is New York Public Library, the biggest library in New York. It also houses exhibition rooms and two art galleries. The geographic centre of New York is Columbus Circle, in the centre of which is Memorial to Christopher Columbus. There are some museums and art galleries in New York. The most famous are American Museum of Natural History and Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has a magnificent collection of American and European paintings.

The most important educational institutions in New York are New York University and Columbia University.

The uptown New York is the site of Harlem, the overcrowded black community. The population consists of Negroes and Latin Americans. It's the poorest part of New York.

New York is the city of contrasts. It is associated with big business, money, wealth, beauty, unemployment, poverty and crime.

Political system of us

Washington, the capital of the United States is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district is a piece of land which doesn't belong to any state but to all the states. All these states are sovereignty.

Under the Constitution, the federal government is divided into three branches.

The legislative power is vested in Congress and made up of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representative. There are 435 members in the House of Representative and 100 senators. Each state elects two members of the 100-member Senate.

The executive branch is headed by the President, who proposes bills to Congress, enforces federal laws, serves as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and with the approval of the Senate, makes treaties. President can veto a bill unless Congress by a two-thirds vote shall overrule him.

The vice President, elected from the same political party as the President, acts as chairman of the Senate, and in the event of the death of the President, assumes the Presidency.

The judicial branch is made up of Federal District Courts, 11 Federal Courts and the Supreme Court. Federal judges are appointed by the President for life. Federal courts decide cases involving federal law, conflicts between citizens of different states. The Supreme court may rule the law to be unconstitutional.

Now about the elections. The President is chosen in nation-wide elections every 4 years together with the Vice-President.

Constitution. Constitution has been amended 26 times. The Bill of Rights guarantee individual liberties: freedom of word, religion and so on. Later amendments abolish slavery, grant the vote to women and allow citizens to vote at age 18.