USA

The United States of America is a federal republic, which includes 50 states with a certain autonomy, and the capital federal district of Columbia. 48 states are located compactly, 2 - separately: Alaska (received state status in 1958) and Hawaii (received state status in 1959). In addition, the United States owns the island of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, Eastern Samoa, the island of Guam and the islands of Micronesia (UN Trust Territory) in the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific atolls of Wake and Midway, equipped for missile testing. The symbol of the administrative-territorial structure of the country is the star-striped flag of the United States, on which 13 red and white stripes represent the thirteen states that originally united and created the United States of America in 1776, and the number of stars on the blue field of the flag corresponds to the number of states of the country. Matters relating exclusively to one state or another are usually the responsibility of the state government. These include internal communications; regulation of property, industry, business and public services; state criminal code; working conditions in the state. Many issues are under the joint jurisdiction of state and federal governments. In recent years, the federal government has taken on broader roles in areas such as health care, education, welfare, transportation, housing, and urban development. State constitutions differ in detail, but are generally modeled after the federal Constitution, including the proclamation of individual rights and the general scheme for the exercise of state power. In matters such as the operation of businesses, banks, utilities, and charities, state constitutions are often more detailed than the federal constitution. Americans, when talking about their country, often divide it into a number of large regions. These are not administrative units, but cultural formations, formed under the influence of history and geography and characterized by a common economy, literature, customs and customs.