This Beautiful Land America [antikvár]

Introduction ofit, 4' 1The United States of America a beautiful land. The fourth largest country in the world both in size and population, America stretches the full width of the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and also includes Alaska on the edge of the Arctic and Hawaii in the tropical Pacific.From the warm beaches of Florida to the frozen Northlands of Alaska, from the Midwest prairies to the torrid deserts of the Southwest and the snow-capped mountains of the West, America is as varied as it is vast. America is the home of the spectacular Grand Canyon, the mighty Mississippi, the thundering Niagara Falls. Unbelievably rich in resources, this huge and beautiful country harbors some of the best farming areas on the globe in its vast stretches of fertile soil. Water is plentiful in most regions, and equally precious is America's great treasure trove of minerals such as coal, copper, iron, natural gas and oil.Only about 300 years ago, most of what is now the United States was largely a wilderness. Europeans saw in this rich and spacious land an opportunity to build new and better lives, so they arrived, thousands upon thousands, from many countries. They brought with them a vast array of skills and ideas, contributing to America's colorful cultural heritage. And they brought the ideals of freedom and liberty, setting up a government designed to protect the liberty of all. They wrote a Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of political belief and freedom of the press a document like none other in the world. Out of diversity came unity.The great size and wealth of the land has challenged every generation of Americans since the first colonists. Armed with freedom of thought and action, Americans embraced that challenge. When mountains blocked the way westward, roads and railroads were built around them, through them, or over them. When floods threatened farms and cities, dams and levees were built to hold back the water. Where rainfall was scanty, great irrigation systems were built to help grow crops.America is still changing and expanding. The cities continue to grow upward and outward. Factories turn out the greatest abundance of goods in the world. The farms are the most productive on earth.Americaa beautiful land, a fertile land, a mighty land, a happy land.