United States of America

K

Transport

The development of transport facilities was of crucial importance in the growth of the United States. The first routes were natural waterways; the earliest overland routes were rough trails suitable for travel on foot or horseback. No surfaced roads existed until the 1790s, when the first turnpikes were built, some under private auspices and some by state government. Besides the overland roads, many canals were constructed between the late 18th century and 1850 to link navigable rivers and lakes in the eastern United States and in the Great Lakes region. Steam railways began to appear in the East in the 1820s. The first transcontinental railway was constructed between 1862 and 1869 by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific companies, both of which received large subsidies from the federal government. Transcontinental railways were the chief means of transport used by European settlers who populated the West in the latter part of the 19th century and were also of utmost importance for moving goods from one part of the country to another. The railways continued to expand until 1917, when the length of operated track reached a peak of about 407,165 km (253,000 mi). Thereafter, motor transport became a serious competitor both for passengers and freight.

Air transport began to compete with other modes of transport in the United States after World War I. The first commercial flights in the United States were made in 1918 and carried mail. Passenger service began to gain importance in the late 1920s, but not until the advent of commercial jet craft after World War II did air transport become a leading mode of travel.

During the early 1990s railways annually handled 37.4 per cent of the total freight traffic, trucks carried 27.6 per cent of the freight, and oil pipelines conveyed 19.3 per cent. Some 15.3 per cent was shipped on inland waterways. Although the freight handled by airlines amounted to only 0.4 per cent of the total, much of the cargo consisted of high-priority or high-value items.

Private cars accounted for about 80 per cent of the total annual passenger traffic. Airlines came second, carrying nearly 18 per cent; buses were responsible for 1.1 per cent, and railways carried 0.7 per cent.

In 2001 the United States had about 6.4 million km (4 million mi) of streets, roads, and highways. About 21 per cent of the roadways were in urban areas. The National Interstate Highway System, 74,847 km (46,508 mi) in length, connected the nation’s principal cities and carried nearly one quarter of all the road and street traffic. Around 482 passenger vehicles per 1,000 people were registered.

As of 1992, Class I railways—the 13 largest railway companies in the United States—operated 74 per cent of the total amount of track, employed 89 per cent of the railway workers, and generated 91 per cent of the railway revenue. Overall, the United States had 228,999 km (142,293 mi) of operated railway track in 2005. Railways employ about 223,000 people and transport nearly 25 million cars of freight each year. Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation), a federally subsidized concern, operates almost all the intercity passenger trains in the United States; it carried more than 51 million passengers annually in the early 1990s, including some 29 million metropolitan commuters.

The United States has a relatively small merchant marine. In 1995 only 543 vessels of 1,000 gross tonnes and over were registered in the United States, of which only 354 were privately owned. Many American shipowners register their ships in foreign countries such as Liberia and Panama, however, so they can operate the ship at a lower cost.

The leading seaport in the United States in the early 1990s was the Port of New Orleans, Louisiana. Other leading ports included New York; Houston; Valdez Harbor, Alaska; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Corpus Christi, Texas; Long Beach, California; Norfolk Harbor, Virginia; Tampa Harbor, Florida; and Los Angeles. Although it no longer ranks first among US seaports, the Port of New York remains a significant destination for both passenger and freight traffic.

The inland waterway network of the United States has three main components—the Mississippi river system, the Great Lakes, and coastal waterways. About 60 per cent of the annual freight traffic is on the Mississippi and its tributaries, about 19 per cent is on the Great Lakes, and the remaining 21 per cent is on the coastal waterways.

The Mississippi river system has a combined network of waterways that exceed about 24,000 km (15,000 mi) in length; St Louis, Missouri, is the leading port. The Great Lakes carry more commerce than any other lakes in the world. The leading Great Lakes seaport is Duluth, Minnesota-Superior, Wisconsin. Ocean-going vessels can sail between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean via the St Lawrence Seaway (opened in 1959). The Intracoastal Waterway is a navigable, toll-free shipping route extending for about 1,740 km (1,080 mi) along the Atlantic Coast and for about 1,770 km (1,100 mi) along the Gulf of Mexico coast. About 45 per cent of the total annual traffic on all coastal waterways is on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, about 30 per cent is on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, and about 25 per cent is on Pacific Coast waterways.

Airlines in the United States annually carry 528 million passengers, the vast majority of whom are domestic travellers. In the mid-1990s, the nation had about 5,474 public and 12,896 private airports. Among the busiest are Chicago-O’Hare International Airport; Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, in Texas; William B. Hartsfield International Airport, near Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles International Airport; and San Francisco International Airport.

L

Communications

All radio and television broadcasting stations in the United States must be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. In 1997 about 1,285 television broadcasters were in operation. All states had television stations, and more than 40 per cent were concentrated in nine states: Texas, California, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and North Carolina. A rapidly growing number of households (estimated at 60.5 million in the mid-1990s) subscribed to cable television. More than 98 per cent of households had at least one television set.

Commercial radio stations in 1997 numbered about 3,702 AM stations and about 4,665 FM stations.

There were 1,520 daily newspapers published in the United States in 1996, with a circulation of approximately 57 million copies. The top daily newspapers are the Wall Street Journal (published in New York), USA Today (published in Arlington, Virginia), the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, each with a circulation in excess of 1 million. Other leading newspapers, each with a daily circulation of more than 500,000, included the Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Boston Globe, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Nearly 21,300 periodicals were published in 1997. These ranged from specialized journals reaching only a small number of professionals to major news magazines such as Newsweek, with a circulation of about 3.2 million a week; and Time, with a circulation of about 4.2 million a week. In 1992 about 49,300 new books were published; the leading categories were sociology and economics, juvenile, and fiction. Book sales in 1994 totalled some 2.1 billion.

V

Government

The supreme law of the land is the Constitution of the United States, which was drafted by a convention in 1787, ratified by the required two thirds of the states by June 1788, and put into effect in 1789. The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress or by a special national convention called for the purpose, subject to ratification by vote of three quarters of the legislatures of the states or state conventions. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were adopted in 1791. These provide for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to assemble, the right to petition the government, and various due process and criminal procedure rights for individuals. Seventeen additional amendments were adopted between 1795 and 1992, abolishing slavery, providing for an income tax, and providing for universal suffrage for all people 18 or older, among other purposes.

The Constitution provides for a union of states, now numbering 50, each with its own constitution, republican form of government, and reserved powers, within a federal system. The national government is responsible for external affairs and has concurrent powers with states, commonwealths, and self-governing territories over domestic matters. The chief of state is the president of the United States and the seat of government is the District of Columbia, which has limited home rule and no voting representation in the national legislature.

The Constitution establishes three separate branches of government: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. Each branch has its own area of authority. These areas overlap, making it necessary for the three branches to share in, and compete for, the power to govern effectively. Each branch has some constitutional authority that it can use to impede the functioning of the other branches, creating a system of checks and balances. The purpose of this somewhat cumbersome machinery of government is to prevent the concentration of power in a small group of politicians.

Since the adoption of the Constitution, the national government has increased its functions in economic and social matters and has shared more responsibilities with the states.

A

Executive

Article II of the Constitution provides for a president and vice-president chosen by a majority of voters in the Electoral College for a fixed term of four years. The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits presidents to two terms in office. By state law, electors are chosen by a plurality of the popular vote in each state and in the District of Columbia. In almost all cases the winner of the popular vote is elected president. In 2000, 51 per cent of the electorate, translated as 105 million people, voted. The 2004 election saw a significant increase, with more than 115 million citizens voting, around 60 per cent of the electorate—the largest turnout percentage since the 1960s.

The US president typically has a greater range of functions than prime ministers in parliamentary governments because the president serves as ceremonial chief of state as well as head of government. Unlike most presidents in other nations, the US president is also the head of his or her party, an important legislative leader, and the chief executive.

The Constitution makes the president commander-in-chief of the US armed forces. The president’s authority to deploy forces on his or her own initiative is regulated by Congress under Article I, Section 8, which reserves to Congress the power to declare war, and under provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

The president’s diplomatic powers include negotiation and ratification of treaties, with the consent of two thirds of the Senate; the appointment of ambassadors to foreign nations, also with the consent of the Senate; and the reception of foreign ambassadors. The president negotiates, on his or her own authority, executive agreements with leaders of other nations.

By law the president prepares an executive budget and an economic report, which are submitted to Congress each year. The president submits requests for legislation, the most important of which usually regard taxation and other economic and military matters. The president also exercises executive authority over the various government departments and agencies.

An extensive advisory system serves the president. Aides in the White House, where the president resides and has offices, provide advice, manage press relations, schedule appointments and travel, and communicate with Congress, government departments, lobbying groups, and the president’s political party. Staff agencies in the executive office include the Office of Management and Budget, which prepares presidential budget requests and controls spending; the National Security Council, which is concerned with the nation’s defence; and the Council of Economic Advisers. The president’s Cabinet also serves as a source of information and advice. It consists of the heads of the governmental departments and a few other officials, such as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the US ambassador to the UN. The Cabinet has no power of its own.

The executive branch of the government comprises 15 departments. Some government agencies are not directly supervised by the president. These include independent establishments such as the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Reserve System.

B

Legislature

All legislative powers granted by the Constitution in Article I are exercised by the Congress of the United States. Congress consists of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate contains 100 senators, 2 representing each state—a provision of the Constitution not subject to amendment. The 435 members of the House are elected by the different states on the basis of their population at the most recent US census. California has the largest number of representatives, 53; several states, such as Delaware and Vermont, have only 1. Representatives serve two-year terms, and senators six-year terms. Every two years all 435 members of the House are elected, and one third of the senators. In presidential election years about 45 per cent of eligible adults vote for members of Congress; in other election years only about 35 per cent vote.

The Senate and House are organized by the majority party in each chamber, which chooses the presiding officer, the majority leader, and the chairs of each committee. Through much of American history the party controlling the White House did not control both houses of Congress. This situation, known as divided government, can lead to reduced output of legislation and an increase in presidential vetoes of bills passed by Congress. Unlike the chief executives of parliamentary systems in other countries, the US president neither resigns nor calls for new elections, even when majorities in Congress reject the president’s programmes.

Congress has extensive powers in domestic affairs, including the power to tax, borrow money and pay debts, coin money and regulate its value, and regulate commerce among the states. Congress helps to establish and oversee the departments and agencies of the executive branch; it also establishes the lower federal courts and determines their jurisdiction. Congress has the power to declare war, raise and maintain the armed forces, establish tariffs, and regulate commerce with foreign nations.

A bill is passed by Congress by majority vote of those present in each chamber; it is then sent to the president. The president may sign the bill to indicate approval, or allow the bill to become law without signing it; or may veto the bill and return it to Congress, giving reasons for this action. The president’s veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the members of Congress voting in each chamber.

Each house of Congress has some distinct powers. Revenue measures must originate in the House of Representatives. The House, with a majority vote, can initiate proceedings to impeach (charge with misconduct) the president. If the Electoral College cannot produce a majority to elect a president, the House chooses one of the top three contenders. If both the president and the vice-president die, are incapacitated, or are removed from office, the Speaker of the House becomes president.

The Senate advises on and consents to presidential treaties and to nominations for major executive officials, ambassadors, justices of the Supreme Court, and federal judges. The Senate tries all impeachments, with a two-thirds vote necessary to convict. In the event of a deadlock in the Electoral College, the Senate chooses the vice-president from the top two contenders. The president pro tempore of the Senate comes after the Speaker of the House in the line of succession to the presidency.

The legislative branch also includes agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office, the General Accounting Office, the Library of Congress, and the Government Printing Office.