geography of the US. Americans living in Alaska have a lot more in common with Americans living in California than, for instance.;,. Norwegians have with Italians on the European continent, but the differences in climate are no more extreme. And despite the fact that there are some 8000 kilometres and half a dozen timezones from New York to Honolulu, Americans living in those have a lot more in common with each other than, say, the residents of Madrid and Peking which are roughly as far apart, even though the American in New York and the American in Honolulu might be a Chinese American and a Hispanic American respectively.
             What distinguishes the Norwegians and the Italians, and the English and the Chinese are their separate cultures, their separate languages, and their separate histories. The Americans also have a common culture. The things is, however, that it happened so fast and on such a huge scale that -right from the beginning -nobody has really known quite what to d9 with it. America has its historical roots in Great Britain, but there are just as many Americans today who trace their heritage back to Germany, as there are those who look upon England as the source of their family "roots."
             STATES, REGIONS, TERRITORIES AND NEIGHBORS
             There are now fifty states that comprise the US. Alaska and Hawaii became states in 1959. They became the 49th and 50th respectively. If you take a look at the map of the United States you will notice immediately that these two states are separated from what is referred to as the Continental US. Alaska was actually purchased from Russia in 1867 for the net sum of $7,3 million, and Hawaii became a US territory in 1900 after those islands' monarchy had been overthrown in 1893.
             Puerto Rico is still a territory. It is one of the many islands lying south and east of Florida including, for instance, Cuba and Grenada. Territory status in the case of Puerto Rico means that their residents are entitle...