The next period is known as The Period of territorial expansion to the West.
The civil war was caused by the fact, that there existed two economic and social systems: the capitalist one in the North and the slave one in the South. In 1860 the republican candidate Abraham Lincoln won the elections and became the president of the U.S.A. In April 1861 civil war began. The southern states, organized as the Confederate States of America under president Jefferson Davis fought against the federal Union of the Northern states under President Abraham Lincoln. In 1865 the American Civil war ended in the victory for the North. The slavery was abolished in 1863.Next period is called The Period of reconstruction. In 1867 Alaska was bought from Russian for 7 million dollars. 20 million emigrants from Europe came to U.S (1870-1910). In 1904-1914 the Panama Canal was built and it increased the influence in the Central America.
The U.S.A entered the World War 1 in 1917. After the war the U.S.A was the richest country and the past-war period was "The Period of increasing prosperity". But the crash on Wall Street in 1919 was the beginning of deep worldwide crises.
The U.S.A entered the Second World War in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. During the war the U.S.A played a leading role in the Tar East, Italy, Normandy. The characteristic feature of the period after the war was the cold war between the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R. In 1953 American troops fought in the Korean War. J. Kennedy solved successfully the Cuba crises. In 1963 J. Kennedy was assassinated. During Kennedy and Johnson’s period the U.S.A was more deeply involved in the war in Vietnam. The war was ended 1973 the peace treaty was signed by Richard Nixon. In 1974 he was forced to resign of the Watergate affair. Next president Gerald Ford signed the Helsinki agreement. Participans from 39 nations promised to respect others sovereignty and to cooperate in the field of human rights. In 1980 the U.S. president Ronald Reagan with the U.S.S.R. president Gorbatchow started the well-known summits. The first important summit was in 1985 in Reykjavik.

Which places would you like to visit and why?
Do you thing it would be a big problem for you to adapt yourself to the American way of life?
Are there any differences between American and Slovak culture?
Relief of the country:
It consists of eastern Appalachian Highlands, interior planes-prairies and western Rocky Mountains. The highest point is Mount Mitchell (over 2000 m). Interior plains include Central Lowlands including the Great Lake and the Great Plain. Western Highlands are covering 1/3 of the country. The highest peak is Mt.