United States, From Wikipedia, the free El to see encyclopedia
navigationJump to search "America", "US", "USA", and "The United States of America" redirect here. For the continents, see Americas. For other uses, see America (disambiguation), US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), The United States of America (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation). Coordinates: 40N 100W
United States of America Flag of the United States Flag Coat of arms of the United States Coat of arms Motto: "In God We Trust"[1] Other traditional mottos: Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner"[3] MENU0:00 Orthographic map of the U.S. in North America Show globe (states and D.C. only) Show the U.S. and its territories Show all
CapitalWashington, D.C. 3853′N 7701′W Largest cityNew York City 4043′N 7400′W Official languagesNone at the federal level[a] National languageEnglish (de facto) Ethnic groups (2020)[6[7[8] By race: 61.6% White 12.4% Black 6.0% Asian 1.1% Native American 0.2% Pacific Islander 10.2% Multiracial 8.4% Other By Hispanic or Latino origin: 81.3% Non-Hispanic or Latino 18.7% Hispanic or Latino Religion (2021)[9] 63% Christianity —40% Protestantism —21% Catholicism —2% Other Christian 29% No religion 6% Other 2% Unanswered
Demonym(s)American[b[10] GovernmentFederal presidential constitutional republic • President Joe Biden (D) • Vice President Kamala Harris (D) • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) • Chief Justice
John Roberts LegislatureCongress • Upper house Senate • Lower house House of Representatives Independence from Great Britain • Declaration July 4, 1776 • Confederation March 1, 1781 • Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783 • Constitution June 21, 1788 • Last state admitted August 21, 1959 Area • Total area 3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,520 km2)[c[11] (3rd/4th) • Water (%) 4.66[12] • Total land area 3,531,905 sq mi (9,147,590 km2) Population • 2021 estimate 331,893,745[13] • 2020 census Neutral increase 331,449,281[d[14] (3rd) • Density 87/sq mi (33.6/km2) (146th) GDP (PPP)2022 estimate • Total Increase 24.8 trillion[15] (2nd) • Per capita Increase 74,725[15] (8th) GDP (nominal)2022 estimate • Total Increase 24.8 trillion[15] (1st) • Per capita Increase 74,725[15] (5th) Gini (2020)Negative increase 48.5[16] high HDI (2019)Increase 0.926[17] very high · 17th CurrencyU.S. dollar () (USD) Time zoneUTC4 to 12, 10, 11 • Summer (DST) UTC4 to 10[e] Date formatmm/dd/yyyy[f] Mains electricity110–120 V, 60 Hz[18] Driving sideright[g] Calling code1 ISO 3166 codeUS The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, 326 Indian reservations, and nine minor outlying islands.[h] At nearly 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million square kilometers), it is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by geographic area.[c] The United States shares land borders with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south as well as maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other countries.[i] With a population of more than 331 million people[j] it is the third most populous country in the world. The national capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city and financial center is New York City.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago, and European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the Thirteen British Colonies established along the East Coast. Disputes with Great Britain over taxation and political representation led to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), which established the nation's independence. In the late 18th century, the U.S. began expanding across North America, gradually obtaining new territories, sometimes through war, frequently displacing Native Americans, and admitting new states. This was strongly related to belief in manifest destiny, and by 1848, the United States spanned the continent from east to west. Slavery was legal in the southern United States until the second half of the 19th century, when the American Civil War led to its abolition. The Spanish–American War and World War I established the U.S. as a world power, and the aftermath of World War II left the United States and the Soviet Union as the world's two superpowers. During the Cold War, both sides fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars but avoided direct military conflict. They competed in the Space Race, culminating in the 1969 American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. The Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991 ended the Cold War, leaving the United States as the world's sole superpower.
The United States is a federal presidential-constitutional republic with three separate branches of government, including a bicameral legislature. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, NATO, and other international organizations. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Considered a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, its population has been profoundly shaped by centuries of immigration. The United States ranks high in international measures of economic freedom, quality of life, education, and human rights; it has low levels of perceived corruption; however, it has been criticized by scholars and historians for racial, wealth, and income inequality, as well as capital punishment and mass incarceration, and lack of universal health care.[27[28[29[30[21[31]
The United States is a highly developed country, and its economy accounts for approximately a quarter of global GDP and is the world's largest by GDP at market exchange rates. By value, the United States is the world's largest importer and second-largest exporter of goods. Although its population is only 4.2% of the world's total, it holds over 30% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share held by any country. Making up more than a third of global military spending, it is the foremost military power in the world and a leading political, cultural, and scientific force.[32]
Contents 1Etymology 2History 2.1Indigenous peoples and pre-Columbian history 2.2European settlements 2.3Independence and expansion 2.4Civil War and Reconstruction era 2.5Further immigration, expansion, and industrialization 2.6World War I, Great Depression, and World War II 2.7Cold War and late 20th century 2.821st century 3Geography 3.1Biodiversity 4Government and politics 4.1Political divisions 4.2Parties and elections 4.3Foreign relations 4.4Government finance 4.5Military 4.6Law enforcement and crime 5Economy 5.1Science and technology 5.2Income, wealth, and poverty 5.3Transportation 5.4Energy 6Demographics 6.1Population 6.2Language 6.3Religion 6.4Health 6.5Education 7Culture 7.1Literature, philosophy, and visual art 7.2Food 7.3Music 7.4Cinema 7.5Theater 7.6Sports 7.7Mass media 8See also 9Notes 10References 11Further reading 12External links Etymology See also: Naming of the Americas, Names of the United States, Names for United States citizens, and American (word) The first known use of the name "America" dates back to 1507, when it appeared on a world map produced by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in the French city of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. On his map, the name is shown in large letters on what would now be considered South America, in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. The Italian explorer was the first to postulate that the West Indies did not represent Asia's eastern limit but were part of a previously unknown landmass.[33[34] In 1538, the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator used the name "America" on his own world map, applying it to the entire Western Hemisphere.[35]
The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" dates from a January 2, 1776 letter written by Stephen Moylan to George Washington's aide-de-camp Joseph Reed. Moylan expressed his wish to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the revolutionary war effort.[36[37[38] The first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in The Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg, on April 6, 1776.[39]
The second draft of the Articles of Confederation, prepared by John Dickinson and completed no later than June 17, 1776, declared "The name of this Confederation shall be the 'United States of America'."[40] The final version of the Articles, sent to the states for ratification in late 1777, stated that "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America'."[41] In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the phrase "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence.[40] This draft of the document did not surface until June 21, 1776, and it is unclear whether it was written before or after Dickinson used the term in his June 17 draft of the Articles of Confederation.[40]
The short form "United States" is also standard. Other common forms are the "U.S.", the "USA", and "America". Colloquial names are the "U.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "Columbia", a name popular in American poetry and songs of the late 18th century, derives its origin from Christopher Columbus; both "Columbus" and "Columbia" appear frequently in U.S. place-names, including Columbus, Ohio; Columbia, South Carolina; and the District of Columbia. Places and institutions throughout the Western Hemisphere bear the two names, including Colón, Panama, the country of Colombia, the Columbia River, and Columbia University.
The phrase "United States" was originally plural in American usage. It described a collection of states—e.g., "the United States are..." The singular form became popular after the end of the Civil War and is now standard usage. A citizen of the United States is an "American". "United States", "American", and "U.S." refer to the country adjectivally ("American values", "U.S. forces"). In English, the word "American" rarely refers to topics or subjects not directly connected with the United States.[42]
History Main articles: History of the United States and Outline of United States history Indigenous peoples and pre-Columbian history Further information: Native Americans in the United States, Prehistory of the United States, and Pre-Columbian era Aerial view of the Cliff Palace The Cliff Palace, built by the Native American Puebloans between AD 1190 and 1260 It has been generally accepted that the first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 12,000 years ago; however, some evidence suggests an even earlier date of arrival.[43[44[45] The Clovis culture, which appeared around 11,000 BC, is believed to represent the first wave of human settlement of the Americas.[46[47] This was likely the first of three major waves of migration into North America; later waves brought the ancestors of present-day Athabaskans, Aleuts, and Eskimos.[48]
Over time, indigenous cultures in North America grew increasingly complex, and some, such as the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture in the southeast, developed advanced agriculture, architecture, and complex societies.[49] The city-state of Cahokia is the largest, most complex pre-Columbian archaeological site in the modern-day United States.[50] In the Four Corners region, Ancestral Puebloan culture developed from centuries of agricultural experimentation.[51] The Haudenosaunee, located in the southern Great Lakes region, was established at some point between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.[52] Most prominent along the Atlantic coast were the Algonquian tribes, who practiced hunting and trapping, along with limited cultivation.
Estimating the native population of North America at the time of European contact is difficult.[53[54] Douglas H. Ubelaker of the Smithsonian Institution estimated that there was a population of 92,916 in the south Atlantic states and a population of 473,616 in the Gulf states[55] but most academics regard this figure as too low.[53] Anthropologist Henry F. Dobyns believed the populations were much higher, suggesting around 1.1 million along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, 2.2 million people living between Florida and Massachusetts, 5.2 million in the Mississippi Valley and tributaries, and around 700,000 people in the Florida peninsula.[53[54]
European settlements Further information: Colonial history of the United States and Thirteen Colonies Claims of very early colonization of coastal New England by the Norse are disputed and controversial. The first documented arrival of Europeans in the continental United States is that of Spanish conquistadors such as Juan Ponce de León, who made his first expedition to Florida in 1513. Even earlier, Christopher Columbus had landed in Puerto Rico on his 1493 voyage, and San Juan was settled by the Spanish a decade later.[56] The Spanish set up the first settlements in Florida and New Mexico, such as Saint Augustine, often considered the nation's oldest city[57] and Santa Fe. The French established their own settlements along the Mississippi River, notably New Orleans.[58] Successful English settlement of the eastern coast of North America began with the Virginia Colony in 1607 at Jamestown and with the Pilgrims' colony at Plymouth in 1620.[59[60] The continent's first elected legislative assembly, Virginia's House of Burgesses, was founded in 1619. Documents such as the Mayflower Compact and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for representative self-government and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies.[61[62] Many English settlers were dissenting Christians who came seeking religious freedom. In 1784, the Russians were the first Europeans to establish a settlement in Alaska, at Three Saints Bay. Russian America once spanned much of the present-day state of Alaska.[63]
In the early days of colonization, many European settlers were subject to food shortages, disease, and attacks from Native Americans. Native Americans were also often at war with neighboring tribes and European settlers. In many cases, however, the natives and settlers came to depend on one another. Settlers traded for food and animal pelts; natives for guns, tools and other European goods.[64] Natives taught many settlers to cultivate corn, beans, and other foodstuffs. European missionaries and others felt it was important to "civilize" the Native Americans and urged them to adopt European agricultural practices and lifestyles.[65[66] However, with the increased European colonization of North America, the Native Americans were displaced and often killed.[67] The native population of America declined after European arrival for various reasons[68[69[70] primarily diseases such as smallpox and measles.[71[72]
Map of the U.S. showing the original Thirteen Colonies along the eastern seaboard The original Thirteen Colonies (shown in red) in 1775 European settlers also began trafficking of African slaves into Colonial America via the transatlantic slave trade.[73] Because of a lower prevalence of tropical diseases and better treatment, slaves had a much higher life expectancy in North America than in South America, leading to a rapid increase in their numbers.[74[75] Colonial society was largely divided over the religious and moral implications of slavery, and several colonies passed acts both against and in favor of the practice.[76[77] However, by the turn of the 18th century, African slaves had supplanted European indentured servants as cash crop labor, especially in the American South.[78]
The Thirteen Colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia) that would become the United States of America were administered by the British as overseas dependencies.[79] All nonetheless had local governments with elections open to most free men.[80] With extremely high birth rates, low death rates, and steady settlement, the colonial population grew rapidly, eclipsing Native American populations.[81] The Christian revivalist movement of the 1730s and 1740s known as the Great Awakening fueled interest both in religion and in religious liberty.[82]
During the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), known in the U.S. as the French and Indian War, British forces captured Canada from the French. With the creation of the Province of Quebec, Canada's francophone population would remain isolated from the English-speaking colonial dependencies of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Thirteen Colonies. Excluding the Native Americans who lived there, the Thirteen Colonies had a population of over 2.1 million in 1770, about a third that of Britain. Despite continuing new arrivals, the rate of natural increase was such that by the 1770s only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas.[83] The colonies' distance from Britain had allowed the development of self-government, but their unprecedented success motivated British monarchs to periodically seek to reassert royal authority.[84]
Independence and expansion Further information: American Revolution and Territorial evolution of the United States See caption Declaration of Independence, a painting by John Trumbull, depicts the Committee of Five presenting the draft of the Declaration to the Continental Congress, July 4, 1776. The American Revolutionary War fought by the Thirteen Colonies against the British Empire was the first successful war of independence by a non-European entity against a European power in modern history. Americans had developed an ideology of "republicanism", asserting that government rested on the will of the people as expressed in their local legislatures. They demanded their "rights as Englishmen" and "no taxation without representation". The British insisted on administering the empire through Parliament, and the conflict escalated into war.[85]
The Second Continental Congress, an assembly representing the United Colonies, unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; this day is celebrated annually as Independence Day.[86] In 1777, the Articles of Confederation established a decentralized government that operated until 1789.[86]
After its defeat at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, Britain signed a peace treaty. American sovereignty became internationally recognized, and the country was granted all lands east of the Mississippi River. Tensions with Britain remained, however, leading to the War of 1812, which was fought to a draw.[87] Nationalists led the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in writing the United States Constitution, ratified in state conventions in 1788. Going into force in 1789, this constitution reorganized the federal government into three branches, on the principle of creating salutary checks and balances. George Washington, who had led the Continental Army to victory, was the first president elected under the new constitution. The Bill of Rights, forbidding federal restriction of personal freedoms and guaranteeing a range of legal protections, was adopted in 1791.[88]
Map of the U.S. depicting its westward expansion Territorial acquisitions of the United States between 1783 and 1917 Although the federal government outlawed American participation in the Atlantic slave trade in 1807, after 1820, cultivation of the highly profitable cotton crop exploded in the Deep South, and along with it, the slave population.[89[90[91] The Second Great Awakening, especially in the period 1800–1840, converted millions to evangelical Protestantism. In the North, it energized multiple social reform movements, including abolitionism;[92] in the South, Methodists and Baptists proselytized among slave populations.[93]
Beginning in the late 18th century, American settlers began to expand westward[94] prompting a long series of American Indian Wars.[95] The 1803 Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the nation's area[96] Spain ceded Florida and other Gulf Coast territory in 1819[97] the Republic of Texas was annexed in 1845 during a period of expansionism[98] and the 1846 Oregon Treaty with Britain led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest.[99] Victory in the Mexican–American War resulted in the 1848 Mexican Cession of California and much of the present-day American Southwest, making the U.S. span the continent.[94[100]
The California Gold Rush of 1848–1849 spurred migration to the Pacific coast, which led to the California Genocide[101] and the creation of additional western states.[102] The giving away of vast quantities of land to white European settlers as part of the Homestead Acts, nearly 10% of the total area of the United States, and to private railroad companies and colleges as part of land grants spurred economic development.[103] After the Civil War, new transcontinental railways made relocation easier for settlers, expanded internal trade, and increased conflicts with Native Americans.[104] In 1869, a new Peace Policy nominally promised to protect Native Americans from abuses, avoid further war, and secure their eventual U.S. citizenship. Nonetheless, large-scale conflicts continued throughout the West into the 1900s.
Civil War and Reconstruction era Main articles: American Civil War and Reconstruction era Drawing of the Battle of Gettysburg, depicting soldiers charging forward and firing a cannon The Battle of Gettysburg, fought between Union and Confederate forces on July 1–3, 1863, around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, marked a turning point in the American Civil War. Irreconcilable sectional conflict regarding the enslavement of Africans and African Americans ultimately led to the American Civil War.[105] With the 1860 election of Republican Abraham Lincoln, conventions in thirteen slave states declared secession and formed the Confederate States of America (the "South" or the "Confederacy"), while the federal government (the "Union") maintained that secession was illegal.[106] In order to bring about this secession, military action was initiated by the secessionists, and the Union responded in kind. The ensuing war would become the deadliest military conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of approximately 620,000 soldiers as well as upwards of 50,000 civilians.[107] The Union initially simply fought to keep the country united. Nevertheless, as casualties mounted after 1863 and Lincoln delivered his Emancipation Proclamation, the main purpose of the war from the Union's viewpoint became the abolition of slavery. Indeed, when the Union ultimately won the war in April 1865, each of the states in the defeated South was required to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibited slavery except as penal labor. Two other amendments were also ratified, ensuring citizenship and voting rights for blacks.
Reconstruction began in earnest following the war. While President Lincoln attempted to foster friendship and forgiveness between the Union and the former Confederacy, his assassination on April 14, 1865 drove a wedge between North and South again. Republicans in the federal government made it their goal to oversee the rebuilding of the South and to ensure the rights of African Americans. They persisted until the Compromise of 1877 when the Republicans agreed to cease protecting the rights of African Americans in the South in order for Democrats to concede the presidential election of 1876.