"states, under the direct control of the larger federal sovereign.  

Also, if you look at the U.S. Constitution, both the Preamble and Article II repeatedly and consistently refer to ""the United States of America.""  From the surrounding wording, it is clear that the Founders were referring to a single legal entity and believed they were constituting such an entity.  So ""the United States of America"" is the legal name of the federal government.  There are also many sections in the United States Code which refer to ""the United States of America.""

 20:49, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 They are referred to in both the Constitution and other documents as ""the United States"" because before 1787, they were semi-independent.  This is where the Americans clouded the definitions of state and nation that the rest of the world successfully differentiates.  The Constitution was the coming together of states that minted their own currency, engaged in trade wars with each other, refused to extradite criminals just because they happened to cross a state line, etc. into a ""Union"" hence how they became the ""United.""  Up until the Civil War (especially in the South) is was thought that a state could easily withdraw if they didn't agree with the direction the Constitution was being torn into.  South Carolina attempted to get out in the 1830s, etc.  The Constitution of the United States of America is named as such simply because at first 13 states came together to agree to it.   This was at time when New England was thinking about leaving the Articles of Confederation and creating an entity from New York to Maine.  When sections of the American contintent west of the Appalachians were planning or trying to start their own little Republics (and some Kingdoms).  If the states hadn't come together and decided to lay down a new document for their confederation, and instead persisted after Annapolis to exist under the ""Articles of Confederation"" from 1775, most likely the union would have fallen shortly after 1800 (if not sooner) and today we would see maps with other more localized confederations of the 50 states (which who knows if there would even be 50).  Your conceptualization of inter-state relations leading up to the 1787 constitution is limited.  A few delegates getting miffed would have changed the last three centuries of world history in ways we can hardly imagine. — 21:01, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I hold a bachelor's degree in history from the most prestigious public university in the United States.  I am well-aware of all of the facts you just mentioned, especially the delicate fragility of the Union throughout its first century.  I am also familiar with all the diverse what-if scenarios.  

I do not have all day to write on talk pages.  I did not think it was necessary to rehash the convoluted details of two centuries of American history just to explain how we got to our present pigpen of legal fictions and political realities.  But thanks for doing that for me.  

When I said ""wording"" above, I was referring to the consistent use of the definite article, ""the,"" rather than the plural demonstrative adjective, ""these,"" in the Constitution.  But you did clarify something I neglected, the task of explaining why the Constitution has to refer to states which are united, as opposed to, say, ""the United State.""

 08:11, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 Vandalism protection 

I know the vandalism is now infrequent, but is it necessary?  I don't think so since so many people watch this page anyway...  (talk) 20:31, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 Republicans and religious Jews 

Excuse me.  In the ""Politics"" section, the following sentence appears:

The Republicans generally receive more funding and support from business groups, religious Christians and Jews, and rural Americans, while the Democratic party receives more support from labor unions and minority ethnic groups.

In the history,  sliced out the phrase ""and Jews"" and then  promptly reverted it.  Now, I'm a little confused.  Historically, when Jews are considered as a voting bloc, they tend to lean Democratic.  However, this analysis has always considered Jews as a single ethnic class and not separated out religious Jews from non-religious Jews.  Therefore, my question:

Does anyone have evidence that religious Jews tend to vote Republican (or Democratic)?

—  21:28, 2004 Dec 30 (UTC)

 Social Issues 

I added some more information about the incarceration/prison situation in the US. Feel free to verif