Sentence:  He points out that from the time of Jackson on through World War 1 , , evangelical Protestantism was a dominant influence in the social and political life of <WSD>America</WSD> . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776