Sentence:  Han 's student days were at a time when Europe was in a new intellectual ferment following the revolutions in <WSD>America</WSD> and in France , Germany and Italy were rising from divisive nationalisms and a strong wave of intellectual awareness was sweeping the Continent . 
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