Sentence:  He was one of the most prominent magazine illustrators in <WSD>America</WSD> ; you saw one of his paintings on the cover of one or another of the slick national magazines every month . 
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