United States of America The United States of America ( United States , US , USA , or America ) was a large country in the North America n continent on Earth . The capital was Washington , DC . Its primary language was English . ( ; ) This was a representative republic . Founded in the 18th century , the United States played a significant role in the history of Earth prior to the world ' s unification . The people and culture of the United States were known as American . The federal government was known as the United States Government . According to Doctor Paul Stubbs , baseball , centuries ago , " " was the beloved national pastime of the Americas . " " ( ) When the Michael Sullivan character of the Fair Haven program was beamed to the bridge of the , he described at one point how he had a relative that had gone to America , what he thought previously was one of the strangest places . ( ) History . " For history of the United States , see American history . " States . The United States was a federal union of semi - autonomous political units , called states . From 1959 through the balance of the 20th century , there were 50 States in the Union ; by 2033 , there were 52 . Districts , territories , and cities . The United States of America was the location of some of Earth ' s most important and largest cities . Among these include New York City , New Orleans , Los Angeles , and San Francisco which would later become the location of Starfleet Headquarters . The capital of the United States was Washington which was located in the District of Columbia , with the city of Washington and the District having exactly the same boundaries . ( ) The District of Columbia was also the location of all the major United States government headquarters as well as several monuments and museums , among them the Smithsonian Institution . ( ; ) Appendices . Background information . Retroactive continuity : 20th century - era maps of the northern hemisphere Pacific region were stored in the library computer in 2254 . One map depicted the east coast of Asia ' s USSR nation and Alaska on the west coast of North America . Another map depicted the globe from the point of view of the Arctic Circle , showing the same region . These maps were among the materials viewed by the Talosian s when they scanned the " Enterprise " computer . ( ) Retroactive continuity : A map of the mid - Atlantic coast of the United States depicting the location of Washington , DC was downloaded from the library computer by the Talosian s in 2254 . ( ) This map was from educational texts available at the time of filming , . In , Data states that the American flag with 52 stars determines the date of the " Charybdis " wreckage as originating between 2033 and 2079 . From this it can be inferred that : Ominously , 2079 was also mentioned in . It was the year of Q ' s court , defined by the time period post - atomic horror . Evidence from and indicate that parts of the planet , particularly Zefram Cochrane ' s area ( Montana ) , were improving due to contact with the Vulcans . A San Francisco address seen on - screen in included " USA , Earth " , suggesting that " USA " exists at least as a political / geographic designation in 2154 . Also , during the NX - 01 holoprogram seen in , Malcolm Reed tells Chef , played by Commander Riker , that " his countrymen " might describe Florida native Trip as a hick , suggesting the US was still intact when the Federation was founded in 2161 . Since the United Kingdom ' s Royal Navy continued to exist in 2154 , this indicates that all nations did not completely surrender their sovereignty in joining the United Earth Government in 2150 . Certainly , James T . Kirk was well - versed in , and quite passionate about , United States documents and customs , so much so that he was able to give an impassioned , memorized recital of the Preamble to the Constitution to the Yang s of planet Omega IV in . Samuel T . Cogley referenced the Constitution to the court at Kirk ' s trial in , so the United States obviously looms large in the minds of Starfleet officers in the 23rd century . There are many references to individual American states throughout the run of all the series , but it is not specified if the references are solely geographical or if they retain a political implication as well . The 52 - star flag seen in is unusual in that the field of stars rests on a red stripe instead of a white stripe . The 15 - star " Star - Spangled Banner " flown over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 was the last such flag , and since then , all flags ( then returning to 13 instead of 15 stripes ) have had the familiar arrangement of the field being to the left of the first seven stripes and resting on the 8th , a white . This was probably an error in the art department , but being a future flag , it could be " official , " with the government making that change for one reason or another , though it seems unlikely . The German map of the continental United States from the episodes and includes a combination of real and fictitious locations . Alongside Springfield , IL and Annapolis , MD – both of which are the capital city of their respective states – there is Crossroads , MO and Sun Valley , AL .