Unitit States

The Unitit States o Americae (, USA), commonly referred tae as the Unitit States (, US, U.S.) or Americae (), is a constitutional federal republic componed o 50 federatit states, the federal destrict Washington D.C., five main sel-govrening territories, an ither possessions.
Forty-aicht o the fifty states an the federal destrict border each ither an locatit in North Americae atween Canadae an Mexico. The state o Alaska is in the northwast neuk o North Americae, bordered bi Canadae tae the east an athort the Bering Strait frae Roushie tae the wast. The state o Hawaii is an airchipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered aboot the Paceefic Ocean an the Caribbean Sea. Nine time zones are covered. The geografie, climate an wildlife o the kintra are extremely diverse.

At 3.8 million squerr miles (9.8 million km2)"State and other areas", U.S. Census Bureau, MAF/TIGER database as of August 2010, excluding the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. viewed October 22, 2014. an wi ower 324 million fowk, the Unitit States is the warld's fowert-lairgest kintra bi tot aurie (an fowerth-mucklest bi laund aurie) an the third-maist populous. It is ane o the warld's maist ethnically diverse an multicultural naitions, an is hame tae the warld's mucklest nummer o immigrant fowk.Adams, J.Q.; Strother-Adams, Pearlie (2001). Dealing with Diversity. Chicago: Kendall/Hunt. ISBN 0-7872-8145-X. Urbanisation climbed tae oweer 80% in 2010 an leads tae growin megaregions. The kintra's caipital is Washington, D.C. an its mucklest ceety is New York Ceety; the ither major metropolitan auries, aw wi aroond five million or mair indwallers, are Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, an Atlanta.

Paleo-Indians migrated frae Asie tae the North American mainland at least 15,000 year ago. European colonisation began in the 16t century. The Unitit States emerged frae 13 Breetish colonies alang the East Coast. Mony disputes atween Great Breetain an the colonies in the eftermath o the Seiven Years' War led tae the American Revolution, whilk began in 1775. On Julie 4, 1776, as the colonies war fichtin Great Breetain in the American Revolutionary War, delegates frae the 13 colonies unanimously adoptit the Declaration o Unthirldom. The war endit in 1783 wi recogneetion o the unthirldom o the Unitit States bi Great Breetain, an wis the first successfu war o unthirldom against a European colonial empire.Greene, Jack P.; Pole, J.R., eds. (2008). A Companion to the American Revolution. pp. 352–361. The current constitution wis adoptit in 1788, efter the Airticles o Confederation, adoptit in 1781, war felt tae hae providit inadequate federal pouers. The first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill o Richts, war ratified in 1791 an designed tae guarantee mony fundamental ceevil liberties.

The Unitit States gaed on a vigorous expansion athort North Americae throuoot the 19t century, displacin American Indian tribes, acquirin new territories, an gradually admittin new states till it spanned the continent in 1848. During the seicont hauf o the 19t century, the American Ceevil War led tae the end o legal slavery in the kintra. Bi the end o that century, the Unitit States extendit intae the Pacific Ocean, an its economy, driven in muckle pairt bi the Industrial Revolution, began tae growe a lot. The Spaingie–American War an  confirmed the kintra's status as a global militar pouer. The Unitit States emerged frae  as a global superpouer, the first kintra tae develop nuclear wappens, the anly kintra tae uise them in warfare, an a permanent member o the Unitit Naitions Security Cooncil. It is a foondin member o the Organisation o American States (OAS) an various ither Pan-American an internaitional organisations. The end o the Cauld War an the end o the Soviet Union in 1991 left the Unitit States as the warld's sole superpouer.

The Unitit States is a heichly developed kintra, wi the warld's mucklest economy bi nominal GDP. It ranks heichly in several meisurs o socioeconomic performance, includin average wage, human development, per capita GDP, an productivity per person. While the U.S. economy is considered post-industrial, chairacterised bi the dominance o services an knawledge economy, the manufacturin sector remains the seicont-mucklest in the warld. Tho its population is anly 4.3% o the warld tot, the Unitit States accoonts for nearly a quarter o warld GDP an ower a third o global militar spendin, makkin it the warld's foremaist economic an militar pouer. The Unitit States is a prominent poleetical an cultural force internaitionally, an a leader in scienteefic resairch an technological innovations.Cohen, 2004: History and the HyperpowerBBC, April 2008: Country Profile: United States of America

 History 
Follaein the European colonisation o the Americaes, aw thirteen o Great Breetain's American colonies spleet frae the mither kintra an formit the Unitit States, the warld's first constitutional an democratic federal republic, efter thair declaration o unthirldom in 1776 an the Weir o Unthirldom (1775–1783). Great Breetain made peace wi the rebols an wi the Treaty o Pairis in 1783. For tae mak a stoot colonol govrenment, the Philadelphia Convention wis foondit in 1787 an raitifeet a constitution in 1788, an the farst Unitit States Senate, Hoose o Representatives, an preses tak office in 1789. George Washington wis the first preses.

Differences o opinion an social order atween northren an soothern states in early Unitit States society, pairteecularly regairdin Black sclavery, ultimately led tae the American Ceevil War. Follaein the Union victory in 1865, three amendments war addit tae the U.S. Constitution: the Thirteent Amendment prohibitit sclavery, the Fowerteent Amendment providit ceetizenship tae the nearly fower million African Americans wha haed been sclaves, Page 7 leets a tot sclave population o 3,953,760. an the Fifteent Amendment ensured that thay haed the richt tae vote.

The Unitit States remained neutral frae the ootbreak o Warld War I, in 1914, till 1917 whan it jyned the war as an "associatit pouer", alangside the formal Allies o Warld War I, helpin tae turn the tide against the Central Pouers. In 1920, the weemen's richts muivement wan passage o a constitutional amendment grantin weemen's suffrage. The 1920s an 1930s saw the rise o radio for mass communication an the invention o early televeesion.Winchester pp. 410–411 The prosperity o the Roaring Twenties endit wi the Wall Street Crash o 1929 an the onset o the Great Depression. Efter his election as preses in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt respondit wi the New Deal, whit included the establishment o the Social Security seestem. At first effectively neutral during Warld War II while Germany conquered much o continental Europe, the Unitit States began supplyin material tae the Allies in Mairch 1941 throu the Lend-Lease programme. On December 7, 1941, the Empire o Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, promptin the Unitit States tae jyn the Allies against the Axis pouers. The Unitit States developed the first nuclear wappens an uised them on Japan in the ceeties o Hiroshima an Nagasaki; causin the Japanese tae surrender on September 2, endin Warld War II.Pacific War Research Society (2006). Japan's Longest Day. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 4-7700-2887-3.

Efter Warld War II the Unitit States an the Soviet Union jockeyed for pouer during whit acame kent as the Cauld War, driven bi an ideological divide atween caipitalism an communism an, accordin tae the schuil o geopolitics, a divide atween the maritime Atlantic an the continental Eurasian camps. American truips focht communist Cheenese an North Korean forces in the Korean War o 1950–53. The Soviet Union's 1957 launch o the first airtifeecial satellite an its 1961 launch o the first manned spaceflicht ineetiatit a "Space Race" in whit the Unitit States acame the first naition tae laund a man on the muin in 1969. A proxy war in Sootheast Asie eventually evolved intae full American pairteecipation, as the Vietnam War. At hame in the 1960s, the growin Ceevil Richts Muivement uised nonviolence tae confront segregation an discrimination, wi Martin Luther King Jr. acomin a prominent leader an figurheid.

The late 1980s, unner the presidency o Ronald Reagan, brocht a "thowe" in relations wi the USSR, an its collapse in 1991 finally endit the Cauld War.Hayes, 2009US History.org, 2013

On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda terrorists struck the Warld Trade Center in New York Ceety an the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., killin nearly 3,000 fowk. In response, the Unitit States launched the War on Terror, whilk included war in Afghanistan an the 2003–11 Iraq War.

Unner Preses Barack Obama, American forces in Iraq war widrawn in muckle nummers in 2009 an 2010, an the war in the region wis declared formally ower in December 2011. The widrawal caused an escalation o sectarian insurgency, leadin tae the rise o the Islamic State o Iraq an the Levant, the successor o al-Qaeda in the region.

 Geografie, climate, an environs 
The laund aurie o the contiguous Unitit States is . Alaska, separatit frae the contiguous Unitit States bi Canadae, is the mucklest state at . Hawaii, occupyin an airchipelago in the central Paceefic, soothwast o North Americae, is  in aurie. The populatit territories o Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northren Mariana Islands, an U.S. Virgin Islands thegither civer .

The Unitit States, wi its muckle size an geografic variety, includes maist climate teepes. Tae the east o the 100t meridian, the climate ranges frae humid continental in the north tae humid subtropical in the sooth. The Great Plains wast o the 100t meridian are semi-arid. Much o the Wastren moontains hae an alpine climate. The climate is arid in the Great Basin, desert in the Soothwast, Mediterranean in coastal Californie, an oceanic in coastal Oregon an Washington an soothren Alaska. Maist o Alaska is subarctic or polar. Hawaii an the soothren tip o Florida are tropical, as are the populatit territories in the Caribbean an the Paceefic.

 Wildlife 
The U.S. ecology is megadiverse: aboot 17,000 species o vascular plants occur in the contiguous Unitit States an Alaska, an ower 1,800 species o flouering plants are foond in Hawaii, few o whit occur on the mainland.  The Unitit States is hame tae 428 mammal species, 784 bird species, 311 reptile species, an 295 amphibian species. Aboot 91,000 insect species hae been describit. The bauld eagle is baith the naitional bird an naitional ainimal o the Unitit States, an is an endurin seembol o the kintra itsel.

 Cultur 
The Unitit States is hame tae mony culturs an a wide variety o ethnic groups, tradeetions, an values.Thompson, William; Hickey, Joseph (2005). Society in Focus. Boston: Pearson. ISBN 0-205-41365-X. Aside frae the Hamespun American, Hamespun Hawaiian, an Hamespun Alaskan populations, nearly aw Americans or thair ancestors settled or emigratit within the past five centuries.Fiorina, Morris P.; Peterson, Paul E. (2000). The New American Democracy. London: Longman, p. 97. ISBN 0-321-07058-5. Mainstream American cultur is a Wastren cultur mucklely derived frae the tradeetions o European emigrants wi influences frae mony ither soorces, sic as tradeetions brocht bi slaves frae Africae.Holloway, Joseph E. (2005). Africanisms in American Culture, 2d ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp. 18–38. ISBN 0-253-34479-4. Johnson, Fern L. (1999). Speaking Culturally: Language Diversity in the United States. Thousand Oaks, Calif., London, and New Delhi: Sage, p. 116. ISBN 0-8039-5912-5.

Cuisine

Mainstream American cuisine is seemilar tae that in ither Wastren kintras. Chairactereestic dishes sic as aiple pie, fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, an het dogs derive frae the recipes o various emigrants. French fries, Mexican dishes sic as burritos an tacos, an pasta dishes freely adaptit frae Italian soorces are widely consumed. Americans drink three times as much coffee as tea. Mercatin bi U.S. industries is mucklely responsible for makkin orange juice an milk ubiquitous breakfast beverages.Smith, 2004, pp. 131–132Levenstein, 2003, pp. 154–55

Airts
In leeturatur, Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickenson, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Herman Melville, an John Steinbeck are amang the maist weel kent Americans, while Jackson Pollock, Georgia O'Keefe, an Andy Warhol are some o the maist weel kent American painters.

Hollywood, a northren destrict o Los Angeles, Californie, is ane o the leaders in motion pictur production. Syne the early 20t century, the U.S. film industry haes mucklely been based in an aroond Hollywood, awtho in the 21st century an increasin nummer o films are nae made thare, an film companies hae been subject tae the forces o globalisation.

Muisic in Americae haes been influenced bi African-American cultur, wi Duke Ellington an Louis Armstrong pioneerin the Jazz genre. Elvis Presley an Buddy Holly war leadin airtists in pioneerin popular muisic in the 1950s. Syne then, the Unitit States haes produced mony popular airtists, includin Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, an Beyoncé, amang mony ithers.

Sport
American fitba is the maist popular sport in the Unitit States.  MacCambridge, Michael (2004). America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50454-0. The National Football League (NFL) haes the heichest average attendance o ony sports league in the warld, an the Super Bowl is watched bi millions globally. Basebaw haes been regairdit as the U.S. naitional sport syne the late 19t century, wi Major League Baseball (MLB) bein the tap league. Basketbaw an ice hockey are the kintra's next twa leadin professional team sports, wi the tap leagues bein the National Basketball Association (NBA) an the National Hockey League (NHL).

Aight Olympic Gemmes hae taken place in the Unitit States. As o 2014, the Unitit States haes wan 2,400 medals at the Simmer Olympic Gemmes, mair nor ony ither kintra, an 281 in the Winter Olympic Gemmes, the seicont maist behind Norawa. 

 States o the Unitit States 

 Alabama
 Alaska
 Arizona
 Arkansas
 Californie
 Colorado
 Connecticut
 Delaware
 Florida
 Georgie Hawaii
 Idaho
 Illinois
 Indiana
 Iowa
 Kansas
 Kentucky
 Louisiana
 Maine
 Maryland Massachusetts
 Michigan
 Minnesota
 Mississippi
 Missouri
 Montana
 Nebraska
 Nevada
 New Hampshire
 New Jersey New Mexico
 New York
 North Carolina
 North Dakota
 Ohio
 Oklahoma
 Oregon
 Pennsylvanie
 Rhode Island
 Sooth Carolina Sooth Dakota
 Tennessee
 Texas
 Utah
 Vermont
 Wast Virginie
 Virginie
 Washington
 Wisconsin
 Wyoming

Notes

References

Soorces

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Category:1776 establishments in the Unitit States
Category:Umwhile Breetish colonies
Category:Umwhile confederations
Category:G8 naitions
Category:G20 naitions
Category:Leeberal democracies
Category:Member states o NATO
Category:Member states o the Unitit Naitions
Category:Republics
Category:States an territories established in 1776