United States of America

Flag of the United States of America.

The **United States of America** (**USA**), known as the **United States** (**US**) or **America**, is a nation located in North America with territories in the Pacific Ocean. The United States consists of 51 states, a federal district, four major unincorporated territories, 326 Native American reservations, and some minor territorial possessions. The nation's capital is Washington, DC, while its largest city is New York City.

America borders Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, as well as sharing limited maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, and through Alaska, maritime borders with the Russian Federation. For much of its history, the United States has been the most powerful nation in the Western Hemisphere, and in fairly recent history, became the most powerful nation in the world.

Led by President Garner Riddley, the United States of America is recovering both economically and militarily following the Sino-Korean War, which exhausted its resources, and also has plans to support its allies in the Pacific and support research of the European Rift.

## History

### **Independence (1776)**

The American Colonies, a collection of thirteen colonies governed by Great Britain, declared their independence from the global superpower on July 4, 1776, with fighting against Britain beginning a year before, in 1775. America would fight against the British until 1781, when General Cornwallis surrendered to American and French forces at the Battle of Yorktown, with the official end coming in 1783 after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

### **Post-Revolution and Expansion (1781-1848)**

The Articles of Confederation, the document that signaled the creation of the first American government, was signed in 1777. However, the government that it created would be decentralized and ineffective following the end of the war, leading it to be replaced by the current United States government system in 1789, following the historic ratification of the United States Constitution.

In 1789, the presidency of George Washington, famed war hero and leader of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, began after the first election.

In 1807, the federal government banned American participation in the Atlantic Slave Trade, however in the 1820s, the highly-profitable cotton crop used to make clothing and other goods demanded slaves to work on large plantations in the South, and thus, the American slave population skyrocketed.

Around this time, America would also begin its expansion westward, leading to many minor conflicts with Native American tribes in the areas of expansion. In 1803, France would sell its territories west of America to the US, in what became known as the Louisiana Purchase, effectively doubling the size of the young nation. In 1819, Spain ceded the territory of Florida to the US, and in 1845, the Republic of Texas was annexed. In 1846, the US signed the Oregon Treaty with Britain, leading to the US controlling what is now known as the American Northwest. In 1848, following the Mexican defeat during the Mexican-American War, Mexico ceded California as well as territories that would become the American Southwest to the USA, which made the US span from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The Gold Rush of 1849 led there to be mass migrations to California in search of gold, leading to an increase in population in the western territories and leading to the creation of new states.

### **Civil War (1861-1865)**

In the 1840s and 1850s, divisions between differing opinions on the institution of slavery began, with abolitionist movements gaining traction in the North, as large plantations in the South continued to use slave labor to achieve vast amounts of money via cotton farming. This and some federal actions, including but not limited to the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act, lead to more divides between the populace.

The election of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election led to further divisions, and the secession of eleven American southern states that then founded the Confederate States of America.

In 1861, Fort Sumter, a Union fortress in Charleston Harbor, was fired upon by Confederate forces, leading to outrage across the United States and the call for war against the Confederacy to preserve the Union. The American Civil War that resulted from this would be the bloodiest war in American history. As Union defeats increased and casualties began piling up, Abraham Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation, making the war not simply about preserving the Union, but now to end slavery as well.

In April 1865, the United States defeated the Confederacy, and all secessionist states were absorbed back into the Union.

### **Reconstruction (1865-1877)**

The period of time known as the Reconstruction Era began after the Civil War as ordered by the president, however Lincoln would be assassinated on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth, again causing some divide between the North and South. Northern Republicans continued to oversee reconstruction in the South to ensure that the rights of newly-freed slaves were being protected, however this lasted until 1877, when the Compromise of 1877 was passed.

Following this, "Jim Crow Laws" were passed in many southern states from 1890 to 1910, leading to the discrimination and segregation of African-Americans in the southern states.

### **World Wars and Interwar Period (1914-1945)**

The United States declared its neutrality when the First World War broke out in Europe, however it would enter the conflict in 1917, with the first American troops arriving in Europe in 1918, aiding in the Allied offensives against Germany and the Central Powers, helping turn the tide of the war in the Allies' favor.

Following the First World War, in the 1920s, the nation experienced an era of great prosperity, as well as voting rights being extended to women. The "Roaring 20s," as it is now called, was this era of great economic prosperity that lasted until the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the beginning of the era known as the Great Depression. The Depression was an era of high unemployment, poverty, and homelessness following the crash, and the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932 led to his New Deal, which was aimed at combating this, creating new jobs in industry and others.

Much like in World War I, the United States remained neutral on the onset of World War II, however it would supply the Allied Powers in its Lend-Lease programs. On December 7th, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, leading to thousands of American casualties and the crippling of the US Pacific Fleet, which would not be operational for some time after this.

The United States then entered the global conflict on the side of the Allied Powers, first focusing on the European theaters of war, sending troops to aid Allied forces in North Africa in 1942. Later, focus would also be on the Pacific Theater, which saw many major naval engagements between the United States, aided by the island nation Liberon and other allies, against the Japanese.

Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe. Japan officially surrendered on August 15, 1945, with the signing of this surrender happening on September 2, 1945. Japan's reasons for surrender are likely due to a number of factors: the potential Allied and Soviet invasion of the Japanese homeland, the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the fact that the Japanese military was no longer fully operational at this time.

### **Cold War and Civil Rights (1945-1991)**

After the Second World War, the two global superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, once allies, would compete for power and influence in the world, sparking proxy wars, avoiding direct military conflicts with each other but using other nations instead. The USSR and its Warsaw Pact and the USA with NATO would dominate military affairs in Europe, where it was believed that the USSR would eventually launch an all-out invasion.

The first "proxy war" between the US and USSR was the Korean War, a conflict in which the communist North Korea and American-backed South Korea would fight to fully control the Korean peninsula. American troops would be involved in the conflict, and a true victor was never known, as a ceasefire was ordered in 1953, ending the conflict but not ending hostilities between the two nations. Korea would not be united until the 21st century. Another proxy war began in 1955 and ended in 1975, this time in Vietnam, and became known as the highly controversial Vietnam War. This war saw full American participation and was a defeat, as the communist North Vietnam united Vietnam.

The Space Race began as the USSR launched the first artificial satellite, *Sputnik 1*, in 1957, with the first crewed spaceflight in 1961. The Space Race ended with a United States victory when the US launched the first astronauts to land on the Moon in 1969.

The US and other capitalist first-world countries saw an economic boom following the Second World War, and also saw a massive population boom and the expansion of the American middle class. The Civil Rights movement began getting traction, culminating with the ascension of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the figurehead of this movement, before being assassinated in 1968, the same year that the Civil Rights Act would be passed.

In the 1980s, relations between America and the Soviets finally began to improve, with the eventual collapse coming in 1991, leaving the United States as the top world superpower for some time.

### **Post-Cold War (1991-2008)**

After the Cold War had ended, the United States gathered a coalition of nations to respond to a crisis in the Middle East, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The Gulf War was this resulting conflict, and lasted until January 1991. The rise of the Internet in academic and public platforms also began around this time, with millions of Americans being connected to this new system.

On September 11, 2001, hijackers from the terrorist group Al-Qaeda flew two passenger aircraft into the two towers of the World Trade Center, as well as one into the Pentagon and one that was meant to hit the United States Capitol, but was seized by passengers and crashed in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. This day in American history cost nearly 3,000 American lives, leading to then president George W. Bush to launch the War on Terror.

In 2008, the nation's worst recession since the Great Depression hit, and president Barack Obama was elected amidst the event, promising stimulus packages to help mitigate the effects of this crisis.

### **Contemporary History (2008-present)**

After the nation recovered from the recession, the economy continued to progress. In 2018, under the presidency of Donald Trump, the USA began official diplomacy with North Korea. The two leaders met in in Singapore and had a seemingly successful summit, but the one planned for 2019 was cancelled after ties with North Korea soured once more.

After the summit, North Korea continued to struggle with its economy amid international sanctions, and its government collapsed in 2023, leading South Korea and China to swoop in to stabilize it, culminating in fighting breaking out in Pyongyang. Thus began the Sino-Korean War. In 2024, Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine, beginning the Russo-European War, which the United States could not join because it was fully occupied with China.

After the war, the United States Navy and Air Force were partially depleted and the economy needed recovering. In the present day, under President Garner Riddley, the United States plans to support its allies in Asia and recover both militarily and economically. In addition, the nation plans to support research efforts into the European Rift.

## Conflicts

The United States has participated in many conflicts over its long history, however, only the nation's major conflicts will be included here.

### **American Revolutionary War**

The United States of America successfully waged war against the British Empire in its war for independence, achieving victory over the world superpower and gaining independence. This war lasted from 1775 to 1783, with the first battles at Lexington and Concord in 1775, with the last being in 1781, at the Battle of Yorktown, with the official end in 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

### **War of 1812**

The War of 1812 lasted from 1812 to 1815, and was an armed conflict between Great Britain and Native American nations against the United States. Both sides attempted to invade each other, which ended up in a stalemate. The US's capital, Washington DC, would be burned to the ground in 1814 by the British, only to be rebuilt after the conflict. The true victor of this war is currently still up for debate.

### **Mexican-American War**

The Mexican-American War saw the United States as well as the California Republic fight Mexico, in a two year long conflict that lasted from 1846-1848. The war ended with a Mexican defeat, and the cession of the territories of Texas and California, as well as others, to the United States.

### **American Civil War**

The American Civil War is one of the most important conflicts in US history, with the Union and Confederacy fighting for four years, from 1861-1865. The US fought first to preserve its union, then later in 1863 added the emancipation of enslaved peoples in the CSA to further grow support for its cause. The war ended with a Union victory in 1865, leading to the dissolution and assimilation of the Confederacy back into the Union, as well as the official abolition of slavery.

### **Spanish-American War**

The Spanish-American War occurred in 1898, beginning after the warship USS *Maine* was sunk in Havana Harbor, one of the reasons for the war. The US fought the Spanish Empire until August 1898, when the Spanish signed the Treaty of Paris of 1898, establishing a US protectorate over Puerto Rico and the ceding of Guam and the Philippines to the US.

### **World War I**

The United States announced its entrance to the First World War in 1917 on the Allied side, with the first troops making landfall in Europe in 1918. The US forces helped to turn the tide of the war against the Central Powers, which were defeated in 1918, with Germany's surrender on the 11th of November, 1918, leading to the end of the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires.

### **World War II**

The United States of America entered World War II in 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Before this, the US had already supported the Allied Powers via the Lend-Lease Program. However, after this, the US would start its full involvement against the Axis Powers. America would become one of the major players of the Second World War, with its massive industrial capacity. The US fought in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific, becoming a major player in the defeats of both Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. Following the war, the United States emerged as one of the two global superpowers, along with the Soviet Union, beginning a decades-long rivalry between the two nations, known as the Cold War.

### **Korean War**

In 1950, the communist North Korea invaded the NATO-backed South Korea, leading to a three year long conflict that led to one of the major proxy wars of the Cold War. The Korean War lasted until 1953, and ended with an inconclusive result, however the North Korean invasion was repelled. Korea would not be united until the 21st century.

### **Vietnam War**

The Vietnam War was perhaps the most controversial conflict during the Cold War period, with a driving factor behind controversy being the frequent television coverage of the front lines. The war began in 1955 and ended in 1975, with a communist victory, and the withdrawal of American and allied forces from Indochina. Vietnam would be reunified under a communist state.

### **Middle East Conflicts**

In 1990, Iraq invaded the US allied nation of Kuwait, leading to a US-coalition involvement in the region, called Operation Desert Storm. The invasion was highly successful, with Iraq withdrawing from Kuwait, and was also the last combat appearance of the *Iowa*-class Battleships of the United States Navy.

### **Sino-Korean War**

In 2023, after the collapse of North Korea, the United States was dragged into the Sino-Korean War after Chinese troops began to push South Korean forces down into South Korea. In 2025, they were joined by Japan and Taiwan, who directly contributed to beating back China. During the war, the United States lost several major naval vessels and part of its air force. By the end of the war in 2029, the United States Military was weakened, but not substantially.

## Military

The United States Armed Forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The armed forces has played an important role in American history since its inception, helping the US reach its superpower status in the 20th and 21st centuries.

### **United States Army**

The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces, first founded on the 14th of June 1775 as the Continental Army. With 1.4 million active personnel, the army was historically one of the most powerful branches of the military, operating a plethora of armored vehicles and transports leading to a highly-effective military force.

### **United States Marine Corps**

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces, first founded on the 10th of November 1775 as the Continental Marines. The USMC operates under the Department of the Navy, despite being its own branch, due to the fact that it works very closely with the USN.

### **United States Navy**

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces, first founded on the 13th of October 1775 as the Continental Navy. The USN has historically operated a large amount of warships and other watercraft, as well as having a large inventory of aircraft. Currently, the USN operates 8 aircraft carriers, 72 cruisers and destroyers, 63 submarines, and 59 other small combatant ships and logistics ships.

### **United States Air Force**

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces, first founded on the 18th of September 1947 from the United States Army Air Force. The USAF has operated a large amount of aircraft, from the technologically advanced B-2 Spirit to the highly-advanced yet controversial and expensive F-35 Lightning II. The USAF currently has 5,369 military aircraft and 406 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

### **United States Space Force**

The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces, first being founded on the 20th of December 2019. Currently, the United States Space Force has not seen much development due to most funds being allocated to the recent wars.

### **United States Coast Guard**

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces. First being founded on August 4th, 1790. The USCG operates a large fleet of cutters, naval ships similar to US destroyers, for coastal defense and patrolling duties.

## Foreign Relations

The United States of America has established official alliances with the following nations:

* Australia
* Canada
* France
* Germany
* Ireland
* Israel
* Italy
* Japan
* Norway
* South Korea
* Sweden
* Taiwan
* United Kingdom