United States

> "In God We Trust" - the official motto of the United States of America
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The **United States**, officially known as the **United States of America**, commonly referred to as the **US**, the **USA**, or **America**, is a real-world country prominently featured in the *Foxtrot: Foxes in Arms* series. It is a developed country and international superpower occupying the center of North America as well as various other territories. Its capital city is Washington, DC, located on the east coast. The country maintains the largest military force on Earth and is a founding member of both the United Nations and NATO. As such, its military has seen involvement in conflicts around the world.

In the series, the United States is seen being dragged into an ongoing war with the Urocyan Empire, whose emperor aims to conquer the entire world. The Urocyan military proves to be the most dangerous enemy the US has had in a long time. Many members of the main cast, the Skulk, reside in the United States, and some of those are members of the military.

## History

### Early History

In the 1700s, following colonization in the 1600s, America declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, which was the official founding of the country. A war of independence would follow and would end in 1783 with the colonies gaining their independence. The new nation began expanding over the following years, gaining more territories, and states, throughout North America, with the country spanning east to west coast by 1848. In the 1860s, the American Civil War occurs, with the secession of the Confederate States of America and the Confederates fighting the Union primarily about the practice of slavery. The Union wins the war in 1865, and the country is unified once more, abolishing slavery.

By the 1900s, the United States became the world's largest economy, and would get involved in the Spanish-American War and World War I, establishing itself as a world power. It would also see itself being dragged into World War II in the 1940s with the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. When that war ended, the US and the Soviet Union, or USSR, were left as the two sole superpowers of the world. And the Cold War officially begins in 1945.

### Modern History

During the Cold War, the US would find itself in several proxy conflicts including the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the latter officially ending in 1975 with the US withdrawing troops from Vietnam after 20 years of fighting. Other known events include the 1960's space race and the civil rights movement. In the 1970s, Urocyia, then establishing itself as a republic, became a trading partner with America and the United Kingdom, and would be on friendly terms with each other for many years. The US would even help Urocyia build its military forces up, despite being known to also be trading with the Soviets on the other side of the Iron Curtain. The Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991 marked the end of the Cold War and left America as the world's sole super power. Going back to the Urocyan Republic, the country had fallen into a state of civil war, and in 1993, United Nations forces led by the United States try to put a stop to the fighting, and a new government in that country being established in 1995.

The 21st Century brought quiet a bit of change. The terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 occur, and the US launches the war on terror, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

### War with Urocyia

By the late 2010s, the United States was growing weary of the situation in Urocyia. Another coup had occurred, having been led by Arian Torres, and it was successful, with Urocyia being reformed from a republic to an empire. Torres then began annexations in several parts of the world, a move seen several times before, most notably with Germany in Europe in the 1930s. This continued on until the American Congress decided to put a stop to it, authorizing military action to be used to send a message to the Urocyan Empire. A large US Navy task force was sent to attack Imperial Forces on a remote island chain that was gearing up to launch another attack. Navy warships and aircraft launched from carriers pounded the combined base, subduing any Imperial activity in the region. This starts a conflict between the US and Urocyia that would last for quite some time before escalating in the winter of 2020-2021.

Urocyia would launch a large attack against American military installations around the world, including the American mainland itself. Torres issues a message to America, stating that this is what they can expect if they want a fight, and officially declares war. America's naval capability was dealt quite the blow, having been attacked by dozens of both drones and manned aircraft launched from various sites. Numerous ships have been sunk or damaged. Though some of America's navy was able to survive and put up a fight, such as the recommissioned battleship USS *Missouri* under the command of Captain Arthur Snow, who'd coordinated a counterattack with several other naval officers. Several American carriers that survived the attacks attempted retaliatory strikes against the Empire as it began its mass blitz across the world. Many of these strikes were not successful, despite how well the Americans put up a fight. Despite the failed attacks, the US would not forfeit the fight, and continued to fight Urocyia.

The war is presently ongoing.

## Geography

The United States is situated mostly in central North America, where its 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.

The United States, with its large size and geographic variety, includes most climate types. To the east, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The Great Plains to the west are semi-arid. Many mountainous areas of the American West have an alpine climate. The climate is arid in the Great Basin, desert in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California, and oceanic in coastal Oregon and Washington and southern Alaska. Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar. Hawaii and the southern tip of Florida are tropical, as well as its territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific

## Politics

### Government

The United States is a democratic federal republic of 50 states, a federal district, five territories and several uninhabited island possessions, headed by a popularly-elected President and Vice President who assume the executive office in four-year terms. In the American federal system, sovereignty is shared between two levels of government: federal and state. Citizens of the states are also governed by local governments, which are administrative divisions of the states. The territories are administrative divisions of the federal government.

The U.S. Constitution serves as the country's supreme legal document. The Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. The United States also has operated under a two-party system for most of its history, including the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

## Military

The United States has one of the largest and most well-equipped military forces in the world. The President serves as the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Department of Defense, which is headquartered at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., administers five of the six service branches, which are made up of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force. The Coast Guard is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in wartime.