United States

## United States of America

**Vice-President of the United States:**
Paul Ryan (2021–)

The **United States of America** (**U.S.A.** or **USA**), commonly known as the **United States** (**U.S.** or **US**), **America** or the **Union**, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of twenty-one states, including some small territories. The United States shares land borders with New London to the north, the Confederate States to the south, and Louisiana to the west. The national capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago, and European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Disputes with Great Britain over taxation and political representation led to the First American Revolutionary War (1775–1784), which established the nation's independence. In 1814, the United States officially annexed Upper and Lower Canada into the country, and later admitted them as states in 1817. However, it did lose states as the southern states declared independence in 1861 from the Union, and were officially recognized in 1864 after three years of fighting in the Second American Revolutionary War.

The United States is a federal republic and a representative democracy with three separate branches of government, including a bicameral legislature. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, NATO, and other international organizations. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Considered a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, its population has been profoundly shaped by centuries of immigration. The U.S. ranks high in international measures of economic freedom, quality of life, education, and human rights; it has low levels of perceived corruption. However, the country has been criticized for inequality related to race, wealth, and income; use of capital punishment; high incarceration rates; and lack of universal health care.

## History

### Foundation

The First American Revolutionary War fought by the Thirteen Colonies against the British Empire was the first successful war of independence by a non-European entity against a European power in modern history. Americans had developed an ideology of "republicanism", asserting that government rested on the will of the people as expressed in their local legislatures. They demanded their "rights as Englishmen" and "no taxation without representation". The British insisted on administering the empire through Parliament, and the conflict escalated into war. The Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; this day is celebrated annually as Independence Day. In 1777, the Articles of Confederation established a decentralized government that operated until the constitution was rewritten in 1789.

After its defeat at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, Britain signed a peace treaty. American sovereignty became internationally recognized, and the country was granted all lands east of the Mississippi River. Tensions with Britain remained, however, leading to the First Anglo-American War, which was fought until the United States finally got hold of the Canadas. Nationalists led the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in writing the United States Constitution, ratified in state conventions in 1788. Going into force in 1789, this constitution reorganized the federal government into three branches, on the principle of creating salutary checks and balances. George Washington, who had led the Continental Army to victory, was the first president elected under the new constitution. The Bill of Rights, forbidding federal restriction of personal freedoms and guaranteeing a range of legal protections, was adopted in 1791.

Although the federal government outlawed American participation in the Atlantic slave trade in 1807, after 1820, cultivation of the highly profitable cotton crop exploded in the Deep South, and along with it, the slave population. The Second Great Awakening, especially in the period 1800–1840, converted millions to evangelical Protestantism. In the North, it energized multiple social reform movements, including abolitionism; in the South, Methodists and Baptists proselytized among slave populations.

### Second Revolutionary War and Aftermath

Irreconcilable sectional conflict regarding the enslavement of Africans and African Americans ultimately led to the American Civil War. With the 1860 election of Republican Abraham Lincoln, conventions in thirteen slave states declared secession and formed the Confederate States of America (the "South" or the "Confederacy"), while the federal government (the "Union") maintained that secession was illegal. In order to bring about this secession, military action was initiated by the secessionists, and the Union responded in kind. The ensuing war would become the deadliest military conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of approximately 409,000 soldiers as well as many civilians. The Union initially simply fought to keep the country united. However, the Union soon was forced to sue for peace by Great Britain and France, who were mad at the United States for cutting the cotton trade. This allowed for the Confederate States to be officially recognized as independent by Lincoln. Lincoln however lost the 1864 election to George B. McClellan, who seeked to "gain back what is rightfully ours". These tensions between the U.S. and the C.S. would eventually lead to what is known as the First Cold War.

After the Second Revolutionary War, new transcontinental railways made relocation easier for settlers, expanded internal trade, and increased conflicts with Native Americans. In 1869, a new Peace Policy nominally promised to protect Native Americans from abuses, avoid further war, and secure their eventual U.S. citizenship. Nonetheless, large-scale conflicts continued throughout the West into the 1900s.

### Entry into the 20th century

The United States entered the 20th century pretty casually - it was economically successful, getting a lot of money by trading with other countries. However, in 1914, World War I broke out between Austria and Germany. President Theodore Roosevelt declared war on 2 March 1915. American troops didn't arrive in Europe until June 1915, but soon, the German Empire was defeated and lost its colonies.