United States

The **United States of America** (USA), commonly known as the **United States** (**U.S.** or **US**), or **America**, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 48 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, 326 Indian reservations, and some minor possessions. As well as, a large and growing network of space colonies in Earth's orbit, several communities on the Moon, and many orbital habitats throughout the Solar System.

The U.S. is a country of 48 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York City, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.

The United States is the third largest country in size (behind the USSR and Canada) and fourth by population (behind India, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China). It is the most powerful nation in the world in both economic and military terms. In addition to this it is on the cutting edge of technology; especially in space, military and computer technologies. The United States is considered one of the world's two superpowers, the other being the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

The United States spent the second-half of the twentieth century locked in a Cold War with the USSR but relations have since cooled and both maintain cordial toward one another in issues regarding global security. By international law, lunar locations as well as any real estate in the Solar System is ripe for claims by any nation-state or multinational corporation, U.S. space policy maintains a "manifest destiny" that extends toward the Moon and other locations throughout the system. With the dissolution of NATO and the creation of its successor, INTO, the United States finds itself the leading nation in global affairs and often referred to derogatorily as "the world's policeman."

In addition to America's leadership in the sciences and military issues, America is an important industrial power and is the second largest trading nation after Mexico, globally.

The **United States of America** was a federal republic that existed on the planet Earth with 48 states and a federal district that maintained a large and growing network of space colonies in Earth orbit and on Luna.

For much of the 20th century, the United States dominated the world's economy and successfully accomplished many previously thought impossible feats like landing humans on the Moon in 1969.

By the early-mid 21st century, the United States was the third largest country in size (behind the Russian Federation and Canada) and third in population (behind India and China). It was the most powerful nation in the world in both economic and military terms. In addition to this, it was on the cutting edge of technology; especially in space, military and computer technologies. Toward the mid-late 21st century, the United States was the second most powerful nation on the planet in terms of GDP (behind India but only slightly ahead of China), all three were considered the world's only superpowers during the 21st century.

The United States was the leading nation in the International Treaty Organization (INTO), a successor of NATO and the UN. INTO was a global military and economic alliance, the most important in the world. INTO later extended its control onto extraterrestrial assets via the Global Oversight Committee of INTO. INTO disbanded in the early-mid 22nd century as the United States, Canada and Mexico formed a supranational government in UNA (United North America). United North America became the focal point from which the Western Coalition was created.

## History

### 21st century

During the late 2000s, the U.S. suffered from the ramifications of a global economic downturn that steadily worsened and later became known as the Great Recession. The US economy eventually rebounded about a decade later leading to a prosperous era for the wealthy but lead to a prolonged era of poverty for many of the middle class.

In the summer of 2017, a group of terrorists detonated a nuclear device shutting down shipping traffic in the Persian Gulf leading to an energy crisis which was eventually resolved after the bombing of an emergency economic summit in Beijing and a brief three-way conflict between the U.S., Russia and China in 2018.

In July 2019, U.S. President Whitaker signed his *World Space Exploration Initiative,* which helped form the World Space Commission and gave birth to an era known as the New Space Race where many space-oriented activities were undertaken by governmental and private organizations. The 2020s saw intense development of Earth orbit and Lunar outposts by many of the world's leading countries though many made an active effort to assist less capable nations of achieving space travel.

Toward the middle of the 21st century, the nation's influence significantly waned, but quickly rebounded when the People's Republic of China collapsed during the 2040s. The U.S. greatly benefited from the fall of Communism in China, eventually spurring a revitalization of the U.S. and returning it to the status it had originally enjoyed during the 20th century. Though this was ultimately short-lived as India quickly shot ahead of China and the United States and by the 2060s, India had become the world's number one superpower.

In the latter half of the 21st century, the Earth had successfully pulled itself from the brink of environmental disaster though it had proven too late to stop many adverse effects of climate change, i.e. rising sea levels, desertification and increased rainfall in many parts of the world. The U.S. began to scale back many urban sprawls and began to build vertical super tall skyscrapers with a built-in arcologies and easy access telecommuting.

In the 2070s, there were many ocean-faring cities that began levying for independent or inclusion as states of the U.S. The U.S. celebrated its tricentennial on July 4, 2076 without admitting any states, at this point, it had been 164 years since the country had last admitted a new state into its union.

Due to its low height above sea level, the flood barriers in New York gave way in the 2090s, many citizens were prepared for this inevitability and were safe when the barriers fell, surviving inside the immense super tall structures that were constructed for this very reason.

### 22nd century

All throughout the 2100s, the U.S. spent trillions in repair efforts to the Gulf Coast and surrounding southern states due to increasing supercanes.

During the 22nd century, the United States joined Canada and Mexico by forming the supranational organization called United North America, after adopting a common currency with the Amero.

As Mexico suffered extreme droughts and the U.S. began to suffer immense economic and demographic decline, Canada seemed to be the sole benefactor from the climate change, as a more tropical climate began to take shape.

Many citizens born in North America are referred to as Northams, short for North American.

### Democratic Party

The **Democratic Party** is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828, making it the world's oldest active party.

Once its dominant worldview was classical liberalism, but modern social liberalism became a force within the party with the candidatures of William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, who won the presidential nominations in 1896, 1900, 1908, 1912 and 1916. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s the Democratic Party has promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice and a mixed economy. The Democrats' philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It pursues a mixed economy by providing government intervention and regulation in the economy. These interventions, such as the introduction of social programs, support for labor unions, moves toward universal health care and equal opportunity, consumer protection, and environmental protection form the core of the party's economic policy. The party, since the 1980s, has promoted environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice, participatory grassroots democracy, feminism, LGBT rights, and anti-racism.

Well into the 20th century, the party had a conservative pro-business wing and attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics—based in the major cities, and included a populist-conservative and evangelical wing based in the rural South. After 1932 and Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, the business wing withered and, between the 1960s and the 1990s, Southern whites and many Catholics moved into the Republican Party. Today, the congressional Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, with a smaller minority of conservatives.

There have been 15 Democratic presidents: the first was Andrew Jackson, who served from 1829 to 1837. The most recent president was, Henry Raymond, who left office in 2013.

In the 114th Congress, following the 2014 elections, Democrats hold a minority of seats in the House of Representatives as well as in the Senate. The party also holds 18 governorships and control of a minority of state legislatures.

### Republican Party

The **Republican Party**, commonly referred to as the **GOP** (abbreviation for **Grand Old Party**), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Founded by anti-slavery activists, modernists, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers in 1854, the Republicans dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern States for most of the period between 1860 and 1932. There have been 17 Republican presidents, the first being Abraham Lincoln, who served from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, and the current President Bud McMurray is a member of the party.

Although it is named after republicanism, the party no longer revolves around that philosophy. In the 1960s, the party's platform is generally based on conservatism, in contrast to the modern liberalism of the Democrats at the time. The Republican Party's conservatism involved support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, business, a strong national defense, deregulation, restrictions on labor unions, social-conservative policies (particularly opposition to abortion), and traditional values, usually with a Christian foundation. From the 1990s onward, the party's philosophy has trended toward a libertarian ideology promoting civil liberties, free markets, non-interventionism, and laissez-faire. Current policy positions include lowering taxes, allowing people to opt out of Social Security, abolishing welfare, ending the prohibition of illegal drugs, supporting same-sex marriage rights and supporting gun ownership rights.

In 2012, a National Review op-ed stated that the party was more culturally liberal than the Democrats, but more fiscally conservative than ever. The party has generally promoted a classical liberal platform, in contrast to the modern liberal and progressive platform of the Democrats.

In the 114th United States Congress, Republicans have their largest majority in the House of Representatives since the 1928 election and a majority of seats in the Senate. The party also holds a majority of governorships and state legislatures.

The **United States of America** (**USA**), commonly referred to as the **United States** (**U.S.**) or **America**, is a federal republic composed of 48 states, a federal district, seven major territories and various possessions. The 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and Alaska. At 3.8 million square miles (9.842 million km2) and with over 320 million people, the country is the world's third or fourth-largest by total area and the third most populous. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The geography and climate of the United States are also extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Eurasia to what is now the U.S. mainland at least 15,000 years ago, with European colonization beginning in the 16th century. The United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolution. On July 4, 1776, as the colonies were fighting Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, delegates from the 13 colonies unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence. The war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by the Kingdom of Great Britain, and was the first successful war of independence against a European colonial empire. The country's constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, and ratified by the states in 1788. The first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. Driven by the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, the United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century. This involved displacing American Indian tribes, acquiring new territories, and gradually admitting new states, until by 1848 the nation spanned the continent. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War ended legal slavery in the country. By the end of that century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean, and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1985 left the United States as the world's sole superpower.

The United States is a developed country and has the world's largest national economy by nominal and real GDP, benefiting from an abundance of natural resources and high worker productivity. While the U.S. economy is considered post-industrial, the country continues to be one of the world's largest manufacturers. Accounting for 33% of global military spending and 25% of world GDP, it is the world's foremost military and economic power, a prominent political and cultural force, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations.