United States

The **United States of America** (**U.S.A.** or **USA**), commonly known as the **United States** (**U.S.** or **US**) or **America**, is a country primarily located in North America and consisting of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third-most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C., and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City.

## History

### Revolution and the new nation (1763–1849)

After the British victory in the French and Indian War that was won largely through the support in men and materiel from the colonies, the British began to assert greater control in local colonial affairs, fomenting colonial political resistance. In 1774, to demonstrate colonial dissatisfaction with the lack of representation in the British government that extracted taxes from them, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and passed the Continental Association, which mandated a colonies-wide boycott of British goods. The American Revolutionary War began the following year, on April 19, 1775, at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The colonies responded by again convening in Philadelphia in the Second Continental Congress, where, in June 1775, they appointed George Washington as commander of the Continental Army, which was initially comprised of various American patriot militias resisting the British Army. In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress charged a committee of five of its delegates−John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman−with writing a draft of the Declaration of Independence. The five delegates, in turn, asked Jefferson to author its first draft. While Jefferson consulted with the other four delegates.

### Cold War (1945-1991)

The United States of America played a central and defining role in the global geopolitical landscape throughout the Cold War, a period of intense ideological, political, and military rivalry between the Western bloc, led by the U.S. and its NATO allies, and the Eastern bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union and its satellite states. Lasting from the end of World War II in 1945 to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cold War was characterized by ideological confrontation, nuclear arms race, proxy conflicts, and technological competition.

#### **Origins and Early Years**

The origins of the Cold War can be traced to the differing political and economic ideologies of the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The U.S., promoting capitalism, democracy, and individual freedoms, stood in contrast to the Soviet Union's communist ideology, advocating for state control of the economy and the elimination of class distinctions. The end of World War II marked the beginning of tensions, as the wartime alliance between the U.S. and the Soviet Union dissolved, and both superpowers sought to expand their spheres of influence.

#### **Containment Doctrine**

The U.S. adopted a policy of containment, formulated by diplomat George F. Kennan, which aimed to prevent the spread of communism and Soviet influence. This policy led to the establishment of economic, political, and military alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), designed to counterbalance Soviet power and provide collective security among Western nations.

#### **Arms Race and Space Race**

One of the defining features of the Cold War was the arms race, particularly the race to develop and stockpile nuclear weapons. The U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a costly competition to build larger arsenals of nuclear weapons, leading to an era of heightened tension and the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD). Additionally, the Space Race emerged as a symbolic competition, culminating in the U.S. successfully landing the first humans on the moon in 1969.

#### **Proxy Conflicts and Global Reach**

The Cold War saw the superpowers engage in proxy conflicts, supporting opposing sides in various regional disputes around the world. Notable examples include the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975), where the U.S. provided military and financial assistance to South Korea and South Vietnam respectively, in opposition to communist forces supported by the Soviet Union and China.

#### **Détente and the End of the Cold War**

Tensions eased in the 1970s with the policy of détente, as both superpowers recognized the dangers of nuclear confrontation. Strategic arms limitation agreements were reached, limiting the growth of nuclear arsenals. The election of Mikhail Gorbachev as Soviet leader in the mid-1980s ushered in a new era of reforms in the Soviet Union, and his policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) led to increased dialogue and cooperation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

The Cold War culminated in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the unraveling of the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolized the end of the ideological and physical divide in Europe. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked the formal end of the Cold War, leaving the United States as the world's sole superpower.