United States of America

Flag of the United States

> "*In God we Trust*"
>
>
>
> —Official motto of the US

The United States of America is a transcontinental country primarily located in North America, Earth. It consists of 52 states, and is the third-largest country by both land and total area. The United States shares land borders with Canada to the north and with Mexico to the south as well as maritime borders with many others. It has a population of over 517 million.

The United States gained independence from the British Empire, as the Thirteen Colonies along the East Coast disputed with Britain over taxation and political representation, which led to the American Revolution, which establishing the nation's independence. By the 18th century, the US expanded across North America. However, controversy surrounding the continued practice of slavery in the Southern states caused their secession and war against the North during the American Civil War.

Throughout the 19th and 20th century, the US was firmly established as a global power, with the decline of the British Empire after the WW2 securing it as a superpower. In the late 20th century, the US fought in a decades-long cold war with its main rival, the Soviet Union. In this time, the US began its first excursions in space, eventually landing a man on Luna in 1969. In 1991, the US was firmly established as the sole world superpower with the fall of the Soviet Union. As the US entered the 21st century, its sole superpower status began to wane in favour of the European Union, China and a resurgent Russia. Additional effort began to be put in space exploration, with the first landings on Mars, as well as the first Lunar base being established by the US. However, growing tensions between East and West culminated in the Third World War; a brief but devastating conflict resulting in the dissolution of Russian power; but established a tripartite of superpowers.

Over the mid-21st century, the US faced resistance to solar colonization, especially in the rebellions of Mars, resulting in its total independence from the US. In the final years of the century, the US launched colonial efforts focused on Jupiter; but that too fell short with the first major space conflict taking place; the Jovian Wars, resulting in the independence of all Jovian moons.

Despite its failings in the 21st century, as the US enters the 22nd, a resurgent effort has begun to colonize and hold the new worlds opened up to it, with the advent of FTL technology, The United States is considered to be a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, and its population has been profoundly shaped by centuries of immigration.

## History

### Establishment (1776-1865)

After the colonization of the East coast of North America by the British Empire, the success of the colony lead to the Royal family in Britain to periodically reassert their authority over the increasingly-autonomous colony. The lack of parliamentary representation caused a revolutionary war, lasting from 1765-1791, with the colonies formally declaring independence on July 4th 1776. Over the next few decades, the US had a lasting rivalry with Great Britain, with several successive conflicts taking place to firmly determine borders. Throughout the 17th century, the US expanded westward, and colonized much of North America, coming into conflict with Mexico and the continent's native peoples.

However, as the US expanded, disputes arose over the issue of slavery - the highly profitable cotton industry caused the slave trade to swell in the deep south, while abolitionism flourished in the north. This dispute eventually lead to civil war erupting in the south, with the ensuing war becoming the deadliest conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers. Eventually, in 1865, the rebels were defeated, and the reconstruction of the South began.

### Establishing Global Power (1865-1945)

In the aftermath of the civil war, the US formally ended slavery in the 13th amendment, and reconstruction of the South began. However, in the aftermath of the assassination of President Lincoln, division began again, and African-American citizens once again faced discrimination; both in the North and South. Elsewhere, the US faced a massive influx of immigrants, transforming the North into an urban and industrial center. Transport infrastructure soon linked east and west, transcontinental railroads. Industrialization also quickly took root; the US becoming one of the most industrialized nations in the world. With the development of industry also gave rise to many democratic principles which would take root across the globe, such as organised labor, universal suffrage and antitrust laws.

As the US entered the 20th century, it became increasingly isolated from global affairs - largely remaining a neutral power during the First World War; only intervening in 1917 due to overzealous German submarine warfare. In the post-war era, the US largely retreated into isolationism, not joining the newly-established League of Nations and engaged in a policy of non-interventionism with European affairs. Throughout the 1920s, the US saw an era of unprecedented prosperity. However, in 1929, the Wall Street stock market collapsed, causing the Great Depression, widespread unemployment and economic turmoil which would last for a decade.

During the opening stages of the Second World War, the US remained neutral, although it supplied aid to the United Kingdom and her allies via lend lease programs. In December 1941, attacked Pearl Harbor, provoking a declaration of war. US grand strategy focused on defeating Germany; and focusing on the war in the Pacific on a later date. In 1945, with the defeat of Germany imminent, the US participated in several talks with the UK and Soviet Union, establishing the new post-war global order, with a firm plurality on the power split. These talks also established the groundwork for what would become the United Nations. Throughout summer of that year, the US firmly focused on Japan, decisively defeating it in several naval engagements. In August, the US became the first to detonate nuclear weaponry in warfare, destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Japan surrendering within the next month. With the war over, the US set about reconstructing Europe.

### Superpower Status (1945-2054)

In the post-war era, the US accrued support in the devastated Europe via the Marshal Plan, $13 billion in disbursements spent to reconstruct the damage caused by the war. In this time, geopolitical tensions also began between the Soviet Union and United States, driven by ideological divisions, culminating in a 50-year long cold war between the two superpowers. The US secured its allies in a joint defensive alliance and pursed a policy of containing the influence of the USSR, especially in developing nations. The US also fought in several proxy conflicts over this issue, such as in Korea and Vietnam. Advances in spaceflight capability also lead to the Space Race, resulting in the US becoming the first nation to land people on the Moon. While the Cold War saw many developments of nuclear weapons, no proxy conflict ever escalated into a direct military confrontation. In 1989, the Cold War was declared over with the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany, and in 1991, the USSR formally dissolved, leaving the US as the sole global superpower.

Domestically, the US also saw many changes. The US saw a substantial increase in urbanization, economic growth and population. Many social changes also took place - the civil rights movement confronting the long-standing issue of racism, opposing it by nonviolent protest. The counter-culture movement also emerged in this period, opposing the US proxy wars and advocating for greater civil rights, woman's rights and LGBTQ+ rights. US welfare programs also took off during this period, with food aid and increased healthcare. As the century closed, the US oversaw many technological advancements, with the advent of the internet. The 1990s also saw a massive economic boom due to a reduction in welfare spending. The US also took on a more interventionist role on the international stage, launching a coalition war against Iraq and restoring the independence of Kuwait.

As the US entered the 21st century, the early years were marred by terrorist attacks across the nation, and a subsequent war on terror which shaped the decade. The US saw increased mass surveillance, political polarization and xenophobia due to this. Between the 2010s and 2020s, the US faced a number of economic crisis', greatly reducing the strength of its economy and eventually causing a geopolitical duality to emerge again in 2029 between the US and the People's Republic of China.

Facing the prospect of losing its superpower status, the US began a renewed effort to expand its influence, and increasingly opened its arms to potential allies. The creation of the Pacific Alliance Treaty Organization (PATO) formalized the loose network of alliances America had formed over the 20th and 21st centuries. The US also openly recognized the independence of Taiwan and moved to sever most economic ties with mainland China. This new cold war was entrenched, although it was fought by very different means, mainly through economic superiority, although proxy military clashes did take place (see: Chinese Intervention in Green Ukraine, Chinese Forces in Myanmar, US Support in the Tibetan Resistance, US Support of the Xinjiang Liberation Army)

This renewed cold war, with its focus on economic output and a secondary emphasis on military strength, helped pull the US out of the decades-long economic downturn it had been facing for the past two decades. Additionally, the presence of an outside enemy helped many of the moderate elements in the nation pull back together, partially reversing the political polarization. However, by this point, much of the damage had already been done - the creation of the far-right National Party in 2034 had created a hard divide in the American right-wing, and eventually led to the merging of the Democratic and Republican parties into the joint Democratic-Republican Party in 2047, which dominated the American political space for most of the remaining century.

#### Third World War

In January 2051, after the sudden Chinese invasion of Taiwan (among other events on the 1st day of the Third World War), the US quickly mobilized its forces and moved to depart. However, as the US Pacific fleet had been temporally diverted to Tokyo for repair during a brief detente in the cold war, Chinese invasion craft had been allowed to slip through nearly unopposed. As the US scrambled to regain the initiative in the conflict, it quickly became apparent that this was a new global conflict.

##### Pacific Theater

Despite being on the initial backfoot, the US quickly attempted to regain the initiative and slow down the large advances made by Chinese forces. Attempts to repel Chinese landing on Taiwan failed, although US-sponsored resistance movements were highly successful. The Korean Campaign was a huge success, with enemy forces being almost entirely repelled from the peninsula by early 2052. Further US-supported campaigns in Southeast Asia were met with mixed success, as although government continuity of Vietnam was ensured, and coalition-sponsored resistance movements were highly effective in disrupting occupational forces, the campaign to regain territory and capitulate enemy nations was bogged down by terrain, and many enemy cities held out until the total surrender of Chinese forces in April 2054.

##### Atlantic Theater

American forces coming into the Atlantic theater were far more prepared for immediate action - Russian intervention in the war was predicted, which allowed response forces to be positioned accordingly. US and UEF forces participated in the full-scale invasion of Russia, with American forces being especially prominent during the Minsk salient, the fall of St Petersburg and the siege of Volgograd. US special forces also assisted with the naval invasions of North Africa, and the US air campaign over the middle east greatly assisted coalition forces during Operation Sandstorm.

##### Chinese Theater

Operation *Fall Loong* was launched in June 2053, and coalition forces moved into mainland China from all directions, all of its allies having surrendered and its occupying forces being repelled from much of the world. *Fall Loong* was conjoined with large-scale revolts in Xinjiang, Tibet and Mongolia as well as localized pro-peace demonstrations in many urban areas. Although these protests were quashed brutally, many of China's outlying regions were cut off and taken by coalition forces or resistance movements, leaving China with only its heartland by winter. As coalition forces moved to capture Beijing in January 2054, CCP civil and military leadership evacuated to the Xilinhot Complex. As progress slowed with China's large urban coverage delaying offensive action, the US unilaterally elected to launch an atomic bomb onto Xilinhot, on April 20th killing over 60,000 civilians. However, the action decapitated much of Chinese leadership, and the remaining government officials unconditionally surrendered on April 21st 2054, ending the war.

### Solar Colonization (2054-2112)

In the aftermath of the war, the US was once again the sole global hegemon. However, its lunar colony had broken away during the war. Unwilling to mount an invasion, and with US space forces lacking, the US formally recognized the Lunar Federation in 2055, and relations quickly normalized, especially as fusion energy saw a breakthrough which propelled it into mainstream use. As the 2050s continued, the US continued funding its Martian colony, and also sent expeditions to the asteroid belt, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. It also first began constructing the first generation of space warships in anticipation of future extraplanetary conflict, and to keep pace with the burgeoning Lunar space fleet.

At home, the economy saw a boom as new markets were opened across the world, and a need for US exports in recovering nations drove manufacturing up. The postwar spirit also encouraged cultural change, with a mix of renewed patriotism and the introduction of new ideas from across the globe, partially breaking the shell of US intellectual isolationism. This change was crystallized in the 2070s with the formation of the centre-left Progressive Party, which gained a substantial following, and was able to challenge the majority rule of the D-R party in the senate and congress, forcing the formation of coalition governments in many cases. In the 2076 Democrat-Republican-Progressive Coalition Government, the Progressive Party pushed through several reforms which introduced the welfare state to America, providing universal healthcare, subsidized higher education along with many other benefits which greatly improved the quality of life for the average citizen.

During the 2060s, after decades of authoritarian rule under corporations, Mars started a large-scale resistance campaign against Earth. After the New Leeds Riots, the US began to exert more direct rule over the colony, although strong corporate control was unable to be fully broken, which perpetuated resentment towards Earth from the colonists. On January 3rd 2070, terrorists detonated an IED on the Nova Olympia rail line, killing 31 government and corporate officials, and starting a 6 year conflict known as the Martian Troubles. The conflict was fought in most US-owned Martian cities, with private security forces and US military personnel fighting guerrilla militia. The conflict was also marked with anti-Earth attacks on infrastructure and government buildings. The turning point in the conflict came in 2075, when the US agreed to withdraw from Mars in exchange for the self-proclaimed Martian Confederacy to claim the rest of Mars. The lack of US military forces backing up private security meant independence fighters quickly overran most cities. The remaining corporate strongholds were quickly conquered during the Martian Unification Wars, and the US formally established diplomatic relations with Mars in 2078.

The loss of Mars had a profound effect on the US populace - with many declaring extraplanetary colonies as a useless affair. This meant the US did not partake as strongly in the Jovian rush, only building settlements on Callisto. Despite this, the US continued to expand its powerful space fleet, updating most designs to their third generation. US bases throughout the system, especially the strategically significant Lagrange stations on Earth, Martian and Jovian orbits, were also maintained and upgraded.

### Solar Power (2112-2150)

The US fully embraced its status as a solar power through its role in the First Jovian War after the Chinese and Indian governments requested intervention to stop their mutinous navies fighting. After 2 days of transit, the US Jupiter Fleet entered Ganymede orbit and positioned themselves between the two battling navies, ending hostilities. The surviving commands of both navies were detained by US marines, and sent back to Earth. With the moon in ruins and no intact Chinese or Indian forces in the area, the US diverted a large portion of Callisto's merchant fleet to Ganymede to provide relief supplies to the populace. In addition to US forces being on-location delivering relief, this act gave the US much leverage in peace negotiations, and allowed for Ganymede's independence to be secured under US protection.

In 2120, the US granted its colony on Callisto independence and aided the Republic of Europa along with the UEF in their war with Russia. In doing so, the US secured a significant amount of political leverage over the young Jovian republics. This peaceful transition to independence also allowed the US to maintain much of its orbital infrastructure in the Jovian system, including FOBs, shipyards, research stations and mining stations. The most important of those stations was

## Demographics

### Population

The United States has a population of 418 million people, making it the 6th largest nation on Earth, and has an annual growth rate of 0.045%, below half the global average growth rate. This is believed to be due to the high standard of medical healthcare

## Government & Politics

### Political Subdivisions

The United States sovereignty is shared between two levels of government: national and state. Each state holds some executive, legislative and judicial powers over its defined territory. The US is divided into 52 such states - comprising the 13 colonies of the original Union, and the 39 which have been admitted since - the latest being Puerto Rico in 2060, and Pacific State in 2099. States are further subdivided into counties and municipalities, which have a variety of different systems of local government depending on the state.

There are also a number of special territories which are not part of a state - including the District of Columbia, and several uninhabited islands, atolls and reefs.

### Executive

The US president is both the head of state and the head of government. They are required to uphold the constitution

The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The president and the vice president are elected together in a presidential election. It is an indirect election, with the winner being determined by votes cast by electors of the Electoral College, although due to established tradition, the Electoral college votes proportionally to the popular vote. The President and Vice President serve a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice.

The Democrat-Republican Richard Armstrong is the 76th and current president of the United States having been elected in 2160. The Progressive Andrea Yates serves as his vice-president as part of the 2160 coalition government.

### Legislative

The U.S. Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment.

The Senate has 100 members (2 from each state), elected for a six-year term.

The House of Representatives has 435 members from single member congressional districts allocated to each state on the basis of population, elected for a two-year term.

### Judicial

The U.S. federal judiciary, whose judges are all appointed for life by the President with Senate approval, consists primarily of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. courts of appeals, and the U.S. district courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court interprets laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is led by the chief justice of the United States. It has nine members who serve for life. The members are appointed by the sitting president when a vacancy becomes available

### Foreign Relations

The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it had the world's second-largest diplomatic corps in 2021. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and home to the United Nations headquarters in New York. The US also has a permanent seat at the Intersolar Assembly. Almost all countries have embassies in the country and host diplomatic missions from the United States, with the exception of Bhutan, Iraq and Venezuela .

The United States has a "Special Relationship" with the United Kingdom and has strong ties with Canada, Australasia, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and the United European Federation. The U.S. works closely with its NATO allies on military and national security issues. In the Americas, the US maintains strong relations with most of its continental neighbors, although relations with Mexico have increasingly soured after the breakaway of Baja, Yucatan and Chiapas. However, the US has been accused of interfering in other nations affairs in Central America to forcibly impose liberal democracy, especially after the Caribbean Spring in the 2110s.

The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau partially though PATO. It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation with India, and China.

### Military

The United States Armed Forces consist of 4 main service branches - the US Army, US Air Force, US Navy and US Space Force

The United States of America is widely considered the largest military power in the Solar System, with a fleet consisting of over 50 capital ships, and hundreds more lighter vessels.