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{{Hatnote|"America" redirects here. For the continent, see [[Americas]]. For other uses, see [[United States (disambiguation)]] and [[America (disambiguation)]]}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = United States of America
| common_name            = the United States
| image_flag             = Flag of the United States.svg
| flag_type              = {{big|[[Flag of the United States|Flag]]}}
| image_coat             = Greater coat of arms of the United States.svg
| symbol_type            = {{big|[[Coat of arms of the United States|Coat of arms]]}}
| national_motto         = "[[In God We Trust]]"
| national_anthem        = "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" [[File:Star Spangled Banner instrumental.ogg|center]]
| march                  = "[[The Stars and Stripes Forever]]" [[File:March, "The Stars and Stripes Forever" · Colonel John R. Bourgeois, Director · John Philip Sousa · United States Marine Band.ogg|center]]
| other_symbol           = <div style="padding:0.3em;">[[File:Great Seal of the United States (obverse).svg|90px]] [[File:Great Seal of the United States (reverse).svg|90px]]</div>
| other_symbol_type      = [[Great Seal of the United States]]:
| image_map              = US insular areas SVG.svg
| map_width              = 
| alt_map                = The United States and its [[Territories of the United States|territories]]
| image_map2             = 
| alt_map2               = 
| map_caption2           = 
| capital                = {{plainlist|
* [[Washington, D.C.]]
* {{coord|38|53|N|77|01|W|display=inline}}}}
| largest_city           = {{plainlist|
* [[New York City]]
* {{coord|40|43|N|74|00|W|display=inline}}}}
| official_languages     = {{nowrap|No official language at [[Federal government of the United States|federal level]]{{efn|English is the [[Official language of the United States|official language]] of 32 states; English and [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] are both official languages in [[Hawaii]], and English and [[Alaska Native languages|20 Indigenous languages]] are official in [[Alaska]]. [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]], [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]], and [[Sioux language|Sioux]] are among many other official languages in Native-controlled lands throughout the country. [[French language|French]] is a ''de facto'', but unofficial, language in [[Maine]] and [[Louisiana]], while [[New Mexico]] law grants [[Spanish language|Spanish]] as a official but special status. In five territories, English as well as one or more indigenous languages are official: [[Spanish language|Spanish]] in Puerto Rico, [[Samoan language|Samoan]] in American Samoa, [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]] in both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. [[Carolinian language|Carolinian]] is also an official language in the Northern Mariana Islands.{{sfn|Cobarrubias|1983|p=195}}{{sfn|García|2011|p=167}}}}}}
| languages_type         = [[National language]]
| languages              = [[English language|English]]<!-- NOTE: Just English, don't add "American English". -->
| ethnic_groups          = {{plainlist|'''By race:'''
* 61.6% [[White Americans|White]]
* 12.4% [[African Americans|Black]]
* 6.0% [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
* 1.1% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]
* 0.2% [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islanders]]
* 8.4% [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|other]]}}
'''By Hispanic or Latino origin:'''<br/>18.7% [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2021
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="2020CensusData">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html|title=2020 Census Illuminates Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Country|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=August 13, 2021|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021091045/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="2020InteractiveCensusData">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html?linkId=100000060666476|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=August 13, 2021|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819183842/https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html?linkId=100000060666476|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1014710483/2020-census-data-us-race-ethnicity-diversity|title=A Breakdown of 2020 Census Demographic Data|author=|date=August 13, 2021|website=NPR|publisher=|access-date=|quote=|archive-date=December 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202152607/https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1014710483/2020-census-data-us-race-ethnicity-diversity|url-status=live}}</ref>
| demonym                = [[America]]n{{efn|name=demonym|The historical and informal demonym [[Yankee]] has been applied to Americans, New Englanders, or northeasterners since the 18th century.}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia and Fact-index: Ohio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uV5tvKPO684C&q=%22national+nicknames%22+Yankee|year=1963|page=336|access-date=2020-06-12|archive-date=2020-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613153134/https://books.google.com/books?id=uV5tvKPO684C&q=%22national+nicknames%22+Yankee&dq=%22national+nicknames%22+Yankee|url-status=live}}</ref>
| government_type        = [[Federalism in the United States|Federal]] [[presidential system|presidential]] [[republic|constitutional republic]]<!-- Consensus description; do not change without addressing in talk page first -->
| leader_title1          = [[President of the United States|President]]
| leader_name1           = {{nowrap|[[Joe Biden]]}} ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| leader_title2          = [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]{{Efn|Also [[Vice President of the United States#President of the United States Senate|president of the Senate]]}}
| leader_name2           = {{nowrap|[[Kamala Harris]]}} (D)
| leader_title3          = {{nowrap|[[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]]}}
| leader_name3           = [[Mike Johnson]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
| leader_title4          = [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]]
| leader_name4           = [[John Roberts]]
| legislature            = [[United States Congress|Congress]]
| upper_house            = [[United States Senate|Senate]]
| lower_house            = [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[American Revolution|Independence]]
| sovereignty_note       = from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
| established_event1     = [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration]]
| established_date1      = July 4, 1776
| established_event2     = [[Articles of Confederation]]
| established_date2      = March 1, 1781
| established_event3     = [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]]
| established_date3      = September 3, 1783
| established_event4     = {{nowrap|[[United States Constitution|Current constitution]]}}
| established_date4      = June 21, 1788
| established_event5     = [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]]
| established_date5      = September 25, 1789
| established_event6     = {{nowrap|[[Admission to the Union|Last state admitted]]}}
| established_date6      = August 21, 1959 ([[Hawaii]])
| established_event7     = [[Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution|Last amendment]]
| established_date7      = May 5, 1992
| area_link              = Geography of the United States
| area_label             = Total area
| area_footnote          = 
| area_rank              = 3rd/4th
| area_sq_mi             = 3,796,742
| percent_water          = 6.97
| area_label2            = Total land area
| area_data2             = {{cvt|3,531,905|sqmi}}
| population_estimate    = {{increase neutral}} 331,002,651<ref name="2020CensusData" />
| population_census      = 308,745,538
| population_estimate_year = 2020
| population_estimate_rank = 3rd
| population_census_year = 2010
| population_census_rank = 3rd
| population_density_sq_mi = 87<!-- Figure uses (population/land + water area) as of July 2019. -->
| population_density_rank = 146th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$22.321 trillion<!-- End nowrap. -->}}<ref name="IMFWEOUS"/>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2020
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 2nd
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $67,426<ref name="IMFWEOUS">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=73&pr.y=7&sy=2020&ey=2024&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=111&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=March 30, 2020 |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406212925/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=73&pr.y=7&sy=2020&ey=2024&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=111&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a= |url-status=live }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 11th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$22.321 trillion}}<ref name="IMFWEOUS"/>
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2020
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 1st
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $67,426<ref name="IMFWEOUS"/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 7th
| Gini                   = 39.0<!-- Number only. -->
| Gini_year              = 2017
| Gini_change            = decrease
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://data.oecd.org/chart/5O5t |title=Income inequality |publisher=[[OECD]] |website=data.oecd.org |access-date=January 8, 2020 |archive-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112135707/https://data.oecd.org/chart/5O5t |url-status=live }}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 56th
| HDI                    = 0.920<!-- Number only. -->
| HDI_year               = 2018<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year. -->
| HDI_change             = increase<!-- Increase/decrease/steady. -->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/2019-human-development-index-ranking|title=Human Development Report 2019|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=December 10, 2019|access-date=December 10, 2019|format=PDF|archive-date=May 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531231053/http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/2019-human-development-index-ranking|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 15th
| currency               = [[{{#property:p38}}]] ($)
| currency_code          = USD
| utc_offset             = −4 to −12, +10, +11
| utc_offset_DST         = −4 to −10
| date_format            = {{plainlist|
* {{abbr|mm|month}}/{{abbr|dd|day}}/{{abbr|yyyy|year}}
* {{abbr|yyyy|year}}-{{abbr|mm|month}}-{{abbr|dd|day}}}}
| electricity            = 120 V–60 Hz
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[North American Numbering Plan|+1]]
| iso3166code            = US
| cctld                  = ; [[Generic top-level domain]]: [[Uniform Resource Locator|.com]], [[.org]], [[.net]], [[.edu]], [[.gov]], [[.mil]] 
; ccTLD (generally not used in the U.S.): [[.us]], [[.pr]], [[.as]], [[.gu]], [[.mp]], [[.vi]], [[.um]]
| religion_year          = 2022
| religion_ref           = <ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Staff |date= June 8, 2007|title=In Depth: Topics A to Z (Religion) |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/1690/Religion.aspx |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=[[Gallup, Inc.]] |language=en}}</ref>
| area_km2               = 
| today                  = 
| map_caption            = The United States, including its [[Territories of the United States|territories]]
| religion               = {{ublist|item_style=white-space:nowrap;
|{{Tree list}}
* 70% [[Christianity in the United States|Christianity]]
** 34% [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]]
** 23% [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholicism]]
** 2% [[Mormons|Mormonism]]
**11% other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
|21% [[Irreligion in the United States|unaffiliated]]
|2% [[American Jews|Judaism]]
|6% [[Religion in the United States|other religion]]
|1% unanswered
}}
}}

The '''United States of America''', commonly known as the '''United States''' or simply '''America''', is a [[Sovereign state|sovereign country]] mostly in [[North America]]. It is divided into [[U.S. state|50 states]]. [[Contiguous United States|48 of these states]] and the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] border each other between the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and [[Atlantic Ocean]]s. They are [[Borders of the United States|bordered]] by [[Canada]] to the north and [[Mexico]] to the south. The state of [[Alaska]] is in the northwestern area of the continent and is separated from the other 48 states by Canada making it an [[exclave]]. Alaska is bordered by Canada to its east. The state of [[Hawaii]] is a [[archipelago|set of islands]] in the Pacific located within [[Polynesia]] and is about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) from the mainland. The country also possesses [[Territories of the United States|territories]], and [[insular area]]s, in the [[Caribbean]] and Pacific. The capital city is [[Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C]] and the largest city by population is [[New York City]] with a population of 8.8 million people. With a population of 331 million people and an area of 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km<sup>2</sup>), the United States is the third most populated country in the world and the [[List of countries by area|fourth-largest]] country in the world by total area.

The land that would one day become the United States was first settled by migrating tribes from [[Siberia]] that walked across a land bridge about 20,000 years ago during the Ice Age. These people were the ancestors of the [[Native Americans]]. European colonization began in the 16th century with several European nations setting up colonies in North America. 

The [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen colonies]] of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] along the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic coast]] declared independence as a nation on July 4, 1776. They issued the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], which announced their independence from Great Britain and their creation of a cooperative union. The 
colonies defeated Great Britain in the [[American Revolutionary War]], making it the first successful [[History of colonialism|colonial war of independence]] in history.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Companion to the American Revolution|url=https://archive.org/details/companiontoameri0000unse_i0o2|last1=Greene|first1=Jack P.|last2=Pole|first2=J.R.|publisher=Blackwell|year=2003|isbn=1405116749|location=Maiden|pages=[https://archive.org/details/companiontoameri0000unse_i0o2/page/352 352]–361}}</ref> The [[Philadelphia Convention]] adopted the current [[United States constitution|United States Constitution]] on September 17, 1787; its approval the following year made the states part of a single republic with a strong central government. The [[Bill of Rights]], making up ten [[List of amendments to the United States Constitution|constitutional amendments]] guaranteeing many basic civil rights and freedoms, was approved in 1791.

In the 19th century, the United States had a legal policy of [[manifest destiny]] where they believed that it was their god given right to expand across the North American continent. They conquered and took over native lands and bought territory from [[Louisiana Purchase|France]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Mexican–American War|Mexico]], and [[Alaska Purchase|Russia]], and took over the [[Republic of Texas]] and later the [[Republic of Hawaii]]. 

Political arguments between the [[Southern United States|farming-based South]] and [[Northern United States|industrial North]] over the growth of the [[Slavery in the United States|institution of slavery]] and [[states' rights]] began the [[American Civil War]]. In 1861, the southern states separated from the union and founded their own country called the [[Confederate States of America]] after anti-slavery candidate, [[Abraham Lincoln]] won the Presidential election. The Union's victory over the Confederacy prevented a permanent split of the country and led to the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|end of legal slavery]] in the United States. By the 1870s, the national wealth was the world's largest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/Historical_Statistics/horizontal-file_09-2008.xls|title=Historical Statistics for the World Economy|author=Maddison, Angus|year=2006|access-date=August 12, 2019|archive-date=December 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205205145/http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/Historical_Statistics/horizontal-file_09-2008.xls|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Spanish–American War]] and [[World War I]] confirmed the country's status as a military power. In 1945, the United States came out of [[World War II]] as a [[superpower]] and was the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|first country with nuclear weapons]]. After World War II the United States along with its allies founded the United Nations. Today the United States is a permanent member of the [[United Nations Security Council]]. The United States also became engaged in an arms race called the [[Cold War]] with the [[Soviet Union]]. The United States participated in the [[Space Race]] against the Soviet Union that produced rapid advancements in rocket technology. They created the [[Apollo 11]] rocket and it was the first to send people to the [[moon]]. It was done by [[NASA]], an American space agency. It went up to space on July 16, 1969, carrying three astronauts: [[Neil Armstrong]], [[Buzz Aldrin]] and [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]]. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the moon, while Collins stayed in orbit around the Moon.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cohen|first=Eliot A.|date=2004|title=History and the Hyperpower|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040701faessay83406/eliot-a-cohen/history-and-the-hyperpower.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723000051/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/59919/eliot-a-cohen/history-and-the-hyperpower|archive-date=July 23, 2009|access-date=August 12, 2019|website=Foreign Affairs}}</ref> In 1991, the Soviet Union broke up, ending the Cold War and leaving the United States as the only superpower. 

Today, the United States is one of the world's most ethnically mixed and [[Multiculturalism|multicultural]] nations. It is the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dealingwithdiver0000adam|title=Dealing with Diversity|last1=Adams|first1=J.Q.|last2=Strother-Adams|first2=Pearlie|publisher=Kendall/Hunt|year=2001|isbn=078728145X|location=Chicago}}</ref> The [[Economy of the United States|U.S. economy]] is the largest national economy in the world, with an estimated 2020 [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) of [[US$]] 20.9 trillion (about a quarter of worldwide GDP).

== Geography and environment ==
{{main|Geography of the United States}}
The United States is a [[federal republic]] of fifty [[U.S. state|states]], a [[Washington, D.C.|federal district]], and [[Territories of the United States|several territories]].<ref>Unless specified, facts and figures in the article refer only to the states and federal district, and leave out the territories.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge, Second Edition: A Desk Reference for the Curious Mind|url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesguid00|last=New York Times|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0312376598|page=[https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesguid00/page/632 632]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Origins of the Federal Republic: Jurisdictional Controversies in the United States, 1775-1787|url=https://archive.org/details/originsoffedera00onuf|last=Onuf|first=Peter S.|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=1983|isbn=978-0812211672}}</ref>

The land area of the [[contiguous United States]] is {{convert|2959064|sqmi|km2|0}}. Alaska, separated from the contiguous United States by Canada, is the largest state at {{convert|663268|sqmi|km2|0}}. Hawaii, occupying an archipelago in the central [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], southwest of North America, is {{convert|10931|sqmi|km2|0}} in area.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lubowski, Ruben; Vesterby, Marlow; Bucholtz, Shawn|date=July 21, 2006|title=AREI Chapter 1.1: Land Use|url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/arei/eib16/chapter1/1.1/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060808222823/http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/arei/eib16/chapter1/1.1/|archive-date=August 8, 2006|publisher=Economic Research Service}}</ref>

The United States is the world's fourth [[List of countries by area|largest nation by total area]] (land and water), ranking behind Russia, Canada, and [[China]] or behind Russia, Canada, and ahead of China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and [[India]] are counted and how the total size of the United States is measured: calculations range from {{convert|3676486|sqmi|km2|0}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616563/United-States |title=United States |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2019-09-09 |archive-date=2015-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528012641/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616563/United-States |url-status=live }}</ref> to {{convert|3717813|sqmi|km2|0}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/DYB2005/Table03.pdf |title=Population by Sex, Rate of Population Increase, Surface Area and Density |publisher=UN Statistics Division |work=Demographic Yearbook 2005 |access-date=2020-02-17 |archive-date=2018-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210063235/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2005/Table03.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> to {{convert|3794101|sqmi|km2|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html |title=United States |publisher=CIA |work=The World Factbook |date=September 30, 2009 |access-date=February 17, 2008 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226005704/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html%20 |url-status=live }}</ref> Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Factbook: Area Country Comparison Table|url=http://www.education.yahoo.com/reference/factbook/countrycompare/area/3d.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118000835/http://education.yahoo.com/reference/factbook/countrycompare/area/3d.html|archive-date=November 18, 2009|publisher=Yahoo Education|access-date=January 24, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Haliaeetus leucocephalus2.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Bald Eagle]], the national bird of the United States since 1782]]
The coastal plain of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] seaboard gives way further inland to [[deciduous]] forests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The [[Appalachian Mountains]] divide the eastern seaboard from the [[Great Lakes]] and the grasslands of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]. The [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]]–[[Missouri River]], the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north-south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile [[prairie]] of the [[Great Plains]] stretches to the west, interrupted by [[U.S. Interior Highlands|a highland region]] in the southeast.

The [[Rocky Mountains]], at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000&nbsp;feet (4,300&nbsp;m) in [[Colorado]]. Further west is the rocky [[Great Basin]] and deserts such as the Chihuahua and [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]]. The [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] and [[Cascade Range|Cascade]] mountain ranges run close to the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific coast]], both ranges reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet. The [[Alaska Range|Alaskan Range]] passes through much of [[Alaska]] and is home to [[Denali]] which stands at a height of 20,310 ft (6,190 m) above sea level and is the tallest mountain in the United States and in North America. Denali is in fact the tallest mountain in the World on land from base to summit standing at about 18,000 ft (5,490 m), which is about 4,000 ft (1,220 m) higher than [[Mount Everest]] which sits at a height of about 14,000 ft (4,270 m) from base to summit. 

The United States, with its large size and geographical variety, includes most climate types. To the east of the 100th [[meridian]], the climate ranges from [[Humid continental climate|humid continental]] in the north to [[Humid subtropical climate|humid subtropical]] in the south. The southern tip of [[Florida]] is tropical, as is Hawaii. The Great Plains west of the 100th meridian are semi-dry. Much of the western mountains are [[Alpine climate|alpine]]. The climate is dry in the Great Basin, desert in the Southwest, [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] in [[coastal California]], and [[Oceanic climate|oceanic]] in coastal [[Oregon]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and southern Alaska. Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar. Extreme weather is not unusual—the states bordering the [[Gulf of Mexico]] are prone to [[hurricanes]], and most of the world's [[tornado]]es happen within the country, mainly in the Midwest's [[Tornado Alley]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Perkins, Sid|date=May 11, 2002|title=Tornado Alley, USA|work=Science News|url=http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp|url-status=dead|access-date=October 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701131631/http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp|archive-date=July 1, 2007}}</ref>

The U.S. ecology is considered "[[megadiverse countries|megadiverse]]"; about 17,000 species of [[vascular plants]] occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of [[flowering plant]]s are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland.<ref>{{cite web|author=Morin, Nancy|title=Vascular Plants of the United States|url=http://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008233446/http://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf|archive-date=October 8, 2006|work=Plants|publisher=National Biological Service}}</ref> The United States is home to more than 400 mammal, 750 bird, and 500 reptile and amphibian species.<ref>{{cite web|date=February 9, 2001|title=Global Significance of Selected U.S. Native Plant and Animal Species|url=http://www.sdi.gov/curtis/TxTab4x1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030709134320/http://www.sdi.gov/curtis/TxTab4x1.html|archive-date=July 9, 2003|publisher=SDI Group}}</ref> About 91,000 insect species have been described.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/bugnos.htm |title=Numbers of Insects (Species and Individuals) |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=2020-02-18 |archive-date=2009-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211151740/http://si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/bugnos.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects threatened and [[Endangered species|endangered]] species and their habitats. They are watched by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]. There are 63 national parks, and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and [[wilderness]] areas.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=639|title=National Park Service Announces Addition of Two New Units|publisher=National Park Service|date=February 28, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001195645/http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=639|archive-date=October 1, 2006|access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref> The United States government owns 28.8% of the country's land area.<ref name="FL">{{cite web|date=May 19, 2005|title=Federal Land and Buildings Ownership|url=http://johnshadegg.house.gov/rsc/Federal%20Land%20Ownership--May%202005.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050524004849/http://johnshadegg.house.gov/rsc/Federal%20Land%20Ownership--May%202005.pdf|archive-date=May 24, 2005|publisher=Republican Study Committee}}</ref> Most of this is [[protected area|protected]], but some is leased for oil and gas drilling, mining, logging, or cattle ranching. 2.4% is used for military purposes.<ref name=FL/>

An example of animals that are native to the United States such as [[opossum]]s, [[raccoon]]s, [[pumas]], and [[bears]]. Endangered animals in the United States include the [[jaguar]], the [[California condor]], and the [[Florida panther]].

There are many types of small trees and shrubs in the United States. Some of these are [[Celtis|hackberries]], [[hawthorn]], serviceberry, [[blackberry]], wild cherry, [[Cornus canadensis|dogwood]], and snowberry. Wildflowers grow all around the United States. They even grow in deserts and places with mountains. Wildflowers include [[forget-me-not]], fringed and closed gentians, jack-in-the-pulpit, [[black-eyed Susan]], columbine, and [[Dandelion|common dandelion]], as well as many types of [[Aster (genus)|aster]], [[orchid]], [[Cypripedioideae|lady's slipper]], and wild rose.

== History ==
{{main|History of the United States}}
=== Native Americans ===
{{main|Native Americans in the United States}}
[[File:Cliff Palace - Mesa Verde National Park - Colorado, USA - 30 July 2010.jpg|thumb|left|An ancient palace built by the [[Anasazi people]] in [[Mesa Verde National Park]], a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in [[Colorado]]]]
It is believed that the [[Native Americans in the United States|indigenous peoples of the continental United States]], including the [[Alaska Natives|natives of Alaska]], moved in from [[Asia]]. They began arriving more than twelve thousand years ago, if not earlier.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeTv2lmb79UC&pg=PA19|title=A Canyon Through Time: Archaeology, History, and Ecology of the Tecolote Canyon Area, Santa Barbara County|last1=Erlandson|first1=Jon M|last2=Rick|first2=Torben C|last3=Vellanoweth|first3=Rene L|publisher=University of Utah Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-87480-879-7|location=California|pages=19|access-date=2019-08-23|archive-date=2019-03-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323075709/https://books.google.com/books?id=GeTv2lmb79UC&pg=PA19|url-status=live}}</ref> Some, such as the [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] [[Mississippian culture]] in the southeast, developed advanced farming, grand construction, and state-level communities. The native population of America decreased after [[wikt:Europeans|Europeans]] arrived, and for different reasons, mostly sicknesses such as [[smallpox]] and [[measles]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bianchine|first1=Peter J.|last2=Russo|first2=Thomas A.|date=1992|title=The Role of Epidemic Infectious Diseases in the Discovery of America|journal=Allergy and Asthma Proceedings|volume=13|issue=5|pages=225–232|doi=10.2500/108854192778817040|pmid=1483570 |issn = 1088-5412 }}</ref>

=== European settlers ===
{{main|2 = European colonization of the Americas|3 = Thirteen Colonies}}
In 1492, [[Italians|Italian]] explorer [[Christopher Columbus]], under contract to the Spanish crown, reached some Caribbean islands, making the first Contact with the native people. On April 2, 1513, Spanish [[conquistador]] [[Juan Ponce de León]] landed on what he called "[[History of Florida|La Florida]]" — the first recorded European coming on what would become the U.S. mainland. Spanish settlements in the area were followed by ones in the present-day [[southwestern United States]] that drew thousands through Mexico. French [[fur trade]]rs established outposts of [[New France]] around the [[Great Lakes]]; France eventually claimed much of the North American interior, down to the Gulf of Mexico. The first successful English settlements were the [[Colony of Virginia]] in [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] in 1607 and the [[Pilgrim]]s' [[Plymouth Colony]] in 1620. The 1628 chartering of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] resulted in a wave of relocation; by 1634, [[New England]] had been settled by some 10,000 [[Puritans]]. Between the late 1610s and the American Revolution, about 50,000 convicts were shipped to Britain's American colonies.<ref>{{cite web|year=1896|title=British Convicts Shipped to American Colonies|url=http://www.dinsdoc.com/butler-1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020602194900/http://www.dinsdoc.com/butler-1.htm|archive-date=June 2, 2002|access-date=August 16, 2019|work=American Historical Review 2|publisher=Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History}}</ref> Beginning in 1614, the Dutch settled along the lower [[Hudson River]], including [[New Amsterdam]] on [[Manhattan Island]].

=== Independence and expansion ===
{{main|American Revolution|American Revolutionary War|Manifest destiny}}
[[File:Declaration independence.jpg|thumb|''[[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]'', by [[John Trumbull]], 1817–18]]
Tensions between American colonials and the British during the [[American Revolution|rebel period]] of the 1760s and early 1770s led to the [[American Revolutionary War]], fought from 1775 through 1781. On June 14, 1775, the [[Second Continental Congress|Continental Congress]], a meeting in [[Philadelphia]], established a [[Continental Army]] led by [[George Washington]].The Congress said that "all men are created equal" and are born with "certain [[Rights|natural rights]]," and adopted the [[Declaration of Independence]], written mostly by [[Thomas Jefferson]], on July 4, 1776. That date is now celebrated every year as America's [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]]. In 1777, the [[Articles of Confederation]] established a weak federal government that operated until 1789. [[Morocco]] was the first country in the world to recognize America’s independence.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2018/05/the-first-countries-to-diplomatically-recognize-the-united-states/ |title=The First Countries to Diplomatically Recognize the United States |date=10 May 2018 |access-date=2020-10-03 |archive-date=2020-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053341/https://allthingsliberty.com/2018/05/the-first-countries-to-diplomatically-recognize-the-united-states/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Relations With Morocco|url=https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-morocco/|access-date=25 February 2024|website=[[United States Department of State]]|language=en}}</ref>

After the [[Siege of Yorktown|British defeat]] by American forces helped by the [[France|French]], Great Britain [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|recognized the independence of the United States]] and the states' [[sovereignty]] over American land west to the [[Mississippi River]]. A [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|constitutional convention]] was organized in 1787 by people who wanted to establish a stronger national government, with powers of taxation. The [[United States Constitution]] was approved in 1788, and the new republic's [[1st United States Congress|first Senate, House of Representatives]], and [[President of the United States|President]] (George Washington) took office in 1789. The [[Bill of Rights]], forbidding federal restriction of personal freedoms and certifying a range of legal protections, was adopted in 1791.

Attitudes toward [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] were shifting; a [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Section 9: Limits on Congress|clause in the Constitution]] protected the African slave trade only until 1808. The northern states permanently stopped slavery between 1780 and 1804, leaving the [[slave state]]s of the south as defenders of the "peculiar institution." The [[Second Great Awakening]], beginning about 1800, made [[evangelicalism]] a force behind different social [[Reform|reform movements]], including [[abolitionism]].

[[File:U.S. Territorial Acquisitions.png|thumb|Land-based purchases by date]]
Americans' eagerness to expand westward caused a long series of [[Indian Wars]] and an Indian removal policy that removed native peoples from their land. The [[Louisiana Purchase]] of French-claimed land under President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 almost doubled the nation's size. The [[War of 1812]], declared against Britain over different complaints and fought to a draw, strengthened U.S. [[nationalism]]. A series of U.S. military invasions into Florida led [[Adams–Onís Treaty|Spain to give up]] it and other Gulf Coast territory in 1819. The United States took over the [[Republic of Texas]] in 1845. The idea of [[Manifest destiny]] became popular during this time.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War|last=Morrison|first=Michael A.|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=1999|isbn=0807847968|location=Chapel Hill|pages=13–21}}</ref> The 1846 [[Oregon]] Treaty with Britain led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest. The U.S. victory in the [[Mexican–American War]] resulted in the 1848 [[Mexican Cession|cession]] of [[California]] and much of the present-day [[Southwestern United States|American Southwest]]. The [[California Gold Rush]] of 1848–49 further encouraged western relocation. New railways made relocation easier for settlers and increased conflicts with Native Americans. Over a half-century, up to 40 million [[American bison]], or buffalo, were killed for skins and meat and to ease the railways' spread. The loss of the buffalo, which were valuable to the [[plains Indians]], caused many native cultures to become gone forever.

=== Civil War and industrialization ===
{{seealso|American Civil War|Reconstruction era|Spanish–American War}}
[[File:Battle of Gettysburg, by Currier and Ives.png|thumb|left|''[[Battle of Gettysburg]]'', lithograph by Currier and Ives, ca. 1863]]
Tensions between slave and [[Slave and free states|free states]] mounted with arguments over the relationship between the [[States' rights|state and federal governments]], as well as [[Bleeding Kansas|violent conflicts]] over the spread of slavery into new states. [[Abraham Lincoln]], a candidate of the antislavery [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], was elected president in 1860. Before he took office, seven slave states declared their [[secession]] and formed the [[Confederate States of America]]. With the Confederate [[Battle of Fort Sumter|attack upon Fort Sumter]], the [[American Civil War]] began and four more slave states joined the Confederacy. Lincoln's [[Emancipation Proclamation]] committed the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] to end slavery. Following the Union victory in 1865, three changes to the U.S. Constitution [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|secured freedom]] for the nearly four million [[African Americans]] who had been slaves,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1860a-02.pdf|title=1860 Census|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=July 28, 2019|archive-date=August 24, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080824013501/http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1860a-02.pdf|url-status=live}} Page 7 lists a total slave population of 3,953,760.</ref> [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|made them citizens]], and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|gave them voting rights]]. The war and its resolution led to a big increase in [[Federalism in the United States|federal power]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Politics of Dissolution: The Quest for a National Identity and the American Civil War|last=De Rosa|first=Marshall L.|publisher=Transaction|year=1997|isbn=1560003499|location=Edison, NJ|pages=266}}</ref>

[[File:Abraham Lincoln November 1863.jpg|thumb|[[Abraham Lincoln]] was president during the civil war.]]
After the war, the [[assassination of Abraham Lincoln]] was followed by the [[Reconstruction era]], where policies were put together directed at getting back and rebuilding the Southern states while securing the rights of the newly freed slaves. The resolution of the disputed [[1876 United States presidential election|1876 presidential election]] by the [[Compromise of 1877]] ended this era, and the [[Jim Crow laws]] soon began to negatively affect many African Americans. In the North, urbanization and a never-before-seen [[Immigration|inflow of immigrants]] from [[Southern Europe|Southern]] and [[Eastern Europe]] made the country's [[industrialization]] grow rapidly. The wave of immigration, lasting until 1929, provided labor and changed American culture. High tax protections, national infrastructure building, and new banking laws also encouraged growth. The 1867 [[Alaska Purchase]] from Russia completed the country's mainland expansion. The [[Wounded Knee Massacre]] in 1890 was the last major armed conflict of the [[Indian Wars]]. In 1893, the [[Ancient Hawaii|native monarchy]] of the Pacific [[Hawaiian Kingdom|Kingdom of Hawaii]] was ended in a secret and successful plan led by American residents. The United States took over the archipelago in 1898. Victory in the [[Spanish–American War]] the same year proved that the United States was a [[world power]] and led to the addition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the [[Philippines]]. The Philippines gained independence fifty years later. Puerto Rico and Guam are still U.S. territories.

=== World War I, Great Depression, and World War II ===
[[File:Dust Bowl - Dallas, South Dakota 1936.jpg|thumb|left|An abandoned farm in [[South Dakota]] during the [[Dust Bowl]], in 1936]]
The [[First World War]] started in Europe in 1914. The United States said it was neutral and did not join the war at first. Later, the Americans helped the British and French, even though many citizens, especially those from [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and [[Germany]], were against it.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Reader's Companion to American History|url=https://archive.org/details/readerscompanion00fone|last1=Foner|first1=Eric|last2=A. Garraty|first2=John|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1991|isbn=0-395-51372-3|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/readerscompanion00fone/page/576 576]}}</ref> In 1917, the United States joined the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]]. They helped defeat the [[Central Powers]]. At the end of the war, many Americans did not want to stay involved in Europe.  The [[United States Senate|Senate]] did not approve the [[Treaty of Versailles]] (1919). The United States stayed out of the [[League of Nations]]. The country became more [[isolationism|isolationist]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=U.S. History Super Review|url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstateshist0000mcdu|last1=McDuffie|first1=Jerome|last2=Wayne Piggrem|first2=Gary|last3=E. Woodworth|first3=Steven|publisher=Research & Education Association|year=2005|isbn=0-7386-0070-9|location=Piscataway, New Jersey|pages=[https://archive.org/details/unitedstateshist0000mcdu/page/418 418]}}</ref> 

In 1920, the [[women's rights movement]] gained the approval of a [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|constitutional amendment]] to grant women the [[Suffrage|right to vote]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2008|title=Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Annotated|url=http://www.america.gov/st/usg-english/2008/April/20080416204259eaifas0.7985803.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009155245/http://www.america.gov/st/usg-english/2008/April/20080416204259eaifas0.7985803.html|archive-date=October 9, 2008|access-date=May 28, 2019|website=America.gov}}</ref> For most of the 1920s, the country enjoyed a period of success, decreasing the inequality in the balance of [[payment]]s while profiting from industrial farms. This period, known as the [[Roaring Twenties]], ended with the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] that triggered the [[Great Depression]]. 

After his election as president in 1932, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] responded with the [[New Deal]], a series of policies that increased government interference in the economy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hoover to Roosevelt: Transition in a Time of Crisis|url=http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2010/January/20100126123040mlenuhret0.4698755.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228035300/http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2010/January/20100126123040mlenuhret0.4698755.html|archive-date=February 28, 2010|access-date=May 31, 2019|website=America.gov}}</ref> From 1920 to 1933 a prohibition [[Prohibition Era|banning alcohol]] was in place.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanheritage.com/bootleg-paradise|title=Bootleg Paradise|last=Curtis|first=Wayne|date=2007|website=American Heritage|access-date=May 31, 2019|archive-date=May 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531152357/https://www.americanheritage.com/bootleg-paradise|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Dust Bowl]] of the 1930s left many poor farmer communities and encouraged a new wave of emigration to the West Coast.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html|title=The Dust Bowl of the 1930s|last=Ganzal|first=Bill|date=2003|website=Living History Farm.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629034101/http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html|archive-date=June 29, 2010|access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Approaching Omaha.jpg|thumb|Soldiers of the [[United States Army]] about to disembark on June 6, 1944, on [[Omaha Beach]] (France) during [[Battle of Normandy]] of [[Second World War]]]]
The United States, officially neutral during the early stages of [[World War II]], began supplying supplies to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in March 1941, through the [[Lend-Lease]] program. On December 7, 1941, the country joined the Allies' fight against the [[Axis Powers]], after the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor]]. World War II boosted the economy by providing investment capital and jobs, making many women enter the labor market. Of the significant fighters, the United States was the only nation to be enriched by war.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers|url=https://archive.org/details/risefallofgreatp00kenn_0|last=Kennedy|first=Paul|publisher=Vintage|year=1989|isbn=0679720197|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/risefallofgreatp00kenn_0/page/358 358]}}</ref> The discussions at [[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods]] and [[Yalta Conference|Yalta]] created a new system of an international organization that placed the country and the [[Soviet Union]] at the heart of world affairs. In 1945, when the the end of the [[World War II|Second World War]] in [[Europe]] came, and an international gathering held in [[San Francisco]] drafted the Charter of the United Nations, which came into force after the war.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005|title=The United States and the Founding of the United Nations, August 1941–October 1945|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/55407.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023164441/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/55407.htm|archive-date=October 23, 2005|access-date=June 4, 2019|website=State.gov}}</ref> Having developed the [[Manhattan Project|first nuclear weapon]], the government decided to use it in the Japanese cities of [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] in August of that same year. [[Japan]] gave up on September 2, ending the war.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Japan's Longest Day|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=4-7700-2887-3|location=New York}}</ref>

=== Cold War and civil rights era ===
{{seealso|Cold War|McCarthyism|Civil Rights Movement|Vietnam War|Watergate scandal}}
[[File:Martin Luther King - March on Washington.jpg|thumb|[[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] delivering his world-renowned "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech in 1963]]
[[File:Operation Crossroads Baker Edit.jpg|thumb|The "Baker" explosion, part of Operation Crossroads, at [[Bikini Atoll]], Micronesia, in 1946|300px]]After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union started the [[Cold War]]. This was because both of them thought their own type of government was the best.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ic0eoUMfQdsC|title=East Plays West: Sport and the Cold War|last1=Wagg|first1=Stephen|last2=Andrews|first2=David L.|date=2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-35926-9|pages=11|language=en|access-date=2023-02-04|archive-date=2023-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403184754/https://books.google.com/books?id=ic0eoUMfQdsC|url-status=live}}</ref> The United States was supported by [[NATO]], and the Soviet Union was supported by the [[Warsaw Pact]]. They never fought each other directly, but did many [[Proxy war|proxy wars]]. In the [[Korean War]], the United States sent soldiers to help South Korea. They fought [[People's Liberation Army|Chinese soldiers]] that were helping [[Communism|communist]] North Korea.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|date=2008|title=The Cold War, Korean Conflict, and Vietnam|url=http://www.america.gov/st/educ-english/2008/June/20080610230508eaifas3.126597e-02.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009134901/http://www.america.gov/st/educ-english/2008/June/20080610230508eaifas3.126597e-02.html|archive-date=October 9, 2008|access-date=June 7, 2019|website=America.gov}}</ref> In the 1960s, the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] almost led to a real war between the two countries. However, the Soviets agreed to take their missiles out of Cuba if the United States did not attack them. Because of the Cold War, many Americans were scared of communist [[Espionage|spies]] taking over the United States. This started the [[Red scare|Second Red Scare]], and hundreds of people were arrested because they were communist.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America|last=Schrecker|first=Ellen|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1998|isbn=0691048703|pages=13}}</ref> Later, many cases in the Supreme Court made arresting communists illegal, because it is free speech.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nightmareinredmc0000frie|title=Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective|last=Fried|first=Richard|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|isbn=019985372X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nightmareinredmc0000frie/page/187 187]}}</ref>

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched a satellite named [[Sputnik 1]] into outer space. Later, they were the first to [[Vostok 1|put people in outer space]]. Because of this, President [[John F. Kennedy]] wanted to send a man to the Moon. This started the [[Space Race]], and the United States began the [[Apollo program]], a project used for outer space. In 1969, the United States launched [[Apollo 11]], and was the first country to send people to the Moon.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2009|title=1969: El hombre llega a la Luna|url=http://www.elmundo.es/especiales/2009/07/ciencia/llegada_hombre_luna_1969/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527065945/https://www.elmundo.es/especiales/2009/07/ciencia/llegada_hombre_luna_1969/index.html|archive-date=May 27, 2019|access-date=June 11, 2019|website=El Mundo.es|language=es}}</ref>

The economy of the United States grew a lot during the 1950s and 1960s, with Americans having the highest average income in the world.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oz87mAEACAAJ|title=A Great Leap Forward: 1930s Depression and U.S. Economic Growth|last=Field|first=Alexander J.|date=2011|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-15109-1|language=en|access-date=2022-12-18|archive-date=2023-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403184744/https://books.google.com/books?id=oz87mAEACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Because of this, many people moved to large cities and [[Suburb|suburbs]], and [[Baby boomer|had more children]]. The country built the [[Interstate Highway System]], which made it easier to travel and move things across the country.<ref>Blas, Elisheva. [https://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/N10_NHD_Blas_Junior.pdf "The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525063712/http://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/N10_NHD_Blas_Junior.pdf |date=2015-05-25 }} (PDF). ''societyforhistoryeducation.org''. Society for History Education. Retrieved December 4, 2022.</ref> In 1959, [[Alaska]] and [[Hawaii]] became U.S. states.

There were many [[Social movement|social movements]] in the United States during this time. The Civil Rights Movement wanted to give [[African Americans]] more rights. It was led by people such as [[Rosa Parks]], [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King, Jr.]] and [[Malcolm X]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=1964|title=Martin Luther King - Biography|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222213446/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html|archive-date=February 22, 2011|access-date=June 11, 2019|website=Nobel Prize.org}}</ref> It was very successful, and helped make many laws that protected African Americans, such as the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Civil Rights Act of 1968|1968]]. John F. Kennedy was [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|murdered]] in 1963, and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] became the President. Johnson sent United States soldiers to the [[Vietnam War]], and many people did not like this. This started the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]] movement.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Levy|first=Daniel|title=Behind the Anti-War Protests That Swept America in 1968|url=https://time.com/5106608/protest-1968/|access-date=2022-12-04|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref> Counterculture included many things, such as people who wanted [[black nationalism]], [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|peace]], and [[Second-wave feminism|more rights for women]]. In 1969, the [[Stonewall riots]] in New York marked the start of the [[LGBT rights|gay rights]] movement.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brief History of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement in the U.S.|url=http://www.uky.edu/~lbarr2/gws250spring11_files/Page1186.htm|access-date=2022-12-04|website=University of Kentucky|archive-date=2019-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191118054142/http://www.uky.edu/~lbarr2/gws250spring11_files/Page1186.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1974, [[Richard Nixon]] became the first President to resign. This was because of the [[Watergate scandal]], where people broke into the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] headquarters and took a lot of information to help Nixon.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rNHtAAAAMAAJ|title=Watergate: Chronology of a Crisis|last=Dickinson|first=William B.|date=1973|publisher=Congressional Quarterly|isbn=978-0-87187-059-9|language=en|access-date=2022-12-18|archive-date=2023-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403184754/https://books.google.com/books?id=rNHtAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[Yom Kippur War]], the United States helped [[Israel]]. Because of this, countries in [[OPEC]] did not let the United States buy their oil. This started an [[1973 oil crisis|oil crisis]]. In the 1970s, the country's economy had a problem with [[stagflation]], something that happens when prices go up but [[Manufacturing|production]] does not. When [[Ronald Reagan]] was elected in 1980, he tried to stop this with lower taxes and less government control over the economy.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6AiGAwAAQBAJ|title=Remaking America: Democracy and Public Policy in an Age of Inequality|last1=Soss|first1=Joe|last2=Hacker|first2=Jacob S.|last3=Mettler|first3=Suzanne|date=2007-11-08|publisher=Russell Sage Foundation|isbn=978-1-61044-510-8|pages=277|language=en|access-date=2023-02-04|archive-date=2023-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403195954/https://books.google.com/books?id=6AiGAwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> These changes were called [[Reaganomics]]. The Cold War ended in 1991. This was because the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union dissolved]]. With no Soviet Union, the United States became the largest [[superpower]] in the world.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVDHAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61|title=With Us Or Against Us: Studies in Global Anti-Americanism|last1=Judt|first1=Tony|last2=Lacorne|first2=Denis|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4039-8085-4|page=61}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K751AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT666|title=Encyclopedia of United States National Security|author=Richard J. Samuels|publisher=Sage Publications|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4522-6535-3|page=666}}{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/terrorismusforei00pill|title=Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy|author=Paul R. Pillar|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-8157-0004-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/terrorismusforei00pill/page/57 57]|url-access=registration}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbPJ7KZ9FvIC&pg=PA179|title=China and the Taiwan Issue: Impending War at Taiwan Strait|author=Gabe T. Wang|publisher=University Press of America|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7618-3434-2|page=179}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgdmiw4VUHsC&pg=PA1|title=Understanding the "Victory Disease", From the Little Bighorn to Mogadishu and Beyond|publisher=Diane Publishing|year=2004|isbn=978-1-4289-1052-2|page=1}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzwYzL9KcwEC&pg=PA313|title=U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary and Reference Guide|author1=Akis Kalaitzidis|author2=Gregory W. Streich|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2011|isbn=978-0-313-38375-5|page=313}}</ref>

=== Modern history ===
{{seealso|September 11 attacks|War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Iraq War|Great Recession}}
[[File:WTC smoking on 9-11.jpeg|thumb|180px|The twin towers of the World Trade Center burning on [[9/11]]]]
Under President [[George H. W. Bush]], the country took on a global dominant role worldwide, as in the [[Gulf War]] (1991). The longest economic expansion in modern American history, from March 1991 to March 2001, spanned the presidency of [[Bill Clinton]] and the dot-com bubble.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Voyce|first=Bill|date=2006|title=IWIN - Why the Expansion of the 1990's Lasted So Long|url=http://iwin.iwd.state.ia.us/iowa/ArticleReader?itemid=00003700&print=1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006020321/http://iwin.iwd.state.ia.us/iowa/ArticleReader?itemid=00003700&print=1|archive-date=October 6, 2006|access-date=May 15, 2019|website=State.ia.us}}</ref> A civil lawsuit and a [[Monica Lewinsky|sex scandal]] led to his [[impeachment]] in 1998, although he managed to finish his period. The [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 presidential election]] was one of the most competitive in American history, it was settled by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]: [[George W. Bush]], son of George H. W. Bush, became president, even though he gained fewer votes than his opponent [[Al Gore]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=36 Days: The Complete Chronicle of the 2000 Presidential Election Crisis|url=https://archive.org/details/36days00newy|last=Brinkley|first=Douglas|publisher=Times Books|year=2001|isbn=0-8050-6850-3}}</ref>

On September 11, 2001, the terrorists of the [[Al-Qaeda]] group attacked the twin towers of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]] (which were destroyed) and [[the Pentagon]] near [[Washington, D.C.]], in a series of attacks that killed nearly three thousand people. In response, the Bush administration launched the "[[War on Terror]]." At the end of 2001, U.S. forces invaded [[Afghanistan]], removed the [[Taliban]] government and destroyed Al-Qaeda's training camps. Taliban insurgents continued to fight a [[guerrilla war]]. In 2002, Bush began to discuss a regime change in [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2003-02-14-eu-survey.htm|title=Many Europeans Oppose War in Iraq|date=2003|website=USA Today.com|access-date=May 11, 2019|archive-date=2012-08-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805114706/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2003-02-14-eu-survey.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Springford|first=John|date=2003|title=Old and "New" Europeans United: Public Attitudes Towards the Iraq War and US Foreign Policy|url=http://www.cer.org.uk/pdf/back_brief_springford_dec03.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040328182510/http://www.cer.org.uk/pdf/back_brief_springford_dec03.pdf|archive-date=March 28, 2004|access-date=May 11, 2019}}</ref> With a lack of support from [[NATO]] and without a clear UN order for military intervention, Bush organized a coalition of governments to begin an invasion. The coalition forces quickly [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invaded Iraq]] in 2003 and ended the government of [[Saddam Hussein]]. The following year, Bush was re-elected as the most voted president in an [[2004 United States presidential election|election]].

In 2005, [[Hurricane Katrina]], which would end up being the deadliest natural disaster in national history, caused severe destruction along the Gulf Coast: the city of [[New Orleans]] was mostly destroyed, with 1833 dead.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 25, 2019|title=Más de US$ 125 mil millones se pagaron por daños naturales|url=http://sectorproductivo.com.py/otras-secciones/noticias/ultimo-momento/3948-mas-de-us-125-mil-millones-se-pagaron-por-danos-naturales|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010231356/http://sectorproductivo.com.py/otras-secciones/noticias/ultimo-momento/3948-mas-de-us-125-mil-millones-se-pagaron-por-danos-naturales|archive-date=October 10, 2011|website=Sector Productivo.com.py|language=es}}</ref>

On November 4, 2008, during a [[Great Recession|global economic downturn]], [[Barack Obama]] was elected president, having been the first African American to take office. In May 2011, American Special forces managed to kill [[Osama bin Laden]], hiding in Pakistan. The following year, Barack Obama was re-elected. Under his second term, he led the war against the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]] and restored diplomatic relations with Cuba.

On November 8, 2016, the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] leader [[Donald Trump]] defeated former First Lady [[Hillary Clinton]] for presidency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elespanol.com/mundo/america/eeuu/20161109/169483152_0.html|title=Trump gana las elecciones de Estados Unidos y promete gobernar para todos|last1=Gallego Espina|first1=José|last2=Jorrín|first2=Javier G.|date=November 9, 2016|website=El Español|language=es-ES|access-date=May 20, 2019|archive-date=June 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606130442/https://www.elespanol.com/mundo/america/eeuu/20161109/169483152_0.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The massacres in [[Orlando nightclub shooting|Orlando]] of June 12, 2016 at the gay disco ''Pulse'' (51 dead) and in [[2017 Las Vegas shooting|Las Vegas]] on October 1, 2017 (60) are listed as the largest massacres in the country since 9/11.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2016/06/12/actualidad/1465717811_688793.html|title=50 muertos en la peor matanza en EE UU desde el 11-S|date=May 25, 2019|newspaper=El País|language=es|access-date=May 25, 2019|archive-date=July 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702105505/http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2016/06/12/actualidad/1465717811_688793.html|url-status=live|last1=Faus|first1=Joan}}</ref> The [[murder of George Floyd]] in late May 2020 sparked [[George Floyd protests|protests]] all over the world that demanded racial justice. On January 6, 2021, [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol|the United States Capital]] in Washington, D.C. was stormed during a riot and violent attack against the U.S. Congress.

== Government ==
{{main|Federal government of the United States}}
The United States is the world's oldest surviving [[federation]]. It is a [[constitutional republic]] and [[representative democracy]], "in which [[majority rule]] is tempered by [[minority rights]] protected by [[Law of the United States|law]]."<ref>Scheb, John M., and John M. Scheb II (2002). ''An Introduction to the American Legal System''. Florence, KY: Delmar, p. 6. ISBN 0-7668-2759-3.</ref> The government is controlled by a system of [[separation of powers|checks and balances]] from the [[United States Constitution]]. The constitution is the country's main legal [[document]]. There are three branches. They are the ''[[executive branch]]'', the ''[[legislative branch]]'', and the ''[[judicial branch]]''. State governments and the federal government work in very similar ways. Each state has its own executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The executive branch of a state government is led by a [[governor]], instead of a president.

=== Executive branch ===
The [[executive branch]] is the part of the government that enforces the law. Members of the [[U.S. Electoral College]] elect a [[President of the United States|president]] who is the leader of the executive branch, as well as the leader of the [[armed forces]]. The president may [[veto]] a bill that Congress has passed, so it does not become a law. The President may also make "executive orders" to ensure that people follow the law.

The president is in charge of many departments that control much of the day-to-day actions of the government. For example, the [[Department of Commerce]] makes rules about trade. The president chooses the heads of these departments and also nominates federal judges. However, the [[Senate]], part of the legislative branch, must agree with all of the people the president chooses. The president may serve two 4-year terms. 

=== Legislative branch ===
[[File:USCapitol.jpg|thumb|right|The west side of the [[United States Capitol]], which is home to the [[United States Congress]]]]
The [[legislative branch]] makes laws. The legislative branch is called the [[United States Congress]]. Congress is divided into two "houses".

One house is the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. The Representatives are each elected by voters from set areas within the states. The number of Representatives a state has is based on how many people live there. Representatives serve two-year terms. The total number of representatives today is 435. The leader of the House of Representatives is the [[Speaker of the House]].

The other house is the [[United States Senate|Senate]]. In the Senate, each state is represented equally, by two senators. Because there are 50 states, there are 100 senators. The President's [[treaty|treaties]] or appointments of [[official]]s need the Senate's approval. Senators serve six-year terms. The Vice President of the United States serves as president of the Senate. In practice, the vice president is usually absent from the Senate, and a senator serves as president [[pro tempore]], or [[wikt:temporary|temporary]] president, of the Senate.

Representatives and senators [[proposal|propose]] laws, called "[[bill (law)|bill]]s", in their respective houses. A bill may be voted upon by the entire house right away or may first go to a small group, known as a [[committees of the United States Senate|committee]], which may recommend a bill for a vote by the whole house. If one house votes to pass a bill, the bill then gets sent to the other house; if both houses vote for it, it is then sent to the president, who may sign the bill into law or [[veto]] it. If the president vetoes the bill, it is sent back to Congress. If Congress votes again and passes the bill with at least a two-thirds [[majority]], the bill becomes law and cannot be vetoed by the president.

Under the American system of [[federalism]], Congress may not make laws that directly control the states; instead, Congress may use the promise of federal funds, or special circumstances such as national [[emergency|emergencies]], to encourage the states to follow federal law. This system is both complex and unique.

=== Judicial branch ===
The [[judicial branch]] is the part of government that interprets what the law means. The Judicial Branch is made up of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] and many lower courts. If the Supreme Court decides that a law is not allowed by [[Constitution|the Constitution]], the law is said to be "struck down" and is no longer a [[validity|valid]] law.

The Supreme Court is made up of nine [[judge]]s, called justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. One of these justices, called the [[Chief Justice of the United States|chief justice]], heads the court. A Supreme Court justice serves until he or she dies or [[resignation|resigns]]. When that happens, the president nominates someone new to replace the justice who left. If the Senate agrees with that choice, the person becomes a justice. If the Senate does not agree with the president's choice, then the president must nominate someone else.

Famous court cases such as ''[[Marbury v. Madison|Marbury v Madison]]'' (which was decided in 1803) have firmly established that the Supreme Court is the [[Interpreter|ultimate interpreter]] of the [[United States Constitution]] and has the power to strike down any law that [[conflict]]s with it.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/home.html |title=Street Law, Inc |access-date=2008-10-14 |archive-date=2008-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205025613/http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/home.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Politics ==
{{see also|States of the United States|Politics of the United States}}
{{multiple image
| align    = right
| total_width = 300
| image1   =  Joe Biden presidential portrait.jpg
| caption1 = [[Joe Biden]], [[President of the United States]] since 2021
| image2   = Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Portrait.jpg
| caption2 = [[Kamala Harris]], [[Vice President of the United States]] since 2021
}}
[[File:Political System of the United States.svg|thumb|The political system of the United States]]
The United States of America consists of [[States of the United States|50 state]]s, 5 territories, and 1 district ([[Washington D.C]].). States can make laws about things inside the state, but only federal laws can apply to more than one state or dealing with other countries. In some areas, if the federal government makes laws that say different things from the state laws, people must follow the federal law. Each state has a constitution of its own, different from the federal (national) constitution. Each of these is like the federal constitution because they say how each state's government is set up, but some also talk about specific laws.

The federal and most state governments are dominated by two [[Political party|political parties]]: the [[United States Republican Party|Republicans]] and the [[United States Democratic Party|Democrats]]. There are many smaller parties; the largest of these are the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] and the [[Green Party (United States)|Green Party]]. People help in political [[campaign]]s that they like. They try to persuade politicians to help them; this is called [[lobbying]]. All Americans are allowed to do these things, but some have and spend more money than others, or in other ways do more in politics. Some people think this is a problem, and lobby for rules to be made to change it.

The USA's large [[Culture|cultural]], economic, and military influence has made the [[foreign policy of the United States]], or relations with other countries, a topic in American politics, and the politics of many other countries.

== Political divisions ==
{{main|U.S. state}}
=== States ===
{{see also|List of U.S. states}}
The United States [[Invasion|conquered]] and [[Purchase|bought]] new lands over time, and grew from the original 13 colonies in the east to the current 50 [[U.S. state|states]], of which 48 of them are [[Contigny|joined together]] to make up the [[Continental United States|contiguous United States]]. These states, called the "lower 48", can all be reached by [[road]] without crossing a [[border]] into another country. They go from the Atlantic to the east to the [[Pacific Coast|Pacific]] in the west. There are two other states which are not joined to the lower 48 states. [[Alaska]] can be reached by passing through [[British Columbia]] and the [[Yukon]], both of which are part of Canada. [[Hawaii]] is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

[[Washington, D.C.]], the national capital, is a [[federal district]] that was split from the states of [[Maryland]] and [[Virginia]] in 1791. Not part of any US state, it used to be in the shape of a [[square]], with the land west of the [[Potomac River]] coming from Virginia and the land east of the river coming from Maryland. In 1846, Virginia took back its part of the land. Some people living in DC want it to become a state, or for Maryland to take back its land, so that they can have the [[right to vote]] in Congress.

=== Territories and possessions ===
{{see also|Territories of the United States}}
The United States territories and possessions consist of sixteen lands that do not state, many of which are [[Colony|colonial]] [[Territory|territories]]. None of them have any land [[border]]s with the rest of the US. People live in five of these places, which are ''[[de facto]]'' American:

*[[Puerto Rico]]
*[[American Samoa]]
*[[Guam]]
*[[U.S. Virgin Islands]]
*[[Northern Mariana Islands]]

The [[Philippines]] was a [[possession]] of the United States. [[Palau]], the [[Federated States of Micronesia]], and other [[Pacific Islands|Pacific island]] nations were governed by the United States as a United Nations "Trust Territory". All of these places have become [[independence|independent]]: the Philippines in 1946, Palau in 1947, and Micronesia in 1986.

The [[U.S. armed forces]] has [[Military base|base]]s in many countries, and the [[U.S. Navy]]'s base at [[Guantanamo Bay]] was rented from [[Cuba]] after that country had a [[Communist]] revolution.

=== Counties and cities ===
{{see also|List of United States cities by population}}
All the states are divided into [[Administrative division|administrative subdivisions]]. Most of them are called [[County|counties]], but [[Louisiana]] uses the word "[[List of parishes in Louisiana|parish]]," and [[Alaska]] uses the word "[[borough]]."

There are many [[City|cities]] in the United States. One city in each state is the [[List of U.S. state capitals|state capital]], where the government of the state meets and the [[governor]] works. This city is not always the largest in its state. For example, the city with the most people living in is [[New York City]] in [[New York (state)|New York State]], but the state capital is [[Albany, New York|Albany]]. Some other big cities are [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]; [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]; [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]; [[Miami]], [[Florida]]; [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]]; [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]]; [[Houston]] and [[Dallas]], [[Texas]]; [[Philadelphia]] and [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]]; [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]; [[Denver]], [[Colorado]]; [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]], [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[San Francisco]], [[San Diego]] and [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]].

== Foreign relations and military ==
{{Main|Foreign policy of the United States|Military of the United States}}
[[File:Hague Clinton May 14 2010 Crop.jpeg|thumb|250px|British Foreign Secretary [[William Hague]] and [[U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Hillary Clinton]], May 2010]]
The United States is very influential in global economics, politics, and the military. It is a permanent member of the [[United Nations Security Council]] and the [[headquarters of the United Nations]] is in New York City. It is a member of the [[G7]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/what_is_g8.html |title=What is the G8? |publisher=University of Toronto |access-date=2019-12-28 |archive-date=2020-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127055741/http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/what_is_g8.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[G20]], and [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development]]. Almost all countries have [[Embassy|embassies]] in Washington, D.C., and many have [[Consul (representative)|consulates]] around the country. Likewise, nearly all nations host [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|American diplomatic missions]]. However, [[Iran]], [[North Korea–United States relations|North Korea]], [[Foreign relations of Bhutan|Bhutan]], and [[Taiwan–United States relations|Taiwan]] do not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States. The United States has a "[[special relationship]]" with the [[United Kingdom–United States relations|United Kingdom]]<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLy-NKnQitIC&dq=uk+us+special+relationship&pg=PA45 |title=America's 'Special Relationships': Foreign and Domestic Aspects of the Politics of Alliance |page=45 |first1=John |first2=Axel |last2=Schäfer |last1=Dumbrell |year=2009 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-203-87270-3}}</ref> and strong ties with [[Canada–United States relations|Canada]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/96-397.pdf |title=Canada–U.S. Relations |author1=Ek, Carl |author2=Ian F. Fergusson |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=September 3, 2010 |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=January 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113064224/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/96-397.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Australia–United States relations|Australia]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Australia: Background and U.S. Relations |author=Vaughn, Bruce |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=August 8, 2008 |oclc = 70208969}}</ref> [[New Zealand–United States relations|New Zealand]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32876.pdf |title=New Zealand: Background and Bilateral Relations with the United States |author=Vaughn, Bruce |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=May 27, 2011 |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122111903/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32876.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Japan–United States relations|Japan]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33436.pdf |title=Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress |author=Chanlett-Avery, Emma |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=June 8, 2011 |display-authors=etal |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=January 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113063914/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33436.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[South Korea–United States relations|South Korea]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41481.pdf |title=U.S.–South Korea Relations: Issues for Congress |author=Mark E. Manyin |author2=Emma Chanlett-Avery |author3=Mary Beth Nikitin |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=July 8, 2011 |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=January 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113064241/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41481.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Israel–United States relations|Israel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33476.pdf |title=Israel: Background and U.S. Relations |author=Zanotti, Jim |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=July 31, 2014 |access-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-date=March 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305033453/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33476.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:USS Abraham Lincoln(CVN 72).jpg|thumb|250px|The [[USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)|USS ''Abraham Lincoln'']] [[aircraft carrier]]]]
The president is the [[wikt:commander-in-chief|commander-in-chief]] of the [[United States Armed Forces|country's armed forces]] and appoints its leaders, the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] and the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]]. The [[United States Department of Defense]] administers the armed forces, including the [[United States Army|Army]], [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]], [[United States Navy|Navy]], and [[United States Air Force|Air Force]]. The [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] is run by the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] in peacetime and by the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] during times of war. In 2008, the armed forces had 1.4 million personnel on active duty, along with several hundred thousand each in the [[Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces|Reserves]] and [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] for a total of 2.3 million troops. The Department of Defense also employed about 700,000 civilians, not including contractors.<ref>{{cite web|date=May 2009|title=The Air Force in Facts and Figures (Armed Forces Manpower Trends, End Strength in Thousands)|url=http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2009/May%202009/0509facts_fig.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113101605/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2009/May%202009/0509facts_fig.pdf|archive-date=January 13, 2013|website=Air Force Magazine}}</ref>

The [[military budget of the United States]] in 2011 was more than $700 billion, 41% of global military spending and equal to the next 14 largest national military expenditures combined. At 4.7% of GDP, the rate was the second-highest among the top 15 military spenders, after [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref>{{cite web|date=2011|title=The 15 Countries with the Highest Military Expenditure in 2011|url=http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/resultoutput/15majorspenders|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109085820/http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/resultoutput/milex_15/the-15-countries-with-the-highest-military-expenditure-in-2011-table/view|archive-date=January 9, 2013|publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]]|format=PDF}}</ref> U.S. defense spending as a percentage of GDP ranked 23rd globally in 2012 according to the CIA.<ref>{{cite web|title=Compare|url=http://cia-world-factbook.realclearworld.com/|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121220033039/http://cia-world-factbook.realclearworld.com/|archive-date=December 20, 2012|website=CIA World Factbook|publisher=RealClearWorld}}</ref> The proposed base [[military budget of the United States|Department of Defense budget]] for 2012, $553 billion, was a 4.2% increase over 2011; an additional $118 billion was proposed for the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|date=February 2011|title=Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request Overview|url=http://comptroller.defense.gov/defbudget/fy2012/FY2012_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725214533/http://comptroller.defense.gov/defbudget/fy2012/FY2012_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf|archive-date=July 25, 2011|publisher=Department of Defense}}</ref> The last American troops serving in Iraq departed in December 2011;<ref>{{cite news |author=Basu, Moni |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/17/world/meast/iraq-troops-leave/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |title=Deadly Iraq War Ends with Exit of Last U.S. Troops |publisher=CNN |date=December 18, 2011 |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-date=December 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219082247/http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/17/world/meast/iraq-troops-leave/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |url-status=live }}</ref> 4,484 service members were killed during the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{cite web|date=February 5, 2012|title=Operation Iraqi Freedom|url=http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321080348/http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx|archive-date=March 21, 2011|publisher=Iraq Coalition Casualty Count}}</ref> Approximately 90,000 U.S. troops were serving in Afghanistan in April 2012;<ref name='Frontline Turning Point'>{{cite news |first=John |last=Cherian |title=Turning Point |date=April 7, 2012 |publisher=[[The Hindu Group]] |url=http://www.frontline.in/fl2907/stories/20120420290705200.htm |work=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202001115/http://www.frontline.in/fl2907/stories/20120420290705200.htm |archive-date=December 2, 2012 |quote=There are currently 90,000 U.S. troops deployed in the country.}}</ref> by November 8, 2013 2,285 had been killed during the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web|date=November 2013|title=Department of Defence Defence Casualty Analysis System|url=http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/pages/report_oef_type.xhtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920230523/http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/pages/report_oef_type.xhtml|archive-date=September 20, 2012|publisher=Department of Defense}}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{main|Economy of the United States}}
The United States has a [[capitalist]] [[economy]]. The country has rich [[mineral]] [[Natural resource|resource]]s, with many [[gold]], [[coal]], and [[uranium]] deposits. [[Farming]] makes the country among the top producers of, among others, [[corn]] ([[maize]]), [[wheat]], [[sugar]], and [[tobacco]]. Housing contributes about 15% to the [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nahb.org/en/research/housing-economics/housings-economic-impact/housings-contribution-to-gross-domestic-product-gdp.aspx |title=Housing's Contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) |access-date=2019-06-19 |archive-date=2019-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619193309/https://www.nahb.org/en/research/housing-economics/housings-economic-impact/housings-contribution-to-gross-domestic-product-gdp.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> America produces [[Automobile|car]]s, [[airplane]]s, and [[electronics]]. About 3/4 of Americans work in the [[service industry]].

== Science and technology ==
The United States is the world's foremost scientific power.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tollefson|first=Jeff|last2=Van Noorden|first2=Richard|date=2024-10-23|title=The US is the world’s science superpower — but for how long?|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03403-4|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=634|issue=8035|pages=770–774|doi=10.1038/d41586-024-03403-4}}</ref> It has the most [[Nobel Prize]] winners of any country.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The hierarchy of countries winning Nobels in the sciences is shifting|work=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/05/10/the-hierarchy-of-countries-winning-nobels-in-the-sciences-is-shifting|access-date=2024-11-27|issn=0013-0613}}</ref> The U.S. spends more on [[research and development]] than any other country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=US holds off China challenge in global R&D spending race {{!}} Science{{!}}Business|url=https://sciencebusiness.net/news/international-news/us-holds-china-challenge-global-rd-spending-race|access-date=2024-11-27|website=sciencebusiness.net|language=en}}</ref> It is the leading country in [[artificial intelligence]] development.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-11-21|title=Global AI Power Rankings: Stanford HAI Tool Ranks 36 Countries in AI|url=https://hai.stanford.edu/news/global-ai-power-rankings-stanford-hai-tool-ranks-36-countries-ai|access-date=2025-01-01|website=hai.stanford.edu|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Espinel|first=Victoria|title=America leads the world in AI–but we could fall behind on AI regulation by the end of 2023|url=https://fortune.com/europe/2023/09/11/america-leads-world-artificial-intelligence-fall-behind-ai-regulation-2023-tech-victoria-espinel/|access-date=2024-11-27|website=Fortune Europe|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Sintia|first=Radu|date=2019-08-19|title=Despite Chinese Efforts, the U.S. Still Leads in AI|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2019-08-19/the-us-is-still-the-global-leader-in-artificial-intelligence|website=[[U.S. News & World Report]]}}</ref>

Notable American inventions are:<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1936-12-01|title=Twelve Notable American Inventions|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/1381088c0|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=138|issue=3504|pages=1088–1088|doi=10.1038/1381088c0|issn=1476-4687}}</ref> the [[telephone]], the electric [[telegraph]], the [[electric light]], the [[cinema]], the gramophone, the [[aeroplane]], the [[internet]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-03|title=A short history of the internet|url=https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/short-history-internet|access-date=2024-11-27}}</ref> and the [[video game console]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=In History: The first ever video game console, 50 years on|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231213-in-history-the-first-ever-video-game-console-50-years-on|access-date=2024-11-27|website=www.bbc.com|language=en-GB}}</ref> Although the U.S. did not invent the [[automobile]], the world's first [[Mass production|mass-produced]] car was American.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1986-01-26|title=SOME MILESTONES OF THE AUTO AGE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/26/automobiles/some-milestones-of-the-auto-age.html|access-date=2024-11-27|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Birch|first=Ryan|date=2024-11-19|title=Best American cars of all time - Oldsmobile Curved Dash|url=https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/96471/oldsmobile-curved-dash|access-date=2024-11-27|website=Auto Express|language=en}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{USCensusPop
| 1790=3929000
| 1800=5308000
| 1810=7240000
| 1820=9638000
| 1830=12866000
| 1840=17063000
| 1850=23192000
| 1860=31443321
| 1870=38558371
| 1880=50189209
| 1890=62979766
| 1900=76212168
| 1910=92228531
| 1920=106021568
| 1930=123202660
| 1940=132164569
| 1950=151325798
| 1960=179323175
| 1970=203211926
| 1980=226545805
| 1990=248709873
| 2000=281421906
| 2010=308745538
| 2020=331449281
| footnote=}}
The United States of America has people of many different [[race (sociology)|race]] and [[ethnic group|ethnic]] backgrounds. 80% of the people in the United States [[:wikt:descend|descend]] from [[Europe]]an [[immigration|immigrants]]. Many people are descended from [[Germany]], [[England]], [[Scotland]], [[Ireland]], [[Africa]], and [[Italy]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.geolytics.com/?gclid=CK7Nw9bgpJYCFRJ4xgod32jc5g |title=Demographic Data, US Census & GIS Software {{!}} GeoLytics |access-date=2008-10-13 |archive-date=2009-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321233019/http://www.geolytics.com/?gclid=CK7Nw9bgpJYCFRJ4xgod32jc5g |url-status=dead }}</ref> 13% of the people in the United States are [[African-American]]. Most of them descend from the [[slave trade|African slaves that were brought to America]]. African Americans are concentrated in the [[Southern United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ancestry-maps-united-states-2018-9?amp |title=Where Americans say their ancestors came from, in 17 maps |website=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=2022-11-19 |archive-date=2022-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119023509/https://www.businessinsider.com/ancestry-maps-united-states-2018-9?amp |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Asian]]-Americans make up only 5% of the population in America but make up a bigger portion in the west coast. For example, in [[California]], Asian-Americans make up 13% of the population of that state. [[Hispanic]]-Americans or people of Latin origins make up 15% of the nation. Mexicans are the largest Hispanic national group, followed by Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Salvadorans and Dominicans.<ref>{{cite book|title= Race, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America, Third Edition| isbn=9781438463292 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6qnuDQAAQBAJ&dq=mexicans+largest+latino+group+dominicans+puerto+ricans&pg=PA47| last1=Frazier | first1=John W. | last2=Tettey-Fio | first2=Eugene L. | last3=Henry | first3=Norah F. | date=29 December 2016 | publisher=SUNY Press }}</ref> The original peoples, called [[Native American]], American Indians, or Amerindians and [[Inuit]] ([[Eskimo]]s) are a very small group. There are 574 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States.<ref>[https://archive.ncai.org/about-tribes#:~:text=There%20are%20574%20federally%20recognized,villages)%20in%20the%20United%20States. Tribal Nations & the United States: An Introduction | NCAI]</ref>

11% of the people in the United States are foreign-born. 18% speak a language other than English at home. For people 25 and older, 80% are [[high school]] [[graduation|graduates]] while 25% have a [[bachelor's degree]] or higher.

The 2000 Census counted self-reported [[ancestor|ancestry]]. It identified 43 million German-Americans, 30.5 million Irish-Americans, 24.9 million African-Americans, 24.5 million English-Americans, and 18.4 million Mexican Americans.

The United States has the largest number of immigrants of any country in the world. The United States attracts immigrants from other countries due to the [[American Dream]]. Most immigrants in the United States come from Mexico, [[China]], [[India]], the [[Philippines]] and [[El Salvador]]. 

=== Money ===
The [[social]] [[structure]] of the United States has a big range. This means that some Americans are much, much richer than others. The [[average]] ([[median]]) [[income]] for an American was $37,000 a year in 2002. However, the [[wealthy|richest]] 1% of Americans have as much money as the [[poor]]est 90%. 51% of all households have access to a [[computer]] and 41% had access to the [[Internet]] in 2000, a figure which had grown to 75% in 2004. Also, 67.9% of American families owned their homes in 2002. There are 200 million cars in the United States, two for every three Americans. The debt has grown to over $21,000,000,000,000.

=== Religion ===
There are many different [[religion]]s in the U.S. [[Statistics|Statistically]], the largest religion is [[Christianity]], including groups such as [[Catholicism]] and [[Protestantism]]. Other religions include [[Hinduism]], [[Islam]], [[Judaism]], [[Unitarian Universalism]], [[Wicca]], [[Druidry]], [[Baha'i]], [[Raelism]], [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Taoism]], and [[Jainism]].<ref>Media, Minorities, and Meaning: A Critical Introduction - Page 88, Debra L. Merskin - 2010</ref> Religions which were founded within the United States include [[Eckankar]], [[Satanism]], and [[Scientology]]. [[Native American mythology|Native American religion]]s have various [[animism|animistic]] beliefs.

The United States is one of the most [[religious]] countries in the [[Western World]], and most Americans believe in [[God]]. The number of Christians in the U.S. has gone down. 86.2% called themselves Christian in 1990 and 78.4% said this in 2007. The others include Judaism (2.3%), Islam (0.8%), [[Buddhism]] (0.7%), Hinduism (0.4%), and Unitarian Universalism (0.3%). Those who have no religion are at 16.1%. There is a large difference between those who say that they belong to a religion and those who are members of a religious body of that religion.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080724033846/http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics &#x7C; Pew Research Center]</ref>

Doubts about the existence of a God, gods or goddesses are higher among young people.<ref>Merica, Dan (2012-06-12). Pew Survey: Doubt of God Growing Quickly among Millennials</ref> Among the non-religious population of the U.S., there are [[deist]]s, [[humanist]]s, [[Ignosticism|ignostics]], [[atheist]]s, and [[agnostic]]s.<ref>Kosmin, Barry; Keysar, Ariela (2009). "[https://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/files/2011/08/NONES_08.pdf American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412032857/https://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/files/2011/08/NONES_08.pdf |date=2019-04-12 }}" (PDF). Trinity Colloge.</ref>

=== Language ===
{{main|Languages of the United States}}

[[English language|English]] ([[American English]]) is the de facto [[national language]]. Although there is no [[official language]] at the federal level, some laws (such as [[Citizenship in the United States#Types of citizenship|U.S. naturalization requirements]]) standardize English. In 2010, about 230 million, or 80% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish]], spoken by 12% of the population at home, is the second most common language and the most widely taught second language.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Welles |first=Elizabeth B. |title=Foreign Language Enrollments in United States Institutions of Higher Learning, Fall 2002 |url=http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf |date=Winter–Spring 2004  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618133404/http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2009 |journal=ADFL Bulletin |volume=35 |page=7 |number=2–3 |doi=10.1632/adfl.35.2.7  |access-date=November 29, 2019}}</ref> Some Americans advocate making English the country's official language, as it is in at least twenty-eight states. Both [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and English are official languages in Hawaii by state law.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 7, 1978|title=The Constitution of the State of Hawaii, Article XV, Section 4|url=http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724231656/http://hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|archive-date=July 24, 2013|access-date=November 29, 2019|publisher=Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau}}</ref>

While neither has an official language, [[New Mexico]] has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as [[Louisiana]] does for English and French.<ref>{{cite book|title=Languages in America: A Pluralist View|url=https://archive.org/details/languagesinameri00dick|author=Dicker|first=Susan J.|publisher=Multilingual Matters|year=2003|isbn=1-85359-651-5|location=Clevedon|pages=[https://archive.org/details/languagesinameri00dick/page/216 216], 220–25}}</ref> Other states, such as [[California]], order the publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents including court forms.<ref>{{cite web|title=California Judicial Council Forms|url=http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/allforms.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010210100209/http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/allforms.htm|archive-date=February 10, 2001|access-date=November 25, 2019|publisher=Judicial Council, State of California}}</ref> Many jurisdictions with large numbers of non-English speakers produce government materials, especially voting information, in the most commonly spoken languages in those jurisdictions.

Several insular territories grant official recognition to their native languages, along with English: [[Samoan language|Samoan]] and [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]] are recognized by American Samoa and Guam, respectively; [[Carolinian language|Carolinian]] and Chamorro are recognized by the Northern Mariana Islands; Spanish is an official language of Puerto Rico and is more widely spoken than English there.

Many Native American languages in the United States are endangered.

=== Education ===
{{main|Education in the United States|Educational attainment in the United States|Higher education in the United States}}
In most states, children are required to attend school from the age of six or seven (generally, kindergarten or first grade) until they turn eighteen (generally bringing them through twelfth grade, the end of high school); some states allow students to leave school at sixteen or seventeen.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/dt150.asp |title=Ages for Compulsory School Attendance&nbsp;… |access-date=November 24, 2019 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics |archive-date=June 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614233911/http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/dt150.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> About 12% of children are enrolled in parochial or nonsectarian private schools. Just over 2% of children are homeschooled.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/statistics.html |title=Statistics About Non-Public Education in the United States |access-date=November 24, 2019 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Non-Public Education |archive-date=July 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716071350/http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/statistics.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Culture ==
American [[popular culture]] goes out to many places in the world.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Fergie|first1=Dexter|last2=Pinkham|first2=Sophie|last3=Pinkham|first3=Sophie|last4=Kindley|first4=Evan|last5=Kindley|first5=Evan|last6=Kirsch|first6=Adam|last7=Kirsch|first7=Adam|last8=Dickey|first8=Colin|last9=Dickey|first9=Colin|date=2022-03-24|title=How American Culture Ate the World|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/165836/american-culture-ate-world-righteous-smokescreen-globalization-review|access-date=2023-04-01|issn=0028-6583}}</ref> It has a large [[influence]] on most places, especially the [[Western hemisphere|Western]] world. American [[music]] is everywhere, and American movies and [[television]] shows can be seen in most countries.

=== Federal holidays ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!width=150| Date<ref name="cornell">{{cite web |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/6103 |title=5 U.S. Code § 6103 – Holidays |publisher=[[Cornell University Law School]] - Legal Information Institute |website=www.law.cornell.edu |access-date=2014-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709203348/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/6103 |archive-date=July 9, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
! Name
! Description
|-
| January 1
| [[New Year's Day]]
| Celebrates the beginning of the year
|-
| 3rd Monday in January
| [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] Day
| Honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an [[African-American]] [[civil rights]] leader
|-
| 3rd Monday in February
| [[President's Day]]
| Honors all of the American presidents, but specifically [[George Washington]] (born February 22, 1722) and [[Abraham Lincoln]] (born February 12, 1812)
|-
| Last Monday in May
| [[Memorial Day]]
| Honors people who died while serving in the military and marks the traditional start of [[summer]]
|-
| June 19
| [[Juneteenth]]
| Recognizes the freeing of all [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]] in 1865
|-
| July 4
| [[US Independence Day|Independence Day]]
| Celebrates the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], also known as "The Fourth of July"
|-
| 1st Monday in September
| [[Labor Day]]
| Celebrates the achievements of workers and marks the traditional end of summer
|-
| 2nd Monday in October
| [[Columbus Day]] or [[Indigenous Peoples' Day]]
| Columbus Day honors [[Christopher Columbus]], who discovered [[the Americas]] for [[Europe]] and Indigenous Peoples' Day honors the native people of the US; states may celebrate one or neither
|-
| November 11
| [[Veterans Day]]
| Honors all people who served in the [[military]] (past and present)
|-
| 4th Thursday in November
| [[Thanksgiving]]
| Celebrates the [[autumn]] [[harvest]] and marks the [[tradition]]al beginning of the "holiday season"
|-
| December 25
| [[Christmas]]
| Celebrates the [[birth]] of [[Jesus Christ]] (non-[[Christian]]s celebrate it as a [[winter]] holiday)
|}

=== Flag ===
[[File:Flag of the United States.svg|thumb|The US flag]]
The [[American flag]] is made up of 50 stars on a blue background and has 13 stripes, seven red and six white. It is one of many symbols of the United States like the [[Bald Eagle]]. The 50 stars represent the 50 states. The red stands for [[courage]], the blue stands for [[justice]], and the white represents [[peace]] and [[cleanliness]]. The 13 stripes represent the [[Thirteen Colonies|13 original colonies.]]

=== Cuisine ===
A [[hamburger]] is one of the popular foods of the United States. [[Fast food]] in the United States is home to many regional cuisines such as the [[Cuisine of the Southern United States]], also known as Southern food. There are Americanized versions of Chinese, Greek, Japanese, Italian and Mexican cuisine. Native American cuisine is the cuisine of the indigenous [[Native Americans]]. A lot of American dishes are influenced by many countries around the world. American cuisine has Native American, British, French, German, and Spanish influences.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Founders of American Cuisine: Seven Cookbook Authors, with Historical Recipes| isbn=9780786458691 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XiKhBAAAQBAJ&dq=american+cuisine+is+influenced+by+german+spanish&pg=PA8| last1=Haff | first1=Harry | date=8 February 2011 | publisher=McFarland }}</ref> [[Soul food]] is traditional southern African American food.

=== Music ===
The most popular genres in the United States are [[rock and roll]], [[pop music|pop]], [[country music|country]], [[R&B]], and [[hip hop]]. [[Native American#Music|Native American music]] is the indigenous music of the United States. American singers that became global superstars include [[Whitney Houston]],<ref name="Rolling Stone-2023">{{cite magazine|date=January 1, 2023|title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/whitney-houston-11-1234643211/|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=January 2, 2023}}</ref> [[Michael Jackson]],<ref name="RIAA">{{cite web|date=December 16, 2015|title=Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' First Ever 30X Multi-Platinum RIAA Certification|url=https://www.riaa.com/michael-jacksons-thriller-first-ever-30x-multi-platinum-riaa-certification/|access-date=December 17, 2021|publisher=Recording Industry Association of America}}</ref> and [[Madonna]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Marcos|first=Carlos|date=August 17, 2022|title=Madonna has been scandalizing people for 40 years, and nobody's going to stop her|work=[[El País]]|url=https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-08-17/madonna-has-been-scandalizing-people-for-40-years-and-nobodys-going-to-stop-her.html|access-date=August 17, 2022}}</ref> 

=== Sports ===
[[File:Wilson opening day 1916.jpg|thumb|In American baseball games, sometimes the president throws the first ball.]]
[[Native Americans]] played [[lacrosse]] before [[Europeans]] arrived.<ref>Liss, Howard. Lacrosse (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970) pg 13.</ref> [[Baseball]] is the country sport for the United States, and [[American football]] is the most popular sport. Basketball is also very popular in the USA, which the USA has its own league called the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grossman|first=Nadelle|date=2014-01-01|title=What is the NBA?|url=https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/facpub/665|journal=25 Marquette Sports Law Review 101 (2014)|access-date=2022-11-24|archive-date=2022-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124042653/https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/facpub/665/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Video games ===
The [[video game industry]] of the United States is one of the largest of any country. It is the second largest market for video games after China.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Asian countries make up 40% of the world's top 10 video gaming markets|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/which-countries-have-the-largest-video-gaming-markets/|access-date=2023-01-16|website=World Economic Forum|language=en|archive-date=2022-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212045635/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/which-countries-have-the-largest-video-gaming-markets/|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the world's largest video game developers are based in the USA, like [[Take-Two Interactive]], [[Electronic Arts]], [[Activision Blizzard]], and [[Xbox Game Studios]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gray|first=Jasmine|date=2022-08-25|title=The 10 Largest Video Game Companies In The World, And What They Do|url=https://history-computer.com/largest-video-game-companies-in-the-world-and-what-they-do/|access-date=2023-01-16|website=History-Computer|language=en-US|archive-date=2023-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115121540/https://history-computer.com/largest-video-game-companies-in-the-world-and-what-they-do/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Measurement ===
The United States is the only developed country that doesn't officially use the [[metric system]]. Instead, the [[United States customary units]] are the measurement system used, though certain fields like [[science]] use the metric system. There were also attempts at [[metrication]] in the past, most notably in the 1970s, but they were not successful.

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Other websites ==
{{Sisterlinks|United States}}
* {{Wikivoyage-inline|United States}}

; Government
* [http://www.usa.gov/ Official U.S. Government Web Portal] Gateway to governmental sites
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/ White House] Official site of the President of the United States
* [https://www.senate.gov/ Senate] Official site of the United States Senate
* [http://www.house.gov/ House] Official site of the United States House of Representatives
* [{{SCOTUS URL}} Supreme Court] Official site of the Supreme Court of the United States
*[https://web.archive.org/web/19990220002603/https://www.loc.gov/index.html Library of Congress] Official site of the [[Library of Congress]]

; Overviews and data
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20000829075233/http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/factover/ Portrait of the United States] Overview from the U.S. Information Agency
*[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html United States]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225135647/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html%20 |date=2018-12-25 }}. CIA ''World Factbook'' entry.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060828224303/http://www.britannica.com/nations/United-States United States] ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' entry
*[https://web.archive.org/web/19970101150136/https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ U.S. Census Housing and Economic Statistics] Wide-ranging data from the U.S. Census Bureau
*[http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/ State Fact Sheets] Population, employment, income, and farm data from the U.S. Economic Research Service
*[http://www.teacheroz.com/states.htm The 50 States of the U.S.A.] Collected informational links for each state

;History
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080314143240/http://www.nationalcenter.org/HistoricalDocuments.html Historical documents] Collected by the National Center for Public Policy Research
* [http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm U.S. National Mottos: History and Constitutionality]. {{Webarchive|url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20061212193931/http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm |date=2006-12-12 }}. Analysis by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
* [http://www.historicalstatistics.org/index2.html USA] Collected links to historical data

;Maps
* {{Wikiatlas|the United States}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091021182322/http://www.nationalatlas.gov/ National Atlas of the United States] Official maps from the U.S. Department of the Interior

;Other
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061102175016/http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] Official government site

{{United States topics}}
{{United States}}
{{North America}}
{{G8}}
{{Group of 7}}
{{North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:United States| ]]
[[Category:English-speaking countries]]
[[Category:G8 nations]]
[[Category:G7 nations]]
[[Category:Federations]]
[[Category:1776 establishments in North America]]
[[Category:Spanish-speaking countries]]