United States of America


 * For other meanings, see the disambiguation pages for U.S., USA, or United States.

The United States of America was a federal republic situated primarily in North America. It was bordered on the north by Canada and on the south by Mexico. It comprised several states and one federal district, and had at various times several territories with differing degrees of affiliation. It was also referred to, with varying formality, as the United States, America, the U.S., the U.S.A., the U.S. of A., the States, or (poetically) Columbia.

After World War I, the United States emerged as the dominant global influence in economic, political, military, cultural and technological affairs. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became the sole global superpower of the early 21st century.

The country celebrated its founding date as July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress—representing thirteen British colonies—adopted the Declaration of Independence that rejected British authority in favor of self-determination. The structure of the government was profoundly changed on March 4, 1789, when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution.

Prehistory
American history during the Human Era began with the migration of people from Asia across the Bering land bridge some time prior to 10,000 BC, possibly following large animals that they hunted into the Americas. These Native Americans left evidence of their presence in petroglyphs, burial mounds, and other artifacts. It seems that 2 to 9 million people lived in the territory later occupied by the U.S. before that population was diminished by European contact and the foreign diseases it brought. Some advanced societies were the Anasazi of the southwest, who inhabited Chaco Canyon (and built sandstone buildings with up to 5 floors), and the Woodland Indians, who built Cahokia, a city with a population of 40,000 at its peak in the year 1200, located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri.

European settlement
External visitors including the Norse had arrived before, but it was not until after the voyages of Christopher Columbus in late 1400s and early 1500s that European nations began to explore the land in earnest and settle there permanently.

During the 1500s and 1600s, the Spanish settled parts of the southern regions and southeastern regions. The first successful English settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Other early settlements, such as Roanoke, were destroyed by various factors. Within the next two decades, several Dutch settlements, including New Amsterdam (the predecessor to New York City), were established in what would later become the states of New York and New Jersey. In 1637, Sweden established a colony at Fort Christina (in what would later be Delaware), but lost the settlement to the Dutch in 1655.

This was followed by extensive British settlement of the east coast. The British colonists remained relatively undisturbed by their home country until after the French and Indian War when the Kingdom of Great Britain and its North American Colonies fought against France and its North American Colonies. The war resulted in France ceding Canada and the Great Lakes region to Britain, and Spain gaining Louisiana in compensation for its loss of Florida to Britain.

Later that year, the British government under George III issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 that placed a boundary upon the westward expansion of the British North American colonies. The Proclamation's goal was to force colonists to negotiate with the Native Americans for the lawful purchase of the land and, therefore, to reduce the costly frontier warfare that had erupted over land conflicts.

A tax was imposed on the colonists as it was becoming increasingly difficult for the crown to pay for its military excursions and the defense of the American colonies from native uprisings. The colonists widely resented the taxes as they were denied representation in the British Parliament. Tensions between Britain and the colonists increased, and the thirteen colonies eventually rebelled against British rule.

Nationhood
In 1775, the American Revolutionary War against colonial rule by Britain began. In 1776, the 13 colonies declared their independence from Great Britain and formed the United States. Before the ratification of a national government, the United States existed as an informal alliance of independent individual colonies with their own laws and sovereignty, while the Second Continental Congress was given the nominal authority by the colonies to make decisions regarding the formation and founding of the Continental Army but not to levy taxes or make federal law.

The first united national political structure was a confederation proposed in 1777, and ratified in 1781 as the Articles of Confederation, making the United States the world's first constitutional federal republic. After long debate, this was supplanted in 1789 by the Constitution, which formed a more centralized federal government. For the original 13 states, the date when they accepted the Constitution is often considered as their date of admission to the union.

Civil War
By the mid-19th century, a major division over the issue of states' rights, role of the federal government, and the expansion of slavery came to a head.

The Northern states had become opposed to slavery, while the Southern states saw it as necessary for the continued success of agriculture, especially the cotton industry, and wanted it expanded to newer territories in the West. Several federal laws were passed in an attempt to settle the dispute, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850.

The dispute reached a crisis on December 20, 1860, when South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union. Six other southern states followed (Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) 1, forming the Confederate States of America and leading to the American Civil War. Soon after the war began, four more southern states seceded (Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina), and two states (Kentucky and Missouri) had both Union and Confederate governments at different points throughout the war. Though these states were never under consistent Confederate control, they were still counted as Confederate States (seen most prominently on the flag of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia).

During the war (after the Battle of Antietam), President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, mandating the freedom of slaves located in the states in rebellion. There were some exceptions. Slaves owned by Northerners in the State of Louisiana were considered exempt. Full emancipation did not take place until after the end of the war in 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution took effect. The Civil War effectively ended the question of a state's right to secede, and is widely accepted as a major turning point after which the federal government became more powerful than state governments.

Expansion
During the 19th century, many new states were added to the union as the nation expanded across the continent. Manifest Destiny was a philosophy that encouraged westward expansion in the United States: as the population of the Eastern states grew and as a steady increase of immigrants entered the country, settlers moved steadily westward across North America.

In the process, the U.S. displaced most Native American nations. This displacement of Native Americans continues to be a matter of contention in the U.S., with many nations attempting to assert their original claims to various lands, citing the Indian relocation acts of 1830. In some areas, Native American populations had been reduced by foreign diseases contracted through contact with European settlers, and U.S. settlers acquired those emptied lands.

During this period, the nation also became an industrial power and a center for innovation and technological development.

People and culture
U.S. popular culture had a significant influence on the rest of the Earth during the 20th and 21st centuries, especially in the Western world. U.S. music was heard all over the world, and included such forms as blues, jazz, house, rock and roll, and popular music culture.

U.S. movies (primarily embodied in Hollywood) and television shows could be seen almost anywhere except the most totalitarian of Tellurian countries. This is in stark contrast to the early days of the republic, when the country was viewed by Europeans as an agricultural backwater with little to offer the culturally advanced world centers of Asia and Europe.

Largest cities
The United States had dozens of major cities, with three "alpha" global cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Other, smaller cities, which were considered important on the basis of other factors and issues, including culture, economics, heritage, and politics, include Atlanta, Georgia, Boston, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.).

Education


In the United States, education is a state, not federal, responsibility, and the laws and standards vary considerably. However, the federal government, through the Department of Education, is involved with funding of some programs and exerts some influence through its ability to control funding. In most states, students are generally obliged to attend mandatory schooling starting with kindergarten, which is normally entered into at age 5, and following through 12th grade, which is normally completed at age 18 (although in some states, students are permitted to drop out upon the age of 16 with the permission of their parents/guardians). Parents may educate their own children at home (with varying degrees of state oversight), send their children to a public school, which is funded with tax money, or to a private school, where parents must pay tuition. Public schools are highly decentralized with funding and curriculum decisions taking place mostly at the local level through school boards.

After high school, students may choose to continue their schooling at a public/state university or a private university. Public universities receive funding from the federal and state governments, as well as other sources, but students still pay tuition. The amount paid varies depending on the university, state, and whether the student is a resident of the state or not. Tuition at private universities tends to be much higher than at public universities, though financial aid tends to remedy the disparity. It is not uncommon for students to join the workforce or the military before attending college; both the military and many private employers may subsidize post-secondary education.

American colleges and universities range from competitive schools, both private (such as Harvard University and Princeton University) and public (such as the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Virginia), to hundreds of local community colleges with open admission policies.

Transportation


Because the automobile industry took off very early in the United States (when compared to other Western nations), much of the development of U.S. urban areas has taken place around the concept of creating cities and residential areas to suit the needs of road vehicles. The automobile industry was quick to attain influence in government and media alike, and was also the force behind the dismantling of the electric rail transport systems or trolleys in over 40 U.S. cities through a subsidiary called National City Lines. To link its vast territory, the United States built a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways, of which the most important element is the Interstate Highway system. These highways were commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn. There is also a transcontinental rail system, which is used for moving freight across the lower forty-eight states. Passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which serves forty-six of the lower forty-eight states.

Some cities provide usable mass-transit systems. The largest of them, New York, operates one of the world's most heavily used subway systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Connecticut are among the most heavily used in the world.

In comparison to Japan and Europe, the United States has an underdeveloped rail network. There exists no similar high speed rail links connecting major cities, as the TGV in France and ICE network in Germany. Ideal candidates for high speed rail links include Northeastern States, Florida, Texas, and California.

Further Information: High-speed rail in the United States

Air travel is the preferred means of travel for long distances. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport. There are several major seaports in the United States; the three busiest are the Port of Los Angeles, California; the Port of Long Beach, California; and the Port of New York and New Jersey. Others include Duluth, Minnesota; Houston, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Portland, Oregon; Oakland, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington; plus, outside the contiguous forty-eight states, Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Sports


The major team sports in America are home-grown. American football, baseball (often called "The National Pastime"), and basketball, are the top three main sports in America. Ice hockey is also popular in the U.S., especially in the Upper Midwest and Northeast. Although it is currently one of the most played sports amongst American youth, soccer does not have a particularly large following in the U.S. in contrast to its extreme popularity in most other countries. Nevertheless, the U.S. did host the World Cup in 1994 and the Women's World Cup in 1999 and 2003. Professional sports in America is very big business and its athletes are very well compensated. The majority of the world's highest paid athletes play team sports in America.

The US also hosts large followings of traditional European sporting events. Horse racing is popular as a gambling event and the United States hosts several world renowned horse racing events, including the Kentucky Derby. Rugby Union has also established itself as a popular sport with a loyal following. Other European sports such as polo and cricket, while not popular, do attract players and have established leagues.

The United States hosts some of the premier events in other sports such as golf (including three of the four majors), and tennis (the U.S. Open).

In the 20th century, the United States became the center of the two most popular Western combat sports&mdash;boxing, which is popular as both a spectator sport and a gambling event, and professional wrestling, which is more scripted entertainment than a true sport. The United States has produced many champion boxers who have become public figures in their own right. Other combat sports based on Asian martial arts, such as karate competitions, maintain large national leagues and hold frequent competitions.

The number of gun owners in America has given widespread popularity to shooting sports as an amateur pastime. Competitions on marksmanship and other firearm related skills are a regular feature at many shooting ranges. Several organizations (such as the National Rifle Association) maintain national leagues or participate in international leagues such as the ISSF. The United States also developed a unique shooting sport in the 1980s called cowboy action shooting.

The three popular board-based recreational sports&mdash;surfboarding, skateboarding, and snowboarding&mdash;were created in the United States. While first practiced by native Hawaiians, Americans were almost solely responsible for creating surfboarding's worldwide popularity. Skateboarding and snowboarding are completely modern American inventions, and all three have given rise to national competitions and a large dedicated subculture. Snowboarding is the only one of the three to become an Olympic event, beginning with the Winter Olympics in 1998.

Eight Olympic Games have been hosted in the United States. U.S. generally fares fairly well in them, especially the Summer Olympics: in 2004, the U.S. topped the medals table with a record 103 medals (35 gold, 39 silver and 29 bronze).

During times of extreme popularity certain teams have been (unofficially) crowned "America's team." The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, the Chicago Bulls, and the Dallas Cowboys are examples of teams that have reached this status.

American college sports are nearly as popular as professional sports, particularly college football and college basketball. American colleges often support wide-ranging sports programs, including track and field and more eclectic sports such as water polo. Similarly, many American high schools maintain extensive sports programs, and in some areas of the country, high school football and basketball competitions are major local events.

International rankings
List of countries by Human Development Index
 * United Nations Human Development Index, ranked 10 out of 177
 * A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Magazine: Globalization Index 2005, ranked 4 out of 62 countries
 * IMD International: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2005, ranked 1 out of 60 economies (countries and regions)
 * OECD: Programme for International Student Assessment (2003 PISA), Ranked 24th of 38 in mathematics, 19th of 38 in science, 12th of 38 in reading, and 26th of 38 in problem solving.
 * Reporters without borders: Fourth annual worldwide press freedom index (2005), ranked 44 (American territory) & 137 (in Iraq) out of 167 countries
 * Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers 2005, ranked 11 out of 110 countries
 * The Wall Street Journal: 2005 Index of Economic Freedom, ranked 12 out of 155 countries
 * The Economist: The World in 2005 - Worldwide quality-of-life index, 2005, ranked 13 out of 111 countries
 * Transparency International: Corruption Perceptions Index 2005, ranked 17 out of 146 countries
 * World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005 - Growth Competitiveness Index Ranking, ranked 2 out of 104 countries
 * Yale University Center for Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network: Index of Environmental Sustainability Index, ranked 45 out of 146 countries.

United States government

 * White House - Official site of the U.S. President
 * Senate - Official site of the United States Senate
 * House - Official site of the United States House of Representatives
 * Supreme Court - Official site of the Supreme Court of the United States
 * United States - Links to official United States sites
 * CIA World Factbook Entry for United States
 * Official website of the United States government - Gateway to governmental sites
 * Portrait of the United States - Published by the United States Information Agency, September 1997.
 * The National Atlas of the United States.
 * United States
 * U.S. Census Housing and Economic Statistics Updated regularly by U.S. Bureau of the Census.
 * WWW-VL: United States History Index

Other

 * Historical Documents
 * Info links for each state
 * National Motto: History and Constitutionality
 * Historicalstatistics.org - Links to historical statistics of USA
 * County Maps of the United States
 * IMF, U.S. ranks second in PPP GDP and first in PPP GDP