
#REDIRECT United States
:''This article is about the country in North America. For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation)'' The United States of America—also referred to as the United States, the USA, the U.S., America, the States, and (poetically) Columbia—is a democracy federal republic of fifty U.S. state located primarily in central North America. The United States has land borders with Canada and Mexico, as well as several territorial water boundaries with Canada, Russia and The Bahamas. It is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. Two of the fifty states, Alaska, an exclave, and Hawaii, an archipelago, are not contiguous with any of the other states. The United States also has a collection of overseas territories and possessions around the world. Each of the 50 states has a high level of local autonomy under the federation system. The official founding date of the United States is July 4, 1776, the date the Second Continental Congress, representing the thirteen Kingdom of Great Britain 13 colonies, adopted the United States Declaration of Independence. However, the structure of the United States was profoundly changed in 1788 when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution; often, sources use the date each of the original 13 states adopted the Constitution as the date on that state "entered the Union" (became part of the United States). Since the mid-20th century, the United States has become a dominant Geopolitics influence in contemporary economic, political, military, scientific, technological and cultural matters. ==History== ''Main articles: History of the United States, Military history of the United States, Timeline of United States history, List of U.S. military history events'' [[Image:George-Washington.jpg|thumb|150px|left|First President of the United States, George Washington]] Following the European colonization of the Americas, thirteen colonies split from Great Britain and formed the United States, the world's first constitutional and democratic federal republic, after their United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The original political structure was a confederation in 1777, ratified in 1781 as the Articles of Confederation. After long Federalist papers, this was supplanted by the United States Constitution in 1789, forming a more centralized federalism government. Prior to all these was the Albany Congress in 1754, in which a union was first seriously proposed. From early colonial times, there existed a shortage of labor, which encouraged unfree labor, particularly indentured servitude and slavery. In the mid-19th century, a major division occurred in the United States over the issue of states' rights and the expansion of slavery. The northern states had become opposed to slavery, while the southern states saw it as necessary for the continued success of southern agriculture and wanted it expanded to the territories. Several federal laws were passed in an attempt to settle the dispute, including the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The dispute reached a crisis point in 1861, when seven southern states secededConfederate States of America#International Diplomacy and Legal Status from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, leading to the American Civil War. Soon after the war began, four more southern states seceded. During the war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, mandating the freedom of all slaves in states in rebellion, though full emancipation did not take place until after the end of the war in 1865, the dissolution of the Confederacy, and 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 often cited as a major turning point, when the federal government became more powerful than state governments. During the 19th century, many new U.S. states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent. In the process, the U.S. displaced most Native American nations, seizing or expropriating their lands, killing many, and forcibly relocating tribes to otherwise unwanted and barren areas. ''(See Trail of Tears).'' In some areas, Native American populations were reduced by foreign diseases contracted through contact with European settlers, and U.S. settlers acquired those emptied lands. Through coercion, military prowess, and diplomatic leverage, the U.S. acquired a number of overseas possessions, from Cuba to the Philippines, though it gave up most of these over time. ''See also United States territorial acquisitions.'' During this period the nation also became an industrialisation. This continued into the 20th century, which some have termed "the American Century" due to America's tremendous influence on the world. The nation became a center for invention and technological development; major technologies that America either developed or was greatly involved in improving are the telephone, television, computer, the Internet, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, air travel and space travel. In addition to the Civil War, another major traumatic experience for the nation was the Great Depression (1929–1939). The U.S. has also has taken part in several major foreign wars, including World War I and World War II (in which the U.S. was allied with Britain and other states). During the Cold War, the United States was a major player in the Korean War and Vietnam Wars, and, along with the Soviet Union, was considered one of the world's only two "superpowers". With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. emerged as the world's leading economic and military power. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States became very involved in police actions and peacekeeping, including actions in Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia and Liberia, and the first Gulf War to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. After September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, the USA and other allied nations entered a U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and later a 2003 invasion of Iraq. == Government and politics == ''Main article: Politics of the United States'' The government of the United States may be accurately categorized as a republic or as a liberal democracy. Specifically, the United States is an example of a representative democracy. There are three levels of government in the United States—federal, state, and local. All of these are freely elected by the American people. Americans enjoy universal suffrage. ===Federal government=== The federal government of the United States is the national government. The Constitution of the United States limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, printing money, controlling trade and relations between the states, and protecting human rights. In addition to these explicitly stated powers, the government has generally extended these powers, citing the "necessary and proper clause" of the Constitution, into such areas as welfare and education. The federal government is made up of the Congress of the United States (the legislature branch), the President of the United States (the executive branch), and the Supreme Court of the United States (the judicial branch). These three branches are said to supply checks and balances on each other. The Congress is a Bicameralism lawmaking institution composed of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, which both meet in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Traditionally, the House is considered the "lower house" and the Senate the "upper house," but Congressional publications refute this. The House has 435 members called representatives or congressmen and congresswomen, who are elected by the people of a congressional district to represent that district for a term of two years. The number of districts for each state depends on the size of the population of the state, and each state has at least one representative. As of the United States 2000 census, the districts had an average size of about 640,000 people. The Senate has 100 members called senators, who are also elected by the people of a state to represent that state for a term of six years. Each state has two senators, regardless of its size. The Constitution initially gave the power to elect senators to the state legislatures; the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution transferred this ability to the people. At the top of the executive branch is the President of the United States, who acts as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The President signs laws into action, and can also issue pardons and executive orders. He has few other Constitutional duties, among them being the requirement to give a State of the Union address to Congress from time to time. Below the President is the Vice President of the United States, who is first in the United States presidential line of succession and is the President of the Senate, with the ability to cast a tiebreaking vote. These two posts are elected, as running mates, by the people via the U.S. Electoral College for four year terms. Next are the members of the United States Cabinet, and the various departments they head, including the United States Department of Defense, the United States Department of Justice, and the United States Department of State. These departments and department heads hold much regulatory and political power, and it is these departments that are used to execute the laws of the nation. The judicial branch of the federal government is used when dealing with federal and constitutional matters. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question, the State supreme court is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution. The highest court in the land is the Supreme Court of the United States, which consists of nine justices and can declare legislation made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the United States courts of appeals, and below that are the United States district court, which are the general trial courts for federal law. ===State and local governments=== The state governments have the greatest influence over people's daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution and has different laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between the different states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected legislature with two houses (one, in Nebraska), whose members represent the different parts of the state. Of note is the New Hampshire legislature, which is the third largest legislative body in the English speaking world, and has one representative for every 3,000 people. Each state maintains its own judiciary, with the lowest level typically being county courts, and culminating in each state supreme court, though sometimes named differently. In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system. The institutions that are responsible for local government typically town, city, or county councils, making laws that effect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol, and keeping animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the mayor. In some states in New England, the county have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain law enforcement agencies. === Military === ''Main article: Military of the United States'' Four of America's five military branches are under the Department of Defense: United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and the United States Air Force. The United States Coast Guard is under the Department of Homeland Security. The combined United States armed forces consists of 1.4 million active duty personnel along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and National Guard. Military conscription ended in 1973. The United States Armed Forces is the most powerful military in the world and their force projection capabilities are unrivaled by any other single nation. === Foreign relations === ''Main article: Foreign relations of the United States'' The immense military, economic, and cultural dominance of the United States has made foreign relations an especially important topic in its politics, with considerable concern about the image of the United States throughout the world. Reactions towards the United States by other nationalities are often strong, ranging from uninhibited Amerophilia (admiration and mimicking of all things American) to Anti-Americanism. U.S. foreign policy has swung about several times over the course of its history between the poles of isolationism and imperialism and everywhere in between. == Geography == === Physical geography === ''Main article: Geography of the United States'' As the world's third largest country (by total area), the United States landscape varies greatly: temperate forestland and rolling hills on the East coast, mangrove in Florida, the Great Plains in the center of the country, the Mississippi River-Missouri River river system, the Great Lakes which are shared with Canada, the Rocky Mountains west of the plains, deserts and temperate coastal zones west of the Rocky Mountains and temperate rain forests in the Pacific Northwest. Alaska's tundra and the volcano, tropical islands of Hawaii add to the geographic and climatic diversity. The climate varies along with the landscape, from tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida to tundra in Alaska and atop some of the highest mountains. Most of the North and East experience a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Most of the American South experiences a subtropical humid climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Rainfall decreases markedly from the humid forests of the Eastern Great Plains to the semiarid shortgrass prairies on the High Plains abutting the Rocky Mountains. Arid deserts, including the Mojave desert, extend through the lowlands and valleys of the American Southwest from westernmost Texas to California and northward throughout much of Nevada. Some parts of the American West, including San Francisco, California, have a Mediterranean climate. Rain forests line the windward mountains of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Alaska. === Political geography === The political geography is notable as well, with the Canadian border being the longest undefended border in the world, and with the country being divided into three distinct sections: The continental United States, also known as the lower 48; Alaska, which is physically connected only to Canada, and the archipelago of Hawaii in the central Pacific Ocean.
=== Political divisions === ''Main article: Political divisions of the United States'' With the United States Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies transformed themselves into nation states modeled after the European states of the time. Although considered as sovereigns initially, under the constitution they have delegated certain powers to the Congress, but have retained the majority of legislative authority for themselves. In the following years, the number of states within the U.S. grew steadily due to western expansion, the conquest and purchase of lands by the national government, and the subdivision of existing states, resulting in the current total of 50. The states are generally divided into smaller administrative regions, including county (United States), List of cities of the United States and township (United States)s. The United States also holds several other territories, districts and possessions, notably the federal district of the District of Columbia, which is the nation's capital, and several overseas insular areas, the most significant of which are Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. The United States Navy has held a base at an occupied portion of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 1898. The United States government claims a lease to this land, which only mutual agreement or United States abandonment of the area can terminate. The Cuban government disputes this arrangement, claiming Cuba was not truly sovereign at the time of the signing. === Largest cities === {|align=right | |- | |- | |} ''Main article: List of cities in the United States'' The United States has dozens of major cities, including several important global cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The figures expressed below are for populations within city limits. A different ranking is evident when considering metropolitan areas, although the top three would be unchanged. The twenty largest cities, based on the United States 2000 Census[http://www.census.gov/statab/ccdb/cit1020r.txt], are: {|align=left cellpadding=2 style="text-align:right; font-size: 100%; margin-left: 15px" ! Rank !!align=center| City !! Population |- | 1. ||align=left | New York City || 8,008,278 |- | 2. ||align=left | Los Angeles, California || 3,694,820 |- | 3. ||align=left | Chicago, Illinois || 2,896,016 |- | 4. ||align=left | Houston, Texas || 1,953,631 |- | 5. ||align=left | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania || 1,517,550 |- | 6. ||align=left | Phoenix, Arizona || 1,321,045 |- | 7. ||align=left | San Diego, California || 1,223,400 |- | 8. ||align=left | Dallas, Texas || 1,188,580 |- | 9. ||align=left | San Antonio, Texas || 1,144,646 |- |10. ||align=left | Detroit, Michigan || 951,270 |- |11. ||align=left | San Jose, California || 894,943 |- |12. ||align=left | Indianapolis, Indiana || 791,926 |- |13. ||align=left | San Francisco, California || 776,733 |- |14. ||align=left | Jacksonville, Florida || 735,617 |- |15. ||align=left | Columbus, Ohio || 711,470 |- |16. ||align=left | Austin, Texas || 656,562 |- |17. ||align=left | Baltimore, Maryland || 651,154 |- |18. ||align=left | Memphis, Tennessee || 650,100 |- |19. ||align=left | Milwaukee, Wisconsin || 596,974 |- |20. ||align=left | Boston, Massachusetts || 589,141 |- |}
It should be noted that some cities not listed are still considered important on the basis of other factors and issues, including culture, economics, heritage and politics. == Economy == === National economy === ''Main article: Economy of the United States'' The economy of the United States is organized primarily on a capitalism, with some government regulation in many industries. There are also some social welfare programs like Social Security (United States) and unemployment benefits, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families ("welfare"), the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicare (United States), and Medicaid. Such departures from a pure free market economy have generally increased since the late 1800s, but are less pronounced in the United States than in other industrialized countries. [[Image:U.S._one_dollar_obverse.jpg|right|thumb|220px|The United States dollar is the official currency.]] The country has rich mineral resources, with extensive gold, oil, coal, and uranium deposits. Successful Agriculture rank the country among the top producers of, among others, maize, wheat, sugar, and tobacco. The U.S. manufacturing produces, among other things, automobile, airplanes, and electronics. The largest industry is now Tertiary sector of industry, which employs roughly three-quarters of U.S. residents. Economic activity varies greatly from one part of the country to another, with many industries being largely dependent on a certain city or region; New York City is the center of the American finance, publishing, broadcasting, and advertising industries; Silicon Valley is the country’s primary location for high technology companies, while Los Angeles is the most important center for film production. The Midwest is known for its reliance on manufacturing and heavy industry, with Detroit serving as the center of the American automotive industry; the Great Plains are known as “the breadbasket of America” for their tremendous agricultural output, while Texas is largely associated with the oil industry; the Southeastern U.S. is a major hub for medical research, as well as many of the nation's textiles manufacturers. Several countries continue to link their currency to the United States dollar (such as the People's Republic of China), or even use it as a currency (such as Ecuador), although this practice has subsided since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. The largest trading partner of the United States is Canada (20%), followed by Mexico (12%), People's Republic of China (Mainland 10%, Hong Kong 1%) and Japan (8%). More than 50% of total trade is with these four countries. In 2003, the United States was World Tourism Rankings as the third most visited Tourism destination in the world; its 40.4 million visitors ranked behind France's 75 million and Spain's 52.5 million. ''See also: List of United States companies'' === Transportation === [[Image:La city hwys.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Stack interchange in Los Angeles ]] ''Main article: Transportation in the United States'' Because the United States is such a relatively young nation, most of the development of US cities has taken place after the invention of the automobile. To link its vast territories, the United States built a network of high capacity, high speed highways, of which the most important aspect is the Interstate Highway system. The United States also has a First Transcontinental Railroad which is used for moving freight across the lower 48 states. Many cities in the United States have extensive mass transit systems. New York City, NY operates the world's largest and most heavily used subway system. Air travel is often preferred for destinations over 300 mile (500 kilometer) away, and some airports, such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, are among the busiest in the world. There are several major seaports in the United States, including New York City, Savannah, Georgia, Miami, Florida, Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, California, and Seattle, Washington, plus Anchorage, Alaska and Honolulu, Hawaii outside of the contiguous 48 states.
== Society == === Demographics === [[Image:USA 2000 population density.png|thumb|2000 population density by county]] ''Main article: Demographics of the United States'' ====Ethnicity and race==== Americans, in part due to Race (U.S. census) outlined by the U.S. government, generally describe themselves as beloging to one of five groups: Whites, also called ''Caucasian'' (those having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa); Black, also called ''African American'' (those having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa); American Indian/Alaskan Native, also called ''Native American'' (those having origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central and South America, and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment); Asian, also called ''Asian American'' (those having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent); and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (those having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands). In addition to these, the category "Some other race" was included in the 2000 census for respondents who were unable to identify with any of the five Office of Management and Budget race categories. Those who identified as "South African", "Belizean", a Hispanic origin (eg. Mexican, Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc.) or even "American" were included in the "Some other race" category. The Census Bureau considers race to be separate from Hispanic origin. The category Asian is popularly identified with East Asia, rather than South Asia or Southwest Asia Asia. The term ''African-American'' is associated with centuries-long residents, and does not make distinctions between them and, say, recent Afro-Caribbean immigrants from Jamaica or imigrants from Nigeria or refugees from Somalia. The majority of the 295 million people currently living in the United States descend from Europe immigrants who have arrived since the establishment of the first colonies. Major components of the European segment of the United States population are descended from immigrants from Germany (15.2%), Ireland (10.8%), England (8.7%), Italy (5.6%), Scandinavia (3.7%) and many immigrants also coming from Slavs countries. Other significant immigrant populations came from eastern and southern Europe and French Canada, though far more immigrants came directly to America from France than came via French Canada. These numbers, however, are less precise than they appear, as many citizens listed themselves as "American" on the census (7.2%). A :Image:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.jpg reveals that the areas with the largest "American" ancestry populations were mostly settled by English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh, suggesting that the percentages listed for those groups should consequently be slightly larger. Similarly, while there were few immigrants directly from Spain, Hispanics in the United States from Mexico and South and Central America are considered the largest minority group in the country, comprising 13.4% of the population in 2002. This has brought increasing use of the Spanish in the United States. Mexicans alone made up 7.3% of the population in the 2000 census, and this proportion is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. The Hispanic category is based more on language than race and is defined by the Census as anybody from or with forebears from Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America so Hispanics may be of any race. About 45% identify by their ethnic background only (e.g., "Mexican", "Colombian"); they are usually mestizos or even American Indians of unmixed ancestry. About 40% identify as white with more European (especially Spanish) ancestry; however, on average, they tend to have more Amerindian or African blood than non-Hispanic whites. They are a diverse group consisting of most Puerto Ricans and Cubans, and a large proportion of the New Mexico Spanish, Tejanos, and recent South American immigrants, as well as children of mixed marriages between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Another 5% identify as black or mulatto; they typically are descended from Spanish-speaking Caribbean immigrants such as Dominican Republic. The remainder includes mostly self-identified Indians (Maya, Mixtec, etc.) and people of mixed background. Most Filipinos, however, are not considered Hispanic. About 12.9% (2000 census) of the American people are African Americans, most of whom are descendants of the slave trade brought to the U.S. between the 1620s and 1807. Starting in the 1970s, the black population has been bolstered by immigration from the Caribbean, especially Jamaica and Haiti; more recently, starting in the 1990s, there has been an influx of African immigrants to the United States due to the instability in political and economic opportunities in various nations in Africa. A third significant minority is the Asian American population (4.2%), most of whom are concentrated on the West Coast of the United States and Hawaii. It is by no means a monolithic group; the largest groups are immigrants or descendants of emigrants from China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. While the Asian-American population is generally a fairly recent addition to the nation's ethnic mix, large waves of Chinese, Filipino and Japanese immigration happened in the mid to late 1800s. The aboriginal population of Native Americans, such as American Indians and Inuit, make up about 1.5% of the population. According to the 2000 census, the United States has 37 ethnic groups with at least one million people each. ''See also: Immigration to the United States'' ==== Religion ==== ''Main articles: Religion in the United States, Demographics of the United States#Religious Affiliation'' Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population: 1990 and 2001 [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm] {|border=1 align=left cellpadding=4 style="text-align:right; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 50px;" |+ align=bottom | [http://www.census.gov/prod/www/religion.htm Source: US Census] ! !! 1990 !! 2001 !! Change
in % |- !align=left |Total Christian | 86.4% | 76.7% | -9.7% |- |align=left style="text-indent:15px"| Catholic | 26.2% | 24.5% | -1.8% |- |align=left style="text-indent:15px"| Protestantism | 55.2% | 45.1% | -10.1% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"|Baptist | 19.4% | 16.3% | -3.1% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"|Methodism/Wesleyan | 8.1% | 6.8% | -1.3% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"|Lutheranism | 5.2% | 4.6% | -0.6% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"|Presbyterianism | 2.8% | 2.7% | -0.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Protestant - no denomination supplied | 9.8% | 2.2% | -7.6% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Pentecostalism/Charismatic | 1.8% | 2.1% | +0.3% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Episcopal/Anglicanism | 1.7% | 1.7% | -0.1% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Mormon/Latter-Day Saints | 1.4% | 1.3% | -0.1% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Church of Christ | 1.0% | 1.2% | +0.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Other Protestant (less than 1% each) | 4.0% | 6.2% | +2.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:15px"|Christian - no denomination supplied | 4.6% | 6.8% | +2.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:15px"|Eastern Orthodox Church | 0.3% | 0.3% | -- |- !align=left|Total other religions | 3.3% | 3.7% | +0.4% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Judaism || 1.8%|| 1.4%|| -0.4% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Islamic|| 0.3%|| 0.5%|| +0.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Buddhism|| 0.2%|| 0.5%|| +0.3% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Hinduism|| 0.1%||0.4%||+0.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Unitarian Universalism|| 0.3%||0.3%|| -- |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Others (less than 0.07% each)|| 0.6%||0.6%|| -- |--- !align=left |Total No religion | 8.2% | 14.2% | +6.0% |--- !align=left |Total Refused to reply | 2.3% | 5.4% | +3.1% |}
The United States is noteworthy among developed nations for its relatively high level of religiosity. Overall, more than 25% of Americans attend a religious service at least once a week. However, this rate is not uniform across the country; attendance is more common in the Bible Belt—composed largely of Southern U.S. and Midwest states—than in the Northeastern United States and West Coast of the United States. === Education === ''Main article: Education in the United States'' In the United States, education is a state, not federal, responsibility, and the laws and standards vary considerably. In most states, all students must attend mandatory schooling starting with kindergarten and following through 12th grade. Parents may educate their own children at home (with varying degrees of state oversight), send their children to a public school, which is free, 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 have a choice of attending either a public university/state university or a private university. Public universities receive funding from the federal and state government but students still pay tuition, which can vary 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. American colleges and universities range from highly competitive schools, such as Harvard University, to hundreds of local community colleges with open admission policies. For a complete list, see List of colleges and universities in the United States. === Language === ''Main article: Languages in the United States'' The United States does not have an official language at federal level; nevertheless, English language is spoken by the vast majority of the population and serves as the ''de facto'' language: English is the language used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official pronouncements. Twenty-seven individual states have adopted English as their official language, and three of those—Hawaii, Louisiana, and New Mexico—have also adopted a second official language (Hawaiian language, French language and Spanish language, respectively). Spanish language follows English as the second-most spoken language in the United States, primarily due to the influence of recent Latin American immigrants, and it is a primary spoken language in some areas of the U.S. Southwestern states. The primary signed language is American Sign Language (ASL). As of 2004, the United States was the home of approximately 336 languages (spoken or signed), of which 176 are indigenous to U.S. territory. === Class === In terms of relative wealth, U.S. residents enjoy a standard of personal economic wealth that is close to that known in Scandinavian countries and Switzerland. For example, 51% of all households have access to a computer and 67.9% of U.S. households owned their dwellings in 2002. However, there is also a considerable amount of poverty in the United States with 12.1% of the population living below the official national poverty level. The social structure of the United States is somewhat stratified, with a significant class of very wealthy individuals; eleven of the twenty list of billionaires are Americans. On one widely used measure of inequality, the Gini coefficient, the United States has the highest inequality of any wealthy country. Nevertheless, ideas of social mobility figure prominently in the American dream, which holds that someone born into a poor family can, through hard work, ultimately rise into the upper classes. However, there is debate over how often this actually occurs in modern American society, both compared with earlier eras and with other developed nations. ''See also: Richest places in the United States and Poorest places in the United States'' === Social issues === ''Main articles: Social issues in the United States, Human rights in the United States, Health care in the United States'' [[Image:United States Bill of Rights.jpg|200px|thumb|The American Bill of Rights, enacted in 1791, provides a list of basic guaranteed rights]] The Constitution makes provisions for the rights of freedom of speech, the right to keep and bear arms, freedom of religion, trial by jury, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The United States accepts many immigration, and has anti-discrimination laws to protect minority groups. Some examples of these are the various Civil Rights Acts, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and hate crime legislation. Nevertheless, the United States has at times been criticized for alleged violations of human rights, including racial discrimination in trials and sentences, police abuses, excessive and unwarranted incarceration, and the imposition of the death penalty in some states. In 2001, Human Rights Watch issued a report stating that United States had "made little progress in embracing international human rights standards at home." [http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/usa/] === Culture === ''Main article: Culture of the United States'' [[Image:Elvisstamp.jpg|frame|right|Elvis Presley, an American singer and star who had a large impact on music and youth culture in the world.]] U.S. culture has a large influence on the rest of the world, especially the Western world. This influence is sometimes criticized as cultural imperialism. Music of the United States is heard all over the world, and it is the sire of such forms as blues and jazz and had a primary hand in the shaping of modern rock and roll and popular music culture. Many great Western classical musicians and ensembles find their home in the U.S. New York City is a hub for international operatic and instrumental music as well as the world-famed Broadway plays and musicals, while Seattle, Washington and the rest of Washington is a world leader in the grunge and heavy metal music industries, as well as the visual arts. New York, Seattle, and San Francisco, California are worldwide leaders in graphic design and New York and Los Angeles, California compete with major European cities in the fashion industry. Cinema of the United States (primarily embodied in Hollywood) and Television of the United States shows can be seen almost anywhere. 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. Nearing the mid-point of its third century of nationhood, the U.S. plays host to the gamut of human intellectual and artistic endeavor in nearly every major city, offering classical and popular music; historical, scientific and art research centers and museums; dance performances, musicals and plays; outdoor art projects and internationally significant architecture. This development is a result of both contributions by private philanthropists and government funding. ''See also: Arts and entertainment in the United States, Media of the United States'' ==== Sports ==== Some sports that originated or evolved in the United States, particularly basketball, American football, and baseball, which is often referred to as the Great American Pastime, have achieved a worldwide audience; the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League, is one of the highest watched broadcasts in the world, with viewership far outnumbering the total American population. Baseball is extremely popular in Latin American nations and Japan, and football has had some success in expanding to Europe (NFL Europe). NASCAR (stock car racing) is also one of America's top sports; it is the fastest growing sport in America. However, few "foreign" sports have caught on in America; attempts to create professional soccer (football) leagues have struggled, and cricket and rugby are not played on any professional level. The United States hosts some of the premier events in other sports such as golf (including The Masters), tennis (U.S. Open (tennis)), and auto racing (particularly the Indianapolis 500), hosted the Football World Cup in 1994, and has hosted eight Olympics, more than any other nation. The United States generally fares very well in the Olympics, especially the Summer Olympics. In 2004, the US collected a record 100 total Olympic medals. == Federal holidays == ''Main article: Holidays of the United States'' {| border="1" align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid gray;font-size:95%" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Date !! Name !! Remarks |- | January 1 || New Year's Day || Beginning of year, marks the traditional end of the "holiday season." |- | January, third Monday || Martin Luther King, Jr. Day || Honors the late civil rights leader. Few non-governmental organizations grant time off for this holiday. |- | February, third Monday || Presidents' Day || Honors former U.S. presidents, especially George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who both share February birthdays. Few non-governmental organizations grant time off for this holiday. |- | May, last Monday || Memorial Day || Honors servicemen and women who died in service; also marks the traditional beginning of summer. |- | July 4 || Independence Day (US) || Usually called the Fourth of July. Celebrates the United States' independence from Great Britain, formally declared on this date in 1776. |- | September, first Monday || Labor Day || Celebrates achievements of workers. This holiday is held instead of the traditional worldwide Labor Day, May Day, which actually began in the U.S. Also marks the traditional end of summer. |- | October, second Monday || Columbus Day || Honors Christopher Columbus, traditional discoverer of the Americas. Somewhat controversial, and few non-governmental organizations grant time off for this holiday. Hawaii does not honor the day, instead celebrating Discoverer's Day in honor of James Cook. |- | November 11 || Veterans Day || Previously known as Armistice Day. Honors those who have served in the military. Also marks the end of World War I in 1918. Traditional observation of a moment of silence at 11 a.m. |- | November, fourth Thursday || Thanksgiving || Day of thanks that marks the traditional beginning of the "holiday season." The day before Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year in the U.S., and the day after is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, known as "Black Friday." |- | December 25 || Christmas || Celebration of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. In recent years, it has become a more secular winter holiday outside of religious communities, with many non-Christians and non-observant Christians buying and exchanging traditional Christmas gifts. Most retailers count on the Christmas holiday to provide a significant portion of their total annual sales. |} == Related topics == ''Main article: List of United States-related topics'' {| align="center" class="toccolours" cellpadding="5" style="text-align: left" |- bgcolor="#ccccff" | colspan="2" align="center" | List of United States-related topics |- valign="top" ! History of the United States || Timeline of United States history (Colonial America | American Revolution | United States territorial acquisitions | American Civil War | World War 1 | Great Depression | World War 2 | Cold War | Vietnam War | Civil Rights Movement ) | Foreign relations of the United States | Military history of the United States | Demographic history of the United States and Stamps and postal history of the United States history |- valign="top" ! Politics of the United States || Law of the United States (United States Constitution and United States Bill of Rights | United States Declaration of Independence) | List of political parties in the United States (United States Democratic Party & United States Republican Party ) | Elections in the United States (Electoral College) | Political scandals of the United States | Political divisions of the United States |- valign="top" ! Federal Government of the United States || List of United States federal agencies | Legislative branch (Congress: United States House of Representatives | United States Senate ) Executive branch (President of the United States & Vice-President of the United States | United States Cabinet | United States Attorney General | United States Secretary of State ) | :Category:Law enforcement in the United States ( Federal Bureau of Investigation | Intelligence:CIA | DIA | NIMA | NRO | NSA) | Judicial branch (Supreme Court of the United States ) | Military of the United States (United States Army | United States Navy | United States Marine Corps | United States Air Force ) |- valign="top" ! Geography of the United States || Appalachian Mountains | Rocky Mountains | Grand Canyon | Great Plains | Midwest | U.S. Southern states | Mississippi River | New England | Mid-Atlantic States | Pacific Northwest | List of mountains of the United States | List of valleys of the United States | List of islands of the United States | List of rivers in the United States | US State | List of cities in the United States | County | list of regions of the United States | Extreme points of the United States |- valign="top" ! Economy of the United States || Banking in the United States | List of United States companies | Standard of living in the United States | United States dollar | Wall Street |- valign="top" ! Demographics of the United States || US Census Bureau | Languages in the United States | Religion in the United States | Social structure of the United States | Standard of living in the United States |- valign="top" ! Arts and entertainment in the United States & Culture of the United States || Music of the United States (Hippies | Blues | Jazz | Rock and roll | Hip hop | gospel music | country music ) | Cinema of the United States & Television of the United States (Hollywood) | Literature of the United States (Poetry of the United States | Transcendentalism | Harlem Renaissance | Beat Generation) | Visual arts of the United States (Abstract expressionism ) | Cuisine of the United States | Holidays of the United States | American folklore | Dance of the United States | Architecture of the United States | Education in the United States | Languages in the United States | Media in the United States |- valign="top" ! Other || United States territory | Communications in the United States | Transportation in the United States (United States highway and Interstate highway | List of United States railroads ) | Uncle Sam | Flag of the United States | American Dream | Media in the United States | Education in the United States | Tourism in the United States | Social issues in the United States (Immigration to the United States | Affirmative action | Racial profiling | Human rights in the United States | War on Drugs | Pornography in the United States | Same-sex marriage in the United States | Poverty in the United States | United States prison population | Capital punishment in the United States ) | American Exceptionalism | Anti-Americanism | American Folklore | American English | United States Mexico barrier |} == International rankings == * IMD International: [http://www01.imd.ch/wcy/ World Competitiveness Yearbook 2005], ranked 1 out of 60 economies (countries and regions) * World Economic Forum: [http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Global+Competitiveness+Programme%5CGlobal+Competitiveness+Report Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005 - Growth Competitiveness Index Ranking], ranked 2 out of 104 countries * A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy: [http://www.atkearney.com/main.taf?p=5,4,1,116 Globalization Index 2005], ranked 4 out of 62 countries * United Nations Development Programme: [http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/ Human Development Index 2004], ranked 8 out of 177 countries * Save the Children: [http://www.savethechildren.org/mothers/report_2005/ State of the World's Mothers 2005], ranked 11 out of 110 countries * The Wall Street Journal: [http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/ 2005] Index of Economic Freedom, ranked 12 out of 155 countries * The Economist: [http://www.economist.com/theworldin/international/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3372495&d=2005 The World in 2005 - Worldwide quality-of-life index, 2005], ranked 13 out of 111 countries * Transparency International: [http://www.transparency.org/pressreleases_archive/2004/2004.10.20.cpi.en.html Corruption Perceptions Index 2004], ranked 17 out of 146 countries (tied with Belgium and Ireland) * Reporters without borders: [http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=11715 Third annual worldwide press freedom index (2004)], ranked 22 (American territory; tied with Belgium) & 108 (in Iraq) out of 167 countries ==Notes== ''America'' may refer to the nation of the United States or to ''the Americas'' — North America, Central America and South America. The latter usage is more common in Latin American countries where the Spanish language and Portuguese word ''América'' refers to both continents. The ''United States'' (or ''Estados Unidos'' in Spanish and Portuguese) is a less ambiguous term and less likely to cause offense. The term ''American'' meaning a citizen or national of the United States has no straightforward unambiguous synonym. Many alternative words for American have been proposed, but none have enjoyed widespread acceptance.
== External links == === United States government === *[http://www.firstgov.gov Official website of the United States government] - Gateway to governmental sites *[http://www.whitehouse.gov White House] - Official site of the US President *[http://www.senate.gov Senate.gov] - Official site of the United States Senate *[http://www.house.gov House.gov] - Official site of the United States House of Representatives *[http://www.supremecourtus.gov Supreme Court] - Official site of the Supreme Court of the United States *[http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/factover/homepage.htm Portrait of the USA] - Published by the United States Information Agency, September 1997. *[http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ US Census Housing and Economic Statistics] Updated regularly by US Bureau of the Census. *[http://nationalatlas.gov/ The National Atlas] of the United States. *[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html CIA World Factbook Entry for United States] === Other === *[http://www.mediatico.com/en US Newspapers by State] *[http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm National Motto: History and Constitutionality] *[http://www.nationalcenter.org/HistoricalDocuments.html Historical Documents] *[http://www.travel-directory.org/Destinations/North_America/United_States/index.html Reference: US specific web resources sorted by state] *[http://www.teacheroz.com/states.htm info links for each state] *[http://www.adbusters.org/jams/history/timeline.swf Archive of 163 US interventions] North American countries Republics United States os:Америкæйы Иугонд Штаттæ ang:Geánlǽht Underrícu American bn:যুক্তরাষ্ট্র bs:Sjedinjene Američke Države cv:Америкăри Пĕрлешӳллĕ Штатсем chr:ᎠᎺᎢ fa:ایالات متحده آمریکا ga:Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá gd:Na Stàitean Aonaichte ht:Etazini hi:संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका iu:ᐊᒥᐊᓕᑲ ks:संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका la:Civitates Americae Unitae lv:Amerikas Savienotās Valstis li:Vereinegde State van Amerika mt:Stati Uniti ms:Amerika Syarikat zh-min-nan:Bí-kok nah:Altepetl Osehsepanoaseh Amerikak nv:Wááshindoon bikéyah ałhidadiidzooígíí nds:USA rm:Stadis Unids da l'America se:Amerihká ovttastuvvan stáhtat simple:United States th:สหรัฐอเมริกา vi:Hoa Kỳ
''An event mentioned in this article is a MediaWiki:July 4 selected anniversaries'' ------- /Archive 1 | /Archive 2 | /Archive 3 | /Archive 4 | /Archive 5 | /Archive 6 | /Archive 7 ---- == National Traumas == The history summary in the main article contains the following sentence: Three major traumatic experiences for the nation were the Civil War (1861-1865), the Great Depression (1929-1939), and September 11, 2001. While the statement is factually true, it seems to reflect a strikingly distorted point of view. The terrorist attack of 9/11 is historically significant, but doesn't approach the magnitude of the Civil War or the Great Depression. Other wars (Vietnam, Korea, WW2, WW1, the Revolutionary War) must all certainly outrank 9/11 as national traumas. I think that, under the heading of History, the article should take a longer perspective than that of contemporary U.S. politics. Even at the present moment the U.S. faces a number of challenges, from flu to drunk driving, that are far greater objective threats to its citizens than terrorism. ::I tend to disagree that Sept 11 ranks below other national tragedies. While the number of lives and value destroyed in other events was far greater there are a number of aspects that make it unique. :::1 - a significant number of people across the world saw the event first hand real time. We had no government censors making sure we saw the beaches Normandy in our hometown papers without dead people on them. :::2 - it represents a new paradigm for terrorism in the world. Example more British citizens died in that event than in any other terrorist attack in their history. This is after all the years of putting up with the IRA. :::3 - it was a watershed moment in our current history that is coloring our present lives. The true impart of the event is still unfolding. I don't think it's problematic including Sep 11 in 'National Traumas' - however to exclude the Vietnam War strikes me as odd. It was an event that deeply affected a huge number of Americans and moulded the political and cultural development of the country to a significant degree in the final few decades of the 20th century. The jury has to be out as to whether Sep 11 will have the same long-term impact on the US. User:Nickfraser 20:08, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::It's possibly worth noting the Spanish entry doesn't seem to have any mention of the Madrid train bombings, nor does the UK entry mention any significant IRA attacks (or the IRA campaign/s) - such as the direct attacks on the UK Government in Brighton. Having this sort of specific mention of a single event seems incongruous in comparison to these articles in particular. == National Debt == The economy part of the page doesn't say anything about the huge public debt of the USA. I don't know the correct numbers, but I think it's about $25,000 per capita, which makes it a major economic problem. An interesting subject to cover but surely 'Economy_of_the_United_States' page is the better place for this rather than the main page, there's nothing meaty about the subject on that page as far as I can see so if anybody would like to write something - suggested subsection title 'Structural Problems within the US Economy' - you could talk about the deficit, pensions/ageing population, and any other long-term potential problems etc. If others agree can this section 'National Debt' be closed as an outstanding issue to address for this specific page? User:Nickfraser 20:28, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Ethnicity and Race == When talking about European descendents you should keep in mind the numbers given on a brass plaque on Ellise Island. You will find that most immigrants between 1850 and 1930 were actually from Russia, followed by people from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Italy ... This is not really reflected in your demographic survey. ==Map== Is this map free/PD? [http://www.cast.uark.edu/local/catalog/national/html/Population.htmldir/USpop1990.html link]; It's a great map and I'd like to have it in the demographics subarticle. User:Sverdrup 17:18, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC) :[[Image:USA 2000 population density.jpg|thumb|2000 population density]] :Several months late in this reply, but whether or not the map is free/PD can be irrelevant. You can make a very similar map at [http://www.nationalatlas.gov/natlas/NatlasStart.asp nationalatlas.gov] (zoom to lower 48, remove lat/long lines, add counties, add population density 2000). I went ahead and did this and created an image and uploaded it. The colors are different, but big deal (an easy color change could be made). == Economic summary == The economic summary is ridiculous. From reading it, one would think the only involvement the government has with the economy is doling out welfare and interfering with industry. You'd never know that the US government financed the development of the Internet for decades, gives massive corporate welfare to agribusiness and other business and so forth. Then there's this beauty - "The U.S. economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment, low inflation, a large trade deficit and rapid and rapid advances in technology." Steady growth? Like the unemployment after the recessions in the early 2000s, early 1990s, early 1980s, early 1970s and so forth? Even if we went on a multi-year timeline, growth from say 1974-2004 is not at the steady pace that 1944-1974 growth was. Low unemployment? U-6 unemployment hovers around 10%. Which shoots up when the US is not in an economic recovery? Low compared to what, the USSR's 0% unemployment? The US only has several months of unemployment benefits, unlike Europe, this only serves to mask unemployment. I wouldn't term the advances in technology in the United States rapid either - how have people's lives changed much since the 1950s? 1904-1954 was a rapid technological advance, 1954-2004 I would not characterize as rapid. User:Ruy Lopez 20:33, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::The unemployment rate has absolutely nothing to do with unemployment benefits, whoever was deleting your text was doing so because you were plain wrong. - me ::This discussion was posted ten days ago. We are still waiting for the people who keep deleting the material on the US economy to justify their position. They have not said one word. Under the circumstances, I shall keep reinserting Ruy Lopez's text until they do come to the talk page to discuss their dispute. User:Shorne 16:03, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::The reality of the $7,449,000,000,000+ national debt issue also kind of needs to be mentioned. By the sound of this article, you'd think the US was booming, rather than coming up to a financial collapse like the 1980's era USSR was, which is the actual fact of the matter. --User:Ce garcon 19:57, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::::To be entirely objective, then, the article should also mention that in percentage terms, this national debt level is not significantly greater than that of most other industrialized OECD nations. yo fool, economics is an art not a science. and the USSR didn't collapse because of economic reasons, though that is generally believed, it collapsed because of an internal revolt of top governmental officials specifically in the military and KGB, as well as disruptive reform policies of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. THe ussr didnt have a healthy economy, but that was not the reason for its demise. similarly the US economy could be more stable, however the US position as superpower is not in any serious jeopardy. :::Actually, I'm right. The USSR collapsed because the Soviet public no longer had any trust in it. The USSR National Debt was through the roof, all lines of credit had run out, and the Soviet public was not prepared to hold tight through Gorbachev's painful economic reform, and the USSR collapsed. Also, the USSR didn't have the option of forcing foreign lenders to prop up its' public debt as the US does. btw, personal insults are out of place on Wikipedia. --User:Ce garcon 11:05, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC) Ruy Lopez, you seem to only equate techonological advancement with a higher standard of living and/or quality of life. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but this is just plain wrong. We have made leaps and bounds in the past 50 years in such fields as space travel, aviation, telecommunications, etc. and although these were rapid and useful changes, they did not change the overall quality of life of the average citizen(although someone could argue this point for telecommunications). Also, I read a report that stated the average European didn't live as well as the average Roman(circa height of Roman Empire) unitl the mid 18th century. I believe no one here would argue that we made scientific progress of no consequence from the 2nd to 18th centuries. User:Interslice I would like to object to the Southeast being the center for medical research. This is so completely far from true. Raleigh-Durham does have a large amount of medical research, but this is MUCH smaller than that of California, Boston, Washington DC mmetro, and Texas. I would like to see that changed to something like the southeast economy is more heavily dependent on medical research. The way it is stated now, it sounds like all the medical research in the United States goes on in place like Atlanta, Birmingham, and Research Triangle, which is far from the truth. == Protection == I unprotected the page only for it to explode into an even larger edit war. Do I need to protect it again, or can you guys discuss it? Andre">User:Andrevan (User_talk:Andrevan)A 18:03, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC) :Please protect it again. It's obvious to all that VeryVerily has no intention of discussing anything or even obeying the three-revert rule. User:Shorne 18:44, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC) :Don't protect. It makes no sense. User:Anthony DiPierro User:Anthony_DiPierro/warning 15:47, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC) Protection in my eyes, are, in a sense, only another way and excuse of/for censorship. BOYCOT THE RESTRAINMENTS!--User:OleMaster 10:15, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC) =="Popular Vote"?== This line "he President is elected to a four-year term by the Electoral College carried out through the process of a nation-wide popular vote." makes it sound like the popular vote is nationwide not statewide. I suggest something like "The president is elected to a four-year term by the Electoral College based on popular votes at the State level" or something to that effect, and giving a note that a more detailed explanation can be given by reading the artilce on the US Electoral College (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Electoral_College"). How does that ound? I just read it and thought that that sentance was just plain misleading! == FSM is NOT an insular area == OK, folks. The Federated States of Micronesia is NOT an insular area. It is an Independent nation in free association with the USA via the Compact of Free Association that was signed in 1986. Title 1, Article 1, Sec. 111 of the Compact of Free Association clearly says: ''The peoples of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, acting through the Governments established under their respective Constitutions, are self-governing.'' [http://www.fsmlaw.org/compact/t01art01.htm] - User:Hoshie 09:14, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Class == I have added an extra paragraph under the sub-heading 'Class'. This shows the income inequality within the USA, which was missing in the original. :The article already refers to social stratification and income inequality (the Gini coefficient), and I don't think one study by one economist should be in this article. There is a subarticle Social structure of the United States for more detailed analysis. User:VeryVerilyUser talk:VeryVerily 19:17, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC) Sorry, I didn't see that link. I agree with the delete. The graph that was with that material is remarkably hard to interpret. However, a short summary of the distribution of wealth is appropriate despite existance of a more detailed article. User:Fred Bauder 23:11, Nov 26, 2004 (UTC) == Edits to this article == This article has about 2000 edits that in order to study its history easily we almost definitely need a "1000" added to the options on "which number do you want the edits to be studied one at a time". I did it with 500 and I got 4 pages. Any comments?? User:66.245.31.111 01:55, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC) == Grammar and technical issues == ''"The United States of America consists of fifty states with limited autonomy in which federal law takes precedence over state law. In general, matters that lie entirely within state borders are the exclusive concern of state governments."'' Not to nit-pick, but "United States" is plural, not singular. Further, "state" is a synonym for "country" or "nation". Shouldn't this read more like, "The United States of America currently number fifty, each with limited autonomy. All states [aka ''nations''] lie within America [aka ''the Americas''] and are united (hence, 'United States of America') into a federation in which federal law takes precedence over state law. In general, matters that lie entirely within state borders are the exclusive concern of state governments and not the federal republic." A bit more cumbersome, but more technically accurate. It would also be interesting to know why the United States of America all have names, but the federal republic itself does not. Why in 200+ years has no one bothered to think of a name for the empire? This might be an important issue from an historical perspective. Perhaps this is what led to "United States of America" being used in the singular, rather than the more correct plural. Still, you'd think somewhere along the line, someone would have thought of giving one name to the collective whole of the United States of America, rather than just falling back on the description all the time. --User:Corvun 19:30, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Actually in the sense in which it is taken as the subject of the above-mentioned sentence it is singular. If you're not sure consider which of the following sounds right to you: :*The United States of America is a sovereign state :*The United States of America are a sovereign state :Essentially, when we think of the "United States of America" as a country, it is singular. When we think of it as a grouping of 50 states, it is plural. And almost always we use "Untied States of America" to mean the country. Also, it is just incorrect to say that each state is a separate nation. User:Jongarrettuk 20:11, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) :I agree. I mean, "United States of America", how can that be a name of a single country? Let's take the example of the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United Mexican States, and give it a real name. ;) Anyway, historically, "The United States of America" is singular, and in the past, mostly before Lincoln's little tantrum, it tended to be referred to as "''these'' United States" but that was mostly informal. I guess the best answer is: What does the Constitution say? --User:Golbez 21:57, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC) ::Ummmm. The best answer is what do people normally say. I honestly don't know what the constitution says, but demotic usage in 2004 is more important now than usage in a formal document drawn up in the 1780s. User:Jongarrettuk 22:23, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) I suppose y'all are right, in that language is defined by usage. If people speak of the "United States" as a singular entity, then the grammar should reflect that. Same with the states themselves being called "states" even though they aren't actually nations or countries in and of themselves. It just all seems like one huge linguist's nightmare to me. Perhaps I'm being too analytical, and perhaps I shouldn't be expecting politically-defined uses of terms to make grammatical or etymological sense. --User:Corvun 22:57, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::Actually, an etymological examination might be helpful here. Instead of focusing on the plural "States" in the term, let's look at "United". It derives from the latin unum meaning one. Thus "united" is to be made one. Thus, the plural states have been made into one, singular, entity. Aside from the informal "these United States" the term "United States" has not usually been used to describe the states as a group. The Constitution iteslf is not totally clear about this, but the Articles of Confederation state that "United States of America" is the style of the "confederacy", that is the national government itself. It is interesting also to note that the Constitution while not specifically assigning the style of the national government, uses "the several States" when referring to them as a group, rather than "the United States". ::: Six of one half dozen of the other. I vote status quo. btw, whoever wrote the above and didn't sign his name is a big fat [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blowhard blowhard]. User:MPS 18:23, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC) I think the current terminology should stay and I reject Corvun's proposed change. Yes, it is a giant linguist's nightmare, but it arises from the complex legal history of the United States. The problem is that the states always saw themselves as separate sovereigns from the very beginning (because the Crown constituted each of them separately), and modern American constitutional law continues to reflect that. Today, the weird legal fiction we operate under is ''dual'' sovereignty. Each American is a citizen of both their state of residence and of the federal sovereign. Each state is a separate sovereign which just happens (by virtue of ratifying the Constitution) to have consented to giving up bits and pieces of its sovereignty to the federal government. But as far as external nations are concerned, they see the federal government because one of the powers granted to the federal government is power over external affairs. As for the nation issue, even though the states continue to exist as separate legal entities, their conception of themselves as separate nations has long since withered away, and most Americans would agree that the United States effectively is a single nation. The major disagreement would be from Native Americans, who view each of their tribes as continuing to exist as autonomous nation-states, under the direct control of the larger federal sovereign. Also, if you look at the U.S. Constitution, both the Preamble and Article II repeatedly and consistently refer to "the United States of America." From the surrounding wording, it is clear that the Founders were referring to a single legal entity and believed they were constituting such an entity. So "the United States of America" ''is'' the legal name of the federal government. There are also many sections in the United States Code which refer to "the United States of America." --User:Coolcaesar 20:49, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC) * They are referred to in both the Constitution and other documents as "the United States" because before 1787, they were semi-independent. This is where the Americans clouded the definitions of state and nation that the rest of the world successfully differentiates. The Constitution was the coming together of states that minted their own currency, engaged in trade wars with each other, refused to extradite criminals just because they happened to cross a state line, etc. into a "Union" hence how they became the "United." Up until the Civil War (especially in the South) is was thought that a state could easily withdraw if they didn't agree with the direction the Constitution was being torn into. South Carolina attempted to get out in the 1830s, etc. The Constitution of the United States of America is named as such simply because at first 13 states came together to agree to it. This was at time when New England was thinking about leaving the Articles of Confederation and creating an entity from New York to Maine. When sections of the American contintent west of the Appalachians were planning or trying to start their own little Republics (and some Kingdoms). If the states hadn't come together and decided to lay down a new document for their confederation, and instead persisted after Annapolis to exist under the "Articles of Confederation" from 1775, most likely the union would have fallen shortly after 1800 (if not sooner) and today we would see maps with other more localized confederations of the 50 states (which who knows if there would even be 50). Your conceptualization of inter-state relations leading up to the 1787 constitution is limited. A few delegates getting miffed would have changed the last three centuries of world history in ways we can hardly imagine. —User:ExplorerCDT 21:01, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC) I hold a bachelor's degree in history from the most prestigious public university in the United States. I am well-aware of all of the facts you just mentioned, especially the delicate fragility of the Union throughout its first century. I am also familiar with all the diverse what-if scenarios. I do not have all day to write on talk pages. I did not think it was necessary to rehash the convoluted details of two centuries of American history just to explain how we got to our present pigpen of legal fictions and political realities. But thanks for doing that for me. When I said "wording" above, I was referring to the consistent use of the definite article, "the," rather than the plural demonstrative adjective, "these," in the Constitution. But you did clarify something I neglected, the task of explaining why the Constitution has to refer to ''states'' which are ''united,'' as opposed to, say, "the United State." --User:Coolcaesar 08:11, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC) == Vandalism protection == I know the vandalism is now infrequent, but is it necessary? I don't think so since so many people watch this page anyway... --User:AllyUnion User talk:AllyUnion 20:31, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC) == Republicans and religious Jews == Excuse me. In the "Politics" section, the following sentence appears: :The Republicans generally receive more funding and support from business groups, religious Christians and Jews, and rural Americans, while the Democratic party receives more support from labor unions and minority ethnic groups. In the history, User:216.229.90.10 sliced out the phrase "and Jews" and then User:Mackensen promptly reverted it. Now, I'm a little confused. Historically, when Jews are considered as a voting bloc, they tend to lean Democratic. However, this analysis has always considered Jews as a single ethnic class and not separated out religious Jews from non-religious Jews. Therefore, my question: Does anyone have evidence that religious Jews tend to vote Republican (or Democratic)? — User:DLJessup 21:28, 2004 Dec 30 (UTC) == Social Issues == I added some more information about the incarceration/prison situation in the US. Feel free to verify if you need to, I tried to include all necessary sources though some of the math you'll have to check yourself :P. --User:Benapgar 09:22, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC) == What about Indians and slaves == I was reading the article and was really surprised that it doesn't mention the fate of Native Americans anywhere (except the state of being of descendants today). Neither does it mention the slavery part of the history (except by using the word enslaved when speaking about slaves' descendants today). I don't want to rush into editing, because may be this issues was already brought forward here and wanted to ask first. Are these issues considered minor irrelevant details, unworthy of inclusion into the main article? Or is it just an unfortunate omission? User:Paranoid 01:10, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC) Pretty much every country at one point had slavery, there were also many that had the original inhabitants forced out of the lands to make way for other people. I don't see why it has to be mentioned. That is a history question, not a current events question. : I just added a bit about slavery and the Civil War to the history. I feel that the Civil War (and by association slavery) caused fundamental changes in America, and it needs to be in the summary. -- User:Dpark 23:16, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC) == Infobox == Is there something wrong? The infobox doesn't align to the right.--User:Jerryseinfeld 20:18, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Should the "Social issues" section be removed?== Why is the US the only country with "social issues" mentioned in the blurb? Is the US the only country with "social issues"? This puts wikipedia's supposed non-bias in doubt in my opinion. --Anonymous :Then add it for other countries. Sheesh, the lengths people will go through to find bias here. You are part of wikipedia, so be part of the solution. Though the section could perhaps be managed a little differently. --User:Golbez 05:15, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC) ::So I'm going to add "social issues" for 120 or so other countries? I think not. I don't think that social issues should be included at all, but I won't get rid of it. -- Anonymous ::Even adding them for ''one'' other country would be better than nothing -- or maybe you prefer complaining to contr
UNited States
#REDIRECT United States
United States
:''This article is about the country in North America. For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation)'' The United States of America—also referred to as the United States, the USA, the U.S., America, the States, and (poetically) Columbia—is a democracy federal republic of fifty U.S. state located primarily in central North America. The United States has land borders with Canada and Mexico, as well as several territorial water boundaries with Canada, Russia and The Bahamas. It is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. Two of the fifty states, Alaska, an exclave, and Hawaii, an archipelago, are not contiguous with any of the other states. The United States also has a collection of overseas territories and possessions around the world. Each of the 50 states has a high level of local autonomy under the federation system. The official founding date of the United States is July 4, 1776, the date the Second Continental Congress, representing the thirteen Kingdom of Great Britain 13 colonies, adopted the United States Declaration of Independence. However, the structure of the United States was profoundly changed in 1788 when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution; often, sources use the date each of the original 13 states adopted the Constitution as the date on that state "entered the Union" (became part of the United States). Since the mid-20th century, the United States has become a dominant Geopolitics influence in contemporary economic, political, military, scientific, technological and cultural matters. ==History== ''Main articles: History of the United States, Military history of the United States, Timeline of United States history, List of U.S. military history events'' [[Image:George-Washington.jpg|thumb|150px|left|First President of the United States, George Washington]] Following the European colonization of the Americas, thirteen colonies split from Great Britain and formed the United States, the world's first constitutional and democratic federal republic, after their United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The original political structure was a confederation in 1777, ratified in 1781 as the Articles of Confederation. After long Federalist papers, this was supplanted by the United States Constitution in 1789, forming a more centralized federalism government. Prior to all these was the Albany Congress in 1754, in which a union was first seriously proposed. From early colonial times, there existed a shortage of labor, which encouraged unfree labor, particularly indentured servitude and slavery. In the mid-19th century, a major division occurred in the United States over the issue of states' rights and the expansion of slavery. The northern states had become opposed to slavery, while the southern states saw it as necessary for the continued success of southern agriculture and wanted it expanded to the territories. Several federal laws were passed in an attempt to settle the dispute, including the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The dispute reached a crisis point in 1861, when seven southern states secededConfederate States of America#International Diplomacy and Legal Status from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, leading to the American Civil War. Soon after the war began, four more southern states seceded. During the war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, mandating the freedom of all slaves in states in rebellion, though full emancipation did not take place until after the end of the war in 1865, the dissolution of the Confederacy, and 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 often cited as a major turning point, when the federal government became more powerful than state governments. During the 19th century, many new U.S. states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent. In the process, the U.S. displaced most Native American nations, seizing or expropriating their lands, killing many, and forcibly relocating tribes to otherwise unwanted and barren areas. ''(See Trail of Tears).'' In some areas, Native American populations were reduced by foreign diseases contracted through contact with European settlers, and U.S. settlers acquired those emptied lands. Through coercion, military prowess, and diplomatic leverage, the U.S. acquired a number of overseas possessions, from Cuba to the Philippines, though it gave up most of these over time. ''See also United States territorial acquisitions.'' During this period the nation also became an industrialisation. This continued into the 20th century, which some have termed "the American Century" due to America's tremendous influence on the world. The nation became a center for invention and technological development; major technologies that America either developed or was greatly involved in improving are the telephone, television, computer, the Internet, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, air travel and space travel. In addition to the Civil War, another major traumatic experience for the nation was the Great Depression (1929–1939). The U.S. has also has taken part in several major foreign wars, including World War I and World War II (in which the U.S. was allied with Britain and other states). During the Cold War, the United States was a major player in the Korean War and Vietnam Wars, and, along with the Soviet Union, was considered one of the world's only two "superpowers". With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. emerged as the world's leading economic and military power. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States became very involved in police actions and peacekeeping, including actions in Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia and Liberia, and the first Gulf War to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. After September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, the USA and other allied nations entered a U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and later a 2003 invasion of Iraq. == Government and politics == ''Main article: Politics of the United States'' The government of the United States may be accurately categorized as a republic or as a liberal democracy. Specifically, the United States is an example of a representative democracy. There are three levels of government in the United States—federal, state, and local. All of these are freely elected by the American people. Americans enjoy universal suffrage. ===Federal government=== The federal government of the United States is the national government. The Constitution of the United States limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, printing money, controlling trade and relations between the states, and protecting human rights. In addition to these explicitly stated powers, the government has generally extended these powers, citing the "necessary and proper clause" of the Constitution, into such areas as welfare and education. The federal government is made up of the Congress of the United States (the legislature branch), the President of the United States (the executive branch), and the Supreme Court of the United States (the judicial branch). These three branches are said to supply checks and balances on each other. The Congress is a Bicameralism lawmaking institution composed of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, which both meet in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Traditionally, the House is considered the "lower house" and the Senate the "upper house," but Congressional publications refute this. The House has 435 members called representatives or congressmen and congresswomen, who are elected by the people of a congressional district to represent that district for a term of two years. The number of districts for each state depends on the size of the population of the state, and each state has at least one representative. As of the United States 2000 census, the districts had an average size of about 640,000 people. The Senate has 100 members called senators, who are also elected by the people of a state to represent that state for a term of six years. Each state has two senators, regardless of its size. The Constitution initially gave the power to elect senators to the state legislatures; the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution transferred this ability to the people. At the top of the executive branch is the President of the United States, who acts as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The President signs laws into action, and can also issue pardons and executive orders. He has few other Constitutional duties, among them being the requirement to give a State of the Union address to Congress from time to time. Below the President is the Vice President of the United States, who is first in the United States presidential line of succession and is the President of the Senate, with the ability to cast a tiebreaking vote. These two posts are elected, as running mates, by the people via the U.S. Electoral College for four year terms. Next are the members of the United States Cabinet, and the various departments they head, including the United States Department of Defense, the United States Department of Justice, and the United States Department of State. These departments and department heads hold much regulatory and political power, and it is these departments that are used to execute the laws of the nation. The judicial branch of the federal government is used when dealing with federal and constitutional matters. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question, the State supreme court is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution. The highest court in the land is the Supreme Court of the United States, which consists of nine justices and can declare legislation made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the United States courts of appeals, and below that are the United States district court, which are the general trial courts for federal law. ===State and local governments=== The state governments have the greatest influence over people's daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution and has different laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between the different states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected legislature with two houses (one, in Nebraska), whose members represent the different parts of the state. Of note is the New Hampshire legislature, which is the third largest legislative body in the English speaking world, and has one representative for every 3,000 people. Each state maintains its own judiciary, with the lowest level typically being county courts, and culminating in each state supreme court, though sometimes named differently. In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system. The institutions that are responsible for local government typically town, city, or county councils, making laws that effect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol, and keeping animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the mayor. In some states in New England, the county have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain law enforcement agencies. === Military === ''Main article: Military of the United States'' Four of America's five military branches are under the Department of Defense: United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and the United States Air Force. The United States Coast Guard is under the Department of Homeland Security. The combined United States armed forces consists of 1.4 million active duty personnel along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and National Guard. Military conscription ended in 1973. The United States Armed Forces is the most powerful military in the world and their force projection capabilities are unrivaled by any other single nation. === Foreign relations === ''Main article: Foreign relations of the United States'' The immense military, economic, and cultural dominance of the United States has made foreign relations an especially important topic in its politics, with considerable concern about the image of the United States throughout the world. Reactions towards the United States by other nationalities are often strong, ranging from uninhibited Amerophilia (admiration and mimicking of all things American) to Anti-Americanism. U.S. foreign policy has swung about several times over the course of its history between the poles of isolationism and imperialism and everywhere in between. == Geography == === Physical geography === ''Main article: Geography of the United States'' As the world's third largest country (by total area), the United States landscape varies greatly: temperate forestland and rolling hills on the East coast, mangrove in Florida, the Great Plains in the center of the country, the Mississippi River-Missouri River river system, the Great Lakes which are shared with Canada, the Rocky Mountains west of the plains, deserts and temperate coastal zones west of the Rocky Mountains and temperate rain forests in the Pacific Northwest. Alaska's tundra and the volcano, tropical islands of Hawaii add to the geographic and climatic diversity. The climate varies along with the landscape, from tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida to tundra in Alaska and atop some of the highest mountains. Most of the North and East experience a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Most of the American South experiences a subtropical humid climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Rainfall decreases markedly from the humid forests of the Eastern Great Plains to the semiarid shortgrass prairies on the High Plains abutting the Rocky Mountains. Arid deserts, including the Mojave desert, extend through the lowlands and valleys of the American Southwest from westernmost Texas to California and northward throughout much of Nevada. Some parts of the American West, including San Francisco, California, have a Mediterranean climate. Rain forests line the windward mountains of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Alaska. === Political geography === The political geography is notable as well, with the Canadian border being the longest undefended border in the world, and with the country being divided into three distinct sections: The continental United States, also known as the lower 48; Alaska, which is physically connected only to Canada, and the archipelago of Hawaii in the central Pacific Ocean.
=== Political divisions === ''Main article: Political divisions of the United States'' With the United States Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies transformed themselves into nation states modeled after the European states of the time. Although considered as sovereigns initially, under the constitution they have delegated certain powers to the Congress, but have retained the majority of legislative authority for themselves. In the following years, the number of states within the U.S. grew steadily due to western expansion, the conquest and purchase of lands by the national government, and the subdivision of existing states, resulting in the current total of 50. The states are generally divided into smaller administrative regions, including county (United States), List of cities of the United States and township (United States)s. The United States also holds several other territories, districts and possessions, notably the federal district of the District of Columbia, which is the nation's capital, and several overseas insular areas, the most significant of which are Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. The United States Navy has held a base at an occupied portion of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 1898. The United States government claims a lease to this land, which only mutual agreement or United States abandonment of the area can terminate. The Cuban government disputes this arrangement, claiming Cuba was not truly sovereign at the time of the signing. === Largest cities === {|align=right | |- | |- | |} ''Main article: List of cities in the United States'' The United States has dozens of major cities, including several important global cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The figures expressed below are for populations within city limits. A different ranking is evident when considering metropolitan areas, although the top three would be unchanged. The twenty largest cities, based on the United States 2000 Census[http://www.census.gov/statab/ccdb/cit1020r.txt], are: {|align=left cellpadding=2 style="text-align:right; font-size: 100%; margin-left: 15px" ! Rank !!align=center| City !! Population |- | 1. ||align=left | New York City || 8,008,278 |- | 2. ||align=left | Los Angeles, California || 3,694,820 |- | 3. ||align=left | Chicago, Illinois || 2,896,016 |- | 4. ||align=left | Houston, Texas || 1,953,631 |- | 5. ||align=left | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania || 1,517,550 |- | 6. ||align=left | Phoenix, Arizona || 1,321,045 |- | 7. ||align=left | San Diego, California || 1,223,400 |- | 8. ||align=left | Dallas, Texas || 1,188,580 |- | 9. ||align=left | San Antonio, Texas || 1,144,646 |- |10. ||align=left | Detroit, Michigan || 951,270 |- |11. ||align=left | San Jose, California || 894,943 |- |12. ||align=left | Indianapolis, Indiana || 791,926 |- |13. ||align=left | San Francisco, California || 776,733 |- |14. ||align=left | Jacksonville, Florida || 735,617 |- |15. ||align=left | Columbus, Ohio || 711,470 |- |16. ||align=left | Austin, Texas || 656,562 |- |17. ||align=left | Baltimore, Maryland || 651,154 |- |18. ||align=left | Memphis, Tennessee || 650,100 |- |19. ||align=left | Milwaukee, Wisconsin || 596,974 |- |20. ||align=left | Boston, Massachusetts || 589,141 |- |}
It should be noted that some cities not listed are still considered important on the basis of other factors and issues, including culture, economics, heritage and politics. == Economy == === National economy === ''Main article: Economy of the United States'' The economy of the United States is organized primarily on a capitalism, with some government regulation in many industries. There are also some social welfare programs like Social Security (United States) and unemployment benefits, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families ("welfare"), the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicare (United States), and Medicaid. Such departures from a pure free market economy have generally increased since the late 1800s, but are less pronounced in the United States than in other industrialized countries. [[Image:U.S._one_dollar_obverse.jpg|right|thumb|220px|The United States dollar is the official currency.]] The country has rich mineral resources, with extensive gold, oil, coal, and uranium deposits. Successful Agriculture rank the country among the top producers of, among others, maize, wheat, sugar, and tobacco. The U.S. manufacturing produces, among other things, automobile, airplanes, and electronics. The largest industry is now Tertiary sector of industry, which employs roughly three-quarters of U.S. residents. Economic activity varies greatly from one part of the country to another, with many industries being largely dependent on a certain city or region; New York City is the center of the American finance, publishing, broadcasting, and advertising industries; Silicon Valley is the country’s primary location for high technology companies, while Los Angeles is the most important center for film production. The Midwest is known for its reliance on manufacturing and heavy industry, with Detroit serving as the center of the American automotive industry; the Great Plains are known as “the breadbasket of America” for their tremendous agricultural output, while Texas is largely associated with the oil industry; the Southeastern U.S. is a major hub for medical research, as well as many of the nation's textiles manufacturers. Several countries continue to link their currency to the United States dollar (such as the People's Republic of China), or even use it as a currency (such as Ecuador), although this practice has subsided since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. The largest trading partner of the United States is Canada (20%), followed by Mexico (12%), People's Republic of China (Mainland 10%, Hong Kong 1%) and Japan (8%). More than 50% of total trade is with these four countries. In 2003, the United States was World Tourism Rankings as the third most visited Tourism destination in the world; its 40.4 million visitors ranked behind France's 75 million and Spain's 52.5 million. ''See also: List of United States companies'' === Transportation === [[Image:La city hwys.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Stack interchange in Los Angeles ]] ''Main article: Transportation in the United States'' Because the United States is such a relatively young nation, most of the development of US cities has taken place after the invention of the automobile. To link its vast territories, the United States built a network of high capacity, high speed highways, of which the most important aspect is the Interstate Highway system. The United States also has a First Transcontinental Railroad which is used for moving freight across the lower 48 states. Many cities in the United States have extensive mass transit systems. New York City, NY operates the world's largest and most heavily used subway system. Air travel is often preferred for destinations over 300 mile (500 kilometer) away, and some airports, such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, are among the busiest in the world. There are several major seaports in the United States, including New York City, Savannah, Georgia, Miami, Florida, Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, California, and Seattle, Washington, plus Anchorage, Alaska and Honolulu, Hawaii outside of the contiguous 48 states.
== Society == === Demographics === [[Image:USA 2000 population density.png|thumb|2000 population density by county]] ''Main article: Demographics of the United States'' ====Ethnicity and race==== Americans, in part due to Race (U.S. census) outlined by the U.S. government, generally describe themselves as beloging to one of five groups: Whites, also called ''Caucasian'' (those having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa); Black, also called ''African American'' (those having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa); American Indian/Alaskan Native, also called ''Native American'' (those having origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central and South America, and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment); Asian, also called ''Asian American'' (those having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent); and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (those having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands). In addition to these, the category "Some other race" was included in the 2000 census for respondents who were unable to identify with any of the five Office of Management and Budget race categories. Those who identified as "South African", "Belizean", a Hispanic origin (eg. Mexican, Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc.) or even "American" were included in the "Some other race" category. The Census Bureau considers race to be separate from Hispanic origin. The category Asian is popularly identified with East Asia, rather than South Asia or Southwest Asia Asia. The term ''African-American'' is associated with centuries-long residents, and does not make distinctions between them and, say, recent Afro-Caribbean immigrants from Jamaica or imigrants from Nigeria or refugees from Somalia. The majority of the 295 million people currently living in the United States descend from Europe immigrants who have arrived since the establishment of the first colonies. Major components of the European segment of the United States population are descended from immigrants from Germany (15.2%), Ireland (10.8%), England (8.7%), Italy (5.6%), Scandinavia (3.7%) and many immigrants also coming from Slavs countries. Other significant immigrant populations came from eastern and southern Europe and French Canada, though far more immigrants came directly to America from France than came via French Canada. These numbers, however, are less precise than they appear, as many citizens listed themselves as "American" on the census (7.2%). A :Image:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.jpg reveals that the areas with the largest "American" ancestry populations were mostly settled by English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh, suggesting that the percentages listed for those groups should consequently be slightly larger. Similarly, while there were few immigrants directly from Spain, Hispanics in the United States from Mexico and South and Central America are considered the largest minority group in the country, comprising 13.4% of the population in 2002. This has brought increasing use of the Spanish in the United States. Mexicans alone made up 7.3% of the population in the 2000 census, and this proportion is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. The Hispanic category is based more on language than race and is defined by the Census as anybody from or with forebears from Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America so Hispanics may be of any race. About 45% identify by their ethnic background only (e.g., "Mexican", "Colombian"); they are usually mestizos or even American Indians of unmixed ancestry. About 40% identify as white with more European (especially Spanish) ancestry; however, on average, they tend to have more Amerindian or African blood than non-Hispanic whites. They are a diverse group consisting of most Puerto Ricans and Cubans, and a large proportion of the New Mexico Spanish, Tejanos, and recent South American immigrants, as well as children of mixed marriages between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Another 5% identify as black or mulatto; they typically are descended from Spanish-speaking Caribbean immigrants such as Dominican Republic. The remainder includes mostly self-identified Indians (Maya, Mixtec, etc.) and people of mixed background. Most Filipinos, however, are not considered Hispanic. About 12.9% (2000 census) of the American people are African Americans, most of whom are descendants of the slave trade brought to the U.S. between the 1620s and 1807. Starting in the 1970s, the black population has been bolstered by immigration from the Caribbean, especially Jamaica and Haiti; more recently, starting in the 1990s, there has been an influx of African immigrants to the United States due to the instability in political and economic opportunities in various nations in Africa. A third significant minority is the Asian American population (4.2%), most of whom are concentrated on the West Coast of the United States and Hawaii. It is by no means a monolithic group; the largest groups are immigrants or descendants of emigrants from China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan. While the Asian-American population is generally a fairly recent addition to the nation's ethnic mix, large waves of Chinese, Filipino and Japanese immigration happened in the mid to late 1800s. The aboriginal population of Native Americans, such as American Indians and Inuit, make up about 1.5% of the population. According to the 2000 census, the United States has 37 ethnic groups with at least one million people each. ''See also: Immigration to the United States'' ==== Religion ==== ''Main articles: Religion in the United States, Demographics of the United States#Religious Affiliation'' Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population: 1990 and 2001 [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm] {|border=1 align=left cellpadding=4 style="text-align:right; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 50px;" |+ align=bottom | [http://www.census.gov/prod/www/religion.htm Source: US Census] ! !! 1990 !! 2001 !! Change
in % |- !align=left |Total Christian | 86.4% | 76.7% | -9.7% |- |align=left style="text-indent:15px"| Catholic | 26.2% | 24.5% | -1.8% |- |align=left style="text-indent:15px"| Protestantism | 55.2% | 45.1% | -10.1% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"|Baptist | 19.4% | 16.3% | -3.1% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"|Methodism/Wesleyan | 8.1% | 6.8% | -1.3% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"|Lutheranism | 5.2% | 4.6% | -0.6% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"|Presbyterianism | 2.8% | 2.7% | -0.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Protestant - no denomination supplied | 9.8% | 2.2% | -7.6% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Pentecostalism/Charismatic | 1.8% | 2.1% | +0.3% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Episcopal/Anglicanism | 1.7% | 1.7% | -0.1% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Mormon/Latter-Day Saints | 1.4% | 1.3% | -0.1% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Church of Christ | 1.0% | 1.2% | +0.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:40px"| Other Protestant (less than 1% each) | 4.0% | 6.2% | +2.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:15px"|Christian - no denomination supplied | 4.6% | 6.8% | +2.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:15px"|Eastern Orthodox Church | 0.3% | 0.3% | -- |- !align=left|Total other religions | 3.3% | 3.7% | +0.4% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Judaism || 1.8%|| 1.4%|| -0.4% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Islamic|| 0.3%|| 0.5%|| +0.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Buddhism|| 0.2%|| 0.5%|| +0.3% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Hinduism|| 0.1%||0.4%||+0.2% |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Unitarian Universalism|| 0.3%||0.3%|| -- |- |align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Others (less than 0.07% each)|| 0.6%||0.6%|| -- |--- !align=left |Total No religion | 8.2% | 14.2% | +6.0% |--- !align=left |Total Refused to reply | 2.3% | 5.4% | +3.1% |}
The United States is noteworthy among developed nations for its relatively high level of religiosity. Overall, more than 25% of Americans attend a religious service at least once a week. However, this rate is not uniform across the country; attendance is more common in the Bible Belt—composed largely of Southern U.S. and Midwest states—than in the Northeastern United States and West Coast of the United States. === Education === ''Main article: Education in the United States'' In the United States, education is a state, not federal, responsibility, and the laws and standards vary considerably. In most states, all students must attend mandatory schooling starting with kindergarten and following through 12th grade. Parents may educate their own children at home (with varying degrees of state oversight), send their children to a public school, which is free, 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 have a choice of attending either a public university/state university or a private university. Public universities receive funding from the federal and state government but students still pay tuition, which can vary 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. American colleges and universities range from highly competitive schools, such as Harvard University, to hundreds of local community colleges with open admission policies. For a complete list, see List of colleges and universities in the United States. === Language === ''Main article: Languages in the United States'' The United States does not have an official language at federal level; nevertheless, English language is spoken by the vast majority of the population and serves as the ''de facto'' language: English is the language used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official pronouncements. Twenty-seven individual states have adopted English as their official language, and three of those—Hawaii, Louisiana, and New Mexico—have also adopted a second official language (Hawaiian language, French language and Spanish language, respectively). Spanish language follows English as the second-most spoken language in the United States, primarily due to the influence of recent Latin American immigrants, and it is a primary spoken language in some areas of the U.S. Southwestern states. The primary signed language is American Sign Language (ASL). As of 2004, the United States was the home of approximately 336 languages (spoken or signed), of which 176 are indigenous to U.S. territory. === Class === In terms of relative wealth, U.S. residents enjoy a standard of personal economic wealth that is close to that known in Scandinavian countries and Switzerland. For example, 51% of all households have access to a computer and 67.9% of U.S. households owned their dwellings in 2002. However, there is also a considerable amount of poverty in the United States with 12.1% of the population living below the official national poverty level. The social structure of the United States is somewhat stratified, with a significant class of very wealthy individuals; eleven of the twenty list of billionaires are Americans. On one widely used measure of inequality, the Gini coefficient, the United States has the highest inequality of any wealthy country. Nevertheless, ideas of social mobility figure prominently in the American dream, which holds that someone born into a poor family can, through hard work, ultimately rise into the upper classes. However, there is debate over how often this actually occurs in modern American society, both compared with earlier eras and with other developed nations. ''See also: Richest places in the United States and Poorest places in the United States'' === Social issues === ''Main articles: Social issues in the United States, Human rights in the United States, Health care in the United States'' [[Image:United States Bill of Rights.jpg|200px|thumb|The American Bill of Rights, enacted in 1791, provides a list of basic guaranteed rights]] The Constitution makes provisions for the rights of freedom of speech, the right to keep and bear arms, freedom of religion, trial by jury, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The United States accepts many immigration, and has anti-discrimination laws to protect minority groups. Some examples of these are the various Civil Rights Acts, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and hate crime legislation. Nevertheless, the United States has at times been criticized for alleged violations of human rights, including racial discrimination in trials and sentences, police abuses, excessive and unwarranted incarceration, and the imposition of the death penalty in some states. In 2001, Human Rights Watch issued a report stating that United States had "made little progress in embracing international human rights standards at home." [http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/usa/] === Culture === ''Main article: Culture of the United States'' [[Image:Elvisstamp.jpg|frame|right|Elvis Presley, an American singer and star who had a large impact on music and youth culture in the world.]] U.S. culture has a large influence on the rest of the world, especially the Western world. This influence is sometimes criticized as cultural imperialism. Music of the United States is heard all over the world, and it is the sire of such forms as blues and jazz and had a primary hand in the shaping of modern rock and roll and popular music culture. Many great Western classical musicians and ensembles find their home in the U.S. New York City is a hub for international operatic and instrumental music as well as the world-famed Broadway plays and musicals, while Seattle, Washington and the rest of Washington is a world leader in the grunge and heavy metal music industries, as well as the visual arts. New York, Seattle, and San Francisco, California are worldwide leaders in graphic design and New York and Los Angeles, California compete with major European cities in the fashion industry. Cinema of the United States (primarily embodied in Hollywood) and Television of the United States shows can be seen almost anywhere. 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. Nearing the mid-point of its third century of nationhood, the U.S. plays host to the gamut of human intellectual and artistic endeavor in nearly every major city, offering classical and popular music; historical, scientific and art research centers and museums; dance performances, musicals and plays; outdoor art projects and internationally significant architecture. This development is a result of both contributions by private philanthropists and government funding. ''See also: Arts and entertainment in the United States, Media of the United States'' ==== Sports ==== Some sports that originated or evolved in the United States, particularly basketball, American football, and baseball, which is often referred to as the Great American Pastime, have achieved a worldwide audience; the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League, is one of the highest watched broadcasts in the world, with viewership far outnumbering the total American population. Baseball is extremely popular in Latin American nations and Japan, and football has had some success in expanding to Europe (NFL Europe). NASCAR (stock car racing) is also one of America's top sports; it is the fastest growing sport in America. However, few "foreign" sports have caught on in America; attempts to create professional soccer (football) leagues have struggled, and cricket and rugby are not played on any professional level. The United States hosts some of the premier events in other sports such as golf (including The Masters), tennis (U.S. Open (tennis)), and auto racing (particularly the Indianapolis 500), hosted the Football World Cup in 1994, and has hosted eight Olympics, more than any other nation. The United States generally fares very well in the Olympics, especially the Summer Olympics. In 2004, the US collected a record 100 total Olympic medals. == Federal holidays == ''Main article: Holidays of the United States'' {| border="1" align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid gray;font-size:95%" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Date !! Name !! Remarks |- | January 1 || New Year's Day || Beginning of year, marks the traditional end of the "holiday season." |- | January, third Monday || Martin Luther King, Jr. Day || Honors the late civil rights leader. Few non-governmental organizations grant time off for this holiday. |- | February, third Monday || Presidents' Day || Honors former U.S. presidents, especially George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who both share February birthdays. Few non-governmental organizations grant time off for this holiday. |- | May, last Monday || Memorial Day || Honors servicemen and women who died in service; also marks the traditional beginning of summer. |- | July 4 || Independence Day (US) || Usually called the Fourth of July. Celebrates the United States' independence from Great Britain, formally declared on this date in 1776. |- | September, first Monday || Labor Day || Celebrates achievements of workers. This holiday is held instead of the traditional worldwide Labor Day, May Day, which actually began in the U.S. Also marks the traditional end of summer. |- | October, second Monday || Columbus Day || Honors Christopher Columbus, traditional discoverer of the Americas. Somewhat controversial, and few non-governmental organizations grant time off for this holiday. Hawaii does not honor the day, instead celebrating Discoverer's Day in honor of James Cook. |- | November 11 || Veterans Day || Previously known as Armistice Day. Honors those who have served in the military. Also marks the end of World War I in 1918. Traditional observation of a moment of silence at 11 a.m. |- | November, fourth Thursday || Thanksgiving || Day of thanks that marks the traditional beginning of the "holiday season." The day before Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year in the U.S., and the day after is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, known as "Black Friday." |- | December 25 || Christmas || Celebration of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. In recent years, it has become a more secular winter holiday outside of religious communities, with many non-Christians and non-observant Christians buying and exchanging traditional Christmas gifts. Most retailers count on the Christmas holiday to provide a significant portion of their total annual sales. |} == Related topics == ''Main article: List of United States-related topics'' {| align="center" class="toccolours" cellpadding="5" style="text-align: left" |- bgcolor="#ccccff" | colspan="2" align="center" | List of United States-related topics |- valign="top" ! History of the United States || Timeline of United States history (Colonial America | American Revolution | United States territorial acquisitions | American Civil War | World War 1 | Great Depression | World War 2 | Cold War | Vietnam War | Civil Rights Movement ) | Foreign relations of the United States | Military history of the United States | Demographic history of the United States and Stamps and postal history of the United States history |- valign="top" ! Politics of the United States || Law of the United States (United States Constitution and United States Bill of Rights | United States Declaration of Independence) | List of political parties in the United States (United States Democratic Party & United States Republican Party ) | Elections in the United States (Electoral College) | Political scandals of the United States | Political divisions of the United States |- valign="top" ! Federal Government of the United States || List of United States federal agencies | Legislative branch (Congress: United States House of Representatives | United States Senate ) Executive branch (President of the United States & Vice-President of the United States | United States Cabinet | United States Attorney General | United States Secretary of State ) | :Category:Law enforcement in the United States ( Federal Bureau of Investigation | Intelligence:CIA | DIA | NIMA | NRO | NSA) | Judicial branch (Supreme Court of the United States ) | Military of the United States (United States Army | United States Navy | United States Marine Corps | United States Air Force ) |- valign="top" ! Geography of the United States || Appalachian Mountains | Rocky Mountains | Grand Canyon | Great Plains | Midwest | U.S. Southern states | Mississippi River | New England | Mid-Atlantic States | Pacific Northwest | List of mountains of the United States | List of valleys of the United States | List of islands of the United States | List of rivers in the United States | US State | List of cities in the United States | County | list of regions of the United States | Extreme points of the United States |- valign="top" ! Economy of the United States || Banking in the United States | List of United States companies | Standard of living in the United States | United States dollar | Wall Street |- valign="top" ! Demographics of the United States || US Census Bureau | Languages in the United States | Religion in the United States | Social structure of the United States | Standard of living in the United States |- valign="top" ! Arts and entertainment in the United States & Culture of the United States || Music of the United States (Hippies | Blues | Jazz | Rock and roll | Hip hop | gospel music | country music ) | Cinema of the United States & Television of the United States (Hollywood) | Literature of the United States (Poetry of the United States | Transcendentalism | Harlem Renaissance | Beat Generation) | Visual arts of the United States (Abstract expressionism ) | Cuisine of the United States | Holidays of the United States | American folklore | Dance of the United States | Architecture of the United States | Education in the United States | Languages in the United States | Media in the United States |- valign="top" ! Other || United States territory | Communications in the United States | Transportation in the United States (United States highway and Interstate highway | List of United States railroads ) | Uncle Sam | Flag of the United States | American Dream | Media in the United States | Education in the United States | Tourism in the United States | Social issues in the United States (Immigration to the United States | Affirmative action | Racial profiling | Human rights in the United States | War on Drugs | Pornography in the United States | Same-sex marriage in the United States | Poverty in the United States | United States prison population | Capital punishment in the United States ) | American Exceptionalism | Anti-Americanism | American Folklore | American English | United States Mexico barrier |} == International rankings == * IMD International: [http://www01.imd.ch/wcy/ World Competitiveness Yearbook 2005], ranked 1 out of 60 economies (countries and regions) * World Economic Forum: [http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Global+Competitiveness+Programme%5CGlobal+Competitiveness+Report Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005 - Growth Competitiveness Index Ranking], ranked 2 out of 104 countries * A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy: [http://www.atkearney.com/main.taf?p=5,4,1,116 Globalization Index 2005], ranked 4 out of 62 countries * United Nations Development Programme: [http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/ Human Development Index 2004], ranked 8 out of 177 countries * Save the Children: [http://www.savethechildren.org/mothers/report_2005/ State of the World's Mothers 2005], ranked 11 out of 110 countries * The Wall Street Journal: [http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/ 2005] Index of Economic Freedom, ranked 12 out of 155 countries * The Economist: [http://www.economist.com/theworldin/international/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3372495&d=2005 The World in 2005 - Worldwide quality-of-life index, 2005], ranked 13 out of 111 countries * Transparency International: [http://www.transparency.org/pressreleases_archive/2004/2004.10.20.cpi.en.html Corruption Perceptions Index 2004], ranked 17 out of 146 countries (tied with Belgium and Ireland) * Reporters without borders: [http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=11715 Third annual worldwide press freedom index (2004)], ranked 22 (American territory; tied with Belgium) & 108 (in Iraq) out of 167 countries ==Notes== ''America'' may refer to the nation of the United States or to ''the Americas'' — North America, Central America and South America. The latter usage is more common in Latin American countries where the Spanish language and Portuguese word ''América'' refers to both continents. The ''United States'' (or ''Estados Unidos'' in Spanish and Portuguese) is a less ambiguous term and less likely to cause offense. The term ''American'' meaning a citizen or national of the United States has no straightforward unambiguous synonym. Many alternative words for American have been proposed, but none have enjoyed widespread acceptance.
== External links == === United States government === *[http://www.firstgov.gov Official website of the United States government] - Gateway to governmental sites *[http://www.whitehouse.gov White House] - Official site of the US President *[http://www.senate.gov Senate.gov] - Official site of the United States Senate *[http://www.house.gov House.gov] - Official site of the United States House of Representatives *[http://www.supremecourtus.gov Supreme Court] - Official site of the Supreme Court of the United States *[http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/factover/homepage.htm Portrait of the USA] - Published by the United States Information Agency, September 1997. *[http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ US Census Housing and Economic Statistics] Updated regularly by US Bureau of the Census. *[http://nationalatlas.gov/ The National Atlas] of the United States. *[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html CIA World Factbook Entry for United States] === Other === *[http://www.mediatico.com/en US Newspapers by State] *[http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm National Motto: History and Constitutionality] *[http://www.nationalcenter.org/HistoricalDocuments.html Historical Documents] *[http://www.travel-directory.org/Destinations/North_America/United_States/index.html Reference: US specific web resources sorted by state] *[http://www.teacheroz.com/states.htm info links for each state] *[http://www.adbusters.org/jams/history/timeline.swf Archive of 163 US interventions] North American countries Republics United States os:Америкæйы Иугонд Штаттæ ang:Geánlǽht Underrícu American bn:যুক্তরাষ্ট্র bs:Sjedinjene Američke Države cv:Америкăри Пĕрлешӳллĕ Штатсем chr:ᎠᎺᎢ fa:ایالات متحده آمریکا ga:Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá gd:Na Stàitean Aonaichte ht:Etazini hi:संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका iu:ᐊᒥᐊᓕᑲ ks:संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका la:Civitates Americae Unitae lv:Amerikas Savienotās Valstis li:Vereinegde State van Amerika mt:Stati Uniti ms:Amerika Syarikat zh-min-nan:Bí-kok nah:Altepetl Osehsepanoaseh Amerikak nv:Wááshindoon bikéyah ałhidadiidzooígíí nds:USA rm:Stadis Unids da l'America se:Amerihká ovttastuvvan stáhtat simple:United States th:สหรัฐอเมริกา vi:Hoa Kỳ
United States
''An event mentioned in this article is a MediaWiki:July 4 selected anniversaries'' ------- /Archive 1 | /Archive 2 | /Archive 3 | /Archive 4 | /Archive 5 | /Archive 6 | /Archive 7 ---- == National Traumas == The history summary in the main article contains the following sentence: Three major traumatic experiences for the nation were the Civil War (1861-1865), the Great Depression (1929-1939), and September 11, 2001. While the statement is factually true, it seems to reflect a strikingly distorted point of view. The terrorist attack of 9/11 is historically significant, but doesn't approach the magnitude of the Civil War or the Great Depression. Other wars (Vietnam, Korea, WW2, WW1, the Revolutionary War) must all certainly outrank 9/11 as national traumas. I think that, under the heading of History, the article should take a longer perspective than that of contemporary U.S. politics. Even at the present moment the U.S. faces a number of challenges, from flu to drunk driving, that are far greater objective threats to its citizens than terrorism. ::I tend to disagree that Sept 11 ranks below other national tragedies. While the number of lives and value destroyed in other events was far greater there are a number of aspects that make it unique. :::1 - a significant number of people across the world saw the event first hand real time. We had no government censors making sure we saw the beaches Normandy in our hometown papers without dead people on them. :::2 - it represents a new paradigm for terrorism in the world. Example more British citizens died in that event than in any other terrorist attack in their history. This is after all the years of putting up with the IRA. :::3 - it was a watershed moment in our current history that is coloring our present lives. The true impart of the event is still unfolding. I don't think it's problematic including Sep 11 in 'National Traumas' - however to exclude the Vietnam War strikes me as odd. It was an event that deeply affected a huge number of Americans and moulded the political and cultural development of the country to a significant degree in the final few decades of the 20th century. The jury has to be out as to whether Sep 11 will have the same long-term impact on the US. User:Nickfraser 20:08, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::It's possibly worth noting the Spanish entry doesn't seem to have any mention of the Madrid train bombings, nor does the UK entry mention any significant IRA attacks (or the IRA campaign/s) - such as the direct attacks on the UK Government in Brighton. Having this sort of specific mention of a single event seems incongruous in comparison to these articles in particular. == National Debt == The economy part of the page doesn't say anything about the huge public debt of the USA. I don't know the correct numbers, but I think it's about $25,000 per capita, which makes it a major economic problem. An interesting subject to cover but surely 'Economy_of_the_United_States' page is the better place for this rather than the main page, there's nothing meaty about the subject on that page as far as I can see so if anybody would like to write something - suggested subsection title 'Structural Problems within the US Economy' - you could talk about the deficit, pensions/ageing population, and any other long-term potential problems etc. If others agree can this section 'National Debt' be closed as an outstanding issue to address for this specific page? User:Nickfraser 20:28, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Ethnicity and Race == When talking about European descendents you should keep in mind the numbers given on a brass plaque on Ellise Island. You will find that most immigrants between 1850 and 1930 were actually from Russia, followed by people from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Italy ... This is not really reflected in your demographic survey. ==Map== Is this map free/PD? [http://www.cast.uark.edu/local/catalog/national/html/Population.htmldir/USpop1990.html link]; It's a great map and I'd like to have it in the demographics subarticle. User:Sverdrup 17:18, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC) :[[Image:USA 2000 population density.jpg|thumb|2000 population density]] :Several months late in this reply, but whether or not the map is free/PD can be irrelevant. You can make a very similar map at [http://www.nationalatlas.gov/natlas/NatlasStart.asp nationalatlas.gov] (zoom to lower 48, remove lat/long lines, add counties, add population density 2000). I went ahead and did this and created an image and uploaded it. The colors are different, but big deal (an easy color change could be made). == Economic summary == The economic summary is ridiculous. From reading it, one would think the only involvement the government has with the economy is doling out welfare and interfering with industry. You'd never know that the US government financed the development of the Internet for decades, gives massive corporate welfare to agribusiness and other business and so forth. Then there's this beauty - "The U.S. economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment, low inflation, a large trade deficit and rapid and rapid advances in technology." Steady growth? Like the unemployment after the recessions in the early 2000s, early 1990s, early 1980s, early 1970s and so forth? Even if we went on a multi-year timeline, growth from say 1974-2004 is not at the steady pace that 1944-1974 growth was. Low unemployment? U-6 unemployment hovers around 10%. Which shoots up when the US is not in an economic recovery? Low compared to what, the USSR's 0% unemployment? The US only has several months of unemployment benefits, unlike Europe, this only serves to mask unemployment. I wouldn't term the advances in technology in the United States rapid either - how have people's lives changed much since the 1950s? 1904-1954 was a rapid technological advance, 1954-2004 I would not characterize as rapid. User:Ruy Lopez 20:33, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::The unemployment rate has absolutely nothing to do with unemployment benefits, whoever was deleting your text was doing so because you were plain wrong. - me ::This discussion was posted ten days ago. We are still waiting for the people who keep deleting the material on the US economy to justify their position. They have not said one word. Under the circumstances, I shall keep reinserting Ruy Lopez's text until they do come to the talk page to discuss their dispute. User:Shorne 16:03, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::The reality of the $7,449,000,000,000+ national debt issue also kind of needs to be mentioned. By the sound of this article, you'd think the US was booming, rather than coming up to a financial collapse like the 1980's era USSR was, which is the actual fact of the matter. --User:Ce garcon 19:57, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::::To be entirely objective, then, the article should also mention that in percentage terms, this national debt level is not significantly greater than that of most other industrialized OECD nations. yo fool, economics is an art not a science. and the USSR didn't collapse because of economic reasons, though that is generally believed, it collapsed because of an internal revolt of top governmental officials specifically in the military and KGB, as well as disruptive reform policies of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. THe ussr didnt have a healthy economy, but that was not the reason for its demise. similarly the US economy could be more stable, however the US position as superpower is not in any serious jeopardy. :::Actually, I'm right. The USSR collapsed because the Soviet public no longer had any trust in it. The USSR National Debt was through the roof, all lines of credit had run out, and the Soviet public was not prepared to hold tight through Gorbachev's painful economic reform, and the USSR collapsed. Also, the USSR didn't have the option of forcing foreign lenders to prop up its' public debt as the US does. btw, personal insults are out of place on Wikipedia. --User:Ce garcon 11:05, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC) Ruy Lopez, you seem to only equate techonological advancement with a higher standard of living and/or quality of life. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but this is just plain wrong. We have made leaps and bounds in the past 50 years in such fields as space travel, aviation, telecommunications, etc. and although these were rapid and useful changes, they did not change the overall quality of life of the average citizen(although someone could argue this point for telecommunications). Also, I read a report that stated the average European didn't live as well as the average Roman(circa height of Roman Empire) unitl the mid 18th century. I believe no one here would argue that we made scientific progress of no consequence from the 2nd to 18th centuries. User:Interslice I would like to object to the Southeast being the center for medical research. This is so completely far from true. Raleigh-Durham does have a large amount of medical research, but this is MUCH smaller than that of California, Boston, Washington DC mmetro, and Texas. I would like to see that changed to something like the southeast economy is more heavily dependent on medical research. The way it is stated now, it sounds like all the medical research in the United States goes on in place like Atlanta, Birmingham, and Research Triangle, which is far from the truth. == Protection == I unprotected the page only for it to explode into an even larger edit war. Do I need to protect it again, or can you guys discuss it? Andre">User:Andrevan (User_talk:Andrevan)A 18:03, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC) :Please protect it again. It's obvious to all that VeryVerily has no intention of discussing anything or even obeying the three-revert rule. User:Shorne 18:44, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC) :Don't protect. It makes no sense. User:Anthony DiPierro User:Anthony_DiPierro/warning 15:47, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC) Protection in my eyes, are, in a sense, only another way and excuse of/for censorship. BOYCOT THE RESTRAINMENTS!--User:OleMaster 10:15, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC) =="Popular Vote"?== This line "he President is elected to a four-year term by the Electoral College carried out through the process of a nation-wide popular vote." makes it sound like the popular vote is nationwide not statewide. I suggest something like "The president is elected to a four-year term by the Electoral College based on popular votes at the State level" or something to that effect, and giving a note that a more detailed explanation can be given by reading the artilce on the US Electoral College (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Electoral_College"). How does that ound? I just read it and thought that that sentance was just plain misleading! == FSM is NOT an insular area == OK, folks. The Federated States of Micronesia is NOT an insular area. It is an Independent nation in free association with the USA via the Compact of Free Association that was signed in 1986. Title 1, Article 1, Sec. 111 of the Compact of Free Association clearly says: ''The peoples of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, acting through the Governments established under their respective Constitutions, are self-governing.'' [http://www.fsmlaw.org/compact/t01art01.htm] - User:Hoshie 09:14, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Class == I have added an extra paragraph under the sub-heading 'Class'. This shows the income inequality within the USA, which was missing in the original. :The article already refers to social stratification and income inequality (the Gini coefficient), and I don't think one study by one economist should be in this article. There is a subarticle Social structure of the United States for more detailed analysis. User:VeryVerilyUser talk:VeryVerily 19:17, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC) Sorry, I didn't see that link. I agree with the delete. The graph that was with that material is remarkably hard to interpret. However, a short summary of the distribution of wealth is appropriate despite existance of a more detailed article. User:Fred Bauder 23:11, Nov 26, 2004 (UTC) == Edits to this article == This article has about 2000 edits that in order to study its history easily we almost definitely need a "1000" added to the options on "which number do you want the edits to be studied one at a time". I did it with 500 and I got 4 pages. Any comments?? User:66.245.31.111 01:55, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC) == Grammar and technical issues == ''"The United States of America consists of fifty states with limited autonomy in which federal law takes precedence over state law. In general, matters that lie entirely within state borders are the exclusive concern of state governments."'' Not to nit-pick, but "United States" is plural, not singular. Further, "state" is a synonym for "country" or "nation". Shouldn't this read more like, "The United States of America currently number fifty, each with limited autonomy. All states [aka ''nations''] lie within America [aka ''the Americas''] and are united (hence, 'United States of America') into a federation in which federal law takes precedence over state law. In general, matters that lie entirely within state borders are the exclusive concern of state governments and not the federal republic." A bit more cumbersome, but more technically accurate. It would also be interesting to know why the United States of America all have names, but the federal republic itself does not. Why in 200+ years has no one bothered to think of a name for the empire? This might be an important issue from an historical perspective. Perhaps this is what led to "United States of America" being used in the singular, rather than the more correct plural. Still, you'd think somewhere along the line, someone would have thought of giving one name to the collective whole of the United States of America, rather than just falling back on the description all the time. --User:Corvun 19:30, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Actually in the sense in which it is taken as the subject of the above-mentioned sentence it is singular. If you're not sure consider which of the following sounds right to you: :*The United States of America is a sovereign state :*The United States of America are a sovereign state :Essentially, when we think of the "United States of America" as a country, it is singular. When we think of it as a grouping of 50 states, it is plural. And almost always we use "Untied States of America" to mean the country. Also, it is just incorrect to say that each state is a separate nation. User:Jongarrettuk 20:11, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) :I agree. I mean, "United States of America", how can that be a name of a single country? Let's take the example of the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United Mexican States, and give it a real name. ;) Anyway, historically, "The United States of America" is singular, and in the past, mostly before Lincoln's little tantrum, it tended to be referred to as "''these'' United States" but that was mostly informal. I guess the best answer is: What does the Constitution say? --User:Golbez 21:57, Dec 6, 2004 (UTC) ::Ummmm. The best answer is what do people normally say. I honestly don't know what the constitution says, but demotic usage in 2004 is more important now than usage in a formal document drawn up in the 1780s. User:Jongarrettuk 22:23, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) I suppose y'all are right, in that language is defined by usage. If people speak of the "United States" as a singular entity, then the grammar should reflect that. Same with the states themselves being called "states" even though they aren't actually nations or countries in and of themselves. It just all seems like one huge linguist's nightmare to me. Perhaps I'm being too analytical, and perhaps I shouldn't be expecting politically-defined uses of terms to make grammatical or etymological sense. --User:Corvun 22:57, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC) ::Actually, an etymological examination might be helpful here. Instead of focusing on the plural "States" in the term, let's look at "United". It derives from the latin unum meaning one. Thus "united" is to be made one. Thus, the plural states have been made into one, singular, entity. Aside from the informal "these United States" the term "United States" has not usually been used to describe the states as a group. The Constitution iteslf is not totally clear about this, but the Articles of Confederation state that "United States of America" is the style of the "confederacy", that is the national government itself. It is interesting also to note that the Constitution while not specifically assigning the style of the national government, uses "the several States" when referring to them as a group, rather than "the United States". ::: Six of one half dozen of the other. I vote status quo. btw, whoever wrote the above and didn't sign his name is a big fat [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blowhard blowhard]. User:MPS 18:23, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC) I think the current terminology should stay and I reject Corvun's proposed change. Yes, it is a giant linguist's nightmare, but it arises from the complex legal history of the United States. The problem is that the states always saw themselves as separate sovereigns from the very beginning (because the Crown constituted each of them separately), and modern American constitutional law continues to reflect that. Today, the weird legal fiction we operate under is ''dual'' sovereignty. Each American is a citizen of both their state of residence and of the federal sovereign. Each state is a separate sovereign which just happens (by virtue of ratifying the Constitution) to have consented to giving up bits and pieces of its sovereignty to the federal government. But as far as external nations are concerned, they see the federal government because one of the powers granted to the federal government is power over external affairs. As for the nation issue, even though the states continue to exist as separate legal entities, their conception of themselves as separate nations has long since withered away, and most Americans would agree that the United States effectively is a single nation. The major disagreement would be from Native Americans, who view each of their tribes as continuing to exist as autonomous nation-states, under the direct control of the larger federal sovereign. Also, if you look at the U.S. Constitution, both the Preamble and Article II repeatedly and consistently refer to "the United States of America." From the surrounding wording, it is clear that the Founders were referring to a single legal entity and believed they were constituting such an entity. So "the United States of America" ''is'' the legal name of the federal government. There are also many sections in the United States Code which refer to "the United States of America." --User:Coolcaesar 20:49, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC) * They are referred to in both the Constitution and other documents as "the United States" because before 1787, they were semi-independent. This is where the Americans clouded the definitions of state and nation that the rest of the world successfully differentiates. The Constitution was the coming together of states that minted their own currency, engaged in trade wars with each other, refused to extradite criminals just because they happened to cross a state line, etc. into a "Union" hence how they became the "United." Up until the Civil War (especially in the South) is was thought that a state could easily withdraw if they didn't agree with the direction the Constitution was being torn into. South Carolina attempted to get out in the 1830s, etc. The Constitution of the United States of America is named as such simply because at first 13 states came together to agree to it. This was at time when New England was thinking about leaving the Articles of Confederation and creating an entity from New York to Maine. When sections of the American contintent west of the Appalachians were planning or trying to start their own little Republics (and some Kingdoms). If the states hadn't come together and decided to lay down a new document for their confederation, and instead persisted after Annapolis to exist under the "Articles of Confederation" from 1775, most likely the union would have fallen shortly after 1800 (if not sooner) and today we would see maps with other more localized confederations of the 50 states (which who knows if there would even be 50). Your conceptualization of inter-state relations leading up to the 1787 constitution is limited. A few delegates getting miffed would have changed the last three centuries of world history in ways we can hardly imagine. —User:ExplorerCDT 21:01, 18 Feb 2005 (UTC) I hold a bachelor's degree in history from the most prestigious public university in the United States. I am well-aware of all of the facts you just mentioned, especially the delicate fragility of the Union throughout its first century. I am also familiar with all the diverse what-if scenarios. I do not have all day to write on talk pages. I did not think it was necessary to rehash the convoluted details of two centuries of American history just to explain how we got to our present pigpen of legal fictions and political realities. But thanks for doing that for me. When I said "wording" above, I was referring to the consistent use of the definite article, "the," rather than the plural demonstrative adjective, "these," in the Constitution. But you did clarify something I neglected, the task of explaining why the Constitution has to refer to ''states'' which are ''united,'' as opposed to, say, "the United State." --User:Coolcaesar 08:11, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC) == Vandalism protection == I know the vandalism is now infrequent, but is it necessary? I don't think so since so many people watch this page anyway... --User:AllyUnion User talk:AllyUnion 20:31, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC) == Republicans and religious Jews == Excuse me. In the "Politics" section, the following sentence appears: :The Republicans generally receive more funding and support from business groups, religious Christians and Jews, and rural Americans, while the Democratic party receives more support from labor unions and minority ethnic groups. In the history, User:216.229.90.10 sliced out the phrase "and Jews" and then User:Mackensen promptly reverted it. Now, I'm a little confused. Historically, when Jews are considered as a voting bloc, they tend to lean Democratic. However, this analysis has always considered Jews as a single ethnic class and not separated out religious Jews from non-religious Jews. Therefore, my question: Does anyone have evidence that religious Jews tend to vote Republican (or Democratic)? — User:DLJessup 21:28, 2004 Dec 30 (UTC) == Social Issues == I added some more information about the incarceration/prison situation in the US. Feel free to verify if you need to, I tried to include all necessary sources though some of the math you'll have to check yourself :P. --User:Benapgar 09:22, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC) == What about Indians and slaves == I was reading the article and was really surprised that it doesn't mention the fate of Native Americans anywhere (except the state of being of descendants today). Neither does it mention the slavery part of the history (except by using the word enslaved when speaking about slaves' descendants today). I don't want to rush into editing, because may be this issues was already brought forward here and wanted to ask first. Are these issues considered minor irrelevant details, unworthy of inclusion into the main article? Or is it just an unfortunate omission? User:Paranoid 01:10, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC) Pretty much every country at one point had slavery, there were also many that had the original inhabitants forced out of the lands to make way for other people. I don't see why it has to be mentioned. That is a history question, not a current events question. : I just added a bit about slavery and the Civil War to the history. I feel that the Civil War (and by association slavery) caused fundamental changes in America, and it needs to be in the summary. -- User:Dpark 23:16, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC) == Infobox == Is there something wrong? The infobox doesn't align to the right.--User:Jerryseinfeld 20:18, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Should the "Social issues" section be removed?== Why is the US the only country with "social issues" mentioned in the blurb? Is the US the only country with "social issues"? This puts wikipedia's supposed non-bias in doubt in my opinion. --Anonymous :Then add it for other countries. Sheesh, the lengths people will go through to find bias here. You are part of wikipedia, so be part of the solution. Though the section could perhaps be managed a little differently. --User:Golbez 05:15, Jan 18, 2005 (UTC) ::So I'm going to add "social issues" for 120 or so other countries? I think not. I don't think that social issues should be included at all, but I won't get rid of it. -- Anonymous ::Even adding them for ''one'' other country would be better than nothing -- or maybe you prefer complaining to contr