United States

The United States of America (USA) (French: États-Unis d'Amérique; Hawaiian: ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa), commonly referred to as America or the United States, is a federal republic composed of sixty two states, nine territories and a federal district. At 6,375,412 square miles (16,512,421 squre kilometers) and over 290 million people, the United States is the second largest country in the world and TBD most populous. The capital is Georgetown, while the largest city and metropolitan area is in New York City. The United States shares a border with Mexico to the south, California, Lower Columbia and Sonora to the west, and Acadia to the east. The nation also shares maritime borders with Greenland, Venezuela, Cuba, and various other island nations.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago, with European colonization beginning in the 16th century. France established a Huguenot Colony at Charlesfort (now Charleston) in 1562 which remains the oldest permanently settled site in the United States. During the French and Indian War, Carolina rebelled against the French, which was the second independent republic in the Western Hemisphere after Aquilona. Great Britain failed to recognize the republic, yet allowed it to become a British protectorate. Following the end of the war, the British controlled all North American territory east of the Mississippi. Restrictive policies and increasing taxes caused the American Troubles. This resulted in the creation of a confederation of the Thirteen British colonies known as the United Provinces. The government of the United Provinces was briefly suspended in 1788 after failing to pay its tax quota, leading to the creation of a new federal constitution. The United Provinces and Carolina expanded significantly following the Napoleonic Wars, as the newly acquired territory of Louisiana was split between the two. In 1839, a legal question of whether Queen Victoria could end slavery in the United Provinces, led to Virginia, Maryland, and several other southern provinces breaking away into new Dominions. The move ultimately led to the collapse of the United Provinces, with ten dominions being created in its place. In 1861, Texas voluntarily became a British commonwealth facing major debt, and Britain acquired Alaska following the Crimean War.

From the mid-1870s, many of the British dominions began to rapidly industrialize, especially those in the Mid-Atlantic region. The industrialization process brought the Dominions together economically, and a customs union and free trade area were formed. The lobbying of the North American dominions were able to force Britain to declare war on Spain in the Spanish-British War of 1898, which resulted in a new supranational body governing Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Phillipines. Rising pan-North American sentiment led to eleven British Dominions, along with Hawaii, Bermuda, and The Bahamas signing the United States Constitution in 1925. With its formation, the United States became a global power, and its independence was confirmed in the Statute of Westminster in 1931. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Negotiations between the United States and West Indies Federation led to the US acquiring many former-British colonies in the Caribbean. A major civil rights movement led to the Civil Rights Amendment ending discrimination based on skin color or gender and established the United States as a full liberal democracy. During the Cold War the United States attempted to contain communist ideologies supported by the Soviet Union. The end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union left the United States as the world's sole superpower. The United States declared war on Afganistan and Iraq following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Since 2012, Presidents Barack Obama and Nikki Haley have moved U.S. foreign policy toward supporting democracies and democratic movements rather than simply strategic interests.

The United States is a federal representative democracy, under a constitutional monarchy. The United States is a founding member of the Commonwealth of Nations, United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States (OAS), the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and other international organizations. Since 2019, the United States has also been a member of the Alliance of Independent Nations. The nation serves as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and is a founding member of the G7. The United States is a highly developed country, the world's largest by nominal GDP and TBD largest by GDP (PPP). The United States ranks highly in several measures of socioeconomic performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP, and productivity per person. While the American economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services, the country still retains a significant manufacturing sector. The United States is one the foremost military power worldwide, the worlds largest military spender by a wide margin.

Etymology
In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America in honor of the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci (Latin: Americus Vespucius). The phrase, United States of America derives from the United Provinces of America which was a precursor to the modern nation. During the First and Second Continental Congresses, multiple documents were titled with these United Provinces of Northern America to connotate the Thirteen colonies, and occasionally Quebec. The Articles of Confederation was the first document to officially call the confederation, the United Provinces of America. The name officially remained in place until its dissolution. However, Pan-North Americans often used the term a "New United Provinces" when talking about a second federal country, which would encompass all of British North America.

During the Detroit Conference in 1924, much attention was paid to the new name of the country. The term "United Provinces" was popular among many of the Dominions that once made up the country, yet it failed to yield much support from Carolina, Canada, Texas, or Hawaii. Virginia, Maryland, and Missouri also voiced reservations to using the name, worried that a new United Provinces might use the former nation for legal precedent. It was also widely assumed that since most Dominions were federal, that the federal government would disband, and it would be the subdivisions that became primary subdivisions of the new nation. In quite a few Dominions, the term "state" was used, especially in Carolina and Missouri. The framers also looked at Australia's Consitution, which called its primary subdivisions "states". As a compromise, President Lucas Bosch of Carolina presented the term United States of America, as a compromise between United Provinces, and a completely unique name. The name gained widespread support and was listed on documents from the Detroit Conference. The name was officially coined in 1925 during the writing of the Consitution of the United States in Ottawa.

The short form "United States" is also standard. Other common forms are the "U.S.", the "USA", and "America". Colloquial names are the "U.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "Columbia", a name popular in poetry and songs of the late 18th century, derives its origin from Christopher Columbus; many landmarks and institutions in the Western Hemisphere bear his name, including the country of Colombia.

A citizen of the United States is an "American". "United States", "American" and "U.S." refer to the country adjectivally ("American values", "U.S. forces"). In English, the word "American" rarely refers to topics or subjects not directly connected with the United States.

Indigenous people and European contact
Legally, indigenous people of the United States are known as "Aboriginals", a term which is found in legal documents, including the United States Consitution in 1925. However, the term "Indian" or "American Indian" is still common, mostly in areas south of the Mason-Dixon line.

The first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 15,000 years ago, though increasing evidence suggests an even earlier arrival. After crossing the strait, scholars beleive the first Americans moved along the Pacific coast, and along an ice-free cooridor between the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets. Around 11,000 BC, the Clovis culture appeared, which is seen as the ancestor to many indigenous cultures in the United States.

Overtime, indigenous cultures became increasingly complex. Some, such as the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture, developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies. The Mississippian cultures also built the city of Cahokia, the largest and most-complex indigenous city in the modern-day United States. The Chammaro people originated from Southeast Asia and settled in the Mariana Islands as early as 2000 BC. The settlement of the Hawaiian Islands is a topic of continual debate, although evidence shows that settlement was as early as 124 AD.

The first contacts between Europeans and Native Americans happened by Norsemen almost 500 years before Columbus discovered the New World. A number of surviving Norsemen sagas detail expeditions to modern-day Acadia. The Norsemen are also known to have discovered the far-Northeastern United States around Quebec and Ungava.

Christopher Columbus discovered the modern-day United States during his first voyage in 1492, landing in the Bahamas. The first European to arrive on the United States mainland was likely Ponce de Leon who explored Florida in 1513. After the Spanish conquistadors made the first contacts, the native population declined for various reasons, primarily from diseases such as smallpox and measles. Violence was not a significant factor in the overall decline among Native Americans, though conflict among themselves and with Europeans affected specific tribes and various colonial settlements. As Europeans moved inland, they often displaced the Native tribes furthering this problem. In the early days of colonization, many European settlers were subject to food shortages, disease, and attacks from Native Americans. Native Americans were also often at war with neighboring tribes and allied with Europeans in their colonial wars. At the same time, however, many natives and settlers came to depend on each other. Settlers traded for food and animal pelts, natives for guns, ammunition and other European wares. Natives taught many settlers where, when and how to cultivate corn, beans, and squash. European missionaries and others felt it was important to "civilize" the Native Americans and urged them to adopt European agricultural techniques and lifestyles.

European settlements
The first European settlement in the modern-United States was in 1508, as the Spanish set up a settlement known as Caparra in Puerto Rico. The Spanish also set up early settlements on the mainland of North America, such as Saint Augustine in East Florida, and Santa Fe in Texas.

In 1562, Charles IX, under the leadership of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny sent Jean Ribault and a group of Huguenot settlers in an attempt to colonize the Atlantic coast and found a colony on a territory which will take the name of the French Florida. They discovered the probe and Port Royal Island, which is now called by Parris Island in South Carolina, on which he built a fort named Charlesfort. The settlement grew, yet was plagued by disease issues on its present location. Therefore, the fort was later moved further to the north, on the site of present-day Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to Carolina, the French also began to establish colonies along the Mississippi River valley and Saint Lawerence River valley. Settlement in these colonies was restricted to only French Catholics, yet received little migration compared to the English colonies.

The first successful English colony in Jamestown was founded in 1607 in Virginia. The English also began colonizing settlements in modern-day Newfoundland in Acadia in 1610, and the Pilgrims established the Plymouth Colony in 1620. Throughout both the French and English colonies, the vast majority of people who migrated to the colonies were dissenting Christian groups. In the English colonies, most groups migrated by choice. However, in Carolina, the French and Aranese governments often deported Huguenots to Carolina, in order to rid them from the European mainland. The continents first legislative assembly, the House of Burgesses in Virginia, the Mayflower Compact signed by the Pilgrims before arriving in Plymouth, and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for the pattern of representative self-government and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies.

Most settlers in every colony were small farmers, but other industries developed within a few decades as varied as the settlements. Cash crops included tobacco, rice, and wheat. Extraction industries grew up in furs, fishing and lumber. Manufacturers produced rum and ships, and by the late colonial period, Americans were producing one-seventh of the world's iron supply. Cities eventually dotted the coast to support local economies and serve as trade hubs. In the English colonies, English colonists were supplemented by waves of Scotch-Irish and other groups. As coastal land grew more expensive, freed indentured servants pushed further west.

A large-scale slave trade with both English and French privateers was begun, starting in the early 17th century. The life expectancy of slaves was much higher in mainland North America than further south, because of less disease and better food and treatment, leading to a rapid increase in the numbers of slaves. The West Indies received the most amount of slaves from the slave trade, and they were used to harvest sugar crops which were dominant in the local economies. As such, slaves began to outnumber European colonists in many islands in the West Indies, a demographic trend that continues to the modern-day. Colonial society was largely divided over the religious and moral implications of slavery, and colonies passed acts for and against the practice. As slavery was more practical in regions closer to the Tropic of Cancer, colonies in the Caribbean, Carolina, and the southern English colonies were more open to slavery. Whereas French and English colonies to the north tended to be against the practice on a moral basis. By the 18th century, African slaves began replacing indentured servants, especially in Carolina and the southern regions of the English colonies.

In the English colonies, most colonies on the mainland had elected assemblies, with elections open to most free men. Increasingly, there was a devotion to the Rights of Englishmen and a sense of self-government stimulated support for self-rule. The Great Awakening during the 1730s and 1740s effected both Carolina and the British colonies, while building demand for both religion and religious liberties. Nearly simultaneously, several high-profile enlightenment thinkers from France fled Europe and settled in Carolina, looking to escape persecution. Their ideas were spread throughout the colony and created tremendous demand for self-government. By the late 1740s, many cities in Carolina had city councils, and there was an increasing demand for a unified Carolinian legislative body. However, during this same time period, the French government began to expand its controls over Carolina in order to control the lucrative tobacco trade.

Carolinian independence and the American Troubles
During the French and Indian War (part of the larger Seven Years War), British forces attempted to sieze Canada and Carolina from the French Government. The French's expectation of Carolinian based militias failed to materialize, as many people in the colony had little to no allegiance to the French Crown. As the British began to push into modern-day North Carolina, they were often joined by Carolinian men and were greeted with little resistance. However, as the British allied Cherokee began to raid towns in the Appalachian public opinion began to turn on the British. Many believed that neither the British or French could represent Carolinian interests. With the French government pushed out of modern-day North Carolina, delegates met in New Bern to attend the First Carolinian National Assembly. The National Assembly agreed to declare independence and align themselves with the British in the war.

The British supported the declaration of independence and protected New Bern from French attempts to attack the National Assembly. Recognizing the republic was intensely debated by Parliament in 1756. Yet recognition was ultimately declined, as many feared that the newly independent republics of Carolina and Aquilona would serve as inspiration for the British Colonies. By the latter years of the war, Carolina was primarily under the military control of the British. While a war for independence was debated, it was widely agreed that the Carolinians would not be able to win a war against the British. In 1762, the Carolinians sent an envoy to London in order to change the decision of Parliament regarding recognition. The British made their position clear, they would not accept an independent republic in the Americas. After a long discussion, the British eventually agreed to give the Carolinian's protectorate status, where they could control their internal affairs while handing external affairs to the British. This was a codified form of the benign neglect policy, practiced in the British colonies. The talks ended in the London Agreement of 1762 and the Carolina Act of 1762. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the French surrendered all North American claims east of the Mississippi River to the British.

Following the end of the war, British Americans began moving west into formerly French territories in the Ohio Valley. This sparked an American Indian rebellion known as Pontiac's Rebellion. The British gained the upper hand in the conflict but passed the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which forbade settlers from moving west of the Appalachian and created the Province of Quebec from New France. In order to pay for the defense of the colonies, the British began to levy new taxes on the colonies. These taxes were not recieved well by the American Public, and Parliament was forced to repeal several. However, Parliament's insistence that the colonies pay additional taxes continued to engrage citizens of the Thirteen middle colonies. Anger of taxes culminated in the Boston Tea Party, which was met by the passage of the Intolerable Acts. Delegates from the thirteen British colonies met in Philadelphia in the First Continental Congress. John Jay proposed the Jay Plan, which would allow the colonies to form their own government and remain a dominion of Great Britain. The plan initially didn’t gain much traction in Parliament and was tabled until the following session. However, the declaration of Acadian independence, unrest in Carolina, and Quebec’s appearance at the Second Continental Congress caused worry in London that all of North America would break out into rebellion. Parliament approved the Jay Plan, and wrote to the Second Continental Congress, giving them until August 1, 1776, to write a new system of government for America. The new American government had control over most internal affairs, but Parliament reserved the right to legislate for them, and they had to pay for their own defense. On July 4, 1776, the Articles of Confederation were signed and Parliament passed the Articles on August 2.

John Hancock became the first Prime Minister of the newly formed United Provinces. A government of national unity was formed, with no political parties present, a request from George Washington, a delegate from Virginia. Hancock resigned from Prime Minister in 1777 and was succeeded by Henry Laurens and John Jay. The new United Provinces found a supportive populace, with both loyalists and patriots content over the compromise. Many of the taxes and acts that colonists had rebelled against were repealed within the first year. However, the confederation government largely lacked the ability to tax. The individual provinces were to come up with their own revenue to give to the Congress, who in turn was to give the money to Britain. Yet, provinces often came up short or refused to hand over funds to the Congress. From 1779 to 1787, Congress was not able to meet their tax quota in order to pay for national defense. Irritated, Parliament passed the North American Ultimatum, demanding that Congress pay its debt to London, or its Dominion status would be terminated. Congress could not collect the payments in time, and on June 18, 1787, Parliament voted to disband the United Provinces and restore direct rule.

The Third Continental Congress opened on August 8 in Providence, Rhode Island. Delegates were furious over Britain’s recent actions, and several called for independence. The Congress agreed to a special envoy composed of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to London, to speak on behalf of the Americans to Parliament. William Pitt the Younger allowed the Americans to plead their case. Whigs supported the Americans, however, Conservative Members of Parliament lined up against the move. Adams and Jefferson came home without a deal. This prompted the Montreal Resolves, which called for a recreation of the United Provinces and to prepare for war with Britain. The news from Providence soon arrived in Charlesbourg, which prompted debate on whether Carolina should join the northern colonies. George Washington, who was now President of the Congress, made one last appeal to Pitt to resolve the crisis before a full-fledged war broke out. With the King’s mental health breaking down in the summer in 1788, Pitt was inclined to make a deal with the Americans. It was agreed that if the United Provinces could form a new government and could defend themselves, they could achieve legislative independence. The deal was similar to the situation with Ireland and Carolina at the time. The Continental Congress narrowly voted in favor of the resolution. A constitutional convention was held in 1789 in Philadelphia, which produced the United Provinces Constitution. The King reserved some powers in the Constitution, however, the monarchy was mostly ceremonial and executive power was concentrated in the hands of a new President-General.

Following the ratification of the Constitution, American politics remained stable. Quebec never ratified the Constitution and returned to direct rule by the British. George Washington became the first President-General in 1790, and in 1792 it was agreed that the capital of the United Provinces would be moved to a new city called Georgetown between Virginia and Maryland. The United Provinces and Carolina declared war on France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. As a reward, the Province of Charlotiana and northern sections of Louisiana were given to the government in Georgetown. The Carolinian government received the modern-day states of Louisiana, Arcansas, and Sequoyah. In 1820, the Government of Massachusetts Bay gave independence to a portion of its territory called Marquette. The Governments in London and Georgetown protested the move, however, the newly crowned King George IV sought not to impose military action. This was mainly in fear that the United Provinces or the Massachusetts Bay Government might declare independence.

Since the 1788 agreement, American hardline-Republicans began leaving British America in favor of establishing a republic elsewhere. These settlers first moved into Louisiana. However, after the British takeover of the territory, these settlers moved further west into Mexico. At first, these settlers were welcomed as a part of Mexico in order to settle the sparsely populated northern territories. However, by 1835, Anglo-Americans were the largest ethnic group in Texas and we’re flocking into Alta and Baja California in droves. As Antonio López de Santa Anna attempted to concentrate power in Mexico City, the Texans rebelled to form their own Republic of Texas. Following the Battle of San Jacinto, Santa Ana was forced to recognize the republic, although a border dispute remained.

Nullification crisis
In 1833, slavery was ended across the British Empire with exceptions for the United Provinces and Carolina, as they had legislative independence. Slavery remained legal across Carolina and was legal in the states of Virginia, Delaware, Cumberland, Vandalia, Transylvania, Missouri and Maryland in the United Provinces. After Queen Victoria’s coronation, she sought to end slavery in both of the dominions. Considerable pressure was placed on the government and then President-General Henry Clay to end the practice. In 1839, after no results, Victoria utilized her royal powers to emancipate American slaves with paid emancipation.

With the Nat Turner slave rebellion in recent memory, Virginia moved to nullify the decree. The decree passed the General Assembly but failed to garner enough votes in the Continental Congress. Against the Governor’s wishes, hardline members of the General Assembly voted in favor of renouncing its union with the United Provinces and expressed interest in joining Carolina, where slavery was still legal. This sparked unrest and Transylvania passed a near-exact copy of the resolves a month later.

Parliament saw this as an opportunity to divide the United Provinces, which was now becoming more populous than the British Isles. Parliament passed the Virginia Act in 1839, which broke away Virginia, Vandalia, Cumberland, and Transylvania from the United Provinces into the new Commonwealth of Virginia. The act was protested by the Continental Congress but also created renewed regionalism.

Maryland, Delaware, and Missouri all began debating Dominion status to deal with the slavery issue. The Dominion of Maryland and Dominion of Missouri were formed in February of 1840. The failure of the United Provinces to keep its territories and the loss of the national capital to Maryland struck a chord in the United Provincial psyche. The Whigs were soundly defeated in both the President-General and Congressional elections. Martin Van Buren was elected President-General with the Queen's approval. However, Congress became gridlocked, with some calling what the British had done illegal and against the 1788 agreement.

Congress eventually came to a standstill, with nothing being done, and violence sometimes erupting between opposing factions. The New England states agreed to meet in Hartford, in which they petitioned the British government for a separate dominion. That Dominion was granted in August of 1841. This sparked further unrest and in March of 1842, hardliners organized a militia and attempted to capture the Maryland city of Hagerstown. Maryland sent in its militias and the Battle of Hagerstown was a resounding Maryland victory.

With Congressional deadlock and tensions heating up, Parliament fatefully decided to divide the United Provinces in the name of preventing a civil war. Lands to the west of the Mississippi would be integrated into the Dominion of Missouri, given Missouri begin emancipating their slaves immediately. North and South Charlotiana, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and the Western Reserve became the Dominion of Charlotiana. New York became its own dominion. Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey were the remaining United Provinces, although the nation voted to change its name to the Dominion of Susquehanna in 1848.

By 1839, the debate in the Carolinian National Assembly had largely focused on the issue of slavery. The institution was legal across the country and the Carolinian economy was largely dominated by it. The 1839 Decree and the unrest that followed in the United Provinces began to motivate Carolinians to find a solution to their problems. Despite British guarantees to turn a blind eye to Carolinian slavery, mainly to prevent further unrest in the North American colonies, politicians still feared the imminent demise of slavery. President John C. Calhoun continued to spread this rhetoric and pushed it onto a national stage by 1842. Public opinion hardened in favor of slavery. By 1845, London decided not to pursue avenues to end slavery in Carolina, citing worry that the Carolinians could rebel. Victoria quoted “Its best not to anger Carolina, as they are the cornerstone of British America. They began a revolution in 1761 and they will do it again in 1846”.

Rising North America
The Republic of Texas and Mexico continued their longstanding border dispute throughout the 1840s. However, by 1845, Texas had grown impatient and was looking to secure its southern border at the Rio Grande. Texas placed troops into the disputed zone and declared war when Mexican troops opened fire. The war eventually pulled in the British, who had an alliance with Texas since 1841. The Mexican-Texan War was a crushing Mexican defeat, with coalition forces taking Mexico City by 1848. As a result, Texas’ border was recognized at the Rio Grande, while the British got guarantees toward debt payments.

Yet the war was incredibly costly to the Texans, and with the small number of people living in the Republic, it soon became problematic. Interest payments crept up through the 1850s, and while the population also increased, the tax revenue could not keep up. Additionally, British North Americans began moving into parts of northern and eastern Texas. They brought with them, their patriotism toward the monarchy. The 1859 presidential election saw the reelection of Sam Houston, a Virginian man who had a large role in the Texas Revolution. Houston inherited a Texas in the midst of a crisis. The nation was nearly bankrupt but declaring bankruptcy would most certainly lead to a British invasion. Desperate, Houston sent an envoy to London with an offer. Texas be given the same status as Carolina, in exchange for debt relief. The British agreed to the offer on the condition that Texas end slavery within its territory. Despite protests by the plantation elite, Congress passed a bill ending slavery with compensation from the British Empire. Parliament passed the Texas Act the following week.

During the Crimean War, the British landed an invasion of Russian Alaska, capturing the capital of New Archangel and major port of Juneau. In the Treaty of Paris (1856), Russia ceded Alaska to the United Kingdom, along with any claims it had to North America or Hawaii (a British protectorate). In 1867, the Confederation of Canada was formed, the last British North American dominion. In 1870, Canada gained control over Rupert's Land, and in 1871, Alaska was added to the confederation.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution reached the British North American dominions. By 1880, the Dominions were outpacing the British Isles in terms of industrial output. This was especially true in New York, New England, and Susquehanna. Industry was also showing promising signs in Charlotiana, Canada, Carolina, and Virginia. In 1886, the British Dominions agreed to a customs union, which was the first of its kind. This increased inter-dominion trade, but also put the industry in Carolina and Texas behind the northern dominions and Maryland, all which had new fledging industrial centers. By the late 1880s, Carolina ended slavery without conflict, despite an intense legal battle between the most conservative states and the Dominion government.