United States

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"America", "US", "USA", and "United States of America" redirect here. For the landmass
comprising North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean, see Americas. For other uses,
see America (disambiguation), US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States
(disambiguation).

Coordinates:  40°N 100°W
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United States of America

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto: 

"In God We Trust"[1]

Other traditional mottos:[show]

Anthem: 
 "The Star-Spangled Banner"

MENU

0:00

March: 
"The Stars and Stripes Forever"[3][4]

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0:00

Great Seal:

The United States, including its territories

 Capital Washington, D.C.
38°53′N 77°01′W

Largest city New York City

40°43′N 74°00′W

Official languages None at federal level[a]

National language English

Ethnic groups  By race:

(2018)[7]
76.5% White
13.4% Black
5.9% Asian
2.7% Other/multiracial
1.3% Native American
0.2% Pacific Islander
Ethnicity:

18.3% Hispanic or Latino
81.7% non-Hispanic or Latino

Demonym(s) American[b][8]

Government Federal presidential constitutional
republic

• President Donald Trump (R)

• Vice President[c] Mike Pence (R)

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D)

• Chief Justice John Roberts

Legislature Congress

• Upper house Senate

• Lower house House of Representatives

Independence 

from Great Britain
• Declaration July 4, 1776

• Articles of March 1, 1781

Confederation

• Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783

• Current constitution June 21, 1788

• Bill of Rights September 25, 1789

• Last state admitted August 21, 1959 (Hawaii)

• Last amendment May 5, 1992

Area

• Total area 3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,520 km2)[d]

[9]
 (3rd/4th)

• Water (%) 6.97

• Total land area 3,531,905 sq mi (9,147,590 km2)

Population

• 2019 estimate  328,239,523[7] (3rd)

• 2010 census 308,745,538[e][10] (3rd)

• Density 87/sq mi (33.6/km2) (146th)

GDP (PPP) 2020 estimate

• Total  $22.321 trillion[11] (2nd)

• Per capita  $67,426[11] (11th)

GDP (nominal) 2020 estimate

• Total  $22.321 trillion[11] (1st)

• Per capita  $67,426[11] (7th)

Gini (2017)  39.0[12]
medium · 56th
 HDI (2018)  0.920[13]
very high · 15th

Currency United States dollar ($) (USD)

Time zone UTC−4 to −12, +10, +11

• Summer (DST) UTC−4 to −10[f]

Date format mm/dd/yyyy

yyyy-mm-dd

Mains electricity 120 V–60 Hz

Driving side right[g]

Calling code +1

ISO 3166 code US

Internet TLD Generic top-level domain

.com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov, .mil
ccTLD (generally not used in the
U.S.)
.us, .pr, .as, .gu, .mp, .vi, .um

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United

States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country mostly located in central North America,
between Canada and Mexico. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-
governing territories, and various possessions.[h] At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million
km2), it is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area.[d] With a 2019
estimated population of over 328 million,[7] the U.S. is the third most populous country in
the world. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000
years ago,[19] and European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States
emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous
disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary
War lasting between 1775 and 1783, leading to independence. [20] Beginning in the late
18th century, the United States vigorously expanded across North America,
gradually acquiring new territories,[21] killing and displacing Native Americans,
and admitting new states. By 1848, the United States spanned the continent.
[21]
 Slavery was legal in much of the United States from the 17th to second half of the
19th century, when the American Civil War led to its abolition.[22][23]
 The Spanish–American War and World War I entrenched the U.S. as a world power, a
status confirmed by the outcome of World War II. It was the first country to develop
nuclear weapons and is the only country to have used them in warfare. During the Cold
War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating
with the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon.
The end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States
as the world's sole superpower.[24]
The United States is a federal republic and a representative democracy. It is a founding
member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization
of American States (OAS), NATO, and other international organizations. It is
a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
A highly developed country, the United States is the world's largest economy by nominal
GDP, the second-largest by purchasing power parity, and accounts for approximately a
quarter of global GDP.[25] The United States is the world's largest importer and
the second-largest exporter of goods, by value.[26][27] Although its population is only 4.3%
of the world total,[28] it holds 29.4% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of
global wealth concentrated in a single country. [29] Despite income and wealth disparities,
the United States continues to rank very high in measures of socioeconomic
performance, including average wage, median income, median wealth, human
development, per capita GDP, and worker productivity.[30][31] It is the
foremost military power in the world, making up more than a third of global military
spending,[32] and is a leading political, cultural, and scientific force internationally.[33]

Contents

 1Etymology

 2History

o 2.1Indigenous peoples and pre-Columbian history

o 2.2Effects on and interaction with native populations

o 2.3European settlements

o 2.4Independence and expansion (1776–1865)

o 2.5Civil War and Reconstruction era

o 2.6Further immigration, expansion, and industrialization

o 2.7World War I, Great Depression, and World War II

o 2.8Cold War and civil rights era

 o 2.9Contemporary history

 3Geography, climate, and environment

o 3.1Wildlife and conservation

 4Demographics

o 4.1Population

o 4.2Language

o 4.3Religion

o 4.4Family structure

o 4.5Health

o 4.6Education

 5Government and politics

o 5.1Political divisions

o 5.2Parties and elections

o 5.3Foreign relations

o 5.4Government finance

o 5.5Military

 6Law enforcement and crime

 7Economy

o 7.1Science and technology

o 7.2Income, poverty and wealth

 8Infrastructure

o 8.1Transportation

o 8.2Energy

o 8.3Water supply and sanitation

 9Culture
 o 9.1Literature, philosophy, and visual art

o 9.2Food

o 9.3Music

o 9.4Cinema

o 9.5Sports

o 9.6Mass media

 10See also

 11Notes

 12References

 13Further reading

 14External links

Etymology
See also: Naming of the Americas, Names for United States citizens, and American (word)

The first known use of the name "America" dates back to 1507, when it appeared on a
world map created by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller. On this map, the
name applied to South America in honor of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.
[34]
 After returning from his expeditions, Vespucci first postulated that the West Indies did
not represent Asia's eastern limit, as initially thought by Christopher Columbus, but
instead were part of an entirely separate landmass thus far unknown to the Europeans.
[35]
 In 1538, the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator used the name "America" on
his own world map, applying it to the entire Western Hemisphere.[36]
The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" dates from a
January 2, 1776 letter written by Stephen Moylan, Esq., to Lt. Col. Joseph
Reed, George Washington's aide-de-camp and Muster-Master General of
the Continental Army. Moylan expressed his wish to go "with full and ample powers
from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the revolutionary
war effort.[37][38][39] The first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was
in an anonymous essay in The Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia, on
April 6, 1776.[40]
The second draft of the Articles of Confederation, prepared by John Dickinson and
completed no later than June 17, 1776, declared "The name of this Confederation shall
be the 'United States of America'".[41] The final version of the Articles sent to the states
for ratification in late 1777 contains the sentence "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be
'The United States of America'".[42] In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the phrase
"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his "original
Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence.[41] This draft of the document did not
surface until June 21, 1776, and it is unclear whether it was written before or after
Dickinson used the term in his June 17 draft of the Articles of Confederation. [41]
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; it appears in the name "District of
Columbia." Many landmarks and institutions in the Western Hemisphere bear his name,
including the country of Colombia.[43]
The phrase "United States" was originally plural, a description of a collection of
independent states—e.g., "the United States are"—including in the Thirteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865.[44] The singular form—
e.g., "the United States is"—became popular after the end of the Civil War. The singular
form is now standard; the plural form is retained in the idiom "these United States." The
difference is more significant than usage; it is a difference between a collection of states
and a unit.[45]
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.[46]

History
Main articles: History of the United States, Timeline of United States history, American
business history, Economic history of the United States, and Labor history of the United States

Indigenous peoples and pre-Columbian history

Further information: Native Americans in the United States and Pre-Columbian era

The Cliff Palace, built by ancient Native American Puebloans around 1190 AD

It has been generally accepted that the first inhabitants of North America migrated

from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 12,000 years ago;
however, increasing evidence suggests an even earlier arrival. [19][47][48] After crossing the
land bridge, the first Americans moved southward along the Pacific coast [49] and through
an interior ice-free corridor.[50] The Clovis culture, which appeared around 11,000 BC,
was initially believed to represent the first wave of human settlement of the Americas. [51]
[52]
 Increasing evidence has also been found for "pre-Clovis" cultures, including the
recent discovery of tools dating back some 15,550 years. It is likely these represent the
first of three major waves of migration into North America. [53]
Over time, indigenous cultures in North America grew increasingly complex, and some,
such as the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture in the southeast, developed advanced
agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies. [54] The Mississippian culture
flourished in the south from 800 to 1600 AD, extending from the Mexican border down
through Florida.[55] Its city state Cahokia is the largest, most complex pre-
Columbian archaeological site in the modern-day United States.[56] In the Four
Corners region, Ancestral Puebloan culture developed from centuries of agricultural
experimentation.[57]
Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States are credited to the
Pueblos: Mesa Verde National Park, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and Taos
Pueblo.[58][59] The earthworks constructed by Native Americans of the Poverty
Point culture have also been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the
southern Great Lakes region, the Iroquois Confederacy was established at some point
between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.[60] Most prominent along the Atlantic coast
were the Algonquian tribes, who practiced hunting and trapping, along with limited
cultivation.
Effects on and interaction with native populations
Further information: American Indian Wars, Population history of indigenous peoples of the
Americas, and Native American disease and epidemics

Alaskan Alutiiq dancer in traditional festival garb

With the progress of European colonization in the territories of the contemporary United
States, the Native Americans were often conquered and displaced.[61] The native
population of America declined after European arrival for various reasons, [62][63] primarily
diseases such as smallpox and measles.[64][65]
Estimating the native population of North America at the time of European contact is
difficult.[66][67] Douglas H. Ubelaker of the Smithsonian Institution estimated that there was
a population of 92,916 in the south Atlantic states and a population of 473,616 in the
Gulf states[68], but most academics regard this figure as too low. [66] Anthropologist Henry
F. Dobyns believed the populations were much higher, suggesting 1,100,000 along the
shores of the gulf of Mexico, 2,211,000 people living
between Florida and Massachusetts, 5,250,000 in the Mississippi Valley and tributaries
and 697,000 people in the Florida peninsula.[66][67]
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. In
many cases, however, natives and settlers came to depend on each other. Settlers
traded for food and animal pelts; natives for guns, ammunition and other European
goods.[69] Natives taught many settlers 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. [70][71]
European settlements
Further information: Colonial history of the United States, European colonization of the
Americas, and Thirteen Colonies

Mayflower  in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall

With the advancement of European colonization in North America, the Native

Americans were often conquered and displaced.[72] The first Europeans to arrive in the
contiguous United States were Spanish conquistadors such as Juan Ponce de León,
who made his first visit to Florida in 1513. Even earlier, Christopher Columbus landed
in Puerto Rico on his 1493 voyage. The Spanish set up the first settlements in Florida
and New Mexico such as Saint Augustine[73] and Santa Fe. Th