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{{Short description|Country primarily located in North America}}
#REDIRECT [[:simple:United States]]
{{Redirect-several|America|US|USA|The United States of America|United States}}
 
 
{{Use American English|date=September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = United States of America
| common_name            = United States
| image_flag            = Flag of the United States (DoS ECA Color Standard).svg
| alt_flag              = {{nbsp}} <!--Used to denote purely decorative images-->
| flag_type_article      = Flag of the United States
| image_coat            = Greater coat of arms of the United States.svg
| coat_alt              = {{nbsp}} <!--Used to denote purely decorative images-->
| symbol_type_article    = Great Seal of the United States#Obverse
| national_motto        = "[[In God We Trust]]"<ref>{{USC|36|302}}</ref>{{collapsible list
|title={{nowrap|Other traditional mottos:<ref name="de facto Motto">{{cite web|publisher=[[U.S. Department of State]], [[Bureau of Public Affairs]]|year=2003|url= https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/27807.pdf|title=The Great Seal of the United States|access-date=February 12, 2020}}</ref>}}
|titlestyle=background:transparent;text-align:center;line-height:1.15em;
|liststyle=text-align:center;white-space:nowrap;
|{{native phrase|la|"[[E pluribus unum]]"|italics=off}}<br />"Out of many, one"
|{{native phrase|la|"[[Annuit cœptis]]"|italics=off}}<br />"Providence favors our undertakings"
|{{native phrase|la|"[[Novus ordo seclorum]]"|italics=off}}<br />"New order of the ages"
  }}
| national_anthem        = "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]"<ref>{{cite act|date=March 3, 1931|article=14|article-type=H.R.|legislature=[[71st United States Congress]]|title=An Act To make The Star-Spangled Banner the national anthem of the United States of America|url=https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=46&page=1508}}</ref><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Star Spangled Banner instrumental.ogg]]</div>
<!-- Commented out, as not [[BP:DUE]] for lead.
| march="[[The Stars and Stripes Forever]]"{{sfn|Kidder|Oppenheim|2007|p=91}}<ref name="urluscode.house.gov">{{cite web|url=https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=112&page=1263|title=uscode.house.gov|date=August 12, 1999|website=Public Law 105-225|publisher=uscode.house.gov|pages=112 Stat. 1263|quote=Section 304. "The composition by John Philip Sousa entitled 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' is the national march."|access-date=September 10, 2017}}</ref><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:March, "The Stars and Stripes Forever" · Colonel John R. Bourgeois, Director · John Philip Sousa · United States Marine Band.ogg]]</div>
-->
<!-- Consensus map, see talk page. -->| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:USA orthographic.svg|frameless|alt=Orthographic map of the U.S. in North America]]|Show globe ([[U.S. state|states]] and [[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]] only)|[[File:US insular areas SVG.svg|upright=1.15|frameless|alt=World map showing the U.S. and its territories]]|Show the U.S. and [[Territories of the United States|its territories]]|[[File:NOAA Map of the US EEZ.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show territories with [[Exclusive economic zone of the United States|EEZ]]|default=1}}
| map_width              = 220px
| capital                = [[Washington, D.C.]]<br />{{coord|38|53|N|77|1|W|display=inline}}
| largest_city          = [[New York City]]<br />{{coord|40|43|N|74|0|W|display=inline}}
| official_languages    = None at the [[Federal government of the United States|federal level]]{{efn|name=officiallanguage|30 of 50 states recognize only English as an official language. The state of [[Hawaii]] recognizes both [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and English as official languages, the state of [[Alaska]] officially recognizes 20 [[Alaska Native languages]] alongside English, and the state of [[South Dakota]] recognizes [[Sioux language|O'ceti Sakowin]] as an official language.}}
| languages_type        = [[National language]]
| languages              = [[English language|English]] (''[[de facto]]'')
<!-- NOTE: For English, don't add "American English" -->| ethnic_groups          = {{plainlist|'''By race:'''
* 61.6% [[White Americans|White]]
* 12.4% [[African Americans|Black]]
* 6.0% [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
* 1.1% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]
* 0.2% [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]]
* 10.2% [[Multiracial Americans|two or more races]]
* 8.4% [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|other]]
}}
{{plainlist|'''By origin:'''
* 81.3% non-Hispanic or Latino
* 18.7% [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
}}
| ethnic_groups_year    = 2020
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="2020CensusData">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html|title=2020 Census Illuminates Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Country|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref><ref name="2020InteractiveCensusData">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html?linkId=100000060666476|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1014710483/2020-census-data-us-race-ethnicity-diversity|title=A Breakdown of 2020 Census Demographic Data|author=|date=August 13, 2021|website=NPR|publisher=|access-date=|quote=}}</ref>
| demonym                = [[Americans|American]]{{efn|name=demonym|The historical and informal demonym [[Yankee]] has been applied to Americans, New Englanders, or northeasterners since the 18th century.}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia and Fact-index: Ohio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uV5tvKPO684C&q=%22national+nicknames%22+Yankee|year=1963|page=336}}</ref>
| government_type        = [[Federalism in the United States|Federal]] [[presidential system|presidential]] [[republic|constitutional republic]]
<!-- Consensus is to list President, Vice President, Chief Justice, and House Speaker -->| leader_title1          = [[President of the United States|President]]
| leader_name1          = [[Joe Biden]]
| leader_title2          = [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]
| leader_name2          = [[Kamala Harris]]
| leader_title3          = [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]]
| leader_name3          = Vacant{{efn|[[Patrick McHenry]] is acting as [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives#Speaker pro tempore|Speaker ''pro tempore'']], a position separate from the office of speaker. Constitutionally, [[October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election|a majority vote by the House]] is required to elect a new speaker.}}
| leader_title4          = [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]]
| leader_name4          = [[John Roberts]]
| legislature            = [[United States Congress|Congress]]
| upper_house            = [[United States Senate|Senate]]
| lower_house            = [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
| sovereignty_type      = [[History of the United States|Independence]]
| sovereignty_note      = from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
| established_event1    = [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration]]
| established_date1      = {{Start date|1776|7|4}}
| established_event2    = [[Confederation Period|Confederation]]
| established_date2      = {{Start date|1781|3|1}}
| established_event3    = [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Recognized]]
| established_date3      = {{Start date|1783|9|3}}
| established_event4    = [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]]
| established_date4      = {{Start date|1788|6|21}}
| established_event5    = [[Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution|Last Amendment]]
| established_date5      = {{Start date|1992|5|5}}
| area_link              = Geography of the United States
| area_label            = Total area
| area_footnote          = <ref>Areas of the 50 states and the District of Columbia but not Puerto Rico nor other island territories per {{cite web| date = August 2010| title = State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates| work = [[Census.gov]]| url = https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html| access-date = March 31, 2020| quote = reflect base feature updates made in the MAF/TIGER database through August, 2010.}}</ref>
| area_rank              = 3rd{{efn|name=largestcountry}}
| area_sq_mi            = 3,796,742
| percent_water          = 4.66<ref>{{cite web|title=Surface water and surface water change|access-date=October 11, 2020|publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] (OECD)|url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER#|date=2015}}</ref> (2015)
| area_label2            = Land area
| area_data2            = {{convert|3,531,905|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}} (3rd)
| population_census      = 331,449,281{{efn|name="pop"}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2020-census-apportionment-results.htmlpid=2020CENSUS&src=pt|title=Census Bureau's 2020 Population Count|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=April 26, 2021}} The 2020 census is as of April 1, 2020. {{dead link|date=August 2023}}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2020
| population_estimate    = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 333,287,557<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bureau |first=US Census |title=Growth in U.S. Population Shows Early Indication of Recovery Amid COVID-19 Pandemic |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/2022-population-estimates.html |access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=Census.gov}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2022
| population_census_rank = 3rd
| population_density_sq_mi = 87<!-- Figure uses (population/land + water area) as of July 2019. -->
| population_density_rank = 185th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $26.949&nbsp;trillion<ref name="IMF.WEO.US">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=111,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (US) |website=IMF.org |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |date=October 10, 2023 |access-date=October 10, 2023 }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year          = 2023
| GDP_PPP_rank          = 2nd
| GDP_PPP_per_capita    = {{increase}} $80,412<ref name="IMF.WEO.US" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 8th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $26.949&nbsp;trillion<ref name="IMF.WEO.US" />
| GDP_nominal_year      = 2023
| GDP_nominal_rank      = 1st
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $80,412<ref name="IMF.WEO.US" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 7th
| Gini                  = 39.4<!-- Number only. -->
| Gini_year              = 2020
| Gini_change            = increase
| Gini_ref              = {{efn|After adjustment for taxes and transfers}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2021/demo/income-poverty/p60-273.html|title=Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020|first=US Census|last=Bureau|newspaper=Census.gov |page=48|access-date=July 26, 2022}}</ref>
| HDI                    = 0.921<!-- Number only. -->
| HDI_year              = 2021<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year. -->
| HDI_change            = increase<!-- Increase/decrease/steady. -->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2021/2022|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=September 8, 2022|access-date=September 8, 2022}}</ref>
| HDI_rank              = 21st
| currency              = [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] ($)
| currency_code          = USD
| utc_offset            = −4 to −12, +10, +11
| utc_offset_DST        = −4 to −10{{efn|name="time"}}
| date_format            = mm/dd/yyyy{{efn|See [[Date and time notation in the United States]].}}
| drives_on              = Right{{efn|name="drive"}}
| calling_code          = [[North American Numbering Plan|+1]]
| iso3166code            = US
| cctld                  = [[.us]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cozab.com/the-difference-between-us-vs-com/|title=The Difference Between .us vs .com|date=January 3, 2022|website=Cozab|access-date=August 11, 2023|archive-date=April 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416200528/https://cozab.com/the-difference-between-us-vs-com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| religion              = {{ublist|item_style=white-space:nowrap;
|{{Tree list}}
* 63% [[Christianity in the United States|Christianity]]
** 40% [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]]
** 21% [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholicism]]
** 2% other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
|29% [[Irreligion in the United States|unaffiliated]]
|1% [[Buddhism in the United States|Buddhism]]
|1% [[Hinduism in the United States|Hinduism]]
|1% [[Islam in the United States|Islam]]
|1% [[American Jews|Judaism]]
|2% [[Religion in the United States|other]]
|2% unanswered
  }}
| religion_year          = 2021
| religion_ref          = <ref name="Pew2021">{{cite web|title=About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/|website=Measuring Religion in Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=December 21, 2021|date=December 14, 2021}}</ref>
}}
The '''United States of America''' ('''USA'''), commonly known as the '''United States''' ('''U.S.''') or simply '''America''', is a country primarily located in [[North America]] and consisting of 50 [[U.S. state|states]], a [[Federal district of the United States|federal district]], five major [[unincorporated territories]], and nine [[United States Minor Outlying Islands|Minor Outlying Islands]].{{efn|The five major territories are [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], [[Puerto Rico]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands]]. There are eleven smaller island areas without permanent populations: [[Baker Island]], [[Howland Island]], [[Jarvis Island]], [[Johnston Atoll]], [[Kingman Reef]], [[Midway Atoll]], and [[Palmyra Atoll]]. U.S. sovereignty over [[Bajo Nuevo Bank]], [[Navassa Island]], [[Serranilla Bank]], and [[Wake Island]] is disputed.<ref>U.S. State Department, [https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/179780.htm Common Core Document to U.N. Committee on Human Rights], December 30, 2011, Item 22, 27, 80. And U.S. General Accounting Office Report, [https://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf U.S. Insular Areas: application of the U.S. Constitution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103093032/https://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf|date=November 3, 2013 }}, November 1997, pp. 1, 6, 39n. Both viewed April 6, 2016.</ref>}} It includes 326 [[Indian reservation]]s. It is the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by area|third-largest]] country by both land and total area.{{efn|At {{cvt|9,147,590|km2|order=flip}}, the United States is the third-largest country in the world by land area, behind [[Russia]] and [[China]]. By total area (land and water), it is the third-largest behind Russia and [[Canada]], if its coastal and territorial water areas are included. However, if only its internal waters are included (bays, sounds, rivers, lakes, and the [[Great Lakes]]), the U.S. is the fourth-largest, after Russia, Canada, and China.
<br />
<br />
Coastal/territorial waters included: {{cvt|9,833,517|km2|order=flip}}<ref>{{cite web|title=China|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/|access-date=June 10, 2016|website=[[CIA World Factbook]]}}</ref>
<br />
Only internal waters included: {{cvt|9,572,900|km2|order=flip}}<ref>{{cite web|title=United States|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/616563/United-States-quick-facts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219194413/https://www.britannica.com/topic/616563/United-States-quick-facts|archive-date=December 19, 2013|access-date=January 31, 2010|website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>|name=largestcountry}} It shares land borders [[Canada–United States border|with Canada]] to its north and [[Mexico–United States border|with Mexico]] to its south and has maritime borders with [[the Bahamas]], [[Cuba]], [[Russia]], and [[Borders of the United States|other nations]].{{efn|The United States has a maritime border with the [[British Virgin Islands]], a British territory, since the BVI borders the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States-Virgin-Islands.|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|edition=Online|title=United States Virgin Islands|access-date=July 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429112829/https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States-Virgin-Islands|archive-date=April 29, 2020 |quote=[...]which also contains its near neighbor, the British Virgin Islands.}}</ref> BVI is a [[British Overseas Territory]] but itself is not a part of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/946074/UKOTs_Information_Paper.pdf|title=United Kingdom Overseas Territories – Toponymic Information|publisher=[[Present Committee on Geographic Names]]|access-date=January 7, 2023}} – Hosted on the [[Government of the United Kingdom]] website.</ref> [[Puerto Rico]] has a maritime border with the [[Dominican Republic]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Puerto-RicoBritannica.com|title=Puerto Rico|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|edition=Online|access-date=July 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702120024/https://www.britannica.com/place/Puerto-Rico|archive-date=July 2, 2020 }}</ref> [[American Samoa]] has a maritime border with the [[Cook Islands]], maintained under the [[Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty]].<ref>Anderson, Ewan W. (2003). International Boundaries: A Geopolitical Atlas. Routledge: New York. {{ISBN|9781579583750}}; OCLC 54061586</ref><ref>Charney, Jonathan I., David A. Colson, Robert W. Smith. (2005). International Maritime Boundaries, 5 vols. Hotei Publishing: Leiden.</ref> American Samoa also has maritime borders with [[Samoa|independent Samoa]] and [[Niue]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pacgeo.org/static/maritimeboundaries/Pacgeo.org.|title=Pacific Maritime Boundaries|website=pacgeo.org|access-date=July 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731224602/https://www.pacgeo.org/static/maritimeboundaries/|archive-date=July 31, 2020 }}</ref>}} With a population of over 333 million,{{efn|The [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] provides a continuously updated but unofficial population clock in addition to [[United States census|its decennial census]] and [[Population Estimates Program|annual population estimates]]: [https://www.census.gov/popclock/ www.census.gov/popclock]|name=pop clock}} it is the [[List of countries in the Americas by population|most populous]] country in the [[Americas]] and the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|third-most populous]] in the world. The national capital of the United States is [[Washington, D.C.]], and its [[List of United States cities by population|most populous]] city and principal [[Financial centre|financial center]] is [[New York City]].
 
<!-- History -->
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous peoples]] have inhabited the Americas for thousands of years. Beginning in 1607, [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonization]] led to the establishment of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] in what is now the [[Eastern United States]]. They clashed with the [[The Crown|British Crown]] over taxation and [[No taxation without representation|political representation]], which led to the [[American Revolution]] and the ensuing [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. The United States [[United States Declaration of Independence|declared independence]] on July 4, 1776, becoming the first [[Nation state|nation-state]] founded on [[American Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] principles of [[Natural rights and legal rights|unalienable natural rights]], [[consent of the governed]], and [[liberal democracy]]. The country began [[Territorial evolution of the United States|expanding across]] North America, spanning the continent by 1848. Sectional division over [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] led to the secession of the [[Confederate States of America]], which fought the remaining states of the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] during the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865). With the Union's victory and preservation, slavery was [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|abolished nationally]]. By 1900, the United States had established itself as a [[great power]], becoming the world's [[List of countries by largest historical GDP|largest]] economy. After [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]'s [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in 1941, the U.S. entered [[World War II]] on the [[Allies of World War II|side of the Allies]]. The [[Aftermath of World War II|aftermath of the war]] left the United States and the [[Soviet Union]] as the world's two [[superpower]]s and led to the [[Cold War]]. During the Cold War, both countries engaged in a struggle for ideological dominance but avoided direct military conflict. They also competed in the [[Space Race]], which culminated in the 1969 landing of [[Apollo 11]], making the U.S. the only nation to land humans on the [[Moon]]. With the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union's collapse]] and the [[Revolutions of 1989|subsequent end of the Cold War in 1991]], the United States emerged as the world's sole superpower.
 
<!-- Government and citizens -->
The [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] is a [[federal republic]] and a [[representative democracy]] with [[Separation of powers under the United States Constitution|three separate branches of government]]: [[Federal government of the United States#Executive branch|executive]], [[United States Congress|legislative]], and [[Supreme Court of the United States|judicial]]. It has a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] national legislature composed of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], a [[lower house]] based on population, and the [[United States Senate|Senate]], an [[upper house]] based on equal representation for each [[U.S. state|state]]. Many policy issues are [[Decentralization|decentralized]] at a state or local level, with [[Political ideology of states in the United States|widely differing laws]] by jurisdiction. The U.S. [[International rankings of the United States|ranks highly]] in international measures of [[Human Development Index|quality of life]], [[Income in the United States|income]] and [[Affluence in the United States|wealth]], [[Global Competitiveness Report#2022 rankings|economic competitiveness]], [[Human rights in the United States|human rights]], [[Global Innovation Index|innovation]], and [[Education in the United States|education]]; it has low levels of [[Corruption Perceptions Index|perceived corruption]]. It has higher levels of [[United States incarceration rate|incarceration]] and [[Inequality in the United States (disambiguation)|inequality]] than most other liberal democracies and is the only liberal democracy without [[universal healthcare]]. As a [[melting pot]] of cultures and ethnicities, the U.S. has been drastically shaped by the world's largest [[History of immigration to the United States|immigrant population]].
 
<!-- Economy and global perspective -->
[[developed country|Highly developed]], the U.S. has the [[Disposable household and per capita income#Disposable income per capita (OECD)|greatest disposable income per capita]] and by far the [[List of countries by total wealth|largest]] amount of wealth of any country. The [[Economy of the United States|American economy]] accounts for approximately a quarter of global [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] and is the world's [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|largest]] by nominal GDP. The U.S. is the world's [[List of countries by imports|largest]] importer and [[List of countries by exports|second-largest]] exporter, as well as the [[List of largest consumer markets|largest]] consumer market. It is a founding member of the [[United Nations]], the [[World Bank]], the [[International Monetary Fund]], the [[Organization of American States]], [[NATO]], and [[World Health Organization|WHO]], and is [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|a permanent member of]] the [[United Nations Security Council]]. It wields considerable global influence as the world's foremost [[Politics of the United States|political]], [[Culture of the United States|cultural]], economic, [[United States Armed Forces|military]], and [[Science and technology in the United States|scientific]] power.
 
== Etymology ==
<!-- linked -->
{{Further|Names of the United States|Demonyms for the United States}}
 
The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" dates back to a letter from January 2, 1776, written by [[Stephen Moylan]], a [[Continental Army]] aide to General [[George Washington]], to [[Joseph Reed (politician)|Joseph Reed]], Washington's [[aide-de-camp]]. Moylan expressed his desire to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] effort.<ref>DeLear, Byron (July 4, 2013) [https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/0704/Who-coined-United-States-of-America-Mystery-might-have-intriguing-answer Who coined 'United States of America'? Mystery might have intriguing answer.] ''Christian Science Monitor'' (Boston, MA).</ref><ref>Touba, Mariam (November 5, 2014) [https://blog.nyhistory.org/coined-phrase-united-states-america-may-never-guess/ Who Coined the Phrase 'United States of America'? You May Never Guess] ''New-York Historical Society Museum & Library''</ref><ref>Fay, John (July 15, 2016) [https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/The-forgotten-Irishman-who-named-the-United-States-of-America.html The forgotten Irishman who named the 'United States of America'] "According to the NY Historical Society, Stephen Moylan was the man responsible for the earliest documented use of the phrase 'United States of America'. But who was Stephen Moylan?" ''IrishCentral.com''</ref> The first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in ''[[The Virginia Gazette]]'' newspaper in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], on April&nbsp;6, 1776.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Virginia Gazette|title=''"To the inhabitants of Virginia", by A PLANTER''. Dixon and Hunter's. April 6, 1776, Williamsburg, Virginia. Letter is also included in Peter Force's ''American Archives''|url=https://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16|issue=1287|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219053616/https://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16|archive-date=December 19, 2014|volume=5}}</ref>
 
By June 1776, the name "United States of America" appeared in drafts of the [[Articles of Confederation]] and [[Perpetual Union]], authored by [[John Dickinson]], a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] from the [[Province of Pennsylvania]],{{sfn|Safire|2003|p=199}}{{sfn|Mostert|2005|p=18}} and in the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], written primarily by [[Thomas Jefferson]] and adopted by the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]], on July 4, 1776.{{sfn|Safire|2003|p=199}}
 
== History ==
{{Main|History of the United States}}
{{For outline|Outline of United States history}}
 
=== Beginnings (before 1630) ===
{{Further|Native Americans in the United States|Pre-Columbian era}}
[[File:Extreme Makeover, Mesa Verde Edition - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|[[Cliff Palace]], located in present-day [[Montezuma County, Colorado|Colorado]], was built by [[Ancestral Puebloans]].]]
The [[Paleo-Indians|first inhabitants of North America]] migrated from [[Siberia]], crossing the [[Bering land bridge]] and arriving in the present-day United States at least 12,000 years ago; some evidence suggests an even earlier date of arrival.{{sfn|Erlandson|Rick|Vellanoweth|2008|p=19}}{{sfn|Savage|2011|page= 55}}{{sfn|Haviland|Walrath|Prins|2013|page=219}} The [[Clovis culture]], which appeared around {{gaps|11,000|BC}}, is believed to represent the first wave of human settlement in the [[Americas]].{{sfn|Waters|Stafford|2007|pages=1122–1126}}{{sfn|Flannery|2015|pages=173–185}} This was likely the first of three major waves of migration into [[North America]]; later waves brought the ancestors of present-day [[Alaskan Athabaskans|Athabaskans]], [[Aleut]]s, and [[Eskimo]]s.{{sfn|Gelo|2018|pages=79–80}}
 
Over time, indigenous cultures in North America grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the pre-Columbian [[Mississippian culture]] in the [[Southeastern United States|southeast]], developed advanced [[agriculture]], [[architecture]], and complex societies.{{sfn|Lockard|2010|page= 315}} The city-state of [[Cahokia]] was the largest, most complex pre-Columbian [[archaeological site]] in present-day United States.{{sfn|Martinez|Sage|Ono|2016|page= 4}} In the [[Four Corners]] region in present-day [[Southwestern United States]], the culture of [[Ancestral Puebloans]] developed over centuries of agricultural experimentation.{{sfn|Fagan|2016|page=390}} The [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]], consisting of peoples who speak [[Algonquian languages]], were one of the most populous and widespread North American [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stoltz|first=Julie Ann|date=2006|title=Book Review of "The Continuance—An Algonquian Peoples Seminar: Selected Research Papers 2000", edited by Shirley Dunn, 2004, New York State Education Department, Albany, New York, 144 pages, $19.95 (paper).|journal=Northeast Historical Archaeology|volume=35|issue=1|pages=201–202|doi=10.22191/neha/vol35/iss1/30|issn=0048-0738|doi-access=free}}</ref> These people were historically prominent along the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic Coast]] and in the [[Saint Lawrence River]] and [[Great Lakes]] regions. Before European immigrants made contact, most of the Algonquian relied on hunting and fishing, and many supplemented their diet by cultivating [[maize|corn]], [[bean]]s, and [[Cucurbita|squash]], known as the "[[Three Sisters (agriculture)|Three Sisters]]". By European contact in the 17th century, they practiced [[slash and burn]] agriculture, using controlled fire to extend farmlands' productivity and manage land.<ref>Stevenson W. Fletcher, ''Pennsylvania Agriculture and Country Life 1640–1840'' (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1950), 2, 35–37, 63–65, 124.</ref><ref>Day, Gordon M. "The Indian as an Ecological Factor in the Northeastern Forests." ''Ecology'', Vol. 34, #2 (April 1953): 329–346. ''New England and New York Areas 1580–1800''.</ref><ref>Emily W.B. Russell, [https://www.proquest.com/openview/b4c71929d95a63cf36ee7fb0cc215c85/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y ''Vegetational Change in Northern New Jersey Since 1500 A.D.: A Palynological, Vegetational and Historical Synthesis''], Ph.D. dissertation (New Brunswick, PA: Rutgers University, 1979).</ref><ref>Russell, Emily W.B. "Indian Set Fires in the Forests of the Northeastern United States." ''Ecology'', Vol. 64, no. 1 (Feb. 1983): 78, 88.</ref><ref>''A Brief Description of New York, Formerly Called New Netherlands with the Places Thereunto Adjoining, Likewise a Brief Relation of the Customs of the Indians There,'' New York, NY: William Gowans. 1670. Reprinted in 1937 by the Facsimile Text Society, Columbia University Press, New York.</ref><ref>Smithsonian Institution—Handbook of North American Indians series: ''Handbook of North American Indians,'' Volume 15—Northeast. Bruce G. Trigger (volume editor). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. 1978 References to Indian burning for the Eastern Algonquians, Virginia Algonquians, Northern Iroquois, Huron, Mahican, and Delaware Tribes and peoples.</ref> The [[Ojibwe]] cultivated [[wild rice]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Raster|first1=Amanda|last2=Hill|first2=Christina Gish|date=May 24, 2016|title=The dispute over wild rice: an investigation of treaty agreements and Ojibwe food sovereignty|journal=Agriculture and Human Values|language=en|volume=34|issue=2|pages=267–281|doi=10.1007/s10460-016-9703-6|s2cid=55940408|issn=0889-048X|url=https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/language_pubs/154}}</ref> The [[Iroquois]] confederation Haudenosaunee, located in the southern Great Lakes region, was established between the 12th and 15th centuries.<ref name="Dean Snow">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7e82KQoX6IC&q=iroquois+basque&pg=PA1|title=The Iroquois|first=Dean R.|last=Snow|publisher=Blackwell Publishers, Ltd.|year=1994|isbn=978-1-55786-938-8|access-date=July 16, 2010}}</ref>
 
[[Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Estimating the native population of North America]] following the arrival of European immigrants is difficult.{{sfn|Perdue|Green|2005|page=40}}{{sfn|Haines|Haines|Steckel|2000|page=12}} [[Douglas H. Ubelaker]] of the [[Smithsonian Institution]] estimated a population of 93,000 in the [[South Atlantic states]] and a population of 473,000 in the Gulf states,{{sfn|Thornton|1998|page=34}} but most academics regard this figure as too low.{{sfn|Perdue|Green|2005|page=40}} Anthropologist [[Henry F. Dobyns]] believed the populations were much higher, suggesting that approximately 1.1{{Spaces}}million resided on the shores of the [[Gulf of Mexico]], 2.2 million people living between [[Florida]] and [[Massachusetts]], 5.2 million in the [[Mississippi Valley]] and tributaries, and around 700,000 in the [[Florida peninsula]].{{sfn|Perdue|Green|2005|page=40}}{{sfn|Haines|Haines|Steckel|2000|page= 12}}
 
The Italian explorer [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]], sent by [[Kingdom of France|France]] to the [[New World]] in 1525, encountered [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American inhabitants]] in the present-day [[New York Bay]] region.<ref>{{cite book | last = Morison | first = Samuel Eliot | author-link=Samuel Eliot Morison | title = The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages | url = https://archive.org/details/europeandiscover00moririch | url-access = registration | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1971 | location = New York | page = [https://archive.org/details/europeandiscover00moririch/page/490 490] | isbn = 0-19-215941-0}}</ref> The [[Spanish Empire]] set up their first settlements in [[Florida]] and [[New Mexico]], including in [[St. Augustine, Florida|Saint Augustine]] (1565), which is often considered the nation's oldest city,<ref>{{cite web|date=February 28, 2015|title=Not So Fast, Jamestown: St. Augustine Was Here First|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/02/28/389682893/not-so-fast-jamestown-st-augustine-was-here-first|access-date=March 5, 2021|website=NPR|language=en}}</ref> and [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] (1598). The French [[New France|established]] their own settlements along the [[Mississippi River]] and [[Gulf of Mexico]], including in [[New Orleans]] (1718) and [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]] (1702).<ref name="Petto2007">{{cite book |author=Petto |first=Christine Marie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZiaAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA125 |title=When France Was King of Cartography: The Patronage and Production of Maps in Early Modern France |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7391-6247-7 |page=125}}</ref>
 
=== Colonization, settlement, and communities (1630–1763) ===
{{Main|Colonial history of the United States}}[[File:NorthAmerica1762-83.png|thumb|Territorial changes following the French and Indian War; land held by the [[British colonization of the Americas|British]] before 1763 is shown in red; land gained by [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] in 1763 is shown in pink.]]
 
[[British colonization of the Americas|British colonization]] of the [[East Coast of the United States|east coast]] of [[North America]] began with the [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia Colony]] in 1607, where [[Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrims]] settled in [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] and later established [[Plymouth Colony]] in 1620.<ref name="Jr.Selby2018">{{cite book |last1=Seelye |first1=James E. Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgVnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA344 |title=Shaping North America: From Exploration to the American Revolution &#91;3 volumes&#93; |last2=Selby |first2=Shawn |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4408-3669-5 |page=344}}</ref><ref name="BellahSullivan2006">{{cite book|first1=Robert Neelly |last1=Bellah|first2=Richard|last2=Madsen|first3=William M.|last3=Sullivan|first4=Ann|last4=Swidler|first5=Steven M.|last5=Tipton|title=Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5DQHmykT6u4C&pg=PA220|year=1985|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-05388-5|page=220|ol=7708974M}}</ref> Many [[English people|English]] settlers were [[English Dissenters|dissenting Christians]] who fled England seeking [[Freedom of religion|religious freedom]].
 
The continent's first elected legislative assembly, the [[House of Burgesses]] in Virginia, was founded in 1619. In 1636, [[Harvard College]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] was founded as the first institution of higher education. The [[Mayflower Compact]] and the [[Fundamental Orders of Connecticut]] established precedents for representative [[self-government]] and [[constitutionalism]] that would develop throughout the American colonies.<ref name="Remini2–3">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Remini|2007|pp=2–3}}</ref><ref name="Johnson26–30">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Johnson|1997|pp=26–30}}</ref>  The [[Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas|native population of America declined]] after European arrival,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cook|first1=Noble|title=Born to Die: Disease and New World Conquest, 1492–1650|date=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-62730-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dvjNyZTFrS4C|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Treuer |first=David |title=The new book 'The Other Slavery' will make you rethink American history |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-native-american-slavery-20160505-snap-story.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>[[#Stannard|Stannard, 1993]] p. [[iarchive:americanholocaus00stan|xii]]</ref> primarily as a result of [[infection|infectious]] diseases such as [[smallpox]] and [[measles]].<ref>"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qubTdDk1H3IC&pg=PA205 The Cambridge encyclopedia of human paleopathology] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208032805/https://books.google.com/books?id=qubTdDk1H3IC&pg=PA205|date=February 8, 2016}}''". Arthur C. Aufderheide, Conrado Rodríguez-Martín, Odin Langsjoen (1998). [[Cambridge University Press]]. p. 205. {{ISBN|978-0-521-55203-5}}</ref><ref>[[#Bianchine|Bianchine, Russo, 1992]] pp. 225–232</ref> By the mid-1670s, the British defeated and seized the territory of [[Dutch people|Dutch]] settlers in [[New Netherland]], in the [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|mid-Atlantic]] region.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
 
During the 17th century [[European colonization of the Americas|European colonization]] many European settlers experienced food shortages, disease, and conflicts with Native Americans, particularly in [[King Philip's War]]. In addition to fighting European settlers, Native Americans also often fought neighboring tribes. But in many cases, the natives and settlers came to develop a mutual dependency. Settlers [[Columbian exchange|traded]] for food and animal pelts, and Native Americans traded for guns, tools, and other European goods.<ref>[[#Ripper2008|Ripper, 2008]] p. 6</ref> Native Americans taught many settlers to cultivate corn, beans, and other foodstuffs. European missionaries and others felt it was important [[Civilizing mission|to "civilize" the Native Americans]] and urged them to adopt European agricultural practices and lifestyles.<ref>[[#Ripper2008|Ripper, 2008]] p. 5</ref><ref>[[#Calloway1998|Calloway, 1998]], p. 55</ref> With the increased European colonization of North America, however, Native Americans were often displaced or killed during conflicts.{{sfn|Joseph|2016|page=590}}
 
European settlers also began [[Slavery in the colonial United States|trafficking African slaves]] into the colonial United States via the [[Atlantic slave trade|transatlantic slave trade]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Hugh |url=https://archive.org/details/slavetradestoryo00thom/page/516 |title=The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440{{ndash}}1870 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1997 |isbn=0-684-83565-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/slavetradestoryo00thom/page/516 516] |url-access=registration}}</ref> By the turn of the 18th century, slavery supplanted [[indentured servitude]] as the main source of agricultural labor for the [[cash crop]]s in the [[Southern Colonies]].<ref name="Quirk2011">[[#Quirk|Quirk, 2011]], p. 195</ref> Colonial society was divided over the religious and moral implications of slavery, and several colonies passed acts for or against it as well as [[Slave codes|laws designed to keep Blacks subservient]].<ref name="Lien522">[[#Lien|Lien, 1913]], p. 522</ref><ref name="Davis7">[[#Davis96|Davis, 1996]], p. 7</ref>
 
In what was then considered [[British America]], the [[Thirteen Colonies]]{{efn|[[Province of New Hampshire|New Hampshire]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts]], [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]], [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]], [[Province of New York|New York]], [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]], [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], [[Delaware Colony|Delaware]], [[Province of Maryland|Maryland]], [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]], [[Province of North Carolina|North Carolina]], [[Province of South Carolina|South Carolina]], and [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]]}} were administered as overseas dependencies by the British.<ref name="BilhartzElliott2007">{{cite book |author1=Bilhartz, Terry D. |url=https://archive.org/details/currentsinameric0000bilh |title=Currents in American History: A Brief History of the United States |author2=Elliott, Alan C. |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7656-1817-7 |url-access=registration}}</ref> [[Colonial government in the Thirteen Colonies|All colonies had local governments]] with elections open to white male property owners except [[History of the Jews in Colonial America|Jews]] and, in some areas, [[History of the Catholic Church in the United States|Catholics]].<ref name="Wood1998">{{cite book |author=Wood |first=Gordon S. |url=https://archive.org/details/creationofameric0000wood_r7v4 |title=The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787 |publisher=UNC Press Books |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8078-4723-7 |page=263}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ratcliffe|first= Donald|year=2013|title=The Right to Vote and the Rise of Democracy, 1787–1828|journal= Journal of the Early Republic|volume= 33|issue= 2|page=220| doi=10.1353/jer.2013.0033|s2cid= 145135025}}</ref> With very high birth rates, low death rates, and steadily growing settlements, the colonial population grew rapidly, eclipsing Native American populations.<ref>[[#Walton|Walton, 2009]], pp. 38–39</ref> The [[Christian revival]]ist movement of the 1730s and 1740s, known as the [[First Great Awakening|Great Awakening]], fueled colonial interest in both religion and [[Freedom of religion|religious liberty]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Foner|first1=Eric|title=The Story of American Freedom|date=1998|publisher=W.W. Norton|isbn=978-0-393-04665-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/storyofamericanf00fone/page/4 4]–5|edition=1st|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofamericanf00fone|url-access=registration|quote=story of American freedom.}}</ref> Excluding the Native American population, the Thirteen Colonies had a population of over 2.1&nbsp;million in 1770, representing a population that was then roughly a third the size of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]. By the 1770s, despite continuing new immigrant arrivals from Britain and other European regions, the natural increase of the population was such that only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas.<ref>[[#Walton|Walton, 2009]], p. 35</ref> The colonies' distance from Britain had allowed for the development of self-governance in the colonies, but it encountered periodic efforts by [[The Crown|British monarchs]] to reassert royal authority.<ref>{{cite book |author=Otis |first=James |url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_52678 |title=The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved |year=1763 |isbn=978-0-665-52678-7}}</ref>
 
=== Revolution and the new nation (1763–1789) ===
{{Main|History of the United States (1776–1789)|}}
[[File:Map of territorial growth 1775.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|[[British North America]] in 1775 with the [[Thirteen Colonies|13 colonies]] shown in red]][[File:Declaration independence.jpg|thumb|''[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|Declaration of Independence]]'', a portrait by [[John Trumbull]] depicting the [[Committee of Five]] presenting the draft of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration]] to the [[Second Continental Congress|Continental Congress]] on June 28, 1776, in [[Philadelphia]]|alt=See caption]]
After the British victory in the [[French and Indian War]] that was won largely through the support in men and materiel from the colonies, the British began to assert greater control in local colonial affairs, fomenting [[American Revolution|colonial political resistance]]. In 1774, to demonstrate colonial dissatisfaction with the [[No Taxation Without Representation|lack of representation in the British government that extracted taxes from them]], the [[First Continental Congress]] met in [[Philadelphia]] and passed the [[Continental Association]], which mandated a colonies-wide boycott of British goods. The British attempted to disarm the Americans, resulting in the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] on April 19, 1775, igniting the [[American Revolutionary War]]. The then [[United Colonies]] responded by again convening in Philadelphia as the [[Second Continental Congress]] where, in June 1775, they appointed [[George Washington]] as [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Continental Army]], which was initially composed of various [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American patriot]] militias resisting the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British Army]]. In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress [[Committee of Five|charged a committee]] with writing a [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], largely drafted by [[Thomas Jefferson]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
 
On July&nbsp;4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress with alterations unanimously adopted and issued the Declaration of Independence, which famously stated: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that [[all men are created equal]], that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are [[Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness]]." The adoption of the Declaration of Independence is celebrated annually on July 4 in the United States as [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]].<ref name="YoungNash2011" /> In 1777, the American victory at the [[Battles of Saratoga|Battle of Saratoga]] resulted in the capture of a British army, and led to [[France in the American Revolutionary War|France]] and their ally [[Spain in the American Revolutionary War|Spain]] joining in the war against them. After the surrender of a second British Army at the [[Siege of Yorktown (1781)|siege of Yorktown]] in 1781, Britain signed a [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|peace treaty]]. American sovereignty gained international recognition, and the new nation took possession of substantial territory east of the [[Mississippi River]], from what is present-day [[Canada]] in the north to [[Florida]] in the south.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/paris.asp |title=British-American Diplomacy: The Paris Peace Treaty of September 30, 1783 |editor-first=Hunter |editor-last=Miller |publisher=The Avalon Project at Yale Law School}}</ref> [[Origins of the War of 1812|Tensions with Britain remained]], leading to the [[War of 1812]], which was fought to a draw.<ref name="Wait1999">{{cite book|last=Wait |first=Eugene M.|title=America and the War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=puuQ30N0EsIC&pg=PA78|year=1999|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-56072-644-9|page=78}}</ref>
 
In 1781, the [[Articles of Confederation]] and [[Perpetual Union]] established a decentralized government that operated until 1789.<ref name="YoungNash2011">{{cite book|author1=Fabian Young, Alfred|author2=Nash, Gary B.|author3=Raphael, Ray|title=Revolutionary Founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in the Making of the Nation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEzaLJ4u_MEC&pg=PA4|year=2011|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-0-307-27110-5|pages=4–7}}</ref> Considered one of the most important legislative acts of the [[Confederation Congress]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Primary Documents in American History: Northwest Ordinance |url=https://loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/northwest.html |website=loc.gov |publisher=The [[Library of Congress]] |access-date=7 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211164800/https://loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/northwest.html |archive-date=December 11, 2019}}</ref> [[Northwest Ordinance]] (1787) established the precedent by which the national government would be sovereign and expand westward with the [[admission to the Union|admission of new states]], rather than with the expansion of existing states and their established sovereignty under the Articles. The prohibition of slavery in the territory had the practical effect of establishing the [[Ohio River]] as the geographic divide between [[slave states and free states]] from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River, an extension of the [[Mason–Dixon line]]. It also helped set the stage for later federal political conflicts over slavery during the 19th century until the [[American Civil War]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
 
As it became increasingly apparent that the Confederation was insufficient to govern the new country, [[American nationalism|nationalists]] advocated for and led the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Philadelphia Convention]] of 1787, where the [[Constitution of the United States|United States Constitution]] was authored and then [[Ratification of the United States Constitution|ratified]] in state conventions in 1788. The U.S. Constitution is the oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution in force today.<ref>[http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2014/sep/22/bob-goodlatte/goodlatte-says-us-has-oldest-working-national-cons/ Goodlatte says U.S. has the oldest working national constitution], Politifact Virginia website, September 22, 2014.</ref> Going into effect in 1789, it reorganized the government into a [[federation]] administered by [[Separation of powers|three branches]] (executive, judicial, and legislative), on the principle of creating salutary [[checks and balances]]. George Washington, who led the [[Continental Army]] to victory in the Revolutionary War and then willingly relinquished power, was elected the new nation's first [[President of the United States|President]] under the new constitution. The [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] was adopted in 1791, originally forbidding only federal restriction of [[Natural and legal rights|personal freedoms]] and guaranteeing a range of legal protections,<ref name="BoyerJr.2007">[[#Boyer|Boyer, 2007]], pp. 192–193</ref> portions of the Bill of Rights are [[Incorporation of the Bill of Rights|now applied to state and local governments]] by virtue of both state and federal court decisions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/topics/bill-of-rights|website=History.com|access-date=December 8, 2015|title=Bill of Rights – Facts & Summary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208215137/http://www.history.com/topics/bill-of-rights|archive-date=December 8, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
=== Expansion (1789–1860) ===
{{main|History of the United States (1789–1849)}}[[File:Slave dance to banjo, 1780s.jpg|thumb|right| ''[[The Old Plantation]]'', a {{Circa|1790}} painting of a [[Plantation complexes in the Southern United States|plantation]] by a [[History of South Carolina#Politics and slavery|South Carolina slaveholder]]]] During the colonial period, [[Slavery in the colonial history of the United States|slavery was legal in the American colonies]], and "challenges to its moral legitimacy were rare". However, during the American Revolution, many began to question the practice.{{sfnm|1a1=Walker Howe|1y=2007|1p=52–54|2a1=Wright|2y=2022}} Regional divisions over slavery grew in the ensuing decades, with prominent [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] in the [[northern United States]] advocating for the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolition of slavery]]. By the 1810s, slavery had been abolished in all Northern states.{{sfnm|1a1=Walker Howe|1y=2007|1p=52–54|2a1=Rodriguez|2y=2015|2p=XXXIV|3a1=Wright|3y=2022}} Despite the federal government [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves|outlawing American participation]] in the [[Atlantic slave trade]] in 1807, the invention of the [[cotton gin]] spurred entrenchment and support of slavery in the [[southern United States]].<ref>[[United States#Walton|Walton, 2009]], p. 43</ref><ref>[[United States#Gordon|Gordon, 2004]], pp. 27,29</ref>{{sfn|Walker Howe|2007|p=478, 481–482, 587–588}} In 1820, the [[Missouri Compromise]] admitted [[Missouri]] as a slave state and [[Maine]] as a free state, and instituted a policy of prohibiting slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands north of the [[Parallel 36°30′ north|36°30′ parallel]]. The outcome ''de facto'' sectionalized the country into two factions: free states, which forbade slavery; and slave states, which protected the institution; it was controversial and widely seen as dividing the country along [[Sectarianism|sectarian]] lines.{{sfn|Walker Howe|2007|p=153–157}} [[File:United States evolution small.gif|350px|thumb|right|Animated map of the territorial evolution of the United States ([[:File:United States evolution.gif|click to view full size image]])]]
In the late 18th century, American [[Settler colonialism|settlers]] began to [[Territorial evolution of the United States|expand further westward]], some of them with a sense of [[manifest destiny]].<ref name="MD2007" /><ref name="Morrison1999" /> [[Louisiana Purchase|The Louisiana Purchase]] (1803) nearly doubled the acreage of the United States, effectively ending French colonial interest in North America and their opposition to American westward expansion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Louisiana Purchase|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/jeff/historyculture/upload/louisiana_purchase.pdf|access-date=March 1, 2011}}</ref> [[Adams–Onís Treaty|Spain ceded Florida]] and other Gulf Coast territory in 1819,<ref name="KloseJones1994">{{cite book|author1=Klose, Nelson|author2=Jones, Robert F.|title=United States History to 1877|url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstateshist00klos_0/page/150|year=1994|publisher=Barron's Educational Series|isbn=978-0-8120-1834-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/unitedstateshist00klos_0/page/150 150] }}</ref> The [[Second Great Awakening]], especially in the period 1800–1840, converted millions to [[Evangelicalism in the United States|evangelical]] Protestantism. In the North, it energized multiple social reform movements, including [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionism]];<ref name="Clark2012iu">{{cite book|author=Clark, Mary Ann|title=Then We'll Sing a New Song: African Influences on America's Religious Landscape|url=https://archive.org/details/thenwellsingnews0000clar/page/47|date=May 2012|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-0881-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/thenwellsingnews0000clar/page/47 47] }}</ref> in the South, [[History of Methodism in the United States|Methodists]] and [[Baptists in the United States|Baptists]] proselytized among slave populations.<ref>Heinemann, Ronald L., et al., Old Dominion, New Commonwealth: a history of Virginia 1607–2007, 2007 {{ISBN|978-0-8139-2609-4}}, p. 197</ref> As Americans expanded further into land inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], the federal government often applied [[Federal Indian Policy|policies]] of [[Indian removal]] or [[Cultural assimilation of Native Americans|assimilation]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frymer |first=Paul |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/981954623 |title=Building an American empire : the era of territorial and political expansion |date=2017 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-1-4008-8535-0 |location=Princeton, New Jersey |oclc=981954623}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Calloway |first=Colin G. |title=First peoples : a documentary survey of American Indian history |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1035393060 |date=2019 |edition=6th |location=Boston |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's, Macmillan Learning |oclc=1035393060 |isbn=978-1-319-10491-7}}</ref> The displacement prompted a long series of [[American Indian Wars]] west of the [[Mississippi River]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Wars: Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850–1890|last=Michno|first=Gregory|date=2003|publisher=Mountain Press Publishing|isbn=978-0-87842-468-9}}</ref> and eventually [[Mexican–American War|conflict with Mexico]]. Most of these conflicts ended with the cession of Native American territory and their confinement to [[Indian reservation]]s.<ref name="BillingtonRidge2001j">{{cite book|author1=Billington, Ray Allen|author2=Ridge, Martin|author-link2=Martin Ridge (historian)|title=Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier|url=https://archive.org/details/westwardexpansio00bill/page/22|year=2001|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=978-0-8263-1981-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/westwardexpansio00bill/page/22 22] }}</ref>
 
The [[Republic of Texas]] was [[Texas annexation|annexed]] in 1845 during a period of expansionism,<ref name="Morrison1999">{{cite book|author=Morrison, Michael A.|title=Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTaxzMlkVEMC&pg=PA13|date=April 28, 1997|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-8078-4796-1|pages=13–21}}</ref> and the 1846 [[Oregon Treaty]] with Britain led to U.S. control of the present-day [[Northwestern United States|American Northwest]].<ref name="Kemp2010">{{cite book|author=Kemp, Roger L.|title=Documents of American Democracy: A Collection of Essential Works|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JHawgM-WnlUC&pg=PA180|year=2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4210-2|page=180|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref>  Victory in the [[Mexican–American War]] resulted in the 1848 [[Mexican Cession]] of [[California]] and much of the present-day [[Southwestern United States|American Southwest]], making the U.S. span the continent.<ref name="MD2007">{{Cite book |last1=Carlisle |first1=Rodney P. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/659807062 |title=Manifest destiny and the expansion of America |last2=Golson |first2=J. Geoffrey |date=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-834-7 |series=Turning Points in History Series |location=Santa Barbara, Calif. |page=238 |oclc=659807062}}</ref><ref name="McIlwraithMuller2001">{{cite book|author1=McIlwraith, Thomas F.|author2=Muller, Edward K.|title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent|url=https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/61|year=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-0019-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/61 61]|access-date=October 25, 2015 }}</ref>
 
=== Civil War and Reconstruction (1860–1876) ===
{{Main|History of the United States (1849–1865)|History of the United States (1865–1918)|l2 = 1865–1918}}
[[File:US map 1864 Civil War divisions.svg|thumb|Division of the states in the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865):
{{legend|#204A87|[[Union (American Civil War)|Union states]]}}
{{legend|#729FCF|[[Border states (American Civil War)|Border states]]}}
{{legend|#A40000|[[Confederate States of America|Confederate states]]}}
{{legend|#D3D7CF|[[Territories of the United States|Territories]]}}]][[Slave states and free states|Sectional conflict]] regarding [[Slavery in the United States|African slavery]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Stuart|last=Murray|title=Atlas of American Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJ_sy7mmmxQC&pg=PA76|year=2004|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-3025-5|page=76|access-date=October 25, 2015}}<br />{{cite book|first=Harold T.|last=Lewis|title=Christian Social Witness|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kr-xNru5vZkC&pg=PA53|year=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-56101-188-9|page=53}}</ref> was the [[Origins of the American Civil War|primary cause of the American Civil War]].<ref name="Woods 2012 pp. 415–439">{{cite journal | last=Woods | first=Michael E. | title=What Twenty-First-Century Historians Have Said about the Causes of Disunion: A Civil War Sesquicentennial Review of the Recent Literature | journal=The Journal of American History | publisher=[Oxford University Press, Organization of American Historians] | volume=99 | issue=2 | year=2012 | issn=0021-8723 | jstor=44306803 | pages=415–439 | doi=10.1093/jahist/jas272 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44306803 | access-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref> With the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 election]] of Republican [[Abraham Lincoln]], conventions in eleven slave states, all in the [[Southern United States]], declared [[secession]] and formed the [[Confederate States of America]], while the remaining states, known as the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]], maintained that [[Perpetual Union|secession was unconstitutional and illegitimate]].<ref name="Silkenat 2019 p. 25">{{cite book | last=Silkenat | first=D. | title=Raising the White Flag: How Surrender Defined the American Civil War | publisher=University of North Carolina Press | series=Civil War America | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-4696-4973-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nHWKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 | access-date=April 29, 2023 | page=25}}</ref> On April 12, 1861, the Confederacy initiated military conflict by [[Battle of Fort Sumter|bombarding Fort Sumter]], a federal garrison in [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston harbor]] in South Carolina. The [[American Civil War]] ensued, the deadliest military conflict in American history, and was fought between 1861 and 1865. The war resulted in the deaths of approximately 620,000 soldiers from both sides and upwards of 50,000 civilians, most of them in the South.<ref>{{cite book|last=Vinovskis|first=Maris|date=1990|title=Toward A Social History of the American Civil War: Exploratory Essays|page=4|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge; New York|isbn=978-0-521-39559-5}}</ref> In early July 1863, the Civil War [[Turning point of the American Civil War|began to turn in the Union's favor]] following the [[Union Army]] under General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] successfully [[Western theater of the American Civil War|splitting the Confederacy]] in two by [[Siege of Vicksburg|capturing Vicksburg]] in the west, denying it any further movement along or across the [[Mississippi River]] and [[Texas in the American Civil War|preventing supplies from Texas]] and [[Arkansas in the American Civil War|Arkansas]] that might sustain the war effort from passing east, almost simultaneous with victory in the [[Battle of Gettysburg]], where Union Army general [[George Meade]] halted [[Confederate Army]] general [[Robert E. Lee]]'s invasion of [[Union (American Civil War)|the North]]. In April 1865, following the Union Army's victory at the [[Battle of Appomattox Court House]], the Confederacy surrendered and soon collapsed.<ref>Davis, Jefferson. [https://archive.org/stream/ashorthistoryco00davigoog#page/n544/mode/2up/search/surrender+at+Appomattox ''A Short History of the Confederate States of America''], 1890, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-175-82358-8}}. Available free online as an ebook. Chapter LXXXVIII, "Re-establishment of the Union by force", p. 503. Retrieved March 14, 2012.</ref>
[[File:The Union as It Was.jpg|thumb|An October 24th, 1874 [[Harper's Magazine]] editorial cartoon by [[Thomas Nast]] denouncing [[Ku Klux Klan]] and [[White League]] murders of innocent Blacks]]
[[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]] began in earnest following the defeat of the Confederates. While President Lincoln attempted to foster reconciliation between the Union and former Confederacy, [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|his assassination]] on April&nbsp;14, 1865 drove a wedge between North and South again. "[[Radical Republicans]]" in the federal government made it their goal to oversee the rebuilding of the South and to [[Civil rights movement (1865–1896)|ensure the rights of African Americans]], and the so-called [[Reconstruction Amendments]] to the Constitution guaranteed the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|abolishment of slavery]], [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|full citizenship to Americans of African descent]], and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|suffrage for adult Black men]]. They persisted until the [[Compromise of 1877]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Woodward|first=C. Vann|title=Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction|location=United Kingdom|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1991}}</ref>
 
To encourage additional westward settlement the [[Homestead Acts]] were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of [[Federal lands|government land]] or the [[American frontier|public domain]], typically called a [[Homestead (buildings)|"homestead"]]. In all, more than {{convert|160|e6acre|e3km2 e3sqmi|abbr=unit}} of public land, or nearly 10&nbsp;percent of the total area of the United States, was given away free to 1.6&nbsp;million homesteaders; most of the homesteads were west of the [[Mississippi River]]. The [[Southern Homestead Act of 1866]] was enacted specifically to break a cycle of debt during Reconstruction. Prior to this act, [[Freedman|black]]s and [[Poor White|impoverished whites]] alike were having trouble buying land or did not have the means to travel west. [[Sharecropping]] and [[tenant farming]] had become ways of life. This act attempted to solve this by selling land at low prices so marginalized Southerners could buy it. Many, however, could still not participate because the low prices remained out of reach.<ref>[[Paul Wallace Gates]],  "Federal Land Policy in the South 1866-1888." ''Journal of Southern History'' (1940) 6#3 pp: 303-330. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2192139 in JSTOR]</ref>
 
=== Development of the modern United States (1876–1914) ===
{{Main|History of the United States (1865–1918)}}Influential Southern Whites, calling themselves "[[Redeemers]]",<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |last=Trelease |first=Allen W. |title=White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1979 |isbn=0-313-21168-X |location=New York}}</ref> took local control of the South after the end of Reconstruction, leading to the [[nadir of American race relations]]. From 1890 to 1910, the Redeemers established so-called [[Jim Crow laws]], [[Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|disenfranchising]] almost all Blacks and some impoverished Whites throughout the region. Blacks faced [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial segregation nationwide]] and [[Black Codes (United States)|codified discrimination]], especially in the South,<ref>{{cite book|author=Shearer Davis Bowman|title=Masters and Lords: Mid-19th-Century U.S. Planters and Prussian Junkers|url=https://archive.org/details/masterslordsmid10000bowm|url-access=registration|year=1993|publisher=Oxford UP|page=[https://archive.org/details/masterslordsmid10000bowm/page/221 221]|isbn=978-0-19-536394-4 }}</ref> and lived under the threat of [[Lynching in the United States|lynching]] and other vigilante violence.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jason E.|last=Pierce|title=Making the White Man's West: Whiteness and the Creation of the American West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJPgCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT256|year=2016|publisher=University Press of Colorado|page=256|isbn=978-1-60732-396-9 }}</ref><ref name="Foner1988p119-123">{{cite book |last=Foner |first=Eric |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060158514/page/119 |title=Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1988 |isbn=0-06-015851-4 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060158514/page/119 119–123] |url-access=registration}}</ref>
[[File:Chinese_railroad_workers_sierra_nevada.jpg|thumb|Sketch of [[History of Chinese Americans#Transcontinental railroad|Chinese railroad workers]] on the [[Central Pacific Railroad]], 1870]]
National infrastructure, including [[First Transcontinental Telegraph|telegraph]] and [[First transcontinental railroad|transcontinental railroads]], spurred economic growth and greater settlement and development of the [[American frontier|American Old West]]. After the end of the [[American Civil War]] in 1865, new transcontinental [[Rail transportation in the United States#History|railways]] made relocation easier for settlers, expanded internal trade, and [[Post-1887 Apache Wars period|increased conflicts with Native Americans]].<ref name="Black2011kj">{{cite book|last=Black|first=Jeremy|author-link=Jeremy Black (historian)|title=Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519–1871|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIst_CSWOqIC&pg=PA275|year=2011|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-35660-4|page=275}}</ref> Mainland expansion also included the [[Alaska Purchase|purchase of Alaska]] from [[Russian Empire|Russia]] in 1867.<ref>{{cite web|title=Purchase of Alaska, 1867|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/alaska-purchase|publisher=U.S. Department of State|website=Office of the Historian|access-date=December 23, 2014}}</ref> In 1893, pro-American elements in Hawaii [[Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii|overthrew]] the [[Kingdom of Hawaii|Hawaiian monarchy]] and formed the [[Republic of Hawaii]], which the U.S. [[Newlands Resolution|annexed]] in 1898. [[Puerto Rico]], [[Guam]], and the [[Philippines]] were ceded by Spain in the same year, by the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)]] following the [[Spanish–American War]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Spanish–American War, 1898|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/spanish-american-war|publisher=U.S. Department of State|website=Office of the Historian|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> Puerto Ricans did not gain citizenship either through the [[Foraker Act]] (1900) or the [[Insular Cases]] (1901), but through the [[Jones–Shafroth Act]] in 1917,<ref name="HoE">{{Cite book | title = Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America | first = Juan | last = Gonzalez | publisher = Penguin | date = 2011 }}</ref>{{rp|60–63}} allowing for the conscription of 20,000 Puerto Ricans, which began two months later.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/jones-shafroth-act | title = 1917: Jones-Shafroth Act | website = A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States | publisher = Library of Congress}}</ref>  [[American Samoa]] was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the end of the [[Second Samoan Civil War]].<ref>Ryden, George Herbert. ''The Foreign Policy of the United States in Relation to Samoa''. New York: Octagon Books, 1975.</ref> The [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]] were purchased from [[Denmark]] in 1917.<ref>{{cite web|title=Virgin Islands History|url=https://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/history/|publisher=Vinow.com|access-date=January 5, 2018}}</ref>
 
[[File:Emigrants (i.e. immigrants) landing at Ellis Island -.webm|thumb|An [[Edison Studios]] film showing immigrants arriving at [[Ellis Island]] in [[New York Harbor]], a major point of entry for European [[Immigration to the United States|immigrants]] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries<ref name="PriceBenton-Short2008">{{cite book|first1=Marie|last1=Price|first2=Lisa|last2=Benton-Short|title=Migrants to the Metropolis: The Rise of Immigrant Gateway Cities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Tb5HMB63xAC&pg=PA51|year=2008|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-3186-6|page=51}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 4, 2020 |title=Overview + History {{!}} Ellis Island |url=https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/overview-history/ |access-date=September 10, 2021 |website=Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island |language=en}}</ref>]]
 
From 1865 through 1918 an unprecedented and diverse stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, 27.5 million in total. In all, 24.4 million (89%) came from Europe, including from [[Great Britain]], [[Ireland]], [[Scandinavia]], [[Germany]], [[Italian Peninsula|Italy]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and other parts of [[Central and Eastern Europe]]. Another 1.7 million came from [[Canada]].<ref>U.S. Bureau of the Census, ''Historical Statistics of the United States'' (1976) series C89-C119, pp&nbsp;105–9</ref> Most came through the [[port of New York City]] and from 1892 specifically through the now iconic immigration station on [[Ellis Island]] there, but various ethnic groups settled in different locations. New York and other large cities of the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] became home to large [[History of the Jews in the United States|Jewish]], [[Irish Americans|Irish]], and [[Italian Americans|Italian]] populations, while many [[German Americans|Germans]] and [[Austria-Hungary|Central Europeans]] moved to the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], obtaining jobs in industry and mining. At the same time, about one million [[French Canadians]] migrated from [[Quebec]] to [[New England]].<ref>Stephan Thernstrom, ed., ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) covers the history of all the main groups</ref> The [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]], which began around 1910, resulted in millions of African Americans [[Jim Crow economy|leaving the rural South]] for urban areas in the North.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/migrations/great-migration|title=The Great Migration (1910–1970)|publisher=National Archives |date=May 20, 2021}}</ref>
 
[[Gilded Age|Rapid economic development]] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries fostered the rise of [[Robber baron (industrialist)|many prominent industrialists]], largely by their formation of [[Trust (business)|trusts]] and [[monopoly|monoplies]] to prevent competition.<ref name="Atlantic">{{Cite journal|last=Dole|first=Charles F.|year=1907|title=The Ethics of Speculation|journal=[[The Atlantic Monthly]]|volume=C |issue=December 1907
|pages=812–818}}</ref> [[Tycoon]]s like [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]], [[John D. Rockefeller]], and [[Andrew Carnegie]] led the nation's expansion in the [[History of rail transportation in the United States |railroad]], [[History of the petroleum industry in the United States|petroleum]], and [[History of the steel industry (1850–1970)|steel]] industries. [[History of investment banking in the United States|Banking became a major part of the economy]], with [[J. P. Morgan]] playing a notable role. The United States also emerged as a pioneer of the [[Automotive industry in the United States|automotive industry]] in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |author1=The Pit Boss |title=The Pit Stop: The American Automotive Industry Is Packed With History |url=https://pitstop.rumbleon.com/american-automotive-history |website=Rumble On |access-date=December 5, 2021 |date=February 26, 2021}}</ref> These changes were accompanied by significant increases in [[economic inequality]], [[Effects of immigration to the United States|immigration]], and [[List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States|social unrest]], which prompted the rise of [[Populism in the United States|populist]], [[History of the socialist movement in the United States|socialist]], and [[Anarchism in the United States|anarchist]] movements.<ref>Tindall, George Brown and Shi, David E. (2012). ''America: A Narrative History (Brief Ninth Edition) (Vol. 2).'' [[W. W. Norton & Company]]. {{ISBN|978-0-393-91267-8}} p. 589</ref><ref>[[#Zinn|Zinn, 2005]], pp. 321–357</ref><ref name="Fraser">{{cite book |last=Fraser |first=Steve |title=The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organized Wealth and Power |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-316-18543-1 |page=66}}</ref> This period eventually ended with the advent of the [[Progressive Era]], which was characterized by significant reforms, including [[Consumer protection|health and safety regulation]] of consumer goods, the [[Labor history of the United States|rise of labor unions]], greater [[United States antitrust law|antitrust measures]] to ensure competition among businesses, and improvements in worker conditions.<ref name="Aldrich">Aldrich, Mark. ''Safety First: Technology, Labor and Business in the Building of Work Safety, 1870-1939.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-8018-5405-9}}</ref>
 
=== World Wars period (1914–1945) ===
{{Main|History of the United States (1918–1945)}}
[[File:TrinityDetonation1945GIF.gif|thumb|The [[Trinity (nuclear test)|Trinity nuclear test]] in the [[Jornada del Muerto]] desert on July 16, 1945, part of the [[Manhattan Project]] and the first detonation of a [[nuclear weapon]]]]
The United States remained neutral after the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914 until 1917 when [[American entry into World War I|it joined the war]] as an "associated power" alongside the [[Allies of World War I]], helping to turn the tide against the [[Central Powers]], and played a leading role in the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]].<ref>McDuffie, Jerome; Piggrem, Gary Wayne; Woodworth, Steven E. (2005). ''U.S. History Super Review''. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Association. p. 418. {{ISBN|978-0-7386-0070-3}}.</ref> In 1920, [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|a constitutional amendment]] granted nationwide [[Women's suffrage in the United States|women's suffrage]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Larson |first1=Elizabeth C. |last2=Meltvedt |first2=Kristi R. |date=2021 |title=Women's suffrage: fact sheet |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R45805 |journal=CRS Reports (Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service) |series=Report / Congressional Research Service |access-date=August 9, 2023}}</ref> During the 1920s and 1930s, [[radio]] for [[mass communication]] and ultimately the invention of early [[television]] transformed communications in the United States.{{sfn|Winchester|2013|pp=410–411}} The prosperity of the [[Roaring Twenties]] ended with the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] and the onset of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]]. After his [[1932 United States presidential election|election as president in 1932]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], between 1933 and 1939, introduced his [[New Deal]] social and economic policies, which included [[public works]] projects, financial reforms, and regulations which represented a shift to a new current of [[modern liberalism in the United States]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need|first1=June|last1=Axinn|first2=Mark J.|last2=Stern|isbn=978-0-205-52215-6|edition=7th|publisher=Allyn & Bacon|location=Boston|year=2007}}</ref> The [[Dust Bowl]] of the mid-1930s impoverished many farming communities and spurred a new wave of western migration.<ref>{{cite book|author=James Noble Gregory|title=American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qNdtGwnXYrIC|year=1991|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-507136-8|access-date=October 25, 2015}}<br />{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/dustbowl-mass-exodus-plains/|title=Mass Exodus From the Plains|author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. -->|year=2013|website=American Experience|publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation|access-date=October 5, 2014}}<br />{{cite web|url=https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html|title=The Migrant Experience|last1=Fanslow|first1=Robin A.|date=April 6, 1997|website=American Folklore Center|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=October 5, 2014}}<br />{{cite book|first=Walter J.|last=Stein|title=California and the Dust Bowl Migration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGuGAAAAIAAJ|year=1973|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-8371-6267-6|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref>[[File:Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima,_larger_-_edit1.jpg|thumb|''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]'', an iconic February 1945 photo of [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] raising the [[Flag of the United States|U.S. flag]] atop [[Mount Suribachi]] during the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] in [[World War II]]]]
[[United States non-interventionism before entering World War II|At first neutral]] during [[World War II]], the U.S. began [[Lend-Lease|supplying war materiel]] to the [[Allies of World War II]] in March 1941. On December 7, 1941, the [[Empire of Japan]] launched [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor]], causing the U.S. to [[Consequences of the attack on Pearl Harbor|militarily join the Allies]] against the [[Axis powers]].<ref>The official WRA record from 1946 states that it was 120,000 people. See {{cite book |author=[[War Relocation Authority]] |url=https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-282-5/ |title=The Evacuated People: A Quantitative Study |year=1946 |page=8}} This number does not include people held in other camps such as those run by the DoJ or U.S. Army. Other sources may give numbers slightly more or less than 120,000.</ref><ref name="Pearl Harbor">{{cite web |last1=Yamasaki |first1=Mitch |title=Pearl Harbor and America's Entry into World War II: A Documentary History |url=https://www.hawaiiinternment.org/static/ush_yamasaki_documentary_history.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213122046/https://www.hawaiiinternment.org/static/ush_yamasaki_documentary_history.pdf |archive-date=December 13, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2015 |publisher=World War II Internment in Hawaii}}</ref> The U.S. pursued a "[[Europe first]]" defense policy, and the Philippines [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|was invaded]] and [[Japanese occupation of the Philippines|occupied by Japan]] until [[Philippines campaign (1944–1945)|its liberation]] by U.S. led forces in 1944–1945.{{Cn|date=October 2023}} The U.S. [[Manhattan Project|developed the first nuclear weapons]] and [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|used them againast the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] in August 1945; the subsequent [[surrender of Japan]] on September 2 ended World War II.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Why did Japan surrender in World War II? |language=en |newspaper=The Japan Times |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/08/06/commentary/japan-surrender-world-war-ii/ |access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>Pacific War Research Society (2006). ''Japan's Longest Day''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-4-7700-2887-7}}.</ref> The United States was one of the "[[Four Policemen]]" who met to plan the postwar world, alongside the [[United Kingdom]], [[Soviet Union]], and [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]].{{sfn|Hoopes|Brinkley|1997|p=100}}{{sfn|Gaddis|1972|p=25}} It played a leading role in the [[Bretton Woods Conference|Bretton Woods]] and [[Yalta Conference|Yalta]] conferences, and participated in [[United Nations Conference on International Organization|a 1945 international conference]] that produced the [[Charter of the United Nations|United Nations Charter]], which became active after the war's end.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 2005 |title=The United States and the Founding of the United Nations, August 1941 – October 1945 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/55407.htm |access-date=June 11, 2007 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of the Historian}}</ref> The U.S. emerged relatively unscathed from the war, with even greater economic and military influence.<ref>Kennedy, Paul (1989). ''The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers''. New York: Vintage. p. 358. {{ISBN|978-0-679-72019-5}}</ref>
 
=== Contemporary United States (1945–present) ===
<!----- [[BP:SUMMARYHATNOTE]]-->
{{Main|History of the United States (1945–1964)|History of the United States (1964–1980)|History of the United States (1980–1991)|l2 = 1964–1980|l3 = 1980–1991|History of the United States (1991–2008)|l4 = 1991–2008}}
After World War II, the United States launched the [[Marshall Plan]] to aid in the reconstruction of Europe.<ref>See {{cite journal |last=Frankenfeld |first=Peter |date=2012 |title=A Marshall Plan for Greece? The European Union and the Financial Crisis in Greece. A Theoretical and Political Analysis in the Global World Against a Background of Regional Integration: Table 1. European Recovery Programme – Marshall Plan ($ million) |url=http://bazekon.icm.edu.pl/bazekon/element/bwmeta1.element.ekon-element-000171238489 |journal=Prace i Materiały Instytutu Handlu Zagranicznego Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego |language=EN |issue=31/1 |pages=69 |issn=2300-6153}}</ref> This period also marked the beginning of the [[Cold War]], where geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union driven by ideological differences led the two countries to dominate the military affairs of Europe,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sempa |first=Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Px4uDwAAQBAJ |title=Geopolitics: From the Cold War to the 21st Century |date=12 July 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-51768-3}}</ref> with the U.S.-led capitalist [[Western Bloc]] opposing the Soviet-led communist [[Eastern Bloc]]. The U.S. engaged in [[regime change]] against governments perceived to be aligned with the Soviet Union, participated in conflicts like the [[Korean War|Korean]] and [[Vietnam War|Vietnam Wars]], and competed in the [[Space Race]], culminating in the [[Apollo 11|first crewed Moon landing]] in 1969.<ref name="Blakemore-2019">{{cite web |last=Blakemore |first=Erin |date=March 22, 2019 |title=What was the Cold War? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/cold-war/ |access-date=August 28, 2020 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref><ref>Mark Kramer, "The Soviet Bloc and the Cold War in Europe," in {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EyNcCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT174 |title=A Companion to Europe Since 1945 |publisher=Wiley |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-118-89024-0 |editor-last=Larresm |editor-first=Klaus |page=79}}</ref><ref>[[United States#Blakeley|Blakeley, 2009]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=rft8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 p. 92]</ref><ref name="Proxy">{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Michael |url=https://archive.org/details/liftoff00coll |title=Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space |publisher=Grove Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8021-1011-4 |location=New York |author-link=Michael Collins (astronaut) |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Origins of the Vietnam War |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-353 |access-date=August 28, 2020 |last=Chapman |first=Jessica M. |date=August 5, 2016 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.353 |isbn=978-0-19-932917-5}}</ref> Domestically, the U.S. experienced [[Post–World War II economic expansion|large economic growth]], [[urbanization]], and [[Mid-20th century baby boom|population growth]] following World War II,{{sfn|Winchester|2013|pp=305–308}} and admitted [[Alaska]] and [[Hawaii]] as states.<ref name="Lightner2004">{{cite book |last=Lightner |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yei4fDrecWsC&pg=PA141 |title=Hawaiian History: An Annotated Bibliography |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-313-28233-1 |page=141}}</ref>
[[File:Martin Luther King - March on Washington (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Martin Luther King Jr.]] delivers his "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech at the [[Lincoln Memorial]] during the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|March on Washington]] on August 28, 1963.|alt=See caption]]
 
The [[civil rights movement]] emerged, with [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] becoming a prominent leader in the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/johngardner/chapters/4b.html|title=The Civil Rights Movement|website=PBS.org|access-date=January 5, 2019}}</ref> President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] initiated the "[[Great Society]]", introducing sweeping legislation and policies to address poverty and racial inequalities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ssa.gov/history/lbjsm.html|title=Social Security|website=ssa.gov|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture movement]] in the U.S. brought significant social changes, including the liberalization of attitudes towards what substances are acceptable for [[recreational drug use]], sexuality<ref>{{cite web |url=https://study.com/learn/lesson/sexual-liberation-movement-origin-timeline-impact-revolution.html |title=The Sexual Revolution Origins and Impact |website=study.com |author=Svetlana Ter-Grigoryan |date=February 12, 2022 |access-date=April 27, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 25, 2022 |title=Playboy: American Magazine |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Playboy |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |quote=...the so-called sexual revolution in the United States in the 1960s, marked by greatly more permissive attitudes toward sexual interest and activity than had been prevalent in earlier generations.}}</ref> and the beginning of the modern [[LGBT movements|gay rights movement]] as well as [[Draft evasion in the Vietnam War|open defiance of the military draft]] and [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|opposition to intervention in Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5106608/protest-1968/?amp=true|title=Behind the Protests Against the Vietnam War in 1968|last=Levy|first=Daniel|date=January 19, 2018|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=May 5, 2021}}</ref>
 
The United States supported [[Israel]] during the [[Yom Kippur War]], leading to the [[1973 oil crisis]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} The presidency of [[Richard Nixon]] saw the [[1973 in the Vietnam War|American withdrawal from Vietnam]] but also the [[Watergate scandal]], which led to [[Nixon resignation|his resignation]] and a decline in public trust of government that expanded for decades.<ref name="watergate_committee_final_report">[[Sam Ervin|Ervin, Sam]], et al., ''Final Report of the Watergate Committee''.</ref> After a surge in female labor participation around the 1970s, by 1985, the majority of women aged 16 and over were employed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Women in the Labor Force: A Databook|url=https://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook-2012.pdf|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|access-date=March 21, 2014|page=11|year=2013}}</ref> The 1970s and early 1980s saw economic [[stagflation]] and President [[Ronald Reagan]] responded with [[Reaganomics|neoliberal reforms]] and a [[rollback]] strategy towards the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Allen|first=Robert C.|date=November 2001|title=The rise and decline of the Soviet economy|journal=Canadian Journal of Economics|volume=34|issue=4|pages=859–881|doi=10.1111/0008-4085.00103|issn=0008-4085}}</ref>{{sfn|Gerstle|2022|pp=106–108, 121-128}}<ref>[[#Soss|Soss, 2010]], p. 277</ref><ref>[[#Fraser|Fraser, 1989]]</ref> The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the [[Revolutions of 1989|collapse of the Warsaw Pact]] and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], which marked the end of the Cold War and solidified the U.S. as the world's sole superpower.<ref name="Gaidar">{{cite book|last=Gaĭdar|first=E.T.|year=2007|title=Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia|url={{GBUrl|bDSfnxYjVwAC|pg=PA102}}|pages=190–205|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=[[Brookings Institution#Publications|Brookings Institution Press]]|isbn=978-0-8157-3114-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Howell|first=Buddy Wayne|title=The Rhetoric of Presidential Summit Diplomacy: Ronald Reagan and the U.S.-Soviet Summits, 1985–1988|year=2006|publisher=Texas A&M University|isbn=978-0-549-41658-6|page=352 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kissinger|first=Henry|author-link=Henry Kissinger|title=Diplomacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IZboamhb5EC&pg=PA731|year=2011|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-2631-8|pages=781–784|access-date=October 25, 2015}}<br />{{cite book|last=Mann|first=James|title=The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgZyXNIrvB4C&pg=PT12|year=2009|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-4406-8639-9|page=432}}<br /></ref><ref>[[#Hayes|Hayes, 2009]]</ref>
 
[[File:Explosion following the plane impact into the South Tower (WTC 2) - B6019~11.jpg|thumb|The [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in [[Lower Manhattan]], [[New York City]], during the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001]]
 
In the first decades of the 21st century, [[Islamic terrorism in the United States|the U.S. faced challenges from terrorism]], with the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001 leading to the [[war on terror]] and military interventions [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|in Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq War|Iraq]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The 'War on Terror' Is Critical to President George W. Bush's Legacy|author=Walsh, Kenneth T.|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/12/09/the-war-on-terror-is-critical-to-president-george-w-bushs-legacy|newspaper=U.S. News & World Report|date=December 9, 2008|access-date=March 6, 2013}}<br />{{cite book|last=Atkins|first=Stephen E.|title=The 9/11 Encyclopedia: Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDDIgWRN_HQC&pg=PA210|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-921-9|page=872|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Overview: The Iraq War|last=Wong|first=Edward|url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/timestopics/topics_iraq.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 15, 2008|access-date=March 7, 2013 }}<br />{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=James Turner|title=The War to Oust Saddam Hussein: Just War and the New Face of Conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SF7U27JsLC4C&q=iraq+invasion+removes+hussein|year=2005|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-4956-2|page=159|access-date=October 25, 2015 }}<br />{{cite news|title=Timeline: Key moments in the Iraq War|author=Durando, Jessica|author2=Green, Shannon Rae|agency=Associated Press|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/story/2011-12-21/iraq-war-timeline/52147680/1|newspaper=USA Today|date=December 21, 2011|access-date=March 7, 2013|archive-date=September 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904084312/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/story/2011-12-21/iraq-war-timeline/52147680/1|url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[2000s United States housing bubble|U.S. housing bubble]] in 2006 culminated in the [[2007–2008 financial crisis]] and the [[Great Recession]], the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hilsenrath |first1=Jon |last2=Ng |first2=Serena |last3=Paletta |first3=Damian |date=September 18, 2008 |title=Worst Crisis Since '30s, With No End Yet in Sight |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122169431617549947 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225040616/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122169431617549947 |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |issn=1042-9840 |oclc=781541372}}</ref> Amid the financial crisis, [[Barack Obama]], the first [[Multiracial Americans|multiracial]] president, [[2008 United States presidential election|was elected]] in 2008.<ref name="multiracial">{{cite news |author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. --> |date=November 12, 2008 |title=Barack Obama: Face Of New Multiracial Movement? |work=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96916824}}</ref><ref name="Washington-2011">{{cite news |last1=Washington |first1=Jesse |last2=Rugaber |first2=Chris |date=July 10, 2011 |title=African-American Economic Gains Reversed By Great Recession |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/article/3584442/economic-gains-for-blacks-reversed-in-great-recession |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616183529/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/10/black-recession-economy-african-americans_n_894046.html |archive-date=June 16, 2013}}</ref> [[Political polarization in the United States|Political polarization]] increased as sociopolitical debates on cultural issues dominated political discussion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hamid |first=Shadi |date=2022-01-08 |title=The Forever Culture War |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/republicans-democrats-forever-culture-war/621184/ |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> The [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]] resulted in over 100 million confirmed cases and 1 million deaths,<ref>{{cite journal | title = Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) | url = https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus | journal = [[Our World in Data]] | language = en | first1 = Hannah  | last1 = Ritchie | author1-link=Hannah Ritchie | first2 = Edouard | last2 = Mathieu | first3 = Lucas  | last3 = Rodés-Guirao | first4 = Cameron | last4 = Appel | first5 = Charlie | last5 = Giattino | first6 = Esteban | last6 = Ortiz-Ospina | first7 = Joe    | last7 = Hasell | first8 = Bobbie  | last8 = Macdonald | first9 = Diana  | last9 = Beltekian | first10 = Saloni | last10 = Dattani | first11 = Max    | last11 = Roser | author11-link = Max Roser | date = 2020–2022 | access-date = {{COVID-19 data/Date}}}}</ref> making it the most deadly pandemic in U.S. history.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||title=COVID-19 surpasses 1918 flu as deadliest pandemic in U.S. history |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/covid-19-is-now-the-deadliest-pandemic-in-us-history |website=[[National Geographic]] |date=September 21, 2021}}</ref> [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|Attempts to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election]] culminated in the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol]] that attempted to prevent the peaceful transition of power to president-elect [[Joe Biden]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Protests erupt in D.C., around the country as Roe v. Wade falls |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/06/24/supreme-court-abortion-protests-roe/ |access-date=September 28, 2022 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
 
== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of the United States}}
 
[[File:Uspaintedrelief.png|thumb|A [[topographic map]] of the United States]]
 
The [[List of states and territories of the United States|48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia]] occupy a combined area of {{convert|3,119,885|sqmi|km2|abbr=}}. Of this area, {{convert|2,959,064|sqmi|km2|abbr=}} is contiguous land, composing 83.65% of total U.S. land area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/279.html#as|work=The World Factbook|publisher=cia.gov|title=Field Listing: Area|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707180005/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/279.html#as|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="urlState Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates—Geography—U.S. Census Bureau">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html|title=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates—Geography—U.S. Census Bureau|website=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce|access-date=September 11, 2017}}</ref> About 15% is occupied by [[Alaska]], a state in northwestern North America, with the remainder in [[Hawaii]], a state and [[archipelago]] in the central [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], and the five populated but [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated]] insular territories of [[Puerto Rico]], [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]].<ref>{{cite web|title=2010 Census Area|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf|website=census.gov|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|page=41|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref> Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, and just ahead of Canada.<ref name="CIA Factbook Area">{{cite web|title=Area|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html|website=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=January 15, 2015|archive-date=January 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131115000/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html|url-status=dead }}</ref> The United States is the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by area|third-largest nation]] by land and total area behind [[Russia]] and [[Canada]].{{efn|name=largestcountry}}<ref name="WF">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/|title=United States|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|website=The World Factbook|date=January 3, 2018|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>
 
The [[Atlantic coastal plain|coastal plain]] of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] seaboard gives way further inland to [[deciduous]] forests and the rolling hills of the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Geographic Regions of Georgia|url=https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/geography/article/geographic-regions-of-georgia|website=Georgia Info|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The [[Appalachian Mountains]] and the [[Adirondack Mountains|Adirondack]] massif divide the eastern seaboard from the [[Great Lakes]] and the grasslands of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]].<ref name="NAU">{{cite web|last=Lew|first=Alan|title=PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE US|url=https://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409112252/https://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch2.html|archive-date=April 9, 2016|website=GSP 220—Geography of the United States|publisher=North Arizona University|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]]–[[Missouri River]], the world's [[List of rivers by length|fourth longest river system]], runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile [[prairie]] of the [[Great Plains]] stretches to the west, interrupted by [[U.S. Interior Highlands|a highland region]] in the southeast.<ref name="NAU" />
 
The [[Rocky Mountains]], west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over {{convert|14000|ft}} in [[Colorado]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Harms|first=Nicole|title=Facts About the Rocky Mountain Range|url=https://traveltips.usatoday.com/rocky-mountain-range-11967.html|website=Travel Tips|publisher=USA Today|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> Farther west are the rocky [[Great Basin]] and deserts such as the [[Chihuahuan Desert|Chihuahua]], [[Sonoran Desert|Sonoran]], and [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tinkham|first=Ernest R.|title=Biological, Taxonomic and Faunistic Studies on the Shield-Back Katydids of the North American Deserts|jstor=2421073|doi=10.2307/2421073|journal=[[The American Midland Naturalist]]|volume=31|number=2|date=March 1944|pages=257–328|publisher=The [[University of Notre Dame]]}}</ref> The [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] and [[Cascade Range|Cascade]] mountain ranges run close to the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific coast]], both ranges also reaching altitudes higher than {{convert|14000|ft}}. The [[Extreme points of the United States|lowest and highest points]] in the contiguous United States are in the state of California,<ref>{{cite web|title=Mount Whitney, California|url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2829|publisher=Peakbagger|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> and only about {{convert|84|mi|km}} apart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Find Distance and Azimuths Between 2 Sets of Coordinates (Badwater 36-15-01-N, 116-49-33-W and Mount Whitney 36-34-43-N, 118-17-31-W)|url=https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/distance?dlat=36&mlat=15&slat=01&ns=1&dlon=116&mlon=49&slon=33&ew=1&dlat2=36&mlat2=34&slat2=43&sn=1&dlon2=118&mlon2=17&slon2=31&we=1&iselec=1|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> At an elevation of {{convert|20310|ft|1}}, Alaska's [[Denali]] is the highest peak in the country and in North America.<ref>{{cite web|last=Poppick|first=Laura|title=US Tallest Mountain's Surprising Location Explained|date=August 28, 2013|url=https://www.livescience.com/39245-us-tallest-mountain-location-explained.html|publisher=LiveScience|access-date=May 2, 2015}}</ref> Active [[volcano]]es are common throughout Alaska's [[Alexander Archipelago|Alexander]] and [[Aleutian Islands]], and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The [[supervolcano]] underlying [[Yellowstone National Park]] in the [[Rockies]] is the continent's largest volcanic feature.<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Hanlon|first=Larry|title=America's Explosive Park|url=https://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html|date=March 14, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050314034001/https://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html|archive-date=March 14, 2005|publisher=Discovery Channel|access-date=April 5, 2016}}</ref>
 
=== Climate ===
{{Main|Climate of the United States|Climate change in the United States}}
[[File:Köppen Climate Types US 50.png|thumb|The [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of the United States]]
 
With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. To the east of the [[100th meridian west|100th meridian]], the climate ranges from [[humid continental climate|humid continental]] in the north to [[humid subtropical climate|humid subtropical]] in the south.<ref>{{cite web|last=Boyden|first=Jennifer|title=Climate Regions of the United States|url=https://traveltips.usatoday.com/climate-regions-united-states-21570.html|website=Travel Tips|publisher=USA Today|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref>
 
The Great Plains west of the 100th meridian are [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]]. Many mountainous areas of the American West have an [[alpine climate]]. The climate is [[Desert climate|arid]] in the Great Basin, desert in the Southwest, [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] in [[coastal California]], and [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] in coastal [[Oregon]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and southern Alaska. Most of Alaska is [[Subarctic climate|subarctic]] or [[Polar climate|polar]]. Hawaii and the southern tip of [[Florida]] are [[Tropical climate|tropical]], as well as its territories in the [[Caribbean]] and the Pacific.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Map of Köppen–Geiger Climate Classification|url=https://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/kottek_et_al_2006_A4.pdf|access-date=August 19, 2015|archive-date=January 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126115149/http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/kottek_et_al_2006_A4.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
States bordering the [[Gulf of Mexico]] are prone to [[Tropical cyclone|hurricanes]], and most of the world's [[tornado]]es occur in the country, mainly in [[Tornado Alley]] areas in the Midwest and South.<ref>{{cite news|author=Perkins, Sid|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701131631/https://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp|archive-date=July 1, 2007|title=Tornado Alley, USA|access-date=September 20, 2006|date=May 11, 2002|work=Science News}}</ref> Overall, the United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title=USA has the world's most extreme weather|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/05/16/extreme-weather-north-america/2162501/|last=Rice|first=Doyle|website=USA Today|language=en|access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref>
 
Extreme weather became more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported [[heat waves]] as in the 1960s. Of the ten warmest years ever recorded in the 48 contiguous states, eight occurred after 1998. In the [[Southwestern United States|American Southwest]], droughts became more persistent and more severe.<ref>{{Cite web|last=US EPA|first=OAR|date=June 27, 2016|title=Climate Change Indicators: Weather and Climate|url=https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/weather-climate|access-date=June 19, 2022|website=Epa.gov|language=en}}</ref>
 
=== Biodiversity and conservation ===
{{Anchor|Wildlife and conservation}}
{{Main|Fauna of the United States|Flora of the United States}}
[[File:About to Launch (26075320352).jpg|alt=A bald eagle|thumb|The [[bald eagle]], the [[national bird of the United States]] since 1782<ref name="McDougall2004">{{cite book|first=Len|last=McDougall|title=The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XOc2_u7z6cC&pg=PA325|year=2004|publisher=Lyons Press|isbn=978-1-59228-070-4|page=325}}</ref>]]
 
The U.S. is one of 17 [[megadiverse countries]] containing large numbers of [[List of endangered species in North America|endemic species]]: about 17,000 species of [[vascular plant]]s occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and more than 1800 species of [[flowering plant]]s are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland.<ref>{{cite web|author=Morin, Nancy|url=https://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724222726/https://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf|title=Vascular Plants of the United States|publisher=National Biological Service|website=Plants|access-date=October 27, 2008|archive-date=July 24, 2013}}</ref> The United States is home to 428 [[mammal]] species, 784 [[bird]]s, 311 [[reptile]]s, and 295 [[amphibian]]s,<ref name="Current Results # of native species in the US">{{cite web|last1=Osborn|first1=Liz|title=Number of Native Species in United States|url=https://www.currentresults.com/Environment-Facts/Plants-Animals/number-of-native-species-in-united-states.php|publisher=Current Results Nexus|access-date=January 15, 2015}}</ref> and 91,000 [[insect]] species.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/bugnos.htm|title=Numbers of Insects (Species and Individuals)|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
 
There are 63 [[List of national parks of the United States|national parks]], and [[Federal lands|hundreds of other federally managed]] parks, forests, and [[National Wilderness Preservation System|wilderness areas]], managed by the [[National Park Service]] and other agencies.<ref>{{cite web|title= National Park FAQ|url=https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/national-park-system.htm/|last1=Park|first1=National|website=nps|access-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref> Altogether, about 28% of the country's land area is publicly owned and federally managed,<ref name="NYTimes Federal Land">{{cite news|last1=Lipton|first1=Eric|last2=Krauss|first2=Clifford|title=Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/us/romney-would-give-reins-to-states-on-drilling-on-federal-lands.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0|access-date=January 18, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 23, 2012}}</ref> primarily located in the [[Western United States|western states]].<ref name="AKLeg CRS Federal Land">{{Cite report|url=https://www.akleg.gov/basis/get_documents.asp?session=31&docid=47224|title=Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=March 3, 2017|access-date=June 18, 2020|last1=Vincent|first1=Carol H.|last2=Hanson|first2=Laura A.|last3=Argueta|first3=Carla N.|page=2}}</ref> Most of this land is [[Protected areas of the United States|protected]], though some is leased for oil and gas drilling, mining, logging, or cattle ranching, and less than one percent of it is used for military purposes.<ref name="Federal Land Ownership">{{cite web|last1=Gorte|first1=Ross W.|last2=Vincent|first2=Carol Hardy.|last3=Hanson|first3=Laura A.|last4=Marc R.|first4=Rosenblum|title=Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf|website=fas.org|publisher=Congressional Research Service|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Fed Land Uses">{{cite web|title=Chapter 6: Federal Programs to Promote Resource Use, Extraction, and Development|url=https://www.doi.gov/pmb/oepc/wetlands2/v2ch6.cfm|website=doi.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318005744/https://www.doi.gov/pmb/oepc/wetlands2/v2ch6.cfm|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior|access-date=January 19, 2015|archive-date=March 18, 2015}}</ref>
 
[[Environmental issues in the United States|Environmental issues]] in the United States include debates on [[non-renewable resource]]s and [[Nuclear power debate|nuclear energy]], [[Pollution prevention in the US|air and water pollution]], [[biological diversity]], logging and [[Deforestation in the United States|deforestation]],<ref>{{cite web|author=The National Atlas of the United States of America|url=https://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html|title=Forest Resources of the United States|publisher=Nationalatlas.gov|date=January 14, 2013|access-date=January 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507195541/https://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html|archive-date=May 7, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr587.pdf|title=Land Use Changes Involving Forestry in the United States: 1952 to 1997, With Projections to 2050|year=2003|access-date=January 13, 2014}}</ref> and [[Climate change in the United States|climate change]].<ref>[[#Daynes|Daynes & Sussman, 2010]], pp. 3, 72, 74–76, 78</ref><ref>Hays, Samuel P. (2000). ''A History of Environmental Politics since 1945''.</ref> The [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA), created by presidential order in 1970, is the federal agency charged with enforcing and [[Environmental policy of the United States|addressing most environmental-related issues]].<ref name="Collin2006">{{cite book|last=Collin|first=Robert W.|title=The Environmental Protection Agency: Cleaning Up America's Act|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVPoqXeTYTwC&pg=PA1|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33341-5|page=1|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The [[National Wilderness Preservation System|idea of wilderness]] has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the [[Wilderness Act]].<ref>Turner, James Morton (2012). ''The Promise of Wilderness''</ref> The [[Endangered Species Act]] of 1973 is intended to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats, which are monitored by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]].<ref name="Office">{{cite book|title=Endangered species Fish and Wildlife Service|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a8BEuUPJb58C&pg=PA1|publisher=General Accounting Office, Diane Publishing|isbn=978-1-4289-3997-4|page=1|access-date=October 25, 2015|year=2003 }}</ref>
 
As of 2020, the U.S. ranked 24th among 180 nations in the [[Environmental Performance Index]].<ref>{{cite web|title=What Is the Greenest Country in the World?|url=https://www.atlasandboots.com/greenest-country-in-the-world/|website=Atlas & Boots|date=June 6, 2020|publisher=Environmental Performance Index|access-date=November 18, 2020}}</ref> The country joined the [[Paris Agreement]] on climate change in 2016, and has many other environmental commitments.<ref>{{cite web|title=United States of America|url=https://climateaction.unfccc.int/views/country.html?country=US|website=Global Climate Action – NAZCA|publisher=United Nations|access-date=November 18, 2020}}</ref> [[United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement|It withdrew]] from the Paris Agreement in 2020<ref>{{cite news|last1=Nugent|first1=Ciara|title=The U.S. Just Officially Left the Paris Agreement. Can it Be a Leader in the Climate Fight Again?|url=https://time.com/5907210/us-leaves-paris-agreement-2020-election/|access-date=November 18, 2020|agency=Times|date=November 4, 2020}}</ref> but rejoined it in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|title=Biden announces return to global climate accord, new curbs on U.S. oil industry|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-biden-climate-idINKBN29P12S|date=January 20, 2021|work=Reuters|department=Money News|access-date=February 9, 2021}}</ref>
 
== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Constitution of the United States|Politics of the United States|Government of the United States}}
{{Further|Political parties in the United States|Elections in the United States|Political ideologies in the United States|American patriotism|American civil religion}}
[[File:US Capitol west side.JPG|thumb|[[United States Capitol|The Capitol]] and its two legislative chambers, the [[United States Senate|Senate]] (left) and the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] (right)]]
[[File:White House lawn (long tightly cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[White House]], the residence and workplace of the [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] and the offices of the [[Executive Office of the President of the United States|presidential staff]]]]
[[File:Panorama of United States Supreme Court Building at Dusk.jpg|thumb|The [[United States Supreme Court Building|Supreme Court Building]], which houses the [[Supreme Court of the United States|nation's highest court]]]]
 
The United States was founded on the principles of the [[American Enlightenment]]. It is a [[federal republic]] of 50 [[U.S. state|states]], a [[Washington, D.C.|federal district]], [[Territories of the United States|five territories]] and several uninhabited [[United States Minor Outlying Islands|island possessions]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Common Core Document of the United States of America|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/179780.htm|date=December 30, 2011|publisher=[[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]]|access-date=July 10, 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|The New York Times|2007|p=670}}{{sfn|Onuf|2010|p=xvii}} It is the world's oldest surviving [[federation]], and, according to the [[World Economic Forum]], the oldest [[democracy]] as well.<ref>Desjardins, Jeff  (August 8, 2019) [https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/countries-are-the-worlds-oldest-democracies/ "Mapped: The world's oldest democracies"] [[World Economic Forum]]</ref> It is a [[Liberal democracy|liberal]] [[representative democracy]] "in which [[Tyranny of the majority|majority rule is tempered]] by [[Constitutional right|minority rights]] protected by [[Law of the United States|law]]."<ref name="Scheb">Scheb, John M.; Scheb, John M. II (2002). ''An Introduction to the American Legal System''. Florence, KY: Delmar, p. 6. {{ISBN|978-0-7668-2759-2}}.</ref>
 
The federal government comprises three branches, which are headquartered in Washington, D.C. and regulated by a system of [[separation of powers|checks and balances]] defined by the Constitution.<ref>{{cite web |author=Killian, Johnny H. |title=Constitution of the United States |url=https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm |access-date=February 11, 2012 |publisher=The Office of the Secretary of the Senate}}</ref>
* The [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]], a [[bicameral legislature]], made up of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] and the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], makes [[federal law]], [[declaration of war|declares war]], approves treaties, has the [[power of the purse]],<ref>{{cite web|title=The Legislative Branch|publisher=United States Diplomatic Mission to Germany|url=https://usa.usembassy.de/government-legislative.htm|access-date=August 20, 2012}}</ref> and has [[Impeachment in the United States|the power of impeachment]], by which it can remove the President, Vice President, and presidentially-appointed civil Officers of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Process for impeachment|publisher=ThinkQuest|url=https://library.thinkquest.org/25673/process.htm|access-date=August 20, 2012|archive-date=April 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408102119/https://library.thinkquest.org/25673/process.htm|url-status=dead }}</ref> Each chamber determines the method of trial and punishment for its own members, and may expel a member with a two-thirds majority<ref>{{nbsp}}... Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member"{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate_Impeachment_Role.htm#4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202133604/http://senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate_Impeachment_Role.htm|url-status=dead|title=U.S. Senate: Impeachment|archive-date=December 2, 2010|website=www.senate.gov}}</ref> The Senate has 100 members, elected for a six-year term in dual-seat [[Electoral district|constituencies]] (2 from each [[U.S. state|state]]), with one-third being renewed every two years. The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected for a two-year term in single-seat [[Electoral district|constituencies]] of approximately equal population, and elections occur every two years, correlated with [[United States presidential election|presidential elections]] or halfway through a president's term.
* [[President of the United States|The U.S. President]] is the [[commander-in-chief]] of the military, can veto [[bill (law)|legislative bills]] before they become law (subject to congressional override), and appoints the [[Cabinet of the United States|members of the Cabinet]] (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies through their respective [[List of federal agencies in the United States|agencies]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Executive Branch|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-executive-branch/|website=The White House|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref> The president and the vice president are elected together in a presidential election.<ref>[http://www.statista.com/statistics/214833/state-of-the-nation-before-presidential-elections/ Statistics on the State of the Nation Before the Presidential Elections (2007 and 2011)], Pew Research Center, 2011.</ref> It is an [[indirect election]], with the winner being determined by votes cast by electors of the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]]. In modern times, voters in each state select a slate of electors from a list of several slates designated by different parties or candidates, and the electors typically promise in advance to vote for the candidates of their party (whose names of the presidential candidates usually appear on the ballot rather than those of the individual electors). The winner of the election is the candidate with at least 270 Electoral College votes. The President and Vice President serve a four-year term and may be elected to the office [[Term limits in the United States|no more than twice]].
*  The U.S. federal judiciary, whose judges are all appointed for life by the President with Senate approval, consists primarily of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]], the [[United States Courts of Appeals|U.S. Courts of Appeals]], and the [[United States District Courts|U.S. District Courts]]. The U.S. Supreme Court interprets laws and overturn those they find [[constitutionality|unconstitutional]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Kermit L.|last1=Hall|first2=Kevin T.|last2=McGuire|title=Institutions of American Democracy: The Judicial Branch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6rWCaMAdUzgC|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-988374-5}}<br />{{cite book|author=U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services|title=Learn about the United States: Quick Civics Lessons for the Naturalization Test|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8X1CzvBXHksC&pg=PA4|date=2013|publisher=Government Printing Office|isbn=978-0-16-091708-0|page=4}}<br />{{cite book|first=Bryon|last=Giddens-White|title=The Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbZw3bJsWtUC|year=2005|publisher=Heinemann Library|isbn=978-1-4034-6608-2}}<br />{{cite book|first=Charles L.|last=Zelden|title=The Judicial Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics|url=https://archive.org/details/judicialbranchof0000zeld|url-access=registration|year=2007|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-702-9|access-date=October 25, 2015}}<br />{{cite web|url=https://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx|title=Federal Courts|author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. -->|publisher=United States Courts|access-date=October 19, 2014}}</ref> The Supreme Court is led by the [[Chief Justice of the United States|chief justice of the United States]]. It has nine members who serve for life. The members are appointed by the sitting president when a vacancy becomes available.<ref>{{cite news|title=Beyond politics: Why Supreme Court justices are appointed for life|first=Roger|last=Cossack|url=https://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/07/columns/cossack.scotus.07.12/|work=CNN|date=July 13, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712085825/https://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/07/columns/cossack.scotus.07.12|archive-date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> Federal judges, like Supreme Court justices, are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate to serve until they resign, are impeached and convicted, retire, or are deceased.
 
The [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]] serves as the country's supreme legal document, establishing the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. The Constitution has been amended 27 times.<ref>[[#Feldstein|Feldstein, Fabozzi, 2011]], p. 9</ref>
 
=== Political subdivisions ===
{{Main|Political divisions of the United States|State government in the United States|Local government in the United States|U.S. state}}
{{Further|List of states and territories of the United States|Indian reservation|Territories of the United States}}
{{See also|Territorial evolution of the United States}}
 
In the American [[federalism|federal]] system, sovereignty is shared between [[Political divisions of the United States|two levels of government]]: federal and state. Each of the 50 states has territory where it shares [[sovereignty]] with the federal government. States are subdivided into [[List of United States counties and county equivalents|counties or county equivalents]], and further divided into [[Municipality|municipalities]]. The District of Columbia is a [[federal district]] that contains the capital of the United States, the [[Washington, D.C.|city of Washington]].<ref>{{usc|8|1101}}(a)(36) and {{usc|8|1101}}(a)(38) U.S. Federal Code, Immigration and Nationality Act. {{USC|8|1101a}}</ref>  People in the states are also represented by local elected governments, which are administrative divisions of the states. The territories and the District of Columbia are administrative divisions of the federal government. Governance on many issues is [[Decentralization|decentralized]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Feldstein |first=Martin |date=March 2017 |title=Why is Growth Better in the United States Than in Other Industrial Countries? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w23221 |journal=[[National Bureau of Economic Research]] |location=Cambridge, MA|doi=10.3386/w23221 }}</ref>{{USA image map}}
 
=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of the United States|Foreign policy of the United States}}
[[File:67º Período de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas (8020913157).jpg|thumb|The [[Headquarters of the United Nations|United Nations headquarters]] has been situated along the [[East River]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]] since 1952; in 1945, the United States was a founding member of the UN.|alt=see caption]]
 
The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it had the world's second-largest diplomatic corps in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/country_rank.html |title=Global Diplomacy Index&nbsp;– Country Rank|publisher=[[Lowy Institute]]|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> It is a [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|permanent member]] of the [[United Nations Security Council]],<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/current-members|title=Current Members|work=[[United Nations Security Council]]|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> and home to the [[Headquarters of the United Nations|United Nations headquarters]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=United Nations Headquarters Agreement|journal=The American Journal of International Law |volume=42|number=2|date=April 1948|pages=445–447|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.2307/2193692|jstor=2193692|s2cid=246008694 }}</ref> The United States is also a member of the [[G7]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/where-g7-headed|title=Where is the G7 Headed?|work=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|location=New York City|date=June 28, 2022}}</ref> [[G20]],<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-and-g20-building-a-more-peaceful-stable-and-prosperous-world-together/|title=The United States and G20: Building a More Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous World Together|date=July 6, 2022|work=[[United States Department of State]]|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> and [[OECD]] intergovernmental organizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/about/members-and-partners/|title=Our global reach|work=[[OECD]]|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> Almost all countries have [[List of diplomatic missions in the United States|embassies]] and many have [[consul (representative)|consulates]] (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all nations host formal [[diplomatic mission]]s with the United States, except [[Iran–United States relations|Iran]],<ref>{{cite report |last1=Fialho |first1=Livia Pontes |last2=Wallin |first2=Matthew |title=Reaching for an Audience: U.S. Public Diplomacy Towards Iran |date=August 1, 2013 |publisher=American Security Project |jstor=resrep06070}}</ref> [[North Korea–United States relations|North Korea]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42351336|title=Which are the countries still talking to North Korea?|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|location=London|date=December 19, 2017|access-date=July 15, 2022|last1=Oliver|first1=Alex|last2=Graham|first2=Euan}}</ref> and [[Foreign relations of Bhutan#Other countries|Bhutan]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/12/the-case-for-a-stronger-bhutanese-american-relationship/|title=The Case for Stronger Bhutanese-American Ties|newspaper=[[The Diplomat]]|date=December 22, 2014|last=Ferraro|first=Matthew F.|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> Though [[Taiwan–United States relations|Taiwan]] does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close, if unofficial, relations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2022 |title=US will continue to strengthen 'unofficial ties' with Taiwan, says Harris |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3194126/us-will-continue-strengthen-unofficial-ties-taiwan-vice |access-date=September 28, 2022 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref> The United States also regularly supplies Taiwan with [[Six Assurances|military equipment]] to deter potential Chinese aggression.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/09/22/915818283/formal-ties-with-u-s-not-for-now-says-taiwan-foreign-minister|title=Formal Ties With U.S.? Not For Now, Says Taiwan Foreign Minister|newspaper=[[NPR]]|date=September 22, 2020|last=Ruwitch|first=John|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref>
 
The United States has a "[[Special Relationship]]" with the [[United Kingdom–United States relations|United Kingdom]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLy-NKnQitIC&q=uk+us+special+relationship&pg=PA45|title=America's 'Special Relationships': Foreign and Domestic Aspects of the Politics of Alliance|page=45|first1=John|first2=Axel|last2=Schäfer|last1=Dumbrell|year=2009|publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-203-87270-3|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> and strong ties [[Canada–United States relations|with Canada]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/96-397.pdf|title=Canada–U.S. Relations|author1=Ek, Carl|first2=Ian F.|last2=Fergusson|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=September 3, 2010|access-date=August 28, 2011}}</ref> [[Australia–United States relations|Australia]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Australia: Background and U.S. Relations|author=Vaughn, Bruce|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=August 8, 2008|oclc = 70208969}}</ref> [[New Zealand–United States relations|New Zealand]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32876.pdf|title=New Zealand: Background and Bilateral Relations with the United States|author=Vaughn, Bruce|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=May 27, 2011|access-date=August 28, 2011}}</ref> the [[Philippines]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33233.pdf|title=The Republic of the Philippines and U.S. Interests|author=Lum, Thomas|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=January 3, 2011|access-date=August 3, 2011}}</ref> [[Japan–United States relations|Japan]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33436.pdf|title=Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress|author=Chanlett-Avery, Emma|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=June 8, 2011|access-date=August 28, 2011|display-authors=etal}}</ref> [[South Korea–United States relations|South Korea]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41481.pdf|title=U.S.–South Korea Relations: Issues for Congress|first1=Mark E.|last1=Manyin|first2=Emma|last2=Chanlett-Avery|first3=Mary Beth|last3=Nikitin|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=July 8, 2011|access-date=August 28, 2011}}</ref> [[Israel–United States relations|Israel]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33476.pdf|title=Israel: Background and U.S. Relations|author=Zanotti, Jim|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=July 31, 2014|access-date=September 12, 2014}}</ref> and several [[European Union]] countries ([[France–United States relations|France]], [[Italy–United States relations|Italy]], [[Germany–United States relations|Germany]], [[Spain–United States relations|Spain]], and [[Poland–United States relations|Poland]]).<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 20, 2021|url=https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-poland/|title=U.S. Relations With Poland|website=State.gov|access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref> The U.S. works closely with its [[NATO]] allies on military and [[national security]] issues, and with nations in the Americas through the [[Organization of American States]] and the [[United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement|United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement]]. In [[South America]], [[Colombia]] is traditionally considered to be the closest ally of the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Untapped Potential of the US-Colombia Partnership|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/untapped-potential-us-colombia-partnership/|date=September 26, 2019|website=Atlantic Council|language=en|access-date=May 30, 2020|last1=Kimer |first1=James }}</ref> The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for [[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia]], the [[Marshall Islands]], and [[Palau]] through the [[Compact of Free Association]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles L. |last=Zelden |url=https://archive.org/details/judicialbranchof0000zeld |title=The Judicial Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-85109-702-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/judicialbranchof0000zeld/page/217 217] |access-date=October 25, 2015 |url-access=registration}}<br />{{cite book |first1=Loren |last1=Yager |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TfoBd7_KsZMC&pg=PA7 |title=Foreign Relations: Migration from Micronesian Nations Has Had Significant Impact on Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands |first2=Emil |last2=Friberg |first3=Leslie |last3=Holen |date=2003 |publisher=Diane Publishing |isbn=978-0-7567-3394-0 |page=7}}</ref> It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation [[India–United States relations|with India]],<ref>{{cite web |title=INDO- PACIFIC STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/U.S.-Indo-Pacific-Strategy.pdf |publisher=White House |access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref> and its [[China–United States relations|ties with China]] have steadily deteriorated.<ref>{{cite report |last=Meidan |first=Michal |title=US-China: The Great Decoupling |date=July 1, 2019 |publisher=[[Oxford Institute for Energy Studies]] |jstor=resrep33982}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bala |first=Sumathi |title=U.S.-China relations are going downhill with 'no trust' on either side, Stephen Roach says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/28/us-china-ties-on-dangerous-path-with-no-trust-on-both-sides-roach-cohen.html |access-date=May 7, 2023 |website=CNBC |date=March 28, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> The U.S. has become a key ally of [[Ukraine]] since Russia [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|annexed Crimea in 2014]] and began an [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine in 2022]], significantly deteriorating relations with Russia in the process.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rumer|first1=Eugene|last2=Sokolsky|first2=Richard|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/06/20/thirty-years-of-u.s.-policy-toward-russia-can-vicious-circle-be-broken-pub-79323|title=Thirty Years of U.S. Policy Toward Russia: Can the Vicious Circle Be Broken?|newspaper=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]|location=Washington, D.C.|date=June 20, 2019|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Macias |first=Amanda |title=Here's a look at the $5.6 billion in firepower the U.S. has committed to Ukraine in its fight against Russia |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/17/russia-ukraine-war-summary-of-weapons-us-has-given-to-ukraine.html |access-date=September 28, 2022 |website=CNBC |date=June 17, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
 
=== Military ===
{{Main|United States Armed Forces|Military history of the United States}}
[[File:B-2 Spirit.jpg|thumb|The [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]'s [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit|B-2 Spirit]], a stealth heavy [[strategic bomber]]]]
[[File:Aerial view of the Pentagon, Arlington, VA (38285035892).jpg|thumb|[[The Pentagon]], based in [[Arlington County, Virginia]] near Washington, D.C., is home to the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]]. With roughly {{convert|6.5|e6ft2|acre ha}} of [[floor space]], the Pentagon is far and away the [[List of largest office buildings|world's largest building]].]]
 
The President is the [[Commander-in-Chief of the United States|commander-in-chief]] of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] and the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]]. The [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]], which is headquartered at [[the Pentagon]] near Washington, D.C., administers five of the six service branches, which are made up of the [[United States Army|Army]], [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]], [[United States Navy|Navy]], [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], and [[United States Space Force|Space Force]]. The [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] is administered by the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] in peacetime and can be transferred to the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] in wartime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/happy-231st-birthday-united-states-coast-guard|title=Happy 231st Birthday to the United States Coast Guard!|last=Lindsay|first=James M.|publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|location=New York City|date=August 4, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2022|quote=During peacetime it is part of the Department of Homeland Security. During wartime, or when the president or Congress so direct, it becomes part of the Department of Defense and is included in the Department of the Navy.}}</ref> The United States spent $877 billion on its military in 2022, which is by far the [[List of countries by military expenditures|largest]] amount of any country, making up 39% of global military spending and accounting for 3.5% of the country's GDP.'''''<ref name="SIPRI-20202">{{cite web |date=April 2023 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf |access-date=April 29, 2023 |publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]]}}</ref>'''''<ref>{{cite web| url=https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/Data%20for%20all%20countries%20from%201988%E2%80%932020%20in%20constant%20%282019%29%20USD%20%28pdf%29.pdf| title=Data for all countries from 1988–2020 in constant (2019) USD (pdf)| publisher=SIPRI| access-date=April 28, 2021| archive-date=April 28, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428180002/https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/Data%20for%20all%20countries%20from%201988%E2%80%932020%20in%20constant%20(2019)%20USD%20(pdf).pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> The U.S. has [[Nuclear weapons of the United States|more than 40% of the world's nuclear weapons]], the second-largest amount after Russia.<ref>{{cite web|last=Reichmann|first=Kelsey|date=June 16, 2019|title=Here's how many nuclear warheads exist, and which countries own them|url=https://www.defensenews.com/global/2019/06/16/heres-how-many-nuclear-warheads-exist-and-which-countries-own-them/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://conifer.rhizome.org/mossypiglet/wikipedia-citations/20200923183006/https://www.defensenews.com/global/2019/06/16/heres-how-many-nuclear-warheads-exist-and-which-countries-own-them/|archive-date=September 23, 2020|access-date=September 23, 2020|website=defensenews.com|publisher=Sightline Media Group}}</ref> The United States has the third-largest combined armed forces in the world, behind the [[People's Liberation Army|Chinese People's Liberation Army]] and [[Indian Armed Forces]].<ref>[[#IISS2020|IISS 2020]], pp. 46</ref>
 
Today, American forces can be rapidly deployed by the Air Force's large fleet of [[transport aircraft]], the Navy's 11 active [[aircraft carrier]]s, and [[Marine expeditionary unit]]s at sea with the Navy, and Army's [[XVIII Airborne Corps]] and [[75th Ranger Regiment]] deployed by Air Force transport aircraft. The Air Force can strike targets across the globe through its fleet of [[strategic bomber]]s, maintains the [[air defense]] across the United States, and provides [[close air support]] to Army and Marine Corps ground forces.<ref>{{cite web|title=Noble Eagle Without End|url=https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0205eagle/|access-date=February 1, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Ups and Downs of Close Air Support|url=https://www.airforcemag.com/article/the-ups-and-downs-of-close-air-support/|access-date=December 1, 2019}}</ref>
 
=== Law enforcement and crime ===
{{Main|Law enforcement in the United States|Crime in the United States|Censorship in the United States}}
[[File:Washington DC, FBI - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[J. Edgar Hoover Building]], the headquarters of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI)]]
There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to federal level in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Banks |first1=Duren |last2=Hendrix |first2=Joshua |last3=Hickman |first3=Mathhew |date=October 4, 2016 |title=National Sources of Law Enforcement Employment Data |url=https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/nsleed.pdf |journal=[[U.S. Department of Justice]] |pages=1}}</ref> Law in the United States is mainly [[Law enforcement in the United States|enforced]] by local police departments and [[Sheriffs in the United States|sheriff departments]] in their municipal or county jurisdictions. The [[State police (United States)|state police]] departments [[Police power (United States constitutional law)|have authority in their respective state]], and [[Federal law enforcement in the United States|federal agencies]] such as the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) and the [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Service]] have national jurisdiction and specialized duties, such as protecting [[civil rights]], [[National Security of the United States|national security]] and enforcing [[U.S. federal courts]]' rulings and federal laws.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Who Governs & What They Do|publisher=Chiff.com|url=https://www.chiff.com/police/federal-police-agencies.htm|access-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140210040432/https://www.chiff.com/police/federal-police-agencies.htm|archive-date=February 10, 2014|url-status= }}</ref> [[State court (United States)|State courts]] conduct most civil and criminal trials,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Manweller|first1=Mathew|editor1-last=Hogan|editor1-first=Sean O.|title=The Judicial Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics|date=2006|publisher=[[ABC-Clio]]|location=[[Santa Barbara, California]]|isbn=978-1-85109-751-7|pages=37–96|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ong5k8n97P4C&pg=PA55|access-date=October 5, 2020|chapter=Chapter 2, The Roles, Functions, and Powers of State Courts}}</ref> and federal courts handle designated crimes and [[United States courts of appeals|appeals of state court decisions]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/federal-courts|title=Introduction To The Federal Court System|work=[[United States Attorney]]|date=November 7, 2014 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]|access-date=July 14, 2022|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>
 
{{as of|2020}}, the United States has an [[List of countries by intentional homicide rate|intentional homicide rate]] of 7 per 100,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=US|title=Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) – United States|work=[[World Bank]]|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> A cross-sectional analysis of the [[World Health Organization]] Mortality Database from 2010 showed that United States homicide rates "were 7.0 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25.2 times higher."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Grinshteyn|first1=Erin|last2=Hemenway|first2=David|date=March 2016|title=Violent Death Rates: The US Compared with Other High-income OECD Countries, 2010|url=https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(15)01030-X/fulltext|journal=[[The American Journal of Medicine]]|volume=129|issue=3|pages=226–273|doi=10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.10.025|pmid=26551975|access-date=June 18, 2017|doi-access=free}}</ref>
 
As of January 2023, the United States has the [[List of countries by incarceration rate|sixth highest per-capita incarceration rate]] in the world, at 531 people per 100,000; and the largest [[Incarceration in the United States|prison and jail population]] in the world at {{gaps|1|767|200}}.<ref>[http://www.prisonstudies.org/country/united-states-america United States of America]. [[World Prison Brief]].</ref><ref name="WorldPrisonBrief">[http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest Highest to Lowest]. [[World Prison Brief]] (WPB). Use the dropdown menu to choose lists of countries by region or the whole world. Use the menu to select highest-to-lowest lists of prison population totals, prison population rates, percentage of pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners, percentage of female prisoners, percentage of foreign prisoners, and occupancy rate. Column headings in WPB tables can be clicked to reorder columns lowest to highest, or alphabetically. For detailed information for each country click on any country name in lists. See also the [http://www.prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief-data WPB main data page] and click on the map links or the sidebar links to get to the region and country desired.</ref> In 2019, the total prison population for those sentenced to more than a year was 1,430,000, corresponding to a ratio of 419 per 100,000 residents and the lowest since 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/p19_pr.pdf|title=US Department of Justice, Oct. 22, 2020|website=Bjs.gov|access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref> Some [[think tank]]s place that number higher, such as [[Prison Policy Initiative]]'s estimate of 1.9 million.<ref name="WholePie2023">{{cite report|url=https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2023.html|title=Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2023|last1=Sawyer|first1=Wendy|last2=Wagner|first2=Peter|date=March 14, 2023|publisher=Prison Policy Initiative|issue=|doi=|volume=|pmid=|access-date=May 13, 2023}}</ref> Various states have attempted to [[Decarceration in the United States|reduce their prison populations]] via government policies and grassroots initiatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/decarceration-strategies-5-states-achieved-substantial-prison-population-reductions/|title=Decarceration Strategies: How 5 States Achieved Substantial Prison Population Reductions|date=September 5, 2018|access-date=July 16, 2022|last1=Schrantz|first1=Dennis|last2=DeBor|first2=Stephen|last3=Mauer|first3=Marc|publisher=[[The Sentencing Project]]|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>
 
== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of the United States}}
{{further|Economic history of the United States|Tourism in the United States}}
 
[[File:US one dollar bill, obverse, series 2009.jpg|thumb|alt=see caption|The [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] is the currency most used in [[international trade|international transactions]] and is the world's foremost [[reserve currency]].<ref name="federalreserve.gov">{{cite web |title=The Implementation of Monetary Policy – The Federal Reserve in the International Sphere |url=http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/pf_4.pdf |access-date=August 24, 2010}}</ref>]]
[[File:Gaming-Wall-Street BTS Prodigium-266.jpg|thumb|The [[New York Stock Exchange]] on [[Wall Street]], the [[List of stock exchanges#Major stock exchanges|world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization]]<ref name=NYSEhighestcap>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/nyse-new-york-stock-exchange/|title=NYSE: What Is The New York Stock Exchange|author= Kat Tretina and Benjamin Curry|work=Forbes|date=April 9, 2021|access-date=July 24, 2022}}</ref>]]
 
According to the [[International Monetary Fund]], the U.S. [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) is $25.5&nbsp;trillion, the largest of any country in the world, constituting over 25% of the [[gross world product]] at market exchange rates and over 15% of the gross world product at [[purchasing power parity]] (PPP).<ref name="IMF-2023">{{cite web |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=111,&s=NGDP_R,NGDP_RPCH,NGDP,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDP_D,NGDPRPC,NGDPRPPPPC,NGDPPC,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,NGAP_NPGDP,PPPSH,PPPEX,NID_NGDP,NGSD_NGDP,PCPI,PCPIPCH,PCPIE,PCPIEPCH,FLIBOR6,TM_RPCH,TMG_RPCH,TX_RPCH,TXG_RPCH,LUR,LE,LP,GGR,GGR_NGDP,GGX,GGX_NGDP,GGXCNL,GGXCNL_NGDP,GGSB,GGSB_NPGDP,GGXONLB,GGXONLB_NGDP,GGXWDN,GGXWDN_NGDP,GGXWDG,GGXWDG_NGDP,NGDP_FY,BCA,BCA_NGDPD,&sy=2021&ey=2023&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |website=Imf.org}}</ref><ref name="IMF.WEO.US" /> From 1983 to 2008, U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the [[G7|Group of Seven]].<ref name="Hagopian">{{cite journal |author=Hagopian |first1=Kip |last2=Ohanian |first2=Lee |date=August 1, 2012 |title=The Mismeasure of Inequality |url=https://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/123566 |url-status=dead |journal=Policy Review |volume= |issue=174 |pages= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012353/https://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/123566 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=January 23, 2020 |via=}}</ref> The country ranks first in the world by [[Disposable and discretionary income|disposable income]] per capita, [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|nominal GDP]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/gross-domestic-product-fourth-quarter-and-year-2022-third-estimate-gdp-industry-and|title=Gross Domestic Product, Fourth Quarter and Year 2022 (Third Estimate), GDP by Industry, and Corporate Profits|publisher=[[United States Department of Commerce|U.S. Department of Commerce]]}}</ref> second by [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|GDP (PPP)]],<ref name="IMF.WEO.US" /> seventh by [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|nominal GDP per capita]],<ref name="IMF-2023" /> and eighth by [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP (PPP) per capita]].<ref name="IMF.WEO.US" />
 
The U.S. has been the world's [[List of countries by largest historical GDP|largest]] economy since at least 1900.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fordham |first=Benjamin |date=October 2017 |title=Protectionist Empire: Trade, Tariffs, and United States Foreign Policy, 1890–1914 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0898588x17000116 |journal=Studies in American Political Development |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=170–192 |doi=10.1017/s0898588x17000116 |s2cid=148917255 |issn=0898-588X}}</ref> Anchored by [[Wall Street]] in [[Lower Manhattan|Lower]] [[Manhattan]], the U.S. is the world's leading [[Financial center|financial]] and [[fintech]] center.<ref name="NYCFinancialCapitalWorld">{{cite web |url = https://www.longfinance.net/programmes/financial-centre-futures/global-financial-centres-index/gfci-34-explore-the-data/gfci-34-rank/|title = The Global Financial Centres Index 34 |date = September 28, 2023|publisher = Long Finance |access-date = September 28, 2023 }}</ref> Many of the world's [[List of largest companies by revenue|largest]] companies, such as [[Alphabet Inc.|Alphabet]] ([[Google]]), [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[AT&T]], [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]], [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], [[General Motors]], [[McDonald's]], [[Meta Platforms|Meta]], [[Microsoft]], [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]], [[PepsiCo|Pepsi]], and [[Walmart]], were founded and are headquartered in the United States.<ref name="Fortune-2022">{{Cite web |title=Global 500 |url=https://fortune.com/global500/2022/ |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=[[Fortune Global 500]] |language=en}}</ref> Of the world's [[Fortune Global 500|500 largest companies]], 136 are headquartered in the U.S.<ref name="Fortune-2022" /> The [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] is the currency most used in [[international trade|international transactions]] and is the world's foremost [[reserve currency]], backed by the country's dominant economy, [[United States Armed Forces|its military]], the [[petrodollar]] system, and its linked [[eurodollar]] and large [[U.S. Treasury|U.S. treasuries market]].<ref name="federalreserve.gov" /> Several countries [[International use of the US dollar|use it as their official currency]] and in others it is the [[de facto currency|''de facto'' currency]].<ref name="Benjamin J. Cohen 2006, p. 17">Benjamin J. Cohen, ''The Future of Money'', Princeton University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0691116660}}; ''cf.'' "the dollar is the de facto currency in Cambodia", Charles Agar, ''[[Frommer's]] Vietnam'', 2006, {{ISBN|0471798169}}, p. 17</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 31, 2014 |title=US GDP Growth Rate by Year |url=http://www.multpl.com/us-gdp-growth-rate/table/by-year |access-date=June 18, 2014 |website=multpl.com |publisher=US Bureau of Economic Analysis}}</ref> It has [[free trade agreements]] with [[Free trade agreements of the United States|several countries]], including the [[United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement|USMCA]].<ref>{{cite web |title=United States free trade agreements |url=https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements |access-date=May 31, 2019 |work=[[Office of the United States Trade Representative]]}}</ref> The U.S. ranked second in the [[Global Competitiveness Report]] in 2019, after [[Singapore]].<ref name="World Economic Forum">{{cite web |title=Rankings: Global Competitiveness Report 2013–2014 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2013-14/GCR_Rankings_2013-14.pdf |access-date=June 1, 2014 |publisher=World Economic Forum}}</ref>
 
[[New York City]] is the world's principal financial center, with the [[List of cities by GDP|largest]] economic output, and the epicenter of the principal American metropolitan economy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Huw |date=March 24, 2022 |title=New York widens lead over London in top finance centres index |website=Reuters.com |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/new-york-widens-lead-over-london-top-finance-centres-index-2022-03-24/ |access-date=July 29, 2022}}{{SemiBareRefNeedsTitle|date=July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=September 22, 2022 |title=The Global Financial Centres Index 32 |url=https://www.longfinance.net/programmes/financial-centre-futures/global-financial-centres-index/gfci-32-explore-the-data/gfci-32-rank/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |publisher=Long Finance}}</ref><ref name="NYCEpicenterUSMetroEconomy">{{cite web |author=Iman Ghosh |date=September 24, 2020 |title=This 3D map shows the U.S. cities with the highest economic output |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/united-states-america-economic-output-new-york-la/ |access-date=March 5, 2023 |publisher=World Economic Forum |quote=The New York metro area dwarfs all other cities for economic output by a large margin.}}</ref> The [[New York Stock Exchange]] and [[Nasdaq]], both located in New York City, are the world's two [[List of stock exchanges|largest stock exchanges]] by [[market capitalization]] and [[trade volume]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Monthly Reports – World Federation of Exchanges |url=https://www.world-exchanges.org/our-work/statistics |publisher=WFE}}</ref><ref name="sfc.hk">[http://www.sfc.hk/web/doc/EN/research/stat/a01.pdf Table A – Market Capitalization of the World's Top Stock Exchanges (As at end of June 2012)]. Securities and Exchange Commission (China).</ref> The United States is at or near the forefront of [[Science and technology in the United States|technological advancement]] and [[innovation]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=WIPO |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2022/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2022, 15th Edition |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |year=2022 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref> in many economic fields, especially in [[artificial intelligence]]; [[computer]]s; [[pharmaceuticals]]; and [[medical]], [[aerospace]] and [[military equipment]].<ref>{{cite web |title=United States reference resource |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/ |access-date=May 31, 2019 |work=[[The World Factbook]] Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> The nation's economy is fueled by abundant [[natural resource]]s, a well-developed infrastructure, and [[List of countries by labour productivity|high productivity]].<ref name="Wright, Gavin 2007 p. 185">Wright, Gavin, and Jesse Czelusta, "Resource-Based Growth Past and Present", in ''Natural Resources: Neither Curse Nor Destiny'', ed. Daniel Lederman and William Maloney (World Bank, 2007), p. 185. {{ISBN|0821365452}}.</ref> It has the second-highest total-estimated value of natural resources. The [[List of the largest trading partners of the United States|largest U.S. trading partners]] are the [[European Union]], [[Mexico]], [[Canada]], [[China]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Vietnam]], [[India]], and [[Taiwan]].<ref>{{cite web |date=October 2022 |title=Top Trading Partners – October 2022 |url=https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/top/top1612yr.html |access-date=May 12, 2023 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> The United States is the world's [[List of countries by imports|largest]] importer and the [[List of countries by exports|second-largest]] exporter after China.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Trade Statistical Review 2019 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/wts2019_e/wts2019_e.pdf |access-date=May 31, 2019 |work=[[World Trade Organization]] |page=100}}</ref> It is by far the world's [[List of countries by service exports|largest]] exporter of [[Service exports|services]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Service exports (BoP, current US$) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.GSR.NFSV.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true&year_high_desc=false |access-date=August 4, 2023 |website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref>
 
[[File:Aerial view of Apple Park dllu.jpg|thumb|[[Apple Park]], in [[Cupertino, California]], within [[Silicon Valley]], is the headquarters of [[Apple Inc.]], the [[List of public corporations by market capitalization|world's biggest company by market capitalization]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Companies ranked by Market Cap – CompaniesMarketCap.com |url=https://companiesmarketcap.com/ |access-date=March 22, 2023 |website=companiesmarketcap.com |language=en-us}}</ref>]]
 
While its economy has reached a [[post-industrial society|post-industrial]] level of development, the United States [[Manufacturing in the United States|remains an industrial power]].<ref name="Econ">{{cite web|title=USA Economy in Brief|url=https://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html|publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, International Information Programs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312123609/https://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html|archive-date=March 12, 2008}}</ref> As of 2018, the U.S. is the [[List of countries by manufacturing output|second-largest]] manufacturing nation after China.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 25, 2020 |title=These are the top 10 manufacturing countries in the world |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/countries-manufacturing-trade-exports-economics/ |access-date=April 3, 2023 |website=World Economic Forum |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, the U.S. was both the world's [[List of countries by engine exports|largest]] exporter and importer of [[engine]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Combustion Engines |url=https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/combustion-engines |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity |language=en}}</ref> Despite the fact that the U.S. only accounted for 4.24% of the [[World population|global population]], residents of the U.S. collectively [[List of countries by total wealth|possessed 31.5%]] of the world's total wealth as of 2021, the largest percentage of any country.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shorrocks |first1=Anthony |url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/assets/corporate/docs/about-us/research/publications/global-wealth-databook-2022.pdf |title=Global Wealth Databook 2022 |last2=Davies |first2=James |last3=Lluberas |first3=Rodrigo |publisher=[[Credit Suisse]] Research Institute |year=2022 |author-link=Anthony Shorrocks}}</ref> The U.S. also ranks first in the number of dollar [[List of countries by number of billionaires|billionaires]] and [[List of countries by number of millionaires|millionaires]], with 724 billionaires<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Sarah |title=These 20 countries and territories are home to most of the world's 2,755 billionaires |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/these-20-countries-are-home-to-the-most-billionaires-forbes-2021-10 |access-date=July 15, 2022 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> and nearly 22 million millionaires (as of 2021).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/22/heres-how-22-million-americans-became-millionaires.html|title=Nearly 22 million Americans are millionaires. Here's how they got wealthy|last=Exley|first=Robert Jr.|date=December 22, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2022|work=[[CNBC]]}}</ref>
 
Americans have the highest average [[Household income|household]] and [[List of countries by average wage|employee]] income among [[OECD]] member states,<ref>{{cite web |title=Income |url=http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/income/ |access-date=September 28, 2019 |work=Better Life Index |publisher=OECD |quote=In the United States, the average household net adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 45 284 a year, much higher than the OECD average of USD 33 604 and the highest figure in the OECD.}}</ref> and the fourth-highest [[Median income|median household income]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Median Income by Country 2023 |url=https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/median-income-by-country/ |access-date=July 28, 2023 |website=Wisevoter |language=en-US}}</ref> up from sixth-highest in 2013.<ref name="Household Income">{{cite journal |date=March 18, 2014 |title=Household Income |url=http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/society-at-a-glance-2014_soc_glance-2014-en |journal=Society at a Glance 2014: OECD Social Indicators |series=Society at a Glance |publisher=OECD Publishing |doi=10.1787/soc_glance-2014-en |isbn=9789264200722 |access-date=May 29, 2014 |doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Wealth in the United States]] is [[Wealth inequality in the United States|highly concentrated]]; the richest 10% of the adult population own 72% of the country's household wealth, while the bottom 50% own just 2%.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Piketty|first1=Thomas|title=Capital in the Twenty-First Century|title-link=Capital in the Twenty-First Century|date=2014|publisher=Belknap Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780674430006/page/257 257]|author-link1=Thomas Piketty}} {{ISBN|978-0-674-43000-6}}</ref> [[Income inequality in the United States|Income inequality in the U.S.]] remains at record highs,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/09/26/income-inequality-america-highest-its-been-since-census-started-tracking-it-data-show/ |title=Income inequality in America is the highest it's been since Census Bureau started tracking it, data shows |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=July 27, 2020}}</ref> with the top fifth of earners taking home more than half of all income<ref>{{Cite news|last=Long|first=Heather|date=September 12, 2017|title=U.S. middle-class incomes reached highest-ever level in 2016, Census Bureau says|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-middle-class-incomes-reached-highest-ever-level-in-2016-census-bureau-says/2017/09/12/7226905e-97de-11e7-b569-3360011663b4_story.html|access-date=November 11, 2019}}</ref> and giving the U.S. one of the widest income distributions among [[OECD]] members.<ref name="Sme">{{cite journal|last1=Smeeding|first1=T.M.|year=2005|title=Public Policy: Economic Inequality and Poverty: The United States in Comparative Perspective|url =https://semanticscholar.org/paper/81b4d972c7a40d051d9ee3ced2ab2ddfc221fbf9|journal=Social Science Quarterly| volume=86|pages=955–983|doi= 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00331.x| s2cid=154642286}}</ref> There were about 582,500 sheltered and unsheltered [[Homelessness in the United States|homeless persons in the U.S.]] in 2022, with 60% staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf|title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress|last= |first= |date= December 2022|website= |publisher=The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development|access-date=June 16, 2023 |quote=}}</ref> In 2018 six million children experience food insecurity.<ref name="ers.usda.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx|title=USDA ERS – Key Statistics & Graphics|website= ers.usda.gov|access-date=December 4, 2019}}</ref> [[Feeding America]] estimates that around one in seven, or approximately 11 million, [[Hunger in the United States#Children|children experience hunger]] and do not know where they will get their next meal or when.<ref name="FactsAbout">{{Cite web|title= Facts About Child Hunger in America {{!}} Feeding America|url= https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/child-hunger-facts| access-date=December 4, 2019|website= feedingamerica.org}}</ref> {{as of|2018|June|post=,}} 40&nbsp;million people, roughly 12.7% of the U.S. population, were living [[Poverty in the United States|in poverty]], including 13.3&nbsp;million children.<ref name="OHCHR">{{cite news|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2018/06/contempt-poor-us-drives-cruel-policies-says-un-expert|title="Contempt for the poor in US drives cruel policies," says UN expert|date=June 4, 2018|work=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|OHCHR]]|access-date=June 5, 2018}}</ref>
 
The United States has a smaller [[welfare state]] and redistributes less income through government action than most other [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income]] countries.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Isabelle|last1=Joumard|first2=Mauro|last2=Pisu|first3=Debbie|last3=Bloch|title=Tackling income inequality The role of taxes and transfers|url=https://www.oecd.org/eco/public-finance/TacklingincomeinequalityTheroleoftaxesandtransfers.pdf|publisher=OECD|access-date=May 21, 2015|date=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rank|first=Mark Robert |author-link=Mark Robert Rank|date=2023|title=The Poverty Paradox: Understanding Economic Hardship Amid American Prosperity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGewEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|location= |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|pages=116–117 |isbn= 978-0190212636}}</ref> It is the only [[advanced economy]] that does not [[List of statutory minimum employment leave by country|guarantee its workers paid vacation]] nationally<ref>{{cite news |last=Min |first=Sarah |date=May 24, 2019 |title=1 in 4 workers in U.S. don't get any paid vacation time or holidays|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-in-four-workers-in-us-dont-get-any-paid-vacation-time-or-holidays/|work=CBS News |location= |access-date=July 15, 2022|quote=The United States is the only advanced economy that does not federally mandate any paid vacation days or holidays. }}</ref> and is one of a few countries in the world without federal [[Parental leave in the United States|paid family leave]] as a legal right.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bernard |first=Tara Siegel |date=February 22, 2013 |title=In Paid Family Leave, U.S. Trails Most of the Globe |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/your-money/us-trails-much-of-the-world-in-providing-paid-family-leave.html |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> The United States also has a higher percentage of low-income workers than almost any other developed nation, largely because of a weak [[collective bargaining]] system and lack of government support for at-risk workers.<ref>{{cite news|last=Van Dam|first=Andrew|date=July 4, 2018|title=Is it great to be a worker in the U.S.? Not compared with the rest of the developed world.|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/07/04/is-it-great-to-be-a-worker-in-the-u-s-not-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-developed-world/?noredirect=on|access-date=July 12, 2018}}</ref>
 
=== Science, technology, and energy ===
{{Main|Science and technology in the United States|Science policy of the United States|Telecommunications in the United States|Energy in the United States}}
[[File:Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag-crop.jpg|thumb|U.S. astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] saluting the [[United States flag|flag]] on the [[lunar surface|Moon]] during the 1969 [[Apollo 11]] mission. The United States is the only country that has sent [[Moon landing|crewed missions to the lunar surface]].]]
 
The United States has been a leader in technological [[innovation]] since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid-20th century. Methods for producing [[interchangeable parts]] and the establishment of a [[machine tool]] industry enabled the [[American system of manufacturing|U.S. to have large-scale manufacturing]] of sewing machines, bicycles, and other items in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, factory [[electrification]], the introduction of the [[assembly line]], and other labor-saving techniques created the system of [[mass production]].<ref>{{Hounshell1984}}</ref> In the 21st century, approximately two-thirds of research and development funding comes from the private sector.<ref>{{cite web|title=Research and Development (R&D) Expenditures by Source and Objective: 1970 to 2004|url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008/tables/08s0775.xls|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120210170338/https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008/tables/08s0775.xls|archive-date=February 10, 2012|access-date=June 19, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, the United States was the country with the [[List of countries by number of scientific and technical journal articles|second-highest]] number of published scientific papers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SJR – International Science Ranking|url=https://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?order=itp&ord=desc&year=2020|access-date=February 5, 2022|website=Scimagojr.com|language=en-uk}}</ref> As of 2021, the U.S. ranked second by the number of [[World Intellectual Property Indicators|patent applications]], and third by trademark and industrial design applications.<ref>{{cite book |title=World Intellectual Property Indicators 2021 |url=https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4571&plang=EN |access-date=April 27, 2022 | doi=10.34667/tind.44461 |language=en | author1=World Intellectual Property Organization. | series=World IP Indicators (WIPI) | year=2021 | publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) | isbn=9789280533293 }}</ref> The U.S. had 2,944 active [[satellites]] in space in December 2021, the highest number of any country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Satellite Database|url=https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database|access-date=July 14, 2022|website=[[Union of Concerned Scientists]]}}</ref> In 2022, the United States ranked 2nd in the [[Global Innovation Index]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2022, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2022/index.html |access-date=November 16, 2022 |year=2022 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en}}</ref>
 
{{as of|2021}}, the United States receives approximately 79.1% of its energy from fossil fuels.<ref name="visu">{{cite web |date= March 2022|title=Energy Flow Charts: Charting the Complex Relationships among Energy, Water, and Carbon |url=https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/ |access-date=May 16, 2023 |publisher=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory}}</ref> In 2021, the largest source of the country's energy came from [[Petroleum in the United States|petroleum]] (36.1%), followed by [[Natural gas in the United States|natural gas]] (32.2%), [[Coal in the United States|coal]] (10.8%), [[Renewable energy in the United States|renewable sources]] (12.5%), and [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear power]] (8.4%).<ref name="visu" /><!--Numbers do not add up to 100 due to rounding errors. --> The United States constitutes less than 5% of the [[world population|world's population]], but consumes 17% of the world's energy.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 5, 2021 |title=What is the United States' share of world energy consumption? |work=[[Energy Information Administration|U.S. Energy Information Administration]] |url=https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=87&t=1}}</ref> It accounts <!--{{As of|28|10|2022}}--> for about 20% <!--19890000/100686287 and 18770000/95700221, respectively--> of both the world's annual [[Oil consumption|petroleum consumption]] and petroleum supply.<ref name="EIA">{{cite web |title=EIA – Petroleum Basic Data |date=October 28, 2022|url =https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/data-and-statistics.php |access-date=August 27, 2023 |publisher=Eia.doe.gov}}</ref> The U.S. ranks as [[List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions|second-highest]] emitter of greenhouse gases, exceeded only by China.<ref>{{cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=February 8, 2017 |title=Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks |url= https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks |access-date=December 3, 2020 |website=US EPA |language=en}}</ref>
 
=== Transportation ===
{{Main|Transportation in the United States}}
[[File:Open Street Map of the United States.webp|thumb|link=https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=6/38.703/-95.405|Open Street Map of the U.S.A. <br>
[https://www.openstreetmap.org/ Click to view on Open Street Map]
]]
[[File:Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]], serving the [[Atlanta metropolitan area]], is the world's busiest airport by [[List of busiest airports by passenger traffic|passenger traffic]] with over 93 million passengers annually in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-busiest-airports-2021/index.html|title=This US airport has reclaimed its title as the world's busiest|website=CNN.com|first=Marnie|last=Hunter|date=April 11, 2022}}</ref>]]
 
The United States's [[Rail transport in the United States|rail network]], nearly all [[Standard-gauge railway|standard gauge]], is the [[List of countries by rail transport network size|longest in the world]], and exceeds {{convert|293564|km|mi|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/railways/country-comparison|title=Railways – The World Factbook|work=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> It handles mostly [[Freight transport|freight]], with intercity passenger service primarily provided by [[Amtrak]], a government-managed company that took over services previously run by private companies, to all but four states.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM|title=Seasonally Adjusted Transportation Data|publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics|location=Washington, D.C.|date=2021|access-date=February 16, 2021|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422132507/https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Emma G. |date=April 24, 2017 |title=Amtrak at a Junction: Invest in Improvements, or Risk Worsening Problems |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/nyregion/amtrak-infrastructure-crisis.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref>
 
Personal transportation in the United States is [[Car dependency|dominated by automobiles]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 19, 2022 |title=Cars still dominate the American commute |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/commute-america-sustainability-cars/ |access-date=May 21, 2023 |website=World Economic Forum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Humes |first=Edward |date=April 12, 2016 |title=The Absurd Primacy of the Automobile in American Life |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/04/absurd-primacy-of-the-car-in-american-life/476346/ |access-date=July 12, 2023 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> which operate on a network of {{convert|4|e6mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} of public roads, making it the [[List of countries by road network size|longest network]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roadways – The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/roadways/country-comparison |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712201909/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/roadways/country-comparison |archive-date=July 12, 2021 |access-date=July 15, 2021 |website=Cia.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Public Road and Street Mileage in the United States by Type of Surface|url=https://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_04.html|website=United States Department of Transportation|access-date=January 13, 2015|archive-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102141414/https://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_04.html|url-status =dead }}</ref> The [[Oldsmobile Curved Dash]] and the [[Ford Model T]], both American cars, are considered the first mass-produced<ref>{{Cite news |date= January 26, 1986 |title=SOME MILESTONES OF THE AUTO AGE |language= en-US |work=The New York Times |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/26/automobiles/some-milestones-of-the-auto-age.html |access-date=June 1, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and mass-affordable<ref>{{Cite news |date =September 1, 2002|title=1926 Ford Model T Sports Touring Car |language= en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/09/01/1926-ford-model-t-sports-touring-car/810e313f-4370-44b7-bb76-3282f9de945e/ |access-date=June 1, 2023 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> cars, respectively. As of 2022, the United States is the [[List of countries by motor vehicle production|second-largest]] manufacturer of motor vehicles<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 production statistics |url= https://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2022-statistics/ |access-date=April 14, 2023 |website= International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers}}</ref> and is home to [[Tesla, Inc.|Tesla]], the world's most valuable car company.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klebnikov | first=Sergei |title=Tesla Is Now The World's Most Valuable Car Company With A $208 Billion Valuation |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/07/01/tesla-is-now-the-worlds-most-valuable-car-company-with-a-valuation-of-208-billion/ |access-date=April 14, 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> American automotive company [[General Motors]] held the title of the world's best-selling automaker from 1931 to 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bunkley |first=Nick |date=January 21, 2009 |title=Toyota Ahead of G.M. in 2008 Sales |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/business/22auto.html |access-date=April 14, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Currently, the [[American automotive industry]] is the world's second-largest automobile market by sales,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/jan/08/china-us-car-sales-overtakes|title=China overtakes US in car sales|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 8, 2010|access-date=July 10, 2011|location=London}}</ref> and the U.S. has the [[List of countries by vehicles per capita|highest]] vehicle ownership per capita in the world, with 816.4 vehicles per 1000 Americans (2014).<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=January 30, 2017|title=Fact #962: Vehicles per Capita: Other Regions/Countries Compared to the United States|url=https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/fact-962-january-30-2017-vehicles-capita-other-regionscountries-compared-united-states|access-date=January 23, 2021|website=Energy.gov|language=en}}</ref> In 2017, there were 255 million non-two wheel motor vehicles, or about 910 vehicles per 1000 people.<ref name="USBTS">{{cite web|url=https://capitol-tires.com/how-many-cars-per-capita-in-the-us.html|title=Vehicle Statistics: Cars Per Capita|date=August 2017 |publisher=Capitol Tires}}</ref>
 
The [[List of airlines of the United States|American civil airline industry]] is entirely privately owned and has been largely [[Airline Deregulation Act|deregulated since 1978]], while [[List of airports in the United States|most major airports]] are publicly owned.<ref>{{cite web|last=Edwards|first=Chris|date=July 12, 2020|title=Privatization|url=https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/privatization|access-date=January 23, 2021|website=Downsizing the Federal Government|publisher=Cato Institute|language=en}}</ref> The three largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are U.S.-based; [[American Airlines]] is number one after its 2013 acquisition by [[US Airways]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|title=Scheduled Passengers Carried|publisher=International Air Transport Association (IATA)|year=2011|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102034843/https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|archive-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref> Of the [[List of busiest airports by passenger traffic|world's 50 busiest passenger airports]], 16 are in the United States, including the top five and the busiest, [[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]].<ref name="PANYNJ 2021 report">{{cite web|url=https://www.panynj.gov/content/dam/airports/statistics/statistics-general-info/annual-atr/ATR_2021.pdf|title=2021 Airport Traffic Report|work=Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|date=April 2022|page=32}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport-|title=Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013—High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401052319/https://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport-|archive-date=April 1, 2014|date=March 31, 2014|access-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref> {{As of|2020}}, there are 19,919 airports in the United States, of which 5,217 are designated as "public use", including for [[general aviation]] and other activities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Number of U.S. Airports |url=https://www.bts.gov/content/number-us-airportsa |publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref>
 
Of the [[List of busiest container ports|fifty busiest container ports]], four are located in the United States, of which the busiest is the [[Port of Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldshipping.org/top-50-ports|title=The Top 50 Container Ports|work=[[World Shipping Council]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> The country's [[Inland waterways of the United States|inland waterways]] are the world's [[List of countries by waterways length|fifth-longest]], and total {{convert|41009|km|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/waterways/country-comparison |title=Waterways – The World Factbook |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref>
 
== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of the United States}}
 
=== Population ===
<!--As prose text is preferred, overly detailed statistical charts and diagrams such as economic trends, weather boxes, historical population charts, past elections results, etc. should be reserved for main sub articles on the topic as per BP:DETAIL as outlined at BP:NOTSTATS.-->
{{Main|Americans|Race and ethnicity in the United States}}
{{See also|List of U.S. states by population}}
[[File:US population map.png|thumb|United States [[population density]] map based on [[2010 United States census|Census 2010]] data]]
 
The [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] reported 331,449,281 residents as of April 1, 2020,{{efn|This figure, like most official data for the United States as a whole, excludes the five unincorporated territories ([[Puerto Rico]], [[Guam]], the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], [[American Samoa]], and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]]) and minor island possessions.}}<ref name=2020CENSUS>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2020-census-apportionment-results.htmlpid=2020CENSUS&src=pt|title=Census Bureau's 2020 Population Count|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=April 26, 2021}}</ref> making the United States the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|third-most populous]] nation in the world, after China and India.<ref name="CIA-2018">{{cite web|title=The World Factbook: United States|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/|access-date=November 10, 2018|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> According to the Bureau's [[U.S. and World Population Clock|U.S. Population Clock]], on January&nbsp;28, 2021, the U.S. population had a net gain of one person every 100 seconds, or about 864 people per day.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population Clock|url=https://www.census.gov/popclock/|website=Census.gov}}</ref> In 2018, 52% of Americans age 15 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 32% had never been married.<ref>{{cite web|title=Table MS-1. Marital Status of the Population 15 Years Old and Over, by Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin: 1950 to Present|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/marital.html|access-date=September 11, 2019|website=Historical Marital Status Tables|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> In 2021, the [[total fertility rate]] for the U.S. stood at 1.7 children per woman,<ref>{{Cite web |last=McPhillips |first=Deidre |date=January 31, 2023 |title=Covid-19 'baby bump' brought an increased US fertility rate in 2021 – but also record high preterm births |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/31/health/us-birth-rate-fertility-trends-2021/index.html |access-date=April 16, 2023 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> and it had the world's highest rate of children (23%) living in [[Single parents in the United States|single-parent]] households in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. has world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/|access-date=March 17, 2020|website=Pew Research Center|language=en}}</ref>
 
The United States has a diverse population; 37 [[American ancestries|ancestry groups]] have more than one million members.<ref name="An2000">{{cite web|title=Ancestry 2000|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf|date=June 2004|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|url-status=live|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041204015245/https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf|archive-date=December 4, 2004|access-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref> [[Non-Hispanic whites|White Americans]] with ancestry from Europe, the Middle East or North Africa, form the largest [[race (human classification)|racial]] and [[ethnic group]] at 57.8% of the United States population.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/2020-united-states-population-more-racially-ethnically-diverse-than-2010.html | title=The Chance That Two People Chosen at Random Are of Different Race or Ethnicity Groups Has Increased Since 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Table 52. Population by Selected Ancestry Group and Region: 2009|url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0052.pdf|date=2009|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225031832/https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0052.pdf|archive-date=December 25, 2012|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref> [[Hispanic and Latino Americans]] form the second-largest group and are 18.7% of the United States population. [[African Americans]] constitute the nation's third-largest ancestry group and are 12.1% of the total United States population.<ref name="An2000" /> [[Asian Americans]] are the country's fourth-largest group, composing 5.9% of the United States population, while the country's 3.7 million [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] account for about 1%.<ref name="An2000" /> In 2020, the [[median age]] of the United States population was 38.5 years.<ref name="CIA-2018" />
 
=== Language ===
{{Main|Languages of the United States}}
[[File:USA states english official language.svg|thumb|alt=Map of United States Official Language Status By State|Map of U.S. official language status by state:
{{Legend|#000081|[[American English|English]] is the [[official language]].}}
{{Legend|#8181ff|[[Official multilingualism|Multiple official languages]]}}
{{Legend|#d4d4d4|No official language specified}}]]
 
While many languages are spoken in the United States, English is the most common.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaur |first=Harmeet |date=May 20, 2018 |title=FYI: English isn't the official language of the United States |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/20/us/english-us-official-language-trnd/index.html |access-date=May 11, 2023 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Although there is no [[official language]] at the federal level, some laws—such as [[Naturalized citizen of the United States|U.S. naturalization requirements]]—standardize English, and most states have declared English as the official language.<ref>{{cite news|date=August 12, 2014|title=States Where English Is the Official Language|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/12/states-where-english-is-the-official-language/|access-date=September 12, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Three states and four U.S. territories have recognized local or indigenous languages in addition to English, including Hawaii ([[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]),<ref>{{cite web|date=November 7, 1978|title=The Constitution of the State of Hawaii, Article XV, Section 4|url=https://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724231656/https://hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|archive-date=July 24, 2013|access-date=June 19, 2007|publisher=Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau}}</ref> Alaska ([[Alaska Native languages|twenty Native languages]]),{{efn|[[Inupiaq language|Inupiaq]], [[Central Siberian Yupik language|Siberian Yupik]], [[Central Alaskan Yup'ik language|Central Alaskan Yup'ik]], [[Alutiiq language|Alutiiq]], [[Aleut language|Unanga]] (Aleut), [[Denaʼina language|Denaʼina]], [[Deg Xinag language|Deg Xinag]], [[Holikachuk language|Holikachuk]], [[Koyukon language|Koyukon]], [[Upper Kuskokwim language|Upper Kuskokwim]], [[Gwichʼin language|Gwichʼin]], [[Lower Tanana language|Tanana]], [[Upper Tanana language|Upper Tanana]], [[Tanacross language|Tanacross]], [[Hän language|Hän]], [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]], [[Eyak language|Eyak]], [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]], [[Haida language|Haida]], and [[Coast Tsimshian dialect|Tsimshian]]}}<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chapel|first1=Bill|date=April 21, 2014|title=Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/21/305688602/alaska-oks-bill-making-native-languages-official|newspaper=NPR}}</ref> South Dakota ([[Sioux language|Sioux]]),<ref name="LakotaCommon">{{cite web|title=South Dakota recognizes official indigenous language|url=https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/22/south-dakota-recognizes-official-indigenous-language-governor-noem/3245113002/|access-date=March 26, 2019|publisher=[[Argus Leader]]}}</ref> American Samoa ([[Samoan language|Samoan]]), Puerto Rico ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]), Guam ([[Chamorro language|Chamorro]]), and the Northern Mariana Islands ([[Carolinian language|Carolinian]] and Chamorro). In Puerto Rico, Spanish is more widely spoken than English.<ref name="PuertoRicoTranslation">{{cite web|title=Translation in Puerto Rico|url=https://www.puertorico.com/translation/|access-date=December 29, 2013|website=Puerto Rico Channel|archive-date=December 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233259/http://www.puertorico.com/translation/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
According to the [[American Community Survey]], in 2010 some 229 million people (out of the total U.S. population of 308 million) spoke only English at home. More than 37 million spoke [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish]] at home, making it the second most commonly used language. Other languages spoken at home by one million people or more include [[Chinese language|Chinese]] (2.8 million), [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] (1.6 million), [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] (1.4 million), [[French language|French]] (1.3 million), [[Korean language|Korean]] (1.1 million), and [[German language|German]] (1 million).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B16001&prodType=table|title=American FactFinder—Results|first=U.S. Census|last=Bureau|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212213140/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B16001&prodType=table|url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
=== Immigration ===
{{Main|Immigration to the United States}}
The United States has by far the highest [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population|number of immigrant population]] in the world, with 50,661,149 people.<ref name="UNdef">{{Cite web |author=((United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division)) |title=International Migrant Stock 2019 Documentation |url= https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/docs/MigrationStockDocumentation_2019.pdf |date=August 2019 |website=Un.org |access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/data/UN_MigrantStockTotal_2019.xlsx|title=UN Migrant Stock Total 2019|website=Un.org|access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref> In 2022, there were 87.7 million immigrants and [[Second-generation immigrants in the United States|U.S.-born children of immigrants]] in the United States, accounting for nearly 27% of the overall U.S. population.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 14, 2019|title=Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States|work=[[Migration Policy Institute]]|url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states}}</ref> In 2017, out of the U.S. foreign-born population, some 45% (20.7&nbsp;million) were naturalized citizens, 27% (12.3&nbsp;million) were lawful permanent residents, 6% (2.2&nbsp;million) were temporary lawful residents, and 23% (10.5&nbsp;million) were unauthorized immigrants.<ref name="KeyFindings">{{cite web|date=June 17, 2019|title= Key findings about U.S. immigrants| url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref> In 2019, the top countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico (24% of immigrants), India (6%), China (5%), the Philippines (4.5%), and El Salvador (3%).<ref>{{Cite web |date= September 21, 2021|title=Immigrants in the United States |url= https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_the_united_states_0.pdf |access-date=August 18, 2023 |website =americanimmigrationcouncil.org}}</ref> The United States has led the world in [[refugee resettlement]] for decades, admitting more refugees than the rest of the world combined.<ref name="PewRefugees">{{cite web|title= Key facts about refugees to the U.S.|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/|author=Jens Manuel Krogstad|date=October 7, 2019|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref>
 
=== Urbanization ===
{{Main|Urbanization in the United States|List of United States cities by population}}
About 82% of Americans live in [[United States urban area|urban areas]], including suburbs;<ref name="WF" /> about half of those reside in cities with populations over 50,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-state=gct&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-P1&-mt_name=&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=&-format=US-1&-_lang=en|title=United States—Urban/Rural and Inside/Outside Metropolitan Area|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090403024532/https://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-state=gct&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-P1&-mt_name=&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=&-format=US-1&-_lang=en|archive-date=April 3, 2009|access-date=September 23, 2008|url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2008, 273 [[List of United States cities by population|incorporated municipalities]] had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than one million residents, and four cities ([[New York City]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Chicago]], and [[Houston]]) had populations exceeding two million.<ref name="PopEstBigCities">{{cite web|url=https://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/census/popestimate/copy_of_2008-subcounty-population-hawaii/SUB_EST2008_01.pdf|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5lpvuJk99?url=https://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/census/popestimate/copy_of_2008-subcounty-population-hawaii/SUB_EST2008_01.pdf|archive-date=December 7, 2009|title=Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2008 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008|website=2008 Population Estimates|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division|date=July 1, 2009 }}</ref> Many U.S. metropolitan populations are growing rapidly, particularly in the South and West.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 18, 2019|title=Counties in South and West Lead Nation in Population Growth|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/estimates-county-metro.html|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=The United States Census Bureau|language=en}}</ref>
{{Largest metropolitan areas of the United States}}
 
=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in the United States|Higher education in the United States}}American [[state school|public education]] is operated by state and local governments and regulated by the [[United States Department of Education]] through restrictions on federal grants. In most states, children are required to attend school from the age of five or six (beginning with [[kindergarten]] or [[first grade]]) until they turn 18 (generally bringing them through [[twelfth grade]], the end of [[high school]]); some states allow students to leave school at 16 or 17.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/dt150.asp|title=Ages for Compulsory School Attendance ...|access-date=June 10, 2007|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics}}</ref> Of Americans 25 and older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 52.6% attended some college, 27.2% earned a [[bachelor's degree]], and 9.6% earned graduate degrees.<ref>{{cite web|title=Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p20-550.pdf|access-date=August 1, 2006|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> The basic [[literacy]] rate is near-universal.<ref name="WF" /><ref>For more detail on U.S. literacy, see [https://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/PDF/2006470.PDF A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st century], U.S. Department of Education (2003).</ref> The country has the most [[List of Nobel laureates by country|Nobel Prize winners]] in history, with 403 (having won 406 awards).<ref>{{Cite web |title=All Nobel Prizes |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-prizes |website=NobelPrize.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2022–2023 Best Global Universities Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings |access-date=April 27, 2023 |website=[[U.S. News & World Report]]}}</ref>[[File:University-of-Virginia-Rotunda.jpg|thumb|The [[University of Virginia]], founded by [[Thomas Jefferson]] in 1819, is one of many public colleges and universities in the United States.|alt=Photograph of the University of Virginia]]The United States has many private and public [[Lists of American institutions of higher education|institutions of higher education]] including many of the world's top universities, as listed by various ranking organizations, are in the United States, including 19 of the top 25.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fink |first=Jenni |date=October 22, 2019 |title=U.S. Schools Take 8 of 10 Top Spots on U.S. News' Best Global Universities |url=https://www.newsweek.com/us-news-best-global-universities-american-schools-dominate-top-10-1466768 |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nietzel |first=Michael T. |date=March 22, 2023 |title=U.S. Universities Dominate Latest QS World Rankings By Academic Field |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2023/03/22/us-universities-dominate-latest-qs-world-rankings-by-academic-field/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 19, 2023 |title=Best Countries for Education: North American and European countries are seen as offering the best opportunities for education. |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/best-countries-for-education |website=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> There are local [[community college]]s with generally more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pannoni|first1=Alexandra|last2=Kerr|first2=Emma|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/community-colleges/articles/2015/02/06/frequently-asked-questions-community-college|title=Everything You Need to Know About Community Colleges: FAQ|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|date=July 14, 2020|access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> The U.S. spends more on education per student than any nation in the world,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rushe|first=Dominic|date=September 7, 2018|title=The US spends more on education than other countries. Why is it falling behind?|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/07/us-education-spending-finland-south-korea|access-date=August 29, 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> spending an average of $12,794 per year on public elementary and secondary school students in the 2016–2017 school year.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 2020|title=Fast Facts: Expenditures|url=https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=nces.ed.gov|language=EN}}</ref>
 
As for [[public expenditure]]s on higher education, the U.S. spends more per student than the [[OECD]] average, and more than all nations in combined public and private spending.<ref name="education spending">{{cite news|date=June 25, 2013|title=U.S. education spending tops global list, study shows|publisher=CBS|agency=AP|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57590921/u.s-education-spending-tops-global-list-study-shows/|access-date=October 5, 2013}}</ref> Despite some student [[loan forgiveness]] programs in place,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Biden administration cancelled $9.5B in student loan debt. Here's who it affects. |url=https://usafacts.org/articles/the-biden-administration-cancelled-95b-in-student-loan-debt-heres-who-it-affects/ |access-date=July 15, 2022 |website=USAFacts |language=en}}</ref> [[Student debt|student loan debt]] has increased by 102% in the last decade,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hess|first=Abigail Johnson|date=December 22, 2020|title=U.S. student debt has increased by more than 100% over the past 10 years|work=CNBC|location=|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/22/us-student-debt-has-increased-by-more-than-100percent-over-past-10-years.html|access-date=January 8, 2022}}</ref> and exceeded 1.7&nbsp;trillion dollars as of 2022.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dickler|first1=Jessica|last2=Nova|first2=Annie|date=May 6, 2022|title=This is how student loan debt became a $1.7 trillion crisis|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/this-is-how-student-loan-debt-became-a-1point7-trillion-crisis.html|work=CNBC|location=|access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref>
 
=== Health ===
{{See also|Healthcare in the United States|Healthcare reform in the United States|Health insurance in the United States}}
[[File:Texas medical center.jpg|thumb|[[Texas Medical Center]] in [[Houston]] is the largest medical complex in the world, employing 106,000 people and treating 10 million patients annually as of 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newsweek.com/texas-medical-center-largest-medical-complex-world-reaches-98-percent-icu-capacity-1526180 | title=Texas Medical Center, largest medical complex in the world, reaches 98 percent ICU capacity | website=[[Newsweek]] | date=August 19, 2020 }}</ref> |alt=The Texas Medical Center, a cluster of contemporary skyscrapers, at night]]
 
In a preliminary report, the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) announced that U.S. [[life expectancy]] at birth had dropped to 76.4 years in 2021 (73.2 years for men and 79.1 years for women), down 0.9 years from 2020. The chief causes listed were the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]], accidents, drug overdoses, heart and liver disease, and suicides.<ref>{{cite web|title=Life Expectancy in the United States Declines, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220831.htm|website=Cdc.gov|access-date=September 3, 2022|date=August 31, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Noguchi|first=Yuki |date=December 22, 2022 |title=American life expectancy is now at its lowest in nearly two decades|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/22/1144864971/american-life-expectancy-is-now-at-its-lowest-in-nearly-two-decades|work=[[NPR]] |location= |access-date=December 27, 2022}}</ref> Life expectancy was highest among Asians and Hispanics and lowest among Blacks and American Indian–Alaskan Native ([[AIAN (U.S. Census)|AIAN]]) peoples.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 29, 2018|title=Mortality in the United States, 2017|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db328.htm|access-date=December 27, 2018|website=Cdc.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Bernstein|first1=Lenny|date=November 29, 2018|title=U.S. life expectancy declines again, a dismal trend not seen since World War I|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-life-expectancy-declines-again-a-dismal-trend-not-seen-since-world-war-i/2018/11/28/ae58bc8c-f28c-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html|access-date=December 27, 2018}}</ref> Starting in 1998, the life expectancy in the U.S. fell behind that of [[List of countries by life expectancy|other wealthy industrialized countries]], and Americans' "health disadvantage" gap has been increasing ever since.<ref>{{cite news|last=Achenbach|first=Joel|date=November 26, 2019|title='There's something terribly wrong': Americans are dying young at alarming rates|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/theres-something-terribly-wrong-americans-are-dying-young-at-alarming-rates/2019/11/25/d88b28ec-0d6a-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 19, 2019}}</ref> The U.S. also has one of the highest [[Suicide in the United States|suicide]] rates among [[high-income countries]].<ref>{{cite web|date=January 30, 2020|title=New International Report on Health Care: U.S. Suicide Rate Highest Among Wealthy Nations {{!}} Commonwealth Fund|url=https://www.commonwealthfund.org/press-release/2020/new-international-report-health-care-us-suicide-rate-highest-among-wealthy|access-date=March 17, 2020|website=Commonwealthfund.org|language=en}}</ref> Approximately one-third of the U.S. adult population is obese and another third is overweight.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2003–2004|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overwght_adult_03.htm|access-date=June 5, 2007|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics}}</ref> [[Poverty in the United States|Poverty]] is the 4th leading risk factor for premature death in the United States annually, according to a 2023 study published in ''[[JAMA]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hughes |first=Clyde |date=April 17, 2023|title=Poverty is fourth-largest cause of U.S. deaths, researchers say|url=https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2023/04/17/poverty-deaths-analysis-university-California/8711681741169/|work=[[United Press International]]|location= |access-date=June 26, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Jarow|first=Oshan |date=July 14, 2023|title=Poverty is a major public health crisis. Let's treat it like one.|url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23792854/poverty-mortality-study-public-health-antipoverty-america-deaths-poor-life-expectancy|work=Vox  |location= |access-date=August 24, 2023}}</ref>
 
The U.S. healthcare system far [[List of countries by total health expenditure (PPP) per capita|outspends]] that of any other nation, measured both in per capita spending and as a percentage of GDP but attains worse healthcare outcomes when compared to peer nations.<ref>{{cite web|year=2001|title=The U.S. Healthcare System: The Best in the World or Just the Most Expensive?|url=https://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.+HCweb.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/20070309142240/https://dll.umaine.edu:80/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf|archive-date=March 9, 2007|access-date=November 29, 2006|publisher=University of Maine}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The United States is the only developed nation [[Healthcare reform in the United States|without a system of universal healthcare]], and a [[Health insurance coverage in the United States|significant proportion of the population that does not carry health insurance]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Vladeck|first=Bruce|title=Universal Health Insurance in the United States: Reflections on the Past, the Present, and the Future|date=January 2003|volume=93|number=1|pages=16–19|pmid=12511377|doi=10.2105/ajph.93.1.16|journal=[[American Journal of Public Health]]|pmc=1447684 }}</ref>
 
Government-funded healthcare coverage for the poor ([[Medicaid]]) and for those age 65 and older ([[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]]) is available to Americans who meet the programs' income or age qualifications. In 2010, former President Obama passed the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] or ACA,{{efn|Also known less formally as Obamacare}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Oberlander|first=Jonathan|date=June 1, 2010| title=Long Time Coming: Why Health Reform Finally Passed|journal=Health Affairs|language=en|volume=29|issue=6|pages=1112–1116|doi=10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0447| pmid=20530339|issn=0278-2715|doi-access=free}}</ref> with the law roughly halving the uninsured share of the population according to the CDC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/earlyrelease201611_01.pdf|title=National Health Interview Survey, January to June 2016|website=CDC.gov|access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref> Its legacy [[Criticism of Obamacare|remains controversial]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Mathews|first=Anna Wilde|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-is-aca-still-controversial-11-years-after-healthcare-law-known-as-obamacare-was-passed-11623962729|title=Why Is ACA Still Controversial 11 Years After Healthcare Law Known as Obamacare Was Passed?|work=[[Wall Street Journal]]|date=June 17, 2021|access-date=July 18, 2022}}</ref>
 
== Culture and society ==
{{Main|Culture of the United States|Society of the United States}}
[[File:Liberty02.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Statue of Liberty]] (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') on [[Liberty Island]] in [[New York Harbor]] was an 1866 gift from [[France]] that has become an iconic symbol of the [[American Dream]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Statue of Liberty| website=World Heritage| publisher=UNESCO| url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/307| access-date = January 4, 2022}}</ref>|alt=The Statue of Liberty, a large teal bronze sculpture on a stone pedestal]]
 
Americans have traditionally [[Stereotypes of Americans|been characterized]] by a unifying political belief in an "[[American civil religion|American creed]]" emphasizing liberty, [[equality under the law]], democracy, [[social equality]], [[property rights]], and a preference for [[limited government]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Huntington |first=Samuel P. |url=https://archive.org/details/whoarewechalleng00hunt |title=Who are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-684-87053-3 |chapter=Chapters 2–4 |author-link=Samuel P. Huntington |access-date=October 25, 2015 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xiYiybkE8kC&q=core}}: also see [[American Creed]], written by [[William Tyler Page]] and adopted by Congress in 1918.</ref><ref>Hoeveler, J. David, ''Creating the American Mind: Intellect and Politics in the Colonial Colleges'', Rowman & Littlefield, {{ISBN|978-0742548398}}, 2007, p. xi</ref> Culturally, the country has been described as having the values of [[individualism]] and [[personal autonomy]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grabb |first1=Edward |last2=Baer |first2=Douglas |last3=Curtis |first3=James |year=1999 |title=The Origins of American Individualism: Reconsidering the Historical Evidence |journal=[[Canadian Journal of Sociology]] |publisher=[[University of Alberta]] |volume=24 |pages=511–533 |doi=10.2307/3341789 |issn=0318-6431 |jstor=3341789 |number=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Marsh |first=Abigail |date=May 26, 2021 |title=Everyone Thinks Americans Are Selfish. They're Wrong. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/opinion/individualism-united-states-altruism.html |access-date=July 16, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> having a strong [[work ethic]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Porter |first=Gayle |date=November 2010 |title=Work Ethic and Ethical Work: Distortions in the American Dream |journal=[[Journal of Business Ethics]] |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |volume=96 |pages=535–550 |doi=10.1007/s10551-010-0481-6 |jstor=29789736 |s2cid=143991044 |number=4}}</ref> [[Competition|competitiveness]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stephens |first=R.H. |date=September 1952 |title=The Role Of Competition In American Life |journal=[[The Australian Quarterly]] |publisher=[[Australian Institute of Policy and Science]] |volume=24 |pages=9–14 |jstor=41317686 |number=3}}</ref> and voluntary [[altruism]] towards others.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 9, 2022|url=https://good2give.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-CAF-World-Giving-Index.pdf |title=World Giving Index 2022 |website=[[Charities Aid Foundation]] |access-date=April 27, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Country-level estimates of altruism |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cross-country-variation-in-altruism |access-date=March 14, 2023 |website=Our World in Data}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Marsh |first=Abigail |date=February 5, 2018 |title=Could A More Individualistic World Also Be A More Altruistic One? |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2018/02/05/581873428/could-a-more-individualistic-world-also-be-a-more-altruistic-one |access-date=March 14, 2023 |website=[[National Public Radio]]}}</ref> According to a 2016 study by the [[Charities Aid Foundation]], Americans donated 1.44% of total GDP to charity, the [[List of countries by charitable donation|highest]] in the world by a large margin.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 2016 |title=GROSS DOMESTIC PHILANTHROPY: An international analysis of GDP, tax and giving |url=https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-policy-and-campaigns/gross-domestic-philanthropy-feb-2016.pdf |access-date=July 18, 2022 |publisher=[[Charities Aid Foundation]]}}</ref> Part of both the [[Anglosphere]] and [[Western world|Western World]], the United States is also home to a [[Multiculturalism|wide variety]] of ethnic groups, traditions, and values,<ref name="DD">{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=J.Q. |title=Dealing with diversity : the anthology |last2=Strother-Adams |first2=Pearlie |date=2001 |publisher=Kendall/Hunt Pub |isbn=978-0-7872-8145-8 |location=Chicago}}</ref><ref name="Society in Focus">{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=William E. |title=Society in focus : an introduction to sociology |last2=Hickey |first2=Joseph V. |date=2004 |publisher=Pearson/Allyn and Bacon |isbn=978-0-205-41365-2 |edition=5th |location=Boston}}</ref> and exerts major cultural influence on a global scale,<ref>[[#BBC18may|BBC, April 2008: Country Profile: United States of America]]</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Fergie |first1=Dexter |date=March 24, 2022 |title=How American Culture Ate the World |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/165836/american-culture-ate-world-righteous-smokescreen-globalization-review |magazine=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583 |access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref> with the phenomenon being termed ''[[Americanization]]''.<ref name="stead1901">{{cite book | url= https://archive.org/stream/americanizationo01stea#page/392/mode/2up | title=The Americanization of the World | publisher=Horace Markley | author=Stead, W. T. | year=1901 | page=393}}</ref> As such, the U.S. is considered a [[cultural superpower]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Berghahn |first=Volker R. |date=February 1, 2010 |title=The debate on 'Americanization' among economic and cultural historians |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14682740903388566 |journal=Cold War History |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=107–130 |doi=10.1080/14682740903388566 |s2cid=144459911 |issn=1468-2745}}</ref>
 
Nearly all present Americans or their ancestors came from [[Afro-Eurasia|Eurafrasia]] ("the [[Old World]]") within the past five centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fiorina|first1=Morris P.|author-link1=Morris P. Fiorina|last2=Peterson|first2=Paul E.|title=The New American democracy|date=2010|publisher=Longman|location=London|isbn=978-0-205-78016-7|page=97|edition=7th}}</ref> [[wikt:mainstream|Mainstream]] American culture is a [[Western culture]] largely derived from the [[European American|traditions of European immigrants]] with influences from many other sources, such as [[African-American culture|traditions brought by slaves from Africa]].<ref name="DD" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Holloway|first1=Joseph E.|title=Africanisms in American culture|date=2005|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|isbn=978-0-253-21749-3|pages=18–38|edition=2nd}}<br />{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Fern L.|title=Speaking culturally : language diversity in the United States|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=978-0-8039-5912-5|page=116|year=2000 }}</ref> More recent immigration from [[Asian American|Asia]] and especially [[Latin American culture|Latin America]] has added to a cultural mix that has been described as a homogenizing [[melting pot]], and a heterogeneous [[salad bowl (cultural idea)|salad bowl]], with immigrants contributing to, and often [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilating]] into, mainstream American culture.<ref name="DD" /> The [[American Dream]], or the perception that Americans enjoy high [[Socio-economic mobility in the United States|social mobility]], plays a key role in attracting immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gallup.com/poll/161435/100-million-worldwide-dream-life.aspx|title=More Than 100 Million Worldwide Dream of a Life in the U.S. More than 25% in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Dominican Republic want to move to the U.S.|last=Clifton|first=Jon|date=March 21, 2013|publisher=Gallup|access-date=January 10, 2014}}</ref> Whether this perception is accurate has been a topic of debate.<ref name="socialmobility">*{{cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/tax/public-finance/chapter%205%20gfg%202010.pdf|title=A Family Affair: Intergenerational Social Mobility across OECD Countries|publisher=OECD|website=Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth|year=2010|access-date=September 20, 2010}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.suttontrust.com/reports/IntergenerationalMobility.pdf|title=Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America|author1=Blanden, Jo|author2=Gregg, Paul|author3=Machin, Stephen|publisher=Centre for Economic Performance|date=April 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623094610/https://www.suttontrust.com/reports/IntergenerationalMobility.pdf|archive-date=June 23, 2006}}
* {{cite web|last1=Gould|first1=Elise|title=U.S. lags behind peer countries in mobility|url=https://www.epi.org/publication/usa-lags-peer-countries-mobility/|website=[[Economic Policy Institute]]|access-date=July 15, 2013|date=October 10, 2012}}
* {{cite journal|last=Winship|first=Scott|title=Overstating the Costs of Inequality|journal=National Affairs|date=Spring 2013|url=https://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Articles/2013/03/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024141452/https://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Articles/2013/03/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship.pdf|archive-date=October 24, 2013|access-date=January 10, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="CAP">{{cite web|title=Understanding Mobility in America|url=https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2006/04/26/1917/understanding-mobility-in-america/|website=Center for American Progress|date=April 26, 2006}}</ref><ref name="Schneider">{{cite web|last=Schneider|first=Donald|title=A Guide to Understanding International Comparisons of Economic Mobility|url=https://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/07/a-guide-to-understanding-international-comparisons-of-economic-mobility|publisher=The Heritage Foundation|access-date=August 22, 2013|date=July 29, 2013}}</ref> While mainstream culture holds that the United States is a [[classless society]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Gutfeld|first=Amon|year=2002|title=American Exceptionalism: The Effects of Plenty on the American Experience|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|location=Brighton and Portland|page=65|isbn=978-1-903900-08-6}}</ref> scholars identify significant differences between [[Social class in the United States|the country's social classes]], affecting [[socialization]], language, and values.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zweig|first=Michael|year=2004|title=What's Class Got To Do With It, American Society in the Twenty-First Century|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, NY|isbn=978-0-8014-8899-3}} {{cite web|url=https://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED309843&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b800472a5|title=Effects of Social Class and Interactive Setting on Maternal Speech|publisher=Education Resource Information Center|access-date=January 27, 2007}}</ref> Americans tend to greatly value [[socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] achievement, but being [[Average Joe|ordinary or average]] is promoted by some as a noble condition as well.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Keefe|first=Kevin|year=2005|title=The Average American|publisher=PublicAffairs|location=New York|isbn=978-1-58648-270-1|url=https://archive.org/details/averageamericant00okee }}</ref>
 
The United States is considered to have the [[Freedom of speech in the United States|strongest protections of free speech of any country]] under the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coleman |first=Gabriella |title=Coding Freedom |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-691-14461-0 |pages=10, 201 |author-link=Gabriella Coleman}}</ref> which protects [[Flag desecration in the United States|flag desecration]], [[Hate speech in the United States|hate speech]], [[Blasphemy law in the United States|blasphemy]], and [[Lèse-majesté|lese-majesty]] as forms of protected expression.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 19, 2012 |title=Held Dear In U.S., Free Speech Perplexing Abroad |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/09/19/161439562/held-dear-in-u-s-free-speech-perplexing-abroad |access-date=March 4, 2023 |website=[[National Public Radio]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Liptak |first=Adam |date=June 11, 2008 |title=Hate speech or free speech? What much of West bans is protected in U.S. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/world/americas/11iht-hate.4.13645369.html |url-access=limited |access-date=February 21, 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Durkee |first=Alison |date=April 25, 2018 |title=What if we didn't... have the First Amendment? |url=https://www.mic.com/articles/188402/what-if-we-didnt-have-the-first-amendment |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=Mic |language=en}}</ref> A 2016 [[Pew Research Center]] poll found that Americans were the most supportive of free expression of any polity measured.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wike |first=Richard |title=Americans more tolerant of offensive speech than others in the world |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/12/americans-more-tolerant-of-offensive-speech-than-others-in-the-world/ |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> They are also the "most supportive of [[Freedom of the press in the United States|freedom of the press]] and the [[Right to Internet access|right to use the Internet]] without government censorship."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Alex |date=November 8, 2016 |title=Freedom of speech: which country has the most? |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/freedom-of-speech-country-comparison/ |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=World Economic Forum |language=en}}</ref> It is a [[Cultural liberalism|socially progressive]] country<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Norris |first=Pippa |author-link=Pippa Norris |date=February 2023 |title=Cancel Culture: Myth or Reality? |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00323217211037023 |journal=Political Studies |language=en |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=145–174 |doi=10.1177/00323217211037023 |s2cid=238647612 |issn=0032-3217 |quote=As predicted, in post-industrial societies, characterized by predominately liberal social cultures, like the US, Sweden, and UK...}}</ref> with [[Permissive society|permissive]] attitudes surrounding [[human sexuality]].<ref name="Derks-2020">{{Cite book |last1=Derks |first1=Marco |title=Public Discourses About Homosexuality and Religion in Europe and Beyond |last2=van den Berg |first2=Mariecke |publisher=[[Springer International Publishing]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-030-56326-4 |pages=338 |quote=...(the United States and [Western] Europe) as "already in crisis" for their permissive attitudes toward nonnormative sexualities...}}</ref> [[LGBT rights in the United States]] are among the most advanced in the world.<ref name="Derks-2020" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leveille |first=Dan |date=December 4, 2009 |title=LGBT Equality Index: The most LGBT-friendly countries in the world |url=https://www.equaldex.com/equality-index |access-date=January 26, 2023 |website=[[Equaldex]] |quote=13.) United States}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Garretson |first=Jeremiah |title=The Path to Gay Rights: How Activism and Coming Out Changed Public Opinion |publisher=[[New York University Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4798-5007-5 |page= |chapter=A Transformed Society: LGBT Rights in the United States |quote=In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a dramatic wave began to form in the waters of public opinion: American attitudes involving homosexuality began to change... The transformation of America's response to homosexuality has been — and continues to be — one of the most rapid and sustained shifts in mass attitudes since the start of public polling.}}</ref>
 
=== Mass media ===
{{further|Mass media in the United States}}
{{See also|Newspapers in the United States|Television in the United States|Internet in the United States|Radio in the United States|Video games in the United States}}
[[File:Buildings in Philadelphia - IMG 7505.JPG|upright|thumb|[[Comcast Center]] in [[Philadelphia]], headquarters of [[Comcast]], the world's largest telecommunications and media conglomerate]]
 
The four major broadcasters in the U.S. are the [[National Broadcasting Company]] (NBC), [[Columbia Broadcasting System]] (CBS), [[American Broadcasting Company]] (ABC), and [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] (FOX). The four major broadcast [[television network]]s are all commercial entities. [[Cable television in the United States|Cable television]] offers hundreds of channels catering to a variety of niches.<ref>{{cite news|title=Streaming TV Services: What They Cost, What You Get|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/12/business/ap-us-streaming-tv-options.html|access-date=October 12, 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|agency=Associated Press|date=October 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015023520/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/12/business/ap-us-streaming-tv-options.html|archive-date=October 15, 2015}}</ref> {{as of|2021}}, about 83% of Americans over age 12 listen to [[radio broadcasting|broadcast radio]], while about 41% listen to [[podcast]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/audio-and-podcasting/|title=Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|location=Washington, D.C.|date=June 29, 2021|access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref> {{As of|2014|09|30|df=US}}, there are 15,433 licensed full-power radio stations in the U.S. according to the U.S. [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC).<ref>{{cite web|last=Waits|first=Jennifer|date=October 17, 2014|title=Number of U.S. Radio Stations on the Rise, Especially LPFM, according to New FCC Count|url=https://www.radiosurvivor.com/2014/10/17/number-u-s-radio-stations-rise-especially-lpfm-according-latest-fcc-count/|access-date=January 6, 2015|website=Radio Survivor}}</ref> Much of the public radio broadcasting is supplied by [[NPR]], incorporated in February 1970 under the [[Public Broadcasting Act of 1967]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 20, 2013|title=History: NPR|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/about-npr/192827079/overview-and-history|access-date=May 5, 2021}}</ref>
 
Globally-recognized newspapers in the United States include ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'', and ''[[USA Today]]''.<ref name="Shaffer2006">{{cite book|first=Brenda|last=Shaffer|title=The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEOd-cDWVwQC&pg=PA116|year=2006|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-19529-4|page=116}}</ref> More than 800 publications are produced in Spanish, the second most commonly used language in the United States behind English.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spanish Newspapers in United States|url=https://www.w3newspapers.com/usa/spanish|access-date=August 5, 2014|publisher=W3newspapers}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Spanish Language Newspapers in the USA : Hispanic Newspapers : Periódiscos en Español en los EE.UU|url=https://www.onlinenewspapers.com/usstate/spanish-language-newspapers-usa.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626114455/https://www.onlinenewspapers.com/usstate/spanish-language-newspapers-usa.htm|archive-date=June 26, 2014|access-date=August 5, 2014|publisher=Onlinenewspapers.com}}</ref> With very few exceptions, all the newspapers in the U.S. are privately owned, either by large chains such as [[Gannett Company|Gannett]] or [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchy]], which own dozens or even hundreds of newspapers; by small chains that own a handful of papers; or, in a situation that is increasingly rare, by individuals or families. Major cities often have [[alternative newspaper]]s to complement the mainstream daily papers, such as ''[[The Village Voice]]'' in New York City and ''[[LA Weekly]]'' in [[Los Angeles]]. The five most popular websites used in the U.S. are [[Google]], [[YouTube]], [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], [[Yahoo]], and [[Facebook]], with all of them being American companies.<ref name="alexa-topsitesus">{{cite web|year=2021|title=Top Sites in United States|url=https://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US|access-date=October 6, 2021|publisher=Alexa|archive-date=June 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621221154/https://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
The video game market of the United States is the world's [[List of video games markets by country|second-largest]] by revenue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asian countries make up 40% of the world's top 10 video gaming markets |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/which-countries-have-the-largest-video-gaming-markets/ |access-date=April 15, 2023 |website=World Economic Forum |date=August 24, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Major video game publishers and developers headquartered in the United States are [[Sony Interactive Entertainment]], [[Take-Two Interactive|Take-Two]], [[Activision Blizzard]], [[Electronic Arts]], [[Xbox Game Studios]], [[Bethesda Softworks]], [[Epic Games]], [[Valve Corporation|Valve]], [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment|Warner Bros.]], [[Riot Games]], and others.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asian countries make up 40% of the world's top 10 video gaming markets |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/which-countries-have-the-largest-video-gaming-markets/ |access-date=December 12, 2022 |website=World Economic Forum |date=August 24, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 13, 2022 |title=Top 10 gaming companies made $126bn revenue last year |language=en-gb |work=Eurogamer.net |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/top-10-gaming-companies-made-126bn-revenue-last-year |access-date=December 14, 2022}}</ref> There are 444 publishers, developers, and hardware companies in [[California]] alone.<ref>{{Cite web |title=California (CA) |url=https://www.theesa.com/video-game-impact-map/state/california/ |access-date=December 14, 2022 |website=ESA Impact Map |date=July 20, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in the United States|Irreligion in the United States}}
{{See also|List of religious movements that began in the United States}}
{{bar box
|float=right
|title=Religion in USA <small>(2022 [[The Wall Street Journal|WSG]] and [[NORC at the University of Chicago|NORC]])</small><ref name="WSJ-2022">{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=March 2023 NORC/AP poll |url=https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/WSJ_NORC_ToplineMarc_2023.pdf |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=[[Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>
|width=285px
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]]|DarkBlue|26}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity in the United States|Other Christians]]|Pink|23}}
{{bar percent|[[Catholicism in the United States|Catholicism]]|Purple|21}}
{{bar percent|[[Irreligion in the United States|Nothing in particular]]|Teal|12}}
{{bar percent|[[Agnosticism]]|LightGrey|8}}
{{bar percent|[[Atheism in the United States|Atheism]]|Black|4}}
{{bar percent|[[Judaism in the United States|Judaism]]|Blue|2}}
{{bar percent|[[Buddhism in the United States|Buddhism]]|Yellow|2}}
{{bar percent|[[Religion in the United States|Other religious]]|Salmon|2}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam in the United States|Islam]]|Green|1}}
}}
The [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] guarantees the [[Free Exercise Clause|free exercise of religion]] and forbids Congress from passing laws respecting [[Establishment Clause|its establishment]].<ref name="Donadio-2021">{{Cite web |last=Donadio |first=Rachel |date=November 22, 2021 |title=Why Is France So Afraid of God? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/france-god-religion-secularism/620528/ |access-date=March 25, 2023 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date= |title=First Amendment |url=https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/#:~:text=Congress%20shall%20make%20no%20law,for%20a%20redress%20of%20grievances. |work=Constitution Annotated |publisher=[[United States Congress]]}}</ref> Religious practice is widespread, among [[List of countries ranked by ethnic and cultural diversity level|the most diverse in the world]],<ref name="alesina1">{{cite journal |first=Alberto |last=Alesina |display-authors=etal |year=2003 |title=Fractionalization |url=http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/alesina/files/fractionalization.pdf |journal=Journal of Economic Growth |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=155–194 |doi=10.1023/a:1024471506938 |s2cid=260685524 |access-date=September 13, 2012 |archive-date=August 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831221230/http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/alesina/files/fractionalization.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and vibrant, with the country being far more [[Religion|religious]] than other wealthy Western nations.<ref name="pewreligion">{{cite web |last=Fahmy |first=Dalia |date=July 31, 2018 |title=Americans are far more religious than adults in other wealthy nations |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/31/americans-are-far-more-religious-than-adults-in-other-wealthy-nations/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109160911/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/31/americans-are-far-more-religious-than-adults-in-other-wealthy-nations/ |archive-date=January 9, 2020 |access-date=January 23, 2020 |work=Pew Research Center |quote=}}</ref> 91% of those surveyed in a 2021 Pew Research poll believe in either God (58%) or a [[Higher Power|higher power]] (32%),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=Travis |date=November 23, 2021 |title=Few Americans Blame God or Say Faith Has Been Shaken Amid Pandemic, Other Tragedies |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/11/23/few-americans-blame-god-or-say-faith-has-been-shaken-amid-pandemic-other-tragedies/ |access-date=September 30, 2023 |website=Pew Research Center}}</ref> A 2018 survey, also by Pew Research, reported that 55% of Americans prayed daily, 6% more than the international average.<ref name="pew2018">{{Cite web|website=Pew Research Center |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/06/13/how-religious-commitment-varies-by-country-among-people-of-all-ages/ |title=The Age Gap in Religion Around the World |date=June 13, 2018 }}</ref> A substantial majority of Americans believe in a higher power.<ref name=":6">{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Jim |title=The Great Dechurching: Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? |last2=Graham |first2=Michael |last3=Burge |first3=Ryan |last4=Hansen |first4=Collin |publisher=Zondervan |year=2023 |isbn=9780310147435 |page=121 |language=English |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |surname=Chaves |given=Mark |title=American Religion: Contemporary Trends |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780691177564 |place=Princeton, NJ; London |pages=38–39 |quote=The vast majority of people — approximately 80 percent — describe themselves as both spiritual and religious.}}</ref> The country has the [[Christianity by country|largest Christian population]] in the world.<ref name="Global Christianity">{{cite web|author=ANALYSIS|url=https://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-exec.aspx|title=Global Christianity|publisher=Pewforum.org|date=December 19, 2011|access-date=August 17, 2012|archive-date=July 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730062627/http://www.pewforum.org/christian/global-christianity-exec.aspx|url-status=dead }}</ref> Christians in the country are overwhelmingly [[Evangelicalism|Evangelicals]], [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], or [[mainline Protestant]]s.{{cn|date=October 2023}}
A 2022 ''Gallup'' poll found that 31% reported "attending a church, synagogue, mosque or temple weekly or nearly weekly".<ref name="Jones-2022">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Jeffrey |date=December 21, 2022 |title=In U.S., Childhood Churchgoing Habits Fade in Adulthood |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/467354/childhood-churchgoing-habits-fade-adulthood.aspx |access-date=January 1, 2023 |website=Gallup.com |language=en}}</ref> Religious practice varies significantly by region.<ref name="Williams-2023">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Daniel |date=March 1, 2023 |title='Christian America' Isn't Dying. It's Dividing. |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/christianity-america-pew-research-statistics-minority.html |access-date=March 25, 2023 |website=[[Christianity Today]] |language=en}}</ref> In the "[[Bible Belt]]", located within the [[Southern United States]], evangelical Protestantism plays a significant role culturally. [[New England]] and the [[Western United States]] tend [[Unchurched Belt|to be less religious]],<ref name="Williams-2023" /> although [[Mormonism]]—a [[Restorationism|Restorationist]] Christian movement started in New York in the 19th century—is the predominant religious affiliation in Utah.<ref>{{cite web|website=World Population Review|title=Mormon Population by State|date=June 2023|url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/mormon-population-by-state}}</ref> Around 6% of Americans claim a non-Christian faith.<ref name="Nadeem-2022">{{Cite web |last=Nadeem |first=Reem |date=September 13, 2022 |title=Modeling the Future of Religion in America |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/ |access-date=January 1, 2023 |website=[[Pew Research Center]] |language=en-US}}</ref> the largest of which are [[Judaism]], [[Islam in the United States|Islam]], [[Hinduism in the United States|Hinduism]], and [[Buddhism in the United States|Buddhism]].<ref name="pew2015">{{cite web |date=May 12, 2015 |title=America's Changing Religious Landscape |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]: Religion & Public Life}}</ref> The United States has the largest [[American Jews|Jewish population]] outside of [[Israel]].<ref name="JDB">{{cite report |editor1-last=Dashefsky |editor1-first=Arnold |editor-link1=Arnold Dashefsky |editor2-last=Della Pergola |editor2-first=Sergio |editor-link2=Sergio Della Pergola |editor3-last=Sheskin |editor3-first=Ira |date=2018 |title=World Jewish Population|url=https://www.jewishdatabank.org/content/upload/bjdb/2018-World_Jewish_Population_(AJYB,_DellaPergola)_DB_Final.pdf|publisher=[[Berman Jewish DataBank]]|access-date=June 22, 2019}}</ref> "[[Ceremonial deism]]" is common in American culture.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Merriam |first1=Jesse |last2=Lupu |first2=Ira |last3=Elwood |first3=F |last4=Davis |first4=Eleanor |date=August 28, 2008 |title=On Ceremonial Occasions, May the Government Invoke a Deity? |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2008/08/28/on-ceremonial-occasions-may-the-government-invoke-a-deity/ |access-date=March 31, 2023 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
The number of Americans describing themselves as [[Irreligion|unaffiliated]] with [[organized religion]] rose from 6% in 1991 to 23% in 2018.<ref name=":5">{{cite journal |last=Thompson |first=Derek |date=2019-09-26 |title=Three Decades Ago, America Lost Its Religion. Why? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/atheism-fastest-growing-religion-us/598843/ |journal=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=2022-10-02 |quote=}}</ref>
 
=== Literature and visual arts ===
{{Main|American literature|American philosophy|Architecture of the United States|Visual art of the United States}}
[[File:Mark Twain by AF Bradley.jpg|thumb|upright|American author and humorist [[Mark Twain]], who [[William Faulkner]] called  "the father of [[American literature]]"<ref name="faulkner">{{cite book |last=Jelliffe |first=Robert A. |title=Faulkner at Nagano |year=1956 |publisher=Kenkyusha, Ltd |location=Tokyo}}</ref>|alt=Photograph of Mark Twain]]
 
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, American art and literature took most of their cues from Europe. Writers such as [[Washington Irving]], [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[Edgar Allan Poe]], and [[Henry David Thoreau]] established a distinctive American literary voice by the middle of the 19th century. [[Mark Twain]] and poet [[Walt Whitman]] were major figures in the century's second half; [[Emily Dickinson]], virtually unknown during her lifetime, is recognized as an essential American poet.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harold|first1=Bloom|author-link1=Harold Bloom|title=Emily Dickinson|date=1999|publisher=Chelsea House Publishers|location=Broomall, PA|isbn=978-0-7910-5106-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/emilydickinson00bloo/page/9 9]|url=https://archive.org/details/emilydickinson00bloo/page/9 }}</ref>
 
Almost until the 20th century [[Anti-literacy laws in the United States|pervasive anti-literacy laws prevented most people of color]] from learning to read or write.<ref> {{Cite book|last=Williams|first=Heather Andrea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TiWSrlpTTTIC|title=Self-Taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom|date=2009-11-20|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-8078-8897-1|pages=13|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1862/june/slaves-read-write.htm |title=Illegal to Teach Slaves to Read and Write |work=Harper's Weekly |date=June 21, 1862}}</ref> In the 1920s, the [[Harlem Renaissance|New Negro Movement]] coalesced in [[Harlem]], where many writers had migrated from the [[Southern United States]] and [[West Indies]]. Its pan-African perspective was a significant cultural export during the [[Jazz Age]] in Paris and as such was a key early influence on the ''[[négritude]]'' philosophy.<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Philipson | first = Robert | title = The Harlem Renaissance as Postcolonial Phenomenon | journal = African American Review | volume = 40 | issue = 1 |  year = 2006 | pages = 145–160 |  jstor = 40027037}}</ref>
 
Since its first use in the 19th century, the term "[[Great American Novel]]" has been applied to many books, including [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' (1851), [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]]'s ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' (1852), Twain's ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' (1885), [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]'s ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' (1925), [[John Steinbeck]]'s ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' (1939), [[Harper Lee]]'s ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]'' (1960), [[Toni Morrison]]'s [[Beloved (novel)|''Beloved'']] (1987), and [[David Foster Wallace]]'s ''[[Infinite Jest]]'' (1996).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buell |first=Lawrence |title=The Dream of the Great American Novel |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-674-05115-7 |pages=57 |oclc=871257583 |author-link=Lawrence Buell}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | first = Lawrence | last = Buell | title = The Rise and 'Fall' of the Great American Novel | journal = Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society | date =  October 1994 | volume = 104 | issue = 2 | pages = 261–283 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Buell, Lawrence|title=The Unkillable Dream of the Great American Novel: ''Moby-Dick'' as Test Case|date=Spring–Summer 2008|volume=20|issue=1–2|pages=132–155|doi=10.1093/alh/ajn005|journal=American Literary History|s2cid=170250346|issn=0896-7148|url=https://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:31740086 }}</ref>
 
Thirteen U.S. citizens have won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], most recently [[Louise Glück]], [[Bob Dylan]], and Toni Morrison.<ref>{{Cite web | title = All Nobel Prizes in Literature | website = NobelPrize.org | author = Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023 | access-date = March 23, 2023 | url = https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-prizes-in-literature | language = en}}</ref> Earlier laureates [[William Faulkner]], [[Ernest Hemingway]] and John Steinbeck have also been recognized as influential 20th century writers.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Edward|first1=Quinn|title=A dictionary of literary and thematic terms|date=2006|publisher=Facts On File|isbn=978-0-8160-6243-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoflite0002quin/page/361 361]|edition=2nd|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoflite0002quin/page/361 }}</ref>
 
In the visual arts, the [[Hudson River School]] was a mid-19th-century movement in the tradition of European [[Realism (arts)|naturalism]]. The 1913 [[Armory Show]] in New York City, an exhibition of European [[modern art|modernist art]], shocked the public and transformed the U.S. art scene.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Milton W.|title=The Story of the Armory Show|date=1963|publisher=Abbeville Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-89659-795-2|edition=2nd|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofarmorysho00brow }}</ref> [[Georgia O'Keeffe]], [[Marsden Hartley]], and others experimented with new, individualistic styles, which would become known as [[American modernism]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
 
Major artistic movements such as the [[abstract expressionism]] of [[Jackson Pollock]] and [[Willem de Kooning]] and the [[pop art]] of [[Andy Warhol]] and [[Roy Lichtenstein]] developed largely in the United States. Major photographers include [[Alfred Stieglitz]], [[Edward Steichen]], [[Dorothea Lange]], [[Edward Weston]], [[James Van Der Zee]], [[Ansel Adams]], and [[Gordon Parks]].<ref name="Davenport1991">{{cite book|last=Davenport|first=Alma|title=The History of Photography: An Overview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hca5H_rJZnUC&pg=PA67|year=1991|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=978-0-8263-2076-6|page=67}}</ref>
 
The uniquely American "Chicago School" refers to two architectural styles derived from the [[architecture of Chicago]]. In the [[architectural history|history of architecture]], the first Chicago School was a [[school (discipline)|school]] of [[architect]]s active in [[Chicago]] in the late 19th, and at the turn of the 20th century. They were among the first to promote the new technologies of steel-frame construction in commercial buildings, and developed a spatial aesthetic which co-evolved with, and then came to influence, parallel developments in European [[Modern architecture|modernism]]. Much of its early work is also known as "Commercial Style".<ref name="whs">{{cite web | url = http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=9256&keyword=Space | title = Commercial style definition | work = Dictionary of Wisconsin History | publisher = Wisconsin Historical Society | access-date = 2007-06-26 | archive-date = June 11, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190611201939/https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=9256&keyword=Space | url-status = dead }}</ref> A "Second Chicago School" with a modernist aesthetic emerged in the 1940s through 1970s, which pioneered new building technologies and [[structural system]]s, such as the [[Tube (structure)|tube-frame structure]].<ref name=Billington>{{cite book |last=Billington |first=David P. |title=The Tower and the Bridge: The New Art of Structural Engineering |isbn=0-691-02393-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/towerbridgenewar00bill/page/234 |year=1985 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/towerbridgenewar00bill/page/234 234–5] |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]}}</ref> The tide of modernism and then [[postmodernism]] has brought global fame to American architects such as [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], [[Philip Johnson]], and [[Frank Gehry]].<ref name="JansonJanson2003">{{cite book|last1=Janson|first1=Horst Woldemar|last2=Janson|first2=Anthony F.|title=History of Art: The Western Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMYHuvhWBH4C&pg=PT955|year=2003|publisher=Prentice Hall Professional|isbn=978-0-13-182895-7|page=955}}</ref> Other Americans who have had dramatic influences on national and international architecture include [[Maya Lin]], [[Frederick Law Olmstead]], [[I.M. Pei]], and [[Stanford White]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
 
=== Cinema and theater ===
{{Main|Cinema of the United States|Theater in the United States}}
The United States is well known for its cinema and theater. Its movie industry has a worldwide influence and following. [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], a district in northern [[Los Angeles]], the nation's second-most populous city, is the leader in motion picture production and the most recognizable movie industry in the world.<ref>{{cite book|title=Annual Report of the Controller of the City of Los Angeles, California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1VbOAAAAMAAJ&q=Hollywood+merged+with+City+of+Los+Angeles+in+1910&pg=PA193|publisher=By[[Office controller|Office of Controller]] Los Angeles, CA (1914)|access-date=February 22, 2014|year = 1914}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Report of the Auditor of the City of Los Angeles California of the Financial Affairs of the Corporation in Its Capacity as a City for the Fiscal Year|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPo2AQAAMAAJ&q=Hollywood+merged+with+City+of+Los+Angeles+in+1910&pg=PA173|publisher=By [[State auditor|Auditor's Office]] of Los Angeles, CA (1913)|access-date=February 22, 2014|year = 1913}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30707|title=Nigeria surpasses Hollywood as world's second-largest film producer|publisher=United Nations|date=May 5, 2009|access-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref> The [[major film studios]] of the United States are the primary source of the [[List of highest-grossing films|most commercially successful]] and most ticket-selling movies in the world.<ref name="Kerrigan_Page_18">{{cite book |last1=Kerrigan |first1=Finola |title=Film Marketing |date=2010 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-7506-8683-9 |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufMdvuuTQ7MC&pg=PA18 |access-date=February 4, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Davis">{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Glyn |last2=Dickinson |first2=Kay |last3=Patti |first3=Lisa |last4=Villarejo |first4=Amy |title=Film Studies: A Global Introduction |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon |isbn=978-1-317-62338-0 |page=299 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnXABgAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 |access-date=August 24, 2020}}</ref>
[[File:Hollywood Sign (Zuschnitt).jpg|thumb|The iconic [[Hollywood Sign]], in the [[Hollywood Hills]], often regarded as the symbol of the [[American film industry]]]]
 
Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, although in the 21st century an increasing number of films are not made there, and film companies have been subject to the forces of globalization.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-landis-rails-studios-theyre-659222|title=John Landis Rails Against Studios: 'They're Not in the Movie Business Anymore'|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=January 24, 2015}}</ref> The [[Academy Awards]], popularly known as the Oscars, have been held annually by the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] since 1929,<ref name="DrowneHuber2004">{{cite book |last1=Drowne |first1=Kathleen Morgan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CecCHiI95dYC&pg=PA236 |title=The 1920s |last2=Huber |first2=Patrick |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-313-32013-2 |page=236}}</ref> and the [[Golden Globe Award]]s have been held annually since January 1944.<ref name="Kroon2014">{{cite book |last=Kroon |first=Richard W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjmNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA338 |title=A/V A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms |publisher=McFarland |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7864-5740-3 |page=338}}</ref>
 
Director [[D. W. Griffith]]'s film [[The Birth of a Nation|adaptation]] of [[The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan]] was the first American blockbuster, earning the equivalent of $1.8 billion in current dollars.  The technical achievements of the film revolutionized [[film grammar]], while its subject matter caused both strident protest and a revitalization of the [[Ku Klux Klan|Klan]].<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Time |author=Richard Corliss |date=3 March 2015 | title=D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation 100 Years Later: Still Great, Still Shameful |url=https://time.com/3729807/d-w-griffiths-the-birth-of-a-nation-10/ }}</ref> Producer and entrepreneur [[Walt Disney]] was a leader in both [[animation|animated film]] and movie [[merchandising]].<ref name="KrasniewiczDisney2010">{{cite book|last1=Krasniewicz|first1=Louise|last2=Disney|first2=Walt|title=Walt Disney: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZ3vTgpHgFoC&pg=PR10|year=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-35830-2|page=10}}</ref> Directors such as [[John Ford]] redefined the image of the American Old West, and, like others such as [[John Huston]], broadened the possibilities of cinema with location shooting. The industry enjoyed its golden years, in what is commonly referred to as the "[[Classical Hollywood cinema|Golden Age of Hollywood]]", from the early sound period until the early 1960s,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Matthews|first1=Charles|title=Book explores Hollywood 'Golden Age' of the 1960s-'70s|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-explores-hollywood-golden-age-of-the-1960s-70s/2011/02/10/AGh5xJIH_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 6, 2015|date=June 3, 2011}}</ref> with screen actors such as [[John Wayne]] and [[Marilyn Monroe]] becoming iconic figures.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Banner|first1=Lois|title=Marilyn Monroe, the eternal shape shifter|url=https://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/05/opinion/la-oe-0805-banner-marilyn-monroe-icon-biography-20120805|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 6, 2015|date=August 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Rick|first1=Jewell|title=John Wayne, an American Icon|url=https://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15465.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822102812/https://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15465.html|archive-date=August 22, 2008|publisher=University of Southern California|access-date=August 6, 2015|date=August 8, 2008}}</ref> In the 1970s, "[[New Hollywood]]" or the "Hollywood Renaissance"<ref name="Greven2013">{{cite book|last=Greven|first=David|title=Psycho-Sexual: Male Desire in Hitchcock, De Palma, Scorsese, and Friedkin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIyNBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT23|year=2013|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74204-8|page=23}}</ref> was defined by grittier films influenced by French and Italian realist pictures of the [[Aftermath of World War II|post-war period]].<ref name="Morrison1998">{{cite book|last=Morrison|first=James|title=Passport to Hollywood: Hollywood Films, European Directors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWRif68I3igC&pg=PA11|year=1998|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-3938-8|page=11}}</ref>
 
The 21st century has been marked by the rise of American streaming platforms, such as [[Netflix]], [[Disney+]], [[Paramount+]], and [[Apple TV+]], which came to rival traditional cinema.<ref name="RE">{{cite news |last=Seitz|first=Matt Zoller|author-link=Matt Zoller Seitz|title=What's Next: Avengers, MCU, Game of Thrones, and the Content Endgame|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/avengers-mcu-and-the-content-endgame|access-date=July 21, 2021|work=[[RogerEbert.com]]|publisher=Ebert Digital LLC|date=April 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Hannah Avery |title=US streaming market growth continues, despite changes in the industry |url=https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/technology/us-streaming-market-growth-continues-despite-changes-in-the-industry |date=January 18, 2023 |website=[[Kantar Group]] |access-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref>
 
Mainstream theater in the United States derives from the old European theatrical tradition and has been heavily influenced by the [[Theatre of the United Kingdom|British theater]].<ref name="Saxon2011">{{cite book| first = Theresa| last = Saxon| date = October 11, 2011| title = American Theatre: History, Context, Form| publisher = Edinburgh University Press| pages = 7–| isbn = 978-0-7486-3127-8| oclc = 1162047055| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2-AkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA7}}</ref> The central hub of the American theater scene has been [[Manhattan]], with its divisions of [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], [[off-Broadway]], and [[off-off-Broadway]].<ref name="LondréWatermeier1998">{{cite book| first1 = Felicia Hardison | last1 = Londré| first2 = Daniel J.| last2 = Watermeier| date = 1998| title = The History of North American Theater: From Pre-Columbian Times to the Present| publisher = Continuum| pages =| isbn = 978-0-8264-1079-5| oclc = 1024855967}}</ref> Many movie and television [[Celebrity|stars]] have gotten their big break working in New York productions. Outside New York City, many cities have professional [[Regional theater in the United States|regional or resident theater companies]] that produce their own seasons. The biggest-budget theatrical productions are [[musical theatre|musicals]]. U.S. theater also has an active [[community theater]] culture.<ref>Stephen Watt, and Gary A. Richardson, ''American Drama: Colonial to Contemporary'' (1994).</ref>
 
=== Music ===
<!---Bharatpedia:WikiProject Countries. Caution should be taken to ensure that the section is not simply a listing of names or mini biographies.-->
{{Main|Music of the United States}}
[[File:Country music hall of fame2.jpg|thumb|The [[Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]]]
 
[[American folk music]] encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as traditional music, traditional [[folk music]], contemporary folk music, or roots music. Many traditional songs have been sung within the same family or folk group for generations, and sometimes trace back to such origins as the [[British Isles]], [[Mainland Europe]], or [[African-American music|Africa]].<ref name=afc>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/folklife/guide/folkmusicandsong.html|title=Folk Music and Song: American Folklife Center: An Illustrated Guide (Library of Congress)|website=Loc.gov}}</ref>
 
The rhythmic and lyrical styles of African-American music have significantly influenced American music at large. The [[Smithsonian Institution]] states, "African-American influences are so fundamental to American music that there would be no American music without them."<ref>{{cite web |title=Musical Crossroads: African American Influence on American Music |url=https://music.si.edu/story/musical-crossroads |website=Smithsonian |date=September 22, 2016 |access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref> One instrument first mass-produced in the United States was the [[banjo]], which had originally been crafted from gourds covered by animal skins by African slaves.<ref name="boa">{{Cite web | last =  Sabatella | first = Matthew | website = Ballad of America | url = https://balladofamerica.org/banjo/ | title = Banjo: A Brief History}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | first = Greg | last = Allen | website = NPR | url = https://www.npr.org/2011/08/23/139880625/the-banjos-roots-reconsidered | date = August 23, 2011 | title = The Banjo's Roots, Reconsidered}}</ref> Banjos became widely popular in the 19th century due to their use in [[minstrel shows]].<ref name="boa" /> [[Country music]] developed in the 1920s, and [[rhythm and blues]] in the 1940s. Elements from folk idioms such as the [[blues]] and what is known as [[old-time music]] were adopted and transformed into [[popular music|popular genres]] with global audiences. [[Jazz]] was developed by innovators such as [[Louis Armstrong]] and [[Duke Ellington]] early in the 20th century.<ref name="Biddle-2001">{{cite book|last1=Biddle|first1=Julian|title=What Was Hot!: Five Decades of Pop Culture in America|date=2001|publisher=Citadel|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8065-2311-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/whatwashotroller00bidd/page/ ix]|url=https://archive.org/details/whatwashotroller00bidd/page/ }}</ref>
 
[[Elvis Presley]] and [[Chuck Berry]] were among the pioneers of [[rock and roll]] in the mid-1950s. Rock bands such as [[Metallica]], the [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]], and [[Aerosmith]] are among the [[List of best-selling music artists|highest grossing]] musical acts in worldwide sales.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hartman|first1=Graham|title=Metallica's 'Black album' is Top-Selling Disc of last 20 years|url=https://loudwire.com/metallica-black-album-top-selling-disc-last-20-years/|website=Loudwire|access-date=October 12, 2015|date=January 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Vorel|first1=Jim|title=Eagles tribute band landing at Kirkland|url=https://herald-review.com/entertainment/local/eagles-tribute-band-landing-at-kirkland/article_a8dcd506-08d0-11e2-82ac-001a4bcf887a.html|access-date=October 12, 2015|agency=Herald & Review|date=September 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Aerosmith will rock Salinas with July concert|url=https://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/salinas/aerosmith-will-rock-salinas-with-july-concert/31042330|access-date=October 12, 2015|date=February 2, 2015}}</ref> In the 1960s, [[Bob Dylan]] emerged from the [[American folk music revival|folk revival]] to become one of the country's most celebrated songwriters.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=April 10, 2020 |title=No. 1 Bob Dylan |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/interactive/lists-100-greatest-songwriters/#bob-dylan |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=January 29, 2021}}</ref> Mid-20th-century American [[Popular music|pop stars]] such as [[Bing Crosby]], [[Frank Sinatra]],<ref>{{cite web|date=December 8, 2015|title=10 ways that Frank Sinatra changed the world|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/12/08/10-ways-frank-sinatra-changed-world/76381754/|access-date=June 24, 2021|website=USA Today}}</ref> and Elvis Presley became global celebrities,<ref name="Biddle-2001" /> as have artists of the late 20th century such as [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], [[Michael Jackson]], [[Madonna]], [[Whitney Houston]], and [[Mariah Carey]].<ref>{{cite web |date=February 13, 2012 |title=Whitney Houston's Global Impact |url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/bestoftv/2012/02/13/exp-nr-bilchik-whitney-international-reaction.cnn |access-date=June 24, 2021 |website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How Prince and his music challenged the music industry |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/2654768/how-prince-and-his-music-challenged-the-music-industry/ |access-date=June 25, 2016 |website=Global News}}</ref> The musical forms of [[Punk rock|punk]] and [[hip hop]] both originated in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/artandmusicbiographies/chapter/reading-9-neo-expressionism-and-music-reaching-into-the-1980s/|title=A Quick and Dirty Guide to Art, Music, and Culture|author=Clayton Funk|chapter=9. Neo-Expressionism, Punk, and Hip Hop Emerge|publisher=The Ohio State University|date=August 16, 2016}}</ref> American professional opera singers have reached the highest level of success in that form, including [[Renée Fleming]], [[Leontyne Price]], [[Beverly Sills]], [[Nelson Eddy]], and many others.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/2966#:~:text=The%20American%20Opera%20Boom%20of,1960s%3A%20History%20and%20Stylistic%20Analysis|title=The American Opera Boom of the 1950s and 1960s: History and Stylistic Analysis|author=Rachel Hutchins-Viroux|journal=Revue Lisa / Lisa e-Journal |year=2004 |issue=Vol. II – n°3 |pages=145–163 |publisher=OpenEdition Journals|doi=10.4000/lisa.2966 |access-date=April 28, 2023}}</ref>
 
[[American popular music]], as part of the wider U.S. pop culture, has a worldwide influence and following.<ref>{{cite book |author =Ewen, David|title=Panorama of American Popular Music|url =https://archive.org/details/panoramaofameric00ewen|url-access =registration|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=1957 |isbn=0-13-648360-7}} pg. 3 ''Of all the contributions made by Americans to world culture—automation and the assembly line, advertising, innumerable devices and gadgets, skyscrapers, supersalesmen, baseball, ketchup, mustard and hot dogs and hamburrgers—one, undeniably native has been taken to heart by the entire world. It is American popular music.''</ref> [[Beyoncé]], [[Taylor Swift]], [[Miley Cyrus]], [[Ariana Grande]], [[Eminem]], [[Lady Gaga]], [[Katy Perry]], and many other contemporary artists dominate [[List of most-streamed artists on Spotify|global streaming rankings]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/music/news/spotify-wrapped-bad-bunny-taylor-swift-1235444491|title=Spotify Launches Wrapped 2022: Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift Are Most-Streamed Artists of the Year|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=November 30, 2022|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130153903/https://variety.com/2022/music/news/spotify-wrapped-bad-bunny-taylor-swift-1235444491/|archive-date=November 30, 2022|url-status=live|access-date=November 30, 2022}}</ref> The United States has the world's [[List of largest recorded music markets|largest music market]] with a total retail value of $4.9 billion in 2014.<ref name="RIAJ Yearbook 2012">{{cite web |url=http://www.riaj.or.jp/riaj/pdf/issue/industry/RIAJ2015E.pdf|title=RIAJ Yearbook 2015: IFPI 2013, 2014 Report: 28. Global Sales of Recorded Music (Page 24)|publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of Japan]]|access-date=March 20, 2016}}</ref> Most of the world's [[Record label#Major labels|major record companies]] are based in the U.S.; they are represented by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://universitytimes.ie/2014/03/how-american-music-took-over-the-world/ |title=How American Music Took Over the World |author=Eoin Hennessy |website=[[The University Times]] |access-date=April 28, 2023 |date=March 27, 2014}}</ref>
 
=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|American cuisine}}
{{further|List of American regional and fusion cuisines}}
[[File:Cheeseburger with fries.jpg|thumb|A [[cheeseburger]] served with [[French fries|fries]]]]
 
Early settlers were introduced by Native Americans to such indigenous, non-European foods as [[Turkey as food|turkey]], [[sweet potato]]es, [[maize|corn]], [[Cucurbita|squash]], and [[maple syrup]]. Of the most enduring and pervasive examples are variations of the native dish called [[succotash]]. Early settlers and later immigrants combined these with foods they had known, such as [[wheat flour]],<ref name="Wheat">{{cite web|title=Wheat Info|url=https://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011012758/https://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/|archive-date=October 11, 2009|website=Wheatworld.org|access-date=January 15, 2015 }}</ref> beef, and milk to create a distinctive American cuisine.<ref>{{cite web|title=Traditional Indigenous Recipes|url=https://aihd.ku.edu/recipes/index.html|publisher=American Indian Health and Diet Project|access-date=September 15, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Akenuwa|first=Ambrose|title=Is the United States Still the Land of the Free and Home to the Brave?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7aw5CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT93|date=July 1, 2015|pages=92–94|publisher=Lulu Press|isbn=978-1-329-26112-9|access-date=November 20, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[New World crops]], especially [[maize|corn]] and [[potatoes]], and the [[Turkey (bird)|native turkey]] as the main course are part of a shared national menu on one of America's most popular holidays, [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]], when many Americans make or purchase traditional dishes to celebrate the occasion.<ref name="Mintz1996">{{cite book|author=Sidney Wilfred Mintz|title=Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom: Excursions Into Eating, Culture, and the Past|url=https://archive.org/details/tastingfoodtasti00mint_0|url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=Beacon Press|isbn=978-0-8070-4629-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tastingfoodtasti00mint_0/page/134 134]–|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref>
 
The American [[fast food]] industry, the world's first and largest, pioneered the [[drive-through]] format in the 1940s<ref name="drivethru">{{cite web|title=When Was the First Drive-Thru Restaurant Created?|url=https://www.wisegeek.org/when-was-the-first-drive-thru-restaurant-created.htm|website=Wisegeek.org|access-date=January 15, 2015}}</ref> and is often viewed as being a symbol of U.S. marketing dominance. Companies such as [[McDonald's]],<ref name="DeBres2005">Karen DeBres, "A Cultural Geography of McDonald's UK," Journal of Cultural Geography, 2005</ref> [[Burger King]], [[Pizza Hut]], [[Kentucky Fried Chicken]], and [[Domino's Pizza]], among others, have numerous outlets around the world,<ref>{{cite news|title=Why McDonald's in France Doesn't Feel Like Fast Food|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/01/24/145698222/why-mcdonalds-in-france-doesnt-feel-like-fast-food|last1=Breadsley|first1=Eleanor|website=NPR|date=January 24, 2012|access-date=January 15, 2015}}</ref> Characteristic American dishes such as [[apple pie]], [[fried chicken]], [[doughnuts]], [[french fries]], [[macaroni and cheese]], [[ice cream]], [[Pizza in the United States|pizza]], [[hamburgers]], and [[hot dogs]] derive from the recipes of various immigrant groups.<ref>{{cite book|first=Hasia|last=Diner|title=Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration|publisher= Harvard University Press|place=Cmabridge|date=2001|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Tracy N.|last=Poe|title=The Origins of Soul Food in Black Urban Identity: Chicago, 1915-1947|journal=American Studies International|volume=37|issue=1|date=February 1999|page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2020/12/31/consumer-spending-data-kfc-is-the-most-popular.html|title=KFC is America's favorite fried chicken, data suggests|last=Cawthon|first=Haley|date=December 31, 2020|website=BizJournals.com|access-date=May 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/food/america/the-history-of-the-pizza/|title=How Pizza Became America's Favorite Food|last=Russell|first=Joan|date=May 23, 2016|website=PasteMagazine.com|access-date=May 8, 2021}}</ref> [[Mexican cuisine|Mexican dishes]] such as [[burritos]] and [[tacos]] preexisted the United States in areas later annexed from Mexico, and [[pasta]] dishes freely adapted from [[Italian cuisine|Italian sources]] are all widely consumed.<ref name="IFT">{{cite web|url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/what-when-and-where-americans-eat-in-2003|author=Klapthor, James N.|title=What, When, and Where Americans Eat in 2003|publisher=Newswise/Institute of Food Technologists|date=August 23, 2003|access-date=June 19, 2007}}</ref>
[[File:Culinary Institute of America (276631101).jpg|thumb|left|200px|alt=A four-story Neocolonial brick building|Roth Hall, the primary facility at [[The Culinary Institute of America]]'s Hyde Park campus]]
 
American [[chef]]s have been influential both in the food industry and in popular culture. Some important 19th-century American chefs include [[Charles Ranhofer]] of [[Delmonico's Restaurant]] in [[New York City|New York]], and [[Bob Payton]], who is credited with bringing American-style pizza to the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-bob-payton-1413990.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421080253/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-bob-payton-1413990.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 April 2009| title= Obituary: Bob Payton|work= The Independent|access-date= 15 September 2015}}</ref> Later, chefs Charles Scotto, Louis Pacquet, John Massironi founded the [[American Culinary Federation]] in 1930, taking after similar organizations across Europe. In the 1940s, Chef [[James Beard]] hosted the first nationally televised cooking show ''I Love to Eat.'' His is the namesake for the foundation and it's prestigious cooking award recognizing excellence in the American cooking community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} James Beard Foundation |url=https://www.jamesbeard.org/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=www.jamesbeard.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=James Beard, Authority On Food, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/24/nyregion/james-beard-authority-on-food-dies.html |quote=James Beard, the bald and portly chef and cookbook writer who was one of the country's leading authorities on food and drink and its foremost champion of American cooking, died of cardiac arrest yesterday at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He was 81 years old and lived in ... |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 24, 1985 |access-date=April 11, 2010 | first=Albin | last=Krebs}}</ref> Since Beard, other chefs and cooking personalities have taken to television, and the success of the [[Cooking Channel]] and [[Food Network]] have contributed to the popularity of American cuisine. Probably the best-known television chef was [[Julia Child]] who taught French cuisine in her weekly show, [[The French Chef]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Julia Child {{!}} Biography, Cookbooks, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Child|access-date=2021-10-15|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> In 1946, the [[Culinary Institute of America]] was founded by [[Katharine Cramer Angell|Katharine Angell]] and [[Frances Roth]]. This would become the United States' most prestigious culinary school, where many of the most talented American chefs would study prior to successful careers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Story: CIA History {{!}} Culinary Institute of America |url=https://www.ciachef.edu/our-story/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=www.ciachef.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref name="FTfbs">{{cite news|last=Averbuch|first=Bonnie|title=Attention Food Entrepreneurs: School's Back in Business|publisher=[[Food Tank]]|url=https://foodtank.com/news/2015/09/attention-food-entrepreneurs-its-time-to-head-back-to-school/|date=September 2015|access-date=June 19, 2017}}</ref> The United States is home to over 220 [[Michelin Star]] rated restaurants, 70 of which are in New York City alone.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Restaurants|url=https://guide.michelin.com/en/us/new-york-state/new-york/restaurants/1-star-michelin/2-stars-michelin/3-stars-michelin|access-date=2023-08-30|website=Michelin Guide|language=en}}</ref>
 
=== Sports ===
{{Main|Sports in the United States}}
{{See also|Professional sports leagues in the United States|National Collegiate Athletic Association|United States at the Olympics}}
[[File:Commanders vs. Jaguars (52379056543).jpg|thumb|[[American football in the United States|American football]] is the most popular sport in the United States; in this September 2022 [[National Football League]] game, the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] play the [[Washington Commanders]] at [[FedExField]].]]
 
The most popular spectator sports in the U.S. are [[American football in the United States|American football]], [[Basketball in the United States|basketball]], [[Baseball in the United States|baseball]], [[Soccer in the United States|soccer]], and [[Ice hockey in the United States|ice hockey]], according to a 2017 ''[[Gallup, Inc.|Gallup]]'' poll.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sports |date=September 25, 2007 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/4735/sports.aspx |publisher=Gallup, Inc. |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> While most major U.S. sports such as baseball and American football have evolved out of European practices, basketball, [[Volleyball in the United States|volleyball]], [[skateboarding]], and [[snowboarding]] are American inventions, some of which have become popular worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Krasnoff |first=Lindsay Sarah |date=December 26, 2017 |title=How the NBA went global |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/12/26/how-the-nba-went-global/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226153302/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/12/26/how-the-nba-went-global/?utm_term=.8822773454e0 |archive-date=December 26, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=2269358}}</ref> [[Lacrosse in the United States|Lacrosse]] and [[Surfing in the United States|surfing]] arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate European contact.<ref name="liss">Liss, Howard. ''Lacrosse'' (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970) pg 13.</ref> The market for [[professional sports]] in the United States was approximately $69&nbsp;billion in July 2013, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.<ref>{{cite web|date=June 18, 2008|title=Global sports market to hit $141 billion in 2012|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pwcstudy-idUSN1738075220080618|access-date=July 24, 2013|website=Reuters}}</ref>
 
American football is by several measures the most popular spectator sport in the United States;<ref>{{cite web|author=Krane, David K.|title=Professional Football Widens Its Lead Over Baseball as Nation's Favorite Sport|url=https://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault8482.aspx?PID=337|publisher=Harris Interactive|date=October 30, 2002|access-date=September 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709111448/https://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault8482.aspx?PID=337|archive-date=July 9, 2010}} MacCambridge, Michael (2004). ''America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation''. New York: Random House. {{ISBN|978-0-375-50454-9}}.</ref> the [[National Football League]] (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world, and the [[Super Bowl]] is watched by tens of millions globally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27321898/how-nfl-took-america-100-years|title=How the NFL took over America in 100 years|last=Guliza|first=Anthony|date=August 14, 2019|publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=May 8, 2021}}</ref> Baseball has been regarded as the U.S. [[national sport]] since the late 19th century, with [[Major League Baseball]] being the top league. Basketball, soccer and [[ice hockey]] are the country's next three most popular professional team sports, with the top leagues being the [[National Basketball Association]] and the [[National Hockey League]], which are also the premier leagues worldwide for these sports. The most-watched [[individual sport]]s in the U.S. are [[Golf in the United States|golf]] and [[auto racing]], particularly [[NASCAR]] and [[IndyCar]].<ref>{{cite web|date=January 16, 2014|title=As American as Mom, Apple Pie and Football? Football continues to trump baseball as America's Favorite Sport|url=https://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%205%20-%202014%20Fave%20Sport_1.16.14.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309053431/https://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%205%20-%202014%20Fave%20Sport_1.16.14.pdf|archive-date=March 9, 2014|access-date=July 2, 2014|website=Harris Interactive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Cowen, Tyler|author2=Grier, Kevin|date=February 9, 2012|title=What Would the End of Football Look Like?|url=https://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7559458/cte-concussion-crisis-economic-look-end-football|access-date=February 12, 2012|publisher=Grantland/ESPN}}</ref>
 
On the [[College athletics in the United States|collegiate level]], earnings for the member institutions exceed $1 billion annually,<ref name="si">{{Cite news|url=https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2018/03/07/ncaa-1-billion-revenue|title=Sports Illustrated: NCAA Reports $1.1 Billion in Revenues|newspaper=Sports Illustrated |date=March 7, 2018 }}</ref> and [[college football]] and [[College basketball|basketball]] attract large audiences, as the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Final Four]] is one of the most watched national sporting events.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 19, 2013|title=Passion for College Football Remains Robust|url=https://www.footballfoundation.org/tabid/567/Article/53380/Passion-for-College-Football-Remains-Robust.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075223/https://www.footballfoundation.org/tabid/567/Article/53380/Passion-for-College-Football-Remains-Robust.aspx|archive-date=April 7, 2014|access-date=April 1, 2014|publisher=National Football Foundation}}</ref> In many respects, the intercollegiate sports level serves as a feeder system to the professional level, as the elite college athletes are chosen to compete at the next level. This system differs greatly from nearly all other countries in the world, which generally have government-funded sports organizations that serve as a feeder system for professional competition.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rosandich|first= Thomas|title=Collegiate Sports Programs: A Comparative Analysis|page= 471|journal= Education|date=2002|volume=122|issue=3|publisher=Project Innovation Austin LLC.}}</ref>
 
Eight [[Olympic Games]] have taken place in the United States. The [[1904 Summer Olympics]] in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], were the first-ever Olympic Games held outside of Europe.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schaus|first1=Gerald P.|last2=Wenn|first2=Stephen R.|title=Onward to the Olympics: Historical Perspectives on the Olympic Games|date=February 9, 2007|publisher=[[Wilfrid Laurier University Press]]|page=224|isbn=978-0-88920-505-5}}</ref> The Olympic Games will be held in the U.S. for a ninth time when [[Los Angeles]] hosts the [[2028 Summer Olympics]]. [[United States at the Olympics|U.S. athletes]] have won a total of 2,959 medals (1,173 gold) at the [[Olympic Games]], by far the most of any country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://greatestsportingnation.com/|title=Greatest Sporting Nation|website=greatestsportingnation.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/sports/olympics/the-1000-medals-of-the-united-states/| title = 1,000 times gold – The thousand medals of Team USA – Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The 10 most fascinating facts about the all-time Winter Olympics medal standings|first=Chris|last=Chase|date=February 7, 2014|work=USA Today|url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/winter-olympics-medal-count-sochi-all-time-facts/|access-date=February 28, 2014}} {{cite news|title=With Sochi Olympics approaching, a history of Winter Olympic medals|date=February 6, 2014|first=Dan|last=Loumena|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/06/sports/la-sp-a-history-of-the-winter-olympic-medals-20140206|access-date=February 28, 2014}}</ref>
 
In international [[Association football|soccer]], the [[United States men's national soccer team|men's national soccer team]] qualified for [[United States at the FIFA World Cup|eleven World Cups]], and the [[United States women's national soccer team|women's national team]] has [[United States at the FIFA Women's World Cup|won]] the [[FIFA Women's World Cup]] and [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic soccer tournament]] four times each.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carlisle|first=Jeff|date=April 6, 2020|title=MLS Year One, 25 seasons ago: The Wild West of training, travel, hockey shootouts and American soccer|url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4082408/mls-year-one25-seasons-ago-the-wild-west-of-trainingtravelhockey-shootouts-and-american-soccer|access-date=May 5, 2021|publisher=[[ESPN]]}}</ref> The United States hosted the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]] and will co-host, along with [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]], the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Wamsley |first=Laurel |date=June 16, 2022 |title=The U.S. cities hosting the 2026 World Cup are announced |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105562734/us-cities-hosting-2026-world-cup-announcement |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref>
 
== See also ==
* [[Lists of U.S. state topics]]
* [[Outline of the United States]]
{{clear}} <!--For wide-screen monitors, prevent image above from punching through the ref section. -->
 
== Notes ==
{{notelist
| colwidth =
| notes =
{{efn
| name = pop
| Excludes [[Puerto Rico]] and the other [[Unincorporated territories of the United States|unincorporated islands]] because they are counted separately in [[U.S. census]] statistics.
}}
{{efn
| name = time
| See [[Time in the United States]] for details about laws governing time zones in the United States.
}}
{{efn
| name = drive
| A single jurisdiction, the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], uses left-hand traffic.
}}
}}
 
== References ==
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* {{cite book|title=The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge: A Desk Reference for the Curious Mind|edition=2nd|url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesguid00|year=2007|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-37659-8 }}
* {{cite book|first=Mary|last=Mostert|title=The Threat of Anarchy Leads to the Constitution of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jntSQ-yn66AC&pg=PA18|year=2005|publisher=CTR Publishing, Inc.|isbn=978-0-9753851-4-2}}
* {{cite book|first=Peter S.|last=Onuf|title=The Origins of the Federal Republic: Jurisdictional Controversies in the United States, 1775–1787|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcUgLPqmfuYC|year=2010|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-0038-6}}
* {{cite book|first1=Theda|last1= Perdue|first2=Michael D|last2=Green|title=The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Southeast|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-RBJCyp2bFIC&pg=PA40|date= 2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50602-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Quirk|first=Joel|title=The Anti-Slavery Project: From the Slave Trade to Human Trafficking|ref=Quirk|year=2011|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqxK4KlqKYMC|isbn=978-0-8122-4333-8|page=344}}
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* {{cite book|last=Ripper|first=Jason|title=American Stories: To 1877|year=2008|ref=Ripper2008|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vX-fYvoAeHwC|page=299|isbn=978-0-7656-2903-6}}
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* {{cite book|last=Winchester|first=Simon|title=The men who United the States|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780062079602|url-access=registration|year=2013|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=978-0-06-207960-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780062079602/page/198 198], 216, 251, 253}}
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{{refend}}
 
== External links ==
{{Library resources box}}
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* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/ "United States"]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=US Key Development Forecasts for the United States] from [[International Futures]]
 
=== Government ===
* [https://www.usa.gov/ Official U.S. Government web portal] – gateway to government sites
* [https://www.house.gov/ House] – official website of the United States House of Representatives
* [https://www.senate.gov/ Senate] – official website of the United States Senate
* [https://www.whitehouse.gov/ White House] – official website of the President of the United States
* [{{SCOTUS URL}} Supreme Court] – official website of the Supreme Court of the United States
 
=== History ===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080314143240/https://www.nationalcenter.org/HistoricalDocuments.html "Historical Documents"] – website from the [[National Center for Public Policy Research]]
* [https://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm "U.S. National Mottos: History and Constitutionality"]. Religious Tolerance. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119213422/http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm |date=November 19, 2022 }}. Analysis by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
* [https://www.historicalstatistics.org/index2.html "Historical Statistics"] – collected links to United States historical data
 
=== Maps ===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091021182322/https://www.nationalatlas.gov/ "National Atlas of the United States"] – official maps from the [[United States Department of the Interior|U.S. Department of the Interior]]
* {{wikiatlas|the United States}}
* {{osmrelation-inline|148838}}
* [https://www.measureofamerica.org/maps/ "Measure of America"] – a variety of mapped information relating to health, education, income, safety and demographics in the United States
 
{{Anchor|Related information}} <!-- Target for Navbox link at See also section -->
 
{{United States topics}}
{{United States political divisions}}
{{North America topic}}
 
{{Sister bar|auto=yes|voy=United States}}
{{Coord|40|-100|dim:10000000_region:region:US_type:country|name=United States of America|display=title}}
 
[[Category:United States| ]]
[[Category:Countries in North America]]
[[Category:English-speaking countries and territories]]
[[Category:Federal constitutional republics]]
[[Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas]]
[[Category:Former confederations]]
[[Category:G20 members]]
[[Category:Member states of NATO]]
[[Category:Member states of the United Nations]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1776]]
[[Category:Transcontinental countries]]
[[Category:Articles with accessibility problems]]
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