United States
{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
{{dablink|For other uses of terms redirecting here, see [[US (disambiguation)]], [[USA (disambiguation)]], and [[United States (disambiguation)]]}}
{{Infobox Country
|native_name = United States of America
|common_name = the United States
|image_flag = Flag of the United States.svg
|image_coat = US-GreatSeal-Obverse.svg
|length = 1776 - Present
|symbol_type = Great Seal
|national_motto = [[In God We Trust]]{{spaces|2}}(official)
{{lang|la|''[[E pluribus unum|E Pluribus Unum]]''}}{{spaces|2}}(From Many, One; [[Latin]], traditional)
|image_map = Location_United_States.svg
|national_anthem = "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]"
|official_languages = None at federal level{{smallsup|1}}
|languages_type = [[National language]]
|languages = [[English language|English]] (''[[de facto]]''){{smallsup|2}}
|capital = [[Washington, D.C.]]
|latd=38 |latm=53 |latNS=N |longd=77 |longm=02 |longEW=W
|largest_city = [[New York City]]
|government_type = [[Constitutional republic|Constitutional]] [[Federal republic|federal]] [[presidential system|presidential]] [[republic]]
|leader_title1 = [[President of the United States|President]]
|leader_name1 = [[George W. Bush]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
|leader_title2 = [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]
|leader_name2 = [[Dick Cheney]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
|leader_title3 = {{nowrap|[[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]]}}
|leader_name3 = [[Nancy Pelosi]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
|leader_title4 = [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]]
|leader_name4= [[John G. Roberts|John Roberts]]
|sovereignty_type = [[American Revolutionary War|Independence]] {{nobold|from the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]}}
|established_event1 = [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declared]]
|established_date1 = [[July 4]], [[1776]]
|established_event2 = [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Recognized]]
|established_date2 = [[September 3]], [[1783]]
|established_event3 = [[United States Constitution|Current constitution]]
|established_date3 = [[June 21]], [[1788]]
|area_footnote =[Extrapolation from [http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html U.S. Census Bureau.] Updated automatically.]
|population_estimate_year = {{CURRENTYEAR}}
|population_estimate_rank = 3rd{{smallsup|4}}
|population_census = 281,421,906[{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_submenuId=population_0&_sse=on|title=Population Finder: United States|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2007-12-20}}]
|population_census_year = 2000
|population_density_km2 = 31
|population_density_sq_mi = 80
|population_density_rank = 180th
|GDP_PPP_year = 2007
|GDP_PPP = $13.543 trillion[{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=30&pr.y=11&sy=2004&ey=2008&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=193%2C158%2C122%2C542%2C124%2C137%2C156%2C138%2C423%2C196%2C128%2C142%2C172%2C182%2C132%2C576%2C134%2C961%2C174%2C184%2C532%2C144%2C176%2C146%2C178%2C528%2C436%2C112%2C136%2C111&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CNGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CPPPSH&grp=0&a=|publisher=International Monetary Fund|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects (30 advanced economies; 6 subjects)|work=World Economic Outlook Database|date=October 2007|accessdate = 2008-02-05}}]
|GDP_PPP_rank = 1st
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $43,444
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 4th
|GDP_nominal = $13.794 trillion[{{cite web|url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_USA.html|title=The Human Development Index—Going Beyond Income|publisher=United Nations Development Program|work=Human Development Report 2007|accessdate = 2007-11-27}}]
|Gini = 47.0[{{cite web|author=DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica Smith|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf|title=Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|date=August 2007|accessdate = 2008-02-05|format=PDF}}]
|Gini_year = 2006
|Gini_category = high
|currency = [[United States dollar]] ($)
|currency_code = USD "$"
|country_code = USA
|utc_offset = -5 to -10
|utc_offset_DST = -4 to -10
|cctld = [[.us]] [[.gov]] [[.mil]] [[.edu]]
|calling_code = 1
|demonym = [[American (word)|American]]
|footnote1 = English is the official language of at least 28 states—some sources give a higher figure, based on differing definitions of "official." English and [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] are both official languages in the state of [[Hawaii]].
|footnote2 = English is the ''[[de facto]]'' language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 82% of Americans age five and older. [[Spanish language|Spanish]] is the second most commonly spoken language.
|footnote3 = Whether the United States or the [[People's Republic of China]] is larger is [[List of countries and outlying territories by total area|disputed]]. The figure given is per the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s ''[[World Factbook]]''. Other sources give smaller figures. All authoritative calculations of the country's size include only the fifty states and the District of Columbia, not the territories.
|footnote4 = The population estimate includes people whose usual residence is in the fifty states and the District of Columbia, including noncitizens. It does not include either those living in the territories, amounting to more than four million U.S. citizens (most in [[Puerto Rico]]), or U.S. citizens living outside the United States.
}}
The '''United States of America''', usually referred to as the '''United States''', the '''U.S.''' or '''America''', is a [[constitutional republic|constitutional]] [[federal republic]] comprising [[U.S. state|fifty states]] and a [[federal district]], as well as [[Territories of the United States|several territories]], or [[insular area]]s, scattered around the [[Caribbean]] and Pacific. The [[country]] is situated mostly in central [[North America]], where its [[Continental United States|forty-eight contiguous states]] and [[Washington, D.C.]], the capital district, lie between the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and [[Atlantic Ocean]]s, bordered by [[Canada]] to the [[Canada – United States border|north]] and [[Mexico]] to the [[United States–Mexico border|south]]. The state of [[Alaska]] is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and [[Russia]] to the west across the [[Bering Strait]], and the state of [[Hawaii]] is an [[archipelago]] in the mid-Pacific.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with more than 300 million people, the United States is the [[List of countries and outlying territories by total area|third or fourth]] largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and [[List of countries by population|by population]]. The United States is one of the world's most [[Multiculturalism|ethnically diverse]] nations, the product of large-scale [[immigration to the United States|immigration from many countries]].[Adams, J.Q., and Pearlie Strother-Adams (2001). ''Dealing with Diversity''. Chicago: Kendall/Hunt. ISBN 078728145X.] The [[Economy of the United States|U.S. economy]] is the largest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) of more than [[United States dollar|US$]]13 trillion (over 25% of the world total based on [[nominal GDP]] and almost 20% by [[purchasing power parity]]).[The [[European Union]] has a larger collective economy, but is not a single nation.]
The nation was founded by [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen colonies]] of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] located along the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic seaboard]]. Proclaiming themselves "states," they issued the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] on [[July 4]], [[1776]]. The rebellious states defeated Great Britain in the [[American Revolutionary War]], the first successful [[History of colonialism|colonial war of independence]].[Dull, Jonathan R. (2003). "Diplomacy of the Revolution, to 1783," p. 352, chap. in ''A Companion to the American Revolution'', ed. Jack P. Greene and J. R. Pole. Maiden, Mass.: Blackwell, pp. 352–361. ISBN 1405116749.] A [[Philadelphia Convention|federal convention]] adopted the current [[United States Constitution]] on [[September 17]], [[1787]]; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic. The [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]], comprising ten [[List of amendments to the United States Constitution|constitutional amendments]], was ratified in 1791.
In the nineteenth century, the United States acquired land from [[Louisiana Purchase|France]], [[Adams-Onís Treaty|Spain]], the [[Oregon Country|United Kingdom]], [[Mexican-American War|Mexico]], and [[Alaska purchase|Russia]], and [[Texas Annexation|annexed]] the [[Republic of Texas]] and the [[Republic of Hawaii]]. Disputes between the [[Southern United States|agrarian South]] and [[Northern United States|industrial North]] over [[states' rights]] and the expansion of the [[slavery in the United States|institution of slavery]] provoked the [[American Civil War]] of the 1860s. The North's victory prevented a permanent split of the country and led to the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|end of legal slavery]] in the United States. The [[Spanish-American War]] and [[World War I]] confirmed the nation's status as a military power. In 1945, the United States emerged from [[World War II]] as the [[Nuclear weapons and the United States|first country with nuclear weapons]], a permanent member of the [[United Nations Security Council]], and a founding member of [[NATO]]. In the post–[[Cold War]] era, the United States is the only remaining [[superpower]]—accounting for [[List of countries by military expenditures|approximately 50% of global military spending]]—and a dominant economic, political, and cultural force in the world.[{{cite web|author=Cohen, Eliot A.|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040701faessay83406/eliot-a-cohen/history-and-the-hyperpower.html |title=History and the Hyperpower|work=Foreign Affairs|date=July/August 2004|accessdate=2006-07-14}} {{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1217752.stm|title=Country Profile: United States of America|publisher=BBC News|date=2008-04-22|accessdate=2008-05-18}} ]
==Etymology==
The term ''[[Americas#Naming|America]]'', for the lands of the [[Western Hemisphere|western hemisphere]], was coined in 1507 after [[Amerigo Vespucci]], an Italian explorer and cartographer.[{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-24-america-turns-500_N.htm?csp=34|title=Cartographer Put "America" on the Map 500 Years Ago|work=USA Today|date=2007-04-24|accessdate=2008-06-21}}] The full name of the country was first used officially in the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], which was the "unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America" adopted by the "Representatives of the united States of America" on [[July 4]], [[1776]].[{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html|title=The Charters of Freedom|publisher=National Archives|accessdate=2007-06-20}}] The current name was finalized on [[November 15]], [[1777]], when the [[Second Continental Congress]] adopted the [[Articles of Confederation]], the first of which states, "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America.'" Common short forms and abbreviations of the United States of America include the ''United States,'' the ''U.S.'', the ''U.S.A.'', and ''America''. Colloquial names for the country include the ''U.S. of A.'' and ''the States''. ''[[Columbia (name)|Columbia]]'', a once popular name for the Americas and the United States, was derived from [[Christopher Columbus]]. It appears in the name "[[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]". A female personification of Columbia appears on some official documents, including certain prints of [[United States dollar|U.S. currency]].
The standard way to refer to a citizen of the United States is as an ''[[American (word)|American]].'' Though ''United States'' is the formal adjective, ''American'' and ''U.S.'' are the most common adjectives used to refer to the country ("American values," "U.S. forces"). ''American'' is rarely used in English to refer to people not connected to the United States.[Wilson, Kenneth G. (1993). ''The Columbia Guide to Standard American English''. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 27–28. ISBN 0231069898.]
The phrase "the United States" was originally treated as plural—e.g, "the United States are"—including in the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]] to the Constitution, ratified in 1865. However, it became increasingly common to treat the name as singular—e.g., "the United States is"—after the end of the Civil War. The singular form is now standard, while the plural form is retained in the set idiom "these United States."[{{cite web|url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002663.html|author=Zimmer, Benjamin|date=[[2005-11-24]]|title=Life in These, Uh, This United States|publisher=University of Pennsylvania—Language Log|accessdate=2008-02-22}}]
==Geography==
{{main|Geography of the United States|Territorial evolution of the United States}}
[[Image:USATopographicalMap.jpg|left|thumb|[[Topography|Topographic map]] of the [[continental United States|contiguous United States]]]]
[[Image:Climatemapusa2.PNG|thumb|left|Climate zones of the contiguous United States]]
The United States is situated almost entirely in the [[Western Hemisphere|western hemisphere]]: the [[continental United States|contiguous United States]] stretches from the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] on the west to the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] on the east, with the [[Gulf of Mexico]] to the southeast, and bordered by [[Canada]] on the north and [[Mexico]] on the south. [[Alaska]] is the largest state in area; separated from the contiguous U.S. by Canada, it touches the Pacific on the south and [[Arctic Ocean]] on the north. [[Hawaii]] occupies an [[archipelago]] in the central Pacific, southwest of North America. The United States is the world's third or fourth [[List of countries and outlying territories by total area|largest nation by total area]], before or after [[People's Republic of China|China]]. The ranking varies depending on (a) how two territories disputed by China and [[India]] are counted and (b) how the total size of the United States is calculated: the CIA ''World Factbook'' gives {{convert|9826630|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}},[{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/DYB2005/Table03.pdf|title=Population by Sex, Rate of Population Increase, Surface Area and Density|publisher=UN Statistics Division|work=Demographic Yearbook 2005|accessdate=2008-03-25|format=PDF}}] and the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' gives {{convert|9522055|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}.[{{cite web|url=http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:2lOa44xXcrgJ:www.britannica.com/eb/article-9111233/United-States+United+States+Area+encyclopedia+britannica&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us|title=United States|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=2008-03-25}}] Including only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada.[{{cite web| url=http://education.yahoo.com/reference/factbook/countrycompare/area/3d.html;_ylt=As1XMsN8kgSx746VWazy_s7PecYF| title = World Factbook: Area Country Comparison Table| publisher = Yahoo Education| accessdate = 2007-02-28}}] The United States also possesses several [[Territories of the United States|insular territories]] scattered around the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] (e.g., the [[Commonwealth (United States insular area)|commonwealth]] of [[Puerto Rico]]) and the Pacific (e.g., [[Guam]]).
The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to [[deciduous]] forests and the rolling hills of the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]]. The [[Appalachian Mountains]] divide the eastern seaboard from the [[Great Lakes]] and the grasslands of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]. 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 land of the [[Great Plains]] stretches to the west, interrupted by [[U.S. Interior Highlands|a highland region]] along its southeastern portion. The [[Rocky Mountains]], at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the continental United States, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in [[Colorado]].[{{cite web|author =Benner, Susan| url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9E0CEFD6113BF937A15756C0A964958260| title = Tackling Colorado's 14,000-Footers| work = New York Times|date =[[1992-05-24]]| accessdate = 2007-06-21}}] The area to the west of the Rocky Mountains is dominated by the rocky [[Great Basin]] and deserts such as the [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]]. The [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] range runs parallel to the Rockies, relatively close to the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific coast]]. At 20,320 feet (6,194 m), Alaska's [[Mount McKinley]] is the country's tallest peak. Active [[volcano]]es are common throughout the [[Alexander Archipelago|Alexander]] and [[Aleutian Islands]], and the entire state of Hawaii is built upon tropical volcanic islands. The [[supervolcano]] underlying [[Yellowstone National Park]] in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic feature.[{{cite web| url = http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html| title = Supervolcano: What's Under Yellowstone?| author=O'Hanlon, Larry| publisher = Discovery Channel| accessdate = 2007-06-13}}]
Because of the United States' large size and wide range of geographic features, nearly every type of [[climate]] is represented. The climate is [[temperate]] in most areas, [[Tropics|tropical]] in Hawaii and southern [[Florida]], [[Polar climate|polar]] in Alaska, [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]] in the Great Plains west of the [[100th meridian west|100th meridian]], desert in the Southwest, [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] in [[Coastal California]], and [[arid]] in the Great Basin. Extreme weather is not uncommon—the states bordering the [[Gulf of Mexico]] are prone to [[hurricane]]s, and most of the world's [[tornado]]es occur within the continental United States, primarily in the Midwest's [[Tornado Alley]].[{{cite web|author=Perkins, Sid| url = http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070701131631/http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp| archivedate=2007-07-01| title = Tornado Alley, USA| accessdate = 2006-09-20|date = [[2002-05-11]]| work = Science News}}]
==Environment==
[[Image:Haliaeetus leucocephalus2.jpg|right|thumb|upright|The [[Bald Eagle|bald eagle]] has been the [[national bird of the United States]] since 1782]]
{{main|Environment of the United States}}
U.S. plant life is very diverse; the country has more than 17,000 identified native species of [[flora]].[{{cite web|author=Morse, Larry E., et al.| url=http://biology.usgs.gov/error.html | title=Native Vascular Plants | publisher = U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Biological Service|work=Our Living Resources| accessdate=2006-06-14}}{{Citation broken|date=December 2007}}] More than 400 mammal, 700 bird, 500 reptile and amphibian, and 90,000 insect species have been documented.[{{cite web| url=http://biology.usgs.gov/error.html | title=Our Living Resources | publisher = U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Biological Service| accessdate=2006-06-14}}{{Citation broken|date=December 2007}}] The [[Endangered Species Act]] of 1973 protects threatened and endangered species and their habitats, which are monitored by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]].
The U.S. has fifty-eight [[List of areas in the United States National Park System|national parks]] and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and [[wilderness area]]s.[{{cite web| url=http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=639 | title=National Park Service Announces Addition of Two New Units | publisher = National Park Service|date=[[2006-02-28]]| accessdate=2006-06-13}}] Altogether, the U.S. government regulates 28.8% of the country's total land area.[{{cite web| url=http://johnshadegg.house.gov/rsc/Federal%20Land%20Ownership--May%202005.pdf | title=Federal Land and Buildings Ownership | publisher = Republican Study Committee|date=[[2005-05-19]]| accessdate=2006-06-13|format=PDF}}] Most such public land comprises protected parks and forestland, though some federal land is leased for oil and gas drilling,[{{cite web| url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/27/bloomberg/bxbeer.php | title=Abuse of Trust: A Brief History of the Bush Administration’s Disastrous Oil and Gas Development Policies in the Rocky Mountain West | publisher = Wilderness Society | date=[[2007-05-28]]| accessdate=2007-06-11}}] mining, or cattle ranching.
The [[energy policy of the United States]] is widely debated; many call on the country to take a leading role in fighting [[global warming]].[{{cite web | title=U.S. Faces International Pressure on Climate Change Policy | url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec05/climate_7-5.html | date=[[2005-07-05]] | accessdate=2007-05-05| publisher=PBS |work=Online NewsHour}}] The United States is currently the second largest emitter, after the People's Republic of China, of [[carbon dioxide]] from the burning of [[fossil fuel]]s.[{{cite web| author= Vidal, John, and David Adam| title=China Overtakes US as World's Biggest CO2 Emitter | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jun/19/china.usnews | date=[[2007-06-19]] | accessdate=2007-06-27|work=Guardian}}]
==History==
{{main|History of the United States}}
===Native Americans and European settlers===
{{Main|Native Americans in the United States|European colonization of the Americas|Thirteen Colonies}}
The [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] of the U.S. mainland, including [[Alaska Natives]], are thought to have [[Models of migration to the New World|migrated from Asia]]. They began arriving at least 12,000 and as many as 40,000 years ago.[{{cite web|url=http://anthropology.si.edu/HumanOrigins/faq/americas.htm|title=Peopling of Americas | publisher = Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History|date=June 2004| accessdate=2007-06-19}}] Several indigenous communities in the [[pre-Columbian]] era developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies. In 1492, Genoese explorer [[Christopher Columbus]], under contract to the Spanish crown, reached several Caribbean islands, making [[First contact (anthropology)|first contact]] with the indigenous population. In the years that followed, the majority of the indigenous American peoples were killed by epidemics of [[Eurasia]]n diseases.[Mann, Charles C. (2005). ''1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus''. New York: Knopf. ISBN 140004006X.]
[[Image:MayflowerHarbor.jpg|left|thumb|The ''[[Mayflower]]'' transported [[Pilgrims]] to the New World in 1620, as depicted in William Halsall's ''The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor'', 1882]]
On [[April 2]], [[1513]], Spanish [[conquistador]] [[Juan Ponce de León]] landed on what he called "[[History of Florida|La Florida]]"—the first documented European arrival on what would become the U.S. mainland. Of the colonies Spain established in the region, only [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]], founded in 1565, remains. Later Spanish settlements in the present-day [[southwestern United States]] drew thousands through Mexico. French [[fur trade]]rs established outposts of [[New France]] around the [[Great Lakes]]; France eventually claimed much of the North American interior as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The first successful English settlements were the [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia Colony]] in [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] in 1607 and the [[Pilgrim]]s' [[Plymouth Colony]] in 1620. The 1628 chartering of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] resulted in a wave of migration; by 1634, [[New England]] had been settled by some 10,000 [[Puritan]]s. Between the late 1610s and the American Revolution, an estimated 50,000 convicts were shipped to England's, and later Great Britain's, American colonies.[{{cite web|work=Butler, James Davie|url=http://www.dinsdoc.com/butler-1.htm|title=British Convicts Shipped to American Colonies | publisher = Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History|work=American Historical Review 2|date=October 1896| accessdate=2007-06-21}}] Beginning in 1614, the Dutch established settlements along the lower [[Hudson River]], including [[New Amsterdam]] on [[Manhattan|Manhattan Island]]. The small settlement of [[New Sweden]], founded along the [[Delaware River]] in 1638, was taken over by the Dutch in 1655.
By 1674, English forces had won the former Dutch colonies in the [[Anglo-Dutch Wars|Anglo–Dutch Wars]]; the province of [[New Netherland]] was renamed [[New York]]. Many new immigrants, especially to [[History of the Southern United States|the South]], were [[indentured servants]]—some two-thirds of all Virginia immigrants between 1630 and 1680.[Russell, David Lee (2005). ''The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies''. Jefferson, N.C., and London: McFarland, p. 12. ISBN 0786407832.] By the turn of the century, [[Slavery in the colonial United States|African slaves]] were becoming the primary source of bonded labor. With the 1729 division of [[the Carolinas]] and the 1732 colonization of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], the thirteen British colonies that would become the United States of America were established. All had active local and colonial governments with elections open to most free men, with a growing devotion to the ancient [[rights of Englishmen]] and a sense of self government that stimulated support for [[republicanism]]. All had legalized the [[African slave trade]]. With high birth rates, low death rates, and steady immigration, the colonies doubled in population every twenty-five years. The Christian [[Revivalism|revivalist]] movement of the 1730s and 1740s known as the [[First Great Awakening|Great Awakening]] fueled interest in both religion and religious liberty. In the [[French and Indian War]], British forces seized Canada from the French, but the [[francophone]] population remained politically isolated from the southern colonies. By 1770, those thirteen colonies had an increasingly [[Anglicisation|Anglicized]] population of three million, approximately half that of Britain. Though [[No taxation without representation|subject to British taxation]], they were given no representation in the [[Parliament of Great Britain]].
===Independence and expansion===
{{main|American Revolution|American Revolutionary War|Manifest Destiny}}
[[Image:Declaration independence.jpg|thumb|''[[Trumbull's Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]'', by [[John Trumbull]], 1817–18]]
Tensions between American colonials and the British during the [[American Revolution|revolutionary period]] of the 1760s and early 1770s led to the [[American Revolutionary War]], fought from 1775 through 1781. On [[June 14]], [[1775]], the [[Second Continental Congress|Continental Congress]], convening in [[Philadelphia]], established a [[Continental Army]] under the command of [[George Washington]]. Proclaiming that "[[all men are created equal]]" and endowed with "certain [[inalienable rights|unalienable Rights]]," the Congress adopted the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] on [[July 4]], [[1776]]. The Declaration, drafted largely by [[Thomas Jefferson]], pronounced the colonies [[sovereignty|sovereign]] "[[state]]s." In 1777, the [[Articles of Confederation]] were adopted, uniting the states under a weak federal government that operated until 1788. Some 70,000–80,000 [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|loyalists]] to the British Crown fled the rebellious states, many to [[Nova Scotia]] and the new [[Canada under British Imperial control (1764-1867)|British holdings in Canada]].[{{cite web|url=http://www.learnquebec.ca/export/sites/learn/en/content/curriculum/social_sciences/documents/loyalistoverview.pdf|title=The United Empire Loyalists—An Overview | publisher = Learn Quebec | accessdate=2007-06-19|format=PDF}}] Native Americans, with divided allegiances, fought on both sides of [[Western theater of the American Revolutionary War|the war's western front]].
After the [[Siege of Yorktown|defeat of the British army]] by American forces who were [[France in the American Revolutionary War|assisted by the French]], Great Britain [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|recognized the sovereignty]] of the thirteen states in 1783. A [[Philadelphia Convention|constitutional convention]] was organized in 1787 by those who wished to establish a strong national government with power over the states. By June 1788, nine states had ratified the [[United States Constitution]], sufficient to establish the new government; the republic's [[1st United States Congress|first Senate, House of Representatives]], and [[President of the United States|president]]—George Washington—took office in 1789. [[New York City]] was the federal capital for a year, before the government relocated to Philadelphia. In 1791, the states ratified the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]], ten amendments to the Constitution forbidding federal restriction of personal freedoms and guaranteeing a range of legal protections. Attitudes toward [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] were shifting; a [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Section 9: Limits on Congress|clause in the Constitution]] protected the African slave trade only until 1808. The Northern states abolished slavery between 1780 and 1804, leaving the [[slave state]]s of the South as defenders of the "[[peculiar institution]]." In 1800, the federal government moved to the newly founded [[History of Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]] The [[Second Great Awakening]] made [[evangelicalism]] a force behind various social [[reform movement]]s.
[[Image:U.S. Territorial Acquisitions.png|right|thumb|Territorial acquisitions by date]]
Americans' eagerness to [[Territorial acquisitions of the United States|expand westward]] began a cycle of [[Indian Wars]] that stretched to the end of the nineteenth century, as Native Americans were stripped of their land. The [[Louisiana Purchase]] of French-claimed territory under President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 virtually doubled the nation's size. The [[War of 1812]], declared against Britain over various grievances and fought to a draw, strengthened American [[nationalism]]. A series of U.S. military incursions into Florida led [[Spanish Cession|Spain to cede]] it and other Gulf Coast territory in 1819. The country annexed the [[Republic of Texas]] in 1845. The concept of [[Manifest Destiny]] was popularized during this time.[Morrison, Michael A. (1999). ''Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, pp. 13–21. ISBN 0807847968.] The 1846 [[Oregon Treaty]] with Britain led to U.S. control of the present-day [[Northwestern United States|American Northwest]]. The U.S. victory in the [[Mexican-American War]] resulted in the 1848 [[Mexican Cession|cession]] of [[California]] and much of the present-day [[Southwestern United States|American Southwest]]. The [[California Gold Rush]] of 1848–49 further spurred western migration. [[Rail transport in the United States#History|New railways]] made relocation much less arduous for settlers and increased conflicts with Native Americans. Over a half-century, up to 40 million [[American Bison|American bison]], commonly called buffalo, were slaughtered for skins and meat and to ease the railways' spread. The loss of the bison, a primary economic resource for the [[plains Indians]], was an existential blow to many native cultures.
===Civil War and industrialization===
{{main|American Civil War|Reconstruction era of the United States|Spanish-American War}}
[[Image:Battle of Gettysburg, by Currier and Ives.png|thumb|left|''[[Battle of Gettysburg]]'', lithograph by [[Currier and Ives|Currier & Ives]], ca. 1863]]
[[Origins of the American Civil War|Tensions]] between slave and [[Free state (United States)|free states]] mounted with increasing disagreements over the relationship between the [[states' rights|state and federal governments]] and [[Bleeding Kansas|violent conflicts]] over the expansion of slavery into new states. [[Abraham Lincoln]], candidate of the largely antislavery [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], was elected president in 1860. Before he took office, seven slave states declared their [[secession]] from the United States, forming the [[Confederate States of America]]. The federal government maintained secession was illegal, and with the Confederate [[Battle of Fort Sumter|attack upon Fort Sumter]], the [[American Civil War]] began and four more slave states joined the Confederacy. The [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] [[Emancipation Proclamation|freed Confederate slaves]] as its [[Union Army|army]] advanced through the South. Following the Union victory in 1865, three amendments to the U.S. Constitution [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|ensured freedom]] for the nearly four million African Americans who had been slaves,[ {{cite web | url = http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1860a-02.pdf | title = 1860 Census | publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | accessdate = 2007-06-10 |format=PDF}} Page 7 lists a total slave population of 3,953,760.] [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|made them citizens]], and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|gave them voting rights]]. The war and its resolution led to a substantial increase in [[Federalism|federal power]].[De Rosa, Marshall L. (1997). ''The Politics of Dissolution: The Quest for a National Identity and the American Civil War''. Edison, NJ: Transaction, p. 266. ISBN 1560003499.]
[[Image:Ellis island 1902.jpg|thumb|Immigrants landing at [[Ellis Island]], [[New York City|New York]], 1902]]
After the war, the [[Abraham Lincoln assassination|assassination of President Lincoln]] [[Radical Republican (USA)|radicalized Republican]] [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]] policies aimed at reintegrating and rebuilding the Southern states while ensuring the rights of the newly freed slaves. The resolution of the disputed [[United States presidential election, 1876|1876 presidential election]] by the [[Compromise of 1877]] ended Reconstruction; [[Jim Crow laws]] soon [[Disfranchisement after the Civil War|disenfranchised many African Americans]]. In the North, urbanization and an unprecedented [[Immigration to the United States#Immigration 1850 to 1930|influx of immigrants]] hastened the [[United States technological and industrial history#Technological systems and infrastructure|country's industrialization]]. The wave of immigration, which lasted until 1929, provided labor for U.S. businesses and transformed American culture. High tariff protections, national infrastructure building, and new banking regulations encouraged industrial growth. The 1867 [[Alaska purchase]] from Russia completed the country's mainland expansion. The [[Wounded Knee Massacre|Wounded Knee massacre]] in 1890 was the last major armed conflict of the [[Indian Wars]]. In 1893, the [[Ancient Hawaii|indigenous monarchy]] of the Pacific [[Kingdom of Hawaii]] was overthrown in a coup led by American residents; the archipelago was annexed by the United States in 1898. Victory in the [[Spanish-American War]] that same year demonstrated that the United States was a [[Great power|major world power]] and resulted in the annexation of Puerto Rico and the [[Philippines]].[Spielvogel, Jackson J. (2005). ''Western Civilization: Volume II: Since 1500''. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, p. 708. ISBN 0534646042.] The Philippines gained independence a half-century later; Puerto Rico remains a [[Commonwealth (United States insular area)|commonwealth]] of the United States.
===World War I, Great Depression, and World War II===
{{main|American Expeditionary Force|Great Depression|Military history of the United States during World War II}}
[[Image:Dust Bowl - Dallas, South Dakota 1936.jpg|thumb|left|180px|An abandoned farm in South Dakota during the [[Dust Bowl]], 1936]]
At the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914, the United States remained neutral. Americans sympathized with the British and French, although many citizens, mostly Irish and German, opposed intervention.[Foner, Eric, and John A. Garraty (1991). ''The Reader's Companion to American History.'' New York: Houghton Mifflin, p. 576. ISBN 0395513723.] In 1917, the United States joined the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]], turning the tide against the [[Central Powers]]. Reluctant to be involved in European affairs, the Senate did not ratify the [[Treaty of Versailles (1919)|Treaty of Versailles]], which established the [[League of Nations]]. The country pursued a policy of [[unilateralism]], verging on [[isolationism]].[McDuffie, Jerome, Gary Wayne Piggrem, and Steven E. Woodworth (2005). ''U.S. History Super Review''. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Association, p. 418. ISBN 0738600709.] In 1920, the [[women's rights]] movement won passage of a [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|constitutional amendment]] granting [[History of women's suffrage in the United States|women's suffrage]]. Partly because of the service of many in the war, Native Americans gained [[United States nationality law|U.S. citizenship]] in the [[Indian Citizenship Act of 1924]].
During [[Roaring Twenties|most of the 1920s]], the United States enjoyed a period of unbalanced prosperity as farm profits fell while industrial profits grew. A rise in debt and an inflated [[stock market]] culminated in the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|1929 crash]] that triggered the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]]. After his election as president in 1932, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] responded with the [[New Deal]], a range of policies increasing government intervention in the economy. The [[Dust Bowl]] of the mid-1930s impoverished many farming communities and spurred a new wave of western migration. The nation would not fully recover from the economic depression until the industrial mobilization spurred by its entrance into [[World War II]]. The United States, effectively neutral during the war's early stages after the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|Nazi invasion of Poland]] in September 1939, began supplying [[materiel]] to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in March 1941 through the [[Lend-Lease]] program.
On [[December 7]], [[1941]], the United States joined the Allies against the [[Axis powers]] after a surprise [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] by [[Japan]]. World War II cost far more money than any other war in American history,[{{cite web |url=http://www.ddaymuseum.org/education/education_numbers.html |title=World War II By The Numbers |publisher=National WWII Museum}} {{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0829/p15s01-cogn.html|author=Francis, David R. |title=More Costly than "The War to End All Wars"|date=[[2005-08-29]] |accessdate = 2006-10-24 |work=Christian Science Monitor}}] but it boosted the economy by providing capital investment and jobs, while bringing many women into the labor market. Among the major combatants, the United States was the only nation to become richer—indeed, far richer—instead of poorer because of the war.[Kennedy, Paul (1989). ''The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers''. New York: Vintage, p. 358. ISBN 0670728197.] Allied conferences at [[United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference|Bretton Woods]] and [[Yalta Conference|Yalta]] outlined a new system of [[international organization]]s that placed the [[United States and the United Nations|United States]] and [[Soviet Union and the United Nations|Soviet Union]] at the center of world affairs. As [[Victory in Europe Day|victory was achieved in Europe]], a 1945 [[United Nations Conference on International Organization|international conference]] held in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] produced the [[United Nations Charter]], which became active after the war.[{{cite web |url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/55407.htm |title=The United States and the Founding of the United Nations, August 1941–October 1945|date=October 2005 |accessdate = 2007-06-11 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of the Historian}}] The United States, having [[Manhattan Project|developed the first nuclear weapons]], used them on the Japanese cities of [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] in August. [[surrender of Japan|Japan surrendered]] on [[September 2]], ending the war.[Pacific War Research Society (2006). ''Japan's Longest Day''. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 4770028873.]
===Cold War and civil rights===
{{main|Cold War|African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)|Vietnam War}}
[[Image:Martin Luther King - March on Washington.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] delivering his "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech, 1963]]
The United States and Soviet Union jockeyed for power after World War II during the Cold War, dominating the military affairs of Europe through [[NATO]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]]. The United States promoted [[liberal democracy]] and [[capitalism]], while the Soviet Union promoted [[communism]] and a centrally [[planned economy]]. Both the United States and the Soviet Union supported dictatorships, and both engaged in [[proxy war]]s. United States troops fought [[People's Republic of China|Communist Chinese]] forces in the [[Korean War]] of 1950–53. The [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] pursued a series of investigations into suspected leftist subversion, while Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]] became the figurehead of anticommunist sentiment.
The Soviet Union launched the first manned spacecraft in 1961, prompting U.S. efforts to raise proficiency in mathematics and science and President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s call for the country to be first to land "a man on the moon," achieved in 1969.[Rudolph, John L. (2002). ''Scientists in the Classroom: The Cold War Reconstruction of American Science Education''. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 1. ISBN 0312295715.] Kennedy also faced a [[Cuban Missile Crisis|tense nuclear showdown]] with Soviet forces in Cuba. Meanwhile, America experienced sustained economic expansion. A growing [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)|civil rights movement]] headed by prominent African Americans, such as [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], fought segregation and discrimination, leading to the abolition of [[Jim Crow laws]]. Following [[John F. Kennedy assassination|Kennedy's assassination]] in 1963, the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] was passed under President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. Johnson and his successor, [[Richard Nixon]], expanded a proxy war in Southeast Asia into the unsuccessful [[Vietnam War]].
As a result of the [[Watergate scandal]], in 1974 Nixon became the first U.S. president to [[resignation|resign]], rather than be [[impeachment|impeached]] on charges including [[obstruction of justice]] and [[political power|abuse of power]]; he was [[United States presidential line of succession|succeeded]] by Vice President [[Gerald Ford]]. During the [[Jimmy Carter]] administration in the late 1970s, the U.S. economy experienced [[stagflation]]. The election of [[Ronald Reagan]] as president in 1980 marked a significant [[Conservatism in the United States#Nixon, Reagan, and Bush|rightward shift in American politics]], reflected in major changes in [[Reaganomics|taxation and spending priorities]].[{{cite web |url=http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Reaganomics.html|title=Reaganomics|accessdate= 2007-10-21|author=Niskanen, William A.|publisher= The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics}}] In the late 1980s and 1990s, the [[History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)|Soviet Union's power diminished]], leading to its collapse and effectively ending the Cold War.
===Contemporary era===
{{Main|September 11, 2001 attacks|War on Terrorism}}
The leadership role taken by the United States and its allies in the United Nations–sanctioned [[Gulf War]], under President [[George H. W. Bush]], and later the [[Yugoslav wars]] helped to preserve its position as the world's last remaining superpower. The longest economic expansion in modern U.S. history—from March 1991 to March 2001—encompassed the administrations of Presidents [[George H.W. Bush]], [[Bill Clinton]], and [[George W. Bush]].[{{cite web|author=Voyce, Bill |url=http://iwin.iwd.state.ia.us/iowa/ArticleReader?itemid=00003700&print=1|title=Why the Expansion of the 1990s Lasted So Long|publisher=Iowa Workforce Information Network|date=[[2006-08-21]]|accessdate=2007-08-16}}] In 1998, Clinton was [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|impeached by the House]] on charges relating to a [[Paula Jones|civil lawsuit]] and a [[Lewinsky scandal|sexual scandal]], but he was acquitted by the Senate and remained in office.
The 1990s also saw a rise in [[Islamic Terrorism]] against Americans from [[al-Qaeda]] and other groups, including an [[1993 World Trade Center bombing|attack on the World Trade Center in 1993]], an [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|attack on U.S. forces in Somalia]], the 1996 [[Khobar Towers bombing]], the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]] in Tanzania and Kenya, the [[2000 millennium attack plots]], and the [[USS Cole bombing]] in Yemen in October 2000. In [[Iraq]], the regime of [[Saddam Hussein]] proved a continuing problem for the UN and its neighbors, prompting a variety of [[Iraq sanctions|UN sanctions]], Anglo-American patrolling of [[Iraqi no-fly zones]], [[Bombing of Iraq (December 1998)|Operation Desert Fox]], and the [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 which called for the removal of the Hussein regime and its replacement by a democratic system.
[[Image:WTC9-11.jpg|thumb|right|The [[World Trade Center]] on the morning of [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11, 2001]]]]
The [[United States presidential election, 2000|presidential election of 2000]] was one of the closest in U.S. history and saw [[George W. Bush]] become President of the United States. [[September 11, 2001 attacks|On September 11, 2001]], [[al-Qaeda]] terrorists struck the [[World Trade Center]] in New York City and [[The Pentagon]] near Washington, D.C., killing nearly three thousand people. In the aftermath, President Bush urged support from the international community for what was dubbed the [[War on Terrorism]]. In late 2001, U.S. forces launched [[Operation Enduring Freedom]] removing the [[Taliban]] government and [[al-Qaeda]] training camps. Taliban insurgents continue to fight a [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] against a NATO-led force. Controversies arose regarding the conduct of the [[War on Terror]].[{{cite web |author=|url=http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Americas |title=Amnesty International Report 2007|date= |publisher=Amnesty International|accessdate=2008-01-18}}]
Using language from the 1998 [[Iraq Liberation Act]] and the [[Clinton Administration]], in 2002 the Bush Administration began to [[Rationale for the Iraq War|press]] for [[regime change]] in Iraq. With [[Iraq Resolution|broad bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress]], Bush formed an international [[Coalition of the Willing]] and in March 2003 ordered [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], removing [[Saddam Hussein]] from power. Although facing pressure to withdraw,[{{cite web|author=Semple, Kirk |url=http://www10.nytimes.com/2007/05/12/world/middleeast/12iraq.html?_r=5&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin |title=Majority of Iraq Lawmakers Seek Timetable for U.S. Exit |date=[[2007-05-12]]|accessdate=2007-05-13 |work=New York Times}}][{{cite web |author=Rogers, David|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117867744969196821.html?mod=googlenews_wsj |title=Democrats Push for Vote On Revised Iraq War Bill|date=[[2007-05-09]] |work=Wall Street Journal|accessdate=2007-05-13}}] the U.S.-led coalition maintains a [[Iraq War troop surge of 2007|presence in Iraq]] and continues to train and mentor a [[Iraqi security forces|new Iraqi military]] as well as lead [[Reconstruction of Iraq|economic and infrastructure development]].
In the upcoming [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential election]], the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] candidate, four-term Senator [[John McCain]] of [[Arizona]] – a former U.S. [[prisoner of war]] who served in the [[Vietnam War]] – will face the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] candidate, freshman Senator [[Barack Obama]] of [[Illinois]], the first African American to head a major political party's presidential ticket.
==Government and elections==
{{main|Federal government of the United States|Elections in the United States}}
[[Image:Capitol Building Full View.jpg|thumb|right|The west front of the [[United States Capitol]], which houses the [[United States Congress]]]]
The United States is the world's oldest surviving [[federation]]. It is a [[constitutional republic]], "in which [[majority rule]] is tempered by [[minority rights]] protected by [[Law of the United States|law]]."[Scheb, John M., and John M. Scheb II (2002). ''An Introduction to the American Legal System''. Florence, KY: Delmar, p. 6. ISBN 0766827593.] It is fundamentally structured as a [[representative democracy]], though U.S. citizens residing in the territories are excluded from voting for federal officials.[Raskin, James B. (2003). ''Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court Vs. the American People''. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 36–38. ISBN 0415934397.] The government is regulated by a system of [[separation of powers|checks and balances]] defined by the United States Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document and as a [[social contract]] for the people of the United States. In the [[Federalism#United States|American federalist system]], citizens are usually subject to [[Political divisions of the United States|three levels of government]], federal, state, and local; the [[Local government in the United States|local government's]] duties are commonly split between [[County (United States)|county]] and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a [[plurality voting system|plurality vote]] of citizens by district. There is no [[proportional representation]] at the federal level, and it is very rare at lower levels. Federal and state judicial and [[cabinet]] officials are typically nominated by the executive branch and approved by the legislature, although some state judges and officials are elected by popular vote.
[[Image:WhiteHouseSouthFacade.JPG|thumb|left|The South Portico of the [[White House]], home and work place of the U.S. president]]
The federal government is composed of three branches:
* [[legislature|Legislative]]: The [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[United States Congress|Congress]], 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]], and has the power of [[impeachment]], by which it can remove sitting members of the government.
* [[Executive (government)|Executive]]: The [[President of the United States|president]] is the [[commander-in-chief]] of the military, can veto [[Bill (proposed law)|legislative bills]] before they become law, and appoints the [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]] and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
* [[Judiciary|Judicial]]: The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] and lower [[United States federal courts|federal courts]], whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem [[constitutionality|unconstitutional]].
The House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a [[congressional district]] for a two-year term. House seats are [[United States congressional apportionment|apportioned]] among the fifty states by population every tenth year. As of the [[United States Census, 2000|2000 census]], seven states have the minimum of one representative, while California, the most populous state, has fifty-three. Each state has two senators, elected [[at-large]] to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every second year. The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office [[Term limits in the United States|no more than twice]]. The president is [[United States presidential election|not elected by direct vote]], but by an indirect [[United States Electoral College|electoral college]] system in which the determining votes are apportioned by state. The Supreme Court, led by the [[Chief Justice of the United States]], has nine members, who serve for life.
[[Image:USSupremeCourtWestFacade.JPG|thumb|right|The front of the [[United States Supreme Court building]]]]
All laws and procedures of both state and federal governments are subject to review, and any law ruled in violation of the Constitution by the judicial branch is overturned. The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government, the relationship between it and the individual states, and essential matters of military and economic authority. [[Article One of the United States Constitution|Article One]] protects the right to the "great writ" of [[Habeas corpus in the United States|habeas corpus]], and [[Article Three of the United States Constitution|Article Three]] guarantees the [[Jury trial#The United States|right to a jury trial]] in all criminal cases. [[Article Five of the United States Constitution|Amendments to the Constitution]] require the approval of three-fourths of the states. The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; the first ten amendments, which make up the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]], and the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] form the central basis of individual rights in the United States.
===Parties and politics===
{{main|Politics of the United States|Political ideologies in the United States}}
Politics in the United States have operated under a [[two-party system]] for virtually all of the country's history. For elective offices at all levels, state-administered [[primary election]]s are held to choose the major party nominees for subsequent [[general election]]s. Since the [[United States presidential election, 1856|general election of 1856]], the two dominant parties have been the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], [[History of the United States Democratic Party|founded in 1824]] (though its [[Democratic-Republican Party|roots trace back to 1792]]), and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], [[History of the United States Republican Party|founded in 1854]]. Since the Civil War, only one [[Third party (United States)|third-party]] presidential candidate—former president [[Theodore Roosevelt]], running as a [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive]] in [[United States presidential election, 1912|1912]]—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote.
The incumbent president, Republican [[George W. Bush]], is the [[List of Presidents of the United States|43rd president in the country's history]]. All U.S. presidents to date have been white men. If Democrat [[Barack Obama]] wins the [[United States presidential election, 2008|forthcoming presidential election]], he will become the first African-American president. Following the [[United States general elections, 2006|2006 midterm elections]], the Democratic Party controls both the House and the Senate. Every member of the U.S. Congress is a Democrat or a Republican except two [[Independent (politician)|independent]] members of the Senate—one a former Democratic incumbent, the other a self-described [[socialism|socialist]]. An [[Political party strength in U.S. states|overwhelming majority]] of state and local officials are also either Democrats or Republicans.
Within American [[political culture]], the Republican Party is considered "center-right" or [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] and the Democratic Party is considered "center-left" or [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]], but members of both parties have a wide range of views. In a May 2008 poll, 44% of Americans described themselves as "conservative," 27% as "moderate," and 21% as "liberal."[{{cite web|url=http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/client/act_dsp_pdf.cfm?name=mr080505-2topline.pdf&id=3909|title=The Associated Press Poll Conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs/Project #81-5681-84|publisher=Ipsos Public Affairs|date=2008-05-04|accessdate=2008-06-06}}] On the other hand, that same month a plurality of adults, 41.7%, identified as Democrats, 31.6% as Republicans, and 26.6% as independents.[{{cite web|url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/party_affiliation/partisan_trends|title=Partisan Trends: Where Have All the Republicans Gone?|publisher=Rasmussen Reports|date=2008-06-03|accessdate=2008-06-06}}] The states of the [[Northeastern United States#Politics|Northeast]] and [[Western United States#Politics|West Coast]] and some of the [[Great Lakes]] states are relatively liberal-leaning—they are known in political parlance as "[[Red states and blue states|blue states]]." The "[[red states]]" of the [[Politics of the Southern United States|South]] and the [[Western United States#Politics|Rocky Mountains]] lean conservative.
==States==
{{main|U.S. state}}
The United States is a [[federation|federal union]] of fifty states. The original thirteen states were the successors of the [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen colonies]] that rebelled against [[Great Britain|British]] rule. Most of the rest have been carved from territory obtained through war or purchase by the U.S. government. The exceptions are [[Vermont]], [[Texas]], and [[Hawaii]]; each was an independent republic before joining the union. Early in the country's history, three states were created out of the territory of existing ones: [[Kentucky]] from [[Virginia]]; [[Tennessee]] from [[North Carolina]]; and [[Maine]] from [[Massachusetts]]. [[West Virginia]] broke away from Virginia during the [[American Civil War]]. The most recent state—Hawaii—achieved statehood on [[August 21]], [[1959]]. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] [[Texas v. White|has ruled]] that the states do not have the right to [[secession|secede]] from the union.
The states compose the vast bulk of the U.S. land mass; the only other areas considered integral parts of the country are the District of Columbia, the [[Capital districts and territories|federal district]] where the capital, Washington, is located; and [[Palmyra Atoll]], an uninhabited but [[territories of the United States|incorporated territory]] in the Pacific Ocean. The United States possesses five major territories with indigenous populations: [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[United States Virgin Islands]] in the Caribbean; and [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] in the Pacific. Those born in the territories (except for American Samoa) possess [[Birthright citizenship in the United States of America|U.S. citizenship]].
{{USA midsize imagemap with state names}}
==Foreign relations and military==
{{main|Foreign relations of the United States|Military of the United States}}
[[Image:Bush Brown.jpg|thumb|[[President of the United States|President]] [[George W. Bush]] (right) with [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British prime minister]] [[Gordon Brown]]]]
The United States has vast economic, political, and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest around the world. Almost all countries have [[List of diplomatic missions in the United States|embassies]] in Washington, D.C., and many host [[Consul (representative)|consulates]] around the country. Likewise, nearly all nations host [[Diplomatic missions of the United States|American diplomatic missions]]. However, [[Cuba-United States relations|Cuba]], [[United States-Iran relations|Iran]], [[North Korea-United States relations|North Korea]], [[Bhutan]], [[Sudan]], and the [[Republic of China]] (Taiwan) do not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States.
American [[isolationism|isolationists]] have often been at odds with internationalists, as anti-imperialists have been with promoters of [[Manifest Destiny]] and [[American Empire]]. American [[Philippine-American War|imperialism in the Philippines]] drew sharp rebukes from [[Mark Twain]], philosopher [[William James]], and many others. Later, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] played a key role in creating the [[League of Nations]], but the Senate prohibited American membership in it. Isolationism became a thing of the past when the United States took a lead role in founding the United Nations, becoming a permanent member of the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]] and host to the [[United Nations Headquarters]]. The United States enjoys a [[Special Relationship (US-UK)|special relationship]] with the [[Anglo-American relations|United Kingdom]] and strong ties with [[United States-Australia relations|Australia]], [[New Zealand-United States relations|New Zealand]], [[Japan-United States relations|Japan]], [[Israel-United States relations|Israel]], and fellow NATO members. It also works closely with its neighbors through the [[Organization of American States]] and [[United States free trade agreements|free trade agreements]] such as the trilateral [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] with [[Canada – United States relations|Canada]] and [[United States-Mexico relations|Mexico]]. In 2005, the United States spent $27.3 billion on [[official development assistance]], the most in the world; however, as a share of [[Gross National Income|gross national income]] (GNI), the U.S. contribution of 0.22% ranked twentieth of twenty-two donor states. On the other hand, nongovernmental sources such as private foundations, corporations, and educational and religious institutions donated $95.5 billion. The total of $122.8 billion is again the most in the world and seventh in terms of GNI percentage.[{{citeweb|title=Americans Favor Private Giving, People-to-People Contacts|date=[[2007-05-24]]|publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, International Information Programs|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=May&x=20070524165115zjsredna0.2997553|accessdate=2007-06-17}}]
[[Image:USSRONALDREAGANgoodshot.jpg|thumb|left|The [[USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)|USS ''Ronald Reagan'']] [[aircraft carrier]]]]
The president holds the title of commander-in-chief of the nation's 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]] administers the armed forces, including the [[United States Army|Army]], the [[United States Navy|Navy]], the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]], and the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]]. The [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] falls under the jurisdiction of the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] in peacetime and the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] in times of war. In 2005, the military had 1.38 million personnel on active duty,[{{cite web |url= http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/tables/2005/1231militarypersonnel.pdf |title=Department of Defense Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country (309A) |date=2005-12-31|publisher=Global Policy Forum|accessdate=2007-06-21|format=PDF}}] along with several hundred thousand each in the [[Reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States|Reserves]] and the [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] for a total of [[List of countries by number of total troops|2.3 million troops]]. The Department of Defense also employs approximately 700,000 civilians, disregarding contractors. Military service is voluntary, though [[Conscription in the United States|conscription]] may occur in wartime through the [[Selective Service System]]. The rapid deployment of American forces is facilitated by the Air Force's large fleet of transportation aircraft and aerial refueling tankers, the Navy's fleet of eleven active aircraft carriers, and [[Marine Expeditionary Unit]]s at sea in the Navy's [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic and]] [[Commander United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific fleets]]. Outside of the American homeland, the U.S. military is [[Deployments of the United States Military|deployed to 770 bases and facilities]], on every continent [[Military activity in the Antarctic|except Antarctica]].[{{cite web |url= http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/intervention/2005/basestructurereport.pdf |title=Department of Defense Base Structure Report, Fiscal Year 2005 Baseline |publisher=Global Policy Forum|accessdate=2007-06-21|format=PDF}}] Because of the extent of its global military presence, scholars describe the United States as maintaining an "empire of bases."[{{cite web|author=Ikenberry, G. John |url= http://people.cas.sc.edu/rosati/ttp.ikenberry.empirereviews.fa.march04.htm |title=Illusions of Empire: Defining the New American Order |work=Foreign Affairs|date=March/April 2004}} {{cite web|author=Kreisler, Harry, and Chalmers Johnson |url= http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people4/CJohnson/cjohnson-con3.html |title=Conversations with History |publisher=University of California at Berkeley|date=[[2004-01-29]]|accessdate=2007-06-21}}]
Total U.S. military spending in 2006, over $528 billion, was 46% of the entire military spending in the world and greater than the next fourteen largest national military expenditures combined. (In [[purchasing power parity]] terms, it was larger than the next six such expenditures combined.) The per capita spending of $1,756 was approximately ten times the world average.[{{cite web |url=http://www.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_major_spenders.pdf/download |title=The Fifteen Major Spender Countries in 2006 |publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |date= 2007|accessdate=2007-06-20}}] At 4.06% of GDP, U.S. military spending is ranked 27th out of 172 nations.[{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2034rank.html |title=Rank Order—Military Expenditures—Percent of GDP |publisher=CIA |work=The World Factbook|date=[[2007-05-31]]|accessdate=2007-06-13}}] The proposed base [[military budget of the United States|Department of Defense budget]] for 2009, $515.4 billion, is a 7% increase over 2008 and a nearly 74% increase over 2001.[{{cite web |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/defense.html |title=Department of Defense |publisher=Office of Management and Budget |work=Budget of the United States Government, FY 2009|accessdate=2008-03-02}}] The estimated total cost of the [[Iraq War]] to the United States through 2016 is $2.267 trillion.[{{cite web |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1119646120070611 |title=Global Military Spending Hits $1.2 Trillion: Study |publisher=Reuters |date= [[2007-06-11]]|accessdate=2007-06-21}}] As of [[June 6]], [[2008]], the United States had suffered 4,092 military fatalities during the war and nearly 30,000 wounded.[{{cite web |url=http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx |title=Iraq Coalition Casualties |publisher=Iraq Coalition Casualty Count |date= 2008-06-06|accessdate=2008-06-06}}]
==Economy==
{{main|Economy of the United States}}
{| class="wikitable" table style="border:1px #000000;" cellspacing="0" align="right" style="margin-left: 1em"
|-
! style="background:#FF9999;" colspan="2"|National economic indicators
|-
|[[Unemployment]]||5.5%May 2008[{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/|title=Bureau of Labor Statistics Home Page|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Labor|accessdate = 2008-06-06}}]
|-
|GDP growth||0.9%1Q 2008[{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/|title=Gross Domestic Product: First Quarter 2008 (Preliminary)|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis|date=2008-05-29|accessdate = 2008-06-06}}] (2.2%)2007[{{cite press release|url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf|title=Consumer Price Index: April 2008|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Labor|date=2008-05-14|accessdate = 2008-06-06|format=PDF}}]
|-
|[[United States public debt|National debt]]||$9.502 trillionJuly 10, 2008[{{cite web|url=http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np|title=Debt Statistics|publisher=U.S. Dept. of the Treasury|accessdate = 2008-07-12}}]
|-
|[[Poverty in the United States|Poverty]]||12.3% or 13.3%2006[{{cite web|author=Webster, Jr., Bruce H., and Alemayehu Bishaw|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-08.pdf|title=Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data from the 2006 American Community Survey|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|date=August 2007|accessdate = 2008-02-05|format=PDF}}]
|}
The United States has a [[capitalism|capitalist]] [[mixed economy]], which is fueled by abundant [[natural resource]]s, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. According to the [[International Monetary Fund]], the United States GDP of more than $13 trillion constitutes over 25.5% of the [[gross world product]] at market exchange rates and over 19% of the gross world product at [[purchasing power parity]] (PPP).[{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html |title=Rank Order—GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)|publisher=CIA|work=World Factbook|date=2007-11-15|accessdate=2007-12-04}}] The country ranks eighth in the world in [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|nominal GDP per capita]] and fourth in [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP per capita at PPP]].[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/top/dst/current/balance.html|title=U.S. Top Trading Partners, 2006|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2007-03-26}}] The leading export commodity is electrical machinery, while vehicles constitute the leading import.[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/07statab/foreign.pdf|title= Table 1289. U.S. Exports and General Imports by Selected SITC Commodity Groups: 2002 to 2005 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|work=Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007|date=October 2006|accessdate=2007-08-26|format=PDF}}]
The private sector constitutes the bulk of the economy, with government activity accounting for 12.4% of GDP. The economy is [[post-industrial society|postindustrial]], with the [[Tertiary sector of economic activity|service sector]] contributing 67.8% of GDP.[{{citeweb|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html|accessdate=2008-03-12|title=USA Economy in Brief|publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, International Information Programs}}] The leading business field by gross business receipts is wholesale and retail trade; by net income it is finance and insurance.[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/07statab/business.pdf|title= Table 726. Number of Returns, Receipts, and Net Income by Type of Business and Industry: 2003 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|work=Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007|date=October 2006|accessdate=2007-08-26|format=PDF}}] The United States remains an industrial power, with chemical products the leading manufacturing field.[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/07statab/manufact.pdf|title= Table 971. Gross Domestic Product in Manufacturing in Current and Real (2000) Dollars by Industry: 2000 to 2005 (2004)|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|work=Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007|date=October 2006|accessdate=2007-08-26|format=PDF}}] The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world.[{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2173rank.html|title= Rank Order—Oil (Production)|publisher=CIA|work=The World Factbook|date=2007-09-06|accessdate=2007-09-14}} {{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2174rank.html|title= Rank Order—Oil (Consumption)|publisher=CIA|work=The World Factbook|date=2007-09-06|accessdate=2007-09-14}}] It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, and salt. While [[Agriculture in the United States|agriculture]] accounts for just under 1% of GDP,[{{cite web|url=http://www.grains.org/page.ww?section=Barley%2C+Corn+%26+Sorghum&name=Corn|title= Corn|publisher=U.S. Grains Council|accessdate=2008-03-13}}] and soybeans.[{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5442|title= Soybean Demand Continues to Drive Production|publisher=Worldwatch Institute|date=2007-11-06|accessdate=2008-03-13}}] The country's leading cash crop is [[Legal history of marijuana in the United States|marijuana]], despite federal laws making its [[Legality of cannabis#United States|cultivation and sale illegal]].[{{citeweb|author=Gettman, Jon|url=http://www.drugscience.org/Archive/bcr2/MJCropReport_2006.pdf|date=December 2006|accessdate=2007-08-13|title=Marijuana Production in the United States (2006)|work=The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform|format=PDF}} {{citeweb|author=Nitya Venkataraman|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2735017&page=1|date=2006-12-18|accessdate=2007-08-14|title=Marijuana Called Top U.S. Cash Crop|publisher=ABC News}}] The [[New York Stock Exchange]] is the world's largest by dollar volume.[{{cite web |url=http://ir.nyse.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=129145&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1036503&highlight= |title= New Release/Ultra Petroleum Corp., |publisher=NYSE Euronext|date=2007-07-03|accessdate=2007-08-03}}] [[Coca-Cola]] and [[McDonald's]] are the two most recognized brands in the world.[{{cite web | url=http://www.cheskin.com/view_news.php?id=2 | title=Sony, LG, Wal-Mart among Most Extendible Brands | publisher = Cheskin | date=2005-06-06| accessdate=2007-06-19}}]
[[Image:Photos NewYork1 032.jpg|thumb|right|[[Wall Street]] is home to the [[New York Stock Exchange]] (NYSE)]]
In 2005, 155 million persons were employed with earnings, of whom 80% worked in full-time jobs.[{{cite web|url=http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new05_001.htm|title= Labor Force and Earnings, 2005|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2007-05-29}}] The majority, 79%, were employed in the service sector.[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/07statab/business.pdf|title= Table 739. Establishments, Employees, and Payroll by Employment-Size Class and Industry: 2000 to 2003 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|work=Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007|date=October 2006|accessdate=2007-08-26|format=PDF}}] About 12% of American workers are [[Labor unions in the United States|unionized]], compared to 30% in Western Europe.[{{cite web|author=Fuller, Thomas|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/14/news/europe.php|title= In the East, Many EU Work Rules Don't Apply|date=2005-06-15|work=International Herald Tribune|accessdate=2007-06-28}}] The U.S. ranks number one in the ease of hiring and firing workers, according to the World Bank.[{{cite web|url=http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/031110/10dobbs.htm|author=Dobbs, Lou|title=The Perils of Productivity|work=U.S. News & World Report|date=2003-11-02|accessdate=2007-06-30}}] Partly as a result, the United States maintains the highest labor productivity in the world. However, it no longer leads the world in productivity per hour as it did from the 1950s through the early 1990s; workers in [[Norway]], France, [[Belgium]], and [[Luxembourg]] are now more productive per hour.[{{cite web|url=http://kilm.ilo.org/2005/press/download/ExSumEN.pdf|title=Highlights of Current Labour Market trends|publisher=International Labour Organization|work=Key Indicators of the Labour Market Programme|date=2005-12-09|accessdate=2007-12-20|format=PDF}}] The United States ranks third in the [[World Bank Group|World Bank's]] [[Ease of Doing Business Index]].[{{citeweb|url=http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreEconomies/?economyid=197|accessdate=2007-06-28|title=Doing Business in the United States (2006)|publisher=World Bank}}] Compared to Europe, U.S. property and corporate [[Taxation in the United States|income taxes]] are generally higher, while labor and, particularly, consumption taxes are lower.[{{cite web|author=Gumbel, Peter|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,662737-2,00.html|title= Escape from Tax Hell|date=2004-07-11|work=Time|accessdate=2007-06-28}}]
===Income and human development===
{{main|Income in the United States|Income inequality in the United States|Poverty in the United States|Affluence in the United States}}[[Image:Income gains.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Inflation adjusted percentage increase in after-tax household income for the top 1% and four quintiles, between 1979 and 2005 (gains by top 1% are reflected by bottom bar; bottom quintile by top bar)[{{cite web|url=http://www.cbpp.org/1-23-07inc.htm|title=Aron-Dine, A. & Sherman, A. (January 23, 2007). New CBO Data Show Income Inequality Continues to Widen: After-tax-income for Top 1 Percent Rose by $146,000 in 2004.|accessdate=2007-11-24}}]]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|Census Bureau]], the pretax [[median household income]] in 2006 was $48,201.[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/income06/statemhi.html|title= Income 2006| publisher =U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2008-02-05}}] Using [[purchasing power parity]] exchange rates, the overall median is similar to the most affluent cluster of [[Household income in the United States#International comparison|developed nations]]. After having declined sharply throughout the mid 20th century, [[Poverty in the United States|poverty rates]] have plateaued since the early 1970s, with roughly 12.3% or 13.3% of Americans below the federally designated [[poverty threshold|poverty line]] in any given year.[Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). ''The three worlds of welfare capitalism''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.][Alber, J. (1988). Is There a Crisis of the Welfare State? Cross-National Evidence from Europe, North America, and Japan. European Sociological Review, 4(3), 181-207.] reducing [[relative poverty]] by roughly 30% and [[absolute poverty]] by roughly 40%; considerably less than the mean for rich nations.[Smeeding, T. M. (2005). Public policy: Economic inequality, and poverty: The United States in comparative perspective. ''Social Science Quarterly, 86'', 955-983.][Kenworthy, L. (1999). Do social-welfare policies reduce poverty? A cross-national assessment. ''Social Forces, 77''(3), 1119-1139.][Bradley, D., Huber, E., Moller, S., Nielsen, F. & Stephens, J. D. (2003). Determinants of relative poverty in advanced capitalist democracies. ''American Sociological Review, 68''(1), 22-51.] While the American welfare state preforms well in reducing poverty among the elderly, from an estimated 50% to 10%,[Orr, D. (November - December, 2004). Social Security isn't broken: So why the rush to 'fix ' it? In C. Sturr & R. Vasudevan (Eds.), 2007, ''Current economic issues''. Boston: Economic Affairs Bureau.] it lacks extensive programs geared towards the well-being of the young.[{{cite url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=a_new_deal_of_their_own|title=Starr, P. (2008). A New Deal of their own: Social policy once helped the young join the middle class. Today, government aid is mainly for the elderly and the poor. ''American Prospect''.|accessdate=2008-07-24}}] A 2007 [[United Nations Children's Fund|UNICEF]] study of children's well-being in twenty-one industrialized nations, covering a broad range of factors, ranked the U.S. next to last.[{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/13_02_07_nn_unicef.pdf|title=Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-Being in Rich Countries|publisher=UNICEF|date= 2007|accessdate=2007-09-10|format=PDF}}]
Between 1947 and 1979, [[Real income|real median income]] rose by over 80% for all classes, more so for the poor than the rich.[Bartels, L. M. (2008). ''Unequal democracy: The political-economy of the new gilded age''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.][{{cite web|url=http://www.demos.org/inequality/numbers.cfm#1|title= Hartman, C. (2008). ''By the numbers: income''. Inequality.org, graphs featuring data from the Congressional Budget Office and Dept. of Commerce.|accessdate=2008-07-24}}] While [[median household income]] has increased for all classes since 1980,[{{cite web|author=Henderson, David R.|url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3522596.html|title=The Rich—and Poor—Are Getting Richer|work=Hoover Digest|date=1998|accessdate = 2007-06-19}}] largely owing to more dual earner households, the closing of the gender gap and longer work hours, growth has been slower and strongly titled towards the very top (see graph).[{{cite web|url= http://www.frbsf.org/news/speeches/2006/1106.html |title=Yellen, Y. (2006). ''Speech to the Center for the Study of Democracy
2006-2007 Economics of Governance Lecture
University of California, Irvine''. Federal Reserve Board, San Francisco.|accessdate=2008-07-24}}][{{cite web|author=Shapiro, Isaac|url=http://www.cbpp.org/10-17-05inc.htm|title=New IRS Data Show Income Inequality Is Again on the Rise|date=2005-10-17|publisher=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities|accessdate=2007-05-16}}][Gilbert, D. (1998). ''The American Class Structure''. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN 0534505201.] As a result the share of income of the top 1% has doubbled since 1979,[{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/business/29tax.html?ex=1332820800&en=fb472e72466c34c8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|title=Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows|author=Johnston, David Cay| work = New York Times|date=2007-03-29|accessdate=2007-05-16}}] leaving the U.S. with the highest level of income inequality among developed nations.[{{cite web|url=http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/TabFig2005prel.xls|title= Saez, E. (October, 2007). Table A1: Top fractiles income shares (excluding capital gains) in the U.S., 1913-2005. UC Berkley|accessdate=2008-07-24}}][{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html|title=Field Listing—Distribution of Family Income—Gini Index|publisher=CIA|work=The World Factbook|date=2007-06-14|accessdate = 2007-06-17}}] While some economists do not see inequality as a considerable problem, most see it as a problem requiring government action.[{{cite web|url=http://springerlink.metapress.com/content/w4q363786573275h/|title=Klein, D. B. & Stern, C. (6 December, 2004) Economists' policy views and voting. ''Public Choice Journal''.|accessdate=2007-07-02}}][{{cite web|url=http://www.mises.org/story/2318|title=Klein, G. P. (15 November, 2006). Why Intellectuals Still Support Socialism. ''Ludwig Von Mieses Institute''.|accessdate=2007-08-21}}][{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0614/p01s03-usec.html|title=Rich-Poor Gap Gaining Attention|author=Greier, Peter| work=Christian Science Monitor|date=2005-06-14|accessdate=2006-08-21}} For an argument that there has been no sustained, significant increase in inequality since 1988, see {{cite web|url=http://www.cato-unbound.org/2007/02/07/alan-reynolds/income-distribution-heresies/|title=Income Distribution Heresies|author=Reynolds, Alan|work=Cato Unbound|date=2007-02-07|accessdate=2007-06-15}}] Wealth is highly concentrated: The richest 10% of the adult population possesses 69.8% of the country's household wealth, the second-highest share of any democratic developed nation.[{{cite web|author=Domhoff, G. William|url=http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html|title=Table 4: Percentage of Wealth Held by the Top 10% of the Adult Population in Various Western Countries|publisher =University of California at Santa Cruz, Sociology Dept.| work = Power in America|date=December 2006|accessdate=2006-08-21}}] The top 1% possesses 33.4% of net wealth.[{{cite web|author=Kennickell, Arthur B.|url=http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/oss/oss2/papers/concentration.2004.5.pdf|title=Table11a: Amounts (Billions of 2004 Dollars) and Shares of Net Worth and Components Distributed by Net Worth Groups, 2004|publisher =Federal Reserve Board| work = Currents and Undercurrents: Changes in the Distribution of Wealth, 1989–2004|date=2006-08-02|accessdate=2007-06-24|format=PDF}}]
===Science and technology===
{{main|Science and technology in the United States|Technological and industrial history of the United States}}
[[Image:Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag.jpg|left|thumb|Astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] during the first human [[moon landing|landing on the Moon]], 1969]]
The United States has been a leader in scientific research and technological innovation since the late nineteenth century. In 1876, [[Alexander Graham Bell]] was awarded the first U.S. [[Invention of the telephone|patent for the telephone]]. The [[Edison, New Jersey|laboratory]] of [[Thomas Edison]] developed the [[Phonograph#The first phonograph|phonograph]], the first [[Incandescent light bulb#History of the light bulb|long-lasting light bulb]], and the first viable [[Kinetoscope|movie camera]]. In the early twentieth century, the automobile companies of [[Ransom E. Olds]] and [[Henry Ford]] pioneered [[assembly line]] manufacturing. The [[Wright brothers]], in 1903, made what is recognized as the "[[first flying machine|first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight]]."[{{cite web|author=Benedetti, François| url =http://www.fai.org/news_archives/fai/000295.asp| title =100 Years Ago, the Dream of Icarus Became Reality| publisher =Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)|date=2003-12-17|accessdate=2007-08-15}}] The rise of [[Nazism]] in the 1930s led many important European scientists, including [[Albert Einstein]] and [[Enrico Fermi]], to immigrate to the United States. During World War II, the U.S.-based [[Manhattan Project]] developed nuclear weapons, ushering in the [[Atomic Age]]. The [[Space Race]] produced rapid advances in rocketry, [[materials science]], and computers. The United States largely developed the [[ARPANET]] and its successor, the [[Internet]]. Today, the bulk of [[research and development]] funding, 64%, comes from the private sector.[{{cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s0775.xls | title = Research and Development (R&D) Expenditures by Source and Objective: 1970 to 2004 | publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | accessdate = 2007-06-19 }}] The United States leads the world in scientific research papers and [[impact factor]].[{{cite web | url = http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,,1736095,00.html |author=MacLeod, Donald| title = Britain Second in World Research Rankings | date=2006-03-21 | work = Guardian | accessdate = 2006-05-14 }}] Americans enjoy high levels of access to technological consumer goods,[{{cite web | url = http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_tel_percap-media-televisions-per-capita | title = Media Statistics > Televisions (per capita) by Country | publisher = NationMaster |date=December 2003}} {{cite web | url = http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_per_com_percap-media-personal-computers-per-capita | title = Media Statistics > Personal Computers (per capita) by Country | publisher = NationMaster |date=December 2003}} {{cite web | url = http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_rad_percap-media-radios-per-capita | title = Media Statistics > Radios (per capita) by Country | publisher = NationMaster | date = December 2003 | accessdate = 2007-06-03 }}] and almost half of U.S. households have [[Broadband Internet access|broadband Internet service]].[{{cite web | url = http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=116136 | title = Download 2007 Digital Fact Pack | date=2007-04-23| work = Advertising Age | accessdate = 2007-06-10 }}] The country is the primary developer and grower of [[genetically modified food]]; more than half of the world's land planted with biotech crops is in the United States.[{{cite web | url = http://www.isaaa.org/Resources/Publications/briefs/35/executivesummary/default.html | title = ISAAA Brief 35-2006: Executive Summary—Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2006 | publisher = International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications | accessdate = 2007-06-19 }}]
===Transportation===
{{main|Transportation in the United States}}
[[Image:I-80 Eastshore Fwy.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Interstate 80]], the second-longest U.S. [[Interstate Highway System|Interstate highway]], runs from [[California]] to [[New Jersey]]]]
As of 2003, there were 759 automobiles per 1,000 Americans, compared to 472 per 1,000 inhabitants of the European Union the following year.[{{cite web | url =http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/06/125| title =Car Free Day 2006: Nearly One Car per Two Inhabitants in the EU25 in 2004| date=2006-09-19|publisher =Europa, Eurostat Press Office| accessdate = 2007-08-15 }}] Approximately 39% of [[Passenger vehicles in the United States|personal vehicles]] are vans, [[Sport utility vehicle|SUVs]], or light trucks.[{{cite web|url =http://www.bts.gov/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/section_01.html| title =Household, Individual, and Vehicle Characteristics|publisher =U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics|work =2001 National Household Travel Survey|accessdate = 2007-08-15}}] The average American adult (accounting for all drivers and nondrivers) spends 55 minutes behind the wheel every day, driving {{convert|29|mi|km|0}}.[{{cite web|url =http://www.bts.gov/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/section_02.html| title =Daily Passenger Travel|publisher =U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics|work =2001 National Household Travel Survey|accessdate = 2007-08-15}}] The U.S. intercity passenger rail system is relatively weak.[{{cite web | url = http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-07-15 | title = Intercity Passenger Rail: National Policy and Strategies Needed to Maximize Public Benefits from Federal Expenditures| date=2006-11-13| publisher = U.S. Government Accountability Office| accessdate = 2007-06-20 }}] Only 9% of total U.S. work trips employ [[public transport|mass transit]], compared to 38.8% in Europe.[{{cite web | url = http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/documents/TOD.Euro-Style_Planning-Renne-Wells.pdf |author=Renne, John L., and Jan S. Wells| title = Emerging European-Style Planning in the United States: Transit-Oriented Development (p. 2) | date=2003 | publisher = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | accessdate = 2007-06-11 |format=PDF}}] Bicycle usage is minimal, well below European levels.[{{cite web | url =http://www.transalt.org/files/resources/other/010901TQpdf021.pdf|author=Pucher, John, and Lewis Dijkstra| title = Making Walking and Cycling Safer: Lessons from Europe | date=February 2000| publisher = Transportation Alternatives |work=Transportation Quarterly | accessdate = 2007-08-15|format=PDF}}] The civil airline industry is entirely privatized, while most major airports are publicly owned. The five largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are all American; [[American Airlines]] is number one.[{{cite web|url=http://www.iata.org/ps/publications/wats-passenger-carried.htm| title =Scheduled Passengers Carried|publisher=International Air Transport Association (IATA)|date=2006|accessdate=2007-08-15}}] Of the world's thirty busiest passenger airports, sixteen are in the United States, including the busiest, [[Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport]] (ATL).[{{cite web|url=http://www.airports.org/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54-55_666_2__|title=Passenger Traffic 2006 Final|publisher = Airports Council International|date=2007-07-18|accessdate=2007-08-15}}]
===Energy===
{{main|Energy use in the United States|Energy policy of the United States}}
The United States energy market is 29,000 [[terawatt]] hours per year. [[List of countries by energy consumption per capita|Energy consumption per capita]] is 7.8 tons of oil equivalent per year, compared to Germany's 4.2 tons and Canada's 8.3 tons. In 2005, 40% of the nation's energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 22% from natural gas. The remainder was supplied by nuclear power and various [[renewable energy]] sources.[{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec1_3.pdf |title= Diagram 1: Energy Flow, 2007|work=EIA Annual Energy Review 2007 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration|accessdate=2008-06-25}}] The United States is the world's largest consumer of petroleum.[{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2174rank.html|title= Rank Order—Oil (Consumption)|publisher=CIA|work=The World Factbook|date=2007-09-06|accessdate=2007-09-14}}] For decades, nuclear power has played a limited role relative to many other developed countries. Recently, applications for new nuclear plants have been filed.[{{cite web |url=http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9762843|title= Atomic Renaissance|work=Economist|accessdate=2007-09-06}}]
==Demographics==
{{main|Demographics of the United States|Immigration to the United States}}
[[Image:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.jpg|thumb|right|Largest ancestry groups by county, 2000]]
As of 2008, the United States population was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 304,516,000.[Extrapolation from [http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html U.S. POPClock]. U.S. Census Bureau. Updated automatically.] The U.S. population included an estimated 12 million [[Illegal immigration to the United States|unauthorized migrants]],[{{cite web|author =Passel, Jeffrey S. | url = http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/61.pdf | title = The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S. | publisher = Pew Hispanic Center | date =2006-03-07| accessdate = 2007-06-24|format=PDF}}] of whom an estimated 1 million were uncounted by the Census Bureau.[{{cite web | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15298443/| title = U.S. Population Hits 300 Million Mark | publisher = MSNBC.com (Associated Press) | date =2006-10-17| accessdate = 2007-06-24}}] The overall [[Population growth|growth rate]] is 0.89%,[{{cite web | url = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html | title = United States| publisher = CIA|work=The World Factbook | date = 2007-05-31| accessdate = 2007-06-15}}] compared to 0.16% in the European Union.[{{cite web | url = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ee.html | title = European Union| publisher = CIA|work=The World Factbook | date = [[2007-05-31]] | accessdate = 2007-06-15}}] The [[birth rate]] of 14.16 per 1,000 is 30% below the world average, while higher than any European country except for [[Albania]] and [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].[{{cite web | url = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2054rank.html | title = Rank Order—Birth Rate| publisher = CIA|work=The World Factbook | date =2007-05-31| accessdate = 2007-06-13}}] In 2006, 1.27 million immigrants were granted [[United States Permanent Resident Card|legal residence]]. Mexico has been the leading source of new U.S. residents for over two decades; since 1998, China, India, and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries every year.[{{cite web| url = http://www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/countrydata/data.cfm | title = United States: Top Ten Sending Countries, By Country of Birth, 1986 to 2006 (table available by menu selection) | publisher = Migration Policy Institute|date =2007| accessdate = 2007-07-05}}] The United States is the only industrialized nation in which large population increases are projected.[{{cite web | url = http://www.prcdc.org/summaries/uspopperspec/uspopperspec.html | title = Executive Summary: A Population Perspective of the United States| publisher = Population Resource Center | date = May 2000 | accessdate = 2007-12-20 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070604165856/http://www.prcdc.org/summaries/uspopperspec/uspopperspec.html|archivedate=2007-06-04}}]
The United States has a very [[multiethnic society|diverse population]]—thirty-one [[maps of American ancestries|ancestry groups]] have more than a million members.[{{cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf | title = Ancestry 2000| publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | date = June 2004 | accessdate = 2007-06-13|format=PDF}}] [[White American|Whites]] are the largest [[racial group]], with [[German American]]s, [[Irish American]]s, and [[English American]]s constituting three of the country's four largest ancestry groups.[{{cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2006-srh.html | title = Annual Estimates of the Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Origin for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (NC-EST2006-03)| publisher = U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division | date = 2007-05-17| accessdate = 2008-05-22}}][{{cite web | url = http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=July&x=20060707160631jmnamdeirf0.2887079|author=Friedman, Michael Jay | title = Minority Groups Now One-Third of U.S. Population| publisher = U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of International Information Programs | date =2006-07-14| accessdate = 2007-06-13}}]
{| class="wikitable" table style="border:1px #000000;" cellspacing="0" align="right" style="margin-left: 1em"
! style="background:#FF9999;" colspan="2"|Race/Ethnicity (2006)
The population growth of [[Hispanic and Latino Americans]] has been a major [[Demographic transition|demographic trend]]. Approximately 44 million Americans are of Hispanic descent, with about 64% possessing [[Mexican]] ancestry.[{{cite web | url = http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-redoLog=false&-mt_name=ACS_2006_EST_G2000_B03001 | title = Hispanic or Latino Origin by Specific Origin| publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | accessdate = 2007-11-09}}] Between 2000 and 2006, the country's Hispanic population increased 25.5% while the non-Hispanic population rose just 3.5%.[{{cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/foreignborn_population/003969.html | title = Foreign-Born Population Tops 34 Million, Census Bureau Estimates| publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | date = [[2005-02-22]] | accessdate = 2007-06-13}}] Fertility is also a factor; the average Hispanic woman gives birth to three children in her lifetime. The comparable fertility rate is 2.2 for non-Hispanic black women and 1.8 for non-Hispanic white women (below the [[Total fertility rate#Replacement rates|replacement rate]] of 2.1).[{{cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html | title = Minority Population Tops 100 Million| publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | date =2007-05-17| accessdate = 2007-06-13}}]
About 83% of the population lives in one of the country's 363 [[Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas|metropolitan areas]].[{{cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/009865.html | title = 50 Fastest-Growing Metro Areas Concentrated in West and South| publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | date =2007-04-05| accessdate = 2007-01-26 }}] In 2006, 254 [[incorporated place]]s in the United States had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than 1 million residents, and four [[global city|global cities]] had over 2 million ([[New York City]], [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[Chicago]], and [[Houston, Texas|Houston]]).[{{cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2007/cb07-91table1.pdf| title =Table 1: Population Estimates for the 25 Largest U.S. Cities Based on July 1, 2006, Population Estimates: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 | work = 2006 Population Estimates | publisher = U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division | date =2007-06-28| accessdate = 2007-09-08|format=PDF}}] The United States has fifty [[Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas|metropolitan areas]] with populations greater than 1 million.[{{cite web | url = http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/cb07-51tbl2.pdf | title = Table 2. Population Estimates for the 100 Most Populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas Based on July 1, 2006, Population Estimates | work = 2006 Population Estimates | publisher = U.S. Census Bureau| date =2007-04-05| accessdate = 2007-06-17|format=PDF}}] Of the fifty fastest-growing metro areas, twenty-three are in the West and twenty-five in the South. Among the country's twenty most populous metro areas, those of [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] (the fourth largest), Houston (sixth), and [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] (ninth) saw the largest numerical gains between 2000 and 2006, while that of [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] (thirteenth) grew the largest in percentage terms.
{| class="wikitable" table style="border:1px #000000;" cellspacing="0" align="right" style="margin-left: 1em"
! style="background:#FF9999;" colspan="2"|Languages (2003)[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/06statab/pop.pdf|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|work=Statistical Abstract of the United States 2006| title=Table 47—Languages Spoken at Home by Language: 2003|accessdate = 2007-06-17|format=PDF}}]
|-
|[[English language|English]] (''only'')||214.8 million
|-
|[[Spanish language|Spanish]], incl. [[Spanish-based creole languages|Creole]]||29.7 million
|-
|[[Chinese language|Chinese]]||2.2 million
|-
|[[French language|French]], incl. [[French-based creole languages|Creole]]||1.9 million
|-
|[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]||1.3 million
|-
|[[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]||1.1 million
|-
|[[German language|German]]||1.1 million
|-
|}
[[American English|English]] is the de facto [[national language]]. Although there is no [[official language]] at the federal level, some laws—such as [[United_States_nationality_law#Naturalization|U.S. naturalization requirements]]—standardize English. In 2003, about 215 million, or 82% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. [[Spanish language|Spanish]], spoken by over 10% of the population at home, is the second most common language and the most widely taught [[foreign language]].[{{cite web| url = http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf| title = Foreign Language Enrollments in United States Institutions of Higher Learning|date=fall 2002| publisher = MLA| accessdate = 2006-10-16|format=PDF}}] Some Americans advocate making English the country's official language, as it is in at least twenty-eight states.[{{cite web|author=Feder, Jody| url = http://www.ilw.com/immigdaily/news/2007,0515-crs.pdf | title = English as the Official Language of the United States—Legal Background and Analysis of Legislation in the 110th Congress|date=[[2007-01-25]]| publisher = ILW.COM (Congressional Research Service)| accessdate = 2007-06-19|format=PDF}}] Both [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and English are official languages in Hawaii by state law.[{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|title=The Constitution of the State of Hawaii, Article XV, Section 4| publisher=Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau|date=1978-11-07|accessdate=2007-06-19}}] While neither has an official language, [[New Mexico]] has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as [[Louisiana]] does for English and [[French language|French]].[{{cite book| author =Dicker, Susan J. | title = Languages in America: A Pluralist View |date=2003|pages=pp. 216, 220–25 | location =Clevedon, UK| publisher = Multilingual Matters|id=ISBN 1853596515}}] Other states, such as [[California]], mandate the publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents including court forms.[{{cite web|url=http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=90544325063+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve|title=California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 412.20(6)| publisher=Legislative Counsel, State of California|accessdate=2007-12-17}} {{cite web|url=http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/allforms.htm|title=California Judicial Council Forms| publisher=Judicial Council, State of California|accessdate=2007-12-17}}] Several insular territories grant official recognition to their native languages, along with English: [[Samoan language|Samoan]] and [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]] are recognized by Samoa and Guam, respectively; [[Carolinian language|Carolinian]] and Chamorro are recognized by the Northern Mariana Islands; Spanish is an official language of Puerto Rico.
===Religion===
{{main|Religion in the United States|History of religion in the United States|Freedom of religion in the United States|Separation of church and state in the United States|List of religious movements that began in the United States}}
[[Image:Pisgah.jpg|thumb|left|A [[church]] in the largely Protestant [[Bible Belt]]]]
The United States government does not audit Americans' religious beliefs.[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/religion.htm|title=Religion| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2007-06-17}}] In a private survey conducted in 2001, 76.5% of American adults identified themselves as [[Christianity in the United States|Christian]], down from 86.4% in 1990. [[Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations accounted for 52% of adult Americans, while [[Roman Catholicism in the United States|Roman Catholics]], at 24.5%, were the largest individual denomination.[{{cite web|url=http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm|title=American Religious Identification Survey| publisher=CUNY Graduate Center|date=2001|accessdate=2007-06-17}} {{Citation|url=http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf|title=American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS)|last=Kosmin|first=Barry A.|first2=Egon|last2=Mayer|last3=Keysar|first3=Ariela|publisher=City University of New York Graduate Center|year=2001|accessdate=[[2008-01-05]]}}]
The study is referenced in the U.S. Census Bureau's ''Statistical Abstract of the United States'' [http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s0074.xls Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population: 1990 and 2001]. A different study describes white [[evangelicalism|evangelicals]], 26.3% of the population, as the country's largest religious cohort;[{{cite web|url=http://www.uakron.edu/bliss/docs/Religious_Landscape_2004.pdf|author=Green, John C.|title=The American Religious Landscape and Political Attitudes: A Baseline for 2004| publisher=University of Akron|Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics|accessdate=2007-06-18|format=PDF}}] evangelicals of all races are estimated at 30–35%.[{{cite web|url=http://www.wheaton.edu/isae/defining_evangelicalism.html#How%20Many|author= Eskridge, Larry |title=How Many Evangelicals Are There?| publisher=Wheaton College, Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals|work=Defining Evangelicalism|date=2006|accessdate=2007-06-19}}] The total reporting non-Christian religions in 2001 was 3.7%, up from 3.3% in 1990. The leading non-Christian faiths were [[American Jews|Judaism]] (1.4%), [[Islam in the United States|Islam]] (0.5%), [[Buddhism in the United States|Buddhism]] (0.5%), [[Hinduism in the United States|Hinduism]] (0.4%), and [[Unitarian Universalism]] (0.3%). Between 1990 and 2001, the number of Muslims and Buddhists more than doubled. From 8.2% in 1990, 14.1% in 2001 described themselves as [[agnosticism|agnostic]], [[atheism|atheist]], or simply having [[irreligion|no religion]],[{{cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_46.html|title=Studies on Agnostics and Atheists in Selected Countries| publisher=Adherents.com|accessdate=2007-06-14}}]
===Education===
{{main|Education in the United States|Educational attainment in the United States|Higher education in the United States}}
[[Image:RotundaII.jpg|thumb|right|The [[University of Virginia]], designed by [[Thomas Jefferson]], is one of 19 American [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s]]
American [[public education]] is operated by state and local governments, regulated by the [[United States Department of Education]] through restrictions on federal grants. Children are required in most states to attend school from the age of six or seven (generally, [[kindergarten]] or [[first grade]]) until they turn eighteen (generally bringing them through [[Twelfth grade|12th grade]], the end of [[high school]]); some states allow students to leave school at sixteen or seventeen.[{{cite web |url=http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/dt150.asp |title=Ages for Compulsory School Attendance... |accessdate = 2007-06-10 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics}}] About 12% of children are enrolled in [[parochial school|parochial]] or [[nonsectarian]] [[private school]]s. Just over 2% of children are [[homeschooling|homeschooled]].[{{cite web |url=http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/statistics.html |title=Statistics About Non-Public Education in the United States |accessdate = 2007-06-05 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Non-Public Education}}] The United States has many competitive private and public [[List of American institutions of higher education|institutions of higher education]], as well as local [[community college]]s of varying quality with open admission policies. Of Americans twenty-five 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.[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p20-550.pdf|title=Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate = 2006-08-01|format=PDF}}] The basic [[literacy#United States|literacy rate]] is approximately 99%.[For more detail on U.S. literacy, see [http://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).] The United Nations assigns the United States an Education Index of 0.97, tying it for twelfth-best in the world.[{{cite web|title=Human Development Indicators|date=2005|publisher=United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Reports|accessdate = 2008-01-14|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070620235428/http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/pdf/HDR05_HDI.pdf}}]
===Health===
{{main|Health care in the United States}}
The American [[life expectancy]] of 77.8 years at birth[{{cite web|url=http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus06.pdf#027|title=Health, United States, 2006|date=November 2006|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics|accessdate = 2007-08-15}}] is a year shorter than the overall figure in Western Europe, and three to four years lower than that of [[Norway]], [[Switzerland]], and [[Canada]].[{{cite web |author=Eberstadt, Nicholas, and Hans Groth|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/19/opinion/edeber.php |title=Healthy Old Europe|date=[[2007-04-19]]|work=International Herald Tribune|accessdate = 2007-06-19 }}] Over the past two decades, the country's rank in life expectancy has dropped from 11th to 42nd place in the world.[{{cite web|author=MacAskill, Ewen|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/aug/13/usa.ewenmacaskill |title=US Tumbles Down the World Ratings List for Life Expectancy|date=[[2007-08-13]] |work= Guardian|accessdate = 2007-08-15}}] The [[infant mortality|infant mortality rate]] of 6.37 per thousand likewise places the United States 42nd out of 221 countries, behind all of Western Europe.[{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html |title=Rank Order—Infant Mortality Rate|date=[[2007-06-14]]|publisher =CIA|work=The World Factbook|accessdate = 2007-06-19}}] U.S. cancer survival rates are the highest in the world.[
{{cite news| first = Nicole| last = Martin| title = UK Cancer Survival Rate Lowest in Europe| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1560849/UK-cancer-survival-rate-lowest-in-Europe.html | work = The Daily Telegraph| date = 2007-08-24}} {{cite journal| last = Gatta| first = Gemma | year = 2006| month = February| title = Survival from Rare Cancer in Adults: A Population-Based Study| journal = The Lancet Oncology| volume = 7| issue = 2| pages = 132–140| doi = 10.1016/S1470-2045(05)70471-X}}] Approximately one-third of the adult population is [[obesity|obese]] and an additional third is overweight;[{{cite web |url=http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overwght_adult_03.htm |title=Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2003–2004 |accessdate = 2007-06-05 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics}}] the obesity rate, the highest in the industrialized world, has more than doubled in the last quarter-century.[{{cite book | author= Schlosser, Eric | year = 2002 | title = Fast Food Nation | publisher = Perennial | location = New York |pages = p. 240| id = ISBN 0060938455 }}] Obesity-related [[diabetes mellitus type 2|type 2 diabetes]] is considered [[epidemic]] by healthcare professionals.[{{cite web |url=http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/25/12/2451#R3-101329 |title=Fast Food, Central Nervous System Insulin Resistance, and Obesity|date=2005 |accessdate = 2007-06-17|work= Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology|publisher=American Heart Association}}] The U.S. adolescent pregnancy rate, 79.8 per 1,000 women, is nearly four times that of France and five times that of Germany.[{{cite web |url=http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/PUBLICATIONS/factsheet/fsest.htm |title=Adolescent Sexual Health in Europe and the U.S.—Why the Difference?|date=October 2001 |accessdate = 2007-06-17 |publisher=Advocates for Youth}}] [[Abortion in the United States]], legal on demand, is a source of great political controversy. Many states ban public funding of the procedure and have laws to restrict late-term abortions, require parental notification for minors, and mandate a waiting period prior to treatment. While the incidence of abortion is in decline, the U.S. abortion ratio of 241 per 1,000 live births and abortion rate of 15 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 remain higher than those of most Western nations.[{{cite web |url=http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5511a1.htm|author=Strauss, Lilo T., et al.|title=Abortion Surveillance—United States, 2003|accessdate = 2007-06-17 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health|work=MMWR|date=2006-11-24}}]
[[Image:FlightHoustontoDallas086.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Texas Medical Center]] in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], the world's largest medical center[{{cite web |url=http://m.reporternews.com/news/2007/Nov/21/worlds-largest-medical-center-expanding/|title=World's Largest Medical Center Expanding|author=Lozano, Juan A.|date=2007-11-21|accessdate = 2008-07-14 |publisher=ReporterNews}}]]]
The United States healthcare system far outspends any other nation's, measured in both per capita spending and percentage of GDP.[''OECD Health Data 2000: A Comparative Analysis of 29 Countries'' (Paris: OECD, 2000). See also {{cite web |url=http://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf|title=The U.S. Healthcare System: The Best in the World or Just the Most Expensive?|date=2001|accessdate = 2006-11-29 |publisher=University of Maine|format=PDF}}] Unlike most developed countries, the U.S. healthcare system is not [[Universal health care|universal]], and relies on a higher proportion of private funding. In 2004, private insurance paid for 36% of personal health expenditure, private out-of-pocket payments covered 15%, and federal, state, and local governments paid for 44%.[{{cite web |url=http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus06.pdf|title=Health, United States, 2006|accessdate = 2006-11-24 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics|format=PDF}}]
The [[World Health Organization]] ranked the U.S. healthcare system in 2000 as first in responsiveness, but 37th in overall performance. The United States is a leader in medical innovation. In 2004, the U.S. nonindustrial sector spent three times as much as Europe per capita on biomedical research.[{{cite journal | last = Trish| first = Groves| year = 2008| month = Feb| title = Stronger European medical research| journal = British Medical Journal| volume = 336 | pages = 341–342| doi = 10.1136/bmj.39489.505208.80}}] Medical bills are the most common reason for personal [[bankruptcy]] in the United States.[{{cite web |url=http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.w5.63/DC1|author=Himmelstein, David U., et al.|title=Illness and Injury as Contributors to Bankruptcy|accessdate = 2006-10-05|work=Health Affairs|date=2005}}] In 2005, 46.6 million Americans, or 15.9% of the population, were uninsured, 5.4 million more than in 2001. The primary cause of the decline in coverage is the drop in the number of Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance, which fell from 62.6% in 2001 to 59.5% in 2005.[{{cite web|url=http://www.cbpp.org/8-29-06pov.htm|title=Poverty Remains Higher, and Median Income for Non-Elderly Is Lower, Than When Recession Hit Bottom: Poor Performance Unprecedented for Four-Year Recovery Period|publisher=Center for Budget and Policy Priorities|date =2006-09-01|accessdate = 2007-06-24}}] Approximately one third of the uninsured lived in households with annual incomes greater than $50,000, with half of those having an income over $75,000.[{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p60-231.pdf|title=Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|date=August 2006|accessdate=2007-06-17|format=PDF}}] Another third were eligible but not registered for public health insurance.[{{cite web|author=Gardiner, Jill |url=http://www2.nysun.com/article/46304?page_no=1 |title=Momentum Grows on Health Care|work=New York Sun|date=2007-01-09|accessdate = 2007-06-19 }}] In 2006, Massachusetts became the first state to mandate health insurance;[{{cite web|author=Fahrenthold, David A.|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/04/AR2006040401937.html|title= Mass. Bill Requires Health Coverage|date= [[2006-04-05]]|work=Washington Post|accessdate=2007-06-19}}] California is considering similar legislation.[{{cite web|author=Gledhill, Lynda|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/29/MNGBSKR3RA1.DTL|title= Assembly Approves Universal Health Care|date=2006-08-29|work=San Francisco Chronicle|accessdate=2007-06-19}}]
===Crime and punishment===
{{main|Policing in the United States|Law of the United States|Crime in the United States|Prisons in the United States|Capital punishment in the United States}}
[[Image:Homicide rate by country.svg|thumb|300px|[[List of countries by homicide rate|Homicide rates]] in selected countries, 2004]]
Law enforcement in the United States is primarily the responsibility of local police and [[sheriff]]'s departments, with [[state police]] providing broader services. Federal agencies such as the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) and the [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Service]] have specialized duties. At the federal level and in almost every state, jurisprudence operates on a [[common law]] system. State courts conduct most criminal trials; [[United States federal courts|federal courts]] handle certain designated crimes as well as [[appeal]]s from state systems.
Among [[developed country|developed nations]], the United States has above-average levels of violent crime and particularly high levels of [[Gun violence in the United States|gun violence]] and homicide.[{{cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/eighthsurvey/8sv.pdf|title=Eighth United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (2001–2002) |publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |date = 2005-03-31|accessdate=2008-05-18|format=PDF}} {{cite journal |author=Krug, E.G, K.E. Powell, and L.L. Dahlberg |year=1998 |title=Firearm-Related Deaths in the United States and 35 Other High- and Upper-Middle Income Countries |journal=International Journal of Epidemiology |volume=7 |pages=pp. 214–21 |url=http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/2/214 |doi=10.1093/ije/27.2.214}}] In 2006, there were 5.7 murders per 100,000 persons,[{{cite web|url=http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_01.html|title=Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1987–2006|work=Crime in the United States 2006|publisher=FBI|date=September 2007|accessdate=2008-03-03}}] three times the rate in neighboring Canada.[{{cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/legal02.htm?sdi=crimes|title=Crimes by Type of Offence|publisher=Statistics Canada|date=2007-08-08|accessdate=2008-03-03}}] The U.S. homicide rate, which decreased by 42% between 1991 and 1999, has been roughly steady since.[{{cite web|author=Miller, Matthew, Deborah Azrael, and David Hemenway|url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1447364|title=Rates of Household Firearm Ownership and Homicide Across US Regions and States, 1988–1997|work=American Journal of Public Health|date=December 2002|accessdate=2007-06-19}} {{cite web|author=Hepburn, Lisa M., and David Hemenway|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VH7-49JPPFR-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=2ecaca289eab085e424e90eac3616e7b|title=Firearm Availability and Homicide: A Review of the Literature|publisher=ScienceDirect|work=Aggression and Violent Behavior|date=July 2004|accessdate=2007-06-19}}]
The United States has the highest documented [[incarceration]] rate[{{cite web |url=http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/inc_newfigures.pdf |title=New Incarceration Figures: Thirty-Three Consecutive Years of Growth |date=December 2006 |accessdate = 2007-06-10 |publisher=Sentencing Project|format=PDF}}] and total prison population[{{cite web| author=Walmsley, Roy |url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/world-prison-population-list-2005.pdf |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070628215935/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/world-prison-population-list-2005.pdf |archivedate=2007-06-28|title=World Prison Population List |date=2005|accessdate = 2007-10-19|publisher=King's College London, International Centre for Prison Studies|format=PDF}} For the latest detailed country data, see {{cite web|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/north_america_records.php?code=190|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070804061423/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/north_america_records.php?code=190|archivedate=2007-08-04|title=Prison Brief for United States of America|date=[[2006-06-21]]|accessdate = 2007-10-19|publisher=King's College London, International Centre for Prison Studies}} There are reports that China's actual prison population and incarceration rate and North Korea's incarceration rate may exceed those of the United States. See {{cite web|author=Adams, Cecil|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040206.html |title=Does the United States Lead the World in Prison Population? |date=2004-02-06|accessdate = 2007-10-11 |publisher=The Straight Dope}}] in the world and by far the highest figures among democratic, developed nations. At the start of 2008, more than 2.3 million people were held in American prisons or jails, more than one in every 100 adults.[{{cite web |url=http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=35912 |title=Pew Report Finds More than One in 100 Adults are Behind Bars|date=2008-02-28|accessdate = 2008-03-02|publisher=Pew Center on the States}}] The current rate is almost seven times the 1980 figure.[{{cite web |url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/incrttab.htm |title=Incarceration Rate, 1980–2005 |date=2006|accessdate = 2007-06-10 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics}}] African American males are jailed at over six times the rate of white males and three times the rate of Hispanic males.[{{cite web|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/highest_to_lowest_rates.php|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070824173340/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/highest_to_lowest_rates.php|archivedate=2007-08-24|title=Entire World—Prison Population Rates per 100,000 of the National Population|date=2007|accessdate = 2007-10-19|publisher=King's College London, International Centre for Prison Studies}}] The country's extraordinary rate of incarceration is largely caused by changes in [[Federal Sentencing Guidelines|sentencing]] and [[Drug policy of the United States|drug]] policies.[{{cite web |url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-05.htm |title=The Impact of the War on Drugs on U.S. Incarceration |date=May 2000 |accessdate = 2007-06-10 |publisher=Human Rights Watch}}] Though it has been abolished in most Western nations, [[capital punishment]] is sanctioned in the United States for certain federal and military crimes, and in thirty-seven states. Since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court [[Gregg v. Georgia|reinstated the death penalty]] after a four-year moratorium, there have been over 1,000 executions in the United States.[{{cite web |url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1666 |title=Executions in the United States in 2007|accessdate = 2007-06-15 |publisher=Death Penalty Information Center}}] In 2006, the country had the sixth highest number of executions in the world, following China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, and Sudan.[{{cite web |url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=127&scid=30#interexec |title=Executions Around the World|accessdate = 2007-06-15|date=2007 |publisher=Death Penalty Information Center}}] In December 2007, New Jersey became the first state to abolish the death penalty since the 1976 Supreme Court decision.
==Culture==
{{main|Culture of the United States|Social class in the United States}}
The United States is a [[multicultural]] nation, home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values.[Thompson, William, and Joseph Hickey (2005). ''Society in Focus''. Boston: Pearson. ISBN 020541365X.] There is no "American" ethnicity; aside from the now relatively small [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] population, nearly all Americans or their ancestors immigrated within the past five centuries.[Fiorina, Morris P., and Paul E. Peterson (2000). ''The New American Democracy''. London: Longman, p. 97. ISBN 0321070585.] The culture held in common by the majority of Americans is referred to as mainstream American culture, a [[Western culture]] largely derived from the traditions of [[Western Europe]]an migrants, beginning with the early [[culture of England|English]] and [[Dutch American|Dutch]] settlers. [[German_American#German_American_influence|German]], [[Irish American|Irish]], and [[Scottish American|Scottish]] cultures have also been very influential.[ Holloway, Joseph E. (2005). ''Africanisms in American Culture'', 2d ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp. 18–38. ISBN 0253344794. Johnson, Fern L. (1999). ''Speaking Culturally: Language Diversity in the United States''. Thousand Oaks, Calif., London, and New Delhi: Sage, p. 116. ISBN 0803959125.] Westward expansion integrated the [[Louisiana Creole people|Creoles]] and [[Cajun]]s of Louisiana and the [[Hispanos]] of the Southwest and brought close contact with the [[culture of Mexico]]. Large-scale immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from [[Southern Europe|Southern]] and [[Eastern Europe]] introduced many new cultural elements. More recent immigration from [[Asian American|Asia]] and especially [[Latin American culture|Latin America]] has had broad impact. The resulting mix of cultures may be characterized as a homogeneous [[melting pot]] or as a pluralistic [[Salad bowl (cultural idea)|salad bowl]] in which immigrants and their descendants retain distinctive cultural characteristics.[{{cite book |last=Gutfield |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 |id=ISBN 1903900085}}] economists and sociologists have identified cultural differences between the country's social classes, affecting [[socialization]], language, and values.[{{cite book |last=Vanneman |first=Reeve |coauthors=Lynn Weber Cannon |year=1988 |title=The American Perception of Class |publisher=Temple University Press |location=Philadelphia, PA |id=ISBN 0877225931}} {{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 |id=ISBN 0801488990}} {{cite web |url=http://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 |accessdate=2007-01-27}}] The American [[American middle class|middle]] and [[American middle class#The professional/managerial middle class|professional class]] has been the source of many contemporary social trends such as [[feminism]], [[environmentalism]], and [[multiculturalism]].[{{cite book |last=Ehrenreich |first=Barbara |year=1989 |title=Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |id=ISBN 0060973331}}] Americans' self-images, social viewpoints, and cultural expectations are associated with their occupations to an unusually close degree.[{{cite book |last=Eichar |first=Douglas |year=1989 |title=Occupation and Class Consciousness in America |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, CT |id=ISBN 0313261113}}] While Americans tend greatly to value socioeconomic achievement, being [[Average Joe|ordinary or average]] is generally seen as a positive attribute.[{{cite book |last=O'Keefe |first=Kevin |year=2005 |title=The Average American |publisher=PublicAffairs |location=New York |id=ISBN 158648270X}}] Though the [[American Dream]], or the perception that Americans enjoy high [[social mobility]], played a key role in attracting immigrants, particularly in the late 1800s,[Boritt, Gabor S. (1994). ''Lincoln and the Economics of the American Dream''. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, p. 1. ISBN 0252064453.] some analysts find that the United States has less social mobility than Western Europe and Canada.[{{cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/world/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3518560|title=Ever Higher Society, Ever Harder to Ascend: Whatever Happened to the Belief That Any American Could Get to the Top| work = Economist|date=2004-12-29 |accessdate=2006-08-21}} {{cite web|url=http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/IntergenerationalMobility.pdf|title=Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America|author=Blanden, Jo, Paul Gregg, and Stephen Malchin| publisher = Centre for Economic Performance|date=April 2005 |accessdate=2006-08-21|format=PDF}}]
Women, many of whom were formerly more limited to domestic roles, now mostly work outside the home and receive a majority of [[Educational attainment in the United States|bachelor's degrees]].[{{cite web |url=http://www.iserp.columbia.edu/news/articles/female_college.html |title=Women's Advances in Education |publisher=Columbia University, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy |date=2006 |accessdate=2007-06-06}}] The changing role of women has also changed [[Society of the United States#Household arrangements|the American family]]. In 2005, no household arrangement defined more than 30% of households; married childless couples were most common, at 28%.[Williams, Brian, Stacey C. Sawyer, and Carl M. Wahlstrom (2005). ''Marriages, Families and Intimate Relationships''. Boston: Pearson. ISBN 0205366740.] The extension of marital rights to homosexual persons is an issue of debate; several more liberal states permit [[Civil union in the United States|civil union]]s in lieu of marriage. In 2003, the [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] [[Goodridge v. Department of Public Health|ruled]] that state's [[Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts|ban on same-sex marriage]] unconstitutional;[{{cite web |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/11/18/sjc_gay_marriage_legal_in_mass/ |author=Burge, Kathleen |title=SJC: Gay Marriage Legal in Mass. |work=Boston Globe |date=2003-11-18|accessdate=2007-07-14}}] the [[Supreme Court of California]] [[In re Marriage Cases|ruled]] [[Same-sex marriage in California|similarly]] in 2008.[{{Citation | last =Liptak | first =Adam | publication-date =[[May 16]], [[2008]] | title =California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban | periodical =[[The New York Times]] | publication-place =[[New York, New York|New York]], [[New York]] | publisher =[[The New York Times Company]] | url =http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/us/16marriage.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=%22california+supreme+court%22+%22gay+marriage%22 | accessdate =2008-07-04}}] Forty-three states still legally restrict marriage to the traditional man-and-woman model.[{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/Marriage50/ |title=Marriage in the Fifty States |publisher=Heritage Foundation |accessdate=2008-02-22}} The source does not reflect the recent court ruling in California and thus indicates forty-four states.]
===Popular media===
{{main|Cinema of the United States|Television in the United States|Music of the United States}}
[[Image:PB050006.JPG|thumb|The famous [[Hollywood sign]]]]
In 1878, [[Eadweard Muybridge]] demonstrated the power of photography to capture motion. In 1894, the world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York City, using [[Thomas Edison]]'s [[Kinetoscope]]. The next year saw the first commercial screening of a projected film, also in New York, and the United States was in the forefront of [[sound film]]'s development in the following decades. Since the early twentieth century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around [[Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|Hollywood, California]]. Director [[D. W. Griffith]] was central to the development of [[film grammar]] and [[Orson Welles]]'s ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' (1941) is frequently cited in critics' polls as the greatest film of all time.[[http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html ''Village Voice'': 100 Best Films of the 20th century (2001)]. Filmsite.org; [http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-long.html ''Sight and Sound'' Top Ten Poll 2002]. BFI. Retrieved on [[June 19]], [[2007]].] American screen actors like [[John Wayne]] and [[Marilyn Monroe]] have become iconic figures, while producer/entrepreneur [[Walt Disney]] was a leader in both [[Animation|animated film]] and movie [[merchandising]]. The [[major film studio]]s of Hollywood are the primary source of the most commercially successful movies in the world, such as ''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope|Star Wars]]'' (1977) and ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' (1997), and the products of Hollywood today dominate the global film industry.[{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2000/00-120e.shtml |title=World Culture Report 2000 Calls for Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage |date=2000-11-17 |publisher=UNESCO |accessdate=2007-09-14}} {{cite web |url=http://www1.worldbank.org/economicpolicy/globalization/thwart.html |title=Summary: Does Globalization Thwart Cultural Diversity? |publisher=World Bank Group |accessdate=2007-09-14}}]
Americans are the heaviest television viewers in the world,[{{cite web |url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_tel_vie-media-television-viewing |title=Media Statistics > Television Viewing by Country |publisher=NationMaster |accessdate=2007-06-03}}] and the average time spent in front of the screen continues to rise, hitting five hours a day in 2006.[{{cite web |url=http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005003&src=article_head_sitesearch |title=Broadband and Media Consumption |date=2007-06-07|publisher=eMarketer |accessdate=2007-06-10}}] The four major broadcast networks are all commercial entities. Americans listen to radio programming, also largely commercialized, on average just over two-and-a-half hours a day.[{{cite web |url=http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1004830 |title=TV Fans Spill into Web Sites |date=2007-06-07|publisher=eMarketer |accessdate = 2007-06-10}}] Aside from [[web portal]]s and [[web search engine]]s, the most popular websites are [[eBay]], [[MySpace]], [[Amazon.com]], [[The New York Times]], and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]].[{{cite web |url=http://adage.com/images/random/digitalfactpack2007.pdf |title=Digital Fact Pack 2007 (pp. 18–20) |date=2007-04-23|work=Advertising Age |accessdate=2007-06-10|format=PDF}}] Twelve million Americans keep a blog.[{{cite web |url=http://adage.com/images/random/digitalfactpack2007.pdf |title=Digital Fact Pack 2007 (pp. 21) |date=2007-04-23|work=Advertising Age |accessdate=2007-06-10|format=PDF}}]
The rhythmic and lyrical styles of [[African American music]] have deeply influenced [[Music of the United States|American music]] at large, distinguishing it from European traditions. Elements from [[Folk music|folk]] idioms such as the [[blues]] and what is now 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 twentieth century. [[Country music]], [[rhythm and blues]], and [[rock and roll]] emerged between the 1920s and 1950s. In the 1960s, [[Bob Dylan]] emerged from the [[American folk music revival|folk revival]] to become one of America's greatest songwriters and [[James Brown]] led the development of [[funk]]. More recent American creations include [[hip hop music|hip hop]] and [[house music]]. American pop stars such as [[Elvis Presley]], [[Michael Jackson]], and [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] have become global celebrities.
===Literature, philosophy, and the arts===
{{main|American literature|Visual arts of the United States|Theater in the United States|American classical music}}
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, American art and literature took most of its cues from Europe. Writers such as [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[Edgar Allan Poe]], and [[Henry David Thoreau]] established a distinctive American literary voice by the middle of the nineteenth 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 another essential American poet. Eleven U.S. citizens have won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], most recently [[Toni Morrison]] in 1993. [[Ernest Hemingway]], the 1954 Nobel laureate, is often named as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century.[Meyers, Jeffrey (1999). ''Hemingway: A Biography''. New York: Da Capo, p. 139. ISBN 0306808900.] A work seen as capturing fundamental aspects of the national experience and character—such as [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' (1851), Twain's ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' (1885), and [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]'s ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' (1925)—may be dubbed the "[[Great American Novel]]." Popular literary genres such as the [[Western fiction|Western]] and [[Hardboiled|hardboiled crime fiction]] developed in the United States. [[postmodern literature|Postmodernism]] is the most recent major literary movement in the world, and though on the [[literary criticism|theory]] side postmodernism began with French writers like [[Jacques Derrida]] and [[Alain Robbe-Grillet]], and was transitioned into largely by Irish writer [[Samuel Beckett]], it has since been dominated by American writers such as [[Thomas Pynchon]], [[Don DeLillo]], [[William S. Burroughs]], [[Jack Kerouac]], [[John Barth]], [[E.L. Doctorow]], [[Kurt Vonnegut]] and many others.
The [[transcendentalism|transcendentalists]], led by [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] and Thoreau, established the first major American [[philosophical movement]]. After the Civil War, [[Charles Peirce]] and then [[William James]] and [[John Dewey]] were leaders in the development of [[pragmatism]]. In the twentieth century, the work of [[Willard Van Orman Quine|W. V. Quine]] and [[Richard Rorty]] helped bring [[analytic philosophy]] to the fore in U.S. academic circles.
In the visual arts, the [[Hudson River School]] was an important mid-nineteenth-century movement in the tradition of European [[Naturalism (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.[Brown, Milton W. (1988 1963). ''The Story of the Armory Show''. New York: Abbeville. ISBN 0896597954.] [[Georgia O'Keeffe]], [[Marsden Hartley]], and others experimented with new styles, displaying a highly individualistic sensibility. 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]] have developed largely in the United States. The tide of modernism and then [[postmodernism]] has also brought American architects such as [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], [[Philip Johnson]], and [[Frank Gehry]] to the top of their field.
[[Image:45th St theatres NYC.JPG|thumb|right|New York City's [[Broadway theatre|Broadway theater district]] is host to many popular shows]]
One of the first notable promoters of the nascent American theater was impresario [[P. T. Barnum]], who began operating a lower [[Manhattan]] entertainment complex in 1841. The team of [[Edward Harrigan|Harrigan and Hart]] produced a series of popular [[musical theatre|musical]] comedies in New York starting in the late 1870s. In the twentieth century, the modern musical form emerged on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]; the songs of musical theater composers such as [[Irving Berlin]], [[Cole Porter]], and [[Stephen Sondheim]] have become [[Traditional pop music|pop standards]]. Playwright [[Eugene O'Neill]] won the Nobel literature prize in 1936; other acclaimed U.S. dramatists include multiple [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama|Pulitzer Prize]] winners [[Tennessee Williams]], [[Edward Albee]], and [[August Wilson]].
Though largely overlooked at the time, [[Charles Ives]]'s work of the 1910s established him as the first major U.S. composer in the classical tradition; other experimentalists such as [[Henry Cowell]] and [[John Cage]] created an identifiably American approach to classical composition. [[Aaron Copland]] and [[George Gershwin]] developed a unique American synthesis of popular and classical music. [[Choreography|Choreographers]] [[Isadora Duncan]] and [[Martha Graham]] were central figures in the creation of [[modern dance]]; [[George Balanchine]] and [[Jerome Robbins]] were leaders in twentieth-century ballet. The United States has long been at the fore in the relatively modern artistic medium of [[photography]], with major practitioners such as [[Alfred Stieglitz]], [[Edward Steichen]], [[Ansel Adams]], and many others. The newspaper [[comic strip]] and the [[American comic book|comic book]] are both U.S. innovations. [[Superman]], the quintessential comic book [[superhero]], has become an American icon.
===Food===
{{main|Cuisine of the United States}}
[[Image:Motherhood and apple pie.jpg|thumb|American cultural icons: [[apple pie]], [[baseball]], and the [[Flag of the United States|American flag]]]]
Mainstream American culinary arts are similar to those in other Western countries. [[Wheat]] is the primary [[cereal]] grain. Traditional American cuisine uses ingredients such as [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]], [[white-tailed deer]] [[venison]], [[potato]]es, [[sweet potato]]es, [[maize|corn]], [[squash (plant)|squash]], and [[maple syrup]], indigenous foods employed by Native Americans and early European settlers. Slow-cooked pork and beef [[barbecue]], [[crab cake]]s, [[potato chip]]s, and [[chocolate chip cookie]]s are distinctively American styles. [[Soul food]], developed by African slaves, is popular around the South and among many African Americans elsewhere. [[Syncretism|Syncretic]] cuisines such as [[Louisiana Creole cuisine|Louisiana creole]], [[Cajun cuisine|Cajun]], and [[Tex-Mex cuisine|Tex-Mex]] are regionally important. Characteristic dishes such as [[apple pie]], [[fried chicken]], [[pizza]], [[hamburger]]s, and [[hot dog]]s derive from the recipes of various immigrants. [[French fried potatoes|French fries]], Mexican dishes such as [[burrito]]s and [[taco]]s, and [[pasta]] dishes freely adapted from Italian sources are widely consumed.[{{cite web |url=http://www.ift.org/cms/?pid=1000496 |author=Klapthor, James N. |title=What, When, and Where Americans Eat in 2003 |publisher=Institute of Food Technologists |date=2003-08-23|accessdate=2007-06-19}}] Americans generally prefer coffee to tea. Marketing by U.S. industries is largely responsible for making [[orange juice]] and [[milk]] ubiquitous breakfast beverages.[Smith, Andrew F. (2004). ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America''. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 131–32. ISBN 0195154371. Levenstein, Harvey (2003). ''Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet''. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, pp. 154–55. ISBN 0520234391.] During the 1980s and 1990s, Americans' caloric intake rose 24%;[{{cite web |title=Fast Food, Central Nervous System Insulin Resistance, and Obesity |publisher=American Heart Association |date=2005 |work=Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology |url=http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/25/12/2451#R3-101329 |accessdate=2007-06-09}} {{cite web |title=Let's Eat Out: Americans Weigh Taste, Convenience, and Nutrition |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Agriculture |url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib19/eib19_reportsummary.pdf |accessdate=2007-06-09|format=PDF}}]
===Sports===
{{main|Sports in the United States}}
[[Image:2006 Pro Bowl tackle.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Pro Bowl]] (2006), [[American football|American football's]] annual [[all-star game]]]]
Since the late nineteenth century, [[baseball]] has been regarded as the [[national sport]]; [[American football|football]], [[basketball]], and [[ice hockey]] are the country's three other leading professional team sports. [[College football]] and [[College basketball|basketball]] also attract large audiences. Football is now by several measures the most popular [[spectator sport]] in the United States.[{{cite web |author=Krane, David K. |title=Professional Football Widens Its Lead Over Baseball as Nation's Favorite Sport |url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=337 |publisher=Harris Interactive |date=2002-10-30|accessdate=2007-09-14}} Maccambridge, Michael (2004). ''America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation''. New York: Random House. ISBN 0375504540.] [[Boxing]] and [[horse racing]] were once the most watched individual sports, but they have been eclipsed by [[golf]] and [[auto racing]], particularly [[NASCAR]]. [[Association football|Soccer]], though not a leading professional sport in the country, is played widely at the youth and amateur levels. [[Tennis]] and many outdoor sports are also popular.
While most major U.S. sports have evolved out of European practices, basketball, [[volleyball]], [[skateboarding]], and [[snowboarding]] are American inventions. [[Lacrosse]] and [[surfing]] arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate Western contact. Eight [[Olympic Games]] have [[United States at the Olympics|taken place in the United States]]. The United States has won 2,191 medals at the [[Summer Olympic Games]], more than any other country,[{{cite web|title=All-Time Medal Standings, 1896–2004 | publisher = Information Please|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0115108.html | accessdate=2007-06-14}}] and 216 in the [[Winter Olympic Games]], the second most.[{{cite web |title=All-Time Medal Standings, 1924–2006 |publisher=Information Please |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0115207.html |accessdate=2007-06-14}} Norway is first; the Soviet Union is third, and would be second if its medal count was combined with Russia's.]
==See also==
*[[List of basic United States topics]]
*[[List of United States-related topics]]
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links==
{{sisterlinks|United States}}
; Government
*[http://www.usa.gov/ Official U.S. Government Web Portal] Gateway to governmental sites
*[http://www.house.gov/ House] Official site of the United States House of Representatives
*[http://www.loc.gov/index.html Library of Congress] Official site of the [[Library of Congress]]
*[http://www.senate.gov/ Senate] Official site of the United States Senate
*[http://www.supremecourtus.gov/ Supreme Court] Official site of the Supreme Court of the United States
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/ White House] Official site of the President of the United States
; Overviews and Data
*[http://usinfo.state.gov/infousa/index.html InfoUSA] Portal to U.S. Information Agency resources
*[http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/ State Energy Profiles] Economic, environmental, and energy data for each state
*[http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/ State Fact Sheets] Population, employment, income, and farm data from the U.S. Economic Research Service
*[http://www.teacheroz.com/states.htm The 50 States of the U.S.A.] Collected informational links for each state
*[http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ U.S. Census Housing and Economic Statistics] Wide-ranging data from the U.S. Census Bureau
*[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html United States] CIA ''World Factbook'' entry
*[http://www.britannica.com/nations/United-States United States] ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' entry
; History
*[http://www.nationalcenter.org/HistoricalDocuments.html Historical Documents] Collected by the National Center for Public Policy Research
*[http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm U.S. National Mottos: History and Constitutionality] Analysis by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
* [http://www.historicalstatistics.org/index2.html USA] Collected links to historical data
; Maps
* [http://nationalatlas.gov/ National Atlas of the United States] Official maps from the U.S. Department of the Interior
* [http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=41771312&x=-99492187&z=4&l=0&m=a United States] Satellite view at [[WikiMapia]] (not affiliated with Wikipedia/[[Wikimedia Foundation]])
; Other
* [http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] Official government site
* [http://wikitravel.org/en/United_States United States] Travel guide and tourist information from [[Wikitravel]] (not affiliated with Wikipedia/Wikimedia Foundation)
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