United States (Greater Cold War)

The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, and commonly abbreviated as the U.S. is a sovereign state in North America bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. It's a federal republic comprised of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions with 48 of the states being located on the continental United States. The United States was originally a colony of the British Empire and was divided into thirteen separate colonial entities located on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The colonies eventually rose up in 1775 and acquired full independence on September 3rd, 1783 in Paris, France.

In the years following American independence, the United States expanded across the mainland and annexed various territories west of the thirteen colonies in the event known as Manifest Destiny. The United States eventually suffered a civil war in 1861 when the southern states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America to preserve the institution of slavery, but were defeated in 1865 and annexed back into the U.S. The late 19th century saw further expansion of the United States as they annexed and occupied many colonies from the Spanish Empire in the Spanish-American War and later industrialized by the 20th century.

The United States would go on to side with the Allied Powers in both World War I and World War II and emerged as one of the two superpowers by the end of the Second World War in 1945 along with the Soviet Union. The United States entered into an ideological conflict with the Soviet Union by 1947 and have remained staunch ideological rivals since the Cold War. Today, the United States is one of the most powerful players on the world stage and is a major contributor towards science, art, culture, and is the foremost military power next to the Soviet Union.