United States of America (Franz's World)

The United States of America (commonly referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states, a federal district and seven commonwealths. The United States is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.

The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain located along the Atlantic seaboard. On July 4, 1776, they issued the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed their independence from Great Britain and their formation of a cooperative union. The rebellious states defeated Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, the first successful colonial war of independence. The Philadelphia Convention adopted the current United States Constitution on September 17, 1787; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic with a strong central government. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments guaranteeing many fundamental civil rights and freedoms, was ratified in 1791.

In the 19th century, the United States acquired land from France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Russia, and annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of Hawaii. Disputes between the agrarian South and industrial North over states' rights and the expansion of the 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 end of legal slavery in the United States. By the 1870s, the national economy was the world's largest. The Spanish–American War and the Second Mexican–American War confirmed the country's status as an imperial power.

Second Mexican-American War
The early 20th century was marked by American expansion into Latin America. On March 8, 1916, Mexican revolutionary general Francisco "Pancho" Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico killing 17 people. In response to this act, President Wilson sent 12,000 US troops into Mexico to find Pancho Villa. This act began the Second Mexican–American War.

The war took a new turn when on July 22, 1916, a bombing during a parade in California is blamed on two Mexican immigrants who are quickly tried and executed. Meanwhile, many Mexicans in the United States become targets of discrimination. Prominent politicians in Congress call on President Wilson to protect Americans from the chaos seeping out of Mexico by using the military to establish a responsible government there.

On January 30, 1917, an American army led by General John J. Pershing captured Mexico City. On February 5, 1917, the Mexican government surrenders unconditionally to the United States, but Pancho Villa vowed to continue to fight. Villa would continue to organize a guerrilla campaign against American forces until April 25, 1918 when he is killed by an American soldier.

On December 14, 1918, President Wilson arrived in Mexico City and announced the creation of the Commonwealth of Mexico. Under a new constitution, similar to the US constituion, Mexico would become an organized but unincorporated dependent territory of the United States. The announcement was met with revolts in several Mexican provinces that were not completely put down until 1920.

Expansion into Latin America
By 1920, events in Mexico calmed down enough for the new Commonwealth government to begin implementing reforms, financed by increased American investment. The success in Mexico encouraged many ambitious American politicians to push for the Commonwealth system to be "exported" to other troublesome Latin American countries. The idea became popular, despite arguments by dissenters who pointed toward John Quincy Adams' arguments that colonies were unconstitutional.

Puerto Rico and the Philippines became the next Commonwealths in 1922, though it was already an American territory at that time. Meanwhile American foreign policy became more focused in intervening in the troubled nations of Central America and the Caribbean Sea. Haiti (1923), Dominican Republic (1924), Honduras (1925), Nicaragua (1928) and Cuba (1930) all became Commonwealths of the United States.

American expansion in Latin American caused many Central and South American nations to adopt pro-American policies in fear of being annexed into the US. Not all nations, however, were fearful of the United States. The ABC Alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Chile acted as bulwark against American influence in South America. The Alliance was supported by various European powers who wanted to place a check on further American expansion in the region.

Meanwhile the increased American expansion convinced Canada with supporting the Statute of Westminster (1931), which created the Imperial Federation of Britain. The creation of the Imperial Federation led to increased tensions between it and the United States and saw the United States reiterating the Monroe Doctrine by telling the Europeans that the Western Hemisphere was the United States' sphere of influence.

Setbacks
MORE TO COME