United States of America Timeline: Corrupted Sunshine | ||||||
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| Motto: "E Pluribus Unum" (EN: "Out of many, one.") |
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| Anthem: "The Star—Spangled Banner" |
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 Location of the USA in North America
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| Capital | Washington | |||||
| Largest city | New York City | |||||
| Official languages | None at Federal—Level | |||||
| National language | English (De—Facto) | |||||
| Government | Federal Presidential Constitutional Republic | |||||
| - | President | Ronald Reagan | ||||
| - | Vice President | George H. W. Bush | ||||
| - | Speaker of the House | Thomas P. O'Neill | ||||
| Legislature | Congress | |||||
| - | Upper house | Senate | ||||
| - | Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
| Establishment | ||||||
| - | Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom | 4 July 1776 | ||||
| - | Constitution | 21 June 1788 | ||||
| - | Re—Admission of the Confederate States | 9 May 1865 | ||||
| - | Last State Admitted | 21 August 1959 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 10,696,858 km2 4,130,080 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||||
| - | Estimate | 284,763,789 | ||||
| Currency | United States Dollar ($) (USD) |
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| Drives on the | Right | |||||
The United States, officially the United States of America, and sometimes called America, is a Federal Presidential Republic comprised of 60 States, 6 Incorporated Territories, 326 Native American Reservations, and a Federal District. Situated mainly on the North American continent, the 58 contiguous states are commonly referred to as the 'lower 58', 'main 58', or the 'upper 58', while the remaining 4 are non-contiguous, though two (Alaska and Puerto Rico) are geographically part of North America, the remainder are part of or entirely comprised of islands. The United States shares borders with Canada and Québec to the north; and Mexico to the south; as-well as Angola and Zaïre in Africa via American Congo; plus sharing maritime borders with The Bahamas, Jamaica, Haïti, the Soviet Union, and other nations. There is a statehood movement currently happening in Chicago advocating to become the 61st state.
The state of Puerto Rico is located in the eastern Caribbean, as the smallest island of the Greater Antilles island chain and shares maritime borders with the Dominican Republic to the west and Denmark on the Danish West Indies to the east-southeast. While Colorado, Baja California, Texas, Pantanosa and Cuba are the only 5 states where Spanish is an official second language, while French is spoken in Louisiana, Ouisconsin, and New Somersetshire.
As of mid-1986, the United States has a population of 366.9 million, ranking at third in world population, behind only China and India. By area, the United States' territory comprises roughly a third of continental North America, as well as multiple unincorporated territories in the Caribbean and South Pacific. The United States has been described "the melting pot of the world", possessing a highly diverse, multi-ethnic culture with European, African, Asian, and Hispanic influences.
The United States is a member of NATO, and is a permanent (and founding) member of the United Nations, with which it carries considerable weight in the Security Council. America possesses the seventh-largest military in the world by number of troops and the largest air force and navy, as well as the status of one of the world's ranked superpowers. It is also a nuclear weapons state and possesses the second-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, with a total stockpile of 6,500 warheads, behind only the Soviet Union's 9,000.
History[]
Pre-1775[]
Christopher Columbus' discovery of the modern day Bahamian island of San Salvador in October 1492 was followed by dozens of expeditions over the next 125 years to the New World, or America, as named after the Italian mapmaker Amerigo Vespucci in 1507. John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) is credited with the discovery of continental North America in June 1497, approximately five-hundred years ago. Columbus himself would make another three voyages to the modern-day Caribbean before his death in 1506. In April 1513, Juan Ponce de León (sailing for Ferdinand II of Aragon) landed in modern day Florida, most likely at St. Augustine, while in 1624, Giovanni da Verrazzano (sailing for Francis I of France) explored the Atlantic coast of Carolina.
In 1756, the French and Indian War erupted as the result of clashing British and French colonial interests in North America, and as the overseas extension of Europe's Seven Year's War. In 1763, Quebec fell to British troops and the French garrisons of North America surrendered, ending the war and giving the United Kingdom control of all France's North American territory, in addition to French cession of the Louisiana Territory to the Spanish for the next 40 years.
American Revolution (1775-1783)[]
The close of the French and Indian War in 1763 signaled the beginning of an era of change in the North American colonies. Britain's 13 Colonies of the Eastern Seaboard began to grow restless as the British government overseas imposed, one after the other, laws that seemingly violated the American colonists' rights as citizens of Great Britain.
Independence and Constitution (1783 & 1787)[]
On September 3, 1783, the United Kingdom officially declared the United States a free and sovereign nation with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, ceding control of all land east of the Mississippi and south of Québec and the Great Lakes. Ironically, the United Kingdom would become the infant nation's first trading partner.
Early National Years (1789-1849)[]
Main Article: Early National Years (1789-1849)
Growth of the Union (1812-1889)[]
Main Article: Growth of the Union (1812-1889)
Mexican-American War (1846-1848)[]
Main Article: Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
A Growing Divide (1849-1860)[]
Main Article: A Growing Divide (1849-1860)
Civil War (1861-1865)[]
Main Article: American Civil War (1861-1865)
Restoration (1865-1898)[]
Main Article: Restoration (1865-1867)
Spanish-American War (1898)[]
Main Article: Spanish-American War (1898)
Rise to World Power (1898-1918)[]
Main Article: World Power (1879-1918)
World War I (1914-1918)[]
Main Article: World War I (1914-1918)
Inter-War Period (1918-1941)[]
Main Article: Inter-War Period (1918-1941)
World War II (1941-1945)[]
Main Article: World War II (1938-1945)
Cold War (1946-Ongoing)[]
Main Article: Cold War (1946-Ongoing)
Korean War (1950-1954)[]
Main Article: Korean War (1950-1953)
Canadian Civil War (1968-1971)[]
Main Article: Canadian Civil War (1968-1971)
Vietnam War (1955-1975)[]
Main Article: Vietnam War (1955-1975)
Timor War (1977-1980)[]
Main Article: Timor War (1977-1980)
Domestic Changes (1952-1980)[]
Main Article: Domestic Changes (1952-1980)
Modern Times (1981-Present)[]
Main Article: Modern Times (1981-Present)
International relations[]
[W.I.P. Section]
Military[]
[W.I.P. Section]
Demographics[]
Population[]
[W.I.P. Section]
Territory[]
Main Article: U.S. States
Government[]
Among the most complex of governments in the world, the US government is divided among a half-dozen departments, and is divided into two major political parties: the Republican Party (centre-right) and the Democratic Party (centre-left)
Congress[]
The United States' Congress is divided into two houses: the Senate and House of Representatives. Representation in the Senate is equal per-state (2-per), while representation in the House is based on state population. The total number of voting members in Congress is currently 618: 118 senators and 500 representatives. Additionally, Guam, Guadeloupe and Martinique, the Corn Islands, the Nicaragua Canal Territory, American Samoa, American, Congo, the Equatorial Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands (as US Territories or Commonwealths) currently have two non-voting representatives apiece in Congress.
Economy[]
[W.I.P. Section]