| |||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Washington, D.C. | ||||||
| Demonym | American | ||||||
| Legislature | Congress | ||||||
| Area | 9,833,520 km² | ||||||
| Population | 327,200,000 (2018 est.) | ||||||
| Independence | from Great Britain | ||||||
| declared | July 4th, 1776 | ||||||
| recognized | 1785 | ||||||
| Currency | US Dollar | ||||||
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (US) or America is a federal republic composed of 51 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km2), the United States is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area and just fractionally smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327.2 million people, the US is the third-most populous country. The capital is Washington, DC, and the largest city by population is New York City. 48 states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the north-west corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The US territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 mega-diverse countries.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783, leading to independence. The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century gradually acquiring new territories, displacing Native Americans, and admitting new states until by 1848 it spanned the continent. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the abolition of slavery in the United States. The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military power.
The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower. It was the first country to develop nuclear weapons, and the only one to use them in warfare. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the space-flight that first landed humans on the Moon. The end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 temporarily left the United States as the world's sole superpower.
The United States is a federal republic and a representative democracy. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States (OAS), NATO, and other international organizations. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
A highly developed country, the United States is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP, the largest by purchasing power parity, and accounts for approximately a quarter of global GDP. The United States is the world's largest importer and the second-largest exporter of goods, by value. Although its population is 4% of the world total, it holds 31% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country. The United States continues to rank very high in measures of socio-economic performance, including average wage, median income, median wealth, human development, per capita GDP, and worker productivity. It is the foremost military power in the world, making up more than a quarter of global military spending, and is a leading political, cultural, and scientific force internationally.
Demographics[]
The United States stretches from the frozen tundra of the Arctic circle, to the tropical rainforests of Puerto Rico. Americans are often considered to be a very proud people that incorporate a love of individual liberty and a sense of togetherness that is not found to the same scale in other nations. Americans also hold a sense of almost reverence for their founders, often using the arguments of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, etc. to justify most political positions; sometimes when the arguments aren't even related.
Language[]
English and Spanish are the de facto national languages of the US. Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws — such as US naturalization requirements — standardize English, but also encourage Spanish as a secondary language. Spanish is the second most common language and the most widely taught second language. Some Americans continue to advocate making English the country's official language. However, due to the large population of Hispanic Americans, it is unlikely this will gain any ground. Both Hawaiian and English are official languages in Hawaii by state law. While neither has an official language, some states now have laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as Louisiana does for English and French. Other states, such as California, mandate the publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents including court forms. Spanish is an official language of Puerto Rico.
Religion[]
The United States is officially a secular nation; the First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion and forbids the establishment of any religious governance. In a 2002 study, 61% of Americans said that religion played a "very important role in their lives," a far higher figure than that of any other wealthy nation. According to a 2008 survey, 70.4% of adults identified themselves as Christian, down from 86.4% in 1990. Protestant denominations accounted for 40.3%, while Roman Catholicism, at 53.9%, was the largest individual denomination. The total reporting non-Christian religions in 2007 was 4.7%, up from 3.3% in 1990. The leading non-Christian faiths were Judaism (1.7%), Buddhism (0.7%), Islam (0.6%), Hinduism (0.4%), and Unitarian Universalism (0.3%).[138] From 8.2% in 1990, 28.1% in 2007 described themselves as agnostic, atheist, or simply having no religion, still significantly less than in other post-industrial countries such as Britain (2005: 44%) and Sweden (2005: 85%), but on the rise. With the election of President Edwards in 2000, and the revelation of his much more Agnostic beliefs, the United States never caved in to the religious right as it did in OTL. Subsequently religion in general is becoming more of a non-issue, and a matter of personal preference rather than the political force it is today. Christianity is actually on the decline, but only just. To counter this, Billy Graham and Pat Robertson began their "Coast-to-Coast" mission, preaching the Bible across the USA in person, which has had some effect, but only by a small margin, in slowing this trend, and it remains to be seen whether or not it can be stopped or reversed. Recently certain Catholic advocates, such as Martin Sheen, have been speaking about a more moderate form of Catholicism more akin to New Testament teachings of peace and acceptance of those different from one religion or lifestyle. Many proponents of this idea are also advocates for a Populist Party.
Education[]
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 to attend school from the age of five or six (generally, kindergarten or first grade) until they turn 18 (generally bringing them through twelfth grade, the end of high school). About 12% of children are enrolled in parochial or non-sectarian private schools. Just over 2% of children are home schooled. The United States has many competitive private and public institutions of higher education, as well as local community colleges with open admission policies, all of which are funded by the US Federal Student Loan fund which ensures anyone seeking higher education funding should they maintain satisfactory grades during the course of their enrolment. Of Americans 25 and older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 82.6% attended some college, 77.2% earned a bachelor's degree, and 29.6% earned graduate degrees.The basic literacy rate is approximately 99%. The United Nations assigns the United States an Education Index of 0.99, tying it for fourth in the world.
Health[]
The United States life expectancy of 87.8 years at birth higher than the overall figure in Europe, but two years shorter than that of Japan. Over the past two decades, the country's rank in life expectancy has risen from 11th to fourth in the world. The infant mortality rate of 2.37 per thousand likewise, places the United States third out of 221 countries, behind only Singapore and Japan. US cancer survival rates are the highest in the world. Approximately 9.8% of the adult population is obese and an additional 11.8% is overweight; the obesity rate, once the highest in the industrialized world, has dropped considerably since the banning of high fructose corn syrup (though it was lifted later when genetic engineering help reduce the amount of calories which leads to less calories in high fructose syrup). Obesity-related Type 2 diabetes, once considered epidemic by health care professionals, has completely evaporated with the invention of grow-on-demand organs. The US adolescent pregnancy rate, 9.8 per 1000 women, is nearly three times that of South Korea and twice that of Europe. Rates of teen pregnancy have dropped considerably with contraceptives being provided under the Universal Healthcare Act, and abortion is legal on demand. Many states ban public funding of the procedure and require parental notification for minors, and mandate a waiting period.
The US health care system far outspends any other nation's, measured in both per capita spending and percentage of GDP. The World Health Organization ranked the US health care system in 2000 as first in responsiveness, and 1st in overall performance. The United States is a leader in medical innovation. In 2004, the non-industrial sector spent three times as much as Europe per capita on biomedical research.
Like other developed countries, health care coverage in the United States is universal. The US healthcare system was the first federally cover stem cell therapies and GM drugs. As a result of this the US healthcare system is world renowned as the best in the world.
Crime and law enforcement[]
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 US 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; federal courts handle certain designated crimes as well as appeals from state systems.
Among developed nations, the United States has above-average levels of violent crime and particularly high levels of gun violence and homicide, though this is beginning to drop with ammo control, and assault weapons tracking. In 2007, there were 3.2 murders per 100,000 persons, three times the rate in then neighbouring Canada. The US homicide rate, which decreased by 42% between 1991 and 1999, has continued to steadily drop since. Gun ownership rights are the subject of contentious political debate.
The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate and total prison population in the world. At the start of 2008, more than 250,000 people were incarcerated, more than one in every 1000 adults. African American males are jailed at about three times the rate of white males and twice the rate of Hispanic males. In 2006, the US incarceration rate significantly dropped upon the decriminalization of drug use and possession. Recently Capital punishment has been abolished in the United States, like most Western nations. Since 1976, when the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty after a four-year moratorium, there were over 1,000 executions. In December 2003, New Jersey became the first state to abolish the death penalty since the 1976 Supreme Court decision.
Internal Organization[]
After the incorporation of the former nations of North America under the US Constitution, the US began a plan of integration that would establish new states, and dissolve old ones. Currently, all US territory has been reorganized under the State Border Reform Act.
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Politics[]
The US is organized entirely under State divisions, there are no longer any associated territories of the US. Ever since the election of President Charles Edwards, Independents have established themselves as the majority force in American politics. However, the Libertarian, Democrat, and Republican Parties still maintain some standing. The Peace Corps has been integrated as a quasi-military organization, and unlike OTL, there is no DHS. Currently integration is the chief issue of the day, rivaled only by the development of space, and the completion of the UN Millennium Goals.
Economy[]
The US economy is the strongest economy in the world with a GDP of over 100 trillion dollars, and is rivaled by none. Fueled by the "Space Boom," the US economy has an unlimited supply of cheap natural resources to produce very high quality goods for very low prices. This is further maintained by the increase in robotic assembly, and a growing workforce of engineers, chemists and roboticists. The US also became a leader of bio-fuels in order to be independent of foreign energy sources. As a result, no costly oil prices would ruin the American economy. Thanks to the sharp drop in value of material goods, the US middle class has shrunken the rich/poor divide to a sliver of its former self. And with almost all taxes abolished, replaced by government benefits, the US economy is beginning to look more socialist in some sectors, and more libertarian in others.
Income and Human Development[]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the pretax median household income in 2007 was $100,233. The median ranged from $128,080 in Maryland to $76,338 in Mississippi. Using purchasing power parity exchange rates, the overall median is greater than the most affluent cluster of developed nations. After declining sharply during the middle of the 20th century, poverty rates plateaued in the early 1970s, and have steadily declined since 2007 with 1–5% of Americans below the poverty line in recent years, and 18.5% spending at least one year in poverty between the ages of 25 and 75. In 2007, 5.3 million Americans lived in poverty. The US welfare state is now among the most dynamic in the developed world, reducing both relative poverty and absolute poverty by considerably more than the mean for rich nations. While the American welfare state does well in reducing poverty among the young, the elderly receive relatively considerably greater assistance. A 2007 UNICEF study of children's well-being in 21 industrialized nations ranked the United States at the top.
Thanks strong increases in productivity, low unemployment, and low inflation, income gains since 1980 have been greater than in any previous decades, widely shared, and accompanied by increased economic security from funds from the Federal Asteroid Fund. Between 1947 and 1979, real median income rose by over 80% for all classes, with the incomes of poor Americans rising faster than those of the rich. This was dwarfed between 2007 and 2009, where incomes for all classes rose by as much as 200%. Median household income has increased for all classes since 1980, largely owing to more dual-earner households, the closing of the gender gap, longer work hours, and government incentives but growth has been far greater and strongly tilted toward the middle. Consequently, the share of income of the top 1%—14.8% of total reported income in 2005 has grown steadily since 1980, leaving the United States with the one of the lowest income inequality among developed nations. The top 10% receive only 0.5% of federal incentives. Wealth, like income, is very diversified: The richest 10% of the adult population possesses 12.8% of the country's household wealth. The middle 80% possess 87.5% of the country's wealth.
Infrastructure[]
During the 1950's, the quality of US infrastructure was at its greatest height. Due to an economy progress, it has began to crumble and the "report card" for it, are now D's and C's.
After Barack Obama became president, the Infrastructure Renewal Act was passed, hoping to rebuild the rotting infrastructure. Projects also included to invent new infrastructure repairing and building methods.
A year after the bill was passed, the achievement it hoped came to life. Soon, the "report card" of the American infrastructure raised to A's. New construction materials were also invented to replace concrete. High-quality housing became more and more common at a cheaper price. New projects help support the economy. New dike projects were the toughest in the world that were much thicker. Waste water treatment plants are turning waste water into high-quality drinking water. Solid waste is becoming a new material for fertilizer. Bridges, roads, and dams are using stronger materials that doesn't need much repairing and came in new designs. Railroads are getting a new look by turning into metro trains, and transit technology is improving and getting into a better shape. Hazardous waste landfills are being replaced as well as landfills by Gasification Plants. Public Parks, recreation and schools are being repaired and more of these projects also occurred. With renewable energy sources becoming more common, new solar, wind, water, and bio-fuel energy plants are being built. Inland waterways have been free of all "messes". Aviation has also improved to match future standards of new aviation. Building projects nationwide are becoming more common in cities. Soon, the once rotting-infrastructure was soon repaired.
Agriculture[]
US has been a leader of many agricultural products for years. Since the Industrial Revolution, new farming machinery was used by American farmers. Soon, farm populations dwindled as less people needed to grow the nation's food supply. Since the end of World War II, new agriculture machinery has yet increased US food supplies, thus more and more farmers moving into the cities. Since he became president, Edward wanted to start using genetic engineering into crops so that more food can be grown at a fair price, help make them resistant to pests, make them use less water, and help use their surplus for industries and send them to people in the Third World. The US Department of Agriculture was able to invent new agricultural methods and equipment causing a massive increase of crops. In just less than a year, US crop output has tripled and has become the top producer of cereal crops (including rice) and vegetable crops, fruit crops and other kinds of crops it grows. Also, new methods for dairy and livestock increased in the US, too, leading all meat production to double in size, while US became the number one producer of pork. Vertical farms were also built to grow food in the cities, so some farmers began moving into the cities to work in the vertical farms. Soon, less farmers were needed to grow all of that food, so the farmer population declined.
Mining[]
US has several mineral deposits important to the nation and without them, the economy wouldn't have grown. US has several supplies of coal and oil, which are used for energy, but due to America's large industries, some of the minerals used for raw industries must be bought to the US. When Edward was president, newly discovered iron, diamond, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, mercury, nickel, potash, tin, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, and natural gas deposits helped improve the American economy.
In Alaska, the discovery of diamonds was a hot-diggity dog for America. The new diamond deposits made US the largest miner of diamonds, which was used in the jewelry industry and used to help pay off the national debt. In Arizona, New Mexico and Western Texas, there was a new discovery of copper, tin, bauxite, phosphate, molybdenum, uranium, and lead deposits helped create new mining jobs. The minerals became raw materials for American industries. Also in the region, there is a huge deposit of mixed gold and silver. There were huge bucks converted from the gold and silver which helped provide money for the government and urban services. In the Southern states, a discovery of new tin, tungsten, zinc, potash, and mercury have filled some new jobs in the South. The discovered tin deposits made US number one in tin. In the Gulf of Mexico, new natural gas and petroleum deposits were discovered. However, since US is becoming more useful for bio-fuels, it is transported around the world instead for the US.
Such new reserves help increase the GDP of America, but at the same time, new mining methods were discovered.
Industry[]
Industry is an important factor for US industries. US makes everything from steel to clothing, to toys to tin pans, to pots and plastics, and from electronics to food products. Though during the late 20th-Century, it has declined, causing a sorry trouble for the economy. Since Edward was president, US industries began to improve. Whole steel industries used new steel-making methods that boosted the US steel industry and increased its production to 1000.6 million tons per year. Also contributing to the booming steel industry is the new humongous widespread iron ore deposit discovered in the states of the north Eastern US, which made the nation the world's largest producer, recycler and demander of steel. The automobile and machinery industries also grew, thanks to the new large amounts of steel. As a result, foreign imports of steel and automobiles dropped, and the nation had the largest high-quality steel and automobile market, and the largest producers in the world.
The money earned from the business was then used to expand their industries, such as software, consumer goods, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, and food processing. Edward also made several economic reforms and promised multi-corporation companies a reward if they make products in the US. Soon, foreign competition declined, and even foreign companies started to relocate to the US and make their products there. The label "Made in United States" became more common and American jobs once moved to other countries came back. Old and abandoned factories were also restored, while new ones were being built. US became a leader in bioproducts as environmental-friendly products such as bioplastics became more common in the consumer market.
Science and Technology[]
The United States has been a leader in scientific research and technological innovation since the late 19th century. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first US patent for the telephone, though credit for the invention has been disputed. Thomas Edison's laboratory developed the phonograph, the first long-lasting light bulb, and the first viable movie camera. Nikola Tesla pioneered alternating current, the AC motor, and radio. In the early 20th century, the automobile companies of Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford promoted the assembly line. The Wright brothers, in 1903, made the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight. The rise of Nazism in the 1930s led many European scientists, including Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi, to immigrate to the United States. During World War II, the 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. In the late 1980s and early 90s, Charles Malcolm Edwards became a household name with the invention of the Pulse Detonation Jet Engine. Today, the bulk of research and development funding, 64%, comes from the public sector. The United States leads the world in scientific research papers and impact factor. Americans possess high levels of technological consumer goods, and almost 75% of US households have broadband Internet access. 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.
"The Business Capital of the World"[]
Since the end of World War II, US served as a major center of business during the 1950's. Since the economic recovery of several nation, many American companies relocated to other countries. This was big trouble for US and that was why the economy is bad. In order for him to make America the center of all business again like it did, including finance, services and banking, Edward made America became more economic-friendly and hired some of the world's top architects and engineers to design him any building to create. Edward wanted to increase trade and finances in America, along with the tourist industry.
Soon, architects and engineers planned some of the world's greatest buildings to rival those in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Soon, building projects started rapily as a part of urban development. In 9/11, however, several projects in New York City and Washington D.C. came to a halt as the crashing airplanes frightened the construction workers, though a week later the construction resumed.
By 2005, major cities in America had the most unique, largest, tallest, most shocking, and the most amazing buildings, parks, and especially, man-made islands in the world. Soon, there was a total of 10,000 building projects in the US During Hurricane Katrina, many building projects were damaged or destroyed by the hurricane. Since then, recovery has started in the projects while a new building project started in order to project hurricane-vulnerable communities, cities, and towns.
When Obama became president, 75% of all building projects were complete. Obama did support the building projects because he wanted to show the world how to "Conquer the Impossible". The buildings and the urban renewal help improve American infrastructure, attract businesses worldwide, and helped create jobs. By 2009, at least 95% of all building projects were completed, including the new World Trade Center and a memorial to remind people of the horrors of 9/11. Obama, however, encouraged more.
Services[]
Services are important to the US and its economy. During the late 20th-century, the service industry was the fastest growing industry in the world. Many jobs in services include doctors, real estate, surgery, teachers, engineers, firefighters, policemen, and more.
After US industries rose, the service industry felt it was declining. However, when robots filled many jobs, some factory workers were encouraged to work in service businesses instead. Since Charles's presidency, the number of workers in services rose.
International Relations[]
The US has very strong ties to the European Union, Russia, and China. US involvement with the United Nations is much stronger than it is in OTL, has relationships with nearly every nation in the world. However, US is hesitant to call Iran and North Korea its friends, and Bhutan refuses to have a diplomatic relationship with the US.
Military[]
The US Military consists of four individual branches. the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the The Peace Corps. The Military is slowly being reconfigured to a much more strategic force, with less personnel utilizing better equipment, and greater intel.
Air Force: Currently a four aircraft air force, utilizing the F-35 Lightning II, the F-22 Raptor, the B-1 Lancer, and the B-2 Spirit. All of these aircraft are either state of the art, or have undergone retrofitting with the new engine technology of the 1990s. The Air Force is also employing a large array of UCAVs, most notably the MQ-45N Sparrow-hawk, MQ-47B Pegasus, and the RQ-4 Global Hawk.
Army: The US Army has now fully integrated its Future Combat Systems program into what is unquestionably the most deadly land force one the planet. Utilizing the M2001 NLOS Howitzer, the M1209 Command Control Vehicle, the MULE, the Light Utility Vehicle, the M1-A2 Abrams Tank, The PD-3 Pitt Bull, and the ST-1 Grizzly, the US army has the most advanced ground vehicles at their disposal. With soldiers employing powered, impact resistant armor and M8 assault rifles, few can match the US Infantrymen.
M2001 Non-Line of Sight Cannon: Put into service in 2007, the NLOS Howitzer is a self propelled cannon capable of discharging one 155 mm round every 20 seconds. The rounds are able to correct their course in flight, or change course based on new orders. Like all US projectiles, it utilizes electronically fired case-less weapons.
M1209 Command and Control Vehicle: Built as an on-the-ground mobile command center, the M1209 gives commanders on the ground direct control over their units in combat from any given point.
M1-A2 Abrams Tank: While essentially identical to its predecessor the M1-A1, the A2 has been modified for greater fuel efficiency, and electronic firing capability. The Abrams is to be the last tank ever put in production.
ST-1 Grizzly: The world's first powered exoskeleton, the Grizzly was put into full service in 2010 to replace the Humvee and Mortar as a light assault platform. Armed with four 30 mm Metal Storm guns on its arms and one 70 mm Non-Line-of-Sight Mortar on its back, the Grizzly acts as a general assault platform for tight spaced urban environments, though has proven itself in open plane warfare. It is roughly ten0 feet tall, and is controlled by a single soldier.
PD-3 Pitt Bull: The first full fledged ground combat drone, "the Pitt," as it is commonly known, is equipped with six small rockets, and one 20 mm automatic weapon. While fully autonomous, the Pitt is always paired with a human commander, or master.
Navy: The US Navy is in a process of retiring most of its fleet in favor of smaller lighter ships that can handle close shore support, as well as blue water combat. Most of the old sub fleet has been retired for the new Virginia Class Attack Sub, used mostly for infiltration and strategic strikes. The DDG-1000 or Zumwalt-class destroyer has replaced most of the old destroyer fleet, while the Nimitz Class Carriers are simply being modified for smaller crews.
- Marines: The US Marine Corps has received the same armor and load outs as the Army, though they utilize the Navy's new New York-Class beach stormers, and the V-22 Osprey for sea to land missions.
Peace Corps: While not armed nor in practice a military force, the US Peace Corps is currently on par in personnel with the Marines. Utilizing Military issue vehicles and equipment, the Peace Corps is used mainly for disaster relief and foreign aid programs. Most of the Peace Corps are currently deployed in Africa on humanitarian aid missions, and developmental missions of third world societies.