THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a
country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-
governing territories, 326 Indian reservations, and some minor possessions. At 3.8 million square miles
(9.8 million square kilometers), it is the world's third- or fourth-largest country by total area. With a
population of more than 328 million people, it is the third most populous country in the world. The
national capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago, and
European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British
colonies established along the East Coast. Disputes over taxation and political representation with Great
Britain led to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), which established independence. In the late
18th century, the U.S. began vigorously expanding across North America, gradually acquiring new
territories, frequently displacing Native Americans, and admitting new states; by 1848, the United States
spanned the continent. Slavery was legal in the southern United States until the second half of the 19th
century when the American Civil War led to its abolition. The Spanish–American War and World War I
established the U.S. as a world power, a status confirmed by the outcome of World War II.

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in various proxy wars but avoided
direct military conflict. They also competed in the Space Race, culminating in the 1969 spaceflight that
first landed humans on the Moon. The Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991 ended the Cold War, leaving
the United States as the world's sole superpower. In 1959, the United States expanded beyond the
Contiguous United States by adding Alaska and Hawaii as the 49th and 50th states of the union.

The United States is a federal republic and a representative democracy with three separate branches of
government, including a bicameral legislature. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World
Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, NATO, and other international
organizations. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Considered a melting
pot of cultures and ethnicities, its population has been profoundly shaped by centuries of immigration.
The U.S. ranks high in international measures of economic freedom, reduced levels of perceived
corruption, quality of life, and quality of higher education. Despite receiving relatively high ratings for its
human rights record, the country has received some criticism in regard to inequality related to race,
wealth and income, the use of capital punishment, high incarceration rates, and lack of universal health
care, among other issues.

The United States is a highly developed country, and continuously ranks high in measures of
socioeconomic performance. It accounts for approximately a quarter of global GDP and is the world's
largest economy by GDP at market exchange rates. By value, the United States is the world's largest
importer and the second-largest exporter of goods. Although its population is only 4.2% of the world
total, it holds 29.4% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share held by any country. Making up
more than a third of global military spending, it is the foremost military power in the world and is a
leading political, cultural, and scientific force international.

The first known use of the name "America" dates back to 1507, when it appeared on a world map
created by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller. On his map, the name is shown in large
letters on what would now be considered South America, in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. The Italian
explorer was the first to postulate that the West Indies did not represent Asia's eastern limit but were
part of a previously unknown landmass.[23][24] In 1538, the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator
used the name "America" on his own world map, applying it to the entire Western Hemisphere.[25]

The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" dates from a January 2, 1776
letter written by Stephen Moylan to George Washington's aide-de-camp Joseph Reed. Moylan expressed
his wish to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek
assistance in the revolutionary war effort.[26][27][28] The first known publication of the phrase "United
States of America" was in an anonymous essay in The Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg,
Virginia, on April 6, 1776.[29]

The second draft of the Articles of Confederation, prepared by John Dickinson and completed no later
than June 17, 1776, declared "The name of this Confederation shall be the 'United States of
America'."[30] The final version of the Articles, sent to the states for ratification in late 1777, stated that
"The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America'."[31] In June 1776, Thomas
Jefferson wrote the phrase "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his
"original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence.[30] This draft of the document did not
surface until June 21, 1776, and it is unclear whether it was written before or after Dickinson used the
term in his June 17 draft of the Articles of Confederation.[30]

The short form "United States" is also standard. Other common forms are the "U.S.", the "USA", and
"America". The term "America" was seldom used in the United States before the 1890s, and rarely used
by presidents before Theodore Roosevelt. It does not appear in patriotic songs composed during the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including "The Star Spangled Banner", "My Country, 'Tis of Thee",
and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", although it is common in 20th-century songs like "God Bless
America".[32] Colloquial names are the "U.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "Columbia", a
name popular in American poetry and songs of the late 18th century, derives its origin from Christopher
Columbus; it appears in the name "District of Columbia". Many landmarks and institutions in the
Western Hemisphere bear his name, including the country of Colombia.

The phrase "United States" was originally plural in American usage. It described a collection of states—
e.g., "the United States are." The singular form became popular after the end of the Civil War and is now
standard usage in the U.S. A citizen of the United States is an "American". "United States", "American"
and "U.S." refer to the country adjectivally ("American values", "U.S. forces"). In English, the word
"American" rarely refers to topics or subjects not directly connected with the United States.