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{{pp-move-indef}} {{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} {{short description|Country located primarily in North America}} {{redirect-multi|4|America|US|USA|United States of America|the landmass comprising North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean|Americas||America (disambiguation)|and|US (disambiguation)|and|USA (disambiguation)|and|United States (disambiguation)}} {{Coord|40|N|100|W|display=title}} {{good article}} {{multiple issues| {{very long|date=February 2020}} {{overly detailed|date=February 2020}} }} {{Use American English|date = September 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = United States of America | common_name = the United States | image_flag = Flag of the United States.svg | image_coat = Greater coat of arms of the United States.svg | symbol_type_article = Great Seal of the United States#Obverse | national_motto = <div style="padding-bottom:0.5em;text-align:center;">"]"<ref>{{USC|36|302}}</ref></div>{{collapsible list |title=Other traditional mottos: |titlestyle=background:transparent;text-align:center;line-height:1.15em; |liststyle=text-align:center;white-space:nowrap; |{{native phrase|la|"]"|italics=off}}<ref name="de facto Motto">{{cite web|publisher=], ] |year=2003|url= https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/27807.pdf|title=The Great Seal of the United States|accessdate=February 12, 2020}}</ref>{{rp|6, 15}} "Out of many, one" |{{native phrase|la|"]"|italics=off}}<ref name="de facto Motto"/>{{rp|6, 15}} "] has favored our undertakings" |{{native phrase|la|"]"|italics=off}} "New order of the ages" }} | national_anthem = {{center|"]"}}<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|]}}</div> | march = {{center|"]"{{sfn|Kidder|Oppenheim|2007|p=91}}<ref name="urluscode.house.gov">{{cite web |url=http://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=112&page=1263 |title=uscode.house.gov |author= |authorlink= |vauthors= |date=August 12, 1999 |website=Public Law 105-225 |publisher=uscode.house.gov |pages=112 Stat. 1263 |language= |quote=Section 304. "The composition by John Philip Sousa entitled 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' is the national march." |accessdate=September 10, 2017}}</ref> }}<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|]}}</div> | other_symbol = <div style="padding:0.3em;">] ]</div> | other_symbol_type = ]: | image_map = USA orthographic.svg  | map_width = 220px | alt_map = Projection of North America with the United States in green | image_map2 = US insular areas SVG.svg | alt_map2 = The United States and its ] | map_caption2 = The United States, including its ] | capital = {{plainlist| * ] * {{coord|38|53|N|77|01|W|display=inline}}}} | largest_city = {{plainlist| * ] * {{coord|40|43|N|74|00|W|display=inline}}}} | official_languages = {{nowrap|None at ]{{efn|English is the ] of 32 states; English and ] are both official languages in ], and English and ] are official in ]. ], ], and ] are among many other official languages in Native-controlled lands throughout the country. ] is a ''de facto'', but unofficial, language in ] and ], while ] law grants ] a special status. In five territories, English as well as one or more indigenous languages are official: ] in Puerto Rico, ] in American Samoa, ] in both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. ] is also an official language in the Northern Mariana Islands.{{sfn|Cobarrubias|1983|p=195}}{{sfn|García|2011|p=167}}}}}} | languages_type = ] | languages = ] | ethnic_groups = {{plainlist|'''By race:''' * 76.5% ] * 13.4% ] * 5.9% ] * 2.7% ] * 1.3% ] * 0.2% ]}} {{plainlist|'''Ethnicity:''' * 18.3% ] * 81.7% non-Hispanic or Latino}} | ethnic_groups_year = 2018 | ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name="2019estimate">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219 |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States |work=] |access-date=January 21, 2020}}</ref> | demonym = ]{{efn|name=demonym|The historical and informal demonym ] has been applied to Americans, New Englanders, or northeasterners since the 18th century.}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia and Fact-index: Ohio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uV5tvKPO684C&q=%22national+nicknames%22+Yankee&dq=%22national+nicknames%22+Yankee|year=1963|page=336}}</ref> | government_type = ] ] ] | leader_title1 = ] | leader_name1 = {{nowrap|]}} (]) | leader_title2 = ]{{Efn|Also president of the ].}} | leader_name2 = {{nowrap|]}} (]) | leader_title3 = {{nowrap|]}} | leader_name3 = {{nowrap|]}} (]) | leader_title4 = ] | leader_name4 = ] | legislature = ] | upper_house = ] | lower_house = ] | sovereignty_type = ] | sovereignty_note = from ] | established_event1 = ] | established_date1 = July 4, 1776 | established_event2 = ] | established_date2 = March 1, 1781 | established_event3 = ] | established_date3 = September 3, 1783 | established_event4 = {{nowrap|]}} | established_date4 = June 21, 1788 | established_event5 = ] | established_date5 = September 25, 1789 | established_event6 = {{nowrap|]}} | established_date6 = August 21, 1959 (]) | established_event7 = ] | established_date7 = May 5, 1992 | area_link = Geography of the United States | area_label = Total area | area_footnote = {{efn|name=largestcountry}}<ref>Areas of the 50 states and the District of Columbia but not Puerto Rico nor (other) island territories per {{cite web| date = August 2010| title = State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates| work = ]| url = https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html| accessdate = March 31, 2020| quote = reflect base feature updates made in the MAF/TIGER database through August, 2010.}}</ref> | area_rank = 3rd/4th | area_sq_mi = 3,796,742 | percent_water = 6.97 | area_label2 = Total land area | area_data2 = {{convert|3,531,905|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}} | population_estimate = {{increase}}328,239,523<ref name="2019estimate" /> | population_census = 308,745,538{{efn|name="pop"}}<ref name=PEPANNRES2016>{{cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2016_PEPANNRES&src=pt |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016 |work=] |access-date=July 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214010201/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2016_PEPANNRES&src=pt |archive-date=February 14, 2020 |url-status=dead }} The 2016 estimate is as of July 1, 2016. The 2010 census is as of April 1, 2010.</ref> | population_estimate_year = 2019 | population_estimate_rank = 3rd | population_census_year = 2010 | population_census_rank = 3rd | population_density_sq_mi = 87 | population_density_rank = 146th | GDP_PPP = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$22.321 trillion}}<ref name="IMFWEOUS"/> | GDP_PPP_year = 2020 | GDP_PPP_rank = 2nd | GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $67,426<ref name="IMFWEOUS">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=73&pr.y=7&sy=2020&ey=2024&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=111&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019 |publisher=] |website=IMF.org |access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref> | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 11th | GDP_nominal = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$22.321 trillion}}<ref name="IMFWEOUS"/> | GDP_nominal_year = 2020 | GDP_nominal_rank = 1st | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $67,426<ref name="IMFWEOUS"/> | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 7th | Gini = 39.0 | Gini_year = 2017 | Gini_change = decrease | Gini_ref = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://data.oecd.org/chart/5O5t |title=Income inequality |publisher=] |website=data.oecd.org|access-date=January 8, 2020}}</ref> | Gini_rank = 56th | HDI = 0.920 | HDI_year = 2018 | HDI_change = increase | HDI_ref = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/2019-human-development-index-ranking|title=Human Development Report 2019|language=en|publisher=]|date=December 10, 2019|accessdate=December 10, 2019|format=PDF}}</ref> | HDI_rank = 15th | currency = ] ($) | currency_code = USD | utc_offset = −4 to −12, +10, +11 | utc_offset_DST = −4 to −10{{efn|name="time"}} | date_format = {{plainlist| * {{abbr|mm|month}}/{{abbr|dd|day}}/{{abbr|yyyy|year}} * {{abbr|yyyy|year}}-{{abbr|mm|month}}-{{abbr|dd|day}}}} | electricity = 120 V–60 Hz | drives_on = right{{efn|name="drive"}} | calling_code = ] | iso3166code = US | cctld = ; ]: ], ], ], ], ], ] ; ccTLD (generally not used in the U.S.): ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | religion_year = | religion_ref = | area_km2 = | today = }} {{Periods in US history}} The '''United States of America''' ('''USA'''), commonly known as the '''United States''' ('''U.S.''' or '''US''') or '''America''', is a country ] located in central ], between ] and ]. It consists of 50 ], a ], five major ], and ].{{efn|The five major territories are ], ], the ], ], and the ]. There are eleven smaller island areas without permanent populations: ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. U.S. sovereignty over ], ], ], and ] is disputed.<ref>U.S. State Department, , December 30, 2011, Item 22, 27, 80. And U.S. General Accounting Office Report, , November 1997, pp. 1, 6, 39n. Both viewed April 6, 2016.</ref>}} At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km2), it is the world's ].{{efn|The '']'' lists China as the world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada) with a total area of {{cvt|9,572,900|km2}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/111803/China-quick-facts |title=China |website=] |accessdate=January 31, 2010}}</ref> and the United States as fourth-largest at {{cvt|9,526,468|km2}}. This figure for the United States is less than the one cited in the ''CIA World Factbook'' because it excludes coastal and territorial waters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/616563/United-States-quick-facts |title=United States |website=] |accessdate=January 31, 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219194413/https://www.britannica.com/topic/616563/United-States-quick-facts|archivedate=December 19, 2013}}</ref> The '']'' lists the United States as the third-largest country (after Russia and Canada) with total area of {{cvt|9,833,517|km2}},<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html |title=United States |website=] |publisher= |accessdate=June 10, 2016}}</ref> and China as fourth-largest at {{cvt|9,596,960|km2}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html |title=China |website=] |accessdate=June 10, 2016}}</ref> This figure for the United States is greater than in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' because it ''includes'' coastal and territorial waters.|name=largestcountry}} With an estimated population of over 328 million, the U.S. is the ] in the world. The capital is ], and the ] is ]. ] ] to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago,{{sfn|Erlandson|Rick|Vellanoweth|2008|p=19}} and ] began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the ] established along the ]. Numerous disputes between ] and the colonies led to the ] lasting between 1775 and 1783, leading to independence.<ref>Greene, Jack P., Pole, J.R., eds. (2008). ''A Companion to the American Revolution''. pp. 352–361. {{cite book |author=Bender, Thomas |title=A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History |url=https://archive.org/details/nationamongnatio00bend |url-access=registration |year=2006 |publisher=Hill & Wang |location=New York |page= |isbn=978-0-8090-7235-4}} {{cite web |url=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=4&smtid=1 |title=Overview of the Early National Period |author= |date=2014 |website=Digital History |publisher=University of Houston |access-date=February 25, 2015}}</ref> The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century—gradually ],<ref name="MD2007" /> ], and ]—until 1848 when it spanned the continent.<ref name="MD2007">{{cite book |last=Carlisle |first=Rodney P. |first2=J. Geoffrey |last2=Golson |title=Manifest Destiny and the Expansion of America |series=Turning Points in History Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ka6LxulZaEwC&vq=annexation&dq=territorial+expansion+United+States+%22manifest+destiny%22 |year=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-833-0 |page=238}}</ref> During the second half of the 19th century, the ] led to the abolition of ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2967.html |title=The Civil War and emancipation 1861–1865 |website=Africans in America |publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation |location=Boston |year=1999 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19991012054217/http://pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2967.html |archivedate=October 12, 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=Jeffrey H. |editor1-last=Wallenfeldt |author=Britannica Educational Publishing |series=America at War |title=The American Civil War and Reconstruction: People, Politics, and Power |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T_0TrXXiDbUC&dq=slavery+%22American+Civil+War%22 |year=2009 |publisher=Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-61530-045-7 |page=264}}</ref> The ] and {{nowrap|]}} confirmed the country's status as a global military power. The United States emerged from {{nowrap|]}} as a global ]. It was the ] and is the only country to have ]. During the ], the United States and the ] competed in the ], culminating with the 1969 ], the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. The end of the Cold War and ] in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole superpower.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Tony Judt |author2=Denis Lacorne |title=With Us Or Against Us: Studies in Global Anti-Americanism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVDHAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |year= 2005 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4039-8085-4 |page=61}} {{cite book |author=Richard J. Samuels |title=Encyclopedia of United States National Security |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K751AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT666 |year=2005 |publisher=Sage Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-6535-3 |page=666}} {{cite book |author=Paul R. Pillar |title=Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy |url=https://archive.org/details/terrorismusforei00pill |url-access=registration |year= 2001 |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8157-0004-3 |page=}} {{cite book |author=Gabe T. Wang |title=China and the Taiwan Issue: Impending War at Taiwan Strait |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbPJ7KZ9FvIC&pg=PA179 |year= 2006 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-7618-3434-2 |page=179}} {{cite book |title=Understanding the "Victory Disease", From the Little Bighorn to Mogadishu and Beyond |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgdmiw4VUHsC&pg=PA1 |publisher=Diane Publishing |isbn=978-1-4289-1052-2 |page=1|year=2004 }} {{cite book |author1=Akis Kalaitzidis |author2=Gregory W. Streich |title=U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary and Reference Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzwYzL9KcwEC&pg=PA313 |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-38375-5 |page=313}}</ref> The United States is a ] and a ]. It is a founding member of the ], ], ], ] (OAS), ], and other international organizations. It is a ] of the ]. A highly ], the United States is the world's ], the ] ], and accounts for approximately a quarter of global GDP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2015/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=23&pr.y=9&sy=2014&ey=2014&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C668%2C914%2C672%2C612%2C946%2C614%2C137%2C311%2C962%2C213%2C674%2C911%2C676%2C193%2C548%2C122%2C556%2C912%2C678%2C313%2C181%2C419%2C867%2C513%2C682%2C316%2C684%2C913%2C273%2C124%2C868%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C624%2C692%2C522%2C694%2C622%2C142%2C156%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C565%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C453%2C960%2C968%2C423%2C922%2C935%2C714%2C128%2C862%2C611%2C135%2C321%2C716%2C243%2C456%2C248%2C722%2C469%2C942%2C253%2C718%2C642%2C724%2C643%2C576%2C939%2C936%2C644%2C961%2C819%2C813%2C172%2C199%2C132%2C733%2C646%2C184%2C648%2C524%2C915%2C361%2C134%2C362%2C652%2C364%2C174%2C732%2C328%2C366%2C258%2C734%2C656%2C144%2C654%2C146%2C336%2C463%2C263%2C528%2C268%2C923%2C532%2C738%2C944%2C578%2C176%2C537%2C534%2C742%2C536%2C866%2C429%2C369%2C433%2C744%2C178%2C186%2C436%2C925%2C136%2C869%2C343%2C746%2C158%2C926%2C439%2C466%2C916%2C112%2C664%2C111%2C826%2C298%2C542%2C927%2C967%2C846%2C443%2C299%2C917%2C582%2C544%2C474%2C941%2C754%2C446%2C698%2C666&s=NGDPD&grp=0&a= |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2015 |date= |accessdate= |website= |publisher=}}</ref> The United States is the world's ] and the ] of goods, by value.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/Publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2087rank.html|title=The World Factbook |publisher= Central Intelligence Agency|website=CIA.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/Publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2078rank.html|title=The World Factbook |publisher= Central Intelligence Agency|website=CIA.gov}}</ref> Although its population is only 4.3% of the world total,<ref name="urlPopulation Clock">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/popclock/ |title=Population Clock |date=May 16, 2020 |website=U.S. and World Population Clock |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce |quote=The United States population on May 23, 2020 was: 329,686,270 |accessdate=May 24, 2020}}</ref> it holds ], the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Wealth Report |url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/corporate/en/research/research-institute/global-wealth-report.html |website=Credit Suisse |accessdate=February 11, 2019 |date=October 2018}}</ref> Despite ] and ], the United States continues to ] in measures of socioeconomic performance, including ], ], ], ], ], and worker productivity.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500395_162-3228735.html |title=U.S. Workers World's Most Productive |publisher=CBS News |date=February 11, 2009 |accessdate=April 23, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=AV_AN_WAGE|title=Average annual wages|website=stats.oecd.org|access-date=February 2, 2019}}</ref> It is the foremost ] power in the world, making up more than a third of ],<ref> Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.</ref> and is a leading ], ], and ] force internationally.<ref>] ] {{cite web |url=http://www.researchtrends.com/issue8-november-2008/geographical-trends-of-research-output/ |title=Geographical trends of research output |publisher=Research Trends |accessdate=March 16, 2014}} {{cite web |url=http://www.openaccessweek.org/profiles/blogs/the-top-20-countries-for-scientific-output |title=The top 20 countries for scientific output |publisher=Open Access Week |accessdate=March 16, 2014}} {{cite web |url=http://www.epo.org/about-us/annual-reports-statistics/annual-report/2012/statistics-trends/granted-patents.html |title=Granted patents |publisher=European Patent Office|accessdate=March 16, 2014}}</ref> == Etymology ==  {{See also|Naming of the Americas|Names for United States citizens|American (word)}} The first known use of the name "]" dates back to 1507, when it appeared on a world map created by the German cartographer ]. On this map, the name applied to ] in honor of the Italian explorer ].{{sfn|Sider|2007|p=226}} After returning from his expeditions, Vespucci first postulated that the ] did not represent Asia's eastern limit, as initially thought by Columbus, but instead were part of an entirely separate landmass thus far unknown to the Europeans.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Szalay |first1=Jessie |title=Amerigo Vespucci: Facts, Biography & Naming of America |url=https://www.livescience.com/42510-amerigo-vespucci.html |publisher=] |accessdate=June 23, 2019 |date=September 20, 2017}}</ref> In 1538, the Flemish cartographer ] used the name "America" on his own world map, applying it to the entire ].<ref name="Cohen">{{cite web|url=http://www.uhmc.sunysb.edu/surgery/america.html |title=The Naming of America: Fragments We've Shored Against Ourselves |author=Jonathan Cohen |accessdate=February 3, 2014}}</ref> The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" dates from a January 2, 1776 letter written by ], Esq., to ], ]'s ] and Muster-Master General of the ]. Moylan expressed his wish to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the ] effort.<ref>DeLear, Byron (July 4, 2013) "Historians have long tried to pinpoint exactly when the name 'United States of America' was first used and by whom{{nbsp}}... This latest find comes in a letter that Stephen Moylan, Esq., wrote to Col. Joseph Reed from the Continental Army Headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., during the Siege of Boston. The two men lived with Washington in Cambridge, with Reed serving as Washington's favorite military secretary and Moylan fulfilling the role during Reed's absence." ''Christian Science Monitor'' (Boston, MA).</ref><ref>Touba, Mariam (November 5, 2014) "Here, on January 2, 1776, seven months before the Declaration of Independence and a week before the publication of Paine's ''Common Sense'', Stephen Moylan, an acting secretary to General George Washington, spells it out, 'I should like vastly to go with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain' to seek foreign assistance for the cause." ''New-York Historical Society Museum & Library''</ref><ref>Fay, John (July 15, 2016) "According to the NY Historical Society, Stephen Moylan was the man responsible for the earliest documented use of the phrase 'United States of America'. But who was Stephen Moylan?" ''IrishCentral.com''</ref> The first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in '']'' newspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia, on April 6, 1776.<ref>{{cite newspaper|newspaper=The Virginia Gazette |title=''"To the inhabitants of Virginia", by A PLANTER''. Dixon and Hunter's. April 6, 1776, Williamsburg, Virginia. Letter is also included in Peter Force's ''American Archives'' |url=http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16 |issue=1287 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219053616/http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16 |archivedate=December 19, 2014 |volume=5}}</ref> The second draft of the ], prepared by ] and completed no later than June 17, 1776, declared "The name of this Confederation shall be the 'United States of America{{' "}}.{{sfn|Safire|2003|p=199}} The final version of the Articles sent to the states for ratification in late 1777 contains the sentence "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America{{' "}}.{{sfn|Mostert|2005|p=18}} In June 1776, ] wrote the phrase "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his "original Rough draught" of the ].{{sfn|Safire|2003|p=199}} 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.{{sfn|Safire|2003|p=199}} The short form "United States" is also standard. Other common forms are the "U.S.", the "USA", and "America". Colloquial names are the "U.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "]", a name popular in poetry and songs of the late 18th century, derives its origin from ]; it appears in the name "]". Many landmarks and institutions in the Western Hemisphere bear his name, including the country of ].{{sfn|Brokenshire|1993|page=49}} The phrase "United States" was originally plural, a description of a collection of independent states—e.g., "the United States are"—including in the ], ratified in 1865.{{sfn|Greg|1892|p=276}} The singular form—e.g., "the United States is"—became popular after the end of the Civil War. The singular form is now standard; the plural form is retained in the idiom "these United States". The difference is more significant than usage; it is a difference between a collection of states and a unit.<ref>G. H. Emerson, ''The Universalist Quarterly and General Review'', Vol. 28 (Jan. 1891), p. 49, quoted in {{cite web |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002663.html |author=Zimmer, Benjamin |date=November 24, 2005 |title=Life in These, Uh, This United States |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |accessdate=January 5, 2013}}</ref> A ] is an "]". "United States", "American" and "U.S." refer to the country adjectivally ("American values", "U.S. forces"). In English, the word "]" rarely refers to topics or subjects not directly connected with the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Kenneth G. |title=The Columbia guide to standard American English |url=https://archive.org/details/columbiaguidetos00wils_0 |url-access=registration |date=1993 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-231-06989-2 |pages=}}</ref> == History == {{Main|History of the United States|Timeline of United States history|American business history|Economic history of the United States|Labor history of the United States}} === Indigenous peoples and pre-Columbian history === {{Further|Native Americans in the United States|Pre-Columbian era}} ], built by ancient Native American ] around 1190 AD]] It has been generally accepted that the ] migrated from ] by way of the ] and arrived at least 12,000 years ago; however, increasing evidence suggests an even earlier arrival.{{sfn|Erlandson|Rick|Vellanoweth|2008|p=19}}{{sfn|Savage|2011|page= 55}}{{sfn|Haviland|Walrath|Prins|2013|page=219}} After crossing the land bridge, the first Americans moved southward along the Pacific coast{{sfn|Fladmark|2017|pages= 55–69}} and through an interior ice-free corridor.{{sfn|Meltzer|2009|page= 129}} The Clovis culture, which appeared around 11,000 BC, was initially believed to represent the first wave of human settlement of the Americas.{{sfn|Waters|Stafford|2007|pages=1122–1126}}{{sfn|Flannery|2015|pages=173–185}} Increasing evidence has also been found for "pre-Clovis" cultures, including the recent discovery of tools dating back some 15,550 years. It is likely these represent the first of three major waves of migration into North America.{{sfn|Gelo|2018|pages=79-80}} Over time, indigenous cultures in North America grew increasingly complex, and some, such as the ] ] in the southeast, developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies.{{sfn|Lockard|2010|page= 315}} The Mississippian culture flourished in the south from 800 to 1600 AD, extending from the Mexican border down through Florida.{{sfn|Inghilleri|2016|page= 117}} Its city state ] is the largest, most complex pre-Columbian ] in the modern-day United States.{{sfn|Martinez|Sage|Ono|2016|page= 4}} In the ] region, ] culture developed from centuries of agricultural experimentation.{{sfn|Fagan|2016|page=390}} Three ] in the United States are credited to the Pueblos: ], ], and ].{{sfn|Martinez|Bordeaux|2016|page=602}}{{sfn|Weiss|Jacobson|2000|page=180}} The earthworks constructed by Native Americans of the ] culture have also been designated a ]. In the southern ] region, the ] was established at some point between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.<ref name="Dean Snow">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7e82KQoX6IC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=iroquois+basque |title=The Iroquois |author=Dean R. Snow |publisher=Blackwell Publishers, Ltd. |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-55786-938-8 |accessdate=July 16, 2010}}</ref> Most prominent along the Atlantic coast were the ] tribes, who practiced hunting and trapping, along with limited cultivation. === Effects on and interaction with native populations === {{Further|American Indian Wars|Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American disease and epidemics}} ]n ] dancer in traditional festival garb]] With the progress of ] in the territories of the contemporary United States, the ] were often ].<ref>{{cite book |author=Paul Joseph |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idw0DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA590 |date=October 11, 2016 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4833-5988-5 |page=590}}</ref> The ] after European arrival for various reasons,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-native-american-slavery-20160505-snap-story.html|title=The new book 'The Other Slavery' will make you rethink American history|last=Treuer|first=David|newspaper= ]|access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>] p. </ref> primarily diseases such as ] and ].<ref>"'' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208032805/https://books.google.com/books?id=qubTdDk1H3IC&pg=PA205 |date=February 8, 2016}}''". Arthur C. Aufderheide, Conrado Rodríguez-Martín, Odin Langsjoen (1998). ]. p. 205. {{ISBN|0-521-55203-6}}</ref><ref>] pp. 225–232</ref> Estimating the native population of North America at the time of European contact is difficult.{{sfn|Perdue|Green|2005|page=40}}{{sfn|Haines|Haines|Steckel|2000|page=12}} ] of the ] estimated that there was a population of 92,916 in the south Atlantic states and a population of 473,616 in the Gulf states{{sfn|Thornton|1998|page=34}}, but most academics regard this figure as too low.{{sfn|Perdue|Green|2005|page=40}} ] ] believed the populations were much higher, suggesting 1,100,000 along the shores of the gulf of Mexico, 2,211,000 people living between ] and ], 5,250,000 in the ] and tributaries and 697,000 people in the ].{{sfn|Perdue|Green|2005|page=40}}{{sfn|Haines|Haines|Steckel|2000|page= 12}} In the early days of colonization, many European settlers were subject to food shortages, disease, and attacks from Native Americans. Native Americans were also often at war with neighboring tribes and allied with Europeans in their ]s. In many cases, however, natives and settlers came to depend on each other. Settlers traded for food and animal pelts; natives for guns, ammunition and other European goods.<ref>] p. 6</ref> Natives taught many settlers to cultivate corn, beans, and squash. European missionaries and others felt it was important to "civilize" the Native Americans and urged them to adopt European agricultural techniques and lifestyles.<ref>] p. 5</ref><ref>], p. 55</ref> === European settlements === {{further|Colonial history of the United States|European colonization of the Americas|Thirteen Colonies}} ] in ]'' by ]]] With the advancement of European colonization in North America, the ] were often ].{{sfn|Joseph|2016|page=590}} The first Europeans to arrive in the contiguous United States were Spanish ]s such as ], who made his first visit to ] in 1513. Even earlier, ] landed in ] on his ]. The Spanish set up the first settlements in Florida and New Mexico such as ]<ref name="Saint Augustine">{{cite web |title=St. Augustine Florida, The Nation's Oldest City |url=http://staugustine.com/history/nations-oldest-city |website=staugustine.com |language=en}}</ref> and ]. The French established their own as well along the ]. Successful ] on the eastern coast of North America began with the ] in 1607 at ] and with the ] ] in 1620. Many settlers were ] who came seeking ]. The continent's first elected legislative assembly, Virginia's ], was created in 1619. The ], signed by the Pilgrims before disembarking, and the ], established precedents for the pattern of representative self-government and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies.<ref name="Remini2–3">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Remini|2007|pp=2–3}}</ref><ref name="Johnson26–30">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Johnson|1997|pp=26–30}}</ref> Most settlers in every colony were small farmers, though other industries were formed. ] included tobacco, rice, and wheat. Extraction industries grew up in furs, fishing and lumber. Manufacturers produced rum and ships, and by the late colonial period, Americans were producing one-seventh of the world's iron supply.<ref>], chapter 3</ref> Cities eventually dotted the coast to support local economies and serve as trade hubs. English colonists were supplemented by waves of ] immigrants and other groups. As coastal land grew more expensive, freed ] claimed lands further west.<ref>]</ref> ] A large-scale slave trade with English privateers began.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=L. P. |title=Elizabethan Seamen and the African Slave Trade |journal=The Journal of Negro History |volume=9 |issue=1 |date=1924 |pages=1–17 |jstor=2713432|doi=10.2307/2713432 }}</ref> Because of less disease and better food and treatment, the life expectancy of slaves was much higher in North America than further south, leading to a rapid increase in the numbers of slaves.<ref>], p. 1534</ref><ref>], p. 484</ref> Colonial society was largely divided over the religious and moral implications of slavery, and colonies passed acts for and against the practice.<ref name=Lien522>], p. 522</ref><ref name=Davis7>], p. 7</ref> But by the turn of the 18th century, African slaves were replacing indentured servants for cash crop labor, especially in the South.<ref name="Quirk2011">], p. 195</ref> With the establishment of the ] in 1732, the ] that would become the United States of America were administered by the British as overseas dependencies.<ref name="BilhartzElliott2007">{{cite book |author1=Bilhartz, Terry D. |author2=Elliott, Alan C. |title=Currents in American History: A Brief History of the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J65Z_Ura2EIC&pg=PA7 |year=2007 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=978-0-7656-1817-7}}</ref> All nonetheless had local governments with elections open to most free men.<ref name="Wood1998">{{cite book |author=Wood, Gordon S. |title=The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kdDRJLxBhl4C&pg=PA263 |year=1998 |publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=978-0-8078-4723-7 |page=263}}</ref> With extremely high birth rates, low death rates, and steady settlement, the colonial population grew rapidly. Relatively small Native American populations were eclipsed.<ref>], pp. 38–39</ref> The ] movement of the 1730s and 1740s known as the ] fueled interest both in religion and in religious liberty.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Foner |first1=Eric |title=The Story of American Freedom |date=1998 |publisher=W.W. Norton |isbn=978-0-393-04665-6 |pages=–5 |edition=1st |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofamericanf00fone|url-access=registration |quote=story of American freedom. }}</ref> During the ] (known in the United States as the ]), British forces seized Canada from the French, but the ] population remained politically isolated from the southern colonies. Excluding the ], who were being conquered and displaced, the 13 British colonies had a population of over 2.1 million in 1770, about a third that of Britain. Despite continuing new arrivals, the rate of natural increase was such that by the 1770s only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas.<ref>], p. 35</ref> The colonies' distance from Britain had allowed the development of self-government, but their unprecedented success motivated ] to periodically seek to reassert royal authority.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved |url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_52678 | author=Otis, James |year=1763 }}</ref> In 1774, the ] ship ''Santiago'', under ], entered and anchored in an inlet of ], Vancouver Island, in present-day British Columbia. Although the Spanish did not land, natives paddled to the ship to trade ]s for ] shells from ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Pethick |first=Derek |title=The Nootka Connection: Europe and the Northwest Coast 1790–1795 |url=https://archive.org/details/nootkaconnection0000peth |url-access=registration |year=1980 |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |location=Vancouver |isbn=978-0-88894-279-1 |pages=}}</ref> At the time, the Spanish were able to monopolize the trade between ] and North America, granting limited licenses to the ]. When the ] began establishing a growing ] system in ], the Spanish began to challenge the Russians, with Pérez's voyage being the first of many to the ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Pethick |first=Derek |title=The Nootka Connection: Europe and the Northwest Coast 1790–1795 |url=https://archive.org/details/nootkaconnection0000peth |url-access=registration |year=1980 |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |location=Vancouver |isbn=978-0-88894-279-1 |pages=}}</ref>{{efn|Spain sent ] to assert its long-held claim over the Pacific Northwest, which dated back to the 16th century. During the decade 1785–1795 British merchants, encouraged by ] and supported by their government, made a sustained attempt to develop this trade despite Spain's claims and navigation rights. The endeavors of these merchants did not last long in the face of Spain's opposition. The challenge was also opposed by a Japanese holding obdurately to national seclusion.<ref>Robert J. King, "'The long wish'd for object'—Opening the trade to Japan, 1785–1795", ''The Northern Mariner / le marin du nord'', vol. XX, no. 1, January 2010, pp. 1–35.</ref>}} During his ], ] became the first European to begin formal contact with Hawaii.<ref>{{cite book |last=Collingridge |first=Vanessa |authorlink=Vanessa Collingridge |title=Captain Cook: The Life, Death and Legacy of History's Greatest Explorer |year=2003 |publisher=Ebury Press |page=380 |isbn=978-0-09-188898-5}}</ref> Captain Cook's last voyage included sailing along the coast of North America and Alaska searching for a ] for approximately nine months.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hayes |first=Derek |title=Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of exploration and Discovery |date=1999 |publisher=Sasquatch Books |pages=42–43 |isbn=978-1-57061-215-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sl57oHrVXGoC}}</ref> === Independence and expansion (1776–1865) === {{further|American Revolutionary War|United States Declaration of Independence|American Revolution|Territorial evolution of the United States}} ]'', by ] (1819), depicts the ] presenting their draft of the Declaration to the ]]] The ] was the first successful colonial war of independence against a European power. Americans had developed an ideology of "]" asserting that government rested on the will of the people as expressed in their local legislatures. They demanded their ] and "no taxation without representation". The British insisted on administering the empire through Parliament, and ] escalated into war.<ref name="Humphrey2003">{{cite book |author=Humphrey, Carol Sue |title=The Revolutionary Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1776 To 1800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=19NWMZ6Ec_sC&pg=PA8 |year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |isbn=978-0-313-32083-5 |pages=8–10}}</ref> The ] unanimously adopted the ], which asserted that Great Britain was not protecting Americans' unalienable rights. July 4th is celebrated annually as ].<ref name="YoungNash2011" /> In 1777, the ] established a decentralized government that operated until 1789.<ref name="YoungNash2011">{{cite book |author1=Fabian Young, Alfred |author2=Nash, Gary B. |author3=Raphael, Ray |title=Revolutionary Founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in the Making of the Nation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEzaLJ4u_MEC&pg=PA4 |year=2011 |publisher=Random House Digital |isbn=978-0-307-27110-5 |pages=4–7}}</ref> ] between 1783 and 1917]] Following the decisive Franco-American ] in 1781,<ref>Greene and Pole, ''A Companion to the American Revolution'' p 357. Jonathan R. Dull, ''A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution'' (1987) p. 161. Lawrence S. Kaplan, "The Treaty of Paris, 1783: A Historiographical Challenge", ''International History Review'', Sept 1983, Vol. 5 Issue 3, pp. 431–442</ref> Britain signed the ], and American sovereignty was internationally recognized and the country was granted all lands east of the ]. Nationalists led the ] of 1787 in writing the ], ] in state conventions in 1788. The federal government was reorganized into three branches, on the principle of creating salutary checks and balances, in 1789. ], who had led the ] to victory, was the first ] elected under the new constitution. The ], forbidding federal restriction of ] and guaranteeing a range of legal protections, was adopted in 1791.<ref name="BoyerJr.2007">], pp. 192–193</ref> Although the federal government criminalized the international slave trade in 1808, after 1820, cultivation of the highly profitable cotton crop exploded in the ], and along with it, the slave population.<ref name="Cogliano2008">{{cite book |author=Cogliano, Francis D. |title=Thomas Jefferson: Reputation and Legacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1f-wAfE0mpsC&pg=PA219 |year=2008 |publisher=University of Virginia Press |isbn=978-0-8139-2733-6 |page=219}}</ref><ref>], p. 43</ref><ref>], pp. 27,29</ref> The ], especially 1800–1840, converted millions to ] Protestantism. In the North, it energized multiple social reform movements, including ];<ref name="Clark2012iu">{{cite book|author=Clark, Mary Ann |title=Then We'll Sing a New Song: African Influences on America's Religious Landscape |url=https://archive.org/details/thenwellsingnews0000clar/page/47 |date=May 2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-0881-0 |page= }}</ref> in the South, Methodists and Baptists proselytized among slave populations.<ref>Heinemann, Ronald L., et al., Old Dominion, New Commonwealth: a history of Virginia 1607–2007, 2007 {{ISBN|978-0-8139-2609-4}}, p. 197</ref> Americans' eagerness to ] prompted a long series of ].<ref name="BillingtonRidge2001j">{{cite book|author1=Billington, Ray Allen |author2=Ridge, Martin |author-link2=Martin Ridge (historian) |title=Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier |url=https://archive.org/details/westwardexpansio00bill/page/22 |year=2001 |publisher=UNM Press |isbn=978-0-8263-1981-4 |page= }}</ref> The ] of French-claimed territory in 1803 almost doubled the nation's area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Louisiana Purchase |publisher=National Park Services |url=http://www.nps.gov/jeff/historyculture/upload/louisiana_purchase.pdf |accessdate=March 1, 2011}}</ref> The ], declared against Britain over various grievances and fought to a draw, strengthened U.S. nationalism.<ref name="Wait1999">{{cite book |author=Wait, Eugene M. |title=America and the War of 1812 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=puuQ30N0EsIC&pg=PA78 |year=1999 |publisher=Nova Publishers |isbn=978-1-56072-644-9 |page=78}}</ref> A series of military incursions into Florida led ] it and other Gulf Coast territory in 1819.<ref name="KloseJones1994">{{cite book|author1=Klose, Nelson |author2=Jones, Robert F. |title=United States History to 1877 |url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstateshist00klos_0/page/150 |year=1994 |publisher=Barron's Educational Series |isbn=978-0-8120-1834-9 |page= }}</ref> The expansion was aided by ], when ] began traveling along America's large water systems, many of which were connected by new ]s, such as the ] and the ]; then, even faster railroads began their stretch across the nation's land.<ref>Winchester, pp. 198, 216, 251, 253</ref> ] harbor during the ]]] From 1820 to 1850, ] began a set of reforms which included wider white male suffrage; it led to the rise of the ] of Democrats and Whigs as the dominant parties from 1828 to 1854. The ] in the 1830s exemplified the ] that forcibly resettled Indians into the west on ]. The U.S. annexed the ] in 1845 during a period of expansionist ].<ref name="Morrison1999">{{cite book |author=Morrison, Michael A. |title=Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTaxzMlkVEMC&pg=PA13 |date=April 28, 1997 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-4796-1 |pages=13–21}}</ref> The 1846 ] with Britain led to U.S. control of the present-day ].<ref name="Kemp2010">{{cite book |author=Kemp, Roger L. |title=Documents of American Democracy: A Collection of Essential Works |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JHawgM-WnlUC&pg=PA180 |year=2010 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-4210-2 |page=180 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> Victory in the ] resulted in the 1848 ] of California and much of the present-day ].<ref name="McIlwraithMuller2001">{{cite book|author1=McIlwraith, Thomas F. |author2=Muller, Edward K. |title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent |url=https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/61 |year=2001 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-0019-8 |page= |accessdate=October 25, 2015 }}</ref> The ] of 1848–49 spurred migration to the Pacific coast, which led to the ]<ref>Madley, Benjamin (2016). ''An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873''. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-23069-7}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGKL6E9_J6IC&pg=PA143|title=California Indians, Genocide of|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of American Indian History |first1=Bruce E.|last1=Johansen|first2=Barry M.|last2=Pritzker|date=July 23, 2007|pages=226–231|publisher=ABC-CLIO|via=Google Books|isbn=9781851098187}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/murderstatecalif0000lind|url-access=registration|title=Murder State: California's Native American Genocide, 1846–1873|last=Lindsay|first=Brendan C.|year=2012|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-4021-6|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/revealing-the-history-of-genocide-against-californias-native-americans|title=Revealing the history of genocide against California's Native Americans|last=Wolf|first=Jessica|website=UCLA Newsroom|language=en|access-date=July 8, 2018}}</ref> and the creation of additional western states.<ref name="Rawls1999">{{cite book |author=Rawls, James J. |title=A Golden State: Mining and Economic Development in Gold Rush California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPUsIaHZTm0C&pg=PA20 |year=1999 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-21771-3 |page=20}}</ref> After the Civil War, new transcontinental ] made relocation easier for settlers, expanded internal trade and increased conflicts with Native Americans.<ref name="Black2011kj">{{cite book |last=Black |first=Jeremy |authorlink=Jeremy Black (historian) |title=Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519–1871 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIst_CSWOqIC&pg=PA275 |year=2011 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-35660-4 |page=275}}</ref> In 1869, a new ] nominally promised to protect Native Americans from abuses, avoid further war, and secure their eventual U.S. citizenship. Nonetheless, large-scale conflicts continued throughout the West into the 1900s. === Civil War and Reconstruction era === {{further|American Civil War|Reconstruction era}} ] in ], ], November 19, 1863]] Irreconcilable sectional conflict regarding ] of ] and ] ultimately led to the ].<ref>{{cite book |author=Stuart Murray |title=Atlas of American Military History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJ_sy7mmmxQC&pg=PA76 |year=2004 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-3025-5 |page=76 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} {{cite book |author=Harold T. Lewis |title=Christian Social Witness |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kr-xNru5vZkC&pg=PA53 |year=2001 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-56101-188-9 |page=53}}</ref> Initially, states entering the Union had alternated between ], keeping a sectional balance in the Senate, while free states outstripped slave states in population and in the House of Representatives. But with additional western territory and more free-soil states, tensions between slave and free states mounted with arguments over federalism and disposition of the territories, as well as whether to expand or restrict slavery.<ref name="O'Brien2002qs">{{cite book |author=Patrick Karl O'Brien |title=Atlas of World History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ffZy5tDjaUkC&pg=PA184 |year=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-521921-0 |page=184 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> With the ] of ] ], conventions in thirteen slave states ultimately declared secession and formed the ] (the "South"), while the federal government (the "]") maintained that secession was illegal.<ref name="O'Brien2002qs" /> In order to bring about this secession, military action was initiated by the secessionists, and the Union responded in kind. The ensuing war would become the deadliest military conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of approximately 618,000 soldiers as well as many civilians.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vinovskis |first=Maris |date=1990 |title=Toward A Social History of the American Civil War: Exploratory Essays |page=4 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York |isbn=978-0-521-39559-5}}</ref> The Union initially simply fought to keep the country united. Nevertheless, as casualties mounted after 1863 and Lincoln delivered his ], the main purpose of the war from the Union's viewpoint became the abolition of slavery. Indeed, when the Union ultimately won the war in April 1865, each of the states in the defeated South was required to ratify the ], which prohibited slavery. ] were added to the U.S. Constitution in the years after the war: the aforementioned Thirteenth as well as the ] providing citizenship to the nearly four million ]s who had been slaves,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1860a-02.pdf |title=1860 Census |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |accessdate=June 10, 2007}} Page 7 lists a total slave population of 3,953,760.</ref> and the ] ensuring in theory that African Americans had the right to vote. The war and its resolution led to a substantial increase in ]<ref>De Rosa, Marshall L. (1997). ''The Politics of Dissolution: The Quest for a National Identity and the American Civil War''. Edison, NJ: Transaction. p. 266. {{ISBN|1-56000-349-9}}.</ref> aimed at reintegrating and rebuilding the South while guaranteeing the rights of the newly freed slaves. ] began in earnest following the war. While President Lincoln attempted to foster friendship and forgiveness between the Union and the former Confederacy, ] on April 14, 1865, drove a wedge between North and South again. Republicans in the federal government made it their goal to oversee the rebuilding of the South and to ensure the rights of African Americans. They persisted until the ] when the Republicans agreed to cease protecting the rights of African Americans in the South in order for Democrats to concede the ]. Southern white Democrats, calling themselves "]", took control of the South after the end of Reconstruction. From 1890 to 1910, so-called ] ] most blacks and some poor whites throughout the region. Blacks faced ], especially in the South.<ref>{{cite book |author=Shearer Davis Bowman |title=Masters and Lords: Mid-19th-Century U.S. Planters and Prussian Junkers |url=https://archive.org/details/masterslordsmid10000bowm |url-access=registration |year=1993 |publisher=Oxford UP |page=|isbn=978-0-19-536394-4 }}</ref> They also occasionally experienced vigilante violence, including ].<ref>{{cite book |author=Jason E. Pierce |title=Making the White Man's West: Whiteness and the Creation of the American West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJPgCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT256 |year=2016 |publisher=University Press of Colorado |page=256|isbn=978-1-60732-396-9 }}</ref> === Further immigration, expansion, and industrialization === {{Main|Economic history of the United States|Technological and industrial history of the United States}} ], in ], was a major entry point for European ] into the U.S.<ref name="PriceBenton-Short2008">{{cite book |author1=Marie Price |author2=Lisa Benton-Short |title=Migrants to the Metropolis: The Rise of Immigrant Gateway Cities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Tb5HMB63xAC&pg=PA51 |year=2008 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-3186-6 |page=51}}</ref>]] In the North, urbanization and an unprecedented ] from ] and ] supplied a surplus of labor for the country's industrialization and transformed its culture.<ref name="Powell2009qwet">{{cite book |author=John Powell |title=Encyclopedia of North American Immigration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNCX6UsdZYkC&pg=PA74 |year=2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-1012-7 |page=74 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> National infrastructure including ] and ] spurred economic growth and greater settlement and development of the ]. The later invention of ] and the ] would also affect communication and urban life.<ref>Winchester, pp. 351, 385</ref> The United States fought ] west of the Mississippi River from 1810 to at least 1890.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Wars: Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890|last=Michno|first=Gregory|date=2003|publisher=Mountain Press Publishing|isbn=978-0-87842-468-9}}</ref> Most of these conflicts ended with the cession of Native American territory and their confinement to ]s. This further expanded acreage under mechanical cultivation, increasing surpluses for international markets.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toward a Market Economy |url=http://www.cliffsnotes.com/more-subjects/history/us-history-i/economic-growth-and-development-18151860/toward-a-market-economy |website=CliffsNotes |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |accessdate=December 23, 2014}}</ref> Mainland expansion also included the ] from ] in 1867.<ref>{{cite web |title=Purchase of Alaska, 1867 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/alaska-purchase |publisher=U.S. Department of State |website=Office of the Historian |accessdate=December 23, 2014}}</ref> In 1893, pro-American elements in Hawaii ] the ] and formed the ], which the U.S. ] in 1898. ], ], and the ] were ceded by Spain in the same year, following the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Spanish–American War, 1898 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/spanish-american-war |publisher=U.S. Department of State |website=Office of the Historian |accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> ] was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the end of the ].<ref>Ryden, George Herbert. ''The Foreign Policy of the United States in Relation to Samoa''. New York: Octagon Books, 1975.</ref> The ] were purchased from Denmark in 1917.<ref>{{cite web |title=Virgin Islands History |url=http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/history/ |publisher=Vinow.com |accessdate=January 5, 2018}}</ref> ] in New York City, symbol of the United States as well as its ideals<ref>{{cite web| title = Statue of Liberty| website=World Heritage| publisher=UNESCO| url = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/307| accessdate = October 20, 2011}}</ref>]] ] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries fostered the rise of many prominent industrialists. ] like ], ], and ] led the nation's progress in ], ], and ] industries. Banking became a major part of the economy, with ] playing a notable role. The American economy boomed, becoming the world's largest, and the United States achieved ] status.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kirkland |first1=Edward |title=Industry Comes of Age: Business, Labor, and Public Policy |pages=400–405 |edition=1961}}</ref> These dramatic changes were accompanied by social unrest and the rise of ], ], and ] movements.<ref>], pp. 321–357</ref> This period eventually ended with the advent of the ], which saw significant reforms including ], ], regulation of consumer goods, greater ] to ensure competition and attention to worker conditions.<ref>Paige Meltzer, "The Pulse and Conscience of America" The General Federation and Women's Citizenship, 1945–1960," ''Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies'' (2009), Vol. 30 Issue 3, pp. 52–76.</ref><ref>James Timberlake, ''Prohibition and the Progressive Movement, 1900–1920'' (Harvard UP, 1963)</ref><ref>George B. Tindall, "Business Progressivism: Southern Politics in the Twenties," ''South Atlantic Quarterly'' 62 (Winter 1963): 92–106.</ref> === World War I, Great Depression, and World War II === {{further|World War I|Great Depression|World War II}} ] was the tallest building in the world when completed in 1931, during the ].]] The United States remained neutral from the outbreak of ] in 1914 until 1917, when it joined the war as an "associated power", alongside the formal ], helping to turn the tide against the ]. In 1919, President ] took a leading diplomatic role at the ] and advocated strongly for the U.S. to join the ]. However, the Senate refused to approve this and did not ratify the ] that established the League of Nations.<ref name="autogenerated418">McDuffie, Jerome; Piggrem, Gary Wayne; Woodworth, Steven E. (2005). ''U.S. History Super Review''. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Association. p. 418. {{ISBN|0-7386-0070-9}}.</ref> In 1920, the women's rights movement won passage of a ] granting ].<ref name="voris">{{cite book |last1=Voris |first1=Jacqueline Van |title=Carrie Chapman Catt: A Public Life |series=Women and Peace Series |year=1996 |publisher=Feminist Press at CUNY |location=New York City |isbn=978-1-55861-139-9 |page=vii |quote=Carrie Chapmann Catt led an army of voteless women in 1919 to pressure Congress to pass the constitutional amendment giving them the right to vote and convinced state legislatures to ratify it in 1920. ... Catt was one of the best-known women in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century and was on all lists of famous American women.}}</ref> The 1920s and 1930s saw the rise of ] for ] and the invention of early ].<ref>Winchester pp. 410–411</ref> The prosperity of the ] ended with the ] and the onset of the ]. After his election as president in 1932, ] responded with the ].<ref>{{cite book |title=Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need |first1=June |last1=Axinn |first2=Mark J. |last2=Stern |isbn=978-0-205-52215-6 |edition=7th |publisher=Allyn & Bacon |location=Boston |year=2007}}</ref> The ] of millions of African Americans out of the American South began before World War I and extended through the 1960s;<ref>{{cite book |last=Lemann |first=Nicholas |title=The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America |page=6 |year=1991 |location=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=978-0-394-56004-5}}</ref> whereas the ] of the mid-1930s impoverished many farming communities and spurred a new wave of western migration.<ref>{{cite book |author=James Noble Gregory |title=American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qNdtGwnXYrIC |year=1991 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-507136-8 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} {{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/dustbowl-mass-exodus-plains/ |title=Mass Exodus From the Plains |author= |year=2013 |website=American Experience |publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation |accessdate=October 5, 2014}} {{cite web |url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html |title=The Migrant Experience |last1=Fanslow |first1=Robin A. |date=April 6, 1997 |website=American Folklore Center |publisher=Library of Congress |accessdate=October 5, 2014}} {{cite book |author=Walter J. Stein |title=California and the Dust Bowl Migration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGuGAAAAIAAJ |year=1973 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-8371-6267-6 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> ] during the ], June 6, 1944]] At first effectively neutral during ], the United States began supplying materiel to the ] in March 1941 through the ] program. On December 7, 1941, the ] launched a surprise ], prompting the United States to join the Allies against the ].<ref name="Pearl Harbor">{{cite web |last1=Yamasaki |first1=Mitch |title=Pearl Harbor and America's Entry into World War II: A Documentary History |url=http://www.hawaiiinternment.org/static/ush_yamasaki_documentary_history.pdf |publisher=World War II Internment in Hawaii |accessdate=January 14, 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213122046/http://www.hawaiiinternment.org/static/ush_yamasaki_documentary_history.pdf |archivedate=December 13, 2014}}</ref> Although Japan attacked the United States first, the U.S. nonetheless pursued a "]" defense policy.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stoler|first1=Mark A.|title=George C. Marshall and the "Europe-First" Strategy, 1939–1951: A Study in Diplomatic as well as Military History|url=http://marshallfoundation.org/marshall/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2014/04/EDStoler.pdf|accessdate=April 4, 2016}}</ref> The United States thus left its vast Asian colony, the ], isolated and fighting a losing struggle against ], as military resources were devoted to the ]. During the war, the United States was referred to as one of the "]"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iup.edu/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=37681 |title=The Four Policemen and. Postwar Planning, 1943–1945: The Collision of Realist and. Idealist Perspectives |last=Kelly |first=Brian |accessdate=June 21, 2014}}</ref> of Allies power who met to plan the postwar world, along with Britain, the Soviet Union and China.{{sfn|Hoopes|Brinkley|1997|p=100}}{{sfn|Gaddis|1972|p=25}} Although the nation lost around 400,000 military personnel,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf |title=American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics |publisher=Congressional Research Service |last=Leland |first=Anne |last2=Oboroceanu |first2=Mari–Jana |date=February 26, 2010 |accessdate=February 18, 2011}} p. 2.</ref> it emerged ] from the war with even greater economic and military influence.<ref>Kennedy, Paul (1989). ''The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers''. New York: Vintage. p. 358. {{ISBN|0-679-72019-7}}</ref> ] of the ]'s nuclear weapon|alt=Nuclear explosion from the Trinity Test]] The United States played a leading role in the ] and ] conferences with the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and other Allies, which signed agreements on new international financial institutions and Europe's postwar reorganization. As an ], a 1945 ] held in ] produced the ], which became active after the war.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/55407.htm |title=The United States and the Founding of the United Nations, August 1941 – October 1945 |date=October 2005 |accessdate=June 11, 2007 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of the Historian}}</ref> The United States and Japan then fought each other in the largest naval battle in history, the ].<ref name="Woodward1947">{{cite book | title=The Battle for Leyte Gulf | last=Woodward | first=C. Vann | authorlink=C. Vann Woodward | year=1947 | publisher=Macmillan | location=New York | isbn=1-60239-194-7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Largest Naval Battles in Military History: A Closer Look at the Largest and Most Influential Naval Battles in World History|url=http://militaryhistory.norwich.edu/largest-naval-sea-battles-in-military-history/|website=Military History|publisher=Norwich University|accessdate=March 7, 2015}}</ref> The United States eventually developed the ] and used them on Japan ]; the Japanese ] on September 2, ending World War II.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/08/06/commentary/japan-surrender-world-war-ii/ |title=Why did Japan surrender in World War II? {{!}} The Japan Times|newspaper=The Japan Times|access-date=February 8, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Pacific War Research Society (2006). ''Japan's Longest Day''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|4-7700-2887-3}}.</ref> === Cold War and civil rights era === {{Main|History of the United States (1945–1964)|History of the United States (1964–1980)|History of the United States (1980–1991)}} {{Further|Cold War|Civil Rights Movement|War on Poverty|Space Race|Reaganomics}} ] gives his famous "]" speech at the ] during the ], 1963]] After World War II, the United States and the ] competed for power, influence, and prestige during what became known as the ], driven by an ideological divide between ] and ].<ref name="WaggAndrews2012">{{cite book |last1=Wagg |first1=Stephen |last2=Andrews |first2=David |title=East Plays West: Sport and the Cold War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qmjLR5YyUhEC&pg=PR11 |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-24167-5 |page=11}}</ref> They dominated the military affairs of ], with the U.S. and its ] allies on one side and the USSR and its ] allies on the other. The U.S. ] towards the expansion of communist influence. While the U.S. and Soviet Union engaged in ]s and developed powerful nuclear arsenals, the two countries avoided direct military conflict. The United States often opposed ] movements that it viewed as Soviet-sponsored, and occasionally pursued direct action for ] against left-wing governments, even supporting right-wing authoritarian governments at times.<ref>], </ref> American troops fought communist ] and ]n forces in the ] of 1950–53.<ref name="Proxy" /> The Soviet Union's 1957 launch of the ] and its 1961 launch of the ] initiated a "]" in which the United States became the first nation to ] in 1969.<ref name="Proxy">{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Michael |authorlink=Michael Collins (astronaut) |title=Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space |url=https://archive.org/details/liftoff00coll |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Grove Press |year=1988}}</ref> A proxy war in Southeast Asia eventually evolved into full American participation, as the ]. At home, the U.S. experienced ] and a ] and ]. Construction of an ] transformed the nation's infrastructure over the following decades. Millions moved from farms and ] to large ]an housing developments.<ref>Winchester, pp. 305–308</ref><ref name=IntHighways>{{cite web |last1=Blas |first1=Elisheva |title=The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways |url=http://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/N10_NHD_Blas_Junior.pdf |website=societyforhistoryeducation.org |publisher=Society for History Education |accessdate=January 19, 2015}}</ref> In 1959 ] became the 50th and last U.S. state added to the country.<ref name="Lightner2004">{{cite book |author=Richard Lightner |title=Hawaiian History: An Annotated Bibliography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yei4fDrecWsC&pg=PA141 |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-28233-1 |page=141}}</ref> The growing ] used ] to confront segregation and discrimination, with ] becoming a prominent leader and figurehead. A combination of court decisions and legislation, culminating in the ], sought to end racial discrimination.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dallek |first=Robert |year=2004 |title=Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President |page= |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-515920-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/lyndonbjohnsonpo00dall/page/169 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=old&doc=97 |title=Our Documents—Civil Rights Act (1964) |publisher=United States Department of Justice |accessdate=July 28, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/Johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/651003.asp |title=Remarks at the Signing of the Immigration Bill, Liberty Island, New York |date=October 3, 1965 |accessdate=January 1, 2012 |archiveurl=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160516063650/http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/Johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/651003.asp |archivedate=May 16, 2016 }}</ref> Meanwhile, a ] grew which was fueled by ], ], and the ]. ] (left) and ] ] ], 1985]] The launch of a "]" expanded entitlements and welfare spending, including the creation of ] and ], two programs that provide health coverage to the elderly and poor, respectively, and the ] ] and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ssa.gov/history/lbjsm.html |title=Social Security |website=ssa.gov |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The 1970s and early 1980s saw the onset of ]. After his election in 1980, President ] responded to economic stagnation with ]. Following the collapse of ], he abandoned "containment" and initiated the more aggressive "]" strategy towards the USSR.<ref>], p. 277</ref><ref>]</ref><ref>], pp. 43–53</ref><ref>], pp. 325–331</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Niskanen |first=William A. |title=Reaganomics: an insider's account of the policies and the people |url=https://archive.org/details/reaganomicsinsid00nisk/page/363 |year=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-505394-4 |page= |accessdate=October 25, 2015 }}</ref> After a surge in female labor participation over the previous decade, by 1985 the majority of women aged 16 and over were employed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Women in the Labor Force: A Databook |url=http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook-2012.pdf |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |accessdate=March 21, 2014 |page=11 |year=2013}}</ref> The late 1980s brought a "]" in relations with the USSR, and ] in 1991 finally ended the Cold War.<ref>{{cite book |last=Howell |first=Buddy Wayne |title=The Rhetoric of Presidential Summit Diplomacy: Ronald Reagan and the U.S.-Soviet Summits, 1985–1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LctvjhxJ-bsC |year=2006 |publisher=Texas A&M University |isbn=978-0-549-41658-6 |page=352 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kissinger |first=Henry |authorlink=Henry Kissinger |title=Diplomacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IZboamhb5EC&lpg=PA731 |year=2011 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-4391-2631-8 |pages=781–784 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} {{cite book |last=Mann |first=James |title=The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgZyXNIrvB4C&pg=PT12 |year=2009 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-4406-8639-9 |page=432}} </ref><ref>]</ref><ref>]</ref> This brought about ]<ref>], "The Unipolar Moment", ''Foreign Affairs'', 70/1, (Winter 1990/1), 23–33.</ref> with the U.S. unchallenged as the world's dominant superpower. The concept of ], which had appeared in the post-World War II period, gained wide popularity as a term for the post-Cold War ] === Contemporary history === {{Main|History of the United States (1991–2008)|History of the United States (2008–present)}} {{Further||Gulf War|September 11 attacks|War on Terror|2008 financial crisis|Affordable Care Act|Death of Osama bin Laden}} {{multiple image|total_width=360 | image1 = WTC smoking on 9-11.jpeg | caption1 = The ] in ] during the ] ] by the ] group ] in 2001 | alt1 = | image2 = OneWorldTradeCenter.jpg | caption2 = ], newly built in its place | alt2 = }} After the ], the conflict in the Middle East triggered a crisis in 1990, when ] under ] ], an ally of the United States. Fearing the instability would spread to other regions, President ] launched ], a defensive force buildup in Saudi Arabia, and ], in a staging titled the Gulf War; waged by ] from 34 nations, led by the United States against Iraq ending in the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait and restoration of the monarchy.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2016 |title=Persian Gulf War |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Persian-Gulf-War |accessdate=January 24, 2017}}</ref> Originating within ], the ] spread to international academic platforms and then to the public in the 1990s, greatly affecting the global economy, society, and culture.<ref>Winchester, pp. 420–423</ref> Due to the ], stable monetary policy under ], and ], the 1990s saw the ] in modern U.S. history, ending in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |title=Did Clinton Do It, or Was He Lucky? |author=Dale, Reginald |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/18/business/worldbusiness/18iht-think.2.t_2.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 18, 2000 |accessdate=March 6, 2013}} {{cite book |last=Mankiw |first=N. Gregory |title=Macroeconomics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58KxPNa0hF4C&lpg=PA463 |year=2008 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-324-58999-3 |page=559 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> Beginning in 1994, the U.S. entered into the ] (NAFTA), linking 450 million people producing $17 trillion worth of goods and services. The goal of the agreement was to eliminate trade and investment barriers among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by January 1, 2008. Trade among the three partners has soared since NAFTA went into force.<ref>{{cite web |title=North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) {{!}} United States Trade Representative |url=http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north-american-free-trade-agreement-nafta |website=www.ustr.gov |accessdate=January 11, 2015}} {{cite book |author1=Thakur |author2=Manab Thakur Gene E Burton B N Srivastava |title=International Management: Concepts and Cases |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J2SbAuVzHBMC&pg=PA334 |year=1997 |publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill Education |isbn=978-0-07-463395-3 |pages=334–335 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} {{cite book |author1=Akis Kalaitzidis |author2=Gregory W. Streich |title=U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary and Reference Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c9rhlt2Ke3gC&pg=PA201 |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-38376-2 |page=201}}</ref> On ], ] terrorists struck the ] in New York City and ] near Washington, D.C., killing nearly 3,000 people.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=September 9, 2011 |title=Flashback 9/11: As It Happened |url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/1151859712001/flashback-911-as-it-happened/ |accessdate=March 6, 2013 |publisher=Fox News}} {{cite news |title=America remembers Sept. 11 attacks 11 years later |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57510234/america-remembers-sept-11-attacks-11-years-later/ |publisher=CBS News |date=September 11, 2012 |accessdate=March 6, 2013}} {{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/multimedia.day.html |title=Day of Terror Video Archive |year=2005 |publisher=CNN |accessdate=March 6, 2013}}</ref> In response, the United States launched the ], which included ] and the 2003–11 ].<ref>{{cite news |title=The 'War on Terror' Is Critical to President George W. Bush's Legacy |author=Walsh, Kenneth T. |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/12/09/the-war-on-terror-is-critical-to-president-george-w-bushs-legacy |newspaper=U.S. News & World Report |date=December 9, 2008 |accessdate=March 6, 2013}} {{cite book |last=Atkins |first=Stephen E. |title=The 9/11 Encyclopedia: Second Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDDIgWRN_HQC&pg=PA210 |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-921-9 |page=872 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Overview: The Iraq War |last=Wong |first=Edward |url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/timestopics/topics_iraq.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 15, 2008 |accessdate=March 7, 2013}} {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=James Turner |title=The War to Oust Saddam Hussein: Just War and the New Face of Conflict |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SF7U27JsLC4C&dq=iraq+invasion+removes+hussein |year=2005 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-4956-2 |page=159 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} {{cite news |title=Timeline: Key moments in the Iraq War |author=Durando, Jessica |author2=Green, Shannon Rae |agency=Associated Press |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/story/2011-12-21/iraq-war-timeline/52147680/1 |newspaper=USA Today |date=December 21, 2011 |accessdate=March 7, 2013}}</ref> Government policy designed to promote affordable housing,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hidden in Plain Sight: What Really Caused the World's Worst Financial Crisis and Why It Could Happen Again |last=Wallison |first=Peter |publisher=Encounter Books |year=2015 |isbn=978-978-59407-7-0 |author-link=Peter J. Wallison}}</ref> widespread failures in corporate and regulatory governance,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-FCIC/pdf/GPO-FCIC.pdf |title=Financial Crisis Inquiry Report |year=2011 |author=Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission |isbn=978-1-60796-348-6|author-link=Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission }}</ref> and historically low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=John B. |author-link=John B. Taylor |accessdate=January 21, 2017 |title=The Financial Crisis and the Policy Responses: An Empirical Analysis of What Went Wrong |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w14631.pdf |journal=Hoover Institution Economics Paper Series |date=January 2009}}</ref> led to the ], which culminated with the ], the nation's largest economic contraction since the Great Depression.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122169431617549947 |title=Worst Crisis Since '30s, With No End Yet in Sight |last=Hilsenrath |first=Jon |date=September 18, 2008 |work=The Wall Street Journal |last2=Ng |first2=Serena |last3=Paletta |first3=Damian |accessdate=January 21, 2017}}</ref> ], the first ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/barack-obama-elected-as-americas-first-black-president|title=Barack Obama elected as America's first black president|author=|date=October 31, 2019|website=History.com|publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC|accessdate=November 11, 2019}}</ref> and ]<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=November 12, 2008 |title=Barack Obama: Face Of New Multiracial Movement? |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96916824 |newspaper=NPR |accessdate=October 4, 2014}}</ref> president, ] amid the crisis,<ref>{{cite news |title=African-American Economic Gains Reversed By Great Recession |agency=Associated Press |author=Washington, Jesse |author2=Rugaber, Chris |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/10/black-recession-economy-african-americans_n_894046.html |newspaper=Huffington Post |date=September 9, 2011 |accessdate=March 7, 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616183529/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/10/black-recession-economy-african-americans_n_894046.html |archivedate=June 16, 2013}}</ref> and subsequently passed ] and the ] in an attempt to mitigate its negative effects and ensure there would not be a repeat of the crisis. The stimulus facilitated infrastructure improvements<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/what-the-stimulus-accomplished.html?_r=0 |title=What the Stimulus Accomplished |date=February 22, 2014 |accessdate=January 21, 2017 |work=The New York Times }}</ref> and a relative decline in unemployment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.igmchicago.org/igm-economic-experts-panel/poll-results?SurveyID=SV_cw5O9LNJL1oz4Xi |title=Economic Stimulus |website=IGM Polls |publisher=] at the ] |date=February 15, 2012 |accessdate=January 21, 2017}}</ref> Dodd–Frank improved financial stability and consumer protection,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on Financial Stability and Economic Growth |publisher=Brookings |url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Baily-Klein-PPTF-1.pdf |date=October 24, 2014 |accessdate=August 31, 2017 |postscript=none}}; {{cite journal |title=The Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on Financial Stability and Economic Growth |journal=The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences |volume=3 |issue=1 |page=20 |date=January 2017 |doi=10.7758/RSF.2017.3.1.02 |last1=Martin Neil Baily |last2=Aaron Klein |last3=Justin Schardin|doi-access=free }}</ref> although there has been debate about its effects on the economy.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/dd4a6698-efe7-11e6-930f-061b01e23655 |title=Did Dodd-Frank really hurt the US economy? |date=February 13, 2017 |work=Financial Times |access-date=January 23, 2018}}</ref> ] and former presidents ], ] and ] at the ], December 2018]] In 2010, the Obama administration passed the ], which made the most sweeping reforms to the ] in nearly five decades, including ], ] and ]. The law caused a significant reduction in the number and percentage of people without health insurance, with 24 million covered during 2016,<ref name="CBO_Subsidy2016">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbo.gov/publication/51385|title=Federal Subsidies for Health Insurance Coverage for People Under Age 65: 2016 to 2026|last=|first=|date=March 24, 2016|website=|publisher=Congressional Budget Office|accessdate=November 11, 2019}}</ref> but remains controversial due to its impact on healthcare costs, insurance premiums, and economic performance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/12/politics/paul-ryan-town-hall/ |title=Ryan: GOP will repeal, replace Obamacare at same time |last=Bradner |first=Eric |date=January 13, 2017 |accessdate=January 21, 2017 |website=CNN}}</ref> Although the recession reached its trough in June 2009, voters remained frustrated with the slow pace of the economic recovery. The Republicans, who were opposed to Obama's policies, won control of the House of Representatives with ] and control of the Senate in ].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jacobson |first=Gary C. |title=The Republican Resurgence in 2010 |date=March 2011 |journal=] |volume=126 |issue=1 |pages=27–52 |doi=10.1002/j.1538-165X.2011.tb00693.x}}</ref> American forces in Iraq were ] in large numbers in 2009 and 2010, and the war in the region was declared formally over in December 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/world/middleeast/panetta-in-baghdad-for-iraq-military-handover-ceremony.html |work=The New York Times |first1=Thom |last1=Shanker |first2=Michael S. |last2=Schmidt |first3=Robert F. |last3=Worth |title=In Baghdad, Panetta Leads Uneasy Closure to Conflict |date=December 15, 2011}}</ref> But months earlier, operation Operation Neptune Spear led to the ] in ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Cooper |first=Helene |title=Obama Announces Killing of Osama bin Laden |date=May 1, 2011 |url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/bin-laden-dead-u-s-official-says/ |work=] |accessdate=May 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502033900/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/bin-laden-dead-u-s-official-says/ |archivedate=May 2, 2011 |df=}}</ref> The withdrawal caused ],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ctc.usma.edu/the-jrtn-movement-and-iraqs-next-insurgency/|title=The JRTN Movement and Iraq's Next Insurgency|last=Knights|first=Michael|date=July 1, 2011|work=CTC Sentinel|accessdate=November 11, 2019|publisher=]}}</ref> leading to the rise of the ], the successor of al-Qaeda in the region.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/nea/rls/rm/221274.htm |title=Al-Qaeda's Resurgence in Iraq: A Threat to U.S. Interests |publisher=U.S. Department of State |accessdate=November 26, 2010 |date=January 26, 2017 }}</ref> In 2014, Obama announced a ] of full ] for the first time since 1961,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/americas/us-cuba-relations.html |title=U.S. to Restore Full Relations With Cuba, Erasing a Last Trace of Cold War Hostility |author=Peter Baker |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 26, 2017|author-link=Peter Baker (author) }}</ref> though in June 2019, the ] announced new restrictions on American travel to Cuba.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48503821|title=US halts cruises to Cuba amid new restrictions|last=|first=|date=June 4, 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=November 12, 2019|language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2015, the United States as a member of the ] countries signed the ], an agreement aimed to slow the development of ],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/15/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-deal-is-reached-after-long-negotiations.html |title=Deal Reached on Iran Nuclear Program; Limits on Fuel Would Lessen With Time |last=Gordon |first=Michael R. |last2=Sanger |first2=David E. |work=The New York Times |accessdate=January 26, 2017 |date=July 15, 2015}}</ref> though the U.S. withdrew from the deal in May 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-iran-nuclear-deal/index.html|title=Trump withdraws from Iran nuclear deal|last=Wagner|first=Meg|last2=Rocha|first2=Veronica|date=May 9, 2018|website=CNN|language=en|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref> In the ], Republican ] was elected as the ] president of the United States, making him both the ] and ] person elected president in the country's history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-richest-us-president-in-history-2017-1|title=Donald Trump is officially the richest US president in history|last=Martin|first=Emmie|date=January 23, 2017|website=Business Insider|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref> == Geography, climate, and environment == {{Main|Geography of the United States|Climate of the United States|Environment of the United States}} ] The ] and the District of Columbia occupy a combined area of {{convert|3,119,884.69|sqmi|km2}}. Of this area, {{convert|2,959,064.44|sqmi|km2}} is contiguous land, composing 83.65% of total U.S. land area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/279.html#as|work=The World Factbook|publisher=cia.gov|title = Field Listing: Area}}</ref><ref name="urlState Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates—Geography—U.S. Census Bureau">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html |title=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates—Geography—U.S. Census Bureau |website=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce |quote= |accessdate=September 11, 2017}}</ref> ], occupying an archipelago in the central ], southwest of North America, is {{convert|10931|sqmi|km2|0}} in area. The populated territories of ], ], ], ], and ] together cover {{convert|9185|sqmi|km2|0}}.<ref name="Land Area of US and states">{{cite web |title=2010 Census Area |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf |website=census.gov |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |page=41 |accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref> Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind ] and China, just ahead of Canada.<ref name="CIA Factbook Area">{{cite web |title=Area |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |accessdate=January 15, 2015}}</ref> The United States is the world's third- or fourth-] (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and nearly equal to ]. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and ] are counted, and how the total size of the United States is measured.{{efn|name=largestcountry}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616563/United-States |title=United States |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |accessdate=January 8, 2018}} (given in square miles, excluding)</ref><ref name="WF">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html |title=United States |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |website=The World Factbook |date=January 3, 2018 |accessdate=January 8, 2018}}</ref> The coastal plain of the ] seaboard gives way further inland to ] forests and the rolling hills of the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Geographic Regions of Georgia |url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/geography/article/geographic-regions-of-georgia |website=Georgia Info |publisher=Digital Library of Georgia |accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The ] divide the eastern seaboard from the ] and the grasslands of the ].<ref name="NAU">{{cite web |last=Lew |first=Alan |title=PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE US |url=http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch2.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409112252/http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch2.html |archivedate=April 9, 2016 |website=GSP 220—Geography of the United States |publisher=North Arizona University |accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The ]–], the world's ], runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile ] of the ] stretches to the west, interrupted by ] in the southeast.<ref name="NAU" /> ]s of U.S. states and territories]] The ], west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking around {{convert|14000|ft}} in ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Harms |first=Nicole |title=Facts About the Rocky Mountain Range |url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/rocky-mountain-range-11967.html |website=Travel Tips |publisher=USA Today |accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> Farther west are the rocky ] and deserts such as the ] and ].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Great Basin |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/242919/Great-Basin |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The ] and ] mountain ranges run close to the ], both ranges reaching altitudes higher than {{convert|14000|ft}}. The ] in the ] United States are in the state of ],<ref>{{cite web |title=Mount Whitney, California |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2829 |publisher=Peakbagger |accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> and only about {{convert|84|mi|km}} apart.<ref>{{cite web |title=Find Distance and Azimuths Between 2 Sets of Coordinates (Badwater 36-15-01-N, 116-49-33-W and Mount Whitney 36-34-43-N, 118-17-31-W) |url=http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/distance?dlat=36&mlat=15&slat=01&ns=1&dlon=116&mlon=49&slon=33&ew=1&dlat2=36&mlat2=34&slat2=43&sn=1&dlon2=118&mlon2=17&slon2=31&we=1&iselec=1 |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> At an elevation of {{convert|20310|ft|1}}, Alaska's ] is the highest peak in the country and in North America.<ref>{{cite web |last=Poppick |first=Laura |title=US Tallest Mountain's Surprising Location Explained |url=http://www.livescience.com/39245-us-tallest-mountain-location-explained.html |publisher=LiveScience |accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> Active ]es are common throughout Alaska's ] and ], and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The ] underlying ] in the ] is the continent's largest volcanic feature.<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Hanlon |first=Larry |title=America's Explosive Park |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html |date=March 14, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050314034001/http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html |archive-date=March 14, 2005 |publisher=Discovery Channel |accessdate=April 5, 2016}}</ref> The United States, with its large size and geographic variety, includes most climate types. To the east of the ], the climate ranges from ] in the north to ] in the south.<ref>{{cite web |last=Boyden |first=Jennifer |title=Climate Regions of the United States |url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/climate-regions-united-states-21570.html |website=Travel Tips |publisher=USA Today |accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The Great Plains west of the 100th meridian are ]. Much of the Western mountains have an ]. The climate is ] in the Great Basin, desert in the Southwest, ] in ], and ] in coastal ] and ] and southern Alaska. Most of Alaska is ] or ]. Hawaii and the southern tip of ] are ], as well as its territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Map of Köppen–Geiger Climate Classification |url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/kottek_et_al_2006_A4.pdf|access-date=August 19, 2015}}</ref> States bordering the ] are prone to ], and most of the world's ]es occur in the country, mainly in ] areas in the Midwest and South.<ref>{{cite news |author=Perkins, Sid |url=http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701131631/http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp |archivedate=July 1, 2007 |title=Tornado Alley, USA |access-date=September 20, 2006 |date=May 11, 2002 |work=Science News}}</ref> Overall, the United States has the world's most violent weather, receiving more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|title=USA has the world's most extreme weather|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/05/16/extreme-weather-north-america/2162501/|last=Rice|first=Doyle|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-17}}</ref> === Wildlife and conservation === {{Main|Fauna of the United States|Flora of the United States}} {{See also|Category:Biota of the United States}} The U.S. ecology is ]: about 17,000 species of ]s occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and more than 1,800 species of ]s are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland.<ref>{{cite web |author=Morin, Nancy |url=http://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724222726/http://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf |title=Vascular Plants of the United States |publisher=National Biological Service |website=Plants |accessdate=October 27, 2008 |archivedate=July 24, 2013}}</ref> The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 bird species, 311 reptile species, and 295 amphibian species,<ref name="Current Results # of native species in the US">{{cite web |last1=Osborn |first1=Liz |title=Number of Native Species in United States |url=http://www.currentresults.com/Environment-Facts/Plants-Animals/number-of-native-species-in-united-states.php |publisher=Current Results Nexus |accessdate=January 15, 2015}}</ref> as well as about 91,000 insect species.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/bugnos.htm |title=Numbers of Insects (Species and Individuals) |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> ] has been the ] of the United States since 1782.<ref name="McDougall2004">{{cite book |author=Len McDougall |title=The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XOc2_u7z6cC&pg=PA325 |year=2004 |publisher=Lyons Press |isbn=978-1-59228-070-4 |page=325}}</ref>|alt=A bald eagle]] There are 62 ] and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and ] areas.<ref>{{cite press release |title=National Park Service Announces Addition of Two New Units |url=http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=639 |date=February 28, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001195645/http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=639 |archive-date=October 1, 2006 |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref> Altogether, the government owns about 28% of the country's land area.<ref name="NYTimes Federal Land">{{cite news |last1=Lipton |first1=Eric |last2=Krauss |first2=Clifford |title=Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/us/romney-would-give-reins-to-states-on-drilling-on-federal-lands.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0 |accessdate=January 18, 2015 |newspaper=New York Times |date=August 23, 2012}}</ref> Most of this is ], though some is leased for oil and gas drilling, mining, logging, or cattle ranching, and about .86% is used for military purposes.<ref name="Federal Land Ownership">{{cite web |last1=Gorte |first1=Ross W. |last2=Vincent |first2=Carol Hardy. |last3=Hanson |first3=Laura A. |last4=Marc R. |first4=Rosenblum |title=Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf |website=fas.org |publisher=Congressional Research Service |accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Fed Land Uses">{{cite web |title=Chapter 6: Federal Programs to Promote Resource Use, Extraction, and Development |url=http://www.doi.gov/pmb/oepc/wetlands2/v2ch6.cfm |website=doi.gov |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318005744/http://www.doi.gov/pmb/oepc/wetlands2/v2ch6.cfm |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |accessdate=January 19, 2015 |archivedate=March 18, 2015}}</ref> ] include debates on oil and ], dealing with air and water pollution, the economic costs of protecting wildlife, logging and ],<ref>{{cite web |author=The National Atlas of the United States of America |url=http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html |title=Forest Resources of the United States |publisher=Nationalatlas.gov |date=January 14, 2013 |accessdate=January 13, 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507195541/http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html |archivedate=May 7, 2009 |df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr587.pdf |title=Land Use Changes Involving Forestry in the United States: 1952 to 1997, With Projections to 2050 |year=2003 |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref> and international responses to global warming.<ref>], pp. 3, 72, 74–76, 78</ref><ref>Hays, Samuel P. (2000). ''A History of Environmental Politics since 1945''.</ref> The most prominent environmental agency is the ] (EPA), created by presidential order in 1970.<ref name="Collin2006">{{cite book |last=Collin |first=Robert W. |title=The Environmental Protection Agency: Cleaning Up America's Act |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVPoqXeTYTwC&pg=PA1 |year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-33341-5 |page=1 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the ].<ref>Turner, James Morton (2012). ''The Promise of Wilderness''</ref> The ] of 1973 is intended to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats, which are monitored by the ].<ref name="Office">{{cite book |title=Endangered species Fish and Wildlife Service |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a8BEuUPJb58C&pg=PA1 |publisher=General Accounting Office, Diane Publishing |isbn=978-1-4289-3997-4 |page=1 |accessdate=October 25, 2015|year=2003 }}</ref> == Demographics == {{Main|Americans|Demographics of the United States|Race and ethnicity in the United States}} === Population === {{See also|List of U.S. states by population|List of United States cities by population}}The ] estimated the country's population to be 329,686,270 as of May 23, 2020, and to be adding one person (net gain) every 19 seconds, or about 4,547 people per day.<ref name="urlPopulation Clock" /> The United States is the third most populous nation in the world, after ] and ]. In 2018 the ] of the United States population was 38.1 years.<ref>{{cite web|title=The World Factbook: United States|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=November 10, 2018}}</ref> In 2018, there were almost 90 million immigrants and U.S.-born children of immigrants (] Americans) in the United States, accounting for 28% of the overall U.S. population.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 14, 2019|title=Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States|work=]|url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states}}</ref> The United States has a very diverse population; 37 ] have more than one million members.<ref name="An2000">{{cite web|title=Ancestry 2000|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf|last=|first=|date=June 2004|website=|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|url-status=live|archiveurl=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041204015245/http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf|archivedate=December 4, 2004|access-date=December 2, 2016|df=}}</ref> ] are the largest ethnic group (more than 50 million)—followed by ] (circa 37 million), ]s (circa 31 million) and ] (circa 28 million).<ref>{{cite web|title=Table 52. Population by Selected Ancestry Group and Region: 2009|url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0052.pdf|date=2009|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225031832/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0052.pdf|archivedate=December 25, 2012|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Immigration Numbers Update: 13 Million Mexicans Immigrated to US in 2013, But Chinese Migrants Outnumber Other Latin Americans|url=http://www.latinpost.com/articles/20628/20140903/immigration-numbers-update-13-million-mexicans-immigrated-2013-chinese-migrants.html|last=Oleaga|first=Michael|publisher=Latin Post|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905071238/http://www.latinpost.com/articles/20628/20140903/immigration-numbers-update-13-million-mexicans-immigrated-2013-chinese-migrants.htm|archivedate=September 5, 2014|accessdate=December 28, 2014}}</ref> ] (mostly ]) are the largest ] at 73.1% of the population; ] are the nation's largest ] and third-largest ancestry group.<ref name="An2000" /> ] are the country's second-largest racial minority; the three largest Asian American ethnic groups are ], ], and ].<ref name="An2000" /> The largest American community with European ancestry is ], which consists of ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Selected Social Characteristics in the United States—2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_5YR/DP02/0100000US|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213005057/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_5YR/DP02/0100000US|archive-date=February 13, 2020|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref> In 2010, the U.S. population included an estimated 5.2 million people with some ] or ] ancestry (2.9 million exclusively of such ancestry) and 1.2 million with some ] or ] ancestry (0.5 million exclusively).<ref name="Cen2010Race">{{cite web|title=Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf|author1=Humes, Karen R.|author2=Jones, Nicholas A.|date=March 2011|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429214029/http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf|archivedate=April 29, 2011|accessdate=March 29, 2011|author3=Ramirez, Roberto R.|df=}}</ref> The census counted more than 19 million people of "Some Other Race" who were "unable to identify with any" of its five official race categories in 2010, more than 18.5 million (97%) of whom are of Hispanic ethnicity.<ref name="Cen2010Race" /> ] (as defined by the Census Bureau as all those beside non-Hispanic, non-multiracial ]) constituted 37% of the population in 2012<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, (V2015)|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_12_1YR_DP05&prodType=table|website=census.gov|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212212412/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_12_1YR_DP05&prodType=table|archive-date=February 12, 2020|access-date=October 15, 2016}}</ref> and over 50% of children under age one,<ref name="pewcensus">{{cite news|last=Cohn|first=D'vera|date=June 23, 2016|title=It's official: Minority babies are the majority among the nation's infants, but only just|work=Pew Research Center|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/23/its-official-minority-babies-are-the-majority-among-the-nations-infants-but-only-just/|access-date=November 11, 2019}}</ref><ref name="exner">{{cite news|author=Exner, Rich|date=July 3, 2012|title=Americans under age one now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot|work=The Plain Dealer|location=Cleveland, OH|url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|accessdate=July 29, 2012}}</ref> and are projected to constitute the majority by 2044.<ref name="pewcensus" /> In 2017, out of the U.S. foreign-born population, some 45% (20.7 million) were naturalized citizens, 27% (12.3 million) were lawful permanent residents (including many eligible to become citizens), 6% (2.2 million) were temporary lawful residents, and 23% (10.5 million) were unauthorized immigrants.<ref name="KeyFindings" /> Among current living immigrants to the U.S., the top five countries of birth are Mexico, China, India, the Philippines and ]. Until 2017 and 2018, the United States led the word in ] for decades, admitted more refugees than the rest of the world combined.<ref name="PewRefugees">{{cite web|title=Key facts about refugees to the U.S.|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/|author=Jens Manuel Krogstad|date=October 7, 2019|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref> From fiscal year 1980 until 2017, 55% of refugees came from Asia, 27% from Europe, 13% from Africa, and 4% from Latin America.<ref name="PewRefugees" /> A 2017 ] poll concluded that 4.5% of adult Americans identified as ] with 5.1% of women identifying as LGBT, compared with 3.9% of men.<ref>{{cite web|title=In U.S., Estimate of LGBT Population Rises to 4.5%|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/234863/estimate-lgbt-population-rises.aspx|website=Gallup.com|accessdate=September 14, 2018}}</ref> The highest percentage came from the ] (10%), while the lowest state was ] at 1.7%.<ref>{{cite web|title=LGBT Percentage Highest in D.C., Lowest in North Dakota|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/160517/lgbt-percentage-highest-lowest-north-dakota.aspx|last=Gates|first=Gary J.|last2=Newport|first2=Frank|date=February 15, 2013|website=|publisher=Gallup|accessdate=November 11, 2019}}</ref>{{US Census population |1610= 350 |1620= 2302 |1630= 4646 |1640= 26634 |1650= 50368 |1660= 75058 |1670= 111935 |1680= 151507 |1690= 210372 |1700= 250888 |1710= 331711 |1720= 466185 |1730= 629445 |1740= 905563 |1750= 1170760 |1760= 1593625 |1770= 2148076 |1780= 2780369 |1790= 3929214 |1800= 5308483 |1810= 7239881 |1820= 9638453 |1830= 12866020 |1840= 17069453 |1850= 23191876 |1860= 31443321 |1870= 38558371 |1880= 50189209 |1890= 62979766 |1900= 76212168 |1910= 92228496 |1920= 106021537 |1930= 123202624 |1940= 132164569 |1950= 151325798 |1960= 179323175 |1970= 203211926 |1980= 226545805 |1990= 248709873 |2000= 281421906 |2010= 308745538 |align=right |estyear=2019<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219|title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States|website=www.census.gov|language=en|access-date=January 5, 2020}}</ref> |estimate=328239523 |footnote=1610–1780 population data.<ref>{{cite web |title=CT1970p2-13: Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/CT1970p2-13.pdf |website=census.gov |accessdate=August 20, 2015 |page=1168 |date=2004}}</ref> Note that the census numbers do not include ] until 1860.<ref name="Census1860">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |title=Historical Census Statistics On Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For Large Cities And Other Urban Places In The United States |website=census.gov |accessdate=May 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012 }}</ref> }} A 2017 United Nations report projected that the U.S. would be one of nine countries in which world population growth through 2050 would be concentrated.<ref name=APPopulous>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nigeria-pass-u-s-world-s-3rd-most-populous-country-n775371|publisher=NBC News|title=Nigeria to Pass U.S. as World's 3rd Most Populous Country by 2050, UN Says|agency=Associated Press|date=June 22, 2017}}</ref> A 2020 U.S. Census Bureau report projected the population of the country could be anywhere between 320 million and 447 million by 2060, depending on the rate of in-migration; in all projected scenarios, a lower fertility rate and increases in life expectancy would result in an aging population.<ref>{{cite web|author=Sandra Johnson|url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1146.pdf|title=A Changing Nation: Population Projections Under Alternative Immigration Scenarios|date=February 2020|publisher=]}}</ref> The population growth of ] is a major ]. The 50.5 million Americans of Hispanic descent<ref name="Cen2010Race" /> are identified as sharing a distinct "]" by the Census Bureau; 64% of Hispanic Americans are of ].<ref name="CB2007">{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/07_1YR/B03001 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212084606/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/07_1YR/B03001 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |title=B03001. Hispanic or Latino Origin by Specific Origin |website=2007 American Community Survey |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=September 26, 2008}}</ref> Between 2000 and 2010, the country's Hispanic population increased 43% while the non-Hispanic population rose just 4.9%.<ref name="Cen2010Summary">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html |title=2010 Census Data |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=March 29, 2011}}</ref> The United States has a birth rate of 13 per 1,000, which is five births below the world average.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2054.html |title=Field Listing: Birth Rate |publisher=The World Factbook |website=Central Intelligence Agency |year=2014 |accessdate=January 21, 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211213638/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2054.html |archivedate=December 11, 2007 }}</ref> Its ] rate is positive at 0.7%, ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.GROW/countries |title=Population growth (annual %) |publisher=The World Bank |website=United Nations Population Division |year=2014 |accessdate=January 21, 2015}}</ref> In fiscal year 2017, more than a million ] (most of whom entered through ]) were granted ].<ref name="LPR">. ] ''Annual Flow Report''.</ref> In absolute numbers, the number of foreign-born U.S. residents is at a record high (44.4 million in 2017); however as a proportion of the overall population, the current foreign-born share (13.6% of the total population) is lower than the share at the peak in 1890 (14.8% of the total population).<ref name="KeyFindings">{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/|title=Key findings about U.S. immigrants|publisher=Pew Research Center|date=June 17, 2019}}</ref> [[File:United States Map of Population by State (2015).svg|thumb|upright=1.36|Population by state (2015): {{legend|#ecf3f7|580k–2.8M}} {{legend|#cfdfeb|2.8M–5.28M}} {{legend|#b0cde1|5.28M–8.26M}} {{legend|#90bad8|8.26M–11.6M}} {{legend|#6ea7d2|11.6M–19.6M}} {{legend|#4c96cb|19.6M–26.5M}} {{legend|#3182bd|26.5M–38.4M}} {{legend|#004374|38.4M+}}]] About 82% of Americans live in ] (including suburbs);<ref name="WF" /> about half of those reside in cities with populations over 50,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-state=gct&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-P1&-mt_name=&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=&-format=US-1&-_lang=en |title=United States—Urban/Rural and Inside/Outside Metropolitan Area |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |archiveurl=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090403024532/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-state=gct&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-P1&-mt_name=&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=&-format=US-1&-_lang=en |archivedate=April 3, 2009 |access-date=September 23, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2008, 273 ] had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than one million residents, and four cities had over two million (namely ], ], ], and ]).<ref name="PopEstBigCities">{{cite web |url=http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/census/popestimate/copy_of_2008-subcounty-population-hawaii/SUB_EST2008_01.pdf |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5lpvuJk99?url=http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/census/popestimate/copy_of_2008-subcounty-population-hawaii/SUB_EST2008_01.pdf |archivedate=December 7, 2009 |title=Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2008 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008 |website=2008 Population Estimates |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division |date=July 1, 2009 }}</ref> Estimates for the year 2018 show that 53 ] have populations greater than one million. Many metros in the South, Southwest and West grew significantly between 2010 and 2018. The ] and ] metros increased by more than a million people, while the ], ], ], and ] metros all grew by more than 500,000 people. === Language === {{Main|Languages of the United States}} {{See also|Language Spoken at Home in the United States of America|List of endangered languages in the United States|Language education in the United States}} ] (specifically, ]) is the ] ] of the United States. Although there is no ] at the federal level, some laws—such as ]—standardize English. In 2010, about 230 million, or 80% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. ], spoken by 12% of the population at home, is the second most common language and the most widely taught second language.<ref name=Lang>"Language Spoken at Home by the U.S. Population, 2010", American Community Survey, ], in ''World Almanac and Book of Facts 2012'', p. 615.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Welles |first=Elizabeth B. |title=Foreign Language Enrollments in United States Institutions of Higher Learning, Fall 2002 |url=http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf |date=Winter–Spring 2004 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618133404/http://www.adfl.org/resources/enrollments.pdf |archivedate=June 18, 2009 |journal=ADFL Bulletin |volume=35 |page=7 |number=2–3 |doi=10.1632/adfl.35.2.7 |access-date=February 25, 2017}}</ref> Both ] and English are official languages in ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724231656/http://hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html |archivedate=July 24, 2013 |title=The Constitution of the State of Hawaii, Article XV, Section 4 |publisher=Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau |date=November 7, 1978 |accessdate=June 19, 2007}}</ref> In addition to English, ] recognizes ],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chapel|first1=Bill|title=Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/21/305688602/alaska-oks-bill-making-native-languages-official |website=NPR.org |date=April 21, 2014}}</ref> and South Dakota recognizes ].<ref name=LakotaCommon>{{cite web|url=https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/22/south-dakota-recognizes-official-indigenous-language-governor-noem/3245113002/|title=South Dakota recognizes official indigenous language|publisher=]|accessdate=March 26, 2019}}</ref> While neither has an official language, ] has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as ] does for English and ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Dicker, Susan J. |title=Languages in America: A Pluralist View |year=2003 |pages= |location=Clevedon, UK |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-85359-651-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/languagesinameri00dick/page/216 }}</ref> Other states, such as California, mandate the publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents including court forms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=ccp&group=00001-01000&file=412.10-412.30 |title=California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 412.20(6) |publisher=Legislative Counsel, State of California |accessdate=December 17, 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722010302/http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=ccp&group=00001-01000&file=412.10-412.30 |archivedate=July 22, 2010}} {{cite web |url=http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/allforms.htm |title=California Judicial Council Forms |publisher=Judicial Council, State of California |accessdate=December 17, 2007}}</ref> Several insular territories grant official recognition to their native languages, along with English: ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=96 |title=Samoan |author= |website=UCLA Language Materials Project |publisher=UCLA |accessdate=October 4, 2014}} {{cite book |author1=Frederick T.L. Leong |author2=Mark M. Leach |title=Suicide Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups: Theory, Research, and Practice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrKTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT185 |year=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-91680-0 |page=185}} {{cite book |author=Robert D. Craig |title=Historical Dictionary of Polynesia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=01U5DrqoMJgC&pg=PR33 |year=2002 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-4237-3 |page=33 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> is officially recognized by ] and ]<ref>{{cite book |author1=Nessa Wolfson |author2=Joan Manes |title=Language of Inequality |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ywvo0fNRGqgC&pg=PA176 |year=1985 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-009946-1 |page=176 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} {{cite book |author1=Lawrence J. Cunningham |author2=Janice J. Beaty |title=A History of Guam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bkaLkgHEFvIC&pg=PA203 |date=2001 |publisher=Bess Press |isbn=978-1-57306-047-9 |page=203}} {{cite book |author=Eur |title=The Far East and Australasia 2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&pg=PA1137 |year=2002 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1-85743-133-9 |page=1137 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> is an official language of ]. Both ] and Chamorro have official recognition in the ].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Yaron Matras |author2=Peter Bakker |title=The Mixed Language Debate: Theoretical and Empirical Advances |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZMRV8y6T8AC&pg=PA301 |year=2003 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-017776-3 |page=301 |quote=in the Northern Marianas, Chamarro, Carolinian ( = the minority language of a group of Carolinian immigrants), and English received the status of co-official languages in 1985(Rodriguez-Ponga 1995:24–28).}}</ref> Spanish is an official language of ] and is more widely spoken than English there.<ref name=PuertoRicoTranslation>{{cite web |url=http://www.puertorico.com/translation/ |title=Translation in Puerto Rico |website=Puerto Rico Channel |accessdate=December 29, 2013}}</ref> The ] in the United States, in terms of enrollment numbers from kindergarten through university ], are Spanish (around 7.2 million students), French (1.5 million), and ] (500,000). Other commonly taught languages include ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf |title=Foreign Language Enrollments in K–12 Public Schools |date=February 2011 |publisher=American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) |access-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mla.org/pdf/2013_enrollment_survey.pdf |title=Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2013 |last1=Goldberg |first1=David |last2=Looney |first2=Dennis |last3=Lusin |first3=Natalia |date=February 2015 |publisher=Modern Language Association |access-date=May 20, 2015}}</ref> 18% of all Americans claim to speak both English and another language.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/collegeprose/2012/08/27/americas-foreign-language-deficit/ |title=America's Foreign Language Deficit |author1=David Skorton |author2=Glenn Altschuler |lastauthoramp=yes |website=Forbes}}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" style="float:center; margin-left:1em; font-size: 90%" |+ Languages spoken at home by more than one million persons in the U.S. (2016)<ref name="MLA Data">{{cite web |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data |title=United States |publisher=]|access-date=September 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B16001&prodType=table |title=American FactFinder—Results |first=U.S. Census |last=Bureau |publisher= |access-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212213140/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B16001&prodType=table |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{efn|Source: 2015 ], ]. Most respondents who speak a language other than English at home also report speaking English "well" or "very well". For the language groups listed above, the strongest English-language proficiency is among speakers of German (96% report that they speak English "well" or "very well"), followed by speakers of French (93.5%), Tagalog (92.8%), Spanish (74.1%), Korean (71.5%), Chinese (70.4%), and Vietnamese (66.9%).}} |- ! Language !! Percent of population !! Number of speakers !! Number who speak English very well !! Number who speak English less than very well |- | ] (only) || ~80% || 237,810,023 || N/A || N/A |- | ] (including ] but excluding ]) || 13% || 40,489,813 || 23,899,421 || 16,590,392 |- | ] (all varieties, including ] and ]) || 1.0% || 3,372,930 || 1,518,619 || 1,854,311 |- | ] (including ]) || 0.5% || 1,701,960 || 1,159,211 || 542,749 |- | ] || 0.4% || 1,509,993 || 634,273 || 875,720 |- | ] (all varieties) || 0.3% || 1,231,098 || 770,882 || 460,216 |- | ] (including ] and ]) || 0.3% || 1,216,668 || 965,584 || 251,087 |- | ] || 0.2% || 1,088,788 || 505,734|| 583,054 |} === Religion === {{Main|Religion in the United States}}  {{Pie chart | thumb = right | caption = Religion in the United States (2017)<ref name="Gallup2017religion">{{cite web |last=Newport |first=Frank |title=2017 Update on Americans and Religion |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/224642/2017-update-americans-religion.aspx |website=] |accessdate=February 25, 2019}}</ref> | label1=] | value1=48.5 | color1=DodgerBlue | label2=] | value2=22.7 | color2=#d4213d | label3=] | value3=1.8 | color3=DeepSkyBlue | label4=] | value4=21.3 | color4=Honeydew | label5=] | value5=2.1 | color5=Blue | label6=] | value6=0.8 | color6=Green | label7=Other non-Abrahamic religion (e.g. ], ], and ]) | value7=2.9 | color7=Orange }} The ] of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the ] of religion and forbids Congress from passing laws respecting its ]. In a 2013 survey, 56% of Americans said religion played a "very important role in their lives", a far higher figure than that of any other Western nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/1690/Religion.aspx#1 |title=Religion |publisher=Gallup |date=June 2013 |accessdate=January 10, 2014}}</ref> In a 2009 Gallup poll, 42% of Americans said they attended church weekly or almost weekly; the figures ranged from a low of 23% in ] to a high of 63% in ].<ref name="gallup.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/125999/mississippians-go-church-most-vermonters-least.aspx |title=Mississippians Go to Church the Most; Vermonters, Least |publisher=Gallup |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref> In a 2014 survey, 70.6% of adults in the United States identified themselves as ];<ref>{{cite web|title=Church Statistics and Religious Affiliations|url=http://religions.pewforum.org/affiliations|publisher=Pew Research|access-date=September 23, 2014}}</ref> ] accounted for 46.5%, while ], at 20.8%, formed the largest single denomination.<ref name="Pew">{{cite web|title="Nones" on the Rise|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/|year=2012|publisher=Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life|accessdate=January 10, 2014}}</ref> In 2014, 5.9% of the U.S. adult population claimed a non-Christian religion.<ref name="pew2015" /> These include ] (1.9%), ] (0.9%), ] (0.7%), and ] (0.7%).<ref name="pew2015" /> The survey also reported that 22.8% of Americans described themselves as ], ] or simply having ]—up from 8.2% in 1990.<ref name="Pew" /><ref name="ARIS">{{cite web|title=American Religious Identification Survey 2001|url=http://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/ARIS/ARIS-PDF-version.pdf?ext=.pdf|author1=Barry A. Kosmin|author2=Egon Mayer|date=December 19, 2001|publisher=CUNY Graduate Center|access-date=September 16, 2011|author3=Ariela Keysar}}</ref><ref name="The Future of the Global Muslim Population">{{cite web|title=United States|url=http://features.pewforum.org/muslim-population-graphic/#/United%20States|accessdate=May 2, 2013}}</ref> There are also ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]n, ], ] and ] communities.<ref>Media, Minorities, and Meaning: A Critical Introduction, p. 88, Debra L. Merskin—2010</ref><ref>] (2007). . P. 240. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8006-3258-8}}.</ref> ] is the largest Christian religious grouping in the United States, accounting for almost half of all Americans. ] collectively form the largest branch of Protestantism at 15.4%,<ref name="pew2014">{{cite web|title=America's Changing Religious Landscape|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/|date=May 12, 2015|publisher=Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life|accessdate=}}</ref> and the ] is the largest individual Protestant denomination at 5.3% of the U.S. population.<ref name="pew2014" /> Apart from Baptists, other Protestant categories include ], ], ], unspecified Protestants, ], ], ], other ], ]/], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="pew2014" /> As with other Western countries, the U.S. is becoming less religious. ] is growing rapidly among Americans under 30.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/12/pew-survey-doubt-of-god-growing-quickly-among-millennials/ |author=Merica, Dan |title=Pew Survey: Doubt of God Growing Quickly among Millennials |publisher=CNN |date=June 12, 2012|access-date=June 14, 2012}}</ref> Polls show that overall American confidence in organized religion has been declining since the mid to late 1980s,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/us-confidence-in-organized-religion-at-low-point_n_1669100.html |title=American Confidence in Organized Religion at All Time Low |access-date=July 14, 2012 |date=July 12, 2012 |work=Huffington Post |first=Samreen |last=Hooda}}</ref> and that younger Americans, in particular, are becoming increasingly irreligious.<ref name="pew2015">{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ |title=America's Changing Religious Landscape |publisher=]: Religion & Public Life |date=May 12, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/Age/Religion-Among-the-Millennials.aspx |title=Religion Among the Millennials |publisher=The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life |accessdate=August 29, 2012}}</ref> In a 2012 study, the Protestant share of the U.S. population had dropped to 48%, thus ending its status as religious category of the majority for the first time.<ref name="Nones of the Rise">{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/10/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf |title="Nones" on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation |publisher= |access-date=May 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826234925/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/10/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf |archive-date=August 26, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19892837 |title=US Protestants no longer a majority—study |website=BBC News}}</ref> Americans with no religion have 1.7 children compared to 2.2 among Christians. The unaffiliated are less likely to marry with 37% marrying compared to 52% of Christians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/22/mormons-more-likely-to-marry-have-more-children-than-other-u-s-religious-groups/ |title=Mormons more likely to marry, have more children than other U.S. religious groups |date=May 22, 2015 |website=Pew Research Center}}</ref> The ] is an informal term for a region in the ] in which socially conservative ] is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average. By contrast, religion plays the least important role in ] and in the ].<ref name="gallup.com" /> === Family structure === {{Main|Family structure in the United States}} {{As of|2018}}, 52% of Americans age 15 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 32% had never been married.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/marital.html|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|website=Historical Marital Status Tables |title=Table MS-1. Marital Status of the Population 15 Years Old and Over, by Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin: 1950 to Present|accessdate=September 11, 2019}}</ref> Women now work mostly outside the home and receive the majority of ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iserp.columbia.edu/news/articles/female_college.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609151527/http://www.iserp.columbia.edu/news/articles/female_college.html |archivedate=June 9, 2007 |title=Women's Advances in Education |publisher=Columbia University, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy |year=2006 |accessdate=June 6, 2007}}</ref> The U.S. ] rate is 26.5 per 1,000 women. The rate has declined by 57% since 1991.<ref name="tbirthrate">{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf |title=Births: Final Data for 2013, tables 2, 3 |publisher=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services |accessdate=July 23, 2015}}</ref> ] throughout the country. While the abortion rate is falling, the abortion rates of 241 per 1,000 live births and 15 per 1,000 women aged 15–44, remain higher than most Western nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5511a1.htm |author=Strauss, Lilo T. |title=Abortion Surveillance—United States, 2003 |accessdate=June 17, 2007 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health |website=MMWR |date=November 24, 2006|display-authors=etal}}</ref> In 2013, the average age at first birth was 26 and 41% of births were to unmarried women.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/births.htm |title=FASTSTATS—Births and Natality |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=November 21, 2013 |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref> The ] in 2016 was 1820.5 births per 1000 women.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Vital Statistics Volume 67, Number 1, January 31, 2018|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf|website=Center for Disease Control|accessdate=February 3, 2018}}</ref> ] is common and relatively easy from a legal point of view (compared to other Western countries).<ref>{{cite news |last=Jardine |first=Cassandra |title=Why adoption is so easy in America |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3354960/Why-adoption-is-so-easy-in-America.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=October 31, 2007}}</ref> {{As of|2001}}, with more than 127,000 adoptions, the U.S. accounted for nearly half of the total number of adoptions worldwide.{{update inline|date=September 2019}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdf |title=Child Adoption: Trends and policies |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs |year=2009 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> ] ] nationwide, and it is legal for same-sex ] ] is illegal throughout the U.S.<ref name=quietly>{{cite web |title=Some Muslims in U.S. Quietly Engage in Polygamy |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90857818 |website=NPR.org ] |language=en}}</ref> The U.S. has the world's highest rate of children living in ] households.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/|title=U.S. has world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households|website=Pew Research Center|language=en-US|access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref> === Health === {{See also|Health care in the United States|Health care reform in the United States|Health insurance in the United States}} ] in downtown ] is the largest medical complex in the world.]] The United States had a ] of 78.6 years at birth in 2017, which was the third year of declines in life expectancy following decades of continuous increase. The recent decline, primarily among the age group 25 to 64, is largely due to sharp increases in the ] and ] rates; the country has one of the highest suicide rates among wealthy countries.<ref>{{cite news |last=Achenbach |first=Joel |date=November 26, 2019 |title='There's something terribly wrong': Americans are dying young at alarming rates|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/theres-something-terribly-wrong-americans-are-dying-young-at-alarming-rates/2019/11/25/d88b28ec-0d6a-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html|work=] |location= |access-date=December 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.commonwealthfund.org/press-release/2020/new-international-report-health-care-us-suicide-rate-highest-among-wealthy|title=New International Report on Health Care: U.S. Suicide Rate Highest Among Wealthy Nations {{!}} Commonwealth Fund|website=www.commonwealthfund.org|language=en|access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref> Life expectancy was highest among Asians and Hispanics and lowest among blacks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mortality in the United States, 2017 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db328.htm |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=December 27, 2018 |date=November 29, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=Lenny |title=U.S. life expectancy declines again, a dismal trend not seen since World War I |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-life-expectancy-declines-again-a-dismal-trend-not-seen-since-world-war-i/2018/11/28/ae58bc8c-f28c-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html |access-date=December 27, 2018 |work=Washington Post |date=November 29, 2018}}</ref> According to CDC and Census Bureau data, deaths from suicide, alcohol and drug overdoses hit record highs in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |last= Kight|first=Stef W.|date=March 6, 2019 |title=Deaths by suicide, drugs and alcohol reached an all-time high last year|url=https://www.axios.com/deaths-suicide-drugs-alcohol-mortality-rate-epidemic-18971e4f-760f-415d-910d-046de83c967c.html|work=]|location= |access-date=March 6, 2019}}</ref> Increasing ] and health improvements elsewhere contributed to lowering the country's rank in life expectancy from 11th in the world in 1987, to 42nd in 2007, and as of 2017 the country had the lowest life expectancy among Japan, Canada, Australia, the UK, and seven countries of western Europe.<ref>{{cite news |author=MacAskill, Ewen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/aug/13/usa.ewenmacaskill |title=US Tumbles Down the World Ratings List for Life Expectancy |date=August 13, 2007 |work=The Guardian |accessdate=August 15, 2007 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/u-s-life-expectancy-compare-countries/|title=How does U.S. life expectancy compare to other countries?|website=Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker|language=en-US|access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref> Obesity rates have more than doubled in the last 30 years and are the highest in the industrialized world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mexico Obesity Rate Surpasses The United States', Making It Fattest Country in the Americas |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/09/mexico-obesity_n_3567772.html |website=Huffington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Schlosser, Eric |year=2002 |title=Fast Food Nation |url=https://archive.org/details/fastfoodnationti00eric |url-access=registration |publisher=Perennial |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-093845-1 |page=}}</ref> Approximately one-third of the adult population is obese and an additional third is overweight.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overwght_adult_03.htm |title=Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2003–2004 |accessdate=June 5, 2007 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics}}</ref> Obesity-related ] is considered epidemic by health care professionals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/25/12/2451#R3-101329 |title=Fast Food, Central Nervous System Insulin Resistance, and Obesity |year=2005 |accessdate=June 17, 2007 |website=] |publisher=American Heart Association}}</ref> In 2010, ], ], ], ]s, and traffic accidents caused the most years of life lost in the U.S. ], ], ]s, ], and ] caused the most years lost to disability. The most harmful ]s were poor diet, ], obesity, ], ], ], and alcohol use. ], drug abuse, ], cancer, and falls caused the most additional years of life lost over their age-adjusted 1990 per-capita rates.<ref name=Murray2013>{{cite journal |first=Christopher J.L. |last=Murray |title=The State of US Health, 1990–2010: Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors |journal=Journal of the American Medical Association |doi=10.1001/jama.2013.13805 |date=July 10, 2013 |volume=310 |issue=6 |pages=591–608 |pmid=23842577 |pmc=5436627 }}</ref> U.S. teenage pregnancy and abortion rates are substantially higher than in other Western nations, especially among blacks and Hispanics.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Teen Pregnancy |url=https://www.cdc.gov/TeenPregnancy/AboutTeenPreg.htm |publisher=Center for Disease Control |accessdate=January 24, 2015}}</ref> The U.S. is a global leader in medical innovation.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Whitman, Glen |author2=Raad, Raymond |title=Bending the Productivity Curve: Why America Leads the World in Medical Innovation |url=http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/bending-productivity-curve-why-america-leads-world-medical-innovation |publisher=The Cato Institute |accessdate=October 9, 2012}}</ref> Since 1966, more Americans have received the ] than the rest of the world combined. The U.S. health-care system far ] any other nation, measured both in per capita spending and as percentage of GDP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.+HCweb.pdf |title=The U.S. Healthcare System: The Best in the World or Just the Most Expensive? |year=2001 |accessdate=November 29, 2006 |publisher=University of Maine |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/20070309142240/http://dll.umaine.edu:80/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf |archivedate=March 9, 2007}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Health-care coverage in the United States is a combination of public and private efforts and is not ]. In 2017, 12.2% of the population did not carry ].<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Uninsured Rate Steady at 12.2% in Fourth Quarter of 2017 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/225383/uninsured-rate-steady-fourth-quarter-2017.aspx |website=Gallup}}</ref> The subject of uninsured and underinsured Americans is a major political issue.<ref>{{cite news |author=Abelson, Reed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/health/policy/10health.html |title=Ranks of Underinsured Are Rising, Study Finds |date=June 10, 2008 |work=The New York Times |accessdate=October 25, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Blewett, Lynn A. |title=How Much Health Insurance Is Enough? Revisiting the Concept of Underinsurance |date=December 2006 |volume=63 |issue=6 |pages=663–700 |doi=10.1177/1077558706293634 |pmid=17099121 |issn=1077-5587 |journal=Medical Care Research and Review|display-authors=etal}}</ref> ], passed in early 2010, roughly halved the uninsured share of the population, though the bill and its ultimate effect are issues of controversy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Health Care Law 54% Favor Repeal of Health Care Law |url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/health_care_law |publisher=Rasmussen Reports |accessdate=October 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Debate on ObamaCare to intensify in the wake of landmark Supreme Court ruling |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/29/debate-on-obamacare-to-intensify-in-wake-landmark-supreme-court-ruling/ |work=Fox News |date=June 29, 2012 |accessdate=October 14, 2012}}</ref> In 2020 the United States became ] by the ], with the first case reported on January 20, 2020.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Holshue|first=Michelle L.|last2=DeBolt|first2=Chas|last3=Lindquist|first3=Scott|last4=Lofy|first4=Kathy H.|last5=Wiesman|first5=John|last6=Bruce|first6=Hollianne|last7=Spitters|first7=Christopher|last8=Ericson|first8=Keith|last9=Wilkerson|first9=Sara|last10=Tural|first10=Ahmet|last11=Diaz|first11=George|date=March 5, 2020|title=First Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the United States|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|volume=382|issue=10|pages=929–936|doi=10.1056/NEJMoa2001191|issn=0028-4793|pmid=32004427|pmc=7092802|doi-access=free}}</ref> The United States became the world's most affected country, with more than 85,500 confirmed cases, on March 27, 2020, when it overtook China and Italy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52056586|title=US overtakes China with most coronavirus cases|date=March 27, 2020|work=BBC News|access-date=March 27, 2020|language=en-GB}}</ref> === Education === {{Main|Education in the United States}} ], founded by ] in 1819, is one of the many public universities in the United States. Universal government-funded education exists in the United States, while there are also many privately funded institutions.]] American ] is operated by state and local governments, regulated by the ] through restrictions on federal grants. In most states, children are required to attend school from the age of six or seven (generally, ] or ]) until they turn 18 (generally bringing them through ], the end of ]); some states allow students to leave school at 16 or 17.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/dt150.asp |title=Ages for Compulsory School Attendance ... |accessdate=June 10, 2007 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics}}</ref> About 12% of children are enrolled in ] or ] ]s. Just over 2% of children are ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/statistics.html |title=Statistics About Non-Public Education in the United States |accessdate=June 5, 2007 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Non-Public Education}}</ref> The U.S. spends more on education per student than any nation in the world, spending more than $11,000 per elementary student in 2010 and more than $12,000 per high school student.<ref name="education spending">{{cite news |last=AP |title=U.S. education spending tops global list, study shows |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57590921/u.s-education-spending-tops-global-list-study-shows/ |publisher=CBS |accessdate=October 5, 2013 |date=June 25, 2013}}</ref> Some 80% of U.S. college students attend ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Public Education for the Common Good |author=Rosenstone, Steven J. |publisher=University of Minnesota |url=http://cla.umn.edu/news/clatoday/summer2002/dean.php |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801114734/http://cla.umn.edu/news/clatoday/summer2002/dean.php |date=December 17, 2009 |accessdate=March 6, 2009 |archivedate=August 1, 2014}}</ref> Of Americans 25 and older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 52.6% attended some college, 27.2% earned a ], and 9.6% earned graduate degrees.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p20-550.pdf |title=Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=August 1, 2006}}</ref> The basic ] rate is approximately 99%.<ref name="WF" /><ref>For more detail on U.S. literacy, see , U.S. Department of Education (2003).</ref> The United Nations assigns the United States an Education Index of 0.97, tying it for 12th in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Development Indicators |year=2005 |publisher=United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Reports |accessdate=January 14, 2008 |url=http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/pdf/HDR05_HDI.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620235428/http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/pdf/HDR05_HDI.pdf |archivedate=June 20, 2007}}</ref> ==== Higher education ==== {{Main|Higher education in the United States}} The United States has many private and public ]. The majority of the world's top universities, as listed by various ranking organizations, are in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717074903/http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010 |archivedate=July 17, 2011 |title=QS World University Rankings |publisher=Topuniversities |accessdate=July 10, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html |title=Top 200—The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010–2011 |magazine=Times Higher Education |accessdate=July 10, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2014.html |title=Academic Ranking of World Universities 2014 |publisher=Shanghai Ranking Consultancy |accessdate=May 29, 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119210953/http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2014.html |archivedate=January 19, 2015 }}</ref> There are also local ]s with generally more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition. In 2018, ], a network of research-intensive universities, ranked the United States first in the world for breadth and quality of higher education, and 15th when GDP was a factor.<ref>{{cite web |title=U21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems 2019 {{!}} Universitas 21 |url=https://universitas21.com/network/u21-open-resources-and-publications/u21-rankings/u21-ranking-national-higher-education |publisher=Universitas 21 |accessdate=April 2, 2019}}</ref> As for public expenditures on higher education, the U.S. trails some other ] nations but spends more per student than the OECD average, and more than all nations in combined public and private spending.<ref name="education spending" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Education at a Glance 2013 |url=http://www.oecd.org/edu/eag2013%20%28eng%29--FINAL%2020%20June%202013.pdf |publisher=OECD |accessdate=October 5, 2013}}</ref> {{As of|2018}}, ] exceeded 1.5 trillion dollars.<ref>{{cite news |title=Student Loan Debt Exceeds One Trillion Dollars |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/04/24/151305380/student-loan-debt-exceeds-one-trillion-dollars |accessdate=September 8, 2013 |work=NPR|date=April 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Krupnick |first=Matt |date=October 4, 2018 |title=Student loan crisis threatens a generation's American dream |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/oct/04/student-loan-crisis-threatens-a-generations-american-dream |work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=October 4, 2018}}</ref> == Government and politics == {{Main|Federal government of the United States|Politics of the United States|State governments of the United States|Local government in the United States}} {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | caption_align = center | image1 = US Capitol west side.JPG | caption1 = The ], where ] meets: the ], left; the ], right | image2 = WhiteHouseSouthFacade.JPG | caption2 = The ], residence and workplace of the ] | image3 = Panorama of United States Supreme Court Building at Dusk.jpg | caption3 = The ], where the ] sits | total_width = | alt1 = The United States Capitol | alt2 = The White House | alt3 = The Supreme Court Building }} The United States is a federal republic of ], a ], ] and several uninhabited ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Common Core Document of the United States of America|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/179780.htm|date=December 30, 2011|publisher=]|accessdate=July 10, 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|The New York Times|2007|p=670}}{{sfn|Onuf|2010|p=xvii}} It is the world's oldest surviving ]. It is a ] and a ], "in which ] is tempered by ] protected by ]".<ref name="Scheb">Scheb, John M.; Scheb, John M. II (2002). ''An Introduction to the American Legal System''. Florence, KY: Delmar, p. 6. {{ISBN|0-7668-2759-3}}.</ref> For 2018, the U.S. ranked 25th on the ].<ref>{{cite news |last= Germanos|first=Andrea|date=January 11, 2019|title= United States Doesn't Even Make Top 20 on Global Democracy Index|url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/11/united-states-doesnt-even-make-top-20-global-democracy-index |work=] |location= |access-date=February 24, 2019 }}</ref> On ]'s 2019 ] its ] position deteriorated from a score of 76 in 2015 to 69 in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 |url=https://files.transparency.org/content/download/2428/14734/file/2019_CPI_Report_EN.pdf |page=12 & 13 |website=transparency.org |publisher=] |accessdate=February 7, 2020}}</ref> In the ], citizens are usually subject to ]: federal, state, and local. The ]'s duties are commonly split between ] and ]. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a ] of citizens by district. The government is regulated by a system of ] defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm|title=Constitution of the United States|author=Killian, Johnny H.|publisher=The Office of the Secretary of the Senate|accessdate=February 11, 2012}}</ref> The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. ] protects the right to the "great writ" of ]. The Constitution has been amended 27 times;<ref>], p. 9</ref> the first ten amendments, which make up the ], and the ] form the central basis of Americans' individual rights. All laws and governmental procedures are subject to ] and any law ruled by the courts to be in violation of the Constitution is voided. The principle of judicial review, not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, was established by the Supreme Court in '']'' (1803)<ref>], pp. 164, 453, 503</ref> in a decision handed down by ].<ref>], p. 38</ref> The federal government comprises three branches: * ]: The ] ], made up of the ] and the ], makes ], ], approves treaties, has the ],<ref>{{cite web |title=The Legislative Branch |publisher=United States Diplomatic Mission to Germany |url=http://usa.usembassy.de/government-legislative.htm |accessdate=August 20, 2012}}</ref> and has the power of ], by which it can remove sitting members of the government.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Process for impeachment |publisher=ThinkQuest |url=http://library.thinkquest.org/25673/process.htm |accessdate=August 20, 2012}}</ref> * ]: ] is the ] of the military, can veto ] before they become law (subject to Congressional override), and appoints the ] (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Executive Branch |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/executive-branch |website=The White House |access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref> * ]: The ] and lower ], whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find ].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Kermit L. Hall |author2=Kevin T. McGuire |title=Institutions of American Democracy: The Judicial Branch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6rWCaMAdUzgC |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-988374-5}} {{cite book |author=U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services |title=Learn about the United States: Quick Civics Lessons for the Naturalization Test |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8X1CzvBXHksC&pg=PA4 |date=2013 |publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-091708-0 |page=4}} {{cite book |author=Bryon Giddens-White |title=The Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbZw3bJsWtUC |year=2005 |publisher=Heinemann Library |isbn=978-1-4034-6608-2}} {{cite book |author=Charles L. Zelden |title=The Judicial Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics |url=https://archive.org/details/judicialbranchof0000zeld |url-access=registration |year=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-702-9 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} {{cite web |url=http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx |title=Federal Courts |author= |website= |publisher=United States Courts |accessdate=October 19, 2014}}</ref> The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, each representing a ] for a two-year term. House seats are ] among the states by population. Each state then draws single-member districts to conform with the census apportionment. The ] and the five major ] each have ]—these members are not allowed to vote.<ref name="Territories1" /> The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected ] to six-year terms; one-third of Senate seats are up for election every two years. The District of Columbia and the five major U.S. territories do not have senators.<ref name="Territories1" /> The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office ]. The president is ], but by an indirect ] system in which the determining votes are apportioned to the states and the District of Columbia.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is the Electoral College |publisher=National Archives |url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html |accessdate=August 21, 2012}}</ref> The Supreme Court, led by the ], has nine members, who serve for life.<ref>{{cite news |title=Beyond politics: Why Supreme Court justices are appointed for life |first=Roger |last=Cossack |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/07/columns/cossack.scotus.07.12/ |publisher=CNN |date=July 13, 2000 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712085825/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/07/columns/cossack.scotus.07.12 |archivedate=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> The state governments are structured in a roughly similar fashion, though ] has a ] legislature.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/407533/Nebraska/78826/Agriculture#toc78830 |title=Nebraska (state, United States) : Agriculture |website=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |accessdate=November 11, 2012}}</ref> The ] (chief executive) of each state is directly elected. Some state judges and cabinet officers are appointed by the governors of the respective states, while others are elected by popular vote. === Political divisions === {{Main|Political divisions of the United States|U.S. state|Territories of the United States|List of states and territories of the United States|Indian reservation}} {{Further|Territorial evolution of the United States|United States territorial acquisitions}} ]]] The states and territories are the principal administrative districts in the country. These are further subdivided into independent cities. The District of Columbia is a federal district that contains the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C.<ref>{{usc|8|1101}}(a)(36) and {{usc|8|1101}}(a)(38) U.S. Federal Code, Immigration and Nationality Act. {{USC|8|1101a}}</ref> The states and the District of Columbia choose the president of the United States. Each state has presidential electors equal to the number of their representatives and senators in Congress; the District of Columbia has three (because of the ]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Electoral College Fast Facts {{!}} U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |url=http://history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/ |website=history.house.gov |accessdate=August 21, 2015}}</ref> ] of the United States such as ] do not have presidential electors, and so people in those territories cannot vote for the president.<ref name="Territories1">{{cite web|url=http://time.com/3736845/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-voting-rights/|title=Watch John Oliver Cast His Ballot for Voting Rights for U.S. Territories|last=Locker|first=Melissa|date=March 9, 2015|website=Time|accessdate=November 11, 2019}}</ref> ]]] The United States also observes ] of the American Indian nations to a limited degree, as it does with the states' sovereignty. American Indians are U.S. citizens and tribal lands are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress and the federal courts. Like the states they have a great deal of autonomy, but also like the states, tribes are not allowed to make war, engage in their own foreign relations, or print and issue currency.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=http://www.bia.gov/FAQs/ |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs |accessdate=January 16, 2016}}</ref> Citizenship is granted at birth in all states, the District of Columbia, and all major U.S. territories except ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/05/american_samoa_the_only_place_in_the_u_s_where_citizenship_isn_t_granted.html|title=How Come American Samoans Still Don't Have U.S. Citizenship at Birth?|first=Joshua|last=Keating|date=June 5, 2015|publisher=|via=Slate}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=American Samoa and the Citizenship Clause: A Study in Insular Cases Revisionism |url=https://harvardlawreview.org/2017/04/american-samoa-and-the-citizenship-clause/ |website=harvardlawreview.org |accessdate=January 5, 2018}}</ref> {{US statehood dates}} {{US territory dates}} === Parties and elections === {{Main|Political parties in the United States|Elections in the United States|Political ideologies in the United States}} {{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | caption_align = center | image1 = Donald Trump official portrait (cropped).jpg | width1 = 120 | caption1 = ] 45th ] since January 20, 2017 | image2 = Vice President Pence Official Portrait (cropped).jpg | width2 = 123 | caption2 = ] 48th ] since January 20, 2017 }} The United States has operated under a ] for most of its history.<ref name=twsNovGe>{{cite news |author1=Etheridge, Eric |author2=Deleith, Asger |title=A Republic or a Democracy? |newspaper=New York Times blogs |quote=The US system seems essentially a two-party system. ... |date=August 19, 2009 |url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/a-republic-or-a-democracy/ |accessdate=November 7, 2010}}</ref> For elective offices at most levels, state-administered ]s choose the major party ] for subsequent ]s. Since the ], the major parties have been the ], ], and the ], ]. Since the Civil War, only one ] presidential candidate—former president ], running as a ] in ]—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote. The president and vice president are elected by the ].<ref name="Avaliktos2004">{{cite book |last=Avaliktos |first=Neal |title=The Election Process Revisited |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XR21acqXy28C&pg=PA111 |year=2004 |publisher=Nova Publishers |isbn=978-1-59454-054-7 |page=111}}</ref> In American ], the ] Republican Party is considered "]" and the ] Democratic Party is considered "]".<ref>{{cite book |author1=David Mosler |author2=Robert Catley |title=America and Americans in Australia |date=1998 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YungugjvIaQC&pg=PA83#v=onepage |accessdate=April 11, 2016|isbn=978-0-275-96252-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Grigsby |first=Ellen |title=Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-495-50112-1 |pages=106–107}}</ref> The states of the ] and ] and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "]", are relatively liberal. The "]" of the ] and parts of the ] and ] are relatively conservative. ] ], the winner of the ], is serving as the 45th ].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Flegenheimer |first1=Matt |last2=Barbaro |first2=Michael |title=Donald Trump Is Elected President in Stunning Repudiation of the Establishment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-president.html?_r=0 |date=November 9, 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 11, 2016}}</ref> Leadership in the Senate includes Republican vice president ], Republican president pro tempore ], ] ], and Minority Leader ].<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Senate: Leadership & Officers |url=http://www.senate.gov/senators/leadership.htm|website=www.senate.gov |accessdate=January 10, 2019}}</ref> Leadership in the House includes Speaker of the House ], ] ], and Minority Leader ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Leadership {{!}} House.gov |url=http://www.house.gov/leadership/ |website=www.house.gov |accessdate=January 10, 2019}}</ref> ] in 2019]] In the ], the ] is controlled by the Democratic Party and the ] is controlled by the Republican Party, giving the U.S. a split Congress. The Senate consists of 53 Republicans and 45 Democrats with two ] who caucus with the Democrats; the House consists of 233 Democrats, 196 Republicans, and 1 ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/cong.aspx |title=Congressional Profile|publisher=]}}</ref> Of ], there are 26 Republicans and 24 Democrats. Among the D.C. mayor and the five territorial governors, there are two Republicans, one Democrat, one ], and two Independents.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Governors |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/governors/bios |website=National Governors Association |accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref> === Foreign relations === {{Main|Foreign relations of the United States|Foreign policy of the United States}} ] was built in ] in 1952.]] The United States has an established structure of foreign relations. It is a permanent member of the ]. New York City is home to the ]. Almost all countries have ] in Washington, D.C., and many have ] around the country. Likewise, nearly all nations host ]. However, ], ], ], and the ] (Taiwan) do not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States (although the U.S. still maintains unofficial relations with Bhutan and Taiwan).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL30957.pdf |title=Taiwan: Major U.S. Arms Sales Since 1990 |last1=Kan |first1=Shirley A. |date=August 29, 2014 |publisher=Federation of American Scientist |accessdate=October 19, 2014}} {{cite news |author= |title=Taiwan's Force Modernization: The American Side |url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/taiwans-unstalled-force-modernization-04250/ |newspaper=Defense Industry Daily |date=September 11, 2014 |accessdate=October 19, 2014}}</ref> It is a member of the ],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/what_is_g8.html |title=What is the G8? |publisher=University of Toronto |accessdate=February 11, 2012}}</ref> ], and ]. The United States has a "]" with the ]<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLy-NKnQitIC&pg=PA45&dq=uk+us+special+relationship#v=onepage |title=America's 'Special Relationships': Foreign and Domestic Aspects of the Politics of Alliance |page=45 |first1=John |first2=Axel |last2=Schäfer |last1=Dumbrell |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-203-87270-3 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> and strong ties with ], ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/96-397.pdf |title=Canada–U.S. Relations |author1=Ek, Carl |author2=Ian F. Fergusson |lastauthoramp=yes |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=September 3, 2010 |accessdate=August 28, 2011}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite book |title=Australia: Background and U.S. Relations |author=Vaughn, Bruce |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=August 8, 2008 |oclc = 70208969}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32876.pdf |title=New Zealand: Background and Bilateral Relations with the United States |author=Vaughn, Bruce |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=May 27, 2011 |accessdate=August 28, 2011}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33233.pdf |title=The Republic of the Philippines and U.S. Interests |author=Lum, Thomas |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=January 3, 2011 |accessdate=August 3, 2011}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33436.pdf |title=Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress |author=Chanlett-Avery, Emma |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=June 8, 2011 |accessdate=August 28, 2011|display-authors=etal}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41481.pdf |title=U.S.–South Korea Relations: Issues for Congress |author=Mark E. Manyin |author2=Emma Chanlett-Avery |author3=Mary Beth Nikitin |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=July 8, 2011 |accessdate=August 28, 2011}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33476.pdf |title=Israel: Background and U.S. Relations |author=Zanotti, Jim |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=July 31, 2014 |access-date=September 12, 2014}}</ref> and several ] countries, including ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-poland/|title=U.S. Relations With Poland}}</ref> It works closely with fellow ] members on military and security issues and with its neighbors through the ] and ] such as the trilateral ] with Canada and ]. ] is traditionally considered by the United States as its most loyal ally in ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Untapped Potential of the US-Colombia Partnership|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/untapped-potential-us-colombia-partnership/|date=2019-09-26|website=Atlantic Council|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Relations With Colombia|url=https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-colombia/|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-30}}</ref> The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for ], the ] and ] through the ].<ref>{{cite book |author=Charles L. Zelden |title=The Judicial Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics |url=https://archive.org/details/judicialbranchof0000zeld |url-access=registration |year=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-702-9 |page= |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} {{cite book |author1=Loren Yager |author2=Emil Friberg |author3=Leslie Holen |title=Foreign Relations: Migration from Micronesian Nations Has Had Significant Impact on Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TfoBd7_KsZMC&pg=PA7 |date=2003 |publisher=Diane Publishing |isbn=978-0-7567-3394-0 |page=7}}</ref> === Government finance === {{See also|Taxation in the United States|United States federal budget}} ] ] are levied at the federal, state, and local government levels. These include taxes on income, payroll, property, sales, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. Taxation in the United States is based on citizenship, not residency.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Konish |first1=Lorie |title=More Americans are considering cutting their ties with the US—here's why |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/27/more-americans-are-considering-cutting-their-ties-with-the-us-heres.html |website=CNBC |accessdate=August 23, 2018 |date=June 30, 2018}}</ref> Both non-resident citizens and ] holders living abroad are taxed on their income irrespective of where they live or where their income is earned. It is one of the only countries in the world to do so.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Power |first1=Julie |title=Tax fears: US-Aussie dual citizens provide IRS with details of $184 billion |url=https://www.smh.com.au/money/tax/tax-fears-us-aussie-dual-citizens-provide-irs-with-details-of-184-billion-20180221-p4z12g.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |accessdate=August 23, 2018 |language=en |date=March 3, 2018}}</ref> In 2010 taxes collected by federal, state and municipal governments amounted to 24.8% of ].<ref>{{cite news |author=Porter, Eduardo |title=America's Aversion to Taxes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/business/economy/slipping-behind-because-of-an-aversion-to-taxes.html?_r=1&src=recg |quote=In 1965, taxes collected by federal, state and municipal governments amounted to 24.7 percent of the nation's output. In 2010, they amounted to 24.8 percent. Excluding Chile and Mexico, the United States raises less tax revenue, as a share of the economy, than every other industrial country. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 14, 2012 |accessdate=August 15, 2012}}</ref> During fiscal year 2012, the federal government collected approximately $2.45 trillion in tax revenue, up $147 billion or 6% versus 2011 revenues of $2.30 trillion. Primary receipt categories included individual income taxes (47%), Social Security/Social Insurance taxes (35%), and corporate taxes (10%).<ref name="CBO Historical Tables 2012FY" /> Based on CBO estimates,<ref name="CBO 2010">{{cite web |url=http://cbo.gov/publication/44604 |title=The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2010 |publisher=] |date=December 4, 2013 |accessdate=January 6, 2014}}</ref> under 2013 tax law the top 1% will be paying the highest average tax rates since 1979, while other income groups will remain at historic lows.<ref name="Lowrey">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/05/business/after-fiscal-deal-tax-code-may-be-most-progressive-since-1979.html |work=The New York Times|title=Tax Code May Be the Most Progressive Since 1979 |date=January 4, 2013 |accessdate=January 6, 2014 |first1=Annie |last1=Lowrey}}</ref> For 2018, the effective tax rate for the wealthiest 400 households was 23%, compared to 24.2% for the bottom half of U.S. households.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ingraham|first=Christopher|date=October 8, 2019|title=For the first time in history, U.S. billionaires paid a lower tax rate than the working class last year|work=]|location=|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/08/first-time-history-us-billionaires-paid-lower-tax-rate-than-working-class-last-year/|access-date=October 9, 2019}}</ref> ] U.S. taxation has historically been generally ], especially the federal income taxes, though by most measures it became noticeably less progressive after 1980.<ref>{{cite book |last=Slemrod |first=Joel |title=Tax Progressivity and Income Inequality}}</ref><ref name="Piketty Saez">{{cite journal |last=Piketty |first=Thomas |last2=Saez |first2=Emmanuel |title=How Progressive is the U.S. Federal Tax System? A Historical and International Perspective |year=2007 |journal=] |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=3–24 |doi=10.1257/jep.21.1.3 |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w12404.pdf }}</ref> It has sometimes been described as among the most progressive in the developed world, but this characterization is controversial.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Isabelle Joumard |author2=Mauro Pisu |author3=Debbie Bloch |title=Tackling income inequality The role of taxes and transfers |journal=OECD Journal: Economic Studies |date=2012 |page=27 |url=http://www.oecd.org/eco/public-finance/TacklingincomeinequalityTheroleoftaxesandtransfers.pdf|access-date=September 24, 2015 |quote=Various studies have compared the progressivity of tax systems of European countries with that of the United States (see for instance Prasad and Deng, 2009; Piketty and Saez, 2007; Joumard, 2001). Though they use different definitions, methods and databases, they reach the same conclusion: the US tax system is more progressive than those of the continental European countries.}}</ref><ref>Taxation in the US: * {{cite journal |last=Prasad |first=M. |last2=Deng |first2=Y. |title=Taxation and the worlds of welfare |journal=Socio-Economic Review |date=April 2, 2009 |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=431–457 |doi=10.1093/ser/mwp005 |hdl=10419/95615 |url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/861fc89e94d8564adc670fbd35c48b2d2f487704 }} * {{cite news |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |title=Other countries don't have a "47%" |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/19/other-countries-dont-have-a-47/ |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=October 29, 2013 |date=September 19, 2012 }} * {{cite web |title=How Much Do People Pay in Federal Taxes? |url=http://pgpf.org/budget-explainer/taxes |publisher=Peter G. Peterson Foundation |accessdate=October 2, 2015 }} * {{cite web |title=T13-0174—Average Effective Federal Tax Rates by Filing Status; by Expanded Cash Income Percentile, 2014 |url=http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?DocID=3933 |publisher=The Tax Policy Center |accessdate=October 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924113422/http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?DocID=3933 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Huang |first1=Chye-Ching |last2=Frentz |first2=Nathaniel |title=What Do OECD Data Really Show About U.S. Taxes and Reducing Inequality? |url=http://www.cbpp.org/research/what-do-oecd-data-really-show-about-us-taxes-and-reducing-inequality |publisher=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities|access-date=September 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Dylan47">{{cite news |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |title=Other countries don't have a "47%" |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/19/other-countries-dont-have-a-47/ |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=October 29, 2013 |date=September 19, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Piketty Saez" /> {{asof|2015}}, the highest 10% of income earners pay a majority of federal taxes,<ref>{{cite news |author=Jane Wells |title=The rich do not pay the most taxes, they pay ALL the taxes |url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/101264757#. |newspaper=CNBC |date=December 11, 2013 |accessdate=January 14, 2015}} {{cite news |author=Steve Hargreaves |title=The rich pay majority of U.S. income taxes |url=http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/12/news/economy/rich-taxes/ |newspaper=CNN |date=March 12, 2013 |accessdate=January 14, 2015}} {{cite web |author= |title=Top 10 Percent of Earners Paid 68 Percent of Federal Income Taxes |url=http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-earners |year=2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106065112/http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-earners |archive-date=January 6, 2015 |website=2014 Federal Budget in Pictures |publisher=] |access-date=February 25, 2017 |df=}} {{cite news |author=Stephen Dinan |title=CBO: The wealthy pay 70 percent of taxes |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/10/cbo-rich-pay-outsized-share-taxes/ |newspaper=Washington Times |date=July 10, 2012 |accessdate=January 14, 2015}} {{cite news |author= |title=The Tax Man Cometh! But For Whom? |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/04/15/150632993/the-tax-man-cometh-but-for-whom |newspaper=NPR |date=April 15, 2012 |accessdate=January 14, 2015}}</ref> and about half of all taxes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wamhoff |first1=Steve |title=Who Pays Taxes in America in 2014? |url=http://www.ctj.org/pdf/taxday2014.pdf |accessdate=January 17, 2015 |publisher=Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy |date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> Payroll taxes for Social Security are a flat ], with no tax charged on income above $118,500 (for 2015 and 2016) and no tax at all paid on ] from things such as stocks and capital gains.<ref>{{cite web |last=Agadoni |first=Laura |title=Characteristics of a Regressive Tax |url=http://smallbusiness.chron.com/characteristics-regressive-tax-17562.html |publisher=Houston Chronicle Small Business blog}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/Payroll-Taxes.cfm |title=TPC Tax Topics | Payroll Taxes |publisher=Taxpolicycenter.org |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref> The historic reasoning for the regressive nature of the payroll tax is that entitlement programs have not been viewed as welfare transfers.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Design of the Original Social Security Act |url=http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/genrev.html |website=Social Security Online |publisher=U.S. Social Security Administration |accessdate=April 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Blahous |first=Charles |title=The Dark Side of the Payroll Tax Cut |url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/109216 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016140415/http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/109216 |archivedate=October 16, 2013 |website=Defining Ideas |publisher=Hoover Institution |accessdate=April 3, 2013 |date=February 24, 2012}}</ref> However, according to the ] the net effect of Social Security is that the benefit to tax ratio ranges from roughly 70% for the top earnings quintile to about 170% for the lowest earning quintile, making the system progressive.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/109th-congress-2005-2006/reports/12-15-progressivity-ss.pdf |title=Is Social SecurityProgressove? CBO |publisher=}}</ref> ] The ] of ] has been a matter of considerable ongoing controversy for decades.<ref name="Dylan47" /><ref>Tax incidence of corporate tax in the United States: * {{cite web |last=Harris |first=Benjamin H. |date=November 2009 |title=Corporate Tax Incidence and Its Implications for Progressivity |url=http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001349_corporate_tax_incidence.pdf |publisher=Tax Policy Center |accessdate=October 9, 2013}} * {{cite web |last=Gentry |first=William M. |date=December 2007 |title=A Review of the Evidence on the Incidence of the Corporate Income Tax |url=http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/tax-analysis/Documents/ota101.pdf |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6KnVtsZ8M?url=http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/tax-analysis/Documents/ota101.pdf |archivedate=November 1, 2013 |website=OTA Paper 101 |publisher=Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Department of the Treasury |accessdate=October 9, 2013 }} * {{cite book |last=Fullerton |first=Don |title=Handbook of Public Economics |year=2002 |publisher=Elsevier Science B.V. |location=Amsterdam |pages=1788–1839 |chapter-url=http://works.bepress.com/don_fullerton/15/ |last2=Metcalf |first2=Gilbert E. |editor=A.J. Auerbach and M. Feldstein |accessdate=October 9, 2013 |chapter=Tax Incidence}} * {{cite journal |last=Musgrave |first=R.A. |last2=Carroll |first2=J.J. |last3=Cook |first3=L.D. |last4=Frane |first4=L. |title=Distribution of Tax Payments by Income Groups: A Case Study for 1948 |journal=National Tax Journal |date=March 1951 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–53 |url=https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/scribd/?item_id=463471&filepath=/docs/historical/eccles/026_13_0001.pdf |accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref> State and local taxes vary widely, but are generally less progressive than federal taxes as they rely heavily on broadly borne ] sales and property taxes that yield less volatile revenue streams, though their consideration does not eliminate the progressive nature of overall taxation.<ref name="Dylan47" /><ref name="TaxF">{{cite web |last=Malm |first=Elizabeth |title=Comments on Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States |url=http://taxfoundation.org/article/comments-who-pays-distributional-analysis-tax-systems-all-50-states |publisher=Tax Foundation |accessdate=April 3, 2013 |date=February 20, 2013}}</ref> During fiscal year 2012, the federal government spent $3.54 trillion on a budget or cash basis, down $60 billion or 1.7% vs. fiscal year 2011 spending of $3.60 trillion. Major categories of fiscal year 2012 spending included: Medicare & Medicaid (23%), Social Security (22%), Defense Department (19%), non-defense discretionary (17%), other mandatory (13%) and interest (6%).<ref name="CBO Historical Tables 2012FY">{{cite web |url=http://cbo.gov/publication/43904 |title=CBO Historical Tables-February 2013 |publisher=Congressional Budget Office |date=February 5, 2013 |accessdate=April 23, 2013}}</ref> The total ] in the United States was $18.527 trillion (106% of the GDP) in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2012&ey=2014&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=61&pr1.y=12&c=111&s=GGXWDG%2CGGXWDG_NGDP&grp=0&a=#cs1 |title=IMF, United States General government gross debt |publisher=Imf.org |date=September 14, 2006 |accessdate=August 5, 2014}}</ref>{{efn|In January 2015, U.S. federal government debt held by the public was approximately $13 trillion, or about 72% of U.S. GDP. Intra-governmental holdings stood at $5 trillion, giving a combined total debt of $18.080 trillion.<ref name=autogenerated5>{{cite web |url=http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np |title=Debt to the Penny (Daily History Search Application) |publisher=TreasuryDirect |accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Burgess Everett |title=The next debt ceiling fight |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/the-next-debt-ceiling-fight-113897.html |newspaper=Politico |date=January 6, 2015 |accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> By 2012, total federal debt had surpassed 100% of U.S. GDP.<ref>{{cite web |last=Thornton |first=Daniel L. |title=The U.S. Deficit/Debt Problem: A Longer–Run Perspective |url=http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/12/11/Thornton.pdf |website=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review |accessdate=May 7, 2013 |date=Nov–Dec 2012}}</ref> The U.S. has a ] of AA+ from ], AAA from ], and AAA from ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Lopez |first=Luciana |title=Fitch backs away from downgrade of U.S. credit rating |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-usa-rating-fitch-idUSBRE90R0WS20130128 |accessdate=March 26, 2013 |newspaper=Reuters |date=January 28, 2013}}</ref>}} The United States has the ]<ref>{{cite news |title=America Owes the Largest Share of Global Debt |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-10-23/america-takes-the-largest-share-in-the-global-debt-pie |work=U.S. News |date=October 23, 2018}}</ref> and the 34th largest ] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Country Comparison: Public Debt - The World Factbook|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2186rank.html|last=|first=|date=|website=Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref> === Military === {{Main|United States Armed Forces}} ] ]]] The president is the ] of the ] and appoints its leaders, the ] and the ]. The ] administers the armed forces, including the ], ], ], ], and ]. The ] is run by the ] in peacetime and by the ] during times of war. In 2008, the armed forces had 1.4 million personnel on active duty. The ] and ] brought the total number of troops to 2.3 million. The Department of Defense also employed about 700,000 civilians, not including contractors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2009/May%202009/0509facts_fig.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113101605/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2009/May%202009/0509facts_fig.pdf |title=The Air Force in Facts and Figures (Armed Forces Manpower Trends, End Strength in Thousands) |website=Air Force Magazine |date=May 2009 |accessdate=October 9, 2009 |archivedate=January 13, 2013}}</ref> Military service is voluntary, though ] may occur in wartime through the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sss.gov/what.htm |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915102215/http://www.sss.gov/what.htm |title=What does Selective Service provide for America? |publisher=Selective Service System |accessdate=February 11, 2012 |archivedate=September 15, 2012}}</ref> American forces can be rapidly deployed by the Air Force's large fleet of transport aircraft, the Navy's 11 active ]s, and ]s at sea with the Navy's ] and ]. The military operates 865 bases and facilities abroad,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.defense.gov/pubs/BSR_2008_Baseline.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228030019/http://www.defense.gov/pubs/BSR_2008_Baseline.pdf |archivedate=February 28, 2010 |title=Base Structure Report, Fiscal Year 2008 Baseline |publisher=Department of Defense |accessdate=October 9, 2009}}</ref> and maintains ] in 25 foreign countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/MILITARY/history/hst1003.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724211511/http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/MILITARY/history/hst1003.pdf |title=Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country (309A) |publisher=Department of Defense |date=March 31, 2010 |accessdate=October 7, 2010 |archivedate=July 24, 2013}}</ref> ] The ] in 2011 was more than $700 billion, 41% of global military spending. At 4.7% of GDP, the rate was the second-highest among the top 15 military spenders, after ].<ref>{{cite web |title=The 15 Countries with the Highest Military Expenditure in 2011 |url=http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/resultoutput/15majorspenders |date=2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109085820/http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/resultoutput/milex_15/the-15-countries-with-the-highest-military-expenditure-in-2011-table/view |archive-date=January 9, 2013 |publisher=] |format=PDF |accessdate=February 27, 2017}}</ref> Defense spending plays a major role in science and technology investment, with roughly half of U.S. federal research and development funded by the Department of Defense.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aaas.org/programs/r-d-budget-and-policy/federal-rd-budget-dashboard|title=Federal R&D Budget Dashboard|website=American Association for the Advancement of Science|language=en|access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> Defense's share of the overall U.S. economy has generally declined in recent decades, from Cold War peaks of 14.2% of GDP in 1953 and 69.5% of federal outlays in 1954 to 4.7% of GDP and 18.8% of federal outlays in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fiscal Year 2013 Historical Tables |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/hist.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417053737/http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/hist.pdf |archive-date=April 17, 2012 |website=Budget of the U.S. Government |publisher=White House OMB |accessdate=November 24, 2012 |df=}}</ref> The country is one of the five ] ] and possesses the second largest ] in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=Here's how many nuclear warheads exist, and which countries own them |url=https://www.defensenews.com/global/2019/06/16/heres-how-many-nuclear-warheads-exist-and-which-countries-own-them/ |work=] |date=June 16, 2019}}</ref> More than 90% of world's 14,000 nuclear weapons are owned by Russia and the United States.<ref>{{cite news |title=Global Nuclear Arsenal Declines, But Future Cuts Uncertain Amid U.S.-Russia Tensions |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/nuclear-weapons-russia-start-inf-warheads/30003088.html |work=] (RFE/RL) |date=June 17, 2019}}</ref> == Law enforcement and crime == {{Main|Law enforcement in the United States|Crime in the United States}} {{See also|Law of the United States|Human rights in the United States#Justice system|Incarceration in the United States|Police brutality in the United States}} ] (NYPD) is the largest in the country.|alt=A police car belonging to the New York Police Department]] Law enforcement in the United States is primarily the responsibility of local police departments and ]'s offices, with ] providing broader services. ] such as the ] (FBI) and the ] have specialized duties, including protecting ], ] and enforcing ]' rulings and federal laws.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Who Governs & What They Do |publisher=Chiff.com |url=http://www.chiff.com/police/federal-police-agencies.htm |accessdate=August 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140210040432/http://www.chiff.com/police/federal-police-agencies.htm |archive-date=February 10, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> State courts conduct most criminal trials while ] handle certain designated crimes as well as certain appeals from the state criminal courts. A cross-sectional analysis of the ] Mortality Database from 2010 showed that United States "homicide rates were 7.0 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25.2 times higher."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grinshteyn |first1=Erin |last2=Hemenway |first2=David |date=March 2016 |url=http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(15)01030-X/fulltext |title=Violent Death Rates: The US Compared with Other High-income OECD Countries, 2010 |journal=] |volume=129 |issue=3 |pages=226–273 |doi=10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.10.025 |pmid=26551975 |accessdate=June 18, 2017|doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2016, the US murder rate was 5.4 per 100,000.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rawlinson|first1=Kevin|date=December 7, 2017|title=Global homicide rate rises for first time in more than a decade|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/07/global-homicide-rate-rises-first-time-decade-venezuela-jamaica|accessdate=December 26, 2018}}</ref> Gun ownership rights, guaranteed by the ], continue to be the subject of ]. Of those arrested for serious violent crimes in 2017, 58.5% were white, 37.5% were black, 2.1% were American Indian or Alaska Native and 1.5% Asian. Ethnically, 23.5% were Hispanic and 76.5% were non-Hispanic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Table 43 : Arrests by Race and Ethnicity, 2017|url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/table-43|website=FBI|accessdate=December 26, 2018}}</ref> From 1980 through 2008 males represented 77% of homicide victims and 90% of offenders. Blacks committed 52.5% of all homicides during that span, at a rate almost eight times that of whites, and were victimized at a rate six times that of whites. Most homicides were intraracial, with 93% of black victims killed by blacks and 84% of white victims killed by whites.<ref>{{cite web|title=Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980–2008|url=http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf|author1=Alexia Cooper|author2=Erica L. Smith|date=November 2011|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice|pages=3, 12|accessdate=November 14, 2015}}</ref> In 2012, Louisiana had the highest rate of murder and non-negligent manslaughter in the U.S., and New Hampshire the lowest.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fuchs|first=Erin|date=October 1, 2013|title=Why Louisiana Is The Murder Capital of America|work=Business Insider|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-the-murder-rate-high-in-louisiana-2013-9}}</ref> The FBI's ] estimates that there were 3,246 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents in 2012, for a total of more than nine million total crimes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Agren|first=David|date=October 19, 2014|title=Mexico crime belies government claims of progress|pages=4B|work=|newspaper=Florida Today—USA Today|location=Melbourne, FL|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/10/18/mexico-violence-crime/17048757|accessdate=October 19, 2014|id=}}</ref> Violent crime rose sharply in the 1960s until the early 1990s and declined in the late 1990s and 2000s.<ref name="disastercenter.com">{{cite web|title=United States Crime Rates 1960–2017|url=http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm|website=www.disastercenter.com|accessdate=December 26, 2018}}</ref> In 2014, the murder rate fell to the lowest level since 1957.<ref>{{cite web |title=Homicide Rate (per 100,000), 1950–2014 |url=https://www.infoplease.com/us/crime/homicide-rate-1950-2014 |website=InfoPlease |accessdate=December 26, 2018}}</ref> The violent crime rate increased by 5.9% between 2014 and 2017 and the murder rate by 20.5%. Non-gun murders reached a peak in 1980 of 8,340 and declined in most years until the early 2010s with 4,668 in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Supplemental Homicide Report 1976-2017 |url=http://www.murderdata.org/p/search-homicide-records-by-victim-type.html |website=Murder Accountability Project |accessdate=December 26, 2018}}</ref> The rate of robberies declined 62% between 1990 and 2017.<ref name="disastercenter.com" /> Between 1972 and 2009, there was nearly a 700% increase in the U.S. prison population,<ref name="Ghandnoosh">{{cite web|title=U.S. Prison Population Trends: Massive Buildup and Modest Decline|url=https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/u-s-prison-population-trends-massive-buildup-and-modest-decline/|author=Nazgol Ghandnoosh|date=September 17, 2019|publisher=Sentencing Project}}</ref> due largely to changes in ] and ].<ref name="ClearCole2008b">{{cite book|author1=Clear, Todd R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cYVdYfUGxvoC&pg=PA485|title=American Corrections|author2=Cole, George F.|author3=Reisig, Michael Dean|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2008|isbn=978-0-495-55323-6|page=485|accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> State and local spending on prisons and jails grew three times as much as that spent on public education during the period 1980 to 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Since 1980, spending on prisons has grown three times as much as spending on public education|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/07/07/since-1980-spending-on-prisons-has-grown-three-times-faster-than-spending-on-public-education/|last1=Brown|first1=Emma|last2=Douglas-Gabriel|first2=Danielle|date=July 7, 2016|website=The Washington Post|accessdate=July 12, 2016}}</ref> Since the peak in 2009, there has been a modest trend against incarceration, at the end of 2017, an estimated 1.4 million people were imprisoned in the United States, a decline of 7% from 2009.<ref name="Ghandnoosh" /> The United States has the ] and ] in the world.<ref>], </ref> As of 2020, the ] reported that there were some 2.3 million people incarcerated.<ref name="WholePie2020">{{cite report|url=https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2020.html|title=Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020|authors=Wendy Sawyer and Peter Wagner|date=March 24, 2020|publisher=Prison Policy Initiative}}</ref> The imprisonment rate for all prisoners sentenced to more than a year in state or federal facilities is 478 per 100,000 in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prisoners in 2013|url=http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf|website=Bureau of Justice Statistics}}</ref> According to the ], the majority of inmates held in federal prisons are convicted of drug offenses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Federal Bureau of Prisons: Statistics|url=http://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/|website=Federal Bureau of Prisons|accessdate=March 4, 2015}}</ref> About 9% of prisoners are held in ],<ref name="WholePie2020" /> the practice of privately operated prisons began in the 1980s and has been a subject of contention.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Donna|first1=Selman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5lBraTDtiSgC&lpg=PP1&pg=PR11#v=onepage|title=Punishment for Sale: Private Prisons, Big Business, and the Incarceration Binge|last2=Leighton|first2=Paul|date=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-0173-6|location=New York City|page=xi}} {{cite book|last=Harcourt|first=Bernard|url=http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674066168|title=The Illusion of Free Markets: Punishment and the Myth of Natural Order|date=2012|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-06616-8|pages=|authorlink=Bernard Harcourt}} {{cite book|last=Gottschalk|first=Marie|url=https://archive.org/details/caughtt_got_2015_00_7661|title=Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics|date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-16405-2|page=|author-link=Marie Gottschalk|url-access=registration}}</ref> ] is sanctioned in the United States for certain federal and military crimes, and at the state level in 30 states.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Connor |first1=Tracy |last2=Chuck |first2=Elizabeth |title=Nebraska's Death Penalty Repealed With Veto Override |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nebraskas-death-penalty-repealed-veto-override-n365456 |accessdate=June 11, 2015 |work=NBC News |date=May 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Simpson |first=Ian |title=Maryland becomes latest U.S. state to abolish death penalty |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-maryland-deathpenalty-idUSBRE9410TQ20130502 |date=May 2, 2013 |accessdate=April 6, 2016 |agency=Reuters}}</ref> No executions took place from 1967 to 1977, owing in part to a ] striking down arbitrary imposition of the death penalty. Since the decision there have been more than 1,300 executions, a majority of these taking place in three states: Texas, Virginia, and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/views-executions |title=Searchable Execution Database |accessdate=October 10, 2012 |publisher=]}}</ref> Meanwhile, ] have either abolished or struck down death penalty laws. In 2019, the country had the sixth-highest number of executions in the world, following China, ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/1847/2020/en/ |title=Death Sentences and Executions 2019 |accessdate=May 30, 2020 |year=2019 |publisher=Amnesty International USA}}</ref> ] == Economy == {{Main|Economy of the United States}} {{See also|Economic history of the United States}} {| class="infobox" style="{{float right}} font-size: 90%; border: 1px solid #999; width: 325px;" |- style="background:#f5f5f5" ! colspan="3" | Economic indicators |- | Nominal ] || $20.66 trillion (Q3 2018) || style="text-align:right;"|<ref name="BEA">{{cite web |title=GDP Estimates |url=https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm |website=Bureau of Economic Analysis |publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis |access-date=August 25, 2018}}</ref> |- | Real GDP growth || 3.5% (Q3 2018) || style="text-align:right;"|<ref name="BEA" /> |- | ||2.1% (2017)|| style="text-align:right;"|<ref name="BEA" /> |- | ] inflation || 2.2% (November 2018) || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf |title=Consumer Price Index—November 2018 |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |accessdate=December 19, 2018 |date=November 2018}}</ref> |- | ] || 60.6% (November 2018) || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS12300000 |title=Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |accessdate=December 19, 2018 |date=December 19, 2018}}</ref> |- | ] || 3.7% (November 2018)|| style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web |title=The Employment Situation—November 2018 |url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm |website=Bureau of Labor Statistics |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |date=December 7, 2018 |accessdate=December 19, 2018}}</ref> |- | ] participation rate || 62.9% (November 2018) ||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000 |title=Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey |author= |date= December 19, 2018 |website=Bureau of Labor Statistics |publisher=United States Department of Labor |accessdate=December 19, 2018}}</ref> |- | ] || $21.85 trillion (November 2018) || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/mspd/2018/opds112018.pdf |title=Monthly Statement of the Public Debt of the United States |publisher=Treasury Direct |accessdate=December 19, 2018 |date=November 30, 2018}}</ref> |- | ] || $109.0 trillion (Q3 2018) || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/20181206/z1.pdf |title=Federal Reserve Statistical Release |date=December 6, 2018 |accessdate=December 19, 2018 |website=Federal Reserve |publisher=Federal Reserve}}</ref> |} According to the ], the U.S. GDP of $16.8 trillion constitutes 24% of the ] at market exchange rates and over 19% of the gross world product at ] (PPP).<ref name=IMF_GDP>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/02/weodata/index.aspx |publisher=International Monetary Fund |title=World Economic Outlook Database: United States |date=October 2014 |accessdate=November 2, 2014}}</ref> The United States is the ] of goods and ], though ] are relatively low. In 2010, the total ] was $635 billion.<ref name="Trade">{{cite web|title=Trade Statistics|url=http://greyhill.com/trade-statistics|publisher=Greyhill Advisors|accessdate=October 6, 2011}}</ref> ], ], ], ], and ] are its top trading partners.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top Ten Countries with which the U.S. Trades|url=https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/top/dst/current/balance.html|date=August 2009|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2009}}</ref> From 1983 to 2008, U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the ].<ref name=Hagopian>{{cite journal |author=Hagopian, Kip |last2=Ohanian |first2=Lee |title=The Mismeasure of Inequality |journal=Policy Review |date=August 1, 2012 |url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/123566 |accessdate=August 22, 2013 }}</ref> The country ranks ninth in the world in ]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/selbasicFast.asp |title=United Nations Statistics Division—National Accounts|website=unstats.un.org|access-date=June 1, 2018}}</ref> and sixth in ].<ref name="IMF_GDP" /> The ] is the world's primary ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/cofer/eng/cofer.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007054940/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/cofer/eng/cofer.pdf |title=Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves |publisher=International Monetary Fund |accessdate=April 9, 2012 |archivedate=October 7, 2014}}</ref>] on ] is the ] (per ] of its listed companies)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/global-stock-market-capitalization-chart-2014-11?IR=T|title=The NYSE Makes Stock Exchanges Around The World Look Tiny|publisher=|accessdate=March 26, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://finance.zacks.com/new-york-stock-exchange-largest-stock-market-world-5426.html|title=Is the New York Stock Exchange the Largest Stock Market in the World?|publisher=|accessdate=March 26, 2017}}</ref> at $23.1 trillion as of April 2018.<ref name="Largest stock markets in the world">{{cite web|title=Largest stock exchange operators worldwide as of April 2018, by market capitalization of listed companies (in trillion U.S. dollars) |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/270126/largest-stock-exchange-operators-by-market-capitalization-of-listed-companies/|publisher=Statista|accessdate=February 18, 2019}}</ref> |alt=A large flag is stretched over Roman style columns on the front of a large building.]] ] per capita]] ] development in ]]] In 2009, the private sector was estimated to constitute 86.4% of the economy.<ref>{{cite web|title=GDP by Industry|url=http://greyhill.com/gdp-by-industry/|publisher=Greyhill Advisors|accessdate=October 13, 2011}}</ref> While its economy has reached a ] level of development, the United States remains an industrial power.<ref name="Econ">{{cite web|title=USA Economy in Brief|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html|publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, International Information Programs|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312123609/http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html|archivedate=March 12, 2008}}</ref>] comprised 68% of the U.S. economy in 2015.<ref> ''FRED Graph'', Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis</ref> In August 2010, the American labor force consisted of 154.1 million people (50%). With 21.2 million people, government is the leading field of employment. The largest private employment sector is health care and social assistance, with 16.4 million people. About 12% of workers are ], compared to 30% in ].<ref>{{cite web |first=Thomas |last=Fuller |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/14/news/europe.php |title=In the East, many EU work rules don't apply |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616015106/http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/14/news/europe.php |archivedate=June 16, 2005 |date=June 15, 2005 }}</ref> The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers.<ref name="EDBI">{{cite web |url=http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreEconomies/?economyid=197 |accessdate=June 28, 2007 |title=Doing Business in the United States |year=2006 |publisher=World Bank}}</ref> It has a smaller ] and redistributes less income through government action than European nations tend to.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Isabelle Joumard |author2=Mauro Pisu |author3=Debbie Bloch |title=Tackling income inequality The role of taxes and transfers |url=http://www.oecd.org/eco/public-finance/TacklingincomeinequalityTheroleoftaxesandtransfers.pdf |publisher=OECD |accessdate=May 21, 2015 |date=2012}}</ref> The United States is the only advanced economy that does not ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/no-vacation-update-2013-05.pdf |title=No-Vacation Nation Revisited |last1=Ray |first1=Rebecca |last2=Sanes |first2=Milla |last3=Schmitt |first3=John |date=May 2013 |website= |publisher=] |access-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> and is one of a few countries in the world without ] as a legal right.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/your-money/us-trails-much-of-the-world-in-providing-paid-family-leave.html |title=In Paid Family Leave, U.S. Trails Most of the Globe |last=Bernard |first=Tara Siegel |date=February 22, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> While federal law does not require sick leave, it is a common benefit for government workers and full-time employees at corporations.<ref name=SLCNN /> 74% of full-time American workers get paid sick leave, according to the ], although only 24% of part-time workers get the same benefits.<ref name=SLCNN>{{cite web |last1=Vasel |first1=Kathryn |title=Who doesn't get paid sick leave? |url=http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/20/news/economy/paid-sick-leave/ |website=CNN}}</ref> In 2009, the United States had the third-highest ] per person in the world, behind ] and ]. It was fourth in productivity per hour, behind those two countries and the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conference-board.org/data/economydatabase/ |title=Total Economy Database, Summary Statistics, 1995–2010 |publisher=The Conference Board |website=Total Economy Database |date=September 2010 |access-date=September 20, 2009}}</ref>  === Science and technology === {{Main|Science and technology in the United States|Science policy of the United States}} ] on the Moon, 1969]] The United States has been a leader in technological innovation since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid-20th century. Methods for producing ] were developed by the U.S. War Department by the Federal Armories during the first half of the 19th century. This technology, along with the establishment of a ] industry, enabled the U.S. to have large-scale manufacturing of sewing machines, bicycles, and other items in the late 19th century and became known as the ]. Factory ] in the early 20th century and introduction of the ] and other labor-saving techniques created the system of ].<ref>{{Hounshell1984}}</ref> In the 21st century, approximately two-thirds of research and development funding comes from the private sector.<ref>{{cite web|title=Research and Development (R&D) Expenditures by Source and Objective: 1970 to 2004|url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008/tables/08s0775.xls|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archiveurl=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120210170338/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008/tables/08s0775.xls|archivedate=February 10, 2012|accessdate=June 19, 2007|df=}}</ref> The United States leads the world in scientific research papers and ].<ref>{{cite news|author=MacLeod, Donald|date=March 21, 2006|title=Britain Second in World Research Rankings|work=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2006/mar/21/highereducation.uk4|accessdate=May 14, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Understanding China's AI Strategy|url=https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/understanding-chinas-ai-strategy|last=Allen|first=Gregory|date=February 6, 2019|website=Center for a New American Security|access-date=}}</ref> In 1876, ] was awarded the first U.S. ]. ]'s ], one of the first of its kind, developed the ], the first ], and the first viable ].<ref name=Edison>{{cite web |title=Thomas Edison's Most Famous Inventions |url=http://www.thomasedison.org/index.php/education/inventions/ |website=Thomas A Edison Innovation Foundation |accessdate=January 21, 2015}}</ref> The latter led to emergence of the worldwide ]. In the early 20th century, the automobile companies of ] and ] popularized the assembly line. The ], in 1903, made the ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Benedetti, François |url=http://www.fai.org/news_archives/fai/000295.asp |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912065254/http://www.fai.org/news_archives/fai/000295.asp |archivedate=September 12, 2007 |title=100 Years Ago, the Dream of Icarus Became Reality |publisher=Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) |date=December 17, 2003 |accessdate=August 15, 2007}}</ref> The rise of ] and ] in the 1920s and 30s led many European scientists, including ], ], and ], to immigrate to the United States.<ref name=fraser>{{cite book |last1=Fraser |first1=Gordon |title=The Quantum Exodus: Jewish Fugitives, the Atomic Bomb, and the Holocaust |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-959215-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NYknwEACAAJ}}</ref> During World War II, the ] developed nuclear weapons, ushering in the ], while the ] produced rapid advances in rocketry, ], and ].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qYZmj7Us3m8C&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=Space+Race++rapid+advances+in+rocketry,+materials+science,+and+computers#v=onepage |title=10 Little Americans |via=Google Books |accessdate=September 15, 2014 |isbn=978-0-615-14052-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.computerworld.com/article/2525898/app-development/nasa-s-apollo-technology-has-changed-history.html |title=NASA's Apollo technology has changed the history |publisher=Sharon Gaudin |accessdate=September 15, 2014}}</ref> The invention of the ] in the 1950s, a key active component in practically all modern ], led to many technological developments and a significant expansion of the U.S. technology industry.<ref>{{cite news |title=Celebrating July 2: 10 Days That Changed History |work=The New York Times|first=Adam |last=Goodheart |date=July 2, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/weekinreview/02goodheart.html}}</ref><ref>Silicon Valley: 110 Year Renaissance, McLaughlin, Weimers, Winslow 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Roadmap to Entrepreneurial Success |author=Robert W. Price |publisher=AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8144-7190-6 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q7UzNoWdGAkC&pg=PA42&dq=transistor+inventions-of-the-twentieth-century}}</ref> This, in turn, led to the establishment of many new technology companies and regions around the country such as ] in California. Advancements by American ] companies such as ] (AMD), and ] along with both computer ] and ] companies that include ], ], ], ], and ] created and popularized the ]. The ] was developed in the 1960s to meet ] requirements, and became the first of a ] into the ].<ref name="Sawyer2012">{{cite book |last=Sawyer |first=Robert Keith |title=Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QyJjyZ_YBAkC&pg=PA256 |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973757-4 |page=256}}</ref> === Income, poverty and wealth === {{Further|Income in the United States|Poverty in the United States|Affluence in the United States|United States counties by per capita income|Income inequality in the United States}} Accounting for 4.24% of the ], Americans collectively possess 29.4% of the world's total wealth, and Americans make up roughly half of the world's population of millionaires.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/chart/3890/the-countries-with-the-most-millionaires/|title=The Countries With The Most Millionaires|last1=McCarthy|first1=Niall|date=October 22, 2019|website=Statista|access-date=November 11, 2019}}</ref> The ] ranked the U.S. number one for food affordability and overall food security in March 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Food Security Index |url=http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/Country/Details#United%20States |publisher=The Economist Intelligence Unit |location=London |access-date=April 8, 2013 |date=March 5, 2013}}</ref> Americans on average have more than twice as much living space per dwelling and per person as ] residents, and more than every EU nation.<ref name="Heritage Poor">{{cite web |title=Understanding Poverty in the United States: Surprising Facts About America's Poor |url=http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/09/understanding-poverty-in-the-united-states-surprising-facts-about-americas-poor |publisher=Heritage Foundation |accessdate=April 8, 2013 |author=Rector, Robert |last2=Sheffield |first2=Rachel |date=September 13, 2011}}</ref> For 2017 the ] ranked the United States 13th among 189 countries in its ] and 25th among 151 countries in its ] (IHDI).<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Development Index (HDI) {{!}} Human Development Reports |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi |website=UNHDP |accessdate=December 27, 2018}}</ref> ], like income and taxes, is ]; the richest 10% of the adult population possess 72% of the country's household wealth, while the bottom half claim only 2%.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Piketty|first1=Thomas|title=Capital in the Twenty-First Century|title-link=Capital in the Twenty-First Century|date=2014|publisher=Belknap Press|page=|author-link1=Thomas Piketty}} {{ISBN|0-674-43000-X}}</ref> According to a September 2017 report by the Federal Reserve, the top 1% controlled 38.6% of the country's wealth in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last=Egan|first=Matt|date=September 27, 2017|title=Record inequality: The top 1% controls 38.6% of America's wealth|work=CNN Money|location=|url=http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/27/news/economy/inequality-record-top-1-percent-wealth/index.html|access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref> According to a 2018 study by the OECD, the United States has a larger percentage of low-income workers than almost any other developed nation. This is largely because at-risk workers get almost no government support and are further set back by a very weak ] system.<ref>{{cite news|last=Van Dam|first=Andrew|date=July 4, 2018|title=Is it great to be a worker in the U.S.? Not compared with the rest of the developed world.|work=The Washington Post|location=|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/07/04/is-it-great-to-be-a-worker-in-the-u-s-not-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-developed-world/?noredirect=on|access-date=July 12, 2018}}</ref> The ] accounted for 52 percent of the income gains from 2009 to 2015, where income is defined as market income excluding government transfers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States|url=http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2015.pdf|last=Saez|first=Emmanuel|author-link=Emmanuel Saez|date=June 30, 2016|publisher=University of California, Berkeley|accessdate=September 15, 2017}}</ref> In 2018, U.S. income inequality reached the highest level ever recorded by the ].<ref>{{cite news |last= Telford|first=Taylor|date=September 26, 2019|title=Income inequality in America is the highest it's been since census started tracking it, data shows|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/09/26/income-inequality-america-highest-its-been-since-census-started-tracking-it-data-show|work=] |location= |access-date=September 30, 2019 }}</ref>] in the U.S. increased from 1989 to 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trends in Family Wealth, 1989 to 2013|url=https://www.cbo.gov/publication/51846|date=August 18, 2016|work=] }}</ref>]] After years of stagnant growth, in 2016, according to the Census, median household income reached a record high after two consecutive years of record growth, although income inequality remains at record highs with top fifth of earners taking home more than half of all overall income.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-middle-class-incomes-reached-highest-ever-level-in-2016-census-bureau-says/2017/09/12/7226905e-97de-11e7-b569-3360011663b4_story.html|title=U.S. middle-class incomes reached highest-ever level in 2016, Census Bureau says|last=Long|first=Heather|date=September 12, 2017|work=The Washington Post|access-date=November 11, 2019}}</ref> The rise in the share of total annual income received by the top one percent, which has more than doubled from nine percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2011, has significantly affected ],<ref name="PikettySaez">{{cite journal |last1=Alvaredo |first1=Facundo |last2=Atkinson |first2=Anthony B. |author-link2=Tony Atkinson |last3=Piketty |first3=Thomas |author-link3=Thomas Piketty |last4=Saez |first4=Emmanuel |author-link4=Emmanuel Saez |date=2013 |title=The Top 1 Percent in International and Historical Perspective |journal=] |volume=27 |issue=Summer 2013 |pages=3–20 |doi=10.1257/jep.27.3.3 |hdl=11336/27462 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> leaving the United States with one of the widest income distributions among OECD nations.<ref name="Sme">{{cite journal |last1=Smeeding |first1=T.M. |year=2005 |title=Public Policy: Economic Inequality and Poverty: The United States in Comparative Perspective |journal=Social Science Quarterly |volume=86 |pages=955–983 |doi=10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00331.x|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/81b4d972c7a40d051d9ee3ced2ab2ddfc221fbf9 }} {{cite web |last1=Tcherneva |first1=Pavlina R. |title=When a rising tide sinks most boats: trends in US income inequality |url=http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/pn_15_4.pdf |website=levyinstitute.org |publisher=Levy Economics Institute of Bard College |accessdate=April 10, 2015 |date=April 2015}} {{cite web |url=http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/TabFig2005prel.xls |author=Saez, E. |title=Table A1: Top Fractiles Income Shares (Excluding Capital Gains) in the U.S., 1913–2005 |publisher=UC Berkeley |date=October 2007 |accessdate=July 24, 2008}} {{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html |title=Field Listing—Distribution of Family Income—Gini Index |publisher=CIA |website=The World Factbook |date=June 14, 2007 |accessdate=June 17, 2007}} {{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/OECD2014-FocusOnTopIncomes.pdf |title=Focus on Top Incomes and Taxation in OECD Countries: Was the crisis a game changer? |date=May 2014 |publisher=] |access-date=May 1, 2014}}</ref> The extent and relevance of income inequality is a matter of debate.{{sfn|Gilens|Page|2014}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=Economic Inequality and Political Representation |author=Larry Bartels |journal=The Unsustainable American State |date=2009 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392135.003.0007 |url=https://www.princeton.edu/~bartels/economic.pdf |pages=167–196 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091537/http://www.princeton.edu/~bartels/economic.pdf |archivedate=March 4, 2016 |df= |isbn=978-0-19-539213-5|citeseerx=10.1.1.172.7597 |author-link=Larry Bartels }} {{cite journal |title=Responsiveness in an Era of Inequality: The Case of the U.S. Senate |author=Thomas J. Hayes |journal=] |date=2012 |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=585–599 |doi=10.1177/1065912912459567 |ssrn=1900856|url=https://zenodo.org/record/894894 }}{{cite news |last= Dunsmuir |first=Lindsay |date=October 11, 2017 |title=IMF calls for fiscal policies that tackle rising inequality |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/imf-g20-inequality/imf-calls-for-fiscal-policies-that-tackle-rising-inequality-idUSL2N1ML16B|work=Reuters|location= |access-date= August 2, 2018 |quote=While overall global inequality has fallen in recent decades because of the economic rise of countries such as China and India, inequality within countries has risen sharply, especially in large countries like the United States and China. The Fund warned that excessive inequality could lower economic growth as well as polarize politics.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Winship |first1=Scott |title=Overstating the Costs of Inequality |journal=National Affairs |date=Spring 2013 |issue=15 |url=http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/articles/2013/03/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024141452/http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Articles/2013/03/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship.pdf |archivedate=October 24, 2013 |accessdate=April 29, 2015 |df= }} {{cite web |title=Income Inequality in America: Fact and Fiction |url=http://www.economics21.org/files/e21ib_1.pdf |publisher=Manhattan Institute |accessdate=April 29, 2015 |date=May 2014 }} {{cite journal |last1=Brunner |first1=Eric |last2=Ross |first2=Stephen L |last3=Washington |first3=Ebonya |title=Does Less Income Mean Less Representation? |journal=American Economic Journal: Economic Policy |date=May 2013 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=53–76 |doi=10.1257/pol.5.2.53 |url=http://economics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Faculty/washington/less-income.pdf |accessdate=July 12, 2015 |citeseerx=10.1.1.360.9508 }} {{cite news |last1=Feldstein |first1=Martin |title=Piketty's Numbers Don't Add Up: Ignoring dramatic changes in tax rules since 1980 creates the false impression that income inequality is rising. |url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304081804579557664176917086 |accessdate=July 12, 2015 |agency=Wall Street Journal |date=May 14, 2014 }}</ref> {| class="floatright" style="margin:auto; text-align:right;" |+ '''United States' families median net worth''' |+ align="bottom" style="caption-side: bottom; text-align: right;" | Source: Fed Survey of Consumer Finances<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weston |first1=Liz |title=Americans Are Pissed—This Chart Might Explain Why |url=https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/why-people-are-angry/ |website=nerdwallet.com |date=May 10, 2016}}</ref> ! in 2013 dollars !! 1998 !! 2013 !! change |- | All families || $102,500 || $81,200 || -20.8% |- | Bottom 20% of incomes || $8,300 || $6,100 || -26.5% |- | 2nd lowest 20% of incomes || $47,400 || $22,400 || -52.7% |- | Middle 20% of incomes || $76,300 || $61,700 || -19.1% |- | Top 10% || $646,600 || $1,130,700 || +74.9% |} Between June 2007 and November 2008 the ] led to falling asset prices around the world. Assets owned by Americans lost about a quarter of their value.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Altman, Roger C. |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2009-01-01/great-crash-2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223095528/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20090101faessay88101/roger-c-altman/the-great-crash-2008.html |archivedate=December 23, 2008 |title=The Great Crash, 2008 |journal=Foreign Affairs |accessdate=February 27, 2009}}</ref> Since peaking in the second quarter of 2007, household wealth was down $14 trillion, but has since increased $14 trillion over 2006 levels.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Luhby |first1=Tami |title=Americans' wealth drops $1.3 trillion |url=http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/11/news/economy/Americans_wealth_drops/?postversion=2009061113 |website=CNN Money |date=June 11, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TNWBSHNO|title=Households and nonprofit organizations; net worth, Level|last=|first=|date=September 23, 2019|website=FRED|publisher=]|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref> At the end of 2014, ] amounted to $11.8 trillion,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html#/2014/q4 |title=Household Debt and Credit Report |publisher=] |accessdate=June 26, 2015 |ref=none}}</ref> down from $13.8 trillion at the end of 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE52B58720090312 |title=U.S. household wealth falls $11.2 trillion in 2008 |website=Reuters |accessdate=October 4, 2014}}</ref> There were about 578,424 sheltered and unsheltered ] in January 2014, with almost two-thirds staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress |url=https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2014-AHAR-Part1.pdf |publisher=The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development |accessdate=August 6, 2015 |year=2014}}</ref> In 2011, ], about 35% more than 2007 levels, though only 1.1% of U.S. children, or 845,000, saw reduced food intake or disrupted eating patterns at some point during the year, and most cases were not chronic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Household Food Security in the United States in 2011 |url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/884525/err141.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007231515/http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/884525/err141.pdf |archive-date=October 7, 2012 |publisher=USDA |accessdate=April 8, 2013 |date=September 2012}}</ref> {{as of|2018|June}}, 40 million people, roughly 12.7% of the U.S. population, were living in poverty, with 18.5 million of those living in deep poverty (a family income below one-half of the poverty threshold) and over five million live "in ']' conditions." In 2016, 13.3 million children were living in poverty, which made up 32.6% of the impoverished population.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23172&LangID=E|title="Contempt for the poor in US drives cruel policies," says UN expert|last=|first=|date=June 4, 2018|work=]|access-date=June 5, 2018}}</ref> == Infrastructure == === Transportation === {{Main|Transportation in the United States}} ], which extends {{convert|46876|mi|km}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Interstate FAQ (Question #3) |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |year=2006 |url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.htm#question3 |accessdate=March 4, 2009}}</ref>]] Personal transportation is dominated by automobiles, which operate on a network of {{convert|4|e6mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} of public roads.<ref>{{cite web |title=Public Road and Street Mileage in the United States by Type of Surface |url=http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_04.html |website=United States Department of Transportation |accessdate=January 13, 2015}}</ref> The United States has the world's second-largest automobile market,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/jan/08/china-us-car-sales-overtakes |title=China overtakes US in car sales |newspaper=The Guardian |date=January 8, 2010 |access-date=July 10, 2011 |location=London}}</ref> the United States has the highest rate of per-capita vehicle ownership in the world, with 765 vehicles per 1,000 Americans (1996).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tra_mot_veh-transportation-motor-vehicles |title=Motor vehicles statistics—countries compared worldwide |publisher=NationMaster |access-date=July 10, 2011}}</ref> In 2017, there were 255,009,283 non-two wheel motor vehicles, or about 910 vehicles per 1,000 people.<ref name="USBTS">{{cite web |url=https://capitol-tires.com/how-many-cars-per-capita-in-the-us.html|title=Vehicle Statistics: Cars Per Capita|publisher=Capitol Tires}}</ref> ] (passenger) ]<ref>{{Cite report |last1=Todorovich |first1=Petra |last2=Hagler |first2=Yoav |title=High Speed Rail in America |publisher=America 2050 |date=January 2011 |url=http://www.america2050.org/pdf/HSR-in-America-Complete.pdf |accessdate=May 5, 2011}}</ref>]] The ] is entirely privately owned and has been largely ], while ] are publicly owned.<ref>{{cite web |title=Privatization |url=http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/privatization |website=downsizinggovernment.org |publisher=] |accessdate=December 27, 2014}}</ref> The three largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are U.S.-based; ] is number one after its 2013 acquisition by ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx |title=Scheduled Passengers Carried |publisher=International Air Transport Association (IATA) |year=2011 |accessdate=February 17, 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102034843/http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx |archivedate=January 2, 2015}}</ref> Of the ], 16 are in the United States, including the busiest, ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |title=Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013—High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport |publisher=Airports Council International |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401052319/http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |archivedate=April 1, 2014 |date=March 31, 2014 |accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref> In the aftermath of the ] of 2001, the ] was created to police airports and commercial airliners. === Energy === {{Further|Energy policy of the United States}} The ] market is about 29,000 ] per year.<ref name=IEA2013>IEA Key World Energy Statistics Statistics {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140902105825/http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/KeyWorld2013.pdf |date=September 2, 2014 }}, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309143010/http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/kwes.pdf |date=March 9, 2013 }}, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027013037/http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2011/key_world_energy_stats.pdf |date=October 27, 2011 }}, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011091637/http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2010/key_stats_2010.pdf |date=October 11, 2010 }}, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007042901/http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2009/key2009.pdf |date=October 7, 2013 }}, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012043312/http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2006/key2006.pdf |date=October 12, 2009 }} ] October, crude oil p. 11, coal p. 13 gas p. 15</ref> In 2005, 40% of this energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 22% from natural gas. The remainder was supplied by nuclear power and ] sources.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec1_3.pdf |title=Diagram 1: Energy Flow, 2007 |website=EIA Annual Energy Review |year=2007 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration |accessdate=June 25, 2008}}</ref> The United States is the world's largest producer of natural gas and crude oil.<ref>{{cite news |author=Ames, Paul |date=May 30, 2013 |title=Could fracking make the Persian Gulf irrelevant? |url=http://www.salon.com/2013/05/30/could_fracking_make_the_persian_gulf_irrelevant_partner/ |work=Salon |accessdate=May 30, 2012 |quote=Since November, the United States has replaced Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest producer of crude oil. It had already overtaken Russia as the leading producer of natural gas.}}</ref> For decades, ] has played a limited role relative to many other developed countries, in part because of public perception following the ] in 1979. In 2007, several applications for new nuclear plants were filed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9762843 |title=Atomic Renaissance |work=The Economist |location=London |access-date=September 6, 2007 |date=September 6, 2007}}</ref> Since 2007, the total ] are the second highest by country, exceeded only by ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mnp.nl/en/dossiers/Climatechange/moreinfo/Chinanowno1inCO2emissionsUSAinsecondposition.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701125851/http://www.mnp.nl/en/dossiers/Climatechange/moreinfo/Chinanowno1inCO2emissionsUSAinsecondposition.html|archive-date=July 1, 2007|title=China now no. 1 in CO2 emissions; USA in second position—the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP)|date=July 1, 2007|access-date=May 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=36953|title=U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions fell slightly in 2017—Today in Energy—U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)|website=www.eia.gov|access-date=May 11, 2019}}</ref> The United States has historically been the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, and ] remain high.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Roser|first=Max|last2=Ritchie|first2=Hannah|date=May 11, 2017|title=CO₂ and other Greenhouse Gas Emissions|url=https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions|journal=Our World in Data}}</ref> According to the Index of Geopolitical Gains and Losses After Energy Transition (GeGaLo), the United States ranks low (110th out of 156) among nations that would gain considerable advantages from a marked transition to renewables.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Overland|first=Indra|last2=Bazilian|first2=Morgan|last3=Ilimbek Uulu|first3=Talgat|last4=Vakulchuk|first4=Roman|last5=Westphal|first5=Kirsten|date=2019|title=The GeGaLo index: Geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition|journal=Energy Strategy Reviews|language=en|volume=26|pages=100406|doi=10.1016/j.esr.2019.100406|doi-access=free}}</ref> === Water supply and sanitation === {{Main|Drinking water supply and sanitation in the United States}} Issues that affect water supply in the United States include ]s in the West, ], ], a backlog of investment, concerns about the affordability of water for the poorest, and a rapidly retiring workforce. Increased variability and intensity of rainfall as a result of ] is expected to produce both more severe droughts and flooding, with potentially serious consequences for water supply and for pollution from ]s.<ref name="AMWA">{{cite web |author=American Metropolitan Water Association |title=Implications of Climate Change for Urban Water Utilities—Main Report |publisher= |date=December 2007 |url=http://www.amwa.net/galleries/climate-change/AMWA_Climate_Change_Paper_12.13.07.pdf |doi= |accessdate=February 26, 2009}}</ref><ref name="National Academies">{{cite web |author=National Academies' Water Information Center |title=Drinking Water Basics |publisher= |url=http://water.nationalacademies.org/basics_part_3.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917075648/http://water.nationalacademies.org/basics_part_3.shtml |archive-date=September 17, 2008 |doi= |accessdate=February 26, 2009}}</ref>{{efn|Droughts are likely to particularly affect the 66 percent of Americans whose communities depend on surface water.<ref name="EPA:Water on Tap">{{cite web |author=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |authorlink=United States Environmental Protection Agency |title=Water on Tap: What You Need to Know |publisher= |year=2003 |url=http://www.epa.gov/safewater/wot/pdfs/book_waterontap_full.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223172052/http://www.epa.gov/safewater/wot/pdfs/book_waterontap_full.pdf |archivedate=February 23, 2009 |doi= |accessdate=February 23, 2009}}, p. 11</ref> As for drinking water quality, there are concerns about disinfection by-products, ], ] and pharmaceutical substances, but generally ] is good.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McLendon |first1=Russell |title=How polluted is U.S. drinking water? |url=http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/how-polluted-is-us-drinking-water |publisher=] |accessdate=October 20, 2015}}</ref>}} == Culture == {{Main|Culture of the United States}} The United States is home to ] and a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values.<ref name="DD">{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=J.Q. |last2=Strother-Adams |first2=Pearlie |title=Dealing with diversity : the anthology |date=2001 |publisher=Kendall/Hunt Pub |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-7872-8145-8}}</ref><ref name="Society in Focus">{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=William E. |last2=Hickey |first2=Joseph V. |title=Society in focus : an introduction to sociology |date=2004 |publisher=Pearson/Allyn and Bacon |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-205-41365-2 |edition=5th}}</ref> Aside from the ], ], and ] populations, nearly all Americans or their ancestors settled or immigrated within the past five centuries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fiorina |first1=Morris P. |author-link1=Morris P. Fiorina |last2=Peterson |first2=Paul E. |title=The New American democracy |date=2010 |publisher=Longman |location=London |isbn=978-0-205-78016-7 |page=97 |edition=7th}}</ref> Mainstream American culture is a ] largely derived from the ] with influences from many other sources, such as ].<ref name="DD" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Holloway |first1=Joseph E. |title=Africanisms in American culture |date=2005 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington |isbn=978-0-253-21749-3 |pages=18–38 |edition=2nd}} {{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Fern L. |title=Speaking culturally : language diversity in the United States |publisher=Sage Publications |isbn=978-0-8039-5912-5 |page=116|year=2000 }}</ref> More recent immigration from ] and especially ] has added to a cultural mix that has been described as both a homogenizing ], and a heterogeneous ] in which immigrants and their descendants retain distinctive cultural characteristics.<ref name="DD" /> Americans have traditionally been characterized by a strong ], competitiveness, and individualism,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-koch/is-individualism-good-or-_b_4056305.html|title=Is Individualism Good or Bad?|author=Richard Koch|date=July 10, 2013|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=}}</ref> as well as a unifying belief in an "American ]" emphasizing liberty, equality, private property, democracy, rule of law, and a preference for limited government.<ref>{{cite book|last=Huntington |first=Samuel P. |authorlink=Samuel P. Huntington |title=Who are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity |year=2004 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xiYiybkE8kC&vq=core |chapter=Chapters 2–4 |isbn=978-0-684-87053-3 |accessdate=October 25, 2015 |url=https://archive.org/details/whoarewechalleng00hunt }}: also see ], written by ] and adopted by Congress in 1918.</ref> Americans are extremely charitable by global standards. According to a 2006 British study, Americans gave 1.67% of GDP to charity, more than any other nation studied.<ref>{{cite news |last=AP |title=Americans give record $295B to charity |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-25-charitable_N.htm?POE=click-refer |accessdate=October 4, 2013 |newspaper=USA Today |date=June 25, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=International comparisons of charitable giving |url=http://www.cafonline.org/pdf/International%20Comparisons%20of%20Charitable%20Giving.pdf |publisher=Charities Aid Foundation |accessdate=October 4, 2013 |date=November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsliveng.com/2019/05/24/days-that-changed-history/|title=10 Days That Changed History—NAIJA NEWS TODAY & LATEST BREAKING NEWS ™|last=babtunde|first=Saka|website=www.newsliveng.com|access-date=May 24, 2019}}</ref> The ], or the perception that Americans enjoy high ], plays a key role in attracting immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/161435/100-million-worldwide-dream-life.aspx|title=More Than 100 Million Worldwide Dream of a Life in the U.S. More than 25% in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Dominican Republic want to move to the U.S.|last=Clifton|first=Jon|date=March 21, 2013|website=|publisher=Gallup|accessdate=January 10, 2014}}</ref> Whether this perception is realistic has been a topic of debate.<ref name="socialmobility">{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/tax/public-finance/chapter%205%20gfg%202010.pdf |title=A Family Affair: Intergenerational Social Mobility across OECD Countries |publisher=OECD |website=Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth |year=2010 |access-date=September 20, 2010}} {{cite web |url=http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/IntergenerationalMobility.pdf |title=Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America |author1=Blanden, Jo |author2=Gregg, Paul |author3=Machin, Stephen |publisher=Centre for Economic Performance |date=April 2005 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623094610/http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/IntergenerationalMobility.pdf |archivedate=June 23, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gould |first1=Elise |title=U.S. lags behind peer countries in mobility |url=http://www.epi.org/publication/usa-lags-peer-countries-mobility/ |website=] |accessdate=July 15, 2013 |date=October 10, 2012}}</ref><ref name=CAP>{{cite web |title=Understanding Mobility in America |url=https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2006/04/26/1917/understanding-mobility-in-america/ |website=Center for American Progress |date=April 26, 2006}}</ref><ref name=Schneider>{{cite web |last=Schneider |first=Donald |title=A Guide to Understanding International Comparisons of Economic Mobility |url=http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/07/a-guide-to-understanding-international-comparisons-of-economic-mobility |publisher=The Heritage Foundation |accessdate=August 22, 2013 |date=July 29, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Hagopian /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Winship |first=Scott |title=Overstating the Costs of Inequality |journal=National Affairs |date=Spring 2013 |url=http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Articles/2013/03/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024141452/http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Articles/2013/03/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship.pdf |archivedate=October 24, 2013 |accessdate=January 10, 2014 |df= }}</ref> While mainstream culture holds that the United States is a ],<ref>{{cite book |last=Gutfeld |first=Amon |year=2002 |title=American Exceptionalism: The Effects of Plenty on the American Experience |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |location=Brighton and Portland |page=65 |isbn=978-1-903900-08-6}}</ref> scholars identify significant differences between the country's social classes, affecting ], language, and values.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zweig |first=Michael |year=2004 |title=What's Class Got To Do With It, American Society in the Twenty-First Century |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, NY |isbn=978-0-8014-8899-3}} {{cite web |url=http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED309843&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b800472a5 |title=Effects of Social Class and Interactive Setting on Maternal Speech |publisher=Education Resource Information Center |accessdate=January 27, 2007}}</ref> While Americans tend greatly to value socioeconomic achievement, being ] is generally seen as a positive attribute.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Keefe |first=Kevin |year=2005 |title=The Average American |publisher=PublicAffairs |location=New York |isbn=978-1-58648-270-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/averageamericant00okee }}</ref> === Food === {{Main|Cuisine of the United States}} ], a ] ], was first introduced in 1886]] Mainstream American cuisine is similar to that in other Western countries. ] is the primary cereal grain with about three-quarters of grain products made of wheat flour<ref name=Wheat>{{cite web |title=Wheat Info |url=http://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011012758/http://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/ |archive-date=October 11, 2009 |website=Wheatworld.org |accessdate=January 15, 2015 |df=}}</ref> and many dishes use indigenous ingredients, such as turkey, venison, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup which were consumed by Native Americans and early European settlers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Traditional Indigenous Recipes |url=http://aihd.ku.edu/recipes/index.html |publisher=American Indian Health and Diet Project|access-date=September 15, 2014}}</ref> These homegrown foods are part of a shared national menu on one of America's most popular holidays, ], when some Americans make traditional foods to celebrate the occasion.<ref name="Mintz1996">{{cite book |author=Sidney Wilfred Mintz |title=Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom: Excursions Into Eating, Culture, and the Past |url=https://archive.org/details/tastingfoodtasti00mint_0 |url-access=registration |year=1996 |publisher=Beacon Press |isbn=978-0-8070-4629-6 |pages=– |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The American ] industry, the world's largest,<ref>{{cite web|title=Why McDonald's in France Doesn't Feel Like Fast Food|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/01/24/145698222/why-mcdonalds-in-france-doesnt-feel-like-fast-food|last1=Breadsley|first1=Eleanor|website=NPR|accessdate=January 15, 2015}}</ref> pioneered the ] format in the 1940s.<ref name="drivethru">{{cite web|title=When Was the First Drive-Thru Restaurant Created?|url=http://www.wisegeek.org/when-was-the-first-drive-thru-restaurant-created.htm|website=Wisegeek.org|accessdate=January 15, 2015}}</ref> Characteristic dishes such as apple pie, fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs derive from the recipes of various immigrants. French fries, ] dishes such as burritos and tacos, and pasta dishes freely adapted from ] sources are widely consumed.<ref name="IFT">{{cite web |url=http://www.newswise.com/articles/what-when-and-where-americans-eat-in-2003 |author=Klapthor, James N. |title=What, When, and Where Americans Eat in 2003 |publisher=Newswise/Institute of Food Technologists |date=August 23, 2003 |accessdate=June 19, 2007}}</ref> Americans drink three times as much coffee as tea.<ref name=coffeeandtea>{{cite news |last1=H |first1=D |title=The coffee insurgency |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/12/daily-chart-17 |website=The Economist |accessdate=January 15, 2015}}</ref> Marketing by U.S. industries is largely responsible for making orange juice and milk ubiquitous ] beverages.<ref>], pp. 131–132</ref><ref>], pp. 154–155</ref> === Literature, philosophy, and visual art === {{Main|American literature|American philosophy|Architecture of the United States|Visual art of the United States}} ], American author and ]|alt=Photograph of Mark Twain]] In the 18th and early 19th centuries, American art and literature took most of its cues from Europe. Writers such as ], ], ], and ] established a distinctive American literary voice by the middle of the 19th century. ] and poet ] were major figures in the century's second half; ], virtually unknown during her lifetime, is now recognized as an essential American poet.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harold |first1=Bloom |author-link1=Harold Bloom |title=Emily Dickinson |date=1999 |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |location=Broomall, PA |isbn=978-0-7910-5106-1 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/emilydickinson00bloo/page/9 }}</ref> A work seen as capturing fundamental aspects of the national experience and character—such as ]'s '']'' (1851), Twain's '']'' (1885), ]'s '']'' (1925) and ]'s '']'' (1960)—may be dubbed the "]".<ref>{{cite journal |author=Buell, Lawrence |title=The Unkillable Dream of the Great American Novel: ''Moby-Dick'' as Test Case |date=Spring–Summer 2008 |volume=20 |issue=1–2 |pages=132–155 |doi=10.1093/alh/ajn005 |journal=American Literary History |issn=0896-7148|url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:31740086 }}</ref> Twelve U.S. citizens have won the ], most recently ] in 2016. ], ] and ] are often named among the most influential writers of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Edward |first1=Quinn |title=A dictionary of literary and thematic terms |date=2006 |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-6243-0 |page= |edition=2nd |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoflite0002quin/page/361 }}{{cite book |last1=David |first1=Seed |title=A companion to twentieth-century United States fiction |date=2009 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Chichester, West Sussex |isbn=978-1-4051-4691-3 |page=76}}{{cite book |last1=Jeffrey |first1=Meyers |title=Hemingway : A biography |date=1999 |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-306-80890-6 |page=139}}</ref> Popular literary genres such as the ] and ] crime fiction developed in the United States. The ] writers opened up new literary approaches, as have ] authors such as ], ], and ].<ref name="Lesher2000">{{cite book |last=Lesher |first=Linda Parent |title=The Best Novels of the Nineties: A Reader's Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSiXAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |year=2000 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0389-6 |page=109}}</ref> The ], led by Thoreau and ], established the first major ]. After the Civil War, ] and then ] and ] were leaders in the development of ]. In the 20th century, the work of ] and ], and later ], brought ] to the fore of American philosophical academia. ] and ] also led a revival of ]. In the visual arts, the ] was a mid-19th-century movement in the tradition of European ]. The 1913 ] in New York City, an exhibition of European ], shocked the public and transformed the U.S. art scene.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Milton W. |title=The Story of the Armory Show |date=1963 |publisher=Abbeville Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-89659-795-2 |edition=2nd |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofarmorysho00brow }}</ref> ], ], and others experimented with new, individualistic styles. Major artistic movements such as the ] of ] and ] and the ] of ] and ] developed largely in the United States. The tide of modernism and then ] has brought fame to American architects such as ], ], and ].<ref name="JansonJanson2003">{{cite book |last1=Janson |first1=Horst Woldemar |last2=Janson |first2=Anthony F. |title=History of Art: The Western Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMYHuvhWBH4C&pg=PT955 |year=2003 |publisher=Prentice Hall Professional |isbn=978-0-13-182895-7 |page=955}}</ref> Americans have long been important in the modern artistic medium of ], with major photographers including ], ], ], and ].<ref name="Davenport1991">{{cite book |last=Davenport |first=Alma |title=The History of Photography: An Overview |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hca5H_rJZnUC&pg=PA67 |year=1991 |publisher=UNM Press |isbn=978-0-8263-2076-6 |page=67}}</ref> === Music === {{Main|Music of the United States|American classical music}} Although little known at the time, ]'s work of the 1910s established him as the first major U.S. composer in the classical tradition, while experimentalists such as ] and ] created a distinctive American approach to classical composition. ] and ] developed a new synthesis of popular and classical music. The rhythmic and lyrical styles of ] have deeply influenced ] at large, distinguishing it from European and African traditions. Elements from ] idioms such as the ] and what is now known as ] were adopted and transformed into ] with global audiences. ] was developed by innovators such as ] and ] early in the 20th century. ] developed in the 1920s, and ] in the 1940s.<ref name="autogenerated2001">{{cite book |last1=Biddle |first1=Julian |title=What Was Hot!: Five Decades of Pop Culture in America |date=2001 |publisher=Citadel |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8065-2311-8 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/whatwashotroller00bidd/page/ }}</ref> ] and ] were among the mid-1950s pioneers of ]. Rock bands such as ], the ], and ] are among the ] in worldwide sales.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hartman |first1=Graham |title=Metallica's 'Black album' is Top-Selling Disc of last 20 years |url=http://loudwire.com/metallica-black-album-top-selling-disc-last-20-years/ |website=Loudwire |accessdate=October 12, 2015 |date=January 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Vorel |first1=Jim |title=Eagles tribute band landing at Kirkland |url=http://herald-review.com/entertainment/local/eagles-tribute-band-landing-at-kirkland/article_a8dcd506-08d0-11e2-82ac-001a4bcf887a.html |accessdate=October 12, 2015 |agency=Herald & Review |date=September 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Aerosmith will rock Salinas with July concert |url=http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/salinas/aerosmith-will-rock-salinas-with-july-concert/31042330 |accessdate=October 12, 2015 |date=February 2, 2015}}</ref> In the 1960s, ] emerged from the ] to become one of America's most celebrated songwriters and ] led the development of ]. More recent American creations include ] and ]. American pop stars such as ], ], and ] have become global celebrities,<ref name="autogenerated2001" /> as have contemporary musical artists such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>* {{cite web |url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/09/24/taylor-swift-teen-idol-biggest-pop-artist-world/72744548/ |title=Taylor Swift: Teen idol to 'biggest pop artist in the world' |date=September 24, 2015 |website=The Tennessean}} * {{cite web |last1=Lynch |first1=Gerald |title=Britney Spears is the most searched for celebrity of the decade |url=http://www.techdigest.tv/2009/12/britney_spears_1.html |website=Tech Digest |accessdate=October 12, 2015}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2015/jun/30/katy-perry-worlds-richest-famous-woman-taylor-swift-forbes-left-shark |title=Katy Perry: now the world's richest (famous) woman |website=the Guardian |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} * {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/t-magazine/beyonce-the-woman-on-top-of-the-world.html?_r=0 |title=Beyoncé: The Woman on Top of the World |last=Rosen |first=Jody |newspaper=The New York Times}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/imagine/episode/hecame_heconquered.shtml |title=BBC—Imagine—Jay-Z: He Came, He Saw, He Conquered |website=bbc.co.uk |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}*{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/introducing-the-king-of-hip-hop-20110815 |title=Introducing the King of Hip-Hop |website=Rolling Stone |accessdate=October 25, 2015}} * {{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/25/kanye-west-glastonbury-festival-2015-worlds-biggest-pop-star |title=The enigma of Kanye West—and how the world's biggest pop star ended up being its most reviled, too |author=Ben Westhoff |website=the Guardian}}</ref> === Cinema === {{Main|Cinema of the United States}} ] in ], California|alt=The Hollywood Sign]] ], a northern district of ], California, is one of the leaders in motion picture production.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30707 |title=Nigeria surpasses Hollywood as world's second-largest film producer |publisher=United Nations |date=May 5, 2009 |accessdate=February 17, 2013}}</ref> The world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York City in 1894, using ]'s ].<ref>{{cite book |title=Billboard |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_cBoEAAAAMBAJ |date=April 29, 1944 |page= |issn=0006-2510}}</ref> Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, although in the 21st century an increasing number of films are not made there, and film companies have been subject to the forces of globalization.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-landis-rails-studios-theyre-659222 |title=John Landis Rails Against Studios: 'They're Not in the Movie Business Anymore' |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |accessdate=January 24, 2015}}</ref> Director ], the top American ] during the ] period, was central to the development of ], and producer/entrepreneur ] was a leader in both ] and movie ].<ref name="KrasniewiczDisney2010">{{cite book |last1=Krasniewicz |first1=Louise |last2=Disney |first2=Walt |title=Walt Disney: A Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZ3vTgpHgFoC&pg=PR10 |year=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-35830-2 |page=10}}</ref> Directors such as ] redefined the image of the American Old West, and, like others such as ], broadened the possibilities of cinema with location shooting. The industry enjoyed its golden years, in what is commonly referred to as the "]", from the early sound period until the early 1960s,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Matthews |first1=Charles |title=Book explores Hollywood 'Golden Age' of the 1960s-'70s |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-explores-hollywood-golden-age-of-the-1960s-70s/2011/02/10/AGh5xJIH_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=August 6, 2015 |date=June 3, 2011}}</ref> with screen actors such as ] and ] becoming iconic figures.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Banner |first1=Lois |title=Marilyn Monroe, the eternal shape shifter |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/05/opinion/la-oe-0805-banner-marilyn-monroe-icon-biography-20120805 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |accessdate=August 6, 2015 |date=August 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rick |first1=Jewell |title=John Wayne, an American Icon |url=http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15465.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822102812/http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15465.html |archive-date=August 22, 2008 |publisher=University of Southern California |accessdate=August 6, 2015 |date=August 8, 2008}}</ref> In the 1970s, "]" or the "Hollywood Renaissance"<ref name="Greven2013">{{cite book |last=Greven |first=David |title=Psycho-Sexual: Male Desire in Hitchcock, De Palma, Scorsese, and Friedkin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIyNBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT23 |year=2013 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-74204-8 |page=23}}</ref> was defined by grittier films influenced by French and Italian realist pictures of the ].<ref name="Morrison1998">{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=James |title=Passport to Hollywood: Hollywood Films, European Directors |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWRif68I3igC&pg=PA11 |year=1998 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-3938-8 |page=11}}</ref> In more recent times, directors such as ], ] and ] have gained renown for their blockbuster films, often characterized by high production costs and earnings, with the ]' '']'' (2019) being the highest-grossing film of all time.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McClintock |first1=Pamela |title=Box Office: 'Avengers: Endgame' Passes 'Avatar' to Become No. 1 Grossing Film of All Time |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/avengers-endgame-passes-avatar-become-no-1-film-all-time-1225121 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en}}</ref> Notable films topping the ]'s ] list include ]'s '']'' (1941), which is frequently cited as the greatest film of all time,<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331174817/http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html |date=March 31, 2014 }}. Filmsite.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-long.html |title=Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 |publisher=British Film Institute |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20021105130210/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-long.html |archivedate=November 5, 2002 |year=2002 }}</ref> '']'' (1942), '']'' (1972), '']'' (1939), '']'' (1962), '']'' (1939), '']'' (1967), '']'' (1954), '']'' (1993), '']'' (1952), '']'' (1946) and '']'' (1950).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx |title=AFI's 100 Years |publisher=American Film Institute |accessdate=January 24, 2015}}</ref> The ], popularly known as the Oscars, have been held annually by the ] since 1929,<ref name="DrowneHuber2004">{{cite book |last1=Drowne |first1=Kathleen Morgan |last2=Huber |first2=Patrick |title=The 1920s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CecCHiI95dYC&pg=PA236 |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-32013-2 |page=236}}</ref> and the ]s have been held annually since January 1944.<ref name="Kroon2014">{{cite book |last=Kroon |first=Richard W.|title=A/V A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjmNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA338 |year=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5740-3 |page=338}}</ref> === Sports === {{Main|Sports in the United States}} {{multiple image | perrow = 2 | total_width = 300 | image1 = Matt Ryan (30784384287).jpg | image2 = Kevin Plawecki (48156296552).jpg | image3 = LeBron James Layup (Cleveland vs Brooklyn 2018).jpg | image4 = Mike Richards 2010-10-30.jpg | footer = The most popular American sports are ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 10 Most Popular Sports in America 2017 |url=http://www.sportsind.com/list/most-popular-sports-in-america/ |website=SportsInd |accessdate=June 8, 2017 |date=October 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606041759/http://www.sportsind.com/list/most-popular-sports-in-america/ |archive-date=June 6, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | align = | direction = | alt1 = People playing American football | caption1 = | caption2 = | alt2 = People playing baseball | alt3 = People playing basketball }} ] is by several measures the most popular spectator sport;<ref>{{cite web |author=Krane, David K. |title=Professional Football Widens Its Lead Over Baseball as Nation's Favorite Sport |url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault8482.aspx?PID=337 |publisher=Harris Interactive |date=October 30, 2002 |access-date=September 14, 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709111448/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault8482.aspx?PID=337 |archivedate=July 9, 2010}} MacCambridge, Michael (2004). ''America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation''. New York: Random House. {{ISBN|0-375-50454-0}}.</ref> the ] (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world, and the ] is watched by tens of millions globally. ] has been regarded as the U.S. ] since the late 19th century, with ] (MLB) being the top league. ] and ] are the country's next two ], with the top leagues being the ] (NBA) and the ] (NHL). ] and ] attract large audiences.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.footballfoundation.org/tabid/567/Article/53380/Passion-for-College-Football-Remains-Robust.aspx |title=Passion for College Football Remains Robust |publisher=National Football Foundation |date=March 19, 2013 |accessdate=April 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075223/http://www.footballfoundation.org/tabid/567/Article/53380/Passion-for-College-Football-Remains-Robust.aspx |archive-date=April 7, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In ], the country hosted the ], the ] qualified for ten World Cups and the ] has won the ] four times; ] is the sport's highest league in the United States (featuring 23 American and three Canadian teams). The market for professional sports in the United States is roughly $69 billion, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.<ref>{{cite web |title=Global sports market to hit $141 billion in 2012 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/18/us-pwcstudy-idUSN1738075220080618 |website=Reuters |accessdate=July 24, 2013 |date=June 18, 2008}}</ref> Eight ] have taken place in the United States. The ] in ], ] were the first ever Olympic Games held outside of Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/cities-that-have-hosted-the-olympics.html|title=Cities That Have Hosted the Olympics|website=WorldAtlas|language=en|access-date=March 5, 2020}}</ref> {{as of|2017}}, the United States has won 2,522 medals at the ], more than any other country, and 305 in the ], the second most behind Norway.<ref>{{cite news |title=The 10 most fascinating facts about the all-time Winter Olympics medal standings |first=Chris |last=Chase |date=February 7, 2014 |work=USA Today|url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/winter-olympics-medal-count-sochi-all-time-facts/ |accessdate=February 28, 2014}} {{cite news |title=With Sochi Olympics approaching, a history of Winter Olympic medals |date=February 6, 2014 |first=Dan |last=Loumena |work=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/06/sports/la-sp-a-history-of-the-winter-olympic-medals-20140206 |accessdate=February 28, 2014}}</ref> While most major U.S. sports such as ] and ] have evolved out of European practices, ], ], ], and ] are American inventions, some of which have become popular worldwide. ] and ] arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate Western contact.<ref name="liss">Liss, Howard. ''Lacrosse'' (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970) pg 13.</ref> The most watched ]s are ] and ], particularly ].<ref>{{cite web |title=As American as Mom, Apple Pie and Football? Football continues to trump baseball as America's Favorite Sport |url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%205%20-%202014%20Fave%20Sport_1.16.14.pdf |website=Harris Interactive |accessdate=July 2, 2014 |date=January 16, 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309053431/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%205%20-%202014%20Fave%20Sport_1.16.14.pdf |archivedate=March 9, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Cowen, Tyler |author2=Grier, Kevin |title=What Would the End of Football Look Like? |url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7559458/cte-concussion-crisis-economic-look-end-football |publisher=Grantland/ESPN |date=February 9, 2012 |accessdate=February 12, 2012}}</ref> ] is considered the fastest growing sport in the U.S., with registered players numbering more than 115,000 and a further 1.2 million participants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/04/sport/usa-rugby-nigel-melville/index.html |title=Will U.S. learn to love rugby? |first=Rob |last=Hodgetts |work=CNN|date=March 4, 2016|publisher=}}</ref> === Mass media === {{Main|Media of the United States}} ] (NBC) at ] in New York City]] The four major broadcasters in the U.S. are the ] (NBC), ] (CBS), ] (ABC), and ] (FOX). The four major broadcast ]s are all commercial entities. ] offers hundreds of channels catering to a variety of niches.<ref>{{cite news |title=Streaming TV Services: What They Cost, What You Get |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/12/business/ap-us-streaming-tv-options.html |accessdate=October 12, 2015 |work=NYTimes.com |agency=Associated Press |date=October 12, 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015023520/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/12/business/ap-us-streaming-tv-options.html |archivedate=October 15, 2015}}</ref> Americans listen to radio programming, also largely commercial, on average just over two-and-a-half hours a day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1004830 |title=TV Fans Spill into Web Sites |date=June 7, 2007 |publisher=eMarketer |accessdate=June 10, 2007}}</ref> In 1998, the number of U.S. commercial radio stations had grown to 4,793 AM stations and 5,662 FM stations. In addition, there are 1,460 public radio stations. Most of these stations are run by universities and public authorities for educational purposes and are financed by public or private funds, subscriptions, and corporate underwriting. Much public-radio broadcasting is supplied by ]. NPR was incorporated in February 1970 under the ]; its television counterpart, ], was created by the same legislation. {{As of|2014|09|30|df=US}}, there are 15,433 licensed full-power radio stations in the U.S. according to the U.S. ] (FCC).<ref>{{cite web |last=Waits |first=Jennifer |title=Number of U.S. Radio Stations on the Rise, Especially LPFM, according to New FCC Count |website=Radio Survivor |date=October 17, 2014 |accessdate=January 6, 2015 |url=http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2014/10/17/number-u-s-radio-stations-rise-especially-lpfm-according-latest-fcc-count/}}</ref> Well-known newspapers include '']'', '']'', and '']''.<ref name="Shaffer2006">{{cite book |author=Brenda Shaffer |title=The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEOd-cDWVwQC&pg=PA116 |year=2006 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-19529-4 |page=116}}</ref> Although the cost of publishing has increased over the years, the price of newspapers has generally remained low, forcing newspapers to rely more on advertising revenue and on articles provided by a major wire service, such as the ] or ], for their national and world coverage. With very few exceptions, all the newspapers in the U.S. are privately owned, either by large chains such as ] or ], which own dozens or even hundreds of newspapers; by small chains that own a handful of papers; or in a situation that is increasingly rare, by individuals or families. Major cities often have "alternative weeklies" to complement the mainstream daily papers, such as New York City's '']'' or Los Angeles' '']''. Major cities may also support a local business journal, trade papers relating to local industries, and papers for local ethnic and social groups. Early versions of the American newspaper ] and the ] began appearing in the 19th century. In 1938, ], the comic book ] of ], developed into an American icon.<ref>{{cite book |last=Daniels |first=Les |authorlink=Les Daniels |year=1998 |title=Superman: The Complete History |page=11 |edition=1st |publisher=Titan Books |isbn=978-1-85286-988-5}}</ref> Aside from ]s and ], the most popular websites are ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="alexa-topsitesus">{{cite web |url=http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US |title=Top Sites in United States |year=2014 |publisher=Alexa |accessdate=October 20, 2014}}</ref> More than 800 publications are produced in Spanish, the second most commonly used language in the United States behind English.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.w3newspapers.com/usa/spanish |title=Spanish Newspapers in United States |publisher=W3newspapers |accessdate=August 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/usstate/spanish-language-newspapers-usa.htm |title=Spanish Language Newspapers in the USA : Hispanic Newspapers : Periódiscos en Español en los EE.UU |publisher=Onlinenewspapers.com |accessdate=August 5, 2014}}</ref> == See also == {{Portal|United States|North America}} {{Misplaced Pages books}} * ] * ] * ] *] *] {{-}} == Notes == {{notelist | colwidth = | notes = {{efn | name = pop | Excludes ] and the other ]. }} {{efn | name = time | See ] for details about laws governing time zones in the United States. }} {{efn | name = drive | Except the ]. }} }} == References == {{reflist}} == Further reading == {{refbegin|30em}} * {{cite book |title=Regulating Wall Street: The Dodd-Frank Act and the New Architecture of Global Finance |ref=Acharya10 |first1=Viral V. |last1=Acharya |first2=Thomas F. |last2=Cooley |first3=Matthew P. |last3=Richardson |first4=Ingo |last4=Walter |page=592 |publisher=Wiley |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-470-76877-8}} * {{cite book |title=The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism |first1=Edward E. |last1=Baptist|author-link= Edward E. Baptist |publisher=Basic Books |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-465-00296-2}} * {{cite journal |last1=Barth |first1=James |first2=John |last2=Jahera |title=US Enacts Sweeping Financial Reform Legislation |ref=Barth10 |journal=Journal of Financial Economic Policy |volume=2 |issue=3 |year=2010 |pages=192–195 |doi=10.1108/17576381011085412}} * {{cite book |last=Berkin |first=Carol |last2=Miller |first2=Christopher L. |last3=Cherny |first3=Robert W. |last4=Gormly |first4=James L. |title=Making America: A History of the United States, Volume I: To 1877 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cyEI21RClZkC |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2007 |ref=Berkin |page=75 |isbn=978-0-618-99485-4}} * {{cite journal |last1=Bianchine |first1=Peter J. |last2=Russo |first2=Thomas A. |year=1992 |title=The Role of Epidemic Infectious Diseases in the Discovery of America |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=225–232 |ref=Bianchine |doi=10.2500/108854192778817040 |pmid=1483570 |journal=Allergy and Asthma Proceedings}} * {{cite book |last=Blakeley |first=Ruth |date=2009 |title=State Terrorism and Neoliberalism: The North in the South |url=http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415462402/ |location= |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-68617-4|ref=Blakeley}} * {{cite book |last1=Boyer |first1=Paul S. |last2=Clark Jr. |first2=Clifford E. |last3=Kett |first3=Joseph F. |last4=Salisbury |first4=Neal |last5=Sitkoff |first5=Harvard |last6=Woloch |first6=Nancy |title=The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People |ref=Boyer |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9KT3lI76-0cC |publisher=Cengage Learning |page=588 |isbn=978-0-618-80161-9}} * {{cite book|last= Brokenshire |first=Brad |title=Washington State Place Names |url=https://archive.org/details/washingtonstatep00brok_0 |url-access= registration |page= |year=1993 |publisher=Caxton Press |isbn=978-0-87004-562-2 |ref=harv}} * {{cite book |first=Colin G. |last=Calloway |title=New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of Early America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=edYbAZ7ECEoC |publisher=] |ref=Calloway1998 |page=229 |isbn=978-0-8018-5959-5 |year=1998}} * {{cite book |ref=harv |first=Juan |last=Cobarrubias |title=Progress in Language Planning: International Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x9KoAkzfVqIC&pg=PA195 |year=1983 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-90-279-3358-4}} * {{cite book|first=Marcus |last= Cowper|title=National Geographic History Book: An Interactive Journey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8dNX2PqOpcC&pg=PT67|date= 2011|publisher=National Geographic Society|isbn=978-1-4262-0679-5|ref=harv}} * {{cite book|last=Davis |first=Kenneth C. |title=Don't know much about the Civil War |ref=Davis96 |publisher=William Marrow and Co. |location=New York |year=1996 |url=https://archive.org/details/dontknowmuchabou00davi_1/page/518 |isbn=978-0-688-11814-3 |page= }} * {{cite book |last=Daynes |first=Byron W. |last2=Sussman |first2=Glen |title=White House Politics and the Environment: Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush |ref=Daynes |publisher=] |year=2010 |page=320 |url=https://archive.org/details/whitehousepoliti0000dayn |url-access=registration |isbn=978-1-60344-254-1 |oclc=670419432 |quote=Presidential environmental policies, 1933–2009}} * {{cite book |ref=harv |first1=Jon M |last1=Erlandson |first2=Torben C |last2=Rick |first3=Rene L |last3=Vellanoweth |title=A Canyon Through Time: Archaeology, History, and Ecology of the Tecolote Canyon Area, Santa Barbara County |location=California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeTv2lmb79UC&pg=PA19 |year=2008 |publisher=University of Utah Press |isbn=978-0-87480-879-7}} * {{cite book|first=Brian M. |last=Fagan|title=Ancient Lives: An Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9lqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA390|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-35027-9|ref=harv}} * {{cite book |first=Sylvan G. |last=Feldstein |first2=Frank J. |last2=Fabozzi |title=The Handbook of Municipal Bonds |ref=Feldstein |publisher=] |year=2011 |page=1376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Juc4fb1Fx1cC |isbn=978-1-118-04494-0}} * {{cite journal |last1=Ferguson |first1=Thomas |last2=Rogers |first2=Joel |ref=Ferguson |year=1986 |title=The Myth of America's Turn to the Right |journal=The Atlantic|volume=257 |issue=5 |pages=43–53 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/95dec/conbook/fergrt.htm |accessdate=March 11, 2013}} * {{cite journal|last1=Fladmark|first1=K.R.|title=Routes: Alternate Migration Corridors for Early Man in North America |journal=American Antiquity |volume=44 |issue=1 |year=2017 |pages=55–69 |issn=0002-7316 |doi=10.2307/279189 |ref=harv |jstor=279189}} * {{cite book|first=Tim|last= Flannery|title=The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkkyBgAAQBAJ |date=2015 |publisher=Open Road + Grove/Atlantic|isbn=978-0-8021-9109-0|ref=harv}} * {{cite book |last=Fraser |first=Steve |first2=Gary |last2=Gerstle |ref=Fraser |title=The Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order: 1930–1980 |series=American History: Political science |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yd4GqkP5XYgC&lpg=PA229 |year=1989 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-00607-9 |page=311}} * {{cite book |last=Gaddis |first=John Lewis |title=The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941–1947 |year=1972 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-12239-9 |ref=harv}} * {{cite book|first=Daniel J.|last= Gelo|title=Indians of the Great Plains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KBBmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT79|date=2018|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-71812-7|ref=harv}} * {{cite book |ref=harv |first=Percy |last=Greg |title=History of the United States from the Foundation of Virginia to the Reconstruction of the Union |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofuniteds12greg |page= |year=1892 |publisher=West, Johnston & Company}} * {{cite book |ref=harv |first=Ofelia |last=García |title=Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bW6V__K95ckC&pg=PT167 |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-5978-7}} * {{cite book|last=Gold |first=Susan Dudley |title=United States V. 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