The United States of America (USA), commonly referred to as the United States (U.S.

) or America, is a federal republic

consisting of 50 states and a federal district. The 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., are in central North
America betweenCanada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is located in the northwestern part of North America and the state
of Hawaii is anarchipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also has five populated and numerous unpopulated territories in the
Pacific and theCaribbean. At 3.80 million square miles (9.85 million km2)[18] and with over 320 million people, the United States is
the world'sfourth-largest country by total area and third most populous. It is one of the world's most ethnically
diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.[19] The geography and climate of the
United States are also extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife.[20]
Paleo-Indians migrated from Eurasia to what is now the U.S. mainland around 15,000 years ago,[21] with European
colonizationbeginning in the 16th century. The United States emerged from 13 British colonies located along the East Coast.
Disputes betweenGreat Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolution. On July 4, 1776, as the colonies were fighting
Great Britain in theAmerican Revolutionary War, delegates from the 13 colonies unanimously adopted the Declaration of
Independence. The war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by the Kingdom of Great Britain,
and was the first successful war of independence against a European colonial empire.[22] The country's constitution was adopted on
September 17, 1787, and ratified by the states in 1788. The first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were
ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil rights and freedoms.
Driven by the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, the United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout
the 19th century.[23] This involved displacing American Indian tribes, acquiring new territories, and gradually admitting new states,
until by 1848 the nation spanned the continent.[23] During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War ended
legalslavery in the country.[24][25] By the end of that century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean,[26] and its economy,
driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar.[27] The SpanishAmerican War and World War I confirmed the
country's status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global "superpower", the first country
to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security
Council. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole
superpower.[28]
The United States is a developed country and has the world's largest economy by GDP, benefiting from an abundance of natural
resources and high worker productivity.[29] While the U.S. economy is considered post-industrial, the country continues to be one of
the world's largest manufacturers.[30] Accounting for 37% of global military spending[31] and 19% of world GDP (PPP),[32] it is the
world's foremost economic and military power, a prominent political and cultural force, and a leader in scientific research and
technological innovations.[33]
Native American and European contact[edit]
Further information: Pre-Columbian era and Colonial history of the United States
The first North American settlers migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge approximately 15,000 or more years ago.
[21][47][48]

Some, such as the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture, developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level

societies. After European explorers and traders made the first contacts, the native population declined for various reasons,
including diseases such as smallpox and measles,[49][50] and violence.[51][52][53]
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 colonial wars.[54] At
the same time, however, many natives and settlers came to depend on each other. Settlers traded for food and animal pelts,

natives for guns, ammunition and other European wares.[55] Natives taught many settlers where, when and how to cultivate corn,
beans and squash. European missionaries and others felt it was important to "civilize" the Indians and urged them to concentrate
on farming and ranching rather than depending on hunting and gathering.