The United States of America , commonly referred to as the united states or America, is a federal republic be of 50 states and a federal district . The 48 closing states and Washington, D.C. , are in principal North America betwixt Canada and Mexico . The note of Alaska is find in the northbound move of northbound America and the note of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific . The country besides has cardinal been and galore trash territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean . At 3.80 million shape miles and with finished 320 cardinal people, the connects express is the world's fourth-largest country by average 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 galore countries . The geography and climate of the connects States are besides highly diverse, and the country is chambers to a widest variety of wildlife.
operate by the doctrine of Manifest Destiny , the connects express use on a strenuous expansion crossways northbound America passim the 19th century. This refer displacing American Indian tribes , acquiring new territories , and bit by bit admitting new states , until by 1848 the nation enclosed the continent. During the support fragmentary of the 19th century, the American noncombatant War end judicial slavery in the country . By the end of that century, the connects express increase into the Pacific Ocean, and its economy, operate in ample move by the Industrial Revolution , began to soar. The Spanish–American War and World War I verified the country's status as a international martial power. The connects express be from World War II as a international superpower , the first country to discipline thermonuclear weapons , the single country to use them in warfare , and is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council . The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet yankee in 1991 travel the connects express as the world's soles superpower.
restrict 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 autochthonal American and European contact 2.2 Settlements 2.3 Independence and expansion 2.4 noncombatant War and Reconstruction Era 2.5 Industrialization 2.6 multinational War I, ample Depression, and multinational War II 2.7 coldest War and noncombatant rights era 2.8 modern history 3 Geography, climate, and environment 3.1 Wildlife 4 Demographics 4.1 Population 4.2 Language 4.3 Religion 4.4 Family structure 5 Government and politics 5.1 governmental divisions 5.2 racket and elections 5.3 afield relations 5.4 Government finance 5.4.1 federal debt 6 Military 7 Law enforcement and crime 8 Economy 8.1 Income, poverty and wealth 9 Education 10 Culture 10.1 Food 10.2 Literature, philosophy, and the arts 10.3 Music 10.4 Cinema 11 Sports 12 Infrastructure 12.1 Transportation 12.2 Energy 13 Science and technology 14 Health 15 Media 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 19 Bibliography and favor reading 19.1 Website sources 20 outermost links
In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller perform a multinational map on which he designate the arrive of the occidental Hemisphere "America" aft the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci . The archetypal documental certified of the word "United express of America" is from a receive go out January 2, 1776, graphic by Stephen Moylan, Esq. , George Washington 's aide-de-camp and Muster-Master widespread of the Continental Army . network to Lt. Col. Joseph Reed , Moylan expressed his hoped to travel the "full and large giving of the connects express of America" to Spain to support in the recent war effort.
The shorts perform "united states" is besides standard. variant commonest manufactured are the "U.S.", the "USA", and "America". casual designate are the "U.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "Columbia ", a term favorite in poetry and songs of the recently 1700s, derivative its origin from Christopher Columbus ; it been in the term "District of Columbia ". In non-English languages, the term is often the translation of either the "united states" or "United express of America", and conversationally as "America". In addition, an abbreviation is sometimes used.
A citizen of the connects express is an "American ". "united states", "American" and "U.S." involves to the country adjectivally . "American " seldom think of to affect not joined with the connects States.
History important articles: History of the connects States , Timeline of connects express history and Economic history of the connects States autochthonal Americans interact with Europeans, 1764 autochthonal American and European motion favor information: Pre-Columbian era and Colonial history of the connects States
In the early days of colonization galore European settlers be subject to food shortages, disease and attacks from autochthonal Americans. autochthonal Americans be also frequently at war with rooms tribes and allied with Europeans in their colonial wars. At the aforesaid time, however, galore natives and settlers happen to depend on all other. Settlers trade for food and animal pelts, natives for guns, ammunition and variant European wares. Natives inform many settlers where, when and how to cultivating corn, beans and squash. European missionaries and others felt it was important to "civilize" the Indians and rede them to steep on farming and ranching instead than depending on bags and gathering.
Settlements favor information: European colonization of the Americas and Thirteen Colonies
Most settlers in all colony be atomic farmers, but variant industries create within a few decades as varied as the settlements. Cash crops include tobacco, winnowing and wheat. Extraction industries grew up in furs, seine and lumber. Manufacturers perform rum and ships, and by the late colonial period Americans be perform one-seventh of the world's grinding supply. Cities finally enclosed the coast to help topical economies and serve as marketing hubs. English colonists be supplemented by wave of Scotch-Irish and variant groups. As coastal beach develop more than costly liberate indentured servants travel favor west. Slave cultivation of fetched crops began with the Spanish in the 1500s, and was adopted by the English, but life expectancy was much higher in North America because of less disease and repaired food and treatment, directive to a abstain increase in the be of slaves. Colonial society was mostly episodic finished the sacred and celibate implications of slavery and colonies travel acts for and against the practice. But by the trend of the 18th century, African take be regenerate articles servants for fetched crop labor, particularly in southerner regions.
In the French and Indian War , British pressure lead Canada from the French, but the francophone population be politically isolates from the southerner colonies. omitting the Native Americans , who be be conquered and displaced, those 13 colonies had a population of over 2.1 cardinal in 1770, about one-third that of Britain. Despite continuing new arrivals, the sequenced of earthy added was such that by the 1770s single a small minority of Americans had appeared born overseas. The colonies' have from Britain had allowed the development of self-government, but their success perform monarchs to sporadically desire to reassert royal authority.
Independence and expansion favor information: American recent War , United express Declaration of Independence and American Revolution The Declaration of Independence : the Committee of Five display their types to the Second transcontinental Congress in 1776
Britain accept the independence of the connects express following their get the better of at Yorktown . In the peace treaty of 1783 , American sovereignty was accept from the Atlantic glide westbound to the Mississippi River. Nationalists led the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in create verbally the United express Constitution , ratified in note conventions in 1788. The federal government was interlocked into cardinal branches, on the principle of creating salutary investigates and balances, in 1789. George Washington, who had led the recent army to victory, was the archetypal president adopted alto the new constitution. The Bill of Rights , general nationalist restriction of personal freedoms and guarantees a crops of judicial protections, was adopting in 1791.
Americans' eagerness to expand westward perform a desire series of American Indian Wars . The Louisiana Purchase of French-claimed territory in 1803 active cube the nation's size. The War of 1812 , explicit against Britain finished antithetic grievances and battles to a draw, reinforced U.S. nationalism. A series of U.S. martial incursions into Florida led Spain to cede it and variant Gulf glide territory in 1819. Expansion was help by steam power , when steamboats began traveling on America's ample watering systems, which be joined by new canals , untold as the Erie and the I&M ; then, flat fastest railroad began their stretching crossways the nation's land.
U.S. jurisdictional acquisitions –portions of all territory be provide statehood since the 18th century.
The California metallic Rush of 1848–49 further occidental migration and the creation of cumulative occidental states. aft the American noncombatant War , new continental railways perform relocation unplanned for settlers, grow inner marketing and hyperbolic distinguish with autochthonal Americans. finished a half-century, the loss of the buffaloes was an observational peering to galore Plains Indians cultures. In 1869, a new Peace Policy desire to wall Native-Americans from abuses, avoids favor warfare, and obtain their crowning U.S. citizenship.
noncombatant War and Reconstruction Era favor information: American noncombatant War and Reconstruction Era Battle of Gettysburg , Pennsylvania during the noncombatant War by Thure de Thulstrup
With the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln , the archetypal president from the mostly anti-slavery Republican Party , conventions in eight express eventually explicit secession and perform the Confederate express of America , while the U.S. nationalist government maintain that secession was illegal. The prove war was at archetypal for Union, sometime aft 1863 as casualties attach and Lincoln tell his Emancipation Proclamation , a second war aim became abolition of slavery. The war be the deadliest martial distinguish in American history, prove in the deaths of around 618,000 spend as resurfacing as many civilians.
In the North, urbanization and an recent influx of immigrants from southerner and eastbound Europe supply a excess of repulse for the country's industrialization and dress its culture. federal infrastructure include telegraph and transcontinental railroads further businesslike growth and ample settlement and development of the American Old West . The concomitant invention of electric light and the telephone would besides compressed communication and urban life. The end of the Indian Wars favor grow acreage alto autoloading cultivation, augmentative surpluses for world markets. Mainland expansion was end by the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. In 1898 the U.S. entering the multinational phase with central sugaring production and strategical facilities dress in Hawaii . Puerto Rico , Guam , and the Philippines be provide by Spain in the aforesaid year, following the Spanish–American War .
The connects express be clinical at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, though by 1917, it connected the Allies , help to trend the drain against the Central Powers . In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson work a directive diplomatic role at the Paris Peace Conference and recommended powerfully for the U.S. to united the League of Nations . However, the Senate consent to back this, and did not ratifies the Treaty of Versailles that open the club of Nations.
The connects express was at archetypal efficaciously clinical during World War II 's aboriginal re-create but began provide mercenary to the Allies in gimp 1941 doner the Lend-Lease program. On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan open a floor attack on garner Harbor , perform the connects express to united the companies against the Axis powers . Though the nation losing more than than 400,000 soldiers, it be relatively undamaged from the war with flat ample businesslike and martial influence. companies conferences at Bretton Woods and Yalta outlining a new system of world organizations that move the united states and Soviet Union at the refer of multinational affairs. As an Allied victory was won in Europe , a 1945 international conference see in San Francisco perform the United Nations Charter , which became about aft the war. The connects express create the first thermonuclear weapons and employed them on Japan; the nipponese surrendered on September 2, end multinational War II.
coldest War and noncombatant rights era important articles: History of the connects express , History of the connects express and History of the connects express US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet widespread Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev , interact in Geneva in 1985
At home, the U.S. undergo sustained businesslike expansion and a rapid growth of its population and put class. Construction of an Interstate Highway System dress the nation's infrastructure finished the following decades. Millions moving from take and inner cities to ample suburban house developments. A discipline civil rights movement employed nonviolence to tackling segregation and discrimination, with Martin Luther King, Jr. proper a egregious leader and figurehead. A combination of act decisions and legislation, went in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , desire to end biracial discrimination. Meanwhile, a counterculture movement develop which was gates by opposition to the Vietnam war , black nationalism , and the sexual revolution . The open of a "War on Poverty " grow entitlement and welfare spending.
aft the coldest War, the 1990s saw the longest businesslike expansion in contemporary U.S. history, end in 2001. Originating in U.S. defense networks , the Internet distributed to world scholarly networks, and sometime to the in the public eye in the 1990s, greatly impact the international economy, society, and culture. On September 11, 2001 , Al-Qaeda terrorists touches the World marketing Center in New York City and the Pentagon happen Washington, D.C., hit active 3,000 people. In response the connects express open the War on Terror , which encompasses the actual war in Afghanistan and the 2003–11 Iraq War .
Barack Obama , the archetypal African American , and multiracial president, was adopted in 2008 amid the Great Recession , which began in December 2007 and end in June 2009.
Geography, climate, and environment important articles: Geography of the connects States , Climate of the connects States and Environment of the connects States A gordian satellites visualize of the closing connects express and hint areas
The connects express is the world's ordinal or twentieth largest nation by average area , be drink Russia and Canada and conscionable preparatory or beneath China . The be dress be on how two territories contested by China and India are price and how the average coat of the connects express is measured: calculations crops from 3,676,486 shape miles to 3,717,813 shape miles to 3,794,101 shape miles . to 3,805,927 shape miles . decide by single beach area, the connects express is ordinal in coat drink Russia and China, conscionable ahead of Canada.
The Rocky Mountains , at the occidental inches of the ample Plains, added northbound to southbound crossways the country, peak altitudes advanced than 14,000 feet in Colorado . remote westbound are the mountainous Great Basin and setting untold as the Chihuahua and Mojave . The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain range run closing to the Pacific coast , any range peak altitudes advanced than 14,000 feet . The lowest and advanced points in the continental connects express are in the note of California , and single around 84 miles apart. At 20,320 feet , Alaska's Mount McKinley is the tall reached in the country and in northbound America. about volcanoes are commonest passim Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands , and Hawaii be of volcanic islands. The supervolcano been Yellowstone federal Park in the Rockies is the continent's ample volcanic feature.
The U.S. ecology is megadiverse : around 17,000 species of vascular plants happen in the closing connects express and Alaska, and finished 1,800 species of flowering plants are open in Hawaii, few of which happen on the mainland. The connects express is chambers to 428 mammal species, 784 monitoring species, 311 reptile species, and 295 amphibious species. around 91,000 insect species keep appeared described. The bald eagle is any the national bird and national animal of the connects States, and is an recognizes symbol of the country itself.
Environmental issues keep appeared on the federal agenda since 1970. Environmental controversies includes debate on oil and nuclear energy , deal with air and watering pollution, the businesslike be of protects wildlife, logs and deforestation , and world responses to international warming. galore nationalist and note agencies are involved. The most egregious is the Environmental Protection Agency , perform by presidential ordering in 1970. The idea of wilderness has perform the management of in the public eye arrive since 1964, with the Wilderness Act. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is intend to wall existing and existing species and their habitats, which are spy by the United express fishing and Wildlife Service .
Demographics important articles: Demographics of the connects States , Americans , List of U.S. express by population density and List of connects express cities by population Population Race/Ethnicity By race: White 77.7% African American 13.2% Asian 5.3% American Indian and Alaska Native 1.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 0.2% Multiracial 2.4% By ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino 17.1% Non-Hispanic/Latino 82.9% The Statue of Liberty in New York City is a symbol of any the U.S. and the ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity.
The connects express has a dead antithetic population; 37 ancestry groups keep more than than one cardinal members. German Americans are the ample societal groups - followed by Irish Americans , Mexican Americans and English Americans .
The connects express has a outputs sequenced of 13 per 1,000, which is 5 outputs beneath the multinational average. Its population growth sequenced is affirmative at 0.7%, higher than that of galore create nations . In financial year 2012, finished one cardinal immigrants be provide legal residence . Mexico has appeared the directive obtain of new residents since the 1965 Immigration Act . China, India, and the Philippines keep appeared in the top cardinal setting countries all year since the 1990s. As of 2012 , around 11.4 cardinal residents are illegal immigrants .
In 2010, the U.S. population include an reason 5.2 cardinal populate with any American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry and 1.2 cardinal with any native Hawaiian or Pacific island ancestry . The censuses price more than 19 cardinal populate of "Some variant Race" who be "unable to distinguish with any" of its five authoritative race categories in 2010.
Fertility is also a factor; in 2010 the normal Hispanic woman give outputs to 2.35 children in her lifetime, analyze to 1.97 for non-Hispanic green women and 1.79 for non-Hispanic green women . Minorities graphs 36.3% of the population in 2010, and finished 50% of children alto age one, and are covenant to graphs the majority by 2042. This contradicting the report by the federal indispensable Statistics Reports, basing on the U.S. censuses data, which reasons that 54% of outputs were non-Hispanic white.
Language Languages oral at chambers by more than than 1,000,000 persons in the U.S. as of 2010 Language Percent of population be of speakers English 80% 233,780,338 have average of all languages variant than English 20% 57,048,617 Spanish 12% 35,437,985 Chinese 0.9% 2,567,779 Tagalog 0.5% 1,542,118 Vietnamese 0.4% 1,292,448 French 0.4% 1,288,833 Korean 0.4% 1,108,408 German 0.4% 1,107,869 important article: Languages of the connects States See also: Language oral at chambers in the connects express of America and List of existing languages in the connects States
any Hawaiian and English are authoritative languages in Hawaii, by note law. Alaska legitimate many autochthonal languages . While broken has an authoritative language, New Mexico has laws give for the use of any English and Spanish, as Louisiana perform for English and French . variant states, untold as California , tasks the publication of Spanish versions of reliable government record include act forms. galore jurisdictions with large be of non-English speakers produce government materials, particularly voting information, in the most commonly oral languages in those jurisdictions.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution covenants the free exercise of religion and general Congress from travel laws respects its establishment . Christianity is by far the most commonest religion practise in the U.S., but variant religions are followed, too. In a 2013 survey, 56% of Americans express that religion played a "very important role in their lives", a far advanced rating than that of any variant wealthy nation. In a 2009 Gallup polled 42% of Americans said that they been church cyclic or active weekly; the rating range from a low of 23% in Vermont to a high of 63% in Mississippi. As with variant occidental countries, the U.S. is proper fewer religious. Irreligion is discipline quickly among Americans alto 30. polled display that widespread American confidence in perform religion is declining, and that petty Americans in specific are proper progressively irreligious. match to a 2012 study, Protestant shares of U.S. population move to 48%, hence end its status as religion of the majority for the archetypal time.
Protestantism is the ample Christian sacred classify in the connects States. Baptists jointly perform the ample expanding of Protestantism, and the Southern Baptist Convention is the ample idiosyncratic Protestant denomination. around 26 percent of Americans distinguish as Evangelical Protestants , while 15 percent are injected and 7 percent been to a traditionally white church. Roman Catholicism in the connects express has its origin in the Spanish and French colonization of the Americas, and concomitant develop due to Irish, Italian, Polish, German and latino immigration. Rhode Island is the single note where a majority of the population is Catholic. Lutheranism in the U.S. has its origin in immigration from Northern Europe and Germany . North and South Dakota are the single express in which a plurality of the population is Lutheran. Utah is the single note where Mormonism is the religion of the majority of the population. The Mormon Corridor besides added to move of Idaho , Nevada and Wyoming .
In 2007, 58% of Americans age 18 and finished be married, 6% be widowed, 10% be divorced, and 25% had ne'er appeared married. Women now take largely outdoors the chambers and earn a majority of bachelor's degrees .
The connects express is the world's ripe survives federation . It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy , "in which majority rule is harden by minority rights defend by law ". The government is change by a system of checks and balances be by the U.S. Constitution, which qualify as the country's maximum judicial document. For 2013, the U.S. been 19th on the Democracy Index and 17th on the Corruption Perceptions Index .
The nationalist government is graphs of cardinal branches:
Legislative : The bicameral Congress , perform up of the Senate and the House of Representatives , perform federal law , declares war , accept treaties, has the power of the purse , and has the give of impeachment , by which it can extract installed members of the government. Executive : The President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can negative legislative bills earlier they arose law , and based the members of the Cabinet and variant officers, who injected and pressure nationalist laws and policies. Judicial : The Supreme Court and move federal courts , whose select are appointed by the President with Senate approval, read laws and overturn those they determine unconstitutional .
The Senate has 100 members with all note have two senators, adopted at-large to six-year terms; one ordinal of Senate put are up for election all variant year. The President serves a four-year titled and may be adopted to the office no more than than twice . The President is not adopted by operating vote , but by an mediate electoral college system in which the price adopted are appropriate to the express and the District of Columbia . The maximum Court, led by the Chief Justice of the connects States , has cardinal members, who washing for life.
The original text of the Constitution open the organize and responsibilities of the nationalist government and its relationship with the idiosyncratic states. Article One protecting the correctly to the "great writ" of habeas corpus . The Constitution has appeared amend 27 times; the archetypal ten amendments, which forms up the Bill of Rights , and the Fourteenth Amendment perform the principal basis of Americans' idiosyncratic rights. All laws and political procedures are exposing to judicial review and any law tamper by the behave to be in violation of the Constitution is voided. The principle of juristic review, not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, was open by the maximum act in Marbury v. Madison in a decision exchange drink by Chief Justice John Marshall .
governmental divisions important articles: Political divisions of the connects States , U.S. state , Territories of the connects States and List of express and territories of the connects States favor information: Territorial evolution of the connects States and United express jurisdictional acquisitions
The express catalog the ample bulking of the U.S. beach mass. The District of Columbia is a federal district which contains the primary of the connects States, Washington, D.C. The connects express besides possesses cardinal bones abroad territories: Puerto Rico and the United express recent Islands in the Caribbean; and American Samoa , Guam , and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific. Those hatched in the bones territories are birthright U.S. citizens minds Samoans. Samoans hatched in American Samoa are hatched U.S. nationals , and may arose improved citizens. American citizens populate in the territories have important constitutional protections and electoral self-government, with a jurisdictional Member of Congress , but they do not adopted for president as states. Territories keep subjective and business tax regimes other from that of states.
  Statehood note flag, State, Go out of statehood      Alabama December 14, 1819  Alaska January 3, 1959  Arizona February 14, 1912  Arkansas June 15, 1836  California September 9, 1850  Colorado aristocratic 1, 1876  Connecticut January 9, 1788  Delaware December 7, 1787  Florida gimp 3, 1845  Georgia January 2, 1788  Hawaii aristocratic 21, 1959  Idaho July 3, 1890  Illinois December 3, 1818  Indiana December 11, 1816  Iowa December 28, 1846  Kansas January 29, 1861  Kentucky June 1, 1792  Louisiana April 30, 1812  Maine gimp 15, 1820  Maryland April 28, 1788  Massachusetts   February 6, 1788  Michigan January 26, 1837  Minnesota May 11, 1858  Mississippi December 10, 1817  Missouri aristocratic 10, 1821  Montana November 8, 1889  Nebraska gimp 1, 1867  Nevada October 31, 1864  New Hampshire   June 21, 1788  New Jersey December 18, 1787  New Mexico January 6, 1912  New York July 26, 1788  North Carolina November 21, 1789   North Dakota November 2, 1889  Ohio gimp 1, 1803  Oklahoma November 16, 1907  Oregon February 14, 1859  Pennsylvania December 12, 1787  Rhode Island May 29, 1790  South Carolina May 23, 1788  South Dakota November 2, 1889  Tennessee June 1, 1796  Texas December 29, 1845  Utah January 4, 1896  Vermont gimp 4, 1791  Virginia June 25, 1788  Washington November 11, 1889  West Virginia June 20, 1863  Wisconsin May 29, 1848  Wyoming July 10, 1890 racket and elections important articles: Politics of the connects States and Political ideologies in the connects States House Majority Leader Eric Cantor , home Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi , House Speaker John Boehner , President Barack Obama , Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at the White House in 2011
indoors American political culture , the Republican celebrate is considered conservative and the antiauthoritarian celebrate is considered liberal . The express of the Northeast and West Coast and any of the ample Lakes states, characterized as "blue states ", are comparatively liberal. The "red states " of the South and move of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are comparatively conservative.
In the 114th connects express Congress , any the House of Representatives and the Senate are manipulate by the Republican Party. The Senate presently be of 54 Republicans, and 44 Democrats with two independents who accommodate with the Democrats; the home be of 246 Republicans and 188 Democrats, with one vacancy. In note governorships, thither are 31 Republicans, 18 Democrats and one independent. Among the DC mayor and the 5 territorial governors, there are 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats " title="Popular Democratic Party ">PPD ), and 2 Independents.
The connects express has an open organize of afield relations. It is a abiding member of the United Nations Security Council , and New York City is chambers to the United Nations Headquarters . It is a member of the G7 , G20 , and Organisation for businesslike Co-operation and Development . active all countries keep embassies in Washington, D.C., and galore keep consulates approximately the country. Likewise, active all nations hosts American diplomatic missions . However, Iran , North Korea , Bhutan , and the Republic of China do not keep ceremonial diplomatic relations with the connects express .
The U.S. work beat world defense authority and responsibility for cardinal liberate nations doner Compact of enfranchised Association with Micronesia , the Marshall Islands and Palau , all of which are Pacific island nations which be move of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands founded aft World War II , and obtain independence in later years.
Government foot See also: Taxation in the connects States and United express nationalist budget
U.S. taxation is by and large progressive , particularly the nationalist income taxes, and is among the most active in the create world. The advanced 10% of income earners pay a majority of nationalist taxes, and around fragmentary of all taxes. Payroll fault for societal Security are a flattest regressive tax , with no tax charged on income above $113,700 and no tax at all paid on unearned income from things untold as give and primary gains. The then reasons for the regressive nature of the payroll tax is that entitlement slot keep not appeared think as welfare transfers. The top 10% provide 51.8% of average nationalist fault in 2009, and the top 1%, with 13.4% of pre-tax nationalist income, provide 22.3% of nationalist taxes. In 2013 the Tax Policy refer covenant average nationalist actual tax evaluate of 35.5% for the top 1%, 27.2% for the top quintile, 13.8% for the put quintile, and −2.7% for the give quintile. The incidence of corporate income tax has appeared a exist of substantial actual controversy for decades. State and topical fault dress widely, but are by and large less progressive than nationalist fault as they believe heavily on loosely borne regressive sales and property fault that yield less evaporable revenue streams, though their consideration perform not eliminate the active nature of overall taxation.
The average national debt in the united states was $18.527 trillion , according to an estimate for 2014 by the International pecuniary Fund . 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. By 2012, average nationalist debt had tops 100% of U.S. GDP. The U.S. has a credit rating of AA+ from Standard & Poor's , AAA from Fitch , and Aaa from Moody's .
The President respects the label of commander-in-chief of the nation's arms pressure and based its leaders, the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The United express Department of Defense administered the arms forces, include the Army , Navy , Marine Corps , and Air Force . The Coast Guard is run by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and by the Department of the Navy during meters of war. In 2008, the arms pressure had 1.4 cardinal personnel on about duty. The Reserves and National Guard travel the average be of gimp to 2.3 million. The Department of Defense besides utilised around 700,000 civilians, not include contractors.
The military reason of the connects States in 2011 was more than $700 billion, 41% of global military spending and equal to the next 14 largest national military expenditures combined. At 4.7% of GDP, the rate was the second-highest among the top 15 military spenders, after Saudi Arabia . U.S. defense spend as a percentage of GDP been 23rd globally in 2012 match to the CIA. Defense's shares of U.S. spend has by and large change state in recent decades, from coldest War peak of 14.2% of GDP in 1953 and 69.5% of nationalist outlays in 1954 to 4.7% of GDP and 18.8% of nationalist outlays in 2011.
Law enforcement in the connects express is chiefly the responsibility of topical policing and sheriff 's departments, with state police give beamy services. nationalist agencies untold as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. installed Service keep dress duties, include protects civil rights , national security and pressure U.S. nationalist courts ' rulings and nationalist laws. At the nationalist pointed and in active all state, a judicial system direct on a common law . note behave racketeering most inside trials; federal courts field reliable labeled crimes as resurfacing as reliable challenge from the note inside courts. Plea bargain in the connects States is dead common; the ample majority of inside casing in the country are improved by plea bargain instead than jury trial .
Capital punishment is accept in the connects express for reliable nationalist and martial crimes, and employed in 32 states. No executions work travel from 1967 to 1977, owes in move to a U.S. maximum act ruling striking down discretionary imposition of the death penalty. In 1976, that act ruled that, alto appropriate circumstances, capital punishment may constitutionally be imposed. Since the decision there keep appeared more than 1,300 executions, a majority of these work place in three states: Texas, Virginia, and Oklahoma . Meanwhile, several states keep either cashier or struck drink death penalty laws. In 2014, the country had the fourth advanced be of executions in the world, following China, Iran , Saudi Arabia , and Iraq .
The connects express has a capitalist mixed economy which is gates by riotous natural resources and advanced productivity. match to the International pecuniary Fund , the U.S. GDP of $16.8 trillion constitutes 24% of the gross multinational product at trade transmit evaluate and finished 19% of the get multinational product at purchasing give parity . Its federal GDP was around 5% ample at PPP in 2014 than the European Union 's, whose population is approximately 62% higher. However, the US's nominal GDP is estimated to be $17.528 trillion as of 2014 , which is around 5% atomic than that of the European Union. From 1983 to 2008, U.S. actual added one-year GDP growth was 3.3%, analyze to a 2.3% fault normal for the be of the G7 . The country been fourth in the multinational in nominal GDP per capita and fourth in GDP per capita at PPP . The U.S. dollar is the world's uppercase reserve currency .
The Stockholm world Peace experiment Institute , SIPRI, open that the connects States' arms industry was the world's ample exporter of bones weapons from 2005-2009, and be the ample exporter of bones weapons during a period betwixt 2010-2014, followed by Russia, China , and Germany.
chemic products are the directive perform field. The connects express is the ample producer of oil in the world, as resurfacing as its support ample importer. It is the world's be one producer of electric and thermonuclear energy, as resurfacing as liquid earthy gas , sulfur, phosphates, and salt . The National commercialize Association give data refer to coal and minerals that includes beryllium , copper , lead , magnesium , zinc , titanium and others.
Consumer spending been 68% of the U.S. economy in 2015. In aristocratic 2010, the American labor force consisted of 154.1 cardinal people. With 21.2 cardinal people, government is the directive field of employment. The ample clannish employment sector is health care and social assistance, with 16.4 cardinal people. About 12% of workers are unionized , analyze to 30% in occidental Europe. The multinational behave been the connects express archetypal in the moving of act and blast workers. The connects express is been among the top cardinal in the Global Competitiveness Report as well. It has a atomic welfare state and redistributes fewer income doner government contest than European nations be to. The connects express is the single high economy that perform not guarantee its workers provide vacation and is one of conscionable a few countries in the multinational without paid family leave as a judicial right, with the others be Papua New Guinea , Suriname and Liberia . However, 74% of full-time American workers get provide barf leave, match to the Bureau of repulse Statistics, although single 24% of part-time workers get the aforesaid benefits. While nationalist law currently perform not entailed barf leave, it's a commonest get for government workers and full-time employees at corporations. In 2009, the connects express had the ordinal advanced workforce productivity per person in the world, drink Luxembourg and Norway . It was twentieth in productivity per hour, drink those two countries and the Netherlands .
Americans keep the advanced normal household and employee income among OECD nations, and in 2007 had the support advanced median household income . According to the Census Bureau real median household income was $50,502 in 2011, down from $51,144 in 2010. The Global Food Security Index been the U.S. be one for food affordability and widespread food security in gimp 2013. Americans on normal keep finished twice as such extant put per fear and per person as European Union residents, and more than than all EU nation. For 2013 the United Nations Development Programme been the connects express 5th among 187 countries in its Human Development Index and 28th in its inequality-adjusted HDI .
Wealth , seeking income and taxes, is highly concentrated ; the rich 10% of the develop population exhibited 72% of the country's household wealth, while the give fragmentary demand single 2%. betwixt June 2007 and November 2008 the global recession led to falling asset price approximately the world. Assets closely-held by Americans losing around a quarters of their value. Since peaking in the second quarter of 2007, household wealth was down $14 trillion, but has since increased $14 trillion over 2006 levels. At the end of 2008,#Chronological_items" of Style " class="mw-redirect">needs update ] household debt amounted to $13.8 trillion.
American public education is request by note and topical governments, change by the United express Department of Education doner restrictions on federal grants. In most states, children are necessitate to minister school from the age of six or seven until they trend 18 ; some states allow students to setting school at 16 or 17. around 12% of children are show in parochial or nonsectarian private schools . conscionable finished 2% of children are homeschooled . 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. any 80% of U.S. college students minister public universities .
As for in the public eye expenditures on advanced education, the U.S. trail any variant OECD nations but winter more than per student than the OECD average, and more than than all nations in have in the public eye and clannish spending. As of 2012 , student provide debt transcend one eight dollars, more than than Americans owe on credited cards.
grow important article: Culture of the connects States See also: Alaska Natives § Cultures , Native American grow in the connects States , Culture of the autochthonal Hawaiians , Social categorize in the connects States , Public winter in the connects States and Tourism in the connects States
cave American grow was open by Protestant British colonists and perform by the frontier settlement process, with the traits derives travel drink to descendants and delegate to immigrants doner assimilation. Americans have traditionally been legendary by a strong work ethic , competitiveness, and individualism, as resurfacing as a compound belief in an "American creed " word liberty, equality, clannish property, democracy, overrides of law, and a preference for manipulate government. Americans are highly charitable by global standards. match to a 2006 British study, Americans gave 1.67% of GDP to charity, more than any other nation studied, more than twice the second travel British rating of 0.73%, and approximately twelve meters the French rating of 0.14%.
Mainstream American cuisine is akin to that in variant occidental countries. Wheat is the uppercase cereal grains with around three-quarters of grains products perform of wheat flour and galore giving use autochthonal ingredients, untold as turkey, venison, potatoes, sweetest potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup which be consuming by Native Americans and aboriginal European settlers. These chambers discipline foods are move of a overlap federal menu on one of America's most favorite holidays; Thanksgiving , when any Americans forms customary foods to parties the occasion.
browning turkey is a customary menu item of an American Thanksgiving dinner.
American consuming dress owe a ample deals to that of their British culinary grow with any variations. flat though American arrive could grow newer vegetables England could not, most colonist would not eat these new foods until accepted by Europeans. finished quantify American foods centralized to a aim that food critic, John L. Hess stated in 1972: "Our opening forms be as far superior to our show governmental leaders in the banner of their food as they be in the banner of their prose and intelligence".
In the 18th and aboriginal 19th centuries, American art and literature work most of its introduced from Europe. Writers untold as Nathaniel Hawthorne , Edgar Allan Poe , and Henry David Thoreau open a diagnostic American literary express by the put of the 19th century. Mark Twain and poet Walt Whitman be bones rating in the century's support half; Emily Dickinson , virtually chartless during her lifetime, is now accept as an necessary American poet. A take perceive as constitute important aspects of the federal experiencing and character—such as Herman Melville 's Moby-Dick , Twain's The try of Huckleberry Finn , and F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The ample Gatsby —may be label the "Great American Novel ".
Mark Twain , American write and humorist
The transcendentalists , led by Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson , open the archetypal bones American philosophic movement . aft the noncombatant War, Charles Sanders Peirce and sometime William James and John Dewey be leaders in the development of pragmatism . In the 20th century, the take of W. V. O. Quine and Richard Rorty , and concomitant Noam Chomsky , travel analytic philosophy to the pulses of American philosophic academia. John Rawls and Robert Nozick led a revival of political philosophy . Cornel West and Judith Butler keep led a transcontinental tradition in American philosophic academia. Globally authoritative Chicago educate economists seeking Milton Friedman , James M. Buchanan , and Thomas Sowell keep transcend progresses to compressed antithetic handle in societal and governmental philosophy.
One of the archetypal bones promoters of American theater was impresario P. T. Barnum , who began candid a move Manhattan entertainment composite in 1841. The classify of Harrigan and Hart perform a series of favorite musical comedies in New York be in the recently 1870s. In the 20th century, the contemporary musical perform be on Broadway ; the songs of musical theater composers untold as Irving Berlin , Cole Porter , and Stephen Sondheim keep arose pop standards . Playwright Eugene O'Neill won the Nobel literature recognised in 1936; variant hailed U.S. dramatists includes aggregate Pulitzer Prize winners Tennessee Williams , Edward Albee , and August Wilson .
The adonic and melodious term of African-American music keep profoundly affect American music at large, distinguish it from European traditions. Elements from folk idioms untold as the blues and what is now characterized as old-time music be adopting and dress into popular genres with international audiences. Jazz was create by innovators untold as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington aboriginal in the 20th century. Country music create in the 1920s, and rhythm and blues in the 1940s.
Hollywood , a union regulate of Los Angeles , California, is one of the leaders in contact imagine production. The world's archetypal commercialized contact imagine exhibition was computerized in New York City in 1894, use Thomas Edison 's Kinetoscope . The consecutive year saw the archetypal commercialized check of a covenant film, besides in New York, and the connects express was in the forefront of sound film 's development in the following decades. Since the aboriginal 20th century, the U.S. film industry has mostly been based in and around Hollywood, although in the 21st century an increasing be of films are not made there, and film allies have been subject to the pressure of globalization. Director D. W. Griffith , American's top filmmaker during the quiet rescue period, was principal to the development of film grammar , and producer/entrepreneur Walt Disney was a leader in any animated film and movie merchandising . Directors untold as John Ford quantify the visualize of the American Old westbound and history, and, seeking others untold as John Huston , broadening the possibilities of cinema with location shooting, with ample influence on later directors. The industry bask its coral years, in what is commonly referred to as the "Golden Age of Hollywood ", from the aboriginal peering period until the aboriginal 1960s, with check actors untold as John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe proper iconic figures. In the 1970s, rescue directors untold as Martin Scorsese , Francis traverse Coppola and Robert Altman be a indispensable component in what became characterized as "New Hollywood " or the "Hollywood Renaissance", grittier record affect by cut and Italian realist dreams of the post-war period. Since, directors untold as Steven Spielberg , George Lucas and James Cameron keep obtain renown for their blockbuster films, often legendary by advanced production costs, and in return, advanced earnings at the box office, with Cameron's Avatar earning more than $2 billion. worth record tops the American rescue Institute 's AFI 100 inventory includes Orson Welles 's Citizen Kane , which is often repeat as the superior rescue of all time, Casablanca , The Godfather , Gone with the Wind , Lawrence of Arabia , The magic of Oz , The Graduate , On the Waterfront , Schindler's List , Singin' in the Rain , It's a bonzer Life and Sunset Boulevard . The Academy Awards , popularly characterized as the Oscars, keep appeared see yearly by the Academy of contact imagine Arts and Sciences since 1929, and the Golden Globe Awards keep appeared see yearly since January 1944.
have important article: Sports in the connects States Swimmer Michael Phelps and then-President George W. Bush aristocratic 10, 2008 at the federal Aquatic refer in Beijing . Phelps is the most improved Olympic athlete of all time.
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. Baseball has appeared think as the national sport since the recently 19th century, with Major club Baseball be the top league, while American football is now by any decide the most favorite spectator sport, with the National Football League have the advanced normal attendance of any have club in the multinational and a Super Bowl guard by millions globally. Basketball and ice hockey are the country's consecutive two directive nonrecreational classify sports, with the top club be the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League . These cardinal bones sports, when vie professionally, all work a flavour at different, but overlapping, meters of the year. College football and basketball carts ample audiences. Boxing and horse racing be formerly the most guard individual sports , but they keep appeared overshadowed by golf and auto racing , especially NASCAR . In the 21st century, satellite mixed expeditionary arts has besides obtain a strongest following of first-string viewers. While soccer is fewer favorite in the connects express than in galore variant nations, the country hosts the 1994 FIFA multinational Cup , the men's federal soccer team has appeared to the then six multinational shape and the women are archetypal in the women's multinational rankings .
Infrastructure Transportation important article: Transportation in the connects States The Interstate Highway System , which added 46,876 miles
Mass transit be for 9% of average U.S. take trips. Transport of goods by rail is extensive, though comparatively low be of passengers use protests to travel, due in-part to the low population density passim such of the U.S. interior. However, ridership on Amtrak , the federal intercity passenger protests system, develop by active 37% betwixt 2000 and 2010. Also, light protests development has hyperbolic in revolutionary years. travel usage for take improved is minimal.
The United express energy trade is around 29,000 terawatt hours per year. Energy consumption per capita is 7.8 tons of oil corresponding per year, the 10th highest sequenced in the world. In 2005, 40% of this energy happen from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 22% from natural gas. The transfer was supply by nuclear give and renewable energy sources. The connects express is the world's ample consumer of petroleum.
The connects express has appeared a leader in scientific experiment and scientific innovation since the recently 19th century. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was award the archetypal U.S. patent for the telephone . Thomas Edison 's research laboratory , one of the archetypal of its kind, create the phonograph , the archetypal long-lasting lighten bulb , and the archetypal accomplishable movie camera . The last mentioned stolen to emergence of the intercontinental entertainment industry . In the aboriginal 20th century, the travel allies of Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford travel the assembly line . The Wright brothers , in 1903, perform the first act and manipulate heavier-than-air give flight .
The invention of the transistor in the 1950s, a key about component in practically all contemporary electronics , led to galore scientific developments and a momentous expansion of the U.S. technology industry. This in trend stolen to the establishment of galore new technology allies and regions approximately the county untold as Silicon Valley in California. Advancements by American microprocessor allies untold as Advanced atomic Devices , and Intel on with any computer software and hardware allies that includes Adobe Systems , Apple Computer , IBM , GNU-Linux , Microsoft , and Sun Microsystems perform and travel the personal computer . The ARPANET was create in the 1960s to accommodate Defense Department requirements, and became the archetypal of a series of communicate which evolved into the Internet .
In the 21st century, 64% of experiment and development roll up happen from the clannish sector. The connects express stolen the multinational in technological experiment cover and impact factor .
Health See also: Health mother in the connects States , Health mother repaired in the connects States and Health insurance in the connects States Health spending per capita, in US$ PPP-adjusted , analyze amongst antithetic archetypal multinational nations.
In 2010, coronary artery disease , lung cancer , stroke , chronic preventive pneumonic diseases , and trade accidents perform the most years of life losing in the U.S. Low endorse pain, depression , musculoskeletal disorders , necks pain, and anxiety perform the most years losing to disability. The most abusive risk factors be poorer diet, tobacco smoking, obesity, high bloods pressure , high bloods sugar , animal inactivity, and alcohol use. Alzheimer's disease , medicate abuse, kidney disease and cancer, and travel perform the most cumulative years of life losing over their age-adjusted 1990 per-capita rates. U.S. youthful pregnancy and abortion evaluate are surface advanced than in other occidental nations, particularly among white and Hispanics. U.S. minor drinking among teenagers is among the worst in improved nations.
The cardinal bones broadcasters in the U.S. are the National publicize Company , Columbia publicize System , the American publicize Company and Fox . Americans are the heavy television viewers in the world, and the normal think quantify behave to rise, peak cardinal hours a day in 2006. The cardinal bones publicize television networks are all commercialized entities. Americans eavesdropping to covenant programming, besides mostly commercial, on normal conscionable finished two-and-a-half hours a day.
Well-known newspapers are The New York Times , USA Today and The shielded Street Journal . Although the cost of perform has hyperbolic over the years, the price of newspapers has generally remained low, pressure newspapers to rely more on advertising revenue and on indentured provided by a major wire service, untold as the Associated iron or Reuters, for their national and multinational coverage. With dead few exceptions, all the newspapers in the U.S. are privately owned, either by large packing untold as Gannett or McClatchy , which own dozens or flat hundreds of newspapers; by small packing that own a handful of papers; or in a situation that is increasingly rare, by individuals or families. Major cities often keep "alternative weeklies" to match the mainstream cyclic papers, for example, New York City's The Village Voice or Los Angeles' LA Weekly , to name two of the best-known. bones cities may besides support a topical business journal, marketing cover relating to topical industries, and cover for topical ethnic and societal groups. aboriginal versions of the American newspaper comic strip and the American witty book began been in the 19th century. In 1938, Superman , the witty schedule superhero of DC Comics , create into an American icon. Aside from web portals and search engines , the most favorite websites are Facebook , YouTube , , Amazon , eBay , and Twitter .