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United States of America

History

In 1776, after 169 years of British rule, the 13 Colonies declared independence. With its Constitution of 1787, the United States of America's four million people embarked on a political experiment: a federal system with a built-in balance among executive, legislative, and judicial branches. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions.

The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), caused by unresolved issues of slavery and states' rights, and the Great Depression of the 1930s. After Reconstruction, the economy boomed and transcontinental railroads opened more markets. Before immigration restrictions were enacted in 1924, more than a hundred million people had arrived in the U.S.

Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. The nation has increasingly become more urban: Three-quarters of Americans live in metropolitan areas, where poverty and ethnic tensions present problems.

Ongoing Disputes: Prolonged drought in the Mexico border region has strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea awaits Russian Duma ratification;various maritime boundary disputes with Canada; The Bahamas have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island.

Environment Issues: Air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification.

Statistics

Climate: Mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Terrain: Vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Population: 290 million
Infant Mortality: 6.02 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy: 77.14 years
Ethnic Groups: White 77.1%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.5%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.3%, other 4% (2000) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)
Religions: Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other 4%, none 10%
Labour Force: 141.8 million
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%

Map

Map of United States of America - click for large version

Map courtesy of the CIA World Factbook

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