The United States



""I want to be in America, okay by me in America, everything's free in America -- for a small fee in America.""

- "America", West Side Story

The United States of America -- commonly referred to as the United States, the US, the USA, the US of A, America, or the States -- is a constitutional federal democratic republic occupying a large part of the continent of North America. It borders Canada from the south and Mexico from the north in its main territorial area. It also contains, off the mainland, the Hawaiian islands of the Pacific Ocean and a large state northwest of Canada called Alaska that shares a sea border with the Russian Federation. In all, the country consists of fifty states, one state-neutral capital city called Washington, D.C. (for "District of Columbia"), and assorted smaller commonwealths and protectorates. It is so huge (third largest overall, behind Russia and Canada respectively), in fact, that it would take days on end to drive from one opposite end to the other. One state of the fifty, Texas, the largest state in the mainland, is almost three times as large as the entire United Kingdom. So if you're planning to come here, don't expect to hit all the widespread landmarks in one trip unless you have a lot of time to spend and don't mind paying for many flights or sitting through long car drives (we don't have all that many passenger trains here anymore, aside from more local, smaller train lines that work within a city or across a fairly small set of towns).

Colonized by Europeans from the 16th century onwards, thirteen of the British-ruled colonies on the eastern coast declared independence in 1776 and combined to form their own country. The new nation then expanded westwards (to the unhappiness of the previous native population that it came into conflict with), acquiring land from France, Britain (not Canada), Mexico, and Russia, annexing the Kingdom of Hawaii, and small territory gains from military conflicts with Spain (now Cuba) and Japan.

Over the course of the late 19th century to the present, the United States became a superpower and is now technically the most powerful country on the planet -- it is technologically advanced and possesses a huge industrial base, a colossal military, and immense financial wealth. It is the largest exporter of modern media, its products being seen the world over.

The country's government consists of three branches, with the head of one of these (the executive branch) being commonly viewed as a main political leader: the elected President of the United States, currently Barack Obama.

The Parts of the United States of America
 * Cities:
 * Atlanta, GA
 * Baltimore, MD
 * Boston, MA
 * Southies
 * Chicago, IL
 * Cleveland, OH
 * Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
 * Denver, CO
 * Detroit, MI
 * Houston, TX
 * Indianapolis, IN
 * Kansas City, MO
 * Los Angeles, CA
 * Miami, FL
 * Milwaukee, WI
 * Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
 * New Orleans, LA
 * New York, NY
 * Brooklyn Rage (New Yorkers as violent badasses)
 * New York City Cops (the NYPD)
 * New York Subway
 * Other Cities in Texas
 * Philadelphia, PA
 * Pittsburgh, PA
 * Portland, OR
 * San Francisco, CA
 * Seattle, WA
 * Washington, DC
 * States and territories:
 * Alaska
 * California
 * Florida
 * Guam
 * Hawaii
 * Michigan
 * New York State
 * Niagara Falls
 * Puerto Rico
 * Utah
 * Regions and concepts:
 * New England (the six Northeastern-most states)
 * Lovecraft Country (the creepy version of New England)
 * Deep South (the stereotyped Southern US)
 * Sweet Home Alabama (the idealized Southern US)
 * Southern Gothic (the creepy Southern US)
 * Down On the Farm (the rural Midwest)
 * Minnesota Nice (Midwesterners, especially Minnesotans, portrayed as exceptionally polite)
 * Everytown America (the small American town)
 * Flyover Country ("bland" Middle America)
 * The Other Rainforest (the Pacific Northwest)
 * American Climate

American Culture and People
 * American English
 * American Accents
 * Stock American Phrases
 * American Churches
 * American Customary Measurements
 * American Dream
 * American Educational System
 * Useful Notes/Columbine
 * High School
 * Ivy League
 * Useful Notes/American Football
 * Super Bowl
 * Super Bowl Special
 * Useful Notes/American Holidays
 * Useful Notes/Christmas in America
 * Useful Notes/Labor Day in The United States
 * Useful Notes/Thanksgiving Day
 * Country Music
 * Cuisines in America
 * Double Feature
 * Drive-In Theater
 * Melting Pot
 * Native Americans
 * Only in America
 * Only in Florida
 * Only in Miami
 * Suburbia

American Government and Politics
 * American Courts
 * The Common Law
 * American Currency
 * American Driving Laws
 * American Gun Politics
 * American Law Enforcement
 * American Prisons
 * DMCA
 * Felony Murder
 * Miranda Rights
 * Police Brutality
 * Three Degrees of Murder
 * American Political System
 * American Federalism
 * Twenty Fifth Amendment
 * Amtrak
 * NASA
 * Politicians
 * The Presidents
 * Who Shot JFK
 * Yanks With Tanks (American Armed Forces)
 * Air Force One
 * Coast Guard
 * Peace Through Superior Firepower (American Nuclear Weapons)
 * The Pentagon
 * Semper Fi (United States Marine Corps)

American History
 * The Colonial Period
 * The American Revolution
 * Benjamin Franklin
 * Antebellum America
 * War of 1812
 * Manifest Destiny
 * Mexican-American War
 * The American Civil War
 * The Wild West
 * The Western
 * The Great Depression
 * World War II
 * America Wins the War
 * Cold War
 * Civil Rights Movement
 * The Space Race

American Media and Communications
 * American Newspapers
 * American Television Stations
 * ANSI Standard Broadcast TV Schedule
 * Broadcasting in The United States
 * NPR
 * PBS
 * Seven Dirty Words
 * Station Identification

See Media Classifications for American (and other) video game and movie rating systems.