United States

From Wotpedia

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic made up of 50 states, one federal district, and several territories. Situated largely in the western hemisphere, its forty-eight contiguous states and the District of Columbia (coextensive with Washington, the capital) lie in central North America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bounded on land by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south; Alaska is in the northwest of the continent with Canada to its east, and Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific. Insular areas are scattered throughout the Americas and Pacific.

At over 3.7 million square miles (over 9.6 million km²) and with more than 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and population. A liberal democracy, the U.S. is one of the world's most ethnically and socially diverse nations. American society is the product of large-scale immigration and is home to a complex social structure as well as a wide array of household arrangements. Its national economy is the world's largest, with a 2006 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than $13 trillion.

The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain who declared their independence on July 4, 1776. The current United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787 making 27 amendments afterwards. The country greatly expanded throughout the 19th century, acquiring territory from France, Mexico, Spain, and Russia. The United States became one of two major superpowers due to its role in World War II and its development of nuclear weapons. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States became the world's sole remaining superpower and it continues to exert dominant economic, political, cultural, and military influence in the western world and around the globe.