|
In addition to the Civil War, another major traumatic experience for the nation was the [[Great Depression]] (1929 to 1941). The nation has also taken part in several major foreign wars, including [[World War I]] and [[World War II]] (in both of which the US later joined the [[Allies]]). During the [[Cold War]], the US was a major player in the [[Korean War]] and [[Vietnam War]], and, along with the [[Soviet Union]], was considered one of the world's two "[[superpower]]s". With the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]], the US emerged as the world's leading economic and military power. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States became very involved in [[police action]]s and [[peacekeeping]], including actions in [[Kosovo]], [[Haiti]], [[Somalia]] and [[Liberia]], and the first [[Gulf War]] driving [[Iraq]] out of [[Kuwait]]. After [[September 11, 2001 attacks|attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center]] and [[the Pentagon]] on [[September 11]], [[2001]], the United States and other allied nations found themselves entangled in what has come to be called the "[[War on Terrorism]]." The war on terrorism includes the ongoing wars in Afganistan and the controversial [[Iraq war]].
Nick smells.
== Government ==
{{main2|Federal government of the United States|Politics of the United States|Law of the United States}}
===Republic and Suffrage===
The [[United States]] is an example of a constitutional [[republic]], with a government composed of and operating through a set of limited powers imposed by its design and enumerated in that design or [[constitution|Constitution of the United States of America]]. Specifically, the nation operates as a [[presidential democracy]]. There are three levels of government: federal, state, and local. Officials of each of these levels are either elected by eligible voters via [[Secret ballot|secret ballot]] or appointed by other elected officials. Americans enjoy almost [[universal suffrage]] from the age of 18 regardless of race, sex, or wealth. There are some limits, however: [[felony disenfranchisement|felons]] are disenfranchised and in some states former felons are likewise. Furthermore, the national representation of territories and the federal district of [[Washington, D.C.|Washington, DC]] in [[United States Congress|Congress]] is [[District_of_Columbia_voting_rights|limited]]: residents of the District of Columbia are subject to federal laws and federal taxes but their only Congressional representative is a [[Delegate (United States Congress)|non-voting delegate]].
===Federal government===
The [[federal government of the United States|federal government]] is the national government, comprising the [[Congress of the United States|Congress]] (the [[legislature|legislative]] branch), the [[President of the United States|President]] (the executive branch), and the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] (the judicial branch). These three branches were designed to apply [[checks and balances]] on each other. The Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, the issuing and management of currency, the management of trade and relations between the states, and the protection of [[human rights]]. In addition to these explicitly stated powers, the federal government—with the assistance of the Supreme Court—has gradually extended these powers into such areas as [[welfare]] and education, on the basis of the "[[Necessary_and_Proper_Clause|necessary and proper clause]]" of the Constitution. This is in contrast to the Canadian experience, in which a centralist constitution has gradually become less so over the past century.
====Congress====
[[Image:Uscapitolindaylight.jpg|thumb|220px|left|The United States Capitol]]
The Congress is a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] law- making institution composed of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and the [[United States Senate|Senate]], which both meet in the [[United States Capitol]] in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington, DC]]. The House has 435 members, called representatives or congressmen/congresswomen, are elected by the people of a [[congressional district]] to represent that district for a term of two years. The number of districts for each state depends on its population, except that each state has at least one representative. According to the [[United States 2000 census|2000 census]], the districts had an average population of about 640,000 people. The Senate has 100 members, called senators, who represent whole, individual states for terms of six years. Each state is represented by two senators, regardless of population. On the same day as House elections, roughly one third of the Senate seats are contested, one each from roughly two thirds of the states on a rotational basis. The Constitution initially gave the state legislatures the power to elect senators; however, the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Seventeenth Amendment]] transferred this role to the people.
====The President====
[[Image:George-W-Bush.jpeg|thumb|right|175px|[[President of the United States]], [[George W Bush]].]]
At the top of the executive branch is the President of the United States. The President and Vice President are elected as 'running mates' for four-year terms by the [[U.S. Electoral College|Electoral College]], for which each state, as well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D. C.) in both houses of Congress (see [[U.S. Electoral College]]). The relationship between the President and the Congress reflects that between the English monarchy and parliament at the time of the framing of the United States Constitution. Congress can legislate to constrain the President's executive power, even with respect to his or her command of the armed forces; however, this power is used only very rarely—a notable example was the constraint placed on President [[Richard Nixon]]'s strategy of bombing [[Cambodia]] during the [[Vietnam War]]. The President cannot directly propose legislation, and must rely on supporters in Congress to promote his or her legislative agenda. The President's signature is required to turn congressional bills into law; in this respect, the President has the power—only occasionally used—to veto congressional legislation. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. The ultimate power of Congress over the President is that of [[impeachment]] or removal of the elected President through a House vote, a Senate trial, and a Senate vote. The threat of using this power has had major political ramifications in the cases of Presidents [[Andrew Johnson]], [[Richard Nixon]], and [[Bill Clinton]].
The President makes around 2,000 executive appointments, including members of the Cabinet and ambassadors, which must be approved by the Senate; the President can also issue [[executive order]]s and [[pardon]]s, and has other Constitutional duties, among them the requirement to give a [[State of the Union]] address to Congress once a year. Although the President's constitutional role may appear to be constrained, in practice, the office carries enormous prestige that typically eclipses the power of Congress: the Presidency has justifiably been referred to as 'the most powerful office in the world'. The [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] is first in the [[United States presidential line of succession|line of succession]], and is the [[President of the Senate]] ''ex officio'', with the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote. The members of the President's [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]] are responsible for administering the various departments of state, including the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]], the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]], and the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]. These departments and department heads have considerable regulatory and political power, and it is they who are responsible for executing federal laws and regulations.
====The Courts====
The highest court in the land is the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]], which consists of nine justices. The court deals with federal and constitutional matters, and can declare legislation made at any level of the government as [[Constitution#Constitutional courts|unconstitutional]], nullifying the law and creating [[precedent]] for future law and decisions. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question; the [[State supreme court|supreme court of each state]] is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution. Below the Supreme Court are the [[United States courts of appeals|courts of appeals]], and below them in turn are the [[United States district court|district courts]], which are the general trial courts for federal law.
===State and local governments===
[[Image:Map of USA with county outlines.png|thumbnail|United States|United States of America, showing [[U.S. state|state]]s, divided into [[Counties of the United States|counties]].]]
The state governments have the greatest influence over people's daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution and has different laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between the different states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected legislature ([[bicameral]] in every state except [[Nebraska]]), whose members represent the different parts of the state. Of note is the [[New Hampshire]] legislature, which is the third-largest legislative body in the English-speaking world, and has one representative for every 3,000 people. Each state maintains its own judiciary, with the lowest level typically being county courts, and culminating in each [[state supreme court]], though sometimes named differently. In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system.
The institutions that are responsible for local government are typically town, city, or [[county board]]s, making laws that affect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol, and keeping animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the [[mayor]]. In [[New England]], towns operate [[direct democracy|directly democratically]], and in some states, [[Counties of the United States|counties]] have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain [[law enforcement]] agencies.
=== Political divisions ===
{{main|Political divisions of the United States}}
With the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], the [[thirteen colonies]] proclaimed themselves to be [[nation states]] modeled after the European states of the time. Although considered as sovereigns initially, under the [[Articles of Confederation]] of 1781 they entered into a "Perpetual Union" and created a fully sovereign federal state, delegating certain powers to the national Congress, including the right to engage in diplomatic relations and to levy war, while each retaining their individual sovereignty, freedom and independence. But the national government proved too ineffective, so the administrative structure of the government was vastly reorganized with the United States Constitution of 1789. Under this new union, the continued status of the individual states as sovereign [[nation states]] fell into dispute in 1861, as several states attempted to secede from the union; in response, then-President Abraham Lincoln claimed that such secession was illegal, and the result was the [[American Civil War]]. Following the Union victory in 1865, the independent status of the individual states has not been broached again by any state, and the status of each state within the union, has been deemed by mainstream officials and academics to be settled as being subordinate to the union as a whole.
In subsequent years, the number of states grew steadily due to western expansion, the purchase of lands by the national government from other nation states, and the subdivision of existing states, resulting in the current total of 50. The states are generally divided into smaller administrative regions, including [[county (United States)|counties]], [[List of cities of the United States|cities]] and [[township (United States)|township]]s.
The United States–Canadian border is the longest undefended political boundary in the world. The US is divided into three distinct sections: the [[continental United States]], also known as "The Lower 48"; [[Alaska]], which is physically connected only to Canada; and the [[archipelago]] of Hawaii in the central [[Pacific Ocean]]. The United States also holds several other territories, districts and possessions, notably the [[federal district]] of the [[District of Columbia]], which is the nation's capital, and several overseas [[insular area]]s, the most significant of which are [[Puerto Rico]], [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], [[Northern Mariana Islands]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands]]. The [[Palmyra Atoll]] is the United States' only [[incorporated territory]]; it is [[Unorganized territory|unorganized]] and uninhabited. The United States Navy has held a base at a portion of [[Guantanamo Bay]], [[Cuba]] since 1898. The United States government possesses a lease to this land, which only mutual agreement or United States abandonment of the area can terminate. The present Cuban government of [[Fidel Castro]] disputes this arrangement, claiming Cuba was not truly [[sovereignty|sovereign]] at the time of the signing. The United States argues this point moot because Cuba apparently ratified the lease post-revolution, and with full sovereignty, when it cashed one rent check in accordance with the disputed treaty.
=== Foreign relations and military===
[[Image:Statue-of-liberty_tysto.jpg|70px|right|thumb|The [[Statue of Liberty]]]]
{{main2|Foreign relations of the United States|Military of the United States}}
The immense military and economic dominance of the United States has made foreign relations an especially important topic in its politics, with considerable concern about the image of the United States throughout the world. Reactions towards the United States by other nationalities are often strong, ranging from uninhibited admiration and mimicking of all things American to [[anti-Americanism]]. <!-- Needs rewording -->US foreign policy has swung about several times over the course of its history between the poles of strict [[isolationism]] and [[imperialism]] and everywhere in between. <!-- A paragraph providing a cogent, neutral account is needed; this is totally inadequate. -->
Three of the nation's four military branches are administered by the [[Department of Defense]]: the [[United States Army|Army]], the [[United States Navy|Navy]] (including the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]]), and the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]]. The [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] falls under the jurisdiction of the [[Department of Homeland Security]] in [[Peace|peacetime]], but is placed under the Department of Defense in time of [[war]].
The combined United States armed forces consist of 1.4 million [[active duty]] [[personnel]], along with several hundred thousand each in the [[Reserve component|Reserves]] and the [[United States National Guard|National Guard]]. Military [[conscription]] ended in 1973. The United States [[Armed forces]] are considered to be the most powerful [[military]] (of any sort) on [[Earth]] and their [[force projection]] capabilities are unrivaled by any other [[nation]], or collaboration of nations. <!-- Some information on the budget? Evolution of the military? Characteristics of US military strategy, e.g., heavy reliance on air power? -->
== Largest cities ==
|
