Image:United States (World Map).png

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Image
• File history
• File links

Size of this preview: 800 × 352 pixels
Full resolution‎ (1,427 × 628 pixels, file size: 29 KB, MIME type: image/png)

[edit] Summary

Main article: United States

This image derives from Image:USAWorldMap.png. It has been edited to add transparancy.

[edit] Information

The United States of America (the U.S., the U.S.A., the States, the United States, or America^[1]) is a federal republic in North America. Founded in 1776, it is the oldest extant constitutional republic in the world.^[2]

The U.S. originated from thirteen colonies in British North America that declared their independence in 1776. After winning the American War of Independence, it was recognized as the new nation following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, thirty-seven new states were added as the governance expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas territories.^[3]

Buoyed by victories and as the only major power not devastated in World Wars I and II, and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 following the Cold War, the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower^[4] or hyperpower.^[5] It is a founding member of the United Nations (with a permanent seat on the Security Council), G8, NATO and NAFTA.

1. ^ In the U.S., America is more commonly used to describe the United States and less often to refer to the Americas, the lands of the Western hemisphere (North and South America). American as a noun to describe an inhabitant or a citizen or national of the United States, and as an adjective meaning "of the United States," has no straightforward unambiguous synonym in English. Many other words for American have been proposed, but none has been widely accepted. Also see Americas (terminology).
2. ^ "An Outline of American Government- The Constitution: An Enduring Document" Original edition by Richard C. Schroeder. Revised and updated in 1989 by Nathan Glick, who also wrote Part II:"Explaining the Constitution: The Federalist Papers.". 2005. URL Accessed 3 May 2006.
3. ^ Introduction- United States. 20 April 2006. CIA World Factbook. URL accessed 3 May 2006.
4. ^ "Is it good for the world to have the U.S. as the sole superpower?" by Joe Messerli. 23 February 2006. BalancedPolitics.org. URL accessed 3 May 2006.
5. ^ History and the Hyperpower by Eliot A. Cohen. July/August 2004. Council on Foreign Relations. URL accessed 3 May 2006.

[edit] Licensing

The original image was created by User:Clevelander and was edited by User:Black and White. User:Clevelander released it into the public domain.

[edit] Tags

The base work this work was based on is in the public domain. It has been digitally enhanced and/or modified and uploaded here. This derivative work has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its author, Black and White. This applies worldwide. In some countries this is not legally possible; if so: Black and White grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

• Search for duplicate files
• Edit this file using an external application

  See the setup instructions for more information.

File links