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Today's featured article The Turk was a famous hoax that purported to be a chess-playing machine. Constructed and unveiled in 1770 by the Hungarian baron Wolfgang von Kempelen, the mechanism appeared to be able to play a strong game of chess against a human opponent, as well as perform the knight's tour, a puzzle that requires the player to move a knight to occupy every square of a chess board once and only once. Publicly promoted as an automaton and given its common name based on its appearance, the Turk was a mechanical illusion that allowed a human chess master to hide inside and operate the machine. With a skilled operator, the Turk won most of the games played. The apparatus was demonstrated around Europe and the United States of America for over 80 years until its destruction in 1854, playing and defeating many challengers including statesmen such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. (more...) Recently featured: Medieval cuisine – Mandy Moore – Ziaur Rahman Archive – By email – More featured articles... Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest articles: ...that, 23 years after explorer Charles Sturt found and named the Murray River, his brother Evelyn Sturt (pictured), a Police Magistrate and notable grazier, declared it absurd that the area would ever become agricultural? ...that the Australian cricket team's world record of 16 consecutive wins ended during its 2002 India tour, when India recorded only the third win in Test cricket history by a side forced to follow-on? ...that Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, the oldest church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was originally built by a Universalist Society but soon acquired by a Catholic French Canadian congregation? ...that Adolfo Holley was the first Minister of War and Navy of the victorious revolutionary congressional junta in the Chilean Civil War? ...that Assaji, the last of the first five bhikkhus of Gautama Buddha to become an arahant, converted Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, the Buddha's two chief disciples? ...that the Woodward & Lothrop Service Warehouse in Washington, D.C. still features a large pink neon sign identifying it as a Woodward & Lothrop property, even though the company is defunct? Archive – Start a new article...

In the news Following the announcement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (pictured), the Royal Navy personnel accused of trespassing into Iranian waters return to the UK after a two-week detention. TGV POS trainset number 4402 sets a new world speed record for railed vehicles at 574.8 km/h (357 mph) during test runs conducted in Champagne, France. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko dissolves the parliament and calls for an early parliamentary election, a move denounced by the parliament as unconstitutional. A tsunami triggered by an earthquake strikes the Solomon Islands, killing at least 20, destroying around 900 homes and leaving thousands homeless. Michael Phelps breaks five world records in swimming at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, Australia and becomes the first person to win seven golds at a World Championships; seven other world records are also broken. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events... On this day... April 6: Good Friday in Christianity (2007); Tartan Day 1652 - Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck (pictured) established the first permanent European settlement in sub-Saharan Africa on what eventually became known as Cape Town. 1782 - Rama I succeeded King Taksin of Thailand, founding the Chakri Dynasty. 1830 - Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and others formally organized the Church of Christ, starting the Latter Day Saint movement. 1896 - The first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens. Recent days: April 5 – April 4 – April 3 Archive – By email – More anniversaries...

Today's featured picture The head of a Rothschild's Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi), a subspecies of giraffe found in Uganda and north-central Kenya. It has deep brown, blotched or rectangular spots with poorly defined cream lines and its hocks may be spotted. Photo credit: Fir0002 Archive - More featured pictures...

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The United States of America is a country of the western hemisphere, comprising fifty states and several territories. Forty-eight contiguous states lie in central North America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bound 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.^[2] The United States is a federal constitutional republic; Washington, its capital, is coextensive with the District of Columbia (D.C.), the federal capital district.^[3]

At over 3.7 million square miles (over 9.6 million km²) and with over 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by both total area and population. ^[4] With a gross domestic product (GDP) of over $13 trillion, the U.S. has the largest national economy in the world.^[5] GDP per capita ranks first among the larger economies of the world, and third or eighth overall, depending on the measurement. The product of large-scale historical immigration and home to a complex social structure^[6] as well as a wide array of household arrangements,^[7] the U.S. is one of the world's most ethnically and socially diverse nations.^[8]

The nation was founded by thirteen colonies declaring their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 and ratifying the Articles of Confederation, on March 1, 1781. It adopted the current constitution on September 17, 1787. The country greatly expanded in territory throughout the 19th century acquiring further territory from Great Britain, as well as lands from France, Mexico, Spain, and Russia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became the world's sole remaining superpower. The United States continues to exert dominant economic, political, cultural, and military influence around the globe.^[9]

Etymology

Common names and abbreviations of the United States of America include the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., the U.S. of A., the States (informal), and America (colloquially). The earliest known use of the name America is attributed to the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller who, while working in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges in 1507, created a globe and a large map showing North and South America.^[10] Although the origin of the name is uncertain,^[11] the most widely held belief is that expressed in an accompanying book^{[citation needed]}, Cosmographiae Introductio, which explains it as the feminine version of the Latin name of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (Americus Vespucius); in Latin, the other continents' names were all feminine. Vespucci correctly theorized that Christopher Columbus, on reaching islands in the Caribbean Sea in 1492, had come not to India but to a "New World".

The Americas were also known as Columbia, after Columbus, prompting the name District of Columbia for the land set aside as the U.S. capital. Columbia remained a popular name for the United States until the early 20th century, when it fell into relative disuse; it is still used poetically, and appears in various names and titles.^[12][13][14] One female personification of the country is called Columbia; she is similar to Britannia.^[15] Columbus Day is a holiday in the United States, and other countries in the Americas, commemorating Columbus' October 1492 landing.

The phrase "united States of America" [sic] was first used officially in the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776. On November 15, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first of which stated "The Stile [[sic]] of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America.'" The name was originally proposed by Thomas Paine.

The most common adjectival and demonymic form for the United States is American; this term is used for U.S. citizens living abroad, and for cultural characteristics ("American language," "American sports") and is rarely (at least not in English) used to refer to people not connected to the U.S.

Geography

Main article: Geography of the United States

The United States is the world's third/fourth largest country by total area, and the third/fourth largest by land area alone, after Russia, Canada, and disputed with China.^[16] Its contiguous portion is bounded by the North Atlantic Ocean to the east, the North Pacific Ocean to the west, Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Canada to the north. Alaska (the largest state in area) is bound by Canada to its east, with the Pacific Ocean to its south, the Arctic Ocean to its north, and the Bering Strait to the west. The state of Hawaii occupies an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of the North American mainland.

Deciduous vegetation and grasslands prevail in the eastern U.S., transitioning to prairies, boreal forests, and the Rocky Mountains in the west, and deserts in the southwest. In the northeast, the coasts of the Great Lakes and Atlantic seaboard host much of the country's population.

Terrain

The U.S. has an extremely varied geography, particularly in the West. The eastern seaboard has a coastal plain which is widest in the south and narrows in the north. The coastal plain does not exist north of New Jersey, although there are glacial outwash plains on Long Island, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. In the extreme southeast, Florida is home to the ecologically unique Everglades.

Beyond the coastal plain, the rolling hills of the Piedmont region end at the Appalachian Mountains, which rise above 6,000 feet (1,830 m) in North Carolina, Tennessee, and New Hampshire. From the west slope of the Appalachians, the Interior Plains of the Midwest are relatively flat and are the location of the Great Lakes as well as the Mississippi-Missouri River, the world's 4th longest river system.^[17] West of the Mississippi River, the Interior Plains slope uphill and blend into the vast and often featureless Great Plains.

The abrupt rise of the Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extends north to south across the continental U.S., reaching altitudes over 14,000 feet (4,270 m) in Colorado.^[18] In the past, the Rocky Mountains had a higher level of volcanic activity; nowadays, the range only has one area of volcanism (the super-volcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, possibly the world's largest volcano), although rift volcanism has occurred relatively recently near the Rockies' southern margin in New Mexico.^[19]

Alaska has numerous mountain ranges; including Mount McKinley (Denali), the highest peak in North America. Numerous volcanoes can be found throughout the Alexander and Aleutian Islands extending south and west of the Alaskan mainland.

The Hawaiian Islands are tropical, volcanic islands extending over 1,500 miles (2,400 km), and consisting of six larger islands and another dozen smaller ones that are inhabited.

Climate

Due to its large size and wide range of geographic features, the United States contains examples of nearly every global climate. The climate is temperate in most areas, tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida, polar in Alaska, semiarid in the Great Plains west of the 100th meridian, deserts in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California and arid in the Great Basin. Its comparatively generous climate contributed (in part) to the country's rise as a world power, with infrequent severe drought in the major agricultural regions, a general lack of widespread flooding, and a mainly temperate climate that receives adequate precipitation.

History

Main article: History of the United States

Native Americans

Main article: Native Americans in the United States

Before the European colonization of the Americas, a process that began at the end of the 15th century, the present-day continental U.S. was inhabited exclusively by various indigenous peoples, including Alaskan natives, who migrated to the continent over a period that may have begun 35,000 years ago and may have ended as recently as 11,000 years ago.^[20]

European colonization

The first confirmed European landing in present-day United States territory was by Christopher Columbus, who visited Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493. Florida was home to the earliest European colonies on the mainland; they died out except for St. Augustine (by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1565.

A hundred or so French fur traders set up small outposts in the Great Lakes region. A few thousand Spanish settled in New Mexico and California. The first successful English settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, followed in 1620 by the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1609 and 1617, respectively, the Dutch settled in part of what became New York and New Jersey. In 1638, the Swedes founded New Sweden, in part of what became Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania after passing through Dutch hands. Throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries, England (and later Great Britain) established new colonies, took over Dutch colonies, and split others. Several colonies were used as penal settlements from the 1620s until the American Revolution. With the division of the Carolinas in 1729, and the colonization of Georgia in 1732, the 13 British colonies that became the United States of America in 1776 were established and all had active local and colonial governments with elections open to most free men.

American Revolution and Early Republic

Main articles: American Revolution and American Revolutionary War

Tensions between American colonials and the British during the revolutionary period of the 1760s and 1770s led to open military conflict in 1775. George Washington commanded the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) as the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Congress had been formed to confront British actions and created the Continental Army, but it did not have the authority to levy taxes or make federal laws. In 1777, the Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, uniting the states under a weak federal government, which operated from 1781 until 1788. After the United States defeated Great Britain, dissatisfaction with the strength of the national government led to a constitutional convention in 1787. By June of 1788, enough states had ratified the United States Constitution to establish the new government, which took office in 1789. The Constitution, which strengthened the union and the federal government, has since remained the supreme law of the land.^[21]

Westward expansion

Main article: Manifest Destiny

From 1803 to 1848, the size of the new nation nearly tripled as settlers (many embracing the concept of Manifest Destiny as an inevitable consequence of American exceptionalism) pushed beyond national boundaries even before the Louisiana Purchase.^[22] The expansion was tempered somewhat by the stalemate in the War of 1812, but it was subsequently reinvigorated by victory in the Mexican-American War in 1848.

Between 1830–1880 up to 40 million American Buffalo were slaughtered for skins and meat, and to aid railway expansion. The expansion of the railways reduced transit times for both goods and people, made westward expansion less arduous for the pioneers, and increased conflicts with the Indians over the land and its uses. The loss of the buffalo, a primary resource for the plains Indians, added to the pressures on native cultures and individuals for survival.

Civil War

Main article: American Civil War

As new territories were being incorporated, the nation was divided over the issue of states' rights, the role of the federal government, and — by the 1820s — the expansion of slavery, which had been legal in all thirteen colonies but was rarer in the north, where it was abolished by 1804. The Northern states were opposed to the expansion of slavery whereas the Southern states saw the opposition as an attack on their way of life, since their economy was dependent on slave labor. The failure to permanently resolve these issues led to the Civil War, following the secession of many slave states in the South to form the Confederate States of America after the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln.^[23] The 1865 Union victory in the Civil War effectively ended slavery and settled the question of whether a state had the right to secede. The event was a major turning point in American history and resulted in an increase in federal power.^[24]

Reconstruction and industrialization

Main article: Reconstruction

After the Civil War, an unprecedented influx of immigrants, who helped to provide labor for American industry and create diverse communities in undeveloped areas — together with high tariff protections, national infrastructure building, and national banking regulations — hastened the country's rise to international power. The growing power of the United States enabled it to acquire new territories, including the annexation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines after victory in the Spanish-American War,^[25] which marked the debut of the United States as a major world power.

World Wars I and II

Main articles: World War I and World War II

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the United States remained neutral. In 1917, however, the United States joined the Allied Powers, helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers. For historical reasons, American sympathies were very much in favor of the British and French, even though a sizable number of citizens, mostly Irish and German, were opposed to intervention.^[26] After the war, the Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles because of a fear that it would pull the United States into European affairs. Instead, the country continued to pursue its policy of unilateralism that bordered at times on isolationism.^[27]

During most of the 1920s, the United States enjoyed a period of unbalanced prosperity as farm prices fell and industrial profits grew. A rise in debt and an inflated stock market culminated in a crash in 1929, and combined with the Dust Bowl, triggered the Great Depression. After his election as President in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt instituted his plan for a New Deal, which increased government intervention in the economy in response to the Great Depression.

The nation did not fully recover until 1941, when the United States was driven to join the Allies against the Axis Powers after a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. World War II was the costliest war in economic terms in American history,^[28][29] but it helped to pull the economy out of depression because the required production of military material provided much-needed jobs, and women entered the workforce in large numbers for the first time. During this war, scientists working for the United States federal government succeeded in producing nuclear weapons, making the United States the world's first nuclear power. Toward the end of World War II, after the end of World War II in Europe, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were the second and third nuclear devices detonated and the only ones ever employed as weapons.

Japan surrendered soon after, on September 2, 1945, ending World War II.^[30]

Cold War and civil rights

Main articles: Cold War and American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)

After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became superpowers in an era of ideological rivalry dubbed the Cold War. The United States officially promoted liberal democracy and capitalism, while the Soviet Union officially promoted communism and a centrally planned economy. Both sides sometimes supported politically convenient oppressive regimes. The result was a series of proxy wars, including the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the tense nuclear showdown of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

The perception that the United States was losing the space race spurred government efforts to raise proficiency in mathematics and science in schools^[31] and led to President John F. Kennedy's call for the United States to land "a man on the moon" by the end of the 1960s, which was realized in 1969.^[31]

Meanwhile, American society experienced a period of sustained economic expansion. At the same time, discrimination across the United States, especially in the South, was increasingly challenged by a growing civil-rights movement headed by prominent African Americans such as Martin Luther King, Jr., which led to the abolition of the Jim Crow laws in the South.^[32]

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States continued to intervene in overseas military conflicts such as the Gulf War. It remains the world's only superpower.

War on Terrorism

Main articles: September 11, 2001 attacks and War on Terror

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people, U.S. foreign policy focused on the global threat of terrorism, and the government under President George W. Bush began a series of military and legal operations termed the War on Terror. It began with military operations in Afghanistan which led to the removal of the Taliban from power and the attempted expulsion of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. The administration formed a preemptive policy against threats to U.S. security known as the Bush Doctrine.

In his 2002 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush labeled North Korea, Iraq, and Iran the "axis of evil," and stated that these countries "constitute a grave threat to the security of the U.S. and its allies." Later that year, the Bush administration began to press for regime change in Iraq, and in 2003, the United States and its allies invaded Iraq, removing Saddam Hussein from power, but igniting sectarian civil strife.

Government and politics

Main articles: Federal government of the United States and Politics of the United States

Political system

The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. Its government relies on representative democracy through a congressional system under a set of powers specified by its Constitution. However, it is "not a simple representative democracy, but a constitutional republic in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law."^[33] There are three levels of government, consisting of the federal, state, and local levels. Officials at all three levels are either elected by voters in a secret ballot or appointed by other elected officials. Executive and legislative offices are decided by a plurality vote of citizens in their respective districts, with judicial and cabinet-level offices nominated by the Executive branch and approved by the Legislature. In some states, judicial posts are filled by popular election rather than executive appointment.

The federal government comprises three branches, which are designed to check and balance one another's powers:

• Legislative: The Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties and has powers of impeachment and the purse.
• Executive: The President, who appoints, with Senate approval, the Cabinet and other officers, who administers and enforces federal law, can veto bills, and is Commander in Chief of the military.
• Judiciary: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the President with Senate approval, which interpret laws and their validity under the Constitution and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.

The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature. The House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states according to population every tenth year. Each state is guaranteed at least one representative: seven states have one each; California, the most populous state, has 53. Each state has two senators, elected at large to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every second year.

The United States Constitution is the supreme legal document in the American system, and serves as a social contract for the people of the United States, regulating their affairs through government chosen by and populated by the people. All laws and procedures of both state and federal governments are subject to review, and any law ruled by the judicial branch to be in violation of the Constitution is overturned. The Constitution is a living document as it can be amended by a variety of methods, all of which require the approval of an overwhelming majority of the states. The Constitution has been amended 27 times, the last time in 1992.

The Constitution contains a dedication to "preserve liberty" with a "Bill of Rights" and other amendments, which guarantee freedom of speech, religion, and the press; the right to a fair trial; the right to keep and bear arms; universal suffrage; and property rights. However, the extent to which these rights are protected and universal in practice is heavily debated. The Constitution also guarantees to every State "a Republican Form of Government". However, the meaning of that guarantee has been only slightly explicated.^[34]

American politics is dominated by the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Members of these two parties hold the overwhelming majority of elected offices across the country at federal, state, and lower levels. Independent or so-called "third party" candidates tend to do better in lower-level elections, although there are presently some independent members of the Senate. Within American political culture the Republican Party is considered "center-right" or conservative while the Democratic Party is considered "center-left" or liberal. The size of both parties has allowed for considerable divergence of views within both parties.

Since 2001, the President has been George W. Bush, a Republican. Following the 2006 mid-term elections, the Democratic Party holds a majority of seats in both the House and Senate for the first time since 1994, except for a Democratic plurality in the Senate in 2001–02.^[35]

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of the United States

The United States has vast economic, political, and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest and discussion around the world. Almost all countries have embassies in Washington, D.C., and consulates around the country. However, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan do not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States.^[36] The United States is a founding member of the United Nations (with a permanent seat on the Security Council), among many other international organizations. Today America's principal allies include Australia, Japan, Israel, and the NATO member states, with the United Kingdom being America's closest ally. Additionally the United States has close diplomatic, economic and cultural ties to its neighboring nations, Canada and Mexico.

A survey revealed by BBC World Service in January 2007 shows that of 28,000 people in 27 countries, a majority believe that the United States of America has mainly a negative influence in the world. Israel, Iran, and United States of America with 56, 54 and 51 points are the most negatively viewed countries of the dozen on the list to be rated. Canada, Japan and the EU are viewed most positively in the survey. ^[37]

Military

Further information: Military of the United States

The United States has a long-standing tradition of civilian control over military affairs. The Department of Defense administers the U.S. armed forces, which comprise the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force. The Coast Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime but is placed under the Department of the Navy in times of war. The military of the United States comprises 1.4 million personnel on active duty,^[38] along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and the National Guard. Service in the military is voluntary, though conscription may occur in times of war through the Selective Service System. The United States is considered to have the most powerful military in the world, partly because of the size of its defense budget; American defense expenditures in 2005 were estimated to be greater than the next 14 largest national military budgets combined,^[39] even though the U.S. military budget is only about 4% of the country's gross domestic product.^[40][41] The U.S. military maintains over 700 bases and facilities. It also has bases on every continent except Antarctica.^[42]

Administrative divisions

Main article: Political divisions of the United States

The United States of America consists of 50 states and one federal district, the District of Columbia. The conterminous forty-eight states — all the states but Alaska and Hawaii — are also called the contiguous United States or the "lower 48" and occupy much of central North America. Alaska is separated from the contiguous U.S. by Canada; together, they comprise the continental United States. Hawaii, the fiftieth state, is situated in the Pacific.

The following map presents the 50 states, additional territories and highlights the United States census regions of them:

States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia

Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland

Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey

New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina

South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Territories American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands Not Shown District of Columbia

The United States also holds several other territories. Palmyra Atoll is the United States' only incorporated territory; but it is unorganized and uninhabited. The United States Minor Outlying Islands consist of uninhabited islands and atolls in the Pacific and Caribbean Sea. In addition, since 1898, the United States Navy has held an extensive naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

In addition to the actual states and territories of the United States, there are also nations which are associated states of the U.S. The Federated States of Micronesia (since 1986), the Marshall Islands (since 1986), and Palau (since 1994) are associated with the United States under what is known as the Compact of Free Association, giving the states international sovereignty and ultimate control over their territory. However, the governments of those areas have agreed to allow the United States to provide defense and financial assistance.

Environment

The U.S. has over 17,000 identified native plant and tree species, including 5,000 just in California (which is home to the tallest, the most massive, and the oldest trees in the world).^[43] With habitats ranging from tropical to arctic, the flora of the U.S. is the most diverse of any country; yet, thousands of non-native exotic species sometimes adversely affect indigenous plant and animal communities. Over 400 species of mammal, 700 species of bird, 500 species of reptile and amphibian, and 90,000 species of insect have been documented.^[44] Many plants and animals are very localized in their distribution, and some are in danger of extinction. The U.S. passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973 to protect native plant and animal species and their habitats.

Conservation has a long history in the U.S.; in 1872, the world's first National Park was established at Yellowstone. Another 57 national parks and hundreds of other federally managed parks and forests have since been designated.^[45] In some parts of the country, wilderness areas have been established to ensure long-term protection of pristine habitats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitors endangered and threatened species and has set aside numerous areas for species and habitat preservation. Altogether, the U.S. government regulates 1,020,779 square miles (2,643,807 km²), which is 28.8% of the total land area of the U.S.^[46] The bulk of this land is protected park and forestland, but some is leased for oil and gas exploration, mining, and cattle ranching.

The United States was, as of 2005, the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.^[47]

See also: Water supply and sanitation in the United States

Economy

Main articles: Economy of the United States, American middle class, Household income in the United States, Personal income in the United States, and Homeownership in the United States

General situation

The economic system of the United States can be described as a capitalist mixed economy, in which corporations, other private firms, and individuals make most microeconomic decisions, and governments prefer to take a smaller role in the domestic economy, although the combined role of all levels of government is relatively large, at 36% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Most businesses in the U.S. are not incorporated and do not have a payroll but are simple sole proprietorships.^[48] The U.S. has a smaller social safety net than that of other developed countries, and regulation of businesses is slightly less than the average of developed countries.^[49] The largest sector in the United States economy is services, which employs roughly three quarters of the work force.^[50]

Economy of the United States
Median Income[51][52]
Median income	$32,611 for individuals $46,326 for households
Income distribution[53][54]
Top 20%	$52,500 for individuals $91,705 for households
Bottom 20%	$12,500 for individuals $20,000 for households
National economic indicators
Unemployment	4.5%[55]
GDP growth	3.4%
CPI inflation	2.5%[56]
Gini index	46.9%
SOURCE: US Department of Commerce

The economy is fueled by an abundance in natural resources such as coal, petroleum, and precious metals. However, the country depends on foreign countries for much of its energy. In agriculture, the U.S. is a top producer of corn, soy beans, rice, and wheat, with the Great Plains labeled as the "breadbasket of the world" for its tremendous agricultural output and productivity.^[57] The U.S. has a large tourist industry, ranking third in the world,^[58] and is also a major exporter in goods such as airplanes, steel, weapons, and electronics. Canada accounts for 19% (more than any other nation) of the United States' foreign trade, followed by China, Mexico, and Japan.

The per capita income of the United States is among the highest in the world, however it is distributed less equally, ranking lower on the C.I.A. Gini coefficient than Russia and China.^[59] Since 1975, the U.S. has a "two-tier" labor market in which virtually all the real income gains have gone to the top 20% of households, with most of those gains accruing to the very highest earners within that category.^[60] The compensation of the average U.S. chief-executive has increased from 78 times that of a minimum-wage worker in 1978 to 821 times in 2007, a development which has led President George Bush to call for measures increasing shareholder oversight of executive-pay comparable to laws already enacted in the United Kingdom^[61].

The long-term trend for wages of middle-income Americans has largely been stagnant since the 1970s and fallen for low-income earners, despite substantial gains in hourly labor productivity^[62][63]. Illegal immigration is suspected of depressing wages of the poorest one-tenth of the workforce by 7.4%^[64], with some industries such as meatpacking and agriculture being completely dependent on undocumented-workers^[65]. A report from the U.S. Labor Department in 2005 indicated that wages are at their lowest percentage of national G.D.P. on record while corporate profits are at their highest since the 1960s^[66].

On the other hand, US workers enjoy unparalleled access to consumer goods. There are more radios and televisions per capita than anywhere else in the world. [19]. Internet penetration and PCs are also quite high.

Economic activity varies greatly across the country. For example, New York City is the center of the American financial, publishing, broadcasting, fashion, advertising industries, and the seat of the United Nations, while Los Angeles is the most important center for film and television production. The San Francisco Bay Area is a major center for technology. The Midwest is known for its reliance on manufacturing and heavy industry, with Detroit serving as the historic center of the American automotive industry, and Chicago serving as the business and financial capital of the region. The Southeast is a major area for agriculture, tourism, and the lumber industry, and, because of wages and costs below the national average, it continues to attract manufacturing.

The social mobility of U.S. residents relative to that of other countries is the subject of much debate. Some analysts have found that social mobility in the United States is low relative to other OECD states, specifically compared to Western Europe, Scandinavia and Canada.^[67][68][69] Low social mobility may stem in part from the U.S. educational system. Public education in the United States is funded mainly by local property taxes supplemented by state revenues. This frequently results in a wide difference in funding between poor districts or poor states and more affluent jurisdictions.^[70][71] Some analysts argue that relative social mobility in the U.S. peaked in the 1960s and declined rapidly beginning in the 1980s.^[72] Others point out that Americans in the bottom quintile for household income are more likely to be in the top quintile nine years later than to still be in the bottom quintile, and that social mobility is very high when one follows the progress of individuals over time rather than raw group dynamics. ^[73] Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan has implemented a restructuring of about $20 billion of commercial debt claims on terms comparable to that of its November 2004 Paris Club agreement (i.e. with an 80% writeoff). Iraq offered to its larger claimants a U.S. dollar denominated bond maturing in 2028. Smaller commercial claimants received a cash settlement of comparable value.

Reconstruction

Main article: Reconstruction of Iraq

Reconstruction of Iraq has been difficult mainly due to the amount of damage done to Iraq's basic infrastructure, the influx of the US invasion and strife among factions within the native populace. Large-scale reconstruction efforts have had, at best, limited success.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Iraq

A July 2006 estimate of the total Iraqi population is 26,783,383.

Seventy-five to eighty percent of Iraq's population are Arabs; the other major ethnic groups are the Kurds at 15-20%, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen and others (5%), who mostly live in the north and northeast of the country. Other distinct groups are Persians and Armenians (possible descendants of the ancient Mesopotamian culture). About 25,000–60,000 Marsh Arabs live in southern Iraq.

Arabic and Kurdish are official languages. Assyrian and Turkmen are official languages in areas where the Assyrians and Iraqi Turkmen are located respectively. Armenian and Persian are also spoken but to a lesser extent. English is the most commonly spoken Western language.

Ethnic Composition:

• Ethnic groups: Arab, 75–80%; Kurdish, 15-20%; Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%.
• Religions: Muslim, 97%; Christian or other, 3%.

Proportions: There are no official figures available, mainly due to the highly politically charged nature of the subject. Source: Britannica: Shi'a 60%, Sunni 40% Source: CIA World Fact Book: Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%

• Shi'a: mostly Arabs some Turkmen and Faili Kurds almost all are Twelver school
• Sunni: composed of Arabs who are Hanafi school and Kurds who are Shafi school

According to most western sources the majority of Iraqis are Shi'ite Arab Muslims (around 60%), and Sunnis represent about 40% of the population made up of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. Sunnis hotly dispute these figures, including an ex-Iraqi Ambassador ^[74], referring to American sources ^[75]. They claim that many reports or sources only include Arab Sunnis as 'Sunni', missing out the Kurdish and Turkmen Sunnis. Some argue that the 2003 Iraq Census shows that Sunnis were a slight majority^[76]. Ethnic Assyrians (most of whom are adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East) account for most of Iraq's sizable Christian population, along with Armenians. Bahá'ís, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Yezidis also exist. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, although the Faili (Feyli) Kurds are largely Shi'a.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Iraq

In the most recent millennium, what is now Iraq has been made up of five cultural areas: Kurdish in the north centered on Arbil, Sunni Islamic Arabs in the center around Baghdad, Shi'a Islamic Arabs in the south centered on Basra, the Assyrians, a Christian people, living in various cities in the north, and the Marsh Arabs, a nomadic people, who live on the marshlands of the central river. Markets and bartering are the common form of trade.

Music

Main articles: Music of Iraq, Kurdish music, and Assyrian music

Iraq is known primarily for an instrument called the oud (similar to a lute) and a rebab (similar to a fiddle); its stars include Ahmed Mukhtar and the Assyrian Munir Bashir. Until the fall of Saddam Hussein, the most popular radio station was the Voice of Youth. It played a mix of western rock, hip hop and pop music, all of which had to be imported via Jordan due to international economic sanctions. Iraq has also produced a major pan-Arab pop star-in-exile in Kazem al Saher, whose songs include Ladghat E-Hayya, which was banned for its racy lyrics.

Gallery

Tigris River near Mosul

Ishtar Gate (Bab Ishtar) 604 to 562 B.C. Ancient Babylon

The Malwiya Minaret in Samarra

Hatra ruins

Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf

Boat on the Euphrates River

See also

• Reconstruction of Iraq
• Baghdad Renaissance Plan
• Economy: Iraq Stock Exchange, Iraqi Dinar, Economy of Iraq
• Events: 2005 in Iraq, 2004 in Iraq, 2003 Invasion of Iraq, Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present, Iraqi insurgency, Iraq War
• Geography: List of places in Iraq, Communications of Iraq, Transportation in Iraq
• Groups: Kurds, Shiites, Sunni, Assyrians, Arab Tribes in Iraq, Maslawi
• Politics: Politics of Iraq, Iraq and Democracy, New Iraqi Army, Foreign relations of Iraq, Human rights violations in Iraq, Iraqi insurgency, Civil war in Iraq, M. Ismail Marcinkowski, Religion and Politics in Iraq. Shiite Clerics between Quietism and Resistance, with a foreword by Professor Hamid Algar of the University of California at Berkeley. Singapore: Pustaka Nasional, 2004 (ISBN 9971-77-513-1)
• History: List of Kings of Iraq, List of Presidents of Iraq, List of Prime Ministers of Iraq, British Mandate of Iraq, History of the Jews in Iraq, Iran-Iraq War, History of astrology, Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, Babylon
• Literature: Epic of Gilgamesh, Enuma Elish, Atra-Hasis
• Others: Postage stamps and postal history of Iraq, Gay rights in Iraq, Mesopotamian mythology
• Mass graves in Iraq

References

This user thanks London UK for the design of his userpage

release (28 February 2006), URL accessed 13 June 2006.

• ^ Republican Study Committee, Federal Land and Buildings Ownership, (19 May 2005), URL accessed 13 June 2006.
• ^ United States Country Analysis Brief. US Energy Information Administration (2005). Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
• ^ Statistics about Business Size from the U.S. Census Bureau. URL accessed December 13, 2006.
• ^ Index of Economic Freedom 2006 by Heritage Foundation. URL accessed 13 May 2006.
• ^ "Toward a Learning Economy" by Stephen A. Herzenberg, John A. Alic, and Howard Wial. 2006. Toward a Learning Economy. URL accessed 3 May 2006.
• ^ US Census Bureau, personal median income, ages 25–64, 2006. Retrieved on December 23, 2006.
• ^ US Census Bureau, Household income distribution, 2006. Retrieved on December 23, 2006.
• ^ US Census Bureau, personal income distribution, age 25+, 2006. Retrieved on December 28, 2006.
• ^ US Census Bureau, overall household income distribution, 2006. Retrieved on December 28, 2006.
• ^ US Department of Labor, unemployment as of December 2006. Retrieved on January 23, 2007.
• ^ US Department of Labor, CPI summary of December 2006. Retrieved on January 24, 2007.
• ^ Frazier, Ian. Great Plains. Page 9. 4 May 2001. Picador; 1st Picado edition. ISBN 0-312-27850-0
• ^ The United States International Travel Industry- Key Facts About Inbound Tourism. 8 May 2000. ITA Office of Travel & Tourism Industries. URL accessed 3 May 2006.
• ^ Income Distribution in Europe and the United States by A B Atkinson. September 1995. Nuffield College in Oxford. URL accessed June 3, 2006.
• ^ [Economy]. June 13, 2006. CIA World Factbook. URL accessed June 15, 2006.
• ^ [2]. January 31, 2007. CNN: Bush complains about CEO paypacks. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [3]. August 31, 2006. Remarks by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [4]. September 4, 2006. NPR: American Productivity Rises, But Not Wages. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [5]. March 30, 2006. NPR: Illegal Immigrants and the U.S. Economy. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [6]. CNN: Social Security campaign costs immigrants their jobs. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [7]. August 28, 2006. NY Times: Real Wages Fail to Match a Rise in Productivity. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ "Ever Higher Society, Ever Harder to Ascend: Whatever Happened to the Belief That Any American Could Get to the Top" The Economist. December 29, 2004. URL accessed 21 August 2006.
• ^ "Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America" Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg, and Stephen Malchin. April 2005. "URL accessed 21 August 2006."
• ^ "Do Poor Children Become Poor Adults? Lessons from a Cross Country Comparison of Generational Earnings Mobility" Miles Corak. March 2006. "URL accessed 21 August 2006."
• ^ "What Research Says About Unequal Funding for Schools in America" Bruce Biddle and David C. Berliner. Winter 2002. "URL accessed 21 August 2006."
• ^ "An Economic Perspective on Urban Education" William G. Gale, Meghan McNally, and Janet Rothenberg Pack. June 2003. "URL accessed 21 August 2006."
• ^ New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: 15 May 2005. pg. 1.1
• ^ "The Rich — and Poor — Are Getting Richer" David Henderson
• ^ "Iraqis By the Numbers" by FARUQ ZIADA [8]
• ^ Map on the distribution of religious groups, from the Baker--Hamilton Committee report, page 102
• ^ "Iraq 2003 Census: Sunnis 59% , Shiites 40%" by Mohammed Alomari (faair.org) [9]

Further reading

• Interview with Refugees International's Sean Garcia on the plight of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees [20]
• Shadid, Anthony 2005. Night Draws Near. Henry Holt and Co., NY, USA. ISBN 0-8050-7602-6
• Hanna Batatu, "The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq", Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978
• Iraq was one of the major settings for the John J. Rust science fiction novel "Epsilon"
• A Dweller in Mesopotamia, being the adventures of an official artist in the garden of Eden, by Donald Maxwell, 1921. (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)
• By Desert Ways to Baghdad, by Louisa Jebb (Mrs. Roland Wilkins) With illustrations and a map, 1908 (1909 ed). (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)

External links

Find more information on Iraq by searching Wikipedia's sister projects
	Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Images and media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Learning resources from Wikiversity

Government

• Iraqi Government official government site
• New Iraqi government structure (PDF) (As of July 17, 2006)
• Kurdistan Regional Government
• Ministry of Industry and Minerals

Overviews

• Encarta Encyclopedia
• al-Bab - Iraq
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Iraq Country Page
• BBC News Country Profile - Iraq
• CIA World Factbook - Iraq
• US State Department - Iraq includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Iraq
• Iraq Country Profile from Reuters AlertNet
• Country Briefing: Iraq from The Economist

News

• Iraq News and Iraqi views from Electronic Iraq
• News in Depth from the Financial Times
• Diplomacy Monitor-Iraq
• IPS Inter Press Service Independent news about Iraq
• Iraqis react with joy, anger to Hussein death sentence CNN story on Hussein's death sentence

Baghdad's major neighborhoods

• Adhamiyah: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.
• Al-Kadhimya: Shiite majority.
• Al-Mansour: Mixed area, Caucasian (White) presence.
• Dora: Mixed area.
• Sadr City: Almost exclusively Shiite.
• Hurriya City: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.
• Baghdad Al-Jadida(New Baghdad): Shiite majority, Christian presence.
• Karrada: Shiite majority, Christian presence.
• Al-Sa3adoon area : Mixed area.
• Al-Jadriya Area : Mixed area.
• Al-Arrasat : Mixed area.
• Bab Al-Moatham : Sunni majority, shiite presence.
• Bab Al-Sharki : Mixed area.

See also

• Reconstruction of Iraq
• List of places in Iraq
• Firdus Square
• Baghdad City Hall
• Baghdad Arabic

References

This user thanks London UK for the design of his userpage

release (28 February 2006), URL accessed 13 June 2006.

• ^ Republican Study Committee, Federal Land and Buildings Ownership, (19 May 2005), URL accessed 13 June 2006.
• ^ United States Country Analysis Brief. US Energy Information Administration (2005). Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
• ^ Statistics about Business Size from the U.S. Census Bureau. URL accessed December 13, 2006.
• ^ Index of Economic Freedom 2006 by Heritage Foundation. URL accessed 13 May 2006.
• ^ "Toward a Learning Economy" by Stephen A. Herzenberg, John A. Alic, and Howard Wial. 2006. Toward a Learning Economy. URL accessed 3 May 2006.
• ^ US Census Bureau, personal median income, ages 25–64, 2006. Retrieved on December 23, 2006.
• ^ US Census Bureau, Household income distribution, 2006. Retrieved on December 23, 2006.
• ^ US Census Bureau, personal income distribution, age 25+, 2006. Retrieved on December 28, 2006.
• ^ US Census Bureau, overall household income distribution, 2006. Retrieved on December 28, 2006.
• ^ US Department of Labor, unemployment as of December 2006. Retrieved on January 23, 2007.
• ^ US Department of Labor, CPI summary of December 2006. Retrieved on January 24, 2007.
• ^ Frazier, Ian. Great Plains. Page 9. 4 May 2001. Picador; 1st Picado edition. ISBN 0-312-27850-0
• ^ The United States International Travel Industry- Key Facts About Inbound Tourism. 8 May 2000. ITA Office of Travel & Tourism Industries. URL accessed 3 May 2006.
• ^ Income Distribution in Europe and the United States by A B Atkinson. September 1995. Nuffield College in Oxford. URL accessed June 3, 2006.
• ^ [Economy]. June 13, 2006. CIA World Factbook. URL accessed June 15, 2006.
• ^ [11]. January 31, 2007. CNN: Bush complains about CEO paypacks. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [12]. August 31, 2006. Remarks by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [13]. September 4, 2006. NPR: American Productivity Rises, But Not Wages. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [14]. March 30, 2006. NPR: Illegal Immigrants and the U.S. Economy. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [15]. CNN: Social Security campaign costs immigrants their jobs. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ [16]. August 28, 2006. NY Times: Real Wages Fail to Match a Rise in Productivity. URL accessed February 2, 2007.
• ^ "Ever Higher Society, Ever Harder to Ascend: Whatever Happened to the Belief That Any American Could Get to the Top" The Economist. December 29, 2004. URL accessed 21 August 2006.
• ^ "Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America" Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg, and Stephen Malchin. April 2005. "URL accessed 21 August 2006."
• ^ "Do Poor Children Become Poor Adults? Lessons from a Cross Country Comparison of Generational Earnings Mobility" Miles Corak. March 2006. "URL accessed 21 August 2006."
• ^ "What Research Says About Unequal Funding for Schools in America" Bruce Biddle and David C. Berliner. Winter 2002. "URL accessed 21 August 2006."
• ^ "An Economic Perspective on Urban Education" William G. Gale, Meghan McNally, and Janet Rothenberg Pack. June 2003. "URL accessed 21 August 2006."
• ^ New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: 15 May 2005. pg. 1.1
• ^ "The Rich — and Poor — Are Getting Richer" David Henderson
• ^ "Iraqis By the Numbers" by FARUQ ZIADA [17]
• ^ Map on the distribution of religious groups, from the Baker--Hamilton Committee report, page 102
• ^ "Iraq 2003 Census: Sunnis 59% , Shiites 40%" by Mohammed Alomari (faair.org) [18]

Further reading

• By Desert Ways to Baghdad, by Louisa Jebb (Mrs. Roland Wilkins), 1908 (1909 ed) (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)

• A Dweller in Mesopotamia, being the adventures of an official artist in the garden of Eden, by Donald Maxwell, 1921 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)

External links

• Map of Baghdad
• Interactive map
• Iraq - Urban Society
• Envisioning Reconstruction In Iraq
• Description of the original layout of Baghdad
• Ethnic and sectarian map of Baghdad - Healingiraq
• Baghdad Renaissance Plan
• UAE Investors Keen On Taking Part In Baghdad Renaissance Project
• Man With A Plan: Hisham Ashkouri
• Renaissance Plan In The News
• ARCADD, Inc.