United States of America

The United States of America, more commonly known as America, is a country in North America. It is bordered to the north by Canada, and to the south by Mexico. In the west the U.S. borders the Pacific Ocean, and to the east the Atlantic Ocean.

History
Main article: History of the United States

Civil War
After decades of sectional conflict regarding the expansion and continued existence of slavery. Following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 eleven southern states issued articles of secession and reconfederated to form the Confederate States of America. Which the federal government (the "Union") maintained to be an unconstitutional and illegal action. On April 12, 1861, the Confederacy initiated military conflict by bombarding Fort Sumter, a federal garrison in Charleston harbor, South Carolina. This event proved to be the spark of the Civil War, which lasted for four years, starting in 1861 and lasting until early 1865 and proved to be the deadliest conflict in American history. The war resulted in the deaths of approximately 620,000 soldiers in both the Union and Confederacy and upwards of 50,000 civilian casualties, almost entirely from the south.

Reconstruction
Following the war, Reconstruction began in earnest. While Lincoln attempted to forgive and reconcile the Union and former Confederacy, his assassination on April 14, 1865 ended this approach to Reconstruction and was followed by Radical Reconstruction, in which Republicans in the federal government made it tehir goal to oversee the rebuilding of the South and to ensure the rights of newly freed slaves and already free blacks. This policy persisted until the Compromise of 1877, when Republicans agreed to cease enforcement of Reconstruction in order for Democrats to concede defeat in the contentious presidential election of 1876. Southern white Democrats, labelling themselves "Redeemers", retook control of the South following the end of Reconstruction, a time which began the nadir of American race relations. When the southern states established discriminatory Jim Crow laws, which saw the disenfranchisement of nearly the entire black population, and a considerable amount of impoverished whites, throughout the South. Blacks would face racial segregation nationwide, especially in the South. African Americans also lived under constant threat of vigilante violence, including lynching from white supremacist groups such as the White League, Ku Klux Klan, and Red Shirts, among others.

Gilded Age
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The Peoples' Presidency
Main Article: Presidency of William J. Bryan

During the 1896 election, the firebrand politician William Jennings Bryan was able to assume control over the Democratic Party. Which resulted in the adoption of the Populist and Silver platforms into the Democratic platform itself. Seeing a possibility to bring change, the two parties decided to both nominate Bryan to be their candidate for president, although the Populists refused to nominate Arthur Sewall for Vice President, instead nominating their own candidate in Thomas E. Watson. In the resulting election, Bryan was able to secure a slim victory in the popular vote, and a wider victory in the Electoral College.The Vice Presidency however, was increasingly contested, as it appeared that Bryan’s dual running mates led to no party gaining a majority in the Electoral College, the election thus passed to the Senate, where Arthur Sewall was able to secure victory over the Republican nominee Garret Hobart. As a result, Bryan and Sewall were able to confirm their victory and be inaugurated as the new President and Vice President of America.

Starting out his term, Bryan quickly went to work trying to overturn the so-called “Crime of ‘73” As a result, Bryan was able to achieve this goal through the passage of the Coinage Act of 1898, which helped to dissolve the Silver Republicans as a political bloc, most of whom quickly folded back into the Republican Party by 1899. Bryan thus turned his attention to the ongoing economic crisis sweeping America. Hoping to alleviate the devaluation of the dollar and dropping prices, and also combat what he viewed as British imperialism, he authorized the minting of more currency to help raise prices and reduce American dependence on British economic strength. This measure proved to have limited success as a whole and the Free Silver Party continued its advocation of the full implementation of Silver into the American currency, much to the growing chagrin of Bryan and his allies in Washington.

In late 1897, Associate Justice Stephen J. Field retired from the Supreme Court, leading Bryan to nominate lawyer Alton B. Parker to be his successor, a motion which was readily accepted by the Senate. While Parker was nominated, a storm had begun to brew as jingoistic newspapers agitated for war with Spain, a conflict Bryan and other anti-war politicians had worked hard to prevent. Despite his hopes for peace, the Maine exploded in Havana Harbor and jingoistic politicians were able to exploit national frustrations and declared war on Spain. While his personal convictions meant he opposed the War, Bryan was forced to sign off on the Congressional Declaration of War on Spain or, Bryan worried, he would face impeachment. During the early months of the war however, it was discovered that Britain had held various sympathies for the Spanish cause in the War. The discovery only fueled anti-British feelings amongst the American public. By mid 1898, Congress also passed a bill to annex Hawaii into the United States, much to the frustration of Bryan, who was continuously sidelined and repeatedly concerned with possible impeachment proceedings.

By the end of the year, America had readily beaten Spain and was in the process of negotiating for peace in Paris. By the time negotiations rolled around, Bryan was able to gain various compromises within the treaty, such as establishing a nominally free Republic in the Philippines, and recognizing the full independence of the Cuban Revolutionaries. After a few more weeks, the negotiations finally resolved as the Treaty of Paris was signed in late 1898. As a result, Cuba was organized into an independent republic while the Philippines was similarly organized along republican lines with heavy American oversight. Despite his numerous compromises in the Treaty, Bryan's reputation was damaged considerably, and his decline was made extremely apparent when his coalition nearly collapsed the 1898 elections, only surviving in part due to Bryan making numerous concessions to Bourbon Democrats, much to the ire of of Populist and Free Silver partners. Bryan and his coalition held out until the 1900 election, where he lost against popular Republican candidate Thomas B. Reed and Theodore Roosevelt.

Republican Ascendancy
Main Article: Presidency of Thomas B. Reed

During the election of 1900, the Republicans had conceded ground to their Populist opponent, and even parroted policy ideas from their opponents on foreign and domestic policy. While the election was divisive, Bryan ultimately failed to secure victory against Reed and Roosevelt, his Vice Presidential candidate. A few factors combined into Bryan’s loss in the election, such as the Silverites leaving Bryan's coalition, as well as an unspoken truce between Bourbon Democrats and the Republican Party to not campaign against one another. Following Reed's inauguration in March, one of the first acts of his administration was to confirm the prior amendments of the Treaty of Paris, which was an attempt to bring former Bryan allies and members of the anti-imperialist coalition into the fold. Furthermore, Reed brought forward his prized legislation, the Lodge Act, which was written with the attempt of enforcing the 14th Amendment to combat Southern efforts to disenfranchise their African American populations. Eventually Associate Justice Horace Gray died in September 1902, Reed quickly selected a successor and put his name forward to be voted on in the Senate. Tragically, Reed passed away before his nominee could be appointed by the senate and the appointment was overseen by his successor, Theodore Roosevelt.

Rooseveltian Era
Main Article: Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt

In 1903 Roosevelt was forced to handle the American-Canadian border dispute in the Alaska panhandle. As a result of arbitration the United States was able to keep much of the land they claimed in the area. This decision was made despite much opposition from the British and Canadian publics, being seen as giving in to American influence. While the American public's opinion of Roosevelt soared as a result of the ruling. The efforts of Roosevelt saw much appeal among the American public as Progressive ideas began to take root in the Republican Party, which had already taken on influences from the Bryanite coalition from the late 1890s. In 1903 the Roosevelt administration negotiated with Panama on the establishment of the Panama Canal Zone, and a few months before the 1904 election the country began to oversee the construction of a canal in the recently independent Panama. In the 1904 election Roosevelt's control was only further cemented as he gained a greater majority in Congress.

In 1906 Roosevelt's majority passed several progressive laws, such as the Pure Food & Drug Act, Meat Inspection Act, and Hepburn Act. Alongside this Roosevelt intervened in the Russo-Japanese War as a negotiator to end the war, helping bring peace between the two empires through the Treaty of Portsmouth. In 1907 the country admitted to the union the state of Oklahoma, which was formed from the unification of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories. During his term Roosevelt also signed into law the Gentlemen's Agreement, which put restrictions on Japanese immigration to the United States. In 1908 Roosevelt's administration, working through Charles J. Bonaparte, also went on to establish the Federal Bureau of Investigation and passed the Aldrich-Vreeland Act. Eventually the 1908 election rolled around and Roosevelt won by a similar, albeit slightly diminished margin, allowing him to continue his Progressive policies for four more years. American involvement in the Mexican Revolution began after Díaz, winning the 1910 election through fraud, arrested popular political opponent Francisco I. Madero. Later on Madero issued the Plan de San Luis Potosi, which declared the presidency of Díaz presidency to be illegal and called for revolt against him. Shortly afterwards an armed revolt began in northern Mexico and the Díaz Presidency collapsed partially thanks to the backing of the Madero family by Standard Oil and the U.S. government but primarily due to the weakness of the Federal Army. As a result of their defeat, the forces of Díaz entered negotiations with Madero and his allies and signed the Treaty of Ciudad Juarez in May of 1911.

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Anglo American War
Main Article: Anglo American War

The Anglo-American War, was a conflict fought in Mexico, the Caribbean, the Philippines, and both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. After the US declaration of war against Britain, US troops flooded Mexico to topple the Porfiriado while the British Navy set about invading Puerto Rico and attempting to blockade the Atlantic coastline. Throughout the war, Britain was unable to persuade Japan to join their efforts. With the US-backed Easter Rising in 1916 and the fate of the Entente uncertain in Europe against the Central Powers, Britain sought an armistice with the US and signed a formal peace with the Treaty of Halifax not long after—securing almost all of the US’s war aims.

Dissilusioned Progressives
Main Article: Presidency of Albert J. Beveridge

With the war in Europe still raging, Beveridge found it critical that the United States should take the opportunity presented to extend its influence as widely as possible. With new security arrangements already signed with the Central Powers and the Entente, Beveridge began pursuing an aggressive policy of anti-British and anti-Japanese diplomacy. However, the limitations of Beveridge's popular support and the divisions within his coalition eventually frustrated his boldest goals. Some of his efforts were a success; his restructuring of the Bureau of Insular Affairs and naval basing agreements with the Philippines, Ireland, and Venezuela were widely seen as foresighted, and his Open Door policies in China helped normalize relations in Asia and strengthen US ties with Germany. His condemnation of the Russian Revolution and arrest of prominent IWW members in its aftermath were also widely popular at the time, and the realist doctrine developed under Secretary of War John J. Pershing proved to have an enduring impact on US foreign policy. Nevertheless, his bolder initiatives were shot down. His Naval Bill of 1917, nearly doubling the size of the Coast Guard and dramatically expanding the blue water navy, went down in earnest after rumors of corruption caused Senator Jacob H. Gallinger to promise to vote against it. The 1918 elections returned a Democratic majority in the House, dooming his sweeping Army reforms. He ended his term earning a rare censure from the House for a diplomatic incident with Japan in 1919 after the Lanyu incident, in which a US-Philippine naval exercise ended with an exchange of shells with an IJN patrol. Many blame his belicose policies for costing the Republicans the House in 1918 and the Presidency in 1920 to James Cox, who campaigned on a "return to normality".

Return to normalcy
Main Article: Presidency of James M. Cox

Campaigning on a return to normalcy after the war, James Cox ran an impressive campaign and secued victory over the Republican Party, which was still recovering from the belicose Beveridge presidency. In 1923, his administration was rocked by the Teapot-Dome Scandal, but his relative uninvolvement with the scandal and immediate calls for regulating public finance in its aftermath helped reduce the damage and enabled him to secure a second term. His successful economic policy and diplomacy of detente with European powers (with the exception of Communist France) were overshadowed by the outbreak of the Great Depression in 1928. A brief naval confrontation with Japan further buoyed his popularity. Cox was despised by some Republicans as anti-labor, but still widely popular for cracking down on the terrorist Second Klan.

Global collapse
Main Article: Presidency of George W. Norris

Elected on a platform of national renewal, George Norris presided over the New Square Deal, which fundamentally reshaped the financial and social programs of the United States. A committed idealist, Norris received just as much praise for his unwavering commitment to his ideals as he did criticism concerning his wooden inflexibility over it. His sparring with Senator Borah became the stuff of political legend, but he successfully led his fractious caucus to a string of defining political victories. He was criticized for empowering state development banks (for causing corruption and stagnation in local politics), pandering to unions, and his stringent isolationism, but was overall seen as a transformative political figure.

Progressive consensus
A lifetime politician and career soldier, Quentin Roosevelt was elected to succeed Norris at a time of rising international tension. Taking a more hardline stance against Britain and Japan than his predecessor, Quentin’s political legacy as a women’s rights and civil rights reformer was overshadowed by the outbreak of the Second Great War. Seen as an effective speaker and leader, but often criticized for allowing Republican machine politics to run rampant despite various attempts to reign in wayward members. Quentin was seen as cementing the progressive legacy of the Republican Party in his father’s mold and alienated some of Norris’ most ardent supporters by largely ignoring Georgism and other labor causes with an eye to wartime expediency. Some argue his racial integration of the armed forces and further integration of the civil service contributed to his waning popularity by the end of the war.

Climate
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Biodiversity & conservation
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Government & Politics
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Federal government
The federal government comprises three branches, which are headquartered in the Federal District. and are regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution.


 * Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, creates federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the federal government.
 * Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislation before they can become law (unless overridden by Congress), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (following Senate confirmation) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
 * Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate confirmation, interpret laws and overturn those they deem unconstitutional.

House of Representatives
The lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, has 651 voting members, each representing a congressional district for a two year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population after each decentennial census. Each state then draws districts which conforms to federal laws.

Senate
The upper house of Congress, the Senate, has 104 members, with each state having two members, elected at large, to six-year terms. One third of Senate seats go up for re-election every two years. The senate is unique among upper houses for being a prestigious and powerful portion of Congress.

Presidency & Supreme Court
The president serves for a four-year term and has no term limits, though most candidates do not run for more than two terms, following the precedent of George Washington. The president is not elected by a direct popular vote, but through an indirect system called the Electoral College, in which the votes are distributed based on the representation the states hold in Congress.

The Supreme Court, led by the chief justice of the United States, has nine members who all serve for life, or until they retire. Members of the court are selected by the President and confirmed by the Senate, unless the Senate is in recess, then the President can temporarily appoint them until the Senate reconvenes.

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Political subdivisions
Each of the states holds jurisdiction over a geographically defined territory where it shares sovereingty with the federal government. Most states are divided into counties or county equivalents (such as parishes in Louisiana or districts in Alaska) which are all further subdivided into municipalities. The federal district is a territory which contains the seat of government of the United States.

Each state has the amount of presidential electors equal to the combined number of their representatives and senators in Congress. Though territories do not participate in federal elections, and as a result do not hold any electoral votes or voting representation in Congress.

At birth citizenship is granted in all states and major territories. The United States also observes limited tribal sovereignty of the American Indian nations, which have similar permissions to state governments, though differing restrictions. Like states, they are prohibited from declaring war, engaging in foreign treaties, or issuing and creating their own currency.

Foreign relations
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Military
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Economy
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Demographics
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Culture & society
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