Form 11

Performed by

Vitaliya Dyriv

Form 11

 

 

The United States of America (USA), commonly referred to as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a federal republic^[18][19] consisting of 50 states and a federal district. The 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is located in the northwestern part of North America and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also has five populated and numerous unpopulated territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean. At 3.80 million square miles (9.85 million km²)^[20] and with over 320 million people, the United States is the world's fourth-largest country by total area and third most populous. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.^[21] The geography and climate of the United States are also extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife.^[22]

Paleo-Indians migrated from Eurasia to what is now the U.S. mainland around 15,000 years ago,^[23] with European colonization beginning in the 16th century. The United States emerged from 13 British colonies located along the East Coast. Disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolution. On July 4, 1776, as the colonies were fighting Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, delegates from the 13 colonies unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence. The war ended in 1783 withrecognition of the independence of the United States by the Kingdom of Great Britain, and was the first successful war of independence against a European colonial empire.^[24] The country's constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787 and ratified by the states in 1788. The first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil rights and freedoms.

Driven by the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, the United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century.^[25] This involved displacing American Indian tribes, acquiring new territories, and gradually admitting new states, until by 1848 the nation spanned the continent.^[25] During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War ended legal slavery in the country.^[26][27] By the end of that century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean,^[28] and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar.^[29] The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and as a permanent member of theUnited Nations Security Council. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union left the United States as the world's sole superpower.^[30]

The United States is a developed country and has the world's largest national economy,^[31] benefiting from an abundance of natural resources and high worker productivity.^[32] While the U.S. economy is considered post-industrial, the country continues to be one of the world's largest manufacturers.^[33] Accounting for 37% of global military spending^[34] and 19% of world GDP (PPP),^[35] it is the world's foremost economic and military power, a prominent political and cultural force, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations.^[36]

Main article: Family structure in the United States

See also: Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States, Same-sex marriage in the United States and Cousin marriage law in the United States by state

In 2007, 58% of Americans age 18 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 25% had never been married.^[242] Women now work mostly outside the home and receive a majority of bachelor's degrees.^[243]

The U.S. teenage pregnancy rate, 79.8 per 1,000 women, is the highest among OECD nations.^[244] Between 2007 and 2010, the highest teenage birth rate was in Mississippi, and the lowest in New Hampshire.^[245] Abortion is legal throughout the U.S., owing to Roe v. Wade, a 1973 landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. While the abortion rate is falling, the abortion ratio of 241 per 1,000 live births and abortion rate of 15 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 remain higher than those of most Western nations.^[246] In 2011, the average age at first birth was 25.6 and 40.7% of births were to unmarried women.^[247] The total fertility rate (TFR) was estimated for 2013 at 1.86 births per woman.^[248] Adoption in the United States is common and relatively easy from a legal point of view (compared to other Western countries).^[249] In 2001, with over 127,000 adoptions, the U.S. accounted for nearly half of the total number of adoptions worldwide.^[250] The legal status of same-sex couples adopting varies by jurisdiction. Polygamy is illegal throughout the U.S.^[251]

Government and politics

Main articles: Federal government of the United States, State governments of the United States, Local government in the United States and Elections in the United States

The United States Capitol,
where Congress meets:
the Senate, left; the House, right

The White House, home of the U.S. President

Supreme Court Building, where thenation's highest courtsits

The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law".^[252] The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document.^[253] For 2013, the U.S. ranked 19th on the Democracy Index^[254] and 17th on the Corruption Perceptions Index.^[255]

In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local. The local government's duties are commonly split between county and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. There is no proportional representation at the federal level, and it is very rare at lower levels.^[256]

Political system of the United States

The federal government is composed of three branches:

· Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse,^[257] and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.^[258]

· Executive: The President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to Congressional override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.^[259]

· Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the President with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.^[260]

The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population every tenth year. At the 2010 census, seven states had the minimum of one representative, while California, the most populous state, had 53.^[261]

The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected at-large to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every other year. The President serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice. The President is not elected by direct vote, but by an indirect electoral college system in which the determining votes are apportioned to the states and the District of Columbia.^[262] The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has nine members, who serve for life.^[263]

The state governments are structured in roughly similar fashion; Nebraska uniquely has a unicameral legislature.^[264] The governor (chief executive) of each state is directly elected. Some state judges and cabinet officers are appointed by the governors of the respective states, while others are elected by popular vote.

The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. Article One protects the right to the "great writ" of habeas corpus. The Constitution has been amended 27 times;^[265] the first ten amendments, which make up the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment form the central basis of Americans' individual rights. All laws and governmental procedures are subject to judicial review and any law ruled by the courts to be in violation of the Constitution is voided. The principle of judicial review, not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, was established by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803)^[266] in a decision handed down by Chief Justice John Marshall.^[267]