Portal:United States

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The United States of America is a federal republic of 50 states and a capital district, mostly in central North America. The U.S. has three land borders, two with Canada and one with Mexico, and is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 50 states, only Alaska and Hawaii are not contiguous with any other state. The U.S. also has a collection of districts, territories, and possessions around the world. Each state has a high level of local autonomy according to the system of federalism. The United States traces its national origin to the declaration by 13 British colonies in 1776 that they were free and independent states. They were recognized as such by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Since then, the nation has grown to become a global superpower and exerts a high level of economic, political, military, and cultural influence.

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Credit: Buphoff

The Chicago skyline as seen from Adler Planetarium.

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The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the U.S., formed the Confederate States of America and fought against the U.S. federal government.

Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. In the war's first year, the Union assumed control of the border states and established a naval blockade as both sides massed armies and resources. In 1862, battles such as Shiloh and Antietam caused massive casualties unprecedented in U.S. military history.

In the East, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee won a series of victories, but Lee's loss at Gettysburg in July, 1863 proved the turning point. Union commander Ulysses S. Grant fought bloody battles of attrition with Lee in 1864, forcing Lee to defend the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. Union general William Sherman captured Atlanta, Georgia, and began his famous March to the Sea. Confederate resistance collapsed after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.

The war caused 620,000 soldier deaths and an undetermined number of civilian casualties, ended slavery in the United States, restored the Union and strengthened the role of the federal government.

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Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation, and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances and three All-Star MVP, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA record for highest career regular season scoring average with 30.1 points per game, as well as averaging a record 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He will be eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam. He is currently a part-owner and Managing Member of Basketball Operations of the Charlotte Bobcats in his home state of North Carolina.

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Credit: Mila Zinkova

The surfer is performing a gash, or very sharp turn. Santa Cruz and the surrounding Northern California coastline is a popular surfing destination; however, the year-round low temperature of the ocean in that region (averaging 57ºF/14ºC) necessitates the use of wetsuits.

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On this day

**Time: 19:45 UTC Date: December 21**
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Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American lawyer and the wife of US-President Barack Obama. She was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Illinois and then educated at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She returned to Chicago after completing her formal education to work for the law firm Sidley Austin, on the staff of the Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Hospitals. She is the sister of Craig Robinson.

She met Barack while working for Sidley Austin. The couple has endured the trials and tribulations of a politic marriage and celebrity distractions. The family lives on Chicago's South Side in Cook County, Illinois, United States, choosing to remain in Chicago rather than moving to Washington, D.C.. She is now perceived as Barack's closest adviser.

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Minneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities, these two cities form the core of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.2 million residents. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of the city of Minneapolis at 369,051 people in 2006.

Abundantly rich in water, the city has twenty lakes and wetlands, the Mississippi riverfront, creeks and waterfalls, many connected by parkways in the Chain of Lakes and the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway. Minneapolis was once the world's flour milling capital and a hub for timber. The community's diverse population has a long tradition of charitable support through progressive public social programs and through private and corporate philanthropy.

The name Minneapolis is attributed to the city's first schoolmaster, who combined mni, the Dakota word for water, and polis, the Greek word for city. Minneapolis is nicknamed the City of Lakes and the Mill City.

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Did you know?

...that the Indiana Historical Society (pictured) is the oldest state historical society west of the Allegheny Mountains?
...that in the 1958 court case Trop v. Dulles, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional for the government to cancel the citizenship of a U.S. citizen as a punishment?
...that political illustrator Steve Brodner has caricatured American Presidents going back to Richard Nixon?

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O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

— Francis Scott Key, The Star-Spangled Banner, 1814

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Featured content

Featured articles: 2005 United States Grand Prix • African American literature • Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act • Battle of Midway • Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision • Erie, Pennsylvania • Federalist No. 10 • Manzanar • Minnesota • Music of the United States • Oklahoma • Plymouth Colony • Report of 1800 • Tulsa, Oklahoma • United States Bill of Rights • United States Constitution • United States Marine Corps • United States Secretary of Energy

Featured culture biographies: Actors and filmmakers – James T. Aubrey, Jr. • Kroger Babb • Mariah Carey • Judy Garland • Jake Gyllenhaal • Anthony Michael Hall • Katie Holmes • Angelina Jolie • Diane Keaton • Vivien Leigh • William Monahan • Austin Nichols • Aaron Sorkin • Reese Witherspoon; Arts and entertainment – Ike Altgens • George Washington Dixon • William Gibson • Robert A. Heinlein • David Helvarg • Jenna Jameson • James Joyce • Edgar Allan Poe • KaDee Strickland • Sharon Tate • Roman Vishniac; Musicians – Alice in Chains Audioslave • Frank Black • Mariah Carey • Bob Dylan • John Frusciante • Godsmack • Woody Guthrie • Bradley Joseph • Frank Klepacki • Alison Krauss • John Mayer • Megadeth • Metallica • Mandy Moore • New Radicals • Nine Inch Nails • Nirvana (band) • The Notorious B.I.G. • Leo Ornstein • Ellis Paul • Pearl Jam • Pixies • R.E.M. • Joey Santiago • Selena • Slayer • Sly & the Family Stone • The Smashing Pumpkins • Elliott Smith • Gwen Stefani • The Supremes • Tool (band) • Uncle Tupelo • "Weird Al" Yankovic • Wilco; Sports and games – Moe Berg • Tim Duncan • Bobby Eaton • Michael Jordan • Bart King • Sandy Koufax • Bob Meusel • CM Punk • Bill Russell • Jim Thorpe

Featured society biographies: Military – Daniel Boone • James Bowie • Frederick Russell Burnham • Wesley Clark • Winfield Scott Hancock • George B. McClellan • Sylvanus Morley • Edwin Taylor Pollock • Lawrence Sullivan Ross • William Tecumseh Sherman • Stephen Trigg; Politics and government – Samuel Adams • Calvin Coolidge • Gerald Ford • Barack Obama • Rosa Parks • Nancy Reagan • Ronald Reagan • Franklin D. Roosevelt • Theodore Roosevelt • Harry S. Truman; Science and academia – Norman Borlaug • Glynn Lunney • Barbara McClintock • Sylvanus Morley • Roman Vishniac

Featured lists: Most populous counties in the United States • U.S. state name etymologies • U.S. states by population

Featured portals: Illinois • Indiana • Louisville • Oklahoma • Oregon • Puerto Rico • Texas (Houston) • Utah • Military of the United States

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Topics

History (book A, B) Timeline • Pre-Columbian • Colonial United States • Thirteen Colonies • Declaration of Independence • American Revolution • Westward Expansion • Civil War • Reconstruction • World War I • Great Depression • World War II • Korean War • Cold War • Vietnam War • Civil Rights • War on Terrorism • Foreign relations • Military • Demographic • Industrial • Inventions and Discoveries • Postal

Government (book) Law (Constitution • Bill of Rights • Separation of powers) • Legislative branch (House • Senate) • Executive Branch (Cabinet • Federal agencies) • Judicial Branch (Supreme Court • Appeals) • Law enforcement (DoJ • FBI) • Intelligence (CIA • DIA • NSA) • Military (Army • Navy • Marines • Air Force • Coast Guard) • Flag

Politics Political parties (Democrats • Republicans) • Elections (Electoral College) • Political ideology • Political scandals • Red states and blue states • Uncle Sam • Puerto Rican independence movement

Geography (book) Political divisions • Territory • States • Cities • Counties • Regions (New England • Mid-Atlantic • The South • Midwest • Great Plains • Northwest • Southwest) • Mountains (Appalachian • Rocky) • Rivers (Mississippi • Colorado) • Islands • Extreme points • National Park System • Water supply and sanitation

Economy (book) U.S. Dollar • Companies • Wall Street • Federal Reserve • Banking • Standard of living (Personal & Household income • Income inequality • Homeownership) • Communications • Transportation (Cars • Trucks • Highways • Airports • Railroads) • Tourism

Society Demographics (book A, B) • Languages (American English • Spanish) • Religion • Social class (American Dream • Affluence • Middle class • Poverty • Educational attainment • Professional and working class conflict) • Media • Education • Holidays • Crime • Prisons • Health care

Culture (book) Music (Classical • Folk • Popular • Jazz) • Film & TV (Hollywood) • Literature (American Folklore • Poetry • Transcendentalism • Harlem Renaissance • Beat generation) • Philosophy • Visual arts • (Abstract expressionism) • Cuisine • Dance • Architecture • Fashion

Issues Affirmative action • American exceptionalism • Anti-Americanism • Capital punishment • Drug policy & Prohibition • Environmentalism • Human rights • Immigration • United States–Mexico barrier • Obesity • Pornography • Racial profiling • Same-sex marriage • Abortion • Adolescent sexuality

Wikipedia Books United States

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WikiProjects

United States is one of the United States WikiProjects.

National	United States \| U.S. Roads \| U.S. Streets \| Superfunds
Regional	U.S. regions \| U.S. cities \| U.S. counties \| U.S. special districts
States	U.S. states \| U.S. state capitols \| 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 List of U.S. State-level WikiProjects and their sub-projects
Territories	Caribbean: Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands \| District of Columbia \| Micronesia: Guam, Johnston Atoll, Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island \| Midway Atoll \| Polynesia: American Samoa
Borders	Canada \| Mexico
Government	U.S. Government \| U.S. Presidents \| U.S. Congress \| U.S. courts and judges \| U.S. Governors \| U.S. politicians \| U.S. Supreme Court cases
Culture	American cinema \| U.S. History \| U.S. military history \| National Register of Historic Places
Society	African diaspora \| Asian Americans \| Indigenous peoples of North America \| Latinos \| Mexican-Americans