Portal:United States

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The United States of America is a federal republic of 50 states, a capital district, and a few other territories. It resides 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.
Libertybell alone small.jpg More about… the United States, its history and diversity

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The Great Kiva of Chetro Ketl
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park hosting the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash. Containing the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico, the park preserves one of the United States' most important precolumbian cultural and historic areas.

Composing a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the arid and sparsely populated Four Corners region, the Chacoan cultural sites are fragile; fears of erosion caused by tourists have led to the closure of Fajada Butte to the public. The sites are considered sacred ancestral homelands by the Hopi and Pueblo people, who maintain oral accounts of their historical migration from Chaco and their spiritual relationship to the land. Though park preservation efforts can conflict with native religious beliefs, tribal representatives work closely with the National Park Service to share their knowledge and respect the heritage of the Chacoan culture.

Selected culture biography

Sandy Koufax in 1965
Sandy Koufax is an American left-handed former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966.

Koufax's career peaked with a run of six outstanding seasons, before arthritis ended his career at age 30. He was named the National League's MVP in 1963, and won the 1963, 1965, and 1966 Cy Young Awards by unanimous votes. He was the first major leaguer to pitch more than three no-hitters (including a perfect game).

Among NL pitchers with at least 2,000 innings pitched who have debuted since 1913, he has the highest career winning percentage (.655) and had the lowest career ERA (2.76) until surpassed by Tom Seaver. His 2,396 career strikeouts ranked 7th in major league history upon his retirement. Retiring at the peak of his career, he became the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Koufax is also known as one of the outstanding Jewish athletes of his era in American professional sports. His decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because game day fell on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, garnered national attention as an example of conflict between social pressures and personal beliefs.

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The ghost town of Bodie, California
Credit: Solipsist

The ghost town of Bodie, California. Bodie went from a small camp to a Wild West boomtown in 1876 as part of the California gold rush, but fell into decline after the local mine was closed in 1913.

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George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) was the 41st President of the United States (1989–1993). He also served as the 43rd Vice President (1981–1989), a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.

Bush was born in Massachusetts to Senator and New York Banker Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, at the age of 18, Bush postponed going to college and became the youngest aviator in the US Navy at the time. He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.

Bush is the father of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, and Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida. He is the last president to have been a World War II veteran. Until the election of his son George W. Bush to the presidency in 2000, Bush was commonly referred to simply as "George Bush"; since that time, the form "George H.W. Bush", "Bush 41", "Bush the Elder" or "George Bush, senior." has come into common use as a way to distinguish the father from the son.

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Houston Skyline
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.14 million. Houston is the economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area—the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of more than 5.5 million.

The city was incorporated on June 5, 1837 and named after then-President of the Republic of Texas—former General Sam Houston. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population. In the mid-twentieth century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where Mission Control Center is located.

Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and technology; only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled. It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits—attracting more than 7 million visitors a year to the Houston Museum District. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District and is one of five U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his speech at the DC Civil Rights March.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

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View of the Midtown Manhattan skyline, looking north from the Empire State Building.
Credit: Diliff
View of the Midtown Manhattan skyline, looking north from the Empire State Building.

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As of 22 October 2015, there are 983 featured and 2,119 good articles within WikiProject United States scope. This makes up 5.13% of the articles on Wikipedia, 13.08% of all featured articles and lists, and 9.23% of all good articles. Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etcetera, there are 827,540 pages in the project.
Featured culture biographies: Actors and filmmakersJames Thomas Aubrey, Jr.Kroger BabbEric BanaJoseph BarberaBette DavisKirsten DunstJudy GarlandJake GyllenhaalMaggie GyllenhaalAnthony Michael HallWilliam HannaPhil HartmanEthan HawkeKatie HolmesJanet JacksonMichael JacksonAngelina JolieDiane KeatonMadonna (entertainer)Austin NicholsBrad PittNancy ReaganRonald ReaganAaron SorkinKaDee StricklandSharon TateReese WitherspoonAnna May Wong; Arts and entertainmentJames Robert BakerWilliam D. BoyceStephen CraneH.D.Emily DickinsonGeorge Washington DixonZelda FitzgeraldMargaret FullerWilliam GibsonRufus Wilmot GriswoldErnest HemingwayOliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.Jenna JamesonJames Russell LowellMaster JubaI. M. PeiEdgar Allan PoeRoman VishniacNathaniel Parker Willis; MusiciansAaliyahAlice in ChainsAudioslaveBix BeiderbeckeBig StarMariah CareyDamageplanBob DylanFlea (musician)Black FrancisJohn FruscianteGodsmackThe GreencardsInsane Clown PosseJanet JacksonMichael JacksonBradley JosephMaynard James KeenanFrank KlepackiDavid LoveringMadonna (entertainer)John MayerMetallicaNine Inch NailsNirvana (band)The Notorious B.I.G.Leo OrnsteinEllis PaulPearl JamPixiesElvis PresleySelenaSlayerThe Smashing PumpkinsElliott SmithGwen StefaniThe SupremesTool (band)Uncle TupeloWilcoFrank Zappa; Sports and gamesNick AdenhartShelton BenjaminMoe BergTim DuncanBobby EatonOrval GroveArt HouttemanMagic JohnsonMichael JordanBart KingSandy KoufaxJimmy McAleerBob MeuselStan MusialBen PaschalCM PunkJ. R. RichardJackie RobinsonBill RussellSigi SchmidLee Smith (baseball)Ozzie SmithPaul StastnyJim ThorpeTyrone Wheatley

Featured society biographies: MilitaryDaniel BooneJames BowieSimon Bolivar BucknerHenry Cornelius BurnettFrederick Russell BurnhamWesley ClarkBrian EatonGerald FordWinfield Scott HancockBenjamin HarrisonWilliam Henry HarrisonRutherford B. HayesThomas C. HindmanThomas C. KinkaidEli LillyJohn McCainGeorge B. McClellanFred MoosallySylvanus MorleyEdwin Taylor PollockRonald ReaganUriel SebreeLawrence Sullivan RossIsaac ShelbyWilliam Tecumseh ShermanMyles StandishEdward TellerBenjamin Franklin TilleyStephen TriggHarriet Tubman; Politics and governmentSamuel AdamsJ. C. W. BeckhamDaniel BooneWilliam O'Connell BradleySimon Bolivar BucknerHenry Cornelius BurnettCharles Carroll the SettlerMurray ChotinerWesley ClarkGrover ClevelandCalvin CoolidgeRichard CordrayJohn J. CrittendenGerald FordWendell H. FordWilliam GoebelEmma GoldmanJohn W. JohnstonFranklin Knight LaneJohn McCainGeorge B. McClellanBob McEwenThomas R. MarshallHarvey MilkEdwin P. MorrowPat NixonBarack ObamaRosa ParksPaul E. PattonEdwin Taylor PollockNancy ReaganRonald ReaganTheodore RooseveltLawrence Sullivan RossTerry SanfordAntonin ScaliaSolomon P. SharpIsaac ShelbyAugustus Owsley StanleyStephen TriggJerry VoorhisDaniel WebsterFranklin D. RooseveltHarry S. Truman; Science and academiaEdward Drinker CopeOliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.David A. JohnstonEli LillyGlynn LunneyBarbara McClintockSylvanus MorleyGerard K. O'NeillHilary PutnamEdward TellerRoman VishniacOtto Julius Zobel

Featured lists: There are over 230 Featured lists in the scope of United States including: 109th United States CongressCommandant of the Marine CorpsKorean War Medal of Honor recipientsMost populous counties in the United StatesNational Parks of the United StatesTallest buildings in Washington, D.C.U.S. state name etymologiesU.S. states by populationUnited States Secretary of EnergyVolcanoes in the Hawaiian – Emperor seamount chain
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Featured portals:CaliforniaPortal:ConnecticutFloridaIllinois (Chicago) • Indiana (Indianapolis) • Kentucky (Louisville) • MinnesotaNevadaNew YorkOklahomaOregonPuerto RicoRhode IslandTexas (Houston) • UtahAmerican Civil WarBarack ObamaMilitary of the United States (United States Navy, United States Air Force) • U.S. Roads (Maryland Roads, Michigan Highways)

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History (book A, B) TimelinePre-ColumbianColonial United StatesThirteen ColoniesDeclaration of IndependenceAmerican RevolutionWestward ExpansionCivil WarReconstructionWorld War IGreat DepressionWorld War IIKorean WarCold WarVietnam WarCivil RightsWar on TerrorismForeign relationsMilitaryDemographicIndustrialInventions and DiscoveriesPostal

Government (book) Law (ConstitutionBill of RightsSeparation of powers) • Legislative branch (HouseSenate) • Executive Branch (CabinetFederal agencies) • Judicial Branch (Supreme CourtAppeals) • Law enforcement (DoJFBI) • Intelligence (CIADIANSA) • Military (ArmyNavyMarinesAir ForceCoast Guard) • Flag

Politics Political parties (DemocratsRepublicans) • Elections (Electoral College) • Political ideologyPolitical scandalsRed states and blue statesUncle SamPuerto Rican independence movement

Geography (book) Political divisionsTerritoryStatesCitiesCountiesRegions (New EnglandMid-AtlanticThe SouthMidwestGreat PlainsNorthwestSouthwest) • Mountains (AppalachianRocky) • Rivers (MississippiColorado) • IslandsExtreme pointsNational Park SystemWater supply and sanitation

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Economy (book) U.S. DollarCompaniesWall StreetFederal ReserveBankingStandard of living (Personal & Household incomeIncome inequalityHomeownership) • CommunicationsTransportation (CarsTrucksHighwaysAirportsRailroads) • Tourism

Society Demographics (book A, B) • Languages (American EnglishSpanish) • ReligionSocial class (American DreamAffluenceMiddle classPovertyEducational attainmentProfessional and working class conflict) • MediaEducationHolidaysCrimePrisonsHealth care

Culture (book) Music (ClassicalFolkPopularJazz) • Film & TV (Hollywood) • Literature (American FolklorePoetryTranscendentalismHarlem RenaissanceBeat generation) • PhilosophyVisual arts • (Abstract expressionism) • CuisineDanceArchitectureFashion

Issues Affirmative actionAmerican exceptionalismAnti-AmericanismCapital punishmentDrug policy & ProhibitionEnvironmentalismHuman rightsImmigrationUnited States–Mexico barrierObesityPornographyRacial profilingSame-sex marriageAbortionAdolescent sexuality

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