America

About America

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific. The United States also possesses several territories, or insular areas, scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific.

At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and by population. The United States is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$13 trillion (over 19% of the world total based on purchasing power parity).

The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain located along the Atlantic seaboard. Proclaiming themselves "states," they issued the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The rebellious states defeated Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, the first successful colonial war of independence. A federal convention adopted the current United States Constitution on September 17, 1787; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments, was ratified in 1791.

In the nineteenth century, the United States acquired land from France, Spain, Great Britain, Mexico, and Russia, and annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of Hawaii. Disputes between the agrarian South and industrial North over states' rights and the expansion of the institution of slavery provoked the American Civil War of the 1860s. The North's victory prevented a permanent split of the country and led to the end of slavery in the United States. The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the nation's status as a military power. In 1945, the United States emerged from World War II as the first country with nuclear weapons, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and a founding member of NATO. In the post–Cold War era, the United States is the only remaining superpower—accounting for approximately 50% of global military spending—and a dominant economic, political, and cultural force in the world.

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Quotes about America

“ Many Americans have no contact with Hindu Americans, because most Hindus have settled in urban areas. For those people the Internet is the primary source of information about different cultures and people. And a lot of people in the United States end up with misconceptions about Hinduism. These misconceptions are then used to attack not only groups but also individuals. ”
Ishani Chowdhury in "Hindu-Phobia" Thrives in Dark Corners of the Web
“ Hallmark has really been at the forefront as an American company taking a product and customizing it for Diwali, and I think they have started a trend. ”
In Companies Spot a Niche for Diwali Merchandise
“ The Hindu American Foundation calls for calm among both communities in the aftermath of this attack and upon the national government to begin a proper investigation into the circumstances and causes surrounding the violence. ”
Samir Kalra in HAF condemns attack on Hindu pilgrims

Mentioned In 330 Articles
Is converting a part of politics? | Trendy

Explore Article Trendy Buzz (7 hours, 21 min ago)

...teenager. “The proclivity at a back of my conversion,” he wrote in a inhabitant Catholic repository America in 1993, “was my idea in one, objectively loyal faith.” “I was gentle in my Hindu conviction as wel... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Nikki Haley Reshma Saujani Catholic Church
Bhutanese refugees' American dream

Explore Article newsweek.washingtonpost.com (Jul 22 2010) Human Rights

...oly Vedas, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world is our family, he said, telling of their own embrace of America writing a new story of American integration. (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Canada Hindu Temple of Minnesota America
Dallas and the 2014 Parliament of the World's Religions

Explore Article RELIGION Blog (Jul 21 2010) Human Rights

...d seem to take umbrage when those of other faiths seek to convert their members. Catholics in Latin America resent evangelical proselytism, evangelicals in America resent Mormon proselytism, Jews resent Baptist proselytism, Muslims in the Middle East resent (and ... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Amy Martin Brussels Darrell Bock
Zardari orders probe into Christian brothers murder, Hindu temple demolition

Explore Article India Talkies (Jul 21 2010)

...molished in Rawalpindi, Zardari directed Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti to ... Sidra Malik: America has realizably learned that Pakistan is no soft pill to swallow Shalini: This is Undoubt that this ... (Read Full Article)

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Religion was defamed at Ground Zero

Explore Article newsweek.washingtonpost.com (Jul 20 2010)

...f murder against this country in the name of any religion unmatched in modern history. Rage against America was their motivation; a perverse read of Islam, we are told, was their inspiration. Religion was de... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Sarah Palin America Malaysia
Indian-American politicians draw backlash for Christian conversion

Explore Article Homepage at Kentucky.com (Jul 17 2010) Human Rights

...blican nominee for governor of South Carolina — has provoked both pride and backlash. While much of America celebrates Jindal and Haley as emblems of tolerance, as brown-skinned children of immigrants triump... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: New York California America
Hindu Memorial Day to be Observed on Aug. 14th, Essay Competition Announced

Explore Article PR-USA.net (Jul 15 2010) Human Rights

...for the top-three finalists was announced. Mr. Dilip Mehta, the President of the Hindu Mahasabha of America, outlined the vision for the Hindu Memorial Day by stating that "Hindus the world over are being pr... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: America State University of New York Houston
Pride and Concern Follow Success of Indian-Americans

Explore Article Post-Gazette NOW (Jul 10 2010) Human Rights

...lican nominee for governor of South Carolina -- has provoked both pride and backlash. While much of America celebrates Mr. Jindal and Ms. Haley as emblems of tolerance, as brown-skinned children of immigrant... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Nikki Haley Dalip Singh Saund Washington
Different Faiths But A Shared Struggle | Koinonia

Explore Article Koinonia (Jul 9 2010)

...ty. Commenting on essays written in which young men and women reflect on the future of Hinduism in America, she writes that just as she did “twenty-some years ago,” young Hindus in this country write about... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: America Suhag A. Shukla Russia
Exclusivists vs. Pluralists: very different paths to one Truth

Explore Article newsweek.washingtonpost.com (Jul 8 2010)

...of hell, damnation or death for those not in their fold. This Abrahamic perspective is pervasive in America, of course, and manifests often unexpectedly. A recent news article explaining the South Carolina g... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: America Huston Smith Nikki Haley
Is converting a part of politics?

Explore Article Albany NY News (Jul 3 2010) Proselytization

...sm as a teenager. "The motivation behind my conversion," he wrote in the national Catholic magazine America in 1993, "was my belief in one, objectively true faith." "I was comfortable in my Hindu faith and e... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Reshma Saujani Manhattan New York
Must Sikhs, Hindus convert to get elected? | National Catholic ...

Explore Article National Catholic Reporter (Jul 2 2010)

...y, Jindal publicly discussed his conversion, even writing a piece in the national Catholic magazine America. "The motivation behind my conversion," he wrote in 1993, "was my belief in one, objectively true f... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Nikki Haley Reshma Saujani Washington
Lahore: 42 killed in suicide blasts at shrine

Explore Article ZeeNews (Jul 1 2010) Terrorism

...US presence in Afghanistan and its missile strikes against militants in Pakistan's tribal regions. "America is killing Muslims in Afghanistan and in our tribal areas, and militants are attacking Pakistan to ... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Afghanistan America Yousuf Raza Gilani
AfPak fails because of Pak

Explore Article newsweek.washingtonpost.com (Jul 1 2010)

...ront certain ground realities, there can be no moral justification to march thousands of courageous America's finest towards their own martyrdom. This reality? That the Pakistani civilian government is as mu... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: White House Afghanistan Pakistan
Paara » Blog Archive » Haley, Jindal and America's new religious ...

Explore Article :: Malabar Real Estates ::.. (Jun 26 2010) Separation of Church & State

... media storyline–”Haley and Jindal triumph despite questions about their faith”– leaves millions of America’s adherents of Dharma faiths stone cold: What is so miserably wrong and unelectable in being a Hind... (Read Full Article)

Comment on Article Mentions: Sarah Palin Nikki Haley Bobby Jindal