226-644: The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics , during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan . The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States. American athletes have won a total of 2,765 medals (1,105 of them gold) at
452-580: A " Special Relationship " with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Canada , Australia , New Zealand , the Philippines , Japan , South Korea , Israel , and several European Union countries ( France , Italy , Germany , Spain , and Poland ). The U.S. works closely with its NATO allies on military and national security issues, and with countries in the Americas through
678-611: A Russian nationalist group, held an unsanctioned demonstration in Moscow. The authorities did not break up the demonstration and even kept traffic out of the demonstrators' way while they marched to an impromptu meeting with Boris Yeltsin. On 25 July 1987, 300 Crimean Tatars staged a noisy demonstration near the Kremlin Wall for several hours, calling for the right to return to their homeland, from which they were deported in 1944; police and soldiers looked on. On 23 August 1987,
904-542: A choice between multiple candidates, elected by secret ballot. However, the party delegates at the Plenum watered down Gorbachev's proposal, and democratic choice within the Communist Party was never significantly implemented. Gorbachev also radically expanded the scope of glasnost and stated that no subject was off limits for open discussion in the media. On 7 February, dozens of political prisoners were freed in
1130-542: A coordinated, continent-wide military effort. Finally, deteriorating relations between the British military establishment and the colonists, relations that were already less than positive, set the stage for further distrust and dislike of British troops. Following their victory in the French and Indian War, Britain began to assert greater control over local colonial affairs, resulting in colonial political resistance ; one of
1356-534: A decentralized government that operated until 1789. After the British surrender at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 American sovereignty was internationally recognized by the Treaty of Paris (1783), through which the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River, north to present-day Canada, and south to Spanish Florida . The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established the precedent by which
1582-407: A few prominent industrialists , largely by their formation of trusts and monopolies to prevent competition. Tycoons led the nation's expansion in the railroad , petroleum , and steel industries. The United States emerged as a pioneer of the automotive industry . These changes were accompanied by significant increases in economic inequality , slum conditions , and social unrest , creating
1808-401: A formidable winning streak was on the line. Sunisa Lee embraced the moment and stood tall to deliver for her country. She totaled 57.433 to hold off Rebeca Andrade of Brazil (57.298) to clinch the title. Lee also made history of her own. With victory in the all-around she became the first Hmong American gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal, and the first gymnast of Asian descent to do so. With
2034-666: A global reach. The U.S. is a founding member of the World Bank , Organization of American States , NATO , and the United Nations , as well as a permanent member of the UN Security Council . The first documented use of the phrase "United States of America" is a letter from January 2, 1776. Stephen Moylan , a Continental Army aide to General George Washington , wrote to Joseph Reed , Washington's aide-de-camp , seeking to go "with full and ample powers from
2260-596: A gold medal in the women's 3-meter springboard diving. She became the first American woman to win an Olympic diving gold medal. The 1932 Los Angeles Olympics distinguished itself as the first Games to host outdoor diving events, a milestone in Olympic history. Throughout these years, track and field remained a cornerstone of Team USA's success, highlighted by standout performances such as Babe Didrikson 's achievements. American swimmers continued their tradition of excellence, with Helene Madison winning three gold medals in
2486-869: A new central legislature, the Congress of People's Deputies (although the ban on other political parties was not lifted until 1990). On 1 July 1985, Gorbachev sidelined his main rival by removing Grigory Romanov from the Politburo and brought Boris Yeltsin into the Central Committee Secretariat . On 23 December 1985, Gorbachev appointed Yeltsin First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party , replacing Viktor Grishin . Gorbachev continued to press for greater liberalization . On 23 December 1986 Andrei Sakharov ,
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#17327726634262712-741: A new organization called the Popular Front of Azerbaijan , loosely based on the Estonian Popular Front . On 17 September, when gun battles broke out between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis near Stepanakert , two soldiers were killed and more than two dozen injured. This led to almost tit-for-tat ethnic polarization in Nagorno-Karabakh's two main towns: the Azerbaijani minority was expelled from Stepanakert , and
2938-495: A new supreme legislative body called the Congress of People's Deputies . Frustrated by the old guard's resistance, Gorbachev embarked on a set of constitutional changes to attempt separation of party and state, thereby isolating his Party opponents. Detailed proposals for the new Congress of People's Deputies were published on 2 October 1988, and to enable the creation of the new legislature. The Supreme Soviet, during its 29 November – 1 December 1988, session, implemented amendments to
3164-598: A period of heightened, overt racism following Reconstruction, a time often called the nadir of American race relations . A series of Supreme Court decisions, including Plessy v. Ferguson , emptied the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of their force, allowing Jim Crow laws in the South to remain unchecked, sundown towns in the Midwest, and segregation in communities across the country , which would be reinforced by
3390-427: A powerhouse in athletics. One of the most famous moments involving an American athlete at the 1908 Olympics was during the marathon race. Italian runner Dorando Pietri collapsed near the finish line due to exhaustion and was helped across the line by officials, but was subsequently disqualified, allowing American Johnny Hayes to win the gold medal. American athletes continued to dominate in track and field event, and
3616-488: A prominent leader in the early 1960s. The Great Society plan of President Lyndon Johnson 's administration resulted in groundbreaking and broad-reaching laws, policies and a constitutional amendment to counteract some of the worst effects of lingering institutional racism . The counterculture movement in the U.S. brought significant social changes, including the liberalization of attitudes toward recreational drug use and sexuality . It also encouraged open defiance of
3842-511: A public meeting lacking official permission at Ivan Franko State University . On 13 November 1988, approximately 10,000 people attended an officially sanctioned meeting organized by the cultural heritage organization Spadschyna , the Kyiv University student club Hromada , and the environmental groups Zelenyi Svit ("Green World") and Noosfera , to focus on ecological issues. From 14 to 18 November, 15 Ukrainian activists were among
4068-478: A record that still stands today. During the interwar period , the U.S. enjoyed its greatest success, topping both gold and total medal counts at four straight Summer Games, before falling short in the 1936 Berlin games . The next summer Olympics were held in 1948 following World War II . In 1952 , the Soviet Union made its Olympic debut, initiating a state-sponsored approach to international sport focused on projecting socio-political superiority. The rapid rise of
4294-667: A result, some nations boycotted the games in protest of the Soviets' presence, and the Hungarians themselves became engaged in a violent brawl with their Soviet counterparts in a water polo game, an event that was instantly called " Blood in the Water ". The U.S. performance at the games was relatively successful, as the Americans earned 32 gold and 78 total medals (second place in the medal standings), 5 gold and 24 total medals less than
4520-486: A revised delegate list. Authorities attempted to disperse the rally in front of Druzhba Stadium. On 7 July, 10,000 to 20,000 people witnessed the launch of the Democratic Front to Promote Perestroika. On 17 July, a group of 10,000 gathered in the village Zarvanytsia for Millennium services celebrated by Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Bishop Pavlo Vasylyk. The militia tried to disperse attendees, but it turned out to be
4746-625: A seat on the Supreme Soviet, and in the summer he formed the first opposition, the Inter-Regional Deputies Group , composed of Russian nationalists and liberals . Composing the final legislative group in the Soviet Union, those elected in 1989 played a vital part in reforms and the eventual breakup of the Soviet Union during the next two years. On 30 May 1989, Gorbachev proposed that local elections across
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#17327726634264972-526: A sense of manifest destiny . The Missouri Compromise attempted to balance the desire of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories with that of southern states to extend it, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It further prohibited slavery in all other lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel . As Americans expanded further into land inhabited by Native Americans,
5198-614: A sense of American identity as well. Men who otherwise never left their own colony now traveled across the continent to fight alongside men from decidedly different backgrounds but who were no less "American". British officers trained American officers for battle, most notably George Washington ; these officers would lend their skills and expertise to the colonists' cause during the American Revolutionary War to come. In addition, colonial legislatures and officials found it necessary to cooperate intensively in pursuit of
5424-404: A silver in the women's team final and bronze in the individual uneven bars Lee left Tokyo with an impressive three Olympic medals. Lydia Jacoby , Alaska's teenage swimming sweetheart, made history when she became the first Alaskan swimmer selected to make the U.S. Olympic swim team. She stunned the world to secure victory in the women's 100m breaststroke. Recent major champion Nelly Korda followed
5650-1050: A silver medal (60m). Team USA won only 8 medals outside of athletics, four of them in golf. Overall, France dominated the medal standings , winning 29 gold and 112 total medals. The United States ranked second with 19 and 48, respectively, showing great efficiency, despite having significantly fewer athletes. The 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis , Missouri , marked the first occasion the Olympic Games were held outside of Europe. American athletes excelled in athletics, winning numerous gold medals. Notable performers included Archie Hahn , who won three gold medals in sprint events (60m, 100m, and 200m); James Lightbody , who won three gold medals in middle-distance events (800m, 1500m, and 2590m steeplechase); and Ray Ewry , who won three gold medals in standing jumps (high jump, long jump, and triple jump). Harry Hillman capturing multiple gold medals in various track and field events. The games coincided with
5876-464: A stellar 1952 team that also took five golds. The achievement was even more notable due to the fact that the American boxers were significantly younger and less experienced than their Cuban and Soviet counterparts. In other sports, U.S. divers won five medals, including two golds; the U.S. equestrian team took home four medals; American shooters won three medals, including a historic silver by a woman in
6102-476: A thousand police to stop the march, with the resulting clashes leaving two Azerbaijanis dead. These deaths, announced on state radio, led to the Sumgait Pogrom . Between 26 February and 1 March, the city of Sumgait (Azerbaijan) saw violent anti-Armenian rioting during which at least 32 people were killed. The authorities totally lost control and occupied the city with paratroopers and tanks; nearly all of
6328-696: A violent protest action in the capital on 28 October, many of Songalia's remaining holdovers within the CPL either resigned or retired in protest of the police brutality of that day. On 20 February 1988, after a week of growing demonstrations in Stepanakert , capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (the ethnically Armenian-majority area within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic ),
6554-458: A year - with the relatively liberal Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas . In October 1988, Brazauskas bowed to pressure from Sąjūdis members, and legalized the flying of the historic yellow-green-red flag of independent Lithuania, and in November 1988 he passed a law making Lithuanian the country's official language; also, the former national anthem, " Tautiška giesmė ", was later reinstated. Following
6780-401: A year). Juvenile correctional facilities are operated by local or state governments and serve as longer-term placements for any minor adjudicated as delinquent and ordered by a judge to be confined. As of January 2023, the United States has the sixth-highest per capita incarceration rate in the world—531 people per 100,000 inhabitants—and the largest prison and jail population in
7006-591: Is believed to be the first widespread culture in the Americas. Over time, indigenous North American cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the Mississippian culture , developed agriculture , architecture , and complex societies . In the post-archaic period , the Mississippian cultures were located in the midwestern , eastern , and southern regions, and the Algonquian in
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7232-498: Is known as the presidential system , in contrast to the parliamentary system , where the executive is part of the legislative body. Many countries around the world imitated this aspect of the 1789 Constitution of the United States , especially in the Americas. The Constitution is silent on political parties. However, they developed independently in the 18th century with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties. Since then,
7458-438: Is now the United States experienced conflicts with Native Americans, they also engaged in trade, exchanging European tools for food and animal pelts. Relations ranged from close cooperation to warfare and massacres. The colonial authorities often pursued policies that forced Native Americans to adopt European lifestyles, including conversion to Christianity. Along the eastern seaboard, settlers trafficked African slaves through
7684-552: Is the federal agency charged with addressing most environmental-related issues . The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the Wilderness Act . The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a way to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service implements and enforces the Act. In 2024, the U.S. ranked 34th among 180 countries in
7910-530: The 1912 Stockholm Olympics marked a significant milestone in American sports history as Jim Thorpe , a Native American athlete, achieved a unique feat by clinching gold medals in both the pentathlon and decathlon. He showcased exceptional athleticism in the process and became a celebrated figure in Olympic history. Controversy surrounding the supposed amateurism of athletes led to Thorpe's medals being rescinded due to his involvement in semi-professional baseball. They were returned in 1983, and 39 more years later he
8136-475: The 1920 Summer Olympics . The United States has never won an Olympic medal in the following current summer sports or disciplines: badminton , handball , rhythmic gymnastics , table tennis and trampoline gymnastics . Updated on December 31, 2021 * This table includes two medals – one silver awarded in the ice hockey and one bronze awarded in the figure skating events at the 1920 Summer Olympics . The United States has never won an Olympic medal in
8362-440: The 1976 Montreal Olympics , with seven countries placing in the top ten of the medal table. The United States team was relegated to a third place in the medal standings for the first time in its history. This was an Olympics of contrasts: the U.S. men's swimming team, despite the generally dismal showing of the overall delegation, swept 12 gold and 27 total medals in the 13 events that were on the program and broke 11 world records in
8588-402: The 1977 Soviet Constitution , enacted a law on electoral reform, and set the date of the election for 26 March 1989. On 29 November 1988, the Soviet Union ceased jamming all foreign radio stations, allowing Soviet citizens – for the first time since a brief period in the 1960s – to have unrestricted access to news sources beyond Communist Party control. In 1986 and 1987, Latvia had been in
8814-559: The 2022 Winter Olympics , the U.S. exercised a diplomatic boycott due to the "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses," meaning it did not send any high-level delegation to the Games, but would not hinder athletes from participating. A total of 25 medals meant Team USA won two more medals than in 2018 , although it still signifies an overall decline after 37 medals in 2010 and 28 in 2014 . For
9040-603: The Allies of World War I , helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers . In 1920, a constitutional amendment granted nationwide women's suffrage . During the 1920s and '30s, radio for mass communication and the invention of early television transformed communications nationwide. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression , which President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded to with
9266-553: The Atlantic slave trade . The original Thirteen Colonies that would later found the United States were administered as possessions of Great Britain , and had local governments with elections open to most white male property owners . The colonial population grew rapidly, eclipsing Native American populations; by the 1770s, the natural increase of the population was such that only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas. The colonies' distance from Britain allowed for
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9492-817: The Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations and societies . British colonization led to the first settlement of the Thirteen Colonies in Virginia in 1607. Clashes with the British Crown over taxation and political representation sparked the American Revolution , with the Second Continental Congress formally declaring independence on July 4, 1776. Following its victory in
9718-511: The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union lasted until 24 January 1989. For the next month, selection among the 7,531 district nominees took place at meetings organized by constituency-level electoral commissions. On 7 March, a final list of 5,074 candidates was published; about 85% were Party members. In the two weeks prior to the 1,500 district polls, elections to fill 750 reserved seats of public organizations, contested by 880 candidates, were held. Of these seats, 100 were allocated to
9944-549: The Environmental Performance Index . The country joined the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2016 and has many other environmental commitments. The United States is a federal republic of 50 states and a separate federal capital district, Washington, D.C. It also asserts sovereignty over five unincorporated territories and several uninhabited island possessions . The U.S. is
10170-500: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Marshals Service have national jurisdiction and specialized duties, such as protecting civil rights , national security and enforcing U.S. federal courts ' rulings and federal laws. State courts conduct most civil and criminal trials, and federal courts handle designated crimes and appeals of state court decisions . There is no unified "criminal justice system" in
10396-683: The Freedom Monument , shouting, "Soviet Russia out! Free Latvia!" Security forces confronted the marchers, and several police vehicles were overturned. The Jeltoqsan ('December') of 1986 were riots in Alma-Ata , Kazakhstan , sparked by Gorbachev's dismissal of Dinmukhamed Kunaev , the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan and an ethnic Kazakh , who was replaced with Gennady Kolbin , an outsider from
10622-664: The Great Lakes , Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico . British colonization of the East Coast began with the Virginia Colony (1607) and Plymouth Colony (1620). The Mayflower Compact and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for representative self-governance and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies. While European settlers in what
10848-719: The Great Lakes region and along the Eastern Seaboard , while the Hohokam culture and Ancestral Puebloans inhabited the southwest . Native population estimates of what is now the United States before the arrival of European immigrants range from around 500,000 to nearly 10 million. Christopher Columbus began exploring the Caribbean for Spain in 1492, leading to Spanish-speaking settlements and missions from Puerto Rico and Florida to New Mexico and California . France established its own settlements along
11074-524: The House of Representatives , a lower house based on population; and the Senate , an upper house based on equal representation for each state. Federalism provides substantial autonomy to the 50 states, while the country's political culture promotes liberty , equality , individualism , personal autonomy , and limited government . One of the world's most developed countries , the United States has had
11300-729: The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Prague Spring in 1968. Gorbachev abandoned the oppressive and expensive Brezhnev Doctrine , which mandated intervention in the Warsaw Pact states, in favor of non-intervention in the internal affairs of allies – jokingly termed the Sinatra Doctrine in a reference to the Frank Sinatra song " My Way ". Poland was the first republic to democratize following
11526-618: The Louisiana Purchase Exposition , a world's fair. Continuing their track and field dominance, Team USA showcased formidable talent at the 1908 London Olympics . Notable athletes such as Ray Ewry (who won three gold medals in standing jumps), John Taylor (gold in 400m), and Mel Sheppard (gold in 800m and 1500m) contributed to the USA's success in athletics. Athletes such as Mel Sheppard emerged as stars, claiming multiple gold medals and solidifying America's status as
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#173277266342611752-596: The Midwest . At the same time, about one million French Canadians migrated from Quebec to New England . During the Great Migration , millions of African Americans left the rural South for urban areas in the North. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction and white supremacists took local control of Southern politics . African Americans endured
11978-605: The NKVD performed secret killings in Kurapaty. Initially the Front had significant visibility because its numerous public actions almost always ended in clashes with the police and the KGB . Spring 1989 saw the people of the Soviet Union exercising a democratic choice, albeit limited, for the first time since 1917, when they elected the new Congress of People's Deputies. Just as important
12204-688: The National Park Service and other agencies. About 28% of the country's land is publicly owned and federally managed, primarily in the Western States . Most of this land is protected , though some is leased for commercial use, and less than one percent is used for military purposes. Environmental issues in the United States include debates on non-renewable resources and nuclear energy , air and water pollution , biodiversity , logging and deforestation , and climate change . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
12430-437: The New Deal , a series of sweeping programs and public works projects combined with financial reforms and regulations . All were intended to protect against future economic depressions. Initially neutral during World War II , the U.S. began supplying war materiel to the Allies of World War II in March 1941 and entered the war in December after the Empire of Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor . The U.S. developed
12656-508: The Organization of American States and the United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement . In South America, Colombia is traditionally considered to be the closest ally of the United States. The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for Micronesia , the Marshall Islands , and Palau through the Compact of Free Association . It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation with India , but its ties with China have steadily deteriorated. Since 2014,
12882-539: The Pentium microprocessor in accordance with Moore's law , rechargeable lithium-ion batteries , the first gene therapy trial, and cloning either emerged in the U.S. or were improved upon there. The Human Genome Project was formally launched in 1990, while Nasdaq became the first stock market in the United States to trade online in 1998. In the Gulf War of 1991, an American-led international coalition of states expelled an Iraqi invasion force that had occupied neighboring Kuwait . The September 11 attacks on
13108-589: The Politburo on 11 March 1985, just over four hours after his predecessor Konstantin Chernenko died at the age of 73. Gorbachev, aged 54, was the youngest member of the Politburo. His initial goal as general secretary was to revive the stagnating Soviet economy , and he realized that doing so would require reforming underlying political and social structures. The reforms began with personnel changes of senior Brezhnev-era officials who would impede political and economic change. On 23 April 1985, Gorbachev brought two protégés, Yegor Ligachev and Nikolai Ryzhkov , into
13334-434: The Romanian language and return to the Latin alphabet. The transition from "movement" (an informal association) to "front" (a formal association) was seen as a natural "upgrade" once a movement gained momentum with the public, and the Soviet authorities no longer dared to crack down on it. On 26 April 1988, about 500 people participated in a march organized by the Ukrainian Cultural Club on Kyiv's Khreschatyk Street to mark
13560-429: The Russian SFSR . Demonstrations started in the morning of 17 December 1986, with 200 to 300 students in front of the Central Committee building on Brezhnev Square . On the next day, 18 December, protests turned into civil unrest as clashes between troops, volunteers, militia units, and Kazakh students turned into a wide-scale confrontation. The clashes could only be controlled on the third day. On 6 May 1987, Pamyat ,
13786-418: The Soviet Union's collapse and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower , wielding significant geopolitical influence globally . The U.S. national government is a presidential constitutional federal republic and liberal democracy with three separate branches : legislative , executive , and judicial . It has a bicameral national legislature composed of
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#173277266342614012-471: The Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union . It also brought an end to the Soviet Union's federal government and General Secretary (also President ) Mikhail Gorbachev 's effort to reform the Soviet political and economic system in an attempt to stop a period of political stalemate and economic backslide . The Soviet Union had experienced internal stagnation and ethnic separatism. Although highly centralized until its final years,
14238-399: The Spanish–American War . (The Philippines was granted full independence from the U.S. on July 4, 1946, following World War II. Puerto Rico and Guam have remained U.S. territories.) American Samoa was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the Second Samoan Civil War . The U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917. The United States entered World War I alongside
14464-468: The Spitak earthquake struck, killing an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 people. When Gorbachev rushed back from a visit to the United States, he was so angered with being confronted by protesters calling for Nagorno-Karabakh to be made part of the Armenian Republic during a natural disaster that on 11 December 1988, he ordered that the entire Karabakh Committee be arrested. In Tbilisi , the capital of Soviet Georgia , many demonstrators camped out in front of
14690-460: The Summer Olympic Games , and another 330 (114 of them gold) at the Winter Olympic Games , making the United States the most prolific medal-winning nation in the history of the Olympics. The U.S. has placed first in the Summer Olympic medal table 19 times out of 30 Summer Olympics and 29 appearances (having boycotted in 1980), but has had less success in the Winter Olympics, placing first once in 24 participations . The United States remains one of
14916-442: The Theater Square , by 22 February, there were 100,000, the next day 300,000, and a transport strike was declared, by 25 February, there were close to a million demonstrators—more than a quarter of Armenia's population. This was the first of the large, peaceful public demonstrations that would become a feature of communism's overthrow in Prague, Berlin, and, ultimately, Moscow. Leading Armenian intellectuals and nationalists, including
15142-425: The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and its participation in the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Hosting the Olympics has left lasting legacies in host cities, such as improved infrastructure, economic benefits, and increased tourism. For example, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics revitalized parts of the city and left behind sporting venues still in use today. In 2028, the third Los Angeles Olympics will mark
15368-399: The cotton gin made the institution increasingly profitable for Southern elites . This sectional conflict regarding slavery culminated in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Eleven slave states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America , while the other states remained in the Union . War broke out in April 1861 after the Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter . After
15594-413: The fall of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union , which marked the end of the Cold War and left the United States as the world's sole superpower . The 1990s saw the longest recorded economic expansion in American history , a dramatic decline in U.S. crime rates , and advances in technology . Throughout this decade, technological innovations such as the World Wide Web , the evolution of
15820-445: The largest nominal GDP since about 1890 and accounted for over 15% of the global economy in 2023. It possesses by far the largest amount of wealth of any country and has the highest disposable household income per capita among OECD countries. The U.S. ranks among the world's highest in economic competitiveness , productivity , innovation , human rights , and higher education . Its hard power and cultural influence have
16046-477: The mixed 50 meters rifle three positions ; U.S. freestyle wrestlers advanced to four gold medal bouts, yet won only one of them, concluding the meet with six medals overall. The U.S. men's basketball team reclaimed the gold medal, while the women's team won a surprising silver, being ranked no higher than sixth prior to the start of the tournament. The Soviets and East Germans were unstoppable in canoeing, gymnastics, rowing, weightlifting and wrestling, going 1–2 in
16272-871: The nuclear launch codes —to Yeltsin, who was now the first president of the Russian Federation . That evening, the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time and replaced with the Russian tricolor flag . The following day, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union's upper chamber, the Soviet of the Republics, formally dissolved the Union. The events of the dissolution resulted in its 15 constituent republics gaining full independence which also marked
16498-482: The revolutions of 1989 in which Soviet-imposed socialist regimes of the Warsaw Pact were toppled peacefully ( with the notable exception of Romania ), which in turn increased pressure on Gorbachev to introduce greater democracy and autonomy for the Soviet Union's constituent republics. Under Gorbachev's leadership, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1989 introduced limited competitive elections to
16724-651: The 100 human-, national- and religious-rights advocates invited to discuss human rights with Soviet officials and a visiting delegation of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the Helsinki Commission). On 10 December, hundreds gathered in Kyiv to observe International Human Rights Day at a rally organized by the Democratic Union. The unauthorized gathering resulted in
16950-605: The 14,000 Armenian residents of Sumgait fled. Gorbachev refused to make any changes to the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which remained part of Azerbaijan. He instead sacked the Communist Party Leaders in both Republics in response – on 21 May 1988, Kamran Baghirov was replaced by Abdulrahman Vezirov as First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party . From 23 July to September 1988, a group of Azerbaijani intellectuals began working for
17176-733: The 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord , igniting the American Revolutionary War . At the Second Continental Congress , the colonies appointed George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army , and created a committee that named Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence . Two days after passing the Lee Resolution to create an independent nation the Declaration
17402-476: The 1775–1783 Revolutionary War , the country continued to expand westward across North America , resulting in the dispossession of native inhabitants . As more states were admitted , a North–South division over slavery led to the secession of the Confederate States of America , which fought states remaining in the Union in the 1861–1865 American Civil War . With the victory and preservation of
17628-667: The 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the Olympics shifted away from amateurism , as envisioned by Pierre de Coubertin . They began allowing participation of professional athletes , but only in the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its influence within the International Olympic Committee . When a U.S. athlete wins an Olympic medal, as of 2016, the USOPC paid the winner $ 25,000 for gold, $ 15,000 for silver, and $ 10,000 for bronze. The USOPC increased
17854-658: The 1990s, the U.S.'s fortunes improved, and the nation topped the medal table in the Summer Olympics six times since 1992 and placed second on two occasions. In contrast to its summer Olympics status, the United States was not a power in the Winter Games until the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City . Hosting the games in 2002 boosted the U.S. winter sports program; since then, the country’s athletes have performed consistently well, never placing below fourth in
18080-423: The 2,250 CPD seats were filled. In district races, run-off elections were held in 76 constituencies on 2 and 9 April and fresh elections were organized on 14 and 20 April to 23 May, in the 199 remaining constituencies where the required absolute majority was not attained. While most CPSU-endorsed candidates were elected, more than 300 lost to independent candidates such as Yeltsin, the physicist Andrei Sakharov and
18306-520: The 2010s, political polarization in the country increased between liberal and conservative factions. This polarization was capitalized upon in the January 2021 Capitol attack , when a mob of insurrectionists entered the U.S. Capitol and sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in an attempted self-coup d'état . The United States is the world's third-largest country by total area behind Russia and Canada. The 48 contiguous states and
18532-514: The 48th anniversary of the secret protocols of the 1939 Molotov Pact , thousands of demonstrators marked the occasion in the three Baltic capitals to sing independence songs and attend speeches commemorating Stalin's victims. The gatherings were sharply denounced in the official press and closely watched by the police but were not interrupted. On 14 June 1987, about 5,000 people gathered again at Freedom Monument in Riga , and laid flowers to commemorate
18758-611: The 542-member Supreme Soviet passed the measure 254–85 (with 36 abstentions). The decision required a constitutional amendment, ratified by the full congress, which met 12–25 December. It also passed measures that would allow direct elections for presidents of each of the 15 constituent republics. Gorbachev strongly opposed such a move during debate but was defeated. The vote expanded the power of republics in local elections, enabling them to decide for themselves how to organize voting. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia had already proposed laws for direct presidential elections. Local elections in all
18984-596: The American West have an alpine climate . The climate is arid in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California , and oceanic in coastal Oregon , Washington , and southern Alaska . Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar . Hawaii , the southern tip of Florida and U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific are tropical . States bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of
19210-419: The Americans won three medals; in wrestling, the U.S. team surprised with three golds in freestyle. In water polo, the Americans struck bronze, tying the eventual gold medalists, the Soviet Union, in the final round. Swimming was the only sport where the American team did not disappoint, winning 17 gold and 43 total medals. American women dominated swimming for the last time until 1992. The Eastern Bloc dominated
19436-547: The Americans' 63-game winning streak in Olympic basketball. In general, the U.S. team greatly underperformed at these Games, winning only 6 gold medals in track and field to the East Germans' 8 and Soviets' 9, though the Americans still won the most total medals, 22. In boxing, the Cubans and Soviets dominated, winning three and two championships, respectively, while the U.S. won only one gold and four medals overall. In diving,
19662-534: The Americans, despite a dismal performance in boxing, where they achieved only one gold, the 1964 Olympics were a definite success, with the nation winning 36 gold and 90 total medals, compared to the Soviet tally of 30 gold and 96 total medals. The U.S. topped the gold medal count, finishing second in the total medal count, while the USSR topped the total medal count and finished second in the gold medal count. The U.S. basketball team won its sixth consecutive gold, beating
19888-559: The Armenian minority was expelled from Shusha . On 17 November 1988, in response to the exodus of tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, a series of mass demonstrations began in Baku 's Lenin Square, lasting 18 days and attracting half a million demonstrators in support of their compatriots in that region. On 5 December 1988, the Soviet police and civilian militiamen moved in, cleared
20114-846: The CPSU, 100 to the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions , 75 to the Communist Youth Union ( Komsomol ), 75 to the Committee of Soviet Women, 75 to the War and Labour Veterans' Organization, and 325 to other organizations such as the Academy of Sciences . The selection process was done in April. In the 26 March general elections, voter participation was an impressive 89.8%, and 1,958 (including 1,225 district seats) of
20340-475: The Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The term "United States" and the initialism "U.S.", used as nouns or as adjectives in English, are common short names for the country. The initialism "USA", a noun, is also common. "United States" and "U.S." are the established terms throughout the U.S. federal government , with prescribed rules. In English, the term "America" rarely refers to topics unrelated to
20566-573: The District of Columbia occupy a combined area of 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,470 km ). The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way to inland forests and rolling hills in the Piedmont plateau region. The Appalachian Mountains and the Adirondack massif separate the East Coast from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest . The Mississippi River System ,
20792-770: The Eastern Bloc country that did attend the 1984 games in Los Angeles—;Romania—encountered no problems, and in fact were widely cheered above all other visiting nations at the Opening Ceremonies when they marched into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Romania ended up finishing second in the medal table at the Games). Furthermore, despite the Soviet boycott, a record 140 nations (including China, which participated for
21018-573: The Elder concluded that major military resources needed to be devoted to North America to win the war against France. For the first time, the continent became one of the main theaters of what could be termed a " world war ". The British colonies' position as an integral part of the British Empire became more apparent during the war, with British military and civilian officials becoming a more significant presence in American life. The war increased
21244-676: The Estonian Popular Front and legalized the flying of the old blue-black-white flag of Estonia, and agreed to a new state language law that made Estonian the official language of the Republic. On 2 October, the Popular Front formally launched its political platform at a two-day congress. Väljas attended, gambling that the Front could help Estonia become a model of economic and political revival, while moderating separatist and other radical tendencies. On 16 November 1988,
21470-683: The January 1863 Emancipation Proclamation , many freed slaves joined the Union army . The war began to turn in the Union's favor following the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg , and the Confederacy surrendered in 1865 after the Union's victory in the Battle of Appomattox Court House . The Reconstruction era followed the war. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln , Reconstruction Amendments were passed to protect
21696-561: The Latvian Popular Front and legalized flying the former carmine red-and-white flag of independent Latvia, and on 6 October he passed a law making Latvian the country's official language. The Popular Front of Lithuania, called Sąjūdis ("Movement"), was founded in May 1988. On 19 October 1988, Gorbachev replaced Ringaudas Songaila , the "old guard" leader of the Communist Party of Lithuania - who had been in office for nearly
21922-532: The Nazi theory of Aryan racial superiority on a global stage. However, for the first time since 1908, the U.S. ranked second in the medal standings, behind the hosts. The USA men's basketball team won the inaugural gold medal, establishing their dominance in the sport. Overall, the United States delegations were highly successful during the interwar period, placing first at four consecutive Summer Olympics in 1920–1932 and second in 1936. The 1948 London Olympics marked
22148-542: The Olympics but were nevertheless cleared to compete; among those athletes were Carl Lewis , Joe DeLoach and Floyd Heard . Before showing the documents to Sports Illustrated , Exum tried to use them in a lawsuit against USOC, accusing the organization of racial discrimination and wrongful termination against him and cover-up over the failed tests. His case was summarily dismissed by the Denver federal Court for lack of evidence. The USOC claimed his case "baseless" as he himself
22374-445: The Politburo as full members. He kept the "power" ministries favorable by promoting KGB Chief Viktor Chebrikov from candidate to full member and appointing Minister of Defence Marshal Sergei Sokolov as a Politburo candidate. The freedom of speech brought by Gorbachev's reforms allowed nationalist movements and ethnic disputes within the Soviet Union to be expressed and grow into dominant political movements. It also led indirectly to
22600-915: The Regional Soviet voted to secede and join with the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia . This local vote in a small, remote part of the Soviet Union made headlines around the world; it was an unprecedented defiance of republican and national authorities. On 22 February 1988, in what became known as the " Askeran clash ", thousands of Azerbaijanis marched towards Nagorno-Karabakh, demanding information about rumors of an Azerbaijani having been killed in Stepanakert. They were informed that no such incident had occurred, but refused to believe it. Dissatisfied with what they were told, thousands began marching toward Nagorno-Karabakh, killing (or injuring?) 50. Karabakh authorities mobilised over
22826-611: The Rocky Mountains, the Yellowstone Caldera , is the continent's largest volcanic feature. In 2021, the United States had 8% of global permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of cropland. With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. East of the 100th meridian , the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The western Great Plains are semi-arid . Many mountainous areas of
23052-566: The Soviet Union by the Act of 11 March 1990 with its Baltic neighbors and the Southern Caucasus republic of Georgia joining it over the next two months. During the failed 1991 August coup , communist hardliners and military elites attempted to overthrow Gorbachev and stop the failing reforms. However, the turmoil led to the central government in Moscow losing influence, ultimately resulting in many republics proclaiming independence in
23278-465: The Soviet Union to challenge the United States as a leading Olympic power raised questions and suspicion about the means used to achieve this, including the pretense of professional athletes having amateur status and allegations of state-sponsored doping. After 20 years of competition on the Olympic stage, the USSR convincingly topped the gold medal chart at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich . After that,
23504-803: The Soviet Union, which were variously suppressed or tolerated. The CTAG ( Latvian : Cilvēktiesību aizstāvības grupa , lit. 'Human Rights Defense Group') Helsinki-86 was founded in July 1986 in the Latvian port town of Liepāja . Helsinki-86 was the first openly anti-Communist organization in the U.S.S.R., and the first openly organized opposition to the Soviet regime, setting an example for other ethnic minorities' pro-independence movements. On 26 December 1986, 300 Latvian youths gathered in Riga's Cathedral Square and marched down Lenin Avenue toward
23730-427: The Soviet boycott). The 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics were the first to be broadcast in color, enhancing the viewing experience for audiences worldwide. The Munich Olympics was largely overshadowed by the Munich massacre in the second week, in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer at Olympic village were killed by Black September terrorists. There were multiple calls to cancel
23956-448: The Soviets in the process. American boxers won all five finals they entered, and American weightlifters edged their Soviet rivals four to three in terms of gold medals, with the two nations sweeping all seven events in the sport. Melbourne hosted the Olympics in 1956 . There were calls for the expulsion of the Soviet Union following their invasion of Hungary , but the International Olympic Committee decided not to pursue any action. As
24182-465: The Soviets won 3 golds, while the Americans only won two events. However, it was gymnastics where the USSR achieved its greatest success, winning 11 out of 17 events and guaranteeing first place in the medal rankings. The U.S. basketball team won its fourth consecutive gold, beating the Soviets in the final game, 89–55. The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics were the first to be broadcast live via satellite . This allowed for real-time coverage of events across
24408-486: The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR adopted a declaration of national sovereignty under which Estonian laws would take precedence over those of the Soviet Union. Estonia's parliament also laid claim to the republic's natural resources including land, inland waters, forests, mineral deposits, and to the means of industrial production, agriculture, construction, state banks, transportation, and municipal services within
24634-647: The U.S. has become a key ally of Ukraine ; it has also provided the country with significant military equipment and other support in response to Russia's 2022 invasion . The president is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The Department of Defense , which is headquartered at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., administers five of
24860-450: The U.S. placed first in the medal count three times during the early Olympic period, and second twice. These editions witnessed inconsistent event scheduling and programs, which usually favored hosting nations. Several notable American athletes participated in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics , including future legendary figures like swimmer Duke Kahanamoku . These games marked a historic moment for American swimming when Ethelda Bleibtrey became
25086-420: The U.S. plays a central role in the history and ongoing development of the Olympic movement. For example, the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics pioneered the use of electronic timing devices. The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, for instance, set new standards for opening and closing ceremonies. Even when not hosting, the U.S. has played a crucial role in the administration and promotion of the Olympics through organizations like
25312-803: The U.S. team featured 75 athletes, a significant increase compared to 1896, but still considerably less than the French hosts, who fielded 720 competitors. The most notable of all American participants was Margaret Abbott , who became the first female American Olympic champion by winning the women's golf . The vast majority of American medals were won in the sport of athletics , where US athletes clinched 16 golds and 39 medals overall. Alvin Kraenzlein made significant contributions, winning four gold medals in track and field events. Ray Ewry won three gold medals in standing jumps (standing high jump, standing long jump, and standing triple jump) and Walter Tewksbury won two gold medals (400m hurdles and 200m hurdles) and
25538-661: The U.S. territories." Despite disparate systems of confinement, four main institutions dominate: federal prisons , state prisons , local jails, and juvenile correctional facilities . Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and hold people who have been convicted of federal crimes, including pretrial detainees. State prisons, run by the official department of correction of each state, hold sentenced people serving prison time (usually longer than one year) for felony offenses. Local jails are county or municipal facilities that incarcerate defendants prior to trial; they also hold those serving short sentences (typically under
25764-405: The U.S. won 12 golds, as the U.S. team encountered problems, such as a controversial disqualification of their gold medal-winning men's 4x100 relay team . In weightlifting, the Soviets won five out of seven events, leaving the U.S. with one gold. The U.S. basketball team met the pre-tournament expectations and won its fifth consecutive gold medal. The final result of 34 gold and 71 total medals for
25990-541: The U.S. would not top the medal table in non-boycotted games until the 1996 Summer Olympics , five years after the USSR collapsed . A bright spot for the United States was the 1984 games in Los Angeles , where the U.S. set a record for most gold medals won in a single Olympics (83), buoyed by the Soviet-led boycott . Coincident with a drive by the International Olympic Committee toward gender parity beginning in
26216-453: The U.S., compared to the USSR's 43 gold and 103 total medals, showed that the U.S. was no longer the dominant force in Olympic competition. The 1960 Rome Summer Olympics were the first to be broadcast in the United States on CBS, with extensive coverage. There was some redemption for the U.S. at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo , as the nation returned to the top of the gold medal count for
26442-648: The US government or the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) had nothing to do with it, and sanctioned athletes acted on their own. In the case of swimmer Rick DeMont , the USOC has recognized his gold medal performance in the 1972 Summer Olympics in 2001, but only the IOC has the power to restore his medal, and it has as of 2024 refused to do so. DeMont originally won the gold medal in 4:00.26. Following
26668-403: The US in 1904) medals in their anticlimactic performance. In 1984 , Los Angeles witnessed what was considered a retaliatory boycott by the Soviets and their satellites, although the Soviets cited security concerns and "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States." However, no threat to Eastern Bloc athletes was ever discovered, and the athletes from
26894-558: The USSR in the final, 73–59. The 1968 Mexico Olympics became the most successful summer games for the U.S. in the post-war era. American athletes amassed 45 gold and 107 total medals. The U.S. swimming team dominated the competition, winning a staggering 51 medals and sweeping the podium on five occasions. The Americans also managed to medal in each of the 29 swimming events, thus achieving a unique feat. The U.S. track and field team won 15 gold and 28 total medals. Swimming and athletics accounted for more than 70% of all U.S. medals and ensured
27120-582: The Ukrainian Cultural Club hosted its own observances in Kyiv at the monument to St. Volodymyr the Great , the grand prince of Kyivan Rus . On 16 June 1988, 6,000 to 8,000 people gathered in Lviv to hear speakers declare no confidence in the local list of delegates to the 19th Communist Party conference, to begin on 29 June. On 21 June, a rally in Lviv attracted 50,000 people who had heard about
27346-464: The United States and the peaceful transfer of power , respectively. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 from France nearly doubled the territory of the United States. Lingering issues with Britain remained , leading to the War of 1812 , which was fought to a draw. Spain ceded Florida and its Gulf Coast territory in 1819. In the late 18th century, American settlers began to expand westward , many with
27572-719: The United States entered the Cold War, where geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the two countries to dominate world affairs . The U.S. utilized the policy of containment to limit the USSR's sphere of influence, and prevailed in the Space Race , which culminated with the first crewed Moon landing in 1969. Domestically, the U.S. experienced economic growth , urbanization , and population growth following World War II . The civil rights movement emerged, with Martin Luther King Jr. becoming
27798-666: The United States has operated as a de facto two-party system , though the parties in that system have been different at different times. The two main national parties are presently the Democratic and the Republican . The former is perceived as relatively liberal in its political platform while the latter is perceived as relatively conservative . In the American federal system , sovereign powers are shared between two levels of elected government: national and state. People in
28024-402: The United States in 2001 by the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda led to the war on terror , and subsequent military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq . The cultural impact of the attacks was profound and long-lasting. The U.S. housing bubble culminated in 2007 with the Great Recession , the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. Coming to a head in
28250-413: The United States led both gold and overall medal counts at these four Games, establishing itself as a premier sporting power in the world. In 1936, Jesse Owens achieved enduring international renown at the Summer Olympics in Berlin , Germany . Owens's four gold medals in the 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay not only established him as a legend but also challenged and debunked
28476-415: The United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the Revolutionary War effort. The first known public usage is an anonymous essay published in the Williamsburg newspaper, The Virginia Gazette , on April 6, 1776. By June 1776, the "United States of America" appeared in the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence . The Second Continental Congress adopted
28702-425: The United States were baseball player Eddy Alvarez and basketball player Sue Bird . Javelin thrower Kara Winger was the flag-bearer for the closing ceremony . When USA Gymnastics announced that 2016 Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles would not participate in the gymnastics all-around final, the spotlight fell on her American teammates. The U.S. had won the event in each of the last five Olympic Games:
28928-490: The United States, slavery was abolished nationally . By 1900, the country had established itself as a great power , a status solidified after its involvement in World War I . After Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II . Its aftermath left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the world's two superpowers and led to the Cold War , during which both countries struggled for ideological dominance and international influence . Following
29154-434: The United States, despite the usage of "the Americas " as the totality of North and South America. "The States" is an established colloquial shortening of the name, used particularly from abroad; "stateside" is the corresponding adjective or adverb. The first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia across the Bering land bridge about 12,000 years ago; the Clovis culture , which appeared around 11,000 BC,
29380-478: The United States, except Iran , North Korea , and Bhutan . Though Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close unofficial relations. The United States regularly supplies Taiwan with military equipment to deter potential Chinese aggression. Its geopolitical attention also turned to the Indo-Pacific when the United States joined the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India, and Japan. The United States has
29606-509: The United States. The American prison system is largely heterogenous, with thousands of relatively independent systems operating across federal, state, local, and tribal levels. In 2023, "these systems [held] almost 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, 181 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons , civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in
29832-414: The adjacent park harboring Aleea Clasicilor (The " Alley of Classics [of Literature]"). On 15 January 1988, in a tribute to Mihai Eminescu at his bust on the Aleea Clasicilor, Anatol Șalaru submitted a proposal to continue the meetings. In the public discourse, the movement called for national awakening, freedom of speech, the revival of Moldovan traditions, and for the attainment of official status for
30058-505: The anniversary of Stalin 's mass deportation of Latvians in 1941. The authorities did not crack down on demonstrators, which encouraged more and larger demonstrations throughout the Baltic States. On 18 November 1987, hundreds of police and civilian militiamen cordoned off the central square to prevent any demonstration at Freedom Monument, but thousands lined the streets of Riga in silent protest regardless. On 17 October 1987, about 3,000 Armenians demonstrated in Yerevan complaining about
30284-463: The beginning of Yeltsin's rebranding as a rebel and rise in popularity as an anti-establishment figure. The following four years of political struggle between Yeltsin and Gorbachev played a large role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 11 November, Yeltsin was fired from the post of First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party . In the years leading up to the dissolution, various protests and resistance movements occurred or took hold throughout
30510-471: The condition of Lake Sevan , the Nairit chemicals plant, and the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant , and air pollution in Yerevan. Police tried to prevent the protest but took no action to stop it once the march was underway. The following day 1,000 Armenians participated in another demonstration calling for Armenian national rights in Karabakh and the proposed unification of both Nakhchivan and Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The police tried to physically prevent
30736-405: The contiguous United States are in the State of California, about 84 miles (135 km) apart. At an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190.5 m), Alaska's Denali is the highest peak in the country and continent. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands , and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in
30962-528: The country was made up of 15 top-level republics that served as the homelands for different ethnicities. By late 1991, amid a catastrophic political crisis, with several republics already departing the Union and Gorbachev continuing the waning of centralized power, the leaders of three of its founding members , the Russian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian SSRs, declared that the Soviet Union no longer existed . Eight more republics joined their declaration shortly thereafter. Gorbachev resigned on 25 December 1991 and what
31188-493: The country's GDP. The U.S. has 42% of the world's nuclear weapons —the second-largest share after Russia. The United States has the third-largest combined armed forces in the world, behind the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Indian Armed Forces . The military operates about 800 bases and facilities abroad, and maintains deployments greater than 100 active duty personnel in 25 foreign countries. State defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under
31414-413: The country's territory would expand with the admission of new states , rather than the expansion of existing states. The U.S. Constitution was drafted at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to overcome the limitations of the Articles. It went into effect in 1789, creating a federal republic governed by three separate branches that together ensured a system of checks and balances . George Washington
31640-576: The country, scheduled for November 1989, be postponed until early 1990 because there were still no laws governing the conduct of such elections. This was seen by some as a concession to local Party officials, who feared they would be swept from power in a wave of anti-establishment sentiment. On 25 October 1989, the Supreme Soviet voted to eliminate special seats for the Communist Party and other official organizations in union-level and republic-level elections, responding to sharp popular criticism that such reserved slots were undemocratic. After vigorous debate,
31866-415: The defending champions from the Soviet Union, beating them in five sets, but still finished out of medals. The U.S. basketball team won its seventh consecutive gold medal, a feat not matched by any other Olympic team in ball sports. It was to be the last time that the U.S. finished first in the medal table in a fully attended Summer Olympics until 1996 (the Americans would top the medal standings in 1984 amid
32092-455: The detention of local activists. The Belarusian Popular Front was established in 1988 as a political party and cultural movement for democracy and independence, similar to the Baltic republics' popular fronts. The discovery of mass graves in Kurapaty outside Minsk by historian Zianon Pazniak , the Belarusian Popular Front's first leader, gave additional momentum to the pro-democracy and pro-independence movement in Belarus. It claimed that
32318-584: The development of self-governance, and the First Great Awakening , a series of Christian revivals , fueled colonial interest in religious liberty . For a century, the American colonists had been providing their own troops and materiel in conflicts with indigenous peoples allied with Britain's colonial rivals , especially France, and the Americans had begun to develop a sense of self-defense and self-reliance separate from Britain. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) took on new significance for all North American colonists after Parliament under William Pitt
32544-495: The enactment of the April Novelization , as agreed upon following the Polish Round Table Agreement talks from February to April between the government and the Solidarity trade union. The Polish Solidarity Union, as established through the 1980 August Accords, presented Lech Wałęsa as their candidate, who became the first democratically elected president of Poland. The elections in Poland inspired other Eastern European Soviet Nations to pursue peaceful democratic transitions, and soon
32770-488: The end of 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell. This was also the year that CNN became the first non-Soviet broadcaster allowed to beam its TV news programs to Moscow. Officially, CNN was available only to foreign guests in the Savoy Hotel , but Muscovites quickly learned how to pick up signals on their home televisions. That had a major effect on how Soviets saw events in their country and made censorship almost impossible. The month-long nomination period for candidates for
32996-407: The environment for labor unions to begin to flourish . This period eventually ended with the advent of the Progressive Era , which was characterized by significant reforms. Pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy ; the islands were annexed in 1898. That same year, Puerto Rico , the Philippines , and Guam were ceded to the U.S. by Spain after the latter's defeat in
33222-414: The federal government often applied policies of Indian removal or assimilation . The Trail of Tears (1830–1850) was a U.S. government policy that forcibly removed and displaced most Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to lands far to the west. These and earlier organized displacements prompted a long series of American Indian Wars west of the Mississippi. The Republic of Texas
33448-481: The fifth consecutive games, the Americans won nine gold medals, this time placing third in the medal count . Notable successes included Jessie Diggins becoming the first American female skier to win individual cross-country medals, figure skater Nathan Chen breaking the short program world record en route to the Olympic gold medal in the men's singles, Erin Jackson becoming the first black female athlete to win speed skating gold, and Chloe Kim defending her title in
33674-491: The first American woman to earn Olympic gold in the sport. In 1924, at the Paris Olympics , Harold Osborn set a new world record while winning gold in the decathlon, and sprinter and long jumper Charley Paddock won two gold medals in the 100 meters and 4x100 meters relay. Johnny Weissmuller , who later gained fame as an actor playing Tarzan, secured two gold medals in swimming at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics . The USA dominated in diving events, with Aileen Riggin winning
33900-632: The first group release since the Khrushchev Thaw in the mid-1950s. On 10 September, Boris Yeltsin wrote a letter of resignation to Gorbachev. At the 27 October plenary meeting of the Central Committee, Yeltsin, frustrated that Gorbachev had not addressed any of the issues outlined in his resignation letter, criticized the slow pace of reform, and servility to the general secretary. In his reply, Gorbachev accused Yeltsin of "political immaturity" and "absolute irresponsibility". Nevertheless, news of Yeltsin's insubordination and "secret speech" spread, and soon samizdat versions began to circulate. That marked
34126-434: The first nuclear weapons and used them against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, ending the war. The United States was one of the " Four Policemen " who met to plan the post-war world , alongside the United Kingdom , Soviet Union , and China . The U.S. emerged relatively unscathed from the war, with even greater economic power and international political influence . After World War II,
34352-446: The first time since 1952) attended the Games. The 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics marked the first time that the Games were broadcast in multiple channels simultaneously, offering viewers a variety of events to watch. There were fears that the Soviet Union would boycott the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul as well, because South Korea had no diplomatic relations with the USSR, which recognized and supported only North Korea . However,
34578-426: The first time since 1952. Particularly successful was the U.S. swimming team that won 13 out of an available 18 golds and shattered 9 world records. In track and field, the Americans also improved on their 1960 performance, winning 14 gold and 24 total medals. The Soviets, continued to dominate Olympic weightlifting, and, with the American program falling short, the USSR produced four golds and three silvers. However, for
34804-432: The first time that newly communist countries, occupied by the Soviet Union after WW2 , competed in the games. The Soviets themselves declined to compete, sending only observers, after a long hesitation that saw Soviet leader Joseph Stalin demanding guarantees from his sports officials that the USSR would beat the US in the medal standings. The Soviet officials told him that chances were even, and Stalin ultimately rejected
35030-499: The first time that the Olympic Games were broadcast on television with a more widespread coverage. However, television sets were still not widely available to the public at this time. In 1952 , Helsinki saw the Soviets sending a team for the first time. This was a beginning of a new era, as the Soviet Union would go on to dominate the Olympics for the next four decades. The Soviet authorities provided state-funding to their athletes, who trained full-time. The United States still topped
35256-408: The first-place Soviets. The U.S. contingent was particularly successful in track and field, where American athletes amassed 31 medals. On the other hand, the U.S. won only 2 golds in swimming, being unable to stop the Australian domination of the swimming events at these games. In weightlifting, the Americans and Soviets once again won all seven events, with four and three golds, respectively. In boxing,
35482-496: The following current winter sport: biathlon . The first modern Olympic Games , held in Athens , Greece, saw the Americans fielding 14 athletes that competed in three sports. The hosts, on the other hand, had 169 athletes competing and won 46 medals. The American team managed to win only 20 medals, dwarfed by the enormous Greek team. However, the United States managed to win 11 gold medals, edging out Greece, who secured 10 golds, and allowing Team USA to finish first in
35708-413: The following days and months. The secession of the Baltic states was recognized in September 1991. The Belovezha Accords were signed on 8 December by President Boris Yeltsin of Russia , President Kravchuk of Ukraine , and Chairman Shushkevich of Belarus , recognizing each other's independence and creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to replace the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan
35934-443: The future first president of independent Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian , formed the eleven-member Karabakh Committee to lead and organize the new movement. On the same day, when Gorbachev replaced Baghirov with Vezirov as First Secretary of the Azerbaijan Communist Party, he also replaced Karen Demirchian with Suren Harutyunyan as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia , however, Harutyunyan quickly decided to run before
36160-405: The games after the terrorist attack, but the IOC declined. From a sporting standpoint, these Olympic Games were among the most controversial in history and one of the strangest Olympics ever for American athletes. U.S. world record holders in the 100 meters were given the wrong starting time and were unable to compete in the event. In swimming, the U.S. gold medal winner in the 400 meters freestyle
36386-420: The globe, significantly expanding the audience reach. The 1960 Rome Olympics saw the Americans losing their grip on their traditionally successful sports, such as track and field and weightlifting. On the other hand, boxing, swimming (where the Americans won 9 gold medals, while being controversially denied gold in the 100 meters freestyle ), and wrestling produced unexpectedly good results. In track and field,
36612-400: The gold medal tally. James Connolly became the first modern Olympic champion by winning the triple jump , and Thomas Burke won three gold medals in various track events, assuming the title of the most successful athlete of the 1896 Games. Robert Garrett won two gold medals in the discus throw and shot put events, demonstrating American strength in athletics. At the 1900 Paris Olympics ,
36838-430: The idea of competing in 1948. With its newest political rival absent, the United States comfortably dominated the games, winning 38 gold and 84 total medals, 22 gold and 40 total medals more than the runner-up Sweden . The most medals were won in track and field, 27, and swimming, 15. The US basketball team won its second consecutive gold medal, defeating France in the final, 65–21. The 1948 London Summer Olympics marked
37064-463: The integration of Army National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Army and (since 1947) the U.S. Air Force. There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to national level in the United States. Law in the United States is mainly enforced by local police departments and sheriff departments in their municipal or county jurisdictions. The state police departments have authority in their respective state , and federal agencies such as
37290-509: The largest and most significant boycott in the Olympic history. The boycott was motivated by the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan . The United States and 65 other countries chose not to attend the Moscow Games, leaving them with the smallest attendance since 1956. Predictably, the great majority of the medals were taken by the host country and East Germany in what was the most skewed medal tally since 1904 . The Soviets amassed 80 gold (all-time record) and 195 total (second-best result after
37516-418: The largest gathering of Ukrainian Catholics since Stalin outlawed the Church in 1946. On 4 August, which came to be known as "Bloody Thursday", local authorities violently suppressed a demonstration organized by the Democratic Front to Promote Perestroika. Forty-one people were detained, fined, or sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest. On 1 September, local authorities violently displaced 5,000 students at
37742-421: The lawyer Anatoly Sobchak . In the first session of the new Congress of People's Deputies (from 25 May to 9 June), hardliners retained control but reformers used the legislature as a platform for debate and criticism, which was broadcast live and uncensored. This transfixed the population since nothing like such a freewheeling debate had ever been witnessed in the Soviet Union. On 29 May, Yeltsin managed to secure
37968-400: The leading rebel republic. On 5 July 1988, when a contingent of troops was sent in to remove demonstrators by force from Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport , shots were fired and one student protester was killed. In September, further large demonstrations in Yerevan led to the deployment of armored vehicles. In the autumn of 1988 almost all of the 200,000 Azerbaijani minority in Armenia
38194-412: The major conclusion of the Revolutions of 1989 and the end of the Cold War . In the aftermath of the Cold War , several of the former Soviet republics have retained close links with Russia and formed multilateral organizations such as the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and the Union State , for economic and military cooperation. On
38420-433: The march and after a few incidents, dispersed the demonstrators. In 1988, Gorbachev started to lose control of two regions of the Soviet Union, as the Baltic republics were now leaning towards independence, and the Caucasus descended into violence and civil war. On 1 July 1988, the fourth and last day of a bruising 19th Party Conference, Gorbachev won the backing of the tired delegates for his last-minute proposal to create
38646-409: The medal count at these games, winning 40 gold and 76 total medals, 18 gold and five total medals more than the Soviets who finished second. American athletes won 31 medals in track and field, their most successful sport. The U.S. basketball team continued its winning streak, capturing the gold medal for the third consecutive time since basketball was introduced as an Olympic sport and twice defeating
38872-428: The medal count in 1992 and 2008, while placing first at seven other Games in that period. The United States, represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo . Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The opening ceremony flag-bearers for
39098-413: The medal count. The nation won the most medals (37) at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver but dropped to 23 medals at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang . Host country Host country Updated on November 16, 2024 * This table does not include two medals – one silver awarded in the ice hockey and one bronze awarded in the figure skating events at
39324-427: The military draft (leading to the end of conscription in 1973) and wide opposition to U.S. intervention in Vietnam (with the U.S. totally withdrawing in 1975). A societal shift in the roles of women was significantly responsible for the large increase in female paid labor participation during the 1970s, and by 1985 the majority of American women aged 16 and older were employed. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw
39550-412: The modern Olympics. The 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion Jim Thorpe was stripped of his medals, when it was discovered that he had played semi-professional baseball before the Olympics. His medals were posthumously restored by the IOC in 1983 on compassionate grounds. The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries eroded the ideology of
39776-612: The most attractive to the population are the most vulnerable. The U.S. is one of 17 megadiverse countries containing large numbers of endemic species : about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland. The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 birds, 311 reptiles, 295 amphibians , and around 91,000 insect species. There are 63 national parks , and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas , managed by
40002-403: The most controversial events of all time, the U.S. basketball team was denied gold after apparently winning the final match against the Soviet Union. The final three seconds of the game were replayed three times until the Soviets came out on top. The Americans did not accept the silver medals, believing that they were robbed. This was the first U.S. loss in Olympic basketball history, and it ended
40228-422: The most prominent Soviet dissident , returned to Moscow shortly after receiving a personal telephone call from Gorbachev telling him that after almost seven years his internal exile for defying the authorities was over. At the 28–30 January Central Committee plenum , Gorbachev suggested a new policy of demokratizatsiya throughout Soviet society. He proposed that future Communist Party elections should offer
40454-478: The most violent, the California genocide of thousands of Native inhabitants, lasted into the early 1870s, just as additional western territories and states were created. During the colonial period, slavery had been legal in the American colonies , though the practice began to be significantly questioned during the American Revolution. States in the North enacted abolition laws , though support for slavery strengthened in Southern states , as inventions such as
40680-435: The nationalist wind and on 28 May, allowed Armenians to unfurl the red-blue-orange First Armenian Republic flag for the first time in almost 70 years to mark the 1918 declaration of the First Republic. On 15 June 1988, the Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted a resolution formally approving the idea of Nagorno-Karabakh's unification as part of the republic. Armenia, formerly one of the most loyal republics, had suddenly turned into
40906-445: The ninth occasion that the Olympics are hosted in the U.S. The United States made its Olympic debut in 1896 in Athens , the very first edition of the modern games. The nation performed inconsistently in the pre- World War-I period, primarily due to fielding considerably fewer athletes than host countries, with the exception being the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis , Missouri , where the U.S. achieved its largest medal haul in history,
41132-598: The north and Mexico to the south, with the states of Alaska to the northwest and the archipelagic Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean . The United States also asserts sovereignty over five major island territories and various uninhabited islands . The country has the world's third-largest land area , largest exclusive economic zone , and third-largest population , exceeding 334 million. Its three largest metropolitan areas are New York , Los Angeles , and Chicago , and its three most populous states are California , Texas , and Florida . Paleo-Indians migrated across
41358-544: The only major teams in the world to receive no government funding. The United States has hosted the modern Olympic Games eight times, more than any other nation. These occasions span from the 1904 St. Louis Olympics to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Beyond hosting, the U.S. has significantly impacted the Olympics through athletic achievements, innovations in sports infrastructure and technology, and cultural contributions. Its influence extends to advocating Olympic ideals and leaving lasting legacies in host cities. Overall,
41584-522: The only occasions where America failed to make the top two at the Summer Olympics (although in 1976 they placed second by total medals). During the Cold War era, American athletes placed first in the medal count five times, second four times (including 1992), and third twice. Out of all periods, this was the United States' least dominant. U.S. athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympics Games in recent decades, with their fortunes having steadily improved in most sports since 1992. America finished second in
41810-419: The other hand, the Baltic states and all of the other former Warsaw Pact states became part of the European Union (EU) and joined NATO , while some of the other former Soviet republics like Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova have been publicly expressing interest in following the same path since the 1990s, despite Russian attempts to persuade them otherwise. Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary by
42036-403: The overall medal standings (49 gold and 125 total medals for the Soviets, and 40 gold and 90 total medals for East Germans). The U.S. won medals in 14 sports, finishing third with 34 gold and 94 total medals. The most successful day for the Americans was July 31 when they won 8 gold and 18 total medals. The 1980 Summer Olympics marked another first for the United States, as the nation led by far
42262-596: The payouts by 25% to $ 37,000 for gold, $ 22,500 for silver, and $ 15,000 for bronze beginning in 2017. These numbers are significantly lower than in other countries, where Olympic gold medalists receive up to $ 1 million from their governments for a gold medal. Since 2018, payouts to Paralympic athletes have been the same as to the Olympians. The International Paralympic Committee noted that "'Operation Gold Awards' for [American] Paralympic athletes [would] be increased by as much as 400 percent." United States has had eight Olympic medals stripped for doping violations. In all cases,
42488-419: The policies of Perestroika that were initiated by Gorbachev in 1985 led to the Soviet participation in the Games. Cuba decided to boycott the Olympics on its own, impacting the boxing field as a result. The Soviets and East Germany dominated what would be their last Olympics, winning 55 and 37 gold medals respectively (132 and 102 total medals). The United States placed third with 36 and 94. 1976 and 1988 are
42714-408: The policy of redlining later adopted by the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation . An explosion of technological advancement accompanied by the exploitation of cheap immigrant labor led to rapid economic expansion during the late 19th and early 20th centuries , allowing the United States to outpace the economies of England, France, and Germany combined. This fostered the amassing of power by
42940-420: The primary colonial grievances was a denial of their rights as Englishmen , particularly the right to representation in the British government that taxed them . To demonstrate their dissatisfaction and resolve, the First Continental Congress met in 1774 and passed the Continental Association , a colonial boycott of British goods that proved effective. The British attempt to then disarm the colonists resulted in
43166-432: The process, while the US women's swimming team, on the other hand, fell victim to what was later shown to be a pervasive East German doping program . They still managed to win one gold medal, in an upset of the East Germans in the 4x100 freestyle relay . The event was held on the last day of the swimming program, and the American women were risking being deprived of gold for the first time in U.S. Olympic history. The victory
43392-413: The pure amateur . It put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but all of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis. The situation greatly disadvantaged American athletes and was a major factor in the decline of American medal hauls in
43618-429: The race, the IOC stripped him of his gold medal after his post-race urinalysis tested positive for traces of the banned substance ephedrine contained in his prescription asthma medication, Marax. The positive test following the 400-meter freestyle final also deprived him of a chance at multiple medals, as he was not permitted to swim in any other events at the 1972 Olympics, including the 1,500-meter freestyle for which he
43844-435: The republic's legislature in November 1988 calling for Georgia's independence and in support of Estonia's declaration of sovereignty. Beginning in February 1988, the Democratic Movement of Moldova (formerly Moldavia) organized public meetings, demonstrations, and song festivals, which gradually grew in size and intensity. In the streets, the center of public manifestations was the Stephen the Great Monument in Chișinău, and
44070-522: The republics had already been scheduled to take place between December and March 1990. The six Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe, while nominally independent, were widely recognized as the Soviet satellite states (along with Mongolia ). All had been occupied by the Soviet Red Army in 1945, had Soviet-style socialist states imposed upon them, and had very restricted freedom of action in either domestic or international affairs. Any moves towards real independence were suppressed by military force – in
44296-515: The rights of African Americans . National infrastructure, including transcontinental telegraph and railroads , spurred growth in the American frontier . From 1865 through 1917 an unprecedented stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, including 24.4 million from Europe. Most came through the port of New York City , and New York City and other large cities on the East Coast became home to large Jewish , Irish , and Italian populations, while many Germans and Central Europeans moved to
44522-437: The rocky Great Basin and Chihuahua , Sonoran , and Mojave deserts. In the northwest corner of Arizona , carved by the Colorado River over millions of years, is the Grand Canyon , a steep-sided canyon and popular tourist destination known for its overwhelming visual size and intricate, colorful landscape. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast . The lowest and highest points in
44748-429: The second anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, carrying placards with slogans like "Openness and Democracy to the End". Between May and June 1988, Ukrainian Catholics in western Ukraine celebrated the Millennium of Christianity in Kyivan Rus in secret by holding services in the forests of Buniv, Kalush , Hoshi, and Zarvanytsia. On 5 June 1988, as the official celebrations of the Millennium were held in Moscow,
44974-464: The six service branches, which are made up of the U.S. Army , Marine Corps , Navy , Air Force , and Space Force . The Coast Guard is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in wartime. The United States spent $ 916 billion on its military in 2023, which is by far the largest amount of any country , making up 37% of global military spending and accounting for 3.4% of
45200-409: The snowboarding women's halfpipe. Veteran snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis , who last medaled in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , was the only U.S. athlete with multiple gold medals, winning the women's snowboard cross event, and sharing the gold with teammate Nick Baumgartner in the mixed snowboard cross event. The exclusion of professionals caused several controversies throughout the history of
45426-407: The sole authority of a state government. SDFs are authorized by state and federal law but are under the command of the state's governor . They are distinct from the state's National Guard units in that they cannot become federalized entities. A state's National Guard personnel, however, may be federalized under the National Defense Act Amendments of 1933 , which created the Guard and provides for
45652-430: The square by force, and imposed a curfew that lasted ten months. The rebellion of fellow Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh had an immediate effect in Armenia itself. Daily demonstrations, which began in the Armenian capital Yerevan on 18 February, initially attracted few people, but each day the Nagorno-Karabakh issue became increasingly prominent and the numbers swelled. On 20 February, a 30,000-strong crowd demonstrated in
45878-543: The states are also represented by local elected governments , which are administrative divisions of the states. States are subdivided into counties or county equivalents , and further divided into municipalities . The District of Columbia is a federal district containing the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. . The federal district is an administrative division of the federal government. Federally recognized tribes govern 326 Indian reservations . The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it has
46104-451: The structure and responsibilities of the national federal government and its relationship with the individual states. The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest national constitution still in effect (from March 4, 1789). Composed of three branches, all headquartered in Washington, D.C., the federal government is the national government of the United States. It is regulated by a strong system of checks and balances . The three-branch system
46330-452: The territory of Estonia's borders. At the same time the Estonian Citizens' Committees started registration of citizens of the Republic of Estonia to carry out the elections of the Congress of Estonia . The Latvian Popular Front was founded in June 1988. On 4 October, Gorbachev replaced Boris Pugo , the "old guard" leader of the Communist Party of Latvia , with the more liberal Jānis Vagris. In October 1988 Vagris bowed to pressure from
46556-431: The top place in the medal table for the Americans for the second consecutive Games and their first finish at the top of the overall medal table since 1952. In other sports, however, the performance of American athletes was less convincing. The U.S. weightlifting team continued to fade, winning just one medal. American boxers won 7 medals, of which two were gold, while U.S. divers won 6 medals. The men's volleyball team stunned
46782-465: The vanguard of the Baltic states in pressing for reform. In 1988, Estonia took over the lead role with the foundation of the Soviet Union's first popular front and starting to influence state policy. The Estonian Popular Front was founded in April 1988. On 16 June 1988, Gorbachev replaced Karl Vaino , the "old guard" leader of the Communist Party of Estonia , with the comparatively liberal Vaino Väljas . In late June 1988, Väljas bowed to pressure from
47008-448: The winning ways of compatriot Xander Schauffele to take home gold in the women's golf competition. The 2.01m-tall thrower Ryan Crouser retained his Olympic title in the men's shot put and did so in some style, setting an Olympic record three times. The U.S. achieved a commanding lead in the overall medal count , with 113 medals, but only edged China in the gold medal tally on the last day, finishing with 39 gold medals to China's 38. At
47234-435: The women's freestyle events (100m, 400m, and 4x100m relay). The U.S. also performed strongly in team sports and rowing (multiple medals). Lastly, the 1932 Olympics were significant as they were held during the Great Depression , and the success of American athletes provided a morale boost to the nation. The games also highlighted Los Angeles as a major international city capable of hosting large-scale sporting events. Moreover,
47460-406: The world's fourth-longest river system , runs predominantly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat and fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains , west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado . Farther west are
47686-449: The world's second-largest diplomatic corps as of 2024 . It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council , and home to the United Nations headquarters . The United States is a member of the G7 , G20 , and OECD intergovernmental organizations. Almost all countries have embassies and many have consulates (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all countries host formal diplomatic missions with
47912-444: The world's oldest surviving federation, and its presidential system of national government has been adopted, in whole or in part, by many newly independent states worldwide following their decolonization . It is a liberal representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law ". The Constitution of the United States serves as the country's supreme legal document , also establishing
48138-423: The world's tornadoes occur in the country , mainly in Tornado Alley . Overall, the United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country. Extreme weather became more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported heat waves as in the 1960s. In the American Southwest , droughts became more persistent and more severe. The regions considered as
48364-492: The world, with almost 2 million people incarcerated . An analysis of the World Health Organization Mortality Database from 2010 showed U.S. homicide rates "were 7 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25 times higher". Fall of the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration № 142-Н of
48590-458: Was annexed in 1845, and the 1846 Oregon Treaty led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest . Victory in the Mexican–American War resulted in the 1848 Mexican Cession of California, Nevada, Utah, and much of present-day Colorado and the American Southwest . The California gold rush of 1848–1849 spurred a huge migration of white settlers to the Pacific coast, leading to even more confrontations with Native populations. One of
48816-703: Was adopted on July 4, 1776. The political values of the American Revolution included liberty , inalienable individual rights ; and the sovereignty of the people ; supporting republicanism and rejecting monarchy , aristocracy , and all hereditary political power; civic virtue ; and vilification of political corruption . The Founding Fathers of the United States , who included Washington, Jefferson, John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Alexander Hamilton , John Jay , James Madison , Thomas Paine , and many others, were inspired by Greco-Roman , Renaissance , and Enlightenment philosophies and ideas. The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781 and established
49042-404: Was elected the country's first president under the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 to allay skeptics' concerns about the power of the more centralized government. His resignation as commander-in-chief after the Revolutionary War and his later refusal to run for a third term as the country's first president established a precedent for the supremacy of civil authority in
49268-482: Was expelled by Armenian nationalists, with over 100 killed in the process. That, after the Sumgait pogrom earlier that year, which had been carried out by Azerbaijanis to ethnic Armenians and led to the expulsion of Armenians from Azerbaijan, was for many Armenians considered an act of revenge for the killings at Sumgait. On 25 November 1988, a military commandant took control of Yerevan as the Soviet government moved to prevent further ethnic violence. On 7 December 1988,
49494-454: Was left of the Soviet parliament voted to dissolve the union. The process began with growing unrest in the country's various constituent national republics developing into an incessant political and legislative conflict between them and the central government. Estonia was the first Soviet republic to declare state sovereignty inside the Union on 16 November 1988. Lithuania was the first republic to declare full independence restored from
49720-442: Was restored as the sole winner of both events. Thorpe's legacy remains undiminished. Ralph Craig won the gold medal in both the 100 meters and 200 meters, solidifying American dominance in sprint events. American swimmers also performed well, contributing to the overall medal tally. Notable swimmers included Duke Kahanamoku , who won two gold medals in swimming events (100 meters freestyle and 4x200 meters freestyle relay). Overall,
49946-528: Was somewhat overlooked at the time, but since the early 1990s, when public revelation of the doping program began, the American gold medal is considered to be one of the sport's most improbable upsets. In track and field, both the U.S. men's and women's teams were overwhelmed by East Germans who secured a bulk of medals in the signature sports of the U.S., resulting in the USSR topping the medal table. The U.S. boxing team surprised everyone, advancing to six gold medal bouts and winning five of them, drawing parallels to
50172-406: Was stripped of his medal for using his prescription asthma medication, also depriving him of a chance at multiple medals. U.S. boxers complained that they were judged unfairly in the bouts against their communist counterparts. In shooting, a U.S. athlete initially won the 50 meters rifle only to be relegated to silver after a "review". Finally, in the most controversial event of the Games, and one of
50398-428: Was the last republic to leave the Union, proclaiming independence on 16 December. All the ex-Soviet republics, with the exception of Georgia and the Baltic states, joined the CIS on 21 December, signing the Alma-Ata Protocol . Russia, as by far the largest and most populous republic, became the USSR's de facto successor state . On 25 December, Gorbachev resigned and turned over his presidential powers—including control of
50624-467: Was the one in charge of screening the anti-doping test program of the organization and clarifying that the athletes were cleared according to the rules. United States The United States of America ( USA ), commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America , is a country primarily located in North America . It is a federal union of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to
50850-533: Was the then-current world record-holder. Before the Olympics, DeMont had properly declared his asthma medications on his medical disclosure forms, but the USOC had not cleared them with the IOC's medical committee. In 2003, Wade Exum, the United States Olympic Committee 's director of drug control administration from 1991 to 2000, gave copies of documents to Sports Illustrated that revealed that some 100 American athletes failed drug tests from 1988 to 2000, arguing that they should have been prevented from competing in
51076-433: Was the uncensored live TV coverage of the legislature's deliberations, where people witnessed the previously feared Communist leadership being questioned and held accountable. This example fueled a limited experiment with democracy in Poland , which quickly led to the toppling of the Communist government in Warsaw that summer and in turn sparked uprisings that overthrew governments in the other five Warsaw Pact countries before
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