America is made up of land, people, ideas, and institutions that together form the United States as a country, a society, and a culture.

Quick Scoop

1. The land: where America is

  • The United States is a country in North America with 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C.), and several territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam.
  • It stretches between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, borders Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, and includes Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii in the Pacific.
  • Major physical features include the Appalachian Mountains in the east, the Great Plains in the center, and the Rocky Mountains in the west, plus huge river systems like the Mississippi–Missouri and major lakes like the Great Lakes.

2. The people: who Americans are

  • America is often described as a “nation of immigrants,” with people whose roots come from Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Indigenous nations of North America.
  • The population is ethnically and racially diverse, with dozens of ancestry groups over a million people, and a mix of languages, religions, and traditions across different regions.
  • English is the main national language in practice, but states like Hawaii and Alaska recognize additional Indigenous and local languages, and Spanish is widely used in daily life.

3. The system: how America is organized

  • The United States is a federal republic: power is shared between a national government and 50 state governments.
  • Its political system is built on a written Constitution, with three branches of government—executive (president), legislative (Congress), and judicial (courts)—designed to balance power.
  • The country uses a market-based economy with government regulation, and the U.S. dollar functions as a major global reserve currency.

4. The story: what shaped America

  • The modern United States grew from thirteen British colonies that declared independence in 1776 and formed a new nation after the Revolutionary War.
  • Over the 19th century, the country expanded westward across the continent, fought wars with Mexico, displaced many Native American nations, and fought a Civil War that ended legal slavery.
  • In the 20th century, the U.S. emerged from World War II and the Cold War as a global superpower, with major roles in world politics, the global economy, and science and technology.

5. The culture: how America feels

  • American culture mixes “Western” traditions with influences from African American, Native American, Latin American, and Asian communities, creating distinct styles in music, food, art, and everyday life.
  • Things like Hollywood movies, fast food (burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, apple pie), popular music, sports, and the idea of the “American Dream” are widely associated with how America presents itself to the world.
  • At the same time, there isn’t just one American culture: New England, the Deep South, the Midwest, the West Coast, and regions like “El Norte” all have their own identities and social norms.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.