Britain's American colonies broke with the
mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United
States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and
20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation
expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas
possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were
the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by
victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US
remains the world's most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady
growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. |
