United States
Motto:
E pluribus unum (Latin - "Out of many, one") and In God We Trust
Population:
295 million (US Census Bureau July 2005 est.)
Brief history:
Located in North America, the United States of America is between Canada and Mexico. Europeans first settled in North America in 1565. Between the 17th and 18th centuries hundreds of thousands of Africans were brought and sold into slavery. America fought for its independence from Britain and won July 4, 1776 when Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence. The Civil War was fought to abolish slavery in 1865 when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Although slaves became free, it wasn’t until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act outlawed racial discrimination. Today the United States is the world’s most powerful nation state and is known for cultural exports such as Hollywood films, rap and rock music.
Ethnic Groups:
white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
Exports:
agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0%
