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(40 mellemliggende versioner af 2 andre brugere ikke vist)
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Velkommen til min sandkasse. Hvis du har nogen indvendinger mod, hvad jeg skriver eller planlægger at skrive, så behandles disse under diskussion. Hvis nogen af jer agter at enten nominere, oprette eller forbedre nogen af de respektive artikler, så kan dette også behandles under diskussion. Denne liste vil nok senere få sin helt egen side.
Velkommen til min sandkasse. Hvis du har nogen indvendinger mod, hvad jeg skriver eller planlægger at skrive, se skriv det til under min [[Brugerdiskussion:Nessumsaram|brugerdiskussion]]. Hvis nogen af jer agter at enten nominere, oprette eller forbedre nogen af de respektive artikler, så kan dette også behandles under diskussion.


Liste over artikler som skal oprettes, forbedres eller nomineres.

OBS. Artikler som på den ene eller anden måde omhandler eller har tilknytning til USA står under "USA" i de respektive artikelkategorier. Computerspil, film, litteratur og YouYube kanaler er ikke under denne kategori.

== Artikler som skal oprettes ==

=== USA ===
* Social Security
* Medicare
* Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
* Medicaid
* Sal Khan
* Hank Green
* Robert Reich(Økonom)
* Bill Clinton økonomisk politik
* Ronald Reagan økonomisk politik
* Barack Obama økonomisk politik
* Liste over føderale agenturer/etater i USA eller Liste over USA's føderale etater/agenturer- Engelsk artikel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_agencies_in_the_United_States
* Brookings Institution
* American Enteprise Institute
* Cato Institute
* Se desuden dette link for flere tænketanke som med fordel kan skrives artikler om. http://www.thebestschools.org/features/most-influential-think-tanks/

=== Andet ===
* Idre Fjäll
* Civilization V
* Civilization V: Brave new world
* Civilization V: Gods and kings
* Civilization VI
* Idre
* Särna
* Crash Course (YouTube)
* SciShow
* Vlog Brothers
* CGP Grey
* Positive Money
* Fuldreservebankvæsen
* Opus caementitium/romersk beton/romersk cement.
* Middelhavskost/Middelhavs Diæt.

== Artikle som skal forbedres ==

=== USA ===
* [[Bernie Sanders]]
* [[Sid Meier]]
* [[Bill Clinton]]
* [[Højesteret (USA)]]
* [[John Green (forfatter)]]
* [[Amerikanske præsidentvalg 2012]]
* [[Amerikanske præsidentvalg 2016]]
* [[Paul Krugman]]
* [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
* [[Environmental Protection Agency]]
* [[FBI]]
* [[CIA]]
[[Forbes]]
* [[Heritage Foundation]]

=== Andet ===
* [[Minecraft]]
* [[Markus Persson]]
* [[Mojang AB]]
* [[Stephen Hawking]]
* [[Khan Academy]]
* [[Bossen og bumsen]]
* [[Strategispil]]
* [[Civilization (serie)]]
* [[Transparency International]]
* [[OECD]]
* [[Antarktis]]
* [[Cement]]
* [[Salinitet]]
* [[Facepunch Studios]]
* [[Rust (computerspil)]]
* [[Paleo]]

=== Ting har tilknytning til J. R. R. Tolkien ===
* [[Ringenes Herre]]
* [[Hobbitten]]
* [[Hurins Børn]]
* [[Silmarillion]]
* [[J.R.R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien]]
* [[Christopher Tolkien]]
* [[Ted Nasmith]]

=== Artikler om filosoffer ===
Førsokratikere:
* [[Thales]]
* [[Anaximander]]
* [[Anaximenes]]
* [[Heraklit]]
* [[Xenofanes]]
* [[Pythagoras]]
* [[Filolaos]]
* [[Archytas]]
* [[Alcmaeon]]
* [[Parmenides]]
* [[Zenon]]
* [[Melissos]]
* [[Empedokles]]
* [[Anaxagoras]]
Resten af antikken
* [[Aristoteles]]
* [[Platon]]
* [[Sokrates]]
Middelalderen

Renæssancen
* [[René Descartes]]
* [[Immanuel Kant|Emmanuel Kant]]
Oplysningstiden

Moderne tid (1850-1918)

Efterkrigstids filosoffer (1940-nu)

==== Herunder forbedring af artikler om filosofiske retninger og generelle historiske artikler ====
Antikken
* [[Førsokratikerne]]
* [[Den Pythagoræiske skole]]
* [[Eleatiske filosoffer]]
* [[Den Pluralistiske skole]]
* [[Eksistentialisme]]
* [[Determinisme]]

== Artikler som skal nomineres ==

OBS denne liste involverer artikler som ikke nødvendigvis er klar til at blive nomineret. Det kan være at et kapitel er mangelfuldt, eller at tegnsætningen er helt uacceptabel. Så denne er mere en liste over artikler som i den nærmeste fremtid vil blive nomineret til lovende artikler. Hvis du vil bidrage til at forbedre artiklerne, så behandles dette under diskussion, eller du kan vælge at skrive til mig direkte på min profils diskussions side.

===Lovende artikler ===

* [[Det tysk-romerske rige]] - nomineret
* [[USA's forfatning]] {{LA-ikon}}
* [[Hunnerne]] {{LA-ikon}}
* [[Valkyrie]] - nomineret
* [[Romerriget]]- kræver markant omstrukturering, tilføjelse af kapitler, udvidelse og forsimpling af kapitler, retning af småfejl, omskrivning af sætninger, tegnsætning og flere kilder.
* [[Osmanniske Rige|Osmansske rige]]
* [[Romantikken]]
* [[Tuberkulose]] - {{LA-ikon}}
* [[HIV]] - nomineret
* [[Oxford]] - nomineret
* [[Kongerækken]]
* [[Preussen]]- flere kilder.
* [[Star Wars: The Force Awakens]] {{LA-ikon}}
* [[Rumæniens historie]] - nomineret
* [[Roskilde]] {{LA-ikon}}
* [[Evolution]] - {{LA-ikon}}

=== Gode artikler ===

1. [[Den industrielle revolution]]

2. [[Rhinen]]

3. [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]

4. [[Alzheimers sygdom]] {{GA-ikon}}

=== Fremragende artikler ===


Må denne liste være en hjælp for andre til at finpudse og oprette artikler, da jeg næppe vil kunne nå at finpudse, oprette og forbedrer alle de artikler lige foreløbig.

== Kladder til "Artikler som skal oprettes" ==
Hjælp [[https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hj%C3%A6lp:Redigering#cite_ref-1]]
Hjælp [[https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hj%C3%A6lp:Redigering#cite_ref-1]]

=== Etymologi ===
{{Uddybende|Ostarrîchi}}
[[File:Ostarrichi.jpg|thumb|left|First appearance of the word "Ostarrîchi", circled in red. Modern Austria honours this document, dated 996, as the founding of the nation.]]
The German name for Austria, {{lang|de|''Österreich''}}, meant "eastern realm" in [[Old High German]], and is cognate with the word ''Ostarrîchi'', which first appears in the "Ostarrîchi document" of 996.<ref name="University of Klagenfurt">{{cite web|url=http://wwwg.uni-klu.ac.at/spw/oenf/name2.htm|title=University of Klagenfurt}}</ref> This word is probably a translation of [[Medieval Latin]] {{lang|la|''[[Marchia orientalis]]''}} into a local (Bavarian) dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976. The word "Austria" is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. At the time, the Danube basin of Austria ([[Upper Austria|Upper]] and [[Lower Austria]]) was the easternmost extent of Bavaria, and in fact of all the [[Germans]], as at the time the territory of the former [[Former eastern territories of Germany|East Germany]] was populated by [[Slavs|Slavic]] [[Sorbs]] and [[Polabians]].

[[Friedrich Heer]], a 20th-century Austrian historian, stated in his book ''Der Kampf um die österreichische Identität'' (''The Struggle Over Austrian Identity''),<ref>Friedrich Heer: ''Der Kampf um die österreichische Identität''. Böhlau, Wien/Köln/Graz 1981, ISBN 3-205-07155-7.</ref> that the Germanic form ''Ostarrîchi'' was not a translation of the Latin word, but both resulted from a much older term originating in the [[Celtic languages]] of ancient Austria: more than 2,500 years ago, the major part of the actual country was called ''Norig'' by the Celtic population ([[Hallstatt culture]]); according to Heer, ''no-'' or ''nor-'' meant "east" or "easterns", whereas ''-rig'' is related to the modern German ''Reich'', meaning "realm". Accordingly, ''Norig'' would essentially mean the same as ''Ostarrîchi'' and ''Österreich'', thus ''Austria''. The Celtic name was eventually Latinised to ''[[Noricum]]'' after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. ''Noricum'' later became a [[Roman province]] in the mid-first century AD.<ref name="Noricum">{{cite web|url=http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.n/n840136.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en|title=Noricum, römische Provinz|work=AEIOU|accessdate=20 May 2009}}</ref> Heer's hypothesis is not accepted by linguists.

=== Etymologi(USA) ===
{{Se også|USA's navngivning}}

I 1507 skabte den tyske [[kartograf]] [[Martin Waldseemüller]] et verdenskort, hvor han gav landene på den vestlige halvkugle navnet [[Americas|"America"]], efter den italienske opdagelsesrejsende og kartograf [[Amerigo Vespucci]] ([[Latin]]: ''Americus Vespucius'').<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-24-america-turns-500_N.htm?csp=34 |title=Cartographer Put 'America' on the Map 500 years Ago |work=USA Today |location =Washington, D.C. |date=April 24, 2007 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate=November 30, 2008}}</ref> Det første bevis på skrift for "Amerikas Forenede Stater" (amerikansk "United States of America") er fra et brev dateret 2. januar, 1776, skrevet af [[Stephen Moylan]], [[Esquire|esq]]., [[George Washington|George Washingtons]] [[aide-de-camp]] og Muster-Master General of the [[Continental Army]] (Officer der står for mønstring af soldater). Brevet, hvori Moylan udtrykte sit ønske om at bringe de "Amerikas Forenede Staters fuldgyldige og rigelige magt" til Spanien for at hjælpe i den revolutionære krigsindsats, henvendte sig til [[oberstløjtnant]] [[Joseph Reed (politician)|Joseph Reed]].<ref>DeLear, Byron (July 4, 2013) [http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/0704/Who-coined-United-States-of-America-Mystery-might-have-intriguing-answer Who coined 'United States of America'? Mystery might have intriguing answer.] "Historians have long tried to pinpoint exactly when the name 'United States of America' was first used and by whom... ...This latest find comes in a letter that Stephen Moylan, Esq., wrote to Col. Joseph Reed from the Continental Army Headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., during the Siege of Boston. The two men lived with Washington in Cambridge, with Reed serving as Washington's favorite military secretary and Moylan fulfilling the role during Reed's absence." ''Christian Science Monitor'' (Boston, MA).</ref><ref>Touba, Mariam (November 5, 2014) [http://blog.nyhistory.org/coined-phrase-united-states-america-may-never-guess/ Who Coined the Phrase 'United States of America'? You May Never Guess] "Here, on January 2, 1776, seven months before the Declaration of Independence and a week before the publication of Paine's ''Common Sense'', Stephen Moylan, an acting secretary to General George Washington, spells it out, 'I should like vastly to go with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain' to seek foreign assistance for the cause." ''New-York Historical Society Museum & Library''</ref><ref>Fay, John (July 15, 2016) [http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/The-forgotten-Irishman-who-named-the-United-States-of-America.html The forgotten Irishman who named the 'United States of America'] "According to the NY Historical Society, Stephen Moylan was the man responsible for the earliest documented use of the phrase "United States of America." But who was Stephen Moylan?" ''IrishCentral.com''</ref>

Det tidligst kendte publikation af udtrykket "Amerikas Forenede stater" er i et anonymt essay i avisen ''[[The Virginia Gazette]]'' i Williamsburg, Virginia på den 6. april 1776.<ref>{{cite journal|title="To the inhabitants of Virginia," by A PLANTER.'' Dixon and Hunter's. April 6, 1776, Williamsburg, Virginia. Letter is also included in Peter Force's ''American Archives'' |url=http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16|issue=1287|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219053616/http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16|archivedate=December 19, 2014|volume=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Rusty |last=Carter |url =http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-vg-usa-first-0818-20120818,0,4983868.story |title =You read it here first |newspaper =The Virginia Gazette |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822051820/http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-vg-usa-first-0818-20120818,0,4983868.story |archivedate=August 22, 2012 |date =August 18, 2012 |deadurl=yes |quote=He did a search of the archives and found the letter on the front page of the April 6, 1776, edition, published by Hunter & Dixon.}}</ref>Det andet udkast af [[Konføderationsartiklerne]] fra 17 juni, 1776 erklærede "Navnet af denne konføderation skal være 'Amerikas Forenede Stater.'"<ref name="safire">{{cite news|last1=Safire|first1=William|title=On Language; Name That Nation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/05/magazine/on-language-name-that-nation.html|accessdate=March 15, 2016|work=[[The New York Times Magazine]]|publisher=New York Times|date=July 5, 1998}}</ref> Den endelige version af artiklerne, der blev sendt til staterne for ratificering sendt i 1777, indeholder sætningen "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America'".<ref>{{cite book|author=Mary Mostert|title=The Threat of Anarchy Leads to the Constitution of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jntSQ-yn66AC&pg=PA18|year=2005|publisher=CTR Publishing, Inc|page=18|isbn=978-0-9753851-4-2}}</ref> [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jeffersen]] skrev i juni 1776 udtrykket "AMERIKAS FORENEDE STATER" udelukkende med store bogstaver i overskriften for hans "oprindelige Rough udkast" i [[USA's uafhængighedserklæring|Uafhængighedserklæringen]]<ref>DeLear, Byron (August 16, 2012). [http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2012/0816/Who-coined-the-name-United-States-of-America-Mystery-gets-new-twist#disqus_thread "Who coined the name 'United States of America'? Mystery gets new twist."] ''Christian Science Monitor'' (Boston, MA).</ref><ref>{{cite web |url =https://www.princeton.edu/~tjpapers/declaration/declaration.html |title=Jefferson's "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence |publisher = Princeton University |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040805235246/http://www.princeton.edu/~tjpapers/declaration/declaration.html |archivedate=August 5, 2004 |year =2004 |deadurl= yes}}</ref> Dette udkast af dokumentet kom ikke op til overfladen indtil 21. juni 1776, og det er uklart om det var skrevet før eller efter, Dickinson brugte begrebet i sit 17. juni udkast af Konføderationsartiklerne.<ref name="safire" /> Titlen var ændret grafisk til "Den enstemmige deklaration af de tretten 'united States of America'" i den endelige 4. juli version af Uafhængighedserklæringen .<!--Do not uppercase "united" here: it is unambiguously lowercased in the Declaration--><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html |title=The Charters of Freedom |publisher=National Archives |accessdate=June 20, 2007}}</ref> Forfatningens [[Præambel|præamblen]] meddeler "...fastsætter denne forfatning for Amerikas Forenede Stater"

Den korte udgave "United States" er også standard. Andre almindelige udgaver er "U.S", "USA" og "America". I hverdagssprog er "U.S. of A." og internationalt the "States" (dansk "Staterne")."[[Columbia (name)|Columbia]]" er et populært navn i poesi og sange fra det sent i det 18. århundrede, udledt af dets oprindelse fra [[Christopher Columbus]]; Den forekommer i navnet "[[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]".<ref name="Brokenshire1">{{cite book|author=Doug Brokenshire (Stanford University)|title=Washington State Place Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XI52I8zI_AC&pg=PA49|year=1996|publisher=Caxton Press|isbn=978-0-87004-562-2|page=49}}</ref> I ikke engelsk talende lande er navnet ofte oversættelsen af enten "United States" eller "United States of America", og i dagligdags sprog som "America". Udover dette bruges en forkortelse (eksempelvis. USA) nogle gange .<ref>For example, the U.S. embassy in Spain calls itself the embassy of the "Estados Unidos", literally the words "states" and "united", and also uses the initials "EE.UU.", the doubled letters implying plural use in Spanish [http://spanish.madrid.usembassy.gov/] Elsewhere on the site "Estados Unidos de América" is used [http://spanish.madrid.usembassy.gov/es/educacion/benjamin_2013.html]</ref>

Udtrykket "Amerikas Forenede Stater" var oprindelig i flertal, en beskrivelse af en samling af uafhængige state foreksempel. "the United States are"— og forekommer i den 13. tilføjelse i USA's forfatning, ratificeret i 1865. Ordets formel i ental eksempelvis "the United States is" blev populær efter afslutningen af [[Amerikanske borgerkrig|den Amerikanske Borgerkrig]]. Entalsformen er nu normalen, og flertalsformen er beholdt i [[Idiom|idiomet]] "these United States".<ref name=zimmer>{{cite web |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002663.html |author=Zimmer, Benjamin |date=November 24, 2005 |title=Life in These, Uh, This United States |publisher=University of Pennsylvania—Language Log |accessdate=January 5, 2013}}</ref> Forskellen er mere markant end brugen; det er en forskel mellem en samling af stater og en enhed.t.<ref>G. H. Emerson, ''The Universalist Quarterly and General Review'', Vol. 28 (Jan. 1891), p. 49, quoted in Zimmer paper above.</ref>

En amerikansk statsborger kaldes en "Amerikaner". "United States", "American" og "U.S." henviser "adjectivally" ("American values", "U.S.&nbsp;forces"). På engelsk refererer ordet "American" sjældent til emner til noget, der ikke har vedrører "Amerikas Forenede Stater".<ref>Wilson, Kenneth G. (1993). ''The Columbia Guide to Standard American English''. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-231-06989-8.</ref>

=== Geografi, klima og miljø ===
{{main|USA's miljø}}
[[File:USA-satellite.jpg|thumb|A composite satellite image of the contiguous United States and surrounding areas]]
[[File:US50states koppen.svg|thumb|right|[[Köppen climate classification]]s]]
==== Geografi ====
{{uddybende|USA's geografi}}
{{Se også|USA's territorier|Alaskas geografi|Hawaii-øerne}}
USA's fastland ligger mellem det nordlige Atlanterhav i øst, det nordlige Stillehav i vest, Mexico og den [[mexicanske Golf]] i syd og Canada i nord. Landområdet af fastlandet af USA er på 7.663.940,6 km<sup>2</sup>, og Alaska, der er separeret fra den sammenhængende del, er den største delstat med sine 1.717.856,2km<sup>2</sup>. [[Hawaii]], der omfatter et øhav i den centrale del af [[Stillehavet]] og ligger sydvest for Nordamerika, har et landområde på 28.311km<sup>2</sup>. De befolkede territorier, [[Puerto Rico]], [[Amerikansk Samoa]], [[Guam]], [[Nordmarianerne]] og [[Amerikanske Jomfruøer|U.S. Virgin Islands]] dækker tilsammen et landområde på 23.789 km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="Land Area of US and states">{{cite web|title=2010 Census Area|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf|website=census.gov|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|page=41|accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref>

USA er verdens tredje eller fjerde største land ved totalt areal, målt med land- og vandområde, og rangerer sig dermed bag Rusland og Canada og lige over eller under Kina. Rækkefølgen varierer afhængig af, hvordan to territorier krævet af Kina og Indien er opgjort, og hvordan USA's samlede areal er målt: Opgørelserne varierer fra 9.522.055km<sup>2</sup> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616563/United-States|title=United States|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=March 25, 2008}} (area given in square miles)</ref> og 9.629.091,5km<sup>2</sup> <ref>{{cite web |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/DYB2005/Table03.pdf |title=Population by Sex, Rate of Population Increase, Surface Area and Density |publisher=UN Statistics Division |work=Demographic Yearbook 2005 |accessdate=March 25, 2008}} (area given in square kilometers)</ref> til 9.833.516,6km<sup>2</sup> <ref name="WF">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html |title=United States |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|work=The World Factbook |date=May 23, 2016 |accessdate=June 10, 2016}} (area given in square kilometers)</ref> og 9.857.306km<sup>2.</sup> <ref name="State and other areas" /> USA er det tredje største land bag Rusland og Kina og lige foran Canada, hvis man kun opgør landområdet.<ref name="CIA Factbook Area">{{cite web|title=Area|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html|website=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|accessdate=January 15, 2015}}</ref>

==== Geologi====
{{Uddybende|USA's geologi|Hawaii hotspot|Alaskas geografi|}}
Kystsletten ved Atlanterhavet afløses ved indlandet af [[Piedmont (USA)|Piedmont]], et plateua med bølgende bakker og skove med løvfældende træer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Geographic Regions of Georgia|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/geography/article/geographic-regions-of-georgia|website=Georgia Info|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> Bjerkæden [[Appalacherne]] deler kystområdet fra [[Store søer (Nordamerika)|de Store Søer]] og [[Midtvesten|Midtvestens]] græstepper.<ref name="NAU">{{cite web|last=Lew|first=Alan|title=PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE US|url=http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch2.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409112252/http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch2.html|archivedate=April 9, 2016|website=GSP 220 – Geography of the United States|publisher=North Arizona University|accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> [[Mississippifloden|Mississippi]]–[[Missouri-floden|Missourifloden]], der er verdens fjerde længste [[flodsystem]], løber hovedsageligt gennem midten af landet. Den flade og frodige prærie ved [[Great Plains]] strækker sig til vest, afbrudt af et højlandsområde i sydøst.<ref name="NAU" />

[[Rocky Mountains]] ved den vestlige yderkant af Great Plains, strækker fra nord til syd på tværs af landet og tårner sig i Colorado højere end 4.300 meter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/rocky-mountain-range-11967.html|title=Facts About the Rocky Mountain Range|last=Harms|first=Nicole|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=December 24, 2014|website=Travel Tips}}</ref> Længere til vest er det stenede [[Great Basin]], hvor ørkener såsom [[Chihuahuanørkenen|Chihuahua]] and [[Mojaveørkenen|Mojave]] ligger.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/242919/Great-Basin|title=Great Basin|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> Bjergkæderne [[Sierra Nevada (USA)|Sierra Nevada]] og [[Cascades]] placerer sig tæt på [[USA's vestkyst]], og de tårner sig højere op end 4.300 meter. De højeste og laveste punkter i den sammenhængende del af USA er begge i staten [[Californien]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2829|title=Mount Whitney, California|publisher=Peakbagger|accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> og de er kun omkring 135 km fra hinanden. Mount Whitney er det højeste med 4421 m, og Death Valley det laveste med -86 m.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/distance?dlat=36&mlat=15&slat=01&ns=1&dlon=116&mlon=49&slon=33&ew=1&dlat2=36&mlat2=34&slat2=43&sn=1&dlon2=118&mlon2=17&slon2=31&we=1&iselec=1|title=Find Distance and Azimuths Between 2 Sets of Coordinates (Badwater 36-15-01-N, 116-49-33-W and Mount Whitney 36-34-43-N, 118-17-31-W)|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> Alaskas [[Denali]] (Mount McKinley) er med en højde på 6.190,5 m det højeste punkt i Nordamerika.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/39245-us-tallest-mountain-location-explained.html|title=US Tallest Mountain's Surprising Location Explained|last=Poppick|first=Laura|publisher=LiveScience|accessdate=May 2, 2015}}</ref> Aktive vulkaner er almindelige hele vejen igennem Alaskas [[Alexanderarkipelaget]] og [[Aleuterne]], og Hawaii består af vulkanøer. [[Supervulkan|Supervulkanen]] der ligger under [[Yellowstone National Park]], i Rocky Mountains er kontinentets største vulkan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html|title=America's Explosive Park|last=O'Hanlon|first=Larry|date=March 14, 2005|publisher=Discovery Channel|accessdate=April 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050314034001/http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html|archive-date=March 14, 2005}}</ref>

==== Klima ====
{{uddybende|USAs klima|Alaskas klima|Hawaiis klima}}
Grundet dets størrelse og geografiske mangfoldighed omfatter USA de fleste [[Klima- og plantebælter|klimabælter]], Til øst ved den [[100. vestlige længdekreds]], spænder klimaet fra fugtigt kontinentalklima i nord til fugtigt subtropisk klima i syd.<ref>{{cite web|last=Boyden|first=Jennifer|title=Climate Regions of the United States|url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/climate-regions-united-states-21570.html|website=Travel Tips|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref> Great Plains til vest for 100. vestlige længdekreds er [[Steppeklima|halvtørre]]. Mange af bjergene i vest har [[alpint klima]]. Klimaet er tørt i Great Basin, ørkenen i sydvest, ligesom ved [[Middelhavsklima|Middelhavet]] i det [[kystnære Californien]], og der er kystklima i det kystnære [[Oregon]], [[Washington (delstat)|Washington]] og det sydlige Alaska. Klimaet i det meste af Alaska er subarktisk eller [[Polarklima|polart]]. Hawaii og den sydlige spids af [[Florida]] er tropisk, såvel som de befolkede territorier i [[Caribien]] og Stillehavet.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Map of Köppen−Geiger Climate Classification|url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/kottek_et_al_2006_A4.pdf|accessdate=August 19, 2015}}</ref> Ekstremt vejr er ikke ualmindeligt, og de stater, der grænser op til [[Mexicanske Golf|den Mexicanske Golf]], udsættes ofte for [[Orkan|orkaner]], og de fleste [[Tornado|tornadoer]] forekommer inden for landets grænser, hovedsageligt i [[Tornado Alley]], der ligger i Midtvesten og i syd.<ref>{{cite news |author=Perkins, Sid |url=http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701131631/http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp |archivedate=July 1, 2007 |title=Tornado Alley, USA |accessdate=September 20, 2006 |date=May 11, 2002 |work=Science News}}</ref> Det overvejende tempererede klima, hvor de opdyrkede arealer sjældent bliver ramt af alvorlig [[tørke]] eller oversvømmelser, gør dog USA til et førende landbrugsland.

==== Plante- og dyreliv ====
{{Uddybende|USA's plante- og dyreliv|Alaskas plante- og dyreliv|Hawaiis plante- og dyreliv}}
[[File:Bald Eagle Portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[bald eagle]] has been the [[National bird of the United States|national bird]] of the United States since 1782.<ref name="McDougall2004">{{cite book|author=Len McDougall|title=The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XOc2_u7z6cC&pg=PA325|year=2004|publisher=Lyons Press|isbn=978-1-59228-070-4|page=325}}</ref>]]
USA's plante- og dyreliv er [[Megadiverse lande|megadiverst]], med over 17,000 arter af [[karplanter]] i det sammenhænge USA og Alaska, og over 1800 [[Dækfrøede planter|blomstrende planter]] findes i Hawaii, hvoraf få findes på fastlandet.<ref>{{cite web |author=Morin, Nancy |url=http://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724222726/http://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf |title=Vascular Plants of the United States |publisher=National Biological Service |work=Plants |accessdate=October 27, 2008|archivedate=July 24, 2013 }}</ref> USA er hjemsted for over 428 [[Pattedyr|pattydyrsarter]], 784 [[Fugle|fuglearter]], 295 [[Krybdyr|reptilarter]] og 295 [[Padder|amfibiearter]].<ref name="Current Results # of native species in the US">{{cite web|last1=Osborn|first1=Liz|title=Number of Native Species in United States|url=http://www.currentresults.com/Environment-Facts/Plants-Animals/number-of-native-species-in-united-states.php|publisher=Current Results Nexus|accessdate=January 15, 2015}}</ref> Omkring 91.000 [[Insekter|insektarter]] er blevet beskrevet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/bugnos.htm |title=Numbers of Insects (Species and Individuals) |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> The [[Hvidhovedet havørn|hvidhovede havørn]] er både USA's nationalfugl og nationaldyr.<ref name=j23>{{cite journal |last1=Lawrence |first1=E.A. |year=1990 |title=Symbol of a Nation: The Bald Eagle in American Culture |journal=The Journal of American Culture |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=63–69|doi=10.1111/j.1542-734X.1990.1301_63.x }}</ref> Med sit miljø som strækker sig fra det tropiske til det arktiske, er USA's [[Flora (botanik)|flora]] den mest forskelligartede i hele verden.

USA har været meget aktiv i diverse fredningsprocesser; i 1872 blev verdens første [[nationalpark]] oprettet i [[Yellowstone National Park|Yellowstone]]. Siden er der blevet udpeget [[Nationalparker i USA|57 yderligere nationalparker]] og hundredvis af [[Føderalisme|føderal]] forvaltede parker, skove og områder med vild natur.<ref>{{cite press release |title=National Park Service Announces Addition of Two New Units |url=http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=639 |date=February 28, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001195645/http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=639 |archive-date=October 1, 2006 |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref> Staten ejer tilsammen omkring 28% af landets areal,<ref name="NYTimes Federal Land">{{cite news|last1=Lipton|first1=Eric|last2=Krauss|first2=Clifford|title=Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/us/romney-would-give-reins-to-states-on-drilling-on-federal-lands.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0|accessdate=January 18, 2015|publisher=New York Times|date=August 23, 2012}}</ref> hvoraf det meste af dette er [[Naturfredning|naturfredet]], og dog er noget lejet til olie- og gasboringer, minedrift, skovbrug, kvægdrift og .86% bruges til militære formål.<ref name="Federal Land Ownership">{{cite web|last1=Gorte|first1=Ross W.|last2=Vincent|first2=Carol Hardy.|last3=Hanson|first3=Laura A.|last4=Marc R.|first4=Rosenblum|title=Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf|website=fas.org|publisher=Congressional Research Service|accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Fed Land Uses">{{cite web|title=Chapter 6: Federal Programs to Promote Resource Use, Extraction, and Development|url=http://www.doi.gov/pmb/oepc/wetlands2/v2ch6.cfm|website=doi.gov|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318005744/http://www.doi.gov/pmb/oepc/wetlands2/v2ch6.cfm|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior|accessdate=January 19, 2015|archivedate=March 18, 2015}}</ref>

[[USA's miljøproblemer|Miljøproblemer]] har været på den nationale dagsorden siden 1970. Miljømæssige kontroverser omfatter debatter om olie og [[Kernekraft|atomkraft]], håndtering af luft- og vandforurening, de økonomiske omkostninger ved at beskytte vildt plante- og dyreliv, skovning og skovrydning<ref>{{cite web|author=The National Atlas of the United States of America |url=http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html |title=Forest Resources of the United States |publisher=Nationalatlas.gov |date=January 14, 2013 |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr587.pdf |title=Land Use Changes Involving Forestry in the United States: 1952 to 1997, With Projections to 2050 |format=PDF |year=2003 |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref> og internationale reaktioner på den globale opvarmning.<ref>[[#Daynes|Daynes & Sussman, 2010]], pp. 3, 72, 74–76, 78</ref><ref>Hays, Samuel P. (2000). ''A History of Environmental Politics since 1945''.</ref> Mange føderale og statslige organer er involveret. Den mest fremtrædende er [[Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA), skabt af et præsidentielt dekret i 1970.<ref name="Collin2006">{{cite book|last=Collin|first=Robert W.|title=The Environmental Protection Agency: Cleaning Up America's Act|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVPoqXeTYTwC&pg=PA1|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33341-5|page=1|accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> Ideen om vild natur har formet forvaltningen af offentligt land siden 1964, hvor [[Wilderness Act]] blev vedtaget.<ref>Turner, James Morton (2012). ''The Promise of Wilderness''</ref> [[Endangered Species Act]] fra 1973 har til formål at beskytte truede arter og deres [[Habitat|habitater]], som er overvåges af [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]].<ref name="Office">{{cite book|title=Endangered species Fish and Wildlife Service |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a8BEuUPJb58C&pg=PA1|publisher=General Accounting Office, DIANE Publishing|isbn=978-1-4289-3997-4|page=1|accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref>

=== Demografi ===
=== Familiestruktur ===
{{Main|USA's familiestruktur}}
I 2007 var 58% af voksne amerikanere gift, 6% enker, 10% skilt, og 25% havde aldrig været gift.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/pop.pdf|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|work=Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009| title=Table 55—Marital Status of the Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1990 to 2007|accessdate = October 11, 2009}}</ref> Kvinder arbejder nu mest udenfor hjemmet og modtager majoriteten af [[Bachelor|bachelorerne]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iserp.columbia.edu/news/articles/female_college.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609151527/http://www.iserp.columbia.edu/news/articles/female_college.html |archivedate=June 9, 2007 |title=Women's Advances in Education |publisher=Columbia University, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy |year=2006 |accessdate=June 6, 2007}}</ref>

USA's teenager-graviditetsrate er 26.5 per 1000 kvinder, og raten er faldet med 57% siden 1991.<ref name="tbirthrate">{{cite web|url=http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf|title=Births: Final Data for 2013, tables 2, 3|publisher=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services|accessdate=July 23, 2015}}</ref> I 2015 var den højeste teenage-fødselsrate i [[Alabama]] og den laveste i [[Wyoming]].<ref name="tbirthrate" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing|url=http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/reproductive-health/teen-pregnancy/trends.html|publisher=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services|accessdate=July 23, 2015}}</ref> Abort er legalt i hele USA, grundet ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' 1973, [[Liste over skelsættende domstolsafgørelser i USA|en skelsættende domstolsafgørelse]] ved [[Højesteret (USA)|USA's højesteret]]. Mens abortraten er faldende, forbliver abort rationen på 241 per 1000 levende fødsler og abortraten på 15 per 1000 kvinder i alderen 15-44 år højere end for de fleste vestlige lande.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5511a1.htm|author=Strauss, Lilo T.|title=Abortion Surveillance—United States, 2003|accessdate = June 17, 2007 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health|work=MMWR|date=November 24, 2006|display-authors=etal}}</ref> I 2013 var den gennemsnitlige alder ved første fødsel 26 år, og de ugifte kvinders fødsler udgjorde 40,6% af alle fødslerne.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/births.htm |title=FASTSTATS&nbsp;– Births and Natality |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=November 21, 2013 |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref>

Fertilitetsraten var i 2013 estimeret til 1,86 fødsler per kvinde.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wetzstein|first1=Cheryl|title=U.S. fertility plummets to record low|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/28/us-birthrate-plummets-to-record-low/?page=all|accessdate=August 20, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=May 28, 2014}}</ref> Adoption i USA er almindeligt og relativt nemt fra et juridisk synspunkt i forhold til andre vestlige lande.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jardine |first=Cassandra |title= Why adoption is so easy in America |url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3354960/Why-adoption-is-so-easy-in-America.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location= London |date=October 31, 2007}}</ref> I 2001 tegnede USA med sine over 127.000 adoptioner for næsten halvdelen af det totale antal af adoptioner på verdensplan.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdf |title= Child Adoption: Trends and policies |publisher= United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs |year=2009 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> [[Homovielse|Homovielser]] er legale i hele USA, og det er tilladt for par af samme køn at adoptere. [[Polygami]] er illegalt i hele USA.<ref name=quietly>{{cite news|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90857818|title=Some Muslims in U.S. Quietly Engage in Polygamy|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]: ''[[All Things Considered]]''|accessdate=July 23, 2009|date=May 27, 2008|first=Barbara Bradley|last=Hagerty}}</ref>

=== Politik ===
==== Parties and elections ====
{{Main|Politics of the United States|Political ideologies in the United States}}

[[File:Obama meets with Congressional Leadership July 2011.jpg|250|thumb|Congressional leadership meeting with then-President [[Barack Obama|Obama]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Debt And Deficit Negotiations |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/photogallery/debt-and-deficit-negotiations |date=2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820190324/https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/photogallery/debt-and-deficit-negotiations |archive-date=August 20, 2016 |at=Image 4 of 20 |type=Photograph |website=The White House |access-date=February 20, 2017}}</ref>]]

The United States has operated under a [[two-party system]] for most of its history.<ref name=twsNovGe>{{cite news
|author1=Etheridge, Eric |author2=Deleith, Asger |title= A Republic or a Democracy?
|newspaper= New York Times blogs
|quote= The US system seems essentially a two-party system.&nbsp;...
|date= August 19, 2009
|url= http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/a-republic-or-a-democracy/
|accessdate= November 7, 2010
}}</ref> For elective offices at most levels, state-administered [[primary election]]s choose the major party [[nomination|nominees]] for subsequent [[general election]]s. Since the [[United States presidential election, 1856|general election of 1856]], the major parties have been the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], [[History of the United States Democratic Party|founded in 1824]], and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], [[History of the United States Republican Party|founded in 1854]]. Since the Civil War, only one [[Third party (United States)|third-party]] presidential candidate—former president [[Theodore Roosevelt]], running as a [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive]] in [[United States presidential election, 1912|1912]]—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote. The President and Vice-president are elected through the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] system.<ref name="Avaliktos2004">{{cite book|last=Avaliktos|first=Neal|title=The Election Process Revisited|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XR21acqXy28C&pg=PA111|date=January 1, 2004|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-59454-054-7|page=111}}</ref>

Within American [[political culture]], the [[Center-right politics|center-right]] Republican Party is considered "[[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]]" and the [[Centre-left politics|center-left]] Democratic Party is considered "[[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]]".<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Mosler|author2=Robert Catley|title=America and Americans in Australia|date=1998|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|page=83|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YungugjvIaQC&pg=PA83#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=April 11, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Grigsby |first=Ellen|title=Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2008 |isbn=0-495-50112-3 | pages = 106–7}}</ref> The states of the [[Politics of the Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and [[Politics of the Western United States|West Coast]] and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "[[Red states and blue states|blue states]]", are relatively liberal. The "[[Political party strength in U.S. states|red states]]" of the [[Politics of the Southern United States|South]] and parts of the [[Midwestern United States#Political trends|Great Plains]] and [[Politics of the Western United States|Rocky Mountains]] are relatively conservative.

[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Donald Trump]], the winner of the [[United States Presidential Election, 2016|2016 presidential election]], is currently serving as the 45th [[President of the United States]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Flegenheimer |first1=Matt |last2=Barbaro |first2=Michael |title=Donald Trump Is Elected President in Stunning Repudiation of the Establishment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-president.html?_r=0 |date=November 9, 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 11, 2016}}</ref> Current leadership in the Senate includes Republican Vice President [[Mike Pence]], Republican President Pro Tempore (Pro Tem) [[Orrin Hatch]], [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Majority Leader]] [[Mitch McConnell]], and Minority Leader [[Chuck Schumer]].<ref>US Senate, [http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/leadership.htm Senate Organization Chart for the 114th Congress], viewed August 25, 2015.</ref> Leadership in the House includes Speaker of the House [[Paul Ryan]], [[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives|Majority Leader]] [[Kevin McCarthy (California politician)|Kevin McCarthy]], and Minority Leader [[Nancy Pelosi]].<ref>US House of Representatives, [http://www.house.gov/leadership/ Leadership], viewed August 25, 2015.</ref>

In the [[115th United States Congress]], both the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and the [[United States Senate|Senate]] are controlled by the Republican Party. The Senate currently consists of 52 Republicans, and 46 Democrats with 2 [[independent politician|Independents]] who caucus with the Democrats; the House consists of 241 Republicans and 194 Democrats.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/cong.aspx | title =Congressional Profile Resources |publisher= [[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives|Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives]]}}</ref> In state governorships, there are 31 Republicans, 18 Democrats and 1 Independent.<ref>MultiState Associates Incorporated.
[https://www.multistate.com/state-resources/governors-legislatures 2015 Governors and Legislatures]. Viewed January 14, 2015.</ref> Among the DC mayor and the 5 territorial governors, there are 2 Republicans, 1 Democrat, 1 [[Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico)|Popular Democrat]], and 2 Independents.<ref>National Governor's Association. [http://www.nga.org/cms/governors/bios Current Governors], viewed January 14, 2015; DeBonis, Mike. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-mayoral-candidates-bowser-catania-schwartz-await-voters-decision/2014/11/04/494fe0d6-533f-11e4-892e-602188e70e9c_story.html?tid=pm_local_pop Bowser is elected D.C. Mayor]", Washington Post November 5, 2014, viewed January 14, 2015.</ref>

==== Government finance ====
{{See also|Taxation in the United States|United States federal budget}}
[[File:Federal Debt Held by the Public 1790-2013.png|thumb|425px|US federal debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP, from 1790 to 2013.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Budget Office|first1=Congressional|title=The Long-Term Budget Outlook 2013|url=http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/44521-LTBO2013_0.pdf|website=cbo.gov|publisher=Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office|page= 10|accessdate=January 21, 2016}}</ref>]]
[[Taxation in the United States|Taxes in the United States]] are levied at the federal, state and local government level. These include taxes on income, payroll, property, sales, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. In 2010 taxes collected by federal, state and municipal governments amounted to 24.8% of [[Gross domestic product|GDP]].<ref>{{cite news |author= Porter, Eduardo |title= America's Aversion to Taxes |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/business/economy/slipping-behind-because-of-an-aversion-to-taxes.html?_r=1&src=recg |quote=In 1965, taxes collected by federal, state and municipal governments amounted to 24.7 percent of the nation's output. In 2010, they amounted to 24.8 percent. Excluding Chile and Mexico, the United States raises less tax revenue, as a share of the economy, than every other industrial country. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 14, 2012 |accessdate=August 15, 2012}}</ref> During FY2012, the federal government collected approximately $2.45 trillion in tax revenue, up $147 billion or 6% versus FY2011 revenues of $2.30 trillion. Primary receipt categories included individual income taxes ($1,132B or 47%), Social Security/Social Insurance taxes ($845B or 35%), and corporate taxes ($242B or 10%).<ref name="CBO Historical Tables 2012FY" /> Based on CBO estimates,<ref name="CBO 2010">{{cite web|url=http://cbo.gov/publication/44604 |title=The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2010 |publisher=The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) |date=December 4, 2013 |accessdate=January 6, 2014}}</ref> under 2013 tax law the top 1% will be paying the highest average tax rates since 1979, while other income groups will remain at historic lows.<ref name="Lowrey">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/05/business/after-fiscal-deal-tax-code-may-be-most-progressive-since-1979.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Tax Code May Be the Most Progressive Since 1979 | date=January 4, 2013 | accessdate=January 6, 2014 | first1=Annie | last1=Lowrey}}</ref>

U.S. taxation is generally [[Progressive tax|progressive]], especially the federal income taxes, and is among the most progressive in the developed world.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Isabelle Joumard|author2=Mauro Pisu|author3=Debbie Bloch|title=Tackling income inequality The role of taxes and transfers|journal=OECD Journal: Economic Studies|date=2012|page=27|url=http://www.oecd.org/eco/public-finance/TacklingincomeinequalityTheroleoftaxesandtransfers.pdf|accessdate=September 24, 2015|quote=Various studies have compared the progressivity of tax systems of European countries with that of the United States (see for instance Prasad and Deng, 2009; Piketty and Saez, 2007; Joumard, 2001). Though they use different definitions, methods and databases, they reach the same conclusion: the US tax system is more progressive than those of the continental European countries.}}</ref><ref>Taxation in the US:
* {{cite journal |last=Prasad |first=M. |last2=Deng|first2= Y. |title=Taxation and the worlds of welfare |journal= Socio-Economic Review |date=April 2, 2009 |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=431–457 |doi= 10.1093/ser/mwp005 |url= http://ser.oxfordjournals.org/content/7/3/431.abstract?keytype=ref&ijkey=65cyoW8oR1QgGoI |accessdate=May 5, 2013}}
* {{cite news |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |title=Other countries don't have a "47%" |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/19/other-countries-dont-have-a-47/ |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=October 29, 2013 |date=September 19, 2012}}
* {{cite web |title=How Much Do People Pay in Federal Taxes?|url= http://pgpf.org/budget-explainer/taxes |publisher=Peter G. Peterson Foundation |accessdate=October 2, 2015}}
* {{cite web |title=T13-0174 – Average Effective Federal Tax Rates by Filing Status; by Expanded Cash Income Percentile, 2014 |url= http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?DocID=3933 |publisher=The Tax Policy Center |accessdate=October 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Huang|first1=Chye-Ching|last2=Frentz|first2=Nathaniel|title=What Do OECD Data Really Show About U.S. Taxes and Reducing Inequality?|url=http://www.cbpp.org/research/what-do-oecd-data-really-show-about-us-taxes-and-reducing-inequality|publisher=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities|accessdate=September 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Dylan47">{{cite news |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |title=Other countries don't have a "47%" |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/19/other-countries-dont-have-a-47/ |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=October 29, 2013 |date=September 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Piketty |first=Thomas |last2=Saez |first2=Emmanuel |date=August 2006 |title=How Progressive is the U.S. Federal Tax System? A Historical and International Perspective |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w12404 |journal=National Bureau of Economic Research|access-date=September 22, 2015}}</ref> The highest 10% of income earners pay a majority of federal taxes,<ref>{{cite news |author=Jane Wells |title=The rich do not pay the most taxes, they pay ALL the taxes |url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/101264757#. |newspaper=CNBC |date=December 11, 2013 |accessdate=January 14, 2015 }}<br />{{cite news |author=Steve Hargreaves |title=The rich pay majority of U.S. income taxes |url=http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/12/news/economy/rich-taxes/ |newspaper=CNN |date=March 12, 2013 |accessdate=January 14, 2015 }}<br />{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Top 10 Percent of Earners Paid 68 Percent of Federal Income Taxes |url=http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-earners |year=2015 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20150106065112/http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-earners |archive-date=January 6, 2015 |website=2014 Federal Budget in Pictures |publisher=[[The Heritage Foundation]] |access-date=February 25, 2017}}<br />{{cite news |author=Stephen Dinan |title=CBO: The wealthy pay 70 percent of taxes |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/10/cbo-rich-pay-outsized-share-taxes/ |newspaper=Washington Times |date=July 10, 2012 |accessdate=January 14, 2015 }}<br />{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Tax Man Cometh! But For Whom? |url=http://www.npr.org/2012/04/15/150632993/the-tax-man-cometh-but-for-whom |newspaper=NPR |date=April 15, 2012 |accessdate=January 14, 2015 }}</ref> and about half of all taxes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wamhoff|first1=Steve|title=Who Pays Taxes in America in 2014?|url=http://www.ctj.org/pdf/taxday2014.pdf|accessdate=January 17, 2015|publisher=Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy|date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> Payroll taxes for Social Security are a flat [[regressive tax]], with no tax charged on income above $118,500 (for 2015 and 2016) and no tax at all paid on [[unearned income]] from things such as stocks and capital gains.<ref>{{cite web |last=Agadoni |first=Laura |title= Characteristics of a Regressive Tax |url= http://smallbusiness.chron.com/characteristics-regressive-tax-17562.html |publisher =Houston Chronicle Small Business blog}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/Payroll-Taxes.cfm |title=TPC Tax Topics &#124; Payroll Taxes |publisher=Taxpolicycenter.org |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref> The historic reasoning for the regressive nature of the payroll tax is that entitlement programs have not been viewed as welfare transfers.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Design of the Original Social Security Act |url= http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/genrev.html |work=Social Security Online |publisher=U.S. Social Security Administration |accessdate=April 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Blahous |first=Charles |title=The Dark Side of the Payroll Tax Cut |url= http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/109216 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016140415/http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/109216|archivedate=October 16, 2013|work=Defining Ideas |publisher= Hoover Institution |accessdate=April 3, 2013 |date=February 24, 2012}}</ref> However, according to the [[Congressional Budget Office]] the net effect of Social Security is that the benefit to tax ratio ranges from roughly 70% for the top earnings quintile to about 170% for the lowest earning quintile, making the system progressive.<ref>[https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/109th-congress-2005-2006/reports/12-15-progressivity-ss.pdf Is Social SecurityProgressove? CBO]</ref>

The top 10% paid 51.8% of total federal taxes in 2009, and the top 1%, with 13.4% of pre-tax national income, paid 22.3% of federal taxes.<ref name="CBO, Distribution">{{cite web |title=The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2008 and 2009 |url= http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43373-06-11-HouseholdIncomeandFedTaxes.pdf |accessdate=April 3, 2013 |publisher= Congressional Budget Office |date=July 2012}}</ref> In 2013 the Tax Policy Center projected total federal effective tax rates of 35.5% for the top 1%, 27.2% for the top quintile, 13.8% for the middle quintile, and −2.7% for the bottom quintile.<ref>{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Ohlemacher |title=Tax bills for rich families approach 30-year high |url= http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2020475301_apustaxingtherich.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029082458/http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2020475301_apustaxingtherich.html|accessdate=April 3, 2013|newspaper=The Seattle Times |agency=Associated Press |date=March 3, 2013|archivedate=October 29, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Who will pay what in 2013 taxes? |url= http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2020475325_apustaxeswhopayswhat.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029085558/http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2020475325_apustaxeswhopayswhat.html|accessdate=April 3, 2013 |newspaper=The Seattle Times |agency=Associated Press |date=March 3, 2013|archivedate=October 29, 2014}}</ref> The [[tax incidence|incidence]] of [[corporate tax in the United States|corporate income tax]] has been a matter of considerable ongoing controversy for decades.<ref name="Dylan47" /><ref>Tax incidence of corporate tax in the United States:
* {{cite web |last=Harris |first=Benjamin H. |date= November 2009 |title=Corporate Tax Incidence and Its Implications for Progressivity |url= http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001349_corporate_tax_incidence.pdf |publisher=Tax Policy Center |accessdate=October 9, 2013}}
* {{cite web |last=Gentry |first=William M. |date=December 2007 |title=A Review of the Evidence on the Incidence of the Corporate Income Tax |url= http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/tax-analysis/Documents/ota101.pdf |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/6KnVtsZ8M?url=http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/tax-analysis/Documents/ota101.pdf |archivedate= November 1, 2013 |work=OTA Paper 101 |publisher=Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Department of the Treasury |accessdate=October 9, 2013}}
* {{cite book |last=Fullerton |first=Don |title=Handbook of Public Economics |year=2002 |publisher=Elsevier Science B.V. |location=Amsterdam |pages=1788–1839 |url= http://works.bepress.com/don_fullerton/15/ |last2= Metcalf|first2= Gilbert E. |editor=A.J. Auerbach and M. Feldstein|accessdate=October 9, 2013|chapter=Tax Incidence}}
* {{cite journal |last=Musgrave |first=R.A. |last2=Carroll|first2=J.J.|last3=Cook|first3= L.D.|last4=Frane|first4= L. |title= Distribution of Tax Payments by Income Groups: A Case Study for 1948 |journal= National Tax Journal |date=March 1951 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=1–53 |url= https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/scribd/?item_id=463471&filepath=/docs/historical/eccles/026_13_0001.pdf |accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref> State and local taxes vary widely, but are generally less progressive than federal taxes as they rely heavily on broadly borne [[Regressive tax|regressive]] sales and property taxes that yield less volatile revenue streams, though their consideration does not eliminate the progressive nature of overall taxation.<ref name="Dylan47" /><ref name="TaxF">{{cite web |last=Malm |first=Elizabeth |title=Comments on Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States |url= http://taxfoundation.org/article/comments-who-pays-distributional-analysis-tax-systems-all-50-states |publisher=Tax Foundation|accessdate=April 3, 2013|date=February 20, 2013}}</ref>

During FY 2012, the federal government spent $3.54 trillion on a budget or cash basis, down $60 billion or 1.7% vs. FY 2011 spending of $3.60 trillion. Major categories of FY 2012 spending included: Medicare & Medicaid ($802B or 23% of spending), Social Security ($768B or 22%), Defense Department ($670B or 19%), non-defense discretionary ($615B or 17%), other mandatory ($461B or 13%) and interest ($223B or 6%).<ref name="CBO Historical Tables 2012FY">{{cite web |url= http://cbo.gov/publication/43904 |title=CBO Historical Tables-February 2013 |publisher=Congressional Budget Office |date=February 5, 2013 |accessdate=April 23, 2013}}</ref>

The total [[national debt of the United States]] in the United States was $18.527 trillion (106% of the GDP) in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2012&ey=2014&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=61&pr1.y=12&c=111&s=GGXWDG%2CGGXWDG_NGDP&grp=0&a=#cs1 |title=IMF, United States General government gross debt |publisher=Imf.org |date=September 14, 2006 |accessdate=August 5, 2014}}</ref>{{refn|group=fn|In January 2015, U.S. federal government debt held by the public was approximately $13 trillion, or about 72% of U.S. GDP. Intra-governmental holdings stood at $5 trillion, giving a combined total debt of $18.080 trillion.<ref name=autogenerated5>{{cite web |url= http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np |title=Debt to the Penny (Daily History Search Application) |publisher=TreasuryDirect |accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Burgess Everett |title=The next debt ceiling fight |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/the-next-debt-ceiling-fight-113897.html |newspaper=Politico |date=January 6, 2015 |accessdate=January 6, 2015 }}</ref> By 2012, total federal debt had surpassed 100% of U.S. GDP.<ref>{{cite web |last=Thornton |first=Daniel L. |title=The U.S. Deficit/Debt Problem: A Longer–Run Perspective |url= http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/12/11/Thornton.pdf |work=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review |accessdate=May 7, 2013 |date=Nov–Dec 2012}}</ref> The U.S. has a [[credit rating]] of AA+ from [[Standard & Poor's]], AAA from [[Fitch Ratings|Fitch]], and AAA from [[Moody's Investors Service|Moody's]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Lopez |first=Luciana |title=Fitch backs away from downgrade of U.S. credit rating |url= http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-usa-rating-fitch-idUSBRE90R0WS20130128 |accessdate=March 26, 2013 |newspaper=Reuters |date=January 28, 2013}}</ref>}}

=== Law enforcement and crime ===
{{Main|Law enforcement in the United States|Crime in the United States}}
{{See also|Law of the United States|Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Human rights in the United States#Justice system|Incarceration in the United States|Capital punishment in the United States}}

[[File:Chevrolet Volt NYPD -- 04-04-2012.JPG|thumb|Law enforcement in the U.S. is maintained primarily by local police departments.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/lpd03.pdf|title=Local Police Departments, 2003 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics|date = May 2006|accessdate=December 7, 2011}}</ref>]]

Law enforcement in the United States is primarily the responsibility of local police and [[sheriff]]'s departments, with [[state police]] providing broader services. The [[New York City Police Department]] (NYPD) is the largest in the country. Federal agencies such as the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) and the [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Service]] have specialized duties, including protecting [[civil rights]], [[National Security of the United States|national security]] and enforcing [[U.S. federal courts]]' rulings and federal laws.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Who Governs & What They Do|publisher=Chiff.com|url=http://www.chiff.com/police/federal-police-agencies.htm|accessdate=August 21, 2012}}</ref> At the federal level and in almost every state, a legal system operates on a [[common law]]. State courts conduct most criminal trials; [[Federal judiciary of the United States|federal courts]] handle certain designated crimes as well as certain appeals from the state criminal courts. [[Plea bargaining in the United States]] is very common; the vast majority of criminal cases in the country are settled by [[plea bargain]] rather than [[jury trial]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/criminal_stages/criminal_plea_bargain.html|title=Plea Bargains|website=Findlaw|accessdate=January 6, 2015}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plea/interviews/mcspadden.html|title=Interview with Judge Michael McSpadden|publisher=PBS|date=December 16, 2003}}</ref>

In 2015, there were 15,696 murders which was 1,532 more than in 2014, a 10.8 per cent increase, the largest since 1971.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/26/rate-murder-fbi-increase|title=Murders up 10.8% in biggest percentage increase since 1971, FBI data shows|last=Beckett|first=Lois|date=September 26, 2016|last2=Aufrichtig|first2=Aliza|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|last3=Davis|first3=Kenan|access-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref> The murder rate in 2015 was 4.9 per 100,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/murders-rose-at-their-fastest-pace-in-a-quarter-century-last-year |title=Murders Rose At Their Fastest Pace In A Quarter-Century Last Year |publisher=''[[FiveThirtyEight]]'' |date=September 26, 2016}}</ref> In 2012 there were 4.7 murders per 100,000 persons in the United States, a 54% decline from the modern peak of 10.2 in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|title=Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics|url=http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/|publisher=U.S Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation|accessdate=November 16, 2013}}<br />{{cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/violent-crime/murder |title=Crime in the United States, 2011 |publisher=FBI '(Uniform Crime Statistics—Murder)' |accessdate=January 23, 2013}}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html |title=UNODC Homicide Statistics |publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |accessdate=January 23, 2013}}</ref> <!--<ref name='Crime US Murder 2010-09'>{{cite news | title = Murder | date = September 2010 | publisher = [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] | url = http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/offenses/violent_crime/murder_homicide.html | work = Crime in the United States, 2009 | accessdate = December 3, 2012 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100920225909/https://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/offenses/violent_crime/murder_homicide.html | archivedate = September 20, 2010 | quote = There were 5.0 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2009&nbsp;... compared with the 2000 rate, a 10.4 percent decrease was recorded.}}</ref> --> In 2001–2, the United States had above-average levels of violent crime and particularly high levels of [[Gun violence in the United States|gun violence]] compared to other developed nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/eighthsurvey/8sv.pdf|title=Eighth United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (2001–2002) |publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |date = March 31, 2005|accessdate=May 18, 2008}}</ref> A cross-sectional analysis of the [[World Health Organization]] Mortality Database from 2003 showed that United States "homicide rates were 6.9 times higher than rates in the other high-income countries, driven by firearm homicide rates that were 19.5 times higher."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2011&issue=01000&article=00035&type=abstract |title=Homicide, Suicide, and Unintentional Firearm Fatality: Comparing the United States With Other High-Income Countries, 2003|doi=10.1097/TA.0b013e3181dbaddf |publisher=Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery|accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref>{{Update after|2015|3|7}} [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Gun ownership rights]] continue to be the subject of [[Gun politics in the United States|contentious political debate]].

From 1980 through 2008 males represented 77% of homicide victims and 90% of offenders. Blacks committed 52.5% of all homicides during that span, at a rate almost eight times that of whites ("whites" includes most Hispanics), and were victimized at a rate six times that of whites. Most homicides were intraracial, with 93% of black victims killed by blacks and 84% of white victims killed by whites.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Alexia Cooper|author2=Erica L. Smith|title=Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980–2008|url=http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice|accessdate=November 14, 2015|pages=3, 12|date=November 2011}}</ref> In 2012, Louisiana had the highest rate of murder and non-negligent manslaughter in the U.S., and New Hampshire the lowest.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fuchs |first=Erin |title=Why Louisiana Is The Murder Capital of America |url= http://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-the-murder-rate-high-in-louisiana-2013-9 |work=Business Insider |date=October 1, 2013}}</ref> The FBI's [[Uniform Crime Reports]] estimates that there were 3,246 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents in 2012, for a total of over 9 million total crimes.<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Agren | title=Mexico crime belies government claims of progress | url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/10/18/mexico-violence-crime/17048757| work= | newspaper=Florida Today&nbsp;– USA Today | location=Melbourne, Florida| pages= 4B | date=October 19, 2014 | id= | accessdate=October 19, 2014}}</ref>

[[Capital punishment]] is sanctioned in the United States for certain federal and military crimes, and used in 31 states.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Connor|first1=Tracy|last2=Chuck|first2=Elizabeth|title=Nebraska's Death Penalty Repealed With Veto Override|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nebraskas-death-penalty-repealed-veto-override-n365456|accessdate=June 11, 2015|work=NBC News|date=May 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Simpson|first=Ian|title=Maryland becomes latest U.S. state to abolish death penalty|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-maryland-deathpenalty-idUSBRE9410TQ20130502|date=May 2, 2013|accessdate=April 6, 2016|agency=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> No executions took place from 1967 to 1977, owing in part to a [[Furman v. Georgia|U.S. Supreme Court ruling]] striking down arbitrary imposition of the death penalty. In 1976, that Court ruled that, under appropriate circumstances, capital punishment may constitutionally be imposed. Since the decision there have been more than 1,300 executions, a majority of these taking place in three states: Texas, Virginia, and [[Oklahoma]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/views-executions|title=Searchable Execution Database
|accessdate=October 10, 2012|publisher=[[Death Penalty Information Center]]}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Capital punishment in the United States#States without capital punishment|several states]] have either abolished or struck down death penalty laws. In 2014, the country had the fifth-highest number of executions in the world, following China, [[Iran]], [[Saudi Arabia]], and [[Iraq]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/death-sentences-and-executions-2014 |title=Death Sentences and Executions 2014|accessdate = May 6, 2015|year=2014 |publisher=Amnesty International USA}}</ref>

The United States has the [[United States incarceration rate|highest documented incarceration rate]] and [[Incarceration in the United States|total prison population]] in the world.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Schmidt, Steffen W. |author2=Shelley, Mack C. |author3=Bardes, Barbara A. |title=American Government & Politics Today |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IV1sxbRqhGIC&pg=PA591 |year=2008 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-495-50228-9 |page=591 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}<br />{{cite web |author=Walmsley, Roy |url= http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/world-prison-population-list-2005.pdf |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070628215935/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/world-prison-population-list-2005.pdf |archivedate=June 28, 2007|title=World Prison Population List |year=2005 |publisher=King's College London, International Centre for Prison Studies}} For the latest data, see {{cite web |url= http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/north_america_records.php?code=190 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070804061423/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/north_america_records.php?code=190 |archivedate=August 4, 2007 |title=Prison Brief for United States of America |date=June 21, 2006 |publisher=King's College London, International Centre for Prison Studies}}<br />[[United States National Research Council|National Research Council]]. ''[http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18613 The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences].'' Washington, DC: [[National Academies Press|The National Academies Press]], 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.<br />[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/2014_US_Nation_Behind_Bars_0.pdf Nation Behind Bars: A Human Rights Solution]. ''[[Human Rights Watch]]'', May 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.</ref> At the start of 2008, more than 2.3 million people were incarcerated, more than one in every 100 adults.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Barkan, Steven E. |author2=Bryjak, George J. |title=Fundamentals of Criminal Justice: A Sociological View |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bNGaYvTAeLMC&pg=PT23 |year=2011 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett |isbn=978-1-4496-5439-9 |page=23 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> At year end 2012, the combined U.S. adult correctional systems supervised about 6,937,600 offenders. About 1 in every 35 adult residents in the United States was under some form of correctional supervision at yearend 2012, the lowest rate observed since 1997.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Glaze|first1=Lauren E.|last2=Herberman|first2=Erinn J.|title=Correctional Populations in the United States, 2012|url=http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus12.pdf|date=December 2013}}</ref> The prison population has quadrupled since 1980,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Iadicola, Peter |author2=Shupe, Anson |title= Violence, Inequality, and Human Freedom |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KSp0Ulmx44kC&pg=PA456 |date=October 26, 2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-0949-7 |page=456}}</ref> and state and local spending on prisons and jails has grown three times as much as that spent on public education during the same period.<ref>Emma Brown and Danielle Douglas-Gabriel (July 7, 2016). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/07/07/since-1980-spending-on-prisons-has-grown-three-times-faster-than-spending-on-public-education/ Since 1980, spending on prisons has grown three times as much as spending on public education]. ''[[The Washington Post]].'' Retrieved July 12, 2016.</ref> However, the imprisonment rate for all prisoners sentenced to more than a year in state or federal facilities is 478 per 100,000 in 2013<ref>{{cite web|title=Prisoners in 2013|url=http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf|website=Bureau of Justice Statistics}}</ref> and the rate for pre-trial/remand prisoners is 153 per 100,000 residents in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=United States of America – International Centre for Prison Studies|url=http://www.prisonstudies.org/country/united-states-america|website=[[International Centre for Prison Studies]]}}</ref> The country's high rate of incarceration is largely due to changes in [[United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines|sentencing guidelines]] and [[Federal drug policy of the United States|drug policies]].<ref name="ClearCole2008b">{{cite book |author1=Clear, Todd R. |author2=Cole, George F. |author3=Reisig, Michael Dean |title=American Corrections |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cYVdYfUGxvoC&pg=PA485 |year=2008 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-495-55323-6 |page=485 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> According to the [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]], the majority of inmates held in federal prisons are convicted of drug offenses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Federal Bureau of Prisons: Statistics|url=http://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/|website=Federal Bureau of Prisons|accessdate=March 4, 2015}}</ref> The [[Incarceration in the United States#Privatization|privatization of prisons]] and prison services which began in the 1980s has been a subject of debate.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore|first1=ADRIAN T.|title=PRIVATE PRISONS: Quality Corrections at a Lower Cost|url=http://reason.org/files/d14ffa18290a9aeb969d1a6c1a9ff935.pdf|website=Reason.org|publisher=Reason Foundation|accessdate=April 29, 2015}}<br />{{cite web|last1=Benefield|first1=Nathan|title=Private Prisons Increase Capacity, Save Money, Improve Service|url=http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/issues/detail/private-prisons-increase-capacity-save-money|website=Commonwealth Foundation.org|publisher=Commonwealth Foundation|accessdate=April 29, 2015|date=October 24, 2007}}<br />{{cite journal|author1=William G. Archambeault|author2=Donald R. Deis, Jr.|title=Cost Effectiveness Comparisons of Private Versus Public Prisons in Louisiana: A Comprehensive Analysis of Allen, Avoyelles, and Winn Correctional Centers|journal=Journal of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Research Consortium|date=1997–1998|volume=4|url=https://www.cca.com/Media/Default/documents/CCA-Resource-Center/Cost-Effectiveness-Comparisons-Study-1997.pdf|accessdate=April 29, 2015}}<br />{{cite journal|last1=Volokh|first1=Alexander|title=A Tale of Two Systems: Cost, Quality, and Accountability in Private Prisons|journal=Harvard Law Review|date=May 1, 2002|volume=115|page=1868|url=http://volokh.com/sasha/prisons.html|accessdate=April 29, 2015}}</ref><ref>Selman, Donna and Paul Leighton (2010). ''[https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442201729/Punishment-for-Sale-Private-Prisons-Big-Business-and-the-Incarceration-Binge Punishment for Sale: Private Prisons, Big Business, and the Incarceration Binge].'' Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5lBraTDtiSgC&lpg=PP1&pg=PR11#v=onepage&q&f=false p. xi]. ISBN 1-4422-0173-8.<br>
{{cite book|last=Harcourt|first=Bernard|authorlink=Bernard Harcourt|title=The Illusion of Free Markets: Punishment and the Myth of Natural Order.|publisher=Harvard University Press|date=2012|url=http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674066168|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=LW8I66EGmfcC&lpg=PP1&vq=GEO%20Group&pg=PA235#v=onepage&q&f=false 235 & 236]|isbn=0-674-06616-2}}<br>
{{cite journal|title=Neoliberalism's penal and debtor states|author=John L. Campbell|journal=Theoretical Criminology|date=2010|volume=14|issue=1|pages=59–73|doi=10.1177/1362480609352783|url=http://www.researchgate.net/publication/240707441_Neoliberalism%27s_penal_and_debtor_states_A_rejoinder_to_Loic_Wacquant}}<br>
Joe Davidson (August 12, 2016). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/08/12/private-federal-prisons-less-safe-less-secure/ Private federal prisons – less safe, less secure]. ''The Washington Post.'' Retrieved August 13, 2016.<br>
Gottschalk, Marie (2014). ''[http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10330.html Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics].'' Princeton University Press. [https://books.google.com/books?id=iOs_BAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA70#v=onepage&q&f=false p. 70] ISBN 0-691-16405-3.<br>
Peter Kerwin (June 10, 2015). [http://www.news.wisc.edu/23835 Study finds private prisons keep inmates longer, without reducing future crime]. University of Wisconsin–Madison News. Retrieved June 11, 2015.</ref> In 2008, Louisiana [[List of U.S. states by incarceration rate#Incarceration rate by state|had the highest incarceration rate]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Chang|first=Cindy|title=Louisiana is the world's prison capital|url=http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/05/louisiana_is_the_worlds_prison.html|publisher=''[[The Times-Picayune]]''|date=May 29, 2012|accessdate=April 4, 2013}}</ref> and Maine the lowest.<ref>{{cite book |author=Mears, Daniel P. |title= American Criminal Justice Policy: An Evaluation Approach to Increasing Accountability and Effectiveness |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CO0_SAED7q0C&pg=PA72 |year=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-76246-5 |page=72 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref>

=== Økonomi ===
{{Main|USA's økonomi}}
{{Se også|USA's økonomiske historie}}

{| class="infobox" style="font-size: 90%; border: 1px solid #999; float: right; margin-left: 1em; width:325px"
|- style="background:#f5f5f5"
! colspan="3" | Economic indicators
|-
| Nominal [[gross domestic product|GDP]] || $18.45 trillion <small>(Q2 2016)</small> || style="text-align:right;"|<ref name="BEA">{{cite web|title=GDP Estimates|url=http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm|website=Bureau of Economic Analysis|publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis|accessdate=October 3, 2016}}</ref>

|-
| Real GDP growth || 1.4% <small>(Q2 2016)</small> || style="text-align:right;"|<ref name="BEA" />
|-
| ||2.6% <small>(2015)</small>|| style="text-align:right;"|<ref>{{cite web|title=GDP Estimates 2012–2015|url=http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2016/gdp2q16_adv.htm|website=Bureau of Economic Analysis|publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis|accessdate=October 3, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[Consumer price index|CPI]] inflation || 1.1% <small>(August 2016)</small> || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf|title=CONSUMER PRICE INDEX&nbsp;– AUGUST 2016|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics|accessdate=October 3, 2016|date=August 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[Employment-to-population ratio]] || 59.7% <small>(August 2016)</small> || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS12300000|title=Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics|accessdate=October 3, 2016|date=August 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[Unemployment in the United States|Unemployment]] || 4.9% <small>(August 2016)</small> || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web|title=Employment Situation Summary|url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm|website=Bureau of Labor Statistics|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics|accessdate=October 3, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[Labor force#Labor force in the United States|Labor force]] participation rate || 62.8% <small>(August 2016)</small> ||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000|title=Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=August 2016|work=Bureau of Labor Statistics|publisher=United States Department of Labor|accessdate=October 3, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[National debt of the United States|Total public debt]] || $19.808 trillion <small>(October 25, 2016)</small> || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/search?startMonth=01&startDay=01&startYear=2015&endMonth=10&endDay=25&endYear=2016|title=Treasury Direct|publisher=Treasury Direct|accessdate=November 9, 2016|date=November 9, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[Wealth in the United States|Household net worth]] || $89.063 trillion <small>(Q2 2016)</small> || style="text-align:right;" |<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/z1.pdf|title=Federal Reserve Statistical Release|date=2015|accessdate=October 3, 2016|website=Federal Reserve|publisher=Federal Reserve}}</ref>
|}
[[File:United States Export Treemap (2011).png|thumb|315px|United States export treemap (2011): The U.S. is the world's second-largest exporter.]]
The United States has a [[capitalism|capitalist]] [[mixed economy]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The United States of America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HolwxdMeTwYC&pg=PA24|publisher=PediaPress|page=24|id=GGKEY:2CYQCESKTB7}}</ref> which is fueled by abundant [[natural resource]]s and high productivity.<ref>Wright, Gavin; Czelusta, Jesse (2007). "Resource-Based Growth Past and Present", in ''Natural Resources: Neither Curse Nor Destiny'', ed. Daniel Lederman and William Maloney. World Bank. p. 185. ISBN 0-8213-6545-2.</ref> According to the [[International Monetary Fund]], the U.S. GDP of $16.8 trillion constitutes 24% of the [[gross world product]] at market exchange rates and over 19% of the gross world product at [[purchasing power parity]] (PPP).<ref name=IMF_GDP>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/02/weodata/index.aspx|publisher=International Monetary Fund |title=World Economic Outlook Database: United States |date=October 2014 |accessdate=November 2, 2014}}</ref>

The US's nominal GDP is estimated to be $17.528 trillion {{as of|2014|lc=y}}<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=17&pr.y=20&sy=2012&ey=2019&scsm=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=110%2C998&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP&grp=1&a=1|title = European Union GDP|date = April 2014|accessdate = June 14, 2014|website = International Monetary Fund|publisher = International Monetary Fund}}</ref> From 1983 to 2008, U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the [[G7]].<ref name=Hagopian>{{cite journal |author=Hagopian, Kip |last2=Ohanian|first2= Lee |title= The Mismeasure of Inequality |journal=Policy Review|date=August 1, 2012 |url= http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/123566 |accessdate=August 22, 2013 |publisher=Hoover Institution Stanford University}}</ref> The country ranks ninth in the world in [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|nominal GDP per capita]] and sixth in [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP per capita at PPP]].<ref name="IMF_GDP" /> The [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] is the world's primary [[reserve currency]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/cofer/eng/cofer.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007054940/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/cofer/eng/cofer.pdf|title=Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves |publisher=International Monetary Fund |accessdate=April 9, 2012|archivedate=October 7, 2014}}</ref>

The United States is the [[List of countries by imports|largest importer]] of goods and [[List of countries by exports|second-largest exporter]], though [[List of countries by exports per capita|exports per capita]] are relatively low. In 2010, the total [[Foreign trade of the United States|U.S. trade deficit]] was $635 billion.<ref name=Trade>{{cite web |title=Trade Statistics |url= http://greyhill.com/trade-statistics |publisher= Greyhill Advisors |accessdate=October 6, 2011}}</ref> [[Canada]], [[China]], [[Mexico]], [[Japan]], and [[Germany]] are its top trading partners.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/top/dst/current/balance.html |title=Top Ten Countries with which the U.S. Trades|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|date=August 2009 |accessdate= October 12, 2009}}</ref> In 2010, oil was the largest import commodity, while transportation equipment was the country's largest export.<ref name=Trade /> Japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. public debt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities|work=treasury.gov|url=http://www.treasury.gov/ticdata/Publish/mfh.txt|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017031710/http://www.treasury.gov/ticdata/Publish/mfh.txt |archivedate=October 17, 2015 |accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The largest holder of the U.S. debt are American entities, including federal government accounts and the [[Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve]], who hold the majority of the debt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Who Holds Our Debt?|url=http://www.factcheck.org/2013/11/who-holds-our-debt/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The TRUTH About Who Really Owns All of America's Debt |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/who-owns-us-debt-2011-7?op=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=This surprising chart shows which countries own the most U.S. debt|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/10/10/this-surprising-chart-shows-which-countries-own-the-most-u-s-debt/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=National debt: Whom does the US owe?|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Buzz/2011/0204/National-debt-Whom-does-the-US-owe}}</ref>{{refn|group=fn|The [[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]], SIPRI, found that the United States' [[arms industry]] was the world's biggest exporter of major weapons from 2005 to 2009,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=World's Top 5 arms exporters |url=http://www.upi.com/News_Photos/Features/Worlds-Top-5-arms-exporters/fp/3105/ |newspaper=United Press International |access-date=March 18, 2015 }}</ref> and remained the largest exporter of major weapons during a period between 2010 and 2014, followed by Russia, China (PRC), and Germany.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=China becomes the world's third largest arms exporter |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31901493 |newspaper=BBC News |date=March 15, 2015 |access-date=March 18, 2015 }}<br />{{cite news |last=Shankar |first=Sneha |title=US Remains World's Largest Exporter of Arms While India Leaps Ahead To Become Largest Importer: Study |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/us-remains-worlds-largest-exporter-arms-while-india-leaps-ahead-become-largest-importer-study |newspaper=International Business Times |date=March 17, 2015 |access-date=March 18, 2015 }}</ref>}}

In 2009, the private sector was estimated to constitute 86.4% of the economy, with federal government activity accounting for 4.3% and state and local government activity (including federal transfers) the remaining 9.3%.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://greyhill.com/gdp-by-industry/ |title=GDP by Industry |publisher=Greyhill Advisors|accessdate=October 13, 2011}}</ref> The number of employees at all levels of government outnumber those in [[Manufacturing in the United States|manufacturing]] by 1.7 to 1.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cesbtab1.htm|title=Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail [In thousands]|work=bls.gov}}</ref> While its economy has reached a [[post-industrial society|postindustrial]] level of development and its [[Tertiary sector of the economy|service sector]] constitutes 67.8% of GDP, the United States remains an industrial power.<ref name=Econ>{{cite web |url= http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080312123609/http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html |archivedate=March 12, 2008 |title=USA Economy in Brief |publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, International Information Programs}}</ref> The leading business field by gross business receipts is wholesale and retail trade; by net income it is manufacturing.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009/tables/09s0724.xls |archiveurl= http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120209192518/http%3A//www%2Ecensus%2Egov/compendia/statab/2009/tables/09s0724%2Exls|archivedate= February 9, 2012 |title=Table 724—Number of Tax Returns, Receipts, and Net Income by Type of Business and Industry: 2005 |format=XLS |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |accessdate=October 12, 2009}}</ref> In the [[franchising]] business model, [[McDonald's]] and [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]] are the two most recognized brands in the world. [[Coca-Cola]] is the most recognized [[soft drink]] company in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cheskin.com/view_news.php?id=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060325195617/http://www.cheskin.com/view_news.php?id=2|dead-url=yes|archive-date=March 25, 2006|title=Sony, LG, Wal-Mart among Most Extendible Brands|publisher=Cheskin|date=June 6, 2005|accessdate=June 19, 2007}}</ref>

Chemical products are the leading manufacturing field.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009/tables/09s0964.xls|archiveurl=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120209110858/http%3A//www%2Ecensus%2Egov/compendia/statab/2009/tables/09s0964%2Exls |archivedate= February 9, 2012 |title=Table 964—Gross Domestic Product in Current and Real (2000) Dollars by Industry: 2006|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|date=May 2008|accessdate=October 12, 2009}}</ref> The United States is the largest producer of oil in the world, as well as its second-largest importer.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. surges past Saudis to become world's top oil supplier -PIRA|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/15/us-oil-pira-idUSL1N0I51IX20131015|website=Reuters}}</ref> It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as [[Liquefied natural gas|liquid natural gas]], [[sulfur]], phosphates, and [[salt]]. The [[National Mining Association]] provides data pertaining to [[coal]] and [[mineral]]s that include [[beryllium]], [[copper]], [[lead]], [[magnesium]], [[zinc]], [[titanium]] and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nma.org/index.php/coal-statistics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216090931/http://nma.org:80/index.php/coal-statistics |dead-url=yes |archive-date=December 16, 2012 |title=Coal Statistics |publisher=National Mining Association |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nma.org/index.php/minerals-statistics/minerals-production |title=Minerals Production |publisher=National Mining Association |accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref>

[[Agriculture in the United States|Agriculture]] accounts for just under 1% of GDP,<ref name=Econ /> yet the United States is the world's top producer of corn<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grains.org/page.ww?section=Barley,+Corn+%26+Sorghum&name=Corn|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112182404/http://www.grains.org/page.ww?section=Barley,+Corn+%26+Sorghum&name=Corn|archivedate=January 12, 2008|title=Corn|publisher=U.S. Grains Council|accessdate=March 13, 2008}}</ref> and soybeans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5442|title=Soybean Demand Continues to Drive Production|publisher=Worldwatch Institute|date=November 6, 2007|accessdate=March 13, 2008}}</ref> The [[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] maintains agricultural statistics for products that include [[peanut]]s, [[oat]]s, [[rye]], [[wheat]], [[rice]], [[cotton]], [[maize|corn]], [[barley]], [[hay]], [[Helianthus|sunflowers]], and [[Vegetable oil|oilseeds]]. In addition, the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] (USDA) provides livestock statistics regarding [[beef]], [[poultry]], [[pork]], and [[Milk|dairy products]]. The country is the primary developer and grower of [[genetically modified food]], representing half of the world's biotech crops.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/39/download/isaaa-brief-39-2008.pdf |title = ISAAA Brief 39-2008: Executive Summary—Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2008 |publisher= International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications |page=15 |accessdate=July 16, 2010}}</ref>

[[Consumer spending]] comprises 68% of the U.S. economy in 2015.<ref>[http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=hh3 "Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE)/Gross Domestic Product (GDP)"] ''FRED Graph'', Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis</ref> In August 2010, the American labor force consisted of 154.1 million people. With 21.2 million people, government is the leading field of employment. The largest private employment sector is health care and social assistance, with 16.4 million people. About 12% of workers are [[Labor unions in the United States|unionized]], compared to 30% in [[Western Europe]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Thomas |last=Fuller |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/14/news/europe.php |title =In the East, many EU work rules don't apply |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616015106/http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/14/news/europe.php |archivedate=June 16, 2005 |date =June 15, 2005 |deadurl= yes}}</ref> The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers.<ref name="EDBI">{{cite web |url= http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreEconomies/?economyid=197 |accessdate=June 28, 2007 |title= Doing Business in the United States |year=2006 |publisher=World Bank}}</ref> The United States is ranked among the top three in the [[Global Competitiveness Report]] as well. It has a smaller [[welfare state]] and redistributes less income through government action than European nations tend to.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Isabelle Joumard|author2=Mauro Pisu|author3=Debbie Bloch|title=Tackling income inequality The role of taxes and transfers|url=http://www.oecd.org/eco/public-finance/TacklingincomeinequalityTheroleoftaxesandtransfers.pdf|publisher=OECD|accessdate=May 21, 2015|date=2012}}</ref>

The United States is the only advanced economy that does not [[List of statutory minimum employment leave by country|guarantee its workers paid vacation]]<ref>Ray, Rebecca; Sanes, Milla; Schmitt, John (May 2013). [http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/no-vacation-update-2013-05.pdf No-Vacation Nation Revisited]. ''[[Center for Economic and Policy Research]].'' Retrieved September 8, 2013.</ref> and is one of just a few countries in the world without [[paid family leave]] as a legal right, with the others being [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Suriname]] and [[Liberia]].<ref>Bernard. Tara Siegel (February 22, 2013). [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/your-money/us-trails-much-of-the-world-in-providing-paid-family-leave.html "In Paid Family Leave, U.S. Trails Most of the Globe"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved August 27, 2013.</ref> While federal law currently does not require sick leave, it is a common benefit for government workers and full-time employees at corporations.<ref name=SLCNN /> 74% of full-time American workers get paid sick leave, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, although only 24% of part-time workers get the same benefits.<ref name=SLCNN>{{cite web|last1=Vasel|first1=Kathryn|title=Who doesn't get paid sick leave?|url=http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/20/news/economy/paid-sick-leave/|website=CNN}}</ref> In 2009, the United States had the third-highest [[workforce productivity]] per person in the world, behind [[Luxembourg]] and [[Norway]]. It was fourth in productivity per hour, behind those two countries and the [[Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.conference-board.org/data/economydatabase/ |title=Total Economy Database, Summary Statistics, 1995–2010 |publisher=The Conference Board|work=Total Economy Database |date=September 2010 |accessdate=September 20, 2009}}</ref>

The [[Great Recession|2008–2012 global recession]] significantly affected the United States, with output still below potential according to the [[Congressional Budget Office]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3252 |title=Chart Book: The Legacy of the Great Recession |publisher=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities |date=March 12, 2013 |accessdate=March 27, 2013}}</ref> It brought high [[unemployment]] (which has been decreasing but remains above pre-recession levels), along with low [[Consumer confidence index|consumer confidence]], the [[United States housing bubble|continuing decline in home values and increase in foreclosures and personal bankruptcies]], an escalating federal debt crisis, [[inflation]], and [[2000s energy crisis|rising petroleum and food prices]]. There remains a record proportion of [[Long-term unemployment|long-term unemployed]], continued decreasing [[Household income in the United States|household income]], and tax and [[Budget sequestration in 2013|federal budget increases]].<ref name=SchwartzJobless>{{cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Nelson |title=Recovery in U.S. Is Lifting Profits, but Not Adding Jobs |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/business/economy/corporate-profits-soar-as-worker-income-limps.html?pagewanted=all |accessdate=March 18, 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McKinnon |first=John D. |title=Analysis: 77% of Households to See Tax Increase |url= http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/01/01/tax-bill-analysis-77-of-households-to-see-tax-increase/ |accessdate=April 8, 2013 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal (blog) |date=January 1, 2013 |location =New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Gongloff, Mark |date=September 17, 2013 |title= Median Income Falls For 5th Year, Inequality at Record High |url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/median-income-falls-inequality_n_3941514.html |newspaper=[[The Huffington Post]] |accessdate=October 4, 2013}}</ref>

=== Income, poverty and wealth ===

[[File:South San Jose (crop).jpg|thumb|A [[tract housing]] development in [[San Jose, California]].]]
{{Further information|Income in the United States|Poverty in the United States|Affluence in the United States|United States counties by per capita income|Income inequality in the United States}}

Americans have the highest average [[Household income|household]] and [[List of countries by average wage|employee]] income among OECD nations, and in 2007 had the second-highest [[median household income]].<ref name="Household Income">{{cite web|title=Household Income|url=http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/society-at-a-glance-2014_soc_glance-2014-en|work=Society at a Glance 2014: OECD Social Indicators|publisher=OECD Publishing|accessdate=May 29, 2014|doi=10.1787/soc_glance-2014-en |date=March 18, 2014}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite web |title=OECD Better Life Index |url= http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#/11111111111 |publisher=OECD |accessdate=November 25, 2012}}</ref> According to the Census Bureau, median household income was $53,657 in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|last1=DeNavas-Walt|first1=Carmen|last2=Proctor|first2=Bernadette|title=Income and Poverty in the United States: 2014|url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p60-252.pdf|website=Census Bureau|accessdate=August 30, 2016}}</ref> Despite accounting for only 4.4% of the global population, Americans collectively possess 41.6% of the world's total wealth,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sherman|first1=Erik|title=America is the richest, and most unequal, country|url=http://fortune.com/2015/09/30/america-wealth-inequality/|website=Fortune|accessdate=August 30, 2016}}</ref> and Americans make up roughly half of the world's population of millionaires.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McCarthy|first1=Niall|title=The Countries With The Most Millionaires|url=https://www.statista.com/chart/3890/the-countries-with-the-most-millionaires/|website=Statista|accessdate=August 30, 2016}}</ref> The [[Global Food Security Index]] ranked the U.S. number one for food affordability and overall food security in March 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Global Food Security Index |url= http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/Country/Details#United%20States |publisher=The Economist Intelligence Unit |location= London |accessdate=April 8, 2013|date=March 5, 2013}}</ref> Americans on average have over twice as much living space per dwelling and per person as [[European Union]] residents, and more than every EU nation.<ref name="Heritage Poor">{{cite web |title= Understanding Poverty in the United States: Surprising Facts About America's Poor |url= http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/09/understanding-poverty-in-the-united-states-surprising-facts-about-americas-poor |publisher=Heritage Foundation|accessdate=April 8, 2013 |author=Rector, Robert |last2=Sheffield|first2=Rachel |date=September 13, 2011}}</ref> For 2013 the [[United Nations Development Programme]] ranked the United States 5th among 187 countries in its [[Human Development Index#2014 report|Human Development Index]] and 28th in its [[Human Development Index#Inequality-adjusted HDI|inequality-adjusted HDI]] (IHDI).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr14-report-en-1.pdf |title=Human Development Report 2014 |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |page=168 |accessdate=July 26, 2014}}</ref>

There has been a widening gap between productivity and median incomes since the 1970s.<ref>Mishel, Lawrence (April 26, 2012). [http://www.epi.org/publication/ib330-productivity-vs-compensation/ The wedges between productivity and median compensation growth]. ''[[Economic Policy Institute]].'' Retrieved October 18, 2013.</ref> However, the gap between total compensation and productivity is not as wide because of increased employee benefits such as health insurance.<ref>{{cite web |last = Anderson |first = Richard G. |title = How Well Do Wages Follow Productivity Growth? |year = 2007 |url = https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/es/07/ES0707.pdf |publisher = St. Louis Federal Reserve |postscript = <!--None--> |accessdate = October 25, 2015}}</ref> While [[inflation]]-adjusted ("real") [[Household income in the United States|household income]] had been increasing almost every year from 1947 to 1999, it has since been flat on balance and has even decreased recently.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://swampland.time.com/2013/02/04/the-most-important-chart-in-american-politics/ |title= The Most Important Chart in American Politics |newspaper=Time |location =New York |date=February 4, 2013}}<br />{{cite news|last1=Casselman|first1=Ben|title=The American Middle Class Hasn't Gotten A Raise in 15 Years|url=http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-american-middle-class-hasnt-gotten-a-raise-in-15-years/|accessdate=April 23, 2015|work=FiveThirtyEightEconomics|date=September 22, 2014}}<br />{{cite news|last1=Parlapiano|first1=Alicia|last2=Gebeloff|first2=Robert|last3=Carter|first3=Shan|title=The Shrinking American Middle Class|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/25/upshot/shrinking-middle-class.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0|accessdate=April 23, 2015|work=The Upshot|publisher=New York Times|date=January 26, 2013}}</ref> According to [[Congressional Research Service]], during this same period, [[immigration to the United States]] increased, while the lower 90% of tax filers incomes became stagnant, and eventually decreasing since 2000.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bedard |first=Paul |date=April 23, 2015 |title=Congress: Middle class incomes drop as immigration surges |url=http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/congress-middle-class-incomes-drop-as-immigration-surges/article/2563515 |newspaper=Washington Examiner |access-date=April 27, 2015 }}</ref> The rise in the share of total annual income received by the top 1 percent, which has more than doubled from 9 percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2011, has significantly affected [[Income inequality in the United States|income inequality]],<ref name="PikettySaez">Alvaredo, Facundo; [[Tony Atkinson|Atkinson, Anthony B.]]; [[Thomas Piketty|Piketty, Thomas]]; [[Emmanuel Saez|Saez, Emmanuel]] (2013). [http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.27.3.3 "The Top 1 Percent in International and Historical Perspective"]. ''Journal of Economic Perspectives.'' Retrieved August 16, 2013.</ref> leaving the United States with one of the widest income distributions among OECD nations.<ref name="Sme">{{cite journal |last1= Smeeding |first1= T.M. |year=2005 |title= Public Policy: Economic Inequality and Poverty: The United States in Comparative Perspective| journal= Social Science Quarterly |volume=86 |pages=955–983 |doi= 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00331.x}}<br />{{cite web|last1=Tcherneva|first1=Pavlina R.|title=When a rising tide sinks most boats: trends in US income inequality|url=http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/pn_15_4.pdf|website=levyinstitute.org|publisher=Levy Economics Institute of Bard College|accessdate=April 10, 2015|date=April 2015}}<br />{{cite web |url= http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/TabFig2005prel.xls |author=Saez, E. |title=Table A1: Top Fractiles Income Shares (Excluding Capital Gains) in the U.S., 1913–2005 |publisher=UC Berkeley |date=October 2007 |accessdate=July 24, 2008}}<br />{{cite web |url= https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html |title=Field Listing—Distribution of Family Income—Gini Index |publisher=CIA |work=The World Factbook |date=June 14, 2007 |accessdate=June 17, 2007}}<br />[http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/OECD2014-FocusOnTopIncomes.pdf Focus on Top Incomes and Taxation in OECD Countries: Was the crisis a game changer?] ''[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]]'', May 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.</ref> The post-recession income gains have been very uneven, with the top 1 percent capturing 95 percent of the income gains from 2009 to 2012.<ref>[[Emmanuel Saez|Saez, Emmanuel]] (September 3, 2013). [http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2012.pdf "Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States"]. ''[[University of California, Berkeley]].'' Retrieved September 11, 2013.</ref> The extent and relevance of income inequality is a matter of debate.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens |author1=Martin Gilens |author2=Benjamin I. Page |lastauthoramp=yes |journal=[[Perspectives on Politics]] |date=2014 |volume=12 |issue=3|pages=564–581 |doi=10.1017/S1537592714001595 |url=http://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf}}<br />{{cite journal |title=Economic Inequality and Political Representation |author=[[Larry Bartels]]|journal=The Unsustainable American State |date=2009 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195392135.003.0007 |url=https://www.princeton.edu/~bartels/economic.pdf |pages=167–196}}{{dead link|date=December 2016}}<br />{{cite journal |title= Responsiveness in an Era of Inequality: The Case of the U.S. Senate |author=Thomas J. Hayes|journal=[[Political Research Quarterly]] |date=2012 |volume=66 |issue=3|pages=585–599 |doi=10.1177/1065912912459567 | ssrn=1900856}}</ref>{{disputed inline|Trends in local vs global inequality|date=April 2015}}<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Winship|first1=Scott|title=Overstating the Costs of Inequality|journal=National Affairs|date=Spring 2013|issue=15|url=http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/articles/2013/03/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship.pdf|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6Mb0GcQnr?url=http://www.brookings.edu/%7E/media/Research/Files/Articles/2013/03/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship/overstating%20inequality%20costs%20winship.pdf|archivedate=January 13, 2014|accessdate=April 29, 2015}}<br />{{cite web|title=Income Inequality in America: Fact and Fiction|url=http://www.economics21.org/files/e21ib_1.pdf|publisher=Manhattan Institute|accessdate=April 29, 2015|date=May 2014}}<br />{{cite journal|last1=Brunner|first1=Eric|last2=Ross|first2=Stephen L|last3=Washington|first3=Ebonya|title=Does Less Income Mean Less Representation?|journal=American Economic Journal: Economic Policy|date=May 2013|volume=5|issue=2|pages=53–76|doi=10.1257/pol.5.2.53|url=http://economics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Faculty/washington/less-income.pdf|accessdate=July 12, 2015}}<br />{{cite news|last1=Feldstein|first1=Martin|title=Piketty's Numbers Don't Add Up: Ignoring dramatic changes in tax rules since 1980 creates the false impression that income inequality is rising.|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304081804579557664176917086|accessdate=July 12, 2015|agency=Wall Street Journal|date=May 14, 2014}}</ref>

{| class="floatright" style="margin:auto; text-align:right;"
|+ '''United States' families median net worth'''
|+ align="bottom" style="caption-side: bottom; text-align: right;" | source: Fed Survey of Consumer Finances<ref>{{cite web|last1=Weston|first1=Liz|title=Americans Are Pissed – This Chart Might Explain Why|url=https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/why-people-are-angry/|website=nerdwallet.com|date=May 10, 2016}}</ref>
! in 2013 dollars !! 1998 !! 2013 !! change
|-
| All families || $102,500 || $81,200 || -20.8%
|-
| Bottom 20% of incomes || $8,300 || $6,100 || -26.5%
|-
| 2nd lowest 20% of incomes || $47,400 || $22,400 || -52.7%
|-
| Middle 20% of incomes || $76,300 || $61,700 || -19.1%
|-
| Top 10% || $646,600 || $1,130,700 || +74.9%
|}

[[Wealth in the United States|Wealth]], like income and taxes, is [[Wealth inequality in the United States|highly concentrated]]; the richest 10% of the adult population possess 72% of the country's household wealth, while the bottom half claim only 2%.<ref>[[Thomas Piketty|Piketty, Thomas]] (2014). ''[[Capital in the Twenty-First Century]]''. [[Harvard University Press|Belknap Press]]. ISBN 0-674-43000-X p. 257</ref> Between June 2007 and November 2008 the [[Great Recession|global recession]] led to falling asset prices around the world. Assets owned by Americans lost about a quarter of their value.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Altman, Roger C. |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20090101faessay88101/roger-c-altman/the-great-crash-2008.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223095528/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20090101faessay88101/roger-c-altman/the-great-crash-2008.html |archivedate=December 23, 2008 |title=The Great Crash, 2008 |work=Foreign Affairs |accessdate=February 27, 2009}}</ref> Since peaking in the second quarter of 2007, household wealth was down $14&nbsp;trillion, but has since increased $14&nbsp;trillion over 2006 levels.<ref>"[http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/11/news/economy/Americans_wealth_drops/?postversion=2009061113 Americans' wealth drops $1.3&nbsp;trillion]". CNN Money. June 11, 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/TNWBSHNO|title=Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth, Level|work=stlouisfed.org|accessdate=October 25, 2015}}</ref> At the end of 2014, [[household debt]] amounted to $11.8&nbsp;trillion,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html#/2014/q4|title=Household Debt and Credit Report|publisher=[[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]]|accessdate=June 26, 2015|ref=none}}</ref> down from $13.8&nbsp;trillion at the end of 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE52B58720090312|title=U.S. household wealth falls $11.2&nbsp;trillion in 2008|work=Reuters|accessdate=October 4, 2014}}</ref>

There were about 578,424 sheltered and unsheltered [[Homelessness in the United States|homeless persons in the U.S.]] in January 2014, with almost two-thirds staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 2014 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress|url=https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2014-AHAR-Part1.pdf|publisher=The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development|accessdate=August 6, 2015|year=2014}}</ref> In 2011 [[Hunger in the United States#Children|16.7 million children lived in food-insecure households]], about 35% more than 2007 levels, though only 1.1% of U.S. children, or 845,000, saw reduced food intake or disrupted eating patterns at some point during the year, and most cases were not chronic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Household Food Security in the United States in 2011 |url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/884525/err141.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007231515/http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/884525/err141.pdf |dead-url=yes |archive-date=2012-10-07 |publisher=USDA |accessdate=April 8, 2013 |date=September 2012}}</ref> According to a 2014 report by the Census Bureau, one in five young adults lives in [[Poverty in the United States|poverty]] today, up from one in seven in 1980.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-219.html New Census Bureau Statistics Show How Young Adults Today Compare With Previous Generations in Neighborhoods Nationwide]. [[United States Census Bureau]], December 4, 2014.</ref>

== Infrastruktur ==

=== Transport ===
{{Main|Transportation in the United States}}
[[File:Map of current Interstates.svg|thumb|The [[Interstate Highway System]], which extends {{convert|46876|mi|km}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interstate FAQ (Question #3) |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |year=2006 |url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.htm#question3 |accessdate=March 4, 2009}}</ref>]]
Personal transportation is dominated by automobiles, which operate on a network of 4 million miles (6.4 million km) of public roads,<ref>{{cite web|title=Public Road and Street Mileage in the United States by Type of Surface|url=http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_04.html|website=United States Department of Transportation|accessdate=January 13, 2015}}</ref> including one of the world's [[National Highway System (United States)|longest highway systems]] at 57,000 miles (91700&nbsp;km).<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.newgeography.com/content/002003-china-expressway-system-exceed-us-interstates |title=China Expressway System to Exceed US Interstates |work=New Geography |location =Grand Forks, ND |date=January 22, 2011 |accessdate=September 16, 2011}}</ref> The world's second-largest automobile market,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/jan/08/china-us-car-sales-overtakes |title=China overtakes US in car sales |newspaper=The Guardian |date=January 8, 2010 |accessdate=July 10, 2011 |location=London}}</ref> the United States has the highest rate of per-capita vehicle ownership in the world, with 765 vehicles per 1,000 Americans.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tra_mot_veh-transportation-motor-vehicles |title=Motor vehicles statistics&nbsp;– countries compared worldwide |publisher=NationMaster |accessdate=July 10, 2011}}</ref> About 40% of [[Passenger vehicles in the United States|personal vehicles]] are vans, [[Sport utility vehicle|SUVs]], or light trucks.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bts.gov/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/section_01.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050513103251/http://www.bts.gov:80/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/section_01.html|dead-url= yes|archive-date= May 13, 2005| title =Household, Individual, and Vehicle Characteristics |publisher =U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics |work =2001 National Household Travel Survey |accessdate= August 15, 2007}}</ref> The average American adult (accounting for all drivers and non-drivers) spends 55 minutes driving every day, traveling {{convert|29|mi|km|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bts.gov/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/section_02.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050513103255/http://www.bts.gov:80/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/section_02.html |dead-url= yes |archive-date= May 13, 2005 |title =Daily Passenger Travel |publisher =U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics|work =2001 National Household Travel Survey|accessdate = August 15, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:High Speed Railroad Map of the United States 2013.svg|thumb|left|Map showing current [[High-speed rail in the United States|rail speeds]] in the United States.<ref>{{Cite report |last1=Todorovich |first1=Petra |last2=Hagler |first2=Yoav |title = High Speed Rail in America |publisher=America 2050 |date=January 2011 |url=http://www.america2050.org/pdf/HSR-in-America-Complete.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate=May 5, 2011}}</ref>]]
[[Mass transit in the United States|Mass transit accounts for 9% of total U.S. work trips]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/documents/TOD.Euro-Style_Planning-Renne-Wells.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912143021/http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/documents/TOD.Euro-Style_Planning-Renne-Wells.pdf |author1=Renne, John L. |author2=Wells, Jan S. |title= Emerging European-Style Planning in the United States: Transit-Oriented Development |page=2 |year=2003 |publisher = Rutgers University |accessdate= June 11, 2007|archivedate=September 12, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/natgeo_surveys_countries_trans.html |title=NatGeo surveys countries' transit use: guess who comes in last|last=Benfield|first=Kaid|publisher=Natural Resources Defense Council |date=May 18, 2009 |accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> [[Rail transportation in the United States|Transport of goods by rail]] is extensive, though relatively low numbers of passengers (approximately 31 million annually) use intercity rail to travel, partly because of the low population density throughout much of the U.S. interior.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-15 |title= Intercity Passenger Rail: National Policy and Strategies Needed to Maximize Public Benefits from Federal Expenditures |date=November 13, 2006 |publisher=U.S. Government Accountability Office |accessdate= June 20, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/08/economist-explains-18 |title= The Economist Explains: Why Americans Don't Ride Trains |date=August 29, 2013 |publisher= ''[[The Economist]]'' |accessdate= May 12, 2015}}</ref> However, ridership on [[Amtrak]], the national intercity passenger [[Rail transportation in the United States|rail system]], grew by almost 37% between 2000 and 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amtrak Ridership Records |url= http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1249227805921&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobhead |publisher=Amtrak |date=June 8, 2011|accessdate=February 29, 2012}}</ref> Also, [[Light rail in the United States|light rail development]] has increased in recent years.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.metaefficient.com/trains/master-2.html |title=3 Reasons Light Rail Is an Efficient Transportation Option for U.S. Cities |author=McGill, Tracy |work= MetaEfficient |date=January 1, 2011 |accessdate=June 14, 2013}}</ref> Bicycle usage for work commutes is minimal.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian |last=McKenzie |url =http://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/acs-25.pdf |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20140513133037/http://www.census.gov:80/prod/2014pubs/acs-25.pdf |dead-url =yes |archive-date =2014-05-13 |title =Modes Less Traveled—Bicycling and Walking to Work in the United States: 2008–2012 |publisher =U.S. Census Bureau |date =May 2014 }}</ref>

The [[List of airlines of the United States|civil airline industry]] is entirely privately owned and has been largely [[Airline Deregulation Act|deregulated since 1978]], while [[List of airports in the United States|
most major airports]] are publicly owned.<ref>{{cite web|title=Privatization|url=http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/privatization|work=downsizinggovernment.org|publisher=[[Cato Institute]]|accessdate=December 27, 2014}}</ref> The three largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are U.S.-based; [[American Airlines]] is number one after its 2013 acquisition by [[US Airways]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx| title =Scheduled Passengers Carried |publisher= International Air Transport Association (IATA) |year=2011 |accessdate=February 17, 2012}}</ref> Of the [[List of the world's busiest airports by passenger traffic|world's 50 busiest passenger airports]], 16 are in the United States, including the busiest, [[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]], and the fourth-busiest, [[O'Hare International Airport]] in [[Chicago]].<ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |title =Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013 – High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport&nbsp;– Mar 31, 2014 |publisher =Airports Council International |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401052319/http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |archivedate=April 1, 2014 |date =March 31, 2014 |accessdate=May 17, 2014 |deadurl= no}}</ref>

=== Energi ===
{{uddybende artikel|USA's energipolitik}}
[[File:UnitedStatesPowerGrid.jpg|thumb|The U.S. power transmission grid consists of about {{convert|300000|km|mi|abbr=on}} of lines operated by approximately 500 companies. The [[North American Electric Reliability Corporation]] (NERC) oversees all of them.]]

The [[Energy in the United States|United States energy]] market is about 29,000 [[Kilowatt hour|terawatt hours]] per year.<ref name=IEA2013>IEA Key World Energy Statistics Statistics [http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/KeyWorld2013.pdf 2013], [http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/kwes.pdf 2012], [http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2011/key_world_energy_stats.pdf 2011], [http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2010/key_stats_2010.pdf 2010], [http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2009/key2009.pdf 2009], [http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2006/key2006.pdf 2006] [[International Energy Agency|IEA]] October, crude oil p.11, coal p. 13 gas p. 15</ref> [[List of countries by energy consumption per capita|Energy consumption per capita]] is 7.8&nbsp;tons (7076&nbsp;kg) of oil equivalent per year, the 10th-highest rate in the world. In 2005, 40% of this energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 22% from natural gas. The remainder was supplied by nuclear power and [[renewable energy]] sources.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec1_3.pdf |title= Diagram 1: Energy Flow, 2007 |work=EIA Annual Energy Review |year=2007 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration |accessdate=June 25, 2008}}</ref> The United States is the world's largest consumer of petroleum.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2246rank.html |title=Country Comparison: Refined Petroleum Products&nbsp;— Consumption |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |work=The World Factbook |accessdate=May 18, 2014}}</ref>

For decades, [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear power]] has played a limited role relative to many other developed countries, in part because of public perception in the wake of a [[Three Mile Island accident|1979 accident]]. In 2007, several applications for new nuclear plants were filed.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9762843 |title= Atomic Renaissance |work=The Economist |location =London |accessdate=September 6, 2007 |date=September 6, 2007}}</ref> The United States has 27% of global coal reserves.<ref name="BPReview">{{cite web |url= http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2007/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/spreadsheets/statistical_review_full_report_workbook_2007.xls |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724221536/http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2007/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/spreadsheets/statistical_review_full_report_workbook_2007.xls|archivedate=July 24, 2013|title=BP Statistical Review of World Energy |publisher= British Petroleum |format= XLS |date=June 2007 |accessdate= February 22, 2010}}</ref> It is the world's largest producer of natural gas and crude oil.<ref>{{cite news |author= Ames, Paul |date=May 30, 2013 |title=Could fracking make the Persian Gulf irrelevant? |url= http://www.salon.com/2013/05/30/could_fracking_make_the_persian_gulf_irrelevant_partner/ |work= Salon |accessdate=May 30, 2012 |quote=Since November, the United States has replaced Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest producer of crude oil. It had already overtaken Russia as the leading producer of natural gas.}}</ref>

=== Vandforsyning og -behandling ===
{{Main|Water supply and sanitation in the United States}}
Issues that affect water supply in the United States include droughts in the West, [[water scarcity]], [[Water pollution in the United States|pollution]], a backlog of investment, concerns about the affordability of water for the poorest, and a rapidly retiring workforce. Increased variability and intensity of rainfall as a result of [[climate change]] is expected to produce both more severe droughts and flooding, with potentially serious consequences for water supply and for pollution from [[combined sewer overflow]]s.<ref name="AMWA">{{cite web|author = American Metropolitan Water Association|title = Implications of Climate Change for Urban Water Utilities – Main Report|work = |publisher = |date = December 2007|url = http://www.amwa.net/galleries/climate-change/AMWA_Climate_Change_Paper_12.13.07.pdf|format = PDF|doi = |accessdate = February 26, 2009}}</ref><ref name="National Academies">{{cite web|author = National Academies' Water Information Center|title = Drinking Water Basics|work = |publisher = |url = http://water.nationalacademies.org/basics_part_3.shtml|doi = |accessdate = February 26, 2009}}</ref>{{refn|group=fn|Droughts are likely to particularly affect the 66 percent of Americans whose communities depend on surface water.<ref name="EPA:Water on Tap">{{cite web|author = U.S. Environmental Protection Agency|authorlink = United States Environmental Protection Agency|title = Water on Tap: What You Need to Know|work = |publisher = |year = 2003|url = http://www.epa.gov/safewater/wot/pdfs/book_waterontap_full.pdf|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090223172052/http://www.epa.gov/safewater/wot/pdfs/book_waterontap_full.pdf|archivedate = February 23, 2009|doi = |accessdate = February 23, 2009}}, p. 11</ref> As for drinking water quality, there are concerns about disinfection by-products, [[lead]], [[perchlorates]] and pharmaceutical substances, but generally [[Drinking water quality in the United States|drinking water quality in the U.S.]] is good.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McLendon|first1=Russell|title=How polluted is U.S. drinking water?|url=http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/how-polluted-is-us-drinking-water|publisher=[[Mother Nature Network]]|accessdate=October 20, 2015}}</ref>}}

=== Kultur ===
==== Literature, philosophy, and the arts ====
{{Main|American literature|American philosophy|Architecture of the United States|Visual art of the United States|American classical music}}

[[File:Mark Twain, Brady-Handy photo portrait, Feb 7, 1871, cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Mark Twain]], American author and [[Comedy|humorist]].]]
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, American art and literature took most of its cues from Europe. Writers such as [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[Edgar Allan Poe]], and [[Henry David Thoreau]] established a distinctive American literary voice by the middle of the 19th century. [[Mark Twain]] and poet [[Walt Whitman]] were major figures in the century's second half; [[Emily Dickinson]], virtually unknown during her lifetime, is now recognized as an essential American poet.<ref>[[Harold Bloom|Bloom, Harold]]. 1999. ''Emily Dickinson''. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House. p. 9. ISBN 0-7910-5106-4.</ref> A work seen as capturing fundamental aspects of the national experience and character—such as [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' (1851), Twain's ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' (1885), [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]'s ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' (1925) and [[Harper Lee]]'s ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]'' (1960)—may be dubbed the "[[Great American Novel]]".<ref>{{cite journal|author=Buell, Lawrence|title=The Unkillable Dream of the Great American Novel: ''Moby-Dick'' as Test Case |date=Spring–Summer 2008|volume=20|issue=1–2|pages=132–155|doi=10.1093/alh/ajn005|journal=American Literary History |issn=0896-7148}}</ref>

Twelve U.S. citizens have won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], most recently [[Bob Dylan]] in 2016. [[William Faulkner]], [[Ernest Hemingway]] and [[John Steinbeck]] are often named among the most influential writers of the 20th century.<ref>Quinn, Edward (2006). ''A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms''. Infobase, p. 361. ISBN 0-8160-6243-9. Seed, David (2009). ''A Companion to Twentieth-Century United States Fiction''. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons, p. 76. ISBN 1-4051-4691-5. Meyers, Jeffrey (1999). ''Hemingway: A Biography''. New York: Da Capo, p. 139. ISBN 0-306-80890-0.</ref> Popular literary genres such as the [[Western fiction|Western]] and [[hardboiled]] crime fiction developed in the United States. The [[Beat Generation]] writers opened up new literary approaches, as have [[postmodern literature|postmodernist]] authors such as [[John Barth]], [[Thomas Pynchon]], and [[Don DeLillo]].<ref name="Lesher2000">{{cite book|last=Lesher|first=Linda Parent|title=The Best Novels of the Nineties: A Reader's Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSiXAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109|date=February 1, 2000|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-0389-6|page=109}}</ref>

The [[transcendentalism|transcendentalists]], led by Thoreau and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], established the first major [[American philosophy|American philosophical movement]]. After the Civil War, [[Charles Sanders Peirce]] and then [[William James]] and [[John Dewey]] were leaders in the development of [[pragmatism]]. In the 20th century, the work of [[Willard Van Orman Quine|W. V. O. Quine]] and [[Richard Rorty]], and later [[Noam Chomsky]], brought [[analytic philosophy]] to the fore of American philosophical academia. [[John Rawls]] and [[Robert Nozick]] led a revival of [[political philosophy]]. [[Cornel West]] and [[Judith Butler]] have led a continental tradition in American philosophical academia. [[Chicago school of economics|Chicago school economists]] like [[Milton Friedman]], [[James M. Buchanan]], and [[Thomas Sowell]] have affected various fields in social and political philosophy.<ref>{{cite news|last=Summers|first=Lawrence H.|title=The Great Liberator|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/opinion/19summers.html?_r=0|accessdate=May 17, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 19, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|title=James M. Buchanan, Economic Scholar and Nobel Laureate, Dies at 93|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/business/economy/james-m-buchanan-economic-scholar-dies-at-93.html?pagewanted=all|accessdate=May 17, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 9, 2013}}</ref>

In the visual arts, the [[Hudson River School]] was a mid-19th-century movement in the tradition of European [[Realism (arts)|naturalism]]. The realist paintings of [[Thomas Eakins]] are now widely celebrated. The 1913 [[Armory Show]] in New York City, an exhibition of European [[modern art|modernist art]], shocked the public and transformed the U.S. art scene.<ref>Brown, Milton W. (1988 1963). ''The Story of the Armory Show''. New York: Abbeville. ISBN 0-89659-795-4.</ref> [[Georgia O'Keeffe]], [[Marsden Hartley]], and others experimented with new, individualistic styles. Major artistic movements such as the [[abstract expressionism]] of [[Jackson Pollock]] and [[Willem de Kooning]] and the [[pop art]] of [[Andy Warhol]] and [[Roy Lichtenstein]] developed largely in the United States. The tide of modernism and then [[postmodernism]] has brought fame to American architects such as [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], [[Philip Johnson]], and [[Frank Gehry]].<ref name="JansonJanson2003">{{cite book|last1=Janson|first1=Horst Woldemar|last2=Janson|first2=Anthony F.|title=History of Art: The Western Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMYHuvhWBH4C&pg=PT955|year=2003|publisher=Prentice Hall Professional|isbn=978-0-13-182895-7|page=955}}</ref>

[[File:Times Square 1-2.JPG|thumb|[[Times Square]] in [[New York City]], the hub of the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway theater]] [[Theater District, Manhattan|district]]<ref name="Bloom2004">{{cite book|author=Ken Bloom|title=Broadway: Its History, People, and Places : an Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fYbYyQjHwdsC&pg=PA322|year=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-93704-7|pages=322–}}</ref>]]
One of the first major promoters of [[Theater of the United States|American theater]] was impresario [[P. T. Barnum]], who began operating a lower [[Manhattan]] entertainment complex in 1841. The team of [[Edward Harrigan|Harrigan and Hart]] produced a series of popular [[musical theatre|musical]] comedies in New York starting in the late 1870s. In the 20th century, the modern musical form emerged on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]; the songs of musical theater composers such as [[Irving Berlin]], [[Cole Porter]], and [[Stephen Sondheim]] have become [[Traditional pop music|pop standards]]. Playwright [[Eugene O'Neill]] won the Nobel literature prize in 1936; other acclaimed U.S. dramatists include multiple [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama|Pulitzer Prize]] winners [[Tennessee Williams]], [[Edward Albee]], and [[August Wilson]].<ref name="Moran2002">{{cite book|last=Moran|first=Eugene V.|title=A People's History of English and American Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32BbXzfaUxoC&pg=PA228|date=January 1, 2002|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-59033-303-7|page=228}}</ref>

Though little known at the time, [[Charles Ives]]'s work of the 1910s established him as the first major U.S. composer in the classical tradition, while experimentalists such as [[Henry Cowell]] and [[John Cage]] created a distinctive American approach to classical composition. [[Aaron Copland]] and [[George Gershwin]] developed a new synthesis of popular and classical music. [[Choreography|Choreographers]] [[Isadora Duncan]] and [[Martha Graham]] helped create [[modern dance]], while [[George Balanchine]] and [[Jerome Robbins]] were leaders in 20th-century ballet. Americans have long been important in the modern artistic medium of [[photography]], with major photographers including [[Alfred Stieglitz]], [[Edward Steichen]], and [[Ansel Adams]].<ref name="Davenport1991">{{cite book|last=Davenport|first=Alma|title=The History of Photography: An Overview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hca5H_rJZnUC&pg=PA67|year=1991|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=978-0-8263-2076-6|page=67}}</ref>

=== Cinema ===
{{Main|Cinema of the United States}}

[[File:HollywoodSign.jpg|thumb|The [[Hollywood Sign]] in [[Los Angeles]], California]]
[[Hollywood]], a northern district of [[Los Angeles]], California, is one of the leaders in motion picture production.<ref>{{cite press release |url= http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30707 |title=Nigeria surpasses Hollywood as world's second largest film producer |publisher=United Nations |date=May 5, 2009 |accessdate=February 17, 2013}}</ref> The world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York City in 1894, using [[Thomas Edison]]'s [[Kinetoscope]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT68|date=April 29, 1944|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=68|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> The next year saw the first commercial screening of a projected film, also in New York, and the United States was in the forefront of [[sound film]]'s development in the following decades. Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, although in the 21st century an increasing number of films are not made there, and film companies have been subject to the forces of globalization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-landis-rails-studios-theyre-659222|title=John Landis Rails Against Studios: 'They're Not in the Movie Business Anymore'|publisher=''The Hollywood Reporter''|accessdate=January 24, 2015}}</ref>

Director [[D. W. Griffith]], American's top filmmaker during the silent film period, was central to the development of [[film grammar]], and producer/entrepreneur [[Walt Disney]] was a leader in both [[animation|animated film]] and movie [[merchandising]].<ref name="KrasniewiczDisney2010">{{cite book|last1=Krasniewicz|first1=Louise|last2=Disney|first2=Walt|title=Walt Disney: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZ3vTgpHgFoC&pg=PR10|year=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-35830-2|page=10}}</ref> Directors such as [[John Ford]] redefined the image of the American Old West and history, and, like others such as [[John Huston]], broadened the possibilities of cinema with location shooting, with great influence on subsequent directors. The industry enjoyed its golden years, in what is commonly referred to as the "[[Classical Hollywood cinema|Golden Age of Hollywood]]", from the early sound period until the early 1960s,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Matthews|first1=Charles|title=Book explores Hollywood 'Golden Age' of the 1960s-'70s|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-explores-hollywood-golden-age-of-the-1960s-70s/2011/02/10/AGh5xJIH_story.html|publisher=The Washington Post|accessdate=August 6, 2015|date=June 3, 2011}}</ref> with screen actors such as [[John Wayne]] and [[Marilyn Monroe]] becoming iconic figures.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Banner|first1=Lois|title=Marilyn Monroe, the eternal shape shifter|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/05/opinion/la-oe-0805-banner-marilyn-monroe-icon-biography-20120805|publisher=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=August 6, 2015|date=August 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Rick|first1=Jewell|title=John Wayne, an American Icon|url=http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15465.html|publisher=University of Southern California|accessdate=August 6, 2015|date=August 8, 2008}}</ref> In the 1970s, film directors such as [[Martin Scorsese]], [[Francis Ford Coppola]] and [[Robert Altman]] were a vital component in what became known as "[[New Hollywood]]" or the "Hollywood Renaissance",<ref name="Greven2013">{{cite book|last=Greven|first=David|title=Psycho-Sexual: Male Desire in Hitchcock, De Palma, Scorsese, and Friedkin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIyNBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT23|date=January 2, 2013|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74204-8|page=23}}</ref> grittier films influenced by French and Italian realist pictures of the [[Aftermath of World War II|post-war period]].<ref name="Morrison1998">{{cite book|last=Morrison|first=James|title=Passport to Hollywood: Hollywood Films, European Directors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWRif68I3igC&pg=PA11|date=September 11, 1998|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-3938-8|page=11}}</ref> Since, directors such as [[Steven Spielberg]], [[George Lucas]] and [[James Cameron]] have gained renown for their blockbuster films, often characterized by high production costs, and in return, high earnings at the box office, with Cameron's ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]'' (2009) earning more than $2 billion.<ref name="Turow2011">{{cite book|last=Turow|first=Joseph|title=Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZsSMKQZoYwC&pg=PA434|date=September 22, 2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-136-86402-5|page=434}}</ref>

Notable films topping the [[American Film Institute]]'s [[AFI 100]] list include [[Orson Welles]]'s ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' (1941), which is frequently cited as the greatest film of all time,<ref>[http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html ''Village Voice'': 100 Best Films of the 20th century (2001)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331000000/http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html |date=March 31, 2014 }}. Filmsite.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-long.html |title =Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 |publisher =British Film Institute |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20021105130210/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-long.html|archivedate=November 5, 2002 |year =2002 |deadurl= yes}}</ref> ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' (1942), ''[[The Godfather]]'' (1972), ''[[Gone with the Wind (1939 film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' (1939), ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' (1962), ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' (1939), ''[[The Graduate]]'' (1967), ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' (1954), ''[[Schindler's List]]'' (1993), ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'' (1952), ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'' (1946) and ''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' (1950).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx|title=AFI's 100 Years|publisher=American Film Institute|accessdate=January 24, 2015}}</ref> The [[Academy Awards]], popularly known as the Oscars, have been held annually by the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] since 1929,<ref name="DrowneHuber2004">{{cite book|last1=Drowne|first1=Kathleen Morgan|last2=Huber|first2=Patrick|title=The 1920's|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CecCHiI95dYC&pg=PA236|date=January 1, 2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32013-2|page=236}}</ref> and the [[Golden Globe Awards]] have been held annually since January 1944.<ref name="Kroon2014">{{cite book|last=Kroon|first=Richard W.|title=A/V A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjmNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA338|date=April 30, 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-5740-3|page=338}}</ref>

==== Media ====
{{Main|Media of the United States}}
[[File:ABC 77 W66 jeh.JPG|thumb|The corporate headquarters of the [[American Broadcasting Company]] in New York City]]
The four major broadcasters in the U.S. are the [[NBC|National Broadcasting Company]] (NBC), [[CBS|Columbia Broadcasting System]] (CBS), the [[American Broadcasting Company]] (ABC) and [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]. The four major broadcast [[television network]]s are all commercial entities. [[Cable television in the United States|Cable television]] offers hundreds of channels catering to a variety of niches.<ref>{{cite news|title=Streaming TV Services: What They Cost, What You Get|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/12/business/ap-us-streaming-tv-options.html?_r=0|accessdate=October 12, 2015|agency=NY Times; Associated Press|date=October 12, 2015}}</ref> Americans listen to radio programming, also largely commercial, on average just over two-and-a-half hours a day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1004830 |title=TV Fans Spill into Web Sites |date=June 7, 2007|publisher=eMarketer |accessdate = June 10, 2007}}</ref>

In 1998, the number of U.S. commercial radio stations had grown to 4,793 AM stations and 5,662 FM stations. In addition, there are 1,460 public radio stations. Most of these stations are run by universities and public authorities for educational purposes and are financed by public or private funds, subscriptions and corporate underwriting. Much public-radio broadcasting is supplied by [[NPR]] (formerly National Public Radio). NPR was incorporated in February 1970 under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967; its television counterpart, [[PBS]], was also created by the same legislation. (NPR and PBS are operated separately from each other.) {{As of|2014|09|30|df=US}}, there are 15,433 licensed full-power radio stations in the US according to the [[U.S. Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC).<ref>{{cite web|last = Waits | first = Jennifer | title = Number of U.S. Radio Stations on the Rise, Especially LPFM, according to New FCC Count | website = Radio Survivor | date = October 17, 2014 | accessdate = January 6, 2015 | url = http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2014/10/17/number-u-s-radio-stations-rise-especially-lpfm-according-latest-fcc-count/}}</ref>

Well-known newspapers are ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[USA Today]]'' and ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. Although the cost of publishing has increased over the years, the price of newspapers has generally remained low, forcing newspapers to rely more on advertising revenue and on articles provided by a major wire service, such as the Associated Press or Reuters, for their national and world coverage. With very few exceptions, all the newspapers in the U.S. are privately owned, either by large chains such as [[Gannett Company|Gannett]] or [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchy]], which own dozens or even hundreds of newspapers; by small chains that own a handful of papers; or in a situation that is increasingly rare, by individuals or families. Major cities often have "alternative weeklies" to complement the mainstream daily papers, for example, New York City's ''[[The Village Voice]]'' or Los Angeles' ''[[LA Weekly]]'', to name two of the best-known. Major cities may also support a local business journal, trade papers relating to local industries, and papers for local ethnic and social groups. Early versions of the American newspaper [[comic strip]] and the [[American comic book]] began appearing in the 19th century. In 1938, [[Superman]], the comic book [[superhero]] of [[DC Comics]], developed into an American icon.<ref>{{cite book | last=Daniels | first=Les | authorlink=Les Daniels | year=1998 | title=Superman: The Complete History | page=11 | edition=1st | publisher=[[Titan Books]] | isbn=1-85286-988-7}}</ref> Aside from [[web portal]]s and [[web search engine|search engines]], the most popular websites are [[Facebook]], [[YouTube]], [[Wikipedia]], [[Yahoo.com]], [[eBay]], [[Amazon.com|Amazon]] and [[Twitter]].<ref name="alexa-topsitesus">{{cite web |url=http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US |title=Top Sites in United States |year=2014 |publisher=Alexa |accessdate=October 20, 2014}}</ref>

More than 800 publications are produced in Spanish, the second most widely spoken mother tongue behind English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.w3newspapers.com/usa/spanish |title=Spanish Newspapers in United States |publisher=W3newspapers |accessdate=August 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/usstate/spanish-language-newspapers-usa.htm |title=Spanish Language Newspapers in the USA : Hispanic Newspapers : Periódiscos en Español en los EE.UU |publisher=Onlinenewspapers.com |accessdate=August 5, 2014}}</ref>

=== Science and technology ===
{{Main|Science and technology in the United States|Science policy of the United States}}

[[File:Apollo 15 flag, rover, LM, Irwin cropped.jpg|thumb|Astronaut [[James Irwin]] walking on the [[Moon]] next to [[Apollo 15]]'s [[Apollo Lunar Module|landing module]] and [[lunar rover]] in 1971. The effort to reach the Moon was triggered by the [[Space Race]].]]
The United States has been a leader in technological innovation since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid 20th century. Methods for producing [[interchangeable parts]] were developed by the U.S. War Department by the Federal Armories during the first half of the 19th century. This technology, along with the establishment of a [[machine tool]] industry, enabled the U.S. to have large scale manufacturing of sewing machines, bicycles and other items in the late 19th century and became known as the [[American system of manufacturing]]. Factory [[electrification]] in the early 20th century and introduction of the [[assembly line]] and other labor saving techniques created the system called [[mass production]].<ref>{{Hounshell1984}}</ref>

In 1876, [[Alexander Graham Bell]] was awarded the first U.S. [[Invention of the telephone|patent for the telephone]]. [[Thomas Edison]]'s [[Research institute|research laboratory]], one of the first of its kind, developed the [[phonograph]], the first [[Incandescent light bulb|long-lasting light bulb]], and the first viable [[Kinetoscope|movie camera]].<ref name=Edison>{{cite web|title=Thomas Edison's Most Famous Inventions|url=http://www.thomasedison.org/index.php/education/inventions/|website=Thomas A Edison Innovation Foundation|accessdate=January 21, 2015}}</ref> The latter lead to emergence of the worldwide [[Show business|entertainment industry]]. In the early 20th century, the automobile companies of [[Ransom E. Olds]] and [[Henry Ford]] popularized the [[assembly line]]. The [[Wright brothers]], in 1903, made the [[Wright Flyer|first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Benedetti, François| url =http://www.fai.org/news_archives/fai/000295.asp| archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20070912065254/http://www.fai.org/news_archives/fai/000295.asp| archivedate =September 12, 2007| title =100 Years Ago, the Dream of Icarus Became Reality| publisher =Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)|date=December 17, 2003|accessdate=August 15, 2007}}</ref>

The rise of [[Nazism]] in the 1930s led many European scientists, including [[Albert Einstein]], [[Enrico Fermi]], and [[John von Neumann]], to immigrate to the United States.<ref name=fraser>{{cite book|last1=Fraser|first1=Gordon|title=The Quantum Exodus: Jewish Fugitives, the Atomic Bomb, and the Holocaust|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-959215-9|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Quantum_Exodus.html?id=-NYknwEACAAJ}}</ref> During World War II, the [[Manhattan Project]] developed nuclear weapons, ushering in the [[Atomic Age]], while the [[Space Race]] produced rapid advances in rocketry, [[materials science]], and [[aeronautics]].<ref>{{cite book | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=qYZmj7Us3m8C&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=Space+Race++rapid+advances+in+rocketry,+materials+science,+and+computers&source=bl&ots=6JtLGVR3aO&sig=4T65DV86zKTpHNjcMV3lIk1fkL8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rFwXVIbBLMvt8AXWm4LADQ&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Space%20Race%20%20rapid%20advances%20in%20rocketry%2C%20materials%20science%2C%20and%20computers&f=false| title =10 Little Americans| publisher = Google Books | accessdate = September 15, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.computerworld.com/article/2525898/app-development/nasa-s-apollo-technology-has-changed-history.html| title =NASA's Apollo technology has changed the history| publisher = Sharon Gaudin| accessdate =September 15, 2014 }}</ref>

The invention of the [[transistor]] in the 1950s, a key active component in practically all modern [[electronics]], led to many technological developments and a significant expansion of the U.S. technology industry.<ref>{{cite news|title=Celebrating July 2: 10 Days That Changed History|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=Adam|last=Goodheart|date=July 2, 2006|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/weekinreview/02goodheart.html}}</ref><ref>Silicon Valley: 110 Year Renaissance, McLaughlin, Weimers, Winslow 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Roadmap to Entrepreneurial Success|author=Robert W. Price|publisher=AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn|year=2004|isbn=978-0-8144-7190-6|page=42|url=https://books.google.com/?id=q7UzNoWdGAkC&pg=PA42&dq=transistor+inventions-of-the-twentieth-century}}</ref> This in turn led to the establishment of many new technology companies and regions around the country such as in [[Silicon Valley]] in California. Advancements by American [[microprocessor]] companies such as [[Advanced Micro Devices]] (AMD), and [[Intel]] along with both computer [[software]] and [[Computer hardware|hardware]] companies that include [[Adobe Systems]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]], [[IBM]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Sun Microsystems]] created and popularized the [[personal computer]]. The [[ARPANET]] was developed in the 1960s to meet [[United States Department of Defense|Defense Department]] requirements, and became the first of a [[history of the Internet|series of networks which evolved]] into the [[Internet]].<ref name="Sawyer2012">{{cite book|last=Sawyer|first=Robert Keith|title=Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QyJjyZ_YBAkC&pg=PA256|year=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-973757-4|page=256}}</ref>

These advancements then lead to greater [[personalization]] of technology for individual use.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bennett|first1=W. Lance|last2=Segerberg|first2=Alexandra|title=Digital Media and the Personalization of Collective Action|journal=Information, Communication & Society|date=September 2011|volume=14|issue=6|pages=770–799|doi=10.1080/1369118X.2011.579141}}</ref> {{As of|2013}}, 83.8% of American households owned at least one [[computer]], and 73.3% had high-speed Internet service.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/acs/acs-28.pdf|title=Computer and Internet Use Main| publisher =U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau|accessdate = July 22, 2015}}</ref> 91% of Americans also own a mobile phone {{as of|2013|05|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/06/cell-phone-ownership-hits-91-of-adults/|title=Cell phone ownership hits 91% of adults|publisher=Pew Research Center|date=May 19, 2013 |accessdate=July 22, 2015}}</ref> The United States ranks highly with regard to freedom of use of the internet.<ref>{{cite web|title=Freedom on the Net 2014|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net-2014/freedom-net-2014-graphics#.VQ9Itu7F9aw|website=Freedom House}}</ref>

In the 21st century, approximately two-thirds of research and development funding comes from the private sector.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008/tables/08s0775.xls | archiveurl = http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120210170338/http%3A//www%2Ecensus%2Egov/compendia/statab/2008/tables/08s0775%2Exls| archivedate = February 10, 2012| title = Research and Development (R&D) Expenditures by Source and Objective: 1970 to 2004 | publisher = U.S. Census Bureau | accessdate = June 19, 2007}}</ref> The United States leads the world in scientific research papers and [[impact factor]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/education/2006/mar/21/highereducation.uk4 |author=MacLeod, Donald |title= Britain Second in World Research Rankings |date=March 21, 2006 |work= The Guardian |accessdate=May 14, 2006 |location=London}}</ref>

==Noter==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

Nuværende version fra 29. aug. 2021, 19:37

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