United States (Overview), United States of America, popularly referred to as the United States or America, a federal republic on the continent of North America, consisting of 48 contiguous states and the non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii. The United States is discussed in seven articles: this overview, as well as separate articles on United States (geography), United States (people), United States (culture), United States (economy), United States (government), and United States (History). These six topics – geography, people, culture, economy, government, and history – comprise the interconnected elements of the nation's experience. Geography is the first element because landforms, resources, and climate influenced how people who came to the United States formed new societies. People, in all their variety, are the second element because they have formed communities and built a society. The next three elements make up the main parts of that society: its culture, economy, and government. The story tells the story of how people created a society. It details how people adapted to geographic environments, how they built and changed their economy and government, and how their culture changed along the way. Thus all six topics - geography, people, culture, economics, government, and history - form a progression of interconnected topics.II E Pluribus Unum: The American ExperiencePrint section preview | Edit this sectionE Pluribus Unum is the motto of the United States, appearing on the nation's coins and banknotes and on many of its public monuments. It means “Out of many, one”. First used to unify the 13 British colonies of North America during the American Revolution (1775-1783), this phrase took on new meaning as the United States received waves of immigrants from many countries. These immigrants had to find ways to reconcile their different backgrounds and fit together under one constitution and one set of laws. That process of creating a society out of diverse contexts is one of the greatest stories of the American experience. “What then is the American, this new man?” asked one of the thousands of immigrants who came to North America in the 18th century. “He is an American who, leaving behind him all his old prejudices and old customs, receives new ones from the new way of life which he has embraced, from the new government which he obeys, and from the new rank which he holds. The American is a new man, acting according to new principles…Here the individuals of all nations merge into a new race of men.”Continue reading the article