Background: The
United States became the world's first modern democracy after its break with
Great Britain (1776) and the adoption of a constitution (1789). During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded
across the
North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two major traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the
American Civil War (1861-65) and the
Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in
World War I and
World War II and the end of the
Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
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