United States of the Americas

United States of the Americas

The United States of the Americas (USA) was a hyperpower on Earth that arose following the conclusion of World War III in 2055. It dominated all other states in every sphere of activity. Its capital city was Washington, D.C. The United States of the Americas eventually evolved into Earth's global government, at which point it began its transition into the galactic superpower known as the Federation, a process that concluded in 2242 with the ratification of the Federation Accord.

History

World War III, which was fought between 2044 and 2055, saw multiple nuclear exchanges occur between various countries. One of the standard weapons of the conflict was an intercontinential ballistic missile (ICBM) tipped with a thermonuclear warhead with an explosive yield of 45 megatons. The United States of America was able to avoid suffering any nuclear detonations on its soil thanks to its defensive laser grid, which combined ground turrets with armed satellites to disable inbound enemy missiles before they reached their targets. When the conflict finally ended, after over one billion people and many countries had perished, the United States was victorious and the only major country left mostly unscathed. It quickly expanded into the United States of the Americas, a multi-continental hyperpower that dominated Earth. Due to the massive damage on the planet, corporations stepped in to rebuild human civilization. All remaining countries after World War III gradually joined it and it was renamed to the Federation of the United States.

The 22nd century saw the rise of the corporations, the discovery of the first extraterrestrial fossils on Mars, and the explosive exploration triggered by the invention of the hyperdrive by Li Qin Jao and others, first by unmanned probes, then with manned craft, overtaking the Generation Ships sent in the previous decades. Despite the huge dangers involved, a massive land-grab followed, fueled by the voracious corporations.

In the 23rd century, when the ecological excesses became apparent of space colonization by the early colonists, the Federation of the United States shortened its name to simply the Federation, erasing any reference to the pre-war USA, which had been an obstacle for the last independent countries to join. The Federation consolidated all political power on Earth as the world government. The Federation adopted a constitution derived from the constitutions of earlier states, especially the United States Constitution, but significantly simplified. The Federation instilled some order within human space, which until that point had been an unruly free-for-all.

In 2242 CE, the last vestiges of the former United States of the Americas were set aside with the ratification of the Federation Accord, which outlined certain rights and responsibilities for Federation members and their citizens. The Federation quickly expanded its reach to colonies throughout Sol and then beyond to Tau Ceti, Delta Pavonis, Altair, and Beta Hydri, systems that came to be regarded as the Federation's founding members. Having achieved an interstellar presence, the Federation renamed itself to the "Federation of Star Systems", but this name was never popular and later reverted to just the "Federation". In the centuries thereafter, it expanded to include thousands of other star systems and cemented its position as a galactic superpower.

Geography

The name of the United States of the Americas implies that it comprised the totality of the continents of North and South America. The Americas encompasses most of the land in the Western Hemisphere on Earth. The total area is 42,549,000 km2 (16,428,000 mi2). It covers 8% of Earth's total surface area and 28.4% of its land area. This makes the Americas 4.2 times bigger than Europe.

Gallery

United States of the Americas

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