Finding the Top 24/7 Security Monitoring Providers
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When it comes to ensuring the safety and security of your property, whether its a home or a business, choosing the right 24/7 security monitoring provider is crucial.
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These providers offer round-the-clock surveillance, ensuring that any suspicious activity is detected and addressed immediately.
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However, with so many options available, finding the top service can be a daunting task.
Firstly, it's important to understand what exactly 24/7 monitoring entails. This service typically includes continuous surveillance of your property through various technologies like CCTV cameras, motion detectors, and alarm systems. The idea is that, should any unusual activity be detected, the security company will instantly alert you and, if necessary, the local authorities. directory This kind of proactive security measure is essential for peace of mind, especially in areas prone to crime or for high-value properties.
To start your search for the best provider, its advisable to look into their reputation.
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A good security company will have solid reviews from current and past clients. Don't just rely on the testimonials posted on their website; search for feedback across various platforms to get a balanced view. However, keep in mind that no company is perfect; a few negative reviews amongst a majority of positive ones should not be a dealbreaker.
Another key factor to consider is the technology they use.
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The best security providers invest in the latest technologies to ensure effective monitoring and quick response times. Its worth asking about the specifics of their systems, like the resolution of cameras they install or the responsiveness of their alarms. Some companies might cut corners to offer cheaper services, but this can compromise the quality of security you receive.
The customer service aspect is also crucial. You need a provider who is responsive and accessible, one that treats your security concerns with the urgency they deserve.
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How quickly does the company respond to alerts?
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What is their protocol for false alarms? These are critical questions! dockermalware Make sure to get a clear understanding of their process before making a commitment.
Cost is, of course, a significant consideration as well.
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intelligence While it's tempting to go for the cheapest option, remember that this is about the safety of your property and, potentially, your loved ones. Compare pricing among the top contenders, but weigh it against their service offerings. Sometimes, paying a bit more is worth the extra security measures and better service you'll receive.
Lastly, check for any additional services or benefits they might offer. signature Some companies provide extra perks like free installation, regular maintenance checks, or even discounts on insurance premiums. These can add significant value to the service you're getting.
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Finding the right 24/7 security monitoring provider requires thorough research and careful consideration, but its worth the effort to ensure your property is protected at all times. Dont rush the decision; take your time to evaluate each option carefully.
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Security is not just a purchase, its an investment in peace of mind!
Remember, the safety of your property is not something to take lightly! Choose wisely and stay safe.
In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. Compliance has traditionally been explained by reference to deterrence theory, according to which punishing a behavior will decrease the violations both by the wrongdoer (specific deterrence) and by others (general deterrence). This view has been supported by economic theory, which has framed punishment in terms of costs and has explained compliance in terms of a cost-benefit equilibrium (Becker 1968). However, psychological research on motivation provides an alternative view: granting rewards (Deci, Koestner and Ryan, 1999) or imposing fines (Gneezy Rustichini 2000) for a certain behavior is a form of extrinsic motivation that weakens intrinsic motivation and ultimately undermines compliance.
Regulatory compliance describes the goal that organizations aspire to achieve in their efforts to ensure that they are aware of and take steps to comply with relevant laws, policies, and regulations.[1] Due to the increasing number of regulations and need for operational transparency, organizations are increasingly adopting the use of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls.[2] This approach is used to ensure that all necessary governance requirements can be met without the unnecessary duplication of effort and activity from resources.
Regulations and accrediting organizations vary among fields, with examples such as PCI-DSS and GLBA in the financial industry, FISMA for U.S. federal agencies, HACCP for the food and beverage industry, and the Joint Commission and HIPAA in healthcare. In some cases other compliance frameworks (such as COBIT) or even standards (NIST) inform on how to comply with regulations.
Some organizations keep compliance data—all data belonging or pertaining to the enterprise or included in the law, which can be used for the purpose of implementing or validating compliance—in a separate store for meeting reporting requirements. Compliance software is increasingly being implemented to help companies manage their compliance data more efficiently. This store may include calculations, data transfers, and audit trails.[3][4]
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its ISO 37301:2021 (which deprecates ISO 19600:2014) standard is one of the primary international standards for how businesses handle regulatory compliance, providing a reminder of how compliance and risk should operate together, as "colleagues" sharing a common framework with some nuances to account for their differences. The ISO also produces international standards such as ISO/IEC 27002 to help organizations meet regulatory compliance with their security management and assurance best practices.[5]
Some local or international specialized organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) also develop standards and regulation codes. They thereby provide a wide range of rules and directives to ensure compliance of the products to safety, security or design standards.[6]
Regulatory compliance varies not only by industry but often by location. The financial, research, and pharmaceutical regulatory structures in one country, for example, may be similar but with particularly different nuances in another country. These similarities and differences are often a product "of reactions to the changing objectives and requirements in different countries, industries, and policy contexts".[7]
Australia's major financial services regulators of deposits, insurance, and superannuation include the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).[8] These regulators help to ensure financial institutes meet their promises, that transactional information is well documented, and that competition is fair while protecting consumers. The APRA in particular deals with superannuation and its regulation, including new regulations requiring trustees of superannuation funds to demonstrate to APRA that they have adequate resources (human, technology and financial), risk management systems, and appropriate skills and expertise to manage the superannuation fund, with individuals running them being "fit and proper".[8]
Australian organisations seeking to remain compliant with various regulations may turn to AS ISO 19600:2015 (which supersedes AS 3806-2006). This standard helps organisations with compliance management, placing "emphasis on the organisational elements that are required to support compliance" while also recognizing the need for continual improvement.[12][13]
In Canada, federal regulation of deposits, insurance, and superannuation is governed by two independent bodies: the OSFI through the Bank Act, and FINTRAC, mandated by the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, 2001 (PCMLTFA).[14][15] These groups protect consumers, regulate how risk is controlled and managed, and investigate illegal action such as money laundering and terrorist financing.[14][15] On a provincial level, each province maintain individuals laws and agencies. Unlike any other major federation, Canada does not have a securities regulatory authority at the federal government level. The provincial and territorial regulators work together to coordinate and harmonize regulation of the Canadian capital markets through the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).[16]
Canadian organizations seeking to remain compliant with various regulations may turn to ISO 19600:2014, an international compliance standard that "provides guidance for establishing, developing, implementing, evaluating, maintaining and improving an effective and responsive compliance management system within an organization".[18] For more industry specific guidance, e.g., financial institutions, Canada's E-13 Regulatory Compliance Management provides specific compliance risk management tactics.[19]
Regulatory compliance in the European Union (EU) is governed by a harmonized legal framework designed to ensure consistency across member states while allowing for national implementation. EU compliance regulations cover various industries, including consumer product safety, financial services, environmental protection, and data privacy.
The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) establishes a unified safety framework for consumer products across the EU, requiring manufacturers to conduct risk assessments, maintain traceability documentation, and meet safety compliance standards before placing products on the market.[20][21] The GPSR applies to all consumer products made available in the EU unless covered by sector-specific regulations, such as medical devices or food products. The regulation extends to products sold through e-commerce platforms, requiring online marketplaces to ensure that only compliant products are listed. Fulfillment service providers are also included as economic operators, making them responsible for product safety compliance in certain cases.
For business compliance, the EU’s regulatory approach is guided by the New Legislative Framework (NLF) and various sector-specific directives and regulations. Businesses must comply with EU product conformity assessments and affix the CE marking to indicate compliance with essential safety and performance standards.[22]
Financial compliance is enforced through regulations such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which set strict requirements for financial transparency, consumer protection, and data security.
The EU Legislation Compliance framework ensures that organizations operate within the legal boundaries of EU directives, helping public and private entities manage regulatory risks efficiently.[23]
Companies operating in the EU must stay updated on evolving compliance requirements, as non-compliance can lead to fines, product recalls, or restrictions on market access.
The financial sector in the Netherlands is heavily regulated. The Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank N.V.) is the prudential regulator while the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets (AFM) is the regulator for behavioral supervision of financial institutions and markets. A common definition of compliance is:'Observance of external (international and national) laws and regulations, as well as internal norms and procedures, to protect the integrity of the organization, its management and employees with the aim of preventing and controlling risks and the possible damage resulting from these compliance and integrity risks'.[24]
In India, compliance regulation takes place across three strata: Central, State, and Local regulation. India veers towards central regulation, especially of financial organizations and foreign funds. Compliance regulations vary based on the industry segment in addition to the geographical mix. Most regulation comes in the following broad categories: economic regulation, regulation in the public interest, and environmental regulation.[25] India has also been characterized by poor compliance - reports suggest that only around 65% of companies are fully compliant to norms.[26]
Corporate scandals and breakdowns such as the Enron case of reputational risk in 2001 have increased calls for stronger compliance and regulations, particularly for publicly listed companies.[1] The most significant recent statutory changes in this context have been the Sarbanes–Oxley Act developed by two U.S. congressmen, Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley in 2002 which defined significantly tighter personal responsibility of corporate top management for the accuracy of reported financial statements; and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury under the auspices of the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign states, organizations, and individuals.
Compliance in the U.S. generally means compliance with laws and regulations. These laws and regulations can have criminal or civil penalties. The definition of what constitutes an effective compliance plan has been elusive. Most authors, however, continue to cite the guidance provided by the United States Sentencing Commission in Chapter 8 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.[35][36]
On October 12, 2006, the U.S. Small Business Administration re-launched Business.gov (later Business.USA.gov and finally SBA.Gov)[37] which provides a single point of access to government services and information that help businesses comply with government regulations.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) was created by Congress to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA implements laws and regulations regularly in the following areas, construction, maritime, agriculture, and recordkeeping.[38]
The United States Department of Transportation also has various laws and regulations requiring that prime contractors when bidding on federally funded projects engage in good faith effort compliance, meaning they must document their outreach to certified disadvantaged business enterprises.[39]
Data retention is a part of regulatory compliance that is proving to be a challenge in many instances. The security that comes from compliance with industry regulations can seem contrary to maintaining user privacy. Data retention laws and regulations ask data owners and other service providers to retain extensive records of user activity beyond the time necessary for normal business operations. These requirements have been called into question by privacy rights advocates.[40]
Compliance in this area is becoming very difficult. Laws like the CAN-SPAM Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act in the U.S. require that businesses give people the right to be forgotten.[41][42] In other words, they must remove individuals from marketing lists if it is requested, tell them when and why they might share personal information with a third party, or at least ask permission before sharing that data. Now, with new laws coming out that demand longer data retention despite the individual’s desires, it can create some real difficulties.
Money laundering and terrorist financing pose significant threats to the integrity of the financial system and national security. To combat these threats, the EU has adopted a risk-based approach to Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) that relies on cooperation and coordination between EU and national authorities. In this context, risk-based regulation refers to the approach of identifying and assessing potential risks of money laundering and terrorist financing and implementing regulatory measures proportional to those risks. However, the shared enforcement powers between EU and national authorities in the implementation and enforcement of AML/CFT regulations can create legal implications and challenges. The potential for inconsistent application of AML regulations across different jurisdictions can create regulatory arbitrage and undermine the effectiveness of AML efforts. Additionally, a lack of clear and consistent legal frameworks defining the roles and responsibilities of EU and national authorities in AML enforcement can lead to situations where accountability is difficult to establish.
The U.K. Corporate Governance Code (formerly the Combined Code) is issued by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and "sets standards of good practice in relation to board leadership and effectiveness, remuneration, accountability, and relations with shareholders".[43] All companies with a Premium Listing of equity shares in the U.K. are required under the Listing Rules to report on how they have applied the Combined Code in their annual report and accounts.[44] (The Codes are therefore most similar to the U.S.' Sarbanes–Oxley Act.)
The U.K.'s regulatory framework requires that all its publicly listed companies should provide specific content in the core financial statements that must appear in a yearly report, including balance sheet, comprehensive income statement, and statement of changes in equity, as well as cash flow statement as required under international accounting standards.[45] It further demonstrates the relationship that subsists among shareholders, management, and the independent audit teams. Financial statements must be prepared using a particular set of rules and regulations hence the rationale behind allowing the companies to apply the provisions of company law, international financial reporting standards (IFRS), as well as the U.K. stock exchange rules as directed by the FCA.[46] It is also possible that shareholders may not understand the figures as presented in the various financial statements, hence it is critical that the board should provide notes on accounting policies as well as other explanatory notes to help them understand the report better.
The term "United States" and its initialism "U.S.", used as nouns or as adjectives in English, are common short names for the country. The initialism "USA", a noun, is also common.[25] "United States" and "U.S." are the established terms throughout the U.S. federal government, with prescribed rules.[l] "The States" is an established colloquial shortening of the name, used particularly from abroad;[27] "stateside" is the corresponding adjective or adverb.[28]
"
America" is the feminine form of the first name of Americus Vesputius, the Latinized name of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512);[m] It was first used as a place name by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann in 1507.[29][n] Vespucci first proposed that the West Indies discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 were part of a previously unknown landmass and not among the Indies at the eastern limit of Asia.[30][31][32] In English, the term "America" (used without a qualifier) seldom refers to topics unrelated to the United States. "The Americas" is the general term to describe the totality of the continents of North and South America.[33]
The colonial possessions of Britain (the Thirteen Colonies in pink and others in purple), France (in blue), and Spain (in orange) in North America, 1750
The Mayflower Compact in Massachusetts and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for local representative self-governance and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies.[53][54] While European settlers in what is now the United States experienced conflicts with Native Americans, they also engaged in trade, exchanging European tools for food and animal pelts.[55][o] Relations ranged from close cooperation to warfare and massacres. The colonial authorities often pursued policies that forced Native Americans to adopt European lifestyles, including conversion to Christianity.[59][60] Along the eastern seaboard, settlers trafficked Africans through the Atlantic slave trade, largely to provide manual labor on plantations.[61]
Though in practical effect since its drafting in 1777, the Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1781 and formally established a decentralized government that operated until 1789.[69] After the British surrender at the siege of Yorktown in 1781, American sovereignty was internationally recognized by the Treaty of Paris (1783), through which the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River, north to present-day Canada, and south to Spanish Florida.[74] The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established the precedent by which the country's territory would expand with the admission of new states, rather than the expansion of existing states.[75]
The Missouri Compromise of 1820, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, attempted to balance the desire of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories with that of southern states to extend it there. Primarily, the compromise prohibited slavery in all other lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel.[85]
The United States annexed the Republic of Texas in 1845,[96] and the 1846 Oregon Treaty led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest.[97] Dispute with Mexico over Texas led to the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). After the victory of the U.S., Mexico recognized U.S. sovereignty over Texas, New Mexico, and California in the 1848 Mexican Cession; the cession's lands also included the future states of Nevada, Colorado and Utah.[79][98] The California gold rush of 1848–1849 spurred a huge migration of white settlers to the Pacific coast, leading to even more confrontations with Native populations. One of the most violent, the California genocide of thousands of Native inhabitants, lasted into the mid-1870s.[99] Additional western territories and states were created.[100]
Throughout the 1850s, the sectional conflict regarding slavery was further inflamed by national legislation in the U.S. Congress and decisions of the Supreme Court. In Congress, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 mandated the forcible return to their owners in the South of slaves taking refuge in non-slave states, while the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 effectively gutted the anti-slavery requirements of the Missouri Compromise.[101] In its Dred Scott decision of 1857, the Supreme Court ruled against a slave brought into non-slave territory, simultaneously declaring the entire Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional. These and other events exacerbated tensions between North and South that would culminate in the American Civil War (1861–1865).[102][103]
Efforts toward reconstruction in the secessionist South had begun as early as 1862,[112] but it was only after President Lincoln's assassination that the three Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution were ratified to protect civil rights. The amendments codified nationally the abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crimes, promised equal protection under the law for all persons, and prohibited discrimination on the basis of race or previous enslavement.[113][114][115] As a result, African Americans took an active political role in ex-Confederate states in the decade following the Civil War.[116][117] The former Confederate states were readmitted to the Union, beginning with Tennessee in 1866 and ending with Georgia in 1870.[118][119]
In addition to its total land area, the United States has one of the world's largest marine exclusive economic zones spanning approximately 4.5 million square miles (11.7 million km2) of ocean.[203][204]
The United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country.[208][209] States bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of the world's tornadoes occur in the country, mainly in Tornado Alley.[210] Due to climate change in the country, extreme weather has become more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported heat waves compared to the 1960s.[211][212][213] Since the 1990s, droughts in the American Southwest have become more persistent and more severe.[214] The regions considered as the most attractive to the population are the most vulnerable.[215]
The U.S. is one of 17 megadiverse countries containing large numbers of endemic species: about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland.[217] The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 birds, 311 reptiles, 295 amphibians,[218] and around 91,000 insect species.[219]
Composed of three branches, all headquartered in Washington, D.C., the federal government is the national government of the United States. The U.S. Constitution establishes a separation of powers intended to provide a system of checks and balances to prevent any of the three branches from becoming supreme.[249]
The U.S. Congress is a bicameral legislature made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members—two residents from each state and elected by that state's voters for a six-year term. The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected for a two-year term by the constituency of the congressional district where they reside. A state's legislature decides the district boundaries, which are contiguous within the state. Every U.S. congressional district is of equivalent population and sends one representative to Congress.[250] Election years for senators are staggered so that only one-third of them will be up for election every two years.[251] U.S. representatives are all up for election at the same time every two years. The U.S. Congress makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse,[252] and has the power of impeachment.[253] One of its foremost non-legislative functions is the power to investigate and oversee the executive branch.[254]Congressional oversight is usually delegated to committees and is facilitated by Congress's power to issue subpoenas.[255] Much of the work of Congress is performed by a collection of committees, each appointed for a specific purpose or function. Committee membership is by tradition and statute bipartisan, but all committees are chaired by a member of the majority party, who sets the committee agenda.[256]
The U.S. president is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military, and chief executive of the federal government. The president appoints the members of the Cabinet, subject to Senate approval, and names other officials who administer and enforce federal law and policy through their respective agencies.[257] The president has the ability to veto legislative bills from the U.S. Congress before they become law. However, presidential vetoes can be overridden by a two-thirds supermajority vote in both chambers of Congress. The president also has clemency power for federal crimes and can issue pardons. Finally, the president has the authority to issue expansive "executive orders" in a number of policy areas, subject to judicial review. Candidates for president campaign with a vice-presidential running mate. Both candidates are elected together, or defeated together, in a presidential election. Unlike other votes in American politics, this is technically an indirect election in which the winner will be determined by the U.S. Electoral College. There, votes are officially cast by individual electors selected by their state legislature.[258] In practice, however, each of the 50 states chooses a group of presidential electors who are required by state law to confirm the winner of their state's popular vote. Each state is allocated two electors plus one additional elector for every congressional district in the state, which in effect combines to equal the number of elected officials that state sends to Congress. The District of Columbia, with no representatives or senators, is allocated three electoral votes. Both the president and the vice president serve a four-year term, and the president may be reelected to the office only once, for one additional four-year term.[s]
The U.S. federal judiciary, whose judges are all appointed for life by the president with Senate approval, consists primarily of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. courts of appeals, and the U.S. district courts. The lowest level in the federal judiciary is the federal district court, which decides all cases considered to be under "original jurisdiction", such as federal statutes, constitutional law, or international treaties. After a federal district court has decided a case, its decision may be contested and sent to a higher court, a federal court of appeals. The U.S. judicial system's 12 federal circuits divide the country into 12 separate geographic administrative regions for appeals decisions. The next and highest court in the system is the Supreme Court of the United States.[259] The U.S. Supreme Court interprets laws and overturns those it finds unconstitutional.[259] On average, the Supreme Court receives about 7,000 appeals petitions for writs of certiorari each year, but only grants about 80.[260] Consisting of nine members led by the Chief Justice of the United States, the court judges each case before it by majority decision. As with all other federal judges, the members are appointed for life by the sitting president with Senate approval when a vacancy becomes available.[261]
The three-branch system is known as the presidential system, in contrast to the parliamentary system where the executive is part of the legislative body. Many countries around the world adopted this aspect of the 1789 Constitution of the United States, especially in the postcolonial Americas.[262]
State defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. SDFs are authorized by state and federal law but are under the command of the state's governor.[308][309][310] By contrast, the 54 U.S. National Guard organizations[t] fall under the dual control of state or territorial governments and the federal government; their units can also become federalized entities, but SDFs cannot be federalized.[311] The National Guard personnel of a state or territory can be federalized by the president under the National Defense Act Amendments of 1933; this legislation created the Guard and provides for the integration of Army National Guard and Air National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Army and (since 1947) the U.S. Air Force.[312] The total number of National Guard members is about 430,000, while the estimated combined strength of SDFs is less than 10,000.[313]
There is no unified "criminal justice system" in the United States. The American prison system is largely heterogenous, with thousands of relatively independent systems operating across federal, state, local, and tribal levels. In 2025, "these systems hold nearly 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,277 juvenile correctional facilities, 133 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories."[318]
Despite disparate systems of confinement, four main institutions dominate: federal prisons, state prisons, local jails, and juvenile correctional facilities.[319] Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and hold pretrial detainees as well as people who have been convicted of federal crimes.[319] State prisons, run by the department of corrections of each state, hold people sentenced and serving prison time (usually longer than one year) for felony offenses.[319] Local jails are county or municipal facilities that incarcerate defendants prior to trial; they also hold those serving short sentences (typically under a year).[319] Juvenile correctional facilities are operated by local or state governments and serve as longer-term placements for any minor adjudicated as delinquent and ordered by a judge to be confined.[320]
In January 2023, the United States had the sixth-highest per capita incarceration rate in the world—531 people per 100,000 inhabitants—and the largest prison and jail population in the world, with more than 1.9 million people incarcerated.[318][321][322] An analysis of the World Health Organization Mortality Database from 2010 showed U.S. homicide rates "were 7 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25 times higher".[323]
Wealth in the United States is highly concentrated; in 2011, the richest 10% of the adult population owned 72% of the country's household wealth, while the bottom 50% owned just 2%.[358]U.S. wealth inequality increased substantially since the late 1980s,[359] and income inequality in the U.S. reached a record high in 2019.[360] In 2024, the country had some of the highest wealth and income inequality levels among OECD countries.[361] Since the 1970s, there has been a decoupling of U.S. wage gains from worker productivity.[362] In 2016, the top fifth of earners took home more than half of all income,[363] giving the U.S. one of the widest income distributions among OECD countries.[364][362] There were about 771,480 homeless persons in the U.S. in 2024.[365] In 2022, 6.4 million children experienced food insecurity.[366]Feeding America estimates that around one in five, or approximately 13 million, children experience hunger in the U.S. and do not know where or when they will get their next meal.[367] Also in 2022, about 37.9 million people, or 11.5% of the U.S. population, were living in poverty.[368]
In the 21st century, the United States continues to be one of the world's foremost scientific powers,[379] though China has emerged as a major competitor in many fields.[380] The U.S. has the highest research and development expenditures of any country[381] and ranks ninth as a percentage of GDP.[382] In 2022, the United States was (after China) the country with the second-highest number of published scientific papers.[383] In 2021, the U.S. ranked second (also after China) by the number of patent applications, and third by trademark and industrial design applications (after China and Germany), according to World Intellectual Property Indicators.[384] In 2025[385][386] the United States ranked third (after Switzerland and Sweden) in the Global Innovation Index. The United States is considered to be a world leader in the development of artificial intelligence technology.[387] In 2023, the United States was ranked the second most technologically advanced country in the world (after South Korea) by Global Finance magazine.[388]
Astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong (seen in visor reflection) during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first crewed Moon landing. The United States is the only country to have landed humans on the Moon.
The U.S. is the world's largest producer of nuclear power, generating around 30% of the world's nuclear electricity.[405] It also has the highest number of nuclear power reactors of any country.[406] From 2024, the U.S. plans to triple its nuclear power capacity by 2050.[407]
The United States' 4 million miles (6.4 million kilometers) of road network, owned almost entirely by state and local governments, is the longest in the world.[408][409] The extensive Interstate Highway System that connects all major U.S. cities is funded mostly by the federal government but maintained by state departments of transportation. The system is further extended by state highways and some private toll roads.
The U.S. is among the top ten countries with the highest vehicle ownership per capita (850 vehicles per 1,000 people) in 2022. A 2022 study found that 76% of U.S. commuters drive alone and 14% ride a bicycle, including bike owners and users of bike-sharing networks. About 11% use some form of public transportation.[410][411]
Public transportation in the United States is well developed in the largest urban areas, notably New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco; otherwise, coverage is generally less extensive than in most other developed countries. The U.S. also has many relatively car-dependent localities.[412]
Long-distance intercity travel is provided primarily by airlines, but travel by rail is more common along the Northeast Corridor, the only high-speed rail in the U.S. that meets international standards. Amtrak, the country's government-sponsored national passenger rail company, has a relatively sparse network compared to that of Western European countries. Service is concentrated in the Northeast, California, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and Virginia/Southeast.
The United States has an extensive air transportation network. U.S. civilian airlines are all privately owned. The three largest airlines in the world, by total number of passengers carried, are U.S.-based; American Airlines became the global leader after its 2013 merger with US Airways.[415] Of the 50 busiest airports in the world, 16 are in the United States, as well as five of the top 10.[416] The world's busiest airport by passenger volume is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International in Atlanta, Georgia.[413][416] In 2022, most of the 19,969 U.S. airports[417] were owned and operated by local government authorities, and there are also some private airports. Some 5,193 are designated as "public use", including for general aviation. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has provided security at most major airports since 2001.
The country's rail transport network, the longest in the world at 182,412.3 mi (293,564.2 km),[418] handles mostly freight[419][420] (in contrast to more passenger-centered rail in Europe[421]). Because they are often privately owned operations, U.S. railroads lag behind those of the rest of the world in terms of electrification.[422]
The U.S. Census Bureau reported 331,449,281 residents on April 1, 2020,[v][426] making the United States the third-most-populous country in the world, after India and China.[427] The Census Bureau's official 2025 population estimate was 341,784,857, an increase of 3.1% since the 2020 census.[13] According to the Bureau's U.S. Population Clock, on July 1, 2024, the U.S. population had a net gain of one person every 16 seconds, or about 5400 people per day.[428] In 2023, 51% of Americans age 15 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 34% had never been married.[429] In 2023, the total fertility rate for the U.S. stood at 1.6 children per woman,[430] and, at 23%, it had the world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households in 2019.[431] Most Americans live in the suburbs of major metropolitan areas.
The United States has a diverse population; 37 ancestry groups have more than one million members.[432]White Americans with ancestry from Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa form the largest racial and ethnic group at 57.8% of the United States population.[433][434]Hispanic and Latino Americans form the second-largest group and are 18.7% of the United States population. African Americans constitute the country's third-largest ancestry group and are 12.1% of the total U.S. population.[432] Asian Americans are the country's fourth-largest group, composing 5.9% of the United States population. The country's 3.7 million Native Americans account for about 1%,[432] and some 574 native tribes are recognized by the federal government.[435] In 2024, the median age of the United States population was 39.1 years.[436]
While many languages and dialects are spoken in the United States, English is by far the most commonly spoken and written.[437]De facto, English is the official language of the United States, and in 2025, Executive Order 14224 declared English official.[4] However, the U.S. has never had a statutory official language, as Congress has never passed a law to designate English as official for all three federal branches. Some laws, such as U.S. naturalization requirements, nonetheless standardize English. Twenty-eight states and the United States Virgin Islands have laws that designate English as the sole official language; 19 states and the District of Columbia have no official language.[438] Three states and four U.S. territories have recognized local or indigenous languages in addition to English: Hawaii (Hawaiian),[439] Alaska (twenty Native languages),[w][440] South Dakota (Sioux),[441] American Samoa (Samoan), Puerto Rico (Spanish), Guam (Chamorro), and the Northern Mariana Islands (Carolinian and Chamorro). In total, 169 Native American languages are spoken in the United States.[442] In Puerto Rico, Spanish is more widely spoken than English.[443]
According to the American Community Survey (2020),[444] some 245.4 million people in the U.S. age five and older spoke only English at home. About 41.2 million spoke Spanish at home, making it the second most commonly used language. Other languages spoken at home by one million people or more include Chinese (3.40 million), Tagalog (1.71 million), Vietnamese (1.52 million), Arabic (1.39 million), French (1.18 million), Korean (1.07 million), and Russian (1.04 million). German, spoken by 1 million people at home in 2010, fell to 881,000 estimated total speakers in 2020.[445]
America's immigrant population is by far the world's largest in absolute terms.[446][447] In 2022, there were 87.7 million immigrants and U.S.-born children of immigrants in the United States, accounting for nearly 27% of the overall U.S. population.[448] In 2017, out of the U.S. foreign-born population, some 45% (20.7 million) were naturalized citizens, 27% (12.3 million) were lawful permanent residents, 6% (2.2 million) were temporary lawful residents, and 23% (10.5 million) were unauthorized immigrants.[449] In 2019, the top countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico (24% of immigrants), India (6%), China (5%), the Philippines (4.5%), and El Salvador (3%).[450] In fiscal year 2022, over one million immigrants (most of whom entered through family reunification) were granted legal residence.[451] The undocumented immigrant population in the U.S. reached a record high of 14 million in 2023.[452]
About 82% of Americans live in metropolitan areas, particularly in suburbs;[346] about half of those reside in cities with populations over 50,000.[465] In 2022, 333 incorporated municipalities had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than one million residents, and four cities—New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston—had populations exceeding two million.[466] Many U.S. metropolitan populations are growing rapidly, particularly in the South and West.[467]
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), average U.S. life expectancy at birth reached 79.0 years in 2024, its highest recorded level. This was an increase of 0.6 years over 2023. The CDC attributed the improvement to a significant fall in the number of fatal drug overdoses in the country, noting that "heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States, followed by cancer and unintentional injuries."[472] In 2024, life expectancy at birth for American men rose to 76.5 years (+0.7 years compared to 2023), while life expectancy for women was 81.4 years (+0.3 years).[473] Starting in 1998, life expectancy in the U.S. fell behind that of other wealthy industrialized countries, and Americans' "health disadvantage" gap has been increasing ever since.[474]
American primary and secondary education, known in the U.S. as K–12 ("kindergarten through 12th grade"), is decentralized. School systems are operated by state, territorial, and sometimes municipal governments and regulated by the U.S. Department of Education. In general, children are required to attend school or an approved homeschool from the age of five or six (kindergarten or first grade) until they are 18 years old. This often brings students through the 12th grade, the final year of a U.S. high school, but some states and territories allow them to leave school earlier, at age 16 or 17.[482] The U.S. spends more on education per student than any other country,[483] an average of $18,614 per year per public elementary and secondary school student in 2020–2021.[484] Among Americans age 25 and older, 92.2% graduated from high school, 62.7% attended some college, 37.7% earned a bachelor's degree, and 14.2% earned a graduate degree.[485] The U.S. literacy rate is near-universal.[346][486] The U.S. has produced the most Nobel Prize winners of any country, with 411 (having won 413 awards).[487][488]
As for public expenditures on higher education, the U.S. spends more per student than the OECD average, and Americans spend more than all nations in combined public and private spending.[492] Colleges and universities directly funded by the federal government do not charge tuition and are limited to military personnel and government employees, including: the U.S. service academies, the Naval Postgraduate School, and military staff colleges. Despite some student loan forgiveness programs in place,[493]student loan debt increased by 102% between 2010 and 2020,[494] and exceeded $1.7 trillion in 2022.[495]
The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities is an agency of the United States federal government that was established in 1965 with the purpose to "develop and promote a broadly conceived national policy of support for the humanities and the arts in the United States, and for institutions which preserve the cultural heritage of the United States."[533] It is composed of four sub-agencies:
While modernism generally took on an international character, modernist authors working within the United States more often rooted their work in specific regions, peoples, and cultures.[548] Following the Great Migration to northern cities, African-American and black West Indian authors of the Harlem Renaissance developed an independent tradition of literature that rebuked a history of inequality and celebrated black culture. An important cultural export during the Jazz Age, these writings were a key influence on Négritude, a philosophy emerging in the 1930s among francophone writers of the African diaspora.[549][550] In the 1950s, an ideal of homogeneity led many authors to attempt to write the Great American Novel,[551] while the Beat Generation rejected this conformity, using styles that elevated the impact of the spoken word over mechanics to describe drug use, sexuality, and the failings of society.[552][553] Contemporary literature is more pluralistic than in previous eras, with the closest thing to a unifying feature being a trend toward self-conscious experiments with language.[554] Twelve American laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Literature.[555]
In 2025, the U.S. was the world's second-largest video game market by revenue (after China).[570] In 2015, the U.S. video game industry consisted of 2,457 companies that employed around 220,000 jobs and generated $30.4 billion in revenue.[571] There are 444 game publishers, developers, and hardware companies in California alone.[572] According to the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the U.S. is the top location for video game development, with 58% of the world's game developers based there in 2025.[573]
Many movie and television celebrities have gotten their big break working in New York productions. Outside New York City, many cities have professional regional or resident theater companies that produce their own seasons. The biggest-budget theatrical productions are musicals. U.S. theater has an active community theater culture.[577]
Folk art in colonial America grew out of artisanal craftsmanship in communities that allowed commonly trained people to individually express themselves. It was distinct from Europe's tradition of high art, which was less accessible and generally less relevant to early American settlers.[580] Cultural movements in art and craftsmanship in colonial America generally lagged behind those of Western Europe. For example, the prevailing medieval style of woodworking and primitive sculpture became integral to early American folk art, despite the emergence of Renaissance styles in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The new English styles would have been early enough to make a considerable impact on American folk art, but American styles and forms had already been firmly adopted. Not only did styles change slowly in early America, but there was a tendency for rural artisans there to continue their traditional forms longer than their urban counterparts did—and far longer than those in Western Europe.[514]
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th-century movement in the visual arts tradition of European naturalism. The 1913 Armory Show in New York City, an exhibition of European modernist art, shocked the public and transformed the U.S. art scene.[581]
American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as traditional music, traditional folk music, contemporary folk music, or roots music. Many traditional songs have been sung within the same family or folk group for generations, and sometimes trace back to such origins as the British Isles, mainland Europe, or Africa.[586] The rhythmic and lyrical styles of African-American music in particular have influenced American music.[587]Banjos were brought to America through the slave trade. Minstrel shows incorporating the instrument into their acts led to its increased popularity and widespread production in the 19th century.[588][589] The electric guitar, first invented in the 1930s, and mass-produced by the 1940s, had an enormous influence on popular music, in particular due to the development of rock and roll.[590] The synthesizer, turntablism, and electronic music were also largely developed in the U.S.
The United States has the world's largest apparel market by revenue.[608] Apart from professional business attire, American fashion is eclectic and predominantly informal. Americans' diverse cultural roots are reflected in their clothing; however, sneakers, jeans, T-shirts, and baseball caps are emblematic of American styles.[609] New York, with its Fashion Week, is considered to be one of the "Big Four" global fashion capitals, along with Paris, Milan, and London. A study demonstrated that general proximity to Manhattan's Garment District has been synonymous with American fashion since its inception in the early 20th century.[610]
Largely centered in the New York City region from its beginnings in the late 19th century through the first decades of the 20th century,[621][622][623][624] the U.S. film industry has since been primarily based in and around Hollywood. Nonetheless, American film companies have been subject to the forces of globalization in the 21st century, and an increasing number of films are made elsewhere.[625] The Academy Awards, popularly known as "the Oscars", have been held annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1929,[626] and the Golden Globe Awards have been held annually since January 1944.[627]
The industry peaked in what is commonly referred to as the "Golden Age of Hollywood", from the early sound period until the early 1960s,[628] with screen actors such as John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe becoming iconic figures.[629][630] In the 1970s, "New Hollywood", or the "Hollywood Renaissance",[631] was defined by grittier films influenced by French and Italian realist pictures of the post-war period.[632] The 21st century has been marked by the rise of American streaming platforms, which came to rival traditional cinema.[633][634]
Early settlers were introduced by Native Americans to foods such as turkey, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup. Of the most enduring and pervasive examples are variations of the native dish called succotash. Early settlers and later immigrants combined these with foods they were familiar with, such as wheat flour,[635] beef, and milk, to create a distinctive American cuisine.[636][637]New World crops, especially pumpkin, corn, potatoes, and turkey as the main course are part of a shared national menu on Thanksgiving, when many Americans prepare or purchase traditional dishes to celebrate the occasion.[638]
American chefs have had a significant impact on society both domestically and internationally. In 1946, the Culinary Institute of America was founded by Katharine Angell and Frances Roth. This would become the United States' most prestigious culinary school, where many of the most talented American chefs would study prior to successful careers.[644][645] The United States restaurant industry was projected at $899 billion in sales for 2020,[646][647] and employed more than 15 million people, representing 10% of the nation's workforce directly.[646] It is the country's second-largest private employer and the third-largest employer overall.[648][649] The United States is home to over 220 Michelin star-rated restaurants, 70 of which are in New York City.[650]
American football is by several measures the most popular spectator sport in the United States.[669] Although American football does not have a substantial following in other nations, the NFL does have the highest average attendance (67,254) of any professional sports league in the world.[670] In the year 2024, the NFL generated over $23 billion, making them the most valued professional sports league in the United States and the world.[671] Baseball has been regarded as the U.S. "national sport" since the late 19th century. The most-watched individual sports in the U.S. are golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR and IndyCar.[672][673]
On the collegiate level, earnings for the member institutions exceed $1 billion annually,[674] and college football and basketball attract large audiences, as the NCAA March Madness tournament and the College Football Playoff are some of the most watched national sporting events.[675] In the U.S., the intercollegiate sports level serves as the main feeder system for professional and Olympic sports, with significant exceptions such as Minor League Baseball. This differs greatly from practices in nearly all other countries, where publicly and privately funded sports organizations serve this function.[676]
^Per Executive Order 14224.[4][5] States and territories variously recognize English only, English plus one or more local languages, or no language at all. See § Language.
^The historical and informal demonym Yankee has been applied to Americans, New Englanders, and northeasterners since the 18th century. Other terms, such as Usonian, are rare. For all lesser used terms, see Demonyms for the United States.
^ abcAt 3,531,900 sq mi (9,147,590 km2), the United States is the third-largest country in the world by land area, behind Russia and China. By total area (land and water), it is the third-largest, behind Russia and Canada, if its coastal and territorial water areas are included. However, if only its internal waters are included (bays, sounds, rivers, lakes, and the Great Lakes), the U.S. is the fourth-largest, after Russia, Canada, and China.
Coastal/territorial waters included: 3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,517 km2)[20]
Only internal waters included: 3,696,100 sq mi (9,572,900 km2)[21]
^The U.S. Census Bureau's latest official population estimate of 341,784,857 residents (2025)[13] is for the 50 states and the District of Columbia; it excludes the 3.6 million residents of the five major U.S. territories and outlying islands. The Census Bureau also provides a continuously updated but unofficial population clock: www.census.gov/popclock
^The official U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual has prescribed specific usages for "U.S." and "United States" as part of official names. In "formal writing (treaties, Executive orders, proclamations, etc.); congressional bills; legal citations and courtwork; and covers and title pages",[26] "United States" is always used. In a sentence containing the name of another country, "United States" must be used. Otherwise, "U.S." is used preceding a government organization or as an adjective, but "United States" is used as an adjective preceding non-governmental organizations (e.g. United States Steel Corporation).[26]
^"Americus", which is derived from the Old High German first name "Emmerich"
^One for each state, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
^A country's total exports are usually understood to be goods and services. Based on this, the U.S. is the world's second-largest exporter, after China.[349] However, if primary income is included, the U.S. is the world's largest exporter.[350]
^ abAreas of the 50 states and the District of Columbia but not Puerto Rico nor other island territories per "State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates". Census.gov. August 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2020. reflect base feature updates made in the MAF/TIGER database through August, 2010.
^Viegas, Jennifer. "First Americans Endured 20,000-Year Layover". Discovery News. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2009. Archaeological evidence, in fact, recognizes that people started to leave Beringia for the New World around 40,000 years ago, but rapid expansion into North America didn't occur until about 15,000 years ago, when the ice had literally broken
^Florida Center for Instructional Technology (2002). "Pedro Menendez de Aviles Claims Florida for Spain". A Short History of Florida. University of South Florida.
^Hammond, John Craig (March 2019). "President, Planter, Politician: James Monroe, the Missouri Crisis, and the Politics of Slavery". Journal of American History. 105 (4): 843–867. doi:10.1093/jahist/jaz002.
^Calloway, Colin G. (2019). First peoples: a documentary survey of American Indian history (6th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, Macmillan Learning. ISBN978-1-319-10491-7. OCLC1035393060.
Meyer et al. 2001, From 1800 to 1900: "The discovery of gold in California in 1848 proved a momentous watershed for native people in the West. Hordes of single men stampeded to find fortune. Unrestrained by family, community, or church, they decimated the native population near the goldfields. California natives suffered the most complete genocide in U.S. history."
Smithers 2012, p. 339: "The genocidal intent of California settlers and government officials was acted out in numerous battles and massacres (and aided by technological advances in weaponry, especially after the Civil War), in the abduction and sexual abuse of Indian women, and in the economic exploitation of Indian child labourers"
Blackhawk 2023, p. 38: "With these works, a near consensus emerged. By most scholarly definitions and consistent with the UN Convention, these scholars all asserted that genocide against at least some Indigenous peoples had occurred in North America following colonisation, perpetuated first by colonial empires and then by independent nation-states"
^Woods, Michael E. (2012). "What Twenty-First-Century Historians Have Said about the Causes of Disunion: A Civil War Sesquicentennial Review of the Recent Literature". The Journal of American History. 99 (2): 415–439. doi:10.1093/jahist/jas272. ISSN0021-8723. JSTOR44306803.
^Vinovskis, Maris (1990). Toward A Social History of the American Civil War: Exploratory Essays. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 4. ISBN978-0-521-39559-5.
^Woodward, C. Vann (1991). Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. pp. 237–246.
^Aldrich, Mark. Safety First: Technology, Labor and Business in the Building of Work Safety, 1870-1939. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. ISBN978-0-8018-5405-7.
^McDuffie, Jerome; Piggrem, Gary Wayne; Woodworth, Steven E. (2005). U.S. History Super Review. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Association. p. 418. ISBN978-0-7386-0070-3.
^Larson, Elizabeth C.; Meltvedt, Kristi R. (2021). "Women's suffrage: fact sheet". CRS Reports (Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service). Report / Congressional Research Service. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
^Axinn, June; Stern, Mark J. (2007). Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN978-0-205-52215-6.
^Kennedy, Paul (1989). The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. New York: Vintage. p. 358. ISBN978-0-679-72019-5.
^Blakemore, Erin (March 22, 2019). "What was the Cold War?". National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
^Brinkley, Alan (January 24, 1991). "Great Society". In Eric Foner; John Arthur Garraty (eds.). The Reader's Companion to American History. Houghton Mifflin Books. p. 472. ISBN978-0-395-51372-9.
^"Playboy: American Magazine". Encyclopædia Britannica. August 25, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023. ...the so-called sexual revolution in the United States in the 1960s, marked by greatly more permissive attitudes toward sexual interest and activity than had been prevalent in earlier generations.
^Howell, Buddy Wayne (2006). The Rhetoric of Presidential Summit Diplomacy: Ronald Reagan and the U.S.-Soviet Summits, 1985–1988. Texas A&M University. p. 352. ISBN978-0-549-41658-6.
^Rutenberg, Jim; Becker, Jo; Lipton, Eric; Haberman, Maggie; Martin, Jonathan; Rosenberg, Matthew; Schmidt, Michael S. (January 31, 2021). "77 Days: Trump's Campaign to Subvert the Election". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022.
Harvey, Michael (2022). "Introduction: History's Rhymes". In Harvey, Michael (ed.). Donald Trump in Historical Perspective. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003110361-1. ISBN978-1-003-11036-1. As with the Beer Hall Putsch, a would-be leader tried to take advantage of an already scheduled event (in Hitler's case, Kahr's speech; in Trump's, Congress's tallying of the electoral votes) to create a dramatic moment with himself at the center of attention, calling for bold action to upend the political order. Unlike Hitler's coup attempt, Trump already held top of office, so he was attempting to hold onto power, not seize it (the precise term for Trump's intended action is a 'self-coup' or 'autogolpe'). Thus, Trump was able to plan for the event well in advance, and with much greater control, including developing the legal arguments that could be used to justify rejecting the election's results. (p. 3)
Castañeda, Ernesto; Jenks, Daniel (April 17, 2023). Costa, Bruno Ferreira; Parton, Nigel (eds.). "January 6th and De-Democratization in the United States". Social Sciences. 12 (4). MDPI: 238. doi:10.3390/socsci12040238. ISSN2076-0760. What the United States went through on January 6th was an attempt at a self-coup, where Trump would use force to stay as head of state even if abandoning democratic practices in the U.S. Some advised Trump to declare martial law to create a state of emergency and use that as an excuse to stay in power.
Eisen, Norman; Ayer, Donald; Perry, Joshua; Bookbinder, Noah; Perry, E. Danya (June 6, 2022). Trump on Trial: A Guide to the January 6 Hearings and the Question of Criminality (Report). Brookings Institution. Retrieved December 16, 2023. [Trump] tried to delegitimize the election results by disseminating a series of far fetched and evidence-free claims of fraud. Meanwhile, with a ring of close confidants, Trump conceived and implemented unprecedented schemes to – in his own words – "overturn" the election outcome. Among the results of this "Big Lie" campaign were the terrible events of January 6, 2021 – an inflection point in what we now understand was nothing less than an attempted coup.
Eastman v Thompson, et al., 8:22-cv-00099-DOC-DFM Document 260, 44 (S.D. Cal. May 28, 2022) ("Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history. Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower – it was a coup in search of a legal theory. The plan spurred violent attacks on the seat of our nation's government, led to the deaths of several law enforcement officers, and deepened public distrust in our political process... If Dr. Eastman and President Trump's plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.").
Jacobson, Louis (January 6, 2021). "Is this a coup? Here's some history and context to help you decide". PolitiFact. Retrieved January 7, 2021. A good case can be made that the storming of the Capitol qualifies as a coup. It's especially so because the rioters entered at precisely the moment when the incumbent's loss was to be formally sealed, and they succeeded in stopping the count.
Duignan, Brian (August 4, 2021). "January 6 U.S. Capitol attack". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2021. Because its object was to prevent a legitimate president-elect from assuming office, the attack was widely regarded as an insurrection or attempted coup d'état.
^ abLew, Alan. "PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE US". GSP 220—Geography of the United States. North Arizona University. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
^US Global Change Research Program. "Heat Waves". www.globalchange.gov. Archived from the original on June 30, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.cite web: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Vincent, Carol H.; Hanson, Laura A.; Argueta, Carla N. (March 3, 2017). Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (Report). Congressional Research Service. p. 2. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
^Gorte, Ross W.; Vincent, Carol Hardy.; Hanson, Laura A.; Marc R., Rosenblum. "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data"(PDF). fas.org. Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original(PDF) on January 24, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
^Scheb, John M.; Scheb, John M. II (2002). An Introduction to the American Legal System. Florence, Kentucky: Delmar, p. 6. ISBN978-0-7668-2759-2[needs update]
^Sundquist, James L. (1997). "The U.S. Presidential System as a Model for the World". In Baaklini, Abdo I.; Desfosses, Helen (eds.). Designs for Democratic Stability: Studies in Viable Constitutionalism. Routledge. pp. 53–72. ISBN978-0-7656-0052-3.
^Fialho, Livia Pontes; Wallin, Matthew (August 1, 2013). Reaching for an Audience: U.S. Public Diplomacy Towards Iran (Report). American Security Project. JSTORresrep06070.
^Ek, Carl & Fergusson, Ian F. (September 3, 2010). "Canada–U.S. Relations"(PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original(PDF) on January 13, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
^Vaughn, Bruce (August 8, 2008). Australia: Background and U.S. Relations. Congressional Research Service. OCLC70208969.
^Lindsay, James M. (August 4, 2021). "Happy 231st Birthday to the United States Coast Guard!". New York City: Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved July 16, 2022. During peacetime it is part of the Department of Homeland Security. During wartime, or when the president or Congress so direct, it becomes part of the Department of Defense and is included in the Department of the Navy.
^Highest to Lowest. World Prison Brief (WPB). Use the dropdown menu to choose lists of countries by region or the whole world. Use the menu to select highest-to-lowest lists of prison population totals, prison population rates, percentage of pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners, percentage of female prisoners, percentage of foreign prisoners, and occupancy rate. Column headings in WPB tables can be clicked to reorder columns lowest to highest, or alphabetically. For detailed information for each country click on any country name in lists. See the WPB main data page and click on the map links or the sidebar links to get to the region and country desired.
^Moffatt, Mike (January 27, 2020). "A Mixed Economy: The Role of the Market". ThoughtCo. Retrieved May 30, 2025. The US has a mixed economy because both private businesses and the government are important.
^Hagopian, Kip; Ohanian, Lee (August 1, 2012). "The Mismeasure of Inequality". Policy Review (174). Hoover Institution. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^Benjamin J. Cohen, The Future of Money, Princeton University Press, 2006, ISBN978-0-691-11666-2; cf. "the dollar is the de facto currency in Cambodia", Charles Agar, Frommer's Vietnam, 2006, ISBN978-0-471-79816-3, p. 17.
^Wright, Gavin, and Jesse Czelusta, "Resource-Based Growth Past and Present", in Natural Resources: Neither Curse Nor Destiny, ed. Daniel Lederman and William Maloney (World Bank, 2007), p. 185. ISBN978-0-8213-6545-8.
^"Income". Better Life Index. OECD. Retrieved September 28, 2019. In the United States, the average household net adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 45 284 a year, much higher than the OECD average of USD 33 604 and the highest figure in the OECD.
^Smith, Matthew; Zidar, Owen; Zwick, Eric (2022). "Top Wealth in America: New Estimates under Heterogeneous Returns". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 138: 515–573. doi:10.1093/qje/qjac033. ISSN0033-5533.
^Smeeding, T. M. (2005). "Public Policy: Economic Inequality and Poverty: The United States in Comparative Perspective". Social Science Quarterly. 86: 955–983. doi:10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00331.x. S2CID154642286.
^Cellan-Jones, Rory (February 7, 2020). "Tech Tent - has Silicon Valley still got it?". BBC. Retrieved August 17, 2025. For decades it has been the beating heart of the tech industry, the place where the future is created and where anyone who wants to be part of it has to come in search of inspiration and funding.
^ANALYSIS (December 19, 2011). "Global Christianity". Pewforum.org. Archived from the original on July 30, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
^Sewell, Elizabeth (2010). "Religious Liberty and Religious Minorities in the United States". In Davis, Derek (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States. University of Oxford. pp. 249–275. ISBN978-0-19-989222-8.
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