Northern America · USA

United States

The story · 14 chapters

How it was drawn

Indigenous nations, rival European colonies, thirteen states independent in 1776, then expansion by treaty, purchase and war to the Pacific, and two world wars that made it a superpower.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states United States fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Powhatan paramount chiefdom1610 to 1646
Jamestown's settlers clash with the Powhatan peoples of eastern Virginia in three wars, including the great attack of 1622 led by Opechancanough. The last war ends in 1646 with the Powhatan defeated and confined to reserved lands.
Wampanoag and allied nations1675 to 1676
In King Philip's War the Wampanoag leader Metacom, whom the English call King Philip, leads several New England nations against the colonists. It is one of the deadliest wars of the colonial era, and his death in 1676 breaks Native power in southern New England.
New France1689 to 1763
English colonists and New France, each with Native allies, fight four wars for North America, from King William's War in 1689 to the French and Indian War. Britain's victory in 1763 removes France from the mainland.
Kingdom of Great Britain1775 to 1783
Thirteen colonies rebel against British taxes and rule. Fighting starts at Lexington and Concord in 1775, victory at Saratoga in 1777 brings in France as an ally, and the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris recognises independence in 1783.
United Kingdom1812 to 1815
The young republic fights Britain again over trade, seized sailors and frontier wars. Invasions of Canada fail, the British burn Washington in 1814, and Andrew Jackson wins at New Orleans in 1815. The Treaty of Ghent changes no borders.
Seminole nation1817 to 1858
Three Seminole Wars are fought in Florida, which Spain cedes in 1819. Most Seminoles are deported west, but some hold out in the Everglades and are never defeated; their descendants still live in Florida.
Mexico1836 to 1848
Texas breaks away from Mexico in 1836 and joins the United States in 1845. A border dispute starts the Mexican American War in 1846. American troops take Mexico City in 1847, and the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo hands over California and the south west.
Lakota and allied nations1854 to 1890
As settlers cross the Plains, the United States fights the Lakota and their allies. Red Cloud's War ends in 1868 with a treaty securing the Black Hills, but gold brings miners in. Custer falls at the Little Bighorn in 1876, yet the Lakota lose the war, and Wounded Knee in 1890 ends resistance.
Kingdom of Spain1898
War over Cuba follows the explosion of the battleship Maine in Havana harbour. In a few months the United States wins at Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba and takes Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.
German Empire, then Nazi Germany1917 to 1945
U-boat attacks on American shipping bring the United States into the First World War against Germany in 1917. In December 1941 Hitler declares war on it, and American armies fight through North Africa, Italy and Normandy until Germany surrenders in May 1945.
Empire of Japan1941 to 1945
Rivals for the Pacific, the two collide after Japan invades China. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941; the United States wins at Midway in 1942 and advances island by island. After the atomic bombings Japan surrenders in August 1945.
Soviet Union1947 to 1991
Wartime allies become Cold War rivals. The two superpowers race for nuclear weapons and space, back opposite sides in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, and come closest to war over Cuba in 1962. The rivalry ends when the Soviet Union dissolves in December 1991.
Communist CubaSince 1959Still open
After Fidel Castro's revolution, the United States backs the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and imposes a trade embargo that still stands. Cuba demands back Guantanamo Bay, leased to the US Navy since 1903. Relations thawed in 2015, then cooled again.
Taliban2001 to 2021
After al Qaeda's attacks of 11 September 2001, the United States invades Afghanistan and topples the Taliban, who sheltered the group's leaders. It becomes the longest war in American history and ends in August 2021, when US troops leave and the Taliban return to power.

Today

United States now

Thirteen of Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions.

Capital: Washington, D.C.
Government: constitutional federal republic
Head of government: Donald Trump
Languages: Samoan, Spanish, Hawaiian
Area: 9,831,510 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population343 million2023 · 154 million in 1950
Life expectancy79.3 years2023 · 68.1 years in 1950
GDP per person$58,4872022 · $15,240 in 1950
Living in cities80%2025 · 64% in 1950
Literacy97%1950
Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Electoral democracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950
Military spending3.1% of GDP2025 · 5.1% of GDP in 1950
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United Kingdom
France
China
Japan

Tensions

Russian Federation
Iran, Islamic Rep.

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states United States fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Powhatan paramount chiefdom1610 to 1646

Jamestown's settlers clash with the Powhatan peoples of eastern Virginia in three wars, including the great attack of 1622 led by Opechancanough. The last war ends in 1646 with the Powhatan defeated and confined to reserved lands.

Wampanoag and allied nations1675 to 1676

In King Philip's War the Wampanoag leader Metacom, whom the English call King Philip, leads several New England nations against the colonists. It is one of the deadliest wars of the colonial era, and his death in 1676 breaks Native power in southern New England.

New France1689 to 1763

English colonists and New France, each with Native allies, fight four wars for North America, from King William's War in 1689 to the French and Indian War. Britain's victory in 1763 removes France from the mainland.

Kingdom of Great Britain1775 to 1783

Thirteen colonies rebel against British taxes and rule. Fighting starts at Lexington and Concord in 1775, victory at Saratoga in 1777 brings in France as an ally, and the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris recognises independence in 1783.

United Kingdom1812 to 1815

The young republic fights Britain again over trade, seized sailors and frontier wars. Invasions of Canada fail, the British burn Washington in 1814, and Andrew Jackson wins at New Orleans in 1815. The Treaty of Ghent changes no borders.

Seminole nation1817 to 1858

Three Seminole Wars are fought in Florida, which Spain cedes in 1819. Most Seminoles are deported west, but some hold out in the Everglades and are never defeated; their descendants still live in Florida.

Mexico1836 to 1848

Texas breaks away from Mexico in 1836 and joins the United States in 1845. A border dispute starts the Mexican American War in 1846. American troops take Mexico City in 1847, and the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo hands over California and the south west.

Lakota and allied nations1854 to 1890

As settlers cross the Plains, the United States fights the Lakota and their allies. Red Cloud's War ends in 1868 with a treaty securing the Black Hills, but gold brings miners in. Custer falls at the Little Bighorn in 1876, yet the Lakota lose the war, and Wounded Knee in 1890 ends resistance.

Kingdom of Spain1898

War over Cuba follows the explosion of the battleship Maine in Havana harbour. In a few months the United States wins at Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba and takes Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.

German Empire, then Nazi Germany1917 to 1945

U-boat attacks on American shipping bring the United States into the First World War against Germany in 1917. In December 1941 Hitler declares war on it, and American armies fight through North Africa, Italy and Normandy until Germany surrenders in May 1945.

Empire of Japan1941 to 1945

Rivals for the Pacific, the two collide after Japan invades China. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941; the United States wins at Midway in 1942 and advances island by island. After the atomic bombings Japan surrenders in August 1945.

Soviet Union1947 to 1991

Wartime allies become Cold War rivals. The two superpowers race for nuclear weapons and space, back opposite sides in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, and come closest to war over Cuba in 1962. The rivalry ends when the Soviet Union dissolves in December 1991.

Communist CubaSince 1959Still open

After Fidel Castro's revolution, the United States backs the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and imposes a trade embargo that still stands. Cuba demands back Guantanamo Bay, leased to the US Navy since 1903. Relations thawed in 2015, then cooled again.

Taliban2001 to 2021

After al Qaeda's attacks of 11 September 2001, the United States invades Afghanistan and topples the Taliban, who sheltered the group's leaders. It becomes the longest war in American history and ends in August 2021, when US troops leave and the Taliban return to power.

United States now

Capital

Washington, D.C.

Government

constitutional federal republic

Head of government

Donald Trump

Languages

Samoan, Spanish, Hawaiian

Area

9,831,510 km²

Then and now

Population343 million2023 · 154 million in 1950

Life expectancy79.3 years2023 · 68.1 years in 1950

GDP per person$58,4872022 · $15,240 in 1950

Living in cities80%2025 · 64% in 1950

Literacy97%1950

Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Electoral democracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950

Military spending3.1% of GDP2025 · 5.1% of GDP in 1950

War deathsNone2025