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They also competed in the Space Race, which culminated in the 1969 American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. During the Cold War, both countries opposed each other in the Korean and Vietnam Wars but avoided direct military conflict. as a world power, and the aftermath of World War II left the United States and the Soviet Union as the world's two superpowers. The Spanish–American War and World War I established the U.S.
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A century later, the civil rights movement led to legislation outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans. Slavery was legal in the southern United States until 1865, when the American Civil War led to its abolition. This was strongly related to belief in manifest destiny, and by 1848, the United States spanned the continent from east to west. began expanding across North America, gradually obtaining new territories, sometimes through war, frequently displacing Native Americans, and admitting new states. Disputes with Great Britain over taxation and political representation led to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), which established the nation's independence. The United States emerged from the Thirteen British Colonies established along the East Coast. Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago, and European colonization began in the 16th century. The national capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city and financial center is New York City. With more than 331 million people, it is the third most populous country in the world. The United States shares land borders with Canada to the north and with Mexico to the south as well as maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, and Russia, among others. It is the third-largest country by both land and total area. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, 326 Indian reservations, and nine minor outlying islands. or US) or America, is a transcontinental country primarily located in North America. or USA), commonly known as the United States ( U.S.