UNITED STATES OE ANERICA, a federated republic, composed of 38 independent states, eight organized and two other territories, and a federal district, occupies the cen tral portion of the continent of North America, from lat. 24° 20' to 49° n., long. 66° 56' to 124° 30' w., bounded n. by the British possessions of North America, from which it is partly separated by lakes Superior, Huron, St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario, and the St. Clair, Detroit, Niagara, and St. Lawrence rivers; e. by New Brunswick, the Atlantic ocean, and gulf of Mexico; s. by the gulf of Mexico and Mexico; w. by the Pacific ocean. Its greatest length, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, is 2,760 m.; greatest breadth, from Maine to Florida, 1600 m.; northern or British frontier, 3,350 m.; Mexican, 1500 m.; ocean coast, including the larger indentations, 12,609 m., of which 6,861 are on the Atlantic, 3,461 on the gulf of Mexico, and 2,281 on the Pacific. The territory of Alaska, long known as Russian America, between lat, 52° and 71° 27' n., and long. 130° 25', and 187 36' w., now belongs to the United States.
The total area of the United States is 3,603,844 sq.m., or 2,306,460,160 acres, obtained by successive annexations of territory. In 1783 the United States had an area of only 820,680 sq.m. ; by the purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803, it acquired 930,928; by the cession of Florida by Spain in 1819, 59,270; by the annexation of Texas in 1845, 247,000; by the Oregon treaty with Great Britain in 1846, 280,425; by the Mexican treaties, 677,260; and by the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, 577,390 sq. miles.
The 38 states composing the federal republic, each having its constitution, legislature, esocutive, and judiciary, and represented in the federal Congress by two senators, and from 1 to 32 representatives, according to its population, are the following: Six eastern or New England—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut; four middle—New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware; eleven southern—Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas; seventeen western—Arkansas, Ten nessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana,Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, California, Oregon, Nebraska, Nevada, and Colorado. The eight organized
territories, governed by the federal congress, with governors and judiciary appointed by the president of the United States, but having a local legislature, and sending a delegate without a vote to congress, are New Mexico, Utah, Washington, Dakota, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming. There is also the Indian territory, a reserve for Indian tribes, re moved from the east of the Mississippi river, governed by the Indians, under the pro tection of the United States; the district of Columbia (60 sq.m.), ceded by Maryland, including Washington, the federal capital, governed by congress; and Alaska, under military rule.
The table annexed gives the date of the admission of the states to the Union, and the organization of territories, their areas in sq.m., and progressive population, The states in the table designated as having been admitted 1787 to 1790, were the original 13 states, which at these dates adopted the federal constitution. A part of the original Virginia now forms the state of West Virginia. The states in which existed in 1860 are in italics. By an amendment of the constitution, slavery was abol ished, Dec. 18, 1865. The population given does not include the Indians or aborigines of the country, who are under the protection of the government, and who sparsely peo ple the Indian reserves and unsettled territories. In 1870, there were estimated to be of Indians in the Indian territory, 59,367; New York, 5,144; California, 29,025; Oregon and Washington territories, 26,074; Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, Idaho, Montana, Dakota, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arizona, 160,822; Alaska, 70,000; Mich igan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, 26,662; forming, with small numbers in other states, an aggregate of 383,712. Total estimated number in 1875, 320,000.