The United States of America (United States, US, USA, the States, or America) was a large country in the North American continent on Earth. The capital was Washington, DC. Its primary language was English. (TOS-R: "The Cage"; TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday")
The United States was a representative republic founded in the 18th century, and played a significant role in the history of Earth prior to the world's unification. The people and culture of the United States were known as American. The federal government was known as the United States Government.
According to Doctor Paul Stubbs, baseball, centuries ago, "was the beloved national pastime of the Americas." (TNG: "Evolution")
When the Michael Sullivan character of the Fair Haven program was beamed to the bridge of the USS Voyager, he described at one point how he had a relative that had gone to America, what he thought previously was one of the strangest places. (VOY: "Spirit Folk")
On the planet Omega IV, there was a parallel United States. This country was mentioned in Article I of their Constitution. (TOS: "The Omega Glory")
America also referred to the combined landmasses of North and South America (collectively, the Americas). This usage was more common among residents of the Americas who were not from the United States. In context, the reference to America in "Spirit Folk" would have meant the United States.
History[]
For history of the United States, see American history.
Alternate timeline[]
Map showing the Nazi territory in the country
The Nazis invaded the USA in the alternative timeline. (ENT: "Zero Hour", "Storm Front", "Storm Front, Part II")
Locations[]
States[]
The United States was a federal union of semi-autonomous political units, called states. From 1959 through the early 21st century, there were fifty States in the Union; by 2033, there were fifty-two.
- Alabama
- Alaska – home of William T. Riker
- Arizona – site of the shootout near the OK Corral in 1881
- Arkansas
- California – location of San Francisco and Yosemite National Park, home to Starfleet Headquarters; and birthplace of Starfleet Captains Christopher Pike and Hikaru Sulu
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware – home of a tribe of Native Americans transplanted by Preservers
- Florida – home of Charles Tucker III, impact site of the first Xindi weapon
- Georgia – location of Atlanta, birthplace of Leonard McCoy
- Hawaii – location of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941
- Idaho – home of James T. Kirk's uncle
- Illinois – location of Chicago, home of Daniels
- Indiana – home of Kathryn Janeway
- Iowa – birthplace of James T. Kirk (prime universe only)
- Kansas – birthplace of a Q, Amanda Rogers
- Kentucky – birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, location of Fort Knox
- Louisiana – home of Benjamin Sisko
- Maine – see USS Portland
- Maryland – namesake of USS Maryland
- Massachusetts – location of Boston and Salem
- Michigan – location of Detroit
- Minnesota – location of Duluth
- Mississippi – location of the University of Mississippi
- Missouri – The birthplace of Samuel Clemens, and location of Lee's Summit, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
- Montana – location of Bozeman
- Nebraska – location of Omaha
- Nevada – location of Las Vegas
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York – birthplace of Jonathan Archer
- North Carolina – location of first airplane flight on Earth by the Wright brothers in 1903
- North Dakota
- Ohio Location of Cleveland ,and Kent State University
- Oklahoma – first contact with Klingons near town of Broken Bow in 2151
- Oregon – namesake of SS Oregon
- Pennsylvania – location of Carbon Creek
- Rhode Island – namesake of USS Rhode Island
- South Carolina – home of Harry Kim
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas – location of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia – birthplace of George Washington
- Washington – named for George Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin – namesake of SS Wisconsin
- Wyoming – namesake of USS Wyoming
Cities, districts, and territories[]
The United States of America was the location of some of Earth's most important and largest cities. Among these include New York City, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and San Francisco which would later become the location of Starfleet Headquarters.
The capital of the United States was Washington which was located in the District of Columbia, with the city of Washington and the District having exactly the same boundaries. (ENT: "Storm Front", "Storm Front, Part II") The District of Columbia was also the location of all the major United States government headquarters as well as several monuments and museums, among them the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. (Star Trek: First Contact; ENT: "Storm Front")
Geographical regions[]
- East Coast
- Everglades
- Florida Keys
- Gulf of Mexico
- High Sierras
- Long Island
- Midwest
- O'ahu
- Pacific Coast
- The South
- American West
Other landmarks[]
- The Berkshires
- Death Valley
- Grand Canyon
- Great Lakes
- Niagara Falls
- Monument Valley
- Mount McKinley
- Yellowstone National Park
- White Sands
Americans[]
Appendices[]
Background information[]
Retroactive continuity: 20th century-era maps of the northern hemisphere Pacific region were stored in the USS Enterprise library computer in 2254. One map depicted the east coast of Asia's USSR nation and Alaska on the west coast of North America. Another map depicted the globe from the point of view of the Arctic Circle, showing the same region. These maps were among the materials viewed by the Talosians when they scanned the Enterprise computer. (TOS: "The Cage")
20th century map depicting location of Washington, DC
Retroactive continuity: A map of the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States depicting the location of Washington, DC was downloaded from the USS Enterprise library computer by the Talosians in 2254. (TOS: "The Cage") This map was from educational texts available at the time of filming, 1964.
In "The Royale", Data states that the American flag with 52 stars determines the date of the Charybdis wreckage as originating between 2033 and 2079. From this it can be inferred that:
- In 2033 the number of states in the US became 52
- In 2079 the United States could have:
- Added one or more states
- Seceded or dissolved one or more states
- Changed or modified the flag format
- Ceased to exist
Ominously, 2079 was also mentioned in "Encounter at Farpoint". It was the year of Q's court, defined by the time period post-atomic horror. Evidence from Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Enterprise indicate that parts of the planet, particularly Zefram Cochrane's area (Montana), were improving due to contact with the Vulcans.
A San Francisco address seen on-screen in "Affliction" included "USA, Earth", suggesting that "USA" exists at least as a political/geographic designation in 2154. Also, during the NX-01 holoprogram seen in "These Are the Voyages...", Malcolm Reed tells Chef, played by Commander Riker, that "his countrymen" might describe Florida native Trip as a hick, suggesting the US was still intact when the Federation was founded in 2161. Certainly, James T. Kirk was well-versed in, and quite passionate about, United States documents and customs, so much so that he was able to give an impassioned, memorized recital of the Preamble to the Constitution to the Yangs of planet Omega IV in "The Omega Glory". Samuel T. Cogley referenced the Constitution to the court at Kirk's trial in "Court Martial", so the United States obviously looms large in the minds of Starfleet officers in the 23rd century. There are many references to individual American states throughout the run of all the series, but it is not specified if the references are solely geographical or if they retain a political implication as well.
The 52-star flag seen in "The Royale" is unusual in that the field of stars rests on a red stripe instead of a white stripe. The 15-star "Star-Spangled Banner" flown over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 was the last such flag, and since then, all flags (then returning to 13 instead of 15 stripes) have had the familiar arrangement of the field being to the left of the first seven stripes and resting on the 8th, a white. This was probably an error in the art department, but being a future flag, it could be "official," with the government making that change for one reason or another, though it seems unlikely.
"The Omega Glory" makes it clear that the war there occurred generations ago, and that post war the lifespan lengthened to about a thousand years. This places the war well before 1200 AD, meaning that Omega IV had the United States of America, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the United States Constitution several centuries (at least) before Earth; on the other hand, in the non-canon novel Forgotten History, the "American" elements of Yang society are not indigenous, but were left behind by a passing ECS freighter in the 2140s.
The German map of the continental United States from the episodes "Storm Front" and "Storm Front, Part II" includes a combination of real and fictitious locations. Alongside Springfield, IL and Annapolis, MD – both of which are the capital city of their respective states – there is Crossroads, MO and Sun Valley, AL.
External links[]
- United States of America at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- United States at Wikipedia