States are"—including in the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in

1865.[44] The singular form—e.g., "the United States is"—became popular after the end of the Civil
War. The singular form is now standard; the plural form is retained in the idiom "these United
States". The difference is more significant than usage; it is a difference between a collection of
states and a unit.[45]
A citizen of the United States is an "American". "United States", "American" and "U.S." refer to
the country adjectivally ("American values", "U.S. forces"). In English, the word "American" rarely
refers to topics or subjects not directly connected with the United States. [46]

History
Main articles: History of the United States, Timeline of United States history, American business
history, Economic history of the United States, and Labor history of the United States

Indigenous peoples and pre-Columbian history

Further information: Native Americans in the United States and Pre-Columbian era

The Cliff Palace, built by ancient Native American Puebloans around 1190 AD

It has been generally accepted that the first inhabitants of North America migrated

from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 12,000 years ago; however,
increasing evidence suggests an even earlier arrival. [19][47][48] After crossing the land bridge, the first
Americans moved southward along the Pacific coast[49] and through an interior ice-free corridor
between the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets.[50] The Clovis culture appeared around 11,000
BC, and is considered to be an ancestor of most of the later indigenous cultures of the Americas.
[51]
 The Clovis culture was believed to represent the first human settlement of the Americas.
[52]
 Over the years, more and more evidence has advanced the idea of "pre-Clovis" cultures
including tools dating back about 15,550 years ago. It is likely these represent the first of three
major waves of migrations into North America.[53]
Over time, indigenous cultures in North America grew increasingly complex, and some, such as
the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture in the southeast, developed advanced agriculture, grand
architecture, and state-level societies.[54] The Mississippian culture flourished in the south from
800 to 1600 AD, extending from the Mexican border down through Florida. [55] Its city
state Cahokia is considered the largest, most complex pre-Columbian archaeological site in the
modern-day United States.[56] In the Four Corners region, Ancestral Puebloans culture developed
as the culmination of centuries of agricultural experimentation, which produced greater
dependence on farming.[57]

A Native American Lecroy Point flint arrowhead, 9000-7000 BC

Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States are credited to the Pueblos: Mesa
Verde National Park, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and Taos Pueblo.[58][59] The
earthworks constructed by Native Americans of the Poverty Point culture in
northeastern Louisiana have also been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the
southern Great Lakes region, the Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) was established at
some point between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. [60] Most prominent along the Atlantic coast
were the Algonquian tribes, who practiced hunting and trapping, along with limited cultivation.
The date of the first settlements of the Hawaiian Islands is a topic of continuing debate.
[61]
 Archaeological evidence seems to indicate a settlement as early as 124 AD.[62]

Effects on and interaction with native populations

Further information: American Indian Wars, Population history of indigenous peoples of the
Americas, and Native American disease and epidemics
With the progress of European colonization in the territories of the contemporary United States,
the Native Americans were often conquered and displaced.[63] The native population of America
declined after Europeans arrived, and for various reasons,[64][65] primarily diseases such
as smallpox and measles.[66][67]
While estimating the original native population of North America at the time of European contact
is difficult, an attempt was made in the early part of the twentieth century by James
Mooney using historic records to estimate the indigenous population north of Mexico in 1600.[68]
[69]
 In more recent years, Douglas H. Ubelaker of the Smithsonian Institution has updated these
figures.[70] While Ubelaker estimated that there was a population of 92,916 in the south Atlantic
states and a population of 473,616 in the Gulf states, most academics regard the figure as too
low.[68] Anthropologist Henry F. Dobyns believed the populations were much higher, suggesting
1,100,000 along the shores of the gulf of Mexico, 2,211,000 people living
between Florida and Massachusetts, 5,250,000 in the Mississippi Valley and tributaries and
697,000 people in the Florida peninsula.[68][69]
In the early days of colonization, many European settlers were subject to food shortages,
disease, and attacks from Native Americans. Native Americans were also often at war with
neighboring tribes and allied with Europeans in their colonial wars. At the same time, however,
many natives and settlers came to depend on each other. Settlers traded for food and animal
pelts, natives for guns, ammunition and other European wares.[71] Natives taught many settlers
where, when and how to cultivate corn, beans, and squash. European missionaries and others
felt it was important to "civilize" the Native Americans and urged them to adopt European
agricultural techniques and lifestyles.[72][73]

European settlements
Further information: Colonial history of the United States, European colonization of the
Americas, and Thirteen Colonies

Mayflower  in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall

With the advancement of European colonization in the territories of the contemporary United
States, the Native Americans were often conquered and displaced.[74] The first Europeans to
arrive in the territory of the modern United States were Spanish conquistadors such