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United States of America popularly referred to as the United States or as America, a federal republic on the continent of North America, consisting of 48 contiguous states and the two non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii. The history of the United States is the story of how the republic developed from colonial beginnings in the 16th century, when the first European explorers arrived, until modern times. As the nation developed, it expanded westward from small settlements along the Atlantic Coast, eventually including all the territory between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the middle of the North American continent, as well as two non-contiguous states and a number of territories. At the same time, the population and the economy of the United States grew and changed dramatically. The population diversified as immigrants arrived from all countries of the world. From its beginnings as a remote English colony, the United States has developed the largest economy in the world. Throughout its history, the United States has faced struggles, both within the country between various ethnic, religious, political, and economic groups and with other nations. The efforts to deal with and resolve these struggles have shaped the United States of America into the late 20th century.

Early American history began in the collision of European, West African, and Native American peoples in North America. Europeans "discovered" America by accident, and then created empires out of the conquest of indigenous peoples and the enslavement of Africans. Yet conquest and enslavement were accompanied by centuries of cultural interaction interaction that spelled disaster for Africans and Native Americans and triumph for Europeans, to be sure, but interaction that transformed all three peoples in the process.

The United States is certainly one of the most diverse countries of the world, both from a cultural and an environmental perspective. The land that is now the United States was home to diverse cultures when the first Europeans and Africans arrived. It was inhabited by a variety of Native American peoples who spoke more than 300 different languages. The Europeans and Africans added their own varying cultures to this diversity. In addition, slaves were brought from Africa to work on agricultural estates in the South, where they formed a large percentage of the population. Of those who chose to come to the United States, many saw it as a land of plenty, and certainly that was true. However, many Americans faced extraordinary hardships as they adapted to a natural and cultural environment that was sometimes harsh and demanding.