Democratic States of America
The Democratic States of America (also referred to as the Democratic States, the D.S., the DSA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-four states and a federal district. The country is situated in central North America, in between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Dixie and Nahua to the south.
| Democratic States of America | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Motto: E Pluribus Unum | |||
| Anthem: Hail, Columbia' | |||
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| Capital | de jure Washington, D.C. de facto Boston | ||
| Largest city | New Haddyn | ||
| Population | 208,745,538 OR 45,096,700 | ||
| Official language | Inglish, unofficial | ||
| Demonym | American | ||
| Government | Federal Presidential Republic | ||
| Head of state | President William C. Whitney (Democratic Party) | ||
| Head of Government | Vice President Julius S. Morton (Democratic Party). | ||
| Legislature | Democratic States Congress | ||
Contents
Etymology
In 1507, Myrorian cartographer Martin Waldseevrith produced a world map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere "America" after Inglish explorer and cartographer Amery Leghorn. The former Inglish colonies first used the name "United States of America", including in the Declaration of Independence, the "unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America" adopted by the "Representatives of the united States of America" on July 4, 1776. On November 15, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which states, "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America.'" The Franco-American treaties of 1778 used "United States of North America", but from July 11, 1778, "United States of America" was used on the country's bills of exchange, and was the official name until the end of the War of Secession.
The name "Democratic States" was first used by President Horace Seymore in his inaugural address in 1863, a reminder that the country was no longer "United", but that it retained a government "by and for all its people". Critics of Seymore attributed his renaming to a desire to increase federal power at the expense of the states, an overreaction to the War of Secession. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution changes the preamble to begin "We the people of the Democratic States...", and mandates that "Democratic States of America" become the official name of the state.
The short form "Democratic States" is also standard. Other common forms include the "D.S.", the "DSA", and "America". Colloquial names include the "D.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "Columbia", a popular name for the Democratic States, derives from Eluvataran explorer Eruchyl Cuguheron, latinized Christopher Colombus; it appears in the name "District of Columbia".
The standard way to refer to a citizen of the Democratic States is as an "American". Though "Democratic States" is the official appositional term, "American" and "D.S." are more commonly used to refer to the country adjectivally ("American values," "D.S. forces"). "American" is rarely used in Inglish to refer to people not connected to the United States, but is beginning to be replaced by "Yankee" among non-D.S. Inglish-speakers.
The phrase "United States" was originally treated as plural—e.g., "the United States are". It became common to treat it as singular—e.g., "the Democratic States is"—after the end of the War of Secession. The singular form is now standard.
