United States

From 1861 to 1865, the United States fought the bloodiest conflict in its history, a war that killed 620,000 soldiers and ended with the abolition of slavery and the question of what kind of nation America would be.

On 20 July 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the Moon, fulfilling a decade-long national commitment and marking one of the defining moments in the history of exploration.

From Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat in 1955 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Black Americans and their allies forced the United States to live up to its founding promise of equality.

Between 1775 and 1783, thirteen British colonies in North America fought and won their independence, founding a republic whose ideals of liberty and self-government would inspire revolutions around the world for the next two centuries.