The United States is located in the middle of the North American continent, with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The United States stretches from the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the country to the Pacific Ocean bordering the west, and also includes the state of Hawaii, a series of islands located in the Pacific Ocean, the state of Alaska located in the northwestern part of the country. continent above the Yukon, and many other properties and territories. in Alaska. [1] [2] Strong evidence of the settlement of these cultures in what would become the United States dates back at least 14,000 years. [2] Research has revealed much about the early Native American settlers of North America, as documented by Cyrus Thomas. 3] Columbus's men were the first documented inhabitants of the Old World to land on United States territory when they arrived in Puerto Rico on their second voyage in 1493.[4] Juan Ponce de León, who arrived in Florida in 1513[5], is considered the first European to land in what is now the continental United States, although some evidence suggests that John Cabot may have reached what is now the continental United States. is currently New England in 1498.[6][7]In its early days, the United States consisted only of the Thirteen Colonies, made up of states occupying the same lands as when they were British colonies. American colonists fought the British Army in the American Revolutionary War of the 1770s and issued a Declaration of Independence in 1776. Seven years later, the signing of the Treaty of Paris officially recognized independence from -vis from Great Britain.[8] In the 19th century, the westward expansion of United States territory began, under the belief of Manifest Destiny that the United States would occupy all North American lands from east to west, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. In 1912, with the admission of Arizona to the Union, the United States achieved this goal. The outlying states of Alaska and Hawaii were both admitted in 1959. Ratified in 1788, the Constitution serves as the supreme American law for the organization of government; the Supreme Court is responsible for upholding constitutional law. Many social advances took place from the 19th century onwards; these advances were largely reflected in the Constitution. Slavery was abolished in 1865 by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; the following Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments respectively guaranteed citizenship to all persons naturalized in the U..