United States of America

The United States of America, commonly the US, USA, America, or just The States was a nation-state located in North America on the planet Earth. Its head of state and head of government was an elected President, chosen by general election every four years.

History

Early history

American Revolution and nationhood

Prior to British settlement, the United States was primarily inhabited by Native Americans.

The Ninth Doctor claimed to have participated in the Boston Tea Party. (TV: The Unquiet Dead)

In 1775, the American Revolutionary War against colonial rule by Britain began. The Rani was present at some point during this conflict, and extracted brain chemicals from soldiers, using the violence to conceal her presence. (TV: The Mark of the Rani)

19th century

American Civil War

The American Civil War (1861-1865) was a conflict between the Confederate States of America (comprising most of the states of the southeastern United States) and the United States of America (the states that remained loyal to the federal government in Washington). Soldiers from this conflict were kidnapped by the War Lords for use in their war games. (TV: The War Games)

While testing the temporal interocitor, Nyssa accidentally ended up in the Civil War during a battle in Virginia.

A black Confederate soldier named Floyd was one of several people throughout history who'd been hearing the voices of Daleks all his life, as part of their plan to make humanity more susceptible to Dalek ideals and enslave them. He assisted in thwarting this plan. (AUDIO: Renaissance of the Daleks)

Peri Brown and Erimem were separated from the Fifth Doctor after materialising in the Civil War. They witnessed its brutality first-hand. (PROSE: Blood and Hope)

On 14 April 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.. (AUDIO: Assassin in the Limelight)

Settling the West

The latter half of the 19th century, particularly the years following the Civil War, saw rapid colonisation and development of the western half of the United States. Violence became a way of life in many settlements where often a lone marshall was hired to keep law and order. The First Doctor and his companions once found themselves engaged in a particularly infamous and bloody incident known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (TV: The Gunfighters).

20th century

1930s

In 1930, the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones went to New York City where they found the Cult of Skaro. Many New York citizens were killed by the Cult after it tried to make them into a new form of Dalek-human. (TV: Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks)

For more information, see Final Experiment.

In 1938, the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard countered an invasion of New York by the Reggins during Orson Welles' broadcast of The War of the Worlds. (AUDIO: Invaders from Mars)

1940s

In 1941 the United States entered World War II after an attack on the US Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

In 1947, a space ship crash landed at Roswell, New Mexico. (TV: Dalek, Dreamland, TV: Prisoner of the Judoon )

1950s

In 1958, the Tenth Doctor met Cassie Rice and Jimmy Stalkingwolf. They were arrested and taken to Area 51 to have their minds wiped. There they discovered the truth about the Roswell crash and Area 51. (TV: Dreamland)

In 1959, the Americans sent their first satellite up into orbit. Unknown to the public, it actually ended up in Wales. (TV: Delta and the Bannermen)

1960s

In the early 1960s, the United States confronted the Soviet Union and Cuba in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Fear of nuclear war during the crisis kept Barbara Wright awake at night. (AUDIO: 1963)

On 22 November 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy) The Ninth Doctor was present for this event. (TV: Rose)

The first acknowledged American Moon landing happened on 20 July 1969. (TV: Blink, PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy)

In 1969, a little girl phoned President Richard Nixon, told him about a spaceman that was coming to eat her, and warned him about monsters in the oval office. President Nixon recruited Canton Delaware to find out who the girl was, and he was assisted by the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, and River Song. During these events, the Silence were defeated by the Doctor through the use of their own post hypnotic suggestion. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon)

In 1970, young River Song ended up in New York City, dying from a disease, and on the run from the Silence since her escape from them in Florida. She regenerated to cure herself and continue living, scaring away a homeless man that was concerned about her health. (TV: Day of the Moon) This new incarnation of River Song ended up a toddler. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

1990s

The Tenth Doctor alleged that by 1994, the US military would admit that Area 51 existed, having previously denied it. (TV: Dreamland)

Between 30 December 1999 and just after midnight on 1 January 2000, the Seventh Doctor was in San Francisco, where he regenerated into his eighth incarnation, and subseqeuntly prevented the Bruce Master from causing havoc with time and space on New Year's Eve. (TV: Doctor Who)

21st century

2000s

In 2008, Harold Saxon, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced first contact with the Toclafane, who he described as a friendly form of alien life. The United States sent President Arthur Coleman Winters to come to the Valiant and take charge, whereupon the Toclafane killed him. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

In 2009, Daleks under the control of Davros attacked New York. They destroyed the UNIT base there and killed most of the staff, including General Sanchez and Suzanne, although Martha Jones escaped thanks to Project Indigo. These Daleks were destroyed after the destruction of the Crucible. (TV: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End)

2010s

In 2011, Carter sent letters written by the Eleventh Doctor to River Song, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, Canton Delaware, and the Doctor's younger self, asking them (bar the Doctor himself) to meet the Doctor in Lake Silencio in Utah. When they arrived the Doctor told Amy, River and Rory that they would have to go to "space, 1969." After Canton arrived, the Doctor, actually a Teselecta decoy, was shot by a younger version of River. Canton informed the others that the Doctor was really dead, and they cremated his supposed body. After Amy, Rory, and River found the Doctor's younger self, they travelled back in time to 8 April 1969. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut, The Wedding of River Song)

In 2015, relations between the United States and Cuba remained tense. (AUDIO: The Eight Truths)

2030s

Circa 2037 the Wars of Independence broke up the United States. Terrorists destroyed the city of Phoenix, Arizona using a Tesla bomb. It was turned into a massive crater which came to be known as the "Phoenix Sandbowl". (PROSE: Alien Bodies)

Late 21st century

Due to the Myloki conflict of 2066-8, by 2096 America was split into the warring North American Legion and Deep Southern States, with the Texas Republic selling weapons to both sides. (PROSE: The Indestructible Man)

22nd century and Fall

By 2118, America and Europe had been using Africa to grow new foodstuffs for their populations. (PROSE: The Art of Destruction)

In 2146 America's economy collapsed causing food riots. (PROSE: Lucifer Rising)

26th century

Probably well before the mid 26th century, much of what was once the southern United States had sunk under the "Mississippi Sea". (BFBS: Home)

Legacy

By the 52nd century, America seemed to be unheard of by some humans. When River Song escaped from the Stormcage Containment Facility, she announced she was heading to America, which a Prison Guard mistook as a planet. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)

The date of River's escape was unknown in The Impossible Astronaut, but as the date of her escape in The Pandorica Opens was 5145, it seems likely her second escape was also in the 52nd century.

By 200100, the USA was part of the New American Alliance. When the Daleks attacked, most of the population was killed and the terrain was drastically altered. (TV: The Parting of the Ways)

The American city of New York would become one of the most important cities in human history. Versions of New York city would continue to exist for billions of years. (TV : New Earth, Evolution of the Daleks)

People and culture

U.S. popular culture had a significant influence on the rest of the Earth during the 20th and 21st centuries, especially in the Western world. U.S. music was heard all over the world, and included such forms as blues, jazz and rock and roll. As late as the final destruction of Earth during the expansion of its Sun, much of this music was still considered among the greatest ever composed by humanity. (TV: The End of the World, )

American DJs were well liked by the DJ of Tranquil Repose, who based his style of presentation on them. Peri Brown thought of "Tranquil Repose" as the sort of name for a place in America; the Sixth Doctor agreed but thought America did not have a monopoly on bad taste. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)

Economy

By the 20th century, the United States had a decimal currency. (TV: An Unearthly Child)

Companions and Time Lords

• The Doctor had the company of American companions from time to time, most notably Peri Brown (TV: Planet of Fire to TV: Mindwarp) and Dr. Grace Holloway. (TV: Doctor Who) He also had two companions from New Mexico in 1958, Cassie Rice and Jimmy Stalkingwolf. (TV: Dreamland)
• The Master once briefly appropriated the body of an American paramedic (TV: Doctor Who) and later became Barak Obama, American president (along with every other person on earth). (TV: The End of Time)
• Though he was from the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st century, Captain Jack Harkness had an American accent, as did his father and brother. (TV: Adam)

Largest cities

New York City was destroyed during the 22nd century Dalek invasion (TV: The Chase), while Los Angeles was still a major global centre in the early years of the Earth Empire. (TV: Frontier in Space)

Alternative timelines

• In an alternative timeline in which Nazi Germany won World War II as a result of the Seventh Doctor and Ace accidentally leaving laser technology in Colditz Castle in October 1944, the Nazi scientists were able to refine uranium and create nuclear weapons. They subsequently bombed New York City, forcing the surrender of the United States and winning the war for Germany. (AUDIO: Klein's Story)
• In an alternative timeline created by the Elder Gods in the hope of destroying Earth, World War III broke out on 9 November 1989 between the United States and its allies, including the United Kingdom, on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other hand. Given that nuclear weapons were used by both sides, hundreds of millions of people were killed in the conflict. This timeline was ultimately negated by the Seventh Doctor. (AUDIO: Protect and Survive)

Behind the scenes

• Despite the franchise's popularity in the US, since 1963 only a handful of TV episodes have featured scenes set within the US, and to date there have only been seven TV stories set in their entirety in that country: The Gunfighters (the only story of the classic 1963-89 series set entirely in the US), the 1996 TV movie, Dalek, the two-parter Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, the 2009 animated serial Dreamland, the Series 6 two-parter opener, The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, and the Series 7 episode A Town Called Mercy.
• In the mid-1980s, plans were made to film part of The Two Doctors in the US, possibly in the vicinity of New Orleans. This plan was cancelled and the serial was filmed in Spain, instead. For most of Doctor Who's history, no story had undertaken major filming within the United States (the 1996 telefilm, though set in San Francisco, was filmed in Vancouver, Canada); some second-unit filming occurred for TV: Daleks in Manhattan, but nothing involving the main cast. No major filming in America occurred until autumn 2010, when key scenes for TV: The Impossible Astronaut, Day of the Moon, and The Wedding of River Song were filmed in Utah.

See also

• President of the United States
• Stories set in the United States