United States of America

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Revision as of 13:45, 8 July 2010 by Throwback (talk | contribs) (added info on 20th century economy, ref US being on blackboard in Behind the Scenes)

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 is an elected President, chosen by general election every four years.

History

Early history

American Revolution and nationhood

Various taxes had been imposed on the colonists (including a number of taxes on paper goods, known collectively as the "Stamp Act"), as it was becoming increasingly difficult for the crown to pay for its military excursions and the defense of the American colonies from native uprisings. The colonists widely resented the taxes as they were denied representation in the British Parliament. A famous protest against the tax on tea was orchestrated at Boston, known as the "Boston Tea Party," in which the the Doctor claimed to have participated. (DW: 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. (DW: The Mark of the Rani)

19th century

American Civil War

The American Civil War 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. (DW: The War Games)

While testing a temporal communicator, Nyssa would accidentally end up in the Civil War during a battle at Rhodes.

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. (BFA: Renaissance of the Daleks)

Peri Brown and Erimem would end up separated from the Doctor after landing in the Civil War, and witnessed its brutality first-hand. (TN: Blood and Hope)

Settling the West

The latter half of the 19th century, particularly the years following the Civil War, saw rapid colonization 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 Doctor and his companions once found themselves engaged in a particularly infamous and bloody incident known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (DW: The Gunfighters).

20th century

1930s

1940s

In 1947 a space ship crash landed at Roswell. This was one of the most notable alien invasions ever. (DW: Dreamland)

1950s

1960s

On November 22 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald (supposedly) shot President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas.

See Kennedy assassination.

The first acknowledged American Moon landing happened in July 1969. (DW: Blink, MA: Who Killed Kennedy)

1990s

In 1994, US military admits Area 51 exists (According to the Doctor) (DW: Dreamland)

Between 30th December 1999 and just after midnight on 1st January 2000, the Doctor was in San Francisco, Calif. where he prevented The Master from causing havoc with time and space on New Year's Eve. During this time, the Doctor underwent regeneration into his eighth incarnation. (DW: Doctor Who TV movie)

21st century

2000s

Around 2008, "Harold Saxon" announced first contact with the Toclafane, who he described as a friendly form of alien life. The United States sent President Winters to come to the Valiant and take charge, whereupon the Toclafane killed him. (DW: The Sound of Drums)

Even though the The Year That Never Was later "un-happened", Winters' death remained unchanged because it happened before the paradox machine was activated.

On November the 4th, 2008, Barack Obama was elected. (DW: The End of Time)

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. (DW: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End)

22nd century and Fall

Circa 2037 the Wars of Independence happened which broke the United States up, and destroyed the city of Phoenix turning it into the Phoenix Sandbowl. (EDA: Alien Bodies, NA: Christmas on a Rational Planet)

By implication, a Tesla bomb destroyed the city.

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. (PDA: The Indestructible Man)

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

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

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. (DW: 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 Doctor agreed but thought America of not having a monopoly on bad taste. (DW: Revelation of the Daleks)

Economy

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the United States had a decimal currency. (DW: An Unearthly Child)

Companions and Time Lords

Largest cities

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

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 five 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, and the 2009 animated serial Dreamland.

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. To date no Doctor Who story has undertaken major filming within the United States (the 1996 telefilm, though set in San Francisco, was filmed in Canada); some second-unit filming occurred for Daleks in Manhattan, however, but nothing involving the main cast.

In the first episode of Doctor Who, "An Unearthly Child", the United States is listed with other nations on a blackboard. These other countries included France, Britain, USSR, China, and Australia.

Stories set in the United States and/or the thirteen American colonies

See also

United States of America
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