This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on November 4, 2020). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
Historians now note that what’s particularly noteworthy about the 20th and 21st centuries in the geopolitical region then known as the United States is how long it managed to exist so near the point of collapse before the final dissolution into several independent nation-states.