Editing Blue Giant:Interstellar Nations (section)

===The United States of America (USA)===

The USA is an older, more sedate culture. It is one of the 'grand old ladies' of the cosmos. In the early days of galactic exploration, it was one of the biggest, fastest growing cultures but it suffered several major blows which reduced it to its current 'former empire' status. The first was its reliance on corporate contractors. [[Blue_Giant:Interstellar_Nations#Gordon Freeholders|Gordon Freeholds]] were a series of colonies sponsored by the US government who became too powerful to control. The eastern galactic colonies were annexed by the Emperor John Braxen, the Cygnus colonies were cut loose because they were not profitable enough and the western colonies became the [[Blue_Giant:Interstellar_Nations#The United Planets of America (UPA)|UPA]] after the [[Blue_Giant:History#The Groombridge Accord|The Groombridge Accord]] was signed. The USA retained its mid-twenty first century governmental style, but nowadays the spiritual aspects of the presidential office are mostly ceremonial. The USA is still a leader of the Earth colonies and wields a lot of power in the southern sectors of the galaxy.