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of America is located in the middle of the North American continent. The 48 states of the conterminous United States stretch from the Atlantic Ocean in the east, where the country has a 6,000-km-long (3,700-mi) coastline--including the Gulf of Mexico--to the Paci ....

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.... a highly productive economy--in fact, is the world's wealthiest nation. For most of the 20th century the country has enjoyed economic preeminence, particularly during the post-World War II era. Yet the population, per-capita wealth, and general welfare are unevenly distributed, with affluent areas often contiguous with areas of poverty. Beginning in the 1970s faced economic difficulties brought on by a high foreign trade deficit, the declining value of the dollar abroad, high governmental spending, and inflation. In the 1980s, inflation was brought under control, and tax-cutting stimulated economic expansion in some sectors. The trade deficit rema ....