document_title: National debt of the United States

question_text: who owns the majority of the us debt

question_tokens: who owns the majority of the us debt

text: National debt of the United States

text: History[edit]

text: The United States government has continuously had a fluctuating public debt since its formation in 1789, except for about a year during 1835–1836. To allow comparisons over the years, public debt is often expressed as a ratio to gross domestic product (GDP).

text: The United States public debt as a percentage of GDP reached its highest level during Harry Truman's first presidential term, during and after World War II. Public debt as a percentage of GDP fell rapidly in the post-World War II period, and reached a low in 1974 under Richard Nixon. Debt as a share of GDP has consistently increased since then, except during the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Public debt rose during the 1980s, as Ronald Reagan cut tax rates and increased military spending. It fell during the 1990s, due to decreased military spending, increased taxes and the 1990s boom. Public debt rose sharply in the wake of the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the resulting significant tax revenue declines and spending increases.[10]

text: Valuation and measurement[edit]

text: Public and government accounts[edit]

text: On January 26, 2016, debt held by the public was $13.62 trillion or about 75% of the previous 12 months of GDP.[5][6][7][8] Intragovernmental holdings stood at $5.34 trillion, giving a combined total gross national debt of $18.96 trillion or about 104% of the previous 12 months of GDP.[7]

text: The national debt can also be classified into marketable or non-marketable securities. Most of the marketable securities are Treasury notes, bills, and bonds held by investors and governments globally. The non-marketable securities are mainly the "government account series" owed to certain government trust funds such as the Social Security Trust Fund, which represented $2.74 trillion in 2011.[11]

text: The non-marketable securities represent amounts owed to program beneficiaries. For example, in the case of the Social Security Trust Fund, the payroll taxes dedicated to Social Security were credited to the Trust Fund upon receipt, but spent for other purposes. If the government continues to run deficits in other parts of the budget, the government will have to issue debt held by the public to fund the Social Security Trust Fund, in effect exchanging one type of debt for the other.[12] Other large intragovernmental holders include the Federal Housing Administration, the Federal Savings and Loan Corporation's Resolution Fund and the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (Medicare).[citation needed]

text: Accounting treatment[edit]

text: Only debt held by the public is reported as a liability on the consolidated financial statements of the United States government. Debt held by government accounts is an asset to those accounts but a liability to the Treasury; they offset each other in the consolidated financial statements.[13]

text: Government receipts and expenditures are normally presented on a cash rather than an accrual basis, although the accrual basis may provide more information on the longer-term implications of the government's annual operations.[14] The United States public debt is often expressed as a ratio of public debt to gross domestic product (GDP). The ratio of debt to GDP may decrease as a result of a government surplus as well as due to growth of GDP and inflation.[citation needed]

text: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac obligations excluded[edit]

text: Under normal accounting rules, fully owned companies would be consolidated into the books of the owner, but the large size of Fannie and Freddie has made the U.S. government reluctant to incorporate Freddie and Fannie into its own books. When Freddie and Fannie required bail-outs, White House Budget Director Jim Nussle, on September 12, 2008, initially indicated their budget plans would not incorporate the GSE debt into the budget because of the temporary nature of the conservator intervention.[15] As the intervention has dragged out, pundits have started to further question this accounting treatment, noting that changes in August 2012 "makes them even more permanent wards of the state and turns the government's preferred stock into a permanent, perpetual kind of security".[16]

text: The government controls the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which would normally criticize inconsistent accounting practices, but it does not oversee its own government's accounting practices or the standards set by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board. The on- or off-balance sheet obligations of those two independent GSEs was just over $5 trillion at the time the conservatorship was put in place, consisting mainly of mortgage payment guarantees and agency bonds.[17] The confusing independent but government-controlled status of the GSEs has resulted in investors of the legacy common shares and preferred shares launching various activist campaigns in 2014.[18]

text: Guaranteed obligations excluded[edit]

text: U.S. federal government guarantees are not included in the public debt total, until such time as there is a call on the guarantees. For example, the U.S. federal government in late-2008 guaranteed large amounts of obligations of mutual funds, banks, and corporations under several programs designed to deal with the problems arising from the late-2000s financial crisis. The guarantee program lapsed at the end of 2012 when Congress declined to extend the scheme. The funding of direct investments made in response to the crisis, such as those made under the Troubled Assets Relief Program, are included in the debt.

text: Unfunded obligations excluded[edit]

text: The U.S. government is obligated under current law to make mandatory payments for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) projects that payouts for these programs will significantly exceed tax revenues over the next 75 years. The Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) payouts already exceed program tax revenues, and social security payouts exceeded payroll taxes in fiscal 2010. These deficits require funding from other tax sources or borrowing.[19] The present value of these deficits or unfunded obligations is an estimated $45.8 trillion. This is the amount that would have had to be set aside in 2009 in order to pay for the unfunded obligations which, under current law, will have to be raised by the government in the future. Approximately $7.7 trillion relates to Social Security, while $38.2 trillion relates to Medicare and Medicaid. In other words, health care programs will require nearly five times more funding than Social Security. Adding this to the national debt and other federal obligations would bring total obligations to nearly $62 trillion.[20] However, these unfunded obligations are not counted in the national debt, as shown in monthly Treasury reports of the national debt.[21]

text: Measuring debt burden[edit]

text: GDP is a measure of the total size and output of the economy. One measure of the debt burden is its size relative to GDP, called the "debt-to-GDP ratio." Mathematically, this is the debt divided by the GDP amount. The Congressional Budget Office includes historical budget and debt tables along with its annual "Budget and Economic Outlook." Debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP rose from 34.7% GDP in 2000 to 40.5% in 2008 and 67.7% in 2011.[22]

text: Mathematically, the ratio can decrease even while debt grows, if the rate of increase in GDP (which also takes account of inflation) is higher than the rate of increase of debt. Conversely, the debt to GDP ratio can increase even while debt is being reduced, if the decline in GDP is sufficient.

text: According to the CIA World Factbook, during 2015, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio of 73.6% was the 39th highest in the world. This was measured using "debt held by the public."[23] However, $1 trillion in additional borrowing since the end of FY 2015 has raised the ratio to 76.2% as of April 2016 [See Appendix#National debt for selected years]. Also, this number excludes state and local debt. According to the OECD, general government gross debt (federal, state, and local) in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2015 was $22.5 trillion (125% of GDP); subtracting out $5.25 trillion for intergovernmental federal debt to count only federal "debt held by the public" gives 96% of GDP.[24]

text: The ratio is higher if the total national debt is used, by adding the "intragovernmental debt" to the "debt held by the public." For example, on April 29, 2016, debt held by the public was approximately $13.84 trillion or about 76% of GDP. Intra-governmental holdings stood at $5.35 trillion, giving a combined total public debt of $19.19 trillion. U.S. GDP for the previous 12 months was approximately $18.15 trillion, for a total debt to GDP ratio of approximately 106%.[25]

text: Calculating the annual change in debt[edit]

text: Conceptually, an annual deficit (or surplus) should represent the change in the national debt, with a deficit adding to the national debt and a surplus reducing it. However, there is complexity in the budgetary computations that can make the deficit figure commonly reported in the media (the "total deficit") considerably different from the annual increase in the debt. The major categories of differences are the treatment of the Social Security program, Treasury borrowing, and supplemental appropriations outside the budget process.[26]

text: Social Security payroll taxes and benefit payments, along with the net balance of the U.S. Postal Service, are considered "off-budget", while most other expenditure and receipt categories are considered "on-budget". The total federal deficit is the sum of the on-budget deficit (or surplus) and the off-budget deficit (or surplus). Since FY1960, the federal government has run on-budget deficits except for FY1999 and FY2000, and total federal deficits except in FY1969 and FY1998–FY2001.[27]

text: For example, in January 2009 the CBO reported that for fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) the "on-budget deficit" was $638 billion, offset by an "off-budget surplus" (mainly due to Social Security revenue in excess of payouts) of $183 billion, for a "total deficit" of $455 billion. This latter figure was the one commonly reported in the media. However, an additional $313 billion was required for "the Treasury actions aimed at stabilizing the financial markets," an unusually high amount due to the Subprime mortgage crisis. This meant that the "debt held by the public" increased by $768 billion ($455B + $313B = $768B). The "off-budget surplus" was borrowed and spent (as is typically the case), increasing the "intra-governmental debt" by $183 billion. So the total increase in the "National debt" in FY2008 was $768B +$183B = $951 billion.[26] The Treasury Department reported an increase in the National Debt of $1,017B for FY2008.[28] The $66 billion difference is likely due to "supplemental appropriations" for the War on Terror, some of which were outside the budget process entirely until President Obama began including most of them in his FY2010 budget.[29]

text: In other words, spending the "off budget" Social Security surplus adds to the total national debt (by increasing the intragovernmental debt) while the "off-budget" surplus reduces the "total" deficit reported in the media. Certain spending called "supplemental appropriations" is outside the budget process entirely but adds to the national debt. Funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was accounted for this way prior to the Obama administration.[29] Certain stimulus measures and earmarks were also outside the budget process. The federal government publishes the total debt owed (public and intragovernmental holdings) monthly.[30]

text: Reduction[edit]

text: Negative real interest rates[edit]

text: Since 2010, the U.S. Treasury has been obtaining negative real interest rates on government debt, meaning the inflation rate is greater than the interest rate paid on the debt.[31] Such low rates, outpaced by the inflation rate, occur when the market believes that there are no alternatives with sufficiently low risk, or when popular institutional investments such as insurance companies, pensions, or bond, money market, and balanced mutual funds are required or choose to invest sufficiently large sums in Treasury securities to hedge against risk.[32][33]

text: Economist Lawrence Summers has stated that at such low interest rates, government borrowing actually saves taxpayer money and improves creditworthiness.[34]

text: In the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the US and UK both reduced their debt burden by about 30% to 40% of GDP per decade by taking advantage of negative real interest rates, but there is no guarantee that government debt rates will continue to stay so low.[32][35] Between 1946 and 1974, the US debt-to-GDP ratio fell from 121% to 32% even though there were surpluses in only eight of those years which were much smaller than the deficits.[36]

text: Raising reserve requirements and full reserve banking[edit]

text: The two economists, Jaromir Benes and Michael Kumhof, working for the International Monetary Fund, published a working paper called The Chicago Plan Revisited suggesting that the debt could be eliminated by raising bank reserve requirements and converting from fractional reserve banking to full reserve banking.[37][38] Economists at the Paris School of Economics have commented on the plan, stating that it is already the status quo for coinage currency,[39] and a Norges Bank economist has examined the proposal in the context of considering the finance industry as part of the real economy.[40] A Centre for Economic Policy Research paper agrees with the conclusion that, "no real liability is created by new fiat money creation, and therefore public debt does not rise as a result".[41]

text: Debt ceiling[edit]

text: The debt ceiling is a legislative mechanism to limit the amount of national debt that can be issued by the Treasury. In effect, it will restrain the Treasury from paying for expenditures after the limit has been reached, even if the expenditures have already been approved (in the budget) and have been appropriated. If this situation were to occur, it is unclear whether Treasury would be able to prioritize payments on debt to avoid a default on its debt obligations, but it would have to default on some of its non-debt obligations.

text: Debt holdings[edit]

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text: Because a large variety of people own the notes, bills, and bonds in the "public" portion of the debt, Treasury also publishes information that groups the types of holders by general categories to portray who owns United States debt. In this data set, some of the public portion is moved and combined with the total government portion, because this amount is owned by the Federal Reserve as part of United States monetary policy. (See Federal Reserve System.)

text: As is apparent from the chart, a little less than half of the total national debt is owed to the "Federal Reserve and intragovernmental holdings". The foreign and international holders of the debt are also put together from the notes, bills, and bonds sections. To the right is a chart for the data as of June 2008:

text: Foreign holdings[edit]

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text: As of September 2014, foreigners owned $6.06 trillion of U.S. debt, or approximately 47% of the debt held by the public of $12.8 trillion and 34% of the total debt of $17.8 trillion.[42] The largest holders were China, Japan, Belgium, the Caribbean banking centers, and oil exporters.[44]

text: The share held by foreign governments has grown over time, rising from 13% of the public debt in 1988[45] to 25% in 2007.[46]

text: As of September 2014 the largest single holder of U.S. government debt was China, with 21% of all foreign-held U.S. Treasury securities (10% of total U.S. public debt).[47] China's holdings of government debt, as a percentage of all foreign-held government debt are up significantly since 2000 (when China held just 6 percent of all foreign-held U.S. Treasury securities).[48]

text: This exposure to potential financial or political risk should foreign banks stop buying Treasury securities or start selling them heavily was addressed in a June 2008 report issued by the Bank of International Settlements, which stated, "Foreign investors in U.S. dollar assets have seen big losses measured in dollars, and still bigger ones measured in their own currency. While unlikely, indeed highly improbable for public sector investors, a sudden rush for the exits cannot be ruled out completely."[49]

text: On May 20, 2007, Kuwait discontinued pegging its currency exclusively to the dollar, preferring to use the dollar in a basket of currencies.[citation needed] Syria made a similar announcement on June 4, 2007.[50] In September 2009 China, India and Russia said they were interested in buying International Monetary Fund gold to diversify their dollar-denominated securities.[51] However, in July 2010 China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange "ruled out the option of dumping its vast holdings of US Treasury securities" and said gold "cannot become a main channel for investing our foreign exchange reserves" because the market for gold is too small and prices are too volatile.[citation needed]

text: According to Paul Krugman, "It's true that foreigners now hold large claims on the United States, including a fair amount of government debt. But every dollar's worth of foreign claims on America is matched by 89 cents' worth of U.S. claims on foreigners. And because foreigners tend to put their U.S. investments into safe, low-yield assets, America actually earns more from its assets abroad than it pays to foreign investors. If your image is of a nation that's already deep in hock to the Chinese, you've been misinformed. Nor are we heading rapidly in that direction."[52]

text: Forecasting[edit]

text: CBO short-term outlook[edit]

text: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported in its February 2014 Budget and Economic Outlook (which covers the 2014–2024 period) that deficits were projected to return to approximately the historical average relative to the size of the economy (GDP) by 2014. The CBO estimated that under current law, the deficit would total $514 billion in fiscal year 2014 or 3.0% GDP. Deficits would then slowly begin rising again through 2024 due primarily to the pressures of an aging population and rising healthcare costs per person. The debt to GDP ratio would remain stable for much of the decade then begin rising again toward the end of the 10-year forecast window, from 74% in 2014 to 79% in 2024.[53]

text: CBO long-term outlook[edit]

text: The CBO reports its Long-Term Budget Outlook annually, providing at least two scenarios for spending, revenue, deficits, and debt. The 2014 Outlook mainly covers the 25-year period through 2039. The "extended baseline scenario" assumes that the laws currently on the books will be implemented, for the most part. The CBO reported in July 2014 that under this scenario:

text: If current laws remained generally unchanged in the future, federal debt held by the public would decline slightly relative to GDP over the next few years. After that, however, growing budget deficits would push debt back to and above its current high level. Twenty-five years from now, in 2039, federal debt held by the public would exceed 100 percent of GDP. Moreover, debt would be on an upward path relative to the size of the economy, a trend that could not be sustained indefinitely. By 2039, the deficit would equal 6.5 percent of GDP, larger than in any year between 1947 and 2008, and federal debt held by the public would reach 106 percent of GDP, more than in any year except 1946—even without factoring in the economic effects of growing debt.[54]

text: The "extended alternative fiscal scenario" assumes the continuation of present trends, which result in a more unfavorable debt position and adverse economic consequences relative to the baseline scenario. The CBO reported in July 2014 that under this scenario:

text: [C]ertain policies that are now in place but are scheduled to change under current law are assumed to continue, and some provisions of current law that might be difficult to sustain for a long period are assumed to be modified. Under that scenario, deficits excluding interest payments would be about $2 trillion larger over the first decade than those under the baseline; subsequently, such deficits would be larger than those under the extended baseline by rapidly increasing amounts, doubling as a percentage of GDP in less than 10 years. CBO projects that real GNP in 2039 would be about 5 percent lower under the extended alternative fiscal scenario than under the extended baseline with economic feedback, and that interest rates would be about three-quarters of a percentage point higher. Reflecting the budgetary effects of those economic developments, federal debt would rise to 183 percent of GDP in 2039.[54]

text: Over the long-term, the CBO projects that interest expense and mandatory spending categories (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security) will continue to grow relative to GDP, while discretionary categories (e.g., Defense and other Cabinet Departments) continue to fall relative to GDP. Debt is projected to continue rising relative to GDP under the above two scenarios, although the CBO did also offer other scenarios that involved austerity measures that would bring the debt to GDP ratio down.[54]

text: The CBO estimated under the baseline scenario that the U.S. debt held by the public would increase approximately $8.5 trillion between the end of 2014 and 2024. Under a $2 trillion deficit reduction scenario during that first decade, federal debt held by the public in 2039 would stand at 75 percent of GDP, only slightly above the value of 72 percent at the end of 2013. Under a $4 trillion deficit reduction scenario for that decade, federal debt held by the public would fall to 42 percent of GDP in 2039. By comparison, such debt was 35 percent of GDP in 2007 and has averaged 39 percent of GDP during the past 40 years.[54]

text: The CBO reported in September 2011: "The nation cannot continue to sustain the spending programs and policies of the past with the tax revenues it has been accustomed to paying. Citizens will either have to pay more for their government, accept less in government services and benefits, or both."[55]

text: Risks and debates[edit]

text: CBO risk factors[edit]

text: The CBO reported several types of risk factors related to rising debt levels in a July 2010 publication:

text:
A growing portion of savings would go towards purchases of government debt, rather than investments in productive capital goods such as factories and computers, leading to lower output and incomes than would otherwise occur;
If higher marginal tax rates were used to pay rising interest costs, savings would be reduced and work would be discouraged;
Rising interest costs would force reductions in government programs;
Restrictions to the ability of policymakers to use fiscal policy to respond to economic challenges; and
An increased risk of a sudden fiscal crisis, in which investors demand higher interest rates.[56]

text: Concerns over Chinese holdings of U.S. debt[edit]

text: Many American and other economic analysts have expressed concerns on account of the People's Republic of China's "extensive" holdings of United States government debt,[57][58] as part of their reserves.

text: The National Defense Authorization Act of the fiscal year 2012 included a provision requiring the Secretary of Defense to conduct a "national security risk assessment of U.S. federal debt held by China." The Department issued its report in July 2012, stating that "attempting to use U.S. Treasury securities as a coercive tool would have limited effect and likely would do more harm to China than to the United States. As the threat is not credible and the effect would be limited even if carried out, it does not offer China deterrence options, whether in the diplomatic, military, or economic realms, and this would remain true both in peacetime and in scenarios of crisis or war."[59]

text: The 112th United States Congress introduced legislation whose aim was the assessment of the implications of China's ownership of U.S. debt.[59] The 2013 Report claimed that "[a] potentially serious short-term problem would emerge if China decided to suddenly reduce their liquid U.S. financial assets significantly" [emphasis in the original text], noting, also, that Federal Reserve System Chairman Ben Bernanke had, in 2007, stated that "because foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities represent only a small part of total U.S. credit market debt outstanding, U.S. credit markets should be able to absorb without great difficulty any shift of foreign allocations."[59]

text: A significant number of economists and analysts dismiss any and all concerns over foreign holdings of United States government debt denominated in U.S. dollars, including China's holdings.[60][61][62][63]

text: Sustainability[edit]

text: According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the United States is on a "fiscally unsustainable" path because of projected future increases in Medicare and Social Security spending.[19]

text: Risks to economic growth[edit]

text: Debt levels may affect economic growth rates. In 2010, economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart reported that among the 20 developed countries studied, average annual GDP growth was 3–4% when debt was relatively moderate or low (i.e. under 60% of GDP), but it dips to just 1.6% when debt was high (i.e., above 90% of GDP).[64] In April 2013, the conclusions of Rogoff and Reinhart's study came into question when a coding error in their original paper was discovered by Herndon, Ash and Pollin of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.[65][66] Herndon, Ash and Pollin found that after correcting for errors and unorthodox methods used, there was no evidence that debt above a specific threshold reduces growth.[67] Reinhart and Rogoff maintain that after correcting for errors, a negative relationship between high debt and growth remains.[68] However, other economists, including Paul Krugman, have argued that it is low growth which causes national debt to increase, rather than the other way around.[69][70][71]

text: Commenting on fiscal sustainability, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated in April 2010 that "Neither experience nor economic theory clearly indicates the threshold at which government debt begins to endanger prosperity and economic stability. But given the significant costs and risks associated with a rapidly rising federal debt, our nation should soon put in place a credible plan for reducing deficits to sustainable levels over time."[72]

text: Interest and debt service costs[edit]

text: Despite rising debt levels, interest costs have remained at approximately 2008 levels (around $450 billion in total) due to lower than long-term interest rates paid on government debt in recent years.[73] However, interest rates may return to higher historical levels.[74]

text: The cost of servicing the U.S. national debt can be measured in various ways. The CBO analyzes net interest as a percentage of GDP, with a higher percentage indicating a higher interest payment burden. During 2015, this was 1.3% GDP, close to the record low 1.2% of the 1966–1968 era. The average from 1966 to 2015 was 2.0% of GDP.[75] However, the CBO estimated in 2016 that the interest amounts and % GDP will increase significantly over the following decade as both interest rates and debt levels rise: "Interest payments on that debt represent a large and rapidly growing expense of the federal government. CBO's baseline shows net interest payments more than tripling under current law, climbing from $231 billion in 2014, or 1.3 percent of GDP, to $799 billion in 2024, or 3.0 percent of GDP—the highest ratio since 1996."[76]

text: Definition of public debt[edit]

text: Economists also debate the definition of public debt. Krugman argued in May 2010 that the debt held by the public is the right measure to use, while Reinhart has testified to the President's Fiscal Reform Commission that gross debt is the appropriate measure.[69] The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) cited research by several economists supporting the use of the lower debt held by the public figure as a more accurate measure of the debt burden, disagreeing with these Commission members.[77]

text: There is debate regarding the economic nature of the intragovernmental debt, which was approximately $4.6 trillion in February 2011.[78] For example, the CBPP argues: that "large increases in [debt held by the public] can also push up interest rates and increase the amount of future interest payments the federal government must make to lenders outside of the United States, which reduces Americans' income. By contrast, intragovernmental debt (the other component of the gross debt) has no such effects because it is simply money the federal government owes (and pays interest on) to itself."[77]

text: However, if the U.S. government continues to run "on budget" deficits as projected by the CBO and OMB for the foreseeable future, it will have to issue marketable Treasury bills and bonds (i.e., debt held by the public) to pay for the projected shortfall in the Social Security program. This will result in "debt held by the public" replacing "intragovernmental debt".[79][80]

text: Intergenerational equity[edit]

text: One debate about the national debt relates to intergenerational equity. For example, if one generation is receiving the benefit of government programs or employment enabled by deficit spending and debt accumulation, to what extent does the resulting higher debt impose risks and costs on future generations? There are several factors to consider:

text:
For every dollar of debt held by the public, there is a government obligation (generally marketable Treasury securities) counted as an asset by investors. Future generations benefit to the extent these assets are passed on to them.[81]
As of 2010, approximately 72% of the financial assets were held by the wealthiest 5% of the population.[82] This presents a wealth and income distribution question, as only a fraction of the people in future generations will receive principal or interest from investments related to the debt incurred today.
To the extent the U.S. debt is owed to foreign investors (approximately half the "debt held by the public" during 2012), principal and interest are not directly received by U.S. heirs.[81]
Higher debt levels imply higher interest payments, which create costs for future taxpayers (e.g., higher taxes, lower government benefits, higher inflation, or increased risk of fiscal crisis).[56]
To the extent the borrowed funds are invested today to improve the long-term productivity of the economy and its workers, such as via useful infrastructure projects or education, future generations may benefit.[83]
For every dollar of intragovernmental debt, there is an obligation to specific program recipients, generally non-marketable securities such as those held in the Social Security Trust Fund. Adjustments that reduce future deficits in these programs may also apply costs to future generations, via higher taxes or lower program spending.[citation needed]

text: Krugman wrote in March 2013 that by neglecting public investment and failing to create jobs, we are doing far more harm to future generations than merely passing along debt: "Fiscal policy is, indeed, a moral issue, and we should be ashamed of what we're doing to the next generation's economic prospects. But our sin involves investing too little, not borrowing too much." Young workers face high unemployment and studies have shown their income may lag throughout their careers as a result. Teacher jobs have been cut, which could affect the quality of education and competitiveness of younger Americans.[84]

text: Credit default[edit]

text: The US has never fully defaulted.[85][86]

text: In April 1979, however, the United States may have technically defaulted on $122 million in Treasury bills, which was less than 1% of U.S. debt. The Treasury Department characterized it as a delay rather than as a default, but it did have consequences for short-term interest rates, which jumped 0.6%.[87] Others view it as a temporary, partial default.[88][89][90]

text: Appendix[edit]

text: National debt for selected years[edit]

text:
Fiscal year
Total debt
[91][92][93]
Total debt
as % of GDP
Public debt
Public debt
as % of GDP
GDP
($ billions)[94]

1910
 2.65/-
8.1%
2.65
8.1%
est. 32.8

1920
25.95/-
29.2%
25.95
29.2%
est. 88.6

1927
[95] 18.51/-
19.2%
18.51
19.2%
est. 96.5

1930
16.19/-
16.6%
16.19
16.6%
est. 97.4

1940
42.97/50.70
43.8–51.6%
42.77
43.6%
-/98.2

1950
257.3/256.9
92.0%
219.0
78.4%
279.0

1960
286.3/290.5
53.6–54.2%
236.8
44.3%
535.1

1970
370.9/380.9
35.4–36.4%
283.2
27.0%
1,049

1980
907.7/909.0
32.4–32.6%
711.9
25.5%
2,796

1990
3,233/3,206
54.2–54.6%
2,400
40.8%
5,915

2000
a15,659
a55.8%
a3,450
33.9%
10,150

2001
a25,792
a54.8%
a3,350
31.6%
10,550

2002
a36,213
a57.1%
a3,550
32.7%
10,900

2003
a6,783
a 59.9%
a3,900
34.6%
11,350

2004
a7,379
a 61.0%
a4,300
35.6%
12,100

2005
a47,918
a 61.4%
a4,600
35.7%
12,900

2006
a58,493
a 62.1%
a4,850
35.4%
13,700

2007
a68,993
a 62.8%
a5,050
35.3%
14,300

2008
a710,011
a 67.9%
a5,800
39.4%
14,750

2009
a811,898
a 82.5%
a7,550
52.4%
14,400

2010
a913,551
a 91.6%
a9,000
61.0%
14,800

2011
a1014,781
a 96.1%
a10,150
65.8%
15,400

2012
a1116,059
a100.2%
a11,250
70.3%
16,050

2013
a1216,732
a101.3%
a12,000
72.6%
16,500

2014
a1317,810
a103.4%
a12,800
74.2%
17,200

2015
a1418,138
a101.3/101.8%
a13,100
73.3%
17,900

2016 (Oct. '15 –
Jul. '16 only)
~19,428
~106.1%
~13,998
~76.5%

text: On June 25, 2014, the BEA announced: "[On July 30, 2014, i]n addition to the regular revision of estimates for the most recent 3 years and for the first quarter of 2014, GDP and select components will be revised back to the first quarter of 1999.

text: Fiscal years 1940–2009 GDP figures were derived from February 2011 Office of Management and Budget figures which contained revisions of prior year figures due to significant changes from prior GDP measurements. Fiscal years 1950–2010 GDP measurements were derived from December 2010 Bureau of Economic Analysis figures which also tend to be subject to revision, especially more recent years. Afterwards the OMB figures were revised back to 2004 and the BEA figures (in a revision dated July 31, 2013) were revised back to 1947.

text: Regarding estimates recorded in the GDP column (the last column) marked with a "~" symbol, absolute differences from advance (one month after) BEA reports of GDP percent change to current findings (as of November 2013) found in revisions are stated to be 1.3% ± 2.0% or a 95% probability of being within the range of 0.0–3.3%, assuming the differences to occur according to standard deviations from the average absolute difference of 1.3%. E.g. with an advance report of a $400 billion increase of a $10 trillion GDP, for example, one could be 95% confident that the range in which the exact GDP dollar amount lies would be 0.0 to 3.3% different than 4.0% (400 ÷ 10,000) or within the range of $0 to $330 billion different than the hypothetical $400 billion (a range of $70–730 billion). Two months after, with a revised value, the range of potential difference from the stated estimate shrinks, and three months after with another revised value the range shrinks again.

text: Fiscal years 1940–1970 begin July 1 of the previous year (for example, Fiscal Year 1940 begins July 1, 1939 and ends June 30, 1940); fiscal years 1980–2010 begin October 1 of the previous year. Intragovernmental debts before the Social Security Act are presumed to equal zero.

text: 1909–1930 calendar year GDP estimates are from MeasuringWorth.com[96] Fiscal Year estimates are derived from simple linear interpolation.

text: (a1) Audited figure was "about $5,659 billion."[97]

text: (a2) Audited figure was "about $5,792 billion."[98]

text: (a3) Audited figure was "about $6,213 billion."[98]

text: (a) Audited figure was said to be "about" the stated figure.[99]

text: (a4) Audited figure was "about $7,918 billion."[100]

text: (a5) Audited figure was "about $8,493 billion."[100]

text: (a6) Audited figure was "about $8,993 billion."[101]

text: (a7) Audited figure was "about $10,011 billion."[101]

text: (a8) Audited figure was "about $11,898 billion."[102]

text: (a9) Audited figure was "about $13,551 billion."[103]

text: (a10) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Public debt figure as $14,781 billion.[104]

text: (a11) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Public debt figure as $16,059 billion.[104]

text: (a12) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $16,732 billion.[105]

text: (a13) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $17,810 billion.[6]

text: (a14) GAO affirmed Bureau of the Fiscal Service's figure as $18,138 billion.[106]

text: Interest paid[edit]

text:
Fiscal
Year
Historical
debt outstanding,
$billions, US[107]
Interest paid
$billions, US[108]
Interest rate

2014
17,824
430.8
2.42%

2013
16,738
415.7
2.48%

2012
16,066
359.8
2.24%

2011
14,790
454.4
3.07%

2010
13,562
414.0
3.05%

2009
11,910
383.1
3.22%

2008
10,025
451.2
4.50%

2007
9,008
430.0
4.77%

2006
8,507
405.9
4.77%

2005
7,933
352.4
4.44%

2004
7,379
321.6
4.36%

2003
6,783
318.1
4.69%

2002
6,228
332.5
5.34%

2001
5,807
359.5
6.19%

2000
5,674
362.0
6.38%

1999
5,656
353.5
6.25%

1998
5,526
363.8
6.58%

1997
5,413
355.8
6.57%

1996
5,225
344.0
6.58%

1995
4,974
332.4
6.68%

1994
4,693
296.3
6.31%

1993
4,411
292.5
6.63%

1992
4,065
292.4
7.19%

1991
3,665
286.0
7.80%

text: Foreign holders of US Treasury securities[edit]

text: The following is a list of the top foreign holders (over $150 billion) of US Treasury securities as listed by the US Treasury (revised by August 2017 survey):[109]

text:
Leading foreign holders of US Treasury securities as of August 2017

Country
Billions of dollars (est.)
Ratio of owned US debt
to 2016 GDP (est.)[110][111]
Percent change since
August 2016

 China
1,200.5
6%
+ 1%

 Japan
1,101.7
22%
− 4%

 Ireland
307.2
105%
+15%

 Brazil
273.6
15%
+ 7%

 Cayman Islands
260.0
n/a
− 2%

  Switzerland
248.3
38%
+ 4%

 United Kingdom
225.4
9%
+10%

 Luxembourg
213.4
359%
− 3%

 Hong Kong
197.3
62%
+ 3%

 Taiwan
180.4
34%
– 5%

Others
2,061.9
n/a
+ 1%

Grand total
6,269.7
n/a
+ 1%

text: Statistics[edit]

text:
U.S. official gold reserves as of 31 July 2014[update] total 261.5 million troy ounces with a book value of approximately $11.04 billion.[112]
Foreign exchange reserves $140 billion as of September 2014[update].[113]

United States balance of trade (1980–2014), with negative numbers denoting a trade deficit

The national debt equates to $59,143 per person U.S. population, or $159,759 per member of the U.S. working taxpayers, as of March 2016.[114]
In 2008, $242 billion was spent on interest payments servicing the debt, out of a total tax revenue of $2.5 trillion, or 9.6%. Including non-cash interest accrued primarily for Social Security, interest was $454 billion or 18% of tax revenue.[101]
Total U.S. household debt, including mortgage loan and consumer debt, was $11.4 trillion in 2005. By comparison, total U.S. household assets, including real estate, equipment, and financial instruments such as mutual funds, was $62.5 trillion in 2005.[115]
Total U.S Consumer Credit Card revolving credit was $931.0 billion in April 2009.[116]
The U.S. balance of trade deficit in goods and services was $725.8 billion in 2005.[117]
According to the U.S. Department of Treasury Preliminary 2014 Annual Report on U.S. Holdings of Foreign Securities, the United States valued its foreign treasury securities portfolio at $2.7 trillion. The largest debtors are Canada, the United Kingdom, Cayman Islands, and Australia, whom account for $1.2 trillion of sovereign debt owed to residents of the U.S.[118]
The entire public debt in 1998 was attributable to the cost of research, development, and deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons-related programs during the Cold War.[119][120][121]

text: A 1998 Brookings Institution study published by the Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Committee (formed in 1993 by the W. Alton Jones Foundation), calculated that total expenditures for U.S. nuclear weapons from 1940 to 1998 was $5.5 trillion in 1996 Dollars.[119] The total public debt at the end of fiscal year 1998 was $5,478,189,000,000 in 1998 Dollars[122] or $5.3 trillion in 1996 Dollars.

text: International debt comparisons[edit]

text: This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2015)

text:
Gross debt as percentage of GDP

Entity
2007
2010
2011

United States
62%
92%
102%

European Union
59%
80%
83%

Austria
62%
78%
72%

France
64%
82%
86%

Germany
65%
82%
81%

Sweden
40%
39%
38%

Finland
35%
48%
49%

Greece
104%
123%
165%

Romania
13%
31%
33%

Bulgaria
17%
16%
16%

Czech Republic
28%
38%
41%

Italy
112%
119%
120%

Netherlands
52%
77%
65%

Poland
51%
55%
56%

Spain
42%
68%
68%

United Kingdom
47%
80%
86%

Japan
167%
197%
204%

Russia
9%
12%
10%

Asia 1
37%
40%
41%

South America and Mexico 2
41%
37%
35%

text: Sources: Eurostat,[123] International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (emerging market economies); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Economic Outlook (advanced economies)[124]

text: 1China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand

text: 2Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico

text: Recent additions to the public debt of the United States[edit]

text:
Recent additions to U.S. public debt[7][91][92][94]

Fiscal year (begins
Oct. 1 of year prior
to stated year)
GDP
$Billions
New debt
for
fiscal year
$Billions
New debt
as
% of GDP
Total debt
$Billions
Total debt
as % of GDP
(Debt to GDP
ratio)

1994
$7,200
$281–292
3.9–4.1%
~$4,650
64.6–65.2%

1995
7,600
277–281
3.7%
~4,950
64.8–65.6%

1996
8,000
251–260
3.1–3.3%
~5,200
65.0–65.4%

1997
8,500
188
2.2%
~5,400
63.2–63.8%

1998
8,950
109–113
1.2–1.3%
~5,500
61.2–61.8%

1999
9,500
127–130
1.3–1.4%
5,656
59.3%

2000
10,150
18
0.2%
5,674
55.8%

2001
$10,550
$  133
1.3%
$5,792
54.8%

2002
10,900
421
3.9%
6,213
57.1%

2003
11,350
570
5.0%
6,783
59.9%

2004
12,100
596
4.9%
7,379
61.0%

2005
12,900
539
4.2%
7,918
61.4%

2006
13,700
575
4.2%
8,493
62.1%

2007
14,300
500
3.5%
8,993
62.8%

2008
14,750
1,018
6.9%
10,011
67.9%

2009
$14,400
$1,887
13.1%
$11,898
82.5%

2010
14,800
1,653
11.2%
13,551
91.6%

2011[125]
15,400
1,230
8.0%
14,781
96.1%

2012
16,050
1,278
8.0%
16,059
100.2%

2013
16,500
673
4.1%
16,732
101.3%

2014
17,200
1,078
6.3%
17,810
103.4%

2015
17,900
328
1.8%
18,138
101.3%

2016 (Oct. '15 –
Jul. '16 only)

~1,290
~7.0%
~19,428
~106.1%

text: On July 29, 2016 the BEA released a revision to 2013–2016 GDP figures. The figures for this table were corrected the next week with changes to figures in those fiscal years.

text: On July 30, 2015 the BEA released a revision to 2012–2015 GDP figures. The figures for this table were corrected on that day with changes to FY 2013 and 2014, but not 2015 as FY 2015 is updated within a week with the release of debt totals for July 31, 2015.

text: On June 25, 2014 the BEA announced a 15-year revision of GDP figures would take place on July 31, 2014. The figures for this table were corrected after that date with changes to FY 2000, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014. The more precise FY 1999–2014 debt figures are derived from Treasury audit results. The variations in the 1990s and FY 2015 figures are due to double-sourced or relatively preliminary GDP figures respectively. A comprehensive revision GDP revision dated July 31, 2013 was described on the Bureau of Economic Analysis website. In November 2013 the total debt and yearly debt as a percentage of GDP columns of this table were changed to reflect those revised GDP figures.

text: Historical debt ceiling levels[edit]

text:
[show]Table of historical debt ceiling levels[126]

Date
Debt Ceiling
(billions of dollars)
Change in Debt Ceiling
(billions of dollars)
Statute

June 25, 1940
49[127]

February 19, 1941
65
+16

March 28, 1942
125
+60

April 11, 1943
210
+85

June 9, 1944
260
+50

April 3, 1945
300
+40

June 26, 1946
275
−25

August 28, 1954
281
+6

July 9, 1956
275
−6

February 26, 1958
280
+5

September 2, 1958
288
+8

June 30, 1959
295
+7

June 30, 1960
293
−2

June 30, 1961
298[128]
+5

July 1, 1962
308
+10

March 31, 1963
305
−3

June 25, 1963
300
−5

June 30, 1963
307
+7

August 31, 1963
309
+2

November 26, 1963
315
+6

June 29, 1964
324
+9

June 24, 1965
328
+4

June 24, 1966
330
+2

March 2, 1967
336
+6

June 30, 1967
358
+22

June 1, 1968
365
+7

April 7, 1969
377
+12

June 30, 1970
395
+18

March 17, 1971
430
+35

March 15, 1972
450[129]
+20

October 27, 1972
465
+15

June 30, 1974
495
+30

February 19, 1975
577
+82

November 14, 1975
595
+18

March 15, 1976
627
+32

June 30, 1976
636
+9

September 30, 1976
682
+46

April 1, 1977
700
+18

October 4, 1977
752
+52

August 3, 1978
798
+46

April 2, 1979
830
+32

September 29, 1979
879[130]
+49

June 28, 1980
925
+46

December 19, 1980
935
+10

February 7, 1981
985
+50

September 30, 1981
1,079
+94

June 28, 1982
1,143
+64

September 30, 1982
1,290
+147

May 26, 1983
1,389
+99
Pub.L. 98–34

November 21, 1983
1,490
+101
Pub.L. 98–161

May 25, 1984
1,520
+30

June 6, 1984
1,573
+53
Pub.L. 98–342

October 13, 1984
1,823
+250
Pub.L. 98–475

November 14, 1985
1,904
+81

December 12, 1985
2,079
+175
Pub.L. 99–177

August 21, 1986
2,111
+32
Pub.L. 99–384

October 21, 1986
2,300
+189

May 15, 1987
2,320[131]
+20

August 10, 1987
2,352
+32

September 29, 1987
2,800
+448
Pub.L. 100–119

August 7, 1989
2,870
+70

November 8, 1989
3,123
+253
Pub.L. 101–140

August 9, 1990
3,195
+72

October 28, 1990
3,230
+35

November 5, 1990
4,145
+915
Pub.L. 101–508

April 6, 1993
4,370
+225

August 10, 1993
4,900
+530
Pub.L. 103–66

March 29, 1996
5,500
+600
Pub.L. 104–121

August 5, 1997
5,950
+450
Pub.L. 105–33

June 11, 2002
6,400[132]
+450
Pub.L. 107–199

May 27, 2003
7,384
+984
Pub.L. 108–24

November 16, 2004
8,184[132]
+800
Pub.L. 108–415

March 20, 2006
8,965[133]
+781
Pub.L. 109–182

September 29, 2007
9,815
+850
Pub.L. 110–91

June 5, 2008
10,615
+800
Pub.L. 110–289

October 3, 2008
11,315[134]
+700
Pub.L. 110–343

February 17, 2009
12,104[135]
+789
Pub.L. 111–5

December 24, 2009
12,394
+290
Pub.L. 111–123

February 12, 2010
14,294
+1,900
Pub.L. 111–139

January 30, 2012
16,394
+2,100

May 19, 2013
16,700
+306


document_title: List of regions of the United States

question_text: all of the states in the northeast region

question_tokens: all of the states in the northeast region

root

text: List of regions of the United States

text: Interstate regions[edit]

text: Official regions of the United States[edit]

text: Many regions in the United States are defined in law or regulations by the federal government.

tag: p

text: Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions[edit]

text: The United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions.[1] The Census Bureau region definition is "widely used… for data collection and analysis,"[2] and is the most commonly used classification system.[3][4][5]

text: Regional divisions used by the United States Census Bureau:[6]

text:
Region 1: Northeast

Division 1: New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
Division 2: Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania)

Region 2: Midwest (Prior to June 1984, the Midwest Region was designated as the North Central Region.)[6]

Division 3: East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin)
Division 4: West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota)

Region 3: South

Division 5: South Atlantic (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, and West Virginia)
Division 6: East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee)
Division 7: West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas)

Region 4: West

Division 8: Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming)
Division 9: Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington)

tag: ul

text: Puerto Rico and other US territories are not part of any census region or census division.[7]

text: Standard federal regions[edit]

text: The ten standard federal regions were established by OMB (Office of Management and Budget) Circular A-105, "Standard Federal Regions," in April, 1974, and required for all executive agencies. In recent years, some agencies have tailored their field structures to meet program needs and facilitate interaction with local, state and regional counterparts. However, the OMB must still approve any departures.

text:
Region I: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Region II: New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
Region III: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
Region IV: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Region V: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
Region VI: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Region VII: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
Region VIII: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Region IX: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Region X: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

text: Federal Reserve banks[edit]

text: The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 divided the country into twelve districts with a central Federal Reserve Bank in each district. These twelve Federal Reserve Banks together form a major part of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. Missouri is the only U.S. state to have two Federal Reserve locations within its borders.

text:
Boston
New York
Philadelphia
Cleveland
Richmond
Atlanta
Chicago
St. Louis
Minneapolis
Kansas City
Dallas
San Francisco

tag: ol

text: Time zones[edit]

text:
UTC−12:00 (Baker Island, Howland Island)
Samoa Time Zone (American Samoa, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll)
Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone (Hawaii, Aleutian Islands (Alaska), Johnston Atoll)
Alaska Time Zone (Alaska, excluding Aleutian Islands)
Pacific Time Zone
Mountain Time Zone
Central Time Zone
Eastern Time Zone
Atlantic Time Zone (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands)
Chamorro Time Zone (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands)
Wake Island Time Zone (Wake Island)

text: Courts of Appeals circuits[edit]

text:
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Fourth Circuit
Fifth Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Seventh Circuit
Eighth Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Tenth Circuit
Eleventh Circuit
DC Circuit

text: The Federal Circuit is not a regional circuit. Its jurisdiction is nationwide, but based on subject matter.

text: Bureau of Economic Analysis regions[edit]

text: The Bureau of Economic Analysis defines regions for comparison of economic data.[8]

text:
New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont
Mideast: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York
Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin
Plains: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota
Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia
Southwest: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas
Rocky Mountain: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming
Far West: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington

text: Energy Information Administration[edit]

text: The Energy Information Administration currently uses the PADD system established by Petroleum Administration for War in World War II.[9] It is used for data collection on refining petroleum and its products. Each PADD is subdivided into refining districts.

text:
PADD I: East Coast

East Coast: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida; along with counties in New York east of, north of and including Cayuga, Tompkins, and Chemung; and counties in Pennsylvania east of and including Bradford, Sullivan, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Dauphin and York.
Appalachian No. 1: West Virginia along with counties of Pennsylvania and New York State not mentioned above.

PADD II: Midwest

Indiana-Illinois-Kentucky: Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio
Minnesota-Wisconsin-North and South Dakota: Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota
Oklahoma-Kansas-Missouri: Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa

PADD III: Gulf Coast

Texas Gulf Coast: The Texan counties of Newton, Orange, Jefferson, Jasper, Tyler, Hardin, Liberty, Chambers, Polk, San Jacinto, Montgomery, Harris, Galveston, Waller, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Wharton, Matagorda, Jackson, Victoria, Calhoun, Refugio, Aransas, San Patricio, Nueces, Kleberg, Kenedy, Willacy and Cameron
Texas Inland: Texan counties not mentioned above.
Louisiana Gulf Coast: Parishes of Louisiana south of, and including Vernon, Rapides, Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee, West Feliciana, East Feliciana, Saint Helena, Tangipahoa and Washington; along with Pearl River, Stone, George, Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson County of Mississippi; and Alabama's Mobile and Baldwin County.
North Louisiana-Arkansas: Arkansas and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama not mentioned above.
New Mexico: New Mexico

PADD IV: Rocky Mountain: Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah
PADD V: West Coast: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii[10]

text: PADD I can also be subdivided into 3 Subdistricts:

text:
Sub-PAD 1A: New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)
Sub-PAD 1B: Central Atlantic (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia)
Sub-PAD 1C: Lower Atlantic (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia)[11]

text: PADD system was established in World War II and therefore don't accurately reflect current trends. The EIA has updated the PADD system with a complimentary set of regions to reflect this and will change it to suite current needs. (Note: Region 9 includes countries not part of the USA but is included for the sake of completion since it contains Puerto Rico)

text:
Region 1: PADD I
Region 2: PADD II "Inland" (States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee and Kentucky)
Region 3: PADD II "Lakes" (States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio)
Region 4: PADD III "Gulf" (Refining districts of Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana Gulf Coast)
Region 5: PADD III "Inland" (Refining districts of Texas Inland, New Mexico and North Louisiana-Arkansas)
Region 6: PADD IV
Region 7: PADD V "California" (State of California)
Region 8: PADD V "Other" (States of Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington)
Region 9: "International"

Maritime Canada (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick)
Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago)[12]

text: Unofficial U.S. multi-state and multi-territory regions[edit]

text:
Appalachia
Ark-La-Tex
Black Dirt Region
Blackstone Valley
Border states:

Civil War border states
International border states

Calumet Region
The Carolinas
Central United States
Champlain Valley
Coastal states
Colorado Plateau
Columbia Basin
Contiguous United States
The Dakotas
Deep South
Delaware Valley
Delmarva Peninsula
Dixie
Driftless Area
East Coast
Eastern United States
Four Corners
Great American Desert
Great Appalachian Valley
Great Basin
Great Lakes Region
Great North Woods
Great Plains
Gulf Coast
Gulf South
High Plains
Inland Northwest
Interior Plains
Intermountain States
Jefferson (proposed Pacific state)
Lake Tahoe
Lehigh Valley
Llano Estacado
Mid-Atlantic states
Mississippi Delta
Mojave Desert
Mormon Corridor
Northern New England
Ohio Valley
Ozarks
Pacific Northwest
Pacific States
Palouse
Piedmont
Piney Woods
Rocky Mountains
Shawnee Hills
Shenandoah Valley
Siouxland
South Shore
Southeastern United States
Southern New England
Southern Rocky Mountains
Southern United States
Southwestern United States
Old Southwest
Susquehanna River
Tennessee Valley
Tornado Alley
Trans-Mississippi
Twin Tiers
Upland South
Upper Midwest
Virginias
Waxhaws
West Coast
American Frontier
Oregon Trail
Appalachian Trail

text: There are also multi-territory regions:

text:
Mariana Islands (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands)
Samoan Islands (American Samoa and independent Samoa)
Virgin Islands (U.S. Virgin Islands, eastern Puerto Rico, and British Virgin Islands)

text: The Belts[edit]

text:
Bible Belt
Black Belt
Corn Belt
Cotton Belt
Frost Belt
Pine Belt
Rice Belt
Rust Belt
Snowbelt
Sun Belt

text: Interstate metropolitan areas[edit]

text:
Central Savannah River Area (part of Georgia and South Carolina)
Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area (District of Columbia and parts of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania)

Washington metropolitan area (District of Columbia and parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia)

Greater Boston (parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire)
Charlotte metropolitan area (parts of North Carolina and South Carolina)
Chattanooga Metropolitan Area
Chicago metropolitan area (parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin)
Cincinnati metropolitan area (parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky)
Columbus-Auburn-Opelika (GA-AL) Combined Statistical Area (parts of Georgia and Alabama)
Delaware Valley (Philadelphia metropolitan area) (parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland)
Evansville, IN–KY Metropolitan Statistical Area (parts of Indiana and Kentucky)
Fargo–Moorhead (parts of North Dakota and Minnesota)
Fort Smith metropolitan area (parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma)
Front Range Urban Corridor (parts of Colorado and Wyoming)
Greater Grand Forks (part of Minnesota and North Dakota)
Kansas City metropolitan area (parts of Missouri and Kansas)
Louisville metropolitan area (Kentuckiana) (parts of Kentucky and Indiana)
Memphis metropolitan area (parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi)
Michiana (parts of Michigan and Indiana)
Minneapolis–Saint Paul (the Twin Cities) (parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin)
New York metropolitan area (parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania)
Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area (parts of Nebraska and Iowa)
Portland metropolitan area (parts of Oregon and Washington)
Quad Cities (parts of Iowa and Illinois)
Sacramento metropolitan area (parts of California and Nevada)
Greater St. Louis (parts of Missouri and Illinois)
Texarkana metropolitan area (parts of Texas and Arkansas)
Tri-Cities (parts of Tennessee and Virginia)
Twin Ports (Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin)
Hampton Roads region (parts of Virginia and North Carolina)
Youngstown–Warren–Boardman metropolitan statistical area (parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania)

text: Interstate megalopolises[edit]

text:
Arizona Sun Corridor
California
Cascadia
Great Lakes
Northeast megalopolis
Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (PAM)

text: Intrastate and intraterritory regions[edit]

text: Alabama[edit]

text:
Alabama Gulf Coast
Greater Birmingham
Black Belt
Central Alabama
Lower Alabama
Mobile Bay
North Alabama
Northeast Alabama
Northwest Alabama
South Alabama

text: Alaska[edit]

text:
Alaska Interior
Alaska North Slope
Alaska Panhandle
Aleutian Islands
Arctic Alaska
The Bush
Kenai Peninsula
Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Seward Peninsula
Southcentral Alaska
Southwest Alaska
Tanana Valley
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

text: American Samoa[edit]

text:
Ofu-Olosega
Rose Atoll
Swains Island (claimed by Tokelau)
Ta‘ū
Tutuila & Aunu'u

text: Arizona[edit]

text:
Arizona Strip
Grand Canyon
North Central Arizona
Northeast Arizona
Northern Arizona
Phoenix metropolitan area
Southern Arizona

text: Arkansas[edit]

text:
Arkansas Delta
Arkansas River Valley
Arkansas Timberlands
Central Arkansas
Crowley's Ridge
Northwest Arkansas
South Arkansas

text: California[edit]

text: Colorado[edit]

text:
Central Colorado (part of Southern Rocky Mountains)
Colorado Eastern Plains (part of High Plains and Great Plains)
Colorado Front Range (part of Front Range Urban Corridor)
Colorado Mineral Belt (part of Southern Rocky Mountains)
Colorado Piedmont (contains parts of the Front Range Urban Corridor and High Plains)
Colorado Western Slope (part of Southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau)
Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area (part of Front Range Urban Corridor)
High Rockies (part of Southern Rocky Mountains)
Northwestern Colorado (part of Southern Rocky Mountains)
San Luis Valley
South-Central Colorado (part of Front Range Urban Corridor)
Southwestern Colorado (part of Southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau)

text: Connecticut[edit]

text: In Connecticut, there are 14 official regions, each with a regional government that serves for the absence of county government in Connecticut. There are also a fair number of unofficial regions in Connecticut with no regional government.

text:
Central Naugatuck Valley
Coastal Connecticut
Connecticut panhandle
Greater Bridgeport
Greater New Haven
Greater Hartford
Housatonic Valley (shared with Massachusetts)
Litchfield Hills
Lower Connecticut River Valley
Naugatuck River Valley
New York Metropolitan Area/Gold Coast
Southeastern Connecticut
Southwestern Connecticut

text: Delaware[edit]

text: "Upstate" or "Up North"

text: Delaware Valley also known as "Above the Canal" (referring to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal)

text: "Slower Lower"

text:
Cape Region
Central Kent
Delaware coast

text: District of Columbia[edit]

text: See Neighborhoods in the District of Columbia

text: Florida[edit]

text:
Central Florida
North Florida
Northwest Florida
North Central Florida
Northeast Florida
South Florida
Southwest Florida

text:
Big Bend
Emerald Coast
First Coast
Florida Heartland
Florida Keys
Florida Panhandle
Forgotten Coast
Glades
Gold Coast
Halifax area (also Surf Coast and Fun Coast)
Red Hills
Nature Coast
Space Coast
Suncoast
Tampa Bay Area
Treasure Coast

text: Georgia[edit]

text:
Atlanta metropolitan area
Central Georgia
Central Savannah River Area
Colonial Coast
Golden Isles of Georgia
Historic South
North Georgia
North Georgia mountains (Northeast Georgia)
Southern Rivers
Southeast Georgia
Wiregrass Region

text: Physiographic regions[edit]

text:
Appalachian Plateau
Blue Ridge Mountains
Coastal Plain
Piedmont
Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians

text: Guam[edit]

text:
Guam (main island)

Tumon

text: Hawaii[edit]

text:
Hawaiʻi / Big Island

Hamakua Coast
Kaʻū Desert
Kohala Coast
Kona Coast
Mauna Kea
Puna District
Waiākea-Uka

Kahoʻolawe
Kauaʻi

Nā Pali Coast

Kaʻula
Lānai
Maui

Haleakalā
Molokini
West Maui Mountains

Iao Valley

Molokaʻi

Kalaupapa Peninsula

Niʻihau

Lehua

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands[a]

Nihoa (Moku Manu)
Necker Island (Mokumanamana)
French Frigate Shoals (Kānemiloha)
Gardner Pinnacles (Pūhāhonu)
Maro Reef (Nalukākala)
Laysan (Kauō)
Lisianski (Papaāpoho)
Pearl and Hermes (Holoikauaua)
Kure Atoll (Mokupāpapa)

Oʻahu

Kaʻena Point
Makapuʻu
North Shore
Waikīkī

text: Idaho[edit]

text:
Central Idaho
Eastern Idaho
Idaho Panhandle
Magic Valley
North Central Idaho
Palouse Hills
Southern Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
Treasure Valley

text: Illinois[edit]

text:
American Bottom
Central Illinois
Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area
Chicago metropolitan area
Driftless Area
Forgottonia
Fox Valley
Metro-East
Metro Lakeland
Military Tract of 1812
Mississippi Alluvial Plain
North Shore
Northern Illinois
Northwestern Illinois
Peoria, Illinois metropolitan area
Quad Cities
River Bend
Rock River Valley
Shawnee Hills
Southern Illinois (sometimes, Little Egypt)
Streatorland
Tri-State Area
Wabash Valley

text: Indiana[edit]

text:
East Central Indiana
Indianapolis metropolitan area
Michiana
Northern Indiana
Northwest Indiana
Southern Indiana
Southwestern Indiana
Wabash Valley

text: Iowa[edit]

text:
Coteau des Prairies
Des Moines metropolitan area
Dissected Till Plains
Driftless Area
Great River Road
Honey Lands
Iowa Great Lakes
Loess Hills
Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area
Quad Cities
Siouxland

text: Kansas[edit]

text:
East-Central Kansas
Flint Hills
High Plains
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
North Central Kansas
Osage Plains
Ozarks
Red Hills
Santa Fe Trail
Smoky Hills
Southeast Kansas

text: Kentucky[edit]

text:
The Bluegrass
Central Kentucky
Cumberland Plateau
Eastern Kentucky Coalfield
Kentucky Bend
The Knobs
Northern Kentucky
Pennyroyal Plateau
South Central Kentucky
The Purchase
Western Coal Fields

text: Louisiana[edit]

text: Acadiana

text:
Cajun Heartland
River Parishes

text:
Central Louisiana (Cen-La)
Florida Parishes
"French Louisiana" (Acadiana + Greater New Orleans)
Greater New Orleans
North Louisiana

text: Maine[edit]

text:
Acadia
Down East
High Peaks / Maine Highlands
Kennebec Valley
Maine Highlands
Maine Lake Country
Maine North Woods
Mid Coast
Penobscot Bay
Southern Maine Coast
Western Maine Mountains

text: Maryland[edit]

text:
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
Capital region
Chesapeake Bay
Eastern Shore of Maryland
Patapsco Valley
Southern Maryland
Western Maryland
Western Shore of Maryland

text: Regions shared with other states:

text:
Allegheny Mountains
Atlantic coastal plain
Blue Ridge Mountains
Cumberland Valley
Delaware Valley
Delmarva Peninsula consists of Maryland's and Virginia's Eastern Shore and all of Delaware
Piedmont (United States)
Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians

text: Massachusetts[edit]

text:
Western Massachusetts

The Berkshires (map shown, right)
Housatonic Valley
Pioneer Valley
Quabbin-Swift River Valley

Central Massachusetts

MetroWest
Montachusett-North County
South County
Blackstone River Valley

Northeastern Massachusetts

North Shore

Merrimack Valley
Cape Ann

Greater Boston

Southeastern Massachusetts

Cape Cod and Islands
South Coast
South Shore

text: Michigan[edit]

text:
Lower Peninsula

Northern Michigan

Leelanau Peninsula

Central/Mid-Michigan

The Thumb

West Michigan

Michiana

Southeast Michigan

Metro Detroit

Upper Peninsula

Copper Country
Keweenaw Peninsula

text: Minnesota[edit]

text:
Arrowhead Region
Boundary Waters
Buffalo Ridge
Central Minnesota
Coulee Region
Iron Range
Minnesota River Valley
North Shore
Northwest Angle
Pipestone Region
Red River Valley
Southeast Minnesota
Twin Cities Metro

text: Mississippi[edit]

text:
Black Belt
Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Mississippi East Gulf Coast Plain

text: Missouri[edit]

text:
Bootheel
Dissected Till Plains
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
Lead Belt
Little Dixie
Natchez Trace
Ozarks
St. Louis Metropolitan Area

text: Montana[edit]

text:
Big Horn Mountains
Eastern Montana
The Flathead
Glacier Country
Glacier National Park
Regional designations of Montana
South Central Montana
Southwestern Montana
Two Medicine
Western Montana
Yellowstone National Park

text: Nebraska[edit]

text:
Nebraska Panhandle
Northwest Nebraska
Pine Ridge
Rainwater Basin
Sand Hills
Southeast Nebraska
South Central Nebraska
Wildcat Hills

text: Nevada[edit]

text:
Black Rock Desert
Lake Tahoe
Las Vegas Valley
Mojave Desert
Pahranagat Valley
Sierra Nevada

text: New Hampshire[edit]

text:
Connecticut River Valley
Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region (overlaps with Connecticut River Valley)
Great North Woods Region
Lakes Region
Merrimack Valley

Golden Triangle

Monadnock Region (overlaps with Connecticut River Valley)
Seacoast Region
White Mountains

text: New Jersey[edit]

text:
North Jersey

Skylands

Amwell Valley
Black Dirt Region (shared with New York)
Great Valley

Sussex County Snow Belt

Hunterdon Plateau
Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians
Highlands
Somerset Hills
The Sourlands

Gateway

Chemical Coast/Soundshore
Hudson Waterfront

North Hudson

Meadowlands
Pascack Valley
Raritan Bayshore
West Hudson

Central Jersey

Bayshore
Jersey Shore
Shore Region

South Jersey

Shore Region

Northern Headlands

Irish Riviera

Pine Barrens

Delaware Valley

Pine Barrens
The Sourlands

Southern Shore

Cape May
The Glades
Tri Cities (Bridgeton, Millville, Vineland)
Tri-County Farm Belt

Greater Atlantic City

Pine Barrens
Central Corridor Piedmont Region

text: New Mexico[edit]

text:
Central New Mexico
Eastern New Mexico
New Mexico Bootheel
Northern New Mexico

text: New York[edit]

text:
Downstate New York

New York metropolitan area
The Five Boroughs (New York City)
Long Island

Nassau County
Suffolk County
The Hamptons
North Shore (Gold Coast)
South Shore

Westchester County
Rockland County
Putnam County

Upstate New York

Erie Canal Corridor

New York State Canal System
New York State Canalway Trail

Western New York

Holland Purchase
Burned-over district

Finger Lakes
former Leatherstocking Country (now the Central New York Region)
Central New York

Central New York Military Tract
Phelps and Gorham Purchase
Syracuse metropolitan area

Mohawk Valley
Southern Tier
Capital District
North Country

Adirondack Mountains

Adirondack Park

Ski country
Thousand Islands
Tug Hill

Catskill Mountains

Borscht Belt

Hudson Valley

Shawangunk Ridge
Black Dirt Region (shared with New Jersey)

text: North Carolina[edit]

text:
Western North Carolina

Foothills Region

South Mountains
The Unifour (Catawba Valley Area)

High Country (Boone Area)
Land of the Sky

Asheville Metropolitan Area

Great Craggy Mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains

Black Mountains
Brushy Mountains
Great Balsam Mountains
Unaka Mountains
Unicoi Mountains

Great Smoky Mountains

Tennessee Valley

Central North Carolina

Piedmont Crescent

Metropolitan Charlotte (Metrolina)

Lake Norman Area

Metropolitan Piedmont Triad

Sauratown Mountains
Uwharrie Mountains
Yadkin Valley

The Research Triangle

New Hope Valley
Triangle East

Eastern North Carolina

Fayetteville Metropolitan Area
Inner Banks

Albemarle
Global TransPark Economic Development Area
Tidewater

Lower Cape Fear (Wilmington Area)
Outer Banks

Crystal Coast

Bogue Banks
Down East

Sandhills

text: North Dakota[edit]

text:
Badlands
Missouri Escarpment
Missouri River Corridor
Red River Valley

text: Northern Mariana Islands[edit]

text:
Anatahan
Agrihan
Asuncion Island
Farallon de Medinilla
Farallon de Pajaros
Guguan
Maug Islands
Pagan
Rota
Saipan
Sarigan
Tinian

text: Ohio[edit]

text:
Allegheny Plateau
Appalachian Ohio
Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area
Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area
Connecticut Western Reserve (historic, now defunct)
Great Black Swamp (shared with Indiana)
The Lake Erie Islands
Miami Valley
Northeast Ohio (often used interchangeably with Greater Cleveland, but also includes the counties of Ashtabula, Portage, Summit, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana.)
Northwest Ohio

text: Oklahoma[edit]

text:
Central Oklahoma
Cherokee Outlet
Green Country
Kiamichi Country
Little Dixie
Northwestern Oklahoma
Panhandle
South Central Oklahoma
Southwestern Oklahoma

text: Oregon[edit]

text:
Cascade Range
Central Oregon
Columbia Plateau
Columbia River
Columbia River Gorge
Eastern Oregon
Goose Lake Valley
Harney Basin
High Desert
Hood River Valley
Mount Hood Corridor
Northwest Oregon
Oregon Coast
Palouse
Portland metropolitan area
Rogue Valley
Southern Oregon
Treasure Valley
Tualatin Valley
Warner Valley
Western Oregon
Willamette Valley

text: Pennsylvania[edit]

text:
Allegheny National Forest
Coal Region
Cumberland Valley
Delaware Valley
Dutch Country
Endless Mountains
Highlands Region
Laurel Highlands
Lehigh Valley
Main Line
Northern Tier
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northwest Region
Pittsburgh metropolitan area
The Poconos
South Central Pennsylvania
Susquehanna Valley
Western Pennsylvania
Wyoming Valley (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Area)

text: Puerto Rico[edit]

text:
Caja de Muertos
Culebra
Desecheo Island
Isla de Mona
Puerto Rico (main island)
Vieques

text: Rhode Island[edit]

text:
Blackstone Valley
East Bay
West Bay
South County

text: South Carolina[edit]

text:
The Lowcountry
The Midlands
The Upstate

text:
Grand Strand
Lake Murray Country
The Lowcountry & Resort Islands
Old 96 District
Olde English District
Pee Dee
Santee Cooper Country

text:
Blue Ridge Mountains
Charleston metropolitan area
Coastal South Carolina
Columbia metropolitan area
The Piedmont
Rock Hill, South Carolina Area
The Sandhills
Sea Islands
West Ashley

text: South Dakota[edit]

text:
East River and West River, divided by the Missouri River
Badlands
Black Hills
Coteau des Prairies

text: Tennessee[edit]

text:
East Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
West Tennessee

text:
Highland Rim
Nashville Basin
Tennessee Valley

text: Texas[edit]

text:
Brazos Valley
Central Texas

Texas blackland prairies
The Hill Country

Gulf Coast

Galveston Bay
Greater Houston

East Texas

Piney Woods and Northeast Texas

North Texas

Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex
Texoma

South Texas

Mission Country
Rio Grande Valley

Southeast Texas

Golden Triangle
Greater Houston

Texas Midwest/West-Central Texas (includes Abilene, San Angelo, Brownwood, Texas)
Texas Urban Triangle (Houston to San Antonio to Dallas-Fort Worth)
West Texas

Concho Valley
Edwards Plateau
Llano Estacado (a portion of northwest Texas)
Permian Basin
South Plains (includes 24 counties south of the Texas Panhandle and north of the Permian Basin)
Texas Panhandle (pictured)
Trans-Pecos
Great Plains

text: U.S. Minor Outlying Islands[edit]

text:
Baker Island
Howland Island
Jarvis Island
Johnston Island
Kingman Reef
Midway Atoll
Navassa Island (claimed by Haiti)
Palmyra Atoll
Wake Island

text: Utah[edit]

text:
Cache Valley
Colorado Plateau
Dixie
Great Salt Lake Desert
Mojave Desert
San Rafael Swell
Southeastern Utah
Southwestern Utah
Uinta Mountains
Wasatch Back
Wasatch Front
Wasatch Range

text: Vermont[edit]

text:
Burlington metropolitan area
Champlain Valley
Green Mountains
Mount Mansfield
Northeast Kingdom

text: Virgin Islands[edit]

text:
Minor islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix
Saint John
Saint Thomas

text: Virginia[edit]

text:
Eastern Shore
Hampton Roads
Historic Triangle
Piedmont region of Virginia
Northern Neck
Northern Virginia
Greater Richmond Region
Shenandoah Valley
South Hampton Roads
Southside Virginia
Southwest Virginia
Tidewater
Tri-Cities
Virginia Peninsula

text: Washington[edit]

text:
Central Washington
Columbia Plateau
Eastern Washington
Kitsap Peninsula
Long Beach Peninsula
Okanagan Country
Olympic Mountains
Olympic Peninsula
Puget Sound
Rocky Mountains
San Juan Islands
Skagit Valley
Tri-Cities
Walla Walla Valley
Western Washington
Yakima Valley

text: West Virginia[edit]

text:
Eastern Panhandle
North-Central West Virginia
Northern Panhandle
Potomac Highlands
Southern West Virginia

text: Wisconsin[edit]

text:
Apostle Islands
Central Plain
Chippewa Valley
Door Peninsula
Driftless Region
Eastern Ridges and Lowlands
Four Lakes Region
Fox River Valley
Kettle Moraine
Lake Superior Lowland
Menomonee Valley
Northern Highland
Southeastern Wisconsin
Western Upland

text: Wyoming[edit]

text:
Bighorn Basin
Grand Teton
Powder River Country
Yellowstone National Park

text: Other regional listings[edit]

text:
Central Region
Northeast Region
Southern Region
Western Region


document_title: Congress of Vienna

question_text: where did an independence movement occur because of the congress of vienna

text: Congress of Vienna

text: Preliminaries[edit]

text: The Treaty of Chaumont in 1814 had reaffirmed decisions that had been made already and that would be ratified by the more important Congress of Vienna of 1814-15. They included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 became modern Belgium. The Treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance that formed the balance of power for decades.[4] Other partial settlements had already occurred at the Treaty of Paris between France and the Sixth Coalition, and the Treaty of Kiel that covered issues raised regarding Scandinavia. The Treaty of Paris had determined that a "general congress" should be held in Vienna and that invitations would be issued to "all the Powers engaged on either side in the present war".[5] The opening was scheduled for July 1814.[6]

text: Participants[edit]

text: The Congress functioned through formal meetings such as working groups and official diplomatic functions; however, a large portion of the Congress was conducted informally at salons, banquets, and balls.

text: Four Great Powers and Bourbon France[edit]

text: The Four Great Powers had previously formed the core of the Sixth Coalition. On the verge of Napoleon's defeat they had outlined their common position in the Treaty of Chaumont (March 1814), and negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1814) with the Bourbons during their restoration:

text:
Austria was represented by Prince Metternich, the Foreign Minister, and by his deputy, Baron Johann von Wessenberg. As the Congress's sessions were in Vienna, Emperor Francis was kept closely informed.
Great Britain was represented first by its Foreign Secretary, Viscount Castlereagh; then by the Duke of Wellington, after Castlereagh's return to England in February 1815. In the last weeks it was headed by the Earl of Clancarty, after Wellington left to face Napoleon during the Hundred Days.
Tsar Alexander I controlled the Russian delegation which was formally led by the foreign minister, Count Karl Robert Nesselrode. The tsar had two main goals, to gain control of Poland and to promote the peaceful coexistence of European nations. He succeeded in forming the Holy Alliance (1815), based on monarchism and anti-secularism, and formed to combat any threat of revolution or republicanism.[7]
Prussia was represented by Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, the Chancellor, and the diplomat and scholar Wilhelm von Humboldt. King Frederick William III of Prussia was also in Vienna, playing his role behind the scenes.
France, the "fifth" power, was represented by its foreign minister, Talleyrand, as well as the Minister Plenipotentiary the Duke of Dalberg. Talleyrand had already negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1814) for Louis XVIII of France; the king, however, distrusted him and was also secretly negotiating with Metternich, by mail.[8]

text: Other signatories of the Treaty of Paris, 1814[edit]

text: These parties had not been part of the Chaumont agreement, but had joined the Treaty of Paris (1814):

text:
Spain – Marquis Pedro Gómez de Labrador
Portugal – Plenipotentiaries: Pedro de Sousa Holstein, Count of Palmela; António de Saldanha da Gama, Count of Porto Santo; Joaquim Lobo da Silveira.[9][10]
Sweden – Count Carl Löwenhielm

text: Others[edit]

text:
Denmark – Count Niels Rosenkrantz, foreign minister.[11] King Frederick VI was also present in Vienna.
The Netherlands – Earl of Clancarty, the British Ambassador at the Dutch court,[12][13] and Baron Hans von Gagern[14]
Switzerland – Every canton had its own delegation. Charles Pictet de Rochemont from Geneva played a prominent role.[15]
The Papal States – Cardinal Ercole Consalvi[16]
Republic of Genoa – Marquise Agostino Pareto, Senator of the Republic
On German issues,

Bavaria – Maximilian Graf von Montgelas
Württemberg – Georg Ernst Levin von Wintzingerode (de)
Hanover, then in a personal union with the British crown – Georg Graf zu Münster. (King George III had refused to recognize the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and maintained a separate diplomatic staff as Elector of Hanover to conduct the affairs of the family estate, the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, until the results of the Congress were concluded establishing the Kingdom of Hanover.)
Mecklenburg-Schwerin – Leopold von Plessen (de)[17]

text: Virtually every state in Europe had a delegation in Vienna – more than 200 states and princely houses were represented at the Congress.[18] In addition, there were representatives of cities, corporations, religious organizations (for instance, abbeys) and special interest groups – e.g., a delegation representing German publishers, demanding a copyright law and freedom of the press.[19] The Congress was noted for its lavish entertainment: according to a famous joke it did not move, but danced.[20]

text: Talleyrand's role[edit]

text: Initially, the representatives of the four victorious powers hoped to exclude the French from serious participation in the negotiations, but Talleyrand skillfully managed to insert himself into "her inner councils" in the first weeks of negotiations. He allied himself to a Committee of Eight lesser powers (including Spain, Sweden, and Portugal) to control the negotiations. Once Talleyrand was able to use this committee to make himself a part of the inner negotiations, he then left it,[21] once again abandoning his allies.

text: The major Allies' indecision on how to conduct their affairs without provoking a united protest from the lesser powers led to the calling of a preliminary conference on protocol, to which Talleyrand and the Marquis of Labrador, Spain's representative, were invited on 30 September 1814.[22]

text: Congress Secretary Friedrich von Gentz reported, "The intervention of Talleyrand and Labrador has hopelessly upset all our plans. Talleyrand protested against the procedure we have adopted and soundly [be]rated us for two hours. It was a scene I shall never forget."[23] The embarrassed representatives of the Allies replied that the document concerning the protocol they had arranged actually meant nothing. "If it means so little, why did you sign it?" snapped Labrador.

text: Talleyrand's policy, directed as much by national as personal ambitions, demanded the close but by no means amicable relationship he had with Labrador, whom Talleyrand regarded with disdain.[24] Labrador later remarked of Talleyrand: "that cripple, unfortunately, is going to Vienna."[25] Talleyrand skirted additional articles suggested by Labrador: he had no intention of handing over the 12,000 afrancesados – Spanish fugitives, sympathetic to France, who had sworn fealty to Joseph Bonaparte, nor the bulk of the documents, paintings, pieces of fine art, and books that had been looted from the archives, palaces, churches and cathedrals of Spain.[26]

text: Polish-Saxon crisis[edit]

text: The most dangerous topic at the Congress was the so-called Polish-Saxon Crisis. Russia wanted most of Poland, and Prussia wanted all of Saxony, whose king had allied with Napoleon. The tsar would become king of Poland.[27] Austria was fearful this would make Russia much too powerful, a view which was supported by Britain. The result was deadlock, for which Talleyrand proposed a solution: Admit France to the inner circle, and France would support Austria and Britain. The three nations signed a secret treaty on 3 January 1815, agreeing to go to war against Russia and Prussia, if necessary, to prevent the Russo-Prussian plan from coming to fruition.[22]

text: When the tsar heard of the secret treaty he agreed to a compromise that satisfied all parties on 24 October 1815. Russia received most of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw as a "Kingdom of Poland" – called Congress Poland, with the tsar as king ruling it independently of Russia. Russia, however, did not receive the province of Posen (Poznań), which was given to Prussia as the Grand Duchy of Posen, nor Kraków, which became a free city. Furthermore, the tsar was unable to unite the new domain with the parts of Poland that had been incorporated into Russia in the 1790s. Prussia received 60 percent of Saxony-later known as the Province of Saxony, with the remainder returned to King Frederick Augustus I as his Kingdom of Saxony.

text: Final Act[edit]

text: The Final Act, embodying all the separate treaties, was signed on 9 June 1815 (a few days before the Battle of Waterloo). Its provisions included:

text:
Russia was given most of the Duchy of Warsaw (Poland) and was allowed to keep Finland (which it had annexed from Sweden in 1809 and held until 1917).
Prussia was given three fifths of Saxony, parts of the Duchy of Warsaw (the Grand Duchy of Posen), Danzig, and the Rhineland/Westphalia.
A German Confederation of 39 states was created from the previous 300 of the Holy Roman Empire, under the presidency of the Austrian Emperor. Only portions of the territory of Austria and Prussia were included in the Confederation.
The Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands (approx. modern-day Belgium) were united in a monarchy, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the House of Orange-Nassau providing the king (the Eight Articles of London).
To compensate for the Orange-Nassau's loss of the Nassau lands to Prussia, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were to form a personal union under the House of Orange-Nassau, with Luxembourg (but not the Netherlands) inside the German Confederation.[28]
Swedish Pomerania, given to Denmark a year earlier in return for Norway, was ceded by Denmark to Prussia. France received back Guadeloupe from Sweden in return for yearly installments to the Swedish king.
The neutrality of Switzerland was guaranteed.
Hanover gave up the Duchy of Lauenburg to Denmark, but was enlarged by the addition of former territories of the Bishop of Münster and by the formerly Prussian East Frisia, and made a kingdom.
Most of the territorial gains of Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Nassau under the mediatizations of 1801–1806 were recognized. Bavaria also gained control of the Rhenish Palatinate and parts of the Napoleonic Duchy of Würzburg and Grand Duchy of Frankfurt. Hesse-Darmstadt, in exchange for giving up the Duchy of Westphalia to Prussia, received Rhenish Hesse with its capital at Mainz.
Austria regained control of the Tyrol and Salzburg; of the former Illyrian Provinces; of Tarnopol district (from Russia); received Lombardy-Venetia in Italy and Ragusa in Dalmatia. Former Austrian territory in Southwest Germany remained under the control of Württemberg and Baden, and the Austrian Netherlands were also not recovered.
Habsburg princes were returned to control of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Modena.
The Papal States were under the rule of the pope and restored to their former extent, with the exception of Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin, which remained part of France.
Britain was confirmed in control of the Cape Colony in Southern Africa; Tobago; Ceylon; and various other colonies in Africa and Asia. Other colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies and Martinique, were restored to their previous owners.
The King of Sardinia was restored in Piedmont, Nice, and Savoy, and was given control of Genoa (putting an end to the brief proclamation of a restored Republic).
The Duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla were given to Marie Louise, Napoleon's wife.
The Duchy of Lucca was created for the House of Bourbon-Parma, which would have reversionary rights to Parma after the death of Marie Louise.
The Bourbon Ferdinand IV, King of Sicily was restored to control of the Kingdom of Naples after Joachim Murat, the king installed by Bonaparte, supported Napoleon in the Hundred Days and started the Neapolitan War by attacking Austria.
The slave trade was condemned.
Freedom of navigation was guaranteed for many rivers, notably the Rhine and the Danube.

text: The Final Act was signed by representatives of Austria, France, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Sweden-Norway, and Britain. Spain did not sign the treaty but ratified it in 1817.

text: Other changes[edit]

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text: The Congress's principal results, apart from its confirmation of France's loss of the territories annexed between 1795–1810, which had already been settled by the Treaty of Paris, were the enlargement of Russia, (which gained most of the Duchy of Warsaw) and Prussia, which acquired the district of Poznań, Swedish Pomerania, Westphalia and the northern Rhineland. The consolidation of Germany from the nearly 300 states of the Holy Roman Empire (dissolved in 1806) into a much less complex system of thirty-nine states (4 of which were free cities) was confirmed. These states formed a loose German Confederation under the leadership of Austria and Prussia.

text: Representatives at the Congress agreed to numerous other territorial changes. By the Treaty of Kiel, Norway had been ceded by the king of Denmark-Norway to the king of Sweden. This sparked the nationalist movement which led to the establishment of the Kingdom of Norway on May 17, 1814 and the subsequent personal Union with Sweden. Austria gained Lombardy-Venetia in Northern Italy, while much of the rest of North-Central Italy went to Habsburg dynasties (the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Modena, and the Duchy of Parma).[29]

text: The Papal States were restored to the Pope. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was restored to its mainland possessions, and also gained control of the Republic of Genoa. In Southern Italy, Napoleon's brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, was originally allowed to retain his Kingdom of Naples, but his support of Napoleon in the Hundred Days led to the restoration of the Bourbon Ferdinand IV to the throne.[29]

text: A large United Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed for the Prince of Orange, including both the old United Provinces and the formerly Austrian-ruled territories in the Southern Netherlands. Other, less important, territorial adjustments included significant territorial gains for the German Kingdoms of Hanover (which gained East Frisia from Prussia and various other territories in Northwest Germany) and Bavaria (which gained the Rhenish Palatinate and territories in Franconia). The Duchy of Lauenburg was transferred from Hanover to Denmark, and Prussia annexed Swedish Pomerania. Switzerland was enlarged, and Swiss neutrality was established. Swiss mercenaries had played a significant role in European wars for a couple of hundred years: the Congress intended to put a stop to these activities permanently.

text: During the wars, Portugal had lost its town of Olivença to Spain and moved to have it restored. Portugal is historically Britain's oldest ally, and with British support succeeded in having the re-incorporation of Olivença decreed in Article 105 of the Final Act, which stated that the Congress "understood the occupation of Olivença to be illegal and recognized Portugal's rights". Portugal ratified the Final Act in 1815 but Spain would not sign, and this became the most important hold-out against the Congress of Vienna. Deciding in the end that it was better to become part of Europe than to stand alone, Spain finally accepted the Treaty on 7 May 1817; however, Olivença and its surroundings were never returned to Portuguese control and this question remains unresolved.[30][need quotation to verify] Great Britain received parts of the West Indies at the expense of the Netherlands and Spain and kept the former Dutch colonies of Ceylon and the Cape Colony as well as Malta and Heligoland. Under the Treaty of Paris, Britain obtained a protectorate over the United States of the Ionian Islands and the Seychelles.

text: Later criticism[edit]

text: The Congress of Vienna was frequently criticized by 19-century and more recent historians for ignoring national and liberal impulses, and for imposing a stifling reaction on the Continent.[1] It was an integral part in what became known as the Conservative Order, in which the liberties and civil rights associated with the American and French Revolutions were de-emphasized, so that a fair balance of power, peace and stability, might be achieved.[1]

text: In the 20th century, however, many historians came to admire the statesmen at the Congress, whose work prevented another widespread European war for nearly 100 years (1815–1914). Among these is Henry Kissinger, who in 1954 wrote his doctoral dissertation, A World Restored, on it. Historian Mark Jarrett argues that the Congress of Vienna and the Congress System marked "the true beginning of our modern era". He says the Congress System was deliberate conflict management, and was the first genuine attempt to create an international order based upon consensus rather than conflict. "Europe was ready," Jarrett states, "to accept an unprecedented degree of international cooperation in response to the French Revolution."[2] Historian Paul Schroeder argues that the old formulae for "balance of power" were in fact highly destabilizing and predatory. He says the Congress of Vienna avoided them and instead set up rules that produced a stable and benign equilibrium.[3] The Congress of Vienna was the first of a series of international meetings that came to be known as the Concert of Europe, which was an attempt to forge a peaceful balance of power in Europe. It served as a model for later organizations such as the League of Nations in 1919 and the United Nations in 1945.

text: Before the opening of the Paris peace conference of 1918, the British Foreign Office commissioned a history of the Congress of Vienna to serve as an example to its own delegates of how to achieve an equally successful peace.[31] Besides, the main decisions of the Congress were made by the Four Great Powers and not all the countries of Europe could extend their rights at the Congress. The Italian peninsula became a mere "geographical expression" as divided into seven parts: Lombardy–Venetia, Modena, Naples–Sicily, Parma, Piedmont–Sardinia, Tuscany, and the Papal States under the control of different powers.[32] Poland remained partitioned among Russia, Prussia and Austria, with the largest part, the newly created Kingdom of Poland, remaining under Russian control.

text: The arrangements made by the Four Great Powers sought to ensure future disputes would be settled in a manner that would avoid the terrible wars of the previous 20 years.[33] Although the Congress of Vienna preserved the balance of power in Europe, it could not check the spread of revolutionary movements across the continent some 30 years later.