Decline of the United States

The First Democratic War (2001-2018)
On September 11, 2001, the US was victim to the worst terrorist attack in all of history; thousands in an act that shattered ideas of American invincibility, and immediately provoked the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, a move that ignited what would become known to history as the First Democratic War, and a conflict that would drag on until 2018.

The Second Great Depression (2029-2047)
Reckless US spending on wars overseas and an expanding national debt caused the US to fall into recession by the 2007, and later complete depression by 2029. With the collapse of the US economy in the 2020's, the rest of the western world began experiencing the economic storm of the Second Great Depression. The US economy went into practical freefall, with the US currency becoming almost worthless by the early-2030's. At the same time, to save money, the US was forced to slash military spending to only a fourth of its original size as well. Food riots would become a very common occurrence in many big cities, ones so dyer that military intervention was required to quell many of them. With the increasing instability, the US government, in a controversial move, repealed the Second Amendment, seizing guns from its citizens. In its economic slump, a power vacuum was created, and many nations rose to fill, mainly the People's Republic of China (PRC), Holy Islamic Empire (HIE), and Communist Federated Republics (CFR). Regardless of its external problems, the US still found itself participating in world politics, forming close alliances with India, the newly formed United States of Korea (USK), Japan and Vietnam. During the Second Space Race, the US would see extensive help from many of those nations, together, building colonies on the moon and Mars. The resources of the colonies would go to help in pulling the US out of the depression. However, it was still a long road to full recovery that the eventual arrival of World War III didn't exactly wait for to completion.

The Second Democratic War (2041-2042)
In 2041, Islamic radicals backed up the HIE attempted to bring the Kingdom of Kuwait and Republic of Iraq under its fold. The US was quick to intervene on behalf of the two small nations, seeking to preserve their independence. Believing victory over the HIE would be easy, the US had its illusions shattered upon seeing itself defeated, as its armed forces were equipped with outdated weapons and poorly trained soldiers, a result of years of cutbacks. The US found itself humiliated, being forced to abandon both territories. Not long after, both nations fell and were absorbed into the HIE. This embarrassment to American pride caused the US president, whose approval took a massive dive after the war, authorize the placement of military bases and nuclear weapons on Mars, the moon and other colonies, a blatant breaking of the Outer Space Treaty signed in 1967. All other nation with colonies soon followed suit with the US's actions.

The United North America (UNA) (2040's)
It was the expansion of an at the time thought insane idea born of necessity in the 2030's, when the Depression first began; the idea of a US-Canadian merger. As both nations saw the world quickly changing, and both nations slowly becoming obsolete on the world scale. Michigan congressman, Rufus King was the first man to actively push for the union, being laughed out of the house of representatives at the mere mention of it. But, over the many years, as both nations sank further and further into poverty, Canada and the US embraced the idea of an EU-style union, where both nations share the same currency. In 2043, the North American dollars (or Amero) was introduced; the move boosted the economies of both nations, but also ended an era, as the US and Canadian dollars would be declared completely worthless. They also merged their militaries by 2046. Seeing the route America was headed for, many people in the American south and Quebec began rioting, opposed to Canadian annexation by the US.

US President Dover, an advocate for the merger, was assassinated that same year for those reasons by a Canadian radical. Rufus King, ascended to the position of vice president and now sworn in as the president, used his short lived term to pass a merger in 2047. It cost him reelection in 2048, but what was done was done, and Canada was officially part of the US.

This spawned more violent protests in Canada and the American south, them being especially bad in the Canadian province of Quebec. The US military was called once again to forcefully end the insurrections. After ending them, Quebec was promised the chance of secession through referendum scheduled for late-2055; however, with the outbreak of World War III that same year, it was postponed indefinitely.

The Spark (2055)
China set off the "Spark" that began World War III by invading Taiwan. The US formed a coalition of eight nations to protect its sovereignty, only for the Battle of Taiwan to end in a horrendous failure, where China managed to destroy the entire US Pacific fleet. Taiwan was occupied and annexed by the PRC. The HIE and CFR were quick to declare war on the US, creating the Hegemony.

Hegemony Victorious (2055-2060)
For the following five years, the US and Allied Powers would suffer loss after loss, as Hegemony swiftly wiped out most resistance in Asia, Africa and Oceania; first Vietnam fell, then Korea, followed by the Philippines and Japan. Like dominos, they fell one by one.

In Africa, the Holy Islamic Empire easily conquered most of the continent, leaving the African Union in shambles. And in Oceania, China, with the assistance of Indonesia, launched an invasion of Australia, causing most of the island to come under Hegemony occupation, and New Zealand entirely crushed, with Australia fighting alone in two small pockets to the south. India was remained resistant in Asia, being the only nation to do so.

The US could really only watch, as its weak military did a terrible job in shifting the tide, while at home, violent anti-war protests erupted all over the nation, crippling its domestic war effort, and forcing the hands of martial law down on its own people.

Soon enough, the Hegemony would strike at America itself, first invading the state of Hawaii, then the west coast, moving all the way to the Mississippi. A US at its low point, however, would not be a country willing to capitulate or make compromise...and America would rise again in its darkest hour.

Sidenote: Read about the US's struggle to survive the crucible of World War III in the American Front.