Northern United States

{{Infobox settlement
| name                            = Northern United States
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| image_skyline                   = File:Northern States in general.png
| caption                         = Historically, especially in the time the [[American Civil War]] the states in red were known as "the North"; settlement expansion to the Pacific (upper left) extended the Northern United States all along the [[Canada–United States border]]
| settlement_type                 = [[Region]]
<!-- location -->| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = United States
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| subdivision_name1               = [[Connecticut]]<br />
[[Illinois]]<br />[[Indiana]]<br />[[Iowa]]<br />[[Maine]]<br />[[Massachusetts]]<br />[[Michigan]]<br />[[Minnesota]]<br />[[New Hampshire]]<br />[[New Jersey]]<br />[[New York (state)|New York]]<br />[[Ohio]]<br />[[Pennsylvania]]<br />[[Rhode Island]]<br />[[Vermont]]<br />[[Wisconsin]]
| subdivision_type2               = Subregions
| subdivision_name2               = [[Northeastern United States]]<br />[[Midwestern United States]]
<!-- established -->| established_title               = <!-- Founded -->
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| extinct_title                   = 
| extinct_date 29
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| founder                         = 
| named_for                       = 
| unit_pref                       = US
| area_total_sq_mi                = 625,897.06
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 540,298.08
| area_footnotes                  = <ref name=2010census>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf|title=United States Summary: 2010, Population and Housing Unit Counts, 2010 Census of Population and Housing|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|pages=V–2, 1 & 41 (Tables 1 & 18)|date=September 2012|access-date=February 7, 2014}}</ref>
| population_total                = 111,736,936
| population_as_of                = 2019 est.
| population_demonym              = Northerner    
| population_footnotes            = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2021/state/totals/NST-EST2021-POP.xlsx|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021|access-date=December 20, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Census2019">{{cite web |title=Population, Population Change, and Estimated Components of Population Change: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019 (NST-EST2019-alldata) |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-state-total.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=8 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126071436/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-state-total.html |archive-date=January 26, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_density_sq_mi        = auto
}}
The '''Northern United States''', commonly referred to as the '''American North''', the '''Northern States''', or simply '''the North''', is a geographical  and historical [[region]] of the [[United States]].

==History==
===Early history===
{{further|Slave and free states}}
Before the [[19th century]] westward expansion, the "Northern United States" corresponded to the present day [[New England]] region. By the 1830s it corresponded to the present day [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and [[Great Lakes region]].

Before 1865, the North was distinguished from the [[Southern United States|South]] on the issue of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]]. In Southern states, slavery was legal until the ratification of the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|13th Amendment]] in 1865. Northern states had all passed some form of legislation to abolish slavery by 1804. However, abolition did not mean freedom for some existing slaves. Due to gradual abolition laws, slaves would still appear in some Northern states as far as the [[1840 United States Census]].<ref>Klein, Christopher. (Feb 5, 2019). [https://www.history.com/news/deeper-roots-of-northern-slavery-unearthed Deeper Roots of Northern Slavery Unearthed – HISTORY]. Retrieved Jul 28, 2020.</ref> [[History of slavery in New Jersey|New Jersey]] was the last Northern state to end slavery. Due to their states gradual abolition laws, slavery came to an end in New Jersey when the 13th Amendment was ratified in 1865.<ref>[https://nj.gov/state/historical/his-2021-juneteenth.shtml New Jersey, The Last Northern State to End Slavery – NJ.gov]. ''nj.gov''. Retrieved January 27, 2022.</ref>

===American Civil War===
{{main|Union (American Civil War)}}
[[File:US map 1864 Civil War divisions.svg|thumb|Map of the division of the states during the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865); states in blue represent northern [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] states, those in light blue representing five largely Union-supporting border southern states that permitted slavery, known as [[border states (Civil War)|border states]], and both [[Missouri]] and [[Kentucky]], which had competing Confederate and Unionist governments, and states in red representing southern seceded states, known as the [[Confederate States of America]] prior to the end of the [[American Civil War]]]]
During the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865), the Northern states comprised the U.S. states that supported the United States of America, referred to as the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]. In this context, "the North" is synonymous with the Union, while "the South" refers to the states that seceded from the U.S. in order to form the [[Confederate States of America]].

There is, however, some historical disagreement as to exactly which states comprised the North in the context of the Civil War as five [[slavery in the United States|slave-holding]] states largely remained with the Union: the southern [[Border states (American Civil War)|border states]] of [[Missouri]], [[Kentucky]], [[West Virginia]], [[Maryland]], and [[Delaware]], along with the disputed [[Indian Territory]], though [[Missouri]] and [[Kentucky]] had dual competing Confederate and Unionist governments with the [[Confederate government of Kentucky]] and the [[Confederate government of Missouri]] and the Confederacy controlled more than half of Kentucky and the southern portion of Missouri early in the war. The Confederacy largely lost control in both states after 1862; depending on the source, some of these states and territories may be included in either region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/418524/the-North |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |title= the North (region, United States)|year=2009 |access-date= 2009-10-27}}</ref>

==Geography==
Geographically, the term includes the [[U.S. state]]s and [[regions of the United States|regions]] of the [[United States|United States of America]] that are located across the northernmost part of the country. It includes states along the [[Canada–United States border]].

===Census Bureau===
The [[United States Census Bureau]] divides some of the northernmost United States into the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest Region]] and the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast Region]].<ref name=census>{{cite web |publisher=United States Census Bureau |title=Census Regions and Divisions of the United States |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf |access-date=2009-10-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20130107113900/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf |archive-date=2013-01-07 }}</ref> The U.S. Census Bureau also includes the northernmost states of the [[Northwestern United States|Northwest]], that are within the [[Western United States|West Region]].<ref name=census />

===Urban centers===
Among the larger cities by population in the Northern United States are: [[New York City]], [[Chicago]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Boston]], [[Pittsburgh]], [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], [[Indianapolis]], [[Cleveland]], [[Cincinnati]], [[Minneapolis]], [[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]], [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[Milwaukee]], [[Detroit]], and [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]].

The Northern United States also comprises most of the [[Northeast megalopolis]], which is the most populated and urbanized [[megalopolis]] in the United States. The [[Great Lakes megalopolis]] is also located in the Northern United States, largely in the [[Great Lakes region]] and [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]].

===Climate===
The Northern United States has a [[humid continental climate]]. Most of the Northern states have warm to hot summers and significant [[snow]]fall during the [[winter]].

==See also==
*[[Northern Tier (United States)]]
*[[:Category:Flora of the Northern United States|Flora of the Northern United States]]
*[[Southern United States]]
*[[Southeastern United States]]
*[[Southwestern United States]]
*[[Yankee]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Regions of the United States}}

[[Category:Regions of the United States]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Northeastern United States]]
[[Category:Midwestern United States]]