> The United States was never an empire 1865? Military suppression of secession is not a voluntary federation... it sure looks like an empire to me since then.

> The United States was never an empire 1865? Military suppression of secession is not a voluntary federation... it sure looks like an empire to me since then. The focus on non-contiguous regions to meet the definition of empire feels beyond what is required given empires can be contiguous. Can a state democratically secede in the modern age? My (non-US) understanding, is no, it's "unconstitutional". Pfft.