Government Scope and Manifest Destiny

The United States is a big country.

In point of fact, it is the third largest country in the world. When compared with the two countries larger than it, Russia and Canada, America has over twice the amount of people as the former, and nearly ten times the amount of the latter, packed into a smaller area.

That's not to say there is a problem with overpopulation in America. It could be argued, of course, but it's not near the issue as it is in, say, China with its 1.3 billion, or India with its 1.1 billion. The problem is with governing a body of land so large, with the number of people so dense.