In fiction, the USA sometimes gets split up into several successor states, while at other times it might get invaded by one or more other powers. And sometimes, it even falls from power. This trope, however, reverses the common factor between the aforementioned two cases (that is, the USA being "weakened"), and instead makes it more... empowered. That is, the USA gains more territory (and more often than not turns those acquisitions into new states). The trope has four distinct flavors: Examples of Expanded States of America include: