the States vs North American nation

the States and North American nation both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
the States	Yes	No	No	No
North American nation	Yes	No	No	No

the States (noun)	North American nation (noun)
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776	any country on the North American continent