1.
Congress of the Confederate States
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The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States that existed from 1861 to 1865. At first, it met as a provisional congress both in Montgomery, Alabama and Richmond, Virginia, following elections held in states, refugee colonies and army camps in November 1861, the 1st Confederate Congress met in four sessions. The elections throughout 1863 in unoccupied territory led to a replacement of former Democrats with many former Whigs. The 2nd Confederate Congress met in two following a intercession during military campaign season beginning November 7,1864 and ending on March 18,1865. There was one vote for each sovereign state and they drafted and approved the Confederate States Constitution on February 8, and elected Jefferson Davis President of the Confederate States on February 9. The Provisional Constitution adopted by the Montgomery delegates established a unicameral Provisional Congress, on February 28,1861, the Provisional Congress adopted the Permanent Confederate Constitution that provided for a bicameral national legislature consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate. On March 4,1861, the Confederacy adopted its first flag, the Provisional Congress in the Fifth Session reached two of the most far-reaching decisions for the Confederacy, both politically and militarily. Treaties with the five civilized tribes also allowed for their seating non-voting representatives in the Confederate Congress, with the short-lived claim to the far western Arizona Territory, by the end of 1861 the Confederacy had gained the greatest extent of its territorial expansion. After that point, its de facto governance contracted as Union military actions prevailed, in the last of its actions, the Provisional Congress instructed the states in several duties. The Confederate Congresses and the Jefferson Davis administration were the two national civilian administrative bodies for the Confederacy. Elections for the First Confederate States Congress were held on November 6,1861, while Congressional elections in the United States were held in even-numbered years, elections for Confederate Congressman occurred in odd-numbered years. The First Congress met in four sessions in Richmond, in the 105 House seats and 26 Senate seats, altogether 267 men served in the Confederate Congress. About a third had served in the U. S. Congress, only twenty-seven served continuously, including House Speaker Thomas S. Bocock and Senate President pro tem Robert M. T. Hunter of Virginia, William W. Boyce and William Porcher Miles of South Carolina, Benjamin H. Hill of Georgia, there was a rapid turnover in membership, in part to some securing an officer’s commission for military service. Throughout the existence of the Confederate Congress, its sessions were held in secrecy, both U. S Continental and Confederation Congresses had been held in secret, and the U. S. Congress did not open its galleries to newspaper reporters until 1800. Nevertheless, by summer 1862 newspapers such as the Richmond Daily Examiner began objecting to the closed sessions, the first session of the First Congress sat from February 18 to April 21,1862, a total of 63 days. During this time, the states of Missouri, Kentucky and northwest Virginia were occupied by Union forces, after the Battle of Shiloh, Union forces moved into the Tennessee Valley reaching into Alabama. Let every woman have a torch, every child a firebrand to fire everything, on retiring from a city or town, let a desert more terrible than the Sahara welcome the Vandals
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Articles of Confederation
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Its drafting by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress began on July 12,1776, and an approved version was sent to the states for ratification on November 15,1777. The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1,1781, a guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states. The federal government received only those powers which the colonies had recognized as belonging to king, the Articles formed a war-time confederation of states, with an extremely limited central government. Actually the adoption of the Articles made no change in the federal government. That body was now taken over as the Congress of the Confederation, as the governments weaknesses became apparent, especially after Shays Rebellion, individuals began asking for changes to the Articles. Their hope was to create a national government. Initially, some states met to deal with their trade and economic problems, however, as more states became interested in meeting to change the Articles, a meeting was set in Philadelphia on May 25,1787. It was quickly realized that changes would not work, and instead the entire Articles needed to be replaced, on March 4,1789, the general government under the Articles was replaced with the federal government under the Constitution. The new Constitution provided for a stronger federal government by establishing a chief executive, courts. The Articles of Confederation would bear some resemblance to it, over the next two decades, some of the basic concepts it addressed would strengthen and others would weaken, particularly the degree of deserved loyalty to the crown. It was an era of constitution writing—most states were busy at the task—and leaders felt the new nation must have a written constitution, during the war, Congress exercised an unprecedented level of political, diplomatic, military and economic authority. It adopted trade restrictions, established and maintained an army, issued fiat money, created a military code, to transform themselves from outlaws into a legitimate nation, the colonists needed international recognition for their cause and foreign allies to support it. The monarchies of France and Spain in particular could not be expected to aid those they considered rebels against another legitimate monarch, foreign courts needed to have American grievances laid before them persuasively in a “manifesto” which could also reassure them that the Americans would be reliable trading partners. Without such a declaration, Paine concluded, “he custom of all courts is against us, Congress then created three overlapping committees to draft the Declaration, a Model Treaty, and the Articles of Confederation. The committee met repeatedly, and chairman John Dickinson presented their results to the Congress on July 12,1776, there were long debates on such issues as sovereignty, the exact powers to be given the confederate government, whether to have a judiciary, and voting procedures. Under the Articles, the states retained sovereignty over all governmental functions not specifically relinquished to the national government, the individual articles set the rules for current and future operations of the United States government. Article XIII stipulated that their provisions shall be observed by every state. John Dickinsons and Benjamin Franklins handwritten drafts of the Articles of Confederation are housed at the National Archives in Washington, after the war, nationalists, especially those who had been active in the Continental Army, complained that the Articles were too weak for an effective government
4.
Unicameralism
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In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multicameralism, many multicameral legislatures were created to give separate voices to different sectors of society. Multiple chambers allowed for guaranteed representation of different social classes, ethnic or regional interests, where these factors are unimportant, in unitary states with limited regional autonomy, unicameralism often prevails. Unicameral legislatures are also common in official Communist states such as the Peoples Republic of China, similarly, many formerly Communist states, such as Ukraine, Moldova and Serbia, have retained their unicameral legislatures, though others, such as Romania and Poland, adopted bicameral legislatures. Both the former Russian SFSR and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were bicameral, the two chambers were the Soviet of Nationalities and the Soviet of the Union. The Russian Federation retained bicameralism after the dissolution of the USSR, the principal advantage of a unicameral system is more efficient lawmaking, as the legislative process is much simpler and there is no possibility of deadlock. Proponents of unicameralism have also argued that it costs, even if the number of legislators stay the same, since there are fewer institutions to maintain. There is also the risk that important sectors of society may not be adequately represented, approximately half of the worlds sovereign states are currently unicameral, including both the most populous and the least populous. Many subnational entities have unicameral legislatures, and all of the Brazilian states. In the United Kingdom, the devolved Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, Congress of Deputies of Second Spanish Republic was unicameral between 1931 and 1936. Dissolved at the end of Spanish Civil War, the actual Spanish Parliament is bicameral, Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan was unicameral before being replaced in 2005 by the current, bicameral Supreme Assembly. National Assembly of Cameroon was unicameral before being replaced in 2013 by the current, chamber of Peoples Representative of Equatorial Guinea was unicameral before being replaced in 2013 by the current, bicameral Parliament of Equatorial Guinea. National Assembly of Kenya was the unicameral legislature before becoming the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kenya in 2013. National Assembly of Ivory Coast was the unicameral legislature before becoming the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Ivory Coast in 2016. Nebraskas state legislature is also unique in the sense that it is the state legislature that is entirely nonpartisan. In 1999, Governor Jesse Ventura proposed converting the Minnesota Legislature into a unicameral chamber. Although debated, the idea was never adopted, if those constitutional changes had been approved, Puerto Rico could have switched to a unicameral legislature as early as 2015
5.
Second Continental Congress
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The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the spring of 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met between September 5,1774 and October 26,1774, also in Philadelphia, the second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4,1776. When the Second Continental Congress came together on May 10,1775 it was, in effect, many of the same 56 delegates who attended the first meeting were in attendance at the second, and the delegates appointed the same president and secretary. Notable new arrivals included Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock of Massachusetts, within two weeks, Randolph was summoned back to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses, he was replaced in the Virginia delegation by Thomas Jefferson, who arrived several weeks later. Henry Middleton was elected as president to replace Randolph, but he declined, Hancock was elected president on May 24. Delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies were present when the Second Continental Congress convened, Georgia had not participated in the First Continental Congress and did not initially send delegates to the Second Continental Congress. On May 13,1775, Lyman Hall was admitted as a delegate from the Parish of St. Johns in the Colony of Georgia, not as a delegate from the colony itself. The Second Continental Congress would meet on May 10,1775, by the time the Second Continental Congress met, the American Revolutionary War had already started with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Congress was to charge of the war effort. For the first few months of the struggle, the Patriots had carried on their struggle in an ad-hoc and they had seized arsenals, driven out royal officials, and besieged the British army in the city of Boston. On July 6,1775 Congress approved a Declaration of Causes outlining the rationale, on July 8, Congress extended the Olive Branch Petition to the British Crown as a final attempt at reconciliation. However, it was received too late to do any good, silas Deane was sent to France as a minister of the Congress. American ports were reopened in defiance of the British Navigation Acts, the Congress had no authority to levy taxes, and was required to request money, supplies, and troops from the states to support the war effort. Individual states frequently ignored these requests, Congress was moving towards declaring independence from the British Empire in 1776, but many delegates lacked the authority from their home governments to take such a drastic action. Advocates of independence in Congress moved to have reluctant colonial governments revise instructions to their delegations, on May 10,1776, Congress passed a resolution recommending that any colony lacking a proper government should form such. The resolution of independence was delayed for weeks as revolutionaries consolidated support for independence in their home governments. The records of the Continental Congress confirm that the need for a declaration of independence was intimately linked with the demands of international relations, on June 7,1776, Richard Henry Lee offered a resolution before the Continental Congress declaring the colonies independent. He also urged Congress to resolve to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances, Lee argued that independence was the only way to ensure a foreign alliance, since no European monarchs would deal with America if they remained Britains colonies
6.
1st United States Congress
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With the initial meeting of the First Congress, the United States federal government officially began operations under the new frame of government established by the 1787 Constitution. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the provisions of Article I, Section 2, both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority. April 1,1789, House of Representatives first achieved a quorum and elected its officers April 6,1789, Senate first achieved a quorum and elected its officers. Held March 4,1789, through September 29,1789, at Federal Hall in New York City June 1,1789, An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths, ch. 1,1 Stat.23 July 4,1789, Hamilton Tariff,2,1 Stat.24 July 27,1789, United States Department of State, was established, originally named the Department of Foreign Affairs, ch. Regulation of the Collection of Duties on Tonnage and Merchandise, ch.5,1 Stat.29, august 7,1789, Department of War was established, ch. September 2,1789, United States Department of the Treasury was established,12,1 Stat.65 September 24,1789, Judiciary Act of 1789, ch. 2,1 Stat.101 March 26,1790, Naturalization Act of 1790,3,1 Stat.103 April 10,1790, Patent Act of 1790, ch. 7,1 Stat.109 April 30,1790, Crimes Act of 1790,9,1 Stat.112 May 31,1790, Copyright Act of 1790, ch. 15,1 Stat.124 July 6,1790, Residence Act,130, established Washington, D. C. as the seat of government of the United States. July 22,1790, Indian Intercourse Act of 1790, ch,137, regulated commerce with the Indian tribes. Held December 6,1790, through March 3,1791, at Congress Hall in Philadelphia February 25,1791, First Bank of the United States,10,1 Stat.191 March 3,1791, Whiskey Act, ch. 199, which triggered the Whiskey Rebellion September 25,1789, Constitution establishing specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on government power, and submitted them to the state legislatures for ratification. 97, Article one has not been ratified and is pending before the states. Article two was later ratified on May 7,1992 as the Twenty-seventh Amendment. Articles three through twelve, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15,1791. November 21,1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution, may 26,1790, Territory South of the River Ohio organized from land ceded by North Carolina. May 29,1790, Rhode Island became the 13th state to ratify the United States Constitution, there were no political parties in this Congress
7.
Samuel Huntington (Connecticut politician)
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Samuel Huntington was a jurist, statesman, and Patriot in the American Revolution from Connecticut. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence, Samuel was born to Nathaniel and Mehetabel Huntington on July 16,1731 in Windham, Connecticut. His house is now currently accessible off of Route 14 and he was the fourth of ten children, but the oldest son. He had an education in the common schools, then was self-educated. When Samuel was 16 he was apprenticed to a cooper, and his education came from the library of Rev. Ebenezer Devotion and books borrowed from local lawyers. In 1754 Samuel was admitted to the bar, and moved to Norwich and he married Martha Devotion in 1761. They remained together until her death in 1794, while the couple would not have children, when his brother died they adopted their nephew and niece. They raised Samuel H. Huntington and Frances as their own, after brief service as a selectman, Huntington began his political career in earnest in 1764 when Norwich sent him as one of their representatives to the lower house of the Connecticut Assembly. He continued to be returned to that each year until 1774. In 1775 he was elected to the house, the Governors Council. In addition to serving in the legislature, he was appointed Kings attorney for Connecticut in 1768 and in 1773 was appointed to the supreme court. He was chief justice of the Superior Court from 1784 until 1787, Huntington was an outspoken critic of the Coercive Acts of the British Parliament. As a result, the assembly elected him in October 1775 to become one of their delegates to the Second Continental Congress, in January 1776 he took his place with Roger Sherman and Oliver Wolcott as the Connecticut delegation in Philadelphia. He voted for and signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation and he suffered from an attack of smallpox while in Congress. While not known for learning or brilliant speech, Huntingtons steady hard work. As a result, when John Jay left to become minister to Spain, the President of Congress was a mostly ceremonial position with no real authority, but the office did require Huntington to handle a good deal of correspondence and sign official documents. He spent his time as president urging the states and their legislatures to support the levies for men, supplies, the Articles of Confederation were finally ratified during his term. Huntington remained as President of Congress until July 9,1781, in 1782, Connecticut again named him as a delegate, but his health and judicial duties kept him from accepting
8.
Cyrus Griffin
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Cyrus Griffin was a lawyer and judge who served as the last President of the Continental Congress, holding office from January 22,1788, to November 2,1788. He resigned after the ratification of the United States Constitution rendered the old Congress obsolete, Griffin was born in Farnham, Virginia, in 1748. He was educated in England and in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh, while there Griffin married Christina Stewart, oldest daughter of John Stewart, the sixth Earl of Traquair. This was done via a secret elopement and escape through the hills of Scotland after the Earl had forbidden contact between Christina and Griffin after the suitor had announced his intentions, estranged for many years, the Earl reconciled with his daughter via correspondence shortly before his death. Griffin was engaged in the practice of law in Lancaster. He served as President of Congress from January to November 1788, in 1789, Griffin was commissioner to the Creek nation. Griffin received an appointment from President George Washington on November 28,1789, to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Virginia. Formally nominated on February 8,1790, Griffin was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 10,1790 and he served until his death on December 14,1810. He is buried next to his wife in the churchyard at Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Cyrus Griffin at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center, works by or about Cyrus Griffin in libraries
9.
Charles Thomson
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Charles Thomson was an Irish-born Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence. Thomson was born in Gorteade townland, Maghera parish, County Londonderry, Ireland, after the death of his mother in 1739, his father emigrated to the British colonies in America with Charles and two or three brothers. The father died at sea, and the boys were separated in America. Charles was cared for by a blacksmith in New Castle, Delaware, in 1750 he became a tutor in Latin at the Philadelphia Academy. During the French and Indian War, Thomson was an opponent of the Pennsylvania proprietors American Indian policies and he was allied with Benjamin Franklin, the leader of the anti-proprietary party, but the two men parted politically during the Stamp Act crisis in 1765. Thomson became a leader of Philadelphias Sons of Liberty and he was married to the sister of Benjamin Harrison V, another signer, as delegate, of the Declaration of Independence. Thomson was a leader in the crisis of the early 1770s. John Adams called him the Samuel Adams of Philadelphia, Thomson served as the secretary of the Continental Congress through its entirety. Through those 15 years, the Congress saw many delegates come and go, along with John Hancock, president of the Congress, Thomsons name appeared on the first published version of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. Thomsons role as secretary to Congress was not limited to clerical duties, according to biographer Boyd Schlenther, Thomson took a direct role in the conduct of foreign affairs. Fred S. Rolater has suggested that Charles Thomson was essentially the Prime Minister of the United States, Thomson is also noted for designing, with William Barton, the Great Seal of the United States. The Great Seal played a prominent role in the January 14,1784, britains representatives in Paris initially disputed the placement of the Great Seal and Congressional President Thomas Mifflins signature, until mollified by Benjamin Franklin. But Thomsons service was not without its critics, such brawls on the floor were not uncommon, and many of them were promoted by argument over Thomsons recordings. Political disagreements prevented Thomson from getting a position in the new government created by the United States Constitution, Thomson resigned as secretary of Congress in July 1789 and handed over the Great Seal, bringing an end to the Continental Congress. He spent his years at Harriton House in Bryn Mawr. He also published a synopsis of the four evangelists in 1815, in retirement, Thomson also pursued his interests in agricultural science and beekeeping. According to Thomas Jefferson, writing to John Adams, Thomson became senile in his old age and it is at most but the life of a cabbage, surely not worth a wish. In 1853 JW Randolph and Company republished the work incorporating various materials from the Estate provided by Jeffersons literary executor Thomas Jefferson Randolph
10.
Albany Congress
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The Albany Congress, also known as, The Conference of Albany was a meeting of representatives sent by the legislatures of seven of the thirteen British North American colonies. Delegates did not have the goal of creating an American nation, rather, they were colonists with the more limited mission of pursuing a treaty with the Mohawk and other major Iroquois tribes. The Albany Congress was the first time in the 18th century that colonial representatives met to discuss some manner of formal union. In the 1680s, the British Government created the Dominion of New England as a government on the colonies between the Delaware River and Penobscot Bay, it was dissolved in 1689. Jacob Leisler summoned an intercolonial congress, which met in New York on 1 May 1690, to plan concerted action against the French, because of differences in threat, he attracted only the colonies as far south as Maryland. The Albany delegates spent most of their time debating Benjamin Franklins Albany Plan of union to create a level of colonial government. The delegates voted approval of a plan called for a union of 11 colonies. Each colonial assembly would send 2 to 7 delegates to a grand council, the Union would have jurisdiction over Native affairs. The plan was rejected by the legislatures, which were jealous of their powers, and by the Colonial Office. Much of the elements of the plan were later the basis for the American governments established by the Articles of Confederation of 1777, franklin speculated that had the 1754 plan been adopted, the colonial separation from England might not have happened so soon. The Congress and its Albany Plan have achieved status as presaging the formation of the United States of America in 1776. It is often illustrated with Franklins famous snake cartoon, Join, Benjamin Franklins plan to unite the colonies exceeded the scope of the congress, which had been called to plan a defense to the French and Indian threat. The original plan was debated by all who attended the conference including the young Philadelphia lawyer Benjamin Chew. Numerous modifications were proposed by Thomas Hutchinson, who later became Governor of Massachusetts. The delegates passed the plan unanimously and they submitted it with their recommendations, but the legislatures of the seven colonies rejected it, as it would have removed some of their existing powers. The plan was never sent to the Crown for approval, although it was submitted to the British Board of Trade, the Plan of Union proposed to include all the British North American colonies although none of the colonies south of Maryland sent representatives to the Albany Congress. It called for a Grand Council to be selected by the colonial legislatures, twenty-one representatives of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire attended the Congress. James DeLancey, Governor of New York, as host governor was the Chairman, peter Wraxall served as Secretary to the Congress
11.
Stamp Act Congress
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All nine of the attending delegations were from the Thirteen Colonies that eventually formed the United States of America. The Congress met in the now known as Federal Hall. Members of six of the nine delegations signed petitions addressed to Parliament, in the aftermath of the French and Indian War, the British Parliament sought to increase revenues from its overseas colonies, where the cost of stationing troops had become significant. Parliament first passed the Sugar and Currency Acts in 1764, specifically aimed at raising money for the Crown and these acts had brought protests from colonial legislatures, but had skirted the idea of direct taxation by structuring their revenues as trade-related excise duties. Prime Minister George Grenville noted at the time of the Sugar Acts passage that a stamp tax might also be necessary, immediately raising concern, with the Stamp Act of 1765, Parliament attempted to raise money through direct taxation on the colonies for the first time. The act required that all sorts of printed material carry a stamp to show that the tax had been paid, use of the stamped paper was required for newspapers, books, court documents, commercial papers, land deeds, almanacs, dice, and playing cards. The revenue was to finance the operations of the empire, including the cost of stationing troops in the colonies. Nine colonies ultimately selected delegates to attend the congress, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, all of the delegates selected were members of their colonial legislative bodies. The methods by which delegates were selected were in some cases unorthodox, in Delaware, then known as the Three Lower Counties of the Penn proprietors, assembly members held informal meetings in each of the three counties, in each case selecting the same three delegates. In New York, the assembly had been prorogued and was judged unlikely to be summoned by Lieutenant Governor Colden to consider the Massachusetts letter. The assemblys committee of correspondence, consisting of its New York City delegates, discussed the letter, Governor William Franklin was upset at this action, but took no action beyond protesting the unusual meeting. The colonies that were not represented at the congress did not send delegates for a variety of reasons, the Virginia and Georgia assemblies were deliberately prevented from meeting by their governors. Nova Scotia declined to send delegates, despite significant economic connections to Massachusetts, dominated by financial interests connected to England, the assembly never even considered a protest resolution against the Stamp Act. Quebec, Newfoundland, and East and West Florida did not have colonial assemblies, and proper only for the consideration of Parliament. Communications being slow, by the time Parliament was informed about its existence, delegates began to arrive in New York in late September, and a preliminary meeting was held by four delegations on September 30, what was discussed then is not known. The first session of the Congress was held on October 7 and it elected Timothy Ruggles, a conservative Massachusetts delegate, as its chairman, narrowly rejecting James Otis, whom John Adams described as the soul of the body. John Cotton, the deputy secretary of the Massachusetts General Court, had been retained by the Massachusetts delegation to make a record, was chosen as the bodys secretary. The selection of Ruggles as a delegate had been engineered by Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard in the hopes of limiting the effectiveness of the congress
12.
First Continental Congress
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It was called in response to The passage of the Coercive Acts by the British Parliament. The Intolerable Acts had punished Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, the Congress was attended by 56 delegates. The Pennsylvania delegation was appointed by the colonial assembly, Georgia declined to send delegates because they were hoping for British assistance with Native American problems on their frontier and did not want to upset the British. The Congress met briefly to consider options, including a boycott of British trade, rights and grievances. The Congress also called for another Continental Congress in the event that their petition was unsuccessful in halting enforcement of the Intolerable Acts. Their appeal to the Crown had no effect, and so the Second Continental Congress was convened the following year to organize the defense of the colonies at the onset of the American Revolutionary War, the delegates also urged each colony to set up and train its own militia. The Congress met from September 5 to October 26,1774, peyton Randolph presided over the proceedings, Henry Middleton took over as President of the Congress for the last few days, from October 22 to October 26. Charles Thomson, leader of Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence, was selected to be Secretary of the Continental Congress, the delegates who attended the Congress were not of one mind concerning why they were there. Their ultimate goal was to develop a solution to the difficulties. Radicals, such as Patrick Henry, Roger Sherman, Samuel Adams, to counter these ideas, Galloway put forward a Plan of Union, which suggested an American legislative body be formed, with some authority, and whose consent would be required for imperial measures. In the end, the voices of reconciliation and compromise carried the day and it requested that local Committees of Safety enforce the boycott and regulate local prices for goods. These resolutions adopted by the Congress did not acknowledge the power of Parliament even to regulate trade. Furthermore, they did not repudiate control by the royal prerogative, the Congress had two primary accomplishments. The first was a compact among the colonies to boycott British goods beginning on December 1,1774, the West Indies were threatened with a boycott unless the islands agreed to nonimportation of British goods. Imports from Britain dropped by 97 percent in 1775, compared with the previous year, Committees of observation and inspection were to be formed in each colony for enforcement of the Association. All of the colonial Houses of Assembly approved the proceedings of the congress with the exception of New York, if the Intolerable Acts were not repealed, the colonies would also cease exports to Britain after September 10,1775. The boycott was successfully implemented, but its potential for altering British colonial policy was cut off by the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the colonists were forced to quarter British soldiers, and feed them. The second accomplishment of the Congress was to provide for a Second Continental Congress to meet on May 10,1775, however, letters appear to have been sent only to Quebec
13.
Continental Association
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The Continental Association, often known simply as the Association, was a system created by the First Continental Congress in 1774 for implementing a trade boycott with Great Britain. The Association aimed to alter Britains policies towards the colonies without severing allegiance, the boycott became operative on December 1,1774. The Association was fairly successful while it lasted, trade with Great Britain fell sharply, and the British responded with the New England Restraining Act of 1775. The outbreak of the American Revolutionary War effectively superseded the attempt to boycott British goods, the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in 1774 to reform colonial administration in British America and, in part, to punish the Province of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. Many American colonists saw the Coercive Acts as a violation of the British Constitution, as they had done during the 1760s—most effectively during the Stamp Act crisis of 1765—colonists turned to economic boycotts to protest what they saw as unconstitutional legislation. The word boycott had not yet coined, colonists referred to their economic protests as, depending upon the specific activity, non-importation, non-exportation. On May 13,1774, the Boston Town Meeting, with Samuel Adams acting as moderator, passed a resolution called for an economic boycott in response to the Boston Port Act. Paul Revere, who served as messenger, carried the Boston resolutions to New York. Adams also promoted the boycott through the committees of correspondence. The First Continental Congress was convened at Carpenters Hall in Philadelphia on September 5,1774, twelve colonies were represented at the Congress. On October 20,1774, Congress created the Association, based on the earlier Virginia Association, the Association signified the increasing cooperation between the colonies. The Association alleged that this system was calculated for enslaving these colonies, and, with them. This was a recognition of the need and demand for American goods abroad, all American colonists were to direct their agents abroad to also comply with these restrictions, as would all ship owners. The Association set forth policies by which the colonists would endure the scarcity of goods, merchants were restricted from price gouging. Local committees of inspection were to be established in the colonies by which compliance would be monitored, any individual observed to violate the pledges in the Articles would be condemned in print and ostracised in society as the enemies of American liberty. Colonies would also cease all trade and dealings with any other colony that failed to comply with the bans and these delegates signed the Association in Congress. Many local signings also took place, the Continental Association went into effect on December 1,1774. The ban did succeed for the time it was in effect, however, the British retaliated by blocking colony access to the North Atlantics fisheries
14.
Petition to the King
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The Petition to the King was a petition sent to King George III by the First Continental Congress in 1774, calling for repeal of the Intolerable Acts. Following the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, because the war had plunged the British government deep into debt, Parliament enacted a series of measures to increase tax revenue from the colonies. Many colonists in the Americas, however, developed a different conception of their role within the British Empire, in particular, because the colonies were not directly represented in Parliament, colonists argued that Parliament had no right to levy taxes upon them. After colonists destroyed thousands of pounds of British-taxed tea during the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in 1774, punishing the colonies for their actions. These punitive Acts were vehemently opposed by the colonists, leading the newly formed Continental Congress to seek redress with King George III, in an attempt to reach a common understanding. The goal of the address was to persuade the King to revoke unpopular policies such as the Coercive Acts, which were imposed on the Colonies by the British Parliament. The committee appointed to prepare the Address consisted of Richard Henry Lee, John Adams, Thomas Johnson, Patrick Henry, and John Rutledge, with Lee designated as the committee chairman. The Congress resumed the consideration of the address to his Majesty, on October 25,1774, the petition came before Congress in its draft form. After the document was debated over and formally amended, it was approved to be engrossed. The petition, when written, was not divided into formal parts, however, the structure of the document allows it to be classified into sections, including an introduction, the list of grievances, reasons for attention, and a conclusion. On November 2, the petition departed Philadelphia on board the ship Britannia, however, a storm forced the ship to return to port, delaying the delivery of the petition. It was later discovered that the paper was unfit to be presented, the second copy left port on November 6 on board the ship Mary and Elizabeth, captained by N. Falconer. It was confirmed on November 14 that the document successfully arrived in London, in Britain, a number of London merchants expressed interest in joining the Americans when the petition was presented, although Benjamin Franklin advised against the proposition. However, Franklin wrote two days later that the petition could not be presented to Parliament until after the Christmas recess. On January 19,1775, the petition was presented to the House of Commons by Lord North and it came down among a great did not Heap of letters of Intelligence from Governors and officers in America, Newspapers, Pamphlets, Handbills, etc. Because the petition was intermingled with other documents, and given the increasing turmoil of the times. Likewise, the King never gave the Colonies a formal reply to their petition and it was not until January 17 or 18,1775 that the papers were officially released by Charles Thomson, for publication. Three drafts of the Petition to the King survive to this day, one written by Patrick Henry, one written by Henry Lee, the Henry draft is written with very few corrections on its four portfolio pages
15.
Olive Branch Petition
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Congress had already authorized the invasion of Canada over a week previously, but the petition affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and beseeched the king to prevent further conflict. However, the petition was followed by the July 6 Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, the Second Continental Congress convened in May 1775, and most delegates followed John Dickinson in his quest to reconcile with King George III of Great Britain. However, a small group of delegates led by John Adams believed that war was inevitable. This decision allowed John Dickinson and his followers to pursue whatever means they chose for reconciliation and it was during this time that the idea of the Olive Branch Petition was approved by the delegates. John Dickinson was the author of the Petition, though Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, John Rutledge. Dickinson claimed that the colonies did not want independence but that they wanted to negotiate trade. Dickinson suggested that the King draw up a plan or agreement to settle trade disputes. The letter was approved on July 5, then signed and sent to London on July 8,1775 in the care of Richard Penn and Arthur Lee. Dickinson had hoped that word of the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord combined with the Humble Petition would inspire the king to at least negotiate with the colonists, the petition was undermined by a confiscated letter from John Adams to a friend, expressing his discontentment with it. Adams wrote that war was inevitable, and he thought that the Colonies should have raised a navy. This letter arrived in Great Britain at about the time as the petition. On August 21, Penn and Lee provided a copy to Lord Dartmouth, however, the King refused to see them or to look at the petition which originated from what he considered an illegal and illegitimate assembly of rebels. And all Our obedient and loyal subjects, to use their utmost endeavours to withstand, the proclamation had been written before Dartmouth had received the petition, the King refused to receive it and the proclamation effectively served as his answer. The Olive Branch Petition still served an important purpose in American independence, the King’s rejection gave Adams and others the opportunity to push for independence. Full text of the petition at WikiSource
16.
Lee Resolution
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The resolution is named for Richard Henry Lee of Virginia who proposed it to Congress, after receiving instructions from the Virginia Convention and its President, Edmund Pendleton. Some sources indicate Lee used, almost verbatim, the language from the instructions in his resolution, on June 11 Congress decided to establish three committees to develop the resolutions parts, and appointed a Committee of Five to prepare a document to explain the reasons for independence. The independence portion of the resolution was the first approved by Congress, news of its adoption was published that evening in the Pennsylvania Evening Post and the next day in the Pennsylvania Gazette. The text of the document formally announcing this action, the United States Declaration of Independence, was approved on July 4th,1776 which is celebrated as Independence Day, however, the document wasnt signed by all delegates of the United States until August 2nd. The committee drafting a plan of confederation, chaired by John Dickinson, long debates would follow on such issues as sovereignty, the exact powers to be given the confederate government, whether to have a judiciary, and voting procedures. Although in use from time, it would be almost four years before final ratification by all states. Over the next five weeks it would be reviewed and amended by Congress, the formal version of the plan of treaties was adopted on September 17. Alliance with France was considered if the war with England was to be won. When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, few colonists in British North America openly advocated independence from Great Britain, support for independence grew steadily in 1776, especially after the publication of Thomas Paines pamphlet Common Sense in January of that year. In accordance with instructions, on June 7, Richard Henry Lee proposed the resolution to Congress. That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances and that a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation. Voting on the first clause of Lees resolution was postponed for three weeks while advocates of independence worked to build support in the colonial governments for the resolution. Meanwhile, a Committee of Five was appointed to prepare a formal declaration so that it would be ready when independence, the committee prepared a declaration of independence, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, and presented it to Congress on June 28,1776. The declaration was set aside while the resolution of independence was debated for several days, the vote on the independence section of the Lee resolution had been postponed until Monday, July 1st, when it was taken up by the Committee of the Whole. At the request of South Carolina, the resolution was not acted upon until the day in the hope of securing unanimity. A trial vote had been tested on the 1st where it was found that South Carolina and Pennsylvania were in the negative, the vote was held on July 2nd, with critical changes happening between Monday and Tuesday. So Lees resolution of independence was approved by twelve of the thirteen colonies, the evening of July 2, the Pennsylvania Evening Post reported, This day the CONTINENTAL CONGRESS declared the UNITED COLONIES FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES. The Pennsylvania Gazette followed suit the day with its own brief report, Yesterday
17.
United States Declaration of Independence
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Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast, a committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term Declaration of Independence is not used in the document itself, John Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress would edit to produce the final version. The next day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, but Independence Day is actually celebrated on July 4, the date that the Declaration of Independence was approved. After ratifying the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms and it was initially published as the printed Dunlap broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The source copy used for printing has been lost. Jeffersons original draft, complete with changes made by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, the best known version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is popularly regarded as the official document, is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D. C. This engrossed copy was ordered by Congress on July 19, the sources and interpretation of the Declaration have been the subject of much scholarly inquiry. Having served its purpose in announcing independence, references to the text of the Declaration were few in the following years. Abraham Lincoln made it the centerpiece of his rhetoric, and his policies and this has been called one of the best-known sentences in the English language, containing the most potent and consequential words in American history. The passage came to represent a standard to which the United States should strive. Believe me, dear Sir, there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose, and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America. By the time that the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July 1776, relations had been deteriorating between the colonies and the mother country since 1763. Parliament enacted a series of measures to increase revenue from the colonies, such as the Stamp Act of 1765, Parliament believed that these acts were a legitimate means of having the colonies pay their fair share of the costs to keep them in the British Empire. Many colonists, however, had developed a different conception of the empire, the colonies were not directly represented in Parliament, and colonists argued that Parliament had no right to levy taxes upon them. This tax dispute was part of a divergence between British and American interpretations of the British Constitution and the extent of Parliaments authority in the colonies. In the colonies, however, the idea had developed that the British Constitution recognized certain fundamental rights that no government could violate, after the Townshend Acts, some essayists even began to question whether Parliament had any legitimate jurisdiction in the colonies at all
18.
Bank of North America
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It was based upon a plan presented by US Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris on May 17,1781 that created the Nations first de facto central bank. When shares in the bank were sold to the public, the Bank of North America became the countrys first initial public offering and it was succeeded in its role as central bank by the First Bank of the United States in 1791. In May 1781 Alexander Hamilton revealed that he had recommended Morris for the position the previous summer when the constitution of the executive was being solidified, Second, he proceeded to lay out a proposal for a National Bank. Morris, who had corresponded with Hamilton previously on the subject of funding the war, immediately drafted a proposal based on Hamiltons suggestion. Morris persuaded Congress to charter the Bank of North America, the first private bank in the United States. When Robert Morris became superintendent of finance in February 1781, continental currency had ceased to be issued, on April 30,1781, Alexander Hamilton sent Morris a letter. The original charter called for the disbursement of 1,000 shares priced at $400 each, benjamin Franklin purchased one share for 0. 1% ownership as a sign of good faith to Federalists and the new bank and Hamilton made public endorsement of the establishment under his pseudonym. William Binghams first daughter, Ann Louisa Baring was born the day before the bank opened and she was also the granddaughter of Thomas Willing, a primary shareholder and the original President of the bank offices at Philadelphia. Using a gift/loan from France, Robert Morris purchased 63. 3% of the shares for the government. Robert Morris deposited large quantities of gold and silver coin and bills of exchange obtained through loans from the Netherlands and he then issued new paper currency backed by this supply. By 1783, Congress and several states including Massachusetts enacted legislation, within three years, the Bank was considered a creditworthy institution. John Nixon was the first director of the Bank of Pennsylvania, Morris subscribed £10,000 sterling to fund it. It was not a bank in the ordinary sense but an organization formed for the purpose of financing supplies for the army, in 1782, the Bank of North America superseded the Bank of Pennsylvania. Serving from 1792 to 1808, Nixon succeeded the first president of the Bank of North America, Thomas Willing, Nixon was in turn succeeded by John Morton, who served as President until 1822. William Frederick Havemeyer was its president from 1851 to 1861 and brought it successfully through the crisis of 1857, after it had become a National Bank in 1865, a president of the same name presided over its liquidation in 1908. The Bank of Pennsylvania was re-established in 1793, with a charter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and branches were opened in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading, and Easton. Wachovia operated a branch at the northwest corner of S. 6th and Chestnut Sts. in Philadelphia, diagonally opposite Independence Hall and this branch is the longest continuously operating branch bank in the States, operating in that location since 1781. Following Wells Fargos acquisition of Wachovia, Wells Fargo adopted Charter #1, the Bank of North America along with the First Bank of the United States and the Bank of New York were the first shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange
19.
Land Ordinance of 1785
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The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20,1785. It set up a system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation, the Ordinance set up a survey system that eventually covered over three-fourths of the area of the continental United States. The earlier Ordinance of 1784 was a written by Thomas Jefferson calling for Congress to take action. The land west of the Appalachian Mountains, north of the Ohio River, however, the 1784 resolution did not define the mechanism by which the land would become states, or how the territories would be governed or settled before they became states. The Ordinance of 1785 put the 1784 resolution in operation by providing a mechanism for selling and settling the land, the 1785 ordinance laid the foundations of land policy until passage of the Homestead Act in 1862. The Land Ordinance established the basis for the Public Land Survey System, the initial surveying was performed by Thomas Hutchins. After he died in 1789, responsibility for surveying was transferred to the Surveyor General, Land was to be systematically surveyed into square townships, six miles on a side. Each of these townships were sub-divided into thirty-six sections of one mile or 640 acres. These sections could then be subdivided for re-sale by settlers. The ordinance was also significant for establishing a mechanism for funding public education, section 16 in each township was reserved for the maintenance of public schools. Many schools today are located in section sixteen of their respective townships. In later States, section 36 of each township was also designated as a school section, the Point of Beginning for the 1785 survey was where Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia met, on the north shore of the Ohio River near East Liverpool, Ohio. There is a marker just north of the site, at the state line where Ohio State Route 39 becomes Pennsylvania Route 68. After debate and amendment, the ordinance was reported to Congress April 26,1785 and it required surveyors “to divide the said territory into townships seven miles square, by lines running due north and south, and others crossing these at right angles. — The plats of the townships, respectively, shall be marked into sections of one square, or 640 acres. ”This is the first recorded use of the terms “township” and “section. ”On May 3,1785. The sections were to be numbered starting at 1 in the southeast, the surveys were to be performed under the direction of the Geographer of the United States. Henry Bouquet to the forks of the Muskingum, in what is now Coshocton County and it formed part of his plan for military colonies north of the Ohio, as a protection against Indians
20.
Northwest Ordinance
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The Northwest Ordinance was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States, passed July 13,1787. The upper Mississippi River formed the Territorys western boundary and it was based upon but more conservative than Thomas Jeffersons proposed ordinance of 1784. The 1787 law relied on a central government, which was assured under the new Constitution that took effect in 1789. In August 1789, it was replaced by the Northwest Ordinance of 1789 and it was also precedent setting legislation with regard to American public domain lands. This division helped set the stage for competition over admitting free and slave states. The territory was acquired by Great Britain from France following victory in the Seven Years War, Great Britain took over the Ohio Country, as its eastern portion was known, but a few months later closed it to new European settlement by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The Crown tried to restrict settlement of the thirteen colonies between the Appalachians and the Atlantic, which raised tensions among those who wanted to move west. With the colonials victory in the American Revolutionary War and signing of the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the territories were subject to overlapping and conflicting claims of the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Virginia dating from their colonial past. The British were active in some of the area until after the Louisiana Purchase. The region had long been desired for expansion by colonists, the states were encouraged to settle their claims by the US governments de facto opening of the area to settlement following the defeat of Great Britain. Jeffersons proposal to create a domain through state cessions of western lands was derived from earlier proposals dating back to 1776. The Congress of the Confederation modified the proposal, passing it as the Land Ordinance of 1784 and this ordinance established the example that would become the basis for the Northwest Ordinance three years later. The 1784 ordinance was criticized by George Washington in 1785 and James Monroe in 1786, Monroe convinced Congress to reconsider the proposed state boundaries, a review committee recommended repealing that part of the ordinance. Other events such as the reluctance of states south of the Ohio River to cede their western claims resulted in a narrowed geographic focus, when passed in New York in 1787, the Northwest Ordinance showed the influence of Jefferson. It called for dividing the territory into gridded townships, so once the lands were surveyed, they could be sold to individuals. This would provide both a new source of government revenue and an orderly pattern for future settlement. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the concept of fee simple ownership and this was called the first guarantee of freedom of contract in the United States. These territories were to be administered directly by Congress, with the intent of their admission as newly created states
21.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
22.
Appalachian Mountains
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The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period and it once reached elevations similar to those of the Alps and the Rocky Mountains before naturally occurring erosion. The Appalachian chain is a barrier to east-west travel, as it forms a series of alternating ridgelines, definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians. A common variant definition does not include the Adirondack Mountains, which belong to the Grenville Orogeny and have a different geological history from the rest of the Appalachians. The range covers parts of the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the system is divided into a series of ranges, with the individual mountains averaging around 3,000 ft. The highest of the group is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet, the term Appalachian refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range. Most broadly, it refers to the mountain range with its surrounding hills. The Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas and Oklahoma were originally part of the Appalachians as well, the name was soon altered by the Spanish to Apalachee and used as a name for the tribe and region spreading well inland to the north. Pánfilo de Narváezs expedition first entered Apalachee territory on June 15,1528, now spelled Appalachian, it is the fourth-oldest surviving European place-name in the US. After the de Soto expedition in 1540, Spanish cartographers began to apply the name of the tribe to the mountains themselves. The first cartographic appearance of Apalchen is on Diego Gutierrezs map of 1562, the name was not commonly used for the whole mountain range until the late 19th century. A competing and often more popular name was the Allegheny Mountains, Alleghenies, in the early 19th century, Washington Irving proposed renaming the United States either Appalachia or Alleghania. In U. S. dialects in the regions of the Appalachians. In northern parts of the range, it is pronounced /ˌæpəˈleɪtʃᵻnz/ or /ˌæpəˈleɪʃᵻnz/, the third syllable is like lay. There is often debate between the residents of the regions as to which pronunciation is the more correct one. Elsewhere, a commonly accepted pronunciation for the adjective Appalachian is /ˌæpəˈlætʃiən/, the whole system may be divided into three great sections, Northern, The northern section runs from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador to the Hudson River. The Monteregian Hills, which cross the Green Mountains in Quebec, are also unassociated with the Appalachians, Central, The central section goes from the Hudson Valley to the New River running through Virginia and West Virginia. Southern, The southern section runs from the New River onwards and it consists of the prolongation of the Blue Ridge, which is divided into the Western Blue Ridge Front and the Eastern Blue Ridge Front, the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, and the Cumberland Plateau
23.
History of Maryland
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The recorded history of Maryland dates back to when Europeans began exploring the area, starting with John Cabot in 1498. The first European settlements were made in 1634, when the English arrived in significant numbers, Maryland was notable for having been established with religious freedom for Catholics. In 1778, during the American Revolution, Maryland became the seventh state admitted to the United States, after the war, numerous planters freed their slaves as the economy changed. Baltimore grew to one of the largest cities on the eastern seaboard. Although Maryland was still a state in 1860, by that time nearly half the African American population was already free. Maryland was among the states that remained in the Union during the American Civil War. It appears that the first humans to arrive in the area that would become Maryland appeared around the 10th millennium BC and they were hunter-gatherers organized into semi-nomadic bands. With the increased variety of sources, Native American villages and settlements started appearing. By about 1000 BC pottery was being produced, with the eventual rise of agriculture more permanent Native-American villages were built. But even with the advent of farming, hunting and fishing were still important means of obtaining food, the bow and arrow were first used for hunting in the area around the year 800. They ate what they could kill, grow or catch in the rivers, by 1000 CE, there were about 8,000 Native Americans, all Algonquian-speaking, living in what is now the state, in 40 different villages. The following Piscataway tribes lived on the bank of the Potomac, from south to north, Yaocomicoes, Chopticans, Nanjemoys, Potopacs, Mattawomans, Piscataways, Patuxents. The area in which the Nacotchtank lived is now the District of Columbia, on the west bank of the Potomac river in what is now Virginia were the related tribes of the Patawomeck and the Doeg. Further west in the Appalachian Mountains, the Shawnee lived near Oldtown at a site abandoned around 1731, the Tockwogh tribe lived near the headwaters of the Chesapeake near what is now Delaware. When Europeans began to settle in Maryland in the early 17th century, early exposure to new European diseases brought widespread fatalities to the Native Americans, as they had no immunity to them. Communities were disrupted by such losses, in 1498 the first European explorers sailed along the Eastern Shore, off present-day Worcester County. In 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing under the French flag, in 1608 John Smith entered the bay and explored it extensively. His maps still exist today, and although technically crude they are surprisingly accurate given the technology of those times, the region was depicted in a map by Estêvão Gomes and Diego Gutiérrez, made in 1562, in the context of the Spanish Ajacán Mission of the sixteenth century
24.
American Revolutionary War
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From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand
25.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
26.
United States Constitution
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The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government, Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure used by the thirteen States to ratify it. In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty, the majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights protections. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures, Amendments to the United States Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions worldwide, are appended to the document. All four pages of the original U. S, according to the United States Senate, The Constitutions first three words—We the People—affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. From September 5,1774 to March 1,1781, the Continental Congress functioned as the government of the United States. The process of selecting the delegates for the First and Second Continental Congresses underscores the revolutionary role of the people of the colonies in establishing a governing body. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States and it was drafted by the Second Continental Congress from mid-1776 through late-1777, and ratification by all 13 states was completed by early 1781. Under the Articles of Confederation, the governments power was quite limited. The Confederation Congress could make decisions, but lacked enforcement powers, implementation of most decisions, including modifications to the Articles, required unanimous approval of all thirteen state legislatures. The Continental Congress could print money but the currency was worthless, Congress could borrow money, but couldnt pay it back. No state paid all their U. S. taxes, some paid nothing, some few paid an amount equal to interest on the national debt owed to their citizens, but no more. No interest was paid on debt owed foreign governments, by 1786, the United States would default on outstanding debts as their dates came due. Internationally, the Articles of Confederation did little to enhance the United States ability to defend its sovereignty, most of the troops in the 625-man United States Army were deployed facing – but not threatening – British forts on American soil. They had not been paid, some were deserting and others threatening mutiny, spain closed New Orleans to American commerce, U. S. officials protested, but to no effect. Barbary pirates began seizing American ships of commerce, the Treasury had no funds to pay their ransom, if any military crisis required action, the Congress had no credit or taxing power to finance a response. Domestically, the Articles of Confederation was failing to bring unity to the sentiments and interests of the various states
27.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
28.
United States Capitol rotunda
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The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has described as its symbolic. The rotunda is surrounded by corridors connecting the House of Representatives, to the south of the rotunda is the semi-circular National Statuary Hall, which until 1857 was the House of Representatives chamber. To the northeast of the rotunda is the Old Senate Chamber, used by the Senate until 1859 and by the Supreme Court of the United States until 1935. The rotunda is 96 feet in diameter and rises 48 feet to the top of its walls and 180 feet 3 inches to the canopy of the dome, the dome is surmounted by the American Statue of Freedom. It is also used for ceremonial events authorized by concurrent resolution, the doctor and architect William Thornton was the winner of the contest to design the Capitol in 1793. Thornton had first conceived the idea of a central rotunda, however, due to lack of funds or resources, oft-interrupted construction, and the British attack on Washington during the War of 1812, work on the rotunda did not begin until 1818. The rotunda was designed in the style and was intended to evoke the design of the Pantheon. The sandstone rotunda walls rise 48 feet above the floor, everything above this—the Capitol dome–was designed in 1854 by Thomas U, Walter, the fourth Architect of the Capitol. Walter had also designed the Capitols north and south extensions, in 1862, Walter asked painter Constantino Brumidi to design a picture 65 feet in diameter, painted in fresco, on the concave canopy over the eye of the New Dome of the U. S. Capitol. At this time, Brumidi may have added a watercolor canopy design over Walters tentative 1859 sketch, the dome was being finished in the middle of the American Civil War and was constructed from fireproof cast iron. During the Civil War, the rotunda was used as a hospital for Union soldiers. The dome was completed in 1866. Originally the crypt had an open ceiling into the rotunda, visitors can still see the holes in the stone circle that marked the rim of the open space in the rotunda floor. In January 2013, the Architect of the Capitol announced a four-year, $10 million project to repair and conserve the Capitol Domes exterior, the dome and rotunda, which were last conserved in 1960, are showing significant signs of rust and disrepair. There is a danger that decorative ironwork could fall from the rotunda to the space below, without immediate repair, safety netting will be installed. Eight niches in the rotunda hold large, framed historical paintings, all are oil-on-canvas and measure 12 by 18 feet. Four of these are scenes from the American Revolution, painted by John Trumbull and these are Declaration of Independence, Surrender of General Burgoyne, Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and General George Washington Resigning his Commission
29.
John Trumbull
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John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings. His Declaration of Independence was used on the reverse of the two-dollar bill, Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1756, to Jonathan Trumbull and his wife Faith Trumbull. His father served as Governor of Connecticut from 1769 to 1784, both sides of his family were descended from early Puritan settlers in the state. The young Trumbull entered the 1771 junior class at Harvard College at age fifteen, due to a childhood accident, Trumbull lost use of one eye, which may have influenced his detailed painting style. As a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, Trumbull rendered a service at Boston by sketching plans of the British works. He witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill and he was appointed second personal aide to General George Washington, and in June 1776, deputy adjutant-general to General Horatio Gates. He resigned from the army in 1777 after a dispute over the dating of his officer commission, in 1780 he traveled to London, where he studied under Benjamin West. At Wests suggestion, Trumbull painted small pictures of the War of Independence and he painted about 250 in his lifetime. On September 23,1780, British agent Major John André was captured by Continental troops in North America, after news reached Great Britain, outrage flared and Trumbull was arrested, as having been an officer in the Continental Army of similar rank to André. He was imprisoned for seven months in Londons Tothill Fields Bridewell, after being released, Trumbull returned to the United States. In 1784, following the British recognition of the United States independence, while working in his studio, Trumbull painted Battle of Bunker Hill and Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec. Both works are now in the Yale University Art Gallery, in 1785 Trumbull went to Paris, where he made portrait sketches of French officers for the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis. With the assistance of Thomas Jefferson, serving there as the US minister, while in Paris, Trumbull is credited with having introduced Jefferson to the Italian painter Maria Cosway, they became lifelong intimate friends. Trumbulls painting became widely known due to an engraving of it by Asher Brown Durand. All now hang in rotunda of the United States Capitol, congress reportedly authorized only funds sufficient to purchase these four paintings. Trumbulls The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar,1789, in 1831 Trumbull sold a series of 28 paintings and 60 miniature portraits to Yale University for an annuity of $1,000. This is by far the largest single collection of his works, the collection was originally housed in a neoclassical art gallery designed by Trumbull on Yales Old Campus, along with portraits by other artists. His portraits include full lengths of General Washington and George Clinton, New York also bought his full-length paintings of Alexander Hamilton and John Jay
30.
American Revolution
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The British responded by imposing punitive laws on Massachusetts in 1774 known as the Coercive Acts, following which Patriots in the other colonies rallied behind Massachusetts. Tensions escalated to the outbreak of fighting between Patriot militia and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the conflict then developed into a global war, during which the Patriots fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress determined King George IIIs rule to be tyrannical and infringing the rights as Englishmen. The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy, Congress rejected British proposals requiring allegiance to the monarchy and abandonment of independence. The British were forced out of Boston in 1776, but then captured and they blockaded the ports and captured other cities for brief periods, but failed to defeat Washingtons forces. After a failed Patriot invasion of Canada, a British army was captured at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, a combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the conflict, confirming the new nations complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a new Constitution of the United States. Historians typically begin their histories of the American Revolution with the British victory in the French and Indian War in 1763, the lands west of Quebec and west of a line running along the crest of the Allegheny mountains became Indian territory, temporarily barred to settlement. For the prior history, see Thirteen Colonies, in 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act to restrain the use of paper money which British merchants saw as a means to evade debt payments. Parliament also passed the Sugar Act, imposing customs duties on a number of articles, none did and Parliament passed the Stamp Act in March 1765 which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets—even decks of playing cards—were required to have the stamps, the colonists did not object that the taxes were high, but because they had no representation in the Parliament. Benjamin Franklin testified in Parliament in 1766 that Americans already contributed heavily to the defense of the Empire, stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable. London had to deal with 1,500 politically well-connected British officers who became redundant, in 1765, the Sons of Liberty formed. They used public demonstrations, boycott, violence, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable, in Boston, the Sons of Liberty burned the records of the vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson. Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October 1765, moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a Declaration of Rights and Grievances stating that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen. Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports of British merchandise, the Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout all British possessions and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval
31.
Siege of Yorktown
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The battle boosted faltering American morale and revived French enthusiasm for the war, as well as undermining popular support for the conflict in Great Britain. In 1780, approximately 5,500 French soldiers landed in Rhode Island to assist their American allies in operations against British-controlled New York City. On the advice of Rochambeau, de Grasse informed them of his intent to sail to the Chesapeake Bay, where Cornwallis had taken command of the army. Cornwallis, at first given confusing orders by his officer, Henry Clinton, was eventually ordered to build a defensible deep-water port. Cornwallis movements in Virginia were shadowed by a Continental Army force led by the Marquis de Lafayette, the French and American armies united north of New York City during the summer of 1781. When word of de Grasses decision arrived, the armies began moving south toward Virginia. De Grasse sailed from the West Indies and arrived at the Chesapeake Bay at the end of August, bringing additional troops and providing a naval blockade of Yorktown. He was transporting 500,000 silver pesos collected from the citizens of Havana, Cuba, to fund supplies for the siege, while in Santo Domingo, de Grasse met with Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, an agent of Carlos III of Spain. De Grasse had planned to leave several of his warships in Santo Domingo, Saavedra promised the assistance of the Spanish navy to protect the French merchant fleet, enabling de Grasse to sail north with all of his warships. In the beginning of September, he defeated a British fleet led by Sir Thomas Graves that came to relieve Cornwallis at the Battle of the Chesapeake, as a result of this victory, de Grasse blocked any escape by sea for Cornwallis. By late September Washington and Rochambeau arrived, and the army, after initial preparations, the Americans and French built their first parallel and began the bombardment. With the British defense weakened, on October 14,1781 Washington sent two columns to attack the last major remaining British outer defenses, a French column took redoubt #9 and an American column took redoubt #10. With these defenses taken, the allies were able to finish their second parallel, with the American artillery closer and more intense than ever, the British situation began to deteriorate rapidly and Cornwallis asked for capitulation terms on the 17th. After two days of negotiation, the ceremony took place on the 19th, Lord Cornwallis was absent from the ceremony. With the capture of more than 7,000 British soldiers, on December 20,1780, Benedict Arnold sailed from New York with 1,500 troops to Portsmouth, Virginia. He first raided Richmond, defeating the militia, from January 5–7 before falling back to Portsmouth. The Marquis de Lafayette was sent south with 1,200 men to help with the assault, however, Destouches was reluctant to dispatch many ships, and in February sent only three. Destouches withdrew due to the damage sustained to his fleet, leaving Arbuthnot, on March 26, Arnold was joined by 2,300 troops under command of Major General William Phillips, who took command of the combined forces
32.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
33.
Treaty of Paris (1783)
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The treaty set the boundaries between the British Empire and the United States, on lines exceedingly generous to the latter. Details included fishing rights and restoration of property and prisoners of war, only Article 1 of the treaty, which is the legal underpinning of United States existence as a sovereign country, remains in force. Peace negotiations began in April 1782, and continued through the summer, representing the United States were Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and John Adams. David Hartley and Richard Oswald represented Great Britain, the treaty was signed at the Hotel dYork in Paris on September 3,1783, by Adams, Franklin, Jay, and Hartley. Regarding the American Treaty, the key episodes came in September,1782, France was exhausted by the war, and everyone wanted peace except Spain, which insisted on continuing the war until it could capture Gibraltar from the British. Vergennes came up with the deal that Spain would accept instead of Gibraltar, the United States would gain its independence but be confined to the area east of the Appalachian Mountains. Britain would take the north of the Ohio River. In the area south of that would be set up an independent Indian state under Spanish control and it would be an Indian barrier state. However, the Americans realized that they could get a deal directly from London. John Jay promptly told the British that he was willing to negotiate directly with them, cutting off France, the British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne agreed. He was in charge of the British negotiations and he now saw a chance to split the United States away from France. The western terms were that the United States would gain all of the area east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, the northern boundary would be almost the same as today. The United States would gain fishing rights off Canadian coasts, and it was a highly favorable treaty for the United States, and deliberately so from the British point of view. Prime Minister Shelburne foresaw highly profitable trade between Britain and the rapidly growing United States, as indeed came to pass. Great Britain also signed agreements with France and Spain. In the treaty with Spain, the territories of East and West Florida were ceded to Spain, Spain also received the island of Minorca, the Bahama Islands, Grenada, and Montserrat, captured by the French and Spanish, were returned to Britain. The treaty with France was mostly about exchanges of captured territory, the United States Congress of the Confederation ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14,1784. Copies were sent back to Europe for ratification by the parties involved
34.
Maryland State House
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The Maryland State House is located in Annapolis and is the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, dating to 1772. It houses the Maryland General Assembly and offices of the Governor, the capitol has the distinction of being topped by the largest wooden dome in the United States constructed without nails. The current building, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, is the third statehouse on its site, the building is administered by the State House Trust, established in 1969. Construction began in 1772, but was not completed until 1797 due to the ongoing American Revolutionary War, the two-story brick Georgian style structure, located inside State Circle, was designed by Joseph Horatio Anderson, a noted architect of the time. A small portico juts out from the center of the building, topped by a pediment, on both floors, large rectangular windows line the facade. A cornice is topped by pediment and the sloping roof gives way for a central octagonal drum atop which rests a dome. The large dome is topped by a balcony, another octagonal drum. The rod was constructed and grounded according to the specifications of its inventor. The building was surrounded by a low wall in 1818 to prevent cattle incursions. This was replaced by a fence with a granite base in 1836. The dome of the statehouse is depicted on the Maryland state quarter, in the rotunda is the Maryland Federalist – a replica built in 1987 of the miniature ship Federalist. Large Corinthian columns support the arches bracing the dome above. A balustrade lines the second floor balcony, the replica of the Maryland Federalist is actually on a more or less permanent display in the Lobby at the Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International Airport Terminal. Later in the summer of 2012, the handwritten text of George Washingtons Resignation Letter was on display in the rotunda. To the right of the entrance is the old Senate Chamber, chairs and desks were added to the room in the exact number as originally furbished. The desk for the president is a piece made by John Shaw in 1797. It was in the Old Senate Chamber that George Washington famously resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army on December 23,1783, a mannequin of George Washington stands in period clothing at the front of the room. The decision established the requisite consent of all thirteen states for the formation of a Perpetual Union
35.
Annapolis, Maryland
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Annapolis is the capital of the U. S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. Its population was measured at 38,394 by the 2010 census, the city served as the seat of the Continental Congress in 1783–84 and was the site of the 1786 Annapolis Convention and the Annapolis Peace Conference, held in 2007. Annapolis is the home of St. Johns College as well as the United States Naval Academy, a settlement in the Province of Maryland named Providence was founded on the north shore of the Severn River in 1649 by Puritan exiles from Virginia led by Governor William Stone. The settlers later moved to a harbor on the south shore. The settlement on the shore was initially named Town at Proctors, then Town at the Severn. In 1654, after the Third English Civil War, Parliamentary forces assumed control of Maryland, per orders from Charles Calvert, fifth Lord Baltimore, Stone returned the following spring at the head of a Cavalier force. On March 25,1655, in what is known as the Battle of the Severn, Stone was defeated, taken prisoner, Fendall governed Maryland during the latter half of the Commonwealth. In 1660, he was replaced by Phillip Calvert as fifth/sixth Governor of Maryland), Annapolis was incorporated as a city in 1708. Water trades such as oyster-packing, boatbuilding and sailmaking became the chief industries. Annapolis is home to a number of recreational boats that have largely replaced the seafood industry in the city. Dr. Alexander Hamilton was a Scottish-born doctor and writer who lived and worked in Annapolis, Annapolis became the temporary capital of the United States after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. For the 1783 Congress, the Governor of Maryland commissioned John Shaw, the flag is slightly different from other designs of the time. The blue field extends over the height of the hoist. Shaw created two versions of the flag, one started with a red stripe and another that started with a white one. In 1786, delegates from all states of the Union were invited to meet in Annapolis to consider measures for the regulation of commerce. Delegates from only five states—New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, the Philadelphia convention drafted and approved the Constitution of the United States, which is still in force. During this period, a prisoner of war camp, Camp Parole, was set up in Annapolis. As the war continued, the camp expanded to a location just west of the city
36.
Thirteen Colonies
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The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America founded in the 17th and 18th centuries that declared independence in 1776 and formed the United States. The Thirteen Colonies had very similar political, constitutional, and legal systems and they were part of Britains possessions in the New World, which also included colonies in present-day Canada and the Caribbean, as well as East and West Florida. However, the Thirteen Colonies had a degree of self-government and active local elections. In the 1750s, the colonies began collaborating with each other instead of dealing directly with Britain, Colonial decisions were subject to approval by the governor and the home government. There were also substantial populations of African slaves in some of the colonies, especially Virginia, the Carolinas, the names of the colonies were chosen by the founders and proprietors, subject to royal approval, and given in the founding charters. Nine of the thirteen chose to include in their names the term Province of, later residents tended to drop the ambiguous terminology, as in the map shown in the article Province of New Jersey, which is labeled simply East Jersey and West Jersey. In July 1776, they formed a new nation called the United States of America, the new nation achieved that goal by winning the American Revolutionary War with the aid of France, the Netherlands, and Spain. The American flag features thirteen horizontal stripes which represent these original thirteen colonies, besides these thirteen colonies, Britain had another dozen in the New World. Those in the British West Indies, Newfoundland, the Province of Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Bermuda, and East and West Florida remained loyal to the crown throughout the war. The British crown had recently acquired those lands, and many of the issues facing the Thirteen Colonies did not apply to them, especially in the case of Quebec. Contemporary documents usually list the thirteen colonies of British North America in geographical order, the consolidation collapsed after the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89, and the nine former colonies re-established their separate identities in 1689. Massachusetts Bay Colony Settled in 1630 by Puritans from England, the colonial charter was revoked in 1684, and a new charter was issued in 1691 establishing an enlarged Province of Massachusetts Bay. Province of Maine Settled in 1622, the Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed the Maine territory in the 1650s, then limited to present-day southernmost Maine. Parts of Maine east of the Kennebec River were also part of New York in the half of the 17th century. These areas were made part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691. Plymouth Colony Settled in 1620 by the Pilgrims, plymouth was merged into the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691. Saybrook Colony Founded in 1635 and merged with Connecticut Colony in 1644, New Haven Colony Settled in late 1637. New Netherland Extensive region centered about New Amsterdam at the tip of Manhattan Island
37.
George Washington
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George Washington was an American politician and soldier who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is popularly considered the driving force behind the nations establishment and came to be known as the father of the country, both during his lifetime and to this day. Washington was widely admired for his leadership qualities and was unanimously elected president by the Electoral College in the first two national elections. Washingtons incumbency established many precedents still in use today, such as the system, the inaugural address. His retirement from office two terms established a tradition that lasted until 1940 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term. The 22nd Amendment now limits the president to two elected terms and he was born into the provincial gentry of Colonial Virginia to a family of wealthy planters who owned tobacco plantations and slaves, which he inherited. In his youth, he became an officer in the colonial militia during the first stages of the French. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress commissioned him as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, in that command, Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776 but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the middle of winter, he defeated the British in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause and his strategy enabled Continental forces to capture two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies, after victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism. Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which devised a new form of government for the United States. Following his election as president in 1789, he worked to unify rival factions in the fledgling nation and he supported Alexander Hamiltons programs to satisfy all debts, federal and state, established a permanent seat of government, implemented an effective tax system, and created a national bank. In avoiding war with Great Britain, he guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795 and he remained non-partisan, never joining the Federalist Party, although he largely supported its policies. Washingtons Farewell Address was a primer on civic virtue, warning against partisanship, sectionalism. He retired from the presidency in 1797, returning to his home, upon his death, Washington was eulogized as first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen by Representative Henry Lee III of Virginia. He was revered in life and in death, scholarly and public polling consistently ranks him among the top three presidents in American history and he has been depicted and remembered in monuments, public works, currency, and other dedications to the present day. He was born on February 11,1731, according to the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar was adopted within the British Empire in 1752, and it renders a birth date of February 22,1732. Washington was of primarily English gentry descent, especially from Sulgrave and his great-grandfather John Washington emigrated to Virginia in 1656 and began accumulating land and slaves, as did his son Lawrence and his grandson, Georges father Augustine
38.
Continental Army
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The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Congress on June 14,1775, the Continental Army was supplemented by local militias and troops that remained under control of the individual states or were otherwise independent. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war, most of the Continental Army was disbanded in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris ended the war. The 1st and 2nd Regiments went on to form the nucleus of the Legion of the United States in 1792 under General Anthony Wayne and this became the foundation of the United States Army in 1796. The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all 13 colonies, and after 1776, when the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19,1775, the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army. As tensions with Great Britain increased in the leading to the war. Training of militiamen increased after the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774, colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed forming a national militia force, but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea. On April 23,1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized the raising of an army consisting of 26 company regiments. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut soon raised similar, on July 18,1775, the Congress requested all colonies form militia companies from all able bodied effective men, between sixteen and fifty years of age. It was not uncommon for men younger than sixteen to enlist as most colonies had no requirement of consent for those under twenty-one. Four major-generals and eight brigadier-generals were appointed by the Second Continental Congress in the course of a few days, after Pomeroy did not accept, John Thomas was appointed in his place. As the Continental Congress increasingly adopted the responsibilities and posture of a legislature for a sovereign state, as a result, the army went through several distinct phases, characterized by official dissolution and reorganization of units. Soldiers in the Continental Army were citizens who had volunteered to serve in the army, early in the war the enlistment periods were short, as the Continental Congress feared the possibility of the Continental Army evolving into a permanent army. The army never numbered more than 17,000 men, turnover proved a constant problem, particularly in the winter of 1776–77, and longer enlistments were approved. Major General Philip Schuylers ten regiments in New York were sent to invade Canada, the Continental Army of 1776, reorganized after the initial enlistment period of the soldiers in the 1775 army had expired. Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England, the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and of its geographical focus. This army consisted of 36 regiments, most standardized to a battalion of 768 men strong and formed into eight companies. Enlistment terms extended to three years or to the length of the war to avoid the crises that depleted forces
39.
Fraunces Tavern
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Fraunces Tavern is a landmark museum and restaurant in New York City, situated at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street. It has been owned by Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York Inc. since 1904, which carried out a major conjectural reconstruction, the museum interprets the building and its history, along with varied exhibitions of art and artifacts. The tavern is a tourist site and a part of the American Whiskey Trail, the DeLancey family contended with the Livingston family for leadership of the Province of New York. DeLancey built the current building as a house in 1719, the small yellow bricks used in its construction were imported from the Dutch Republic and the sizable mansion ranked highly in the province for its quality. His heirs sold the building in 1762 to Samuel Fraunces who converted the home into the popular tavern, before the American Revolution, the building was one of the meeting places of the secret society, the Sons of Liberty. The patriots, disguised as American Indians, then dumped the tea cargo into New York Harbor. In 1768, the New York Chamber of Commerce was founded by a meeting in the building, in August 1775, Americans took possession of cannons from the artillery battery at the southern point of Manhattan and fired on HMS Asia. The British Royal Navy ship retaliated by firing a 32-gun broadside on the city, I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable. As he later asked to each one of his officers by the hand for a personal word. In January 1785, New York City became the seat of the Confederation Congress, the departments of Foreign Affairs, Finance and War had their offices at Fraunces Tavern. The inauguration of George Washington as first President of the United States took place in April 1789. C, the federal departments vacated their offices in the building and moved to Philadelphia in 1790. The building operated throughout much of the 19th century, but suffered serious fires beginning in 1832. Having been rebuilt several times, the appearance was changed to the extent that the original building design is not known. The building was owned by Malvina Keteltas in the early 1800s, ernst Buermeyer and his family leased part of the property in 1845 and ran a hotel called the Broad Street House at this location until 1860. After a disastrous fire in 1852, two stories were added, making the Tavern a total of five stories high, in 1890, the taproom was lowered to street level and the first floor exterior was remodeled, and its original timbers sold as souvenirs. In 1900, the tavern was slated for demolition by its owners, an extensive reconstruction was completed in 1907 under the supervision of early historic preservation architect, William Mersereau. Guide book of the era called the tavern the most famous building in New York, historian Randall Gabrielan wrote in 2000 that Mersereau claimed his remodeling of Fraunces Tavern was faithful to the original, but the design was controversial in his time. There was no argument over removing the upper stories, which were known to have been added during the buildings 19th Century commercial use, but adding the hipped roof was questioned
40.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
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