1.
United States Government
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The Federal Government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a republic in North America, composed of 50 states, one district, Washington, D. C. and several territories. The federal government is composed of three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U. S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the courts, including the Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are defined by acts of Congress. The full name of the republic is United States of America, no other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which it is a party. The terms Government of the United States of America or United States Government are often used in documents to represent the federal government as distinct from the states collectively. In casual conversation or writing, the term Federal Government is often used, the terms Federal and National in government agency or program names generally indicate affiliation with the federal government. Because the seat of government is in Washington, D. C, Washington is commonly used as a metonym for the federal government. The outline of the government of the United States is laid out in the Constitution, the government was formed in 1789, making the United States one of the worlds first, if not the first, modern national constitutional republics. The United States government is based on the principles of federalism and republicanism, some make the case for expansive federal powers while others argue for a more limited role for the central government in relation to individuals, the states or other recognized entities. For example, while the legislative has the power to create law, the President nominates judges to the nations highest judiciary authority, but those nominees must be approved by Congress. The Supreme Court, in its turn, has the power to invalidate as unconstitutional any law passed by the Congress and these and other examples are examined in more detail in the text below. The United States Congress is the branch of the federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House currently consists of 435 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district. The number of each state has in the House is based on each states population as determined in the most recent United States Census. All 435 representatives serve a two-year term, each state receives a minimum of one representative in the House. There is no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve, in addition to the 435 voting members, there are six non-voting members, consisting of five delegates and one resident commissioner. In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population, there are currently 100 senators, who each serve six-year terms
2.
Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
3.
United States Department of Homeland Security
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Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management. It was created in response to the September 11 attacks, in fiscal year 2017, it was allocated a net discretionary budget of $40.6 billion. With more than 240,000 employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department, after the Departments of Defense, Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice and its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism. On March 1,2003, DHS absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service, in doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. The investigative divisions and intelligence gathering units of the INS and Customs Service were merged forming Homeland Security Investigations, additionally, the border enforcement functions of the INS, including the U. S. Border Patrol, the U. S. Customs Service, the Federal Protective Service falls under the National Protection and Programs Directorate. The Department of Homeland Security is headed by the Secretary of Homeland Security with the assistance of the Deputy Secretary, the Department contains the components listed below. Agencies, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Processes and examines citizenship, residency, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Law enforcement agency divided into two bureaus, An agency that enforces U. S. It also investigates crimes against the U. S. monetary system including the crime of counterfeiting U. S. currency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, agency that oversees the federal governments response to natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, forest fires, etc. National Protection and Programs Directorate, risk-reduction, encompassing both physical and virtual threats and their associated human elements, Federal Protective Service, Federal law enforcement and security agency that protects and investigates crimes against U. S. federal buildings, properties, assets, and federal government interests. National Cybersecurity Center In an August 5,2002 speech, President Bush said, to secure freedom in the homeland. Prior to the creation of DHS, American presidents had referred to the U. S. as the nation or the republic, also unprecedented was the use, from 2002, of the phrase the homeland by White House spokespeople. In 2011 the Department of Homeland Security phased out the old Homeland Security Advisory System with a two-level National Terrorism Advisory System, the system has two types of advisories, Alerts and Bulletins. Alerts are issued when there is specific and credible information of a terrorist threat against the United States, Alerts themselves have two levels, Elevated and Imminent. An Elevated Alert is issued when there is information about an attack. An Imminent Alert is issued when the threat is very specific, many procedures at government facilities are tied in to the alert level, for example a facility may search all entering vehicles when the alert is above a certain level. After resigning, Tom Ridge stated that he did not always agree with the threat level adjustments pushed by other government agencies
4.
Executive order (United States)
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Executive orders are orders issued by United States Presidents and directed towards officers and agencies of the Federal government of the United States. Executive orders have the force of law, based on the authority derived from statute or the Constitution itself. The ability to such orders is also based on express or implied Acts of Congress that delegate to the President some degree of discretionary power. The United States Constitution does have a provision that explicitly permits the use of executive orders, the term executive power in Article II, Section 1, Clause 1 of the Constitution is not entirely clear. The term is mentioned as direction to take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed and is part of Article II, Section 3, the consequence of failing to comply possibly being removal from office. The U. S. Specifically, such orders must be rooted in Article II of the US Constitution or enacted by the congress in statutes. Attempts to block such orders have been successful at times when such orders exceeded the authority of the president or could be handled through legislation. Other types of orders issued by the Executive are generally classified simply as administrative rather than executive orders. Initially they took no set form, consequently, such orders varied as to form and substance. The most famous executive order was by President Abraham Lincoln when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,1863, Political scientist Brian R. Dirck states, The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order, itself a rather unusual thing in those days. Executive orders are simply presidential directives issued to agents of the department by its boss. Until the early 1900s, executive orders went mostly unannounced and undocumented and this changed when the Department of State instituted a numbering scheme in 1907, starting retroactively with United States Executive Order 1 issued on October 20,1862, by President Abraham Lincoln. President Trumans Executive Order 10340 in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer,343 US579 placed all steel mills in the country under federal control. This was found invalid because it attempted to make law, rather than clarify or act to further a law put forth by the Congress or the Constitution, Presidents since this decision have generally been careful to cite which specific laws they are acting under when issuing new executive orders. Wars have been fought upon executive order, including the 1999 Kosovo War during Bill Clintons second term in office, however, all such wars have had authorizing resolutions from Congress. President Truman issued 907 executive orders, with 1,081 orders by Theodore Roosevelt,1,203 orders by Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt has the distinction of making a record 3,522 executive orders. Prior to 1932, uncontested executive orders had determined such issues as national mourning on the death of a president, and the lowering of flags to half-staff. President Franklin Roosevelt issued the first of his 3,522 executive orders on March 6,1933, declaring a bank holiday, Executive Order 6102 forbade the hoarding of gold coin, bullion and gold certificates
5.
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
6.
State of emergency
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A government or division of government may declare that their area is in a state of emergency. This means that the government can suspend and/or change some functions of the executive and it alerts citizens to change their normal behavior and orders government agencies to implement emergency plans. Justitium is its equivalent in Roman law, where Senate could put forward senatus consultum ultimum and it can also be used as a rationale for suspending rights and freedoms guaranteed under a countrys constitution or basic law. The procedure for and legality of doing so varies by country, under international law, rights and freedoms may be suspended during a state of emergency, for example, a government can detain persons and hold them without trial. All rights that can be derogated from are listed in the International Covenant for Civil, non-derogable rights are listed in Article 4 of the ICCPR, they include the rights to freedom from arbitrary deprivation of liberty and to freedom from torture and/or ill-treatment. Constitutions are contracts between the government and the individuals of that country. The International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights is an international law document signed by states, therefore, the Covenant only applies to persons acting in an official capacity, not private individuals. However, signatories to the Covenant are expected to integrate it into national legislation, although this is common protocol stipulated by the ICCPR often this is not strictly followed, enforcement is better regulated by European Convention of human rights. In some situations, martial law is declared, allowing the military greater authority to act. In other situations, emergency is not declared and de facto measures taken or decree-law adopted by the government. Ms. Nicole Questiaux and Mr. Article 4 to the International Covenant on Civil, the European Convention on Human Rights and American Convention on Human Rights have similar derogatory provisions. No derogation is permitted to the International Labour Conventions, some political theorists, such as Carl Schmitt, have argued that the power to decide the initiation of the state of emergency defines sovereignty itself. The state of emergency can, and often has been, abused by being invoked, an example would be to allow a state to suppress internal opposition without having to respect human rights. An example was the August 1991 attempted coup in the Soviet Union where the coup leaders invoked a state of emergency and this provision was much abused during dictatorships, with long-lasting states of siege giving the government a free hand to suppress opposition. State-of-emergency legislation differs in each state of Australia, in Victoria, the premier can declare a state of emergency if there is a threat to employment, safety or public order. The declaration expires after 30 days, and a resolution of either the upper or lower House of Parliament may revoke it earlier, under the Public Safety Preservation Act, a declared state of emergency allows the premier to immediately make any desired regulations to secure public order and safety. However, these regulations expire if Parliament does not agree to them within 7 days. Also, under the Essential Services Act, the premier may operate or prohibit operation of, as desired, a State of Emergency does not apply to the whole state, but rather districts or shires, where essential services may have been disrupted
7.
Federal government of the United States
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The Federal Government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a republic in North America, composed of 50 states, one district, Washington, D. C. and several territories. The federal government is composed of three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U. S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the courts, including the Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are defined by acts of Congress. The full name of the republic is United States of America, no other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which it is a party. The terms Government of the United States of America or United States Government are often used in documents to represent the federal government as distinct from the states collectively. In casual conversation or writing, the term Federal Government is often used, the terms Federal and National in government agency or program names generally indicate affiliation with the federal government. Because the seat of government is in Washington, D. C, Washington is commonly used as a metonym for the federal government. The outline of the government of the United States is laid out in the Constitution, the government was formed in 1789, making the United States one of the worlds first, if not the first, modern national constitutional republics. The United States government is based on the principles of federalism and republicanism, some make the case for expansive federal powers while others argue for a more limited role for the central government in relation to individuals, the states or other recognized entities. For example, while the legislative has the power to create law, the President nominates judges to the nations highest judiciary authority, but those nominees must be approved by Congress. The Supreme Court, in its turn, has the power to invalidate as unconstitutional any law passed by the Congress and these and other examples are examined in more detail in the text below. The United States Congress is the branch of the federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House currently consists of 435 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district. The number of each state has in the House is based on each states population as determined in the most recent United States Census. All 435 representatives serve a two-year term, each state receives a minimum of one representative in the House. There is no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve, in addition to the 435 voting members, there are six non-voting members, consisting of five delegates and one resident commissioner. In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population, there are currently 100 senators, who each serve six-year terms
8.
Emergency
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An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment. While some emergencies are self-evident, many smaller incidents require that an observer decide whether it qualifies as an emergency, state statutes typically define an emergency as. a condition where life, health, or property is in jeopardy, and the prompt summoning of aid is essential. Whilst most emergency services agree on protecting human health, life and property and this also extends to areas such as animal welfare, where some emergency organisations cover this element through the property definition, where animals owned by a person are threatened. This means that agencies do not mount an emergency response where it endangers wild animals or environment. The attitude of the agencies involved is likely to reflect the predominant opinion of the government of the area, many emergencies cause an immediate danger to the life of people involved. Most agencies consider these the highest priority emergency, which follows the school of thought that nothing is more important than human life. Some emergencies are not necessarily immediately threatening to life, but might have implications for the continued health. Many life emergencies, such as cardiac arrest, are also health emergencies, some emergencies do not immediately endanger life, health or property, but do affect the natural environment and creatures living within it. Not all agencies consider this an emergency, but it can have far-reaching effects on animals. Examples would include forest fires and marine oil spills, agencies across the world have different systems for classifying incidents, but all of them serve to help them allocate finite resource, by prioritising between different emergencies. The first stage of any classification is likely to define whether the incident qualifies as an emergency, some agencies may still respond to non-emergency calls, depending on their remit and availability of resource. An example of this would be a fire department responding to help retrieve a cat from a tree, following this, many agencies assign a sub-classification to the emergency, prioritising incidents that have the most potential for risk to life, health or property. For instance, many ambulance services use a system called the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System or a similar solution, the AMPDS categorises all calls to the ambulance service using it as either A category, B Category or C category. Some services have a category, where they believe that no response is required after clinical questions are asked. Another system for prioritizing medical calls is known as Emergency Medical Dispatch, other systems use objective measures to direct resource. Two such systems are SAD CHALET and ETHANE, which are both mnemonics to help emergency services staff classify incidents, and direct resource, each of these acronyms helps ascertain the number of casualties, how the incident has occurred, and what emergency services are required. Most developed countries have a number of services operating within them. Most developed countries operate three core emergency services, Police – who deal with security of person and property, which can all three categories of emergency
9.
Oklahoma City bombing
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The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Downtown, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States on April 19,1995. Carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the bombing destroyed one-third of the building, killed a total of 168 people, and injured more than 680 others. Extensive rescue efforts were undertaken by local, state, federal, and worldwide agencies in the wake of the bombing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency activated eleven of its Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces, consisting of 665 rescue workers who assisted in rescue and recovery operations. This was the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil until the September 11 attacks six years later, within 90 minutes of the explosion, McVeigh was stopped by Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Charlie Hanger for driving without a license plate and arrested for illegal weapons possession. Forensic evidence quickly linked McVeigh and Nichols to the attack, Nichols was arrested, Michael and Lori Fortier were later identified as accomplices. McViegh, who was a Militia organizations in the United States|U. S, Militia movement]] sympathizer and a veteran in the Gulf War, had detonated a Ryder rental truck full of explosives parked in front of the building. His co-conspirator, Nichols, had assisted in the bomb preparation, motivated by his dislike for the U. S. The official investigation, known as OKBOMB, saw FBI agents conduct 28,000 interviews, amass 3.5 short tons of evidence, the bombers were tried and convicted in 1997. McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11,2001, as a result of the bombing, the U. S. On April 19,2000, the Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated on the site of the Murrah Federal Building, commemorating the victims of the bombing, annual remembrance services are held at the same time of day as the explosion occurred. The chief conspirators, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, met in 1988 at Fort Benning during basic training for the U. S. Army, Michael Fortier, McVeighs accomplice, was his Army roommate. The three shared interests in survivalism, in March 1993, McVeigh visited the Waco site during the standoff, and then again after its conclusion. McVeigh later decided to bomb a building as a response to the raids. He initially intended only to destroy a building, but he later decided that his message would be better received if many people were killed in the bombing. He regarded the presence of law enforcement agencies, such as the Secret Service or the U. S. Marshals Service. McVeigh, a resident of Kingman, Arizona, considered targets in Missouri, Arizona, Texas, in December 1994, McVeigh and Fortier visited Oklahoma City to inspect McVeighs target, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The Murrah building had previously targeted in October 1983 by white supremacist group The Covenant, The Sword. The group had plotted to park a van or trailer in front of the Federal Building, after Snells appeal for murdering two people in unrelated cases was denied, he was executed the same day as the Murrah bombing
10.
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
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The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States federal government complex located at 200 N. W. 5th Street in Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19,1995, half of the building collapsed seconds after the truck bomb detonated. The remains of the building were imploded a month after the attack, the federal building was designed by architect Wendell Locke of Locke, Wright and Associates and constructed using reinforced concrete in 1977 at a cost of $14.5 million. The building, named for federal judge Alfred P. Murrah, by the 1990s, the building contained regional offices for the Social Security Administration, the U. S. The building also contained recruiting offices for both the Army and the Marine Corps, the building also housed a childrens day care center. While the CSA was building a rocket launcher to attack the building, the CSA took this as divine intervention and called off the planned attack. Snell reportedly spent his last day watching news coverage of the bombing and laughing to himself, as a result of the massive explosion,168 people were killed, including 19 children, and over 800 others were injured. It was the deadliest terrorist attack, with the most property damage and it remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history. Timothy McVeigh was found guilty of the attack in a trial and was sentenced to death. A co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, is serving life sentences in a federal prison. Third and fourth subjects, Michael Fortier and his wife Lori and they testified against both McVeigh and Nichols in exchange for a 12-year prison term for Michael Fortier and immunity for Lori. Fortier was released into the protection program in January 2006. McVeigh said that he bombed the Murrah building on the anniversary of the Waco siege in 1993 to retaliate for U. S. government actions there. Before his execution, McVeigh said that he did not know a day care center was in the building, the FBI said that McVeigh scouted the interior of the building in December 1994 and likely knew of the day-care center before the bombing. Many works of art were in the Murrah Building when it was destroyed in the Oklahoma City bombing, the Oklahoma City National Memorial displays art that survived the bombing. Lost, Sky Ribbons, An Oklahoma Tribute, Fiber sculpture by Gerhardt Knodel Columbines at Cascade Canyon, an untitled acrylic sculpture by Fred Eversley was severely damaged, but survived the blast. Rescue and recovery efforts were concluded at 11,50 pm on May 1, with the bodies of all, for safety reasons, the building was to be demolished shortly afterward. However, McVeighs attorney, Stephen Jones, called for a motion to delay the demolition until the team could examine the site in preparation for the trial
11.
Space Shuttle Columbia
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Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space-rated orbiter in NASAs Space Shuttle fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12,1981, construction began on Columbia in 1975 at Rockwell Internationals principal assembly facility in Palmdale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. It is also named after the Command Module of Apollo 11, Columbia was also the female symbol of the United States. After construction, the arrived at Kennedy Space Center on March 25,1979. Columbia was originally scheduled to lift off in late 1979, however the date was delayed by problems with both the SSME components, as well as the thermal protection system. On March 19,1981, during preparations for a ground test, workers were asphyxiated while working in Columbias nitrogen-purged aft engine compartment, resulting in two or three fatalities. Columbia spent 610 days in the Orbiter Processing Facility, another 35 days in the Vehicle Assembly Building, Columbia then undertook three further research missions to test its technical characteristics and performance. Its first operational mission, with a crew, was STS-5. At this point Columbia was joined by Challenger, which flew the next three missions, while Columbia underwent modifications for the first Spacelab mission. At that time the fleet was expanded to include Discovery. Columbia returned to space on January 12,1986, with the launch of STS-61-C, the missions crew included Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, as well as the first sitting member of the House of Representatives to venture into space, Bill Nelson. The next shuttle mission, STS-51-L, was undertaken by Challenger and it was launched on January 28,1986, ten days after STS-61-C had landed, and ended in disaster 73 seconds after launch. In the aftermath NASAs shuttle timetable was disrupted, and Columbia was not flown again until 1989, sTS-93, launched on July 23,1999, was the first U. S. space mission with a female commander, Lt. Col. Eileen Collins. This mission deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Columbias final successful mission was STS-109, the fourth servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. Its next mission, STS-107, culminated in the loss when it disintegrated during reentry. Consequently, President Bush decided to retire the Shuttle orbiter fleet by 2010 in favor of the Constellation program, the Constellation program was later cancelled with the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 signed by President Obama on October 11. Due to its weight, Columbia could not have used the planned Centaur-G booster, the retention of the internal airlock allowed NASA to use Columbia for the STS-109 Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, along with the Spacehab double module used on STS-107. The upgrade also involved replacing many of the white LRSI tiles on the surfaces with Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation blankets that had been used on Discovery
12.
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
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On February 1,2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentering Earths atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was the tragedy in the Space Shuttle program after Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. During the launch of STS-107, Columbias 28th mission, a piece of foam broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank. A few previous shuttle launches had seen damage ranging from minor to major from foam shedding, NASA managers limited the investigation, reasoning that the crew could not have fixed the problem if it had been confirmed. After the disaster, Space Shuttle flight operations were suspended for more than two years, as they had been after the Challenger disaster. Commander, Rick D. Husband, a U. S. Air Force colonel and mechanical engineer, payload Commander, Michael P. Anderson, a U. S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, physicist, and mission specialist who was in charge of the science mission. Payload Specialist, Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force, Mission Specialist, Kalpana Chawla, aerospace engineer who was on her second space mission. Mission Specialist, David M. Brown, a U. S. Navy captain trained as an aviator, Mission Specialist, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, a U. S. Navy captain and flight surgeon. The shuttles main fuel tank is covered in thermal insulation foam intended to prevent ice from forming when the tank is full of liquid hydrogen and oxygen, such ice could damage the shuttle if shed during lift-off. Mission STS-107 was the 113th Space Shuttle launch, planned to begin on January 11,2001, the mission was delayed 18 times and eventually launched on January 16,2003, following STS-113. About 82 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Centers LC-39-A, a piece of foam broke off from the External Tank. At the time of the strike, the orbiter was at an altitude of about 66,000 feet. The Left Bipod Foam Ramp is an approximately three-foot long aerodynamic component made entirely of foam, the foam, not normally considered to be a structural material, is required to bear some aerodynamic loads. Because of these requirements, the casting-in-place and curing of the ramps may be performed only by a senior technician. Bipod Ramp insulation had been observed falling off, in whole or in part, on four flights, STS-7, STS-32, STS-50. All affected shuttle missions completed successfully, NASA management came to refer to this phenomenon as foam shedding. This phenomenon was termed normalization of deviance by sociologist Diane Vaughan in her book on the Challenger launch decision process. As it happened, STS-112 had been the first flight with the ET Cam, after STS-112, NASA leaders analyzed the situation and decided to press ahead under the justification that he ET is safe to fly with no new concerns of further foam strikes
13.
Small Business Administration
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The Small Business Administration is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The agencys activities are summarized as the 3 Cs of capital, contracts, SBA loans are made through banks, credit unions and other lenders who partner with the SBA. The SBA provides a guarantee on part of the loan. The agency had record lending volumes in late 2010, SBA helps lead the federal governments efforts to deliver 23 percent of prime federal contracts to small businesses. SBA has at least one office in each U. S. state and these counseling services provide services to over 1 million entrepreneurs and small business owners annually. The SBA was created on July 30,1953, by President Eisenhower with the signing of the Small Business Act, the Small Business Act was originally enacted as the Small Business Act of 1953 in Title II of Pub. L. 83–163, The Reconstruction Finance Corporation Liquidation Act was Title I, the Small Business Act Amendments of 1958 withdrew Title II as part of that act and made it a separate act to be known as the Small Business Act. Its function was and is to aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the SBA has survived a number of threats to its existence. In 1996, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives planned to eliminate the agency and it survived and went on to receive a record high budget in 2000. Renewed efforts by the Bush Administration to end the SBA loan program met congressional resistance, although the SBAs budget was repeatedly cut, the Obama Administration has supported the SBA budget. Significant supplemental appropriations for the agency strengthened SBA lending through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the SBA has an Administrator and a Deputy Administrator. The most visible elements of the SBA are the programs it administers. The SBA does not provide grants or direct loans with the exception of Disaster Relief Loans, instead, the SBA guarantees against default certain portions of business loans made by banks and other lenders that conform to its guidelines. A business can qualify for the even if the yearly payment approximates previous years profit. Most banks want annual payment for loans no more than two-thirds of prior years operating profits, lower payments, longer terms and loosened criteria allow some businesses to borrow more money than otherwise. One of the most popular uses of SBA loans is commercial mortgages on buildings occupied or to be occupied by small business and these programs are beneficial to small business because most bank programs frequently require larger down payments and/or have repayment terms requiring borrowers refinance every five years. The 7 Loan Guarantee Program is designed to help start or expand their small businesses. The program makes available to small businesses through bank and non-bank lending institutions
14.
Emergency management
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Disaster management is the creation of plans through which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Disaster management does not avert or eliminate the threats, instead, failure to create a plan could lead to human mortality, lost revenue, and damage to assets. Events covered by disaster management include acts of terrorism, industrial sabotage, fire, natural disasters, public disorder, industrial accidents, and communication failures. If possible, emergency planning should aim to prevent emergencies from occurring, as time goes on, and more data becomes available, usually through the study of emergencies as they occur, a plan should evolve. There are very few Emergency Management specific standards, and emergency management as a discipline tends to fall under business resilience standards. In order to avoid, or reduce significant losses to a business, emergency managers should work to identify and anticipate potential risks, hopefully to reduce their probability of occurring. It is essential for an organisation to include procedures for determining whether a situation has occurred. An emergency plan must be maintained, in a structured and methodical manner. Emergency managers generally follow a process to anticipate, assess, prevent, prepare, respond. Emergency management plans and procedures should include the identification of appropriately trained staff members responsible for decision-making when an emergency occurs, Training plans should include internal people, contractors and civil protection partners, and should state the nature and frequency of training and testing. Testing of a plans effectiveness should occur regularly, in instances where several business or organisations occupy the same space, joint emergency plans, formally agreed to by all parties, should be put into place. Communication is one of the key issues during any emergency, pre-planning of communications is critical, miscommunication can easily result in emergency events escalating unnecessarily. Once an emergency has been identified a comprehensive assessment evaluating the level of impact, following assessment, the appropriate plan or response to be activated will depend on a specific pre-set criteria within the emergency plan. The steps necessary should be prioritized to ensure critical functions are operational as soon as possible, the critical functions are those that makes the plan untenable if not operationalized. The Communication policy must be known and rehearsed and all targeted audiences or publics. All Communication infrastructure must be as prepared as possible with all information on groupings clearly identified, Emergency management consists of five phases, prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Http, //www. fema. gov/mission-areas It focuses on preventing the human hazard, preventive measures are taken on both the domestic and international levels, designed to provide permanent protection from disasters. Not all disasters, particularly natural disasters, can be prevented, in January 2005,167 Governments adopted a 10-year global plan for natural disaster risk reduction called the Hyogo Framework
15.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
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Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is the city in the county, but only the fourth-largest community. The first known European to explore and write about the area was Martin Pring in 1603, the Piscataqua River is a tidal estuary with a swift current, but forms a good natural harbor. The west bank of the harbor was settled by English colonists in 1630 and named Strawbery Banke, the village was fortified by Fort William and Mary. Strategically located for trade between upstream industries and mercantile interests abroad, the port prospered, fishing, lumber and shipbuilding were principal businesses of the region. Enslaved Africans were imported as laborers as early as 1645 and were integral to building the citys prosperity, Portsmouth was part of the Triangle Trade, which made significant profits from slavery. At the towns incorporation in 1653, it was named Portsmouth in honor of the colonys founder and he had been captain of the port of Portsmouth, England, in the county of Hampshire, for which New Hampshire is named. In 1774, in the lead-up to the Revolution, Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth warning that the British were coming, although the harbor was protected by Fort William and Mary, the rebel government moved the capital inland to Exeter, safe from the Royal Navy. The Navy bombarded Falmouth on October 18,1775, African Americans helped defend Portsmouth and New England during the war. Their petition was not answered then, but New Hampshire later ended slavery, Thomas Jeffersons 1807 embargo against trade with Britain withered New Englands trade with Canada, and a number of local fortunes were lost. Others were gained by men who acted as privateers during the War of 1812, in 1849, Portsmouth was incorporated as a city. Once one of the nations busiest ports and shipbuilding cities, Portsmouth expressed its wealth in fine architecture and it contains significant examples of Colonial, Georgian, and Federal style houses, a selection of which are now museums. Portsmouths heart contains stately brick Federalist stores and townhouses, built all-of-a-piece after devastating early 19th-century fires, the worst was in 1813 when 244 buildings burned. A fire district was created that required all new buildings within its boundaries to be built of brick with slate roofs, the city was also noted for the production of boldly wood-veneered Federalist furniture, particularly by the master cabinet maker Langley Boardman. The Industrial Revolution spurred economic growth in New Hampshire mill towns such as Dover, Keene, Laconia, Manchester, Nashua and Rochester and it shifted growth to the new mill towns. The port of Portsmouth declined, but the city survived through Victorian-era doldrums, in the 20th century, the city founded a Historic District Commission, which has worked to protect much of the citys irreplaceable architectural legacy. In 2008, Portsmouth was named one of the Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the compact and walkable downtown on the waterfront draws tourists and artists, who each summer throng the cafes, restaurants and shops around Market Square. Portsmouth annually celebrates the revitalization of its downtown with Market Square Day, Portsmouth shipbuilding history has had a long symbiotic relationship with Kittery, Maine, across the Piscataqua River
16.
7th United States Congress
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It met in Washington, D. C. from March 4,1801, to March 4,1803, during the first two years of Thomas Jeffersons presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the First Census of the United States in 1790, both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority, except during the Special session of the Senate, when there was a Federalist majority in the Senate. S. Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison April 29,1802, Judiciary Act of 1802,31,2 Stat.156 April 30,1802, Enabling Act of 1802, ch. 40,2 Stat.173 Ohio was admitted as a state, the exact date is unclear and in dispute, but it is undisputed that it was during this Congress. However, on April 30,1802, the 7th U. S. Congress had passed an act authorizing the inhabitants of Ohio to form a Constitution and state government, and admission of Ohio into the Union. On February 19,1803, the same Congress passed an act providing for the execution of the laws of the United States in the State of Ohio. The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that Ohio was admitted to the Union on November 29,1802, and counts its seats as vacant from that date. The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the Changes in membership section. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district, senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, the count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress. There was 1 death,8 resignations, and 2 seats added for a new state, beckley Chaplain, Thomas J. Claggett Edward Gantt, elected December 9,1801 Secretary, Samuel A. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, the Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts
17.
Tariff
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A tariff is a tax on imports or exports. In other languages and very occasionally in English, tariff or its equivalent may also be used to any list of prices. A customs duty or due is the tax levied on the import or export of goods in international trade. In economic sense, a duty is also a kind of consumption tax, a duty levied on goods being imported is referred to as an import duty. Similarly, a duty levied on exports is called an export duty, a tariff, which is actually a list of commodities along with the leviable rate of customs duty, is popularly referred to as a customs duty. This is no longer the case, Customs duty is calculated on the determination of the assessable value in case of those items for which the duty is levied ad valorem. This is often the transaction value unless a customs officer determines assessable value in accordance with the Harmonized System, However, for certain items like petroleum and alcohol, customs duty is realized at a specific rate applied to the volume of the import or export consignments. For the purpose of assessment of duty, products are given an identification code that has come to be known as the Harmonized System code. This code was developed by the World Customs Organization based in Brussels, a Harmonized System code may be from four to ten digits. For example,17.03 is the HS code for molasses from the extraction or refining of sugar, However, within 17.03, the number 17.03.90 stands for Molasses. Introduction of Harmonized System code in 1990s has largely replaced the Standard International Trade Classification, in drawing up the national tariff, the revenue departments often specifies the rate of customs duty with reference to the HS code of the product. A Customs authority in each country is responsible for collecting taxes on the import into or export of goods out of the country, Evasion of customs duties takes place mainly in two ways. In one, the trader under-declares the value so that the value is lower than actual. In a similar vein, a trader can evade customs duty by understatement of quantity or volume of the product of trade, a trader may also evade duty by misrepresenting traded goods, categorizing goods as items which attract lower customs duties. The Evasion of customs duty may take place with or without the collaboration of customs officials, Evasion of customs duty does not necessarily constitute smuggling. Many countries allow a traveler to bring goods into the country duty-free and these goods may be bought at ports and airports or sometimes within one country without attracting the usual government taxes and then brought into another country duty-free. Some countries impose allowances which limit the number or value of items that one person can bring into the country. These restrictions often apply to tobacco, wine, spirits, cosmetics, gifts, often foreign diplomats and UN officials are entitled to duty-free goods
18.
Great Fire of New York (1835)
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The Great Fire of New York was one of three fires that did extensive damage to New York City in the 18th and 19th centuries. The fire covered 17 city blocks and destroyed hundreds of buildings, the fire killed two people and cost an estimated $200 million in property damage. By 1835, New York City was the premier American city, the opening of the Erie Canal ten years earlier connected New York to raw materials and commercial interests in the Midwest and allowed the city to rise to prominence as a market hub. Over half of the countrys exports left through New York Harbor, Insurance companies, investment firms, real estate companies and others made New York their home. As the city expanded northward and its economic significance increased, fire was a major concern, Insurance companies worried that a large fire could sap their resources. The mayor and common council members held stock in or were members of many fire insurance firms. City officials made efforts to build more towers and hire more watchmen. One serious impediment to firefighting was the lack of a water source. By 1835, little had been done to solve the water problem. The citys residents as well as its firefighters relied on wells, forty fire cisterns and a reservoir located at 13th Street. Cholera outbreaks in 1832 and 1834 hastened the citys plans for building the Croton Reservoir, the fire departments growth in the 1820s and 1830s had not kept pace with the growth of the city. The citys population had swelled by an additional 145,000 in the past decade,1,500 firemen,55 engines,6 ladder companies and 5 hose carts could not protect the city. Throughout the summer and fall of 1835, the department had fought numerous fires, on December 14, the entire fire department –1,500 strong – had spent the freezing, miserable evening fighting two large fires, which destroyed thirteen buildings and two shops. The citys fire cisterns were nearly empty and its firefighting force exhausted when disaster struck. The fire began on the evening of December 16,1835, in a warehouse at 25 Merchant Street, now known as Beaver Street, at the intersection of Hanover Square. As it spread, gale-force winds blowing from the northwest towards the East River spread the fire, at the time of the fire, major water sources including the East River and the Hudson River were frozen solid in temperatures as low as −17 °F. The conflagration was visible from Philadelphia, approximately 80 miles away, firefighters were forced to drill holes through ice to access water, which later froze in the hoses and pipes. Attempts were made to deprive the fire of fuel by demolishing surrounding buildings, later in the evening, Marines returned with gunpowder from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and began to blow up buildings in the fires path
19.
John T. Ford
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John Thompson Ford was an American theater manager in the nineteenth century. He is most notable for operating Fords Theatre at the time of the Abraham Lincoln assassination, Ford was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the son of Elias and Anna Ford. His ancestors were early Maryland settlers and some of them took part in the American Revolution, for a few years he attended public school in Baltimore and then became a clerk in his uncle’s tobacco factory in Richmond, Virginia. Not caring for this work, he became a bookseller, working as a bookseller in Richmond, Ford then wrote a farce dealing with contemporary life. The farce was entitled Richmond As It Is, and was produced by a company called the Nightingale Serenaders. This farce was fairly successful, and George Kunkel, the owner and manager of the Serenaders and he accepted, and for several seasons traveled as business manager of this company throughout the United States and Canada. In 1854, Ford assumed control of the Holliday Street Theater, Baltimore, later, he built the Grand Opera House in that city in 1871. Ford also was responsible for creating three theaters in Washington, D. C and he opened his first theatre on Tenth Street in 1861. After it was destroyed by fire the year, he rebuilt the structure on the same site. Ford was the manager of this highly successful theatre at the time of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and he was a good friend of Lincolns assassin John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor. Ford drew further suspicion upon himself by being in Richmond, Virginia, until April 2,1865, Richmond had been the capital of the Confederate States of America and a center of anti-Lincoln conspiracies. An order was issued for Fords arrest and on April 18 and his brothers James and Harry Clay Ford were thrown into prison along with him. After 39 days, the brothers were finally fully exonerated and set free since there was no evidence of their complicity in the crime, the theater was seized by the government, and Ford was paid $100,000 for it by Congress. The treatment accorded to him following the assassination made him remain bitter toward the US government for decades, during his career, Ford also managed theaters in Alexandria, Virginia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Charleston, South Carolina, and Richmond. It was at Richmonds Marshall Theatre, then under Fords management, that in November,1856, Edwin Booth first met Mary Devlin, joseph Jefferson was then the stage manager and a member of the company of this theater, as was Dion Boucicault. Ford also managed a number of travelling as well as resident companies, which included the greatest stars. He had a reputation for being honest and honorable in his numerous business dealings, pinafore craze of the late 1870s, he was the only American manager who paid Gilbert and Sullivan a royalty on the opera. For a period of forty years, Ford was an active and he was connected with many banking and financial concerns, and his business advice was sought and relied on
20.
Ford's Theatre
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Fords Theatre is a theater in Washington, D. C. used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14,1865, after being shot, the mortally wounded president was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where he died the next morning. The theater was used as a warehouse and office building. It was renovated and re-opened as a theater in 1968, during the 2000s, it was renovated again, opening on February 12,2009, in commemoration of the bicentennial of Lincolns birth. A related Center for Education and Leadership museum experience opened February 12,2012 next to Petersen House, Fords Theatre is located at 511 10th Street, NW. The site was originally a house of worship, constructed in 1833 as the meeting house of the First Baptist Church of Washington. In 1861, after the congregation moved to a built structure. Ford bought the church and renovated it into a theater. He first called it Fords Athenaeum, the famous actor John Wilkes Booth, desperate to aid the dying Confederacy, stepped into the box where the presidential party was sitting and shot Lincoln. Booth then jumped onto the stage, and cried out Sic semper tyrannis just before escaping through the back of the theater, between 1866 and 1887, the theater was taken over by the U. S. In 1887, the building became a clerks office for the War Department. On June 9,1893, the front part of the building collapsed, killing 22 clerks and this led some people to believe that the former church turned theater and storeroom was cursed. The building was repaired and used as a government warehouse until 1911, in 1928, the building was turned over from the War Department Office to the Office of Public Buildings and Parks of the National Capital. A Lincoln museum opened on the first floor of the building on February 12. In 1933, the building was transferred to the National Park Service, hildreth first suggested to Young the need for its restoration in 1945. Through extensive lobbying of Congress, a bill was passed in 1955 to prepare a study for the reconstruction of the building. In 1964 Congress approved funds for its restoration, which began that year and was completed in 1968, on January 21,1968, Vice President Hubert Humphrey and 500 others dedicated the restored theater. The theater reopened on January 30,1968, with a gala performance, the theater was again renovated during the 2000s
21.
54th United States Congress
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It met in Washington, D. C. from March 4,1895 to March 4,1897, during the last two years of Grover Clevelands presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Eleventh Census of the United States in 1890, the House had a Republican majority, and the Republicans were the largest party in the Senate. May 21,1896, Oil Pipe Line Act, ch,484, March 2,1897, Tea Importation Act,29 Stat. 604, January 4,1896, Utah was admitted the 45th state and this count identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the Changes in membership section, culberson This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and Representatives are listed by district, skip to House of Representatives, below Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, the names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers. The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress, two seats were added when Utah was admitted and one seat was filled late. There were 4 deaths,2 resignations,13 election challenges,1 new seat, democrats had a 10-seat net loss, Republicans had a 12-seat net gain, and Populists had a 2-seat net gain. Benedict Chaplain, William H. Millburn Secretary, William Ruffin Cox Sergeant at Arms, Richard J. Bright Chaplain, Henry N. Couden Clerk, Alexander McDowell Clerk at the Speaker’s Table, Asher C. Hinds Doorkeeper, William J. Glenn Postmaster, Joseph C. McElroy Sergeant at Arms, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts, biographical Directory of the U. S. Congress U. S. House of Representatives, House History U. S. Senate, Statistics and Lists Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 1st Session. Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 1st Session, Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 2nd Session. Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 2nd Session
22.
Great Depression
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The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, in most countries it started in 1929 and it was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the economy can decline. The depression originated in the United States, after a fall in stock prices that began around September 4,1929. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%, by comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s, however, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%, unemployment in the U. S. rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries, farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most. Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 optimism persisted for some time, john D. Rockefeller said These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come, prosperity has always returned and will again. The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April and this was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929. Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered losses in the stock market the previous year. In addition, beginning in the mid-1930s, a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the U. S, by mid-1930, interest rates had dropped to low levels, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment were depressed. By May 1930, automobile sales had declined to below the levels of 1928, prices in general began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930
23.
Herbert Hoover
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Herbert Clark Hoover was an American politician who served as the 31st President of the United States from 1929 to 1933 during the Great Depression. He was defeated in a landslide in 1932 by Democrat Franklin D, a lifelong Quaker, he became a successful mining engineer around the globe and retired in 1912. In the First World War he built a reputation as a humanitarian by leading relief efforts in Belgium during the war. He headed the U. S. Food Administration during World War I and his reputation as a Progressive businessman fighting for efficiency and elimination of waste was built as the Secretary of Commerce 1921-28. Hoover was a leader in the Efficiency Movement, which held that every institution public and they all could be improved by experts who could identify the problems and solve them. He also believed in the importance of volunteerism and of the role of individuals in society, in the presidential election of 1928, Hoover easily won the Republican nomination, despite having no elected-office experience. Although Hoover never raised the issue, some of his supporters did in mobilizing anti-Catholic sentiment against his opponent Al Smith. He reluctantly approved the Smoot–Hawley Tariff of 1930, which sent foreign trade spiralling down and he believed it was essential to balance the budget despite falling tax revenue, so he raised the tax rates. The economy kept falling, and the unemployment rate rose to 25%, with industry, mining. This downward spiral, plus his support for policies that had lost favor, set the stage for Hoovers overwhelming defeat in 1932 by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. Most historians agree that Hoovers defeat in the 1932 election was caused primarily by the downward economic spiral, Hoover became a conservative spokesman for opposition to the domestic and foreign policies of the New Deal. He opposed entry into the Second World War and was not given any role to play, in 1946, President Harry S. Truman liked Hoover and appointed him to survey war-torn Germany which produced a number of reports that changed U. S. occupation policy. In 1947, Truman appointed Hoover to head the Hoover Commission, by the time of his death, he had rehabilitated his image. Nevertheless, Hoover is often ranked by historians as one of the worst U. S. presidents. Herbert Hoover was born on August 10,1874, in West Branch, Iowa, he would become the only President so far born in that state and the first born west of the Mississippi River. His father, Jesse Hoover, was a blacksmith and farm implement store owner, of German, German-Swiss, Jesse Hoover and his father Eli had moved to Iowa from Ohio twenty years previously. Hoovers mother, Hulda Randall Minthorn, was born in Norwich, Ontario, Canada, both of his parents were Quakers. At about age two he contracted the croup and he was so ill that he was momentarily thought to have died, until he was resuscitated by his uncle, John Minthorn
24.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
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Its purpose was to boost the country’s confidence and help banks resume daily functions after the start of the Great Depression. The RFC became more prominent under the New Deal and continued to operate through World War II and it was disbanded in 1957, when the US government concluded that it no longer needed to stimulate lending. The RFC was an independent agency of the United States government, the idea was suggested by Eugene Meyer of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, recommended by President Hoover, and established by Congress in 1932. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation of World War I, in total, it gave $2 billion in aid to state and local governments and made a large number of loans, nearly all of which were repaid. The agency played a role in recapitalizing banks in the 1930s and it was effective in reducing bank failures. It also helped to set up relief programs that were taken over by the New Deal in 1933, part of the Federal Reserve Systems mission was to act as a lender of last resort to banks during financial panics. However, the Board of Governors did not have authority to mandate policies or act independently. Opponents of these proposals believed that they would create high inflation. To address these problems, Congress passed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act of 1932 with broad bipartisan support, President Herbert Hoover signed into law on January 22. Like the Federal Reserve, the RFC would loan to banks, another distinction was that the RFC could make loans on the basis of collateral that the Federal Reserve and other lenders would not accept. The related Banking Act of 1932, signed on February 27th, broadened the Federal Reserves lending powers, essentially, the RFC was the discount lending arm of the Federal Reserve. The initial funding for the RFC came from the sale of $500 million worth of stock, to obtain more capital, it sold $1.5 billion in bonds to the Treasury, which then sold them to the general public. In its first couple of years, the RFC needed a loan of $51.3 billion from the Treasury, the RFC lent to solvent institutions that could not be sold to repay their existing liabilities but would be able to do so in the long run. A main reason for such loans was to ensure that depositors got their money back, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation spent $1.5 billion in 1932, $1.8 billion in 1933, and $1.8 billion in 1934 before dropping to about $350 million a year. In August 1939, on the eve of World War II, in 1941, it disbursed $1.8 billion. The total loaned or otherwise disbursed by the RFC from 1932 through 1941 was $9.465 billion, chairmen of the Board of Directors Administrators and Deputy Administrators The first RFC president was a former vice president named Charles Dawes. He soon had to resign to attend to his bank in Chicago, the presidency of the RFC thus switched from a Republican to a Democrat. Like the Federal Reserve, the RFC tended to bail out the banks that benefited the government the most, partisan politics hindered the RFCs efforts, though in 1932, monetary conditions improved because the RFC slowed the decline in the nations money supply
25.
Federal Highway Administration
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The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agencys major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program and its role had previously been performed by the Office of Road Inquiry, Office of Public Roads and the Bureau of Public Roads. The organization has several organizations and a complicated history. The Office of Road Inquiry was founded in 1893, in 1905 that organizations name was changed to the Office of Public Roads which became a division of the United States Department of Agriculture. The name was changed again to the Bureau of Public Roads in 1915 and it was then shifted to the Federal Works Agency which was abolished in 1949 when its name reverted to Bureau of Public Roads under the Department of Commerce. With the coming of the bicycle in the 1890s, interest grew regarding the improvement of streets, the traditional method of putting the burden on maintaining roads on local landowners was increasingly inadequate. New York State took the lead in 1898, and by 1916 the old system had been discarded everywhere area, demands grew for local and state government to take charge. With the coming of the automobile after 1910, urgent efforts were made to upgrade, the American Association for Highway Improvement was organized in 1910. Funding came from automobile registration, and taxes on motor fuels, in 1916, federal-aid was first made available to improve post-roads, and promote general commerce. Congress appropriated $75 million over a period, with the Secretary of Agriculture in charge through the Bureau of Public Roads. There were 2.4 million miles of rural dirt rural roads in 1914,100,000 miles had been improved with grading and gravel, the rapidly increasing speed of automobiles, and especially trucks, made maintenance and repair high-priority item. Concrete was first used in 1893, and expanded until it became the dominant surfacing material in the 1930s, from 1917 through 1941,261,000 miles of highways were built with federal aid, and cost $5.31 billion. Federal funds totaled $3.17 billion, and state-local funds were $2.14 billion, the FHWA was created on October 15,1966. In 1967 the functions of the Bureau of Public Roads were transferred to the new organization and it was one of three original bureaus along with the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety and the National Highway Safety Bureau. The FHWA’s role in the Federal-aid Highway Program is to oversee federal funds used for constructing and maintaining the National Highway System and this funding mostly comes from the federal gasoline tax and mostly goes to state departments of transportation. FHWA oversees projects using these funds to ensure that requirements for project eligibility. The FHWA also publishes the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices”, the MUTCD specifies such things as the size, color and height of traffic signs, traffic signals and road surface markings. The Federal Highway Administration is overseen by an Administrator appointed by the President of the United States by, the Administrator works under the direction of the Secretary of Transportation and Deputy Secretary of Transportation
26.
Flood Control Act of 1944
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Among its various provisions, it established the Southeastern Power Administration, and led to the establishment of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. The Pick-Sloan legislation managed the Missouri River with six intents, hydropower, recreation, water supply, navigation, flood control and fish and wildlife. Over 50 dams and lakes have been due to this legislation, not just on the mainly affected river but also on tributaries. Nebraska, as an example, has more than eight new lakes created due to the damming of the Missouri. The Act also recognized the rights of states, through the Governor. “ The Act was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 22,1944 and it was named for General Lewis A. Pick, head of the Army Corps of Engineers, and W. Glenn Sloan of the Interior Departments Bureau of Reclamation. The act transferred ownership of large parcels of land from around the Missouri River, more than 20% of which was owned by Native Americans, the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribes lost 202,000 acres. The Three Affiliated Tribes, specifically, lost 155,000 acres in their Fort Berthold Reservation due to the building of the Garrison Dam and this project caused more than 1,500 American Indians to relocate from the river bottoms of the Missouri river due to the flooding. The Missouri River, dumped millions of feet of soil into the Mississippi River every year. When the silt was eliminated this island building stopped, biologists sounded the alarm in the 1970s. By the 1990s the barrier islands were pretty much gone, without those islands Louisiana was left unprotected from storm surges and oil spills
27.
United States Army Corps of Engineers
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The United States Army Corps of Engineers, also sometimes shortened to CoE is a U. S. Although generally associated with dams, canals and flood protection in the United States, the Corps of Engineers provides outdoor recreation opportunities to the public, and provides 24% of U. S. hydropower capacity. The corps mission is to Deliver vital public and military engineering services, partnering in peace and war to strengthen our Nations security, energize the economy and their most visible missions include, Planning, designing, building, and operating locks and dams. Other civil engineering projects include flood control, beach nourishment, design and construction of flood protection systems through various federal mandates. Design and construction management of military facilities for the Army, Air Force, Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve and other Defense and Federal agencies. The history of United States Army Corps of Engineers can be traced back to 16 June 1775, colonel Richard Gridley became General George Washingtons first chief engineer, however, it was not until 1779 that Congress created a separate Corps of Engineers. One of its first tasks was to build fortifications near Boston at Bunker Hill, the first Corps of Engineers was mostly composed of French subjects who had been hired by General Washington from the service of Louis XVI. that the said Corps. Shall be stationed at West Point in the State of New York, until 1866, the superintendent of the United States Military Academy was always an officer of engineer. During the first half of the 19th century, West Point was the major and, for a while, the General Survey Act of 1824 authorized the use of Army engineers to survey road and canal routes. Separately authorized on 4 July 1838, the U. S and it was merged with the Corps of Engineers on 31 March 1863, at which point the Corps of Engineers also assumed the Lakes Survey District mission for the Great Lakes. In 1841, Congress created the Lake Survey, the survey, based in Detroit, Mich. was charged with conducting a hydrographical survey of the Northern and Northwestern Lakes and preparing and publishing nautical charts and other navigation aids. The Lake Survey published its first charts in 1852, in the mid-19th century, Corps of Engineers officers ran Lighthouse Districts in tandem with U. S. Naval officers. The Army Corps of Engineers played a significant role in the American Civil War, many of the men who would serve in the top leadership in this institution were West Point graduates who rose to military fame and power during the Civil War. Some of these men were Union Generals George McClellan, Henry Halleck, George Meade, and Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnston, the versatility of officers in the Army Corps of Engineers contributed to the success of numerous missions throughout the Civil War. They were responsible for building pontoon and railroad bridges, forts and batteries, the destruction of supply lines. The Army Corps of Engineers served as a function in making the war effort logistically feasible. This method of building trenches was known as the zigzag pattern, from the beginning, many politicians wanted the Corps of Engineers to contribute to both military construction and works of a civil nature. During World War II the mission grew to more than 27,000 military, included were aircraft, tank assembly, and ammunition plants, camps for 5.3 million soldiers, depots, ports, and hospitals, as well as the Manhattan Project, and the Pentagon
28.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
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The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government. The department was established on September 9,1965, when Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Department of Housing and it stipulated that the department was to be created no later than November 8, sixty days following the date of enactment. The actual implementation was postponed until January 13,1966, following the completion of a study group report on the federal role in solving urban problems. HUD is administered by the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and its headquarters is located in the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act gives help to communities to deal with homelessness and it includes the creation of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness of which HUD is a member. 1993 Henry G. Cisneros is named Secretary of HUD by President William J. Clinton, empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program becomes law as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. 1995 Blueprint for Reinvention of HUD proposes sweeping changes in housing reform and FHA. 1996 Homeownership totals 66.3 million American households, the largest number ever,1997 Andrew M. Cuomo is named by President Clinton to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the first appointment ever from within the Department. 1998 HUD opens Enforcement Center to take action against HUD-assisted multifamily property owners and other HUD fund recipients who violate laws,2000 Americas homeownership rate reaches a new record-high of 67.7 percent in the third quarter of 2000. A total of 71.6 million American families own their homes - more than at any time in American history. 2001 Mel Martinez, named by President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is unanimously confirmed by the U. S. Senate on January 23,2001. 2004 Alphonso Jackson, named by President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Housing, mr. Jackson is the first Deputy Secretary to subsequently be named Secretary. Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, This office enforces Federal laws against discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, government National Mortgage Association Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing The United States Congress enacted the Inspector General Act of 1978 to ensure integrity, the Inspector General is appointed by the President and subject to Senate confirmation. The Inspector General is responsible for conducting and supervising audits, investigations, david A. Montoya, who was sworn in on December 1,2011, is the current Inspector General. The Department of Housing and Urban Development was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 of $48.3 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows, The 203 program offers low down payment loans to primary resident owner occupants or nonprofit groups to buy, one of the most successful HUD programs over the years has been the Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator Program. The Service Coordinator provides case management and coordinative services to residents, particularly to those who are frail
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Federal Civil Defense Administration
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In 1958 the FCDA was superseded by the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization when President Dwight D. Eisenhower merged the FCDA with the Office of Defense Mobilization. In its early years, the focused on evacuation as a strategy. The FCDA was first headed by Millard Caldwell under Truman, then Val Peterson, see also, United States civil defense The predecessor to the FCDA, the Office of Civilian Defense was abolished in June 1945 with the end of World War II. In the period between the end of the World War and 1949, when the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic weapon, after the Soviets demonstration of their first atomic weapon there was a feeling of the need to do something throughout both the American public and government. This led to, among many actions, the creation of the Federal Civil Defense Administration by President Harry S. Truman in 1950. gov/. This seemingly fictional website has not been known to ever exist, Federal Civil Defense Authority United States civil defense
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Office of Civil Defense
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The Office of Civilian Defense was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1941. It was responsible for planning community health programs and medical care of civilians in the event of an attack on the United States. It was an independent agency and not associated with the United States Department of War and it coordinated with the Chemical Corps of the Department of the Army regarding protective measures against chemical weapons. United States Public Health Service officers were assigned as medical consultants with OCD local district offices, the Office of Civil Defense was an agency of the United States Department of Defense from 1961-64. It replaced the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization, the organization was renamed the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency on May 5,1972 and was abolished on July 20,1979, pursuant to Executive Order 12148. Its duties were given to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, accessed August 2,2007 Works by or about Office of Civil Defense at Internet Archive Works by Office of Civil Defense at LibriVox
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United States Department of Defense
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The Department is the largest employer in the world, with nearly 1.3 million active duty servicemen and women as of 2016. Adding to its employees are over 801,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists from the four services and it is headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D. C. The Department of Defense is headed by the Secretary of Defense, Military operations are managed by nine regional or functional Unified Combatant Commands. The Department of Defense also operates several joint services schools, including the National Defense University, the history of the defense of the United States started with the Continental Congress in 1775. The creation of the United States Army was enacted on 14 June 1775 and this coincides with the American holiday Flag Day. The Second Continental Congress would charter the United States Navy, on 13 October 1775, today, both the Navy and the Marine Corps are separate military services subordinate to the Department of the Navy. The Preamble of the United States Constitution gave the authority to federal government, to defend its citizens and this first Congress had a huge agenda, that of creating legislation to build a government for the ages. Legislation to create a military defense force stagnated, two separate times, President George Washington went to Congress to remind them of their duty to establish a military. In a special message to Congress on 19 December 1945, the President cited both wasteful military spending and inter-departmental conflicts, deliberations in Congress went on for months focusing heavily on the role of the military in society and the threat of granting too much military power to the executive. The act placed the National Military Establishment under the control of a single Secretary of Defense, the National Military Establishment formally began operations on 18 September, the day after the Senate confirmed James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. The National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense on 10 August 1949, under the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958, channels of authority within the department were streamlined, while still maintaining the authority of the Military Departments. Also provided in this legislation was a centralized authority, the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Act moved decision-making authority from the Military Departments to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and it also strengthened the command channel of the military over U. S. forces from the President to the Secretary of Defense. Written and promoted by the Eisenhower administration, it was signed into law 6 August 1958, because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the President, the statutory authority of the Secretary of Defense is derived from their constitutional authorities. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 describes the relationships within the Department. The latest version, signed by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in December 2010, is the first major re-write since 1987, the Office of the Secretary of Defense is the Secretary and Deputy Secretarys civilian staff. S. Government departments and agencies, foreign governments, and international organizations, OSD also performs oversight and management of the Defense Agencies and Department of Defense Field Activities. OSD also supervises the following Defense Agencies, Several defense agencies are members of the United States Intelligence Community and these are national-level intelligence services that operate under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense but simultaneously fall under the authorities of the Director of National Intelligence
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Department of Health, Education and Welfare
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Its motto is Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America. Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, the Federal Security Agency was established on July 1,1939, under the Reorganization Act of 1939, P. L. 76-19. The objective was to bring together in one agency all federal programs in the fields of health, education, the first Federal Security Administrator was Paul V. McNutt. The new agency originally consisted of the major components, Office of the Administrator, Public Health Service, Office of Education, Civilian Conservation Corps. These components, however, are traceable to the days of the Republic. On July 16,1798, President John Adams signed an act creating the Marine Hospital Service to furnish treatment to sick, on April 29,1878, the first Federal Quarantine Act enlarged the Services responsibilities to include prevention of epidemics from abroad. On August 14,1912, the name was changed to the Public Health Service, on May 26,1930, the Hygienic Laboratory of the Service was redesignated the National Institutes of Health. PHS was transferred from the Treasury Department to the FSA in 1939, even then, only half of the States had an efficient public school system. In 1867, Congress established the Department of Education to promote the cause of education and collect and disseminate facts, until it was transferred to the FSA, the Office of Education and its predecessor organization had been part of the Department of the Interior. The Civilian Conservation Corps was born during the Great Depression to provide employment for American youth and it operated from April 5,1933 until June 30,1942. During that time, the CCC provided work training to 3 million men and it was an independent agency until it came to FSA. The Nations social security and public assistance programs also were born during the Depression with approval of the Social Security Act on August 14,1935. The initial Act of 1935 established the Social Security Board to administer Titles I, II, III, IV and it remained an independent organization until its transfer to FSA. Federal responsibility regarding the Printing House was transferred to FSA from the Treasury Department on July 1,1939, established in 1935 to provide youth with work training, the National Youth Administration later trained young people for jobs in war industries. It was supervised by the Office of the Administrator from the time FSA was created in 1939 until 1942, when it was transferred to the War Manpower Commission. Transferred to FSA in 1940, FDA also was responsible for administering the Tea Importation Act, the Filled Milk Act, the Caustic Poison Act, and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Saint Elizabeths Hospital, created by Act of Congress in 1852 as the Government Hospital for the Insane, founder of Saint Elizabeths was Dorothea Dix, the most prominent humanitarian of the era. The name was changed by Act of Congress in 1916, freedmens Hospital was an outgrowth of the Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees authorized by the Act of March 3,1865
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United States Department of Agriculture
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Approximately 80% of USDAs $140 billion budget goes to the Food and Nutrition Service program. The largest component of the FNS budget is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, after the resignation of Thomas Vilsack on January 13,2017 and the departure of President Barack Obama from office on January 20,2017, the acting Secretary of Agriculture is Michael Young. Activities in this include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides healthy food to over 40 million low-income. The USDA also is concerned with assisting farmers and food producers with the sale of crops and it plays a role in overseas aid programs by providing surplus foods to developing countries. This aid can go through USAID, foreign governments, international bodies such as World Food Program, the Agricultural Act of 1949, section 416 and Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, also known as Food for Peace, provides the legal basis of such actions. The USDA is a partner of the World Cocoa Foundation, early in its history, the economy of the United States was largely agrarian. Officials in the government had long sought new and improved varieties of seeds, plants. In 1837 Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, a Yale-educated attorney interested in improving agriculture, became Commissioner of Patents and he began collecting and distributing new varieties of seeds and plants through members of the Congress and agricultural societies. In 1839, Congress established the Agricultural Division within the Patent Office and allotted $1,000 for the collection of agricultural statistics, Ellsworth was called the Father of the Department of Agriculture. In 1849, the Patent Office was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior, in the ensuing years, agitation for a separate bureau of agriculture within the department or a separate department devoted to agriculture kept recurring. Lincoln called it the peoples department, in the 1880s, varied advocacy groups were lobbying for Cabinet representation. Business interests sought a Department of Commerce and Industry, and farmers tried to raise the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet rank, finally, on February 9,1889, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law elevating the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet level. In 1887, the Hatch Act provided for the funding of agricultural experiment stations in each state. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 then funded cooperative extension services in each state to teach agriculture, home economics, with these and similar provisions, the USDA reached out to every county of every state. During the Great Depression, farming remained a way of life for millions of Americans. The Department of Agricultures Bureau of Home Economics, established in 1923, published shopping advice and recipes to stretch family budgets and make food go farther. USDA helped ensure that continued to be produced and distributed to those who needed it, assisted with loans for small landowners. The Department of Agriculture was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 of $139.7 billion, the Washington Post reports that he said There are days when I have literally nothing to do, he recalled thinking as he weighed his decision to quit
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General Services Administration
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The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA employs about 12,000 federal workers and has an operating budget of roughly $26.3 billion. GSA oversees $66 billion of procurement annually and it contributes to the management of about $500 billion in U. S. federal property, divided chiefly among 8,300 owned and leased buildings and a 210,000 vehicle motor pool. GSAs business lines include the Federal Acquisition Service, the Public Buildings Service, the GSA is member of the Procurement G6, an informal group leading the use of framework agreements and e-procurement instruments in public procurement. In 1947 President Harry Truman asked former President Herbert Hoover to lead what became known as the Hoover Commission to make recommendations to reorganize the operations of the federal government, one of the recommendations of the commission was the establishment of an Office of the General Services. This proposed office would combine the responsibilities of the following organizations, General Jess Larson, Administrator of the War Assets Administration, was named GSAs first Administrator. The first job awaiting Administrator Larson and the newly formed GSA was a renovation of the White House. The structure had fallen into such a state of disrepair by 1949 that one inspector of the time said the structure was standing “purely from habit. Everything, except the four walls without a roof, was stripped down. GSA completed the renovation in 1952, GSA headquarters, located at Eighteenth and F Streets, NW, was U. S. General Services Administration Building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as Interior Department Offices, in 1960, GSA created the Federal Telecommunications System, a government-wide intercity telephone system. In 1970, the Nixon administration created the Consumer Product Information Coordinating Center, the Federal Buildings Fund was initiated in 1974, which allowed the GSA to issue rent bills to federal agencies. In 1972, the GSA established the Automated Data and Telecommunications Service, in 1973, the GSA created the Office of Federal Management Policy. GSA’s Office of Acquisition Policy centralized procurement policy in 1978, in 1984, GSA introduced the federal government to the use of charge cards, known as the GMA SmartPay system. The National Archives and Records Administration was spun off into an independent agency in 1985, the same year, the GSA began to provide governmentwide policy oversight and guidance for federal real property management as a result of an Executive Order signed by President Ronald Reagan. In 2003, the Federal Protective Service was moved to the Department of Homeland Security, in 2005, GSA reorganized to merge the Federal Supply Service and Federal Technology Service business lines into the Federal Acquisition Service. On April 3,2009, President Barack Obama nominated Martha N. Johnson to serve as the GSA Administrator, after a 9-month delay, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination on February 4,2010. In July 1991, GSA contractors began the excavation of what is now the Ted Weiss Federal Building in New York City, when initial excavation disturbed burials, destroying skeletons and artifacts, GSA sent archaeologists to excavate—but hid their findings from the public
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Civil defense
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Civil defense, civil defence or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attacks and natural disasters. It uses the principles of operations, prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and it became widespread after the threat of nuclear weapons was realized. Since the end of the Cold War, the focus of civil defense has largely shifted from military attack to emergencies, in some countries, civil defense is seen as a key part of total defense. For example, in Sweden, the Swedish word totalförsvar refers to the commitment of a range of resources of the nation to its defense - including to civil protection. Respectively, some countries may have or have had military-organized civil defense units as part of their armed forces or as a paramilitary service, the advent of civil defence was stimulated by the experience of the bombing of civilian areas during the First World War. The bombing of the United Kingdom began on 19 January 1915 when German zeppelins dropped bombs on the Great Yarmouth area, German bombing operations of the First World War were surprisingly effective, especially after the Gotha bombers surpassed the zeppelins. The most devastating raids inflicted 121 casualties for each ton of bombs dropped, the Committee produced figures estimating that in London there would be 9,000 casualties in the first two days and then a continuing rate of 17,500 casualties a week. It was believed there would be total chaos and panic. To control the population harsh measures were proposed, bringing London under almost military control, a different government department proposed setting up camps for refugees for a few days before sending them back to London. A special government department, the Civil Defence Service, was established by the Home Office in 1935 and its remit included the pre-existing ARP as well as wardens, firemen, fire watchers, rescue, first aid post, stretcher party and industry. Over 1.9 million people served within the CD, nearly 2,400 lost their lives to enemy action, the organisation of civil defence was the responsibility of the local authority. Volunteers were ascribed to different units depending on experience or training, each local civil defence service was divided into several sections. Wardens were responsible for reconnaissance and reporting, and leadership, organisation, guidance. Wardens would also advise survivors of the locations of rest and food centres, Rescue Parties were required to assess and then access bombed-out buildings and retrieve injured or dead people. In addition they would turn off gas, electricity and water supplies, medical services, including First Aid Parties, provided on the spot medical assistance. The expected stream of information that would be generated during an attack was handled by Report, a local headquarters would have an ARP controller who would direct rescue, first aid and decontamination teams to the scenes of reported bombing. If local services were deemed insufficient to deal with the incident then the controller could request assistance from surrounding boroughs
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Seal (device)
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A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, a wrapper for one such as a modern envelope, the seal-making device is also referred to as the seal matrix or die, the imprint it creates as the seal impression. In most traditional forms of dry seal the design on the matrix is in intaglio. The design on the impression will reverse that of the matrix and this will not be the case if paper is embossed from behind, where the matrix and impression read the same way, and both matrix and impression are in relief. However engraved gems were carved in relief, called cameo in this context. The process is essentially that of a mould and these pendent seal impressions dangled below the documents they authenticated, to which the attachment tag was sewn or otherwise attached. Some jurisdictions consider rubber stamps or specified signature-accompanying words such as seal or L. S. to be the equivalent of, i. e. an equally effective substitute for. In Europe, although coats of arms and heraldic badges may well feature in such contexts as well as on seals, the study of seals is known as sigillography or sphragistics. Seals were used in the earliest civilizations and are of importance in archaeology. In ancient Mesopotamia carved or engraved cylinder seals in stone or other materials were used and these could be rolled along to create an impression on clay, and used as labels on consignments of trade goods, or for other purposes. They are normally hollow and it is presumed that they were worn on a string or chain round the neck, many have only images, often very finely carved, with no writing, while others have both. From Ancient Egypt seals in the form of signet-rings, including some with the names of kings, have been found, recently, seals have come to light in South Arabia datable to the Himyarite age. One example shows a name written in Aramaic engraved in reverse so as to read correctly in the impression, from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the Middle Ages, seals of various kinds were in production in the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. In the Early Minoan age these were formed of stone and ivory. By the Middle Minoan age a new set for seal forms, motifs, hard stone requires new rotary carving techniques. The Late Bronze Age is the par excellence of the lens-shaped seal and the seal ring. These were a luxury art form and became keenly collected. His collection fell as booty to Pompey the Great, who deposited it in a temple in Rome, engraved gems continued to be produced and collected until the 19th century
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Jimmy Carter
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James Earl Jimmy Carter Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center, Carter was a Democrat who was raised in rural Georgia. He was a farmer who served two terms as a Georgia State Senator from 1963 to 1967, and one as the Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. He was elected President in 1976, defeating incumbent President Gerald Ford in a close election. On his second day in office, Carter pardoned all evaders of the Vietnam War drafts, during Carters term as President, two new cabinet-level departments, the Department of Energy and the Department of Education, were established. He established an energy policy that included conservation, price control. In foreign affairs, Carter pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, the round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. On the economic front he confronted persistent stagflation, a combination of inflation, high unemployment. The end of his tenure was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. In response to the Soviet move he ended détente, escalated the Cold War, Carter won the 1980 primary with 51. 13% of the vote but lost the general election in an electoral landslide to Republican nominee Ronald Reagan, who won 44 of 50 states. His presidency has drawn medium-low responses from historians, with many considering him to have accomplished more with his post-presidency work and he set up the Carter Center in 1982 as his base for advancing human rights. He has also traveled extensively to conduct negotiations, observe elections. Additionally, Carter is a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity project, since surpassing Herbert Hoover in September 2012, he has been the longest-retired president in American history. He is also the first president to mark the 40th anniversary of his election and inauguration, in reference to current political views, he has criticized some of Israels actions and policies in regards to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has advocated for a two-state solution. James Earl Carter, Jr. was born on October 1,1924, at the Wise Sanitarium in Plains and he is a descendant of English immigrant Thomas Carter, who settled in Virginia in 1635. Numerous generations of Carters lived as farmers in Georgia. Carter is also a descendant of Thomas Cornell, an ancestor of Cornell Universitys founder and of Richard Nixon, Plains was a boomtown of 600 people at the time of Carters birth. His father, James Earl Carter, Sr. was a local businessman who ran a general store and had begun to invest in farmland
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United States Fire Administration
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The Act was created in response to the 1973 National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control report, America Burning. The reports authors estimated fires caused 12,000 deaths and 300,000 serious injuries annually in the United States, among its 90 recommendations, the report proposed that a federal agency be established to help combat the growing problem of fatal fires happening throughout the country. They also provide a directory of approved, fire-safe hotels, the USFA manages the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland on a campus acquired from Saint Joseph College in March 1979. The NETC comprises the National Fire Academy as well as the Emergency Management Institute, firefighters and emergency managers from around the United States and the world attend courses at these academies in order to further enhance emergency services in their communities. S
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National Weather Service
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It is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration branch of the Department of Commerce, and is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland. The agency was known as the United States Weather Bureau from 1890 until it adopted its current name in 1970, the NWS performs its primary task through a collection of national and regional centers, and 122 local weather forecast offices. As the NWS is a government agency, most of its products are in the public domain, the agency was placed under the Secretary of War as Congress felt military discipline would probably secure the greatest promptness, regularity, and accuracy in the required observations. Within the Department of War, it was assigned to the U. S. Army Signal Service under Brigadier General Albert J. Myer, General Myer gave the National Weather Service its first name, The Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce. The agency first became an enterprise in 1890, when it became part of the Department of Agriculture. The first Weather Bureau radiosonde was launched in Massachusetts in 1937, the Bureau would later be moved to the Department of Commerce in 1940. On July 12,1950, bureau chief Francis W, the Weather Bureau became part of the Environmental Science Services Administration when that agency was formed in August 1966. The Environmental Science Services Administration was renamed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on October 1,1970, at this time, the Weather Bureau became the National Weather Service. NEXRAD, a system of Doppler radars deployed to improve the detection and warning time of local storms, replaced the WSR-57. Bob Glahn has written a history of the first hundred years of the National Weather Service. The NWS, through a variety of sub-organizations, issues different forecast products to users, although, throughout history, text forecasts have been the means of product dissemination, the NWS has been using more forecast products of a digital, gridded, image or other modern format. Each of the 122 Weather Forecast Offices send their graphical forecasts to a server to be compiled in the National Digital Forecast Database. The NDFD is a collection of weather observations used by organizations and the public, including precipitation amount, temperature. Specific points in the database can be accessed using an XML SOAP service. The National Weather Service issues many products relating to wildfires daily, for example, a Fire Weather Forecast, which have a forecast period covering up to seven days, is issued by local Weather Forecast Offices daily, with updates as needed. The forecasts contain weather information relevant to fire control and smoke management for the next 12 to 48 hours, such as direction and speed. The appropriate crews use this information to plan for staffing and equipment levels, the ability to conduct scheduled controlled burns, and assess the daily fire danger. Once per day, NWS meteorologists issue a coded fire weather forecast for specific United States Forest Service observation sites that are input into the National Fire Danger Rating System
40.
Love Canal
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Love Canal is a neighborhood within Niagara Falls, New York. Originally intended as a planned community, Love Canal served as a residential place before being purchased by Hooker Chemical Company. After its sale to the school district, Love Canal attracted national attention for the public health problem originated from the massive dumping of toxic waste on the grounds. This event displaced numerous families, leaving them with long-standing health issues and symptoms of high red blood cell counts, consequently, the federal government passed the Superfund law. The resulting cleanup operation under the Superfund law demolished the neighborhood, New York State Health Department Commissioner David Axelrod calls the Love Canal incident a national symbol of a failure to exercise a sense of concern for future generations. The Love Canal incident was especially significant as a situation where the inhabitants overflowed into the wastes instead of the way around. Love Canal is a located in the city of Niagara Falls in the northwestern region of New York state. Bergholtz Creek defines the border with the Niagara River marking the southern border one-quarter mile away. The LaSalle Expressway splits an uninhabited portion of the south from the north, the canal covers 16 acres of land in the central eastern portion. In 1890, William T. Love, an entrepreneur from the Western Railroad Corporation. He prepared plans to construct a community of parks and residences on the banks of Lake Ontario and he gave his name to the ensuing project, envisioning a perfect urban area. After 1892, Loves plan incorporated a shipping lane that would bypass the Niagara Falls, Love quickly lined up backing from financial banks and giants in New York City, Chicago and England. In October 1893, the first factory opened for business, in May 1894, work on the canal had begun. Steel companies and other manufacturers lined up for the chance of opening plants along the Love Canal and he began digging the canal and built a few streets and houses. However, the Panic of 1893 caused investors to drop sponsorship of the project, in addition, Congress passed a law barring the removal of water from the Niagara River, to preserve Niagara Falls. Only one mile of the canal was dug, about 50 feet wide and 10 to 40 feet deep, unfortunately, the Panic of 1907 proved economically disastrous as Love had to abandon the project. The deathblow came with the development of the electrical power economically over great distances by means of an alternating current. No longer was it necessary for industry to locate near the source of electrical power and his financial backers deserted him, and the last piece of the properties owned by his corporation was subjected to mortgage foreclosure and sold at public auction in 1910
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Niagara Falls, New York
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Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 50,193. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, the city is within the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Western New York region. While the city was occupied by Native Americans, Europeans who migrated to the Niagara Falls in the mid-17th century began to open businesses. After the 1960s, however, the city and region witnessed an economic decline consistent with the rest of the Rust Belt as industries left the city, globalization has played a large role in the decline of manufacturing in the city. Despite the decline in industry, Niagara Falls State Park. The population, however, has continued to decline from a peak of 102,394 in the 1960s due to the loss of manufacturing jobs in the area, before Europeans entered the area, it was dominated by the Neutral Nation of Native Americans. European migration into the area began in the 17th century, the first recorded European to visit the area was Frenchman Robert de la Salle, accompanied by Belgian priest Louis Hennepin, who was the first known European to see the falls. The influx of newcomers may have been a catalyst for already hostile native tribes to turn to warfare in competition for the fur trade. The City of Niagara Falls was incorporated on March 17,1892 from the villages of Manchester and Suspension Bridge, thomas Vincent Welch, a member of the charter committee and a New York state assemblyman and a second-generation Irishman, persuaded Governor Roswell P. Flower to sign the bill on St. Patricks Day, george W. Wright was elected the first mayor of Niagara Falls. By the end of the 19th century, the city was an industrial area. In 1927, the city annexed the village of La Salle from the Town of Niagara, the village was named for the French explorer Robert de la Salle. who built his ship, the Griffon, on the shores of the Niagara River five miles east. Industry and tourism grew steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century due to a demand for industrial products. Paper, rubber, plastics, petrochemicals, carbon insulators and abrasives were among the major industries. This prosperity would end by the late 1960s as aging industrial plants moved to less expensive locations, in addition, the falls were incompatible with modern shipping technology. In 1956, the Schoellkopf Power Plant on the river just downstream of the American Falls was critically damaged due to a massive collapse of the Niagara Gorge wall above it. This prompted the planning and construction of one of the largest hydroelectric plants to be built in North America at that time, causing an influx of workers
42.
Three Mile Island
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It has two separate units, TMI-1 and TMI-2. The plant is known for having been the site of the most significant accident in United States commercial nuclear energy, on 28 March 1979. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the accident resulted in no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of nearby communities, follow-up epidemiology studies have also not linked any incidents of cancer with the accident. The reactor core of TMI-2 has since removed from the site. Three Mile Island is so named because it is located three miles downriver from Middletown, Pennsylvania, the plant was originally built by General Public Utilities Corporation, later renamed GPU Incorporated. The plant was operated by Metropolitan Edison Company, a subsidiary of the GPU Energy division, during 2001 GPU Inc. merged with FirstEnergy Corporation. The 2010 U. S. population within 10 miles of Three Mile Island was 211,261, the 2010 U. S. population within 50 miles was 2,803,322, an increase of 10.3 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster, the Three Mile Island Unit 1 is a pressurized water reactor designed by Babcock & Wilcox with a net generating capacity of 852 MWe. The initial construction cost for TMI-1 was US$400 million, equal to $1.94 billion today, Unit 1 first came online on April 19,1974, and began commercial operations on September 2,1974. TMI-1 is licensed to operate for 40 years from its first run, and in 2009, was extended 20 years, TMI-1 has a closed-cycle cooling system for its main condenser using two natural draft cooling towers. Makeup water is drawn from the river to replace the water lost via evaporation in the towers, once-through cooling with river water is used for the service water system which cools auxiliary components and removes decay heat when the reactor is shutdown. When TMI-2 suffered its accident in 1979, TMI-1 was offline for refueling and it was brought back online in October 1985, after public opposition, several federal court injunctions, and some technical and regulatory complications. In February 1993, a man drove his car past a checkpoint at the TMI nuclear plant and he eventually crashed the car through a secure door and entered the Unit 1 turbine building. The intruder, who had a history of illness, hid in the turbine building and was not apprehended for four hours. On November 21,2009, a release of radioactivity occurred inside the containment building of TMI-1 while workers were cutting pipes, approximately 20 employees were treated for mild radiation exposure. As of November 22,2009, it is believed that no radiation escaped the containment building, the inside airborne contamination was caused by a change in air pressure inside the containment building that dislodged small irradiated particles in the reactor piping system. Some of the small particles became airborne inside the building and were detected by an array of monitors in place to such material. The air pressure change occurred when inside building ventilation fans were started to support outage activities, the site has modified the ventilation system to prevent future air pressure changes
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Nuclear power plant
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A nuclear power plant or nuclear power station is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to steam which drives a steam turbine connected to an electric generator which produces electricity. As of 23 April 2014, the IAEA report there are 449 nuclear power reactors in operation operating in 31 countries, Nuclear power stations are usually considered to be base load stations, since fuel is a small part of the cost of production. Their operations and maintenance and fuel costs are, along with stations, at the low end of the spectrum. The cost of spent fuel management, however, is somewhat uncertain, for more history, see nuclear reactor, nuclear power and nuclear fission. The second, larger experiment occurred on December 20,1951 at the EBR-I experimental station near Arco, on June 27,1954, the worlds first nuclear power station to generate electricity for a power grid started operations at the Soviet city of Obninsk. The worlds first full power station, Calder Hall in England. The worlds first full power station solely devoted to electricity production, Shippingport power plant in the United States. The conversion to electrical energy takes place indirectly, as in conventional power stations. The fission in a nuclear reactor heats the reactor coolant, the coolant may be water or gas or even liquid metal depending on the type of reactor. The reactor coolant then goes to a generator and heats water to produce steam. The pressurized steam is then fed to a multi-stage steam turbine. After the steam turbine has expanded and partially condensed the steam, the condenser is a heat exchanger which is connected to a secondary side such as a river or a cooling tower. The water is pumped back into the steam generator and the cycle begins again. The water-steam cycle corresponds to the Rankine cycle, the nuclear reactor is the heart of the station. In its central part, the cores heat is generated by controlled nuclear fission. With this heat, a coolant is heated as it is pumped through the reactor, heat from nuclear fission is used to raise steam, which runs through turbines, which in turn powers the electrical generators. Nuclear reactors usually rely on uranium to fuel the chain reaction, Uranium is a very heavy metal that is abundant on Earth and is found in sea water as well as most rocks
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Nuclear meltdown
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A nuclear meltdown is a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term nuclear meltdown is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. However, it has been defined to mean the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor and this differs from a fuel element failure, which is not caused by high temperatures. Alternately, in a plant such as the RBMK-1000, an external fire may endanger the core. Once the fuel elements of a reactor begin to melt, the fuel cladding has been breached, subsequent failures can permit these radioisotopes to breach further layers of containment. Superheated steam and hot metal inside the core can lead to fuel-coolant interactions, hydrogen explosions, or water hammer, Nuclear power plants generate electricity by heating fluid via a nuclear reaction to run a generator. If the heat from that reaction is not removed adequately, the assemblies in a reactor core can melt. A core damage incident can occur even after a reactor is shut down because the fuel continues to decay heat. A core damage accident is caused by the loss of sufficient cooling for the fuel within the reactor core. Failures in control systems may cause a series of events resulting in loss of cooling, contemporary safety principles of defense in depth ensure that multiple layers of safety systems are always present to make such accidents unlikely. The containment building is the last of several safeguards that prevent the release of radioactivity to the environment, many commercial reactors are contained within a 1. 2-to-2. 4-metre thick pre-stressed, steel-reinforced, air-tight concrete structure that can withstand hurricane-force winds and severe earthquakes. In a loss-of-coolant accident, either the loss of coolant or the loss of a method to ensure a sufficient flow rate of the coolant occurs. A loss-of-coolant accident and an accident are closely related in some reactors. In a loss-of-pressure-control accident, the pressure of the confined coolant falls below specification without the means to restore it, in some cases this may reduce the heat transfer efficiency and in others may form an insulating bubble of steam surrounding the fuel assemblies. In an uncontrolled power excursion accident, a power spike in the reactor exceeds reactor design specifications due to a sudden increase in reactor reactivity. An uncontrolled power excursion occurs due to significantly altering a parameter affects the neutron multiplication rate of a chain reaction. In extreme cases the reactor may proceed to a known as prompt critical. Many of these characteristics are present in the RBMK design, core-based fires endanger the core and can cause the fuel assemblies to melt
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Bill Clinton
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William Jefferson Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Prior to the Presidency he was the 40th Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, before that, he served as Arkansas Attorney General from 1977 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was ideogically a New Democrat, Clinton is married to Hillary Clinton, who served as United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 and U. S. Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and served the Democratic nominee for President in 2016, Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham both earned degrees from Yale Law School, where they met and began dating. As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton overhauled the states education system, Clinton was elected President of the United States in 1992, defeating incumbent George H. W. Bush. At age 46, he was the third-youngest president and the first from the Baby Boomer generation, Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history and signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement. After failing to pass health care reform, the Democratic House was ousted when the Republican Party won control of the Congress in 1994. Two years later, in 1996, Clinton became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to be elected to a second term, Clinton passed welfare reform and the State Childrens Health Insurance Program, providing health coverage for millions of children. Clinton was acquitted by the U. S. Senate in 1999, the Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus between the years 1998 and 2000, the last three years of Clintons presidency. In foreign policy, Clinton ordered U. S. Clinton left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U. S. President since World War II, since then, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the William J. Clinton Foundation to address international causes, such as the prevention of AIDS, in 2004, Clinton published his autobiography, My Life. In 2009, Clinton was named the United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti, since leaving office, Clinton has been rated highly in public opinion polls of U. S. Presidents. Clinton was born on August 19,1946, at Julia Chester Hospital in Hope, Arkansas and he was the son of William Jefferson Blythe Jr. a traveling salesman who had died in an automobile accident three months before his birth, and Virginia Dell Cassidy. His parents had married on September 4,1943, but this later proved to be bigamous. Soon after their son was born, his mother traveled to New Orleans to study nursing, leaving her son in Hope with her parents Eldridge and Edith Cassidy, who owned and ran a small grocery store. At a time when the Southern United States was segregated racially, in 1950, Bills mother returned from nursing school and married Roger Clinton Sr. who owned an automobile dealership in Hot Springs, Arkansas, with his brother and Earl T. Ricks. The family moved to Hot Springs in 1950, although he immediately assumed use of his stepfathers surname, it was not until Clinton turned fifteen that he formally adopted the surname Clinton as a gesture toward his stepfather. In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. Johns Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and Hot Springs High School—where he was a student leader, avid reader
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