1.
Heroin
–
Heroin, also known as diamorphine among other names, is an opiate typically used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medically it is used to relieve pain and as a form of opioid replacement therapy alongside counseling. Heroin is typically injected, usually into a vein, however, onset of effects is usually rapid and lasts for a few hours. Common side effects include respiratory depression and about a quarter of those who use heroin become physically dependent, other side effects can include abscesses, infected heart valves, blood borne infections, constipation, and pneumonia. After a history of use, withdrawal symptoms can begin within hours of last use. When given by injection into a vein, heroin has two to three times the effect as a dose of morphine. It typically comes as a white or brown powder, treatment of heroin addiction often includes behavioral therapy and medications. Medications used may include methadone or naltrexone, a heroin overdose may be treated with naloxone. An estimated 17 million people as of 2015 use opiates such as heroin, the total number of opiate users has increased from 1998 to 2007 after which it has remained more or less stable. In the United States about 1.6 percent of people have used heroin at some point in time, when people die from overdosing on a drug, the drug is usually an opioid. Heroin was first made by C. R. Alder Wright in 1874 from morphine, internationally, heroin is controlled under Schedules I and IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It is generally illegal to make, possess, or sell heroin without a license, in 2015 Afghanistan produced about 66% of the worlds opium. Often heroin, which is sold, is mixed with other substances such as sugar or strychnine. The original trade name of heroin is typically used in non-medical settings and it is used as a recreational drug for the euphoria it induces. Anthropologist Michael Agar once described heroin as the perfect whatever drug, tolerance develops quickly, and increased doses are needed in order to achieve the same effects. Its popularity with recreational users, compared to morphine, reportedly stems from its perceived different effects. In particular, users report an intense rush, an acute transcendent state of euphoria, while other opioids of recreational use produce only morphine, heroin also leaves 6-MAM, also a psycho-active metabolite. Equipotent injected doses had comparable action courses, with no difference in subjects self-rated feelings of euphoria, ambition, nervousness, relaxation, drowsiness, short-term addiction studies by the same researchers demonstrated that tolerance developed at a similar rate to both heroin and morphine
Heroin
–
Diamorphine ampoules for medicinal use
Heroin
–
Diamorphine (INN)
Heroin
–
Two types of heroin
Heroin
–
Preparing heroin for injection
2.
Marijuana
–
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among several other names, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or medicine. The main psychoactive part of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol, one of 483 known compounds in the plant, Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporization, within food, or as an extract. Cannabis is often used for its mental and physical effects, such as a high or stoned feeling, a change in perception, euphoria. Short term side effects may include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, red eyes, long term side effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started as teenagers, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy. Onset of effects is within minutes when smoked and about 30 to 60 minutes when cooked and they last for between two and six hours. Cannabis is mostly used recreationally or as a medicinal drug and it may also be used for religious or spiritual purposes. In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis, in 2015, 43% of Americans had used cannabis, which increased to 51% in 2016. About 12% have used it in the past year, and 7. 3% have used it in the past month and this makes it the most commonly used illegal drug both in the world and the United States. The earliest recorded uses date from the 3rd millennium BC, since the early 20th century, cannabis has been subject to legal restrictions. The possession, use, and sale of cannabis is illegal in most countries of the world, Medical cannabis refers to the physician-recommended use of cannabis, which is taking place in Canada, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, and 23 U. S. states. Cannabis use started to become popular in the US in the 1970s, support for legalization has increased in the United States and several US states have legalized recreational or medical use. Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana can refer to the use of cannabis and its cannabinoids to treat disease or improve symptoms, however, the use of cannabis as a medicine has not been rigorously scientifically tested, often due to production restrictions and other federal regulations. There is limited evidence suggesting cannabis can be used to reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, to improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS and its use for other medical applications is insufficient for conclusions about safety or efficacy. Short-term use increases the risk of minor and major adverse effects. Common side effects include dizziness, feeling tired, vomiting, long-term effects of cannabis are not clear. Concerns include memory and cognition problems, risk of addiction, schizophrenia in people. Cannabis has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed, at higher doses, effects can include altered body image, auditory and/or visual illusions, pseudohallucinations and ataxia from selective impairment of polysynaptic reflexes. In some cases, cannabis can lead to states such as depersonalization and derealization
Marijuana
–
A flowering cannabis plant
Marijuana
–
A joint prior to rolling, with a paper handmade filter on the left
Marijuana
–
Dried flower buds
Marijuana
–
Kief
3.
Cocaine
–
Cocaine, also known as coke, is a strong stimulant mostly used as a recreational drug. It is commonly snorted, inhaled, or injected into the veins, mental effects may include loss of contact with reality, an intense feeling of happiness, or agitation. Physical symptoms may include a fast heart rate, sweating, high doses can result in very high blood pressure or body temperature. Effects begin within seconds to minutes of use and last between five and ninety minutes, Cocaine has a small number of accepted medical uses such as numbing and decreasing bleeding during nasal surgery. Cocaine is addictive due to its effect on the pathway in the brain. After a short period of use, there is a risk that dependence will occur. Its use also increases the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, lung problems in those who smoke it, blood infections, Cocaine sold on the street is commonly mixed with local anesthetics, cornstarch, quinine, or sugar which can result in additional toxicity. Following repeated doses a person may have decreased ability to feel pleasure, Cocaine acts by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. This results in concentrations of these three neurotransmitters in the brain. It can easily cross the barrier and may lead to the breakdown of the barrier. Cocaine is made from the leaves of the plant which are mostly grown in South America. In 2013,419 kilograms were produced legally and it is estimated that the illegal market for cocaine is 100 to 500 billion USD each year. With further processing crack cocaine can be produced from cocaine, after cannabis, cocaine is the most frequently used illegal drug globally. Between 14 and 21 million people use the drug each year, use is highest in North America followed by Europe and South America. Between one and three percent of people in the world have used cocaine at some point in their life. In 2013 cocaine use resulted in 4,300 deaths. The leaves of the plant have been used by Peruvians since ancient times. Cocaine was first isolated from the leaves in 1860, since 1961 the international Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs has required countries to make recreational use of cocaine a crime
Cocaine
–
A spoon containing baking soda, cocaine, and a small amount of water. Used in a "poor-man's" crack-cocaine production
Cocaine
–
Cocaine (
INN)
Cocaine
–
A man sniffing cocaine
Cocaine
–
Cocaine hydrochloride
4.
Harrison Narcotics Tax Act
–
The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was a United States federal law that regulated and taxed the production, importation, and distribution of opiates and coca products. The act was proposed by Representative Francis Burton Harrison of New York and was approved on December 17,1914, the courts interpreted this to mean that physicians could prescribe narcotics to patients in the course of normal treatment, but not for the treatment of addiction. The Harrison Anti-Narcotic legislation consisted of three U. S. House bills imposing restrictions on the availability and consumption of the psychoactive drug opium. U. S. House bills H. R.1966 and H. R.1967 passed conjointly with House bill H. R.6282 or the Opium and Coca Leaves Trade Restrictions Act. Although technically illegal for purposes of distribution and use, the distribution, sale and use of cocaine was legal for registered companies. Following the Spanish–American War the U. S. acquired the Philippines from Spain, at that time, opium addiction constituted a significant problem in the civilian population of the Philippines. Charles Henry Brent was an American Episcopal bishop who served as Missionary Bishop of the Philippines beginning in 1901 and he convened a Commission of Inquiry, known as the Brent Commission, for the purpose of examining alternatives to a licensing system for opium addicts. The Commission recommended that narcotics should be subject to international control, a second conference was held at The Hague in May 1911, and out of it came the first international drug control treaty, the International Opium Convention of 1912. In the 1800s opiates and cocaine were mostly unregulated drugs, in the 1890s the Sears & Roebuck catalogue, which was distributed to millions of Americans homes, offered a syringe and a small amount of cocaine for $1.50. On the other hand, as early as 1880 some states and localities had passed laws against smoking opium. At the beginning of the 20th century, cocaine began to be linked to crime, some newspapers later claimed cocaine use caused blacks to rape white women and was improving their pistol marksmanship. Chinese immigrants were blamed for importing the opium-smoking habit to the U. S, the 1903 blue-ribbon citizens panel, the Committee on the Acquirement of the Drug Habit, concluded, If the Chinaman cannot get along without his dope we can get along without him. Theodore Roosevelt appointed Dr. Hamilton Wright as the first Opium Commissioner of the United States in 1908, in 1909, Wright attended the International Opium Commission in Shanghai as the American delegates. He was accompanied by Charles Henry Brent, the Episcopal Bishop. On March 12,1911, Dr. Wright was quoted in as follows in an article in the New York Times, Of all the nations of the world, the United States consumes most habit-forming drugs per capita. Opium, the most pernicious drug known to humanity, is surrounded, in this country, Opium usage had begun to decline by 1914 after rising dramatically in the post Civil War Era, peaking at around one-half million pounds per year in 1896. As of 1911, an estimated one U. S. citizen in 400 was addicted to some form of opium, the opium addicts were mostly women who were prescribed and dispensed legal opiates by physicians and pharmacist for “female problems” or white men and Chinese at the Opium dens. Between two-thirds and three-quarters of these addicts were women, by 1914, forty-six states had regulations on cocaine and twenty-nine states had laws against opium, morphine, and heroin
Harrison Narcotics Tax Act
–
Harrison Narcotics Tax Act
5.
California Proposition 215 (1996)
–
It was enacted, on November 5,1996, by means of the initiative process, and passed with 5,382,915 votes in favor and 4,301,960 against. The Act added Section 11362.5 to the California Health, Proposition 215 was conceived by San Francisco marijuana activist Dennis Peron in memory of his partner, Jonathan West, who had used marijuana to treat symptoms of AIDS. In 1991, Peron organized Proposition P, the San Francisco medical marijuana initiative, prop P did not have force of law, but was simply a resolution declaring the citys support for medical marijuana. Santa Cruz and other cities followed suit with similar measures endorsing medical use of marijuana, the California legislature went on to approve medical marijuana bills by State Senator Milton Marks and Assemblyman John Vasconcellos, but they were vetoed by Governor Pete Wilson. Dennis Peron, suffering from his own ill health, worked closely with Dr. Tod Mikuriya to organize Proposition 215. Dr. Mikuriya had worked to decriminalize cannabis and declassify cannabis as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, Dr. Mikuriya spoke worldwide during the 1980s and 1990s in an effort to garner support for the medical use of cannabis. Threats to Dennis Peron would cause Peron to leave the United States following the passage of Proposition 215, more than 15 medical doctors would be forced to fight to keep their medical licenses. Frustrated by the Governors veto and by the Clinton administrations ongoing refusal to allow medical marijuana, in 1995, Peron, Gieringer and Imler organized Californians for Compassionate Use, a PAC dedicated to putting medical marijuana on the ballot. Far more than just a place for patients to consume. Dennis Peron would describe 1996 as a year when the stars aligned for medical marijuana and it was a presidential election year with a Democrat incumbent in a heavily Democratic state. The AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s to the early 1990s as well as recent studies regarding relief for patients were opening peoples minds to medical marijuana. On top of that, 60-year-old Brownie Mary Rathburns arrest for baking marijuana brownies made headlines garnering sympathy for medical marijuana, Proposition 215 passed with 55. 6% support, setting off a chain reaction across North America of medical marijuana legislation. Canada now also has federal medical marijuana legislation and also operates a medical marijuana program through Health Canada, although not completely identical to that of the state of California. The issue has ALSO been to the floor of the US Congress in the form of the Hinchey-Rohrbacher Amendment, the Truth in Trials Act, none of this legislation succeeded in the U. S. Congress. Provides physicians who recommend use of marijuana for medical treatment shall not be punished or denied any right or privilege, declares that the measure is not to be construed to supersede prohibitions of conduct endangering others or to condone diversion of marijuana. The initiative was implemented through the California Medical Marijuana Program created by Senate Bill 420. Both San Diego County and San Bernardino County initially refused to implement the program, San Diego County has since proposed County regulations allowing 36 marijuana dispensaries to operate within its jurisdiction. Though medical marijuana was legalized and accepted by the majority of California voters, Marijuana is still illegal under federal law which causes a conflict between the state and the U. S. Government
California Proposition 215 (1996)
–
Medical cannabis card in
Marin County, California, U.S.A.
California Proposition 215 (1996)
–
Elections in California
California Proposition 215 (1996)
–
California counties accepting applications for medical marijuana as of March 2010.
California Proposition 215 (1996)
–
Propositions
6.
Cannabis (drug)
–
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among several other names, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or medicine. The main psychoactive part of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol, one of 483 known compounds in the plant, Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporization, within food, or as an extract. Cannabis is often used for its mental and physical effects, such as a high or stoned feeling, a change in perception, euphoria. Short term side effects may include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, red eyes, long term side effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started as teenagers, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy. Onset of effects is within minutes when smoked and about 30 to 60 minutes when cooked and they last for between two and six hours. Cannabis is mostly used recreationally or as a medicinal drug and it may also be used for religious or spiritual purposes. In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis, in 2015, 43% of Americans had used cannabis, which increased to 51% in 2016. About 12% have used it in the past year, and 7. 3% have used it in the past month and this makes it the most commonly used illegal drug both in the world and the United States. The earliest recorded uses date from the 3rd millennium BC, since the early 20th century, cannabis has been subject to legal restrictions. The possession, use, and sale of cannabis is illegal in most countries of the world, Medical cannabis refers to the physician-recommended use of cannabis, which is taking place in Canada, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, and 23 U. S. states. Cannabis use started to become popular in the US in the 1970s, support for legalization has increased in the United States and several US states have legalized recreational or medical use. Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana can refer to the use of cannabis and its cannabinoids to treat disease or improve symptoms, however, the use of cannabis as a medicine has not been rigorously scientifically tested, often due to production restrictions and other federal regulations. There is limited evidence suggesting cannabis can be used to reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, to improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS and its use for other medical applications is insufficient for conclusions about safety or efficacy. Short-term use increases the risk of minor and major adverse effects. Common side effects include dizziness, feeling tired, vomiting, long-term effects of cannabis are not clear. Concerns include memory and cognition problems, risk of addiction, schizophrenia in people. Cannabis has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed, at higher doses, effects can include altered body image, auditory and/or visual illusions, pseudohallucinations and ataxia from selective impairment of polysynaptic reflexes. In some cases, cannabis can lead to states such as depersonalization and derealization
Cannabis (drug)
–
A flowering cannabis plant
Cannabis (drug)
–
A joint prior to rolling, with a paper handmade filter on the left
Cannabis (drug)
–
Dried flower buds
Cannabis (drug)
–
Kief
7.
Medical cannabis
–
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by doctors for their patients. The use of cannabis as a medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production restrictions, there is a limited amount of evidence that suggests cannabis can reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS, and reduce chronic pain and muscle spasms. Short-term use increases the risk of minor and major adverse effects. Common side effects include dizziness, feeling tired, vomiting, long-term effects of cannabis are not clear. Concerns include memory and cognition problems, risk of addiction, schizophrenia in people. The Cannabis plant has a history of use dating back thousands of years across many cultures. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that while cannabinoids may have potential as therapy for a number of medical conditions and they, along with the American Medical Association and the Minnesota Medical Association, call for moving cannabis out of DEA Schedule I to facilitate this research. Synthetic cannabinoids are available as prescription drugs in some countries, examples include, dronabinol, australia is currently in the process of passing a law which would allow the use of marijuana for medical and scientific purposes. Many different cannabis strains are called medical cannabis. Since many varieties of the plant and plant derivatives all share the same name. A Cannabis plant includes more than 400 different chemicals, of which about 70 are cannabinoids, in comparison, typical government-approved medications contain only 1 or 2 chemicals. The number of chemicals in cannabis is one reason why treatment with cannabis is difficult to classify. A2014 review stated that the variations in ratio of CBD-to-THC in botanical and pharmaceutical preparations determines the therapeutic vs psychoactive effects of cannabis products, Medical cannabis has several potential beneficial effects. Evidence is moderate that it helps in chronic pain and muscle spasms, low quality evidence suggests its use for reducing nausea during chemotherapy, improving appetite in HIV/AIDS, improving sleep, and improving tics in Tourette syndrome. When usual treatments are ineffective, cannabinoids have also recommended for anorexia, arthritis, migraine. The FDA finds that cannabis does not meet the criteria for accepted medical use due to lack of evidence regarding safety and it is recommended that cannabis use be stopped in pregnancy. Medical cannabis is somewhat effective in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and may be an option in those who do not improve following preferential treatment. Long-term cannabis use may cause nausea and vomiting, a known as cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome
Medical cannabis
–
A dried bud of cannabis, which can be used for medical therapy.
Medical cannabis
–
Cannabis as illustrated in Köhler's book of medicinal plants from 1897
Medical cannabis
–
An advertisement for cannabis americana distributed by a pharmacist in New York in 1917
Medical cannabis
–
The
Ebers Papyrus (ca. 1550 BCE) from Ancient Egypt has a prescription for medical marijuana applied directly for inflammation.
8.
Gonzales v. Raich
–
California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, legalizing the use of medical marijuana. The Federal government of the United States has limited the use of marijuana since the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act came into effect, defendant Angel Raich used homegrown medical marijuana, which was legal under California law but illegal under federal law. The marijuana plants were illegal Schedule I drugs under the federal Controlled Substances Act, Raichs physician stated that without marijuana, Raich is threatened by excruciating pain. California was one of 14 states that allowed use of marijuana. Californias Compassionate Use Act allows limited use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, Raich and Monson were represented by Randy Barnett. Raich claimed she used marijuana to keep herself alive and she and her doctor claimed to have tried dozens of prescription medicines for her numerous medical conditions and that she was allergic to most of them. Her doctor declared under oath that Raichs life was at stake if she could not continue to use marijuana, Monson suffered from chronic pain from a car accident a decade before the case. She used marijuana to relieve the pain and muscle spasms around her spine, the Controlled Substances Act does not recognize the medical use of marijuana. Agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration were assigned to break up Californias medical marijuana co-ops and that was result of the belief that federal law pre-empted, under the Supremacy Clause, the law of California. The government argued that if a single exception were made to the Controlled Substances Act and that argument stems from the landmark New Deal case Wickard v. An environmentalist group, Community Rights Council, also filed a brief for the government for fear that limitation of power would undermine its agenda. The governments of California, Maryland, and Washington also filed briefs supporting Raich, the attorneys general of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, three strongly antidrug states from the conservative South, filed a brief supporting Raich, on the grounds of states rights. The ruling was 6–3 with Justice Scalia joining Justices Kennedy, Stevens, Ginsburg, nor do they contend that any provision or section of the CSA amounts to an unconstitutional exercise of congressional authority. The relevant precedents for the Courts analysis are Wickard v. Filburn, United States v. Lopez, Justice Scalia wrote a separate concurrence that had the effect of differentiating the decision from the previous results of United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison. As Lopez itself states, and the Court affirms today, Congress may regulate intrastate activities only where the failure to do so could… undercut its regulation of interstate commerce. This is not a power that threatens to obliterate the line between what is truly national and what is truly local, Justice OConnor dissented joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who authored the majority opinions in United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison. New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann,285 U. S.262,311 and she concluded, Relying on Congress’ abstract assertions, the Court has endorsed making it a federal crime to grow small amounts of marijuana in one’s own home for one’s own medicinal use. This overreaching stifles an express choice by some States, concerned for the lives and liberties of their people, to regulate medical marijuana differently
Gonzales v. Raich
–
Supreme Court of the United States
9.
Higher education in the United States
–
Higher education in the United States is an optional final stage of formal learning following secondary education. These may be public universities, private universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, US college enrollment has declined for five consecutive years and is projected to continue declining for the next two decades. Unlike Tertiary education system of UK, American education is unique in the world to place emphasis on Liberal Arts education in its higher education curriculum. As of 2012, the latest figures available in 2015, the US has a total of 4,726 Title IV-eligible, the US had 21 million students in higher education, roughly 5. 7% of the total population. About 13 million of these students were enrolled full-time which was 81,000 students lower than 2010. Colleges and universities in the U. S. vary in terms of goals, some may emphasize a vocational, business, engineering, many combine some or all of the above, being a comprehensive university. Almost all colleges and universities are coeducational, during a dramatic transition in the 1970s, all but a handful of mens colleges started accepting women. Over 80 percent of the colleges of the 1960s have closed or merged. Over 100 historically black colleges and universities operate, both private and public, Higher education has led to the creation of accreditation organizations, independent of the government, to vouch for the quality of competing degrees. Accrediting agencies have been criticized for possible conflicts of interest that lead to favorable results, non-accredited institutions exist, such as Bible colleges, but the students are not eligible for federal loans. Community colleges are often, though, not always two-year colleges and they have open admissions, with generally lower tuition than other state or private schools. Graduates receive the associates degree such as an Associate of Arts upon graduating, many students earn an associate degree at a two-year institution, before transferring to a four-year institution to study another two years to earn a bachelors degree. Four-year colleges usually have a number of students, offer a greater range of studies. They are either primarily undergraduate institutions or the institution of a university. Some states, such as Washington, now offer schools simply known as colleges, the elevation in status comes from a cooperation between the community college and local universities. There are two distinctions between colleges and community colleges that arise from this arrangement. The second primary difference is that colleges, in cooperation with university, some colleges go so far as to offer particular, specialized 4-year bachelors degrees, on behalf of the university. Four-year institutions in the U. S. emphasizing the arts are liberal arts colleges, entirely undergraduate institutions
Higher education in the United States
–
Harvard University:
Harvard Yard with freshman dorms in the background.
Higher education in the United States
–
The Great Dome of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a university adopting the polytechnic university model.
Higher education in the United States
–
The DeSeversky Mansion on the
Old Westbury campus of
New York Institute of Technology.
Higher education in the United States
–
Saint Anselm College, a
New England liberal arts college
10.
Colorado Amendment 64
–
Colorado Amendment 64 was a successful popular initiative ballot measure to amend the Constitution of the State of Colorado, outlining a statewide drug policy for cannabis. The measure passed on November 6,2012, and along with a measure in Washington state, marked an electoral first not only for America. The commercial sale of marijuana to the public began on January 1,2014. By April 2016,62 of Colorados 271 cities and towns and 22 of the states 64 counties had adopted some form of recreational marijuana regulation, notably absent from the list is the states second most populous county and second most populous city, Colorado Springs in El Paso county. Proposed initiative 2011/12 #30 was submitted on January 4 and found sufficient by the Secretary of State on February 27 to appear on the ballot for the November election. Consumption is permitted in a similar to alcohol, with equivalent offenses prescribed for driving under the influence. The new legislation does not apply to medical marijuana, the amendment provides for licensing of cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities, testing facilities, and retail stores. Local governments can now regulate or prohibit such facilities, the largest survey for the amendment, conducted October 23,2012 by Public Policy Polling, indicated that 53% of voters intended to support it, with 46% opposed. On December 9,2013, more than a year after the passing of Amendment 64, with 53% support versus 38% opposition, the survey of 928 Colorado voters showed little change in support for legal marijuana a year on from the amendment vote. Since the amendment passed there has been concern over its conflict with federal substance prohibition laws, there is no government program or policy I can think of that has failed in such a unique way as marijuana prohibition. Similarly, Temple Emmanuels Rabbi, Steven Foster, endorsed Amendment 64 because, as clergy and you do not have to use marijuana—or even approve of marijuana—to see that our current laws are not working. Many supporters of Amendment 64 did so because they wanted to improve the efficiency, proponents believe that permitting recreational use will allow officers to focus on prevention of violent crime and that it will remove some of the burden on the states prosecutors and courts. The CDC study suggests that use among Colorados youths fell by 2.8 percent from 2009 to 2011. Furthermore, the CDC found that the availability of drugs on school grounds in Colorado fell 5 percent from 2009 to 2011, while the national rate increased by 3.1 percent over the same time. The group No on 64 objected to Amendment 64 chiefly because it claimed the amendment would lead to increased use of marijuana, a consequence the group considers harmful. In particular, the group sees marijuana as addictive and as damaging to children because they believe it permanently affects brain development, impairs learning ability, on October 14, The Denver Posts editorial board announced its opposition to Amendment 64. The policies took effect when the Governor ratified the ballots, which was to happen within 30 days of the election, Governor John Hickenlooper officially added the law to his states constitution on Monday December 10,2012 making the private consumption of marijuana legal in Colorado. The first stores opened on January 1,2014
Colorado Amendment 64
–
Results by county
11.
Office of National Drug Control Policy
–
The Director of National Drug Control Policy, colloquially known as the Drug Czar, heads the office. Drug Czar was a term first used in the media by then-Senator Joe Biden in October 1982, the most recent director is Michael Botticelli, who took over from former director Gil Kerlikowske in March 2014, but departed the role in January 2017. The Fiscal Year 2011 National Drug Control Budget proposed by the Obama Administration would devote significant new resources to the prevention and these resources are complemented by an aggressive effort to enhance domestic law enforcement, interdiction, and supply control programs. New resources, $340 million, are added to the prevention and it was co-sponsored in the House of Representatives by parties leaders, Tom Foley and Robert Michel, and it passed by margins of 346–11 and 87–3 in the House and Senate, respectively. Upon signing the law, Ronald Reagan said, This bill is the product of a bipartisan effort, Committee members said they would request funding for a study of ONDCP by the National Academy of Public Administration. They also ordered a Government Accountability Office study on the distribution of grants, plus, they directed the Director to provide quarterly updates on travel expenditures, staffing levels and plans for future hirings. In 2005, the Bush Administration proposed transferring the $225 million High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Program from ONDCP to the Department of Justice, the program gives additional money to communities with chronic illicit drug sales. According to the Washington Post, Many lawmakers oppose the transfer for fear the program would become less of a priority, by law, the drug czar must oppose any attempt to legalize the use of illicit drugs. Is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act, clearly, the Deputy Directors statements reflect one perspective regarding marijuana - a perspective that is disputed by others with different viewpoints. The Deputy Directors statements about marijuana are thus within the role assigned to ONDCP. Given this role, we do not see a need to examine the accuracy of the Deputy Directors individual statements in detail, the percentage was up slightly compared to 2004. Youth drug use declined for the year in a row. In 2008, ONDCP reported that actual youth drug use, as measured as the percent reporting past month use, has declined from 19. 4% to 14. 8% among middle and high school students between 2001 and 2007. The statement by said We believe there is a body of evidence that indicates the campaign is working, as planned, to change drug attitudes, intentions. Walters blamed poor ads that werent resonating with teenagers, the research company was paid $42.7 million for the five-year study. After the February 2005 report was received, the office continued the ad campaign, in the spring of 1998, the ONDCP began offering additional advertising dollars to networks that embedded anti-drug messages in their programming. They developed a system to decide which network shows would be valued. Receiving advance copies of scripts, they assigned financial value to each shows anti-drug message, then they would suggest ways that the networks could increase the payments they would get
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Office of National Drug Control Policy
–
Seal of the ONDCP
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Office of National Drug Control Policy
12.
Drug Enforcement Administration
–
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U. S. Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States. S. It has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U. S. drug investigations both domestic, and abroad, the Drug Enforcement Administration was established on July 1,1973, by Reorganization Plan No.2 of 1973, signed by President Richard Nixon on July 28. It proposed the creation of a federal agency to enforce the federal drug laws as well as consolidate and coordinate the governments drug control activities. Congress accepted the proposal, as they were concerned with the availability of drugs. From the early 1970s, DEA headquarters was located at 1405 I Street NW in downtown Washington, however, then–Attorney General Edwin Meese determined that the headquarters had to be located in close proximity to the Attorney Generals office. Thus, in 1989, the relocated to 600–700 Army-Navy Drive in the Pentagon City area of Arlington, Virginia. On April 19,1995, Timothy McVeigh attacked the Alfred P, security measures include hydraulic steel roadplates to enforce standoff distance from the building, metal detectors, and guard stations. In February 2003, the DEA established a Digital Evidence Laboratory within its Office of Forensic Sciences, the DEA is headed by an Administrator of Drug Enforcement appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U. S. Senate. The Administrator reports to the Attorney General through the Deputy Attorney General, the Administrator is assisted by a Deputy Administrator, the Chief of Operations, the Chief Inspector, and three Assistant Administrators. Other senior staff include the financial officer and the Chief Counsel. The Administrator and Deputy Administrator are the only presidentially-appointed personnel in the DEA, DEAs headquarters is located in Arlington, Virginia across from the Pentagon. It maintains its own DEA Academy located on the United States Marine Corps base at Quantico and it maintains 21 domestic field divisions with 227 field offices and 86 foreign offices in 62 countries. With a budget exceeding 2 billion dollars, DEA employs over 10,800 people, becoming a Special Agent or Intelligence Analyst with the DEA is a competitive process. DEA agents starting salary is $49, 746–$55,483, after four years working as an agent, the salary jumps to above $92,592. Upon graduation, recruits earn themselves the title of DEA Special Agent, the DEA excludes from consideration job-applicants who have a history of any use of narcotics or illicit drugs. Investigation usually includes a polygraph test for special-agent, diversion-investigator, exceptions to this policy may be made for applicants who admit to limited youthful and experimental use of marijuana. The DEAs relatively firm stance on this issue contrasts with that of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the DEA Aviation Division or Office of Aviation Operations is an airborne division based in Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Texas. The current OA fleet consists of 106 aircraft and 124 DEA pilots, rapid Response Teams was decommissioned by DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenburg on March 2017 via memorandum
Drug Enforcement Administration
–
Two DEA agents in a
shoot house exercise.
Drug Enforcement Administration
–
Seal of the Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
–
DEA agents burning hashish seized in Operation Albatross in Afghanistan, 2008.
Drug Enforcement Administration
–
"
Operation Somalia Express " was an 18-month investigation which included the coordinated takedown of a 44-member international narcotics-trafficking organization responsible for smuggling more than 25 tons of
khat from the
Horn of Africa to the United States.
13.
Drugs in the United States
–
Consistent with that definition, the U. S. separately defines narcotic drugs and controlled substances, which may include non-drugs, and explicitly excludes tobacco, caffeine and alcoholic beverages. This initiative includes a set of policies of the United States that are intended to discourage the production, distribution. The term War on Drugs was first used by President Richard Nixon in 1971, the first Drug court in the United States took shape in Miami-Dade County, Florida in 1989 as a response to the growing crack-cocaine problem plaguing the city. Chief Judge Gerald Wetherington, Judge Herbert Klein, then State Attorney Janet Reno and this model of court system quickly became a popular method for dealing with an ever increasing number of drug offenders. Between 1984 and 1999, the number of defendants charged with an offense in the Federal courts increased 3% annually. By 1999 there were 472 Drug Courts in the nation and by 2005 that number had increased to 1262 with another 575 Drug Courts in the planning stages, currently all 50 states have working Drug Courts. There are currently about 120,000 people treated annually in Drug Courts, there are currently more than 2,400 Drug Courts operating throughout the United States. Pharmacies in the United States Prescription drug prices in the United States National Drug Code Doping is the taking of performance-enhancing drugs, Doping has been detected in many sporting codes, especially baseball and football. The cult of pharmacology, how America became the worlds most troubled drug culture
Drugs in the United States
–
Detroit police inspecting equipment found in a clandestine brewery during the Prohibition era.
Drugs in the United States
–
Cigarette smokers as a percentage of the population for the United States as compared with the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, and Finland.
14.
History of drug prohibition in the United States
–
This is a timeline of the history of drug prohibition in the United States. Poison laws generally either required labels on the packaging indicating the effects of the drugs or prohibited sale outside of licensed pharmacies. Prominent pharmaceutical societies at the supported the listing of cannabis as a poison. 1880, The U. S.1906, The Pure Food and Drug Act requires that certain specified drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, morphine, previously many drugs had been sold as patent medicines with secret ingredients or misleading labels. Cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and other such drugs continued to be available without prescription as long as they were labeled. It is estimated that sale of patent medicines containing opiates decreased by 33% after labeling was mandated,1911, United States first Opium Commissioner, Hamilton Wright argues that of all the nations of the world, the United States consumes most habit-forming drugs per capita. 1913, The American Medical Association created a department to outlaw health fraud. In the same year, California outlawed cannabis,1914, The first recorded instance of the United States enacting a ban on the domestic distribution of drugs is the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914. 1925, United States supported regulation of cannabis as a drug in the International Opium Convention, and by the mid-1930s all member states had some regulation of cannabis. 1930, The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was created, for the next 32 years it was headed by Harry J. Anslinger who came from the Bureau of Prohibition as did many of its initial members. 1932, Democrat Franklin Roosevelt ran for President of the United States promising repeal of laws of Prohibition of alcohol. 1933, Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is repealed, the amendment remains the only major act of prohibition to be repealed, having been repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution. 1935, President Roosevelt hails the International Opium Convention and application of it in US. law,1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. This law, however, was something of a Catch-22, as obtaining a tax stamp required individuals to first present their goods and this act was passed by Congress on the basis of testimony and public perception that marijuana caused insanity, criminality, and death. 1951, The 1951 Boggs Act increased penalties fourfold, including mandatory penalties,1956, The Daniel Act increased penalties by a factor of eight over those specified in the Boggs Act. 1965, In Laos, the CIAs airline, Air America, began flying Hmong opium out of the hills to Long Tieng and this opium was being refined into high grade no.4 heroin, which is what was being used by U. S. soldiers. During the Laotian Civil War, Long Tieng served as a town,1969, Psychiatrist Dr. Robert DuPont conducts urinalysis of everyone entering the D. C. jail system in August 1969. He finds 44% test positive for heroin and starts the first methadone treatment program in the Department of Corrections in September 1969 for heroin addicts,1970, The Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law by Congress
History of drug prohibition in the United States
–
Some Congressmen and police who prosecuted the
War on Drugs now believe it caused a large increase in the
United States incarceration rate. See also:
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
15.
War on Drugs
–
However, two years prior to this, Nixon had formally declared a war on drugs that would be directed toward eradication, interdiction, and incarceration. Today, the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for an end to the War on Drugs, oNDCPs view is that drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated. Making drugs more available will make it harder to keep our communities healthy, one of the alternatives that Kerlikowske has showcased is the drug policy of Sweden, which seeks to balance public health concerns with opposition to drug legalization. The prevalence rates for use in Sweden are barely one-fifth of those in Spain. The report was criticized by organizations that oppose a general legalization of drugs, the first U. S. law that restricted the distribution and use of certain drugs was the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914. The first local laws came as early as 1860, in 1919, the United States passed the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, with exceptions for religious and medical use. In 1920, the United States passed the National Prohibition Act, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was established in the United States Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14,1930. In 1933, the prohibition for alcohol was repealed by passage of the 21st Amendment. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt publicly supported the adoption of the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act, the New York Times used the headline Roosevelt Asks Narcotic War Aid. In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed, several scholars have claimed that the goal was to destroy the hemp industry, largely as an effort of businessmen Andrew Mellon, Randolph Hearst, and the Du Pont family. These scholars argue that with the invention of the decorticator, hemp became a cheap substitute for the paper pulp that was used in the newspaper industry. These scholars believe that Hearst felt that this was a threat to his extensive timber holdings, however, there were circumstances that contradict these claims. One reason for doubts about those claims is that the new decorticators did not perform satisfactorily in commercial production. To produce fiber from hemp was a process if you include harvest, transport. Technological developments decreased the labor with hemp but not sufficient to eliminate this disadvantage, the Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies, the antiwar left and black people. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, did we know we were lying about the drugs. - John Ehrlichman, to Dan Baum for Harpers Magazine in 1994, about President Richard Nixons war on drugs, in 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration was created to replace the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The Nixon Administration also repealed the federal 2–10-year mandatory minimum sentences for possession of marijuana and started federal demand reduction programs and drug-treatment programs
War on Drugs
–
Mexican troops during a gun battle in Michoacán, 2007.
Mexico's drug war claims nearly 50,000 lives each year.
War on Drugs
–
As part of the War on Drugs, the US spends approximately $500 million per year on aid for
Colombia, largely used to combat
guerrilla groups such as
FARC that are involved in the
illegal drug trade.
War on Drugs
–
Operation Mallorca, US
Drug Enforcement Administration, 2005
War on Drugs
–
The U.S. military invasion of Panama in 1989
16.
Wayback Machine
–
The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
Wayback Machine
–
Wayback Machine
17.
California Secretary of State
–
The Secretary of State of California is the chief clerk of the U. S. State of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The Secretary of State is elected for four terms, like the states other constitutional officers. The current Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, took office on January 5,2015, the Secretary of State is the Californias Chief Elections Officer, overseeing all federal and state elections in the state and maintaining a database of registered voters. They are also responsible for disclosure of campaign and lobbyist financial information, the Secretary of States office also has a number of responsibilities related to corporations, the largest portion office is the Business Programs Division, which handles corporate filings. The Secretarys office also maintains a number of registries, including the Safe at Home confidential address program, and the Domestic Partners and Advance Health Care Directive. Other roles include safeguarding the California State Archives, and they are a trustee of the California Museum, California government and California politics List of company registers California Secretary of States official website
California Secretary of State
–
Incumbent
Alex Padilla since January 5, 2015
California Secretary of State
–
California State Seal
California Secretary of State
–
Secretary of State's offices
18.
YouTube
–
YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—in February 2005, Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion, YouTube now operates as one of Googles subsidiaries. Unregistered users can watch videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos deemed potentially offensive are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old, YouTube earns advertising revenue from Google AdSense, a program which targets ads according to site content and audience. As of February 2017, there are more than 400 hours of content uploaded to YouTube each minute, as of April 2017, the website is ranked as the second most popular site in the world by Alexa Internet, a web traffic analysis company. YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, Hurley had studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service, and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not. YouTube began as a venture capital-funded technology startup, primarily from an $11.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital between November 2005 and April 2006, YouTubes early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. The domain name www. youtube. com was activated on February 14,2005, the first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. The video was uploaded on April 23,2005, and can still be viewed on the site, YouTube offered the public a beta test of the site in May 2005. The first video to reach one million views was a Nike advertisement featuring Ronaldinho in November 2005. Following a $3.5 million investment from Sequoia Capital in November, the site grew rapidly, and in July 2006 the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day, and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day. The site has 800 million unique users a month and it is estimated that in 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000. The choice of the name www. youtube. com led to problems for a similarly named website, the sites owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006 after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube has since changed the name of its website to www. utubeonline. com, in October 2006, Google Inc. announced that it had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google stock, and the deal was finalized on November 13,2006. In March 2010, YouTube began free streaming of certain content, according to YouTube, this was the first worldwide free online broadcast of a major sporting event. On March 31,2010, the YouTube website launched a new design, with the aim of simplifying the interface, Google product manager Shiva Rajaraman commented, We really felt like we needed to step back and remove the clutter. In May 2010, YouTube videos were watched more than two times per day
YouTube
–
From left to right:
Chad Hurley,
Steve Chen, and
Jawed Karim
YouTube
–
Screenshot of YouTube's homepage
YouTube
–
YouTube's headquarters as of 2010 in
San Bruno, California.
19.
Drug policy
–
A drug policy is the policy, usually of a government, regarding the control and regulation of drugs considered dangerous, particularly those which are addictive. Governments try to combat drug addiction with policies which address both the demand and supply of drugs, as well as policies which can mitigate the harms of drug abuse, and for medical treatment. Supply side reduction involves measures such as enacting foreign policy aimed at eradicating the international cultivation of plants used to make drugs, Policies which may help mitigate the effects of drug abuse include needle exchange and drug substitution programs, as well as free facilities for testing a drugs purity. Drugs subject to control vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, for example, heroin is regulated almost everywhere, substances such as qat, codeine are regulated in some places, but not others. The International Opium Convention, signed in 1912 during the First International Opium Conference, was the first international drug control treaty and it went into force globally in 1919 when it was incorporated into the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. A revised Convention was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series in 1928 and it also imposed some restrictions—not total prohibition—on the export of Indian hemp. In 1961 it was superseded by the international Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs to control global drug trading, the Convention banned countries from treating addicts by prescribing illegal substances, allowing only scientific and medical uses of drugs. It did not detail precise drug laws and was not itself binding on countries, the federal jurisdiction has enforcement powers over national borders. In October 2016, Australia legislated for some medicinal use cannabis, compared with other EU countries the drug policy of Germany is considered to be rather progressive but still stricter than, for example, in the Netherlands. In 1994 the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that drug addiction was not a crime, in 2000 the German narcotic law was changed to allow for supervised drug injection rooms. In 2002, a study was started in seven German cities to evaluate the effects of heroin-assisted treatment on addicts. The positive results of the led to the inclusion of heroin-assisted treatment into the services of the mandatory health insurance in 2009. Liberia prohibits drugs such as cocaine and marijuana and its drug laws are enforced by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Drug policy in the Netherlands is based on two principles, that use is a health issue, not a criminal issue. The Netherlands is currently the country to have implemented a wide scale. It was also one of the first countries to introduce heroin-assisted treatment, from 2008, a number of town councils have closed many so called coffee shops that sold cannabis or implemented other new restrictions for sale of cannabis, e. g. for foreigners. Importing and exporting of any classified drug is a serious offence, the penalty can run up to 12 to 16 years if it is for hard drugs, or a maximum of 4 years for importing or exporting large quantities of cannabis. Investment in treatment and prevention of addiction is high when compared to the rest of the world
Drug policy
–
Cannabis coffee shop in the city center of
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
20.
Drug policy of the Netherlands
–
The drug policy of the Netherlands officially has four major objectives, To prevent recreational drug use and to treat and rehabilitate recreational drug users. To diminish public nuisance by drug users, to combat the production and trafficking of recreational drugs. By contrast, most other countries take the point of view that drug use is detrimental to society. This has caused friction between the Netherlands and other countries about the policy for cannabis, most notably with France, as of 2004, Belgium seems to be moving toward the Dutch model and a few local German legislators are calling for experiments based on the Dutch model. A new law came into force in the Netherlands requiring people to have membership cards to gain entry to coffeeshops and these cards are only available to residents of the Netherlands who apply for the card, known as a weed pass. This requirement was adopted by several provinces, including the cities of Maastricht. Entry into coffeeshops and the sale of cannabis in Amsterdam therefore remains permissible to anyone over the age of 18, maastricht’s association of coffeeshop owners lost in June 2012 in a Dutch court a legal challenge of the new rules against the citys mayor. Amsterdam has decided to not enforce the new law and will continue to sell to tourists, large-scale dealing, production, import and export are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, even if it does not supply end users or coffeeshops with more than the allowed amounts. Exactly how coffeeshops get their supplies is rarely investigated, however, the average concentration of THC in the cannabis sold in coffeeshops has increased from 9% in 1998 to 18% in 2005. This means that less plant material has to be consumed to achieve the same effect, one of the reasons is plant breeding and use of greenhouse technology for illegal growing of cannabis in Netherlands. The former minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner announced in June 2007 that cultivation of cannabis shall continue to be illegal, the drug policy of the Netherlands is marked by its distinguishing between so called soft and hard drugs. An often used argument is that alcohol, which is claimed by scientists as a hard drug, is legal. This may refer to the Prohibition in the 1920s, when the U. S. government decided to ban all alcohol. Prohibition created an opportunity for organized crime syndicates to smuggle alcohol. Cannabis remains a controlled substance in the Netherlands and both possession and production for use are still misdemeanors, punishable by fines. Coffeeshops are also illegal but are flourishing nonetheless. This is an official version of a common practice in other European countries wherein law enforcement sets priorities regarding offenses on which it is important enough to spend limited resources. According to current gedoogbeleid the possession of an amount of five grams cannabis for personal use is not prosecuted
Drug policy of the Netherlands
–
Cannabis coffee shop in
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Drug policy of the Netherlands
–
Signs in
Amsterdam, indicating smoking cannabis and drinking
alcohol are prohibited
Drug policy of the Netherlands
–
Cigarette smokers as a percentage of the population for the Netherlands as compared with the United States, Norway,
Japan, and Finland.
Drug policy of the Netherlands
–
City license for a
cannabis coffee shop in
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
21.
Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction
–
The use, possession, sale, cultivation, and transportation of cannabis is illegal under federal law in the United States. Cannabis is listed as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, part of the reason marijuana remains illegal at the federal level is because it is classified as a Schedule I drug. A Schedule I drug, as defined by the Drug Enforcement Administration, is a substance that has a potential of being abused by its users and has no acceptable medical uses. Individual state laws do not always conform to the federal standard, state-level proposals for the rescheduling of cannabis have met with mixed success. As of November 9,2016, the use of recreational and medicinal marijuana has been legalized in the states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon. The District of Columbia has fully legalized recreational and medical marijuana, twelve states have both medical marijuana and decriminalization laws. Twelve states, Guam, and Puerto Rico have legalized medical marijuana. One state and the U. S. Virgin Islands have only decriminalized possession laws, in the remaining five states and two inhabited territories, marijuana possession and sales are illegal and prohibited entirely. com, Where is marijuana legal
Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction
–
Jurisdiction with legalized cannabis.
22.
Legality of cannabis by country
–
The legality of cannabis for general or recreational use varies from country to country. Possession of cannabis is illegal in most countries as a result of the agreement about Indian hemp, also known as hashish, however, many countries have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis, see the list below. In the United States, medical cannabis is allowed by state, territorial, Indian reservation, and District of Columbia law. While federal law is controlling, the Obama administration has not to prosecute users operating in compliance with local medical and recreational marijuana laws. S
Legality of cannabis by country
–
A visual summary of worldwide recreational cannabis laws
23.
Public policy of the United States
–
Public policy consists of a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities by a government or its representatives. Public policy decisions are decided by a group of individuals with different beliefs. The policies of the United States of America comprise all actions taken by its federal government, the executive branch is the primary entity through which policies are enacted, however the policies are derived from a collection of laws, executive decisions, and legal precedents. Agricultural policy of the United States is the policy for agriculture in the United States and is composed primarily of the periodically renewed federal U. S. farm bills. Over time agricultural policies evolved to support an industrialized, commodity-based agriculture and this evolution resulted in farmers leaving the land with agriculture moving to an industrial structure. S. Our addiction to oil and fossil fuels puts our economy, our national security. Its general goal is to protect the environment for the welfare of future generations and it only addresses the security of the American people and promotes international order. Part of the announcements included temporary exceptions to section 23A and 23B, the exceptions would expire on January 30,2009, unless extended by the Federal Reserve Board. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced termination of short-selling of 799 financial stocks, as well as action against naked short selling, as part of its reaction to the mortgage crisis
Public policy of the United States
–
The
United States Capitol.
24.
Agricultural policy of the United States
–
The agricultural policy of the United States is composed primarily of the periodically renewed federal U. S. farm bills. Over the first 200 years of U. S, the AAA began to regulate agricultural production by destroying crops and artificially reducing supplies. It also offered subsidies to farmers to encourage them to limit their production of crops. Out of these bills grew a system of government-controlled agricultural commodity prices, supply control would continue to be used to decrease overproduction, leading to over 50,000,000 acres to be set aside during times of low commodity prices. The practice was ended by the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. Beginning with the administration of Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, however, in the early 1970s, under Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz, farmers were encouraged to get big or get out and to plant hedgerow to hedgerow. The percentage of Americans who live on a farm diminished from nearly 25% during the Great Depression to about 2% now, as the agribusiness lobby grows to near $60 million per year, the interests of agricultural corporations remain highly represented. In recent years, farm subsidies have remained even in times of record farm profits. A large reason why agricultural policy has favored farmers over the course of United States history is because farmers tend to have favorable proportional political representation in government, the United States Senate tends to grant more power per person to inhabitants of rural states. Also, the majority of policy research is funded by the USDA. Agriculture in the United States General, Politics of the United States Food vs fuel Agricultural subsidy Normal crop acreage Title 7 of the United States Code Gardner, american Agriculture in the Twentieth Century, How It Flourished and What It Cost. Spitze, Robert G. F. Harold G. Halcrow, Joyce E. Allen-Smith
Agricultural policy of the United States
–
History
25.
Arctic policy of the United States
–
The Arctic policy of the United States refers to the foreign policy of the United States in regard to the Arctic region. In addition, the United States domestic policy toward Alaska is part of its Arctic policy, since March 30,1867, the United States of America has been one of the eight Arctic nations and one of the five Arctic Ocean littoral countries. The United States has been a member of the Arctic Council since its inception in 1996,4 of the Arctic Councils 6 Permanent Participant indigenous organizations have representatives in Alaska. The United States is also an observer of the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, Canada is the United States closest partner in Arctic affairs, due to geographic proximity and similar Arctic policy directives. The countries work together on research, including mapping the Arctic sea floor. Two significant disagreements are the border dispute in the Beaufort Sea, the current Arctic policy of the United States has its beginnings in the Nixon Administration. In December 1971, President Nixon produced National Security Decision Memorandum 144 to address the United States stance toward the Arctic, the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy was absorbed into the Arctic Council following the Yalta Declaration in 1997. In May 2008, five of the Arctic nations adopted the Illulissat Declaration which incorporates the law of the sea, the US has not ratified UNCLOS and is the only Arctic nation yet to join, even though the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations have all favored ratifiction. The Arctic Council was the face of United States Arctic Policy until the latest National Security Presidential Directive was signed by President Bush on January 9,2009 and this impetus is unique to the United States during this time because of climate change in the region. US Arctic Region Policy Presidential Directive, a collaborative effort replacing the Clinton-era Arctic policy directive, NSPD-66 is the official, active Arctic policy being pursued by the Obama Administration and its departments. The policy argues against the need for a treaty among Arctic nations similar to the Antarctic Treaty restricting commercial and military activities. At the March 29,2010, Arctic Five meeting in Ottawa, United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Lawrence Cannon, said the meeting was not intended to, replace or undermine the Arctic Council. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has provided the strongest impetus for a more assertive United States policy in the Arctic region, the United States focuses on numerous facets of the Arctic region in promoting and explaining their reasoning for a stronger policy position in the region. As an Arctic country with territory at stake, the United States is continuously pushing for an influence in the region to pursue industry. In addition, new passageways in commercial shipping may become available due to the breaking of ice, the population influx in the Arctic region is also predicted to coincide with more commercial shipping, marine tourism, and the transportation of large passenger vessels. This poses coverage gaps to the US Navy and US Coast Guard search, due to the non-military nature of the Arctic Council, the United States will also need to pursue separate military agreements with other Arctic countries to ensure a protected and secure region. The APG is chaired by the Department of State and meets monthly to develop and implement US programs and policies in the Arctic, President Obama has called on the Task Force to develop federal recommendations for adapting to climate change impacts both domestically and internationally. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, the CEQs Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force released its Final Recommendations July 19,2010
Arctic policy of the United States
–
Alaska, America's Arctic, is positioned between Asia, Europe and the Eastern US - Barrow to Hammerfest, Norway (2631) is 1254 air miles shorter than Washington DC to Oslo (3885). Anchorage to DC is 3371; Anchorage to Tokyo 3461.
Arctic policy of the United States
–
"Polar Sea" by George Curtis (1867 – same year US became an Arctic nation)
26.
Climate change policy of the United States
–
The politics of global warming is played out at a state and federal level in the United States. The United States, although a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, has neither ratified nor withdrawn from the protocol. In 1997, the US Senate voted unanimously under the Byrd–Hagel Resolution that it was not the sense of the Senate that the United States should be a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. In 2001, former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, stated that the Protocol is not acceptable to the Administration or Congress, the United States, along with Kazakhstan, have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol is non-binding over the United States unless ratified, presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama did not submit the treaty for ratification. In October 2003, the Pentagon published a report titled An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security by Peter Schwartz, in October 2003 and again in June 2005, the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act failed a vote in the US Senate. In the 2005 vote, Republicans opposed the Bill 49-6, while Democrats supported it 37–10, in January 2007, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would form a United States Congress subcommittee to examine global warming. The US government announced that it was withdrawing funding from the groups it had been supporting that aimed to discount the evidence for global warming. Sen. Joe Lieberman said, Im hot to get something done and its hard not to conclude that the politics of global warming has changed and a new consensus for action is emerging and it is a bipartisan consensus. The Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007 was introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders, however, the bill died in committee. Two more bills, the Climate Protection Act and the Sustainable Energy Act, proposed February 14,2013, also failed to pass committee. The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 was approved by the House of Representatives on June 26,2009, by a vote of 219–212, but died in the Senate. In March 2011, the Republicans submitted a bill to the U. S. congress that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gasses as pollutants. As of July 2012, the EPA continues to oversee regulation under the Clean Air Act. S. in February 2002, Bush announced his alternative to the Kyoto Protocol, by bringing forth a plan to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gasses by 18 percent over 10 years. Bush stated that this plan would prevent the release of 500 million metric tons of greenhouse gases and this target would achieve this goal by providing tax credits to businesses that use renewable energy sources. The book claims that, to action, industry and government spokesmen suggest falsely that technology breakthroughs will eventually save us with hydrogen cars. It calls on voters to demand government action to curb emissions. According to testimony taken by the U. S, nearly half of all respondents perceived or personally experienced pressure to eliminate the words climate change, global warming or other similar terms from a variety of communications. S
Climate change policy of the United States
27.
Economic policy of Barack Obama
–
His first term included measures designed to address the Great Recession and Subprime mortgage crisis, which began in 2007. These included a stimulus package, banking regulation, and comprehensive healthcare reform. Towards the end of his tenure, the U. S. 5% in the quarter of 2016. He also implemented several environmental executive orders to address climate change and encourage clean energy industries, both the stock market and corporate profits reached record high levels during his tenure, while inflation and interest rates remained near record low levels. Conceptually, Obama advocated using government regulation to stem crony capitalism and tax revenue to stabilize, two of his important economic advisers were Jason Furman of Harvard University and Jeffrey Liebman of Harvard University. President Obama was inaugurated in January 2009, in the depths of the Great Recession, by early 2011, the economy began creating jobs consistently each month, a trend which continued through the end of his tenure. President Obama followed with the legislation that bears his name, the 2010 Patient Protection, by 2016, the law covered approximately 24 million people with health insurance via a combination of state healthcare exchanges and an extension of Medicaid. It lowered the rate of those without insurance from approximately 16% in 2010 to 9% by 2015. Throughout his tenure, healthcare costs continued to moderate, for example, healthcare premiums for those covered by employers rose by 69% from 2000 to 2005, but only 27% from 2010 to 2015. By 2017, nearly 70% of those on the exchanges could purchase insurance for less than $75/month after subsidies, no Republicans in the House and only a few in the Senate voted for the law. To address the excesses in the sector that precipitated the crisis, Obama signed the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform. It also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, however, it did not breakup the largest banks or separate investment and depository banking, as the Glass-Steagal Act had done. Only a few Republicans in Congress voted for the law, however, in the November 2010 elections, the Republicans won the House majority and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate. He faced either a split or Republican Congress thereafter, limiting his economic legislation to mainly budgetary matters, next came the federal budget debates. The Great Recession had caused federal government revenues to fall to their lowest level relative to the size of the economy in 50 years, at the same time, safety net expenditures and stimulus measures caused expenditures to rise considerably. This drove the budget deficit up, creating significant debt concerns and this resulted in a series of bruising debates with the Republican Congress. Compared against a baseline where the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire on schedule in 2010 for all levels of income, compared against the prior years, it significantly reduced the deficit and limited future cost increases. This law and the recovering economy lowered the deficit back to the average relative to GDP by 2014
Economic policy of Barack Obama
–
Barack Obama delivering a speech at the
University of Southern California in support of
California Proposition 87
Economic policy of Barack Obama
–
U.S. Senator
Barack Obama
Economic policy of Barack Obama
–
Obama supporters at a campaign rally in
Austin,
Texas, on February 23, 2007. President Obama said he supports
universal health care and programs to increase access to education.
Economic policy of Barack Obama
–
Life and politics
28.
Energy policy of the United States
–
Energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, subsidies and incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. Several mandates have been proposed over the years, such as gasoline will never exceed $1, state-specific energy-efficiency incentive programs also play a significant role in the overall energy policy of the United States. The United States refused to endorse the Kyoto Protocol, preferring to let the market drive CO2 reductions to mitigate global warming, thanks to new technologies such as fracking, the United States has in 2014 resumed its former role as the top oil producer in the world. In the Colonial era the energy policy of the United States was for use of standing timber for heating. In the 19th century, new emphasis was placed on access to coal and its use for transport, heating, whales were rendered into lamp oil. Later, coal gas was fractionated for use as lighting and town gas, natural gas was first used in America for lighting in 1816. It has grown in importance for use in homes, industry, and power plants, but natural gas production reached its U. S. peak in 1973, coal provided the bulk of the US energy needs well into the 20th century. Most urban homes had a coal bin and a coal fired furnace, over the years these were replaced with oil furnaces, not because of it being cheaper but because it was easier and safer. Coal remains far cheaper than oil, the biggest use of oil has come from the development of the automobile. By 1950, oil consumption exceeded that of coal, interstate Highways helped make cars the major means of personal transportation. As oil imports increased, US foreign policy was drawn into Middle East politics, supporting oil-producing Saudi Arabia. Hydroelectricity was the basis of Nikola Teslas introduction of the U. S. electricity grid, starting at Niagara Falls, NY in 1883. Electricity generated by major dams like the Jensen Dam, TVA Project, Grand Coulee Dam and Hoover Dam still produce some of the lowest-priced, rural electrification strung power lines to many more areas. Utilities have their rates set to earn a revenue stream that provides them with a constant 10% – 13% rate of return based on operating costs, increases or decreases of the operating costs of electricity production are passed directly through to the consumers. The federal government provided substantially larger subsidies to fossil fuels than to renewables in the 2002–2008 period, subsidies to fossil fuels totaled approximately $72 billion over the study period, representing a direct cost to taxpayers. Subsidies for renewable fuels, totaled $29 billion over the same period, in some cases, the U. S. has used its energy policy as a means to pursue other international goals. Richard Heinberg, a professor from Santa Rosa, California argues that a declassified CIA document shows that the U. S. used oil prices as leverage against the economy of the Soviet Union. When combined with other U. S. efforts to drain Soviet resources, the United States receives approximately 84% of its energy from fossil fuels
Energy policy of the United States
–
The
Hoover Dam.
Energy policy of the United States
–
Grand Coulee Dam in Washington.
Energy policy of the United States
–
U.S. oil production peaked in 1970, then began to decline. In 2005 imports peaked at 60% of consumption.
Energy policy of the United States
–
U.S. Imports of crude oil and petroleum products (in thousands of barrels), 1981–2010.
29.
Energy policy of the Obama administration
–
The Energy Policy of the Obama administration, stated on U. S. President Barack Obamas website, lists the guiding principles of the administration regarding energy and the environment. They include creating new clean energy jobs and technologies, making America more energy independent, clean Edge lists other recent policies of the Obama Administration to support the clean energy sector in the U. S. In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama called for a goal, in January 2017, President Obama published an article arguing that private-sector incentives will help drive decoupling of emissions and economic growth. He calls this the irreversible momentum of clean energy, which he says may occur independently of the policy choices of the Trump presidency. One of President Obamas suggestions for cleaner energy options was the use of power plants. But after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan and its power plants, concerns have grown over the nuclear plants in California because, similar to Japan, they are also located on fault lines. In a speech on March 31,2010 at Andrews Air Force Base, the presidents plan includes initiatives such as raising fuel efficiency standards. The Center for a New American Security wrote recommendations on how to improve upon the security plan. Climate change policy of the Obama administration
Energy policy of the Obama administration
–
Barack Obama signs at his desk
Energy policy of the Obama administration
–
Life and politics
30.
Fiscal policy of the United States
–
Fiscal policy is considered any changes the government makes to the national budget in order to influence a nation’s economy. The approach to policy in the United States was rather laissez-faire until the Great Depression. The government tried to stay away from economic matters as much as possible, prior to the Great Depression, the economy did have economic downturns and some were quite severe. However, the economy tended to self-correct so the laissez faire approach to the economy tended to work, after the Great Depression, economists decided that something needed to be done about the government involvement in U. S. economic affairs. The U. S. looked to the views of economist John Maynard Keynes to help fix the crisis the country was in. President Franklin D. Roosevelt first instituted fiscal policies in the United States in The New Deal, the first experiments did not prove to be very effective, but that was in part because the Great Depression had already lowered the expectations of business so drastically. The Great Depression struck countries in the late 1920s and continued throughout the entire 1930s and it affected some countries more than others, and the effects in the US were detrimental. In 1933,25 percent of all workers were unemployed in America, many families starved or lost their homes. Some tried traveling to the West to find work, also to no avail, the Great Depression showed the American population that there was a growing need for the government to manage economic affairs. The size of the government began rapidly expanding in the 1930s. The budget grew substantially as well, in 1939, federal receipts of the administrative budget were 5.50 percent of Gross National Product, GNP, while federal expenditures were 9.77 percent of GNP. These numbers were up significantly from 1930, when federal receipts averaged 3.80 percent of GNP while expenditures averaged 3.04 percent of GNP, another contributor to changing the role of government in the 1930s was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was important because of his implication of The New Deal, which was a program that would offer relief, recovery, in terms of relief, new organizations, such as the Works Progress Administration, saved many U. S. lives. The reform aspect was indeed the most influential in The New Deal, in essence, it was the beginning of fiscal policy. It was the first time that the government took a role in attempting to secure American individuals from unseen drastic changes in the market. Although the repression and reform aspects of The New Deal proved to be effective for President Roosevelt, unemployment rates remained very high throughout the 1930s. It was still difficult for Americans to find jobs and this problem diminished when the government called for many industries to convert to military production in the early 1940s in order to prepare for World War II. World War II forced the government to run deficits, or spend more than they were economically generating
Fiscal policy of the United States
–
Crowd gathering outside of a New York City stock exchange during the
Great Depression
31.
Foreign policy of the United States
–
U. S. foreign policy and foreign aid have been the subject of much debate, praise and criticism, both domestically and abroad. The United States Secretary of State is the minister of the United States and is the primary conductor of state-to-state diplomacy. Both the Secretary of State and ambassadors are appointed by the President, with the advice, Congress also has power to regulate commerce with foreign nations. The main trend regarding the history of U. S, since the 19th century, U. S. foreign policy also has been characterized by a shift from the realist school to the idealistic or Wilsonian school of international relations. These policies became the basis of the Federalist Party in the 1790s, but the rival Jeffersonian feared Britain and favored France in the 1790s, declaring the War of 1812 on Britain. After the 1778 alliance with France, the U. S. did not sign another permanent treaty until the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949, over time, other themes, key goals, attitudes, or stances have been variously expressed by Presidential doctrines, named for them. Initially these were uncommon events, but since WWII, these have made by most presidents. The U. S. bought Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867, victory over Spain in 1898 brought the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, as well as oversight of Cuba. The short experiment in imperialism ended by 1908, as the U. S. turned its attention to the Panama Canal, the 20th century was marked by two world wars in which the United States, along with allied powers, defeated its enemies and increased its international reputation. President Wilsons Fourteen Points was developed from his idealistic Wilsonianism program of spreading democracy and it became the basis of the German Armistice and the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. In the 1920s, the United States followed an independent course, and succeeded in a program of naval disarmament, operating outside the League it became a dominant player in diplomatic affairs. New York became the capital of the world, but the Wall Street Crash of 1929 hurled the Western industrialized world into the Great Depression. American trade policy relied on high tariffs under the Republicans, and reciprocal trade agreements under the Democrats, but in any case exports were at very low levels in the 1930s. As a result of internal debate, the national policy was one of becoming the Arsenal of Democracy. Roosevelt mentioned four fundamental freedoms, which ought to be enjoyed by people everywhere in the world, American policy was to threaten Japan, to force it out of China, and to prevent its attacking the Soviet Union. However, Japan reacted by an attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and the United States was at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy. Instead of the given to allies in World War I. The American economy roared forward, doubling industrial production, and building vast quantities of airplanes, ships, tanks, munitions, and, finally, much of the American war effort went to strategic bombers, which flattened the cities of Japan and Germany
Foreign policy of the United States
–
The
Jay Treaty of 1795 aligned the U.S. more with Britain and less with France, leading to political polarization at home
Foreign policy of the United States
–
Allies of World War II at the
Yalta Conference:
Winston Churchill,
Franklin D. Roosevelt and
Joseph Stalin.
Foreign policy of the United States
–
Chinese Communist Party Chairman
Mao Zedong meets with U.S. President
Richard Nixon, 1972
32.
History of U.S. foreign policy
–
History of U. S. foreign policy is a brief overview of major trends regarding the foreign policy of the United States from the American Revolution to the present. The diplomats—especially Franklin, Adams and Jefferson—secured recognition of American independence, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 was highly favorable to the United States which now could expand westward to the Mississippi River. Historian Samuel Flagg Bemis was an expert on diplomatic history. According to Jerold Combs, Bemiss The Diplomacy of the American Revolution and it emphasized the danger of American entanglement in European quarrels. European diplomacy in the century was rotten, corrupt, and perfidious. Americas diplomatic success had resulted from staying clear of European politics while reaping advantage from European strife, Franklin, Jay, and Adams had done just this during the Revolution and as a consequence had won the greatest victory in the annals of American diplomacy. Bemis conceded that the French alliance had been necessary to win the war, yet he regretted that it had brought involvement with the baleful realm of European diplomacy. Vergennes was quite willing to lead America to an abattoir where portions of the United States might be dismembered if this would advance the interests of France, the cabinet-level Department of Foreign Affairs was created in 1789 by the First Congress. It was soon renamed the Department of State and changed the title of secretary for foreign affairs to Secretary of State, when the French Revolution led to war in 1793 between Britain, and France, Washington and his cabinet decided on a policy of neutrality. In 1795 Washington supported the Jay Treaty, designed by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to avoid war with Britain, the Jeffersonians vehemently opposed the treaty, but Washingtons support proved decisive, and the U. S. and Britain were on friendly terms for a decade. However the foreign policy dispute polarized parties at home, leading to the First Party System, hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Our detached & distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course, by 1797 the French were openly seizing American ships, leading to an undeclared war known as the Quasi-War of 1798–99. President John Adams tried diplomacy, it failed, in 1798, the French demanded American diplomats pay huge bribes in order to see the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, which the Americans rejected. The Jeffersonian Republicans, suspicious of Adams, demanded the documentation, the XYZ Affair ignited a wave of nationalist sentiment. Overwhelmed, the U. S. Congress approved Adams plan to organize the navy, Adams reluctantly signed the Alien and Sedition Acts as a wartime measure. Adams broke with the Hamiltonian wing of his Federalist Party and made peace with France in 1800, Thomas Jefferson envisioned America as the force behind a great Empire of Liberty, that would promote republicanism and counter the imperialism of the British Empire. American honor was humiliated by the British attack on the American warship the Chesapeake in 1807, in the west, Indians supported by Britain used ambushes and raids to kill settlers, thus delaying the expansion of frontier settlements into the Midwest. In 1812 diplomacy had broken down and the U. S. declared war on Britain, the War of 1812 was marked by very bad planning and military fiascoes on both sides
History of U.S. foreign policy
–
The
Jay Treaty of 1795 aligned the U.S. more with Britain and less with France, leading to political polarization at home
History of U.S. foreign policy
–
The
USS Constitution surprised analysts with an important victory over the HMS Guerriere in 1812.
History of U.S. foreign policy
–
Fierce fighting between U.S. and Spanish warships off the coast of
Cuba in the
Battle of Santiago led to the sinking and grounding of several Spanish battleships. The
USS Iowa was hit (pictured) but did not sink.
History of U.S. foreign policy
–
British prime minister
Lloyd George, Italy's
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, France's
Georges Clemenceau, and U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson at the
Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The settlement failed to secure a lasting peace since it punished Germany with brutal financial penalties.
33.
Criticism of American foreign policy
–
Criticism of United States foreign policy encompasses a wide range of opinions and views on failures and shortcoming of United States policies and actions. American exceptionalism has widespread implications and transcribes into disregard to the norms, rules. Critics of American exceptionalism drew parallels with such doctrines as civilizing mission. From its founding, many of the leaders of the young American government had hoped for a non-interventionist foreign policy that promoted commerce with all nations, alliance with none. However, this quickly became increasingly difficult to pursue, with growing implicit threats and non-military pressure faced from several powers. After the American Revolution, the United States immediately began juggling its foreign policy between many different views under the George Washington cabinet. However, Hamilton and the Federalists desired favorable terms with the Bank of England in the hopes of establishing enough credit with the Crown to establish an American national banking system. Hamiltons camp would take the day and influenced Washington to remain neutral during the conflict, destroying relations with France. Under the presidency of John Adams an undeclared naval war broke out from 1798 until 1799 against France, often called the Quasi War, in addition, the United States would come under the influence of British banking power and regulations, heightening tensions between Democratic-Republicans and Federalists. While U. S. relations with the many Native American nations changed routinely throughout history, after a long period of respect for sovereignty, United States policy for Indian territories shifted significantly again after the Civil War. Previously, the pro-State Rights government believed in the legitimacy of Indian Nations sovereignty, after the conclusion of the Civil War, conversely, views on the sovereignty of Indian nations diminished, as the United States government vested greater powers within the federal government. Over time, the U. S. government found more and more justifications for revoking Indian lands and it has been criticized for the war with Mexico in the 1840s which some see as a theft of land. Generally during the 19th century, and in parts of the 20th century. After World War I, Time Magazine writer John L. Steele thought the U. S. tried to return to an isolationist stance and he wrote, The anti-internationalist movement reached a peak of influence in the years just before World War II. But Steele questioned whether this policy was effective, regardless, isolationism ended quickly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The U. S. waffled, there was no vision, public opinion in different regions of the world thinks that, to some extent, the 9/11 attacks were an outgrowth of substandard U. S. policy towards the region. The Vietnam War has been called a mistake by some. The U. S. supported the secession of Kosovo form FR Yugoslavia in 1999, such unilateral policies have broken European and international treaties but have been dismissed as unique by the US
Criticism of American foreign policy
–
This article's
lead section may not adequately
summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to
provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. Please discuss this issue on the article's
talk page. (August 2014)
Criticism of American foreign policy
–
Graffiti in Caracas, Venezuela, 2011.
Criticism of American foreign policy
–
A famous cartoon by
Joseph Keppler, 1889, depicting the role of corporate interests in Congress.
Criticism of American foreign policy
–
Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein greets
Donald Rumsfeld, a special envoy of President
Ronald Reagan, in Baghdad on December 20, 1983. Rumsfeld came to discuss an aid program.
34.
Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration
–
The foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 1981 to 1989. The main goal was winning the Cold War and the rollback of Communism—which was achieved in Eastern Europe in 1989 and in the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. It was characterized by a strategy of peace through strength and an escalation of Cold War tensions 1981-84, followed by a warming of relations with the Soviet Union, 1981-89. Reagan escalated the Cold War with the Soviet Union, marking a departure from the policy of détente by his predecessors Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, negotiating position, and force the Soviets to devote more of their economic resources to defense. Most visible was the massive American military build-up, the administration revived the B-1 bomber program that had been canceled by the Carter administration and began production of the MX Peacekeeper missile. One of Reagans proposals was the Strategic Defense Initiative, Reagan believed this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible, but the unlikelihood that the technology could ever work led opponents to dub SDI Star Wars. Supporters responded that SDI gave Reagan a stronger bargaining position, indeed, Soviet leaders became genuinely concerned. Reagan supported anti-communist groups around the world, in a policy which became known as the Reagan Doctrine, his administration funded freedom fighters such as the Contras in Nicaragua, the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, and UNITA in Angola. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Reagan deployed CIA Special Activities Division Paramilitary Officers to train, equip and lead the Mujihadeen forces against the Soviet Army. Although the CIA in general and Charlie Wilson, a Texas Congressman, have received most of the attention, the key architect of this strategy was Michael G. Vickers, President Reagans Covert Action program has been given credit for assisting in ending the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. When the Polish government suppressed the Solidarity movement in late 1981, Reagan argued that the American economy was on the move again while the Soviet economy had become stagnant. For a while the Soviet decline was masked by high prices for Soviet oil exports, in November 1985, the oil price was $30/barrel for crude, in March 1986 it had fallen to $12. Reagans militant rhetoric inspired dissidents in the Soviet Empire, but also startled allies, in a famous address to the National Association of Evangelicals on March 8,1983, he called the Soviet Union an evil empire that would be consigned to the ash heap of history. After Soviet fighters downed Korean Airlines Flight 007 on September 1,1983, Reagans description of the Soviet Union as an evil empire drew the wrath of some as provocative, but his description was staunchly defended by his conservative supporters. He elaborated on June 8 of 1982 to the British Parliament, Reagan argued that the Soviet Union was in deep economic crisis and stated that the Soviet Union runs against the tide of history by denying human freedom and human dignity to its citizens. This was before Gorbachev rose to power in 1985, Reagan later wrote in his autobiography An American Life that he did not see the profound changes that would occur in the Soviet Union after Gorbachev rose to power. To confront the Soviet Unions serious economic problems, Gorbachev implemented bold new policies for freedom and openness called glasnost, Reagan relaxed his aggressive rhetoric toward the Soviet Union after Gorbachev became chairman of the Soviet Politburo in 1985, and took on a position of negotiating. But the size of the Soviet armed forces was not necessarily the result of a simple action-reaction arms race with the United States, to restructure the Soviet economy before it collapsed, Gorbachev announced an agenda of rapid reform, based upon what he called perestroika and glasnost
Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration
–
President
Ronald Reagan with
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at
Camp David in 1986.
Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration
–
Reagan and Gorbachev built a close relationship and contributed greatly to the peaceful end of the Cold War
Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration
–
Jonas Savimbi meeting the
European Parliament deputies in 1989
Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration
–
Corazon Aquino, Philippine president from 1986 to 1992
35.
Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration
–
The foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under the Administration of President Bill Clinton. Clintons main foreign policy advisors were Secretaries of State Warren M. Christopher and Madeleine Albright and National Security Advisors Anthony Lake and Sandy Berger. President Clinton assumed office shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War, as such and soon after taking office, President Clinton had to decide whether and how the United States would deal with the violence of numerous conflicts internationally. Clinton also worked his foreign policy on long-running conflicts in Northern Ireland, which branch of government was to control the deployment of American troops occupied these debates almost as much as the merits of the individual interventions. Clinton would utilize both the multi-national cast and the blessing of international organizations for support in most of these involvements. These largely humanitarian operations during his term met much more congressional opposition and this involvement suggests that the president had found international organizations to be a useful ally in part to decrease and to overcome the resistance of the national legislature. The soldiers were sent to food and other relief supplies from being stolen by warring factions. After soldiers faced fire from armed clans and 19 soldiers were killed in 1993 in the Battle of Mogadishu, fearing chaos resulting in the starvation of Somalias civilians and to help U. S. Forces defend themselves, Clinton increased troop presence in the country, demands for withdrawal, however, grew louder and Clinton ordered troops out of the country in March 1994. This left Somalia in a state of chaos, with warlords battling for control, in April 1994, genocide in Rwanda erupted due to a conflict between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. Over the next few months, an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Rwandans, by July, the Rwandan Patriotic Front took over the country. Although the Clinton Administration and the community was aware of the genocide taking place in Rwanda. By the end of July, nearly two million of Hutus fled the country for safety, spawning the growth of refugee camps in neighboring countries. As thousands of people died of disease and starvation in these camps, Clinton ordered airdrops of food and supplies for the Hutu refugees. In July, he sent 200 non-combatant troops to the Rwanda capital of Kigali to manage the airport and these troops were subsequently withdrawn by October 1994. Clinton and the United Nations faced criticism for their non-response to the genocide, when Clinton traveled to Africa in 1998, he said that the international community, presumably including the US, must accept responsibility for the failure to respond to the massacres. When speaking about the Rwanda Crisis, Clinton called it his worst failure, during his African trip, Clinton also referred to the concept of the new generation of African leaders. In August 1998, terrorists bombed the United States embassies in the capitals of two East African countries, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, about 250 people were killed, including 12 Americans, and more than 5,500 were injured. S
Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration
–
Clinton plays the saxophone presented to him by Russian President
Boris Yeltsin at a private dinner in Russia, January 13, 1994
Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration
–
Clinton embraces British Prime Minister
Tony Blair.
Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration
–
Bill Clinton and Ambassador
Harry Schwarz who negotiated lifting the remaining sanctions on South Africa
Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration
–
Clinton with
Jacques Chirac outside
Élysée Palace.
36.
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
The foreign policy of Barack Obama was the foreign policy of the United States during his administration. Obama named his chief rival for the nomination Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State during his first term, the Obama administrations foreign policy receive criticism across the political spectrum. Some even claimed that Obamas policy of appeasement was leading to a US retreat from the world scene, on the other hand, more dovish liberals such as Jimmy Carter and Dennis Kucinich accused him of cynicism and heavy-handedness. He would appoint General James L. Jones to serve as his National Security Advisor, with smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of our foreign policy. The 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict ended in an uneasy cease-fire on January 18,2009, in his inaugural address, Obama, elaborating on his foreign policy, suggested that he hoped to begin the process of withdrawing from Iraq and continuing to focus on the conflict in Afghanistan. He also mentioned lessening the threat through working tirelessly with old friends. He spoke about Americas determination to combat terrorism by proclaiming that Americas spirit is stronger and cannot be broken – you cannot outlast us, to the Muslim world, Obama extended an invite to a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. He also said we would be willing to extend a hand to those who cling to power through corruption, on his first full day as president, Obama called on Israel to open the borders of Gaza, detailing early plans on his administrations peace plans for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Obama and Secretary of State Clinton named George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East peace, within less than a week in her new position, Secretary of State Clinton already called almost 40 foreign leaders or foreign ministers. She said the world was eager to see a new American foreign policy, weve got a lot of damage to repair. She did indicate that not every past policy would be repudiated and this edged out Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush to make Obama the most traveled first year President. The administration appointed, or allowed to remain in office,2,465 ambassadors,110 of 150 ambassadorships were political in the Caribbean,259 out of 358 appointees in Western Europe were political. Career diplomats dominated all other areas including, North and Central America, South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, East Asia, in Central Asia, all appointees were career. Instead they are considered to be part of the Near East when talking about United States foreign policy, depending on the source, these countries may or may not be included when African foreign policy is mentioned. Darfur, Eastern Congo, Ghana and Zimbabwe have all played a significant role in the United States Africa policy, some foreign policy analysts believed that conflicts in Sudan, Somalia, and eastern Congo would eclipse any other policy plans. Some foreign policy analysts have made the claim that this is the earliest in any U. S. administration that both the president and the secretary of state have visited Africa, the Administration had been interested in propping up the Transitional National Government in Mogadishu. One of the first actions of the Obama administration was to sign a memorandum of understanding with Kenya that would allow pirates captured off of Kenyas coast to be tried in Kenyan courts. Somali pirates took Richard Phillips, a captain of an American cargo ship, President Obama ordered the U. S. military to conduct a rescue mission to free Phillips who was held hostage by the pirates for five days
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives at the State Department on her first day greeted by a standing room only crowd of Department employees.
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
Tanzanian President
Jakaya Kikwete was the first African Head of State to meet Obama
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
Tsvangirai meets with Obama in the White House in June 2009
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
President
Barack Obama addresses the opening session of the first U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
37.
Gun control policy of the Clinton Administration
–
The gun control policy of the Bill Clinton administration was the White Houses domestic policy on guns during Bill Clintons term in office as President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. After receiving the Democratic nomination for president, Clinton campaigned against George H. W. Bush, in the six previous elections, Republicans had garnered enormous success by labeling their opponents as soft on crime. Democrats had not used gun control in the past as an election issue, Clinton reversed the tide by using gun control as an issue and calling Bush soft on crime for not pushing for passage of the Brady Bill or the nationwide assault weapons ban. Clinton also strongly endorsed the death penalty, Bush called for Going after the criminal not the gun owner. However, on March 15,1989, less than two months after taking office, Bush temporarily banned, by order, the importation of various semi-automatic assault weapons. That ban was extended a few weeks later to include additional firearms, Clinton won the 1992 election with 43% of the vote. Soon after taking office, it was clear that one of the most important items on the agenda for the President was to pass the Brady Bill. The bill was named after Ronald Reagans press secretary James Brady, bradys wife, Sarah, became a gun control advocate, and sought to put restrictions on the purchasing on handguns. The bill had been introduced several times in Congress during the 1980s, President Bush had vetoed an earlier version of the bill after intense pressure from the National Rifle Association. The Brady Bill became personal for President Clinton and he became a political ally with Sarah Brady in her quest to get the bill passed. Clinton also saw first hand what he believed was a need for the bill, when he was campaigning for Governor of Arkansas he met a hardware store owner who had sold a handgun to an unstable Vietnam vet, who had just been released from a mental hospital. The man went on a spree with the gun. Clinton cited this in his autobiography, as the best argument he encountered as to why the background checks in the Brady Law were needed, in February 1993 Clinton encouraged congress to pass the Brady bill, stating that he would sign it if they passed it. That same month Charles Schumer introduced the bill in the House, public opinion polls at the time showed a majority favored the bill. After several months of debate, the White House had put pressure on congress to get several Republican in both houses to support the bill. Despite last-ditch efforts by pro-gun Senators and the NRA, the managed to pass both houses and was signed into law on November 30,1993. The law required a five-day waiting period after purchasing a handgun, Clinton may have called the bill a good beginning for more gun control legislation. Many credit Clintons skills at building coalitions and using the stage to keep pressure on getting the bill passed
Gun control policy of the Clinton Administration
–
President Clinton signs the Brady Bill
Gun control policy of the Clinton Administration
–
Presidency
38.
Monetary policy of the United States
–
Monetary policy concerns the actions of a central bank or other regulatory authorities that determine the size and rate of growth of the money supply. In the United States, the Federal Reserve is in charge of monetary policy, broad money includes money held in deposit balances in banks and other forms created in the financial system. Basic economics also teaches that the money supply shrinks when loans are repaid, however, other than loans, investment activities of commercial banks and the Federal Reserve also increase and decrease the money supply. Discussion of money often confuses the different measures and may lead to misguided commentary on monetary policy, monetary policy in the US is determined and implemented by the US Federal Reserve System, commonly referred to as the Federal Reserve. Established in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act to provide central banking functions, the Board of Governors is an independent governmental agency consisting of seven officials and their support staff of over 1800 employees headquartered in Washington, D. C. The Governors are nominated by the President of the United States, the presidents of the Federal Reserve Banks are nominated by each banks respective Board of Directors, but must also be approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board is generally considered to have the most important position, the Federal Reserve has three main mechanisms for manipulating the money supply. It can buy or sell treasury securities, selling securities has the effect of reducing the monetary base, taking that money out of circulation. Purchasing treasury securities increases the monetary base, secondly, the discount rate can be changed. And finally, the Federal Reserve can adjust the reserve requirement, which can affect the money multiplier, the requirement is adjusted only infrequently. In practice, the Federal Reserve uses open market operations to influence short-term interest rates, the federal funds rate, for which the Federal Open Market Committee announces a target on a regular basis, reflects one of the key rates for interbank lending. Open market operations change the supply of reserve balances, and the funds rate is sensitive to these operations. Assuming a closed economy, where foreign capital or trade does not affect the money supply, businesses and consumers have a lower cost of capital and can increase spending and capital improvement projects. Conversely, when the supply falls, interest rates go up, increasing the cost of capital and leading to more conservative spending. The Federal reserve increases interest rates to combat Inflation, when money is deposited in a bank, it can then be lent out to another person. If the initial deposit was $100 and the bank lends out $100 to another customer the money supply has increased by $100, however, because the depositor can ask for the money back, banks have to maintain minimum reserves to service customer needs. If the reserve requirement is 10% then, in the earlier example, the reserve requirement therefore acts as a limit on this multiplier effect. Because the reserve requirement only applies to the narrow forms of money creation
Monetary policy of the United States
–
The value of $1 over time, in 1776 dollars.
39.
Nuclear energy policy of the United States
–
The nuclear energy policy of the United States developed within two main periods, from 1954–1992 and 2005–2010. In the United States, there have been numerous actions and policies implemented on a federal. The success of this legislation is still undetermined, since all 17 companies that applied for funding are still in the phases on their 26 proposed building applications. In 2008, the Energy Information Administration projected almost 17 gigawatts of new nuclear reactors by 2030. A survey conducted in April 2011 found that 64 percent of Americans opposed the construction of new nuclear reactors, Almost a year after World War II ended, Congress established the United States Atomic Energy Commission to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. Later legislation enacted by Congress split the AEC into our current Department of Energy, in the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates the nuclear energy industry more strictly than most other industries. The United States has more active nuclear power plants than any country in the world, with 104 plants out of the total 441 active sites. This is nearly twice as many sites as the two countries, France and Japan, combined. Construction of U. S. nuclear facilities peaked between the 1970s and 1980s, during time, these facilities were granted 20–40 year operational permits. In the early days of nuclear energy, the United States government did not allow for any private sector use of nuclear technology. In 1946, President Harry Truman signed the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 into law and this act represented the fear that foreign nations, including allies, would gain the technology and use it against the U. S. As time went on, this fear subsided and interest from the public sector emerged, the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, also under the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, amended the earlier act and ushered in the first nuclear age in the U. S. This amendment allowed the sector to use certain government information about nuclear technology. There were two phases in U. S. nuclear policy, the first phase lasted from approximately 1954 to 1992. By the end of the 1980s, new plants were being built, the United States was not the first nation to create a nuclear power plant. Both Russia and England managed to establish small, limited power plants before the U. S, although developments were taking place in the U. S. private sector before the 1954 act, it was not until mid-1956 that the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania came online. This facility, which generated 50 MW of power per year, and later up to 200 MW, was the first full-scale nuclear power plant in the U. S. in the coming years, more and more plants were built by regulated utility companies, often state-based. These companies would put the capital cost into their rate base and their consumers bore the risk and paid the capital cost
Nuclear energy policy of the United States
–
George W. Bush signing the
Energy Policy Act of 2005, which was designed to promote US nuclear reactor construction, through incentives and subsidies, including cost-overrun support up to a total of $2 billion for six new nuclear plants.
Nuclear energy policy of the United States
–
The administration of
Dwight D. Eisenhower ushered in the first nuclear age with the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954
Nuclear energy policy of the United States
–
A Nuclear Waste Container coming out of the
Department of Energy run
Nevada National Security Site on public roads traveling to an unknown final location, March 2010 (Photographer Bill Ebbesen))
Nuclear energy policy of the United States
–
Nevada and
California Highway Patrol Officers conduct radiological surveys and mechanical inspections on the first Nevada Test Site transuranic waste shipment at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex located on the Nevada Test Site. The shipment is destined for the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant located near
Carlsbad, New Mexico on January 4, 2004.
40.
Science policy of the United States
–
The science policy of the United States is the responsibility of many organizations throughout the federal government. Further decisions are made by the federal agencies which spend the funds allocated by Congress, either on in-house research or by granting funds to outside organizations. The USA devoted 2. 81% of GDP to research and development in 2012, the private sector contributed two-thirds of the total. The Obama administration has fixed a target of a 3% ratio by the end of his presidency in 2016, in the Executive Office of the President, the main body advising the president on science policy is the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Other advisory bodies exist within the Executive Office of the President, including the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and these committees oversee the various federal research agencies that are involved in receiving funding for scientific research. Oversight of some agencies may fall under multiple committees, for example the Environmental Protection Agency, there are also Congressional support agencies, which do not solely focus on science, but provide insight for Congress to make decisions dealing with scientific issues. These agencies are nonpartisan and provide reports on topics requested by members of congress. They are the Congressional Research Service, Government Accountability Office, only a small percentage of the overall federal budget is allocated to R&D. The FY2015 budget request includes $135. 110B in R&D spending out of a budget of $3969. 069B. Research and development funding in the budget is not centrally enacted. Other appropriations bills include smaller amounts of R&D funding, there are a number of federal agencies across the government which carry out science policy. Some of these primarily perform their own research in-house, while others grant funds to organizations or individual researchers. R&D is divided into five subcategories, basic research is directed toward understanding of the fundamental aspects of observable phenomena. It may be directed towards broad but not specific applications, applied research is directed towards gaining knowledge to meet a recognized and specific need. Development is the application of knowledge or understanding for the production of materials, devices. R&D equipment includes acquisition or production of equipment, such as spectrometers, research satellites. As of 2009, just over half of the R&D budget was allocated to defense spending, most of the Defense R&D budget is for weapon systems development, with nearly all activity in categories 6.4 and higher carried out by private defense contractors. About one sixth of it is allocated to the Science and Technology program, which all of 6.1,6.2,6.3
Science policy of the United States
–
Federal funding of basic and applied research by year. The spike in 2009 is due to the
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Figures for 2014 are requested levels.
41.
Barack Obama social policy
–
The Almanac of American Politics rated Barack Obamas overall social policies in 2006 as more conservative than 21% of the Senate, and more liberal than 77% of the Senate. In his write-in response to a 1998 survey, Obama stated his position as conforming with the Democratic platform. His presidential candidacy was endorsed by several groups that advocate for abortion, including NARAL Pro-Choice America. Obama said his opposition was because of language he felt might have interfered with a womans right to choose. Obama voted against a bill that would have made it a crime for anyone other than a parent to accompany a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion. Obama expressed displeasure with the Supreme Court ruling that upheld a ban on partial-birth abortions saying the ban didnt sufficiently consider the mothers health. He has, however, expressed support of bans on some late-term abortions, during the third debate during the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama further detailed his stance on abortion. Those are all things that we put in the Democratic platform for the first time this year, I think its always a tragic situation. We should try to reduce these circumstances, Obama voted for a $100 million education initiative to reduce teen pregnancy and provide contraceptives to young people. Obama was the only Democratic presidential candidate to issue a statement expressing his views on disability community issues. For example, he stated his intention to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, addressing global warming, Obama stated, The issue of climate change is one that we ignore at our own peril. And unless we free ourselves from a dependence on fossil fuels and chart a new course on energy in this country. He has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 by creating a market-based cap-and-trade system, Obama also has plans for improving air and water quality through reduced carbon emissions. Obama worked as a member of the US Senate Committee on Environment, during the presidential campaign Obama rejected John McCains proposed suspension of federal gas taxes claiming it would hurt consumers, hinder highway construction, and endanger jobs. Obama criticized the idea of a gas tax holiday as a ploy by his rivals designed to get them through an election and not actually help struggling consumers. Obama has stated, The bond that I would like to create between an Obama administration and the all across this country. is something that is going to be a top priority. Obama was given honorary membership into a Native American tribe, the Crow Nation, at a private adoption ceremony, Obama was given the Crow name One Who Helps People Throughout the Land. Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, I have said in the past – and Ill repeat again – that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed, Obama said
Barack Obama social policy
–
Life and politics
42.
Space policy of the United States
–
The early history of United States space policy is linked to the US–Soviet Space Race of the 1960s, which gave way to the Space Shuttle program. There is a current debate on the post-Space Shuttle future of the space program. Space advocacy organizations may provide advice to the government and lobby for space goals, the President is legally responsible for deciding which space activities fall under the civilian and military areas. The President also consults with the National Security Council, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Office of Management and Budget. Before taking office as President, John F. Kennedy persuaded Congress to amend the Act to allow him to set the precedent of delegating chairmanship of this council to his Vice President, the Council was discontinued in 1973 during the presidency of Richard M. Nixon. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush re-established a differently constituted National Space Council by executive order, International aspects of US space policy may involve diplomatic negotiation with other countries, such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. In these cases, the President negotiates and signs the treaty on behalf of the United States according to his constitutional authority, once a request is submitted, the Congress exercises due diligence to approve the policy and authorize a budgetary expenditure for its implementation. In support of this, civilian policies are reviewed by the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee conducts hearings on proposed space treaties, and the various appropriations committees have power over the budgets for space-related agencies. In addition, the Department of Commerces National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operates various services with space components, military space activities are implemented by the Air Force Space Command, Naval Space Command, and Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Funding for space programs occurs through the budget process, where it is mainly considered to be part of the nations science policy. In the Obama administrations budget request for fiscal year 2011, NASA would receive $11.0 billion, out of a total research and development budget of $148.1 billion. Other space activities are funded out of the research and development budget of the Department of Defense, the United States is a party to four of the five space law treaties ratified by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The United States has ratified the Outer Space Treaty, Rescue Agreement, Space Liability Convention, and the Registration Convention, the United Nations General Assembly adopted five declarations and legal principles which encourage exercising the international laws, as well as unified communication between countries. No one nation may claim ownership of space or any celestial body. Objects launched into space are subject to their nation of belonging, including people, objects, parts, and components discovered outside the jurisdiction of a nation will be returned upon identification. If a nation launches an object into space, they are responsible for any damages that occur internationally, prior to the Soviet Unions launch of Sputnik 1, Eisenhower had already authorized Project Vanguard, a scientific satellite program associated with the International Geophysical Year. At the suggestion of Eisenhowers science advisor James R. Killian, the result was the National Aeronautics and Space Act passed in July 1958, which created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Eisenhower appointed T. Keith Glennan as NASAs first Administrator, with the last NACA Director Hugh Dryden serving as his Deputy, NASA as created in the act passed by Congress was substantially stronger than the Eisenhower administrations original proposal
Space policy of the United States
–
President Nixon visits the
Apollo 11 astronauts in
quarantine after observing their landing in the ocean from the deck of the aircraft carrier
USS Hornet.
Space policy of the United States
Space policy of the United States
–
President Reagan delivering the March 23, 1983 speech initiating the
Strategic Defense Initiative.
Space policy of the United States
–
The launch of the
Ares I-X prototype on October 28, 2009 was the only flight performed under the Bush administration's
Constellation program.
43.
Space policy of the George W. Bush administration
–
The George W. Bush administrations space policy is mainly associated with the Vision for Space Exploration, announced in 2004. A formal National Space Policy was released in 2006, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred early in George W. Bushs term, leading to the report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board being released in August 2003. Its final report was submitted on June 4,2004 and this led to the NASA Exploration Systems Architecture Study in mid-2005, which developed technical plans for carrying out the programs specified in the Vision for Space Exploration. This led to the beginning of execution of Constellation program, including the Orion crew module, the Altair lunar lander, the Ares I-X mission, a test launch of a prototype Ares I rocket, was successfully completed in October 2009. A new National Space Policy was released on August 31,2006 that established overarching national policy that governs the conduct of U. S. space activities and this policy superseded the earlier Clinton-era National Space Policy of September 14,1996. The new National Space Policy rejects Arms control agreements that might limit U. S. flexibility in space, the military had become increasingly dependent on Communications satellites and GPS, as have providers of Mobile phones, personal navigation devices, and even automated teller machines. The 2006 National Space Policy was replaced by a newer National Space Policy by the Obama administration on June 28,2010. The National Space Policy stated that for five decades, the United States had led the world in space exploration and use and has developed a solid civil, commercial, and national security foundation. Space had become a place that was used by a host of nations, consortia, businesses. The policy stated that in this century, those who effectively utilize space will enjoy added prosperity and security, freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power. In order to increase knowledge, discovery, economic prosperity and to national security. The Bush policy called on the Secretary of Defense to provide capabilities to support missile-warning systems as well as multi-layered and integrated defense. The NSC and the Department of Defense emphasized that continuity with previous policies, but some see a significant divergence apparent in the first two goals of each document. The Carter Policy had simply stated, without much specification in the unclassified version, reagans space policies made similarly general statements. The Clinton space policy, like the space policies of Carter and Reagan, toward that end, the United States Government will use U. S. commercial space capabilities to the maximum practical extent, consistent with national security. A number of nations have pushed for talks to ban space weapons, Space Policy violated the Outer Space Treaty, which bans the use of weapons of mass destruction in space. The debate over a weapons ban has been complicated, however. China had supported a ban and prior to the unannounced test, had stated that it had no anti-satellite weapons programs
Space policy of the George W. Bush administration
–
Presidency
44.
Space policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
The space policy of the Barack Obama administration was announced by U. S. President Barack Obama on April 15,2010, at a major space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center. He committed to increasing NASA funding by $6 billion over five years and completing the design of a new launch vehicle by 2015. He also predicted a U. S. -crewed orbital Mars mission by the mid-2030s, in response to concerns over job losses, Obama promised a $40 million effort to help Space Coast workers affected by the cancellation of the Space Shuttle program and Constellation program. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010, passed on October 11,2010, in November 2007, the Obama presidential campaign released a policy document delaying NASAs Constellation program by five years to fund education programs. There was concern that any delay would prolong the gap after the Space Shuttles retirement, other presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton, did not support the delay. In January 2008, the Obama campaign revised its position, supporting the development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle. However, the new policy was silent on the heavy lift Ares V rocket, Obama gave the first major space policy speech of his campaign in Titusville, Florida in August 2008. S. Their goal was to ensure the nation is on a vigorous, the review was announced by the Office of Science and Technology Policy on May 7,2009. The report was released on October 22,2009, the Committee judged the nine-year-old Constellation program to be so behind schedule, underfunded and over budget that meeting any of its goals would not be possible. The President removed the program from the 2010 NASA budget request, one component of the program, the Orion crew capsule, was added back to plans but as a rescue vehicle to complement the Russian Soyuz in returning Station crews to Earth in the event of an emergency. Moon First, with lunar surface exploration focused on developing the capability to explore Mars, a Flexible Path to inner Solar System locations, such as lunar orbit, Lagrange points, near-Earth objects and the moons of Mars, followed by exploration of the lunar surface and/or Martian surface. In his April 15,2010 space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center announcing the administrations plans for NASA, without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity. Had Obama not canceled the Ares 5, we could have used it to perform a mission by 2016. But the President, while calling for such a flight, actually is terminating the programs that would make it possible, with current in-space propulsion technology, we can do a round-trip mission to a near-Earth asteroid or a one-way transit to Mars in six months. Holdren claims that he wants to develop a new electrically powered space thruster to speed up such trips, but without gigantic space nuclear power reactors to provide them with juice, such thrusters are useless, and the administration has no intention of developing such reactors. The Obama administration released its new formal space policy on June 28,2010, the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, passed on October 11,2010, authorized funds for NASA for fiscal year 2011–2013, and enacted many of his stated space policy goals. A total of $58 billion in funding is called for, spread across three years, the 2011 budget legislation, passed in April 2011, officially terminated the Constellation program. The passage of the budget frees NASA to start working on the new initiatives, the Obama administration cut NASAs planetary-sciences budget by 20 percent in 2013, as part of a restructuring plan, contrary to the recommendations of the National Research Council
Space policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
President Obama speaks at KSC's
Operations and Checkout Building.
Space policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
President Obama and
Senator Bill Nelson arrive at the
Shuttle Landing Facility.
Space policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
President Obama, Michelle Obama and Vice President Biden watch NASA's
Lunar Electric Rover at the 2009 inaugural parade.
Space policy of the Barack Obama administration
–
The
Falcon 9 rocket Obama referenced in his speech
first launched on June 4, 2010.
45.
Stem cell laws and policy in the United States
–
Stem cell laws and policy in the United States have had a complicated legal and political history. Stem cells are found in all multi-cellular organisms. They were isolated in mice in 1981, and in humans in 1998, in humans there are many types of stem cells, each with varying levels of potency. Potency is a measure of a cells differentiation potential, or the number of cell types that can be made from that stem cell. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the cell mass of the blastocyst. These stem cells can differentiate into all cells in the human body and are the subject of much scientific research. However, since they must be derived from human embryos their production. Stem cell treatments are a type of therapy that introduce new cells into adult bodies for possible treatment of cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders. Stem cells have been used to repair tissue damaged by disease or age, cloning also might be done with stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells can also be derived from Somatic cell nuclear transfer which is a technique where a clone embryo is created from a donor nucleus. Somatic cell nuclear transfer is also tightly regulated amongst various countries, until recently, the principal source of human embryonic stem cells has been donated embryos from fertility clinics. In January 2007, researchers at Wake Forest University reported that stem cells drawn from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much of the promise as embryonic stem cells. In 2000, the NIH, under the administration of President Bill Clinton, in 1973, Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States. Five years later, the first successful human in vitro fertilization resulted in the birth of Louise Brown in England and these developments prompted the federal government to create regulations barring the use of federal funds for research that experimented on human embryos. In 1998, privately funded research led to the discovery of human Embryonic stem cells. No federal law ever did ban stem cell research in the United States, on July 29,2005, Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, announced that he too favored loosening restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. On July 18,2006, the Senate passed three different bills concerning stem cell research, on July 19,2006 President Bush vetoed this bill. The second bill makes it illegal to create, grow, the third bill would encourage research that would isolate pluripotent, i. e. embryonic-like, stem cells without the destruction of human embryos
Stem cell laws and policy in the United States
–
President Obama lifts federal funding restrictions on stem cell research.
46.
Telecommunications policy of the United States
–
The Telecommunications policy in the US is a framework of law directed by government and the Regulatory Commissions, most notably the Federal Communications Commission. Two landmark acts prevail today, the Communications Act of 1934, the latter was intended to revise the first act and specifically to foster competition in the telecommunications industry. In the name of public interest, a proportion of Telecommunications policy is concerned with the economic regulation of interstate as well as international communication. This includes all communication by radio, telephone, wire, cable, Telecommunications policy outlines antitrust laws as is common for industries with large barriers to entry. Other features of the policies addressed include common carrier laws which controls access to networks, while the telephone providers are required to be common carriers, there is an ongoing net neutrality debate about the obligations of ISPs. Telecommunication policy addresses the management of Government owned resources such as the spectrum which facilitates all wireless communications. There is a limited quantity of usable spectrum that exists, therefore the market demand is immense, especially as use of mobile technology. One of the goals of the FCC is to best utilize this resource in such a way will bring about the highest and best use. For example, an FM station in Iowa was recently auctioned for $4,397,250, the National Telecommunication and Information Administration manages spectrum used by the Federal government such as air traffic control and national defense. The FCC is responsible for spectrum used by others, including individuals and public safety and health officials like police, the challenge since remains preserving competition and no longer allowing monopolies. In this section the code states that the FCC is to “encourage the deployment on a reasonable, is there really room for multiple Fiber To The Home networks. Interconnection and Open Access Content/Conduit bundling FCC Spectrum Policy, Evolution of Flexibility of Use How to regulate the bottleneck using the LoopCo regulatory regime, how should municipal broadband networks be regulated. Cyber Warfare and electronic Privacy Rights fighting the duopoly battle- Unfortunately many users in the United States are presented only two service provider options, cable modem or DSL. In some cases, they may not even have that choice, the current FCC chair is Tom Wheeler, who was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2013. Currently the policy being set forth by the FCC has two different levels of regulation, one for fixed line, wire line communications and the other for wireless communications. Their current tenets strictly regulate network neutrality on wire line networks, however the commission is placing as many mandates on wireless communications. This difference between the two technologies creates a loophole in telecommunications policy, as most providers have already begun the shift from wired to wireless network infrastructures
Telecommunications policy of the United States
–
Candlestick phone
47.
Trade policy of the United States
–
Foreign trade of the United States comprises the international imports and exports of the United States, one of the worlds most significant economic markets. The country is among the top three global importers and exporters, the regulation of trade is constitutionally vested in the United States Congress. Gross U. S. assets held by foreigners were $16.3 trillion as of the end of 2006, the country has trade relations with many other countries. Within that, the trade with Europe and Asia is predominant, to fulfill the demands of the industrial sector, the country has to import mineral oil and iron ore on a large scale. Machinery, cotton yarn, toys, mineral oil, lubricants, steel, tea, sugar, coffee, the countrys export list includes food grains like wheat, corn, and soybean. Aeroplane, cars, computers, paper, and machine tools required for different industries, in 2016 United States current account balance was -$469,400,000,000. The Constitution gives Congress express power over the imposition of tariffs, over time, and under carefully prescribed circumstances, Congress has delegated some of its trade authority to the Executive Branch. During the Civil War period, leaders of the Confederacy were confident that Britain would come to their aid because of British reliance on Southern cotton. The Union was able to avoid this, through use of diplomacy. While the United States has always participated in trade, it did not take a leading role in global trade policy-making until the Great Depression. Congress and The Executive Branch came into conflict in deciding the mix of trade promotion, in order to stimulate employment, Congress passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934, allowing the executive branch to negotiate bilateral trade agreements for a fixed period of time. During the 1930s the amount of bilateral negotiation under this act was fairly limited, near the end of the Second World War U. S. policy makers began to experiment on a broader level. GATT was a multilateral agreement designed to provide a framework of rules. United States trade policy has varied widely through various American historical and industrial periods, as a major developed nation, the U. S. has relied heavily on the import of raw materials and the export of finished goods. Because of the significance for American economy and industry, much weight has been placed on trade policy by elected officials, the 1920s marked a decade of economic growth in the United States following a Classical supply side policy. U. S. President Warren Harding signed the Emergency Tariff of 1921, hardings policies reduced taxes and protected U. S. business and agriculture. Following the Great Depression and World War II, the United Nations Monetary, in 1971, President Richard Nixon ended U. S. ties to Bretton Woods, leaving the U. S. with a floating fiat currency. The stagflation of the 1970s saw a U. S. economy characterized by slower GDP growth, in 1988, the United States ranked first in the world in the Economist Intelligence Unit quality of life index and third in the Economic Freedom of the World Index
Trade policy of the United States
48.
Visa policy of the United States
–
Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the United States diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or Visa Waiver Program countries. The same rules apply to Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands while different rules apply to Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Visas from March 16,2017 unless they qualify for a waiver. Holders of valid visas, however, would no longer be banned from entering or returning to the United States, the Executive Order is blocked by Federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland just hours before its implementation. United States visas were issued to 8.9 million foreign nationals visiting the United States and to 482,000 immigrants in 2012. While there are about 185 different types of visas, there are two categories of U. S. visas, Nonimmigrant visa - for temporary visits such as for tourism, business. Immigrant visa - for people to immigrate to the United States, at the port of entry, the immigrant visa holder is processed for a permanent resident card. Upon endorsement it serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residence for 1 year, entering the U. S. on an employment visa may be described as a three-step process in most cases. First, the files a application with U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requesting a particular type of visa for a specific individual. If the employers application is approved, it authorizes the individual to apply for a visa. The individual then applies for a visa and is interviewed at a U. S. embassy or consulate in the native country. If the embassy or consulate gives the visa, the individual is allowed to travel to the U. S. At the border crossing, airport, or other point of entry into the U. S. the individual speaks with an officer from U. S. Customs, if approved, the individual may then enter the U. S. Contrary to a misconception, a U. S. visa does not authorize the aliens entry to the United States. A U. S. visa only serves as a preliminary permission given to the alien to travel to the United States and to seek admission to the United States at a designated port of entry. The final admission to the United States in a status and for a particular period of time is made at the port of entry by a U. S. Customs. For aliens entering the U. S.50,000 additional visas are available each year under the lottery program. In the last few years more than 9 million people have participated in the visa lottery, exemptions to this requirement to hold a valid passport booklet include, U. S
Visa policy of the United States
–
A US visa specimen
Visa policy of the United States
–
Entry
passport stamp for the United States issued to a citizen of Canada by the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection at
San Francisco International Airport.
49.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
–
Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
–
Flag
United States
–
The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
–
The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
50.
History of the United States
–
The date of the start of the history of the United States is a subject of debate among historians. In recent decades American schools and universities typically have shifted back in time to more on the colonial period. Indigenous people lived in what is now the United States for thousands of years before European colonists began to arrive, mostly from England, the Spanish built small settlements in Florida and the Southwest, and the French along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. By the 1770s, thirteen British colonies contained two and a million people along the Atlantic coast east of the Appalachian Mountains. After the end of the French and Indian Wars in the 1760s, Tax resistance, especially the Boston Tea Party, led to punitive laws by Parliament designed to end self-government in Massachusetts. American Patriots adhered to an ideology called republicanism that emphasized civic duty, virtue. Armed conflict began in 1775 as Patriots drove the royal officials out of every colony and assembled in mass meetings, in 1776, the Second Continental Congress declared that there was a new, independent nation, the United States of America, not just a collection of disparate colonies. With large-scale military and financial support from France and the leadership of General George Washington. The peace treaty of 1783 gave the new nation the land east of the Mississippi River, the central government established by the Articles of Confederation proved ineffectual at providing stability, as it had no authority to collect taxes and had no executive officer. Congress called a convention to meet secretly in Philadelphia in 1787 and it wrote a new Constitution, which was adopted in 1789. In 1791, a Bill of Rights was added to guarantee inalienable rights, with Washington as the first president and Alexander Hamilton his chief political and financial adviser, a strong central government was created. When Thomas Jefferson became president he purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, a second and final war with Britain was fought in 1812. Encouraged by the notion of Manifest Destiny, federal territory expanded all the way to the Pacific, the U. S. always was large in terms of area, but its population was small, only 4 million in 1790. Population growth was rapid, reaching 7.2 million in 1810,32 million in 1860,76 million in 1900,132 million in 1940, Economic growth in terms of overall GDP was even faster. However, compared to European powers, the military strength was relatively limited in peacetime before 1940. The expansion was driven by a quest for land for yeoman farmers. The expansion of slavery was increasingly controversial and fueled political and constitutional battles, the 1860 presidential election of Republican Abraham Lincoln was on a platform of ending the expansion of slavery and putting it on a path to extinction. Seven cotton-based deep South slave states seceded and later founded the Confederacy months before Lincolns inauguration, No nation ever recognized the Confederacy, but it opened the war by attacking Fort Sumter in 1861
History of the United States
–
The Spanish
conquistador Coronado explored parts of the
American Southwest from 1540 to 1542.
History of the United States
–
Juan Ponce de León (
Santervás de Campos,
Valladolid,
Spain). He was one of the first Europeans to arrive to the current
U.S. because led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named.
History of the United States
–
The
Mayflower, which transported
Pilgrims to the New World. During the first winter at Plymouth, about half of the Pilgrims died.
History of the United States
–
The
massacre of Jamestown settlers in 1622. Soon the colonists in the South feared all natives as enemies.
