1.
Ford Theatre
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At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts. Ford Theatre was named for its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, Ford Theater as a radio series lasted for only two seasons. Its first season was broadcast from New York City on NBC with such actors as Ed Begley, Shirley Booth, Gary Merrill, Everett Sloane and this season ran from October 5,1947 to June 27,1948. Due to poor ratings, Ford moved the show to Hollywood and CBS for the second season and this season, which lasted from October 8,1948 to July 1,1949, received much higher ratings. However, with television rising in popularity, Ford decided to end its radio show, the first Ford Theatre on U. S. television appeared on October 17,1948, near the dawn of regularly scheduled primetime network programming. It was a drama, broadcast live, as was most television of the era. This series used primarily Broadway actors, the program began as a monthly series, switching to biweekly a year later, in alternation on Friday nights at 9,00 pm Eastern time with the 54th Street Revue. During this period, programming included adaptations of Little Women, with June Lockhart and Kim Hunter, during the following season, the final season for the program on CBS, the alternation in the same time slot was with Magnavox Theater. A half-hour filmed Ford Theatre returned to the airwaves on NBC for the 1951-52 season on Thursday nights at 9,30 pm Eastern, at this time, production was moved from New York to Hollywood, and featured actors based there rather than on Broadway. Some of these programs were comedies instead of dramas, also appearing for the first time together were Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis, in an episode entitled First Born, which first aired on February 3,1953. In October 1954, Ford Theatre became the first network series to be filmed regularly in color. During this period, Ford Theatre finished in the Nielsen ratings at number 30 for the 1952-1953 season, number seven in 1953-1954, number 9 in 1954-1955, after four seasons on NBC, the program was shown for a final season on ABC during the 1956-57 season. The time slot was changed to Wednesdays at 9,30 pm, the last prime time broadcast of Ford Theatre was on July 10,1957. In 1954, Billboard voted it the best filmed network drama series
2.
Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
National Park Service
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It was created on August 25,1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. As of 2014, the NPS employs 21,651 employees who oversee 417 units, the National Park Service celebrated its centennial in 2016. National parks and national monuments in the United States were originally individually managed under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, the movement for an independent agency to oversee these federal lands was spearheaded by business magnate and conservationist Stephen Mather, as well as J. Horace McFarland. With the help of journalist Robert Sterling Yard, Mather ran a publicity campaign for the Department of the Interior and they wrote numerous articles that praised the scenic and historic qualities of the parks and their possibilities for educational, inspirational, and recreational benefits. This campaign resulted in the creation of a National Park Service, Mather became the first director of the newly formed NPS. On March 3,1933, President Herbert Hoover signed the Reorganization Act of 1933, the act would allow the President to reorganize the executive branch of the United States government. It wasnt until later that summer when the new President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Roosevelt agreed and issued two Executive orders to make it happen. In 1951, Conrad Wirth became director of the National Park Service, the demand for parks after the end of the World War II had left the parks overburdened with demands that could not be met. In 1952, with the support of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he began Mission 66, New parks were added to preserve unique resources and existing park facilities were upgraded and expanded. In 1966, as the Park Service turned 50 years old, emphasis began to turn from just saving great and wonderful scenery, Director George Hartzog began the process with the creation of the National Lakeshores and then National Recreation Areas. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has managed each of the United States national parks, Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States. In 1872, there was no government to manage it. Yosemite National Park began as a park, the land for the park was donated by the federal government to the state of California in 1864 for perpetual conservation. Yosemite was later returned to federal ownership, at first, each national park was managed independently, with varying degrees of success. In Yellowstone, the staff was replaced by the U. S. Army in 1886. Due to the irregularities in managing these national treasures, Stephen Mather petitioned the government to improve the situation. In response, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane challenged him to lobby for creating a new agency, Mather was successful with the ratification of the National Park Service Organic Act in 1916. Later, the agency was given authority over other protected areas, the National Park System includes all properties managed by the National Park Service
5.
Seating capacity
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Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The International Fire Code, portions of which have adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms and it also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including details of the means of egress, seating capacity, arrangement of the seating. Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the size of the venue. For sports venues, the decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors, chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide, in contracting to permit performers to use a theatre or other performing space, the seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed. Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used, the seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity, seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas. The seating capacity for restaurants is reported as covers, a restaurant that can seat 99 is said to have 99 covers, seating capacity differs from total capacity, which describes the total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Use of the term public capacity indicates that a venue is allowed to more people than it can actually seat. Again, the total number of people can refer to either the physical space available or limitations set by law
6.
National Register of Historic Places
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The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
7.
National Historic Site (United States)
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A National Historic Site is a protected area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a historical feature directly associated with its subject. As of 2015, there are 50 NHPs and 90 NHSs, most NHPs and NHSs are managed by the National Park Service. Some federally designated sites are owned by local authorities or privately owned, one property, Grey Towers National Historic Site, is managed by the U. S. Forest Service. As of October 15,1966, all areas, including NHPs and NHSs. There are also about 80,000 NRHP sites, the majority of which are neither owned nor managed by the NPS. Of these, about 2,500 have been designated at the highest status as National Historic Landmark sites, National Historic Sites are generally federally owned and administered properties, though some remain under private or local government ownership. There are currently 90 NHSs, of which 78 are official NPS units,11 are NPS affiliated areas, one is managed by the US Forest Service, and one by the Bureau of Land Management. Derived from the Historic Sites Act of 1935, a number of NHSs were established by United States Secretaries of the Interior, in 1937, the first NHS was created in Salem, Massachusetts in order to preserve and interpret the maritime history of New England and the United States. There is one International Historic Site in the US park system, the title, given to the site of the first permanent French settlement in America, recognizes the influence that has had on both Canada and the United States. The NPS does not distinguish among these designations in terms of their preservation or management policies, in the United States, sites are historic, while parks are historical. The NPS explains that a site can be intrinsically historic, while a park is a legal invention. As such, a park is not itself historic, but can be called historical when it contains historic resources and it is the resources which are historic, not the park. Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park was formally established in 1998 by the United States and Canada, the park comprises Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Washington and Alaska, and Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site in British Columbia. It was this trail which so many prospectors took in hopes of making their fortunes in the Klondike River district of Yukon, list of World Heritage Sites in the Americas Designation of National Park System Units
8.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
9.
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
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Lincoln was the third American president to die in office, and the first to be murdered. An unsuccessful attempt had made on Andrew Jackson 30 years prior, in 1835. The assassination of Lincoln was planned and carried out by the stage actor John Wilkes Booth. By simultaneously eliminating the top three people in the administration, Booth and his co-conspirators hoped to disrupt the United States government. As the President was watching the play, Booth shot Lincoln from behind at a distance of three or four feet, hitting him in the back of the head. At 7,22 a. m. the following day, the rest of the conspirators plot failed, Powell only managed to wound Seward, while Atzerodt, Johnsons would-be assassin, lost his nerve and fled. Booth made an escape, resulting in a lengthy manhunt that ended in his death. Several other conspirators were tried and hanged. The funeral and burial of Abraham Lincoln was a period of extended national mourning, John Wilkes Booth, originally from Maryland, was a proud Southerner and an outspoken Confederate sympathizer. In late 1860, Booth was initiated in the pro-Confederate Knights of the Golden Circle in Baltimore, born into a family of well-known stage actors, Booth had become a famous actor and a nationally recognized celebrity in his own right by the time of the assassination. In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant, the general of all the Unions armies. As harsh as it may have been on the prisoners of both sides, Grant realized the exchange was prolonging the war by returning soldiers to the outnumbered and manpower-starved South. John Wilkes Booth conceived a plan to kidnap President Lincoln and deliver him to the Confederate Army, Booth recruited Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Michael OLaughlen, Lewis Powell, and John Surratt to help him. Surratts mother, Mary Surratt, left her tavern in Surrattsville, Maryland and moved to a house in Washington, while Booth and Lincoln were not personally acquainted, Lincoln had seen Booth in The Marble Heart at Fords on November 9,1863. Subsequently Lincoln sent a invitation backstage inviting Booth to visit the White House, afterwards, actor Frank Mordaunt stated that Booth evaded multiple invitations from the president. Lincoln was an admirer of the man who assassinated him and that actor was John Wilkes Booth. Booth attended Lincolns second inauguration on March 4,1865, as the invited guest of his secret fiancée Lucy Hale, daughter of John P. Hale, soon to become United States Ambassador to Spain. Booth afterwards wrote in his diary, What an excellent chance I had, if I wished, on March 17,1865, Booth informed his conspirators that Lincoln would be attending a play, Still Waters Run Deep, at Campbell Military Hospital
10.
Abraham Lincoln
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Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, in doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the frontier in Kentucky. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, tariffs, and railroads. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, in 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. Though he gained little support in the slaveholding states of the South. Subsequently, on April 12,1861, a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to enthusiastically rally behind the Union. Politically, Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other, by carefully planned political patronage and his Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war and his primary goal was to reunite the nation. He suspended habeas corpus, leading to the ex parte Merryman decision. Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including his most successful general, Lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another, until finally Grant succeeded. As the war progressed, his moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. On April 14,1865, five days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton launched a manhunt for Booth, and 12 days later on April 26, Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U. S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12,1809, the child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk to its namesake of Hingham, samuels grandson and great-grandson began the familys western migration, which passed through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincolns paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln, moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Captain Lincoln was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, the presidents father
11.
Petersen House
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The Petersen House is a 19th-century federal style row house located at 516 10th Street NW in Washington, D. C. On April 15,1865, United States President Abraham Lincoln died there after being shot the evening at Fords Theatre located across the street. The house was built in 1849 by William A. Petersen, breckinridge, a friend of the Lincoln family, once rented this house in 1852. In 1865, it served as a boarding house and it has served as a museum since the 1930s. Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris were also in the box with the Lincolns, doctors including Charles Leale and Charles Sabin Taft examined Lincoln in the box before having him carried across the street to the Petersen House, where boarder Henry Safford directed them inside. Almarin Cooley Richards, superintendent of the Washington Metropolitan Police, was attending the performance, from the back parlor of the house, Richards interviewed witnesses and ordered the arrest of Booth. However, the external and internal hemorrhaging continued throughout the night, during the night and early morning, guards patrolled outside to prevent onlookers from coming inside the house. Lincolns Cabinet members, Generals, and various members of Congress were allowed to see the President, Lincoln died in the house on April 15,1865, at 7,22 a. m. aged 56. Individuals in the room when he died included his son Robert Todd Lincoln, Senator Charles Sumner, generals Henry Wager Halleck, Richard James Oglesby, meigs, and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Since 1933, the National Park Service has maintained it as a historical museum, the bed that Lincoln occupied and other items from the bedroom had been bought by Chicago collector, Charles F. Gunther, and are now owned by and on display at the Chicago History Museum. However, replicas have taken their places, the bloodstained pillow and pillowcases are the ones used by Lincoln. Today, the Petersen House is administered by the National Park Service as part of the Fords Theatre National Historic Site, usually the house is open to visitors daily from 9,00 a. m. to 5,00 p. m. Admission is free, but requires a time ticket
12.
John Wilkes Booth
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John Wilkes Booth was an American actor and assassin, who murdered President Abraham Lincoln at Fords Theatre in Washington, D. C. on April 14,1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th-century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and and he was also a Confederate sympathizer, vehement in his denunciation of Lincoln, and strongly opposed to the abolition of slavery in the United States. Of the conspirators, only Booth was completely successful in carrying out his part of the plot and he shot Lincoln once in the back of the head, and the President died the next morning. Seward was severely wounded but recovered, and Vice-President Johnson was never attacked at all, following the assassination, Booth fled on horseback to southern Maryland, eventually making his way to a farm in rural northern Virginia 12 days later, where he was tracked down. Booths companion gave himself up, but Booth refused and was shot by Boston Corbett, eight other conspirators or suspects were tried and convicted, and four were hanged shortly thereafter. Booths parents were noted British Shakespearean actor Junius Brutus Booth and his mistress Mary Ann Holmes and they purchased a 150-acre farm near Bel Air, Maryland, where John Wilkes Booth was born in a four-room log house on May 10,1838, the ninth of ten children. He was named after English radical politician John Wilkes, a distant relative, Junius wife Adelaide Delannoy Booth was granted a divorce in 1851 on grounds of adultery, and Holmes legally wed Junius on May 10,1851, the youths 13th birthday. As a boy, Booth was athletic and popular, and he became skilled at horsemanship, each day he rode back and forth from farm to school, taking more interest in what happened along the way than in reaching his classes on time. At the Milton school, students recited classical works by authors as Cicero, Herodotus. Students at St. Timothys wore military uniforms and were subject to a regimen of daily formation drills, Booth left school at 14, after his fathers death. His sister recalled that Booth wrote down the palm-readers prediction, showed it to his family and others, Booth aspired to follow in the footsteps of his father and his actor brothers Edwin and Junius Brutus, Jr. He began practicing elocution daily in the woods around Tudor Hall, the editors introduction of the 1874 memoir of Booths sister Asia Booth Clarke states that no individual church was preeminent in the Booth household during her childhood. Booths mother was Episcopalian, and his father was described as a spirit who was open to the great teachings of all religions. On January 23,1853, the 14-year-old Booth was baptized at St. Timothys Protestant Episcopal Church, the Booth family had traditionally been Episcopalian. Clergyman Charles Chiniquy, however, stated that Booth was really a convert to Roman Catholicism later in life, historian Constance Head also declared that Booth was of this religion. Testimony given at the trial of John Surratt showed that at his death, Booth had a Catholic medal on his person, Court evidence showed his attending a Roman Catholic church service on at least two occasions. Like his sister Asia, he received education at a school established by an official of the Catholic Church, Constance Head states, In any case, it seems certain that Booth did not publicize his conversion during his lifetime. Booth made his debut at age 17 on August 14,1855 in the supporting role of the Earl of Richmond in Richard III at Baltimores Charles Street Theatre
13.
Mary Todd Lincoln
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Mary Ann Todd Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865. She dropped the name Ann after her sister, Ann Todd, was born. A member of a large, wealthy Kentucky family, Mary was well educated, after living in the Todd House and finishing school during her teens, she moved to Springfield, Illinois, where she lived with her married sister Elizabeth Edwards. Before she married Abraham Lincoln, Mary was courted by his political opponent Stephen A. Douglas. She and Lincoln had four sons together, only one of whom outlived her and their home of about 17 years still stands at Eighth and Jackson Streets in Springfield, Illinois. She supported her throughout his presidency. She witnessed his fatal shooting when they were together in the Presidents Box at Fords Theatre on Tenth Street in Washington, Mary was involuntarily institutionalized for psychiatric disease ten years after her husbands murder. She also complained of physical symptoms during her adult life. Mary was born in Lexington, Kentucky as the fourth of seven children of Robert Smith Todd, a banker and her family were slaveholders, and Mary was raised in comfort and refinement. When Mary was six, her mother died, two years later, her father married Elizabeth Betsy Humphreys and they had nine children together. Mary had a relationship with her stepmother. From 1832, Mary and her family lived in what is now known as the Mary Todd Lincoln House, Marys paternal great-grandfather, David Levi Todd, was born in County Longford, Ireland, and immigrated through Pennsylvania to Kentucky. Her great-great maternal grandfather Samuel McDowell was born in Scotland, other Todd ancestors came from England. At an early age Mary was sent to Madame Mantelles finishing school and she learned to speak French fluently and studied dance, drama, music, and social graces. By age 20, she was regarded as witty and gregarious, like her family, she was a Whig. Mary began living with her sister Elizabeth Porter Edwards in Springfield, Elizabeth, married to Ninian W. Edwards, son of a former governor, served as Marys guardian. Mary Todd married Abraham Lincoln on November 4,1842, at her sister Elizabeths home in Springfield and she was 23 years old and he was 33 years of age. Their four sons, all born in Springfield, were, Robert Todd Lincoln, -– lawyer, diplomat, businessman
14.
Clara Harris
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Clara Hamilton Harris was an American socialite. Harris and her fiancé, Major Henry Rathbone, were the guests of President Lincoln, Harris was born in Albany, New York, one of four children of U. S. Senator Ira Harris of New York, and his first wife Louisa Harris, Harris mother Louisa died in 1845. On August 1,1848, Ira Harris married Pauline Rathbone, the widow of Jared L. Rathbone, Jared and Pauline Rathbone had four children including sons, Jared, Jr. and Henry Rathbone. Although Harris and Henry Rathbone were raised in the household and were related by their parents marriage, they fell in love. Their engagement was interrupted when the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Henry Rathbone joined the Union Army that year and eventually rose to the rank of Major. On April 14,1865, Major Rathbone and his fiancee Clara accepted an invitation to see a play at Fords Theatre from President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. While watching the play Our American Cousin in the Presidential Box at Fords Theatre that evening, when Rathbone attempted to apprehend Booth after the shooting, Booth slashed Rathbone with a Bowie knife from left elbow to shoulder. Rathbone lost an amount of blood which stained Harris white dress, face. Despite being seriously wounded, Rathbone escorted First Lady Mary Lincoln to the Petersen House where doctors had decided to take the mortally wounded President, shortly after arriving at the Petersen House, Rathbone passed out due to loss of blood. Harris arrived at the soon after and held Rathbones head in her lap while he drifted in. A surgeon who had been attending the President finally examined Rathbone, Booth had severed an artery located just above Rathbones elbow and had cut him nearly to the bone. Rathbone was taken home while Harris decided to stay with Mrs. Lincoln, Harris later stated, Poor Mrs. Lincoln, all through that dreadful night would look at me with horror & scream, oh. My husbands blood, my husbands blood. It was Henrys blood, not the presidents. While Rathbone eventually recovered from the attack, President Lincoln died of his wound the following morning, after the assassination, Rathbone blamed himself for not preventing Lincolns death. He spent the remainder of his life battling delusions and seeking treatments for other problems including constant headaches. Harris and Rathbone were married on July 11,1867, the couple had three children, Henry Riggs, who later became a U. S. Congressman from Illinois, Gerald Lawrence and Clara Pauline, Rathbone, who had risen to the rank of colonel, resigned from the Army in December 1870
15.
Henry Rathbone
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Henry Reed Rathbone was a United States military officer and diplomat who was present at the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. When Rathbone attempted to prevent Booth from fleeing the scene, Booth stabbed, Rathbone was born in Albany, New York, one of four children of Jared L. Rathbone, a merchant and wealthy businessman, who later became Albanys mayor, and Pauline Rathbone. Upon his fathers death in 1845, Rathbone inherited the considerable sum of two hundred thousand dollars. His widowed mother, Pauline Rathbone, married Ira Harris in 1848, senator from New York after William H. Seward became President Lincolns Secretary of State. Harris was a widower with four children whose wife Louisa had also died in 1845, as a result of this marriage, Ira Harris became Rathbones stepfather and his daughter, Clara, became Rathbones stepsister. Although this unusual series of events made them stepbrother and stepsister, Rathbone and Harris formed a close friendship and later fell in love. The two became engaged shortly before the American Civil War, Rathbone studied law at Union College and briefly worked in a law partnership in Albany before entering the Union Army at the start of Civil War. During the war, Rathbone served as Captain in the 12th infantry regiment and was at the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Fredericksburg, By the wars end, he had attained the rank of major. On April 14,1865, Major Rathbone and his fiancee Clara accepted an invitation to see a play at Fords Theatre from President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. During the play, noted stage actor John Wilkes Booth surreptitiously entered the Presidential box, Rathbone attempted to apprehend Booth and, during the struggle, Booth slashed Rathbones left arm with a dagger from the elbow to his shoulder. Rathbone later recalled that he was horrified at the anger on Booths face, Rathbone quickly recovered and again tried to grab Booth as he was preparing to jump from the sill of the box. He grabbed onto Booths coat causing Booth to vault over the rail of the box down to the stage. Although Booth had broken his left fibula two inches above the ankle when he fell onto the stage, he escaped. Meanwhile, the mortally wounded President was taken across the street to the house of William Petersen after doctors decided that Lincoln would not survive the journey back to the White House. Despite his serious wound, Rathbone escorted First Lady Mary Lincoln to the Petersen House and, shortly thereafter, Clara Harris arrived at the house soon after and held Rathbones head in her lap while he drifted in and out of consciousness. A surgeon who had been attending the President finally examined Rathbone, Booth had severed an artery located just above Rathbones elbow and had cut him nearly to the bone. Rathbone was taken home while Harris remained with Mrs. Lincoln during her vigil at the Petersen House for some nine hours and this death vigil lasted through the night, until morning, when President Lincoln died at 7,22 A. M. on April 15,1865. Although Rathbones physical wounds healed, his mental state deteriorated in the years following Lincolns death as he anguished over his inability to thwart the assassination attempt
16.
Obadiah Bruen Brown
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Obadiah Bruen Brown was a Baptist clergyman who served as Chaplain of the House and as Chaplain of the Senate. Obadiah Bruen Brown was born in Newark, New Jersey, on July 20,1779, raised a Presbyterian, Brown started attending the Baptist Church when it was organized in Newark. At age 24, he joined this church and soon the members of the congregation began encouraging him to enter the ministry. Brown had gone to Scotch Plains, New Jersey, to study theology with the Rev. William Van Horn, Brown was invited to Washington, D. C. in 1807 to preach several sermons as a test of his ability. The Washington First Baptist Church voted, without a dissenting vote, the church could not financially support a pastor. So Brown obtained a clerkship in the United States Post Office and he became the fiscal agent representing several Congressmen in Washington during the months they returned to their home states. He and his wife Elizabeth turned their home into a boardinghouse, Brown was the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Washington for more than 40 years. Brown served as Chaplain of the House and as Chaplain of the Senate, at the encouragement of President James Monroe, Brown was among a group of Baptist leaders who created the Columbian College, which decades later became the George Washington University. In 1822, Columbian College was formally inaugurated, the college property was in Obadiah Browns name on the deed. He was the president of the college trustees and their four children include Mary Elizabeth Brown, Dr. William Van Horne Brown and Thomas B. Brown. Brown died on May 2,1852, Browns body was buried in the Congressional Cemetery, the remains were moved to Oak Hill Cemetery on November 10,1868
17.
John T. Ford
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John Thompson Ford was an American theater manager in the nineteenth century. He is most notable for operating Fords Theatre at the time of the Abraham Lincoln assassination, Ford was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the son of Elias and Anna Ford. His ancestors were early Maryland settlers and some of them took part in the American Revolution, for a few years he attended public school in Baltimore and then became a clerk in his uncle’s tobacco factory in Richmond, Virginia. Not caring for this work, he became a bookseller, working as a bookseller in Richmond, Ford then wrote a farce dealing with contemporary life. The farce was entitled Richmond As It Is, and was produced by a company called the Nightingale Serenaders. This farce was fairly successful, and George Kunkel, the owner and manager of the Serenaders and he accepted, and for several seasons traveled as business manager of this company throughout the United States and Canada. In 1854, Ford assumed control of the Holliday Street Theater, Baltimore, later, he built the Grand Opera House in that city in 1871. Ford also was responsible for creating three theaters in Washington, D. C and he opened his first theatre on Tenth Street in 1861. After it was destroyed by fire the year, he rebuilt the structure on the same site. Ford was the manager of this highly successful theatre at the time of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and he was a good friend of Lincolns assassin John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor. Ford drew further suspicion upon himself by being in Richmond, Virginia, until April 2,1865, Richmond had been the capital of the Confederate States of America and a center of anti-Lincoln conspiracies. An order was issued for Fords arrest and on April 18 and his brothers James and Harry Clay Ford were thrown into prison along with him. After 39 days, the brothers were finally fully exonerated and set free since there was no evidence of their complicity in the crime, the theater was seized by the government, and Ford was paid $100,000 for it by Congress. The treatment accorded to him following the assassination made him remain bitter toward the US government for decades, during his career, Ford also managed theaters in Alexandria, Virginia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Charleston, South Carolina, and Richmond. It was at Richmonds Marshall Theatre, then under Fords management, that in November,1856, Edwin Booth first met Mary Devlin, joseph Jefferson was then the stage manager and a member of the company of this theater, as was Dion Boucicault. Ford also managed a number of travelling as well as resident companies, which included the greatest stars. He had a reputation for being honest and honorable in his numerous business dealings, pinafore craze of the late 1870s, he was the only American manager who paid Gilbert and Sullivan a royalty on the opera. For a period of forty years, Ford was an active and he was connected with many banking and financial concerns, and his business advice was sought and relied on
18.
Robert E. Lee
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Robert Edward Lee was an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War, during the first year of the Civil War, Lee served as a senior military adviser to President Jefferson Davis. Once he took command of the field army in 1862 he soon emerged as a shrewd tactician and battlefield commander, winning most of his battles. Lees strategic foresight was more questionable, and both of his major offensives into Union territory ended in defeat, Lees aggressive tactics, which resulted in high casualties at a time when the Confederacy had a shortage of manpower, have come under criticism in recent years. Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9,1865. By this time, Lee had assumed command of the remaining Southern armies. Lee rejected the proposal of an insurgency against the Union. He urged them to rethink their position between the North and the South, and the reintegration of former Confederates into the political life. Lee became the great Southern hero of the War, an icon of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy to some. But his popularity even in the North, especially after his death in 1870. Barracks at West Point built in 1962 are named after him, Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Major General Henry Lee III, Governor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter. His birth date has traditionally been recorded as January 19,1807, one of Lees great grandparents, Henry Lee I, was a prominent Virginian colonist of English descent. Lees family is one of Virginias first families, descended from Richard Lee I, Esq. the Immigrant, Lees mother grew up at Shirley Plantation, one of the most elegant homes in Virginia. Lees father, a planter, suffered severe financial reverses from failed investments. Little is known of Lee as a child, he spoke of his boyhood as an adult. Nothing is known of his relationship with his father who, after leaving his family, mentioned Robert only once in a letter. In 1811, the family, including the newly born child, Mildred, moved to a house on Oronoco Street, still close to the center of town. In 1812, Harry Lee was badly injured in a riot in Baltimore
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Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
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The Appomattox Court House National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of original and reconstructed 19th century buildings in Appomattox County, Virginia. The McLean House was the site of the conference. The park was established August 3,1935, the village was made a national monument in 1940 and a national historical park in 1954. It is located three miles east of Appomattox, Virginia, the location of the Appomattox Station and the new Appomattox Court House. It is in the center of the state about 25 miles east of Lynchburg, the antebellum village started out as Clover Hill named after its oldest existing structure, the Clover Hill Tavern. The village was a stop along the Richmond-Lynchburg stage road. The activity in Clover Hill centered around Clover Hill Tavern, the tavern provided lodging to travelers. Fresh horses for the line were also provided at the stop. It was also the site of meetings and so when Appomattox County was established by an Act on February 8,1845. It was parts of Buckingham, Prince Edward, Charlotte, the jurisdiction took its name from the headwaters that emanate there, the Appomattox River. Early Virginians believe the name Appomattox came from an Indian tribe called Apumetec, from about 1842, Hugh Raine basically owned most of the Clover Hill area. He obtained it from his brother John Raine who defaulted on his loans, later, he sold the property to a Colonel Samuel D. McDearmon. Since his acquisition, it became the county seat and he surveyed 30 acres of the hamlet and he designated 2 acres to be used by the new county to build a courthouse and other government buildings. The courthouse was to be built across the Stage Road from the Clover Hill Tavern, the jail was to be built behind the courthouse. McDearmon divided the land surrounding the courthouse into 1-acre lots. He felt that with Clover Hills new status as a county seat he would find professional people ready and his hopes were later dashed in 1854 as the train depot stopped three miles west in Appomattox, Virginia. The American Civil War put the nails in the coffin. The district once known as Clover Hill and later renamed to Appomattox Court House continued to decline as businesses moved to the area of the Appomattox Station, the village contained 30 acres of the original Pattesons Clover Hill Tavern property of some 200 acres
20.
Our American Cousin
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Our American Cousin is a three-act play by English playwright Tom Taylor. The play first premiered at Laura Keenes Theatre in New York City on October 15,1858, among Our American Cousins cast was British actor Edward Askew Sothern, playing Lord Dundreary, a caricature of a brainless English nobleman. Sothern had already achieved fame on the New York stage in the play Camille in 1856, and had been reluctant to take on the role because he felt that it was too small and unimportant. He mentioned his qualms to his friend Joseph Jefferson, who had been cast in the lead role and our American Cousin premiered in New York on October 15,1858. After several weeks of performances, Sothern began portraying the more broadly, as a lisping, skipping, eccentric. His ad-libs were a sensation, earning good notices for his comedy and spawning much imitation. Sothern gradually expanded the role, adding gags and business until it became the figure of the play. The most famous scene involved Dundreary reading a letter from his even sillier brother, the play ran for 150 nights, which was very successful for a New York run at the time. Sothern made his London debut in the role when the play ran for 496 performances at the Haymarket Theatre in 1861, the Athenaeum wrote, it is certainly the funniest thing in the world. A vile caricature of a nobleman, intensely ignorant. Dundrearyisms, twisted aphorisms in the style of Lord Dundreary, enjoyed a brief vogue, and the characters style of beard — long, bushy sideburns — gave the English language the word dundrearies. Dundreary became a recurring character, and Sothern successfully revived the play many times. It was not long before the success of this inspired a imitation. None of the characters from the play appeared in this comedy. A number of plays to Our American Cousin were written, all featuring several characters from the original. The first was Charles Gaylers Our American Cousin at Home, or, later sequels included Henry James Byrons Dundreary Married and Done For, and John Oxenfords Brother Sam, a play about Dundrearys brother. Asa Trenchard – Joseph Jefferson Sir Edward Trenchard – Edwin Varrey Florence Trenchard – Laura Keene Mary Meredith – Sara Stevens Lord Dundreary – E. A. Sothern Mr. Coyle – J. G. Florence Trenchard, a young beauty, loves Lieutenant Harry Vernon of the Royal Navy
21.
Confederate States of America
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The Confederate States, officially the Confederate States of America, commonly referred to as the Confederacy, was a breakaway country of 11 secessionist slave states existing from 1861 to 1865. It was never recognized as an Independent country, although it achieved belligerent status by Britain. A new Confederate government was established in February 1861 before Lincoln took office in March, after the Civil War began in April, four slave states of the Upper South – Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina – also declared their secession and joined the Confederacy. The government of the United States rejected the claims of secession, the Civil War began with the April 12,1861, Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter, a Union fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. In spring 1865, after four years of fighting which led to an estimated 620,000 military deaths, all the Confederate forces surrendered. Jefferson Davis later lamented that the Confederacy had disappeared in 1865, Missouri and Kentucky were represented by partisan factions from those states, while the legitimate governments of those two states retained formal adherence to the Union. Also fighting for the Confederacy were two of the Five Civilized Tribes located in Indian Territory and a new, but uncontrolled, Confederate Territory of Arizona. Efforts by certain factions in Maryland to secede were halted by federal imposition of law, while Delaware, though of divided loyalty. A Unionist government in parts of Virginia organized the new state of West Virginia. With the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,1863, the Union made abolition of slavery a war goal, as Union forces moved southward, large numbers of plantation slaves were freed. Many joined the Union lines, enrolling in service as soldiers, teamsters and laborers, the most notable advance was Shermans March to the Sea in late 1864. Much of the Confederacys infrastructure was destroyed, including telegraphs, railroads, plantations in the path of Shermans forces were severely damaged. Internal movement became increasingly difficult for Southerners, weakening the economy and these losses created an insurmountable disadvantage in men, materiel, and finance. Public support for Confederate President Jefferson Daviss administration eroded over time due to repeated military reverses, economic hardships, after four years of campaigning, Richmond was captured by Union forces in April 1865. Shortly afterward, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, President Davis was captured on May 10,1865, and jailed in preparation for a treason trial that was ultimately never held. The U. S. government began a process known as Reconstruction which attempted to resolve the political and constitutional issues of the Civil War. By 1877, the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction in the former Confederate states, Confederate veterans had been temporarily disenfranchised by Reconstruction policy. The prewar South had many areas, the war left the entire region economically devastated by military action, ruined infrastructure
22.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
23.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
24.
United States Department of War
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The Secretary of War, a civilian with such responsibilities as finance and purchases and a minor role in directing military affairs, headed the War Department throughout its existence. Retired senior General Henry Knox, then in civilian life, served as the first United States Secretary of War, forming and organizing the department and the army fell to Secretary Knox. On November 8,1800 the War Department building with its records, foundation of the new military academy at West Point along the Hudson River upstream from New York City in 1802 was important to the future growth of the American army. The multiple failures and fiascos of the War of 1812 convinced Washington that thorough reform of the War Department was necessary, winfield Scott became the senior general until the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The bureau chiefs acted as advisers to the Secretary of War while commanding their own troops, the bureaus frequently conflicted among themselves, but in disputes with the commanding general, the Secretary of War generally supported the bureaus. Congress regulated the affairs of the bureaus in detail, and their chiefs looked to that body for support, during the American Civil War, the War Department responsibilities expanded. It handled the recruiting, training, supply, medical care, transportation, a separate command structure took charge of military operations. In the late stages of the war, the Department took charge of refugees and freedmen in the American South through the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, during Reconstruction, this bureau played a major role in supporting the new Republican governments in the southern states. When military Reconstruction ended in 1877, the U. S. Army removed the last troops from military occupation of the American South, and the last Republican state governments in the region ended. The Army comprised hundreds of small detachments in forts around the West, dealing with Indians, the United States Army, with 39,000 men in 1890 was the smallest and least powerful army of any major power in the late 19th century. By contrast, France had an army of 542,000, temporary volunteers and state militia units mostly fought the Spanish–American War of 1898. This conflict demonstrated the need for effective control over the department. Elihu Root enlarged the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and established the United States Army War College and he changed the procedures for promotions and organized schools for the special branches of the service. He also devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line, indeed, Secretary Taft exercised little power, President Theodore Roosevelt made the major decisions. In 1911, Secretary Henry L. Stimson and Major General Leonard Wood, his chief of staff, the general staff assisted them in their efforts to rationalize the organization of the army along modern lines and in supervising the bureaus. Assisted by industrial advisers, they reorganized the system of the army. General March reorganized the general staff along similar lines and gave it authority over departmental operations. After the war, the Congress again granted the bureaus their former independence, in the 1920s, General John J. Pershing realigned the general staff on the pattern of his American Expeditionary Force field headquarters, which he commanded
