1.
Province of Saxony
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The Province of Saxony, also known as Prussian Saxony, was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. The majority of population was Protestant, with a Catholic minority considered part of the diocese of Paderborn, the province sent 20 members to the Reichstag and 38 delegates to the Prussian House of Representatives. The Province of Saxony was one of the richest regions of Prussia with highly developed agriculture, in 1932 the province was enlarged with the addition of the regions around Ilfeld and Elbingerode, which had previously been part of the Province of Hanover. On 1 July 1944, the Province of Saxony was divided along the lines of its three administrative regions, the Erfurt Regierungsbezirk was merged with the Herrschaft Schmalkalden district of the Province of Hesse-Nassau and given to the state of Thuringia. The Magdeburg Regierungsbezirk became the Province of Magdeburg, and the Merseburg Regierungsbezirk became the Province of Halle-Merseburg, in 1945, the Soviet military administration combined Magdeburg and Halle-Merseburg with the State of Anhalt into the Province of Saxony-Anhalt, with Halle as its capital. The eastern part of the Blankenburg exclave of Brunswick and the Thuringian exclave of Allstedt were also added to Saxony-Anhalt, in 1947, Saxony-Anhalt became a state. Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt were abolished in 1952, but were recreated after the reunification of Germany in 1990 with some border changes as modern states of Germany. Also territories around Torgau, where was part of Saxony-Anhalt between 1945 and 1952, was passed to Saxony, prior to 1944, the province of Saxony was divided into three Regierungsbezirke. In 1945, only the provinces of Magdeburg and Halle-Merseburg were re-merged, Urban districts Aschersleben Burg bei Magdeburg Halberstadt Magdeburg Quedlinburg Stendal Rural districts Calbe a. /S. Gardelegen Haldensleben Jerichow I Jerichow II Oschersleben Osterburg Quedlinburg Salzwedel Stendal Wanzleben Wernigerode Wolmirstedt Urban districts Eisleben Halle a. d, jacobs, Geschichte der in der preussischen Provinz Sachsen vereinigten Gebiete, Gotha,1884. Die Provinz Sachsen in Wort und Bild, Berlin,1900, further information Administrative subdivision and population breakdown of Saxony province, 1900/1910
2.
Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
3.
German Confederation
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Most historians have judged the Confederation to have been weak and ineffective, as well as an obstacle to the creation of a German nation-state. It collapsed due to the rivalry between Prussia and Austria, warfare, the 1848 revolution, and the inability of the members to compromise. In 1848, revolutions by liberals and nationalists were an attempt to establish a unified German state. Talks between the German states failed in 1848, and the Confederation briefly dissolved, but was re-established shortly after and it decidedly fell apart only after the Prussian victory in the Seven Weeks War of 1866. This led to the creation of the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership in 1867, a number of South German states remained independent until they joined the North German Confederation, which was renamed the German Empire. The War of the Third Coalition lasted from about 1803 to 1806, following defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz by the French under Napoleon in December 1805, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated, and the Empire was dissolved on 6 August 1806. The resulting Treaty of Pressburg established the Confederation of the Rhine in July 1806, after the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt of October 1806 in the War of the Fourth Coalition, various other German states, including Saxony and Westphalia, also joined the Confederation. Only Austria, Prussia, Danish Holstein, Swedish Pomerania and the French-occupied Principality of Erfurt stayed outside the Confederation of the Rhine and these nations would later join in the War of the Sixth Coalition from 1812 to 1814. The German Confederation was created by the 9th Act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 after being alluded to in Article 6 of the 1814 Treaty of Paris, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition. The Confederation was formally created by a treaty, the Final Act of the Ministerial Conference to Complete and Consolidate the Organization of the German Confederation. This treaty was not concluded and signed by the parties until 15 May 1820, States joined the German Confederation by becoming parties to the second treaty. The German Confederation ended as a result of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 between Austrian Empire and its allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia and its allies on the other. In the Prague peace treaty, on 23 August 1866, Austria had to accept that the Confederation was considered to be dissolved, the following day, the remaining member states confirmed the dissolution. The treaty allowed Prussia to create a new Bundesverhältnis in the North of Germany, the South German states were proposed to create a South German Confederation but this did not come into existence. Prussia and its allies created the North German Confederation in 1867, because of French intervention it had to exclude, besides Austria, the South German states Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt. During November 1870 the four states joined the North German Confederation by treaty. The North German Confederation Reichstag and Bundesrat accepted to rename the North German Confederation as the German Empire, the new constitution of the state, the Constitution of the German Confederation, introduced the new name and title on 1 January 1871. The Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia were the largest, Austria and Prussia each had one vote in the Federal Assembly
4.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
5.
Fort Lesley J. McNair
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Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D. C. To the peninsulas west is the Washington Channel, while the Anacostia River is on its south side, the military reservation was established in 1791 on about 28 acres at the tip of Greenleaf Point. Major Pierre Charles LEnfant included it in his plans for Washington, an arsenal first occupied the site and defenses were built in 1794. The fortifications did not halt the invading British in 1814, soldiers at the arsenal evacuated north with as much gunpowder as they could carry, hiding the rest in a well as the British soldiers came up the Potomac from burning the capitol. About 47 British soldiers found the powder magazines theyd come to destroy empty, someone threw a match into the well and a tremendous explosion ensued, a doctor at the scene reported, whereby the officers and about 30 of the men were killed and the rest most shockingly mangled. The remaining soldiers destroyed the buildings, but the facilities were rebuilt after the war. Land was purchased north of the arsenal in 1826 for the first federal penitentiary, among those hanged was Mary Surratt, the first woman ever executed under federal orders. Grant Hall is the location of the 1865 military tribunal of the conspirators of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, each quarter the Hall is open to the public where people can visit the courtroom and learn more about the trials. A hospital was next to the penitentiary in 1857. The arsenal was closed in 1881, and the post transferred to the Quartermaster Corps, a general hospital, predecessor to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was located at the post from 1898 until 1909. Maj. Walter Reed found the areas marshlands an excellent site for his research on malaria, reeds work contributed to the discovery of the cause of yellow fever. The major died of peritonitis after an appendectomy at the post in 1902, the post dispensary and the visiting officers quarters now occupy the buildings where Reed worked and died. About 90 percent of the present buildings on the posts 100 acres were built and its first classes were conducted in 1904 in Roosevelt Hall, the iconic building designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White. The Army Industrial College was founded at McNair in 1924 to prepare officers for high level posts in Army supply organizations and it evolved into the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. The post was renamed as Fort Humphreys in 1935, the Army War College was reorganized as the Army-Navy Staff College in 1943, and became the National War College in 1946. The two colleges became the National Defense University in 1976, the post was renamed in 1948 to honor Lt. Gen. Lesley J. Fort McNair has been the headquarters of the U. S. Army Military District of Washington since 1966. The National Defense University represents a significant concentration of the communitys intellectual resources. The Joint Forces Staff College, established under the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1946, prepares selected officers for joint, in 1990, the iCollege was formed as the capstone institution for Defense Information Resource Management education
6.
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
7.
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
