1.
Georgism
–
Georgists argue that taxing economic rent is efficient, fair, and equitable. The main Georgist policy is a tax assessed on land value, Georgists argue that revenues from a land value tax can reduce or eliminate existing taxes on labor and investment that are unfair and inefficient. Some Georgists also advocate for the return of public revenue back to the people by means of a basic income or citizens dividend. Economists since Adam Smith have observed that, unlike other taxes, a land value tax is often said to have progressive tax effects, in that it is paid primarily by the wealthy, and it cannot be passed on to tenants, workers, or users of land. Georgist ideas were popular and influential during the late 19th and early 20th century, political parties, institutions and communities were founded based on Georgist principles during that time. The term Georgism was invented later, and some prefer the term geoism to distinguish their beliefs from those of Henry George, Henry George is best known for popularizing the argument that government should be funded by a tax on land rent rather than taxes on labor. According to George, people own what they create, but that natural opportunities. The tax upon land values is, therefore, the most just and it falls only upon those who receive from society a peculiar and valuable benefit, and upon them in proportion to the benefit they receive. It is the taking by the community, for the use of the community and it is the application of the common property to common uses. When all rent is taken by taxation for the needs of the community, no citizen will have an advantage over any other citizen save as is given by his industry, skill, and intelligence, and each will obtain what he fairly earns. Then, but not till then, will labor get its full reward, George believed there was an important distinction between common and collective property. Georgists have observed that privately created wealth is socialized via the tax system, while socially created wealth in land values are privatized in the price of land titles, assets consisting of commodified privilege can be considered as wealth since they have exchange value, similar to taxi medallions. Standard economic theory suggests that a land value tax would be extremely efficient – unlike other taxes, as land value tax can improve the use of land and redirect investment toward productive, non-rentseeking activities, it could even have a negative deadweight loss that boosts productivity. A tax upon ground-rents would not raise the rents of houses and it would fall altogether upon the owner of the ground-rent, who acts always as a monopolist, and exacts the greatest rent which can be got for the use of his ground. More or less can be got for it according as the competitors happen to be richer or poorer, in every country the greatest number of rich competitors is in the capital, and it is there accordingly that the highest ground-rents are always to be found. As the wealth of those competitors would in no respect be increased by a tax upon ground-rents, whether the tax was to be advanced by the inhabitant, or by the owner of the ground, would be of little importance. The more the inhabitant was obliged to pay for the tax, both ground-rents and the ordinary rent of land are a species of revenue which the owner, in many cases, enjoys without any care or attention of his own. Though a part of this revenue should be taken from him in order to defray the expenses of the state, no discouragement will thereby be given to any sort of industry
2.
Abbott Handerson Thayer
–
Abbott Handerson Thayer was an American artist, naturalist and teacher. As a painter of portraits, figures, animals and landscapes, he enjoyed a certain prominence during his lifetime and he is perhaps best known for his angel paintings, some of which use his children as models. During the last third of his life, he worked together with his son, Gerald Handerson Thayer, on a book about protective coloration in nature. First published by Macmillan in 1909, then reissued in 1918, however it was roundly mocked by Theodore Roosevelt and others for its assumption that all animal coloration is cryptic. Thayer also influenced American art through his efforts as a teacher, Thayer was born in Boston, Massachusetts. The son of a doctor, he spent his childhood in rural New Hampshire, near Keene. In that rural setting, he became an amateur naturalist, a hunter, Thayer closely studied Audubons Birds of America, experimented with taxidermy, and made his first artworks, watercolor paintings of animals. At the age of fifteen he was sent to the Chauncy Hall School in Boston, where he met Henry D. Morse, an amateur artist who painted animals. With guidance from Morse, Abbott developed and improved his skills, focusing on depictions of birds and other wildlife. He also taught his sister, Ellen Thayer Fisher, techniques that he was learning, at age 18, he relocated to Brooklyn, New York, to study painting at the Brooklyn Art School and the National Academy of Design. He met many emerging and progressive artists during this period in New York, including his wife, Kate Bloede and his close friend. He showed work at the newly formed Society of American Artists, returning to New York, he established his own portrait studio, became active in the Society of American Painters, and began to take in apprentices. Life became all but unbearable for Thayer and his wife during the early 1880s, emotionally devastated, they spent the next several years relocating from place to place. Although he was not yet secure financially, Thayers growing reputation resulted in more portrait commissions than he could accept, among his sitters were George Washington Cable, Mark Twain, and Henry James. He also made portraits of the three remaining Thayer children, Mary, Gerald, and Gladys, and used them as models for symbolic compositions such as Angel. Soon after, Thayer married their long-time friend, Emmeline Emma Buckingham Beach and he and his second wife spent their remaining years in rural New Hampshire, living simply and working productively. In 1901, they settled permanently in Dublin, New Hampshire, the younger two, Gerald and Gladys, shared their fathers enthusiasms, and became painters. During this latter part of his life, among Thayers neighbors was George de Forest Brush and it is difficult to categorize Thayer simply as an artist
3.
Camouflage
–
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a pattern, making the object visible. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of changing their skin pattern and colours. Military camouflage was spurred by the range and accuracy of firearms in the 19th century. In particular the replacement of the inaccurate musket with the rifle made personal concealment in battle a survival skill, in the 20th century, military camouflage developed rapidly, especially during the First World War. On land, artists such as André Mare designed camouflage schemes, at sea, merchant ships and troop carriers were painted in dazzle patterns that were highly visible, but designed to confuse enemy submarines as to the targets speed, range, and heading. During and after the Second World War, a variety of schemes were used for aircraft. The use of radar since the century has largely made camouflage for fixed-wing military aircraft obsolete. Non-military use of camouflage includes making cell telephone towers less obtrusive, patterns derived from military camouflage are frequently used in fashion clothing, exploiting their strong designs and sometimes their symbolism. Camouflage themes recur in modern art, and both figuratively and literally in science fiction and works of literature, in ancient Greece, Aristotle commented on the colour-changing abilities, both for camouflage and for signalling, of cephalopods including the octopus, in his Historia animalium, The octopus. Seeks its prey by so changing its colour as to render it like the colour of the adjacent to it, it does so also when alarmed. Camouflage has been a topic of interest and research in zoology for well over a century, the English zoologist Edward Bagnall Poulton studied animal coloration, especially camouflage. In his 1890 book The Colours of Animals, he classified different types such as special protective resemblance and his experiments showed that swallowtailed moth pupae were camouflaged to match the backgrounds on which they were reared as larvae. Among vertebrates numerous species of parrots, iguanas, tree-frogs, beddard did however briefly mention other methods, including the alluring coloration of the flower mantis and the possibility of a different mechanism in the orange tip butterfly. He wrote that the scattered green spots upon the surface of the wings might have been intended for a rough sketch of the small flowerets of the plant. The artist Abbott Handerson Thayer formulated what is sometimes called Thayers Law, Thayer was roundly mocked for these views by critics including Teddy Roosevelt
4.
Shelbyville, Tennessee
–
Shelbyville is a city in Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. It had a population of 20,335 residents at the 2010 census, Shelbyville, the county seat of Bedford County, was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. The town is a hub of the Tennessee Walking Horse industry and has been nicknamed The Walking Horse Capital of the World, Shelbyville is in Middle Tennessee on a Highland Rim limestone bluff upon the banks of Duck River, which flows around the southern and eastern sides of town. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 18.6 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 16,105 people,6,066 households, the population density was 1,041.3 people per square mile. There were 6,550 housing units at a density of 423.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 77. 14% White,14. 98% African American,0. 70% Asian,0. 35% Native American,0. 05% Pacific Islander,5. 02% from other races, and 1. 78% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 14. 55% of the population, a total of 26. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12. 4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was out with 25. 2% under the age of 18,11. 9% from 18 to 24,28. 9% from 25 to 44,18. 8% from 45 to 64. The median age was 34 years, for every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males, the median income for a household in the city was $27,593, and the median income for a family was $30,465. Males had an income of $23,754 versus $16,065 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,260, about 14. 4% of families and 25. 2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18. 4% of those under age 18 and 22. 1% of those age 65 or over. Shelbyville is known as The Pencil City because of its importance as a center of wood-cased pencil manufacturing. It is still a site for manufacture of writing instruments, in 1982, National Pen Corporation purchased its largest competitor, U. S. Sanford Corporation produces the Sharpie, the worlds top-selling writing instrument and it was in Shelbyville in 1991 that the worlds longest pencil was produced, a plastic-cased pencil 1,091 feet long, weighing 27 pounds. Shelbyville is at the intersection of U. S. Route 231 and it was the terminus of a branch line, located along what is now known as Railroad Avenue, connecting with what was once known as the Saint Louis, Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
5.
Danbury, Connecticut
–
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 70 miles from New York City. Danburys population at the 2010 census was 80,893, Danbury is the fourth most populous city in Fairfield County, and seventh among Connecticut cities. The city is within the New York metropolitan area, the city is named for Danbury, England, the place of origin of many of its early settlers. It is nicknamed the Hat City because of its prominent history in the hat industry, the mineral danburite is named for Danbury. Danbury is home to Danbury Hospital, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury Fair Mall, Danbury was settled by colonists in 1685, when eight families moved from what are now Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut. The Danbury area was then called Pahquioque by its namesake, the Pahquioque Native Americans, one of the original settlers was Samuel Benedict, who bought land from the Paquioques in 1685, along with his brother James Benedict, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. Also called Paquiack by local Native Americans, the settlers chose the name Swampfield for their town, but in October 1687, the general court appointed a committee to lay out the new towns boundaries. A survey was made in 1693, and a formal patent was granted in 1702. During the American Revolution, Danbury was an important military depot for the Continental Army. On April 26,1777, the British, under Major General William Tryon, the central motto on the seal of the City of Danbury is Restituimus, a reference to the destruction caused by the Loyalist army troops. The American General David Wooster was mortally wounded at the Battle of Ridgefield by the same British forces which had attacked Danbury and he is buried in Danburys Wooster Cemetery, the private Wooster School in Danbury also was named in his honor. It is the first known instance of the expression in American legal or political writing, the letter is on display at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Danbury. The first Danbury Fair was held in 1821, in 1869, it became a yearly event, the last edition was in 1981. The fairgrounds were cleared to make room for the Danbury Fair Mall, in 1835, the Connecticut Legislature granted a rail charter to the Fairfield County Railroad, which saw no construction as investment was slow. In 1850, the plans were scaled back, and renamed the Danbury. Work moved quickly on the 23 mi railroad line, in 1852, it, the first railroad line in Danbury, opened, with two trains making the 75-minute trip to Norwalk. The central part of Danbury was incorporated as a borough in 1822, the borough was reincorporated as the city of Danbury on April 19,1889. The city and town were consolidated on January 1,1965, the dam impounding the Kohanza Reservoir, one of many reservoirs built to provide water to the hat factories, broke on January 31,1869
6.
National Academy Museum and School
–
Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, and others to promote the fine arts in America through instruction and exhibition. The Academy is an honorary organization, a school. The school offers instruction, master classes, intensive critiques, various workshops. The museum houses a collection of over 7,000 works of American art from the 19th, 20th. The Academy has been located at several locations over the years, notable among them was a building built during 1863-1865, designed by architect P. B. Wight in Venetian Gothic style, which was modeled on the Doges Palace in Venice, another locale was at West 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan. Since 1942 the academy has occupied a mansion that was the home of sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and Archer Milton Huntington at Fifth Avenue. The original founders of the National Academy of Design were students of the American Academy of the Fine Arts, samuel F. B. Morse and other students set about forming the drawing association to meet several times each week for the study the art of design. Still, the association was viewed as a dependent organization of the American Academy, an attempt was made to reconcile the difference and maintain a single academy by appointing six of the artists from the association as directors of the American Academy. When four of the nominees were not elected, however, the frustrated artists resolved to form a new academy, among the teaching staff were numerous artists, including Will Hicok Low, who taught from 1889 to 1892. The famous American poet William Cullen Bryant also gave lectures, architect Alexander Jackson Davis taught at the Academy. Painter Lemuel Wilmarth was the first full-time instructor Gulian C, verplanck, a Congressman and a man of letters, gave an address at the school in 1824. and Silas Dustin was a curator
7.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
–
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D. C. Together with its museum, the Renwick Gallery, it holds one of the worlds largest and most inclusive collections of art, from the colonial period to the present. Most exhibitions take place in the main building, the old Patent Office Building. The museum provides electronic resources to schools and the public through its education program, including Artful Connections. Since 1951, the museum has maintained a traveling exhibition program, as of 2013, American Arts main building, the Old Patent Office Building, is a National Historic Landmark and is considered an example of Greek Revival architecture in the United States. It was designed by architects Robert Mills, and Thomas U, during the 1990s, the Smithsonian Institution worked on restoring the building. According to the Smithsonian Institution, Extraordinary effort was made to use new technologies to restore the historic fabric of the building. During the renovation, the Lunder Conservation Center, the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium, and the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard were added to the building. The Luce Foundation Center for American Art is an art storage and study center. The Lunder Conservation Center is the first art conservation facility to allow the public permanent behind-the-scenes views of the work of museums. In 2008, the American Alliance of Museums awarded reaccreditation to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, as of 2014, Elizabeth Broun is Director of the museum. American Art has maintained a traveling exhibition program since 1951.5 million visitors, since 2006, thirteen exhibitions have toured to more than 30 cities. American Art provides electronic resources to schools and the public as part of programs such as Artful Connections. Artful Connections gives real-time video conference tours of American Art, numerous researchers and millions of virtual visitors per year use these databases. Also, American Art and Heritage Preservation work together in a joint project, Save Outdoor Sculpture, the museum produces a peer-reviewed periodical, American Art, for new scholarship. Since 1993, American Art has been had an online presence and it has one of the earliest museum websites when, in 1995, it launched its own website. EyeLevel, the first blog at the Smithsonian Institution, was started in 2005 and, as of 2013, the blog has approximately 12,000 readers each month. Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a variety of American art, with more than 7,000 artists represented
8.
Native Americans in the United States
–
In the United States, Native Americans are people descended from the Pre-Columbian indigenous population of the land within the countrys modern boundaries. These peoples were composed of distinct tribes, bands, and ethnic groups. Most Native American groups had historically preserved their histories by oral traditions and artwork, at the time of first contact, the indigenous cultures were quite different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly Christian immigrants. Some of the Northeastern and Southwestern cultures in particular were matrilineal, the majority of Indigenous American tribes maintained their hunting grounds and agricultural lands for use of the entire tribe. Europeans at that time had patriarchal cultures and had developed concepts of property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. Assimilation became a consistent policy through American administrations, during the 19th century, the ideology of manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Expansion of European-American populations to the west after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native American lands and this resulted in the ethnic cleansing of many tribes, with the brutal, forced marches coming to be known as The Trail of Tears. As American expansion reached into the West, settler and miner migrants came into increasing conflict with the Great Basin, Great Plains and these were complex nomadic cultures based on horse culture and seasonal bison hunting. Over time, the United States forced a series of treaties and land cessions by the tribes, in 1924, Native Americans who were not already U. S. citizens were granted citizenship by Congress. Contemporary Native Americans have a relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes. The terms used to refer to Native Americans have at times been controversial, by comparison, the indigenous peoples of Canada are generally known as First Nations. It is not definitively known how or when the Native Americans first settled the Americas and these early inhabitants, called Paleoamericans, soon diversified into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes. The archaeological periods used are the classifications of archaeological periods and cultures established in Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips 1958 book Method and they divided the archaeological record in the Americas into five phases, see Archaeology of the Americas. The Clovis culture, a hunting culture, is primarily identified by use of fluted spear points. Artifacts from this culture were first excavated in 1932 near Clovis, the Clovis culture ranged over much of North America and also appeared in South America. The culture is identified by the distinctive Clovis point, a flaked flint spear-point with a notched flute, dating of Clovis materials has been by association with animal bones and by the use of carbon dating methods. Recent reexaminations of Clovis materials using improved carbon-dating methods produced results of 11,050 and 10,800 radiocarbon years B. P, other tribes have stories that recount migrations across long tracts of land and a great river, believed to be the Mississippi River. Genetic and linguistic data connect the people of this continent with ancient northeast Asians
