Pitt–Newcastle ministry
The Pitt–Newcastle ministry governed the Kingdom of Great Britain between 1757 and 1762, at the height of the Seven Years' War. It was headed by Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, serving in his second term as Prime Minister; the most influential and famous figure in the government however was William Pitt, who served as Secretary of State. The ministry ended a period of political instability. Pitt was a strong war leader, but lacked the support in parliament necessary to provide effective leadership. Newcastle provided this, they divided duties between them: Pitt directed defence and foreign policy, while Newcastle controlled the nation's finances and patronage. The ministry was successful leading Britain to many victories in the war in the so-called Annus Mirabilis of 1759, which put the country in an immensely strong position by 1761; that year Pitt resigned over a dispute concerning the entry of Spain into the war. The ministry had been under pressure since the death of the old King with the accession of King George III, who disliked both Pitt and Newcastle and favoured John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute.
Bute had joined the Cabinet as Northern Secretary in March 1761, following Pitt's resignation the ministry was sometimes referred to as the Bute–Newcastle coalition. In 1762 Newcastle was forced to resign, with his followers sacked by Bute in the "Massacre of the Pelhamite Innocents", it is unclear, member of the ministry. Great Britain in the Seven Years' War Pitt–Devonshire ministry Middleton, Richard; the Bells of Victory: The Pitt-Newcastle Ministry and the Conduct of the Seven Years' War, 1757–1762. Cambridge University Press
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the oldest and largest city in the U. S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline and is located on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Wando rivers. Charleston had an estimated population of 134,875 in 2017; the estimated population of the Charleston metropolitan area, comprising Berkeley and Dorchester counties, was 761,155 residents in 2016, the third-largest in the state and the 78th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States. Charleston was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, its initial location at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River was abandoned in 1680 for its present site, which became the fifth-largest city in North America within ten years. Despite its size, it remained unincorporated throughout the colonial period.
Election districts were organized according to Anglican parishes, some social services were managed by Anglican wardens and vestries. Charleston adopted its present spelling with its incorporation as a city in 1783 at the close of the Revolutionary War. Population growth in the interior of South Carolina influenced the removal of the state government to Columbia in 1788, but the port city remained among the ten largest cities in the United States through the 1840 census. Historians estimate that "nearly half of all Africans brought to America arrived in Charleston", most at Gadsden's Wharf; the only major antebellum American city to have a majority-enslaved population, Charleston was controlled by an oligarchy of white planters and merchants who forced the federal government to revise its 1828 and 1832 tariffs during the Nullification Crisis and launched the Civil War in 1861 by seizing the Arsenal, Castle Pinckney, Fort Sumter from their federal garrisons. Known for its rich history, well-preserved architecture, distinguished restaurants, hospitable people, Charleston is a popular tourist destination.
It has received numerous accolades, including "America's Most Friendly " by Travel + Leisure in 2011 and in 2013 and 2014 by Condé Nast Traveler, "the most polite and hospitable city in America" by Southern Living magazine. In 2016, Charleston was ranked the "World's Best City" by Travel + Leisure; the city proper consists of six distinct districts. Downtown, or sometimes referred to as The Peninsula, is Charleston's center city separated by the Ashley River to the west and the Cooper River to the east. West Ashley, residential area to the west of Downtown bordered by the Ashley River to the east and the Stono River to the west. Johns Island, far western limits of Charleston home to the Angel Oak, bordered by the Stono River to the east, Kiawah River to the south and Wadmalaw Island to the west. James Island, popular residential area between Downtown and the town of Folly Beach where the McLeod Plantation is located. Cainhoy Peninsula, far eastern limits of Charleston bordered by the Wando River to the west and Nowell Creek to the east.
Daniel Island, fast-growing residential area to the north of downtown, east of the Cooper River and west of the Wando River. The incorporated city fit into 4–5 square miles as late as the First World War, but has since expanded, crossing the Ashley River and encompassing James Island and some of Johns Island; the city limits have expanded across the Cooper River, encompassing Daniel Island and the Cainhoy area. The present city has a total area of 127.5 square miles, of which 109.0 square miles is land and 18.5 square miles is covered by water. North Charleston blocks any expansion up the peninsula, Mount Pleasant occupies the land directly east of the Cooper River. Charleston Harbor runs about 7 miles southeast to the Atlantic with an average width of about 2 miles, surrounded on all sides except its entrance. Sullivan's Island lies to the north of Morris Island to the south; the entrance itself is about 1 mile wide. The tidal rivers are evidence of drowned coastline. There is a submerged river delta off the mouth of the harbor and the Cooper River is deep.
Charleston has a humid subtropical climate, with mild winters, hot humid summers, significant rainfall all year long. Summer is the wettest season. Fall remains warm through the middle of November. Winter is short and mild, is characterized by occasional rain. Measurable snow only occurs several times per decade at the most however freezing rain is more common. However, 6.0 in fell at the airport on December 23, 1989, the largest single-day fall on record, contributing to a single-storm and seasonal record of 8.0 in snowfall. The highest temperature recorded within city limits was 104 °F on June 2, 1985, June 24, 1944, the lowest was 7 °F on February 14, 1899. At the airport, where official records are kept, the historical range is 105 °F on August 1, 1999, down to 6 °F on January 21, 1985. Hurricanes are a major threat to the area during the summer and early fall, with several severe hurrican
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a U. S. federal agency under the Department of Defense and a major Army command made up of some 37,000 civilian and military personnel, making it one of the world's largest public engineering and construction management agencies. Although associated with dams and flood protection in the United States, USACE is involved in a wide range of public works throughout the world; the Corps of Engineers provides outdoor recreation opportunities to the public, provides 24% of U. S. hydropower capacity. The corps' mission is to "Deliver vital military engineering services. Other civil engineering projects include flood control, beach nourishment, dredging for waterway navigation. Design and construction of flood protection systems through various federal mandates. Design and construction management of military facilities for the Army, Air Force, Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve and other Defense and Federal agencies. Environmental regulation and ecosystem restoration.
The history of United States Army Corps of Engineers can be traced back to 16 June 1775, when the Continental Congress organized an army with a chief engineer and two assistants. Colonel Richard Gridley became General George Washington's first chief engineer. One of his first tasks was to build fortifications near Boston at Bunker Hill; the Continental Congress recognized the need for engineers trained in military fortifications and asked the government of King Louis XVI of France for assistance. Many of the early engineers in the Continental Army were former French officers. Louis Lebègue Duportail, a lieutenant colonel in the French Royal Corps of Engineers, was secretly sent to America in March 1777 to serve in Washington's Continental Army. In July 1777 he was appointed colonel and commander of all engineers in the Continental Army, in November 17, 1777, he was promoted to brigadier general; when the Continental Congress created a separate Corps of Engineers in May 1779 Duportail was designated as its commander.
In late 1781 he directed the construction of the allied U. S.-French siege works at the Battle of Yorktown. From 1794 to 1802 the engineers were combined with the artillery as the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers; the Corps of Engineers, as it is known today, came into existence on 16 March 1802, when President Thomas Jefferson signed the Military Peace Establishment Act whose aim was to "organize and establish a Corps of Engineers... that the said Corps... shall be stationed at West Point in the State of New York and shall constitute a military academy." Until 1866, the superintendent of the United States Military Academy was always an officer of engineer. The General Survey Act of 1824 authorized the use of Army engineers to survey canal routes; that same year, Congress passed an "Act to Improve the Navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers" and to remove sand bars on the Ohio and "planters, sawyers, or snags" on the Mississippi, for which the Corps of Engineers was the responsible agency.
Separately authorized on 4 July 1838, the U. S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers consisted only of officers and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal civil works and other coastal fortifications and navigational routes, it was merged with the Corps of Engineers on 31 March 1863, at which point the Corps of Engineers assumed the Lakes Survey District mission for the Great Lakes. In 1841, Congress created the Lake Survey; the survey, based in Detroit, Mich. was charged with conducting a hydrographical survey of the Northern and Northwestern Lakes and preparing and publishing nautical charts and other navigation aids. The Lake Survey published its first charts in 1852. In the mid-19th century, Corps of Engineers' officers ran Lighthouse Districts in tandem with U. S. Naval officers; the Army Corps of Engineers played a significant role in the American Civil War. Many of the men who would serve in the top leadership in this institution were West Point graduates who rose to military fame and power during the Civil War.
Some of these men were Union Generals George McClellan, Henry Halleck, George Meade, Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnston, P. G. T. Beauregard; the versatility of officers in the Army Corps of Engineers contributed to the success of numerous missions throughout the Civil War. They were responsible for building pontoon and railroad bridges and batteries, the destruction of enemy supply lines, the construction of roads; the Union forces were not the only ones to employ the use of engineers throughout the war, on 6 March 1861, once the South had seceded from the Union, among the different acts passed at the time, a provision was included that called for the creation of a Confederate Corps of Engineers. The progression of the war demonstrated the South's disadvantage in engineering expertise. To overcome this obstacle, the Confederate Congress passed legislation that gave a company of engineers to every division in the field. One of the main projects for the Army Corps of Engineers was constructing railroads and bridges, which Union forces took advantage of because railroads and bridges provided access to resources and industry.
One area where the Confederate engineers were able to outperform the Union Army was in the ability to build fortification
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading author, political theorist, freemason, scientist, humorist, civic activist and diplomat; as a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod and the Franklin stove, among other inventions, he founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department and the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies; as the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, community spirit, self-governing institutions, opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment.
In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat." To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at the age of 23. He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he authored under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper, known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of British policies, he pioneered and was first president of Academy and College of Philadelphia which opened in 1751 and became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected president in 1769.
Franklin became a national hero in America as an agent for several colonies when he spearheaded an effort in London to have the Parliament of Great Britain repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations, his efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing shipments of crucial munitions from France. He was promoted to deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753, having been Philadelphia postmaster for many years, this enabled him to set up the first national communications network. During the revolution, he became the first United States Postmaster General, he was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania, he owned and dealt in slaves but, by the 1750s, he argued against slavery from an economic perspective and became one of the most prominent abolitionists.
His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, his status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored more than two centuries after his death on coinage and the $100 bill and the names of many towns, educational institutions, corporations, as well as countless cultural references. Benjamin Franklin's father, Josiah Franklin, was a soaper and candlemaker. Josiah was born at Ecton, England on December 23, 1657, the son of blacksmith and farmer Thomas Franklin, Jane White. Benjamin's father and all four of his grandparents were born in England. Josiah had seventeen children with his two wives, he married his first wife, Anne Child, in about 1677 in Ecton and immigrated with her to Boston in 1683. Following her death, Josiah was married to Abiah Folger on July 9, 1689 in the Old South Meeting House by Samuel Willard. Benjamin, their eighth child, was Josiah Franklin's fifteenth tenth and last son. Abiah Folger was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on August 15, 1667, to Peter Folger, a miller and schoolteacher, his wife, Mary Morrell Folger, a former indentured servant.
She came from a Puritan family, among the first Pilgrims to flee to Massachusetts for religious freedom, when King Charles I of England began persecuting Puritans. They sailed for Boston in 1635, her father was "the sort of rebel destined to transform colonial America." As clerk of the court, he was jailed for disobeying the local magistrate in defense of middle-class shopkeepers and artisans in conflict with wealthy landowners. Ben Franklin followed in his grandfather's footsteps in his battles against the wealthy Penn family that owned the Pennsylvania Colony. Benjamin Franklin was born on Milk Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706, baptized at Old South Meeting House, he was one of seventeen children born to Josiah Franklin, one of ten born by Josiah's second wife, Abiah Folger. Among Benjamin's siblings were his older brother James and his younger sister Jane. Josiah wanted Ben to attend school with the clergy, but only had enough money to send him to school for two years, he did not graduate.
Although "his parents talked of the church as a career" for Franklin, his schooling e
Spirit of '76 (sentiment)
The Spirit of'76 is a patriotic sentiment typified by the zeitgeist surrounding the American Revolution. It refers to the attitude of self-determination and individual liberty made manifest in the Declaration of Independence; the Spirit of'76 is a sentiment explored by Thomas Jefferson. According to the text published by UNESCO World Heritage Site Monticello, "The principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence promised to lead America—and other nations on the globe—into a new era of freedom; the revolution begun by Americans on July 4, 1776, would never end. It would inspire all peoples living under the burden of oppression and ignorance to open their eyes to the rights of mankind, to overturn the power of tyrants, to declare the triumph of equality over inequality." Thomas Jewett wrote that at the time of the American Revolution, there was "an intangible something, known as the'Spirit of'76.' This spirit was personified by the beliefs and actions of that mythical group known as the Founding Fathers, is best exemplified by Thomas Jefferson."Jefferson and the Second Continental Congress believed the Spirit of'76 "included the'self-evident' truths of being'created equal' and being'endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights' including'life and the pursuit of happiness.'"According to the New York Times, in a review of What Kind of Nation: Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, the Epic Struggle to Create a United States: Jefferson's core conviction was that what might be called "the spirit of'76" had repudiated all energetic expressions of government power, most power exercised from faraway places, which included London, Philadelphia or Washington.
In terms of domestic policy, he believed the states were sovereign and the federal government established by the Constitution was, as he put it,'a foreign government.' Marshall's core conviction was that the spirit of'87 had trumped the spirit of'76, transforming the loose confederation of states into a coherent nation guided by a duly elected federal government empowered to make laws for all the American people. According to the Adam Smith Institute, "The spirit of'76 was animated by the desire for personal freedom, both in our relations with others and in our transactions with them... If Americans are to restore constitutionally limited government instituted to guarantee their personal liberty they must revive the Spirit of'76." In an 1806 court case, a Philadelphia judge wrote in his opinion: "General and individual liberty was the spirit of'76."The Spirit of'76 is a well-known painting by Ohio artist and northern Civil War veteran Archibald Willard. The painting titled Yankee Doodle, was created in 1875 for the Centennial Exposition.
The piece acquired the name "Spirit of 76" while on tour in Boston. The painting was commissioned to be "semi-humorous", though the death of Willard's father, the model for one of the painting's figures, changed the direction of its tone, it depicts three soldiers of the American Revolutionary War. Though one is wounded, the soldiers march on with determination; the painting is on display at Abbot Hall in Massachusetts. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote of the spirit of'76 in reference to traveling to Philadelphia to celebrate the Centennial Exposition in 1876. Historian Mellen Chamberlain wrote that the spirit of'76 was embodied by Levi Preston, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. Chamberlain asked Preston 91 years old, "Why did you go to the Concord Fight, the 19th of April, 1775? My histories tell me that you men took up arms against'intolerable oppression.'" Preston responded: Oppressions? I didn't feel them. I never saw one of those stamps, always understood that Governor Bernard put them all in Castle William.
I am certain. Tea tax! I never drank a drop of the stuff. We read only the Bible, the Catechism, Watt's Psalms and Hymns, the Almanack. Young man, what we meant in going for those redcoats was this: we always had governed ourselves, we always meant to, they didn't mean. In an 1899 speech titled Liberty, Eugene V. Debs remarked: "Manifestly, the spirit of'76 still survives; the fires of liberty and noble aspirations are not yet extinguished."According to the Library of Congress, a 1915 postcard titled "Did I Save My Country for This!" "Calls forth the spirit of 1776 to support women's rights—particularly the right to vote. While women march for suffrage rights, George Washington is shown exclaiming "Did I save my country for this!"L. Lloyd MacDonald wrote that "in 1776, a small group of thoughtful but defiant men gave new meaning to the definition of independence, its embryo–a vibrant spirit of heart and mind known to many as'the Spirit of'76."Ira Moore delivered a speech at Oxford in 1822 titled American Independence.
In the speech's postscript, he wrote that the speech "was written, for an audience of intelligent, Republican farmers. Its object is what ought to be the object of all Fourth of July orations, to inculcate the republican principles, to cherish the patriotic spirit of'76, not the party spirit of 1814, which brought our country to the verge of destruction."John Patrick Diggins wrote that after John Adams "went from being a revolutionary optimist to a constitutional pessimist, one who believed that liberty required controls and that the people needed to be protected from themselves...he came to be regarded as less than loyal to the'Spirit of'76' and the meaning of a republic."Diggins wrote that Abraham Lincoln "took the Declaration, which Jefferson regarded as a scientific document, interpreted it as a sacred text, in the process of doing so he sacralized the whole meaning of the Spirit of'76
Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight military encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington. In September 1777, British forces had captured the American capital of Philadelphia. After failing to retake the city, Washington led his 12,000-man army into winter quarters at Valley Forge, located 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia, they remained there for six months, from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778. At Valley Forge, the Continentals struggled to manage a disastrous supply crisis while retraining and reorganizing their units. About 1,700 to 2,000 soldiers died due to disease exacerbated by malnutrition. Today, Valley Forge National Historical Park preserves and protects over 3,500 acres of the original encampment site. In 1777, Valley Forge consisted of a small proto-industrial community located at the juncture of the Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River. In 1742, Quaker industrialists established the Mount Joy Iron Forge. Thanks to capital improvements made by John Potts and his family over the following decades, the small community expanded the ironworks, established mills, constructed new dwellings for residents.
Surrounding the valley was a rich farmland, where Welsh-Quaker farmers grew wheat, hay, Indian corn, among other crops, raised livestock including cattle, sheep and barnyard fowl. Settlers of German and Swedish descent lived nearby. In the summer of 1777 the Continental Army's quartermaster general, Thomas Mifflin, decided to station a portion of his army's supplies in outbuildings around the forges, due to its variety of structures and secluded location between two prominent hills. Fearing such a concentration of military supplies would undoubtedly attract the British, the forge-ironmaster, William Dewees Jr. expressed concerns about the army's proposal. Mifflin established a magazine at Valley Forge anyway. After the British landing at Head of Elk, Maryland on August 25, 1777, the British Army maneuvered out of the Chesapeake basin and towards Valley Forge. Following the Battle of Brandywine and the abortive Battle of the Clouds, on September 18 several hundred soldiers under General Wilhelm von Knyphausen raided the supply magazine at Valley Forge.
Despite the best efforts of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton and Captain Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, the two Continental army officers selected to evacuate the supplies from Valley Forge, Crown soldiers captured supplies, destroyed others, burned down the forges and other buildings. Political and environmental factors all influenced the Continental Army's decision to establish their encampment near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in the winter of 1777-1778. Washington conferred with his officers to select the site that would be most advantageous to his army. Washington first asked his generals where to quarter the Continental Army in the winter of 1777–1778 on October 29, 1777. In addition to suggestions from his officers, Washington had to contend with the recommendations of politicians. Pennsylvania state legislators and the Continental Congress expected the Continental Army to select an encampment site that could protect the countryside around Philadelphia; some members of the Continental Congress believed that the army might be able to launch a winter campaign.
Interested parties suggested other sites for an encampment, including Lancaster and Wilmington, Delaware. However, following the inconclusive Battle of Whitemarsh from December 5–8, increasing numbers of officers and politicians began to appreciate the need to defend the greater Philadelphia region from British incursions. Considering these questions, an encampment at Valley Forge had notable advantages. Valley Forge's high terrain meant, its location allowed for soldiers to be detached to protect the countryside. Proximity to the Schuylkill River could facilitate supply movements down the river. Wide, open areas provided space for training. On December 19, Washington conducted his 12,000-man army to Valley Forge to establish the encampment; the encampment was situated along the high, flat ground east of Mount Joy and south of the Schuylkill River. In addition to a concentration of soldiers at Valley Forge, Washington ordered nearly 2,000 soldiers to encamp at Wilmington, Delaware, he posted the army's mounted troops at Trenton, New Jersey, additional outposts at Downingtown and Radnor, among other places.
In the two winter encampments prior to Valley Forge, the Continental army had sheltered themselves in a combination of tents, constructed huts, civilian barns and other buildings. Valley Forge would mark the first time Washington ordered the army concentrated into a more permanent post where they constructed their own shelters; this strategic shift encouraged a whole new host of problems for the American Patriots. The Valley Forge encampment became the Continental Army's first large-scale construction of living quarters. While no accurate account exists for the exact number of log huts built, experts estimate a range between 1,300-1,600 structures. Brigadier General Louis Lebègue de Presle Duportail selected grounds for the brigade encampments and planned the defenses. Afterwards, brigadier generals appointed officers from each regiment to mark out the precise spot for every officer and all enlisted men's huts. Despite commanders' attempts at standardization, the huts varied in terms of size and construction techniques.
Military historian John B. B. Trussell Jr. writes that many squads "dug their floors two feet below ground level," to reduce
