1.
Monument
–
The term monument is often applied to buildings or structures that are considered examples of important architectural and/or cultural heritage. Monuments have been created for thousands of years, and they are often the most durable, in more recent times, monumental structures such as the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower have become iconic emblems of modern nation-states. The term monumentality relates to the status and physical presence of a monument. Monuments are frequently used to improve the appearance of a city or location, planned cities such as Washington D. C. New Delhi and Brasília are often built around monuments, for example, the Washington Monuments location was conceived by LEnfant to help organize public space in the city, before it was designed or constructed. Older cities have monuments placed at locations that are important or are sometimes redesigned to focus on one. As Shelley suggested in his famous poem Ozymandias, the purpose of monuments is often to impress or awe. Structures created for purposes that have been made notable by their age. This can happen because of age and size, as in the case of the Great Wall of China. Monuments are also designed to convey historical or political information. They can be used to reinforce the primacy of political power. The social meanings of monuments are rarely fixed and certain and are contested by different social groups. This contention of meaning is a theme of modern post processual archaeological discourse. Until recently, it was customary for archaeologists to study large monuments, New ideas about what constitutes the archaeological record have revealed that certain legislative and theoretical approaches to the subject are too focused on earlier definitions of monuments. An example has been the United Kingdoms Scheduled Ancient Monument laws, recently, more and more monuments are being preserved digitally through organisations as CyArk. Cenotaphs and other memorials to commemorate the dead, usually war casualties, e. g. India Gate and Vimy Ridge Memorial, or disaster casualties, such as the Titanic Memorial, Belfast. Church monuments to commemorate the dead, located above or near their grave, often featuring an effigy, columns, often topped with a statue, e. g. Berlin Victory Column, Nelsons Column in London, and Trajans Column in Rome. Gravestones, small monuments to the deceased, placed at their gravesites, e. g. the tombs and vaults of veterans in Les Invalides, mausoleums and tombs to honor the dead, e. g. the Great Pyramid of Giza and Taj Mahal
Monument
–
The
Lincoln Memorial,
Washington Monument, and
US Capitol. The planned US capital
Washington D.C. is built around monuments commemorating founding fathers of the
United States.
Monument
–
The
Great Pyramid of
Giza built almost 5000 years ago as
pharaoh 's
tomb, one of the
Seven Wonders and enduring symbol of
ancient Egyptian civilization since antiquity.
Monument
–
The
Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of
Ancient Greece, the
Athenian democracy, as well as the symbol of
Western Civilization.
Monument
–
The
Colosseum Flavian amphitheatre in
Rome, a popular monument of the
Roman Empire.
2.
John Parker (Captain)
–
John Parker was an American colonial farmer, mechanic, soldier, and colonial militia officer who commanded the Lexington, Patriot, colonial militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19,1775. John Parker was born in Lexington, Massachusetts to Josiah Parker and he was a descendant of Deacon Thomas Parker, founder of Reading, Massachusetts. John Parker was also the grandfather of reformer and abolitionist Theodore Parker. John Parkers experience as a soldier in the French and Indian War, at the Siege of Louisbourg, and he was dying from consumption, on the morning of April 19,1775, and had not quite five months left to live. Lexington lay directly on the road that Smiths men took to reach Concord, when reports of the approach of a sizeable force of British soldiers reached Lexington overnight, men from the town and the surrounding area began to gather on the Common. Parkers Lexington company were not minutemen, as stated. Parker was initially uncertain as to exactly what was happening, when Smith became aware that the countryside had been alarmed and that resistance might be encountered, he sent a detachment of light infantry under Major John Pitcairn ahead of the main column. Pitcairns advance guard reached Lexington first and drew up on the Common opposite Parkers men, Parker ordered his men to disperse to avoid a confrontation, but they either failed to hear him or ignored his instructions. Shortly afterwards firing broke out despite the fact both sides had orders not to shoot. In the following fight eight militia were killed and ten wounded while one British soldier was wounded, the lopsided casualty list led to initial reports of a massacre, stories of which spread rapidly around the colony further inflaming the situation. There remains considerable doubt as to exactly what occurred during the fight at Lexington, and a variety of different accounts emerged as to what had taken place and who had fired first. By the time Smith arrived with his body of troops ten minutes later, he had trouble restoring order amongst his troops. Smith then decided, in spite of the fighting, to continue the march to Concord, one of Parkers company, many years later, recalled Parkers order at Lexington Green to have been, Stand your ground. Dont fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, Paul Revere recalled it as having been Let the soldiers pass by. Do not molest them without they begin first, during the skirmish Parker witnessed his cousin Jonas Parker killed by a British bayonet. Later that day he rallied his men to attack the returning to Boston in an ambush known as Parkers Revenge. Parker and his men participated in the subsequent Siege of Boston and he was unable to serve in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, and died of tuberculosis on September 17,1775, aged 45. Parker and his wife, Lydia Parker had seven children, Lydia, Anna, John, Isaac, Ruth, Rebecca, the Parker homestead formerly stood on Spring Street in Lexington
John Parker (Captain)
–
Henry Hudson Kitson 's The Lexington
Minuteman statue (1900) — originally symbolizing the generic Minuteman — has come to represent Parker. It stands in
Lexington Battle Green. (No likeness of Parker is known.)
3.
Militia
–
For instance, the members of some U. S. Army National Guard units are considered professional soldiers, as they are trained to maintain the same standards as their full-time counterparts. Militias thus can be military or paramilitary, depending on the instance, some of the contexts in which the term militia is used include, Forces engaged in defense activity or service, to protect a community, its territory, property, and laws. The entire able-bodied population of a community, town, county, or state, a subset of these who may be legally penalized for failing to respond to a call-up. A subset of these who actually respond to a call-up, regardless of legal obligation, a private, non-government force, not necessarily directly supported or sanctioned by its government. An irregular armed force enabling its leader to exercise military, economic, an official reserve army, composed of citizen soldiers. Called by various names in different countries, such as the Army Reserve, National Guard, the national police forces in several former communist states such as the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, but also in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia. The term was inherited in Russia and other former CIS countries, in France the equivalent term Milice has become tainted due to its use by notorious collaborators with Nazi Germany. A select militia is composed of a small, non-representative portion of the population, as regular military forces were insufficient to counter the British attackers, Santiago de Liniers drafted all males in the city capable of bearing arms into the military. These recruits included the peoples, who ranked low down in the social hierarchy. With these reinforcements, the British armies were twice defeated, the militias became a strong factor in the politics of the city afterwards, as a springboard from which the criollos could manifest their political ambitions. They were a key element in the success of the May Revolution, a decree by Mariano Moreno derogated the system of promotions involving criollos, allowing instead their promotion on military merit. The Argentine Civil War was waged by militias again, as both federalists and unitarians drafted common people into their ranks as part of ongoing conflicts and these irregular armies were organized at a provincial level, and assembled as leagues depending on political pacts. This system had declined by the 1870s, mainly due to the establishment of the modern Argentine Army, provincial militias were outlawed and decimated by the new army throughout the presidential terms of Mitre, Sarmiento, Avellaneda and Roca. Armenian militia also played a role in the Georgia-Abkhazia War of 1992–1993, in the Colony of New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie proposed a colonial militia but the idea was rejected. Governor Ralph Darling felt a mounted force was more efficient than a militia. A military volunteer movement attracted wide interest during the Crimean War, following Federation, the various military reserve forces of the Commonwealth of Australia became the Citizen Military Force. In the beginning, members didnt have uniforms and often paraded in business attire and they were given instruction on guerrilla warfare, and later the private organization was taken over by the Australian Government and became part of the Australian Military Forces. After World War I, multiple militias formed as soldiers returned home to their villages, only to many of them occupied by Slovene
Militia
–
The Lexington Minuteman, a statue commemorating
Captain John Parker, a commander of Massachusetts militia forces during the
American Revolutionary War.
Militia
–
Peshmurga Kurdish Militia, cleaning weapons
Militia
–
The war standard of the Imeretian militia of the Imperial Russian Army. The inscription reads in Russian and Georgian: "To the Militia of Our Faithful Imeretian People for Exceptional Courage Displayed against the Mountaineers in 1838.".
Militia
–
Captain
John Smith's 1624 map of the Somers Isles (
Bermuda), showing
St. George's Town and related fortifications, including the
Castle Islands Fortifications with their garrisons of militiamen
4.
Militia (United States)
–
The militia of the United States, as defined by the US Congress, has changed over time, complicating its meaning. During colonial America, all able-bodied men of certain ages were eligible for the militia, individual towns formed local independent militias for their own defense. The year before the US Constitution was ratified, The Federalist Papers detailed the founders vision of the militia, the new Constitution empowered Congress to regulate this national military force, leaving significant control in the hands of each State government. Unorganized militia – composing the Reserve Militia, every able-bodied man of at least 17 and under 45 years of age, the term militia derives from Old English milite meaning soldiers, militisc meaning military and also classical Latin milit-, miles meaning soldier. The Modern English term militia dates to the year 1590, with the meaning now obsolete. The spelling of millitia is often observed in written and printed materials from the 17th century through the 19th century, the early colonists of America considered the militia an important social institution, necessary to provide defense and public safety. During the French and Indian Wars, town militia formed a pool for the Provincial Forces. The legislature of the colony would authorize a certain level for the seasons campaign. In September 1755, George Washington, then adjutant-general of the Virginia militia, upon a frustrating and futile attempt to call up the militia to respond to a frontier Indian attack. And what added to his mortification was, that the laws gave him no power to correct these evils, either by enforcing discipline, or compelling the indolent, the militia system was suited for only to times of peace. It provided for calling out men to repel invasion, but the powers granted for effecting it were so limited, see New Hampshire Provincial Regiment for a history of a Provincial unit during the French and Indian War. This was far short of the wanted, that the council recommended an immediate application to the New England governments to make up the deficiency. They recommended to the militia to form themselves into companies of minute-men and these minute-men were to consist of one quarter of the whole militia, to be enlisted under the direction of the field-officers, and divide into companies, consisting of at least fifty men each. The privates were to choose their captains and subalterns, and these officers were to form the companies into battalions, and chose the field-officers to command the same. Hence the minute-men became a distinct from the rest of the militia. More attention than formerly was likewise bestowed on the training and drilling of militia, the American Revolutionary War began near Boston, Massachusetts with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, in which a group of local militias constituted the American side. On April 19,1775, a British force 800 strong marched out of Boston to Concord intending to destroy Patriot arms, at 5,00 in the morning at Lexington, they met about 70 armed militiamen whom they ordered to disperse, but the militiamen refused. Firing ensued, it is not clear which side opened fire, eight militiamen were killed and ten wounded, whereupon the remainder took flight
Militia (United States)
–
The American ideal of the citizen soldier, in the militia, depicted by the The Concord
Minute Man of 1775 by Daniel Chester French, erected in 1875 in
Concord, Massachusetts.
Militia (United States)
–
Braddock's defeat, 1755
Militia (United States)
–
The Battle of Lexington, April 19th, 1775. Blue coated militiamen in the foreground flee running from the volley of gunshots from the red coated British Army line in the background with dead and wounded militiamen on the ground.
Militia (United States)
–
1826 North Carolina militia roster. (TEXT) "A List of that Part of the Militia Commanded by Elisha Burk an went after the Runaway Negroes" (Roster list of 58 militia men, standard wage of 46
½ ¢ per day.) "The within is a True Return of that part of the Militia Commanded by Elisha Burk Which out after the Runaway Negros: Given under my hand this 15th day of August 1826" (signed) Elisha Burk Captain.
5.
American Revolutionary War
–
From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand
American Revolutionary War
–
Clockwise from top left:
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis after the
Siege of Yorktown,
Battle of Trenton,
The Death of General Warren at the
Battle of Bunker Hill,
Battle of Long Island,
Battle of Guilford Court House
American Revolutionary War
–
Notice of Stamp Act of 1765 in newspaper
American Revolutionary War
–
This iconic 1846 lithograph by
Nathaniel Currier was entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase "Boston Tea Party" had not yet become standard. Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Indians.
American Revolutionary War
–
The British marching to
Concord in April 1775
6.
Sons of Liberty
–
The Sons of Liberty was an organization that was created in the Thirteen American Colonies. The secret society was formed to protect the rights of the colonists and they played a major role in most colonies in battling the Stamp Act in 1765. The group officially disbanded after the Stamp Act was repealed, however, the name was applied to other local separatist groups during the years preceding the American Revolution. In the popular imagination, the Sons of Liberty was an underground organization with recognized members and leaders. More likely, the name was a term for any men resisting new Crown taxes. The well-known label allowed organizers to issue summons to a Liberty Tree, Liberty Pole. Furthermore, a unifying name helped to promote efforts against Parliament. Their motto became No taxation without representation, in 1765, the British government needed money to afford the 10,000 officers and soldiers living in the colonies, and intended that the colonists living there should contribute. This became commonly known as No Taxation without Representation, Parliament insisted on its right to rule the colonies despite the fact that the colonists had no representative in Parliament. The most incendiary tax was the Stamp Act of 1765, which caused a firestorm of opposition through legislative resolutions, public demonstrations, threats, the organization spread hour by hour, after independent starts in several different colonies. In August 1765, the group was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, by November 6, a committee was set up in New York to correspond with other colonies. In December, an alliance was formed between groups in New York and Connecticut, january bore witness to a correspondence link between Boston and New York City, and by March, Providence had initiated connections with New York, New Hampshire, and Newport, Rhode Island. March also marked the emergence of Sons of Liberty organizations in New Jersey, Maryland, in Boston, another example of violence could be found in their treatment of local stamp distributor Andrew Oliver. They burned his effigy in the streets, when he did not resign, they escalated to burning down his office building. Even after he resigned, they almost destroyed the house of his close associate Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson. It is believed that the Sons of Liberty did this to excite the lower classes and their actions made many of the stamp distributors resign in fear. Early in the American Revolution, the former Sons of Liberty generally joined more formal groups, the Sons of Liberty popularized the use of tar and feathering to punish and humiliate offending government officials starting in 1767. This method was also, used against British Loyalists, during the American Revolution and this punishment had long been used by sailors to punish their mates
Sons of Liberty
–
A 1765
broadside regarding the organization and its principles
Sons of Liberty
–
The Bostonian Paying the Excise-Man, 1774 British propaganda print referring to the tarring and feathering of Boston Commissioner of Customs
John Malcolm four weeks after the Boston Tea Party. The men also poured hot tea down Malcolm's throat; note the noose hanging on the
Liberty Tree, and the
Stamp Act posted upside-down
Sons of Liberty
–
1st Row:
Samuel Adams •
Benedict Arnold •
John Hancock •
Patrick Henry •
James Otis, Jr. 2nd Row:
Paul Revere •
James Swan •
Alexander McDougall •
Benjamin Rush •
Charles Thomson 3rd Row:
Joseph Warren •
Marinus Willett •
Oliver Wolcott •
Christopher Gadsden •
Haym Salomon
7.
Paul Revere
–
Paul Revere was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, and a Patriot in the American Revolution. He is best known for alerting the colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poem, Paul Reveres Ride. Revere was a prosperous and prominent Boston silversmith, who helped organize an intelligence, finally in 1800 he became the first American to successfully roll copper into sheets for use as sheathing on naval vessels. Revere was born in the North End of Boston on December 21,1734, according to the Old Style calendar then in use, or January 1,1735, in the modern calendar. His father, a French Huguenot born Apollos Rivoire, came to Boston at the age of 13 and was apprenticed to the silversmith John Coney. By the time he married Deborah Hitchborn, a member of a long-standing Boston family that owned a shipping wharf, in 1729. Their son, Paul Revere, was the third of 12 children, Revere grew up in the environment of the extended Hitchborn family, and never learned his fathers native language. At 13 he left school and became an apprentice to his father, the silversmith trade afforded him connections with a cross-section of Boston society, which would serve him well when he became active in the American Revolution. As for religion, although his father attended Puritan services, Revere was drawn to the Church of England, Revere eventually began attending the services of the political and provocative Jonathan Mayhew at the West Church. His father did not approve, and as a result father, Revere relented and returned to his fathers church, although he did become friends with Mayhew, and returned to the West Church in the late 1760s. Reveres father died in 1754, when Paul was legally too young to officially be the master of the silver shop. In February 1756, during the French and Indian War, he enlisted in the provincial army, possibly he made this decision because of the weak economy, since army service promised consistent pay. He did not stay long in the army, but returned to Boston, on August 4,1757, he married Sarah Orne, their first child was born eight months later. He and Sarah had eight children, but two died young, and only one, Mary, survived her father, business was so poor that an attempt was made to attach his property in late 1765. To help make ends meet he took up dentistry, a skill set he was taught by a practicing surgeon who lodged at a friends house. One client was Doctor Joseph Warren, a physician and political opposition leader with whom Revere formed a close friendship. Revere and Warren, in addition to having common political views, were both active in the same local Masonic lodges. Although Revere was not one of the Loyal Nine—organizers of the earliest protests against the Stamp Act—he was well connected with its members, Revere did not participate in some of the more raucous protests, such as the attack on the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson
Paul Revere
–
John Singleton Copley, Portrait of Paul Revere. c. 1768–70
Paul Revere
–
Revere's dentistry tools
Paul Revere
–
" The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th, 1770 ". Copper engraving by Paul Revere modeled on a drawing by Henry Pelham, 1770.
Paul Revere
–
20th century depiction of Revere's ride
8.
Concord, Massachusetts
–
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 17,668. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston, the town center is located near where the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet rivers forms the Concord River. The area which became the town of Concord was originally known as Musketaquid and it was one of the scenes of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the initial conflict in the American Revolutionary War. It developed into a rich literary center during the mid-nineteenth century. Featured were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau, the now-ubiquitous Concord grape was developed here. The area which became the town of Concord was originally known as Musketaquid, situated at the confluence of the Sudbury, the name Musketaquid was an Algonquian word for grassy plain, fitting the areas low-lying marshes and kettle holes. Native Americans had cultivated corn crops there, the rivers were rich with fish, however, the area was largely depopulated by the smallpox plague that swept across the Americas after the arrival of Europeans. In 1635, a group of settlers from Britain led by Rev. Peter Bulkley, the Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first conflict in the American Revolutionary War. On April 19,1775, a force of British Army regulars marched from Boston to Concord to capture a cache of arms that was stored in the town. Forewarned by Paul Revere and other messengers, the colonists mustered in opposition, following an early-morning skirmish at Lexington, where the first shots of the battle were fired, the British expedition under the command of Lt. Col. Francis Smith advanced to Concord. There, colonists from Concord and surrounding towns repulsed a British detachment at the Old North Bridge, subsequently, militia arriving from across the region harried the British troops on their return to Boston, culminating in the Siege of Boston and outbreak of the war. The battle was publicized by the colonists as an example of British brutality and aggression. A century later, however, the conflict was remembered proudly by Americans, taking on a patriotic, almost mythic status in works like the Concord Hymn and Paul Reveres Ride. In April 1975, the town hosted a celebration of the battle. Concord has a rich literary history centered in the mid-nineteenth century around Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson was at the center of a group of like-minded Transcendentalists living in Concord, among them were the author Nathaniel Hawthorne and the philosopher Bronson Alcott, the father of Louisa May Alcott. A native Concordian, Henry David Thoreau, was another member of Emersons circle
Concord, Massachusetts
–
View of Concord's Main Street in December
Concord, Massachusetts
–
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
–
Photo of Egg Rock inscription, about 1900
Concord, Massachusetts
–
The Old Manse, home to
Ralph Waldo Emerson and later
Nathaniel Hawthorne
9.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
–
Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
–
Flag
United States
–
The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
–
The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
10.
Patriotism
–
Patriotism is an attachment to a homeland. This attachment can be viewed in terms of different features relating to ones own homeland, including ethnic and it encompasses a set of concepts closely related to those of nationalism. An excess of patriotism in the defense of a nation is called chauvinism, the abstract noun patriotism appears in the early 18th century. The general notion of virtue and group dedication has been attested in culture globally throughout the historical period. For the Enlightenment thinkers of 18th-century Europe, loyalty to the state was considered in contrast to loyalty to the Church. It was argued that clerics should not be allowed to teach in schools since their patrie was heaven. One of the most influential proponents of this notion of patriotism was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Enlightenment thinkers also criticized what they saw as the excess of patriotism, in 1774, Samuel Johnson published The Patriot, a critique of what he viewed as false patriotism. On the evening of 7 April 1775, he made the famous statement, however, there is no direct evidence to contradict the widely held belief that Johnsons famous remark was a criticism of patriotism itself. Patriotism is the will of the members of a country to support the country, Patriotism may be strengthened by adherence to a national religion. This is the opposite of the separation of church and state demanded by the Enlightenment thinkers who saw patriotism and faith as similar and opposed forces. Michael Billig and Jean Bethke Elshtain have both argued that the difference between patriotism and faith is difficult to discern and relies largely on the attitude of the one doing the labelling. Wellman calls this position patriotist rather than nationalist to single out the members of territorial, political units rather than cultural groups, marxists have taken various stances regarding patriotism. On one hand, Karl Marx famously stated that The working men have no country, the same view is promoted by present-day Trotskyists such as Alan Woods, who is in favour of tearing down all frontiers and creating a socialist world commonwealth. On the other hand, Stalinists and Maoists are usually in favour of socialist patriotism based on the theory of socialism in one country. Several surveys have tried to measure patriotism for various reasons, such as the Correlates of War project which found some correlation between war propensity and patriotism, the results from different studies are time dependent. For example, patriotism in Germany before World War I ranked at or near the top, since 1981, the World Values Survey explores peoples national values and beliefs and refer to the average answer for high income residents of a country to the question Are you proud to be. Charles Blatberg, From Pluralist to Patriotic Politics, Putting Practice First, craig Calhoun, Is it Time to Be Postnational. in Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Minority Rights, Stephen May, Tariq Modood and Judith Squires
Patriotism
–
Allegory of Patriotism at the
Monument to the Fallen for Spain in
Madrid (1840), by sculptor Francisco Pérez del Valle.
Patriotism
–
An American poster with a patriotic theme (1917), issued by the U.S. Food Administration during World War I
11.
State quarter
–
The 50 State Quarters Program was the release of a series of circulating commemorative coins by the United States Mint. From 1999 through 2008, it featured each of the 50 U. S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter. The U. S. federal government so far has made additional profits of $3.0 billion from collectors taking the coins out of circulation, in 2009, the U. S. Mint began issuing quarters under the 2009 District of Columbia and U. S. The Territories Quarter Program was authorized by the passage of a legislative act. This program features the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. From the first days of the CCCAC, one of its members, David Ganz, urged the committee to endorse the 50 States Quarters program, and in 1995, the CCCAC did so. The committee then sought the support of Representative Michael Castle, chairman of the House Banking subcommittee with jurisdiction over the nations coinage, castles initial caution was resolved when Diehl suggested the coins be issued in the order the states entered the Union. Castle subsequently held hearings and filed legislation to authorize the program, the mints economic models estimated the program would earn the government between $2.6 billion and $5.1 billion in additional seignorage and $110 million in additional numismatic profits. Diehl and Castle used these profit projections to urge the Treasurys support, Diehl worked with Castle behind the scenes to move legislation forward despite the Treasurys opposition to the program. However, the Treasury suggested to Castle that the department should conduct a study to determine the feasibility of the program, with Diehls advice, Castle accepted the Treasurys offer, and the agreement was codified in the United States Commemorative Coin Act of 1996. The act also authorized the secretary to proceed with the 50 States Quarters program without further action if the results of the feasibility study were favorable. The Treasury Department engaged the consulting firm Coopers and Lybrand to conduct the study in 1997, among other conclusions, the study found that 98 million Americans were likely to save one or more full sets of the quarters. Nevertheless, the Treasury Department continued to oppose the program and declined to proceed with it without a mandate to do so. In 1997, Congress issued that mandate in the form of S.1228, the United States Commemorative Coin Program Act, the 50 state quarters were released by the United States Mint every ten weeks, or five each year. They were released in the order that the states ratified the Constitution. Each quarters reverse commemorated one of the 50 states with a design emblematic of its history, traditions. Certain design elements, such as flags, images of living persons. The authorizing legislation and Mint procedures gave states a substantial role and considerable discretion in determining the design that would represent their state
State quarter
–
5 strings on the guitar on the Tennessee state quarter.
State quarter
–
Obverse of the redesigned proof quarter; note the "S"
mint mark.
State quarter
–
Coin with "In God We Trust" motto
12.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
–
Territory claimed but never administered by the colonial government extended as far west as the Pacific Ocean. The earlier Dutch colony of New Netherlands disputed many of these claims, arguing that they held rights to lands beyond Rhode Island up to the side of Cape Cod. The Massachusetts Bay Colony began in 1628 and was the second attempt at colonization. The colony was successful, with about 20,000 people migrating to New England in the 1630s, the population was strongly Puritan, and its governance was dominated by a small group of leaders who were strongly influenced by Puritan religious leaders. Its governors were elected, and the electorate were limited to freemen who had been examined for their religious views, as a consequence, the colonial leadership exhibited intolerance to other religious views, including Anglican, Quaker, and Baptist theologies. The colonists initially had decent relationships with the local Indian populations and these led first to the Pequot War and then to King Philips War, after which most of the Indians in southern New England made peace treaties with the colonists. The colony was successful, engaging in trade with England. A shortage of currency in the colony prompted it to establish a mint in 1652. Political differences with England after the English Restoration led to the revocation of the charter in 1684. King James II established the Dominion of New England in 1686 to bring all of the New England colonies under firmer crown control, Sir William Phips arrived in 1692 bearing the charter and formally took charge of the new province. The political and economic dominance of New England by the state of Massachusetts was made possible in part by the early dominance in these spheres by the Massachusetts Bay colonists. The total Indian population in 1620 has been estimated to be 7,000 with the population of New England at 15–18,000, the land-use patterns of the natives included plots cleared for agricultural purposes, and woodland territories for the hunting of game. Land divisions between the tribes were well understood, during the early 17th century, several European explorers charted the area, including Samuel de Champlain and John Smith. Plans began in 1606 for the first permanent British settlements on the east coast of North America, on April 10,1606, King James I of England granted a charter forming two joint-stock companies. Under this charter, the first Colony and the second Colony were to be ruled by a Council composed of 13 individuals in each colony, the charter provided for an additional council of 13 persons to have overarching responsibility for the combined enterprise. No name was given to either the company or council governing the respective colonies, the first Colony ranged from the 34th- to 41st-degree latitude north, the second Colony ranged from the 38th- to 45th-degree latitude. The London Company proceeded to establish Jamestown, the Plymouth Company under the guidance of Sir Ferdinando Gorges covered the more northern area, including present-day New England, and established the Sagadahoc Colony in 1607 in present-day Maine. The experience proved exceptionally difficult for the 120 settlers, however, Gorges noted that there was no more speech of settling plantations in those parts for a number of years
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
–
Flag
Massachusetts Bay Colony
–
Detail of
sounding board,
Old Ship Church, 1681,
Hingham, Massachusetts, oldest Puritan
meetinghouse in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
–
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 300th Anniversary Issue of 1930
13.
Lexington, Massachusetts
–
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,394 at the 2010 census, in nearly 11,100 households, settled in 1641, it is celebrated as the site of the first shots of the American Revolutionary War, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19,1775. It is part of the Greater Boston Area and is the sixth wealthiest small city in the United States, Lexington was first settled circa 1642 as part of Cambridge, Massachusetts. What is now Lexington was then incorporated as a parish, called Cambridge Farms and this allowed them to have a separate church and minister, but were still under jurisdiction of the Town of Cambridge. Lexington was incorporated as a town in 1713. It was then that it got the name Lexington, how it received its name is the subject of some controversy. Some people believe that it was named in honor of Lord Lexington, some, on the other hand, believe that it was named after Lexington in Nottinghamshire, England. In the early days, Vine Brook, which runs through Lexington, Burlington, and Bedford. It provided for many types of mills, and in the 20th Century, for decades, Lexington grew modestly while remaining largely a farming community, providing Boston with much of its produce. It always had a downtown area, which remains to this day. Lexington began to prosper, helped by its proximity to Boston, for many years, East Lexington was considered a separate village from the rest of the town, though it still had the same officers and Town Hall. Most of the farms of Lexington became housing developments by the end of the 1960s, Lexington, as well as many of the towns along the Route 128 corridor, experienced a jump in population in the 1960s and 70s, due to the high-tech boom. Property values in the town soared, and the system became nationally recognized for its excellence. On April 19,1775, what many regard as the first battle of the American Revolutionary War was a battle at Lexington, Lexington is located at 42°26′39″N 71°13′36″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 16.5 square miles, of which 16.4 square miles is land and 0.1 square miles. Lexington borders the towns, Burlington, Woburn, Winchester, Arlington, Belmont, Waltham, Lincoln. It has more area than all other municipalities that it borders, by the 2010 census, the population had reached 31,394. As of the census of 2010, there had been 31,394 people,11,530 households, the population density was 1,851.0 people per square mile
Lexington, Massachusetts
–
Statue of Captain John Parker and Hayes Memorial Fountain on Lexington Common, by
H. H. Kitson
Lexington, Massachusetts
–
Buckman Tavern, built 1690
Lexington, Massachusetts
–
Topography of Lexington and environs
Lexington, Massachusetts
–
Engraved memorial bricks lining the Lexington Depot sidewalk
14.
Powder Alarm
–
Thousands of militiamen began streaming toward Boston and Cambridge, and mob action forced Loyalists and some government officials to flee to the protection of the British Army. In 1772, many of the thirteen British colonies, in response to unpopular British actions, the secrecy of these missions was paramount, as Gage feared that leakage of any plans would result in the seizure or concealment of the stores by Patriot sympathizers before his men got there. There were several throughout the colonies where the British army had stockpiled supplies. Some of these places were fortifications that were manned by small garrisons, most of the powder in these was under the control of the provincial government, though some was the property of individual towns. Gage decided that this powder had to be brought to Boston for safekeeping, on August 31, Gage sent Middlesex County sheriff David Phips to Brattle with orders to remove the provincial powder, Brattle turned the key to the powderhouse over to Phips. Gage also gave orders to ready a force of troops for action the next day, something that did not go unnoticed by the local population. At some point that day, General Gage, whether by his intent, accident, or theft by a messenger, lost possession of William Brattles letter, the widely held story is that it was dropped. News of its content spread rapidly, and many considered it to be a warning to Gage to remove the provincial powder before Patriots could seize it. From there they marched about a mile to the Powder House, Phips gave the Kings Troops the keys to the building, and after sunrise they removed all of the gunpowder. The field pieces and powder were then taken from Boston to the British stronghold on Castle Island, rumors flew throughout the day across the countryside about the British troop movements. The regulars were marching, provincial powder had been seized, war was at hand, people had been killed, the alarm spread as far as Connecticut. From all over the region, people took up arms and began streaming toward Boston, one traveler in Shrewsbury reported that in the space of 15 minutes,50 men had gathered, equipped themselves, sent out messengers to surrounding towns, and left for Boston. On the 2nd, several thousand men bent on violence gathered in Cambridge, where they forced several notable Loyalists, including William Brattle, to flee to Boston, sheriff Phips was forced, in writing, to dissociate himself from any and all government actions. Eventually facts caught up with the rumors, and militia units returned home, the content of his letter to Gage would be published on the 5th. Brattle remained on Castle Island through the siege of Boston, leaving when the British evacuated the city in March 1776 and he died in Halifax, Nova Scotia in October 1776 at the age of 70. Gage, surprised by the size and scope of the reaction, delayed. He later began planning and executing seizures again, and he fortified the Boston peninsula. After the Powder Alarm, militia forces throughout New England were more cautious with their supplies and more intent on gaining information about Gages plans and troop movements
Powder Alarm
–
The
Old Powder House in
Somerville, Massachusetts, as it stood in 1935, atop the hill at Nathan Tufts Park overlooking
Powder House Square
Powder Alarm
–
The Powder House ("Magazine") is near the northern edge of this detail from a 1775 map of the
Siege of Boston.
Powder Alarm
–
A 2007 photograph of the
Old Powder House in Nathan Tufts Park, Somerville, Massachusetts
15.
John Endecott
–
John Endecott, regarded as one of the Fathers of New England, was the longest-serving Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which became the State of Massachusetts. He served a total of 16 years including most of the last 15 years of his life, when not serving as governor, he was involved in other elected and appointed positions from 1628-1665 except for the single year of 1634. Endecott was a zealous and somewhat hotheaded Puritan, with Separatist attitudes toward the Anglican Church and this sometimes put him at odds with Nonconformist views that were dominant among the colonys early leaders, which became apparent when he gave shelter to the vocally Separatist Roger Williams. He notoriously defaced the English flag because he saw St Georges Cross as a symbol of the papacy, an expedition he led in 1636 is considered the opening offensive in the Pequot War, which practically destroyed the Pequot tribe as an entity. Endecott used some of his properties to propagate fruit trees, a tree he planted still lives in Danvers. He also engaged in one of the earliest attempts to develop an industry in the colonies when copper ore was found on his land. His name is found on a rock in Lake Winnipesaukee, carved by surveyors sent to identify the Massachusetts colonys northern border in 1652, places and institutions are named for him, and he has several notable descendants. Most of what is known about John Endecotts origins is the result of research conducted since the 1990s, biographers of the 19th century believed he was from the Dorset town of Dorchester because of his significant later association with people from that place. In the early 20th century, historian Roper Lethbridge proposed that Endecott was born circa 1588 in or near Chagford in Devon, however, more recent research by the New England Historic Genealogical Society has identified problems with Lethbridges claims, which they dispute. Endecott has more recently been determined to have been born in 1588 in Chagford, to Thomas Endecott and an unnamed mother. Very little is known of Endecotts life before his association with colonisation efforts in the 1620s and he was known to Sir Edward Coke, and may have come to know Roger Williams through this connection. He was highly literate, and spoke French, some early colonial documents refer to him as Captain Endecott, indicating some military experience, and other records suggest he had some medical training. Endecott was chosen to lead the first expedition, and sailed for the New World aboard the Abigail with fifty or so planters, the settlement they organized was first called Naumkeag, after the local Indian tribe, but was eventually renamed Salem in 1629. The area was occupied by settlers of the failed Dorchester Company. This group of settlers, led by Roger Conant, had migrated from a settlement on Cape Ann after it was abandoned. Endecott was not formally named governor of the new colony until it was issued a charter in 1629. At that time, he was appointed governor by the council in London. Endecotts responsibility was to establish the colony and to prepare it for the arrival of additional settlers, the winters of 1629 and 1630 were difficult compared to those in England, and he called on the Plymouth Colony for medical assistance
John Endecott
–
John Endecott
John Endecott
–
The
Endicott Pear Tree in 1997
John Endecott
–
Illustration by
Howard Pyle showing Endecott defacing the English flag. Pyle has incorrectly depicted the flag as a
Union Jack, when the
flag at the time only contained
St George's Cross.
John Endecott
–
Engraving depicting Endecott's men landing on
Block Island
16.
Pequot
–
Pequot people are a tribe of Native Americans who inhabited much of what is now Connecticut in the 17th century. They were of the Algonquian language family, originally named Mohegans and they adopted the name Pequot after conquering most of Connecticut, although the Mohegan tribe also continued in the area now known as Norwich, Connecticut. The Pequot War and Mystic massacre reduced the Pequots presence in southern New England, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut are a federally recognized tribe as of 1983, the descendants of the historic Pequots. The Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation gained federal recognition in June 2002, the Department of the Interior revoked the recognition in 2005, as they also did that year in the case of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation of Connecticut. These were the first instances since the 1970s that the BIA had terminated federal recognition, Pequot is an Algonquian word, the meaning of which is in dispute among language specialists. Considerable scholarship pertaining to the Pequot claims that the name came from Pequttôog and this relies on speculations of an early twentieth century authority on Algonquian languages. However, Frank Speck had doubts, a leading early 20th century specialist of Pequot-Mohegan and he believed that another term meaning the shallowness of a body of water seemed much more plausible, given their territory along the coast of Long Island Sound. Historians have debated whether the Pequot migrated about 1500 from the upper Hudson River Valley toward what is now central and eastern Connecticut. They occupied the area between the Niantic tribe of the Niantic River of present-day Connecticut and the Wecapaug River. The Pequot numbered some 16,000 persons in the most densely inhabited portion of southern New England. The smallpox epidemic of 1616-19 killed many of the Native inhabitants of the eastern coast of present-day New England, but it failed to reach the Pequot, Niantic, in 1633, the Dutch established a trading post called the House of Good Hope at present-day Hartford. The Dutch seized and executed the principal Pequot sachem Tatobem because of a violation of an agreement, after the Pequot paid the Dutch a large ransom, they returned Tatobems body. In 1633, an epidemic devastated all of the regions Native population, historians estimate that the Pequot suffered the loss of 80% of their population. At the outbreak of the Pequot War, Pequot survivors may have numbered only about 3,000, in 1636, long-standing tensions between the Puritan English of Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay colonies and the Pequot escalated into open warfare. There was much confusion on both sides and, when the tribe killed an Englishman thinking he was Dutch, war was soon upon them, the Mohegan and the Narragansett sided with the English. Perhaps 1,500 Pequot were killed in battles or hunted down, others were captured and distributed as slaves or household servants. A few escaped to be absorbed by the Mohawk or the Niantic on Long Island, eventually, some returned to their traditional lands, where family groups of friendly Pequots had stayed. Of those enslaved, most were awarded to the allied tribes, the Mohegan in particular treated their Pequot captives so severely that colonial officials of Connecticut Colony eventually removed them
Pequot
–
Pequot Museum Exhibit showing Mashantucket Pequot warrior
Pequot
–
Cover of 1663 Bible translated into the Wampanoag language
17.
Wigwams
–
A wigwam, wickiup or wetu is a domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American and First Nations tribes, and still used for ceremonial purposes. Wetu is the Wampanoag term for a wigwam dwelling and these terms can refer to many distinct types of Native American structures regardless of location or cultural group. The wigwam is not to be confused with the Native Plains tipi, which has a different construction, structure. The domed, round shelter was used by many different Native American cultures, the curved surfaces make it an ideal shelter for all kinds of conditions. These structures are formed with a frame of arched poles, most often wooden, details of construction vary with the culture and local availability of materials. Some of the materials used include grass, brush, bark, rushes, mats, reeds. Men built the wigwams and the put on the coverings. Wigwams were most often seasonal structures although the term is applied to rounded, wigwams usually take longer to put up than tipis and their frames are usually not portable like a tipi. A typical wigwam in the Northeast had a surface which can hold up against the worst weather. Young green tree saplings of just about any type of wood and these tree saplings were then bent by stretching the wood. While these saplings were being bent, a circle was drawn on the ground, the diameter of the circle varied from ten to sixteen feet. The bent saplings were then placed over the circle, using the tallest saplings in the middle. The saplings formed arches all in one direction on the circle, the next set of saplings were used to wrap around the wigwam to give the shelter support. When the two sets of saplings were finally tied together, the sides and roof were placed on it, the sides of the wigwam were usually bark stripped from trees. The male of the family was responsible for the framing of the wigwam, mary Rowlandson uses the term Wigwam in reference to the dwelling places of the Native Americans that she stayed with while in their captivity during King Philips War in 1675. During the American revolution the term wigwam was used by British soldiers to describe a variety of makeshift structures. Wickiups were used by different indigenous peoples of the Great Basin, Southwest and they were single room, dome-shaped dwellings, with a great deal of variation in size, shape, and materials. The Acjachemen, a people of California, built cone-shaped huts made of willow branches covered with brush or mats made of tule leaves
Wigwams
–
Apache wickiup, by
Edward S. Curtis, 1903
Wigwams
–
Apache wickiup
Wigwams
–
Paiute wickiup
Wigwams
–
Dakota -style tipis and
Ojibwe wigwam,
White Earth, Minnesota, 1928
18.
Narragansett people
–
The Narragansett tribe are an Algonquian Native American tribe from Rhode Island. For a long time, the tribe was nearly landless, but it worked to regain federal recognition and it is officially the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island and re-established sovereignty. It is made up of descendants of members who were identified in an 1880 treaty with the state. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the Narragansett request that the Department of the Interior take land into trust which they had acquired in 1991. The Narragansett tribe was recognized by the government in 1983 and controls the Narragansett Indian Reservation,1,800 acres of trust lands in Charlestown. A small portion of the tribe resides on or near the reservation, additionally, they own several hundred acres in Westerly. In 1991, the Narragansetts purchased 31 acres in Charlestown for development of elderly housing, in 1998, they requested that the Department of the Interior take the property into trust on behalf of the tribe, to remove it from state and local control. The case went to the United States Supreme Court, as the state challenged the removal of new lands from state oversight by a recognized by the US after the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Rhode Island was joined in its appeal by 21 other states and their determination was based on four words in the act, referring to its definition of Indian as all persons of Indian descent who are members of any recognized tribe now under federal jurisdiction. The tribe is led by a tribal council, a chief sachem, a medicine man. The entire tribal population must approve major decisions, the current administration is as follows, Chief Sachem, Matthew Thomas Medicine Man, John Brown First Councilman, Cassius Spears, Jr. Traditionally, the tribe spoke the Narragansett language, a member of the Algonquian languages family, the point referred to may be on the Salt Pond in Washington County, identified as RI Site 110. The language became almost entirely extinct during the Narragansetts centuries of living within the larger English-majority society, the tribe has begun language revival efforts, based on early 20th century books and manuscripts, and new teaching programs. The Narragansetts spoke a Y-dialect, similar enough to the N-dialects of the Massachusett, other Y-dialects include the Shinnecock and Pequot languages spoken historically by tribes on Long Island and in Connecticut, respectively. In the 17th century, Providence founder Roger Williams learned the tribes language and he documented it in his 1643 work A Key Into the Language of America. Williams gave the name as Nanhigganeuck. American English has absorbed a number of words from Narragansett and other closely related languages, such as Wampanoag. Such words include quahog, moose, papoose, powwow, squash, the Narragansett culture has existed in the region for centuries
Narragansett people
–
Roger Williams and the Narragansetts - a 19th-century engraving, after a painting by A. H. Wray
Narragansett people
–
Narragansett
Narragansett people
–
The Narragansett Indian Church in Charlestown was founded in the 1740s. Constructed in 1859, this building replaced one that burned down.
19.
Wampanoag people
–
The Wampanoag /ˈwɑːmpənɔːɡ/, also called joto and also rendered Wôpanâak, is a Native American people in North America. They were a loose confederacy made up of several tribes, many Wampanoag people today are enrolled in two federally recognized tribes, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, or four state-recognized tribes in Massachusetts. Their population numbered in the due to the richness of the environment and their cultivation of corn, beans. Three thousand Wampanoag lived on Marthas Vineyard alone, from 1615 to 1619 the Wampanoag suffered an epidemic, long suspected to be smallpox. Early twenty-first century research has suggested that it was leptospirosis, a bacterial infection known as Weils syndrome or 7-day fever. It caused a fatality rate and nearly destroyed the society. Researchers say that the losses from the epidemic were so large that English colonists were more able to found their settlements in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in later years. More than 50 years later, the King Philips War of Indian allies against the English colonists resulted in the deaths of 40 percent of the surviving tribe, most of the male Wampanoag were sold into slavery in Bermuda or the West Indies. Many women and children were enslaved by colonists in New England, while the tribe largely disappeared from historical records from the late 18th century, its people and descendants persisted. The project is working on curriculum and teacher development. Wampanoag means Easterners or literally People of the Dawn, the word Wapanoos was first documented on Adriaen Blocks 1614 map, which was the earliest-known European representation of Wampanoag territory. Other interpretations include Wapenock, Massasoit and exonym Philips Indians, in 1616, John Smith erroneously referred to the entire Wampanoag confederacy as the Pakanoket, one of the tribes. Pokanoket was used in the earliest colonial records and reports, the Pokanoket tribal seat was located near present-day Bristol, Rhode Island. Traditionally Wampanoag people have been semi-sedentary, with seasonal movements between fixed sites in present-day southern New England, the men often traveled far north and south along the Eastern seaboard for seasonal fishing expeditions, and sometimes stayed in those distant locations for weeks and months at a time. The women cultivated varieties of the three sisters as the staples of their diet, supplemented by fish and game caught by the men. Each community had authority over a territory from which the people derived their livelihood through a seasonal round of fishing, planting, harvesting. Because southern New England was thickly populated by peoples, hunting grounds had strictly defined boundaries. The Wampanoag, like many indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, have a system, in which women controlled property
Wampanoag people
–
Block's map of his 1614 voyage, with the first appearance of the term "New Netherland"
Wampanoag people
Wampanoag people
–
Title page of first known Bible printed in what is now the United States, translated in the Massachusett language by
John Eliot
Wampanoag people
–
Seal of Plymouth Colony
20.
Sint Eustatius
–
Sint Eustatius, also known affectionately to the locals as Statia, is part of the Caribbean Netherlands, i. e. it is a Caribbean island and a special municipality of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, Sint Eustatius is immediately to the northwest of Saint Kitts, and to the southeast of Saba. The island has an area of 21 square kilometres, in the 2001 census, the population was recorded as 3,543 inhabitants, with a population density of 169 inhabitants per square kilometre. As of 2015, the population was estimated at 3,877. The official language is Dutch, but English is the language of life on the island. A local English-based creole is spoken informally. Travellers to the island by air arrive through F. D, formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Eustatius became a special municipality within The Netherlands on 10 October 2010. The name of the island, “Sint Eustatius”, is the Dutch name for Saint Eustace, the island was seen by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and claimed by many different nations. From the first settlement, in the 17th century until the early 19th century, in 1636, the chamber of Zeeland of the Dutch West India Company took possession of the island that was then reported to be uninhabited. As of 1678, the islands of St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba fell under command of the Dutch West India Company. At the time, the island was of importance for cultivation of tobacco. Its economy developed by ignoring the monopolistic trade restrictions of the British, French, St. Eustatiuss economy, under the Dutch, flourished. The island was known as The Golden Rock, edmund Burke said of the island in 1781, It has no produce, no fortifications for its defense, nor martial spirit nor military regulations. The universality of its use, the neutrality of its nature was its security and its proprietors had, in the spirit of commerce, made it an emporium for all the world. Its wealth was prodigious, arising from its industry and the nature of its commerce, the island sold arms and ammunition to anyone willing to pay. It was one of the few places from which the young United States could obtain military stores, the good relationship between St. Eustatius and the United States resulted in the noted First Salute. On November 16,1776, Captain Isaiah Robinson of the 14-gun American brig Andrew Doria, Robinson announced his arrival by firing a thirteen gun salute, one gun for each of the thirteen American colonies in rebellion against Britain. Governor Johannes de Graaff replied with a gun salute from the cannons of Fort Oranje
Sint Eustatius
–
A historical engraving showing the view from the harbor of Sint Eustatius.
Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius
–
17th century Fort Oranje, with the island of
Saba visible in the distance.
Sint Eustatius
–
Johannes de Graaff
21.
Thomas Gage
–
Thomas Gage was a British general best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as military commander in the early days of the American Revolution. After the fall of Montreal in 1760, he was named its military governor, during this time he did not distinguish himself militarily, but proved himself to be a competent administrator. From 1763 to 1775 he served as commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, in 1774 he was also appointed the military governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, with instructions to implement the Intolerable Acts, punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. His attempts to seize military stores of Patriot militias in April 1775 sparked the Battles of Lexington and Concord, after the Pyrrhic victory in the June Battle of Bunker Hill he was replaced by General William Howe in October 1775, and returned to Great Britain. Thomas Gage was born on 10 March 1718/19 and christened 31 March 1719 at Westminster St James, Middlesex, England, son of Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, Firle Place, Firle, Sussex, is where the Gage family had been seated since the 15th century. His father, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, was a noted nobleman given titles in Ireland, Thomas Gage had three children, of whom Thomas was the second. The first son, William Hall Gage, 2nd Viscount Gage, was born 6 January 1717/18 and christened 29 January 1717/18, in 1728 Gage began attending the prestigious Westminster School where he met such figures as John Burgoyne, Richard Howe, Francis Bernard, and George Germain. Despite the familys history of Catholicism, Viscount Gage had adopted the Anglican Church in 1715. During his school years Thomas the younger became firmly attached to the latter church, after graduating from Westminster in 1736 there is no record of Gages activities until he joined the British Army, eventually receiving a commission as ensign. His early duties consisted of recruiting in Yorkshire, in January 1741 he purchased a lieutenants commission in the 1st Northampton Regiment, where he stayed until May 1742, when he transferred to Battereaus Regiment with the rank of captain-lieutenant. He saw further service in the Second Jacobite Uprising, which culminated in the 1746 Battle of Culloden, from 1747 to 1748, Gage saw action under Albemarle in the Low Countries. In 1748 he purchased a commission and transferred to the 55th Foot Regiment. The regiment was stationed in Ireland from 1748 to 1755, Gage was promoted to lieutenant colonel in March 1751. During his early years, he spent leisure time at Whites Club, where he was a member. He was a figure in the army and at the club. His friendships spanned class and ability, charles Lee once wrote to Gage, I respected your understanding, likd your manners and perfectly adord the qualities of your heart. In 1750, Gage became engaged to a lady of rank and fortune, the engagement was eventually broken, leaving Gage broken-hearted. In 1753, both Gage and his father stood for seats in Parliament, both lost in the April 1754 election, even though his father had been a Member of Parliament for some years prior
Thomas Gage
–
Portrait by
John Singleton Copley, circa 1768
Thomas Gage
–
An engraved portrait of Gage
Thomas Gage
–
A 1776 artist's rendition of
Robert Rogers, whose likeness was never made from life
Thomas Gage
–
No authentic images of
Chief Pontiac are known to exist. This artistic interpretation was painted by
John Mix Stanley.
22.
Governor of Massachusetts
–
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of the executive branch of Massachusetts state government and serves as commander-in-chief of the states military forces. The current governor is Charlie Baker, the Governor of Massachusetts is the chief executive of the Commonwealth, and is supported by a number of subordinate officers. He, like most other officers, senators, and representatives, was originally elected annually. In 1918 this was changed to a term, and since 1966 the office of governor has carried a four-year term. The Governor of Massachusetts does not receive a mansion, other official residence, instead, he resides in his own private residence. The title His Excellency is a throwback to the appointed governors of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The first governor to use the title was Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont, in 1699, since he was an Earl, the title was retained until 1742, when an order from King George II forbade its further use. However, the framers of the state constitution revived it because they found it fitting to dignify the governor with this title, the governor also serves as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealths armed forces. According to the constitution, whenever the chair of the governor is vacant. The first time came into use was five years after the constitutions adoption in 1785. Most recently, Jane Swift became acting governor upon the resignation of Paul Cellucci, under this system, the lieutenant governor retains his or her position and title as lieutenant governor and becomes acting governor, not governor. The lieutenant governor, when acting as governor, is referred to as the lieutenant governor, the Massachusetts Constitution does not use the term acting governor. When the constitution was first adopted, the Governors Council was charged with acting as governor in the event that both the governorship and lieutenant governorship were vacant. This occurred in 1799 when Governor Increase Sumner died in office on June 7,1799, acting Governor Gill never received a lieutenant and died on May 20,1800, between that years election and the inauguration of Governor-elect Caleb Strong. The Governors Council served as the executive for ten days, the councils chair, the lieutenant governor does not succeed but only discharges powers and duties as acting governor. The governor has a 10-person cabinet, each of whom oversees a portion of the government under direct administration, see Government of Massachusetts for a complete listing. The tradition of the ceremonial door originated when departing Governor Benjamin Butler kicked open the front door, incoming governors usually choose at least one past governors portrait to hang in their office. The governor-elect is then escorted by the sergeant-at-arms to the House Chamber and sworn in by the president before a joint session of the House
Governor of Massachusetts
–
Incumbent
Charlie Baker since January 8, 2015
Governor of Massachusetts
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Flag of the Governor
Governor of Massachusetts
–
John Hancock
Governor of Massachusetts
–
Thomas Cushing
23.
Intolerable Acts
–
The Intolerable Acts were the American Patriots term for a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. They were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance of throwing a large tea shipment into Boston Harbor in reaction to being taxed by the British, in Great Britain, these laws were referred to as the Coercive Acts. The acts took away Massachusetts self-government and historic rights, triggering outrage and they were key developments in the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775. The Patriots viewed the acts as a violation of the rights of Massachusetts. As tensions escalated, the American Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, relations between the Thirteen Colonies and the British Parliament slowly but steadily worsened after the end of the Seven Years War in 1763. The war had plunged the British government deep into debt, many colonists, however, had developed a different conception of the British Empire. Under the British Constitution, they argued, a British subjects property could not be taken from him without his consent. After the Townshend Acts, some colonial essayists took this line of thinking even further and this question of the extent of Parliaments sovereignty in the colonies was the issue underlying what became the American Revolution. On December 16,1773, a group of Patriot colonists associated with the Sons of Liberty destroyed several tons of tea in Boston, Massachusetts and this made British tea less expensive, which Parliament thought would be a welcome change in the colonies. In addition, there was added a small tax on which the colonists were not allowed to give their consent, again, Parliament taxed the colonists without their representation. News of the Boston Tea Party reached England in January 1774, Parliament responded by passing four laws. Three of the laws were intended to directly punish Massachusetts and this was for destruction of private property, to restore British authority in Massachusetts, and to otherwise reform colonial government in America. Whatever may be the consequences, we must risk something, if we do not, the Massachusetts Government Act provoked even more outrage than the Port Act because it unilaterally took away Massachusetts charter and brought it under control of the British government. Under the terms of the Government Act, almost all positions in the government were to be appointed by the governor, Parliament. The act also limited the activities of town meetings in Massachusetts to one meeting a year. Colonists outside Massachusetts feared that their governments could now also be changed by the legislative fiat of Parliament, george Washington called this the Murder Act because he believed that it allowed British officials to harass Americans and then escape justice. Many colonists believed the act was unnecessary because British soldiers had given a fair trial following the Boston Massacre in 1770. The Quartering Act applied to all of the colonies, and sought to create an effective method of housing British troops in America
Intolerable Acts
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This Patriot cartoon depicting the Coercive Acts as the forcing of tea on an American woman (a symbol of the American colonies) was copied and distributed in the Thirteen Colonies.
24.
Samuel Adams
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Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a cousin to fellow Founding Father, President John Adams. Adams was born in Boston, brought up in a religious, a graduate of Harvard College, he was an unsuccessful businessman and tax collector before concentrating on politics. His 1768 Massachusetts Circular Letter calling for colonial non-cooperation prompted the occupation of Boston by British soldiers, continued resistance to British policy resulted in the 1773 Boston Tea Party and the coming of the American Revolution. Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in 1774, at which time Adams attended the Continental Congress in Philadelphia which was convened to coordinate a colonial response, Adams returned to Massachusetts after the American Revolution, where he served in the state senate and was eventually elected governor. Samuel Adams later became a figure in American history. Accounts written in the 19th century praised him as someone who had been steering his fellow colonists towards independence long before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. This view gave way to negative assessments of Adams in the first half of the 20th century, both of these interpretations have been challenged by some modern scholars, who argue that these traditional depictions of Adams are myths contradicted by the historical record. Samuel Adams was born in Boston in the British colony of Massachusetts on September 16,1722, an Old Style date that is sometimes converted to the New Style date of September 27. Adams was one of children born to Samuel Adams, Sr. and Mary Adams in an age of high infant mortality. Adamss parents were devout Puritans and members of the Old South Congregational Church, the family lived on Purchase Street in Boston. Adams was proud of his Puritan heritage, and emphasized Puritan values in his political career, Samuel Adams, Sr. was a prosperous merchant and church deacon. Deacon Adams became a figure in Boston politics through an organization that became known as the Boston Caucus. The Boston Caucus helped shape the agenda of the Boston Town Meeting, Deacon Adams rose through the political ranks, becoming a justice of the peace, a selectman, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In the coming years, members of the party became known as Whigs or Patriots. The younger Samuel Adams attended Boston Latin School and then entered Harvard College in 1736 and his parents hoped that his schooling would prepare him for the ministry, but Adams gradually shifted his interest to politics. After graduating in 1740, Adams continued his studies, earning a degree in 1743. Adamss life was affected by his fathers involvement in a banking controversy
Samuel Adams
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In this c. 1772 portrait by
John Singleton Copley, Adams points at the
Massachusetts Charter, which he viewed as a constitution that protected the peoples' rights.
Samuel Adams
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While at Harvard, Adams boarded at
Massachusetts Hall.
Samuel Adams
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The
Old South Meeting House (1968 photo shown) was Adams's church. During the crisis with Great Britain, mass meetings that were too large for
Faneuil Hall were held here.
Samuel Adams
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Statue of Samuel Adams in front of
Faneuil Hall, which was the home of the
Boston Town Meeting
25.
Worcester, Massachusetts
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Worcester /ˈwʊstər/ WUUSS-tər local pronunciation /ˈwᵻstə/ is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the citys population was 181,045, Worcester is located approximately 40 miles west of Boston,50 miles east of Springfield and 40 miles north of Providence. Due to its location in Central Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the Heart of the Commonwealth, thus, however, the heart symbol may also have its provenance in lore that the mass-produced Valentines Day card was invented in the city. S. Census Combined Statistical Area, or Greater Boston, the city features many examples of Victorian-era mill architecture. The area was first inhabited by members of the Nipmuc tribe, the native people called the region Quinsigamond and built a settlement on Pakachoag Hill in Auburn. In 1673 English settlers John Eliot and Daniel Gookin led an expedition to Quinsigamond to establish a new Christian Indian praying town and identify a new location for an English settlement. On July 13,1674, Gookin obtained a deed to eight miles of land in Quinsigamond from the Nipmuc people. In 1675, King Philips War broke out throughout New England with the Nipmuc Indians coming to the aid of Indian leader King Philip, the English settlers completely abandoned the Quinsigamond area and the empty buildings were burned by the Indian forces. The town was abandoned during Queen Annes War in 1702. Finally in 1713, Worcester was permanently resettled for a time by Jonas Rice. Named after the city of Worcester, England, the town was incorporated on June 14,1722, on April 2,1731, Worcester was chosen as the county seat of the newly founded Worcester County government. Between 1755 and 1758, future U. S. president John Adams worked as a schoolteacher, in the 1770s, Worcester became a center of American revolutionary activity. British General Thomas Gage was given information of patriot ammunition stockpiled in Worcester in 1775, also in 1775, Massachusetts Spy publisher Isaiah Thomas moved his radical newspaper out of British occupied Boston to Worcester. Thomas would continuously publish his paper throughout the American Revolutionary War, on July 14,1776, Thomas performed the first public reading in Massachusetts of the Declaration of Independence in front of the Worcester town hall. He would later go on to form the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester in 1812, during the turn of the 19th century Worcesters economy moved into manufacturing. Factories producing textiles, shoes and clothing opened along the nearby Blackstone River, however, the manufacturing industry in Worcester would not begin to thrive until the opening of the Blackstone Canal in 1828 and the opening of the Worcester and Boston Railroad in 1835. The city transformed into a hub and the manufacturing industry flourished. Worcester was officially chartered as a city on February 29,1848, immigrants moved into new triple-decker houses which lined hundreds of Worcesters expanding streets and neighborhoods
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
26.
Battles of Lexington and Concord
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The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19,1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy, and Cambridge, near Boston. The battles marked the outbreak of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen of its colonies on the mainland of British America. In late 1774 the Suffolk Resolves were adopted to resist the enforcement of the made to the Massachusetts colonial government by the British parliament following the Boston Tea Party. The colonial assembly responded by forming a Patriot provisional government known as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the rebel government exercised effective control of the colony outside of British-controlled Boston. In response, the British government in February 1775 declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion, through effective intelligence gathering, Patriot colonials had received word weeks before the expedition that their supplies might be at risk and had moved most of them to other locations. They also received details about British plans on the night before the battle and were able to notify the area militias of the British expedition. The first shots were fired just as the sun was rising at Lexington, the militia were outnumbered and fell back, and the regulars proceeded on to Concord, where they broke apart into companies to search for the supplies. At the North Bridge in Concord, approximately 400 militiamen engaged 100 regulars from three companies of the Kings troops at about 11,00 am, resulting in casualties on both sides. The outnumbered regulars fell back from the bridge and rejoined the body of British forces in Concord. The British forces began their march to Boston after completing their search for military supplies. Gunfire erupted again between the two sides and continued throughout the day as the regulars marched back towards Boston, upon returning to Lexington, Lt. Col. Smiths expedition was rescued by reinforcements under Brigadier General Hugh Percy, a future duke of Northumberland known as Earl Percy. The combined force, now of about 1,700 men, marched back to Boston under heavy fire in a tactical withdrawal, the accumulated militias blockaded the narrow land accesses to Charlestown and Boston, starting the Siege of Boston. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his Concord Hymn, described the first shot fired by the Patriots at the North Bridge as the shot heard round the world, Gages plan was to avoid conflict by removing military supplies from Whig militias using small, secret, and rapid strikes. This struggle for supplies led to one British success and several rebel successes in a series of nearly bloodless conflicts known as the Powder Alarms. Gage considered himself to be a friend of liberty and attempted to separate his duties as Governor of the colony, edmund Burke described Gages conflicted relationship with Massachusetts by saying in Parliament, An Englishman is the unfittest person on Earth to argue another Englishman into slavery. The colonists had been forming militias since the 17th century, initially for local defense against Indian attacks and these forces also saw action in the French and Indian War between 1754 and 1763 when they fought alongside British regulars. Under provincial law, all towns were obligated to form militia companies composed of all males 16 years of age and older, the militias were formally under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, but New England militia companies elected their own officers
Battles of Lexington and Concord
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Thomas Gage
Battles of Lexington and Concord
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Romanticized 19th-century depiction of Battle of Lexington
Battles of Lexington and Concord
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Francis Smith, commander of the military expedition, in a 1763 portrait
Battles of Lexington and Concord
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Margaret Kemble Gage may have given military intelligence to the rebels
27.
Hollis, New Hampshire
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Hollis is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,684 at the 2010 census, the town center village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Hollis Village Historic District. Worcester argues that, at the time of the charter, Governor Benning Wentworth was indebted to Thomas Pelham-Holles, according to Worcester, it was very much the custom with Gov. Wentworth to name towns in honor of his friends and patrons. Thus in the year, the towns of Pelham and Holles were incorporated. Worcester cites a Mr. Bancroft who, Thomas Hollis was a major benefactor of Harvard College. According to Worcester, about the year 1775, town records started appearing with the name spelled as Hollis. Both spellings were used until about 1815, after only the name Hollis appears. while Holles. Captain Peter Powers, his wife Anna Keyes, and their two children Peter and Stephen were the first settlers of Hollis in 1731, in 1732, the Powers birthed the first child in Hollis, a daughter, also named Anna. According to Spauldings history, Powers became a noted backwoodsman and colonial land surveyor, Powers was also a militia officer in the French and Indian Wars and was commissioned captain by Governor Wentworth. The younger Peter was the first college graduate from Hollis, matriculating from Harvard in 1754 and he served as pastor of churches throughout New England and died at the age of 71 in Deer Island, Maine. From its charter in 1746 until about 1763, Hollis was engaged in a border dispute with Dunstable over a small settlement at One Pine Hill. The General Court eventually resolved the dispute in favor of Hollis, in 1769, a strip one and a quarter miles wide on the western border of Hollis was incorporated into the new town of Raby. In 1785, the General Court granted a petition of Raby to annex an additional three-quarters of a mile of the western Hollis border. In 1796, the name of Raby was changed to Brookline In 1770, by act of the General Court, in 1773, Hollis acquired some 500 acres more land from Dunstable in a dispute over the building and upkeep of a bridge over the Nashua River. In 1794, the town of Milford was incorporated, subsuming an area of 1,000 to 1,500 acres from the northwest corner of Hollis, resulting in a size, by an 1806 survey. The following is from Worcesters History of Hollis, When Hollis was incorporated, by 1760, that number had risen to over 105 families. In 1767, two of the 384 slaves in New Hampshire resided in Hollis, in 1775, four of the 656 slaves in New Hampshire resided in Hollis. The first trial for murder in Hillsborough County was of Israel Wilkins Jr, of Hollis, for the murder of his father, the elder Wilkins died of a blow upon the head. of the length three inches and the depth of one inch
Hollis, New Hampshire
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Hollis, New Hampshire
Hollis, New Hampshire
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Peter Powers settlement marker
Hollis, New Hampshire
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Historical Population of Hollis, NH
Hollis, New Hampshire
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Hollis Primary School (K-3)
28.
Rifle
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A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called lands, which contact with the projectile. When the projectile leaves the barrel, this spin lends gyroscopic stability to the projectile and prevents tumbling and this allows the use of aerodynamically-efficient bullets and thus improves range and accuracy. The word rifle originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a rifled gun, the word rifle is now used for any long hand-held aimed device activated by a trigger, such as Air rifles and the Personnel halting and stimulation response rifle. Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports, formerly, rifles only fired a single projectile with each squeeze of the trigger. Modern rifles are capable of firing more than one round per trigger squeeze, some fire in an automatic mode. Thus, modern automatic rifles overlap to some extent in design, in fact, many light machine guns are adaptations of existing automatic rifle designs. A militarys light machine guns are chambered for the same caliber ammunition as its service rifles. Generally, the difference between a rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight, cooling system. Modern military rifles are fed by magazines, while machine guns are generally belt-fed, many machine guns allow the operator to quickly exchange barrels in order to prevent overheating, whereas rifles generally do not. Most machine guns fire from a bolt in order to reduce the danger of cook-off. Machine guns are often crewed by more than one soldier, the rifle is an individual weapon, the term rifle is sometimes used to describe larger crew-served rifled weapons firing explosive shells, for example, recoilless rifles. In many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, the origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have occurred in Europe during the 15th century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. This might also have led to a increase in accuracy. Rifles were created as an improvement in the accuracy of smooth bore muskets, the black powder used in early muzzle-loading rifles quickly fouled the barrel, making loading slower and more difficult. Since musketeers could not afford to take the time to stop and clean their barrels in the middle of a battle, rifles were limited to use by sharpshooters, muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle
Rifle
Rifle
–
Rifling in a
.35 Remington microgroove rifled barrel
Rifle
Rifle
29.
Bayonet
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In this regard, it is an ancillary close-quarter combat or last-resort weapon. Some modern bayonets, such as the one used on the British SA80 assault rifle, knife-shaped bayonets—when not fixed to a gun barrel—have long been utilized by soldiers in the field as general purpose cutting implements. The term bayonette dates back to the end of the 16th century, for example, Cotgraves 1611 Dictionarie describes the Bayonet as a kind of small flat pocket dagger, furnished with knives, or a great knife to hang at the girdle. Likewise, Pierre Borel wrote in 1655 that a kind of long-knife called a bayonette was made in Bayonne, the bayonet may have emerged to allow a hunter to fend off wild animals in the event of a missed shot. This idea was particularly persistent in Spain where hunting arms were equipped with bayonets from the 17th century until the advent of the cartridge era. The weapon was introduced into the French army by General Jean Martinet and was common in most European armies by the 1660s, the usefulness of such a dual-purpose arm soon became apparent. Early muskets fired at a rate, and could be both inaccurate and unreliable, depending on the quality of manufacture. A bayonet on a 5-foot tall musket achieved a similar to the infantry spear. The bayonet/musket combination was, however, considerably heavier than a polearm of the same length, early bayonets were of the plug type. This allowed light infantry to be converted to infantry and hold off cavalry charges. The bayonet had a handle that slid directly into the musket barrel. This naturally prevented the gun from being fired, in 1671, plug bayonets were issued to the French regiment of fusiliers then raised. They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment raised in 1672 and disbanded in 1674, however, it was not widely adopted at the time. Soon socket bayonets would incorporate both ring mounts and a blade, keeping the bayonet well away from the muzzle blast of the musket barrel. In 1703, the French infantry adopted spring-loaded locking system that prevented the bayonet from accidentally separating from the musket, henceforward, the socket bayonet became, with the musket or other firearm, the typical weapon of the French infantry. The socket bayonet had by then adopted by most European armies. The British socket bayonet had a blade with a flat side towards the muzzle. However it had no lock to keep it fast to the muzzle and was well-documented for falling off in the heat of battle
Bayonet
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The bayonet for the
Lee–Enfield Rifle No. 5 Mk I "
Jungle Carbine " rifle showing the
fuller
Bayonet
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Early 19th-century spike bayonet
Bayonet
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Socket of a bayonet
Bayonet
–
Bayonet assembly system of the
Chassepot
30.
Continental Army
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The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Congress on June 14,1775, the Continental Army was supplemented by local militias and troops that remained under control of the individual states or were otherwise independent. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war, most of the Continental Army was disbanded in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris ended the war. The 1st and 2nd Regiments went on to form the nucleus of the Legion of the United States in 1792 under General Anthony Wayne and this became the foundation of the United States Army in 1796. The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all 13 colonies, and after 1776, when the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19,1775, the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army. As tensions with Great Britain increased in the leading to the war. Training of militiamen increased after the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774, colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed forming a national militia force, but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea. On April 23,1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized the raising of an army consisting of 26 company regiments. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut soon raised similar, on July 18,1775, the Congress requested all colonies form militia companies from all able bodied effective men, between sixteen and fifty years of age. It was not uncommon for men younger than sixteen to enlist as most colonies had no requirement of consent for those under twenty-one. Four major-generals and eight brigadier-generals were appointed by the Second Continental Congress in the course of a few days, after Pomeroy did not accept, John Thomas was appointed in his place. As the Continental Congress increasingly adopted the responsibilities and posture of a legislature for a sovereign state, as a result, the army went through several distinct phases, characterized by official dissolution and reorganization of units. Soldiers in the Continental Army were citizens who had volunteered to serve in the army, early in the war the enlistment periods were short, as the Continental Congress feared the possibility of the Continental Army evolving into a permanent army. The army never numbered more than 17,000 men, turnover proved a constant problem, particularly in the winter of 1776–77, and longer enlistments were approved. Major General Philip Schuylers ten regiments in New York were sent to invade Canada, the Continental Army of 1776, reorganized after the initial enlistment period of the soldiers in the 1775 army had expired. Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England, the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and of its geographical focus. This army consisted of 36 regiments, most standardized to a battalion of 768 men strong and formed into eight companies. Enlistment terms extended to three years or to the length of the war to avoid the crises that depleted forces
Continental Army
Continental Army
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Infantry of the Continental Army.
Continental Army
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1778 Drawing of a member of the
Stockbridge Militia (from Revolutionary War diary of
Johann Von Ewald)
Continental Army
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Continental Army Plaza,
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
