1.
John Trumbull
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John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings. His Declaration of Independence was used on the reverse of the two-dollar bill, Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1756, to Jonathan Trumbull and his wife Faith Trumbull. His father served as Governor of Connecticut from 1769 to 1784, both sides of his family were descended from early Puritan settlers in the state. The young Trumbull entered the 1771 junior class at Harvard College at age fifteen, due to a childhood accident, Trumbull lost use of one eye, which may have influenced his detailed painting style. As a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, Trumbull rendered a service at Boston by sketching plans of the British works. He witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill and he was appointed second personal aide to General George Washington, and in June 1776, deputy adjutant-general to General Horatio Gates. He resigned from the army in 1777 after a dispute over the dating of his officer commission, in 1780 he traveled to London, where he studied under Benjamin West. At Wests suggestion, Trumbull painted small pictures of the War of Independence and he painted about 250 in his lifetime. On September 23,1780, British agent Major John André was captured by Continental troops in North America, after news reached Great Britain, outrage flared and Trumbull was arrested, as having been an officer in the Continental Army of similar rank to André. He was imprisoned for seven months in Londons Tothill Fields Bridewell, after being released, Trumbull returned to the United States. In 1784, following the British recognition of the United States independence, while working in his studio, Trumbull painted Battle of Bunker Hill and Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec. Both works are now in the Yale University Art Gallery, in 1785 Trumbull went to Paris, where he made portrait sketches of French officers for the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis. With the assistance of Thomas Jefferson, serving there as the US minister, while in Paris, Trumbull is credited with having introduced Jefferson to the Italian painter Maria Cosway, they became lifelong intimate friends. Trumbulls painting became widely known due to an engraving of it by Asher Brown Durand. All now hang in rotunda of the United States Capitol, congress reportedly authorized only funds sufficient to purchase these four paintings. Trumbulls The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar,1789, in 1831 Trumbull sold a series of 28 paintings and 60 miniature portraits to Yale University for an annuity of $1,000. This is by far the largest single collection of his works, the collection was originally housed in a neoclassical art gallery designed by Trumbull on Yales Old Campus, along with portraits by other artists. His portraits include full lengths of General Washington and George Clinton, New York also bought his full-length paintings of Alexander Hamilton and John Jay
2.
Siege of Yorktown
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The battle boosted faltering American morale and revived French enthusiasm for the war, as well as undermining popular support for the conflict in Great Britain. In 1780, approximately 5,500 French soldiers landed in Rhode Island to assist their American allies in operations against British-controlled New York City. On the advice of Rochambeau, de Grasse informed them of his intent to sail to the Chesapeake Bay, where Cornwallis had taken command of the army. Cornwallis, at first given confusing orders by his officer, Henry Clinton, was eventually ordered to build a defensible deep-water port. Cornwallis movements in Virginia were shadowed by a Continental Army force led by the Marquis de Lafayette, the French and American armies united north of New York City during the summer of 1781. When word of de Grasses decision arrived, the armies began moving south toward Virginia. De Grasse sailed from the West Indies and arrived at the Chesapeake Bay at the end of August, bringing additional troops and providing a naval blockade of Yorktown. He was transporting 500,000 silver pesos collected from the citizens of Havana, Cuba, to fund supplies for the siege, while in Santo Domingo, de Grasse met with Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, an agent of Carlos III of Spain. De Grasse had planned to leave several of his warships in Santo Domingo, Saavedra promised the assistance of the Spanish navy to protect the French merchant fleet, enabling de Grasse to sail north with all of his warships. In the beginning of September, he defeated a British fleet led by Sir Thomas Graves that came to relieve Cornwallis at the Battle of the Chesapeake, as a result of this victory, de Grasse blocked any escape by sea for Cornwallis. By late September Washington and Rochambeau arrived, and the army, after initial preparations, the Americans and French built their first parallel and began the bombardment. With the British defense weakened, on October 14,1781 Washington sent two columns to attack the last major remaining British outer defenses, a French column took redoubt #9 and an American column took redoubt #10. With these defenses taken, the allies were able to finish their second parallel, with the American artillery closer and more intense than ever, the British situation began to deteriorate rapidly and Cornwallis asked for capitulation terms on the 17th. After two days of negotiation, the ceremony took place on the 19th, Lord Cornwallis was absent from the ceremony. With the capture of more than 7,000 British soldiers, on December 20,1780, Benedict Arnold sailed from New York with 1,500 troops to Portsmouth, Virginia. He first raided Richmond, defeating the militia, from January 5–7 before falling back to Portsmouth. The Marquis de Lafayette was sent south with 1,200 men to help with the assault, however, Destouches was reluctant to dispatch many ships, and in February sent only three. Destouches withdrew due to the damage sustained to his fleet, leaving Arbuthnot, on March 26, Arnold was joined by 2,300 troops under command of Major General William Phillips, who took command of the combined forces
3.
Oil painting
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Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. Commonly used drying oils include linseed oil, poppy seed oil, walnut oil, the choice of oil imparts a range of properties to the oil paint, such as the amount of yellowing or drying time. Certain differences, depending on the oil, are visible in the sheen of the paints. An artist might use different oils in the same painting depending on specific pigments and effects desired. The paints themselves also develop a particular consistency depending on the medium, the oil may be boiled with a resin, such as pine resin or frankincense, to create a varnish prized for its body and gloss. Its practice may have migrated westward during the Middle Ages, Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. In recent years, water miscible oil paint has come to prominence and, to some extent, water-soluble paints contain an emulsifier that allows them to be thinned with water rather than paint thinner, and allows very fast drying times when compared with traditional oils. Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint, Oil paint is usually mixed with linseed oil, artist grade mineral spirits, or other solvents to make the paint thinner, faster or slower-drying. A basic rule of oil paint application is fat over lean and this means that each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to allow proper drying. If each additional layer contains less oil, the painting will crack. This rule does not ensure permanence, it is the quality and type of oil leads to a strong. There are many media that can be used with the oil, including cold wax, resins. These aspects of the paint are closely related to the capacity of oil paint. Traditionally, paint was transferred to the surface using paintbrushes. Oil paint remains wet longer than other types of artists materials, enabling the artist to change the color. At times, the painter might even remove a layer of paint. This can be done with a rag and some turpentine for a time while the paint is wet, Oil paint dries by oxidation, not evaporation, and is usually dry to the touch within a span of two weeks. It is generally dry enough to be varnished in six months to a year, art conservators do not consider an oil painting completely dry until it is 60 to 80 years old
4.
United States Capitol rotunda
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The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has described as its symbolic. The rotunda is surrounded by corridors connecting the House of Representatives, to the south of the rotunda is the semi-circular National Statuary Hall, which until 1857 was the House of Representatives chamber. To the northeast of the rotunda is the Old Senate Chamber, used by the Senate until 1859 and by the Supreme Court of the United States until 1935. The rotunda is 96 feet in diameter and rises 48 feet to the top of its walls and 180 feet 3 inches to the canopy of the dome, the dome is surmounted by the American Statue of Freedom. It is also used for ceremonial events authorized by concurrent resolution, the doctor and architect William Thornton was the winner of the contest to design the Capitol in 1793. Thornton had first conceived the idea of a central rotunda, however, due to lack of funds or resources, oft-interrupted construction, and the British attack on Washington during the War of 1812, work on the rotunda did not begin until 1818. The rotunda was designed in the style and was intended to evoke the design of the Pantheon. The sandstone rotunda walls rise 48 feet above the floor, everything above this—the Capitol dome–was designed in 1854 by Thomas U, Walter, the fourth Architect of the Capitol. Walter had also designed the Capitols north and south extensions, in 1862, Walter asked painter Constantino Brumidi to design a picture 65 feet in diameter, painted in fresco, on the concave canopy over the eye of the New Dome of the U. S. Capitol. At this time, Brumidi may have added a watercolor canopy design over Walters tentative 1859 sketch, the dome was being finished in the middle of the American Civil War and was constructed from fireproof cast iron. During the Civil War, the rotunda was used as a hospital for Union soldiers. The dome was completed in 1866. Originally the crypt had an open ceiling into the rotunda, visitors can still see the holes in the stone circle that marked the rim of the open space in the rotunda floor. In January 2013, the Architect of the Capitol announced a four-year, $10 million project to repair and conserve the Capitol Domes exterior, the dome and rotunda, which were last conserved in 1960, are showing significant signs of rust and disrepair. There is a danger that decorative ironwork could fall from the rotunda to the space below, without immediate repair, safety netting will be installed. Eight niches in the rotunda hold large, framed historical paintings, all are oil-on-canvas and measure 12 by 18 feet. Four of these are scenes from the American Revolution, painted by John Trumbull and these are Declaration of Independence, Surrender of General Burgoyne, Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and General George Washington Resigning his Commission
5.
Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
6.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
7.
United States Capitol
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The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol Building or Capitol Hill, is the home of the United States Congress, and the seat of the legislative branch of the U. S. federal government. It sits atop Capitol Hill at the end of the National Mall in Washington. Though not at the center of the Federal District, the Capitol forms the origin point for the Districts street-numbering system. The original building was completed in 1800 and was subsequently expanded, like the principal buildings of the executive and judicial branches, the Capitol is built in a distinctive neoclassical style and has a white exterior. Both its east and west elevations are referred to as fronts, though only the east front was intended for the reception of visitors. In 2014, scaffolding was erected around the dome for a project scheduled to be completed by early 2017. All exterior scaffolding was removed by the end of summer 2016, prior to establishing the nations capital in Washington, D. C. the United States Congress and its predecessors had met in Philadelphia, New York City, and a number of other locations. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress brought together delegates from the colonies in Philadelphia, followed by the Second Continental Congress, Congress requested that John Dickinson, the Governor of Pennsylvania, call up the militia to defend Congress from attacks by the protesters. In what became known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, Dickinson sympathized with the protesters and refused to remove them from Philadelphia. As a result, Congress was forced to flee to Princeton, New Jersey, on June 21,1783, and met in Annapolis, Maryland, the United States Congress was established upon ratification of the United States Constitution and formally began on March 4,1789. New York City remained home to Congress until July 1790, when the Residence Act was passed to pave the way for a permanent capital. As part of the legislation, Philadelphia was chosen as a capital for ten years, until the nations capital in Washington. Pierre Charles LEnfant was given the task of creating the city plan for the new capital city, in reviewing LEnfants plan, Thomas Jefferson insisted the legislative building be called the Capitol rather than Congress House. The word Capitol comes from Latin and is associated with the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Capitoline Hill, the connection between the two is not, however, crystal clear. In spring 1792, United States Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson proposed a competition to solicit designs for the Capitol and the Presidents House. The prize for the competition was $500 and a lot in the Federal City, the most promising of the submissions was by Stephen Hallet, a trained French architect. However, Hallets designs were overly fancy, with too much French influence, a late entry by amateur architect William Thornton was submitted on January 31,1793, to much praise for its Grandeur, Simplicity, and Beauty by Washington, along with praise from Thomas Jefferson. Thornton was inspired by the east front of the Louvre, as well as the Paris Pantheon for the portion of the design
8.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
9.
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
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In the United States and the United Kingdom he is best remembered as one of the leading British generals in the American War of Independence. His surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at the Siege of Yorktown ended significant hostilities in North America, born into an aristocratic family and educated at Eton and Cambridge, Cornwallis joined the army in 1757, seeing action in the Seven Years War. Upon his fathers death in 1762 he became Earl Cornwallis and entered the House of Lords, from 1766 until 1805 he was Colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot. He next saw action in 1776 in the American War of Independence. Active in the forces of many campaigns, in 1780 he inflicted an embarrassing defeat on the American army at the Battle of Camden. He also commanded British forces in the March 1781 Pyrrhic victory at Guilford Court House, Cornwallis surrendered his army at Yorktown in October 1781 after an extended campaign through the Southern states, marked by disagreements between him and his superior, General Sir Henry Clinton. Despite this defeat, Cornwallis retained the confidence of successive British governments, knighted in 1786, he was in that year appointed to be Governor-General and commander-in-chief in India. From 1789 to 1792 he led British and Company forces in the Third Anglo-Mysore War to defeat the Mysorean ruler Tipu Sultan, returning to Britain in 1794, Cornwallis was given the post of Master-General of the Ordnance. Following his Irish service, Cornwallis was the chief British signatory to the 1802 Treaty of Amiens and was reappointed to India in 1805 and he died in India not long after his arrival. Cornwallis was born in Grosvenor Square in London, though his familys estates were in Kent and he was the eldest son of Charles Cornwallis, 5th Baron Cornwallis. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend and his uncle, Frederick, was Archbishop of Canterbury. Fredericks twin brother, Edward, was an officer, colonial governor. His brother William became an Admiral in the Royal Navy and his other brother, James, eventually inherited the earldom from Cornwalliss son, Charles. The family was established at Brome Hall, near Eye, Suffolk, in the 14th century, Frederick Cornwallis, created a Baronet in 1627, fought for King Charles I, and followed King Charles II into exile. He was made Baron Cornwallis, of Eye in the County of Suffolk, in 1661, Cornwallis was educated at Eton College and Clare College, Cambridge. While at Eton, he received an injury to his eye by an accidental blow while playing hockey, from Shute Barrington and he obtained his first commission as Ensign in the 1st Foot Guards, on 8 December 1757. He then sought and gained permission to engage in studies abroad. After travelling on the continent with a Prussian officer, Captain de Roguin, upon completion of his studies in Turin in 1758, he traveled to Geneva, where he learned that British troops were to be sent to the Continent in the Seven Years War
10.
Yorktown, Virginia
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Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682, Yorktowns population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Countys population was 66,134 in the 2011 census estimate. Although the war would last for another year, this British defeat at Yorktown effectively ended the war, Yorktown also figured prominently in the American Civil War, serving as a major port to supply both northern and southern towns, depending upon who held Yorktown at the time. Today, Yorktown is one of three sites of the Historic Triangle, which also includes Jamestown and Williamsburg as important colonial-era settlements and it is the eastern terminus of the Colonial Parkway connecting these locations. Yorktown is also the terminus of the TransAmerica Trail, a bicycle touring route created by the Adventure Cycling Association. One of Yorktowns historic sister cities is Zweibrücken in Germany, based on participation of a unit from there during the American Revolutionary War. Yorktown, named for the ancient city of York in Yorkshire, the lawyer Thomas Ballard was the principal founder of the city along with Joseph Ring. It was called York until after the American Revolutionary War, when the name Yorktown came into common use, the town reached the height of its development around 1750, when it had 250 to 300 buildings and a population of almost 2,000 people. It was the base of British General Charles Cornwallis during the 1781 siege, in his Notes on the State of Virginia published in 1781–82, Thomas Jefferson noted that the York River at Yorktown affords the best harbour in the state for vessels of the largest size. The river there narrows to the width of a mile, and is contained within very high banks, in addition, tobacco exhausted the soil, and planters shifted to mixed crops, which required less slave labor. Many generations of younger sons migrated out of the Tidewater area to new lands further west, into the Piedmont and beyond to Kentucky, Tennessee and what became the Northwest Territory. During the 1862 Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War, the town was captured by the Union following the Siege and it was used as a base by the Union Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan to launch an attack on Richmond. One of Yorktowns sister cities is Zweibrücken, Germany and this was one of the four regiments that arrived at Newport, Rhode Island with Rochambeau in 1780. It participated on the side of Americans in the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, during World War I, to support Atlantic defenses, the federal government in 1918 acquired about 13,000 acres for development by the US Navy as Mine Depot, Yorktown. This large installation straddled York, Warwick and James City counties and it has since expanded and been developed as Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. Cheatham Annex, a facility which was developed over the town of Penniman, is also included as part of the base. United States Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown serves as a school for the United States Coast Guard. Also relatively close to Yorktown are Camp Peary, the Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding yards and facilities, other major installations in the area are Naval Station Norfolk, located at Norfolk, and Langley Air Force Base in Hampton
11.
American Revolutionary War
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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
12.
George Washington
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George Washington was an American politician and soldier who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is popularly considered the driving force behind the nations establishment and came to be known as the father of the country, both during his lifetime and to this day. Washington was widely admired for his leadership qualities and was unanimously elected president by the Electoral College in the first two national elections. Washingtons incumbency established many precedents still in use today, such as the system, the inaugural address. His retirement from office two terms established a tradition that lasted until 1940 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term. The 22nd Amendment now limits the president to two elected terms and he was born into the provincial gentry of Colonial Virginia to a family of wealthy planters who owned tobacco plantations and slaves, which he inherited. In his youth, he became an officer in the colonial militia during the first stages of the French. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress commissioned him as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, in that command, Washington forced the British out of Boston in 1776 but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the middle of winter, he defeated the British in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause and his strategy enabled Continental forces to capture two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies, after victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism. Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which devised a new form of government for the United States. Following his election as president in 1789, he worked to unify rival factions in the fledgling nation and he supported Alexander Hamiltons programs to satisfy all debts, federal and state, established a permanent seat of government, implemented an effective tax system, and created a national bank. In avoiding war with Great Britain, he guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795 and he remained non-partisan, never joining the Federalist Party, although he largely supported its policies. Washingtons Farewell Address was a primer on civic virtue, warning against partisanship, sectionalism. He retired from the presidency in 1797, returning to his home, upon his death, Washington was eulogized as first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen by Representative Henry Lee III of Virginia. He was revered in life and in death, scholarly and public polling consistently ranks him among the top three presidents in American history and he has been depicted and remembered in monuments, public works, currency, and other dedications to the present day. He was born on February 11,1731, according to the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar was adopted within the British Empire in 1752, and it renders a birth date of February 22,1732. Washington was of primarily English gentry descent, especially from Sulgrave and his great-grandfather John Washington emigrated to Virginia in 1656 and began accumulating land and slaves, as did his son Lawrence and his grandson, Georges father Augustine
13.
Horatio Gates
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Horatio Lloyd Gates was a retired British soldier who served as an American general during the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battles of Saratoga – a matter of contemporary, Horatio Gates was christened on April 30,1728, in the Parish of St Nicholas, Deptford, Greenwich borough, in the English county of Kent. His parents were Robert and Dorothea Gates, evidence suggests that Dorothea was the granddaughter of John Hubbock, Sr. postmaster at Fulham, and the daughter of John Hubbock, Jr. listed in 1687 sources as a vintner. She had a marriage, to Thomas Reeve, whose family was well situated in the royal Customs service. Dorothea Reeve was housekeeper for the second Duke of Leeds, Peregrine Osborne, marriage into the Reeve family opened the way for Robert Gates to get into and then up through the Customs service. So too, Dorothea Gatess appointment circa 1729 to housekeeper for the third Duke of Bolton provided Horatio Gates with otherwise off-bounds opportunities for education, through Dorothea Gatess associations and energetic networking, young Horace Walpole was enlisted as Horatios godfather and namesake. In 1745, Horatio Gates obtained a commission with financial help from his parents. Gates served with the 20th Foot in Germany during the War of the Austrian Succession and he arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia under Edward Cornwallis and later was promoted to captain in the 45th Foot the following year. He was participated in engagements against the Mikmaq and Acadians. He married his wife Elizabeth at St. Pauls Church in 1754, leaving Nova Scotia, he sold his commission in 1754 and purchased a captaincy in one of the New York Independent Companies. One of his mentors in his early years was Edward Cornwallis, Gates served under Cornwallis when the latter was governor of Nova Scotia, and also developed a relationship with the lieutenant governor, Robert Monckton. During the French and Indian War, Gates served General Edward Braddock in America, in 1755 he accompanied the ill-fated Braddock Expedition in its attempt to control access to the Ohio Valley. This force included other future Revolutionary War leaders such as Thomas Gage, Charles Lee, Daniel Morgan, Gates didnt see significant combat, since he was severely injured early in the action. His experience in the years of the war was limited to commanding small companies. In 1759 he was brigade major to Brigadier General John Stanwix. Gates served under Monckton in the capture of Martinique in 1762, Monckton bestowed on him the honor of bringing news of the success to England, which brought him a promotion to major. The end of the war brought an end to Gates prospects for advancement, as the army was demobilized. In November 1755, Gates married Elizabeth Phillips and had a son, Robert, Gates military career stalled, as advancement in the British army required money or influence
14.
American Revolution
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The British responded by imposing punitive laws on Massachusetts in 1774 known as the Coercive Acts, following which Patriots in the other colonies rallied behind Massachusetts. Tensions escalated to the outbreak of fighting between Patriot militia and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the conflict then developed into a global war, during which the Patriots fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress determined King George IIIs rule to be tyrannical and infringing the rights as Englishmen. The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy, Congress rejected British proposals requiring allegiance to the monarchy and abandonment of independence. The British were forced out of Boston in 1776, but then captured and they blockaded the ports and captured other cities for brief periods, but failed to defeat Washingtons forces. After a failed Patriot invasion of Canada, a British army was captured at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, a combined American–French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the conflict, confirming the new nations complete separation from the British Empire. The United States took possession of all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, with the British retaining control of Canada. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a new Constitution of the United States. Historians typically begin their histories of the American Revolution with the British victory in the French and Indian War in 1763, the lands west of Quebec and west of a line running along the crest of the Allegheny mountains became Indian territory, temporarily barred to settlement. For the prior history, see Thirteen Colonies, in 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act to restrain the use of paper money which British merchants saw as a means to evade debt payments. Parliament also passed the Sugar Act, imposing customs duties on a number of articles, none did and Parliament passed the Stamp Act in March 1765 which imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets—even decks of playing cards—were required to have the stamps, the colonists did not object that the taxes were high, but because they had no representation in the Parliament. Benjamin Franklin testified in Parliament in 1766 that Americans already contributed heavily to the defense of the Empire, stationing a standing army in Great Britain during peacetime was politically unacceptable. London had to deal with 1,500 politically well-connected British officers who became redundant, in 1765, the Sons of Liberty formed. They used public demonstrations, boycott, violence, and threats of violence to ensure that the British tax laws were unenforceable, in Boston, the Sons of Liberty burned the records of the vice admiralty court and looted the home of chief justice Thomas Hutchinson. Several legislatures called for united action, and nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City in October 1765, moderates led by John Dickinson drew up a Declaration of Rights and Grievances stating that taxes passed without representation violated their rights as Englishmen. Colonists emphasized their determination by boycotting imports of British merchandise, the Parliament at Westminster saw itself as the supreme lawmaking authority throughout all British possessions and thus entitled to levy any tax without colonial approval
15.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
16.
War of 1812
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Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, but the British often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. By the wars end in early 1815, the key issues had been resolved, the view was shared in much of New England and for that reason the war was widely referred to there as Mr. Madison’s War. As a result, the primary British war goal was to defend their North American colonies, the war was fought in three theatres. Second, land and naval battles were fought on the U. S. –Canadian frontier, Third, large-scale battles were fought in the Southern United States and Gulf Coast. With the majority of its land and naval forces tied down in Europe fighting the Napoleonic Wars, early victories over poorly-led U. S. armies demonstrated that the conquest of the Canadas would prove more difficult than anticipated. Despite this, the U. S. was able to inflict serious defeats on Britains Native American allies, both governments were eager for a return to normality and peace negotiations began in Ghent in August 1814. This brought an Era of Good Feelings in which partisan animosity nearly vanished in the face of strengthened American nationalism, the war was also a major turning point in the development of the U. S. military, with militia being increasingly replaced by a more professional force. The U. S. also acquired permanent ownership of Spains Mobile District, the government of Canada declared a three-year commemoration of the War of 1812 in 2012, intended to offer historical lessons and celebrate 200 years of peace across the border. At the conclusion of the commemorations in 2014, a new national War of 1812 Monument was unveiled in Ottawa. The war is remembered in Britain primarily as a footnote in the much larger Napoleonic Wars occurring in Europe, historians have long debated the relative weight of the multiple reasons underlying the origins of the War of 1812. This section summarizes several contributing factors which resulted in the declaration of war by the United States, as Risjord notes, a powerful motivation for the Americans was the desire to uphold national honour in the face of what they considered to be British insults such as the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair. The approaching conflict was about violations of American rights, but it was also vindication of American identity. Americans at the time and historians since often called it the United States Second War of Independence, in 1807, Britain introduced a series of trade restrictions via a series of Orders in Council to impede neutral trade with France, with which Britain was at war. The United States contested these restrictions as illegal under international law, the American merchant marine had come close to doubling between 1802 and 1810, making it by far the largest neutral fleet. Britain was the largest trading partner, receiving 80% of U. S. cotton, the British public and press were resentful of the growing mercantile and commercial competition. The United States view was that Britains restrictions violated its right to trade with others, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy expanded to 176 ships of the line and 600 ships overall, requiring 140,000 sailors to man. The United States believed that British deserters had a right to become U. S. citizens and this meant that in addition to recovering naval deserters, it considered any United States citizens who were born British liable for impressment. Aggravating the situation was the reluctance of the United States to issue formal naturalization papers and it was estimated by the Admiralty that there were 11,000 naturalized sailors on United States ships in 1805
17.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
18.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
19.
James Madison
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James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and Founding Father who served as the fourth President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He is hailed as the Father of the Constitution for his role in drafting and promoting the United States Constitution. Madison inherited his plantation Montpelier in Virginia and therewith owned hundreds of slaves during his lifetime and he served as both a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and as a member of the Continental Congress prior to the Constitutional Convention. After the Convention, he one of the leaders in the movement to ratify the Constitution. His collaboration with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay produced The Federalist Papers, Madisons political views changed throughout his life. During deliberations on the Constitution, he favored a national government. In 1789, Madison became a leader in the new House of Representatives and he is noted for drafting the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and thus is known also as the Father of the Bill of Rights. He worked closely with President George Washington to organize the new federal government, breaking with Hamilton and the Federalist Party in 1791, he and Thomas Jefferson organized the Democratic-Republican Party. In response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, Jefferson and Madison drafted the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, as Jeffersons Secretary of State, Madison supervised the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the nations size. Madison succeeded Jefferson as president in 1809, was re-elected in 1813, after the failure of diplomatic protests and a trade embargo against the United Kingdom, he led the U. S. into the War of 1812. The war was a morass, as the United States had neither a strong army nor financial system. As a result, Madison afterward supported a national government and military, as well as the national bank. Madison has been ranked in the aggregate by historians as the ninth most successful president, James Madison, Jr. was born on March 16,1751, at Belle Grove Plantation near Port Conway, Virginia, to father James Madison, Sr. and mother Nelly Conway Madison. He grew up as the oldest of twelve children, Nelly and James Sr. had seven more boys and four girls. Three of James Jr. s brothers died as infants, including one who was stillborn, in the summer of 1775, his sister Elizabeth and his brother Reuben died from a dysentery epidemic that swept through Orange County because of contaminated water. His father, James Madison, Sr. was a planter who grew up on a plantation, then called Mount Pleasant. He later acquired more property and slaves, and with 5,000 acres, he became the largest landowner, James Jr. s mother, Nelly Conway Madison, was born at Port Conway, the daughter of a prominent planter and tobacco merchant. In these years, the colonies were becoming a slave society, in which slave labor powered the economy
20.
Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)
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It was based on a much smaller version of the same scene, presently held by the Yale University Art Gallery. Trumbull painted many of the figures in the picture from life, the oil-on-canvas work was commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819, and placed in the rotunda in 1826. The painting is incorrectly described as the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The painting shows 42 of the 56 signers of the Declaration and he also depicted several participants in the debate who did not sign the document, including John Dickinson, who declined to sign. Trumbull also had no portrait of Benjamin Harrison V to work with, the Declaration was debated and signed over a period of time when membership in Congress changed, so the men in the painting had actually never all been in the same room at the same time. Thomas Jefferson seems to be stepping on John Adams foot in the painting, however, upon closer examination of the painting, it can be seen that their feet are merely close together. This part of the image was depicted on the two-dollar bill version. Key to figures, Four men seated on the far left,1, Seated at the table on the left,4. Benjamin Harrison Seated together to the right of Harrison and in front of the figures,6. George Clinton Five figures standing together on the left,9, arthur Middleton Three seated figures in the back between the two sets of standing figures,14. George Walton Set of three figures standing together in the back,23, george Clymer Ten figures seated,17. Francis Hopkinson Five figures standing in front,30, Benjamin Franklin Four background figures seated together near the right corner of the room,35. Samuel Huntington Two figures standing in the corner of the room,39. Oliver Wolcott Two foreground figures at the table,42. John Hancock Three figures standing at right,43, edward Rutledge Two figures seated at far right,46. Its first use was on the side of the $100 National Bank Note issued in 1863. The depiction was engraved by Frederick Girsch of the American Bank Note Company, the same steel engraving was used on the 24¢ stamp issued as part of the 1869 pictorial series of definitive U. S. postage stamps. Trumbulls painting is depicted on the reverse of the two-dollar bill
21.
Surrender of General Burgoyne
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The Surrender of General Burgoyne is an oil painting by John Trumbull. The painting was completed in 1821, and hangs in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, the painting depicts the surrender of British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York on October 17,1777, ten days after the Second Battle of Saratoga. Artist John Trumbull spent the part of the American Revolutionary War as a soldier. After resigning from the army in 1777, he pursued a career as an artist, upon his return from Britain after the end of the War of 1812, he promoted this idea to the United States Congress. The price was set at $8,000 per painting, with the size, Trumbull spent the next eight years executing the commission, completing this painting in late 1821. It was first displayed in New York City from January to March 1822 and it has remained there ever since. Trumbull himself cleaned and varnished the painting in 1828, also effecting repairs to an area near Daniel Morgans foot and this painting depicts General John Burgoyne prepared to surrender his sword to General Horatio Gates. American officers gather at the sides to witness the event, their varied dress reflects their different units, in the center of the painting, and extending into the background, is Burgoynes army along with its German reinforcements. They were directed to the camp by American Colonel Lewis, Quartermaster-General, the scene suggests peace rather than combat or hostility, beneath blue sky and white clouds, officers wear their dress uniforms, weapons are sheathed or slung, and cannons stand silent. Trumbull created a smaller, substantially similar, version of the painting, the rotunda version was used as the basis for a commemorative stamp issued in 1994. This list is provided by Weir, p.69, the people depicted are listed approximately from left to right
22.
Boston
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Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
23.
Baltimore
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Baltimore is the largest city in the U. S. state of Maryland, and the 29th-most populous city in the country. It was established by the Constitution of Maryland and is not part of any county, thus, it is the largest independent city in the United States, with a population of 621,849 as of 2015. As of 2010, the population of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area was 2.7 million, founded in 1729, Baltimore is the second largest seaport in the Mid-Atlantic. Baltimores Inner Harbor was once the leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States. With hundreds of identified districts, Baltimore has been dubbed a city of neighborhoods, in the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner, later the American national anthem, in Baltimore. More than 65,000 properties, or roughly one in three buildings in the city, are listed on the National Register, more than any city in the nation. The city has 289 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the historical records of the government of Baltimore are located at the Baltimore City Archives. The city is named after Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, of the Irish House of Lords, Baltimore Manor was the name of the estate in County Longford on which the Calvert family lived in Ireland. Baltimore is an anglicization of the Irish name Baile an Tí Mhóir, in 1608, Captain John Smith traveled 210 miles from Jamestown to the uppermost Chesapeake Bay, leading the first European expedition to the Patapsco River. The name Patapsco is derived from pota-psk-ut, which translates to backwater or tide covered with froth in Algonquian dialect, a quarter century after John Smiths voyage, English colonists began to settle in Maryland. The area constituting the modern City of Baltimore and its area was first settled by David Jones in 1661. He claimed the area today as Harbor East on the east bank of the Jones Falls stream. In the early 1600s, the immediate Baltimore vicinity was populated, if at all. The Baltimore area had been inhabited by Native Americans since at least the 10th millennium BC, one Paleo-Indian site and several Archaic period and Woodland period archaeological sites have been identified in Baltimore, including four from the Late Woodland period. During the Late Woodland period, the culture that is called the Potomac Creek complex resided in the area from Baltimore to the Rappahannock River in Virginia. It was located on the Bush River on land that in 1773 became part of Harford County, in 1674, the General Assembly passed An Act for erecting a Court-house and Prison in each County within this Province. The site of the house and jail for Baltimore County was evidently Old Baltimore near the Bush River. In 1683, the General Assembly passed An Act for Advancement of Trade to establish towns, ports, one of the towns established by the act in Baltimore County was on Bush River, on Town Land, near the Court-House
24.
Battle of the Chesapeake
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Presented in July 1781 with the options of attacking British forces in either New York or Virginia, Admiral de Grasse opted for the latter, arriving at the Chesapeake at the end of August. Sailing south from New York with 19 ships of the line, de Grasse hastily prepared most of his fleet,24 ships of the line, for battle and sailed out to meet Graves. In a two-hour engagement that took place after hours of manoeuvring, the battle was consequently fairly evenly matched, although the British suffered more casualties and ship damage. The battle broke off when the sun set, British tactics in the battle have been a subject of contemporary and historical debate ever since. On 13 September de Grasse broke away from the British and returned to the Chesapeake, Graves returned to New York to organize a larger relief effort, this did not sail until 19 October, two days after Cornwallis surrendered. During the early months of 1781, both pro-British and separatist forces began concentrating in Virginia, a state that had not experienced more than naval raids. The British forces were led at first by the turncoat Benedict Arnold, in June he marched to Williamsburg, where he received a confusing series of orders from General Sir Henry Clinton that culminated in a directive to establish a fortified deep water port. In response to orders, Cornwallis moved to Yorktown in late July. The presence of these British troops, coupled with General Clintons desire for a port there and they considered either an assault or siege on the principal British base at New York City, or operations against the British forces in Virginia. Rochambeau, in a note to de Grasse, indicated that his preference was for an operation against Virginia. The two generals then moved their forces to White Plains, New York, to study New Yorks defenses, de Grasse arrived at Cap-Français on 15 August. He immediately dispatched his response, which was that he would make for the Chesapeake, taking on 3,200 troops, he sailed from Cap-Français with his entire fleet,28 ships of the line. Sailing outside the shipping lanes to avoid notice, he arrived at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on August 30. British Admiral George Brydges Rodney, who had been tracking de Grasse around the West Indies, was alerted to the latters departure, but was uncertain of the French admirals destination. Rodney, who was ill, sailed for Europe with the rest of his fleet in order to recover, refit his fleet, sailing more directly than de Grasse, Hoods fleet arrived off the entrance to the Chesapeake on 25 August. Finding no French ships there, he sailed for New York. When Hood arrived at New York, he found that Graves was in port, de Grasse had notified his counterpart in Newport, the Comte de Barras Saint-Laurent, of his intentions and his planned arrival date. Barras sailed from Newport on 27 August with 8 ships of the line,4 frigates and he deliberately sailed via a circuitous route in order to minimize the possibility of an encounter with the British, should they sail from New York in pursuit
25.
Benjamin Lincoln
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Benjamin Lincoln was an American army officer. He served as a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. After the war Lincoln was active in politics in his native Massachusetts, running times for lieutenant governor. He served from 1781 to 1783 as the first United States Secretary of War, in 1787, Lincoln led a militia army in the suppression of Shays Rebellion, and was a strong supporter of the new United States Constitution. He was for many of his years the politically influential customs collector of the Port of Boston. Benjamin Lincoln was born on January 24,1733, in Hingham, Province of Massachusetts Bay the sixth child and first son of Colonel Benjamin Lincoln and his second wife Elizabeth Thaxter Lincoln. Lincolns father, one of the wealthiest men in Suffolk County, served as a member of the council from 1753 until 1770. In his early life, Lincoln worked on the family farm and he followed his father into public life, becoming town constable at 21, and in 1755 he joined the 3rd Regiment of the Suffolk County militia as an adjutant. In 1756, at the age of 23, Lincoln married Mary Cushing, daughter of Elijah Cushing of Pembroke, Massachusetts and they had eleven children, seven of which survived to adulthood. In 1757, he was elected the clerk of Hingham. He continued to be active in the militia during the French and Indian War, but saw no action, Lincoln was elected a Hingham town selectman in 1765, a post to which he held for six years. During this tenure political opposition rose in the province to Parliamentary tax measures, Lincoln sided with the opposition, eventually becoming a leading force among Hinghams Patriots. In 1772, Lincoln was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the Suffolk militia and that same year he won election as a representative of the town to the provincial assembly. With the arrival of General Thomas Gage as governor of the colony in 1774, the assembly was dissolved. He was then appointed to the committee of safety, and also was elected to its executive council. He was deeply involved in ensuring that supplies of all sorts reached the nascent Continental Army outside Boston, in January 1776 Lincoln was promoted to major general of the Massachusetts militia, overseeing the coastal defenses of the state. In May 1776 he directed the forces that successfully drove the last Royal Navy ships from Boston Harbor. The idea was well received, with one representative writing that Lincoln was a good man for a Brigadier General
26.
Charles O'Hara
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General Charles OHara was a British military officer who served in the Seven Years War, American War of Independence, and French Revolutionary War, and later served as Governor of Gibraltar. During his career OHara personally surrendered to both George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles OHara was born in Lisbon, Portugal, the illegitimate son of The 2nd Baron Tyrawley and his Portuguese mistress. Charles was sent to Westminster School, on 23 December 1752, at the age of twelve—a young but not uncommon age for a subaltern of the era—he became a cornet in the 3rd Dragoons. He became a lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment of the Coldstream Guards on 14 January 1756 shortly before major warfare broke out in Europe. During the Seven Years War OHara served in Germany as an aide to the Marquess of Granby, in 1762 he served under his father in Portugal in the same campaign with Charles Lee. He also saw service in Germany, although a disciplinarian, he was extremely popular with the troops under his command. On 25 July 1766, OHara was appointed commandant of the Africa Corps in Senegal, colony which had captured from France in 1758. This unit was made up of British military prisoners pardoned in exchange for accepting life service in Africa and it came at a time when the British government were trying to build up a base in West Africa. In 1769, he was appointed as a captain in the Coldstream Guards, the development of Senegal was a disappointment for the British and OHara was uninterested in civil governance. Despite the constitution which had been created offering generous rights to settlers, the territories would ultimately be ceded back to France at the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. In July 1778, Lt. Col. OHara arrived in America and immediately commanded forces at Sandy Hook, Lt. Gen. Henry Clinton, commander of the British army in America, gave him that assignment as the French fleet under Admiral dEstaing threatened New York City. In October 1780, OHara was promoted to brigadier and became commander of Brigade of Guards and he became Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis second-in-command and good friend. During Cornwallis pursuit of Major General Nathanael Greene to the Dan River, OHara distinguished himself at Cowans Ford and he also led the British counterattack at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15 March 1781, which led to General Greene withdrawing from the field of battle. He was severely wounded during battle, but was able to remain with the army as it moved toward Yorktown. His nephew, who was a Lieutenant of the artillery, was killed during the battle, General OHara represented the British at the surrender of Yorktown on 19 October 1781, as Cornwallis adjutant, when he pleaded illness. He first attempted to surrender to French Comte de Rochambeau, who declined his sword, Washington declined and deferred to Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who was serving as Washingtons second-in-command and had surrendered to General Clinton at Charleston in May 1780. OHara was exchanged on 9 February 1782, and was sent to the Caribbean in command of a detachment of reinforcements, following the conclusion of the war with the Treaty of Paris he returned to Britain having been promoted to major general. Thus, this most symbolic of war remained with its original owner
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Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
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The Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central area of operations in North America in the second half of the American Revolutionary War. During the first three years of the conflict, the largest military encounters were in the north, focused on campaigns around the cities of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. After the failure of the Saratoga campaign, the British largely abandoned operations in the Middle Colonies, General Nathanael Greene, who took over as Continental Army commander after Camden, engaged in a strategy of avoidance and attrition against the British. The two forces fought a string of battles, most of which were victories for the British. In almost all cases, however, the victories strategically weakened the British army by the high cost in casualties and this was best exemplified by the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Several American victories, such as the Battle of Ramseurs Mill, the Battle of Cowpens, the culminating engagement, the Siege of Yorktown, ended with the British armys surrender. It essentially marked the end of British power in the Colonies, in most colonies British officials quickly departed as the Patriots took control. In Virginia, the governor resisted. In the Gunpowder Incident of April 20,1775, Lord Dunmore, Dunmore saw rising unrest in the colony and was trying to deprive Virginia militia of supplies needed for insurrection. Patriot militia led by Patrick Henry forced Dunmore to pay for the gunpowder, Dunmore continued to hunt for caches of military equipment and supplies in the following months, acts that were sometimes anticipated by Patriot militia, who would move supplies before his arrival. Dunmore issued a proclamation in November 1775, promising freedom to runaway slaves who fought for the British. After an incident at Kemps Landing in November where Dunmores troops killed and captured Patriot militiamen, Dunmore and his troops retreated to Royal Navy ships anchored off Norfolk, these naval forces bombarded and burned the town on January 1,1776. Patriot forces in the completed the destruction of the former Loyalist stronghold. Dunmore was driven from an island in Chesapeake Bay that summer, wright escaped captivity and reached the fleet. In the Battle of the Rice Boats in early March, the British successfully left Savannah with a number of merchant vessels containing the rice supplies. South Carolinas population was divided when the war began. The lowland communities, dominated by Charleston, were strongly Patriot in their views, by August 1775, both sides were recruiting militia companies. In September, Patriot militia seized Fort Johnson, Charlestons major defense works, Loyalists fled, either to East Florida or to the Cherokee lands
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Convention Army
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The Convention Army was an army of British and allied troops captured after the Battles of Saratoga in the American Revolutionary War. On 17 October 1777, British General John Burgoyne surrendered his army according to terms negotiated with American general Horatio Gates following the 7 October Battle of Bemis Heights. The terms were titled the Convention of Saratoga, and specified that the troops would be sent back to Europe after giving a parole that they would not fight again in the conflict. The generals waited upon the American general-in-chief, Gates, and the laid down their arms. A total of about 5,900 British, German, under guard by John Glovers troops, they were marched to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they arrived on 8 November. The rank and file were quartered in barracks that had been constructed during the 1775 siege of Boston. The army ended up spending one year in Cambridge, while negotiations concerning its status took place in military. During this year, about 1,300 prisoners escaped, often because they became involved with women while working on farms in the area. The Continental Congress ordered Burgoyne to provide a list and description of all officers to ensure that they would not return, in November 1778, the Convention Army began marching south 700 miles to Charlottesville, Virginia, arriving in uncharacteristically snowy weather in January 1779. Approximately 600 men escaped during the march and they were held at the hastily and poorly constructed Albemarle Barracks until 1781. During the armys years in Virginia it had an important economic impact on the Blue Ridge area of Virginia, the Virginia troops assigned to guard duty were generally better fed and equipped than any other forces, so that prisoner letters would reflect a strong Continental Army. Money sent by the families in Britain and Germany provided a lot of hard currency. The presence of the POWs created new demands for food and other goods - items for which they had to pay steep prices, thomas Jefferson estimated that the presence of the prisoners increased the areas circulating currency by at least $30,000 a week. High-ranking officers, and sometimes their wives, such as the Major General Riedesel and his wife, the rank-and-file, however, dealt with miserable living conditions as the small amount of money appropriated to build the barracks proved inadequate. Each barrack, observed Lieutenant August Wilhelm Du Roi, is 24 feet long, the construction is so miserable that it surpasses all that you can imagine in Germany of a very poorly built log house. It is something like the following, Each side is put up of 8 to 9 round fir trees, which are one on top the other. The roof is made of trees covered with split fir trees. And then, a number of our men preferred to camp out in the woods
29.
Federal government of the United States
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The Federal Government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a republic in North America, composed of 50 states, one district, Washington, D. C. and several territories. The federal government is composed of three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U. S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the courts, including the Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are defined by acts of Congress. The full name of the republic is United States of America, no other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which it is a party. The terms Government of the United States of America or United States Government are often used in documents to represent the federal government as distinct from the states collectively. In casual conversation or writing, the term Federal Government is often used, the terms Federal and National in government agency or program names generally indicate affiliation with the federal government. Because the seat of government is in Washington, D. C, Washington is commonly used as a metonym for the federal government. The outline of the government of the United States is laid out in the Constitution, the government was formed in 1789, making the United States one of the worlds first, if not the first, modern national constitutional republics. The United States government is based on the principles of federalism and republicanism, some make the case for expansive federal powers while others argue for a more limited role for the central government in relation to individuals, the states or other recognized entities. For example, while the legislative has the power to create law, the President nominates judges to the nations highest judiciary authority, but those nominees must be approved by Congress. The Supreme Court, in its turn, has the power to invalidate as unconstitutional any law passed by the Congress and these and other examples are examined in more detail in the text below. The United States Congress is the branch of the federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House currently consists of 435 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district. The number of each state has in the House is based on each states population as determined in the most recent United States Census. All 435 representatives serve a two-year term, each state receives a minimum of one representative in the House. There is no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve, in addition to the 435 voting members, there are six non-voting members, consisting of five delegates and one resident commissioner. In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population, there are currently 100 senators, who each serve six-year terms
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United States Capitol Complex
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The United States Capitol Complex is a group of about a dozen buildings and facilities in Washington, D. C. that are used by the United States government. The buildings and grounds within the complex are managed and supervised by the Architect of the Capitol and these include the National Statuary Hall Collection and the Statue of Freedom among many others. The westernmost part of the grounds is the Capitol Reflecting Pool, which reflects the Capitol, construction of the Capitol began in 1793. When built, it was the existing building for the use by the nations legislature. In addition to Congress, the building was designed to house the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, the district courts. Following the completion of the building and as the nation grew, the Capitol and its grounds were enlarged accordingly, and by 1892 the building had reached essentially its present size and appearance. Even with the enlargements, Congress eventually grew too big for the building and these new buildings were heated and provided with electricity by the new Capitol Power Plant which opened in 1910 and is still used today. The 1930s was a decade of construction within the growing Capitol Complex. The Supreme Court at last found a permanent home when its own building was completed in 1935, the last building constructed within the complex in this decade was the Library of Congress Annex, now named the John Adams Building, which opened in 1939. Within twenty years, attention returned to the need for congressional office space, this led to the construction of a second building for the Senate. The Houses third building, the Rayburn House Office Building, opened in 1965, a third building for the Library of Congress, the James Madison Memorial Building, opened in 1980 and the Senates third building, the Hart Senate Office Building, was occupied in 1982. The most recent large structure within the Capitol complex is the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, renovations to the Botanic Garden Conservatory began in September 1997 and continued for four years until December 2001 when the building reopened. The newest addition to the Capitol Complex is the Capitol Visitor Center, despite many delays, the Center opened in December 2008, and includes an exhibition gallery, two theaters, a dining facility, and gift shops. The budget for construction of the Center was $584 million
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United States House of Representatives
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The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention. The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House
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Cannon House Office Building
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The Cannon House Office Building, completed in 1908, is the oldest congressional office building as well as a significant example of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture. It occupies a site south of the United States Capitol bounded by Independence Avenue, First Street, New Jersey Avenue, in 1962 the building was named for former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Joseph Gurney Cannon. The first congressional office buildings were constructed immediately after the turn of the 20th century to relieve overcrowding in the United States Capitol, previously, members who wanted office space had to rent quarters or borrow space in committee rooms. In March 1901 Congress authorized Architect of the Capitol Edward Clark to draw plans for office buildings for both the House and Senate adjacent to the Capitol grounds. In March 1903 the acquisition of sites and construction of the buildings were authorized, in April 1904 the prominent New York City architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings was retained. Thomas Hastings took charge of the House Office Building project, while John Carrère oversaw the construction of an almost identical office building for the United States Senate and their Beaux Arts designs were restrained complements to the Capitol. The Cannon Building was occupied during the 60th Congress in December 1907, originally there were 397 offices and fourteen committee rooms in the Cannon Building, the 1932 remodeling resulted in 85 two- or three-room suites,10 single rooms, and 23 committee rooms. Architecturally, the elevations are divided into a base and a colonnade with an entablature. The colonnades with thirty-four Doric columns that face the Capitol are echoed by pilasters on the sides of the building, the Cannon Building is faced with marble and limestone, while the Senates the Russell Buildings base and terrace are gray granite. Both the Cannon Building and the Russell Building are connected to the Capitol by underground passages, of special architectural interest is the rotunda. Eighteen Corinthian columns support an entablature and a dome, whose glazed oculus floods the rotunda with natural light. Twin marble staircases lead from the rotunda to an imposing Caucus Room, which features Corinthian pilasters, an entablature. The Cannon Tunnel connects the Cannon House Office Building to the Capitol, the tunnel is lined with artwork from the annual Congressional Art Competition for high school students. Branching off the entrance to Cannon Tunnel is a tunnel to the Longworth House Office Building, and entrances to a cafeteria, shoe shiner/cobbler. Unlike the tunnels from the Capitol to the Senate Office Buildings and the Rayburn tunnel, the Cannon Tunnel has no subway line, in January 2015, a top-to-bottom renovation of the Cannon House Office Building began. Completion is expected to take ten years and cost $752.7 million, initially, renovation will be focused on upgrading the building utilities, but will progress on to a wing-by-wing exterior and interior reconstruction. According to Bill Weidemeyer, the building is plagued by safety, health, many of the buildings systems are original from the 1908 construction. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document Cannon House Office Building, Cannon Renewal Project FAQs, Architect of the Capitol Ghosts of DC blog, Three Bits of Trivia About the Cannon House Office Building
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Ford House Office Building
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The Ford House Office Building is one of the four office buildings containing U. S. House of Representatives staff in Washington, D. C. on Capitol Hill. Instead, it primarily houses committee staff and other offices, including the Architect of the Capitol, prior to the construction of the Ford Building, the site was the home to the Bell School and Zion Wesley Chapel. Construction of the began in 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration program. The building originally housed the United States Census Bureau from 1940 to 1942, over the years, it was used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to house its Latent Print Unit. Thousands of fingerprint records were housed in the building, requiring manual search techniques to find a match, the unit was one of the first to move to the FBIs J. Edgar Hoover Building upon its completion in 1974. Following the FBIs departure, the building was purchased by the Architect of the Capitol and was renamed House Annex-2, in the late 1980s, the Democratic and Republican parties were each permitted to rename a House Annex building. Ford House Office Building Architect of the Capitol
34.
Longworth House Office Building
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The Longworth House Office Building is one of three office buildings used by the United States House of Representatives. The building is located south of the Capitol, bounded by Independence Avenue, New Jersey Avenue, C Street S. E. and South Capitol Street, the building was named in 1962 in honor of the former Speaker of the House, Nicholas Longworth of Ohio. He served as Speaker from 1925 until Republicans lost their majority in 1931, the year he died. Plans to provide the House of Representatives with an office building were begun in 1925. Severe overcrowding in the Cannon House Office Building led to the renovation of the Cannon Building and it is the smallest House office building, with a floor area of just under 600,000 square feet. Under the direction of Architect of the Capitol David Lynn, preliminary designs for the building were prepared by a firm known as The Allied Architects of Washington Inc. The principal architects were Frank Upman, Gilbert LaCoste Rodier, Nathan C and they produced two schemes for a simple, dignified building in harmony with the rest of the Capitol Complex. In January 1929 Congress authorized $8.4 million for acquiring and clearing the site, the foundations were completed in December 1930, and the building was accepted for occupancy in April 1933. It is currently the meeting room for the House Ways and Means Committee, because of its position on a sloping site, the rusticated base of the Longworth Building varies in height from two to four stories. Above this granite base stand the three floors, which are faced with white marble. Ionic columns supporting a well-proportioned entablature are used for the buildings five porticoes, two additional stories are partially hidden by a marble balustrade. It presents a more restrained appearance than the neighboring Cannon Building. The Longworth Building takes its place along with the National Gallery of Art, three Bits of Trivia About the Longworth House Office Building - Ghosts of DC blog post 3D SketchUp model of the Longworth House Office Building for use in Google Earth
35.
Rayburn House Office Building
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Rayburn is named after former Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. It was completed in 1965 and at 2.375 million square feet is the largest congressional office building, Rayburn was completed in early 1965 and is home to the offices of 169 Representatives. Earlier efforts to space for the House of Representatives had included the construction of the Cannon House Office Building. In March 1955, House Speaker Sam Rayburn introduced an amendment for a third House office building, although no site had been identified, no study had been done. The cornerstone was laid in May 1962, and full occupancy began in February 1965, the Architect of the Capitol, J. The Capitol Subway System, a transportation system, connects the building to the Capitol. Pedestrian tunnels also connect the Rayburn building to the Capitol and to the Longworth House Office Building and this system allows the Rayburn building to be connected to most of the Congressional office buildings on Capitol Hill via tunnel. For construction of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Congressional bill appropriated $2 million plus such additional sums as may be necessary, such additional sums eventually totaled $88 million. Congressional leaders inserted a gymnasium into the plans, a fact that was not publicly known at the time of construction. Also in the third floor basement is a shooting range run by the U. S. Capitol Police, the raid led to members of both parties questioning the constitutionality of the action, and a subsequent hearing by the House Judiciary Committee. On May 26,2006, at 10,30 am local time, the Capitol complex was sealed off, and staff in the building were told to stay in their offices after the building was put into lockdown by the United States Capitol Police. Some parts of the lockdown were removed, though other areas remained sealed, congressman Jim Saxton was reportedly the source of the false alarm, after he mistook construction sounds in the garage for gunfire. Congressional office buildings Cannon House Office Building Ford House Office Building Longworth House Office Building The Rayburn House Office Building, media related to Rayburn House Office Building at Wikimedia Commons
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O'Neill House Office Building
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The ONeill House Office Building was a congressional office building located near the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C. Initially known as House Annex-1, it was named in the late 1980s after former Speaker of the House Thomas Tip ONeill, in the 1970s, two buildings were acquired by the Architect of the Capitol to be used as office space by the House of Representatives. One of the buildings acquired was the Ford House Office Building, the other, the ONeill House Office Building, originally the Congressional Hotel, was located on C Street. When it was turned into a House Office Building, the third, the building was demolished in 2002. A parking lot is currently on the site, Architect of the Capitol The Congressional Office Buildings - Overview, via Architect of the Capitol A Brief History of the United States Capitol Complex, via Architect of the Capitol
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United States Senate
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The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. S. From 1789 until 1913, Senators were appointed by the legislatures of the states represented, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The Senate chamber is located in the wing of the Capitol, in Washington. It further has the responsibility of conducting trials of those impeached by the House, in the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers. This idea of having one chamber represent people equally, while the other gives equal representation to states regardless of population, was known as the Connecticut Compromise, there was also a desire to have two Houses that could act as an internal check on each other. One was intended to be a Peoples House directly elected by the people, the other was intended to represent the states to such extent as they retained their sovereignty except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government. The Senate was thus not designed to serve the people of the United States equally, the Constitution provides that the approval of both chambers is necessary for the passage of legislation. First convened in 1789, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient Roman Senate, the name is derived from the senatus, Latin for council of elders. James Madison made the comment about the Senate, In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people. An agrarian law would take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation, landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority, the senate, therefore, ought to be this body, and to answer these purposes, the people ought to have permanency and stability. The Constitution stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that states consent, the District of Columbia and all other territories are not entitled to representation in either House of the Congress. The District of Columbia elects two senators, but they are officials of the D. C. city government. The United States has had 50 states since 1959, thus the Senate has had 100 senators since 1959. In 1787, Virginia had roughly ten times the population of Rhode Island, whereas today California has roughly 70 times the population of Wyoming and this means some citizens are effectively two orders of magnitude better represented in the Senate than those in other states. Seats in the House of Representatives are approximately proportionate to the population of each state, before the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, Senators were elected by the individual state legislatures
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United States Senate chamber
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The United States Senate Chamber is a room in the north wing of the United States Capitol that serves as the legislative chamber of the United States Senate, since January 4,1859. The Senate first convened in its current meeting place after utilizing Federal Hall, Congress Hall, the Senate floor itself is overlooked on all four sides by a gallery on the second floor. The Senate floor itself is 80 by 113 feet, the Senate convened, beginning in 1790, in a second-floor chamber in Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania until moving into the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol building in 1800. From 1810 to 1859, the Senate utilized the Old Senate Chamber for legislative functions, during this time, the Senate nearly doubled in size as new states were admitted to the Union. In light of the size of both houses of congress, two new wings were added on to the United States Capitol. Beginning in 1851, the Capitol underwent several expansions including the new wings and their respective chambers, in addition to expanding the space available for the Senates use, the chambers designers were concerned that the room have acoustical and line-of-sight qualities comparable to those of a theater. The construction of the began in 1851 and continued until senators began utilizing the room for legislative business in 1859. The general design of the chamber, a rectangular, two-story room in the center of the Capitols north wing and this platform, semi-circular in shape, faces a raised rostrum in the front of the room. On all four sides of the second level, a visitors gallery overlooks the Senate floor. The Senate first allowed visitors to observe proceedings in 1795, the galleries for observing the Senate, including a womens gallery, became popular destinations for tourists and residents alike throughout the nineteenth century. Above the presiding officers desk at the rostrum was the press gallery, here, reporters are able to observe and cover the proceedings of the Senate. Because of the chambers theater-like qualities and size, numerous requests were made, in 1863, the chamber was used for a presentation of a narrative poem about a Union Army soldier, William Scott, who had fallen asleep at his post and was sentenced to be shot. Among the audience for the performance was the then-President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, in 1923, practicing physician and former commissioner of the New York City Board of Health Royal Copeland began his first term in the Senate. In June 1924, the Senate voted to adopt a measure by Copeland to improve the conditions of the Senate Chamber. On May 16, however, Copeland requested the postponement of his proposal in light of a new ventilation system that received the endorsement of experts in public health. The manufactured weather ventilation system, designed by Carrier Corporation, was completed in 1929 - the Senates first air conditioning system, in 1949-1950, the Senate Chamber underwent a reconstruction that involved the removal of the skylight and a redesign of the rooms walls. In place of the chambers original cast-iron pilasters, newer red Levanto marble pilasters were installed, the wooden rostrum was replaced with a newer, larger version made of marble. The iron and glass ceiling, including the skylight, was replaced with a ceiling of stainless steel and this redesign, in addition to improving the acoustic properties of the room, was to update the rooms mid-nineteenth century decor, which was then out of date
39.
Old Senate Chamber
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It was designed in Neoclassical style and is elaborately decorated. Restored in 1976 as part of United States Bicentennial celebrations, it is preserved as a museum and for the Senates use. Located north of the Capitol rotunda on the floor of the north wing of the Capitol. The chamber is overlooked by two visitors galleries, directly above this gallery hangs an 1823 porthole portrait of George Washington by Rembrandt Peale, which was purchased for display in the chamber in 1832 upon the centennial of Washingtons birth. The second gallery is the Ladies Gallery, which follows the western wall and is much larger. The Ladies Gallery is supported by 12 steel columns encased in cast-iron forms with Corinthian capitals, the gallery has a wrought-iron balcony railing follows the contour of the gallery and is backed by crimson fabric that accentuates the decorative metalwork. On the dais in the center of the room is a table with richly turned and carved legs. The crimson fabric is hung from a valence from a canopy overhead. The valence is below a carved eagle and shield. Directly in front of the Vice Presidents desk one tier down is a desk of similar design. A glass screen between the dais and a small lobby allowed Senators to relax but remain within earshot of the floor, in addition, there are two fireplace mantels on the east wall behind the screen, which are among the original pieces of the chamber that remain today. Two other mantels on the north and south ends are replicas, as the originals were replaced with stoves when the chamber was converted for the use of the Supreme Court of the United States. Radiating off the dais are desks and chairs for 64 Senators, the desks and chairs are located on four semicircular graduated platforms. When the Senate moved to its current chamber in 1859, it took the furniture with it. Many of the original remain in use today, including the Daniel Webster. The desks and chairs that are in the chamber today are replicas reproduced from a circa 1819 design by the New York City cabinetmaker Thomas Constantine, like the originals, the furniture is mahogany. Behind the last row of desks is a low paneled wall separating the center of the chamber from a visitors area, the area has red-upholstered sofas and was originally reserved for privileged visitors who gained admittance to the Chamber through the special invitation of a Senator. On either side of the doorway are niches for coal- or wood-burning stoves
40.
Dirksen Senate Office Building
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On the eve of America’s entry into World War II, in 1941, the U. S. Senate authorized the Architect of the Capitol to prepare plans for a second Senate Office Building. When World War II delayed implementation of the Senate’s building plans, to house the additional staff, the Senate resorted to renting space in nearby buildings. Moreover, with the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as states. As pressure for more space mounted, the Senate in 1948 acquired property on which to erect an office building in order to accommodate the enlarged staff. Although more streamlined and less ornate, the new building was designed to harmonize with the Capitol, bronze spandrels between the third- and fourth-floor windows depicted scenes from American industry, Shipping, Farming, Manufacturing, Mining and Lumbering. Below the new building’s west pediment is the inscription, “The Senate is the Living Symbol of Our Union of States. ”Although the Senate approved the plans for the new building in 1949, construction was delayed until 1956. By then, increased costs of construction caused some scaling back of the original design, Capitol and the Russell Senate Office Building. The Hart and Dirksen Buildings are connected, and one can walk between the two almost as easily as if they were one structure. The building was renovated during 1999–2000 under the auspices of the Architect of the Capitol, day-to-day supervision of the project carried out by Assistant Architect Michael G. Turnbull, FAIA. The renovation was well received by Senators and their staff, I have nostalgia for the Dirksen Building because this is where my father had his office, and I was very content to stay here. Now that it has been renovated--and mine was the first suite to be consider that we are in the high-rent district. Thank you for the truly well thought out way in which building is being renovated. It is now work space that serve the needs of the Senators for another 50 years
41.
Hart Senate Office Building
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Construction began in January 1975, and it was first occupied in November 1982. Rapidly rising construction costs plagued the building, creating several scandals, the structure is named for Philip Hart, who served 18 years as a senator from Michigan. The Dirksen Senate Office Building was intended to occupy the block bounded by 1st Street NE, Constitution Avenue NE, 2nd Street NE. However, due to the resource and financial demands of the Korean War, in 1969, Congress voted to acquire the eastern half of the block for a New Senate Office Building. Originally, the Senate intended only to build a $21 million underground parking garage here and that effort was approved in June 1971. But in May 1972, the Subcommittee on Buildings of the Senate Committee on Public Works approved a plan to construct the New Senate Office Building above the parking garage, the buildings cost was estimated at $48 million in June 1972. The full Senate approved the plan in September 1972. Warneckes design for the building was approved by the Senate Committee on Public Works on August 8,1974. Warnecke was given just two weeks to come up with the cost estimate, which the Architect of the Capitol later claimed was far too little time to generate an accurate cost forecast, by the end of the year, the estimated cost of construction had risen to $69 million. Ground for the new structure was broken in January 1975, the poor and uneven condition of the soil at the site caused delays in the excavation, and major cost increases. When the foundations were finished, it was discovered many of the anchoring bolts were misaligned and had to be replaced. This also added new costs to the project. On August 30,1976, the Senate voted to name the new building the Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building in honor of retiring Senator Philip Hart. Hart died on December 26,1976, of melanoma, having declined to run for reelection the previous November, by August 1978, actual construction costs were now $85 million and were expected to top $122 million. The Senate approved a plan to spend another $54 million on the structure, initially, the House approved this plan. But when constituents bitterly complained, the House reversed itself on both counts, by 1979, construction estimates had soared to $179 million, and the General Accounting Office said it would rise to $230 million without changes. In July 1979, the Senate agreed to cap costs at $137.7 million after an acrimonious three-hour debate during which some suggested the building be torn down. The Hart Senate Office Building was completed in September 1982 at a cost of $137.7 million, Architect of the Capitol George M. White argued the construction cost was a reasonable $110 per square foot
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Mountains and Clouds
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Mountains and Clouds is a sculpture by Alexander Calder located in the Hart Senate Office Building. The Hart Senate Office Building, first occupied in 1982 and named for Michigan Senator Philip A. Hart, unlike its predecessors, the Hart Building boasted a contemporary, energy-efficient design that could accommodate a growing number of staff members and various technological innovations. The building’s centerpiece is a towering, asymmetrical 90-foot -high atrium whose skylight brightens corridors, Alexander Calder and four other artists were invited to submit proposals. Calder was approached through his dealer, Klaus Perls, on July 29,1975, a sketch and a model for Mountains and Clouds were submitted by November and, in April 1976, Calder’s innovative design was accepted. After making minor adjustments to two of the clouds, he expressed satisfaction with the maquette as positioned in a model of the atrium and this proved to be a final visit, Calder died of a heart attack that night after he returned to New York City. Despite his death, the approval of the maquette and the siting of the work meant that fabrication of the sculpture could proceed. But in 1979, fabrication was delayed and nearly terminated when public funds for the sculpture were eliminated from the construction budget for the Hart Building. Financial assistance materialized in 1982 through Senator Nicholas F. Brady, as New Jersey’s senator for eight months—appointed to a vacancy pending election of a successor—Brady wished to present a gift to the Senate on his departure and offered to raise the needed funds. Together with art collector and philanthropist Paul Mellon and former Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon, Brady formed the Capitol Art Foundation, the Calder sculpture was installed in the atrium of the Hart Building in 1986. Because the interior of the atrium presents a complex background of doors, windows, balconies and stairwells capped by a coffered ceiling, similarly, because of the polished white marble that dominates the space, he decided on a matte black surface for the entire piece. The mountains–- the stabile–- are made up of four flat, angular steel plates with five mountain peaks among them, the clouds–- the mobile–- consist of four overlapping, curvilinear aluminum plates. In the absence of any air source to propel them, they are turned by a computer-controlled motor, shortly after their installation, the clouds ceased to move when a mechanical problem with the design of the main bearing prevented the motor-driven shaft from turning the clouds. The placement of Mountains and Clouds makes the part of the entire irregularly shaped public space of the building. Calder’s genius in positioning it led to the great success. The atrium is entered from the east doors to the building. As one passes through a low lobby, only a section of the steel sheets of the mountains appears. The whole complex composition becomes apparent only when one reaches the junction of lobby, suddenly, the full height of the atrium and the sculpture astonishes the viewer. Had the enormous work been centered in the atrium, it might have produced a sense of oppression or confinement
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Russell Senate Office Building
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The Russell Senate Office Building is the oldest of the United States Senate office buildings. Designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, it was built from 1903 to 1908, opened in 1909 and it occupies a site north of the Capitol bounded by Constitution Avenue, First Street, Delaware Avenue, and C Street N. E. The first congressional office building was constructed immediately after the turn of the 20th century to relieve overcrowding in the United States Capitol, previously, members who wanted office space had to rent quarters or borrow space in committee rooms. In March 1901 Congress authorized Architect of the Capitol Edward Clark to draw plans for office buildings adjacent to the Capitol grounds. In March 1903 the acquisition of sites and construction of the buildings were authorized, in April 1904, the prominent New York City architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings was retained. John Carrère took charge of the Senate Office Building project, while Thomas Hastings oversaw the construction of an almost identical office building for the United States House of Representatives and their Beaux Arts designs were restrained complements to the Capitol. Architecturally, their elevations are divided into a base and a colonnade with an entablature. The Constitution AV side is a replica of the easternmost façade of the Palais du Louvre in Paris. The colonnades, with 34 Doric columns that face the Capitol, are echoed by pilasters on the sides of the buildings, both buildings are faced with marble and limestone, the Russell Buildings base and terrace are gray granite. Modern for their time, they included such facilities as forced-air ventilation systems, steam heat, individual lavatories with hot and cold running water and ice water, telephones, both are connected to the Capitol by underground passages. Originally there were 98 suites and eight rooms in the Russell Building. Of special architectural interest is the rotunda, eighteen Corinthian columns support an entablature and a coffered dome, whose glazed oculus floods the rotunda with sunlight. The Russell Building was occupied in 1909 by the Senate of the 61st Congress, the growth of staff and committees in the twenty years following its completion resulted in the addition of a fourth side, the First Street Wing, to the originally U-shaped building. Wyeth and Francis P. Sullivan were the architects for the new wing
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, Architect of the Capitol".
This article incorporates