1.
Seattle
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Seattle is a seaport city on the west coast of the United States and the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 684,451 residents as of 2015, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In July 2013, it was the major city in the United States. The city is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 100 miles south of the Canada–United States border, a major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2015. The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, the settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay and named Seattle in 1852, after Chief Siahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Logging was Seattles first major industry, but by the late-19th century, growth after World War II was partially due to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The Seattle area developed as a technology center beginning in the 1980s, in 1994, Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District, to the Central District, the jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the alternative rock subgenre grunge, archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived, the people occupied at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay, the first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792 during his 1791–95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest. In 1851, a party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party, members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28,1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon, after a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and claimed land a second time at the site of present-day Pioneer Square, naming this new settlement Duwamps. For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance, david Swinson Doc Maynard, one of the founders of Duwamps, was the primary advocate to name the settlement after Chief Sealth of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The name Seattle appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23,1853, in 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14,1865, the Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of managing the city
2.
Washington (state)
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It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State or the State of Washington to distinguish it from Washington, Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles, and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the states highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Washington is a leading lumber producer and its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, the Washington Territory was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The area was part of a region called the Columbia District after the Columbia River. The area was renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, Washington is the only U. S. state named after a president. To distinguish it from the U. S. capital, which is named for George Washington, Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, or, in more formal contexts. Washingtonians and other residents of the Pacific Northwest refer to the state simply as Washington, calling the nations capital Washington, D. C. or, often, Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Washington is bordered by Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part, to the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state, from the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly marine west coast climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains, from the north to the south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the state, is 50 miles south of the city of Seattle and it is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula and these deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States. Eastern Washington – the part of the state east of the Cascades – has a dry climate. It includes large areas of steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches in Pullman, the Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the northeastern quadrant of the state
3.
Pacific Northwest
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The Pacific Northwest, sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a geographic region in western North America bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Though no agreed boundary exists, a common conception includes the U. S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Broader conceptions reach north into Alaska and Yukon, south into far northern California and east to the Continental Divide, thus including Idaho, Western Montana, narrower conceptions may be limited to the northwestern US or to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains. The variety of definitions can be attributed to partially overlapping commonalities of the history, geography, society. The Northwest Coast is the region of the Pacific Northwest. The term Pacific Northwest should not be confused with the Northwest Territory or the Northwest Territories of Canada. The border — in two sections, along the 49th parallel south of British Columbia and the Alaska Panhandle west of northern British Columbia — has had an effect on the region. According to Canadian historian Ken Coates, the border has not merely influenced the Pacific Northwest—rather, definitions of the Pacific Northwest region vary, and there is no commonly agreed-upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common conception of the Pacific Northwest includes the U. S. states of Oregon and Washington as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia. Broader definitions of the region may include the U. S. state of Alaska, the Canadian territory of Yukon, the portion of the state of California. Definitions based on the historic Oregon Country reach east to the Continental Divide, thus including all of Idaho and parts of western Montana. Sometimes the Pacific Northwest is defined as being the Northwestern United States, often these definitions are made by government agencies whose scope is limited to the United States. Some definitions include, in addition to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, Southeast Alaska, western Montana, the coast of northern California, the Pacific Northwest has been occupied by a diverse array of indigenous peoples for millennia. The Pacific Coast is seen by scholars as a major coastal migration route in the settlement of the Americas by late Pleistocene peoples moving from northeast Asia into the Americas. Other evidence for human occupation dating back as much as 14,500 years ago is emerging from Paisley Caves in south-central Oregon, however, despite such research, the coastal migration hypothesis is still subject to considerable debate. Due in part to the richness of Pacific Northwest Coast and river fisheries, in the interior of the Pacific Northwest, the indigenous peoples, at the time of European contact, had a diversity of cultures and societies. Some areas were home to mobile and egalitarian societies, others, especially along major rivers such as the Columbia and Fraser, had very complex, affluent, sedentary societies rivaling those of the coast. In British Columbia and Southeast Alaska, the Tlingit and Haida erected large, throughout the Pacific Northwest, thousands of indigenous people live, and some continue to practice their rich cultural traditions, organizing their societies around cedar and salmon
4.
Walla Walla, Washington
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Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population of the city itself was 31,731 at the 2010 census, the population of Walla Walla and its two suburbs, the town of College Place and unincorporated East Walla Walla, is about 45,000. Walla Walla is in the region of Washington, approximately four and a half hours away by car from Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. Recorded history in this begins with the establishment of Fort Nez Perce in 1818 by the North West Company to trade with the Walla Walla people. At the time, the term Nez Perce was used more broadly than today, Fort Nez Perce had its name shift to Fort Walla Walla. It was located significantly west of the present city, on September 1,1836, Marcus Whitman arrived with his wife Narcissa Whitman. Here they established the Whitman Mission in an attempt to convert the local Walla Walla tribe to Christianity. Following a disease epidemic, both were killed by the Cayuse who believed that the missionaries were poisoning the native peoples, Whitman College was established in their honor. The original North West Company and later Hudsons Bay Company Fort Nez Percés fur trading outpost, the fort has been restored with many of the original buildings preserved. The current Fort Walla Walla contains these buildings, albeit in a different location from the original, the origins of Walla Walla at its present site begin with the establishment of Fort Walla Walla by the United States Army here in 1856. The Walla Walla River, where it adjoins the Columbia River, was the point for the Mullan Road. John Mullan, connecting the head of navigation on the Columbia at Walla Walla with the head of navigation on the Missouri-Mississippi at Fort Benton, Walla Walla was incorporated on January 11,1862. As a result of a rush in Idaho, during this decade the city became the largest community in the territory of Washington. Following this period of growth, agriculture became the citys primary industry. In 1846, the Catholic Church established the Diocese of Walla Walla, in 1850, the see of Walla Walla was abandoned and its territory assigned to the new Diocese of Nesqually, with Blanchet as its bishop and its episcopal see in Vancouver. Walla Walla is a Native American name that means Place of Many Waters, the original name of the town was Steptoeville named after Colonel Edward Steptoe. In 1855 the name was changed to Waiilatpu, and then by 1859 had been changed again, Walla Walla is located at 46°3′54″N 118°19′49″W. Walla Walla is also located in the Walla Walla Valley, with the rolling Palouse hills, various creeks meander through town before combining to become the Walla Walla River, which drains into the Columbia River about 30 miles west of town
5.
Yakima, Washington
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Yakima is a U. S. city located about 60 miles southeast of Mount Rainier in Washington. Yakima is the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, as of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,067 and a metropolitan population of 243,231. The unincorporated suburban areas of West Valley and Terrace Heights are considered a part of greater Yakima, Yakima is situated in the Yakima Valley, an extremely productive agricultural region noted for apple, wine and hop production. As of 2011, the Yakima Valley produces 77% of all hops grown in the United States, the name Yakima originates from the Yakama Nation, located south of the city. The Yakama people were the first known inhabitants of the Yakima Valley, in 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition came to the area and discovered abundant wildlife and rich soil, prompting the settlement of homesteaders. A Catholic Mission was established in Ahtanum, southwest of present-day Yakima, the arrival of settlers and their conflicts with the natives resulted in the Yakima War. The U. S. Army established Fort Simcoe in 1856 near present-day White Swan as a response to the uprising, the Yakamas were defeated and forced to relocate to the Yakama Indian Reservation. Yakima County was created in 1865, when bypassed by the Northern Pacific Railroad in December 1884, over 100 buildings were moved with rollers and horse teams to the nearby site of the depot. The new city was dubbed North Yakima and was incorporated and named the county seat on January 27,1886. The name was changed to Yakima in 1918, Union Gap was the new name given to the original site of Yakima. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 27.69 square miles. Yakima is 1095 feet above sea level. The city of Yakima is located in the Upper Valley of Yakima County, the county is geographically divided by Ahtanum Ridge and Rattlesnake Ridge into two regions, the Upper and Lower valleys. Yakima is located in the more urbanized Upper Valley, and is the city of the Yakima Metropolitan Statistical Area. The cities of Selah and Union Gap lie immediately to the north and south of Yakima, in addition, the unincorporated suburban areas of West Valley and Terrace Heights are considered a part of greater Yakima. With these cities included in the area, population within 20 miles of the city is over 123,000. As of the 2013, the population of the metropolitan area is 247,044. The primary irrigation source for the Yakima Valley, the Yakima River, in Yakima, the river is used for both fishing and recreation
6.
Maine
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Maine is the northernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 39th most extensive and the 41st most populous of the U. S. states and territories and it is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the north. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and it is known for its jagged, rocky coastline, low, rolling mountains, heavily forested interior, and picturesque waterways, and also its seafood cuisine, especially clams and lobster. There is a continental climate throughout the state, even in areas such as its most populous city of Portland. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples were the inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine. At the time of European arrival in what is now Maine, the first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived Popham Colony, established by the Plymouth Company in 1607, as Maine entered the 18th century, only a half dozen European settlements had survived. Loyalist and Patriot forces contended for Maines territory during the American Revolution, Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820, when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become an independent state. On March 15,1820, it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state under the Missouri Compromise, there is no definitive explanation for the origin of the name Maine, but the most likely origin is the name given by early explorers after a province in France. Whatever the origin, the name was fixed for English settlers in 1665 when the English Kings Commissioners ordered that the Province of Maine be entered from then on in official records. The state legislature in 2001 adopted a resolution establishing Franco-American Day, other theories mention earlier places with similar names, or claim it is a nautical reference to the mainland. Attempts to uncover the history of the name of Maine began with James Sullivans 1795 History of the District of Maine. He made the allegation that the Province of Maine was a compliment to the queen of Charles I, Henrietta Maria. MAINE appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in reference to the county of Dorset, the view generally held among British place name scholars is that Mayne in Dorset is Brythonic, corresponding to modern Welsh maen, plural main or meini. Some early spellings are, MAINE1086, MEINE1200, MEINES1204, mason had served with the Royal Navy in the Orkney Islands where the chief island is called Mainland, a possible name derivation for these English sailors. Initially, several tracts along the coast of New England were referred to as Main or Maine, Maine is the only state whose name has exactly one syllable. The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples, including the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Penobscot, who had a loose confederacy. European contact with what is now called Maine started around 1200 CE when Norwegians interacted with the native Penobscot in present-day Hancock County, most likely through trade
7.
2014 Oso mudslide
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A major landslide occurred 4 miles east of Oso, Washington, United States, on March 22,2014, at 10,37 a. m. local time. Forty-three people were killed and 49 homes and other structures destroyed and it also dammed the river, causing extensive flooding upstream as well as blocking State Route 530, the main route to the town of Darrington, approximately 15 miles east of Oso. Excluding landslides caused by eruptions, earthquakes or dam collapses. The Hazel Landslide has a history of instability dating to 1937, prior to the March 2014 mudslide, the Oso area had had heavy rainfall during the previous 45 days, up to 200 percent of normal. The slide, described by witnesses as a wall of mud, contained trees and other debris. A firefighter at the stated, When the slide hit the river. A Washington state geologist stated the slide was one of the largest landslides he had personally seen, the mud, soil and rock debris left from the mudslide covered an area 1,500 ft long,4,400 ft wide and deposited debris 30 to 70 ft deep. A national geologist stated the flow of the landslide was extreme because of the extraordinary run-out of mud, while the landslide was well documented, a research team from the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance announced in April 2014 that it would investigate the factors contributing to the slide. Over 600 personnel, including more than 160 volunteers, worked on landslide recovery operations, late in the evening of March 22,2014, Washingtons Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen declared a state of emergency in Snohomish County. Washington state Governor Jay Inslee toured the area by air the day before joining county officials at a news conference. On March 22, the day of the slide, eight people were rescued, while the official search for victims ended in April 2014, workers and volunteers continued to screen debris and look for one victim still unaccounted for. As of July 22, the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office confirmed 43 fatalities after remains of the victim had been located and identified. The slide blocked the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, causing it to back up eastward, because of concerns that the mud and debris dam could fail and cause downstream flooding, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch. On April 2, with the river flowing in a new channel at the end of the debris dam. Flooding due to the obstructed river continued to occur upstream of the debris dam. As a result, the NWS continued to flood warnings for the Stillaguamish one month after the March 2014 slide. The highway was cleared enough by May 31 to open one lane of escorted traffic, because the highway was badly damaged, and because the topography of the area had been altered by the landslide, WSDOT decided to elevate that section of the highway when it was rebuilt. As of July 27, the first of four stages in rebuilding the highway had been completed, the new roadway was opened September 22, and the project was expected to be finished in early October 2014
8.
2009 Lakewood shooting
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One gunman, later identified as Maurice Clemmons, entered the coffee shop, fired at the officers as they sat working on their laptop computers preparing for their shifts, and then fled the scene. After a two-day manhunt that spanned several cities in the Puget Sound region, the four were the first Lakewood police officers to be killed in the line of duty since the departments establishment in 2004. Although Clemmons was killed by police, six people were charged in connection with the murders. All six are friends and family of Clemmons who aided him in escaping the scene, one was convicted in June 2010 and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. In December 2010, three of four accused suspects were found guilty of rendering criminal assistance, in May 2011, Darcus Allen, the getaway driver and remaining suspect, was convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to 420 years in prison the following month. The convictions were reversed on appeal due to misconduct by the Pierce County Prosecutors Office. Immediately following the shootings, the Lakewood Police Independent Guild set up a fund for the officers. As of 2012, about $3.2 million were donated to the fund, in March 2012, Lakewood police officer Skeeter Timothy Manos pleaded guilty to using the account set up for donations as his own personal piggy bank. The gunman was identified as 37-year-old Maurice Clemmons, originally from Marianna, Clemmons had a violent criminal history, with at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and eight felony charges in Washington. In 2000, Clemmons had his 95-year sentence for aggravated robbery commuted by then-Governor Mike Huckabee, Clemmons was last arrested before the shooting on July 1,2009, for failure to appear in court. On November 23,2009, Clemmons paid $15,000 for a $190,000 bail bond from Jail Sucks Bail Bonds, two other bail bond agencies had rejected Clemmons based on his history of failing to appear in court. Clemmons failed to check in with his community corrections officer within 24 hours of his release as required and he showed a gun to the people in the room and told them he had two others in his car and home. Clemmons said he planned to activate an alarm by removing a court-ordered ankle monitor, in describing the planned murder, Clemmons said, Knock, knock, knock, boom. Darcus Allen, a murderer who previously served in an Arkansas prison with Clemmons, was allegedly present for the conversation. Also on Thanksgiving, Clemmons cut off a GPS monitor Jail Sucks Bail Bonds had secured onto his ankle, during the exchange, Clemmons danced around with the guns in his hands, claiming to be Lucifer. He told the men he had tried to go to a Tacoma police station. The first time the station was closed, and the time he got a flat tire on the way there. He also talked about stopping at an intersection or a school
9.
Michelle Kwan
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Michelle Wingshan Kwan is an American retired figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, five-time World champion and nine-time U. S. champion and she competed at a high level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U. S. history. Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. For well over a decade, Kwan maintained her status not only as Americas most popular figure skater, during her reign Kwan landed numerous major endorsement deals, starred in multiple TV specials and was the subject of extensive media coverage. From 1997 to 2005, she was the U. S, Figure Skating Associations top-paid skater in appearance fees and prize money, as well as one of the highest paid Winter Olympic athletes in endorsements. Kwan was also the highest paid skater on the Champions on Ice tours, born in Torrance, California, Michelle is the third child of Danny Kwan and Estella Kwan, immigrants from Hong Kong. As a child, Kwan grew up speaking a mixture of Cantonese, Kwan’s interest in figure skating began at the age of five when she followed her two older siblings onto the ice. Karen and Michelle began serious training when Michelle was about eight years old. They practiced three to four hours a day, waking up at 4, 30am and arriving at the rink at 5, 00am to skate before school, paying for their increased skating-rink time led to financial hardship for Kwan’s working-class family. Kwan attended Soleado Elementary School in Palos Verdes, California, but left school to be homeschooled in 1994. After graduation from Rim of the World High School in 1998, in the fall of 2006, she transferred to the University of Denver. In June 2009, she graduated from Denvers Josef Korbel School of International Studies with a degree in international studies. In 2009, she began studies in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. On May 8,2010, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Southern Vermont College, Kwan won five World Championships, tying her with Carol Heiss for the most world titles by an American. Kwans nine world medals overall is the record for an American skater in any discipline. The only ladies singles skater with more titles or medals is Sonia Henie of Norway. Kwan won nine U. S. Championships, tying the record for most wins set by Maribel Vinson-Owen and she holds the record for the most consecutive U. S. titles and most consecutive U. S. She also earned the medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics
10.
MSNBC
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MSNBC is an American basic cable and satellite television network that provides news coverage and political commentary from NBC News on current events. The network also carries a nightly programming block during prime time hours. It is owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of the NBCUniversal Television Group division of NBCUniversal, MSNBC and msnbc. com were founded in 1996 as a partnership between Microsoft and General Electrics NBC unit, hence the networks naming. As of February 2015, approximately 94,531,000 households have the ability to receive MSNBC within the United States of America, in the late summer of 2015, MSNBC revamped its programming. The moves were in sharp contrast to previous programming decisions at the network, along with this, moves were made to sharpen the channels news image through a dual editorial relationship with its organizational parent NBC News. MSNBC Live, the flagship daytime news platform was expanded to cover over eight hours of the day. Phil Griffin currently serves as the president and director of operations at the cable network. Pat Burkey, Janelle Rodriguez, and Jonathan Wald oversee programming and news operations at the network, MSNBC was established by NBC executive Tom Rogers. Rogers was instrumental in developing the partnership with Microsoft, which invested $221 million for a 50% share of the cable channel. MSNBC and Microsoft would share the cost of a $200 million newsroom in Secaucus, New Jersey, the network took over the channel space of NBCs 18-month-old Americas Talking network, though in most cases cable carriage had to be negotiated with providers who never carried AT. MSNBC was launched on July 15,1996, the first show, which was anchored by Jodi Applegate, broadcast a lineup of news, interviews, and opinions. Stories were generally longer and more detailed than the running on CNN at the time. NBC also highlighted their broadcast connections by airing stories direct from the NBC network affiliates, gradually, MSNBC began to put more emphasis on politics. The Project for Excellence in Journalism found in 2007 after a survey of cable channels that MSNBC is moving to make politics a brand, with a large dose of opinion. In January 2001, Mike Barnicle got a show on MSNBC, in June, in a sign of continuing trouble at MSNBC, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that he would not have started MSNBC if he knew then what he knows now. After the September 11,2001 attacks, MSNBC served as an outlet for NBC News to provide up-to-the-minute coverage, CNBC and CNBC Europe, with little financial news to report, ran MSNBC for many hours of the day following the attacks. The year also boosted the profile of Ashleigh Banfield, who was present during the collapse of Building 7 while covering the World Trade Center on September 11 and her Region In Conflict program capitalized on her newfound celebrity and showcased exclusive interviews from Afghanistan. NBC would have the option, which it exercised, to buy the remaining 18% share of the television from Microsoft after two years
11.
Republican Party (United States)
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The Republican Party, commonly referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, the dominant value during the American Revolution and it was founded by anti-slavery activists, modernists, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers in 1854. The Republicans dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern States for most of the period between 1860 and 1932, there have been 19 Republican presidents, the most from any one party. The Republican Partys current ideology is American conservatism, which contrasts with the Democrats more progressive platform, further, its platform involves support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defense, deregulation, and restrictions on labor unions. In addition to advocating for economic policies, the Republican Party is socially conservative. As of 2017, the GOP is documented as being at its strongest position politically since 1928, in addition to holding the Presidency, the Republicans control the 115th United States Congress, having majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a majority of governorships and state legislatures, the main cause was opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise by which slavery was kept out of Kansas. The Northern Republicans saw the expansion of slavery as a great evil, the first public meeting of the general anti-Nebraska movement where the name Republican was suggested for a new anti-slavery party was held on March 20,1854, in a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin. The name was chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jeffersons Republican Party. The first official party convention was held on July 6,1854, in Jackson and it oversaw the preserving of the union, the end of slavery, and the provision of equal rights to all men in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877. The Republicans initial base was in the Northeast and the upper Midwest, with the realignment of parties and voters in the Third Party System, the strong run of John C. Fremont in the 1856 United States presidential election demonstrated it dominated most northern states, early Republican ideology was reflected in the 1856 slogan free labor, free land, free men, which had been coined by Salmon P. Chase, a Senator from Ohio. Free labor referred to the Republican opposition to labor and belief in independent artisans. Free land referred to Republican opposition to the system whereby slaveowners could buy up all the good farm land. The Party strove to contain the expansion of slavery, which would cause the collapse of the slave power, Lincoln, representing the fast-growing western states, won the Republican nomination in 1860 and subsequently won the presidency. The party took on the mission of preserving the Union, and destroying slavery during the American Civil War, in the election of 1864, it united with War Democrats to nominate Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket. The partys success created factionalism within the party in the 1870s and those who felt that Reconstruction had been accomplished and was continued mostly to promote the large-scale corruption tolerated by President Ulysses S. Grant ran Horace Greeley for the presidency. The Stalwarts defended Grant and the system, the Half-Breeds led by Chester A. Arthur pushed for reform of the civil service in 1883
