1.
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
Federal government of the United States
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The
United States Capitol is the
seat of government for Congress.
Federal government of the United States
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Great Seal of the United States
Federal government of the United States
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Diagram of the Federal Government and American Union, 1862.
2.
Jamie L. Whitten Building
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The U. S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building, also known as the Jamie L. Whitten Building, houses the administrative offices of the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D. C. It was the first large Beaux-Arts style building in Washington and set the prototype for the buildings of the Federal Triangle. The east and west wings were the first Federal office buildings to be built of reinforced concrete, the Whitten Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The placement of the new building on the Mall was at odds with the proposed McMillan Plan, the Agriculture Departments proposed placement was opposed by Commission members Daniel Burnham and Charles McKim. As the public face of the Agriculture Department, the Beaux-Arts style Administration Building was designed by architects Rankin, Kellogg, however, a limited budget enforced a comparative plainness when set against other buildings on the Mall. The L-shaped wings were completed between 1904 and 1908, but the block was not finished until 1930. The prototype for the design was Ange-Jacques Gabriels 1774 Hôtel de la Marine on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, the pediment features sculpture by Adolph Alexander Weinman, while interior murals are by Gilbert White. While the earlier east and west wings featured reinforced concrete construction, in 1936 bridges were built across Independence Avenue to link the wings to the South Building. The single-span stone arches form an accent on Independence Avenue. The soffits of the bridges are faced with Guastavino tile, the east bridge is dedicated to Seaman A. Knapp, while the west bridge commemorates Agriculture Secretary James Wilson. History of the Washington USDA complex with links to construction pictures
Jamie L. Whitten Building
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U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building
Jamie L. Whitten Building
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Administration Building, c. 1934
Jamie L. Whitten Building
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Façade of the building with
Corinthian columns
Jamie L. Whitten Building
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A Department of Agriculture employee uses a mule-drawn tiller to plant a new lawn, 1931
3.
Independence Avenue (Washington D.C.)
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Independence Avenue is a major east-west street in the southwest and southeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D. C. in the United States, running just south of the United States Capitol. Originally named South B Street, Independence Avenue SW was constructed between 1791 and 1823, Independence Avenue SE was constructed in pieces as residential development occurred east of the United States Capitol and east of the Anacostia River. Independence Avenue SW received its current name after Congress renamed the street in legislation approved on April 13,1934, Independence Avenue SW originally had its western terminus at 14th Street SW, but was extended west to Ohio Drive SW in 1941 and 1942. The government of the District of Columbia renamed the portion of the road in the southeast quadrant of the city in 1950, in the District of Columbias Cartesian-coordinate-based street-naming system, Independence Avenue was originally known as South B Street. The street began construction sometime after 1791, by October 1803, it existed definitively between New Jersey Avenue and 1st Street East, and in 1809 it was opened between New Jersey Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. By 1816, the length of the avenue appears to have been opened. At the time, South B Streets western terminus was on the shore of the Potomac River and this reclaimed land — which today includes West Potomac Park, East Potomac Park, the Tidal Basin — was largely complete by 1890, and designated Potomac Park by Congress in 1897. But South B Street was not extended through the reclaimed land. In 1925, Congress authorized the construction of Arlington Memorial Bridge, the legislation specified that North B Street be treated as a major approach to Arlington Memorial Bridge. The National Capital Park and Planning Commission approved the significant widening of North B Street into a ceremonial avenue, on February 25,1931, President Herbert Hoover signed legislation which renamed North B Street as Constitution Avenue. Planning for the creation of a ceremonial avenue to take the place of South B Street began in 1930. That year, the National Capital Park and Planning Commission advocated turning the roadway into a ceremonial avenue as a counterpart to North B Street. The following year, the NCPPC proposed widening South B Street to 60 feet between New Jersey Avenue SE and 12th Street SW, all along the route, the north curb would remain in place, while the south curb moved to accommodate the new widths. The NCPPC had already won the support of the Architect of the Capitol for the plan, the renaming of North B Street and the actions of the NCPPC encouraged local citizens to seek to rename South B Street as well. The idea was conceived by the federations past president, Fred A. Emery, but no action was taken in the 72nd United States Congress. Instead, Senate Joint Resolution 258 was introduced Arthur Capper in the United States Senate to change the name to Independence Avenue, the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia favorably reported the bill on February 28,1933. But Congress adjourned on March 3 without further action, the NCPPC had not given up on the idea, however. In November 1933, it approved changing the width of South B Street between 12th and 14th Streets SW to 80 feet, which helped cement in place its plan for a future Independence Avenue
Independence Avenue (Washington D.C.)
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Street sign at 1900 Independence Avenue SW
Independence Avenue (Washington D.C.)
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Map of the District of Columbia in 1818, showing the original terminus of South B Street.
Independence Avenue (Washington D.C.)
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Planning map of the National Mall in 1932, showing the western terminus of South B Street still at 14th Street SW.
Independence Avenue (Washington D.C.)
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Independence Avenue on Capitol Hill, where it is a residential street for some of its length
4.
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
Washington, D.C.
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Clockwise from top left:
Smithsonian Institution Building,
Rock Creek Park,
National Mall (including the
Lincoln Memorial in the foreground),
Howard Theatre and the
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Washington, D.C.
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Map of the District of Columbia in 1835, prior to the
retrocession
Washington, D.C.
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Ford's Theatre in the 19th century, site of the 1865
assassination of
President Lincoln
Washington, D.C.
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Crowds surrounding the
Reflecting Pool during the 1963
March on Washington
5.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
6.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
United States dollar
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Series of 1917
$1 United States bill
United States dollar
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Federal Reserve Notes
United States dollar
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Spanish silver real or
peso of 1768
United States dollar
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Obverse of rare 1934 $500 Federal Reserve Note, featuring a portrait of President
William McKinley.
7.
Sonny Perdue
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George Ervin Sonny Perdue III is an American politician who served as the 81st Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction, Perdue currently serves on the Governors’ Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC, and is President Donald Trumps nominee for U. S. Secretary of Agriculture. If confirmed, Perdue would only be the second Secretary of Agriculture from the Deep South, the first was Mike Espy of Mississippi, who served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 to December 1994. On January 18,2017, incoming U. S. President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be United States Secretary of Agriculture and his nomination was transmitted to the Senate on March 9,2017. Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia, the son of Ophie Viola, a teacher and he grew up and still lives in Bonaire, an unincorporated area between Perry and Warner Robins. Perdue has been known as Sonny since childhood and prefers to be called by name, he was sworn in. Perdue is the first cousin of U. S, Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School and was a walk-on at the University of Georgia, where he was also a member of the Beta-Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Perdue is not related to the family owns and operates Perdue Farms. Perdue served in the U. S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain before his discharge, after serving as a member of the Houston County Planning & Zoning Commission in the 1980s, Perdue ran for a seat in the Georgia General Assembly. He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the Senator representing the 18th district. Perdue was elected in 1991,1994, and 1996, serving as his partys leader in the Senate, from 1994 to 1997 and his committee assignments included Ethics, Finance & Public Utilities, Health & Human Services, Reapportionment and Economic Development, Tourism & Cultural Affairs. He switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1998 and was re-elected to the Senate as a Republican and he also won re-election in 2000. In December 2001, Perdue resigned as State Senator and devoted entirely to running for the office of Governor. He won the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes, 51% to 46% and he became the first Republican governor of Georgia in over 130 years since Benjamin F. Conley. In 2006, Perdue was re-elected to a term in the 2006 Georgia gubernatorial election. His Democratic opponent was Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor, Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot. Perdue advocated reforms designed to cut waste in government, most notably the sale of surplus vehicles, prior to Perdues becoming governor, no state agency had even compiled an inventory of what assets the state owned. In education, Perdue promoted the return of most decision-making to the local level, after Perdue took office, in 2003 and 2004, Georgia moved up from last place in the country in SAT scores
Sonny Perdue
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Perdue at the
Georgia State Capitol in March 2007
Sonny Perdue
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Perdue and other U.S. state governors with U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice.
Sonny Perdue
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Perdue at a political rally in December 2008.
Sonny Perdue
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Perdue with U.S. Navy sailors in October 2010.
8.
United States Secretary of Agriculture
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The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The current Acting Secretary is Mike Young, who has held the office since the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20,2017, the position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The 297,000 mi2 of national forests and grasslands are managed by the United States Forest Service, the safety of food produced that are produced in the United States and sold here is ensured by the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service. The Food Stamp Program works with the states to provide food to low-income people, advice for farmers and gardeners is provided by the United States Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. The Washington Post reports that he said There are days when I have literally nothing to do, president Obama asked him to stay and asked him to look into the problem of opioid addiction. The following is a list of Secretaries of Agriculture, since the creation of the office in 1889, parties Democratic Republican As of April 2017, there are nine living former Secretaries of Agriculture, the oldest being Robert Bergland. The most recent Secretary of Agriculture to die was Clayton Yeutter, the most recently serving Secretary to die was Edward Rell Madigan on December 7,1994. United States Department of Agriculture website
United States Secretary of Agriculture
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Incumbent
Tom Vilsack since 20 January 2009
United States Secretary of Agriculture
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Seal of the Department of Agriculture
United States Secretary of Agriculture
United States Secretary of Agriculture
9.
United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
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The Deputy Secretary becomes Acting Secretary of Agriculture in the event of the Secretarys resignation, death, or otherwise inability to fulfill the duties of the position. The Deputy Secretary performs whatever duties are prescribed to him or her by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture is paid at level II of the Executive Schedule, meaning he or she receives a basic salary of $177,000 annually. The position of Deputy Secretary of Agriculture was originally called the Under Secretary of Agriculture, previous Deputy Secretaries by recency include Chuck Conner, Jim Moseley, Richard Rominger, Ann Veneman, and Jack Parnell
United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
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Under Secretary of Agriculture for
Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services
10.
United States federal executive departments
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In brief, they and their organizations are the administrative arms of the President. All departments are listed by their name and only departments with past or present cabinet-level status are listed. The order of succession includes, the Vice President as the first in line, the Speaker of the House, independent agencies of the United States government British government departments Cabinet of the Confederate States of America Relyea, Harold C. Homeland Security, Department Organization and Management, Report for Congress,2002
United States federal executive departments
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Seal of the
Department of Agriculture
11.
Food and Nutrition Service
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The Food and Nutrition Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. The FNS is the agency responsible for administering the nation’s domestic nutrition assistance programs. The service helps to address the issue of hunger in the United States, while its staff number among the USDAs fewest, its budget is by far the largest. FNS was established on August 8,1969 as an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, several FNS programs, however, pre-date the creation of the agency and trace their roots back to Depression era programs. National School Lunch Program — Lunches subsidized by the NSLP are nearly ubiquitous in public schools, the program has operated since 1946. Campaign, which encourages Americans to follow the healthy eating guidelines set by MyPyramid, the spokescharacter of the Eat Smart. Food preferences in adults and seniors Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations Official website Food
Food and Nutrition Service
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Food and Nutrition Service
12.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people living in the U. S. SNAP benefits cost $70.9 billion in fiscal year 2016, beneficiaries and costs increased sharply with the Great Recession, peaked in 2013 and have declined through 2016 as the economy recovered. It is the largest nutrition program of the fifteen administered by FNS and is a component of the federal social safety net for low-income Americans. The amount of SNAP benefits received by a household depends on the size, income. Because of their 1,1 value ratio with actual currency and their rectangular shape resembled a U. S. dollar bill, including intaglio printing on high-quality paper with watermarks. EBT has been implemented in all states since June 2004, each month, SNAP food stamp benefits are directly deposited into the households EBT card account. Households may use EBT to pay for food at supermarkets, convenience stores, the idea for the first FSP has been credited to various people, most notably U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace and the programs first administrator, Milo Perkins. Of the program, Perkins said, We got a picture of a gorge, with farm surpluses on one cliff and we set out to find a practical way to build a bridge across that chasm. Orange stamps could be used to buy any food, blue stamps could be used only to buy food determined by the Department to be surplus. Over the course of four years, the first FSP reached approximately 20 million people at one time or another in nearly half of the counties in the U. S. at a total cost of $262 million. At its peak, the program assisted 4 million people simultaneously, the program ended when the conditions that brought the program into being ceased to exist. The eighteen years between the end of the first FSP and the inception of the next were filled with studies, reports, Senators actively associated with attempts to enact a food stamp program during this period included George Aiken, Robert M. La Follette, Jr. Hubert Humphrey, Estes Kefauver, Representative Leonor Sullivan strove to pass food-stamp-program legislation. On September 21,1959, P. L. 86-341 authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to operate a system through January 31,1962. The Eisenhower Administration never used the authority, the pilot programs would retain the requirement that the food stamps be purchased, but eliminated the concept of special stamps for surplus foods. A Department spokesman indicated the emphasis would be on increasing the consumption of perishables, Representative Leonor K. Sullivan of Missouri asserted. The Food Stamp Act of 1964 appropriated $75 million to 350,000 individuals in 40 counties, the measure drew overwhelming support from House Democrats,90 percent from urban areas,96 percent from the suburbs, and 87 percent from rural areas. Republican lawmakers opposed the measure, only 12 percent of urban Republicans,11 percent from the suburbs
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
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First food stamps
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
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SNAP logo
13.
Tom Vilsack
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Thomas James Tom Vilsack is an American politician who served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 until 2017. A member of the Iowa Democratic Party, Vilsack served as the 40th Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007. On November 30,2006, he launched his candidacy for nomination for President of the United States by the Democratic Party in the 2008 election. Barack Obama announced Vilsacks selection to be Secretary of Agriculture on December 17,2008 and his nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on January 20,2009. Until his January 13,2017 resignation one week prior to the end of Obamas second term as president, Cabinet who had served since Obama took office. Thus Vilsacks departure left no members of Obamas Cabinet who were serving when Obama took office, on July 19,2016, the Washington Post reported that Vilsack was on Hillary Clintons two-person shortlist to be her running mate for that years presidential election. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine was ultimately selected and he was adopted in 1951 by Bud and Dolly Vilsack, who renamed him Thomas. Bud Vilsack was an agent and insurance salesman. Vilsack attended Shady Side Academy, a high school in Pittsburgh. He received a degree in 1972 from Hamilton College in New York. While at Hamilton he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity and he received a Juris Doctor in 1975 from Albany Law School of Union University, New York. He married Christie Vilsack in 1973, and moved with her to her hometown of Mount Pleasant, Iowa and this led him to involvement in the local Chamber of Commerce and United Way. He and his wife volunteered in the 1987 presidential campaign of Joe Biden, after the mayor of Mount Pleasant was gunned down in December,1986, Vilsack led a fundraising drive to build a memorial fountain. The deceased mayors father asked Vilsack to run for mayor of Mount Pleasant, he was elected and he was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1992. Following his election, he worked on legislation requiring companies who received state tax incentives to provide better pay and he helped pass a law for workers to receive health coverage when changing jobs, and helped re-design Iowas Workforce Development Department. He also wrote a bill to have the State of Iowa assume a 50% share of local county mental health costs, in 1998, Terry Branstad chose not to seek re-election after sixteen years as governor. The Iowa Republican Party nominated Jim Ross Lightfoot, a former U. S. Representative, Vilsack defeated former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark McCormick in the Democratic primary and chose Sally Pederson as his running mate. Lightfoot was the favorite to succeed Branstad and polls consistently showed him in the lead
Tom Vilsack
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Tom Vilsack
Tom Vilsack
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Governor Tom Vilsack in 2008.
Tom Vilsack
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Vilsack's campaign logo
Tom Vilsack
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Vilsack announcing his withdrawal from the race
14.
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
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USICH is advised by a Council, which includes the heads of its 19 federal member agencies. The immediate past chair was Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, USICH is made up of a small team headquartered in Washington, DC, led by Executive Director Matthew Doherty. Policy staff work closely with each of the 19 Federal Agencies that make up the Council to make progress on the goals and strategies of Opening Doors. In 2010, the released the first federal strategic plan to end homelessness in the United States which includes four goals To finish the job of ending chronic homelessness by 2015. To prevent and end homelessness among Veterans by 2015, to prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and children by 2020. To set a path to ending all types of homelessness, the Interagency Council on the Homeless was authorized by Title II of the landmark Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act enacted on July 22,1987. In 2002, Council members voted to approve changing the name of the agency to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the most recent reauthorization of USICH occurred in 2009 with enactment of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act. The Council originally included the heads of 16 Federal agencies, five additional agencies were subsequently added by Council vote or statutory amendments, while two agencies are now inactive. The current members of the Council include the heads of the following 19 Departments and agencies and it is estimated that 550,000 women and men are without shelter each night in the United States. As a result, Opening Doors was drafted and serves as the nation’s first comprehensive national strategy for ending homelessness. This strategic plan, entitled Opening Doors, Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, was presented on June 22,2010 to President Obama’s staff, the strategy also presents cost-effective strategies for states, local and the federal government. Opening Doors serves as a roadmap for joint action by the 19 federal agencies of USICH, along with state and local partners in both the private and public sectors. Aside from the four main goals listed above, objectives were created around five main themes in order to specify how the strategy will work to address the issue of homelessness. Objective 2, Strengthen the capacity of public and private organizations by increasing knowledge about collaboration, homelessness, Increase access to stable and affordable housing Objective 3, Provide affordable housing to people experiencing or most at risk of homelessness. Objective 4, Provide permanent supportive housing to prevent and end chronic homelessness, Increase economic security Objective 5, Increase meaningful and sustainable employment for people experiencing or most at risk of homelessness. Objective 6, Improve access to programs and services to reduce people’s financial vulnerability to homelessness. Objective 8, Advance health and housing stability for youth aging out of such as foster care. Objective 9, Advance health and housing stability for people experiencing homelessness who have frequent contact with hospitals, retool the Homeless Crisis Response System Objective 10, Transform homeless services to crisis response systems that prevent homelessness and rapidly return people who experience homelessness
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
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Seal of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
15.
United States Agency for International Development
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The United States Agency for International Development is the United States Government agency which is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID from its predecessor agencies in 1961 by executive order, USAIDs programs are authorized by the Congress in the Foreign Assistance Act, which the Congress supplements through directions in annual funding appropriation acts and other legislation. Although it is technically an independent agency, USAID operates subject to the policy guidance of the President, Secretary of State. USAID operates in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, USAIDs decentralized network of resident field missions is drawn on to manage U. S. Government programs in low-income countries for a range of purposes. Disaster relief Poverty relief Technical cooperation on issues, including the environment U. S. bilateral interests Socioeconomic development Some of the U. S. Governments earliest foreign aid programs provided relief in crises created by war, in 1915, USG assistance through the Commission for Relief of Belgium headed by Herbert Hoover prevented starvation in Belgium after the German invasion. After 1945, the European Recovery Program championed by Secretary of State George Marshall helped rebuild war-torn Western Europe, USAID manages relief efforts after wars and natural disasters through its Office of U. S Foreign Disaster Assistance in Washington D. C. Privately funded U. S. NGOs and the U. S. military also play roles in disaster relief overseas. After 1945, many newly independent countries needed assistance to relieve the chronic deprivation afflicting their low-income populations, USAID and its predecessor agencies have continuously provided poverty relief in many forms, including assistance to public health and education services targeted at the poorest. USAID has also helped manage food aid provided by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, in addition, USAID provides funding to NGOs to supplement private donations in relieving chronic poverty. The USG has specialized agencies dealing with such areas, such as the Centers for Disease Control, USAIDs special ability to administer programs in low-income countries supports these and other USG agencies international work on global concerns. Among these global interests, environmental issues attract high attention, USAID assists projects that conserve and protect threatened land, water, forests, and wildlife. USAID also assists projects to reduce emissions and to build resilience to the risks associated with global climate change. U. S. environmental regulation laws require that programs sponsored by USAID should be economically and environmentally sustainable. To support U. S. geopolitical interests, USAID is often called upon to administer exceptional financial grants to allies. Also, when U. S. troops are in the field, in these circumstances, USAID may be directed by specially appointed diplomatic officials of the State Department, as has been done in Afghanistan and Pakistan during operations against al-Qaeda. U. S. commercial interests are served by U. S. laws requirement that most goods, USAID is also sometimes called upon to support projects of U. S. constituents that have exceptional interest. To help low-income nations achieve self-sustaining socioeconomic development, USAID assists them in improving management of their own resources, USAIDs assistance for socioeconomic development mainly provides technical advice, training, scholarships, commodities, and financial assistance
United States Agency for International Development
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USAID Packages are delivered by
United States Coast Guard personnel
United States Agency for International Development
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Early reading and literacy programs contribute to long-term development, USAID
Nigeria
United States Agency for International Development
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USAID Acting Administrator Amb. Alfonso E. Lenhardt
United States Agency for International Development
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Pakistani and U.S. Staff of USAID/Pakistan in 2009
16.
World Food Program
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The World Food Programme is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the worlds largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. According to the WFP, it provides assistance to an average of 80 million people in 75 countries each year. From its headquarters in Rome and from more than 80 country offices around the world and it is a member of the United Nations Development Group and part of its Executive Committee. The WFP was formally established in 1963 by the FAO and the United Nations General Assembly on an experimental basis. In 1965, the programme was extended to a continuing basis, the WFP is governed by an Executive Board which consists of representatives from 36 member states. Ertharin Cousin is the current Executive Director, appointed jointly by the UN Secretary General and she heads the Secretariat of the WFP. The European Union is a permanent observer in the WFP and, as a major donor and its vision is a world in which every man, woman and child has access at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. The WFP has a staff of about 11,500 people, the WFP strives to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, with the ultimate goal in mind of eliminating the need for food aid itself. Food-for-work programmes help promote environmental and economic stability and agricultural production, in 2013, the WFP reached 80.9 million people in 75 countries and provided 3.1 million tonnes of food, including nutritionally improved products such as Plumpysup, Plumpydoz, and Supercereal Plus. 7.8 million malnourished children received special support in 2013. The WFP has scaled up its use of cash and vouchers as food assistance tools,7.9 million people received assistance through cash or voucher programmes in 2013. In the same year, the WFP purchased food in 91 countries, among its other activities, the WFP has coordinated the five-year Purchase for Progress pilot project. Launched in September 2008, P4P assists smallholder farmers by offering opportunities to access agricultural markets. The project resulted in 366,000 metric tons of food produced and generated more than $148 million in income for its smallholder farmers. The WFP focuses its food assistance on those who are most vulnerable to hunger, which most frequently means women, children, the sick and the elderly. School-feeding and/or take-home ration programmes in 71 countries help students focus on their studies and encourage parents to send their children, especially girls, the WFP operations are funded by voluntary donations from world governments, corporations and private donors. The organizations administrative costs are only seven percent—one of the lowest and best among aid agencies, in 2011, the WFPs total revenue was $3.73 billion. From 2008-2012, private donors donated around $500 million, the Fast Information Technology and Telecommunications Emergency and Support Team is a small, elite, technical team of emergency responders within the IT division of the World Food Programme
World Food Program
–
A 2009
Russian stamp featuring the WFP logo.
World Food Program
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World Food Programme
World Food Program
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United Nations
C-130 Hercules transports deliver food to the Rumbak region of
Sudan.
World Food Program
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The WFP unloads
humanitarian aid at the
Freeport of Monrovia during
Joint Task Force Liberia.
17.
Agricultural Act of 1949
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The Agricultural Act of 1949 is a United States federal law that is known as the permanent legislation of U. S. agricultural policy and is, in its amended form, still in effect. The Act was enacted on October 31,1949, the purpose of the act is To provide assistance to the States in the establishment, maintenance, operation, and expansion of school-lunch programs, and for other purposes. Section 416 of the 1949 Agriculture Act provides for the first time permanent legal basis by which food can be donated to friendly overseas countries as development aid. Donation of surplus commodities owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation to developing nations, donated food must not affect existing food programs or normal commercial sales. CCC is the US government agency which purchases the food from the market. Food can either be used directly or be monetized in the recipient countrys market, money gained from the sale can be then put to use on a pre-agreed program. The type of food can vary, but what is available will depend on the last years harvest in the US. Typical donations include these, Wheat Corn, corn soy blend, instant corn soy milk, corn meal, flour Milk powder, peas, beans and lentils Rice Soy bean Tallow Vegetable oil Wood Canned pink salmon Heien, Dale. Text of Act from agriculture. senate. gov Information about U. S. federal agricultural acts, from cornell. edu Information from the USDA
Agricultural Act of 1949
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Agricultural Act of 1949
18.
Food for Peace
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In different administrative and organizational forms, the Food for Peace program of the United States has provided food assistance around the world for more than 50 years. Approximately 3 billion people in 150 countries have benefited directly from U. S. food assistance, the Office of Food for Peace within the United States Agency for International Development is the U. S. Government’s largest provider of food assistance. The food assistance programming is funded primarily through the Food for Peace Act, the Office of Food for Peace also receives International Disaster Assistance Funds through the Foreign Assistance Act that can be used in emergency settings. The Office of Food for Peace donates food based on an identified need, during the 2010s the program underwent revisions offered by in the Administrations Fiscal Year 2014 budget. These revisions would change the program to provide cash donations rather than American grown, on April 24,2013, USA Maritime Chairman James L. Henry wrote a statement which discussed the efficacy of the program and specifically the importance of the U. S. Merchant Marine in delivering the U. S. food aid to people who are undernourished around the world, Henry offers that this is a significant fact in the effort to address global hunger. Americas food assistance programs began in 1812 when James Madison sent emergency aid to victims in Venezuela. As director of the American Relief Administration, Herbert Hoover led a $20 million feeding program in Russia during the 1920s under the Russian Famine Relief Act. In 1949, the United States launched the Marshall Plan, which provided large quantities of food aid commodities to the people of Western Europe, the Marshall Plan helped rejuvenate and unite Europe while laying the foundations for a permanent U. S. food assistance program. Many of the European countries the U. S. Government helped at that time have become major food exporters. On July 10,1954, Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Agricultural Trade Development, by signing this legislation, the President laid “the basis for a permanent expansion of our exports of agricultural products with lasting benefits to ourselves and peoples of other lands. S. dollars. Through new amendments, the law switched its focus from disposing of surplus commodities to addressing humanitarian needs. In signing the extension of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act in 1959 and he specifically referred to the extension as the Food for Peace program. Although Kennedy may have expanded the program, he was not the first to refer to the program as Food for Peace, former U. S. McGovern assumed the post on January 21,1961. He found space for the program in the Executive Office Building rather than be subservient to either the U. S. Department of State or U. S. Department of Agriculture. By the close of 1961, the Food for Peace program was operating in a dozen countries, during an audience in Rome, Pope John XXIII warmly praised McGoverns work. McGovern resigned his post on July 18,1962, wanting to resume his political career
Food for Peace
–
George McGovern as Food for Peace director in 1961, with President John F. Kennedy
19.
World Cocoa Foundation
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The World Cocoa Foundation is a trade group with 100 member companies with giant manufacturers like Nestlé and Mars, Inc. The World Cocoa Foundation represents 80% of the corporate market. Governmental and educational partnerships include The United States Department of Agriculture, however, the majority of members are private companies with a focus on the chocolate industry. Mondelēz International, Nestlé and Olam International and these are the world’s largest cocoa and chocolate companies working through CocoaAction to coordinate their cocoa sustainability efforts starting with Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The World Cocoa Industry has invested millions of dollars in an attempt to reach their goal of doubling Côte d’Ivoires cocoa production, Côte d’Ivoire depends on its cocoa industry as a major part of its exports. According to the industry, the small-acreage, low-technology, low-yield, no-fertilizer. The World Cocoa Foundations president, Richard Scobey argues that higher-yield cocoa plantations would take the pressure off the kind of expansion into protected forest areas that we’ve seen. The United Nations warns of a crisis as the 51,000 people removed from the Park
World Cocoa Foundation
–
Overview
20.
Harvey Washington Wiley
–
He was the first commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration. He was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1910, Wiley was born on October 18,1844 in a log farmhouse near Kent, in Jefferson County, Indiana, the son of a farmer. He returned to Hanover in 1865 where he majored in the humanities and was a top graduate in 1867 and he received an A. M. there in 1870. Wiley studied at Indiana Medical College where he received his M. D. in 1871 and he was professor of Greek and Latin at Butler College, Indianapolis, 1868-70. After he graduated, Wiley accepted a position teaching chemistry at the medical college and he was also appointed state chemist of Indiana. In 1878, Wiley travelled overseas where he attended the lectures of August Wilhelm von Hofmann — the celebrated German discoverer of several organic tar derivatives, while in Germany, Wiley was elected to the prestigious German Chemical Society founded by Hofmann. Wiley spent most of his time in the Imperial Food Laboratory in Bismarck working with Eugene Sell, mastering the use of the polariscope and studying sugar chemistry. Upon his return to Purdue, Wiley was asked by the Indiana State Board of Health to analyze the sugars and syrups on sale in the state to detect any adulteration. He spent his last years at Purdue studying sorghum culture and sugar chemistry, hoping, as did others and his first published paper in 1881 discussed the adulteration of sugar with glucose. Wiley was offered the position of Chief Chemist in the United States Department of Agriculture by George Loring, the Commissioner of Agriculture, in 1882. Loring was seeking to replace his chemist with someone who could employ a more objective approach to the study of sorghum, the potential of which as a sugar source was far from proven. Wiley accepted the offer after being passed over for the presidency of Purdue, allegedly because he was too young and too jovial, unorthodox in his religious beliefs, and also a bachelor. Wiley brought with him to Washington a practical knowledge of agriculture, an approach to the problems of agricultural industry. These famous poison squad studies drew national attention to the need for a federal food, Wiley soon became a crusader and coalition builder in support of national food and drug regulation. His work, and that of Alice Lakey, spurred one million American women to write to the White House in support of the Pure Food, Wiley was nicknamed the Father of the Pure Food and Drugs Act when it became law in 1906. Wiley wrote two editions of Foods and Their Adulteration, which detailed the history, preparation and subsequent adulteration of foodstuffs to a broad audience. He was also a father of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Wileys tenure was marked by controversy over the administration of the 1906 statute which he had worked so hard to secure, concerns over preserving chemicals, which had not been specifically addressed in the law, continued to be controversial
Harvey Washington Wiley
–
Harvey Washington Wiley
Harvey Washington Wiley
Harvey Washington Wiley
Harvey Washington Wiley
21.
Economy of the United States
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The United States GDP was estimated to be $17.914 trillion as of Q22015. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. The United States has an economy and has maintained a stable overall GDP growth rate, a moderate unemployment rate. Its seven largest trading partners are Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, the US has abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. It has the worlds ninth-highest per capita GDP and tenth-highest per capita GDP as of 2013, Americans have the highest average household and employee income among OECD nations, and in 2010 had the fourth highest median household income, down from second highest in 2007. It has been the worlds largest national economy since at least the 1890s, the U. S. is the worlds third largest producer of oil and natural gas. It is one of the largest trading nations in the world as well as the second largest manufacturer. The US not only has the largest internal market for goods, US total trade amounted to $4. 93T in 2012. Of the worlds 500 largest companies,128 are headquartered in the US, the United States has one of the worlds largest and most influential financial markets. The New York Stock Exchange is by far the worlds largest stock exchange by market capitalization, foreign investments made in the US total almost $2.4 trillion, while American investments in foreign countries total over $3.3 trillion. The economy of the U. S. leads in international ranking on venture capital and Global Research, consumer spending comprises 71% of the US economy in 2013. The United States has the largest consumer market in the world, the labor market has attracted immigrants from all over the world and its net migration rate is among the highest in the world. The U. S. is one of the economies in studies such as the Ease of Doing Business Index, the Global Competitiveness Report. The US economy went through a downturn following the financial crisis of 2007–08. The economy, however, began to recover in the half of 2009. In December 2014, public debt was more than 100% of GDP. Domestic financial assets totaled $131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities totaled $106 trillion, the economic history of the United States began with American settlements in the 17th and 18th centuries. The American colonies went from marginally successful colonial economies to a small, independent farming economy, in 180 years, the US grew to a huge, integrated, industrialized economy that made up around one fifth of the world economy
Economy of the United States
–
New York City, the
financial center of the United States and the world.
Economy of the United States
–
Comparison between U.S. states and countries by GDP in 2012.
Economy of the United States
–
United States mean duration of unemployment 1948–2010.
Economy of the United States
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Tennessee in 1897. The US was a leader in the adoption of
electric lighting
22.
Agrarian economy
–
An agrarian society is any society whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a total production is in agriculture. In an agrarian society cultivating the land is the source of wealth. Such a society may acknowledge other means of livelihood and work habits but stresses the importance of agriculture, Agrarian societies have existed in various parts of the world as far back as 10,000 years ago and continue to exist today. They have been the most common form of organization for most of recorded human history. Agrarian societies were preceded by hunter and gatherer societies and horticultural societies, the transition to agriculture, called the Neolithic Revolution, has taken place independently multiple times. Horticulture and agriculture as types of subsistence developed among humans somewhere between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East. The reasons for the development of agriculture are debated but may have included climate change and the accumulation of food surplus for competitive gift-giving. In addition to the emergence of farming in the Fertile Crescent, agriculture appeared in, by at least 6,800 B. C. E. in East Asia and, later, in Central and South America. Small-scale agriculture also likely arose independently in early Neolithic contexts in India, however, full dependency on domestic crops and animals, when wild resources contributed a nutritionally insignificant component to the diet, did not occur until the Bronze Age. Agriculture allows a greater density of population than can be supported by hunting and gathering. Agrarian societies thus support the emergence of a complex social structure. In agrarian societies, some of the correlations between social complexity and environment begin to disappear. But environmental factors may play a strong role as variables that affect the internal structure. It is now clear that agriculture was adopted despite certain disadvantages of that lifestyle, archeological studies show that health deteriorated in populations that adopted cereal agriculture, returning to pre-agricultural levels only in modem times. This is in part attributable to the spread of infection in crowded cities, people in many parts of the world remained hunter-gatherers until quite recently, though they were quite aware of the existence and methods of agriculture, they declined to undertake it. Many explanations have been offered, usually centered around a factor that forced the adoption of agriculture. Agrarian societies transition into industrial societies when less than half of their population is engaged in agricultural production
Agrarian economy
–
Agriculture
23.
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth
–
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth was a Yale-educated attorney who became the first Commissioner of the U. S. Patent Office, where he encouraged innovation by inventors Samuel F. B, Ellsworth was born in Windsor, Connecticut, son of Founding Father and Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth and Abigail Wolcott. Ellsworth graduated from Yale University in 1810, and studied law at Tapping Reeves Litchfield Law School in 1811, on June 22,1813, he married Nancy Allen Goodrich with whom Ellsworth had three children, including son Henry W. Ellsworth. Later in life, he had two subsequent wives, Marietta Mariana Bartlett and Catherine Smith, Ellsworth was named in part for his grandmothers family, the Leavitts of Suffield, Connecticut. After studying law under Judge Gould in Litchfield, Connecticut, he settled first at Windsor and then at Hartford, in 1811, when he was 19 years old and a freshly minted Yale graduate, Ellsworth undertook the first of several western trips during his lifetime. Ellsworth traveled by horseback to the Connecticut Western Reserve in present-day Ohio to investigate family lands in the region, Ellsworth wrote a small, uneven book about his experiences entitled A Tour to New Connecticut in 1811. Ellsworths mission was straightening out irregularities in land sales by the family agent, along the way Ellsworth made note of attractive vistas, rowdy drunks, solicitous innkeepers and his disappointment in places of which he had heard, like Erie. The journeys rigors were relieved by a meeting with his old friend Margaret Dwight, daughter of Yale president Timothy Dwight IV, here too, wrote Ellsworth, I met with my good old friend Margaret Dwight, we sat down and passed a few hours in social chat. Dwight wrote her own account of her Western Reserve trip, A Journey to Ohio in 1810, over twenty years later, in 1832, Ellsworth traveled west again, this time as U. S. Commissioner of Indian Tribes in Arkansas and Oklahoma, Ellsworth travelled to Fort Gibson to investigate the situation. Louis magnates of the Midwestern fur trade, in 1835, Ellsworth was elected mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, but had served only a month when he was appointed the first Commissioner of the U. S. Patent Office, an office he held for ten years, from 1835 until 1845 and his twin brother William W. Ellsworth was Governor of Connecticut from 1838 to 1842, and served as a U. S. William Wolcott Ellsworth was married to the daughter of Noah Webster, when he arrived at the Patent Office, Ellsworth found one third of the floor-space in his office occupied by over 60 models of inventions, he moved them to a separate room. He also found that no list of patent applicants had ever drawn up. Acting as Patent Commissioner, Ellsworth made a decision that profoundly affected the future of Hartford, the young Samuel Colt was struggling to establish a firm to manufacture his new revolver. Ellsworth became interested in Colts invention, and in 1836 made the decision to issue Colt U. S, in todays world Ellsworth would be described as an early technology adapter. From Ellsworths exposure to the West and knowledge of inventions, he prophesied late in life that the lands of the West would be cultivated by means of steam plows. This prophecy was introduced in the probate of his will in an attempt to prove that he was of unsound mind, by 1845 Ellsworths patent office was performing the functions of a full-fledged agricultural bureau
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth
–
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, first Commissioner of the
U.S. Patent Office, founder,
United States Department of Agriculture
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth
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Oliver Ellsworth Homestead, Windsor, Connecticut, birthplace of Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, National Historic Landmark
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth
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Broadside advertising sale by Ellsworth of parcels of his western lands,
Lafayette, Indiana, 1847
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth
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The Morse Telegraph, one of many inventions championed by Henry Leavitt Ellsworth
24.
United States Department of State
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The Department was created in 1789 and was the first executive department established. The Department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building located at 2201 C Street, NW, the Department operates the diplomatic missions of the United States abroad and is responsible for implementing the foreign policy of the United States and U. S. diplomacy efforts. The Department is also the depositary for more than 200 multilateral treaties, the Department is led by the Secretary of State, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of State is Rex Tillerson, beginning 1 February 2017, the Secretary of State is the first Cabinet official in the order of precedence and in the presidential line of succession, after the President pro tempore of the Senate. This legislation remains the law of the Department of State. In September 1789, additional legislation changed the name of the agency to the Department of State and these responsibilities grew to include management of the United States Mint, keeper of the Great Seal of the United States, and the taking of the census. President George Washington signed the new legislation on September 15, most of these domestic duties of the Department of State were eventually turned over to various new Federal departments and agencies that were established during the 19th century. On September 29,1789, President Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, then Minister to France, from 1790 to 1800, the State Department had its headquarters in Philadelphia, the capital of the United States at the time. It occupied a building at Church and Fifth Streets, in 1800, it moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D. C. where it first occupied the Treasury Building and then the Seven Buildings at 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. It moved into the Six Buildings in September 1800, where it remained until May 1801 and it moved into the War Office Building due west of the White House in May 1801. It occupied the Treasury Building from September 1819 to November 1866 and it then occupied the Washington City Orphan Home from November 1866 to July 1875. It moved to the State, War, and Navy Building in 1875, since May 1947, it has occupied the Harry S. Truman Building in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, the State Department is therefore sometimes metonymically referred to as Foggy Bottom. Madeleine Albright became the first woman to become the United States Secretary of State, condoleezza Rice became the second female secretary of state in 2005. Hillary Rodham Clinton became the female secretary of state when she was appointed in 2009. In 2014, the State Department began expanding into the Navy Hill Complex across 23rd Street NW from the Truman Building, the Executive Branch and the U. S. Congress have constitutional responsibilities for U. S. foreign policy. Within the Executive Branch, the Department of State is the lead U. S, the Department advances U. S. objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the Presidents foreign policy. It also provides an array of important services to U. S. citizens, the total Department of State budget, together with Other International Programs, costs about 45 cents a day for each resident of the United States. Keeping the public informed about U. S. foreign policy and relations with other countries, providing automobile registration for non-diplomatic staff vehicles and the vehicles of diplomats of foreign countries having diplomatic immunity in the United States
United States Department of State
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Harry S Truman Building, headquarters of the U.S. State Department since 1947
United States Department of State
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Seal of the U.S. Department of State
United States Department of State
–
Secretary of State
John Kerry
United States Department of State
–
Organizational chart of the U.S. Department of State as of March 2014
25.
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
United States Congress
United States Congress
–
United States Congress
United States Congress
–
In 1868, this committee of representatives prosecuted president
Andrew Johnson in his impeachment trial, but the Senate did not convict him.
United States Congress
–
George Washington presiding over the signing of the
United States Constitution.
26.
United States Patent and Trademark Office
–
The USPTO is unique among federal agencies because it operates solely on fees collected by its users, and not on taxpayer dollars. The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia, after a 2005 move from the Crystal City area of neighboring Arlington, the head of the USPTO is Michelle K. Lee. She took up her new role on January 13,2014, on March 13, she formally took office as Director after being nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U. S. Senate. She formerly served as the Director of the USPTOs Silicon Valley satellite office, the USPTO cooperates with the European Patent Office and the Japan Patent Office as one of the Trilateral Patent Offices. The USPTO mission is to maintain a permanent, interdisciplinary historical record of all U. S. patent applications in order to fulfill objectives outlined in the United States Constitution. The legal basis for the United States patent system is Article 1, Section 8, an additional building in Arlington, Virginia, was opened in 2009. The USPTO was expected by 2014 to open its first ever satellite offices in Detroit, Dallas, Denver, the first satellite office opened in Detroit on July 13,2012. In 2013, due to the sequestration, the satellite office for Silicon Valley. However, renovation and infrastructure updates continued after the sequestration, and the Silicon Valley location is due to open in San Jose City Hall in mid-2015. As of September 30,2009, the end of the U. S. governments fiscal year, of those,6,242 were patent examiners and 388 were trademark examining attorneys, the rest are support staff. They are generally newly graduated scientists and engineers, recruited from universities around the nation. They hold degrees in scientific disciplines, but who do not necessarily hold law degrees. Unlike patent examiners, trademark examiners must be licensed attorneys, all examiners work under a strict, count-based production system. For every application, counts are earned by composing, filing, and mailing a first office action on the merits, the Patent Operations of the office is divided into nine different technology centers that deal with various arts. Prior to 2012, decisions of patent examiners may be appealed to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, the United States Supreme Court may ultimately decide on a patent case. Similarly, decisions of trademark examiners may be appealed to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, with subsequent appeals directed to the Federal Circuit, under the America Invents Act, the BPAI was converted to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or PTAB. In recent years, the USPTO has seen increasing delays between when a patent application is filed and when it issues, to address its workload challenges, the USPTO has undertaken an aggressive program of hiring and recruitment. The USPTO hired 1,193 new patent examiners in Fiscal Year 2006,1,215 new examiners in fiscal 2007, in 2006, USPTO instituted a new training program for patent examiners called the Patent Training Academy
United States Patent and Trademark Office
–
Relief representing the Patent Office at the
Herbert C. Hoover Building.
United States Patent and Trademark Office
–
Seal of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
–
PTO headquarters in
Alexandria, Virginia
United States Patent and Trademark Office
–
First United States patent
27.
United States Department of the Interior
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The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U. S. About 75% of federal land is managed by the department. The Department is administered by the United States Secretary of the Interior, the current Secretary is Ryan Zinke. The Inspector General position is vacant, with Mary Kendall serving as acting Inspector General. Despite its name, the Department of the Interior has a different role from that of the ministries of other nations. In the United States, national security and immigration functions are performed by the Department of Homeland Security primarily, the Department of the Interior has often been humorously called The Department of Everything Else because of its broad range of responsibilities. A department for domestic concern was first considered by the 1st United States Congress in 1789, the idea of a separate domestic department continued to percolate for a half-century and was supported by Presidents from James Madison to James Polk. The 1846–48 Mexican–American War gave the new steam as the responsibilities of federal government grew. Polks Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. Walker, became a champion of creating the new department. In 1849, Walker stated in his report that several federal offices were placed in departments with which they had little to do. Walker argued that these and other bureaus should be together in a new Department of the Interior. A bill authorizing its creation of the Department passed the House of Representatives on February 15,1849, the Department was established on March 3,1849, the eve of President Zachary Taylors inauguration, when the Senate voted 31 to 25 to create the Department. Its passage was delayed by Democrats in Congress who were reluctant to create more patronage posts for the incoming Whig administration to fill, the first Secretary of the Interior was Thomas Ewing. Many of the concerns the Department originally dealt with were gradually transferred to other Departments. Other agencies became separate Departments, such as the Bureau of Agriculture, however, land and natural resource management, American Indian affairs, wildlife conservation, and territorial affairs remain the responsibilities of the Department of the Interior. As of mid-2004, the Department managed 507 million acres of surface land, energy projects on federally managed lands and offshore areas supply about 28% of the nations energy production. Within the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs handles some federal relations with Native Americans, the current acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is Lawrence S. Roberts, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe in Wisconsin. Several cases have sought accounting of such funds from the departments of Interior, in addition, some Native American nations have sued the government over water-rights issues and their treaties with the US
United States Department of the Interior
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Main Interior Building 1849 C Street
NW Washington, D.C., U.S. 38°53′37.11″N 77°2′33.33″W / 38.8936417°N 77.0425917°W / 38.8936417; -77.0425917
United States Department of the Interior
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Seal of the U.S. Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
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The
hierarchy of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
28.
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
Washington D.C.
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Clockwise from top left:
Smithsonian Institution Building,
Rock Creek Park,
National Mall (including the
Lincoln Memorial in the foreground),
Howard Theatre and the
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Washington D.C.
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Map of the District of Columbia in 1835, prior to the
retrocession
Washington D.C.
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Ford's Theatre in the 19th century, site of the 1865
assassination of
President Lincoln
Washington D.C.
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Crowds surrounding the
Reflecting Pool during the 1963
March on Washington
29.
Abraham Lincoln
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Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, in doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the frontier in Kentucky. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, tariffs, and railroads. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, in 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. Though he gained little support in the slaveholding states of the South. Subsequently, on April 12,1861, a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to enthusiastically rally behind the Union. Politically, Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other, by carefully planned political patronage and his Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war and his primary goal was to reunite the nation. He suspended habeas corpus, leading to the ex parte Merryman decision. Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including his most successful general, Lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another, until finally Grant succeeded. As the war progressed, his moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. On April 14,1865, five days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton launched a manhunt for Booth, and 12 days later on April 26, Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U. S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12,1809, the child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk to its namesake of Hingham, samuels grandson and great-grandson began the familys western migration, which passed through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincolns paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln, moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Captain Lincoln was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, the presidents father
Abraham Lincoln
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Lincoln in 1863, aged 54
Abraham Lincoln
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The young Lincoln in sculpture at Senn Park, Chicago.
Abraham Lincoln
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1864 photo of President Lincoln with youngest son,
Tad
Abraham Lincoln
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Lincoln depicted protecting a Native American from his own men in a scene often related about Lincoln's service during the
Black Hawk War.
30.
Advocacy group
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Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and/or policy. They have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems. Groups vary considerably in size, influence, and motive, some have wide-ranging long term social purposes, motives for action may be based on a shared political, religious, moral, health or commercial position. Groups use varied methods to try to achieve their aims including lobbying, media campaigns, publicity stunts, polls, research, and policy briefings. Some groups are supported or backed by business or political interests and exert considerable influence on the political process. Some have developed into important social, political institutions or social movements, Some groups, generally ones with less financial resources, may use direct action and civil disobedience and in some cases are accused of being a threat to the social order or domestic extremists. Research is beginning to explore how advocacy groups use media to facilitate civic engagement. An advocacy group is a group or an organization tries to influence the government. The first mass social movement catalyzed around the political figure. Charged with seditious libel, Wilkes was arrested after the issue of a general warrant, as a result of this episode, Wilkes became a figurehead to the growing movement for popular sovereignty among the middle classes – people began chanting, Wilkes and Liberty in the streets. After a later period of exile, brought about by further charges of libel and obscenity, Wilkes stood for the Parliamentary seat at Middlesex, where most of his support was located. When Wilkes was imprisoned in the Kings Bench Prison on 10 May 1768 and this was the first ever sustained social advocacy group, —it involved public meetings, demonstrations, the distribution of pamphlets on an unprecedented scale and the mass petition march. The force and influence of this social movement on the streets of London compelled the authorities to concede to the movements demands. Wilkes was returned to Parliament, general warrants were declared as unconstitutional, another important advocacy group that emerged in the late 18th century was the British abolitionist movement against slavery. Starting with an organised sugar boycott in 1791, it led the great petition drive of 1806. In the opinion of Eugene Black. association made possible the extension of the politically effective public, modern extra parliamentary political organization is a product of the late eighteenth century the history of the age of reform cannot be written without it. From 1815, Britain after victory in the Napoleonic Wars entered a period of social upheaval characterised by the maturity of the use of social movements. Chartism was the first mass movement of the growing working-class in the world and they led, among other things, to the formation of green parties and organisations influenced by the new left
Advocacy group
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The Great Chartist Meeting on
Kennington Common, London in 1848.
Advocacy group
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Satirical engraving of Wilkes by
William Hogarth. Wilkes is holding two editions of
The North Briton.
Advocacy group
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Martin Luther King led the
American Civil Rights Movement, one of the most famous social movements of the 20th century.
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