Profile of USA
Capital Washington, D.C.
Largest city New York City
National language English
Government Federal presidential constitutional republic
President Barack Obama
Vice President Joe Biden
Legislature Congress
Upper House Senate
Lower House House of Representatives
Declared Area July 4, 1776
Total 9,826,675 km2
3,794,101 sq mi
Population 2010 census
308,745,538
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D..C the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 310 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest both by land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2010 GDP of $14.780 trillion (23% of nominal global GDP and 20% of global GDP at purchasing power parity).
Geography and environment
The land area of the contiguous United States is approximately 1,900 million acres (7,700,000 km2). Alaska, separated from the contiguous United States by Canada, is the largest state at 365 million acres (1,480,000 km2). Hawaii, occupying an archipelago in the central Pacific, southwest of North America, has just over 4 million acres (16,000 km2). The United States is the world's third or fourth largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and just above or below China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted and how the total size of the United States is measured: calculations range from 3,676,486 square miles (9,522,055 km2) to 3,717,813 square miles (9,629,091 km2) to 3,794,101 square miles (9,826,676 km2) Including only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada
The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous frests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The Appalachian Mountains divide the eastern seaboard from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi–Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado. Farther west are the rocky Great Basin and deserts such as the Mojave. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast. At 20,320 feet (6,194 m), Alaska's Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in the country and in North America. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic feature.
The United States, with its large size and geographic variety, includes most climate types. To the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The southern tip of Florida is tropical, as is Hawaii. The Great Plains west of the 100th meridian are semi-arid. Much of the Western mountains are alpine. The climate is arid in the Great Basin, desert in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California, and oceanic in coastal Oregon and Washington and southern Alaska. Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar. Extreme weather is not uncommon—the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of the world's tornadoes occur within the country, mainly in the Midwest's Tornad Alley.
Political Divisions
The United States is a federal union of fifty states. The original thirteen states were the successors of the thirteen colonies that rebelled against British rule. Early in the country's history, three new states were organized on territory separated from the claims of the existing states: Kentucky from Virginia; Tennessee from North Carolina; and Maine from Massachusetts. Most of the other states have been carved from territories obtained through war or purchase by the U.S. government. One set of exceptions comprises Vermont, Texas, and Hawaii: each was an independent republic before joining the union. During the American Civil War, West Virginia broke away from Virginia. The most recent state—Hawaii—achieved statehood on August 21, 1959. The states do not have the right to secede from the union.
The states compose the vast bulk of the U.S. land mass; the two other areas considered integral parts of the country are the District of Columbia, the federal district where the capital, Washington, is located; and Palmyra Atoll, an uninhabited but incorporated territory in the Pacific Ocean. The United States also possesses five major overseas territories: Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands in the Caribbean; and American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific. Those born in the major territories (except for American Samoa) possess U.S. citizenship. American citizens residing in the territories have many of the same rights and responsibilities as citizens residing in the states; however, they are generally exempt from federal income tax, may not vote for president, and have only nonvoting representation in the U.S. Congress.
Civil War and industrialization
Tensions between slave and free states mounted with arguments over the relationship between the state and federal governments, as well as violent conflicts over the spread of slavery into new states. Abraham Lincoln, candidate of the largely antislavery Republican Party, was elected president in 1860. Before he took office, seven slave states declared their secession—which the federal government maintained was illegal—and formed the Confederate States of America. With the Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter, the Civil War began and four more slave states joined the Confederacy. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 declared slaves in the Confederacy to be free. Following the Union victory in 1865, three amendments to the U.S. Constitution ensured freedom for the nearly four million African Americans who had been slaves, made them citizens, and gave them voting rights. The war and its resolution led to a substantial increase in federal power. The war remains the deadliest conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers.
After the war, the assassination of Lincoln radicalized Republican Reconstruction policies aimed at reintegrating and rebuilding the Southern states while ensuring the rights of the newly freed slaves. The resolution of the disputed 1876 presidential election by the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction; Jim Crow laws soon disenfranchised many African Americans. In the North, urbanization and an unprecedented influx of immigrants from Southern Southern and Eastern Europe hastened the country's industrialization. The wave of immigration, lasting until 1929, provided labor and transformed American culture. National infrastructure development spurred economic growth. The 1867 Alaska Purchase from Russia completed the country's mainland expansion. The Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 was the last major armed conflict of the Indian Wars. In 1893, the indigenous monarchy of the Pacific Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in a coup led by American residents; the United States annexed the archipelago in 1898. Victory in the Spanish–American War the same year demonstrated that the United States was a world power and led to the annexation of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines The Philippines gained independence a half-century later; Puerto Rico and Guam remain U.S. territories.
World War I and World War II
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the United States remained neutral. Most Americans sympathized with the British and French, although many opposed intervention. In 1917, the United States joined the Allies, helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers. After the war, the Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles, which established the League of Nations. The country pursued a policy of unilateralism, verging on isolationism In 1920, the women's rights movement won passage of a constitutional amendment granting women's suffrage. The prosperity of the Roaring Twenties ended with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that triggered the Great Depression. After his election as president in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt responded with the New Deal, a range of policies increasing government intervention in the economy. The Dust Bowl of the mid-1930s impoverished many farming communities and spurred a new wave of western migration.
The United States, effectively neutral during World War II's early stages after Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, began supplying materiel to the Allies in March 1941 through the Lend-Lease program. On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States to join the Allies against the Axis powers as well as the internment of Japanese Americans by the thousands. Participation in the war spurred capital investment and industrial capacity. Among the major combatants, the United States was the only nation to become richer—indeed, far richer—instead of poorer because of the war. Allied conferences at Bretton Woods and Yalta outlined a new system of international organizations that placed the United States and Soviet Union at the center of world affairs. As victory was won in Europe, a 1945 international conference held in San Francisco produced the United Nations Charter, which became active after the war. The United States, having developed the first nuclear weapons, used them on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August. Japan surrendered on September 2, ending the war.
Cold War and protest politics
The United States and Soviet Union jockeyed for power after World War II during the Cold War, dominating the military affairs of Europe through NATO and the Warsaw Pact, respectively. While they engaged in proxy wars and developed powerful nuclear arsenals, the two countries avoided direct military conflict. Resisting leftist land and income redistribution projects around the world, the United States often supported authoritarian governments. American troops fought Communist Chinese forces in the Korean War of 1950–53. The House Un-American Activities Committee pursued a series of investigations into suspected leftist subversion, while Senator Joseph McCarthy became the figurehead of anticommunist sentiment.
The 1961 Soviet launch of the first manned spaceflight prompted President John F. Kennedy's call for the United States to be first to land "a man on the moon, achieved in 1969. Kennedy also faced a tense nuclear showdown with Soviet forces in Cuba. Meanwhile, the United States experienced sustained economic expansion. A growing civil rights movement, symbolized and led by African Americans such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and James Bevel, used nonviolence to confront segregation and discrimination. Following Kennedy's assassination in 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 wre passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson and his successor, Richard Nixon, expanded a proxy war in Southeast Asia into the unsuccessful Vietnam War. A widespread countercultural movement grew, fueled by opposition to the war, black nationalism, and the sexual revolution. Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and others led a new wave of feminism that sought political, social, and economic equality for women.
As a result of the Watergate scandal, in 1974 Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign, to avoid being impeached on charges including obstruction of justice and abuse of power; he was succeeded by Vice President Gerald Ford. The Jimmy Carter administration of the late 1970s was marked by stagflation and the Iran hostage crisis. The election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980 heralded a rightward shift in American politics, reflected in major changes in taxation and spending priorities. His second term in office brought both the Iran-Contra scandal and significant diplomatic progress with the Soviet Union. The subsequent Soviet collapse ended the Cold War.
GOVERNMENT, ELECTIONS, AND POLITICS.
The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law". The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government, federal, state, and local; the local government's duties are commonly split between county and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. There is no proportional representation at the federal level, and it is very rare at lower levels.
The federal government is composed of three branches:
Legislative- The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.
Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.
The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population every tenth year. As of the 2000 census, seven states have the minimum of one representative, while California, the most populous state, has fifty-three. The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected at-large to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every other year. The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice. The president is not elected by direct vote, but by an indirect electoral college system in which the determining votes are apportioned by state. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has nine members, who serve for life.
The state governments are structured in roughly similar fashion; Nebraska uniquely has a unicameral legislature. The governor (chief executive) of each state is directly elected. Some state judges and cabinet officers are appointed by the governors of the respective states, while others are elected by popular vote.
All laws and governmental procedures are subject to judicial review, and any law ruled in violation of the Constitution is voided. The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. Article One protects the right to the "great writ" of habeas corpus, and Article Thre guarantees the right to a jury trial in all criminal cases. Amendments to the Constitution require the approval of three-fourths of the states. The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; the first ten amendments, which make up the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment form the central basis of Americans' individual rights.
Political Parties
The United States has operated under a two-party system for most of its history. For elective offices at most levels, state-administered primary elections choose the major party nominees for subsequent general elections. Since the general election of 1856, the major parties have been the Democratic Party, founded in 1824, and the Republican Party, founded in 1854. Since the Civil War, only one third-party presidential candidate—former president Theodore Roosevelt, running as a Progressive in 1912—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote.
Within American political culture, the Republican Party is considered center-right or "conservative" and the Democratic Party is considered center-left or "liberal". The states of the Northeast and West Coast and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "blue states", are relatively liberal. The "red states" of the South and parts of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are relatively conservative.
The winner of the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama, is the 44th U.S president. The 2010 midterm elections saw the Republican Party take control of the House and make gains in the Senate, where the Democrats retain the majority. In the 112th United States Congress, the Senate comprises 51 Democrats, two independents who caucus with the Democrats, and 47 Republicans; the House comprises 242 Republicans and 193 Democrats. There are 29 Republican and 20 Democratic state governors, as well as one independent.
Economy
The United States has a capitalist mixed economy, which is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. GDP of $14.780 trillion constitutes 23% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and over 20% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP). Though larger than any other nation's, its national GDP is about 5% smaller than the GDP of the European Union at PPP in 2008. The country ranks ninth in the world in nominal GDP per capita and sixth in GDP per capita at PPP. The U.S. dollar is the world's primary reserve currency.
The United States is the largest importer of goods and third largest exporter, though exports per capita are relatively low. In 2008, the total U.S. trade deficit was $696 billion. Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany are its top trading partners. In 2007, vehicles constituted both the leading import and leading export commodity. China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. public debt. The United States ranks fourth in the Global Competitiveness Report
In 2009, the private sector was estimated to constitute 55.3% of the economy, with federal government activity accounting for 24.1% and state and local government activity (including federal transfers) the remaining 20.6%. While its economy has reached a postindustrial level of development and its service sector constitutes 67.8% of GDP, the United States remains an industrial power. The leading business field by gross business receipts is wholesale and retail trade; by net income it is manufacturing. Chemical products are the leading manufacturing field. The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world, as well as its largest importer. It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, and salt. While agriculture accounts for just under 1% of GDP, the United States is the world's top producer of corn and soybeans Coca-Cola and McDonald's are the two most recognized brands in the world.
In August 2010, the American labor force comprised 154.1 million people. With 21.2 million people, government is the leading field of employment. The largest private employment sector is health care and social assistance, with 16.4 million people. About 12% of workers are unionized, compared to 30% in Western Europe. The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers. In 2009, the United States had the third highest labor productivity per person in the world, behind Luxembourg and Norway. It was fourth in productivity per hour, behind those two countries and the Netherlands. Compared to Europe, U.S. property and corporate income tax rates are generally higher, while labor and, particularly, consumption tax rates are lower.
Religion
The United States is officially a secular nation; the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion and forbids the establishment of any religious governance. In a 2002 study, 59% of Americans said that religion played a "very important role in their lives", a far higher figure than that of any other wealthy nation. According to a 2007 survey, 78.4% of adults identified themselves as Christian, down from 86.4% in 1990. Protestant denominations accounted for 51.3%, while Roman Catholicism, at 23.9%, was the largest individual denomination. The study categorizes white evangelicals, 26.3% of the population, as the country's largest religious cohort; another study estimates evangelicals of all races at 30–35%. The total reporting non-Christian religions in 2007 was 4.7%, up from 3.3% in 1990. The leading non-Christian faiths were Judaism (1.7%), Buddhism (0.7%), Islam (0.6%), Hinduism (0.4%), and Unitarian Universalism (0.3%). The survey also reported that 16.1% of Americans described themselves as agnostic, atheist, or simply having no religion, up from 8.2% in 1990.
Sports
Baseball has been regarded as the national sport since the late 19th century, even after being eclipsed in popularity by American football. Basketball and ice hockey are the country's next two leading professional team sports. College football and basketball attract large audiences. American football is now by several measures the most popular spectator sport. Boxing and horse racing were once the most watched individual sports, but they have been eclipsed by golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR. Soccer is played widely at the youth and amateur levels. Tennis and many outdoor sports are popular as well.
While most major U.S. sports have evolved out of European practices, basketball, volleyball, skateboarding, snowboarding, and cheerleading are American inventions. Lacrosse and surfing arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate Western contact. Eight Olympic Games have taken place in the United State. The United States has won 2,301 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, more than any other country, and 253 in the Winter Olympic Games, the second most
Popular media
The world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York City in 1894, using Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope. The next year saw the first commercial screening of a projected film, also in New York, and the United States was in the forefront of sound film's development in the following decades. Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, California. Director D. W. Griffith was central to the development of film grammar and Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941) is frequently cited as the greatest film of all time. American screen actors like John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe have become iconic figures, while producer/entrepreneur Walt Disney was a leader in both animated film and movie merchandising. The major film studios of Hollywood have produced the most commercially successful movies in history, such as Star Wars (1977) and Titanic (1997), and the products of Hollywood today dominate the global film industry.
Americans are the heaviest television viewers in the world, and the average viewing time continues to rise, reaching five hours a day in 2006. The four major broadcast networks are all commercial entities. Americans listen to radio programming, also largely commercialized, on average just over two-and-a-half hours a day. Aside from web portals and search engines, the most popular websites are Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Blogger, eBay, and Craigslist.
The rhythmic and lyrical styles of African-American music have deeply influenced American music at large, distinguishing it from European traditions. Elements from folk idioms such as the blues and what is now known as old-time music were adopted and transformed into popular genres with global audiences. Jazz was developed by innovators such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington early in the 20th century. Country music developed in the 1920s, and rhythm and blues in the 1940s. Elvis Presley and Chuc Berry were among the mid-1950s pioneers of rock and roll. In the 1960s, Bob Dylan emerged from the folk revival to become one of America's most celebrated songwriters and James Brown led the development of funk. More recent American creations include hip hop and house music. American pop stars such as Presley, Michael Jackson, and Madonna have become global celebrities.
Famous Peaks
Presidents
Political Parties
Largest city New York City
National language English
Government Federal presidential constitutional republic
President Barack Obama
Vice President Joe Biden
Legislature Congress
Upper House Senate
Lower House House of Representatives
Declared Area July 4, 1776
Total 9,826,675 km2
3,794,101 sq mi
Population 2010 census
308,745,538
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D..C the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 310 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest both by land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2010 GDP of $14.780 trillion (23% of nominal global GDP and 20% of global GDP at purchasing power parity).
Geography and environment
The land area of the contiguous United States is approximately 1,900 million acres (7,700,000 km2). Alaska, separated from the contiguous United States by Canada, is the largest state at 365 million acres (1,480,000 km2). Hawaii, occupying an archipelago in the central Pacific, southwest of North America, has just over 4 million acres (16,000 km2). The United States is the world's third or fourth largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and just above or below China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted and how the total size of the United States is measured: calculations range from 3,676,486 square miles (9,522,055 km2) to 3,717,813 square miles (9,629,091 km2) to 3,794,101 square miles (9,826,676 km2) Including only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada
The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous frests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The Appalachian Mountains divide the eastern seaboard from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi–Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado. Farther west are the rocky Great Basin and deserts such as the Mojave. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast. At 20,320 feet (6,194 m), Alaska's Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in the country and in North America. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic feature.
The United States, with its large size and geographic variety, includes most climate types. To the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The southern tip of Florida is tropical, as is Hawaii. The Great Plains west of the 100th meridian are semi-arid. Much of the Western mountains are alpine. The climate is arid in the Great Basin, desert in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California, and oceanic in coastal Oregon and Washington and southern Alaska. Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar. Extreme weather is not uncommon—the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of the world's tornadoes occur within the country, mainly in the Midwest's Tornad Alley.
Political Divisions
The United States is a federal union of fifty states. The original thirteen states were the successors of the thirteen colonies that rebelled against British rule. Early in the country's history, three new states were organized on territory separated from the claims of the existing states: Kentucky from Virginia; Tennessee from North Carolina; and Maine from Massachusetts. Most of the other states have been carved from territories obtained through war or purchase by the U.S. government. One set of exceptions comprises Vermont, Texas, and Hawaii: each was an independent republic before joining the union. During the American Civil War, West Virginia broke away from Virginia. The most recent state—Hawaii—achieved statehood on August 21, 1959. The states do not have the right to secede from the union.
The states compose the vast bulk of the U.S. land mass; the two other areas considered integral parts of the country are the District of Columbia, the federal district where the capital, Washington, is located; and Palmyra Atoll, an uninhabited but incorporated territory in the Pacific Ocean. The United States also possesses five major overseas territories: Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands in the Caribbean; and American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific. Those born in the major territories (except for American Samoa) possess U.S. citizenship. American citizens residing in the territories have many of the same rights and responsibilities as citizens residing in the states; however, they are generally exempt from federal income tax, may not vote for president, and have only nonvoting representation in the U.S. Congress.
Civil War and industrialization
Tensions between slave and free states mounted with arguments over the relationship between the state and federal governments, as well as violent conflicts over the spread of slavery into new states. Abraham Lincoln, candidate of the largely antislavery Republican Party, was elected president in 1860. Before he took office, seven slave states declared their secession—which the federal government maintained was illegal—and formed the Confederate States of America. With the Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter, the Civil War began and four more slave states joined the Confederacy. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 declared slaves in the Confederacy to be free. Following the Union victory in 1865, three amendments to the U.S. Constitution ensured freedom for the nearly four million African Americans who had been slaves, made them citizens, and gave them voting rights. The war and its resolution led to a substantial increase in federal power. The war remains the deadliest conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers.
After the war, the assassination of Lincoln radicalized Republican Reconstruction policies aimed at reintegrating and rebuilding the Southern states while ensuring the rights of the newly freed slaves. The resolution of the disputed 1876 presidential election by the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction; Jim Crow laws soon disenfranchised many African Americans. In the North, urbanization and an unprecedented influx of immigrants from Southern Southern and Eastern Europe hastened the country's industrialization. The wave of immigration, lasting until 1929, provided labor and transformed American culture. National infrastructure development spurred economic growth. The 1867 Alaska Purchase from Russia completed the country's mainland expansion. The Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 was the last major armed conflict of the Indian Wars. In 1893, the indigenous monarchy of the Pacific Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in a coup led by American residents; the United States annexed the archipelago in 1898. Victory in the Spanish–American War the same year demonstrated that the United States was a world power and led to the annexation of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines The Philippines gained independence a half-century later; Puerto Rico and Guam remain U.S. territories.
World War I and World War II
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the United States remained neutral. Most Americans sympathized with the British and French, although many opposed intervention. In 1917, the United States joined the Allies, helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers. After the war, the Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles, which established the League of Nations. The country pursued a policy of unilateralism, verging on isolationism In 1920, the women's rights movement won passage of a constitutional amendment granting women's suffrage. The prosperity of the Roaring Twenties ended with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that triggered the Great Depression. After his election as president in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt responded with the New Deal, a range of policies increasing government intervention in the economy. The Dust Bowl of the mid-1930s impoverished many farming communities and spurred a new wave of western migration.
The United States, effectively neutral during World War II's early stages after Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, began supplying materiel to the Allies in March 1941 through the Lend-Lease program. On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States to join the Allies against the Axis powers as well as the internment of Japanese Americans by the thousands. Participation in the war spurred capital investment and industrial capacity. Among the major combatants, the United States was the only nation to become richer—indeed, far richer—instead of poorer because of the war. Allied conferences at Bretton Woods and Yalta outlined a new system of international organizations that placed the United States and Soviet Union at the center of world affairs. As victory was won in Europe, a 1945 international conference held in San Francisco produced the United Nations Charter, which became active after the war. The United States, having developed the first nuclear weapons, used them on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August. Japan surrendered on September 2, ending the war.
Cold War and protest politics
The United States and Soviet Union jockeyed for power after World War II during the Cold War, dominating the military affairs of Europe through NATO and the Warsaw Pact, respectively. While they engaged in proxy wars and developed powerful nuclear arsenals, the two countries avoided direct military conflict. Resisting leftist land and income redistribution projects around the world, the United States often supported authoritarian governments. American troops fought Communist Chinese forces in the Korean War of 1950–53. The House Un-American Activities Committee pursued a series of investigations into suspected leftist subversion, while Senator Joseph McCarthy became the figurehead of anticommunist sentiment.
The 1961 Soviet launch of the first manned spaceflight prompted President John F. Kennedy's call for the United States to be first to land "a man on the moon, achieved in 1969. Kennedy also faced a tense nuclear showdown with Soviet forces in Cuba. Meanwhile, the United States experienced sustained economic expansion. A growing civil rights movement, symbolized and led by African Americans such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and James Bevel, used nonviolence to confront segregation and discrimination. Following Kennedy's assassination in 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 wre passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson and his successor, Richard Nixon, expanded a proxy war in Southeast Asia into the unsuccessful Vietnam War. A widespread countercultural movement grew, fueled by opposition to the war, black nationalism, and the sexual revolution. Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and others led a new wave of feminism that sought political, social, and economic equality for women.
As a result of the Watergate scandal, in 1974 Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign, to avoid being impeached on charges including obstruction of justice and abuse of power; he was succeeded by Vice President Gerald Ford. The Jimmy Carter administration of the late 1970s was marked by stagflation and the Iran hostage crisis. The election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980 heralded a rightward shift in American politics, reflected in major changes in taxation and spending priorities. His second term in office brought both the Iran-Contra scandal and significant diplomatic progress with the Soviet Union. The subsequent Soviet collapse ended the Cold War.
GOVERNMENT, ELECTIONS, AND POLITICS.
The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law". The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government, federal, state, and local; the local government's duties are commonly split between county and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. There is no proportional representation at the federal level, and it is very rare at lower levels.
The federal government is composed of three branches:
Legislative- The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.
Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.
The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population every tenth year. As of the 2000 census, seven states have the minimum of one representative, while California, the most populous state, has fifty-three. The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected at-large to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every other year. The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice. The president is not elected by direct vote, but by an indirect electoral college system in which the determining votes are apportioned by state. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has nine members, who serve for life.
The state governments are structured in roughly similar fashion; Nebraska uniquely has a unicameral legislature. The governor (chief executive) of each state is directly elected. Some state judges and cabinet officers are appointed by the governors of the respective states, while others are elected by popular vote.
All laws and governmental procedures are subject to judicial review, and any law ruled in violation of the Constitution is voided. The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. Article One protects the right to the "great writ" of habeas corpus, and Article Thre guarantees the right to a jury trial in all criminal cases. Amendments to the Constitution require the approval of three-fourths of the states. The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; the first ten amendments, which make up the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment form the central basis of Americans' individual rights.
Political Parties
The United States has operated under a two-party system for most of its history. For elective offices at most levels, state-administered primary elections choose the major party nominees for subsequent general elections. Since the general election of 1856, the major parties have been the Democratic Party, founded in 1824, and the Republican Party, founded in 1854. Since the Civil War, only one third-party presidential candidate—former president Theodore Roosevelt, running as a Progressive in 1912—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote.
Within American political culture, the Republican Party is considered center-right or "conservative" and the Democratic Party is considered center-left or "liberal". The states of the Northeast and West Coast and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "blue states", are relatively liberal. The "red states" of the South and parts of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are relatively conservative.
The winner of the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama, is the 44th U.S president. The 2010 midterm elections saw the Republican Party take control of the House and make gains in the Senate, where the Democrats retain the majority. In the 112th United States Congress, the Senate comprises 51 Democrats, two independents who caucus with the Democrats, and 47 Republicans; the House comprises 242 Republicans and 193 Democrats. There are 29 Republican and 20 Democratic state governors, as well as one independent.
Economy
The United States has a capitalist mixed economy, which is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. GDP of $14.780 trillion constitutes 23% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and over 20% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP). Though larger than any other nation's, its national GDP is about 5% smaller than the GDP of the European Union at PPP in 2008. The country ranks ninth in the world in nominal GDP per capita and sixth in GDP per capita at PPP. The U.S. dollar is the world's primary reserve currency.
The United States is the largest importer of goods and third largest exporter, though exports per capita are relatively low. In 2008, the total U.S. trade deficit was $696 billion. Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany are its top trading partners. In 2007, vehicles constituted both the leading import and leading export commodity. China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. public debt. The United States ranks fourth in the Global Competitiveness Report
In 2009, the private sector was estimated to constitute 55.3% of the economy, with federal government activity accounting for 24.1% and state and local government activity (including federal transfers) the remaining 20.6%. While its economy has reached a postindustrial level of development and its service sector constitutes 67.8% of GDP, the United States remains an industrial power. The leading business field by gross business receipts is wholesale and retail trade; by net income it is manufacturing. Chemical products are the leading manufacturing field. The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world, as well as its largest importer. It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, and salt. While agriculture accounts for just under 1% of GDP, the United States is the world's top producer of corn and soybeans Coca-Cola and McDonald's are the two most recognized brands in the world.
In August 2010, the American labor force comprised 154.1 million people. With 21.2 million people, government is the leading field of employment. The largest private employment sector is health care and social assistance, with 16.4 million people. About 12% of workers are unionized, compared to 30% in Western Europe. The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers. In 2009, the United States had the third highest labor productivity per person in the world, behind Luxembourg and Norway. It was fourth in productivity per hour, behind those two countries and the Netherlands. Compared to Europe, U.S. property and corporate income tax rates are generally higher, while labor and, particularly, consumption tax rates are lower.
Religion
The United States is officially a secular nation; the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion and forbids the establishment of any religious governance. In a 2002 study, 59% of Americans said that religion played a "very important role in their lives", a far higher figure than that of any other wealthy nation. According to a 2007 survey, 78.4% of adults identified themselves as Christian, down from 86.4% in 1990. Protestant denominations accounted for 51.3%, while Roman Catholicism, at 23.9%, was the largest individual denomination. The study categorizes white evangelicals, 26.3% of the population, as the country's largest religious cohort; another study estimates evangelicals of all races at 30–35%. The total reporting non-Christian religions in 2007 was 4.7%, up from 3.3% in 1990. The leading non-Christian faiths were Judaism (1.7%), Buddhism (0.7%), Islam (0.6%), Hinduism (0.4%), and Unitarian Universalism (0.3%). The survey also reported that 16.1% of Americans described themselves as agnostic, atheist, or simply having no religion, up from 8.2% in 1990.
Sports
Baseball has been regarded as the national sport since the late 19th century, even after being eclipsed in popularity by American football. Basketball and ice hockey are the country's next two leading professional team sports. College football and basketball attract large audiences. American football is now by several measures the most popular spectator sport. Boxing and horse racing were once the most watched individual sports, but they have been eclipsed by golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR. Soccer is played widely at the youth and amateur levels. Tennis and many outdoor sports are popular as well.
While most major U.S. sports have evolved out of European practices, basketball, volleyball, skateboarding, snowboarding, and cheerleading are American inventions. Lacrosse and surfing arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate Western contact. Eight Olympic Games have taken place in the United State. The United States has won 2,301 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, more than any other country, and 253 in the Winter Olympic Games, the second most
Popular media
The world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York City in 1894, using Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope. The next year saw the first commercial screening of a projected film, also in New York, and the United States was in the forefront of sound film's development in the following decades. Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, California. Director D. W. Griffith was central to the development of film grammar and Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941) is frequently cited as the greatest film of all time. American screen actors like John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe have become iconic figures, while producer/entrepreneur Walt Disney was a leader in both animated film and movie merchandising. The major film studios of Hollywood have produced the most commercially successful movies in history, such as Star Wars (1977) and Titanic (1997), and the products of Hollywood today dominate the global film industry.
Americans are the heaviest television viewers in the world, and the average viewing time continues to rise, reaching five hours a day in 2006. The four major broadcast networks are all commercial entities. Americans listen to radio programming, also largely commercialized, on average just over two-and-a-half hours a day. Aside from web portals and search engines, the most popular websites are Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Blogger, eBay, and Craigslist.
The rhythmic and lyrical styles of African-American music have deeply influenced American music at large, distinguishing it from European traditions. Elements from folk idioms such as the blues and what is now known as old-time music were adopted and transformed into popular genres with global audiences. Jazz was developed by innovators such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington early in the 20th century. Country music developed in the 1920s, and rhythm and blues in the 1940s. Elvis Presley and Chuc Berry were among the mid-1950s pioneers of rock and roll. In the 1960s, Bob Dylan emerged from the folk revival to become one of America's most celebrated songwriters and James Brown led the development of funk. More recent American creations include hip hop and house music. American pop stars such as Presley, Michael Jackson, and Madonna have become global celebrities.
Famous Peaks
Name | State | Height (ft.) |
Mt. McKinley | Alaska | 20,320 |
Mt. St. Elias | Alaska | 18,008 |
Mt. Foraker | Alaska | 17,400 |
Mt. Bona | Alaska | 16,500 |
Mt. Blackburn | Alaska | 16,390 |
Mt. Sanford | Alaska | 16,237 |
Mt. Vancouver | Alaska | 15,979 |
South Buttress | Alaska | 15,885 |
Mt. Churchill | Alaska | 15,638 |
Mt. Fairweather | Alaska | 15,300 |
Mt. Hubbard | Alaska | 14,950 |
Mt. Bear | Alaska | 14,831 |
East Buttress | Alaska | 14,730 |
Mt. Hunter | Alaska | 14,573 |
Browne Tower | Alaska | 14,530 |
Mt. Alverstone | Alaska | 14,500 |
Presidents
President | Party | Term as President |
1. George Washington (1732-1799) | None, Federalist | 1789-1797 |
2. John Adams (1735-1826) | Federalist | 1797-1801 |
3. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) | Democratic-Republican | 1801-1809 |
4. James Madison (1751-1836) | Democratic-Republican | 1809-1817 |
5. James Monroe (1758-1831) | Democratic-Republican | 1817-1825 |
6. John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) | Democratic-Republican | 1825-1829 |
7. Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) | Democrat | 1829-1837 |
8. Martin van Buren (1782-1862) | Democrat | 1837-1841 |
9. William H. Harrison (1773-1841) | Whig | 1841 |
10. John Tyler (1790-1862) | Whig | 1841-1845 |
11. James K. Polk (1795-1849) | Democrat | 1845-1849 |
12. Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) | Whig | 1849-1850 |
13. Millard Fillmore (1800-1874) | Whig | 1850-1853 |
14. Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) | Democrat | 1853-1857 |
15. James Buchanan (1791-1868) | Democrat | 1857-1861 |
16. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) | Republican | 1861-1865 |
17. Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) | National Union | 1865-1869 |
18. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) | Republican | 1869-1877 |
19. Rutherford Hayes (1822-1893) | Republican | 1877-1881 |
20. James Garfield (1831-1881) | Republican | 1881 |
21. Chester Arthur (1829-1886) | Republican | 1881-1885 |
22. Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) | Democrat | 1885-1889 |
23. Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) | Republican | 1889-1893 |
24. Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) | Democrat | 1893-1897 |
25. William McKinley (1843-1901) | Republican | 1897-1901 |
26. Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) | Republican | 1901-1909 |
27. William Taft (1857-1930) | Republican | 1909-1913 |
28. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) | Democrat | 1913-1921 |
29. Warren Harding (1865-1923) | Republican | 1921-1923 |
30. Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) | Republican | 1923-1929 |
31. Herbert C. Hoover (1874-1964) | Republican | 1929-1933 |
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) | Democrat | 1933-1945 |
33. Harry S Truman (1884-1972) | Democrat | 1945-1953 |
34. Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) | Republican | 1953-1961 |
35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) | Democrat | 1961-1963 |
36. Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973) | Democrat | 1963-1969 |
37. Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994) | Republican | 1969-1974 |
38. Gerald R. Ford (1913- 2006) | Republican | 1974-1977 |
39. James (Jimmy) Earl Carter, Jr. (1924- ) | Democrat | 1977-1981 |
40. Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911- 2004) | Republican | 1981-1989 |
41. George H. W. Bush (1924- ) | Republican | 1989-1993 |
42. William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton (1946- ) | Democrat | 1993-2001 |
43. George W. Bush (1946- ) | Republican | 2001-2009 |
44. Barack Obama (1961- ) | Democrat | 2009- |
Political Parties
Political Party Founded in
America First Party 2002
American Party 1969
American Populist Party 2009
American Third Position Party 2010
America's Party 2008
Boston Tea Party 2006
Christian Liberty Party 1996
Citizens Party of the United States 2004
Constitution Party1992
Communist Party of the
United States of America 1919
United States of America 1919
Democratic Party 1828
Freedom Socialist Party 1966
Green Party of the United States 2001
Independence Party of America 2007
Independent American Party 1998
Jefferson Republican Party 2006
Justice Party 2011
Labor Party 1996
Libertarian Party 1971
Modern Whig Party 2008
National Socialist Movement 1974
New Union Party 1974
Objectivist Party 2008
Party for Socialism and Liberation 2004
Peace and Freedom Party 1967
Prohibition Party 1869
Raza Unida Party 1970
Reform Party of the
United States of America 1995
United States of America 1995
Republican Party 1854
Socialist Action 1983
Socialist Alternative 1986
Socialist Equality Party 1966
Socialist Labor Party of America 1876
Socialist Party USA 1973
Socialist Workers Party 1938
United States Marijuana Party 2002
United States Pacifist Party 1983
United States Pirate Party 2006
Unity Party of America 2004
Workers World Party 1959
Natalie Party 2012
States
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Noble Prize Winners
This list is after 2000
1. Christopher A. Sims, Economics, 2011
2. Thomas J. Sargent Economics, 2011
3. Saul Perlmutter Physics, 2011
4. Brian P. Schmidt, Physics, 2011
5. Adam G. Riess, Physics, 2011
6. Ralph M. Steinman, born in Canada, Physiology or Medicine, 2011
7. Bruce Beutler, Physiology or Medicine, 2011
8. Peter A. Diamond, Economics, 2010
9. Dale T. Mortensen, Economics, 2010
10. Richard F. Heck, Chemistry, 2010
11. Ei-ichi Negishi, born in Japan, Chemistry, 2010
12. Elinor Ostrom, Economics, 2009
13. Oliver Eaton Williamson, Economics, 2009
14. Barack H. Obama, Peace, 2009
15. Thomas A. Steitz, Chemistry, 2009
16. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, born in India, Chemistry, 2009
17. Willard S. Boyle, born in Canada, Physics, 2009
18. Charles K. Kao, born in China, Physics, 2009
19. George E. Smith, Physics, 2009
20. Elizabeth Blackburn, born in Australia, Physiology or Medicine, 2009
21. Carol W. Greider, Physiology or Medicine, 2009
22. Jack W. Szostak, born in United Kingdom, Physiology or Medicine, 2009
23. Paul Krugman, Economics, 2008
24. Roger Yonchien Tsien, Chemistry, 2008
25. Martin Chalfie, Chemistry, 2008
26. Osamu Shimomura, born in Japan, Chemistry, 2008
27. Yoichiro Nambu, born in Japan, Physics, 2008
28. Leonid Hurwicz, born in Russia, Economics, 2007
29. Eric S. Maskin, Economics, 2007
30. Roger B. Myerson, Economics, 2007
31. Al Gore, Peace, 2007
32. Mario R. Capecchi, born in Italy, Physiology or Medicine, 2007
33. Oliver Smithies, born in United Kingdom, Physiology or Medicine, 2007
34. Roger D. Kornberg, Chemistry, 2006
35. John C. Mather, Physics, 2006
36. Edmund S. Phelps, Economics, 2006
37. George F. Smoot, Physics, 2006
38. Andrew Z. Fire, Physiology or Medicine, 2006
39. Craig C. Mello, Physiology or Medicine, 2006
40. Robert Aumann, born in Germany, Economics, 2005
41. Robert H. Grubbs, Chemistry, 2005
42. Richard R. Schrock, Chemistry, 2005
43. Thomas Schelling, Economics, 2005
44. John L. Hall, Physics, 2005
45. Roy J. Glauber, Physics, 2005
46. Irwin Rose, Chemistry, 2004
47. Edward C. Prescott, Economics, 2004
48. David J. Gross, Physics, 2004
49. H. David Politzer, Physics, 2004
50. Frank Wilczek, Physics, 2004
51. Richard Axel, Physiology or Medicine, 2004
52. Linda B. Buck, Physiology or Medicine, 2004
53. Peter Agre, Chemistry, 2003
54. Roderick MacKinnon, Chemistry, 2003
55. Robert F. Engle, Economics, 2003
56. Anthony J. Leggett, born in United Kingdom, Physics, 2003
57. Paul C. Lauterbur, Physiology or Medicine, 2003
58. Alexei A. Abrikosov, born in Russia, Physics, 2003
59. Daniel Kahneman, born in Israel, Economics, 2002
60. Vernon L. Smith, Economics, 2002
61. Jimmy Carter, Peace, 2002
62. Raymond Davis Jr., Physics, 2002
63. Riccardo Giacconi, born in Italy, Physics, 2002
64. Sydney Brenner, born in South Africa, Physiology or Medicine, 2002
65. H. Robert Horvitz, Physiology or Medicine, 2002
66. William S. Knowles, Chemistry, 2001
67. K. Barry Sharpless, Chemistry, 2001
68. Joseph E. Stiglitz, Economics, 2001
69. George A. Akerlof, Economics, 2001
70. A. Michael Spence, Economics, 2001
71. Eric A. Cornell, Physics, 2001
72. Carl E. Wieman, Physics, 2001
73. Leland H. Hartwell, Physiology or Medicine, 2001
74. Alan Heeger, Chemistry, 2000
75. Alan MacDiarmid, born in New Zealand, Chemistry, 2000
76. James J. Heckman, Economics, 2000
77. Daniel L. McFadden, Economics, 2000
78. Jack Kilby, Physics, 2000
79. Paul Greengard, Physiology or Medicine, 2000
80. Eric R. Kandel, born in Austria, Physiology or Medicine, 2000
First in USA
- Admiral in U.S. Navy: David Glasgow Farragut, 1866.
- Airmail route, first transcontinental: Between New York City and San Francisco, 1920.
- Assembly, representative: House of Burgesses, founded in Virginia, 1619.
- Bank established: Bank of North America, Philadelphi, 1781.
- Birth in America to English parents: Virginia Dare born Roanoke Island, N.C., 1587.
- Black newspaper: Freedom's Journal, 1827, edited by John B. Russworm.
- Black U.S. diplomat: Ebenezer D. Bassett, 1869, minister-resident to Haiti.
- Black elected governor of a state: L. Douglas Wilder, Virginia, 1990.
- Black elected to U.S. Senate: Hiram Revels, 1870, Mississippi.
- Black elected to U.S. House of Representatives: Jefferson Long, Georgia, 1870.
- Black associate justice of U.S. Supreme Court: Thurgood Marshall Oct. 2, 1967.
- Black secretary of state: Gen. Colin Powell, appointed Dec. 2000.
- Black U.S. cabinet minister: Robert C. Weaver 1966, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- Book by an African-American is published: Phillis Wheatley, 1773
- Botanic garden: Established by John Bartram in Philadelphia, 1728, and is still in existence in its original location.
- Cartoon, colored: “The Yellow Kid,” by Richard Outcault, in New York World, 1895.
- College: Harvard, founded 1636.
- College to confer degrees on women: Oberlin College (Ohio), 1841.
- College to establish coeducation: Oberlin College (Ohio), 1833.
- Electrocution of a criminal: William Kemmler in Auburn Prison, Auburn, N.Y., Aug. 6, 1890.
- Five and Dime store: Founded by Frank Woolworth, Utica, N.Y., 1879 (moved to Lancaster, Pa., same year).
- Fraternity, Greek-letter: Phi Beta Kappa; founded Dec. 5, 1776, at College of William and Mary.
- Gay and lesbian civil rights advocacy organization, national: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, founded in New York City, 1973.
- Lesbian, acknowledged, elected to high local office: Kathy Kozachenko, 1974, Ann Arbor City Council.
- Gay man, acknowledged, elected to high local office: Harvey Milk, 1977, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
- Indian-American governor: Bobby Jindal, 2007.
- Law to be declared unconstitutional by U.S. Supreme Court: Judiciary Act of 1789. Case:Marbury v. Madison, 1803.
- Library, circulating: Philadelphia, 1731.
- Newspaper, illustrated daily: New York Daily Graphic, 1873.
- Newspaper published daily: Pennsylvania Packet and General Advertiser, Philadelphia, Sept. 1784.
- Newspaper published over a continuous period: The Boston News-Letter, April 1704.
- Oil well, commercial: Titusville, Pa., 1859.
- Panel quiz show on radio: Information Please, May 17, 1938.
- Postage stamps issued: 1847.
- Public school: Boston Latin School, Boston, 1635.
- Radio station licensed: KDKA, Pittsburgh, Pa., Oct. 27, 1920.
- Railroad, transcontinental: Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads, joined at Promontory, Utah, May 10, 1869.
- Savings bank: The Provident Institute for Savings, Boston, 1816.
- Science museum: Founded by Charleston (S.C.) Library Society, 1773.
- Skyscraper: Home Insurance Co., Chicago, 1885 (10 floors, 2 added later).
- Slaves brought into America: At Jamestown, Va., 1619, from a Dutch ship.
- Sorority: Alpha Delta Pi, at Wesleyan Female College, 1851.
- Space tourist: Dennis Tito, 2001
- State legalizes same-sex marriage: Massachusetts, 2004.
- State to abolish capital punishment: Michigan, 1847.
- State to enter Union after original 13: Vermont, 1791.
- Steam-heated building: Eastern Hotel, Boston, 1845.
- Steam railroad (carried passengers and freight): Baltimore & Ohio, 1830.
- Strike on record by union: Journeymen Printers, New York City, 1776.
- Subway: Opened in Boston, 1897.
- “Tabloid” picture newspaper: The Illustrated Daily News (now the Daily News), New York City, 1919.
- Vaudeville theater: Gaiety Museum, Boston, 1883.
- Woman astronaut appointed commander of the International Space Station: Dr. Peggy Whitson, 2008
- Woman astronaut appointed shuttle commander: Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, Columbia, launched July 1999.
- Woman astronaut to ride in space: Dr. Sally K. Ride, 1983.
- Woman astronaut to walk in space: Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, 1984.
- Woman cabinet member: Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor, 1933.
- Woman candidate for president: Victoria Claflin Woodhull, nominated by National Woman's Suffrage Assn. on ticket of Nation Radical Reformers, 1872.
- Woman candidate for vice president: Geraldine A. Ferraro, nominated on a major party ticket, Democratic Party, 1984.
- Woman doctor of medicine: Elizabeth Blackwell; M.D. from Geneva Medical College of Western New York, 1849.
- Woman elected governor of a state: Nellie Tayloe Ross, Wyoming, 1925.
- Woman elected to U.S. Senate: Hattie Caraway, Arkansas; elected Nov. 1932.
- Woman graduate of law school: Ada H. Kepley, Union College of Law, Chicago, 1870.
- Woman member of U.S. House of Representatives: Jeannette Rankin (Mont.); elected Nov. 1916.
- Woman member of U.S. Senate: Rebecca Latimer Felton (Ga.); appointed Oct. 3, 1922.
- Woman member of U.S. Supreme Court: Sandra Day O'Connor; appointed July 1981.
- Woman secretary of state: Madeleine Albright, appointed Dec. 1996.
- Woman suffrage granted: Wyoming Territory, 1869.
- Written constitution: Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, 1639
No comments:
Post a Comment