156-486: In the United States , assault weapon is a controversial term applied to different kinds of firearms . There is no clear, consistent definition. It can include semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine , a pistol grip , and sometimes other features, such as a vertical forward grip , flash suppressor , or barrel shroud . Certain firearms are specified by name in some laws that restrict assault weapons. When
312-434: A Molotov cocktail and two open gasoline containers he had placed inside the vehicle. Approximately three hundred children were in the school playground at this time. Purdy first entered the school playground, where he began firing with his semi-automatic rifle while positioned behind a portable building; he fired a total of sixty-six rounds in his initial salvo from a distance of approximately fifty yards . According to
468-532: A death threat against Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton , California . At approximately 11:40 a.m., Patrick Purdy arrived at the school in his battered 1977 Chevrolet Caprice station wagon ; he parked the vehicle at the rear of the property and, minutes later, entered the premises through a gate carrying a semi-automatic rifle with a fixed bayonet and two handguns. Approximately forty-five seconds later, his station wagon detonated and burned courtesy of
624-547: A semi-automatic pistol at trees in the Eldorado National Forest while both were intoxicated . Both were charged with vandalism and the unlawful discharge of a firearm and, in Purdy's case, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. While incarcerated and awaiting trial for this offense, Purdy attempted suicide by attempting to cut his wrists with his fingernails before hanging himself with his T-shirt. This attempt
780-562: A " Special Relationship " with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Canada , Australia , New Zealand , the Philippines , Japan , South Korea , Israel , and several European Union countries ( France , Italy , Germany , Spain , and Poland ). The U.S. works closely with its NATO allies on military and national security issues, and with countries in the Americas through
936-405: A "semiautomatic assault rifle". The term " assault rifle " is frequently used interchangeably with the term " assault weapon " but this use has been described as incorrect and a misapplication of the term. The AP Stylebook suggests that newsrooms avoid the terms "assault weapon" and "assault rifle" instead using the term "semi-automatic rifle". Part of the definition of "assault rifle", according to
1092-444: A Stockton drug rehabilitation clinic in the early 1980s. This treatment only produced limited results, although a counselor would note Purdy's behavior was indicative of an individual "seeking a father figure to restrain him," adding: "If his acting out is not contained now, he will develop into a highly deceptive sociopathic character and be practically untreatable." On September 6, 1981, Purdy's father died after being struck by
1248-580: A broken .22-caliber rifle, an olive-drab cloth emblazoned with three menacing caricature faces and the inscriptions "V for victory" and "F for Freedom", and over 100 toy plastic soldiers placed in strategic locations throughout the room. No suicide note was discovered, although the items recovered led Stockton Police Captain Dennis Perry to remark: "He obviously had a military hangup of some kind ... It suggests this guy may have had delusions of grandeur about Iran ." Perry would also dismiss suggestions
1404-516: A car. His family filed a wrongful death suit in San Joaquin Superior Court against the driver of the car, seeking $ 600,000 in damages; the suit was later dismissed. According to relatives, although Purdy's father had left his son $ 5,000 in his will , his mother refused to give him his bequeathment — instead using the money to purchase herself a car and fund a lavish trip to New York City . This incident greatly deepened
1560-533: A coordinated, continent-wide military effort. Finally, deteriorating relations between the British military establishment and the colonists, relations that were already less than positive, set the stage for further distrust and dislike of British troops. Following their victory in the French and Indian War, Britain began to assert greater control over local colonial affairs, resulting in colonial political resistance ; one of
1716-522: A decentralized government that operated until 1789. After the British surrender at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 American sovereignty was internationally recognized by the Treaty of Paris (1783), through which the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River, north to present-day Canada, and south to Spanish Florida . The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established the precedent by which
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#17328516646091872-502: A detachable magazine and at least two of these features: a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, a flash suppressor or threaded barrel, a bayonet mount, or a muzzle-mounted grenade launcher. It included semi-automatic pistols with a detachable magazine and at least two of these features: a magazine that attaches outside the pistol grip, a threaded barrel, a barrel shroud , or an unloaded weight of 50 ounces or more. Additionally defined as assault weapons were semi-automatic shotguns with
2028-407: A few prominent industrialists , largely by their formation of trusts and monopolies to prevent competition. Tycoons led the nation's expansion in the railroad , petroleum , and steel industries. The United States emerged as a pioneer of the automotive industry . These changes were accompanied by significant increases in economic inequality , slum conditions , and social unrest , creating
2184-519: A firearm to qualify as an assault weapon rather than the two-feature test of the 1994 ban. On April 17, 2013, it failed on a Senate vote of 60 to 40. United States The United States of America ( USA ), commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America , is a country primarily located in North America . It is a federal union of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to
2340-496: A further bullet impacted against the playground and ricocheted into his upper chest as he fell. The sole adult wounded in the shooting, second-grade teacher Janet Geng, was injured in the upper leg as she ran to the assistance of wounded children. Purdy then ran toward a differing vantage point within the school grounds and fired the final nine rounds of ammunition from his 75-round magazine into fleeing children before reloading and expending all thirty rounds of ammunition within
2496-410: A further unjust abandonment. He is known to have suffered from severe depression throughout his life and to have repeatedly expressed frustrations regarding his lack of familial stability, education, and personal accomplishments. His targeting of the children of immigrants with a generally high demographic academic achievement, within an educational faculty he had himself attended in his formative years,
2652-644: A global reach. The U.S. is a founding member of the World Bank , Organization of American States , NATO , and the United Nations , as well as a permanent member of the UN Security Council . The first documented use of the phrase "United States of America" is a letter from January 2, 1776. Stephen Moylan , a Continental Army aide to General George Washington , wrote to Joseph Reed , Washington's aide-de-camp , seeking to go "with full and ample powers from
2808-540: A gun shop in Sandy, Oregon, and leave with an AK-47 under his arm?" The article continued: "The easy availability of weapons like this, which have no purpose other than killing human beings, can all too readily turn the delusions of sick gunmen into tragic nightmares." On May 24, 1989, California would become the first state in North America to pass an act prohibiting the ownership of assault weapons. This act —
2964-582: A matter of weeks. Purdy secured employment at Numeri Tech, a small machine shop located in Stockton, in early January 1988. This employment lasted one month, and from March to May that year, he worked as a welder — also in Stockton. Between July and October, he worked as a boilermaker in Portland, Oregon , living in Sandy with a paternal aunt and her husband. According to Purdy's few friends, although he
3120-430: A minimum of three weeks methodically preparing himself for the act, which he fully intended to end with his own suicide. He had chosen to "kill others at the same time to make his end dramatic and cause people to remember him" due in part to the fact he had "never achieved success or attention during his life." In addition, racial prejudice had likely been a "major part" of his choice of target, which itself may have been
3276-442: A neighbor's allegations that Kathleen was physically abusing and neglecting her children. All three children would be taken into protective custody due to concerns of neglect , although charges against Purdy's mother were dropped when she agreed to participate in a counseling program. She later regained custody of her children. In the summer of 1978, Purdy — then aged thirteen — struck his mother in
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#17328516646093432-583: A period of heightened, overt racism following Reconstruction, a time often called the nadir of American race relations . A series of Supreme Court decisions, including Plessy v. Ferguson , emptied the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of their force, allowing Jim Crow laws in the South to remain unchecked, sundown towns in the Midwest, and segregation in communities across the country , which would be reinforced by
3588-488: A prominent leader in the early 1960s. The Great Society plan of President Lyndon Johnson 's administration resulted in groundbreaking and broad-reaching laws, policies and a constitutional amendment to counteract some of the worst effects of lingering institutional racism . The counterculture movement in the U.S. brought significant social changes, including the liberalization of attitudes toward recreational drug use and sexuality . It also encouraged open defiance of
3744-820: A rocket launcher introduced in 1984. One of the earliest uses of the term, or a similar term, in its current meaning was as part of an advertisement in The Hutchinson News (Kansas) in 1978 for the Valmets-7.62×39 , the Colt AR-15 , and the Wilkinson Terry carbine . Another was in a bill introduced by Art Agnos in the California State Assembly in April 1985 to ban semi-automatic "assault firearms" capable of using detachable magazines of 20 rounds or more. Speaking to
3900-459: A room at the El Rancho Motel, paying $ 95 per week. He resided at this address until his death. Two days later, on December 28, Purdy purchased a Taurus 9mm pistol at a Stockton pawn shop. Fifteen days later, he was allowed to collect the weapon. Purdy left his motel for the last time at approximately 10:40 on the morning of his death. A search of his motel room following the shooting revealed
4056-488: A rotating cylinder, or with at least two of these features: a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, a detachable magazine, or a fixed magazine that can hold more than five rounds. The ban also prohibited 19 specifically named models of firearms, as well as copies of those guns. These included the AK-47, Uzi , Galil , AR-15, FN FAL , MAC-10 , Steyr AUG , TEC-9 , and Armsel Striker . On December 16, 2012, two days after
4212-468: A second magazine at any available targets he sighted. The first 911 call to emergency services was received approximately one minute after Purdy opened fire. The individual who made this call described himself as a veteran of the Vietnam War and specifically stated the gunfire sourcing from the grounds of Cleveland Elementary School was from an AK-47 rifle. This information was immediately relayed to
4368-518: A sense of manifest destiny . The Missouri Compromise attempted to balance the desire of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories with that of southern states to extend it, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It further prohibited slavery in all other lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel . As Americans expanded further into land inhabited by Native Americans,
4524-603: A sense of American identity as well. Men who otherwise never left their own colony now traveled across the continent to fight alongside men from decidedly different backgrounds but who were no less "American". British officers trained American officers for battle, most notably George Washington ; these officers would lend their skills and expertise to the colonists' cause during the American Revolutionary War to come. In addition, colonial legislatures and officials found it necessary to cooperate intensively in pursuit of
4680-483: A symbolic one. One hour before embarking on his murder spree, Purdy is known to have remarked to a fellow resident of the El Rancho motel: "Those damn Hindus and boat people own everything!" He is known to have made a similar remark in a bar shortly after New Year's Day 1989 and to have expressed to many a resentful belief Asian immigrants took jobs from "native-born" Americans. Over the following days, Purdy's vehicle
4836-450: A teacher who survived this initial section of Purdy's attack on the school, Purdy "was not talking [or] yelling; he was very straight-faced ... it didn't look like he was really angry" as he fired "left to right" in a spraying motion. One child injured in this initial salvo, 6-year-old Robert Young, would later recollect his feet "were swept up" as he was shot in the foot by a bullet followed by an immediate "slap against [his] chest" as
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4992-556: A two-hour service to remember the victims of the Stockton schoolyard shooting was observed at the Stockton Civic Center. This multifaith service was attended by over 2,000 mourners and saw many attendees wearing black and white ribbons in a traditional Cambodian symbolic gesture of mourning in the presence of the flower-draped caskets of four of the murdered children. This service concluded with five minutes of silence — one for each victim — and
5148-457: A year). Juvenile correctional facilities are operated by local or state governments and serve as longer-term placements for any minor adjudicated as delinquent and ordered by a judge to be confined. As of January 2023, the United States has the sixth-highest per capita incarceration rate in the world—531 people per 100,000 inhabitants—and the largest prison and jail population in
5304-504: A year, and was the deadliest to occur (in terms of number of fatalities) in an American elementary school at the time. The event received extensive national news coverage and spurred calls for the regulation of semiautomatic weapons . An article published in Time magazine less than two weeks after the event posed the question: "Why could Purdy, an alcoholic who had been arrested for such offenses as selling weapons and attempted robbery, walk into
5460-482: A young child. Purdy's mother remarried a man named Albert Gulart in October 1968; the couple had one child: Albert Jr. (b. November 1968), although neither son had a close relationship with his mother, who devoted much of her free time to socializing and reportedly abused alcohol on a regular basis — often in the presence of her children. In addition, Gulart is known to have physically assaulted his wife in
5616-586: Is "any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms; especially: assault rifle". The origin of the term is not clearly known and is the subject of much debate. In the past, the names of certain military weapons used the phrase, such as the Rifleman's Assault Weapon , a grenade launcher developed in 1977 for use with the M16 assault rifle, or the Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon ,
5772-571: Is believed to be the first widespread culture in the Americas. Over time, indigenous North American cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the Mississippian culture , developed agriculture , architecture , and complex societies . In the post-archaic period , the Mississippian cultures were located in the midwestern , eastern , and southern regions, and the Algonquian in
5928-492: Is known as the presidential system , in contrast to the parliamentary system , where the executive is part of the legislative body. Many countries around the world imitated this aspect of the 1789 Constitution of the United States , especially in the Americas. The Constitution is silent on political parties. However, they developed independently in the 18th century with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties. Since then,
6084-438: Is now the United States experienced conflicts with Native Americans, they also engaged in trade, exchanging European tools for food and animal pelts. Relations ranged from close cooperation to warfare and massacres. The colonial authorities often pursued policies that forced Native Americans to adopt European lifestyles, including conversion to Christianity. Along the eastern seaboard, settlers trafficked African slaves through
6240-542: Is the federal agency charged with addressing most environmental-related issues . The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the Wilderness Act . The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a way to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service implements and enforces the Act. In 2024, the U.S. ranked 34th among 180 countries in
6396-623: The Encyclopædia Britannica , is that it is selective-fire, which means that it is capable of both semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. Civilian ownership of machine guns , including selective-fire rifles, has been tightly regulated since 1934 under the National Firearms Act and since 1986 under the Firearm Owners Protection Act . Gun control advocates and gun rights advocates have referred to at least some of
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6552-584: The Allies of World War I , helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers . In 1920, a constitutional amendment granted nationwide women's suffrage . During the 1920s and '30s, radio for mass communication and the invention of early television transformed communications nationwide. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression , which President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded to with
6708-548: The Atlantic slave trade . The original Thirteen Colonies that would later found the United States were administered as possessions of Great Britain , and had local governments with elections open to most white male property owners . The colonial population grew rapidly, eclipsing Native American populations; by the 1770s, the natural increase of the population was such that only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas. The colonies' distance from Britain allowed for
6864-773: The Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations and societies . British colonization led to the first settlement of the Thirteen Colonies in Virginia in 1607. Clashes with the British Crown over taxation and political representation sparked the American Revolution , with the Second Continental Congress formally declaring independence on July 4, 1776. Following its victory in
7020-536: The Cleveland School massacre in Stockton, California, in January 1989." Sugarmann had written: Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase
7176-495: The Cleveland School massacre ) was an act of mass murder which occurred at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California , on January 17, 1989. The perpetrator, 24-year-old Patrick Purdy, shot and killed five children and wounded thirty-one others — all but one of them children — before committing suicide with a single pistol shot to the head approximately three minutes after first opening fire. The shooting sparked intense public controversy over
7332-529: The Environmental Performance Index . The country joined the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2016 and has many other environmental commitments. The United States is a federal republic of 50 states and a separate federal capital district, Washington, D.C. It also asserts sovereignty over five unincorporated territories and several uninhabited island possessions . The U.S. is
7488-493: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Marshals Service have national jurisdiction and specialized duties, such as protecting civil rights , national security and enforcing U.S. federal courts ' rulings and federal laws. State courts conduct most civil and criminal trials, and federal courts handle designated crimes and appeals of state court decisions . There is no unified "criminal justice system" in
7644-688: The Great Lakes , Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico . British colonization of the East Coast began with the Virginia Colony (1607) and Plymouth Colony (1620). The Mayflower Compact and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for representative self-governance and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies. While European settlers in what
7800-701: The Great Lakes region and along the Eastern Seaboard , while the Hohokam culture and Ancestral Puebloans inhabited the southwest . Native population estimates of what is now the United States before the arrival of European immigrants range from around 500,000 to nearly 10 million. Christopher Columbus began exploring the Caribbean for Spain in 1492, leading to Spanish-speaking settlements and missions from Puerto Rico and Florida to New Mexico and California . France established its own settlements along
7956-516: The House of Representatives , a lower house based on population; and the Senate , an upper house based on equal representation for each state. Federalism provides substantial autonomy to the 50 states, while the country's political culture promotes liberty , equality , individualism , personal autonomy , and limited government . One of the world's most developed countries , the United States has had
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#17328516646098112-580: The Midwest . At the same time, about one million French Canadians migrated from Quebec to New England . During the Great Migration , millions of African Americans left the rural South for urban areas in the North. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction and white supremacists took local control of Southern politics . African Americans endured
8268-672: The National Park Service and other agencies. About 28% of the country's land is publicly owned and federally managed, primarily in the Western States . Most of this land is protected , though some is leased for commercial use, and less than one percent is used for military purposes. Environmental issues in the United States include debates on non-renewable resources and nuclear energy , air and water pollution , biodiversity , logging and deforestation , and climate change . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
8424-634: The New Deal , a series of sweeping programs and public works projects combined with financial reforms and regulations . All were intended to protect against future economic depressions. Initially neutral during World War II , the U.S. began supplying war materiel to the Allies of World War II in March 1941 and entered the war in December after the Empire of Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor . The U.S. developed
8580-759: The Organization of American States and the United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement . In South America, Colombia is traditionally considered to be the closest ally of the United States. The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for Micronesia , the Marshall Islands , and Palau through the Compact of Free Association . It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation with India , but its ties with China have steadily deteriorated. Since 2014,
8736-638: The Pentium microprocessor in accordance with Moore's law , rechargeable lithium-ion batteries , the first gene therapy trial, and cloning either emerged in the U.S. or were improved upon there. The Human Genome Project was formally launched in 1990, while Nasdaq became the first stock market in the United States to trade online in 1998. In the Gulf War of 1991, an American-led international coalition of states expelled an Iraqi invasion force that had occupied neighboring Kuwait . The September 11 attacks on
8892-613: The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 — was the strongest gun control litigation to occur in two decades and saw any firearm upon a list specified in Penal Code section 12276 be classified as a prohibited assault weapon. Two months later, the Bush Administration ruled that over forty models of assault weapon be permanently declassified as legitimately valid for importation into
9048-1220: The Sacramento Police Department confiscated BB guns and knives from Purdy, then thirteen years old. In May 1980, Purdy was first arrested for a court order violation; he would also be arrested for underage drinking the following month. In August 1980, he would be arrested in West Hollywood for soliciting an undercover police officer. A single arrest — again for a court order violation — would occur in 1981, and further arrests for breaking and entry, cultivation and possession of marijuana , and drug dealing would occur in 1982. Arrests for possession of an illegal weapon , public intoxication , drunk driving, and receipt of stolen property would occur in 1983. At age nineteen, Purdy briefly relocated to Florida . He found employment in Key West , but returned to California after approximately one month. Shortly thereafter, on October 11, 1984, he and another man were arrested for an attempted purse snatching in Broderick . At
9204-522: The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting , Senator Dianne Feinstein said she would introduce a new assault weapons ban on the first day of Congress. Five days later, on December 21, Wayne LaPierre , chief executive of the National Rifle Association, held a news conference repeating the NRA's opposition to additional gun laws. Feinstein and Senator Richard Blumenthal held a separate news conference in response. There, Feinstein said that it seemed to her "prudent" to register grandfathered assault weapons under
9360-418: The Soviet Union's collapse and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower , wielding significant geopolitical influence globally . The U.S. national government is a presidential constitutional federal republic and liberal democracy with three separate branches : legislative , executive , and judicial . It has a bicameral national legislature composed of
9516-399: The Spanish–American War . (The Philippines was granted full independence from the U.S. on July 4, 1946, following World War II. Puerto Rico and Guam have remained U.S. territories.) American Samoa was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the Second Samoan Civil War . The U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917. The United States entered World War I alongside
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#17328516646099672-406: The Stockton Police Department , who immediately dispatched armed officers to the scene. At approximately 11:48 a.m., Purdy committed suicide by shooting himself once in the right temple with a Taurus 9mm pistol . He had fired 106 rounds of ammunition — the vast majority at or in the direction of children — within the space of approximately three minutes. He
9828-399: The cotton gin made the institution increasingly profitable for Southern elites . This sectional conflict regarding slavery culminated in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Eleven slave states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America , while the other states remained in the Union . War broke out in April 1861 after the Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter . After
9984-413: The fall of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union , which marked the end of the Cold War and left the United States as the world's sole superpower . The 1990s saw the longest recorded economic expansion in American history , a dramatic decline in U.S. crime rates , and advances in technology . Throughout this decade, technological innovations such as the World Wide Web , the evolution of
10140-445: The largest nominal GDP since about 1890 and accounted for over 15% of the global economy in 2023. It possesses by far the largest amount of wealth of any country and has the highest disposable household income per capita among OECD countries. The U.S. ranks among the world's highest in economic competitiveness , productivity , innovation , human rights , and higher education . Its hard power and cultural influence have
10296-406: The 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord , igniting the American Revolutionary War . At the Second Continental Congress , the colonies appointed George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army , and created a committee that named Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence . Two days after passing the Lee Resolution to create an independent nation the Declaration
10452-408: The 1775–1783 Revolutionary War , the country continued to expand westward across North America , resulting in the dispossession of native inhabitants . As more states were admitted , a North–South division over slavery led to the secession of the Confederate States of America , which fought states remaining in the Union in the 1861–1865 American Civil War . With the victory and preservation of
10608-466: The 2010s, political polarization in the country increased between liberal and conservative factions. This polarization was capitalized upon in the January 2021 Capitol attack , when a mob of insurrectionists entered the U.S. Capitol and sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in an attempted self-coup d'état . The United States is the world's third-largest country by total area behind Russia and Canada. The 48 contiguous states and
10764-429: The AR-15 family of rifles in civilian use in the United States. The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994, more commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, expired in 2004. It banned the manufacture or importation of certain semi-automatic firearms that it defined as "semiautomatic assault weapons", commonly known as assault weapons. Any firearms so defined that were already possessed at
10920-426: The American West have an alpine climate . The climate is arid in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California , and oceanic in coastal Oregon , Washington , and southern Alaska . Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar . Hawaii , the southern tip of Florida and U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific are tropical . States bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of
11076-409: The Assembly Public Safety Committee, Agnos said, "The only use for assault weapons is to shoot people." The measure did not pass when it came up for a vote. In 2013, The Washington Post , looking into the history of the term, wrote of the term: "Many attribute its popularization to a 1988 paper written by gun-control activist and Violence Policy Center founder Josh Sugarmann and the later reaction to
11232-524: The Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The term "United States" and the initialism "U.S.", used as nouns or as adjectives in English, are common short names for the country. The initialism "USA", a noun, is also common. "United States" and "U.S." are the established terms throughout the U.S. federal government , with prescribed rules. In English, the term "America" rarely refers to topics unrelated to
11388-557: The District of Columbia occupy a combined area of 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,470 km ). The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way to inland forests and rolling hills in the Piedmont plateau region. The Appalachian Mountains and the Adirondack massif separate the East Coast from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest . The Mississippi River System ,
11544-562: The Elder concluded that major military resources needed to be devoted to North America to win the war against France. For the first time, the continent became one of the main theaters of what could be termed a " world war ". The British colonies' position as an integral part of the British Empire became more apparent during the war, with British military and civilian officials becoming a more significant presence in American life. The war increased
11700-662: The January 1863 Emancipation Proclamation , many freed slaves joined the Union army . The war began to turn in the Union's favor following the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg , and the Confederacy surrendered in 1865 after the Union's victory in the Battle of Appomattox Court House . The Reconstruction era followed the war. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln , Reconstruction Amendments were passed to protect
11856-572: The National Firearms Act (NFA). A two-page bill summary on the senator's web site also mentioned registering grandfathered assault weapons under the NFA, but the text of the bill introduced to the Senate did not include that provision. On January 24, 2013, Feinstein introduced S. 150, the "Assault Weapons Ban of 2013". The bill was similar to the 1994 ban, but differed in that it used a one-feature test for
12012-595: The Rocky Mountains, the Yellowstone Caldera , is the continent's largest volcanic feature. In 2021, the United States had 8% of global permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of cropland. With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. East of the 100th meridian , the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The western Great Plains are semi-arid . Many mountainous areas of
12168-625: The U.S. has become a key ally of Ukraine ; it has also provided the country with significant military equipment and other support in response to Russia's 2022 invasion . The president is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The Department of Defense , which is headquartered at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., administers five of
12324-661: The U.S. territories." Despite disparate systems of confinement, four main institutions dominate: federal prisons , state prisons , local jails, and juvenile correctional facilities . Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and hold people who have been convicted of federal crimes, including pretrial detainees. State prisons, run by the official department of correction of each state, hold sentenced people serving prison time (usually longer than one year) for felony offenses. Local jails are county or municipal facilities that incarcerate defendants prior to trial; they also hold those serving short sentences (typically under
12480-461: The United States and the peaceful transfer of power , respectively. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 from France nearly doubled the territory of the United States. Lingering issues with Britain remained , leading to the War of 1812 , which was fought to a draw. Spain ceded Florida and its Gulf Coast territory in 1819. In the late 18th century, American settlers began to expand westward , many with
12636-513: The United States as being "generally regarded [as] suitable for sporting purposes" — as had been previously cited in the Gun Control Act of 1968 . The ruling also specified that the estimated 20,000 weapons already currently intercepted at the U.S. border be either sold to law enforcement agencies within America or returned to their country of origin. I looked at her and I knew it
12792-803: The United States entered the Cold War, where geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the two countries to dominate world affairs . The U.S. utilized the policy of containment to limit the USSR's sphere of influence, and prevailed in the Space Race , which culminated with the first crewed Moon landing in 1969. Domestically, the U.S. experienced economic growth , urbanization , and population growth following World War II . The civil rights movement emerged, with Martin Luther King Jr. becoming
12948-649: The United States has operated as a de facto two-party system , though the parties in that system have been different at different times. The two main national parties are presently the Democratic and the Republican . The former is perceived as relatively liberal in its political platform while the latter is perceived as relatively conservative . In the American federal system , sovereign powers are shared between two levels of elected government: national and state. People in
13104-572: The United States in 2001 by the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda led to the war on terror , and subsequent military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq . The cultural impact of the attacks was profound and long-lasting. The U.S. housing bubble culminated in 2007 with the Great Recession , the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. Coming to a head in
13260-631: The United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the Revolutionary War effort. The first known public usage is an anonymous essay published in the Williamsburg newspaper, The Virginia Gazette , on April 6, 1776. By June 1776, the "United States of America" appeared in the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence . The Second Continental Congress adopted
13416-645: The United States, slavery was abolished nationally . By 1900, the country had established itself as a great power , a status solidified after its involvement in World War I . After Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II . Its aftermath left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the world's two superpowers and led to the Cold War , during which both countries struggled for ideological dominance and international influence . Following
13572-532: The United States, despite the usage of "the Americas " as the totality of North and South America. "The States" is an established colloquial shortening of the name, used particularly from abroad; "stateside" is the corresponding adjective or adverb. The first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia across the Bering land bridge about 12,000 years ago; the Clovis culture , which appeared around 11,000 BC,
13728-605: The United States, except Iran , North Korea , and Bhutan . Though Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close unofficial relations. The United States regularly supplies Taiwan with military equipment to deter potential Chinese aggression. Its geopolitical attention also turned to the Indo-Pacific when the United States joined the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India, and Japan. The United States has
13884-509: The United States. The American prison system is largely heterogenous, with thousands of relatively independent systems operating across federal, state, local, and tribal levels. In 2023, "these systems [held] almost 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, 181 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons , civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in
14040-519: The animosity between the two. Following his father's death, Purdy was briefly homeless; he alternately slept on the streets, in cheap motels, or flophouses — supporting himself financially with odd jobs, petty theft, and small-time drug dealing — before he was placed in the custody of a foster mother in Los Angeles until he turned eighteen. Purdy's first known criminal activities occurred in October 1978, when officers from
14196-428: The chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons. Other researchers have found evidence to suggest that the firearms industry itself may have introduced the term "assault weapon" to build interest in new product lines. Phillip Peterson, the author of Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Assault Weapons (2008) wrote: The popularly held idea that
14352-432: The children who died were of Cambodian ancestry, whereas one child was Vietnamese . All five fatalities were children of families who had emigrated to the U.S. as refugees — at least one of whom had been born inside a refugee camp . Furthermore, although the wounded consisted of children of all races, approximately two-thirds of the wounded were also of Southeast Asian ancestry. On January 23, 1989,
14508-453: The contiguous United States are in the State of California, about 84 miles (135 km) apart. At an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190.5 m), Alaska's Denali is the highest peak in the country and continent. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands , and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in
14664-549: The country's GDP. The U.S. has 42% of the world's nuclear weapons —the second-largest share after Russia. The United States has the third-largest combined armed forces in the world, behind the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Indian Armed Forces . The military operates about 800 bases and facilities abroad, and maintains deployments greater than 100 active duty personnel in 25 foreign countries. State defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under
14820-464: The country's territory would expand with the admission of new states , rather than the expansion of existing states. The U.S. Constitution was drafted at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to overcome the limitations of the Articles. It went into effect in 1789, creating a federal republic governed by three separate branches that together ensured a system of checks and balances . George Washington
14976-605: The custody of his father, who had relocated to Lodi, California , following his divorce from Purdy's mother. Purdy enrolled in Tokay High School in September 1979, although he was an unmotivated student and something of an outcast . He attended high school only sporadically and gradually became an alcoholic and a drug addict with an accumulated criminal record for offenses including drug dealing, robbery, and burglary. At his father's urging, Purdy would undergo treatment at
15132-426: The day following the Stockton schoolyard shooting, with trained counselors on-site to offer therapy. All staff members except the sole teacher wounded returned to their posts on January 18, although the majority of parents chose to keep their children at home. That afternoon and evening, both Busher and other staff members visited the household of every pupil who had been kept at home to offer reassurance and support to
15288-699: The development of self-governance, and the First Great Awakening , a series of Christian revivals , fueled colonial interest in religious liberty . For a century, the American colonists had been providing their own troops and materiel in conflicts with indigenous peoples allied with Britain's colonial rivals , especially France, and the Americans had begun to develop a sense of self-defense and self-reliance separate from Britain. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) took on new significance for all North American colonists after Parliament under William Pitt
15444-528: The difference between a full automatic and a semi-automatic firearm." Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said "the term 'assault weapon,' as used by the media, is a media invention." Gun control supporters use the term while gun rights supporters generally do not use the term. Seven states have assault weapon bans with different definitions and characteristics. In Illinois , proposed legislation in 2013 would have defined
15600-564: The environment for labor unions to begin to flourish . This period eventually ended with the advent of the Progressive Era , which was characterized by significant reforms. Pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy ; the islands were annexed in 1898. That same year, Puerto Rico , the Philippines , and Guam were ceded to the U.S. by Spain after the latter's defeat in
15756-431: The face following a heated argument. As a result, he was permanently banned from her house. This incident instilled a lifelong belief within Purdy that he had been abandoned by his mother. He briefly lived on the streets of San Francisco and — having no alternative to survive — briefly resorted to prostitution . Shortly thereafter, he was placed in temporary foster care before being placed in
15912-780: The fall of 1987, Purdy began attending welding classes at San Joaquin Delta College . He successfully completed two vocational courses although according to fellow students, he complained about the high percentage of Southeast Asian students enrolled in industrial arts courses at the faculty and of his belief " boat people " were taking jobs from American citizens. In October 1987, Purdy left California and alternately drifted among Oregon , Nevada , Texas , Florida, Connecticut , and South Carolina , searching for welding, security guard and general laboring jobs. Purdy frequently obtained employment, although his tendency to argue with his superiors typically saw him either fired or resigning within
16068-413: The family and by Thursday, January 19, 674 of the school's 970 pupils had returned to Cleveland Elementary School. Three weeks after the shooting, on February 7, Michael Jackson made a short visit to the school; he personally met and spoke with several of the children and staff members affected by the event. Several survivors of the Stockton schoolyard shooting later formed Cleveland School Remembers:
16224-517: The features outlined in assault weapons bans as "cosmetic". The NRA Institute for Legislative Action and the Violence Policy Center both used the term in 2004 when the federal ban expired. In May 2012, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence said, "the inclusion in the list of features that were purely cosmetic in nature created a loophole that allowed manufacturers to successfully circumvent
16380-527: The federal government often applied policies of Indian removal or assimilation . The Trail of Tears (1830–1850) was a U.S. government policy that forcibly removed and displaced most Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to lands far to the west. These and earlier organized displacements prompted a long series of American Indian Wars west of the Mississippi. The Republic of Texas
16536-477: The federal level. Drawing from federal and state law definitions, the term assault weapon refers primarily to semi-automatic rifles , pistols , and shotguns that are able to accept detachable magazines and possess one or more other features. Some jurisdictions define revolving-cylinder shotguns as assault weapons. Legislative definitions do not include fully automatic weapons, which are regulated separately as Title II weapons under federal law. A key defining law
16692-516: The firearms industry, gun control groups, and the media. It is sometimes used interchangeably with the term assault rifle , which refers to selective fire rifles that use intermediate cartridges . This use has been described as incorrect and a misapplication of the term. After the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting , many news organizations ran stories about assault weapons, explaining their varying definitions and presenting varying opinions about whether they should be banned again at
16848-590: The first nuclear weapons and used them against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, ending the war. The United States was one of the " Four Policemen " who met to plan the post-war world , alongside the United Kingdom , Soviet Union , and China . The U.S. emerged relatively unscathed from the war, with even greater economic power and international political influence . After World War II,
17004-463: The integration of Army National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Army and (since 1947) the U.S. Air Force. There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to national level in the United States. Law in the United States is mainly enforced by local police departments and sheriff departments in their municipal or county jurisdictions. The state police departments have authority in their respective state , and federal agencies such as
17160-529: The law by making minor modifications to the weapons they already produced." Some reporters used the term in stories after the 2012 shootings in Aurora, Colorado , and Newtown, Connecticut . Assault weapons, also sometimes called "black guns" or "black rifles", are no more powerful than many other semi-automatic rifles legally used for hunting throughout the United States; they do not shoot faster or have greater range. Two scholars have written: "One problem inherent in
17316-477: The military draft (leading to the end of conscription in 1973) and wide opposition to U.S. intervention in Vietnam (with the U.S. totally withdrawing in 1975). A societal shift in the roles of women was significantly responsible for the large increase in female paid labor participation during the 1970s, and by 1985 the majority of American women aged 16 and older were employed. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw
17472-612: The most attractive to the population are the most vulnerable. The U.S. is one of 17 megadiverse countries containing large numbers of endemic species : about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland. The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 birds, 311 reptiles, 295 amphibians , and around 91,000 insect species. There are 63 national parks , and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas , managed by
17628-642: The most violent, the California genocide of thousands of Native inhabitants, lasted into the early 1870s, just as additional western territories and states were created. During the colonial period, slavery had been legal in the American colonies , though the practice began to be significantly questioned during the American Revolution. States in the North enacted abolition laws , though support for slavery strengthened in Southern states , as inventions such as
17784-404: The murders had been racially motivated , informing reporters that Purdy held no particular grudge against particular ethnic groups and that as he was "a loner, no friends ... no particularly known girlfriends" he had gradually developed a "distinct dislike for everybody — not a particular race, everybody." Although Purdy's ultimate motive for his murder spree remains unknown,
17940-537: The necessity for members of the public to own any model of firearm classified as an assault weapon and ultimately inspired the Roberti–Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 , an act prohibiting the ownership and transfer of over fifty specific brands and models of assault weapons in California. This act was signed into effect on May 24, 1989. At the time, the Stockton schoolyard shooting
18096-653: The north and Mexico to the south, with the states of Alaska to the northwest and the archipelagic Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean . The United States also asserts sovereignty over five major island territories and various uninhabited islands . The country has the world's third-largest land area , largest exclusive economic zone , and third-largest population , exceeding 334 million. Its three largest metropolitan areas are New York , Los Angeles , and Chicago , and its three most populous states are California , Texas , and Florida . Paleo-Indians migrated across
18252-427: The now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed in 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use." The commonly used definitions of assault weapons are under frequent debate, and have changed over time. The origin of the term has been attributed to legislators,
18408-679: The official report into Purdy's actions reached evident conclusions: He had primarily, though not exclusively, targeted children of Southeast Asian ancestry attending an elementary school within Stockton he had previously attended and in a city which, in the eight years prior to the massacre, had seen the population of Southeast Asians — the vast majority of whom were refugees or children of refugees — increase from fewer than 1,000 to over 30,000. The official report concluded that although Purdy had harbored suicidal thoughts for two years prior to his death, he had firmly decided to end his life by mid-December of 1988 and had spent
18564-408: The policy of redlining later adopted by the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation . An explosion of technological advancement accompanied by the exploitation of cheap immigrant labor led to rapid economic expansion during the late 19th and early 20th centuries , allowing the United States to outpace the economies of England, France, and Germany combined. This fostered the amassing of power by
18720-501: The presence of his stepchildren. Purdy's stepfather would later state that, as a child, his stepson was overly quiet and markedly emotional with a reputation among his peers as a loner . In the fall of 1973, Purdy's mother and stepfather separated; she moved with her children from Stockton to Sacramento . That December, the Sacramento Child Protective Services were twice called to her residence in response to
18876-553: The primary colonial grievances was a denial of their rights as Englishmen , particularly the right to representation in the British government that taxed them . To demonstrate their dissatisfaction and resolve, the First Continental Congress met in 1774 and passed the Continental Association , a colonial boycott of British goods that proved effective. The British attempt to then disarm the colonists resulted in
19032-515: The rights of African Americans . National infrastructure, including transcontinental telegraph and railroads , spurred growth in the American frontier . From 1865 through 1917 an unprecedented stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, including 24.4 million from Europe. Most came through the port of New York City , and New York City and other large cities on the East Coast became home to large Jewish , Irish , and Italian populations, while many Germans and Central Europeans moved to
19188-596: The rocky Great Basin and Chihuahua , Sonoran , and Mojave deserts. In the northwest corner of Arizona , carved by the Colorado River over millions of years, is the Grand Canyon , a steep-sided canyon and popular tourist destination known for its overwhelming visual size and intricate, colorful landscape. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast . The lowest and highest points in
19344-495: The same semi-automatic action, and can use magazines that hold 30 rounds of ammunition. The only real meaningful difference between the two firearms is cosmetic: The AR-15 rifle looks more dangerous." The National Shooting Sports Foundation , a firearms industry trade group , states that the term assault weapon has been misapplied to many semi-automatic firearms because of their appearance and not their use in crime. As of 2021, there are an estimated 16–44 million rifles from just
19500-563: The six service branches, which are made up of the U.S. Army , Marine Corps , Navy , Air Force , and Space Force . The Coast Guard is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in wartime. The United States spent $ 916 billion on its military in 2023, which is by far the largest amount of any country , making up 37% of global military spending and accounting for 3.4% of
19656-528: The sole authority of a state government. SDFs are authorized by state and federal law but are under the command of the state's governor . They are distinct from the state's National Guard units in that they cannot become federalized entities. A state's National Guard personnel, however, may be federalized under the National Defense Act Amendments of 1933 , which created the Guard and provides for
19812-543: The states are also represented by local elected governments , which are administrative divisions of the states. States are subdivided into counties or county equivalents , and further divided into municipalities . The District of Columbia is a federal district containing the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. . The federal district is an administrative division of the federal government. Federally recognized tribes govern 326 Indian reservations . The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it has
19968-504: The structure and responsibilities of the national federal government and its relationship with the individual states. The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest national constitution still in effect (from March 4, 1789). Composed of three branches, all headquartered in Washington, D.C., the federal government is the national government of the United States. It is regulated by a strong system of checks and balances . The three-branch system
20124-567: The study of [assault weapons (AW)] is that the classifications of AW are based on cosmetic features of firearms... For instance, the Colt AR-15 series of semi-automatic rifles—the civilian version of the fully automatic M-16 rifle issued to U.S. soldiers—was subject to the 1994 AW restrictions, but the Ruger Mini-14 rifle was not banned. Yet, the Mini-14 is the same caliber, has a similar barrel length,
20280-822: The term "semi-automatic assault weapon" as any semi-automatic firearm able to accept a detachable magazine, but it was never brought to a vote. The Illinois State Rifle Association said most of the state's firearms owners owned one or more guns that would have been banned under the proposal. The NRA said the proposal would have restricted about 75 percent of handguns and 50 percent of long guns in circulation. As municipalities, Chicago and Cook County bans certain firearms defined as assault weapons and have no provision for legal possession of firearms owned before their laws were passed. Minnesota also defines certain firearms as assault weapons and regulates their sales. The State of Washington defines any semi-automatic rifle (except antiques), regardless of features, caliber, or magazine type, as
20436-458: The term 'assault weapon' originated with anti-gun activists is wrong. The term was first adopted by manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and dealers in the American firearms industry to stimulate sales of certain firearms that did not have an appearance that was familiar to many firearms owners. The manufacturers and gun writers of the day needed a catchy name to identify this new type of gun. Meanwhile, many gun rights activists have put forward that
20592-488: The term was popularized by the media or gun control activists. Conservative writer Rich Lowry said that assault weapon is a "manufactured term". Joseph P. Tartaro of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) wrote in 1994: "One of the key elements of the anti-gun strategy to gull the public into supporting bans on the so-called 'assault weapons' is to foster confusion. As stated previously, the public does not know
20748-890: The time of this arrest, both Purdy and his accomplice were homeless and living on the shores of the Sacramento River . Purdy pleaded guilty to being an accessory to a felony and spent thirty-two days in the Yolo County Jail. Due to Purdy's alcohol and drug dependency, he was awarded disability support by the Social Security Administration in November 1984. Beginning in 1985, Purdy did make sporadic efforts to improve his life by undergoing various forms of vocational training . Although he did pass several courses, he failed to gain many skills. In April 1987, Purdy and his half-brother, Albert Gulart Jr., were arrested for firing
20904-439: The time the law took effect were grandfathered in, and could be legally owned or transferred. Another aspect of the law banned the manufacture or importation of magazines that could hold more than ten rounds of ammunition, with existing magazines grandfathered in as legal. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 defined certain firearms as assault weapons based on the features they possessed. This included semi-automatic rifles with
21060-449: The word "Victory" in white lettering upon the grip . Five children were killed in the Stockton schoolyard shooting; thirty children and one teacher were wounded. Two of the children murdered, Ram Chun and Rathanar Or, were brought into classrooms prior to succumbing to their injuries; the other three children died in the playground. Several of those injured were critically wounded , although all would survive their injuries. Four of
21216-565: The world's fourth-longest river system , runs predominantly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat and fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains , west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado . Farther west are
21372-567: The world's second-largest diplomatic corps as of 2024 . It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council , and home to the United Nations headquarters . The United States is a member of the G7 , G20 , and OECD intergovernmental organizations. Almost all countries have embassies and many have consulates (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all countries host formal diplomatic missions with
21528-444: The world's oldest surviving federation, and its presidential system of national government has been adopted, in whole or in part, by many newly independent states worldwide following their decolonization . It is a liberal representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law ". The Constitution of the United States serves as the country's supreme legal document , also establishing
21684-538: The world's tornadoes occur in the country , mainly in Tornado Alley . Overall, the United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country. Extreme weather became more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported heat waves as in the 1960s. In the American Southwest , droughts became more persistent and more severe. The regions considered as
21840-568: The world, with almost 2 million people incarcerated . An analysis of the World Health Organization Mortality Database from 2010 showed U.S. homicide rates "were 7 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25 times higher". Cleveland School massacre The Stockton schoolyard shooting (also known as the Cleveland Elementary School shooting and
21996-458: Was annexed in 1845, and the 1846 Oregon Treaty led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest . Victory in the Mexican–American War resulted in the 1848 Mexican Cession of California, Nevada, Utah, and much of present-day Colorado and the American Southwest . The California gold rush of 1848–1849 spurred a huge migration of white settlers to the Pacific coast, leading to even more confrontations with Native populations. One of
22152-399: Was [Oeun Lim]. She wore red shoes ... I always talked to her about her red shoes, because red's my favorite color. Her face was not damaged. I knew it was Oeun, but I said, 'I can't be sure.' Second-grade teacher Julie Schardt, recollecting being asked to identify the body of Oeun Lim (2014). The principal of Cleveland Elementary School, Patricia Busher, opted to reopen the school
22308-558: Was a soldier in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Lewis . Following his dishonorable discharge from the military, Purdy Sr. worked as a taxi driver. When Purdy was two years old, his mother filed for divorce against her husband following an incident in which he had threatened to kill her with a firearm. Purdy's mother later moved with her children to South Lake Tahoe, California before settling in Stockton, where Purdy attended Cleveland Elementary from kindergarten through to second grade. Resultingly, Purdy seldom saw his father as
22464-703: Was adopted on July 4, 1776. The political values of the American Revolution included liberty , inalienable individual rights ; and the sovereignty of the people ; supporting republicanism and rejecting monarchy , aristocracy , and all hereditary political power; civic virtue ; and vilification of political corruption . The Founding Fathers of the United States , who included Washington, Jefferson, John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Alexander Hamilton , John Jay , James Madison , Thomas Paine , and many others, were inspired by Greco-Roman , Renaissance , and Enlightenment philosophies and ideas. The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781 and established
22620-408: Was also observed at this service, in which Christian hymns were also sung within a community chorus. All five children were buried in the same cemetery. Patrick Edward Purdy (November 10, 1964 – January 17, 1989) was born in Tacoma , Washington , to Patrick Benjamin and Kathleen ( née Snyder) Purdy. He had one older sister, Cynthia (b. August 1963). At the time of Purdy's birth, his father
22776-710: Was always miserable. I've never seen a guy that didn't want to smile as much as he didn't." On August 3, 1988, Purdy purchased a Norinco Type 56S semi-automatic rifle for $ 350 at a sporting goods store in Sandy, Oregon; this would be the weapon he used in the Stockton schoolyard shooting. That October, Purdy was made redundant. He later relocated to Texas, where he unsuccessfully sought employment before traveling to Tennessee , securing well-paying welding employment in Memphis . This lasted for one month, and Purdy worked in menial employment in Windsor, Connecticut between November and December. On December 26, Purdy abruptly quit his employment and returned to Stockton; he rented
22932-404: Was elected the country's first president under the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 to allay skeptics' concerns about the power of the more centralized government. His resignation as commander-in-chief after the Revolutionary War and his later refusal to run for a third term as the country's first president established a precedent for the supremacy of civil authority in
23088-450: Was followed by the funerals of four of the five children. These funeral services observed the Buddhist rituals in accordance with the beliefs of Oeun Lim and Rathanhar Or and the Baptist faiths of Sokhim An and Ram Chun. The fifth child murdered in the Stockton schoolyard shooting, Thuy Tran, had been laid to rest on January 21 in a Christian burial following Mass in accordance with her Roman Catholic beliefs. Nonetheless, Tran's loss
23244-448: Was likely a symbolic act of suicidal rage against society — with an evident resentful xenophobic accompaniment — for the fortune, stability and potential given to some within society including immigrants, but not to others including himself. The Stockton schoolyard shooting was the fifth attack by a lone gunman upon students or faculty members to occur at an American educational establishment in less than
23400-448: Was never outwardly violent, he periodically exhibited suicidal traits and was openly frustrated that he had failed to "make it [in life] on his own". The night-shift supervisor at Numeri Tech, Steven Sloan, later recollected of Purdy's mindset in early 1988: "He was a real ball of frustration, and was angry about everything," adding Purdy sensed he was "being dealt a short deck" in life. Another of Purdy's former co-workers also stated: "He
23556-423: Was quickly established via documents upon his person. A subsequent autopsy revealed no traces of drugs or alcohol in Purdy's bloodstream , although traces of caffeine indicated he had likely drank a final cup of coffee shortly before his death. An inspection of Purdy's rifle revealed he had carved the words "freedom", "Earthman", "Victory", and " Hezbollah " upon the stock of the weapon; one pistol also bore
23712-471: Was seen parked outside several Stockton schools with a high percentage of Southeast Asian pupils in apparent surveillance of the faculties before he evidently selected Cleveland Elementary School as his choice of target. No adults present throughout Purdy's childhood and adolescence had provided stable role models throughout his formative years and the death of his father in 1981, at a time of reasonable stability in his life, had likely been viewed by Purdy as
23868-448: Was still alive when emergency responders first observed his body lying on the fringes of the playground at 11:50 a.m., although he died of his wound shortly thereafter. Prior to embarking on his spree, Purdy had symbolically dressed in combat fatigues including a green flak jacket worn beneath a camouflage shirt jacket upon which he had inscribed " PLO ", " Libya ", and "Death to the Great Satin" [ sic ]. His identity
24024-651: Was the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. At that time, the United States Department of Justice said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use." Common attributes used in legislative definitions of assault weapons include: Dictionary definitions vary from legal definitions. Dictionary.com defines "assault weapon" as "any of various automatic and semiautomatic military firearms utilizing an intermediate-power cartridge , designed for individual use". The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary ' s definition
24180-439: Was the worst school shooting (in terms of number of fatalities) to occur at a non-college institution, being surpassed ten years later by the Columbine High School massacre . The shooting was also the deadliest to occur at an American elementary school until the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting . On the morning of Tuesday, January 17, 1989, an anonymous individual telephoned the Stockton Police Department to report
24336-450: Was thwarted, and Purdy — weeping at having failed in his suicide attempt — was restrained to a bed. Transferred to a psychiatric hospital to undergo a psychiatric assessment , Purdy was found to have a mild mental impairment and to be a danger to both himself and others. He was ruled competent to stand trial and pleaded guilty to the outstanding charges. Purdy was sentenced to serve 45 days' imprisonment. In
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