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122-755: Shortly after the establishment of the Confederate States of America in 1861, the separatist state became involved in a large war with the United States of America , and the Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory had the responsibility to quickly build the Confederate States Navy, starting with almost no ships or resources. Among his primary goals was the establishment of an academy. Confederate States officials saw no need for

244-566: 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 the largest nominal GDP since about 1890 and accounted for over 15% of

366-521: A receiving ship for receiving other steamers under flags of truce, taking captured United States POWs to Harrison's Landing for exchange. Steamers under flags of truce would stop at the Patrick Henry to get their permit to continue downriver, and then return and discharge liberated former Confederate States prisoners. The Patrick Henry was specially modified to serve as the school ship in May 1862 when she

488-562: 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

610-512: A Naval Academy early in the war, due to the number of southern military schools, and so midshipmen in the early Confederate Navy were trained by the traditional system of assigning them directly to ships and batteries. President Jefferson Davis , a graduate of the United States Military Academy , quickly recognized the need for a long term plan to form both army and navy academies for the nation, and gave his vision that "to secure

732-533: 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

854-522: 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

976-407: 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

1098-616: 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

1220-466: A letter to President Davis on February 27, 1862, in which he recommended the creation and establishment of a naval academy as the best form and means of educating midshipmen. On April 21, 1862, by an act of Congress, the naval academy was approved with a total manpower level for midshipmen at 106 and that of passed midshipmen 20. In that same month, the CS Naval Academy started taking appointments for

1342-445: A passed midshipman had a strip of gold lace four inches long and half an inch wide. The covers of both ranks of midshipman were also steel gray and contained only a horizontal gold officers band with a fouled anchor, and a black leather visor. The menu had little variety. Breakfast was hard-tack and a decoction of coffee made from either sweet potatoes or beans. Typically a meal was a lump of fat pork (salt-junk) or fresh meat shaving,

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1464-583: 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

1586-416: A piece of hardtack, and a tin cup of coffee made from either chicory or burned corn. Occasionally vegetables were served, and corn-meal. The daily life of a midshipman was centered around three activities: academic recitations and drills, work and maintenance of the school ship, and occasional help and support to actual combat operations with onshore batteries. The daily schedule was composed of: On top of

1708-488: 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

1830-518: 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,

1952-603: 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

2074-611: 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 the Soviet Union's collapse and

2196-518: A structure for it on March 16 which "amply authorized" the creation of a Confederate States Naval Academy. By December of that year, the Confederate States Congress instructed Secretary Mallory to establish "some form of education for midshipmen." Secretary Mallory, overwhelmed with the duties of standing up the CS Navy in the midst of a war, finally responded to the dictate from Congress in

2318-592: A thorough military education ... it is essential that officers should enter upon the study of their profession at an early period of life and have elementary instruction in a military school." The naval college was housed on board the CSS Patrick Henry , a seagoing sidewheel steamer with a walking-beam engine and brigantine rigged, armed with ten guns, and a veteran of the Battle of Hampton Roads . Anchored seven miles south of Richmond, Virginia at Drewry's Bluff , near

2440-437: A time and then returned to the main mash, raising the mash to the next temperature step. In herbalism , decoctions are usually made to extract fluids from hard plant materials such as roots and bark. To achieve this, the plant material is usually boiled for 1–2 hours in 1-5 liters of water. It is then strained. Ayurveda also uses this method to create Kashayam -type herbal medicines. For teas, decoction involves boiling

2562-468: A year in June and December, and as soon as a midshipman passed his examinations and was ready for sea duty, he was promoted to the rank of "passed" midshipman, and given orders to either a ship, battery or other duties. The Academic board was composed of three captains and two commanders. The provisional government of the newly formed Confederate States of America established the Confederate States Navy and formed

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2684-401: 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

2806-571: 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

2928-492: 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,

3050-438: 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

3172-542: 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

3294-584: 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

3416-659: The Appomattox River and Richmond, forcing Commander J. K. Mitchell to employ the James River Squadron in fortifications south of the capital. LT William Parker took one detachment of midshipman on board the CSS Fredericksburg , and LT Hall and LT Johnson took another detachment of midshipman on board the CSS Virginia II . The ships were used to defend the left flank of General P. G. T. Beauregard 's army at

3538-548: 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

3660-408: The CSS Patrick Henry , flagship of the James River Squadron were commended for their service during this battle, and the same day the flagship was selected to be withdrawn from combat service for conversion to house the new naval academy "without interfering with her effciency as a vessel of war.". The CSS Patrick Henry , a 1,300 ton sidewheel steamer, partially and lightly ironclad amidships,

3782-583: The Confederate States Marine Corps Camp Beall, "she had now become the most realistic war college that ever existed." Located there, Patrick Henry served the additional purpose of potentially being sunk as an obstruction in the James River channel. The CSS Patrick Henry could only accommodate 52 midshipmen, 20 officers, professors and crew, which limited and helped dictate the size of the naval college. The ship also functioned as

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3904-529: 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

4026-493: 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

4148-688: 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

4270-701: 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

4392-580: 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

4514-672: 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)

4636-583: 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

4758-759: 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,

4880-638: 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

5002-576: 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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5124-609: 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 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

5246-670: 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

5368-514: 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 the House of Representatives ,

5490-524: 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

5612-400: 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 a global reach. The U.S. is

5734-764: 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

5856-822: The 19th, and then in Augusta, Georgia on the 20th. By this time, LT Parker was unable to locate either President Davis or any member of the Confederate Treasury Department. He had, however, joined forces with a company of men under Captain Tabb back in Charlotte. LT Parker and the CSNA midshipmen were now in a dangerous situation guarding the Confederate treasury as the countryside was filled with bummers and looters tailing along behind Major General William T. Sherman 's army. LT Parker

5978-466: 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

6100-452: The 29th of April. There they stored the treasury in a warehouse, and President Davis and his escort arrived the following day on April 30, accompanied by Secretary Mallory. LT Parker and the midshipmen turned over the treasury to the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, who had them deliver it to Brigadier General Basil W. Duke , commander of the cavalry detachment escorting the President. On May 2, 1865 after approximately two years of existence,

6222-426: 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

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6344-481: The CSS Fredericksburg and return to the school on board the CSS Patrick Henry . The school ship was moved upriver to the water front in Richmond. December 1864 – 29 former U.S. Midshipmen and 30 others were passed. In the spring of 1865, as the fall of Richmond became inevitable, Secretary Mallory made a decision to relocate the school further into the interior of the Condederate States, in some location possibly in North or South Carolina or Georgia. Lieutenant Graves

6466-652: The Confederate Naval Academy ceased to exist when the school members disbanded at Abbeville, South Carolina. LT Parker issued a written order to each midshipman detaching them from the Naval Academy, and after this they were each given $ 40 in gold to help them reach their homes. "This Patrick Henry may have been a unique institution of learning, but the "Confederate States Naval Academy" turned out men who afterwards became United States Senators , members of Congress, judges, successful bankers, and successful business men as well as sailors." United States of America The United States of America ( USA ), commonly known as

6588-467: The Confederate States Naval Academy on board CSS Patrick Henry in the James River. Numbers later increased to sixty, with thirteen teachers in attendance. Hubbard T. Minor (was from the 42nd Tennessee Regiment). Hubbard's diary was a requirement to be kept at school. In May 1864 Major General Benjamin F. Butler landed southeast of the school near Bermuda Hundred, Virginia during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign . Only 3,000 Confederate forces were between

6710-420: 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

6832-404: 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 ,

6954-458: 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

7076-428: The Howlett House battery. The midshipman were landed under the command of LT Hall and participated in several skirmishes with forces from the Union's Army of the James , as the Confederate forces successfully "bottled" that army. June 1864 raid on the USS  Water Witch , evacuation of CSS Savannah, Confederate retreat to Richmond. By September 1864 a lull in fighting allowed LT Parker to be relieved of command of

7198-465: 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

7320-405: The Naval Academy, partly due to the limitations of boarding space on the school ship. The midshipmen were "active" Navy and received $ 500.00 annually plus room, board and uniforms. In October 1863, William Harwar Parker became superintendent. His brother, Commodore Foxhall A. Parker, became Superintendent of USNA on July 1, 1878. During October, instruction and classes began for 52 midshipmen at

7442-476: 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

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7564-422: The U.S. Naval Academy, and was assisted by six CS Navy lieutenants and three CS Navy masters along with several civilian professors. The faculty worked on the hurricane deck between the paddlewheel boxes in two small recitation rooms. While serving as the superintendent Parker wrote the textbook Elements of Seamanship for the school. The following academic faculty served at CSNA: The original staff appointed to

7686-451: 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

7808-661: 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

7930-416: 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

8052-541: 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

8174-495: 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

8296-402: 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

8418-415: 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

8540-434: 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,

8662-478: 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

8784-509: 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

8906-665: The archives of the government and the bullion of the treasury from Richmond to Danville and southward. Midshipman Raphael Semmes, Jr. was detailed to the staff of his father, Admiral Raphael Semmes and Midshipman Breckinridge was detailed as an aide to his father the Confederate States Secretary of War , John C. Breckinridge From April 3 through April 9, LT Parker and the midshipman remained in Danville, Virginia and then moved south to Greensboro, North Carolina on April 10, and to Charlotte, North Carolina by April 13. Here

9028-596: The chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal medicine systems. Decoction involves first drying the plant material; then mashing, slicing, or cutting the material to allow for maximum dissolution; and finally boiling in water to extract oils, volatile organic compounds and other various chemical substances. Occasionally, aqueous ethanol or glycerol may be used instead of water. Decoction can be used to make tisanes , tinctures and similar solutions. Decoctions and infusions may produce liquids with differing chemical properties, as

9150-745: The classroom instructors. Midshipmen were generally appointed by their representatives to the CS Congress from their districts, while some appointments at large were made directly by the President of the Confederate States . Candidates were required to be between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, to pass a physical examination, and an academic examination on reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic, and to be of "good moral character". Academic subjects included seamanship, gunnery, mathematics, steam engineering, navigation, English studies, French, drawing and drafting. The basic organization, studies and regulations of

9272-495: The command of LT Billups with the task of destroying the ship that had been their school, and the CSS Patrick Henry was set on fire and destroyed. LT Billups and the rear party never caught up with LT Parker and his main body of 50 midshipman. LT Parker and the main body guarded the train containing the public treasure of $ 500,000 which was destined for the new government seat of Danville. The following day, April 3, they escorted

9394-453: 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

9516-549: 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

9638-464: 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

9760-699: 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

9882-414: 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 the United States, slavery was abolished nationally . By 1900, the country had established itself as a great power ,

10004-564: 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

10126-527: 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

10248-590: 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,

10370-636: 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 the 1775–1783 Revolutionary War , the country continued to expand westward across North America , resulting in

10492-463: 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

10614-477: 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

10736-612: 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

10858-642: 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

10980-408: 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

11102-553: 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

11224-399: The recitation classrooms signalmen were posted who would relay wig-wag messages to the local batteries onshore. Occasionally, when the guns opened up for combat engagement they would be short of officers and a message was sent down to the school to request some midshipmen to help out. Every midshipman was eager to volunteer, and so these details to the shore batteries were given as a reward from

11346-403: The resultant liquids can sometimes be similar in their effects, or general appearance and taste. The term dates back to 1350–1400 from the past participle stem of Latin decoquere (meaning "to boil down"), from de ("from") + coquere ("to cook"). In brewing , decoction mashing is the traditional method where a portion of the mash is removed to a separate vessel, boiled for

11468-565: 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

11590-596: 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

11712-470: The school and its midshipman, and was instructed to create the regulations for its government and submitted his regulations to CDR Brooke. CDR Brooke had responsibility for supervision of the school, and on July 23, 1863 the final organizational proposals and regulations that he and LT Parker had put together were approved by Secretary Mallory and the Naval Academy officially went into operation. Throughout

11834-808: The school remained fairly intact, with the change that in the summer of 1864 a new Commandant of Midshipman was appointed: Lieutenant O. F. Johnston, and then he was followed by Commander James Henry Rochelle who was appointed both Commandant of Midshipman and Executive Officer. The midshipman uniforms followed the CS Navy uniform regulations issued after 1862, requiring the uniform to be steel grey in color, lined with dark black silk serge. The jackets were coarse gray cloth material, and made of wool. The sleeves of midshipmen, like all officers, had three sleeve buttons mounted vertically. In lieu of stripe, midshipman had three small buttons with fouled anchors, and passed midshipmen had three large buttons with fouled anchors mounted horizontally. A midshipman had no shoulder strap, while

11956-633: The school were modeled after the curriculum and format of the U. S. Naval Academy. Studies were divided into six departments and twenty-two branches, distributed in four annual courses of learning, with one course of learning assigned to each year of the four years of planned study, as follows: Secretary Mallory provided an order for examination by a board of officers. Captain Sidney S. Lee, CSN and Captain Samuel Barron, CSN led an appointed board of examiners. The academic board held examinations of midshipmen twice

12078-669: The school. On May 5, 1862 five Union gunboats, including the USS Monitor and the USS Galena , sailed up the James to test the Richmond defenses at Fort Darling on Drewry's Bluff which commanded a strategically powerful location on the cliffs overlooking the James River. Engaging in battle with Fort Darling's guns the ships received heavy damage and were forced to withdraw on May 15. The crew of

12200-563: 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

12322-528: 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

12444-507: The spring of 1863 materials, supplies and textbooks had been purchased and obtained for the school, including arithmetic, algebra, grammar, English and astronomy texts, and various special equipments such as azimuth compasses. The first of the midshipmen arrived onboard Patrick Henry and on July 23, 1863 the Confederate Naval Academy started its first class of midshipman. Only 52 of the 106 authorized level of midshipmen reported to

12566-543: 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

12688-504: 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

12810-459: The temperature or preparation difference may result in more oil-soluble chemicals in decoctions versus infusions. The process can also be applied to meats and vegetables to prepare bouillon or stock , though the term is typically only used to describe boiled plant extracts, usually for medicinal or scientific purposes. Decoction is also the name for the resulting liquid. Although this method of extraction differs from infusion and percolation ,

12932-475: The treasury was temporarily held in the Charlotte mint, but taken out as the contingent moved to Chester, South Carolina . The use of the train was abandoned, and the treasury was put in a wagon train, with the gold packed in small boxes and the silver in kegs. Together, with the first lady, Mrs. Jefferson Davis, they travelled to Abbeville, South Carolina by the 15th of April, and then the 17th they moved by wagon train again on to Washington, Georgia , arriving on

13054-565: 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

13176-567: 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

13298-509: 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 the Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations and societies . British colonization led to

13420-444: 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

13542-538: 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

13664-530: 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". Decoction Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes ) to dissolve

13786-570: 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

13908-754: 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

14030-592: Was being evacuated, LT Parker received the order to have the midshipman and faculty assembled at the Danville Depot by 6pm and to report to the Quartermaster General of the CS Army. LT Parker and his midshipmen were ordered to escort President Jefferson Davis , his party, and the Confederate archives and treasury south. The Lieutenant took 50 of his students for that mission leaving the remaining 10 students under

14152-565: 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

14274-585: Was finally able to secure the treasury, composed of coin and bullion, in the vaults of a bank in Augusta, and they remained in Augusta guarding the treasure until the armistice was signed between General Joseph E. Johnston and Major General Sherman. LT Parker declined to disband the midshipman guarding the treasury, and so removed it out of the vaults and returned to Washington, Georgia while searching for President Davis, finally arriving back in Abbeville, South Carolina by

14396-460: Was placed forward for sail handling and training. Finally a small launch armed with a twelve-pound howitzer was kept on davits for training. Toward the end of the war the demand for midshipmen to assist with shoreside combat duty greatly increased, requiring the students to be housed in huts built inside the Drewry's Bluff batteries. The superintendent, LT Parker, had been an instructor of seamanship at

14518-551: Was pulled into Rockets Navy Yard in Richmond for refitting as a school ship, and then stationed near Drewry's Bluff where cabins were constructed ashore for the mishipmen, when they were needed to man the naval batteries there. Drewry's Bluff also became an important training ground for the Confederate States Marine Corps Camp of Instruction. The organization and stand up of the school was performed by LT Parker and Commander John Mercer Brooke , CSN. CDR Brooke

14640-405: Was sent to examine locations and buildings which could be used for the move. But no good location was found for the move, and the superintendent, LT Parker, rented a warehouse at the corner of Franklin and 24th Street in Richmond in March. Preparations were made for the midshipman to sink their beloved school ship as an obstruction in the James River . On the afternoon of April 2, 1865 as Richmond

14762-510: Was sent to the Rockets Navy Yard in Richmond. All but four of her guns had been mounted at the naval battery at Drewry's Bluff on the James River. The four remaining guns were used for gunnery drills and training of the midshipmen, and served to assist, when necessary, in the defense of that river location. Two class rooms made of pine boards were mounted amidships on the gun deck between the paddlewheel boxes, and an oversized fully rigged mast

14884-582: Was serving as the head of the Office of Ordnance and Hydrography for the CS Navy department in Richmond and both Parker and Brooke were graduates from among the first classes of the United States Naval Academy . They were well qualified for the organization of the school and Parker had, in fact, been an instructor at the US Naval Academy for six years. LT Parker was appointed as the superintendent of

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