The United States Shipping Board ( USSB ) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War I efforts. The program ended on March 2, 1934.
116-478: The United States had a maritime position that had been eroding for decades with some congressional concern. Some remedies actually worsened the situation since European shipping companies dominated overseas trade, and just over 10% of the value of trade carried in American-owned ships. The 1916 Act was the result of congressional efforts to create a board to address the problem dating from 1914. The legislation
232-566: 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
348-562: 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
464-756: A camping trip to the Appalachian Mountains . In 1926 he received the Laetare Medal and in 1933 he donated $ 200,000 to the University of Notre Dame for a new building for the college, which was named Hurley Hall. He died in Chicago on November 14, 1933. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston. This article about an American businessperson born in the 1860s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an American inventor
580-533: 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
696-626: A corporation had been set during the construction of the Panama Canal during which the Panama Railway Company was charged with much of the construction and had its stock entirely owned by the US Secretary of War . The Shipping Act had explicitly empowered the board to found such a company, which was done with issuance of $ 50,000,000 in stock all initially held by the board; the majority portion had to be retained, and another provision required
812-723: A couple of brothers and made $ 125,00 selling the British patent. In 1907 he became president of the National Bank of Wheaton and then founded the Hurley Machine Company, which produced vacuum cleaners and washing and ironing machines. In 1914 he was named to the Federal Trade Commission and in 1915 he became its chairman. Hurley also served on the Red Cross War Council, the War Trade Board, and as chairman of
928-522: 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
1044-407: 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
1160-616: 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
1276-579: A massive wartime program. Though it was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, the official title remained the United States Shipping Board. The board was to address the shortage of shipping through acquisition of existing hulls and, with the declaration of war by the United States on Germany on 6 April 1917, a construction program through its Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was created 16 April. The precedent for using such
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#17328452124111392-583: 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
1508-488: 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
1624-518: 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,
1740-603: 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
1856-522: A shipping business with its surplus ships until 1920, when the overseas freight market collapsed, and it began to lay up its vessels. In 1925, Henry Ford bought 199 of the out-of-service ships for $ 1,697,470 as part of an investigation into the secondary use of materials. The first ship reached the Ford River Rouge Complex in November, and all of the remaining ships were broken down and recycled
1972-611: 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
2088-479: A term of two years. The members of the board gathered in Washington in the first week of January 1917 to plan and organize while they awaited confirmation, which came in late January. The board's formal organization was on January 30. US vessels had suffered a disadvantage, and the laws passed by Congress had in some cases had the effect of giving advantage to European shipping, instead of the desired effect of making
2204-401: 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
2320-566: 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
2436-571: 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
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#17328452124112552-492: 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,
2668-438: 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
2784-542: 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
2900-584: 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
3016-548: 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
3132-529: 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
3248-493: 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
3364-688: 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
3480-701: 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
3596-580: 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
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3712-672: 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)
3828-583: 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
3944-759: 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,
4060-638: 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
4176-576: 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
4292-696: The U.S. Shipping Board . In 1919, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the War Department for his work for the Shipping Board during World War I. He helped professor T. G. Masaryk in a question of Czechoslovak legions and a foundation of a Czechoslovak state in 1918. In 1918 with Professor Robert DeLoach he joined the Vagabonds, a group consisting of John Burroughs , Thomas Edison , Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone who made
4408-702: The US Maritime Administration of the Department of Commerce (all other functions, 1950–81); and the US Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation (all other functions, 1981–). From 1924 to 1933, the board was instead chaired by T. V. O'Connor . United States The United States of America ( USA ), commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America ,
4524-670: 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
4640-514: 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 ,
4756-524: 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
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4872-400: 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
4988-764: 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
5104-466: 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
5220-426: 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
5336-402: The British Shipping Controller of Ministry of Shipping under various shipping line contracts. Examples of such ships are War Topaz , which became USS West Bridge , and one of the Great Lakes built ships, originally War Bayonet , which became USS Lake Superior for the first war and USS Tuluran for the second. Others among the ships found service in the next war; for example, War Dido
5452-420: 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
5568-404: 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 ,
5684-413: The EFC. Shipbuilding before America entered the war had been expanded to some extent, with domestic shipping companies replacing ships withdrawn from trade by belligerents and both the United Kingdom and neutral countries contracting for ships in US yards. The UK had contracted for ships through private British companies for security and for US neutrality needs. In March 1917, just before the US entered
5800-458: 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
5916-465: 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
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#17328452124116032-476: 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
6148-451: 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
6264-661: 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
6380-415: The US registry and operate under the US flag and to repeal certain penalties for those using foreign-built vessels. The net effect was negligible as shipbuilding in the United States declined almost equally with the benefits gained. The US entered the war just over two months after the board had begun its work, which completely changed its focus from generally strengthening the nation's maritime position to
6496-471: The US yards for ships over 2,500 DWT . The first order was signed by Chairman Hurley on 3 August 1917, to be executed by the EFC to secure control of the shipyards and construction already underway. The action was immediately protested by nearly every shipyard and owner of the ships under construction, with the foreign owners protesting through the US State Department . A large number of the contracts and ships under construction for foreign accounts were for
6612-708: The USSB and under legislation of 12 May 1917 and an executive order of 30 June 1917 giving the USSB formal power to seize the vessels and enter them into the US registry. The report of December 1918 showed one Austrian steamer, 87 German steamers that now included four from Cuba, and seven sailing vessels seized. Some of Germany's premier liners, such as Amerika , George Washington , Kronprinzessin Cecilie , Astoria , Pensacola , Aeolus , Mercury , Pocahontas , Powhatan , Prinz Eitel Friedrich , Republic , President Lincoln , Kaiser Wilhelm II , Antigone , Rhein , Kronprinz Wilhelm , Covington , Friedrich der Große and Vaterland , were among
6728-408: The USSB was initially the head of the EFC, but the General Manager had all real authority except the power to sign contracts. The division of authority between the USSB and the EFC and the construction program's direction led to conflict between USSB Chairman Denman and EFC General Manager Major-General George Washington Goethals . That resulted in the resignation of both men and the reconstitution of
6844-651: The United Kingdom, and the protest was solved with the British government's agreement that the ships would be used in the total war effort. With one exception, a new ship from Union Iron Works that had already loaded for departure, War Sword , the contracts and the ships were requisitioned. Out of 431 such ships, totaling 3,068,431 DWT , 414 of the requisitioned were completed after cancellations of some contracts for ships of unwanted design that were in early stages of construction or not yet laid down. A very large group of these ships, contracted with names prefixed with "War" and renamed before completion, were being built for
6960-416: 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
7076-541: 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
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#17328452124117192-495: 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
7308-402: 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
7424-415: 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
7540-434: 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,
7656-478: 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
7772-509: 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
7888-411: The board and the corporation. The new USSB composition, which remained throughout the war was Edward N. Hurley as chairman, with Raymond B. Stevens replacing James B. White as vice-chairman and John Donald, Bainbridge Colby and Charles R. Page as members. Rear Admiral Washington L. Capps , formerly Constructor of the Navy and Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Construction, became the General Manager of
8004-485: The board on December 22, 1916, with some dissatisfaction in the shipping industry about particular nominees and the board's power to set ocean freight rates raising particular concern and skepticism. The initial nominees were William Denman (chairman), who was instrumental in drafting the legislation for the establishment of the board for a term of six years, Bernard N. Baker for five years, John A. Donald for four years, James B. White for three years, and Theodore Brent for
8120-418: The builders of turbines for training. The early result, between 1 June 1917 and 1 October 1918 was 11,618 licensed officers. The officer training was expanded to training for crew, deck sailors, firemen, wipers, cooks, and stewards by December 1917 and was open to all male citizens of the ages 18 to 20 or 32 to 35 with a goal expanded from an estimated 85,000 to 200,000 because of the revised estimates of ships by
8236-441: The class and type of ship. By December 1918, the division had become the largest ship operating entity in US history, with a total fleet of 1,386 vessels totaling 7,498,075 DWT owned outright, managed, or chartered. For more control of traffic required by the war effort, methods applied by the British were employed in which rates were adjusted and control was exercised through the division's Chartering Committee, whose approval
8352-490: The commission was agreed to between the USSB and the following parties: Subsequently, additional shipping companies and labor organizations entered the agreement with modifications. William Z. Ripley was chairman of the commission from 1919 to 1920. In July 1920, the USSB withdrew from the commission agreement and decided to deal with shipping workers directly. The commission ceased operations on October 1, 1920. The USSB operated
8468-453: 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
8584-449: The country no longer heavily dependent on foreign shipping. With the outbreak of war in Europe, the national fleets of the warring countries became involved in those countries' wartime efforts and were withdrawn from commercial trade, which was vital to US commerce. One initial step was granting authority to the president to allow registration of foreign-built ships owned by US companies to enter
8700-549: 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
8816-464: 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
8932-699: 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
9048-414: 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 ,
9164-471: The end of the war. To ensure that labor problems did not disrupt necessary war shipping, the USSB employed special labor consultants and entered agreements with labor and other government agencies to resolve labor disputes directly and also to standardize wages across the industry. One of the USSB organizations that as specifically concerned with the issue was the Marine and Dock Industrial Relations Division, which
9280-564: 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
9396-527: 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
9512-590: 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,
9628-636: 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
9744-669: The following summer. The USSB was abolished effective March 2, 1934. Its successor agencies have been the US Shipping Board Bureau of the US Department of Commerce (1933–36); the US Maritime Commission (1936–50); the US Federal Maritime Board of the US Department of Commerce (regulatory functions only, 1950–61); the US Federal Maritime Commission (regulatory functions only, 1961–);
9860-463: 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
9976-477: 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
10092-612: 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
10208-642: 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
10324-408: 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
10440-553: 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
10556-565: 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
10672-596: 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
10788-622: The second chairman of the Federal Trade Commission from July 1, 1916 to January 31, 1917. He was of Irish descent. Hurley was born in Galesburg, Illinois on July 31, 1864. He finished high school at 17 and went to work for the railroad, ascending from shopman to engineer, and eventually becoming assistant to the president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen . In 1897 he started producing pneumatic tools together with
10904-418: The seized ships. On 15 November 1917, the USSB authorized negotiations with foreign countries that had seized German or Austrian ships with actual discussions that continued until January 1918. The result was the charter or the outright purchase of a number of ships interned from South America to China. The USSB's first action regarding new construction was commandeering every contract, hull, and even steel in
11020-563: 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
11136-528: 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
11252-543: 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
11368-451: 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
11484-464: The trustees of the EFC to hold stock. During the war, Congress granted the president extraordinary wartime powers, which were used by means of Executive Orders to expand the board's authority and its corporation. The board, as a regulatory and policy body, executed its programs largely through the EFC, a separate entity that was fully under the policy control of the majority stockholder, the board. The Chairman of
11600-587: The war and the USSB shifted to full wartime operations, there were about 700,000 tons of new construction underway for the private US owners, and all 234 building ways in the US were occupied by either those or by ships for neutral and domestic shipping lines. There was no possibility for a quick expansion of capacity to incorporate the USSB/EFC shipbuilding program. The most readily available hulls were 91 German vessels of 594,696 GRT aggregate tonnage refurbished for use by
11716-565: 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
11832-567: 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
11948-509: 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
12064-444: 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
12180-538: 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
12296-514: 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". Edward N. Hurley Edward Nash Hurley (July 31, 1864 – November 14, 1933) was an American businessman and inventor who served as
12412-570: 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
12528-754: 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
12644-560: Was concluded with the 9 May 1922 delivery of the ship completed and delivered as Western World , launched as Nutmeg State 17 September 1921, by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at Sparrows Point, Maryland . When ships were delivered from the builder to the USSB, they came under the management of the Division of Operations, which allocated them to the US War Department , US Navy Department , or commercial service, based on needs and
12760-565: 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
12876-545: Was necessary for commerce and how much could be shifted to the war effort. As of 1 June 1917, the USSB established a recruiting service with headquarters in Boston , with the first of an eventual 43 training centers, in recognition that traditional methods were too slow for the rapid wartime expansion for deck officers, at Cambridge, Massachusetts on 4 June. A second set of schools was created for engineering officers with those engineers destined for turbine powered ships being sent to
12992-413: Was necessary to obtain license to refuel in US ports. With American-registered ships already under tight control, those regulations were largely directed at neutrals. A specific example was the preferred trade by neutrals in manganese with eastern South America when the war effort required nitrates from the west of the continent. The board's efforts were directed to shift the balance. Enforcement of rates
13108-591: Was not then a part of any war effort with specific intent, as stated in the act: A board of five commissioners was to be appointed by the US president with confirmation by the US Senate as the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to acquire and construct suitable vessels and to create corporations under its control to execute the programs. In essence, the board was given "complete control over American ships and shipping." US President Woodrow Wilson made public his nominations for
13224-474: Was strict and at one point, before wide compliance, 136 steamers were held in US ports. By December 1918, the USSB directly controlled such a large portion of US shipping through ownership and charter that the USSB's prewar rate-setting regulatory function had largely become a minor factor. A Maritime Intelligence Department in the division and a separate Division of Planning and Statistics collected and analyzed shipping data to help determine what level of shipping
13340-406: Was to coordinate all labor related matters, and by late 1918, industry and labor had begun referring disputes to the board and thus avoided any stoppages. The National Adjustment Commission was established in 1917 as an adjunct to the USSB for the adjustment and control of wages, hours, and conditions of labor in the loading and the unloading of vessels. In 1918, the initial operation and policies of
13456-588: Was torpedoed and sunk as Empire Springbuck in 1941, and War Dragon was seized by Japan and sunk as Renzan Maru by USS Porpoise on 1 January 1943. Some being built for domestic shippers had long careers, with Orizaba and Oriente being examples. The Board's construction program, most notably the Hog Islander ships, was executed through the Emergency Fleet Corporation, which it established on 16 April 1917. The shipbuilding program
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