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John Young

John Young

John Young might refer to the following people:
- John Young (fl. 1698–1732), English publisher of later editions of The Dancing Master
- John Young (naval officer) (ca. 1740–1781), a captain in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War
- John Young (U.S. politician) (1802–1852), 19th century Governor of New York.
- John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar (1807–1876), the second Governor General of Canada.
- John Russell Young (1840–1899), an American journalist, author, diplomat, and the seventh Librarian of Congress (1897–1899).
- John Young (soccer), (1872–1958), member of the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame
- John Zachary Young (1907–1997), an English zoologist who studied neural action
- John Andrew Young (1916–2002), an American politician from the state of Texas.
- John W. Young (born 1930), United States astronaut
- John Young, Special Operations Executive field agent
- John Young, publisher of the Cryptome website
- John Young, Royal Advisor to Kamehameha I, Kingdom of Hawaii John Young might also refer to:
- USS John Young (DD-973), a Spruance-class destroyer in the United States Navy named for the naval officer.
- John Young Parkway, a four- and six-lane surface road in Florida named for the astronaut.

John Young (naval officer)

John Young (ca. 1740-1781) was a captain in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, commander of the Saratoga which was lost at sea. He began his seafaring career at an early age in the colonial merchant marine and, at the start of the American Revolution, was commissioned 23rd on the list of captains in the Continental Navy. On 20 September 1776, the Continental Congress directed Young to take the sloop-of-war Independence to Martinique to protect American mercantile shipping in the West Indies. Collaterally, Independence was to raid British shipping whenever the opportunity arose. On 5 July 1777, Young was ordered to Nantes, France, and subsequently arrived at Lorient with two prizes. On 17 February 1778, while in French waters, he sailed through the French Fleet, saluting that nation's government with a 13-gun salute. In return he received a nine-gun salute, one of the earliest salutes rendered by the French government to the fledgling American government. At the time, John Paul Jones was on board Independence. Young returned to America in the spring of 1778 and successively commanded two Pennsylvania privateers, Buckskin and Impertinent, before he was given command of the sloop-of-war Saratoga - then fitting out at Philadelphia - in May 1780. Young took her to sea on 13 August 1780 and, in the course of the ship's first cruise, captured one prize before she returned to port for repairs and alterations. Subsequent cruises were more successful, as Young commanded Saratoga on three more sweeps at sea in which he took a total of eight more prizes. Young proved himself a daring and resourceful commander. On one occasion, he took Saratoga between two British ships and captured both. Largely as a result of his dedication and emphasis on training, Saratoga compiled a distinguished, but altogether brief, record before her untimely and unexplained loss. Saratoga set sail from Cap Francais, in what is now the Dominican Republic, on 15 March 1781. After taking a prize three days later, the sloop-of-war became separated from her later that day when a strong gale swept through the area, the high winds nearly swamping the prize commanded by Midshipman Penfield. After the storm passed by, Saratoga was nowhere to be seen, having vanished without a trace. The United States Navy named two ships, USS Young, and USS John Young (DD-973) in his honor.

Reference


- William Bell Clark, The First Saratoga, Being the Saga of John Young and His Sloop-of-War (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1953) Young, John Young, John Young, John

John Young (U.S. politician)

John Young (June 12, 1802 - April 23, 1852) was an American politician. He was born in Chelsea, Vermont. As a child, he moved to Freeport (now Conesus), Livingston County, New York. He had only basic schooling but, by self-study accumulated a knowledge of classics and became a law clerk, becoming admitted to the bar in 1829. He entered politics as a Jacksonian Democrat, and shortly afterward moved to the Anti-Masonic Party, on whose ticket he was elected to the Assembly (lower house) of the New York state legislature, beginning service in 1832. He later moved to the Whig Party, getting elected to the House of Representatives, serving from 1836 - 37 and 1841 - 43. (NOTE: one source shows both sets of dates. Another only shows him elected in 1840, which would be consistent with an 1841-43 term only.) In 1845 he returned to the New York State Assembly, as a candidate of the Whigs and Antirenters, and was urged to run against the incumbent Governor, Silas Wright, on the Whig ticket. He defeated Wright and served as the Governor of New York from January, 1847 to the end of 1848. In 1848 he became a strong supporter of Zachary Taylor's candidacy for President of the United States, and was rewarded when Taylor was successful by appointment as Assistant Treasurer of the United States in New York City. He served in the latter post until his death from tuberculosis. Young, John Young, John Young, John Young, John Young, John

John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar

The Right Honourable John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, PC (August 31, 1807 – October 6, 1876) was the second Governor General of Canada. Born in Bombay, India, Young sat as a member of Parliament in the British House of Commons between 1831 and 1835. He married the 14-year-old Lady Adelaide Annabella Dalton on April 8, 1835. From 1841 to 1846, he occupied a cabinet minister's post in the government of Sir Robert Peel. He was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the Ionian Islands from 1855 to 1859, followed by a post as the twelfth Governor of New South Wales, Australia, from May 16, 1861 to December 24, 1867. Young was appointed Administrator of Canada from the time that Lord Monck left office in 1868 until he was sworn in as Governor General on February 2, 1869. As Canada's second Governor General, Lord Lisgar (as he became in 1870) was not shy about voicing criticism or strong opinions. While some resented his independent mind, Sir John A. Macdonald thought Lisgar the most able of the Governors General he had known. A review of Lord Lisgar's term of office and accomplishments explains this high regard. In his first year in office, the Red River Rebellion began under Louis Riel. On December 6, 1869, hopes of appeasement led him to declare an amnesty during the Riel confrontation. Then, in 1870, a rebel group of Irish-Americans, called Fenians, raided Canada in an attempt to win Irish independence from Britain. In both conflicts, Lord Lisgar was a wise mediator who helped lessen some of the potential bitterness. He also prevented the execution of the captured Fenian invaders by sending a sternly worded telegram to those who were ready to apply quick justice. During this time of considerable turmoil, Canada was also experiencing a period of growth and increasing unity. Manitoba joined Confederation in 1870 and British Columbia, though still uncommitted, was considering union. When a delegation from British Columbia came in June 1870 to discuss joining Canada, Lord Lisgar spoke to them personally of the young country's wish to include the colony in Confederation. British Columbia joined Canada in 1871. The proposed 1869 transfer of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the Hudson's Bay Company to the Crown was delayed until 1870 by the Red River Rebellion. In the interim, Lord Lisgar was the nominal Lieutenant Governor of the huge parcel of land. He was a strong supporter of Confederation and played a positive role in building a united Canada by touring the country extensively and promoting this goal. Lord Lisgar made important advances in relations with the United States. He was the first Governor General to travel to the United States, meeting President Ulysses S. Grant and inaugurating a rail link between Boston and Portland with Saint John and Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1871. In 1869 he also received the first royal visitor since Confederation – the 19-year old Prince Arthur, third son of Queen Victoria. Prince Arthur would return to Canada in 1911, as the Duke of Connaught, to be Governor General. Lord Lisgar and his wife, Lady Adelaide Annabella Dalton Lisgar, added many important traditions to Rideau Hall. They held the first recorded New Year's Levee in 1869, while he was Administrator, and organized Christmas and Garden Parties. And in 1872, the noon gun firing on Parliament Hill was established, and the Governor General's Foot Guards army regiment was created. The first duty of the new regiment was to provide a guard of honour for Lord Lisgar on his departure from office in June of the same year. After completing his term of office in Canada, Lord Lisgar returned to Ireland. Lady Lisgar re-married twice after Lord Lisgar's death on October 6, 1876, and died in Paris on July 19, 1895 at the age of 74. Having died without either issue or close relations, his barony ended with him. Lisgar Collegiate Institute on Lisgar Street in Ottawa takes its name from Lord Lisgar. A likeness of Lord Lisgar is prominently displayed in the school's library.

External links


- [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=39455 Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online]
- [http://www.gg.ca Website of the Governor General of Canada] Lisgar, John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, John Young, 1st Baron

John Russell Young

John Russell Young (November 20, 1840 – January 17, 1899) an American journalist, author, diplomat, and the seventh Librarian of Congress, serving from 1897 to 1899. Young was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, but as a young child his family emigrated to Philadelphia. He entered the newspaper business as a proofreader at age 15. As a reporter for the Philadelphia Press, he distinguished himself with his coverage of the Battle of Bull Run. By 1862 he was managing editor of the Press and another newspaper. In 1865 he moved to New York. He began writing for Horace Greeley's New York Tribune and became managing editor of that paper. He also began working for the government, undertaking missions to Europe for the US Department of State and the US Department of the Treasury. In 1872, he joined the New York Herald and reported for them from Europe. Young was invited to accompany President Ulysses S. Grant on Grant's famous 1877-1879 world tour, chronicled in Young's book Around the World with General Grant. Young impressed Grant, especially in China where Young struck up a friendship with Li Hongzhang. Grant persuaded President Chester A. Arthur to appoint Young minister to China in 1882. In this position he distinguished himself by mediating and settling disputes between the US and China and France and China. In 1885 he resumed working for the Herald in Europe. In 1890 he returned to Philadelphia. In 1897 President William McKinley appointed him Librarian of Congress, the first Librarian confirmed by Congress. During his tenure, the Library began moving from its original home in the US Capitol Building to its own structure, an accomplishment largely the responsibility of his predecessor, Ainsworth Rand Spofford. Spofford served as Chief Assistant Librarian under Young. Young held the post of Librarian until his death. His brother was Congressman James Rankin Young. Young, John Russell Young, John Russell Young, John Russell Young, John Russell

National Soccer Hall of Fame

The National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York, is located within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in Canastota. It honors the best American soccer players, and the people who collaborated to build the sport in the United States. Despite its denomination as a national Hall of Fame and its location in the United States, a select few non-American players are honored; but those must have U.S. ties, such as former North American Soccer League players Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer.

Players inducted

Builders inducted

External links


- [http://www.soccerhall.org/ National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum] Category:Sports Halls of Fame Category:Soccer in the United States

John Zachary Young

John Zachary Young (18 March, 1907–4 July, 1997) was an English zoologist who studied neural action. category:1907 births category:1997 deaths

John Andrew Young

John Andrew Young (November 10, 1916 - January 22, 2002) was a politician from the state of Texas. Young was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and he graduated St. Edwards University. Young served in the United States Navy during World War II. Young was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1956. Young became involved in a scandal when a former staffer said that she received a pay raise after giving in to sexual advances from him. Young was defeated in the Democratic party primary election in 1978. Young, John Andrew Young, John Andrew Young, John Andrew Young, John Andrew

United States

:For alternative meanings, see the disambiguation page for US, USA, United States, or American. The United States of America is a federal democratic republic situated primarily in central North America. It comprises 50 states and one federal district, and has several territories. It is also referred to, with varying formality, as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., the States, or simply and most commonly, America. The official founding date of the United States is July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress—representing thirteen British colonies—adopted the Declaration of Independence. However, the structure of the government was profoundly changed in 1788, when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution. The date on which each of the fifty states adopted the Constitution is typically regarded as the date that state "entered the Union" (became part of the United States). Since the mid-20th century, following World War II, the United States has emerged as a dominant global influence in economic, political, military, scientific, technological, and cultural affairs.

Geography and climate

The United States shares land borders with Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south), and territorial water boundaries with Canada, Russia, the Bahamas, and numerous smaller nations. It is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, in the west; the Arctic Ocean, in the northernmost areas; and the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, in the eastern and southeastern areas. Forty-eight of the states are in the single region between Canada and Mexico; this group is referred to, with varying precision and formality, as the continental or contiguous United States, sometimes abbreviated CONUS, and as the Lower 48. Alaska, which is not included in the term contiguous United States, is at the northwestern end of North America, separated from the Lower 48 by Canada. The archipelago of Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. The capital city, Washington, District of Columbia is a federal district located on land donated by the state of Maryland. (Virginia also donated land, but it was returned in 1847.) The United States also has overseas territories with varying levels of independence and organization. When inland water is included in the total area, only Russia and Canada are larger than the United States; if inland water is excluded, China ranks third and the U.S. ranks fourth. The United States' total area is 3,718,711 square miles (9,631,418 km²), of which land makes up 3,537,438 square miles (9,161,923 km²) and water makes up 181,273 square miles (469,495 km²). The United States' landscape is one of the most varied among those of the world's nations: among its many features are temperate forestland and rolling hills, on the east coast; mangrove, in Florida; the Great Plains, in the center of the country; the Mississippi–Missouri river system; the Great Lakes, four of the five of which are shared with Canada; the Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains; deserts and temperate coastal zones, west of the Rocky Mountains; and temperate rain forests, in the Pacific northwest. Alaska's tundra, and the volcanic, tropical islands of Hawaii add to the geographic diversity. Hawaii The climate varies along with the landscape, from tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida to tundra in Alaska and atop some of the highest mountains. Most of the North and East experience a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Most of the South experiences a subtropical humid climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Rainfall decreases markedly from the humid forests of the Eastern Great Plains to the semi-arid shortgrass prairies on the high plains abutting the Rocky Mountains. Arid deserts, including the Mojave, extend through the lowlands and valleys of the southwest, from westernmost Texas to California and northward throughout much of Nevada. Some parts of California have a Mediterranean climate. Rainforests line the windward mountains of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Alaska.

History

American history started with the migration of people from Asia across the Bering land bridge approximately 12,000 years ago following large animals that they hunted into the Americas. These Native Americans left evidence of their presence in petroglyphs, burial mounds, and other artifacts. It is estimated that 2-9 million people lived in the territory now occupied by the U.S. before European contact, and the subsequent introduction of foreign diseases such as small pox that greatly diminished the native populations. Some advanced societies were the Anasazi of the southwest, who inhabited Chaco Canyon, and the Woodland Indians, who built Cahokia, located near present-day St Louis, a city with a population of 40,000 at its peak in AD 1200. Vikings first visited North America around 1000, but did not settle permanently. Following the discovery voyages of Christopher Columbus around 1492, other Europeans began to explore and settle there. During the 1500s and 1600s, the Spanish settled parts of the present-day Southwest and Florida, founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 and Santa Fe (in what is now New Mexico) in 1607. The first successful English settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, also in 1607. Within the next two decades, several Dutch settlements, including New Amsterdam (the predecessor to New York City), were established in what are now the states of New York and New Jersey. In 1637, Sweden established a colony at Fort Christina (in what is now Delaware), but lost the settlement to the Dutch in 1655. This was followed by extensive British settlement of the east coast. The British colonists remained relatively undisturbed by their home country until after the French and Indian War, when France ceded Canada and the Great Lakes region to Britain. Britain then imposed taxes on the 13 colonies, widely regarded by the colonists as unfair because they were denied representation in the British Parliament. Tensions between Britain and the colonists increased, and the thirteen colonies eventually rebelled against British rule. British Parliament, George Washington (1789-1797).]] In 1776, the 13 colonies split from Great Britain and formed the United States, the world's first constitutional and democratic federal republic, after their Declaration of Independence of that year, and the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783). The original political structure was a confederation in 1777, ratified in 1781 as the Articles of Confederation. After long debate, this was supplanted by the Constitution in 1789, forming a more centralized federal government. Prior to all these was the Albany Congress in 1754, in which a union was first seriously proposed. From early colonial times, there was a shortage of labor, which encouraged unfree labor, particularly indentured servitude and slavery. In the mid-19th century, a major division occurred in the United States over the issue of states' rights and the expansion of slavery. The northern states had become opposed to slavery, while the southern states saw it as necessary for the continued success of southern agriculture and wanted it expanded to the territories. Several federal laws were passed in an attempt to settle the dispute, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. The dispute reached a crisis in 1861, when seven southern states seceded1 from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, leading to the Civil War. Soon after the war began, four more southern states seceded. During the war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, mandating the freedom of all slaves in states in rebellion, though full emancipation did not take place until after the end of the war in 1865, the dissolution of the Confederacy, and the Thirteenth Amendment took effect. The Civil War effectively ended the question of a state's right to secede, and is widely accepted as a major turning point after which the federal government became more powerful than state governments. Thirteenth Amendment). The title of the painting, from a 1726 poem by Bishop Berkeley, was a phrase often quoted in the era of Manifest Destiny, expressing a widely held belief that civilization had steadily moved westward throughout history. [http://americanart.si.edu/t2go/1lw/1931.6.1.html (more)] ]] During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the continent. Manifest Destiny was a philosophy that encouraged westward expansion in the United States. As the population of the Eastern states grew and as a steady increase of immigrants entered the country, settlers moved steadily westward across North America. In the process, the U.S. displaced most American Indian nations. This displacement of American Indians continues to be a matter of contention in the U.S. with many tribes attempting to assert their original claims to various lands. In some areas American Indian populations were reduced by foreign diseases contracted through contact with European settlers, and US settlers acquired those emptied lands. In other instances American Indians were removed from their traditional lands by force. Though some would say the U.S. was not a colonial power until the Spanish-American War when it acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, the dominion exercised over land in North America the United States claimed is essentially colonial. The Philippines became independent in 1946. During this period, the nation also became an industrial power. This continued into the 20th century, which has been termed "the American Century" because of the nation's overriding influence on the world. The US became a center for innovation and technological development; major technologies that America either developed or was greatly involved in improving include the telephone, television, computer, the Internet, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, aviation, and aeronautics. In addition to the Civil War, another major traumatic experience for the nation was the Great Depression (1929 to 1939). The nation has also taken part in several major foreign wars, including World War I and World War II (in both of which the US later joined the Allies). During the Cold War, the US was a major player in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and, along with the Soviet Union, was considered one of the world's two "superpowers". With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US emerged as the world's leading economic and military power. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States became very involved in police actions and peacekeeping, including actions in Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia and Liberia, and the first Persian Gulf War driving Iraq out of Kuwait. After attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the United States and other allied nations found themselves involved in what has come to be called the "War on Terrorism," which has primarily encompassed military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Government

Iraq of the United States.]]

Republic and suffrage

The United States is an example of a constitutional republic, with a government composed of and operating through a set of limited powers imposed by its design and enumerated in the United States Constitution. Specifically, the nation operates as a presidential democracy. There are three levels of government: federal, state, and local. Officials of each of these levels are either elected by eligible voters via secret ballot or appointed by other elected officials. Americans enjoy almost universal suffrage from the age of 18 regardless of race, sex, or wealth. There are some limits, however: felons are disenfranchised and in some states former felons are likewise. Furthermore, the national representation of territories and the federal district of Washington, DC in Congress is limited: residents of the District of Columbia are subject to federal laws and federal taxes but their only Congressional representative is a non-voting delegate.

Federal government

The federal government is the national government, comprising the Legislative Branch (led by Congress), the Executive Branch (led by the President), and the Judicial Branch (led by the Supreme Court). These three branches were designed to apply checks and balances on each other. The Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, the issuing and management of currency, the management of trade and relations between the states, and the protection of human rights. In addition to these explicitly stated powers, the federal government—with the assistance of the Supreme Court—has gradually extended these powers into such areas as welfare and education, on the basis of the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution.

The Congress

necessary and proper The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population; in contrast, each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 senators, who serve six-year terms. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The Constitution also includes the necessary-and-proper clause, which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers."

The President

necessary-and-proper clause At the top level of the executive branch is the President of the United States. The President and Vice-President are elected as 'running mates' for four-year terms by the Electoral College, for which each state, as well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D. C.) in both houses of Congress (see U.S. Electoral College). The relationship between the President and the Congress reflects that between the English monarchy and parliament at the time of the framing of the United States Constitution. Congress can legislate to constrain the President's executive power, even with respect to his or her command of the armed forces; however, this power is used only very rarely—a notable example was the constraint placed on President Richard Nixon's strategy of bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War. The President cannot directly propose legislation, and must rely on supporters in Congress to promote his or her legislative agenda. The President's signature is required to turn congressional bills into law; in this respect, the President has the power—only occasionally used—to veto congressional legislation. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. The ultimate power of Congress over the President is that of impeachment or removal of the elected President through a House vote, a Senate trial, and a Senate vote. The threat of using this power has had major political ramifications in the cases of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton. The President makes around 2,000 executive appointments, including members of the Cabinet and ambassadors, which must be approved by the Senate; the President can also issue executive orders and pardons, and has other Constitutional duties, among them the requirement to give a State of the Union address to Congress once a year. Although the President's constitutional role may appear to be constrained, in practice, the office carries enormous prestige that typically eclipses the power of Congress: the Presidency has justifiably been referred to as 'the most powerful office in the world'. The Vice President is first in the line of succession, and is the President of the Senate ex officio, with the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote. The members of the President's Cabinet are responsible for administering the various departments of state, including the Department of Defense, the Justice Department, and the State Department. These departments and department heads have considerable regulatory and political power, and it is they who are responsible for executing federal laws and regulations. George W. Bush is the 43rd President, currently serving his second term.

The Courts

George W. Bush The highest court is the Supreme Court, which consists of nine justices. The court deals with federal and constitutional matters, and can declare legislation made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals, and below them in turn are the district courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law. Separate from, but not entirely independent of, this federal court system are the individual court systems of each state, each dealing with its own laws and having its own judicial rules and procedures. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question; the supreme court of each state is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution.

State and local governments

supreme court of each state. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.]] The state governments have the greatest influence over people's daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution and has different laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between the different states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected legislature (bicameral in every state except Nebraska), whose members represent the different parts of the state. Of note is the New Hampshire legislature, which is the third-largest legislative body in the English-speaking world, and has one representative for every 3,000 people. Each state maintains its own judiciary, with the lowest level typically being county courts, and culminating in each state supreme court, though sometimes named differently. In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system. The institutions that are responsible for local government are typically town, city, or county boards, making laws that affect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol, and keeping animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the mayor. In New England, towns operate directly democratically, and in some states, such as Rhode Island and Connecticut, counties have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain law enforcement agencies.

Political divisions

With the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies proclaimed themselves to be nation states modeled after the European states of the time. Although considered as sovereigns initially, under the Articles of Confederation of 1781 they entered into a "Perpetual Union" and created a fully sovereign federal state, delegating certain powers to the national Congress, including the right to engage in diplomatic relations and to levy war, while each retaining their individual sovereignty, freedom and independence. But the national government proved too ineffective, so the administrative structure of the government was vastly reorganized with the United States Constitution of 1789. Under this new union, the continued status of the individual states as sovereign nation states fell into dispute in 1861, as several states attempted to secede from the union; in response, then-President Abraham Lincoln claimed that such secession was illegal, and the result was the American Civil War. Since the Union victory in 1865, the independent status of the individual states has not been broached again by any state, and the status of each state within the union has been deemed by mainstream officials and academics to be settled as being subordinate to the union as a whole. In subsequent years, the number of states grew steadily due to western expansion, the purchase of lands by the national government from other nation states, and the subdivision of existing states, resulting in the current total of 50. The states are generally divided into smaller administrative regions, including counties, cities and townships. The United States–Canadian border is the longest undefended political boundary in the world. The U.S. is divided into three distinct sections:
- the "continental United States," also known as "the Lower 48" and more accurately termed the conterminous, coterminous or contiguous United States
- Alaska, which is physically connected only to Canada
- the archipelago of Hawaii, in the central Pacific Ocean. The United States also holds several other territories, districts, and possessions, notably the federal district of the District of Columbia, which is the nation's capital, and several overseas insular areas, the most significant of which are American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the United States' only incorporated territory; it is unorganized and uninhabited. The United States Navy has held a base at a portion of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 1898. The United States government possesses a lease to this land, which only mutual agreement or United States abandonment of the area can terminate. The present Cuban government of Fidel Castro disputes this arrangement, claiming Cuba was not truly sovereign at the time of the signing. The United States argues this point moot because Cuba apparently ratified the lease post-revolution, and with full sovereignty, when it cashed one rent check in accordance with the disputed treaty.

Foreign relations and military

sovereign] The immense military and economic dominance of the United States has made foreign relations an especially important topic in its politics, with considerable concern about the image of the United States throughout the world. Reactions towards the United States by other nationalities are often strong, ranging from uninhibited admiration and mimicking of all things American to anti-Americanism. US foreign policy has swung about several times over the course of its history between the poles of strict isolationism and imperialism and everywhere in between. Three of the nation's four military branches are administered by the Department of Defense: the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps), and the Air Force. The Coast Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime, but is placed under the Department of the Navy in time of war. The combined United States armed forces consist of 1.4 million active duty personnel, along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and the National Guard. Military conscription ended in 1973. The United States Armed forces are considered to be the most powerful military (of any sort) on Earth and their force projection capabilities are unrivaled by any other nation. The 2005 defense budget amounted to $401.7 billion, which is an increase of 4% over 2004 and of 35% since 2001. Over 50% of that number is spent in research & development. (For comparison, in 2004 the European Union (considered as the second-largest military force) had a combined total of 1.6 million troops, and a defense budget of €160 billion, with less than 10% of that being spent on R&D.)

Largest cities

The United States has dozens of major cities, including 11 of the 55 global cities of all types — with three "alpha" global cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The figures expressed below are for populations within city limits. A different ranking is evident when considering U.S. metro area populations, although the top three would be unchanged. Note that some cities not listed (such as Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) are still considered important on the basis of other factors and issues, including culture, economics, heritage, and politics. The twenty largest cities, based on the United States Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, are as follows:

Economy

The United States has the largest single-country economy in the world, with a per-capita gross domestic product of $40,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. gross domestic product The largest industry of the U.S. is now service, which employs roughly three quarters of the U.S. work force. The United States has many natural resources, including oil and gas, metals, and such minerals as gold, soda ash, and zinc. In agriculture, the U.S. is a top producer of, among other crops, corn, soy beans, and wheat; the United States is a net exporter of food. The U.S. manufacturing sector produces goods such as, cars, airplanes, steel, and electronics, among many others. Economic activity varies greatly from one part of the country to another, with many industries being largely dependent on a certain city or region; New York City is the center of the American financial, publishing, broadcasting, and advertising industries; Silicon Valley is the country’s primary location for high-technology companies, while Los Angeles is the most important center for film production. The Midwest is known for its reliance on manufacturing and heavy industry, with Detroit, Michigan, serving as the center of the American automotive industry; the Great Plains are known as the "breadbasket" of America for their tremendous agricultural output; the intermountain region serves as a mining hub and natural gas resource; the Pacific Northwest for fish and timber, while Texas is largely associated with the oil industry; the Southeast is a major hub for both medical research and the textiles industry. Several countries continue to link their currency to the dollar or even use it as a currency (such as Ecuador), although this practice has subsided since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Many markets are also quoted in dollars, such as those of oil and gold. The dollar is also the predominant reserve currency in the world, and more than half of global reserves are in dollars. The largest trading partner of the United States is Canada (19%), followed by China (12%), Mexico (11%), and Japan (8%). More than 50% of total trade is with these four countries. In 2003, the United States was ranked as the third most visited tourist destination in the world; its 40,400,000 visitors ranked behind France's 75,000,000 and Spain's 52,500,000. Labor unions have existed since the 19th century, and grew large and powerful from the 1930s to the 1950s. See Labor history of the United States. Since 1970 they have shrunk in the private sector and now cover fewer than 8% of the workers. However union membership has grown rapidly in the public sector, especially among teachers, nurses, police, postal workers, and municipal clerks. There have been few strikes in recent years. The United States' imports exceed exports by 80%, leading to an annual trade deficit of $700,000,000,000, or 6% of gross domestic product. It is the largest debtor nation in the world, with total gross foreign debt of over $13,000,000,000,000 (2005 estimate); and it absorbs more than 50% of global savings annually. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has increased the use of neoliberal economic policies that reduce government intervention and reduce the size of the welfare state, backing away from the more interventionist Keynsian economic policies that had been in favor since the Great Depression. As a result, the United States provides fewer government-delivered social welfare services than most industrialized nations, choosing instead to keep its tax burden lower and relying more heavily on the free market and private charities. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the national level ($5.15 per-hour), including the highest, Washington State at $7.35. Twenty-six states are the same as the federal level; two--Ohio and Kansas--are below; and six do not have state laws. America's wealth is relatively highly concentrated. The average C.E.O. earns 500 times the typical amount a worker grosses, this is up from 25 times in the late 1970s. In terms of wealth the top 1% of Americans own 40% of all assets and 50.1% of the country's income goes to the top twenty percent of households. Average wages for the majority of employees have been largely stagnating since the 1970s. America's poverty line defined as a family of four earning less than $19,157 is at 12.7% of the general population. Approximately one out of every five children in the United States grows up below the official poverty line. Among racial groups; African Americans have the lowest median income while Asians had the highest. Regionally, the southern states had the lowest median incomes while the West Coast and New England had the highest. The current Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan remarked that the U.S.’s growing income inequality since the 1970s is, "not the type of thing which a democratic society - a capitalist democratic society - can really accept without addressing."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0614/p01s03-usec.html?s=itm] However, Greenspan also noted, "...you can look at the system and say it's got a lot of problems to it, and sure it does. It always has. But you can't get around the fact that this is the most extraordinarily successful economy in history."

Transportation

Alan Greenspan ]] Because the United States is a relatively young nation, most of the development of U.S. cities has taken place since the invention of the automobile. To link its vast territory, the United States built a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways, of which the most important element is the Interstate Highway system, commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn. The United States also has a transcontinental rail system, which is used for moving freight across the lower forty-eight states. Passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which serves forty-six of the lower forty-eight states. Many cities in the United States have extensive mass-transit systems. New York City operates one of the world's largest and most heavily used subway systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Connecticut are among the most heavily used in the world. Air travel is often preferred for destinations over 300 miles (500 kilometers) away. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; in terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport. There are several major seaports in the United States; the three busiest are the Port of Los Angeles, California; the Port of Long Beach, California; and the Port of New York and New Jersey. Others include Houston, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington; plus, outside the contiguous forty-eight states, Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Society

Demographics

Hawaii The mean center of the U.S. population continues to drift farther west and south. The fastest growing region is the western United States followed by the southern portion. According to Census 2000, the states that saw the greatest increases from 1990 were: Nevada (66.3%), Arizona (40%), Colorado (30.6%), Utah (29.6%), Idaho (28.5%), Georgia (26.4%), Florida (23.5%), Texas (22.8%), North Carolina (21.4%), and Washington (21.1%). [http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t2/tab03.pdf]

Ethnicity and race

:Main article: Racial demographics of the United States The United States is a very racially diverse country. According to the 2000 census, it has 31 ethnic groups with at least one million members each, and numerous others represented in smaller amounts. The majority of Americans descend from white European immigrants who arrived at the establishment of the first colonies (most after Reconstruction). This majority--69.1% in 2000--decreases each year, and is expected to become a plurality within a few decades. The most frequently stated European ancestries are German (15.2%), Irish (10.8%), English (8.7%), Italian (5.6%) and Scandinavian (3.7%). Many immigrants also hail from Slavic countries such as Poland and Russia. Other significant immigrant populations came from eastern and southern Europe and French Canada. Russia Hispanics from Mexico and South and Central America are the largest minority group in the country, comprising 12.5% of the population (2000 census). People of Mexican descent made up 7.3% of the population in the 2000 census, and this proportion is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. About 12.3% (2000 census) of the American people are African Americans (Blacks). African Americans are spread throughout the country, but their presence is largest in the South. Asian Americans--including Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders--are a third significant minority (3.7% of the population in 2000). Most Asian Americans are concentrated on the West Coast and Hawaii. The largest groups are immigrants or descendants of emigrants from the Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan. Indigenous peoples in the United States, such as American Indians and Inuit, make up 0.9% of the population (2000 census). About 35% live on Indian reservations.

Religion

Polls estimate that just under 80 percent of Americans are Christians of various denominations. The other 20 percent comprises other religions such as Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism, other various faiths, and those without a specific religion. The United States is noteworthy among developed nations for its relatively high level of religiosity. According to a 2004 Gallup poll, about 44% of Americans attend a religious service at least once a week. However, this rate is not uniform across the country; attendance is more common in the Bible Belt—composed largely of Southern and Midwestern states—than in the Northeast and West Coast. In the Southern states, Baptists are the largest group, followed by Methodists; Roman Catholics are dominant in the Northeast and in large parts of the Midwest due to their being settled by descendants of Catholic immigrants from Europe (such as Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Poland) or other parts of North America (mainly Quebec and Puerto Rico). The rest of the country for the most part has a complex mixture of various Christian groups.

Education

West Coast's home at Monticello and the University of Virginia (library building shown above, and designed by Jefferson), the only collegiate campus on the list. Both sites are located in Charlottesville, Virginia.]] In the United States, education is a state, not federal, responsibility, and the laws and standards vary considerably. However, the federal government, through the Department of Education, is involved with funding of some programs and exerts some influence through its ability to control funding. In most states, all students must attend mandatory schooling starting with kindergarten, which children normally enter at age 5, and following through 12th grade, which is normally completed at age 18

Cryptome

Cryptome is a controversial website, hosted in the United States by its owner John Young, that functions as a repository for information that is prohibited or suppressed by various governments. According to his website, John Young is a former architect from New York City. It also contains obscure documents relating to freedom of speech, cryptography, surveillance, and so on. Although many of the files available are of little importance, Cryptome has caused a stir in the past with items such as:
- [http://cryptome.org/mi6-list.htm The MI6 files] - a list of MI6 agents published on May 13, 1999.
- The Eyeball series - a series of detailed maps for sensitive government facilities and sites of significant public interest.
- Pictures of dead U.S. soldiers from the 2003 invasion of Iraq that the Pentagon refused to release. Cryptome has attracted the attention of government agencies. Young reported being visited by two FBI agents from a counter-terrorism office and described having a casual discussion with the agents [http://cryptome.org/fbi-cryptome.htm]. Young states on another occasion, two FBI agents spoke with him on the phone. During the conversation, Young recalls, one agent warning of "serious trouble", if a published account of the conversation contained the agents names [http://cryptome.org/fbi-psia.htm]. Cryptome has been cited by the blog www.wagnews.blogspot.com as a CIA fake. The site claims that Cryptome forms part of--or has been manipulated or misled in support of--a false opposition to corporate forces in the USA, the aim of which is to distract people from real activism. No evidence has been provided to support the claim.[http://wagnews.blogspot.com/2005/08/cias-internet-fakes.html] In March 2005 the conservative-leaning Reader's Digest published an article with a highly critical view of Cryptome in its regular feature "That's Outrageous". It asserted that Cryptome is an "invitation to terrorists" and claimed that Young "may well have put lives at risk".[http://cryptome.org/web-threats.htm]

See also


- Cartome

External links


- [http://www.cryptome.org/ Cryptome.org]
- Cryptome founders John Young and Deborah Natsios participated in [http://www.h2k2.net/panels.html#stand a panel on Standing Up To Authority] at H2K2
- [http://www.jya.com John Young's website] Category:Organizations in cryptography Category:Websites

Kamehameha I

:This article is about the Hawaiian ruler. For other uses, see Kamehameha (disambiguation). Kamehameha (disambiguation) Kamehameha, also known as Kamehameha I and Kamehameha the Great (circa 1758-1819), unified the Hawaiian Islands in battle and formally established the Kingdom of Hawai‘i in 1810. A skilled diplomat, Kamehameha developed friendships with the major colonial powers in the Pacific resulting in the preservation of independence, as well as a guarantee of peace and prosperity of the kingdom, for future generations of native Hawaiians. Kamehameha is most noted for his vehement defense of traditional Hawaiian values and the kapu system of law and religion. He is also remembered for mamalahoe or the Law of the Splintered Paddle, used today throughout the world protecting the human rights of non-combatants in times of battle. In 1871, Kamehameha V decreed a holiday, Kamehameha Day, in Kamehameha I's honor. This holiday is still celebrated annually today, on June 11. In addition, a statue was erected in his honor at Ali‘iolani Hale, the center of Hawai‘i's judicial system. Two identical statues also exist in Kohala and the United States Capitol.

Legendary birth

Although there is some debate as to the precise year of his birth, Hawaiian legends claimed that a great king would one day unite the islands, and that the sign of his birth would be a comet. Halley's comet was visible from Hawai‘i in 1758, and it is therefore assumed that Kamehameha was born shortly after its appearance. Kamehameha's birth is shrouded in legend. He was born as Pai‘ea, to Keoua and Keku‘iapoiwa, ali‘i of Kohala on the island of Hawai‘i. Kamehameha's father, Keoua, was the grandson of Keaweikekahiali‘iokamoku, who had once ruled a large portion of the island of Hawai`i. When he died, war broke out over succession between his sons, Ke‘eaumoku and Kalaninui‘amamao, and a rival chief, Alapa‘inuiakauaua. Alapa‘i emerged victorious over the two brothers, and their orphan sons were absorbed into his clan. When Kamehameha was born, Alapa‘i ordered the child killed. One of his Kahunas had warned him that a fiery light in the sky would signal the birth of a "killer of chiefs", or ali‘i. Alapa‘i, nervous at the thought of his nephew usurping his rule, decided to take no chances. Paiea's parents, however, had anticipated this. As soon as he was born, he was given into the care of Nae‘ole, another ali‘i, and disappeared from sight. Nae‘ole raised Paiea for the first few years of his life. Five years after his birth, Alapa‘i, perhaps remorseful of his actions, invited the child back to live with his family. There under the guidance of his kahu (teacher) Kekuhaupi'o he learned the ways of court diplomacy and war. Kekuhaupi'o remained a faithful and trusted adivsor to Kamehameha until the accidental death of the loyal kahu during a sham battle. He is said to have had a dour disposition, and acquired the name he is best known for today: Kamehameha, from the Hawaiian language term for "the lonely one". Hawaiian language

Unification of the island of Hawaii

When Alapa‘i died, his position was succeeded by his son Keawea‘opala. Kalani‘opu‘u, Alapa‘i's great-nephew, challenged his rule, and was backed by his nephew Kamehameha. In fierce fighting at Kealakekua Bay, Keawea‘opala was slain and Kalani‘opu'u claimed victory. For his loyal service to his uncle, Kamehameha was made Kalani‘opu‘u's aide. In 1779, Kamehameha again traveled with Kalani‘opu‘u to Kealakekua Bay. This time, he met with Lono, the Hawaiian god of fertility, who had arrived on a great canoe bearing tapa banners. Lono was, in fact, Captain James Cook, and his ship was the H.M.S. Discovery. It was Kamehameha's first dealings with the white man. It would not be the last. Raised in the royal court of his uncle, Kamehameha achieved prominence in 1782, upon Kalani‘opu‘u's death. While the kingship was inherited by Kalani‘opu‘u's son Kiwala‘o, Kamehameha was given a prominent religious position, guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kuka‘ilimoku, as well as the district of Waipi‘o. Nevertheless, there was already bad blood between the two cousins, caused when Kamehameha presented a slain ali‘i's body to the gods instead of Kiwala‘o, and when a group of chiefs from the Kona district offered Kamehameha the kingship instead of Kiwala‘o, he accepted eagerly. Kiwala‘o was soon defeated in the battle of Moku‘ohai, and Kamehameha took control of the districts of Kohala, Kona, and Hamakua on Hawai‘i, but Kiwala‘o's brother Keouaku‘ahu‘ula. Kamehameha then moved against the district of Puna in 1790 deposing its chief Keawema‘uhili. Keoua, exiled to his home of Ka‘ū, took advantage of Kamehameha's absence and led an uprising. When Kamehameha returned with his army to put down the rebellion, Keoua fled past the volcano, which erupted and killed nearly a third of his warriors from poisonous gas. Questioning a kahuna on how best to go about securing the rest of the island., Kamehameha resolved to construct a heiau to Kuka‘ilimoku, as well as lay an ali‘i's body on it. When the temple was completed the following, Kamehameha invited Keoua to meet with him. Keoua was no fool, and brought the greater part of his remaining army with him. As he stepped on shore, one of Kamehameha's chief's threw a spear at him. By some accounts he dodged it, but was then cut down by musket fire. Caught by surprise, Keoua's bodyguards were killed. With Keoua dead, and his supporters captured or slain, Kamehameha became ali‘i nui of all Hawaii. ali‘i nui

Kamehameha's ambition

Kamehameha's dreams included far more than the island of Hawai‘i; with the council of his favorite wife Kaahumanu, who became one of Hawai'i's most powerful figures, he set about planning to conquer the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. Help came from British and American traders, who sold guns and ammunition to Kamehameha. Two westerners who were resident on Hawai‘i, Isaac Davis and John Young, trained Kamehameha's troops in use of the firearms. With his new weapons, Kamehameha felt confident enough to move on the neighboring islands of Maui and O‘ahu, already weakened by a war of succession that broke out between King Kahekili's sons. Kamehameha may or may not have known that his rival, Kalanikupule, also possessed firearms, and was planning a move against Kamehameha when the ali‘i nui of Hawai‘i invaded the western islands. In 1795, Kamehameha set sail with an armada of 1,200 war canoes and 10,000 soldiers - an incredible number for an island chain whose population had never exceeded 300,000. Kamehameha quickly secured the lightly defended islands of Maui and Moloka‘i, and moved on the island of O‘ahu, landing his troops at Wai‘alae and Waikīkī. What Kamehameha did not know was that one of his commanders, a high-ranking ali‘i named Ka‘iana, had defected to Kalanikupule. Ka‘iana assisting the cutting of notches into the Nu‘uanu Pali mountain ridge; these notches, like those on a castle turret, would serve as gunports for Kalanikupule's cannon. When Kamehameha moved on the Pali, his troops took heavy fire from the cannon. In desperation, he assigned two divisions of his best warriors to climb to the Pali. Converging on the cannons from behind, they surprised Kalanikupule's gunners and took control of the cannons. With the loss of their guns, Kalanikupule's troops fell into disarray, and many were driven off the cliffs of the Pali. Ka‘iana was killed during the action; Kalanikupule was captured some time later and sacrificed to Kuka‘ilimoku. Kamehameha was now ali‘i nui of all of Hawai‘i east of O‘ahu, but the islands of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau continually eluded him. When he attempted to invade the islands in 1796, his governor on Hawai‘i, Namakeha, led a rebellion against his rule, and Kamehameha was forced to return. In 1803 he tried again, but this time disease broke out among his warriors, and Kamehameha himself fell ill, though he later recovered. During this time, Kamehameha was amassing the largest armada Hawai‘i had ever seen - foreign-built schooners and massive war canoes, armed with cannon and carrying his vast army. Kaumualii, ali‘i nui of Kaua‘i, watched as Kamehameha built up his invading force and decided he would have a better chance in negotiation than battle.He may also have been very influenced by foreign merchants, who saw the continuing feud between Kamehameha and Kaumuali‘i as bad for the sandalwood trade. In 1810, Kaumualii became a vassal of Kamehameha, who therefore emerged as the sole sovereign of the island chain of Hawai‘i.

The first King of Hawaii

vassal.]] As king, Kamehameha took several steps to ensure that the islands remained a united realm even after his death. He unified the legal system and he used the products he collected in taxes to promote trade with Europe and the United States. Kamehameha did not allow non-Hawaiians to own land; they would not be able to until the Great Mahele of 1848. This edict ensured the islands' independence even while many of the other islands of the Pacific succumbed to the colonial powers. In fact, the Kingdom of Hawai‘i that Kamehameha established retained its independence, except for a five-month British occupation in 1843, until it was annexed by the United States in 1898. It was this legacy that earned Kamehameha the epithet "Napoleon of the Pacific." Kamehameha also instituted the Mamalahoe, or "law of the splintered paddle". Its origins derived from before the unification of the Island of Hawai‘i, in 1782, when Kamehameha, during a raid, caught his foot in a rock. A local fisherman, fearful for his family, hit Kamehameha hard on the head with a paddle, which splintered. Kamehameha was stunned and left for dead, allowing the fisherman and his companion to escape. Chastened by this experience, Kamehameha declared, "Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety". This law, which provided for the safety of noncombatants in wartime, is estimated to have saved thousands of lives during Kamehameha's campaigns. It became the first written law of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, and remains in the state constitution to this day. Although he ended human sacrifice, Kamehameha was to the last a follower of the Hawaiian religion, executing his subjects for breaches of the kapu. Although he entertained Christians, he did not appear to take them seriously. When Kamehameha died in 1819, his body was hidden by his kahuna. To this day his final resting place remains a mystery.

Trivia


- The name for the Kamehameha Wave in the manga Dragon Ball was based on Kamehameha I. The move can also translate to Turtle Wave Blast, originating from the Muten-Rôshi, known as Kame Sen'nin (Turtle Hermit).
- In the manga Kinnikuman, there is an elder wrestler named Prince Kamehame from Hawaii, who teaches Kinnikuman his 48 Finishing Techniques. He later appears in costume similar to Kinnikuman, under the name Kinnikuman Great.

External links


- [http://www.ksbe.edu/pauahi/history.php Kamehameha Schools Biography of Kamehameha]
- [http://aloha.150m.com/kamehameha.htm Kamehameha - The Young Warrior]
- [http://www.anb.org/articles/20/20-01236.html American National Biography of Kamehameha]
- [http://gohawaii.about.com/library/weekly/aa060898.htm GoHawaii biography of Kamehameha]
- [http://www.janesoceania.com/hawaii_kamehameha/ The Story of Kamehameha]
- [http://coe-dmha.org/Liaison/Vol_2No_3/Lia03.htm Thematic Essay on the Law of the Splintered Paddle] ja:カメハメハ1世 (ハワイ王) Kamehameha I of Hawaii Kamehameha I of Hawaii Category:Royal Family of Hawaii

Kingdom of Hawaii

The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was established in 1810 upon the unification of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and the Big Island of Hawaiʻi

Formation

Through swift and bloody battles, led by a warrior chief later immortalized as Kamehameha the Great he failed to secure a victory in Kauaʻi, his effort hampered by a storm. Eventually, Kauaʻi's chief swore allegiance to Kamehameha's rule. The unification ended the feudal society of the Hawaiian islands transforming it into a "modern", independent constitutional monarchy crafted in the tradition of European empires.

Government

feudal Government in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was transformed in phases, each phase created by the promulgation of the constitutions of 1840, 1852, 1864 and 1887. Each successive constitution can be seen as a decline in the power of the monarch in favor of popularly elected representative government. The head of state and head of government in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was the monarch. He or she oversaw the Privy Council which was charged with administration. A royal cabinet, the Privy Council consisted of ministers in charge of departments much like that of the American system. These ministers also acted as the monarch's primary advisors. The 1840 Constitution created a bicameral parliament in charge of legislation. The two houses of the legislature were the House of Representatives (directly elected by popular vote) and the House of Nobles (appointed by the monarch with the advice of the Cabinet). The same constitution created a judiciary, charged with overseeing the courts and interpretation of laws. The Supreme Court was led by the Chief Justice, appointed by the monarch with the advice of the Cabinet. The islands of Hawaiʻi were divided into smaller administrative divisions: Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. Kauaʻi region included Niʻihau, while Maui region included Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi. Each administrative region was governed by a governor appointed by the monarch.

Kamehameha Dynasty

From 1810 to 1893, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi would be ruled by two major dynastic families, the Kamehameha Dynasty and the Kalākaua Dynasty. Five members of the Kamehameha family would lead the government as its king. Two of them were direct sons of Kamehameha the Great himself. They were Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III). For a period between Liholiho and Kauikeaouli's reigns, Kamehameha the Great's primary wife, Queen Kaʻahumanu, would rule as Queen Regent and Kuhina Nui, or Prime Minister. Dynastic rule by the Kamehameha family tragically ended in 1872 with the death of Lot (Kamehameha V). Upon his deathbed, he summoned Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop to declare his intentions of making her heir to the throne. She was the last direct Kamehameha family member surviving. She refused the crown and throne in favor of a private life with her husband, Charles Reed Bishop. Lot died before naming an alternative heir.
- Kamehameha I, (1795-1819)
- Kamehameha II, Liholiho, (1819-1824)
- Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli, (1825-1854)
- Kamehameha IV, Alexander Liholiho, (1854-1863)
- Kamehameha V, Lot Kapuāiwa, (1863-1872)

Elected monarchy

The refusal of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop to take the crown and throne as Queen of Hawaiʻi forced the legislature of the Kingdom to declare an election to fill the royal vacancy. From 1872 to 1873, several distant relatives of the Kamehameha line were nominated. In a popular vote, William C. Lunalilo became Hawaiʻi's first of two elected monarchs.
- William C. Lunalilo, (1873-1874)

Kalākaua Dynasty

Like his predecessor, Lunalilo failed to name an heir to the throne. He died unexpectedly after less than a year as King of Hawaiʻi. Once again, the legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was forced to declare an election to fill the royal vacancy. Queen Emma, widow of Kamehameha IV, was nominated along with David Kalākaua. The 1874 election was opined to be one of the nastiest political campaign seasons ever in Hawaiʻi history. Both candidates resorted to mudslinging and rumors. David Kalākaua was elected the second elected King of Hawaiʻi. Hoping to avoid uncertainty in the monarchy's future, Kalākaua proclaimed several heirs to the throne and defined a royal line of succession. His sister Liliʻuokalani would succeed the throne upon Kalākaua's death. It was indicated that Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani would follow. If she could not produce an heir by birth, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole would rule after her.
- David Kalākaua, (1874-1891)
- Liliʻuokalani, (1891-1893)

Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i

1893, President Bill Clinton signed United States Public Law 103-150 apologizing for the illegal action.]] Queen Liliʻuokalani was selected as the successor to King Kalakaua by the House of Nobles and House of Commons which was in accordance with the Hawaiian Kingdom constitution. She was selected to head a monarchy that was left impotent by her brother's Bayonet Constitution of 1887. David Kalākaua's Royal Cabinet forced him at gunpoint to sign the constitution stripping the monarchy of much of its power in favor of an administration controlled by Hawaiian citizens of European descent. Some claim this constitution was the opening salvo to the end of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. In 1893, American businessmen seeking to protect their industrial profits in the exportation of goods like sugar to the United States of America organized the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. American troops aboard the USS Boston landed in Honolulu to help Sanford B. Dole and Lorrin A. Thurston's Committee of Safety, a 13 member council of businessmen plotting to depose Queen Liliʻuokalani. At the gunpoint of American soldiers, Queen Liliʻuokalani was removed from ʻIolani Palace under arrest, tried by the American Judge Advocate General's Corps and then imprisoned in her own home. Dole and his committee declared itself the provisional government and in 1894 proclaimed the creation of the Republic of Hawaiʻi. Dole became its president. As a republic, it was the intention of the provisional government to campaign for annexation with the United States of America. With annexation, their goods and services exported to the mainland would not be subject to American tariffs. The provisional government succeeded when in 1898, Congress approved a joint resolution of annexation creating the U.S. Territory of Hawaiʻi. This followed the precendent of Texas which was also annexed by a joint resolution of Congress. Dole was appointed its first governor.
- Committee of Safety
- Republic of Hawaiʻi

Royal estates

Early in its history, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was governed from several locations including coastal towns on the islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui (Lahaina). It wasn't until the reign of Kamehameha III that a capital was established in Honolulu on the Island of Oʻahu. Lahaina By the time Kamehameha V was king, he saw the need to build a royal palace fitting of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi's new found prosperity and standing with the royals of other nations. He commissioned the building of the palace at Aliʻiolani Hale. He died before it was completed. Today, the palace houses the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaiʻi. David Kalākaua shared the dream of Kamehameha V to build a palace for all the same reasons. He commissioned the construction of ʻIolani Palace from which he and his successor would govern. In later years, the palace would become his sister's makeshift prison under guard by the U.S. Armed Forces, the site of the official raising of the U.S. flag during annexation, and then the site of the territorial governor's and legislature's offices.

Palaces


- ʻĀinahau, Home of Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani
- Aliʻiolani Hale, Originally designed as a Palace for Kamehameha V, although Kamehameha V later decided to convert the building into a government building during construction
- Hanaiakamalama, Summer Palace of Queen Emma
- Huliheʻe Palace, Palace of Princess Ruth
- Keōua Hale, Palace of Princess Ruth
- ʻIolani Palace, Palace of the Kalākaua Dynasty

Royal grounds


- Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew
- Kawaiahaʻo Church
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