526 résultats pour "military"

• American Civil War.

  free state to keep the balance in the Senate. It also provided that slavery would be excluded from the still unorganized part of the Louisiana Territory. A line was drawnfrom Missouri’s southern boundary, at the latitude of 36°30’, and slavery would not be allowed in the territory north of that line,with the exception of Missouri. B Compromise of 1850 Agitation against slavery continued in the North. The South reacted by defending it ever more strongly. The Mexican War, by which the United Stat...

• American Civil War - U.

  free state to keep the balance in the Senate. It also provided that slavery would be excluded from the still unorganized part of the Louisiana Territory. A line was drawnfrom Missouri’s southern boundary, at the latitude of 36°30’, and slavery would not be allowed in the territory north of that line,with the exception of Missouri. B Compromise of 1850 Agitation against slavery continued in the North. The South reacted by defending it ever more strongly. The Mexican War, by which the United Stat...

• Europe .

  D Vegetation Although much of Europe, particularly the west, was originally covered by forest, the vegetation has been transformed by human habitation and the clearing of land.Only in the most northerly mountains and in parts of north central European Russia has the forest cover been relatively unaffected by human activity. On the otherhand, a considerable amount of Europe is covered by woodland that has been planted or has reoccupied cleared lands. The largest vegetation zone in Europe, cuttin...

• Europe - Geography.

  D Vegetation Although much of Europe, particularly the west, was originally covered by forest, the vegetation has been transformed by human habitation and the clearing of land.Only in the most northerly mountains and in parts of north central European Russia has the forest cover been relatively unaffected by human activity. On the otherhand, a considerable amount of Europe is covered by woodland that has been planted or has reoccupied cleared lands. The largest vegetation zone in Europe, cuttin...

• China - country.

  North China lies between the Mongolian Steppe on the north and the Yangtze River Basin on the south. It stretches west from the Bo Hai gulf and the Yellow Sea to theeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Administratively, North China includes Beijing and Tianjin municipalities; Shandong and Shanxi provinces; most of Hebei, Henan,and Shaanxi provinces; and portions of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Gansu provinces. Humans have lived in the agriculturally rich region of Nor...

• Algeria - country.

  areas to fishing. National parks, including the giant Tassili N’Ajjer National Park in the eastern corner of the country, comprise a large proportion of the protected area. The effects of Algeria’s human population on the fragile landscape have been severe. The greatest ecological threats are deforestation and burning of scrub vegetation,conversion of steppe habitat to arable land, and soil erosion due to overgrazing and poor farming practices. Pollution of Mediterranean coastal waters is pervas...

• Samuel de Champlain.

  From 1616 to 1620 Champlain spent most of each year in France, with brief summer visits to Québec. In France he had to struggle to keep the Canadian enterprisealive, raise capital, and enlist workers. He also had to fight to keep his command over Québec. In 1618 he presented reports on the future of the French colonies inAmerica to the king and to the French Chamber of Commerce. In these reports he proposed that 300 settler families and 15 Récollets be established at Québec, with 300 soldiers to...

• Samuel de Champlain - explorer.

  From 1616 to 1620 Champlain spent most of each year in France, with brief summer visits to Québec. In France he had to struggle to keep the Canadian enterprisealive, raise capital, and enlist workers. He also had to fight to keep his command over Québec. In 1618 he presented reports on the future of the French colonies inAmerica to the king and to the French Chamber of Commerce. In these reports he proposed that 300 settler families and 15 Récollets be established at Québec, with 300 soldiers to...

• Democratic Republic of the Congo - country.

  Except in the high elevations, the country’s climate is very hot and humid. The average annual temperature in the low central area is about 27°C (about 80°F).Temperatures are considerably higher in February, the hottest month. At altitudes above about 1,500 m (about 5,000 ft) the average annual temperature is about 19°C(about 66°F). Average annual rainfall is about 1,500 mm (about 60 in) in the north and about 1,300 mm (about 50 in) in the south. Frequent heavy rains occur fromApril to November...

• Iran - country.

  Zagros mountains. In the more arid central part of the country, wild pistachio and other drought-resistant trees grow in areas that have not been disturbed by humanactivity. Tamarisk and other salt-tolerant bushes grow along the margins of the Dasht-e Kavir. A wide variety of native mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects inhabit Iran. Many species of mammals—including wolves, foxes, bears, mountain goats, red mountainsheep, rabbits, and gerbils—continue to thrive. Others—including Caspian tigers,...

• Qing Dynasty - History.

  The Manchus also dealt with the problem of Russian expansion into northeastern Asia. In 1689 the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed by an envoy from the Manchu courtand a Russian representing Peter the Great. The treaty, the first between China and a Western country, established territorial boundaries and defined rules ofcommerce for the two powers. Through the mid-18th century, the Manchus continued to consolidate their power. In 1720 the Qing ruler sent forces to fight the Mongols in Tibet and the...

• Bangkok - geography.

  the decline of the canal system that once so distinguished the city, Bangkok's famous floating market has had to move from the city to the western suburbs. Themarket features vendors selling their wares from boats in the early-morning hours. Since the 1960s, high-rise buildings have been erected all over the city. Typical housing in the core of the city now consists of apartments on the second through fourthfloors of a shophouse; the building’s only recreational space is the rooftop. In the subu...

• Mfecane.

  The Kololo, a Sotho people, entered the same region in the early 1820s after being driven from their homeland south of the Vaal River by the Ngwane-Hlubi wars. In1823 the Kololo clashed with the Griqua and turned north into the Kalahari Desert. They eventually crossed the Zambezi and finally settled in what is now westernZambia after overthrowing the powerful Lozi Kingdom in 1840. D Founding of the Sotho Nation The Ngwane-Hlubi wars also drove loosely organized Sotho communities north into the...

• Vietnam - country.

  E Natural Resources Vietnam’s most valuable natural resource is its land, particularly the fertile, alluvial soils in the Red and Mekong deltas. Some 29 percent of the land is currently beingcultivated. Vietnam has some valuable mineral resources, including gold, iron, tin, zinc, phosphate, chromite, apatite, and anthracite coal. Most deposits are located in the northernpart of the country. Few attempts were made to extract these minerals until the French takeover of Vietnam at the end of the 1...

• Affirmative Action.

  hiring, purchasing, and other government business. In 1998 Washington State voters passed Initiative 200, a measure that banned affirmative action in state and localgovernment hiring, contracting, and education. Around the same time, federal courts began considering lawsuits from white students denied admission to state universities with affirmative action programs. In somecases, the courts have invalidated such programs on the grounds that they promote reverse racial discrimination. For example...

• Great Britain

• Congress of the United States.

  senator, a person must be at least 30 years old, a citizen for nine years, and a resident of the state from which he or she is elected. Most members of Congress haveserved in state legislatures, city councils, or other elected bodies. See United States Senate: Campaigning for the Senate ; United States House of Representatives: Campaigning for the House. The 435 House seats are divided among the states in proportion to each state’s population. Every state is guaranteed at least one seat. State...

• France - country.

  In both the Paris and Aquitaine basins, fertile soils derived from limestone and wind-deposited dust, called loess, have supported prosperous agriculture since ancienttimes. Other lowlands in France are scattered and relatively small. They include the Alsace Plain in the east, bordering Germany, the valley of the Rhône River in thesoutheast, and the Languedoc Plain along the Mediterranean coast. A2 Uplands France contains several regions of uplands, the worn down remains of ancient mountain sys...

• Communism.

  In Britain, Robert Owen, a philanthropic Welsh manufacturer, strove against the social problems brought about by the Industrial Revolution and sought to improve thewelfare of workers. As manager of a cotton mill, he enhanced the environment of his workers by improving their housing, modernizing mill equipment for greater safetyand sanitation, and establishing low-priced stores for the workers and schools for their children. Owen believed that workers, rather than governments, should createthe in...

• Communism .

  In Britain, Robert Owen, a philanthropic Welsh manufacturer, strove against the social problems brought about by the Industrial Revolution and sought to improve thewelfare of workers. As manager of a cotton mill, he enhanced the environment of his workers by improving their housing, modernizing mill equipment for greater safetyand sanitation, and establishing low-priced stores for the workers and schools for their children. Owen believed that workers, rather than governments, should createthe in...

• Eritrea - country.

  1993 decree set up a formal transitional government under EPLF control. This provided for a National Assembly, a president, and council of ministers. Isaias Afwerki,secretary general of the EPLF, was formally elected president by the National Assembly in June 1993. A new constitution was approved in 1997. Under this constitution, the National Assembly is the country’s legislature. Its members are popularly elected to five-yearterms. A president, elected by the National Assembly to a five-year te...

• Federal Republic of Germany - country.

  B Rivers and Lakes Rivers have played a major role in Germany’s economic development. The Rhine River flows in a northwesterly direction from Switzerland through much of westernGermany and The Netherlands into the North Sea. It is a major European waterway and a pillar of commerce and trade. Its primary German tributaries include theMain, Mosel, Neckar, and Ruhr rivers. The Oder (Odra) River, along the border between Poland and Germany, runs northward and empties into the Baltic; it provides an...

• Ronald Reagan.

  deposed shah of Iran to enter the United States for medical treatment, a group of Iranian revolutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehrān and held 53 Americansas hostages. United States media publicized the plight of the hostages and Carter’s failure to win their release. They were eventually released in January 1981, on theday of Reagan’s inauguration. The contrast between the television personalities of the two candidates was also very important. Carter’s stiff, nervous manner had never bee...

• Ronald Reagan - USA History.

  deposed shah of Iran to enter the United States for medical treatment, a group of Iranian revolutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehrān and held 53 Americansas hostages. United States media publicized the plight of the hostages and Carter’s failure to win their release. They were eventually released in January 1981, on theday of Reagan’s inauguration. The contrast between the television personalities of the two candidates was also very important. Carter’s stiff, nervous manner had never bee...

• Togo - country.

  corn, millet, and sorghum. The leading export crops are coffee, cotton, groundnuts, and cacao. Livestock, chiefly sheep and goats, are raised on the northern plateau.Fish are caught in Togo’s rivers and in the Gulf of Guinea. B Mining and Manufacturing Togo is a leading producer of phosphates, which are by far the country’s most significant mineral product. In 2004, 400,000 metric tons of phosphate rock were mined.Industrial activity is limited but growing. The leading manufactures include ceme...

• Colombia - country.

  In Bogotá the average high temperature in January is 20°C (68°F), and in July the average high is 19°C (65°F). The highs for the same months in Barranquilla are 32°C(89°F) and 33°C (91°F). Throughout the year, three-month periods of rain and dry weather alternate. Along the Pacific coast precipitation is heavy. At Bogotá the annual rainfall averages about1,060 mm (about 42 in), and in Barranquilla it averages about 800 mm (about 32 in). Dry weather prevails on the slopes of the Cordillera Orient...

• Denver - geography.

  Denver is the center of professional sports in the Rocky Mountain region. Major league teams are the Denver Broncos (football), Colorado Rockies (baseball), DenverNuggets (basketball), and Colorado Avalanche (ice hockey). Coors Field (opened in 1995) is the home of the Colorado Rockies. The Broncos began play at the newlyconstructed Invesco Field at Mile High in 2001, and the Nuggets and Avalanche play at the Pepsi Center. The National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, one of thelargest such shows i...

• Sweden - country.

  mi) and is Sweden’s second largest lake, after Vänern. The two lakes, together with several smaller lakes, rivers, and canals, form an internal water route called theGöta Canal. Built in the early 19th century, the Göta Canal extends for about 386 km (about 240 mi) and provides a scenic transportation link between the Baltic Sea,at Stockholm, and the Kattegat. Sweden’s other large lakes in the district include Mälaren, Hjälmaren, and the famously picturesque Siljan. D Climate Although one-seven...

• United States History - U.

  and improved upon the designs of Arab sailing ships and learned to mount cannons on those ships. In the 15th century they began exploring the west coast ofAfrica—bypassing Arab merchants to trade directly for African gold and slaves. They also colonized the Madeira Islands, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands andturned them into the first European slave plantations. The European explorers were all looking for an ocean route to Asia. Christopher Columbus sailed for the monarchs of Spain in 149...

• United States History - U.

  and improved upon the designs of Arab sailing ships and learned to mount cannons on those ships. In the 15th century they began exploring the west coast ofAfrica—bypassing Arab merchants to trade directly for African gold and slaves. They also colonized the Madeira Islands, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands andturned them into the first European slave plantations. The European explorers were all looking for an ocean route to Asia. Christopher Columbus sailed for the monarchs of Spain in 149...

• African American History - U.

  In their day-to-day lives, slaves and servants shared similar grievances and frequently formed alliances. Advertisements seeking the return of slaves and servants whohad run away together filled colonial newspapers. When a slave named Charles escaped in 1740, the Pennsylvania Gazette reported that two white servants, a 'Scotch man' and an Englishman, escaped with him. Sometimes interracial alliances involved violence. During Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, slaves and servants took up armsagainst Na...

• South Korea - country.

  forest habitat, and overhunting. The Siberian tiger has not been sighted in the wild in South Korea since the 1920s; the Asiatic black bear can still be found in someremote mountain areas. Several species of deer are indigenous to the peninsula, including the roe deer, water deer, and Siberian musk deer. The musk deer, which hasbeen overhunted for its musk glands, is legally protected as a threatened species. Smaller mammals indigenous to the peninsula include the wild boar, red fox, badger,rabb...

• Virginia (state) - geography.

  C Coastline Virginia’s coastline, for both the mainland and the Eastern Shore counties, is 180 km (112 mi) long. The state’s tidal shoreline measures 5,335 km (3,315 mi), includingall bays, inlets, tidal estuaries, and other indentations. Major indentations include Chesapeake Bay; Hampton Roads, the excellent natural harbor on which are locatedNewport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth; and the wide tidal estuaries of the lower Potomac, James, Rappahannock, and York rivers. Cape Henry, in the southe...

• Virginia (state) - USA History.

  C Coastline Virginia’s coastline, for both the mainland and the Eastern Shore counties, is 180 km (112 mi) long. The state’s tidal shoreline measures 5,335 km (3,315 mi), includingall bays, inlets, tidal estuaries, and other indentations. Major indentations include Chesapeake Bay; Hampton Roads, the excellent natural harbor on which are locatedNewport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth; and the wide tidal estuaries of the lower Potomac, James, Rappahannock, and York rivers. Cape Henry, in the southe...

• Colonialism and Colonies.

  by plundering the riches of existing civilizations in the Americas and by seizing the area’s mineral wealth through mining. These practices were promoted by the policy of mercantilism that many European colonial powers adopted. Those who advocated mercantilism believed that exports toforeign countries were preferable both to trade within a country and to imports because exports brought more money into the country. They also believed that thewealth of a nation depended primarily on the possession...

• Colonialism and Colonies .

  by plundering the riches of existing civilizations in the Americas and by seizing the area’s mineral wealth through mining. These practices were promoted by the policy of mercantilism that many European colonial powers adopted. Those who advocated mercantilism believed that exports toforeign countries were preferable both to trade within a country and to imports because exports brought more money into the country. They also believed that thewealth of a nation depended primarily on the possession...

• Republic of Indonesia - country.

  Mahakam in East Kalimantan and the Martapura and Barito in South Kalimantan. Most of these rivers originate in the island’s central massif (mountain mass) and meander through extensive swamps as they approach the coast. Settlements such as Samarinda and Banjarmasin cluster along the rivers, which serve ascommunication routes into the interior. The largest rivers on Sumatra drain from west to east into the Strait of Malacca. In the north, the Asahan River once linked trade between the Batak peo...

• ?stanbul - geography.

  İstanbul hosts a number of annual cultural events. The İstanbul Cultural Festival, held in the summer, offers music and dance performances in more than 50 venuesthroughout the city, including outdoors at Rumelihisar ı. The city also hosts a summer jazz festival. Turkey is one of the world’s largest producers of motion pictures, anda highly regarded international film festival takes place in İstanbul during the early months of the year. V RECREATION With increasing modernization, recreation is...

• Saudi Arabia - country.

  C Natural Resources Some of the world’s largest oil and natural gas fields lie beneath Saudi Arabia and its offshore waters, representing the country’s most economically important naturalresource. In 2007 Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves were estimated at 264 billion barrels. Before the discovery and exploitation of these reserves in the mid-20th century,Saudi Arabia was one of the poorest countries in the world. Its relatively small population subsisted in a harsh environment with little agricultur...

• Italy - country.

  C Natural Resources Italy is poor in natural resources. Much of the land is unsuitable for agriculture because of mountainous terrain or unfavorable climate. Italy, moreover, lacks substantialdeposits of basic natural resources such as coal, iron, and petroleum. Natural gas is the country’s most important mineral resource. Other deposits include feldspar andpumice. Many of Italy’s mineral deposits on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia had been heavily depleted by the early 1990s. Italy is rich...

• United Kingdom - country.

  B Natural Regions and Topography The island of Great Britain can be divided into two major natural regions—the highland zone and the lowland zone. The highland zone is an area of high hills andmountains in the north and west. The lowland zone in the south and east consists mostly of rolling plains. The zones are divided by an imaginary line running throughEngland from the River Exe on the southwest coast to the mouth of the River Tees on the northeast coast. The lowland zone has a milder climat...

• Asia - Geography.

  Borneo, the world’s third largest island after Greenland and New Guinea. To the southeast is the Timor Sea separating the Asian island of Timor from the Australiancontinent. The Indian subcontinent is flanked by the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. The island of Sri Lanka and the much smaller Maldives andNicobar Islands trail away to the south. The Arabian Sea’s Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea form an arc along the western rim of Asia...

• Asia - History.

  Borneo, the world’s third largest island after Greenland and New Guinea. To the southeast is the Timor Sea separating the Asian island of Timor from the Australiancontinent. The Indian subcontinent is flanked by the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. The island of Sri Lanka and the much smaller Maldives andNicobar Islands trail away to the south. The Arabian Sea’s Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea form an arc along the western rim of Asia...

• International Criminal Court.

  only exercise its jurisdiction when a national court is unwilling or unable to carry out the investigation or prosecution. For example, the ICC might intervene when agovernment’s judicial system has collapsed or is actively shielding a person from criminal responsibility. The court may hold accountable any person aged 18 or older at the time of the crime without regard to the individual’s official duties or functions. Therefore, heads ofstate, legislators, and other high-ranking government offic...

• W. L. Mackenzie King. I INTRODUCTION W. L. Mackenzie King (1874-1950), tenth prime

  V SECOND TERM AS PRIME MINISTER By the election of 1925 most of the rifts in the Liberal Party were healed. Little had been achieved by King's government except for some tariff reduction and thereorganization of Canadian railroads, but no mistakes had been made. The real issue of the election was the personalities of the party leaders, King and the brilliant butarrogant Conservative, Arthur Meighen. The Conservatives swept English-speaking Canada, and they won 116 seats. The Liberals won 101, a...

• Calvin Coolidge.

  By 1923 President Harding was faced with a number of difficulties. A business depression, which had begun in 1922, continued. In addition, the Republican majorities inboth houses of Congress were reduced in the election of 1922, and a discontented farm bloc of Western Republican senators threatened to destroy the Senate majorityby allying with the Democrats. Finally, it was rumored that major scandals involving Harding's friends were about to break. The rumors were soon proved accurate. The dire...

• Calvin Coolidge

  By 1923 President Harding was faced with a number of difficulties. A business depression, which had begun in 1922, continued. In addition, the Republican majorities inboth houses of Congress were reduced in the election of 1922, and a discontented farm bloc of Western Republican senators threatened to destroy the Senate majorityby allying with the Democrats. Finally, it was rumored that major scandals involving Harding's friends were about to break. The rumors were soon proved accurate. The dire...

• Supreme Court of the United States.

  The Constitution does not specify formal qualifications for membership on the Supreme Court. From the beginning, though, justices have all been lawyers, and mostpursued legal and political careers before serving on the Court. Many justices served as members of Congress, governors, or members of the Cabinet. One president,William Howard Taft, was later appointed chief justice. Some justices came to the Court from private law practice, and others were appointed from positions as lawprofessors. Man...

• Music I INTRODUCTION World Music Tour Click on the instruments to hear music from around the world.

  Duke EllingtonAmerican composer, bandleader, and pianist Duke Ellington endures as perhaps the most important pioneer in big-bandjazz. Ellington and his orchestra shared a special interdependent relationship: Using the band as his musical workshop,Ellington derived his orchestra’s tone coloring from the unique sound qualities of the group’s individual players. Thisparticular style was later dubbed the “Ellington Effect” by jazz arranger Billy Strayhorn, who also wrote one of the band’ssignature...

• India - country.

  delta in the north, are intensely farmed. B Rivers and Lakes The rivers of India can be divided into three groups: the great Himalayan rivers of the north, the westward-flowing rivers of central India, and the eastward-flowingrivers of the Deccan Plateau and the rest of peninsular India. Only small portions of India’s rivers are navigable because of silting and the wide seasonal variation inwater flow (due to the monsoon climate). Water transport is thus of little importance in India. Barrages,...