Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

United States v. Dege

2011-07-29T07:12:10Z

Catherine: fix

In '''''United States v. Dege''''', 364 U.S. 51 (1960), the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] weakened [[marital unity]] by finding that a husband and wife could be charged with conspiracy, as they do not constitute a single person. <ref>http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=364&page=51</ref>

==References==
<references/>
[[category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]

Conservapedia talk:Administrator's Guide

2011-07-29T04:02:11Z

Catherine: /* Images */ new section

Would it be worth noting that if an unusually large number of editors appear to be using one IP, you can type the IP in to Wikipedia or WHOIS, where they may be labelled as proxies (used by multiple people in, say, an organization)? --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:21, 17 May 2007 (EDT)

*Wikipedia? --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 05:05, 18 May 2007 (EDT)
::They label the proxies as proxies, and all IP talk pages have automatically-generated 3rd-party DNS links to WHOIS. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 19:34, 18 May 2007 (EDT)

*I am just missing what that has to do with us? Were you suggesting adding something like that here? A couple of other Syops asked me what you meant, so at least I feel better not being alone, lol. --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 03:47, 19 May 2007 (EDT)
:I mean that if you use checkuser and notice that 50 users are editing from it, then it probably isn't all the same person (if the accounts aren't all vandals). Therefore, blocking everybody who used this proxy would not be the best of ideas. And if it did happen, investigation to get them unblocked should be undertaken. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 20:04, 19 May 2007 (EDT)

Hey where is the check user button? Can't seem to find it.--[[User:Will N.|Will N.]] 10:54, 24 May 2007 (EDT)

I don't think that sysops have the checkuser ability. I could be wrong but I think that only philip and Mr. Schlafly have it. --[[User:BenjaminS|Ben]] [[User Talk:BenjaminS|Talk]] 11:01, 24 May 2007 (EDT)

Wow ok then. --[[User:Will N.|Will N.]] 11:25, 24 May 2007 (EDT)
::I believe that if you click on "special pages" in the "tool box" on the left of your screen and go to the bottom there you will find "Check User"[[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]] [[User talk:Bohdan|Talk]] 11:32, 24 May 2007 (EDT)

:::[[Special:Checkuser]], and yes, sysops have CU ability. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Hojimachong''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:33, 24 May 2007 (EDT)

== Updated ==

I updated the page to reflect Andy's policies about removing user and talk pages upon infinite blocks. This was really too important to have been left out. Also added a bit on ''how'' to check for vandals and socks. Andy has also stated it is important that additional Sysops provide email and IM capability to stay in close communication. --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 07:29, 30 May 2007 (EDT)

*Thanks, Philip for cleaning those links! One of the few times I actually made a note to get back to it, and here you were observant enough to do it! --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 02:57, 2 June 2007 (EDT)

== Images ==

It strikes me that the Images section is rather redundant as only those with special rights can upload or delete them. [[User:Catherine|CA'''†'''HERINE]] 00:02, 29 July 2011 (EDT)

Conservapedia:Administrator's Guide

2011-07-29T02:54:58Z

Catherine: /* Working with others */ tidy up spelling and grammar

'''If you are reading this, then congratulations! You have joined an elite group of editors, here to protect Conservapedia, and act as "stewards" of the project. Below are some tips that will make your job as a Sysop much more effective:''' 
{| style="float:right; background:#DEF; border:solid 1px darkblue; padding:5px;width:300px"
!Terms explained
|-
|
* [http://www.conservapedia.com/Special:Listusers%26group%3Dsysop Administrators], also known as ''sysops'', are editors with the ability and authority to enforce Conservapedia's rules and resolve disputes.
* [http://www.conservapedia.com/Special:Listusers%26group%3Dbureaucrat Bureaucrats] are Administrators with the additional ability to change user rights.
|}

==Working with others==
Some new users might simply misunderstand our policies and need some guidance. Not all initial efforts which violate policy are done out of opposition or indifference to project goals.

Any sysop who feels capable of providing such guidance may try shepherding or mentoring such a user. You should interact with user and issue polite warnings as required and direct the newbie to the appropriate Guideline page or clause that deals with the problem. If necessary, you may impose editing restrictions, undo useless work, [[userfy]] inadequate articles, or try short blocks.

==Blocking==
:''See also: [[Conservapedia:Blocking policy]]''
#If you have determined a user should be blocked, there are multiple more factors to consider:
##Should the user be blocked for a reason not based on the quality of his edits or legitimacy? (For example, a vulgar username.) Then make sure the checkbox titled: "'''Automatically block the last IP address used by this user...'''" is unchecked (it is checked by default) so that the user can create a new account.
##If the user should be blocked based on his actions on the wiki, carefully consider how long the user should be blocked. If the user is a blatant vandal, generally 5 year, or "infinite", blocks are handed out. If the user is merely edit warring or some similar offense, perhaps a shorter block (2 days, a few weeks, months?) might be more appropriate. Keep in mind that users can change - infinite blocks are therefore discouraged.
#If you have run checkuser (which you should generally only do with probable cause) and determined the user has created sock-puppet accounts, the user should be blocked. Be wary that multiple distinct users might just be editing from a public location - for example a school, a coffee house or a library.

==Moving==
#To move a page, click the "move" tab on the upper pane. It should be directly to the right of the "delete" tab. Once you have clicked this button, you will see a page which enables you to move the content of one page to a page with a different title. Simply type the new title of the page in to the box entitled "To new title:", and give a short reason in the "Reason:" box. By default, the "move associated talk page" checkbox should be marked; this should ''always'' be marked. It's up to you whether or not you want to "watch" the page (this places it on your [[Special:Watchlist|watchlist]]).
# If a page already exists with the new name, you will be warned and asked if you want to delete that page. It is recommended that you answer "no" to this, and delete the page manually. The reason for this is that if you allow the software to delete the page, it will not delete the accompanying talk page, which means that the talk page of the article you are moving will not itself be moved. If you already know that there is no accompanying talk page, then answering "yes" will work.

==Images==

Please check the upload log frequently to protect any new images. This will in turn prevent any image vandalism.

(Images are usually not on anyone's watchlist except that of the person who uploaded them, and cannot be reverted if someone replaces the image. This makes protecting images more important than protecting articles or templates, both of which are more easily reverted and/or more likely noticed.)

==Keeping Informed of New Developments==

A area of Conservapedia has been created for discussion of concerns within the Conservapedia community so Sysops can be informed of various developments. The area is located here: [[Conservapedia:Community Portal]].

== See also ==

*[[Conservapedia:Guidelines]]
*[[Conservapedia:User rights]]
*[[Conservapedia:Glossary]]

[[Category:Conservapedia Administration]]

Button Gwinnett

2011-07-13T16:10:48Z

Catherine: /* Early Life */

'''Button Gwinnett''' (b. circa 1732-1735 <ref>[http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/gwinnett.htm Button Gwinnett, USHistory.org]</ref> - d. May 19, 1777) was a signer of the [[Declaration of Independence]]. Gwinnett was president of [[Georgia]]'s Revolutionary Council of Safety, developed Georgia's Constitution which was ratified. He led a failed invasion of British East [[Florida]]. He was killed in a duel with his arch-enemy Colonel Lachlan McIntosh.

{{Founding Fathers
|image=Gwinnett.jpg
|State:=Georgia
|Religion:=Christian- Episcopalian; Congregationalist <ref>http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html</ref>
|Founding Documents:=[[Declaration of Independence]] Georgia's Constitution
}}

==Early Life==
Button Gwinnett was born in [[England]]. Not much is kn own of his early life other than as a young man he became a merchant. Some time after his marriage in England he moved to Charleston, [[South Carolina]] and became a landowner in Georgia. Gwinnett staked his personal fortune in the welfare of the colonies.

==Politics==
Button Gwinnett's first foray into government was his election victory for Commons House of Assembly in 1769. In 1776, he was elected by the general assembly congress in Savannah, Georgia. <ref>[http://colonialhall.com/gwinnett/gwinnett.php http://colonialhall.com/gwinnett/gwinnett.php Button Gwinnett, ColonialHall.com]</ref> Also in 1776, he was appointed commander of Georgia's continental militia. This action was hotly contested by Colonel Lackland McIntosh, brigadier general of the continental brigade. Subsequently, Gwinnett resigned and represented the [[Continental Congress]], signing the Declaration. When he returned home, Gwinnett was elected president in Georgia. Once again, he took control of the continental militia and the rivalry with McIntosh ensued. With the assumption of great power, he relieved General McIntosh of his troops. Gwinnett led an expedition force against British East Florida. His actions failed miserably and it was thwarted by Lachlan McIntosh and his brother George. Gwinnett was charged with malfeasance but acquitted. Subsequently the public soured on him, Gwinnett would lose election for Governor.

==Death==
As fate would have it, a duel over personal honor was proposed outside of Savanna. On May 16, 1777, both men were shot in the duel, only Gwinnett failed to recover and he would die three days later.

==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2543 Gwinnett's biography in the New Georgia Encyclopedia]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwinnett, Button}}
[[Category:Founding Fathers]]
[[Category:Georgia Governors]]
[[Category:Signers of the Declaration of Independence]]
[[Category:American Revolution]]

Abortion in the United Kingdom

2010-04-23T11:14:52Z

Catherine: /* References */

[[Abortion in the United Kingdom]] is easily accessible and legal within twelve weeks of conception to all women. It is also fully legalised upto twenty-four weeks after conception, but less accessible. Women are legally entitled to not pay for the [[abortion]], thus requiring every taxpayer in the [[United Kingdom]] to pay for the deaths of children.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4350259.stm</ref><ref>http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Abortion/Pages/Introduction.aspx</ref>

In theory, under the Abortion Act 1967, a woman's physical or mental health must be at risk for the abortion to proceed. Two doctors must sign that this is the case. However, due to the statistical technicality that carrying a baby to full term is more dangerous than an abortion, due to the risks of childbirth, all elective abortions are permitted and women do not generally have to give a reason.<ref>http://www.efc.org.uk/Foryoungpeople/Factsaboutabortion/MoreonUKabortionlaw</ref>

== Public Opinion ==
An opinion poll of 1000 people in the United Kingdom in 2007 found that 77% of the population supported a woman's 'right' to choose to have an abortion.<ref>http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/content/view/171/106/</ref>

An opinion poll of 800 people in the United Kingdom in 2008 found that 81% of people believed the government should have no involvement in this matter and that it should be "left to the individual to decide." Furthermore, only 1% felt that abortion should actually be criminalised. Other than the 2% of people who gave no answer, the remainder all thought the government should do work to discourage abortion but should not criminalise it.<ref>http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/jun08/WPO_Abortion_Jun08_quaire.pdf</ref>

While public opinion is strongly in favour of abortion, there is a strong feeling that the abortion limit should be reduced from 24 weeks to 20 weeks.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/jan/29/health.publicservices</ref>

== Pro-life Movements in the United Kingdom ==
The '''All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group''' consists of only twenty MPs out of 646 (just over 3% of MPs). [[Anne Widdecombe]] has chaired the group in the past, and currently is a vice-chair. Interestingly, only eight members are from the 'Conservative Party'. Two are from the 'Liberal Democrats' and ten are from the 'Labour party.'<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/398033.stm</ref><ref>http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/memi472.htm</ref>

There are pro-life groups in the United Kingdom, but they are not very prominent.

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Abortion]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]

Abortion in the United Kingdom

2010-04-23T11:14:29Z

Catherine: cat

Abortion in Romania

2010-04-23T07:05:00Z

Catherine: year

'''Abortion in Romania''' was non-existent during the dictatorship of [[Ceausescu]], the only [[communist]] dictator who was [[pro-life]]. As a result of this pro-life policy, Romanian women avoided the harm caused by [[abortion]], and Romania enjoyed the lowest rate of breast cancer in the Western world.

After Ceausescu was overthrown and executed on [[Christmas Day]] 1989, abortion has flooded Romania and its breast cancer rates have skyrocketed.
[[Category:abortion]]

Abortion in Russia

2010-04-23T06:45:55Z

Catherine: /* See also */ China

''This page is part of the [[Conservapedia:Anti-abortion_Project]]''

According to the [[United Nations]], [[Russia]] has the highest incidence of [[abortion]] in the world at a staggering 53.7 per 1000 live births<ref>[http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=GenderStat&f=inID:12 UN Data]</ref> (amongst women aged 15-44). In 1920 Russia was the first country to legalize abortion for any reason although it was later banned between 1936 and 1954 by [[Josef Stalin]].

Currently, [[abortion on demand]] is available during the first [[trimester]]<ref>Trimester - 12 weeks</ref> but up to 22 weeks for "social reasons". For "medical necessity" it may be performed at any time during pregnancy. It is reported that 20% of abortions are performed on women under the age of majority.

Other former Soviet satellite states ([[Belarus]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Romania]] & [[Ukraine]]) also have higher abortion rates than the [[United States]]. In addition, other communist countries such as Cuba (24.8‰) and China (24.2‰) also have high rates of abortion.

==See also==
*[[Abortion in Belarus]]
*[[Abortion in China]]
*[[Abortion in Estonia]]
*[[Abortion in Latvia]]
*[[Abortion in Kazakhstan]]
*[[Abortion in Romania]]
*[[Abortion in Ukraine]]
*[[Abortion and communism]]
*[[Abortion and Stalin]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Abortion]]

Abortion in Russia

2010-04-23T06:43:05Z

Catherine:

''This page is part of the [[Conservapedia:Anti-abortion_Project]]''

According to the [[United Nations]], [[Russia]] has the highest incidence of [[abortion]] in the world at a staggering 53.7 per 1000 live births<ref>[http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=GenderStat&f=inID:12 UN Data]</ref> (amongst women aged 15-44). In 1920 Russia was the first country to legalize abortion for any reason although it was later banned between 1936 and 1954 by [[Josef Stalin]].

Currently, [[abortion on demand]] is available during the first [[trimester]]<ref>Trimester - 12 weeks</ref> but up to 22 weeks for "social reasons". For "medical necessity" it may be performed at any time during pregnancy. It is reported that 20% of abortions are performed on women under the age of majority.

Other former Soviet satellite states ([[Belarus]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Romania]] & [[Ukraine]]) also have higher abortion rates than the [[United States]]. In addition, other communist countries such as Cuba (24.8‰) and China (24.2‰) also have high rates of abortion.

==See also==
*[[Abortion in Belarus]]
*[[Abortion in Estonia]]
*[[Abortion in Latvia]]
*[[Abortion in Kazakhstan]]
*[[Abortion in Romania]]
*[[Abortion in Ukraine]]
*[[Abortion and communism]]
*[[Abortion and Stalin]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Abortion]]

Abortion in Russia

2010-04-23T06:40:23Z

Catherine: Shocking statistics

''This page is part of the [[Conservapedia:Anti-abortion_Project]]''

According to the [[United Nations]], [[Russia]] has the highest incidence of [[abortion]] in the world at a staggering 53.7 per 1000 live births<ref>[http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=GenderStat&f=inID:12 UN Data]]</ref> (amongst women aged 15-44). In 1920 Russia was the first country to legalize abortion for any reason although it was later banned between 1936 and 1954 by [[Josef Stalin]].

Currently, [[abortion on demand]] is available during the first [[trimester]]<ref>Trimester - 12 weeks</ref> but up to 22 weeks for "social reasons". For "medical necessity" it may be performed at any time during pregnancy. It is reported that 20% of abortions are performed on women under the age of majority.

Other former Soviet satellite states ([[Belarus]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Romania]] & [[Ukraine]]) also have higher abortion rates than the [[United States]]. In addition, other communist countries such as Cuba (24.8‰) and China (24.2‰) also have high rates of abortion.

==See also==
*[[Abortion in Belarus]]
*[[Abortion in Estonia]]
*[[Abortion in Latvia]]
*[[Abortion in Kazakhstan]]
*[[Abortion in Romania]]
*[[Abortion in Ukraine]]
*[[Abortion and communism]]
*[[Abortion and Stalin]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Abortion]]

Chester W. Nimitz

2010-04-23T05:15:10Z

Catherine: layout & links

Fleet Admiral '''Chester William Nimitz''' was an [[America]]n naval officer and Commander-in-Chief of [[Pacific]] forces during [[World War II]] whose coordination of [[Army]], [[Marine]], and [[Navy|Naval]] forces in the first year of the war resulted in the spectacular defeat of the [[Japan]]ese at the [[Battle of Midway]], considered the turning point of the war.

Nimitz was born on February 24, 1885, near a quaint hotel in Fredericksburg, [[Texas]] built by his grandfather, Charles Nimitz, a retired sea captain. Young Chester, however, had his sights set on an Army career and while a student at Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas, he tried for an appointment to West Point. When none was available, he took a competitive examination for Annapolis and was selected and appointed from the Twelfth Congressional District of Texas in 1901.

He dropped out of high school to enter the Naval Academy Class of 1905, and despite his lack of a high school diploma, Nimitz was an excellent student, especially in mathematics and graduated with distinction -- seventh in a class of 114. He was an athlete and stroked the crew in his first class year. The Naval Academy's yearbook, "Lucky Bag", described him as a man "of cheerful yesterdays and confident tomorrows."

After graduation he joined USS ''Ohio'' in [[San Francisco]] and cruised in her to the far East. On 31 January 1907, after the two years of sea duty then required by law, he was commissioned an ensign, and took command of the gunboat USS ''Panay''. He then commanded USS ''Decatur'' and was court martialed for grounding her, an obstacle in his career which he overcame.

He returned to the U.S. in 1907 and was ordered to duty under instruction in [[submarine]]s, the branch of the service in which he spent a large part of his sea duty. His first submarine was USS ''Plunger'', followed by a successful command of USS ''Snapper'', USS ''Narwal'' and USS ''Skipjack'' until 1912. On 20 March of that year Nimitz, then a Lieutenant and commanding officer of the submarine E-1 (formerly ''Skipjack''), was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal by the [[Treasury Departmen]]t for his heroic action in saving W.J. Walsh, Fireman second class, USN, from drowning. A strong tide was running and Walsh, who could not swim, was rapidly being swept away from his ship. Lieutenant Nimitz dove in the water and kept Walsh afloat until both were picked up by a small boat.

He had one year in command of the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla before coming ashore in 1913 for duty in connection with building the diesel engines for the tanker USS ''Maumee'' at Groton, Conn. In that same year, he was sent to Germany and Belgium to study engines at their Diesel Plants. With that experience he subsequently served as Executive Officer and Engineering Officer of the ''Maumee'' until 1917 when he was assigned as Aide and Chief of Staff to Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic. He served in that billet during [[World War I]].

In September 1918 he came ashore to duty in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations and was a member of the Board of Submarine Design. His first sea duty in big ships came in 1919 when he had one year's duty as Executive Officer of the battleship USS ''South Carolina''. After that he continued his duty in submarines in Pearl Harbor as Commanding Officer USS ''Chicago'' and COMSUBDIV Fourteen.

In 1922 he was assigned as a student at the Naval War College, and upon graduation went as Chief of Staff to Commander Battle Forces and later Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet (Admiral S. S. Robinson).

In the meantime, the ROTC program had been initiated and in 1926 he became the first Professor of Naval Science and Tactics for the Unit at the University of California at Berkley. Throughout the remainder of his life he retained a close association with the University. After three years in that assignment, in 1929, he again had sea duty in the submarine service as Commander Submarine Division Twenty for two years and then went ashore to command USS ''Rigel'' and decommissioned destroyers at the base in San Diego. In 1933 he was assigned to his first large ship command, the heavy cruiser USS ''Augusta'' which served mostly as flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. Coming ashore in 1935 he served three years as Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. His next sea command was in flag rank as Commander Cruiser Division Two and then as Commander Battle Division One until 1939, when he was appointed as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation for four years. In December 1941, however, he was designated as Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPAC), where he served throughout the war. On December 19, 1944, he was advanced to the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral, and on 2 September 1945, was the United States signatory to the surrender terms aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

He hauled down his flag at Pearl Harbor on November 26, 1945, and on December 15 relieved Fleet Admiral [[Ernest J. King]] as Chief of Naval Operations for a term of two years. On January 1, 1948, he reported as special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. In March of 1949, he was nominated as Plebiscite Administrator for Kashmir under the [[United Nations]]. When that did not materialize he asked to be relieved and accepted an assignment as a roving goodwill ambassador of the United nations, to explain to the public the major issues confronting the U.N. In 1951, President Truman appointed him as Chairman of the nine-man commission on International Security and Industrial Rights. This commission never got underway because Congress never passed appropriate legislation.

Thereafter, he took an active interest in San Francisco community affairs, in addition to his continued active participation in affairs of concern to the Navy and the country. he was an honorary vice president and later honorary president of the Naval Historical Foundation. He served for eight years as a regent of the University of California and did much to restore goodwill with Japan by raising funds to restore the battleship Mikasa, Admiral Togo's flagship at Tsushima in 1905.

He died on 20 February 1966.

==Promotions==
*Graduated from the Naval Academy - Class of 1905
*Ensign - 07 Jan. 1907
*Lieutenant (junior grade) - 31 Jan. 1910
*Lieutenant - 31 Jan. 1910
*Lieutenant Commander - 29 Aug. 1916
*Commander - 8 March 1918
*Captain - 02 June 1927
*Rear Admiral - 23 June 1938
*Vice Admiral - Not held - promoted directly to Admiral
*Admiral - 31 Dec. 1941
*Fleet Admiral - 19 Dec. 1944

==Decorations and Awards==
*Distinguished Service Medal with two gold stars
*Army Distinguished Service Medal
*Silver Lifesaving Medal
*Victory Medal with Escort Clasp
*American Defense Service Medal
*Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
*World War II Victory Medal
*National Defense Service Medal

== External Links ==
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/employ_naval_forces.htm Essay on sea power by Nimitz]
* United States Department of the Navy/Navy Historical Center's [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq36-4.htm Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz]
* [http://www.nimitz-museum.org/ Nimitz Museum]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimitz, Chester W.}}

[[Category:United States Naval Officers]]
[[Category:World War II Commanders]]

Cinnamon

2010-04-23T05:09:48Z

Catherine:

[[Image:CinnamonFoliage.jpg|thumb|left|Cinnamon foliage]]
[[Image:CinnamonSticks.jpg|thumb|Woman selling cinnamon sticks, the bark of the cinnamon plant]]

'''Cinnamon''' is a sweet, aromatic [[spice]] that is often used in baking. The cinnamon tree is an evergreen that grows best in a hot, wet, tropical climate, and has long been grown in [[Sri Lanka]], an island south-east of [[India]].<ref>Food Reference - [http://www.foodreference.com/html/artcinnamon.html Cinnamon]</ref>

Both true cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon) and Cassia (Chinese cinnamon), are derived from the dried inner bark of the tree. Cinnamon sticks are made from long pieces of bark that are rolled, pressed, and dried. The spice is often ground into a powder and used for cooking.<ref>Culinary Cafe - [http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Cinnamon.html Cinnamon]</ref>

Ceylon cinnamon belongs to the laurel family and is widely grown in [[South America]] and the [[West Indies]]. Cassia (''cinnamomum cassia'') is grown in [[China]], [[Indonesia]], the Indies, and Central America.

Cinnamon was imported from China to [[Egypt]] as early as 2000 BC, and is mentioned in the [[Bible]] in [[Exodus]] 30:23, where [[Moses]] is commanded to use sweet cinnamon and cassia.<ref>Spices in Kerala - [http://www.spiceskerala.com/cinnamonhistory.html Cinnamon History]</ref>

<blockquote>''Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty, and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. 
''You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.''<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com Bible Gateway]</ref><ref>People of Faith - [http://peopleoffaith.com/history-of-cinnamon.htm What's So Special About Cinnamon?]</ref>
</blockquote>

==References==

<references/>

[[Category:Spices]]
[[Category:Trees]]

Cinnamon

2010-04-23T05:09:20Z

Catherine: copyed

[[Image:CinnamonFoliage.jpg|thumb|left|Cinnamon foliage]]
[[Image:CinnamonSticks.jpg|thumb|Woman selling cinnamon sticks, the bark of the cinnamon plant]]

'''Cinnamon''' is a sweet, aromatic [[spice]] that is often used in baking. The cinnamon tree is an evergreen that grows best in a hot, wet, tropical climate, and has long been grown in [[Sri Lanka]], an island south-east of [[India]].<ref>Food Reference - [http://www.foodreference.com/html/artcinnamon.html Cinnamon]</ref>

Both true cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon) and Cassia (Chinese cinnamon), are derived from the dried inner bark of the tree. Cinnamon sticks are made from long pieces of bark that are rolled, pressed, and dried. The spice is often ground into a powder and used for cooking.<ref>Culinary Cafe - [http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Cinnamon.html Cinnamon]</ref>

Ceylon cinnamon belongs to the laurel family and is widely grown in [[South America]] and the [[West Indies]]. Cassia (''cinnamomum cassia'') is grown in [[China]], [[Indonesia]], the Indies, and Central America.

Cinnamon was imported from China to [[Egypt]] as early as 2000 BC, and is mentioned in the [[Bible]] in [[Exodus]] 30:23, where [[Moses]] is commanded to use sweet cinnamon and cassia.<ref>Spices in Kerala - [http://www.spiceskerala.com/cinnamonhistory.html Cinnamon History]</ref>

<blockquote>''Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty, and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. 
You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.''<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com Bible Gateway]</ref><ref>People of Faith - [http://peopleoffaith.com/history-of-cinnamon.htm What's So Special About Cinnamon?]</ref>
</blockquote>

==References==

<references/>

[[Category:Spices]]
[[Category:Trees]]

Futurism

2010-04-23T05:04:15Z

Catherine: wikify

'''Futurism''' was an [[art movement]], which as its name implies, focused on futuristic subjects. It portrayed modern subjects in a modern way and was fascinated with the beauty of [[speed]]. Its most notable artist was [[Boccioni]].

Marinetti was a famous [[Italy|Italian]] futurist. He was also an enthusiastic [[fascism |fascist]].

Futurism and Vorticism, its English equivalent, were both fascistic in [[philosophy]]. This was due to the worship of the new and the [[cult]] of [[machine]]s and speed over the old.

[[Category:Artistic Movements]]

Earl Warren

2010-04-23T04:38:44Z

Catherine: wikify a bit

[[Image:EarlWarren.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
'''Earl Warren,''' (1891-1974) was an [[United States|American]] statesman and judge, best known for his role as Chief Justice on the [[Supreme Court]] from 1953 to 1969. He was a [[liberal]] [[Republican]], serving as governor of [[California]], 1943-53, and as the losing GOP nominee for [[Vice President]] in 1948.

Warren was an activist judge who pushed for a liberal interpretation of the [[Constitution]] and more powerful role for the judiciary. Under his leadership, the [[Warren Court]] repeatedly ruled in favor of criminals and against [[prayer]] in school.

==Early Professional Life==
Warren was born in Los Angeles, the son of Methias H. ("Matt") Warren, a railroad worker, and Christine Hernlund. After Matt was blacklisted for joining in a strike, the family moved to Bakersfield, California, in 1894, where the father worked in a railroad repair yard, and the son had summer jobs in railroading. Warren always recalled how big corporations could dominate the lives of their employees and how powerless minority members were when faced with discrimination. He was strongly influenced by the reform currents of the [[Progressive Era]] to oppose corruption and promote democracy.

Warren graduated from Kern County High School and then attended college and law school at the [[University_of_California,_Berkeley|University of California at Berkeley]], earning a B.L. in 1912 and a LL.B. in 1914. He worked for a law firm before serving briefly in the [[army]] in 1918. He built his career at the Alameda County district attorney's office 1920-38. In 1926 he was elected to the first of three terms as district attorney. In 1925, he married Nina Palmquist Meyers, a widow with a young son. Warren adopted him, and the couple had five more children.

Shortly after taking office, irregularities were uncovered in the city of Oakland, the largest city in Alameda county. Warren vigorously investigated allegations that a deputy sheriff was taking bribes in connection with street-paving arrangements.

Warren soon gained a statewide reputation as a tough, no-nonsense district attorney who fought corruption in government; a 1931 survey voted listed him as the best district attorney in the country. He ran his office in a nonpartisan manner and strongly supported the autonomy of law enforcement agencies. But he also believed that police and prosecutors had to act fairly, and much of what would later lie at the heart of the Warren Court's revolution in criminal justice can be traced back to his days as an active prosecuting attorney.

==State office==
In 1938, Warren ran successfully for the California [[attorney general]]ship. He expanded the office, and built greater cooperation among various law enforcement agencies. By 1942, Warren was one of the most popular officials in California, and he ran for and was elected governor on the Republican ticket. He was reelected in 1946 and 1950.

As governor Warren modernized the office of [[governor]], and state government generally.

Like all [[Progressive Era|progressives]], Warren believed in [[Efficency Movement|efficiency]] and planning. During World War II he aggressively pursued postwar economic planning. Fearing another postwar decline that would rival the depression years, Governor Earl Warren initiated public works projects similar to those of the [[New Deal]] to capitalize on wartime tax surpluses and provide jobs for returning veterans. Warren also built up the state's higher education system based on the University of California and its vast network of small universities and community colleges.<ref> John Aubrey Douglass, "Earl Warren's New Deal: Economic Transition, Postwar Planning, and Higher Education in California." ''Journal of Policy History'' 2000 12(4): 473-512 </ref> For example, his support of the Collier-Burns Act in 1947 raised gasoline taxes that funded a massive program of freeway construction. Unlike states where tolls or bonds funded highway construction, California's gasoline taxes were earmarked for building the system. Warren's support for the bill was crucial because his status as a popular governor strengthened his views, in contrast with opposition from trucking, oil, and gas lobbyists. The Collier-Burns Act helped influence passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1956, setting a pattern for national highway construction.<ref> Daniel J. B. Mitchell, “Earl Warren's Fight for California's Freeways: Setting a Path for the Nation.” ''Southern California Quarterly'' 2006 88(2): 205-238 34p.</ref>

Like all state, local and national officials in California, he supported the relocation of everyone of Japanese descent in 1942-44. For many years Warren defended the action, maintaining that it seemed the right and necessary thing to do at the time; in his memoirs, published after his death, he finally acknowledged that relocation had been an error.

[[Image:Warren48.jpg|thumb|320px]] Success as governor of a major state made Warren a national figure. In he was selected by New York Governor [[Thomas E. Dewey]] as vice presidential candidate. The GOP ticket was defeated by Truman, to the astonishment of virtually all observers and pollsters, who had predicted Truman's defeat. In 1952 he was California's favorite son candidate for president, but had to head off a revolt by Senator [[Richard M. Nixon]] who supported Eisenhower. Eisenhower and Nixon were elected, and the bad blood between Warren and Nixon was apparent.
Eisenhower offered, and Warren had accepted, the post of solicitor general, with the promise of a seat on the Supreme Court. But before it was announced Chief Justice Fred Vinson unexpectedly died in September 1953 and Eisenhower picked Warren to replace him.

==Chief Justice==
Warren took his seat January 11, 1954 on a recess appointment; the Senate confirmed him six weeks later. Despite his lack of judicial experience, his years in the Alameda County district attorney's office and as state attorney general gave him far more knowledge of the law in practice than most other members of the Court had.

Warren's greatest asset, what made him in the eyes of many of his admirers "Super Chief," was his political skill in manipulating the other justices. Over the years his ability to lead the Court, to forge majorities in support of major decisions, and to inspire liberal forces around the nation, outweighed his intellectual weaknesses. Warren realized his weakness and asked the senior associate justice, [[Hugo L. Black]], to preside over conferences until he became accustomed to the drill. A quick study, Warren soon was in fact as well as in name the Court's chief justice.

All the justices had been appointed by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] or Truman, and all were committed [[New Deal coalition|New Deal liberals]]. They disagreed about the role that the courts should play in achieving liberal goals. The Court was split between two warring factions. [[Felix Frankfurter]] and Robert H. Jackson led one faction, which insisted upon judicial self-restraint and constantly warned about the judicial activism of conservative justices that had led to the constitutional crisis of 1937. For them, courts should defer to the policymaking prerogatives of the White House and congress. [[Hugo Black]] and [[William O. Douglas]] led the opposing activist faction; they agreed the court should defer in matters of economic policy, but felt the judicial agenda had been transformed from questions of property rights to those of individual liberties, and in this area courts should play a more activist role. Warren's belief that the judiciary must seek to do justice, placed him with the activists. although he did not have a solid majority until after Frankfurter's retirement in 1962.

===Brown v. Board of Education===
Warren acceded to the position of [[Chief Justice]] while ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' was being reargued at the behest of Associate Justice [[Felix Frankfurter]], who ordered re-argument as a stalling tactic, to allow the Court to gather a unanimous consensus around a ''Brown'' opinion that would outlaw [[segregation]]. Chief Justice [[Vinson]] was one such stumbling block.

Warren convened a meeting of the justices, and presented to them the simple argument that the only reason to sustain segregation was an honest belief in the inferiority of [[African American]]s. Warren further submitted that the Court must overrule ''Plessy'' to maintain its legitimacy as an institution of liberty, and it must do so unanimously to avoid massive Southern resistance. He began to build a unanimous opinion. Although most justices were immediately convinced, Warren spent some time after this famous speech convincing everyone to sign onto the opinion. Justices Robert Jackson and Stanley Reed finally decided to drop their dissent to what was by then an opinion backed by all the others. The final decision was unanimous.

Liberals consider Warren's final opinion a political masterwork, not just for his political gamesmanship, but for his general writing, making use of dubious social science research to draw legal conclusions, and laying the groundwork for busing.

The very first case put Warren's leadership skills to an extraordinary test. The Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP (a small, primarily white legal group separate from the much better known [[NAACP]]) had been waging a systematic legal fight against the "separate but equal" doctrine enunciated in [[Plessy v. Ferguson]] (1896) and finally had challenged Plessy in a series of five related cases, which had been argued before the Court in the spring of 1953. However the justices had been unable to decide the issue and asked to rehear the case in fall 1953, with special attention to whether the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause prohibited the operation of separate public schools for whites and blacks.<ref> See [http://americanhistory.si.edu/Brown/history/index.html Smithsonian, “Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education’’]</ref>

While all but one justice personally rejected segregation, the self-restraint faction questioned whether the Constitution gave the Court the power to order its end. The activist faction believed the Fourteenth Amendment did give the necessary authority and were pushing to go ahead. Warren, who held only a recess appointment, held his tongue until the Senate, dominated by southerners, confirmed his appointment.

Warren told his colleagues after oral argument that he believed segregation violated the Constitution and that only if one considered African Americans inferior to whites could the practice be upheld. But he did not push for a vote. Instead, he talked with the justices and encouraged them to talk with each other as he sought a common ground on which all could stand. Finally he had eight votes, and the last holdout, Stanley Reed of Kentucky, agreed to join the rest. Warren drafted the basic opinion in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and kept circulating and revising it until he had an opinion endorsed by all the members of the Court.<ref> For text see [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=347&invol=483 BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)]</ref>

The unanimity Warren achieved helped speed the drive to desegregate public schools, which mostly came about under President [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Throughout his years as Chief, Warren succeeded in keeping all decisions concerning segregation unanimous. Brown applied to schools, but soon the Court enlarged the concept to other state actions, striking down racial classification in many areas. Congress ratified the process in the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]]. Warren did compromise by agreeing to Frankfurter's demand that the Court go slowly in implementing desegregation; Warren used Frankfurter's suggestion that a 1955 decision (Brown II) include the phrase "all deliberate speed."<ref> Robert L. Carter, "The Warren Court and Desegregation," ''Michigan Law Review,'' Vol. 67, No. 2 (Dec., 1968), pp. 237-248 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/1287417 in JSTOR]</ref>

The Brown decision of 1954 marked, in dramatic fashion, the radical shift in the Court's--and the nation's--priorities from issues of property rights to civil liberties. Under Warren the courts became an active partner in governing the nation, although still not coequal. Warren never saw the courts as a backward-looking branch of government.

The Brown decision was a powerful moral statement clad in a weak constitutional analysis; Warren was never a legal scholar on a par with Frankfurter or a great advocate of particular doctrines, as was Black. Instead, he believed that in all branches of government common sense, decency, and elemental justice were decisive, not stare decisis, tradition or the text of the Constitution. He wanted results. He never felt that doctrine alone should be allowed to deprive people of justice. He felt racial segregation was simply wrong, and Brown, whatever its doctrinal defects, remains a landmark decision primarily because of Warren's majestic interpretation of the equal protection clause to mean that children should not be shunted to a separate world reserved for minorities.

===Reapportionment===
Warren's priority on fairness shaped other major decisions. In 1962, over the strong objections of Frankfurter, the Court agreed that questions regarding malapportionment in state legislatures were not political issues, and thus were not outside the Court's purview. For years underpopulated rural areas had deprived metropolitan centers of equal representation in state legislatures. In Warren's California, Los Angeles County had only one state senator. Cities had long since passed their peak, and now it was the middle class suburbs that were underepresented. Frankfurter insisted that the Court should avoid this "political thicket" and warned that the Court would never be able to find a clear formula to guide lower courts in the rash of lawsuits sure to follow.

But Douglas found such a formula: "one man, one vote."<ref> James A. Gazell, "One Man, One Vote: Its Long Germination," ''The Western Political Quarterly,'' Vol. 23, No. 3 (Sep., 1970), pp. 445-462 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/446565 in JSTOR]</ref> In the key apportionment case Reynolds v. Sims (1964)<ref> See [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=377&invol=533 REYNOLDS v. SIMS, 377 U.S. 533 (1964) ]</ref> Warren delivered a civics lesson: "To the extent that a citizen's right to vote is debased, he is that much less a citizen," Warren declared. "The weight of a citizen's vote cannot be made to depend on where he lives. This is the clear and strong command of our Constitution's Equal Protection Clause." Unlike the desegregation cases, in this instance, the Court ordered immediate action, and despite loud outcries from rural legislators, Congress failed to reach the two-thirds needed pass a constitutional amendment. The states complied, reapportioned their legislatures quickly and with minimal troubles. Numerous commentators have concluded reapportionment was the Warren Court's great "success" story.<ref> Robert B. McKay, "Reapportionment: Success Story of the Warren Court." ''Michigan Law Review,'' Vol. 67, No. 2 (Dec., 1968), pp. 223-236 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/1287416 in JSTOR]</ref>

Frankfurter retired and President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] named labor lawyer [[Arthur Goldberg]] to replace him. Goldberg gave Warren the fifth vote for the majority the activists wanted. [[William Brennan]], a liberal Democrat appointed by Eisenhower in 1956, was the intellectual leader of the activist faction that included Black and Douglas. Brennan complemented Warren's political skills with the strong legal skills Warren lacked. Warren and Brennan met before the regular conferences to plan out their strategy.
===Due process revolution===
While most Americans eventually agreed that the Court's desegregation and apportionment decisions were fair and right, disagreement about the "due process revolution" continues today. Warren took the lead in criminal justice. Warren, despite his years as a tough prosecutor, always insisted that the police must play fair or the accused should go free. Warren was privately outraged at what he considered police abuses that ranged from warrantless searches to forced confessions.

Warren’s Court ordered lawyers for indigent defendants, in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), and prevented prosecutors from using evidence seized in illegal searches, in Mapp v. Ohio (1961). The famous case of Miranda v. Arizona (1966) summed up Warren's philosophy.<ref>See [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=384&invol=436 MIRANDA v. ARIZONA, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)]</ref> Everyone, even one accused of crimes, still enjoyed constitutionally protected rights, and the police had to respect those rights and uissue a specific warning when making an arrest. Warren did not believe in coddling criminals; this in Terry v. Ohio (1968) he gave police officers leeway to stop and frisk those they had reason to believe held weapons.

Conservatives angrily denounced the "handcuffing of the police."<ref>Ronald Kahn and Ken I. Kersch, eds. ''The Supreme Court And American Political Development'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0700614397/ref=sib_books_pg?ie=UTF8&keywords=miranda%20%26%2334%3Bcrime%20rates%26%2334%3B&p=S04N&checkSum=%252FyIgYm2ybgibk6P%252BM%252FG9LcucFd6ieUBSkCM%252FVsFiLs0%253D online at p. 442]</ref> Violent crime and homicide rates shot up nationwide; in New York City, for example, after steady to declining trends until the early 1960s, the homicide rate doubled in the period from 1964-74 from just under 5 per 100,000 at the beginning of that period to just under 10 per 100,000 in 1974. After 1992 the homicide rates fell sharply.<ref> Thomas Sowell, ''The Vision of the Anointed: Self-congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy'' (1995) [http://books.google.com/books?id=ISTtFtcIkKAC&pg=PA29&dq=homicide+%22warren+court%22&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0&ei=BvhqSNuHHpOkiwHp99SCBg&sig=ACfU3U2Pv3ET0J8J_NHq2uTqH_GJxcCbDw online at p. 26-29]</ref>

===First Amendment===
The Warren Court's activism stretched into a new turf, especially First Amendment rights. The Court's decision outlawing mandatory school prayer in Engel v. Vitale (1962) brought vehement complaints that echoed into the 21st century.<ref> See [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=370&invol=421 ENGEL v. VITALE, 370 U.S. 421 (1962) ]</ref>

Warren worked to nationalize the Bill of Rights by applying it to the states. Moreover, in one of the landmark cases decided by the Court, Griswold v. Connecticut (1963), the Warren Court announced a constitutionally protected right of privacy.<ref> See [http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0381_0479_ZS.html Griswold v. Connecticut (No. 496) 151 Conn. 544, 200 A.2d 479, reversed]</ref> No one at the time expected the court, after Warren’s retirement, would use the decision to allow abortion.

With the exception of the desegregation decisions, few decisions were unanimous. The eminent scholar John Marshall Harlan took Frankfurter's place as the Court's self-constraint spokesman, often joined by Potter Stewart and Byron R. White. But with the appointment of Thurgood Marshall, the first black justice, and Abe Fortas (replacing Goldberg), Warren could count on six votes in most cases.
==Warren Commission==
In November 1963 President Johnson demanded in the name of patriotic duty that Warren head the governmental commission that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It was an unhappy experience for Warren, who did not want the assignment. As a judge, he valued candor and justice, but as a politician he recognized the need for secrecy in some matters. He insisted that the commission report should be unanimous, and so he compromised on a number of issues in order to get all the members to sign the final version. But many conspiracy theorists have attacked the commission's findings ever since, claiming that key evidence is missing or distorted and that there are many inconsistencies in the report.
==Retirement==
In June 1968, Warren, fearing that Nixon would be elected president that year, worked out a retirement deal with President Johnson. Associate Justice [[Abe Fortas]], who was secretly Johnson's top adviser, brokered the deal in which Fortas would become chief justice. The plan was foiled by the Senate, which ripped into Fortas's record and refused to confirm him. In 1969 Warren learned that Fortas had made a secret lifetime contract for $20,000 a year to provide private legal advice to Louis Wolfson, a friend and financier in deep legal trouble; Warren immediately demanded and got Fortas' resignation.<ref>Artemus.Ward, "An Extraconstitutional Arrangement: Lyndon Johnson and the Fall of the Warren Court" ''White House Studies'' 2002 2(2): 171-183 </ref> Warren presided over the Court's October 1968 term and retired in spring 1969; Nixon named Warren E. Burger to succeed him.

Scholars agree that as a judge, Warren does not rank with intellectual giants such as [[Louis Brandeis]], Black, Brennan or [[William Rehnquist]] in terms of jurisprudence. His opinions were not always clearly written, and his legal logic was often muddled. His strength lay in his clear vision that the Constitution embodied natural rights that could not be denied to the citizenry and that the Supreme Court had a special role in protecting those rights.

[[American conservatism|Conservatives]] attacked his judicial activism as inappropriate and have called for courts to be deferential to the elected political branches. Liberals who admit that the Warren Court went too far in some areas, insist that most of its controversial decisions struck a responsive chord in the nation and have become embedded in the law.

==References==
<references/>
==Bibliography==
* Belknap, Michael, ''The Supreme Court Under Earl Warren, 1953-1969'' (2005), 406pp [http://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Court-Warren-1953-1969-Justiceships/dp/1570035636/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214941025&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Brest, Levinson, et al. ''Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking, Cases & Materials,'' 5th Ed., pp 898-950.
* Cray, Ed. ''Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren'' (1997), the most comprehensive biography; highly favorable; strong on politics [http://www.amazon.com/Chief-Justice-Biography-Earl-Warren/dp/0684808528/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214941025&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Horwitz, Morton J. ''The Warren Court and the Pursuit of Justice'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Court-Pursuit-Justice/dp/0809016257/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214948731&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Lewis, Anthony. "Earl Warren" in Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, eds. ''The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions. Volume: 4.'' (1997) pp 1373-1400; includes all members of the Warren Court. [http://www.questia.com/read/99223171?title=The%20Justices%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Supreme%20Court%3a%20Their%20Lives%20and%20Major%20Opinions%20-%20Vol.%204 online edition]
* Newton, Jim. ''Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made'' (2006), solid biography by journalist [http://www.amazon.com/Justice-All-Earl-Warren-Nation/dp/B000R7O2W8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214941025&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Patterson, James T. '' Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy'' (2001) [http://www.questia.com/read/111458889?title=Brown%20v.%20Board%20of%20Education%3a%20A%20Civil%20Rights%20Milestone%20and%20Its%20Troubled%20Legacy online edition]
* Powe, Lucas A.. ''The Warren Court and American Politics'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Court-American-Politics/dp/0674006836/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214948973&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Scheiber, Harry N. ''Earl Warren and the Warren Court: The Legacy in American and Foreign Law'' (2006)
* Schwartz, Bernard. ''The Warren Court: A Retrospective'' (1996) [http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Court-Retrospective-Bernard-Schwartz/dp/0195104390/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214948731&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* Schwartz, Bernard. "Chief Justice Earl Warren: Super Chief in Action." ''Journal of Supreme Court History'' 1998 (1): 112-132
* Tushnet, Mark. ''The Warren Court in Historical and Political Perspective'' (1996) [http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Political-Perspective-Constitutionalism-Democracy/dp/0813916658/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214948731&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* White, G. Edward. ''Earl Warren'' (1982), by leading scholar

===Primary Sources===
* Time Magazine. "The Chief," [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844127,00.html ''Time'' Nov. 17, 1967]
* Warren, Earl. ''The Memoirs of Earl Warren'' (1977), goes only to 1954
* Warren, Earl. ''The Public Papers of Chief Justice Earl Warren'', ed. by Henry M. Christman; (1959), speeches and decisions, 1946-1958 [http://www.questia.com/read/6131221?title=The%20Public%20Papers%20of%20Chief%20Justice%20Earl%20Warren online edition].
* Rawls, James J. "The Earl Warren Oral History Project: an Appraisal." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 1987 56(1): 87-97. Begun during the 1960s by the Bancroft Library's Regional Oral History Office, the collection includes more than 50 volumes of interviews recorded and transcribed during 1971-81, totaling about 12,000 pages.

{{DEFAULTSORT: Warren, Earl}}

[[Category:United States Supreme Court Justices]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]
[[Category:Civil Rights]]
[[Category:1950s]]
[[Category:New Deal]]
[[Category:1960s]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:United States Chief Justices]]
[[Category:Judicial activism]]
[[Category:Supreme Court]]

Aramaic

2010-04-23T04:30:52Z

Catherine: wikify & tidy external links

'''Aramaic''' was the [[language]] of [[Jesus]].<ref name="a">The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989</ref> It is a Semitic language and was spoken by the [[Aramaeans]] and spread across the [[Mesopotamia]] and became the language of the [[Persian Empire]].<ref name="a"/> It was most closely related to [[Hebrew]] and [[Arabic]]. The post-biblical Rabbinic commentary on the Bible and application of the Biblical laws (as well as perpetuating of the Biblical lore) to contemporary Jewish life, is known as the [[Talmud]]. The first part of the Talmud is primarily in Mishnaic (2nd cent. B.C. to 2nd cent. A.D.) Hebrew and secondarily in Aramaic. The second part of the Talmud, known as the Gemara, is primarily in Aramaic and secondarily in Hebrew. The [[Babylon]]ian recension of the Talmud - representing Babylonian exilic [[Judaism]] - is authoritative for [[Jew]]s today rather than the [[Palestine|Palestinian]] Talmud - representing "Land of [[Israel]]" Hebrew-speaking Judaism from Palestine.

Parts of the [[New Testament]] were written in Aramaic.<ref name="a"/>

It survives today only in isolated [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] villages as well as some [[Nestorian]]s in northern [[Iraq]] and eastern [[Turkey]].<ref name="a"/>

==The "Aramaic" Church==

The [[Church of the East]], sometimes known as the [[Nestorian]] Church or sometimes as the [[Assyria]]n Church uses the Aramaic Language in their liturgy <ref>[http://www.cired.org/]</ref>. This is true also of the Church of the East in [[India]], also known as the Syro-Chaldean Church, though its people speak an Indian dialect and not Aramaic. The Aramaic translation of the Bible for this Church is the Peshitta, the earliest of the translations for both the Old and New Testament after the [[Greece|Greek]] [[Septuaginta]] of the Hebrew original for the Old and after the Greek original for the New. Jesus spoke Aramaic as well as Mishnaic (1st century common) Hebrew and some of his utterances in the Greek New Testament are transliterations of the Aramaic. Examples of these are Talitha Kum(i)-"Get up ,Young girl!", Eloi, Eloi, lama Shvaktani- My God, My God, why have you left Me." In the book of Revelation of the New Testament, the word "Maranatha" appears, as it does in the liturgies of the early church. Maranatha means either (according to its accent), "The Lord has come" or "O Lord, come!"

Church of the East members from the "Assyrian" group still speaking Aramaic, are dispersed to several countries since their World War l persecution and flight from Turkey - along with the Armenians. They are settled today in various countries and in the United States are found in numbers in Flint Michigan, Modesto California, and Yonkers New York.

A few modern Churches such as the [[Syro-Chaldean Church of North America]], now known as the [[Evangelical Apostolic Church of North America (Syro-Chaldean)]] derive their Apostolicity and general theological outlook from the Aramaic Church of the East though their membership is not ethnically Assyrian <ref>[http://www.eacna.org/]</ref>.

The Chaldean Catholic Church represents a part of the Church of the East which has recognized the Pope and the jurisdiction of the Western Catholio Church. This Church also uses the Aramaic language in their liturgy. These are the churches, some under the Pope and some independent (autocephalous -
"self heading") that use Aramaic as part of their liturgy nowadays - the Syrian Catholic Church, the Assyrian Church of the East (Holy Apostolic and Catholic Church of the East), the Indian Orthodox Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, the Syro-Malabar Church and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

==See Also==
*[[Semitic languages]]

*[[The Aramaic Church]]

*[[Targum]]

*[[Hebrew]] for the structure of Aramaic language as a member of the Semitic language family.

*[[Had Gadya]]

*[[Kaddish]]

*[[The Lord's Prayer]] for the Aramaic Version

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Semitic Languages]]
[[Category:Middle East]]

Old Regime

2010-04-23T03:52:35Z

Catherine: /* Society and Population */ wikify

In the [[History of France]] the '''Old Regime''' or '''Ancien Régime''' refers to the aristocratic social and political order between the 14th and 18th centuries under the [[Valois]] and [[Bourbon]] dynasties of kings. It is the prevailing political and social system in place prior to the [[French Revolution]], and it was deliberately and systematically destroyed by the Revolution.

The Old Regime was characterized by a rigid class system that reflected a hierarchical [[feudal]] order, with a strong monarch, strong Catholic Church, and strong local nobility. The Church and the nobility owned nearly all the land and the peasant farmers had no say whatever. The upper middle class (called the [[bourgeoisie]]) compsising intellectuals, lawyers and wealthy businessmen had little political power.

The term "old regime" is often applied to other countries for the traditionalism before modernization.
==Society and Population==

[[France]] in the Ancien Régime covered a territory of around 200,000 square miles, and supported 20 million people in 1700. At least 80% of the population were peasants.<ref>Pierre Goubert, ''The Ancien Regime'' (1973) pp. 2-9. There was no nationwide census before 1789 and therefore these figures are estimates. France lagged behind most of Europe in this regard; [[Spain]] and [[Sweden]] held censuses in 1717 and 1720 respectively.</ref>

France had the second largest population in Europe around 1700. [[United Kingdom|Britain]] had five or six million, [[Spain]] had eight million, and the Austrian Habsburgs had around eight million. [[Russia]] was the most populated European country at the time. France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other countries grew faster.

===Women===
Very few women held power - some queens did, as did the heads of Catholic convents. In the [[Enlightenment]] the writings of philosopher [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]] gave political program for reform of the ancien régime, founded on a reform of domestic mores. Rousseau's conception of the relations between private and public spheres is more unified than that found in modern sociology. Rousseau argued that the domestic role of women is a structural precondition for a "modern" society.<ref>Jennifer J. Popiel, "Making Mothers: The Advice Genre And The Domestic Ideal, 1760-1830," ''Journal of Family History'' 2004 29(4): 339-350</ref>
====Queens====
[[Salic law]] prohibited women from rule; however, the laws for the case of a regency, when the king was too young to govern by himself, brought the queen into the center of power. The queen could assure the passage of power from one king to another--from her late husband to her young son--while simultaneously assuring the continuity of the dynasty.

====Education for girls====
Educational aspirations were on the rise and were becoming increasingly institutionalized in order to supply the church and state with the functionaries to serve as their future administrators. Girls were schooled too, but not to assume political responsibility. Girls were ineligible for leadership positions and were generally considered to have an inferior intellect to their brothers. France had many small local schools where working-class children - both boys and girls - learned to read, the better "to know, love, and serve God." The sons and daughters of the noble and bourgeois elites, however, were given quite distinct educations: boys were sent to upper school, perhaps a university, while their sisters - if they were lucky enough to leave the house - would be sent to board at a convent with a vague curriculum. The [[Enlightenment]] challenged this model, but no real alternative presented itself for female education. Only through education at home were knowledgeable women formed, usually to the sole end of dazzling their salons.<ref> Carolyn C. Lougee, "'Noblesse,' Domesticity, and Social Reform: The Education of Girls by Fenelon and Saint-Cyr," ''History of Education Quarterly'' 1974 14(1): 87-113</ref>

===Stepfamilies===
A large proportion of children lived in broken homes or in blended families and had to cope with the presence of half-siblings and stepsiblings in the same residence. Brothers and sisters were often separated during the guardianship period and some of them were raised in different places for most of their childhood. Half-siblings and stepsiblings lived together for rather short periods of time because of their difference in age, their birth rank, or their gender. The lives of the children were closely linked to the administration of their heritage: when both their mothers and fathers were dead, another relative took charge of the guardianship and often removed the children from a stepparent's home, thus separating half-siblings.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "Coresidence of Siblings, Half-siblings, and Step-siblings in 'Ancien Regime' France." 'History of the Family'' 2000 5(3): 299-314 online at [[EBSCO]]</ref>

The experience of stepmotherhood was surrounded by negative stereotypes; the [[Cinderella]] story and many other jokes and stories made the second wife an object of ridicule. Language, theater, popular sayings, the position of the Church, and the writings of jurists all made stepmother a difficult identity to take up. However, the importance of male remarriage suggests that reconstitution of family units was a necessity and that individuals resisted negative perceptions circulating through their communities. Widowers did not hesitate to take a second wife, and they usually found quite soon a partner willing to become a stepmother. For these women, being a stepmother was not necessarily the experience of a lifetime or what defined their identity. Their experience depended greatly on factors such as the length of the union, changing family configuration, and financial dispositions taken by their husbands.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "La Maratre Dans La France D'ancien Regime: Integration Ou Marginalite?" ["The Stepmother in Ancien Régime France: Integration or Marginality?] ''Annales De Demographie Historique'' 2006 (2): 171-188 in French</ref>

By a policy adopted at the beginning of the 16th century, adulterous women during the ancien régime were sentenced to a lifetime in a convent unless pardoned by their husbands and were rarely allowed to remarry even if widowed.

==Religion==
The religious violence in 16th-century France erupted within the context of instability in municipal authority. There was normally room for tolerance of Protestantism in the community; in the early 17th century, a culture of religious coexistence existed based on the [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598), which gave the Huguenots (Protestants) considerable legal rights. There also seems to have a sort of routine tolerance in the everyday life of mixed communities, which remained almost normal as long as both churches were unable to shift back toward orthodox intransigence. Against this background, the agitation of the 1620s revealed how unmotivated the Protestants really had become, since their political fate had in fact been sealed around 1575, after the [[Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre]].
===Reformation and the Protestant Minority===
French Protestantism, which was largely [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] derived its support from the lesser nobles and trading classes. Its two main strongholds were south west France and Normandy, but even in these districts the Catholics were a majority. Protestantism in France was considered a grave threat to national unity, as the [[Huguenot]] minority felt a closer affinity with German and Dutch Calvinists than with their fellow Frenchmen. In an effort to cement their position they often allied with French enemies. The aminosity between the two sides led to the [[French Wars of Religion]] and the tragic [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]]. The religious wars ended in 1593, when the Huguenot Henry of Navarre (1553-1610), who was already effectively king of France became a Catholic and was recognised by both Catholics and Protestants as King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] (reigned 1589-1610).

The main provisions of the '''[[Edict of Nantes]]''' (1598), which Henry IV had issued as a charter of religious freedoms for the Huguenots, were as follows; first) Huguenots were allowed to hold religious services in certain towns in each province; second) They were allowed to control and fortify eight cities; third) Special courts were established to try Huguenot offenders; d)Huguenots were to have equal civil rights with the Catholics.

The military privileges were incorporated in the Edict in order to allay the fears of the minority. Over time it became clear these privileges would be open to abuse and when in 1620 the Huguenots proclaimed a constitution for the 'Republic of the Reformed Churches of France', the Prime Minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]] (1585–1642) invoked the entire powers of the state; He captured La Rochelle after a long siege in 1628. The subsequent [[Treaty of Alais]] left the Huguenots their religious freedom but revoked their military freedoms.

===Huguenots===
Montpelier was among the most important of the 66 "villes de sûreté" that the Edict of 1598 granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Tension with Paris led to a siege by the royal army in 1622. Peace terms called for the dismantling of the city's fortifications. A royal citadel was built and the university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès (1629), Protestant rule was dead and the ville de sûreté was no more.

By 1620 the Huguenots were on the defensive, and the government increasingly applied pressure. A series of small civil wars that broke out in southern France between 1610 and 1635 were long considered by historians to be regional squabbles between rival noble families. New analysis shows that these civil wars were in fact religious in nature, remnants of the French Wars of Religion that largely ended with the Edict of Nantes in 1598. Small wars in the provinces of Languedoc and Guyenne show Catholic and Calvinist groups using destruction of churches, iconoclasm, forced conversions, and the execution of heretics as weapons of choice.

Louis XIV acted more and more aggressively to force the Huguenots to convert. At first he sent missionaries to convert them, backed by a a fund to financially reward converts to Catholicism. Then he imposed penalties and closed their schools and excluded them from favorite professions. Escalating the attack, he tried to forcibly re-Catholicize the Huguenots by the employment of armed [[dragonnades]] (soldiers) to occupy and loot their houses, and finally by the revocation (Oct. 18, 1685) of the liberal [[Edict of Nantes]] of 1598. The revocation forbade Protestant services, the children were to be educated as Catholics, and emigration was prohibited. It proved disastrous to the Huguenots and costly for France. It precipitated civil bloodshed, ruined commerce, and resulted in the illegal flight from the country of about 180,000 Protestants, many of whom became intellectuals, doctors and business leaders in Britain as well as Holland, Prussia and South Africa. 4000 went to the American colonies. The English welcomed the French refugees, providing money from both government and private agencies to aid their relocation. Those Huguenots who stayed in France became Catholics and were called "new converts." Only a few Protestant villages remained in isolated areas.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', ch 24; Bertrand Van Ruymbeke, "Escape from Babylon." ''Christian History'' 2001 20(3): 38-42. Issn: 0891-9666 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] </ref>

===Gallicanism===
Louis XIV supported the [[Gallican]] cause that gave the government a greater role than the pope in choosing bishops, and gave the government the revenues when a bishopric was vacant. There would be no inquisition in France, and papal decrees could operate only after the government approved them. Louis avoided schism--he wanted more royal power over the French Church but did not want to break free of Rome. The pope likewise recognized the the "most Christian king" was a powerful ally who could not be alienated.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', 388-92</ref>

===Monasteries===
From the end of the Wars of Religion to the French Revolution, Menat, a Cluniac abbey dating back to 1107, ruled over the Sioule Valley in the northwest region of the Clermont diocese. The monks were large landholders and developed a diversified and complex set of links with their neighbors; they received seigniorial rights, provided work to the rural poor, and were in daily contact with notaries public, merchants, and surgeons. While they did not directly manage the religious life of the faithful (parish priests did that), monks did constitute a motivating force in it through their setting up of a parish clergy, providing alms and social services, and playing the role of intercessors. Until the French Revolution, the monastic community constituted a key element of the economic, social, and religious life of a local French territory under the Old Regime.
===Convents===
Communities of nuns in France on the eve of Revolution had, on average, 25 members and a median age of 48 years. Nuns were both entering the profession later and living longer than before. In general, they had little wealth. Recruitment varied from region to region and by convent lifestyle (active or contemplative, austere or opulent, lower class or middle class). The nature of male and female monasticism differed greatly in France both before and during the revolution. Convents tended to be more isolated and less centrally controlled. This made for greater diversity among them than among male monasteries.<ref>Elizabeth Rapley and Robert Rapley, "An Image of Religious Women in the 'Ancien Regime:' the 'Etats Des Religieuses' of 1790-1791." ''French History'' 1997 11(4): 387-410 </ref>
==Rural society==
In the 17th century rich peasants who had ties to the market economy provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town). Geographic mobility, directly tied to the market and the need for investment capital, was the main path to social mobility. The "stable" core of French society, town guildspeople and village laboureurs, included cases of staggering social and geographic continuity, but even this core required regular renewal. Accepting the existence of these two societies, the constant tension between them, and extensive geographic and social mobility tied to a market economy holds the key to a clearer understanding of the evolution of the social structure, economy, and even political system of early modern France. Collins (1991) argues that the [[Annales School]] paradigm underestimated the role of the market economy; failed to explain the nature of capital investment in the rural economy; and grossly exaggerated social stability.<ref>James B. Collins, "Geographic and Social Mobility in Early-Modern France." ''Journal of Social History'' 1991 24(3): 563-577. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. For the ''Annales'' interpretation see Pierre Goubert, ''The French Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century'' (1986) [http://www.amazon.com/French-Peasantry-Seventeenth-Century/dp/0521312698/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197851902&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search] </ref>

==Economy==
Two massive famines struck France between 1693 and 1710, killing over two million people. In both cases the impact of harvest failure was exacerbated by wartime demands on the food supply.<ref> Cormac Ó Gráda and Jean-Michel Chevet, "Famine and Market in 'Ancien Regime' France." ''Journal of Economic History'' 2002 62(3): 706-733 online</ref>

==Military==
The proud French army was controlled by the aristocracy, and most soldiers were peasant volunteers. There was no draft until the Revolution in 1798.

==See also==
* [[Louis XIV]]
* [[Louis XV]]
* [[Louis XVI]]
* [[French Revolution]]
==Bibliography==
* Baker, Keith, ed. ''The Political Culture of the Old Regime'' (1987), articles by leading scholars
* de Tocqueville, Alexis. ''Old Regime and the French Revolution'' (1856), classic study by leading conservative
* Doyle, William. ''Old Regime France: 1648-1788'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Old-Regime-France-1648-1788-History/dp/0198731299/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search]
* Goubert, Pierre. ''Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen'' (1972), social history from [[Annales School]]
* Jones, Colin. ''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Great-Nation-Napoleon-Penguin-History/dp/0140130934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197705067&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610 - 1774'' (1999), survey by leader of the [[Annales School]] [http://www.amazon.com/Ancien-Regime-History-France-1610/dp/0631211969/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Wars-Louis-1667-1714-Modern-Perspective/dp/0582056292/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467216&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Parker, David. ''Class and State in Ancien Régime France: The Road to Modernity?'' (1997), by a Marxist
* Wolf, John B. ''Louis XIV'' (1968), the standard scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/103250721 online edition]
===Religion===
* McManners, John. ''Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France.'' Vol. 1: ''The Clerical Establishment and Its Social Ramifications''; Vol. 2: ''The Religion of the People and the Politics of Religion''(1999)
* Van Kley, Dale. ''The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791'' (1996)
* Ward, W. R. ''Christianity under the Ancien Régime, 1648-1789'' (1999).

===Notes===

<references/>

[[Category:French Revolution]]
[[category:French History]]

Old Regime

2010-04-23T03:51:59Z

Catherine: /* Society and Population */ wikify

In the [[History of France]] the '''Old Regime''' or '''Ancien Régime''' refers to the aristocratic social and political order between the 14th and 18th centuries under the [[Valois]] and [[Bourbon]] dynasties of kings. It is the prevailing political and social system in place prior to the [[French Revolution]], and it was deliberately and systematically destroyed by the Revolution.

The Old Regime was characterized by a rigid class system that reflected a hierarchical [[feudal]] order, with a strong monarch, strong Catholic Church, and strong local nobility. The Church and the nobility owned nearly all the land and the peasant farmers had no say whatever. The upper middle class (called the [[bourgeoisie]]) compsising intellectuals, lawyers and wealthy businessmen had little political power.

The term "old regime" is often applied to other countries for the traditionalism before modernization.
==Society and Population==

France in the Ancien Régime covered a territory of around 200,000 square miles, and supported 20 million people in 1700. At least 80% of the population were peasants.<ref>Pierre Goubert, ''The Ancien Regime'' (1973) pp. 2-9. There was no nationwide census before 1789 and therefore these figures are estimates. France lagged behind most of Europe in this regard; [[Spain]] and [[Sweden]] held censuses in 1717 and 1720 respectively.</ref>

France had the second largest population in Europe around 1700. [[United Kingdom|Britain]] had five or six million, [[Spain]] had eight million, and the Austrian Habsburgs had around eight million. [[Russia]] was the most populated European country at the time. France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other countries grew faster.

===Women===
Very few women held power - some queens did, as did the heads of Catholic convents. In the [[Enlightenment]] the writings of philosopher [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]] gave political program for reform of the ancien régime, founded on a reform of domestic mores. Rousseau's conception of the relations between private and public spheres is more unified than that found in modern sociology. Rousseau argued that the domestic role of women is a structural precondition for a "modern" society.<ref>Jennifer J. Popiel, "Making Mothers: The Advice Genre And The Domestic Ideal, 1760-1830," ''Journal of Family History'' 2004 29(4): 339-350</ref>
====Queens====
[[Salic law]] prohibited women from rule; however, the laws for the case of a regency, when the king was too young to govern by himself, brought the queen into the center of power. The queen could assure the passage of power from one king to another--from her late husband to her young son--while simultaneously assuring the continuity of the dynasty.

====Education for girls====
Educational aspirations were on the rise and were becoming increasingly institutionalized in order to supply the church and state with the functionaries to serve as their future administrators. Girls were schooled too, but not to assume political responsibility. Girls were ineligible for leadership positions and were generally considered to have an inferior intellect to their brothers. France had many small local schools where working-class children - both boys and girls - learned to read, the better "to know, love, and serve God." The sons and daughters of the noble and bourgeois elites, however, were given quite distinct educations: boys were sent to upper school, perhaps a university, while their sisters - if they were lucky enough to leave the house - would be sent to board at a convent with a vague curriculum. The [[Enlightenment]] challenged this model, but no real alternative presented itself for female education. Only through education at home were knowledgeable women formed, usually to the sole end of dazzling their salons.<ref> Carolyn C. Lougee, "'Noblesse,' Domesticity, and Social Reform: The Education of Girls by Fenelon and Saint-Cyr," ''History of Education Quarterly'' 1974 14(1): 87-113</ref>

===Stepfamilies===
A large proportion of children lived in broken homes or in blended families and had to cope with the presence of half-siblings and stepsiblings in the same residence. Brothers and sisters were often separated during the guardianship period and some of them were raised in different places for most of their childhood. Half-siblings and stepsiblings lived together for rather short periods of time because of their difference in age, their birth rank, or their gender. The lives of the children were closely linked to the administration of their heritage: when both their mothers and fathers were dead, another relative took charge of the guardianship and often removed the children from a stepparent's home, thus separating half-siblings.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "Coresidence of Siblings, Half-siblings, and Step-siblings in 'Ancien Regime' France." 'History of the Family'' 2000 5(3): 299-314 online at [[EBSCO]]</ref>

The experience of stepmotherhood was surrounded by negative stereotypes; the [[Cinderella]] story and many other jokes and stories made the second wife an object of ridicule. Language, theater, popular sayings, the position of the Church, and the writings of jurists all made stepmother a difficult identity to take up. However, the importance of male remarriage suggests that reconstitution of family units was a necessity and that individuals resisted negative perceptions circulating through their communities. Widowers did not hesitate to take a second wife, and they usually found quite soon a partner willing to become a stepmother. For these women, being a stepmother was not necessarily the experience of a lifetime or what defined their identity. Their experience depended greatly on factors such as the length of the union, changing family configuration, and financial dispositions taken by their husbands.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "La Maratre Dans La France D'ancien Regime: Integration Ou Marginalite?" ["The Stepmother in Ancien Régime France: Integration or Marginality?] ''Annales De Demographie Historique'' 2006 (2): 171-188 in French</ref>

By a policy adopted at the beginning of the 16th century, adulterous women during the ancien régime were sentenced to a lifetime in a convent unless pardoned by their husbands and were rarely allowed to remarry even if widowed.

==Religion==
The religious violence in 16th-century France erupted within the context of instability in municipal authority. There was normally room for tolerance of Protestantism in the community; in the early 17th century, a culture of religious coexistence existed based on the [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598), which gave the Huguenots (Protestants) considerable legal rights. There also seems to have a sort of routine tolerance in the everyday life of mixed communities, which remained almost normal as long as both churches were unable to shift back toward orthodox intransigence. Against this background, the agitation of the 1620s revealed how unmotivated the Protestants really had become, since their political fate had in fact been sealed around 1575, after the [[Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre]].
===Reformation and the Protestant Minority===
French Protestantism, which was largely [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] derived its support from the lesser nobles and trading classes. Its two main strongholds were south west France and Normandy, but even in these districts the Catholics were a majority. Protestantism in France was considered a grave threat to national unity, as the [[Huguenot]] minority felt a closer affinity with German and Dutch Calvinists than with their fellow Frenchmen. In an effort to cement their position they often allied with French enemies. The aminosity between the two sides led to the [[French Wars of Religion]] and the tragic [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]]. The religious wars ended in 1593, when the Huguenot Henry of Navarre (1553-1610), who was already effectively king of France became a Catholic and was recognised by both Catholics and Protestants as King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] (reigned 1589-1610).

The main provisions of the '''[[Edict of Nantes]]''' (1598), which Henry IV had issued as a charter of religious freedoms for the Huguenots, were as follows; first) Huguenots were allowed to hold religious services in certain towns in each province; second) They were allowed to control and fortify eight cities; third) Special courts were established to try Huguenot offenders; d)Huguenots were to have equal civil rights with the Catholics.

The military privileges were incorporated in the Edict in order to allay the fears of the minority. Over time it became clear these privileges would be open to abuse and when in 1620 the Huguenots proclaimed a constitution for the 'Republic of the Reformed Churches of France', the Prime Minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]] (1585–1642) invoked the entire powers of the state; He captured La Rochelle after a long siege in 1628. The subsequent [[Treaty of Alais]] left the Huguenots their religious freedom but revoked their military freedoms.

===Huguenots===
Montpelier was among the most important of the 66 "villes de sûreté" that the Edict of 1598 granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Tension with Paris led to a siege by the royal army in 1622. Peace terms called for the dismantling of the city's fortifications. A royal citadel was built and the university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès (1629), Protestant rule was dead and the ville de sûreté was no more.

By 1620 the Huguenots were on the defensive, and the government increasingly applied pressure. A series of small civil wars that broke out in southern France between 1610 and 1635 were long considered by historians to be regional squabbles between rival noble families. New analysis shows that these civil wars were in fact religious in nature, remnants of the French Wars of Religion that largely ended with the Edict of Nantes in 1598. Small wars in the provinces of Languedoc and Guyenne show Catholic and Calvinist groups using destruction of churches, iconoclasm, forced conversions, and the execution of heretics as weapons of choice.

Louis XIV acted more and more aggressively to force the Huguenots to convert. At first he sent missionaries to convert them, backed by a a fund to financially reward converts to Catholicism. Then he imposed penalties and closed their schools and excluded them from favorite professions. Escalating the attack, he tried to forcibly re-Catholicize the Huguenots by the employment of armed [[dragonnades]] (soldiers) to occupy and loot their houses, and finally by the revocation (Oct. 18, 1685) of the liberal [[Edict of Nantes]] of 1598. The revocation forbade Protestant services, the children were to be educated as Catholics, and emigration was prohibited. It proved disastrous to the Huguenots and costly for France. It precipitated civil bloodshed, ruined commerce, and resulted in the illegal flight from the country of about 180,000 Protestants, many of whom became intellectuals, doctors and business leaders in Britain as well as Holland, Prussia and South Africa. 4000 went to the American colonies. The English welcomed the French refugees, providing money from both government and private agencies to aid their relocation. Those Huguenots who stayed in France became Catholics and were called "new converts." Only a few Protestant villages remained in isolated areas.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', ch 24; Bertrand Van Ruymbeke, "Escape from Babylon." ''Christian History'' 2001 20(3): 38-42. Issn: 0891-9666 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] </ref>

===Gallicanism===
Louis XIV supported the [[Gallican]] cause that gave the government a greater role than the pope in choosing bishops, and gave the government the revenues when a bishopric was vacant. There would be no inquisition in France, and papal decrees could operate only after the government approved them. Louis avoided schism--he wanted more royal power over the French Church but did not want to break free of Rome. The pope likewise recognized the the "most Christian king" was a powerful ally who could not be alienated.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', 388-92</ref>

===Monasteries===
From the end of the Wars of Religion to the French Revolution, Menat, a Cluniac abbey dating back to 1107, ruled over the Sioule Valley in the northwest region of the Clermont diocese. The monks were large landholders and developed a diversified and complex set of links with their neighbors; they received seigniorial rights, provided work to the rural poor, and were in daily contact with notaries public, merchants, and surgeons. While they did not directly manage the religious life of the faithful (parish priests did that), monks did constitute a motivating force in it through their setting up of a parish clergy, providing alms and social services, and playing the role of intercessors. Until the French Revolution, the monastic community constituted a key element of the economic, social, and religious life of a local French territory under the Old Regime.
===Convents===
Communities of nuns in France on the eve of Revolution had, on average, 25 members and a median age of 48 years. Nuns were both entering the profession later and living longer than before. In general, they had little wealth. Recruitment varied from region to region and by convent lifestyle (active or contemplative, austere or opulent, lower class or middle class). The nature of male and female monasticism differed greatly in France both before and during the revolution. Convents tended to be more isolated and less centrally controlled. This made for greater diversity among them than among male monasteries.<ref>Elizabeth Rapley and Robert Rapley, "An Image of Religious Women in the 'Ancien Regime:' the 'Etats Des Religieuses' of 1790-1791." ''French History'' 1997 11(4): 387-410 </ref>
==Rural society==
In the 17th century rich peasants who had ties to the market economy provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town). Geographic mobility, directly tied to the market and the need for investment capital, was the main path to social mobility. The "stable" core of French society, town guildspeople and village laboureurs, included cases of staggering social and geographic continuity, but even this core required regular renewal. Accepting the existence of these two societies, the constant tension between them, and extensive geographic and social mobility tied to a market economy holds the key to a clearer understanding of the evolution of the social structure, economy, and even political system of early modern France. Collins (1991) argues that the [[Annales School]] paradigm underestimated the role of the market economy; failed to explain the nature of capital investment in the rural economy; and grossly exaggerated social stability.<ref>James B. Collins, "Geographic and Social Mobility in Early-Modern France." ''Journal of Social History'' 1991 24(3): 563-577. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. For the ''Annales'' interpretation see Pierre Goubert, ''The French Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century'' (1986) [http://www.amazon.com/French-Peasantry-Seventeenth-Century/dp/0521312698/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197851902&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search] </ref>

==Economy==
Two massive famines struck France between 1693 and 1710, killing over two million people. In both cases the impact of harvest failure was exacerbated by wartime demands on the food supply.<ref> Cormac Ó Gráda and Jean-Michel Chevet, "Famine and Market in 'Ancien Regime' France." ''Journal of Economic History'' 2002 62(3): 706-733 online</ref>

==Military==
The proud French army was controlled by the aristocracy, and most soldiers were peasant volunteers. There was no draft until the Revolution in 1798.

==See also==
* [[Louis XIV]]
* [[Louis XV]]
* [[Louis XVI]]
* [[French Revolution]]
==Bibliography==
* Baker, Keith, ed. ''The Political Culture of the Old Regime'' (1987), articles by leading scholars
* de Tocqueville, Alexis. ''Old Regime and the French Revolution'' (1856), classic study by leading conservative
* Doyle, William. ''Old Regime France: 1648-1788'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Old-Regime-France-1648-1788-History/dp/0198731299/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search]
* Goubert, Pierre. ''Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen'' (1972), social history from [[Annales School]]
* Jones, Colin. ''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Great-Nation-Napoleon-Penguin-History/dp/0140130934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197705067&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610 - 1774'' (1999), survey by leader of the [[Annales School]] [http://www.amazon.com/Ancien-Regime-History-France-1610/dp/0631211969/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Wars-Louis-1667-1714-Modern-Perspective/dp/0582056292/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467216&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Parker, David. ''Class and State in Ancien Régime France: The Road to Modernity?'' (1997), by a Marxist
* Wolf, John B. ''Louis XIV'' (1968), the standard scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/103250721 online edition]
===Religion===
* McManners, John. ''Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France.'' Vol. 1: ''The Clerical Establishment and Its Social Ramifications''; Vol. 2: ''The Religion of the People and the Politics of Religion''(1999)
* Van Kley, Dale. ''The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791'' (1996)
* Ward, W. R. ''Christianity under the Ancien Régime, 1648-1789'' (1999).

===Notes===

<references/>

[[Category:French Revolution]]
[[category:French History]]

Old Regime

2010-04-23T03:48:56Z

Catherine: /* Society and Population */ typo

In the [[History of France]] the '''Old Regime''' or '''Ancien Régime''' refers to the aristocratic social and political order between the 14th and 18th centuries under the [[Valois]] and [[Bourbon]] dynasties of kings. It is the prevailing political and social system in place prior to the [[French Revolution]], and it was deliberately and systematically destroyed by the Revolution.

The Old Regime was characterized by a rigid class system that reflected a hierarchical [[feudal]] order, with a strong monarch, strong Catholic Church, and strong local nobility. The Church and the nobility owned nearly all the land and the peasant farmers had no say whatever. The upper middle class (called the [[bourgeoisie]]) compsising intellectuals, lawyers and wealthy businessmen had little political power.

The term "old regime" is often applied to other countries for the traditionalism before modernization.
==Society and Population==

France in the Ancien Régime covered a territory of around 200,000 square miles, and supported 20 million people in 1700. At least 80% of the population were peasants.<ref>Pierre Goubert, ''The Ancien Regime'' (1973) pp. 2-9. There was no nationwide census before 1789 and therefore these figures are estimates. France lagged behind most of Europe in this regard; Spain and Sweden held censuses in 1717 and 1720 respectively.</ref>

France had the second largest population in Europe around 1700. Britain had five or six million, Spain had eight million, and the Austrian Habsburgs had around eight million. Russia was the most populated European country at the time. France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other countries grew faster.

===Women===
Very few women held power - some queens did, as did the heads of Catholic convents. In the [[Enlightenment]] the writings of philosopher [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]] gave political program for reform of the ancien régime, founded on a reform of domestic mores. Rousseau's conception of the relations between private and public spheres is more unified than that found in modern sociology. Rousseau argued that the domestic role of women is a structural precondition for a "modern" society.<ref>Jennifer J. Popiel, "Making Mothers: The Advice Genre And The Domestic Ideal, 1760-1830," ''Journal of Family History'' 2004 29(4): 339-350</ref>
====Queens====
[[Salic law]] prohibited women from rule; however, the laws for the case of a regency, when the king was too young to govern by himself, brought the queen into the center of power. The queen could assure the passage of power from one king to another--from her late husband to her young son--while simultaneously assuring the continuity of the dynasty.

====Education for girls====
Educational aspirations were on the rise and were becoming increasingly institutionalized in order to supply the church and state with the functionaries to serve as their future administrators. Girls were schooled too, but not to assume political responsibility. Girls were ineligible for leadership positions and were generally considered to have an inferior intellect to their brothers. France had many small local schools where working-class children - both boys and girls - learned to read, the better "to know, love, and serve God." The sons and daughters of the noble and bourgeois elites, however, were given quite distinct educations: boys were sent to upper school, perhaps a university, while their sisters - if they were lucky enough to leave the house - would be sent to board at a convent with a vague curriculum. The [[Enlightenment]] challenged this model, but no real alternative presented itself for female education. Only through education at home were knowledgeable women formed, usually to the sole end of dazzling their salons.<ref> Carolyn C. Lougee, "'Noblesse,' Domesticity, and Social Reform: The Education of Girls by Fenelon and Saint-Cyr," ''History of Education Quarterly'' 1974 14(1): 87-113</ref>

===Stepfamilies===
A large proportion of children lived in broken homes or in blended families and had to cope with the presence of half-siblings and stepsiblings in the same residence. Brothers and sisters were often separated during the guardianship period and some of them were raised in different places for most of their childhood. Half-siblings and stepsiblings lived together for rather short periods of time because of their difference in age, their birth rank, or their gender. The lives of the children were closely linked to the administration of their heritage: when both their mothers and fathers were dead, another relative took charge of the guardianship and often removed the children from a stepparent's home, thus separating half-siblings.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "Coresidence of Siblings, Half-siblings, and Step-siblings in 'Ancien Regime' France." 'History of the Family'' 2000 5(3): 299-314 online at [[EBSCO]]</ref>

The experience of stepmotherhood was surrounded by negative stereotypes; the [[Cinderella]] story and many other jokes and stories made the second wife an object of ridicule. Language, theater, popular sayings, the position of the Church, and the writings of jurists all made stepmother a difficult identity to take up. However, the importance of male remarriage suggests that reconstitution of family units was a necessity and that individuals resisted negative perceptions circulating through their communities. Widowers did not hesitate to take a second wife, and they usually found quite soon a partner willing to become a stepmother. For these women, being a stepmother was not necessarily the experience of a lifetime or what defined their identity. Their experience depended greatly on factors such as the length of the union, changing family configuration, and financial dispositions taken by their husbands.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "La Maratre Dans La France D'ancien Regime: Integration Ou Marginalite?" ["The Stepmother in Ancien Régime France: Integration or Marginality?] ''Annales De Demographie Historique'' 2006 (2): 171-188 in French</ref>

By a policy adopted at the beginning of the 16th century, adulterous women during the ancien régime were sentenced to a lifetime in a convent unless pardoned by their husbands and were rarely allowed to remarry even if widowed.

==Religion==
The religious violence in 16th-century France erupted within the context of instability in municipal authority. There was normally room for tolerance of Protestantism in the community; in the early 17th century, a culture of religious coexistence existed based on the [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598), which gave the Huguenots (Protestants) considerable legal rights. There also seems to have a sort of routine tolerance in the everyday life of mixed communities, which remained almost normal as long as both churches were unable to shift back toward orthodox intransigence. Against this background, the agitation of the 1620s revealed how unmotivated the Protestants really had become, since their political fate had in fact been sealed around 1575, after the [[Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre]].
===Reformation and the Protestant Minority===
French Protestantism, which was largely [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] derived its support from the lesser nobles and trading classes. Its two main strongholds were south west France and Normandy, but even in these districts the Catholics were a majority. Protestantism in France was considered a grave threat to national unity, as the [[Huguenot]] minority felt a closer affinity with German and Dutch Calvinists than with their fellow Frenchmen. In an effort to cement their position they often allied with French enemies. The aminosity between the two sides led to the [[French Wars of Religion]] and the tragic [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]]. The religious wars ended in 1593, when the Huguenot Henry of Navarre (1553-1610), who was already effectively king of France became a Catholic and was recognised by both Catholics and Protestants as King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] (reigned 1589-1610).

The main provisions of the '''[[Edict of Nantes]]''' (1598), which Henry IV had issued as a charter of religious freedoms for the Huguenots, were as follows; first) Huguenots were allowed to hold religious services in certain towns in each province; second) They were allowed to control and fortify eight cities; third) Special courts were established to try Huguenot offenders; d)Huguenots were to have equal civil rights with the Catholics.

The military privileges were incorporated in the Edict in order to allay the fears of the minority. Over time it became clear these privileges would be open to abuse and when in 1620 the Huguenots proclaimed a constitution for the 'Republic of the Reformed Churches of France', the Prime Minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]] (1585–1642) invoked the entire powers of the state; He captured La Rochelle after a long siege in 1628. The subsequent [[Treaty of Alais]] left the Huguenots their religious freedom but revoked their military freedoms.

===Huguenots===
Montpelier was among the most important of the 66 "villes de sûreté" that the Edict of 1598 granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Tension with Paris led to a siege by the royal army in 1622. Peace terms called for the dismantling of the city's fortifications. A royal citadel was built and the university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès (1629), Protestant rule was dead and the ville de sûreté was no more.

By 1620 the Huguenots were on the defensive, and the government increasingly applied pressure. A series of small civil wars that broke out in southern France between 1610 and 1635 were long considered by historians to be regional squabbles between rival noble families. New analysis shows that these civil wars were in fact religious in nature, remnants of the French Wars of Religion that largely ended with the Edict of Nantes in 1598. Small wars in the provinces of Languedoc and Guyenne show Catholic and Calvinist groups using destruction of churches, iconoclasm, forced conversions, and the execution of heretics as weapons of choice.

Louis XIV acted more and more aggressively to force the Huguenots to convert. At first he sent missionaries to convert them, backed by a a fund to financially reward converts to Catholicism. Then he imposed penalties and closed their schools and excluded them from favorite professions. Escalating the attack, he tried to forcibly re-Catholicize the Huguenots by the employment of armed [[dragonnades]] (soldiers) to occupy and loot their houses, and finally by the revocation (Oct. 18, 1685) of the liberal [[Edict of Nantes]] of 1598. The revocation forbade Protestant services, the children were to be educated as Catholics, and emigration was prohibited. It proved disastrous to the Huguenots and costly for France. It precipitated civil bloodshed, ruined commerce, and resulted in the illegal flight from the country of about 180,000 Protestants, many of whom became intellectuals, doctors and business leaders in Britain as well as Holland, Prussia and South Africa. 4000 went to the American colonies. The English welcomed the French refugees, providing money from both government and private agencies to aid their relocation. Those Huguenots who stayed in France became Catholics and were called "new converts." Only a few Protestant villages remained in isolated areas.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', ch 24; Bertrand Van Ruymbeke, "Escape from Babylon." ''Christian History'' 2001 20(3): 38-42. Issn: 0891-9666 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] </ref>

===Gallicanism===
Louis XIV supported the [[Gallican]] cause that gave the government a greater role than the pope in choosing bishops, and gave the government the revenues when a bishopric was vacant. There would be no inquisition in France, and papal decrees could operate only after the government approved them. Louis avoided schism--he wanted more royal power over the French Church but did not want to break free of Rome. The pope likewise recognized the the "most Christian king" was a powerful ally who could not be alienated.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', 388-92</ref>

===Monasteries===
From the end of the Wars of Religion to the French Revolution, Menat, a Cluniac abbey dating back to 1107, ruled over the Sioule Valley in the northwest region of the Clermont diocese. The monks were large landholders and developed a diversified and complex set of links with their neighbors; they received seigniorial rights, provided work to the rural poor, and were in daily contact with notaries public, merchants, and surgeons. While they did not directly manage the religious life of the faithful (parish priests did that), monks did constitute a motivating force in it through their setting up of a parish clergy, providing alms and social services, and playing the role of intercessors. Until the French Revolution, the monastic community constituted a key element of the economic, social, and religious life of a local French territory under the Old Regime.
===Convents===
Communities of nuns in France on the eve of Revolution had, on average, 25 members and a median age of 48 years. Nuns were both entering the profession later and living longer than before. In general, they had little wealth. Recruitment varied from region to region and by convent lifestyle (active or contemplative, austere or opulent, lower class or middle class). The nature of male and female monasticism differed greatly in France both before and during the revolution. Convents tended to be more isolated and less centrally controlled. This made for greater diversity among them than among male monasteries.<ref>Elizabeth Rapley and Robert Rapley, "An Image of Religious Women in the 'Ancien Regime:' the 'Etats Des Religieuses' of 1790-1791." ''French History'' 1997 11(4): 387-410 </ref>
==Rural society==
In the 17th century rich peasants who had ties to the market economy provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town). Geographic mobility, directly tied to the market and the need for investment capital, was the main path to social mobility. The "stable" core of French society, town guildspeople and village laboureurs, included cases of staggering social and geographic continuity, but even this core required regular renewal. Accepting the existence of these two societies, the constant tension between them, and extensive geographic and social mobility tied to a market economy holds the key to a clearer understanding of the evolution of the social structure, economy, and even political system of early modern France. Collins (1991) argues that the [[Annales School]] paradigm underestimated the role of the market economy; failed to explain the nature of capital investment in the rural economy; and grossly exaggerated social stability.<ref>James B. Collins, "Geographic and Social Mobility in Early-Modern France." ''Journal of Social History'' 1991 24(3): 563-577. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. For the ''Annales'' interpretation see Pierre Goubert, ''The French Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century'' (1986) [http://www.amazon.com/French-Peasantry-Seventeenth-Century/dp/0521312698/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197851902&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search] </ref>

==Economy==
Two massive famines struck France between 1693 and 1710, killing over two million people. In both cases the impact of harvest failure was exacerbated by wartime demands on the food supply.<ref> Cormac Ó Gráda and Jean-Michel Chevet, "Famine and Market in 'Ancien Regime' France." ''Journal of Economic History'' 2002 62(3): 706-733 online</ref>

==Military==
The proud French army was controlled by the aristocracy, and most soldiers were peasant volunteers. There was no draft until the Revolution in 1798.

==See also==
* [[Louis XIV]]
* [[Louis XV]]
* [[Louis XVI]]
* [[French Revolution]]
==Bibliography==
* Baker, Keith, ed. ''The Political Culture of the Old Regime'' (1987), articles by leading scholars
* de Tocqueville, Alexis. ''Old Regime and the French Revolution'' (1856), classic study by leading conservative
* Doyle, William. ''Old Regime France: 1648-1788'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Old-Regime-France-1648-1788-History/dp/0198731299/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search]
* Goubert, Pierre. ''Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen'' (1972), social history from [[Annales School]]
* Jones, Colin. ''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Great-Nation-Napoleon-Penguin-History/dp/0140130934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197705067&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610 - 1774'' (1999), survey by leader of the [[Annales School]] [http://www.amazon.com/Ancien-Regime-History-France-1610/dp/0631211969/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Wars-Louis-1667-1714-Modern-Perspective/dp/0582056292/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467216&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Parker, David. ''Class and State in Ancien Régime France: The Road to Modernity?'' (1997), by a Marxist
* Wolf, John B. ''Louis XIV'' (1968), the standard scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/103250721 online edition]
===Religion===
* McManners, John. ''Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France.'' Vol. 1: ''The Clerical Establishment and Its Social Ramifications''; Vol. 2: ''The Religion of the People and the Politics of Religion''(1999)
* Van Kley, Dale. ''The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791'' (1996)
* Ward, W. R. ''Christianity under the Ancien Régime, 1648-1789'' (1999).

===Notes===

<references/>

[[Category:French Revolution]]
[[category:French History]]

Old Regime

2010-04-23T03:47:25Z

Catherine: /* Queens */ wikilink

In the [[History of France]] the '''Old Regime''' or '''Ancien Régime''' refers to the aristocratic social and political order between the 14th and 18th centuries under the [[Valois]] and [[Bourbon]] dynasties of kings. It is the prevailing political and social system in place prior to the [[French Revolution]], and it was deliberately and systematically destroyed by the Revolution.

The Old Regime was characterized by a rigid class system that reflected a hierarchical [[feudal]] order, with a strong monarch, strong Catholic Church, and strong local nobility. The Church and the nobility owned nearly all the land and the peasant farmers had no say whatever. The upper middle class (called the [[bourgeoisie]]) compsising intellectuals, lawyers and wealthy businessmen had little political power.

The term "old regime" is often applied to other countries for the traditionalism before modernization.
==Society and Population==

France in the Ancien Régime covered a territory of around 200,000 square miles, and supported 20 million people in 1700. At least 80% of the population were peasants.<ref>Pierre Goubert, ''The Ancien Regime'' (1973) pp. 2-9. There was no nationwide census before 1789 and therefore these figures are estimates. France lagged behind most of Europe in this regard; Spain and Sweden held censuses in 1717 and 1720 respectively.</ref>

France had the second largest population in Europe around 1700. Britain had five or six million, Spain had eight million, and the Austrian Habsburgs had around eight million. Russia was the most populated European country at the time. France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other counbtries grew faster.

===Women===
Very few women held power - some queens did, as did the heads of Catholic convents. In the [[Enlightenment]] the writings of philosopher [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]] gave political program for reform of the ancien régime, founded on a reform of domestic mores. Rousseau's conception of the relations between private and public spheres is more unified than that found in modern sociology. Rousseau argued that the domestic role of women is a structural precondition for a "modern" society.<ref>Jennifer J. Popiel, "Making Mothers: The Advice Genre And The Domestic Ideal, 1760-1830," ''Journal of Family History'' 2004 29(4): 339-350</ref>
====Queens====
[[Salic law]] prohibited women from rule; however, the laws for the case of a regency, when the king was too young to govern by himself, brought the queen into the center of power. The queen could assure the passage of power from one king to another--from her late husband to her young son--while simultaneously assuring the continuity of the dynasty.

====Education for girls====
Educational aspirations were on the rise and were becoming increasingly institutionalized in order to supply the church and state with the functionaries to serve as their future administrators. Girls were schooled too, but not to assume political responsibility. Girls were ineligible for leadership positions and were generally considered to have an inferior intellect to their brothers. France had many small local schools where working-class children - both boys and girls - learned to read, the better "to know, love, and serve God." The sons and daughters of the noble and bourgeois elites, however, were given quite distinct educations: boys were sent to upper school, perhaps a university, while their sisters - if they were lucky enough to leave the house - would be sent to board at a convent with a vague curriculum. The [[Enlightenment]] challenged this model, but no real alternative presented itself for female education. Only through education at home were knowledgeable women formed, usually to the sole end of dazzling their salons.<ref> Carolyn C. Lougee, "'Noblesse,' Domesticity, and Social Reform: The Education of Girls by Fenelon and Saint-Cyr," ''History of Education Quarterly'' 1974 14(1): 87-113</ref>

===Stepfamilies===
A large proportion of children lived in broken homes or in blended families and had to cope with the presence of half-siblings and stepsiblings in the same residence. Brothers and sisters were often separated during the guardianship period and some of them were raised in different places for most of their childhood. Half-siblings and stepsiblings lived together for rather short periods of time because of their difference in age, their birth rank, or their gender. The lives of the children were closely linked to the administration of their heritage: when both their mothers and fathers were dead, another relative took charge of the guardianship and often removed the children from a stepparent's home, thus separating half-siblings.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "Coresidence of Siblings, Half-siblings, and Step-siblings in 'Ancien Regime' France." 'History of the Family'' 2000 5(3): 299-314 online at [[EBSCO]]</ref>

The experience of stepmotherhood was surrounded by negative stereotypes; the [[Cinderella]] story and many other jokes and stories made the second wife an object of ridicule. Language, theater, popular sayings, the position of the Church, and the writings of jurists all made stepmother a difficult identity to take up. However, the importance of male remarriage suggests that reconstitution of family units was a necessity and that individuals resisted negative perceptions circulating through their communities. Widowers did not hesitate to take a second wife, and they usually found quite soon a partner willing to become a stepmother. For these women, being a stepmother was not necessarily the experience of a lifetime or what defined their identity. Their experience depended greatly on factors such as the length of the union, changing family configuration, and financial dispositions taken by their husbands.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "La Maratre Dans La France D'ancien Regime: Integration Ou Marginalite?" ["The Stepmother in Ancien Régime France: Integration or Marginality?] ''Annales De Demographie Historique'' 2006 (2): 171-188 in French</ref>

By a policy adopted at the beginning of the 16th century, adulterous women during the ancien régime were sentenced to a lifetime in a convent unless pardoned by their husbands and were rarely allowed to remarry even if widowed.

==Religion==
The religious violence in 16th-century France erupted within the context of instability in municipal authority. There was normally room for tolerance of Protestantism in the community; in the early 17th century, a culture of religious coexistence existed based on the [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598), which gave the Huguenots (Protestants) considerable legal rights. There also seems to have a sort of routine tolerance in the everyday life of mixed communities, which remained almost normal as long as both churches were unable to shift back toward orthodox intransigence. Against this background, the agitation of the 1620s revealed how unmotivated the Protestants really had become, since their political fate had in fact been sealed around 1575, after the [[Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre]].
===Reformation and the Protestant Minority===
French Protestantism, which was largely [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] derived its support from the lesser nobles and trading classes. Its two main strongholds were south west France and Normandy, but even in these districts the Catholics were a majority. Protestantism in France was considered a grave threat to national unity, as the [[Huguenot]] minority felt a closer affinity with German and Dutch Calvinists than with their fellow Frenchmen. In an effort to cement their position they often allied with French enemies. The aminosity between the two sides led to the [[French Wars of Religion]] and the tragic [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]]. The religious wars ended in 1593, when the Huguenot Henry of Navarre (1553-1610), who was already effectively king of France became a Catholic and was recognised by both Catholics and Protestants as King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] (reigned 1589-1610).

The main provisions of the '''[[Edict of Nantes]]''' (1598), which Henry IV had issued as a charter of religious freedoms for the Huguenots, were as follows; first) Huguenots were allowed to hold religious services in certain towns in each province; second) They were allowed to control and fortify eight cities; third) Special courts were established to try Huguenot offenders; d)Huguenots were to have equal civil rights with the Catholics.

The military privileges were incorporated in the Edict in order to allay the fears of the minority. Over time it became clear these privileges would be open to abuse and when in 1620 the Huguenots proclaimed a constitution for the 'Republic of the Reformed Churches of France', the Prime Minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]] (1585–1642) invoked the entire powers of the state; He captured La Rochelle after a long siege in 1628. The subsequent [[Treaty of Alais]] left the Huguenots their religious freedom but revoked their military freedoms.

===Huguenots===
Montpelier was among the most important of the 66 "villes de sûreté" that the Edict of 1598 granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Tension with Paris led to a siege by the royal army in 1622. Peace terms called for the dismantling of the city's fortifications. A royal citadel was built and the university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès (1629), Protestant rule was dead and the ville de sûreté was no more.

By 1620 the Huguenots were on the defensive, and the government increasingly applied pressure. A series of small civil wars that broke out in southern France between 1610 and 1635 were long considered by historians to be regional squabbles between rival noble families. New analysis shows that these civil wars were in fact religious in nature, remnants of the French Wars of Religion that largely ended with the Edict of Nantes in 1598. Small wars in the provinces of Languedoc and Guyenne show Catholic and Calvinist groups using destruction of churches, iconoclasm, forced conversions, and the execution of heretics as weapons of choice.

Louis XIV acted more and more aggressively to force the Huguenots to convert. At first he sent missionaries to convert them, backed by a a fund to financially reward converts to Catholicism. Then he imposed penalties and closed their schools and excluded them from favorite professions. Escalating the attack, he tried to forcibly re-Catholicize the Huguenots by the employment of armed [[dragonnades]] (soldiers) to occupy and loot their houses, and finally by the revocation (Oct. 18, 1685) of the liberal [[Edict of Nantes]] of 1598. The revocation forbade Protestant services, the children were to be educated as Catholics, and emigration was prohibited. It proved disastrous to the Huguenots and costly for France. It precipitated civil bloodshed, ruined commerce, and resulted in the illegal flight from the country of about 180,000 Protestants, many of whom became intellectuals, doctors and business leaders in Britain as well as Holland, Prussia and South Africa. 4000 went to the American colonies. The English welcomed the French refugees, providing money from both government and private agencies to aid their relocation. Those Huguenots who stayed in France became Catholics and were called "new converts." Only a few Protestant villages remained in isolated areas.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', ch 24; Bertrand Van Ruymbeke, "Escape from Babylon." ''Christian History'' 2001 20(3): 38-42. Issn: 0891-9666 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] </ref>

===Gallicanism===
Louis XIV supported the [[Gallican]] cause that gave the government a greater role than the pope in choosing bishops, and gave the government the revenues when a bishopric was vacant. There would be no inquisition in France, and papal decrees could operate only after the government approved them. Louis avoided schism--he wanted more royal power over the French Church but did not want to break free of Rome. The pope likewise recognized the the "most Christian king" was a powerful ally who could not be alienated.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', 388-92</ref>

===Monasteries===
From the end of the Wars of Religion to the French Revolution, Menat, a Cluniac abbey dating back to 1107, ruled over the Sioule Valley in the northwest region of the Clermont diocese. The monks were large landholders and developed a diversified and complex set of links with their neighbors; they received seigniorial rights, provided work to the rural poor, and were in daily contact with notaries public, merchants, and surgeons. While they did not directly manage the religious life of the faithful (parish priests did that), monks did constitute a motivating force in it through their setting up of a parish clergy, providing alms and social services, and playing the role of intercessors. Until the French Revolution, the monastic community constituted a key element of the economic, social, and religious life of a local French territory under the Old Regime.
===Convents===
Communities of nuns in France on the eve of Revolution had, on average, 25 members and a median age of 48 years. Nuns were both entering the profession later and living longer than before. In general, they had little wealth. Recruitment varied from region to region and by convent lifestyle (active or contemplative, austere or opulent, lower class or middle class). The nature of male and female monasticism differed greatly in France both before and during the revolution. Convents tended to be more isolated and less centrally controlled. This made for greater diversity among them than among male monasteries.<ref>Elizabeth Rapley and Robert Rapley, "An Image of Religious Women in the 'Ancien Regime:' the 'Etats Des Religieuses' of 1790-1791." ''French History'' 1997 11(4): 387-410 </ref>
==Rural society==
In the 17th century rich peasants who had ties to the market economy provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town). Geographic mobility, directly tied to the market and the need for investment capital, was the main path to social mobility. The "stable" core of French society, town guildspeople and village laboureurs, included cases of staggering social and geographic continuity, but even this core required regular renewal. Accepting the existence of these two societies, the constant tension between them, and extensive geographic and social mobility tied to a market economy holds the key to a clearer understanding of the evolution of the social structure, economy, and even political system of early modern France. Collins (1991) argues that the [[Annales School]] paradigm underestimated the role of the market economy; failed to explain the nature of capital investment in the rural economy; and grossly exaggerated social stability.<ref>James B. Collins, "Geographic and Social Mobility in Early-Modern France." ''Journal of Social History'' 1991 24(3): 563-577. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. For the ''Annales'' interpretation see Pierre Goubert, ''The French Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century'' (1986) [http://www.amazon.com/French-Peasantry-Seventeenth-Century/dp/0521312698/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197851902&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search] </ref>

==Economy==
Two massive famines struck France between 1693 and 1710, killing over two million people. In both cases the impact of harvest failure was exacerbated by wartime demands on the food supply.<ref> Cormac Ó Gráda and Jean-Michel Chevet, "Famine and Market in 'Ancien Regime' France." ''Journal of Economic History'' 2002 62(3): 706-733 online</ref>

==Military==
The proud French army was controlled by the aristocracy, and most soldiers were peasant volunteers. There was no draft until the Revolution in 1798.

==See also==
* [[Louis XIV]]
* [[Louis XV]]
* [[Louis XVI]]
* [[French Revolution]]
==Bibliography==
* Baker, Keith, ed. ''The Political Culture of the Old Regime'' (1987), articles by leading scholars
* de Tocqueville, Alexis. ''Old Regime and the French Revolution'' (1856), classic study by leading conservative
* Doyle, William. ''Old Regime France: 1648-1788'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Old-Regime-France-1648-1788-History/dp/0198731299/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search]
* Goubert, Pierre. ''Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen'' (1972), social history from [[Annales School]]
* Jones, Colin. ''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Great-Nation-Napoleon-Penguin-History/dp/0140130934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197705067&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610 - 1774'' (1999), survey by leader of the [[Annales School]] [http://www.amazon.com/Ancien-Regime-History-France-1610/dp/0631211969/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Wars-Louis-1667-1714-Modern-Perspective/dp/0582056292/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467216&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Parker, David. ''Class and State in Ancien Régime France: The Road to Modernity?'' (1997), by a Marxist
* Wolf, John B. ''Louis XIV'' (1968), the standard scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/103250721 online edition]
===Religion===
* McManners, John. ''Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France.'' Vol. 1: ''The Clerical Establishment and Its Social Ramifications''; Vol. 2: ''The Religion of the People and the Politics of Religion''(1999)
* Van Kley, Dale. ''The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791'' (1996)
* Ward, W. R. ''Christianity under the Ancien Régime, 1648-1789'' (1999).

===Notes===

<references/>

[[Category:French Revolution]]
[[category:French History]]

Old Regime

2010-04-23T03:46:48Z

Catherine: /* Women */ grammar

In the [[History of France]] the '''Old Regime''' or '''Ancien Régime''' refers to the aristocratic social and political order between the 14th and 18th centuries under the [[Valois]] and [[Bourbon]] dynasties of kings. It is the prevailing political and social system in place prior to the [[French Revolution]], and it was deliberately and systematically destroyed by the Revolution.

The Old Regime was characterized by a rigid class system that reflected a hierarchical [[feudal]] order, with a strong monarch, strong Catholic Church, and strong local nobility. The Church and the nobility owned nearly all the land and the peasant farmers had no say whatever. The upper middle class (called the [[bourgeoisie]]) compsising intellectuals, lawyers and wealthy businessmen had little political power.

The term "old regime" is often applied to other countries for the traditionalism before modernization.
==Society and Population==

France in the Ancien Régime covered a territory of around 200,000 square miles, and supported 20 million people in 1700. At least 80% of the population were peasants.<ref>Pierre Goubert, ''The Ancien Regime'' (1973) pp. 2-9. There was no nationwide census before 1789 and therefore these figures are estimates. France lagged behind most of Europe in this regard; Spain and Sweden held censuses in 1717 and 1720 respectively.</ref>

France had the second largest population in Europe around 1700. Britain had five or six million, Spain had eight million, and the Austrian Habsburgs had around eight million. Russia was the most populated European country at the time. France's lead slowly faded after 1700, as other counbtries grew faster.

===Women===
Very few women held power - some queens did, as did the heads of Catholic convents. In the [[Enlightenment]] the writings of philosopher [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]] gave political program for reform of the ancien régime, founded on a reform of domestic mores. Rousseau's conception of the relations between private and public spheres is more unified than that found in modern sociology. Rousseau argued that the domestic role of women is a structural precondition for a "modern" society.<ref>Jennifer J. Popiel, "Making Mothers: The Advice Genre And The Domestic Ideal, 1760-1830," ''Journal of Family History'' 2004 29(4): 339-350</ref>
====Queens====
Salic law prohibited women from rule; however, the laws for the case of a regency, when the king was too young to govern by himself, brought the queen into the center of power. The queen could assure the passage of power from one king to another--from her late husband to her young son--while simultaneously assuring the continuity of the dynasty.
====Education for girls====
Educational aspirations were on the rise and were becoming increasingly institutionalized in order to supply the church and state with the functionaries to serve as their future administrators. Girls were schooled too, but not to assume political responsibility. Girls were ineligible for leadership positions and were generally considered to have an inferior intellect to their brothers. France had many small local schools where working-class children - both boys and girls - learned to read, the better "to know, love, and serve God." The sons and daughters of the noble and bourgeois elites, however, were given quite distinct educations: boys were sent to upper school, perhaps a university, while their sisters - if they were lucky enough to leave the house - would be sent to board at a convent with a vague curriculum. The [[Enlightenment]] challenged this model, but no real alternative presented itself for female education. Only through education at home were knowledgeable women formed, usually to the sole end of dazzling their salons.<ref> Carolyn C. Lougee, "'Noblesse,' Domesticity, and Social Reform: The Education of Girls by Fenelon and Saint-Cyr," ''History of Education Quarterly'' 1974 14(1): 87-113</ref>

===Stepfamilies===
A large proportion of children lived in broken homes or in blended families and had to cope with the presence of half-siblings and stepsiblings in the same residence. Brothers and sisters were often separated during the guardianship period and some of them were raised in different places for most of their childhood. Half-siblings and stepsiblings lived together for rather short periods of time because of their difference in age, their birth rank, or their gender. The lives of the children were closely linked to the administration of their heritage: when both their mothers and fathers were dead, another relative took charge of the guardianship and often removed the children from a stepparent's home, thus separating half-siblings.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "Coresidence of Siblings, Half-siblings, and Step-siblings in 'Ancien Regime' France." 'History of the Family'' 2000 5(3): 299-314 online at [[EBSCO]]</ref>

The experience of stepmotherhood was surrounded by negative stereotypes; the [[Cinderella]] story and many other jokes and stories made the second wife an object of ridicule. Language, theater, popular sayings, the position of the Church, and the writings of jurists all made stepmother a difficult identity to take up. However, the importance of male remarriage suggests that reconstitution of family units was a necessity and that individuals resisted negative perceptions circulating through their communities. Widowers did not hesitate to take a second wife, and they usually found quite soon a partner willing to become a stepmother. For these women, being a stepmother was not necessarily the experience of a lifetime or what defined their identity. Their experience depended greatly on factors such as the length of the union, changing family configuration, and financial dispositions taken by their husbands.<ref>Sylvie Perrier, "La Maratre Dans La France D'ancien Regime: Integration Ou Marginalite?" ["The Stepmother in Ancien Régime France: Integration or Marginality?] ''Annales De Demographie Historique'' 2006 (2): 171-188 in French</ref>

By a policy adopted at the beginning of the 16th century, adulterous women during the ancien régime were sentenced to a lifetime in a convent unless pardoned by their husbands and were rarely allowed to remarry even if widowed.

==Religion==
The religious violence in 16th-century France erupted within the context of instability in municipal authority. There was normally room for tolerance of Protestantism in the community; in the early 17th century, a culture of religious coexistence existed based on the [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598), which gave the Huguenots (Protestants) considerable legal rights. There also seems to have a sort of routine tolerance in the everyday life of mixed communities, which remained almost normal as long as both churches were unable to shift back toward orthodox intransigence. Against this background, the agitation of the 1620s revealed how unmotivated the Protestants really had become, since their political fate had in fact been sealed around 1575, after the [[Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre]].
===Reformation and the Protestant Minority===
French Protestantism, which was largely [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] derived its support from the lesser nobles and trading classes. Its two main strongholds were south west France and Normandy, but even in these districts the Catholics were a majority. Protestantism in France was considered a grave threat to national unity, as the [[Huguenot]] minority felt a closer affinity with German and Dutch Calvinists than with their fellow Frenchmen. In an effort to cement their position they often allied with French enemies. The aminosity between the two sides led to the [[French Wars of Religion]] and the tragic [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]]. The religious wars ended in 1593, when the Huguenot Henry of Navarre (1553-1610), who was already effectively king of France became a Catholic and was recognised by both Catholics and Protestants as King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] (reigned 1589-1610).

The main provisions of the '''[[Edict of Nantes]]''' (1598), which Henry IV had issued as a charter of religious freedoms for the Huguenots, were as follows; first) Huguenots were allowed to hold religious services in certain towns in each province; second) They were allowed to control and fortify eight cities; third) Special courts were established to try Huguenot offenders; d)Huguenots were to have equal civil rights with the Catholics.

The military privileges were incorporated in the Edict in order to allay the fears of the minority. Over time it became clear these privileges would be open to abuse and when in 1620 the Huguenots proclaimed a constitution for the 'Republic of the Reformed Churches of France', the Prime Minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]] (1585–1642) invoked the entire powers of the state; He captured La Rochelle after a long siege in 1628. The subsequent [[Treaty of Alais]] left the Huguenots their religious freedom but revoked their military freedoms.

===Huguenots===
Montpelier was among the most important of the 66 "villes de sûreté" that the Edict of 1598 granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Tension with Paris led to a siege by the royal army in 1622. Peace terms called for the dismantling of the city's fortifications. A royal citadel was built and the university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès (1629), Protestant rule was dead and the ville de sûreté was no more.

By 1620 the Huguenots were on the defensive, and the government increasingly applied pressure. A series of small civil wars that broke out in southern France between 1610 and 1635 were long considered by historians to be regional squabbles between rival noble families. New analysis shows that these civil wars were in fact religious in nature, remnants of the French Wars of Religion that largely ended with the Edict of Nantes in 1598. Small wars in the provinces of Languedoc and Guyenne show Catholic and Calvinist groups using destruction of churches, iconoclasm, forced conversions, and the execution of heretics as weapons of choice.

Louis XIV acted more and more aggressively to force the Huguenots to convert. At first he sent missionaries to convert them, backed by a a fund to financially reward converts to Catholicism. Then he imposed penalties and closed their schools and excluded them from favorite professions. Escalating the attack, he tried to forcibly re-Catholicize the Huguenots by the employment of armed [[dragonnades]] (soldiers) to occupy and loot their houses, and finally by the revocation (Oct. 18, 1685) of the liberal [[Edict of Nantes]] of 1598. The revocation forbade Protestant services, the children were to be educated as Catholics, and emigration was prohibited. It proved disastrous to the Huguenots and costly for France. It precipitated civil bloodshed, ruined commerce, and resulted in the illegal flight from the country of about 180,000 Protestants, many of whom became intellectuals, doctors and business leaders in Britain as well as Holland, Prussia and South Africa. 4000 went to the American colonies. The English welcomed the French refugees, providing money from both government and private agencies to aid their relocation. Those Huguenots who stayed in France became Catholics and were called "new converts." Only a few Protestant villages remained in isolated areas.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', ch 24; Bertrand Van Ruymbeke, "Escape from Babylon." ''Christian History'' 2001 20(3): 38-42. Issn: 0891-9666 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] </ref>

===Gallicanism===
Louis XIV supported the [[Gallican]] cause that gave the government a greater role than the pope in choosing bishops, and gave the government the revenues when a bishopric was vacant. There would be no inquisition in France, and papal decrees could operate only after the government approved them. Louis avoided schism--he wanted more royal power over the French Church but did not want to break free of Rome. The pope likewise recognized the the "most Christian king" was a powerful ally who could not be alienated.<ref>John Wolf, ''Louis XIV'', 388-92</ref>

===Monasteries===
From the end of the Wars of Religion to the French Revolution, Menat, a Cluniac abbey dating back to 1107, ruled over the Sioule Valley in the northwest region of the Clermont diocese. The monks were large landholders and developed a diversified and complex set of links with their neighbors; they received seigniorial rights, provided work to the rural poor, and were in daily contact with notaries public, merchants, and surgeons. While they did not directly manage the religious life of the faithful (parish priests did that), monks did constitute a motivating force in it through their setting up of a parish clergy, providing alms and social services, and playing the role of intercessors. Until the French Revolution, the monastic community constituted a key element of the economic, social, and religious life of a local French territory under the Old Regime.
===Convents===
Communities of nuns in France on the eve of Revolution had, on average, 25 members and a median age of 48 years. Nuns were both entering the profession later and living longer than before. In general, they had little wealth. Recruitment varied from region to region and by convent lifestyle (active or contemplative, austere or opulent, lower class or middle class). The nature of male and female monasticism differed greatly in France both before and during the revolution. Convents tended to be more isolated and less centrally controlled. This made for greater diversity among them than among male monasteries.<ref>Elizabeth Rapley and Robert Rapley, "An Image of Religious Women in the 'Ancien Regime:' the 'Etats Des Religieuses' of 1790-1791." ''French History'' 1997 11(4): 387-410 </ref>
==Rural society==
In the 17th century rich peasants who had ties to the market economy provided much of the capital investment necessary for agricultural growth, and frequently moved from village to village (or town). Geographic mobility, directly tied to the market and the need for investment capital, was the main path to social mobility. The "stable" core of French society, town guildspeople and village laboureurs, included cases of staggering social and geographic continuity, but even this core required regular renewal. Accepting the existence of these two societies, the constant tension between them, and extensive geographic and social mobility tied to a market economy holds the key to a clearer understanding of the evolution of the social structure, economy, and even political system of early modern France. Collins (1991) argues that the [[Annales School]] paradigm underestimated the role of the market economy; failed to explain the nature of capital investment in the rural economy; and grossly exaggerated social stability.<ref>James B. Collins, "Geographic and Social Mobility in Early-Modern France." ''Journal of Social History'' 1991 24(3): 563-577. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]. For the ''Annales'' interpretation see Pierre Goubert, ''The French Peasantry in the Seventeenth Century'' (1986) [http://www.amazon.com/French-Peasantry-Seventeenth-Century/dp/0521312698/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197851902&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search] </ref>

==Economy==
Two massive famines struck France between 1693 and 1710, killing over two million people. In both cases the impact of harvest failure was exacerbated by wartime demands on the food supply.<ref> Cormac Ó Gráda and Jean-Michel Chevet, "Famine and Market in 'Ancien Regime' France." ''Journal of Economic History'' 2002 62(3): 706-733 online</ref>

==Military==
The proud French army was controlled by the aristocracy, and most soldiers were peasant volunteers. There was no draft until the Revolution in 1798.

==See also==
* [[Louis XIV]]
* [[Louis XV]]
* [[Louis XVI]]
* [[French Revolution]]
==Bibliography==
* Baker, Keith, ed. ''The Political Culture of the Old Regime'' (1987), articles by leading scholars
* de Tocqueville, Alexis. ''Old Regime and the French Revolution'' (1856), classic study by leading conservative
* Doyle, William. ''Old Regime France: 1648-1788'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Old-Regime-France-1648-1788-History/dp/0198731299/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-9 excerpt and text search]
* Goubert, Pierre. ''Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen'' (1972), social history from [[Annales School]]
* Jones, Colin. ''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Great-Nation-Napoleon-Penguin-History/dp/0140130934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197705067&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''The Ancien Regime: A History of France 1610 - 1774'' (1999), survey by leader of the [[Annales School]] [http://www.amazon.com/Ancien-Regime-History-France-1610/dp/0631211969/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202469887&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Lynn, John A. ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Wars-Louis-1667-1714-Modern-Perspective/dp/0582056292/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467216&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Parker, David. ''Class and State in Ancien Régime France: The Road to Modernity?'' (1997), by a Marxist
* Wolf, John B. ''Louis XIV'' (1968), the standard scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/103250721 online edition]
===Religion===
* McManners, John. ''Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France.'' Vol. 1: ''The Clerical Establishment and Its Social Ramifications''; Vol. 2: ''The Religion of the People and the Politics of Religion''(1999)
* Van Kley, Dale. ''The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791'' (1996)
* Ward, W. R. ''Christianity under the Ancien Régime, 1648-1789'' (1999).

===Notes===

<references/>

[[Category:French Revolution]]
[[category:French History]]

Astigmatic aberration

2010-04-23T03:45:38Z

Catherine:

'''Astigmatic aberration''' is an [[aberration]] due to the irregular curvature of the [[ocular]] surface resulting in unequal [[refraction]] of the incident light in different meridians.

==References==
http://www.usaarl.army.mil/hmdbook/cp_011.htm

[[category:aviation]]

User:Catherine

2010-04-23T03:38:12Z

Catherine:

{{Userboxtop|I Believe}}
{{User Life begins|conception}}
{{userboxbottom}}
I am a true-blue Aussie. A Christian (Baptist) and a conservative.

Ive been away for a while with tuberculosis but everything is OK now and I'm looking forward to getting back to editing.

Peace. Catherine

Abortion statistics 2000

2010-04-23T03:34:38Z

Catherine:

''This page is part of the [[Conservapedia:Anti-abortion_Project]]''

Below are some statistics for abortion for the year 2000.

==United States==
In 2000, 1.31 million abortions were performed in the [[United States]]. This equates to 2.1 % of all women between 15 and 44 years-old.<ref>[http://www.abortiontv.com/Misc/AbortionStatistics.htm Abortion TV.com: Abortion Statistics]</ref>

==England and Wales==

There were 185,375 legal abortions carried out in [[England]] and [[Wales]] in 2000, a rise of 2,125 (1.2 per cent) compared with 1999.<ref>[http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/abort0901.pdf Department of National Statistics: Abortions in England and Wales, 2000]</ref>

* The abortion rate for women resident in England and Wales in 2000 was 16.94 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, 0.9% higher than in 1999 when the rate was 16.79 abortions per 1,000 women.
* Abortion rates increased for women aged under 34 and decreased for women aged 35 and over, in 2000. The rate increased by 0.2% for women under 20, by 2.4% for women in their twenties and by 0.4% for women aged 30-34. The rate decreased by 1.4% in the 35-44 age-group.
* Eighty-eight per cent of terminations were performed before 13 weeks of gestation and 10 per cent between 13 and 19 weeks gestation, similar to last year.

==See also==
*[[Abortion in America]]
*[[Abortion in England]]
*[[Abortion in Wales]]
*[[Abortion in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Abortion statistics 2008]]
*[[Abortion statistics 2009]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Abortion]]

Abortion statistics 2000

2010-04-23T03:34:14Z

Catherine: create

''This page is part of the [[Conservapedia:Anti-abortion_Project]]''
Below are some statistics for abortion for the year 2000.

==United States==
In 2000, 1.31 million abortions were performed in the [[United States]]. This equates to 2.1 % of all women between 15 and 44 years-old.<ref>[http://www.abortiontv.com/Misc/AbortionStatistics.htm Abortion TV.com: Abortion Statistics]</ref>

==England and Wales==

There were 185,375 legal abortions carried out in [[England]] and [[Wales]] in 2000, a rise of 2,125 (1.2 per cent) compared with 1999.<ref>[http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/abort0901.pdf Department of National Statistics: Abortions in England and Wales, 2000]</ref>

* The abortion rate for women resident in England and Wales in 2000 was 16.94 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, 0.9% higher than in 1999 when the rate was 16.79 abortions per 1,000 women.
* Abortion rates increased for women aged under 34 and decreased for women aged 35 and over, in 2000. The rate increased by 0.2% for women under 20, by 2.4% for women in their twenties and by 0.4% for women aged 30-34. The rate decreased by 1.4% in the 35-44 age-group.
* Eighty-eight per cent of terminations were performed before 13 weeks of gestation and 10 per cent between 13 and 19 weeks gestation, similar to last year.

==See also==
*[[Abortion in America]]
*[[Abortion in England]]
*[[Abortion in Wales]]
*[[Abortion in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Abortion statistics 2008]]
*[[Abortion statistics 2009]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Abortion]]

Talk:Gun control

2008-12-30T13:27:31Z

Catherine: grammar

[[/Archive 1|Archive 1]] (30th December 2008)

== Riddle me this... ==

I read the above discussion ("Reversion of Ed Poor's edit") with interest. I then looked at the section in the article headed "Gun control outside the USA" which regrettably makes no reference to Australia. I then went and looked at the murder rates and rates of gun related death in the US and Australia.

What struck me was that there is a huge difference between the two countries which does not appear to be explained by anything contained within the article.

The homicide rates are: US: 5.7 per 100,000; Australia: 1.28 per 100,000.

The firearm-related homicide rates are: US: 3.72 per 100,000; Australia: 0.44 per 100,000.

It appears from those figures that firearms have a huge input into the high murder rate in the US. About 2/3rds of homicides in the US are by gun. Only about 1/3rd of homicides in Australia are by gun. And why are the homicide rates so different?

I suggest that gun control in Australia does have the effect of lowering the homicide rate. However, I suggest that the figures indicate that it is not the only factor. But what else is at work?

More importantly, the article as it stands is a piece of advocacy against gun control. Any chance of an encyclopedic article? --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 18:12, 11 December 2008 (EST)

I got the above figures from WP. I note that they are not all for the same years. The gun-related death rates are older figures. --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 18:37, 11 December 2008 (EST)

== Australia ==

The recent edits of Aschlafly contain a number of errors, misconceptions and misleading statements.

Australia is not "far more rural" than the US. Australia may have fewer drug problems but I am not sure how exactly you measure the number of "drug problems". It may have always had a lower homicide rate but it has probably also always had a stricter gun control regime. It was not "leftists" that demanded strict gun control after the Port Arthur killings. Indeed it was the very conservative Howard government that introduced the changes. The country did not then move to the left politically but kept Howard in office for 11 years. It is also untrue to link increases in assualts to gun control. Any rises in the assualt rates appear unrelated to gun control. See [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4524A092E30E4486CA2569DE00256331 here]. Accordingly I have reverted the changes. I would be happy to discuss. --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 18:54, 26 December 2008 (EST)

: We've discussed this before. Don't reinsert your liberal bias.

: [[Gun control]] was pushed in Australia by the media, which (surprise, surprise) is [[leftist]]. A decade later, the entire country at virtually every level is (surprise, surprise) controlled by [[leftists]], now that the people rely more on the government for protection. And it is true (surprise, surprise) that assaults increased as a result of stricter [[gun control]].--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 19:00, 26 December 2008 (EST)

::You've never been to Australila have you? No-one who has *any* knowledge at all of Australian politics links *any* of the elections since 1996 to gun control. And as I said, Howard remained in office for 11 years. Gun control was one of his first major issues as Prime Minister. He is Australia's '''second longest serving Prime Minister'''.

::You clearly didn't look at the page that I referred to from the Australian Bureau of Statistics did you? There is no indication that gun control had any relationship to rates of assault. Take a look. If I am wrong I would be delighted for you to point it out.

::Now, you've told me not to reinsert my "liberal bias". I do not wish to insert any bias into any article. If I am wrong I would certainly not want to place incorrect information in the article. On the other hand, I am sure that if you are wrong you would want me to fix it up.

::Why don't you have a look at the statistics and get back to me. If I don't hear from you I will assume that you want me to correct the article. --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 19:14, 26 December 2008 (EST)

::: TCochrane, address my points. Yes, newspapers are [[leftist]], yes, they did cause the stricter gun control to pass, and, yes, Australia has moved further left than ever in history as a result. Obviously the shift did not happen immediately, as incumbents enjoy inherent advantages. But the shift did inevitably come, which is why leftists push so hard for irrational gun control.

::: Insist on reinserting your liberal bias and your account will be blocked.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 19:19, 26 December 2008 (EST)

::::How about you address my points?

::::So far as your points go: newspapers are leftist? Some Australian newspapers are. Which ones are you talking about? Did they "cause" the stricter gun control? I would have thought it is hard to substantiate that statement. How do show that newspapers caused a particular political decision? Was it the papers or was it public opinion? Chicken or egg? Tell me how and why you say it was the papers. And which papers.

::::As to your other point, I have already addressed it. No-one who has any knowledge of Australia at all links the current political landscape, 12 years later, to the gun control measures. You're right out there on your own with that one.

::::Now, do you want an accurate article or just a piece of blogging? --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 19:26, 26 December 2008 (EST)

::::: I support what TCochrane has said above. He's described the Australian situation more accurately than has Aschlafly. Including the reference to Australia being "far more rural" than the U.S. Australia is actually known as being one of the most urbanised countries in the world. Andy needs to support ''his'' claims, because they are either wrong or very selective. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 18:39, 29 December 2008 (EST)

:::::: I've changed the paragraph about Australia to make it more accurate, per above discussion. I've retained a reference to Australia being different insofar as its drug culture is concerned, as it's true that the drug situation is different, and could well be a factor. I didn't retain the reference to Australia always having a lower homicide rate, as there was no reference supporting it, and because this is possibly because Australia has long had a lower gun-ownership rate anyway. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 18:50, 29 December 2008 (EST)

::::::: PhilipJ, you're back censoring truthful information to push a liberal point-of-view about gun control. This isn't Wikipedia, and liberal [[censorship]] is not allowed here. Vandalism isn't allowed here either, and please don't encourage it by restoring vandal-obsessive talk.

::::::: Tell us how Australia's largest cities compare with those in the United States, and how the drug cultures compare.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 18:54, 29 December 2008 (EST)

:::::::: No, Andy, it is ''you'' who is censoring truthful information to push a point of view about gun control. The only restoration I made was to a valid talk post. I did not reinstate an abusive addendum. But as for comparisons with Wikipedia, this incident provides an example of one way in which Conservapedia is, unfortunately, ''like'' Wikipedia. I observed on Wikipedia good editors having their views suppressed and rejected so arrogantly that they got angry and lashed out, giving the administrators the excuse they needed to block the user. Of course they justified it by calling the editors trolls, vandals, or whatever. That is exactly what has happened here on this talk page. You don't want Conservapedia to be like Wikipedia? Then don't follow that approach.
:::::::: Why should I answer your questions when you have not answered questions put to you above?
:::::::: Now, are you going to simply repeat your claims about censorship, or actually provide supporting evidence for your claims?
:::::::: [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 19:23, 29 December 2008 (EST)

::::::::: PhilipJ, I know how liberals love to talk, but my time is better spent making substantive contributions. Don't censor them.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 19:30, 29 December 2008 (EST)
:::::::::: As I expected, repeat the unsupported claims and accusations, but don't actually provide ''substantive'' evidence to back them up. What's the point of Commandment 1 then? [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 19:35, 29 December 2008 (EST)

Speaking of the drug problem in the U.S. and Australia, it would seem that from numbers alone, there's not a huge difference: [http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/phe/sdua04/sdua04.pdf Australia drug use statistics] (relevant info on page 19) and [http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/druguse/ U.S. drug use]

This shows that 41.7% of Americans older than 12 in 2001 reported ever using illicit drugs, and 12.6% reported use within the last year. In Australia, the figures are 38.1 and 15.3 percent, respectively (though this counts 14 year olds and up rather than 12 year olds and up). Not a huge difference.
Granted, different drugs represent different cultures. A community with marijuana use is probably not going to be as violent as one with methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, etc. use.

But, there's the numbers for those interested. --[[User:Commodore Guff|KevinS]] 19:07, 29 December 2008 (EST)

: Data on lifetime drug use is almost meaningless. How about crimes related to drug use, especially in big cities?--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 19:17, 29 December 2008 (EST)
:: That's why I also included data about "recent" drug use (i.e. in the last year). It's actually a tad higher in Australia. Regarding crimes related to drug use, [http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/crime/index.html#table1 here]'s a source for U.S. statistics. I had a bit more trouble finding the relevant Australian statistics, but [http://www.crimeprevention.gov.au/agd/WWW/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(CFD7369FCAE9B8F32F341DBE097801FF)~Relationship_Drugs_Crime.pdf/$file/Relationship_Drugs_Crime.pdfthis] appears to have some relevant information. There really doesn't seem to be much of a difference in drug use/crime in the U.S. versus that of Australia, but I wouldn't say that definitively until I can find some more statistics. --[[User:Commodore Guff|KevinS]] 19:59, 29 December 2008 (EST)
: When I've looked into this before, I think I found that there's a big difference in cocaine use between Australia and the U.S. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 19:35, 29 December 2008 (EST)
:: Well, let's see. Per the source in my first comment, 4.7% in Australia reported ever using cocaine, and 1.0% reported recent use. The problem with the U.S. statistics is that so far I've only managed to find numbers regarding use in the last month, which is 0.7% according to [http://www.cocaineabuse.us/statistics-facts.html this source]. I've got no idea how much past-year use would vary from past-month use. --[[User:Commodore Guff|KevinS]] 19:59, 29 December 2008 (EST)
It strikes me that in this case 'closer' does not necessarily mean 'better'. TCochrane and Philip are too close to the problem they are attempting to explain, and (consciously or unconsciously) are probably influenced by the prevailing Liberal ideology of Australian polity. Although Andy is examining this problem from the United States, this detatchment enables a far more objective judgement to be made than that by our Australian editors. Accusations of 'not having visited Australia' are totally irrelevant in this case. [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 06:04, 30 December 2008 (EST)
: I reject that we are ''too'' close, although it's true that one can be a bit more detached and objective from a distance. However, Andy is hardly 'detached', being a strong opposer of gun control. Rather, I'd consider myself far more detached, having taken no real interest in the topic until I saw the nonsense, particularly about Australia, that I encountered here. And although you don't need to visit a country to know a lot about it, it's obvious from Andy's comments about Australia's politics (and his comment about Australia being 'more rural') that he doesn't know as much about the place as even someone who has merely visited, let alone as much as those who live here. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 07:26, 30 December 2008 (EST)
::Hang on a moment Philip. Maybe the Aussies are too close to this issue. So I propose a compromise whereby we (I am currently an ex-pat) defer to the US-viewpoint about our country while the American editors defer to UK, Aussie, Kiwi and Japanese observations about the USA as the Americans are obviously far too close to their own issues to be truly objective about them. [[User:Catherine|CA'''†'''HERINE]] 08:24, 30 December 2008 (EST)

==Loss of the frontier spirit to urban "values" ==

Gun control is part of the urbanity of the [[Liberal Christianity|Christian left]]'s [[Social gospel]] program. Often the more urban and older the city, the more left the newspaper's bias. In the U.S. the development of the [[Social gospel]] into what is now almost a strict form of militant [[atheism]] and [[Liberation theology]] can be seen in the editorial practices of the ''[[New York Times]]''. Such a loss of frontier spirit hit the pages of the urban media like the '''New York Times''' first. Gun control comes from Australia's desire for [[modernism]], which is at the heart of the [[Social gospel]] agenda. --[[User:RickD|RickD]] 22:34, 28 December 2008 (EST)

: Interesting. Thanks. I'm glad you used a small "g" for Social gospel.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 22:36, 28 December 2008 (EST)

Talk:Gun control

2008-12-30T13:24:13Z

Catherine: /* Australia */ compromise

[[/Archive 1|Archive 1]] (30th December 2008)

== Riddle me this... ==

I read the above discussion ("Reversion of Ed Poor's edit") with interest. I then looked at the section in the article headed "Gun control outside the USA" which regrettably makes no reference to Australia. I then went and looked at the murder rates and rates of gun related death in the US and Australia.

What struck me was that there is a huge difference between the two countries which does not appear to be explained by anything contained within the article.

The homicide rates are: US: 5.7 per 100,000; Australia: 1.28 per 100,000.

The firearm-related homicide rates are: US: 3.72 per 100,000; Australia: 0.44 per 100,000.

It appears from those figures that firearms have a huge input into the high murder rate in the US. About 2/3rds of homicides in the US are by gun. Only about 1/3rd of homicides in Australia are by gun. And why are the homicide rates so different?

I suggest that gun control in Australia does have the effect of lowering the homicide rate. However, I suggest that the figures indicate that it is not the only factor. But what else is at work?

More importantly, the article as it stands is a piece of advocacy against gun control. Any chance of an encyclopedic article? --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 18:12, 11 December 2008 (EST)

I got the above figures from WP. I note that they are not all for the same years. The gun-related death rates are older figures. --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 18:37, 11 December 2008 (EST)

== Australia ==

The recent edits of Aschlafly contain a number of errors, misconceptions and misleading statements.

Australia is not "far more rural" than the US. Australia may have fewer drug problems but I am not sure how exactly you measure the number of "drug problems". It may have always had a lower homicide rate but it has probably also always had a stricter gun control regime. It was not "leftists" that demanded strict gun control after the Port Arthur killings. Indeed it was the very conservative Howard government that introduced the changes. The country did not then move to the left politically but kept Howard in office for 11 years. It is also untrue to link increases in assualts to gun control. Any rises in the assualt rates appear unrelated to gun control. See [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4524A092E30E4486CA2569DE00256331 here]. Accordingly I have reverted the changes. I would be happy to discuss. --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 18:54, 26 December 2008 (EST)

: We've discussed this before. Don't reinsert your liberal bias.

: [[Gun control]] was pushed in Australia by the media, which (surprise, surprise) is [[leftist]]. A decade later, the entire country at virtually every level is (surprise, surprise) controlled by [[leftists]], now that the people rely more on the government for protection. And it is true (surprise, surprise) that assaults increased as a result of stricter [[gun control]].--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 19:00, 26 December 2008 (EST)

::You've never been to Australila have you? No-one who has *any* knowledge at all of Australian politics links *any* of the elections since 1996 to gun control. And as I said, Howard remained in office for 11 years. Gun control was one of his first major issues as Prime Minister. He is Australia's '''second longest serving Prime Minister'''.

::You clearly didn't look at the page that I referred to from the Australian Bureau of Statistics did you? There is no indication that gun control had any relationship to rates of assault. Take a look. If I am wrong I would be delighted for you to point it out.

::Now, you've told me not to reinsert my "liberal bias". I do not wish to insert any bias into any article. If I am wrong I would certainly not want to place incorrect information in the article. On the other hand, I am sure that if you are wrong you would want me to fix it up.

::Why don't you have a look at the statistics and get back to me. If I don't hear from you I will assume that you want me to correct the article. --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 19:14, 26 December 2008 (EST)

::: TCochrane, address my points. Yes, newspapers are [[leftist]], yes, they did cause the stricter gun control to pass, and, yes, Australia has moved further left than ever in history as a result. Obviously the shift did not happen immediately, as incumbents enjoy inherent advantages. But the shift did inevitably come, which is why leftists push so hard for irrational gun control.

::: Insist on reinserting your liberal bias and your account will be blocked.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 19:19, 26 December 2008 (EST)

::::How about you address my points?

::::So far as your points go: newspapers are leftist? Some Australian newspapers are. Which ones are you talking about? Did they "cause" the stricter gun control? I would have thought it is hard to substantiate that statement. How do show that newspapers caused a particular political decision? Was it the papers or was it public opinion? Chicken or egg? Tell me how and why you say it was the papers. And which papers.

::::As to your other point, I have already addressed it. No-one who has any knowledge of Australia at all links the current political landscape, 12 years later, to the gun control measures. You're right out there on your own with that one.

::::Now, do you want an accurate article or just a piece of blogging? --[[User:TCochrane|TCochrane]] 19:26, 26 December 2008 (EST)

::::: I support what TCochrane has said above. He's described the Australian situation more accurately than has Aschlafly. Including the reference to Australia being "far more rural" than the U.S. Australia is actually known as being one of the most urbanised countries in the world. Andy needs to support ''his'' claims, because they are either wrong or very selective. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 18:39, 29 December 2008 (EST)

:::::: I've changed the paragraph about Australia to make it more accurate, per above discussion. I've retained a reference to Australia being different insofar as its drug culture is concerned, as it's true that the drug situation is different, and could well be a factor. I didn't retain the reference to Australia always having a lower homicide rate, as there was no reference supporting it, and because this is possibly because Australia has long had a lower gun-ownership rate anyway. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 18:50, 29 December 2008 (EST)

::::::: PhilipJ, you're back censoring truthful information to push a liberal point-of-view about gun control. This isn't Wikipedia, and liberal [[censorship]] is not allowed here. Vandalism isn't allowed here either, and please don't encourage it by restoring vandal-obsessive talk.

::::::: Tell us how Australia's largest cities compare with those in the United States, and how the drug cultures compare.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 18:54, 29 December 2008 (EST)

:::::::: No, Andy, it is ''you'' who is censoring truthful information to push a point of view about gun control. The only restoration I made was to a valid talk post. I did not reinstate an abusive addendum. But as for comparisons with Wikipedia, this incident provides an example of one way in which Conservapedia is, unfortunately, ''like'' Wikipedia. I observed on Wikipedia good editors having their views suppressed and rejected so arrogantly that they got angry and lashed out, giving the administrators the excuse they needed to block the user. Of course they justified it by calling the editors trolls, vandals, or whatever. That is exactly what has happened here on this talk page. You don't want Conservapedia to be like Wikipedia? Then don't follow that approach.
:::::::: Why should I answer your questions when you have not answered questions put to you above?
:::::::: Now, are you going to simply repeat your claims about censorship, or actually provide supporting evidence for your claims?
:::::::: [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 19:23, 29 December 2008 (EST)

::::::::: PhilipJ, I know how liberals love to talk, but my time is better spent making substantive contributions. Don't censor them.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 19:30, 29 December 2008 (EST)
:::::::::: As I expected, repeat the unsupported claims and accusations, but don't actually provide ''substantive'' evidence to back them up. What's the point of Commandment 1 then? [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 19:35, 29 December 2008 (EST)

Speaking of the drug problem in the U.S. and Australia, it would seem that from numbers alone, there's not a huge difference: [http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/phe/sdua04/sdua04.pdf Australia drug use statistics] (relevant info on page 19) and [http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/druguse/ U.S. drug use]

This shows that 41.7% of Americans older than 12 in 2001 reported ever using illicit drugs, and 12.6% reported use within the last year. In Australia, the figures are 38.1 and 15.3 percent, respectively (though this counts 14 year olds and up rather than 12 year olds and up). Not a huge difference.
Granted, different drugs represent different cultures. A community with marijuana use is probably not going to be as violent as one with methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, etc. use.

But, there's the numbers for those interested. --[[User:Commodore Guff|KevinS]] 19:07, 29 December 2008 (EST)

: Data on lifetime drug use is almost meaningless. How about crimes related to drug use, especially in big cities?--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 19:17, 29 December 2008 (EST)
:: That's why I also included data about "recent" drug use (i.e. in the last year). It's actually a tad higher in Australia. Regarding crimes related to drug use, [http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/crime/index.html#table1 here]'s a source for U.S. statistics. I had a bit more trouble finding the relevant Australian statistics, but [http://www.crimeprevention.gov.au/agd/WWW/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(CFD7369FCAE9B8F32F341DBE097801FF)~Relationship_Drugs_Crime.pdf/$file/Relationship_Drugs_Crime.pdfthis] appears to have some relevant information. There really doesn't seem to be much of a difference in drug use/crime in the U.S. versus that of Australia, but I wouldn't say that definitively until I can find some more statistics. --[[User:Commodore Guff|KevinS]] 19:59, 29 December 2008 (EST)
: When I've looked into this before, I think I found that there's a big difference in cocaine use between Australia and the U.S. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 19:35, 29 December 2008 (EST)
:: Well, let's see. Per the source in my first comment, 4.7% in Australia reported ever using cocaine, and 1.0% reported recent use. The problem with the U.S. statistics is that so far I've only managed to find numbers regarding use in the last month, which is 0.7% according to [http://www.cocaineabuse.us/statistics-facts.html this source]. I've got no idea how much past-year use would vary from past-month use. --[[User:Commodore Guff|KevinS]] 19:59, 29 December 2008 (EST)
It strikes me that in this case 'closer' does not necessarily mean 'better'. TCochrane and Philip are too close to the problem they are attempting to explain, and (consciously or unconsciously) are probably influenced by the prevailing Liberal ideology of Australian polity. Although Andy is examining this problem from the United States, this detatchment enables a far more objective judgement to be made than that by our Australian editors. Accusations of 'not having visited Australia' are totally irrelevant in this case. [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 06:04, 30 December 2008 (EST)
: I reject that we are ''too'' close, although it's true that one can be a bit more detached and objective from a distance. However, Andy is hardly 'detached', being a strong opposer of gun control. Rather, I'd consider myself far more detached, having taken no real interest in the topic until I saw the nonsense, particularly about Australia, that I encountered here. And although you don't need to visit a country to know a lot about it, it's obvious from Andy's comments about Australia's politics (and his comment about Australia being 'more rural') that he doesn't know as much about the place as even someone who has merely visited, let alone as much as those who live here. [[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 07:26, 30 December 2008 (EST)
::Hang on a moment Philip. Maybe the Aussies are too close to this issue. So I propose a compromise whereby we (I am currently an ex-pat) defer to the US-viewpoint about our country while the American editors defer to UK, Aussie, Kiwi and Japanese observations about the USA as the Americans are obviously far too close to their own issues to be truly objective about the issues. [[User:Catherine|CA'''†'''HERINE]] 08:24, 30 December 2008 (EST)

==Loss of the frontier spirit to urban "values" ==

Gun control is part of the urbanity of the [[Liberal Christianity|Christian left]]'s [[Social gospel]] program. Often the more urban and older the city, the more left the newspaper's bias. In the U.S. the development of the [[Social gospel]] into what is now almost a strict form of militant [[atheism]] and [[Liberation theology]] can be seen in the editorial practices of the ''[[New York Times]]''. Such a loss of frontier spirit hit the pages of the urban media like the '''New York Times''' first. Gun control comes from Australia's desire for [[modernism]], which is at the heart of the [[Social gospel]] agenda. --[[User:RickD|RickD]] 22:34, 28 December 2008 (EST)

: Interesting. Thanks. I'm glad you used a small "g" for Social gospel.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 22:36, 28 December 2008 (EST)

Hanging

2008-11-01T00:41:48Z

Catherine: expand & typo

'''Hanging''' is the suspension of a person by the [[neck]] by a looped [[rope]] (noose) or other cord. It has been a common form of [[capital punishment|execution]] throughout history, as well as a common means of [[suicide]]. Death may occur through [[asphyxiation]], breaking of the spinal cord, or disruption of blood flow to and from the brain.

Although it is still used in some countries, in the [[United States]], it has declined in use throughout the 20th century after other means of execution, such as the [[electric chair]], [[gas chamber]], and more recently, [[lethal injection]], became more prevalent. The last person to be legally hanged in the United States was Billy Bailey in [[Delaware]] in 1996, and he will almost certainly be the last. However, in 1994, the [[United States Court of Appeals]] for the [[Ninth Circuit]] held that hanging did not violate the [[Eighth Amendment]]. <ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E3DE1438F93AA35751C0A962958260</ref>

== Prominent People Who Were Hanged ==

*[[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]]
*[[John Brown]]
*[[Adolf Eichmann]]
*[[Charles Guiteau]]
*[[Nathan Hale]]
*[[Saddam Hussein]]
*[[William Joyce]]
*[[Ned Kelly]]
*[[Billy the Kid]]

==References==
<References/>

[[category:Punishment]]

Brokeback Mountain

2008-11-01T00:31:28Z

Catherine: stray braces

[[Image:Brokebackmountainposter.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Movie poster for ''Brokeback Mountain'']]
'''Brokeback Mountain''' is a [[movie]] from 2005 by Ang Lee about two male [[cowboy]]s who fail to deal with their hormonal urges in a time of prolonged seclusion from others (particularly from females).{{fact}} Afterwards, they come to their senses and marry beautiful, dedicated and loving women. However soon their past comes to haunt them and destroys not only their lives but the innocent lives of their wives and children. Audiences witness the families torn asunder in waves of agonizing revelations, all stemming from a secret around "[[fishing]]" trips where the men once again use their seclusion to its "ends".

Despite the destructive message of this film, liberally minded institutions with [[Hollywood values]] rewarded the [[homosexual agenda]] by festooning the movie with several awards including three [[Oscar]]s, four [[BAFTA]] awards, and four [[Golden Globe]]s. As [[Bill O'Reilly]] remarked in a monologue:
<blockquote>
I also think the entertainment industry should be up front in explaining what films it values and why it finds them especially worthy. Most Americans are not gonna see "Brokeback Mountain" because they don't relate to the subject, and if Hollywood is now in the "culture-shaping business," it should admit it. So look for Oscar night to be a huge night for shepherds who roam the range in their own consensual way. Hollywood is making a statement and Americans should be geting the message loud and clear.<ref name=OReilly>[http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.arts.movies.current-films/2006-02/msg01298.html Transcript of Bill O'Reilly's monologue]</ref>
</blockquote>
The Times reported:
<blockquote>
Christian groups led a furious campaign against Hollywood yesterday, accusing the Golden Globe Awards of promoting films with gay or “leftist” themes to serve a political agenda. The criticism was made after Brokeback Mountain, a film about the forbidden love between gay Wyoming cowboys, won four awards...
Oscar pundits are now questioning whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will also reward Brokeback Mountain, potentially souring Hollywood’s relationship with the American ticketbuying public even further...
Right-wing radio talk show hosts also took pot shots at the Globes yesterday. Stephen Bennett, of Straight Talk Radio, said: “When Hollywood is pumping out anti-family movies with sexually explicit, twisted and perverse themes that glorify homosexuality, transsexuality and every other kind of sexual immorality — then awarding itself for doing so — Middle America better take note. “Last night Hollywood exposed its own corrupt agenda. [It] is no doubt out on a mission to homosexualise America.”<ref>http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article789527.ece</ref>
</blockquote>
Many other sources have also been outraged how Hollywood supported the gay agenda with the overpromotion of this film<ref>http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/060113d.asp CBN</ref><ref>http://www.jamesbowman.net/articleDetail.asp?pubID=1703 James Bowman</ref>.

''Brokeback Mountain'' became the "buzz" that everyone was talking about in 2005 and people were admonished{{fact}} for not having seen it and not being "open-minded" to a "different" love story. In that respect, the [[advertising]] concealed the theme of [[homosexuality]] from the public, merely referring to it as a modern day "love story" and concentrating on the appealing rugged cowboy element and picturesque landscapes.

Two young, lesser-known actors ([[Heath Ledger]] and [[Jake Gyllenhaal]]) took on the main roles, since sensible and respected actors would not touch a project like this. An interview with the San Francisco Bay Times noted, <blockquote>Though the director admits making Brokeback Mountain presents a certain professional risk for all involved, he does not find the act particularly “brave” of his stars. “They’re actors,” he notes. “Of course they want juicy parts.” “I’m not their [Ledger and Gyllenhall's] manager. I don’t care if this movie dooms the rest of their careers,” he half-jokes. “All I cared about was that they performed for me.”

<ref>San Francisco Bay Times, ''Going for Broke: Oscar-Winner Ang Lee Directs “A Movie That Had to Be Made”'', by Paul E. Pratt, published: December 1, 2005 [http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=4364 SF Chronicle]</ref></blockquote>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Drama]][[Category:Homosexuality]]

Infant

2008-11-01T00:19:32Z

Catherine: cat

An '''infant''' is generally regarded as a very young [[baby]], a [[child]] in the earliest period of [[life]], a newborn through age 1 or 2.

[[Category:Human Development]]
[[Category:Family]]

Sword

2008-11-01T00:09:04Z

Catherine: types

A '''sword''' is a [[weapon]] with a single long blade, made for slashing or thrusting. A sword has one or two sharpened edges and maybe a sharpened point. A good swordsman would have been able to cut off the [[arm]]s and [[leg]]s of his enemies with a single blow and still keep going on in defeating many of his enemies in a short period of time. Throughout history, many cultures have developed swords and the arts of [[swordsmanship]], and swords have continued to have a ritual role even after the invention of [[firearm]]s rendered them essentially obsolete as instruments of destruction.

==Types of sword==
*Scimitar
*Saber
*Cutlass
*Rapier
*Épée
*Broadsword
*Claymore
*Kris
*Mameluke
*Katana

==Symbolic role==
Swords have long represented warfare, and the military,chiefly because of their specialized nature and the difficulty of crafting them, some examples of this usage are the [[Christian]] "for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword"<ref>"Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." ''Matthew 26:52''</ref> and the [[Islam]]ic "[[jihad|jihad bis saif]]" ("struggle by the sword").

==See also==
*[[Excalibur]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Weapons]]

Kriegsmarine

2008-11-01T00:02:40Z

Catherine: /* See Also */ add

[[Image:german_navy.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Poster asking Germans to "Volunteer with the Kriegsmarines"]]

The '''Kriegsmarine''' was [[Germany]]'s Navy during [[World War II]]. It consisted of several capital ships and the infamous U-boat groups. The [[U-boat]]s were widely feared and very destructive. Its codes were cracked in 1941 and was taking heavy casualties, but made new codes in later 1941 and inflicted many [[Allies]] casualties. In 1943 the last codes were cracked and all that was left of the Kriegsmarine was drawn back from the [[Atlantic Ocean]].

==See Also==
*[[Pocket Battleship]]
*[[Battleship Bismarck]]
*[[Blucher (ship)]]
*[[Enigma]]

==Links==
*[http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/index.html Kriegsmarine] at german-navy.de (English)
[[Category:World War II]]

Moral Re-Armament

2008-11-01T00:00:44Z

Catherine: wikify

'''Moral Re-Armament''' (MRA) was a religious organisation formally established in 1938, having emerged from the [[Oxford Group]] of the Rev. F.N.D. Buchman. In the late 1930s it developed the view that, although [[nation]]s were re-arming for war, what the world required was moral re-armament. Global change was predicated upon individual change, and the movement sought personal change based on 'Four Absolutes': absolute [[honesty]], absolute [[purity]], absolute unselfishness, absolute [[love]].

MRA members were encouraged to become involved in other social and [[political]] campaigns. Following the [[Second World War]] MRA worked for reconciliation between former enemies, and for decolonisation, among other issues.

MRA changed its name to Initiatives of Change in 2001.<ref>http://www.initiativesofchange.org/en/abt/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[category:religious Organizations]]

Talk:Life and Doctrine

2008-10-31T23:33:39Z

Catherine: re owner/author

==Conflict of Interest?==
[[User:Mariano]] edited this article (which is about a blog owned by Mariano himself, unless this is a sock) to remove the mentioning of his name and of the fact that he also runs (or contributes to) the various other blogs listed here.

I'm not sure about CP's COI rules, but unless someone can give me a good reason why we should hide such information, I'm going to revert that edit. --[[User:AlanS|AlanS]] 22:23, 24 October 2008 (EDT)
:There have been cases of people using Conservapedia for advertising or self-promotion and that has generally been frowned upon. This is an encyclopedia not an advertising directory. As I wrote the original piece it is acceptable that the person in question (if it is really him) should be permitted to correct factual errors and I have corrected the errors in my original text. [[User:BrianCo|BrianCo]] 15:31, 29 October 2008 (EDT)
:::The Conservapedia commandments state you must cite authoratative sources. To my knowledge, there are no authoratative sources indicating who is the owner of the blog in question. In addition, conservapedia states that material must be verifiable and true. I don't see how you are going to verify who the blog owner is. [[User:Conservative|conservative]] 18:12, 31 October 2008 (EDT)
::::Is there a particular reason why this article was deleted and recreated? I wrote the original article and have now been deprived of the kudos of creating it. :( [[User:BrianCo|BrianCo]] 19:31, 31 October 2008 (EDT)
:::::I added the reference to Mariano's list of blogs as there was some doubt over the authorship. He's quite a prolific author isn't he? --[[User:Catherine|CA'''†'''HERINE]] 19:33, 31 October 2008 (EDT)

Objective

2008-10-31T23:19:52Z

Catherine: expanded definitions

If something is '''objective''', then it is based on empirical, observable data without applying personal preconceptions or experience. It is the opposite of [[subjective]].

As a noun, an objective refers to a purpose, target or goal. It may also refer to a lens in a [[telescope]].

In grammar the objective case is a specialized use of a noun as the object of a transitive verb or of a preposition,.

[[Category:Dictionary]]

Judas Iscariot

2008-10-31T23:11:00Z

Catherine: spelling

[[Image:Judas iscariot s.jpg|left]]
'''Judas Iscariot''' was the son of Simon Iscariot and Cyborea ([[Gospel of John|John]] 6:71 and 13:26). The [[Bible]] relates that Judas Iscariot was one of the disciples of [[Jesus Christ]] and betrayed him for 30 "pieces of silver" (most likely Tyrian shekels) to soldiers of the High Priest [[Caiphas]], who then turned Jesus over to [[Pontius Pilate|Pontius Pilate's]] soldiers.

The ''[[Gospel of Matthew]]'' says that after Jesus' arrest by the [[Rome|Roman]] authorities (but before his execution), Judas, overtaken by guilt returned the money to the priests that gave it to him and committed [[suicide]] by hanging himself.

According to John 13:29, Judas was the money keeper for Jesus and the [[Twelve Disciples]].

The ''[[Acts (of the Apostles)|Acts of the Apostles]]'' states that Judas used the money to buy a field and fell down and burst apart. The field was then named Akeldama or the Field of [[Blood]]. ''Acts 1'' goes on to describe how his place among the apostles was filled by [[Matthias the Apostle|Matthias]].

A translation of a [[Gnostic]] document known as The [[Gospel of Judas]] has recently been made public, giving rise to much religious and historical discussion, but appears to be dated much later than the Judas' death.

== See also ==

*[[The Twelve Apostles]]
*[[Garden of Gethsemane]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.nndb.com/people/843/000101540/ Judas Iscariot]

{{DivineComedy}}
[[category:12 Disciples]]

Judas Iscariot

2008-10-31T23:10:26Z

Catherine: copyedit & wikify

[[Image:Judas iscariot s.jpg|left]]
'''Judas Iscariot''' was the son of Simon Iscariot and Cyborea ([[Gospel of John|John]] 6:71 and 13:26). Thee [[Bible]] relates that Judas Iscariot was one of the disciples of [[Jesus Christ]] and betrayed him for 30 "pieces of silver" (most likely Tyrian shekels) to soldiers of the High Priest [[Caiphas]], who then turned Jesus over to [[Pontius Pilate|Pontius Pilate's]] soldiers.

The ''[[Gospel of Matthew]]'' says that after Jesus' arrest by the [[Rome|Roman]] authorities (but before his execution), Judas, overtaken by guilt returned the money to the priests that gave it to him and committed [[suicide]] by hanging himself.

According to John 13:29, Judas was the money keeper for Jesus and the [[Twelve Disciples]].

The ''[[Acts (of the Apostles)|Acts of the Apostles]]'' states that Judas used the money to buy a field and fell down and burst apart. The field was then named Akeldama or the Field of [[Blood]]. ''Acts 1'' goes on to describe how his place among the apostles was filled by [[Matthias the Apostle|Matthias]].

A translation of a [[Gnostic]] document known as The [[Gospel of Judas]] has recently been made public, giving rise to much religious and historical discussion, but appears to be dated much later than the Judas' death.

== See also ==

*[[The Twelve Apostles]]
*[[Garden of Gethsemane]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.nndb.com/people/843/000101540/ Judas Iscariot]

{{DivineComedy}}
[[category:12 Disciples]]

User:Catherine

2008-10-31T23:04:48Z

Catherine: My user page was deleted

I am a true-blue Aussie. A Christian (Baptist) and a conservative. '

Ive been away for a while with tuberculosis but everything is OK now and I'm looking forward to getting back to editing.

Peace. Catherine

Holocene

2007-06-14T17:59:35Z

Catherine: /* The Ages of the Holocene */ spelling

According to evolutionary biologists and geologists, the Holocene is the geologic period we now live in. It covers the last 12,000 years and all of human civilization (although not all of humanity). It covers the Neolithic to the Information Age, and was preceded by the [[Pleistocene]] epoch.
==The Ages of the Holocene==
*[[Neolithic]] - The New Stone Age. This covers the advent of agriculture to the use of bronze weapons. Roughly 12,000 years ago to 4,000 years ago.
*[[Bronze Age]] - The Use of Bronze to make tools and weapons. 4,000 years ago to 2,500 years ago.
*[[Iron Age]] - This age is concurrent with classical Greece and Rome. It is during this age that Christianity first came onto the scene.
*[[Middle Ages]] - From the fall of Rome around 400 A.D. to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century.
*[[Renaissance]] - Increased interest in science and vast increase in knowledge due to the printing press. Exchange of ideas between cultures. This was the age of Galileo, Shakespeare, and Copernicus.
*[[Industrial Age]] - From the late 1700s to the early 1900s. This age saw the invention of many modern machines that we now take for granted such as the steam locomotive, automobile, telephone, and airplane. Working conditions were difficult and sometimes brutal during this era. This is what led Karl Marx to come up with communism. The idea was later twisted into a totalitarian dictatorship by the monster Stalin.
*[[Atomic Age]] - From WWII until about 1990, this era saw the invention of atomic weapons by the United States and the Soviets. This is the first time in the history of the earth that a single species is capable of destroying the entire planet.
*[[Information Age]] - Starting around 1990, the Internet began to be used by more people. Invented in 1969 by the US military, it became more commonly used by civilians during the 1980s and by 1995 the word "Internet" was beginning to enter everyday vocabulary. By 2000, high speed internet was beginning to become available and now billions of people all over the world are connected like never before. This is much to the chagrin of oppressive governments such as China and Colombia where ideas about freedom and social justice are being spread from Western Europe and North America into impoverished and oppressed nations.

==See Also==
*[[Pleistocene]]
[[category:Geological time periods]]

Weimar Republic

2007-06-13T21:38:52Z

Catherine: Rephrased formatted etc - needs rewriting

The '''Weimar Republic''' is the name of the administration which governed [[Germany]] from 1919 to 1933 after its defeat in [[World War I]] and the stepping down of [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]]. The name Weimar Republic is given because the constitution had been drafted in the city of Weimar as the capital, Berlin, was considered too dangerous the period immediately following the end of World War I. The republic experienced many problems.

This government was already disliked by the German people for having signed the humiliating [[Treaty of Versailles]]. (In truth Germany had no choice. They were not allowed to give input, and were only told to sign.) The huge reparations required by that Treaty caused an even bigger problem. Germany simply could not pay.

So Germany began printing money, and lots of it. This made it easier for Germany to pay its reparations but resulted in domestic hyper-inflation. The people were outraged at the depreciation of their savings and suffered great hardship. The currency became so debased that people used wheelbarrows to move their money around. The value of the German mark went from 4 to the dollar to over 1 trillion to the dollar. The German people disapproved even more of their own government. The setting was ripe for a new figure to rise who claimed to have the cure for Germany's economic problems and could restore German [[nationalism]], [[Hitler|Adolf Hitler]].

[[Category:European History]]

John Cabot

2007-06-13T21:26:44Z

Catherine: formatting

'''John Cabot''' was born in [[Genoa]], [[Italy]] in 1450 to the seaman and merchant, Julio Cabot. John always had a deep interest in exploration, and he studied sailing and mapping until he was proficient in both. He became a citizen of [[Venice]] in 1476 and traveled to eastern shores of the [[Mediterranean]] and visited [[Mecca]], a great trading center where Oriental and Western goods were exchanged. As he became more skilled at navigation, he began considering the possibility of reaching Asia by sailing west. In 1482, John met and married a girl named Mattea. They had three sons, Lewis, [[Sebastian Cabot|Sebastian]], and Sanctus. John and his family moved to England where he began the search for a sponsor to fund a voyage to the Indies. Finally, On March 5, 1496 King [[Henry VII]] granted John a charter giving him permission to sail north, east or west but not south because the Spaniards were there. The first voyage was forced to turn back because of shortage of food, bad weather and disputes with his crew. He set out again on May 2, 1497 with only one ship, the ''Matthew'' (named after his wife Mattea), and a small crew of eighteen men. John Cabot and his crew sailed the ''Matthew'' around the southern tip of [[Ireland]] and then northwards. They then changed course and sailed westwards until they sighted land on June 21, 1497. It was believed to have been southern Labrador, Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island. He mistakenly believed he had reached the northeastern coast of Asia and set sail for England less than a month later on July 20, 1497. When the ''Matthew'' reached England, the people called Cabot ‘The Great Admiral’. King Henry was so pleased that he gave John a pension of twenty pounds per annum for the rest of his life. In 1498, John left on another voyage with five ships and three hundred men. One ship experienced trouble and soon made for an Irish port. The other four were never heard of again. He may have reached America again but it is believed the expedition was lost at sea. John Cabot’s great love of the sea brought the great mariner to a tragic early death.

[[Category:Explorers|Cabot, John]]
{(Voyages of the Cabots)}
{English Discovery of North America(1929, reprint 1971)}

Delaware

2007-06-13T21:20:52Z

Catherine: links, references, spelling

[[Image:Delaware_State_Flag.gif|thumb|right|The state flag of Delaware.]]

'''Delaware''' was the first state to sign the [[Articles of Confederation]] on February 5, 1778 to enter into the Union.

==History==

[[Henry Hudson]], under the Dutch flag is credited with Delaware's discovery in 1609. The following year Capt. Samuel Argall of [[Virginia]] named Delaware for his colony's governor, Thomas West, Baron De La Warr. An attempted Dutch settlement failed in 1631. [[Sweden|Swedish]] colonization began at Fort Christina (now [[Wilmington]]) in 1638, but New Sweden fell to Dutch forces led by New Netherlands' governor [[Peter Stuyvesant]] in 1655. [[England]] took over the area in 1664.<ref>[http://www.factmonster.com Factmonster.com]</ref> Delaware is the 45th most populous state <ref>[http://www.census.gov/population/projections/state/9525rank/deprsrel.txt US Census]</ref>. Originally founded as the "Three Lower Counties" of [[Pennsylvania]], in 1701 [[William Penn]] agreed to allow Delaware to have its own Assembly to meet in New Castle, while Pennsylvania's met in [[Philadelphia]]. Delaware was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and is known as the "First State". This motto appears on Delaware's license plates.

==Geography==

Delaware is the second smallest state, with [[Rhode Island]] being the smallest. Delaware is bounded by Pennsylvania to the north, Delaware River, [[New Jersey]] and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and [[Maryland]] to the west and south.

Delaware's border with Maryland was surveyed by the famous team of [[Charles Mason]] and [[Jeremiah Dixon]]. Mason and Dixon also established the border between Pennsylvania and Delaware. To do this, they mapped out a circle with a twelve mile radius from the top of the courthouse in New Castle, DE. The arc extends over to the low-tide mark on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. This border is unique as most boundaries along watercourses split the water at the midpoint of the main flow channel. The location of this border has been the subject of multiple Supreme Court cases as seen here: <ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=295&invol=694 U.S. Supreme Court - State of New Jersey v. State of Delaware]</ref>

==Economy==
Some of Delaware's largest employers are the State of Delaware, New Castle County, the University of Delaware, DuPont, AstraZeneca, Bank of America, Citigroup, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Perdue Farms. Delaware is also home to the Dover Air Force Base, which is one of the largest Air Force Bases in the [[United States]]. Dover AFB is often in the news as it serves as the entry point and mortuary for American military personnel who die overseas.
Delaware has favorable corporate tax laws, which has led to many large corporations using Delaware as their headquarters.
Delaware also does not assess sales tax on consumers.

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:US state]]

John Cabot

2007-06-13T20:57:20Z

Catherine: spelling, grammar, links, formatting

'''John Cabot''' was born in [[Genoa]], [[Italy]] in 1450 to the seaman and merchant, Julio Cabot. John always had a deep interest in exploration, and he studied sailing and mapping until he was proficient in both. He became a citizen of [[Venice]] in 1476 and traveled to eastern shores of the [[Mediterranean]] and visited [[Mecca]], a great trading center where Oriental and Western goods were exchanged. As he became more skilled at navigation, he began considering the possibility of reaching Asia by sailing west. In 1482, John met and married a girl named Mattea. They had three sons, Lewis, [[Sebastian Cabot|Sebastian]], and Sanctus. John and his family moved to England where he began the search for a sponsor to fund a voyage to the Indies. Finally, On March 5, 1496 King [[Henry VII]] granted John a charter giving him permission to sail north, east or west but not south because the Spaniards were there. The first voyage was forced to turn back because of shortage of food, bad weather and disputes with his crew. He set out again on May 2, 1497 with only one ship, the ''Matthew'',and a small crew of eighteen men. John Cabot and his crew sailed the ''Matthew'' around the southern tip of [[Ireland]] and then northwards. They then changed course and sailed westwards until they sighted land on June 21, 1497. It was believed to have been southern Labrador, Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island. He mistakenly believed he had reached the northeastern coast of Asia and set sail for England less than a month later on July 20, 1497. When the Matthew reached England, the people called Cabot ‘The Great Admiral’. King Henry was so pleased that he gave John a pension of twenty pounds per annum for the rest of his life. In 1498, John left on another voyage with five ships and three hundred men. One ship experienced trouble and soon made for an Irish port. The other four were never heard of again. He may have reached America again but it is believed the expedition was lost at sea. John Cabot’s great love of the sea brought the great mariner to a tragic early death.

[[Category:Explorers|Cabot, John]]
{(Voyages of the Cabots)}
{English Discovery of North America(1929, reprint 1971)}

Yugoslavia

2007-06-13T20:36:07Z

Catherine: rephrased unwieldy sentence, removed excess wikilinking, spelling

The former state of '''Yugoslavia''' (literally "Land of the South Slavs") was created following the [[Paris Peace Talks]] of 1919-1920 as the "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes." Since these were not the only ethnic groups existing in the country, the name was changed in 1929 to "Kingdom of Yugoslavia." During the span of its existence it was the largest nation in the [[Balkan peninsula]]. While none of the countries created at the Peace Conference perfectly represented the [[Wilsonian]] ideal of national [[self-determination]], Yugoslavia was more of a repudiation of this idea than probably any other. Most of its territory had previously been part of the recently destroyed kingdom of [[Serbia]]; the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]]; or prior to [[World War I]], the [[Ottoman Empire]].

Besides [[Great Britain]] and [[France]], Yugoslavia was the only [[European]] country to openly defy [[Nazi Germany]] after the [[Munich agreement of 1938]] but before being attacked or annexed. It earned this distinction as a result of a [[coup d'etat]] in April 1941 triggered by [[Benito Mussolini]]'s unsuccessful invasion of neighboring [[Greece]]. The coup overthrew a pro-Nazi [[prime minister]] and was treated by [[Adolf Hitler]] as a [[casus belli]], although he typically didn't look for one of those too hard.

[[Insurgents]] in Yugoslavia caused the Nazis more trouble than in any other country with the exceptions of the [[Soviet Union]] and perhaps [[Poland]]. They were in fact so effective that an actual [[invasion]] of Yugoslavia to eject the Nazis was considered wasteful by all of the principal [[Allied leaders]] and was not undertaken. As became typical of [[civil wars]] in the [[20th century]], the insurgents also fought each other, sometimes making temporary alliances with the Nazis and [[Italians]] who later came to occupy the southern part of the country in order to concentrate more fully on destroying one another. The Nazis also set up [[Croatia]] as a [[puppet state]] run by the [[fascist]] [[Ustashe]], providing yet another [[combatant]] to the ensuing [[anarchy]].

An anti-fascist Croat, [[Josip Broz Tito]], emerged as the leader of the [[communist]] arm of the resistance and, after the Nazi defeat in 1945, as the new leader of Yugoslavia overall. In 1949, he adopted a policy of armed [[neutrality]] in the [[Cold War]] between the Soviet Union and the [[United States]]. Yugoslavia prospered considerably from this policy and was able to trade on favorable terms with both [[superpowers]] and their economic blocs. Shortly after Tito's death in 1980, the state industrial ministry began marketing the last new European car brand, the [[Yugo]], to the United States. The Yugo suffered, however, from the same quality deficiencies as the state-made cars of other communist countries and never caught on.

In 1991-1992 the internal republics comprising the country of '''Yugoslavia''' divided up and became five separate countries: [[Bosnia]] and [[Herzegovina]], [[Croatia]], [[Macedonia]], [[Slovenia]], and [[Yugoslavia]] ([[Serbia]] and [[Montenegro]]). It was said at the time that only Tito could have held the fractious nation together, although the monarchy had also managed tolerably well prior to the Nazi invasion.

Serbia and Montenegro both claim to be the successor country to the former Yugoslavia so each use the name "Yugoslavia" but neither are recognized as an independent country by any other countries, including the United States.

[[Category:Former Countries]]

St. Thomas Aquinas

2007-06-13T20:21:09Z

Catherine: spelling, removed excessive wikilinking & added new wikilinks

{{Christianity}}
[[Image:Saint Thomas Aquinas.jpg|left|thumb|St. Thomas Aquinas]]
'''St. Thomas Aquinas''' (1225-1274) was a [[Dominican]] friar who wrote [[Summa Theologica]]. Many consider this to be the most perfect and complete summary of [[Christian]] [[theology]], and he established an entire type of Christian [[philosophy]] known as "Thomism", which is followed to this day. Aquinas was somewhat controversial during his life, but was quickly revered by the [[Catholic Church]] after his death. Many of the controversies surrounding Aquinas stem from his synthesis of [[Aristotle]]an philosophy with Christian philosophy, causing him to break with many of the traditionally held philosophical and theological positions espoused by the dominant Augustinian synthesis of Neoplatonic philosophy and Christianity.

He developed five proofs for the existence of [[God]] using logic. The first three were "cosmological" proofs rather than the "ontological" approach of [[St. Anselm]]. A cosmological proof deals with the natural order of the universe. Aquinas' most famous cosmological argument was that whatever is in motion (for example, us) must have been put in motion by something else (our parents). They, in turn, must have been put in motion by something else (their parents). But this sequence cannot go on to infinity. There must have been a first mover. This we call "God".

St. Thomas Aquinas' views on the nature of man included an incomplete interpretation of the [[Fall of Man]]. He believed that while men had rebelled against God and the human will was fallen, the human intellect remained perfect. Therefore, human wisdom could be relied upon and given as much prominence as the teachings of the [[Bible]]. This idea justified mixing the works of the classical, secular philosophers into Christian theology. Also as a result, the authority of the Church became as important, if not more so, than that of the Bible. These ideas set the stage for humanism, which was the predominant philosophy of the [[Renaissance]].

Concerning the nature of God, Aquinas found that the best approach, commonly called the "via negativa", is to consider what God is not. This led him to propose five positive statements about the divine qualities:

*1. God is simple, without composition of parts, such as body and soul, or matter and form.
*2. God is perfect, lacking nothing. That is, God is distinguished from other beings on account of God's complete actuality.
*3. God is infinite. That is, God is not finite in the ways that created beings are physically, intellectually, and emotionally limited. This infinity is to be distinguished from infinity of size and infinity of number.
*4. God is immutable, incapable of change on the levels of God's essence and character.
*5. God is one, without diversification within God's self. The unity of God is such that God's essence is the same as God's existence. In Aquinas's words, "in itself the proposition 'God exists' is necessarily true, for in it subject and predicate are the same."

St. Thomas Aquinas is further known for his famous observation that the [[Devil]] cannot withstand mockery.

[[Category:Catholic leaders]]

Arlington National Cemetery

2007-06-13T20:13:52Z

Catherine: /* Other Facts */ spelling

'''Arlington National Cemetery''' is the final resting place for more than 250,000 military servicemen. It is also the location of the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]]. It is located in the county of [[Arlington]], [[Virginia]], not far from [[the Pentagon]] and across the [[Potomac River]] from [[Washington DC]]. The 200 acre cemetery was officially designated on June 15, 1864, by Secretary of War [[Edwin M. Stanton]].

==Other Facts==
There are more than 3,800 former slaves buried in the cemetery. Their headstones are have the word "Civilian" or "Citizen" on them.

Two former [[President of the United States|Presidents of the United States]] are buried in the cemetery: [[William Howard Taft]] and [[John F. Kennedy]].

Four former [[United States Supreme Court]] [[Justices]] are buried in the cemetery: [[William Howard Taft]], [[Earl Warren]], [[Warren Burger]], and [[William Rehnquist]].

==See Also==
[[Arlington House]]

==Resources==
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/index.htm

[[Category:United States]]

Nonalignment

2007-06-02T19:44:23Z

Catherine: copyedit & category

During the Cold War, '''nonalignment''' was a policy of neutrality by developing nations who refused to ally themselves with either the [[USA]] or the [[USSR]].

[[Category: Politics]]

Jabberwocky

2007-06-02T19:41:21Z

Catherine: copyedit

'''Jabberwocky''' is a nonsense poem which appears in Lewis Carroll's ''Through the looking-glass, and what Alice found there'' (often referred to as ''Alice through the looking-glass'').

In the novel, Alice finds the poem in a book but can only read it by holding the page up to a mirror. The character '''Humpty Dumpty''' explains the meaning of some words in the first [[stanza]] while Lewis Carroll enlarged the list of definitions in his later writings. While many of the words are either made up or are portmanteaux (two words combined together to make a new word<ref>e.g. Chortle - Defined by Humpty Dumpty as a combination of "chuckle" and "snort"</ref>) the structure of the poem is consistent with classical English poetry and has become popular throughout the English-speaking world. It has also been translated into many other languages, including [[China|Chinese]], [[Klingon]], [[American sign language]] and [[Esperanto]].

<blockquote>'''''Jabberwocky''''' 
''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
''Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: 
''All mimsy were the borogoves, 
''And the mome raths outgrabe. 
 
''"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! 
''The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! 
''Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun 
''The frumious Bandersnatch!" 
 
''He took his [[vorpal]] sword in hand: 
''Long time the manxome foe he sought— 
''So rested he by the Tumtum tree, 
''And stood awhile in thought. 
 
''And, as in uffish thought he stood, 
''The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, 
''Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, 
''And burbled as it came! 
 
''One, two! One, two! And through and through 
''The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! 
''He left it dead, and with its head 
''He went galumphing back. 
 
''"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? 
''Come to my arms, my beamish boy! 
''O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" 
''He chortled in his joy. 
 
''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
''Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: 
''All mimsy were the borogoves, 
''And the mome raths outgrabe.''</blockquote>

==Notes & References==

<references/>

Jabberwocky

2007-06-02T19:29:57Z

Catherine: link

'''Jabberwocky''' is a nonsense poem which appears in Lewis Carroll's ''Through the looking-glass, and what Alice found there'' (often referred to as ''Alice through the looking-glass'').

In the novel, Alice finds the poem in a book but can only read it by holding the page up to a mirror. Although the character '''Humpty Dumpty''' explains the meaning of some words and Lewis Carroll expanded the definitions in his later writings. While many of the words are either made up or are portmanteaux (two words combined together to make a new word<ref>e.g. Chortle - Defined by Humpty Dumpty as a combination of "chuckle" and "snort"</ref>) the structure of the poem is consistent with classical English poetry and has become popular throughout the English-speaking world. It has also been translated into many other languages, including [[China|Chinese]], [[Klingon]], [[American sign language]] and [[Esperanto]].

<blockquote>'''''Jabberwocky''''' 
''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
''Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: 
''All mimsy were the borogoves, 
''And the mome raths outgrabe. 
 
''"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! 
''The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! 
''Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun 
''The frumious Bandersnatch!" 
 
''He took his [[vorpal]] sword in hand: 
''Long time the manxome foe he sought— 
''So rested he by the Tumtum tree, 
''And stood awhile in thought. 
 
''And, as in uffish thought he stood, 
''The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, 
''Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, 
''And burbled as it came! 
 
''One, two! One, two! And through and through 
''The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! 
''He left it dead, and with its head 
''He went galumphing back. 
 
''"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? 
''Come to my arms, my beamish boy! 
''O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" 
''He chortled in his joy. 
 
''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
''Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: 
''All mimsy were the borogoves, 
''And the mome raths outgrabe.''</blockquote>

==Notes & References==

<references/>

Vorpal

2007-06-02T19:29:17Z

Catherine: link

'''Vorpal''' is a word coined by Lewis Carroll for the poem "[[Jabberwocky]]", used first in the line "He took his vorpal sword in hand" and "One, two! One, two! And through and through / The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! / He left it dead, and with its head / He went galumphing back." Vorpal is commonly assumed to mean "deadly" or "extremely sharp", derived from the words "voracious" (hungry) and "corporal" (latin, relating to corpus - the body) meaning hungry for flesh. Many role-playing games have taken the latter interpretation, and since the hero brings the dead Jabberwock's head home in triumph have used "vorpal" to identify weapons with a magically enhanced ability to behead enemies. It is also occasionally interpreted as meaning the blade is warped.