Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

User:Fairfieldrr

2009-02-13T02:37:59Z

Fairfieldrr: userbox templates

Hi, I'm '''Fairfieldrr'''.

My usual topics are European history and engineering, and I edit on several other Wikis in my free time.

{{Userboxtop}}
{{User Christian1}}
{{User American}}
{{userboxbottom}}

Persian empire

2009-02-13T02:35:45Z

Fairfieldrr: clarifying

The '''Persian Empire''', in antiquity, was the largest geographical empire in its time, at its height stretching from [[India]] (at the [[Ganges]] and [[Mula]], respectively) all the way into southern [[Europe]] and down to [[Egypt]], primarily under [[Cyrus the Great]]. It had not known defeat until it was turned back in its efforts to conquer [[Ancient Greece]]. It had two capitals: [[Susa]] and [[Persepolis]].

The Persian Empire came into being in 539 B.C. with the defeat of the [[Babylonian Empire]] and continued under other famous rulers such as [[Darius]] and [[Xerxes]] until it was conquered and largely absorbed by [[Alexander the Great]] in 330 B.C. The Persian Empire and several of its rulers are discussed in the [[Bible]] in the books of [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] and [[Book of Ester|Esther]].

A later Persian Empire re-emerged in 226 A.D. and outlived the Western [[Roman Empire]]. After a devastating war with the [[Byzantine Empire]] that left both sides severely drained, [[Islam]] came on the scene from what is now [[Saudi Arabia]] and completely conquered the Persian Empire in a quick campaign that ended in 651 A.D.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Ancient History]]

American Civil War

2009-02-13T02:00:28Z

Fairfieldrr: /* Continuing articles */ redoing as wikilinks

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="250" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:Cwlogo.png|200px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy no-repeat scroll top left;"|The Civil War
1861 - 1865
|-
|Begun
|April 12, 1861
|-
|Ended
|April 9, 1865
|-
|Casualties
|970,000
|-
|Total dead
|620,000
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy no-repeat scroll top left;"|United States of America
|-
|President
|[[Abraham Lincoln]]
|-
|Secretary of War
|[[Edwin M. Stanton]]
|-
|Secretary of the Navy
|[[Gideon Welles]]
|-
|Secretary of State:
|[[William Seward]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: gray no-repeat scroll top left;"|Confederate States of America
|-
|President
|[[Jefferson Davis]]
|-
|Secretaries of War
|Leroy Pope Walker, Judah P. Benjamin, George W. Randolph, James Seddon, [[John C. Breckinridge]]
|-
|Secretary of the Navy
|[[Stephan Mallory]]
|-
|Secretaries of State
|Robert Toombs, Robert M.T. Hunter, Judah P. Benjamin
|}
The '''American Civil War''' was a conflict which took place from 1861 to 1865, involving the government of the [[United States of America]] and eleven southern states which seceded from the Union and formed their own government called the [[Confederate States of America]]. In proportion to the total population, the Civil War was the most costly war fought in American history.

650,000 soldiers died in the war, two-thirds from disease and one-third from battle wounds. Many more were wounded but recovered.

for the social, political, economic and diplomatic history see [[American Civil War homefront]]
==Names==
The American Civil War has been called by other titles: the '''War Between the States'''was popular in the South before the 1970s, as is the informal title '''The Lost Cause'''. Officially, the United States government has called it the '''War of the Rebellion'''. The term "civil war" is most accurate, as it not only involved state against state from a common country, but the splitting of families as well; fathers would take sides against sons, and brother would fight against brother in many battles. In one sad case, Private Wesley Culp of the 2nd Virginia Regiment would die for the Confederacy at the [[Battle of Gettysburg]], killed on his father's farm. <ref>(TL 15, pp. 154-155)</ref>

==Prelude to war==
===Description of the North prior to 1860===
The chief characteristic of the North was its industrialization, which was rapid. Plants to manufacture metal goods sprang up almost as fast as they were invented, and after manufacture they spread quickly. One example was [[John Deere]], who in 1840 was manufacturing a new stainless-steel plow that he had invented barely three years before; by 1848 the plows were selling at the rate of a thousand a year. By 1857, Deere and his partner had expanded with the manufacture of so much farm equipment that the Middle West was made the country's greatest wheat-producing area. Farm equipment also included the first examples of steam-powered plows, and in 1859 there were contests as to who could build and deploy the best plow. One such plow at a contest at Freeport, [[Illinois]] caused an official committee to declare the machine could "plow 25 acres a day at 62.5 cents an acre" versus a normal manual charge of $2.50 an acre. (Nevins, pg 166-168)

Inventions were not limited to farming. [[Locomotive]]s, [[sewing machine]]s, [[shoe pegger]]s, [[reaper]]s, [[auger machine|auger]]s, [[turbine]]s, [[hydraulics]], [[power loom]]s, [[rotary press]]es, and more seemingly raced out of factories. [[Standardization]] was also an American invention, meaning replacement parts could be made and ordered to replace something broken within the machine instead of replacing the machine itself, as Connecticut's [[Samuel Colt]] first demonstrated with his new [[revolver]]. And to keep up with the exporting demand, Northern shipyards produced so many ships that they threatened to eclipse their chief rival, Great Britain. (TL 1, pg 18)

The North was also a melting pot of [[immigration]]. Northern cities were crowded and boisterous, and expanding rapidly. [[New York]]'s population had jumped from 515,000 to 814,000 in the 1850's; [[Chicago]]'s had gone from its 1837 incorporation with barely more than 4,000 people to over 112,000 by 1860. (TL 1, pg 16)

===Description of the South prior to 1860===
The South was largely agrarian. A Southern boast, "Cotton is king!" became very true by the 1850's, as cotton was grown, harvested, and shipped to market in vast quantities. The number of bales in 1849 was 2 million; by 1859 it had jumped to 5.7 million, amounting to more than half of all American exports and seven-eighths of the total amount of cotton in the world. (TL 1, pg 10)

Southern poltiics was controlled by owners of large [[slavery|slave]] plantations, the small minority of well-to-do planters. They practiced a cultivated chivalry, a code of honor among equals with high levels of dueling. Proud parents, when their son came of age, would present him a handsome set of dueling pistols. The code called for a gallantry towards white women, while it was common to have many children by their black slaves; these children became slaves too.

Cotton was in high demand for textile factories in Europe and profits were high on plantations with 50 or more slaves. Most of the profits went toward purchase of new farmland (because cotton rapidly depletes the fertility of the soil) and more slaves, as well as cheap clothing for the slaves. Relatively little was spent on machinery or on luxury goods. More likely money went to gambling, and racehorses. High prestige occupations included plantation ownership, the law and medicine. Doctors were hired to keep the slaves healthy. There were very few colleges in the region, apart from a few small state schools and military academies. One [[Mississippi]] planter, Jefferson Davis, remarked that only in the South "did a gentlemen go to a military academy who did not intend to follow the profession of arms." (TL 1, pg 12)

But the South had several serious drawbacks. Its population at 1860 was roughly 9 million people, of whom more than 3 million were slaves. There were only 18,000 manufacturing plants of any kind in the South, as opposed to the North's more than 100,000. Of these, only two were capable of producing [[rolled iron]], one which produced [[gunpowder]], and none capable of producing [[firearms]]; there were twenty-seven gun manufacturers in [[Massachusetts]] alone. More than 70% of all [[railroad]] mileage was north of the Ohio River; the South had the remainder.

===[[Slavery]]===
[[Image:Whippedslave.JPG|thumb|150px|right|Unknown slave prior to 1860, showing the scars of one, or more, brutal whippings.]]
Before the Civil War, the individual states, particularly in the South, shared a belief that each state was sovereign. Sovereignty included jurisdiction over, and the handling of, each state's affairs, which invariably included their own public and private institutions.

The peculiar institution cited more often than anything else in defending states' rights was slavery. Africans had been present as slaves in the American colonies since the early 17th century; over the years the South began to rationalize it less as an evil and more of an economic necessity; so ingrained into the fabric had slavery become that Vice President John C. Calhoun was to say in 1838:
:''"many in the South once believed that slavery was a moral and political evil. That folly and delusion are gone. We see it now in its true light, and regard it as the most safe and stable basis for free institutions in the world."'' (TL 1, pg 40)

Slaves for the most part were treated brutally. Born in bondage, a slave usually began his first work in the fields at the age of twelve. They would work in the fields from the light of day until, in the words of a Louisiana slave, "until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often labor until the middle of the night" (TL, pg 48). They were fed and clothed poorly, usually in rags; shoes were uncommon. Disease was rampant; only four out of 100 lived past age 60. Absolute subservience to whites was enforced. Punishment for infractions was severe, involving stocks, pronged neck collars, and whippings where salt water was used to clear infection, with the resulting pain so excruciating a slave recollecting it wrote "the flesh crawls upon my bones" (TL 1, pp 49-58)

[[Eli Whitney]] patented the cotton gin in 1793. Prior to that, slaves were harvesting cotton, pulling the seed from the boll, and packing it by hand for market at a rate of 100 bales a week. The gin did the hard work of separating the boll, enabling bales of cotton at a rate of over 1000 a week, often more. The result was the number of annual cotton harvests increased to three, which saw a concurrent rise in profits made by plantation owners; the number of slaves needed for the fields and other tasks increased as well, climbing from 300,000 in 1790 to over three million by 1860.

===Political machinations and compromises===
The '''[[Missouri Compromise (1820)]]''' allowed for the entry of [[Maine]] into the Union as a free state, and [[Missouri]] as a slave state. It was further agreed that slavery was to be excluded from territory north of the 36°30′ parallel, or the remaining western territories. Before admission could be granted to Missouri a clause in the state's constitution provoked controversy: the exclusion of "free Negroes and mulattoes". Under [[Whig]] Henry Clay's influence in the U.S. Senate, an act of admission was passed, upon condition that the controversial [[exclusionary clause]] should "never be construed to authorize the passage of any law" impairing the privileges and immunities of free citizens. The compromise seemed deliberately ambiguous in that it could be interpreted to indicate that free blacks and mulattoes did not qualify as United States citizens, which would be put to direct test years later with a slave named [[Dred Scott]]. [http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Missouri.html]

Another crisis arose from the request of the [[California]] Territory to be admitted to the Union as a [[free state]]; this was complicated by territory acquired in the southwest as a result of the [[Mexican War]] of 1848 and whether to extend slavery there. An omnibus bill drafted by [[Henry Clay]] called the '''[[Compromise of 1850]]''' tried to give satisfaction to the southern states in addition to California's admission: the settlement of the Texas-New Mexico border dispute; the slavery question open for voting via popular sovereignty in the Utah and New Mexico territories as they were organized; the end of slave trading in the District of Columbia; and tough requirements concerning [[runaway slave]]s. [http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Compromise_of_1850]

All five measures were enacted in September, 1850 as a result of the efforts and support of Democratic senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]] and Whig senator [[Daniel Webster]], and were accepted by moderates throughout the country. These measures may have had the effect of postponing Southern [[secession]] for another decade, but the seeds of discord were planted; the precedent of [[popular sovereignty]], championed by Douglas as the way for the public to vote whether or not they wanted slavery in their territories, led to the Kansas territory agitating for a similar provision. And the [[Fugitive Slave Act]] that was a part of the Compromise was so bitterly condemned that many moderates who had ignored slavery in the past became determined opponents to any extension of the institution into the territories. Many would risk jail rather than turn over runaway slaves to their owners as required by the new laws.

The '''[[Kansas–Nebraska Act]]''' (May 30, 1854), sponsored by Douglas, provided for the territorial organization of Kansas and Nebraska, using his principle the idea of popular sovereignty. Douglas had written the act in an effort to slow or halt the sectarianism over slavery's extension, but the Kansas-Nebraska Act merely increased the flames, and was attacked by [[free-soil]]ers and [[abolitionist]]s as a capitulation to those who supported slavery. The [[Whig Party]], ineffective in preventing it, largely disintegrated, and the Republican Party was born and soon became a viable political organization opposed to territorial expansion of slavery.

On the heels of the act a large number of people left Missouri and sought to influence elections in the Kansas Territory. "[[Border Ruffians]]", as they were called, entered Kansas and cast thousands of illegal votes resulting in a pro-slave government that Democratic president [[Franklin Pierce]] recognized, and continued doing so even after it was ruled illegitimate by a congressional investigative committee. The territory's actual residents set up their own legislature and created the [[Topeka Constitution]]; Pierce declared their endeavors an act of rebellion, and he went so far as to send in Federal troops to break it up.

===Bleeding Kansas===
[[Image:Brooks1.jpg|thumb|150px|right|J.L. Magee's cartoon of Preston Brooks attacking Charles Sumner on the Senate floor, May 24, 1856.]]
The Border Ruffians also stirred up violence between themselves and the Free-Staters, which became known as ''[[Bleeding Kansas]]'', beginning with the burning of a hotel and printing press in [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]] on May 21, 1856. Several days later an anti-slavery religious fanatic named [[John Brown]] and a few followers retaliated against five pro-slavery men, hacking them to death with [[broadsword]]s. By August thousands of men had formed into pro-slavery armies and marched into Kansas, expecting to force the territory to accept slavery. That same month a small, pitched battle occurred near the city of [[Osawatomie]]; 300 pro-slavery soldiers under the command of John W. Reid fought against Brown and 40 men. Brown lost the battle and Osawatomie was looted and burned. A fragile peace led by a new territorial governor would commence only when Brown and his men left the territory. [http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/kansas.html]

The day after the hotel in Lawrence was burned, a [[South Carolina]] congressman named [[Preston Brooks]], incensed over an anti-slavery speech given by Massachusetts Senator [[Charles Sumner]], walked onto the senate floor and beat him with a cane so severely that Sumner took three years to recover. <ref>(Bowman, pg 38){{User:WillamH}}</ref>

===Dred Scott decision===
[[Dred Scott]] was owned by an Army physician who was transferred to the state of [[Wisconsin]], a free state, for several years before a transfer to Missouri, a slave state. Scott sued on the grounds that his residence in a free state where slavery was illegal made him free. After a series of unsuccessful lawsuits, Scott appealed to the United States Supreme Court, where in 1856, Chief Justice [[Roger B. Taney]] delivered the majority opinion in ''Dred Scott vs. Sanford'':
*Blacks were not entitled to citizenship according to the U.S. Constitution.
*Blacks were not entitled to freedom under the Ordinance of 1797 while within the area of the Northwest Territory, of which Wisconsin was a part.
*The Missouri Compromise of 1820 prohibiting slavery north of Missouri and in free states was voided.
What the Dred Scott decision meant was any slave could be taken anywhere in the Union without fear that the owner of the slave would lose his property; a slave was private property, Taney stated, and according to the Fifth Amendment could not be taken from the owner without due process. [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=60&invol=393]

The decision further deteriorated North/South relations, as a stunned North realized that free states had to support the institution of slavery.

===Emergence of Lincoln===
[[Image:Abraham-lincoln-cooper-union.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Abraham Lincoln, February 27, 1860.]]
[[Image:SDouglas.jpg|thumb|150px|right|[[Stephen A. Douglas]], around 1858.]]
The Kansas-Nebraska Act attracted much opposition in the country and led to splitting of the Democrats along the [[Mason-Dixon line]] (Douglas in the ensuing years tried desperately to keep it together) as well as the collapse of the Whig Party as an effective political organization. Many former Whigs, whose beliefs included the abolishment of slavery, flocked to the newly-formed [[Republican Party]]; their number would include a lawyer from Illinois who used the act to jump back into politics after a five-year absence, [[Abraham Lincoln]].

Lincoln was nominated for the Senate seat held by Douglas at the Republican State Convention in [[Springfield]] on June 16, 1858. The acceptance speech he gave has been called the "[[House Divided]]" speech, after the opening lines:

:''If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand."  I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.'' [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm]

August through October, 1858 saw seven Illinois towns witnessing the [[Lincoln-Douglas debates]]; Douglas the national figure defending the choice of voters whether to accept slavery or not, and the little-known Lincoln taking a stand against slavery on political, social, and moral grounds. Douglas never wavered from defending popular sovereignty, and he also played on the voters' fears of [[black integration]]. Stating blacks were inferior to whites, he appealed to racists by declaring that the government was "established upon the white basis. It was made by white men, for the benefit of white men." (TL 1, pg 106). Lincoln on the other hand knew Douglas was in a war of his own with President [[Franklin Buchanan]]'s administration over acceptance of the Kansas constitution which barred slavery from the state, further alienating Southern Democratic support; the fear was that Douglas would be more appealing to moderate Republicans in the east. Lincoln's strategy therefore was to point out and use the vast difference between the moral indifference to slavery as embodied by Douglas's popular sovereignty, and the moral wrong that slavery actually was as embodied by Republican opposition to it. Douglas was, Lincoln insisted, a man who did not care whether slavery was "voted up or voted down."

Douglas retained his Senate seat, but by a narrow margin. Lincoln, however, won the debates, which thrust him into the national spotlight and put him on the road to the White House.

===John Brown at Harpers Ferry===
During the spring of 1858, John Brown held a meeting in Ontario between blacks and whites in which he stated his intentions to form a stronghold in the mountains between Virginia and Maryland for escaped slaves, even going so far as to adopt his own provisional constitution for the United States, which his group adopted. Several prominent Boston [[abolitionist]]s also gave him financial and moral support.

By summer, 1859, Brown was in a rented farmhouse in Maryland, across the river from the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia; with him was an armed band of sixteen whites and five blacks. On the night of October 16, he raided the armory and took some sixty of the area's leading men as hostages, and hoped that slaves would get word of his forming an "army of emancipation", escape, and fight with him to liberate their fellow slaves. For the next thirty hours he and his men held out against the local militia, but on the following morning a small force of United States Marines led by Army colonel [[Robert E. Lee]] quickly broke into the arsenal building, wounding Brown, and killing two of his sons and ten other followers. He was tried for murder, slave insurrection,  and [[treason]], and at the end he was convicted and hanged. The day he was to die he spoke no last words, merely handing a note to a guard on which he had written a last, prophetic statement: ''"I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood."'' (TL 1, pp. 70-89)

Ever fearful of a slave insurrection, the South became tougher on its slaves. In Washington, Senator Jefferson Davis assumed, like many others, that the North was behind a conspiracy involving John Brown and others like him, aimed at abolishing slavery. He said in a speech:
:''The Government is no longer to intervene in favor of protection for our slaves. We may be robbed of our property, and the General Government will not intervene for our protection. When the Government gets into the hands of the Republican party, the arm of the General Government, we are told, will not be raised for the protection of our slave property. Then intervention in favor of slavery and [[slave States]] will no longer be tolerated. We may be invaded, and the Black Republican Government will stand and permit our soil to be violated and our people assailed and raise no arm in our defense. The sovereignty of the State is no longer to be a bar to encroachments upon our rights when the Government gets into Black Republican hands. Then John Brown, and a thousand John Browns, can invade us, and the Government will not protect us. ''[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/brown/public_davis.cfm]

Many in the North held a different view. Brown was a martyr for abolition. The great orator [[Frederick Douglas]], a freed [[slave]] himself who was never afraid to confront the evils of the South's "peculiar institution", perhaps offered the best assessment of Brown:
:''His zeal in the cause of freedom was infinitely superior to mine. Mine was as the taper light, his was as the burning sun. Mine was bounded by time. His stretched away to the silent shores of eternity. I could speak for the slave. John Brown could fight for the slave. I could live for the slave. John Brown could die for the slave.'' [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mfd&fileName=22/22002/22002page.db&recNum=9&tempFile=./temp/~ammem_rvc6&filecode=mfd&next_filecode=mfd&prev_filecode=mfd&itemnum=2&ndocs=32]

===1860 Presidential campaign===
[[Image:Electionlincoln.png|thumb|250px|right|Results of the 1860 Presidential Election. Due to the splitting of the country on the slavery issue, Lincoln won only 40% of the popular vote.]]
'' See [[United States presidential election of 1860]]''

In April, 1860, the Democratic Party held its convention in [[Charleston]], South Carolina, and the first platform placed for a vote is pro-slavery. When it is rejected in the course of voting, delegates from eight states in the South walk out; the remaining delegates are forced to adjourn when they cannot agree on a candidate to represent their party in the White House. (Bowman, pg. 40)

The Republicans hold their convention in Chicago in May, 1860, and Lincoln is nominated on the third ballot; he had to stand as a moderate on the slavery issue in order to gain the nomination. The party's platform insists on leaving slavery alone in the states where it already existed and against the spread of it into the territories. (Bowman, pg 40)

The Democrats reconvene their convention in Baltimore, Maryland, in June. Stephen Douglas is nominated for the presidency after the Southern delegates walk out again; they would hold their own convention later in Balitmore and nominate Vice-President John C. Breckenridge on a platform calling for the right to slavery. (Bowman, pg. 40)

The election centered on [[sectionalism]] and slavery, with each candidate doing little more than fanning the fears of the voters; Douglas would be the only one to travel the country personally, including all Southern states, but the split within his party was too great to make a difference. Lincoln went on to win the election, with 180 electoral votes, and 40% of the popular votes, none of which included a Southern state. Breckenridge placed second, winning 72 electoral votes, and 24% of the popular vote. John C. Bell, a candidate for the Constitutional Union Party (made up of former Whigs and former members of a nativist American party derisively called "[[Know Nothings]]"), took the states of [[Virginia]], [[Kentucky]], and [[Tennessee]]. Last was Douglas, barely managing Missouri, and three out of seven electoral votes from New Jersey. Southern leaders speak openly about secession within days of Lincoln's victory. (Bowman, pg 40; Nat. Atlas)

==The Secession==
[[Image:CMercury.GIF|thumb|150px|right|The Charleston ''Mercury'' newspaper printed this special broadside edition on December 20, 1860, just as news reached the editors that South Carolina had withdrawn from the Union.]]
[[image:President-Jefferson-Davis.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America.]]
By December of 1860, both houses of Congress were working on proposals for compromises that would postpone the split they knew was coming. [[John J. Crittenden]] of the Senate committee introduced a proposal that would restore the Missouri Compromise by extending the northern boundary line across the continent to the Pacific, intending that it would last for all time. Crittenden's proposal, as well as the others, came down to a vote, but events would prove it was too late. Most of President Buchanan's cabinet, long angered at him (and his predecessor, Democrat Franklin Pierce) for not standing up to Southern demands which were tearing the country apart, walked out in protest; the latest outrage occurred when a delegation from South Carolina arrived at the White House and demanded the removal of Federal troops from the state (Buchanan rejects it). And President-elect Lincoln, although trying to be careful regarding the slavery issue, is insistent that slavery not be expanded into the territories. (Bowman, pg. 41)

On December 20, 1860, the South Carolina government votes to secede from the Union. Within days they begin war preparations, and seize Federal property. By the end of the month Major Robert Anderson spiked the cannon and removed the force stationed at Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor; nearby Fort Sumter is considered more defensible, and he places the force there. Aware of Anderson's condition, President Buchanan orders reinforcements sent, and USS ''Brooklyn'' is readied for that purpose in Norfolk; she would be replaced days later by General [[Winfield Scott]]'s preference for a non-Naval supply ship, ''Star of the West''.

On January 6, 1861, Florida troops take the Federal arsenal at [[Apalachicola]]. Fort Marion at St. Augustine is seized on the 7th. On the 9th, the ''Star of the West'' would be fired upon as she neared Charleston, causing her to turn around and head back to Norfolk. That same day public celebrations erupt in Mississippi as the state legislature votes 84-15 to secede.
*January 10, Florida votes 67-2 to secede.
*January 11, Alabama votes 69-31 to secede.
*January 19, Georgia votes 208-89 to secede.
*January 26, Louisiana votes 114-17 to secede.
*February 1, Texas votes 166-7 to secede.

On February 4th, a[[ peace convention]] meets in Washington, headed by former President [[John Tyler]]. The 131 members from 21 states (none from the South) work out a last, desperate compromise to save the Union. Speaking to the delegates, Tyler implores that "the eyes of the whole country are turned to this assembly, in expectation and hope." The convention ends in failure. (Bowman, pg. 45)

In Montgomery, Alabama, a provisional congress assembles and draws up a constitution by the end of the week; this document is essentially the United States Constitution, but mildly altered to include provisions for states' rights and protection for slavery:
*''The importation of Negroes of the African race from any foreign country other than the slaveholding States or territories of the United States of America, is hereby forbidden; and Congress is required to pass such laws as shall effectually prevent the same. Congress shall also have power to prohibit the introduction of slaves from any State not a member of, or territory not belonging to, this Confederacy.''
*''The Privilege of the Writ of [[Habeas Corpus]] shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. No [[Bill of Attainder]] or ex post facto Law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in Negro slaves, shall be passed.'' (Article 1, section IX)[http://www.civilwarhome.com/csconstitution.htm]

On February 9, a surprised [[Jefferson Davis]] learns he has been elected provisional president of the newly-formed [[Confederate States of America]]; his vice-president is [[Alexander Stephens]] of Georgia. The two are considered moderate enough to please the legislatures of the remaining Southern states which have not yet seceded.

===Fort Sumter===
[[Image:Ftsum.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Fort Sumter under the Confederate flag, April 1861.]]
On the 4th of March, 1861, Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the nation's 16th president. In his address he reiterated his stance, and what he believed the stance of the nation should be, namely non-interference with slavery where it existed, and preventing slavery to spread in the territories, and above all was his stand to preserve the Union. The substance of what he said was conciliatory, but it also mentioned the obvious:

:''"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of [[civil war]]. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it."'' [http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html]

After communications between [[Fort Sumter]] and Charleston broke down over quietly surrendering the fort, Confederate General [[P.G.T. Beauregard]] knew reinforcing the fort was certain, and he may have been aware of a supply ship already on its way from Norfolk. He ordered the fort shelled on April 12, 1861; the honor of firing the first gun went to an ardent secessionist from Virginia, 66-year-old Edmund Ruffin. The fort surrendered on April 14 after 36 hours of bombardment, the single fatality of the engagement was to a Union soldier, killed when a cannon exploded as they were readying a final salute. Major Anderson and his force were immediately paroled, and were allowed to leave on the supply ship a few hours later.

The American Civil War had begun.

==Continuing articles==
*[[American_Civil_War:_1861|Continue to the events of the Civil War in 1861]]
*[[American_Civil_War:_1862|1862]]
*[[American_Civil_War:_1863|1863]]
*[[American_Civil_War:_1864|1864]]
*[[American_Civil_War:_1865|1865]]
*[[American_Civil_War:_Aftermath|Aftermath]]

==References==

*Time-Life Books ''The Civil War'', vol. 1 (''Brother Against Brother''), Time Inc, New York (1983)
*Time-Life Books ''The Civil War'', vol. 15 (''Gettysburg''), Time Inc, New York (1983)
*Nevins, Allan. ''Ordeal of the Union: A House Dividing'', Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, (1947)
*Bowman, John S. (editor), ''The Civil War Almanac'' World Almanac Publications, New York (1985)

==Links==
====The Official Records of the War of the Rebellion====
*[http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/moa_browse.html Official Records, from Cornell University]
*[http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/default.cfm?CFID=2953054&CFTOKEN=64723065&jsessionid=de3014246f1a3c587075TR Official Records, from eHistory.com]
====General====
*[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/civil_war_maps Library of Congress Civil War map collection]
*[http://www.civil-war.net The Civil War Homepage]
*[http://www.pbs.org/civilwar The PBS/Ken Burns documentary]
*[http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar The History Place]
*[http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/civilwar/civilwar.htm Civil War at a Glance; US Interior Department]
*[http://www.civilwarhome.com Shotgun's home of the American Civil War]
*[http://www.cwc.lsu.edu US Civil War Center, from Louisiana State University]
*[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/nhihtml/cwnyhshome.html Civil War Treasures, from New York Historical Society]
*[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/ Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln]

====Prelude to war====
*[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=60&invol=393 Full text of the Dred Scott v. Sandford]
*[http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Missouri.html Missouri Compromise]
*[http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/kansas.html Kansas-Nebraska act]
*[http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Compromise_of_1850 Compromise of 1850]
*[http://www.usconstitution.net/fslave.html Text of the Fugitive Slave Law]
*[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/brown/public_davis.cfm text of speech by Sen. Jefferson Davis, Dec. 8, 1859]
*[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/P?mfd:2:./temp/~ammem_rvc6:: ''Lecture on John Brown'' by Frederick Douglas]

====Emergence of Lincoln====
*[http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm Lincoln's "House Divided" speech]

====1860 Presidential Campaign====
*[http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/votes/1853_1869.html#1860 Federal Register, 1860 election results]

====Secession====
*[http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1861/march/jefferson-davis-inauguration-speech.htm Jefferson Davis Inaugural speech, as reported in Harper's Weekly]
*[http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address1.html text of Licoln's first inaugural speech]
*[http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/lincoln_address2.html Lincoln's second inaugural speech]
*[http://www.civilwarhome.com/csconstitution.htm Constitution of the Confederate States]

[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]
[[Category:Wars]]
[[Category:Civil Wars]]
[[Category:American Civil War]]
[[Category:Black History]]
[[Category:The South]]

Guatemala

2009-02-13T01:56:48Z

Fairfieldrr: /* History */ fixing "Template: Copyright Details (US Government)"

{{Country
|name =''República de Guatemala''
|map =Guatemala rel00.jpg
|flag =Flag of Guatemala.png
|arms =Arms of Guatemala.png
|capital =Guatemala City
|capital-raw =
|government =Presidential republic
|government-raw =
|language =Spanish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Álvaro Colom
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =42,042 sq mi
|pop =12,728,111 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$62.78 billion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$4,155 (2006)
|currency =Quetzal
|idd =
|tld =
}}
'''Guatemala''' is a [[country]] in [[Central America]]. The capital of Guatemala is Guatemala City (Ciudad de Guatemala). The current president is Álvaro Colom.

==People==
More than half of Guatemalans are descendants of indigenous [[Maya|Mayan]] peoples. Westernized Mayans and mestizos (mixed European and indigenous ancestry) are known as Ladinos. Most of Guatemala's population is rural, though urbanization is accelerating. The predominant religion is [[Roman Catholicism]], into which many indigenous Guatemalans have incorporated traditional forms of worship. Protestantism and traditional Mayan religions are practiced by an estimated 40% and 1% of the population, respectively. Though the official language is Spanish, it is not universally understood among the indigenous population. The peace accords signed in December 1996 provide for the translation of some official documents and voting materials into several indigenous languages.
*Population (2006 est.): 12.3 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2006 est.): 2.27%.
*Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed Spanish-Indian), indigenous.
*Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan.
*Languages: Spanish, 24 indigenous languages (principally Kiche, Kaqchikel, Q'eqchi, and Mam).
*Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--41%. Literacy--70.6%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate--36.9/1,000. Life expectancy--65.19 yrs.
*Work force salaried breakdown: Services--40%; industry and commerce--37%; agriculture--15%; construction, mining, utilities--4%. Fifty percent of the population engages in some form of agriculture, often at the subsistence level outside the monetized economy.

==Government==
Guatemala's 1985 constitution provides for a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The 1993 constitutional reforms included an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices from 9 to 13. The reforms reduced the terms of office for president, vice president, and congressional representatives from 5 years to 4 years, and for Supreme Court justices from 6 years to 5 years; they increased the terms of mayors and city councils from 2-1/2 years to 4 years.

The president and vice president are directly elected through universal suffrage and limited to one term. A vice president can run for president after 4 years out of office. Supreme Court justices are elected by the Congress from a list submitted by the bar association, law school deans, a university rector, and appellate judges. The Supreme Court and local courts handle civil and criminal cases. There also is a separate Constitutional Court.

Guatemala has 22 administrative subdivisions (departments) administered by governors appointed by the president. Guatemala City and 331 other municipalities are governed by popularly elected mayors or councils.

===Principal Government Officials===
*President--Álvaro Colom
*Vice President--Rafael Espada
*Minister of Foreign Affairs--Gert ROSENTHAL
*Minister of Government--Adela de Torrebiarte
*Ambassador to the U.S.--Jose Guillermo CASTILLO
*Ambassador to the UN--Jorge SKINNER-KLEE
*Ambassador to the OAS--Francisco VILLAGRÁN de León

===Political Conditions===
Common and violent crime, aggravated by a legacy of violence and vigilante justice, presents a serious challenge. Impunity remained a major problem, primarily because democratic institutions, including those responsible for the administration of justice, have developed only a limited capacity to cope with this legacy. Guatemala's judiciary is independent; however, it suffers from inefficiency, corruption, and intimidation.

In early December 2006, the government and the UN agreed to the creation of the joint International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). On August 1, 2007, the Guatemalan Congress approved the agreement. An earlier Guatemala-UN agreement was ruled unconstitutional in 2004 before it was acted upon by the Guatemalan Congress. The UN Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) ceased its 10-year project of monitoring peace accord implementation and human rights problems in November 2004 with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan declaring Guatemala had made "enormous progress in managing the country's problems through dialogue and institutions".

===Foreign Relations===
Guatemala's major diplomatic interests are regional security and, increasingly, regional development and economic integration. Guatemala participates in several regional groups, particularly those related to trade and the environment.

The Council of Central American Ministers of Trade meets on a regular basis to work on regional approaches to trade issues. The council signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the U.S. in 1998, and was part of the negotiations that led to the creation of CAFTA. Guatemala joined Honduras and El Salvador in signing a free trade agreement with Mexico in 2000, which went into effect the following year. Guatemala also originated the idea for, and is the seat of, the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).

The U.S and Central American countries signed the CONCAUSA (Conjunto Centroamerica-USA) agreement at the Summit of the Americas in December 1994. CONCAUSA is a cooperative plan of action to promote clean, efficient energy use; conserve the region's biodiversity; strengthen legal and institutional frameworks and compliance mechanisms; and improve and harmonize environmental protection standards.

Guatemala has a long-standing claim to a large portion of Belize; the territorial dispute caused problems with the United Kingdom and later with Belize following its 1981 independence from the U.K. In December 1989, Guatemala sponsored Belize for permanent observer status in the Organization of American States (OAS). In September 1991, Guatemala recognized Belize's independence and established diplomatic ties, while acknowledging that the boundaries remained in dispute. In anticipation of an effort to bring the border dispute to an end in early 1996, the Guatemalan Congress ratified two long-pending international agreements governing frontier issues and maritime rights. In 2001, Guatemala and Belize agreed to a facilitation process led by the OAS to determine the land and maritime borders separating the two countries. National elections in Guatemala put a temporary halt to progress, but discussions resumed in November 2005. Since being named Foreign Minister in early August 2006, Gert Rosenthal has reinvigorated discussions with Belize.

==Defense==
Guatemala is a signatory to the Rio Pact and is a member of the Conference of Central American Armed Forces (CFAC). Guatemala has deployed its troops to UN peacekeeping operations in Haiti and the Congo and has observers in several other locations. The president is commander in chief. The defense minister is responsible for policy. Day-to-day operations are the responsibility of the military chief of staff and the national defense staff.

An agreement signed in September 1996, which is one of the substantive peace accords, mandated that the mission of the armed forces change to focus exclusively on external threats. However, President Berger as well as his predecessors Portillo and Arzu used a constitutional clause to order the army to temporarily support the police in response to a nationwide wave of violent crime.

The accord calls for a one-third reduction in the army's authorized strength and budget--achieved under President Berger--and for a constitutional amendment to permit the appointment of a civilian Minister of Defense. A constitutional amendment to this end was defeated as part of a May 1999 plebiscite, but discussions on how to achieve this objective continue between the executive and legislative branches.

The army has gone beyond its accord-mandated target of reducing its strength to 28,000 troops, and numbered 15,500 troops as of June 2004. Not only was this the most profound transformation of any Central American military in the last 50 years, it also illustrates the effective control the civilian government has over the military. President Berger has tasked the Defense Ministry with increasing the professional skills of all soldiers. As part of the army downsizing, the operational structure of 19 military zones and three strategic brigades were recast as several military zones are eliminated and their area of operations absorbed by others. The air force operates three air bases; the navy has two port bases. Additionally, recent steps have been taken to redefine the military's mission--the military doctrine has been rewritten, and there has been an increase in cooperation with civil society to help bring about this reform.

==Economy==
After the signing of the final peace accord in December 1996, Guatemala was well-positioned for rapid economic growth over the next several years, until a financial crisis in 1998 disrupted the course of improvement. The subsequent collapse of coffee prices left what was once the country's leading export sector in depression and had a severe impact on rural incomes. Foreign investment inflows have been weak, with the exception of the privatization of utilities. Potential investors, both foreign and domestic, cite corruption, lack of physical security, a climate of confrontation between the government and private sector, and unreliable mechanisms for contract enforcement as the principal barriers to new business. On a more positive note, Guatemala's macroeconomic management was sound under the Portillo administration, and its foreign debt levels are modest. The country subscribed to a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2002, which it extended in June 2003.

Guatemala's economy is dominated by the private sector, which generates about 85% of GDP. Agriculture contributes 23% of GDP and accounts for 75% of exports. Most manufacturing is light assembly and food processing, geared to the domestic, U.S., and Central American markets. Over the past several years, tourism and exports of textiles, apparel, and nontraditional agricultural products such as winter vegetables, fruit, and cut flowers have boomed, while more traditional exports such as sugar, bananas, and coffee continue to represent a large share of the export market.
*Real GDP (2006): $22.83 billion.
*Real GDP growth (2006): 4.6%.
*Per capita GDP (PPP, 2006): $4,317.
*Natural resources: Oil, timber, nickel.
*Agriculture (23% of GDP): Products--coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamom, vegetables, flowers and plants, timber, rice, rubber.
*Manufacturing (18% of GDP): Types--prepared food, clothing and textiles, construction materials, tires, pharmaceuticals.
*Trade (2005 est.): Exports--$3.94 billion: coffee, bananas, sugar, crude oil, chemical products, clothing and textiles, vegetables. Major markets--U.S. 28.9%, Central American Common Market (CACM) 42.4%, Mexico 4.8%. Imports--$7.75 billion: machinery and equipment, fuels, mineral products, chemical products, vehicles and transport materials, plastic materials and products. Major suppliers--U.S. 39.6%, CACM 12.3%, Mexico 8.3%, Japan 3.8%, Germany 2.4%.

The United States is the country's largest trading partner, providing 39.6% of Guatemala's imports and receiving 28.9% of its exports. The government's involvement is small, with its business activities limited to public utilities--some of which have been privatized--ports and airports, and several development-oriented financial institutions.

Guatemala ratified the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as CAFTA, on March 10, 2005 and the agreement entered into force between Guatemala and the U.S. on July 1, 2006. CAFTA eliminates customs tariffs on as many categories of goods as possible; opens services sectors; and creates clear and readily enforceable rules in areas such as investment, government procurement, intellectual property protection, customs procedures, electronic commerce, the use of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures to protect public health, and resolution of business disputes.

Other priorities include increasing transparency and accountability in Guatemala's public finances, broadening the tax base, and completing implementation of financial sector reforms. These measures attempt to ensure that Guatemala can comply with the standards of the international Financial Action Task Force for detecting and preventing money laundering.

The United States, along with other donor countries--especially France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Japan--and the international financial institutions, have increased development project financing since the signing of the peace accords. However, donor support remains contingent upon Guatemalan Government reforms and counterpart financing.

The distribution of income and wealth remains highly skewed. The wealthiest 10% of the population receives almost one-half of all income; the top 20% receives two-thirds of all income. As a result, about 80% of the population lives in poverty, and two-thirds of that number--or 7.6 million people--live in extreme poverty. Guatemala's social development indicators, such as infant mortality and illiteracy, are among the worst in the hemisphere. Chronic malnutrition among the rural poor worsened with the onset of the crisis in coffee prices. The United States has provided disaster assistance and food aid in response to natural disasters including Hurricane Stan, which caused extensive mudslides in Guatemala in October 2005.

==History==
The Mayan civilization flourished throughout much of Guatemala and the surrounding region long before the Spanish arrived, but it was already in decline when the Mayans were defeated by Pedro de Alvarado in 1523-24. The first colonial capital, Ciudad Vieja, was ruined by floods and an earthquake in 1542. Survivors founded Antigua, the second capital, in 1543. Antigua was destroyed by two earthquakes in 1773. The remnants of its Spanish colonial architecture have been preserved as a national monument. The third capital, Guatemala City, was founded in 1776.

Guatemala gained independence from Spain on September 15, 1821; it briefly became part of the Mexican Empire, and then for a period belonged to a federation called the United Provinces of Central America. From the mid-19th century until the mid-1980s, the country passed through a series of dictatorships, insurgencies (particularly beginning in the 1960s), coups, and stretches of military rule with only occasional periods of representative government.

====1944 to 1986====
In 1944, Gen. Jorge Ubico's dictatorship was overthrown by the "October Revolutionaries," a group of dissident military officers, students, and liberal professionals. A civilian President, Juan Jose Arevalo, was elected in 1945 and held the presidency until 1951. Social reforms initiated by Arevalo were continued by his successor, Col. Jacobo Arbenz. Arbenz permitted the communist Guatemalan Labor Party to gain legal status in 1952. The army refused to defend the Arbenz government when a U.S.-backed group led by Col. Carlos Castillo Armas invaded the country from Honduras in 1954 and quickly took over the government. Gen. Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes took power in 1958 following the murder of Colonel Castillo Armas.

In response to the increasingly autocratic rule of Ydigoras Fuentes, a group of junior military officers revolted in 1960. When they failed, several went into hiding and established close ties with Cuba. This group became the nucleus of the forces that were in armed insurrection against the government for the next 36 years. Four principal left-wing guerrilla groups--the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), the Revolutionary Organization of Armed People (ORPA), the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR), and the Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT)--conducted economic sabotage and targeted government installations and members of government security forces in armed attacks. These organizations combined to form the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) in 1982.

Shortly after President Julio Cesar Mendez Montenegro took office in 1966, the army launched a major counterinsurgency campaign that largely broke up the guerrilla movement in the countryside. The guerrillas then concentrated their attacks in Guatemala City, where they assassinated many leading figures, including U.S. Ambassador John Gordon Mein in 1968. Between 1966 and 1982, there was a series of military or military-dominated governments.

On March 23, 1982, army troops commanded by junior officers staged a coup to prevent the assumption of power by Gen. Angel Anibal Guevara, the hand-picked candidate of outgoing President and Gen. Romeo Lucas Garcia. They denounced Guevara's electoral victory as fraudulent. The coup leaders asked retired Gen. Efrain Rios Montt to negotiate the departure of Lucas and Guevara.

Rios Montt was at this time a lay pastor in the evangelical protestant "Church of the Word." He formed a three-member military junta that annulled the 1965 constitution, dissolved Congress, suspended political parties, and canceled the electoral law. After a few months, Rios Montt dismissed his junta colleagues and assumed the de facto title of "President of the Republic."

Guerrilla forces and their leftist allies denounced Rios Montt. Rios Montt sought to defeat the guerrillas with military actions and economic reforms; in his words, "rifles and beans." The government began to form local civilian defense patrols (PACs). Participation was in theory voluntary, but in reality, many Guatemalans, especially in the heavily indigenous northwest, had no choice but to join either the PACs or the guerrillas. Rios Montt's conscript army and PACs recaptured essentially all guerrilla territory--guerrilla activity lessened and was largely limited to hit-and-run operations. However, Rios Montt won this partial victory at an enormous cost in civilian deaths, in what was probably the most violent period of the 36-year internal conflict, resulting in about 200,000 deaths of mostly unarmed indigenous civilians.

On August 8, 1983, Rios Montt was deposed by his own Minister of Defense, Gen. Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores, who succeeded him as de facto President of Guatemala. Rios Montt survived to found a political party (the Guatemalan Republic Front) and to be elected President of Congress in 1995 and 2000. Awareness in the United States of the conflict in Guatemala, and its ethnic dimension, increased with the 1983 publication of the book I, [[Rigoberta Menchu]], An Indian Woman in Guatemala.

General Mejia allowed a managed return to democracy in Guatemala, starting with a July 1, 1984 election for a Constituent Assembly to draft a democratic constitution. On May 30, 1985, after 9 months of debate, the Constituent Assembly finished drafting a new constitution, which took effect immediately. Vinicio Cerezo, a civilian politician and the presidential candidate of the Christian Democracy Party, won the first election held under the new constitution with almost 70% of the vote, and took office on January 14, 1986.

====1986 to 2003====
Upon its inauguration in January 1986, President Cerezo's civilian government announced that its top priorities would be to end the political violence and establish the rule of law. Reforms included new laws of habeas corpus and amparo (court-ordered protection), the creation of a legislative human rights committee, and the establishment in 1987 of the Office of Human Rights Ombudsman. Cerezo survived coup attempts in 1988 and 1989, and the final 2 years of Cerezo's government were also marked by a failing economy, strikes, protest marches, and allegations of widespread corruption.

Presidential and congressional elections were held on November 11, 1990. After a runoff ballot, Jorge Serrano was inaugurated on January 14, 1991, thus completing the first transition from one democratically elected civilian government to another.

The Serrano administration's record was mixed. It had some success in consolidating civilian control over the army, replacing a number of senior officers and persuading the military to participate in peace talks with the URNG. Serrano took the politically unpopular step of recognizing the sovereignty of Belize. The Serrano government reversed the economic slide it inherited, reducing inflation and boosting real growth.

On May 25, 1993, Serrano illegally dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court and tried to restrict civil freedoms, allegedly to fight corruption. The "autogolpe" (or self-initiated coup) failed due to unified, strong protests by most elements of Guatemalan society, international pressure, and the army's enforcement of the decisions of the Court of Constitutionality, which ruled against the attempted takeover. Serrano fled the country.

On June 5, 1993, the Congress, pursuant to the 1985 constitution, elected the Human Rights Ombudsman, Ramiro De Leon Carpio, to complete Serrano's presidential term. De Leon, not a member of any political party and lacking a political base but with strong popular support, launched an ambitious anticorruption campaign to "purify" Congress and the Supreme Court, demanding the resignations of all members of the two bodies.

Despite considerable congressional resistance, presidential and popular pressure led to a November 1993 agreement brokered by the Catholic Church between the administration and Congress. This package of constitutional reforms was approved by popular referendum on January 30, 1994. In August 1994, a new Congress was elected to complete the unexpired term.

Under De Leon, the peace process, now brokered by the United Nations, took on new life. The government and the URNG signed agreements on human rights (March 1994), resettlement of displaced persons (June 1994), historical clarification (June 1994), and indigenous rights (March 1995). They also made significant progress on a socioeconomic and agrarian agreement. National elections for president, the Congress, and municipal offices were held in November 1995. With almost 20 parties competing in the first round, the presidential election came down to a January 7, 1996 runoff in which National Advancement Party (PAN) candidate Alvaro Arzu defeated Alfonso Portillo of the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) by just over 2% of the vote. Under the Arzu administration, peace negotiations were concluded, and the government signed peace accords ending the 36-year internal conflict in December 1996. The human rights situation also improved during Arzu's tenure, and steps were taken to reduce the influence of the military in national affairs.

In a December 1999 presidential runoff, Alfonso Portillo (FRG) won 68% of the vote to 32% for Oscar Berger (PAN). Portillo's impressive electoral triumph, with two-thirds of the vote in the second round, gave him a claim to a mandate from the people to carry out his reform program.

Progress in carrying out Portillo's reform agenda was slow at best, with the notable exception of a series of reforms sponsored by the World Bank to modernize bank regulation and criminalize money laundering. The United States determined in April 2003 that Guatemala had failed to demonstrably adhere to its international counternarcotics commitments during the previous year.

A high crime rate and a serious and worsening public corruption problem were cause for concern for the Government of Guatemala. These problems, in addition to issues related to the often violent harassment and intimidation by unknown assailants of human rights activists, judicial workers, journalists, and witnesses in human rights trials, led the government to begin serious attempts in 2001 to open a national dialogue to discuss the considerable challenges facing the country.

National elections were held on November 9, 2003. Oscar Berger Perdomo of the Grand National Alliance (GANA) party won the election, receiving 54.1% of the vote. His opponent, Alvarado Colom Caballeros of the Nation Unity for Hope (UNE) party received 45.9% of the vote. The new government assumed office on January 14, 2004.

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}

==See Also==
*[[Guatemala City Guatemala Temple]]

[[Category:Central American Countries]]
[[Category:Mayan world]]

Lethal injection

2009-02-13T01:54:44Z

Fairfieldrr: lowercase

[[Image:lethalinjection.jpg|right|250px|thumb|A corrections officer preparing for a lethal injection.]]
'''Lethal injection''' is a method of [[execution]] used in [[capital punishment]]. The usual procedure for lethal injection involves strapping a prisoner down to a gurney-style bed. Two sets of [[intravenous]] tubes are inserted into each of the prisoner's arms. A typical lethal injection will include three [[drug]]s:
* [[Sodium pentathol]] - a sedative to put the prisoner to sleep
* [[Pancuronium bromide]] - a [[paralysis|paralyzing]] agent that stops the prisoner's breathing
* [[Potassium chloride]] - a drug that causes the [[heart]] to cease beating

Lethal injection was first used on December 7, 1982, when Charlie Brooks was executed in [[Texas]]. <ref>http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/drowfacts.htm</ref>

Death by lethal injection has not traditionally been believed to be painful as the inmate will lose consciousness prior to the death-inducing drugs being pumped in their veins. Recent medical findings, however, have called this into question. <ref>http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/264/story/19957.html</ref> In September, 2007, the [[Supreme Court]] agreed to hear a case over whether [[Kentucky]]'s three-drug lethal injection cocktail violates the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution by constituting cruel and unusual punishment. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,320527,00.html Supreme Court to Hear Case on Constitutionality of Lethal Injection], Lee Ross, [[Fox News Channel]], January 06, 2008</ref> Several other states have postponed all executions until this case is resolved, although [[Texas]], which executes far more criminals than any other state, has not placed a moratorium on executions. <ref>http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070930/29513_Is_Lethal_Injection_'Cruel_and_Unusual'%3F.htm</ref>

Lethal injection is the preferred method for executions in the [[United States]]. It has also been used in [[China]], [[Guatemala]] and the [[Philippines]]. <ref>http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/injection.html</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category: Punishment]]

Gun control

2009-02-09T06:20:44Z

Fairfieldrr: Moving paragraphs on UK and Australia to "...outside US"

'''Gun control''' laws restrict the purchase or ownership of guns, a weapon acquired mostly for defensive or sporting purposes. Gun control is unique among social programs in increasing the emotional and physical dependency of ''all'' voters on government. Because gun control increases the dependence of voters on government, its political effect is to shift the electorate leftward, and the primary supporters of gun control are the [[liberal media]] and [[leftist]] politicians.<ref>[http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/quotes/repeal.html Quotes of Leftists Demanding Gun Control]</ref>

Gun control is a denial or limitation by [[government]]s of the right to armed [[self-defense]],<ref name="Washington University Law Quarterly"> "In contrast to most other weaponry, firearms are preeminently defensive in effect." [http://www.constitution.org/2ll/2ndschol/76holo.htm Washington University Law Quarterly]</ref> as promised by the [[Second Amendment]] of the Constitution of the [[United States of America]]. Genocide has occurred only after gun control first disarmed the citizenry.<ref name="Washington University Law Quarterly"/>

Proponents use the discredited - but superficially appealing - claim that fewer lawfully-owned guns leads to less crime.<ref>People who support gun control generally believe that gun control laws significantly reduce violent crime. [http://home.sprynet.com/~owl1/irrationality.htm Why People Are Irrational about Politics]</ref><ref>Gun control primarily restricts the lawful acquisition and use of guns. Over 99% of the guns restricted by most gun control regulation are used in a lawful manner.</ref>

In the United States the three primary [[federal]] gun control laws are:
* [[National Firearms Act]] (1934)
* [[Gun Control Act]] (1968)
* [[Brady Bill]] (1993)

These laws have further been amended by other laws such as the [[Firearms Owners Protection Act]] (1986) and the [[Omnibus Crime Bill]] (1994).

== The Fallacy and Motivation for Gun Control ==
[[Image:No Weapons Allowed.gif|right]]
Gun control potentially causes an increase in crime by restricting its main deterrent: [[self-defense]]. In the United States, law-abiding uses of guns outnumber criminal uses by about a factor of 1000 to 1,<ref>http://www.americanselfdefense.com/gunfacts3.0.pdf (p. 60)</ref> and the removal of guns from everyone eliminates the lawful use of self-defense and its deterrent effect. "[[Americans]] use firearms to defend themselves from criminals at least 764,000 times a year."<ref name="Gallup_LAT">"This figure is the lowest among a group of 9 nationwide surveys done by organizations including Gallup and the Los Angeles Times." (Just Facts - [http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp Gun Control])</ref> Specific examples of guns being used successfully in [[self-defense]] are easy to find.<ref>Two 70-ish store owners stopped armed robberies of their stores by shooting at the bandits. "The person came in and pointed the gun at him and my father shot him. I'm proud of him." [http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/253849.html Buffalo News]</ref> "In 1982, a survey of imprisoned criminals found that 34% of them had been "scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim."<ref name="Gallup_LAT"/> When [[Florida]] began allowing its citizens to carry a concealed weapon, [[Florida]]'s firearm homicide rate fell by 37% while the national average ''increased'' by 15%.<ref name="Gallup_LAT"/> As explained below, the political effect of gun control is to cause voters to become more dependent emotionally on government and more supportive of bigger government.

Studies by [[John Lott]] and others indicate that gun control causes higher crime rates.<ref>[http://www.johnrlott.com/ John Lott's Website]</ref> [[Washington, D.C.]] has one of the highest crime rates in [[America]] even though it completely bans private handguns.<ref>[http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm District of Columbia Crime Rates 1960 - 2006]</ref> "Switzerland, Israel, Denmark and Finland, all of whom have a higher gun ownership rate than America, all have lower crime rates than America, in fact, their crime rates are among the lowest in the Western World."<ref>Slashdoc - [http://www.slashdoc.com/documents/71244 gun control]</ref> Lott demonstrates that in [[Britain]], [[Australia]] and [[Canada]], increased gun control in the late 1990s led to increased crime, the exact opposite of what the proponents of the gun control promised.<ref>John R. Lott Jr. and Eli Lehrer - [http://johnrlott.tripod.com/op-eds/IBDGunConFailure.html Add Gun Control To Litany Of Misbegotten Gov't Plans]</ref> States in the [[U.S.]] that have enacted concealed-carry laws enjoy lower crime rates.<ref>[http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4706 Cato report]</ref>

[[image:Robbery victims per 100K.png|300px|thumb|Source data: Australian Bureau of Statistics]]
In [[Australia]], where gun ownership was less widespread and the gun control measures were less strict, there was an immediate increase in robbery and armed robbery after the gun control went into effect in 1996 (see chart at right).<ref>Gun control passed in Australia because "public was immediately whipped into a gun control frenzy by the press" after the "Port Arthur massacre" in Tasmania on April 28, 1996, in which 32 were shot dead and 19 injured. "Although polls done prior to the massacre indicated that the public was satisfied with the amount of 'gun control' they already had, a major newspaper did a poll just a few days after the massacre (while all minds were "clear") and, not surprisingly, found high levels of support for extreme gun control measures. This poll would be used forever by the commonwealth government and other gun controllers to claim that Australians supported the new gun laws to come." - [http://www.gunsandcrime.org/aussiegc.html Gun Control in Australia] (by gunsandcrime.org)</ref>
There is no clear evidence supporting a decrease in crime from gun control.<ref name="Results">[http://www.gunsandcrime.org/auresult.html Results of the Australian Gun "Buyback" & New Gun Laws], October 2001</ref><ref>[http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/azl084v1 Study showing lack of promised benefits from gun control]</ref>

Subsequent to gun control in England:<ref>http://www.reason.com/news/show/28582.html</ref>

:"from 1997 to 2001, the rate of violent crime more than doubled. Your chances of being mugged in London are now [as of 2002] six times greater than in New York. England's rates of assault, robbery, and burglary are far higher than America's, and 53 percent of English burglaries occur while occupants are at home, compared with 13 percent in the U.S., where burglars admit to fearing armed homeowners more than the police. In a United Nations study of crime in 18 developed nations published in July, England and Wales led the Western world's crime league, with nearly 55 crimes per 100 people."<ref>However this increase in recorded violent crime between 1997 and 2001 is explained by the Home Office as a result of changes in the definition of violent crime and new counting rules introduced in 1998. [http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/rdsolr1804.pdf Violent Crime in England and Wales] According to the British Crime Survey, which is considered a more reliable guide to trends in crime[http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/crime-statistics-independent-review-06.pdf], violent crime fell 24% between 1997 and 2001/02, and burglary fell 40% over the same period.[http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1105tab201.xls Trends in BCS incidents of crime]</ref>

Gun control in [[Britain]] and [[Australia]] has been followed by a predictable shift to the left politically by voters as they lost their instrument of self-defense and became more emotionally dependent on government. Contrast that with the [[United States]], where an effort to push gun control after the [[Columbine massacre]] failed in 2000 and the government has remained as [[conservative]] -- if not more so -- ever since.

The emasculation of the citizenry by gun control also arguably reduces the resistance of a society to intimidation, and exacerbates fear of consequences from causing offense. Subsequent to the passage of strict gun control in [[England]] some teachers have avoided teaching controversial subjects such as the [[Holocaust]], the Arab-Israeli conflict and the [[Crusades]] during history classes.<ref>http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RW100.pdf</ref>
Teaching Emotive and Controversial History 3-19] (p.15) The anti-self-defense attitude of British authorities has also turned criminals into "victims" and victims who fight back into "criminals." One particularly egregious case involved a farmer being sentenced to life imprisonment for defending himself in his home after the home was repeatedly burglarized <ref>http://www.theinternetparty.org/commentary/c_s.php?td=200107200000&section_type=com</ref>

== Trends ==
After decades of increasing gun control laws, the current trend in the [[United States]] is in the direction of more gun rights. The 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill included a ban on certain new rifles labeled assault rifles solely because of features of their appearance, and on new high-capacity magazines. This law recently expired and was not renewed by [[Congress]]. Also, Washington D.C.'s gun ban was struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals on March 9, 2007.<ref>The New York Times - [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/washington/09cnd-gun.html?hp Appeals Court Says Gun Ban Violates 2nd Amendment]</ref><ref>The Washington Post - [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030902416.html D.C.'s Ban On Handguns In Homes Is Thrown Out]</ref>

By removing the deterrent effect of guns, gun control causes dramatic increases in crimes committed with other weapons:<ref name="bbc">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2656875.stm</ref>

:You are now six times more likely to be mugged in [[London]] than [[New York]]. Why? Because as common law appreciated, not only does an armed individual have the ability to protect himself or herself but criminals are less likely to attack them. They help keep the peace. A study found American burglars fear armed home-owners more than the police. As a result burglaries are much rarer and only 13% occur when people are at home, in contrast to 53% in England.

Supporters of gun control argue that homicide with guns is much less in [[England]] than in the [[United States]],<ref>In 2005/06, the total number of victims of homicide by shooting (including crossbows) in England and Wales was 50 and there were 212 victims of homicide by sharp instruments. [Home Office Statistical Bulletin - [http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb0207.pdf Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2005/2006][http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb0104.pdf] The data for gun deaths in the United States include guns used in self-defense, as in fending off an assault, robbery or rape, and there were a total of 11,350 gun deaths (including deaths of criminals) in 2005.[US Department of Justice, FBI - [http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_01.html Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1986 - 2005]</ref> but that was true even before gun control and is likely due to cultural reasons. "A study comparing New York and London over 200 years found the New York homicide rate consistently five times the London rate, although for most of that period residents of both cities had unrestricted access to firearms. When guns were available in England they were seldom used in crime. A government study for 1890-1892 found an average of one handgun homicide a year in a population of 30 million."<ref name="bbc" />

Gun control laws are often seen to conflict with the [[Second Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]], which recognizes the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment reads: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

The "right to keep and bear arms" is a right guaranteed to the American citizen by the Bill of Rights through the virtue of a selective reading of said Bill. The phrase "a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state" precedes the statement, and most federal Courts of Appeals have held that this phrase requires that the "right to bear arms" relates to the collective rights of state militias, as opposed to the individual's rights to have any weapon desired. Just recently, the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit went against nine other circuits in holding that the Second Amendment constitutes an individual right.<ref>The New York Times - [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/10/washington/10gun.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Court Rejects Strict Gun Law as Unconstitutional]</ref><ref>FOX News - [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258067,00.html Appeals Court Strikes Down Washington, D.C. Handgun Ban]</ref> However, according to the judge writing for the majority in this case, its decision does still allow for "reasonable restrictions" on gun ownership and use, such as carrying of guns by intoxicated individuals, or in churches.

Only six cities in the [[United States]] ban handguns: [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Chicago]], and four of its suburbs.<ref>David Kopel, "The Democrats and Gun Control," Wall St.J., Page A19, April 17, 2008 [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120839466717921537-lMyQjAxMDI4MDE4NzMxOTc0Wj.html]</ref>

==Overview==
"Gun control" can include:

* Restricting which persons can own firearms.
* Restrictions on the number of firearms a person may own, or purchase during a given time period
* Requirements that privately owned firearms be registered with the government.
* Bans on certain types of firearms; for example, "handguns" or assault rifles
* Restrictions on where firearms may be carried, for example into restaurants or post offices
* Requiring a "background check" and/or a "waiting period" to purchase a firearm
* Restricting when and where firearms may be bought and sold, for example banning their sale through the mail
* Requiring licenses or some other form of permission from the government to buy and/or sell a firearm
* Requiring some form of permission from the government to carry a firearm in public, either concealed or openly
* Laws granting special gun rights for some people, for example retired law enforcement officers, which are denied the rest of the public, which was used in several southern states.
* Outright bans on carrying firearms in public
* Outright bans on private possession of firearms, though this has never occurred in the United States

==Constitutional Debate==
The [[Second Amendment]] reads:

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Most constitutional scholars agree that since the amendment refers to "the right of the People" instead of the right of the militia, it protects an individual right to own guns. The extent of that right was something hotly debated for decades, until the Supreme Court ruling of 26 June, 2008, Heller v District of Columbia.

The majority opinion, written by Justice [[Antonin Scalia]], held for the first time that the Constitution provides an individual right to bear arms, such as for self-defense, rather than a right that applies only to a state militia.

The decision upheld an appellate court ruling striking down Washington, D.C.'s 1976 handgun ban. The case marked the first time in more than 70 years that the Supreme Court had addressed the Second Amendment ''and the first time it spoke directly about the implication of an individual right''. The court struck down two of the District of Columbia's gun control laws: its handgun ban and its requirement that other firearms kept at home have a trigger lock or be disassembled.

Relying on the broader historical record, Justice Scalia wrote:
{{cquote|'''putting all of these textual elements together, we find that they guarantee the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.'''}}

Scalia noted that the ruling should not be interpreted to "cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings." <ref>[http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-2901.pdf Supreme Court Opinion, District of Columbia v Heller]</ref>

==Racism of gun control==
In the [[United States of America]], gun control has a strong racist origin and reasoning. Before the Civil War ended, State "Slave Codes" prohibited slaves from owning guns. After President [[Abraham Lincoln]] issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and after the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery was adopted and the Civil War ended in 1865, States persisted in prohibiting blacks, now freemen, from owning guns under laws renamed "Black Codes." They did so on the basis that blacks were not citizens, and thus did not have the same rights, including the right to keep and bear arms protected in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as whites. This view was specifically articulated by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in its infamous 1857 decision in ''[[Dred Scott v. Sandford]]'' to uphold slavery.

The United States Congress overrode most portions of the Black Codes by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The legislative histories of both the Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as The Special Report of the Anti-Slavery Conference of 1867, are replete with denunciations of those particular statutes that denied blacks equal access to firearms. [Kates, "Handgun Prohibition and the Original Meaning of the Second Amendment," 82 Mich. L. Rev. 204, 256 (1983)] However, facially neutral disarming through economic means laws remain in effect.

After the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1878, most States turned to "facially neutral" business or transaction taxes on handgun purchases. However, the intention of these laws was not neutral. An article in Virginia's official university law review called for a "prohibitive tax...on the privilege" of selling handguns as a way of disarming "the son of Ham," whose "cowardly practice of 'toting' guns has been one of the most fruitful sources of crime.... Let a negro board a railroad train with a quart of mean whiskey and a pistol in his grip and the chances are that there will be a murder, or at least a row, before he alights."<ref>Comment, Carrying Concealed Weapons, 15 Va L. Reg. 391, 391-92 (1909); George Mason University Civil Rights Law Journal (GMU CR LJ), Vol. 2, No. 1, "Gun Control and Racism," Stefan Tahmassebi, 1991, p. 75.</ref> Thus, many Southern States imposed high taxes or banned inexpensive guns so as to price blacks and poor whites out of the gun market.

Today, "gun control" laws continue to be enacted so as to have a racist effect if not intent:

* Police-issued license and permit laws, unless drafted to require issuance to those not prohibited by law from owning guns, are routinely used to prevent lawful gun ownership among "unpopular" populations.
* Public housing residents, approximately 3 million Americans, are singled out for gun bans.
* "Gun sweeps" by police in "high crime neighborhoods" whereby vehicles and "pedestrians who meet a specific profile that might indicate they are carrying a weapon" are searched are becoming popular, and are being studied by the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] as "Operation Ceasefire."
* Some U.S. cities with high minority populations, such as Washington, D.C., are singled out for gun bans.
* "Project Exile" began in the U.S. city of Richmond, Virginia and mandated that people arrested for technical firearms violations (note: not for violent crimes committed with a firearm, but for technical violations of the law) be tried in federal court where they would be subject to lengthy mandatory minimum sentences rather than in state court under the more lenient Virginia laws. As with many other restrictions this was aimed primarily at the city's Black residents. It has since been copied in many other cities.

== Sexism of gun control ==

Firearms, especially lower recoiling ones such as handguns, allow any person to wield enough power to stop another person from attacking them.<ref name="genderDiscrimination1">http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2008/03/19/firearms-rights-are-a-gender-equality-issue-too/ </ref> Many women (quite reasonably) fear the threat of attack by a physically stronger man, and a firearm could prevent many of these attacks, but gun bans leave these women vulnerable. Take the case of the “North Side Rapist” in Chicago, a city where hand guns are banned, as an example: The rapist broke in to the womens homes, and at least one of the women heard him break in and then climb the stairs. Had this woman had a handgun, she almost certainly could have stopped the rapist before it was too late. This would have prevented her from enduring such a horrific crime, as well as preventing the rapist’s future victims from experiencing the same thing. Instead, Chicago law prevented her from being able to defend herself, and gave the advantage to the rapist/home-invader. This is not an isolated incident, and similar events happen every day across the county.

== Elitism of gun control ==

Many of the most ardent American anti-gun politicians, such as Chicago’s Mayor Daley, are protected by taxpayer-sponsored armed body guards, but deny law abiding citizens the right to defend themselves with a gun. <ref name="classDiscrimination1">http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2008/04/16/a-double-standard-anti-gun-politicians-and-their-gun-toting-bodyguards/ </ref> These politicians seemingly believe themselves to be part of an elite group who deserve to be protected against violent criminals, while ordinary law-abiding citizens are left with less-effective means to defend themselves, and must instead rely on the police arriving in time.

== Gun control outside the USA ==

Gun control advocates cite foreign countries to argue that gun control can reduce crime, but such comparison can be difficult due to the presence of other factors. For example, they cite [[Singapore]] as having gun control and a lower crime rate than the [[United States]], but Singapore has less than 5 million persons and one of the highest literacy and average wealth in the world. It lacks many of the freedoms found in the [[United States]] and strictly imposes harsh physical punishment, such as caning and the [[death penalty]], for crimes that are not punished so harshly in the [[United States]]. The real issue of the security in Singapore is its tight criminal control, not the gun control itself.

Gun control supporters also cite [[Gun Control in Japan|Japan's gun control laws]], which severely restrict gun ownership and crime rates are relatively low. But [[Japan]] also lacks many freedoms and diversity which exist in the [[United States]], and [[Japan]] has strong cultural deterrents to crime. Ironically, [[Japan]] is home to [[Tokyo Marui]], the world's largest [[airsoft]] gun manufacturer, which designs airsoft guns that are made to the same scale and with the same materials as the real counterpart and which have been mistaken by police for real guns.

A country with a much lower population density than the United States, and with fewer drug problems, is [[Australia]]. It has always had a much lower homicide rate than the more violent culture in the [[United States]].<ref>In Australia the gun related homicide rate is 0.44 per 100,000 of population. In the US it is about 8 times as high at 3.72 per 100,000 of population.</ref> In the 1990s [[leftists]] in Australia demanded strict [[gun control]] based on isolated violence that was sensationalized in the [[media]]. Predictably, the rate of assaults in Australia ''increased'' with the stricter gun control, and the politics of the country moved to the [[Left]] in greater reliance on government protection.

In the [[European Union]], gun control is more strict than in the United States, but gun ownership differs widely between member states, from 36 per 100 people in [[Cyprus]] to one per 100 in [[Poland]].<ref name="EU">http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/29/europe/union.php EU legislators push tougher gun controls</ref> In November 2007, the [[European Parliament]] passed legislation to tighten and harmonize gun control across the EU, and oblige each member state to set up a computerized database of firearms, as it "hoped to prevent Europe from becoming a gun-friendly culture like the United States".<ref name="EU" /> Parliament wanted to limit cross-border trade from states with less control to those with tougher laws, such as from [[Lithuania]], where replica guns can cost as little as [[Euro|€]]100 (US$150), to the [[United Kingdom]], where all replicas are outlawed.<ref name="EU" />

In the [[United Kingdom]], which already has the strictest gun control in Europe, [[leftists]] demand control over 120,000 ''deactivated'' guns, even though their activation and use constitute only 0.04% of all gun offenses there; fewer guns means greater dependency on government.<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3168607.ece</ref>

In [[Australia]], [[leftist]] insistence on more gun control has been driven by the [[liberal]] media based on statistically insignificant but highly publicized shootings. "[O]n 28 April 1996, 32 people were shot to death, 19 were seriously injured, and three others were otherwise killed near Port Arthur, Tasmania [in Australia]. The public was immediately whipped into a gun control frenzy by the press ... and others."<ref>"Although polls done prior to the massacre indicated that the public was satisfied with the amount of 'gun control' they already had, a major newspaper did a poll just a few days after the massacre (while all minds were 'clear') and, not surprisingly, found high levels of support for extreme gun control measures. This poll would be used forever ...."[http://www.gunsandcrime.org/aussiegc.html]</ref><ref>"For example, The Australian newspaper ran an editorial on Monday October 7, 2002 in which it stated, 'Most voters ... seek nothing less than the strongest gun laws available.' ... The point is that the media are again in a frenzy about guns. ... Why am I not surprised that this is all happening in Australia at the same time as there is a rogue sniper on the loose in America?"[http://www.class.org.au/The%20next%20round%20in%20gun%20control.htm]</ref> The passage of gun control in Australia in 1996 and its expansion in 2002 has led to a complete takeover of all nine federal, state and territory legislatures by the Labor Party, the first time a single party has ever achieved this in Australian history.<ref>The Sydney Morning Herald - [http://www.smh.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/either-way-its-history-in-the-making/2007/11/23/1195753310949.html Either way, it's history in the making]</ref><ref>ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - [http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/ 2007 Federal Election]</ref>

== Gun Control and Genocide ==
Gun control "contributes to the probability of its government engaging" in [[genocide]], including the three worst instances in the 20th century:<ref>"[A] society's weapons policy might be one of the institutional arrangements that contributes to the probability of its government engaging in some of the more extreme varieties of outrage. ... [I]t is [] an arresting reality that not one of the principal genocides of the twentieth century, and there have been dozens, has been inflicted on a population that was armed." [http://ls.wustl.edu/WULQ/75-3/753-4.html Washington University Law Quarterly]</ref>

*In 1911, [[Turkey]] imposed gun control and then, from 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million defenseless Armenians were killed.

*In 1929, the [[Soviet Union]] imposed gun control and over the next 24 years about 20 million defenseless dissidents were killed.

*In 1938, [[Germany]] imposed gun control and then over the next seven years 13 million defenseless Jews and other victims were exterminated. <ref>[http://www.thegunzone.com/rkba/rkba-12.html The True Face of Gun Control], Dean Speir, The Gun Zone RKBA, Accessed December 26, 2007</ref>

"The Nazis made only two important changes to the Weapons Law that was in place when they came to power. First, they forbade Jews from owning guns or any other weapon. Second, they exempted members of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and many Nazi party officials from the law's strictures."<ref name="Washington University Law Quarterly"/> The German Firearms Act of 1937 stated "No civilian is to have a firearm without a permit and permits shall not be issued to persons suspected of acting against the state. ''For Jews, this permission will not be granted.'' Those people who do not require permission to carry weapons include the whole of the SS, and the SA - including the Deaths Head group, and the officers of the Hitler youth." <ref name="Volokh">[http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a38d04d5c7c40.htm The Journalist's Guide to Gun Policy Scholars and Second Amendment Scholars], Professor Eugene Volokh, FreeRepublic.com, March 15, 2000</ref>

Adolph Hitler said, "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so." <ref name="Volokh" />

[[Josef Stalin]], former dictator of the [[USSR]] and murderer of over 20 million people, infamously supported Gun control in the fear that his evil regime might be torn down and so only soldiers could have gunpowder weapons.

== Gun Control and young mass murderers ==

''Main article: [[Young mass murderers]]''

Strict gun control failed and still fails to prevent mass murderers from starting killing sprees while the victims are unable to defend themselves.

Compare the cases of Pekka-Eric Auvinen ([[Finland]]) and Robert Steinhäuser ([[Germany]]) with the case of Matthew Murray. The latter was stopped by an armed citizen before he could harm more victims; Auvinen killed 8 people and Steinhäuser killed 16. Both Finland and Germany have gun control laws.

==Other terms==
Other terms sometimes used by those who are opposed to gun control include:
* Rights restriction
* Victim disarmament

==See Also==
* [[Gun control quotes]]
*[[Essay:US Armed Citizens and Crime Control]]
*[[John Lott]]

==External Links==

=== Opposed to gun control ===
*[http://www.2asisters.org/ Second Amendment Sisters]
*[http://www.nra.org/ The National Rifle Association]
*[http://www.nrapublications.org/AC/index.asp Armed citizens defending themselves.]
*[http://www.a-human-right.com/ A Human Right] Discussion of the human right to self defense with a firearm.
*[http://www.learnaboutguns.com/ Learn About Guns] Firearm information and politics.
*[http://www.gunowners.org/ Gun Owners of America] A no-compromise pro-gun lobby in Washington, D.C.
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/gun-control/ What Liberals Say - Category: Gun Control]
*[http://www.guncite.com/ GunCite: Gun Control and Second Amendment Issues]
=== In favor of gun control ===
*[http://www.guninformation.org/ Gun Control and the Second Amendment]
*[http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-switzerland.htm Myth: Switzerland proves that high gun-ownership doesn't increase murder]
*[http://www.guncontrol.ca/Content/international.html Coalition for gun control]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[category:Second Amendment]]
[[Category:gun control]]
{{liberalism}}

Plutonium

2009-02-09T06:14:49Z

Fairfieldrr: headings, more information on plutonium, small fixes

{{Element | name=Plutonium | symbol=Pu | anumber=94 | amass=244 amu | state=Solid | class=Metallic | cstructure=Monoclinic| color=silvery | date=1940 | discname=G.T.Seaborg, A.C.Wohl and J.W.Kennedy | origname=Named after the planet Pluto. | uses=Fuel for nuclear reactors, as well as nuclear weapons. | obtained=Found in small doses in some [[uranium]] ores. Also manufactured by bombarding [[uranium]] with [[neutrons]]. }}

'''Plutonium''' is a [[silver]]y radioactive metal named after the planet [[Pluto]].

==History==
Plutonium is a [[man]]-made element discovered in 1940 after [[uranium]]-238 was bombarded with [[neutron]]s in a device called a [[cyclotron]]. Plutonium-239, as well as uranium-235 and uranium-233, are among the few materials whose [[atom]]s can be split (or ''[[Nuclear fission|fissioned]]'') to create a nuclear explosion, which releases massive amounts of [[energy]] almost instantaneously.

==Applications==
Plutonium is used in the manufacture of [[nuclear weapon]]s. It was first made in significant quantities during the [[World War II]] [[Manhattan Project]]. While plutonium-239 (the isotope used in weapons) is produced in all uranium-fueled nuclear reactors, it generally cannot be used for weapons production because small amounts of plutonium-240 gradually build up, "poisoning" the plutonium-239.

Plutonium can also be used as a [[fuel]] in certain types of [[nuclear reactor]]s where the fission process is controlled so that large quantities of energy are released more slowly to make [[steam]] and produce electricity. The split plutonium atoms become lighter elements such as the life-threatening [[cesium]]-137 and [[strontium]]-90, many of which are highly [[radioactive]]. These "fission products" are radioactive waste, although some are useful for nuclear medicine and other purposes.

Plutonium-238 decays more rapidly than plutonium-239, which generates larger amounts of heat. So much heat that it can glow red-hot if insulated. Small pieces of Pu-238 have been used in U.S. spacecraft to keep sensitive components warm for years at a time.

[[category:Elements]]
[[Category:Metals]]

User:Fairfieldrr

2009-02-09T05:59:01Z

Fairfieldrr: New page: Hi, I'm '''Fairfieldrr'''. My usual topics are European history and engineering, and I edit on several other Wikis in my free time.

Hi, I'm '''Fairfieldrr'''.

My usual topics are European history and engineering, and I edit on several other Wikis in my free time.

Uranium

2009-02-09T05:56:36Z

Fairfieldrr: Copyediting, adding information, wikifying

{{Element | name=Uranium | symbol=U | anumber=92 | amass=238.02891 amu | state=Solid | class=Metallic | cstructure=Orthorhombic| color=metallic grey, reacts slowly with oxygen and rapidly with water. | date=1789 | discname=Martin J. Klaproth | origname=From the planet Uranus. | uses=For many centuries it was used as a pigment for glass. Now it is used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and in nuclear weapons. Depleted uranium is used in the kinetic penetrators of armor-piercing artillery shells, armor plating on tanks, and as ballast in the wings of some large aircraft. | obtained=Primary uranium bearing ores are uraninite, autunite, carnotite, samarskite and torbernite. }}
'''Uranium''' (U) is a heavy, naturally [[radioactive]], [[metal]]lic [[element]] with an [[atomic number]] of 92.

==Isotopes==
Its two principally occurring [[isotope]]s are uranium-235 and uranium-238. Their respective proportions play a large role in its use.

Uranium-238 is the dominant isotope, making up 99.3% (mass basis) of natural uranium. This percentage varies little between mines. In nuclear reactors, it plays an important role by absorbing neutrons to produce a [[radioactive]] isotope which subsequently decays to the isotope [[plutonium]]-239, which is [[fission]]able by the thermal neutrons present in conventional light water reactors.

Uranium-235 is indispensable to the nuclear industry because it is the only isotope existing in nature that is fissionable by the thermal [[neutron]]s. It makes up 0.7% of natural uranium. In a process called ''enrichment'', the proportion of uranium-235 is increased by small amounts in hundreds of steps to produce fuel of 2% to 5% uranium-235. This, unlike natural uranium, can sustain a nuclear chain reaction in a light water reactor.

==Applications==
''Depleted uranium'' is a by-product of enriched uranium, a mixture of the 235 and 238 isotopes with a lower concentration of uranium-235 than in nature. It is one of the densest materials known to man. As such, it has been used for artillery shells, tank armor, ballast, and gyroscopes. There are no known serious health risks stemming from external exposure to it,<ref>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050724094117.htm</ref><ref>http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium/guide/depletedu/health/index.cfm</ref> however it can still cause heavy metal poisoning when ingested, in the same manner as commonplace elements such as [[lead]], [[mercury]], and [[cadmium]].

Uranium compounds display a wide range of colors and have been used for coloring ceramic glazes and glass.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Elements]]
[[category:energy]]
[[Category:Metals]]

Uranium

2009-02-05T08:00:25Z

Fairfieldrr:

Professor values

2009-02-05T07:58:20Z

Fairfieldrr: linking

'''Professor values''' refer to the common value system embraced by a large percentage of [[professor]]s, just as [[Hollywood values]] refers to the common value system of many in [[Hollywood]] and the entertainment industry.
Professor values are currently one of the most prevalent forms of [[Liberal]] indoctrination.

An extremely high percentage of professors disagree with [[conservative]] principles.<ref>"90 percent of United States professors called themselves liberal or moderate .[http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol3/iss1/art2/]</ref> Professors' common value system typically includes [[atheism]], [[censorship]], [[socialism]], unjustified claims of expertise and knowledge (for example, the dogmatic promotion of the theory of [[evolution]],<ref>For example, a $100,000 "environmental" prize was awarded for work on a [[politically correct]] "theory of convergent evolution." [http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2008/4/4/briefBiologyProfAwardedEnvironmentalAchievementPrize]</ref> [[liberаl]] beliefs, [[liberal grading]], [[liberal bias]],<ref>http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2005/08/26/johnson</ref> anti-patriotism, lack of productivity, [[bullying]] or discouraging [[conservative]] students (for example, homeschoolers),<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/21/AR2008032101451.html</ref><ref>http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/news/488/NCliberalbiasagnstcons060104.htm</ref> and promotion of sexual immorality.<ref>http://www.academia.org/campus_reports/2001/oct_2001_4.html</ref><ref>http://www.academia.org/campus_reports/1998/october_1998_1.html</ref>
In a [[Zogby]] poll, 58% of [[Americans]] said that the bias of professors is a serious problem, while 39% said it is a "very serious" problem.<ref name="zogby">http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1334</ref> The survey demonstrated further that "an overwhelming majority also believe that job security for college professors leaves them less motivated to do a good job than those professors who do not enjoy a tenured status - 65% said they believe non-tenured professors are more motivated to do a good job in the classroom."<ref name="zogby" /> One study in 2008 found that "[[Texas]] university professors overwhelmingly favor
[[Democratic]] candidates in their campaign contributions."<ref>http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5753471.html</ref>

Professors sometimes engage in wrongdoing while completing research. "About 1,000 potential incidents of fabrication, falsification or plagiarism in scientific research go unreported every year, according to a survey that suggests such misconduct is far more prevalent than suspected. ... 22 percent was by a professor or senior scientist."<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aYFanemP24yM&refer=home</ref>

Faculty boards have been known to (on multiple occasions) block the granting of a tenured professorship to candidates for tenure who:

* criticize the [[theory of evolution]]<ref>"As reported last week, two members of the department that denied tenure to astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez at Iowa State University (ISU) have publicly admitted that Gonzalez's work on intelligent design played a role in his denial of tenure." [http://www.evolutionnews.org/2007/05/iowa_state_avoids_key_question.html]</ref>
* criticize [[feminism]]
* criticize [[abortion]]
* oppose the [[homosexual agenda]]
* criticize the [[liberal bias]] in [[academia]] itself

For example, professors at [[Washington University]] wore white armbands to protest an award of an honorary degree to [[Phyllis Schlafly]], a noted [[conservative]], in an act of political partisanship and utter unprofessionalism.<ref>http://publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1279565&sectionID=1</ref> At the [[University of Chicago]], more than one hundred professors signed a letter to protest a proposal to honor [[conservative]]-leaning [[Nobel Prize]]-winning colleague [[Milton Friedman]].<ref>http://bourdaghs.com/blog.html?p=484</ref>

Politicians are routinely given high-ranking academic positions. Examples include:

* [[Al Gore]]<ref>Beginning early in 2001, "Gore will be [at UCLA] to develop a new curriculum for family-centered community building, a multidisciplinary approach that brings together authorities from such fields as education, business and public policy to work on problems that ail our society and affect our children. ... He also will be teaching at three other universities - Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro and Fisk University in Nashville - in addition to his teaching and research work at UCLA." [http://spotlight.ucla.edu/special-guests/al-gore_teach/]</ref>
*[[Alexander Downer]]<ref>Downer is so pro-[[abortion]] that, as Foreign Minister of Australia, he "asked for a review of the government's ban on funding for abortion services in other countries."[http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/51731.php]</ref>
*[[Michael Dukakis]]
*[[Gary Hart]]
*[[Bob Kerrey]]
*[[Tony Blair]]<ref>Blair was given a prestigious visiting lectureship.</ref>
*[[Tom Kean]]

==Crimes and Alleged Crimes by Professors==

*Brandon Millay, 41, a professor at Owensboro Community & Technical College, was indicted on Dec. 2, 2008, on steroid distribution charges.<ref>http://www.news25.us/dsp_story.cfm?storyid=10071?</ref>

*Retired Bucknell University professor Jack Harclerode pled guilty on Dec. 1, 2008, on 20 felony counts of child pornography for having 245 images of child pornography on his computer and a portable hard drive. He faced a maximum sentence of 140 years in state prison.<ref>http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11119182</ref>

*The head of the Economics Department at Bard College, 54-year-old Professor Kristie Feder, was arrested on drug charges on November 14, 2008 "after State Police found 16 marijuana plants growing in her home ... ranging in size from eighteen inches to seven feet."<ref>http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/arrested_1258699___article.html/charges_professor.html</ref>

* Sociology professor Hassan Diab arrested for his involvement in the 1980 bombing of a synagogue which killed four. <ref>http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081113/diab_arrest_081113/20081113?hub=TopStories</ref>

* "A college professor accused of intercepting the e-mail of a student with whom he had an affair has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Stephan Grzeskowiak, 34, entered the plea .... A federal grand jury has indicted the former assistant professor of marketing ... on five counts of intercepting electronic communications and one count of computer fraud. He is accused of intercepting e-mails and instant messages on a computer used by the woman in May 2007."<ref>http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-professor-hacking,0,2077856.story</ref>

* "Vanderbilt University professor James J. Lang was arrested Friday evening in Fairview on a charge of receipt of child pornography."<ref>http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080913/NEWS03/809130338/1017/news01</ref>

* Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor Jeffrey Hunker, 51, "was charged with drunken driving three times in eight days" in August 2008 and, as a result, prosecutors asked the judge to imprison him. He had worked in the Clinton Administration and was driving his new BMW when stopped for the third time.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,412801,00.html</ref>

* University of Iowa political science professor "Arthur H. Miller, 66, has been accused of demanding sexual favors from students in exchange for better grades .... He was arrested on four counts of bribery, a class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison ...."<ref>http://iowaindependent.com/3876/ui-mired-in-another-sex-scandal</ref> After being released without bail, Miller then disappeared and police wasted thousands of dollars looking for him.<ref>http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080822/NEWS/27671323/0/FRONTPAGE</ref> Later his body was found in a park. "He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound."<ref>http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080826/NEWS/80826009/-1/LIFE04</ref>

* Arkansas Tech University chemistry professor Albert Snow, 33 years old, was sentenced to 10 years in jail "on a charge he stalked a person he believed was a teenage girl on the Internet." "Snow was arrested in January 2007 after showing up at a Russellville apartment complex where police say he expected to meet a 15-year-old girl."<ref>http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=8803789</ref>

* At Northern Kentucky University, language and literature professor Sally Jacobsen incited some of her students to vandalize a pro-life display by Northern Right to Life, the campus pro-life group. Jacobsen herself also participated in the vandalism, which involved destroying rows of white crosses symbolizing the graves of aborted children. Jacobsen justified the vandalism as free speech, stating, "I did, outside of class during the break, invite students to express their freedom-of-speech rights to destroy the display if they wished to." Jacobsen was unrepentant until given the choice of facing criminal charges of theft, criminal mischief and criminal solicitation or apologizing. Jacobsen chose the latter and also paid Northern Right to Life for damage to the display. Jacobsen was suspended by the university and subsequently retired.<ref>http://www.lifenews.com/state3207.html</ref>

* College of New Jersey adjunct professor of engineering Bruce R. McKenna, 43, "surrendered to authorities after allegedly having sexually explicit conversations with an undercover officer posing as a teenage girl." He was "charged with six counts of attempting to endanger the welfare of a child, six counts of attempted sexual contact, sexual assault and attempted luring. ... Before McKenna was arrested, the situation escalated to the point where the professor was allegedly trying to meet with a 13-year-old girl."[http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/local/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1218698712309020.xml&coll=8]

* "A [[South Korea]]n court Monday sentenced a former university art professor to 18 months in jail for forging her [[US]] degree certificates, officials said. The Seoul District Criminal Court found Shin Jeong-Ah guilty of forging undergraduate and master's degrees from the [[University of Kansas]] and [[Yale University]] to secure a job at Seoul's Dongguk university."<ref>http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jCfPQ1_mqM2VaXzQUSy-mXwQIvXQ</ref>

* [[Villanova University]] professor Edward R. Ritter was arrested on March 21, 2008, and charged with selling marijuana to undercover police officers, and a subsequent search of his home uncovered 19 bags of marijuana.<ref>http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20080322_Villanova_professor_arrested_on_drug_charges.html</ref>

* Kansas State University English professor Thomas Murray was a popular teacher, but he was convicted of murdering his ex-wife with 17 stab wounds and blunt trauma to her head. She "was found dead in her bedroom atop a dresser."<ref name="ctv">http://www.courttv.com/trials/murray/backgrounder_ctv.html</ref> Professor Murray had written several books, including "The Language of Sadomasochism."<ref name="ctv" /> He did not testify in his defense and spoke only at sentencing, where he called the state's case a "fairy tale."<ref>http://www.kansaspublicradio.org/newsstory.php?itemID=5892</ref>

* Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Anatomy associate professor Peter Alan Rogers, 59, was arrested on Apr. 21, 2008 on a charge of possession of child pornography on a school laptop computer.<ref>http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/04/24/professor_0425.html</ref>

* Shortly after the end of the school year and his contract, Marshall University Psychiatry associate professor John M. Adams burglarized and murdered Bobby Burns on July 2, 2003, and then kidnapped two women and forced them to drive him across the Ohio River.<ref>http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/07/29/loc_ohprofessor29.html</ref>

* University of South Florida professor Sami al-Arian pled guilty to "aiding a terrorist group" and was "sentenced to 57 months in prison."<ref name="nysun">http://www.nysun.com/article/72228</ref><ref>http://www.mysuncoast.com/Global/story.asp?S=7961089&nav=menu577_2_1</ref> He then "spent more than a year in civil contempt after refusing to appear before two grand juries investigating Islamic charities in Northern Virginia."<ref name="nysun" />

* Claremont McKenna College visiting professor Kerri Dunn was sentenced to a year in state prison after she was found guilty of staging a phony [[hate crime]], in which she "spray-painted her car with racist and anti-Semitic slurs and then reported a hate crime on campus."<ref>http://www.knbc.com/education/3998600/detail.html</ref>

* University of Hawaii professor Marc Fossorier was arrested and later convicted and sentenced to one year in jail for attempting a sex crime with a girl apparently only 15 years old.<ref>http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/4582/40/</ref>

* A [[New Jersey]] Cumberland County College professor "was arrested on charges of harassment, trespassing and stalking."<ref>http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080305/NEWS01/80305019/1002</ref>

* University of Central Florida political science professor Michael Shawn Reichert was arrested for having "a stash of more than 100 child pornography pictures on his work computer," "plus three pornographic movies."<ref>http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_local_orlandocrime/2007/07/ucf-professor-a.html</ref>

* [[University of Wisconsin]] adjunct professor Victor M. Zamudio-Taylor resigned after being charged with viewing child-pornography in a campus computer laboratory.<ref>http://badgerherald.com/news/2002/03/19/uwmilwaukee_professo.php</ref>

* Concordia University professor Valery Fabrikant shot and killed four other professors in 1992. <ref>http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/01/25/qc-valeryfabrikant0125.html</ref>

* A [[British]] university professor was jailed for ten months for plotting to defraud a hospital trust. <ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010626/ai_n14398964</ref>

* [[French]] [[Marxist]] [[structuralist]] [[philosopher]] Professor [[Louis Althusser]] (1918-1990) killed his wife in 1980 and was afterwards confined to a psychiatric hospital.

* Professor Daniel Storm, of the University of Washington, flushed 4 liters of the flammable solvent ethyl ether down the sink, rather than pay the safe disposal fees. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Oesterle said that his using an axe to open the containers was particularly dangerous because a spark could easily have ignited the ether. <ref>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003607035_uwprof08m0.html</ref>

* An Associate Professor at Youngstown State University was locked up and fined $50 after baring his buttocks in front of children at a county fair. <ref>http://www.thejambar.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=38283b71-1223-4e85-929f-ba0f932d5366</ref>

* Philosophy professor [[Abimael Guzman]] of the National University of San Cristobal de Huamanga in [[Peru]] founded the bloodthirsty [[Shining Path]] organization, one of the most violent terrorist groups of recent decades.

* A childcare lecturer at Athlone Institute of Technology, [[Ireland]], was convicted of sexual assault while on a trip to [[Amsterdam]]. Despite this, AIT let him keep his job - until the crime was exposed in the local media.<ref>http://www.breakingnews.ie/archives/2008/0415/ireland/mhojqlidcwid/</ref>

* A lecturer in sexual health at the University College of Medicine, [[Cardiff]], [[United Kingdom]] was fined £3,000 for child pornography offenses. <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1497151.stm</ref>

* Professor Antonio Lasagna of the ultra-liberal [[Yale]] university was convicted of child pornography and of molesting a child. The crimes were committed on campus.<ref>http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=359</ref>

* University of Tennessee Physics professor, J. Reece Roth has been found guilty of passing U.S. Air Force secrets to [[China]] and [[Iran]]. Jury concluded he was guilty on 18 counts of conspiracy, fraud and violating the Arms Export Control Act. <ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/us/professor_secrets/2008/09/03/127312.html Tenn. Professor Guilty of Passing Military Secrets] AP, September 3, 2008</ref>

==Immoral, Unethical, or Bizarre Behavior==
*Arthur Butz, professor of electrical engineering at [[Northwestern University]], is a prominent [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust denier]]. His most infamous book is ''The Hoax of the Twentieth Century'', one of the first major works of Holocaust denial written in [[English]].<ref>''[http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/butz.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=2&item=butz Arthur Butz]'' Extremism in America. [[ADL]]</ref>

*A Texas Southern University professor is being investigated for allegedly plagiarizing his grant proposal [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6085039.html]

*The President of the University of Texas-Pan American is under investigation after allegations that she [[Plagiarism|plagiarized]] her 1974 dissertation <ref>http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jigNGLtg9PtFNelXVdVdNFVfb48wD943SDH03</ref>.

* An [[Iowa]] community college [[president]] resigned after publication of a photo that appeared to show him pouring beer into a young woman's [[mouth]]. But the [[school]]'s board of trustees approved a [[severance package]] that officials said was [[value]]d at about $400,000 plus benefits.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,413101,00.html</ref>

* A Kansas university professor, Fort Hays State University debate coach William Shanahan, "is under fire after a video showing him mooning a room full of students and faculty during a heated debate found its way onto YouTube." He "is shown on the video in a profane, in-your-face argument with his counterpart from the University of Pittsburgh ...."[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,403781,00.html Kansas Professor in Trouble for Mooning Incident]

*Emory University History Professor of History [[Michael Bellesiles]], a [[gun control]] advocate, wrote a book entitled ''Arming America, The Origins of a National Gun Culture'' (2000). Gary Wills gave it a glowing review in ''The New York Times'', but admitted later that "I was took. The book is a fraud."<ref>Jonah Goldberg, [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/guests/s_501644.html ''Reports of the 2nd Amendment's death have been greatly exaggerated ...''] Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Apr. 8, 2007.</ref> Bellesiles resigned from his position as Professor of History when an independent committee of scholars examined his work and concluded that "his scholarly integrity is seriously in question."<ref>http://hnn.us/articles/1069.html</ref>

*According to one columnist, 88 Duke professors -- more than 10 percent of the Duke professorial faculty - endorsed and published an advertisement hurtful to students who had been wrongly accused of rape during a lacrosse team party, which "helped create the lynch-mob atmosphere."<ref>http://www.nypost.com/seven/03232007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/duke__who_wont_pay_opedcolumnists_john_podhoretz.htm</ref>

* When student Rebecca Beach circulated an email at Warren Community College in New Jersey disclosing that decorated Iraq war hero Lt. Col. Scott Rutter would be visiting, English professor John Daly replied: "Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors."<ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47461</ref>

*[[Ward Churchill]] was fired from the University of Colorado for fabricating his research and for plagiarizing the work of others. He had falsely claimed to be of Native American descent in applying for the post. He was later to insult victims of 9/11 as 'Little Eichmanns'.

*[[Richard Lenski]] of Michigan State University was rude and demeaning when replying to a member of the public who asked about his research.

* When challenged to provide data, professors who support evolution evade the question [http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservapedia_talk:Lenski_dialog#Lead_author_won.27t_answer_simple.2C__basic_questions]

*Madonna Constantine, a Columbia University professor claimed she was the victim of racism in the fall of 2007 when a noose was found on her office door. Now she has been fired for plagiarizing the work of other professors and even her own students! [http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/25/plagiarism.professor/]

*Vulgar and viciously bigoted anti-religion (mainly Christianity) University of Minnesota Morris professor and blogger [[Paul Zachary Myers|PZ Myers]] recently raised the hackles of Catholics by stating his desire to desecrate a Holy Communion wafer (viewed by Catholics as the Body of Christ).<ref>http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1459</ref> The resultant outcry from Catholics resulted in the university removing all links to Myers' blog from their website.<ref>http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1460</ref>

*3,200 educators, most of them [[professors]], have signed a letter supporting unrepentant domestic [[terrorist]] and fellow professor [[William Ayers]]. They claim Ayers bombing of the [[Pentagon]] and other [[government]] buildings, his direct involvement in at least three [[deaths]], were just "[[history]]." Notable signers include Professor Rashid Khalidi (No. 5), known for his call to destroy Israel and former professor Ward Churchill (No. 814), claiming the 9/11 victims were Nazis. George Leef, director of research for the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, Raleigh, N.C., said, "History should be important to [[teachers]]." <ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/22/academics-sign-pro-ayers-petition/ More Than 3,000 Academics Sign Pro-Ayers Petition] Fox News, October 22, 2008</ref>
*Professors engage in [[grade inflation]], giving their students artificially high grades—whether they deserve them or not. In addition, classes have been dumbed down at most universities and require much less work than previously.

==Crimes against humanity==
*[[Time magazine]]'s Atomic deacon [[William G. Pollard]] has pointed out how professors victimize students, robbing them from experiencing the supernatural and transcendent world (i.e., [[God]]):

<blockquote>
"Throughtout the whole wide range and diversity of human experience, with the sole exception of the West in the nineteeth and twentieth centuries, the world of nature has been alive with, and immersed within, a supernatural world which everywhere made contact with it, although was transcendent to it. It is this whole dimension of reality which the scientific age has lost the capacity to experience or know. An age such as ours which has lost a genuine capacity for knowing and responding to some great segment of reality is actually, without knowing it, in a dark age.... We really have lost a genuine capacity which the rest of mankind has possessed and actively exercised, and we have become a people trapped and in bondage within the prison of space, time, and matter....'''It is primarily the business of the universtiy...to maintain the imprisonment of our time. It saddens me to see a new generation being victimized by this all pervasive spirit of the epoch."<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=VpafCAIMCowC ''Faith and Knowledge''], Douglas Sloan, [[Westminster John Knox Press]], 1994, ISBN 0664228666, ISBN 9780664228668, 272 pages, page 194 </ref>
</blockquote>

==References==
<references/>

==Sources==
* [http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d07/tables/dt07_178.asp?referrer=list National Center for Educational Statistics, "Table 178, Historical Summary of faculty, students, degrees, and finances in degree-granting institutions: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2005-06"]

==Links==
[http://liberal-education.com Liberal-education.com] A user created list of professors with liberal bias, highlighting examples of liberal bias in the classroom.

[[Category:Academics]]
[[Category:Liberal Traits]]

International System of Units

2009-02-05T07:54:02Z

Fairfieldrr: /* Mole */ linking to article

The [[International System of Units]] ([[France|French]] ''Système International d'Unités'', ''Système International'' or '''SI''' for short) is the agreed-upon system for measurement as adopted by periodic meetings of the forty-six-member ''Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures'' (General Conference on Weights and Measures, abbreviated CGPM). It was developed in 1960 from the [[meter-kilogram-second]] (MKS) system and replaces the [[centimeter-gram-second]] (cgs) system.

The SI system introduced several new units for physical terms and continues to change to this day. As measurement accuracy improves, so the standards against which measures are calibrated must also be defined to higher accuracy. Definitions have been subject to change through the years, and generally depend on assumptions that the CGPM makes about what is permanent and what is not.

Nearly all countries have adopted the SI system of units as their official system of weights and measures. The [[United States of America]] also uses the [[US customary system]], which is defined in terms of metric units since the Convention on the Meter.

==Principles==
The value of a physical quantity is considered to a number multiplied by a unit. Units may be '''base units''' or '''derived units'''. Derived units are constructed by multiplying, dividing or raising to powers the base units or their multiples and submultiples. Thus a unit of speed, the meter per second, can be constructed by dividing the base unit of length, the meter, by the base unit for time, the second. The symbol for a derived unit is constructed from the symbols for its constituent base units. Multiplication should be denoted by either a space or the half-high dot ([[ANSI]] symbol 0183). Division is denoted by the '''solidus''' (oblique stroke) or by a negative exponent. For example, 25 meters per second could be written in symbols as 25 m/s or 25 m·s-1. New derived units can always be constructed as new situations arise. There is no limit to the number of multiplications, divisions and raising of powers that can be used, so there is no limit to the number of possible derived units. 22 of the derived units have their own names.

== The Base Units ==
SI depends on seven ''base units'' of measurement from which all other units derive. They are:

=== Second ===
The '''second''' (symbol s) is the unit of [[time]], defined as<blockquote>
the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the [[cesium]]-133 atom (13th CGPM, 1967).</blockquote> This translation is defined at [[absolute zero]].

There are 60 seconds in a [[minute]] and 3600 seconds in an [[hour]].

Historically the second was without definition, until 1820, when it was defined as 1/86,400 of the mean solar day. In 1956 the CGPM adopted the ''ephemeris second'' definition of 1/31 556 925.9747 of the tropical year 1900. The present definition dates from 1963.

=== Meter ===
The '''meter''' (or '''metre''') (symbol m) is the unit of [[length]]. Originally (see [[Metric system]]) it had a definition depending on the dimensions of the earth. It was defined so that the circumference of the Earth would be exactly 40 million meters. However, the circumference of the Earth depends on where you measure it, so the French creators of the metric system chose the circumference which travels through both poles, along the [[meridian]] that passes through [[Paris]]. (This was a snub to the British, who had defined longitude by reference to the meridian passing through [[Greenwich]]).
It later had a definition dependent on a particular type of radiation. Today its definition depends upon the second and on the [[speed of light]] in a vacuum--which the CGPM now assumes to be constant. Thus a meter is 1⁄299,792,458th of a light-second. (Therefore the speed of light is exactly 299,792,458 meters per second.)

* The '''centimeter''' (or '''centimetre''') (symbol cm) is one-hundreth of a meter. It is not a base unit but is included here because it is a commonly used unit of length.

=== Kilogram ===
The '''kilogram''' (symbol kg) is the unit of [[mass]]. It is defined as an amount of mass equal to that of the standard prototype kilogram kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Sèvres, France. It is the ''only unit of measure'' based on a physical artifact. This is the same artifact that has provided the definition of grams and kilograms for over a century. It is also the only base SI unit to retain its decimal prefix, ''kilo-'', which comes from the [[Greek]] word for "thousand." Efforts are presently underway to redefine the kilogram more rigorously than it is defined today.

=== Ampere ===
The '''ampere''' (symbol A) is the unit of [[electric current]]. (Strangely, electric ''charge'' is not the base quantity.) The definition is as follows:<blockquote>One ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross section, and placed 1 meter apart in a vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 × 10−7 newtons per meter of length.</blockquote>

=== Kelvin ===
The '''kelvin''' (symbol K, named after [[Lord Kelvin]]) is the unit of [[temperature]], and specifically of [[absolute temperature scale|absolute temperature]]. It is 1/273.16 of the absolute temperature of the [[triple point]] of [[water]]. The size of the kelvin is the same as the size of the [[Celsius]] degree, and thus to convert from degrees Celsius to kelvins, one adds 273.15. (The zero of the Celsius scale, which is the [[melting point]] of water ice under standard atmospheric pressure, happens to be 273.15 kelvins.) Note that one says '200 kelvin' not '200 ''degrees'' kelvin'.

=== Mole ===
: ''Main Article: [[Mole (chemistry)]]''
The '''mole''' (symbol mol) is the unit of [[amount of substance]]. Its definition depends on that of the kilogram. It is that mass of any substance having as many ''elementary entities'' of that substance as are to be counted in 12 grams of [[carbon]]-12. An ''elementary entity'' is either an [[atom]] or a [[molecule]]--but for an [[ionic compound]], the number of elementary entities is the total number of [[cation|cations]] and [[anion|anions]] required to make the compound electrically neutral.

[[Avogadro's number]] gives the required number of elementary entities, and is typically represented by ''NA''. ''NA'' has the approximate value of 6.022X1023

Effectively, one mole of any substance is its formula mass in grams.

=== Candela ===
The '''candela''' (symbol cd) is the unit of [[luminous intensity]]. It replaces the old idea of 'candlepower'. Its definition is <blockquote>the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a [light] source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 × 1012 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1⁄683 watt per steradian.</blockquote>

The term ''hertz'' means "vibrations, transitions, or other events per second." For the definitions of the terms '''watt''' and '''steradian''', see below. Light having the stated frequency is generally perceived as red.

== Named Derived Units ==
SI has multiple derived units that measure quantities in several areas of measurement and inquiry. The following is a comprehensive list of the named derived units, grouped by category.

=== Dynamics ===
==== Newton ====
The '''newton''' (symbol N, named for [[Sir Isaac Newton]]) is the SI unit of [[force]]. Force is generally found by multiplying the mass times the acceleration of the mass (giving us the more complicated form <math>kg(m/s^2)</math> )
. One newton is that amount of force required to give a one-kilogram mass an acceleration of one meter per second per second. To calculate, multiply mass by acceleration.

==== Pascal ====
: ''Main Article: [[Pascal]]''
The '''pascal''' (symbol Pa, named for [[Blaise Pascal]]) is that amount of [[pressure]] that exerts a force of one newton per square meter of area.

=== Work and Power ===
==== Joule ====
The '''joule''' (symbol J, named for [[James Joule]]) is that amount of [[energy]] required to do the ''work'' of exerting a force of one newton over a distance of one meter. To calculate, multiply force by distance, which reveals a joule is a Newton-meter or <math>N/m</math>. To expand further (keeping in mind a newton is a <math>kg(m/s^2)</math> ) a joule is a <math>kg (m^2/s^2)</math>

==== Watt ====
The '''watt''' (symbol W, named for [[James Watt]]) is the [[power]] required to do one Joule of work in one second. To calculate, divide work by time.
=== Electricity and Magnetism ===
==== Coulomb ====
The '''coulomb''' (symbol C, for [[C. A. Coulomb]]) is that amount of [[electric charge]] that passes through a conductor in one second at a current of one ampere. To calculate, multiply current by time.
==== Volt ====
The '''volt''' (symbol V, named after Alessandro Volta) is the [[electric potential]] difference between two conductors having a current flow of one ampere from one to another, and dissipating one watt of power. Most people find the phrase "electric potential" hard to understand and the alternative "electromotive force" to be hard to pronounce. They therefore use the word "voltage" for this quantity. To calculate, divide power by current--or divide work (or energy) by electric charge.

==== Ohm ====
The '''ohm''' (symbol Ω, for [[Georg Simon Ohm]]) is that amount of [[electric resistance]] that requires an electric potential difference of one volt to push a current of one ampere through it. To calculate, divide electrical potential by current.
==== Siemens ====
The '''siemens''' (symbol S, for [[Werner von Siemens]]) is the unit of [[electric conductance]], which is merely the reciprocal of resistance. In essence, the siemens is that level of conductance required to ''allow'' a current of one ampere to flow through a load after an electric potential of one volt is applied. To calculate it, divide current by electric potential or "voltage," rather than dividing voltage by current.

==== Farad ====
The '''farad''' (symbol F, for [[Michael Faraday]]) is that amount of [[capacitance]] that exists in a ''capacitor'' (essentially a pair or collection of metal plates that store charge) if a charge of one coulomb increases the electrical potential by one volt. To calculate, divide charge by electrical potential.
==== Weber ====
The '''weber''' (symbol Wb, for [[W. E. Weber]]) is <blockquote>the [[magnetic flux]] which, linking a circuit of one turn, would produce in it an electromotive force of 1 volt if it were reduced to zero at a uniform rate in 1 second.</blockquote> To calculate, multiply electric potential (or electromotive force) by time.
==== Henry ====
The '''henry''' (symbol H) is that [[inductance]] in a closed loop or coil that produces a magnetic flux of one weber given a current of one ampere. To calculate, divide magnetic flux by current.
==== Tesla ====
The '''tesla''' (symbol T, for [[Nicola Tesla]]) is the [[magnetic flux density]] required to produce one weber of magnetic flux in one square meter of surface area. To calculate, divide flux by area.
=== Light ===
==== Lumen ====
The '''lumen''' (symbol lm) is that amount of [[luminous flux]] emitted in a solid-angle region of one steradian that produces one candela of intensity. To calculate, multiply luminous intensity by solid angle.
==== Lux ====
The '''lux''' (symbol lx) is that [[illuminance]] that represents one lumen in one square meter. To calculate, divide luminous flux by area.
==Temperature==
The degree Celsius (symbol °C) is a derived unit of temperature centered on the freezing temperature of water ice rather than absolute zero. It is defined by the temperature in kelvins minus 273.15. Note that
* the degree symbol (°) is a mandatory part of the symbol, as 'C' denotes the coulomb, the unit of electric charge
* It is perfectly correct, though rather unusual in practice, to use metric prefixes with the degree Celsius. Thus one can say 'the melting point of the metal is in excess of 2 k°C'
* While one does not say '200 degrees Kelvin' one ''does'' say '200 degrees Celsius'
* Prior to 1960 the degree Celsius was known as the degree Centigrade, a term that is now deprecated.

=== Radioactivity, Radiation, Health Physics, and Radiation Safety ===
==== Becquerel ====
The '''becquerel''' (symbol Bq, for [[Henri Becquerel]]) is that amount of [[activity]] of a radioactive substance represented by one decaying atom per second.

==== Gray (Unit) ====
The '''gray''' (symbol Gy) is that [[absorbed dose]] of radiation that imparts one joule of energy to one kilogram of target mass. To calculate, divide imparted energy by mass.
==== Sievert ====
The '''sievert''' (symbol Sv) is the unit of [[dose equivalent]]. It is that dose of any given form of ionizing radiation that would cause a human being or an animal as much injury as would a one-gray dose of [[X ray]]s.

== Supplementary Units ==
The metric system originally had the two units of plane angle and solid angle. Since they consist of a unit of length divided by a unit of length and thus dimensionless CGPM decided not to retain them in the base units. They were put into a separate category called Supplementary Units. They have been moved again and are now listed as named Derived Units.

=== Radian ===
The '''radian''' (symbol rad) is the ''plane angle'' unit. It is the measure of a central angle (one having its origin as the center of a [[circle]]) that subtends an [[arc]] of the circle having a length equal to that of the radius. By convention, the [[circumference]] of the ''unit circle'' (a circle having a radius of one) is 2π, and therefore the maximum "major angle" of any circle is 2π radians.

=== Steradian ===
The '''steradian''' (symbol sr) is the ''solid angle'' unit. A ''solid angle'' is actually one [[nappe]] of a right circular conical surface. One steradian is the measure of a solid angle that subtends a portion of the surface of a [[sphere]] having an area equal to that of a square having sides equal in length to the radius. By convention, the [[surface area]] of a sphere is 4πr2, where r is the length of the radius, and thus the maximum "major solid angle" of any sphere is 4π steradians.

==Obsolete metric units==
As the metric system has changed over time, some units have been abandoned and replaced with others. Examples of obsolete metric units, which should not be used.

* The '''calorie''' was originally defined as the amount of [[energy]] required to raise 1 g of water through 1 °C. It later was clarified to raising the temperature from 15 °C to 16 °C, since the energy required varies slightly with temperature. Confusingly, a second calorie, the Calorie (spelt with an upper case C) was introduced that was defined as the amount of energy required to raise 1 kg of water through 1 °C. Thus , 1 Calorie = 1000 calories. The Calorie (big C) became widely used as a measure of food energy. To avoid the confusion the Calorie was renamed the kilocalorie and the term Calorie was deprecated. The kilocalorie has now been replaced by the joule as the unit of energy, though energy values in kilocalories are still widely seen.

* The '''Ångstrom''' was a very small unit of length equal to 10-10 m. It was used for describing the wavelength of light, for example. The ångstrom was replaced by the nanometer. 1 nm = 10 Å.

* The '''curie''' (symbol Ci, for [[Marie Curie]]) is an obsolete unit of radioactivity. Its original definition was "the amount of radioactivity in one gram of [[radium]]-226." Madame Curie, of course, is most famous as the discoverer of radium. It was replaced by the becquerel, though it is still widely used in the US nuclear power industry. One curie is equal to 3.7 * 1010 becquerel.

* The '''micron''' (symbol µ) was a unit of length equal to one thousandth of a millimeter. It was replaced by the micrometer (symbol µm) in 1960.

* The '''degree Centigrade''' (symbol °C) was renamed the degree Celsius (symbol °C) in 1960.

==Metric Prefixes==
The base and derived units can be multiplied by prefixes in order to extend their range to virtually every magnitude used in practice, from subatomic physics to the large-scale structure of the universe. The following prefixes are available.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! The prefix:
! Abbreviated:
! Multiplies the unit by:
|-
| yocto-
| y
| 10-24
|-
| zepto-
| z
| 10-21
|-

| atto-
| a
| 10-18
|-
| femto-
| f
| 10-15
|-
| pico-
| p
| 10-12
|-
| nano-
| n
| 10-9
|-
| micro- ([[Greek]] ''small'')
| µ
| 10-6
|-
| milli- ([[Latin]] ''one thousand'')
| m
| 10-3
|-
| centi- (Latin ''one hundred'')
| c
| 10-2
|-
| deci- (Latin ''ten'')
| d
| 10-1
|-
| deka- (Greek ''ten'')
| da
| 101
|-
| hecto- (Greek ''one hundred'')
| H
| 102
|-
| kilo- (Greek ''one thousand'')
| k
| 103
|-
| mega- (Greek ''large'')
| M
| 106
|-
| giga- (Latin ''gigantic'')
| G
| 109
|-
| tera- (Greek ''wonder'')
| T
| 1012
|-
| peta-
| P
| 1015
|-
| exa-
| E
| 1018
|-
| zetta-
| Z
| 1021
|-
| yotta-
| Y
| 1024
|}

==Symbols, not Abbreviations==
The units of the SI do not have abbreviations, as these would vary depending on the language used and SI is designed to be the global standard. An English speaker might write 'sec' as an abbreviation for 'second', whereas a Spanish speaker would write 'seg' for 'segundo'. To get around this problem, a set of language-independent '''symbols''' were defined for each unit. Thus the symbol for the second is 's', for both the Spanish and English speaker. The SI symbols are a global standard, just like the Arabic numerals and the symbols for the chemical elements, that are the same whatever language is being used. For example, the language of [[Welsh]] does not contain the letter 'k' and the word 'kilometer' is spelt 'cilometr'. Nevertheless, a Welsh person writing in Welsh that 'the runway is 3 km long' would use '3 km' for 'three kilometers'. By contrast, use of an abbreviation such as 'cm' for 'cilometr' would cause confusion, as 'cm' denotes the centimeter.

==Writing Metric==
The rules of the SI system are defined in the [[International Standards Organization]] documents [[ISO 1000]] and [[ISO 31]]. They define not only the units, but the ways in which they are to be written.
* A space is to be put between the number and the unit. '25 km' is correct, '25km' is incorrect. This is a common mistake for users of English units, where no space is placed between the number and the unit.
* SI units do not take a trailing 's' to denote the plural. Thus '5 cms' is wrong and '5 cm' is correct. The reason is that 's' is the symbol for the second and 'cms' (intended to mean centimeters) could be confused with 'cm s' (meaning centimeter-seconds, a derived unit)
* SI symbols do not take a trailing period. (This would be appropriate if they were abbreviations, but they are not.)
* Since the SI symbols are symbols they are not altered to fit in with the surrounding text. The case of the symbol does not change - kelvin is always written as 'K' and kilograms is always written as 'kg'. Furthermore, they are never written in italics. Thus The woman lost 25 kg in weight is incorrect and should be The woman lost 25 kg in weight. Similarly, it is incorrect to alter the symbols to upper case (as often observed on shipping crates).

== Units of volume in the metric system ==
The liter was a unit of volume in the original 1795 definition of the metric system.It was defined as a cubic decimeter, i.e. a volume of 1/1000th of a cubic meter. However, the 1901 redefinition of the liter as the volume of 1 kg of water at the temperature when it takes its maximum density (3.98 °C) yields a a volume greater than a cubic decimeter by 28 parts per million. For everyday purposes this was not a problem, but for highly accurate scientific purposes it then became important to specify whether one actually meant a liter or cubic decimeter. The liter was thus not recommended for scientific purposes and technically became no longer part of the metric system. Officially, volume is measured in cubic meters and its multiples and submultiples, such as the cubic centimeter. The 1964 definition of the liter changed it back to exactly a cubic decimeter but technically it is a now a unit approved for use alongside the metric system but not part of it, alongside the minute, hour, year and others.

=== Metric and English Volume Units Compared ===
In the English system of weights and measures used in the USA, different units of volume are used for dry goods than for liquids. The Queen Anne gallon of 231 cubic inches is used for liquids and the Winchester gallon is the basis of the Winchester bushel of 2150.42 cubic inches. However in the metric system no distinction is made between units of volume used for dry goods and units of volume used for liquids. The cubic meter and its multiples and submultiples are used for all volumetric purposes. This is part of a general difference of approach between the two systems. The English system tends to use different measures for the same quantity depending on the context whereas the metric system uses the same measure. For example, in the English system pressure is measured in inches of mercury for weather, pounds per square inch for tire pressure and pounds per square foot for floor pressure. In the metric system these would be all measured in pascals or kilopascals.
==Lead Agency==
As scientific and engineering measurements become more accurate over time, the measurement standards they are compared against need to be continually refined. The National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST), based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, carries out world-class research in metrological science. NIST represents the United States in international committees on metrology.

== Reference ==
[http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/ The official, definitive definition of the SI system, from the Bureau Internationale des Poids et Mesures]

[http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP811/contents.full.html Guide to the SI System from NIST, the lead federal agency on all metrology issues for the US]

[http://www.sizes.com/units/SI.htm SI at Sizes.com]

== See Also ==
* [[Metric system]] This describes the original metric system as defined at its creation in 1795.

[[Category:Health]]
[[Category:Measurements]]