World Book Blog

March For Our Lives

2018-03-28T09:25:00-05:00

On Saturday, March 24, more than a million people around the world participated in March For Our Lives protests against gun violence, mass shootings, and school shootings in the United States. The U.S. protests centered on Washington, D.C., where people called on lawmakers to pass gun control legislation. The protests were planned and led by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) High School in the Miami, Florida, suburb of Parkland, where a mass shooting killed 17 students and faculty on February 14.

MSD students and other gun crime survivors from across the country spoke to hundreds of thousands of people along Pennsylvania Avenue, with the White House and the U.S. Capitol looming in the background. The emotional speeches were punctuated with cheers, tears, and chants of “no more guns” and “no more NRA,” a reference to the powerful pro-gun group, the National Rifle Association. The NRA has been effective at persuading members of Congress to block the passage of gun control bills, arguing that such bills violate the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. “Vote them out!” was another protesters’ chant aimed squarely at those NRA-influenced members of Congress. Many hand-painted signs carried among the crowds read “Graduations, not funerals,” “Protect kids not guns,” and “Am I next?”

The most stirring moment came when 18-year old MSD student Emma González named her dead classmates and teachers and then paused in silence until she had used up 6 minutes and 20 seconds—the amount of time it took for the gunman to take 17 lives at her high school. Naomi Wadler, an 11-year-old speaker from Virginia, declared “Never again!” on behalf of black women and girl victims of gun violence. Never Again is the name of another student-led movement pushing for tighter gun regulations. Singers Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda performed at the Washington rally, which was also attended and supported by thousands of parents and teachers as well as numerous Democratic politicians and entertainment celebrities.

“Sibling” March For Our Lives protests took place throughout the United States, with large events in such cities as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. The nationwide rallies also encouraged voter registration, particularly for students about to turn 18 and vote for the fist time. Former president Barack Obama voiced his support for the protesters and the voting drive, saying “You’re leading us forward. Nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change.” Solidarity events also took place in such world cities as Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Sydney, and Tokyo.

Saturday’s March For Our Lives followed a 17-minute school walkout (one minute for each MSD shooting victim) that took nearly a million U.S. high school students briefly out of classes on March 14. The massacre at MSD High School was the most recent in a long line of school shootings in the United States. The worst came at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in 2012, when 26 people were killed. Another national school walkout is planned for April 20 to commemorate the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in which 13 people died.

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Image 1: Hundreds of thousands of people crowd Washington, D.C., streets during the March For Our Lives protest against gun violence on March 24, 2018. Credit: © Nicole S. Glass, Shutterstock

Image 2: Credit: © March For Our Lives

London’s Shiny New U.S. Embassy

2018-01-17T09:22:00-06:00

Yesterday, January 16, a new United States Embassy opened in the Nine Elms area of Wandsworth, a borough of central London, England. The flashy, chunky, ice cube of a building is an architectural wonder, and a security-first but environmentally friendly construction. The decision to move the U.S. Embassy to a new London location was made in the waning months of the presidency of George W. Bush in 2008. Construction of the new embassy began in 2013, and tinkering continued right up to the morning it opened.

The new 12-story embassy, designed by Philadelphia-based architectural firm KieranTimberlake, has nearly twice the floor space as the old one. The building is powered by renewable energy and maximizes the use of natural light as well as natural wind currents through cross ventilation. Solar panels line the embassy’s glass roof, absorbing both sunshine and rainwater for irrigation and flushing.

The building’s trademark façade uses laminated glazing with an outer layer of pressurized ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a highly durable plastic. The transparent exterior ensures a uniform distribution of light while screening excessive solar glare and heat. The windows are clearly visible to birds, however, greatly reducing accidental flying collisions. The façade is also self-cleaning and limits downdrafts on the outside, effectively reducing wind in the adjacent plaza and sidewalks.

Like castles of old, the embassy has stone walls and is protected by a moat. Other security measures include bollards (posts to block vehicles) camouflaged by plants, blast-proof walls and ceilings, a 100-foot (30-meter) open perimeter, and a garrison of armed security personnel.

The new U.S. Embassy earned the highest platinum certification by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the most widely used green building rating system in the world. It was also rated outstanding by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the world’s longest established method of assessing, certifying, and rating building sustainability.

The building’s $1-billion dollar price tag was paid for by the sale of the previous embassy—located across the River Thames on Grosvenor Square in the Mayfair district—and other U.S. properties in London. The U.S. Embassy had been on Grosvenor Square (in more than one location) since future president John Adams became the first U.S. minister to the Court of St. James in 1785. Interestingly, four other future presidents—James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, and James Buchanan—all served as London ministers prior to occupying the White House. In 1893, Delaware Senator Thomas F. Bayard was the first to hold the rank of ambassador to the United Kingdom.

The Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO)—did you know there was one?—directs the foreign building program for the Department of State and the U.S. government community serving abroad. Other recent OBO projects have included new embassies in N’Djamena, Chad; Nouakchott, Mauritania; and Oslo, Norway. New embassies will soon go up in Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Paraguay, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Uganda.

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Image: This artist’s rendering of the new U.S. Embassy shows the building under a somewhat-typical rainy London sky. Credit: KieranTimberlake, U.S. Embassy London

Library of Congress

2017-11-01T10:03:00-05:00

One hundred and twenty years ago today, on Nov. 1, 1897, the new Library of Congress opened its doors to the public for the first time. Previously, the library had been in the Congressional Reading Room of the United States Capitol. Two other buildings have since been added to the library complex, which stands near the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The Library of Congress is one of the largest and most valuable research libraries in the world. It has about 160 million items in its collections, including about 40 million books, pamphlets, and other printed materials in 470 languages. There are about 125 million items in the special collections, including charts, engravings, manuscripts, maps, motion pictures, photographs, and recordings. In addition, the Library of Congress has digitized millions of items which can be seen on a website hosted by the library, American Memory. The vast collection of online materials includes millions of books, documents, sound recordings, still and moving images, and maps. The Library of Congress is a partner in UNESCO’s World Digital Library project, to which many of the world’s national libraries are contributing digitized material from their collections.

Congress established the library in 1800. In 1815, it purchased the private library of Thomas Jefferson, which had about 6,000 books. The Library of Congress continued to grow, although several fires—the most serious in 1851—damaged the collections. In 1897, the library moved to a new gray sandstone building east of the Capitol because it was too large to be kept in the Capitol. In 1938, an annex of white Georgia marble was built on an adjoining site. In 1980, the James Madison Memorial Building, the largest library building in the world, was constructed. At that time, the 1897 structure was renamed the Thomas Jefferson Building, and the 1938 annex was renamed the John Adams Building. Together, the three library buildings have about 71 acres (29 hectares) of floor space.

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Image: The Library of Congress, located in Washington, D.C., provides research and reference assistance to the members of the United States Congress. This picture shows the Main Reading Room of the library. The Library of Congress also serves as the national library of the United States. Credit: © Sean Pavone, Shutterstock

Plight of the Rohingya

2017-09-27T09:50:00-05:00

In recent weeks, violence and panic have gripped parts of the Southeast Asia nation of Myanmar (also called Burma). In late August, dozens of people were killed in clashes between Rohingya militants and government forces in western Myanmar. Since then, Rohingya villages have been attacked by the Myanmar military and local people hostile to the Rohingya. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have been forced to flee to refugee camps in nearby Bangladesh. The violence has also displaced thousands of other people who live in the area of conflict. Refugee camps are filled beyond capacity, creating dangerously unsanitary conditions, and the camps lack enough food, water, and medicine.

Sometimes called “the world’s most persecuted minority,” the Rohingya are a Muslim-majority ethnic group in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Rohingya have lived for centuries in Myanmar, where their community numbers some 1 million people. Most Rohingya live in the northern part of Rakhine State near the border with Bangladesh. Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as legal citizens. Instead, the government considers them to be illegal immigrants. Tensions and conflicts have occurred between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist and Hindu Rakhine people for decades.

The Myanmar government blames the recent escalation of violence on rebels of the militant Arakan Salvation Rohingya Army (ARSA), who have attacked police posts and been accused—often without proof—of massacring Buddhists. Many outside observers, however, and the Rohingya themselves, say the ARSA attacks are largely a response to a government campaign to drive the minority group from the country. They accuse the military and Buddhist mobs of beating and killing Rohingya civilians and burning their villages. The government claims that it is targeting only ARSA militants—it even says the Rohingya are burning their own villages. A United Nations (UN) human rights official estimates that as many as 1,000 people have died in the recent violence, most of them Rohingya. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized for her lack of response to the Rohingya crisis, and the truth behind the violence remains unclear.

After Burma won independence in 1948 (the nation changed its name to Myanmar in 1989), the government acknowledged the citizenship of the various Muslim groups living within the country. In 1962, however, a new military government took over, and it refused to recognize the Rohingya as citizens. Since then, Rohingya have consistently been denied many rights and services by the government. In 2012, rioting broke out between Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists. More than 140,000 Rohingya fled that violence, and many thousands have since left each year, seeking refuge in Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, or Malaysia. The current plight of the Rohingya has sparked protests in many Muslim-majority nations and other places around the world.

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Image 1: Rohingya people who have fled Myanmar await food outside the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 20, 2017. Credit: © Sk Hsan Ali, Shutterstock

Image 2: Myanmar Rohingya refugees crowd a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Credit: AP Phot

Little Rock Nine: 60 Years

2017-09-26T09:44:00-05:00

Yesterday, September 25, marked the 60th anniversary of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On Sept. 25, 1957, nine African American students—remembered as the Little Rock Nine—were escorted into the previously all-white school by United States Army troops. Three years earlier, in 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States had ordered states with segregated schools to open them to all races. Many Southern communities, however, including Little Rock, acted slowly in desegregating their public schools. Central High School’s integration came after numerous legal challenges, heated racial tensions, and the open defiance of Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. The Little Rock Nine gained worldwide attention, and the event was a landmark moment of the civil rights movement in the United States.

To mark the event’s 60th anniversary, a special commemoration ceremony took place at Central High, and a new sculpture called United was dedicated on the school’s front lawn. A “Reflections of Progress” symposium was held at the Clinton Presidential Center, and numerous other panel discussions, fundraisers, and religious services also took place.

In the 1954 decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The next year, the court ordered that public school desegregation be carried out “with all deliberate speed.” The Little Rock School Board adopted a plan to begin integrating Central High School in the fall of 1957.

By August 1957, school authorities had selected 17 black students from a group of about 80 students who had applied to integrate Central High. Of the 17 students selected, 8 decided to attend the all-black Horace Mann High School. The remaining 9 were Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls. All of the members of the Little Rock Nine had previously attended all-black schools.

On the morning of Sept. 4, 1957, the Little Rock Nine were scheduled to enter Central High. However, Arkansas National Guardsmen blocked their way on orders from Governor Faubus. Faubus had warned that “blood will run in the streets” if the black students tried to enter the school. The students planned to attempt to enter the school together, but one of the students, Elizabeth Eckford, did not receive word of the plans. She tried to enter the school on her own but could not. Photographs of Eckford, who appeared calm in the face of threats and taunts from a white mob, made her a symbol of the struggle for civil rights in the United States.

On September 24, President Dwight D. Eisenhower put the National Guard troops of Arkansas under federal control and sent the U.S. Army to enforce the court-ordered integration of Central High. The following day, troops of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division escorted the students into the school. Protests continued, however, and Army troops remained at the school for two months to keep peace. The Little Rock Nine endured much hostility at Central High, which closed the following year during further attempts to stop integration.

Central High School reopened in 1959, but segregation continued in other schools and public facilities in Little Rock. It was not until the 1970’s that all public schools in Arkansas were integrated. In 1999, the members of the Little Rock Nine received the Congressional Gold Medal. The medal is one of the nation’s highest civilian awards.

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Image 1: On Sept. 25, 1957, U.S. Army troops escort nine African American students into the previously all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The event was an important moment in the civil rights movement in the United States. Credit: © United Press Int.

Image 2: White protesters jeer 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford as she attempts to enter Little Rock’s Central High School on Sept. 4, 1957. Credit: © Everett Collection/Alamy Image

Iraq’s Battle of Mosul

2017-07-19T09:41:00-05:00

An Iraqi federal policeman tries to draw fire from an Islamic State sniper in Mosul, Iraq, in April 2017. If the sniper fires, he may reveal his position. Credit: © Carl Court, Getty Images

On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory for government forces in their bloody battle with Islamic State militants for possession of the northern city of Mosul. One of Iraq’s largest cities, Mosul had been under Islamic State control since the terrorist group took it by force in June 2014. The government campaign to retake the city began in October 2016.

Islamic State is the name used by a radical militant Sunni Islamist group based in Iraq and Syria. The group is known for its ruthless violence and severe interpretation of the Shari`ah, the legal and moral code of Islam. In June 2014, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the establishment of a caliphate from the steps of the Grand Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul. A caliphate is a government ruled by a caliph, a leader with political and religious authority recognized by Muslims as a successor of the Prophet Muhammad. No one outside the Islamic State—which is merely a well-organized terrorist group—recognized the so-called caliphate, however, and it is often referred to as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or by the acronym DAESH, based on the group’s full Arabic name (al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham). For the past several years, the group has been fighting for control of parts of Iraq and Syria and has killed thousands of people in high-profile terror attacks in Europe and the Middle East.

Northeastern Iraq is largely Kurdish, and peshmerga (Kurdish for those who confront death) fighters led a first attempt to liberate Mosul in early 2015. Coinciding Islamic State assaults on the city of Ramadi—much closer to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital—prevented the Iraqi Army from supporting the Kurds in Mosul, however. The peshmerga pried several suburban villages from Islamic State control, but they lacked the numbers and firepower to free the city itself.

Iraqi soldiers and heavy vehicles head for the fighting in Mosul, Iraq, in November 2016. Credit: Mstyslav Chernov (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Hard fighting around Mosul resumed in the spring of 2016 as the government worked to cut off Islamic State supply routes out of the city. Government-led forces slowly tightened the net around Mosul through the summer and into autumn. Civilians in the city, already suffering under Islamic State rule (there were numerous random killings and mass executions), fled Mosul in increasing numbers—as did many Islamic State fighters. By early October, the estimated number of Islamic State militants in Mosul had shrunk to between 3,000 and 5,000, down from roughly 20,000 earlier in 2016.

On October 16, some 100,000 troops—mostly from the Iraqi army but many from peshmerga, Shi`ite, and other local militias—gathered on the outskirts of Mosul. With close air and artillery support from a United States-led coalition, Iraqi forces entered eastern Mosul the next day. They advanced against fierce pockets of Islamic State resistance, rigged explosives, and other improvised defenses. Civilians were often caught in the crossfire, particularly as Islamic State fighters used them as human shields and deterrents against coalition air and artillery strikes. Still, eastern Mosul steadily fell to government troops through November and December as assaults from the north and west put further pressure on the city’s Islamic State defenders. On Jan. 24, 2017, Prime Minister al-Abadi announced the “full liberation” of eastern Mosul.

Burned out cars and rubble flank a deserted road in Mosul, Iraq, in November 2016. Fighting in Mosul left much of the city in ruins. Credit: Mstyslav Chernov (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

The offensive to liberate Mosul’s western half (the city is divided by the Tigris River) began on February 19. Government forces advanced from neighborhood to neighborhood, fighting from building to building both on the streets and below them in tunnels. Islamic State forces dwindled but maintained fierce and often suicidal resistance. By April, their remaining numbers had gathered in western Mosul’s old city or retreated in small groups to the city’s outskirts. By June, resistance had shrunk to a few blocks surrounding the old city’s Grand Mosque of al-Nuri. As a last act of defiance before dying in battle, Islamic State fighters destroyed the 844-year-old Grand Mosque. Shocked, saddened, and exhausted government troops at last annihilated Islamic State resistance in early July, ending the battle.

The fight for Mosul destroyed large parts of the ancient and historic city. More than 2,000 Islamic State militants died in the battle. Reports that their leader, al-Baghdadi, was among the dead remain as-yet unproven. Roughly 1,000 soldiers of the Iraqi government coalition were killed. Civilian deaths are estimated at more than 8,000, and more than 1 million people had to flee their homes. The shell-shocked citizens that remain in Mosul are now in need of food and water, medicine, sanitation, and shelter. The families of slain or escaped Islamic State fighters face a similar crisis as they are gathered in temporary camps outside the city.

For the Islamic State, the loss of Mosul—the birthplace of its “caliphate” and its capital in Iraq—is a costly defeat. However, the war against the terrorist group is far from over. Islamic State militants who fled Mosul now hold nearby towns, and many thousands of other Islamic State fighters remain in Syria and other parts of Iraq.

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JFK 100

2017-05-31T08:22:00-05:00

John F. Kennedy Centennial 1917-2017. Credit: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library

On Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, events across the United States marked the 100^th birthday of former President John F. Kennedy (widely known by his initials, JFK). Kennedy served as the 35^th president of the United States from 1961 until his death in 1963. Many Americans saw JFK’s election and brief time in office—often idealized as “Camelot”—as an inspiring national renewal. But his shocking assassination reversed this optimism and began a dark decade of further assassinations—notably Martin Luther King, Jr., and Kennedy’s brother Robert—Cold War tensions, race riots, the Vietnam War, and the disgrace and downfall of President Richard M. Nixon. JFK was born 100 years ago this week on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963.

In April 2017, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government hosted a centennial symposium featuring panel discussions on JFK’s policy priorities and their relevance today. On May 23, the U.S. National Archives hosted “#JFK100 Social Media Day” to discuss JFK’s impact on the nation. The “JFK 100 Centennial Celebration” takes place from May through the end of the year at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site (JFK’s birthplace and childhood home in Massachusetts). The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., began a series of “JFK 100” events in May, as did the “Kennedy Compound” (a grouping of three Kennedy homes) in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Boston’s John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum opened “JFK 100: Milestones and Mementos” on May 26, 2017, an exhibit filled with personal and historical items that runs through May 2018.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 to 1963. He was born 100 years ago this week on May 29, 1917. Credit: © Pictorial Press/Alamy Images

Kennedy, a Democrat, won the 1960 presidential election with his “New Frontier” program after a series of television debates with then-Vice President Nixon, his Republican opponent. At 43, JFK was the youngest man ever elected president. Kennedy was the first president of the Roman Catholic faith and the first president born in the 1900's.

In his inaugural address, President Kennedy declared that “a new generation of Americans” had taken over leadership of the country. He said Americans would “… pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” He told Americans: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

John F. Kennedy’s family consisted of the president; his son, John, Jr.; his wife, Jackie; his daughter, Caroline; and a number of pets. Credit: John F. Kennedy Library

Kennedy won world respect as the leader of the Free World. In 1961, he created the Peace Corps, a volunteer organization that sent Americans abroad to help people in developing nations raise their standards of living. In 1962, JFK helped avert nuclear war with the Soviet Union during the Cuban missile crisis. The near-but-avoided calamity began a period of “thaw” in the Cold War as relations grew friendlier between the United States and Soviet Union. In 1963, the rival nations (and over 100 other countries) signed a treaty limiting the testing of nuclear weapons. On the home front, the United States prospered under JFK. The economy steadily improved; African Americans made great progress in their quest for equal rights; and the United States made its first piloted space flights and prepared to send astronauts to the moon.

JFK and his wife, Jacqueline (often called Jackie), brought youth and informality to the White House. Their young children Caroline and John, Jr., (called John-John) amused and charmed the nation. Jackie, a driver of women’s fashion, also won praise for her redecoration of the White House, turning the mansion into a historic showplace and tourist attraction. After JFK’s death in 1963, the image of nearly-3-year-old John-John saluting his father’s coffin brought the nation to tears.

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Cinco de Mayo’s Battle of Puebla

2017-05-05T10:26:00-05:00

People participate in a reenactment of the Battle of Puebla in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. The battle took place on May 5, 1862, and is remembered by the holiday of Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for Fifth of May). Credit: © Jorge Uzon, AFP/Getty Images

Today, May 5, is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday celebrated in Mexico and in many communities throughout the United States. Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for Fifth of May. Many people know that Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of a Mexican army over a French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. But few people know much about the battle itself, which took place near Puebla, a city in central Mexico, during a French invasion of Mexico. Mexican forces won the Battle of Puebla, but their victory did not stop the French from taking control of Mexico. A French-supported government led by Emperor Maximilian ruled Mexico from 1864 until 1867, when Maximilian was killed and the Mexican republic was restored.

In April 1862, a force of some 6,000 French troops marched inland from the port city of Veracruz, intending to take Mexico City, the nation’s capital. Puebla lay along the route to the capital, and Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza assembled about 4,800 troops nearby to stop the French advance. On April 28, the French won an initial battle at Acultzingo Pass leading to Puebla. Zaragoza then withdrew to Puebla, which was protected by fortifications on two large hills—Guadalupe and Loreto—and other defenses.

Mexican President Benito Juárez (seen here in a statue in central Mexico) was forced from power in 1864, but he returned to lead Mexico in 1867. Credit: © AA World Travel Library/Alamy Images

On May 5, 1862, French artillery began bombarding Puebla’s defenses, and an infantry assault soon followed. The French attack failed under the concentrated fire from Puebla’s defenders. A second attack also failed, but the French refused to quit and launched a third attack. It too failed. Suffering heavy casualties (people killed and wounded), the French called off the assault. Mexican cavalry then attacked the French as they attempted to withdraw, inflicting still more casualties. With the battle lost, the French eventually retreated to Orizaba, a city midway between Puebla and Veracruz.

The French suffered nearly 500 casualties at Puebla, including more than 100 killed in action. Mexican losses were about 85 dead and more than 100 wounded. Despite the defeat, the French recovered quickly. After receiving about 30,000 reinforcements the following autumn, the French renewed their march toward Mexico City. The French won the second Battle of Puebla in May 1863 and then pushed on to take Mexico City. Mexican President Benito Juárez was forced into hiding, and the French installed Archduke Maximilian of Austria as emperor of Mexico in 1864.

The French installed Archduke Maximilian as emperor of Mexico in 1864. Rebel Mexican forces captured and executed Maximilian in 1867. Credit: Andrew Burgess, Library of Congress

After the bloody American Civil War ended in the spring of 1865, the United States threatened to intervene to remove the French from Mexico. The French then began withdrawing their forces in 1866. At the same time, a resistance movement led by Juárez increased attacks on the French and Mexican troops loyal to Maximilian.

In February 1867, Maximilian and his army withdrew north of Mexico City to the city of Querétaro, where Mexican rebels soon besieged them. In May, Maximilian was betrayed by one of his officers and captured by rebel troops. The emperor—who had ordered all Juárez supporters caught bearing arms to be shot—was himself executed by firing squad on June 19, 1867. The Mexican republic was then restored, and Juárez again became president.

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U.S. Enters World War I: 100 Years

2017-04-06T11:16:00-05:00

U.S. soldiers wave goodbye from a troop ship bound for France in 1917. Credit: © Everett Historical/Shutterstock

On April 6, 1917—100 years ago today—the United States House of Representatives approved a resolution declaring war on Germany, entering the United States into World War I (1914-1918). Four days earlier, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had asked Congress for a declaration of war, warning “the world must be made safe for democracy.” The Senate approved the resolution by a vote of 82-6 on April 4.

At the start of World War I, President Wilson declared the neutrality of the United States. Most Americans initially opposed U.S. involvement in a European war. However, Germany’s sinking of the Lusitania and other actions against civilians drew American sympathies to the Allies–namely France, Italy, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany on April 2, 1917. Credit Library of Congress

Several events early in 1917 persuaded the U.S. government to enter the “war to end all wars.” In February, Germany returned to unrestricted submarine warfare. German military leaders knew this decision might bring the United States into the war, but they believed they could win the war by cutting off British supplies. Germany hoped to win the war before the United States could fully mobilize (call up troops) and land an army in Europe.

Tension between the United States and Germany further increased as a result of the “Zimmermann telegram.” The telegram was a message from Germany’s foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German ambassador to Mexico. The British intercepted and decoded the message in January and relayed the message to the United States in late February. The message revealed a German plot to persuade Mexico to go to war against the United States. News of the plot infuriated an American public already upset by the sinkings of U.S. cargo ships by German submarines.

Wilson finally called for war, and Congress backed him up on April 6. However, the U.S. military at that time lacked experience, modern weapons, and a sufficient number of soldiers. It would be a year before enough American troops were in Europe to help the Allies defeat Germany.

“Uncle Sam” urges men to enlist in the U.S. Army in this poster from 1917. Credit: © Leslie-Judge Co./Library of Congress

Germany wasn’t the only U.S. enemy in World War I. On Dec. 7, 1917, Congress approved a resolution declaring war on Austria-Hungary, Germany’s main ally. The United States never declared war on Germany’s other biggest ally, the Ottoman Empire.

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Women’s History Month: Jeannette Rankin

2017-03-29T11:03:00-05:00

Top image: Jeannette Rankin. Credit: Library of Congress

World Book continues its celebration of Women’s History Month with a look at Jeannette Rankin, who in 1916—almost four years before women had the right to vote nationally in the United States—became the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress. A Republican, Rankin served from 1917 to 1919 as congresswoman at large from Montana. “I may be the first woman member of Congress,” she observed upon her election in 1916. “But I won’t be the last.” Rankin was prescient: today, more than 100 women serve in the U.S. Congress. In 2016, a century after Rankin’s historic win, former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also made history by becoming the first woman to be a major party’s nominee for president of the United States. This Sunday, April 2, will mark 100 years since Rankin took office in 1917.

Rankin was born on June 11, 1880, near Missoula, Montana. She was the oldest daughter of eight children born to a rancher father and a schoolteacher mother. Rankin graduated from Montana State University (now the University of Montana) in 1902 with a B.S. degree in biology. She later attended the New York School of Philanthropy (later the Columbia University School of Social Work). She worked briefly as a social worker in Spokane, Washington, before entering the University of Washington in Seattle. While there, Rankin became involved in the woman suffrage (right to vote) movement. In 1910, women in Washington state gained the right to vote. Around this time, Rankin became a professional lobbyist for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). In 1911, Rankin became the first woman to speak before the Montana legislature, in which she made her case for woman suffrage. Her speaking and organizing efforts helped Montana women win the right to vote in 1914. Along with Nevada, where women also won the vote that year, only 11 states had granted full voting rights to women by this time.

Rankin’s work as a social activist—as well as financial assistance from her brother Wellington, an influential member of the Montana Republican Party—helped her 1916 campaign for one of two at-large seats for the U.S. House of Representatives in her home state. Rankin ran as a progressive, emphasizing social welfare issues and pledging to work for a constitutional woman suffrage amendment. She came in second to Democratic Representative John M. Evans, winning Montana’s second House seat and becoming the first woman to serve in Congress.

Rankin began her service on April 2, 1917, when a special joint session of Congress was called after Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare on all Atlantic shipping. That evening, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, stating that “the world must be made safe for democracy.“ A committed pacifist, Rankin voted against U.S. participation in World War I (1914-1918). “I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war,” she told the House.

Later in 1917, Rankin advocated the creation of, and was appointed to, a Committee on Woman Suffrage. In early January 1918, Rankin opened the first House floor debate on a constitutional amendment on woman suffrage. “How shall we explain … the meaning of democracy if the same Congress that voted for war to make the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country?” The resolution narrowly passed in the House, but it died in the Senate. American women finally won the vote in August 1920 when the 19th Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution.

In 1940, Rankin was elected to the House of Representatives for one term. She won fame in 1941 as the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. entry into World War II (1939-1945). “As a woman I can’t go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else,” she said. Rankin’s votes against the nation’s entry into each world war ultimately earned her widespread respect for upholding her pacifist principles.

As a private citizen, Rankin also opposed U.S. involvement in the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1957-1975). In January 1968, inspired by the nonviolent protest tactics of the Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, Rankin led the Jeannette Rankin Brigade, in which some 5,000 Vietnam War protesters marched on Washington, D.C. The marchers presented a peace petition to House Speaker John McCormack of Massachusetts.

Rankin never married. She died on May 18, 1973, in Carmel,California. At the time of her death, at age 92, Rankin was considering another run for a House seat to protest the Vietnam War. A statue of Rankin represents Montana in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

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Women’s History Month: International Women’s Day (March 8, 2017)

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Women’s History Month: Australian Vida Goldstein

2017-03-15T11:44:00-05:00

Top photo:Vida Goldstein was an Australian feminist and campaigner for woman suffrage.
Credit: National Library of Australia

World Book continues its celebration of Women’s History Month with a look at Australian feminist (promoter of women’s rights) and campaigner for woman suffrage (voting rights) Vida Goldstein (VY duh GOHLD styn). Goldstein was instrumental in helping to win the right to vote for Australian women in 1902—the second country to grant women full voting rights after New Zealand (1893). In 1903, Goldstein became the first woman to be nominated for election to the Australian Parliament.

Vida Jane Mary Goldstein was born on April 13, 1869, in Portland, Victoria. Her parents were campaigners for social reform. The family moved to Melbourne in 1877. In 1886, Goldstein graduated from Presbyterian Ladies’ College in Melbourne.

Goldstein began her suffrage work by collecting signatures with her mother for the Women’s Suffrage Petition. The petition, signed by 30,000 women, was presented to the Parliament of Victoria in 1891. In 1899, Goldstein became an organizer for the United Council for Women’s Suffrage. From 1900 to 1905, she produced and edited the monthly feminist journal The Australian Woman’s Sphere.

The Commonwealth Franchise Act of 1902 granted all non-Aboriginal Australian women the right to vote on a national level. In 1903, Goldstein founded the Women’s Federal Political Association (later the Women’s Political Association) to educate women in political matters. She became the group’s president. In 1903, with the group’s support, Goldstein became the first woman in the British Empire to run for election to a national parliament. Although her campaign for a seat in the Senate was unsuccessful, she received nearly 51,500 votes. Goldstein ran unsuccessfully for the Australian federal Parliament four more times: in 1910 and 1917 for the Senate, and in 1913 and 1914 for the House of Representatives.

In 1909, Goldstein launched the journal, The Woman Voter. In 1911, she visited England at the invitation of the Women’s Social and Political Union and spoke to huge crowds on the suffragist cause.

With the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), Goldstein shifted her attention to the pacifist movement. A pacifist is a person who is opposed to war. She campaigned against the war and conscription (compulsory military service). Goldstein became chairperson of the Australian Peace Alliance. In 1915, she cofounded the Women’s Peace Army, which mobilized women against war. In 1919, Goldstein attended the Women’s Peace Conference in Zurich, Switzerland. Afterward, Goldstein took on a less prominent role and devoted much of her time to providing counseling services. She continued to write in favor of women’s rights and in opposition to war. She died on Aug. 15, 1949, in South Yarra, a suburb of Melbourne.

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Sequoia, the Presidential Yacht

2016-11-17T17:03:00-06:00

^Top Image: The former presidential yacht Sequoia travels down the Potomac River near Washington D.C., in 2003. Credit: U.S. Navy

You have probably heard of Air Force One, the aircraft that carries the president of the United States. You have also probably seen the presidential state car, an armored limousine called Cadillac One, or “the Beast.” But did you know that there was once a presidential yacht? That’s right, the president was once furnished with a luxury boat—Sequoia—for personal and official use.

President Herbert Hoover first used Sequoia in the 1920’s, but he turned it over to the Department of Commerce for use as a decoy to catch bootleggers during Prohibition. After the end of Prohibition in 1933, the U.S. Navy commissioned USS (United States Ship) Sequoia as the official presidential yacht. Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sequoia soon returned to civilian status, and the commander-in-chief opted for USS Potomac, a sleeker U.S. Coast Guard cutter, as his presidential yacht.

Sequoia was relegated to the secretary of the Navy for a while, but presidents (who often came with their own yachts) continued to use the craft. Harry S. Truman enjoyed fishing from Sequoia in the Potomac River. Dwight D. Eisenhower lent the boat to Queen Elizabeth II during her first official state visit in 1957. Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford all enjoyed Sequoia for their personal use—including numerous parties—as well as for top-level meetings.

In 1977, as the United States was suffering through difficult economic times, President Jimmy Carter thought it best to discontinue use ofSequoia. He had the vessel sold as a symbolic cutback in federal spending, but Sequoia had occasional returns to duty under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush.

In recent years, Sequoia has fallen into disrepair, languishing in a Virginia dry dock. But just a few days ago, on Nov. 14, 2016, a Delaware judge approved the sale of the craft, clearing the way for its complete rehabilitation. With any luck, Sequoia will soon once again be sea worthy and ready for a history-filled visit.

Presidential vehicles currently in use include an armored bus known as Ground Force One, or “Stagecoach.” Military helicopters that carry the president variously earn the titles Army One, Coast Guard One, Marine One, or Navy One. Any civilian aircraft that carries the president is called Executive One.

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An Infant King Turns 700

2016-11-15T12:40:00-06:00

^Top Image: The tomb of John the Posthumous (John I of France) lies in the Basilica Cathedral Saint-Denis near Paris, France. Credit: Phidelorme (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Today, November 15, is the 700^th anniversary of the birth of King John I of France in 1316. Never heard of him? Well, a few things make John I a unique (but also rather obscure) figure in French history. First, he was the last in direct father-son succession of the Capetian dynasty, a line of kings that ruled France from 987 to 1328. Second, John was the youngest-ever French king as a result of being the only king to have reigned since birth. Third, he is the only French monarch to rule from the first day of his life to his last. Unfortunately for John I, his reign was also the shortest in French history. You see, John lived just four or five days. Because he was born after his father’s death, John I is remembered as “John the Posthumous” (Jean le Posthume). John’s story did not end with his death, either…

John I was the only son of Louis X, a feisty king known as “the Stubborn” or “the Quarreler.” Louis, the eldest son of the long-reigning Philip IV, died less than two years after becoming king, and about five months before John was born. The infant John died at his christening on Nov. 19 or 20, 1316.

^Funeral convoy of the infant King John I of France in 1316. Credit: Public Domain

In those days, infants often died during childbirth or shortly after they were born, but suspicion surrounded the death of young King John I. His uncle, Philippe de Poitiers, who succeeded John as King Philippe V the Long, was accused of either killing John or of switching the infant king with the corpse of another dead child. Nothing was ever proved, however. Philippe died in 1322, and his son, Charles IV the Fair, saw the Capetian dynasty to its end in 1328. Thirty years later, a man came forward claiming to be the “switched at death” King John I. Several people were convinced of the man’s claim, but that too was never proved to be true. But just in case, French authorities tossed the “impostor” into prison, where he died in 1363.

King John I’s small tomb rests in the crypt of the famous Basilica Cathedral Saint-Denis near Paris, the resting place of 43 kings, 32 queens, and 10 servants of the French monarchy.

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Highway Travel-by-Number

2016-11-11T12:43:00-06:00

^Top image: A road sign announces the beginning of U.S. Route 1 in Key West, Florida, in the 1950's. U.S. 1 runs between Key West and Fort Kent, Maine, where similar signs also announce the famous route’s “beginning.” Numbered highways were introduced nationwide on Nov. 11, 1926. Credit: National Archives

Ninety years ago today, on Nov. 11, 1926, the government of the United States did motorists across the nation a great favor by introducing a national system of numbered highways. Before people started navigating through smartphones with GPS, people actually read maps and road signs to find their way around. Before 1926, however, road maps and signs were often inconsistent and confusing. Many roads had more than one name, and there were no official rules regarding the placement or accuracy of road signs, nor with the upkeep and improvement of the roads themselves. This made for bewildering and sometimes dangerous motor travel.The 1926 Federal Aid Highway System numbered roads to help motorists navigate the growing complex of paved and other roads around the country. The system also spurred improvement in existing roads and bridges and the construction of many new ones. The move to a numbered system came as more and more motorists were traveling the nation’s roads. It became necessary to create a regular and uniform system that would be followed by each of the then-48 states.

^This map shows the U.S. highway system as it looked on its first day, Nov. 11, 1926. Credit: Bureau of Public Roads/United States Department of Agriculture

Before numbered highways, systems of mostly paved roads called auto trails connected cities and states. Auto trails, however, were often poorly marked, many by simple color bands on telephone poles, and they often “misled” motorists to businesses rather than intended destinations. Some of the better organized and more accurate auto trails still carry their familiar names along with their official numbered routes. Famous auto trails include the Lincoln Highway running between New York City and San Francisco; the Dixie Highway between Chicago and Miami; and the Pacific Highway between Vancouver, British Columbia, and San Diego.

^This map shows the modern National Highway System. Credit: U.S. Department of Transportation

The numbered highway system established a now-familiar plan of motor travel navigation. Generally, north-south highways are odd numbered, with the lowest numbers in the east and the highest in the west. U.S. Route 1, for example, connects Fort Kent, Maine, with Key West, Florida. East-west highways are generally even numbered, with the lowest numbers in the north and the highest in the south. U.S. 20, the longest route in the highway system, runs 3,365 miles (5,415 kilometers) between Newport, Oregon, and Boston, Massachusetts. Major highway routes usually end in 0, 1, or 5. Three-digit numbered highways are side routes that often circle cities or connect other highways. In 1956, theInterstate Highway System adopted this number plan and replaced many of the old U.S. highway routes. Today, the National Highway System includes the Interstate Highway System as well as other roads important to the nation’s economy, defense, and mobility.

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America Goes Trump

2016-11-09T13:41:00-06:00

^Top image: President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an election night rally in New York City on Nov. 8, 2016. Trump and vice president-elect Mike Pence, right, pulled off a surprise victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine. Credit: © Evan Vucci, AP Photo

In a shocking result, voters in the United States elected Republican businessman Donald Trump to be the nation’s next president. Trump upended Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, who had been widely expected to win the election.

Polls had given Clinton a 90 percent chance of winning the presidency, but Trump claimed narrow victories in each of the so-called swing states(states that do not vote predictably Democratic or Republican) en route to a slim electoral victory. With 270 electoral votes needed to win, Trump claimed 289.

Trump’s surprise win came at the end of a long and bitter campaign that left much of the United States deeply divided politically.

As voting results came in last night, Trump’s path to reaching the 270 electoral vote threshold widened after he captured the closely contested swing states of Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio. The New York City real estate developer and reality television personality proved popular in such regularly “blue” (Democratic) states as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, increasing the turnout in conservative suburbs and rural areas. Voter turnout was up nearly 5 percent nationwide.

In small consolation to Clinton, she appeared to win the popular vote after running up large margins on the west coast. (There were votes still to be counted as of early November 9.) It was the first time since 2000 that a candidate captured the Electoral College while losing the national popular vote. In that election, Republican George W. Bush edged out Democrat Al Gore, who had won the popular vote, after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling ended weeks of contested recounts in Florida.

Clinton had been seeking to succeed popular outgoing President Barack Obama and largely continue his policies. Healthy economic indicators, three strong debate performances, and polls showing a small-but-steady lead appeared to make Clinton poised to become the nation’s first woman president. She had garnered the endorsements of the editorial boards of countless newspapers, and numerous former Republican officeholders supported her over an opponent they called dangerous for what they labeled his ill-considered pronouncements on foreign policy.

The surfacing, late in the campaign, of a 2005 recording of Trump seemingly promoting aggressive sexual behavior toward women also seemed to have discredited his candidacy. But conventional wisdom did not sway the Trump voter. Pollsters suggested that potential voters, aware of the labeling of the Republican as racist and sexist, understated their support of the populist businessman. Political observers failed to gauge the thirst of the electorate to change business-as-usual in Washington, D.C.

In Trump, many saw a champion who would challenge the status quo. His statements about curbing Muslim immigration spoke to voters’ fears about terrorist threats. Trump’s lambasting of international trade deals gave supporters hope of overcoming the challenges of a global economy that had “left American workers behind.” Furthermore, right-wing news sources popularized the notion that Clinton was an untrustworthy and corrupt—even evil—opportunist who heeded no limits in her pursuit of political power and personal enrichment.

During his speech accepting the Republican nomination, Trump said, “I alone can fix” the nation’s apparent dysfunction. In his victory speech late on election night, he struck a conciliatory tone:

“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division; [we] have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.

“It’s time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people … I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country.”

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Paris Climate Agreement

2016-11-08T09:42:00-06:00

^Top image: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (second left); Christiana Figueres (left), executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; Laurent Fabius (second right), minister for foreign affairs of France and president of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21); and French President François Hollande (right) celebrate the signing of the historic Paris Climate Agreement in April 2016. The agreement went into effect on Nov. 4, 2016. Credit: © Mark Garten, UN Phot

Yesterday, November 7, officials from around the world gathered in Marrakech, Morocco, for the 2016 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference, or COP22. COP22 is an acronym for the 22nd annual session of the Conference of the Parties. The meetings come on the heels of the Friday, November 4, entry into force of COP21’s Paris Climate Agreement. One hundred countries—including the two considered to be the greatest polluters, China and the United States—have ratified the agreement for nations to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

Most scientists believe that greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming. Global warming is an increase in the average temperature at Earth’s surface, specifically the warming observed since the mid-1800’s. If it continues unchecked, it may melt ice on land near Earth’s poles, raising sea levels; lead to widespread droughts; and cause certain plant and animal species to become extinct. Natural processes have caused Earth’s climate to change in the distant past. But scientists have found strong evidence that human activities have caused most of the warming since the mid-1900’s. These activities include the release of such greenhouse gases as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, where the gases trap heat like a blanket around Earth.

Countries that have ratified the Paris Climate Agreement must assess and report their emissions levels every five years. However, they are not obligated to lower emission levels. Officials hope that such “name and shame” practices will encourage countries to do their best to reduce emissions. Now that the agreement has entered into force, the Marrakech conference is being called the “COP of Action.” Talk has shifted from finger-pointing and negotiation to working out action plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

In some cases, action plans have already been developed. A few weeks ago, in the African country of Rwanda, officials agreed to phase out the production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC’s). HFC’s are a type of molecule used as a refrigerant in air conditioning and refrigeration systems. They were originally designed as a replacement for chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), which were found to damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Unfortunately, HFC’s were later discovered to be incredibly potent greenhouse gases, up to 12,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Scientists estimate that the phase-out will prevent 0.9 °F (0.5 °C) of warming during the next century alone. Also last month, aviation industry officials met in Montreal, Canada, and agreed to cap the emissions of greenhouse gases on international flights. The pact is not as strict as many scientists had hoped, and will only take effect in 2021. Nevertheless, it serves as a first step in controlling the greenhouse gas output of an industry that has largely resisted regulation.

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Mount Rushmore Turns 75

2016-11-01T10:50:00-05:00

^Top image: Mount Rushmore Credit: © Shutterstoc

Yesterday, October 31, was the 75th anniversary of the completion of theMount Rushmore National Memorial. Carved into on a granite cliff in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the giant-sized presidential faces on Mount Rushmore have symbolized American creativity and history, as well as the nation’s variety of natural beauty, since the memorial opened in 1941. State and National Park Service events have celebrated the iconic monument’s 75th birthday throughout 2016, including gala dinners, naturalization ceremonies, picnics, and a special exhibit at the Journey Museum in nearby Rapid City.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial shows the faces of four American Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The heads are 60 feet (18 meters) high. The height of the heads is to the scale of a human being 465 feet (142 meters) tall.

South Dakota historian Doane Robinson came up with the idea for the Mount Rushmore memorial. American sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed the memorial and supervised most of its work. Workers used models that were one-twelfth actual size to obtain measurements for the figures. The workers cut the figures from Mount Rushmore’s granite cliff by means of drills and dynamite. Work on the memorial began in 1927 and continued, with interruptions, for over 14 years. Borglum died in 1941, before the memorial was completed, and his son Lincoln finished the work. The carved figures on Mount Rushmore were originally intended to show the presidents from the waist up, but a lack of funding ended the project prematurely.

Mount Rushmore stands in the mountains 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Rapid City. The memorial rises 5,725 feet (1,745 meters) above sea level, and more than 500 feet (150 meters) above the valley. Thus, Mount Rushmore stands taller than the Great Pyramid of Egypt. The memorial is part of the National Park System. More than 2 million people visit Mount Rushmore every year.

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

2016-09-27T10:22:00-05:00

^Top image: The National Museum of African American History and Culture stands on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Credit: © Alan Karchmer, National Museum of African American History and Culture

On Saturday, September 24, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) opened to the public in Washington, D.C. Located on the National Mall, the museum details the history of slavery, the period of Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, segregation, and civil rights. It also highlights African Americans’ achievements in the arts, entertainment, military, politics, sports, and other aspects of the wider culture. The NMAAHC is a bureau of theSmithsonian Institution.

President Barack Obama, together with his family, helped dedicate the museum. “This national museum helps to tell a richer and fuller story of who we are,” he said. “Hopefully, this museum can help us to talk to each other. And more importantly, listen to each other. And most importantly, see each other. Black and white and Latino and Native American and Asian American—see how our stories are bound together.” In 2009, Obama made history as the first African American president of the United States. His speech on Saturday came amid racial tensions stirred by recent police shootings of black men in Charlotte,North Carolina, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

^The dedication ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture took place on Sept. 24, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Credit: © National Museum of African American History and Culture

Former President George W. Bush, who authorized construction of the museum in 2003, joined President Obama at the NMAAHC dedication.“A great nation,” he said, “does not hide its history. It faces its flaws and it corrects them.”

Cultural material collected by the museum includes works of art, historical artifacts, photographs, moving images, archival documents, electronic data, audio recordings, books, and manuscripts. The museum’s notable collections include the Harriet Tubman Collection, featuring dozens of artifacts that belonged to the underground railroad leader; the Ernest C. Withers Photography Collection; and the Black Fashion Museum Collection. The $540-million museum was designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, who was inspired by Yoruban art from West Africa.

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National Park Service Centennial

2016-08-25T11:09:00-05:00

^Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, in southeastern Alaska, is the largest national park in the United States. It covers more than 8 million acres (3 million hectares) and features many towering mountain peaks and glaciers. Credit: © David Muench/Stone from Getty Images

Today, August 25, is the 100^th anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. It manages the approximately 400 areas of the National Park System. The NPS preserves many natural landscapes and historic and archaeological sites and structures. To mark the NPS centenary, special events will take place across the country, and all national parks will have free admission from August 25 to 28. The events include a solar-powered vehicle race through nine parks in seven Midwestern states; classical music performances and naturalization ceremonies in several parks; and a special Girl Scout and Boy Scout chat from Lewis and Clark National Historical Park with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The bureau’s 100th birthday will also be celebrated at several Major League and Minor League Baseball parks.

This map shows the locations of the national parks of the United States, which form part of the country’s National Park System. Most of the national parks are in the western half of the continental United States and in Alaska. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Conservationist John Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt did much to create the parks and the protected lands that led to the formation of the NPS in 1916. Stephen T. Mather, the first NPS director, actively promoted and expanded the bureau and its protected lands. From 1916 to 1929, Mather increased the number of national parks from 16 to 25; the number of national monuments from 21 to 32; and doubled the total system area from nearly 5 million acres (2 million hectares) to about 10 million acres (4 million hectares). Today, the National Park System includes more than 84 million acres (34 million hectares).

Oversized representations of the U.S. Mint’s coins commemorating the National Park Service centennial stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Credit: National Park Service/U.S. Min

The U.S. Mint is commemorating the NPS centennial by issuing three limited edition coins: a five-dollar gold coin, a silver dollar, and a half-dollar coin. The coins feature images of parks, the NPS arrowhead logo, depictions of the exploration of nature, and portrayals of the multicultural heritage of the United States. The U.S. Postal Service is celebrating the NPS centennial with 16 new Forever stamps featuring national parks.

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The Air Force’s New Lightning

2016-08-23T09:50:00-05:00

On August 2, the United States Air Force declared its new F-35 Lightning II fighter planes ready for combat. The F-35 (F is the Air Force designation for a fighter plane) is a “fifth generation” fighter, combining advanced stealth technology with heavy firepower, long range, high speed, and remarkable agility. Stealth technology allows an aircraft to evade radar detection. Eventually, variants of the F-35 will be the core fighters throughout the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. Such Allied nations as Australia, Italy, and the United Kingdom will also fly F-35 squadrons. The Lockheed Martin Corporation, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, designed the F-35 Lightning II.

A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II lands at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on Sept. 2, 2015. Credit: Todd Cromar, U.S. Air Force

The F-35 development program began in 2001. The first production F-35 flew in 2006 and variants were tested over the next several years. The program took longer than expected, and it cost more too (the average price tag is $178 million per aircraft). The first F-35 military training squadrons were activated in 2013.

A Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engine allows the F-35 to fly at Mach 1.6(roughly 1.6 times the speed of sound), or about 1,200 miles per hour (1,930 kilometers per hour). The aircraft can reach a maximum altitude of more than 50,000 feet (15,000 meters). The plane’s range is 1,350 miles (2,170 kilometers) with internal fuel, or unlimited with aerial refueling (receiving fuel from another plane or a drone while in flight). The plane carries one pilot with a helmet-mounted display system showing all intelligence and targeting information on the pilot’s visor. The F-35 has “internal and external” armaments, including rapid-fire cannons, missiles, and bombs.

F-35 variants include fighters modified for use on aircraft carriers and aircraft with short takeoff /vertical landing (STOVL) capability. STOVL variants are equipped with special propulsion systems and swiveling engines, allowing the plane to fly straight up and down and stop and turn in midair. Over the next several years, the Lightning II will replace older fighters such as the F-16 Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, A-10 Warthog, and AV-8 Harrier. Lockheed’s first “Lightning,” the P-38, was one of the most famous fighters of World War II

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The Battle of Long Tan: 50 Years After

2016-08-18T15:58:00-05:00

^Australian troops wait to board U.S. Army helicopters bound for the Australian Task Force Base at Nui Dat, near Long Tan, Vietnam. Credit: Mike Coleridge, Australian War Memorial

Australian veterans of the Vietnam War (1957-1975) were frustrated this week when the Vietnamese government canceled a memorial event planned for August 18. The day marks Australia’s annual Vietnam Veterans Day, but this year’s holiday carries extra significance. August 18, 2016, marks the 50^th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, Australia’s first major conflict in the Vietnam War. In that battle, a small group of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand defeated a much larger enemy force. The war is a sensitive subject for the Vietnamese government, who canceled the event the day before it was due to take place. More than 1,000 Australians had already traveled to Vietnam for the ceremony.

Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1962, when the country sent Army advisers to South Vietnam in support of its allies from the United States. The first drafted Australian soldiers arrived in Vietnam in 1966. That year, the Australians began to set up a base at Nui Dat, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of the village of Long Tan. The base was about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), the South Vietnamese capital.

On August 17, the Viet Cong (Communist-led South Vietnameseguerrillas) fired artillery at Nui Dat. The next day, a group of Australian soldiers searched for the Viet Cong at a rubber plantation near Long Tan. The group, led by Major Harry Smith, consisted of 105 Australians and 3 New Zealanders. They soon encountered a group of Viet Cong troops that experts estimate was about 2,000 strong.

Battle of Long Tan
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

In a monsoon rain, Smith’s force fought the Viet Cong. American and Australian forces supported Smith’s company with artillery fired from the base at Nui Dat. After about three hours of fighting, and after Smith’s group had fought off several waves of Viet Cong attacks, Australian reinforcements arrived. Nightfall and the arrival of the reinforcements ended the battle.

Seventeen Australian soldiers died in the battle. Twenty-four others were injured, and one of those died of his injuries several days later. The Australians buried 245 Viet Cong soldiers after the battle, though captured documents indicated that hundreds of others had been killed.

A memorial called the Long Tan Cross marks the site of the battle. This year, in addition to Vietnam Veterans Day celebrations across Australia, a group of Australian veterans was scheduled to hold a low-key service at the battle site itself before a “friendship dinner” with Vietnamese veterans and a memorial concert. On August 17, however, the Vietnamese government decided to allow only small groups to access to the battle site for a limited amount of time, and the dinner and concert were canceled.

One of those who traveled to Vietnam for the ceremony was retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith, who recently made a successful petition to the Australian government to have 10 of his men receive military honors for their actions during the battle, or to have existing honors upgraded.

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Cameron Quits; May Begins

2016-07-14T11:54:00-05:00

Photo Information: Theresa May became prime minister of the United Kingdom on July 13, 2016. Credit: UK Home Office (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Yesterday, July 13, British politician Theresa May became prime minister of the United Kingdom. May, who was elected leader of the Conservative Party earlier this month, replaced Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron’s resignation yesterday followed through on a promise he made to step down after last month’s contentious “Brexit” referendum that will remove the United Kingdom from the European Union. May—who, like Cameron, did not support Brexit—faces a difficult transition period as the United Kingdom begins dealing with the many complications created by the referendum. May is the second woman (after Margaret Thatcher) to serve as prime minister of the United Kingdom.

After being formally invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, freshly minted Prime Minister May addressed the media outside No. 10 Downing Street, her new official London residence. May vowed to fight injustice and improve the lives of working-class families. She said her government’s mission was to work with the people to “build a better Britain,” and create a union “between all of our citizens.” She also said she would follow Cameron’s “one nation” example, praising him as a “great, modern prime minister.”

Theresa Mary Brasier was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, on Oct. 1, 1956. Raised in Oxfordshire, she later studied at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, and married banker Philip May. She worked at the Bank of Englandbefore serving as a local councillor in Merton, south London. After unsuccessful election bids in 1992 and 1994, May entered Parliament in 1997 as representative for Maidenhead in the House of Commons. She was appointed the first woman chairman of the Conservative Party in 2002 and named home secretary in 2010.

British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned from office on July 13, 2016, following his failure to stop passage of the “Brexit” referendum in late June. Credit: © Getty Images/Thinkstock

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Argentina 200: the Declaration of Independence

2016-07-08T10:30:00-05:00

About the photo: Representatives signed Argentina’s declaration of independence at the Congress of Tucumán on July 9, 1816. Credit: © Everett/Shutterstock

Tomorrow, July 9, Argentines will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the signing of their nation’s declaration of independence. President Mauricio Macri will lead Nueve de Julio (Ninth of July) ceremonies at the house in northwestern San Miguel de Tucumán where the signing took place on July 9, 1816. Other dignitaries scheduled to attend include formerSpanish King Juan Carlos and leaders from several Latin Americancountries.

Earlier in the week, Argentine lawmakers and political leaders met atTucumán to commemorate the bicentennial. Emilio Monzó, speaker of the lower house, called the gathering “an unprecedented event in the history of our country that representatives from the National Congress travel to the place where our country was born.” Senate leader Federico Pinedo, Tucumán Governor Juan Manzur, and Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti also attended the midweek commemoration.

The 1816 signing of the declaration of independence took place during a turbulent period in Argentina’s history—a period, in fact, before the nation was called Argentina. It was then known as the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, and it covered only the current nation’s northern half above Patagonia. The declaration of independence also came six years after the formation of a government independent of Spain on May 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires. The area had been part of a Spanish colony since the late 1500’s.

After establishing self-rule in 1810, it took awhile to unite Buenos Aires with the various Argentine provinces. Eventually, provincial representatives met at the Congress of Tucumán on July 9, 1816, and declared their nation’s independence. The new nation had a rough go of it, however, suffering through a civil war and decades of dictatorship before the constitution of 1853 established a republic, which was renamed Argentina in 1860. The nation grew to include Patagonia in 1881.

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The Battle of the Somme: 100 Years

2016-07-01T15:11:00-05:00

Photo information: British troops go “over the top” during the 1916 Battle of the Somme in northern France. Credit: © Paul Popper, Popperfoto/Getty Images

Today, July 1, is the 100^th anniversary of the beginning of the 1916Battle of the Somme during World War I (1914-1918). To mark the solemn occasion, thousands of people, including members of the Britishroyal family, gathered at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing and other poignant places on the former Somme battlefield in northern France. The Somme campaign took place during the summer and autumn of 1916 and consisted of a series of largely unsuccessful offenses by British and French troops against part of Germany‘s western battlefront. The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest examples of trench warfare in history. The battle is named for the area’s main feature, the Somme River, which rises near the French-Belgian border and flows west for about 140 miles (225 kilometers) to the English Channel.

This morning at Thiepval—a village central to the battle that was completely destroyed in the war—a two-minute silence was followed by a reading by Prince Charles and the hymn “Abide With Me.” Then theArchbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, said a prayer: “On this day we remember all those caught up by the battle on the Somme; those who faced the terrible waste and devastation, those who fought against all the odds, who endured the clinging mud and squalor of the trenches.”

On July 1, 1916, British infantry went “over the top” (that is, came out of their trenches) to mount an attack upon the German positions. They believed that they would encounter little resistance, but German gunfire decimated the attacking infantry. On this first day of the battle, some 20,000 British soldiers died, and another 40,000 were wounded.

French forces to the south took many of their early objectives, and their losses were not as severe. They used tactics that had proved successful in the fighting at Verdun—brief, creeping bombardments, with infantry advancing in smaller groups. The 100^th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Verdun took place earlier this year in February.

1916 Battle of the Somme
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

For the rest of July 1916 and over the next few months, the British and French carried out a series of assaults upon the German lines. The attacks gained little ground, and both German and Allied troops suffered heavycasualties (killed, wounded, captured, or missing). By November 18, when the battle was called off, the British and French had pushed the Germans back only 7 miles (11 kilometers).

Estimates of casualties vary, but many experts believe that more than 1 million soldiers died during the Somme campaign: about 420,000 British soldiers, nearly 200,000 French soldiers, and between 450,000 and 650,000 Germans. The Allies failed to force a major breakthrough, but the attack succeeded in draining significant German reserves. Also, the slow evolution of new tactics and technologies—particularly in the use of artillery, tanks, and warplanes—proved key in later battles.

Related World Book articles

Australian Remembrance Trail; Delville Wood, Battle of; Fromelles, Battle of; Pozières, Battle of

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1964 “Freedom Summer” Murder Case Closed

2016-06-22T13:38:00-05:00

About the picture:

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party supporters demonstrate outside the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Some hold portraits of slain civil rights workers James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.

Credit: Library of Congress

On June 20, after an investigation that continued for more than half a century, federal and Mississippi authorities officially closed the books on one of the most heinous, racially motivated criminal cases in the history of the United States civil rights movement. Known as the “Freedom Summer” murder case or the “Mississippi Burning” murder case, it was notable as the first successful federal prosecution of a civil rights case in Mississippi. Outrage over the case helped gain passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In June 1964, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, two white civil rights volunteers from New York City, and James Chaney, a black volunteer from Meridian, Mississippi, were working together in Meridian as part of the “Freedom Summer” campaign to help African Americansregister to vote. The campaign was organized primarily by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a civil rights organization. At that time, many Southern States had used various methods to deprive blacks of their voting rights. On June 21, the three men were on their way to investigate the burning of an African American church in Neshoba County when they were taken into custody for speeding by a sheriff deputy. After the men were released from county jail in Philadelphia, Mississippi, a Ku Klux Klan mob followed their car, forced it off the road, and shot the men to death. The volunteers’ station wagon was found three days later. Initially classified as a missing persons case, the men’s disappearance sparked national outrage and an investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI found the bodies of the three men 44 days later, buried in an earthen dam.

In 1967, 18 men were tried on federal civil rights charges in the case. An all-white jury convicted seven of them of violating the civil rights of the Freedom Summer volunteers. At the time, no federal murder statutes existed, and the state never brought charges. None of the convicted men served more than six years in prison. The plot leader, Edgar Ray Killen, a Baptist minister, avoided a trial due to a hung jury. Killen was finally convicted in a 2005 trial based on new evidence unveiled in 2000. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 60 years in prison, where he remains today at age 91.

In 2010, federal authorities reopened the investigation in search of evidence to allow them to convict the remaining suspects. However, that investigation came to a halt 18 months ago after a witness backed out at the last minute after pledging to sign a sworn statement that would have implicated a suspect, according to Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.

Monday’s decision means that no other suspects in the case will be prosecuted. “It has been a thorough and complete investigation,” Hood said. “I am convinced that during the last 52 years, investigators have done everything possible under the law to find those responsible and hold them accountable; however, we have determined that there is no likelihood of any additional convictions… Our state and our entire nation are a much better place because of the work of those three young men and others in 1964 who only wanted to ensure that the rights and freedoms promised in our Constitution were afforded to every single one of us in Mississippi.” In 2014, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner Presidential Medals of Freedom.

Other World Book articles

Evers, Medgar
Freedom riders
Meredith, James

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