Effects of 1989 Earthquake on San Francisco

The Effects of 1989 Earthquake on San Francisco was indeed devastating. In October 1989 the San Francisco area was badly shaken by an earthquake, the worst in the area since 1906. Damage from the quake was extensive, and many homes and businesses were destroyed. Fire crews and state agents quickly swung into action to counter the effects of the 1989 earthquake on San Francisco as buildings and sites were inspected to prevent possible multiple damage resulting from aftershocks, environmental impact assessment was also carried out to ascertain the extent of damage to the environment.

 

 

 

American Revolution

American Revolution (1775-1783) is a conflict between 13 British colonies in North America and their parent country, Great Britain. It was made up of two related events: the American War of Independence (1775-1783) and the formation of the American government as laid out by the Constitution of the United States in 1787. First, the war achieved independence from Great Britain by the colonies. Second, the newly created United States of America established a republican form of government, in which power resided with the people.

The revolution had many causes. Long-term social, economic, and political changes in the colonies before 1750 provided the basis for an independent nation with representative political institutions. More immediately, the French and Indian War (1754-1763) changed the relationship between the colonies and their mother country. Finally, a decade of conflicts between the British government and the colonists, beginning with the Stamp Act crisis in 1765, led to the outbreak of war in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Once independent, the new state governments implemented republican constitutions, and a Continental Congress directed the American war effort. Then in 1781 the rebellious states created a loose union under the Articles of Confederation. At the end of the war in 1783, Britain recognized its former colonies as an independent nation. In 1789 the people of the several states ratified the Constitution that created a stronger central government.

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Alien and Sedition Acts

Alien and Sedition Acts, in American political history were four laws passed in 1798. The Naturalization Act raising from 5 to 14 the number of years of United States residence required for naturalization was repealed in 1802. The Alien Act, empowering the president to arrest and deport any alien considered dangerous, expired in 1800. The Alien Enemies Act, which expired in 1801, provided for the arrest and deportation of subjects of foreign powers at war with the United States. The Sedition Act made it a criminal offense to print or publish false, malicious, or scandalous statements directed against the U.S. government, the president, or Congress; to foster opposition to the lawful acts of Congress; or to aid a foreign power in plotting against the United States. Although the Sedition Act enacted some reforms in the existing law of seditious libel—evidence of the truth of the alleged libel could be pleaded in justification—its penalties were severe: imprisonment for up to five years and fines up to $5,000.

The Alien and Sedition Acts were enacted by a Congress dominated by the Federalist Party and signed by President John Adams during the war crisis with France that followed publication of the XYZ letters. These documents had revealed that French officials had demanded bribes from American diplomats in Paris as a condition for negotiations to preserve the peace between the two nations.

The Naturalization and Alien Acts were aimed largely at Irish immigrants and French refugees who had participated in political activities critical of the Adams administration. The Sedition Act was an attempt to curb newspaper editors who supported the Republican Party and who, in many cases, were also immigrants and refugees. The duration of the law (until March 3, 1801) indicated that its purpose was to obstruct Republican Party activities during the presidential election of 1800. Before it expired, about 25 people were arrested and about 10 were convicted. Some of them were later pardoned.

The most prominent opponents of the Alien and Sedition Acts were the Republican Party leaders, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. They drafted, respectively, the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798 as part of their campaigns to protest Federal violations of civil liberties and Federal restrictions on the freedom of the press clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The resolutions also became important in American political history after 1830 as precedents to justify the doctrine of nullification (the principle that the states could nullify federal laws). The Alien and Sedition Acts were widely unpopular and played a major role in both the downfall of the Federalist Party and the election of Jefferson to the presidency in 1800.

 

Alaska Facts and Figures

Alaska Facts and Figures

General Information
Capital	Juneau
Statehood	January 3, 1959
	the 49th state
State nickname	The Last Frontier
Name for residents	Alaskans
State motto	North to the future
Abbreviation	AK
Land
Total area	1,717,854 sq km
	663,267 sq mi
Rank among states in total area	1st
Land area	1,495,787 sq km
	577,527 sq mi
Highest point	Mount McKinley
	6,194 m/20,320 ft
Forested land as a share of total area	34.3 percent (2002)
Federally owned land as a share of land area	67.7 percent (2002)
People
Population	683,478 (2007 estimate)
Rank among states in population	47th
Ten-year population growth	14 percent (1990-2000)
Population density	0.45 persons per sq km (2006 estimate)
	1.17 persons per sq mi (2006 estimate)
Urban population	65.6 percent (2000)
Largest cities, with population
Anchorage	275,043 (2005 estimate)
Fairbanks	31,142 (2006)
Juneau	30,987 (2005 estimate)
Sitka	8,986 (2005 estimate)
Ketchikan	7,446 (2006)
Ethnic groups
Whites	69.3 percent (2000)
Native Americans	15.6 percent (2000)
Asians	4 percent (2000)
Blacks	3.5 percent (2000)
Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders	0.5 percent (2000)
Mixed heritage or not reporting	7 percent (2000)
Hispanics (of any race)	4.1 percent (2000)
Health and Education
Life expectancy	Not available
Infant mortality rate	6 deaths per 1,000 live births (2004)
Residents per physician	438 people (2005)
Residents per hospital bed	474 people (2005)
Share of population not covered by health insurance	16.5 percent (2006)
Number of students per teacher (K-12)	17.2 (2003)
Government spending per student (K-12)	$11,896 (2002-2003)
Share of students attending private school	4.6 percent (1999)
Share of people over age 25 with high school diploma	89.7 percent (2006)
Government
State government
Governor	Sarah Palin
	(term ends December 2010)
Legislature	Senate, 20 members
	House of Representatives, 40 members
National representation
Members of the U.S. Senate	2
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives	1
Electoral votes	3
Economy
Gross state product (GSP)	$41 billion (2006)
Income per capita	$34,085 (2004)
GSP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing	1 percent (2004)
Industry
Construction	5.1 percent (2004)
Manufacturing	2.1 percent (2004)
Mining	21.5 percent (2004)
Transportation and utilities	10.5 percent (2004)
Services
Finance, insurance, and real estate	12.9 percent (2004)
Government	19.6 percent (2004)
Information technology	3 percent (2004)
Retail trade	5.2 percent (2004)
Wholesale trade	2.1 percent (2004)
Other services	17.3 percent (2004)
Employment
Number of workers	347,000 (2006 estimate)
Unemployment rate	6.7 percent (2006 estimate)
Share of workers in unions	22.8 percent (2005)
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Share from geothermal, solar, and wind	0.1 percent (2005 estimate)
Share from hydroelectric	22.3 percent (2005 estimate)
Share from nuclear	0 percent (2002)
Share from thermal	77.7 percent (2005 estimate)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people	154 newspapers per 1,000 people (2006 estimate)
Share of households with Internet access	67.6 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of library books circulated per resident	5.8 books per person (2002)
Length of highways	23,121 km (2005)
	14,367 mi (2005)
Length of interstate highways	1,740 km (2005)
	1,081 mi (2005)
Length of railroad tracks	814 km (2004)
	506 mi (2004)
Airports	28 (2007)
Sources
The Association of American Railroads (www.aar.org), Bureau of Economic Analysis (www.bea.doc.gov), Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), Census Bureau (www.census.gov), Energy Information Administration (www.eia.doe.gov), Federal Aviation Administration (www.faa.gov), Federal Highway Administration (www.fhwa.dot.gov), Forest Service (www.fs.fed.us), General Services Administration (www.gsa.gov), National Agricultural Statistics Service (www.usda.gov/nass), National Center for Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov), National Center for Health Statistics (www.cdc.gov/nchs), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (www.ntia.doc.gov).

Articles of Confederation: Article V

The Articles of Confederation as contained in Article V

For the more convenient management of the general interests of the united states, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of each state shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each state, to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the Year.

No state shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more than seven Members; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the united states, for which he, or another for his benefit receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind.

Each state shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, and while they act as members of the committee of the states.

In determining questions in the united states, in Congress assembled, each state shall have one vote.

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or questioned in any Court, or place out of Congress, and the members of congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and attendance on congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.

The Articles of Confederation according to Article V

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