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+ High School Musical 2 is a 2007 Disney television movie movie. It is a sequel to High School Musical. The movie was very popular. It had a record number of viewers for a made-for-television movie. High School Musical 2 also set the record for most viewers for a pay-television movie in Australia.[2] This movie stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Ashley Tisdale, and Lucas Grabeel. Its sequel is High School Musical 3: Senior Year.
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+ What Time Is It? is a song off the soundtrack of this movie. It is about the kids who go to East High School leaving school for the summertime.
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+ High School Musical is a 2006 Disney television movie, starring Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman and Lucas Grabeel. Its sequel is High School Musical 2.
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+ The story is set in New Mexico. It is about two high school students, Troy Bolton, who is captain of his school's basketball team, and Gabriella Montez, a shy new student who is good in mathematics and science. Together, they try out for the lead parts in their high school musical. Despite other students' attempts to foil their dreams, Troy and Gabriella persist and inspire others along the way. They also make new friends.
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+ The Himalayas are a mountain range in South Asia.
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+ The west end is in Pakistan. They run through Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh states in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The east end is in the south of Tibet. They are divided into 3 parts Himadri, Himachal and Shiwaliks.
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+ The 15 highest mountains in the world are in the Himalayas. The main ones are Mount Everest, K2, Annapurna, and Nanga Parbat. Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, at 8,849 meters. Of the fifteen highest mountain peaks in the World, nine are in the Nepali Himalayas.
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+ The word "Himalaya" means House of Snow in Sanskrit, an old Indian language. The Himalayas are so high that they kept the Indian and Chinese people separate from each other most of the time. India is a peninsula that is cut off from the rest of Asia by the mountains. It is often called the Indian subcontinent because it is larger and more isolated than other peninsulas.
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+ North of the Himalayas is the Tibetan Plateau. It is called “the roof of the world”. However, the Tibetan Plateau is very dry because the plateau and the mountains act as a gigantic rain shadow. The rain falls instead on the south side of the mountains. This has greatly influenced the climate of the Indian subcontinent. Not only does it block the extremely cold winter winds blowing from Central Asia from entering Subcontinent, it also forces the Bay of Bengal Monsoon branch to shed its moisture along NE and Northern Indian States, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
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+ Geologically, the origin of the Himalayas is the impact of the Indian tectonic plate. This travels northward at 15 cm per year, and joined the Eurasian continent about 40-50 million years ago. The formation of the Himalayas resulted in the lighter rock of the seabeds of that time being lifted up into mountains. An often-cited fact used to illustrate this process is that the summit of Mount Everest is made of marine limestone.[1][2]
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+ The Indian plate is still moving north at 67 mm per year. Over the next 10 million years it will travel about 1,500 km into Asia. About 20 mm per year of the India-Asia convergence is absorbed by thrusting along the Himalaya southern front. This leads to the Himalayas rising by about 5 mm per year, making them geologically active. The movement of the Indian plate into the Asian plate also leads to earthquakes from time to time.
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+ The Himalayas are very popular for tourists because it has a lot of wildlife. The types of plants and trees, which are common in the place, are Oak, Pine, Fir, Rhododendron, Birch, Juniper, and Deodar. Common animals, which are seen mostly in the different parts of the Himalayas, are snow leopards, blue sheep, musk deer, tigers, elephants, wild boar, and crocodiles. Even endangered species of animals and plants are also found there. In the north part of the Himalayas where the temperature falls below freezing point, animals cannot survive well. However, those who adapted can survive. During the cold winters most of the animals migrate to the lower regions of the Himalayas while others like the brown bear hibernate instead. The Yak is mostly seen in the cold desert.[2] They are like wild ox and they are the largest animals in this region. In regions of Ladakh animals like Nyan, the wild and the most largest sheep are found.[3]
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+ Some of the major places for wildlife attractions in the Himalayas are:
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+ The five main rivers of the Himalayas are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Satluj. The rivers are the main source of human and animal life in those areas.[3]
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+ Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language. It is the main language in India. It is the fifth most spoken language in the world with about 182 million native speakers in 1998. The Devanāgarī script is used to write Hindi.
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+ Hindi is widely written, spoken and understood in North India and some other places in India. In 1997, a survey found that 45% of Indians can speak Hindi. It has taken words from the Dravidian languages of South India, as well as the Arabic, Persian, Chagatai, English and Portuguese languages.[source?]
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+ Hindi and Urdu were considered the same language but have evolved into separate dialects. However, to this day, both languages are mutually intelligible, meaning their speakers can understand each other without knowing the other language. Urdu, however, is written in the completely different Arabic alphabet.
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+ Hindi developed from Sanskrit, the ancient language of India. Hindi started to develop in the 7th century as "Apabhramsha" and became stable by the 10th century. Some famous Hindi poets are Tulsidas and Kabir.
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+ Dialects of Hindi include: Avadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri, Bundeli, Bagheli, Chhattisgarhi, Dogri and Marwari.
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+ Hindi is also spoken with regional accents like Haryanvi and Rajasthani. Bombay Hindi is spreading because Bollywood films use it.
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+ Hindi Diwas is an annual celebration on 14th September. It commemorates the law of 1949 that made Hindi the legal language of the Republic.
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+ Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language. It is the main language in India. It is the fifth most spoken language in the world with about 182 million native speakers in 1998. The Devanāgarī script is used to write Hindi.
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+ Hindi is widely written, spoken and understood in North India and some other places in India. In 1997, a survey found that 45% of Indians can speak Hindi. It has taken words from the Dravidian languages of South India, as well as the Arabic, Persian, Chagatai, English and Portuguese languages.[source?]
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+ Hindi and Urdu were considered the same language but have evolved into separate dialects. However, to this day, both languages are mutually intelligible, meaning their speakers can understand each other without knowing the other language. Urdu, however, is written in the completely different Arabic alphabet.
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+ Hindi developed from Sanskrit, the ancient language of India. Hindi started to develop in the 7th century as "Apabhramsha" and became stable by the 10th century. Some famous Hindi poets are Tulsidas and Kabir.
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+ Dialects of Hindi include: Avadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri, Bundeli, Bagheli, Chhattisgarhi, Dogri and Marwari.
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+ Hindi is also spoken with regional accents like Haryanvi and Rajasthani. Bombay Hindi is spreading because Bollywood films use it.
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+ Hindi Diwas is an annual celebration on 14th September. It commemorates the law of 1949 that made Hindi the legal language of the Republic.
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+ Hinduism is an Indian religion, or a way of life.[note 1] Hinduism is widely practiced in South Asia mainly in India and Nepal. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world,[note 2] and Hindus refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal tradition," or the "eternal way," beyond human history.[4][5] Scholars regard Hinduism as a combination[6] of different Indian cultures and traditions,[7] with diverse roots.[8][note 3] Hinduism has no founder and origins of Hinduism is unknown.[9] What we now call Hinduism have roots in cave paintings that have been preserved from Mesolithic sites dating from c. 30,000 BCE in Bhimbetka, near present-day Bhopal, in the Vindhya Mountains in the Madhya Pradesh." There was no concept of religion in India and Hinduism was not a religion. Hinduism as a religion started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE,[10] after the Vedic period (1500 BCE to 500 BCE).[10][11]
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+ Hinduism contains a wide range of philosophies, and is linked by the concepts, like rituals, cosmology, Texts, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are divided into Śruti ("heard") and Smṛti ("remembered"). These texts discuss philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, and many more.[12] Major scriptures in Hinduism include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Agamas.[13][14][15]
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+ There are 4 goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma (duties), Artha (prosperity), Kama (desires/passions), Moksha (liberation/freedom/salvation);[16][17] karma (action, intent and consequences), Saṃsāra (cycle of rebirth), and the various Yogas (paths or practices to attain moksha).[14][18] Hindu rituals include puja (worship) and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Some Hindus leave their social world and become sanyasi to achieve Moksha.[19] Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, non-violence (ahimsa), patience, self-restraint, and compassion, among others.[20][21] The four largest sects of Hinduism are the Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism.[22]
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+ Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, There are approximately 1.15 billion Hindus which are 15-16% of the global population.[web 1][23] The vast majority of Hindus live in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Hindus are also found in other countries.[24][25]
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+ The word Hindu is taken from the Indo-Aryan[26]/Sanskrit[27] word Sindhu, which is Sanskrit name for the Indus River which lies on the border of India and Pakistan.[27][note 4] According to Gavin Flood, The word Hindu was used by Persians for the people who live beyond the Indus River,[27] Inscription of Darius I which was written around 550–486 BCE also refer Hindu as the people who live beyond the Indus River.[28] These records didn't refer Hindu as a religion.[27] The earliest record which refer Hindu as religion may be the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by Xuanzang,[28] and 14th-century Persian text Futuhu's-salatin by 'Abd al-Malik Isami.[note 5] This is because the name if the religion is called Hinduism, not Hindu.
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+ The Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus.[36] Hindustan is how to say India in Hindi. It means "Land of Hindus" which is what it stood for until Muslims started to come into India. The Arabic influence on the Hindu language of Sanskrit created a new language, called Hindi.
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+ The term Hindu was later used in some Sanskrit texts such as the later Rajataranginis of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts including Chaitanya Charitamrita and Chaitanya Bhagavata. These texts used to distinguish Hindus from Muslims who are called Yavanas (foreigners) or Mlecchas (barbarians), with the 16th-century Chaitanya Charitamrita text and the 17th century Bhakta Mala text using the phrase "Hindu dharma".[37] In the end of the 18th century the European merchants and colonists began to call followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.[38]
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+ Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.[39][40][41] Because of the wideness and openness of Hinduism, arriving at a definition is difficult.[27] [42] Hinduism has been defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life."[43][note 1] From a Western point of view, Hinduism like other faiths is referred to as a religion. In India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion.
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+ The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion.[44] Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism,[45][note 6] and have also been taken over by critics of the Western view on India.[46][note 7]
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+ Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to) Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsāra (the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (Every action has a reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara or liberation in this life), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).[18]
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+ Hindism have accepted four proper goals or aims of human life: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. These are known as the Puruṣārthas:[16][17]
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+ Dharma is considered one of the most important goal of a human being in Hinduism.[47] Dharma is considered Important because it is dharma which makes running of Universe and life possible,[48] and includes duties, virtues and "right way of living".[49] Hindu Dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous.[49] The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states it as:
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+ Nothing is higher than Dharma. The weak overcomes the stronger by Dharma, as over a king. Truly that Dharma is the Truth (Satya); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one.
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+ In the Mahabharata, Krishna says it is Dharma which is holding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11). The word Sanātana means eternal, perennial, or forever; thus, Sanātana Dharma means that it is the dharma that has neither beginning nor end.[52]
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+ Artha is second goal of life in Hinduism which means pursuit of wealth for livelihood, and economic prosperity. It includes political life, diplomacy and material well-being. The Artha includes all "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in, wealth, career and financial security.[53] The aim of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.[54][55]
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+ Kāma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: काम) means desire, wish, passion, pleasure of the senses, the enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.[56][57] In Hinduism, Kama is considered an important and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing Dharma, Artha and Moksha.[58]
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+ Moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष mokṣa) or mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति) is the ultimate, most important goal in Hinduism. In one school Moksha means liberation from sorrow, suffering and saṃsāra (birth-rebirth cycle).[59][60] In other schools of Hinduism, such as monistic, moksha means self-realization,"realizing the whole universe as the Self".[61][62]
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+ Karma means action, work, or deed,[63] and also the vedic theory of cause and effect".[64][65] The theory is a combination of (1) causality that may be moral or non-moral; (2) moralization, that is good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth.[66] Karma theory means ''Whatever experience currently a man have is due to his/her past work''. These actions may be in a person's current life, or, in some schools of Hinduism, actions in their past lives.[66][67] This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth is called samsara. Liberation from samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace.[68][69] Hindu scriptures teach that the future depends on the current action and our past deeds.
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+ The ultimate goal of life,according to Hinduism is moksha, nirvana or samadhi, but is understood in different ways in different schools.For example, Advaita Vedanta says that after attaining moksha a person knows their "soul, self" and identifies it as one with Brahman (Ultimate reality or cause of everything).[70][71] The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools,state that after attaining moksha a person identify "soul, self" different from Brahman but very close to Brahman, and after attaining moksha one will spend eternity in a loka (higher planes). According to theistic schools of Hinduism, moksha is liberation from samsara, while for other schools such as the monistic school, moksha is possible in current life and is a psychological concept.
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+ Hinduism is diverse and Hinduism include monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others;[39][72][web 2] Basically it depends on individuals choice and that's why sometimes Hinduism is referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an over generalization.[73]
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+ Hindus believe that all living creatures have a soul. This soul or true "self" of every living being is called the ātman. The soul is believed to be eternal.[74] According to the monistic/pantheistic (non-dualist) theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is indistinct from Brahman.[75] The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realise that one's soul is identical to supreme soul, that the supreme soul is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life.[76][77][78] Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) sees Brahman as a Supreme Being separate from individual souls.[79] They worship the Supreme Being variously as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending upon the sect. God is called Ishvara, Bhagavan, Parameshwara, Devadu or Devi, and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism.[80][81][82] Devi is typically used when refereeing to a female goddess.
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+ The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called Devas (or devī in feminine form; devatā used synonymously for Deva in Hindi), which in English means demi-gods or heavenly beings.[note 8] The devas are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through icons, and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping Ishvara in one of its particular manifestations as their iṣṭa devatā, or chosen ideal.[86][87] The choice is a matter of individual preference,[88] and of regional and family traditions.[88][note 9] The multitude of Devas are considered as manifestations of Brahman.[note 10]
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+ Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular sect or tradition.[90] Four major sects in Hinduism are: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smarthism.[91][92]
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+ Vaishnavism is the tradition that worships Vishnu[93] and his avatars, such as Krishna and Rama.[94] The people of this sect are generally non-ascetic, monastic.[95] These practices include community dancing, singing of Kirtans and Bhajans, with sound and music believed by some to have meditative and spiritual powers.[96]
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+ Shaivism is the tradition that focuses on Shiva. Shaivas are more attracted to ascetic individualism, and it has several sub-schools.[95] Their practices include Bhakti-style devotion but they leaned to philosply such as Advaita and Yoga.[91][96] Some Shaivas worship in temples, but some practice yoga, striving to be one with Shiva within.[97] Shaivas visualize god as half male, half female, as a combination of the male and female principles (Ardhanarishvara). Shaivism is related to Shaktism, wherein Shakti is seen as wife of Shiva.[91] Shaivism is mainly practiced in the Himalayan north from Kashmir to Nepal, and in south India.[98]
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+ Shaktism focuses on goddess worship of Shakti or Devi as cosmic mother,[95] and it is mainly worshipped in northeastern and eastern states of India such as Assam and Bengal. Devi is depicted as in gentler forms like Parvati, the consort of Shiva; or, as warrior goddesses like Kali and Durga.[99] Community celebrations include festivals, some of which include processions and idol immersion into sea or other water bodies.[100]
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+ Smartism worship all the major Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda.[101] The Smarta tradition developed during the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.[102][103] The Smarta tradition is very much same as Advaita Vedanta, and consider Adi Shankara as its founder or reformer, who considered worship of God-with-attributes (saguna Brahman) as a journey towards ultimately realizing God-without-attributes (nirguna Brahman, Atman, Self-knowledge).[104][105]
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+ Hindu text are world's oldest and had been written in Sanskrit and Tamil. The oldest Text is Rig Veda which is about 4000 years old.Hindu Texts can be divided in two parts:
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+ Shruti or Shruthi (Sanskrit: श्रुति; IAST: Śruti; IPA/Sanskrit: [ʃrut̪i]) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" These ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism includes the four Vedas including its four types of attached texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads
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+ Smriti (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: Smṛti), means "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts. Smriti were the texts which were remembered and were spread through mouth from generation to generation. Smriti includes (the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana), the Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras (or Smritiśāstras), the Arthasaśāstras, the Purānas, the Kāvya or poetical literature.
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+ There are many Hindu Festivals celebrated throughout the world but mainly in India and Nepal. These festivals include worship, offerings to deities, fasting, rituals, fairs, charity, celebrations, Puja, etc. The festivals mainly celebrate events from Hindu mythology, changes in season, changes in Solar System. Different sects celebrate different festivals but festivals like Diwali, Holi, Shivratri, Raksha Bandhan, Janamashtmi etc. are celebrated by the majority of Hindus.
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+ Hinduism can be divided in following ages
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+ The origins of Hinduism are unknown but the earliest traces of Hinduism come from Mesolithic in the sites such as the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older,[note 11] as well as neolithic times.[note 12] Some of the religious practices can be considered to have originated in 4000 BCE. Several tribal religions still exist, though their practices may not resemble those of prehistoric religions.[web 3]
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+ According to one view, the Varna, which later transformed into caste system during the British rule, shows how strongly many have felt about each person following his or her dharma, or destined path. Many Hindus say it goes against the true meaning of dharma. However, Varna plays a big role in Hindu society. It's later transformation as Caste system by the British rule of India lost favor and became illegal after the independence of India.
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+ Puja (worship) takes place in the Mandir (temple). Mandirs vary in size from small village shrines to large buildings, surrounded by walls. People can also visit the Mandir at any time to pray and participate in the bhajans (religious songs). Hindus also worship at home and often have a special room with a shrine to particular gods.
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+ Temple construction in India started nearly 2000 years ago. The oldest temples that were built of brick and wood no longer exist. Stone later became the preferred material. Temples marked the transition of Hinduism from the Vedic religion of ritual sacrifices to a religion of Bhakti or love and devotion to a personal deity. Temple construction and mode of worship is governed by ancient Sanskrit scriptures called agamas, of which there are several, which deal with individual deities. There are substantial differences in architecture, customs, rituals and traditions in temples in different parts of India. During the ritual consecration of a temple, the presence of the universal all-encompassing Brahman is invoked into the main stone deity of the temple, through ritual, thereby making the deity and the temple sacred and divine
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+ The Bhakti (Devotional) school takes its name from the Hindu term that signifies a blissful, selfless and overwhelming love of God as the beloved Father, Mother, Child, or whatever relationship finds appeal in the devotee's heart. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks to tap into the universal divinity through personal form, which explains the proliferation of so many gods and goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people. Seen as a form of Yoga, or union, it seeks to dissolve the ego in God, since consciousness of the body and limited mind as self is seen to be a divisive factor in spiritual realization. Essentially, it is God who effects all change, who is the source of all works, who acts through the devotee as love and light. 'Sins' and evil-doings of the devotee are said to fall away of their own accord, the devotee shriven, limitedness even transcended, through the love of God. The Bhakti movements rejuvenated Hinduism through their intense expression of faith and their responsiveness to the emotional and philosophical needs of India. They can rightly be said to have affected the greatest wave of change in Hindu prayer and ritual since ancient times.
75
+
76
+ The most popular means of expressing love for God in the Hindu tradition has been through puja, or ritual devotion, frequently using the aid of a murti (statue) in conjunction with the singing or chanting of meditational prayer in the form of mantras.
77
+
78
+ Devotional songs called bhajans (written primarily from the 14th-17th centuries), kirtan (praise), and arti (a filtered down form of Vedic fire ritual) are sometimes sung in conjunction with performance of puja. This rather organic system of devotion attempts to aid the individual in connecting with God through symbolic medium. It is said, however, that the bhakta, through a growing connection with God, is eventually able to avoid all external form and is immersed entirely in the bliss of undifferentiated Love in Truth.
79
+
80
+ Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music and art that has enriched the world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and artificial social boundaries. See bhakti yoga for more.
81
+
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+ According to the most famous Western Tantrik scholar, Sir John Woodroffe (pseudonym Arthur Avalon): "The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kaliyuga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox 'Hinduism'. The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakanda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says: 'For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given' (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sadhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression." (Introduction to Sir John Woodroffe's translation of "Mahanirvana Tantra.")
83
+
84
+ The word "tantra" means "treatise" or "continuum", and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as "tantric". Most tantras were written in the late Middle Ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and Yoga.
85
+
86
+ Many Hindus are vegetarians (do not eat meat) because of their respect for life. About 30% of today's Hindu population, especially in orthodox communities in South India, in certain northerly states like Gujarat, and in many Brahmin areas around the subcontinent, are vegetarian.
87
+
88
+ Most Hindus who do eat meat do not eat beef. Some do not even use leather products. This is most likely because many Hindus have relied so heavily on the cow for all sorts of dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertiliser that its status as a willing 'caretaker' of humanity grew to identifying it as an almost motherly figure. Thus, while most Hindus do not worship the cow, and rules against eating beef arose long after the Vedas had been written, it still has an honored place in Hindu society. It is said that Krishna is both Govinda (herder of cows) and Gopala (protector of cows), and Shiva's attendant is Nandi, the bull. With the stress on vegetarianism (which is usually followed even by meat-eating Hindus on religious days or special occasions) and the sacred nature of the cow, it is no wonder that most holy cities and areas in India have a ban on selling meat-products and there is a movement among Hindus to ban cow-slaughter not only in specific regions, but in all of India.
89
+
90
+ Hindus use many symbols and signs. The two most important symbols used by Hindus are the "Aum" and the "Swastika (Hinduism)".
91
+
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+ Contrary to popular belief, practiced Hinduism is neither polytheistic nor strictly monotheistic. The various Hindu gods and avatars that are worshipped by Hindus are understood as different forms of One truth, sometimes seen as beyond a mere god and as a formless Divine Ground (Brahman), akin but not limited to monism, or as one monotheistic principle like Vishnu or Shiva.
93
+
94
+ Whether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal god (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. Hinduism encourages devotees to describe and develop a personal relationship with their chosen deity (ishta devata) in the form of a god or goddess.
95
+
96
+ While some censuses hold worshippers of one form or another of Vishnu (known as Vaishnavs) to be at 80% and those of Shiva (called Shaivaites) and Shakti at the remaining 20%, such figures are perhaps misleading. The vast majority of Hindus worship many gods as varicolored forms of the same prism of Truth. Among the most popular are Vishnu (as Krishna or Rama), Shiva, Devi (the Mother as many female deities, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga), Ganesha, Skanda and Hanuman.
97
+
98
+ Worship of the said deities is often done through the aid of pictures or icons (murti) which are said not to be God themselves but conduits for the devotee's consciousness, markers for the human soul that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the love and grandeur of God. They are symbols of the greater principle, representing and are never presumed to be the concept or entity itself. Thus, Hindu image worship is a form of iconolatry, in which the symbols are venerated as putative sigils of divinity, as opposed to idolatry, a charge often levied (erroneously) at Hindus. For more details on this form of worship, see murti.
99
+
100
+ Hindus use several prayers and group of words. Some group of words are called mantras.
101
+ These words are said to give the speaker a deeper concentration and understanding, thus coming closer to Brahman.
102
+ A well known mantra is om or aum. It symbolizes Brahman, and is often the opening word in many prayers.
103
+ To pronounce a mantra well, you should say it slowly, and in a deep voice.
104
+
105
+ The nations of India, Mauritius, and Nepal as well as the Indonesian island of Bali have more people who are Hindus than people who are not Hindus.In these nations, specially Nepal and India Hinduism is very popular.
106
+ These countries also have many Hindus:
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+
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+ There are also strong Hindu communities in the countries of the ex-Soviet Union, especially in Russia and Poland. The Indonesian islands of Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Borneo also have big native Hindu populations. In its Yoga stream, Hinduism is even more widespread all over the world with 30 million (less than one percent can not be 30 million for US population) Hindus in the United States alone.
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1
+ Hinduism is an Indian religion, or a way of life.[note 1] Hinduism is widely practiced in South Asia mainly in India and Nepal. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world,[note 2] and Hindus refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal tradition," or the "eternal way," beyond human history.[4][5] Scholars regard Hinduism as a combination[6] of different Indian cultures and traditions,[7] with diverse roots.[8][note 3] Hinduism has no founder and origins of Hinduism is unknown.[9] What we now call Hinduism have roots in cave paintings that have been preserved from Mesolithic sites dating from c. 30,000 BCE in Bhimbetka, near present-day Bhopal, in the Vindhya Mountains in the Madhya Pradesh." There was no concept of religion in India and Hinduism was not a religion. Hinduism as a religion started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE,[10] after the Vedic period (1500 BCE to 500 BCE).[10][11]
2
+ Hinduism contains a wide range of philosophies, and is linked by the concepts, like rituals, cosmology, Texts, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are divided into Śruti ("heard") and Smṛti ("remembered"). These texts discuss philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, and many more.[12] Major scriptures in Hinduism include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Agamas.[13][14][15]
3
+
4
+ There are 4 goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma (duties), Artha (prosperity), Kama (desires/passions), Moksha (liberation/freedom/salvation);[16][17] karma (action, intent and consequences), Saṃsāra (cycle of rebirth), and the various Yogas (paths or practices to attain moksha).[14][18] Hindu rituals include puja (worship) and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Some Hindus leave their social world and become sanyasi to achieve Moksha.[19] Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, non-violence (ahimsa), patience, self-restraint, and compassion, among others.[20][21] The four largest sects of Hinduism are the Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism.[22]
5
+
6
+ Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, There are approximately 1.15 billion Hindus which are 15-16% of the global population.[web 1][23] The vast majority of Hindus live in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Hindus are also found in other countries.[24][25]
7
+
8
+ The word Hindu is taken from the Indo-Aryan[26]/Sanskrit[27] word Sindhu, which is Sanskrit name for the Indus River which lies on the border of India and Pakistan.[27][note 4] According to Gavin Flood, The word Hindu was used by Persians for the people who live beyond the Indus River,[27] Inscription of Darius I which was written around 550–486 BCE also refer Hindu as the people who live beyond the Indus River.[28] These records didn't refer Hindu as a religion.[27] The earliest record which refer Hindu as religion may be the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by Xuanzang,[28] and 14th-century Persian text Futuhu's-salatin by 'Abd al-Malik Isami.[note 5] This is because the name if the religion is called Hinduism, not Hindu.
9
+
10
+ The Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus.[36] Hindustan is how to say India in Hindi. It means "Land of Hindus" which is what it stood for until Muslims started to come into India. The Arabic influence on the Hindu language of Sanskrit created a new language, called Hindi.
11
+
12
+ The term Hindu was later used in some Sanskrit texts such as the later Rajataranginis of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts including Chaitanya Charitamrita and Chaitanya Bhagavata. These texts used to distinguish Hindus from Muslims who are called Yavanas (foreigners) or Mlecchas (barbarians), with the 16th-century Chaitanya Charitamrita text and the 17th century Bhakta Mala text using the phrase "Hindu dharma".[37] In the end of the 18th century the European merchants and colonists began to call followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.[38]
13
+
14
+ Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.[39][40][41] Because of the wideness and openness of Hinduism, arriving at a definition is difficult.[27] [42] Hinduism has been defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life."[43][note 1] From a Western point of view, Hinduism like other faiths is referred to as a religion. In India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion.
15
+
16
+ The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion.[44] Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism,[45][note 6] and have also been taken over by critics of the Western view on India.[46][note 7]
17
+
18
+ Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to) Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsāra (the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (Every action has a reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara or liberation in this life), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).[18]
19
+
20
+ Hindism have accepted four proper goals or aims of human life: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. These are known as the Puruṣārthas:[16][17]
21
+
22
+ Dharma is considered one of the most important goal of a human being in Hinduism.[47] Dharma is considered Important because it is dharma which makes running of Universe and life possible,[48] and includes duties, virtues and "right way of living".[49] Hindu Dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous.[49] The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states it as:
23
+
24
+ Nothing is higher than Dharma. The weak overcomes the stronger by Dharma, as over a king. Truly that Dharma is the Truth (Satya); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one.
25
+
26
+ In the Mahabharata, Krishna says it is Dharma which is holding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11). The word Sanātana means eternal, perennial, or forever; thus, Sanātana Dharma means that it is the dharma that has neither beginning nor end.[52]
27
+
28
+ Artha is second goal of life in Hinduism which means pursuit of wealth for livelihood, and economic prosperity. It includes political life, diplomacy and material well-being. The Artha includes all "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in, wealth, career and financial security.[53] The aim of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.[54][55]
29
+
30
+ Kāma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: काम) means desire, wish, passion, pleasure of the senses, the enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.[56][57] In Hinduism, Kama is considered an important and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing Dharma, Artha and Moksha.[58]
31
+
32
+ Moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष mokṣa) or mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति) is the ultimate, most important goal in Hinduism. In one school Moksha means liberation from sorrow, suffering and saṃsāra (birth-rebirth cycle).[59][60] In other schools of Hinduism, such as monistic, moksha means self-realization,"realizing the whole universe as the Self".[61][62]
33
+
34
+ Karma means action, work, or deed,[63] and also the vedic theory of cause and effect".[64][65] The theory is a combination of (1) causality that may be moral or non-moral; (2) moralization, that is good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth.[66] Karma theory means ''Whatever experience currently a man have is due to his/her past work''. These actions may be in a person's current life, or, in some schools of Hinduism, actions in their past lives.[66][67] This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth is called samsara. Liberation from samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace.[68][69] Hindu scriptures teach that the future depends on the current action and our past deeds.
35
+
36
+ The ultimate goal of life,according to Hinduism is moksha, nirvana or samadhi, but is understood in different ways in different schools.For example, Advaita Vedanta says that after attaining moksha a person knows their "soul, self" and identifies it as one with Brahman (Ultimate reality or cause of everything).[70][71] The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools,state that after attaining moksha a person identify "soul, self" different from Brahman but very close to Brahman, and after attaining moksha one will spend eternity in a loka (higher planes). According to theistic schools of Hinduism, moksha is liberation from samsara, while for other schools such as the monistic school, moksha is possible in current life and is a psychological concept.
37
+
38
+ Hinduism is diverse and Hinduism include monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others;[39][72][web 2] Basically it depends on individuals choice and that's why sometimes Hinduism is referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an over generalization.[73]
39
+
40
+ Hindus believe that all living creatures have a soul. This soul or true "self" of every living being is called the ātman. The soul is believed to be eternal.[74] According to the monistic/pantheistic (non-dualist) theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is indistinct from Brahman.[75] The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realise that one's soul is identical to supreme soul, that the supreme soul is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life.[76][77][78] Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) sees Brahman as a Supreme Being separate from individual souls.[79] They worship the Supreme Being variously as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending upon the sect. God is called Ishvara, Bhagavan, Parameshwara, Devadu or Devi, and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism.[80][81][82] Devi is typically used when refereeing to a female goddess.
41
+
42
+ [83][84][85]
43
+
44
+ The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called Devas (or devī in feminine form; devatā used synonymously for Deva in Hindi), which in English means demi-gods or heavenly beings.[note 8] The devas are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through icons, and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping Ishvara in one of its particular manifestations as their iṣṭa devatā, or chosen ideal.[86][87] The choice is a matter of individual preference,[88] and of regional and family traditions.[88][note 9] The multitude of Devas are considered as manifestations of Brahman.[note 10]
45
+
46
+ Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular sect or tradition.[90] Four major sects in Hinduism are: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smarthism.[91][92]
47
+
48
+ Vaishnavism is the tradition that worships Vishnu[93] and his avatars, such as Krishna and Rama.[94] The people of this sect are generally non-ascetic, monastic.[95] These practices include community dancing, singing of Kirtans and Bhajans, with sound and music believed by some to have meditative and spiritual powers.[96]
49
+
50
+ Shaivism is the tradition that focuses on Shiva. Shaivas are more attracted to ascetic individualism, and it has several sub-schools.[95] Their practices include Bhakti-style devotion but they leaned to philosply such as Advaita and Yoga.[91][96] Some Shaivas worship in temples, but some practice yoga, striving to be one with Shiva within.[97] Shaivas visualize god as half male, half female, as a combination of the male and female principles (Ardhanarishvara). Shaivism is related to Shaktism, wherein Shakti is seen as wife of Shiva.[91] Shaivism is mainly practiced in the Himalayan north from Kashmir to Nepal, and in south India.[98]
51
+
52
+ Shaktism focuses on goddess worship of Shakti or Devi as cosmic mother,[95] and it is mainly worshipped in northeastern and eastern states of India such as Assam and Bengal. Devi is depicted as in gentler forms like Parvati, the consort of Shiva; or, as warrior goddesses like Kali and Durga.[99] Community celebrations include festivals, some of which include processions and idol immersion into sea or other water bodies.[100]
53
+
54
+ Smartism worship all the major Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda.[101] The Smarta tradition developed during the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.[102][103] The Smarta tradition is very much same as Advaita Vedanta, and consider Adi Shankara as its founder or reformer, who considered worship of God-with-attributes (saguna Brahman) as a journey towards ultimately realizing God-without-attributes (nirguna Brahman, Atman, Self-knowledge).[104][105]
55
+
56
+ Hindu text are world's oldest and had been written in Sanskrit and Tamil. The oldest Text is Rig Veda which is about 4000 years old.Hindu Texts can be divided in two parts:
57
+
58
+ Shruti or Shruthi (Sanskrit: श्रुति; IAST: Śruti; IPA/Sanskrit: [ʃrut̪i]) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" These ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism includes the four Vedas including its four types of attached texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads
59
+
60
+ Smriti (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: Smṛti), means "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts. Smriti were the texts which were remembered and were spread through mouth from generation to generation. Smriti includes (the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana), the Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras (or Smritiśāstras), the Arthasaśāstras, the Purānas, the Kāvya or poetical literature.
61
+
62
+ There are many Hindu Festivals celebrated throughout the world but mainly in India and Nepal. These festivals include worship, offerings to deities, fasting, rituals, fairs, charity, celebrations, Puja, etc. The festivals mainly celebrate events from Hindu mythology, changes in season, changes in Solar System. Different sects celebrate different festivals but festivals like Diwali, Holi, Shivratri, Raksha Bandhan, Janamashtmi etc. are celebrated by the majority of Hindus.
63
+
64
+ Hinduism can be divided in following ages
65
+
66
+ The origins of Hinduism are unknown but the earliest traces of Hinduism come from Mesolithic in the sites such as the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older,[note 11] as well as neolithic times.[note 12] Some of the religious practices can be considered to have originated in 4000 BCE. Several tribal religions still exist, though their practices may not resemble those of prehistoric religions.[web 3]
67
+
68
+ According to one view, the Varna, which later transformed into caste system during the British rule, shows how strongly many have felt about each person following his or her dharma, or destined path. Many Hindus say it goes against the true meaning of dharma. However, Varna plays a big role in Hindu society. It's later transformation as Caste system by the British rule of India lost favor and became illegal after the independence of India.
69
+
70
+ Puja (worship) takes place in the Mandir (temple). Mandirs vary in size from small village shrines to large buildings, surrounded by walls. People can also visit the Mandir at any time to pray and participate in the bhajans (religious songs). Hindus also worship at home and often have a special room with a shrine to particular gods.
71
+
72
+ Temple construction in India started nearly 2000 years ago. The oldest temples that were built of brick and wood no longer exist. Stone later became the preferred material. Temples marked the transition of Hinduism from the Vedic religion of ritual sacrifices to a religion of Bhakti or love and devotion to a personal deity. Temple construction and mode of worship is governed by ancient Sanskrit scriptures called agamas, of which there are several, which deal with individual deities. There are substantial differences in architecture, customs, rituals and traditions in temples in different parts of India. During the ritual consecration of a temple, the presence of the universal all-encompassing Brahman is invoked into the main stone deity of the temple, through ritual, thereby making the deity and the temple sacred and divine
73
+
74
+ The Bhakti (Devotional) school takes its name from the Hindu term that signifies a blissful, selfless and overwhelming love of God as the beloved Father, Mother, Child, or whatever relationship finds appeal in the devotee's heart. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks to tap into the universal divinity through personal form, which explains the proliferation of so many gods and goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people. Seen as a form of Yoga, or union, it seeks to dissolve the ego in God, since consciousness of the body and limited mind as self is seen to be a divisive factor in spiritual realization. Essentially, it is God who effects all change, who is the source of all works, who acts through the devotee as love and light. 'Sins' and evil-doings of the devotee are said to fall away of their own accord, the devotee shriven, limitedness even transcended, through the love of God. The Bhakti movements rejuvenated Hinduism through their intense expression of faith and their responsiveness to the emotional and philosophical needs of India. They can rightly be said to have affected the greatest wave of change in Hindu prayer and ritual since ancient times.
75
+
76
+ The most popular means of expressing love for God in the Hindu tradition has been through puja, or ritual devotion, frequently using the aid of a murti (statue) in conjunction with the singing or chanting of meditational prayer in the form of mantras.
77
+
78
+ Devotional songs called bhajans (written primarily from the 14th-17th centuries), kirtan (praise), and arti (a filtered down form of Vedic fire ritual) are sometimes sung in conjunction with performance of puja. This rather organic system of devotion attempts to aid the individual in connecting with God through symbolic medium. It is said, however, that the bhakta, through a growing connection with God, is eventually able to avoid all external form and is immersed entirely in the bliss of undifferentiated Love in Truth.
79
+
80
+ Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music and art that has enriched the world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and artificial social boundaries. See bhakti yoga for more.
81
+
82
+ According to the most famous Western Tantrik scholar, Sir John Woodroffe (pseudonym Arthur Avalon): "The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kaliyuga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox 'Hinduism'. The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakanda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says: 'For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given' (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sadhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression." (Introduction to Sir John Woodroffe's translation of "Mahanirvana Tantra.")
83
+
84
+ The word "tantra" means "treatise" or "continuum", and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as "tantric". Most tantras were written in the late Middle Ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and Yoga.
85
+
86
+ Many Hindus are vegetarians (do not eat meat) because of their respect for life. About 30% of today's Hindu population, especially in orthodox communities in South India, in certain northerly states like Gujarat, and in many Brahmin areas around the subcontinent, are vegetarian.
87
+
88
+ Most Hindus who do eat meat do not eat beef. Some do not even use leather products. This is most likely because many Hindus have relied so heavily on the cow for all sorts of dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertiliser that its status as a willing 'caretaker' of humanity grew to identifying it as an almost motherly figure. Thus, while most Hindus do not worship the cow, and rules against eating beef arose long after the Vedas had been written, it still has an honored place in Hindu society. It is said that Krishna is both Govinda (herder of cows) and Gopala (protector of cows), and Shiva's attendant is Nandi, the bull. With the stress on vegetarianism (which is usually followed even by meat-eating Hindus on religious days or special occasions) and the sacred nature of the cow, it is no wonder that most holy cities and areas in India have a ban on selling meat-products and there is a movement among Hindus to ban cow-slaughter not only in specific regions, but in all of India.
89
+
90
+ Hindus use many symbols and signs. The two most important symbols used by Hindus are the "Aum" and the "Swastika (Hinduism)".
91
+
92
+ Contrary to popular belief, practiced Hinduism is neither polytheistic nor strictly monotheistic. The various Hindu gods and avatars that are worshipped by Hindus are understood as different forms of One truth, sometimes seen as beyond a mere god and as a formless Divine Ground (Brahman), akin but not limited to monism, or as one monotheistic principle like Vishnu or Shiva.
93
+
94
+ Whether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal god (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. Hinduism encourages devotees to describe and develop a personal relationship with their chosen deity (ishta devata) in the form of a god or goddess.
95
+
96
+ While some censuses hold worshippers of one form or another of Vishnu (known as Vaishnavs) to be at 80% and those of Shiva (called Shaivaites) and Shakti at the remaining 20%, such figures are perhaps misleading. The vast majority of Hindus worship many gods as varicolored forms of the same prism of Truth. Among the most popular are Vishnu (as Krishna or Rama), Shiva, Devi (the Mother as many female deities, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga), Ganesha, Skanda and Hanuman.
97
+
98
+ Worship of the said deities is often done through the aid of pictures or icons (murti) which are said not to be God themselves but conduits for the devotee's consciousness, markers for the human soul that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the love and grandeur of God. They are symbols of the greater principle, representing and are never presumed to be the concept or entity itself. Thus, Hindu image worship is a form of iconolatry, in which the symbols are venerated as putative sigils of divinity, as opposed to idolatry, a charge often levied (erroneously) at Hindus. For more details on this form of worship, see murti.
99
+
100
+ Hindus use several prayers and group of words. Some group of words are called mantras.
101
+ These words are said to give the speaker a deeper concentration and understanding, thus coming closer to Brahman.
102
+ A well known mantra is om or aum. It symbolizes Brahman, and is often the opening word in many prayers.
103
+ To pronounce a mantra well, you should say it slowly, and in a deep voice.
104
+
105
+ The nations of India, Mauritius, and Nepal as well as the Indonesian island of Bali have more people who are Hindus than people who are not Hindus.In these nations, specially Nepal and India Hinduism is very popular.
106
+ These countries also have many Hindus:
107
+
108
+ There are also strong Hindu communities in the countries of the ex-Soviet Union, especially in Russia and Poland. The Indonesian islands of Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Borneo also have big native Hindu populations. In its Yoga stream, Hinduism is even more widespread all over the world with 30 million (less than one percent can not be 30 million for US population) Hindus in the United States alone.
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1
+ Hinduism is an Indian religion, or a way of life.[note 1] Hinduism is widely practiced in South Asia mainly in India and Nepal. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world,[note 2] and Hindus refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal tradition," or the "eternal way," beyond human history.[4][5] Scholars regard Hinduism as a combination[6] of different Indian cultures and traditions,[7] with diverse roots.[8][note 3] Hinduism has no founder and origins of Hinduism is unknown.[9] What we now call Hinduism have roots in cave paintings that have been preserved from Mesolithic sites dating from c. 30,000 BCE in Bhimbetka, near present-day Bhopal, in the Vindhya Mountains in the Madhya Pradesh." There was no concept of religion in India and Hinduism was not a religion. Hinduism as a religion started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE,[10] after the Vedic period (1500 BCE to 500 BCE).[10][11]
2
+ Hinduism contains a wide range of philosophies, and is linked by the concepts, like rituals, cosmology, Texts, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are divided into Śruti ("heard") and Smṛti ("remembered"). These texts discuss philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, and many more.[12] Major scriptures in Hinduism include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Agamas.[13][14][15]
3
+
4
+ There are 4 goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma (duties), Artha (prosperity), Kama (desires/passions), Moksha (liberation/freedom/salvation);[16][17] karma (action, intent and consequences), Saṃsāra (cycle of rebirth), and the various Yogas (paths or practices to attain moksha).[14][18] Hindu rituals include puja (worship) and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Some Hindus leave their social world and become sanyasi to achieve Moksha.[19] Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, non-violence (ahimsa), patience, self-restraint, and compassion, among others.[20][21] The four largest sects of Hinduism are the Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism.[22]
5
+
6
+ Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, There are approximately 1.15 billion Hindus which are 15-16% of the global population.[web 1][23] The vast majority of Hindus live in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Hindus are also found in other countries.[24][25]
7
+
8
+ The word Hindu is taken from the Indo-Aryan[26]/Sanskrit[27] word Sindhu, which is Sanskrit name for the Indus River which lies on the border of India and Pakistan.[27][note 4] According to Gavin Flood, The word Hindu was used by Persians for the people who live beyond the Indus River,[27] Inscription of Darius I which was written around 550–486 BCE also refer Hindu as the people who live beyond the Indus River.[28] These records didn't refer Hindu as a religion.[27] The earliest record which refer Hindu as religion may be the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by Xuanzang,[28] and 14th-century Persian text Futuhu's-salatin by 'Abd al-Malik Isami.[note 5] This is because the name if the religion is called Hinduism, not Hindu.
9
+
10
+ The Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus.[36] Hindustan is how to say India in Hindi. It means "Land of Hindus" which is what it stood for until Muslims started to come into India. The Arabic influence on the Hindu language of Sanskrit created a new language, called Hindi.
11
+
12
+ The term Hindu was later used in some Sanskrit texts such as the later Rajataranginis of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts including Chaitanya Charitamrita and Chaitanya Bhagavata. These texts used to distinguish Hindus from Muslims who are called Yavanas (foreigners) or Mlecchas (barbarians), with the 16th-century Chaitanya Charitamrita text and the 17th century Bhakta Mala text using the phrase "Hindu dharma".[37] In the end of the 18th century the European merchants and colonists began to call followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.[38]
13
+
14
+ Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.[39][40][41] Because of the wideness and openness of Hinduism, arriving at a definition is difficult.[27] [42] Hinduism has been defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life."[43][note 1] From a Western point of view, Hinduism like other faiths is referred to as a religion. In India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion.
15
+
16
+ The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion.[44] Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism,[45][note 6] and have also been taken over by critics of the Western view on India.[46][note 7]
17
+
18
+ Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to) Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsāra (the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (Every action has a reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara or liberation in this life), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).[18]
19
+
20
+ Hindism have accepted four proper goals or aims of human life: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. These are known as the Puruṣārthas:[16][17]
21
+
22
+ Dharma is considered one of the most important goal of a human being in Hinduism.[47] Dharma is considered Important because it is dharma which makes running of Universe and life possible,[48] and includes duties, virtues and "right way of living".[49] Hindu Dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous.[49] The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states it as:
23
+
24
+ Nothing is higher than Dharma. The weak overcomes the stronger by Dharma, as over a king. Truly that Dharma is the Truth (Satya); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one.
25
+
26
+ In the Mahabharata, Krishna says it is Dharma which is holding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11). The word Sanātana means eternal, perennial, or forever; thus, Sanātana Dharma means that it is the dharma that has neither beginning nor end.[52]
27
+
28
+ Artha is second goal of life in Hinduism which means pursuit of wealth for livelihood, and economic prosperity. It includes political life, diplomacy and material well-being. The Artha includes all "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in, wealth, career and financial security.[53] The aim of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.[54][55]
29
+
30
+ Kāma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: काम) means desire, wish, passion, pleasure of the senses, the enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.[56][57] In Hinduism, Kama is considered an important and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing Dharma, Artha and Moksha.[58]
31
+
32
+ Moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष mokṣa) or mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति) is the ultimate, most important goal in Hinduism. In one school Moksha means liberation from sorrow, suffering and saṃsāra (birth-rebirth cycle).[59][60] In other schools of Hinduism, such as monistic, moksha means self-realization,"realizing the whole universe as the Self".[61][62]
33
+
34
+ Karma means action, work, or deed,[63] and also the vedic theory of cause and effect".[64][65] The theory is a combination of (1) causality that may be moral or non-moral; (2) moralization, that is good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth.[66] Karma theory means ''Whatever experience currently a man have is due to his/her past work''. These actions may be in a person's current life, or, in some schools of Hinduism, actions in their past lives.[66][67] This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth is called samsara. Liberation from samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace.[68][69] Hindu scriptures teach that the future depends on the current action and our past deeds.
35
+
36
+ The ultimate goal of life,according to Hinduism is moksha, nirvana or samadhi, but is understood in different ways in different schools.For example, Advaita Vedanta says that after attaining moksha a person knows their "soul, self" and identifies it as one with Brahman (Ultimate reality or cause of everything).[70][71] The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools,state that after attaining moksha a person identify "soul, self" different from Brahman but very close to Brahman, and after attaining moksha one will spend eternity in a loka (higher planes). According to theistic schools of Hinduism, moksha is liberation from samsara, while for other schools such as the monistic school, moksha is possible in current life and is a psychological concept.
37
+
38
+ Hinduism is diverse and Hinduism include monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others;[39][72][web 2] Basically it depends on individuals choice and that's why sometimes Hinduism is referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an over generalization.[73]
39
+
40
+ Hindus believe that all living creatures have a soul. This soul or true "self" of every living being is called the ātman. The soul is believed to be eternal.[74] According to the monistic/pantheistic (non-dualist) theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is indistinct from Brahman.[75] The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realise that one's soul is identical to supreme soul, that the supreme soul is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life.[76][77][78] Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) sees Brahman as a Supreme Being separate from individual souls.[79] They worship the Supreme Being variously as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending upon the sect. God is called Ishvara, Bhagavan, Parameshwara, Devadu or Devi, and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism.[80][81][82] Devi is typically used when refereeing to a female goddess.
41
+
42
+ [83][84][85]
43
+
44
+ The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called Devas (or devī in feminine form; devatā used synonymously for Deva in Hindi), which in English means demi-gods or heavenly beings.[note 8] The devas are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through icons, and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping Ishvara in one of its particular manifestations as their iṣṭa devatā, or chosen ideal.[86][87] The choice is a matter of individual preference,[88] and of regional and family traditions.[88][note 9] The multitude of Devas are considered as manifestations of Brahman.[note 10]
45
+
46
+ Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular sect or tradition.[90] Four major sects in Hinduism are: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smarthism.[91][92]
47
+
48
+ Vaishnavism is the tradition that worships Vishnu[93] and his avatars, such as Krishna and Rama.[94] The people of this sect are generally non-ascetic, monastic.[95] These practices include community dancing, singing of Kirtans and Bhajans, with sound and music believed by some to have meditative and spiritual powers.[96]
49
+
50
+ Shaivism is the tradition that focuses on Shiva. Shaivas are more attracted to ascetic individualism, and it has several sub-schools.[95] Their practices include Bhakti-style devotion but they leaned to philosply such as Advaita and Yoga.[91][96] Some Shaivas worship in temples, but some practice yoga, striving to be one with Shiva within.[97] Shaivas visualize god as half male, half female, as a combination of the male and female principles (Ardhanarishvara). Shaivism is related to Shaktism, wherein Shakti is seen as wife of Shiva.[91] Shaivism is mainly practiced in the Himalayan north from Kashmir to Nepal, and in south India.[98]
51
+
52
+ Shaktism focuses on goddess worship of Shakti or Devi as cosmic mother,[95] and it is mainly worshipped in northeastern and eastern states of India such as Assam and Bengal. Devi is depicted as in gentler forms like Parvati, the consort of Shiva; or, as warrior goddesses like Kali and Durga.[99] Community celebrations include festivals, some of which include processions and idol immersion into sea or other water bodies.[100]
53
+
54
+ Smartism worship all the major Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda.[101] The Smarta tradition developed during the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.[102][103] The Smarta tradition is very much same as Advaita Vedanta, and consider Adi Shankara as its founder or reformer, who considered worship of God-with-attributes (saguna Brahman) as a journey towards ultimately realizing God-without-attributes (nirguna Brahman, Atman, Self-knowledge).[104][105]
55
+
56
+ Hindu text are world's oldest and had been written in Sanskrit and Tamil. The oldest Text is Rig Veda which is about 4000 years old.Hindu Texts can be divided in two parts:
57
+
58
+ Shruti or Shruthi (Sanskrit: श्रुति; IAST: Śruti; IPA/Sanskrit: [ʃrut̪i]) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" These ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism includes the four Vedas including its four types of attached texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads
59
+
60
+ Smriti (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: Smṛti), means "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts. Smriti were the texts which were remembered and were spread through mouth from generation to generation. Smriti includes (the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana), the Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras (or Smritiśāstras), the Arthasaśāstras, the Purānas, the Kāvya or poetical literature.
61
+
62
+ There are many Hindu Festivals celebrated throughout the world but mainly in India and Nepal. These festivals include worship, offerings to deities, fasting, rituals, fairs, charity, celebrations, Puja, etc. The festivals mainly celebrate events from Hindu mythology, changes in season, changes in Solar System. Different sects celebrate different festivals but festivals like Diwali, Holi, Shivratri, Raksha Bandhan, Janamashtmi etc. are celebrated by the majority of Hindus.
63
+
64
+ Hinduism can be divided in following ages
65
+
66
+ The origins of Hinduism are unknown but the earliest traces of Hinduism come from Mesolithic in the sites such as the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older,[note 11] as well as neolithic times.[note 12] Some of the religious practices can be considered to have originated in 4000 BCE. Several tribal religions still exist, though their practices may not resemble those of prehistoric religions.[web 3]
67
+
68
+ According to one view, the Varna, which later transformed into caste system during the British rule, shows how strongly many have felt about each person following his or her dharma, or destined path. Many Hindus say it goes against the true meaning of dharma. However, Varna plays a big role in Hindu society. It's later transformation as Caste system by the British rule of India lost favor and became illegal after the independence of India.
69
+
70
+ Puja (worship) takes place in the Mandir (temple). Mandirs vary in size from small village shrines to large buildings, surrounded by walls. People can also visit the Mandir at any time to pray and participate in the bhajans (religious songs). Hindus also worship at home and often have a special room with a shrine to particular gods.
71
+
72
+ Temple construction in India started nearly 2000 years ago. The oldest temples that were built of brick and wood no longer exist. Stone later became the preferred material. Temples marked the transition of Hinduism from the Vedic religion of ritual sacrifices to a religion of Bhakti or love and devotion to a personal deity. Temple construction and mode of worship is governed by ancient Sanskrit scriptures called agamas, of which there are several, which deal with individual deities. There are substantial differences in architecture, customs, rituals and traditions in temples in different parts of India. During the ritual consecration of a temple, the presence of the universal all-encompassing Brahman is invoked into the main stone deity of the temple, through ritual, thereby making the deity and the temple sacred and divine
73
+
74
+ The Bhakti (Devotional) school takes its name from the Hindu term that signifies a blissful, selfless and overwhelming love of God as the beloved Father, Mother, Child, or whatever relationship finds appeal in the devotee's heart. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks to tap into the universal divinity through personal form, which explains the proliferation of so many gods and goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people. Seen as a form of Yoga, or union, it seeks to dissolve the ego in God, since consciousness of the body and limited mind as self is seen to be a divisive factor in spiritual realization. Essentially, it is God who effects all change, who is the source of all works, who acts through the devotee as love and light. 'Sins' and evil-doings of the devotee are said to fall away of their own accord, the devotee shriven, limitedness even transcended, through the love of God. The Bhakti movements rejuvenated Hinduism through their intense expression of faith and their responsiveness to the emotional and philosophical needs of India. They can rightly be said to have affected the greatest wave of change in Hindu prayer and ritual since ancient times.
75
+
76
+ The most popular means of expressing love for God in the Hindu tradition has been through puja, or ritual devotion, frequently using the aid of a murti (statue) in conjunction with the singing or chanting of meditational prayer in the form of mantras.
77
+
78
+ Devotional songs called bhajans (written primarily from the 14th-17th centuries), kirtan (praise), and arti (a filtered down form of Vedic fire ritual) are sometimes sung in conjunction with performance of puja. This rather organic system of devotion attempts to aid the individual in connecting with God through symbolic medium. It is said, however, that the bhakta, through a growing connection with God, is eventually able to avoid all external form and is immersed entirely in the bliss of undifferentiated Love in Truth.
79
+
80
+ Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music and art that has enriched the world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and artificial social boundaries. See bhakti yoga for more.
81
+
82
+ According to the most famous Western Tantrik scholar, Sir John Woodroffe (pseudonym Arthur Avalon): "The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kaliyuga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox 'Hinduism'. The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakanda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says: 'For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given' (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sadhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression." (Introduction to Sir John Woodroffe's translation of "Mahanirvana Tantra.")
83
+
84
+ The word "tantra" means "treatise" or "continuum", and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as "tantric". Most tantras were written in the late Middle Ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and Yoga.
85
+
86
+ Many Hindus are vegetarians (do not eat meat) because of their respect for life. About 30% of today's Hindu population, especially in orthodox communities in South India, in certain northerly states like Gujarat, and in many Brahmin areas around the subcontinent, are vegetarian.
87
+
88
+ Most Hindus who do eat meat do not eat beef. Some do not even use leather products. This is most likely because many Hindus have relied so heavily on the cow for all sorts of dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertiliser that its status as a willing 'caretaker' of humanity grew to identifying it as an almost motherly figure. Thus, while most Hindus do not worship the cow, and rules against eating beef arose long after the Vedas had been written, it still has an honored place in Hindu society. It is said that Krishna is both Govinda (herder of cows) and Gopala (protector of cows), and Shiva's attendant is Nandi, the bull. With the stress on vegetarianism (which is usually followed even by meat-eating Hindus on religious days or special occasions) and the sacred nature of the cow, it is no wonder that most holy cities and areas in India have a ban on selling meat-products and there is a movement among Hindus to ban cow-slaughter not only in specific regions, but in all of India.
89
+
90
+ Hindus use many symbols and signs. The two most important symbols used by Hindus are the "Aum" and the "Swastika (Hinduism)".
91
+
92
+ Contrary to popular belief, practiced Hinduism is neither polytheistic nor strictly monotheistic. The various Hindu gods and avatars that are worshipped by Hindus are understood as different forms of One truth, sometimes seen as beyond a mere god and as a formless Divine Ground (Brahman), akin but not limited to monism, or as one monotheistic principle like Vishnu or Shiva.
93
+
94
+ Whether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal god (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. Hinduism encourages devotees to describe and develop a personal relationship with their chosen deity (ishta devata) in the form of a god or goddess.
95
+
96
+ While some censuses hold worshippers of one form or another of Vishnu (known as Vaishnavs) to be at 80% and those of Shiva (called Shaivaites) and Shakti at the remaining 20%, such figures are perhaps misleading. The vast majority of Hindus worship many gods as varicolored forms of the same prism of Truth. Among the most popular are Vishnu (as Krishna or Rama), Shiva, Devi (the Mother as many female deities, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga), Ganesha, Skanda and Hanuman.
97
+
98
+ Worship of the said deities is often done through the aid of pictures or icons (murti) which are said not to be God themselves but conduits for the devotee's consciousness, markers for the human soul that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the love and grandeur of God. They are symbols of the greater principle, representing and are never presumed to be the concept or entity itself. Thus, Hindu image worship is a form of iconolatry, in which the symbols are venerated as putative sigils of divinity, as opposed to idolatry, a charge often levied (erroneously) at Hindus. For more details on this form of worship, see murti.
99
+
100
+ Hindus use several prayers and group of words. Some group of words are called mantras.
101
+ These words are said to give the speaker a deeper concentration and understanding, thus coming closer to Brahman.
102
+ A well known mantra is om or aum. It symbolizes Brahman, and is often the opening word in many prayers.
103
+ To pronounce a mantra well, you should say it slowly, and in a deep voice.
104
+
105
+ The nations of India, Mauritius, and Nepal as well as the Indonesian island of Bali have more people who are Hindus than people who are not Hindus.In these nations, specially Nepal and India Hinduism is very popular.
106
+ These countries also have many Hindus:
107
+
108
+ There are also strong Hindu communities in the countries of the ex-Soviet Union, especially in Russia and Poland. The Indonesian islands of Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Borneo also have big native Hindu populations. In its Yoga stream, Hinduism is even more widespread all over the world with 30 million (less than one percent can not be 30 million for US population) Hindus in the United States alone.
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1
+ Hinduism is an Indian religion, or a way of life.[note 1] Hinduism is widely practiced in South Asia mainly in India and Nepal. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world,[note 2] and Hindus refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal tradition," or the "eternal way," beyond human history.[4][5] Scholars regard Hinduism as a combination[6] of different Indian cultures and traditions,[7] with diverse roots.[8][note 3] Hinduism has no founder and origins of Hinduism is unknown.[9] What we now call Hinduism have roots in cave paintings that have been preserved from Mesolithic sites dating from c. 30,000 BCE in Bhimbetka, near present-day Bhopal, in the Vindhya Mountains in the Madhya Pradesh." There was no concept of religion in India and Hinduism was not a religion. Hinduism as a religion started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE,[10] after the Vedic period (1500 BCE to 500 BCE).[10][11]
2
+ Hinduism contains a wide range of philosophies, and is linked by the concepts, like rituals, cosmology, Texts, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are divided into Śruti ("heard") and Smṛti ("remembered"). These texts discuss philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, and many more.[12] Major scriptures in Hinduism include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Agamas.[13][14][15]
3
+
4
+ There are 4 goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma (duties), Artha (prosperity), Kama (desires/passions), Moksha (liberation/freedom/salvation);[16][17] karma (action, intent and consequences), Saṃsāra (cycle of rebirth), and the various Yogas (paths or practices to attain moksha).[14][18] Hindu rituals include puja (worship) and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Some Hindus leave their social world and become sanyasi to achieve Moksha.[19] Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, non-violence (ahimsa), patience, self-restraint, and compassion, among others.[20][21] The four largest sects of Hinduism are the Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism.[22]
5
+
6
+ Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, There are approximately 1.15 billion Hindus which are 15-16% of the global population.[web 1][23] The vast majority of Hindus live in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Hindus are also found in other countries.[24][25]
7
+
8
+ The word Hindu is taken from the Indo-Aryan[26]/Sanskrit[27] word Sindhu, which is Sanskrit name for the Indus River which lies on the border of India and Pakistan.[27][note 4] According to Gavin Flood, The word Hindu was used by Persians for the people who live beyond the Indus River,[27] Inscription of Darius I which was written around 550–486 BCE also refer Hindu as the people who live beyond the Indus River.[28] These records didn't refer Hindu as a religion.[27] The earliest record which refer Hindu as religion may be the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by Xuanzang,[28] and 14th-century Persian text Futuhu's-salatin by 'Abd al-Malik Isami.[note 5] This is because the name if the religion is called Hinduism, not Hindu.
9
+
10
+ The Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus.[36] Hindustan is how to say India in Hindi. It means "Land of Hindus" which is what it stood for until Muslims started to come into India. The Arabic influence on the Hindu language of Sanskrit created a new language, called Hindi.
11
+
12
+ The term Hindu was later used in some Sanskrit texts such as the later Rajataranginis of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts including Chaitanya Charitamrita and Chaitanya Bhagavata. These texts used to distinguish Hindus from Muslims who are called Yavanas (foreigners) or Mlecchas (barbarians), with the 16th-century Chaitanya Charitamrita text and the 17th century Bhakta Mala text using the phrase "Hindu dharma".[37] In the end of the 18th century the European merchants and colonists began to call followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.[38]
13
+
14
+ Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist.[39][40][41] Because of the wideness and openness of Hinduism, arriving at a definition is difficult.[27] [42] Hinduism has been defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life."[43][note 1] From a Western point of view, Hinduism like other faiths is referred to as a religion. In India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion.
15
+
16
+ The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion.[44] Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism,[45][note 6] and have also been taken over by critics of the Western view on India.[46][note 7]
17
+
18
+ Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to) Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsāra (the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (Every action has a reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara or liberation in this life), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).[18]
19
+
20
+ Hindism have accepted four proper goals or aims of human life: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. These are known as the Puruṣārthas:[16][17]
21
+
22
+ Dharma is considered one of the most important goal of a human being in Hinduism.[47] Dharma is considered Important because it is dharma which makes running of Universe and life possible,[48] and includes duties, virtues and "right way of living".[49] Hindu Dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous.[49] The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states it as:
23
+
24
+ Nothing is higher than Dharma. The weak overcomes the stronger by Dharma, as over a king. Truly that Dharma is the Truth (Satya); Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one.
25
+
26
+ In the Mahabharata, Krishna says it is Dharma which is holding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11). The word Sanātana means eternal, perennial, or forever; thus, Sanātana Dharma means that it is the dharma that has neither beginning nor end.[52]
27
+
28
+ Artha is second goal of life in Hinduism which means pursuit of wealth for livelihood, and economic prosperity. It includes political life, diplomacy and material well-being. The Artha includes all "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in, wealth, career and financial security.[53] The aim of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.[54][55]
29
+
30
+ Kāma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: काम) means desire, wish, passion, pleasure of the senses, the enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations.[56][57] In Hinduism, Kama is considered an important and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing Dharma, Artha and Moksha.[58]
31
+
32
+ Moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष mokṣa) or mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति) is the ultimate, most important goal in Hinduism. In one school Moksha means liberation from sorrow, suffering and saṃsāra (birth-rebirth cycle).[59][60] In other schools of Hinduism, such as monistic, moksha means self-realization,"realizing the whole universe as the Self".[61][62]
33
+
34
+ Karma means action, work, or deed,[63] and also the vedic theory of cause and effect".[64][65] The theory is a combination of (1) causality that may be moral or non-moral; (2) moralization, that is good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth.[66] Karma theory means ''Whatever experience currently a man have is due to his/her past work''. These actions may be in a person's current life, or, in some schools of Hinduism, actions in their past lives.[66][67] This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth is called samsara. Liberation from samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace.[68][69] Hindu scriptures teach that the future depends on the current action and our past deeds.
35
+
36
+ The ultimate goal of life,according to Hinduism is moksha, nirvana or samadhi, but is understood in different ways in different schools.For example, Advaita Vedanta says that after attaining moksha a person knows their "soul, self" and identifies it as one with Brahman (Ultimate reality or cause of everything).[70][71] The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools,state that after attaining moksha a person identify "soul, self" different from Brahman but very close to Brahman, and after attaining moksha one will spend eternity in a loka (higher planes). According to theistic schools of Hinduism, moksha is liberation from samsara, while for other schools such as the monistic school, moksha is possible in current life and is a psychological concept.
37
+
38
+ Hinduism is diverse and Hinduism include monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others;[39][72][web 2] Basically it depends on individuals choice and that's why sometimes Hinduism is referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an over generalization.[73]
39
+
40
+ Hindus believe that all living creatures have a soul. This soul or true "self" of every living being is called the ātman. The soul is believed to be eternal.[74] According to the monistic/pantheistic (non-dualist) theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is indistinct from Brahman.[75] The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realise that one's soul is identical to supreme soul, that the supreme soul is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life.[76][77][78] Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) sees Brahman as a Supreme Being separate from individual souls.[79] They worship the Supreme Being variously as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending upon the sect. God is called Ishvara, Bhagavan, Parameshwara, Devadu or Devi, and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism.[80][81][82] Devi is typically used when refereeing to a female goddess.
41
+
42
+ [83][84][85]
43
+
44
+ The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called Devas (or devī in feminine form; devatā used synonymously for Deva in Hindi), which in English means demi-gods or heavenly beings.[note 8] The devas are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through icons, and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping Ishvara in one of its particular manifestations as their iṣṭa devatā, or chosen ideal.[86][87] The choice is a matter of individual preference,[88] and of regional and family traditions.[88][note 9] The multitude of Devas are considered as manifestations of Brahman.[note 10]
45
+
46
+ Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular sect or tradition.[90] Four major sects in Hinduism are: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smarthism.[91][92]
47
+
48
+ Vaishnavism is the tradition that worships Vishnu[93] and his avatars, such as Krishna and Rama.[94] The people of this sect are generally non-ascetic, monastic.[95] These practices include community dancing, singing of Kirtans and Bhajans, with sound and music believed by some to have meditative and spiritual powers.[96]
49
+
50
+ Shaivism is the tradition that focuses on Shiva. Shaivas are more attracted to ascetic individualism, and it has several sub-schools.[95] Their practices include Bhakti-style devotion but they leaned to philosply such as Advaita and Yoga.[91][96] Some Shaivas worship in temples, but some practice yoga, striving to be one with Shiva within.[97] Shaivas visualize god as half male, half female, as a combination of the male and female principles (Ardhanarishvara). Shaivism is related to Shaktism, wherein Shakti is seen as wife of Shiva.[91] Shaivism is mainly practiced in the Himalayan north from Kashmir to Nepal, and in south India.[98]
51
+
52
+ Shaktism focuses on goddess worship of Shakti or Devi as cosmic mother,[95] and it is mainly worshipped in northeastern and eastern states of India such as Assam and Bengal. Devi is depicted as in gentler forms like Parvati, the consort of Shiva; or, as warrior goddesses like Kali and Durga.[99] Community celebrations include festivals, some of which include processions and idol immersion into sea or other water bodies.[100]
53
+
54
+ Smartism worship all the major Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda.[101] The Smarta tradition developed during the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.[102][103] The Smarta tradition is very much same as Advaita Vedanta, and consider Adi Shankara as its founder or reformer, who considered worship of God-with-attributes (saguna Brahman) as a journey towards ultimately realizing God-without-attributes (nirguna Brahman, Atman, Self-knowledge).[104][105]
55
+
56
+ Hindu text are world's oldest and had been written in Sanskrit and Tamil. The oldest Text is Rig Veda which is about 4000 years old.Hindu Texts can be divided in two parts:
57
+
58
+ Shruti or Shruthi (Sanskrit: श्रुति; IAST: Śruti; IPA/Sanskrit: [ʃrut̪i]) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" These ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism includes the four Vedas including its four types of attached texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads
59
+
60
+ Smriti (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: Smṛti), means "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts. Smriti were the texts which were remembered and were spread through mouth from generation to generation. Smriti includes (the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana), the Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras (or Smritiśāstras), the Arthasaśāstras, the Purānas, the Kāvya or poetical literature.
61
+
62
+ There are many Hindu Festivals celebrated throughout the world but mainly in India and Nepal. These festivals include worship, offerings to deities, fasting, rituals, fairs, charity, celebrations, Puja, etc. The festivals mainly celebrate events from Hindu mythology, changes in season, changes in Solar System. Different sects celebrate different festivals but festivals like Diwali, Holi, Shivratri, Raksha Bandhan, Janamashtmi etc. are celebrated by the majority of Hindus.
63
+
64
+ Hinduism can be divided in following ages
65
+
66
+ The origins of Hinduism are unknown but the earliest traces of Hinduism come from Mesolithic in the sites such as the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older,[note 11] as well as neolithic times.[note 12] Some of the religious practices can be considered to have originated in 4000 BCE. Several tribal religions still exist, though their practices may not resemble those of prehistoric religions.[web 3]
67
+
68
+ According to one view, the Varna, which later transformed into caste system during the British rule, shows how strongly many have felt about each person following his or her dharma, or destined path. Many Hindus say it goes against the true meaning of dharma. However, Varna plays a big role in Hindu society. It's later transformation as Caste system by the British rule of India lost favor and became illegal after the independence of India.
69
+
70
+ Puja (worship) takes place in the Mandir (temple). Mandirs vary in size from small village shrines to large buildings, surrounded by walls. People can also visit the Mandir at any time to pray and participate in the bhajans (religious songs). Hindus also worship at home and often have a special room with a shrine to particular gods.
71
+
72
+ Temple construction in India started nearly 2000 years ago. The oldest temples that were built of brick and wood no longer exist. Stone later became the preferred material. Temples marked the transition of Hinduism from the Vedic religion of ritual sacrifices to a religion of Bhakti or love and devotion to a personal deity. Temple construction and mode of worship is governed by ancient Sanskrit scriptures called agamas, of which there are several, which deal with individual deities. There are substantial differences in architecture, customs, rituals and traditions in temples in different parts of India. During the ritual consecration of a temple, the presence of the universal all-encompassing Brahman is invoked into the main stone deity of the temple, through ritual, thereby making the deity and the temple sacred and divine
73
+
74
+ The Bhakti (Devotional) school takes its name from the Hindu term that signifies a blissful, selfless and overwhelming love of God as the beloved Father, Mother, Child, or whatever relationship finds appeal in the devotee's heart. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks to tap into the universal divinity through personal form, which explains the proliferation of so many gods and goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people. Seen as a form of Yoga, or union, it seeks to dissolve the ego in God, since consciousness of the body and limited mind as self is seen to be a divisive factor in spiritual realization. Essentially, it is God who effects all change, who is the source of all works, who acts through the devotee as love and light. 'Sins' and evil-doings of the devotee are said to fall away of their own accord, the devotee shriven, limitedness even transcended, through the love of God. The Bhakti movements rejuvenated Hinduism through their intense expression of faith and their responsiveness to the emotional and philosophical needs of India. They can rightly be said to have affected the greatest wave of change in Hindu prayer and ritual since ancient times.
75
+
76
+ The most popular means of expressing love for God in the Hindu tradition has been through puja, or ritual devotion, frequently using the aid of a murti (statue) in conjunction with the singing or chanting of meditational prayer in the form of mantras.
77
+
78
+ Devotional songs called bhajans (written primarily from the 14th-17th centuries), kirtan (praise), and arti (a filtered down form of Vedic fire ritual) are sometimes sung in conjunction with performance of puja. This rather organic system of devotion attempts to aid the individual in connecting with God through symbolic medium. It is said, however, that the bhakta, through a growing connection with God, is eventually able to avoid all external form and is immersed entirely in the bliss of undifferentiated Love in Truth.
79
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80
+ Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music and art that has enriched the world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and artificial social boundaries. See bhakti yoga for more.
81
+
82
+ According to the most famous Western Tantrik scholar, Sir John Woodroffe (pseudonym Arthur Avalon): "The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kaliyuga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox 'Hinduism'. The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakanda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says: 'For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given' (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sadhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression." (Introduction to Sir John Woodroffe's translation of "Mahanirvana Tantra.")
83
+
84
+ The word "tantra" means "treatise" or "continuum", and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as "tantric". Most tantras were written in the late Middle Ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and Yoga.
85
+
86
+ Many Hindus are vegetarians (do not eat meat) because of their respect for life. About 30% of today's Hindu population, especially in orthodox communities in South India, in certain northerly states like Gujarat, and in many Brahmin areas around the subcontinent, are vegetarian.
87
+
88
+ Most Hindus who do eat meat do not eat beef. Some do not even use leather products. This is most likely because many Hindus have relied so heavily on the cow for all sorts of dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertiliser that its status as a willing 'caretaker' of humanity grew to identifying it as an almost motherly figure. Thus, while most Hindus do not worship the cow, and rules against eating beef arose long after the Vedas had been written, it still has an honored place in Hindu society. It is said that Krishna is both Govinda (herder of cows) and Gopala (protector of cows), and Shiva's attendant is Nandi, the bull. With the stress on vegetarianism (which is usually followed even by meat-eating Hindus on religious days or special occasions) and the sacred nature of the cow, it is no wonder that most holy cities and areas in India have a ban on selling meat-products and there is a movement among Hindus to ban cow-slaughter not only in specific regions, but in all of India.
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+
90
+ Hindus use many symbols and signs. The two most important symbols used by Hindus are the "Aum" and the "Swastika (Hinduism)".
91
+
92
+ Contrary to popular belief, practiced Hinduism is neither polytheistic nor strictly monotheistic. The various Hindu gods and avatars that are worshipped by Hindus are understood as different forms of One truth, sometimes seen as beyond a mere god and as a formless Divine Ground (Brahman), akin but not limited to monism, or as one monotheistic principle like Vishnu or Shiva.
93
+
94
+ Whether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal god (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. Hinduism encourages devotees to describe and develop a personal relationship with their chosen deity (ishta devata) in the form of a god or goddess.
95
+
96
+ While some censuses hold worshippers of one form or another of Vishnu (known as Vaishnavs) to be at 80% and those of Shiva (called Shaivaites) and Shakti at the remaining 20%, such figures are perhaps misleading. The vast majority of Hindus worship many gods as varicolored forms of the same prism of Truth. Among the most popular are Vishnu (as Krishna or Rama), Shiva, Devi (the Mother as many female deities, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga), Ganesha, Skanda and Hanuman.
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+
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+ Worship of the said deities is often done through the aid of pictures or icons (murti) which are said not to be God themselves but conduits for the devotee's consciousness, markers for the human soul that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the love and grandeur of God. They are symbols of the greater principle, representing and are never presumed to be the concept or entity itself. Thus, Hindu image worship is a form of iconolatry, in which the symbols are venerated as putative sigils of divinity, as opposed to idolatry, a charge often levied (erroneously) at Hindus. For more details on this form of worship, see murti.
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+
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+ Hindus use several prayers and group of words. Some group of words are called mantras.
101
+ These words are said to give the speaker a deeper concentration and understanding, thus coming closer to Brahman.
102
+ A well known mantra is om or aum. It symbolizes Brahman, and is often the opening word in many prayers.
103
+ To pronounce a mantra well, you should say it slowly, and in a deep voice.
104
+
105
+ The nations of India, Mauritius, and Nepal as well as the Indonesian island of Bali have more people who are Hindus than people who are not Hindus.In these nations, specially Nepal and India Hinduism is very popular.
106
+ These countries also have many Hindus:
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+
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+ There are also strong Hindu communities in the countries of the ex-Soviet Union, especially in Russia and Poland. The Indonesian islands of Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Borneo also have big native Hindu populations. In its Yoga stream, Hinduism is even more widespread all over the world with 30 million (less than one percent can not be 30 million for US population) Hindus in the United States alone.
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1
+ An extrasolar planet (or exoplanet) is a natural planet in a planetary system outside our own solar system.
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+
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+ In 2013, estimates of the number of terrestrial planets in the Milky Way ranged from at least 17 billion[1] to at least 144 billion.[2] The smaller estimate studied planet candidates gathered by the Kepler space observatory.[3] Among them are 461 Earth-size planets, at least four of which are in the "habitable zone" where liquid water can exist. One of the four, dubbed Kepler-69c, is a mere 1.5 times the size of the Earth and around a star like our own Sun – about as near as the current data allow to finding an "Earth 2.0".[4]
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+
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+ Earlier work suggested that there are at least 100 billion planets of all types in our galaxy, an average of at least one per star. There are also planets that orbit brown dwarfs, and free-floating planets that orbit the galaxy directly just as the stars do. It is unclear whether either type should be called a "planet".[5][6][7]
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+
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+ In the sixteenth century, the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno, an early supporter of the Copernican theory that the Earth and other planets orbit the Sun, put forward the view that the fixed stars are similar to the Sun and are likewise accompanied by planets. Bruno was burnt at the stake by the Holy Inquisition.[8]
8
+
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+ In the eighteenth century, the same possibility was mentioned by Isaac Newton in his Principia. Making a comparison to the Sun's planets, he wrote "And if the fixed stars are the centres of similar systems, they will all be constructed according to a similar design and subject to the dominion of One".[9]
10
+
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+ The first published and confirmed discovery was made in 1988.[10] It was finally confirmed in 1992.
12
+
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+ In 1992, radio astronomers announced the discovery of planets around another pulsar.[11] These pulsar planets are believed to have formed from the unusual remnants of the supernova that produced the pulsar, in a second round of planet formation. Otherwise they may be the remaining rocky cores of gas giants that survived the supernova and then decayed into their current orbits.
14
+
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+ On October 6, 1995, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz of the University of Geneva announced the first definitive detection of an exoplanet orbiting an ordinary main-sequence star (51 Pegasi).[12] This discovery, made at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence, started the modern era of exoplanetary discovery. Technological advances, most notably in high-resolution spectroscopy, led to the quick detection of many new exoplanets. These advances allowed astronomers to detect exoplanets indirectly by measuring their gravitational influence on the motion of their parent stars. Additional extrasolar planets were eventually detected by watching occultations when a star becomes dimmer as an orbiting planet passed in front of it.
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+
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+ In May 2016 NASA announced the discovery of 1,284 exoplanets which brought the total number of exoplanets to over 3,000.[13]
18
+
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+ Extrasolar planets can have many different forms.
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+
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+
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+ The nearest star with planets is Alpha Centauri. It is 4.3 light years away. Using standard rockets, it would take tens of thousands of years to get there.[14] The nearest star similar to our Sun is Tau Ceti. It has five planets, one of which in the habitable zone, where liquid water may exist.[15][16]
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+ Some extrasolar planets might be Earth-like. This means that they have conditions very similar to that of the Earth. Planets are ranked by a formula called the Earth similarity index or ESI for short. The ESI goes from one (most Earth-like) to zero (least Earth-like). For a planet to be habitable it should have an ESI of at least 0.8.[17] For comparison, the four solar terrestrial planets are included in this list.
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1
+ Ankara is the capital city of the country of Turkey. It is in the center of Anatolia. Ankara is the second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a population of 4,319,167 (2005) (Province 5,153,000), and an elevation of 938 meters (3080 feet).[1] It was formerly known as Engürü the city is also the capital of Ankara Province
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+
3
+ Ankara is a very modern city. Ankara was made the capital of Turkey in 1923.
4
+ Ankara is known for its performing arts, home to the State Opera and Ballet, the Presidential Symphony Orchestra and several national theater companies. In Ankara there’s a place called Anitkabir, an enormous hilltop mausoleum that is commemorated to Kemal Atatürk who was the first president.
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+
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+ Kore Parkı.
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+
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+ Amsterdam, Netherlands ·
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+ Athens, Greece ·
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+ Berlin, Germany ·
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+ Bratislava, Slovakia ·
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+ Brussels, Belgium ·
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+ Bucharest, Romania ·
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+ Budapest, Hungary ·
15
+ Copenhagen, Denmark ·
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+ Dublin, Republic of Ireland ·
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+ Helsinki, Finland ·
18
+ Lisbon, Portugal ·
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+ Ljubljana, Slovenia ·
20
+ Luxembourg City, Luxembourg ·
21
+ Madrid, Spain ·
22
+ Nicosia, Cyprus1 ·
23
+ Paris, France ·
24
+ Prague, Czech Republic ·
25
+ Riga, Latvia ·
26
+ Rome, Italy ·
27
+ Sofia, Bulgaria ·
28
+ Stockholm, Sweden ·
29
+ Tallinn, Estonia ·
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+ Valletta, Malta ·
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+ Vienna, Austria ·
32
+ Vilnius, Lithuania ·
33
+ Warsaw, Poland ·
34
+ Zagreb, Croatia
35
+
36
+ Andorra la Vella, Andorra ·
37
+ Ankara, Turkey1 ·
38
+ Belgrade, Serbia ·
39
+ Bern, Switzerland ·
40
+ Chişinău, Moldova ·
41
+ Kyiv, Ukraine ·
42
+ London, United Kingdom ·
43
+ Minsk, Belarus ·
44
+ Monaco-Ville, Monaco ·
45
+ Moscow, Russia1 ·
46
+ Oslo, Norway ·
47
+ Podgorica, Montenegro ·
48
+ Reykjavík, Iceland ·
49
+ San Marino, San Marino ·
50
+ Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina ·
51
+ Skopje, Republic of Macedonia ·
52
+ Tbilisi, Georgia1 ·
53
+ Tirana, Albania ·
54
+
ensimple/2570.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Hip hop is a type of culture/art style that started in the 1970s. It began in Jamaican American, African American, and stateside Puerto Rican urban areas in some of the larger cities of the United States. Hip hop uses rapping, where the rapper or group chants or says words with a rhythm that rhymes. The lyrics of hip hop songs are often about the life of urban people in the big cities. Some hip hop song lyrics are about gangs, violence, crime, strippers, partying, money, sex and illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, promethazine, xanax, percocets, ecstasy and molly. Hip hop music also uses musical styles from pop music such as disco and reggae. Rap and hip hop music have become successful music genres.
2
+
3
+ Hip hop as a culture involves the music as well as a style of dressing called "urban" clothes (baggy pants, Timberland leather work boots, and oversize shirts); a dancing style called breakdancing or "B-boying"; and graffiti, a street art in which people paint pictures or words on walls. In the 2000s, hip hop music and hip hop culture are very popular in the United States and Canada. Hip hop musicians usually use nicknames. Many of the popular hip hop musicians from the 2000s use nicknames, such as Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Eminem, Lil' Wayne, and 50 Cent. Cities that produce the most hip hop are New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Detroit, Los Angeles and Memphis.
4
+
5
+ Rapping is a form of singing. It is a mix between singing and talking. The words are spoken with rhythm and in the text there are rhymes. The urban youth made rhyming games based on rap. The beat in the background is a simple loop that is sometimes made by the rapper themself or sometimes copied from a sample CD. The simple loop carries out through the entire song usually, except for the chorus. It developed in the ethnic minority urban (city) areas, as an American form of Jamaican "toasting" (chanting and rhyming with a microphone).
6
+
7
+ Run DMC and The Sugarhill Gang were early popular hip hop groups in the 1980s. When rappers began to use violent language and gestures, the music was then liked by gangsters. This kind of music was called "gangsta rap". Gangsta rap often has lyrics which are about guns, drug dealing and life as a thug on the street. This genre also began in the 1980s and is still produced.
8
+
9
+ Some well known early rappers include: Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and Sean "P-Diddy" Combs. During the 1990s there was a rivalry between the two big record labels "Death Row Records" and "Bad Boy Records". The rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. were murdered. Later, the two record labels stopped the rivalry. Because most of the rappers who rapped for "Death Row Records" were from the West Coast of the US and most of the rappers who rapped for "Bad Boy Records" were from the East Coast, this rivalry was called "the West Coast – East Coast beef".
10
+
11
+ More modern rappers include Lil Wayne, 50-Cent, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nas, Drake, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Tyga and Kanye West. Rap is now produced in almost every nation of the world.
12
+
13
+ The fastest rapper according to Guinness World Records is Twista. In 1992, he rapped 11 syllables in one second. [1]In 2013, the song Rap God by Eminem took the record for most words in a song; 1,560 in a little over 6 minutes, which is about 4 words per second.[2]
ensimple/2571.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Hip hop is a type of culture/art style that started in the 1970s. It began in Jamaican American, African American, and stateside Puerto Rican urban areas in some of the larger cities of the United States. Hip hop uses rapping, where the rapper or group chants or says words with a rhythm that rhymes. The lyrics of hip hop songs are often about the life of urban people in the big cities. Some hip hop song lyrics are about gangs, violence, crime, strippers, partying, money, sex and illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, promethazine, xanax, percocets, ecstasy and molly. Hip hop music also uses musical styles from pop music such as disco and reggae. Rap and hip hop music have become successful music genres.
2
+
3
+ Hip hop as a culture involves the music as well as a style of dressing called "urban" clothes (baggy pants, Timberland leather work boots, and oversize shirts); a dancing style called breakdancing or "B-boying"; and graffiti, a street art in which people paint pictures or words on walls. In the 2000s, hip hop music and hip hop culture are very popular in the United States and Canada. Hip hop musicians usually use nicknames. Many of the popular hip hop musicians from the 2000s use nicknames, such as Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Eminem, Lil' Wayne, and 50 Cent. Cities that produce the most hip hop are New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Detroit, Los Angeles and Memphis.
4
+
5
+ Rapping is a form of singing. It is a mix between singing and talking. The words are spoken with rhythm and in the text there are rhymes. The urban youth made rhyming games based on rap. The beat in the background is a simple loop that is sometimes made by the rapper themself or sometimes copied from a sample CD. The simple loop carries out through the entire song usually, except for the chorus. It developed in the ethnic minority urban (city) areas, as an American form of Jamaican "toasting" (chanting and rhyming with a microphone).
6
+
7
+ Run DMC and The Sugarhill Gang were early popular hip hop groups in the 1980s. When rappers began to use violent language and gestures, the music was then liked by gangsters. This kind of music was called "gangsta rap". Gangsta rap often has lyrics which are about guns, drug dealing and life as a thug on the street. This genre also began in the 1980s and is still produced.
8
+
9
+ Some well known early rappers include: Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and Sean "P-Diddy" Combs. During the 1990s there was a rivalry between the two big record labels "Death Row Records" and "Bad Boy Records". The rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. were murdered. Later, the two record labels stopped the rivalry. Because most of the rappers who rapped for "Death Row Records" were from the West Coast of the US and most of the rappers who rapped for "Bad Boy Records" were from the East Coast, this rivalry was called "the West Coast – East Coast beef".
10
+
11
+ More modern rappers include Lil Wayne, 50-Cent, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nas, Drake, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Tyga and Kanye West. Rap is now produced in almost every nation of the world.
12
+
13
+ The fastest rapper according to Guinness World Records is Twista. In 1992, he rapped 11 syllables in one second. [1]In 2013, the song Rap God by Eminem took the record for most words in a song; 1,560 in a little over 6 minutes, which is about 4 words per second.[2]
ensimple/2572.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Hip hop is a type of culture/art style that started in the 1970s. It began in Jamaican American, African American, and stateside Puerto Rican urban areas in some of the larger cities of the United States. Hip hop uses rapping, where the rapper or group chants or says words with a rhythm that rhymes. The lyrics of hip hop songs are often about the life of urban people in the big cities. Some hip hop song lyrics are about gangs, violence, crime, strippers, partying, money, sex and illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, promethazine, xanax, percocets, ecstasy and molly. Hip hop music also uses musical styles from pop music such as disco and reggae. Rap and hip hop music have become successful music genres.
2
+
3
+ Hip hop as a culture involves the music as well as a style of dressing called "urban" clothes (baggy pants, Timberland leather work boots, and oversize shirts); a dancing style called breakdancing or "B-boying"; and graffiti, a street art in which people paint pictures or words on walls. In the 2000s, hip hop music and hip hop culture are very popular in the United States and Canada. Hip hop musicians usually use nicknames. Many of the popular hip hop musicians from the 2000s use nicknames, such as Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Eminem, Lil' Wayne, and 50 Cent. Cities that produce the most hip hop are New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Detroit, Los Angeles and Memphis.
4
+
5
+ Rapping is a form of singing. It is a mix between singing and talking. The words are spoken with rhythm and in the text there are rhymes. The urban youth made rhyming games based on rap. The beat in the background is a simple loop that is sometimes made by the rapper themself or sometimes copied from a sample CD. The simple loop carries out through the entire song usually, except for the chorus. It developed in the ethnic minority urban (city) areas, as an American form of Jamaican "toasting" (chanting and rhyming with a microphone).
6
+
7
+ Run DMC and The Sugarhill Gang were early popular hip hop groups in the 1980s. When rappers began to use violent language and gestures, the music was then liked by gangsters. This kind of music was called "gangsta rap". Gangsta rap often has lyrics which are about guns, drug dealing and life as a thug on the street. This genre also began in the 1980s and is still produced.
8
+
9
+ Some well known early rappers include: Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and Sean "P-Diddy" Combs. During the 1990s there was a rivalry between the two big record labels "Death Row Records" and "Bad Boy Records". The rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. were murdered. Later, the two record labels stopped the rivalry. Because most of the rappers who rapped for "Death Row Records" were from the West Coast of the US and most of the rappers who rapped for "Bad Boy Records" were from the East Coast, this rivalry was called "the West Coast – East Coast beef".
10
+
11
+ More modern rappers include Lil Wayne, 50-Cent, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nas, Drake, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Tyga and Kanye West. Rap is now produced in almost every nation of the world.
12
+
13
+ The fastest rapper according to Guinness World Records is Twista. In 1992, he rapped 11 syllables in one second. [1]In 2013, the song Rap God by Eminem took the record for most words in a song; 1,560 in a little over 6 minutes, which is about 4 words per second.[2]
ensimple/2573.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
 
 
 
 
 
1
+
2
+
3
+ Hippopotamidae is a group of even-toed ungulate mammals. They form the family Hippopotamuses. There are two living species of Hippopotamuses.
4
+
ensimple/2574.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+
2
+
3
+ The Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow that can be found worldwide. A distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings, it is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The barn swallow is the national bird of Estonia.
4
+ According to The Atlas of Southern African Birds, this species is undergoing a decrease in significant part of Europe;[1] however, this decrease is not rapid enough to be considered a “vulnerable species“ based on the criterion used to determine species in danger of extinction.[2]
5
+
ensimple/2575.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+
2
+
3
+ The Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow that can be found worldwide. A distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings, it is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The barn swallow is the national bird of Estonia.
4
+ According to The Atlas of Southern African Birds, this species is undergoing a decrease in significant part of Europe;[1] however, this decrease is not rapid enough to be considered a “vulnerable species“ based on the criterion used to determine species in danger of extinction.[2]
5
+
ensimple/2576.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ – on the European continent  (green & dark grey)– in the European Union  (green)
2
+
3
+ Spain is a country in Southern Europe. It is in the Iberian Peninsula. Spain has borders with France, Portugal, Andorra and Morocco. In Spain's northeast side are the Pyrenees mountains.
4
+
5
+ The people of Spain are called Spaniards. They speak Castilian or Spanish (in Spanish, "Castellano", from Castilla, or "Español" [espa'ɲol]. They speak other languages in some parts of the country. They are Catalan, Basque, and Galician, Leonese, Aragonese, Aranese Occitan and even Portuguese. The religion of about 56% of the population in Spain is Roman Catholic.
6
+
7
+ Since 1975, Spain has had a constitutional monarchy. The King of Spain is Felipe VI; he only does what the constitution allows him to. The parliament is called "Las Cortes Generales," and has two bodies: "El Congreso" (The Congress) and "El Senado" (The Senate) and it is chosen by the Spanish people by voting. The Prime minister is Pedro Sánchez. The government and the king's palace are in Madrid, the capital of Spain.
8
+
9
+ Spain has more than five hundred thousand square kilometres of land. It is smaller than France, but it is bigger than Germany. Almost fifty million people live in Spain. Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities (this means that they can decide upon some affairs themselves). Each community has its own government.
10
+
11
+ People have lived in Spain since the Stone Age. Later, the Roman Empire controlled Spain for about five hundred years; then as the Roman Empire broke up, groups of Germanic people including Visigoths moved in and took control.
12
+
13
+ In 711, the Umayyads took over, and later groups from North Africa, called the Moors. At first the Moors ruled most of Spain but the reconquista slowly forced them out over seven centuries. They called the land Al-Andalus. They were Muslims, and Muslim Spain was the farthest western point of Islamic civilization. The Caliphate of Córdoba fell apart in the early 11th century and Muslim rulers sometimes fought each other when they weren't fighting the Christians. Muslim Spain was focused on learning. The greatest library system outside Baghdad was also there.
14
+
15
+ The Kingdom of León, the most important in the early Spanish Middle Ages, was started in 910. This Kingdom developed the first democratic parliament (Cortes de Llión) in Europe in 1188. After 1301, León had the same King as the Kingdom of Castile in personal union. The various kingdoms remained independent territories until 1833, when Spain was divided into regions and provinces.
16
+
17
+ In 1492, the Christians took the last part of Spain that still belonged to the Moors, Granada. Boabdil, the last Moorish King of Granada, surrendered to King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile on 2 January 1492. Ferdinand and Isabella then ruled all of Spain.
18
+
19
+ Before this, there were a number of Christian countries in what is now called Spain. Two of these countries, Castile and Aragon, came together when Ferdinand II of Aragon married the queen Isabella of Castile. The King ruled as much as the Queen.
20
+
21
+ In the same year, 1492, they sent Christopher Columbus to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus found the islands of the Caribbean Sea.
22
+
23
+ When other Europeans explored, like Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, they found out that there were two continents there - North America and South America. Spanish conquistadores took over very large parts of those two continents. This empire did not make Spain a rich country, for most of the money had to be spent in wars in Italy and elsewhere. Some of these wars were fought against other European countries who were trying to take over parts of the Americas.
24
+
25
+ Meanwhile, at home, the Muslim manuscripts had been either burnt or taken to other countries. Jews had also been expelled from Spain. Some Jews remained but they had to become Christians. Among the few old things kept and respected in Spain were in music: harmony and stringed instruments. The buildings that had been built by the Moors were kept, and many Muslim religious buildings (mosques) were turned into churches. Some Jewish religious buildings were also turned into churches. Many Arab words became part of the Spanish Language.
26
+
27
+ The grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella was Charles. When his grandfather died he inherited Castille and Aragon. He also inherited many territories at the death of his other grandfather, Maximilian I of Austria. Charles received from Maximilian the Austria state and the territories of Burgundy. He was named Charles I in Spain, but he was elected as the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and was called Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. This made the empire bigger than ever. However, it was not a single country, but a personal union of many independent countries with a single King. At first many Spaniards did not want Charles as their king, so they fought against him. However, he won.
28
+
29
+ Charles did not like the Protestant Reformation, and fought against it.
30
+
31
+ In the 18th century some of the parts of that large empire became their own countries, or were taken over by new countries, such as the United States of America.
32
+
33
+ Spain (and other European countries) was invaded by Napoleon of France. Britain sent troops to defend the peninsula, since it was so weak. Most of the Spanish Empire became independent in the following decades.
34
+
35
+ There was not much peace in Spain during the first part of the 20th century. Some Spaniards tried to set up a government chosen by the people (a democracy), and they made Alfonso XIII leave the country. However, in 1936, two different groups of Spaniards went to war over whether the government should be a democracy, in the Spanish Civil War (although those on the side of the Republic were largely socialist or anarchist), or take orders from one person. In 1939, those who wanted democracy were defeated, and a nationalist dictator named Francisco Franco took over the government.
36
+
37
+ Francisco Franco died on 20 November 1975. He had decided that Spain should have a monarchy again, and he chose Juan Carlos, the grandson of Juan of Bourbon who had been forced to leave the country, to be king and Adolfo Suárez to become its first Prime Minister. But the king and Suárez did not rule as a dictator; instead, they chose to set up a democracy.
38
+
39
+ On 23 February 1981 a group of people who had supported the now dead General Franco tried to take control of the democratic Spanish Parliament by force, they entered the building and fired guns in the air. It was seen live on Spanish television and there was widespread fear that this might be the start of another civil war. However, Juan Carlos I, quickly appeared on television and broadcast to the nation that they should remain calm. The persons responsible for the attempt to take over the country were arrested.
40
+
41
+ Now Spain is a modern democratic country, and does business with many countries around the world. It is the eighth largest economy in the world and is an important part of the European Union.
42
+
43
+ On 2 June 2014, Juan Carlos I announced that he would abdicate in favour of his son, Felipe VI.[11] The date of abdication and handover to Felipe occurred on 19 June 2014. He and his wife kept their titles.[12]
44
+
45
+ Ancient religions in Spain were mostly pagan. Today, however, at least 68 percent of Spain is Roman Catholic.[13] Spanish mystic Teresa of Ávila is an important figure within Catholicism. 27 percent of Spaniards are irreligious. 2 percent are from other religions, this include Baha'i Buddhists, Jain, Muslim,Unitarian Universalism and Zoroastrianism.
46
+
47
+ The middle of Spain is a high, dry, flat land called La Meseta. In La Meseta it can be very hot in the summer and cold or very cold in the winter. Spain also has many mountain ranges. The Mount Teide (Tenerife, Canary Islands), the highest mountain of Spain and the islands of the Atlantic (it is the third largest volcano in the world from its base). In the north there is a range of mountains called Los Picos de Europa (The European Peaks). Here it is very cold in winter with a lot of snow but with gentle warm summers.
48
+
49
+ In the south-east of the country is a range of mountains called La Sierra Nevada (The Snowy Mountains). This range of mountains contains the highest mountain in mainland Spain, Mulacen, at 2952 metres. La Sierra Nevada is very popular in winter for winter sports, especially skiing. Snow remains on its peaks throughout the year. The south coast, has a warm and temperate climate, not very hot or very cold. Since Spain is in the south of Europe, it is very sunny. Many people from Northern Europe take their vacations in Spain, enjoying its beaches and cities.
50
+
51
+ Spain has a border with Portugal in the west and borders with France and Andorra in the North. In the south, it borders Gibraltar, a British territory. The Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla are in North Africa and border onto Morocco.
52
+
53
+ Spain is divided into Autonomous Communities, which means that they have their own regional governments. They are Andalucía (capital city Seville), Aragon (capital city Zaragoza), Asturias (capital city Oviedo), Balearic Islands (capital city Palma de Mallorca), Basque Country (capital city Vitoria), Canary Islands (capital cities Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas), Cantabria (capital city Santander), Castilla-La Mancha (capital city Toledo), Castile and Leon (capital city Valladolid), Catalonia (capital city Barcelona), Extremadura (capital city Merida), Galicia (capital city Santiago de Compostela), La Rioja (capital city Logrono), Madrid Community (capital city Madrid), Murcia Community (capital city Murcia), Navarra (capital city Pamplona) and the Valencia Community (capital city Valencia).
54
+
55
+ Palo Santo Cafe, Aranda de Duero, Spain, Jamón serrano
56
+
57
+ Jamón serrano served at Palo Santo Cafe, Aranda de Duero
58
+
59
+ Anchovies in Spanish Olive OIl
60
+
61
+ (Spanish Tortilla)
62
+
63
+ In Spain, many people live in cities or close to cities. The ten biggest city areas are:
64
+
65
+ While Spanish is the most spoken language in the country, other languages like Catalan, Basque or Galician are also spoken in a few territories.
ensimple/2577.html.txt ADDED
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1
+ Iran officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: ايران‎), historically known as Persia, is a country in Western Asia.[8][9][10] It is part of the Middle East region. It shares borders with Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.
2
+
3
+ Tehran is the capital and biggest city. Iran is the eighteenth largest country in the world. It has more than 80 million people. Iran has been a member of the United Nations since 1945. It is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).[11] It is an Islamic republic.
4
+
5
+ In Iran, Persians, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Mazandaranis, Gilaks, Lurs and Bakhtiaris make up the nations minority ethnic groups.
6
+
7
+ In the past, Iran was called "Persia" by people outside of the country. The people that lived there called the country "Iran". The official name was Persia, a region in Iran. The name Persia was used when dealing with other countries and in government papers.
8
+
9
+ In 1935, Reza Shāh Pahlavi was Shah of Iran. He officially asked foreigners to call the country "Iran". This was done to show that Iran belongs to all the non-Persian Iranians as well as to Persian Iranians. The name Iran means land of the Aryans. It is used in the ancient book of the Zoroastrians, the Avesta. In the 19th and early 20th century, the name Aryan was used by Europeans to mean all Indo-Europeans. The "Aryan Race" was a term that Hitler used to describe his "Superior" or "perfect" race, but it first meant Iranians.[12] "Aryan" means "noble" in Iranian languages.
10
+
11
+ Around 500 BC, the area that is now Iran was the center of the Achaemenid Empire. The Greek city states fought against the Persian armies led by Darius the Great and Xerxes. Then Alexander the Great took the country by fighting the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia. He ruled until he died,then the Greek Seleucids ruled until they were defeated by the Parthian Empire which later fought the Roman Empire.
12
+
13
+ After the Parthians, the Sassanian dynasty (224-651) took over. Other people took Persia by fi\ghting, like the Arabs (7th century), Turks (10th century) and Mongols (13th century). However, Iran has always had a different culture and continued to survive.
14
+
15
+ The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) worked in Iran to create 1953 riots which led to the removal of Prime Minister Mosaddegh. The United States and Great Britain then made the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi the most powerful person in Iran, again. The Shah left Iran in 1979 in the face of a revolt. The Iranian government was changed to an Islamic Republic by Islamic Revolution. Soon afterwards, the Iranian Students Movement (Tahkim Vahdat), with the backing of the new government, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. They held most of the diplomats hostage for 444 days.
16
+
17
+ Relations between the two countries have not been good since. For example, the United States claims that Iran supports terrorist groups against Israel. Iran does not see Israel as a country. Iran, along with most Arab countries, believes that Israel does not have the right to exist. However, Iran has collaborated with the West at times. These deals have been about energy or about fighting terrorism.
18
+
19
+ Iran fought the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s. Many foreign countries supported Iraq.
20
+
21
+ Now, the West is trying to prevent Iran from using nuclear technology, even though Iran is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported many times that there is no evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. However, it also says that it can not say for sure that Iran is not doing so in secret.
22
+
23
+ A December 2007 CIA report on nuclear activity in Iran said that Iran's secret program to get nuclear weapons technology was stopped in 2003. It said that Iran will probably not be able to build a nuclear weapon soon.
24
+
25
+ Iran has the natural resource of oil. It is a member of OPEC. Oil is one of its main exports. Rice, handicrafts, carpets and crocus are important local products. Iran is the world's largest exporter and producer of caviar.[13] Iran is also one of the world's biggest exporters of pistachio nuts.
26
+
27
+ Iran has factories that produce industrial products. Iran is also involved in the field of biomedical sciences.
28
+
29
+ Rial is the money used in Iran.
30
+
31
+ About 90% of Iranian people are Muslim. The state religion is Shia Islam. It has been the state religion since the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century.[14] This is the religion of about 75% of Iranians.[15] They belong to the Twelver branch. About 9% of Iranians Muslim belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. The 9% of Iranians who are not Muslim are Bahá'ís, Mandeans, Zoroastrians, Christians and Jews.[15] It is thought that there are between 300,000 and 350,000 Persian (Iranian) Jews.
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1
+ The history of the Earth describes the most important events and fundamental stages in the development of the planet Earth from its formation to the present day.
2
+
3
+ The age of the Earth is about 4.56 billion years.[1] Nearly all branches of science have helped us understand the main events of the Earth's past. The Earth is about one third the age of the universe.
4
+
5
+ The formation of Earth occurred as part of the formation of the Solar System. It started as a large rotating cloud of dust and gas. This cloud, the solar nebula, was composed of hydrogen and helium produced in the Big Bang, as well as heavier elements produced in supernovas. Then, about 4.68 billion years ago, the solar nebula began to contract, rotate and gain angular momentum. This may have been triggered by a star in the region exploding as a supernova, and sending a shock wave through the solar nebula.
6
+
7
+ As the cloud rotated, it became a flat disc perpendicular to its axis of rotation. Most of the mass concentrated in the middle and began to heat up. Meanwhile, the rest of the disc began to break up into rings, with gravity causing matter to condense around dust particles. Small fragments collided to become larger fragments, including one collection about 150 million kilometres (93 million miles) from the center: this would become the Earth. As the Sun condensed and heated, nuclear fusion started, and the solar wind cleared out most of the material in the disc, which had not yet condensed, into larger bodies.
8
+
9
+ The Earth's relatively large natural satellite, the Moon, is unique.[4] During the Apollo program, rocks from the Moon's surface were brought to Earth. Radiometric dating of these rocks has shown the Moon to be 4527 ± 10 million years old, about 30 to 55 million years younger than other bodies in the solar system.[5][6] New evidence suggests the Moon formed even later, 4.48±0.02 Ga, or 70–110 Ma after the start of the Solar System.[7] Another notable feature is the relatively low density of the Moon, which must mean it does not have a large metallic core, like all other terrestrial bodies in the solar system. The Moon has a bulk composition closely resembling the Earth's mantle and crust together, without the Earth's core. This has led to the giant impact hypothesis: the idea that the Moon was formed during a giant impact of the proto-Earth with another protoplanet.[8]
10
+
11
+ The impactor, sometimes named Theia, is thought to have been a little smaller than the current planet Mars. Theia finally collided with Earth about 4.533 Ga.[9]
12
+ Models reveal that when an impactor this size struck the proto-Earth at a low angle and relatively low speed (8–20 km/s or 5.0–12.4 mi/s), much material from the mantles (and proto-crusts) of the proto-Earth and the impactor was ejected into space, where much of it stayed in orbit around the Earth. This material would eventually form the Moon. However, the metallic cores of the impactor would have sunk through the Earth's mantle to fuse with the Earth's core, depleting the Moon of metallic material.[10] The giant impact hypothesis thus explains the Moon's abnormal composition.[11] The ejecta in orbit around the Earth could have condensed into a single body within a couple of weeks. Under the influence of its own gravity, the ejected material became a more spherical body: the Moon.
13
+
14
+ The radiometric ages show the Earth existed already for at least 10 million years before the impact, enough time to allow for differentiation of the Earth's primitive mantle and core. Then, when the impact occurred, only material from the mantle was ejected, leaving the Earth's core of heavy elements untouched.
15
+
16
+ The impact had some important consequences for the young Earth. It released an enormous amount of energy, causing both the Earth and Moon to be completely molten. Immediately after the impact, the Earth's mantle was vigorously convecting, the surface was a large magma ocean. The planet's first atmosphere must have been completely blown away by the enormous amount of energy released.[12] The impact is also thought to have changed Earth’s axis to produce the large 23.5° axial tilt that is responsible for Earth’s seasons (a simple, ideal model of the planets’ origins would have axial tilts of 0° with no recognizable seasons). It may also have sped up Earth’s rotation.
17
+
18
+ At the beginning of the Archaean, the Earth's heat flow was nearly three times higher than it is today, and was still twice the current level by the beginning of the Proterozoic. Thus, plates and volcanic activity were considerably more active than they are today; the Earth's crust was not only thinner than is today, but probably broken up into many more tectonic plates, with numerous hot spots, rift valleys, and transform faults. The existence of plate tectonics in this eon is disputed: it is an active area of modern research.[13]p297-302
19
+
20
+ There were no large continents until late in the Archean; small protocontinents were the norm, prevented from coalescing into larger units by the high rate of geologic activity. These felsic protocontinents probably formed at hot spots rather than subduction zones, from a variety of sources: mafic magma melting more felsic rocks, partial melting of mafic rock, and from the metamorphic alteration of felsic sedimentary rocks.[13]p297-301
21
+
22
+ The Archean atmosphere apparently lacked free oxygen. Temperatures appear to have been near modern levels, although astronomers think that the sun was about one-third dimmer. This is thought to reflect larger amounts of greenhouse gases than later in Earth history.
23
+
24
+ The oldest rock formations exposed on the surface of the Earth are Archean or slightly older. Archean rocks are known from Greenland, the Canadian Shield, western Australia, and southern Africa. Although the first continents formed during this eon, rock this age makes up only 7% of the world's current cratons; even allowing for erosion and destruction of past formations, evidence suggests that only 5-40% of the present continental crust formed during the Archean.[13]p301
25
+
26
+ In contrast to the Proterozoic, Archean rocks are often heavily metamorphized deep-water sediments, such as greywackes, mudstones, volcanic sediments, and banded iron formations. Greenstone belts are typical Archean formations, consisting of alternating high and low-grade metamorphic rocks. The high-grade rocks were derived from volcanic island arcs, while the low-grade metamorphic rocks represent deep-sea sediments eroded from the neighboring island arcs and deposited in a forearc basin. In short, greenstone belts represent sutured protocontinents.[13]p302-3
27
+
28
+ Fossils of cyanobacterial mats (stromatolites) are found throughout the Archean—becoming especially common late in the eon—while a few other probable bacterial fossils are known from chert beds.[13]p307 In addition to bacteria, microfossils of the extremophilic archaea have also been identified.
29
+
30
+ There are no known eukaryote fossils.[13]p306, 323 No fossil evidence yet exists for viruses.
31
+
32
+ The geologic record of the Proterozoic is much better than that for the preceding Archaean. In contrast to the deep-water deposits of the Archean, the Proterozoic features many strata that were laid down in extensive, shallow epicontinental seas; furthermore, many of these rocks are less metamorphosed than Archean-age ones, and plenty are in fact unaltered.[13]p315 Study of these rocks show that the eon featured rapid continental accretion (unique to the Proterozoic), supercontinent cycles, and wholly-modern orogenic activity.[13]p315/8; 329/32
33
+
34
+ The first known glaciations occurred during the Proterozoic. One ice age began shortly after the beginning of the eon. There were at least four during the Neoproterozoic, climaxing with the "Snowball Earth" of the Varangian glaciation.[13]p320; 325
35
+
36
+ The Great Oxygenation Event was one of the most important events of the Proterozoic. Though oxygen was undoubtedly released by photosynthesis well back in Archean times, it could not build up to any significant degree until chemical sinks--unoxidized sulfur and iron—had been filled; until roughly 2.3 billion years ago, oxygen was probably only 1 to 2% of its current level.(Stanley, 323) Banded iron formations, which provide most of the world's iron ore, were also a prominent chemical sink; most accumulation ceased after 1.9 billion years ago, either due to an increase in oxygen or a more thorough mixing of the oceanic water column.[13]p324
37
+
38
+ Red beds, which are coloured by haematite, indicate an increase in atmospheric oxygen after 2 billion years ago; they are not found in older rocks.(Stanley, 324) The oxygen build-up was probably due to two factors: a filling of the chemical sinks, and an increase in carbon burial, which stored organic compounds which would have otherwise been oxidized by the atmosphere.[13]p325
39
+
40
+ The first advanced single-celled and multi-cellular life roughly coincides with the oxygen accumulation; this may have been due to an increase in the oxidized nitrates that eukaryotes use, as opposed to cyanobacteria.(Stanley, 325) It was also during the Proterozoic that the first symbiotic relationship between mitochondria (for animals and protists) and chloroplasts (for plants) and their hosts evolved.[13]p321-2
41
+
42
+ Eukaryotes such as acritarchs blossomed, as did cyanobacteria; in fact, stromatolites reached their greatest abundance and diversity during the Proterozoic, peaking roughly 1.2 billion years ago.[13]321-3
43
+
44
+ Classically, the boundary between the Proterozoic and the Paleozoic was set at the base of the Cambrian period when the first fossils of animals known as trilobites appeared. In the second half of the 20th century, a number of fossil forms have been found in Proterozoic rocks, but the boundary of the Proterozoic has remained fixed at the base of the Cambrian—currently placed at 542 Ma.
45
+
46
+ The Paleozoic covers the time from the first appearance of abundant, hard-shelled fossils to the time when the continents were beginning to be dominated by large, relatively sophisticated reptiles and relatively modern plants.
47
+
48
+ The upper (youngest) boundary is set at a major extinction event 250 million years later, known as the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Modern practice sets the older boundary at the first appearance of a distinctive trace fossil called Phycodes pedum.
49
+
50
+ Geologically, the Paleozoic starts shortly after the breakup of a supercontinent called Rodinia and at the end of a global ice age (Snowball Earth). Throughout the early Palaeozoic, the Earth's landmass was broken up into a substantial number of relatively small continents. Toward the end of the era, the continents gathered together into a supercontinent called Pangaea, which included most of the Earth's land area.
51
+
52
+ At the start of the era, life was confined to bacteria, algae, sponges and a variety of somewhat enigmatic forms known collectively as the Ediacaran fauna. A large number of body plans appeared nearly simultaneously at the start of the era—a phenomenon known as the Cambrian Explosion.
53
+
54
+ There is some evidence that simple life may already have invaded the land at the start of the Palaeozoic, but substantial plants and animals did not take to the land until the Silurian and did not thrive until the Devonian. Although primitive vertebrates are known near the start of the Palaeozoic, animal forms were dominated by invertebrates until the mid-Palaeozoic. Fish populations exploded in the Devonian. During the late Palaeozoic, great forests of primitive plants thrived on land forming the great coal beds of Europe and eastern North America. By the end of the era, the first large, sophisticated reptiles and the first modern plants (conifers) had developed.
55
+
56
+ The Mesozoic covers the time when life was dominated by large sophisticated reptiles. The lower (oldest) boundary is set by the P/Tr extinction event. The upper (youngest) boundary is set at the K/T extinction event.
57
+
58
+ Geologically, the Mesozoic starts with almost all the Earth's land collected into a supercontinent called Pangaea. During the era, Pangaea split into the northern continent Laurasia and the southern continent Gondwana. Laurasia then split into North America and Eurasia. Gondwana broke up progressively into continents: South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica.
59
+
60
+ The Mesozoic is known as the Age of Dinosaurs. It also saw the development of early birds and mammals and, later, flowering plants (angiosperms). At the end of the Mesozoic, all the major body plans of modern life were in place, though in some cases – notably the mammals – the forms that existed at the end of the Cretaceous were relatively primitive.
61
+
62
+ The Cenozoic is the age of mammals. During the Cenozoic, mammals diverged from a few small, simple, generalized forms into a diverse collection of terrestrial, marine, and flying animals. Flowering plants and birds also evolved substantially in the Cenozoic .
63
+
64
+ Geologically, the Cenozoic is the era when continents moved into their current positions. Africa and Australasia split from Gondwana to drift north, and India collided with Southeast Asia; Antarctica moved into its current position over the South Pole; the Atlantic Ocean widened and, late in the era, South America became attached to North America.
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1
+ A car is a road automobile used to carry passengers (people). Cars usually have four wheels (round things which turn in order to lead to movement), and an engine or motor to make them move.
2
+
3
+ Cars are also called automobiles, which comes from the Greek prefix "αυτό" (auto) and the French word "mobile". This name means "self-moving", as cars run on their own power and do not need horses or other power from outside to move.
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+
5
+ Like other automobiles, cars are made in different shapes and sizes, for people with different needs. Here are some common types of cars.
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+
7
+ To make a car move, it must have energy to turn the wheels. This energy might be chemical energy in gasoline or electrical energy in a battery. How quickly the engine or motor can send the energy to the wheels, and how much energy is sent, is called the power of the motor. The power of a car is usually measured in kilowatts or horsepower.
8
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9
+ As of 2019, most cars burn a fuel to make an internal combustion engine (sometimes called a "motor") run. The power from the engine then goes to the wheels through a transmission, which has a set of gears that can make the car go faster or slower. The most common fuel is petrol, which is called "gasoline" or "gas" in American English.
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+ Gasoline is called a fossil fuel because it comes from tiny fossils that were made millions of years ago. Over millions of years, they turned into oil, which was then drilled up from deep inside the Earth, and then turned into fuel by chemical changes. Old gasoline-powered cars are noisy and their exhaust makes city air dirty, which can make people ill. But cars made after the mid-2010s are cleaner.[1]
12
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+ Burning gasoline, like any kind of fossil fuel, makes carbon dioxide, which makes global warming. Since 2017, less gasoline powered cars are being made,[2][3] and some places will not allow gasoline-powered cars in future, like Amsterdam in 2030.[4]
14
+
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+ The cleanest cars are electric vehicles. They are usually plugged into a power outlet or a charging station and store electricity in a battery at the bottom of the car. The electricity then drives an electric motor, which turns the wheels. Some electric cars have 2 motors: one at the front, and one at the back. A few have 4 motors (one for each wheel).[5]
16
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+ Some cars burn diesel fuel, which is used in big trucks and buses, and a few use wood gas. In some countries, such as Brazil and Sweden, a mixture of ethanol and gasoline, called "gasohol" in Brazil and "E85" in Sweden, is used as automobile fuel. Other fuels include propane, natural gas, compressed air, and ethanol (which comes from plants). There are cars designed to run on more than one type of fuel — these are called "flex-fuel" and are rare.
18
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+ A few cars generate electricity from hydrogen fuel cells (like the Honda Clarity). As of 2019, most of the hydrogen that people use comes from burning fossil fuels, but scientists and engineers are trying to make hydrogen from renewable energy a lot cheaper and easier to use.
20
+
21
+ Some cars even use solar cells for their electricity, but they are not very practical. There is a competition every year where people try to design a car that can last the longest and go the farthest on solar energy alone.
22
+
23
+ There is also a type of car that uses both an engine and an electric motor. This is called a hybrid electric vehicle; an example is the Toyota Prius.
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+ All cars have brakes which work by friction to stop the car quickly in an emergency or stop it rolling when parked. Electric cars also have regenerative brakes, which slow the car by turning the energy in its movement back into electricity, like an electric motor working the opposite way. So regenerative means the electricity is generated again.
26
+
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+ The earliest recorded automobiles were actually steam engines attached to wagons in the late 18th century. The steam engines were heavy, making these wagons slow and hard to control. Better and faster steam cars became common late in the 19th century.
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+
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+ Some cars in the early 20th century were powered by electricity. They were slow and heavy and went out of use until the idea came back later in the century.
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+
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+ The internal combustion engine changed the way many automobiles were powered. The engine used either gasoline, diesel, or kerosene to work. When the fuel is exploded in a cylinder it pushes the piston down and turns the wheels.
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+ Although many people tried to make a good car that would work and sell well, people say that Karl Benz invented the modern automobile. He used a four-stroke type of internal combustion engine to power his Benz Patent-Motorwagen in 1886. He began to make many cars in a factory and sell them in Germany in 1888.
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+ In North America, the first modern car was made by brothers Charles and J. Frank Duryea in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Duryea brothers' car also won the first-ever car race in 1895, competing against cars made by Benz. The race was in Chicago, Illinois, and 53 miles long. The Duryeas then began making the first automobiles for everyday use in 1896. That year, they made 13 cars by hand in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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+ Benz may have invented the first modern car, and the Duryeas the first car to be sold, but Henry Ford sold the most cars to the most people. In 1910 he began making and selling his Model T, which was a huge success. Many people could afford this car, not just the rich, because Ford used mass production. This meant he made many Model Ts in a short time in a factory. People say that the Model T is the car that "put America on wheels". The Model T was the most popular car of the time because it was cheap but it was still a good quality car that ordinary people could own.
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+ Since then, many different kinds of cars have been designed and built, from minivans to sports cars. In the 1950s, the United States made and used more cars than all the rest of the world. Fifty years later, China became the largest maker and user of cars.
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+
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+ Cars are faster than walking or riding a bike if you are going a long way. They can carry more than one person and a large amount of luggage. Depending on local public transport quality, they can also be faster and far more convenient than using buses, bicycles or trains, and can often go where public transport cannot. 4-wheel drive "off road" vehicles are particularly good at reaching places difficult for other wheeled transport due to bad roads or harsh terrain. However, they cost more and burn more fuel, and there are many places even they cannot go.
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+ Most cars enclose people and cargo in a closed compartment with a roof, doors and windows, thus giving protection from weather. Modern cars give further protection in case of collisions, as they have added safety features such as seat belts, airbags, crumple zones and side-impact protection that would be expensive or impossible on two-wheeled or light 3-wheeled vehicles, or most buses.
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+
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+ With regular check ups and service, cars can last a very long time. In some countries like Australia, you have to get your car checked by authorised mechanics regularly by law to confirm that your car is safe to drive. You can go to a car mechanic to get your car checked or have a mobile mechanic come to you to repair your car.
46
+
47
+ Buying and running a car needs a lot of money, especially for newer good-quality cars. There are things to pay for — the car itself, fuel, parts (for example, tyres), maintenance, repairs, insurance to cover the cost of crashes or theft, parking charges, and toll roads and any taxes or licensing fees charged by the government.
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+ When cars crash, they can become damaged and hurt people, and the life of a person is more important than keeping a car from damage. When too many cars try to go the same way, traffic congestion slows them all. Cars can cause air pollution if too many are used in a small area like a city, and the combined pollution of the world's cars is partly to blame for climate change. Many places where people live close together have public transportation such as buses, trains, trams and subways. These can help people go more quickly and cheaply than by car when traffic jams are a problem. Some of these problems can be made smaller, for example by carpooling, which is putting many people together in one car.
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+
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+ Traffic congestion and accidents can be dangerous to other road users, for example people riding bicycles or walking, especially in an old town built when cars were few. Some 20th century towns are designed for cars as the main transport. This can cause other problems, such as even more pollution and traffic, as few, if any, people walk. Communities are divided and separated by big roads. Pedestrians are in danger where there are too few foot bridges, small road bridges or other special crossings.
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1
+ Anna Pavlova (St Petersburg, 12 February 1881 – The Hague, Netherlands, 23 January 1931) [1] was a Russian, and later English, ballerina of the early 20th century.
2
+
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+ She is widely regarded as one of the finest classical ballet dancers in history. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev.
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+
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+ Pavlova is most recognised for dancing the rôle of The Dying Swan. She danced this short ballet (only four minutes) about 4000 times. The choreography was by Mikhail Fokine. Her interpretation influenced the way others danced Odette in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.[1]
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+ In the early 20th century, with her own company, Pavlova became the first ballerina to tour ballet around the world.
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+
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+ The young Pavlova's years of training were difficult, as classical ballet did not come easily to her. Her severely arched feet, thin ankles, and long limbs clashed with the small, compact body favoured for ballerinas at the time. Her fellow students taunted her with such nicknames as The broom and La petite sauvage (The little savage). Undeterred, Pavlova trained to improve her technique. She took extra lessons from the noted teachers of the day. She was never a perfect technician, but had delicacy, lightness and grace.
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+
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+ She became prima ballerina of the Imperial Ballet in 1906. She worked briefly for Diaghilev, but would not dance in the new avant-garde ballets which were being created, such as The Firebird. The role was given to the equally good Tamara Karsavina, who became their regular prima ballerina.
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+
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+ Pavlova lived in London for many years, from 1912 until her death in 1931. After leaving Russia, Pavlova settled in Ivy House on North End Road, near Hampstead, where she lived for the rest of her life. While in London Pavlova taught ballet at her home. She was influential in the development of British ballet, and inspired the career of Alicia Markova.
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+
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+ The house had an ornamental lake where she would feed her pet swans, and where there is a statue of the ballerina by the Scots sculptor George Henry Paulin. It is now the London Jewish Cultural Centre but a Blue Plaque marks it as Pavlova's previous home and a site of significant historical interest.[2]
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+
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+ In 1956 a film The Immortal Swan included footage of her dancing in the 1920s.[1]
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+ She toured Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. This was probably how the sticky Australian cake became known as the 'Pavlova'.
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1
+ The history of the United States is what happened in the past in the United States, a country in North America.
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+
3
+ Native Americans lived in the Americas for thousands of years. English people in 1607 went to the place now called Jamestown, Virginia. Other European settlers went to the colonies, mostly from England and later Great Britain. France, Spain, and the Netherlands also colonized North America. In 1775, a war between the thirteen colonies and Britain began when the colonists were upset over paying taxation to their government in the UK, but were not being given any chance to vote in the UK/British elections, to contribute to how that money was spent.
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+
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+ Just after dawn on April 19, 1775, the British attempted to disarm the Massachusetts militia at Concord, Massachusetts[source?], this beginning the war with the "Shot Heard Round the World." On July 4, 1776, Founding Fathers wrote the United States Declaration of Independence. They won the Revolutionary War and started a new country. They signed the constitution in 1787 and the Bill of Rights in 1791. General George Washington, who had led the war, became its first president. During the 19th century, the United States gained much more land in the West and began to become industrialized. In 1861, several states in the South attempted to leave the United States to start a new country called the Confederate States of America. This caused the American Civil War. After the war, Immigration resumed. Some Americans became very rich in this Gilded Age, and the country developed one of the largest economies in the world.
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+
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+ In the early 20th century, the United States became a world power, fighting in World War I and World War II. Between the wars, there was an economic boom called the Roaring Twenties, when many people became richer, and a bust, called the Great Depression, when most were poorer. The Great Depression ended with World War II.
8
+
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+ The United States and the Soviet Union entered the Cold War. This included wars in Korea and Vietnam. During this time, African-Americans, Chicanos, and women sought more rights. In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States started to make fewer things in factories. The country then went through the worst recession it had since the Great Depression. In the late 1980s, the Cold War ended, helping the United States out of recession. The Middle East became more important in American foreign policy, especially after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
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+
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+ The Pre-Columbian Era is the time before Christopher Columbus went to the Americas in 1492. At that time, Native Americans lived on the land that is now controlled by the United States. They had various cultures: Native Americans in the Eastern Woodlands hunted game and deer; Native Americans in the Northwest fished; Native Americans in the Southwest grew corn and built houses called pueblos; and Native Americans in the Great Plains hunted Bison.[1][2] Around the year 1000, the Vikings visited Newfoundland. However, they did not settle there.[3]
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+
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+ The English tried to settle at Roanoke Island in 1585.[4] The settlement did not last, and no one knows what happened to the people. In 1607, the first lasting English settlement was made at Jamestown, Virginia, by John Smith, John Rolfe and other Englishmen interested in gold and adventure.[5] In its early years, many people in Virginia died of disease and starvation. The colony in Virginia lasted because it made money by planting tobacco.[6]
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+
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+ In 1621, a group of Englishmen called the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts.[7] A bigger colony was built at Massachusetts Bay by the Puritans in 1630.[8] The Pilgrims and the Puritans were interested in making a better society, not looking for gold. They called this ideal society a "city on a hill".[9] A man named Roger Williams left Massachusetts after disagreeing with the Puritans, and started the colony of Rhode Island in 1636.[10]
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+
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+ Great Britain was not the only country to settle what would become the United States. In the 1500s, Spain built a fort at Saint Augustine, Florida.[11] France settled Louisiana, and the area around the Great Lakes. The Dutch settled New York, which they called New Netherland. Other areas were settled by Scotch-Irish, Germans, and Swedes.[12][13] However, in time Britain controlled all of the colonies, and most American colonists adopted the British way of life. The growth of the colonies was not good for Native Americans.[14] Many of them died of smallpox, a disease brought to America by the Europeans. The ones who lived lost their lands to the colonists.[14]
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+
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+ In the early 1700s, there was a religious movement in the colonies called the Great Awakening.[15] Preachers such as Jonathan Edwards preached sermons.[15] One of them was called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". The Great Awakening may have led to the thinking used in the American Revolution.[16]
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+
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+ By 1733, there were thirteen colonies. New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Charleston were the largest cities and main ports at that time.[17]
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+
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+ From 1756 to 1763, England and France fought a war over their land in America called the Seven Years' War or the French and Indian War, which the British won.[18] After the war, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 said that the colonists could not live west of the Appalachian Mountains. Many colonists who wanted to move to the frontier did not like the Proclamation.[19]
24
+
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+ After the French and Indian War, the colonists began to think that they were not getting their "rights as freeborn Englishman".[20] This meant they wanted to be treated fairly by the English government. This was mainly caused by new taxes the British made the colonies pay to pay for the war.[21] Americans called this "No taxation without representation", meaning that the colonists should not have to pay taxes unless they had votes in the British Parliament.[21] Each tax was disliked, and replaced by another which led to more unity between the colonies. In 1770, colonists in Boston known as the Sons of Liberty got in a fight with British soldiers. This became known as the Boston Massacre.[22] After the Tea Act, the Sons of Liberty dumped hundreds of boxes of tea in the sea. This was known as the Boston Tea Party (1773).[23][24] This led to the British Army taking over Boston.[25] After that, leaders of the 13 colonies formed a group called the Continental Congress.[26] Many people were members of the Continental Congress, but some of the more important ones were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Roger Sherman and John Jay.[27]
26
+
27
+ In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. It argued that the colonies should be free of English rule.[28] This was based on the English ideas of natural rights and social contract put forth by John Locke and others.[29] On July 4, 1776, people from the 13 colonies agreed to the United States Declaration of Independence. This said that they were free and independent states, and were not part of England any more.[30] The colonists were already fighting Britain in the Revolutionary War at this time. The Revolutionary War started in 1775 at Lexington and Concord.[31] Though American soldiers under George Washington lost many battles to the British, they won a major victory at Saratoga in 1777.[32] This led to France and Spain joining the war on the side of the Americans. In 1781, an American victory at Yorktown helped by the French led Britain to decide to stop fighting and give up the colonies.[33] America had won the war and its independence.
28
+
29
+ In 1781, the colonies formed a confederation of states under the Articles of Confederation, but it lasted only six years. It gave almost all the power to the states and very little to the central government.[34] The confederation had no president. It could not remove Native Americans or the British from the frontier, nor could it stop mob uprisings such as Shays' Rebellion.[35] After Shays' Rebellion, many people thought the Articles of Confederation were not working.[36]
30
+
31
+ In 1787, a constitution was written. Many of the people who helped write the Constitution, such as Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris, were among the major thinkers in America at the time.[13] Some of these men would later hold important offices in the new government. The constitution created a stronger national government that had three branches: executive (the President and his staff), legislative (the House of Representatives and the Senate), and judicial (the federal courts).[37]
32
+
33
+ Some states agreed to the Constitution very quickly. In other states, many people did not like the Constitution because it gave more power to the central government and had no bill of rights.[38][39] To try and get the Constitution passed, Madison, Hamilton and Jay wrote a series of newspaper articles called the Federalist Papers.[38][39] Very soon after, the Bill of Rights was added. This was a set of 10 amendments (changes), that limited the government's power and guaranteed rights to the citizens.[40] Like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution is a social contract between the people and the government.[41] The main idea of the Constitution is that the government is a republic (a representative democracy) elected by the people, who all have the same rights. However, this was not true at first, when only white males who owned property could vote.[42] Because of state laws as well as the 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments, almost all American citizens who are at least 18 years old can vote today.[37]
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+
35
+ In 1789, Washington was elected the first President. He defined how a person should act as President and retired after two terms.[43] During Washington's term, there was a Whiskey Rebellion, where country farmers tried to stop the government from collecting taxes on whiskey.[44] In 1795, Congress passed the Jay Treaty, which allowed for increased trade with Britain in exchange for the British giving up their forts on the Great Lakes.[45] However, Great Britain was still doing things that hurt the U.S., such as impressment (making American sailors join the British Royal Navy).[46]
36
+
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+ John Adams defeated Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1796 to become the second President of the United States. This was the first American election that was between two political parties.[47] As president, Adams made the army and navy larger.[48] He also got the Alien and Sedition Acts passed, which were much disliked.[49]
38
+
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+ In the election of 1800, Jefferson defeated Adams. One of the most important things he did as President was to make the Louisiana Purchase from France, which made the United States twice as big.[50] Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to map the Louisiana Purchase.[13] Jefferson also tried to stop trade with England and France so that the United States would not become involved in a war the two countries were fighting.[51] Fighting broke out between the United States and England in 1812 when James Madison was President. This was called the War of 1812.[52]
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+
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+ One of the problems of this period was slavery. By 1861, over three million African-Americans were enslaved in the South.[53] This means that they worked for other people, but had no freedom and received no money for their work. Most worked picking cotton on large plantations. Cotton became the main crop in the South after Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793.[54] There were a few slave rebellions against slavery, including one led by Nat Turner. All of these rebellions failed.[55] The South wanted to keep slavery, but by the time of the Civil War, many people in the North wanted to end it.[56] Another argument between the North and South was about the role of government. The South wanted stronger state governments, but the North wanted a stronger central government.[56]
42
+
43
+ After the War of 1812 the Federalist Party faded away, leaving an "Era of Good Feelings" in which only one party was important, under Presidents James Madison and James Monroe.[57] Under Monroe, the United States' policy in North America was the Monroe Doctrine, which suggested that Europe should stop trying to control the United States and other independent countries in the Americas.[58] Around this time, Congress called for something called the "American System".[59] The American System meant spending money on banking, transportation and communication. Due to the American System, bigger cities and more factories were built.[60] One of the big transportation projects of this time was the Erie Canal, a canal in the state of New York.[61] By the 1840s, railroads were built as well as canals. By 1860, thousands of miles of railroads and telegraph lines had been built in the United States, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest.[62]
44
+
45
+ In the early 19th century, the industrial revolution came to America. Many factories were built in Northern cities such as Lowell, Massachusetts.[13] Most of them made clothes. Many factory workers were women, and some were children or people from Ireland or Germany.[63][64] Despite this industrialization, America was still a nation of farmers.[65]
46
+
47
+ In the early and mid-1800s, there was a religious movement called the Second Great Awakening. Thousands of people gathered at large religious meetings called revivals.[66] They thought they could bring about a Golden Age in America through religion.[67] New religious movements such as the Holiness Movement and the Mormons started, and groups like the Methodist Church grew.[68] The Second Great Awakening led to two movements in reform, that is, changing laws and behaviors to make society better.[69] One of these was the Temperance Movement, which believed that drinking alcohol was evil. The other was abolitionism, which tried to end slavery. People such as Harriet Beecher Stowe and William Lloyd Garrison wrote books and newspapers saying that slavery should stop.[13] They also formed political movements, which included the Liberty Party, the Free Soil Party and the Republican Party.[70] Some abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass, were former slaves. By 1820, slavery was very rare in the North, but continued in the South.[13]
48
+
49
+ In the 19th century, there was something called the “cult of domesticity” for many American women. This meant that most married women were expected to stay in the home and raise children.[71] As in other countries, American wives were very much under the control of their husband, and had almost no rights. Women who were not married had only a few jobs open to them, such as working in clothing factories and serving as maids.[72] By the 19th century, women such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton thought that women should have more rights. In 1848, many of these women met and agreed to fight for more rights for women, including voting.[73] Many of the women involved in the movement for women’s rights were also involved in the movement to end slavery.[13]
50
+
51
+ In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected President. He was the first president elected from the Democratic Party. He changed the government in many ways. Since many of his supporters were poor people who had not voted before, he rewarded them with government jobs, which is called "spoils" or "patronage".[13] Because of Jackson, a new party was formed to run against him called the Whigs. This was called the "Second Party System".[74] Jackson was very much against the National Bank. He saw it as a symbol of Whigs and of powerful American businessmen.[13][75] Jackson also called for a high import tax that the South did not like. They called it the "Tariff of Abominations".[56] Jackson’s Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, was from the South. He wrote that the South should stop the tariff and perhaps leave the Union (secession). These words would be used again during the Civil War.[56]
52
+
53
+ People started to move west of the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains at this time. The first people who moved west were people who caught and sold animal skins such as John Colter and Jim Bridger.[76][77] By the 1840s, many people were moving to Oregon by wagon, and even more people went west after the California Gold Rush of 1849.[78][79] Many new states were added to the first thirteen, mostly in the Midwest and South before the Civil War and in the West after the Civil War. During this period, Native Americans lost much of their land. They had lost military battles to the Americans at Tippecanoe and in the Seminole War.[80] In the 1830s, Indians were being pushed out of the Midwest and South by events such as the Trail of Tears and the Black Hawk War.[81] By the 1840s, most Native Americans had been moved west of the Mississippi River.
54
+
55
+ In 1845, Texas, which was a nation after it left Mexico, joined the United States.[82] Mexico did not like this, and the Americans wanted the land Mexico had on the West Coast (“Manifest Destiny”).[83] This led to the U.S. and Mexico fighting a war called the Mexican-American War. During the war, the U.S captured the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Monterrey, Veracruz and Mexico City.[84] As a result of the war, the U.S. gained land in California and much of the American Southwest. Many people in the North did not like this war, because they thought it was just good for Southern slave states.[85]
56
+
57
+ In the 1840s and 1850s, people in the Northern states and people in the Southern states did not agree whether slavery was right or wrong in the territories—parts of the United States that were not yet states.[86] People in the government tried to make deals to stop a war. Some deals were the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, but they did not really work to keep the Union together.[87] People in the South were angry at books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin that said that slavery was wrong. People in the North did not like a Supreme Court decision called Dred Scott that kept Scott a slave.[88] People from the South and people from the North started killing each other in Kansas over slavery. This was called "Bleeding Kansas".[13] One of the people from Bleeding Kansas, John Brown, took over a town in Virginia in 1859 to make a point about slavery being wrong and to try to get slaves to fight their owners.[89]
58
+
59
+ In the election of 1860, the Democratic Party split and the Republican candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln, was elected. After this, many Southern states left the Union. Eventually, eleven states left. They tried to start a new country called the Confederate States of America, or the "Confederacy".[90] A war started between the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South). Not having factories made it harder for Southern soldiers to get guns or uniforms.[91] The South could not get supplies because Northern ships blockaded the Southern coast.[92]
60
+
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+ Early in the war, Confederate generals such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson won battles over Union generals such as George B. McClellan and Ambrose Burnside.[93] In 1862 and 1863, the Union Army tried to take the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia several times, but failed each time.[94] Lee's army invaded the North twice, but was turned back at Antietam and Gettysburg.[92] In the middle of war, Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the Confederacy, and started letting black men fight in the Union Army.[95] The war started going the Union’s way after the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863. Gettysburg stopped Lee from invading the North, and Vicksburg gave the Union control over the Mississippi River.[92] In 1864, a Union Army under William T. Sherman marched through Georgia and destroyed much of it.[96] By 1865, Union General Ulysses S. Grant had taken Richmond and forced Lee to give up the fight at Appomattox.[97]
62
+
63
+ In April 1865, Lincoln was shot and killed while watching a play. The new president, Andrew Johnson, had to go through the process of reconstruction, which was putting the United States back together after the Civil War. During this time, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution were passed, freeing slaves, making them citizens and allowing them to vote.[98] Congress was run by "Radical Republicans", who wanted to punish the South after the Civil War.[99] They did not like Johnson, and almost removed him from office.[99] They also sent many soldiers to the South, installed unpopular "scalawag" governments, and made the South pass the 14th and 15th Amendments.[100] The South did not like this, so they made "Jim Crow" laws that placed blacks in lower roles.[101] White Southerners started a group called the Ku Klux Klan that attacked blacks and stopped them from voting.[102]
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+
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+ During this time, many people moved to the United States from other countries, such as Ireland, Italy, Germany, Eastern Europe, and China.[103] Many of them worked in large factories and lived in big cities, such as New York City, Chicago, and Boston, often in small, poor, close-together apartments called "tenements" or "slums".[104] They often were used by "political machines", who gave them jobs and money in exchange for votes.[104]
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+
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+ Major politicians were chosen by political machines and were corrupt.[105] The government could do little and leaders of big businesses often had more power than the government.[105] At this time, there were several very big businesses called trusts. People who ran trusts made millions of dollars while paying their workers low wages. Some of these people were John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan.[106]
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+
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+ After the Civil War, people continued to move west where new states were formed. People now could get free land in the West due to an 1862 law called the Homestead Act.[107] Most of the land in the West was owned by the government, railroads, or large farmers.[13] The Transcontinental Railroad, finished in 1869, helped get people and goods from the west to the rest of the country. Chicago became the center of trade between West and East because many rail lines met there.[108] There were problems between the white settlers and the native Indians as more people began to move west. Because of this, many more Indians were killed at battles such as Wounded Knee.[109] Almost all the Indians' land was taken away by laws like the Dawes Act.[110]
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+
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+ Many Americans thought the railroads charged farmers so much money that it made them poor.[111] Workers led several strikes against the railroad that were put down by the army. Also, farmers started groups to fight the railroad, such as the Grange.[112] These groups became the Populist Movement, which almost won the presidency under William Jennings Bryan. The Populists wanted reforms such as an income tax and direct election of Senators.[113] The Populist Party died out after 1896. Many of the things the Populists wanted would happen during the Progressive Era.[114]
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+
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+ In the United States, progressivism is the belief that the government should have a larger role in the economy to provide good living standards for people, especially workers.[115] Imperialism was the belief that the U.S. should build a stronger navy and conquer land.
74
+
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+ In the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries, the U.S. started being more active in foreign affairs. In 1898, the United States fought a war with Spain called the Spanish–American War. The United States won, and gained Puerto Rico, Guam, Guantanamo and the Philippines.[116] Combined with the purchase of Alaska and the taking-over of Hawaii, the United States had gained all the territory it has today, plus some it would later lose after World War II.[117] Around this time, the U.S. and European nations opened up trade with China. This was because they had beaten China in the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion. The U.S. and Europe were able to trade with China through the Open Door Policy.[118]
76
+
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+ In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became President. He had been a soldier in the Spanish–American War. He called for a foreign policy known as the "Big Stick".[119] This meant having a large navy and exercising control over Latin America.[120][121] Between 1901 and 1930, the United States sent soldiers into Latin America several times.[121] When Roosevelt was president, work was begun on the Panama Canal, a link between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that made travel around the world much faster.[122]
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+
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+ During this time, people started to notice the poor condition of American cities. A group of people called the “muckrakers” wrote books and newspaper articles about subjects like the power of big business, unclean practices in factories, and the condition of poor people.[13] Roosevelt and Congress answered their concerns with laws such as the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Act controlled the way food was made to make sure it was safe.[123] Another response to the muckrakers was something called "trust-busting", where big businesses were broken up into smaller ones.[124] The biggest business broken up this way was the Standard Oil Company in 1911.[125]
80
+
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+ In 1912, Woodrow Wilson became President. He was a Progressive, but not quite the same as Roosevelt.[126][127] He fought the "triple wall of privilege", which was big business, taxes, and fees on goods coming into the United States.[13] During this time, the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were passed. They allowed for a federal income tax and direct election of U.S. Senators.[128]
82
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+ The United States did not want to enter World War I[129] but wanted to sell weapons to both sides. In 1915 a German submarine sank a ship carrying Americans called the Lusitania.[129] This angered Americans, and Germany stopped attacking passenger ships. In January 1917 Germany started attacking them again, and sent the Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico about invading the U.S.[130] The United States joined the war against Germany, and it ended a year later. Wilson worked to create an international organization called the League of Nations. The main goal of the League was preventing war.[131] However, the United States did not join because isolationists rejected the peace treaty.[132] At the end of World War I, a flu pandemic killed millions of people in the U.S. and Europe.[133] After the war, the United States was one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world.[134]
84
+
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+ The 1920s were an era of growth and increased wealth for the United States. Many Americans began buying consumer products, such as Model T Fords and appliances.[136] Advertising became very important to American life.[136] During this time, many black people moved out of the South and into large cities such as New York City, Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles.[137] They brought with them jazz music, which is why the 1920s are called the "Jazz Age".[136] The 1920s were also the Prohibition Era after the Eighteenth Amendment passed.[138] During the 1920s, drinking alcohol was illegal, but many Americans drank it anyway.[136] This led to much rum-running and violent crime.[136]
86
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+ Racism was strong in the 1920s. The Ku Klux Klan was powerful once again, and attacked black people, Catholics, Jews and immigrants.[139] People blamed the war and problems in business on immigrants and labor leaders, whom they said were Bolsheviks (Russian communists).[13][140] Many people also thought that the United States had lost touch with religion. They handled that by changing religion, and some of them by attacking science.[136]
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+ After World War I, the United States had an isolationist foreign policy. That meant it did not want to enter into another global war. It passed laws and treaties that supposedly would end war forever, and refused to sell weapons to its former allies.[141]
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+ In 1921, Warren G. Harding became President. He believed that the best way to make the economy good was for the government to be friendly to big business by cutting taxes and regulating less.[142] While the economy was doing very well under these policies, America had the largest difference between how much money the rich had and how much money the poor had.[143] Harding's presidency had several problems. The biggest one was Teapot Dome over oil drilling in the Navy Oil Reserve.[144] Harding died in 1923, and Calvin Coolidge became President. Coolidge believed that the government should keep out of business, just like Harding, and continued many of Harding's policies.[135] Coolidge chose not to seek the presidency in 1928 and Herbert Hoover became president.[145]
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+ In 1929, a Great Depression hit the United States. The stock market crashed (lost much of its value). Many banks ran out of money and closed.[146] By 1932, over a quarter of the nation had no jobs, and much of the nation was poor or unemployed.[147] Many people were driven off farms, not only because of the Depression, but also because of a storm known as the "Dust Bowl" and because farmers had not been doing well during the 1920s.[148]
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+ President Hoover tried to do something about the Depression, but it did not work.[149] In 1932, he was defeated and Franklin D. Roosevelt became President. He created the New Deal. It was a series of government programs which would give relief (to the people who were hurt by the bad economy), recovery (to make the economy better), and reform (to make sure a depression never happens again).[150]
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+ The New Deal had many programs such as Social Security, the National Recovery Administration (regulated wages), Works Progress Administration (built thousands of roads, schools, government buildings and works of art), the Civilian Conservation Corps (gave young people jobs to help the environment), and Tennessee Valley Authority (built dams and electric lines in the South).[148] These programs put millions of Americans to work, though often at low pay.[151][152] Many of these programs were started early in Roosevelt's term in a time called the "Hundred Days" or in 1935 in a time called the "Second New Deal".[153] Programs like Social Security grew out of populist movements by people such as Huey Long that were called "Share Our Wealth" and "Ham and Eggs".[153] The New Deal also led to the rise of worker's unions such as the Congress of Industrial Organizations.[13]
98
+
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+ The New Deal is often called the period that "saved capitalism", and stopped America from becoming a Communist or Fascist state.[148] Although the New Deal improved the economy, it did not end the Great Depression. The Great Depression was ended by World War II.[154]
100
+
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+ As World War II was beginning, the United States said they would not get involved in it. Most Americans thought the United States should remain neutral, and some people thought the United States should enter the war on the side of the Germans.[13][141] Eventually, the U.S. did try to help the Allied Powers (Soviet Union, Britain, and France) with the Lend Lease Act. It gave the Allies a lot of money and guns in trade for use of air bases throughout the world.[155]
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+
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+ On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, a U.S.Naval base in Hawaii.[156] The U.S. was no longer neutral, and it declared war on the Axis Powers (Germany, Japan, Italy). The U.S. entering World War II ended the Great Depression because the war created many jobs.[154] While some of the battles the U.S. fought in were air and naval battles with Japan, the U.S. mainly fought in Europe and Africa.[157] The U.S. opened up several fronts, including in North Africa and Italy.[157] The U.S. also bombed Germany from airplanes, blowing up German cities and factories.[157] On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), American and British forces invaded Normandy. A year later, the Allies had freed France and taken Berlin.[153] In 1945, Roosevelt died, and Harry Truman became president. The U.S. decided to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. Japan gave up soon afterwards, and the war ended.
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+ The war meant different things for women and minorities. During the war, many women worked in weapons factories. They were symbolized by a character called "Rosie the Riveter".[158][159] Many African-Americans served in the army, but often in segregated units with white officers.[160] Japanese-Americans on the West Coast were forced to live in internment camps, though a few also served in the Army.[161]
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+ After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States were the two most powerful countries left in the world. The Cold War was a period of tension between the two countries over ways of life. The two countries tried to get other countries on their side. The Soviet Union tried to get countries to become Communist and the United States tried to stop them from being Communist.[162] American and Soviet soldiers never fought in battles, but they fought indirectly in the Korean War (1950s) and the Vietnam War (1950s–1970s).[163]
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+
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+ The Korean War lasted only a few years, but led to American soldiers being in Korea since then.[164] The Vietnam War lasted much longer. It started with a few American troops in Vietnam, but by the 1960s thousands of Americans were being sent to Vietnam.[165] Both wars were between a Northern Communist government helped by the Soviet Union and Communist China and a Southern government helped by the U.S. The Korean War resulted in a split Korea, but the Vietnam War resulted in a Communist Vietnam after the United States left due to American people wanting to end the war.[166] Over a quarter million Americans died or were wounded in Vietnam, which was very much a military failure.[167] The U.S. and Soviet Union argued about where they could place nuclear weapons. One of these arguments was the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. and Soviet Union came very close to attacking each other with nuclear weapons.[168]
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+
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+ During the Cold War, the United States had a "Red Scare" where the government tried to find people it thought were Communist. The House of Representatives had a group called the House Un-American Activities Committee to deal with this, and Joseph McCarthy led hearings in the Senate.[169] The Red Scare led to people losing their jobs, going to jail, and even being executed.[170] Many actors and authors were put on blacklists, which meant they could not get jobs in movies or get credit for their writings.[13][171]
112
+
113
+ The Cold War began with an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could have more and better weapons. This started after the Soviets were the second country to develop an atomic bomb.[172] In the United States, this started something called the "Military Industrial Complex", which meant business and government working together to spend a lot of money on large-scale weapons projects. Business and government helped each other to get more money and more power.[173] Part of the Complex was something called the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe while making them buy American goods.[174] The Complex allowed for a growing middle class, but also kept the Cold War going.[173]
114
+
115
+ Besides the arms race, another part of the Cold War was the "Space Race". This started when the Soviets launched a satellite into space called Sputnik in 1957.[175] Americans became worried that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union, and made their schools focus more on mathematics and science.[176] Within a few years, both the United States and the Soviet Union had sent satellites, animals and people into orbit.[175] In 1969 the Apollo 11 mission put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon.[177]
116
+
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+ United States foreign policy changed in the 1970s when the United States left Vietnam and Richard Nixon left office due to a political scandal called Watergate.[13] In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States had a policy of "detente" with the Soviet Union. This meant that the two countries signed treaties to stop use of weapons.[178] Under Nixon and Reagan, the United States sent troops and money to many Latin American governments to stop them from being Communist.[121] This led to violence in Latin America.[121] Around this time, the economy suffered because the United States was not making as many things as it used to, and because some countries in the Middle East were not giving the U.S. as much oil as it wanted (this was called an "oil embargo").[162] The Middle East became very important in American foreign policy after several Americans were kidnapped in Iran in 1979.[179] In the 1980s, people in the U.S. government sold weapons to people in Iran and gave the money to "contra" soldiers in Nicaragua.[180] This was called the "Iran-Contra affair". In the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. normalized relations with China.[181] The Cold War came to an end as Communist governments in the Soviet Union and other countries fell apart.[182]
118
+
119
+ The United States once again had prosperity. Millions of white people moved out of the cities and into suburbs, and into Southern and Western states known as the "Sunbelt".[183] They bought new cars and television sets.[184] The birth rate in the 1940s and 1950s rose, in what was called the "Baby Boom"[185] The "Space Age" inspired "Googie" style art and architecture.[186] Many more people became part of the middle class, but there were still many people who were poor.[187]
120
+
121
+ Poverty was most common among African-Americans. Most lived in poor neighborhoods in Northern cities, or in the South where they faced racism and "Jim Crow" segregation.[13] These conditions led to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, led by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. In 1954, the Supreme Court found school segregation illegal in Brown v. Board of Education, though it would be several years before school segregation was ended.[188] In 1955, King led a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.[189] In the late 1950s and 1960s, King got help from Presidents John F. Kennedy, who was shot, and Lyndon B. Johnson.[190] In 1963, he led a march on Washington calling for civil rights. Soon after, Congress passed laws that made most segregation illegal.[191] Johnson also passed a program called the Great Society that helped poor people and minorities.[192]
122
+
123
+ Gays and lesbians, who had often been persecuted, also started to ask for rights, beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969.[193] Chicanos, Native Americans, old people, consumers, and people with disabilities also fought for rights, as did women. Though women had had jobs during World War II, most of them went back to the home after the war.[194] Women did not like that they often held jobs that paid less than men or that fewer opportunities were open to them.[195] People like Betty Freidan and Gloria Steinem founded groups such as the National Organization for Women to try and solve these problems. NOW and other groups wanted an Equal Rights Amendment that would guarantee them equality in all areas.[196] In the 1970s and 1980s, many more jobs and opportunities were opened to women. There were some women like Phyllis Schlafly who opposed Freidan and Steinem and were known as "anti-feminists".[197] It was partly because of the anti-feminists that the Equal Rights Amendment was defeated, but also because women had already gained equality in many areas and they did not want to be drafted into the army.[197]
124
+
125
+ In the 1960s, the counterculture was created.[198] Some of the followers of the counterculture were called hippies. They had long hair, and lived communally, smoking marijuana and practicing free love.[199] The counterculture, along with college students, were the groups most against the Vietnam War.[200] They also were the groups that listened to new music known as rock and roll.[201]
126
+
127
+ In 1973, the Supreme Court issued a decision called Roe v. Wade, which made many abortions legal.[202] The many changes led to a reaction by Jerry Falwell and other conservatives who called themselves the "Religious Right" and the "Moral Majority".[203]
128
+
129
+ Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980. He defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter by winning 44 out of the 50 American states.[13] During the Reagan Era, the country was facing through inflation, a bad economy, and the American foreign policy were not as good. When Ronald Reagan became president, he signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 which lowered taxes for corporations, supposedly so they could reinvest the surplus profits back into business. During Reagan's presidency, he expanded the American military creating more jobs, but also raising the deficit due to overspending. During his first term, the economy went from a 4.5% to 7.2%.
130
+
131
+ In 1984, Reagan won in a major landslide by winning 49 out of the 50 American states. During his second term, Reagan focused on ending the Cold War. He held many meetings between Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. They first met at the Geneva Summit in 1985. Later they both discovered their passion of ending the war. Reagan met four times with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who ascended to power in 1985, and their summit conferences led to the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
132
+
133
+ Also during his second term, Reagan's Invasion of Grenada and bombing of Libya were popular in the US, though his backing of the Contras rebels was mired in the controversy over the Iran–Contra affair that revealed Reagan's poor management style.[205]
134
+
135
+ Since leaving office in 1989, Reagan became one of the most popular Presidents of the United States.[13]
136
+
137
+ In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Cold War came to an end. This was due to the Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev starting a policy called perestroika, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Soviet Union breaking into different countries.[206] Around this time, the United States cut down on its production of cheap goods, and had many people working in service jobs.[207] Part of these service jobs were in computers and the internet, which came into wide use in the 1990s.[208] By this time, the United States had a very large trade deficit, meaning it received more goods from other countries, such as China, than it sent to other countries.[209]
138
+
139
+ The Middle East became the main focus of U.S. foreign policy.[210] In 1991, the United States fought a war with Iraq called the First Gulf War or Operation Desert Storm. This was to stop Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from occupying Kuwait, a small oil-producing country.
140
+
141
+ In 1992, Bill Clinton became President. Under Clinton, the United States sent soldiers into Bosnia as part of a United Nations mission.[13] The United States also agreed to a trade pact called the North American Free Trade Agreement (and repealed Glass–Steagall Legislation).[211] Clinton was impeached for lying in court about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, but the Senate voted against removing him as President.[212]
142
+
143
+ In 2000, George W. Bush was elected President. Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Thousands of people died. Soon after the attacks, the U.S. and NATO went to Afghanistan to find Osama bin Laden and others who they believed planned the September 11 attacks. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have lasted many years. By 2011, most American soldiers had left Iraq, and combat there was over.
144
+
145
+ In 2005, the southern United States was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Much of the city of New Orleans was destroyed. In 2006, the Democrats won back Congress because Americans did not like the way Bush dealt with War in Iraq or Katrina. At the end of Bush's term, the United States entered the worst recession since the Great Depression.
146
+
147
+ Barack Obama was elected President in 2008. He became the first African-American President of the United States. During his first years in office, Obama and Congress passed reforms on health care and banking. They also passed a large stimulus bill to help the economy during the recession. During the recession, the government used large amounts of money to keep the banking and auto industries from falling apart. There was also a large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2010, Congress passed the Patient Protecton and Affordable Care Act, a sweeping overhaul of the health care system. Dubbed "Obamacare", it was faced with fierce criticism from conservative media.
148
+
149
+ A "Tea Party movement" started during Obama's presidency. This group opposes Obama's health care plan and other policies they see as "big government." Due to the recession, the Tea Party and a dislike of what Obama did, Republicans won a large number of House and Senate seats in the 2010 election. In 2011, Tea Party members of Congress almost shut down the government and sent the U.S. into default (not being able to pay people the government owes money). A few months later, many young people protested against organized and concentrated wealth during the Occupy movement. In 2012, Obama was reelected to a second term. Following reelection, Obama faced major obstruction from Congressional Republicans. This polarization in the political atmosphere and the media, lead to events such as the 2013 Federal Government Shutdown and the stalling of Obama's Supreme Court pick, Judge Merrick Garland to replace Justice Antonio Scalia. In 2014, Republicans took control of both houses of Congress, further adding to the gridlock. In foreign policy, President Obama helped crafted the Paris Climate Agreement, a major global commitment to fighting climate change. He also forged the Iran Nuclear Agreement and opened relations with Cuba for the first time in fifty years.
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+ The United States presidential election, 2016 attracted much attention. Main popular candidates of the election were Republicans Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump and Clinton won their respective primaries. On November 9, 2016, Trump defeated Clinton. Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017. Afterwards, there were many protests against Trump across the country.
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+ On January 27, President Trump signed an executive order that stopped refugees from entering the country for 120 days and denied entry to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days, citing security concerns about terrorism. The next day, thousands of protesters gathered at airports and other locations throughout the United States to protest the signing of the order and detainment of the foreign nationals.[213] Later, the administration seemed to reverse a portion of part of the order, effectively exempting visitors with a green card.[214]
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+ On April 7, 2017, Trump ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea into Syria, aimed at Shayrat Air Base as a defense after the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack.[215]
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+ On May 3, 2017, Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy after a massive debt and weak economy.[216] It is the largest bankruptcy case in American history.[216]
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+ On September 24, 2019, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives would begin an impeachment inquiry into Trump. On October 31, 2019, the House voted 232–196 to created procedures for public hearings.[217] On December 16, the House Judiciary Committee released a report specifying criminal bribery and wire fraud charges as part of the abuse of power charge.[218] The house voted to impeach Trump on December 18, 2019, making him the third president in American history to be impeached.[219]
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+ The United States faces many political issues. One of these is what kind of government the United States should become. Liberals want a large government, while the Tea Party and other groups want a smaller government.[220] One of these debates is over health care. Health care costs have risen.[221] Conservatives and liberals also disagree on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.[222][223] Many more people have come to accept gays and gay marriage as an acceptable part of American society. There are also many trends and developments that the U.S. must deal with. One of these is immigration. Many people are coming to the U.S. from Latin America and Asia, especially Mexico. This is called the "browning of America".[224][225] Baby Boomer Americans are getting older and a larger fraction of the people are retired.[226][227] Other issues facing the United States are a growing concern about the environment. This has led to the creation of many "green jobs," or jobs that create clean or renewable energy.[228][229]
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1
+ The history of the United States is what happened in the past in the United States, a country in North America.
2
+
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+ Native Americans lived in the Americas for thousands of years. English people in 1607 went to the place now called Jamestown, Virginia. Other European settlers went to the colonies, mostly from England and later Great Britain. France, Spain, and the Netherlands also colonized North America. In 1775, a war between the thirteen colonies and Britain began when the colonists were upset over paying taxation to their government in the UK, but were not being given any chance to vote in the UK/British elections, to contribute to how that money was spent.
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+
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+ Just after dawn on April 19, 1775, the British attempted to disarm the Massachusetts militia at Concord, Massachusetts[source?], this beginning the war with the "Shot Heard Round the World." On July 4, 1776, Founding Fathers wrote the United States Declaration of Independence. They won the Revolutionary War and started a new country. They signed the constitution in 1787 and the Bill of Rights in 1791. General George Washington, who had led the war, became its first president. During the 19th century, the United States gained much more land in the West and began to become industrialized. In 1861, several states in the South attempted to leave the United States to start a new country called the Confederate States of America. This caused the American Civil War. After the war, Immigration resumed. Some Americans became very rich in this Gilded Age, and the country developed one of the largest economies in the world.
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+
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+ In the early 20th century, the United States became a world power, fighting in World War I and World War II. Between the wars, there was an economic boom called the Roaring Twenties, when many people became richer, and a bust, called the Great Depression, when most were poorer. The Great Depression ended with World War II.
8
+
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+ The United States and the Soviet Union entered the Cold War. This included wars in Korea and Vietnam. During this time, African-Americans, Chicanos, and women sought more rights. In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States started to make fewer things in factories. The country then went through the worst recession it had since the Great Depression. In the late 1980s, the Cold War ended, helping the United States out of recession. The Middle East became more important in American foreign policy, especially after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
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+
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+ The Pre-Columbian Era is the time before Christopher Columbus went to the Americas in 1492. At that time, Native Americans lived on the land that is now controlled by the United States. They had various cultures: Native Americans in the Eastern Woodlands hunted game and deer; Native Americans in the Northwest fished; Native Americans in the Southwest grew corn and built houses called pueblos; and Native Americans in the Great Plains hunted Bison.[1][2] Around the year 1000, the Vikings visited Newfoundland. However, they did not settle there.[3]
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+
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+ The English tried to settle at Roanoke Island in 1585.[4] The settlement did not last, and no one knows what happened to the people. In 1607, the first lasting English settlement was made at Jamestown, Virginia, by John Smith, John Rolfe and other Englishmen interested in gold and adventure.[5] In its early years, many people in Virginia died of disease and starvation. The colony in Virginia lasted because it made money by planting tobacco.[6]
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+
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+ In 1621, a group of Englishmen called the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts.[7] A bigger colony was built at Massachusetts Bay by the Puritans in 1630.[8] The Pilgrims and the Puritans were interested in making a better society, not looking for gold. They called this ideal society a "city on a hill".[9] A man named Roger Williams left Massachusetts after disagreeing with the Puritans, and started the colony of Rhode Island in 1636.[10]
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+
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+ Great Britain was not the only country to settle what would become the United States. In the 1500s, Spain built a fort at Saint Augustine, Florida.[11] France settled Louisiana, and the area around the Great Lakes. The Dutch settled New York, which they called New Netherland. Other areas were settled by Scotch-Irish, Germans, and Swedes.[12][13] However, in time Britain controlled all of the colonies, and most American colonists adopted the British way of life. The growth of the colonies was not good for Native Americans.[14] Many of them died of smallpox, a disease brought to America by the Europeans. The ones who lived lost their lands to the colonists.[14]
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+
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+ In the early 1700s, there was a religious movement in the colonies called the Great Awakening.[15] Preachers such as Jonathan Edwards preached sermons.[15] One of them was called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". The Great Awakening may have led to the thinking used in the American Revolution.[16]
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+
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+ By 1733, there were thirteen colonies. New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Charleston were the largest cities and main ports at that time.[17]
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+
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+ From 1756 to 1763, England and France fought a war over their land in America called the Seven Years' War or the French and Indian War, which the British won.[18] After the war, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 said that the colonists could not live west of the Appalachian Mountains. Many colonists who wanted to move to the frontier did not like the Proclamation.[19]
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+ After the French and Indian War, the colonists began to think that they were not getting their "rights as freeborn Englishman".[20] This meant they wanted to be treated fairly by the English government. This was mainly caused by new taxes the British made the colonies pay to pay for the war.[21] Americans called this "No taxation without representation", meaning that the colonists should not have to pay taxes unless they had votes in the British Parliament.[21] Each tax was disliked, and replaced by another which led to more unity between the colonies. In 1770, colonists in Boston known as the Sons of Liberty got in a fight with British soldiers. This became known as the Boston Massacre.[22] After the Tea Act, the Sons of Liberty dumped hundreds of boxes of tea in the sea. This was known as the Boston Tea Party (1773).[23][24] This led to the British Army taking over Boston.[25] After that, leaders of the 13 colonies formed a group called the Continental Congress.[26] Many people were members of the Continental Congress, but some of the more important ones were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Roger Sherman and John Jay.[27]
26
+
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+ In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. It argued that the colonies should be free of English rule.[28] This was based on the English ideas of natural rights and social contract put forth by John Locke and others.[29] On July 4, 1776, people from the 13 colonies agreed to the United States Declaration of Independence. This said that they were free and independent states, and were not part of England any more.[30] The colonists were already fighting Britain in the Revolutionary War at this time. The Revolutionary War started in 1775 at Lexington and Concord.[31] Though American soldiers under George Washington lost many battles to the British, they won a major victory at Saratoga in 1777.[32] This led to France and Spain joining the war on the side of the Americans. In 1781, an American victory at Yorktown helped by the French led Britain to decide to stop fighting and give up the colonies.[33] America had won the war and its independence.
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+
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+ In 1781, the colonies formed a confederation of states under the Articles of Confederation, but it lasted only six years. It gave almost all the power to the states and very little to the central government.[34] The confederation had no president. It could not remove Native Americans or the British from the frontier, nor could it stop mob uprisings such as Shays' Rebellion.[35] After Shays' Rebellion, many people thought the Articles of Confederation were not working.[36]
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+
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+ In 1787, a constitution was written. Many of the people who helped write the Constitution, such as Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris, were among the major thinkers in America at the time.[13] Some of these men would later hold important offices in the new government. The constitution created a stronger national government that had three branches: executive (the President and his staff), legislative (the House of Representatives and the Senate), and judicial (the federal courts).[37]
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+
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+ Some states agreed to the Constitution very quickly. In other states, many people did not like the Constitution because it gave more power to the central government and had no bill of rights.[38][39] To try and get the Constitution passed, Madison, Hamilton and Jay wrote a series of newspaper articles called the Federalist Papers.[38][39] Very soon after, the Bill of Rights was added. This was a set of 10 amendments (changes), that limited the government's power and guaranteed rights to the citizens.[40] Like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution is a social contract between the people and the government.[41] The main idea of the Constitution is that the government is a republic (a representative democracy) elected by the people, who all have the same rights. However, this was not true at first, when only white males who owned property could vote.[42] Because of state laws as well as the 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments, almost all American citizens who are at least 18 years old can vote today.[37]
34
+
35
+ In 1789, Washington was elected the first President. He defined how a person should act as President and retired after two terms.[43] During Washington's term, there was a Whiskey Rebellion, where country farmers tried to stop the government from collecting taxes on whiskey.[44] In 1795, Congress passed the Jay Treaty, which allowed for increased trade with Britain in exchange for the British giving up their forts on the Great Lakes.[45] However, Great Britain was still doing things that hurt the U.S., such as impressment (making American sailors join the British Royal Navy).[46]
36
+
37
+ John Adams defeated Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1796 to become the second President of the United States. This was the first American election that was between two political parties.[47] As president, Adams made the army and navy larger.[48] He also got the Alien and Sedition Acts passed, which were much disliked.[49]
38
+
39
+ In the election of 1800, Jefferson defeated Adams. One of the most important things he did as President was to make the Louisiana Purchase from France, which made the United States twice as big.[50] Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to map the Louisiana Purchase.[13] Jefferson also tried to stop trade with England and France so that the United States would not become involved in a war the two countries were fighting.[51] Fighting broke out between the United States and England in 1812 when James Madison was President. This was called the War of 1812.[52]
40
+
41
+ One of the problems of this period was slavery. By 1861, over three million African-Americans were enslaved in the South.[53] This means that they worked for other people, but had no freedom and received no money for their work. Most worked picking cotton on large plantations. Cotton became the main crop in the South after Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793.[54] There were a few slave rebellions against slavery, including one led by Nat Turner. All of these rebellions failed.[55] The South wanted to keep slavery, but by the time of the Civil War, many people in the North wanted to end it.[56] Another argument between the North and South was about the role of government. The South wanted stronger state governments, but the North wanted a stronger central government.[56]
42
+
43
+ After the War of 1812 the Federalist Party faded away, leaving an "Era of Good Feelings" in which only one party was important, under Presidents James Madison and James Monroe.[57] Under Monroe, the United States' policy in North America was the Monroe Doctrine, which suggested that Europe should stop trying to control the United States and other independent countries in the Americas.[58] Around this time, Congress called for something called the "American System".[59] The American System meant spending money on banking, transportation and communication. Due to the American System, bigger cities and more factories were built.[60] One of the big transportation projects of this time was the Erie Canal, a canal in the state of New York.[61] By the 1840s, railroads were built as well as canals. By 1860, thousands of miles of railroads and telegraph lines had been built in the United States, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest.[62]
44
+
45
+ In the early 19th century, the industrial revolution came to America. Many factories were built in Northern cities such as Lowell, Massachusetts.[13] Most of them made clothes. Many factory workers were women, and some were children or people from Ireland or Germany.[63][64] Despite this industrialization, America was still a nation of farmers.[65]
46
+
47
+ In the early and mid-1800s, there was a religious movement called the Second Great Awakening. Thousands of people gathered at large religious meetings called revivals.[66] They thought they could bring about a Golden Age in America through religion.[67] New religious movements such as the Holiness Movement and the Mormons started, and groups like the Methodist Church grew.[68] The Second Great Awakening led to two movements in reform, that is, changing laws and behaviors to make society better.[69] One of these was the Temperance Movement, which believed that drinking alcohol was evil. The other was abolitionism, which tried to end slavery. People such as Harriet Beecher Stowe and William Lloyd Garrison wrote books and newspapers saying that slavery should stop.[13] They also formed political movements, which included the Liberty Party, the Free Soil Party and the Republican Party.[70] Some abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass, were former slaves. By 1820, slavery was very rare in the North, but continued in the South.[13]
48
+
49
+ In the 19th century, there was something called the “cult of domesticity” for many American women. This meant that most married women were expected to stay in the home and raise children.[71] As in other countries, American wives were very much under the control of their husband, and had almost no rights. Women who were not married had only a few jobs open to them, such as working in clothing factories and serving as maids.[72] By the 19th century, women such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton thought that women should have more rights. In 1848, many of these women met and agreed to fight for more rights for women, including voting.[73] Many of the women involved in the movement for women’s rights were also involved in the movement to end slavery.[13]
50
+
51
+ In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected President. He was the first president elected from the Democratic Party. He changed the government in many ways. Since many of his supporters were poor people who had not voted before, he rewarded them with government jobs, which is called "spoils" or "patronage".[13] Because of Jackson, a new party was formed to run against him called the Whigs. This was called the "Second Party System".[74] Jackson was very much against the National Bank. He saw it as a symbol of Whigs and of powerful American businessmen.[13][75] Jackson also called for a high import tax that the South did not like. They called it the "Tariff of Abominations".[56] Jackson’s Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, was from the South. He wrote that the South should stop the tariff and perhaps leave the Union (secession). These words would be used again during the Civil War.[56]
52
+
53
+ People started to move west of the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains at this time. The first people who moved west were people who caught and sold animal skins such as John Colter and Jim Bridger.[76][77] By the 1840s, many people were moving to Oregon by wagon, and even more people went west after the California Gold Rush of 1849.[78][79] Many new states were added to the first thirteen, mostly in the Midwest and South before the Civil War and in the West after the Civil War. During this period, Native Americans lost much of their land. They had lost military battles to the Americans at Tippecanoe and in the Seminole War.[80] In the 1830s, Indians were being pushed out of the Midwest and South by events such as the Trail of Tears and the Black Hawk War.[81] By the 1840s, most Native Americans had been moved west of the Mississippi River.
54
+
55
+ In 1845, Texas, which was a nation after it left Mexico, joined the United States.[82] Mexico did not like this, and the Americans wanted the land Mexico had on the West Coast (“Manifest Destiny”).[83] This led to the U.S. and Mexico fighting a war called the Mexican-American War. During the war, the U.S captured the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Monterrey, Veracruz and Mexico City.[84] As a result of the war, the U.S. gained land in California and much of the American Southwest. Many people in the North did not like this war, because they thought it was just good for Southern slave states.[85]
56
+
57
+ In the 1840s and 1850s, people in the Northern states and people in the Southern states did not agree whether slavery was right or wrong in the territories—parts of the United States that were not yet states.[86] People in the government tried to make deals to stop a war. Some deals were the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, but they did not really work to keep the Union together.[87] People in the South were angry at books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin that said that slavery was wrong. People in the North did not like a Supreme Court decision called Dred Scott that kept Scott a slave.[88] People from the South and people from the North started killing each other in Kansas over slavery. This was called "Bleeding Kansas".[13] One of the people from Bleeding Kansas, John Brown, took over a town in Virginia in 1859 to make a point about slavery being wrong and to try to get slaves to fight their owners.[89]
58
+
59
+ In the election of 1860, the Democratic Party split and the Republican candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln, was elected. After this, many Southern states left the Union. Eventually, eleven states left. They tried to start a new country called the Confederate States of America, or the "Confederacy".[90] A war started between the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South). Not having factories made it harder for Southern soldiers to get guns or uniforms.[91] The South could not get supplies because Northern ships blockaded the Southern coast.[92]
60
+
61
+ Early in the war, Confederate generals such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson won battles over Union generals such as George B. McClellan and Ambrose Burnside.[93] In 1862 and 1863, the Union Army tried to take the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia several times, but failed each time.[94] Lee's army invaded the North twice, but was turned back at Antietam and Gettysburg.[92] In the middle of war, Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the Confederacy, and started letting black men fight in the Union Army.[95] The war started going the Union’s way after the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863. Gettysburg stopped Lee from invading the North, and Vicksburg gave the Union control over the Mississippi River.[92] In 1864, a Union Army under William T. Sherman marched through Georgia and destroyed much of it.[96] By 1865, Union General Ulysses S. Grant had taken Richmond and forced Lee to give up the fight at Appomattox.[97]
62
+
63
+ In April 1865, Lincoln was shot and killed while watching a play. The new president, Andrew Johnson, had to go through the process of reconstruction, which was putting the United States back together after the Civil War. During this time, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution were passed, freeing slaves, making them citizens and allowing them to vote.[98] Congress was run by "Radical Republicans", who wanted to punish the South after the Civil War.[99] They did not like Johnson, and almost removed him from office.[99] They also sent many soldiers to the South, installed unpopular "scalawag" governments, and made the South pass the 14th and 15th Amendments.[100] The South did not like this, so they made "Jim Crow" laws that placed blacks in lower roles.[101] White Southerners started a group called the Ku Klux Klan that attacked blacks and stopped them from voting.[102]
64
+
65
+ During this time, many people moved to the United States from other countries, such as Ireland, Italy, Germany, Eastern Europe, and China.[103] Many of them worked in large factories and lived in big cities, such as New York City, Chicago, and Boston, often in small, poor, close-together apartments called "tenements" or "slums".[104] They often were used by "political machines", who gave them jobs and money in exchange for votes.[104]
66
+
67
+ Major politicians were chosen by political machines and were corrupt.[105] The government could do little and leaders of big businesses often had more power than the government.[105] At this time, there were several very big businesses called trusts. People who ran trusts made millions of dollars while paying their workers low wages. Some of these people were John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan.[106]
68
+
69
+ After the Civil War, people continued to move west where new states were formed. People now could get free land in the West due to an 1862 law called the Homestead Act.[107] Most of the land in the West was owned by the government, railroads, or large farmers.[13] The Transcontinental Railroad, finished in 1869, helped get people and goods from the west to the rest of the country. Chicago became the center of trade between West and East because many rail lines met there.[108] There were problems between the white settlers and the native Indians as more people began to move west. Because of this, many more Indians were killed at battles such as Wounded Knee.[109] Almost all the Indians' land was taken away by laws like the Dawes Act.[110]
70
+
71
+ Many Americans thought the railroads charged farmers so much money that it made them poor.[111] Workers led several strikes against the railroad that were put down by the army. Also, farmers started groups to fight the railroad, such as the Grange.[112] These groups became the Populist Movement, which almost won the presidency under William Jennings Bryan. The Populists wanted reforms such as an income tax and direct election of Senators.[113] The Populist Party died out after 1896. Many of the things the Populists wanted would happen during the Progressive Era.[114]
72
+
73
+ In the United States, progressivism is the belief that the government should have a larger role in the economy to provide good living standards for people, especially workers.[115] Imperialism was the belief that the U.S. should build a stronger navy and conquer land.
74
+
75
+ In the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries, the U.S. started being more active in foreign affairs. In 1898, the United States fought a war with Spain called the Spanish–American War. The United States won, and gained Puerto Rico, Guam, Guantanamo and the Philippines.[116] Combined with the purchase of Alaska and the taking-over of Hawaii, the United States had gained all the territory it has today, plus some it would later lose after World War II.[117] Around this time, the U.S. and European nations opened up trade with China. This was because they had beaten China in the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion. The U.S. and Europe were able to trade with China through the Open Door Policy.[118]
76
+
77
+ In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became President. He had been a soldier in the Spanish–American War. He called for a foreign policy known as the "Big Stick".[119] This meant having a large navy and exercising control over Latin America.[120][121] Between 1901 and 1930, the United States sent soldiers into Latin America several times.[121] When Roosevelt was president, work was begun on the Panama Canal, a link between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that made travel around the world much faster.[122]
78
+
79
+ During this time, people started to notice the poor condition of American cities. A group of people called the “muckrakers” wrote books and newspaper articles about subjects like the power of big business, unclean practices in factories, and the condition of poor people.[13] Roosevelt and Congress answered their concerns with laws such as the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Act controlled the way food was made to make sure it was safe.[123] Another response to the muckrakers was something called "trust-busting", where big businesses were broken up into smaller ones.[124] The biggest business broken up this way was the Standard Oil Company in 1911.[125]
80
+
81
+ In 1912, Woodrow Wilson became President. He was a Progressive, but not quite the same as Roosevelt.[126][127] He fought the "triple wall of privilege", which was big business, taxes, and fees on goods coming into the United States.[13] During this time, the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were passed. They allowed for a federal income tax and direct election of U.S. Senators.[128]
82
+
83
+ The United States did not want to enter World War I[129] but wanted to sell weapons to both sides. In 1915 a German submarine sank a ship carrying Americans called the Lusitania.[129] This angered Americans, and Germany stopped attacking passenger ships. In January 1917 Germany started attacking them again, and sent the Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico about invading the U.S.[130] The United States joined the war against Germany, and it ended a year later. Wilson worked to create an international organization called the League of Nations. The main goal of the League was preventing war.[131] However, the United States did not join because isolationists rejected the peace treaty.[132] At the end of World War I, a flu pandemic killed millions of people in the U.S. and Europe.[133] After the war, the United States was one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world.[134]
84
+
85
+ The 1920s were an era of growth and increased wealth for the United States. Many Americans began buying consumer products, such as Model T Fords and appliances.[136] Advertising became very important to American life.[136] During this time, many black people moved out of the South and into large cities such as New York City, Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles.[137] They brought with them jazz music, which is why the 1920s are called the "Jazz Age".[136] The 1920s were also the Prohibition Era after the Eighteenth Amendment passed.[138] During the 1920s, drinking alcohol was illegal, but many Americans drank it anyway.[136] This led to much rum-running and violent crime.[136]
86
+
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+ Racism was strong in the 1920s. The Ku Klux Klan was powerful once again, and attacked black people, Catholics, Jews and immigrants.[139] People blamed the war and problems in business on immigrants and labor leaders, whom they said were Bolsheviks (Russian communists).[13][140] Many people also thought that the United States had lost touch with religion. They handled that by changing religion, and some of them by attacking science.[136]
88
+
89
+ After World War I, the United States had an isolationist foreign policy. That meant it did not want to enter into another global war. It passed laws and treaties that supposedly would end war forever, and refused to sell weapons to its former allies.[141]
90
+
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+ In 1921, Warren G. Harding became President. He believed that the best way to make the economy good was for the government to be friendly to big business by cutting taxes and regulating less.[142] While the economy was doing very well under these policies, America had the largest difference between how much money the rich had and how much money the poor had.[143] Harding's presidency had several problems. The biggest one was Teapot Dome over oil drilling in the Navy Oil Reserve.[144] Harding died in 1923, and Calvin Coolidge became President. Coolidge believed that the government should keep out of business, just like Harding, and continued many of Harding's policies.[135] Coolidge chose not to seek the presidency in 1928 and Herbert Hoover became president.[145]
92
+
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+ In 1929, a Great Depression hit the United States. The stock market crashed (lost much of its value). Many banks ran out of money and closed.[146] By 1932, over a quarter of the nation had no jobs, and much of the nation was poor or unemployed.[147] Many people were driven off farms, not only because of the Depression, but also because of a storm known as the "Dust Bowl" and because farmers had not been doing well during the 1920s.[148]
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+
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+ President Hoover tried to do something about the Depression, but it did not work.[149] In 1932, he was defeated and Franklin D. Roosevelt became President. He created the New Deal. It was a series of government programs which would give relief (to the people who were hurt by the bad economy), recovery (to make the economy better), and reform (to make sure a depression never happens again).[150]
96
+
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+ The New Deal had many programs such as Social Security, the National Recovery Administration (regulated wages), Works Progress Administration (built thousands of roads, schools, government buildings and works of art), the Civilian Conservation Corps (gave young people jobs to help the environment), and Tennessee Valley Authority (built dams and electric lines in the South).[148] These programs put millions of Americans to work, though often at low pay.[151][152] Many of these programs were started early in Roosevelt's term in a time called the "Hundred Days" or in 1935 in a time called the "Second New Deal".[153] Programs like Social Security grew out of populist movements by people such as Huey Long that were called "Share Our Wealth" and "Ham and Eggs".[153] The New Deal also led to the rise of worker's unions such as the Congress of Industrial Organizations.[13]
98
+
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+ The New Deal is often called the period that "saved capitalism", and stopped America from becoming a Communist or Fascist state.[148] Although the New Deal improved the economy, it did not end the Great Depression. The Great Depression was ended by World War II.[154]
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+ As World War II was beginning, the United States said they would not get involved in it. Most Americans thought the United States should remain neutral, and some people thought the United States should enter the war on the side of the Germans.[13][141] Eventually, the U.S. did try to help the Allied Powers (Soviet Union, Britain, and France) with the Lend Lease Act. It gave the Allies a lot of money and guns in trade for use of air bases throughout the world.[155]
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+
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+ On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, a U.S.Naval base in Hawaii.[156] The U.S. was no longer neutral, and it declared war on the Axis Powers (Germany, Japan, Italy). The U.S. entering World War II ended the Great Depression because the war created many jobs.[154] While some of the battles the U.S. fought in were air and naval battles with Japan, the U.S. mainly fought in Europe and Africa.[157] The U.S. opened up several fronts, including in North Africa and Italy.[157] The U.S. also bombed Germany from airplanes, blowing up German cities and factories.[157] On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), American and British forces invaded Normandy. A year later, the Allies had freed France and taken Berlin.[153] In 1945, Roosevelt died, and Harry Truman became president. The U.S. decided to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. Japan gave up soon afterwards, and the war ended.
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+ The war meant different things for women and minorities. During the war, many women worked in weapons factories. They were symbolized by a character called "Rosie the Riveter".[158][159] Many African-Americans served in the army, but often in segregated units with white officers.[160] Japanese-Americans on the West Coast were forced to live in internment camps, though a few also served in the Army.[161]
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+
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+ After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States were the two most powerful countries left in the world. The Cold War was a period of tension between the two countries over ways of life. The two countries tried to get other countries on their side. The Soviet Union tried to get countries to become Communist and the United States tried to stop them from being Communist.[162] American and Soviet soldiers never fought in battles, but they fought indirectly in the Korean War (1950s) and the Vietnam War (1950s–1970s).[163]
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+
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+ The Korean War lasted only a few years, but led to American soldiers being in Korea since then.[164] The Vietnam War lasted much longer. It started with a few American troops in Vietnam, but by the 1960s thousands of Americans were being sent to Vietnam.[165] Both wars were between a Northern Communist government helped by the Soviet Union and Communist China and a Southern government helped by the U.S. The Korean War resulted in a split Korea, but the Vietnam War resulted in a Communist Vietnam after the United States left due to American people wanting to end the war.[166] Over a quarter million Americans died or were wounded in Vietnam, which was very much a military failure.[167] The U.S. and Soviet Union argued about where they could place nuclear weapons. One of these arguments was the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. and Soviet Union came very close to attacking each other with nuclear weapons.[168]
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+
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+ During the Cold War, the United States had a "Red Scare" where the government tried to find people it thought were Communist. The House of Representatives had a group called the House Un-American Activities Committee to deal with this, and Joseph McCarthy led hearings in the Senate.[169] The Red Scare led to people losing their jobs, going to jail, and even being executed.[170] Many actors and authors were put on blacklists, which meant they could not get jobs in movies or get credit for their writings.[13][171]
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+
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+ The Cold War began with an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could have more and better weapons. This started after the Soviets were the second country to develop an atomic bomb.[172] In the United States, this started something called the "Military Industrial Complex", which meant business and government working together to spend a lot of money on large-scale weapons projects. Business and government helped each other to get more money and more power.[173] Part of the Complex was something called the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe while making them buy American goods.[174] The Complex allowed for a growing middle class, but also kept the Cold War going.[173]
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+ Besides the arms race, another part of the Cold War was the "Space Race". This started when the Soviets launched a satellite into space called Sputnik in 1957.[175] Americans became worried that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union, and made their schools focus more on mathematics and science.[176] Within a few years, both the United States and the Soviet Union had sent satellites, animals and people into orbit.[175] In 1969 the Apollo 11 mission put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon.[177]
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+ United States foreign policy changed in the 1970s when the United States left Vietnam and Richard Nixon left office due to a political scandal called Watergate.[13] In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States had a policy of "detente" with the Soviet Union. This meant that the two countries signed treaties to stop use of weapons.[178] Under Nixon and Reagan, the United States sent troops and money to many Latin American governments to stop them from being Communist.[121] This led to violence in Latin America.[121] Around this time, the economy suffered because the United States was not making as many things as it used to, and because some countries in the Middle East were not giving the U.S. as much oil as it wanted (this was called an "oil embargo").[162] The Middle East became very important in American foreign policy after several Americans were kidnapped in Iran in 1979.[179] In the 1980s, people in the U.S. government sold weapons to people in Iran and gave the money to "contra" soldiers in Nicaragua.[180] This was called the "Iran-Contra affair". In the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. normalized relations with China.[181] The Cold War came to an end as Communist governments in the Soviet Union and other countries fell apart.[182]
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+ The United States once again had prosperity. Millions of white people moved out of the cities and into suburbs, and into Southern and Western states known as the "Sunbelt".[183] They bought new cars and television sets.[184] The birth rate in the 1940s and 1950s rose, in what was called the "Baby Boom"[185] The "Space Age" inspired "Googie" style art and architecture.[186] Many more people became part of the middle class, but there were still many people who were poor.[187]
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+
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+ Poverty was most common among African-Americans. Most lived in poor neighborhoods in Northern cities, or in the South where they faced racism and "Jim Crow" segregation.[13] These conditions led to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, led by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. In 1954, the Supreme Court found school segregation illegal in Brown v. Board of Education, though it would be several years before school segregation was ended.[188] In 1955, King led a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.[189] In the late 1950s and 1960s, King got help from Presidents John F. Kennedy, who was shot, and Lyndon B. Johnson.[190] In 1963, he led a march on Washington calling for civil rights. Soon after, Congress passed laws that made most segregation illegal.[191] Johnson also passed a program called the Great Society that helped poor people and minorities.[192]
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+ Gays and lesbians, who had often been persecuted, also started to ask for rights, beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969.[193] Chicanos, Native Americans, old people, consumers, and people with disabilities also fought for rights, as did women. Though women had had jobs during World War II, most of them went back to the home after the war.[194] Women did not like that they often held jobs that paid less than men or that fewer opportunities were open to them.[195] People like Betty Freidan and Gloria Steinem founded groups such as the National Organization for Women to try and solve these problems. NOW and other groups wanted an Equal Rights Amendment that would guarantee them equality in all areas.[196] In the 1970s and 1980s, many more jobs and opportunities were opened to women. There were some women like Phyllis Schlafly who opposed Freidan and Steinem and were known as "anti-feminists".[197] It was partly because of the anti-feminists that the Equal Rights Amendment was defeated, but also because women had already gained equality in many areas and they did not want to be drafted into the army.[197]
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+ In the 1960s, the counterculture was created.[198] Some of the followers of the counterculture were called hippies. They had long hair, and lived communally, smoking marijuana and practicing free love.[199] The counterculture, along with college students, were the groups most against the Vietnam War.[200] They also were the groups that listened to new music known as rock and roll.[201]
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+
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+ In 1973, the Supreme Court issued a decision called Roe v. Wade, which made many abortions legal.[202] The many changes led to a reaction by Jerry Falwell and other conservatives who called themselves the "Religious Right" and the "Moral Majority".[203]
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+
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+ Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980. He defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter by winning 44 out of the 50 American states.[13] During the Reagan Era, the country was facing through inflation, a bad economy, and the American foreign policy were not as good. When Ronald Reagan became president, he signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 which lowered taxes for corporations, supposedly so they could reinvest the surplus profits back into business. During Reagan's presidency, he expanded the American military creating more jobs, but also raising the deficit due to overspending. During his first term, the economy went from a 4.5% to 7.2%.
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+ In 1984, Reagan won in a major landslide by winning 49 out of the 50 American states. During his second term, Reagan focused on ending the Cold War. He held many meetings between Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. They first met at the Geneva Summit in 1985. Later they both discovered their passion of ending the war. Reagan met four times with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who ascended to power in 1985, and their summit conferences led to the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
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+ Also during his second term, Reagan's Invasion of Grenada and bombing of Libya were popular in the US, though his backing of the Contras rebels was mired in the controversy over the Iran–Contra affair that revealed Reagan's poor management style.[205]
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+ Since leaving office in 1989, Reagan became one of the most popular Presidents of the United States.[13]
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+ In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Cold War came to an end. This was due to the Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev starting a policy called perestroika, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Soviet Union breaking into different countries.[206] Around this time, the United States cut down on its production of cheap goods, and had many people working in service jobs.[207] Part of these service jobs were in computers and the internet, which came into wide use in the 1990s.[208] By this time, the United States had a very large trade deficit, meaning it received more goods from other countries, such as China, than it sent to other countries.[209]
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+ The Middle East became the main focus of U.S. foreign policy.[210] In 1991, the United States fought a war with Iraq called the First Gulf War or Operation Desert Storm. This was to stop Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from occupying Kuwait, a small oil-producing country.
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+ In 1992, Bill Clinton became President. Under Clinton, the United States sent soldiers into Bosnia as part of a United Nations mission.[13] The United States also agreed to a trade pact called the North American Free Trade Agreement (and repealed Glass–Steagall Legislation).[211] Clinton was impeached for lying in court about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, but the Senate voted against removing him as President.[212]
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+ In 2000, George W. Bush was elected President. Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Thousands of people died. Soon after the attacks, the U.S. and NATO went to Afghanistan to find Osama bin Laden and others who they believed planned the September 11 attacks. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have lasted many years. By 2011, most American soldiers had left Iraq, and combat there was over.
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+ In 2005, the southern United States was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Much of the city of New Orleans was destroyed. In 2006, the Democrats won back Congress because Americans did not like the way Bush dealt with War in Iraq or Katrina. At the end of Bush's term, the United States entered the worst recession since the Great Depression.
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+ Barack Obama was elected President in 2008. He became the first African-American President of the United States. During his first years in office, Obama and Congress passed reforms on health care and banking. They also passed a large stimulus bill to help the economy during the recession. During the recession, the government used large amounts of money to keep the banking and auto industries from falling apart. There was also a large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2010, Congress passed the Patient Protecton and Affordable Care Act, a sweeping overhaul of the health care system. Dubbed "Obamacare", it was faced with fierce criticism from conservative media.
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+ A "Tea Party movement" started during Obama's presidency. This group opposes Obama's health care plan and other policies they see as "big government." Due to the recession, the Tea Party and a dislike of what Obama did, Republicans won a large number of House and Senate seats in the 2010 election. In 2011, Tea Party members of Congress almost shut down the government and sent the U.S. into default (not being able to pay people the government owes money). A few months later, many young people protested against organized and concentrated wealth during the Occupy movement. In 2012, Obama was reelected to a second term. Following reelection, Obama faced major obstruction from Congressional Republicans. This polarization in the political atmosphere and the media, lead to events such as the 2013 Federal Government Shutdown and the stalling of Obama's Supreme Court pick, Judge Merrick Garland to replace Justice Antonio Scalia. In 2014, Republicans took control of both houses of Congress, further adding to the gridlock. In foreign policy, President Obama helped crafted the Paris Climate Agreement, a major global commitment to fighting climate change. He also forged the Iran Nuclear Agreement and opened relations with Cuba for the first time in fifty years.
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+ The United States presidential election, 2016 attracted much attention. Main popular candidates of the election were Republicans Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump and Clinton won their respective primaries. On November 9, 2016, Trump defeated Clinton. Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017. Afterwards, there were many protests against Trump across the country.
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+ On January 27, President Trump signed an executive order that stopped refugees from entering the country for 120 days and denied entry to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days, citing security concerns about terrorism. The next day, thousands of protesters gathered at airports and other locations throughout the United States to protest the signing of the order and detainment of the foreign nationals.[213] Later, the administration seemed to reverse a portion of part of the order, effectively exempting visitors with a green card.[214]
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+ On April 7, 2017, Trump ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea into Syria, aimed at Shayrat Air Base as a defense after the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack.[215]
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+ On May 3, 2017, Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy after a massive debt and weak economy.[216] It is the largest bankruptcy case in American history.[216]
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+ On September 24, 2019, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives would begin an impeachment inquiry into Trump. On October 31, 2019, the House voted 232–196 to created procedures for public hearings.[217] On December 16, the House Judiciary Committee released a report specifying criminal bribery and wire fraud charges as part of the abuse of power charge.[218] The house voted to impeach Trump on December 18, 2019, making him the third president in American history to be impeached.[219]
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+ The United States faces many political issues. One of these is what kind of government the United States should become. Liberals want a large government, while the Tea Party and other groups want a smaller government.[220] One of these debates is over health care. Health care costs have risen.[221] Conservatives and liberals also disagree on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.[222][223] Many more people have come to accept gays and gay marriage as an acceptable part of American society. There are also many trends and developments that the U.S. must deal with. One of these is immigration. Many people are coming to the U.S. from Latin America and Asia, especially Mexico. This is called the "browning of America".[224][225] Baby Boomer Americans are getting older and a larger fraction of the people are retired.[226][227] Other issues facing the United States are a growing concern about the environment. This has led to the creation of many "green jobs," or jobs that create clean or renewable energy.[228][229]
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1
+ The history of the United States is what happened in the past in the United States, a country in North America.
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+
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+ Native Americans lived in the Americas for thousands of years. English people in 1607 went to the place now called Jamestown, Virginia. Other European settlers went to the colonies, mostly from England and later Great Britain. France, Spain, and the Netherlands also colonized North America. In 1775, a war between the thirteen colonies and Britain began when the colonists were upset over paying taxation to their government in the UK, but were not being given any chance to vote in the UK/British elections, to contribute to how that money was spent.
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+
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+ Just after dawn on April 19, 1775, the British attempted to disarm the Massachusetts militia at Concord, Massachusetts[source?], this beginning the war with the "Shot Heard Round the World." On July 4, 1776, Founding Fathers wrote the United States Declaration of Independence. They won the Revolutionary War and started a new country. They signed the constitution in 1787 and the Bill of Rights in 1791. General George Washington, who had led the war, became its first president. During the 19th century, the United States gained much more land in the West and began to become industrialized. In 1861, several states in the South attempted to leave the United States to start a new country called the Confederate States of America. This caused the American Civil War. After the war, Immigration resumed. Some Americans became very rich in this Gilded Age, and the country developed one of the largest economies in the world.
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+ In the early 20th century, the United States became a world power, fighting in World War I and World War II. Between the wars, there was an economic boom called the Roaring Twenties, when many people became richer, and a bust, called the Great Depression, when most were poorer. The Great Depression ended with World War II.
8
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+ The United States and the Soviet Union entered the Cold War. This included wars in Korea and Vietnam. During this time, African-Americans, Chicanos, and women sought more rights. In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States started to make fewer things in factories. The country then went through the worst recession it had since the Great Depression. In the late 1980s, the Cold War ended, helping the United States out of recession. The Middle East became more important in American foreign policy, especially after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
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+
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+ The Pre-Columbian Era is the time before Christopher Columbus went to the Americas in 1492. At that time, Native Americans lived on the land that is now controlled by the United States. They had various cultures: Native Americans in the Eastern Woodlands hunted game and deer; Native Americans in the Northwest fished; Native Americans in the Southwest grew corn and built houses called pueblos; and Native Americans in the Great Plains hunted Bison.[1][2] Around the year 1000, the Vikings visited Newfoundland. However, they did not settle there.[3]
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+
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+ The English tried to settle at Roanoke Island in 1585.[4] The settlement did not last, and no one knows what happened to the people. In 1607, the first lasting English settlement was made at Jamestown, Virginia, by John Smith, John Rolfe and other Englishmen interested in gold and adventure.[5] In its early years, many people in Virginia died of disease and starvation. The colony in Virginia lasted because it made money by planting tobacco.[6]
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+
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+ In 1621, a group of Englishmen called the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts.[7] A bigger colony was built at Massachusetts Bay by the Puritans in 1630.[8] The Pilgrims and the Puritans were interested in making a better society, not looking for gold. They called this ideal society a "city on a hill".[9] A man named Roger Williams left Massachusetts after disagreeing with the Puritans, and started the colony of Rhode Island in 1636.[10]
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+ Great Britain was not the only country to settle what would become the United States. In the 1500s, Spain built a fort at Saint Augustine, Florida.[11] France settled Louisiana, and the area around the Great Lakes. The Dutch settled New York, which they called New Netherland. Other areas were settled by Scotch-Irish, Germans, and Swedes.[12][13] However, in time Britain controlled all of the colonies, and most American colonists adopted the British way of life. The growth of the colonies was not good for Native Americans.[14] Many of them died of smallpox, a disease brought to America by the Europeans. The ones who lived lost their lands to the colonists.[14]
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+
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+ In the early 1700s, there was a religious movement in the colonies called the Great Awakening.[15] Preachers such as Jonathan Edwards preached sermons.[15] One of them was called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". The Great Awakening may have led to the thinking used in the American Revolution.[16]
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+
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+ By 1733, there were thirteen colonies. New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Charleston were the largest cities and main ports at that time.[17]
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+
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+ From 1756 to 1763, England and France fought a war over their land in America called the Seven Years' War or the French and Indian War, which the British won.[18] After the war, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 said that the colonists could not live west of the Appalachian Mountains. Many colonists who wanted to move to the frontier did not like the Proclamation.[19]
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+ After the French and Indian War, the colonists began to think that they were not getting their "rights as freeborn Englishman".[20] This meant they wanted to be treated fairly by the English government. This was mainly caused by new taxes the British made the colonies pay to pay for the war.[21] Americans called this "No taxation without representation", meaning that the colonists should not have to pay taxes unless they had votes in the British Parliament.[21] Each tax was disliked, and replaced by another which led to more unity between the colonies. In 1770, colonists in Boston known as the Sons of Liberty got in a fight with British soldiers. This became known as the Boston Massacre.[22] After the Tea Act, the Sons of Liberty dumped hundreds of boxes of tea in the sea. This was known as the Boston Tea Party (1773).[23][24] This led to the British Army taking over Boston.[25] After that, leaders of the 13 colonies formed a group called the Continental Congress.[26] Many people were members of the Continental Congress, but some of the more important ones were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Roger Sherman and John Jay.[27]
26
+
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+ In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. It argued that the colonies should be free of English rule.[28] This was based on the English ideas of natural rights and social contract put forth by John Locke and others.[29] On July 4, 1776, people from the 13 colonies agreed to the United States Declaration of Independence. This said that they were free and independent states, and were not part of England any more.[30] The colonists were already fighting Britain in the Revolutionary War at this time. The Revolutionary War started in 1775 at Lexington and Concord.[31] Though American soldiers under George Washington lost many battles to the British, they won a major victory at Saratoga in 1777.[32] This led to France and Spain joining the war on the side of the Americans. In 1781, an American victory at Yorktown helped by the French led Britain to decide to stop fighting and give up the colonies.[33] America had won the war and its independence.
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+ In 1781, the colonies formed a confederation of states under the Articles of Confederation, but it lasted only six years. It gave almost all the power to the states and very little to the central government.[34] The confederation had no president. It could not remove Native Americans or the British from the frontier, nor could it stop mob uprisings such as Shays' Rebellion.[35] After Shays' Rebellion, many people thought the Articles of Confederation were not working.[36]
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+
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+ In 1787, a constitution was written. Many of the people who helped write the Constitution, such as Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris, were among the major thinkers in America at the time.[13] Some of these men would later hold important offices in the new government. The constitution created a stronger national government that had three branches: executive (the President and his staff), legislative (the House of Representatives and the Senate), and judicial (the federal courts).[37]
32
+
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+ Some states agreed to the Constitution very quickly. In other states, many people did not like the Constitution because it gave more power to the central government and had no bill of rights.[38][39] To try and get the Constitution passed, Madison, Hamilton and Jay wrote a series of newspaper articles called the Federalist Papers.[38][39] Very soon after, the Bill of Rights was added. This was a set of 10 amendments (changes), that limited the government's power and guaranteed rights to the citizens.[40] Like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution is a social contract between the people and the government.[41] The main idea of the Constitution is that the government is a republic (a representative democracy) elected by the people, who all have the same rights. However, this was not true at first, when only white males who owned property could vote.[42] Because of state laws as well as the 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments, almost all American citizens who are at least 18 years old can vote today.[37]
34
+
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+ In 1789, Washington was elected the first President. He defined how a person should act as President and retired after two terms.[43] During Washington's term, there was a Whiskey Rebellion, where country farmers tried to stop the government from collecting taxes on whiskey.[44] In 1795, Congress passed the Jay Treaty, which allowed for increased trade with Britain in exchange for the British giving up their forts on the Great Lakes.[45] However, Great Britain was still doing things that hurt the U.S., such as impressment (making American sailors join the British Royal Navy).[46]
36
+
37
+ John Adams defeated Thomas Jefferson in the election of 1796 to become the second President of the United States. This was the first American election that was between two political parties.[47] As president, Adams made the army and navy larger.[48] He also got the Alien and Sedition Acts passed, which were much disliked.[49]
38
+
39
+ In the election of 1800, Jefferson defeated Adams. One of the most important things he did as President was to make the Louisiana Purchase from France, which made the United States twice as big.[50] Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to map the Louisiana Purchase.[13] Jefferson also tried to stop trade with England and France so that the United States would not become involved in a war the two countries were fighting.[51] Fighting broke out between the United States and England in 1812 when James Madison was President. This was called the War of 1812.[52]
40
+
41
+ One of the problems of this period was slavery. By 1861, over three million African-Americans were enslaved in the South.[53] This means that they worked for other people, but had no freedom and received no money for their work. Most worked picking cotton on large plantations. Cotton became the main crop in the South after Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793.[54] There were a few slave rebellions against slavery, including one led by Nat Turner. All of these rebellions failed.[55] The South wanted to keep slavery, but by the time of the Civil War, many people in the North wanted to end it.[56] Another argument between the North and South was about the role of government. The South wanted stronger state governments, but the North wanted a stronger central government.[56]
42
+
43
+ After the War of 1812 the Federalist Party faded away, leaving an "Era of Good Feelings" in which only one party was important, under Presidents James Madison and James Monroe.[57] Under Monroe, the United States' policy in North America was the Monroe Doctrine, which suggested that Europe should stop trying to control the United States and other independent countries in the Americas.[58] Around this time, Congress called for something called the "American System".[59] The American System meant spending money on banking, transportation and communication. Due to the American System, bigger cities and more factories were built.[60] One of the big transportation projects of this time was the Erie Canal, a canal in the state of New York.[61] By the 1840s, railroads were built as well as canals. By 1860, thousands of miles of railroads and telegraph lines had been built in the United States, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest.[62]
44
+
45
+ In the early 19th century, the industrial revolution came to America. Many factories were built in Northern cities such as Lowell, Massachusetts.[13] Most of them made clothes. Many factory workers were women, and some were children or people from Ireland or Germany.[63][64] Despite this industrialization, America was still a nation of farmers.[65]
46
+
47
+ In the early and mid-1800s, there was a religious movement called the Second Great Awakening. Thousands of people gathered at large religious meetings called revivals.[66] They thought they could bring about a Golden Age in America through religion.[67] New religious movements such as the Holiness Movement and the Mormons started, and groups like the Methodist Church grew.[68] The Second Great Awakening led to two movements in reform, that is, changing laws and behaviors to make society better.[69] One of these was the Temperance Movement, which believed that drinking alcohol was evil. The other was abolitionism, which tried to end slavery. People such as Harriet Beecher Stowe and William Lloyd Garrison wrote books and newspapers saying that slavery should stop.[13] They also formed political movements, which included the Liberty Party, the Free Soil Party and the Republican Party.[70] Some abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass, were former slaves. By 1820, slavery was very rare in the North, but continued in the South.[13]
48
+
49
+ In the 19th century, there was something called the “cult of domesticity” for many American women. This meant that most married women were expected to stay in the home and raise children.[71] As in other countries, American wives were very much under the control of their husband, and had almost no rights. Women who were not married had only a few jobs open to them, such as working in clothing factories and serving as maids.[72] By the 19th century, women such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton thought that women should have more rights. In 1848, many of these women met and agreed to fight for more rights for women, including voting.[73] Many of the women involved in the movement for women’s rights were also involved in the movement to end slavery.[13]
50
+
51
+ In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected President. He was the first president elected from the Democratic Party. He changed the government in many ways. Since many of his supporters were poor people who had not voted before, he rewarded them with government jobs, which is called "spoils" or "patronage".[13] Because of Jackson, a new party was formed to run against him called the Whigs. This was called the "Second Party System".[74] Jackson was very much against the National Bank. He saw it as a symbol of Whigs and of powerful American businessmen.[13][75] Jackson also called for a high import tax that the South did not like. They called it the "Tariff of Abominations".[56] Jackson’s Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, was from the South. He wrote that the South should stop the tariff and perhaps leave the Union (secession). These words would be used again during the Civil War.[56]
52
+
53
+ People started to move west of the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains at this time. The first people who moved west were people who caught and sold animal skins such as John Colter and Jim Bridger.[76][77] By the 1840s, many people were moving to Oregon by wagon, and even more people went west after the California Gold Rush of 1849.[78][79] Many new states were added to the first thirteen, mostly in the Midwest and South before the Civil War and in the West after the Civil War. During this period, Native Americans lost much of their land. They had lost military battles to the Americans at Tippecanoe and in the Seminole War.[80] In the 1830s, Indians were being pushed out of the Midwest and South by events such as the Trail of Tears and the Black Hawk War.[81] By the 1840s, most Native Americans had been moved west of the Mississippi River.
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+
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+ In 1845, Texas, which was a nation after it left Mexico, joined the United States.[82] Mexico did not like this, and the Americans wanted the land Mexico had on the West Coast (“Manifest Destiny”).[83] This led to the U.S. and Mexico fighting a war called the Mexican-American War. During the war, the U.S captured the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Monterrey, Veracruz and Mexico City.[84] As a result of the war, the U.S. gained land in California and much of the American Southwest. Many people in the North did not like this war, because they thought it was just good for Southern slave states.[85]
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+
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+ In the 1840s and 1850s, people in the Northern states and people in the Southern states did not agree whether slavery was right or wrong in the territories—parts of the United States that were not yet states.[86] People in the government tried to make deals to stop a war. Some deals were the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, but they did not really work to keep the Union together.[87] People in the South were angry at books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin that said that slavery was wrong. People in the North did not like a Supreme Court decision called Dred Scott that kept Scott a slave.[88] People from the South and people from the North started killing each other in Kansas over slavery. This was called "Bleeding Kansas".[13] One of the people from Bleeding Kansas, John Brown, took over a town in Virginia in 1859 to make a point about slavery being wrong and to try to get slaves to fight their owners.[89]
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+ In the election of 1860, the Democratic Party split and the Republican candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln, was elected. After this, many Southern states left the Union. Eventually, eleven states left. They tried to start a new country called the Confederate States of America, or the "Confederacy".[90] A war started between the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South). Not having factories made it harder for Southern soldiers to get guns or uniforms.[91] The South could not get supplies because Northern ships blockaded the Southern coast.[92]
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+
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+ Early in the war, Confederate generals such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson won battles over Union generals such as George B. McClellan and Ambrose Burnside.[93] In 1862 and 1863, the Union Army tried to take the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia several times, but failed each time.[94] Lee's army invaded the North twice, but was turned back at Antietam and Gettysburg.[92] In the middle of war, Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the Confederacy, and started letting black men fight in the Union Army.[95] The war started going the Union’s way after the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863. Gettysburg stopped Lee from invading the North, and Vicksburg gave the Union control over the Mississippi River.[92] In 1864, a Union Army under William T. Sherman marched through Georgia and destroyed much of it.[96] By 1865, Union General Ulysses S. Grant had taken Richmond and forced Lee to give up the fight at Appomattox.[97]
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+
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+ In April 1865, Lincoln was shot and killed while watching a play. The new president, Andrew Johnson, had to go through the process of reconstruction, which was putting the United States back together after the Civil War. During this time, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution were passed, freeing slaves, making them citizens and allowing them to vote.[98] Congress was run by "Radical Republicans", who wanted to punish the South after the Civil War.[99] They did not like Johnson, and almost removed him from office.[99] They also sent many soldiers to the South, installed unpopular "scalawag" governments, and made the South pass the 14th and 15th Amendments.[100] The South did not like this, so they made "Jim Crow" laws that placed blacks in lower roles.[101] White Southerners started a group called the Ku Klux Klan that attacked blacks and stopped them from voting.[102]
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+
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+ During this time, many people moved to the United States from other countries, such as Ireland, Italy, Germany, Eastern Europe, and China.[103] Many of them worked in large factories and lived in big cities, such as New York City, Chicago, and Boston, often in small, poor, close-together apartments called "tenements" or "slums".[104] They often were used by "political machines", who gave them jobs and money in exchange for votes.[104]
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+
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+ Major politicians were chosen by political machines and were corrupt.[105] The government could do little and leaders of big businesses often had more power than the government.[105] At this time, there were several very big businesses called trusts. People who ran trusts made millions of dollars while paying their workers low wages. Some of these people were John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan.[106]
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+
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+ After the Civil War, people continued to move west where new states were formed. People now could get free land in the West due to an 1862 law called the Homestead Act.[107] Most of the land in the West was owned by the government, railroads, or large farmers.[13] The Transcontinental Railroad, finished in 1869, helped get people and goods from the west to the rest of the country. Chicago became the center of trade between West and East because many rail lines met there.[108] There were problems between the white settlers and the native Indians as more people began to move west. Because of this, many more Indians were killed at battles such as Wounded Knee.[109] Almost all the Indians' land was taken away by laws like the Dawes Act.[110]
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+
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+ Many Americans thought the railroads charged farmers so much money that it made them poor.[111] Workers led several strikes against the railroad that were put down by the army. Also, farmers started groups to fight the railroad, such as the Grange.[112] These groups became the Populist Movement, which almost won the presidency under William Jennings Bryan. The Populists wanted reforms such as an income tax and direct election of Senators.[113] The Populist Party died out after 1896. Many of the things the Populists wanted would happen during the Progressive Era.[114]
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+ In the United States, progressivism is the belief that the government should have a larger role in the economy to provide good living standards for people, especially workers.[115] Imperialism was the belief that the U.S. should build a stronger navy and conquer land.
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+
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+ In the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries, the U.S. started being more active in foreign affairs. In 1898, the United States fought a war with Spain called the Spanish–American War. The United States won, and gained Puerto Rico, Guam, Guantanamo and the Philippines.[116] Combined with the purchase of Alaska and the taking-over of Hawaii, the United States had gained all the territory it has today, plus some it would later lose after World War II.[117] Around this time, the U.S. and European nations opened up trade with China. This was because they had beaten China in the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion. The U.S. and Europe were able to trade with China through the Open Door Policy.[118]
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+
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+ In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became President. He had been a soldier in the Spanish–American War. He called for a foreign policy known as the "Big Stick".[119] This meant having a large navy and exercising control over Latin America.[120][121] Between 1901 and 1930, the United States sent soldiers into Latin America several times.[121] When Roosevelt was president, work was begun on the Panama Canal, a link between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that made travel around the world much faster.[122]
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+ During this time, people started to notice the poor condition of American cities. A group of people called the “muckrakers” wrote books and newspaper articles about subjects like the power of big business, unclean practices in factories, and the condition of poor people.[13] Roosevelt and Congress answered their concerns with laws such as the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Act controlled the way food was made to make sure it was safe.[123] Another response to the muckrakers was something called "trust-busting", where big businesses were broken up into smaller ones.[124] The biggest business broken up this way was the Standard Oil Company in 1911.[125]
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+ In 1912, Woodrow Wilson became President. He was a Progressive, but not quite the same as Roosevelt.[126][127] He fought the "triple wall of privilege", which was big business, taxes, and fees on goods coming into the United States.[13] During this time, the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were passed. They allowed for a federal income tax and direct election of U.S. Senators.[128]
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+ The United States did not want to enter World War I[129] but wanted to sell weapons to both sides. In 1915 a German submarine sank a ship carrying Americans called the Lusitania.[129] This angered Americans, and Germany stopped attacking passenger ships. In January 1917 Germany started attacking them again, and sent the Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico about invading the U.S.[130] The United States joined the war against Germany, and it ended a year later. Wilson worked to create an international organization called the League of Nations. The main goal of the League was preventing war.[131] However, the United States did not join because isolationists rejected the peace treaty.[132] At the end of World War I, a flu pandemic killed millions of people in the U.S. and Europe.[133] After the war, the United States was one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world.[134]
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+ The 1920s were an era of growth and increased wealth for the United States. Many Americans began buying consumer products, such as Model T Fords and appliances.[136] Advertising became very important to American life.[136] During this time, many black people moved out of the South and into large cities such as New York City, Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles.[137] They brought with them jazz music, which is why the 1920s are called the "Jazz Age".[136] The 1920s were also the Prohibition Era after the Eighteenth Amendment passed.[138] During the 1920s, drinking alcohol was illegal, but many Americans drank it anyway.[136] This led to much rum-running and violent crime.[136]
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+ Racism was strong in the 1920s. The Ku Klux Klan was powerful once again, and attacked black people, Catholics, Jews and immigrants.[139] People blamed the war and problems in business on immigrants and labor leaders, whom they said were Bolsheviks (Russian communists).[13][140] Many people also thought that the United States had lost touch with religion. They handled that by changing religion, and some of them by attacking science.[136]
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+ After World War I, the United States had an isolationist foreign policy. That meant it did not want to enter into another global war. It passed laws and treaties that supposedly would end war forever, and refused to sell weapons to its former allies.[141]
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+ In 1921, Warren G. Harding became President. He believed that the best way to make the economy good was for the government to be friendly to big business by cutting taxes and regulating less.[142] While the economy was doing very well under these policies, America had the largest difference between how much money the rich had and how much money the poor had.[143] Harding's presidency had several problems. The biggest one was Teapot Dome over oil drilling in the Navy Oil Reserve.[144] Harding died in 1923, and Calvin Coolidge became President. Coolidge believed that the government should keep out of business, just like Harding, and continued many of Harding's policies.[135] Coolidge chose not to seek the presidency in 1928 and Herbert Hoover became president.[145]
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+ In 1929, a Great Depression hit the United States. The stock market crashed (lost much of its value). Many banks ran out of money and closed.[146] By 1932, over a quarter of the nation had no jobs, and much of the nation was poor or unemployed.[147] Many people were driven off farms, not only because of the Depression, but also because of a storm known as the "Dust Bowl" and because farmers had not been doing well during the 1920s.[148]
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+ President Hoover tried to do something about the Depression, but it did not work.[149] In 1932, he was defeated and Franklin D. Roosevelt became President. He created the New Deal. It was a series of government programs which would give relief (to the people who were hurt by the bad economy), recovery (to make the economy better), and reform (to make sure a depression never happens again).[150]
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+ The New Deal had many programs such as Social Security, the National Recovery Administration (regulated wages), Works Progress Administration (built thousands of roads, schools, government buildings and works of art), the Civilian Conservation Corps (gave young people jobs to help the environment), and Tennessee Valley Authority (built dams and electric lines in the South).[148] These programs put millions of Americans to work, though often at low pay.[151][152] Many of these programs were started early in Roosevelt's term in a time called the "Hundred Days" or in 1935 in a time called the "Second New Deal".[153] Programs like Social Security grew out of populist movements by people such as Huey Long that were called "Share Our Wealth" and "Ham and Eggs".[153] The New Deal also led to the rise of worker's unions such as the Congress of Industrial Organizations.[13]
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+ The New Deal is often called the period that "saved capitalism", and stopped America from becoming a Communist or Fascist state.[148] Although the New Deal improved the economy, it did not end the Great Depression. The Great Depression was ended by World War II.[154]
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+ As World War II was beginning, the United States said they would not get involved in it. Most Americans thought the United States should remain neutral, and some people thought the United States should enter the war on the side of the Germans.[13][141] Eventually, the U.S. did try to help the Allied Powers (Soviet Union, Britain, and France) with the Lend Lease Act. It gave the Allies a lot of money and guns in trade for use of air bases throughout the world.[155]
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+
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+ On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, a U.S.Naval base in Hawaii.[156] The U.S. was no longer neutral, and it declared war on the Axis Powers (Germany, Japan, Italy). The U.S. entering World War II ended the Great Depression because the war created many jobs.[154] While some of the battles the U.S. fought in were air and naval battles with Japan, the U.S. mainly fought in Europe and Africa.[157] The U.S. opened up several fronts, including in North Africa and Italy.[157] The U.S. also bombed Germany from airplanes, blowing up German cities and factories.[157] On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), American and British forces invaded Normandy. A year later, the Allies had freed France and taken Berlin.[153] In 1945, Roosevelt died, and Harry Truman became president. The U.S. decided to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. Japan gave up soon afterwards, and the war ended.
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+ The war meant different things for women and minorities. During the war, many women worked in weapons factories. They were symbolized by a character called "Rosie the Riveter".[158][159] Many African-Americans served in the army, but often in segregated units with white officers.[160] Japanese-Americans on the West Coast were forced to live in internment camps, though a few also served in the Army.[161]
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+ After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States were the two most powerful countries left in the world. The Cold War was a period of tension between the two countries over ways of life. The two countries tried to get other countries on their side. The Soviet Union tried to get countries to become Communist and the United States tried to stop them from being Communist.[162] American and Soviet soldiers never fought in battles, but they fought indirectly in the Korean War (1950s) and the Vietnam War (1950s–1970s).[163]
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+
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+ The Korean War lasted only a few years, but led to American soldiers being in Korea since then.[164] The Vietnam War lasted much longer. It started with a few American troops in Vietnam, but by the 1960s thousands of Americans were being sent to Vietnam.[165] Both wars were between a Northern Communist government helped by the Soviet Union and Communist China and a Southern government helped by the U.S. The Korean War resulted in a split Korea, but the Vietnam War resulted in a Communist Vietnam after the United States left due to American people wanting to end the war.[166] Over a quarter million Americans died or were wounded in Vietnam, which was very much a military failure.[167] The U.S. and Soviet Union argued about where they could place nuclear weapons. One of these arguments was the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. and Soviet Union came very close to attacking each other with nuclear weapons.[168]
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+ During the Cold War, the United States had a "Red Scare" where the government tried to find people it thought were Communist. The House of Representatives had a group called the House Un-American Activities Committee to deal with this, and Joseph McCarthy led hearings in the Senate.[169] The Red Scare led to people losing their jobs, going to jail, and even being executed.[170] Many actors and authors were put on blacklists, which meant they could not get jobs in movies or get credit for their writings.[13][171]
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+
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+ The Cold War began with an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could have more and better weapons. This started after the Soviets were the second country to develop an atomic bomb.[172] In the United States, this started something called the "Military Industrial Complex", which meant business and government working together to spend a lot of money on large-scale weapons projects. Business and government helped each other to get more money and more power.[173] Part of the Complex was something called the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe while making them buy American goods.[174] The Complex allowed for a growing middle class, but also kept the Cold War going.[173]
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+ Besides the arms race, another part of the Cold War was the "Space Race". This started when the Soviets launched a satellite into space called Sputnik in 1957.[175] Americans became worried that the United States was falling behind the Soviet Union, and made their schools focus more on mathematics and science.[176] Within a few years, both the United States and the Soviet Union had sent satellites, animals and people into orbit.[175] In 1969 the Apollo 11 mission put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon.[177]
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+ United States foreign policy changed in the 1970s when the United States left Vietnam and Richard Nixon left office due to a political scandal called Watergate.[13] In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States had a policy of "detente" with the Soviet Union. This meant that the two countries signed treaties to stop use of weapons.[178] Under Nixon and Reagan, the United States sent troops and money to many Latin American governments to stop them from being Communist.[121] This led to violence in Latin America.[121] Around this time, the economy suffered because the United States was not making as many things as it used to, and because some countries in the Middle East were not giving the U.S. as much oil as it wanted (this was called an "oil embargo").[162] The Middle East became very important in American foreign policy after several Americans were kidnapped in Iran in 1979.[179] In the 1980s, people in the U.S. government sold weapons to people in Iran and gave the money to "contra" soldiers in Nicaragua.[180] This was called the "Iran-Contra affair". In the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. normalized relations with China.[181] The Cold War came to an end as Communist governments in the Soviet Union and other countries fell apart.[182]
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+ The United States once again had prosperity. Millions of white people moved out of the cities and into suburbs, and into Southern and Western states known as the "Sunbelt".[183] They bought new cars and television sets.[184] The birth rate in the 1940s and 1950s rose, in what was called the "Baby Boom"[185] The "Space Age" inspired "Googie" style art and architecture.[186] Many more people became part of the middle class, but there were still many people who were poor.[187]
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+ Poverty was most common among African-Americans. Most lived in poor neighborhoods in Northern cities, or in the South where they faced racism and "Jim Crow" segregation.[13] These conditions led to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, led by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. In 1954, the Supreme Court found school segregation illegal in Brown v. Board of Education, though it would be several years before school segregation was ended.[188] In 1955, King led a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.[189] In the late 1950s and 1960s, King got help from Presidents John F. Kennedy, who was shot, and Lyndon B. Johnson.[190] In 1963, he led a march on Washington calling for civil rights. Soon after, Congress passed laws that made most segregation illegal.[191] Johnson also passed a program called the Great Society that helped poor people and minorities.[192]
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+ Gays and lesbians, who had often been persecuted, also started to ask for rights, beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969.[193] Chicanos, Native Americans, old people, consumers, and people with disabilities also fought for rights, as did women. Though women had had jobs during World War II, most of them went back to the home after the war.[194] Women did not like that they often held jobs that paid less than men or that fewer opportunities were open to them.[195] People like Betty Freidan and Gloria Steinem founded groups such as the National Organization for Women to try and solve these problems. NOW and other groups wanted an Equal Rights Amendment that would guarantee them equality in all areas.[196] In the 1970s and 1980s, many more jobs and opportunities were opened to women. There were some women like Phyllis Schlafly who opposed Freidan and Steinem and were known as "anti-feminists".[197] It was partly because of the anti-feminists that the Equal Rights Amendment was defeated, but also because women had already gained equality in many areas and they did not want to be drafted into the army.[197]
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+ In the 1960s, the counterculture was created.[198] Some of the followers of the counterculture were called hippies. They had long hair, and lived communally, smoking marijuana and practicing free love.[199] The counterculture, along with college students, were the groups most against the Vietnam War.[200] They also were the groups that listened to new music known as rock and roll.[201]
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+ In 1973, the Supreme Court issued a decision called Roe v. Wade, which made many abortions legal.[202] The many changes led to a reaction by Jerry Falwell and other conservatives who called themselves the "Religious Right" and the "Moral Majority".[203]
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+ Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980. He defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter by winning 44 out of the 50 American states.[13] During the Reagan Era, the country was facing through inflation, a bad economy, and the American foreign policy were not as good. When Ronald Reagan became president, he signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 which lowered taxes for corporations, supposedly so they could reinvest the surplus profits back into business. During Reagan's presidency, he expanded the American military creating more jobs, but also raising the deficit due to overspending. During his first term, the economy went from a 4.5% to 7.2%.
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+ In 1984, Reagan won in a major landslide by winning 49 out of the 50 American states. During his second term, Reagan focused on ending the Cold War. He held many meetings between Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. They first met at the Geneva Summit in 1985. Later they both discovered their passion of ending the war. Reagan met four times with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who ascended to power in 1985, and their summit conferences led to the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
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+ Also during his second term, Reagan's Invasion of Grenada and bombing of Libya were popular in the US, though his backing of the Contras rebels was mired in the controversy over the Iran–Contra affair that revealed Reagan's poor management style.[205]
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+ Since leaving office in 1989, Reagan became one of the most popular Presidents of the United States.[13]
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+ In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Cold War came to an end. This was due to the Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev starting a policy called perestroika, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Soviet Union breaking into different countries.[206] Around this time, the United States cut down on its production of cheap goods, and had many people working in service jobs.[207] Part of these service jobs were in computers and the internet, which came into wide use in the 1990s.[208] By this time, the United States had a very large trade deficit, meaning it received more goods from other countries, such as China, than it sent to other countries.[209]
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+ The Middle East became the main focus of U.S. foreign policy.[210] In 1991, the United States fought a war with Iraq called the First Gulf War or Operation Desert Storm. This was to stop Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from occupying Kuwait, a small oil-producing country.
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+ In 1992, Bill Clinton became President. Under Clinton, the United States sent soldiers into Bosnia as part of a United Nations mission.[13] The United States also agreed to a trade pact called the North American Free Trade Agreement (and repealed Glass–Steagall Legislation).[211] Clinton was impeached for lying in court about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, but the Senate voted against removing him as President.[212]
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+ In 2000, George W. Bush was elected President. Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Thousands of people died. Soon after the attacks, the U.S. and NATO went to Afghanistan to find Osama bin Laden and others who they believed planned the September 11 attacks. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have lasted many years. By 2011, most American soldiers had left Iraq, and combat there was over.
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+ In 2005, the southern United States was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Much of the city of New Orleans was destroyed. In 2006, the Democrats won back Congress because Americans did not like the way Bush dealt with War in Iraq or Katrina. At the end of Bush's term, the United States entered the worst recession since the Great Depression.
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+ Barack Obama was elected President in 2008. He became the first African-American President of the United States. During his first years in office, Obama and Congress passed reforms on health care and banking. They also passed a large stimulus bill to help the economy during the recession. During the recession, the government used large amounts of money to keep the banking and auto industries from falling apart. There was also a large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2010, Congress passed the Patient Protecton and Affordable Care Act, a sweeping overhaul of the health care system. Dubbed "Obamacare", it was faced with fierce criticism from conservative media.
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+ A "Tea Party movement" started during Obama's presidency. This group opposes Obama's health care plan and other policies they see as "big government." Due to the recession, the Tea Party and a dislike of what Obama did, Republicans won a large number of House and Senate seats in the 2010 election. In 2011, Tea Party members of Congress almost shut down the government and sent the U.S. into default (not being able to pay people the government owes money). A few months later, many young people protested against organized and concentrated wealth during the Occupy movement. In 2012, Obama was reelected to a second term. Following reelection, Obama faced major obstruction from Congressional Republicans. This polarization in the political atmosphere and the media, lead to events such as the 2013 Federal Government Shutdown and the stalling of Obama's Supreme Court pick, Judge Merrick Garland to replace Justice Antonio Scalia. In 2014, Republicans took control of both houses of Congress, further adding to the gridlock. In foreign policy, President Obama helped crafted the Paris Climate Agreement, a major global commitment to fighting climate change. He also forged the Iran Nuclear Agreement and opened relations with Cuba for the first time in fifty years.
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+ The United States presidential election, 2016 attracted much attention. Main popular candidates of the election were Republicans Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump and Clinton won their respective primaries. On November 9, 2016, Trump defeated Clinton. Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017. Afterwards, there were many protests against Trump across the country.
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+ On January 27, President Trump signed an executive order that stopped refugees from entering the country for 120 days and denied entry to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days, citing security concerns about terrorism. The next day, thousands of protesters gathered at airports and other locations throughout the United States to protest the signing of the order and detainment of the foreign nationals.[213] Later, the administration seemed to reverse a portion of part of the order, effectively exempting visitors with a green card.[214]
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+ On April 7, 2017, Trump ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea into Syria, aimed at Shayrat Air Base as a defense after the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack.[215]
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+ On May 3, 2017, Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy after a massive debt and weak economy.[216] It is the largest bankruptcy case in American history.[216]
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+ On September 24, 2019, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives would begin an impeachment inquiry into Trump. On October 31, 2019, the House voted 232–196 to created procedures for public hearings.[217] On December 16, the House Judiciary Committee released a report specifying criminal bribery and wire fraud charges as part of the abuse of power charge.[218] The house voted to impeach Trump on December 18, 2019, making him the third president in American history to be impeached.[219]
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+ The United States faces many political issues. One of these is what kind of government the United States should become. Liberals want a large government, while the Tea Party and other groups want a smaller government.[220] One of these debates is over health care. Health care costs have risen.[221] Conservatives and liberals also disagree on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.[222][223] Many more people have come to accept gays and gay marriage as an acceptable part of American society. There are also many trends and developments that the U.S. must deal with. One of these is immigration. Many people are coming to the U.S. from Latin America and Asia, especially Mexico. This is called the "browning of America".[224][225] Baby Boomer Americans are getting older and a larger fraction of the people are retired.[226][227] Other issues facing the United States are a growing concern about the environment. This has led to the creation of many "green jobs," or jobs that create clean or renewable energy.[228][229]
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+ History is the study of past and future events. People know what happened in the past by looking at things from the past including sources (like books, newspapers, and letters) and artifacts (like pottery, tools, and human or animal remains.) Libraries, archives, and museums collect and keep these things for people to study history. A person who studies history is called a historian. A person who studies pre-history and history through things left behind by ancient cultures is called an archaeologist. A person who studies mankind and society is called an anthropologist. The study of the sources and methods used to study and write history is called historiography.
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+ People can learn about the past by talking to people who remember things that happened in the past. This is called oral history. When people who had been slaves and American Civil War survivors got old, some historians recorded everything that they said, so that history would not be lost.
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+ In old times people in different parts of the world kept separate histories because they did not meet each other very often. Some groups of people never met each other. Medieval Europe, Ancient Rome and Ancient China each thought that they ruled the only important parts of the world and that other parts were "barbarian".
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+ Current events, modern economic history, modern social history and modern intellectual history take very different views of the way history has affected the way that we think today.
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+ Telegram television (also known as a TV) is a machine with a screen. Televisions receive broadcasting signals and change them into pictures and sound. The word "television" comes from the words tele (Greek for far away) and vision (sight).
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+ Sometimes a television can look like a box. Older TVs had a large cathode ray tube in a large wooden frame and sat on the floor like furniture. Newer TVs are much lighter and flatter.
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+ A TV can show pictures from many television networks. Computers and mobile devices also can be used for watching television programs.
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+
7
+ The television was invented in the 1920s but the equipment was expensive and the pictures were poor. By the 1950s, these problems had been fixed and TVs became widespread.
8
+
9
+ At first, all televisions used an antenna (or aerial). This would pick up television programmes from broadcasting stations. A TV station could be many miles or kilometers away, and still be received. TVs can also show movies from VCD and DVD players or VCRs. Cable TV and Satellite television can provide more programs at once than broadcast can. Video game consoles connect to most modern TVs. Some computers can also use a TV as a computer monitor.
10
+
11
+ All TVs have screens where the picture is viewed. Before the 1950s these were usually "black and white", which made everything look grey, but all modern TVs show colors. Most 20th century screens also had rounded corners. That is because television screens were cathode ray tubes. These are like heavy glass jars with one side bulging out to form the screen.
12
+
13
+ Today flat panel displays are the usual kind. These are usually flat rectangles with straight edges. This long rectangle looks more like the shape of a movie theatre screen. This is called widescreen. If a widescreen set was 30 cm tall, it would be 53 cm wide. For this to work best, TV shows also need to be made in widescreen. Widescreen sets can still be any size, but they have the same widescreen shape.
14
+
15
+ The early 21st century is also when digital television transmission became more common than analog television.
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1
+ History is the study of past and future events. People know what happened in the past by looking at things from the past including sources (like books, newspapers, and letters) and artifacts (like pottery, tools, and human or animal remains.) Libraries, archives, and museums collect and keep these things for people to study history. A person who studies history is called a historian. A person who studies pre-history and history through things left behind by ancient cultures is called an archaeologist. A person who studies mankind and society is called an anthropologist. The study of the sources and methods used to study and write history is called historiography.
2
+
3
+ People can learn about the past by talking to people who remember things that happened in the past. This is called oral history. When people who had been slaves and American Civil War survivors got old, some historians recorded everything that they said, so that history would not be lost.
4
+
5
+ In old times people in different parts of the world kept separate histories because they did not meet each other very often. Some groups of people never met each other. Medieval Europe, Ancient Rome and Ancient China each thought that they ruled the only important parts of the world and that other parts were "barbarian".
6
+
7
+ Current events, modern economic history, modern social history and modern intellectual history take very different views of the way history has affected the way that we think today.
ensimple/2586.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ History is the study of past and future events. People know what happened in the past by looking at things from the past including sources (like books, newspapers, and letters) and artifacts (like pottery, tools, and human or animal remains.) Libraries, archives, and museums collect and keep these things for people to study history. A person who studies history is called a historian. A person who studies pre-history and history through things left behind by ancient cultures is called an archaeologist. A person who studies mankind and society is called an anthropologist. The study of the sources and methods used to study and write history is called historiography.
2
+
3
+ People can learn about the past by talking to people who remember things that happened in the past. This is called oral history. When people who had been slaves and American Civil War survivors got old, some historians recorded everything that they said, so that history would not be lost.
4
+
5
+ In old times people in different parts of the world kept separate histories because they did not meet each other very often. Some groups of people never met each other. Medieval Europe, Ancient Rome and Ancient China each thought that they ruled the only important parts of the world and that other parts were "barbarian".
6
+
7
+ Current events, modern economic history, modern social history and modern intellectual history take very different views of the way history has affected the way that we think today.
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@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Adolf Hitler[2] (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was a German politician and the leader of Nazi Germany. He became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, after a democratic election in 1932. He became Führer (leader) of Nazi Germany in 1934.
2
+
3
+ Hitler led the Nazi Party NSDAP from 1921. When in power the Nazis created a dictatorship called the Third Reich. In 1933, they blocked out all other political parties. This gave Hitler absolute power.
4
+
5
+ Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland in 1939, and this started World War II. Because of Hitler, at least 50 million people died.[3] During World War II, Hitler was the Commander-in-Chief of the German Armed Forces and made all the important decisions. This was part of the so-called Führerprinzip.[4] He shot himself in 1945, as the Soviet Army got to Berlin, because he did not want to be captured alive by the Soviet Union.
6
+
7
+ Hitler and the Nazi regime were responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 28.7 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in Europe.
8
+
9
+ Nazi forces committed many war crimes during the war.[5] They were doing what Hitler told them to do. They killed their enemies or put them in concentration camps and death camps. Hitler and his men persecuted and killed Jews and other ethnic, religious, and political minorities. In what is called the Holocaust, the Nazis killed six million Jews, Roma people, homosexuals, Slavs, and many other groups of people.[6]
10
+
11
+ Hitler's family was born in Waldviertel, in Lower Austria. At the time, the name Hitler changed in this region several times between Hüttler, Hiedler, Hittler and Hitler. The name was commonly in the German-speaking area of Europe in the 19th century.[7] The literature says that this name is descended from the Czech name Hidlar or Hidlarcek.[8]
12
+
13
+ Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889, as the fourth child of six[9] in Braunau am Inn. This is a small town near Linz in the province of Upper Austria. It is close to the German border, in what was then Austria-Hungary. His parents were Klara Pölzl and Alois Hitler. Because of his father's job, Hitler moved from Braunau to Passau, later to Lambach and finally to Leonding. He attended several Volksschule's.
14
+
15
+ Hitler's mother, Klara Pölzl, was his father's third wife and also his cousin.[10] Hitler's father died in 1903.
16
+
17
+ Hitler failed high school exams in Linz twice. In 1905, he left school. He became interested in the anti-Semitic (anti-Jewish), Pan-German teachings of Professor Leopold Poetsch. In September 1907, he went to Vienna and took an entrance examination. On 1 and 2 October, he failed the second examination. Hitler went back to Linz at the end of October. In December 1907, Hitler's mother died and, because of that, he was depressed.[11] Hitler's mother was Catholic, but Hitler hated Christianity.[source?] He also hated Jews.[12]
18
+
19
+ In 1909, Hitler again went to Vienna to study art. He tried to become a student at the Academy of Arts, but failed the first entrance examination.[11] Hitler said he first became an anti-Semite in Vienna. This town had a large Jewish community.[13]
20
+
21
+ In 1913, Hitler was 24 years old. At that time, all young Austrian men had to join the army. Hitler did not like the Austrian army, so he left Austria for Germany. He lived in the German city of Munich.[11]
22
+
23
+ On 16 August 1914, Hitler joined the Bavarian army. He fought for Germany in World War I. Hitler served in Belgium and France in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment. He spent nearly the whole time on the Western Front. He was a runner, one of the most dangerous jobs on the Front.[14] That means he ran from one position to another one to carry messages. On 1 November 1914, Hitler became a Gefreiter (which was like being a private first class in the United States Army, or a lance corporal in the British Army). The government awarded him the Iron Cross Second Class on 2 December 1914.
24
+
25
+ On 5 October 1916, Hitler was hurt by a bullet shell. Between 9 October and 1 December, he was in the military hospital Belitz.[15] In March 1917, he went back to the front. There, he fought in a battle and was awarded with the Militärverdienstkreuz Third Class with swords.
26
+
27
+ In March 1918, Hitler participated in the Spring Offensive. On 4 August 1918, Hitler was awarded with the Iron Cross First Class by the Jewish Hugo Gutmann. After Germany surrendered, Hitler was shocked, because the German army still held enemy area in November 1918.[16]
28
+
29
+ After World War I, Hitler stayed in the army and returned to Munich. There he attended the funeral march of the Bavarian prime minister Kurt Eisner, who had been killed.[17] In 1919, he participated in a training programme for propaganda speakers from 5 to 12 June and 26 June to 5 July.
30
+
31
+ Later that year, Hitler joined a small political party called the German Workers Party. He became member number 555.[18] He soon won the support of the party's members. Two years later, he became the party's leader. He renamed the party the National Socialist German Workers Party. It became known as the Nazi Party.
32
+
33
+ In 1923, Hitler got together several hundred other members of the Nazi Party and tried to take over the Weimar Republic government (1918–34) in the Beer Hall Putsch.[19] The coup failed. The government killed 13 of his men[20] (the 13 dead men were later declared saints in Nazi ideology). They also put Hitler in the Landsberg Prison. They said that he would stay in prison for five years, but they let him leave after nine months.
34
+
35
+ While Hitler was in prison, he wrote a book with the help of his close friend Rudolf Hess. At first, Hitler wanted to call the book Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice. In the end, he called the book "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle").[21]
36
+
37
+ Mein Kampf brought together some of Hitler's different ideas and explains where they came from:[22]
38
+
39
+ Hitler may also have been influenced by Martin Luther's On the Jews and their Lies. In Mein Kampf, Hitler says Martin Luther was "a great warrior, a true statesman and a great reformer."[13]
40
+
41
+ In 1933, Hitler was elected into the German government. He ended freedom of speech, and put his enemies in jail or killed them. He did not allow any other political party except the Nazi party.[19] Hitler and his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, spread extreme nationalism within Germany. All media had to praise the Nazis. Also, more people were born because Hitler wanted more people of the "master race" (those he called "Aryans"). He made Germany a totalitarian Nazi state.[23]
42
+
43
+ Despite Poland being carved out of former German territory, Hitler is credited with starting World War II by ordering the German Army to invade Poland.[24] His army took over Poland and most of Europe, including France and a large part of the Soviet Union.
44
+
45
+ During the war, Hitler ordered the Nazis to kill many people, including women and children. The Nazis killed around six million Jews in The Holocaust. Other people that the Nazis killed were Roma (Gypsies), homosexuals, Slavs such as Russians and Poles, and his political opponents.[25]
46
+
47
+ Finally, some of the other countries in the world worked together to defeat Germany. Hitler lost all of the land that he had taken. Millions of Germans were killed in the war. At the end of World War II, Hitler gave all people in the Führerbunker the permission to leave it. Many people did and moved to the region of Berchtesgaden. They used planes and truck convoys.
48
+
49
+ Hitler, the Göbbels family, Martin Bormann, Eva Braun and some other staff remained in the bunker.[26] Hitler married to Eva Braun on 29 April 1945.
50
+
51
+ Forty hours after Hitler and Eva Braun got married in Berlin, both of them used poison to kill themselves, then Hitler shot himself in the head with his gun.[26] Before this, Hitler ordered that their bodies be burned.[27] This prevented him from being captured alive by soldiers of the Red Army, who were closing in on him.
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@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Winter is one of the four seasons and the coldest time of the year. The days are shorter and the nights are longer. Winter comes after autumn and before spring.
2
+
3
+ Winter begins at the winter solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere the winter solstice is usually December 21 or December 22. In the Southern Hemisphere the winter solstice is usually June 21 or June 22.
4
+
5
+ Some animals hibernate during this season. In temperate climates there are no leaves on deciduous trees. People wear warm clothing and eat food that was grown earlier. Many places have snow in winter, and some people use sleds or skis. Holidays in winter for many countries include Christmas and New Year's Day.
6
+
7
+ The name comes from an old Germanic word that means "time of water" and refers to the rain and snow of winter in middle and high latitudes.
8
+
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@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Football (soccer)
2
+ Basketball
3
+ Rugby
4
+ Gymnastics
5
+ Baseball
6
+ American football
7
+ Cycling·Auto racing
8
+ Cricket·Golf
9
+ Field hockey·Handball
10
+ Archery·Shooting
11
+ Fencing·Weightlifting
12
+ Pentathlon·Triathlon
13
+ Horseback riding
14
+
15
+ Swimming· Diving
16
+ Water polo·Sailing
17
+ Canoeing·Rowing
18
+
19
+ Boxing·Wrestling
20
+ Karate·Taekwondo
21
+
22
+ Tennis· Volleyball
23
+ Table tennis· Badminton
24
+
25
+ Winter sports
26
+
27
+ Skiing·Curling
28
+ Bobsled·Luge
29
+ Snowboarding·Biathlon
30
+ Ice sledge hockey
31
+
32
+ Field Hockey is a well-liked sport for both men and women. It is played in many countries all around the world. In Asian countries like Pakistan and Republic of India, it is considered the "National sport."[1] The game is played between two teams and each team is made up of 11 players. There are four 15-minute quarters with a 15 minute break at halftime and a 2 minute break after the 1st and 3rd quarters. Field hockey is played with a ball on natural grass, or on sand-based or water based artificial turfs with a small hard ball. The field has a goal at each end. A semi-circle about 15 meters from the goal is known as the shooting circle. Goals can only be scored when the ball is in the shooting circle.
33
+
34
+ Players use a hockey stick to move the ball. The stick is in the shape of a J and is made out of wood, glass and fibre. The players each play a position like fullbacks, halfbacks, forwards and goalkeepers.
35
+
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@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ A leap year is a year in which an extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar, which is used by most of the world. While an ordinary year has 365 days, a leap year has 366 days. The extra day, February 29, is added to the month of February. In an ordinary year, February has 28 days, but in a leap year, it has 29 days. The extra day, called a leap day, is the same day of the week as the first day of the month, February 1. Also, in a leap year, the months of January, April, and July all start on the same day of the week.
2
+
3
+ A leap year comes once every four years. Because of this, a leap year can always be evenly divided by four. For example, 2020 (this year) is a leap year. But a year is a common year if it can be evenly divided by 100 but not by 400. This is why 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years, but 1700, 1800, and 1900 are common years.
4
+
5
+ We have leap years because instead of 365 days, the Earth really takes a few minutes less than 365-1/4 days (365.24219) to go completely around the Sun. Without leap years, the seasons would start one day earlier on the calendar every four years. After 360 years, spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (which usually begins on March 21) would begin on December 21 (which is when winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere presently begins).
6
+
7
+ A number of countries use a lunar calendar (based on the Moon, instead of the Sun, like our solar calendar is). They have leap years when they add an extra lunar month. Different calendars add the extra month in different ways. So a year which has 366 days instead of 365 days where the month of February has 29 days is called a leap year.
ensimple/2590.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Football (soccer)
2
+ Basketball
3
+ Rugby
4
+ Gymnastics
5
+ Baseball
6
+ American football
7
+ Cycling·Auto racing
8
+ Cricket·Golf
9
+ Field hockey·Handball
10
+ Archery·Shooting
11
+ Fencing·Weightlifting
12
+ Pentathlon·Triathlon
13
+ Horseback riding
14
+
15
+ Swimming· Diving
16
+ Water polo·Sailing
17
+ Canoeing·Rowing
18
+
19
+ Boxing·Wrestling
20
+ Karate·Taekwondo
21
+
22
+ Tennis· Volleyball
23
+ Table tennis· Badminton
24
+
25
+ Winter sports
26
+
27
+ Skiing·Curling
28
+ Bobsled·Luge
29
+ Snowboarding·Biathlon
30
+ Ice sledge hockey
31
+
32
+ Ice hockey is a sport that is played by two teams on ice. The players wear ice skates on their feet and can skate across the ice at very high speeds. They hold hockey sticks, which they use to push, shoot or pass a puck around the ice. The players score by shooting the puck into a net; the goaltenders try to stop them. Six players on each team play at once, but a whole team has over 20 players. Each team has 2 defenders, 3 forwards, and a goalie on the ice at a time. When a player breaks a rule, a referee calls a penalty, and the player has to sit in a penalty box for 2-4 minutes. While the player sits in the penalty box, his team has to play without him, and will have fewer players on the ice until the penalty is over.
33
+
34
+ Ice hockey is very well-known and well-liked in Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, the United States, Latvia and Slovakia. Most of the best players in the world play in the National Hockey League (NHL), which has 31 teams in the United States and Canada. These teams are divided 2 conferences and 4 divisions. In the regular season, they play 82 games. Each team faces each other about 3 times. They try to win the Stanley Cup at the end of the year. Another popular hockey league is the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), which has teams in Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Belarus, Slovakia, China and Croatia. In North America, women play in the Canadian Women's Hockey League and the Western Women's Hockey League. In North America and Europe, men's hockey is much more popular than women's hockey. Hockey is played by both men and women at the Olympic games, and at world championships. Ice hockey began in Canada in the 19th century. There are two types of penalty: The major and the minor. The minor is the main one the referee will call during a game and the players have to go in the penalty box for two minutes. The major is when players fight with each other or when someone did something very dangerous. Most of time players are kicked out of the games but in a fight they only get 5 minutes in the penalty box. In the National Hockey League (NHL) there are four referees. Two lineman and two head referee. Only head referees can call the penalty. They can be recognized by the orange armband on their arm. In the major league, the game is separated into three periods of 20 minutes. For the minor league, the time can be different for each category. Each period starts after the face-off. A face-off is when two teams are in position around the face-off circle. Then, the referee drops the puck between the players who play center. There are 6 different positions: center, right wing, left wing, right defense, left defense and goalie. The play is over after a whistle of any referee. After a whistle-blow, the time stops running. Each team can have a maximum of 20 players, including two goaltenders who have a zone to defend. Each team has one captain and two or three assistant captains. The ice is separated into three zones. Each zone is marked by lines. The center zone is between two blue lines and team zones are between one blue line and the end of the ice. The lineman can whistle for two reasons: icing and offside. An icing is when a player throws the puck into the zone before he crosses the red line (center line) and an offside is when a player enters the zone before the one who has the puck enters with it.
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1
+ Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎, Katsushika Hokusai, October 31, 1760–May 10, 1849), also called Hokusai, was a Japanese artist. He was a master of the ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.[1]
2
+
3
+ The artist is best known for The Great Wave off Kanagawa, which is a woodblock print.[2]
ensimple/2592.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles, California. It is very famous around the world as a place where movies and television series are made. It has many different attractions such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Universal Studios and the famous Hollywood Sign. Many tourists come to Hollywood to see all of these things. Because of the importance of Hollywood in the movie industry of the United States, the whole industry is often called "Hollywood", even though not all movies are made in Hollywood. This use of the word "Hollywood" is called metonymy.
2
+
3
+ Many historic Hollywood theatres are used as venues and concert stages to premiere major theatrical releases (Hauptkinostarts) and host the Academy Awards. It is a popular destination for nightlife and tourism and home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Hollywood Walk of Fame was created in 1958 and the first star was placed in 1960. It is a sidewalk along the Hollywood Boulevard and the USA. There are more than 2000 five-points stars on the walk featuring the names of artists working in the entertainment industry.
4
+
5
+ The first movie to be made entirely in Hollywood was the 17-minute short In Old California. It was directed by D. W. Griffith. It was released in 1910.
6
+
7
+ On the mountain overlooking Hollywood, there is a sign that is made of very big letters, spelling out its name. It´s called the "Hollywood sign". The huge Hollywood sign was built in 1923.
8
+
9
+ Coordinates: 34°06′N 118°20′W / 34.100°N 118.333°W / 34.100; -118.333
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@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ The Holocaust, sometimes called The Shoah (Hebrew: השואה‎), was a genocide in which Nazi Germany systematically killed people during World War II. About six million Jews were killed,[a][13][14] as well as five million others that the Nazis claimed were inferior (mostly Slavs, communists, Romani/Roma people, people with disabilities, homosexuals, and Jehovah's Witnesses). These people were rounded up, put in ghettos, forced to work in concentration camps, and then killed in gas chambers.[15] Jews were forced to wear the yellow Star of David, a symbol of their religion.
2
+
3
+ There was hatred and persecution of Jews (anti-Semitism) in Europe for hundreds of years. Many people wrongly thought that all Jews became rich by stealing money from other people, such as Christians; that they did not like people other than their fellow Jews; and that they harmed children to use their blood for religious rituals (blood libel). These beliefs were not true, and were based on stereotypes and prejudices.
4
+
5
+ However these beliefs were popular in the German-speaking world and elsewhere in the late 1800s.
6
+
7
+ Adolf Hitler was born in Austria during this time, when many people disliked Jews. He may have been jealous of Jewish success in Austria. However, in a book he wrote called Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), he said it was the Jews' fault that Germany and Austria lost World War I. He also wrote that Germany's economic problems were the Jews' fault. Many people agreed with Hitler’s ideas and supported him as the leader of the Nazi Party.[16][17]
8
+
9
+ Not all deaths were written down, so the exact numbers are not known. However various sources approximate:
10
+
11
+ Led by Hitler, the Nazis killed millions of Jews. They forced Jews to wear the golden Star of David on their upper bodies. Jews were rounded up by the thousands and crammed into trains that took them to concentration camps like Auschwitz as well as death camps. Most of the Jews killed in the Holocaust were not German. They were from Poland or the Soviet Union.
12
+
13
+ The Nazis killed millions of people, hundreds at a time, with poison gas in special rooms called gas chambers. They forced others to dig giant holes in the ground where, after days of hard work, Jews and other prisoners were shot, buried, and burned in a mass grave. The Nazis executed many others by shooting, stabbing, or beating them to death. Still others died in forced marches from one camp to another. Many other people died of starvation, diseases, and freezing to death because of the terrible conditions in the concentration camps.
14
+
15
+ On the other hand, there were people who saved Jews from the Holocaust, because they thought it was the right thing to do. Some of them were later given "Righteous Among the Nations" awards by Yad Vashem.
16
+
17
+ Some people say the Holocaust did not happen at all,[20] or was not as bad as historians say it was. This is called Holocaust denial. However, almost all historians agree that the Holocaust did happen and has been described correctly.[21] Many Holocaust deniers profess that the Nazis did not kill as many people as historians say. Instead, they claim many of these people died from disease or lack of food, usually in order to shift blame from the Nazis. These ideas have been disproven by historical accounts, eyewitness evidence, and documentary evidence from the Nazis themselves. Also many Jews were killed because Hitler ordered it. In some countries in Europe, including Germany,[22] it is against the law to say that the Holocaust never happened.[23]
18
+
19
+ Yad Vashem (2019): "The Holocaust was the murder by Nazi Germany of six million Jews."[12]
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1
+ Homer is the name of the Greek poet who wrote the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.[1] These are the earliest works of Greek literature which have survived to the present day, and are among the greatest treasures of the ancient world. They are a product of Mycenaean culture. The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan war, which took place around 1190 BC. The manuscripts of Homer were written much later, probably later than 800 BC.
2
+
3
+ What makes the history of this period so difficult is that the Mycenaean civilization was followed by several hundred years of decline, from which little or no writing has survived. This period, the Greek Dark Age, ended around 800 BC, when once again we find Greek writing, though this time in their newly developed alphabetic script. Therefore, there is a distinct possibility that the Homeric epics had a life, perhaps a long life, as oral literature, spoken by story-tellers.
4
+
5
+ We know little about Homer, and the later Greeks also knew little about him. Some have doubted he was a real person; others think he was a woman.[2]
6
+ A legend, has it that he was a blind poet who lived in Ionia. There is no definite evidence for any of these ideas.
7
+
8
+ There is archaeological evidence that Troy existed. The site of Troy has been discovered, and excavated. Therefore, it is a fair guess that the epic began as a long oral poem based on the siege of Troy, but with details added and changed as time went on.[3] Virtually every feature of Homer's poetry is due to the economy forced on it by oral methods of composition.[4][5]
9
+
10
+ The date of Homer's existence is not known. Herodotus said that Homer lived 400 years before his own time, which would place him at around 850 BC;[6][7][8][9][10][11] but other ancient sources gave dates much closer to the time of the Trojan War.[12] The date of the Trojan War was given as 1194–1184 BC by Eratosthenes.
11
+
12
+ Today, "the date of Homer" means the date of the writing down the oral poems, rather than the life of Homer. This is called the transcription date. The language suggests that the earliest possible date for the transcription is 800 BC, and the latest possible date is 600 AD.[13]
ensimple/2595.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Homer is the name of the Greek poet who wrote the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.[1] These are the earliest works of Greek literature which have survived to the present day, and are among the greatest treasures of the ancient world. They are a product of Mycenaean culture. The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan war, which took place around 1190 BC. The manuscripts of Homer were written much later, probably later than 800 BC.
2
+
3
+ What makes the history of this period so difficult is that the Mycenaean civilization was followed by several hundred years of decline, from which little or no writing has survived. This period, the Greek Dark Age, ended around 800 BC, when once again we find Greek writing, though this time in their newly developed alphabetic script. Therefore, there is a distinct possibility that the Homeric epics had a life, perhaps a long life, as oral literature, spoken by story-tellers.
4
+
5
+ We know little about Homer, and the later Greeks also knew little about him. Some have doubted he was a real person; others think he was a woman.[2]
6
+ A legend, has it that he was a blind poet who lived in Ionia. There is no definite evidence for any of these ideas.
7
+
8
+ There is archaeological evidence that Troy existed. The site of Troy has been discovered, and excavated. Therefore, it is a fair guess that the epic began as a long oral poem based on the siege of Troy, but with details added and changed as time went on.[3] Virtually every feature of Homer's poetry is due to the economy forced on it by oral methods of composition.[4][5]
9
+
10
+ The date of Homer's existence is not known. Herodotus said that Homer lived 400 years before his own time, which would place him at around 850 BC;[6][7][8][9][10][11] but other ancient sources gave dates much closer to the time of the Trojan War.[12] The date of the Trojan War was given as 1194–1184 BC by Eratosthenes.
11
+
12
+ Today, "the date of Homer" means the date of the writing down the oral poems, rather than the life of Homer. This is called the transcription date. The language suggests that the earliest possible date for the transcription is 800 BC, and the latest possible date is 600 AD.[13]
ensimple/2596.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Homer is the name of the Greek poet who wrote the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.[1] These are the earliest works of Greek literature which have survived to the present day, and are among the greatest treasures of the ancient world. They are a product of Mycenaean culture. The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan war, which took place around 1190 BC. The manuscripts of Homer were written much later, probably later than 800 BC.
2
+
3
+ What makes the history of this period so difficult is that the Mycenaean civilization was followed by several hundred years of decline, from which little or no writing has survived. This period, the Greek Dark Age, ended around 800 BC, when once again we find Greek writing, though this time in their newly developed alphabetic script. Therefore, there is a distinct possibility that the Homeric epics had a life, perhaps a long life, as oral literature, spoken by story-tellers.
4
+
5
+ We know little about Homer, and the later Greeks also knew little about him. Some have doubted he was a real person; others think he was a woman.[2]
6
+ A legend, has it that he was a blind poet who lived in Ionia. There is no definite evidence for any of these ideas.
7
+
8
+ There is archaeological evidence that Troy existed. The site of Troy has been discovered, and excavated. Therefore, it is a fair guess that the epic began as a long oral poem based on the siege of Troy, but with details added and changed as time went on.[3] Virtually every feature of Homer's poetry is due to the economy forced on it by oral methods of composition.[4][5]
9
+
10
+ The date of Homer's existence is not known. Herodotus said that Homer lived 400 years before his own time, which would place him at around 850 BC;[6][7][8][9][10][11] but other ancient sources gave dates much closer to the time of the Trojan War.[12] The date of the Trojan War was given as 1194–1184 BC by Eratosthenes.
11
+
12
+ Today, "the date of Homer" means the date of the writing down the oral poems, rather than the life of Homer. This is called the transcription date. The language suggests that the earliest possible date for the transcription is 800 BC, and the latest possible date is 600 AD.[13]
ensimple/2597.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Homer Simpson (born May 12, 1951) is a cartoon character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He first appeared, along with the other members of the Simpson family on The Tracey Ullman Show in the Simpson Short "Good Night".
2
+
3
+ He is the father of Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, and Maggie Simpson; he is also the husband of Marge Simpson. He lives in the fictional town known as Springfield.
4
+
5
+ Homer is clumsy, fat and very lazy. He is also an alcoholic, and is not very intelligent. He works as a Safety Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer is one of the most popular and famous fictional characters and is thought of as one of the greatest comedic animated characters of modern times.[1] Although Homer seems selfish, he does actually care for his family. In one episode he entered Lisa in a beauty contest so she could feel better about herself. He is often heard saying "D'oh!" which has become an often used word when things go wrong. He likes to drink beer and is often seen hanging out at Moe's Tavern with his best friends Carl Carlson, Lenny Leonard, and Barney Gumble.
6
+
7
+ Matt Groening first drew the Simpson family in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. After he had decided not to do his "Life in Hell" cartoon series, he quickly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, with Homer being named after his father.[2] Homer's middle initial "J," which was discovered to stand for "Jay",[3] was a "tribute" to Bullwinkle J. Moose from Rocky and Bullwinkle, a show Matt Groening loved as a child.[4] In a TV Guide poll, Homer was named as the second greatest cartoon character, behind Bugs Bunny.
8
+
9
+ A five-year study of more than 2,500 middle-aged people in France found a possible connection between weight and brain function, named as the "Homer Simpson syndrome".[5] Results from a word memory test showed that people with a BMI of 20 (considered to be a healthy level) remembered an average of 9 out of 16 words. Meanwhile, people with a BMI of 30 (inside the obese range) remembered an average of 7 out of 16 words.[5]
ensimple/2598.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Literature is a group of works of art made up of words. Most are written, but some are passed on by word of mouth. Literature usually means works of poetry and prose that are especially well written.[1] There are many different kinds of literature, such as poetry, plays, or novels. They can also be put into groups through their language, historical period, origin, genre, and subject.[1] The word literature comes from the Latin word "learning, writing, grammar".[2]
2
+
3
+ Most of the earliest works were epic poems. Epic poems are long stories or myths about adventures. Ramayana and Mahabharta, two Indian epics, are still read today. Odyssey and Iliad are two famous Greek poems by Homer. They were passed down through speaking and written down around the 8th century BC.
4
+
5
+ Literature can also mean imaginative or creative writing, which is looked at for its artistic value.
ensimple/2599.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+
2
+
3
+ The Neanderthal,[1] a species of the genus Homo, was a near relative of our own species. Its scientific name is Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.[2]
4
+
5
+ Neanderthal fossils were only found in Europe, Asia Minor and up to central Asia. The first fossil was found in a limestone quarry near Düsseldorf: One of the workers found part of a skeleton, in a valley called Neanderthal. Experts Johann Carl Fuhlrott and Hermann Schaaffhausen said the bones belonged to an older form of modern humans. These bones are known as Neanderthal 1 today.
6
+
7
+ Recent research suggests Neanderthals became extinct about 40,000 years ago.[3] Earlier research had suggested a later date; the problem is the dating of the archaeological sites where their remains have been found.
8
+
9
+ Neanderthals perhaps evolved from Homo heidelbergensis and split off (last common ancestor) from modern humans between 700,000 and 300,000 years ago.[4]
10
+
11
+ Neanderthals used to be classified as a subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis). Now, they are usually classified as a separate human species (Homo neanderthalensis).
12
+
13
+ Neanderthal remains have been found in most of Europe south of land covered by ice including the south coast of Great Britain. Finds have also been made outside of Europe in the Zagros Mountains and in the Levant.
14
+
15
+ The size of the Neanderthal brain shows that Neanderthals were probably intelligent. On average, they had larger brains than modern humans.[5] Large brains are something of a physical weakness. That is because they consume lots of energy,[6] make the skull more likely to be damaged, and cause difficulties during birth. These disadvantages may be less than the advantages, for example, better problem-solving, better social co-operation, language and tool-making.
16
+
17
+ Neanderthal flint tools (for example, hand axes) were more finely made than those of early man. They were much less varied and finely made than the neolithic tools of modern man. Known Neaderthal art is much less complex than contemporary art from H. sapiens.[7]
18
+
19
+ The oldest flute ever discovered may be the so-called Divje Babe flute, found in the Slovenian cave Divje Babe I in 1995. It is about 43,100 years old.[8][9][10] It is from a juvenile cave bear femur at the Divje Babe site, near a Mousterian hearth. Archaeologists ask two key questions:
20
+
21
+ Is it a flute? This has been discussed at length.[11][12][13][14] The best summary is that it is certainly possible for it to be a flute, but it is unproved (not certain).
22
+
23
+ If it is a flute, was it made by Neanderthals? Again, this is not decided. It is on public display as a flute in the National Museum of Slovenia (Narodni Muzej Slovenije) in Ljubljana. The museum's visitor leaflet says that manufacture by Neanderthals "is reliably proven".[15] This is not a general view, and again it is best to describe the idea as "not proven".[12][16][17]
24
+
25
+ For a long time, people have wondered whether Neanderthals could talk. Many people believe they could, because the large brain size would be hard to understand if they could not. When an undamaged Neanderthal hyoid bone was discovered, it made people think Neanderthals could talk. That is because, in humans, the hyoid is a support for the voice box. Computer analysis has shown that the Neanderthal hyoid was very similar to human hyoids.[18] Researchers say "our findings are consistent with a capacity for speech in the Neanderthals".[19]
26
+
27
+ In August 1856 the specimen that was to become known as Neanderthal 1 was discovered in the Neander Valley, Germany. The material was found in a limestone quarry near Düsseldorf. A skull cap was first discovered, followed by two femurs, five arm bones, part of the left pelvis, and fragments of a shoulder blade and ribs.
28
+
29
+ Actually, some remains had been found earlier, but not recognised as a separate species from us. The Engis child from Belgium was the first Neanderthal discovered, in 1829. The second discovered was the Forbes Quarry find from Gibralter in 1848.
30
+
31
+ Neanderthal men were about 164–168 cm (5.3 ft) tall and averaged 77.6 kg (171 lbs) in weight. Neanderthal women stood about 154 cm (5 ft) tall and averaged 66.4 kg (146 lbs) in weight.[20]
32
+
33
+ Neanderthals had stronger (more robust) build and distinctive morphological features, especially of the skull. They were much stronger than modern humans;[21] especially in the upper body.
34
+
35
+ Neanderthal long bones and joints are thicker than ours, and some long bones have a slight curve. Both the thickness and the curve suggest the need for more strength than our species.
36
+
37
+ Since 2007, tooth age can be directly calculated using the noninvasive imaging of growth patterns in tooth enamel by means of x-ray synchrotron microtomography.[22]
38
+
39
+ This research suggests much more rapid physical development in Neanderthals than in modern human children.[23] The x-ray synchrotron microtomography study of early H. sapiens argues that this difference existed between the two species as far back as 160,000 years before present.[24]
40
+
41
+ Neanderthals seemed to suffer a high frequency of fractures. These fractures are often healed and show little or no sign of infection, suggesting that injured individuals were cared for during times of incapacitation.
42
+
43
+ Neanderthals showed a frequency of such injuries comparable to that of modern rodeo professionals, showing frequent contact with large, combative mammals. The fractures suggest they may have hunted by leaping onto their prey and stabbing or even wrestling it to the ground.[25]
44
+
45
+ They lived in Eurasia during the ice ages of the Pleistocene, and hunted large mammals, such as bison, auroch (an ancestor of living cattle), deer, reindeer, musk ox and mammoth.
46
+
47
+ The skulls are slightly larger than Homo sapiens, and this implies intelligence and probably the use of language. The skeleton, on the other hand, suggests they tended to solve their problems (such as hunting) more by force than we do.
48
+
49
+ Neanderthal stone tools are called Mousterian, and are an advance on the Acheulean tools made by earlier species of Man. Homo sapiens stone tools are far more varied still, and suggest that our species relied more on tools than the Neanderthals.
50
+
51
+ Neanderthals were almost exclusively meat eaters although their diet did include cooked vegetables. They made good tools and lived in complex social groups. Research on their remains has shown that it is possible that they had a spoken language but the nature of any such language is unknown.
52
+
53
+ There are a number of theories that try to explain why the Neanderthals died out. It has been suggested that they may have been unable to adapt to the changing climate. Alternatively it has been suggested that they were unable to successfully compete with the ancestors of modern humans.
ensimple/26.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ Achilles (Ancient Greek: Ἀχιλλεύς, Akhilleus) was a hero of the Trojan War and is the central character of Homer's Iliad. The son of the mortal hero Peleus and the Nereid Thetis, he is the leader of the Myrmidons, and is described as the greatest of all the Achaean warriors. The Iliad, which is set in the ninth year of the Trojan War, starts with a quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek forces.[1]
2
+
3
+ Achilles' most notable feat during the Trojan War was his slaying the Trojan prince Hector outside the gates of Troy, as revenge against Hector for killing his companion Patroclus. While Achilles' death is not presented in the Iliad (as the poem ends with Hector's funeral), other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the war by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow.
4
+
5
+ Later stories depict Achilles as being invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel, as that is where his mother Thetis held him when she dipped him in the River Styx as an infant. As such, the term "Achilles' heel" has come to mean a point of fatal weakness. Because of that, his heel was still vulnerable. However, the Iliad does not say this.
6
+
7
+ According to the legend, Achilles was killed by Paris, who shot his heel with a poisoned arrow. Achilles was shot many times by the arrows of Paris but the only arrow found on his body was through his heel.
ensimple/260.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+ One year is about 365 days long (except in a leap year). It is the time it takes the Earth to go completely around (orbit) the sun once. A year is actually 365.2422 days long, but a calendar has 365 days, except in a leap year.
2
+
3
+ The year starts on January 1 and ends on December 31 in the Gregorian calendar, but a fiscal year or a school year can start on a different day of the year.
4
+
5
+ There are several ways used to measure the length of a year.
6
+
7
+ Solar and lunar years are used by different calendars for daily life. The other measurements are used by astronomers.
8
+
9
+ January |
10
+ February |
11
+ March |
12
+ April |
13
+ May |
14
+ June |
15
+ July |
16
+ August |
17
+ September |
18
+ October |
19
+ November |
20
+ December
ensimple/2600.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+
2
+
3
+ The Neanderthal,[1] a species of the genus Homo, was a near relative of our own species. Its scientific name is Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.[2]
4
+
5
+ Neanderthal fossils were only found in Europe, Asia Minor and up to central Asia. The first fossil was found in a limestone quarry near Düsseldorf: One of the workers found part of a skeleton, in a valley called Neanderthal. Experts Johann Carl Fuhlrott and Hermann Schaaffhausen said the bones belonged to an older form of modern humans. These bones are known as Neanderthal 1 today.
6
+
7
+ Recent research suggests Neanderthals became extinct about 40,000 years ago.[3] Earlier research had suggested a later date; the problem is the dating of the archaeological sites where their remains have been found.
8
+
9
+ Neanderthals perhaps evolved from Homo heidelbergensis and split off (last common ancestor) from modern humans between 700,000 and 300,000 years ago.[4]
10
+
11
+ Neanderthals used to be classified as a subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis). Now, they are usually classified as a separate human species (Homo neanderthalensis).
12
+
13
+ Neanderthal remains have been found in most of Europe south of land covered by ice including the south coast of Great Britain. Finds have also been made outside of Europe in the Zagros Mountains and in the Levant.
14
+
15
+ The size of the Neanderthal brain shows that Neanderthals were probably intelligent. On average, they had larger brains than modern humans.[5] Large brains are something of a physical weakness. That is because they consume lots of energy,[6] make the skull more likely to be damaged, and cause difficulties during birth. These disadvantages may be less than the advantages, for example, better problem-solving, better social co-operation, language and tool-making.
16
+
17
+ Neanderthal flint tools (for example, hand axes) were more finely made than those of early man. They were much less varied and finely made than the neolithic tools of modern man. Known Neaderthal art is much less complex than contemporary art from H. sapiens.[7]
18
+
19
+ The oldest flute ever discovered may be the so-called Divje Babe flute, found in the Slovenian cave Divje Babe I in 1995. It is about 43,100 years old.[8][9][10] It is from a juvenile cave bear femur at the Divje Babe site, near a Mousterian hearth. Archaeologists ask two key questions:
20
+
21
+ Is it a flute? This has been discussed at length.[11][12][13][14] The best summary is that it is certainly possible for it to be a flute, but it is unproved (not certain).
22
+
23
+ If it is a flute, was it made by Neanderthals? Again, this is not decided. It is on public display as a flute in the National Museum of Slovenia (Narodni Muzej Slovenije) in Ljubljana. The museum's visitor leaflet says that manufacture by Neanderthals "is reliably proven".[15] This is not a general view, and again it is best to describe the idea as "not proven".[12][16][17]
24
+
25
+ For a long time, people have wondered whether Neanderthals could talk. Many people believe they could, because the large brain size would be hard to understand if they could not. When an undamaged Neanderthal hyoid bone was discovered, it made people think Neanderthals could talk. That is because, in humans, the hyoid is a support for the voice box. Computer analysis has shown that the Neanderthal hyoid was very similar to human hyoids.[18] Researchers say "our findings are consistent with a capacity for speech in the Neanderthals".[19]
26
+
27
+ In August 1856 the specimen that was to become known as Neanderthal 1 was discovered in the Neander Valley, Germany. The material was found in a limestone quarry near Düsseldorf. A skull cap was first discovered, followed by two femurs, five arm bones, part of the left pelvis, and fragments of a shoulder blade and ribs.
28
+
29
+ Actually, some remains had been found earlier, but not recognised as a separate species from us. The Engis child from Belgium was the first Neanderthal discovered, in 1829. The second discovered was the Forbes Quarry find from Gibralter in 1848.
30
+
31
+ Neanderthal men were about 164–168 cm (5.3 ft) tall and averaged 77.6 kg (171 lbs) in weight. Neanderthal women stood about 154 cm (5 ft) tall and averaged 66.4 kg (146 lbs) in weight.[20]
32
+
33
+ Neanderthals had stronger (more robust) build and distinctive morphological features, especially of the skull. They were much stronger than modern humans;[21] especially in the upper body.
34
+
35
+ Neanderthal long bones and joints are thicker than ours, and some long bones have a slight curve. Both the thickness and the curve suggest the need for more strength than our species.
36
+
37
+ Since 2007, tooth age can be directly calculated using the noninvasive imaging of growth patterns in tooth enamel by means of x-ray synchrotron microtomography.[22]
38
+
39
+ This research suggests much more rapid physical development in Neanderthals than in modern human children.[23] The x-ray synchrotron microtomography study of early H. sapiens argues that this difference existed between the two species as far back as 160,000 years before present.[24]
40
+
41
+ Neanderthals seemed to suffer a high frequency of fractures. These fractures are often healed and show little or no sign of infection, suggesting that injured individuals were cared for during times of incapacitation.
42
+
43
+ Neanderthals showed a frequency of such injuries comparable to that of modern rodeo professionals, showing frequent contact with large, combative mammals. The fractures suggest they may have hunted by leaping onto their prey and stabbing or even wrestling it to the ground.[25]
44
+
45
+ They lived in Eurasia during the ice ages of the Pleistocene, and hunted large mammals, such as bison, auroch (an ancestor of living cattle), deer, reindeer, musk ox and mammoth.
46
+
47
+ The skulls are slightly larger than Homo sapiens, and this implies intelligence and probably the use of language. The skeleton, on the other hand, suggests they tended to solve their problems (such as hunting) more by force than we do.
48
+
49
+ Neanderthal stone tools are called Mousterian, and are an advance on the Acheulean tools made by earlier species of Man. Homo sapiens stone tools are far more varied still, and suggest that our species relied more on tools than the Neanderthals.
50
+
51
+ Neanderthals were almost exclusively meat eaters although their diet did include cooked vegetables. They made good tools and lived in complex social groups. Research on their remains has shown that it is possible that they had a spoken language but the nature of any such language is unknown.
52
+
53
+ There are a number of theories that try to explain why the Neanderthals died out. It has been suggested that they may have been unable to adapt to the changing climate. Alternatively it has been suggested that they were unable to successfully compete with the ancestors of modern humans.
ensimple/2601.html.txt ADDED
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
+
2
+
3
+ The Neanderthal,[1] a species of the genus Homo, was a near relative of our own species. Its scientific name is Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.[2]
4
+
5
+ Neanderthal fossils were only found in Europe, Asia Minor and up to central Asia. The first fossil was found in a limestone quarry near Düsseldorf: One of the workers found part of a skeleton, in a valley called Neanderthal. Experts Johann Carl Fuhlrott and Hermann Schaaffhausen said the bones belonged to an older form of modern humans. These bones are known as Neanderthal 1 today.
6
+
7
+ Recent research suggests Neanderthals became extinct about 40,000 years ago.[3] Earlier research had suggested a later date; the problem is the dating of the archaeological sites where their remains have been found.
8
+
9
+ Neanderthals perhaps evolved from Homo heidelbergensis and split off (last common ancestor) from modern humans between 700,000 and 300,000 years ago.[4]
10
+
11
+ Neanderthals used to be classified as a subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis). Now, they are usually classified as a separate human species (Homo neanderthalensis).
12
+
13
+ Neanderthal remains have been found in most of Europe south of land covered by ice including the south coast of Great Britain. Finds have also been made outside of Europe in the Zagros Mountains and in the Levant.
14
+
15
+ The size of the Neanderthal brain shows that Neanderthals were probably intelligent. On average, they had larger brains than modern humans.[5] Large brains are something of a physical weakness. That is because they consume lots of energy,[6] make the skull more likely to be damaged, and cause difficulties during birth. These disadvantages may be less than the advantages, for example, better problem-solving, better social co-operation, language and tool-making.
16
+
17
+ Neanderthal flint tools (for example, hand axes) were more finely made than those of early man. They were much less varied and finely made than the neolithic tools of modern man. Known Neaderthal art is much less complex than contemporary art from H. sapiens.[7]
18
+
19
+ The oldest flute ever discovered may be the so-called Divje Babe flute, found in the Slovenian cave Divje Babe I in 1995. It is about 43,100 years old.[8][9][10] It is from a juvenile cave bear femur at the Divje Babe site, near a Mousterian hearth. Archaeologists ask two key questions:
20
+
21
+ Is it a flute? This has been discussed at length.[11][12][13][14] The best summary is that it is certainly possible for it to be a flute, but it is unproved (not certain).
22
+
23
+ If it is a flute, was it made by Neanderthals? Again, this is not decided. It is on public display as a flute in the National Museum of Slovenia (Narodni Muzej Slovenije) in Ljubljana. The museum's visitor leaflet says that manufacture by Neanderthals "is reliably proven".[15] This is not a general view, and again it is best to describe the idea as "not proven".[12][16][17]
24
+
25
+ For a long time, people have wondered whether Neanderthals could talk. Many people believe they could, because the large brain size would be hard to understand if they could not. When an undamaged Neanderthal hyoid bone was discovered, it made people think Neanderthals could talk. That is because, in humans, the hyoid is a support for the voice box. Computer analysis has shown that the Neanderthal hyoid was very similar to human hyoids.[18] Researchers say "our findings are consistent with a capacity for speech in the Neanderthals".[19]
26
+
27
+ In August 1856 the specimen that was to become known as Neanderthal 1 was discovered in the Neander Valley, Germany. The material was found in a limestone quarry near Düsseldorf. A skull cap was first discovered, followed by two femurs, five arm bones, part of the left pelvis, and fragments of a shoulder blade and ribs.
28
+
29
+ Actually, some remains had been found earlier, but not recognised as a separate species from us. The Engis child from Belgium was the first Neanderthal discovered, in 1829. The second discovered was the Forbes Quarry find from Gibralter in 1848.
30
+
31
+ Neanderthal men were about 164–168 cm (5.3 ft) tall and averaged 77.6 kg (171 lbs) in weight. Neanderthal women stood about 154 cm (5 ft) tall and averaged 66.4 kg (146 lbs) in weight.[20]
32
+
33
+ Neanderthals had stronger (more robust) build and distinctive morphological features, especially of the skull. They were much stronger than modern humans;[21] especially in the upper body.
34
+
35
+ Neanderthal long bones and joints are thicker than ours, and some long bones have a slight curve. Both the thickness and the curve suggest the need for more strength than our species.
36
+
37
+ Since 2007, tooth age can be directly calculated using the noninvasive imaging of growth patterns in tooth enamel by means of x-ray synchrotron microtomography.[22]
38
+
39
+ This research suggests much more rapid physical development in Neanderthals than in modern human children.[23] The x-ray synchrotron microtomography study of early H. sapiens argues that this difference existed between the two species as far back as 160,000 years before present.[24]
40
+
41
+ Neanderthals seemed to suffer a high frequency of fractures. These fractures are often healed and show little or no sign of infection, suggesting that injured individuals were cared for during times of incapacitation.
42
+
43
+ Neanderthals showed a frequency of such injuries comparable to that of modern rodeo professionals, showing frequent contact with large, combative mammals. The fractures suggest they may have hunted by leaping onto their prey and stabbing or even wrestling it to the ground.[25]
44
+
45
+ They lived in Eurasia during the ice ages of the Pleistocene, and hunted large mammals, such as bison, auroch (an ancestor of living cattle), deer, reindeer, musk ox and mammoth.
46
+
47
+ The skulls are slightly larger than Homo sapiens, and this implies intelligence and probably the use of language. The skeleton, on the other hand, suggests they tended to solve their problems (such as hunting) more by force than we do.
48
+
49
+ Neanderthal stone tools are called Mousterian, and are an advance on the Acheulean tools made by earlier species of Man. Homo sapiens stone tools are far more varied still, and suggest that our species relied more on tools than the Neanderthals.
50
+
51
+ Neanderthals were almost exclusively meat eaters although their diet did include cooked vegetables. They made good tools and lived in complex social groups. Research on their remains has shown that it is possible that they had a spoken language but the nature of any such language is unknown.
52
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+ There are a number of theories that try to explain why the Neanderthals died out. It has been suggested that they may have been unable to adapt to the changing climate. Alternatively it has been suggested that they were unable to successfully compete with the ancestors of modern humans.
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+ The Neanderthal,[1] a species of the genus Homo, was a near relative of our own species. Its scientific name is Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.[2]
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+ Neanderthal fossils were only found in Europe, Asia Minor and up to central Asia. The first fossil was found in a limestone quarry near Düsseldorf: One of the workers found part of a skeleton, in a valley called Neanderthal. Experts Johann Carl Fuhlrott and Hermann Schaaffhausen said the bones belonged to an older form of modern humans. These bones are known as Neanderthal 1 today.
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+ Recent research suggests Neanderthals became extinct about 40,000 years ago.[3] Earlier research had suggested a later date; the problem is the dating of the archaeological sites where their remains have been found.
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+ Neanderthals perhaps evolved from Homo heidelbergensis and split off (last common ancestor) from modern humans between 700,000 and 300,000 years ago.[4]
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+ Neanderthals used to be classified as a subspecies of modern humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis). Now, they are usually classified as a separate human species (Homo neanderthalensis).
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+ Neanderthal remains have been found in most of Europe south of land covered by ice including the south coast of Great Britain. Finds have also been made outside of Europe in the Zagros Mountains and in the Levant.
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+ The size of the Neanderthal brain shows that Neanderthals were probably intelligent. On average, they had larger brains than modern humans.[5] Large brains are something of a physical weakness. That is because they consume lots of energy,[6] make the skull more likely to be damaged, and cause difficulties during birth. These disadvantages may be less than the advantages, for example, better problem-solving, better social co-operation, language and tool-making.
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+ Neanderthal flint tools (for example, hand axes) were more finely made than those of early man. They were much less varied and finely made than the neolithic tools of modern man. Known Neaderthal art is much less complex than contemporary art from H. sapiens.[7]
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+ The oldest flute ever discovered may be the so-called Divje Babe flute, found in the Slovenian cave Divje Babe I in 1995. It is about 43,100 years old.[8][9][10] It is from a juvenile cave bear femur at the Divje Babe site, near a Mousterian hearth. Archaeologists ask two key questions:
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+ Is it a flute? This has been discussed at length.[11][12][13][14] The best summary is that it is certainly possible for it to be a flute, but it is unproved (not certain).
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+ If it is a flute, was it made by Neanderthals? Again, this is not decided. It is on public display as a flute in the National Museum of Slovenia (Narodni Muzej Slovenije) in Ljubljana. The museum's visitor leaflet says that manufacture by Neanderthals "is reliably proven".[15] This is not a general view, and again it is best to describe the idea as "not proven".[12][16][17]
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+ For a long time, people have wondered whether Neanderthals could talk. Many people believe they could, because the large brain size would be hard to understand if they could not. When an undamaged Neanderthal hyoid bone was discovered, it made people think Neanderthals could talk. That is because, in humans, the hyoid is a support for the voice box. Computer analysis has shown that the Neanderthal hyoid was very similar to human hyoids.[18] Researchers say "our findings are consistent with a capacity for speech in the Neanderthals".[19]
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+ In August 1856 the specimen that was to become known as Neanderthal 1 was discovered in the Neander Valley, Germany. The material was found in a limestone quarry near Düsseldorf. A skull cap was first discovered, followed by two femurs, five arm bones, part of the left pelvis, and fragments of a shoulder blade and ribs.
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+ Actually, some remains had been found earlier, but not recognised as a separate species from us. The Engis child from Belgium was the first Neanderthal discovered, in 1829. The second discovered was the Forbes Quarry find from Gibralter in 1848.
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+ Neanderthal men were about 164–168 cm (5.3 ft) tall and averaged 77.6 kg (171 lbs) in weight. Neanderthal women stood about 154 cm (5 ft) tall and averaged 66.4 kg (146 lbs) in weight.[20]
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+ Neanderthals had stronger (more robust) build and distinctive morphological features, especially of the skull. They were much stronger than modern humans;[21] especially in the upper body.
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+ Neanderthal long bones and joints are thicker than ours, and some long bones have a slight curve. Both the thickness and the curve suggest the need for more strength than our species.
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+ Since 2007, tooth age can be directly calculated using the noninvasive imaging of growth patterns in tooth enamel by means of x-ray synchrotron microtomography.[22]
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+ This research suggests much more rapid physical development in Neanderthals than in modern human children.[23] The x-ray synchrotron microtomography study of early H. sapiens argues that this difference existed between the two species as far back as 160,000 years before present.[24]
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+ Neanderthals seemed to suffer a high frequency of fractures. These fractures are often healed and show little or no sign of infection, suggesting that injured individuals were cared for during times of incapacitation.
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+ Neanderthals showed a frequency of such injuries comparable to that of modern rodeo professionals, showing frequent contact with large, combative mammals. The fractures suggest they may have hunted by leaping onto their prey and stabbing or even wrestling it to the ground.[25]
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+ They lived in Eurasia during the ice ages of the Pleistocene, and hunted large mammals, such as bison, auroch (an ancestor of living cattle), deer, reindeer, musk ox and mammoth.
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+ The skulls are slightly larger than Homo sapiens, and this implies intelligence and probably the use of language. The skeleton, on the other hand, suggests they tended to solve their problems (such as hunting) more by force than we do.
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+ Neanderthal stone tools are called Mousterian, and are an advance on the Acheulean tools made by earlier species of Man. Homo sapiens stone tools are far more varied still, and suggest that our species relied more on tools than the Neanderthals.
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+ Neanderthals were almost exclusively meat eaters although their diet did include cooked vegetables. They made good tools and lived in complex social groups. Research on their remains has shown that it is possible that they had a spoken language but the nature of any such language is unknown.
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+
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+ There are a number of theories that try to explain why the Neanderthals died out. It has been suggested that they may have been unable to adapt to the changing climate. Alternatively it has been suggested that they were unable to successfully compete with the ancestors of modern humans.
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+ The Palaeolithic, (or Paleolithic),[1] refers to the prehistoric period when stone tools were made by humans. They are found in the Great Rift Valley of Africa from about 3.3 million years ago.[2][3] They were probably made by Australopithecines. They are found in Europe somewhat later, from about 1 mya (0.7mya for Britain). The Palaeolithic is by far the longest period of humanity's time, about 99% of human history.[4] The geological period which corresponds to the Palaeolithic is the Pleistocene.
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+ Stone tools were not only made by our own species, Homo sapiens. They were made by all previous members of the genus, starting with relatively crude tools made by Homo habilis and Homo erectus. In Europe, the large-brained Neanderthal Man (Homo neanderthalensis) made tools of high quality, and was in turn outshone by the many tools made by our own species. These tools are the first cultural products which have survived.[5][6]
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+ The Palaeolithic dates from about 2.6 million years ago [4][7] and ended around 15,000BC with the Mesolithic in Western Europe, and with the Epipaleolithic in warmer climates such as Africa.[8][9][10] The Palaeolithic age began when hominids (early humans) started to use stones as tools for bashing, cutting and scraping. The age ended when humans began to make small, fine tools (Mesolithic) and finally when humans began to plant crops and have other types of agriculture (Neolithic). In some areas, such as Western Europe, the way that people lived was affected by the Ice age. The move towards agriculture started in the Middle East.
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+ During the Palaeolithic Age humans grouped together in small bands. They lived by gathering plants and hunting wild animals.[11] As well as using stone tools, they used tools of wood and bone. They probably also used leather and vegetable fibers but these have not lasted from that time.
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+ The Oldowan is the archaeological term used to refer to the stone tool industry that was used by hominids during the earliest Palaeolithic period. For a long time it was thought that the Oldowan was the earliest stone tool industry in prehistory, from 2.6 million years ago up until 1.7 million years ago. It was followed by the more sophisticated Acheulean industry. Oldowan tools were therefore the earliest tools in human history, and mark the beginning of the archaeological record. The term "Oldowan" is taken from the site of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where the first Oldowan tools were discovered by the archaeologist Louis Leakey in the 1930s. Now it is realised that stone tools were used much earlier (3.3 million years ago) and that was definitely before the genus Homo had evolved.
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+ It is not known for sure which species actually created and used Oldowan tools. It reached its peak with early species of Homo such as H. habilis and H. ergaster. Early Homo erectus appears to inherit Oldowan technology and refines it into the Acheulean industry beginning 1.7 million years ago.[12] Oldowan tools are sometimes called pebble tools, so named because the blanks chosen for their production already resemble, in pebble form, the final product.[13] Oldowan tools are sometimes subdivided into types, such as chopper, scrapers and pounders, as these seem to be their main uses.[14]
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+ Acheulean is the industry of stone tool manufacture by early humans of the Lower Palaeolithic era in Africa and much of West Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains. They are first developed out of the more primitive Oldowan technology some 1.8 million years ago, by Homo habilis.
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+ It was the dominant technology for most of human history. More than a million years ago Acheulean tool users left Africa to colonize Eurasia.[5] Their oval and pear-shaped hand axes have been found over a wide area. Some examples were finely made. Although it developed in Africa, the industry is named after the type site of Saint-Acheul, now a suburb of Amiens in northern France where some of the first examples were found in the 19th century.
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+ John Frere was the first to suggest in writing a very ancient date for Acheulean hand-axes. In 1797 he sent two examples to the Royal Academy in London from Hoxne in Suffolk. He had found them in prehistoric lake deposits along with the bones of extinct animals and concluded that they were made by people "who had not the use of metals" and that they belonged to a "very ancient period indeed, even beyond the present world". His ideas were ignored by his contemporaries however, who held a pre-Darwinian view of human evolution.
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+ Radiometric dating, often potassium-argon dating, of deposits containing Acheulean material is able to broadly place Acheulean techniques from around 1.65 million years ago[6] to about 100,000 years ago.[7] The earliest accepted examples of the type, at 1.65 m years old, come from the West Turkana region of Kenya[8]. Some think their origin might be as early as 1.8 million years ago.[9]
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+ In individual regions, this dating can be considerably refined; in Europe for example, Acheulean methods did not reach the continent until around 400 thousand years ago and in smaller study areas, the date ranges can be much shorter. Numerical dates can be misleading however, and it is common to associate examples of this early human tool industry with one or more glacial or interglacial periods or with a particular early species of human. The earliest user of Acheulean tools was Homo ergaster who first appeared about 1.8 million years ago. Some researchers prefer to call these users early Homo erectus.[10] Later forms of early humans also used Acheulean techniques and are described below.
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+ There is considerable time overlap in early prehistoric stone-working industries. In some regions Acheulean tool-using groups were contemporary with other, less sophisticated industries such as the Clactonian.[11] Then, later, Acheulean tools occur at the same time as the more sophisticated Mousterian. The Acheulean was not a neatly defined period, but a tool-making technique which flourished especially well in early prehistory. Acheulean was a basic method for making stone tools which was shared across much of the Old World.
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+ The Clactonian is an industry of European flint tool manufacture that dates to the early part of the interglacial period 400,000 years ago.[15] Clactonian tools were made by Homo erectus rather than modern humans. Early, crude flint tools from other regions using similar methods are called either Clactonian or core & flake technology.
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+ The Clactonian is named after finds made at Clacton-on-Sea in the English county of Essex in 1911. The artefacts found there included flint chopping tools, flint flakes and the tip of a worked wooden shaft along with the remains of a giant elephant and hippopotamus. Further examples of the tools have been found at sites in Swanscombe, Kent, and Barnham in Suffolk; similar industries have been identified across Northern Europe.
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+ The Clactonian industry involved striking thick, irregular flakes from a core of flint, which was then employed as a chopper. The flakes would have been used as crude knives or scrapers. Unlike the Oldowan tools from which Clactonian ones derived, some were notched implying that they were attached to a handle or shaft.
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+ The Clactonian industry may have co-existed with the Acheulean industry (which used handaxes). However, in 2004 there was an excavation of a butchered Pleistocene elephant near Dartford, Kent. Archaeologists recovered numerous Clactonian flint tools, but no handaxes. Since handaxes would be more useful than choppers to dismember an elephant carcass, this is evidence of the Clactonian being a separate industry. Flint of sufficient quality was available in the area, so probably the people who carved up the elephant did not have the knowledge to make handaxes.
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+ The Mousterian is an industry of stone tools associated with Neanderthal Man, Homo neanderthalensis. It dates from about 300,000 years to about 30,000 years ago. There are up to thirty types of tools in the Mousterian as contrasted with about six in the Acheulean.
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+ The Mousterian was named after the type site of Le Moustier, a rock shelter in the Dordogne region of France.[16] Similar flintwork has been found all over unglaciated Europe and also the Near East and North Africa. Handaxes, long blades
36
+ and points typify the industry. Overall, the items are more perfectly finished than any previous work. The method used to get the blades and flakes is called the Levallois technique. It is a prepared-core technique: the core is worked on so that a long, fine blade can be struck off. For this quality of work, a 'soft' hammer made of something like deer antler is necessary, rather than a stone hammer. The extra brain size of the Neanderthals is probably relevant to these advances.
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+ The cultures which follow the Mousterian are all cultures of modern humans, Homo sapiens. It is characteristic of our species to produce many more tools, all specialised for particular tasks. There are at least 100 types of tools in the Upper Palaeolithic compared to a maximum of 30 tools in the Mousterian.
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+ The Palaeolithic is sometimes divided into three (somewhat overlapping) periods which mark technological and cultural advances in different human communities:
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+ After the Palaeolithic follows the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, which marks the end of Stone Age. The Bronze Age and the Iron Age come right after the Stone Age.
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+ Possibly among the earliest traces of art are Venus figurines. These are figurines (very small statues) of women, mostly pregnant with visible breasts. The figurines were found in areas of Western Europe to Siberia. Most are between 20,000 and 30,000 years old. Two figurines have been found that are much older: the Venus of Tan-Tan, dated to 300,000 to 500,000 years ago was found in Morocco. The Venus of Berekhat Ram was found on the Golan Heights. It has been dated to 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. It may be the one of the earliest things that show the human form.
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+ Different kinds of stone, bones and ivory were used to make the figurines. Some are also made of clay which was then burned in a fire. This is one of the earliest known traces of the use of ceramics.
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+ Today it is not known what the figurines meant to the people who made them. There are two basic theories:
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+ Scientists have excluded that these figurines were linked to the fertility of fields, because agriculture had not been discovered at the time the figurines were made.
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+ The two figurines that are older may have mostly formed by natural processes. The Venus of Tan-Tan was covered with a substance that could have been some kind of paint.[18] The substance contained traces of iron and manganese.[18] The figurine of Berekhat Ram shows traces that someone worked on it with a tool. A study done in 1997 states that these traces could not have been left by nature alone.[19]
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+
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+ Cave paintings are paintings that were made on the walls or roofs of caves. Many cave paintings belong to the Palaeolothic Age, and date from about 15,000 to 30,000 years ago. Among the most famous are those in the caves of Altamira in Spain and Lascaux in France.[5]p545 There are about 350 caves in Europe where cave paintings have been found. Usually, animals have been painted, like aurochs, bisons or horses. Why these paintings were done is not known. They are not simply decorations of places where people lived. The caves they were found in usually do not show signs that someone lived in them.
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+ One of the oldest caves is that of Chauvet in France. Paintings in the cave fall into two groups. One has been dated to around 30,000 to 33,000 years ago, the other to 26,000 or 27,000 years ago.[5]p546 The oldest known cave paintings, based on radiocarbon dating of "black from drawings, from torch marks and from the floors".[20] As of 1999, the dates of 31 samples from the cave have been reported. The oldest paintings have been dated from 32,900±490 years ago.[21][22]
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+ Some archaeologists have questioned the dating. Züchner believe the two groups date from 23,000–24,000, and 10,000–18,000 years ago.[23] Pettitt and Bahn believe the dating is inconsistent. They say the people at that periods of time painted things differently. They also do not know where the charcoal used to paint some things is from, and how big the painted area is.[24]
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+ People from the Palaeolithic era drew well. They knew about perspective, and they knew of different ways to draw things. They also were able to observe the behaviour of animals they painted. Some of the paintings show how the painted animals behaved. The paintings may have been important for rituals.
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+ Paleolithic hunting and gathering people ate leafy vegetables, fruit, nuts and insects, meat, fish, and shellfish.[26][27] As there is little direct evidence, it is almost impossible to determine the relative proportions of plant and animal foods.[28] There is a modern diet called paleolithic diet, but it has few things in common with the paleolitic diet of the time. Even the claim that most humans of a given period shared the same diet is problematic. The Paleolithic was an extended period of time. During that time, there were many technological advances, many of which had impact on human dietary structure. For example, humans probably did not possess the control of fire until the Middle Paleolithic,[29] or tools necessary to engage in extensive fishing.[source?] On the other hand, both these technologies are generally agreed to have been widely available to humans by the end of the Paleolithic (consequently, allowing humans in some regions of the planet to rely heavily on fishing and hunting). In addition, the Paleolithic involved a substantial geographical expansion of human populations. During the Lower Paleolithic, ancestors of modern humans are thought to have been constrained to Africa east of the Great Rift Valley. During the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, humans greatly expanded their area of settlement, reaching ecosystems as diverse as New Guinea and Alaska. The also needed to adapt their diets to the local resources that were available.
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+ Anthropologists have different opinions about the proportions of plant and animal foods consumed. Just as with still existing hunters and gatherers, there were many varied "diets" - in different groups -of fruit and vegetables.[30] The relative proportions of plant and animal foods in the diets of Paleolithic people often varied between regions; in colder regions, more meat was necessary. These regions were not populated by anatomically modern humans until 30,000-50,000 BP.[31] It is generally agreed that many modern hunting and fishing tools, such as fish hooks, nets, bows, and poisons, weren't introduced until the Upper Paleolithic and possibly even Neolithic.[32] The only hunting tools widely available to humans during any significant part of the Paleolithic period were hand-held spears and harpoons. There's evidence of Paleolithic people killing and eating seals and elands as far as 100,000 years BP. On the other hand, buffalo bones found in African caves from the same period are typically of very young or very old individuals, and there's no evidence that pigs, elephants or rhinos were hunted by humans at the time.[33]
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+ Another view is that until the Upper Paleolithic, humans were frugivores (fruit eaters) who supplemented their meals with carrion, eggs, and small prey such as baby birds and mussels. Only on rare occasions did they manage to kill and consume big game such as antelopes.[34] This view is supported by studies of higher apes, particularly chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are the closest to humans genetically. They share more than 96% of their DNA code with humans, and their digestive tract is functionally very similar.[35] Chimpanzees are primarily frugivores, but they could and would consume and digest animal flesh, given the opportunity. In general, their actual diet in the wild is about 95% plant-based, with the remaining 5% filled with insects, eggs, and baby animals.[36][37] In some ecosystems, however, chimpanzees are predatory, forming parties to hunt monkeys.[38] Some comparative studies of human and higher primate digestive tracts do suggest that humans have evolved to obtain greater amounts of calories from sources such as animal foods, allowing them to shrink the size of the gastrointestinal tract relative to body mass and to increase the brain mass instead.[39][40]
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+ Paleolithic peoples suffered less famine and malnutrition than the Neolithic farming tribes that followed them.[41][42] This was partly because Paleolithic hunter-gatherers accessed to a wider variety natural foods, which allowed them a more nutritious diet and a decreased risk of famine.[41][43][44] Many of the famines experienced by Neolithic (and some modern) farmers were caused or amplified by their dependence on a small number of crops.[41][43][44] It is thought that wild foods can have a significantly different nutritional profile than cultivated foods.[45] The greater amount of meat obtained by hunting big game animals in Paleolithic diets than Neolithic diets may have also allowed Paleolithic hunter-gatherers to enjoy a more nutritious diet than Neolithic agriculturalists.[42] It has been argued that the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture resulted in an increasing focus on a limited variety of foods, with meat likely taking a back seat to plants.[46] It is also unlikely that Paleolithic hunter-gatherers were affected by modern diseases of affluence such as Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, because they ate mostly lean meats and plants and frequently engaged in intense physical activity,[47][48] and because the average lifespan was shorter than the age of common-onset of these conditions.[49][50]
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+ Large-seeded legumes were part of the human diet long before the Neolithic agricultural revolution, as evident from archaeobotanical finds from the Mousterian layers of Kebara Cave, in Israel.[51] There is evidence suggesting that Paleolithic societies were gathering wild cereals for food use at least as early as 30,000 years ago.[52] However, seeds, such as grains and beans, were rarely eaten and never in large quantities on a daily basis.[53] Recent archeological evidence also indicates that winemaking may have originated in the Paleolithic, when early humans drank the juice of naturally fermented wild grapes from animal-skin pouches.[25] Paleolithic humans consumed animal organ meats, including the livers, kidneys and brains. Upper Paleolithic cultures appear to have had significant knowledge about plants and herbs and may have, albeit very rarely, practiced rudimentary forms of horticulture.[54] In particular, bananas and tubers may have been cultivated as early as 25,000 BP in southeast Asia.[55] Late Upper Paleolithic societies also appear to have occasionally practiced pastoralism and animal husbandry, presumably for dietary reasons. For instance, some European late Upper Paleolithic cultures domesticated and raised reindeer, presumably for their meat or milk, as early as 14,000 BP.[56] Humans also probably consumed hallucinogenic plants during the Paleolithic period.[11] The Australian Aborigines have been consuming a variety of native animal and plant foods, called bushfood, for an estimated 60,000 years, since the Middle Paleolithic.
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+ People during the Middle Paleolithic, such as the Neanderthals and Middle Paleolithic Homo sapiens in Africa, began to catch shellfish for food as revealed by shellfish cooking in Neanderthal sites in Italy about 110,000 years ago and Middle Paleolithic Homo sapiens sites at Pinnacle Point, in Africa around 164,000 BP.[17][57] Although fishing only became common during the Upper Paleolithic,[17][58] fish have been part of human diets long before the dawn of the Upper Paleolithic and have certainly been consumed by humans since at least the Middle Paleolithic.[59] For example, the Middle Paleolithic Homo sapiens in the region now occupied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo hunted large 6-foot (1.8 m)-long catfish with specialized barbed fishing points as early as 90,000 years ago.[17][59] The invention of fishing allowed some Upper Paleolithic and later hunter-gatherer societies to become sedentary or semi-nomadic, which altered their social structures.[60] Example societies are the Lepenski Vir as well as some contemporary hunter-gatherers such as the Tlingit. In some instances (at least the Tlingit) they developed social stratification, slavery and complex social structures such as chiefdoms.[32]
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+ Anthropologists such as Tim White suggest that cannibalism was common in human societies prior to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, based on the large amount of “butchered human" bones found in Neanderthal and other Lower/Middle Paleolithic sites.[61] Cannibalism in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic may have occurred because of food shortages.[62] However, it may have been for religious reasons, and would coincide with the development of religious practices thought to have occurred during the Upper Paleolithic.[63][64] Nonetheless, it remains possible that Paleolithic societies never practiced cannibalism, and that the damage to recovered human bones was either the result of ritual post-mortem bone cleaning or predation by carnivores such as saber tooth cats, lions and hyenas.[63]
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+ A politician (from Classical Greek πόλις, "polis") is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking office in government. In democratic countries, politicians seek elective positions within a government through elections or, at times, temporary appointment to replace politicians who have died, resigned or have been otherwise removed from office. In non-democratic countries, they employ other means of reaching power through appointment, bribery, revolutions and intrigues.
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+ Some politicians are experienced in the art or science of government.[1] Politicians propose, support and create laws or policies that govern the land and, by extension, its people. The word politician is sometimes replaced with the euphemism statesman. Basically, a "politician" can be anyone who seeks to achieve political power in any bureaucratic institution.
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+ Politicians have always used language, as in speeches or campaign advertisements. They use common themes to develop their political positions in terms familiar to the voters.[2] Politicians become experts at using the media [3] With the rise of mass media in the 19th century they made heavy use of newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets, as well as posters.[4] The 20th century brought radio and television, and television commercials became the single most expensive part of an election campaign.[5] In the 21st century, they have become increasingly involved with social media based on the Internet and smartphones.[6]