Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

User talk:Toadaron

2011-11-10T03:09:56Z

SamTC: /* Encyclopedic content */ new section

{{welcome|sig=[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 23:25, 5 February 2011 (EST)}}

== Encyclopedic content ==

If you want to contribute to a conservative wiki, [http://www.ameriwiki.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Ameriwiki] is actually interested in factual content. Conservapedia isn't. --[[User:SamTC|SamTC]] 22:09, 9 November 2011 (EST)

User talk:SeanS

2011-11-10T03:03:15Z

SamTC: /* Block of Danielarmunrud */

<center>RETIRED </center>

== Relly retired ==

Are you really retired? It means you don't edit, you know. If you're not, you might consider removing the templates.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 16:05, 29 October 2011 (EDT)
:I'm vaguely retired in that i dont plan to make any actual namespace edits at this point--[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 16:11, 29 October 2011 (EDT)

== Kenneth Williams ==

Why is the death of Kenneth Williams attributed to Hollywood values? --[[User:Hetgar|Hetgar]] 17:49, 3 November 2011 (EDT)

== Block of Danielarmunrud ==

Why are you doing this? I mean, so what if he copied from WP. It's not like this place is WP or [http://www.ameriwiki.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Ameriwiki]; nobody cares as long as he doesn't promote ''Lieberull Valyoos.'' --[[User:SamTC|SamTC]] 21:44, 9 November 2011 (EST)
:Rules say no WP, and he choose articles that dont even meet they're requirements. --[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 21:46, 9 November 2011 (EST)
::Like I said, who cares? CP is just a hate blog these days, and as long as he's padding the edit count Schlafly's happy. --[[User:SamTC|SamTC]] 21:48, 9 November 2011 (EST)
:::I could ban you for that... but eh. --[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 21:51, 9 November 2011 (EST)
::::You could. Or you could do something constructive, like going back to AW and writing an astronomy article like I asked you to. --[[User:SamTC|SamTC]] 21:53, 9 November 2011 (EST)
:::::Now that is just stalking :P--[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 21:55, 9 November 2011 (EST)
::::::No, it's advertising! Let's face it: AW could actually turn into a proper conservative wiki, and achieve what this hole was meant to. It just needs editors. Instead of blocking people, why not steer them there? Conservapedia is in its death spiral. Nobody counts here any more except Schlafly, Ken, Karajou and Jpatt, and a bit of tolerance for weird, fat old Uncle Ed with his paedosmile. This place is screwed and it deserves it. AW deserves a chance. And by the way, we need an astronomy article and you're interested in it, so why not give it a try? --[[User:SamTC|SamTC]] 21:59, 9 November 2011 (EST)
:::::::And have you looked at the farce that's the World History course? Schlafly just gave 60/60 to some fool who called the Holy Roman Empire a nation state. Sometimes I just want to smash my face into my keyboard. --[[User:SamTC|SamTC]] 22:03, 9 November 2011 (EST)

User talk:SeanS

2011-11-10T02:59:26Z

SamTC: /* Block of Danielarmunrud */

User talk:SeanS

2011-11-10T02:53:43Z

SamTC: /* Block of Danielarmunrud */

User talk:SeanS

2011-11-10T02:48:46Z

SamTC: /* Block of Danielarmunrud */

User talk:SeanS

2011-11-10T02:44:38Z

SamTC: /* Block of Danielarmunrud */ new section

Denials that atheists exist

2011-11-10T02:19:09Z

SamTC: Undo revision 935369 by SeanS (talk)Why delete this?

[[File:Cornelius Van Til.jpg|thumb|175px|right|Dr. Cornelius Van Til]]
It has been asserted by various theists that atheists do not exist. Sir [[Francis Bacon]] wrote in his essay ''Of [[Atheism]]'':
{{cquote|The [[Bible|Scripture]] saith, The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God; it is not said, The fool hath thought in his heart; so as he rather saith it, by rote to himself, as that he would have, than that he can thoroughly believe it, or be persuaded of it....It appeareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip, than in the heart of man.<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/3/1/16.html</ref>}}

In addition, Christian [[philosophy|philosophers]] and [[Christian apologetics|apologists]] Dr. Cornelius Van Til and Dr. Greg Bahnsen argued there are no atheists and that atheists are actively suppressing their belief and knowledge of God and enigmatically engage in self-deception.<ref>http://www.cmfnow.com/articles/PA191.htm</ref> The [[England|English]] poet Edward Young wrote in his famous work ''Night Thoughts'' that "By night, an atheist half-believes a God."<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/100/224.html</ref>

The Christian Cyclopedia states regarding atheism the following:
{{cquote|It is not possible for a man to be an atheist, in the commonly accepted sense, in his innermost conviction. No amount of reasoning will erase from the human heart the God-given conviction that there is a Supreme Being; those who theoretically deny God's existence replace Him with something else.<ref>http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/cyclopedia/02/display.asp?t1=A&t2=t</ref>}}

A famous phrase, most often attributed to journalist Ernie Pyle, states, "there are no atheists in foxholes."<ref>Malin, Don. "Military Chaplains and Religious Pluralism." ''Watchman Fellowship''. http://www.wfial.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=artGeneral.article_6</ref> Although this aphorism has a narrow context (military personnel serving in active duty) and is not always meant to be taken literally, there is at least some truth to it. It shows that it is human nature to look to some higher power for assistance, strength, comfort, or guidance in times of great need.

One of [[C.S. Lewis]]' favourite proofs that atheists don't exist is this:
''Atheists denounce the existence of [[God]]
Therefore Atheists acknowledge there is a concept of God
Atheists believe in the existence of the God-concept
Atheists do not exist.
QED''

Another proof against the existence of atheists is delivered by the brilliant political mind [[George H.W. Bush]] in his famous 1987 press conference:

''No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.''<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QinS_smfby0 Bush sr. doubts that atheists are citizens]</ref>

Since H.W. Bush was seldom wrong and '''IF''' atheists did exist, the [[First Amendment]] would grant them equal citizenship rights, we can conclude that H.W. Bush laid the legal base proving that atheists don't exist. (reductio ad absurdum)

== References ==

<references/>
[[Category:Atheism]]
[[Category:Theology]]

Talk:Age of consent

2011-11-09T23:42:41Z

SamTC: /* Fixes */ new section

Generally the age of consent is taken to mean the age when a person can legally consent to sexual intercourse with an older person without the older person being guilty of statutory rape. This article should be changed to reflect that. --[[User:Pnt|Pnt]] 17:02, 20 August 2007 (EDT)
:The first section seems to have taken care of that. Try a different wording to better suit your ideas about this subject. [[User:Samwell|Samwell]]
==Table==
Just to let everyone know - I thought the table was a bit too long, so I shortened it a bit - I would've made it even shorter - but having 4 columns alphabetically ordered vertically would just be to complicated for a new editor or an editor that hasn't mastered tables. Also, I added Puerto Rico as DC was on the list--[[User:Iduan|Iduan]] 18:02, 21 August 2007 (EDT)

== Fixes ==

I've fixed this article to remove a number of false statements. I can't understand why someone would say TWICE that the most common age of consent in the USA (and the average worldwide) is 18 when in fact only 11 US states have that age, compared to 31 that set it at 16. This is not a close-run thing; it's very, very obvious. --[[User:SamTC|SamTC]] 18:42, 9 November 2011 (EST)

Age of consent

2011-11-09T23:40:07Z

SamTC: /* Historically */ I hate articles that contradict themselves.

'''Age of consent''' is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. Generally this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist. There are also sometimes exemptions from this law allowing children below the age of consent to have to sex with other people below a certain age, but not above that age, known informally as "Romeo and Juliet" laws.
==Historically==
Historically, the age of consent for Jews was the age of Mitzvah. 13 for males, Bar Mitzvah. 12 for girls, Bat Mitzvah. The Bible and Koran say nothing about age of consent. In fact, "From the age at which Hebrew maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity."<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia)</ref>

In the United States prior to 1900 many states had ages of consent as low as 10. However by 1920 most states had raised their age of consent to 18, although ages as low as 14 still existed until the 1990s. Currently the majority of states have an age of consent of 16, with a number setting it at 17 or 18.

==Age of consent in law==
In law the age of consent is the age at which a person is deemed to be competent to give consent to an activity, such as sexual intercourse or medical treatment, which would be otherwise be unlawful without [[informed consent]].

The age of consent is one of several legal principles that govern the rights and responsibilities of minors in [[common law]] systems, such as:
*The ''age of license'' is the minimum age that a person must obtain to be permitted to undertake an activity, such as driving a motor vehicle on public roads.
*The ''age of criminal responsibility'' is the age at which a person is deemed to be fully responsible for their criminal actions.
*The ''age of majority'' is the age at which a person is deemed to have the rights and responsibilities of an adult and the age at which parental rights and responsibilities cease.

==American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent==

[[Puerto Rico]] sets the age of consent at 16 and all 50 [[US]] states have age limits of '''16''', '''17''' or '''18''' with 16 being the most common age. Most states have "close in age exemptions" which allow those under the age of consent to engage in sexual activity with teenagers close to their age (if the age difference between the partners is small, for example 3 or 4 years or if the older partner is younger than a specified age, ussually 18 or 21).

{| width="80%" class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
![[Alabama]]
|16
![[Illinois]]
|17
![[Montana]]
|16
![[Puerto Rico]]
|16
|-
![[Alaska]]
|16
![[Indiana]]
|16
![[Nebraska]]
|17
![[Rhode Island]]
|16
|-
![[Arizona]]
|18
![[Iowa]]
|16
![[Nevada]]
|16
![[South Carolina]]
|16
|-
![[Arkansas]]
|16
![[Kansas]]
|16
![[New Hampshire]]
|16
![[South Dakota]]
|16
|-
![[California]]
|18
![[Kentucky]]
|16
![[New Jersey]]
|16
![[Tennessee]]
|18
|-
![[Colorado]]
|17
![[Louisiana]]
|17
![[New Mexico]]
|17
![[Texas]]
|17
|-
![[Connecticut]]
|16
![[Maine]]
|16
![[New York]]
|17
![[Utah]]
|18
|-
![[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]]
|16
![[Maryland]]
|16
![[North Carolina]]
|16
![[Vermont]]
|16
|-
![[Delaware]]
|18
![[Massachusetts]]
|16
![[North Dakota]]
|18
![[Virginia]]
|18
|-
![[Florida]]
|18
![[Michigan]]
|16
![[Ohio]]
|16
![[Washington]]
|16
|-
![[Georgia]]
|16
![[Minnesota]]
|16
![[Oklahoma]]
|16
![[West Virginia]]
|16
|-
![[Hawaii]]
|16
![[Mississippi]]
|16
![[Oregon]]
|18
![[Wisconsin]]
|18
|-
![[Idaho]]
|18
![[Missouri]]
|17
![[Pennsylvania]]
|16
![[Wyoming]]
|18
|}

[[category:law]]

== See also ==

*[[Age of majority]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:law]]

Age of consent

2011-11-09T23:39:05Z

SamTC: /* Historically */ Mitzvah only applies to one civilisation in the whole of human history.

'''Age of consent''' is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. Generally this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist. There are also sometimes exemptions from this law allowing children below the age of consent to have to sex with other people below a certain age, but not above that age, known informally as "Romeo and Juliet" laws.
==Historically==
Historically, the age of consent for Jews was the age of Mitzvah. 13 for males, Bar Mitzvah. 12 for girls, Bat Mitzvah. The Bible and Koran say nothing about age of consent. In fact, "From the age at which Hebrew maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity."<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia)</ref>

In the United States prior to 1900 many states had ages of consent as low as 10. However by 1920 most states had raised their age of consent to 18, although ages as low as 14 still existed until the 1990s. Currently all states have an age of consent of at least 16, with the majority setting their age of consent at 18.

==Age of consent in law==
In law the age of consent is the age at which a person is deemed to be competent to give consent to an activity, such as sexual intercourse or medical treatment, which would be otherwise be unlawful without [[informed consent]].

The age of consent is one of several legal principles that govern the rights and responsibilities of minors in [[common law]] systems, such as:
*The ''age of license'' is the minimum age that a person must obtain to be permitted to undertake an activity, such as driving a motor vehicle on public roads.
*The ''age of criminal responsibility'' is the age at which a person is deemed to be fully responsible for their criminal actions.
*The ''age of majority'' is the age at which a person is deemed to have the rights and responsibilities of an adult and the age at which parental rights and responsibilities cease.

==American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent==

[[Puerto Rico]] sets the age of consent at 16 and all 50 [[US]] states have age limits of '''16''', '''17''' or '''18''' with 16 being the most common age. Most states have "close in age exemptions" which allow those under the age of consent to engage in sexual activity with teenagers close to their age (if the age difference between the partners is small, for example 3 or 4 years or if the older partner is younger than a specified age, ussually 18 or 21).

{| width="80%" class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
![[Alabama]]
|16
![[Illinois]]
|17
![[Montana]]
|16
![[Puerto Rico]]
|16
|-
![[Alaska]]
|16
![[Indiana]]
|16
![[Nebraska]]
|17
![[Rhode Island]]
|16
|-
![[Arizona]]
|18
![[Iowa]]
|16
![[Nevada]]
|16
![[South Carolina]]
|16
|-
![[Arkansas]]
|16
![[Kansas]]
|16
![[New Hampshire]]
|16
![[South Dakota]]
|16
|-
![[California]]
|18
![[Kentucky]]
|16
![[New Jersey]]
|16
![[Tennessee]]
|18
|-
![[Colorado]]
|17
![[Louisiana]]
|17
![[New Mexico]]
|17
![[Texas]]
|17
|-
![[Connecticut]]
|16
![[Maine]]
|16
![[New York]]
|17
![[Utah]]
|18
|-
![[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]]
|16
![[Maryland]]
|16
![[North Carolina]]
|16
![[Vermont]]
|16
|-
![[Delaware]]
|18
![[Massachusetts]]
|16
![[North Dakota]]
|18
![[Virginia]]
|18
|-
![[Florida]]
|18
![[Michigan]]
|16
![[Ohio]]
|16
![[Washington]]
|16
|-
![[Georgia]]
|16
![[Minnesota]]
|16
![[Oklahoma]]
|16
![[West Virginia]]
|16
|-
![[Hawaii]]
|16
![[Mississippi]]
|16
![[Oregon]]
|18
![[Wisconsin]]
|18
|-
![[Idaho]]
|18
![[Missouri]]
|17
![[Pennsylvania]]
|16
![[Wyoming]]
|18
|}

[[category:law]]

== See also ==

*[[Age of majority]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:law]]

Age of consent

2011-11-09T23:38:02Z

SamTC: /* American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent */ No, the table shows that 16 is the most common age by a LONG way. 18 is nowhere near.

'''Age of consent''' is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. Generally this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist. There are also sometimes exemptions from this law allowing children below the age of consent to have to sex with other people below a certain age, but not above that age, known informally as "Romeo and Juliet" laws.
==Historically==
Historically, the age of consent was the age of Mitzvah. 13 for males, Bar Mitzvah. 12 for girls, Bat Mitzvah. The Bible and Koran say nothing about age of consent. In fact, "From the age at which Hebrew maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity."<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia)</ref>

In the United States prior to 1900 many states had ages of consent as low as 10. However by 1920 most states had raised their age of consent to 18, although ages as low as 14 still existed until the 1990s. Currently all states have an age of consent of at least 16, with the majority setting their age of consent at 18.

==Age of consent in law==
In law the age of consent is the age at which a person is deemed to be competent to give consent to an activity, such as sexual intercourse or medical treatment, which would be otherwise be unlawful without [[informed consent]].

The age of consent is one of several legal principles that govern the rights and responsibilities of minors in [[common law]] systems, such as:
*The ''age of license'' is the minimum age that a person must obtain to be permitted to undertake an activity, such as driving a motor vehicle on public roads.
*The ''age of criminal responsibility'' is the age at which a person is deemed to be fully responsible for their criminal actions.
*The ''age of majority'' is the age at which a person is deemed to have the rights and responsibilities of an adult and the age at which parental rights and responsibilities cease.

==American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent==

[[Puerto Rico]] sets the age of consent at 16 and all 50 [[US]] states have age limits of '''16''', '''17''' or '''18''' with 16 being the most common age. Most states have "close in age exemptions" which allow those under the age of consent to engage in sexual activity with teenagers close to their age (if the age difference between the partners is small, for example 3 or 4 years or if the older partner is younger than a specified age, ussually 18 or 21).

{| width="80%" class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
![[Alabama]]
|16
![[Illinois]]
|17
![[Montana]]
|16
![[Puerto Rico]]
|16
|-
![[Alaska]]
|16
![[Indiana]]
|16
![[Nebraska]]
|17
![[Rhode Island]]
|16
|-
![[Arizona]]
|18
![[Iowa]]
|16
![[Nevada]]
|16
![[South Carolina]]
|16
|-
![[Arkansas]]
|16
![[Kansas]]
|16
![[New Hampshire]]
|16
![[South Dakota]]
|16
|-
![[California]]
|18
![[Kentucky]]
|16
![[New Jersey]]
|16
![[Tennessee]]
|18
|-
![[Colorado]]
|17
![[Louisiana]]
|17
![[New Mexico]]
|17
![[Texas]]
|17
|-
![[Connecticut]]
|16
![[Maine]]
|16
![[New York]]
|17
![[Utah]]
|18
|-
![[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]]
|16
![[Maryland]]
|16
![[North Carolina]]
|16
![[Vermont]]
|16
|-
![[Delaware]]
|18
![[Massachusetts]]
|16
![[North Dakota]]
|18
![[Virginia]]
|18
|-
![[Florida]]
|18
![[Michigan]]
|16
![[Ohio]]
|16
![[Washington]]
|16
|-
![[Georgia]]
|16
![[Minnesota]]
|16
![[Oklahoma]]
|16
![[West Virginia]]
|16
|-
![[Hawaii]]
|16
![[Mississippi]]
|16
![[Oregon]]
|18
![[Wisconsin]]
|18
|-
![[Idaho]]
|18
![[Missouri]]
|17
![[Pennsylvania]]
|16
![[Wyoming]]
|18
|}

[[category:law]]

== See also ==

*[[Age of majority]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:law]]

Age of consent

2011-11-09T23:36:52Z

SamTC: /* American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent */

'''Age of consent''' is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. Generally this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist. There are also sometimes exemptions from this law allowing children below the age of consent to have to sex with other people below a certain age, but not above that age, known informally as "Romeo and Juliet" laws.
==Historically==
Historically, the age of consent was the age of Mitzvah. 13 for males, Bar Mitzvah. 12 for girls, Bat Mitzvah. The Bible and Koran say nothing about age of consent. In fact, "From the age at which Hebrew maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity."<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia)</ref>

In the United States prior to 1900 many states had ages of consent as low as 10. However by 1920 most states had raised their age of consent to 18, although ages as low as 14 still existed until the 1990s. Currently all states have an age of consent of at least 16, with the majority setting their age of consent at 18.

==Age of consent in law==
In law the age of consent is the age at which a person is deemed to be competent to give consent to an activity, such as sexual intercourse or medical treatment, which would be otherwise be unlawful without [[informed consent]].

The age of consent is one of several legal principles that govern the rights and responsibilities of minors in [[common law]] systems, such as:
*The ''age of license'' is the minimum age that a person must obtain to be permitted to undertake an activity, such as driving a motor vehicle on public roads.
*The ''age of criminal responsibility'' is the age at which a person is deemed to be fully responsible for their criminal actions.
*The ''age of majority'' is the age at which a person is deemed to have the rights and responsibilities of an adult and the age at which parental rights and responsibilities cease.

==American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent==

[[Puerto Rico]] sets the age of consent at 16 and all 50 [[US]] states have age limits of '''16''', '''17''' or '''18''' with 18 being the most common age. Most states have "close in age exemptions" which allow those under the age of consent to engage in sexual activity with teenagers close to their age (if the age difference between the partners is small, for example 3 or 4 years or if the older partner is younger than a specified age, ussually 18 or 21).

{| width="80%" class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
![[Alabama]]
|16
![[Illinois]]
|17
![[Montana]]
|16
![[Puerto Rico]]
|16
|-
![[Alaska]]
|16
![[Indiana]]
|16
![[Nebraska]]
|17
![[Rhode Island]]
|16
|-
![[Arizona]]
|18
![[Iowa]]
|16
![[Nevada]]
|16
![[South Carolina]]
|16
|-
![[Arkansas]]
|16
![[Kansas]]
|16
![[New Hampshire]]
|16
![[South Dakota]]
|16
|-
![[California]]
|18
![[Kentucky]]
|16
![[New Jersey]]
|16
![[Tennessee]]
|18
|-
![[Colorado]]
|17
![[Louisiana]]
|17
![[New Mexico]]
|17
![[Texas]]
|17
|-
![[Connecticut]]
|16
![[Maine]]
|16
![[New York]]
|17
![[Utah]]
|18
|-
![[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]]
|16
![[Maryland]]
|16
![[North Carolina]]
|16
![[Vermont]]
|16
|-
![[Delaware]]
|18
![[Massachusetts]]
|16
![[North Dakota]]
|18
![[Virginia]]
|18
|-
![[Florida]]
|18
![[Michigan]]
|16
![[Ohio]]
|16
![[Washington]]
|16
|-
![[Georgia]]
|16
![[Minnesota]]
|16
![[Oklahoma]]
|16
![[West Virginia]]
|16
|-
![[Hawaii]]
|16
![[Mississippi]]
|16
![[Oregon]]
|18
![[Wisconsin]]
|18
|-
![[Idaho]]
|18
![[Missouri]]
|17
![[Pennsylvania]]
|16
![[Wyoming]]
|18
|}

[[category:law]]

== See also ==

*[[Age of majority]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:law]]

Age of consent

2011-11-09T23:36:26Z

SamTC: /* American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent */

'''Age of consent''' is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. Generally this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist. There are also sometimes exemptions from this law allowing children below the age of consent to have to sex with other people below a certain age, but not above that age, known informally as "Romeo and Juliet" laws.
==Historically==
Historically, the age of consent was the age of Mitzvah. 13 for males, Bar Mitzvah. 12 for girls, Bat Mitzvah. The Bible and Koran say nothing about age of consent. In fact, "From the age at which Hebrew maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity."<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia)</ref>

In the United States prior to 1900 many states had ages of consent as low as 10. However by 1920 most states had raised their age of consent to 18, although ages as low as 14 still existed until the 1990s. Currently all states have an age of consent of at least 16, with the majority setting their age of consent at 18.

==Age of consent in law==
In law the age of consent is the age at which a person is deemed to be competent to give consent to an activity, such as sexual intercourse or medical treatment, which would be otherwise be unlawful without [[informed consent]].

The age of consent is one of several legal principles that govern the rights and responsibilities of minors in [[common law]] systems, such as:
*The ''age of license'' is the minimum age that a person must obtain to be permitted to undertake an activity, such as driving a motor vehicle on public roads.
*The ''age of criminal responsibility'' is the age at which a person is deemed to be fully responsible for their criminal actions.
*The ''age of majority'' is the age at which a person is deemed to have the rights and responsibilities of an adult and the age at which parental rights and responsibilities cease.

==American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent==

[[Puerto Rico]] sets the age of consent at 16 and all 50 [[US]] states have age limits of '''16''', '''17''' or '''18''' with 18 being the most common age. Most states have "close in age exemptions" which allow those under the age of consent to engage in sexual activity with teenagers close to their age (if the age difference between the partners is small, for example 3 or 4 years or if the older partner is younger than a specified age, ussually 18 or 21).

{| width="80%" class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
![[Alabama]]
|16
![[Illinois]]
|17
![[Montana]]
|16
![[Puerto Rico]]
|16|-
![[Alaska]]
|16
![[Indiana]]
|16
![[Nebraska]]
|17
![[Rhode Island]]
|16
|-
![[Arizona]]
|18
![[Iowa]]
|16
![[Nevada]]
|16
![[South Carolina]]
|16
|-
![[Arkansas]]
|16
![[Kansas]]
|16
![[New Hampshire]]
|16
![[South Dakota]]
|16
|-
![[California]]
|18
![[Kentucky]]
|16
![[New Jersey]]
|16
![[Tennessee]]
|18
|-
![[Colorado]]
|17
![[Louisiana]]
|17
![[New Mexico]]
|17
![[Texas]]
|17
|-
![[Connecticut]]
|16
![[Maine]]
|16
![[New York]]
|17
![[Utah]]
|18
|-
![[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]]
|16
![[Maryland]]
|16
![[North Carolina]]
|16
![[Vermont]]
|16
|-
![[Delaware]]
|18
![[Massachusetts]]
|16
![[North Dakota]]
|18
![[Virginia]]
|18
|-
![[Florida]]
|18
![[Michigan]]
|16
![[Ohio]]
|16
![[Washington]]
|16
|-
![[Georgia]]
|16
![[Minnesota]]
|16
![[Oklahoma]]
|16
![[West Virginia]]
|16
|-
![[Hawaii]]
|16
![[Mississippi]]
|16
![[Oregon]]
|18
![[Wisconsin]]
|18
|-
![[Idaho]]
|18
![[Missouri]]
|17
![[Pennsylvania]]
|16
![[Wyoming]]
|18
|}

[[category:law]]

== See also ==

*[[Age of majority]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:law]]

Age of consent

2011-11-09T23:35:29Z

SamTC: /* American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent */ Not possible. How can the average be 18 when only TWO countries have higher than that and dozens have 14-16?

'''Age of consent''' is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. Generally this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist. There are also sometimes exemptions from this law allowing children below the age of consent to have to sex with other people below a certain age, but not above that age, known informally as "Romeo and Juliet" laws.
==Historically==
Historically, the age of consent was the age of Mitzvah. 13 for males, Bar Mitzvah. 12 for girls, Bat Mitzvah. The Bible and Koran say nothing about age of consent. In fact, "From the age at which Hebrew maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity."<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia)</ref>

In the United States prior to 1900 many states had ages of consent as low as 10. However by 1920 most states had raised their age of consent to 18, although ages as low as 14 still existed until the 1990s. Currently all states have an age of consent of at least 16, with the majority setting their age of consent at 18.

==Age of consent in law==
In law the age of consent is the age at which a person is deemed to be competent to give consent to an activity, such as sexual intercourse or medical treatment, which would be otherwise be unlawful without [[informed consent]].

The age of consent is one of several legal principles that govern the rights and responsibilities of minors in [[common law]] systems, such as:
*The ''age of license'' is the minimum age that a person must obtain to be permitted to undertake an activity, such as driving a motor vehicle on public roads.
*The ''age of criminal responsibility'' is the age at which a person is deemed to be fully responsible for their criminal actions.
*The ''age of majority'' is the age at which a person is deemed to have the rights and responsibilities of an adult and the age at which parental rights and responsibilities cease.

==American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent==

[[Puerto Rico]] sets the age of consent at 18 and all 50 [[US]] states have age limits of '''16''', '''17''' or '''18''' with 18 being the most common age. Most states have "close in age exemptions" which allow those under the age of consent to engage in sexual activity with teenagers close to their age (if the age difference between the partners is small, for example 3 or 4 years or if the older partner is younger than a specified age, ussually 18 or 21).

{| width="80%" class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
![[Alabama]]
|16
![[Illinois]]
|17
![[Montana]]
|16
![[Puerto Rico]]
|14
|-
![[Alaska]]
|16
![[Indiana]]
|16
![[Nebraska]]
|17
![[Rhode Island]]
|16
|-
![[Arizona]]
|18
![[Iowa]]
|16
![[Nevada]]
|16
![[South Carolina]]
|16
|-
![[Arkansas]]
|16
![[Kansas]]
|16
![[New Hampshire]]
|16
![[South Dakota]]
|16
|-
![[California]]
|18
![[Kentucky]]
|16
![[New Jersey]]
|16
![[Tennessee]]
|18
|-
![[Colorado]]
|17
![[Louisiana]]
|17
![[New Mexico]]
|17
![[Texas]]
|17
|-
![[Connecticut]]
|16
![[Maine]]
|16
![[New York]]
|17
![[Utah]]
|18
|-
![[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]]
|16
![[Maryland]]
|16
![[North Carolina]]
|16
![[Vermont]]
|16
|-
![[Delaware]]
|18
![[Massachusetts]]
|16
![[North Dakota]]
|18
![[Virginia]]
|18
|-
![[Florida]]
|18
![[Michigan]]
|16
![[Ohio]]
|16
![[Washington]]
|16
|-
![[Georgia]]
|16
![[Minnesota]]
|16
![[Oklahoma]]
|16
![[West Virginia]]
|16
|-
![[Hawaii]]
|16
![[Mississippi]]
|16
![[Oregon]]
|18
![[Wisconsin]]
|18
|-
![[Idaho]]
|18
![[Missouri]]
|17
![[Pennsylvania]]
|16
![[Wyoming]]
|18
|}

[[category:law]]

== See also ==

*[[Age of majority]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:law]]

Age of majority

2011-11-09T23:30:48Z

SamTC:

The age of majority is the age at which one becomes an adult legally. In most countries this is 18; however ages ranging from 15 to 21 do exist.
The '''age of majority''' is a legal and moral principle, and it establishes an age at which a person is capable of giving informed consent for legal contracts with other individuals. The age of majority varies depending on jurisdiction.

Not being competent to make moral choices absolves minors from (adult) guilt if they commit certain crimes. Either their parents will be held responsible, as in case of theft or vandalism, or the child will simply be considered "too young to know better".

Children typically cannot enter into binding contracts, are not permitted to drive cars on public roads, join the armed forces or get married. In the [[United States of America]], however, a parent may permit their 17-year-old child to join the armed forces. Various states in the U.S. differ as to what age a minor must be before their parents can permit them to marry.

When an adult has sexual relations with a minor, or even when two minors have sexual relations in some jurisdictions, this is considered [[statutory rape]] because the child is not old enough to make such a weighty decision as to enter into a sexual relationship. The age of consent for this decision varies and is not necessarily the same as the age of majority. For example in France the age of majority is 18 but the age of consent is 15.

The age to legally buy alcohol in the United States is 21 and the age to buy tobacco products in the United States is 18. The age to buy both alcohol and tobacco products in Canada is 19, with the exception of Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta, where the corresponding age is 18.

{|border=1
!colspan=3|Age of majority in various countries/areas
|-
|colspan=2|[[France]]||18
|-
|rowspan=4|[[United Kingdom]]
|[[England]]||18
|-
|[[Wales]]||18
|-
|[[Scotland]]||16
|-
|[[Northern Ireland]]||18
|-
|colspan=2|[[Isle of Man]]||18
|-
|rowspan=4|[[United States of America]]
|[[Indiana]] || 21
|-
|[[Wisconsin]] || 19
|-
|[[Mississippi]] || 21
|-
|[[American Samoa]] || 18<ref>[http://www.asbar.org/Newcode/Title%2040.htm#a401 American Samoa Code Annotated]</ref>
|}

== References ==
<references/>
[[category:law]]

United States of America

2011-11-09T22:40:43Z

SamTC: Not true. The British party system is far older. The Tories and Whigs were both founded in 1678. There may even have been parties in the Roman Senate.

{{Country
|name =''United States of America''
|map =US map.PNG
|map2 =Loc of United States.png
|established=1776
|flag =50 star flag.png
|arms =United States arms.png
|capital =Washington, D.C.
|government =Constitutional Republic
|language =English
|official =n
|president =Barack Hussein Obama
|area =3,718,695 sq mi
|pop =301,554,000 (2007)
|gdp-year = $15 trillion (2011)
|gdp-pc =$48,029 (2011)
|currency =United States Dollar (USD)
}}
The '''United States of America''' (''conventional short form'': '''United States'''; ''abbreviation'': '''US''' or '''USA'''; sometimes also referred to as '''the States''' or simply as '''America''') is a [[North America|North American]] nation that consists of a federal union of fifty individual states, along with territories and a capital district. Founded originally as 13 colonies in the [[British Empire]], Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country on July 4, 1776 with the [[Declaration of Independence]].<ref>IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776. [http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America], ushistory.org, (Accessed August 2010).</ref> The new nation became recognized as the United States of America following the [[American Revolutionary War|War of Independence]] in 1783. Shortly thereafter, in 1787, the [[United States Constitution]] was written; grounded on [[Republican form of government|republican]] political principles and [[Judeo-Christian]] values, the constitution remains in effect today. The Americans created political parties and, since abolishing [[slavery]] in a bloody [[American Civil War|civil war]] (1861-65), instituted a form of government guided by the rule of law rather than the desires of a majority of voters. According to the U.S. Constitution written by America's [[Founding Fathers]], the United States is a [[Constitutional Republic]]. It is not a [[Democracy|democracy]].

America's capitalist economy grew rapidly, becoming the largest in the world by the 1870s. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. After defeating Communism in the [[Cold War]], the U.S. emerged as the world's only [[superpower]], boasting the largest economy and most powerful military. It exerts enormous cultural and intellectual influence worldwide, and in return is the target of the enemies of democracy and [[capitalism]].

The capital of the United States of America is [[Washington, DC]].

== People ==
[[File:Php3sfokfPM.jpg|220px|left|At Washington, DC.]]
Population: 310,232,863 (July 2010 est.) Population growth rate: 0.97% (2010 est.) Labor force: 153.9 million (2010 est.).

Ethnic groups: white 79.96%, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic <ref> [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html CIA - The World Factbook.] </ref>

In 2010, around 400,000 [[illegal immigrants]] were deported. The Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington, estimates 11.5 million to 12 million "unauthorized migrants" live in the US today. <ref> [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0516/p01s02-ussc.html Illegal immigrants in the US: How many are there?] </ref>

==Geography==

[[File:Colorado.jpg|thumb|[[Colorado]].]]
North America, bordering both the North [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the North [[Pacific Ocean]], is between [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]]. In addition to the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, the United States is otherwise bounded by the [[Bering Sea]], the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Two of the fifty states, Alaska and Hawaii (an archipelago), are not contiguous with any of the other states. Puerto Rico, which is largely self governing, is part of the U.S., as are several smaller territories in the Pacific Ocean, such as Guam. Each of the 50 states has a large degree of sovereignty, but the boundaries are debated and shift slightly every year.

At over 3.7 million square miles (over 9.6 million km²), the U.S. (including its non-contiguous and overseas states and territories) is the third largest country by total area (after Russia and Canada). It is the world's third most populous nation, with over 350 million people (after China and India).

Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent. <ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html CIA World Factbook], ''North America :: United States'', Updated on February 23, 2011, (Accessed on February 23, 2011).</ref>

==History==

===American Revolution===
{{main|American Revolution}}
[[File:Washington-deleware.jpg|thumb|left|Washington, Chief of the Continental Army, is shown crossing the Delaware River.]]
The American Revolution exploded from fears the British Empire was trying to restrict the historic rights and liberties of Americans. The British victory in the French and Indian War ended the threat that foreign powers might attack the colonies; Britain's protection was no longer needed. At the same time Britain decided to assert its powers by imposing [[taxes]]. The taxes (as on stamps, sugar, and tea) were not large but the principle was simple: Americans insisted their own [[Legislature|legislatures]] could impose taxes but not [[Parliament]], because Americans were not represented there. "No taxation without representation!" and "[[Don't tread on me]]" became common phrases in America by the American people, but the British refused over and over again to accept it. London sent in troops when Boston protested vehemently, and Americans organized shadow governments in every colony.

The Americans were adopting a new political philosophy, called [[republicanism]], which stressed civic virtue, fear of corruption, and disdain for [[aristocracy]] (there were no aristocrats in America apart from occasional British visitors). Republicanism alerted Americans to their constitutional rights as Englishmen – one right was that the people, through their elected officials, set the taxes and upheld law. Constitutionally, to Americans their "elected officials" were not represented in the British Parliament, it meant having their own colonial legislatures. The British replied haughtily toward this desire from the Americans, going so far as to suggest America was "virtually represented" by the British Parliament in some way or form.

====Boston Tea Party====
{{main|Boston Tea Party}}

The British Parliaments idea of representation in America fueled their desire to increase taxes on the Americans. The tax on stamps in 1765 incited near rebellion, as the 13 separate colonies began meeting together and sharing their grievances. The stamp tax was repealed but others followed, especially the tax on tea. In response, Americans boycotted tea and merchants refused to order it, except in Boston. There, a well-organized group of patriots dumped the tea in the harbor, historically known as the [[Boston Tea Party]]. These events infuriated London, so they sent troops to North America and stripped [[Massachusetts]] of its self government and suspended the historic rights the colonists were so proud of.

====Thirteen Colonies====
{{main|Thirteen Colonies}} [[Image:Pop1750.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]

The thirteen original colonies began organizing shadow governments, called "Committees of Correspondence," which prepared the Americans for the day "patriots" (or "Whigs," as they called themselves) could assume all functions of local government. That day came when the British sent troops from Boston to seize gunpowder in attempt to dismantle a potential revolt, and the American patriots gathered there to defend their liberty. These patriots were known as the American "Minute men," a well trained militia, and had planned for this day at Lexington and Concord. When the militia clashed with the elite British troops they soundly defeated them, prompting an historic backlash from Britain. The American Revolution had begun.

The thirteen colonies, organized as the "[[First Continental Congress]]," became a national government as the shadow governments in each colony took control and ousted all royal officials. Congress set up a [[Continental Army]] and gave command to an American hero and Virginia's leader, [[George Washington]]. George Washington took charge in Boston, and he forced the British to leave in the spring of 1776. All 13 colonies were at this point in control of the American Patriots, and they listened as [[Tom Paine]] explained ''Common Sense'' principles, proudly boasting of America's strength and its power as a new nation. America, in its own right as an individual nation no longer needed nor wanted a foreign [[King]]. Congress called on the colonies to become States and to write new State constitutions. On July 4, 1776, Congress unanimously declared the independence of a new nation, the United States of America.

====France in the American Revolutionary War====
[[File:Marquis de Lafayette.jpg|thumb|[[Marquis de Lafayette]].]]
King [[George III]] could not abide the insolent Americans and he sent his small army and large navy to America in attempt to reconquer his lost colonies. They were able to recapture [[New York City]], but the King's failure to spread elsewhere greatly outweighed this small victory. The powerful Royal navy gave the British command of the seas and the ability to land troops anywhere and capture any specific place, but the shortage of British soldiers, and the very long 3000 mile supply line, meant that the British could only hold a few points at any one time. Hiring German soldiers (Hessians) was necessary, but they were not enough, for the Patriots always had more available soldiers. The British expectations that Loyalist would rise up and overthrow the Patriots was a [[chimera]]; the Loyalists did provide some help to British invasion forces, but were never strong enough to operate on their own or control any territory.

[[France]], humiliated by Britain in the 1760s, was stronger in the late 1770's than it was a decade earlier and wanted revenge against the British for their past woes. Thus, the French secretly armed and financed the Americans. Lafayette, a French general in the American Revolutionary War, served in the Continental Army under George Washington. He convinced France to send their first naval and land forces to the Americas and participated in defending Richmond, Virginia from Benedict Arnold and in the battle of Yorktown, Virginia; Lafayette contributed in no slight degree toward the grand result.

In 1777, the British sent a large army to invade [[New York]] and cut off the revolutionary states of [[New England]]. The plan was a disaster as the American militia captured the entire British invasion force at Saratoga. Encouraged by diplomat [[Benjamin Franklin]], the French recognized the United States as an independent nation, signed a treaty of alliance, and entered the war against Britain. Later, the treaty extended to [[Spain]] and the [[Netherlands]] as allies to America; Britain's diplomacy was disjointed that it had no allies at all, and was militarily matched or surpassed by America and its new allies. The British invasion of the South in 1780-81 was designed to bring out Loyalist support, but it failed and the second major British army was captured at the [[Battle of Yorktown]]. The British Parliament revolted at their reckless king and his incompetent government and sued for peace, which was achieved on terms favorable to the U.S. in 1783. About 20% of the Loyalists moved to [[Canada]], but many stayed in America, and the new peaceful nation resumed its rapid growth.

===New Nation===

In 1783, when the Treaty of Paris concluded the war of independence, the American population totalled some three million citizens and slaves living on about one million square miles of land. Tens of thousands of [[Native Americans]] also lived in the [[Northwest Territory]] and the Southwest.

The Thirteen original states are [[Connecticut]], [[Delaware]], [[Georgia]], [[Maryland]], [[Massachusetts]] (including [[maine]]), [[New Hampshire]], [[New Jersey]], [[New York]], [[North Carolina]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Rhode Island]], [[South Carolina]] and [[Virginia]]. In 1790, an agreement between supporters of Jefferson and those of [[Alexander Hamilton]] resulted in the creation of the [[District of Columbia]] from part of [[Maryland]]; it has served as the national capital since 1800. The remainder of the 1783 territory was eventually organized as the states of [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], [[Michigan]], [[Illinois]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]].

===Expansion===
[[File:U.S. Territorial Acquisitions PD WC.jpg|thumb|left|Territorial acquisitions such as the Thirteen Colonies, the Louisiana Purchase, and British and Spanish Cession.]]
In 1803, [[French]] emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] took advantage of a lull in his war with Great Britain to sell the [[Louisiana Territory]] to the United States, more than doubling the nation's land area. This territory would later be organized as the states of [[Minnesota]], [[North Dakota]], [[South Dakota]], [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]], [[Nebraska]], [[Iowa]], [[Missouri]], [[Arkansas]], [[Kansas]], [[Oklahoma]], and [[Louisiana]] proper. President Jefferson commissioned [[Lewis and Clark]] to explore the new territory from 1802 to 1804.

The U.S. seized, then purchased [[Florida]] from Spain in 1819. [[Texas]] joined the United States in 1845 after winning its revolution against Mexico.
[[File:Map Leading Group by County US.jpg|thumb|Map Leading Group by County, 2000.]]
After victory the [[Mexican American War]] of 1846-48, the U.S. purchased via the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] territory that became the states of [[California]], [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]] and [[Arizona]]. In 1846 the U.S. and Britain agreed that the 49th Parallel (degree of latitude) would serve as the boundary between the U. S. and [[British Columbia]] (now part of Canada). The American portion became the states of [[Washington]], [[Oregon]] and [[Idaho]].

In 1867, the U.S. purchased [[Alaska]] from [[Russia]]. It became a state in 1959.

Hawaii became an independent republic in 1894 and voluntarily joined the U.S. in 1898, becoming a state in 1960.

As a result of the [[Spanish-American War]], the United States took control of the [[Philippines]] and annexed [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Guam]]. The Philippines became independent in 1946, after the U.S. reconquered the islands from Japan in World War II. [[Puerto Rico]] has occasionally held referendum that ratified its continuing unique "Commonwealth" status as part of the United States. The residents of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. Guam continues as a U.S. owned territory with full citizenship for its inhabitants. The people of Puerto Rico and Guam have a vote in presidential primaries and a voice, but not a vote, in Congress.

==The Constitution and Politics in the United States==

[[Image:76485685i79.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The drafting committee presenting the [[Declaration of Independence]] to the [[Continental Congress]], painted by John Trumbull 1817–1819.]]

Between 1776 and 1788, the United States was governed according to the [[Articles of Confederation]]. The Founding Fathers formally established the current structure of the United States by ratification of the [[U.S. Constitution]] in 1788. Since 1789, that constitution has been the basic governing document. America's Founding Fathers understood that a democracy is always in flux and given to “mob rule,”<ref>[[Michelle Malkin]]. [http://michellemalkin.com/2009/03/27/the-coming-g20-riots-the-spread-of-mob-rule/comment-page-1/ The coming G20 riots & the spread of mob rule], ''Michelle Malkin'', March 27, 2009.</ref> while a republic is fixed and stable, resting on “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” Because of the uncertainty of democracy, [[Benjamin Rush]] — a signer of the Declaration of Independence — wrote: “A simple democracy is one of the greatest of evils.”<ref>AWR Hawkins. [http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/america-a-republic-not-a-democracy/ America: A Republic, Not a Democracy], ''Pajamas Media'', September 03, 2009.</ref>

Sovereignty in America comes from the citizenry, and the basic political values are called "[[republicanism]]," (not to be confused with the [[Republican Party]],) especially the commitment to civic virtue and civic duty, and opposition to corruption and aristocracy. Popular political parties emerged in the United States in the 1790s; currently the two major political parties are the [[Democratic Party]], and the [[Republican Party]]. Minor parties are of little importance overall but can be useful in pushing certain topics to the public eye.

=== The Role of Religion in Government ===
{{main|Religion and U.S. Government}}

==Government==
{{main|United States Federal Government}}

[[Image:56eugyjnm.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The [[White House]], the official home and workplace of the [[President of the United States]] of America.]]

===Executive Branch===

*Chief of state: The [[President of the United States]] is both the chief of state and head of government
*Head of government: President of the United States; [[Vice President of the United States]]
*Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval
*Elections: The president and vice president serve four-year terms (eligible for a second term)

===Legislative Branch===

The United States legislative branch of government is a [[bicameral]] Congress, which consists of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] (100 seats, 2 members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third are elected every two years) and the [[House of Representatives]] (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms).

===Judicial Branch===
{{main|Supreme Court of the United States}}

The United States [[Supreme Court]] consists of nine justices, nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members of the Supreme Court are appointed to serve for life; the judicial branch extends to the United States Courts of Appeal, the United States District Courts, and State and County Courts. The primary role of the nine justices of the Supreme Court is to assure the United States government does not attempt to surrender, sell or transfer the people's unalienable rights given by [[God]]. The Supreme Court has the power to consider the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress.

== Economy ==

The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $47,400. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. Soaring oil prices between 2005 and the first half of 2008 threatened inflation and unemployment, as higher gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets. Imported oil accounts for about 60% of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The merchandise trade deficit reached a record $840 billion in 2008 before shrinking to $506 billion in 2009, and ramping back up to $630 billion in 2010. The global economic downturn, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, investment bank failures, falling home prices, and tight credit pushed the United States into a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third quarter of 2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. To help stabilize financial markets, the US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in October 2008. The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and other industrial corporations, much of which had been returned to the government by early 2011. In January 2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs and to help the economy recover. Approximately two-thirds of these funds were injected into the economy by the end of 2010. In March 2010, President OBAMA signed a health insurance reform bill into law that will extend coverage to an additional 32 million American citizens by 2016, through private health insurance for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. In July 2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a bill designed to promote financial stability by protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer bailouts of financial firms, dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are subject to government regulation and oversight. In November 2010, in an attempt to keep interest rates from rising and snuffing out the nascent recovery, the US Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed) announced that it would purchase $600 billion worth of US Government bonds by June 2011.

Leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; [[petroleum]], [[steel]], motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, [[electronics]], food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining.
<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html CIA - The world Factbook]</ref>

==Flag Description==
[[Image:50 star flag.png|left|thumb|150px|The [[Flag of the United States of America]]]]
{{main|Flag of the United States of America}}

Thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including [[Chile]], [[Liberia]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Puerto Rico]].

{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== See also==
[[File:Lawrence The Migration of the Negro.jpg|thumb|The Migration of the Negro by [[Jacob Lawrence]], 1940-1941.]]
*[[Pledge of Allegiance]]
*[[Famous American artists]]
*[[List of 50 states]]
*[[Americas]]
*[[America (continent)]]
*[[Columbia]]
*[[Gallery of American Masterpieces]]

==External links==
*[[CIA]] - [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html The World FactBook]
*[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616563/United-States United States.]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/america.htm America]
*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/flags_of_us_states.htm Flags of the U.S. States]
*[http://www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf Interactive map test of the 50 U.S. states]
*[http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h445.html U.S. History]
*[http://www.theroot.com/buzz/who-owns-united-states Who Owns the United States?]
*[http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html Wealth, Income, and Power.] by G. William Domhoff, University of California Santa Cruz.

{{USstates}}

[[Category:North American Countries]]
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:United States History]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Margaret Thatcher

2011-11-09T16:52:44Z

SamTC: /* Falkland Islands */

{{Prime Minister
|image=Margaret_Thatcher.jpg
|seq=71
|term_start=May 4 1979
|term_end=November 28 1990
|party=Conservative Party
|previous=James Callaghan
|next=John Major
|birth_date=October 13 1925
|birth_place=Grantham
|spouse=[[Denis Thatcher|Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt]]
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}

'''Margaret Hilda Thatcher (nee Roberts)''', later Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven (born October 13, 1925), was [[Prime Minister]] of the [[United Kingdom]] from 1979 to 1990, the first woman to hold the position. Her leadership permanently moved Britain to the right and reshaped the nation's political environment to stress economic growth and international competitiveness. The [[Labour Party]] in response under [[Tony Blair]] jettisoned their old leftist ideas and followed Thatcher-lite programs.

Thatcher was chosen to be the leader of the Conservative Party in February 1975, succeeding former Prime Minister [[Edward Heath]]. She was opposed to [[socialism]] and out-of-control union power which had brought down the previous Conservative government in 1974. She led the Conservatives to victory in the May 1979 [[General Election]] and thus became Prime Minister.
{{cquote|'''The economic success of the Western world is a product of its moral philosophy and practice. ''The economic results are better because the moral philosophy is superior.'' Choice is the essence of ethics: if there were no choice, there would be no ethics, no good, no evil; good and evil have meaning only insofar as man is free to choose.''' <ref>[http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103336 1977 speech by Margaret Thatcher; Zurich Economic Society]</ref>}}

Thatcher sold many of the UK's nationalized industries back to private investors and made tax cuts. She broke the power of the trade unions which stood in the way of industrial progress, especially in the mining, print and shipbuilding industries and the public sector. Due to her strong standards and her leadership style, she became known as the "[[Iron Lady]]," a term originally coined as an insult by the communist [[Soviet Union]], but one she adopted. A famous statement of hers was "You turn if you want to, but the lady's not for turning", in reference to calls from within her own party to back down (in the political terminology of the time, "U-turn") on issues that were important to her. Thatcher was always a strong supporter of close relations with the [[United States]], and was a good friend of President [[Ronald Reagan]], uniting with him in actions against the Communists.

She led Britain to victory against [[Argentina]] in a 1982 war over Argentinian aggression against the [[Falkland Islands]]. The United States was allied with both countries, and initially tried to broker a negotiated settlement. When Thatcher rejected the proposed compromise, the U.S. supported Britain with intelligence information and the supply of advanced AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles. The conflict led to a strong friendship with the Chilean leader [[Augusto Pinochet]] after Chile helped Britain in the conflict. In 1986, she banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools in a piece of legislation known as [[Section 28]].

Thatcher led the Conservative Party to victory in three general elections (1979, 1983 and 1987). By 1990, her popularity was waning and there were calls from within her own party for her to step aside. She was challenged for the party leadership and just failed to gain the necessary majority in the first election despite getting more votes than her rival [[Michael Heseltine]]. After being convinced by colleagues that she would narrowly fail to gain the necessary votes she decided not to stand for a second ballot and resigned as party leader on 22 November 1990. [[John Major]] won the party leadership vote, and was subsequently appointed to succeed Thatcher as Prime Minister. Heseltine's reputation was destroyed by his actions and his career in the Conservative Party slowly declined.

''Thatcher was the longest serving British Prime Minister in more than 150 years and, alongside [[Winston Churchill]], is considered to be one of the two most important British political leaders of the twentieth century.''

She fundamentally moved the British economy from factories and mines to services and finance. [[Time|Time Magazine]] wrote of Lady Thatcher:
{{cquote|'''She was the catalyst who set in motion a series of interconnected events that gave a revolutionary twist to the century's last two decades and helped mankind end the millennium on a note of hope and confidence. The triumph of capitalism, the almost universal acceptance of the market as indispensable to prosperity, the collapse of Soviet imperialism, the downsizing of the state on nearly every continent and in almost every country in the world — Margaret Thatcher played a part in all those transformations, and it is not easy to see how any would have occurred without her. ''Champion of free minds and markets, she helped topple the welfare state and make the world safer for capitalism and mankind.''''' <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html Time Magazine; Time 100 citation]</ref>}} 

==Career prior to 1979==

The predominant influence in Lady Thatcher's early life was her father, [[Alfred Roberts]]. Roberts was a grocer by occupation who was active in local politics. She attended Somerville College, [[Oxford University|Oxford]], where she read chemistry and became chairman of the university Conservative association. After graduating, she worked for a time as a research chemist before qualifying as a barrister and practicing as a tax lawyer, an indication of her interest in financial matters. In this time period, it was uncommon in Britain for a woman from a background to go to an upper-class university and then to pursue a career in the elitist male world of the Bar.

Lady Thatcher married Denis Thatcher, a successful businessman whom she met at a Conservative Party meeting; a quiet man, he kept out of the spotlight. They had two children, twins Mark Thatcher and Carol Thatcher.

Under the weak and troubled Conservative premiership of [[Edward Heath]] (1970-1974), Thatcher served as Secretary of State for Education during which time her most noted achievement was the withdrawal of a daily milk ration to primary age schoolchildren earning her the nickname Milk-Snatcher. After the Conservatives were defeated in the elections of February and October 1974, Thatcher challenged the more liberal Heath for the leadership of the party. When she went into Heath's office to tell him her decision, he did not even bother to look up. "You'll lose," he said. "Good day to you." [http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html]

Though at the time she was a relatively untested figure (and many in the party were wary of choosing a woman leader), she defeated both Heath and other male rivals in the contest in February 1975. Heath subsequently became a prominent personal and political adversary of Thatcher, drawing accusations of bitterness.

In the 1970s, Thatcher's strongly conservative, pro-capitalist stance resonated with a new mood among the British electorate, many of whom had become dissatisfied with the post-[[World War II]] statist consensus (the "post-war consensus", sometimes also called "Butskellism" after the centrist Conservative politician [[Rab Butler]] and the moderate Labour politician [[Hugh Gaitskell]]). Thatcher and the Conservatives offered a clear alternative vision for an increasingly aspirational society. The Conservative politician Sir [[Keith Joseph]] was the primary intellectual force behind these theories that later became known as ''Thatcherism''. They were strongly influenced by the pro-market intellectuals [[Friedrich von Hayek]] and [[Milton Friedman]].
[[Image:503px-Thatcher-loc.jpg|right|thumb|Margaret Thatcher as Leader of the Opposition in 1975.]]

===Attitude to Abortion===
Thatcher, throughout her parliamentary career, voted in favor of liberal abortion laws.[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1988thatcher.html]

==1979 election==
The Labour party under [[James Callaghan]] (prime minister 1976-79) contested the May 1979 election as unemployment passed the one-million mark and unions became more aggressive. The Conservatives used a highly effective poster created by Saatchi and Saatchi, showing a dole queue snaking into the distance and it carried the caption "Labour isn't working".
[[Image:THATCH~1.JPG|right|350px]]
Voters gave Conservatives 43.9% of the vote and 339 seats to Labour's 269, for an overall majority of 43 seats. People generally voted against Labour rather than for the Conservatives. Labour was weakened by the steady long-term decline in the proportion of manual workers in the electorate. Twice as many manual workers normally voted Labour as voted Conservative, but they now constituted only 56% of the electorate. When [[Harold Wilson]] won narrowly for Labour in 1964, they had accounted for 63%. Furthermore they were beginning to turn against the trade unions—alienated, perhaps, by the difficulties of the winter of 1978-9. In contrast, Tory policies stressing wider home ownership, which Labour refused to match. Thatcher did best in districts where the economy was relatively strong and was weaker where it was contracting.

==Prime Ministership==
===Economic policy===
Thatcher's chief goals in power were to reverse Britain's economic decline and to reduce the range of the state as well as standing taller on the international stage. She found a soul-mate in Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980 but whom she had met in 1975. Thatcher started by increasing interest rates to drive down inflation which hit the manufacturing sector and caused unemployment to rise sharply and there was a deep recession in the early 1980s blamed on her Government's economic policy. This led to her famous quote: 'the lady is not for turning', and she refused a policy reversal and, despite an open letter from 364 "economists", taxes were increased in the middle of a recession. Although unemployment did not reach 3 million till 1982, a year earlier British cities burned as thousands took to the streets to demonstrate their frustration. Inflation was going down though, allowing interest rates to fall, proving those "economists" wrong.

===Falkland Islands===
As the economy started to recover Argentina invaded the Falklands, the first (and unprovoked) invasion of sovereign British territory by a foreign government since the Second World War. This invasion was preceded, and possibly encouraged, by her withdrawal of the Royal Navy's antarctic patrol ship ''HMS Endurance'' from the South Atlantic. Thatcher immediately declared her resolve to recapture the islands in line with the wishes of their inhabitants, and dispatched a naval task force to that end. With help from President [[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]] of [[Chile]] and, more covertly, [[Ronald Reagan]], the British forces swiftly recaptured the islands. The resulting wave of patriotic enthusiasm as well as her right to buy policy for council homes, and a uselessly divided opposition, meant she got a landslide victory in the June 1983 general election.

===Unions===
The central theme of Thatcher's second term was reducing the power of the trade unions with a series of measures that a number of unions reacted to with industrial action. In particular the National Union of Mineworkers led by Arthur Scargill. The Tories had prepared for the strike by building up coal reserves and the deploying well paid police units fitted out with new riot gear brought in after the disturbances of 1981 who taunted the strikers by waving fivers at them. The miners responded with bricks and very ugly scenes developed on picket lines that split the country. Scargill's failure to hold a ballot for the strike undermined public support and the striker's chant of 'vote with your feet' calling miners to join the strike was turned on them as more and more returned to work over the year of the strike.
===IRA===
In the middle of the strike, on October 12 1984, the IRA detonated a bomb during the Conservative Party conference in Brighton. Thatcher escaped injury but five people died in the attack and Margaret Tebbit was left paralyzed; the conference went on as normal.
===Privatization===
Thatcher's political and economic philosophy emphasized free markets and since gaining power she had experimented in selling off nationalized industries starting with the National Freight company, most of the large utilities followed.

Privatization was perhaps the most enduring legacy of the political economy developed under Thatcher. She privatized long-nationalized corporations (such as the telephone and aerospace firms) and, most important, sold public housing to tenants, all on favorable terms. Theis turned Labour-minded tenants into Conservative-minded property owners and mortgage payers. The policy developed an important electoral dimension during the second Thatcher government (1983-90). It involved more than denationalization: wider share ownership was the second plank of the policy, and this provides an important historical perspective on the relationship between Thatcherism and 20th-century conservatism.<ref> Richard Stevens, "The Evolution of Privatisation as an Electoral Policy, c. 1970-90." ''Contemporary British History'' 2004 18(2): 47-75. Issn: 1361-9462 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

===Foreign policy===
Thatcher supported Reagan's [[Cold War]] policies of [[rollback]] of Communism. She supported the stationing of nuclear missiles in Europe and at British bases, ignoring the last-gasp protests by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. She supported the American bombing raid on [[Libya]] from bases in Britain in 1986 and, by refusing to side with a European consortium, in backing the American-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation over a British company Westland. [[Michael Heseltine]] resigned in protest at her style of leadership over this.

In 1984 she visited [[China]] and signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration with [[Deng Xiaoping]] that agreed the handover of [[Hong Kong]] in 1997. At the Fontainebleau summit in 1984 Thatcher argued that the UK paid far more to the EEC than it received in spending and negotiated a budget rebate using the argument that ‘We want our money back’. In 1985, the University of Oxford voted to refuse her an honorary degree in protest against her cuts in funding for education.
===Reelected 1987===
In 1987, Thatcher became the first British Prime Minister to win three consecutive general elections since [[Lord Liverpool]] (1812-1827).
===Environment===
In the late 1980's Thatcher began to be concerned by environmental policy and in 1988 she made a major speech accepting the problems of global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain. <ref>[http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=107346 Speech to the Royal Society, 9/27/1988]</ref>

===Europe===
At Bruges, she made a speech in which she outlined her opposition to proposals from the European Communities for a federal structure and increasing centralization of decision-making believing that the role of the EC should be limited to ensuring free trade and effective competition. She was specifically against Economic and Monetary Union, through which a single currency would replace national currencies, and for which the EC was making preparations. In 1989 the economy high interest rates were imposed to stop an unsustainable boom. At the Madrid European summit, Nigel Lawson and Geoffrey Howe forced Thatcher to agree the circumstances in which she would join the Exchange Rate Mechanism, a preparation for monetary union. She took revenge on both by demoting Howe and listening more to her adviser Sir Alan Walters on economic matters. Lawson resigned that October and in November, a so-called ‘stalking horse candidate Sir Anthony Meyer challenged Thatcher for the leadership of the Conservative Party. In 1989 a new system of local government finance to replace the rates was introduced for Scotland in 1989 and for England and Wales in 1990. Called the 'Community Charge' but known as the Poll Tax was applied at the same amount to every individual resident with only limited discounts. Widespread opposition culminated in a huge [http://newsfilm.bufvc.ac.uk/article.php?story=200510081953085 demonstration] in London on March 31 that turned into the largest outbreak of public disorder central London had seen in a century which was followed by millions of people refusing to pay the tax. This along with her government's handling of the economy, her perceived arrogance and a general feeling that she would never retire, made her politically vulnerable. Geoffrey Howe resigned on November 1 and condemned Thatcher's policy on the European Communities then openly invited 'others to consider their own response'. Michael Heseltine's response was a leadership challenge which resulted in a narrow failure, by two votes, for Thatcher to win automatic re-election. After consulting with cabinet colleagues she found a vast majority thought that she could not win on the second ballot. On November 22nd Thatcher announced that she would not be a candidate in the second ballot. She supported John Major as her successor, and retired from Parliament at the 1992 election.

==Thatcherism==
[[Thatcherism]] refers to Thatcher's economic policies while prime minister 1979 and 1990.
It consisted of
*[[free market]] [[Supply-side economics|supply-side economics]]
*[[tax]] reduction
*artificial manipulation of the money supply to reduce [[inflation]]
*[[privatization]] of public industry
*reining in of [[labor union|trade union]] influence and power

==Life after being Prime Minister==

After leaving the House of Commons, Thatcher was dubbed '''Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven''' and entered the House of Lords. Denis Thatcher was given a Baronetcy, which ensured that their son, Mark, would inherit the title of "Sir Mark".

She publicly endorsed [[William Hague]] against Kenneth Clarke for the Conservative leadership in 1997. She made many speaking engagements around the world, including very vocal support of former General [[Augusto Pinochet]], whom the new Labour administration extradited to Spain on trumped-up charges of torturing political opponents. In March 2002 she suffered a mild stroke, and made few speeches. In 2004 she attended the funeral of her old friend and political soul-mate, Ronald Reagan. Baroness Thatcher is still seen at Tory party gatherings and has continued endorsing party leaders, such as Iain Duncan Smith. In August 2008, it became known that she was suffering from [[dementia]] and had withdrawn from public life. <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7579352.stm Thatcher suffers from dementia]</ref>
[http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html][http://www.fandmpublications.co.uk/pages/margaretbiography1.htm][http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page126.asp]

==Quick Facts==
*Born: 13 October 1925 in [[Grantham]], [[Lincolnshire]]

*First entered Parliament: 8 October 1959

*Became leader of the [[Conservative]] Party in February 1975

*Elected as Prime Minister in May 1979

*Age she became PM: 53 years, 204 days

*Maiden Speech: 5 February 1960 during the second reading of her Private Member's Bill

*Total time as PM: 11 years, 209 days

*Nickname: "The Iron Lady"

*Education: Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School and Somerville College, Oxford

*Before Thatcher became an MP, she worked as a research chemist for British Xylonite and then Lyons & Company, where she helped develop methods for preserving ice cream.

*Family: Margaret Thatcher is the younger of two daughters. She often gave her father as an example of an outstanding citizen. She married [[Sir Denis Thatcher]], and has one son and one daughter.

*Interests: Music, art, opera and reading.

[http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page126.asp][http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html]

==Husband==
Denis Thatcher, ''as the first male PM spouse in history'', was always likely to be the center of media attention - and he didn't disappoint.

When she met him, Baroness Thatcher remarked that "it was clear to me at once that Denis was an exceptional man - he had a certain style and dash." Described as a man of integrity, humor and common sense, he had a strong business background and fought with the Royal Artillery during the war.

It was said that Denis was in 'the Thatcher party not the Tory party'. He once famously remarked, recalling the words of Mark Twain, that: "it's better to keep my mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt."

When he died in 2003 his wife paid tribute to the man she loved by saying: "Being PM is a lonely job. In a sense, it ought to be - you cannot lead from a crowd. But with Denis there I was never alone. What a man. What a husband. What a friend."

[http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page126.asp][http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/thatcher.html]

== Notable quotes==

*"I like Mr Gorbachev, we can do business together."

*"The lady is not for turning"

*"I have made it quite clear that a unified Ireland was one solution that is out. A second solution was a confederation of two states. That is out. A third solution was joint authority. That is out-that is a derogation of sovereignty."

*"I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left."

*"If you lead a country like Britain, a strong country, a country which has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have to have a touch of iron about you."

*"I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near."

*" There is no such thing as [[society]]. There is living tapestry of men and women and people and the beauty of that tapestry and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves and each of us prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate"<ref>[http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=106689 Interview in ''Woman's Own'']</ref>

*"What Britain needs is an iron lady."

*"Unless we change our ways and our direction, our greatness as a nation will soon be a footnote in the history books, a distant memory of an offshore island, lost in the mists of time like Camelot, remembered kindly for its noble past."

*"I just owe almost everything to my father [and] it's passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election."

*"Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend."<ref>[http://www.quoteworld.org/authors/margaret-thatcher/1/ Quotes by Margaret Thatcher]</ref>

*"It will be years before a woman either leads the Conservative Party or becomes Prime Minister. I don't see it happening in my time" (in 1970.) This quote was parodied in the 2006 TV series Life on Mars, when DCI Gene Hunt (speaking in 1973) stated "There'll never be a woman Prime Minister as long as I have a hole in my ar*e."

*“You may have to fight the battle more than once to win it.” <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=zac9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA283&dq=fight+the+battle+more+than+once+to+win+it.&ei=3hpnS82IAaSyNNvx1PwN&cd=2 The Routledge dictionary of quotations‎ - Page 283 by Robert Andrews]</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Thatcherism]]
*[[Conservative Links]]

==External Links==
* [http://www.margaretthatcher.org/ Margaret Thatcher Foundation]

==References==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
[[File:Thatcher-pic.jpg|thumb|260px]]
===Biography===
* Blundell, John. ''Margaret Thatcher: A Portrait of the Iron Lady'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Thatcher-Portrait-Iron-Lady/dp/087586631X/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256981278&sr=1-9 excerpt and text search]
* Campbell, John. ''Margaret Thatcher. Vol. 1: The Grocer's Daughter.'' (2000); ''Margaret Thatcher. vol. 2: Iron Lady'' (2007), 520pp; 913pp; long, detailed authoritative biography
* Clarke, Peter. "Margaret Thatcher's Place in History: Two Views," ''Journal of the History of Economic Thought'' 2002 24(3): 357-368 online at EBSCO
* Geelhoed, Bruce E. and Hobbs, James F. ''Margaret Thatcher's Last Hurrah: In Victory and Downfall, 1987 and 1990.'' (1992). 193 pp. [http://www.questia.com/read/15091359?title=Margaret%20Thatcher%3a%20In%20Victory%20and%20Downfall%2c%201987%20and%201990 online edition]; also [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Margaret-Thatcher-Victory-Downfall-1987/dp/0275941485/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212823416&sr=8-34 excerpt and text search]
* King, Anthony. "The Outsider as Political Leader: the Case of Margaret Thatcher." ''British Journal of Political Science'' 2002 32(3): 435-454. Issn: 0007-1234 Fulltext: [[CUP]] and [[Jstor]]. Thatcher was a social outsider, psychological outsider and political outsider.
* Thompson, Juliet S., and Wayne C. Thompson. ''Margaret Thatcher: Prime Minister Indomitable'' (1994) [http://www.questia.com/read/85710688?title=Margaret%20Thatcher%3a%20Prime%20Minister%20Indomitable online edition]
* Young, Hugo. ''The Iron Lady: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher.'' (1989). 570 pp. well-written and well researched

===Political studies===
* Adonis, Andrew, and Tim Hames, eds. ''A Conservative Revolution: The Thatcher-Reagan Decade'' (1994), comparative perspective
* Backhouse, Roger E. "The Macroeconomics of Margaret Thatcher," ''Journal of the History of Economic Thought'' 2002 24(3): 313-334 online at EBSCO
* Dellheim, Charles. ''The Disenchanted Isle: Mrs. Thatcher's Capitalist Revolution.'' (1995) 352 pp.
* Evans, Brendan. ''Thatcherism and British Politics, 1975-1997'' (2000)
* Evans, Eric J. ''Thatcher and Thatcherism.'' (2nd ed. 2004). 176 pp [http://www.questia.com/read/107494201?title=Thatcher%20and%20Thatcherism online edition]
* Fry, Geoffrey K. ''Politics of the Thatcher Revolution: An Interpretation of British Politics 1975 - 1990'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Politics-Thatcher-Revolution-Interpretation-British/dp/0333751965/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256981278&sr=1-11 excerpt and text search]
* Haseler, Stephen. ''The Battle for Britain: Thatcher and the New Liberals.'' (1990). 195 pp.
* Holmes, Martin. ''The First Thatcher Government, 1979-83: Contemporary Conservatism and Economic Change'' (1985); ''Thatcherism: Scope and Limits, 1983-87.'' (1989). 174 pp. a sympathetic assessment.
* Jenkins, Peter. ''Mrs. Thatcher's Revolution: The Ending of the Socialist Era.'' (1988). 417 pp. critical
* Johnson, Christopher. ''The Grand Experiment: Mrs. Thatcher's Economy and How It Spread.'' (1993). 341 pp.
* Kavanagh, Dennis. ''Thatcherism and British Politics: The End of Consensus?'' (1987). 334 pp.
* Kavanagh, Dennis, and Anthony Seldon, eds. ''The Thatcher Effect'' (1989), major interpretive essays by experts
* Krieger, Joel. ''Reagan, Thatcher, and the Politics of Decline.'' (1987). 247 pp.
* Moon, Jeremy. ''Innovative Leadership in Democracy: Policy Change under Thatcher.'' (1993). 157 pp.
* Morgan, K.O. ''The People's Peace: British History, 1945-90'' (1990) survey by leading scholar
* Pugliese, Stanislao, ed. ''The Political Legacy of Margaret Thatcher.'' (2003). 419 pp.
* Reitan, Earl A. ''The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, and Tony Blair, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979-2001.'' (2003). 260 pp.
* Reitan, Earl A. ''Tory Radicalism: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979-1997.'' (1997). 222 pp.
* Riddell, Peter. ''The Thatcher Decade: How Britain Has Changed during the 1980's.'' (1989). 236 pp.
* Roy, Subroto and Clarke, John, eds. ''Margaret Thatcher's Revolution: How It Happened and What It Meant.'' (2005). 209 pp.
* Savage, S.P., and L. Robbins, eds. ''Public Policy under Thatcher'' (1990), essays by experts
* Sharp, Paul. ''Thatcher's Diplomacy: The Revival of British Foreign Policy.'' (1997). 269 pp.
* Smith, Geoffrey. ''Reagan and Thatcher.'' (1991). 285 pp.
* Waine, Barbara. ''The Rhetoric of Independence: The Ideology and Practice of Social Policy in Thatcher's Britain.'' (1992). 172 pp.
* Wall, Stephen. ''A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Europe-Britain-Thatcher-Blair/dp/0199284555/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212823185&sr=1-26 excerpt and text search]
* Walters, A. A. ''Britain's Economic Renaissance: Margaret Thatcher's Reforms, 1979-1984.'' (1986). 200 pp.
* Wapshott, Nicholas. ''Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage.'' (2007) 329 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Ronald-Reagan-Margaret-Thatcher-Political/dp/159523053X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256981278&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Whipple, Amy C. "'Ordinary People': The Cultural Origins of Popular Thatcherism in Britain, 1964-1979." PhD dissertation Northwestern U. 2004. 253 pp. DAI 2004 65(5): 1926-A. DA3132626 Fulltext: [[ProQuest Dissertations & Theses]]
* [http://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Thatcher-Bibliography-Bibliographies-Statesmen/dp/book-citations/0313282889/ref=sid_dp_av?ie=UTF8&citeType=citing#citing additional books]
===Primary sources===
* Clark, Alan. ''Mrs. Thatcher's Minister: The Private Diaries of Alan Clark.'' (1994). 421 pp.
* Thatcher, Margaret. ''The Path to Power (1995); ''The Downing Street Years.'' (1993). 914 pp., highly detailed memoirs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thatcher, Margaret}}

[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers]]
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[[Category:British History]]
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