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2008-01-14T01:08:33Z

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United States Congress

2008-01-14T01:08:23Z

VLazlo:

United States Constitution

2008-01-14T01:08:09Z

VLazlo:

[[Image:Flag of France.png|thumb|600px|center|This article has been annexed in the name of France. Non-French citizens wishing to edit this article should submit a writing plan to:

<center>Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes</center>
<center>37, Quai d'Orsay</center>
<center>75007 Paris</center>
<center>01 43 17 53 53</center>]]

[[Image:Constitution.jpg|thumb|300px|The United States Constitution]]
''For the full text of the U.S. Constitution, see [[Full Text of the United States Constitution]].''

The United States Constitution is the supreme [[legal]] text that formed the framework of the current [[United States]] government. It superseded the [[Articles of Confederation]]. The Constitution was developed at the [[Constitutional Convention]] in [[Philadelphia]] at Independence Hall during the summer of 1787 and proposed to the states on September 17, 1787.<ref>http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/constpap.htm</ref> It became law when nine out of thirteen states ratified it. It took effect on March 4, 1789. It is the oldest and shortest written constitution of its type still in effect.[[http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/FastFacts/index.shtml]]

==Other interesting facts about The Constitution:==

*Established on November 26, 1789, the first national "Thanksgiving Day" was originally created by George Washington as a way of "giving thanks" for the Constitution. [[http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/FastFacts/index.shtml]]

*The U.S. Constitution was prepared in secret, behind locked doors that were guarded by sentries.

*Some of the original framers and many delegates in the state ratifying conventions were very troubled that the original Constitution lacked a description of individual rights. In 1791, Americans added a list of rights to the Constitution. The first ten amendments became known as [http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/TheU.S.Constitution/index.shtml The Bill of Rights].

==Constitutional Principles==
The Constitution of the United States of America specifies the laws by which The United States government is allowed to govern, included among these are the Freedom of Religion, Freedom of The Press, Freedom of Speech, and the right of habeas corpus (Amendment XIV). It also, helps to guarantee the rights of the minorities by rule of law, such as African Americans and other minority groups, and to guarantee religious freedoms. It also defines a system of checks and balances by establishing three separate but equal branches of government (Legislative, Judicial and Executive), and lists the of powers not specified in The Constitution are reserved to the states and to the people. It also established a representative republic form of government, by the consent of the governed.

[http://www.constitutioncenter.org Constitution Center]

==Preamble==

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

==Articles==

The US Constitution contains seven articles, followed by twenty-seven amendments. Click the Article names to read a full description of each article.

*'''[[United States Constitution:Article I|Article I]]''' pertains to [[Congress]].
*'''[[United States Constitution:Article II|Article II]] pertains to the [[president|presidency]].
*'''[[United States Constitution:Article III|Article III]] pertains to the [[Judicial branch]] of government.
*'''[[United States Constitution:Article IV|Article IV]] addresses relations between the states of the [[United States]].
*'''[[United States Constitution:Article V|Article V]] details the process for amending the Constitution.
*'''[[United States Constitution:Article VI|Article VI]] establishes the Constitution, law passed by Congress, and treaties entered by the United States as the supreme law of the land.
*'''[[United States Constitution:Article VII|Article VII]] explains the Constitution's ratification.

==Amendments==

[[First Amendment]]

[[Second Amendment]]

[[Third Amendment]]

[[Fourth Amendment]]

[[Fifth Amendment]]

[[Sixth Amendment]]

[[Seventh Amendment]]

[[Eighth Amendment]]

[[Ninth Amendment]]

[[Tenth Amendment]]

[[Eleventh Amendment]]

[[Twelfth Amendment]]

[[Thirteenth Amendment]]

[[Fourteenth Amendment]]

[[Fifteenth Amendment]]

[[Sixteenth Amendment]]

[[Seventeenth Amendment]]

[[Eighteenth Amendment]]

[[Nineteenth Amendment]]

[[Twentieth Amendment]]

[[Twenty-First Amendment]]

[[Twenty-Second Amendment]]

[[Twenty-Third Amendment]]

[[Twenty-Fourth Amendment]]

[[Twenty-Fifth Amendment]]

[[Twenty-Sixth Amendment]]

[[Twenty-Seventh Amendment]]

== See also ==

*[[Attorney]]
*[[Lawyer]]
*[[Solicitor General]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category: Constitution]]
[[Category:United States law]]

The White House

2008-01-14T01:07:58Z

VLazlo:

United States House of Representatives

2008-01-14T01:07:50Z

VLazlo:

United States Senate

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VLazlo:

Washington, D.C.

2008-01-14T01:07:32Z

VLazlo:

[[Image:Flag of France.png|thumb|600px|center|This article has been annexed in the name of France. Non-French citizens wishing to edit this article should submit a writing plan to:

<center>Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes</center>
<center>37, Quai d'Orsay</center>
<center>75007 Paris</center>
<center>01 43 17 53 53</center>]]

[[Image:Dcww2andlicmor.jpg|thumb|300px|A view from the top of the [[Washington Monument]] of the [[World War Two]] Memorial and the [[Lincoln Memorial]].]]'''Washington, D.C.''', also known as the '''District of Columbia''', since 1800 has been the capital of the [[United States]] <ref>http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Nine_Capitals_of_the_United_States.htm</ref> Pierre L'Enfant designed much of the city, including the city's interesting quadrant formation. The city is divided into four quadrants, which meet at a central point at the [[United States Capitol]]. The Northwestern quadrant is by far the largest quadrant, and locations in this quadrant include the [[White House]], Ford's Theater (where [[Abraham Lincoln]] was assassinated in 1865), the National Zoo, and a number of the Smithsonian Museums. L'Enfant was fired over a dispute involving [[Thomas Jefferson]] before the city's design was completed. <ref>http://www.exploredc.org/index.php?id=3</ref>
In 1814, the British army attacked the city as a part of the [[War of 1812]] and burned a number of public buildings in the city, including the [[White House]]. First Lady [[Dolly Madison]] famously saved a portrait of [[George Washington]] from the White House before the building was burned. <ref>http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/washingtonsack.htm</ref>
[[Image:WashingtonDC1.gif|thumb|200px|A view of the Washington Monument and United States Capital In Washington D.C]]

The city is located along the [[Potomac River]]. The Anacostia River branches off this, and runs through parts of the Southeastern and Northeastern Quadrants. This river has had problems with pollution.

Washington, D.C. is served by the [[Metrorail]] subway system.

==Constitutional and Legal Issues==
Article I of the Constitution specifies that [[Congress]] has exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the District of Columbia.<ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html#section8</ref> In 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, [[P.L.]] 93-198 which proposed a charter that delegated legislative authority to a locally-elected [[mayor]] and [[Council of the District of Columbia|council]]; the charter was approved by local referendum in 1974.<ref>http://government.westlaw.com/linkedslice/default.asp?rs=gvt1.0&vr=2.0&sp=dcc-1000</ref><ref>http://www.narpac.org/ITXICE.HTM</ref>

====Controversies and disputes====
On March 9, 2007, a [[U.S. Court of Appeals]] struck down Washington, D.C.'s ban on private [[handgun]] possession as an infringement on the [[Second Amendment]], which guarantees the right of individual citizens to keep and bear firearms. The sole dissenting judge dissented because she held that the District of Columbia is not a [[state]] and therefore the [[Second Amendment]] does not apply within the District of Columbia. Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban was one of the most restrictive [[gun control]] laws in the nation. <ref>http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-03-09T223851Z_01_N09246717_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-GUNS-RULING.xml&src=rss</ref>

License plates in Washington, D.C. read "taxation without representation," referring to the fact that citizens of the District pay federal income taxes but do not have voting representation in either the [[Senate]] or [[House of Representatives]]. <ref>http://dmv.dc.gov/serv/plates/tax.shtm</ref>

Since 1992, Washington, D.C. has offered [[domestic partnership]]s, which are similar to [[same sex marriage]].<ref>[http://www.answers.com/topic/domestic-partnership-in-the-united-states Answers.com]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:United States Towns and Cities]]
[[Category:US state]]

President of the United States of America

2008-01-14T01:07:21Z

VLazlo:

[[Image:Flag of France.png|thumb|600px|center|This article has been annexed in the name of France. Non-French citizens wishing to edit this article should submit a writing plan to:

<center>Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes</center>
<center>37, Quai d'Orsay</center>
<center>75007 Paris</center>
<center>01 43 17 53 53</center>]]

[[Image:Presidential seal 506x508.gif|thumbnail|right|300px|The [[United States]] Presidential Seal]]
The '''President of the United States''' is the head of the [[United States of America|U.S.]] [[Executive Branch]]. As the [[head of state]] of the [[United States of America]] the President is one of the most powerful people in the [[world]]. The writers of the [[United States Constitution|constitution]] recognized that they were writing a job description which, in [[England]], was and is filled by the office of the [[Prime Minister]] and position of the [[Monarchy|Monarch]]. At that time, the Monarchy of England did not seem to serve the common man and the Founders wanted to create a [[government]] that did.
==Current President==
The current President is [[George W. Bush]]. He is scheduled to leave office on January 20, 2009.
His successor will be [[2008 Presidential Election|elected in 2008]].

==Election==
The President is selected every four years by the American people, although not through a [[popular vote]] but rather through the [[Electoral College]]. This process makes the Presidency one of the few elected officials in the [[United States of America]] chosen indirectly.

==Term Limits==
After [[Franklin Roosevelt]] served a little over twelve years in office, [[Congress]] passed a [[Constitutional Amendment]] restricting future Presidents to two terms.

However if the Vice President succeeds to the Presidency, with no more than two years left in the prior President's term, they are allowed to run for two terms, raising the potential time in office to ten years.

The first President to whom term limits applied was [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]].

==See Also==
[[Vice President of the United States of America]]

==Presidents list==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!President
!Years
!State
!Party
!Vice President(s)
|-
|1. [[George Washington]]
|1789-1797
|[[Virginia]]
|none
|Adams
|-
|2. [[John Adams]]
|1797-1801
|[[Massachusetts]]
|Federalist
|Jefferson
|-
|3. [[Thomas Jefferson]]
|1801-1809
|[[Virginia]]
|Democratic-Republican
|Burr, Clinton
|-
|4. [[James Madison]]
|1809-1817
|[[Virginia]]
|Democratic-Republican
|Clinton, Gerry
|-
|5. [[James Monroe]]
|1817-1825
|[[Virginia]]
|Democratic-Republican
|Tompkins
|-
|6. [[John Q. Adams]]
|1825-1829
|[[Massachusetts]]
|National Republican
|Calhoun
|-
|7. [[Andrew Jackson]]
|1829-1837
|[[Tennessee]]
|Democratic
|Calhoun, Van Buren
|-
|8. [[Martin van Buren]]
|1837-1841
|[[New York]]
|Democratic
|Johnson
|-
|9. [[William H. Harrison]]
|1841
|none
|Whig
|Tyler
|-
|10. [[John Tyler]]
|1841-1845
|[[Virginia]]
|Whig
|none
|-
|11. [[James Knox Polk]]
|1845-1849
|[[Tennessee]]
|Democratic
|Dallas
|-
|12. [[Zachary Taylor]]
|1849-1850
|none
|Whig
|Filmore
|-
|13. [[Millard Filmore]]
|1850-1853
|[[New York]]
|Whig
|none
|-
|14. [[Franklin Pierce]]
|1853-1857
|[[New Hampshire]]
|Democratic
|King
|-
|15. [[James Buchanan]]
|1857-1861
|[[Pennsylvania]]
|Democratic
|Breckenridge
|-
|16. [[Abraham Lincoln]]
|1861-1865
|[[Illinois]]
|Republican
|Hamlin, Grant
|-
|17. [[Andrew Johnson]]
|1865-1869
|[[Tennessee]]
|none
|none
|-
|18. [[Ulysses S. Grant]]
|1869-1877
|[[Ohio]]
|Republican
|Colfax, Wilson
|-
|19. [[Rutherford Hayes]]
|1877-1881
|[[Ohio]]
|Republican
|Wheeler
|-
|20. [[James Garfield]]
|1881
|[[Ohio]]
|Republican
|Arthur
|-
|21. [[Chester Arthur]]
|188-1885
|[[New York]]
|Republican
|none
|-
|22. [[Grover Cleveland]]
|1885-1889
|[[New York]]
|Democratic
|Hendricks
|-
|23. [[Benjamin Harrison]]
|1889-1893
|[[Ohio]]
|Republican
|Morton
|-
|24. [[Grover Cleveland]]
|1893-1897
|[[New York]]
|Democratic
|Stevenson
|-
|25. [[William McKinley]]
|1897-1901
|[[Ohio]]
|Republican
|Roosevelt
|-
|26. [[Theodore Roosevelt]]
|1901-1909
|[[New York]]
|Republican
|Fairbanks
|-
|27. [[William Taft]]
|1909-1913
|[[Ohio]]
|Republican
|Sherman
|-
|28. [[Woodrow Wilson]]
|1913-1921
|[[Virginia]]
|Democratic
|Marshall
|-
|29. [[Warren G. Harding]]
|1921-1923
|[[Ohio]]
|Republican
|Coolidge
|-
|30. [[Calvin Coolidge]]
|1923-1929
|[[Massachusetts]]
|Republican
|Dawes
|-
|31. [[Herbert Hoover]]
|1929-1933
|[[California]]
|Republican
|Curtis
|-
|32. [[Franklin Roosevelt]]
|1933-1945
|[[New York]]
|Democratic
|Garner, [[Henry A. Wallace|Wallace]], Truman
|-
|33. [[Harry S. Truman]]
|1945-1953
|[[Kansas]]
|Democratic
|Barkley
|-
|34. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
|1953-1961
|[[Pennsylvania]]
|Republican
|Nixon
|-
|35. [[John F. Kennedy]]
|1961-1963
|[[Massachusetts]]
|Democratic
|Johnson
|-
|36. [[Lyndon Johnson]]
|1963-1969
|[[Texas]]
|Democratic
|Humphrey
|-
|37. [[Richard Nixon]]
|1969-1974
|[[California]]
|Republican
|Agnew, Ford
|-
|38. [[Gerald Ford]]
|1974-1977
|[[Nebraska]]
|Republican
|Rockefeller
|-
|39. [[Jimmy Carter]]
|1977-1981
|[[Georgia]]
|Democratic
|Mondale
|-
|40. [[Ronald Reagan]]
|1981-1989
|[[California]]
|Republican
|Bush, Sr.
|-
|41. [[George H.W. Bush]]
|1989-1993
|[[Texas]]
|Republican
|Quayle
|-
|42. [[Bill Clinton]]
|1993-2001
|[[Arkansas]]
|Democratic
|Gore
|-
|43. [[George W. Bush]]
|1981-present
|[[Texas]]
|Republican
|Cheney
|-
|}

{{USPresidents}}
[[Category: United States]]
[[Category: United States Government]]
[[Category: United States Elected Officials]]
[[Category: President of the United States]]
[[Category:United States History]]