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135-531: Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in Kalaupapa, Hawaiʻi , on the island of Molokaʻi . Coterminous with the boundaries of Kalawao County and primarily on Kalaupapa peninsula, it was established by Congress in 1980 to expand upon the earlier National Historic Landmark site of the Kalaupapa Leper Settlement . It is administered by

270-580: A " Special Relationship " with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Canada , Australia , New Zealand , the Philippines , Japan , South Korea , Israel , and several European Union countries ( France , Italy , Germany , Spain , and Poland ). The U.S. works closely with its NATO allies on military and national security issues, and with countries in the Americas through

405-530: A common head develop. Pope Martin V submitted in 1428 all tertiaries, regular and secular, to the direction of the Minister-General of the Friars Minor, but this disposition was soon revoked by his successor Pope Eugene IV . Leo X, to introduce uniformity into the numerous congregations, gave a new form to the rule in 1521. It retained the rule as published by Nicholas IV all that could serve

540-542: A coordinated, continent-wide military effort. Finally, deteriorating relations between the British military establishment and the colonists, relations that were already less than positive, set the stage for further distrust and dislike of British troops. Following their victory in the French and Indian War, Britain began to assert greater control over local colonial affairs, resulting in colonial political resistance ; one of

675-534: A decentralized government that operated until 1789. After the British surrender at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 American sovereignty was internationally recognized by the Treaty of Paris (1783), through which the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River, north to present-day Canada, and south to Spanish Florida . The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established the precedent by which

810-407: A few prominent industrialists , largely by their formation of trusts and monopolies to prevent competition. Tycoons led the nation's expansion in the railroad , petroleum , and steel industries. The United States emerged as a pioneer of the automotive industry . These changes were accompanied by significant increases in economic inequality , slum conditions , and social unrest , creating

945-805: A fully recognized order within the Catholic Church. The order's name was changed from the Third Order Secular to the Secular Franciscan Order. The origin of the Regular Third Order can be traced back to the second half of the thirteenth century. It was organized, in different forms, in the Netherlands, the south of France, Germany, and Italy. Probably some secular tertiaries, who in many cases had their house of meeting, gradually withdrew entirely from

1080-666: A global reach. The U.S. is a founding member of the World Bank , Organization of American States , NATO , and the United Nations , as well as a permanent member of the UN Security Council . The first documented use of the phrase "United States of America" is a letter from January 2, 1776. Stephen Moylan , a Continental Army aide to General George Washington , wrote to Joseph Reed , Washington's aide-de-camp , seeking to go "with full and ample powers from

1215-531: A great number of teaching and nursing congregations of women belonged to one or other of the Third Orders. The Franciscan Third Order was always the principal one. In 1883, it received a great impetus and a renewed vogue from Pope Leo XIII in his approval of a new Rule for the seculars. In 1901, Paul Sabatier published a " Rule of Life of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance" , which probably contained

1350-580: A house in Reute on the outskirts of Waldsee. This community was a proto-monastery of the Order, as tertiaries of the mendicant orders had not yet been allowed to profess vows. Angelina of Marsciano is generally credited with the founding of the Third Order Regular for women around 1403, as her religious congregation marked the establishment of the first Franciscan community of women living under

1485-510: A much feared illness, by relocating patients with severe symptoms to the isolated peninsula. Other patients were treated in quarantine at facilities on the main islands; but families were still broken up in the process. The first settlement was started on the windward side at Kalawao, followed by one at Kalaupapa. In 1890 a total of 1100 persons with leprosy were living here, the peak of resident population. In those years, they generally had to leave family behind on other islands. The effects of both

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1620-598: A period of heightened, overt racism following Reconstruction, a time often called the nadir of American race relations . A series of Supreme Court decisions, including Plessy v. Ferguson , emptied the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of their force, allowing Jim Crow laws in the South to remain unchecked, sundown towns in the Midwest, and segregation in communities across the country , which would be reinforced by

1755-488: A prominent leader in the early 1960s. The Great Society plan of President Lyndon Johnson 's administration resulted in groundbreaking and broad-reaching laws, policies and a constitutional amendment to counteract some of the worst effects of lingering institutional racism . The counterculture movement in the U.S. brought significant social changes, including the liberalization of attitudes toward recreational drug use and sexuality . It also encouraged open defiance of

1890-526: A regular basis. They can be married, single or clergy. These were reorganized and renamed in 1978, with the approval of Pope Paul VI . The Lutheran and Anglican traditions also have Franciscan Third Orders. Tertiaries (from the Latin tertiarius , relative to "third"), or what are known as "Third Orders", are those who live according to the Third Rule of religious orders, either inside or outside of

2025-441: A religious community. The idea which forms the basis of this institute is to allow those who cannot enter a religious order to enjoy the advantages and privileges of religious orders. When the immediate disciples of the saint had become an order bound by the religious vows, it became necessary to provide for the great body of laity—married men and women who could not leave the world or abandon their avocations, but still were part of

2160-526: A sense of manifest destiny . The Missouri Compromise attempted to balance the desire of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories with that of southern states to extend it, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It further prohibited slavery in all other lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel . As Americans expanded further into land inhabited by Native Americans,

2295-614: A sense of American identity as well. Men who otherwise never left their own colony now traveled across the continent to fight alongside men from decidedly different backgrounds but who were no less "American". British officers trained American officers for battle, most notably George Washington ; these officers would lend their skills and expertise to the colonists' cause during the American Revolutionary War to come. In addition, colonial legislatures and officials found it necessary to cooperate intensively in pursuit of

2430-600: A similar nature, and so there came into being Dominican Tertiaries, and Carmelite , Augustinian , Servite , Premonstratensian , and many others. These followed the same lines of development as the Franciscan Tertiaries. By the fifteenth century, numerous individuals living under the Rule of the Third Order were living in small communities and leading eremitical lives. A papal decree of 1447 organized

2565-464: A year). Juvenile correctional facilities are operated by local or state governments and serve as longer-term placements for any minor adjudicated as delinquent and ordered by a judge to be confined. As of January 2023, the United States has the sixth-highest per capita incarceration rate in the world—531 people per 100,000 inhabitants—and the largest prison and jail population in

2700-529: Is associated with the work of St. Father Damien. United States The United States of America ( USA ), commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America , is a country primarily located in North America . It is a federal union of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with

2835-591: Is believed to be the first widespread culture in the Americas. Over time, indigenous North American cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the Mississippian culture , developed agriculture , architecture , and complex societies . In the post-archaic period , the Mississippian cultures were located in the midwestern , eastern , and southern regions, and the Algonquian in

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2970-498: Is known as the presidential system , in contrast to the parliamentary system , where the executive is part of the legislative body. Many countries around the world imitated this aspect of the 1789 Constitution of the United States , especially in the Americas. The Constitution is silent on political parties. However, they developed independently in the 18th century with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties. Since then,

3105-438: Is now the United States experienced conflicts with Native Americans, they also engaged in trade, exchanging European tools for food and animal pelts. Relations ranged from close cooperation to warfare and massacres. The colonial authorities often pursued policies that forced Native Americans to adopt European lifestyles, including conversion to Christianity. Along the eastern seaboard, settlers trafficked African slaves through

3240-552: Is the federal agency charged with addressing most environmental-related issues . The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the Wilderness Act . The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a way to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service implements and enforces the Act. In 2024, the U.S. ranked 34th among 180 countries in

3375-603: The Allies of World War I , helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers . In 1920, a constitutional amendment granted nationwide women's suffrage . During the 1920s and '30s, radio for mass communication and the invention of early television transformed communications nationwide. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression , which President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded to with

3510-553: The Atlantic slave trade . The original Thirteen Colonies that would later found the United States were administered as possessions of Great Britain , and had local governments with elections open to most white male property owners . The colonial population grew rapidly, eclipsing Native American populations; by the 1770s, the natural increase of the population was such that only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas. The colonies' distance from Britain allowed for

3645-817: The Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations and societies . British colonization led to the first settlement of the Thirteen Colonies in Virginia in 1607. Clashes with the British Crown over taxation and political representation sparked the American Revolution , with the Second Continental Congress formally declaring independence on July 4, 1776. Following its victory in

3780-666: The Brothers and Sisters of Penance , in 1221, to accommodate men and women who, either from already being in consecrated life as hermits , or from being married, were ineligible to join the Franciscan First or Second Orders, respectively. In this way, they could live their lives affiliated to the Franciscan vision of the Gospel . The Order is divided into two different branches, each with its own Rule of Life : 1)

3915-549: The Environmental Performance Index . The country joined the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2016 and has many other environmental commitments. The United States is a federal republic of 50 states and a separate federal capital district, Washington, D.C. It also asserts sovereignty over five unincorporated territories and several uninhabited island possessions . The U.S. is

4050-500: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Marshals Service have national jurisdiction and specialized duties, such as protecting civil rights , national security and enforcing U.S. federal courts ' rulings and federal laws. State courts conduct most civil and criminal trials, and federal courts handle designated crimes and appeals of state court decisions . There is no unified "criminal justice system" in

4185-720: The Great Lakes , Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico . British colonization of the East Coast began with the Virginia Colony (1607) and Plymouth Colony (1620). The Mayflower Compact and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for representative self-governance and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies. While European settlers in what

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4320-719: The Great Lakes region and along the Eastern Seaboard , while the Hohokam culture and Ancestral Puebloans inhabited the southwest . Native population estimates of what is now the United States before the arrival of European immigrants range from around 500,000 to nearly 10 million. Christopher Columbus began exploring the Caribbean for Spain in 1492, leading to Spanish-speaking settlements and missions from Puerto Rico and Florida to New Mexico and California . France established its own settlements along

4455-524: The House of Representatives , a lower house based on population; and the Senate , an upper house based on equal representation for each state. Federalism provides substantial autonomy to the 50 states, while the country's political culture promotes liberty , equality , individualism , personal autonomy , and limited government . One of the world's most developed countries , the United States has had

4590-596: The Midwest . At the same time, about one million French Canadians migrated from Quebec to New England . During the Great Migration , millions of African Americans left the rural South for urban areas in the North. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction and white supremacists took local control of Southern politics . African Americans endured

4725-688: The National Park Service and other agencies. About 28% of the country's land is publicly owned and federally managed, primarily in the Western States . Most of this land is protected , though some is leased for commercial use, and less than one percent is used for military purposes. Environmental issues in the United States include debates on non-renewable resources and nuclear energy , air and water pollution , biodiversity , logging and deforestation , and climate change . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

4860-652: The New Deal , a series of sweeping programs and public works projects combined with financial reforms and regulations . All were intended to protect against future economic depressions. Initially neutral during World War II , the U.S. began supplying war materiel to the Allies of World War II in March 1941 and entered the war in December after the Empire of Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor . The U.S. developed

4995-778: The Organization of American States and the United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement . In South America, Colombia is traditionally considered to be the closest ally of the United States. The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for Micronesia , the Marshall Islands , and Palau through the Compact of Free Association . It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation with India , but its ties with China have steadily deteriorated. Since 2014,

5130-648: The Pentium microprocessor in accordance with Moore's law , rechargeable lithium-ion batteries , the first gene therapy trial, and cloning either emerged in the U.S. or were improved upon there. The Human Genome Project was formally launched in 1990, while Nasdaq became the first stock market in the United States to trade online in 1998. In the Gulf War of 1991, an American-led international coalition of states expelled an Iraqi invasion force that had occupied neighboring Kuwait . The September 11 attacks on

5265-645: The Rule of the Third Order Regular authorized by Pope Nicholas V . Unlike the Second Order of the Franciscan movement, the Poor Clare nuns (who were not an enclosed religious order ) lived under the authority of the local bishop of the diocese . Whilst Leo X in the reform of the rule had left it free to the congregations to adopt papal enclosures or not, Pius V (1568) prescribed it to all convents of tertiary sisters with solemn vows. Still, this order

5400-534: The Soviet Union's collapse and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower , wielding significant geopolitical influence globally . The U.S. national government is a presidential constitutional federal republic and liberal democracy with three separate branches : legislative , executive , and judicial . It has a bicameral national legislature composed of

5535-591: The Spanish–American War . (The Philippines was granted full independence from the U.S. on July 4, 1946, following World War II. Puerto Rico and Guam have remained U.S. territories.) American Samoa was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the Second Samoan Civil War . The U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917. The United States entered World War I alongside

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5670-700: The cotton gin made the institution increasingly profitable for Southern elites . This sectional conflict regarding slavery culminated in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Eleven slave states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America , while the other states remained in the Union . War broke out in April 1861 after the Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter . After

5805-537: The fall of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union , which marked the end of the Cold War and left the United States as the world's sole superpower . The 1990s saw the longest recorded economic expansion in American history , a dramatic decline in U.S. crime rates , and advances in technology . Throughout this decade, technological innovations such as the World Wide Web , the evolution of

5940-445: The largest nominal GDP since about 1890 and accounted for over 15% of the global economy in 2023. It possesses by far the largest amount of wealth of any country and has the highest disposable household income per capita among OECD countries. The U.S. ranks among the world's highest in economic competitiveness , productivity , innovation , human rights , and higher education . Its hard power and cultural influence have

6075-406: The "Third Order of St. Francis", whence the name Tertiaries. According to the traditions of the Order, the original Rule was given by St. Francis in 1221 to a married couple, Luchesius Modestini and his wife, Buonadonna, who wished to follow him but did not feel called to separate as a married couple. Francis was assisted by his friend Cardinal Ugolino (later Pope Gregory IX) in the creation of

6210-486: The 10th person recognized in what is now the United States. Among other missionaries and caregivers, was Mother Marianne Cope , a nun and administrator of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, New York . As the General Minister of the Sisters of St. Francis of Syracuse , she brought six sisters with her to the islands to aid in the care of persons with leprosy and develop the medical facilities. Mother Marianne and sisters of her community developed hospitals, homes and schools on

6345-406: The 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord , igniting the American Revolutionary War . At the Second Continental Congress , the colonies appointed George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army , and created a committee that named Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence . Two days after passing the Lee Resolution to create an independent nation the Declaration

6480-408: The 1775–1783 Revolutionary War , the country continued to expand westward across North America , resulting in the dispossession of native inhabitants . As more states were admitted , a North–South division over slavery led to the secession of the Confederate States of America , which fought states remaining in the Union in the 1861–1865 American Civil War . With the victory and preservation of

6615-466: The 2010s, political polarization in the country increased between liberal and conservative factions. This polarization was capitalized upon in the January 2021 Capitol attack , when a mob of insurrectionists entered the U.S. Capitol and sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in an attempted self-coup d'état . The United States is the world's third-largest country by total area behind Russia and Canada. The 48 contiguous states and

6750-426: The American West have an alpine climate . The climate is arid in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California , and oceanic in coastal Oregon , Washington , and southern Alaska . Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar . Hawaii , the southern tip of Florida and U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific are tropical . States bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of

6885-410: The Charles R. Bishop Home for Unprotected Leper Girls and Women to care for those she deemed the most vulnerable of the population. Hansen's disease, found in 1873 to be caused by a bacterium, has been curable since the 1940s with the use of modern antibiotics . There are no active cases of Hansen's disease among residents of the Kalaupapa settlement or on the island of Molokaʻi. After the management of

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7020-420: The Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The term "United States" and the initialism "U.S.", used as nouns or as adjectives in English, are common short names for the country. The initialism "USA", a noun, is also common. "United States" and "U.S." are the established terms throughout the U.S. federal government , with prescribed rules. In English, the term "America" rarely refers to topics unrelated to

7155-404: The District of Columbia occupy a combined area of 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,470 km ). The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way to inland forests and rolling hills in the Piedmont plateau region. The Appalachian Mountains and the Adirondack massif separate the East Coast from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest . The Mississippi River System ,

7290-458: The Elder concluded that major military resources needed to be devoted to North America to win the war against France. For the first time, the continent became one of the main theaters of what could be termed a " world war ". The British colonies' position as an integral part of the British Empire became more apparent during the war, with British military and civilian officials becoming a more significant presence in American life. The war increased

7425-519: The Evangelical Franciscans Tertiaries (Evangelischen Franziskaner-Tertiaren), which was founded in 1927 by Friedrich Heiler, a Lutheran priest in Germany. The Secular Franciscan Order ( Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis in Latin), formerly the Third Order Secular, allows both laypeople and diocesan priests to join. A number of Popes have also been members of this Order. Members of the Secular Franciscan Order are not required to live in religious community , but meet in community regularly. Professed members use

7560-400: The First Order. In 1978, Pope Paul VI caused the Rules for regulars and seculars to be recast and made more suitable for the requirements of devout men and women at the present day. The secular wing of the Order was renamed as the Secular Franciscan Order . After the Reformation , Franciscan Third Orders aligned with the Lutheran Churches and Anglican Communion were organized, such as

7695-414: The Franciscan movement and desired to carry out its spirit and teaching. And so, around 1221, Francis drew up a Rule for those of his followers who were debarred from being members of the order of Friars Minor . At first they were called "Brothers and Sisters of the Order of Penance ", but later on, when the Friars were called the "First Order" and the nuns the "Second Order" , the Order of Penance became

7830-465: The January 1863 Emancipation Proclamation , many freed slaves joined the Union army . The war began to turn in the Union's favor following the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg , and the Confederacy surrendered in 1865 after the Union's victory in the Battle of Appomattox Court House . The Reconstruction era followed the war. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln , Reconstruction Amendments were passed to protect

7965-413: The National Park Service. Its goal is to preserve the cultural and physical settings of the two leper colonies on the island of Molokaʻi, which operated from 1866 to 1969 and had a total of 8500 residents over the decades. More than 7300 people live on the remainder of the island, which was a site of cattle ranching and pineapple production for decades. Much of these lands were purchased and controlled by

8100-463: The Netherlands. The Obregonians , or the "Minim Congregation of Poor Brothers Infirmarians", were a small Spanish Roman Catholic congregation of men dedicated to the nursing care of the sick. The congregation ceased to exist around the time of the Peninsular War . The Congregation of the Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis was founded on December 25, 1857, at Aachen by John Hoever for the protection and education of poor, homeless boys. In 1866, it

8235-476: The Rocky Mountains, the Yellowstone Caldera , is the continent's largest volcanic feature. In 2021, the United States had 8% of global permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of cropland. With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. East of the 100th meridian , the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The western Great Plains are semi-arid . Many mountainous areas of

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8370-436: The Sacred Heart of Jesus focuses on medical care. They established a long-term medical care facility near St. Louis, Missouri in 1927 to extend their service. As of 2002, the brothers numbered 22. The Capuchin Tertiary Friars of Our Lady of Sorrows, more commonly as the Amigonian Friars , were founded in Spain in 1889 by Capuchin Friar (later bishop) Luis Amigó y Ferrer. They were established through Amigó's desire to help

8505-410: The Third Order. The history of the Third Order of St. Francis had a range of organizational models. Some monasteries were established to pursue the purely contemplative life, usually in an urban setting; others communities of women did not embrace the enclosure , but considered active works of charity, tending to the poor and sick, as part of their Franciscan charism . In the nineteenth century many of

8640-451: The U.S. has become a key ally of Ukraine ; it has also provided the country with significant military equipment and other support in response to Russia's 2022 invasion . The president is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The Department of Defense , which is headquartered at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., administers five of

8775-661: The U.S. territories." Despite disparate systems of confinement, four main institutions dominate: federal prisons , state prisons , local jails, and juvenile correctional facilities . Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and hold people who have been convicted of federal crimes, including pretrial detainees. State prisons, run by the official department of correction of each state, hold sentenced people serving prison time (usually longer than one year) for felony offenses. Local jails are county or municipal facilities that incarcerate defendants prior to trial; they also hold those serving short sentences (typically under

8910-416: The United States and the peaceful transfer of power , respectively. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 from France nearly doubled the territory of the United States. Lingering issues with Britain remained , leading to the War of 1812 , which was fought to a draw. Spain ceded Florida and its Gulf Coast territory in 1819. In the late 18th century, American settlers began to expand westward , many with

9045-541: The United States entered the Cold War, where geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the two countries to dominate world affairs . The U.S. utilized the policy of containment to limit the USSR's sphere of influence, and prevailed in the Space Race , which culminated with the first crewed Moon landing in 1969. Domestically, the U.S. experienced economic growth , urbanization , and population growth following World War II . The civil rights movement emerged, with Martin Luther King Jr. becoming

9180-495: The United States has operated as a de facto two-party system , though the parties in that system have been different at different times. The two main national parties are presently the Democratic and the Republican . The former is perceived as relatively liberal in its political platform while the latter is perceived as relatively conservative . In the American federal system , sovereign powers are shared between two levels of elected government: national and state. People in

9315-432: The United States in 1912. In 1923 they were invited to Merrill, Wisconsin. The sisters work primarily in Wisconsin and Louisiana. The general motherhouse is in Ingenbohl , Switzerland. The Little Sisters of St. Francis was founded in 1923 by Mill Hill Sister Mary Kevin Kearney . They work in Uganda, Kenya, and Zambia. The motherhouse is in Nkokonjeru , where they manage St. Francis Hospital Nkokonjeru . In Germany,

9450-470: The United States in 1960 in order to aid Portuguese immigrants. They serve in the state of California in the dioceses of San Jose, Fresno, and Monterey. The majority of the California sisters now are involved in healthcare. The Motherhouse is in Lisbon. The Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross were founded in Switzerland in 1856 by Capuchin friar Theodosius Florentini and Maria Katherina Scherer . A congregation that specialized in healthcare, they came to

9585-402: The United States in 2001 by the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda led to the war on terror , and subsequent military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq . The cultural impact of the attacks was profound and long-lasting. The U.S. housing bubble culminated in 2007 with the Great Recession , the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. Coming to a head in

9720-656: The United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the Revolutionary War effort. The first known public usage is an anonymous essay published in the Williamsburg newspaper, The Virginia Gazette , on April 6, 1776. By June 1776, the "United States of America" appeared in the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence . The Second Continental Congress adopted

9855-601: The United States, slavery was abolished nationally . By 1900, the country had established itself as a great power , a status solidified after its involvement in World War I . After Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II . Its aftermath left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the world's two superpowers and led to the Cold War , during which both countries struggled for ideological dominance and international influence . Following

9990-541: The United States, despite the usage of "the Americas " as the totality of North and South America. "The States" is an established colloquial shortening of the name, used particularly from abroad; "stateside" is the corresponding adjective or adverb. The first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia across the Bering land bridge about 12,000 years ago; the Clovis culture , which appeared around 11,000 BC,

10125-624: The United States, except Iran , North Korea , and Bhutan . Though Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close unofficial relations. The United States regularly supplies Taiwan with military equipment to deter potential Chinese aggression. Its geopolitical attention also turned to the Indo-Pacific when the United States joined the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India, and Japan. The United States has

10260-884: The United States. In the U.S. they sponsor the Cardinal Hayes Home in Millbrook, New York , for developmentally challenged individuals. The Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa was founded in 1952 by Mary Kevin of the Sacred Passion (born Theresa Kearney, County Wicklow , Ireland). It was intended as an offshoot from the Mill Hill Sisters , with the purpose of focusing on the African missions. The sisters work in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, America, Ireland and Scotland. A convent

10395-509: The United States. The American prison system is largely heterogenous, with thousands of relatively independent systems operating across federal, state, local, and tribal levels. In 2023, "these systems [held] almost 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, 181 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons , civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in

10530-693: The boys of the Diocese of Brooklyn . There were also congregations of religious sisters of the Third Order. For instance, the Grey Sisters of the Third Order, serving in hospitals, spread in France and the Netherlands. In 1403, Elizabeth of Reute and several other young women who were Franciscan tertiaries, under the guidance of Konrad Kügelin , provost of the Canonry of St. Peter in Waldsee, acquired

10665-580: The broken connections with the ʻāina and of family members "lost" to Kalaupapa are still felt in Hawaiʻi today. The settlements were administered by the Board of Health, with local financial control held by Rudolph Meyer, a German immigrant who worked for the Molokaʻi Ranch and lived on the island. Local supervision for decades was by superintendents of Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian ancestry, some appointed from among

10800-457: The contiguous United States are in the State of California, about 84 miles (135 km) apart. At an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190.5 m), Alaska's Denali is the highest peak in the country and continent. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands , and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in

10935-556: The country's GDP. The U.S. has 42% of the world's nuclear weapons —the second-largest share after Russia. The United States has the third-largest combined armed forces in the world, behind the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Indian Armed Forces . The military operates about 800 bases and facilities abroad, and maintains deployments greater than 100 active duty personnel in 25 foreign countries. State defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under

11070-469: The country's territory would expand with the admission of new states , rather than the expansion of existing states. The U.S. Constitution was drafted at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to overcome the limitations of the Articles. It went into effect in 1789, creating a federal republic governed by three separate branches that together ensured a system of checks and balances . George Washington

11205-713: The development of self-governance, and the First Great Awakening , a series of Christian revivals , fueled colonial interest in religious liberty . For a century, the American colonists had been providing their own troops and materiel in conflicts with indigenous peoples allied with Britain's colonial rivals , especially France, and the Americans had begun to develop a sense of self-defense and self-reliance separate from Britain. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) took on new significance for all North American colonists after Parliament under William Pitt

11340-487: The early to mid-1800s speak of populations of 1,000 to 2,700 people living on the peninsula, in the valleys, and in the villages" but by 1853, there were only about 140 people remaining after epidemics of Eurasian diseases. In 1865 the Kingdom legislature passed a law to try to prevent transmission of leprosy , now known as Hansen's disease after the scientist who discovered the bacterium. The disease had been introduced to

11475-580: The environment for labor unions to begin to flourish . This period eventually ended with the advent of the Progressive Era , which was characterized by significant reforms. Pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy ; the islands were annexed in 1898. That same year, Puerto Rico , the Philippines , and Guam were ceded to the U.S. by Spain after the latter's defeat in

11610-541: The federal government often applied policies of Indian removal or assimilation . The Trail of Tears (1830–1850) was a U.S. government policy that forcibly removed and displaced most Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to lands far to the west. These and earlier organized displacements prompted a long series of American Indian Wars west of the Mississippi. The Republic of Texas

11745-606: The first nuclear weapons and used them against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, ending the war. The United States was one of the " Four Policemen " who met to plan the post-war world , alongside the United Kingdom , Soviet Union , and China . The U.S. emerged relatively unscathed from the war, with even greater economic power and international political influence . After World War II,

11880-576: The friars and nuns of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis of Penance as well as the men and women who live in hundreds of religious congregations worldwide; 2) the Third Order Secular, now called the Secular Franciscan Order , who belong to local fraternities . These members do not wear a religious habit , take promises, not religious vows , and do not live in community, but gather together in fellowship on

12015-463: The integration of Army National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Army and (since 1947) the U.S. Air Force. There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to national level in the United States. Law in the United States is mainly enforced by local police departments and sheriff departments in their municipal or county jurisdictions. The state police departments have authority in their respective state , and federal agencies such as

12150-481: The islands about 1830 by foreign workers. At the time it was incurable. Sugar planters had brought pressure on the government as they were worried about the labor supply. The government arranged for Native Hawaiian inhabitants to be removed from the Kalaupapa to prepare for its development as an isolation settlement for persons with severe leprosy. This cut off the island people's cultural ties and associations with

12285-510: The islands of Oʻahu and Maui from 1883 to 1888, at which time they traveled to Kalaupapa where she lived and worked there until her death in 1918. In 2012 she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Also serving in the colony was Brother Joseph Dutton , who went to Molokaʻi in 1886 to aid the dying Father Damien. The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts continued to have brothers who devoted their lives to work on Molokaʻi and assist

12420-538: The leeward side of Kalaupapa Peninsula, is still home for a few elderly surviving former Hansen's disease patients. Some were disfigured by the disease before being cured and wanted to continue refuge here. They have shared their memories and experiences of their ordeals and of life on the island. Surviving structures at Kalawao, on the windward side of the peninsula, are the Protestant church of Siloama , established in 1866, and Saint Philomena Catholic Church, which

12555-415: The letters OFS after their name. Presently there are about 350,000 members worldwide. The current rule was given by Pope Paul VI in 1978 with the ecclesiastical letter Seraphicus Patriarcha to adapt the Secular Franciscan Order to twentieth-century needs. Under the new Rule, the tertiaries of the Franciscan movement were set up as an autonomous Order, with their own Minister General as head and became

12690-482: The military draft (leading to the end of conscription in 1973) and wide opposition to U.S. intervention in Vietnam (with the U.S. totally withdrawing in 1975). A societal shift in the roles of women was significantly responsible for the large increase in female paid labor participation during the 1970s, and by 1985 the majority of American women aged 16 and older were employed. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw

12825-911: The missionary Franciscan friars in their work of spreading the Gospel and caring for the poor and the sick. They established a community in the Diocese of Lincoln , Nebraska , in 1992, and later in Illinois and Rhode Island. The motherhouse is in Cagayan , the Philippines . The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth (CSSE) was founded by Bl. Maria Merkert in Prussian Silesia in 1850. The Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi (CSSF) with general motherhouse in Kraków , Poland. It

12960-433: The more isolated communities into a new and separate religious order with its own rule of life. The Third Order became defined between the Third Order Regular (TOR.; i.e. living under a Regula or "Rule") and the Third Order Secular, for those members of the Order who lived in the world. The Rules of the various Third Orders have proved very adaptable to the needs of modern congregations devoted to active works of charity, so

13095-612: The most attractive to the population are the most vulnerable. The U.S. is one of 17 megadiverse countries containing large numbers of endemic species : about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland. The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 birds, 311 reptiles, 295 amphibians , and around 91,000 insect species. There are 63 national parks , and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas , managed by

13230-662: The most violent, the California genocide of thousands of Native inhabitants, lasted into the early 1870s, just as additional western territories and states were created. During the colonial period, slavery had been legal in the American colonies , though the practice began to be significantly questioned during the American Revolution. States in the North enacted abolition laws , though support for slavery strengthened in Southern states , as inventions such as

13365-707: The new Province of Our Lady of Hope based in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania . This province has 700 professed sisters who serve from Canada's Northwest Territories to Haiti. The Congregation of the Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception was founded in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1871 by Libânia do Carmo Galvão Mexia de Moura Telles e Albuquerque (Sr. Maria Clara), and is represented in fifteen countries. They came to

13500-635: The new congregations adopted the Rule of the Third Order, but most of them have no connection with the First Order. As to their activities, almost all dedicate themselves to works of charity, either in hospitals, homes, or ateliers; others work in schools, not a few are in foreign missions. The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary was founded in 1877 in Ootacamund , India, by Hélène de Chappotin de Neuville . As of 2016, there are almost 8,300 sisters in 75 countries, including Canada, England, Scotland, and

13635-496: The order. Immediately on its establishment in 1221, the Third Order spread rapidly all over Italy and throughout western Europe. It embraced multitudes of men and women from all ranks of society. Everywhere it was connected closely with the First Order. Because of the prohibition of bearing arms, the followers of this order came into conflict with local authorities and the feudal system of Italy, which customarily required men to carry arms for service in militias or for their lords. By

13770-402: The owners and developers of Molokai Ranch. This part of the island is also a tourist destination. Archeological evidence has revealed human habitation by indigenous peoples for more than 900 years before European contact. The peninsula has house sites, cultivated taro fields and irrigation systems, stone walls, and temples ( heiau ), all constructed by ancient residents. "Historical accounts from

13905-536: The patients or family members with persons with leprosy. Belgian missionary priests from the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary were among those who cared for persons with leprosy on Molokaʻi. The most well-known was Belgian-born Father Damien , who served there from 1873 to his death in 1889. For his charity he was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint in 2009,

14040-408: The policy of redlining later adopted by the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation . An explosion of technological advancement accompanied by the exploitation of cheap immigrant labor led to rapid economic expansion during the late 19th and early 20th centuries , allowing the United States to outpace the economies of England, France, and Germany combined. This fostered the amassing of power by

14175-714: The poor, the sick, and the suffering. In 1891, three Brothers settled in Bad Kreuznach , where they eventually took over a local hospital, now known as St. Marienwörth. The Brothers were invited to come to the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois in 1928 to establish a Monastery and a Trade School. St. Joseph's motherhouse is in Hausen. Founded in Poland in 1888, the Franciscan Missionary Brothers of

14310-574: The primary colonial grievances was a denial of their rights as Englishmen , particularly the right to representation in the British government that taxed them . To demonstrate their dissatisfaction and resolve, the First Continental Congress met in 1774 and passed the Continental Association , a colonial boycott of British goods that proved effective. The British attempt to then disarm the colonists resulted in

14445-647: The purpose, but added new points, such as the three solemn vows and insisting on subjection to the First Order of St. Francis. For this last disposition the Rule of Leo X was met with resistance, and never was accepted by some congregations. More than 448 congregations profess the "Rule and Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis." There are 18 male congregations of Tertiary Franciscans, 370 congregations of Franciscan Sisters and 60 monasteries of cloistered nuns. The Third Order congregations of men and women number over 200,000. A new Rule, written by friars and sisters of various congregations,

14580-718: The request of the German Jesuits of St. Michael's parish in Buffalo, New York , where there was a great need for German-speaking sisters to teach the young of the expanding German population on Buffalo's east side. In 1939, the North American province was divided into three separate provinces. Since 1992, the three U.S. provinces have sponsored a mission in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. The Franciscan Apostolic Sisters were founded in 1953 by Gerardo Filipetto to assist

14715-536: The residents. From the late 20th century, recent figures included Henri Systermans and Fr. Joseph Hendricks, whose death in November 2008 marked the end of this 140-year-old tradition. Since St. Marianne arrived in 1888, sixty-five Sisters of St. Francis have maintained a continuous presence in the settlement. There are two Sisters currently residing at the Bishop Home , established by Mother Marianne in 1888 as

14850-570: The rights of African Americans . National infrastructure, including transcontinental telegraph and railroads , spurred growth in the American frontier . From 1865 through 1917 an unprecedented stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, including 24.4 million from Europe. Most came through the port of New York City , and New York City and other large cities on the East Coast became home to large Jewish , Irish , and Italian populations, while many Germans and Central Europeans moved to

14985-614: The rocky Great Basin and Chihuahua , Sonoran , and Mojave deserts. In the northwest corner of Arizona , carved by the Colorado River over millions of years, is the Grand Canyon , a steep-sided canyon and popular tourist destination known for its overwhelming visual size and intricate, colorful landscape. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast . The lowest and highest points in

15120-530: The settlement was turned over to the National Park Service, residents of the former colony were allowed to stay if they chose to do so. They and their descendant families who wish to continue to live in the neighborhood of housing maintained on the peninsula. Kalaupapa National Historical Park, established in 1980, preserves the physical settings of the historic Hansen's disease settlements of Kalawao and Kalaupapa . The community of Kalaupapa, on

15255-573: The six service branches, which are made up of the U.S. Army , Marine Corps , Navy , Air Force , and Space Force . The Coast Guard is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in wartime. The United States spent $ 916 billion on its military in 2023, which is by far the largest amount of any country , making up 37% of global military spending and accounting for 3.4% of

15390-545: The sole authority of a state government. SDFs are authorized by state and federal law but are under the command of the state's governor . They are distinct from the state's National Guard units in that they cannot become federalized entities. A state's National Guard personnel, however, may be federalized under the National Defense Act Amendments of 1933 , which created the Guard and provides for

15525-543: The states are also represented by local elected governments , which are administrative divisions of the states. States are subdivided into counties or county equivalents , and further divided into municipalities . The District of Columbia is a federal district containing the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. . The federal district is an administrative division of the federal government. Federally recognized tribes govern 326 Indian reservations . The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it has

15660-618: The states of Alaska to the northwest and the archipelagic Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean . The United States also asserts sovereignty over five major island territories and various uninhabited islands . The country has the world's third-largest land area , largest exclusive economic zone , and third-largest population , exceeding 334 million. Its three largest metropolitan areas are New York , Los Angeles , and Chicago , and its three most populous states are California , Texas , and Florida . Paleo-Indians migrated across

15795-510: The structure and responsibilities of the national federal government and its relationship with the individual states. The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest national constitution still in effect (from March 4, 1789). Composed of three branches, all headquartered in Washington, D.C., the federal government is the national government of the United States. It is regulated by a strong system of checks and balances . The three-branch system

15930-406: The substance of the original Rule of 1221, albeit with additions. It prescribed severe simplicity of dress and of life, abstinence, prayers and other religious exercises. It also forbade theatre attendance, the bearing of arms, and the taking of oaths except when administered by magistrates. In the nineteenth century, many new congregations adopted the Rule of the Third Order without connection with

16065-418: The thirteenth century, local Third Order Confraternities with variations had been established. In 1289, Pope Nicholas IV confirmed the religious order in the bull Supra montem , and put the Third Order under the care of the Friars Minor. The Third Order was created by Francis of Assisi, and was the exemplar after which the others were fashioned. An early date the other Mendicant Orders formed Third Orders of

16200-571: The world and formed religious communities, but without the three substantial vows of religious orders. Other religious associations such as the Beguines (women) and Beghards (men) in the Low Countries sometimes became Third Orders. Throughout the fourteenth century, the regular tertiaries of both sexes had in the most cases no common organization; only in the following century did single well-ordered religious communities with solemn vows and

16335-582: The world's fourth-longest river system , runs predominantly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat and fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains , west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado . Farther west are

16470-583: The world's second-largest diplomatic corps as of 2024 . It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council , and home to the United Nations headquarters . The United States is a member of the G7 , G20 , and OECD intergovernmental organizations. Almost all countries have embassies and many have consulates (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all countries host formal diplomatic missions with

16605-444: The world's oldest surviving federation, and its presidential system of national government has been adopted, in whole or in part, by many newly independent states worldwide following their decolonization . It is a liberal representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law ". The Constitution of the United States serves as the country's supreme legal document , also establishing

16740-553: The world's tornadoes occur in the country , mainly in Tornado Alley . Overall, the United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country. Extreme weather became more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported heat waves as in the 1960s. In the American Southwest , droughts became more persistent and more severe. The regions considered as

16875-510: The world, with almost 2 million people incarcerated . An analysis of the World Health Organization Mortality Database from 2010 showed U.S. homicide rates "were 7 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25 times higher". Third Order of St. Francis#Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia Francis founded the Third Order, originally called

17010-593: The young boys he saw caught up in the Spanish penal system . They soon established reform schools and trade schools to help these boys. In 1986 they took over the administration of two youth facilities in San Juan, Puerto Rico . In 1835 a Franciscan Monastery was built in Roundstone, County Galway, Ireland. In 1858, Bishop John Loughlin issued an invitation to the Brothers of the monastery to operate schools for

17145-563: The ʻāina (land), which had been established for centuries. Bringing patients to the isolation settlements , first at Kalawao and then at Kalaupapa , led to broader dislocations across Hawaiian society. In the long term many families were affected and some divided when a member contracted leprosy. The governments of the Kingdom, and subsequently, the Territory and State of Hawaiʻi tried to control leprosy (also known as Hansen's disease),

17280-458: Was annexed in 1845, and the 1846 Oregon Treaty led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest . Victory in the Mexican–American War resulted in the 1848 Mexican Cession of California, Nevada, Utah, and much of present-day Colorado and the American Southwest . The California gold rush of 1848–1849 spurred a huge migration of white settlers to the Pacific coast, leading to even more confrontations with Native populations. One of

17415-703: Was adopted on July 4, 1776. The political values of the American Revolution included liberty , inalienable individual rights ; and the sovereignty of the people ; supporting republicanism and rejecting monarchy , aristocracy , and all hereditary political power; civic virtue ; and vilification of political corruption . The Founding Fathers of the United States , who included Washington, Jefferson, John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Alexander Hamilton , John Jay , James Madison , Thomas Paine , and many others, were inspired by Greco-Roman , Renaissance , and Enlightenment philosophies and ideas. The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781 and established

17550-448: Was approved by Pope Paul VI in 1978. It is the current Rule followed by all congregations of the Third Order Regular. It was not until the fifteenth century that there developed single, well-ordered religious communities with solemn vows and a common head. In the fifteenth century there were numerous independent male congregations of regular tertiaries with the three vows in Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, and in

17685-404: Was elected the country's first president under the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 to allay skeptics' concerns about the power of the more centralized government. His resignation as commander-in-chief after the Revolutionary War and his later refusal to run for a third term as the country's first president established a precedent for the supremacy of civil authority in

17820-427: Was established in Boston, Massachusetts , in 1952, with an American novitiate being opened in 1954. The Generalate is in Dublin, Ireland. The Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity is an international congregation founded in 1835 in Heythuysen , Netherlands, by Catherine Damen (Mother Magdalen) to care for neglected children. The Sisters from the German province arrived in New York City in 1874 at

17955-538: Was founded in 1855 by Sophia Truszkowska in Warsaw, then within the Russian Empire but now Poland. There are 1800 sisters, 700 of whom serve in the North American Province. Other Provinces are based in Kraków, Przemyśl , Warsaw, and Curitiba , Brazil. Introduced in the United States in 1874 in Livonia, Michigan (1874), Buffalo, New York (1900), Chicago, Illinois (1910), Lodi, New Jersey (1913), Coraopolis, Pennsylvania (1920), Enfield, Connecticut (1932), and Rio Rancho, New Mexico (1953). These locations amalgamated to form

18090-489: Was introduced into the United States. Through the generosity of Sarah Worthington Peter , orphanages for boys were established in Teutopolis, Illinois ; Detroit , Michigan ; Cincinnati, Ohio (1868) and Cold Spring, Kentucky (1869). The orders motherhouse remains in Aachen and maintains houses in Brazil, Holland, and the United States. The Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross (FFSC) were founded by Brother James Wirth in 1862 in Hausen , Germany, to care for orphans,

18225-479: Was not carried out everywhere. In this regard the custom prevailed that the Friars Minor refused to take the direction of those convents which had only episcopal enclosure. Besides those already mentioned above, we may add the different offshoots of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and France (there, under the name of Soeurs du Refuge, some of them still exist). The first Ursulines , also, founded by St. Angela Merici (1540), belonged to

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