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Western Airlines

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190-590: Western Airlines was a major airline in the United States based in California , operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii , and western Canada , as well as to New York City , Boston , Washington, D.C. , and Miami and to Mexico City , London and Nassau . Western had hubs at Los Angeles International Airport , Salt Lake City International Airport , and

380-648: A national historic district , and the upper St. Anthony lock and dam is permanently closed. Columnist Don Morrison says that after the milling era waned a "modern, major city" emerged. Around 1900, Minneapolis attracted skilled workers who leveraged expertise from the University of Minnesota. In 1923, Munsingwear was the world's largest manufacturer of underwear. Frederick McKinley Jones invented mobile refrigeration in Minneapolis, and with his associate founded Thermo King in 1938. In 1949, Medtronic

570-580: 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

760-602: A 1934 press release by the company, it called itself the Western Air Division of General Air Lines. Its route map ran San Diego to Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. In 1937 Western merged National Parks Airways , which extended its route north from Salt Lake to Great Falls , and, in 1941, across the border to Lethbridge, Alberta . In 1941 Western Air Express changed its name to Western Air Lines and later to Western Airlines. (In 1967–69 Western called itself Western Airlines International.) In 1944 Western acquired

950-630: A 9-square-mile (23 km ) strip of land—coinciding with the sacred place of Dakota origin —on the Mississippi south of Saint Anthony Falls, with the agreement the US would build a military fort and trading post there and the Dakota would retain their usufructuary rights. In 1819, the US Army built Fort Snelling to direct Native American trade away from British-Canadian traders and to deter war between

1140-598: A Mexican prison. The Mexican government tried to extradite Dodge back to face charges. Red became wealthy leasing government storage units with unlimited government business but never again flew to Mexico. The airline was promoted in the Carpenters promotional video for the track " I Need to Be in Love ", released in 1976. The video shows exterior footage of a DC-10 in takeoff and landing shots, as well as seating promotions for Western's FiftyFair seating product, with shots of

1330-495: A White Minneapolis police officer, knelt on his neck and back for more than nine minutes. Reporting on the local reaction , The New York Times said that "over three nights, a five-mile stretch of Minneapolis sustained extraordinary damage" —destruction included a police station that demonstrators overran and set on fire. Floyd's murder sparked international rebellions, mass protests, and locally, years of ongoing unrest over racial injustice. As of 2024, protest continued daily at

1520-821: A cabin setting depicting what looks like business class of the DC-10. During the 1980s, destination flights aboard Western Airlines were featured as prizes on televised game shows, including The Price Is Right and The $ 25,000 Pyramid . In 1986 Western Airlines' fleet was 78 jets: In 1970 Western Airlines operated 75 aircraft: Western used a variety of piston-powered airliners including Boeing 247Ds , Convair 240s , Douglas DC-3s , DC-4s , DC-6 Bs and L-749 Constellations . The Constellations had been operated by Pacific Northern Airlines and served smaller Western Airlines destinations in Alaska such as Cordova, Homer, Kenai, King Salmon, Kodiak and Yakutat from Anchorage or Seattle in

1710-821: A center at the Northrup-King building, and it presents the Art-A-Whirl open studio tour every May. Minneapolis has hosted theatrical performances since the end of the American Civil War. Early theaters included Pence Opera House , the Academy of Music, Grand Opera House, Lyceum, and later the Metropolitan Opera House, which opened in 1894. Fifteen of the fifty-five Twin Cities theater companies counted in 2015 by Peg Guilfoyle had

1900-703: A controlling interest in Inland Air Lines , which became a subsidiary with Inland's schedules in Western timetables until Inland was merged into Western in 1952. Western started flying Los Angeles to San Francisco in 1943, so the Western/Inland route map was a W: San Francisco south to San Diego , north from San Diego to Lethbridge, Alberta in Canada , south to Denver , and northeast to Huron . (It extended to Minneapolis in 1947.) In 1946, Western

2090-542: 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

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2280-534: 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

2470-524: A facility in economically depressed north Minneapolis, bringing jobs and good publicity. A University of Minnesota computing group released Gopher in 1991; three years later, the World Wide Web superseded Gopher traffic. In many ways, the 20th century in Minneapolis was a difficult time of bigotry and malfeasance, beginning with four decades of corruption. Known initially as a kindly physician, mayor Doc Ames made his brother police chief, ran

2660-570: A famous phone call by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to "buy American made aircraft", Drinkwater reportedly responded: "Mr. President, you run your country and let me run my airline!" For years after this exchange, the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) would not award Western new routes while its competitors, including United and American, grew enormous even though all Western airliners were of U.S. manufacture while its competitors' fleets included aircraft produced in Europe. In August 1953, Western

2850-407: 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

3040-666: 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

3230-482: A human-relations council that interceded on behalf of minorities. However, the lives of Black people had not been improved. In 1966 and 1967—years of significant turmoil across the US —suppressed anger among the Black population was released in two disturbances on Plymouth Avenue. Historian Iric Nathanson says young Blacks confronted police, arson caused property damage, and "random gunshots" caused minor injuries in what

3420-567: A large waterfall that eroded upriver past the confluence of the Mississippi River, where it left a 75-foot (23-meter) drop in the Mississippi. This site is located in what is now downtown Saint Paul. The new waterfall, later called Saint Anthony Falls, in turn, eroded up the Mississippi about eight miles (13 kilometers) to its present location, carving the Mississippi River gorge as it moved upstream. Minnehaha Falls also developed during this period via similar processes. Minneapolis

3610-644: A major hub at Salt Lake City International Airport and a small hub at Los Angeles International Airport . In 1986, Western entered into a code sharing agreement with SkyWest Airlines , a commuter airline. SkyWest (Western Express) Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners connected to Western mainline flights at Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, and other Western mainline destinations. In spring 1987 SkyWest/Western Express served 36 cities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Western entered

3800-498: A meeting of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature , leaders of east bank St. Anthony lost their bid to move the capital from Saint Paul, but they eventually won the state university. In 1856, the territorial legislature authorized Minneapolis as a town on the Mississippi's west bank. Minneapolis was incorporated as a city in 1867, and in 1872, it merged with St. Anthony. Minneapolis originated around

3990-433: A national trend, the metro area's next largest group after Christians is the 23-percent non-religious population. At the same time, more than 50 denominations and religions are present in Minneapolis, representing most of the world's religions. Temple Israel was built in 1928 by the city's first Jewish congregation, Shaarai Tov, which formed in 1878. By 1959, a Temple of Islam was located in north Minneapolis. In 1971,

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4180-441: A number of cities that previously did not have direct flights to the 50th state. In 1973, Western flew nonstop between Honolulu and Anchorage, Los Angeles, Oakland, California, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, California and one-stop between Honolulu and Las Vegas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, Sacramento and Salt Lake City. In 1981, the airline also flew nonstop DC-10s between Vancouver, British Columbia and Honolulu . One of

4370-515: A one-stop flight MSP-SLC-LAX; in 1956 it resumed flights west out of Denver, to San Francisco via Salt Lake. In 1957 it began Los Angeles to Mexico City nonstop DC-6Bs, and in December 1957 it began Denver-Phoenix-San Diego. The airline's president was Terrell "Terry" Drinkwater. Drinkwater got into a dispute with the administration in Washington D.C. that hampered WAL's growth. Pressured in

4560-598: 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

4750-549: A population of 429,954, it is the state's most populous city as of the 2020 census . Located in the state's center near the eastern border, it occupies both banks of the Upper Mississippi River and adjoins Saint Paul , the state capital of Minnesota. Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the surrounding area are collectively known as the Twin Cities , a metropolitan area with 3.69 million residents. Minneapolis

4940-488: 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

5130-594: A rate one-third that of White families. Statewide by 2022, the gap between White and Black home ownership declined from 51.5 percent to 48 percent. Statewide, alongside this small improvement was a sharp increase in the Black-to-White comparative number of deaths of despair (e.g., alcohol, drugs, and suicide). The Minneapolis income gap in 2018 was one of the largest in the country, with Black families earning about 44 percent of what White families earned annually. Statewide in 2022 using inflation-adjusted dollars,

5320-545: A reported 150 persons attended classes at a Hindu temple near the University of Minnesota. In 1972, the Twin Cities' first Shi'a Muslim family resettled from Uganda. Somalis who live in Minneapolis are primarily Sunni Muslim . In 2022, Minneapolis amended its noise ordinance to allow broadcasting the Muslim call to prayer five times per day. The city has about seven Buddhist centers and meditation centers. Early in

5510-454: A secret military Japanese-language school that trained interpreters and translators. Following World War II, some Japanese and Japanese Americans remained in Minneapolis, and by 1970, they numbered nearly 2,000, forming part of the state's largest Asian American community. In the 1950s, the US government relocated Native Americans to cities like Minneapolis, attempting to dismantle Indian reservations . Around 1970, Koreans arrived, and

5700-526: 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,

5890-614: 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

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6080-428: A similar code-sharing agreement with Alaska-based South Central Air, a small commuter airline that operated as Western Express as well, connecting to Western flights at Anchorage. Several cities in southern Alaska including Homer, Kenai, Soldotna were served by South Central Air operating as Western Express. After the acquisition of Western by Delta Air Lines , SkyWest became a Delta Connection code sharing airline. In

6270-462: A source of energy: Saint Anthony Falls, the only natural waterfall on the Mississippi. Each of the city's two founding industries—flour and lumber milling—developed in the 19th century nearly concurrently, and each came to prominence for about fifty years. In 1884, the value of Minneapolis flour milling was the world's highest. In 1899, Minneapolis outsold every other lumber market in the world. Through its expanding mill industries, Minneapolis earned

6460-427: A subsidiary of Aero Corp. of Ca., founded in 1926 by Paul E. Richter , Jack Frye and Walter Hamilton. WAE with Fokker aircraft merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to form Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA, later known as Trans World Airlines). In 1934 Western Air Express was severed from TWA and changed its name to General Air Lines, returning to the name Western Air Express after several months. In

6650-680: A wholly owned subsidiary of Delta. The Western brand was discontinued and the employee workforces were fully merged on April 1, 1987. All of Western's aircraft were repainted in Delta's livery, including twelve McDonnell Douglas DC-10s . Delta eventually decided to eliminate the DC-10s from its fleet as it already operated Lockheed L-1011 TriStars , a similar type. Delta retained Western's hubs in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City; both remain major gateways and hubs for Delta. This mainline destination list

6840-643: A year starting in April 1981 it flew LGW to Denver, continuing to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Another international route was Los Angeles to Miami to Nassau , in the Bahamas for a year in 1980–81. Western extended its network to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston, as well as to Chicago and St. Louis in the midwest, Albuquerque and El Paso in the west, and Houston , New Orleans , Miami and Fort Lauderdale . In 1987 Western had four Boeing 737-300 round trips between Boston and New York LaGuardia Airport , and

7030-464: 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

7220-594: Is 108 °F (42 °C) in July 1936 while the lowest is −41 °F (−41 °C) in January 1888. The snowiest winter on record was 1983–1984, when 98.6 in (250 cm) of snow fell. The least-snowy winter was 1930–1931, when 14.2 inches (36 cm) fell. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , the annual average for sunshine duration is 58 percent. The Minneapolis area

7410-591: 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

7600-634: Is built on an artesian aquifer on flat terrain and is known for cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers. Nicknamed the "City of Lakes", Minneapolis is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes , wetlands, the Mississippi River , creeks, and waterfalls. The city's public park system is connected by the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway . Dakota people originally inhabited the site of today's Minneapolis. European colonization and settlement began north of Fort Snelling along Saint Anthony Falls —the only natural waterfall on

7790-477: Is home to the University of Minnesota 's main campus. The city's public transport is provided by Metro Transit , and the international airport, serving the Twin Cities region, is located towards the south on the city limits. Residents adhere to more than fifty religions. Despite its well-regarded quality of life, Minneapolis has stark disparities among its residents—arguably the most critical issue confronting

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7980-498: 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,

8170-478: Is located in south-central Minneapolis on the 10-acre (4 ha) former homestead of the Morrison family. McKim, Mead & White designed a vast complex meeting the ambitions of the founders for a cultural center with spaces for sculpture, an art school, and orchestra. One-seventh of their design was built and opened in 1915. Additions by other firms from 1928 to 2006 achieved much of the original scheme. Today

8360-405: Is near the confluence of Minnehaha Creek with the Mississippi River. Sources disagree on the exact location and elevation of the city's highest point, which is cited as being between 967 and 985 feet (295 and 300 m) above sea level. Minneapolis has 83 neighborhoods and 70 neighborhood organizations. In some cases, two or more neighborhoods act together under one organization. Around 1990,

8550-438: 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

8740-617: Is sited above an artesian aquifer and on flat terrain. Its total area is 59 square miles (152.8 square kilometers) of which six percent is covered by water. The city has a 12-mile (19 km) segment of the Mississippi River, four streams, and 17 waterbodies—13 of them lakes, with 24 miles (39 km) of lake shoreline. A 1959 report by the US Soil Conservation Service listed Minneapolis's elevation above mean sea level as 830 feet (250 meters). The city's lowest elevation of 687 feet (209 m) above sea level

8930-426: Is taken from Western's March 1, 1987, timetable shortly before the merger with Delta Air Lines. The airline's main hub was Salt Lake City International Airport with a smaller hub at Los Angeles International Airport . Western had a flight between IAD in Washington, D.C., and DCA at one point in 1985. In 1987 the airline had four round trip flights a day between Boston and New York LaGuardia. Western timetables from

9120-552: 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

9310-578: The Minneapolis Spokesman led a year-long consumer boycott of four area breweries that refused to hire Blacks. Employment improved during World War II, but housing discrimination persisted. Between 1950 and 1970, the Black population in Minneapolis increased by 436 percent. After the Rust Belt economy declined in the 1980s, Black migrants were attracted to Minneapolis for its job opportunities, good schools, and safe neighborhoods. In

9500-399: The 1963 film It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World .) Western Airlines was famous for its "Flying W" corporate identity and aircraft livery . Introduced in 1970, the scheme featured a large red "W" that fused into a red cheatline running the length of an all-white fuselage. This new corporate identity was the subject of litigation by Winnebago Industries , which contended the new "Flying W"

9690-603: 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

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9880-711: The American Indian Movement (AIM) in Minneapolis. Begun as an alternative to public and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools , AIM's Heart of the Earth Survival School taught Native American traditions to children for nearly twenty years. A same-sex Minneapolis couple appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court but their marriage license was denied. They managed to get a license and marry in 1971, forty years before Minnesota legalized same-sex marriage . Immigration helped to curb

10070-553: 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

10260-817: 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

10450-549: 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

10640-500: 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

10830-704: The Gilded Age , the Walker Art Center began as a private art collection in the home of lumberman T. B. Walker , who extended free admission to the public. Around 1940, the center's focus shifted to modern and contemporary art. In partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board , the Walker operates the adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden , which has about forty sculptures on view year-round. The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia)

11020-720: 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

11210-719: 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

11400-421: 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

11590-944: The Human Rights Campaign gave Minneapolis 94 points out of 100 on the Municipal Equality Index of support for the LGBTQ+ population. Twin Cities Pride is held in May. Minneapolis is the largest city in Minnesota and the 46th-largest city in the United States by population as of 2023. According to the 2020 US Census , Minneapolis had a population of 429,954. Of this population, 44,513 (10.4 percent) identified as Hispanic or Latinos . Of those not Hispanic or Latino, 249,581 persons (58.0 percent) were White alone (62.7 percent White alone or in combination), 81,088 (18.9 percent) were Black or African American alone (21.3 percent Black alone or in combination), 24,929 (5.8 percent) were Asian alone, 7,433 (1.2 percent) were American Indian and Alaska Native alone, 25,387 (0.6 percent) some other race alone, and 34,463 (5.2 percent) were multiracial . The most common ancestries in Minneapolis according to

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11780-426: 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

11970-553: 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)

12160-437: 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

12350-508: 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,

12540-539: 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

12730-418: 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

12920-399: 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

13110-512: 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

13300-399: 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

13490-492: The east coast as well as Chicago and St. Louis , and cities in Texas ( Austin , Dallas/Ft. Worth , El Paso , Houston and San Antonio ), and New Orleans in the south. Western had many intrastate flights in California , competing with Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), Air California / AirCal , Air West/ Hughes Airwest and United Airlines . In addition, Western operated "Islander" service with Boeing 707-320s , Boeing 720Bs and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s to Hawaii from

13680-530: 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

13870-445: 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

14060-615: The 1700s, the Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa, members of the Anishinaabe nations). Dakota people have different stories to explain their creation. One widely accepted story says the Dakota emerged from Bdóte , the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers . Dakota are the only inhabitants of the Minneapolis area who claimed no other land; they have no traditions of having immigrated. In 1680, cleric Louis Hennepin , who

14250-733: 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

14440-528: 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

14630-807: The 1890s and 1900s, and Slovak and Czech immigrants settled in the Bohemian Flats area on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Ukrainians arrived after 1900, and Central European migrants made their homes in the Northeast neighborhood. Chinese began immigration in the 1870s and Chinese businesses centered on the Gateway District and Glenwood Avenue. Westminster Presbyterian Church gave language classes and support for Chinese Americans in Minneapolis, many of whom had fled discrimination in western states. Japanese Americans , many relocated from San Francisco, worked at Camp Savage ,

14820-458: The 1940s to the 1980s list service to the following at different times: Western contributed to popular culture with its 1960s era advertising slogan, "It's the oooooonly way to fly!" Spoken by Wally Bird, an animated bird hitching a ride atop the fuselage of a Western airliner, and voiced by veteran actor Shepard Menken , the phrase soon found its way into animated cartoons by Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera . Another famous advertising campaign by

15010-473: The 1990s, immigrants from the Horn of Africa began to arrive, from Eritrea , Ethiopia , and particularly Somalia . Immigration from Somalia slowed significantly following a 2017 national executive order . As of 2022, about 3,000 Ethiopians and 20,000 Somalis reside in Minneapolis . The Williams Institute reported that the Twin Cities had an estimated 4.2-percent LGBT adult population in 2020. In 2023,

15200-520: 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

15390-421: The 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) were German (22.9 percent), Irish (10.8 percent), Norwegian (8.9 percent), Subsaharan African (6.7 percent), and Swedish (6.1 percent). Among those five years and older, 81.2 percent spoke only English at home, while 7.1 percent spoke Spanish and 11.7 percent spoke other languages, including large numbers of Somali and Hmong speakers. About 13.7 percent of

15580-587: The 2024 city budget. In 2018, the Minneapolis City Council approved the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which resulted in a citywide end to single-family zoning . Slate reported that Minneapolis was the first major city in the US to make citywide such a revision in housing possibilities. At the time, 70 percent of residential land was zoned for detached, single-family homes, though many of those areas had "nonconforming" buildings with more housing units. City leaders sought to increase

15770-443: The 2040 plan, and declaring racism a public health emergency in 2020. Twin Cities residents are 70 percent Christian according to a Pew Research Center religious survey in 2014. Settlers who arrived in Minneapolis from New England were for the most part Protestants , Quakers , and Universalists . The oldest continuously used church, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church , was built in 1856 by Universalists and soon afterward

15960-596: 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

16150-439: The Dakota and Ojibwe in northern Minnesota. Under pressure from US officials in a series of treaties, the Dakota ceded their land first to the east and then to the west of the Mississippi, the river that runs through Minneapolis. Dakota leaders twice refused to sign the next treaty until they were paid for the previous one. In the decades following these treaty signings, the federal US government rarely honored their terms. At

16340-624: The Dakota were being expelled, Franklin Steele laid claim to the east bank of Saint Anthony Falls , and John H. Stevens built a home on the west bank. In the Dakota language , the city's name is Bde Óta Othúŋwe ('Many Lakes Town'). Residents had divergent ideas on names for their community. Charles Hoag proposed combining the Dakota word for 'water' ( mni   ) with the Greek word for 'city' ( polis ), yielding Minneapolis . In 1851, after

16530-475: 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

16720-573: 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 ,

16910-573: 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

17100-590: The Great Depression, the Citizens' Alliance , an association of employers, refused to negotiate with teamsters . The truck drivers union executed strikes in May and July–August. Charles Rumford Walker said that Minneapolis teamsters succeeded in part due to the "military precision of the strike machine". The union victory ultimately led to 1935 and 1938 federal laws protecting workers' rights. From

17290-526: The Indigenous population during the 19th century, they claimed the city's land, and Kirsten Delegard of Mapping Prejudice explains that today's disparities evolved from control of the land. Discrimination increased when flour milling moved to the East Coast and the economy declined. The foundation laid by racial covenants on residential segregation, property value, homeownership, wealth, housing security, access to green spaces, and health equity shapes

17480-628: 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

17670-565: The Minnesota River valley. After a kangaroo court , 38 Dakota men were hanged. The army force-marched 1,700 non-hostile Dakota men, women, children, and elders 150 miles (240 km) to a concentration camp at Fort Snelling . Minneapolitans reportedly threatened more than once to attack the camp. In 1863, the US "abrogated and annulled" all treaties with the Dakota. With Governor Alexander Ramsey calling for their extermination, most Dakota were exiled from Minnesota. While

17860-551: The Mississippi River. Location near the fort and the falls' power—with its potential for industrial activity—fostered the city's early growth. For a time in the 19th century, Minneapolis was the lumber and flour milling capital of the world, and as home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis , it has preserved its financial clout into the 21st century. A Minneapolis Depression-era labor strike brought about federal worker protections. Work in Minneapolis contributed to

18050-611: 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

18240-434: The Twin Cities metropolitan area tied with Boston as having the eighth-highest concentration of major corporate headquarters in the US. Five Fortune 500 corporations were headquartered within the city limits of Minneapolis: Target Corporation , U.S. Bancorp , Xcel Energy , Ameriprise Financial , and Thrivent . The metro area's gross domestic product was $ 323.9 billion in 2022 ($ 337 billion in 2023). During

18430-647: 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

18620-661: 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

18810-562: The US and co-cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis , was named by Pope Pius XI in 1926. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was headquartered in Minneapolis from the 1950s until 2001. Christ Church Lutheran in the Longfellow neighborhood was the final work in the career of Eliel Saarinen , and it has an education building designed by his son Eero . Aligning with

19000-419: The US average of 11.1 percent. As of 2022, 90.8 percent of residents age 25 years or older had earned a high school degree compared to 89.1 percent nationally, and 53.5 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher compared to the 34.3 percent US national average. US veterans made up 2.8 percent of the population compared to the national average of 5 percent in 2023. In Minneapolis in 2020, Blacks owned homes at

19190-464: 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

19380-714: 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

19570-666: 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

19760-526: 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

19950-597: 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

20140-661: 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

20330-541: 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,

20520-624: 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

20710-509: 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

20900-415: The airline also operating nonstop Kodiak, Alaska - Seattle service with Lockheed Constellation propliners. Also in 1967, Western added Vancouver , and in 1969 it began nonstop flights between several California airports and Hawaii . In the late 1960s, Western aimed for an all-jet fleet, adding Boeing 707-320s , 727-200s and 737-200s to its 720Bs . The two leased B707-139s had been sold in favor of

21090-490: The airline capitalized on it. Western had a famous flyer out of Seattle: Captain "Red" Dodge. Red worked previously as a helicopter test pilot, and got involved with flying for the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) in his later years when he wasn't flying as captain on the DC-10. The movie Breakout starring Charles Bronson was based on his daring airlift of a CIA operative out of the courtyard of

21280-466: The airline centered on Star Trek icons William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy . Some of the carrier's last television ads, shortly before the merger with Delta, featured actor/comedian Rodney Dangerfield . In the 1970s Western called itself "the champagne airline" because champagne was offered free of charge to every passenger over age 21. (Actor Jim Backus uttered the "It's the only way to fly!" phrase while piloting an airplane, somewhat inebriated, in

21470-545: The airline was operating nonstop Boeing 720Bs between the Annette Island Airport (serving Ketchikan, Alaska ) and Seattle in addition to 720Bs between Juneau and Seattle, and in 1973 was flying 720B nonstops between Kodiak, Alaska and Seattle. In 1978, Western Airlines and Continental Airlines agreed to merge. A dispute broke out over what to call the combined airline: Western-Continental or Continental-Western, prompting an infamous coin toss. Bob Six ,

21660-565: The beginning of the American Civil War, annuity payments owed in June 1862 to the Dakota by treaty were late, causing acute hunger among the Dakota. Facing starvation a faction of the Dakota declared war in August and killed settlers. Serving without any prior military experience, US commander Henry Sibley commanded raw recruits, volunteer mounted troops from Minneapolis and Saint Paul with no military experience. The war went on for six weeks in

21850-450: The city became more and more racially divided. Though such language was prohibited by state law in 1953 and by the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 , restrictive covenants against minorities remained in many Minneapolis deeds as of the 2020s. In 2021, the city gave residents a means to discharge them. Minneapolis has a history of structural racism and has racial disparities in nearly every aspect of society. As White settlers displaced

22040-539: The city in the 21st century. Governed by a mayor-council system, Minneapolis has a political landscape dominated by the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), with Jacob Frey serving as mayor since 2018. Two Indigenous nations inhabited the area now called Minneapolis. Archaeologists have evidence that since 1000 A.D., they were the Dakota (one half of the Sioux nation), and, after

22230-410: The city into crime, and tried to leave town in 1902. The Ku Klux Klan was a force in the city from 1921 until 1923. The gangster Kid Cann engaged in bribery and intimidation between the 1920s and the 1940s. After Minnesota passed a eugenics law in 1925, the proprietors of Eitel Hospital sterilized people at Faribault State Hospital . During the summer of 1934 and the financial downturn of

22420-609: The city set up the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP), in which every one of the city's eighty-some neighborhoods participated. Funded for 20 years through 2011, with $ 400 million tax increment financing ($ 542 million in 2023), the program caught the eye of UN-Habitat , who considered it an example of best practices . Residents had a direct connection to government in NRP, whereby they proposed ideas appropriate for their area, and NRP reviewed

22610-493: The city's defining physical characteristic. Long periods of glaciation and interglacial melt carved several riverbeds through what is now Minneapolis. During the last glacial period , around 10,000 years ago, ice buried in these ancient river channels melted, resulting in basins that filled with water to become the lakes of Minneapolis . Meltwater from Lake Agassiz fed the Glacial River Warren , which created

22800-497: The city's history, millers were required to pay for wheat with cash during the growing season and then to store the wheat until it was needed for flour. The Minneapolis Grain Exchange was founded in 1881; located near the riverfront, it is the only exchange as of 2023 for hard red spring wheat futures . Along with cash requirements for the milling industry, the large amounts of capital that lumbering had accumulated stimulated

22990-421: The city's mid-20th century population decline. But because of a few radicalized persons, the city's large Somali population was targeted with discrimination after 9/11 , when its hawalas or banks were closed. In 2020, 17-year-old Darnella Frazier recorded the murder of George Floyd ; Frazier's video contradicted the police department's initial statement. Floyd, a Black man, suffocated when Derek Chauvin ,

23180-470: The collection of more than 90,000 artworks spans six continents and about 5,000 years. Frank Gehry designed Weisman Art Museum , which opened in 1993, for the University of Minnesota . A 2011 addition by Gehry doubled the size of the galleries. The Museum of Russian Art opened in a restored church in 2005, and it hosts a collection of 20th-century Russian art and special events. The Northeast Minneapolis Arts District hosts 400 independent artists and

23370-556: The colorful founder of CAL, demanded that Continental be "tails" in deference to its marketing slogan "We Really Move Our Tail for You! Continental Airlines: the Proud Bird with the Golden Tail". The coin flip turned up "heads". Six was so disappointed he called the merger off. From October 1980 to October 1981, Western flew Honolulu to Anchorage to London Gatwick Airport with a single McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 ; for less than

23560-676: The computing industry, and the city is the birthplace of General Mills , the Pillsbury brand, Target Corporation , and Thermo King mobile refrigeration. The city's major arts institutions include the Minneapolis Institute of Art , the Walker Art Center , and the Guthrie Theater . Four professional sports teams play downtown. Prince is survived by his favorite venue, the First Avenue nightclub . Minneapolis

23750-457: 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

23940-556: 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

24130-469: 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

24320-713: 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

24510-504: The early 1980s Air Florida tried to buy Western Airlines, but it was able to purchase only 16 percent of the airline's stock. On September 9, 1986, Western Airlines and Delta Air Lines entered into an agreement and plan of merger. The merger agreement was approved by the United States Department of Transportation on December 11, 1986. On December 16, 1986, shareholder approval was conferred and Western Airlines became

24700-562: The end of World War I in 1918 until 1950, antisemitism was commonplace in Minneapolis— Carey McWilliams called the city the antisemitic capital of the US. Starting in 1936, a fascist hate group known as the Silver Shirts held meetings in the city. In the 1940s, mayor Hubert Humphrey worked to rescue the city's reputation and helped the city establish the country's first municipal fair employment practices and

24890-580: 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

25080-689: The falls. Lumbering's decline began around the turn of the century, and sawmills in the city including the Weyerhauser mill closed by 1919. After depleting Minnesota's white pine, some lumbermen moved on to Douglas fir in the Pacific Northwest . In 1877, Cadwallader C. Washburn co-founded Washburn-Crosby, the company that became General Mills . Washburn and partner John Crosby sent Austrian civil engineer William de la Barre to Hungary where he acquired innovations through industrial espionage . De la Barre calculated and managed

25270-414: 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

25460-591: The first Filipinos came to attend the University of Minnesota . Vietnamese , Hmong (some from Thailand ), Lao , and Cambodians settled mainly in Saint Paul around 1975, but some built organizations in Minneapolis. In 1992, 160 Tibetan immigrants came to Minnesota, and many settled in the city's Whittier neighborhood. Burmese immigrants arrived in the early 2000s, with some moving to Greater Minnesota . The population of people from India in Minneapolis increased by 1,000 between 2000 and 2010, making it

25650-553: 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,

25840-622: The former Stapleton International Airport in Denver . Before it merged with Delta Air Lines in 1987 it was headquartered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Throughout the company's history, its slogan was "Western Airlines...The Only Way to Fly!" In 1925, the United States Postal Service began to give airline contracts to carry airmail throughout the country. Western Airlines first incorporated in 1925 as Western Air Express by Harris Hanshue. It applied for, and

26030-467: The housing disparities created the educational disparities that we still live with today." Professor Samuel Myers Jr. says of redlining , "Policing policies evolved that substituted explicit racial profiling with scientific management of racially disparate arrests. ... racially discriminatory policies became institutionalized and 'baked in' to the fabric of Minnesota life." Government efforts to address these disparities included zoning changes passed in

26220-463: 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

26410-481: The intersection where Floyd died, now known as George Floyd Square , with the slogan "No justice, no street". Minneapolis gathered ideas for the square and through community engagement promised final proposals for the end of 2024, that could be implemented by 2026 or thereafter. Protesters continued to ask for twenty-four reforms—many now met; a sticking point was ending qualified immunity for police. The history and economic growth of Minneapolis are linked to water,

26600-514: The largest concentration of Indians living in the state. The population of Minneapolis grew until 1950 when the census peaked at 521,718—the only time it has exceeded a half million. The population then declined for decades; after World War II, people moved to the suburbs and generally out of the Midwest. By 1930, Minneapolis had one of the nation's highest literacy rates among Black residents. However, discrimination prevented them from obtaining higher-paying jobs. In 1935, Cecil Newman and

26790-477: The late 1960s. 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 the states of Alaska to the northwest and

26980-517: The lives of people in the 21st century. The city wrote in a decennial plan that racially discriminatory federal housing policies starting in the 1930s "prevented access to mortgages in areas with Jews, African-Americans and other minorities" and "left a lasting effect on the physical characteristics of the city and the financial well-being of its residents". Discussing a Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis report on how systemic racism compromises education in Minnesota, Professor Keith Mayes says, "So

27170-630: The local banking industry and made Minneapolis a major financial center. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis serves Minnesota, Montana , North and South Dakota , and parts of Wisconsin and Michigan ; it has the smallest population of the twelve districts in the Federal Reserve System , and it has one branch in Helena, Montana . Minneapolis area employment is primarily in trade, transportation, utilities, education, health services, and professional and business services. Smaller numbers of residents are employed in government, manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, and financial activities. In 2022,

27360-499: The median income for a Black family was $ 34,377 less than a White family's median income, an improvement of $ 7,000 since 2019. Before 1910, when a developer wrote the first restrictive covenant based on race and ethnicity into a Minneapolis deed, the city was relatively unsegregated with a Black population of less than one percent. Realtors adopted the practice, thousands of times preventing non-Whites from owning or leasing properties; this practice continued for four decades until

27550-505: The merger was nonetheless rejected in a 4–1 decision by the Civil Aeronautics Board in July 1972. Western was headquartered in Los Angeles, California. After the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, the airline's hubs were reduced to two airports: Los Angeles International Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport . Before deregulation, Western had small hubs in Anchorage, Alaska , Denver , Las Vegas , Minneapolis / St. Paul and San Francisco . In spring 1987, shortly before Western

27740-452: The merger was opposed by rival airlines such as Continental Airlines and the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division under Richard Wellington McLaren . President Richard Nixon 's attorney Herbert W. Kalmbach suggested that the antitrust suit would be dropped in exchange for a $ 75,000 campaign contribution to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President , which American Airlines CEO George A. Spater agreed to. However,

27930-476: The mid-1930s, Western Air Express had introduced new Boeing 247 aircraft. Western Air Express built and owned Vail Airport in Montebello, CA from 1926 to 1930 and the Alhambra Airport in southern California from 1930 to 1931. Western Air Express operated a seaplane route out of Hamilton Cove Seaplane Base on Catalina Island, California from 1928 to 1930 The company reincorporated in 1928 as Western Air Express Corp. In 1930 it purchased Standard Air Lines ,

28120-427: 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

28310-612: 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

28500-478: 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

28690-572: The nickname "Mill City". Due to the occupational hazards of milling, six companies manufactured artificial limbs. Disasters struck in the late 19th century: the Eastman tunnel under the river leaked in 1869; twice, fire destroyed the entire row of sawmills on the east bank; an explosion of flour dust at the Washburn A mill killed eighteen people and demolished about half the city's milling capacity; and in 1893, fire spread from Nicollet Island to Boom Island to northeast Minneapolis, destroyed twenty blocks, and killed two people. The lumber industry

28880-539: The plan, and then securing its survival. Ultimately in 2024, the state legislature passed a bill approving the city's 2040 plan. Minneapolis experiences a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Dfa in the Köppen climate classification ) that is typical of southern parts of the Upper Midwest ; it is situated in USDA plant hardiness zone 5a. The Minneapolis area experiences a full range of precipitation and related weather events, including snow, sleet, ice, rain, thunderstorms, and fog. The highest recorded temperature

29070-525: The plans and provided implementation funds. The city's Neighborhood and Community Relations department took NRP's place in 2011 and is funded only by city revenue. In 2019, the city released the Neighborhoods 2020 program, which reworked neighborhood funding with an equity-focused lens. This reduced guaranteed funding, and several neighborhood organizations have since struggled with operations or merged with other neighborhoods due to decreased revenue. Base funding for every neighborhood organization increased in

29260-408: 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

29450-407: The population was born abroad , with 53.2 percent of them being naturalized US citizens . Most immigrants arrived from Africa (40.6 percent), Latin America (25.2 percent), and Asia (24.6 percent), with 34.6 percent of all foreign-born residents having arrived in 2010 or earlier. Comparable to the US average of $ 70,784 in 2021, the ACS reported that the 2021 median household income in Minneapolis

29640-418: The power at the falls and encouraged steam for auxiliary power. Charles Alfred Pillsbury and the C. A. Pillsbury Company across the river hired Washburn-Crosby employees and began using the new methods. The hard red spring wheat grown in Minnesota became valuable, and Minnesota "patent" flour was recognized at the time as the best bread flour in the world. In 1900, fourteen percent of America's grain

29830-420: 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

30020-515: 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

30210-510: The river's west bank included woolen mills, iron works, a railroad machine shop, and mills for cotton, paper, sashes, and wood-planing. Minneapolis supplied the materials for farmsteads and settlement of rapidly expanding cities on the prairies that lacked wood. White pine milled in Minneapolis built Miles City, Montana ; Bismarck, North Dakota ; Sioux Falls, South Dakota ; Omaha, Nebraska ; and Wichita, Kansas . Growing use of steam power freed lumbermen and their sawmills from dependence on

30400-437: 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

30590-434: The second half of the 20th century. Between 1958 and 1963, Minneapolis demolished " skid row ". Gone were 35 acres (10 ha) with more than 200 buildings, or roughly 40 percent of downtown, including the Gateway District and its significant architecture such as the Metropolitan Building . Opened in 1967, I-35W displaced Black and Mexican neighborhoods in south Minneapolis. In 1968, relocated Native Americans founded

30780-464: 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

30970-550: The smallest jet destinations was West Yellowstone, Montana , near Yellowstone National Park . Western flew Boeing 737-200s to West Yellowstone Airport in the summer, replacing Lockheed L-188 Electras . In the 1970s and 1980s, Western served a number of small cities with 737-200s including Butte, Montana , Casper, Wyoming , Cheyenne, Wyoming , Helena, Montana , Idaho Falls, Idaho , Pierre, South Dakota , Pocatello, Idaho , Rapid City, South Dakota and Sheridan, Wyoming . The 737 replaced Electras to all of these cities. In 1968

31160-407: 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

31350-543: 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

31540-451: 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

31730-433: The supply of housing so more neighborhoods would be affordable and to decrease the effects single-family zoning had caused on racial disparities and segregation. The Brookings Institution called it "a relatively rare example of success for the YIMBY agenda". From 2022 until 2024, the Minnesota Supreme Court , the US District Court , and the Minnesota Court of Appeals arrived at competing opinions, first shutting down

31920-457: The turbofan-powered Boeing 720B. Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops were replaced with new 737-200s. In 1973 Western added nine McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10s , marketing its wide-body cabins as "DC-10 Spaceships". They were configured with 46 first-class seats, 193 coach, and a lower level galley. From 1976 to 1981 the DC-10s flew Los Angeles to Miami nonstop. In 1969, Western Airlines opened negotiations to merge with American Airlines . However,

32110-488: The turn of the 21st century, Latinos were the state's largest and fastest-growing immigrant group. Immigrants from Sweden , Norway , and Denmark found common ground with the Republican and Protestant belief systems of the New England migrants who preceded them. Irish , Scots , and English immigrants arrived after the Civil War; Germans and Jews from Central and Eastern Europe , as well as Russia , followed. Minneapolis welcomed Italians and Greeks in

32300-406: 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

32490-449: 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

32680-444: 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

32870-423: 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

33060-406: 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". Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in and the county seat of Hennepin County, Minnesota , United States. With

33250-458: 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

33440-436: Was $ 69,397 ($ 78,030 in 2023), It was $ 97,670 for families, $ 123,693 for married couples, and $ 54,083 for non-family households. In 2023, the median Minneapolis rent was $ 1,529, compared to the national median of $ 1,723. Over 92 percent of housing units in Minneapolis were occupied. Housing units in the city built in 1939 or earlier comprised 43.7 percent. Almost 17 percent of residents lived in poverty in 2023, compared to

33630-406: Was a "relatively minor incident" in Minneapolis compared to the loss of life and property in similar incidents in Detroit and Newark. A coalition reached a peaceful outcome but again failed to solve Black poverty and unemployment. In the wake of unrest and voter backlash, Charles Stenvig , a law-and-order candidate, became mayor in 1969, and governed for almost a decade. Disparate events defined

33820-604: Was acquired by Delta Air Lines , the airline had two hubs, a major operation in Salt Lake City and a small hub in Los Angeles. At its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, Western flew to cities across the western United States, and to Mexico ( Mexico City , Puerto Vallarta , Acapulco , Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo and Mazatlán ), Alaska ( Anchorage , Fairbanks , Juneau , Ketchikan , Kodiak and other Alaskan destinations), Hawaii ( Honolulu , Kahului , Kona , and Hilo ), and Canada ( Vancouver , Calgary and Edmonton ). New York City , Washington, D.C. , Boston , and Miami were added on

34010-400: Was acquired by a French Catholic congregation. St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral was founded in 1887; it opened a missionary school and in 1905 created a Russian Orthodox seminary. Edwin Hawley Hewitt designed St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral and Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church , both of which are located south of downtown. The nearby Basilica of Saint Mary , the first basilica in

34200-703: 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

34390-419: Was awarded a route from Los Angeles to Denver via Las Vegas, but in 1947 financial problems forced Western to sell the route, and Douglas DC-6 delivery positions, to United Air Lines . In 1947 Western extended the left arm of the W north to Seattle , and added San Diego to Yuma for a few years; in 1950 it extended the middle of the W north to Edmonton . It finally cut across the W in 1953 when DC-6Bs started

34580-553: Was awarded, the 650-mile long Contract Air Mail Route #4 (CAM-4) from Salt Lake City , Utah , to Los Angeles . On 17 April 1926, Western's first flight took place with a Douglas M-2 airplane. It began offering passenger services a month later, when the first commercial passenger flight took place at Woodward Field . Ben F. Redman (then president of the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce) and J.A. Tomlinson perched atop U.S. mail sacks and flew with pilot C.N. "Jimmy" James on his regular eight-hour mail delivery flight to Los Angeles. By

34770-420: Was built around forests in northern Minnesota, largely by lumbermen emigrating from Maine 's depleting forests. The region's waterways were used to transport logs well after railroads developed; the Mississippi River carried logs to St. Louis until the early 20th century. In 1871, of the thirteen mills sawing lumber in St. Anthony, eight ran on water power, and five ran on steam power. Auxiliary businesses on

34960-404: 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

35150-443: Was founded in a Minneapolis garage. Minneapolis-Honeywell built a south Minneapolis campus where their experience regulating control systems earned them military contracts for the Norden bombsight and the C-1 autopilot . In 1957, Control Data began in downtown Minneapolis, where in the CDC 1604 computer they replaced vacuum tubes with transistors . A highly successful business until disbanded in 1990, Control Data opened

35340-460: Was milled in Minneapolis and about one third of that was shipped overseas. Overall production peaked at 18.5 million barrels in 1916. Decades of soil exhaustion , stem rust , and changes in freight tariffs combined to quash the city's flour industry. In the 1920s, Washburn-Crosby and Pillsbury developed new milling centers in Buffalo, New York , and Kansas City, Missouri , while maintaining their headquarters in Minneapolis. The falls became

35530-674: Was originally occupied by Dakota bands, particularly the Mdewakanton , until European Americans moved westward. In the 1840s, new settlers arrived from Maine , New Hampshire , and Massachusetts , while French-Canadians came around the same time. Farmers from Illinois , Indiana , Ohio , and Pennsylvania followed in a secondary migration. Settlers from New England had an outsized influence on civic life. Mexican migrant workers began coming to Minnesota as early as 1860, although few stayed year-round. Latinos eventually settled in several neighborhoods in Minneapolis, including Phillips , Whittier , Longfellow and Northeast . Before

35720-405: Was probably the first European to see the Minneapolis waterfall the Dakota people call Owámniyomni , renamed it the Falls of St. Anthony of Padua for his patron saint. In the space of sixty years, the US seized all of the Dakota land and forced them out of their homeland. Purchasing most of modern-day Minneapolis, Zebulon Pike made the 1805 Treaty of St. Peter with the Dakota. Pike bought

35910-592: Was serving 38 airports; in June 1968 that number had grown to 42. In June 1960, Western Airlines introduced Boeing 707s (707-139s) between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. 720B nonstops MSP-SFO and MSP-LAX began in 1966, along with LAX-Acapulco. In 1967 WAL acquired Pacific Northern Airlines (PNA, the successor of Woodley Airways ) based in Anchorage, Alaska , its primary routes being Anchorage - Seattle nonstop as well as Anchorage - Juneau - Seattle and Anchorage - Juneau - Ketchikan - Seattle with PNA flying Boeing 720 jetliners on these routes with

36100-536: Was too similar to its own stylized "W" logo. In the 1980s Western Airlines slightly modified the scheme by stripping the white fuselage to bare metal, retaining the red "Flying W" (with a dark blue shadow). This color scheme was known as "Bud Lite" due to its resemblance to a popular beer's can design. Western Airlines was a favorite first class carrier for Hollywood movie stars and frequently featured them in its on board magazine, "Western's World". Marilyn Monroe and many other silver screen actors were frequent flyers and

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