188-607: In the United States , White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or Wealthy Anglo-Saxon Protestants ( WASP ) is a sociological term which is often used to describe white Protestant Americans of British descent (sometimes more broadly of Northwestern European descent), who are generally part of the white dominant culture or upper-class and historically often the Mainline Protestant elite . Historically or most consistently, WASPs are of British descent , though
376-577: 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 the largest nominal GDP since about 1890 and accounted for over 15% of
564-580: 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
752-529: A "mix" of or of "vague" Germanic Northwestern European heritages. Historically, the early Anglo-Protestant settlers in the seventeenth century were the most successful group, culturally, economically, and politically, and they maintained their dominance until the late twentieth century at the earliest. Numbers of the most wealthy and affluent American families , such as Boston Brahmin , First Families of Virginia , Old Philadelphians , Tidewater , and Lowcountry gentry or old money , were WASPs. Commitment to
940-676: A WASP, in his 1964 book The Protestant Establishment: Aristocracy and Caste in America . Baltzell stressed the closed or caste-like characteristic of the group by arguing that "There is a crisis in American leadership in the middle of the twentieth century that is partly due, I think, to the declining authority of an establishment which is now based on an increasingly castelike White-Anglo Saxon-Protestant (WASP) upper class." Citing Gallup polling data from 1976, Kit and Frederica Konolige wrote in their 1978 book The Power of Their Glory , "As befits
1128-741: A church that belongs to the worldwide Anglican Communion , Episcopalianism has the United Kingdom to thank for the ancestors of fully 49 percent of its members. ... The stereotype of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) finds its fullest expression in the Episcopal Church." WASP is also used in Australia and Canada for similar elites. WASPs traditionally have been associated with Episcopal (or Anglican ), Presbyterian , United Methodist , Congregationalist , and other mainline Protestant denominations; however,
1316-542: 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
1504-490: A crisis in both the American church and the wider Anglican Communion . In October 2003, Anglican primates (the heads of the Anglican Communion's 38 member churches) convened an emergency meeting. The meeting's final communiqué included the warning that if Robinson's consecration proceeded, it would "tear the fabric of the communion at its deepest level". The news of his ordination caused such an outrage that during
1692-534: 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
1880-629: A deputy to the convention, led many African-American deputies in a "walk out" protest of the convention. In 1967, Lichtenberger's successor, John Hines , led the Episcopal Church to implement the General Convention Special Program (GCSP). The program was designed to redirect nine million dollars over a three-year period (a quarter of the church's operating budget at the time) to fund special grants for community organizations and grassroots efforts facilitating black empowerment in America's urban ghettos. The effectiveness of
2068-407: 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
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#17327727340972256-638: 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
2444-451: A pastoral letter urging Christians to work "across lines of racial separation, in a common struggle for justice", and the House of Bishops endorsed civil rights legislation. Tensions around the civil rights movement persisted, however. At the 1964 General Convention, when the House of Deputies rejected a resolution sanctioning civil disobedience under special circumstances, Thurgood Marshall ,
2632-598: 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
2820-488: 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
3008-436: A regular process of meeting every three years. At the 1789 convention they adopted a constitution and canons, and reorganized as a House of Deputies and a House of Bishops. The structure of the Episcopal Church was then complete. Later, through the efforts of Bishop Philander Chase (1775–1852) of Ohio, Americans successfully sought material assistance from England for the purpose of training Episcopal clergy. The development of
3196-461: A resolution calling for an end to apartheid in South Africa and in 1985 called for "dioceses, institutions, and agencies" to create equal opportunity employment and affirmative action policies to address any potential "racial inequities" in clergy placement. Because of these and other controversial issues including abortion, individual members and clergy can and do frequently disagree with
3384-451: A resolution removing the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman was passed by the House of Bishops with 129 in favor, 26 against, and 5 abstaining. The current archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby , expressed "deep concern" over the ruling. In 2016, Anglican leaders temporarily suspended the Episcopal Church from key positions in their global fellowship in response to
3572-526: 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,
3760-614: 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
3948-632: 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 the Soviet Union's collapse and
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#17327727340974136-657: A style of understated quiet leadership. A common practice of WASP families is presenting their daughters of marriageable age (traditionally at the age of 17 or 18 years old) at a débutante ball , such as the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. America's social elite was a small, closed group. The leadership was well-known to the readers of newspaper society pages, but in larger cities it
4324-401: 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
4512-905: Is a modern reconstruction. Although no American Anglican bishops existed in the colonial era, the Church of England had an official status in several colonies, which meant that local governments paid tax money to local parishes, and the parishes handled some civic functions. The Church of England was designated the established church in Virginia in 1609, in New York in 1693, in Maryland in 1702, in South Carolina in 1706, in North Carolina in 1730, and in Georgia in 1758. From 1635
4700-591: 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
4888-498: 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,
5076-438: 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
5264-511: Is the adjective that should be used to describe something affiliated with the church, whereas "Episcopalian" is to be used "only as a noun referring to a member of The Episcopal Church." The Episcopal Church has its origins in the Church of England in the American colonies , and it stresses continuity with the early universal Western Church and claims to maintain apostolic succession (while
5452-552: 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
5640-603: 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
5828-884: The American Civil War began in 1861, Episcopalians in the South formed the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America . However, in the North, the separation was never officially recognized. In particular, the Episcopalian communities in Pennsylvania supported free black communities and the Underground Railroad. By May 16, 1866, the southern dioceses had rejoined the national church. By
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6016-599: The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in 2008. The ACNA and the Episcopal Church are not in full communion with one another. The "Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America" (PECUSA) and "The Episcopal Church" (TEC) are both official names specified in the church's constitution. The latter is much more commonly used. In other languages, an equivalent is used. For example, in Spanish,
6204-553: 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
6392-591: The Book of Common Prayer , the Church of England almost drove itself to extinction during the upheaval of the American Revolution . More than any other denomination, the War of Independence internally divided both clergy and laity of the Church of England in America, and opinions covered a wide spectrum of political views: patriots , conciliators, and loyalists . While many Patriots were suspicious of Loyalism in
6580-568: The British Isles ; less exacting analysts are willing to throw in Scandinavians, Netherlanders and Germans." The sociologist Charles H. Anderson writes, "Scandinavians are second-class WASPs" but know it is "better to be a second-class WASP than a non-WASP". Sociologists William Thompson and Joseph Hickey described the further expansion of the term's meaning: The term WASP has many meanings. In sociology it reflects that segment of
6768-481: The Church of England , whose clergy are required to swear allegiance to the British monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England . The Episcopal Church describes itself as " Protestant , yet catholic " and asserts apostolic succession , tracing its bishops back to the apostles via holy orders . The 1979 Book of Common Prayer , a collection of rites , blessings, liturgies , and prayers used throughout
6956-549: 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
7144-500: 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
7332-664: 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
7520-719: 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
7708-594: The Ivy League , the Little Ivies , and the Seven Sisters colleges are particularly intertwined with the culture. Until roughly World War II, Ivy League universities were composed largely of white Protestants. While admission to these schools is generally based upon merit, many of these universities give a legacy preference for the children of alumni in order to link elite families (and their wealth) with
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7896-544: 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
8084-688: 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)
8272-596: 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
8460-778: 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,
8648-648: 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
8836-492: The Pew Research Center , Episcopalians ranked as the third wealthiest religious group in the United States, with 35% of Episcopalians living in households with incomes of at least $ 100,000. Presbyterians ranked as the fourth most financially successful religious group in the United States, with 32% of Presbyterians living in households with incomes of at least $ 100,000. The Boston Brahmins , who were regarded as
9024-591: 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
9212-499: 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 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
9400-415: The Upper East Side in Manhattan has been dominated by wealthy White Anglo-Saxon Protestant families. David Brooks , a columnist for The New York Times who attended an Episcopal prep school, writes that WASPs took pride in "good posture, genteel manners, personal hygiene, pointless discipline, the ability to sit still for long periods of time." According to the essayist Joseph Epstein , WASPs developed
9588-399: 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
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#17327727340979776-403: The death penalty and supported the civil rights movement . The church calls for the full legal equality of LGBT people. In view of this trend, the conventions of four dioceses of the Episcopal Church voted in 2007 and 2008 to leave that church and to join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America . Twelve other jurisdictions, serving an estimated 100,000 persons at that time, formed
9964-416: 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 the House of Representatives ,
10152-413: 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
10340-400: 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 a global reach. The U.S. is
10528-459: The mainline Protestant denominations of Christianity , chiefly the Presbyterian , Episcopalian , and Congregationalist traditions. Citing Gallup polling data from 1976, Kit and Frederica Konolige wrote in their 1978 book The Power of Their Glory , "As befits a church that belongs to the worldwide Anglican Communion , Episcopalianism has the United Kingdom to thank for the ancestors of fully 49 percent of its members. ... The stereotype of
10716-427: The non-juring bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church consecrated him in Aberdeen on November 14, 1784, making him, in the words of scholar Arthur Carl Piepkorn, "the first Anglican bishop appointed to minister outside the British Isles". On August 3, 1785, the first ordinations on American soil took place at Christ Church in Middletown, Connecticut . That same year, 1785, deputations of clergy and laity met in
10904-401: The stewardship of God's creation . On July 29, 1974, a group of women known as the Philadelphia Eleven were irregularly ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church by bishops Daniel Corrigan, Robert L. DeWitt, and Edward R. Welles, assisted by Antonio Ramos . On September 7, 1975, four more women (the " Washington Four ") were irregularly ordained by retired bishop George W. Barrett . In
11092-444: The vestries and the clergy came loosely under the diocesan authority of the Bishop of London . After 1702, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) began missionary activity throughout the colonies. On the eve of Revolution about 400 independent congregations were reported throughout the colonies. Under the leadership of Lutheran bishop Jesper Swedberg , parishes in colonial America that belonged to
11280-406: 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
11468-400: The 1960s, opposition to dropping the word "Protestant" had largely subsided. In a 1964 General Convention compromise, priests and lay delegates suggested adding a preamble to the church's constitution, recognizing "The Episcopal Church" as a lawful alternate designation while still retaining the earlier name. The 66th General Convention voted in 1979 to use the name "The Episcopal Church" in
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#173277273409711656-527: The 1960s, the group continues to play a central role in American finance, politics, and philanthropy . WASP is also used for similar elites in Australia , New Zealand , and Canada . The 1998 Random House Unabridged Dictionary says the term is "sometimes disparaging and offensive". Anglo-Saxon refers to people of English ancestry ; however, some sociologists and commentators use WASP more broadly to include all White Protestant Americans of Northwestern European and Northern European ancestry. In
11844-466: The 1980s, brands such as Lacoste and Ralph Lauren and their logos became associated with the preppy fashion style which was associated with WASP culture. The term WASP became associated with an upper class in the United States due to over-representation of WASPs in the upper echelons of society. Until the mid–20th century, industries such as banks, insurance, railroads, utilities, and manufacturing were dominated by WASPs. The Founding Fathers of
12032-466: 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
12220-436: The African-American newspaper The New York Amsterdam News in 1948, when author Stetson Kennedy wrote: In America, we find the WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) ganging up to take their frustrations out on whatever minority group happens to be handy — whether Negro, Catholic, Jewish, Japanese or whatnot. The term was later popularized by sociologist and University of Pennsylvania professor E. Digby Baltzell , himself
12408-426: 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
12596-416: The Anglican Communion, is central to Episcopal worship. A broad spectrum of theological views is represented within the Episcopal Church, including evangelical , Anglo-Catholic , and broad church views. Historically, the members of the Episcopal Church have played leadership roles in many aspects of American life, including politics, business, science, the arts, and education. About three-quarters of
12784-489: The Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist and Reformed traditions are "nearly identical". Several conservative parishes, however, continued to use the 1928 version. In Advent of 2007, the use of the ecumenical Revised Common Lectionary in the Episcopal Church became the standard. In 2018, the General Convention authorized a Task Force for Liturgical and Prayer Book Revision to consider further revisions, particularly to use more inclusive language and to give more attention to
12972-413: The Church of England in America between 1776 and 1783, over 80 percent in New England, New York, and New Jersey were loyalists. This is in contrast to the less than 23 percent loyalist clergy in the four southern colonies. Many Church of England clergy remained loyalists as they took their two ordination oaths very seriously. Anglican clergy were obliged to swear allegiance to the king as well as to pray for
13160-422: The Church of England over Seabury's non-juring Scottish orders. The Episcopal Church thus became the first Anglican province outside the British Isles . On 17 September 1792, at the triennial General Convention ( synod ) of the Episcopal Church at Trinity Church on Wall Street , in New York City , Thomas John Claggett who had been elected by the clergy and laity of Maryland, was consecrated by all four of
13348-420: 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
13536-760: The Detroit area, WASPs predominantly possessed the wealth that came from the new automotive industry. After the 1967 Detroit riot , they tended to congregate in the Grosse Pointe suburbs. In the Chicago metropolitan area , white Protestants primarily reside in the North Shore suburbs , the Barrington area in the northwest suburbs, and in Oak Park and DuPage County in the western suburbs. Traditionally,
13724-573: 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 ,
13912-573: 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
14100-640: The Episcopal Church . ) In 1789, representative clergy from nine dioceses met in Philadelphia to ratify the church's initial constitution. The fourth bishop of the Episcopal Church was James Madison , the first bishop of Virginia. Madison was consecrated in 1790 by the Archbishop of Canterbury and two other Church of England bishops. This third American bishop consecrated within the English line of succession occurred because of continuing unease within
14288-433: The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops voted that "any ordained ministry" is open to gay men and lesbians . The New York Times said the move was "likely to send shockwaves through the Anglican Communion". This vote ended a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops passed in 2006 and passed in spite of Archbishop Rowan Williams 's personal call at the start of the convention that, "I hope and pray that there won't be decisions in
14476-553: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden established ecumenical dialogue that resulted in altar and pulpit fellowship with the Episcopal Church in the 1700s, which led to a merger of all of the Swedish Lutheran churches there into the Episcopal Church by 1846. Embracing the symbols of the British presence in the American colonies, such as the monarchy, the episcopate, and even the language of
14664-481: The GCSP was limited due to the reluctance of conservative bishops in southern dioceses, who objected to the awarding of grants to groups perceived as radical. The GCSP drew opposition from the recently formed Foundation for Christian Theology, a conservative organization opposed to "involv[ing] the Church in the social, political, and economic activities of our times". The Special General Convention also witnessed protests of
14852-469: The General Convention adopted a new prayer book, which was a substantial revision and modernization of the previous 1928 edition. It incorporated many principles of the ecumenical movement and liturgical movement , which had been discussed at Vatican II as well. This version was adopted as the official prayer book in 1979 after an initial three-year trial use. As such, the liturgies used by
15040-465: The General Convention affirmed that there was value in the theological position that women should not be ordained. In 1997, however, the General Convention then determined that "the canons regarding the ordination, licensing, and deployment of women are mandatory" and required noncompliant dioceses to issue status reports on their progress towards full compliance. In 2006, the General Convention elected Katharine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop . She
15228-559: The Interests of Labor was formed in 1887. During the Gilded Age , highly prominent laity such as bankers J. P. Morgan , industrialist Henry Ford , and art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner played a central role in shaping a distinctive upper class Episcopalian ethos, especially with regard to preserving the arts and history. These philanthropists propelled the Episcopal Church into a quasi-national position of importance while at
15416-735: 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
15604-577: The Oath of Conformity of the Declaration for Ordination. The evolution of the name can be seen in the church's Book of Common Prayer. In the 1928 BCP, the title page read, "According to the use of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America", whereas on the title page of the 1979 BCP it states, "According to the use of The Episcopal Church". "The Episcopal Church in the United States of America" (ECUSA) has never been an official name of
15792-654: The Patriots. Starting July 4, 1776, Congress and several states passed laws making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason. The patriot clergy in the South were quick to find reasons to transfer their oaths to the American cause and prayed for the success of the Revolution. One precedent was the transfer of oaths during the Glorious Revolution in England. Most of the patriot clergy in
15980-511: The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America", which was incorporated by the legislature of New York and established in 1821. The membership of the corporation "shall be considered as comprehending all persons who are members of the Church". This should not be confused with the name of the church itself, as it is a distinct body relating to church governance. According to TEC's style guide, "Episcopal"
16168-515: The Protestant Episcopal Church provides an example of how Americans in the early republic maintained important cultural ties with England. In 1787, two priests – William White of Pennsylvania and Samuel Provoost of New York – were consecrated as bishops by the Archbishop of Canterbury , the Archbishop of York , and the Bishop of Bath and Wells , the legal obstacles having been removed by
16356-611: 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
16544-686: The Scandinavian Lutheran and Moravian churches accept this claim, the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches do not recognize this claim). The first parish was founded in Jamestown, Virginia , in 1607, under the charter of the Virginia Company of London . The tower of Jamestown Church ( c. 1639–1643) is one of the oldest surviving Anglican church structures in the United States. The Jamestown church building itself
16732-451: The South were able to keep their churches open and services continued. In the wake of the Revolution, American Episcopalians faced the task of preserving a hierarchical church structure in a society infused with republican values . When the clergy of Connecticut elected Samuel Seabury as their bishop in 1783, he sought consecration in England. The Oath of Supremacy prevented Seabury's consecration in England, so he went to Scotland;
16920-559: The U.S. and the UK and complaints about perceived "Anglo-Saxon" cultural or political dominance. In December 1918, after victory in the World War, President Woodrow Wilson told a British official in London: "You must not speak of us who come over here as cousins, still less as brothers; we are neither. Neither must you think of us as Anglo-Saxons, for that term can no longer be rightly applied to
17108-647: 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
17296-542: The U.S. population that founded the nation and traced their heritages to...Northwestern Europe. The term...has become more inclusive. To many people, WASP now includes most 'white' people who are not ... members of any minority group. Apart from Protestant English, British, German, Dutch, and Scandinavian Americans, other ethnic groups frequently included under the label WASP include Americans of French Huguenot descent, Protestant Americans of Germanic European descent in general, and established Protestant American families of
17484-661: 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
17672-749: The United States by Harriet Zuckerman , between 1901 and 1972, 72% of American Nobel Prize laureates have come from a Protestant background, mostly from Episcopalian, Presbyterian or Lutheran background, while Protestants made up roughly 67% of the US population during that period. Of Nobel prizes awarded to Americans between 1901 and 1972, 84.2% of those in Chemistry , 60% in Medicine , and 58.6% in Physics were awarded to Protestants. The White Anglo-Saxon Protestant upper class has largely held church membership in
17860-399: The United States were mostly educated, well-to-do, of British ancestry , and Protestants. According to a study of the biographies of signers of the Declaration of Independence by Caroline Robbins : The Signers came for the most part from an educated elite, were residents of older settlements, and belonged with a few exceptions to a moderately well-to-do class representing only a fraction of
18048-464: 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
18236-831: 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
18424-611: 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
18612-593: 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
18800-430: The United States of America ( PECUSA ), is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces . The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Sean W. Rowe . As of 2022, the Episcopal Church had 1,584,785 members, of whom 1,432,082 were in the United States. In 2011, it
18988-656: 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
19176-525: The United States was typically associated with WASP status, particularly with the Episcopal and Presbyterian Church. Some of the wealthiest and most affluent American families such as the Vanderbilts , Astors , Rockefellers , Du Ponts , Roosevelts , Forbes , Fords , Mellons , Whitneys , Morgans , and Harrimans are white primarily mainline Protestant families. According to a 2014 study by
19364-593: 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,
19552-624: 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
19740-509: 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
19928-463: The Vietnam War. During this time period, African-American clergy organized the Union of Black Episcopalians to achieve full inclusion of African Americans at all levels of the Episcopal Church. Women were first admitted as delegates to the church's general convention in 1970. In 1975, Vaughan Booker, who confessed to the murder of his wife and was sentenced to life in prison, was ordained to
20116-515: The White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) finds its fullest expression in the Episcopal Church." From 1854 until about 1964, white Protestants were predominantly Republicans . More recently, the group is split more evenly between the Republican and Democratic parties. Episcopalians and Presbyterians are among the wealthiest religious groups and were formerly disproportionately represented in American business, law, and politics. Old money in
20304-522: The center of the social season, the organizing committees are studded with luminaries from publishing, Hollywood and Wall Street and family lineage is almost irrelevant. In 2007, The New York Times reported that there was a rising interest in the WASP culture. In their review of Susanna Salk's A Privileged Life: Celebrating WASP Style , they stated that Salk "is serious about defending the virtues of WASP values, and their contribution to American culture." By
20492-751: The ceremony Robinson wore a bullet-proof vest beneath his vestments , and he also received numerous death threats following his installation as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire . In 2009, the General Convention charged the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop theological and liturgical resources for same-sex blessings and report back to the General Convention in 2012. It also gave bishops an option to provide "generous pastoral support", especially where civil authorities have legalized same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships. On July 14, 2009,
20680-500: The church and equal protection under the law. The first openly gay person ordained as a priest was Ellen Barrett in 1977. Despite such an affirmation of gay rights , the General Convention affirmed in 1991 that "physical sexual expression" is only appropriate within the monogamous lifelong "union of husband and wife". The church elected its first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson , in June 2003. News of Robinson's election caused
20868-526: The church but is an alternative commonly seen in English. Since several other churches in the Anglican Communion also use the name "Episcopal", including Scotland and the Philippines , some, for example the Anglicans Online directory, add the phrase "in the United States of America". The full legal name of the national church corporate body is the "Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of
21056-442: The church is called Iglesia Episcopal Protestante de los Estados Unidos de América or Iglesia Episcopal , and in French Église protestante épiscopale des États-Unis d'Amérique or Église épiscopale . Until 1964, "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America" was the only official name in use. In the 19th century, high church members advocated changing the name, which they felt did not acknowledge
21244-645: The church's catholic heritage. They were opposed by the church's evangelical wing, which felt that the "Protestant Episcopal" label accurately reflected the Reformed character of Anglicanism. After 1877, alternative names were regularly proposed and rejected by the General Convention. One proposed alternative was "the American Catholic Church". Respondents to a 1961 poll in The Living Church favored "The American Episcopal Church." By
21432-430: The church's general convention was moved from Houston to Honolulu, due to continuing racial segregation in the former city. At the 1958 general convention, a coalition of liberal church members succeeded in passing a resolution recognizing "the natural dignity and value of every man, of whatever color or race, as created in the image of God". It called on Episcopalians "to work together, in charity and forbearance, towards
21620-427: The church, about three-quarters of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were nominally Anglican laymen, including Thomas Jefferson , William Paca , and George Wythe . It was often assumed that persons considered " High Church " were Loyalists, whereas persons considered " Low Church " were Patriots: assumptions with possibly dangerous implications for the time. Of the approximately three hundred clergy in
21808-430: The class of Americans that held "national power in its economic, political, and social aspects", Hacker wrote: These 'old' Americans possess, for the most part, some common characteristics. First of all, they are 'WASPs'—in the cocktail party jargon of the sociologists. That is, they are wealthy, they are Anglo-Saxon in origin, and they are Protestants (and disproportionately Episcopalian ). An earlier usage appeared in
21996-474: The combined impact of Britain and the United States on European affairs. Charles de Gaulle repeatedly sought to "rid France of Anglo-Saxon influence". The term is used with more nuance in discussions by French writers on French decline, especially as an alternative model to which France should aspire, how France should adjust to its two most prominent global competitors, and how it should deal with social and economic modernization. Outside of Anglophone countries,
22184-401: The coming days that will push us further apart." On July 10, 2012, the Episcopal Church approved an official liturgy for the blessing of same-sex relationships. This liturgy was not a marriage rite, but the blessing included an exchange of vows and the couple's agreement to enter into a lifelong committed relationship. On June 29, 2015, at the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church,
22372-457: 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
22560-556: 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
22748-477: The country's most elite schools. The GI Bill brought higher education to new ethnic arrivals, who found middle class jobs in the postwar economic expansion. Nevertheless, white Protestants remain influential in the country's cultural, political, and economic elite. Scholars typically agree that the group's influence has waned since 1945, with the growing influence of other ethnic groups. United States The United States of America ( USA ), commonly known as
22936-469: 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
23124-418: The cultural scene. American values bore the stamp of this Anglo-Saxon Protestant ascendancy. The political, cultural, religious, and intellectual leaders of the nation were largely of a Northern European Protestant stock, and they propagated public morals compatible with their background. Before WASP came into use in the 1960s, the term Anglo-Saxon served some of the same purposes. Like the newer term WASP ,
23312-406: The definition of WASP varies in this respect. It was seen to be in exclusionary contrast to Catholics, Jews, Irish, immigrants, southern or eastern Europeans, and the non-White. WASPs have dominated American society, culture, and politics for most of the history of the United States. Critics have disparaged them as " The Establishment ". Although the social influence of wealthy WASPs has declined since
23500-569: The departures of their conservative majorities, all three dioceses now ordain women. With the October 16, 2010, ordination of Margaret Lee, in the Peoria-based Diocese of Quincy, Illinois, women have been ordained as priests in all dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The Episcopal Church affirmed at the 1976 General Convention that homosexuals are "children of God" who deserve acceptance and pastoral care from
23688-713: 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
23876-485: The diaconate in Graterford State Prison 's chapel in Pennsylvania after having repented of his sins, becoming a symbol of redemption and atonement. In recent decades, the Episcopal Church, like other mainline churches, has experienced a decline in membership as well as internal controversy over women's ordination and the place of homosexuals in the church . The 1976 General Convention also passed
24064-482: 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 the United States, slavery was abolished nationally . By 1900, the country had established itself as a great power ,
24252-560: The early Middle Ages Anglian and Saxon kingdoms were established over most of England, ('land of the Angles'). After the Norman conquest in 1066, Anglo-Saxon refers to the pre-invasion English people. Political scientist Andrew Hacker used the term WASP in 1957, with W standing for 'wealthy' rather than ' white '. The P formed a humorous epithet to imply " waspishness " or someone likely to make sharp, slightly cruel remarks. Describing
24440-580: 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
24628-545: The establishment ... of full opportunities in fields such as education, housing, employment and public accommodations". A 2,500-word pastoral letter was sent by the House of Bishops to be read at all 7,290 Episcopal churches, urging justice in racial matters, with reference to the Supreme Court decision on integration in public schools. In response, the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity (ESCRU)
24816-407: The existing bishops. He was the first bishop of the Episcopal Church ordained and consecrated in America and the fifth bishop consecrated for the Episcopal Church in the United States. In 1856, the first society for African Americans in the Episcopal Church was founded by James Theodore Holly . Named The Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting The Extension of The Church Among Colored People ,
25004-541: 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
25192-504: The first General Convention. They drafted a constitution, proposed a first draft of an American Book of Common Prayer, and began negotiating with English Bishops for the consecration of three bishops. The convention met again in 1786 to make several changes that made their liturgy acceptable to the English bishops and to recommend three clergy (who had been elected by state meetings in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York) for consecration as bishops. General Convention met again in 1789, beginning
25380-434: 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,
25568-411: 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 the 1775–1783 Revolutionary War , the country continued to expand westward across North America , resulting in
25756-408: The first to practice in the U.S. and the first black person to sit in the House of Bishops . Bishop Ferguson was consecrated on June 24, 1885, with the then-Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church acting as a consecrator. In the following year, Henry C. Potter , Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, addressed his clergymen upon the question of Labor. Church Association for the Advancement of
25944-453: The heyday of WASP dominance, the Social Register delineated high society. According to The New York Times , its influence had faded by the late 20th century: Once, the Social Register was a juggernaut in New York social circles... Nowadays, however, with the waning of the WASP elite as a social and political force, the register's role as an arbiter of who counts and who doesn't is almost an anachronism. In Manhattan, where charity galas are at
26132-435: The high tide of WASP control". In 1965, Canadian sociologist John Porter, in The Vertical Mosaic , argued that British origins were disproportionately represented in the higher echelons of Canadian class, income, political power, the clergy, the media, etc. However, more recently, Canadian scholars have traced the decline of the WASP elite. According to Ralph E. Pyle: A number of analysts have suggested that WASP dominance of
26320-415: The ideals of the Enlightenment meant that they sought to assimilate newcomers from outside of the British Isles , but few were interested in adopting a Pan-European identity for the nation, much less turning it into a global melting pot. However, in the early 1900s, liberal progressives and modernists began promoting more inclusive ideals for what the national identity of the United States should be. While
26508-409: The institutional order has become a thing of the past. The accepted wisdom is that after World War II, the selection of individuals for leadership positions was increasingly based on factors such as motivation and training rather than ethnicity and social lineage. Many reasons have been given for the decline of WASP power, and books have been written detailing it. Self-imposed diversity incentives opened
26696-463: 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
26884-458: The king, the royal family, and the British Parliament . In general, loyalist clergy stayed by their oaths and prayed for the king or else suspended services. By the end of 1776, some Anglican churches were closing. Anglican priests held services in private homes or lay readers who were not bound by the oaths held morning and evening prayer. During 1775 and 1776, the Continental Congress issued decrees ordering churches to fast and pray on behalf of
27072-467: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Episcopalians were active in the Social Gospel movement. Since the 1960s and 1970s, the church has pursued a more liberal Christian course; there remains a wide spectrum of liberals and conservatives within the church. In 2015, the church's 78th triennial General Convention passed resolutions allowing the blessing of same-sex marriages and approved two official liturgies to bless such unions. It has opposed
27260-415: The middle of the 19th century, evangelical Episcopalians disturbed by High Church Tractarianism , while continuing to work in interdenominational agencies, formed their own voluntary societies, and eventually, in 1874, a faction objecting to the revival of ritual practices established the Reformed Episcopal Church . Samuel David Ferguson was the first black bishop consecrated by the Episcopal Church,
27448-427: 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
27636-767: The more traditionalist segments of society continued to maintain their Anglo-Protestant ethnocultural traditions, universalism and cosmopolitanism started gaining favor among the elites. These ideals became institutionalized after the Second World War, and ethnic minorities started moving towards institutional parity with the once dominant Anglo-Protestants. Some of the first colleges and universities in America, including Harvard , Yale , Princeton , Rutgers , Columbia , Dartmouth , Pennsylvania , Duke , Boston University , Williams , Bowdoin , Middlebury , and Amherst , all were founded by mainline Protestant denominations. Expensive, private prep schools and universities have historically been associated with WASPs. Colleges such as
27824-612: 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
28012-478: 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
28200-402: The nation's social and cultural elites, were often associated with the American upper class , Harvard University , and the Episcopal Church. Like other sociological groups, WASPs tend to concentrate within close proximity of each other. These areas are often exclusive and associated with top schools, high incomes, well-established church communities, and high real-estate values. For example, in
28388-408: The nineteenth century, Anglo-Saxons was often used as a synonym for all people of English descent and sometimes more generally, for all the English-speaking peoples of the world. It was often used in implying superiority, much to the annoyance of outsiders. For example, American clergyman Josiah Strong boasted in 1890: In 1700 this race numbered less than 6,000,000 souls. In 1800, Anglo-Saxons (I use
28576-428: The older term Anglo-Saxon was used derisively by writers hostile to an informal alliance between Britain and the U.S. The negative connotation was especially common among Irish Americans and writers in France. Anglo-Saxon , meaning in effect the whole Anglosphere , remains a term favored by the French, used disapprovingly in contexts such as criticism of the Special Relationship of close diplomatic relations between
28764-542: The passage through Parliament of the Consecration of Bishops Abroad Act 1786. Thus there are two branches of apostolic succession for the American bishops: through the non-juring bishops of Scotland who consecrated Samuel Seabury and through the English bishops who consecrated William White, Samuel Provoost, and James Madison. All bishops in the American church are ordained by at least three bishops. The succession of each bishop can be historically traced back to Seabury, White, Provoost, and Madison. ( See Succession of Bishops of
28952-474: The people of the United States....There are only two things which can establish and maintain closer relations between your country and mine: they are community of ideals and of interests." The term remains in use in Ireland as a term for the British or English, and sometimes in Scottish Nationalist discourse. Irish-American humorist Finley Peter Dunne popularized the ridicule of "Anglo-Saxons", even calling President Theodore Roosevelt one. Roosevelt insisted he
29140-408: 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
29328-479: The population. Native or born overseas, they were of British stock and of the Protestant faith. Catholics in the Northeast and the Midwest—mostly immigrants and their descendants from Ireland and Germany as well as southern and eastern Europe—came to dominate Democratic Party politics in big cities through the ward boss system . Catholic politicians were often the target of WASP political hostility. Political scientist Eric Kaufmann argues that "the 1920s marked
29516-420: 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
29704-515: 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
29892-437: 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
30080-405: The same time giving the church a central role in the cultural transformation of the country. Another mark of influence is the fact that more than a quarter of all presidents of the United States have been Episcopalians (see religious affiliations of presidents of the United States ). It was during this period that the Book of Common Prayer was revised, first in 1892 and later in 1928. In 1955,
30268-425: The school. These legacy admissions allowed for the continuation of WASP influence on important sectors of the US. Members of Protestant denominations associated with WASPs have some of the highest proportions of advanced degrees . Examples include the Episcopal Church , with 76% of those polled having some college education, and the Presbyterian Church , with 64%. According to Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in
30456-476: The signers of the Declaration of Independence were affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and over a quarter of all Presidents of the United States have been Episcopalians. Historically, Episcopalians were overrepresented among American scientific elite and Nobel Prize winners. Numbers of the most wealthy and affluent American families , such as Boston Brahmin , Old Philadelphians , Tidewater , and Lowcountry gentry or old money , are Episcopalians. In
30644-464: 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
30832-437: The society argued that blacks should be allowed to participate in seminaries and diocesan conventions. The group lost its focus when Holly emigrated to Haiti, but other groups followed after the Civil War. The current Union of Black Episcopalians traces its history to the society. Holly went on to found the Anglican Church in Haiti , where he became the first African-American bishop on November 8, 1874. As Bishop of Haiti, Holly
31020-407: 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
31208-472: The stated position of the church's leadership. In January 2016, the Anglican Primates Meeting at Canterbury decided that in response to the "distance" caused by what it called "unilateral action on matters of doctrine without catholic unity", "for a period of three years, The Episcopal Church [would neither] represent [the Communion] on ecumenical and interfaith bodies… [nor] take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity ." In 1976,
31396-543: 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
31584-451: 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
31772-411: The term Anglo-Saxon and its translations are used to refer to the Anglophone peoples and societies of Britain, the United States, and countries such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Variations include the German Angelsachsen , French le modèle anglo-saxon , Spanish anglosajón , Dutch Angelsaksisch model [ nl ] and Italian Paesi anglosassoni [ it ] . In
31960-432: The term WASP has sometimes expanded to include not just "Anglo-Saxon" or English-American elites but also American people of other Protestant Northwestern European origin, including Protestant Dutch Americans , Scottish Americans , Welsh Americans , German Americans , Ulster Scots or "Scotch-Irish" Americans , and Scandinavian Americans . A 1969 Time article stated, "purists like to confine Wasps to descendants of
32148-455: The term has expanded to include other Protestant denominations as well. The concept of Anglo-Saxonism, and especially Anglo-Saxon Protestantism, evolved in the late 19th century, especially among American Protestant missionaries eager to transform the world. Historian Richard Kyle says: Protestantism had not yet split into two mutually hostile camps – the liberals and fundamentalists. Of great importance, evangelical Protestantism still dominated
32336-447: The term somewhat broadly to include all English-speaking peoples) had increased to about 20,500,000, and now, in 1890, they number more than 120,000,000. In 1893, Strong envisioned a future "new era" of triumphant Anglo-Saxonism: Is it not reasonable to believe that this race is destined to dispossess many weaker ones, assimilate others, and mould the remainder until... it has Anglo-Saxonized mankind? The popular and sociological usage of
32524-464: The wake of the controversy over the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven, the General Convention permitted the ordination of women in 1976 and recognized the ordinations of the 15 forerunners. The first women were canonically ordained to the priesthood in 1977. The first woman to become a bishop, Barbara Harris , was consecrated on February 11, 1989. At the same time, there was still tolerance for those dioceses which opposed women's ordination. In 1994,
32712-406: 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
32900-449: 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
33088-461: 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 the Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations and societies . British colonization led to
33276-444: 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
33464-423: 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
33652-407: 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". Episcopal Church (United States) The Episcopal Church ( TEC ), also officially the Protestant Episcopal Church in
33840-458: 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
34028-588: Was Dutch. "To be genuinely Irish is to challenge WASP dominance", argues California politician Tom Hayden . The depiction of the Irish in the films of John Ford was a counterpoint to WASP standards of rectitude. "The procession of rambunctious and feckless Celts through Ford's films, Irish and otherwise, was meant to cock a snoot at WASP or ' lace-curtain Irish ' ideas of respectability." In Australia, Anglo or Anglo-Saxon refers to people of English descent, while Anglo-Celtic includes people of Irish, Welsh, and Scottish descent. In France, Anglo-Saxon refers to
34216-703: 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
34404-404: 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
34592-488: Was founded in December 1959 in order to eliminate racial, ethnic, and class barriers within the Episcopal Church. Opposition from southern church leaders prevented the Episcopal Church from taking a strong stand on civil rights prior to 1963. One prominent opponent of the movement was Charles C.J. Carpenter , the Bishop of Alabama. By 1963, many church leaders felt more comfortable speaking out in support of racial equality. That year, Presiding Bishop Arthur Lichtenberger wrote
34780-521: Was hard to remember everyone, or to keep track of the new debutantes and marriages. The solution was the Social Register , which listed the names and addresses of about 1 percent of the population. Most were WASPs, and they included families who mingled at the same private clubs, attended the right teas and cotillions , worshipped together at prestige churches, funded the proper charities, lived in exclusive neighborhoods, and sent their daughters to finishing schools and their sons away to prep schools . In
34968-448: Was the first African American to attend the Lambeth Conference . However, he was consecrated by the American Church Missionary Society, an Evangelical Episcopal branch of the Church. Episcopal missions chartered by African-Americans in this era were chartered as a Colored Episcopal Mission . All other missions (white) were chartered as an Organized Episcopal Mission. Many historically Black parishes are still in existence to date. When
35156-405: Was the first woman to become a primate in the Anglican Communion. Schori's election was controversial in the wider Anglican Communion because not all of the communion recognized the ordination of women. At the time of the formation of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), three U.S. dioceses did not ordain women as priests or bishops: San Joaquin , Quincy , and Fort Worth . Following
35344-448: Was the nation's 14th largest denomination. In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 1.2 percent of the adult population in the United States, or 3 million people, self-identify as mainline Episcopalians. The church has recorded a regular decline in membership and Sunday attendance since the 1960s, particularly in the Northeast and Upper Midwest . The church was organized after the American Revolution , when it became separate from
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