the federal government owns around 81% of nevada's total land, 56m acres out of 70m total acres.

the largest borough of 5 in new york city , largely composed of manhattan island which is surrounded by the hudson river, harlem river, and east river. as of 2019, its population was 1.62 million people

one of the cheapest gifts that can be bought before leaving turkey. turkish people never eat it though.

the way some of my american friends call me...

dream job... but i'm not smart enough.

many poor europeans paid for their passage to america by becoming indentured servants. they signed a document called the indenture, which committed them to work for the person who paid their passage for a period of time-usually seven years. indentured servants could be severely punished for breaking their contracts. at the end of the agreed-upon time period, they received land or money to help them start their lives in freedom.

benedict arnold was an outstanding general. at saratoga, bhe showed enormous courage leading the charge that broke through burgoyne's lines. but he was a vain and sensitive man, who felt that he had been badly treated by congress and the army. in april 1779, arnold persuaded washington to put him in charge of west point, the fort on the lower hudson. once there, he arranged to sell the fort to the british. the plot was discovered; arnold escaped and was made a general by the british, but they never trusted him, even after he moved his family to england.

papers intended for benedict arnold detailing the sale of west point to the british are found in a fellow traitor's boot. image

people refer to the 1830s as the period of "jacksonian democracy," but these terms refer more to the spirit of reform that swept jackson into office than to any democratic reforms that he created, jackson's own ideas of democracy were limited. he was, for example, a slave owner, and he designed the indian removal policy. the american people embraced him in large part because he was a self-made man who, like many of them, had settled in the frontier west.

(aka the lone star state) in the 1820s, moses austin, followed by his son stephen, gained permission from the mexican government to settle 300 american families in the state of coahuila, soon to be known as texas. thousands more settlers were granted permission and followed. by 1830, they outnumbered mexicans in the region four to one.

in 1835, the dictator of mexico, general santa anna, moved an army into texas to establish military control. about 100 texans defended their settlements at the alamo. on march 6, 1836, surrounded by 5,000 troops, they were all killed. other conflicts followed. the texans, inspired by the rallying cry "remember the alamo!" overwhelmed the mexicans and captured santa anna. in september, the republic of texas was formed, with sam houston as president. the lone star republic would remain independent until 1845, when it was annexed by the united states.

(see: #635)

on october 16, 1859, a wild-eyed abolitionist named john brown led a small band of men in a raid on a federal arsenal at harpers ferry, west virginia. brown, who had fought against pro-slavers in kansas a few years earlier, planned to use the arsenal's weapons to arm a great slave rebellion. the raid was quickly stopped by the army and militia under colonel robert e. lee. brown and six others were tried, convicted, and executed. many northerners, while horrified by the violence, considered brown a martyr to the cause of freedom. southerners were worried because they feared the event was a sign that abolitionists were taking control of the north.

(see: #643)

in the 1880s, dr. john kellogg, operator of a sanatorium in battle creek, michigan, developed a ready-to-eat cereal he named corn flakes. the nation's first instant breakfast," packaged by his brother w. k. kellogg, was an instant success. the kelloggs soon had competition from charles w. post, a former patient at the sanatorium, who began to market a very similar product under the name post toasties. the conflict became known as the "cereal wars." both the post and kellogg companies survived to become major corporations that still make cereal today.

in the late 1800s, each of the great powers of europe – great britain, germany, france, and russia — was eager to increase business opportunities in china, the world's most populous nation and a potentially huge market for trade in order to avoid conflict, the european leaders agreed to carve the country into "spheres of influence”-specific geographic regions, or spheres, of china in which each nation controlled trade.

secretary of state john hay, concerned that u.s. merchants might be shut out, sent a series of "open door notes" to the european powers in 1899 and 1900, asking them to respect china's territory and independence. the leaders agreed to america's open door policy to avoid a confrontation. china opposed the policy because the foreign influence was considered excessive. it led to the boxer rebellion of 1900, which the u.s. later helped suppress.

a philosopher whom i adore. also has a blog in which he puts forward his opinions weekly. it is really worth reading in a world where it is hard to find refined opinions and information.

the policy of separating people by race in schools, housing, industry, and public facilities.