Mayflower and Virginia

The Mayflower has a famous place in American history as a symbol of early European colonization of the future United States.

 The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusets, (which would become the capital of Plymouth Colony), in 1620. There were 102 passengers and a crew of 25–30. 

STATE OF VIRGINIA

The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia.Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States.Virginia is divided into 95 counties and 39 independent cities.Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and its metropolitan area has a population of over 1.2 million.

The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna.

The climate of Virginia becomes increasingly warmer and more humid farther south and east. Virginia has an annual average of 35–45 days of thunderstorm activity. Forests cover 65% of the state.

Virginia also has interesting culture and good education.

Virginia in the American Civil War

The Commonwealth of Virginia was a prominent part of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The convention called to act for the state during the secession crisis opened on February 13, 1861. Оn April 15 President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from all states still in the Union in response to the Confederate capture of Fort Sumter. Most of the battles in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War took place in Virginia. The first major battle of the Civil War occurred on July 21, 1861. It was the First Battle of Manassas.

Notable Civil War leaders from Virginia

Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. In the summer of 1863 Army of Northern Virginia took part in the three-day Battle of Gettysburg.

Women During the Civil War

Elizabeth Van Lew was a Richmond Unionist and abolitionist who spied for the United States government during the American Civil War. she relayed information on Confederate operations to Union generals and assisted in the care and sometimes escape of Union prisoners of war being held in the Confederate capital. Van Lew, who worked with invisible ink and coded messages, has been called "the most skilled, innovative, and successful" of all Civil War–era spies.

 

Lipan Apache people

Lipan Apache are Southern Athabascan (Apachean) people who are aboriginal to present-day Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and the northern Mexican states of Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas prior to the 17th century.The Lipan are first mentioned in Spanish record in 1718 when they attacked San Antonio. It seems likely that the Lipan became established in Texas during the latter half of the 17th century. They moved southward during the 18th century where one Spanish mission was built in Coahuila in 1754 and another on the San Sabá River in 1757. Both missions were burned and deserted. Their territory ranged from the Colorado River to the Rio Grande. Two Lipan local group chiefs had a total of 700 people in 1762. Since there were at least 12 other local groups, Morris Opler estimates that the population was approximately 3,000-4,000. He estimates a total of 6,000 in 1700. Present-day Lipans mostly live throughout the U.S. Southwest, in Texas, New Mexico and the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, as well as with the Mescalero tribe on the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico; some also live in urban and rural areas throughout North America (Mexico, United States and Canada). 

 

There was 43 presidents in the United States before Barack Obama. I want to tell you about 11th president.

                            

                           James K. Polk

 

James K. Polk was born on November 2, 1795 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He moved with his family at the age of ten to Tennessee. He was a sickly youth who suffered from gallstones. Polk did not begin his formal education until 1813 at the age of 18. By 1816, he entered the University of North Carolina and graduated with honors in 1818. He decided to enter politics and also was admitted to the bar. In 1844, the Democrats were having a difficult time getting the necessary 2/3 of the vote to nominate a candidate. On the 9th ballot James K. Polk who had only been considered as a Vice Presidential candidate was nominated. He was the first dark-horse nominee. He was opposed by Whig candidate Henry Clay. The campaign centered around the idea of annexation of Texas which Polk supported and Clay opposed. Polk received 50% of the popular vote and won 170 out of 275 electoral votes. The 1844 campaign centered upon the annexation of Texas and the re-occupation of Oregon. Conflict over the issue of slavery continued to strain the politics of the nation and directly affected the 1844 election. A national feeling of "Manifest Destiny," the belief that the United States should span the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, also spurred political debate. The territory now known as Texas was part of a disputed boundary between the United States and Mexico in 1844. The issue of annexing Texas raised not only the question of war with Mexico, but also the issue of whether Texas would be a free state or slave state. The Oregon Territory was claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. Polk's campaign slogan of "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" refers to the latitude coordinates of the disputed territory. Polk endorsed both the annexation of Texas and American control of the entire Oregon Territory. Polk also promised if elected not to seek a second term. A third candidate, James G. Birney, ran in the 1844 election extensively as an abolitionist. Birney's presence in the election captured votes which Clay needed. In the election, Polk defeated Clay and Birney to become the eleventh president of the United States.Polk, leaving office with his health undermined from hard work, died in June 1849.

 Favourite band from USA  

Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980 the group is known for its lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythological topics (particularly Norse mythology) along with their "loud and bombastic" sound. In 1984 the band was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest performance, a record which they have since broken on 2 occasions. They also hold the world record for the longest heavy metal concert after playing for 5 hours and 1 minute in Bulgaria in 2008.

Current members

• Eric Adams - vocals (1980–present), guitar (1980, for a short while)
• Joey DeMaio - main songwriter, bass guitars, guitars, keyboards, classical guitar (1980–present)
• Karl Logan - guitars, keyboards, classical guitar (1994–present)
• Donnie Hamzik - drums (1981–1982, 2009 (sessional), 2010-)

Former members

• Scott Columbus - drums, percussion (1983–1991, 1995–2008)
• Ross "The Boss" Friedman - guitar (1980–1988)
• David Shankle - guitar (1989–1993)
• Carl Canedy - drums (1980)
• Kenny Earl "Rhino" Edwards - drums (1992–1995, 2008 sessional)

 Golden Membership 

• Eric Adams - vocals (1980–present), guitar (1980, for a short while)
• Joey DeMaio - main songwriter, bass guitars, guitars, keyboards, classical guitar (1980–present)
• Karl Logan - guitars, keyboards, classical guitar (1994–present)
• Scott Columbus - drums, percussion

Discography

Studio albums

• Battle Hymns (1982)
• Into Glory Ride (1983)
• Hail to England (1984)
• Sign of the Hammer (1984)
• Fighting the World (1987)
• Kings of Metal (1988)
• The Triumph of Steel (1992)
• Louder Than Hell (1996)
• Warriors of the World (2002)
• Gods of War (2007)
• Battle Hymns MMXI (2010)

                        Modern Pentathlon

The modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run.

 

 

 Show Jumping

 Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics.Show jumping is a relatively new equestrian sport. Until the Inclosure Acts, which came into force in England in the 18th century..

Rules have evolved since then, with different national federations having different classes and rules.The international governing body for most major show jumping competitions is the Federation Equestrian Internationale (FEI).The two most common types of penalties are jumping penalties and time penalties.

• Jumping Penalties: Jumping penalties are assessed for refusals and knockdowns, with each refusal or knockdown adding four faults to a competitor's score.

• Penalties for knockdowns are imposed only when the knockdown changes the height or width of the jump. If a horse or rider knocks down a bottom or middle rail while still clearing the height of the obstacle, providing the rails are directly underneath the top rail, they receive no penalties. Penalties are assessed at the open water when any of the horse's feet touch the water or white tape marking its boundary. If a rail is set over the middle of the water, faults are not accumulated for landing in the water.

• Refusals: Refusals now are penalized four faults, up from three. Within the last several years, the FEI has decreased the number of refusals resulting in elimination from three to two, and this rule has trickled down from the top levels of FEI competition to all levels of horse shows (at least in the United States).

• A refusal that results in the destruction of the integrity of a jump (running into the fence instead of jumping it, displacing poles, gates, flowers, or large clumps of turf or dirt) will not receive four faults for the knockdown, but instead the four faults for a refusal and an additional penalty while the timer is stopped for the repair or replacement of the jump. A refusal inside a combination (a series of two or more fences with one or two strides between each element) must re-jump the entire combination.

• Time Penalties: In the past, a common timing rule was a 1/4 second penalty for each second or fraction of a second over the time allowed. Since the early 2000s, this rule was changed by the FEI so that each second or fraction of a second over the time allowed would result in 1 time penalty (e.g. with a time allowed of 72 seconds, a time of 73.09 seconds would result in 2 time faults).

 

 

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