Thursday, January 31, 2013

Meet the Press (1/27/2013)

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy




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Presidential Profiles: Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 on Shadwell plantation in Albemarle County, Virginia. The son of a planter and surveyor, Thomas Jefferson proved to be quite the scholar, excelling in languages and becoming one of the sharpest legal minds in the history of the U.S. He would become a planter and a lawyer--and eventually a great statesman.

Thomas Jefferson first ran for the presidency in 1792, receiving only four electoral votes. George Washington would win his second term as president with 132 electoral votes. Jefferson ran again in 1796, losing by only three electoral votes to John Adams. Third time would prove a charm when, in 1800, Jefferson would tie with Aaron Burr, each having 73 electoral votes. This led to the House of Representatives voting on the president, 10-4 in favor of Jefferson. It was settled: Jefferson would be president, and Aaron Burr would be vice president. On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson took the oath of office; it would be the first inauguration to take place in Washington, D.C. Of course, this inauguration heralded a lot of firsts: the first time the Marine Band played at the inauguration and the first time that the inaugural speech was published in a newspaper the morning of the inauguration. President Jefferson would also break the precedent of riding in a carriage; instead, he would walk to and from his swearing-in ceremonty. His salary was $25,000 a year, and he would serve 2 terms as president from 1801 to 1809. On March 3, 1809, President Thomas Jefferson's tenure as president would end. On July 4, 1826, he died at 83 years of age at his home Monticello.


President Thomas Jefferson's Administration

First Lady: Martha Jefferson, married January 1, 1772

Vice President: Aaron Burr (1801-1805); George Clinton (1805-1809)

Secretary of State:
James Madison (1801-1809)

Attorneys General:
Levi Lincoln (1801-04)
John Breckinridge (1805-06)
Caesar A. Rodney (1807-09)

Secretary of War:
Henry Dearborn (1801-1809)

Secretaries of the Treasury:
Samuel Dexter (1801)
Albert Gallatin (1801-09)

Secretaries of the Navy
Benjamin Stoddert (1801)
Robert Smith (1801-09)

Inaugural Information

Fourth Inaugural Ceremonies, March 4, 1801

Fifth Inaugural Ceremonies, March 4, 1805


For more information on President Thomas Jefferson, check out these resources...

Thomas Jefferson, White House

American President: Thomas Jefferson, Miller Center, University of Virginia

Thomas Jefferson, POTUS, Internet Public Library

Thomas Jefferson Papers (1606-1827), Library of Congress

Thomas Jefferson, PBS

Thomas Jefferson, Monticello


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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Face the Nation (1/27/2013)




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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

President Obama's Weekly Address (1/26/2013)




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Monday, January 28, 2013

Washington Week (1/25/2013)

Watch Obama's New Term, Women in Combat, GOP Recovery and Benghazi on PBS. See more from Washington Week.




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Country Profiles: Clipperton Island

Clipperton Island is located in North America.
This isolated island was named for John CLIPPERTON, a pirate who made it his hideout early in the 18th century. Annexed by France in 1855, it was seized by Mexico in 1897. Arbitration eventually awarded the island to France, which took possession in 1935
CIA World Factbook
With an area of 6 sq km, it is about 12 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC.

Clipperton Island is actually an atoll, which is a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon, located in the North Pacific Ocean (southwest of Mexico). It is an uninhabited possession of France.



The country's names in French is Ile Clipperton, but it was also known as Ile de la Passion. Since Clipperton Island is a possession of France, it does not have a constitution. It is administered directly by the Minister of Overseas France, Victorin Lurel.
Although 115 species of fish have been identified in the territorial waters of Clipperton Island, the only economic activity is tuna fishing.
CIA World Factbook



The flag of France is use for Clipperton Island.


All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

Clipperton Island, CIA World Factbook

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Friday, January 25, 2013

Meet the Press (1/20/2013)

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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Face the Nation (1/20/2013)




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Presidential Profiles: John Adams (1797-1801)

President was born on October 30, 1735 in North Precinct of Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. John Adams was the son of a deacon, who also earned a living as a farmer and shoemaker. John Adams had no interest in following in the footsteps of his father, instead choosing to teach in a Latin school and eventually to study law.

John Adams began his legal career in 1758. After several years of struggling, Adams was a highly successful lawyer by 1770. He was so successful that he was the lawyer chosen to defend the British soldiers who were charged in the Boston Massacre in March 1770. None of the accused soldiers went to jail. His success, along with his young, growing family, made him hesitant to play a prominent role in the popular movement against parliamentary policies. He also distrusted many of the radical leaders, like his own cousin Samual Adams. Eventually Britain's continued efforts to tax the colonies and strip them of autonomy persuaded John Adams that the radicals were correct.

During the American Revolution, he served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles, helping to negotiate a peace treaty. This, along with his service as Vice President, led him to win the presidential election against Thomas Jefferson by three electoral votes. On March 4, 1797, John Adams took the oath of office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the first president to receive the oath of office from a Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The speech from that inauguration can be found here. His annual salary was $25,000 a year. He would serve one term as president from 1797 to 1801. On March 3, 1801, John Adams' tenure as president would end. On July 4, 1826, he died at 90 years of age in Braintree, Massachusettes.



John Adams' Administration

First Lady: Abigail Adams, married October 25, 1735

Vice President: Thomas Jefferson

Secretaries of State:
Timothy Pickering (1797–1800)
John Marshall (1800–1801)

Attorney General:
Charles Lee (1797–1801)

Secretaries of War:
James McHenry (1797–1800)
Samuel Dexter (1801)

Secretaries of the Treasury:
Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (1797-1801)
Samuel Dexter (1801)

Secretary of the Navy:
Benjamin Stoddert (1798-1801)

Inaugural Information

Third Inaugural Ceremonies, March 4, 1797


For more information on President John Adams, check out these resources...

John Adams, White House

American President: John Adams, Miller Center, University of Virginia

John Adams, POTUS, Internet Public Library

John and Abigail Adams, American Experience


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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

President Obama's Weekly Address (1/19/2013)




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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Washington Week (1/18/2013)

Watch Obama's Gun Violence Policies and Second-Term Priorities    on PBS. See more from Washington Week.


Watch Obama's Gun Violence Policies and Second-Term Priorities    on PBS. See more from Washington Week.




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57th Inaugural Ceremonies: President Barack Obama (1/21/2013)




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Monday, January 21, 2013

Country Profiles: Christmas Island

Christmas Island is located in Australia-Oceania.
Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
Cia World Factbook
With an area of 135 sq km, it is three quarters the size of Washington, DC.

Christmas Island is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia. It is mostly steep cliffs along the coast that rise abruptly to a central plateau.



People who live on Christmas Island are called Christmas Islanders, while Christmas Island is the adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 1,496 people in Christmas Island. The ethnic groups that reside in Christmas Island are mostly Chinese (70%), with some European (20%) and Malay (10%). The official language is English, but Chinese and Malay are also spoken there. Buddhists make up approximately 36% of the population, while Muslims (25%) and Christians (18%) make up the rest.

The country's official name is the Territory of Christmas Island. The capital is The Settlement. Christmas Island is a territory of Australia, so there is not a constitution. The currency is the Australian dollar (abbreviated AUD), which stands at 0.9695 AUD per USD as of 2011.



All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

Christmas Island

Christmas Island, CIA World Factbook

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Thursday, January 17, 2013

60 Minutes (1/13/2013)




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Presidential Profiles: George Washington (1789-1797)

On Thursday, April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States of America. In honor of that, we are starting a new series called Presidential Profiles, which will complement a new series by the same name on the Gov Info 4 Schools blog. That series, however, will be briefer and aimed at school children.

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Pope's Creek, Virginia. At the age of 16, George Washington was a surveyor and helped survey the Shenandoah lands. He was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in 1754, fighting in the early skirmishes of what would become the French and Indian Wars. His work as a surveyor, along with his military experience, would help him in May 1775 when he was elected to one of his most important roles of all--Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. After taking command of an ill-trained and ill-equipped army on July 3, 1775, George Washington would spend the next six years fighting in the war until Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in 1781.

Though he had hoped to retire to Mount Vernon after the war, Washington quickly realized that the infant nation was not functioning well under the Articles of Confederation. He became the prime force that led to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. After ratifying the constitution, the Electoral College unanimously elected George Washington as the first President of the United States of America. On Thursday, April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York. To read his speech, click here.Though his annual salary was $25,000, Washington refused to accept it. He would serve two terms as president from 1789 to 1797. His second inauguration would take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 4, 1793. At this inauguration, George Washington delivered the shortest inaugural address at just 135 words. To his great disappointment, two party systems had already begun to develop by the end of his first term. On March 3, 1797, George Washington's tenure as president would end. Within two short years, on December 14, 1799, he died at 67 years of age in his home, Mount Vernon.


George Washington's Administration

First Lady: Martha Washington, married January 6, 1759

Vice President: John Adams

Secretaries of State:
Thomas Jefferson (1789–1793)
Edmund Randolph (1794–1795)
Timothy Pickering (1796–1797)

Attorneys General:
Edmund Randolph (1789–1794)
William Bradford (1794–1795)
Charles Lee (1795–1797)

Secretaries of War:
Henry Knox (1789–1794)
Timothy Pickering (1795–1796)
James McHenry (1796–1797)

Inaugural Information

First Inaugural Ceremonies, April 30, 1789

Second Inaugural Ceremonies, March 4, 1793


For more information on President George Washington, check out these resources...

George Washington, White House

American President: George Washington, Miller Center, University of Virginia

George Washington, POTUS, Internet Public Library

George Washington Papers (1741-1799), Library of Congress

Rediscovering George Washington, PBS

Meet George Washington, Mount Vernon


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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Meet the Press (1/13/2013)

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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Face the Nation (1/13/2013)




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Monday, January 14, 2013

President Obama's Weekly Address (1/12/2013)




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Country Profiles: China

China is located in Asia.
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. China since the early 1990s has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.
CIA World Factbook
With an area of 9,596,961 sq km, it is slightly smaller than the United States.

China shares a border with Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Krygyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam. It is mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west, with plains, deltas, and hills in east.



People who live in China are called Chinese, which is also an adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 1,343,239,923 people in China. The ethnic groups that reside in China are mostly Han Chinese (91.5%) with Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uighur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other nationalities (8.5%) making up the rest. Several languages are spoken there: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, and minority languages. The main religions in China are Daoism (Taoism) and Buddhism, with some Christians (3%-4%) and Muslims (1%-2%).

The country's official name is People's Republic of China (locally Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo). The capital is Beijing, and the country is made up of 23 provinces and 4 municipalities. The current constitution from 1982 can be found here through Constitution Finder. The current president is Hu Jintao. Information about the leaders of China's government can be found here. The currency is the Renminbi yuan (abbreviated RMB), which stands at 6.4615 RMB per USD as of 2011.



All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

People's Republic of China Government Site

China, CIA World Factbook

Background Notes: China, U.S. Department of State

2011 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in China, U.S. Department of State.

You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.


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Friday, January 11, 2013

60 Minutes (1/6/2013)




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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Meet the Press (1/6/2013)

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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Face the Nation (1/6/2013)




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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

President Obama's Weekly Address (1/5/2013)




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Monday, January 7, 2013

Washington Week (1/4/2013)

Watch Fiscal cliff fallout and the 113th Congress on PBS. See more from Washington Week.




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Country Profiles: Chile

Chile is located in South America.
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the Inca ruled northern Chile while the indigenous Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche Indians were completely subjugated. After a series of elected governments, the three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.
CIA World Factbook
With an area of 756,102 sq km, it is slightly smaller than twice the size of the U.S. state of Montana.

Chile shares a border with Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. It is mostly low coastal mountains with a fertile central valley. The rugged Andes lie in the east.



People who live in Chile are called Chileans, which is also an adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 17,067,369 people in Chile. The ethnic groups that reside in Chile are mostly white and white-Amerindian (95.4%) with Mapuche (4%) and other indigenous groups (0.6%). Spanish is the official language, but Mapudungun, German, and English are also spoken there. Roman Catholics make up approximately 70% of the population, while Evangelical Christians (15.1%), Jehovah's Witnesses (1.1%), and other Christians (1%) make up most of the rest.

The country's official name is the Republic of Chile (or Republica de Chile in Spanish). The capital is Santiago, and the country is made up of 15 regions. Though Chile gained independence from Spain on September 18, 1810, a constitution was not drafted until September 11, 1980. The constitution can be found here through Constitution Finder. The current president is Sebastian Pinera Echenique. Information about the leaders of Chile's government can be found here. The currency is the Chilean pesos (abbreviated CLP), which stands at 483.67 CLP per USD as of 2011.



All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

Chilean Government Site

Chile, CIA World Factbook

Background Notes: Chile, U.S. Department of State

2011 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Chile, U.S. Department of State.

You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.


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