The National Capital Source: The Board of District Commissioners. Section 8. Article 1. of the U. 8. Constitution provides that Congress shall exercise exclusive legislation over such district (not exceeding 10 miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the Government. Maryland and Virginia made the cession in 1798, and it was accepted by Congress. The original District of Columbia was 10 miles square, lying on either side of the Potomac River at the head of navigation. Later. Congress retroceded to Virginia that portion of the District lying in that state. The District now contains 70 square miles on the Maryland side of the Potomac. The subject of a permanent seat of government was first debated in Congress after the insult offered to that body in Philadelphia, in June. 1783. by a band of mutinous soldiers, who assailed the hall during session, demanding arrearages of pay. The northern members were in favor of a site on the Susquehanna, while the south favored the Delaware or Potomac; and the comparative ad vantages of New York. Philadelphia, Germantown. Havre de Grace. Wright's Ferry. Baltimore. and Conococheague were discussed. The South Carolinians opposed Philadelphia, because the Quakers favored emancipation. Large towns were objected to on the score of undue influence, while others ridiculed the idea of building palaces in the forest. Finally, in 1790, a compromise was effected. The Southern members agreed to vote with the Northerners for the government to assume the debts of the states ($21,000,000), and the Northerners agreed to vote to locate the capital on the Potomac. The location and the boundaries were proclaimed by George Washington on March 30, 1791. Congress assumed jurisdiction Feb. 27. 1801. When the District of Columbia was selected as the Capital. the land therein was owned by a number of people, who deeded their land to two trustees to lay out the streets, avenues and public squares, and divided the rest of the land into blocks and lots. Washington National Monument Source: An Official of the Monument Society The Washington National Monument, at Washington. D. C.. is a tapering shaft or obelisk of white marble. 555 feet. 5% inches in height, and 55 feet, 11⁄2 inches square at the base. Latitude. 38° 53′ 21′′ .681 N.; longitude, 77° 02′ 07′′ .955 W. Eight small windows, two on each side, were cut into the pyramidion, near its base. The erection of the Monument by the Washington National Monument Society, using funds obtained by popular subscription, was authorized by Congress in 1848. The cornerstone was laid on July 4 of the same year. Work progressed slowly until 1854. $300,000 having been subscribed and 150 feet of the shaft erected, when a block of marble from the Temple of Concord, in Rome. contributed by the Pope, was stolen. Mainly because of the popular indignation caused by this incident, no further funds were forthcoming from the public, and construction work ceased until 1876, when it was resumed, at Government expense, by the Corps of Engineers. U. S. Army. The capstone, which weighs 3.300 pounds. was set in place on December 6. 1884. marking the completion of the work. The Monument was dedicated on February 21. 1885, and was opened to the public on October 9, 1888. The Monument is faced with dressed white marble in 2-foot courses. All of the marble was obtained from a nearby source in Maryland. with the exception of the first 13 courses laid after work was resumed in 1876, which were brought from Massachusetts. For the first 150 feet, the marble is backed by rubble masonry of Potomac River gneiss, or bluestone. From this point. cut New England granite was used to the 452-foot level. above which the walls are entirely of marble. Set into the interior walls are memorial stones. with inscriptions, contributed by foreign countries. States. cities and organizations. The capstone is crowned by a small right pyramid of pure aluminum 5.6 inches at its base and 8.9 inches high, weighing 100 ounces. The computed weight of the Monument is 81.120 tons, divided as follows: Foundation. 36,912 tons: lower portion of shaft, erected prior to 1854, 22,373 tons; upper portion of shaft. 21.260 tons; pyramidion, 300 tons; iron framework, 275 tons. The Monument may be ascended by elevator: or. by stairs. 898 in number. Visiting hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily including Sundays and holidays, throughout the year; except that, from April 15 to October 31, visiting hours on Saturdays and Sundays are from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The Monument is not open to visitors on Christmas Day. The National Archives Source: An Official of the Institution The National Archives Building of the United States is the finest structure of its kind in the world. The building, which is located at Washington near the eastern apex of the "triangle" of Government buildings, is a double one, consisting of two cubes, one inside of and projecting above the other. The inner cube is a concrete vault, containing 21 levels of stacks and subdivided by five walls and concrete floors into numerous smaller vaults or stack sections. The volume of the archives is enormous; almost three million cubic feet of them are to be found in the District of Columbia alone, while vast quantities are scattered in Federal offices throughout the country and abroad. They not only constitute a fundamental source of information concerning the history of the American people and their Government, but they are also essential for the effective administration of the public business. The functions of the organization fall into four parts, two dealing with internal matters (professional and administrative) and two with external affairs (historical publications and general public relations). The professional staff is supervised by the Director of Archival Service, the business staff by the Executive Officer. The Director of Publications is charged with the planning and editing of publications, such as guides, inventories, and documentary collections; and the Administrative Secretary handles official relations with other Government agencies and the general public. The National Archives has two fundamental objectives: (1) The concentration and preservation in a central depository of the archives of the United States Government; (2) the arrangement and administration of these archives so as to make them easily accessible to officials and students who desire to use them. To this end the Archivist is empowered "to inspect personally or by deputy the records of any agency of the United States Government whatsoever and wheresoever located." and a corps of deputy examiners has surveyed such records in the District of Columbia: Federal records outside of Washington have been similarly surveyed as a WPA project, with The National Archives as cooperating sponsor. The National Archives is a public record office. designed primarily to serve specialized groups such as officials and scholars; visitors, however. find much to interest them. It is the duty of The National Archives to file and edit for publication in the Federal Register all proclamations, Executive orders, rules, and regulations that have general applicability and legal effect. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park, N. Y., established by Congress in 1939 and opened in 1941, is adminstered by the Archivist; and he serves as chairman of the National Historical Publications Commission, an organization composed of Government officials and historians, which is closely affiliated with The National Archives. The papers of a number of the Presidents are in the Library of Congress in Washington. They include not only political and government letters, but also documents pertaining to the correspondence: and they are of value to writers on American history and biography. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AREA-Total, Continental, 3,022,387 sq. mi.; land area-2,977,128 sq. mi.; total including Territories and Dependencies, 3,733,993 sq. mi. POPULATION-Census of 1940, Continental, 131,669,275; including all Territories and possessions, 150,621,231. The population of the Philippines is estimated at 16,356,000, based on extrapolation from the census figures for 1918 (10,314,310) and 1939 (16,000,303). The increase in the population of the United States and Territories and possessions, excluding the Philippines Islands, based on the 1940 returns is estimated at 7.5 per cent as compared with 1930, which recorded a percentage gain of 16.1 over the preceding ten years. The population increase of 1940 over 1930 was 8,894,229, while the 1930 gain over 1920 was 17,064,426. The greatest volume of increase was for the Panama Canal Zone, 31.3 per cent, and the smallest increase for the Virgin Islands, 13.1 per cent. The population density for continental United States is 1940 was 44.2 per square mile as compared to 41.1 in 1930. The United States of America, Federal republic. is bounded on the north by Canada, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, on the south by the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. It comprises 48 States and the Federal District of Columbia. This is called for convenience in reference Continental United States. Continental United States is the fifth largest country in the world in point of area, being exceeded only by Soviet Russia, China (all) Canada and Brazil. Only three countries have a larger population-China, India and Soviet Russia. Its non-contiguous areas are the Territories of Alaska and Hawaii; Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Wake and scattered islands in the Pacific; and the Panama Canal Zone. The United States also claims about one hundred ungoverned islands in various parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The Division of Territories and Island Possessions set up in the Interior Department by Executive Order of President Roosevelt (March 3, 1933), has oversight of the affairs of Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Canal Zone is under the control of the War Department and American Samoa and Guam under the Navy Department. The general topography of Continental United States and the climate, natural resources and racial elements are varied. In the eastern part, excepting in the south, are several mountain ranges of the Appalachian system, rising never to more than 6,000 to 7,000 feet of altitude, and ranging north and south. The Adirondacks, in northern New York State, are declared by the United States Geological Survey to have been the first land that arose in the western world. Sweeping westward from the eastern mountains is a vast, fertile plain, the valley of the Mississippi River, a thousand miles wide and about as long, to where the mountain formation again is found, the Rocky Mountain range, highest in North America, beyond which westwardly is a tableland of mean elevation of 3,000 to 5,000 feet, and still farther to the westward are other mountain ranges of lesser altitudes, with a low coast range skirting the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The United States has eight great rivers-the Hudson, entering the Atlantic at the harbor of New York City in the northeastern corner of the country; the Delaware, entering the Atlantic through Delaware Bay, midway down the coast; the Potomac, entering the Atlantic through Chesapeake Bay, just south from Delaware Bay: the Mississippi, greatest of North American rivers in its relationship to civilization, rising in Minnesota, near to Canada, entering the Gulf of Mexico on the southern side of the country; the Ohio, flowing from the eastern mountains westwardly to join the Mississippi in the east central part of the country: the Missouri, which flows from the northwestern mountains eastwardly to the Mississippi, being confluent with that stream just north of where the Ohio Joins it; the Columbia, which rises in British territory, and flows across a vast tableland west of the Rocky Mountains, into the Pacific Ocean two hundred miles down that coast; the Colorado. non-navigable, which rises in the State of Colorado, flows in general course southwestwardly through Utah and Arizona, and between Arizona and California, into the Gulf of California, in Mexico. Besides these streams, there are many of considerable and navigable size in the areas east from the Rocky Mountains, including the Great St. Lawrence River, the outlet of the Great Lakes on the northern border between the United States and Canada. The Great Lakes, largest inland body of fresh Erie, and Ontario, are a striking phase of the water in the world: Superior, Michigan, Huron, geological formation, and carry immense passenger and freight tonnage. Columbia Rivers are navigable for considerable The Yukon in Alaska, which rises in small lakes in the Dominion of Canada, flows northwestwardly wardly into Norton Sound, which in turn makes into Alaska, then westwardly and then southwestinto Bering Sea. It flows for 1,765 miles through Alaska and is navigable for 1,200 miles. In natural resources, the United States is one of the richest countries in the world. Its coal, oil, stores, and practically every base mineral known to timber and precious metals exist in vast natural civilization is deposited in its areas. The timber resources have been depleted seriously; but the Federal Forest Service has begun reforestation. The original forest area of the United States is estimated at 820,000,000 acres, or nearly half of the land area of the United States. In addition there were about 100.000.000 acres of non-commercial forest or low-grade woodland and scrub. The present area of commercial forest land is estimated (1940) at 461,697,000 acres, divided as follows: Sawtimber areas Old growth Second growth. Fair to satisfactory restocking areas.. Total Acres 100,832,000 112,030,000 100,791,000 71,306,000 76,738,000 461,697,000 Non-commercial forest land in the United States covers an additional 168,461,000 acres. In all, about 630 million acres, or one-third of the continental United States is forest land. There are over 176,000,000 acres in the 160 National Forests. National Forests are administered by the U. S. Forest Service for continuous production or "sustained yield" of timber. The Forest Service also cooperates with the States and with private timberland owners to provide protection from fire and to develop sustained yield management on other timberlands of the country. Communities own and manage more than 1,550 forest areas, containing approximately 212 million acres. States own 20 million acres of forest land. The land in farms is 2,120,014,710 acres, divided as follows: Acres 321,757,900 Crop land harvested. Plowable pasture 76,490,496 130,924,458 137,067,837 393,266,664 1,060,507,355 The land not in farms is 917,000,000 acres, divided as follows: Public forest (grazed) Cities and towns Desert, swamps, rocky, dunes Acres 134,000,000 116,000,000 115,000,000 80,000,000 44,000,000 219,000,000 17,000,000 20,000,000 24,000,000 76,000,000 The Department of Commerce reported that the assessed valuation (1938) of the 48 States and the District of Columbia was $141,357,503.000. Wildlife is abundant in the United States and proved a means of sustenance for the early pioneers. The bison (or buffalo) is now nearly extinct and protected in national parks, although it once roved in tremendous herds across the great plain States. This country has been the domain of numerous species of interesting fauna. There is the Rocky Mountain sheep, the Rocky Mountain goat (a goat-like antelope); the prong-horn antelope (the only antelope extant with deciduous and forked horns); the moose (true elk); caribou (reindeer); other species of deer, several varieties of bear (including the grizzly bear), the raccoon, cougar (American lion or panther); ocelot (in the southwest), lynx, wolf, fox, weasel, marten, skunk, polecat, otter, mink, beaver, muskrat, woodchuck, prairie-dog, sewellel, hare, porcupine, squirrel, gopher, opossum, armadillo (Texas) and many destructive species of the rat and mouse family. The jaguar used to be seen in Texas and the peccary in Arkansas. American birdlife is represented by the wild turkey, grouse, crane, heron, pigeon, mocking-bird, parrot, humming-bird, song thrush, other small birds (sparrows, warblers, flycatchers), eagle, falcon, owl; buzzard-vulture, flamingo, ibis, goose, duck, swan, other game-birds and waterfowl of many species. The alligator basks in southern waters; also a true crocodile on the southeast coast of Florida: toads the "Gila-monster" (lizard) and horned cause gooseflesh in the southwest; the green lizard or chameleon in Florida; and many poisonous rattlesnakes, moccasins and copperheads are found throughout the country. In the northern part of the United States are rich forests of pine (including white pine), spruce, hemlock, yellow cedar, hackmatack or larch, linden or basswood, black and white ash, sugar and other maples, birch and elm. Somewhat further south are to be found in abundance the hickory, the oak, the tulip-tree, sassafras, cherry, magnolia, walnut, red cedar, tupelo, persimmon, plane, poplar, beech, catalpa. In the southern coast regions are the longleaved pine, hard or pitch pine, live oak, palmetto and the deciduous cypress. Much of the commercial supply of white pine has come from Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Oak, hickory, ash, elm, black walnut, cherry and other hard woods are indigenous to every section of the eastern part of the United States. Spruce, hemlock, birch, beeech and maple have come mostly from the northeastern section of the country, although hemlock and beech exist far into the south. Distinctive American small flora include the buffalo berry, laurel (shrub), leatherwood, pawpaw, spice-bush, witch-hazel, Azaleas, blackberries, dogwoods, rhododendrons, sumachs, whortleberries are found in Europe as well as America. The climate of the United States is of every gradation, from the north temperate, with rather cold winters and pleasant summers, to the subtropical, with every variety of flora adapted to so wide a range of latitude. Eastwardly and westwardly, even greater variation is found. For there are regions of normal moisture precipitation in the northeast, of excessive precipitation in the southeast, of normal precipitation in the central tableland regions, and then of varying degrees of aridity and moistness as one proceeds westwardly, until on the coast of Oregon, at Tillamook, is the heaviest average precipitation in the United States-120 inches a year. Being in the north temperate zone, in a general region of prevailing westerly winds, part of the United States is subject to cyclonic storms because the air does not move eastward in steadily blowing winds, as is the case with the trades, but in whirling formations that have a general easterly direction. The West Indian hurricane, which has caused much damage in the United States, generally originates in the tropics, moves over the West Indies, enters the United States in Florida or on the Gulf Coast and disappears into the Atlantic Ocean in a northeasterly direction. The government of the United States is composed of three co-ordinate branches, the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution adopted (Sept. 17, 1787), to which 21 amendments have been added. The Union of 48 States is composed of the 13 Original States, 7 States admitted to the federation without having been previously organized as Territories, and 28 States which had been Territories. The District of Columbia, including the city of Washington, is the capital of the United States. In each State there is a Legislature of two houses (except Nebraska, which has adopted a uni-cameral form of government), a governor and a judicial system. There is a public school system in every State in the Union, comprising elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools. The United States Government has made a practice (since 1803) on the organization of all new States, of setting aside from one to four "sections" (square miles) of land in each town ship of six square miles. The principal part of the permanent school funds of such States consists of the proceeds of the sale of this land. Receipts from permanent school funds and unsold school lands represent about 1.2% of the income of the schools of the country. Appropriations and taxation provide about 95% of total revenue receipts and other sources yield about 3.8%. Agriculture is an important industry in the United States and provides a livelihood for approximately 32,000,000 persons. Kansas is by far the greatest wheat State in the Union, producing nearly twice as much as its runner-up, North Dakota. Other wheat states are Nebraska, Oklahoma, Montana, Washington, Texas, Illinois and Ohio. The principal oat states are Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, South Dakota. Rye comes from North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania. Iowa is known as the corn state, but large quantities are grown in Illinois, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio and Kansas. Maine is the chief potato state, followed by Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Idaho in the order named. Tobacco is grown in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee. Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio and Connecticut. The barley States are North Dakota, South Dakota, California and Wisconsin. The principal industrial areas in the United States with their leading industries, ranked according to the value of their products, are as follows: New York City Area-Women's clothing; printing and publishing, newspaper and periodical; men's, youths' and boys' clothing (except work clothing); bread and other bakery products; printing and publishing, book, music and job; meat packing, wholesale; petroleum refining; canesugar refining; gas, manufactured, illuminating and heating. Chicago Area-Meat packing, wholesale; steel works and rolling-mill products; petroleum refining; printing and publishing, newspaper and periodical; printing and publishing, book, music and job; foundry and machine-shop products; bread and other bakery products; confectionery; electrical machinery, apparatus and supplies. Philadelphia Area-Petroleum refining: knit goods; printing and publishing, newspaper and periodical; cane sugar refining; bread and other bakery products; men's, youths' and boys' clothing (except work clothing); worsted goods; foundry and machine-shop products; meat-packing, wholesale. The "radio apparatus and phonographs" industry is one of the leading industries in this area, but its rank cannot be given without the possibility of disclosing (by comparison with Census reports) approximations of the data for individual establishments. Detroit Area-Motor vehicles, not including motorcycles; motor vehicle bodies and motor vehicle parts.' Boston Area-Worsted goods; boots and shoes, other than rubber; leather, tanned, curried and finished; bread and other bakery products; printing and publishing, newspaper and periodical; printing and publishing, book, music and job; meat packing, wholesale; electrical machinery, apparatus and supplies; foundry and machine shop products. "Cane-sugar refining" and "soap" are also among the leading industries in this area, but their rank cannot be given without the possibility of disclosing (by comparison with census reports) approximations of the data for individual establishments. St. Louis Area-Meat packing, wholesale; motor vehicles, not including motorcycles; petroleum refining; chemicals; malt liquors; electrical machinery, apparatus and supplies; bread and other bakery products; boots and shoes, other than rubber; printing and publishing, newspaper and periodical. The "boot and shoe cut stock, not made in boot and shoe factories" and the "tobacco, chewing and smoking, and snuff" industries are among the leading industries in this area, but their rank cannot be given without the possibility of disclosing (by comparison with Census reports) approximations of the data for individual establishments. Pittsburgh Area-Steel-works and rolling-mill products; blast-furnace products; foundry and machine-shop products: glass; electrical machinery, apparatus and supplies; coke-oven products; bread and other bakery products; structural and ornamental metal-work, not made in plants operated in connection with rolling mills; canned and dried fruits and vegetables, preserves, Jellies, fruit butters, pickles and sauces. San Francisco-Oakland Area-Petroleum refin- Baltimore Area-Steel-works and rolling-mill ing: motor vehicles, not including motorcycles: products; men's, youths' and boys' clothing (excanned and preserved fruits and vegetables, pre- cept work clothing) not elsewhere classified; tin serves, jellies, fruit butters, pickles and sauces; cans and other tinware not elsewhere classified; smelting and refining, lead; meat packing, whole-meat-packing, wholesale. The following are among sale; printing and publishing, newspaper and the leading industries in this area, but their rank periodical; bread and other bakery products. cannot be given without the possibility of dis"Cane sugar refining" and "cigarettes" are also closing (by comparison with census reports) apamong the leading industries, but their rank proximations of the data for individual establishcannot be given without the possibility of disclos-ments: cane-sugar refining; petroleum refining: ing (by comparison with Census reports) approxi- smelting and refining copper. mations of the data for individual establishments. Cincinnati Area-Meat packing. wholesale: Cleveland Area-Steel works and rolling-mill paper; motor vehicles, not including motorcycles; products; motor-vehicle bodies and motor-vehicle soap, tobacco, chewing and smoking, and snuff; parts; foundry and machine-shop products; elec- steel-works and rolling-mill products. trical machinery, apparatus and supplies; meat- Milwaukee Area-Liquors, malt; meat-packing, packing, wholesale; blast-furnace products: print- wholesale; foundry and machine-shop products not ing and publishing, newspaper and periodical. elsewhere classified; boots and shoes, other than Los Angeles Area-Petroleum refining; meat rubber; motor vehicle bodies and motor vehicle packing, wholesale; bread and other bakery pro- parts; knit goods; electrical machinery, apparaducts; printing and publishing, newspaper and tus and supplies; bread and other bakery prodperiodical; rubber tires and inner tubes; women's ucts. The motor vehicle industry is one of the clothing; foundry and machine-shop products. The leading industries in this area, but its rank canproduction of motion pictures is a leading activity not be given without the possibility of disclosing in this area. (by comparison with Census reports) approximations of data for individual establishments. Buffalo Area-Flour and other grain-mill products: chemicals not elsewhere classified; motorvehicles not including motorcycles; steel-works and rolling-mill products; feeds. prepared, for animals and fowls; motor vehicle bodies and motor-vehicle parts; meat packing, wholesale. Providence-Fall River-New Bedford Area-Cotton goods, worsted goods; dying and finishing textiles; silk and rayon goods; jewelry. Bridgeport-New Haven-Waterbury Area-Nonferrous metal alloys and non-ferrous metal products, except aluminum, not elsewhere classified: electrical machinery, apparatus and supplies; hats, fur-felt; foundry and machine-shop products not elsewhere classified; ammunition and related products; gold, silver and platinum, refining and alloying. Structural Geology of the United States Source: Philip B. King, of the The United States includes a variety of geographic and tectonic units. Its interior consists of wide plains and low plateaus. Along its east side rise the low ridges of the Appalachians; on the west the diverse and Cordilera forms a belt of mountain ranges a thousand miles (1,600 kilo meters) in width. The low shores of the Gulf coast and of the Atlantic coast south of New England are bordered by gently sloping coastal plains, but the Pacific shore is rugged and abrupt and is flanked by a chain of Coast Ranges. There is a broad relation between the topography and the structure of the rocks beneath. Recent uplifts to a certain extent coincide with areas of former movements and disturbance. Streams, wearing away the soft rocks and leaving the hard, have produced contrasting land forms in areas of flat-lying and of folded strata. The lowland areas of the interior are thus underlain by rocks that have not been conspicuously folded. Most of the mountain areas are underlain by folded and faulted rocks, though the movements that deformed them were in general earlier than those which raised the present ranges. The interior plains of the continent have been a stable region for a long period of geologic time. In the central part of this stable region pre-Cambrian rocks are exposed over a vast area known as the Laurentian shield. This area occupies the greater part of central and northern Canada and extends a short distance into the United States. Its ancient rocks are strongly folded and metamorphosed, but the forces that caused their deformation ceased to be active before Paleozoic time, leaving the rocks strong and rigid and thus competent to resist later forces of compression. South of the Laurentian shield, in the central United States, the basement rocks are thinly covered by Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata that have been fixed into gentle domes and basins. On the east, south, and west sides of the stable regions are belts of greater mobility, which have been the sites of post-Algonkian orogeny. During the earlier phases of their history these belts have subsided as geosynclines and have received thick accumulations of Paleozoic and later sediments, Most of the mobile belts assumed a geosynclinal character as far back as the beginning of Paleozoic time, but they have had different later histories. Those on the east and south were filled by thick deposits of strata during the Paleozoic era and were strongly folded before the end of that era. In the western belt the orogenic events have been more complex. In places this belt received thick Paleozoic deposits, which were in part uplifted and even folded before Mesozoic time. but some wide areas were very little disturbed during the Paleozoic era. The greatest orogenic activity in the western mobile belt began in middle Mesozoic time and has continued through the Cenozoic. Along the margins of the mobile belts. away from the central stable regions, were other positive United States Geological Survey areas of ancient crystalline rocks. These were the border lands which fringed the oceanward sides of ancient North America. In contrast to the Laurentian shield, which has had a passive history since Algonkian time, these areas have been extremely active and have had a constant tendency toward uplift. Great volumes of sediment eroded from their upraised parts have been deposited in the geosynclines. During the periods of compression they have behaved as hinterlands to the mobile belts. The rocks of the geosynclinal belts were overturned and thrust from the border lands toward the central stable region, which acted as a foreland during the movements. During their active history the border lands were sliced and broken and were injected with igneous rocks. Those on the eastern and southern borders are now quiescent, having subsided to such an extent that parts of their truncated surfaces have been buried beneath gently tilted Mesozoic and Tertiary coastal-plain deposits, and other parts have disappeared beneath the sea. The border land that lay southeast of the geosyncline of the eastern United States is known as Appalachia; another one on the south is known as Llanoria. Along the west coast, beyond the western geosynclines, were other border lands, the largest of which is known as Cascadia. On the east and south sides of the central stable region of North America the rocks were strongly folded and faulted by Paleozoic movements and in places form low mountain ridges. Folds and faults of this age are found in the Appalachian Mountains, which extend along the eastern border of the United States from southeastern Canada to Alabama. West of the Mississippi are similar but disconnected groups of ridges in the Ouachita, Arbuckle and Wichita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. In western Texas is the still more isolated mountain group of the Marathon region. Throughout the region there has been no folding since Paleozoic time, and the lofty mountain chains of that era have been profoundly eroded. The present mountain groups result from the differential erosion of the areas of folded rock after late broad uplifts. While these uplifts were being formed, large areas in the ancient mountain system subsided, and in consequence wide tracts are huried beneath coastal-plain deposits of Mesozoic and Cenozoic age A survey of the coast of the United States was authorized by act of Congress, Feb. 10, 1807, and the act of March 3, 1871 extended the work across the country. The act of June 20, 1878 changed the name of the agency from the Coast Survey to the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the act of Jan. 31, 1925 charged the Bureau with investigations and reports on earthquakes, an activity previously conducted by the United States Weather Bureau. The work of the Coast and Geodetic Survey is closely related to national defense because of the essential need for its products for the conduct of military operations. Territorial Expansion Since 1790 Source: Government Records The Thirteen Original States, comprising the United States of America, as constituted (1790) were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. These States had a gross area of 892,135 square miles, of which 24,155 square miles were water. The present gross (land and water) area of these thirteen States is 322,621 square miles, inasmuch as Maine, Vermont, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota have been carved from the original boundaries of the Thirteen, which extended from Canada to Florida, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, exclusive of a portion of the southeastern part of Louisiana. Congress (Oct. 30, 1779) asked the States to cede to the General Government the vast areas of unsettled lands lying between the Appalachian Mountain ranges and the Mississippi River, to end conflicting boundary claims inherited from royal charters. This was the Ohio Country over which the British and French fought (1754-1763). The British claimed title from the Iroquois Indians. The French urged their own discovery and settlement. The General Government welded the ceded areas into two great tracts the territory northwest of the Ohio River (1787); and the territory south of the Ohio River. The territory embracing Michigan was governed by the French from the time of its first discovery (about 1610-1763). It was ceded to Great Britain. This land came into actual possession of the United States (July 11, 1796), and until 1802 was attached to the Northwest Territory, when that portion west of the east line of Indiana became a part of the Territory of Indiana by an act of Congress. Indiana Territory was divided (1805) into two separate governments, and provision was made for the constitution of Michigan Territory. The first accession to the territory of the United States as it was constituted (1790) came through the Louisiana Purchase. This vast region, bought by the United States (in the administration of President Jefferson, April 30, 1803) from France. in the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, for 60,000,000 francs ($11,250,000), plus payment of the "French Spoliation Claims," comprised the Mississippi River's west side drainage basin, except that part held by Spain. It extended from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and included the areas now occupied by Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas, Montana, most of Minnesota, and portions of Colorado and Wyoming. In New Orleans (at noon on Dec. 20, 1803) the French and American flags passed each other as the one was lowered and the other raised. There was no other ceremony to mark the event. The United States took formal possession of the Louisiana Purchase regions (March 10, 1804), and Congress divided it into two parts-the Territory of Orleans (later the State of Louisiana); and the Territory of Louisiana. Settlement of the French Spoliation Claims was effected with France for $3,750,000. Interest accruals raised the final total cost of the Louisiana Purchase to $27,267,622-about 4 cents an acre. The Oregon Territory, the northern limits of which were settled in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1846) between the United States and Great Britain, is not classed as an accession, because the Government at Washington claimed it (1848) on three grounds-(1), discovery and Occupation: (2), the Louisiana Purchase; (3), the Florida Purchase. As constituted at its organization (1848) the Territory of Oregon extended from the Pacific to Added Yr. Square Miles Division Louisiana purchase. 1803 Gained through the crest of the Rocky Mountains, north of the forty-second parallel of latitude, and comprised the areas now covered by Oregon, Washington, Idaho and part of Montana and Wyoming. The second accession was the Floridas, which the United States bought (1819) from Spain. No money payment was made to Spain in connection with the acquisition of the Floridas, but the United States assumed and paid the sum of $5,000,000 in satisfaction of claims of citizens of the United States against Spain. The third accession came (Dec. 29, 1845) when the Republic of Texas was admitted to the Union as a State. The area now comprises Texas, and parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. The joint resolution of Congress (March 1, 1845) for the annexation of Texas expressly gave to that State when admitted the right to divide itself into as many as five States "of convenient size," "and having sufficient population' without further permission of Congress. The annexation resolution was approved by the Texas Government and the State was admitted to the Union by a joint resolution of Congress (Dec. 29, 1845). The Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty (1848) which ended the Mexican War gave the United States its fourth accession of national territory. Serious disagreement as to the exact extent of the newly gained region in what is now Southern Arizona and Southwestern New Mexico developed, which was wiped out (1853) by the Gadsden Purchase for the United States of the area in dispute. The 1848 Mexican cession price of $15,000,000 was raised to $16,800,000 by interest accruals. The Gadsden Purchase cost the United States $10.000,000. The Mexican cessions added to this country the area of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and part of Colorado. The fifth increase was the purchase of Alaska from Russia. The treaty of purchase was signed in March 1867; ratified by the Senate and proclaimed in June, 1867; territory transferred to the United States in Oct. 1867; the money ($7,200,000 in gold) paid in Aug. or Sept., 1868. Of this sum the actual purchase price was $1,400,000; the balance, $5,800,000 was for Russia's naval demonstration in American waters at a time when England favored the Confederacy and this country needed a friend. Russia had been in possession of Alaska since 1825, when it was ceded to her by Great Britain. The sixth accession brought in the Hawaiian Islands, which voluntarily joined the United States (1898) the Hawaiian national debt of $4,000,000 being assumed by this country. The victory of the United States over Spain (1898) brought into the American national area the seventh accession. Under the treaty (Dec. 10, 1898), the United States paid to Spain $20,000,000 in connection with the relinquishment of all claims to Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine Islands; and, under a later treaty (Nov. 7, 1900) a further payment of $100,000 was made to Spain for cession to the United States of any and all islands (Cagayan Jolo) of the Philippine Archipelago lying outside of the lines described in Article III. of the treaty (Dec. 10, 1898). No interest was paid. The Samoan Isles (1889) by agreement of the United States. Great Britain and Germany, in conference in Berlin, were recognized as independent, neutral territory, with Malietoa as King. under the joint protection of the three powers named. (1898) the United States accepted the Pago Pago (ceded in 1872) as a coal and naval base. For the Danish West Indies, consisting of the Islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John, the United States paid $25,000,000, and took possession (March 31, 1917). They then had 32,000 population. The islands are now known as the Virgin Islands. Division 29,670 Panama Canal Zone 1904 586,400 Danish West Indies) Division Added Yr. Square Miles 827,987 Gadsden purchase. 1853 549 1867 treaty with Spain 1819 13,435 Hawaiian Islands. 1898 6,407 Florida.. 1819 Texas.. 1845 389,166 Guam... 286,541 Philippine Islands.. Mexican cession.. 1848 529,189 American Samoa... 1900) Tot. orig. 13 States 892,135 Grand Total.......3,738,395 The Mason and Dixon line actually was surveyed by two Englishmen, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon (Nov. 15, 1763, and Dec. 26, 1767) to settle constant dissensions between the Lords Baltimore and the Penn family, the lords proprietors of Maryland and Pennsylvania respectively. The line runs along the parallel in latitude 39° 43′ 26.3" and was originally marked by milestones, every fifth one bearing on one side the coat of arms of Penn and on the other those of Lord Baltimore. 76 |