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Independence Hall

Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of the United States. The structure, which is the centerpiece of Independence National Historical Park, was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979.

The construction of Independence Hall, initially called the Pennsylvania State House, was completed in 1753. It served as the first capitol of both the colonial-era of the Province of Pennsylvania and, following American independence, the nation's first capital and the capital of Pennsylvania.

Between 1775 and 1781, the Second Continental Congress, which appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Congress in 1775 and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year, in 1776, met at Independence Hall. On June 21, 1788, it was the site of the Philadelphia Convention, where the U.S. Constitution, the longest-standing written and codified national constitution in the world, was drafted and ratified.

In 1915, U.S. president William Howard Taft presided over a convention at Independence Hall, which including his formal announcement of the formation of the League to Enforce Peace, which led to the League of Nations in 1920 and the United Nations in 1945.

Preparation for construction
By the spring of 1729, there were proposals to build a state house in Philadelphia, and 2,000 pounds sterling were committed to the project. A committee including Thomas Lawrence, John Kearsley, and Andrew Hamilton was charged with selecting a site for the building's construction, acquiring plans for it, and contracting a company for its construction. Hamilton and his future son-in-law William Allen, who was later chief justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, were named trustees and were authorized to purchase the land for the proposed state house. By October 1730, they had purchased lots on Chestnut Street for the building.

By 1732, Hamilton acquired the deed for Lot no. 2 from surveyor David Powell, who was paid for his work on the lot, but tensions began arising among the committee members. Kearsley and Hamilton disagreed on a number of issues concerning the state house. Kearsley, who designed Christ Church and St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia, had plans for the design, but so did Hamilton. The two men also disagreed on the building's site; Kearsley sought to have it constructed on High Street, which is present-day Market Street, and Hamilton favored Chestnut Street. Lawrence said nothing on the matter of its location.

The disagreements escalated to the point where arbitration was needed. On August 8, 1733, Hamilton brought the matter before the Provincial Assembly. He explained that Kearsley did not approve of his plans for the state house's location and architecture and argued that the assembly had not agreed to these decisions. Three days later, Hamilton showed his plans for the state house to the assembly, which accepted them. On August 14, the assembly sided with Hamilton, granting him full authority over the project, and the current site on the south side of Chestnut Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets was chosen as its location. Ground was broken for construction soon after.

Structure
Independence Hall has a red brick facade, designed in Georgian style. It consists of a central building with belltower and steeple, attached to two smaller wings via arcaded hyphens. The highest point to the tip of the steeple spire is 168 ft above the ground.

The State House was built between 1732 and 1753, designed by Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton, and built by Woolley. Its construction was commissioned by the Pennsylvania colonial legislature which paid for construction as funds were available, so it was finished piecemeal. It was initially inhabited by the colonial government of Pennsylvania as its State House, from 1732 to 1799.

In 1752, when Isaac Norris was selecting a man to build the first clock for the State House he chose Thomas Stretch, the son of Peter Stretch his old friend and fellow council member, to do the job.

In 1753, Stretch erected a giant clock at the building's west end that resembled a tall clock (grandfather clock). The 40 ft limestone base was capped with a 14 ft wooden case surrounding the clock's face, which was carved by cabinetmaker Samuel Harding. The clock was removed about 1830. The clock's dials were mounted at the east and west ends of the main building connected by rods to the clock movement in the middle of the building. A new clock was designed and installed by Isaiah Lukens in 1828. The Lukens clock ran consecutively for eight days, "with four copper dials on each side that measured eight feet in diameter and clockworks that ensured sufficient power to strike the four-thousand pound bell made by John Wilbank." The Lukens clock remained in Independence Hall until 1877.

The acquisition of the original clock and bell by the Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly is closely related to the acquisition of the Liberty Bell. By mid-1753, the clock had been installed in the State House attic, but it was six years before Thomas Stretch received any pay for it.

Demolition and reconstruction
While the shell of the central portion of the building is original, the side wings, steeple and much of the interior were reconstructed much later. In 1781, the Pennsylvania Assembly had the wooden steeple removed from the main building. The steeple had rotted and weakened to a dangerous extent by 1773, but it was not until 1781 that the Assembly had it removed and had the brick tower covered with a hipped roof. A more elaborate steeple, designed by William Strickland, was added in 1828.

The original wings and hyphens (connecting corridors) were demolished and replaced in 1812. In 1898, these were in turn demolished and replaced with reconstructions of the original wings.

The building was renovated numerous times in the 19th and 20th century. The current interior is a mid-20th-century reconstruction by the National Park Service with the public rooms restored to their 18th-century appearance.

During the summer of 1973, a replica of the Thomas Stretch clock was restored to Independence Hall.

The second-floor Governor's Council Chamber, furnished with important examples of the era by the National Park Service, includes a musical tall case clock made by Peter Stretch, c. 1740, one of the most prominent clockmakers in early America and father of Thomas Stretch.

Two smaller buildings adjoin the wings of Independence Hall: Old City Hall to the east, and Congress Hall to the west. These three buildings are together on a city block known as Independence Square, along with Philosophical Hall, the original home of the American Philosophical Society. Since its construction in the mid-20th century, to the north has been Independence Mall, which includes the current home of the Liberty Bell.

Liberty Bell
The lowest chamber of the original wooden steeple was the first home of the Liberty Bell. When that steeple was removed in the 1780s the bell was lowered into the highest chamber of the brick tower, where it remained until the 1850s. The much larger Centennial Bell, created for the United States Centennial Exposition in 1876, hangs in the cupola of the 1828 steeple. The Liberty Bell, with its distinctive crack, was displayed on the ground floor of the hall from the 1850s until 1976, and is now on display across the street in the Liberty Bell Center.

Declaration of Independence and Second Continental Congress
From May 10, 1775, to 1783, the Pennsylvania State House served as the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress, a body of representatives from each of the thirteen British North American colonies.

On June 14, 1775, delegates of the Continental Congress nominated George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House. The Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin to be the first Postmaster General of what would later become the United States Post Office Department on July 26.

The United States Declaration of Independence was approved there on July 4, 1776, and the Declaration was read aloud to the public in the area now known as Independence Square. This document unified the colonies in North America who declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. These historic events are celebrated annually with a national holiday for U.S. Independence Day. There are 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence, including John Hancock who signed first, writing his name in very large letters. The prominence of this signature led to the term "John Hancock" or "Hancock" becoming a colloquial term in the United States for one's signature.

The Congress continued to meet there until December 12, 1776, when Congress evacuated Philadelphia. During the British occupation of Philadelphia, the Continental Congress met in Baltimore, Maryland (December 20, 1776 to February 27, 1777). The Congress returned to Philadelphia from March 4, 1777, to September 18, 1777.

In September 1777, the British Army again arrived to occupy Philadelphia, once again forcing the Continental Congress to abandon the State House. It then met in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for one day (September 27, 1777) and in York, Pennsylvania, for nine months (September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778), where the Articles of Confederation were approved in November 1777. The Second Continental Congress again returned to Independence Hall, for its final meetings, from July 2, 1778, to March 1, 1781.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation initially met in Independence Hall, from March 1, 1781, to June 21, 1783. However, as a result of the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, Congress again moved from Philadelphia in June 1783 to Princeton, New Jersey, and eventually to other cities.

U.S. Constitutional Convention
In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the Congress of the Confederation endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states, Rhode Island being the exception, accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in June 1787 at Independence Hall.

The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose as proposing amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep deliberations secret, and to keep the Hall's windows shut throughout the hot summer. The result was the drafting of a new fundamental government design. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed, and took effect on March 4, 1789, when the new Congress met for the first time in New York's Federal Hall.

Article One, Section Eight, of the United States Constitution granted Congress the authority to create a federal district to serve as the national capital. Following the ratification of the Constitution, the Congress, while meeting in New York, passed the Residence Act of 1790, which established the District of Columbia as the new federal capital. However, a representative from Pennsylvania, Robert Morris, did manage to convince Congress to return to Philadelphia while the new permanent capital was being built. As a result, the Residence Act also declared Philadelphia to be the temporary capital for a period of ten years. The Congress moved back into Philadelphia on December 6, 1790, and met at Congress Hall, adjacent to Independence Hall, until moving to Washington, D.C., in 1800.

Funerary procession of Abraham Lincoln
Following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln's, Licoln's body and the disinterred coffin of his son Willie, who had predeceased him in 1862), were taken by train from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois, for burial. It would essentially retrace the 1,654 mi route Lincoln had traveled as president-elect in 1861 with deletion of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and the addition of Chicago. The train left Washington, D.C. for Baltimore at 8:00 am on April 21, 1865.

Lincoln's funeral train, known as the "Lincoln Special", left Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, April 22, 1865, at 11:15 am and arrived at Philadelphia at Broad Street Station that afternoon at 4:30 pm. It was carried by hearse past a crowd of 85,000 people and was held in state in the Assembly Room in the east wing of Independence Hall. While there, it was escorted and guarded by a detail of 27 naval and military officers. That evening, a private viewing was arranged for honored guests of the mourners. The next day, (Sunday, April 23, 1865) lines began forming at 5:00 am. Over 300,000 mourners viewed the body – some waiting 5 hours just to see him. The Lincoln Special left Philadelphia's Kensington Station for New York City the next morning (Monday, April 24, 1865) at 4:00 am.

League to Enforce Peace
The symbolic use of the hall was illustrated on June 17, 1915, where the League to Enforce Peace was formed here with former President William Howard Taft presiding. They proposed an international governing body under which participating nations would commit to "jointly...use...their economic and military forces against any one of their number making war against another" and "to formulate and codify rules of international law".

Preservation
The original steeple was demolished in 1781 due to structural problems. The wings and hyphens were demolished in 1812 and replaced by larger buildings designed by architect Robert Mills and a new, more elaborate steeple designed by William Strickland, constructed in 1828. The north entrance was also rebuilt during this period.

From 1802 to 1827, artist Charles Willson Peale housed his Philadelphia Museum of natural history specimens (including the skeleton of a mastodon) and portraits of famous Americans, on the second floor of the Old State House and in the Assembly Room.

In early 1816, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sold the State House to the City of Philadelphia, with a contract signed by the governor. The deed, however, was not transferred until more than two years later. Philadelphia has owned the State House and its associated buildings and grounds since that time.

In 1898, the Mills wings were removed and replaced with replicas of the originals, but the Strickland steeple was left in place.

In 1948, the building's interior was restored to its original appearance. Independence National Historical Park was established by the 80th U.S. Congress later that year to preserve historical sites associated with the American Revolution. Independence National Historical Park comprises a landscaped area of four city blocks, as well as outlying sites that include Independence Square, Carpenters' Hall (meeting place of the First Continental Congress), the site of Benjamin Franklin's home, the reconstructed Graff House (where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence), City Tavern (center of Revolutionary War activities), restored period residences, and several early banks. The park also holds the Liberty Bell, Franklin's desk, the Syng inkstand, a portrait gallery, gardens, and libraries. A product of extensive documentary research and archaeology by the federal government, the restoration of Independence Hall and other buildings in the park set standards for other historic preservation and stimulated rejuvenation of old Philadelphia. The site, administered by the National Park Service, is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (joining only three other U.S. man-made monuments still in use, the others being the Statue of Liberty, Pueblo de Taos, and the combined site of the University of Virginia and Monticello).

Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are now protected in a secure zone with entry at security screening buildings. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, as part of a national effort to safeguard historical monuments by the United States Department of Homeland Security, pedestrian traffic around Independence Square and part of Independence Mall was restricted by temporary bicycle barriers and park rangers. In 2006, the National Park Service proposed installing a seven-foot security fence around Independence Hall and bisecting Independence Square, a plan that met with opposition from Philadelphia city officials, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and Senator Arlen Specter. As of January 2007, the National Park Service plan was revised to eliminate the fence in favor of movable bollards and chains, and also to remove at least some of the temporary barriers to pedestrians and visitors.

Legacy
On July 16, 1987, Congress met at Independence Hall in an unprecedented joint meeting outside of Washington, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Connecticut Compromise that determined the structure of Congress during the Constitutional Convention.

The 1989 film A More Perfect Union, which portrays the events of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, was largely filmed in Independence Hall.

Because of its symbolic history, Independence Hall has been used in more recent times as a venue for speeches and protests in support of democratic and civil rights movements. On October 26, 1918, Tomáš Masaryk proclaimed the independence of Czechoslovakia on the steps of Independence Hall. National Freedom Day, which commemorates the struggles of African Americans for equality and justice, has been celebrated at Independence Hall since 1942. On Independence Day, July 4, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave an address there.

Annual demonstrations organized by the East Coast Homophile Organizations advocating for gay rights were held in front of Independence Hall each July 4 from 1965 to 1969.

Independence Hall has been pictured on the back of the U.S. $100 bill since 1928, and was depicted on the 1975-76 bicentennial Kennedy half dollar. The Assembly Room is pictured on the reverse of the U.S. two-dollar bill, from the original painting by John Trumbull entitled Declaration of Independence.

Replicas
Independence Hall served as the model for the Pennsylvania Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the Pennsylvania Building at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition, and the Pennsylvania Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Dozens of structures replicating or loosely inspired by Independence Hall's iconic design have been built elsewhere in the United States, including a brick-by-brick replica across from Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

title: Independence Hall


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Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress was the late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War, which established American independence from the British Empire. The Congress constituted a new federation that it first named the United Colonies, and in 1776, renamed the United States of America. The Congress began convening in Philadelphia, on May 10, 1775, with representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies, after the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

The Second Continental Congress succeeded the First Continental Congress, which had met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, also in Philadelphia. The Second Congress functioned as the de facto federation government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising militias, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions such as the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms and the Olive Branch Petition. All 13 colonies were represented by the time the Congress adopted the Lee Resolution, which declared independence from Britain on July 2, 1776, and the Congress unanimously agreed to the Declaration of Independence two days later.

Congress functioned as the provisional government of the United States of America through March 1, 1781, when congress became what is now often called the Confederation Congress. During this period, it successfully managed the war effort, drafted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, adopted the first U.S. constitution, secured diplomatic recognition and support from foreign nations, and resolved state land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Many of the delegates who attended the Second Congress had also attended the First. They again elected Peyton Randolph as president of the Congress and Charles Thomson as secretary. Notable new arrivals included Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock of Massachusetts. Within two weeks, Randolph was summoned back to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses; Hancock succeeded him as president, and Thomas Jefferson replaced him in the Virginia delegation. The number of participating colonies also grew, as Georgia endorsed the Congress in July 1775 and adopted the continental ban on trade with Britain.

De facto government
The First Continental Congress had sent entreaties to King George III to stop the Intolerable Acts. They also created the Continental Association to establish a coordinated protest of these acts, boycotting British goods in protest to them. The Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1775, to plan further responses if the British government did not repeal or modify the acts; however, the American Revolutionary War had started by that time with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the Congress was called upon to take charge of the war effort.

For the first few months of the Revolutionary War, the patriots carried on their struggle in a largely ad-hoc and uncoordinated manner. Even so, they had numerous successes, seizing numerous British arsenals, driving royal officials out of several colonies, and launching the Siege of Boston in order to prevent the movement by land of British troops stationed there. On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted to create the Continental Army out of the militia units around Boston, and the next day unanimously approved a motion naming George Washington of Virginia as its commanding general.

On July 6, 1775, Congress approved a Declaration of Causes outlining the rationale and necessity for taking up arms in the Thirteen Colonies. Two days later, delegates signed the Olive Branch Petition to King George III affirming the colonies' loyalty to the crown and imploring the king to prevent further conflict. However, by the time British Colonial Secretary Lord Dartmouth received the petition, King George III had already issued a proclamation on August 23, 1775, in response to the Battle of Bunker Hill, declaring elements of Britain's continental American possessions to be in a state of what he called an "open and avowed rebellion". As a result, the king refused to receive the petition.

Georgia had not participated in the First Continental Congress and did not initially send delegates to the Second. But with the Revolutionary War escalating, the residents of St. John's Parish in present-day Liberty County sent Lyman Hall to the gathering in Philadelphia on their behalf. He participated in debates but did not vote, as he did not represent the entire colony. That changed after July 1775, when a provincial Congress decided to send delegates to the Continental Congress and to adopt a ban on trade with Britain.

The Continental Congress had no explicit legal authority from the British to govern, but it assumed all the functions of a national government, including appointing ambassadors, signing treaties, raising armies, appointing generals, obtaining loans from Europe, issuing paper money called "Continentals", and disbursing funds. Congress had no authority to levy taxes and was required to request money, supplies, and troops from the states to support the war effort. Individual states frequently ignored these requests.

Congress was moving towards declaring independence from the British Empire in 1776, but many delegates lacked the authority from their home governments to take such drastic action. Advocates of independence moved to have reluctant colonial governments revise instructions to their delegations, or even replace those governments which would not authorize independence. On May 10, 1776, Congress passed a resolution recommending that any colony with a government that was not inclined toward independence should form one that was. On May 15, they adopted a more radical preamble to this resolution, drafted by John Adams, which advised throwing off oaths of allegiance and suppressing the authority of the Crown in any colonial government that still derived its authority from the Crown. That same day, the Virginia Convention instructed its delegation in Philadelphia to propose a resolution that called for a declaration of independence, the formation of foreign alliances, and a confederation of the states. The resolution of independence was delayed for several weeks, as advocates of independence consolidated support in their home governments.

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee offered a resolution before the Congress, declaring the colonies independent. He urged Congress to resolve "to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances" and to prepare a plan of confederation for the newly independent states. Lee argued that independence was the only way to ensure a foreign alliance since no European monarchs would deal with America if they remained Britain's colonies. American leaders had rejected the divine right of kings in the New World, but recognized the necessity of proving their credibility in the Old World.

"Congress formally adopted the resolution of independence, but only after creating three overlapping committees to draft the Declaration, a Model Treaty, and the Articles of Confederation. The Declaration announced the states' entry into the international system; the model treaty was designed to establish amity and commerce with other states, and the Articles of Confederation established 'a firm league' among the thirteen free and independent states. These three things together constituted an international agreement to set up central institutions for conducting vital domestic and foreign affairs. Congress finally approved the resolution of independence on July 2, 1776. They next turned their attention to a formal explanation of this decision, the United States Declaration of Independence which was approved on July 4 and published soon thereafter."

Provisional government
The Congress moved to Baltimore in the winter of 1776–77 to avoid capture by British forces who were advancing on Philadelphia. Henry Fite's tavern was the largest building in Baltimore at the time and provided a comfortable location of sufficient size for Congress to meet. Its site at the western edge of town was beyond easy reach of the British Royal Navy's ships should they attempt to sail up the harbor and the Patapsco River to shell the town. Congress was again forced to flee Philadelphia at the end of September 1777, as British troops seized and occupied the city; they moved to York, Pennsylvania, where they continued their work.

Congress passed the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777, after more than a year of debate, and sent it to the states for ratification. Approval by all 13 states was required for the establishment of the constitution. Jefferson's proposal for a Senate to represent the states and a House to represent the people was rejected, but a similar proposal was adopted later in the United States Constitution. One issue of debate was large states wanting a larger say, nullified by small states who feared tyranny. The small states prevailed, and each state was afforded one vote. Another revolved around the issue of western land claims; states without such claims wanted those with claims to yield them to Congress. As written, western land claims remained in the hands of the individual states. Congress urged the states to give their assent quickly, and most did. The first to ratify was Virginia on December 16, 1777; 12 states had ratified the Articles by February 1779, 14 months into the process. The lone holdout, Maryland, finally ratified the Articles on February 2, 1781, doing so only after Virginia relinquished its claims on land north of the Ohio River to Congress.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Second Continental Congress


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Quttinirpaaq National Park

Quttinirpaaq National Park is located on the northeastern corner of Ellesmere Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the second most northerly park on Earth after Northeast Greenland National Park. In Inuktitut, Quttinirpaaq means "top of the world". It was established as Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve in 1988, and the name was changed to Quttinirpaaq in 1999, when Nunavut was created, and became a national park in 2000. The reserve covers 37775 km2, making it the second largest park in Canada, after Wood Buffalo National Park.

The park is remarkable for its extensive glaciers and ice caps, desert-like conditions, and life forms that are uniquely adapted to the extreme polar environment. Only about 50 people visit the park each year.

Landscape
The land is dominated by rock and ice. It is a polar desert with very little annual precipitation.

Much of the highlands of the park are covered in ice caps. These ice caps, and the glaciers that descend from them, date back at least to the last episode of glaciation.

The park includes Barbeau Peak, part of the Arctic Cordillera, which at 2616 m is the highest mountain in Nunavut.

Wildlife
Some wildlife, notably Arctic hares, lemmings, muskoxen and Arctic wolves reside in this national park, but sparse vegetation and low temperatures support only small populations. There is a very small Peary caribou population as well. Other animal inhabitants include ringed seals, bearded seals, walruses, polar bears, and narwhals. During summer months, birds nest in the park including semipalmated plovers, red knots, gyrfalcons and long-tailed jaegers. Common plants include dwarf willow, arctic willow, and Arctic cotton, in addition to grasses and lichens. Plant and animal life is more concentrated in the Lake Hazen region, which has a milder climate than the surrounding ice cap-covered mountains and valleys.

Human history
Due to its high latitude and limited wildlife, there has never been any significant human presence within this part of Ellesmere Island. The pass from Tanquary Fiord through to Lake Hazen shows evidence of being used by Arctic people since about 5000 years ago. Tent rings and food caches show that the area was visited by pre-Dorset, Dorset and Thule people, the ancestors of modern Inuit.

The east and north end of the island was used as a starting point for various polar explorations. Fort Conger was an early Arctic exploration research base, and is now maintained as a Federal Heritage Building.

Park
Parks Canada maintains warden stations and gravel air strips at Tanquary Fiord Airport, Lake Hazen and Ward Island. Tanquary Fiord and Lake Hazen are the main access points for tourists. Beyond these warden stations, there are no facilities within the park itself. Two backpacking routes are the route between Lake Hazen and Tanquary Fiord, and a loop around the Ad Astra and Viking ice caps, both approximately 100 km.

In 2004, the park was one of nine sites added to Canada's tentative list of potential World Heritage Sites.

The park was honoured on a postage stamp issued by Canada Post on January 14, 2019. It was a first-class rate stamp, issued at a value of 90 cents, and part of a nine-stamp definitive (regular) set issued the same day, in a series which debuted in 2018.

title: Quttinirpaaq National Park


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Waldenburg, Switzerland

Waldenburg is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland, and the capital of the district of the same name.

Geography
Waldenburg has an area,, of 8.3 km2. Of this area, 2.61 km2 or 31.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.18 km2 or 62.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.48 km2 or 5.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.01 km2 or 0.1% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. Out of the forested land, 60.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 16.4% is pastures, while 1.3% is used for orchards or vine crops and 13.6% is used for alpine pastures.

Coat of arms
The municipal coat of arms was introduced in 1926; it is that of the counts of Frohburg, who owned the village at the time of its first mention (1244); its blazon is Or, an Eagle displayed Vair, langued, beaked and membered Gules.

Demographics
Waldenburg has a population of. , 27.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of -9.8%.

Most of the population speaks German (1,067 or 80.3%), with Albanian being second most common (104 or 7.8%) and Italian being third (56 or 4.2%). There are 5 people who speak French and 1 person who speaks Romansh.

, the gender distribution of the population was 48.9% male and 51.1% female. The population was made up of 881 Swiss citizens (72.9% of the population), and 327 non-Swiss residents (27.1%) Of the population in the municipality 363 or about 27.3% were born in Waldenburg and lived there in 2000. There were 304 or 22.9% who were born in the same canton, while 291 or 21.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 328 or 24.7% were born outside of Switzerland.

In there were 8 live births to Swiss citizens and 5 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 10 deaths of Swiss citizens and 3 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 2 while the foreign population increased by 2. There was 1 Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 9 non-Swiss men and 8 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was a decrease of 1 and the non-Swiss population decreased by 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of -0.5%.

The age distribution,, in Waldenburg is; 78 children or 6.5% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 208 teenagers or 17.2% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 159 people or 13.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 129 people or 10.7% are between 30 and 39, 216 people or 17.9% are between 40 and 49, and 240 people or 19.9% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 112 people or 9.3% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 66 people or 5.5% who are over 80.

, there were 561 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 624 married individuals, 76 widows or widowers and 67 individuals who are divorced.

, there were 523 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 163 households that consist of only one person and 69 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 533 households that answered this question, 30.6% were households made up of just one person and 5 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 150 married couples without children, 165 married couples with children  There were 33 single parents with a child or children. There were 7 households that were made up unrelated people and 10 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.

there were 211 single family homes (or 61.7% of the total) out of a total of 342 inhabited buildings. There were 68 multi-family buildings (19.9%), along with 41 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (12.0%) and 22 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.4%). Of the single family homes 62 were built before 1919, while 31 were built between 1990 and 2000.

there were 577 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 164. There were 12 single room apartments and 182 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 504 apartments (87.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 40 apartments (6.9%) were seasonally occupied and 33 apartments (5.7%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.7 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two-room apartment was about 626.00 CHF (US$500, £280, €400), a three-room apartment was about 860.00 CHF (US$690, £390, €550) and a four-room apartment cost an average of 953.00 CHF (US$760, £430, €610). The vacancy rate for the municipality,, was 0.51%.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Heritage sites of national significance
The prehistoric hill settlement and medieval government center of Gerstelfluh and the villa Gedeon Thommen with park are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old village of Waldenburg is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 39.66% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (18.52%), the Green Party (16.47%) and the FDP (15.14%). In the federal election, a total of 282 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 38.7%.

Economy
, Waldenburg had an unemployment rate of 4.5%. , there were 37 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 445 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 14 businesses in this sector. 160 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 36 businesses in this sector. There were 675 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.3% of the workforce.

the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 571. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 26, of which 20 were in agriculture and 6 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 416 of which 403 or (96.9%) were in manufacturing and 13 (3.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 129. In the tertiary sector; 17 or 13.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 29 or 22.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 29 or 22.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5 or 3.9% were in the information industry, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 4 or 3.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 12 or 9.3% were in education and 7 or 5.4% were in health care.

, there were 520 workers who commuted into the municipality and 458 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.1 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 6.0% of the workforce coming into Waldenburg are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 23.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 45.9% used a private car.

Religion
From the, 275 or 20.7% were Roman Catholic, while 613 or 46.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 27 members of an Orthodox church (or about 2.03% of the population), there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 11 individuals (or about 0.83% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish, and 200 (or about 15.06% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist, 2 individuals who were Hindu and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 158 (or about 11.90% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 37 individuals (or about 2.79% of the population) did not answer the question.

Weather
Waldenburg has an average of 140.4 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1155 mm of precipitation. The wettest month is June during which time Waldenburg receives an average of 127 mm of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.9 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 13.9, but with only 110 mm of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is October with an average of 79 mm of precipitation over 9 days.

Education
In Waldenburg about 469 or (35.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 130 or (9.8%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 130 who completed tertiary schooling, 56.2% were Swiss men, 22.3% were Swiss women, 14.6% were non-Swiss men and 6.9% were non-Swiss women.

, there were 18 students in Waldenburg who came from another municipality, while 96 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Transport
Waldenburg is the terminus of the Waldenburg narrow gauge railway, which operates a quarter-hourly train service to Liestal. At Liestal railway station, onward connection is made with the Swiss Federal Railway's services to Basel, Bern, Lucerne and Zürich.

title: Waldenburg, Switzerland


text:
Talk:Roy Moore

Statements made about Putin edit quote with additional word
Article has the quote as 'Moore has strongly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that he is maybe "more akin to me than I know [myself]".' The addition of the word "[myself]" is not a part of the original quote, nor is it a part of the quote as it appears in either of the cited sources. It also seems to me that it doesn't add to the quote and may change its meaning.
 * I've deleted it. It's not in any source I've examined. I've given my rationale in the reason-for-edit section, but to repeat: It is semantically empty, syntactically impossible, and pragmatically confusing. JohndanR (talk) 03:37, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

Birther sentence in lead
, a few things concerning your revert. First, we don't need to include something in the source if it has nothing to do with the article. The CNN article is one of three sources for the birther claim. I read the article. It's literally all about Trump and doesn't even mention Roy Moore at all. As such, the source is totally irrelevant to the article and should be removed. Display name 99 (talk) 15:59, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Are you serious? The title of the CNN article is GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore has said he doesn't believe Obama is a natural-born citizen. The article then goes on to say:
 * - MrX 🖋 16:09, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Wow. What sort of drug are you on? The title of the article, source 23, is, Report: Trump continues to question Obama's birth certificate. I have no clue where you pulled that article from. But it should've been pretty obvious that this was the article I was talking about considering the fact that it comes after the sentence in question. Display name 99 (talk) 16:27, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Apparently not very good drugs because you're still giving me a headache (Bazinga!) . Cite #21 is for a The Hill article that cites the CNN article in the relevant section.- MrX 🖋 17:44, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Not a bad comeback, but the "Bazinga" sort of downgraded it. Anyway, so one of the three sources links to a source which mentions Trump. Do you have any idea how long our articles would be if we included everything not only in the sources but in articles linked to by the sources? Can you explain to me how that's relevant and why we need to include it? Display name 99 (talk) 18:09, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I think we should hear from other editors. I will not revert again because I don't consider it an especially important bit of information.- MrX 🖋 19:24, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Look above at the section "Birtherism." One editor already raised his concern over it. I'll wait a while longer, but if in, say, 12 hours, nobody else comments here, I'm probably going to make the edit myself. Doing so would also involve removing the CNN article that I erroneously thought you were referring to originally because it fails to mention Roy Moore. Display name 99 (talk) 19:28, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Source 23 should be removed because it doesn't discuss Moore. Moore's doubt about Obama's eligibility is lede-worthy because he went beyond others who also expressed doubts -- his doubts appeared in a court's opinion. --Weazie (talk) 20:33, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * , I'm removing that source based on your comment. However, nobody here is saying that Moore's doubt about Obama's eligibility should be taken out of the lead. The question is over whether Trump's birtherism is worthy of being mentioned as in the phrase "along with Trump." I say no. Display name 99 (talk) 21:20, 7 April 2018 (UTC)
 * , I'm removing that source based on your comment. However, nobody here is saying that Moore's doubt about Obama's eligibility should be taken out of the lead. The question is over whether Trump's birtherism is worthy of being mentioned as in the phrase "along with Trump." I say no. Display name 99 (talk) 21:20, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

"...which promoted the false claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States" Should not state [false], this should be struck.
Stating "false" here is a definitive statement and one can not make such a claim about this. The argument I have is in saying the claim is false. It's fair to say he "promoted the claim" but not fair to state true or false about this claim. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Binary Agent (talk • contribs) 22:31, 11 May 2018 (UTC)
 * It is a false claim. It has been proven to be a false claim. I suggest you WP:DROPTHESTICK. Meters (talk) 22:37, 11 May 2018 (UTC)
 * The White House release an image of a certified copy of the long form birth certificate. What more do you want? Meters (talk) 22:46, 11 May 2018 (UTC)
 * Numerous reliable sources have said the said the claim is false; that's all wikipedia requires. --Weazie (talk) 08:04, 12 May 2018 (UTC)

PC protection
Since this article has a problem with persistent vandalism, but not frequent enough to qualify for semi-protection, I have installed Pending Change protection for 6 months. Hopefully that will allow us to keep it under control. --MelanieN (talk) 18:35, 1 June 2018 (UTC)

Lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen
Numerous news outlets are reporting this: should there not be a mention somewhere in the article of the lawsuit and possibly the originating incident? The BBC, CNN , the Guardian , the New York Times, the Washington Post , even Vanity Fair !

That's got to be enough to be start with, more available all over the place HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 13:27, 10 September 2018 (UTC)
 * I thought about adding this material, but the reality is this lawsuit will likely be dismissed. Filing a losing lawsuit may not be article worthy, especially considering how long it already is. Weazie (talk) 19:56, 10 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Oddly, it's not in the Sacha Baron Cohen article. I'd say that's a better spot. It's well covered. But,as such lawsuits are routinely dismissed, I'd wait before adding here. Then again, I wouldn't argue against an addition. O3000 (talk) 21:15, 10 September 2018 (UTC)

False flag operation
We should probably mention the false flag operation by some Democrats during the Senate campaign, which made it appear that Moore's supporters favored the prohibition of alcohol in Alabama. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/us/politics/alabama-senate-facebook-roy-moore.html AxelBoldt (talk) 01:02, 8 January 2019 (UTC)
 * I saw this today and agree in principle. But, I'm struggling to come up with NPOV text from one source. Any suggestions? O3000 (talk) 01:25, 8 January 2019 (UTC)

 * Why would that belong on this page, as opposed to 2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama? Dyrnych (talk) 02:32, 8 January 2019 (UTC)

Unsupported claim of segregation support
The current version of the article describes Moore as "an advocate of far-right politics, including segregation". While the sources supplied certainly justify far-right, the only mention of segregation in any of them is the mere fact that George Wallace won the state on a segregation platform. So far as I can tell, none of them include even the suggestion that Moore endorses it, much less proof. Unless someone can find it in there, I'd suggest removing the "including segregation". 135.180.163.113 (talk) 20:48, 2 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Looked through a lot of sources. He has a lot of support from and connections to white supremacists; but I can't find a good source that comes right out and calls him a segregationist. He did come out against an anti-segregation amendment; but said it was the taxing part that bothered him and that it wasn't needed as the courts had settled it. I don't like the explanation -- but it's plausible. I removed it. O3000 (talk) 21:13, 2 September 2020 (UTC)
 * So here's the affected diff from September 2020. I think this content ought to be reinstated.  Moore advocated against removing a provision from the state constitution that mandated segregated schools (albeit this has no effect unless current federal rulings prohibiting segregation were to be overturned).  The content just says that he advocated segregation, I suppose we don't know what he thinks at this moment, we can always put this in historical perspective, and we can attribute a statement if there's some objection that the source is not properly neutral. Fabrickator (talk) 06:12, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

Reason for low quality image?
Why is a low quality screenshot of an interview from YouTube used instead of an official portrait (public domain)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamalkemal (talk • contribs) 04:52, 30 November 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 21:36, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Roy moore official portrait.jpg

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
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title: Talk:Roy Moore


text:
Egmont National Park

Egmont National Park (Te Papakura o Taranaki) is located south of New Plymouth, close to the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The park covers three volcanic cones: Mount Taranaki and its slopes, Pouakai and Kaitake. The park was first created in 1881 as a forest reserve and went on to become New Zealand’s second national park, preceded by Tongariro National Park, in 1900.

The forest reserve was created within a 6-mile (9.6-kilometre) radius around the cone of the dormant Mount Taranaki volcano. Areas encompassing the older volcanic remnants of Pouakai and Kaitake were later added to the reserve at the northwest side. The forest is surrounded on all sides by pasture, giving it a distinctly circular shape.

Climate
The park receives massive annual rainfall. Moist westerlies from the Tasman Sea form Orographic precipitation when they reach Mount Taranaki and the adjacent Pouakai and Kaitake ranges. Since the area has high annual rainfall and a mild coastal climate there is a lush rainforest covering the foothills, a forest that is nationally significant for the total absence of beech trees (genus Nothofagus).

Flora
A rich northern rātā/rimu/broadleaf forest is present, although the entire park ecosystem displays distinct patterns of altitudinal zonation – the former two large species of tree are common at lower elevations whereas kāmahi tends to dominate the stunted high elevation forest. In these old growth forests the crown fern (Blechnum discolor) is a dominant understory plant species.

The character of the plant communities continues to change with increasing elevation, to subalpine and alpine shrublands at high elevations, which are in stark contrast to the surrounding pasture farmlands. Notable among the geographical features of the park is its clear radial drainage pattern, which can be discerned in the satellite picture at right.

The Ahukawakawa Swamp is a rare high-elevation (920 m) sphagnum moss wetland located between Mount Taranaki and the Pouakai Range. It contains many endemic species adapted to acid soils and low temperatures.

Fauna
The national park is integral habitat for many species of birds that rely on the large forest. Threatened bird species within the park include Blue duck (whio), North Island brown kiwi and fernbird. Nearly half of New Zealand's indigenous fish species are found in the park, including threatened Giant kōkopu, Shortjaw kōkopu, Banded kōkopu and kōaro.

Introduced feral goats have historically degraded the forest understory. However, the park was declared free of feral goats in 2022, the first national park in New Zealand to be free of ungulates, as it was already free of feral pigs and deer. Pest animals present include possums, rodents, hares, stoats, weasels and ferrets.

title: Egmont National Park