document_title: National Mall

question_text: when was the national mall in washington dc built

question_tokens: when was the national mall in washington dc built

text: National Mall

text: History[edit]

text: L'Enfant City Plan[edit]

text:
In his 1791 plan for the future city of Washington, D.C., Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant envisioned a garden-lined "grand avenue" approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) in length
and 400 feet (120 m) wide, in an area that would lie between the Capitol building and an equestrian statue of George Washington to be placed directly south of the White House (see L'Enfant Plan).[8][9][10] The National Mall (proper) occupies the site of this planned "grand avenue", which was never constructed. Mathew Carey's 1802 map is reported to be the first to name the area west of the United States Capitol as the "Mall".[11][12][13][14]

text: The Washington City Canal, completed in 1815 in accordance with the L'Enfant Plan, travelled along the former course of Tiber Creek to the Potomac River along the present line of Constitution Avenue, NW (formerly B Street, NW) and south around the Capitol, thus defining the northern and eastern boundaries of the Mall.[15][16][17] Being shallow and often obstructed by silt, the canal served only a limited role and became an open sewer.[15] The portion of the canal that traveled near the Mall was covered over in 1871 for sanitary reasons.[15]

text: The Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle"), constructed from 1847 to 1855, is the oldest building now present on the National Mall.[18] The Washington Monument, whose construction began in 1848, stands near the planned site of its namesake's equestrian statue.[19]

text: Downing Plan[edit]

text: During the early 1850s, architect and horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing designed a landscape plan for the Mall.[9][11][20][21][22] Over the next half century, federal agencies developed several naturalistic parks within the Mall in accordance with Downing's plan.[9][11] Two such areas were Henry Park and Seaton Park.[23]

text: During that period, the Mall was subdivided into several areas along B Street NW:

text:
The Monument Grounds between 17th and 14th Street NW
The Agricultural Grounds between 14th and 12th Street NW
The Smithsonian Grounds between 12th and 7th Street NW
The Armory Square between 7th and 6th Street NW
The Public Grounds between 6th and 2nd Street NW[24]

text: In 1856, the Armory (No. 27 on the map above) was built at the intersection of B Street SW and 6th Street SW on the Armory Grounds. In 1862, during the American Civil War, the building was converted to a military hospital known as Armory Square Hospital to house Union Army casualties. After the war ended, the Armory building became the home of the United States Fish Commission.[citation needed]

text: The United States Congress established the United States Department of Agriculture in 1862 during the Civil War.[25] Designed by Adolf Cluss and Joseph von Kammerhueber, the United States Department of Agriculture Building (No. 25 on the map), was constructed in 1867–1868 on a 35-acre site on the Mall.[26] After the war ended, the Department started growing experimental crops and demonstration gardens on the Mall. These gardens extended from the Department's building on the south side of the Mall to B Street NW (the northern boundary of the Mall). The building was razed in 1930.[25] In addition, greenhouses belonging to the U.S. Botanical Garden (No. 16 on the map) appeared near the east end of the Mall between the Washington City Canal and the Capitol (later between 1st and 3rd Streets).[11]

text: Originating during the early 1800s as a collection of market stalls immediately north of the Washington City Canal and the Mall, the Center Market (No. 19 on the map), which Adolf Cluss also designed, opened in 1872 soon after the canal closed. Located on the north side of Constitution Avenue NW (formerly B Street NW), the National Archives now occupies the Market's site.[27][28]

text: During that period, railroad tracks crossed the Mall on 6th Street, west of the Capitol.[9] Near the tracks, several structures were built over the years. The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station (B on the map) rose in 1873 on the north side of the Mall at the southwest corner of 6th Street and B Street NW (now the site of the west building of the National Gallery of Art).[citation needed]

text: In 1887, the Army Medical Museum and Library, which Adolph Class designed in 1885, opened on the Mall at northwest corner of B Street SW (now Independence Avenue SW) and 7th Street SW.[29][30] The Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum now occupies the site of the building, which was demolished in 1968.[30]

text:
Department of Agriculture Building, circa 1895

The Armory as a hospital during the Civil War

Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station

Center Market, circa 1875

Center Market, between 1910 and 1930

Army Medical Museum and Library

text: McMillan Plan[edit]

text: In 1902, the McMillan Commission's plan, which was partially inspired by the City Beautiful Movement and which purportedly extended L'Enfant's plan, called for a radical redesign of the Mall that would replace its greenhouses, gardens, trees, and commercial/industrial facilities with an open space.[9][11][31] The plan differed from L'Enfant's by replacing the 400 feet (120 m) wide "grand avenue" with a 300 feet (91 m) wide vista containing a long and broad expanse of grass. Four rows of American elm (Ulmus americana) trees planted fifty feet apart between two paths or streets would line each side of the vista. Buildings housing cultural and educational institutions constructed in the Beaux-Arts style would line each outer path or street, on the opposite side of the path or street from the elms.[9][11][31][32][33][34]

text: In subsequent years, the vision of the McMillan plan was generally followed with the planting of American elms and the layout of four boulevards down the Mall, two on either side of a wide lawn.[32][35] In accordance with a plan that it completed in 1976, the NPS converted the two innermost boulevards (Washington and Adams Drives) into gravel walking paths.[32] The two outermost boulevards (Jefferson Drive Southwest (SW) and Madison Drive Northwest (NW)) remain paved and open to vehicular traffic.[32]

text: In 1918 contractors for the United States Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks constructed the "Main Navy" and "Munitions" Buildings along nearly a third of a mile of the south side of Constitution Avenue (then known as B Street), from 17th Street NW to 21st Street NW.[36][37][38] Although the Navy intended the buildings to provide temporary quarters for the United States military during World War I, the reinforced concrete structures remained in place until 1970.[36][37] Much of the buildings' area then became Constitution Gardens, which was dedicated in 1976.[37][39]

text: From the 1970s to 1994, a fiberglass model of a triceratops named "Uncle Beazley" stood on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History. The life-size statue, which is now located at the National Zoological Park (the National Zoo) in Northwest Washington, D.C., was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the Sinclair Oil Corporation. The statue, which Louis Paul Jonas created for Sinclair's DinoLand pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair, was named after a dinosaur in Oliver Butterworth's 1956 children's book, The Enormous Egg, and the 1968 televised movie adaptation in which the statue appeared.[40]

text: In 2003, the 108th United States Congress enacted the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act. This Act prohibits the siting of new commemorative works and visitor centers in a designated reserve area within the cross-axis of the Mall.[41]

text: In October 2013, a two-week federal government shutdown closed the National Mall and its museums and monuments.[42] However, when a group of elderly veterans tried to enter the National World War II Memorial during the shutdown's first day, the memorial's barricades were removed.[43] The NPS subsequently announced that the veterans had a legal right to be in the memorial and would not be barred in the future.[44] During the shutdown's second week, the NPS permitted a controversial immigration rally and concert to take place on the Mall.[45]

text: On October 15, 1966, the NPS listed the National Mall on the National Register of Historic Places.[46] In 1981, the NPS prepared a National Register nomination form that documented the Mall's boundaries, features and historical significance.[6]

text: On December 8, 2016, the NPS listed on the National Register of Historic Places an increase in the National Mall Historic District's boundary to encompass an area bounded by 3rd Street, NW/SW, Independence Avenue, SW, Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, the CSX Railroad, the Potomac River, Constitution Ave., NW, 17th Street, NW, the White House Grounds and 15th Street, NW. The listing's registration form, which contained 232 pages, described and illustrated the history and features of the historic district's proposed expanded area.[2]

text: Measurements[edit]

text: Dimensions[edit]

text:
Between the Capitol steps and the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall spans 1.9 miles (3.0 km).
Between the Capitol steps and the Washington Monument, the Mall spans 1.2 miles (1.8 km).
Between the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall covers 309.2 acres (125.13 ha).
Between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW at 7th Street, the width of the Mall is 1,586 feet (483 m).
Between Madison Drive NW and Jefferson Drive SW at 7th Street, the width of the Mall's open space is 656 feet (200 m).
Between the innermost rows of trees near 7th Street, the width of the Mall's vista is 300 feet (91 m).

text: Boundaries[edit]

text: In its 1981 National Register of Historic Places nomination form, the NPS defined the boundaries of the National Mall (proper) as Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues on the north, 1st Street NW on the east, Independence and Maryland Avenues on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, with the exception of the section of land bordered by Jefferson Drive on the north, Independence Avenue on the south, and by 12th and 14th Streets respectively on the east and west, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture administers and which contains the Jamie L. Whitten Building (U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building).[6][47] A 2012-2016 NPS National Parks index describes the National Mall as being a landscaped park that extends from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, defined as a principal axis in the L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington.[4]

text: However, a 2010 NPS plan for the Mall contains maps that show the Mall's general area to be larger.[48][49] A document within the plan describes this area as "the grounds of the U.S. Capitol west to the Potomac River, and from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial north to Constitution Avenue".[5] A map within the plan entitled "National Mall Areas" illustrates "The Mall" as being the green space bounded on the east by 3rd Street, on the west by 14th Street, on the north by Jefferson Drive, NW, and on the south by Madison Drive, SW.[50] A Central Intelligence Agency map shows the Mall as occupying the space between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol.[51]

text: In 2011, the 112th United States Congress enacted the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012, which transferred to the Architect of the Capitol the NPS "property which is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, on the east by First Street Northwest and First Street Southwest, on the south by Maryland Avenue Southwest, and on the west by Third Street Southwest and Third Street Northwest".[52] This act removed Union Square (the area containing the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and the Capitol Reflecting Pool) from NPS jurisdiction.[53]

text: Purposes[edit]

text: The National Park Service states that the purposes of the National Mall are to:

text:
Provide a monumental, dignified, and symbolic setting for the governmental structures, museums and national memorials as first delineated by the L'Enfant plan and further outlined in the McMillan plan.
Maintain and provide for the use of the National Mall with its public promenades as a completed work of civic art, a designed historic landscape providing extraordinary vistas to symbols of the nation.
Maintain National Mall commemorative works (memorials, monuments, statues, sites, gardens) that honor presidential legacies, distinguished public figures, ideas, events, and military and civilian sacrifices and contributions.
Forever retain the West Potomac Park section of the National Mall as a public park for recreation and enjoyment of the people.
Maintain the National Mall in the heart of the nation's capital as a stage for national events and a preeminent national civic space for public gatherings because it is here that the constitutional rights of speech and peaceful assembly find their fullest expression.
Maintain the National Mall as an area free of commercial advertising while retaining the ability to recognize sponsors.[5]

text: Landmarks, museums, and other features[edit]

text:
Lincoln Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
National World War II Memorial (under construction)

tag: ol

text: Not marked on the above image:

text:
Constitution Gardens (above the Reflecting Pool)
Below the Reflecting Pool (outside of the image): the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the District of Columbia War Memorial.
Below the Lincoln Memorial (outside of the image): the John Ericsson National Memorial

text: The National Mall proper contains the following landmarks, museums and other features (including opening year):[5][6]

text:
2. National Museum of American History (1964)[54]
3. National Museum of Natural History (1910)
4. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden (1999)
5. West Building of the National Gallery of Art (1941)
6. East Building of the National Gallery of Art (1978)

10. National Museum of the American Indian (2004)
11. National Air and Space Museum (1976)
12. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (1974)
13. Arts and Industries Building (1881)

14. Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle") (1849)
15. Freer Gallery of Art (1923)
16. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (1987)
17. National Museum of African Art (1987)

text: Not marked on the above image:

text:
Andrew Jackson Downing Urn[55]
Joseph Henry Statue[56]
Smithsonian Carousel[57]

text: With the exception of the National Gallery of Art, all of the museums on the National Mall proper are part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Gardens maintains a number of gardens near its museums.[58] These gardens include:

text:
Mary Livingston Ripley Garden[59][60]
Enid A. Haupt Garden[61]
Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden[62]
Butterfly Habitat Garden[63]
Victory Garden at the National Museum of American History[64]
Heirloom Garden at the National Museum of American History, Behring Center[65]
Native Landscape at the National Museum of the American Indian[66]
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden[67]

text: The broader area of the National Mall includes numerous other landmarks and features.

text: Features east of the National Mall proper include:

text:
United States Capitol and its grounds (no. 7 on image)
Union Square,[68] containing:
Capitol Reflecting Pool (no. 8 on image)
Ulysses S. Grant Memorial (east of no. 8 on image)
Peace Monument (in traffic circle northeast of no. 8 in image)[69]
United States Botanic Garden (no. 9 on image)
James A. Garfield Monument (in traffic circle northeast of no. 9 in image)[70]

text: Features west of the National Mall proper include:

text:
United States Department of Agriculture South Building
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Washington Monument and its grounds (no. 1 on image)[5]
Constitution Gardens
Sylvan Theater
Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
National World War II Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Three Soldiers Statue
Vietnam Women's Memorial
District of Columbia War Memorial
John Ericsson National Memorial
John Paul Jones Memorial
Lockkeeper's House, C & O Canal Extension[71]
Jefferson Pier

text: The population of American elm trees planted on the Mall and its surrounding areas in accordance with the McMillan Plan has remained intact for the past 70 years because of disease management and immediate tree replacement. Dutch elm disease (DED) first appeared on the Mall during the 1950s and reached a peak in the 1970s. The NPS has used a number of methods to control this fungal epidemic, including sanitation, pruning, injecting trees with fungicide, replanting with DED-resistant American elm cultivars and combatting the disease's local insect vector, the smaller European elm bark beetle (Scolytus multistriatus), by trapping and by spraying with insecticides. Soil compaction and root damage by crowds and construction projects also adversely affect the elms.[72]

text: Demolished or moved structures[edit]

text:
Washington City Canal, covered over by Constitution Avenue NW, 3rd Street NW and SW and Canal Street SW (now Washington Street SW).
Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station closed in 1907 when Union Station opened.
United States Department of Agriculture Building, razed in 1930.
Center Market replaced in 1931 by the National Archives Building.
Armory Square Hospital/Armory replaced in 1964 by the National Air and Space Museum.
Army Medical Museum and Library, demolished in 1968; replaced by the Hirshhorn Museum
Uncle Beazley moved in 1994 to the National Zoo.

text: Other attractions nearby[edit]

text: Other attractions within walking distance of the National Mall proper include:

text: Attractions east of the Capitol:

text:
Library of Congress
United States Supreme Court Building
Folger Shakespeare Library

text: Attractions northeast of the National Mall proper:

text:
National Postal Museum
Union Station

text: Attractions north of the National Mall proper:

text:
National Archives
The Freedom Forum's Newseum
Old Post Office Building and Clock Tower
Inlay of L'Enfant's plan for the federal capital city in Freedom Plaza
National Theatre
Ford's Theatre

text: Attractions northwest of the National Mall proper:

text:
White House (on a line directly north of the Washington Monument)
The Ellipse
Albert Einstein Memorial

text: Attractions south of the National Mall proper:

text:
Museum of the Bible
Overlook in Benjamin Banneker Park

text: Attractions southwest of the National Mall (proper):

text:
Tidal Basin
Jefferson Memorial
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
George Mason Memorial
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Bureau of Engraving and Printing

text: Usage[edit]

text: The National Mall, in combination with the other attractions in the Washington Metropolitan Area, makes the nation's capital city one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. It has several other uses in addition to serving as a tourist focal point.

text: Protests and rallies[edit]

text: The National Mall's status as a wide, open expanse at the heart of the capital makes it an attractive site for protests and rallies of all types. One notable example is the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a political rally during the Civil Rights Movement, at which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech "I Have a Dream".

text: The largest officially recorded rally was the Vietnam War Moratorium Rally on October 15, 1969. However, in 1995, the NPS issued a crowd estimate for the Million Man March with which an organizer of the event, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, disagreed.[73][74] The next year, a committee of the 104th United States Congress provided no funds for NPS crowd-counting activities in Washington, D.C. when it prepared legislation making 1997 appropriations for the U.S. Department of the Interior.[73][75]

text: As a result, the NPS has not provided any official crowd size estimates for Mall events since 1995.[73][76][77][78] The absence of such an official estimate fueled a political controversy following the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017 (see: Inauguration of Donald Trump crowd size).[79][80]

text: On April 25, 2004, the March for Women's Lives filled the Mall.[81] On January 27, 2007, tens of thousands of protesters opposed to the Iraq War converged on the Mall (see: January 27, 2007 anti-war protest), drawing comparisons by participants to the Vietnam War protest.[82][83]

text: On June 12, 2018, the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals staged a rally on the Mall after parading through the city to celebrate the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship victory. Tens of thousands of fans reportedly joined the beer-soaked event.[84]

text: Presidential inaugurations[edit]

text: During presidential inaugurations, people without official tickets gather at the National Mall. Normally, the Mall between 7th and 14th Streets NW is used as a staging ground for the parade.[85] On December 4, 2008, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (see: United States presidential inauguration organizers) announced, "for the first time, the entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public so that more people than ever before will be able to witness the swearing-in of the President from a vantage point in sight of the Capitol."[86] The Committee made this arrangement because of the massive attendance – projected to be as many as 2 million people – that it expected for the first inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

text: Despite the arrangement, a throng of people seeking access to the event climbed and then removed temporary protective fences around the Smithsonian's Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, six blocks from the site at which Obama took his inaugural oath. Hordes then trampled the garden's vegetation and elevated plant beds when entering and leaving the event.[87] Others could not find a way to enter the Mall in time to view the ceremony.

text: More than a thousand people with tickets missed the event while being stranded in the I-395 Third Street Tunnel beneath the Mall after police directed them there (see Purple Tunnel of Doom).[88] The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies subsequently announced that ticket holders that were not admitted would receive copies of the swearing-in invitation and program, photos of Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, and a color print of the ceremony.[89]

text: Other events and recreational activities[edit]

text: The National Mall has long served as a spot for jogging, picnics, and light recreation for the Washington population. The Smithsonian Carousel, located on the Mall in front of the Arts and Industry Building, is a popular attraction that operates seasonally.[90] The carousel was built by the Allan Herschell Company and arrived at Gwynn Oak Park near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1947. It was moved to the Mall in 1981.[57]

text: Annual events[edit]

text: A number of large free events recur annually on the Mall.[91] A kite festival, formerly named the "Smithsonian Kite Festival" and now named the "Blossom Kite Festival", usually takes place each year on the Washington Monument grounds during the last weekend of March as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The 2018 kite festival took place on the Washington Monument grounds on Saturday, March 31.[92]

text:
An Earth Day celebration often takes place on the Mall around April 22.[93] A week-long series of rallies, exhibits, observances and performances occurred on the Mall from April 17 to April 25, 2010 to commemorate Earth Day's 40th anniversary.[94] The final day's events featured performances by Sting, Mavis Staples, The Roots, John Legend and others.[95] The 2012 Earth Day rally, which featured music, entertainment, celebrity speakers and environmental activities, took place on the Mall during a rainy day on Sunday, April 22. Cheap Trick, Dave Mason, Kicking Daisies, Sting, John Legend, Joss Stone, The Roots, Mavis Staples, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Weir and The Explorers Club performed and Congressmen John Dingell and Edward Markey spoke.[96] In 2013, an "Earth Month" at Washington's Union Station replaced the Mall's Earth Day event.[97] On April 19, 2015, a "Global Citizen" Earth Day concert featured performances on the Washington Monument grounds by Usher, My Morning Jacket, Mary J. Blige,
Train and No Doubt.[98]

text: The National Symphony Orchestra presents each year its National Memorial Day Concert on the west lawn of the United States Capitol during the evening of the Sunday before Memorial Day (the last Monday of May).[99] The National Gallery of Art hosts a Jazz in the Garden series each year in the museum's Sculpture Garden on Friday evenings from late May through August.[100]

text: Components of the United States Navy Band, the United States Air Force Band, the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Band perform on the west steps of the United States Capitol on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, respectively, during June, July and August.[101][102] The Marine Band repeats each Wednesday Capitol performance on the following evening (Thursday) at the Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument.[102] Components of U.S. military bands also provide evening concerts at the World War II Memorial from May through August.[103]

text: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival takes place on the Mall each year for two weeks around Independence Day (July 4).[104][105] On that holiday, the A Capitol Fourth concert takes place in the late afternoon and early evening on the west lawn of the Capitol.[106] This and other Independence Day celebrations on and near the Mall end after sunset with a fireworks display between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.[107]

text: The National Symphony Orchestra presents each year its Labor Day Capitol Concert on the west lawn of the United States Capitol during the evening of the Sunday before Labor Day (the first Monday of September).[108]

text: Other events[edit]

text: On April 9, 1939, singer Marian Anderson gave an Easter Sunday concert at the Lincoln Memorial after the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) denied a request by Howard University for her to give an Easter performance at the DAR's nearby racially segregated Constitution Hall (see: Marian Anderson's 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert). The event, which 75,000 people attended, occurred after President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his assent for the performance.[109][110]

text: The 1976 United States Bicentennial celebration provided the motivation for planning to accommodate large numbers of expected visitors to the National Mall.  A number of major memorials were added to the Mall throughout that period.[111] On May 21, 1976, Constitution Gardens was dedicated.[112] On July 1, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum opened.[113] On July 4, the Bicentennial fireworks display on the Mall attracted one million viewers, making it second only to the 1965 presidential inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson as the largest event in the Mall's history up to that time.[114]

text: On Sunday, October 9, 1979, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the National Mall during a visit to Washington.[115] The celebration took place after an appellate court denied a motion for an injunction that atheists Madalyn Murray O'Hair and Jon Garth Murray had filed to prevent the event from occurring.[116]

text: From 1980 through 1982, The Beach Boys and The Grass Roots performed Independence Day concerts on the Mall, attracting large crowds.[117][118][119] However, in April 1983, James G. Watt, President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, banned Independence Day concerts on the Mall by such groups. Watt said that "rock bands" that had performed on the Mall on Independence Day in 1981 and 1982 had encouraged drug use and alcoholism and had attracted "the wrong element", who would mug individuals and families attending any similar events in the future.[118] Watt then announced that Las Vegas crooner Wayne Newton, a friend and supporter of President Reagan and a contributor to Republican Party political campaigns, would perform at the Mall's 1983 Independence Day celebration.[118][120]

text: During the ensuing uproar, Rob Grill, lead singer of The Grass Roots, stated that he felt "highly insulted" by Watt's remarks, which he called "nothing but un-American".[118] The Beach Boys stated that the Soviet Union, which had invited them to perform in Leningrad in 1978, "obviously .... did not feel that the group attracted the wrong element".[118] Vice President George H. W. Bush said of The Beach Boys, "They're my friends and I like their music".[118] On July 3, 1983, thousands attended a heavily policed "Rock Against Reagan" concert that the hardcore punk rock band, Dead Kennedys, performed on the Mall in response to Watt's action.[121] When Newton entered an Independence Day stage on the Mall on July 4, members of his audience booed.[122][123] Watt apologized to The Beach Boys, First Lady Nancy Reagan apologized for Watt, and in 1984 The Beach Boys gave an Independence Day concert on the Mall to an audience of 750,000 people.[122][124]

text: On September 4, 2003, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Aerosmith and others performed in a nationally televised "NFL Kickoff Live from the National Mall Presented by Pepsi Vanilla" (see: Pre-game concerts for National Football League kickoff game).[125] Preceded by a three-day National Football League "interactive Super Bowl theme park", the event had primarily commercial purposes, unlike earlier major activities on the Mall. Three weeks later, the United States Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation that, when enacted into law, limited displays of commercial sponsorship on the Mall.[126]

text: On July 7, 2007, one leg of Live Earth was held outdoors at the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. Former Vice President Al Gore presented, and artists such as Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed.[127]

text: Occurring once every two to three years on the Mall in the early fall from 2002 to 2009,[128] the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon displayed solar-powered houses that competitive collegiate teams designed, constructed and operated.[129][130] Igniting a controversy, the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to move the 2011 Decathlon off the Mall, claiming that this would support an effort to protect, improve and restore the park.[131] Federal officials stated that heavy equipment that had placed two-story houses on the Mall during earlier Decathlons had cracked walkways and killed grass to a greater extent than had most other Mall events.[132] On February 4, 2011, a Washington Post editorial criticized attempts to have President Obama restore the event to the Mall.[133] Nevertheless, by February 12, 2011, at least thirteen U.S. Senators had signed a letter asking the DOE to reconsider its decision.[132] On February 23, 2011, the DOE and the Department of the Interior announced that the 2011 Solar Decathlon would take place along Ohio Drive southeast of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in West Potomac Park.[134] The event took place in the Park from September 23 through October 2, 2011.[130][135] The 2013 Solar Decathlon took place in California instead of Washington.[136]

text: From 2003 to 2013, the National Book Festival took place on the Mall each year in late September or early October.[137] However, the event moved to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in 2014 because the NPS became concerned about the damage that pedestrians had inflicted on the Mall's lawn during previous Festivals.[138]

text: A four-day exhibition took place each year on the Mall during Public Service Recognition Week (the first full week of May) until 2010. Government agencies participating in the event sponsored exhibits that displayed the works of public employees and that enabled visitors to learn about government programs and initiatives, discuss employee benefits, and interact with agency representatives.[139] However, the 2011 United States federal budget (Public Law 112-10), which was belatedly enacted on April 15, 2011, contained no funding for that year's event, forcing the event's cancellation.[140] The event did not take place in 2012.[141]

text: On June 12, 2010, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, a couple under investigation for allegedly crashing a White House state dinner for the Prime Minister of India in November 2009 (see: 2009 U.S. state dinner security breaches), hosted an America's Polo Cup match between the United States and India on the Mall. The advertised ticket price for this event was $95 per person.[142] Reports of the event stated that the players who represented India were actually of Pakistani origin and were from Florida.[143] A spokesman for the Embassy of India stated that neither the Embassy nor the government of India had any association with the event.[142] The event's website reportedly identified an Indian company, Kingfisher Beer, as a sponsor. However, Kingfishers' chief executive denied that the company had sponsored the event.[142] Yashpal Singh, the president and chief executive of Mendocino Brewing Company, Kingfisher's parent company, stated, "We are not sponsoring this event and have informed the people managing this event of that, .... We have sent legal notices to this effect, and he keeps on advertising us as a sponsor. I don't know what world he's living in."[142]

text: The inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo took place on the National Mall and surrounding areas on October 23 and 24, 2010. More than 1,500 free interactive exhibits reportedly drew about 500,000 people to the event,[144] which had over 75 performances.[145] The second Expo took place on April 28–29, 2012, in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.[146]

text: On Veterans Day, November 11, 2014, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Rihanna, Metallica, Carrie Underwood, Dave Grohl, the Zac Brown Band and other pop entertainers performed on the Mall during a free evening Concert for Valor honoring veterans and their families.  Attendance was in the hundreds of thousands, making it one of the biggest events on the Mall for the year.[147]

text: The annual Screen on the Green movie festival took place on the Mall on Monday nights during July and August for 17 years until 2015. Free classic movies were projected on large portable screens and typically drew crowds of thousands of people. Organizers cancelled the event in 2016 when the event's sponsors (HBO and Comcast) terminated their support, stating that they needed their resources for other projects.[148]

text: National Mall Plan[edit]

text: From 2006 through 2010, the NPS conducted a public process that created a plan for the future of the National Mall.[48] On July 13, 2010, the NPS issued in the Federal Register a notice of availability of a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the National Mall Plan.[149] The two-volume final EIS responded to comments and incorporated changes to a draft EIS for the Plan.[150] On November 9, 2010, the NPS and the Department of the Interior issued a Record of Decision (ROD) that completed the planning process.[48][151][152][153] The ROD contains a summary of the selected alternative, which is the basis for the Plan, together with mitigation measures developed to minimize environmental harm; other alternatives considered; the basis for the decision in terms of planning objectives and the criteria used to develop the preferred alternative; a finding of no impairment of park resources and values; the environmentally preferable alternative; and the public and agency involvement.[154][155]

text: The Plan proposed a number of changes to the Mall. The NPS would construct at the east end of the Mall a wide expanse of paved surface in Union Square to accommodate demonstrations and other events by reducing the size of the Capitol Reflecting Pool or by replacing the pool with a fountain or other small water feature. Additional proposed changes included the replacement of the Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument grounds with a facility containing offices, restaurants and restrooms.[48][151][152][153]

text: On December 2, 2010, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) unanimously approved the final National Mall Plan at a public hearing.[156][157] The NCPC's approval allowed the NPS to move forward with implementation of the Plan's recommendations.[48][153][154][156] On March 1, 2012, the NCPC discussed a proposal that would decrease the Mall's existing green space by widening and paving most of the north-south walkways that cross the Mall between Seventh and Fourteenth Streets and by replacing with gravel large areas of grass that are located near the Smithsonian Metro Station and the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden.[158]

text: On September 8, 2011, the Trust for the National Mall[159] and the NPS announced an open competition for a redesign of the spaces on the National Mall that Union Square, the Sylvan Theater grounds and the Constitution Gardens lake now occupy.[160] Former First Lady of the United States Laura Bush agreed to be the honorary co-chair of a drive to raise funds for the three projects.[160]

text: On April 9, 2012, the Trust for the National Mall announced the ideas for the redesign of Union Square, the Sylvan Theater grounds and Constitution Gardens lake area that finalists in the competition had submitted. The Trust asked the public to submit online comments that the competition jury would consider when evaluating each design.[161] The Trust announced the winners of the competition on May 2, 2012. Groundbreaking for the first project was expected to take place by 2014, with the first ribbon-cutting ceremony by 2016.[162]

text: On October 1, 2015, the NCPC approved preliminary and final site and building plans that the NPS had submitted for the first phase rehabilitation of Constitution Gardens. Plans include the relocation and rehabilitation of the Lockkeeper's House, C & O Canal Extension, a new entry plaza at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, NW, landscaping, a meadow and pollinator habitat and a new perimeter garden wall. A temporary path will connect to an existing plaza located at the eastern end of Constitution Garden's lake.[163]

text: Reconstruction and restoration[edit]

text: From 2010 to 2012, NPS contractors rebuilt the aging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which had first been constructed in the early 1920s and whose water had come from the pipes that supply Washington, D.C., with its drinking water. As a result of the project, the pool now receives filtered water from the Tidal Basin through a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline.[164]

text: The NPS then began a four-year restoration of the portion of the central axis of the Mall that lies between 3rd Street and 14th Street.[165] By 2016, the restoration project had completely replaced the deteriorated and weedy turf that had previously covered much of that part of the Mall with a new cover containing soil, fescue (Festuca) and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis).[166]

text:
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool before reconstruction (April 2010)

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool undergoing reconstruction (June 2011)

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool undergoing reconstruction (December 2011)

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after reconstruction (May 2016)

Axis of National Mall before restoration (July 2012)

Axis of National Mall undergoing restoration (October 2015)

Axis of National Mall after restoration (September 2016)

text: Transportation[edit]

text: Public transportation[edit]

text: The National Mall is accessible via the Washington Metro, with the Smithsonian station located on the south side of the Mall, near the Smithsonian Institution Building between the Washington Monument and the United States Capitol.[167] The Federal Triangle, Archives, and Union Station Metro stations are also located near the Mall, to the north.[168] The L'Enfant Plaza, Federal Center Southwest and Capitol South Metro stations are located several blocks south of the Mall.[169] Metrobus and the DC Circulator make scheduled stops near the Mall.[170]

text: Bicycles[edit]

text: The NPS provides parking facilities for bicycles near each of the major memorials as well as along the National Mall.[171] From March to October, an NPS concessionaire rents out bicycles at the Thompson Boat Center, located near the intersection of Virginia Avenue NW and Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the Lincoln Memorial along the Potomac River-Rock Creek Trail.[171][172] The first two of five approved Capital Bikeshare stations opened on the National Mall on March 16, 2012, shortly before the start of the 2012 National Cherry Blossom Festival.[173]

text: The National Mall is the official midpoint of the East Coast Greenway, a 2,900 mile–long system of shared-use bicycle trails linking Calais, Maine, with Key West, Florida.[174]

text: Pedicabs[edit]

text: The NPS licenses pedicab drivers to provide transportation and tours of the National Mall through its Commercial Use Authorization program.[175]

text: Motor vehicle parking[edit]

text: General visitor parking is available along Ohio Drive SW, between the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials. Bus parking is available primarily along Ohio Drive, SW, near the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials and along Ohio Drive SW, in East Potomac Park. There is limited handicapped parking at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt and World War II Memorials and near the Washington Monument and the Thomas Jefferson, Lincoln, Korean War Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans Memorials; otherwise, parking is extremely scarce in and near the Mall.[176]

text: In April 2017, the NPS awarded a contract for the installation of parking meters on streets and in parking areas on the Mall. On June 12, 2017, the NPS and the District of Columbia Department of Public Works began to enforce metered parking on approximately 1,100 parking spaces in which motorists could previously park without charge.[176][177]


document_title: Government debt

question_text: all the money borrowed by the federal government over the years and still outstanding is known as

root

text: Government debt

text: History[edit]

text: During the Early Modern era, European monarchs would often default on their loans or arbitrarily refuse to pay them back. This generally made financiers wary of lending to the king and the finances of countries that were often at war remained extremely volatile.

tag: p

text: The creation of the first central bank in England—an institution designed to lend to the government—was initially an expedient by William III of England for the financing of his war against France. He engaged a syndicate of city traders and merchants to offer for sale an issue of government debt. This syndicate soon evolved into the Bank of England, eventually financing the wars of the Duke of Marlborough and later Imperial conquests.

text: The establishment of the bank was devised by Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, in 1694, to the plan which had been proposed by William Paterson three years before, but had not been acted upon.[5] He proposed a loan of £1.2m to the government; in return the subscribers would be incorporated as The Governor and Company of the Bank of England with long-term banking privileges including the issue of notes. The Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694.[6]

text: The founding of the Bank of England revolutionised public finance and put an end to defaults such as the Great Stop of the Exchequer of 1672, when Charles II had suspended payments on his bills. From then on, the British Government would never fail to repay its creditors.[7] In the following centuries, other countries in Europe and later around the world adopted similar financial institutions to manage their government debt.

text: 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, British government debt reached a peak of more than 200% of GDP.[8]

text: Government and sovereign bonds[edit]

text: A government bond is a bond issued by a national government. Such bonds are most often denominated in the country's domestic currency. Sovereigns can also issue debt in foreign currencies: almost 70% of all debt in 2000 was denominated in US dollars.[9] Government bonds are sometimes regarded as risk-free bonds, because national governments can if necessary create money de novo to redeem the bond in their own currency at maturity. Although many governments are prohibited by law from creating money directly (that function having been delegated to their central banks), central banks may provide finance by buying government bonds, sometimes referred to as monetizing the debt.

text: Government debt, synonymous to sovereign debt,[10] can be issued either in domestic or foreign currencies. Investors in sovereign bonds denominated in foreign currency have exchange rate risk: the foreign currency might depreciate against the investor's local currency. Sovereigns issuing debt denominated in a foreign currency may furthermore be unable to obtain that foreign currency to service debt. In the 2010 Greek debt crisis, for example, the debt is held by Greece in Euros, and one proposed solution (advanced notably by World Pensions Council (WPC) financial economists) is for Greece to go back to issuing its own drachma.[11][12] This proposal would only address future debt issuance, leaving substantial existing debts denominated in what would then be a foreign currency, potentially doubling their cost[13]

text: By country[edit]

text: This article or section may contain misleading parts. Please help clarify this article according to any suggestions provided on the talk page. (October 2015)

tag: table

text: Public debt is the total of all borrowing of a government, minus repayments denominated in a country's home currency. CIA's World Factbook lists only the percentages of GDP; the total debt and per capita amounts have been calculated in the table below using the GDP (PPP) and population figures of the same report.

text: A debt to GDP ratio is one of the most accepted ways of assessing the significance of a nation's debt. For example, one of the criteria of admission to the European Union's euro currency is that an applicant country's debt should not exceed 60% of that country's GDP.

text:
National public debts greater than 0.5% of world public debt, 2012 estimates (CIA World Factbook 2013)[14]

country
public debt
(billion USD)
 % of GDP
per capita (USD)
 % of world public debt

World
56,308
64%
7,936
100.0%

 United States*
17,607
74%
55,630
31.3%

 Japan
9,872
214%
77,577
17.5%

 China
3,894
32%
2,885
6.9%

 Germany
2,592
82%
31,945
4.6%

 Italy
2,334
126%
37,956
4.1%

 France
2,105
90%
31,915
3.7%

 United Kingdom
2,064
89%
32,553
3.7%

 Brazil
1,324
55%
6,588
2.4%

 Spain
1,228
85%
25,931
2.2%

 Canada
1,206
84%
34,902
2.1%

 India
995
52%
830
1.8%

 Mexico
629
35%
5,416
1.1%

 South Korea
535
34%
10,919
1.0%

 Turkey
489
40%
6,060
0.9%

 Netherlands
488
69%
29,060
0.9%

 Egypt
479
85%
5,610
0.9%

 Greece
436
161%
40,486
0.8%

 Poland
434
54%
11,298
0.8%

 Belgium
396
100%
37,948
0.7%

 Singapore
370
111%
67,843
0.7%

 Taiwan
323
36%
13,860
0.6%

 Argentina
323
42%
7,571
0.6%

 Indonesia
311
25%
1,240
0.6%

 Russia
308
12%
2,159
0.6%

 Portugal
297
120%
27,531
0.5%

 Thailand
292
43%
4,330
0.5%

 Pakistan
283
50%
1,462
0.5%

text: * US data exclude debt issued by individual US states, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of Treasury borrowings from surpluses in the trusts for Federal Social Security, Federal Employees, Hospital Insurance (Medicare and Medicaid), Disability and Unemployment, and several other smaller trusts; if data for intra-government debt were added, "Gross Debt" would increase by about one-third of GDP. The debt of the United States over time is documented online at the Department of the Treasury's website TreasuryDirect.Gov[15] as well as current totals.[16]

text:
Public Debt Top 20, 2010 estimate (CIA World Factbook 2011)[17]

Country
Public Debt
(billion USD)
 % of GDP
per capita (USD)
Note (2008 estimate)
(billion USD)

 USA
$9,133
  62%
$29,158
($5,415,   38%)

 Japan
$8,512
198%
$67,303
($7,469, 172%)

 Germany
$2,446
  83%
$30,024
($1,931,   66%)

 Italy
$2,113
119%
$34,627
($1,933, 106%)

 India
$2,107
  52%
$   1,489
($1,863,   56%)

 China
$1,907
  19%
$   1,419
($1,247,   16%)

 France
$1,767
  82%
$27,062
($1,453,   68%)

 UK
$1,654
  76%
$26,375
($1,158,   52%)

 Brazil
$1,281
  59%
$   6,299
($    775,   39%)

 Canada
$1,117
  84%
$32,829
($    831,   64%)

 Spain
$    823
  60%
$17,598
($    571,   41%)

 Mexico
$    577
  37%
$   5,071
($    561,   36%)

 Greece
$    454
143%
$42,216
($    335,   97%)

 Netherlands
$    424
  63%
$25,152
($    392,   58%)

 Turkey
$    411
  43%
$   5,218
($    362,   40%)

 Belgium
$    398
101%
$38,139
($    350,   90%)

 Egypt
$    398
  80%
$   4,846
($    385,   87%)

 Poland
$    381
  53%
$   9,907
($    303,   45%)

 South Korea
$    331
  23%
$   6,793
($    326,   24%)

 Singapore
$    309
106%
$65,144

 Taiwan
$    279
  34%
$12,075

text: Municipal, provincial, or state bonds[edit]

text: Municipal bonds, "munis" in the United States, are debt securities issued by local governments (municipalities).

text: Denominated in reserve currencies[edit]

text: Governments often borrow money in a currency in which the demand for debt securities is strong. An advantage of issuing bonds in a currency such as the US dollar, the pound sterling, or the euro is that many investors wish to invest in such bonds. Countries such as the United States, Germany, Italy and France have only issued in their domestic currency (or in the Euro in the case of Euro members).

text: Relatively few investors are willing to invest in currencies that do not have a long track record of stability. A disadvantage for a government issuing bonds in a foreign currency is that there is a risk that it will not be able to obtain the foreign currency to pay the interest or redeem the bonds. In 1997 and 1998, during the Asian financial crisis, this became a serious problem when many countries were unable to keep their exchange rate fixed due to speculative attacks.

text: Risk[edit]

text: Although a national government may choose to default for political reasons, lending to a national government in the country's own sovereign currency is generally considered "risk free" and is done at a so-called "risk-free interest rate." This is because the debt and interest can be repaid by raising tax receipts (either by economic growth or raising tax revenue), a reduction in spending, or by creating more money. However, it is widely considered that this would increase inflation and thus reduce the value of the invested capital (at least for debt not linked to inflation). This has happened many times throughout history, and a typical example of this is provided by Weimar Germany of the 1920s, which suffered from hyperinflation when the government massively printed money, because of its inability to pay the national debt deriving from the costs of World War I.

text: In practice, the market interest rate tends to be different for debts of different countries. An example is in borrowing by different European Union countries denominated in euros. Even though the currency is the same in each case, the yield required by the market is higher for some countries' debt than for others. This reflects the views of the market on the relative solvency of the various countries and the likelihood that the debt will be repaid. Further, there are historical examples where countries defaulted, i.e., refused to pay their debts, even when they had the ability of paying it with printed money. This is because printing money has other effects that the government may see as more problematic than defaulting.

text: A politically unstable state is anything but risk-free as it may—being sovereign—cease its payments. Examples of this phenomenon include Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries, which nullified its government debt seven times during a century, and revolutionary Russia of 1917 which refused to accept the responsibility for Imperial Russia's foreign debt.[18] Another political risk is caused by external threats. It is mostly uncommon for invaders to accept responsibility for the national debt of the annexed state or that of an organization it considered as rebels. For example, all borrowings by the Confederate States of America were left unpaid after the American Civil War. On the other hand, in the modern era, the transition from dictatorship and illegitimate governments to democracy does not automatically free the country of the debt contracted by the former government. Today's highly developed global credit markets would be less likely to lend to a country that negated its previous debt, or might require punishing levels of interest rates that would be unacceptable to the borrower.

text: U.S. Treasury bonds denominated in U.S. dollars are often considered "risk free" in the U.S. This disregards the risk to foreign purchasers of depreciation in the dollar relative to the lender's currency. In addition, a risk-free status implicitly assumes the stability of the US government and its ability to continue repayments during any financial crisis.

text: Lending to a national government in a currency other than its own does not give the same confidence in the ability to repay, but this may be offset by reducing the exchange rate risk to foreign lenders. On the other hand, national debt in foreign currency cannot be disposed of by starting a hyperinflation;[citation needed] and this increases the credibility of the debtor. Usually small states with volatile economies have most of their national debt in foreign currency. For countries in the Eurozone, the euro is the local currency, although no single state can trigger inflation by creating more currency.

text: Lending to a local or municipal government can be just as risky as a loan to a private company, unless the local or municipal government has sufficient power to tax. In this case, the local government could to a certain extent pay its debts by increasing the taxes, or reduce spending, just as a national one could. Further, local government loans are sometimes guaranteed by the national government, and this reduces the risk. In some jurisdictions, interest earned on local or municipal bonds is tax-exempt income, which can be an important consideration for the wealthy.

text: Clearing and defaults[edit]

text: Public debt clearing standards are set by the Bank for International Settlements, but defaults are governed by extremely complex laws which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Globally, the International Monetary Fund can take certain steps to intervene to prevent anticipated defaults. It is sometimes criticized for the measures it advises nations to take, which often involve cutting back on government spending as part of an economic austerity regime. In triple bottom line analysis, this can be seen as degrading capital on which the nation's economy ultimately depends.

text: Those considerations do not apply to private debts, by contrast: credit risk (or the consumer credit rating) determines the interest rate, more or less, and entities go bankrupt if they fail to repay. Governments need a far more complex way of managing defaults because they cannot really go bankrupt (and suddenly stop providing services to citizens), albeit in some cases a government may disappear as it happened in Somalia or as it may happen in cases of occupied countries where the occupier doesn't recognize the occupied country's debts.

text: Smaller jurisdictions, such as cities, are usually guaranteed by their regional or national levels of government. When New York City declined into what would have been a bankrupt status during the 1970s (had it been a private entity), by the mid-1970s a "bailout" was required from New York State and the United States. In general, such measures amount to merging the smaller entity's debt into that of the larger entity and thereby giving it access to the lower interest rates the larger entity enjoys. The larger entity may then assume some agreed-upon oversight in order to prevent recurrence of the problem.

text: Economic policy basis[edit]

text: According to Modern Monetary Theory, public debt is seen as private wealth and interest payments on the debt as private income. The outstanding public debt is an expression of the accumulated previous budget deficits which have added financial assets to the private sector, providing demand for goods and services. Adherents of this school of economic thought argue that the scale of the problem is much less severe than is popularly supposed.[19]

text: Wolfgang Stützel showed with his Saldenmechanik (Balances Mechanics) how a comprehensive debt redemption would compulsorily force a corresponding indebtedness of the private sector, due to a negative Keynes-multiplier leading to crisis and deflation.[20]

text: In the dominant economic policy generally ascribed to theories of John Maynard Keynes, sometimes called Keynesian economics, there is tolerance for fairly high levels of public debt to pay for public investment in lean times, which, if boom times follow, can then be paid back from rising tax revenues. Empirically, however, sovereign borrowing in developing countries is procyclical, since developing countries have more difficulty accessing capital markets in lean times.[21]

text: As this theory gained global popularity in the 1930s, many nations took on public debt to finance large infrastructural capital projects—such as highways or large hydroelectric dams. It was thought that this could start a virtuous cycle and a rising business confidence since there would be more workers with money to spend. Some[who?] have argued that the greatly increased military spending of World War II really ended the Great Depression. Of course, military expenditures are based upon the same tax (or debt) and spend fundamentals as the rest of the national budget, so this argument does little to undermine Keynesian theory. Indeed, some[who?] have suggested that significantly higher national spending necessitated by war essentially confirms the basic Keynesian analysis (see Military Keynesianism).

text: Nonetheless, the Keynesian scheme remained dominant, thanks in part to Keynes' own pamphlet How to Pay for the War, published in the United Kingdom in 1940. Since the war was being paid for, and being won, Keynes and Harry Dexter White, Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury, were, according to John Kenneth Galbraith, the dominating influences on the Bretton Woods agreements. These agreements set the policies for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank, the so-called Bretton Woods Institutions, launched in the late 1940s for the last two (the BIS was founded in 1930).

text: These are the dominant economic entities setting policies regarding public debt. Due to its role in setting policies for trade disputes, the World Trade Organization also has immense power to affect foreign exchange relations, as many nations are dependent on specific commodity markets for the balance of payments they require to repay debt.

text: Structure and risk of a public debt[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Understanding the structure of public debt and analyzing its risk requires one to:

text:
Assess the expected value of any public asset being constructed, at least in future tax terms if not in direct revenues. A choice must be made about its status as a public good—some public "assets" end up as public bads, such as nuclear power plants which are extremely expensive to decommission—these costs must also be worked into asset values.
Determine whether any public debt is being used to finance consumption, which includes all social assistance and all military spending.
Determine whether triple bottom line issues are likely to lead to failure or defaults of governments—say due to being overthrown.
Determine whether any of the debt being undertaken may be held to be odious debt, which might permit it to be disavowed without any effect on a country's credit status. This includes any loans to purchase "assets" such as leaders' palaces, or the people's suppression or extermination. International law does not permit people to be held responsible for such debts—as they did not benefit in any way from the spending and had no control over it.
Determine if any future entitlements are being created by expenditures—financing a public swimming pool for instance may create some right to recreation where it did not previously exist, by precedent and expectations.

tag: ul

text: Problems[edit]

text: Sovereign debt problems have been a major public policy issue since World War II, including the treatment of debt related to that war, the developing country "debt crisis" in the 1980s, and the shocks of the 1998 Russian financial crisis and Argentina's default in 2001.

text: Not all developing countries have been affected to the same extent. For example, Yugoslavia had low government debt (perhaps because it was unable to borrow on world markets)[citation needed] until its breakup and the coming of democracy, when the new national governments started to borrow money from the IMF. Croatia has a government debt of $47 billion today while the whole of Yugoslavia (six times as many people as Croatia) in 1980 had debt of $14 billion.[citation needed]

text: Global debt is of great concern[citation needed] since interest payments can often place great demands on governments and individuals. This has led to calls[according to whom?] for universal debt relief for poorer countries.

text: Implicit debt[edit]

text: Government "implicit" debt is the promise by a government of future payments from the state. Usually this refers to long-term promises of social payments such as pensions and health expenditure; not promises of other expenditure such as education or defense (which are largely paid on a "quid pro quo" basis to government employees and contractors).

text: A problem with these implicit government insurance liabilities is that it is hard to cost them accurately, since the amounts of future payments depend on so many factors. First of all, the social security claims are not "open" bonds or debt papers with a stated time frame, "time to maturity", "nominal value", or "net present value".

text: In the United States, as in most other countries, there is no money earmarked in the government's coffers for future social insurance payments. This insurance system is called PAYGO (pay-as-you-go). Alternative social insurance strategies might have included a system that involved save and invest.

text: Furthermore, population projections predict that when the "baby boomers" start to retire, the working population in the United States, and in many other countries, will be a smaller percentage of the population than it is now, for many years to come. This will increase the burden on the country of these promised pension and other payments—larger than the 65 percent[22] of GDP that it is now. The "burden" of the government is what it spends, since it can only pay its bills through taxes, debt, and increasing the money supply (government spending = tax revenues + change in government debt held by public + change in monetary base held by the public). "Government social benefits" paid by the United States government during 2003 totaled $1.3 trillion.[23]

text: In 2010 the European Commission required EU Member Countries to publish their debt information in standardized methodology, explicitly including debts that were previously hidden in a number of ways to satisfy minimum requirements on local (national) and European (Stability and Growth Pact) level.[24]


document_title: Squad leader

question_text: what rank is a squad leader in the marines

text: Squad leader

text:
hidevteArmy units and organizationSubordinatedelement
Fireteam Ø
Squad / Crew  ●
Section / Patrol  ●●
Platoon / Flight ●●●
Unit
Company / Battery / Troop |
Battalion / Cohort / Squadron ||
Regiment  |||
Formation
Brigade / Group / Wing x
Division / Legion xx
Corps xxx
Command
Field army xxxx
Army group / Front xxxxx
Region / Theater XXXXXX
Temporary
Detachment
Patrol
Task force
Brigade group
Flying column
Field force
Combat command
Battlegroup
Regimental combat team

text: In the US military, a squad leader or squad commander is a Non-Commissioned Officer who leads a squad of typically 9 Soldiers (US Army: squad leader and two fireteams of 4 men each) or 13 Marines (US Marine Corps: squad leader and three fireteams of 4 men each) in a rifle squad, or 3 to 8 men in a crew-served weapons squad. In the United States Army the Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) rank of a rifle squad leader is Staff Sergeant (US military & naval pay grade E-6 or NATO designation OR-6) and in the United States Marine Corps the TO rank is Sergeant (E-5 or OR-5), though a Corporal may also act as a squad leader in the absence of sufficient numbers of Sergeants. Squad leaders of crew-served weapons squads range from Corporal through Staff Sergeant, depending upon the branch of service and type of squad.

text: In some armies, notably those of the British Commonwealth, in which the term section is used for units of this size, the NCO in charge, which in the British Army and Royal Marines is normally a Corporal (OR-4), is termed a section commander.[1] A section is referred to as a squad, in the British Army, only on the parade ground.

text: Equivalent selection[edit]

text: Equivalent appointments or assignments to squad leader in other armed forces are as follows:

text:
German Bundeswehr = Gruppenführer (en: group leader)
Austrian Bundesheer = Gruppenkommandant (en: group commander)


document_title: Logistics specialist

question_text: what does a logistics specialist do in the navy

text: Logistics specialist

text: Job description[edit]

text: Logistic specialists are tasked with maintaining ship or company military supply stores. Their responsibilities generally include purchasing and procurement, shipping and receiving, and issuing of equipment, tools, consumable items or anything else obtained through the naval supply system. They fall under the authority of a supply officer. The exception to this is in the case of the independent storekeeper NEC which trains E-6 and above to operate independently of a supply officer.

text: Logistics specialists manage inventories and issuance of repair parts (aircraft and ships) and of general supplies and specialized supplies (e.g., personal flight gear for naval aircrews or specialized combat equipment for Navy SEALs or Naval Military Construction Battalion "Seabees"), as well as distribute mail for naval ships, submarines, aviation squadrons, and shore-based activities.

text: They open-purchase, inventory, screen, procure, receive, store and issue material and replace repair selected components. They utilize financial accounting and database systems to perform inventory and financial management functions. Additionally, they sort and distribute all official and personal mail, manage money order and stamp inventories, and maintain financial and inventory reports.[2] The logistics specialist rating is similar to the US Army's MOS 92 and the US Air Force's enlisted AFSCs 2G0XX, 2S0XX and 8M0XX.

text: Logistics specialists can be found serving virtually any naval platform, in diverse theaters, including combat zones on forward operating bases like Iraq or Afghanistan in place of supply soldiers for the Army as an ad hoc individual augmentee. For this reason, they can be found with virtually every warfare pin qualification offered by the Navy with only a few exceptions. Of the warfare qualifications commonly held, included are: aviation warfare, surface warfare, Seabee combat warfare, expeditionary warfare, and submarine warfare (or "dolphins").

text: Function[edit]

text: Logistics specialists typically fall under the command or supervision of commissioned officers of the U.S. Navy Supply Corps. The exception to this is in the case of those sailors in the logistics specialist rating who hold the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) of independent storekeeper, which trains logistics specialist 1st class petty officers (E-6) and above to operate independently of a supply officer. Of the supply department, on small ships, they will be found in S-1 division. On larger ships, they would be found in S-1 (stock control and financials), S-6 (aviation material support), S-8 (general stores and supplies), S-9 (hazardous materials), and varying divisions for the post office (sometimes S-10 or other number). Logistics Learning Alliance provide a range of logistics courses to enhance your knowledge.[3]

text: Storekeepers were one of the US Navy's oldest enlisted ratings. The conversion to the name logistics specialist was not simply a name change, as this evolution now encompasses federal laws and punitive regulations of handling, sorting, and securing the mail. Logistics specialists are primarily tasked with maintaining military supply stores. Their responsibilities generally include open purchasing and procurement, shipping and receiving, inventory management, and issue of equipment, repair parts, tools, consumable items (paper, pens, toilet paper, batteries, etc.), hazardous materials or anything else obtained through the naval supply system combined with former postal clerk duties as custodian of postal effects and monitoring designated mail orderlies.

text: Training[edit]

text: Logistic specialists are still primarily trained at the Naval Technical Training Center in Meridian, Mississippi. Undesignated or non-rated sailors may also "strike" (moonlight train/study through on-the-job-training and online-courses and take the exam) for logistics specialists without attending NTTC Meridian's Storekeeper "A" School. The Coast Guard still retain the name and rate of Storekeeper and have not made the move to the name Logistics Specialist. Coast Guard Storekeepers get training in Petaluma, California.


document_title: Independence Day (United States)

question_text: where was the first fourth of july parade held

text: Independence Day (United States)

text: Background

text: During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain rule.[5][6] After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it two days later on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

text: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.[7]

text: Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.[8]

text: Historians have long disputed whether members of Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.[9][10][11][12][13]

text: Coincidentally, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, another Founding Father who was elected as President, also died on July 4, 1831. He was the third President in a row who died on the anniversary of independence. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872; so far he is the only U.S. President to have been born on Independence Day.

text: Observance

text:
In 1777, thirteen gunshots were fired in salute, once at morning and once again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships in port were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.[14]
In 1778, from his headquarters at Ross Hall, near New Brunswick, New Jersey, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute (feu de joie). Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France.[15]

text:
In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5.[15]
In 1781, the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration.[15]
In 1783, Moravians in Salem, North Carolina, held a celebration of July 4 with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work was titled The Psalm of Joy. This is recognized as the first recorded celebration[clarification needed] and is still celebrated there today.[16]
In 1870, the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.[17]
In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.[18]

text: Customs

text: Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions (such as the postal service and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage, laws, history, society, and people.

text: Families often celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue; many take advantage of the day off and, in some years, a long weekend to gather with relatives or friends. Decorations (e.g., streamers, balloons, and clothing) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades are often held in the morning, before family get-togethers, while fireworks displays occur in the evening after dark at such places as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares.

text: The night before the Fourth was once the focal point of celebrations, marked by raucous gatherings often incorporating bonfires as their centerpiece. In New England, towns competed to build towering pyramids, assembled from barrels and casks. They were lit at nightfall, to usher in the celebration. The highest were in Salem, Massachusetts (on Gallows Hill, the famous site of the execution of 13 women and 6 men for witchcraft in 1692 during the Salem witch trials), where the tradition of celebratory bonfires had persisted, with pyramids composed of as many as forty tiers of barrels. These made the tallest bonfires ever recorded. The custom flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is still practiced in some New England towns.[19]

text: Independence Day fireworks are often accompanied by patriotic songs such as the national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner", "God Bless America", "America the Beautiful," "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," "This Land Is Your Land," "Stars and Stripes Forever," and, regionally, "Yankee Doodle" in northeastern states and "Dixie" in southern states. Some of the lyrics recall images of the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812.

text: Firework shows are held in many states, and many fireworks are sold for personal use or as an alternative to a public show. Safety concerns have led some states to ban fireworks or limit the sizes and types allowed. In addition, local and regional weather conditions may dictate whether the sale or use of fireworks in an area will be allowed. Some local or regional firework sales are limited or prohibited because of dry weather or other specific concerns. On these occasions the public may be prohibited from purchasing or discharging fireworks, but professional displays (such as those at sports events) may still take place, if certain safety precautions have been taken.

text: A salute of one gun for each state in the United States, called a "salute to the union," is fired on Independence Day at noon by any capable military base.[20]

text: In 2009, New York City had the largest fireworks display in the country, with more than 22 tons of pyrotechnics exploded.[21] It generally holds displays in the East River. Other major displays are in Chicago on Lake Michigan; in San Diego over Mission Bay; in Boston on the Charles River; in St. Louis on the Mississippi River; in San Francisco over the San Francisco Bay; and on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

text: During the annual Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, Detroit, Michigan hosts one of the world's largest fireworks displays, over the Detroit River, to celebrate Independence Day in conjunction with Windsor, Ontario's celebration of Canada Day.

text: The first week of July is typically one of the busiest United States travel periods of the year, as many people use what is often a three-day holiday weekend for extended vacation trips.[22]

text: Celebration gallery

text:
In addition to a fireworks show, Miami, Florida lights one of its tallest buildings with the patriotic red, white and blue color scheme on Independence Day

New York City's fireworks display, shown above over the East Village, is sponsored by Macy's and is the largest[21] in the country

Play media

Patriotic trailer shown in theaters celebrating July 4, 1940

A festively decorated Independence day cake.

Lakes are a popular destination for Fourth of July celebrations in the midwest.

text: Notable celebrations

text:
Held since 1785, the Bristol Fourth of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island is the oldest continuous Independence Day celebration in the United States.
Since 1868, Seward, Nebraska has held a celebration on the same town square. In 1979 Seward was designated "America's Official Fourth of July City-Small Town USA" by resolution of Congress. Seward has also been proclaimed "Nebraska's Official Fourth of July City" by Governor James Exon in proclamation. Seward is a town of 6,000 but swells to 40,000+ during the July 4 celebrations.[23]
Since 1912, the Rebild Society, a Danish-American friendship organization, has held a July 4 weekend festival that serves as a homecoming for Danish-Americans in the Rebild municipality of Denmark.[24]
Since 1959, the International Freedom Festival is jointly held in Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario during the last week of June each year as a mutual celebration of Independence Day and Canada Day (July 1). It culminates in a large fireworks display over the Detroit River.
The famous Macy's fireworks display usually held over the East River in New York City has been televised nationwide on NBC since 1976. In 2009, the fireworks display was returned to the Hudson River for the first time since 2000 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's exploration of that river.[25]
The Boston Pops Orchestra has hosted a music and fireworks show over the Charles River Esplanade called the "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular" annually since 1973.[26] The event was broadcast nationally from 1991 until 2002 on A&E, and since 2002 by CBS and its Boston station WBZ-TV. WBZ/1030 and WBZ-TV broadcast the entire event locally, and from 2002 through 2012, CBS broadcast the final hour of the concert nationally in primetime. The national broadcast was put on hiatus beginning in 2013, which Pops executive producer David G. Mugar believed was the result of decreasing viewership caused by NBC's encore presentation of the Macy's fireworks.[27][28] The national broadcast will be revived for 2016, and expanded to two hours.[29]
On the Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C., A Capitol Fourth, a free concert broadcast live by PBS, NPR and the American Forces Network, precedes the fireworks and attracts over half a million people annually.

text: Other countries

text: The Philippines celebrates July 4 as its Republic Day to commemorate that day in 1946 when it ceased to be a U.S. territory and the United States officially recognized Philippine Independence.[30] July 4 was intentionally chosen by the United States because it corresponds to its Independence Day, and this day was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until 1962. In 1964, the name of the July 4 holiday was changed to Republic Day. In Rwanda, July 4 is an official holiday known as Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in which the U.S. government also played a role. Rebild National Park in Denmark is said to hold the largest July 4 celebrations outside of the United States.[31]