text: During his first winter in New Salem, Lincoln attended a meeting of the New Salem debating club. His performance in the club, along with his efficiency in managing the store, sawmill, and gristmill, in addition to his other efforts at self-improvement soon gained the attention of the town's leaders, such as Dr. John Allen, Mentor Graham, and James Rutledge. The men encouraged Lincoln to enter politics, feeling that he was capable of supporting the interests of their community. In March 1832 Lincoln announced his candidacy in a written article that appeared in the "Sangamo Journal", which was published in Springfield. While Lincoln admired Henry Clay and his American System, the national political climate was undergoing a change and local Illinois issues were the primary political concerns of the election. Lincoln opposed the development of a local railroad project, but supported improvements in the Sangamon River that would increase its navigability. Although the two-party political system that pitted Democrats against Whigs had not yet formed, Lincoln would become one of the leading Whigs in the state legislature within the next few years.


title: Early life and career of Abraham Lincoln

text: By the spring of 1832, Offutt's business had failed and Lincoln was out of work. Around this time, the Black Hawk War erupted


text: and Lincoln joined a group of volunteers from New Salem to repel Black Hawk, who was leading a group of 450 warriors along with 1,500 women and children to reclaim traditional tribal lands in Illinois. Lincoln was elected as captain of his unit, but he and his men never saw combat. Lincoln later commented in the late 1850s that the selection by his peers was "a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since." Lincoln returned to central Illinois after a few months of militia service to campaign in Sangamon County before the August 6 legislative election. When the votes were tallied, Lincoln finished eighth out of thirteen candidates. Only the top four candidates were elected, but Lincoln managed to secure 277 out of the 300 votes cast in the New Salem precinct.


text: Without a job, Lincoln and William F. Berry, a member of Lincoln's militia company during the Black Hawk War, purchased one of the three general stores in New Salem, known as the Lincoln-Berry General Store. The two men signed personal notes to purchase the business and a later acquisition of another store's inventory, but their enterprise failed. By 1833 New Salem was no longer a growing community; the Sangamon River proved to be inadequate for commercial transportation and no roads or railroads allowed easy access to other markets. In January, Berry applied for a liquor license, but the added revenue was not enough to save the business. With the closure of the Lincoln-Berry store, Lincoln was again unemployed and would soon have to leave New Salem. However, in May 1833, with the assistance of friends interested in keeping him in New Salem, Lincoln secured an appointment from President Andrew Jackson as the postmaster of New Salem, a position he kept for three years. During this time, Lincoln earned between $150 and $175 as postmaster, hardly enough to be considered a full-time source of income. Another friend helped Lincoln obtain an appointment as an assistant to county surveyor John Calhoun, a Democratic political appointee. Lincoln had no experience at surveying, but he relied on borrowed copies of two works and was able to teach himself the practical application of surveying techniques as well as the trigonometric basis of the process. His income proved sufficient to meet his day-to-day expenses, but the notes from his partnership with Berry were coming due.


text: In 1834 Lincoln's decision to run for the state legislature for a second time was strongly influenced by his need to satisfy his debts, what he jokingly referred to as his "national debt", and the additional income that would come from a legislative salary. By this time Lincoln was a member of the Whig party. His campaign strategy excluded a discussion of the national issues and concentrated on traveling throughout the district and greeting voters. The district's leading Whig candidate was Springfield attorney John Todd Stuart, whom Lincoln knew from his militia service during the Black Hawk War. Local Democrats, who feared Stuart more than Lincoln, offered to withdraw two of their candidates from the field of thirteen, where only the top four vote-getters would be elected, to support Lincoln. Stuart, who was confident of his own victory, told Lincoln to go ahead and accept the Democrats' endorsement. On August 4 Lincoln polled 1,376 votes, the second highest number of votes in the race, and won one of the four seats in the election, as did Stuart. Lincoln was reelected to the state legislature in 1836, 1838, and 1840.


text: Stuart, a cousin of Lincoln's future wife, Mary Todd, was impressed with Lincoln and encouraged him to study law. Lincoln was probably familiar with courtrooms from an early age. While the family was still in Kentucky, his father was frequently involved with filing land deeds, serving on juries, and attending sheriff's sales, and later, Lincoln may have been aware of his father's legal issues. When the family moved to Indiana, Lincoln lived within of three county courthouses. Attracted by the opportunity of hearing a good oral presentation, Lincoln, as did many others on the frontier, attended court sessions as a spectator. The practice continued when he moved to New Salem. Noticing how often lawyers referred to them, Lincoln made a point of reading and studying the Revised Statutes of Indiana, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution.


text: Using books borrowed from the law firm of Stuart and Judge Thomas Drummond, Lincoln began to study law in earnest during the first half of 1835. Lincoln did not attend law school, and stated: "I studied with nobody." As part of his training, he read copies of Blackstone's "Commentaries", "Chitty's Pleadings", "Greenleaf's Evidence", and Joseph Story's "Equity Jurisprudence". In February 1836 Lincoln stopped working as a surveyor, and in March 1836, took the first step to becoming a practicing attorney when he applied to the clerk of the Sangamon County Court to register as a man of good and moral character. After passing an oral examination by a panel of practicing attorneys, Lincoln received his law license on September 9, 1836. In April 1837 he was enrolled to practice before the Supreme Court of Illinois, and moved to Springfield, where he went into partnership with Stuart.


text: Lincoln's first session in the Illinois legislature ran from December 1, 1834, to February 13, 1835. In preparation for the session Lincoln borrowed $200 from Coleman Smoot, one of the richest men in Sangamon County, and spent $60 of it on his first suit of clothes. As the second youngest legislator in this term, and one of thirty-six first-time attendees, Lincoln was primarily an observer, but his colleagues soon recognized his mastery of "the technical language of the law" and asked him to draft bills for them.


text: When Lincoln announced his bid for reelection in June 1836, he addressed the controversial issue of expanded suffrage. Democrats advocated universal suffrage for white males residing in the state for at least six months. They hoped to bring Irish immigrants, who were attracted to the state because of its canal projects, onto the voting rolls as Democrats. Lincoln supported the traditional Whig position that voting should be limited to property owners.


text: Lincoln was reelected on August 1, 1836, as the top vote getter in the Sangamon delegation. This delegation of two senators and seven representatives was nicknamed the "Long Nine" because all of them were above average height. Despite being the second youngest of the group, Lincoln was viewed as the group's leader and the floor leader of the Whig minority. The Long Nine's primary agenda was the relocation of the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield and a vigorous program of internal improvements for the state. Lincoln's influence within the legislature and within his party continued to grow with his reelection for two subsequent terms in 1838 and 1840. By the 1838–1839 legislative session, Lincoln served on at least fourteen committees and worked behind the scenes to manage the program of the Whig minority.


text: While serving as a state legislator, Illinois Auditor James Shields challenged Lincoln to a duel. Lincoln had published an inflammatory letter in the "Sangamon Journal", a Springfield newspaper, that poked fun at Shields. Lincoln's future wife, Mary Todd, and her close friend, continued writing letters about Shields without Lincoln's knowledge. Shields took offense to the articles and demanded "satisfaction". The incident escalated to the two parties meeting on Missouri's Sunflower Island, near Alton, Illinois, to participate in a duel, which was illegal in Illinois. Lincoln took responsibility for the articles and accepted. Lincoln chose cavalry broadswords as the duel's weapons because Shields was known as an excellent marksman. Just prior to engaging in combat, Lincoln demonstrated his physical advantage (his long arm reach) by easily cutting a branch above Shields's head. Their seconds intervened and convinced the men to cease hostilities on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.


text: The Illinois governor called for a special legislative session during the winter of 1835–1836 in order to finance what became known as the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which connected the Illinois and Chicago rivers and linked Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. The proposal would allow the state government to finance the construction with a $500,000 loan. Lincoln voted in favor of the commitment, which passed 28–27.


text: Lincoln had always supported Henry Clay's vision of the American System, which saw a prosperous America supported by a well-developed network of roads, canals, and, later, railroads. Lincoln favored raising the funds for these projects through the federal government's sale of public lands to eliminate interest expenses; otherwise, private capital should bear the cost alone. Fearing that Illinois would fall behind other states in economic development, Lincoln shifted his position to allow the state to provide the necessary support for private developers.


text: In the next session a newly elected legislator, Stephen A. Douglas, went even further and proposed a comprehensive $10 million state loan program, which Lincoln supported. However, the Panic of 1837 effectively destroyed the possibility of more internal improvements in Illinois. The state became "littered with unfinished roads and partially dug canals"; the value of state bonds fell; and interest on the state's debts was eight times its total revenue. The state government took forty years to pay off this debt.


text: Lincoln had a couple of ideas to salvage the internal improvements program. First, he proposed that the state buy public lands at a discount from the federal government and then sell them to new settlers at a profit, but the federal government rejected the idea. Next, he proposed a graduated land tax that would have passed more of the tax burden to the owners of the most valuable land, but the majority of the legislators were unwilling to commit any further state funds to internal improvement projects. The state's financial depression continued through 1839.


text: In the 1830s Illinois welcomed more immigrants, many from New York and New England, who tended to move into the northern and central parts of the state. Vandalia, which was located in the more stagnant southern section, seemed unsuitable as the state's seat of government. On the other hand, Springfield, in Sangamon County, was "strategically located in central Illinois" and was already growing "in population and refinement".


text: Those who opposed the relocation of the state government to Springfield first attempted to weaken the Sangamon County delegation's influence by dividing the county into two new counties, but Lincoln was instrumental in first amending and then killing this proposal in his own committee. Throughout the lengthy debate "Lincoln's political skills were repeatedly tested". He finally succeeded when the legislature accepted his proposal that the chosen city would be required to contribute $50,000 and of land for construction of a new state capitol building—only Springfield could comfortably meet this financial demand. The final action was tabled twice, but Lincoln resurrected it by finding acceptable amendments to draw additional support, including one that would have allowed reconsideration in the next session. As other locations were voted down, Springfield was selected by a 46 to 37 vote margin on February 28, 1837. Under Lincoln's leadership reconsideration efforts were defeated in the 1838–1839 sessions. Orville Browning, who would later become a close Lincoln friend and confidant, guided the legislation through the Illinois Senate, and the move became effective in 1839.


text: Lincoln, like Henry Clay, favored federal control over the nation's banking system, but President Jackson had effectively killed the Bank of the United States by 1835. That same year Lincoln crossed party lines to vote with pro-bank Democrats in chartering the Illinois State Bank. As he did in the internal improvements debates, Lincoln searched for the best available alternative. According to historian and Lincoln biographer Richard Carwardine, Lincoln felt:


text: Opponents of the state bank initiated an investigation designed to close the bank in the 1836–1837 legislative session. On January 11, 1837, Lincoln made his first major legislative speech supporting the bank and attacking its opponents. He condemned "that lawless and mobocratic spirit ... which is already abroad in the land, and is spreading with rapid and fearful impetuosity, to the ultimate overthrow of every institution, or even moral principle, in which persons and property have hitherto found security." Blaming the opposition entirely on the political class, Lincoln called politicians "at least one long step removed from honest men," Lincoln commented: Westerners in the Jacksonian Era were generally skeptical of all banks, and this was aggravated after the Panic of 1837, when the Illinois Bank suspended specie payments. Lincoln still defended the bank, but it was too strongly linked to a failing credit system that lead to devalued currency and loan foreclosures to generate much political support.


text: In 1839 Democrats led another investigation of the state bank, with Lincoln as a Whig representative on the investigating committee. Lincoln was instrumental in the committee's conclusion that the suspension of specie payment was related to uncontrollable economic conditions rather than "any organic defects of the institutions themselves." However, the legislation allowing the suspension of specie payments was set to expire at the end of December 1840, and Democrats wanted to adjourn without further extensions. In an attempt to avoid a quorum on adjournment, Lincoln and several others jumped out of a first story window, but the Speaker counted them as present and "the bank was killed." By 1841 Lincoln was less supportive of the state bank, although he would continue to make speeches around the state supporting it. He concluded, "If there was to be this continual warfare against the Institutions of the State ... the sooner it was brought to an end the better."


text: In the 1830s the slaveholding states began to take notice of the growth of antislavery rhetoric in the North. Their anger focused on abolitionists, whom they accused of fomenting slave revolts by distributing "incendiary pamphlets" of the slaves. When southern legislatures passed resolutions calling for suppression of abolitionist societies, they often received a favorable response from their northern counterparts. In January 1837 the Illinois legislature passed a resolution declaring that they "highly disapprove of the formation of abolition societies", that "the right of property in slaves is sacred to the slave-holding States by the Federal Government, and that they cannot be deprived of that right without their consent", and that "the General Government cannot abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, against the will of the citizens of said District." The vote in the Illinois Senate was 18 to 0, and 77 to 6 in the House, with Lincoln and Dan Stone, who was also from Sangamon County, voting in opposition. Because relocation of the state capital was still the number one issue on the two men's agendas, they made no comment on their votes until the relocation was approved.


text: On March 3, with his other legislative priorities behind him, Lincoln filed a formal written protest with the legislature that stated "the institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy." Lincoln criticized abolitionists on practical grounds, arguing that "the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than to abate its [slavery's] evils." He also addressed the issue of slavery in the nation's capital in a different manner from the resolutions, writing that "the Congress of the United States has the power, under the constitution, to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia; but that power ought not to be exercised unless at the request of the people of said District." Lincoln biographer Benjamin P. Thomas commented on the significance of Lincoln's action:


text: Lincoln's address to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois on January 27, 1838, was titled "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions". In this speech Lincoln described the dangers of slavery in the United States, an institution he believed would corrupt the federal government.


text: In 1837, from the start of the law partnership with Stuart, Lincoln handled most of the firms clients, while Stuart was primarily concerned with politics and election to the United States House of Representatives. The law practice had as many clients as it could handle. Most fees were five dollars, with the common fee ranging between two and a half dollars and ten dollars. Lincoln quickly realized that he was equal in ability and effectiveness to most other attorneys, whether they were self-taught like Lincoln or had studied with a more experienced lawyer. Following Stuart's elected to Congress in November 1839, Lincoln ran the practice on his own. Lincoln, like Stuart, considered his legal career as simply a catalyst to his political ambitions.


text: By 1840 Lincoln was drawing $1,000 annually from the law practice, along with his salary as a legislator. However, when Stuart was reelected to Congress, Lincoln was no longer content to carry the entire load. In April 1841 he entered into a new partnership with Stephen T. Logan. Logan was nine years older than Lincoln, the leading attorney in Sangamon County, and a former attorney in Kentucky before he moved to Illinois. Logan saw Lincoln as a complement to his practice, recognizing that Lincoln's effectiveness with juries was superior to his own in that area. Once again, clients were plentiful for the firm, although Lincoln received one-third of the firm's proceeds rather than the even split he had enjoyed with Stuart.


text: Lincoln's association with Logan was a learning experience. He absorbed from Logan some of the finer points of law and the importance of proper and detailed case research and preparation. Logan's written pleadings were precise and on point, and Lincoln used them as his model. However, much of Lincoln's development was still self-taught. Historian David Herbert Donald wrote that Logan taught him that "there was more to law than common sense and simple equity" and Lincoln's study began to focus on "procedures and precedents." During this time Lincoln did not study law books, but he did spend "night after night in the Supreme Court Library, searching out precedents that applied to the cases he was working on." Lincoln stated, "I love to dig up the question by the roots and hold it up and dry it before the fires of the mind." His written briefs, especially important in Illinois Supreme Court cases, were prepared in great detail with precedents noted that often went back to the origins of English common law. Lincoln's growing skills became evident as his appearances before the Supreme Court increased and would serve him well in his political career. By the time he went to Washington in 1861 Lincoln had appeared over three hundred times before this court. Lincoln biographer Stephen B. Oates wrote, "It was here that he earned his reputation as a lawyer's lawyer, adept at meticulous preparation and cogent argument."


text: Lincoln's partnership with Logan was dissolved in the fall of 1844, when Logan entered into a partnership with his son. Lincoln, who probably could have had his choice of more established attorneys, was tired of being the junior partner and entered into partnership with William Herndon, who had been reading law in the offices of Logan and Lincoln. Herndon, like Lincoln, was an active Whig, but the party in Illinois at that time was split into two factions. Lincoln was connected to the older, "silk stocking" element of the party through his marriage to Mary Todd; Herndon was one of the leaders of the younger, more populist portion of the party. The Lincoln-Herndon partnership continued through Lincoln's presidential election, and Lincoln remained a partner of record until his death.


text: Prior to his partnership with Herndon, Lincoln had not regularly attended court in neighboring communities. This changed as Lincoln became one of the most active regulars on the circuit through 1854, interrupted only by his two-year stint in Congress. The Eighth Circuit covered . Each spring and fall Lincoln traveled the district for nine to ten weeks at a time, netting around $150 for each ten-week circuit. On the road, lawyers and judges lived in cheap hotels, with two lawyers to a bed; six or eight men to a room.


text: Lincoln's reputation for integrity and fairness on the circuit led to him being in high demand both from clients and local attorneys who needed assistance. It was during his time riding the circuit that he picked up one of his lasting nicknames, "Honest Abe". The clients he represented, the men he rode the circuit with, and the lawyers he met along the way became some of Lincoln's most loyal political supporters. One of these was David Davis, a fellow Whig who, like Lincoln, promoted nationalist economic programs and opposed slavery without actually becoming an abolitionist. Davis joined the circuit in 1848 as a judge and would occasionally appoint Lincoln to fill in for him. They traveled the circuit for eleven years, and Lincoln would eventually appoint him to the United States Supreme Court. Another close associate was Ward Hill Lamon, an attorney in Danville, Illinois. Lamon, the only local attorney with whom Lincoln had a formal working agreement, accompanied Lincoln to Washington in 1861.


text: Unlike other attorneys on the circuit, Lincoln did not supplement his income by engaging in real estate speculation or operating a business or a farm. His income was generally what he earned practicing law. In the 1840s this amounted to $1,500 to $2,500 a year, increasing to $3,000 in the early 1850s, and was $5,000 by the mid-1850s.


text: Criminal law made up the smallest portion of Lincoln and Herndon's case work. In 1850 the firm was involved in eighteen percent of the cases on the Sangamon County Circuit; by 1853 it had grown to thirty-three percent. On his return from his single term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Lincoln turned down an offer of a partnership in a Chicago law firm. Based strictly on the volume of cases, Lincoln was "undoubtedly one of the outstanding lawyers of central Illinois." Lincoln was also in demand on the federal courts. He received important retainers from cases in the United States Northern District Court in Chicago.


text: Lincoln was involved in at least two cases involving slavery. In an 1841 Illinois Supreme Court case, "Bailey v. Cromwell", Lincoln successfully prevented the sale of a woman who was alleged to be a slave, making the argument that in Illinois "the presumption of law was ... that every person was free, without regard to color." In 1847 Abraham Lincoln defended Robert Matson, a slave owner who was trying to retrieve his runaway slaves. Matson brought slaves from his Kentucky plantation to work on land he owned in Illinois. The slaves were represented by Orlando Ficklin, Usher Linder, and Charles H. Constable. The slaves ran away because they believed that once they were in Illinois they were free, since the Northwest Ordinance forbade slavery in the territory that included Illinois. In this case, Lincoln invoked the right of transit, which allowed slaveholders to take their slaves temporarily into free territory. Lincoln also stressed that Matson did not intend to have the slaves remain permanently in Illinois. Even with these arguments, judges in Coles County ruled against Lincoln and the slaves were set free. Donald notes, "Neither the Matson case nor the Cromwell case should be taken as an indication of Lincoln's views on slavery; his business was law, not morality." The right of transit was a legal theory recognized by some of the free states that a slaveowner could take slaves into a free state and retain ownership as long as the intent was not to permanently settle in the free state.


text: Railroads became an important economic force in Illinois in the 1850s. As they expanded they created myriad legal issues regarding "charters and franchises; problems relating to right-of-way; problems concerning evaluation and taxation; problems relating to the duties of common carriers and the rights of passengers; problems concerning merger, consolidation, and receivership." Lincoln and other attorneys would soon find that railroad litigation was a major source of income. Like the slave cases, sometimes Lincoln would represent the railroads and sometimes he would represent their adversaries. He had no legal or political agenda that was reflected in his choice of clients. Herndon referred to Lincoln as "purely and entirely a case lawyer."


text: In one notable 1851 case, Lincoln represented the Alton and Sangamon Railroad in a dispute with James A. Barret, a shareholder. Barret refused to pay the balance on his pledge to the railroad on the grounds that it had changed its originally planned route. Lincoln argued that as a matter of law a corporation is not bound by its original charter when that charter can be amended in the public interest. Lincoln also argued that the newer route proposed by Alton and Sangamon was superior and less expensive, and accordingly, the corporation had a right to sue Barret for his delinquent payment. Lincoln won this case and the Illinois Supreme Court decision was eventually cited by other U.S. courts.


text: The most important civil case for Lincoln was the landmark "Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company", also known as the "Effie Afton" case. America's expansion west, which Lincoln strongly supported, was seen as an economic threat to the river trade, which ran north-to-south, primarily along the Mississippi River. In 1856 a steamboat collided with a bridge built by the Rock Island Railroad between Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. It was the first railroad bridge to span the Mississippi River. The steamboat owner sued for damages, claiming the bridge was a hazard to navigation, but Lincoln argued in court for the railroad and won, removing a costly impediment to western expansion by establishing the right of land routes to bridge waterways.


text: Possibly the most notable criminal trial of Lincoln's career as a lawyer came in 1858, when he defended the son of Lincoln's friend, Jack Armstrong. William "Duff" Armstrong had been charged with murder. The case became famous for Lincoln's use of judicial notice—a rare tactic at that time—to show that an eyewitness had lied on the stand. After the witness testified to having seen the crime by moonlight, Lincoln produced a "Farmers' Almanac" to show that the moon on that date was at such a low angle it could not have provided enough illumination to see anything clearly. Based almost entirely on this evidence, Armstrong was acquitted.


text: Lincoln was involved in more than 5,100 cases in Illinois alone during his 23-year legal career. Though many of these cases involved little more than filing a writ, others were more substantial and quite involved. Lincoln and his partners appeared before the Illinois State Supreme Court more than 400 times.


text: Abraham Lincoln is the only U.S. president to have been awarded a patent for an invention. As a young man, Lincoln took a boatload of merchandise down the Mississippi River from New Salem to New Orleans. At one point the boat slid onto a dam and was set free only after heroic efforts. In later years, while traveling on the Great Lakes, Lincoln's ship ran afoul of a sandbar. The resulting invention consists of a set of bellows attached to the hull of a ship just below the water line. On reaching a shallow place, the bellows are filled with air and the vessel, thus buoyed, is expected to float clear. The invention was never marketed, probably because the extra weight would have increased the probability of running onto sandbars more frequently. Lincoln whittled the model for his patent application with his own hands. It is on display at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History. Patent #6469 for "A Device for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals" was issued May 22, 1849.


text: In 1858 Lincoln called the introduction of patent laws one of the three most important developments "in the world's history." His words, "The patent system added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius," are inscribed over the US Commerce Department's north entrance.


text: Soon after he moved to New Salem, Lincoln met Ann Rutledge. Historians do not agree on the significance or nature of their relationship, but according to many she was his first and perhaps most passionate love. At first they were probably just close friends, but soon they had reached an understanding that they would be married as soon as Ann had completed her studies at the Female Academy in Jacksonville. Their plans were cut short in the summer of 1835, when what was probably typhoid fever hit New Salem. Ann died on August 25, 1835, and Lincoln went through a period of extreme melancholy that lasted for months.


text: In either 1833 or 1834, Lincoln had met Mary Owens, the sister of his friend Elizabeth Abell, when she was visiting from her home in Kentucky. In 1836, in a conversation with Elizabeth, Lincoln agreed to court Mary if she ever returned to New Salem. Mary returned in November 1836, and Lincoln courted her for a time, but they had second thoughts about their relationship. On August 16, 1837, Lincoln wrote Mary a letter from Springfield suggesting an end to the relationship. She never replied and the courtship was over.


text: In 1839 Mary Todd moved from her family's home in Lexington, Kentucky, to Springfield and the home of her eldest sister, Elizabeth Porter (née Todd) Edwards, and


text: Elizabeth's husband, Ninian W. Edwards, son of Ninian Edwards. Mary was popular in the Springfield social scene, but soon was attracted to Lincoln. Sometime in 1840 the two became engaged. They initially set a January 1, 1841, wedding date, but mutually called it off. During the break in their courtship, Lincoln briefly courted Sarah Rickard, whom he had known since 1837. Lincoln proposed marriage to Sarah in 1841 but was rejected. Sarah later said that "his peculiar manner and his General deportment would not be likely to fascinate a young girl just entering the society world".


text: Lincoln still had conflicted feelings concerning Mary Todd. In August 1841 he visited Joshua Speed, his close friend and former roommate, who had moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Lincoln met Speed's fiancee while there, and after his return to Springfield. Speed and Lincoln corresponded over Speed's own doubts about marriage. Lincoln advised Speed and helped convince him to proceed with the marriage. In turn, Speed urged Lincoln to do the same. Lincoln resumed his courtship of Mary, and on November 4, 1842, they were married at the Edwards's home. In a letter written a few days after the wedding, Lincoln wrote, "Nothing new here except my marrying, which to me, is matter of profound wonder."


text: The couple had four sons. Robert Todd Lincoln was born in Springfield, Illinois, on August 1, 1843. He was their only child to survive into adulthood. Young Robert attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College. Robert died on July 26, 1926, in Manchester, Vermont. The other Lincoln sons were born in Springfield, Illinois, and died either during childhood or their teen years. Edward Baker Lincoln was born on March 10, 1846, and died on February 1, 1850, in Springfield. William Wallace Lincoln was born on December 21, 1850, and died on February 20, 1862, in Washington, D.C., during President Lincoln's first term. Thomas "Tad" Lincoln was born on April 4, 1853, and died on July 16, 1871, in Chicago, Illinois.


text: During the American Civil War, four of Mary Todd Lincoln's brothers fought for the Confederacy, with one wounded and another killed in action. Lieutenant David H. Todd, Mary's half-brother, served as commandant of the Libby Prison camp during the war.


text: In the winter of 1842–1843, with the strong encouragement of his wife, Lincoln decided to pursue election to the United States House of Representatives from the newly created Seventh Congressional District. His main rivals were his friends, Edward D. Baker and John J. Hardin. On February 14 Lincoln told a local Whig political leader, "if you should hear any one say that Lincoln don't want to go to Congress, I wish you as a personal friend of mine, would tell him you have reason to believe he is mistaken. The truth is, I would like to go very much."


text: At the end of February the Whigs met in Springfield, where Lincoln wrote the party platform "opposing direct federal taxes and endorsing a protective tariff, a national bank, distribution to the states of proceeds from federal land sales, and the convention system of choosing candidates." Baker and Lincoln campaigned vigorously throughout March, but Lincoln, believing that Baker had an insurmountable lead, withdrew when the Sangamon County convention was held on March 20. Lincoln was selected as a delegate to the district convention which met on May 1 in Pekin. Although Lincoln worked hard for Baker, Hardin was selected as the Whig candidate, winning by a single vote. Lincoln then initiated a resolution that endorsed Baker for the nomination in two years. The resolution passed, which seemed to set a precedent for a single term with rotation among the party's leaders, and suggested that Lincoln would be next in line after Baker.


text: In 1844 Lincoln campaigned enthusiastically for Henry Clay, the Whig nominee for president and a personal hero of Lincoln. On the campaign trail Lincoln and the other Illinois Whigs emphasized tariff issues, while touting the economic success of the Tariff of 1842 that had been passed in Congress under Whig leadership. Part of the campaign pitted Lincoln in a series of debates against Democrat John Calhoun, a candidate for Congress. Campaigning in Illinois for most of 1844, Lincoln spoke out against the annexation of Texas (a potential slave territory), promoted national and state banks, and opposed a wave of nativism that would become a major political issue a decade later. On the last issue Lincoln declared that "the guarantee of the rights of conscience, as found in our Constitution, is most sacred and inviolable, and one that belongs no less to the Catholic, than to the Protestant; and that all attempts to abridge or interfere with these rights, either of Catholic or Protestant, directly or indirectly, have our decided disapprobation, and shall ever have our most effective opposition."


text: Clay's opponent, James K. Polk, carried Illinois and also won the presidency. In Illinois and elsewhere Polk's support for the acquisition of Texas and Oregon seemed to carry the day. Lincoln and many other Whigs blamed the free soil Liberty Party for dividing the vote in New York, which allowed Polk to carry that state and achieve the majority in the electoral college. In responding to an antislavery Whig, who equated voting for Clay, a slaveholder, as "do[ing] evil", Lincoln asked, "If the fruit of electing Mr. Clay would have been to prevent the extension of slavery, could the act of electing him have been evil?"


text: Hardin did not run for reelection in 1844; the Whig nomination, as previously agreed, went to Baker, who won election to the seat. Baker agreed not to run for reelection in 1846, but Hardin considered a run for his old seat. Much of the Seventh District was included within the judicial circuit that Lincoln rode, so beginning in September 1845, he began soliciting the support of Whig leaders and editors as he moved through the circuit. Lincoln emphasized that Hardin should be bound by the understanding reached at Pekin in 1843. The debate over what had actually been agreed on in 1843 became public and bitter. In the end Hardin withdrew and Lincoln secured the Whig nomination. The Democrats nominated Peter Cartwright, a circuit-riding Methodist preacher.


text: Lincoln campaigned throughout the district, where he was already well known. Although he was presented with campaign funds $200, Lincoln returned most of the money after the election. Speaking of his actual campaign expenses, Lincoln noted, "I made the canvass on my own horse; my entertainment, being at the houses of friends, cost me nothing; and my only outlay was seventy-five cents for a barrel of cider which some farm-hands insisted I should treat them to." There were few newspaper accounts of the election, but the major political issues were the annexation of Texas, which Lincoln opposed as an expansion of slavery; the Mexican War, on which Lincoln was noncommittal; and the Oregon border dispute with Great Britain, which Lincoln avoided.


text: Cartwright avoided joint appearances with Lincoln and initiated a "whispering campaign" that accused Lincoln of being an infidel and a religious skeptic. Lincoln responded by pointing out that the Illinois constitution had no religious qualifications for office. On July 31 he published a handbill that admitted he was not a member of a specific Christian church, but denied that he was an "open scoffer at Christianity" or had ever "denied the truth of the Scriptures." Cartwright's campaign was effective only in counties where Lincoln was not personally known. Lincoln won the election with 56 percent of the vote, topping the numbers of Hardin (53 percent) and Baker (52 percent) in their elections. Due to the timing of the elections, the Thirtieth Congress did not convene until December 1847.


text: A Whig and an admirer of party leader Henry Clay, Lincoln was elected to a term in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1846, representing the 7th congressional district of Illinois. As a freshman House member, he was not a particularly powerful or influential figure. He spoke out against the Mexican–American War, which he attributed to President Polk's desire for "military glory—that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood." He also challenged the President's claims regarding the Texas boundary and offered Spot Resolutions demanding to know the "spot" on U.S. soil where blood was first spilt. In January 1848 Lincoln was among the eighty-two Whigs who defeated eighty-one Democrats in a procedural vote on an amendment to send a routine resolution back to committee with instructions to add the words "a war unnecessarily and unconstitutionally begun by the President of the United States." The amendment passed, but the bill never reemerged from committee and was never finally voted upon.


text: Lincoln later damaged his political reputation with a speech in which he declared, "God of Heaven has forgotten to defend the weak and innocent, and permitted the strong band of murderers and demons from hell to kill men, women, and children, and lay waste and pillage the land of the just." Two weeks later, President Polk sent a peace treaty to Congress. While no one in Washington paid attention to Lincoln, the Democrats orchestrated angry outbursts from across his district, where the war was popular and many had volunteered. In Morgan County, Illinois, resolutions were adopted in fervent support of the war and in wrathful denunciation of the "treasonable assaults of guerrillas at home; party demagogues; slanderers of the President; defenders of the butchery at the Alamo; traducers of the heroism at San Jacinto". Warned by his law partner, William Herndon, that the damage was mounting and irreparable, Lincoln decided not to run for reelection.


text: In the 1848 presidential election, Lincoln supported war hero Zachary Taylor for the Whig nomination and for president in the general election. In abandoning Clay, Lincoln argued that Taylor was the only Whig that was electable. Lincoln attended the Whig National Convention in Philadelphia as a Taylor delegate. Following Taylor's successful nomination, Lincoln urged Taylor to run a campaign emphasizing his personal traits, while leaving the controversial issues to be resolved by Congress. While Congress was in session Lincoln spoke in favor of Taylor on the House floor, and when it adjourned in August, he remained in Washington to assist Whig Executive Committee of Congress in the campaign. In September Lincoln made campaign speeches in Boston and other New England locations. Remembering the election of 1844, Lincoln addressed potential Free Soil voters by saying that the Whigs were equally opposed to slavery and the only issue was how they could most effectively vote against the expansion of slavery. Lincoln argued that a vote for the Free Soil candidate, former President Martin Van Buren, would divide the antislavery vote and give the election to the Democratic candidate, Lewis Cass.


text: With Taylor's victory, the incoming administration, perhaps remembering Lincoln's criticism of Taylor during the Mexican–American War, offered Lincoln only the governorship of remote Oregon Territory. Acceptance would end his career in the fast-growing state of Illinois, so he declined, and returned to Springfield, Illinois, where he turned most of his energies to his law practice.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Graf Alfred von Schlieffen, generally called Count Schlieffen (; 28 February 1833 – 4 January 1913) was a German field marshal and strategist who served as chief of the Imperial German General Staff from 1891 to 1906. His name lived on in the 1905–06 "Schlieffen Plan", then "Aufmarsch I", a deployment plan and operational guide for a decisive initial offensive operation/campaign in a two-front war against the French Third Republic.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Born in Prussia, Germany, on 28 February 1833 as the son of a Prussian Army officer, he was part of an old Prussian noble family, the Schlieffen family. He lived with his father, Major Magnus von Schlieffen, on their estate in Silesia, which he left to go to school in 1842. Growing up, Schlieffen had shown no interest in joining the military and so he did not attend the traditional Prussian cadet academies. Instead, he studied at the University of Berlin. While he was studying law, he enlisted in the army in 1853 for his one year of compulsory military service. Then, instead of joining the reserves, he was chosen as an officer candidate. He thus started a long military career, working his way up through the officer ranks, eventually completing 53 years of service.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: In 1868, fifteen years into his military career, Schlieffen married his cousin Countess Anna Schlieffen. They had one healthy child (Elisabeth Auguste Marie Ernestine Gräfin von Schlieffen, 13 September 1869 – 23 September 1943), but after the birth of a second (Marie, who became a nun), his wife died. Schlieffen then focused all of his attention on his military work.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: On the recommendation of his commanders, Schlieffen was admitted to the General War School in 1858 at the age of 25, much earlier than others. He graduated in 1861 with high honours, which guaranteed him a role as a General Staff officer. In 1862, he was assigned to the Topographic Bureau of the General Staff, providing him with geographical knowledge and a respect for the tactical and strategic value of terrain and weather that would serve him well throughout his career, particularly in the war games he conducted and in the devising of various war plans including the famous Schlieffen Plan. In 1865 he was transferred to the German General Staff proper, though his role was initially a minor one. He first saw active war service as a staff officer with the Prussian Cavalry Corps at the Battle of Königgrätz of 1866, during the Austro-Prussian War. The tactical "battle of encirclement" conducted there was from that point forward a constant feature of his tactical doctrine, even as his strategic doctrine consistently favoured the counter-offensive due to both his understanding of terrain and his respect for von Clausewitz's assessment of the constantly-diminishing strength of the offensive.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: During the Franco-Prussian War, he commanded a small force in the Loire Valley in what was one of the most difficult campaigns fought by the Prussian Army. In France, Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, promoted him to Major and head of the military-history division. After years working alongside Helmuth von Moltke and Alfred von Waldersee, on 4 December 1886 he was promoted to Major General, and shortly afterwards, with the retirement of Moltke, became Waldersee's Deputy Chief of Staff. Not long after this he became "Quartermeistergeneral", then Lieutenant General on 4 December 1888, and eventually General of the Cavalry on 27 January 1893.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: In 1904, on the occasion of the Herero rebellion in German South West Africa (present-day Namibia), Chief of the General Staff Schlieffen was supportive of Lothar von Trotha's genocidal policies against the Herero and Namaqua peoples, saying "The race war, once commenced, can only be ended by annihilation or the complete enslavement of one party". He agreed in principle with Trotha's notorious "Vernichtungsbefehl" ("extermination order") of 2 October 1904, even justifying the many cases of killing of Herero women by the Germans, writing "If ... women have been shot, then one must remember that women have not only participated in the fighting, they have also been the main originators of the cruel and horrible martyrdom that our wounded have often been subjected to, and that the sight of these victims ... provoked the comrades to forgivable fury." Only after the intervention of Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow and the fear that Germany's international image will be stained did Schlieffen agree, in December 1904, to repeal Trotha's orders to kill on the spot unarmed and surrendering Hereros.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: In August 1905, at the age of 72, Schlieffen was kicked by a companion's horse, making him "incapable of battle". After nearly 53 years of service, Schlieffen retired on New Year's Day, 1906. He died on 4 January 1913, just 19 months before the outbreak of the First World War. His apocryphal last words are said to have been, "Remember: keep the right wing very strong," (in reference to the main strategic manoeuvre of "Aufmarsch I West"), but nobody actually present is known to have said that. Furthermore, the origin of this tale is unknown but seems to have occurred only several decades after his death.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: For Schlieffen, the smaller rate of conscription into the German army (55 per cent, compared to France's rate of 80 per cent), created a numerical imbalance, which was worsened by the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1896. German tactical and operational abilities could not compensate for this quantitative inferiority. Schlieffen had wanted to institute universal conscription and raise as many combat units from trained reservists as possible. Conscription policy was controlled by the Prussian Ministry of War, which answered to the . Schlieffen planned to create masses of new units when war came, when he would assume command of the army. Upon mobilisation, large numbers of reservists would be assigned to replacement battalions (), while waiting to join the field army.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: From June 1891, Schlieffen proposed to form into brigades in the field army but the units were not effective forces. Replacement units as field units would also not be able to replace field army casualties. The War Ministry rejected Schlieffen's proposals and nothing was done until 1911, six years after Schlieffen's retirement, when six divisions were formed by General Erich Ludendorff. Schlieffen continued to believe in the mass use of , making them fundamental to the (memorandum or think piece) which became known as the Schlieffen Plan (January 1906). The was not a campaign plan, as Schlieffen had retired on 31 December 1905 and the 96 divisions needed to carry out this one-front war plan did not exist (in 1914 the German army had 79, of which 68 were deployed in the west). Rather, it was a demonstration of what Germany might accomplish if universal conscription was introduced.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Schlieffen thought that even this hypothetical 96-division German army would probably not be able to defeat France,


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Without twelve divisions on the right flank (in 1914 the German army had six which operated in Lorraine), outflanking Paris was impossible. Schlieffen admitted in the that units could not catch the right wing by foot-marching nor would the rail system suffice to move twelve divisions to Paris. If they could not be sent to the right wing, they could be deployed practically anywhere else on the German front, either between Verdun and Mézières, at Metz or on the right bank of the Moselle. There is no evidence that Schlieffen conducted an exercise to test a scheme of manoeuvre similar to the one in the , an envelopment of Paris by the right flank, which would be surprising if this represented the pinnacle of Schlieffen's strategic thought. None of Schlieffen's surviving deployment plans (), General staff rides () or war games () bear any resemblance to the manoeuvre of the Schlieffen Plan; the plans are consistent with Schlieffen's counter-attack doctrine. On 11 December 1893 Schlieffen wrote a that represented the completion of his idea of mass warfare. When war came, the German government ought to declare full mobilisation in East Prussia, owing to its vulnerability to Russian cavalry raids. The East Prussian militia would use prepared equipment; behind this militia screen the German field army would deploy and then throw back the Russians.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: The cornerstone of Schlieffen's war planning was undoubtedly the strategic counter-offensive. Schlieffen was a great believer in the power of the attack in the context of the defensive operation. Germany's smaller forces relative to the Franco-Russian Entente meant that an offensive posture against one or both was basically suicidal. On the other hand, Schlieffen placed great faith in Germany's ability to use its railways to launch a counter-offensive against a hypothetical French or Russian invasion force, defeat it, then quickly re-group her troops and launch a counter-offensive against the other. To quote Holmes:


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Schlieffen also recognised the need for "offensive" planning, however, as failing to do so would limit the German Army's capabilities if the situation called for them. In 1897, starting from a plan of 1894, Schlieffen developed a tactical plan that – acknowledging the German army's limited offensive power and capacity for strategic manoeuvres – basically amounted to using brute force to advance beyond the French defences on the Franco-German border. To complement this unsophisticated manoeuvre and improve its chances of success he deemed it necessary to outflank the fortress line to the north and focus on destroying it from north–south starting at Verdun. This was, it must be stated, a "tactical" plan centred around the destruction of the fortress-line that called for very little movement by the forces involved.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: In 1905, however, Schlieffen developed what was truly his first plan for a "strategic offensive operation" – the "Schlieffen plan Denkschrift" (Schlieffen plan memorandum). This plan was based on the hypothesis of an isolated Franco-German war which "would not" involve Russia and called for Germany to attack France. The rough draft of this plan was so crude as not to consider questions of supply at all and be vague on the actual number of troops involved, but theorised that Germany would need to raise at least another 100,000 professional troops and 100,000 "ersatz" militiamen (the latter being within Germany's capabilities even in 1905) in addition to being able to count on Austro-Hungarian and Italian forces being deployed to German Alsace-Lorraine to defend it. The German Army would then move through the Dutch province of Maastricht and northern Belgium, securing southern Belgium and Luxembourg with a flank-guard to protect both Germany and the main force from a French offensive during this critical manoeuvre [this being the point of the 1913 French Plan XVII].


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: But it is here, in the second and final phase of the operation, that Schlieffen shows his true genius: he notes the immense strength of the French "second defensive area" in which the French can use the fortress-sector of Verdun, "Fortress Paris", and the River Marne as the basis of a "very" strong defensive line. Appreciating its defensive power, Schlieffen knew that he would have to try to force the French back from the Marne or at least secure a bridgehead over the Marne and/or Seine if he did not want the second German operation/campaign of the war to result in heavy losses. To do this, Schlieffen insisted that they cross the Seine "to the west" of Paris and, if they managed to cross in strength against sufficiently weak opposition, then they might even be able to force the French back from the westernmost sections of the Marne and surround Paris.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: However, the bulk of Schlieffen's planning still followed his personal preferences for the counter-offensive. "Aufmarsch II" and "Aufmarsch Ost" (later "Aufmarsch II West" and "Aufmarsch I Ost", respectively) continued to stress that Germany's best hope for survival if faced by a war with the Franco-Russian entente was a defensive strategy. This "defensive strategy", it must be noted, was reconciled with a very offensive "tactical" posture as Schlieffen held that the "destruction" of an attacking force required that it be surrounded and attacked from all sides until it surrendered, and not merely repulsed as in a "passive" defense:


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: In August 1905 Schlieffen was kicked by a companion's horse, making him "incapable of battle". During his time off, now at the age of 72, he started planning his retirement. His successor was yet undetermined. Goltz was the primary candidate, but the Emperor was not fond of him. A favourite of the Emperor was Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, who became Chief of Staff after Schlieffen retired.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Moltke went on to devise "Aufmarsch II Ost", a variant upon Schlieffen's "Aufmarsch Ost" designed for an isolated Russo-German war. Schlieffen seems to have tried to impress upon Moltke that an offensive strategy against France could work only for isolated Franco-German war, as German forces would otherwise be too weak to implement it. Thus, Moltke still attempted to apply the offensive strategy of "Aufmarsch I West" to the two-front war Germany faced in 1914 and Schlieffen's defensive plan "Aufmarsch II West". With too few troops to cross west of Paris, let alone attempt a crossing of the Seine, Moltke's campaign failed to breach the French "second defensive sector" and his troops were pushed back in the Battle of the Marne.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Schlieffen was perhaps the best-known contemporary strategist of his time, but he was criticised for his "narrow-minded military scholasticism."


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Schlieffen's operational theories were to have a profound impact on the development of manoeuvre warfare in the 20th century, largely through his seminal treatise, "Cannae", which concerned the decidedly un-modern 216 BCE Battle of Cannae in which Hannibal defeated the Romans. His treatise had two main purposes. First, it was to clarify, in writing, Schlieffen's concepts of manoeuvre, particularly the manoeuvre of encirclement, along with other fundamentals of warfare. Second, it was to be an instrument for the Staff, the War Academy, and for the Army all together. His theories were studied exhaustively, especially in the higher army academies of the United States and Europe after the First World War. American military thinkers thought so highly of him that his principal literary legacy, "Cannae", was translated at Fort Leavenworth and distributed within the US Army and to the academic community.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Along with the great militarist man that Schlieffen is famous for being, there are also underlying traits about Schlieffen that often go untold. As we know, Schlieffen was a strategist. Unlike the Chief of Staff, Waldersee, Schlieffen avoided political affairs and instead was actively involved in the tasks of the General Staff, including the preparation of war plans and the readiness of the German Army for war. He focused much of his attention on planning. He devoted time to training, military education and the adaptation of modern technology for the use of military purposes and strategic planning.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: It was evident that Schlieffen was very much involved in preparing and planning for future combat. He considered one of his primary tasks was to prepare the young officers a way that they would accept responsibility for taking action in planning manoeuvres but also for directing these movements after the planning had taken place.


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: In regards to Schlieffen's tactics, General Walter Bedell Smith, chief of staff to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in the Second World War, pointed out that General Dwight Eisenhower and many of his staff officers, products of these academies, "were imbued with the idea of this type of wide, bold maneuver for decisive results."


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: General Erich Ludendorff, a disciple of Schlieffen who applied his teachings of encirclement in the Battle of Tannenberg, once famously christened Schlieffen as "one of the greatest soldiers ever."


title: Alfred von Schlieffen

text: Long after his death, the German General Staff officers of the interwar period and the Second World War, particularly General Hans von Seeckt, recognised an intellectual debt to Schlieffen theories during the development of the "Blitzkrieg" doctrine.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: Khmelnytskyi Oblast (; also referred to as Khmelnychchyna — ) is an oblast (province) of western Ukraine covering portions of the historical regions of western Podolia and southern Volhynia. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Khmelnytskyi.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: Created in 1937 out of border okrugs of Vinnytsia Oblast, in 1941–44 it was under Nazi Germany occupation and part of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Wolhynien und Podolien general district). Following the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket in spring of 1944 as part of the Proskurov-Chernovtsy operation, Soviet troops removed the German occupation in the region. Until 4 February 1954 it was called Kamianets-Podilsky Oblast () and was centered in Kamianets-Podilsky until 1941. The region rebranding took place after the official renaming of the region's administrative center to Khmelnytskyi.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: Khmelnytskyi Oblast has a total area of (3.4% of the total area of Ukraine) and is located between 48°27' and 50°37' north latitude and between 26°09' and 27°56' east longitude. It is long when measured from north to south, and is in length when measured from east to west. It is associated with a historical region of Podolia, yet in reality its territory is split almost in half, the northern in Volhynia, and the southern in Podolia. Its Volhynian region contains smaller cities like Izyaslav, Starokostiantyniv, Shepetivka, while its Podolian portion more developed cities of Khmelnytskyi and Kamianets-Podilskyi.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: The oblast borders the Rivne Oblast to the northwest, the Zhytomyr Oblast to the northeast, the Vinnytsia Oblast to the east, the Chernivtsi Oblast to the south, and the Ternopil Oblast to the west.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: The Podolian Upland (270–370 meters above sea-level) occupies the central area of the Khmelnytska oblast. The northwestern areas of the oblast are part of the Volyn highland (highest point — 329 m above sea-level), while to the north, the oblast claims a part of the historic region of Polissia (highest point — 200–250 m above sea-level). The southwestern territory of the Khmelnytska oblast is crossed by the Tovtry range (, translit. "Tovtryi kryazh"), which includes Mount Velyka Buhaikha (), the highest point of the oblast at 409 m above sea-level. The extreme south of the oblast has a surface with canyon-like river valleys. The Dneister Reservoir located there is the lowest point of the oblast (121 m above sea-level) .


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: There are 120 rivers with a length of or more in the Khmelnytska oblast. The largest of these are the Dniester River (which flows for within the oblast), as well as its tributaries: Smotrych, Ushytsia, and the Zbruch — and the Southern Buh River (which flows for within the oblast), as well as its tributaries: Buzhok, Ikva, and Vovk. The rivers of the Dnieper River's basin — Horyn, Khmora, and Sluch Rivers also run through the oblast. The oblast's lakes are located mostly in basin of the Horyn River. The largest reservoir in the oblast is the Dniester Reservoir.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: There are 1858 ponds and/or reservoirs in the oblast. The largest of these include Shchedrivske (with a surface area of ), Novostavske (with a surface area of ), and Kuzmynske (with a surface area of ).


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: Khmelnytskyi Oblast was created on September 22, 1937 as the Kamianets-Podilskyi Oblast (, translit., "Kamyanets-Podil'ska oblast’") out of border okrugs (Prokuriv and Kamianets-Podilskyi) of the Vinnytsia Oblast.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: In March 1941 the administrative center of the oblast was moved from Kamianets-Podilskyi to the city of Proskuriv. During the World War II the territory was part of another administrative division (General District Wolhynien und Podolien, see Reichskommissariat Ukraine), but after liberation from the Nazi Germany, Khmelnytskyi Oblast was reinstated in its original borders. In 1954, Proskuriv was renamed Khmelnytskyi, and soon afterward, the oblast was renamed to Khmelnytskyi Oblast (, translit., "Khmel'nytska oblast’").


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: The oblast is subdivided into 3 raions ("administrative districts"). It consists of 6 municipalities, 13 cities, 24 towns, and more than 1,417 villages.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: The local administration of the oblast' is controlled by the Khmelnytska oblast Rada. The governor of the oblast' is the Khmelnytska oblast Rada speaker, appointed by the President of Ukraine.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: Khmelnytskyi Oblast's population is 1,401,140 as of January 1, 2004. As of 2002, the oblast ranks 13th by population in Ukraine. The population density is 69.5/km².


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: Pensioners make up 453,800 thousand people or 31,7% of population. The birth rate per 1,000 residents is 8.3, and the death rate — per 1000 residents – 16.1. The urban population, according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census data, accounted for 729,600 people, or 51%, and the rural population — for 701,200 people, or 49%.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: According to the data, the number of men accounted for 659,900 people, or 46.1%, that of women — 770,900 people, or 53.9%.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: The economy of the oblast mostly deals with the energy industry, transport and agriculture. The oblast is situated at a historical crossroad of the railway and highway routes connecting Central Europe to Black Sea coast and Russia (with the city of Shepetivka being the most important railway junction). The "Khmelnyts’ka" nuclear power plant in the city of Netishyn is the most important industrial company of the oblast. Notable machinery, armament and chemical industries are also present.


title: Khmelnytskyi Oblast

text: Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their administrative center cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (, translit. "oblasnyi tsentr"). The name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: "Khmelnytskyi" is the center of the "Khmelnyts’ka oblast’" (Khmelnytska oblast).


title: Guntur district

text: Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the largest city of the district in terms of area and with a population of 670,073. It has a coastline of approximately on the right bank of Krishna River, that separates it from Krishna district and NTR district. It is bounded on the south by Bapatla district and on the west by Palnadu district. It has an area of and with a population of 20,91,075 as per 2011 census of India.


title: Guntur district

text: The district is often referred to as the "Land of Chillies". It is also a major centre for agriculture, education and learning. It exports large quantities of chillies and tobacco.


title: Guntur district

text: There are several opinions on the meaning and origin of the word Guntur. The word owes its origin to words like gundu (a rock), gunta (a pond) and kunta (1/3 of an acre). In Sanskrit Guntur is called Garthapuri (Guntlapuri).


title: Guntur district

text: The earliest reference to Guntur, a variant of Guntur, comes from the Idern plates of Ammaraja I (922-929 AD) of the Chalukyas of Vengi. Guntur also appears in another two inscriptions dated 1147 AD and 1158 AD.


title: Guntur district

text: The original Sanskrit name (ancient Vedic culture) for Guntur was Garthapuri. The 'Agasthyeswara Sivalayam' in the old city of Guntur is an ancient temple for Siva. It has inscriptions on two stones in 'Naga Lipi' (ancient script). It is said that Agastya built the temple in the last "Treta Yuga" around the Swayambhu Linga and hence the name. The 'Nagas' were said to have ruled the region. The place of Sitanagaram and the Guthikonda Caves can be traced (through Vedic Puranas) back to the traditional timescale "Treta Yuga" and "Dvapara Yuga". Guntur District is home to the second oldest evidence of human habitation in India, in the form of Palaeolithic (old Stone Age) implements. Ancient history can be traced from the time of Sala kings who ruled during the 5th century BCE. The earliest reference to Guntur, a variant of "Guntur", comes from the Idern plates of Ammaraja I (922–929 CE), the Vengi Chalukyan King. Guntur also appears in two inscriptions dated 1147 and 1158 CE. Since the beginning of Buddhist time, Guntur stood in the forefront in matters of culture, education and civilisation. Gautama Buddha preached at Dharanikota/Dhanyakatakam near Guntur and conducted Kalachakra ceremony, which takes its antiquity to 500 BCE. Taranatha, a Buddhist monk writes: "On the full moon of the month Chaitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, the Buddha emanated the mandala of "The Glorious Lunar Mansions" (Kalachakra). Buddhists established universities in ancient times at Dhanyakataka and Amaravathi. Scores of Buddhist stupas were excavated in the villages of Guntur district. Acharya Nagarjuna, an influential Buddhist philosopher taught at Nagarjunakonda and is said to have discovered Mica in 200 BCE. Chinese traveller and Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) visited Amaravati in 640 C.E., stayed for sometime and studied 'Abhidhammapitakam'. He observed that there were many Viharas and some of them were deserted, which points out that Hinduism was gaining ground at that time. Xuanzang wrote a glorious account of the place, Viharas and monasteries that existed.


title: Guntur district

text: Guntur was successively ruled by famous dynasties such as the Satavahanas, Andhra Ikshvakus, Pallavas, Ananda Gotrikas, Vishnukundina, Kota Vamsa, Chalukyas, Cholas, Kakatiyas, Musunuris, Reddys, Vijayanagara and Qutb Shahis during ancient and medieval times. The famous battle of Palnadu which is enshrined in legend and literature as "Palnati Yuddham" was fought in Guntur district in 1180 CE.


title: Guntur district

text: During the 16th century Guntur became part of the Mughal empire. In 1687 CE when the emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Qutb Shahi sultanate of Golconda, of which Guntur was then a part. In 1724 CE, Asaf Jah, viceroy of the empire's southern provinces, declared his independence as the Nizam of Hyderabad. The coastal districts of Hyderabad, known as the Northern Circars, were occupied by the French in 1750. During this time, the Manur Rao family of Deshastha Brahmin community, the Vasireddi family of Kamma community and the Manik Rao family of Velama community were prominent Zamindar families in the present day Guntur district. The Manur Rao family were rulers of Chilakaluripet Zamindari and Sattenapalle Zamindari, The Vasireddi family were rulers of Amaravathi Zamindari and The Manik Rao family were the rulers of Repalle Zamindari.


title: Guntur district

text: The Guntur region played a significant role in the struggle for independence and the formation of Andhra Pradesh. The northern, Telugu- speaking districts of Madras State, including Guntur, advocated to become a separate state after independence. The new state of Andhra region named Andhra State, was created in 1953 from the eleven northern districts of Madras State. In 1970, part of Guntur district was split off to become part of the Prakasam district.


title: Guntur district

text: Guntur district occupies an area of approximately , The Krishna River forms the northeastern and eastern boundary of the district, separating it from Krishna district. The district is bounded on the southeast by the Bay of Bengal, on the south by Bapatla district, on the west by Palnadu district and on the northwest by NTR district and north east Krishna district.


title: Guntur district

text: Guntur Coast is located on the south east coast of India (also known as the Coromandel Coast) (quotes from NASA site). Krishna river merges into Bay of Bengal at the coastal area of Guntur district. The braided stream channels, broad floodplain, and extensive sandbars suggest that this part of the Krishna river flows through relatively flat terrain and carries substantial amounts of sediment, especially during the monsoon season. Suryalanka Beach near Bapatla, "Bobbarrlanka" in Repalle, Nizampatnam Beach in Nizampatnam are tourist beaches in Guntur coastline.


title: Guntur district

text: census of India, the district had a population of 4,887,813 with a density of . The total population constitute, 2,440,521 males and 2,447,292 females – a sex ratio of 1003 females per 1000 males. The total urban population is 16,52,738 (33.81%). There are 29,60,441 literates with a literacy rate of 67.40%.


title: Guntur district

text: After bifurcation the district had a population of 20,91,075, of which 1,072,544 (51.29%) lived in urban areas. Guntur district had a sex ratio of 1007 females to 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 4,21,861 (20.17%) and 69,017 (3.30%) of the population respectively.


title: Guntur district

text: At the time of the 2011 census, 86.14% of the population spoke Telugu and 12.32% Urdu as their first language.


title: Guntur district

text: The Collectorate play a pivotal role in the district administration. Collector in the cadre of IAS heads the district. He acts as the District Magistrate for maintaining Law and order in his jurisdiction. He deals mainly with planning and development. Law and Order, scheduled areas/ agency areas, general elections, arms licensing etc.


title: Guntur district

text: The Joint Collector, who also belongs to the IAS cadre, runs the Revenue administration under various enactments in the district. He is also designated as Additional District Magistrate. He mainly deals with civil supplies,land matters, mines and minerals,village officers etc.


title: Guntur district

text: The District Revenue Officer (DRO), in the cadre of Special Grade Deputy Collectors, assists the Collector and Joint Collector in discharging their duties. The District Revenue Officer looks after all the branches of the Collectorate. He deals mainly with general administration and is vested with supervision of day-to-day functions of the collectorate.


title: Guntur district

text: The administrative officer in the rank of a Tahsildar is the general assistant to the collector. He directly supervises all the sections in the collectorate and most of the files are routed through him.


title: Guntur district

text: The collectorate is divided into 8 sections as per the administrative reforms taken up by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.


title: Guntur district

text: The district is divided into Two Revenue divisions, namely, Guntur, Tenali. These are sub-divided into 18 mandals, which are in turn divided as 57 Panchayat Samiti (Block)s, 712 villages and 16 towns. These 16 towns includes, 1 municipal corporation, 4 municipalities and 1 census town. Gurazala revenue division was newly formed in the year 2013. Guntur city is the only municipal corporation and district headquarter. Vaddeswaram is categorised as a census town. The 4 municipalities in the district are Mangalagiri, Tadepalle, Tenali, Ponnur.


title: Guntur district

text: Guntur district has 1022 Gram Panchayats covering 58 mandals including seized mandals. Panchayat secretaries have been working for the cluster Headquarter Gram Panchayats. The main objective of the Panchayat Raj Department is to provide civic amenities to the rural public.


title: Guntur district

text: The district has many festivals such as Rama Navami, Maha Sivaratri, Vinayaka Chavithi, Vijaya Dasami, Deepawali, Holi, Ugadi, Eid, Krishnastami, Christmas. There are hill temple festivals at Kotappakonda, Mangalagiri.


title: Guntur district

text: Places of historical importance in the district include Ponnur, Undavalli Caves, Gurazala, Mangalagiri, Tadepalle, Tenali and the archaeological museum in Guntur. There are many places of interest like Undavalli Caves.


title: Guntur district

text: Prolaya Vema Reddi built number of Lord Shiva temples during his reign. Number of temples were constructed in Krishna valley during the reign of Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu. Tall towers ("Gaali Gopuram") of these temples in many villages and towns of Guntur district stand testimony to his devotion and munificence. Some of the famous destinations are "Nadivelamma Talli Temple" in Rajavolu, and there will be annual festival on Full moon day in the month of Chaitra maas. "Amaravathi temple", the abode of Lord Shiva, present in the form of a Shiva Linga. The Auspicious Hill of Mangalagiri town, is dedicated to Lord Narasimha with three temples of Panakala Narasimha Swamy on the hill, Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at the foot of the temple, Gandala Narasimha Swamy at the top of the hill, are also famous. Other famous temples are "Bhavanarayanaswami temple" in Bapatla, "Sri Laxmi Chennakesava Swamy Temple" in Macherla, "Kotappakonda", "Pedakakani", "Vykuntapuram" in Tenali.and also subramaneswara Swamy temple,polleramathalli temple, agastheswaraswamy temple (which was built in 8 century by agasthaya mahrashi and rebuilt by Sri Krishna Devaraya)


title: Guntur district

text: The Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) of the district is and it contributes 9.5% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). For the FY 2013–14, the per capita income at current prices was . The primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the district contribute , and respectively to the GDDP.


title: Guntur district

text: The major products contributing to the GVA of the district from agriculture and allied services are paddy, cotton kapas, chillies, banana, milk, meat and fisheries. The GVA to the industrial and service sector is contributed from construction, electricity, manufacturing, transport and education.


title: Guntur district

text: Healthcare is provided by government and private institutions. The Guntur Government Hospital provides free healthcare. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is situated in Mangalagiri. The nonprofit or charity hospitals are the Sankara Eye Hospital.


title: Guntur district

text: The total road length of state highways in the district is . There exists of rail network in the district.


title: Guntur district

text: The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the "School Education Department" of the state. As per the school information report for the academic year 2015–16, there are a total of 4,739 schools. They include, 32 government, 2,839 mandal and zilla parishads, 2 residential, 1329 private, 14 model, 24 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), 296 municipal and 203 other types of schools. The total number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district are 637,031. The district being home to the capital city, it is experiencing a growth in private international schools as well. The Central Board of Secondary Education, Secondary School Certificate or the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education are the different types of syllabus followed by different schools. The medium of instruction followed by different schools are English, Telugu and Urdu.


title: Guntur district

text: There are several junior colleges which are under government, residential, social welfare, disabled welfare, private aided and unaided for the purpose of imparting (10+2) education and the students sit for the certificate of Board of Intermediate Education. AC college is the oldest private aided college of the district, established in 1885. The higher education colleges have various fields of study like medical, nursing, degree, post graduate, polytechnic, law, teaching, pharmacy, engineering, veterinary etc. The Acharya Nagarjuna University is a state university which has fourteen autonomous colleges as per Universities Grant Commission. The KMC, GMC, AIIMS are some of the premier medical institutes in Guntur. There are also many private universities like Vignan University, KL University in the district. The Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University at Lam is a public agricultural university, equipped with a "Regional Agricultural Research Station".


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Federico Fernández (; born 21 February 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Elche CF.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Fernández began his career at Estudiantes de La Plata, where he reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana and won the Copa Libertadores, before moving to Napoli in 2011. He was used sparingly by the Serie A club, and spent time on loan at Getafe, before joining Swansea City in 2014.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Fernández made his full international debut in 2009 and has since earned over 30 international caps, scoring three goals. He was part of the Argentine squad which reached the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Federico has Italian origins: his maternal great-grandfather was a native of Lacedonia, in the Province of Avellino. As a result, he has an Italian passport.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Fernández made his league debut for Estudiantes de La Plata on 14 September 2008 during the 2008 Apertura tournament in a 1–0 defeat to Vélez Sársfield. He played two games in Estudiantes' run to the final of Copa Sudamericana 2008.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Fernández scored his first goal with the squad in an away match against Lanús on 2 May 2009, following an assist by teammate Juan Sebastián Verón. Later that year, Estudiantes won the 2009 Copa Libertadores, although Fernández's only contributions were two substitute appearances against Defensor Sporting Club in the quarter-finals.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Fernández was signed by Serie A club Napoli in December 2010 for a reported fee of about €2.5 million. Due to his lack of a European Union passport, however, he arrived in Italy only in July 2011.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: On 2 November 2011, Fernández scored his first two goals for Napoli, against Bayern Munich in a Champions League group stage away tie. Both headers came after Napoli had conceded three times in the first half, although Napoli lost the match 3–2.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Having only made nine appearances across all competitions for Napoli that season, on 31 January 2013 Fernández was loaned to Spanish La Liga club Getafe for the remainder of the campaign, bolstering the club's defence following the sale of David Abraham to 1899 Hoffenheim.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Fernández played the full 90 minutes of the 2014 Coppa Italia Final, which Napoli won 3–1 against Fiorentina.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: On 20 August 2014, it was announced that Fernández had signed for Premier League side Swansea City on a four-year contract for €10 million. Six days later, he made his debut for the club, playing the entirety of a 1–0 win over Rotherham United in the second round of the League Cup. His first Premier League appearance for Swansea was on 13 September, replacing Jordi Amat at half-time in a 4–2 defeat away to Chelsea.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Fernández was given a straight red card for a foul on Philippe Coutinho in added time at the end of Swansea's League Cup fourth-round match against Liverpool at Anfield on 28 October; minutes later, Dejan Lovren scored the winner to knock Swansea out of the tournament. Two days later, however, the FA rescinded the red card on appeal from Swansea, thus avoiding a three-match ban for Fernández. On the opening day of the 2015–16 season, he scored an own goal vs Chelsea, in a match that ended 2–2 at Stamford Bridge. He scored his first goal for Swansea on 19 March 2016 in a 1–0 victory over Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: On 9 August 2018, Fernández joined Newcastle United on a two-year contract. The move reunited him with Rafael Benítez, his manager when both were at Napoli. He scored his first Premier League goal on 2 November 2019 in a 3–2 away win at West Ham United. His second Newcastle goal came in a 2–1 Premier League home win against Southampton.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: In January 2009, Fernández was selected to join the Argentina under-20 squad for the 2009 South American Youth Championship in Venezuela.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: Fernández made his debut for the Argentina senior team against Ecuador in April 2011. He established himself as a regular in defence during Argentina's successful FIFA World Cup qualification campaign under head coach Alejandro Sabella.


title: Federico Fernández (footballer)

text: In June 2014, Fernández was named in Argentina's squad for the 2014 World Cup. He made his World Cup debut in Argentina's 2–1 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Maracanã Stadium, playing the full match in defence.


title: Century of Progress

text: A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), celebrated the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation, and its motto was "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Adapts", trumpeting the message that science and American life were wedded. Its architectural symbol was the Sky Ride, a transporter bridge perpendicular to the shore on which one could ride from one side of the fair to the other.


title: Century of Progress

text: One description of the fair noted that the world, "then still mired in the malaise of the Great Depression, could glimpse a happier not-too-distant future, all driven by innovation in science and technology." Fair visitors saw the latest wonders in rail travel, automobiles, architecture and even cigarette-smoking robots. The exposition "emphasized technology and progress, a utopia, or perfect world, founded on democracy and manufacturing."


title: Century of Progress

text: A Century of Progress was organized as an Illinois nonprofit corporation in January 1928 for the purpose of planning and hosting a World's Fair in Chicago in 1934. City officials designated three and a half miles of newly reclaimed land along the shore of Lake Michigan between 12th and 39th streets on the Near South Side for the fairgrounds. Held on a portion of Burnham Park, the $37,500,000 exposition was formally opened on May 27, 1933, by US Postmaster General James Farley at a four hour ceremony at Soldier Field. The fair's opening night began with a nod to the heavens. Lights were automatically activated when the rays of the star Arcturus were detected. The star was chosen as its light had started its journey at about the time of the previous Chicago world's fair—the World's Columbian Exposition—in 1893. The rays were focused on photoelectric cells in a series of astronomical observatories and then transformed into electrical energy which was transmitted to Chicago.


title: Century of Progress

text: The fair buildings were multi-colored, to create a "Rainbow City" as compared to the "White City" of Chicago's earlier World's Columbian Exposition. The buildings generally followed Moderne architecture in contrast to the neoclassical themes used at the 1893 fair. One famous feature of the fair were the performances of fan dancer Sally Rand. Other popular exhibits were the various auto manufacturers, the Midway (filled with nightclubs such as the Old Morocco, where future stars Judy Garland, The Cook Family Singers, and The Andrews Sisters performed), and a recreation of important scenes from Chicago's history. The fair also contained exhibits that would seem shocking to modern audiences, including offensive portrayals of African-Americans, a "Midget City" complete with "sixty Lilliputians", and an exhibition of incubators containing real babies.


title: Century of Progress

text: The fair included an exhibit on the history of Chicago. In the planning stages, several African-American groups from the city's newly growing population campaigned for Jean Baptiste Point du Sable to be honored at the fair. At the time, few Chicagoans had even heard of Point du Sable, and the fair's organizers presented the 1803 construction of Fort Dearborn as the city's historical beginning. The campaign was successful, and a replica of Point du Sable's cabin was presented as part of the "background of the history of Chicago". Also on display was the "Lincoln Group" of reconstructions of buildings associated with the biography of Abraham Lincoln, including his birth cabin, the Lincoln-Berry General Store, the Chicago Wigwam (in reduced scale), and the Rutledge Tavern which served as a restaurant.


title: Century of Progress

text: Admiral Byrd's polar expedition ship the "City of New York" was visited by President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he came to the fair on October 2, 1933. The "City" was on show for the full length of the exhibition.


title: Century of Progress

text: One of the highlights of the 1933 World's Fair was the arrival of the German airship "Graf Zeppelin" on October 26, 1933. After circling Lake Michigan near the exposition for two hours, Commander Hugo Eckener landed the 776-foot airship at the nearby Curtiss-Wright Airport in Glenview. It remained on the ground for twenty-five minutes (from 1 to 1:25 pm) then took off ahead of an approaching weather front, bound for Akron, Ohio.


title: Century of Progress

text: The "dream cars" which American automobile manufacturers exhibited at the fair included Duesenberg and Rollston's $20,000 "Twenty Grand" ultra-luxury sedan; Cadillac's introduction of its V-16 limousine; Nash's exhibit had a variation on the vertical (i.e., paternoster lift) parking garage—all the cars were new Nashes; Lincoln presented its rear-engined "concept car" precursor to the Lincoln-Zephyr, which went on the market in 1936 with a front engine; Pierce-Arrow presented its modernistic Pierce Silver Arrow for which it used the byline "Suddenly it's 1940!" But it was Packard which won the best of show.


title: Century of Progress

text: An enduring exhibit was the 1933 Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition that demonstrated modern home convenience and creative practical new building materials and techniques with twelve model homes sponsored by several corporations affiliated with home decor and construction.


title: Century of Progress

text: Marine artist Hilda Goldblatt Gorenstein (Hilgos) painted twelve murals for the Navy's exhibit in the Federal Building for the fair. The frieze was composed of twelve murals depicting the influence of sea power on America, beginning with the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 when sea power first reached America and carrying through World War I. Another set of murals, painted for the Ohio State Exhibit by William Mark Young, was relocated afterwards to the Ohio Statehouse. Young also painted scenes of the exhibition buildings.


title: Century of Progress

text: The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held at Comiskey Park (home of the Chicago White Sox) in conjunction with the fair.


title: Century of Progress

text: In May 1934, the Union Pacific Railroad exhibited its first streamlined train, the M-10000, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad its famous "Zephyr" which, on May 26, made a record-breaking dawn-to-dusk run from Denver, Colorado, to Chicago in 13 hours and 5 minutes, called the "Dawn-to-Dusk Dash". To cap its record-breaking speed run, the "Zephyr" arrived dramatically on-stage at the fair's "Wings of a Century" transportation pageant. The two trains launched an era of industrial streamlining. Both trains later went into successful revenue service, the Union Pacific's as the "City of Salina", and the Burlington "Zephyr" as the first "Pioneer Zephyr". The "Zephyr" is now on exhibit at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.


title: Century of Progress

text: Frank Buck furnished a wild animal exhibit, Frank Buck's Jungle Camp. Over two million people visited Buck's reproduction of the camp he and his native assistants lived in while collecting animals in Asia. After the fair closed, Buck moved the camp to a compound he had created at Amityville, New York.


title: Century of Progress

text: Planning for the design of the Exposition began over five years prior to Opening Day. According to an official resolution, decisions regarding the site layout and the architectural style of the exposition were relegated to an architectural commission, which was led by Paul Cret and Raymond Hood. Local architects on the committee included Edward Bennett, John Holabird, and Hubert Burnham. Frank Lloyd Wright was specifically left off the commission due to his inability to work well with others, but did go on to produce three conceptual schemes for the fair. Members of this committee ended up designing most of the large, thematic exhibition pavilions.


title: Century of Progress

text: From the beginning, the commission members shared a belief that the buildings should not reinterpret past architectural forms – as had been done at earlier fairs, such as Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition—but should instead reflect new, modern ideas, as well as suggest future architectural developments. Because the fairgrounds was on new man-made land that was owned by the state and not the city, the land was initially free from Chicago's strict building codes, which allowed the architects to explore new materials and building techniques. This allowed the design and construction of a wide array of experimental buildings, that eventually included large general exhibition halls, such as the Hall of Science (Paul Cret) and the U.S. Federal Building (Bennet, Burnham and Holabird); corporate pavilions, including the General Motors Building (Albert Kahn) and the Sears Pavilion (Nimmons, Carr, and Wright); futuristic model houses, most popular was the twelve-sided House of Tomorrow (George Frederick Keck); as well as progressive foreign pavilions, including the Italian Pavilion (Mario de Renzi and Adalberto Libera); and historic and ethnic entertainment venues, such as the Belgian Village (Burnham Brothers with Alfons De Rijdt) and the Streets of Paris (Andrew Rebori and John W. Root) where fan dancer Sally Rand performed. These buildings were constructed out of five-ply Douglas fir plywood, ribbed-metal siding, and prefabricated, boards, such as Masonite, Sheetrock, Maizewood, as well as other new man-made materials. The exhibited buildings were windowless (but cheerfully lighted) buildings. Structural advances also filled the fairgrounds. These included the earliest catenary roof constructed in the United States, which roofed the dome of the Travel and Transport Building (Bennet, Burnham and Holabird) and the first thin shell concrete roof in the United States, on the small, multi-vaulted Brook Hill Farm Dairy built for the 1934 season of the fair.


title: Century of Progress

text: From June to November 1933, there was an outbreak of amoebic dysentery associated with the fair. There were more than a thousand cases, resulting in 98 deaths. Joel Connolly of the Chicago Bureau of Sanitary Engineering brought the outbreak to an end when he found that defective plumbing permitted sewage to contaminate drinking water in two hotels.


title: Century of Progress

text: Originally, the fair was scheduled only to run until November 12, 1933, but it was so successful that it was opened again to run from May 26 to October 31, 1934. The fair was financed through the sale of memberships, which allowed purchases of a certain number of admissions once the park was open. More than $800,000 was raised in this manner as the country was in the Great Depression. A $10 million bond was issued on October 28, 1929, the day before the stock market crashed. By the time the fair closed in 1933, half of these notes had been retired, with the entire debt paid by the time the fair closed in 1934. For the first time in American history, an international fair had paid for itself. In its two years, it had attracted 48,769,227 visitors. According to James Truslow Adams's "Dictionary of American History", during the 170 days beginning May 27, 1933, there were 22,565,859 paid admissions; during the 163 days beginning May 26, 1934, there were 16,486,377; a total of 39,052,236.


title: Century of Progress

text: Much of the fair site is now home to Northerly Island park (since the closing of Meigs Field) and McCormick Place. The Balbo Monument, given to Chicago by Benito Mussolini to honor General Italo Balbo's 1933 trans-Atlantic flight, still stands near Soldier Field. The city added a red star to its flag in 1933 to commemorate the Century of Progress Exposition (the Fair is now represented by the fourth of four stars on the flag). In conjunction with the fair, Chicago's Italian-American community raised funds and donated a statue of Genoese navigator and explorer Christopher Columbus. It was placed at the south end of Grant Park, near the site of the fair.


title: Century of Progress

text: The Polish Museum of America possesses the painting of "Pulaski at Savannah" by Stanisław Kaczor-Batowski, which was exhibited at the Century of Progress fair and where it won first place. After the close of the fair, the painting went on display at The Art Institute of Chicago where it was unveiled by Eleanor Roosevelt on July 10, 1934. The painting was on display at the Art Institute until its purchase by the Polish Women's Alliance on the museum's behalf.


title: Century of Progress

text: The U.S. Post Office Department issued a special fifty-cent Air Mail postage stamp, (Scott catalogue number C-18) to commemorate the visit of the German airship depicting the Chicago Federal Building, the "Graf Zeppelin" in flight, and its home hangar in Friedrichshafen, Germany. This stamp is informally known as the "Baby Zep" to distinguish it from the much more valuable 1930 Graf Zeppelin stamps (C13–15). Separate from this issue, for the Fair the Post Office also printed 1 and 3 cent commemorative postage stamps, showing respectively Fort Dearborn and the modernistic Chicago Federal Building. These were also printed in separate souvenir sheets as blocks of 25 (catalog listings 728–31). In 1935 the sheets were reprinted (Scott 766-67).


title: Century of Progress

text: From October 2010 through September 2011, the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. opened an exhibition titled "Designing Tomorrow: America's World's Fairs of the 1930s". This exhibition prominently featured the Century of Progress fair in Chicago.