Cambridge began as a small river settlement, but over time grew to be a prosperous city. In 1284 the first college of what would become Cambridge University was founded. Today, Cambridge is considered one of England's premier cities for culture, arts and learning.

Roman Establishment
    The town of Cambridge began as a settlement on a hill that made a convenient crossing point of a large river. Romans built the first town on the river they called the Granta, and built a port, church and other buildings.

Anglo-Saxon Expansion
    The Anglo-Saxons expanded the settlement on what came to be known as Castle Hill, as it could be easily defended. They built St. Benedict's church nearby, today the oldest building in Cambridge. The Anglo-Saxon name for the city was Grantabrycge. Due to good trading links with Europe and a strong market, Cambridge prospered.

Norman Occupation
    The Normans conquered England in 1066 and built a castle on Castle Hill in 1068, though very little of it remains today. Around 1130, the Norman Knights Templar built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (known today as the Round Church), one of four round Norman churches in England. By this time, the town was known as Grentebrige or Cantebrigge, which eventually became Cambridge. Soon, the river began to be called the Cam, to go along with the name of the town.

University of Cambridge
    In 1201 and 1207 King John granted charters to the town of Cambridge, ultimately leading to the establishment of Cambridge as an independent town. In 1209 a few Oxford students moved to Cambridge to escape hostile townspeople in Oxford. They began studying at a local priory, and their group formed the basis for the University of Cambridge. Small colleges developed one at time, beginning with Peterhouse in 1284. As the university grew, a violent rivalry broke out between the "town" (citizens of Cambridge) and the "gown" (students).

Expansion and Decline
    Under King Henry VIII control of the university was removed from Catholic leaders and a great deal of new building was undertaken, including the iconic Kings College. In 1584, Oxford University Press, the oldest printing and publishing house in the world, was founded. Between 1584 and 1800, however, there were no new colleges established; this was a time of decline for the university and the town. Then, in the late 1800s, several colleges were founded (including the first for women), and the town and university blossomed again.

Modern History
    In the early 1800s, development of Cambridge spread outside the loop of the river to the south and east. In 1845, the railway reached Cambridge. During World War I, many soldiers camped in Cambridge, and a large hospital was built that later became the university library. In 1951, King George VI granted Cambridge a charter, making it a city despite its lack of a cathedral, a traditional requirement for city status in England.

As head of the U.S. government and commander in chief of the military, the president of the United States fills the most important executive office. This office has evolved over the years and will continue to do so.

History

After declaring independence from the British monarchy, early Americans struggled to create a strong, centralized government without becoming another monarchy.

Identification

Following the Continental Congress, which left too much power to each state, came the Constitutional Convention--which established the revised Articles of Confederation and the office of U.S. President arose.

Considerations

In 1788, Article II of the U.S. Constitution created the office of the U.S. President and executive branch of the United States government. Controls were built into the powers of the President to avoid the creation of a monarchy.

Features

President Franklin Roosevelt created the Executive Office of the President in 1939 as a decision-making support system for the President and as a means to remain well informed regarding national and international affairs.

Time Frame

United States presidents can be elected to two 4-year terms. Franklin D. Roosevelt held the office of President for four consecutive terms, but in 1951, an amendment limited terms to two.

Fun Fact

Grover Cleveland, both the 22nd and 24th President, held the office of president twice, in nonconsecutive years. Because of this, though someone might be the 100th President of the United States, he would only be the 99th person to have held the office.

The United States Army is responsible for land-based military operations for the Armed Forces. As the oldest branch of the military, the force was first brought together on June 14, 1775, as the Continental Army to fight in the American Revolution. The United States Army was properly raised by order of Congress on June 14, 1784, and has stood at one capacity or another since then.

Function

According to the Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the main objective of the United States Army is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities in support of the National Security and Defense Strategies." This means that the Army will perform all tasks that are asked of it in defense of the country.

Structure

The United States Army is comprised of three branches: the Regular Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserves. Each force reports to the Department of the Army, which in turn reports to the Department of Defense. The Secretary of the Army, a civilian post, and the Army Chief of Staff, a military post, are in charge of the branch, reporting directly to the Commander-in-Chief, the President of the United States.

Size

According to figures from the Pentagon, as of January 31, 2009, the Army has a combined strength of approximately 1,088,000 soldiers; 547,741 are regular duty soldiers, 352,000 are in the National Guard and 189,000 are reservists.

Uniforms

On October 1, 2007, the Army switched from its traditional Battle Dress Uniform and Desert Combat Uniform for soldiers to the Army Combat Uniform. This uniform features digital camouflage patterns that can be used in a variety of conditions, including woodland, desert and urban areas.

Core Values

The United States Army has seven core values: loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, the obligation to fulfill its duties, respect for others, selfless service, honor the values of the Army, show integrity at all times, and face fear and adversity with personal courage.

Higher education in the United States has enjoyed a long and revered history. It began in colonial times with students who primarily were looking to enter the clergy. Though the system has endured many changes since its beginnings, the tradition of attending colleges and universities has remained strong through USA history.

Inspiration and Philosophy

The first USA universities took their structural cues from existing German research institutions and British undergraduate schools. U.S. philosophical ideals played a key role in shaping the nation's first sites of higher education. Jeffersonian values in colonial America underscored free expression, a limited government, capitalism and small religious communities. The first colleges and universities were built on the premise that academic competition would produce the best results. What began as an elite and exclusive practice became an early gateway to success for women and minorities as society advanced.

Harvard College

What we now know as Cambridge, Massachusetts, was referred to as Newtowne in 1636, when Harvard College was founded as the very first U.S. institution of higher education. Minister John Harvard of Charlestown provided inspiration for the school's name, and Henry Dunster became Harvard's president in 1640, teaching all of the classes himself. The Massachusetts Bay School Law, passed in 1642, required all parents to teach their offspring about religion and commonwealth law; at this point, spiritual teaching was central to the mission of higher education.

Successors to Harvard

The year 1693 marked the founding of the College of William and Mary, a research institution in Virginia. This school is the alma mater of Thomas Jefferson, who later, in 1819, founded the University of Virginia. The country's next colonial college, after William and Mary, was founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin; it is known today as the University of Pennsylvania and is in Philadelphia. The liberal arts Salem College became the first educational institution for women in 1766. It aimed to offer women the same access to quality academic instruction that the young men of the time were already enjoying in established USA universities.

Government

Since colonial Jeffersonian philosophy emphasized small government and individual freedom, USA universities have never been controlled by a ministry of education, which is commonly found in other countries. The U.S. Constitution says nothing about a federal responsibility to provide an education. Academic institutions were largely unaffected by outside governing entities until federal funding was deemed necessary in 1944. During the Civil Rights Era, equal access to higher education became a major concern, leading to federal scholarship and loan programs based on low-income and minority status.

The history of the American flag has become so muddled by myth and tradition that the facts are difficult to establish. No one knows for sure who designed it, who made the first flag, or when it started to be widely used.

The First American Flag

The first flag of the United States, used in colonial times, was called the Grand Union, and it consisted of 13 horizontal red and white stripes and a small version of the British Meteor flag (the Union Jack) in the corner. When the Revolution began, it was apparent that the United States needed a flag that was more distinctive from Britain's.

Revolutionary Flags

Various Revolutionary groups created their own flags, some of which contained red and white stripes and stars on a blue field in various formations. One of the most famous Revolutionary Era flags was from South Carolina, and featured a yellow field with a rattlesnake and the words, "Don't Tread on Me."

The Stars and Stripes

In 1777, a resolution offered by the Marine committee of the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia decreed that the flag of the United States should have 13 stripes, alternating red and white, and that the union be symbolized by 13 white stars on a blue field. George Washington, commander of the Union Army, did not get the new flags until 1783, after the Revolution was over. The first flags featured stars in a staggered pattern, not a circle as commonly thought.

Betsy Ross

Legend has it that Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress and widow, made the first American flag in June 1776, at the personal request of George Washington and two Congressmen. Historians have never been able to find any historical record of such a meeting despite exhaustive searches of government records and Washington's personal writings.

Changing Designs as the Union Grew

The flag created in 1777 was used until 1795, when Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union. At this time, Congress decided that the flag should have 15 stripes and 15 stars. As more new states were added, it became evident that the flag would become overrun with stripes. In 1818, Congress ordered that the flag should return to the original 13 stripes symbolizing the 13 colonies, and that new stars would be added for each new state, which numbered 20 at the time.

Addition of Stars

Stars were added one by one as new states joined the union, until the flag reached 50 in 1960 with the annexation of Hawaii. Few years went by in the 1800s without the addition of a star, but there were none added from 1912 to 1959.

The history of currency in the U.S. dates back well over 200 years. Our current system was created by early American colonists in the late eighteenth century. Though it has changed somewhat since that time, it is still based on many of the revolutionary ideas implemented at its creation. These include the dollar as the basis of currency and the use of a decimal system.

This well-planned system of currency has led to the strength of the dollar in today's world market.

Late Eighteenth Century

Throughout the 1700s, the earliest U.S. colonists relied on a mixture of Spanish, French and English currencies for business and trade. By 1775, as the U.S. began to prepare for the War of Independence with Great Britain, Colonial leaders realized that the new country would need its own currency. The new currency would not only be needed to help finance the war but also help distinguish the U.S. as its own country, separate from its European roots. In 1775, the Continental Congress authorized a system called the Continental Currency. These early forms of money were tied to Spanish dollars, which were widely used in the U.S. at the time.

The Mint Act of 1792

As the U.S. emerged victorious from the Revolutionary War, the country's leaders recognized the need for a more advanced and functional currency system. Led by Alexander Hamilton, Congress passed the Mint Act of 1792, sometimes called the Coinage Act of 1792. This act established the dollar as the main unit of currency and gave the U.S. the honor of being the first country to adopt a decimal-based currency. The world "dollar" was a nod to the country's early reliance on Spanish silver dollars. It is derived from the word "daler," short for "Joachimsdaler," a mine in the Czech Republic that has been a source of silver for Spain since the 1500s.

State Currency and the First Paper Money

From the passage of the Mint Act in 1792 through the start of the Civil War in 1861, federal currency was issued only in the form of coins, which were redeemable for silver. During this time, there was little to no regulation of state-produced currency. As a result, over 1,600 banks in various states were printing their own forms of currency. By 1861, over 7,000 different types of currency were being used in the U.S. This not only led to confusion but also caused devaluation and inflation-like effects. In July 1861, Congress passed an act authorizing the U.S. mint to print paper currency, called "greenbacks." By 1863, the National Bank Act was passed and changed the name of the U.S. paper currency to "legal tender." At the same time, this act put regulations in place that limited the ability of the states to print money with abandon. Upon the passage of this act, states could still print money, but they were standardized as "national bank notes" and could only be printed on paper provided by the federal government.

The Gold Standard and the Great Depression

On March 4, 1900, Congress passed the Gold Standard Act, which tied the value of U.S. currency to gold. By the end of World War I, the U.S. was the only country that had successfully maintained the gold standard for its currency. While this was considered a success at the time, the years of the Great Depression had a severe impact on the gold standard in the U.S. To keep gold ratios to the dollar at appropriate levels, Congress continually raised interest rates throughout the 1930s. This, coupled with citizens' tendencies to hoard gold during this period, forced the U.S. off the gold standard for the first time in three decades. By the end of the Great Depression and the start of WWII, the U.S. was back on the gold standard. During this time, most major world currencies were tied to the U.S. dollar, making the gold standard the effective system for most of the world.

The Federal Reserve

In response to bank runs and panics in the early twentieth century, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which established the Federal Reserve as the Central Bank of the U.S. It also limited the printing of currency to those issued by the Reserve. Today, this organization acts as a liaison between private financial interests and those of the federal government. It is responsible for managing the U.S. money supply by controlling inflation and deflation. The Federal Reserve also helps to oversee financial interests in the U.S., both public and private.