|
|
 |
| Home>>Collection>>Your
Page>>Archives>>Your
Question (Sep-Dec, 2001) |
| |
2003
| Apr-Dec,
2002
| Jan-Mar,
2002
| Sep-Dec,
2001 | Jun-Aug,
2001
| Feb-May,
2001
|
| |
December,
2001:
 Q:
What was Benjamin Franklin's perspective on The
Bill of Rights?
A: Ben
Franklin
was pleased with the Congress and the Bill
of Rights, stating, Congress
had done its work "with a greater degree of temper,
prudence and unanimity than could well have been
expected, and our future prospects seem very favorable."
Franklin believed in the freedom of the press which
is guaranteed in the First Amendment. He was also
against slavery. Although the Bill of Rights does
not address the issue of slavery, the Thirteenth
Amendment abolishes slavery in the United States.
Read
a book about Ben Franklin.
Read more about the The
Declaration of Independence,
The
Constitution, and The
Bill of Rights.
Photo: Ben
Franklin.
Top
of Page
|
|
November
26, 2001:
 Q:
What does ratify mean when people say, "The Constitution
was ratified?"
(Jill from Arizona)
A: Ratify
means approve. Therefore, when people say "the Constitution
was ratified" what it means is the Constitution
was approved. After the Founding Fathers drafted
the Constitution of the United States in the summer
of 1787, three-fourth of the states had to ratify
(or approve) the Constitution for it go into effect.
That meant 9 out of the 13 states had to ratify
it. On July 2, 1788, New Hampshire was the ninth
state to do so, and in 1789, the Constitution became
the basis of the government of the United States
of America. Read
a book about the Constitution.
Photo: Constitution
of the United States.
Top
of Page
|
|
November
19, 2001:
 Q:
Why does the United States celebrate Thanksgiving?
(Shelby A.)
A: The
United States' tradition
of Thanksgiving goes back
to 1621. The year before, 102
Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth,
England, to Massachusetts on the Mayflower. They
arrived on December 21, 1620, and established the
Colony of New Plymouth. Unfortunately, only half
of the Pilgrims survived the cold winter. Luckily,
the Pilgrims had been given seeds by the Native
Americans, and their first harvest in 1621, yielded
plenty of food. The Pilgrims had a great feast and
celebration to give their thanks. Soon, all the
colonies were celebrating thanksgiving days following
the harvests. This grew into the tradition celebrated
today by the United States. Read
a book about Thankgiving.
Photo: The
First Thanksgiving in 1621
Top
of Page
|
|
November
12, 2001:
 Q:
What is a patent?
(Nic R.)
A: A
patent gives an inventor the exclusive right over
the invention, usually for a period of time. A patent
excludes other people from producing or making use
of the invention without the inventor's permission.
Did you know
Thomas
Alva Edison holds
1,093 patents for his inventions? This
is the largest number of patents held by any one
person. Read
a book about Thomas Alva Edison.
Photo: Thomas
Alva Edison and the Light Bulb.
Top
of Page
|
|
November
5, 2001:
 Q:
How many Supreme Court Justices are there?
(Shannon P.)
A: There
are nine Supreme
Court Justices. William
H. Rehnquist is the Chief Justice. The eight Associate
Justices are John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor,
Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, David Hackett
Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and
Stephen G. Breyer. Read
a book about the Supreme Court.
Photo: United
States Supreme Court
Top
of Page
|
|
October
29, 2001:
 Q:
Who is Tony Blair?
(Jenica from Ohio)
A: Tony
Blair is the British Prime Minister. In Britain,
the prime minister's office evolved in the 1700's.
The prime minister is the chief executive and the
head of the British government. Tony Blair was elected
Labour Party leader in 1994, and became prime minister
in 1997. Did you know
the two previous British Prime Ministers were John
Major (1990-1997) and Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990)?
Winston Churchill was the prime minister during
World War II.
Photo: Parliament
and Big Ben in London, England.
Top
of Page
|
|
October
22, 2001:
Q:
When did Guglielmo Marconi invent the radio?
A:
Guglielmo Marconi
was an Italian physicist. He invented the wireless
telegraph when he was 21 years old. This led him
to develop the radio around 1897. Marconi sent the
first radio communication between England and France
in 1899, and the first transatlantic radio signal
in 1901.
Top
of Page
|
|
October
15, 2001:
 Q:
Where was Thomas Edison born?
(Colby K.)
A: Thomas
Alva Edison was born in
Milan, Ohio, on February 11, 1847, to Samuel and
Nancy Edison. Today, his boyhood home is a museum
called the Edison
Birthplace Museum. At
the Edison Birthplace Museum's web site you can
learn the History
of the Edisons, Milan, and Edison's home,
read a list of Edison's
inventions, take a Tour
of the Birthplace Museum,
visit the Museum
Shop, and become a Member.
Read
a book about Alva.
Photo: Alva
visiting his birthplace in Milan, Ohio.
Top
of Page
|
|
October
8, 2001:
 Q:
Did Christopher Columbus really discover America?
(Bobby C.)
A: Yes
and No. When Christopher
Columbus landed in the
New World on October 12, 1492, other people had
already been living there for thousands of years.
Therefore, Christopher did not discover it in the
perspective that he was the first person to reach
the land. However, Christopher is credited with
discovering the Americas from the European point
of view. Before Christopher's discovery in 1492,
the Europeans thought the world consisted only of
Europe, Africa, and Asia. They did not know North
and South America existed. This is why when Christopher
discovered these lands, the Europeans called it
the New World. Christopher's voyage opened the minds
of Europe to other parts of the world and discovered
the Americas for the Europeans. Read
more about the times Christopher lived.
Photo: Christopher
Columbus takes
his pals, Sacagawea,
Florence, and Galileo
to the ocean for an afternoon cruise on the Santa
María.
Top
of Page
|
|
October
1, 2001:
 Q:
How many Space Shuttles are there?
(Diane A.)
A:
Four: Columbia,
Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. The Space Shuttle
was designed to be a reusable spaceship. Columbia
is the first Space Shuttle. Its first mission was
launched on April 12, 1981. It was named after a
small sailing vessel that explored the Columbia
River in the 1790's. Did
you know the command module for the Apollo
11 lunar mission was also named Columbia? Discovery
is the third Space Shuttle, named after two sailing
ships (one by Henry Hudson in 1610-1611, and one
by James Cook who discovered the Hawaiian Islands).
Its first mission was launched on August 30, 1984.
Atlantis,
named for a ship operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institute from 1930 -1966, is the fourth Space Shuttle.
Its first launch was on October 3, 1985. Did
you know the Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter
was launched from Atlantis? The fifth Space Shuttle,
Endeavour,
is a replacement for Challenger
(the second Space Shuttle which exploded on January
28, 1986). Endeavour was named for the first ship
commanded by James Cook.
Photo: Space
Shuttle
Top
of Page
|
|
September
24, 2001:
 Q:
Who was Patrick Henry?
(Colin M.)
A: Patrick
Henry was a U.S. patriot and statesman who lived
from 1736 to 1799. He was a member of the Continental
Congress from 1774 to 1776. Henry is well known
for his statement, "Give me liberty or give me death!"
which was a call to arms of the Virginia militia
a month before the start of the American Revolution.
Read
a book about Patrick Henry.
Photo: Patrick
Henry
Top
of Page
|
|
September
10, 2001:
Q:
Who was Marco Polo?
(Alexis from Atlanta, Georgia)
A:
Marco Polo was
a traveler from Venice. He lived from 1254 to 1324.
From 1271 to 1274, Marco Polo traveled with his
father and uncle to Asia and established a trade
route over land from Europe to the Far East. The
Far East is made up of the countries of India, China,
and Japan. Did you know
this trade route was thousands of miles long and
took months to travel? Read
more about Marco Polo
or read
a book about Marco Polo.
Photo: Marco
Polo
Top
of Page
|
|
September
3, 2001:
 Q:
Who was Copernicus?
(Marc from San Francisco, CA)
A: Nicolaus
Copernicus was a Polish
astronomer who lived from 1473 to 1543. Copernicus
was the first person to challenge the belief the
earth was the center of the universe. In 1543, Copernicus
published his book, On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres. It established the theory
the earth revolved around the sun. This theory was
called the Heliocentric theory. Heliocentric means
"sun-centered." It is also known as the Copernican
theory, after Copernicus.
Photo: Nicolaus
Copernicus
Top
of Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
