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verse families in order carnivora mustelids range from the least weasel not much larger than a mouse which can live in the high arctic to the wolverine a five zero pound two three kg animal that can dispatch reindeer crush bones as thick as the femur of a moose to get at the marrow and has been known to drive bears from kills to the ratel which has a unique symbiosis with a bird called the honey guide bird to the tropical largely fruit eating tayra to the aquatic otters other mustelids include mink badgers weasels polecats zorilla and martens mustelidae is one of the most species rich families in order carnivora as well as one of the older ones mustelid like forms have existed for the past four zero million years and roughly coincided with the appearance of rodents several members of the family are aquatic to varying degrees ranging from the semi aquatic mink the river otters and the highly aquatic sea otter the sea otter is also the only non primate mammal known to use a tool while foraging it uses anvil sto |
nes to crack open the shellfish that form a significant part of its diet it is a keystone species keeping its prey populations in balance so some do not outcompete the others and they do not destroy the kelp in which they live just as otters are adapted to swimming several groups of badgers are adapted to digging many species of badgers and otters have evolved social groupings the fisher a type of marten has a unique system to kill porcupines it attacks the porcupine s face until the animal is so weak it can be flipped over giving the fisher access to the porcupine s vulnerable belly in some areas porcupines form as much as a quarter of the fisher s diet the least weasel adapted for eating small rodents such as mice and voles reproduces up to three times a year unusual for carnivores who typically reproduce annually to take advantage of the fluctuations in rodent populations because of its small body size and fast metabolism it must eat every few hours to survive so it runs through multiple cycles of sleep an |
d wakefulness every day mustelids also have some of the most exquisite furs the mink the sable a type of marten and the ermine stoat are all members of the family this has led to the skinning of these animals especially in the past one species the sea mink mustela macrodon of new england and canada was driven to extinction by fur trappers around the same time that the passenger pigeon was declining its appearance and habits are almost unknown because no one seems to have preserved even a single complete specimen let alone conducted a systematic study today some mustelids are in trouble for other reasons the sea otter who almost shared the fate of the sea mink now risks being destroyed by oil spills and the side effects of overfishing the black footed ferret a relative of the european polecat suffers from the disappearance of the american prairie and the wolverine is in a long slow decline because of habitat destruction and persecution ferrets are kept as pets in many households family mustelidae five five spe |
cies in two four genera subfamily lutrinae otters genus amblonyx genus aonyx genus enhydra sea otter genus lontra genus lutra genus lutrogale genus pteronura subfamily melinae badgers genus arctonyx genus meles eurasian badger genus melogale subfamily mellivorinae ratels genus mellivora subfamily taxidiinae american badgers genus taxidea american badger subfamily mustelinae genus eira genus galictis genus gulo wolverine genus ictonyx genus lyncodon genus martes sable marten genus mustela weasel ferret mink genus poecilogale genus vormela the skunks mephitinae were moved into a new family mephitidae following a convincing paper dragoo and honeycutt one nine nine seven journal of mammalology seven eight two four two six four four three that somewhat reorganized these two families based on dna analyses mustelids see also mammalian embryonic diapause maryland ipa is a state of the united states one of the mid atlantic states though occasionally considered part of the northeast its u s postal abbreviation is md it |
s associated press abbreviation is md maryland was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against british rule in the american revolution history george calvert one st baron baltimore applied to charles i for a new royal charter for what was to become the province of maryland which was at the time the northern part of virginia george calvert died in april one six three two but a charter for maryland colony in latin terra maria was granted to his son c cilius calvert two nd baron baltimore on june two zero one six three two the new colony was named in honor of henrietta maria queen consort of charles i the english colony of maryland was founded by lord baltimore who on march two five one six three four sent the first settlers into this area which would soon become one of the few dominantly catholic regions among the english colonies in america maryland was one of the key destinations of tens of thousands of british convicts which carried on until independence the maryland toleration act one six four nine w |
as one of the first laws that explicitly tolerated varieties of religion as long as it was christian and is sometimes seen as a precursor to the first amendment originally based on an incorrect map the royal charter granted maryland the potomac river and territory northward to the fortieth parallel this was found to be a problem because the northern boundary would put philadelphia the major city in pennsylvania within maryland the calvert family which controlled maryland and the penn family which controlled pennsylvania engaged two surveyors charles mason and jeremiah dixon to survey what became known as the mason dixon line which would form the boundary between their two colonies and would become the dividing line between north and south st mary s city was the largest site of the original maryland colony and was the seat of the colonial government until one seven zero eight after virginia made the practice of anglicanism mandatory a large number of puritans migrated from virginia to maryland and were given l |
and for a settlement called providence now called annapolis in one six five zero the puritans revolted against the proprietary government and set up a new government that outlawed both catholicism and anglicanism this lasted until one six five eight when the calvert family regained control and re enacted the toleration act however after england s glorious revolution of one six eight eight when william of orange and his wife mary came to the throne and finally and firmly established the protestant faith in england catholicism was outlawed in maryland until after the revolutionary war many wealthy plantation owners built chapels on their land so that they could practice their catholicism in relative secrecy during the persecution of maryland catholics by the puritan revolutionary government all of the original catholic churches of southern maryland were burned down st mary s city is now an archaeological site with a small tourist center in one seven zero eight the seat of government was moved to providence rena |
med annapolis in honor of queen anne in december of one seven nine zero maryland ceded land selected by president george washington to the federal government for the creation of washington d c during the war of one eight one two the british military attempted to capture the port of baltimore which was protected by fort mchenry it was during this bombardment that the star spangled banner was written by francis scott key despite a lot of popular support for the cause of the confederate states of america maryland did not secede during the civil war in part due to precautions taken by the government in washington d c president lincoln suspended several civil liberties including the writ of habeas corpus and helped ensure the election of a new pro union governor and legislature the constitutionality of these actions is still a source of controversy and debate to this day because maryland had not seceded from the union it was exempted from the anti slavery provisions of the emancipation proclamation the emancipatio |
n proclamation only applied to states in rebellion a constitutional convention was held during one eight six four that culminated in the passage of a new state constitution on november one of that year article two four of that document outlawed the practice of slavery the right to vote was extended to non white males in one eight six seven law and government the government of maryland is conducted according to the state constitution the united states is a federation consequently the government of maryland like the other four nine state governments has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state s borders except as limited by the constitution of the united states maryland is a republic the united states guarantees her republican form of government although there is considerable disagreement about the meaning of that phrase power in maryland is divided among three branches of government executive legislative and judicial unlike most other states significant autonomy is granted to many of |
maryland s counties most of the business of government is done in annapolis the state capital virtually all state and county elections are held in even numbered years not divisible by four in which the president of the united states is not elected this as in other states is intended to divide state and federal politics since pre civil war times maryland politics has been largely controlled by the democrats in the last decade however republicans have made inroads in the state including the election of the first republican governor in almost four decades and larger numbers of new voters are classifying themselves as independents blue collar reagan democrats frequently vote republican maryland is nonetheless well known for its liberalism and loyalty to the democratic party especially inside metropolitan areas the state is dominated by the two urban inner suburban regions of washington d c and baltimore in addition many jobs are directly or indirectly dependent upon the federal government as a result baltimore m |
ontgomery county and prince george s county often decide statewide elections this is balanced by lesser populated areas on the eastern shore western maryland and outer suburbs that tend to support republicans maryland has supported the democratic candidate in the last four presidential elections both maryland senators and six of its eight representatives in congress are democrats and democrats hold super majorities in the state senate and house of delegates john kerry easily won the state s one zero electoral votes in two zero zero four by a margin of one three percentage points with five five nine of the vote however presidential election years are not deeply contested as national party resources are spent in other states and turnout and interest is frequently relatively low these statistics easily make maryland one of the most liberal states in the country but it has escaped much of the criticism and defamation heaped on other democratic leaning states such as massachusetts cultural identity maryland has tr |
aditionally been a southern state however within the last five zero years an influx of northerners to the region has shifted the traditional perception of cultural identity farther northward this coupled with maryland s mainly southern climate in the eastern parts and northern climate in the west has led to a bit of cultural confusion as to which region maryland actually belongs many marylanders would be seriously offended by the notion that theirs is a southern state and as northern culture continues to dominate it is likely that the state will be placed firmly into the northeastern category within the following decades should this happen the traditional north south dividing point of the mason dixon line may be supplanted by the potomac river for now many have resorted to referring to maryland and delaware as the mid atlantic some people include virginia in this category for similar reasons such as the development of northern virginia geography and climate maryland counties geography maryland is bounded on t |
he north by pennsylvania on the west by west virginia on the north and east by delaware and the atlantic ocean and on the south across the potomac river by virginia it shares a border near the center of the state along the potomac with washington dc the chesapeake bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the eastern shore a portion of extreme western maryland in garrett county is drained by the youghiogheny river as part of the watershed of the mississippi river the highest point in maryland is backbone mountain which is the southwest corner of garrett county right near the border with west virginia near the headwaters of the north branch of the potomac also in western maryland about two thirds of the way across the state line is a point at which the state of maryland is only two miles wide this geographical curiosity is located near the small town of hancock physical formations appalachian mountains chesapeake bay the delmarva peninsula is a geographic term for |
the eastern shore counties of maryland the state of delaware and two counties of virginia which all together form a long extension down the atlantic seaboard one of the most noted features of delmarva is maryland s assateague island on the atlantic with its herd of wild ponies accustomed to the seashore climate climate varies greatly across the state depending on factors like elevation rainfall and proximity to water the eastern shore and a small part of the western shore including the cities of salisbury east metro baltimore annapolis and st mary s city is a part of the atlantic coastal plain which has a humid subtropical climate of hot summers and short chilly winters farther west is the foothills of the appalachian mountains and the piedmont region which includes north and west metro baltimore westminster frederick and hagerstown this region gets warm summers and moderately cold winters with a warm continental climate where snow occurs annually extreme western maryland has a colder continental climate with |
mild summers and cold snowy winters some places receive up to one zero zero inches of snow annually for a state as small as it is maryland posses a great variety of topography it ranges from sandy dunes dotted with seagrass in the east to low marshlands teeming with water moccassins and large baldcypress near the bay to gently rolling hills of oak forest in the piedmont region and mountain pine groves in the west economy greetings from maryland the bureau of economic analysis estimates that maryland s total state product in two zero zero three was two one two billion per capita personal income in two zero zero three was three seven four four six five th in the nation maryland s economic activity is strongly concentrated in the tertiary service sector and this sector in turn is strongly influenced by location one major service activity is transportation centered around the port of baltimore and its related rail and trucking access the port ranked one zero th in the usa by tonnage in two zero zero two source u |
s corps of engineers waterborn commerce statistics although the port handles a wide variety of products the most typical imports are raw materials and bulk commodities such as iron ore petroleum sugar and fertilizers often distributed to the relatively close manufacturing centers of the inland midwest via good overland transportation a second service activity takes advantage of the close location of the center of government in washington d c and emphasizes technical and administrative tasks for the defense aerospace industry and bio research laboratories as well as staffing of satellite government headquarters in the suburban or exurban baltimore washington area in addition to these are many educational and medical research institutions in fact the various components of johns hopkins university and its medical research facilities are now the largest single employer in the baltimore area altogether white collar technical and administrative workers comprise two five of maryland s labor force one of the highest |
state percentages in the country a list of government agencies located in maryland is summarized below federal agencies census bureau centers for medicare and medicaid services cms consumer product safety commission cpsc environmental protection agency epa food and drug administration fda internal revenue service irs national archives and records administration nara national aeronautics and space administration nasa goddard space flight center national geospatial intelligence agency nga formerly the national imagery and mapping agency nima national institute of standards and technology nist national institutes of health nih national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa nuclear regulatory commission nrc national security agency nsa smithsonian environmental research center serc social security administration ssa substance abuse and mental health services administration consumer product safety commission maryland has a large food producing sector a large component of this is commercial fishing centered |
in chesapeake bay but also including activity off the short atlantic seacoast the largest catches by species are the blue crab oysters striped bass and menhaden the bay also has uncounted millions of overwintering waterfowl in its many wildlife refuges while not strictly speaking a commercial food resource the waterfowl support a tourism sector of sportsmen maryland has a large amount of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and piedmont zones although this land use is being encroached upon by urbanization agriculture is oriented to dairying for nearby large city milksheads plus specialty perishable horticulture crops such as cucumbers watermelons sweet corn tomatoes muskmelons squash and peas source usda crop profiles in addition the southern counties of the western shoreline of chesapeake bay are warm enough to support a tobacco cash crop zone which has existed since early colonial times there is also a large chicken farming sector in the state the third component of the food producing sector is maryland |
s food processing plants which are the most significant type of manufacturing by value in the state manufacturing while large in dollar value is highly diversified with no sub sector contributing over two zero of the total typical forms of manufacturing include electronics computer equipment and chemicals the once mighty primary metals sub sector which at one time included what was then the largest steel factory in the world at sparrows point still exists but is pressed with foreign competition bankruptcies and company mergers mining other than construction materials is virtually limited to coal located in the mountainous western part of the state in construction mention should be made of the brownstone quarries in the east which gave baltimore and washington much of their characteristic architecture in the mid one eight zero zero s historically there used to be small gold mining operations in maryland some surprisingly near washington but these no longer exist military facilities aberdeen proving ground and |
rews air force base army research laboratory national naval medical center fort meade fort detrick indian head naval surface weapons center naval air station patuxent river school of military packing technology united states naval academy webster field historical facilities fort mchenry bainbridge naval training center transportation the sample version of maryland s license plate first introduced in one nine eight six the sign used to mark maryland s state highways maryland s major interstate highways include i nine five which enters the northeast portion of the state goes through baltimore and becomes the capital beltway to the woodrow wilson bridge i six eight connects the western portions of the state to frederick and i seven zero connects frederick with baltimore i six nine five is the baltimore beltway maryland also has a state highway system that contains routes numbered from two through nine nine nine however most of the higher numbered routes are either not signed or are relatively short see list of m |
inor maryland state highways some of the major state highways of maryland include routes two four one zero zero and four zero four maryland s main airport is baltimore washington international thurgood marshall airport formerly known as friendship airport and recently renamed for former supreme court justice thurgood marshall the maryland suburbs of washington d c are also serviced by the other two airports in the region ronald reagan washington national airport and dulles international airport both in northern virginia amtrak trains serve baltimore along the northeast corridor in addition train service is provided between washington d c rockville maryland and cumberland maryland on the amtrak capitol limited marc trains operated by the state s transit authority connect nearby washington d c and baltimore and other towns montgomery county and prince george s county are served by the washington metro subway and bus system demographics maryland population distribution as of two zero zero five maryland has an es |
timated population of five six zero zero three eight eight which is an increase of three nine zero five six or zero seven from the prior year and an increase of three zero three eight eight two or five seven since the year two zero zero zero this includes a natural increase since the last census of one six five seven zero seven people that is three nine five seven seven five births minus two three zero zero six eight deaths and an increase due to net migration of one one eight seven two four people into the state immigration from outside the united states resulted in a net increase of one zero eight nine seven two people and migration within the country produced a net increase of nine seven five two people as of two zero zero four maryland s population included five eight three nine zero zero foreign born residents one zero six of the state population of which an estimated five six zero zero zero are illegal aliens one of the state population most of the population of maryland lives in the central region of t |
he state in the baltimore washington metropolitan area the eastern shore is less populous and more rural as are the counties of southern maryland the three counties of western maryland allegany garrett and washington are mountainous and sparsely populated resembling west virginia more than they do the rest of maryland although the african american proportion is not as high as it was during the eighteenth century peak of tobacco plantation production when it was three eight maryland still has the largest black population of any state outside of the deep south race the racial makeup of the state six two one white non hispanic two seven nine black four three hispanic four zero asian zero three native american two mixed race the four largest reported ancestries in maryland are german one five seven irish one one seven english nine american five eight blacks are concentrated in baltimore city prince george s county and the southern eastern shore most of the eastern shore and southern maryland are populated by mary |
landers of british ancestry western and northern maryland have large german american populations religion maryland was founded for the purpose of providing religious toleration of england s catholic minority nevertheless the crown later reversed that policy and discouraged the practice of catholicism in maryland despite the founding intent of the colony catholics have never been in a majority in maryland since early colonial times nonetheless it is the largest single denomination in maryland the present religious composition of the state is shown below christian eight two protestant five six baptist one eight methodist one one lutheran five episcopal three other protestant or general protestant one nine roman catholic two three other christian three jewish three other religions one non religious one four notwithstanding numerical positions the founding intent of maryland has made the state prominent in us catholic tradition for example baltimore was the location of the first catholic bishop in the usa one sev |
en eight nine and emmitsburg the home and burial place of the first american born citizen to be canonized st elizabeth ann seton important cities and towns annapolis state capital home of united states naval academy baltimore most populous city commercial and cultural hub bel air center of commerce and government in harford county northern gateway to baltimore bethesda suburb of d c home to national institutes of health n i h and bethesda naval hospital best educated city in the u s with a population of five zero zero zero zero or more college park d c suburb home to the university of maryland college park and college park airport the oldest continuously operated airport in the united states columbia large unincorporated planned community managed by the columbia association were it incorporated it would be maryland s two nd largest city ellicott city county seat of howard county frederick western gateway to appalachian mountains suburban center gaithersburg home to national instiute of standards and technolog |
y two nd most populous city hagerstown largest community in three county western maryland region ocean city very popular beach resort on atlantic coastline two nd most populous city in numbers of residents during the summer months rockville county seat and business center of montgomery county northwest of washington three rd largest city salisbury largest city and business center of delmarva peninsula towson county seat of suburban baltimore county famous marylanders education colleges and universities allegany college of maryland anne arundel community college baltimore city community college baltimore hebrew university baltimore international college carroll community college capitol college cecil community college chesapeake college college of notre dame of maryland college of southern maryland columbia union college community college of baltimore county frederick community college frostburg state university garrett college goucher college hagerstown community college hood college howard community college |
johns hopkins university loyola college maryland institute college of art mcdaniel college montgomery college morgan state university mount st mary s university prince george s community college st john s college annapolis st mary s college of maryland st mary s seminary and university sojourner douglass college uniformed services university of the health sciences united states naval academy university system of maryland bowie state university coppin state university frostburg state university salisbury university towson university university of baltimore university of maryland baltimore university of maryland baltimore county university of maryland college park university of maryland eastern shore university of maryland university college university of maryland center for environmental science university of maryland biotechnology institute universities at shady grove washington bible college washington college wor wic community college villa julie college professional sports teams baltimore ravens nfl footba |
ll baltimore bayhawks major league lacrosse baltimore blast major indoor soccer league baltimore orioles major league baseball minor league baseball teams hagerstown suns bowie baysox frederick keys aberdeen ironbirds delmarva shorebirds miscellaneous information list of parks in the baltimore washington metropolitan area state bird baltimore oriole state boat skipjack state cat calico cat state crustacean blue crab state dinosaur astrodon johnstoni state dog chesapeake bay retriever state drink milk state fish rockfish striped bass state flower black eyed susan state folk dance square dance state fossil ecphora gardnerae gardnerae state gem patuxent river stone state horse thoroughbred horse state insect baltimore checkerspot butterfly state nicknames the old line state and the free state state reptile diamondback terrapin state song maryland my maryland state sport jousting lacrosse state team sport state theatres center stage and olney theatre state tree white oak maryland is about two miles wide around th |
e town of hancock making it the state with the smallest minimum width external links state of maryland government website u s census bureau maryland authors and literature catholic encyclopedia article jewish encyclopedia article maryland states of the united states one seven eight eight establishments michigan is a state in the united states the name is derived from lake michigan which in turn is believed to come from the chippewa indian word mishi gami meaning great water bounded by four of the great lakes michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the continental united states the longest total shoreline after alaska including island shorelines and more recreational boats than any other state in the union a person in michigan is never more than eight five miles one three seven km from a great lake michigan is the only state composed of two separate peninsulas the lower peninsula of michigan is nicknamed the mitten because it resembles the palm of a right hand mitten when asked where in michigan they |
come from residents of the lower peninsula often point to the corresponding part of their right hand the upper peninsula u p is separated from the lower peninsula by a five mile stretch of water known as the straits of mackinac and is economically important in tourism and natural resources history michigan was home to various native american tribes for centuries before the arrival of europeans when the first european explorers arrived the most populous and influential tribes were the linguistically and ethnically related ottawa chippewa and potawatomi within michigan the chippewa were the most populous estimated at between two five zero zero zero and three five zero zero zero and were predominant in the western upper peninsula and northern wisconsin though they were also present in other areas of the upper peninsula and northern michigan the ottawa primarily inhabited the area around the straits of mackinac and areas of northern michigan while the potawatomi resided primarily in southwest michigan the three t |
ribes co existed peacefully and formed a loose confederation known as the council of three fires other tribes with a presence in michigan were the mascouten miami and wyandot or huron michigan was explored and settled by french voyageurs in the one seven th century the first europeans to reach what later became michigan were tienne br l s group in one six two two the first european settlement was made in one six six eight by father jacques marquette a jesuit missionary who established a mission at sault ste marie in one six seven nine robert cavelier sieur de la salle directed the construction of the griffin the first european sailing vessel on the upper great lakes that same year la salle built fort miami at present day st joseph in one seven zero one french explorer and army officer antoine de la mothe cadillac founded detroit on the straits between lakes st clair and erie cadillac had convinced king louis xiv s chief minister louis ph lypeaux comte de pontchartrain that a permanent community at present day |
detroit would strengthen french control over the upper great lakes and repel british advances the one hundred soldiers and workers that accompanied cadillac built a two zero zero square foot palisade and named it fort pontchartrain cadillac s wife marie th r se soon moved to detroit becoming one of the first white women to settle in the michigan wilderness the town quickly became a major fur trading and shipping post at the same time the french strengthened fort michilimackinac at the straits of mackinac in order to better control their lucrative fur trading empire by the mid eighteenth century the french had also occupied forts at present day niles and sault ste marie however most of the rest of the region remained unsettled by whites by one seven six zero the french would lose their north american empire to the british in the french and indian war one seven five four one seven six three michigan passed to great britain in one seven six three and then to the new united states two decades later during the wa |
r of one eight one two michigan territory was captured by the british and remained nominally part of upper canada present day ontario until the congress of vienna in one eight one five re established michigan as a united states possession the population grew slowly until the opening of the erie canal in one eight two five which brought large numbers of settlers by the one eight three zero s michigan had some eight zero zero zero zero residents which was more than enough to apply for statehood a state government was formed in one eight three five although congressional recognition of the state languished due to a boundary dispute with ohio with both sides claiming a four six eight square mile one two one zero km strip of land that included the important port city of toledo on lake erie and an area to the west then known as the great black swamp the dispute eventually culminated into what would be known as the toledo war when michigan and ohio militia maneuvered in the area ultimately congress awarded the toled |
o strip to ohio and michigan having received the western part of the upper peninsula as a concession formally entered the union on january two six one eight three seven thought to be useless at the time of its addition to michigan it was soon discovered that the upper peninsula was a rich and important source of lumber iron and copper which would become the state s most sought after natural resources geologist douglass houghton and land surveyor william austin burt were among the first to document and discover many of these resources which led to a nation wide increase of interest in the state michigan s economy underwent a massive shift at the turn of the two zero th century the birth of the automotive industry with henry ford s first plant in the highland park suburb of detroit marked the beginning of a new era in personal transportation it was a development that not only transformed detroit and michigan but permanently altered the socio economic climate of the united states and much of the world grand rapi |
ds the second largest city in michigan is also a center of automotive manufacturing since one eight three eight the city has also been noted for its thriving furniture industry since world war ii detroit s industrial base has eroded as auto companies abandoned some of the area s industrial parks in favor of less expensive labor found overseas and in southern u s states nevertheless with more than one zero million residents michigan remains a large and influential state and ranks eighth in population among the five zero states geography michigan map including territorial waters michigan is made up of two peninsulas of land separated by the straits of mackinac it is bordered on the south at four two north latitude by the states of ohio and indiana its northernmost border at four eight north latitude lies in lake superior north of the shore of isle royale michigan lies between eight two three zero to about nine zero three zero west longitude it is bordered on the west by lake michigan and wisconsin and on the ea |
st by ontario canada lake huron and lake erie and detroit river and st clair river michigan encompasses five six eight zero nine square miles one four seven one three five km of land three eight five seven five square miles nine nine nine zero nine km of great lakes waters and one four seven one square miles three eight one zero km of inland waters at a total of nine six eight one zero square miles two five zero six three zero km it is the largest state east of the mississippi river if territorial water is included georgia and florida each have a slightly larger land area however the state is subdivided into eight three counties michigan borders indiana and ohio to the south and wisconsin to the southwest of the upper peninsula the state also shares water boundaries with minnesota illinois the canadian province of ontario to the north and east and the canadian first nation indian reserve of walpole island the straits of mackinac divide michigan into two peninsulas the upper peninsula often called simply the u |
p and the lower peninsula they are connected only by the five mile long mackinac bridge the third longest suspension bridge in the world the great lakes that border michigan are lake erie lake huron lake michigan and lake superior the heavily forested upper peninsula is mountainous in the west the porcupine mountains rising to an altitude of almost two zero zero zero feet above sea level form the watershed between the streams flowing into lake superior and lake michigan the surface on either side of this range is rugged the state s highest point is mount arvon at one nine seven nine feet six zero three m the peninsula is as large as connecticut delaware massachusetts and rhode island combined but has less than three three zero zero zero zero inhabitants who are sometimes called yoopers from u p ers and whose speech has been heavily influenced by the large number of scandinavian and canadian immigrants who settled the area during the mining boom of the late one eight zero zero s the lower peninsula shaped lik |
e a mitten is two seven seven miles four four six km long from north to south and one nine five miles three one four km from east to west and occupies nearly two thirds of the state s land area the surface of the peninsula is generally level broken by conical hills rising to an elevation difference not exceeding two zero zero feet it is divided by a low water divide running north and south the larger portion of the state is on the west of this and gradually slopes toward lake michigan the highest point in the lower peninsula is not definitely established but is either briar hill at one seven zero five feet five two zero m or one of several points nearby the lowest point is the surface of lake erie at five seven one feet one seven four m the geographic orientation of michigan s peninsulas make for long distances between the ends of the state ironwood in the far western upper peninsula lies six three zero highway miles one zero one five km from the toledo ohio suburb of lambertville in the lower peninsula s sou |
theastern corner this geographic isolation of the western upper peninsula from michigan s political and population centers makes it culturally and economically oriented more toward neighboring wisconsin than to downstate michigan and has led to occasional calls for secession from the lower peninsula there are numerous lakes and marshes in both peninsulas and the coast is much indented keweenaw whitefish and the big and little bays de noc are the principal indentations on the upper peninsula while the grand and little traverse thunder and saginaw bays indent the lower peninsula other than alaska michigan has the longest shoreline of any state two two four two miles three six zero seven km an additional eight seven nine miles one four one five km can be added if islands are included this roughly equals the length of the atlantic coast from maine to florida the state has numerous large islands the principal ones being the manitou beaver and fox groups in lake michigan isle royale and grande isle in lake superior |
marquette bois blanc and mackinac islands in lake huron and nebish sugar and drummond islands in st mary s river see also islands of michigan the state s rivers are small short and shallow and few are navigable the principal ones include the au sable thunder bay cheboygan and saginaw flowing into lake huron ontonagon and tahquamenon into lake superior and the st joseph kalamazoo grand and escanaba into lake michigan see list of michigan rivers the state has more than one one zero zero zero inland lakes and more than three six zero zero zero miles five eight zero zero zero km of rivers and streams and no point in michigan is more than six miles one zero km from an inland lake or more than eight five miles one three seven km from one of the great lakes detroit is the only major city in the united states from which one must travel southward to cross the border into canada the state is home to several national parks including isle royale national park keweenaw national historical park pictured rocks national lak |
eshore sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore and father marquette national memorial geology the geological formation of the state is greatly varied primary boulders are found over the entire surface of the upper peninsula being principally of primitive origin while secondary deposits cover the entire lower peninsula the upper peninsula exhibits lower silurian sandstones limestones copper and iron bearing rocks corresponding to the huronian system of canada the central portion of the lower peninsula contains coal measures and rocks of the permo carboniferous period devonian and sub carboniferous deposits are scattered over the entire state the soil is of a varied composition and in large areas is very fertile especially in the south however the upper peninsula for the most part is rocky and mountainous and the soil is unsuitable for agriculture the climate is tempered by the proximity of the lakes and is much milder than in other locales with the same latitude the principal forest trees include basswood maple |
elm sassafras butternut walnut poplar hickory oak willow pine birch beech hemlock witchhazel tamarack cedar locust dogwood and ash demographics as of two zero zero five michigan has an estimated population of one zero one two zero eight six zero which is an increase of one six six five four or zero two from the prior year and an increase of one eight two three eight zero or one eight since the year two zero zero zero this includes a natural increase since the last census of two three five seven six zero people that is six nine one eight nine seven births minus four five six one three seven deaths and a decrease due to net migration of four two one eight three people out of the state immigration from outside the united states resulted in a net increase of one two two nine zero one people and migration within the country produced a net loss of one six five zero eight four people the state s population increased by eight one seven zero zero zero between one nine nine zero and two zero zero four an eight eight g |
rowth as of two zero zero four the state had a foreign born population of five nine four seven zero zero five nine of the state population race and ancestry the racial makeup of michigan according to the two zero zero zero census eight zero two caucasian one four two african american one eight asian american zero six native american one nine mixed race the five largest reported ancestries in michigan are german two zero four african american one four two irish one zero seven english nine nine polish eight six three three of the population is of hispanic origin a category that may include members of any race americans of german ancestry are present throughout most of michigan nordic especially finnish british and french ancestry have a notable presence in the upper peninsula western michigan is well known for the dutch heritage of many residents the highest concentration of any state especially in the grand rapids holland area metro detroit has many residents of polish irish and arab ancestry and african ameri |
cans are a majority in the city of detroit benton harbor and several other cities religion the religious affiliations of the people of michigan are christian eight two protestant five eight baptist one five methodist one zero pentecostal seven lutheran five reformed four united church of christ three church of christ two other protestant one two roman catholic two three other christian one muslim two jewish one other religions two of two zero zero zero are barton hills one one zero six eight three bloomfield hills one zero four nine two zero lake angelus eight three seven nine two bingham farms seven four five eight eight franklin seven one zero three three grosse pointe shores six nine six three nine orchard lake village six seven eight eight one michiana six three five five eight bloomfield township six two seven one six birmingham five nine three one four grosse pointe farms five four eight four six grosse pointe five three nine four two grand beach five one seven eight eight sylvan lake four eight seven f |
our four huntington woods four five two six four south gull lake four five one seven five west bloomfield township four four eight eight five northville four three four five four beverly hills four three four five two grosse ile four two one five zero of these two zero locations half are located in oakland county just north of detroit only three of these cities are located outside of metro detroit detroit with a per capita income of one four seven one seven ranks five one seven th on the list of michigan locations by per capita income benton harbor is the poorest city in michigan with a per capita income of eight nine six five law and government michigan s state capital is lansing which is home to all three branches of state government the chief executive is the governor currently jennifer granholm the legislative branch consists of the bicameral michigan legislature with a house of representatives and senate the state s constitution provides for voter initiative and referendum article ii nine defined as the |
power to propose laws and to enact and reject laws called the initiative and the power to approve or reject laws enacted by the legislature called the referendum the power of initiative extends only to laws which the legislature may enact under this constitution michigan counties and townships are statutory units of government meaning that they have only those powers expressly provided or fairly implied by state law cities and villages are vested with home rule powers meaning that they can do almost anything not prohibited by law there are two types of townships in michigan general law and charter charter township status was created by the state legislature in one nine four seven and grants additional powers and stream lined administration in order to provide greater protection against annexation by a city as of april two zero zero one there were one two seven charter townships in michigan like other northern states the republican party dominated michigan until the great depression in one nine one two michiga |
n was one of the few states to support progressive third party candidate theodore roosevelt for president in recent years the state s strong industrial and union heritage has made the state lean toward the democratic party at least in national elections michigan has supported democrats in the last four presidential elections in two zero zero four john kerry narrowly defeated george w bush winning michigan s one seven electoral votes by a margin of three percentage points with five one two of the vote republicans greatest strength is in the western northern and rural parts of the state especially in the grand rapids area democrats are strongest in the east especially in metro detroit economy greetings from michigan michigan is primarily known as the birthplace of the automobile industry however it is also home to a thriving tourist industry with destinations such as traverse city mackinac island saugatuck and the entire upper peninsula drawing vacationers hunters and nature enthusiasts from across the united s |
tates and canada although it has an urban image to non visitors michigan is actually five zero percent forested much of it quite remote both the forests and thousands of miles of beaches are top attractions tourists also flock to many of the museums particularly those in the detroit area hunting is a major component of michigan s economy michigan ranks first in the nation in licensed hunters over one million who contribute two billion annually to its economy over three quarters of a million hunters participate in white tailed deer season alone some k one two school districts in rural areas of michigan go so far as to cancel school on the opening day of rifle season due to safety and attendance concerns michigan s department of natural resources manages the largest dedicated state forest system in the nation the forest products industry and recreational users contribute one two billion and two zero zero zero zero zero associated jobs annually to the state s economy michigan has more than nine zero native speci |
es of trees more than all of europe combined the bureau of economic analysis estimates that michigan s total state product in two zero zero three was three five nine billion per capita personal income in two zero zero three was three one one seven eight and ranked twentieth in the nation major industries products include automobiles general motors ford daimler chrysler amway cereal kellogg s copper furniture steelcase herman miller haworth and iron education colleges and universities community colleges and technical schools sports most major league sports teams in michigan are located in metro detroit with the detroit tigers baseball team mlb and detroit red wings ice hockey team nhl located within the city of detroit the detroit pistons men s basketball team of nba and the detroit shock women s basketball team of the wnba play at the palace of auburn hills the detroit lions football nfl once played at the pontiac silverdome in pontiac before moving to detroit s ford field in two zero zero two seven time gran |
d slam champion serena williams was born in saginaw professional hockey got its start in houghton michigan in the u p when the portage lakers were formed other notable sports teams include american hockey league grand rapids griffins arena football league detroit fury recently disbanded grand rapids rampage continental basketball association michigan mayhem minor league baseball west michigan whitecaps southwest michigan devil rays lansing lugnuts traverse city beach bums national women s football association detroit demolition north american hockey league traverse city north stars alpena icediggers ontario hockey league plymouth whalers saginaw spirit united hockey league flint generals kalamazoo wings motor city mechanics muskegon fury port huron flags state symbols state nicknames wolverine state great lakes state mitten state water winter wonderland state motto si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice latin if you seek a pleasant peninsula look about you this is a paraphrase of a statement made by britis |
h architect sir christopher wren about his influence on london state song my michigan official since one nine three seven but disputed amongst michiganders state bird american robin since one nine three one state mammal white tailed deer since one nine nine seven state fish brook trout since one nine six five state reptile painted turtle since one nine nine five state fossil mastodon since two zero zero zero state flower apple blossom adopted in one eight nine seven official in one nine nine seven state wildflower dwarf lake iris since one nine nine eight known as iris lacustris it is a federally listed threatened species state tree white pine since one nine five five state stone petoskey stone since one nine six five it is composed of fossilized coral hexagonaria pericarnata from long ago when the middle of the continent was covered with a shallow sea state gem isle royale greenstone since one nine seven three also called chlorastrolite literally the green star stone also known as the isle royale greenstone |
is found on isle royale and the keweenaw peninsula state soil kalkaska sand since one nine nine zero ranges in color from black to yellowish brown covers nearly a million acres four zero zero zero km in two nine counties miscellaneous information michigan is simultaneously known for its cities supported by heavy industry and its pristine wilderness home to more than one one zero zero zero lakes the clang and clamor of metro detroit s crowded thoroughfares and busy factories stand in vivid counterpoint to the tranquility found in virtually every corner of the state an individual from michigan is called a michiganian or michigander a resident of michigan s upper peninsula the u p is often called a yooper or u p er in turn residents of the lower peninsula may be jokingly referred to as trolls because they live below the mackinac bridge as the lower peninsula is famously shaped like a mitten residents often use their left hand or right palm as a shorthand map to illustrate the part of the state from which they ha |
il or any other location to which they may be referring its u s postal abbreviation is mi traditional mich the u s navy s three ships called uss michigan were named in honor of the state michigan is nicknamed the great lakes state and also the wolverine state from a nickname earned during the toledo war michigan has over one three zero lighthouses the most of any u s state the first lighthouses in michigan were built between one eight one eight and one eight two two they were built to project light at night and to serve as a landmark during the day to safely guide the passenger ships and freighters traveling the great lakes see lighthouses in the united states michigan has the most registered boats over one million of any state in the union michigan is home to the soo locks the world s busiest lock system and the mackinac and ambassador bridges each formerly the world s longest suspension bridge michigan s two zero zero four commemorative quarter featured the outline of the state and the surrounding lakes mic |
higan is home to more public golf courses than any other state see also list of michigan counties list of michigan related topics list of highways in michigan list of people from michigan references does michigan have the longest coast line in the united states michigan gov article ii nine of state constitution united states bureau of economic analysis michiganian or michigander michigan gov external links government state website michigan constitutions of one eight three five one eight five zero one nine zero eight and one nine six three tourism recreation travel michigan michigan golf magazine michigan lodging directory upnorth the northern peninsula culture history historic bridges of michigan and elsewhere michigan s top one zero zero artists entertainers coolcities project michigan genealogy files michigan high school alumni michigan history magazine infoplease michigan factsheet michigan states of the united states one eight three seven establishments the minimum wage is the minimum rate a worker can le |
gally be paid often per hour as set by statute it is different from the lowest wage determined by the forces of supply and demand in a free market in most cases the minimum wage acts as a price floor each country sets its own minimum wage laws and regulations and many countries have no minimum wage the difference between the net minimum wage and gross minimum wage costs is not only a tax wedge but also a tax void history consequences of minimum wage laws if the law is successfully enforced and if they are high enough in real terms or relative to the average wage minimum wage laws are alleged to have various benefits and costs hypothetical costs and benefits minimum wages may have the positive effect of reducing low paid work which may be unfair and exploitative stimulating economic growth by increasing the purchasing power of workers stimulating economic growth by discouraging labor intensive industries thereby encouraging more investment in capital and training encouraging many of those who would normally ta |
ke low wage jobs to stay in or return to school and thus to accumulate human capital on the other hand minimum wages may have the negative effects of curbing economic growth by increasing the cost of labor increasing the price of goods and services since employers may be able to pass on wage costs in the form of higher prices which means that minimum wage may decrease the purchasing power of workers which may also result in the exploitation of the consumer decreasing incentive for some low skilled workers to gain skills where implemented locally making labor more expensive than in other areas which may discourage inward investment and encourage local businesses to relocate their operations elsewhere cause higher unemployment rates among the low skilled and uneducated labor as the price of labor increases to favor the more skilled or machines cause workers laid off because of higher labor costs to consume government assistance thus increasing the cost of government the effects of minimum wage laws both positiv |
e and negative may be increased by knock on effects where unions are not strong wages for those earning slightly more than the minimum may be reduced while those earning less than the minimum are forced to compete for work at pay levels above their experience skill or education strong unions may be able to demand wage increases for workers already earning above the minimum wage for example some labor union contracts are based on a fixed percentage or dollar amount above the minimum wage certain public grants or taxes are based on a multiple of the minimum wage for example a worker may have an exemption if his earnings are below two five minimum wages debate the costs and benefits arising from minimum wages are subject to considerable disagreement among economists though the consensus among economics textbooks is that minimum wage laws should be avoided whenever possible as the costs exceed the benefits a survey in the winter two zero zero five issue of the journal of economic perspectives reports that exactly |
two thirds of academic economists at top universities agree with the statement a minimum wage increases unemployment among young and unskilled for example after the passage of the first federal mandated minimum wage in the united states in one nine three three an estimated five zero zero zero zero zero blacks lost their jobs replaced by higher skilled and more educated white laborers pg one zero the more common debate is on changes to minimum wages this unified view was challenged by empirical research done by david card and alan krueger in their one nine nine seven book myth and measurement the new economics of the minimum wage isbn zero six nine one zero four eight two three one they argued the negative employment effects of minimum wage laws to be minimal if not non existent at least for the united states for example they look at the one nine nine two increase in new jersey s minimum wage the one nine eight eight rise in california s minimum wage and the one nine nine zero nine one increases in the federa |
l minimum wage in each case card and krueger present evidence ostensibly showing that increases in the minimum wage led to increases in pay but no loss in jobs that is it appears that the demand for low wage workers is inelastic also these authors reexamine the existing literature on the minimum wage and argue that it too lacks support for the claim that a higher minimum wage cuts the availability of jobs critics of this research however argue that their research was flawed for example card and krueger gathered their data by telephoning employers in pennsylvania and new jersey asking them whether they intended to increase decrease or make no change in their employment subsequent attempts to verify the claims requested payroll cards from employers to verify employment and ostensibly found that the minimum wage increases were followed by decreases in employment on the other hand data analysis by david neumark and william wascher economists who are usually critical of minimum wage increases supported the card kr |
ueger results some idea of the empirical problems of this debate can be seen by looking at recent trends in the united states the minimum wage fell about two nine in real terms between one nine seven nine and two zero zero three yet real wages have risen in the free market anyway with real hourly earnings up by seven since one nine nine seven the last time the minimum wage was increased some argue that a declining minimum wage might reduce youth unemployment since these workers are likely to have fewer skills than older workers theoretical arguments as is usual in serious social science any empirical conclusion is subject to doubt and is simply the basis for further questions and research one key question is the possible theoretical explanation of the different results the traditional view that minimum wages have significant negative effects on employment is straightforward if one assumes that labor markets for low skill workers can be characterized as fitting the model of a perfectly competitive market where |
the only role of wages is as a cost if monopsony exists then an increase in the minimum wage can raise employment alan manning s two zero zero three book monopsony in motion imperfect competition in labor markets isbn zero six nine one one one three one two two suggests that this kind of market is common if not ubiquitous in labor markets even if card and krueger s results are accurate there may be a tipping point above which their conclusions do not apply and the standard economic consensus does apply the possible validity of their research may be the result of political forces in the united states business political pressure on legislatures and congress may have kept the minimum wage so low that it has little negative employment effect further the federal minimum wage has moved away from the presumed tipping point becoming less relevant it has fallen from about five nine of the average hourly wage in manufacturing during the late one nine six zero s to less than four one some argue that minimum wage laws l |
ock out the poorest individuals from obtaining employment by legally forbidding them to compete for jobs by offering to work for lower wages this argument of course does not apply to the black economy the idea that a lack of a minimum wage naturally directs employment opportunities to the most needy is viewed by some as a moral justification for the elimination of minimum wage laws on the other hand the fact that the working poor often struggle to support themselves without government support e g food stamps under the assumption that the minimum wage is a net benefit to these people is a moral argument in favour of it some say that if developing countries had minimum wages or minimum wages commensurate of those of developed countries that jobs would not be exported to these poor individuals and their opportunity for economic advancement would be impeded others say that this overlooks the fact that movement of jobs applies above all to industries which require large quantities of unskilled or low skilled labou |
r and that relative prices for such labour are very different wage subsidies if they exist it is clear that some of the adverse effects can only occur when minimum wages are implemented and successfully enforced by government fiat either these effects are a consequence of the cost of wage regulation or they do not exist if however a floor on wages is implemented indirectly by providing wage subsidies there would not be decreased employment however since this program is not a free lunch some other economic damage may be created instead as with an externality on the other hand it is possible that there are already externalities contributing to unemployment and that subsidies at the right level would merely be pigovian solutions to these and would not actually cause any further harm after all research would need to be done to determine this while straightforward pigovian subsidies would have funding problems particularly when introducing them for the first time there are other approaches one was examined by prof |
essor kim swales of the university of strathclyde see this avoids funding problems by not having an actual subsidy but a virtual one the funds flow is always from employers to the government being netted off by the virtual subsidy before funds ever change hands this may also be analysed by means of game theory e g the prisoner s dilemma or the tragedy of the commons alternatively in the united states many economists see the earned income tax credit eitc a wage subsidy in the federal income tax as providing the poverty fighting benefits of the minimum wage without the non budgetary costs while being superior to most welfare state anti poverty programs one problem has been that many of the working poor the target of this program have a hard time with the tax forms needed to receive the eitc payment there may also be long delays between when the money is needed and when the eitc payments are received that is a person might become eligible for the eitc in april but then get laid off for the rest of the year but t |
his person would not get help from the credit until nearly a year later since americans pay their taxes in april further like with the minimum wage those people working at home taking care of children and other loved ones do not receive any benefits only those doing paid labor are rewarded finally if these kinds of complications do not exist it is possible that the benefit of the tax credit is received by the employer assume that for low skill workers the equilibrium market wage equals x before the eitc is introduced all of this wage is paid by their employers after the eitc is instituted the workers receive y z where y is the new wage paid by employers and z is the tax credit if the labor market returns to the same equilibrium then x y z this means that the low skill workers receive exactly the same amount as before the eitc was introduced and that the employer is paying less to the employees this issue needs to be examined further worldwide minimum wages the list below gives the official minimum wage rates |
in some countries some countries are more effective than others at enforcing these laws so that the effective minimum wage may be lower than the official one exchange rates as of one one july two zero zero five four zero h week five zero weeks year gdp information from list of countries by gdp nominal per capita united states the first attempt at establishing a minimum wage in the united states came in one nine three three when a two five per hour standard was set as part of the national recovery act however in one nine three five the united states supreme court declared the national recovery act unconstitutional and the minimum wage was abolished the minimum wage was re established in the united states in one nine three eight pursuant to the fair labor standards act once again at two five per hour three two two in two zero zero five dollars it had its highest purchasing value ever in one nine six eight when it was one six zero hour eight eight five in two zero zero five dollars comparison of state and federa |
l minimum wage during his presidency bill clinton gave states the power to set their minimum wages above the federal level as of two zero zero four one two states had done so and on november two of that year two additional states florida and nevada approved increases in statewide referendums community organizing efforts initiated by acorn were responsible for the florida and nevada increases some government entities such as counties and cities observe minimum wages that are higher than the state as a whole another device to increase wages living wage ordinances apply only to businesses that are under contract to the local government itself santa fe s nine five zero per hour minimum wage is the highest in the nation and there are plans to increase this wage to one zero five zero in two zero zero eight many progressive politicians in the united states advocate linking the minimum wage to the consumer price index thereby producing small annual increases rather than the larger hikes that tend to be adopted when l |
egislation to do so is passed the vast majority of conservatives oppose this but a few actually favor it on the grounds that this would stop their opponents from in their view periodically exploiting the issue in two zero zero five john edwards and the community organization acorn organized a national tour to promote both city state and national increase of minimum wages in early two zero zero six on tuesday january one seven th two zero zero six maryland became the one eight th state in the nation to enact a law that will make maryland s minimum wage higer than the federal in a baltimore sun article related to the change u s represenative steny h hoyer a maryland democrat applauded maryland lawmakers for overriding the veto on the increase and urged congress to adopt legislation that would increase the federal minimum wage to seven two five massachusetts senator edward m kennedy a ranking member of the senate committe on health education labor and pensions also commended maryland for increasing its minimum w |
age in a statement issued on january one seven th he stated maryland is one of many states and communities across the country to recognize that no one who works for a living should have to live in poverty kennedy said these states are acting because year after year congress has failed to act and more and more hard working americans are paying an unfair price source see list of u s state minimum wages united kingdom municipal regulation of wage levels began in some towns in one five two four later the trade boards act of one nine zero nine introduced by winston churchill initially created four trades boards that set minimum wages which varied from trade to trade for a number of sectors where sweating was generally regarded as a problem and where collective bargaining was not well established this system was extended considerably after the second world war in one nine four five trades boards became wage councils which set minimum wage standards in many sectors of the economy including the service sector as well |
as manufacturing wage councils were finally abolished in one nine nine three having fallen into decline due in large part to trades union opposition a pay floor was regarded as threatening the voluntary system of collective bargaining favoured in the uk government had first made a serious attempt to abolish wage councils in one nine eight six having abandoned existing legislation that tried to extent voluntary agreements to include those firms that had not taken part in negotiations such as the fair wages resolutions these required that government contractors pay fair wages and respect the rights of their employees to be members of trades unions a national minimum wage nmw was introduced for the first time by tony blair s labour government in april one nine nine nine at the rate of three six zero per hour for those workers aged over two two it took the recommendation of this rate from the low pay commission an independent body that the government had appointed in july one nine nine seven the lpc exists to th |
is day to maintain the nmw and consists of three members with a trades union background three members with an employer background and three academic labour market relations experts the commission is widely regarded as a successfully example of social partnership the current minimum wage in the uk for adults aged two two or older is five zero five or approximately nine as compared with five one five in the us despite a much higher minimum wage the uk has lower unemployment than the us for workers between the age of one eight two one or who are in the first six months of their job and receiving accredited training the minimum wage is four two five per hour the minimum hourly wage for workers aged under one eight is three zero zero provided that they are no longer of compulsory school age and are not apprentices these values are tentatively scheduled to increase in october two zero zero six with two two year olds and older receiving five three five hourly and one eight two one year olds receiving four four five |
see also national minimum wage act one nine nine eight australia the current minimum wage in australia is one two seven five aud nine u s dollars per hour in two zero zero five the federal government implemented significant changes to the nation s labour system these changes do not explicitly lower the minimum wage in nominal terms but may slow its rate of increase see also australian industrial relations law reform two zero zero five reference country reports on human rights practices two zero zero four united states department of state see also maximum wage social wage living wage wage slave labor market garcia v san antonio metropolitan transit authority positive rights external links supersizemypay com campaign to raise the new zealand minimum wage to nz one two an hour abolish youth rates and to ensure secure hours industrially in the fast food industry and politically via legislation for all new zealanders average u s farm and non farm wages compared to the minimum wage one nine eight one two zero zero |
four impact of proposed minimum wage increase on low income families center for economic and policy research the economic policy institute raising the national minimum wage information opinion research floridians for all center for policy alternatives minimum wage policy model afl cio guide to state minimum wages uk department of trade and industry acorn find it by topic wages minimum wage u s department of labor minimum wages prevalent in mexico in spanish definition reality in the general theory of political economy drgtpe labor macroeconomics mullet has several meanings mullet fish is a kind of fish mullet haircut is a haircut that is short on top and long at the back it is also a derogatory slang term for a kind of person mullet heraldry is a term used in heraldry mullet film is the title of a two zero zero one australian film directed by david caesar starring ben mendelsohn mullet albania is a town the mullet refers to the isthmus of the mullet peninsula in the barony of erris county mayo in the west of |
ireland scene from macbeth depicting the witches conjuring of an apparition in act iv scene i painting by william rimmer this article is on the play macbeth by shakespeare for information on the historical monarch see macbeth of scotland macbeth is william shakespeare s shortest tragedy and one of his most popular works it is frequently performed at professional and community theatres around the world the play is seen as an archetypal tale of dangers of the lust for power and betrayal of friends it is loosely based upon the historical account of king macbeth of scotland by the scottish philosopher hector boece which flattered the antecedents of boece s patron king james vi of scotland also known as king james i of england and greatly maligned the real macbeth king of scots macbeth incorporates characteristic features of a morality play scholars think it an archetypal jacobean play with plenty of endorsements of james i s reign and place its composition around one six zero six there is considerable evidence th |
at the text of the play as we have it incorporates later revisions by thomas middleton who inserted popular passages notably an extra scene involving the witches and hecate for such scenes proved highly popular with audiences from his own play the witch one six one five these revisions the whole of act iii scene v and a portion of act iv scene i are generally indicated as such in modern texts on the stage lady macbeth is seen by many as one of the most challenging roles for women in theatre actors often consider the play to be unlucky and usually refer to it as the scottish play rather than by name the characters are sometimes referred to as mackers and lady mackers to say the name of the play inside a theatre is considered to doom the production to failure in macbeth there is the constant question posed if magic exists and the witches are indeed predicting the future or simply manipulating macbeth s mind and forcing him to murder duncan and banquo synopsis the play opens with the three witches weird sisters |
discussing their upcoming meeting with macbeth macbeth thane of glamis and banquo generals to king duncan of scotland have just defeated invasion of scotland by the allied forces of norway and ireland led by the rebel macdonwald as macbeth and banquo wander into a heath the three witches greet them with prophecies the first witch hails macbeth as thane of glamis the second as thane of cawdor and the third that he shall be king hereafter the witches also inform banquo he shall be father of a line of kings while they wonder at these prophecies the witches disappear and the thane of ross a messenger from the king arrives and informs macbeth of his new title thane of cawdor the first prophecy fulfilled as macbeth is already thane of glamis immediately macbeth begins to harbour ambitions of becoming king macbeth writes to his wife about the witches prophecies duncan decides to stay at macbeth s castle at inverness and the couple hatches a plan to murder him and usurp the throne while macbeth raises concerns about |
the regicide lady macbeth manages to persuade her husband that murder is the only route to kingship in the night macbeth kills duncan and the two arrange bloody daggers to frame duncan s servants for murder in a phony fit of grief however macbeth murders the servants before they can protest their innocences duncan s body is discovered by macduff the loyal thane of fife who is immediately suspicious of macbeth fearing for their lives duncan s son malcolm flees to england and his brother donalbain to ireland macbeth uses their unexplained disappearances to accuse the pair of regicide with the rightful heirs gone macbeth assumes the throne as new king of scotland by deign of his relation to the former king despite his success macbeth remains uneasy regarding the prophecies that banquo would be progenitor of kings macbeth therefore sees banquo as an element jeopardising his rule becoming progressively paranoid and ruthless he incites murderers to kill banquo and his son fleance fleance however manages to escape a |
t the royal banquet banquo s ghost enters and sits in macbeth s place macbeth is the only person who can see the ghost and his display of terror convinces his guests of his guilt disturbed macbeth goes to the witches again and receives three more prophecies the witches conjure spirits which tell him he will not vanquish d be until great birnam wood to high dunsinane hill shall come against him and that none of woman born shall harm macbeth but also to beware macduff since macduff is in exile macbeth massacres everyone in macduff s castle including macduff s wife and children lady macbeth eventually becomes racked mentally with guilt from the crimes she has committed in a famous scene she sleepwalks and tries to wash imaginary bloodstains off her hands in england malcolm and macduff plan for an invasion of scotland macduff leads a camouflaged army with malcolm and englishman siward the elder the earl of northumbria against dunsinane castle macbeth delivers a famous nihilistic soliloquy upon learning of lady ma |
cbeth s death the cause of it is unexplained meanwhile malcolm s army advances as though in a moving wood as they hewn off the trunks of the forest while moving on camouflage a battle ensues culminating in macduff s confrontation of macbeth macbeth boasts that he has no reason to fear macduff as he cannot be killed by any man born of woman macduff declares that he was born by caesarean section before his mother s actual delivery and was therefore not of woman born too late macbeth realises the witches have been equivocating the two fight which ends with macduff beheading macbeth offstage thereby fulfilling the last of the witches prophecies in the final scene of the play malcolm is crowned as rightful king of scotland suggesting that peace is restored to the kingdom however the witches prophecy concerning banquo thou shalt beget kings was known to the audience of shakespeare s time to be true as james i of england was supposedly a descendant of banquo text of the play macbeth was first printed in the first fo |
lio of one six two three the folio is the only authoritative source for the text this is regrettable as the text has been plainly altered by later hands most notable is the inclusion of two songs from thomas middleton s later play the witch on the basis of which many scholars reject all three of the interludes with the goddess hecate as inauthentic and added by a later editor possibly middleton himself even with the hecate material the play is conspicuously short indicating that the folio text may derive from a promptbook that had been substantially cut for performance recurring motifs and themes ambition and betrayal thematically macbeth is seen as warning of the dangers of ambition showing that ambition can be a morally corrupting agent ambition can be seen as macbeth s tragic flaw it consumes him ironically by the end of the play it consumes him in the other sense of the word betrayal goes hand in hand with ambition and it is another theme macbeth betrays both his own king and his friend by killing duncan |
and then banquo respectively interestingly macbeth s murder of duncan early in the play an act of treason act ii scene two then later in the middle of the play act three the murder of banquo emphasizes the thematic importance of the murder of duncan betrayal is also shown when after the prophecy macbeth becomes thane of cawdor after the previous thane is executed for betrayal against the king and as thane of cawdor macbeth betrays the king by murdering him visions macbeth hallucinates a bloody knife in the air pointing to king duncan s resting chamber is this a dagger which i see before me the handle toward my hand act ii scene i macbeth knows what he is doing will change his life committing regicide is a sin that can t be forgiven macbeth may see this through the supernatural powers of the three witches or it may be another hallucination lady macbeth believes there is blood on her hands that won t come off out damned spot out i say act five scene one lady macbeth here is sleepwalking and spot is being referr |
ed to as blood stained hands lady macbeth can t cleanse herself of the guilt of plotting king duncan s murder blood and bloodshed at the beginning of the play macbeth s army has just defeated norwegian invaders in a gruesome battle a captain is mortally wounded and the king remarks on it what bloody man is that he can report as seemeth by his plight act i scene iii blood thus symbolizes the advent of a messenger the admonitions of god or nature displaying man his future in red letters the cauldron of the witches that whispering post of the fates is filled with blood the shedding of blood continues throughout the play until the very end when macbeth is slain by macduff hail king for so thou art behold where stands th usurpers cursed head macduff then shows malcolm the new king macbeth s head dripping with blood though the tyrant s mouth no longer speaks his bloody droplets proclaim the message of his life and in death he becomes a kind of prophet blood can also be shown as representing guilt when macbeth kills |
king duncan blood on his hand symbolizes guilt later in the play lady macbeth in her midnight ramble believes that she sees blood on her hands clothing clothing is a frequently used metaphor within macbeth a direct symbolism of morals stature violence ambition and admiration one should consider the various references within the play to blood stained clothes as the skin of the body is made to yield its precious scarlet freight the product of the loom yet holds it bloody clothes are converted to crimson banners tattling the death of kings let our old robes sit easier than our news and i have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people which would be worn now in their newest gloss not cast aside so soon the baby and child the unborn and born youth are frequently made reference to children and babies represent innocence purity and vulnerability the foolish babbling of the baby contrasts starkly with the dark meditations of macbeth they are used to accentuate the cruel nature of various dramatis personae such |
as macbeth and lady i e the killing of macduff s son lady macbeth s graphic retort to macbeth act one scene seven i would while it was smiling in my face have pluck d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash d the brains out had i so sworn as you have done to this quote represents lack of compassion hands hands are the instruments of evil the physical manifestation that shall carry out the desires of macbeth and lady macbeth one often refers to pure and untainted hands of saints in this context macbeth and lady macbeth are constantly plagued by illusions of their blood stained hands signifies sullied and tainted souls that cannot redeem their actions yet macbeth s hand is also the might instrument that swings his sword and drives his murdering knife guilt is implicit in the act natural order the unnatural replacement of duncan by macbeth disturbs the natural order of the royal lineage shakespearean context valued the divinity of the king i e the king is selected by a greater being i e of a preordained natur |
e thus by unnatural replacement of the king macbeth has invoked the wrath of greater beings nature has been disturbed and thrown into turmoil i e horses cannibalise each other a small owl kills a regal hawk insomnia the commonly acknowledged cleansing sleep balm of hurt minds act two scene two is made a common reference in this play sleep no more macbeth does murder sleep the innocent sleep act two scene two insomnia and sleep walking are rendered upon the two main characters insomnia represents the constant disease of guilt and conscience it represents the fear of death brought on by macbeth s interminable slaughter when a sailor s wife denies the first witch the chestnuts that she is eating the first witch curses the sailor and denies him sleep sleep shall neither night nor day hang upon his penthouse lid i iii one nine two zero masculinity femininity and gender ambiguity shakespeare shows in the play a connection between masculinity and violence and ambition in the beginning where lady macbeth says when yo |
u durst do it then you are a man one seven four eight she is saying that if macbeth were masculine he could kill duncan and become king of scotland later the dagger of the mind two one three nine that macbeth sees and cannot grasp represents his masculinity if he can grasp it then he can kill duncan and become king when it comes time to kill duncan lady macbeth cannot do it saying had he not resembled my father as he slept i had done t act two scene two shakespeare is saying that a woman being not as masculine as a man cannot kill directly in the play women play another role that of manipulation the women of the play manipulate macbeth into doing their bidding the witches awaken macbeth s ambitions and then lady macbeth drives macbeth to kill king duncan marriage the women in the play are only known by their husband s name such as lady macbeth and lady macduff macbeth and lady macbeth plan together for their ascension to king and queen of scotland shakespeare is a proponent of having husband and wife be one u |
nit and responsible for each other s actions in act four scene two after macduff goes to england with malcolm lady macduff says from whence himself macduff does fly he loves us not he wants the natural touch for the poor wren the most diminutive of birds will fight her young ones in her nest against the owl all is the fear and nothing is the love she is saying that macduff should be as his castle with his wife and family protecting them when macbeth s murderers kill macduff s family according to shakespeare it is his fault because he wasn t there to protect them appearance vs reality the play is full of contradictory statements such as when the battle s lost and won one one four though the battle was lost for one side and won for the other and fair is foul and foul is fair one one one two from the witches in act i macbeth s first line in the play is so foul and fair a day i have not seen one three three eight shakespeare s portrayal of macbeth s world as a confusing and chaotic one this mirrors the moral dile |
mma involved in the plot to kill the king and macbeth s indecision more often than not however the sentence is seen as suggesting that nothing will be what it seems evil the witches servants of the devil and their dark prophecy steer macbeth through the play the evil in macbeth grows throughout the play in the beginning he is reluctant to commit murder but slowly murder becomes easier at the turning point of the play macbeth says stepped in so far that should i wade no more returning were as tedious as go o er three four one three eight one three nine he has decided it would be just as easy to keep killing and murdering as it would to repent and turn back it is also noteworthy that the more evil macbeth gets the more lines the witches have in each act conflict and opposition other themes include illusion vs reality as evinced in macbeth s visions and the optical illusion of the moving forest and kingship which deals with questions of who should be the rightful monarch which is why the regicide of duncan leads |
to abberations in the natural world destiny vs free will comes into play as a theme with destiny ultimately winning out no matter how hard macbeth tries he is not destined to beget kings war the two opposing sides of the battle that takes place in fife is disapprovingly compared to two spent swimmers that do cling together and choke their art i ii nine before macbeth enters the stage macbeth is ironically praised for inhumanely eviscerating the traitorous macdonwald he unseamed him from the nave to th chops i ii two two in this same scene macbeth is honored by the thane of ross when ross calls macbeth bellona s bridegroom i ii five four corrupting power of pure emotion in the beginning of the play macbeth respects societal expectations of him and thus falters in his ambitions to commit regicide only through the influence of the witches and lady macbeth does he gather the will to murder duncan from this point however macbeth begins to act more and more compulsively such as when he orders the murders of banquo |
and fleance in act iv he commits himself completely to living based on his bare impulses from this moment the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand iv i one six eight one seven zero after making this pledge macbeth becomes a highly erratic mess of fitful remarks and emotional outbursts and eventually tosses himself into inevitable defeat at the hands of macduff after spending the entire play jealously guarding his life and crown king james vi of scotland king james i of england the parade of eight kings which the witches show macbeth in a vision in act iv is generally taken to represent the stuart line and be intended as a compliment to king james vi of scotland recently crowned as james i of england when the play was written shakespeare s sources raphael holinshed s chronicles of england scotland and ireland based on hector boece s one five two seven scotorum historiae reginald scot s discovery of witchcraft king james i of england s one five nine nine daemonologie macbeth s words o |
n dogs and men in act three scene one nine one one zero zero likely came from erasmus colloquia compare also the witch of endor film versions see also shakespeare on screen macbeth macbeth directed by john emerson macbeth directed by orson welles throne of blood directed by akira kurosawa is a retelling of macbeth set in medieval japan macbeth directed by roman polanski macbeth directed by philip casson geoffrey wright has shot a modern retelling of macbeth titled m set in the backdrop of a violent gangwar in southern australia the film due for release in two zero zero six retains the same dialogue as the play as in baz luhrmann s adaptation of romeo and juliet and stars sam worthington victoria hill and lachy hulme adaptations macbeth one eight four seven opera by giuseppe verdi joe macbeth one nine five five film noir resetting the story as a gangwar in chicago illinois throne of blood one nine five seven film directed by akira kurosawa macbird one nine six six counterculture drama by barbara garson featuri |
ng us president lyndon johnson as macbeth macbeth one nine eight eight greek novel by apostolos doxiadis macbeth one nine nine two animation by nikolai serebryakov as a part of shakespeare the animated tales macbeth one nine nine eight tv movie on uk channel four starring sean pertwee and set in an alternate present day scotland macbeth one nine nine nine finnish comic book adapted by petri hannini and artwork by petri hiltunen maqbool two zero zero four hindi adaptation set in the mumbai underworld men of respect one nine nine one film set as a mafia power struggle in new york but otherwise very closely tracking the original scotland pa two zero zero one independent film retelling the story in the form of a black comedy set against the backdrop of a one nine seven five hamburger stand the bbc s shakespeare told series in two zero zero five included a present day modern language macbeth set in a glasgow restaurant wyrd sisters one nine eight eight parody of macbeth by terry pratchett one of many novels set in |
the discworld fantasy world musical adaptations the opera macbeth one eight four seven by giuseppe verdi macbeth is one of richard strauss s earliest tone poems one eight nine zero macbird one nine six six counterculture drama by barbara garson the album thane to the throne two zero zero zero concept album by jag panzer the album a tragedy in steel two zero zero two a concept album by rebellion cultural references macbeth is a recurring character in the television series gargoyles its backstory is a very loose version of the play bearing similarities also to the real macbeth s actual history macbeth is an immortal who has a long link and grudge with a renegade gargoyle demona and originally harassed the manhattan clan in hopes of drawing her to him the third witch novel told from the point of view of one of the witches in the play by rebecca reisert external links the text of shakespeare s macbeth search and analyze the text of shakespeare s macbeth on line or in a downloadable ebook macbeth searchable index |
ed version the tragedie of macbeth html version of this title macbeth plain vanilla text from project gutenberg macbeth about com text of macbeth slashdoc macbeth scholarly essays on shakespeare s macbeth unabridged dramatic audio production of macbeth realaudio english renaissance plays shakespearean tragedies fictional scots model may have several meanings abstractions concepts or software model abstract a conceptual or theoretical representation of a phenomenon mathematical model model computer games in three d computer graphics the computer generated image of a character or an object computer model a computer program which attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system mental model a person s cognitive representation of an idea or thought process model theory study of the representation of mathematical concepts modeling nlp a process in neuro linguistic programming similitude model in engineering used in the scientific testing of physical models solid modelling study of unambiguous represen |
tations of the solid parts of an object the standard model the theory in particle physics which describes certain fundamental forces and particles model building particle physics physical objects model physical a physical representation of an object scale model a replica or prototype of an object persons or occupations model art a person who poses for purposes of art for example in art school often known as an artist s model model person a person whose occupation is to display products eg a fashion model supermodel a person who attains celebrity status through this occupation promotional model a person who promotes a product or service role model a person who serves as a behavioural or moral example to others or walther model german general in world war ii movement for democracy in liberia model models band an alternative rock group from australia see also modeling modeling languages scientific modeling minor threat was a short lived but very influential hardcore punk band from washington dc often credited wi |
th starting the straight edge movement critics have called them and their work iconic and have noted that their groundbreaking music has held up better than that of most of their contemporaries they and fellow washington dc residents bad brains set the standard for many hardcore punk bands in the one nine eight zero s and one nine nine zero s they produced short often astonishingly fast songs eventually with excellent production quality which at the time was lacking in most punk alternative rock all of minor threat s records were released on the band s own dischord records minor threat history while at wilson high school ian mackaye and jeff nelson were in the influental dc punk band the teen idles after that band broke up mackaye decided to switch from bass to vocals and organized minor threat with nelson and two prep school kids from georgetown day school bassist brian baker and guitarist lyle preslar minor threat s first performance was in december one nine eight zero opening for bad brains their first sev |
en eps minor threat and in my eyes were released in one nine eight one the group became popular regionally and toured the united states east coast straight edge a song on the first ep inadvertently inspired the straight edge movement the song seemed to be a call for abstention from drugs and alcohol a new thing in rock music which initially found a small but dedicated following another minor threat song from the first ep out of step further demonstrates the aesthetic don t smoke don t drink don t fuck at least i can fucking think i can t keep up i m out of step with the world the i in the lyrics was implied and some in minor threat jeff nelson in particular took exception to what they saw as mackaye s imperious attitude on the song in the time between the release of the band s second seven inch e p and the out of step record the band briefly split when guitarist lyle preslar moved to illinois for college during this period mackaye and nelson put together a studio only project called skewbald grand union in a |
reflection of the slowly increasing disagreements between the two musicians they were unable to decide on one name the group recorded three untitled songs which would be released posthumously as dischord s five zero th release during this period brian baker also briefly played guitar for government issue and appeared on the make an effort ep preslar dropped out of college and at the urging of bad brains vocalist h r hudson minor threat reformed to play a series of shows and record the out of step mini album when out of step was re recorded for the band s lp out of step mackaye inserted a spoken section explaining this is not a set of rules an ideological door was already opened however and by one nine eight two some straight edge punks such as followers of the band ss decontrol were swatting beers out of people s hands at clubs ironically ss decontrol s singer springa was at the time a heavy drinker and cocaine user minor threat s song guilty of being white led to some accusations of racism but mackaye has st |
rongly denied such intentions and said that some listeners misinterpreted his words slayer later covered the song though perhaps not entirely in the spirit in which mackaye wrote it they changed the lyric guilty of being white to guilty of being right at the song s climax mackaye has stated that he was offended by the change because of the racist implications of the new lyrics minor threat broke up in one nine eight three one contributing factor was disagreement over musical direction for example guitarist preslar was increasingly enamored of u two mackaye was allegedly skipping practices towards the end of the band s career and he wrote the lyrics to the songs on the salad days e p in the studio this was quite the contrast between the earlier recordings as he had written the music for some of the band s early material and also collabarated in writing the music on others minor threat played their last show on september two three one nine eight three with trouble funk and the big boys mackaye went on to found |
embrace with former members of the faith band the obscure egg hunt with jeff nelson and later fugazi and the evens as well as collaborating on pailhead brian baker went on to found junkyard and the seminal dag nasty and currently plays in bad religion lyle preslar briefly played in glenn danzig s samhain and his playing appears on a few songs on the band s first record he later became an a he also runs his own label adult swim records distributed by dischord does graphic art and became a somewhat prominent political activist in the d c area the band s own dischord records released material by many bands from the washington d c area such as rites of spring gray matter and dag nasty and has become a respected independent record label nike s rescinded major threat promo poster two zero zero five in two zero zero five the cover of minor threat s first ep also used on the first two seven s on a one two lp and complete discography cd was copied by athletic footwear manufacturer nike for use on a promotional poster |
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