query: John Adams was not a leader for the American independence movement.

pos: John Adams John Adams ( October 30 -LSB- O.S. October 19 -RSB- 1735 -- July 4 , 1826 ) was an American patriot who served as the second President of the United States ( 1797 -- 1801 ) and the first Vice President ( 1789 -- 97 ) . He was a lawyer , diplomat , statesman , political theorist , and , as a Founding Father , a leader of the movement for American independence from Great Britain . He was also a dedicated diarist and correspondent , particularly with his wife and closest advisor Abigail .   He collaborated with his cousin , revolutionary leader Samuel Adams , but he established his own prominence prior to the American Revolution . After the Boston Massacre , he provided a successful ( though unpopular ) legal defense of the accused British soldiers , in the face of severe local anti-British sentiment and driven by his devotion to the right to counsel and the `` protect -LSB- ion -RSB- of innocence '' . Adams was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress , where he played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence . He assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776 , and was its foremost advocate in the Congress . As a diplomat in Europe , he helped negotiate the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain , and acquired vital governmental loans from Amsterdam bankers . Adams was the primary author of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which influenced American political theory , as did his earlier Thoughts on Government ( 1776 ) .   Adams 's credentials as a revolutionary secured for him two terms as President George Washington 's vice president ( 1789 to 1797 ) and also his own election in 1796 as the second president . In his single term as president , he encountered fierce criticism from the Jeffersonian Republicans , as well as the dominant faction in his own Federalist Party , led by his rival Alexander Hamilton . Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts , and built up the army and navy in the face of an undeclared naval `` Quasi-War '' with France . The major accomplishment of his presidency was a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the face of Hamilton 's opposition . Due to his strong posture on defense , Adams is `` often called the father of the American Navy '' . He was the first U.S. president to reside in the executive mansion , now known as the White House .   In 1800 , Adams lost re-election to Thomas Jefferson and retired to Massachusetts . He eventually resumed his friendship with Jefferson upon the latter 's own retirement by initiating a correspondence which lasted fourteen years . He and his wife established a family of politicians , diplomats , and historians now referred to as the Adams political family . Adams was the father of John Quincy Adams , the sixth President of the United States . He died on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence , and the same day as Jefferson . Modern historians in the aggregate have favorably ranked his administration .

neg: Annapolis Convention (1786) The Annapolis Convention , formally titled as a Meeting of Commissioners to Remedy Defects of the Federal Government was a national political convention held September 11 -- 14 , 1786 at Mann 's Tavern in Annapolis , Maryland , in which twelve delegates from five states -- New Jersey , New York , Pennsylvania , Delaware , and Virginia -- gathered to discuss and develop a consensus about reversing the protectionist trade barriers that each state had erected . At the time , under the Articles of Confederation , each state was largely independent from the others and the national government had no authority to regulate trade between and among the states . Additionally , New Hampshire , Massachusetts , Rhode Island , and North Carolina had appointed commissioners who failed to arrive in Annapolis in time to attend the meeting , while Connecticut , Maryland , South Carolina , and Georgia had taken no action at all .   The final report of the convention , adopted unanimously , was sent to the Congress and to the states . It sought support for a broader constitutional convention to be held the following May in Philadelphia . It expressed the hope that more states would be represented and that their delegates or deputies would be authorized to examine areas broader than simply commercial trade .   Because of the few representatives in attendance , their authority was limited . It is unclear how much weight the convention 's call carried , but the urgency of the need for constitutional reform was highlighted by a number of rebellions that took place all over the country . While most of them were easily suppressed , Shays ' Rebellion lasted from August 1786 until February 1787 . The rebellion called attention to both popular discontent and government weakness .   The direct result of the Annapolis Convention report and the ensuing events was the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 , during which the United States Constitution was drafted .

neg: Lew Adams Lewis Drummond Adams ( born 16 August 1939 ) is a British former trade unionist .   Adams was educated at Impington Village College in Cambridge , then started his career with British Rail at the age of 15 , working his way up to become a steam locomotive driver .   A local Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen ( ASLEF ) trade union representative , Adams was voted in as General Secretary in 1994 . Towards the right of the trade union political spectrum , he vigorously opposed the Conservative governments ' privatisation of British Rail via the Railways Act 1993 , and was attacked and labelled by the right wing tabloids , most famously as `` The Black Prince of Militancy '' by the Daily Mail during the 1995 rail strike . However , in 2004 Adams declared : `` I was vehement that we wanted to stay in the public sector , and of course there were all the usual concerns trade unionists have regarding privatization , safety issues , job losses , protecting the conditions of service , and pensions . But accepting the will of Parliament , it was time to look at the arguments . So we said to management , ` Well , if that 's what you want , this is what we want . ' Today I can not argue against the private entrepreneur coming into the rail industry . We are running 1,700 more trains per day since it was privatized . The entrepreneurs built traffic to the extent that we are having to build more infrastructure . What is true is true : 4.2 billion pounds spent on new trains . We never saw that in all the years I 've been in the rail industry . All the time it was in the public sector , all we got were cuts , cuts , cuts . And today there are more members in the trade union , more train drivers , and more trains running . The reality is that it worked , we 've protected jobs , and we got more jobs . If a private company is making more money , I look at that from a union 's point of view , ` Well , that looks like a wage increase to me . ' And we can argue that . And the more secure they are and the more productive they are in delivering train services , well , that means more jobs . I was there when the public railways had some 600,000 people and it came down to 100,000 in the time I worked in the rail industry . Now we are expanding on jobs . '' .   Adams later had a locomotive named after him by Virgin Trains boss Sir Richard Branson using the same `` Black Prince '' name , the first union secretary to have such an honour since former ASLEF secretary William P. Allen , General Secretary until 1947 .   After being voted out of office in May 1998 to be replaced by left wing candidate Mick Rix , Adams joined Virgin Trains as a training manager . In 2003 Adams was campaign manager for right-wing candidate Shaun Brady 's unexpectedly successful campaign to be elected ASLEF General Secretary , defeating the incumbent Rix . Brady was removed from office the following year after a bitter dispute with the union 's Executive Committee .   Adams was later appointed to the rail regulatory authority set up by the new Labour Party government , the Strategic Rail Authority ; and is a board member of the British Transport Police authority .

neg: William Ladd William Ladd ( May 10 , 1778 -- April 9 , 1841 ) was one of the earliest American anti-war activists , and the first president of the American Peace Society .   Ladd was born in Exeter , New Hampshire as a direct lineal descendant of Daniel Ladd , Sr. ( 1613 -- 1693 ) . After he graduated from Harvard in 1797 he shipped as a seaman from Portsmouth , New Hampshire in a vessel owned by his father , a local merchant . At 20 years old he was a capable New England captain and had seen much of the world . He briefly had a plantation in Florida which ultimately failed as he refused to use slave labor .   A disbeliever in war for any purpose , he turned at the outbreak of the War of 1812 , when the British blockade temporarily stopped commerce . He moved to Minot , Maine , became a prosperous farmer , and devoted both his tongue and his pen to preaching non-resistance . In 1823 he wrote the first of 32 Essays on Peace and War , published in the Christian Mirror of Portland , Maine , which laid out a Christian case for pacifism . These essays were published pseudonymously as a book in 1825 ( Portland , ME : Shirley & Edwards ) under the title The Essays of Philanthropos on Peace and War ; a second revised and corrected edition was published in 1827 ( Exeter , NH : J. T. Burnham in behalf of the Exeter and other peace societies ) . Subsequent essays would criticize the slave trade and the raising of the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown , Massachusetts as a memorial to war .   State and local `` peace societies '' already existed in the 1820s , but in 1828 the American Peace Society was formed with Ladd as its first president . The first meeting was held in New York City . Ladd wrote and published the society 's newspaper , The Harbinger of Peace ( later The Calumet ) from his house in Minot , Maine . In 1837 , due to Ladd 's influence and against the arguments of other members , including the president of Bowdoin College , the constitution of the American Peace Society was amended to declare that all war was contrary to the Christian Gospel .   In 1840 Ladd proposed a plan for a World Congress and Court of Nations , somewhat similar to the later League of Nations or United Nations . He published An Essay on the Congress of Nations ( 1840 ) . He was partly influenced by the military build-up the year before in his home state of Maine because of a border dispute with Britain , the so-called Aroostook War .   Ladd is buried in Portsmouth , New Hampshire

neg: History of Springfield, Massachusetts The history of Springfield , Massachusetts ( est. 1636 ) springs in large part from its favorable geography , situated on a steep bluff overlooking the Connecticut River 's confluence with three tributaries . It was an ancient Indian crossroad for two major trade routes : Boston-to-Albany and New York City-to-Montreal . Springfield also sits on some of the northeastern United States ' most fertile soil .   Springfield was founded in 1636 as Agawam , the northernmost settlement of the Connecticut Colony . The settlement defected from Connecticut after four years , however , later joining forces with the coastal Massachusetts Bay Colony . The town changed its name to Springfield , and changed the political boundaries among what later became New England States .   Springfield flourished as a trading post and agricultural center until 1675 's King Philip 's War , when a coalition of Indians laid siege to Springfield and later burned it to the ground . Its prosperity waned for the next hundred years but , in 1777 , United States Revolutionary War leaders made it a National Armory to store weapons , and in 1795 it began manufacturing muskets .   Until 1968 , the Armory made small arms . Its first American muskets ( 1794 ) were followed by the famous Springfield rifle and the revolutionary M1 Garand and M14s . The Springfield Armory attracted generations of skilled laborers to the city , making it the United States ' longtime center for precision manufacturing ( comparable to a Silicon Valley of the Industrial Revolution ) . The Armory 's near-capture during Shays Rebellion of 1787 was among the troubles that prompted the U.S. Constitutional Convention later that year .   Innovations in the 19th and 20th centuries include the first American English dictionary ( 1805 , Noah Webster ) , the first use of interchangeable parts and the assembly line in manufacturing ( 1819 , Thomas Blanchard ) , the first American horseless car ( 1825 , again Thomas Blanchard ) , vulcanized rubber ( 1844 , Charles Goodyear ) , the first American gasoline-powered car ( 1893 , Duryea Brothers ) , the first American motorcycle company ( 1901 , `` Indian '' ) , an early commercial radio station ( 1921 , WBZ , and most famously , the world 's third-most-popular sport of basketball ( 1891 , Dr. James Naismith ) .   Throughout the latter half of the 20th century , Springfield endured a protracted decline , accelerated by the decommission of the Springfield Armory in 1969 . Springfield became increasingly like the declining , second tier Northeastern U.S. cities from which it had long been set apart . During the 1980s and 1990s , Springfield developed a new reputation for crime , political corruption , and cronyism . Seeking to overcome its downgrade , the city undertook several large ( but unfinished ) projects , including a $ 1 billion high-speed rail ( New Haven-Hartford-Springfield high-speed rail ) , a proposed $ 1 billion MGM Casino , and others .

neg: John Adams (New York) John Adams ( August 26 , 1778 Oak Hill , New York -- September 25 , 1854 Catskill , New York ) was a United States Congressman from New York .

neg: History of the United States The date of the start of the history of the United States is a subject of debate among historians . Older textbooks start with the arrival of Christopher Columbus on October 12 , 1492 and emphasize the European background of the colonization of the Americas , or they start around 1600 and emphasize the American frontier . In recent decades American schools and universities typically have shifted back in time to include more on the colonial period and much more on the prehistory of the Native Americans .   Indigenous people lived in what is now the United States for thousands of years before European colonists began to arrive , mostly from England , after 1600 . The Spanish built small settlements in Florida and the Southwest , and the French along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast . By the 1770s , thirteen British colonies contained two and a half million people along the Atlantic coast east of the Appalachian Mountains . After the end of the French and Indian Wars in the 1760s , the British government imposed a series of new taxes , rejecting the colonists ' argument that any new taxes had to be approved by them ( see Stamp Act 1765 ) . Tax resistance , especially the Boston Tea Party ( 1773 ) , led to punitive laws ( the Intolerable Acts ) by Parliament designed to end self-government in Massachusetts . American Patriots ( as they called themselves ) adhered to a political ideology called republicanism that emphasized civic duty , virtue , and opposition to corruption , fancy luxuries and aristocracy .   Armed conflict began in 1775 as Patriots drove the royal officials out of every colony and assembled in mass meetings and conventions . In 1776 , the Second Continental Congress declared that there was a new , independent nation , the United States of America , not just a collection of disparate colonies . With large-scale military and financial support from France and the military leadership of General George Washington , the American Patriots won the Revolutionary War . The peace treaty of 1783 gave the new nation the land east of the Mississippi River ( except Florida and Canada ) . The central government established by the Articles of Confederation proved ineffectual at providing stability , as it had no authority to collect taxes and had no executive officer . Congress called a convention to meet secretly in Philadelphia in 1787 . It wrote a new Constitution , which was adopted in 1789 . In 1791 , a Bill of Rights was added to guarantee inalienable rights . With Washington as the first president and Alexander Hamilton his chief political and financial adviser , a strong central government was created . When Thomas Jefferson became president he purchased the Louisiana Territory from France , doubling the size of the United States . A second and final war with Britain was fought in 1812 .   Encouraged by the notion of Manifest Destiny , federal territory expanded all the way to the Pacific . The U.S. always was large in terms of area , but its population was small , only 4 million in 1790 . Population growth was rapid , reaching 7.2 million in 1810 , 32 million in 1860 , 76 million in 1900 , 132 million in 1940 , and 321 million in 2015 . Economic growth in terms of overall GDP was even faster . However , compared to European powers , the nation 's military strength was relatively limited in peacetime before 1940 . The expansion was driven by a quest for inexpensive land for yeoman farmers and slave owners . The expansion of slavery was increasingly controversial and fueled political and constitutional battles , which were resolved by compromises . Slavery was abolished in all states north of the Mason -- Dixon line by 1804 , but the South continued to profit off the institution , producing high-value cotton exports to feed increasing high demand in Europe . The 1860 presidential election of Republican Abraham Lincoln was on a platform of ending the expansion of slavery and putting it on a path to extinction .   Seven cotton-based deep South slave states seceded and later founded the Confederacy four months before Lincoln 's inauguration . No nation ever recognized the Confederacy , but it opened the war by attacking Fort Sumter in 1861 . A surge of nationalist outrage in the North fueled a long , intense American Civil War ( 1861 -- 1865 ) . It was fought largely in the South as the overwhelming material and manpower advantages of the North proved decisive in a long war . The war 's result was restoration of the Union , the impoverishment of the South , and the abolition of slavery . In the Reconstruction era ( 1863 -- 1877 ) , legal and voting rights were extended to the freed slave . The national government emerged much stronger , and because of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 , it gained the explicit duty to protect individual rights . However , when white Democrats regained their power in the South during the 1870s , often by paramilitary suppression of voting , they passed Jim Crow laws to maintain white supremacy , and new disfranchising constitutions that prevented most African Americans and many poor whites from voting , a situation that continued for decades until gains of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and passage of federal legislation to enforce constitutional rights .   The United States became the world 's leading industrial power at the turn of the 20th century due to an outburst of entrepreneurship in the Northeast and Midwest and the arrival of millions of immigrant workers and farmers from Europe . The national railroad network was completed with the work of Chinese immigrants and large-scale mining and factories industrialized the Northeast and Midwest . Mass dissatisfaction with corruption , inefficiency and traditional politics stimulated the Progressive movement , from the 1890s to 1920s , which led to many social and political reforms . In 1920 , the 19th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed women 's suffrage ( right to vote ) . This followed the 16th and 17th amendments in 1913 , which established the first national income tax and direct election of US senators to Congress . Initially neutral during World War I , the US declared war on Germany in 1917 and later funded the Allied victory the following year .   After a prosperous decade in the 1920s , the Wall Street Crash of 1929 marked the onset of the decade-long worldwide Great Depression . Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt ended the Republican dominance of the White House and implemented his New Deal programs for relief , recovery , and reform . The New Deal , which defined modern American liberalism , included relief for the unemployed , support for farmers , Social Security and a minimum wage . After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 , 1941 , the United States entered World War II along with Britain , the Soviet Union , China , and the smaller number of Allied nations . The U.S. financed the Allied war effort and helped defeat Nazi Germany in the European theater . Its involvement culminated in using the newly invented nuclear weapons on Japanese cities that helped defeat Imperial Japan in the Pacific theater .   The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as rival superpowers after World War II . During the Cold War , the US and the USSR confronted each other indirectly in the arms race , the Space Race , proxy wars , and propaganda campaigns . US foreign policy during the Cold War was built around the support of Western Europe and Japan along with the policy of containment , stopping the spread of communism . The US joined the wars in Korea and Vietnam to try to stop its spread . In the 1960s , in large part due to the strength of the civil rights movement , another wave of social reforms were enacted by enforcing the constitutional rights of voting and freedom of movement to African-Americans and other racial minorities . Native American activism also rose . The Cold War ended when the Soviet Union officially dissolved in 1991 , leaving the United States as the world 's only superpower .   After the Cold War , the United States focused on international conflicts around the Middle East in response to the Gulf War in the early 1990s . The beginning of the 21st century saw the September 11 attacks by Al-Qaeda in 2001 , which would later followed by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . In 2008 , the United States had its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression , which has been followed by slower than usual rates of economic growth during the 2010s .

neg: American Fur Company The American Fur Company ( AFC ) was founded in 1808 , by John Jacob Astor , a German immigrant to the United States . During the 18th century , furs had become a major commodity in Europe , and North America became a major supplier . Several British companies , most notably the North West Company and the Hudson 's Bay Company , were eventual competitors against Astor and capitalized on the lucrative trade in furs . Astor capitalized on anti-British sentiments and his commercial strategies to become one of the first trusts in American business and a major competitor to the British commercial dominance in North American fur trade . Expanding into many former British fur-trapping regions and trade routes , the company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830 , and became one of the largest and wealthiest businesses in the country .   Astor planned for several companies planned to function across the Great Lakes , the Great Plains and the Oregon Country to gain control of the North American fur trade . Comparatively inexpensive manufactured goods were to be shipped to commercial stations for trade with various Indigenous nations for fur pelts . The sizable number of furs collected would then be brought to the port of Guangzhou , as pelts were in high demand in the Qing Empire . Chinese products would in turn be purchased for resale throughout Europe and the United States . A beneficial agreement with the Russian-American Company was also planned through the regular supply of provisions for posts in Russian America . This was planned in part to prevent the rival Montreal based North West Company ( NWC ) to gain a presence along the Pacific Coast , a prospect neither Russian colonial authorities or Astor favored .   Demand for furs in Europe began to decline during the early 19th century , leading to the stagnation of the fur trade by the mid-19th century . Astor left his company in 1830 , the company declared bankruptcy in 1842 , and the American Fur Company ultimately ceased trading in 1847 .

neg: Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( née Smith ; November 22 -LSB- O.S. November 11 -RSB- 1744 -- October 28 , 1818 ) was the closest advisor and wife of John Adams , as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams . She is sometimes considered to have been a Founder of the United States , and is now designated as the first Second Lady and second First Lady of the United States , although these titles were not in use at the time .   Adams 's life is one of the most documented of the first ladies : she is remembered for the many letters she wrote to her husband while he stayed in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , during the Continental Congresses . John frequently sought the advice of Abigail on many matters , and their letters are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics . In one of her more famous letters she implores her husband and his colleagues , all of whom were male , to , '' ... remember the ladies ... If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion , and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice , or Representation . '' Her letters also serve as eyewitness accounts of the American Revolutionary War home front .

neg: John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General) John Breckinridge ( December 2 , 1760 -- December 14 , 1806 ) was a lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Virginia . He served in the state legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky before being elected to the U.S. Senate and appointed United States Attorney General during the second term of President Thomas Jefferson . He is the progenitor of Kentucky 's Breckinridge political family and the namesake of Breckinridge County , Kentucky .   Breckinridge 's father was a local politician , and his mother was a member of the Preston political family . Breckinridge attended the William and Mary College intermittently between 1780 and 1784 ; his attendance was interrupted by the Revolutionary War and his election to the Virginia House of Delegates . One of the youngest members of that body , his political activities acquainted him with many prominent politicians . In 1785 , he married `` Polly '' Cabell , a member of the Cabell political family . Despite making a comfortable living through a combination of legal and agricultural endeavors , letters from relatives in Kentucky convinced him to move to the western frontier . He established `` Cabell 's Dale '' , his plantation , near Lexington , Kentucky , in 1793 .   Breckinridge was appointed as the state 's attorney general soon after arriving . In November 1797 , he resigned and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives the next month . As a legislator , he secured passage of a more humane criminal code that abolished the death penalty for all offenses except first-degree murder . On a 1798 trip to Virginia , an intermediary gave him Thomas Jefferson 's Kentucky Resolutions , which denounced the Alien and Sedition Acts . At Jefferson 's request , Breckinridge assumed credit for the modified resolutions he shepherded through the Kentucky General Assembly ; Jefferson 's authorship was not discovered until after Breckinridge 's death . He opposed calling a state constitutional convention in 1799 but was elected as a delegate . Due to his influence , the state 's government remained comparatively aristocratic , maintaining protections for slavery and limiting the power of the electorate . Called the father of the resultant constitution , he emerged from the convention as the acknowledged leader of the state 's Democratic-Republican Party and was selected Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1799 and 1800 .   Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1800 , Breckinridge functioned as Jefferson 's floor leader , guiding administration bills through the chamber that was narrowly controlled by his party . Residents of the western frontier called for his nomination as vice president in 1804 , but Jefferson appointed him as U.S. Attorney General in 1805 instead . He was the first cabinet-level official from the West but had little impact before his death from tuberculosis on December 14 , 1806 .

neg: Edmund Quincy (1602–1636) Col. Edmund Quincy I ( 1602 -- 1636 ) , known as `` the Puritan '' , was an English settler , soldier , colonist , planter , landowner , merchant , and politician of Massachusetts Bay Colony in what later became the United States . He is notable as the progenitor of the prestigious Quincy family .

neg: American way The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America . It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness . At the center of the American way is the American Dream that upward mobility is achievable by any American through hard work . This concept is intertwined with the concept of American exceptionalism , the belief in the unique culture of the nation .   Author William Herberg offers the following definition :   One commentator notes , `` The first half of Herberg 's statement still holds true nearly half a century after he first formulated it '' , even though `` Herberg 's latter claims have been severely if not completely undermined ... materialism no longer needs to be justified in high-sounding terms '' .   In the National Archives and Records Administration 's 1999 Annual Report , National Archivist John W. Carlin writes , `` We are different because our government and our way of life are not based on the divine right of kings , the hereditary privileges of elites , or the enforcement of deference to dictators . They are based on pieces of paper , the Charters of Freedom - the Declaration that asserted our independence , the Constitution that created our government , and the Bill of Rights that established our liberties . ''

neg: Texas annexation The Texas annexation was the 1845 incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States of America , which was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29 , 1845 .   The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico on March 2 , 1836 . At the time the vast majority of the Texian population favored the annexation of the Republic by the United States . The leadership of both major American political parties , the Democrats and the Whigs , opposed the introduction of Texas , a vast slave-holding region , into the volatile political climate of the pro- and anti-slavery sectional controversies in Congress . Moreover , they wished to avoid a war with Mexico , whose government refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of its rebellious northern province . With Texas 's economic fortunes declining by the early 1840s , the President of the Texas Republic , Sam Houston , arranged talks with Mexico to explore the possibility of securing official recognition of independence , with Great Britain mediating .   In 1843 , U.S. President John Tyler , unaligned with any political party , decided independently to pursue the annexation of Texas in a bid to gain a base of popular support for another four years in office . His official motivation was to outmaneuver suspected diplomatic efforts by the British government for emancipation of slaves in Texas , which would undermine slavery in the United States . Through secret negotiations with the Houston administration , Tyler secured a treaty of annexation in April 1844 . When the documents were submitted to the US Senate for ratification , the details of the terms of annexation became public and the question of acquiring Texas took center stage in the presidential election of 1844 .  Pro-Texas-annexation southern Democratic delegates denied their anti-annexation leader Martin Van Buren the nomination at their party 's convention in May 1844 . In alliance with pro-expansion northern Democratic colleagues , they secured the nomination of James K. Polk , who ran on a pro-Texas Manifest Destiny platform .   In June 1844 , the Senate , with its Whig majority , soundly rejected the Tyler -- Texas treaty . The pro-annexation Democrat Polk narrowly defeated anti-annexation Whig Henry Clay in the November 1844 presidential election . In December 1844 , lame-duck President Tyler called on Congress to pass his treaty by simple majorities in each house . The Democratic-dominated House of Representatives complied with his request by passing an amended bill expanding on the pro-slavery provisions of the Tyler treaty . The Senate narrowly passed a compromise version of the House bill ( by the vote of the minority Democrats and several southern Whigs ) , designed to provide the incoming President-elect Polk the options of immediate annexation of Texas or new talks to revise the annexation terms of the House-amended bill .   On March 1 , 1845 , President Tyler signed the annexation bill , and on March 3 ( his last day in office ) , he forwarded the House version to Texas , offering immediate annexation ( which preempted Polk ) . When Polk took office the next day , he encouraged Texas to accept the Tyler offer . Texas ratified the agreement with popular approval from Texans . The bill was signed by Polk on December 29 , 1845 , accepting Texas as the 28th state of the Union . Texas formally relinquished its sovereignty to the United States on February 19 , 1846 .

neg: Opposition to the War of 1812 in the United States Opposition to the War of 1812 was widespread in the United States , especially in New England . Many New Englanders opposed the conflict on political , economic , and religious grounds .   When embargo failed to remedy the situation and Great Britain refused to rescind the Orders in Council ( 1807 ) and France continued its decrees , certain Democratic-Republicans known as war hawks felt compelled to go to war . Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun pushed a declaration of war through Congress , stressing a short war had the added benefit of permitting the United States to grab valuable farmlands in the British colony of Canada . Vehement protests erupted in those parts of the country where the opposition Federalist political party held sway , especially in Connecticut and Massachusetts . The governors of these two states as well as Rhode Island refused to place their state militias under federal control for duty outside of their respective states . In the elections that followed in a few months , some members of Congress who voted for war , paid the price . Eight New England congressmen were rejected by the voters , and several others saw the writing on the wall and declined to seek reelection . There was a complete turnover of the New Hampshire delegation .

neg: Copperhead (politics) In the 1860s , the Copperheads comprised a vocal faction of Democrats in the Northern United States of the Union who opposed the American Civil War , wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates . Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats `` Copperheads '' , likening them to the venomous snake . Those Democrats accepted the label , reinterpreting the copper `` head '' as the likeness of Liberty , which they cut from Liberty Head large cent coins and proudly wore as badges . Democratic supporters of the war , by contrast , were called War Democrats .   The Copperheads represented the more extreme wing of the `` Northern Democrats '' . Notable Copperheads included two Democratic congressmen from Ohio : Clement L. Vallandigham and Alexander Long . Republican prosecutors accused some prominent Copperheads of treason in a series of trials in 1864 .   Copperheadism , a highly contentious , grass-roots movement , had its strongest base in the area just north of the Ohio River , as well as in some urban ethnic wards . Some historians have argued that it represented a traditionalistic element alarmed at the rapid modernization of society sponsored by the Republican Party , and that it looked back to Jacksonian Democracy for inspiration . Weber ( 2006 ) argues that the Copperheads damaged the Union war effort by opposing conscription ( the `` draft '' ) , encouraging desertion , and forming conspiracies , but other historians say that the draft was already in disrepute and that the Republicans greatly exaggerated the conspiracies for partisan reasons .   Historians agree that the Copperheads ' goal of restoring the Union with slavery was naive and impractical , for the Confederates refused to consider giving up their independence . The Copperheads became a major target of the Union ( Republican ) party in the 1864 presidential election . Copperhead support increased when Union armies did poorly , and decreased when they won great victories . After the fall of Atlanta in September 1864 , Union military success seemed assured , and Copperheadism collapsed .

neg: United States elections, 1844 The 1844 United States elections elected the members of the 29th United States Congress , and took place during the Second Party System in the midst of the debate over whether to annex Texas . Texas and Iowa joined the union during the 29th Congress . Democrats retained control of the House and took back control of the Presidency and the Senate , re-establishing the dominant position the party had lost in the 1840 election .   In the Presidential election , Democratic former Speaker of the House James K. Polk defeated Whig former Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky . Though Polk won the popular vote by a little over one percent , he won by a comfortable margin in the electoral college . James G. Birney of the nascent Liberty Party took two percent of the popular vote , and may have swung the election by taking votes from Clay in New York . The little-known Polk defeated several rivals to win his party 's nomination , emerging as the first dark horse nominee in U.S. presidential history . Incumbent President John Tyler , who had been expelled from the Whig party early in his presidency , was briefly the candidate of the newly formed Democratic-Republican Party , but dropped out of the race after Polk announced his support for ratification of Tyler 's Texas annexation treaty .   In the House , Whigs picked up a small number of seats , but Democrats retained a commanding majority .   In the Senate , Democrats picked up several seats , re-taking the majority .

neg: Faneuil Hall Faneuil Hall ( -LSB- ˈfænjəl -RSB- or -LSB- ˈfænəl -RSB- previously -LSB- ˈfʌnəl -RSB- ) , located near the waterfront and today 's Government Center , in Boston , Massachusetts , has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1743 . It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams , James Otis , and others encouraging independence from Great Britain . Now it is part of Boston National Historical Park and a well-known stop on the Freedom Trail . It is sometimes referred to as `` the Cradle of Liberty '' .   In 2008 , Faneuil Hall was rated number 4 in America 's 25 Most Visited Tourist Sites by Forbes Traveler .

neg: John Lowell John Lowell ( June 17 , 1743 in Newburyport , Massachusetts -- May 6 , 1802 in Roxbury , Massachusetts ) was an American lawyer , selectman , jurist , delegate to the Congress of the Confederation and federal judge .  Known within his family as `` The Old Judge , '' distinguishing him from the proliferation of Johns , John Lowell is considered to be the patriarch of the Boston Lowells . He , with each of his three wives , established three distinct lines of the Lowell clan that , in turn , propagated celebrated poets , authors , jurists , educators , merchants , bankers , national heroes , activists , innovators and philanthropists . John Lowell , his descendants , and many other well established New England families defined American life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries .

neg: Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation , formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , was an agreement among the 13 original states of the United States of America that served as its first constitution . Its drafting by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress began on July 12 , 1776 , and an approved version was sent to the states for ratification on November 15 , 1777 . The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1 , 1781 , after being ratified by all 13 states . A guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states . The federal government received only those powers which the colonies had recognized as belonging to king and parliament .   The Articles formed a war-time confederation of states , with an extremely limited central government . Even unratified , the document was used by the Congress to conduct business , direct the American Revolutionary War , conduct diplomacy with foreign nations , and deal with territorial issues and Native American relations . Actually the adoption of the Articles made no perceptible change in the federal government , because it did little more than legalize what the Continental Congress had been doing . That body was now taken over as the Congress of the Confederation ; but Americans continued to call it the Continental Congress , since its organization remained the same .   As the Confederation Congress attempted to govern the continually growing American states , delegates discovered that the limitations placed upon the central government rendered it ineffective at doing so . As the government 's weaknesses became apparent , especially after Shays ' Rebellion , individuals began asking for changes to the Articles . Their hope was to create a stronger national government . Initially , some states met to deal with their trade and economic problems . However , as more states became interested in meeting to change the Articles , a meeting was set in Philadelphia on May 25 , 1787 . This became the Constitutional Convention . It was quickly realized that changes would not work , and instead the entire Articles needed to be replaced . On March 4 , 1789 , the general government under the Articles was replaced with the federal government under the Constitution . The new Constitution provided for a much stronger federal government by establishing a chief executive ( the President ) , courts , and taxing powers .

neg: John Witherspoon John Witherspoon ( February 5 , 1723 -- November 15 , 1794 ) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and a Founding Father of the United States . Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish Common Sense Realism , and while president of the College of New Jersey ( 1768 -- 94 ; now Princeton University ) , became an influential figure in the development of the United States ' national character . Politically active , Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the July 4 , 1776 , Declaration of Independence . He was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration . Later , he signed the Articles of Confederation and supported ratification of the Constitution . In 1789 he was Convening Moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America .

neg: Conscience Whigs The `` Conscience '' Whigs were a faction of the Whig Party in the state of Massachusetts noted for their moral opposition to slavery . They were noted as opponents of the more conservative `` Cotton '' Whigs who dominated the state party , led by such figures as Edward Everett , Robert C. Winthrop , and Abbott Lawrence , whose close association with the New England textile industry led them to de-emphasize the slavery issue . Leaders of the `` Conscience Whigs '' included Charles Sumner , Henry Wilson , and Charles Francis Adams . The group split from the Whig party in 1848 , when the national party nominated the slave-owning General Zachary Taylor for President , and played a role in the creation of the new Free Soil Party , which nominated Adams for Vice President on a ticket with anti-slavery former Democratic President Martin Van Buren .   Following the failure of the Free Soil Party in the election that year , most Conscience Whigs would return to the Whig fold . More followed after the Compromise of 1850 temporarily neutralized the issue of slavery . During the mid 1850s , several Conscience leaders played an important role later in the foundation of the Republican Party .   The term `` Conscience Whig '' is sometimes used more broadly to refer to Whigs in other states noted for their opposition to slavery .


query: Wolverine was a character in Logan.

pos: Logan (film) Logan is a 2017 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine , produced by Marvel Entertainment , TSG Entertainment , and The Donners ' Company , and distributed by 20th Century Fox . It is the tenth installment in the X-Men film series , as well as the third and final Wolverine solo film following X-Men Origins : Wolverine ( 2009 ) and The Wolverine ( 2013 ) , as well serving as a reboot to the franchise and being set in its own universe . The film takes inspiration from `` Old Man Logan '' by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven , which follows an aged Wolverine undertaking a final adventure in a dystopian future .   The film is directed by James Mangold , who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Frank and Michael Green , from a story by Mangold . Hugh Jackman stars as Logan in his final portrayal of the character after having played the role for 17 years , with Patrick Stewart co-starring as Charles Xavier . Richard E. Grant , Boyd Holbrook , Stephen Merchant , Dafne Keen ( in her first film role ) , Eriq La Salle , Elise Neal and Elizabeth Rodriguez are all featured in supporting roles . Principal photography began in Louisiana on May 2 , 2016 and ended on August 19 , 2016 in New Mexico . The locations used for Logan were mainly Louisiana , New Mexico and Mississippi .   Logan premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17 , 2017 , and was theatrically released in the United States on March 3 , 2017 , in standard and IMAX formats . It received praise from critics and audiences , becoming the best-reviewed film in the X-Men film series and being considered by many as one of the best superhero films of all time , and has grossed $ 607 million worldwide against its $ 97 million budget , making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2017 .

neg: Planet X (comics) `` Planet X '' is 2004 storyline published by Marvel Comics that ran from New X-Men # 146-150 . The story is the penultimate arc of Grant Morrison 's run as writer on the X-Men , and features the return of Magneto and the death of Jean Grey again .

neg: Wolverine (comic book) Wolverine is a number of Marvel Comics comic book series starring the X-Men member Wolverine . As of April 2013 , 323 issues and 11 annuals have been published . It is the original flagship title created for the character .

neg: Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in books published by DC Comics . Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino , the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of the , and first appears in Adventure Comics # 247 ( April 1958 ) .   Initially , the team was closely associated with the original Superboy character ( Superman when he was a teenager ) , and was portrayed as a group of time travelers . Later , the Legion 's origin and back story were fleshed out , and the group was given its own monthly comic . Eventually , Superboy was removed from the team altogether and appeared only as an occasional guest star .   The team has undergone two major reboots during its run . The original version was replaced with a new rebooted version following the events of the `` Zero Hour '' storyline in 1994 and another rebooted team was introduced in 2004 . A fourth version of the team , nearly identical to the original version , was introduced in 2007 .

neg: Scarlet Witch Scarlet Witch ( Wanda Maximoff ) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character first appeared in X-Men # 4 ( March 1964 ) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby . The character has since starred in two self-titled limited series with husband the Vision , and has historically been depicted as a regular team member in superhero title The Avengers .   Scarlet Witch has the superhuman ability to alter reality in unspecific ways . In most depictions , she is a mutant , a human born with natural superhuman powers . Originally revealed to be the daughter of the Golden Age superhero Whizzer , it was later established she and her twin brother Quicksilver were the children of X-Men villain Magneto , and the half-siblings of his daughter Polaris . This parentage was their status quo until 2014 , when a further retcon revealed that she and Quicksilver were in fact non-mutants who had been kidnapped and experimented on by the High Evolutionary , and then misled to believe that Magneto was their father .   The character was ranked 97th in Wizard 's `` 200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time '' list , 12th in IGN 's list of `` The Top 50 Avengers '' , and 14th in Comics Buyer 's Guide 's `` 100 Sexiest Women in Comics '' list . The character has appeared in other Marvel-endorsed products such as animated films ; arcade and video games ; television series and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards . Elizabeth Olsen portrays Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe .

neg: Hellfire Club (comics) The Hellfire Club is a fictional society appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The Hellfire Club often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team , the X-Men . Although the Club appears to merely be an international social club for wealthy elites , its clandestine Inner Circle seeks to influence world events , in accordance with their own agenda .   Created by the Uncanny X-Men writer/artist duo of Chris Claremont and John Byrne , they were heavily influenced by a 1966 episode of the British television series The Avengers ( `` A Touch of Brimstone '' ) . The name `` Hellfire Club '' in fact has a historical precedent , having been a popular name for gentlemen 's clubs in the 18th century . Additionally , the hierarchy of the Inner Circle is modeled on the pieces of a chess set , with Black and White sets of Kings , Queens , Bishops and Rooks .   The Hellfire Club and its Inner Circle were introduced in `` The Dark Phoenix Saga '' , attempting to subvert the X-Men 's Jean Grey . This incarnation , composed most notably of Black King Sebastian Shaw and White Queen Emma Frost , would remain prominent for many years . After their initial confrontations , the Hellfire Club and the X-Men settled into an uneasy alliance . This eventually changed as endless power struggles perpetuated a series of upheavals within the Inner Circle . The club has appeared in two X-Men animated series ( X-Men : The Animated Series and Wolverine and the X-Men ) , both times being renamed as simply The Inner Circle , due to the hesitations to use the word Hellfire in animated children series . Members of the Hellfire Club appeared in 2011 's X-Men : First Class as the main villains , led by Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost .

neg: Galactus Galactus is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Formerly a mortal man , Galactus is a cosmic entity who originally consumed planets to sustain his life force , and serves a functional role in the upkeep of the primary Marvel continuity . Galactus was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in the comic book Fantastic Four # 48 , published in March 1966 .   Lee and Kirby had desired to introduce a character that broke away from the archetype of the standard villain , culminating in the creation of Galactus . In the character 's first appearance Galactus was depicted as a god-like figure who feeds by draining living planets of their energy , and operates without regard to the morality and judgements of mortal beings . Galactus ' initial origin was that of a space explorer named Galan who gained cosmic abilities by passing near a star , but writer Mark Gruenwald further developed the origin of the character , revealing that Galan lived during the previous universe . As Galan 's universe came to an end , Galan merged with the `` Sentience of the Universe '' to become Galactus , an entity that wielded such cosmic power as to require devouring entire planets to sustain his existence . Additional material written by John Byrne , Jim Starlin , and Louise Simonson explored Galactus ' role and purpose in the Marvel Universe , and examined the actions of the character through themes of genocide , manifest destiny , ethics , and natural/necessary existence . Frequently accompanied by a herald ( such as the Silver Surfer ) , the character has appeared as both antagonist and protagonist in central and supporting roles . Since debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books , Galactus has played a role in over five decades of Marvel continuity .   The character has been featured in other Marvel media , such as arcade games , video games , animated television series , and the 2007 film Fantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surfer .   In 2009 , Galactus ranked 5th on IGN 's list of `` Top 100 Comic Book Villains '' , citing the character 's `` larger than life presence '' as making him one of the more important villains ever created . IGN also noted `` Galactus is one of the few villains on our list to really defy the definition of an evil-doer '' as the character is compelled to destroy worlds because of his hunger .

neg: Dark X-Men The Dark X-Men are a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . They made their debut during the crossover between Dark Avengers and Uncanny X-Men written by Matt Fraction , as part of the broader Dark Reign storyline . Each member but Namor has been handpicked by then -- H.A.M.M.E.R. director Norman Osborn for his own criminal agenda .   The team was never officially called the `` Dark X-Men '' ( which was the name of the comics series , not the team ) . Instead , they were simply called the `` X-Men '' and were a government-sponsored team trying to take advantage of the name recognition of Charles Xavier 's X-Men , to which they had no official connection ( much like Osborn 's Avengers team was pretending to be the real Avengers ) .

neg: Red Guardian The Red Guardian ( Russian : Красный хранитель , Krasnij Khranitel ) is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The Red Guardian is an identity that was created as the Soviet equivalent of Captain America ; since the fall of the Soviet Union , the name is no longer officially used , though at least two people have claimed the name .

neg: Infinite Comics Infinite Comics is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics , featuring original , made-for-digital stories about the company 's superhero characters , including Spider-Man , Wolverine , the Guardians of the Galaxy , the Silver Surfer , the X-Men and the Avengers . The imprint was launched in 2012 with the publication of Avengers vs. X-Men # 1 : Infinite featuring Nova .  Infinite Comics are designed for horizontal , on-screen reading . Rather than telling a story over a series of static pages that are divided into panels , Infinite Comics present screens of content that `` take advantage of the digital format with techniques that would not be possible in a print comic , like dynamic panel transitions and captions or dialogue boxes that appear sequentially on an image at the prompting of the reader . '' The user retains control over the pace of the reading experience , advancing the story with each swipe -- sometimes staggering elements into the existing screen ( for example , a new word balloon ) and at other times revealing an entirely new screen .   This narrative technique was inspired by the work of a French comic book artist , Yves Bigerel ( alias `` Balak '' ) , who was recruited by Marvel as artistic consultant , storyboarder and artist .

neg: X-Men Forever X-Men Forever is the name of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring the mutant superhero group the X-Men . The first is a 2001 miniseries , unrelated to the others . The second and third are the work of writer Chris Claremont .

neg: Jake Logan Jake Logan can refer to :  Jake Logan , the main character in Tachyon : The Fringe  Jake Logan , the pen name under which several authors have written Slocum Westerns  Jake Logan ( wrestler ) , an American professional wrestler

neg: X (comics) X , in comics , may refer to :   X ( Dark Horse Comics ) , a character and series by Dark Horse Comics  X ( manga ) , a Japanese manga , also known as X/1999  X ( Marvel Comics ) , a mutant character owned by Marvel Comics

neg: Thor (Marvel Comics) Thor Odinson is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character , based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name , is the Asgardian god of thunder and possesses the enchanted hammer Mjolnir , which grants him the ability of flight and weather manipulation amongst his other superhuman attributes .   Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books , the character first appeared in Journey into Mystery # 83 ( Aug. 1962 ) and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee , scripter Larry Lieber , and penciller-plotter Jack Kirby . He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series , and is a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers , appearing in each volume of that series . The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series , clothing , toys , trading cards , video games , and movies .   The character was first portrayed in live action by Eric Allan Kramer in the 1988 television movie The Incredible Hulk Returns . Chris Hemsworth portrays Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor , The Avengers , Thor : The Dark World and Avengers : Age of Ultron and will reprise his role in Thor : Ragnarok , Avengers : Infinity War , and its untitled sequel . Thor placed 14th on IGN 's list of `` Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time '' in 2011 , and first in their list of `` The Top 50 Avengers '' in 2012 .

neg: X-Men (TV series) X-Men , also known as X-Men : The Animated Series , is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31 , 1992 , in the United States on the Fox Network , as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup . X-Men was Marvel Comics ' second attempt at an animated X-Men TV series after the pilot , X-Men : Pryde of the X-Men , was not picked up .

neg: X-Cell X-Cell is a terrorist organization in the Marvel Comics universe .

neg: Ultimate Nick Fury General Nicholas Joseph `` Nick '' Fury is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics ' Ultimate Marvel section as a different version of Nick Fury . He has a substantial presence in all the Ultimate Marvel comics , appearing first in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up and Ultimate X-Men and later reappearing regularly in Ultimate Spider-Man and finally securing a regular , recurring role as the general of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the leader of the Ultimates , a re-imagining of the Avengers . His character was redesigned to look like Samuel L. Jackson , the actor who later went on to portray Nick Fury in several Marvel movies and television shows set in the established Marvel Cinematic Universe .

neg: Avengers vs. X-Men Avengers vs. X-Men ( abbreviated AvX and AvsX ) is a 2012 crossover event that was featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics . The event , consisting of an eponymous limited series and numerous tie-in books , involves the return of the Phoenix Force and the subsequent war between the Avengers and the X-Men . The 12-issue twice-monthly series was first published in April 2012 , and features a storyline by Jason Aaron , Brian Michael Bendis , Ed Brubaker , Jonathan Hickman and Matt Fraction , with a rotating team of artists including John Romita , Jr. , Olivier Coipel and Adam Kubert .   The event was preceded by the four-issue limited series Avengers : X-Sanction by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness and Avengers vs. X-Men # 0 . Avengers vs. X-Men also ties into the limited series AVX : VS , described as `` the fight book '' which expands upon many of the one-on-one battles featured in the main series , the digital series ; Avengers vs. X-Men : Infinite , and into a number of ongoing series including Avengers , Avengers Academy , New Avengers , Secret Avengers , Uncanny X-Men , Wolverine and the X-Men and X-Men : Legacy . The event was succeeded by the limited series AvX : Consequences .   Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics , Avengers vs. X-Men was a commercial success that topped the comic-book sales charts from April to October 2012 . The repercussions of the storyline resulted in the new status quos of the Marvel Universe presented in the company 's Marvel NOW ! relaunch initiative .

neg: Events from the Modern Age of Comic Books One of the key aspects of the Modern Age of Comic Books was that it was the beginning of big events . In 1984 , Marvel Comics debuted the first large crossover , Secret Wars , a storyline featuring the company 's most prolific superheroes , which overlapped into a 12-issue limited series and many monthly comic books . A year later , DC Comics introduced its first large scale crossover , Crisis on Infinite Earths , which had long-term effects on the `` DC Universe '' continuity .   In the early and mid-1990s , big events were regularly published by Marvel and DC , often leading to extra publicity and sales . These events helped fend-off competition from Image Comics , and such events were more likely to become `` collector 's items . '' Some events , such as DC 's `` Zero Hour '' and Marvel 's `` Onslaught saga '' spanned a publisher 's entire line while others only affected a `` family '' of interrelated titles . The X-Men and Batman franchises featured crossovers almost annually .   Some of the most significant mid-1990s events , such as Spider-Man 's `` Clone Saga , '' Batman 's `` Batman : Knightfall '' and particularly , `` The Death of Superman '' caused dramatic changes to long-running characters and received coverage in the mainstream media .   These events led to significant sales boosts and publicity , but many fans began to criticize them as excessive and lacking compelling storytelling . They also complained that monthly series had become inaccessible because one had to follow a number of comics to understand the full storyline . By the end of the 1990s , the number of large crossovers decreased , but they were still launched sporadically .

neg: Foxfire (comics) Foxfire is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character appeared in the original Squadron Supreme series .

neg: Captain Logan Captain Logan ( c. 1774 -- ~ 25 November 1812 ) was a scout during the War of 1812 , serving under General William Henry Harrison . There exist two apparently conflicting theories regarding Captain Logan 's identity :  Was Captain Logan 's first name James or John ?  Was Captain Logan half Native American plus half European ancestry ( in the James theory ) or was Captain Logan a full-blooded Shawnee ( in the Johnny theory ) ?   The James theory is relayed by 19th-century descendants of Robert Renick Sr. , who would be Captain Logan 's grandfather under one theory , or by first-hand acquaintances of Captain Logan . Hence , the James theory would seem to be more direct knowledge .   The Johnny theory derives from 20th-century sources who are not biologically related to Captain Logan . Hence , the Johnny theory might be from more-indirect knowledge . The novelist Allan W. Eckert 's ( partially fictionalized ) novelization of Captain Logan further popularized the Johnny theory by referring to Captain Logan as Captain Johnny . Both of these theories are presented below , because of the conflicting evidence that has become institutionalized by various historians .   Once Captain Logan became famous as a scout under General Harrison , the two identities converge without conflict from that point onward .


query: Kobe Bryant was given the regular season's MVP Award in 2008.

pos: Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( born August 23 , 1978 ) is an American retired professional basketball player and businessman . He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers . Bryant is an 18-time All-Star , 15-time member of the All-NBA Team , and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team . He led the NBA in scoring during two seasons , and ranks third on the league 's all-time regular season scoring and fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list . He holds the NBA record for the most seasons playing with one franchise for an entire career .   The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant , Kobe Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania , where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country . He declared for the NBA draft upon graduation , and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets , who traded him to the Lakers . As a rookie , Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest , and he was named an All-Star by his second season . Despite a feud between them , Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002 .   In 2003 , Bryant was accused of sexual assault in Colorado , but the charges were eventually dropped , and a civil suit was settled out of court . After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals , O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat . Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers , and he led the NBA in scoring during the 2005 -- 06 and 2006 -- 07 seasons . In 2006 , he scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors , the second most points scored in a single game in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain 's 100-point game in 1962 . Bryant was awarded the regular season 's Most Valuable Player Award ( MVP ) in 2008 . After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals , he led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010 , earning the Finals MVP Award on both occasions . He continued to be among the top players in the league through 2013 , when the 34-year-old Bryant suffered a torn Achilles tendon . Although he recovered , his play was limited the following two years by season-ending injuries to his knee and shoulder , respectively . Citing his physical decline , he announced that he would be retiring after the 2015 -- 16 season .   At 34 years and 104 days of age , Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points . He became the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1 , 2010 , when he surpassed Jerry West . Following his second year in the league , Bryant was chosen to start every All-Star Game until his retirement for a record 18 consecutive appearances , and his four All-Star MVP Awards are tied for the most in NBA history . At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics , he won gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team . Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the top NBA player of the 2000s .

neg: Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles . The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) , as a member of the league 's Western Conference Pacific Division . The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center , an arena shared with the NBA 's Los Angeles Clippers , the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women 's National Basketball Association , and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League . The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA , and have won 16 NBA championships , their last being in 2010 . As of 2015 , the Lakers are the second most valuable franchise in the NBA according to Forbes , having an estimated value of $ 2.7 billion .   The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team , the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League ( NBL ) . The new team began playing in Minneapolis , calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers in honor of the state 's nickname , `` Land of 10,000 Lakes '' . Initially a member of the NBL , the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America and winning five of the next six BAA and NBA championships in Minneapolis after the NBA formed in 1949 . The team was propelled by center George Mikan , who is described by the NBA 's official website as the league 's `` first superstar '' . After struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikan 's retirement , they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960 -- 61 season .   Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West , Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s , but lost each series to the Boston Celtics , beginning their long and storied rivalry . In 1968 , the Lakers acquired four-time NBA Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) Wilt Chamberlain to play center , and after losing in the Finals in 1969 and 1970 , they won their sixth NBA title -- and first in Los Angeles -- in 1972 , led by new head coach Bill Sharman . After the retirement of West and Chamberlain , the team acquired another center , Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , who had won multiple MVP awards , but was unable to make the Finals in the late 1970s . The 1980s Lakers were nicknamed `` Showtime '' due to their Magic Johnson-led fast break-offense , and won five championships in a 9-year span , including their first ever Finals championship against the Celtics in 1985 . This team featured Hall of Famers in Johnson , Abdul-Jabbar , and James Worthy , and a Hall of Fame coach , Pat Riley . After Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson 's retirement , the team struggled in the early 1990s before acquiring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 1996 . Led by O'Neal , Bryant , and another Hall of Fame coach , Phil Jackson , Los Angeles won three consecutive titles between 2000 to 2002 , securing the franchise its second `` three-peat '' . After losing both the 2004 and 2008 NBA Finals , the Lakers won two more championships by defeating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and Boston in 2010 .   The Lakers hold the record for NBA 's longest winning streak , 33 straight games , set during the 1971 -- 72 season . 21 Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles , while four have coached the team . Four Lakers -- Abdul-Jabbar , Johnson , O'Neal , and Bryant -- have won the NBA MVP Award for a total of eight awards .

neg: EuroCup Basketball MVP The EuroCup Basketball MVP is the yearly MVP award that is awarded by the 2nd-tier level professional basketball league in Europe , the EuroCup Basketball League , which is the pan-European professional basketball league that is one tier level below the top-tier EuroLeague .   The EuroCup Basketball MVP award began with the EuroCup Basketball 2008 -- 09 season .

neg: 2002 NBA Finals The 2002 NBA Finals was the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) 's championship series for the 2001 -- 02 season . The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers ( who were also two-time defending NBA champions ) , and the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets . The Lakers swept the Nets four games to none to win the franchise 's 14th NBA championship . The 56th edition of the championship series was played between June 5 and June 12 and was broadcast on NBC -- the ( to date ) last NBA games broadcast on the network .   Shaquille O'Neal , who averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds in the Finals , was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player . Lakers coach Phil Jackson won his ninth ring , tying him with Red Auerbach for most all-time . During the series , he surpassed Pat Riley for most career playoffs wins with 156 .   Will Lyman narrated the season-ending documentary for NBA Entertainment .

neg: Joe Bryant Joseph Washington `` Jellybean '' Bryant ( born October 19 , 1954 ) is an American retired professional basketball player , current coach , and the father of former Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant . Bryant was the head coach of the WNBA 's Los Angeles Sparks from August 22 , 2005 until April 4 , 2007 . He returned to that position after Jennifer Gillom was fired by the Los Angeles Sparks on July 10 , 2011 . Bryant has also coached in Italy , Japan and Thailand .

neg: 2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers season The 2001 -- 02 NBA season was the Lakers ' 54th season in the National Basketball Association , and 42nd in the city of Los Angeles . During the offseason , the Lakers signed All-Star guard Mitch Richmond and free agent Samaki Walker , while acquiring Lindsey Hunter from the Milwaukee Bucks . The team got off to a fast start winning 16 of their first 17 games , and finished second in the Pacific Division with a 58 -- 24 record . Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game in which Bryant won MVP honors , but O'Neal did not participate in the All-Star game due to an injury .   After sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers 3 -- 0 in the first round of the playoffs , then defeating the San Antonio Spurs 4 -- 1 in the semifinals , the Lakers where pushed to the brink once more in the Western Conference Finals by their archrivals the Sacramento Kings , who they narrowly defeated in a deciding seventh game . They then went on to win the NBA Finals , defeating and sweeping the New Jersey Nets in four straight games for their second three-peat in franchise history , the first since 1952 -- 54 . Following the season , Richmond retired and Hunter was traded to the Toronto Raptors .   This would be the third and final consecutive NBA Championship the Lakers won in the early 2000s , as in the next season , their quest for a fourth consecutive NBA Championship ended with a playoff elimination by the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the semifinals , who would then go on to win the NBA Finals that season and their second NBA Championship . Although the Lakers returned to the Finals in 2004 , the Lakers would lose to the Detroit Pistons in five games , despite being the heavy favorites to win and having former All-Stars and veterans Gary Payton and Karl Malone , leading to O'Neal 's departure from the Lakers amidst boiling points between the Lakers staff and management and Kobe Bryant , culminating in his trade to the Miami Heat , ending the early 2000s Lakers dynasty . The Lakers would not win another title until 2009 , in which they defeated the Orlando Magic in five games .

neg: NBA Community Assist Award The National Basketball Association awards the Community Assist Award for community engagement , philanthropic activity , and charity work . It is a monthly award , but season and offseason awards have also been given . In some cases multiple awards have been given in the same month . The award is sponsored by Kia Motors and is part of the NBA Cares program .  In the 2012 -- 13 NBA season the season long award was accompanied by a $ 25,000 donation from Kia and the NBA to a charity of the recipients choice .

neg: Big Eight Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Big Eight Conference Men 's Basketball Player of the Year was an annual basketball award given to the Big Eight Conference 's most outstanding player . The award was first given following the 1956 -- 57 season and concluded after the 1995 -- 96 season ( the Big Eight disbanded and was re-formed into the present day Big 12 Conference ) . From 1960 through 1967 no award was given out . Wayman Tisdale of Oklahoma and Danny Manning of Kansas are the only players to have received the award three times . Manning was also the consensus National Player of the Year in 1988 . Six other players won the award twice , last performed by Bryant Reeves of Oklahoma State ( 1993/95 ) .   Missouri claimed the most winners with eight , followed by Kansas , Kansas State and Oklahoma with seven apiece .

neg: Philippine Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award The Philippine Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) is an annual Philippine Basketball Association ( PBA ) award given to the player ( s ) voted best of the annual All-Star Game .

neg: 2003 NBA All-Star Game The 2003 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 9 , 2003 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta , home of the Atlanta Hawks . This game was the 52nd edition of the North American National Basketball Association ( NBA ) All-Star Game and was played during the 2002 -- 03 NBA season .   The West defeated the East 155-145 in double overtime , with Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves winning the Most Valuable Player . Garnett scored 37 points , grabbed 9 rebounds , and had 5 steals . Allen Iverson led the East with 35 points .   This was the first All-Star Game to be transmitted on cable television , through TNT . This was also the 14th and final All-Star Game that Michael Jordan participated in , as a result of his final retirement after the 2002 -- 03 season .

neg: Three-peat Three-peat is a term used primarily in American sports to refer to winning three consecutive championships . The term , a portmanteau of the words three and repeat , originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association , during their unsuccessful campaign for a third consecutive championship during the 1988 -- 89 season , having won the previous 2 NBA Finals in 1987 and 1988 against the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons , but were swept by the Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals . The term is a registered trademark owned by Hardo Beers , the Lakers ' Hardo strength coach from 1981 -- 1990 , although it was coined by L.A. player Byron Scott immediately after their victorious championship defense against the Detroit Pistons in the 1988 NBA Finals .

neg: 2008 Chicago Bears season The 2008 Chicago Bears season was the franchise 's 89th regular season in the National Football League . They finished the 2008 season with a 9 -- 7 record , improving upon their 7 -- 9 record from the 2007 season . The Bears failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season .

neg: Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton ( born July 23 , 1968 ) is an American former professional basketball player . He started at the point guard position . He is best known for his 13-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics , and holds Seattle franchise records in points , assists , and steals . He also played with the Milwaukee Bucks , Los Angeles Lakers , Boston Celtics and Miami Heat , the last with whom he won an NBA championship . He was nicknamed `` The Glove '' for his excellent defensive ability . He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on September 8 , 2013 .   Payton is widely considered one of the best point guards of all time and is the only point guard that has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award . He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team nine times , an NBA record he shares with Michael Jordan , Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant . He was also a nine-time NBA All-Star and a nine-time All-NBA Team member .   Considered the `` NBA 's reigning high scorer among point guards '' in his prime , Payton is referred to as `` probably as complete a guard as there ever was '' by Basketball Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich .

neg: EuroCup Basketball Rising Star The EuroCup Basketball Rising Star is an annual award of EuroCup Basketball , which is the secondary level European-wide professional club basketball league , that is given to the player that EuroCup Basketball deems its `` top rising star '' . The EuroCup Basketball League is the European-wide professional basketball league that is one tier level below the top-tier EuroLeague . The award began in the EuroCup Basketball 2008 -- 09 season .   Only players who were younger than age 22 , on July 1 of the summer before the season started , are eligible for the award .

neg: 2002 NBA All-Star Game The 2002 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 10 , 2002 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia , home of the Philadelphia 76ers . This game was the 51st edition of the North American NBA All-Star Game and was played during the 2001 -- 02 NBA season .   The West defeated the East 135-120 , with Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers winning the Most Valuable Player . Bryant scored 31 points , dished 5 assists , and grabbed 5 rebounds . Tracy McGrady led the way for the East , scoring 25 points off the bench . He also made one of the most memorable plays in All-Star Game history , the self pass off the backboard dunk .   This was also the last All-Star Game to feature players wearing their respective team jerseys , and thus far , the last to be seen on over-the-air television ( all subsequent games have aired on the cable channel TNT ) .

neg: Best Upset ESPY Award The Best Upset ESPY Award was conferred once each in 2004 and 2005 and annually since 2007 to the team in a regular season or playoff game or series contested professionally under the auspices of one of the four major North American leagues or collegiately under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association adjudged to have completed the best , most significant , or most impressive upset in a given calendar year .   In 2004 , award selections were made by fans voting over the Internet or at relevant sporting events from among choices determined by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters , ESPN personalities , and retired sportspersons , whilst since 2005 voting has been undertaken by fans exclusively over the Internet from among choices determined by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee . The ESPY Awards ceremony is conducted in June and awards conferred reflect performance and achievement over the twelve months previous to presentation .

neg: The PBA Leo Awards The PBA Leo Awards , formerly known as the PBA MVP Awards Night ( 1975 -- 1992 ) and PBA Annual Awards ( 1993 -- 2002 ) is an annual awards ceremony of the Philippine Basketball Association to honor the achievements of its players for the season . The winners are awarded with The Leo , named in honor of the league 's first commissioner , Leo Prieto .   The ceremony is usually held before the start of Game 4 of the best-of-seven finals series of the third conference of the season . If the finals series is a best-of-five affair , it is held before Game 3 of the series .

neg: 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings Two human polls made up the 2008 -- 09 NCAA Division I men 's basketball rankings , the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll , in addition to various publications ' preseason polls .

neg: 2008 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team The 2008 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season . It was the 79th season of play for the Mountaineers . The team was led by Jerry Moore , the 2006 Eddie Robinson Award winner for Coach of the Year . It was his 20th season as head coach . The Mountaineers played their home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone , North Carolina .   Appalachian completed a perfect Southern Conference season at 8 -- 0 , and became just the fourth football program in conference history to win four straight conference titles . A quarterfinal playoff loss to the Richmond Spiders ended Appalachian 's season , the quest for four consecutive national titles , and snapped the Mountaineers ' record string of consecutive playoff victories at 13 . Ending the season on a positive note was quarterback Armanti Edwards , who was honored with the Walter Payton Award , given annually to the Division I FCS most outstanding offensive player .

neg: Multiple major sports championship seasons In the history of North American major professional sports league championships ( which include the NFL , MLB , NBA , and NHL ) a city/metropolitan area has been home to multiple championships in a season fifteen times , most recently in 2008-2009 , when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Steelers won their respective leagues , in February and June of 2009 . Only Detroit has been host to more than two major league championship teams in a season , although in 2002 Los Angeles metropolitan area 's Lakers and Angels won the NBA and MLB championships along with two other local teams of smaller leagues ( the Sparks of the WNBA and the Galaxy of the MLS ) .   Super Bowls take place in the February after the NFL 's regular season . The Super Bowl used to be in January . Therefore , Super Bowl I , which took place January 15 , 1967 is officially the championship game for the 1966 season . In the calendar year 2009 , Pittsburgh 's Steelers and Penguins won their respective championships , but the Steelers ' championship was for the NFL 's 2008 regular season . However , before 1965 , the NFL championship game was played in December of that calendar year . That being said , both of those seasons started in 2008 and ended in 2009 . Therefore , Pittsburgh was in fact the most recent city to win multiple championships in the same season .   All four of Philadelphia 's major professional sports teams either played in the championship , or won titles in their respective sports following the 1980 season : The 1980 Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series , the 1980 Philadelphia Eagles lost Super Bowl XV , the 1979-80 Philadelphia 76ers lost the NBA Finals , while the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers lost the Stanley Cup Finals .

neg: 2008 in basketball Tournaments include international ( FIBA ) , professional ( club ) and amateur and collegiate levels .