2 sec.
* Should not attempt this event

For merit badge a boy under ninety pounds must qualify in seven of the
first nine events; a boy under one hundred and ten pounds must qualify
in ten of the first twelve events; all others must qualify in their
proper class in eleven of the thirteen events.

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Notes

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Notes

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CHAPTER IX

PATRIOTISM AND CITIZENSHIP

_By Waldo H. Sherman,
Author of "Civics--Studies in American Citizenship"_

OUR COUNTRY

America is the home of social, religious, and political liberty--"the
land of the free and the home of the brave."

As a nation, we have always been rich in land, and for this reason
millions of people have sought our shores. We have come into
possession of our territory through treaty, purchase, and annexation.
In speaking of our territorial area we usually speak of the "original
territory" and "additions" to same. When we speak of "original
territory" we mean that part of the United States which was ceded to
us by Great Britain in the peace treaty of 1783, at the close of the
War of the Revolution. This territory, in brief, is described as
follows: East to the Atlantic Ocean, west to the Mississippi River,
north to the Great Lakes and Canada, and as far south as the northern
line of Florida. We sometimes hear it spoken of as the territory of
the "Thirteen Original States," meaning the states that formed the
Government of the Constitution in 1789. However if we look at the map
we shall see that the original territory includes not only the
territory of the thirteen original states, but comprises also land out
of which twelve other states have been formed. Looking at this area
to-day, however, it seems a small part of our country compared with
our present limits.

Additions

_Louisiana Purchase_: What is known as the Louisiana Purchase we bought
from France in 1803. It consisted of 875,025 square miles, for which
we paid $15,000,000. It is described as follows: west of the
Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, north to Canada, and south
to the Gulf of Mexico, exclusive of Texas. This is a territory greater
than the present combined areas of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Hungary,
and the Balkan states.

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_Florida Purchase_: In 1819, we purchased Florida from Spain at a cost
of over $5,000,000, and this single state is larger in territorial
area than the combined territory of Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, and
Switzerland.