Timeline: Key Moments in National Guard History 1636: The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to protect the colony — widely recognized as the origin of the National Guard. 1792: Congress passes the Militia Acts, establishing the legal framework for state militias and allowing federal activation in certain emergencies. 1861–1865: During the Civil War,…
TL;DR The National Guard serves both state and federal missions under a unique dual-command structure. Its roots trace back to 1636, but its modern legal structure was shaped in the 20th century. Guardsmen are part-time soldiers who train regularly and respond to both domestic and international missions. Depending on activation status, the Guard operates under…
TL;DR The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the U.S. federal system. It interprets the Constitution and has the final say on federal legal questions. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, but mostly hears appeals. Its decisions set precedent for all lower courts. It serves as a critical check on legislative and…
Pre‑1965 Roots & Antecedents 1789 / Early Republic: Voting qualifications left to states; many restricted voting to white male property owners. 1865–1870: 15th Amendment ratified to prohibit voting discrimination by race; Southern states soon undermined it with poll taxes and literacy tests. 1896 onward: Grandfather clauses and similar tools drastically reduced Black voter registration in…
TL;DR The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 is a landmark civil rights law that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It combines broad prohibitions (Section 2) with special oversight of jurisdictions with historic discrimination (Sections 4 & 5). Over time, key provisions have been narrowed—especially after Shelby County v. Holder (2013). Today, its role is…
Quick Definition: Tariff A tariff is a tax or duty that a government charges on imported goods (and sometimes on exported goods). It is used to raise revenue, protect domestic industries, or influence trade policy. Key points: Tariffs can be ad valorem (a percentage of value) or specific (a fixed amount per unit). The importer…
TL;DR Tariffs are taxes on imported goods imposed by governments. In the U.S., they have been used historically both as a source of revenue and as a tool of protectionism. Over time, the U.S. shifted from high tariffs toward trade liberalization, with modern tariffs now deployed more selectively (e.g. trade remedies, national security). Key turning…
Quick Definition: Chatbot A chatbot is a software application that interacts with users through natural language (text or voice), using predefined rules or AI models to interpret user input and generate responses in conversational form. Key points: Chatbots can be rule-based (scripted flows) or AI-based (powered by NLP/LLMs). They are commonly used in customer support,…
Quick Definition: Large Language Model (LLM) A Large Language Model (LLM) is a form of generative AI model trained on massive corpora of text using self‑supervised learning. It is specialized in tasks involving natural language, such as text generation, summarization, translation, and conversational response. LLMs are typically based on transformer architectures and consist of billions…
Quick Definition: Generative AI Generative AI refers to a class of AI systems designed to produce new content—text, images, audio, video, or other modalities—rather than just analyzing or classifying existing data. These models learn patterns from large datasets and generate novel outputs that follow similar distributions. Key points: Examples include GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks), diffusion…
