The United States Military Academy at West Point (USMA), also known as West Point, Army, The Academy or simply The Point, is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in West Point, New York. The academy, located in Orange County, sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. The Academy traces its roots to 1801, when, shortly after his inauguration, President Thomas Jefferson directed that plans be set in motion to establish at West Point the United States Military Academy. The entire central campus is a national landmark and home to scores of historic sites, buildings, and monuments. The majority of the campus's Norman buildings are constructed from gray and black granite. The campus is a popular tourist destination complete with a large visitor center and the oldest museum in the United States Army.

Candidates for admission must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a member of Congress or Delegate/Resident Commissioner in the case of Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. Other nomination sources include the President and Vice President of the United States. Students are officers-in-training and are referred to as "cadets" or collectively as the "United States Corps of Cadets" (USCC). Tuition for cadets is fully funded by the Army in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation. Approximately 1,300 cadets enter the Academy each July, with about 1,000 cadets graduating.

Coordinates: 40°N 100°W / 40°N 100°W / 40; -100

The United States of America (USA), commonly referred to as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a federal republic composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major territories and various possessions. The 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwestern part of North America and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. At 3.8 million square miles (9.842 million km²) and with over 320 million people, the country is the world's third or fourth-largest by total area and the third most populous. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The geography and climate of the United States are also extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife.

The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (where the nation's seat of government–Washington, D.C.–is located), five major territories, and various possessions. The 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwestern part of North America (also bordering Canada) and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

States are the primary subdivisions of the United States, and possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, such as regulating intrastate commerce, running elections, creating local governments, and ratifying constitutional amendments. Each state has its own constitution, grounded in republican principles, and government, consisting of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. All states and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state is represented by two Senators, while Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census. Additionally, each state is entitled to select a number of electors to vote in the Electoral College, the body that elects the President of the United States, equal to the total of Representatives and Senators in Congress from that state.Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50. Each new state has been admitted on an equal footing with the existing states.

United States usually refers to the United States of America, a country in North America.

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Countries

Historical

A military academy or service academy (in American English) is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, marine corps, air force or coast guard. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.

Three types of academy exist: high school-level institutions awarding academic qualifications, university-level institutions awarding bachelor's degree level qualification, and those preparing officer cadets for commissioning into the armed services of the state.

History

The first military academies were established in the 18th century to provide future officers for technically specialized corps, such as engineers and artillery, with scientific training.

The Royal Danish Naval Academy was set up in 1701, making it the oldest military academy, to existing in the world. The Royal Military Academy, Woolwich was set up in 1720 as the earliest military academy in Britain. Its original purpose was to train cadets entering the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. In France, the École Royale du Génie at Mézières was founded in 1748, followed by a non-technical academy in 1751, the École Royale Militaire offering a general military education to the nobility. French military academies were widely copied in Prussia, Austria, Russia and even minor powers, including Turin and the Kingdom of Savoy, in the late 18th century.

Military Academy is an American drama film directed by D. Ross Lederman, scripted by Karl Brown and David Silverstein from a story by Richard English and released as a low-budget programmer by Columbia Pictures on August 6, 1940. It is one of numerous military-school or patriotic-adventure-themed, quickly-produced second features for a primarily juvenile audience, which every studio rushed before the cameras following the September 1939 outbreak of war in Europe and, subsequently, the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, passed by Congress on September 14 and signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on September 16.

Starting in November 1939 with Warners' On Dress Parade, which became better known as The Dead End Kids on Dress Parade, virtually all male adolescents working in Hollywood were put through their on-screen paces. Tommy Kelly and Jackie Moran who had starred as Tom and Huck in 1938's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer appeared in Military Academy and 1939's The Spirit of Culver, respectively. Culver, another version of the military-school classic, Tom Brown of Culver, starred former child stars Jackie Cooper and Freddie Bartholomew, who were also being cast in other similar productions. Bartholomew's next titles, in fact, were Naval Academy, Cadets on Parade and Junior Army.

The Military Academy (AM; Academia Militar in Portuguese) is a Portuguese military establishment, which has the ability to confer educational qualifications equivalent to a university. It develops activities of teaching, research and support for the communities with the purpose of training and forming officers for the Portuguese Army and the Republican National Guard.

History

The Military Academy has this designation since 1959, but the first such establishment occurred in 1640 when the Military Higher Education was created.

Campus

Currently, the Portuguese Military Academy is located in two different barracks, a main one in Lisbon' Bemposta Palace and a detachment in Amadora.

Academics

Army graduation programs