Free Essays on Townsend Act

The Townshend Act The Townshend Acts` repeal of the Stamp Act left Britain's financial problems unresolved. Parliament had not given up the right to tax the colonies and in 1767, at the urging of chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend, it passed the Townshend Acts, which imposed taxes on lead, glass, tea, paint, and paper that Americans imported from Britain. In an effort to strengthen its own authority and the power of royal colonial officials, Parliament, at Townshend's request, also created the American Board of Customs Commissioners whose members would strictly enforce the Navigation Acts. Revenue raised by the new tariffs would be used to free royal officials from financial dependence on colonial assemblies, thus further encroaching on colonial autonomy. Once again the colonists protested vigorously. In December 1767,John Dickinson, a Philadelphia lawyer, published 12 popular essays that reiterated the colonists' denial of Parliament's right to tax them and warned of a conspiracy by a corrupt British ministry to enslave Americans. The Sons of Liberty organized protests against customs officials, merchants entered into nonimportation agreements, and the Daughters of Liberty advocated the nonconsumption of products, such as tea, taxed by the Townshend Acts. The Massachusetts legislature sent the other colonies a circular letter condemning the Townshend Acts and calling for a united American resistance. British officials then ordered the dissolution of the Massachusetts General Court if it failed to withdraw its circular letter; the court refused, by a vote of 92 to 17, and was dismissed. The other colonial assemblies, initially reluctant to protest the acts, now defiantly signed the circular letter, outraged at British interference with a colonial legislature.In other ways, British actions again united American protest. The Board of Customs Commissioners extorted money from colonial merchants and use... Free Essays on Townsend Act Free Essays on Townsend Act The Townshend Act The Townshend Acts` repeal of the Stamp Act left Britain's financial problems unresolved. Parliament had not given up the right to tax the colonies and in 1767, at the urging of chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend, it passed the Townshend Acts, which imposed taxes on lead, glass, tea, paint, and paper that Americans imported from Britain. In an effort to strengthen its own authority and the power of royal colonial officials, Parliament, at Townshend's request, also created the American Board of Customs Commissioners whose members would strictly enforce the Navigation Acts. Revenue raised by the new tariffs would be used to free royal officials from financial dependence on colonial assemblies, thus further encroaching on colonial autonomy. Once again the colonists protested vigorously. In December 1767,John Dickinson, a Philadelphia lawyer, published 12 popular essays that reiterated the colonists' denial of Parliament's right to tax them and warned of a conspiracy by a corrupt British ministry to enslave Americans. The Sons of Liberty organized protests against customs officials, merchants entered into nonimportation agreements, and the Daughters of Liberty advocated the nonconsumption of products, such as tea, taxed by the Townshend Acts. The Massachusetts legislature sent the other colonies a circular letter condemning the Townshend Acts and calling for a united American resistance. British officials then ordered the dissolution of the Massachusetts General Court if it failed to withdraw its circular letter; the court refused, by a vote of 92 to 17, and was dismissed. The other colonial assemblies, initially reluctant to protest the acts, now defiantly signed the circular letter, outraged at British interference with a colonial legislature.In other ways, British actions again united American protest. The Board of Customs Commissioners extorted money from colonial merchants and use...

Lanthanides Definition in Chemistry

Lanthanides Definition in Chemistry Below the main body of the periodic table are two rows of elements. These are the lanthanides and the actinides. If you look at the atomic numbers of the elements, youll notice they fit in the spaces below scandium and yttrium. The reason they arent (usually) listed there is because this would make the table too wide to print on paper. Each of these rows of elements has characteristic properties. Key Takeaways: What Are the Lanthanides? The lanthanides are the elements in the top of the two rows located below the main body of the periodic table.While there is disagreement over exactly which elements should be included, many chemists state the lanthanides are elements with atomic numbers 58 through 71.Atoms of these elements are characterized by having a partially filled 4f sublevel.These elements have several names, including the lanthanide series and the rare earth elements. The IUPAC preferred name is actually lanthanoids. Lanthanides Definition The lanthanides are generally considered to be elements with atomic numbers 58-71 (lanthanum to lutetium). The lanthanide series is the group of elements in which the 4f sublevel is being filled. All of these elements are metals (specifically, transition metals). They share several common properties. However, there is some dispute over exactly where the lanthanides begin and end. Technically, either lanthanum or lutetium is a d-block element rather than f-block element. Yet, the two elements share characteristics with other elements in the group. Nomenclature The lanthanides are indicated by the chemical symbol Ln when discussing general lanthanide chemistry. The group of elements actually goes by any of several names: lanthanides, lanthanide series, rare earth metals, rare earth elements, common earth elements, inner transition metals, and lanthanoids. The IUPAC formally prefers the use of the term lanthanoids because the suffix -ide has a specific meaning in chemistry. However, the group acknowledges the term lanthanide predates this decision, so it is generally accepted. Lanthanide Elements The lanthanides are: Lanthanum, atomic number 58Cerium, atomic number 58Praseodymium, atomic number 60Neodymium, atomic number 61Samarium, atomic number 62Europium, atomic number 63Gadolinium, atomic number 64Terbium, atomic number 65Dysprosium, atomic number 66Holmium, atomic number 67Erbium, atomic number 68Thulium, atomic number 69Ytterbium, atomic number 70Lutetium, atomic number 71 General Properties All of the lanthanides are shiny, silver-colored transition metals. Like other transition metals, they form colored solutions, however, lanthanide solutions tend to be pale in color. The lanthanides tend to be soft metals that can be cut with a knife. While the atoms can exhibit any of several oxidation states, the 3 state is most common. The metals are generally quite reactive and form an oxide coating upon exposure to air. Lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, and europium are so reactive they are stored in mineral oil. However, gadolinium and lutetium only slowly tarnish in air. Most lanthanides and their alloys quickly dissolve in acid, ignite in air around 150-200  °C, and react with halogens, sulfur, hydrogen, carbon, or nitrogen upon heating. Elements of the lanthanide series also display a phenomenon called lanthanide contraction. In lanthanide contraction, the 5s and 5p orbitals penetrate into the 4f subshell. Because the 4f subshell is not fully shielded from the effects of the positive nuclear charge, the atomic radius of the lanthanide atoms successively decreasing moving across the periodic table from left to right. (Note: This is, in fact, the general trend for atomic radius moving across the periodic table.) Occurrence in Nature Lanthanide minerals tend to contain all elements within the series. However, the vary according to the abundance of each element. The mineral euxenite contains lanthanides in nearly equal proportions. Monazite contains mainly lighter lanthanides, while xenotime contains mostly heavier lanthanides. Sources Cotton, Simon (2006).  Lanthanide and Actinide Chemistry. John Wiley Sons Ltd.Gray, Theodore (2009). The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. New York: Black Dog Leventhal Publishers. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-57912-814-2.Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. 1230–1242. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8.Krishnamurthy, Nagaiyar and Gupta, Chiranjib Kumar (2004). Extractive Metallurgy of Rare Earths. CRC Press. ISBN 0-415-33340-7.Wells, A. F. (1984). Structural Inorganic Chemistry (5th ed.). Oxford Science Publication. ISBN 978-0-19-855370-0.