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Article

An article is a type of determiner in grammar that precedes a noun or noun phrase to specify its definiteness, indicating whether the referent is identifiable or specific to the discourse context.^[1]^[2] In languages featuring articles, such as English, the definite article "the" denotes a particular or previously mentioned entity assumed to be known by the listener, while indefinite articles "a" and "an" (the latter used before vowel-initial nouns) introduce non-specific or novel referents.^[3]^[4] Articles thus encode pragmatic information about reference and uniqueness, with cross-linguistic variation including the absence of articles in some languages or additional forms like partitive or negative articles in others.^[5] A zero article may apply in English to nonspecific plurals or mass nouns, as in "dogs bark" versus "the dog barks."^[4] This system facilitates precise communication by distinguishing identifiable from generic or existential noun uses, though acquisition and usage present challenges for non-native speakers due to context-dependent rules.^[3]

Etymology and General Definition

Historical Origins and Evolution

The English word "article" originates from the Latin articulus, a diminutive form of artus ("joint" or "limb"), denoting a small joint, knuckle, or connecting segment of a larger structure. This etymon traces to Proto-Indo-European *ar- ("to fit together"), evoking the idea of articulated components forming a cohesive whole, as seen in classical Latin usage from the 1st century BCE onward.^[6]^[7] By the 12th century, the term entered Old French as article, retaining connotations of a distinct part or division, before borrowing into Middle English around 1225, as evidenced in early texts like Ancrene Riwle, where it signified an item, clause, or separate element in a sequence or enumeration.^[8]^[6] Initial applications emphasized division into manageable units, such as points in agreements or lists, aligning with its joint-like root in conceptualizing structured wholes.^[9] In the 15th and 16th centuries, "article" gained traction in English legal and documentary contexts to denote enumerated provisions, as in references to the structured clauses of foundational charters; for instance, the 1215 Magna Carta's 63 Latin capitula (chapters) were later analogized in English as "articles" to highlight their role as pivotal, interconnected segments of governance.^[10] By the 18th century, usage had solidified in formal writings, with grammarian Robert Lowth's 1762 Short Introduction to English Grammar exemplifying its application to linguistic division, though the term's core sense of discrete yet linked parts persisted across domains.^[11] This evolution underscores a consistent semantic thread from physical joints to abstract subdivisions, driven by the need to parse complex systems into verifiable components.^[6]

Core Meanings Across Contexts

The noun "article" denotes a distinct, often numbered, section or clause within a larger document, composition, or system, serving as a particular item or stipulation that contributes to the whole.^[7] This primary meaning, documented in the Oxford English Dictionary's entry compiled from quotations dating to the 14th century onward, emphasizes separation and particularity, as in "a separate clause" or "an item in a series."^[8] The OED, with its initial fascicles published starting in 1884, lists 22 senses for the term, many revolving around this notion of discrete components integrated into broader structures, excluding obsolete or specialized variants.^[8] This core denotation enables the causal partitioning of complex entities into verifiable units, reducing referential ambiguity by allowing precise identification and application of individual elements relative to their containing framework. For instance, in formal enumerations, articles function as bounded particulars that maintain internal coherence while permitting modular examination or enforcement, a mechanism rooted in the term's Latin origin from articulus (a small joint or division).^[7] Such division aligns with empirical needs for delineating causal chains within wholes, as undifferentiated aggregates hinder accurate description and interaction; historical dictionary evidence confirms this utility persists across non-domain-specific uses, predating modern contexts by centuries.^[8] From a first-principles perspective informed by linguistic evolution, the term's endurance reflects human cognition's imperative to segment continuous reality into discrete, observable parts for reliable communication and reasoning, rather than arbitrary impositions. Dictionaries like Merriam-Webster corroborate this by defining articles as "stipulations in a document," underscoring their role in enforcing specificity without conflating adjacent elements.^[7] This segmentation avoids the pitfalls of holistic vagueness, as evidenced by the term's consistent application in enumerative lists since at least the 1300s, where it denotes countable singularities within multiplicities.^[8]

Linguistic and Grammatical Usage

Function and Types in English

In English grammar, articles serve as determiners that precede nouns or noun phrases to indicate whether the referent is definite (specific and identifiable) or indefinite (general or newly introduced).^[12]^[13] This functional role helps resolve referential ambiguity by signaling to the listener or reader the scope of the noun's reference within the discourse context, thereby facilitating efficient comprehension without relying solely on contextual inference.^[14] Empirical analysis from corpus linguistics confirms their centrality: in representative samples of contemporary English, such as the British National Corpus (a 100-million-word collection spanning written and spoken genres), articles collectively account for 7-8% of all word tokens, with "the" alone comprising over 6%, underscoring their non-dispensable status in standard usage patterns.^[15] The definite article "the" applies to singular, plural, countable, or uncountable nouns when the referent is unique, previously mentioned, or contextually specified, as in "the book on the table" where prior context identifies the particular item.^[12]^[16] It evolved from Old English demonstrative forms like sē, adapting over centuries to mark shared knowledge between speaker and addressee, a process evidenced in historical texts from the 9th century onward. In contrast, indefinite articles introduce non-specific or first-mention referents: "a" precedes nouns with initial consonant sounds (e.g., "a cat"), while "an" precedes those with vowel sounds (e.g., "an apple"), a phonetic distinction rooted in Old English ān ("one"), with the vowel-form preference solidifying by the 14th century to ease articulation and prosody.^[17]^[18] Linguistic research highlights articles' causal contribution to precision: by encoding definiteness, they minimize interpretive errors in reference tracking, as psycholinguistic experiments show that their presence reduces processing time for ambiguous noun phrases compared to bare nouns, which demand greater reliance on surrounding context.^[19] Proposals in some language reform efforts—often framed under accessibility or simplification—to treat articles as optional or reducible (e.g., in pared-down variants for non-native speakers or plain-language guidelines) overlook this evidence, as corpus-derived frequencies and parsing studies indicate that such omissions elevate ambiguity resolution costs without enhancing semantic truth or inclusivity, potentially hindering rather than aiding communication clarity.^[20]^[19]

Comparative Usage in Other Languages

Many languages worldwide lack definite and indefinite articles, relying instead on contextual cues, word order, or possessive constructions to convey definiteness and specificity. According to typological surveys, approximately 198 languages exhibit no articles of either type, with higher concentrations in regions such as the Americas (excluding Mexico and Central America) and parts of Asia.^[21] Examples include Mandarin Chinese, which uses classifiers and context for reference; Russian, a Slavic language where definiteness emerges from verb aspect, adverbials, or prior discourse; and Japanese, which employs particles and topicalization markers like wa.^[22] Speakers of these languages process referential ambiguity without apparent cognitive impairments, as evidenced by cross-linguistic experiments demonstrating comparable comprehension speeds and error rates in tasks involving definite reference resolution when adjusted for structural differences.^[23] In contrast, Indo-European languages with articles show evolutionary derivations from demonstratives or numerals, underscoring their non-universal emergence as adaptations to inflectional loss. Romance languages developed definite articles from the Latin distal demonstrative ille ("that"), with semantic bleaching occurring in Vulgar Latin by the early centuries CE; for instance, French le/la and Spanish el/la trace directly to accusative and nominative forms of ille.^[24] Indefinite articles in these languages arose from the numeral unus ("one"). Germanic languages followed a parallel path, with definite articles evolving from Proto-Germanic demonstratives like sa/sō/þat, which in Old English appeared as se/sēo/þæt and solidified into obligatory usage amid case system erosion by Middle English, enhancing referential precision in increasingly analytic syntax.^[25] These grammatical features align with information-theoretic principles, where explicit markers like articles introduce redundancy to minimize referential uncertainty—reducing effective Shannon entropy in message transmission compared to context-dependent systems. In analytic languages such as English, articles lower average bits per referent by disambiguating nouns early in utterances, facilitating efficient decoding under noisy or incomplete contexts, as quantified in entropy estimates for English around 1-2 bits per word after grammatical constraints.^[26] This contrasts with article-less languages, where higher reliance on inference trades syntactic explicitness for contextual economy, without compromising overall communicative throughput in native processing.^[27]

Publishing and Journalism

Definition and Structural Elements

In publishing and journalism, an article constitutes a discrete unit of non-fiction prose, generally spanning 500 to 5,000 words, designed to inform on specific events, issues, or topics through factual reporting rather than narrative embellishment.^[28]^[29] This format prioritizes verifiable details over stylistic flourishes, adhering to principles of objectivity and brevity as outlined in professional style guides.^[30] Structurally, articles typically comprise a lead paragraph encapsulating the most critical information—who, what, when, where, why, and how—followed by a body elaborating in descending order of significance, and a brief conclusion synthesizing implications without introducing new facts.^[28] Essential components include the byline, crediting the author or reporting team; the dateline, denoting the story's origin location and publication date; and, in news contexts, the inverted pyramid arrangement, which places core facts upfront to accommodate editorial trimming or transmission interruptions.^[28] This pyramid structure emerged in the 1840s amid telegraph limitations, enabling reporters to transmit summaries first during events like the Mexican-American War, with full details appended if connections held.^[31]^[32] The Associated Press Stylebook, influential since its formalization in the mid-20th century, codifies these elements for consistency, emphasizing active voice, precise attribution, and avoidance of unsubstantiated claims to enhance readability and reliability.^[33] While over 85% of U.S. adults consume news digitally—predominantly via article-based formats on websites and apps—the verifiability of content hinges on primary sourcing and cross-checks, as aggregated analytics from 2023 onward reveal variability in factual adherence across platforms.^[34]^[35]

Historical Development and Types

The structured article as a journalistic form emerged in Europe during the early 17th century, evolving from irregularly printed newsbooks and broadsides—single-sheet publications that compiled foreign dispatches, local happenings, and commercial intelligence into short, serialized reports.^[36] These precursors to modern articles prioritized factual aggregation over narrative depth, driven by advances in movable-type printing that enabled repeatable dissemination amid rising literacy and trade demands.^[37] Technological and economic innovations accelerated article proliferation in the 19th century, particularly with the penny press in the United States. The New York Sun, launched on September 3, 1833, by Benjamin Day, sold for one cent—affordable to laborers—relying on steam-powered presses and sensational, human-interest stories to achieve circulations exceeding 15,000 daily copies within months, compared to prior six-cent papers' elite readership of under 5,000.^[38] This model emphasized concise, accessible articles on crime, scandals, and urban life, fostering mass-market journalism and influencing global practices by prioritizing volume and reader appeal over partisan subsidies.^[39] Journalistic articles categorize into distinct types based on purpose and style: news articles deliver timely, objective factual accounts of events using the inverted pyramid structure for brevity and verifiability; feature articles extend into narrative-driven profiles or investigations with contextual depth and stylistic flair; and opinion articles, including editorials and columns, advance persuasive arguments, with their formal separation from news evolving post-World War I amid professionalization efforts by bodies like the American Society of Newspaper Editors in the 1920s.^[40] Scholarly articles, a parallel development, originated in periodicals like the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, inaugurated in March 1665 by Henry Oldenburg to publish experimental findings and observations in discrete, peer-evaluated submissions, establishing precedents for evidence-based exposition over 350 volumes.^[41] The internet's expansion from the mid-1990s onward transformed article production through web-based publishing, enabling instantaneous global distribution and surging output—U.S. online news sites alone generated over 1.5 million articles monthly by 2000, versus print's prior constraints—while eroding centralized gatekeeping as algorithms and platforms democratized entry for non-traditional producers.^[42] This shift, amplified by mobile access and content management systems, prioritized speed and personalization, with automated tools handling routine reporting like sports scores or earnings data as early as the 2010s. By 2025, AI integration in drafting and summarization has further scaled volume, though journalists report it as a top challenge, with adoption rates climbing amid ethical debates over authenticity.^[43]

Impact on Public Discourse

Articles in investigative journalism have historically facilitated the dissemination of empirical evidence, contributing to public accountability. The Washington Post's coverage of the Watergate scandal from 1972 to 1974, led by reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, exemplified this by uncovering a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters linked to President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign, ultimately prompting his resignation on August 8, 1974, amid revelations of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. This series of articles elevated standards for adversarial reporting on government officials, temporarily boosting public confidence in media as a check on power, with surveys post-scandal showing heightened trust in journalism's role.^[44] However, mainstream articles frequently embed ideological priors, particularly left-leaning ones, through selective emphasis that distorts causal understanding of events. Content analyses reveal systemic underemphasis on policy substance and disproportionate negativity toward conservative figures; for instance, a Harvard Kennedy School study of 2016 election coverage found 80% of reports on Donald Trump negative, compared to 20% for Hillary Clinton, with scant focus on verifiable policy impacts amid narrative-driven framing.^[45] Such patterns reflect selection biases in story choice, where outlets prioritize scandal over balanced economic reporting, as evidenced by polarized trust divides: Pew Research in 2020 documented Republicans' near-total distrust of mainstream sources versus Democrats' reliance, underscoring how institutional homogeneity— with journalists overwhelmingly identifying as left-of-center—fosters echo-chamber effects over truth-oriented scrutiny.^[46] These biases, rooted in cultural priors rather than empirical rigor, undermine causal realism by sidelining data that challenges preferred outcomes, such as market-favorable indicators during conservative administrations. To counter this, truth-seeking discourse demands first-principles verification, prioritizing primary data over mediated narratives, as demonstrated by post-2016 alternative outlets and independent analyses that challenged establishment reporting. Critiques following Trump's election highlighted mainstream failures in predictive accuracy and overreliance on insider sources, spurring platforms like Substack and outlets such as The Free Press to emphasize verifiable evidence against polite consensus, thereby restoring causal focus in public debate.^[45] This approach, drawing on direct sourcing and replication of claims, mitigates biases inherent in credentialed institutions, fostering discourse grounded in observable outcomes rather than ideological priors.

Legal and Governmental Contexts

Usage in Statutes and Codes

In legal drafting, an "article" denotes a major numbered subdivision within a statute or code, encapsulating related provisions on a specific topic to facilitate organized legislative expression and application.^[47] This structure contrasts with smaller units like sections or subsections, enabling statutes to group substantive rules coherently while permitting granular citation in judicial and administrative contexts.^[48] A prominent example is the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a model code first published in 1952 by the Uniform Law Commission and the American Law Institute, which divides its content into articles such as Article 1 (General Provisions), Article 2 (Sales), and Article 9 (Secured Transactions).^[49] All 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories have adopted versions of the UCC, incorporating its article-based framework to standardize commercial law across jurisdictions.^[49] This modular design supports targeted amendments, as evidenced by the 2001 revisions to Article 1, which states updated their enactments independently without overhauling the entire code.^[50] The empirical utility of articles lies in their promotion of causal precision in legal enforcement: by isolating topics, legislatures avoid the need for comprehensive rewrites during updates, reducing enactment errors and enhancing enforceability through clear cross-references.^[51] For instance, amendments to UCC Article 9 in 2001 affected secured transactions nationwide via state-by-state adoption, preserving the integrity of unrelated articles like those on negotiable instruments.^[52] This approach minimizes interpretive ambiguity, as courts reference specific articles to apply rules contextually, thereby linking statutory intent directly to outcomes in disputes.^[53] Over 50 U.S. jurisdictions' reliance on such formats underscores their role in scalable, adaptable codification.^[49]

Role in Constitutions and International Agreements

In national constitutions and international agreements, the term "article" designates the principal numbered divisions that articulate core structural elements, powers, duties, and limitations. The United States Constitution, comprising seven articles and ratified by the ninth state on June 21, 1788, delineates the separation of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with Article I vesting enumerated legislative authority in Congress to prevent unchecked expansion.^[54]^[55] Article I, Section 8, lists specific powers such as taxing, declaring war, and regulating interstate commerce, reflecting the Framers' intent to confine federal authority to explicit grants while reserving residual powers to states, thereby safeguarding federalism.^[56]^[57] This article-based organization has enabled constraints on governmental overreach, as evidenced by originalist judicial interpretations that uphold textual limits, such as the Supreme Court's 1995 decision in United States v. Lopez, which invalidated a federal gun law for exceeding commerce clause bounds and reaffirmed non-economic activities' exclusion from federal control.^[58] However, vague or broad phrasing within articles has invited interpretive expansions, particularly via the commerce clause, where rulings like Wickard v. Filburn (1942) extended federal power to intrastate activities with aggregate economic effects, underpinning much of the modern regulatory state without direct textual warrant.^[59] From 1937 to 1995, the Court upheld virtually all challenged federal laws under this clause, correlating with marked growth in central authority at the expense of state autonomy.^[60] In international agreements, articles similarly structure multilateral commitments, as in the United Nations Charter, adopted June 26, 1945, and entering force October 24, 1945, with 111 articles outlining member obligations, including Article 2's principles of sovereign equality and non-intervention to curb great-power dominance.^[61]^[62] Yet, interpretive flexibility in such documents has sometimes enabled mission creep, diverging from original constraints; originalist fidelity to ratification-era understandings contrasts with adaptive readings that prioritize contemporary exigencies, often eroding enumerated limits in favor of implied authority.^[63] Empirical patterns of power accretion underscore the causal role of non-textual methodologies in diluting foundational restraints.^[64]

Interpretive Methodologies

Interpretive methodologies for articles in constitutions and statutes emphasize approaches that prioritize the fixed meaning at enactment over evolving interpretations. Originalism, a rigorous method, interprets legal text based on its original public meaning or the enacting body's intent, verifiable through contemporaneous records such as ratification debates and drafting history.^[65] This approach, advocated by Antonin Scalia in his 1989 essay, argues for textual fidelity to constrain judicial discretion and maintain democratic legitimacy, positioning it as preferable to alternatives that invite subjective policy judgments.^[65] In contrast, the "living constitution" or evolutionary methodology treats legal articles as adaptable to contemporary values, often through balancing tests or purposivism that evolve with societal changes. Critics contend this fluid approach severs causal links to enacted text, enabling judicial overreach; for instance, post-1937 Supreme Court shifts toward deference in economic regulation correlated with federal expansions that deviated from original constraints on national power.^[66] Empirical patterns show federal expenditures rising from about 7% of GDP in the early 1930s to sustained higher levels post-New Deal, accompanying broadened Commerce Clause readings that centralized authority contra the federalist structure outlined in ratification-era documents like Federalist No. 45, which envisioned limited enumerated powers.^[67] Recent originalist applications demonstrate greater adherence to verifiable textual limits. In the 2020s, the Supreme Court has overturned precedents via historical analysis, as in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen (2022), which rejected interest-balancing for Second Amendment claims in favor of ratification-era understandings of arms-bearing rights. Similarly, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) relied on founding- and Reconstruction-era evidence to return abortion regulation to states, illustrating originalism's empirical grounding in historical data over abstract evolution. Such rulings align outcomes with enacted constraints, reducing deviations seen in prior eras' expansive readings that fueled administrative growth.^[68]

Commercial and Economic Contexts

Definition as Merchandise or Commodity

In commercial and economic contexts, an "article" denotes a specific, tangible unit of merchandise or commodity, characterized as a movable good produced for market exchange, such as manufactured products, agricultural outputs, or mined resources.^[69] This definition aligns with personal property classifications, encompassing chattels that are not affixed to land, thereby enabling portability and trade without encumbrance by real estate constraints.^[70] The usage traces to medieval European trade practices, where "articles of merchandise" cataloged discrete items in merchant inventories for barter and early commercial transactions, with English adoption influenced by Low Dutch terminology by the late 16th century and rooted in 14th-century continental ledgers.^[71] Empirically, this framing supports inventory tracking and pricing via supply-demand interactions, where an article's value emerges from its utility and scarcity in voluntary exchanges, rather than arbitrary impositions. Contemporary applications appear in global trade systems, notably the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature, established by the World Customs Organization in 1988 and integrated into WTO frameworks, which subdivides articles into over 5,000 headings and subheadings for tariff assessment and statistical compilation of merchandise flows.^[72]^[73] By 2022, this system facilitated classification of international merchandise trade valued at approximately $28.5 trillion, underscoring its role in quantifying empirical trade patterns and enabling analysis of comparative advantages in unrestricted markets. Such classifications reveal that barriers on articles, like tariffs, empirically elevate costs and reduce allocative efficiency, as evidenced by pre- and post-liberalization data from agreements like the 1994 Uruguay Round, challenging interventionist rationales prevalent in policy discourse despite their frequent endorsement in academic institutions.

Implications in Trade and Property Law

In international trade law, the term "article" commonly refers to tangible goods or merchandise subject to customs duties and valuation for importation, as delineated in frameworks like the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, which classified dutiable articles into schedules for tariff assessment to shield domestic producers from foreign competition.^[74] This classification facilitates the realization of comparative advantage, where nations specialize in producing articles with lower opportunity costs, yielding empirical gains in welfare and productivity; for instance, Japan's 1850s-1930s trade liberalization boosted real incomes by reallocating resources according to comparative strengths in commodities like silk and rice.^[75] However, protectionist tariffs on articles, such as those enacted by the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930—which raised average duties to nearly 60% on over 20,000 imported articles—provoked retaliatory measures from trading partners, contracting global trade by 66% between 1929 and 1934 and exacerbating the Great Depression's depth through distorted price signals and reduced export volumes.^[76]^[77] In property law, articles constitute movable chattels or personal property, with ownership rights deriving from first-principles causal mechanisms akin to John Locke's labor theory, wherein an individual's admixture of labor with unowned resources—such as transforming raw materials into finished articles—establishes exclusive title, provided it leaves "enough and as good" for others.^[78] This theory underpins legal doctrines on acquisition and transfer of articles, emphasizing empirical productivity from secure tenure over communal or state claims that dilute incentives. Verifiable cross-national data affirm that robust legal protections for such property rights correlate with accelerated economic expansion; for example, analyses of the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World index from 2000 to 2020 reveal that improvements in the property rights component—a measure encompassing judicial enforcement against expropriation of articles and intellectual assets—predict higher average annual GDP per capita growth rates, often by 1-2 percentage points, in jurisdictions prioritizing causal ownership incentives over redistributive interventions. Equity-oriented regulations on articles in trade and property contexts, such as mandates imposing diversity quotas on supply chains or preferential tariffs favoring ideological criteria over cost efficiencies, frequently overlook empirical supply-chain realities, fostering market distortions like elevated production costs and supply bottlenecks without commensurate prosperity gains.^[79] Protectionist exemplars, including post-2018 U.S. tariffs on steel articles that inflated domestic prices by 25% while spurring minimal job creation relative to losses in downstream sectors, illustrate how such policies contravene evidence-based causal realism, prioritizing short-term equity optics over long-term trade efficiencies and property-driven innovation.^[80]

Specialized and Miscellaneous Uses

In Religion and Philosophy

In religious doctrine, an "article" denotes a concise, authoritative statement of belief forming part of a creed or confession of faith. The term gained prominence in early Christianity through the Apostles' Creed, which originated as a development of the 2nd-century Old Roman Creed and was traditionally divided into twelve articles summarizing essential tenets, including monotheism, the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and the church's sacraments.^[81] These articles served to standardize orthodoxy amid doctrinal disputes, providing a framework for catechesis and liturgical recitation that persisted through the medieval period and Reformation.^[82] Similar usage appears in later confessions, such as the Augsburg Confession of 1530, where articles delineate Lutheran positions on justification, sacraments, and church authority, emphasizing propositional clarity over narrative exposition.^[83] This creedal application of "article" extended to philosophy in the scholastic tradition, where it signified a self-contained proposition or thesis subjected to dialectical scrutiny within systematic treatises. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica, composed between 1265 and 1274, exemplifies this by organizing content into questions subdivided into articles, each addressing a precise query—such as "Whether God exists?"—through a structured format of objections (videtur quod), contrary authorities (sed contra), the main response (respondeo), and rebuttals (ad primum).^[84] Aquinas's over 2,600 articles integrated Aristotelian logic with patristic theology, yielding a comprehensive synthesis that advanced doctrinal precision and rational defense of faith, influencing Catholic thought for centuries.^[85] Scholastic articles facilitated rigorous inquiry by isolating issues for logical dissection, promoting clarity in complex metaphysical and ethical debates. Yet, this method drew historical critique for embedding propositions within authoritative frameworks that could prioritize conformity to established tenets, occasionally constraining empirical or novel exploration, as Enlightenment figures like John Locke later contended in favoring experiential evidence over deductive orthodoxy.^[86] Despite such tensions, the article's role underscored a commitment to propositional truth, balancing synthesis with argumentative fidelity in pre-modern philosophy.

In Military and Corporate Documents

The Articles of War, enacted by the U.S. Congress on April 10, 1806, established 101 codified rules governing the conduct and discipline of the U.S. Army, replacing earlier ad hoc systems derived from British precedents and aiming to standardize military justice across ranks.^[87] These articles addressed offenses such as mutiny, desertion, and disobedience, with punishments including death for 16 capital crimes, thereby reducing command discretion and arbitrariness in enforcement by mandating uniform procedures for courts-martial.^[88] This codification empirically supported operational discipline during conflicts like the War of 1812, where consistent application minimized internal disruptions, though critics noted risks of overly harsh penalties without sufficient appeals.^[89] The framework evolved into the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), signed into law on May 5, 1950, and effective May 31, 1951, which extended uniform punitive articles across all armed services, incorporating due process elements like legal counsel to balance discipline with individual rights.^[90] Proponents argue this structure causally reinforces unit cohesion by deterring misconduct through predictable consequences, as evidenced by post-World War II reforms addressing service-specific variances that had led to inconsistent outcomes.^[91] However, detractors highlight potential overreach, such as commander-biased investigations under Article 15 nonjudicial punishment, which can prioritize expediency over nuanced justice, occasionally eroding trust in the system.^[92] In corporate contexts, articles of incorporation serve as foundational documents filed under statutes like Delaware's General Corporation Law of 1899, which enabled general incorporation by specifying the entity's name, purpose, authorized shares, and governance limits without legislative special acts.^[93] These articles causally delineate operational boundaries, such as restricting activities to lawful purposes and establishing director accountability to shareholders, thereby fostering transparent decision-making and limiting fiduciary overextension.^[94] By 2023, over 68% of Fortune 500 companies incorporated in Delaware, attributing structural stability to these provisions that mitigate risks like ultra vires actions.^[95] Enforcement of articles promotes order by enabling judicial remedies for breaches, such as dissolution for non-compliance, but raises concerns over rigidity; for instance, strict purpose clauses can hinder adaptation to market changes, potentially stifling innovation while enhancing investor protections through clear liability delineations.^[96] Empirical data from state filings show reduced litigation over entity validity post-1899 reforms, underscoring accountability gains, though formal amendment processes may impose undue burdens on smaller firms.^[97]

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Apr 11, 2020 · This Special Issue consists of twelve contributions that cover various recent research areas at the interface of information theory and linguistics.
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How to Write a News Article: A Complete Guide - Grammarly
Jan 3, 2025 · A news article is the finished product or piece of writing that results from newswriting. Unlike other types of writing, such as technical or ...What Is Newswriting? · What Is A News Article? · Types Of News Articles
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The Ultimate Word Count Guide - Nathan Drescher - Medium
May 13, 2022 · Most newspaper articles and editorials are between 500 and 800 words. Most magazine articles are between 1000 words and 1400 words. However, ...
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AP Style - Purdue OWL
AP style provides guidelines for news writing, used by many publications, and aims for consistency, clarity, accuracy, and brevity.
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The Inverted Pyramid Is a News Writer's Best Friend - Nick Wolny
Apr 28, 2024 · The inverted pyramid style came about as a result of Samuel Morse inventing the telegraph in 1845. Since operating a telegraph meant ...Origin of the Inverted Pyramid · The Lead · The Body
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Birth of the Inverted Pyramid: A Child of Technology, Commerce and ...
Jun 20, 2003 · A popular myth about the inverted pyramid holds that it came about during the American Civil War (1861-1865) when reporters in the field who ...
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Associated Press Stylebook
The AP Stylebook is a writing and editing reference for newsrooms, classrooms and corporate offices worldwide.Associated Press Style · Ask the Editor: Highlights · APStylebook.com User Guide
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News Platform Fact Sheet, 2024 | Pew Research Center
Sep 25, 2025 · News consumption across all platforms A large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say they at least sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or ...
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Overview and key findings of the 2023 Digital News Report
Jun 14, 2023 · Less than a third (30%) say that having stories selected for me on the basis of previous consumption is a good way to get news, 6 percentage ...
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Newspapers - Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Newspapers first appeared in Europe in the mid-17th century. They evolved gradually from a similar type of publication called a broadsheet—a single sheet of ...
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https://www.historic-newspapers.com/en-gb/blogs/article/broadsheet-history
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Penny Press - One Cent Newspapers - ThoughtCo
May 7, 2025 · The Penny Press began in 1833 with newspapers like The Sun costing just one cent. · Benjamin Day made newspapers affordable for the working class ...
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Birth of the Penny Press | Research Starters - EBSCO
The birth of the penny press in New York City launched a revolution in journalism that began the proliferation of mass-circulation newspapers that popularized ...
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Apr 13, 2023 · Journalism falls into four broad categories—news journalism, investigative journalism, feature journalism, and opinion/analysis. These types ...
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History of Philosophical Transactions | Royal Society
Philosophical Transactions is the world's first and longest-running scientific journal. It was launched in March 1665 by Henry Oldenburg.
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Sep 16, 2023 · Digital journalism and its research have evolved significantly over the last twenty-five years. When the first online media were installed ...
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What Reporters Really Think About AI in Journalism - Cision
30% of journalists named the emergence of AI one of the biggest challenges the industry has faced in the last year (up from 26% in the 2024 report).
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Jun 15, 2022 · After a pair of Washington Post journalists investigating the Watergate scandal drove President Nixon to resign, public confidence in the media was at an all- ...
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News Coverage of the 2016 General Election: How the Press Failed ...
Dec 7, 2016 · A new report from Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy analyzes news coverage during the 2016 ...<|separator|>
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U.S. Media Polarization and the 2020 Election: A Nation Divided
Jan 24, 2020 · A new Pew Research Center report finds that Republicans and Democrats place their trust in two nearly inverse news media environments.Missing: underreporting positive economic
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How can we differentiate the Word Articles and sections used in Law
Dec 28, 2015 · An article in Law is a separate and distinct part of a written instrument, such as a contract, statute, or constitution, that is often divided ...
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Difference Between Article and Section | Complete Guide
Nov 6, 2024 · Articles are the numbered sections that specify these provisions. Each article serves a distinct purpose, addressing various aspects of the ...
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Uniform Commercial Code
Article 2, Sales The Uniform Law Commission and American Law Institute approved a revised Article 2 in 2003 that was not adopted in any state, and was ...UCC Article 2, Sales · UCC Article 1, General... · UCC Article 3, Negotiable...
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[PDF] An Historical Overview of UCC Article 9 - SMU Scholar
UCC Article 9 was first adopted in 1951, modified in 1972, overhauled in 1998, and the latest official edition was published in 2014.<|separator|>
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Contract articles, sections and contract clause numbering - Weagree
Subdividing provisions considerably improves the readability and legibility of a contract; it enables the drafter to make cross-references and, if the contract ...
[52]
The Uniform Commercial Code and the Ongoing Quest for an ...
The Article 9 revision was completed in 2002 and adopted in all fifty states. But much of the scholarly literature of the past several decades asks whether the ...
[53]
[PDF] Principal Features and Methods of Codification
May 1, 1988 · It follows that each code article has a meaning only because of its relationship to a cluster of articles to which it is linked; each ...
[54]
The Articles of the United States Constitution
The seven articles make up the structural constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788.
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Constitution of the United States - Senate.gov
Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the United States Constitution is the world's longest surviving written charter of government.
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Article I Section 8 | Constitution Annotated | Library of Congress
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare ...Overview of Spending Clause · Congressional War Powers · ArtI.S8.1
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Overview of Congress's Enumerated Powers | U.S. Constitution ...
As discussed in more detail in earlier essays, the Framers sought to limit the legislative power only to those powers granted by the Constitution.1 Footnote<|separator|>
[58]
United States v. Lopez | 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
The Supreme Court held that the federal government cannot base a law prohibiting gun possession near schools on the Commerce Clause, as it is not an economic ...
[59]
Wickard v. Filburn - Oyez
A case in which the Court held that Congress can regulate any activity that has a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce.
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The U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, the Supreme Court, and ...
Between 1937 and 1995, the Supreme Court developed an extremely expansive view of the Commerce Clause. In fact, no federal laws were found to violate Congress's ...
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United Nations Charter (full text)
Note on Amendments to Articles 23, 27, 61, 109. Amendments to Articles 23, 27 and 61 of the Charter were adopted by the General Assembly on 17 December 1963 ...
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[PDF] CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Article 25. The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security. Council in accordance with the present Charter.
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On Originalism in Constitutional Interpretation
Originalism is usually contrasted as a theory of constitutional interpretation with Living Constitutionalism.
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Originalism vs. Textualism | Pacific Legal Foundation
Apr 27, 2022 · Originalism interprets the Constitution based on its original meaning. Textualism uses the ordinary meaning of the text. Living ...Missing: federalism preservation
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Originalism: The Lesser Evil | Teaching American History
Justice Scalia's speech "Originalism: The Lesser Evil" is an ideal primary source for a post-secondary classroom introductory law class.
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[PDF] The Expansion of the Federal Government in the 1930s
The major turning point in the growth of the federal government was, of course, the New Deal. A host of programs were added that in themselves ac- count for a ...
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A Short History of Government Taxing and Spending in the United ...
Feb 19, 2014 · Between 1900 and 2012, federal government receipts increased from 3.0 percent of the economy's output to 16.5 percent, and federal expenditures rose from 2.7 ...
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Expansion of National Power at Expense of Individual Liberty
This expansion of national power raises serious constitutional problems and necessarily comes at the expense of protections for individual liberty.
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International Trade Definitions - U.S. Census Bureau
Commodity - An economic good such as a product of agriculture, mining, or a customized or mass produced article that is readily exchanged within the market.
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Legal Definition of Personal Property - Real Estate Law - LegalMatch
Oct 27, 2023 · Another way personal property can be defined is that it is any property that is not attached to land or structures on a piece of real estate.
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The Influence of Low Dutch on the English Vocabulary - DBNL
Derby's Exped.; 1583 in an Eng. context), a lot of 60 pieces, used in relation to certain articles of merchandise originally imported from abroad; ad. MLG.
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Harmonized System (HS) Codes - International Trade Administration
The Harmonized System (HS) is a global product classification system. To export, you will need to know the HS Code for your product.
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HS Convention - World Customs Organization
The 20 Articles include provisions for obligations of Contracting Parties, role of the Council and the Harmonized System Committee, settlement of disputes ...
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19 U.S. Code Chapter 4 - TARIFF ACT OF 1930 - Law.Cornell.Edu
19 U.S. Code Chapter 4 - TARIFF ACT OF 1930 · SUBTITLE I—HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE OF THE UNITED STATES (§ 1202) · SUBTITLE II—SPECIAL PROVISIONS (§§ 1301 – 1367) ...
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An Empirical Assessment of the Comparative Advantage Gains from ...
We provide an empirical assessment of the comparative advantage gains from trade argument. We use Japan's nineteenth-century opening up to world commerce as a ...
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The Smoot-Hawley Tariff and the Great Depression - Cato Institute
May 7, 2016 · Many scholars have long agreed that the Smoot-Hawley tariff had disastrous economic effects, but most of them have felt that it could not have caused the stock ...
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What to know about the Smoot-Hawley tariffs and what their legacy ...
"The Smoot-Hawley tariff ignited an international trade war and helped sink our country into the Great Depression," then-president Ronald Reagan said during a ...
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Property: John Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 25--51, 123--26
For this Labour being the unquestionable Property of the Labourer, no man but he can have a right to what that is once joyned to, at least where there is enough ...
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Protectionism and the business cycle - ScienceDirect
Three robust conclusions emerge from our empirical exercises (and a variety of checks): protectionism is recessionary, inflationary, and has, at best, a small ...
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What Are Impacts of Protectionism? → Question
Apr 2, 2025 · Here's an example of empirical data: Protectionist Measure, Observed Effect, Source. US Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum (2018), Increased prices ...
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The Apostles' Creed: Its History and Origins - Logos Bible Software
Jan 18, 2022 · The Apostles' Creed, a statement of Christian belief, evolved from the "Old Roman Creed" as early as the 2nd century, with its current form ...
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What Is the Apostles' Creed? - Zondervan Academic
Sep 21, 2018 · The Apostles' creed is the oldest statement of faith in the Christian church, written sometime in the second century AD.Ecumenical Version · Roman Catholic Version · Historical Background Of The...<|separator|>
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We Believe: The Story of the Apostles' Creed | Desiring God
Jan 13, 2021 · The Creed, also known as the Twelve Articles of Faith, expresses essential biblical doctrines that have been articulated, defended, and embraced for nearly two ...
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How to read an article in Aquinas's Summa theologiae - thomistica
Jun 5, 2012 · Basic Parts of an Article. Aquinas's “articles” in the Summa theologiae and elsewhere usually have the following structure: 1. Question. 2 ...
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The Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas - Penn Arts & Sciences
Oct 3, 2001 · The Summa (the conventional short name for the book) is in three parts, the second divided into two parts, with 512 Questions, 2,669 Articles, ...
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Substitute dogma for free inquiry, and open discussion ceases. The spirit of inquiry is too deep-rooted in a modern democratic land to be banished by the wave ...
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[PDF] Revision of the Articles of War. - Loc
That takes us to article 95. There is a very slight change in article 95 ... fourth article of war, which remained the law from 1806 down to. 1890. It ...
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The Articles of War - Discover Lewis & Clark
The Articles of War were military laws for personal conduct and loyalty, with the 1776 version having 101 articles and 16 crimes punishable by death.
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Military Justice in the Army - The Army Lawyer 2023 Issue 2
Jan 4, 2024 · After all, Article 69 of the Articles of War of 1806 provided what was then thought to be enough to guarantee that the accused received a fair ...
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Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Establishing a Uniform ...
May 6, 1950 [Released May 6, 1950. Dated May 5, 1950] I HAVE today approved H.R. 4080 which establishes a Uniform Code of Military Justice equally ...
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Uniform Code of Military Justice (1946-1951) | Articles and Essays
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) took effect in 1951 and the foundation for military law in the United States.
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[PDF] MILITARY JUSTICE A REINFORCER OF DISCIPLINE
Military justice reinforces discipline by combining judicial concepts with a code of conduct reflecting the military ethic, which is made concrete by the ...
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[PDF] e - Delaware Law School
Such corporation shall be formed by articles of incorporation exe- ouch corpomloD.cuted by the purchaser and his associates, and which shall, in addi ...
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[PDF] STATE OF DELAWARE - Penn Law School
AN ACT PROVIDING A GENERAL CORPORATION LAW. Be it enacted by the Senate and ... Such corporation shall be formed by articles of incorporation exe- such ...
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Facts and Myths - Delaware Corporate Law
Incorporating in Delaware means that Delaware's corporate law will apply; it does not necessarily mean that other Delaware laws or regulations will apply.
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Significance of Articles of Incorporation for Corporate Accountability
The articles of incorporation play a pivotal part in shaping the corporation's brand recognition, as they define the company's mission, values, and objectives.
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Delaware Corporate Law | Delaware General Corporation Law | DGCL
Aug 28, 2024 · The 1899 act removed the concept of incorporation by special act, ending the cumbersome, political process to form a corporation and allowing ...