Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) gun control, government limitation of the purchase and ownership of firearms. The availability of guns is controlled by nations and localities throughout the world. In the United States the “right o...

(Encyclopedia) pony express, in U.S. history, relay mail service. At its inception in Apr., 1860, the pony express operated between St. Joseph, Mo., the western end of a telegraph line, and Sacramento, Calif. Riders...

(Encyclopedia) Pecos, river, 926 mi (1,480 km) long, rising in N N.Mex. near the Truchas peaks and flowing SE across E N.Mex. and W Tex. to the Rio Grande; drains c.38,300 sq mi (99,200 sq km). In New Mexico, dams a...

(Encyclopedia) McConnell, Mitch (Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr.), 1942–, U.S. politician, b. Tuscumbia, Ky., grad. Univ. of Louisville (B.A. 1964), Univ. of Kentucky Law School (J.D., 1967). A conservative Republ...

(Encyclopedia) North Platte plăt [key], city (1990 pop. 22,605), seat of Lincoln co., W central Nebr., at the confluence of the North Platte and South Platte rivers; inc. 1873. It is a processing and shipping point...

(Encyclopedia) Allison, William Boyd, 1829–1908, U.S. Senator from Iowa (1873–1908), b. Ashland co., Ohio. He served (1863–71) in the House of Representatives and entered the Senate in 1873. One of the most in...

(Encyclopedia) Indian Reorganization Act, legislation passed in 1934 in the United States in an attempt to secure new rights for Native Americans on reservations. Its main provisions were to restore to Native Americ...

(Encyclopedia) Wilson, William Bauchop, 1862–1934, American labor leader, U.S. Secretary of Labor (1913–21), b. Blantyre, Scotland. Coming as a child to the United States in 1870, he worked in Pennsylvania coal ...

(Encyclopedia) negotiable instrument, bill of exchange, check, promissory note, or other written contract for payment that may serve as a substitute for money. It is simple in form and easy to transfer. Transfer of ...

(Encyclopedia) Perry, William James, 1927–, U.S. government official, b. Vandergrift, Pa. A Ph.D. in mathematics, former Stanford engineering professor, and founder of a military electronics firm, he served (1977�...