Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Penal Laws, in English and Irish history, term generally applied to the body of discriminatory and oppressive legislation directed chiefly against Roman Catholics but also against Protestant nonconfor...

(Encyclopedia) William III, 1650–1702, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689–1702); son of William II, prince of Orange, stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and of Mary, oldest daughte...

(Encyclopedia)  Text1 of the Constitution of the United States Preamble Article I Article II Article III Article IV Article V Article VI Article VII Amendment I Amendment II Am...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616, English dramatist and poet, b. Stratford-upon-Avon. He is widely considered the greatest playwright who ever lived. For about 150 years after his death ...

(Encyclopedia) Parliament, legislative assembly of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Over the centuries it has become more than a legislative body; it is the sovereign power of Great Britain,...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bord...

(Encyclopedia) Jefferson, Thomas, 1743–1826, 3d President of the United States (1801–9), author of the Declaration of Independence, and apostle of agrarian democracy. After 1809, Jefferson lived in retirem...

(Encyclopedia) woman suffrage, the right of women to vote. Throughout the latter part of the 19th cent. the issue of women's voting rights was an important phase of feminism. On the European mainland, Finland (1...

(Encyclopedia) World War II, 1939–45, worldwide conflict involving every major power in the world. The two sides were generally known as the Allies and the Axis. Although hostilities came to an end in Sept...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Colorado kŏlərădˈə, –rădˈō, –räˈdō [key], state, W central United States, one of the Rocky Mt. states. It is bordered by Wyoming (N), Nebraska (N, E), Kansas (E), Oklahoma and Ne...