Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Ohio, midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania (NE), West Virginia (SE) and Kentucky (S) across the Ohio River, Indiana (W), and Michigan ...

(Encyclopedia) abolitionists, in U.S. history, particularly in the three decades before the Civil War, members of the movement that agitated for the compulsory emancipation of the slaves. Abolitionists are distingui...

(Encyclopedia) Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830–93, American politician, b. West Brownsville, Pa. As Secretary of State, Blaine was particularly energetic in fostering closer relations with the Latin American natio...

(Encyclopedia) interior decoration, adornment of the interior of a building, public or domestic, comprising interior architecture, finishing, and furnishings. Asian and classical cultures used the decorative arts to...

(Encyclopedia) Henry IV, 1050–1106, Holy Roman emperor (1084–1105) and German king (1056–1105), son and successor of Henry III. He was the central figure in the opening stages of the long struggle between the ...

(Encyclopedia) treaty, in international law, formal agreement between sovereign states or organizations of states. The term treaty is ordinarily confined to important formal agreements, while less formal internation...

(Encyclopedia) Burr, Aaron, 1756–1836, American political leader, b. Newark, N.J., grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton). Soon after Hamilton's death, Burr left Washington on a journey to New Orleans, at t...

(Encyclopedia) family, a basic unit of social structure, the exact definition of which can vary greatly from time to time and from culture to culture. How a society defines family as a primary group, and the functio...

(Encyclopedia) steamship, watercraft propelled by a steam engine or a steam turbine. Despite such innovations as turbo-electric drive, which converts steam energy into rotational power for turning the propeller...

(Encyclopedia) Blake, William, 1757–1827, English poet and artist, b. London. Although he exerted a great influence on English romanticism, Blake defies characterization by school, movement, or even period. At the...