Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) balance of power, system of international relations in which nations seek to maintain an approximate equilibrium of power among many rivals, thus preventing the preponderance of any one state. Crucial...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Philippines, The fĭlˈəpēnzˌ [key], officially Republic of the Philippines, republic (2015 est. pop. 101,716,000), 115,830 sq mi (300,000 sq km), SW Pacific, in the Malay Archipelago off th...

(Encyclopedia) lend-lease, arrangement for the transfer of war supplies, including food, machinery, and services, to nations whose defense was considered vital to the defense of the United States in World War II. Th...

(Encyclopedia) Willing, Thomas, 1731–1821, American merchant and financier, b. Philadelphia. He studied law in London. Returning to Philadelphia in 1749, he entered his father's business and later established with...

(Encyclopedia) National Education Association (NEA), organization of professional educators in the United States, with almost 2.5 million members. The NEA was founded (1850) as the National Teachers Association, cha...

(Encyclopedia) cruelty, prevention of. In the 19th cent. many laws were passed in Great Britain and the United States to protect the helpless, especially children, lunatics, and domestic animals, from willful and ma...

(Encyclopedia) Jones, Anson, 1798–1858, last president of the Texas republic (1844–46), b. Seekonk section of Great Barrington, Mass. He studied medicine and after an itinerant business and medical career went (...

(Encyclopedia) Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, 1930, passed by the U.S. Congress; it brought the U.S. tariff to the highest protective level yet in the history of the United States. President Hoover desired a limited upwar...

(Encyclopedia) Dole, Sanford Ballard, 1844–1926, Hawaiian statesman, b. Honolulu, of American missionary parents. After education in the United States he returned to Hawaii and became prominent in public life. A l...

(Encyclopedia) Freedom of Information Act (1966), law requiring that U.S. government agencies release their records to the public on request, unless the information sought falls into a category specifically exempted...