Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Rush-Bagot Convention rŭsh-băgˈət [key], 1817, agreement between the United States and Great Britain concerning the Canadian border. It consisted of the exchange of notes signed by Richard Rush, A...

(Encyclopedia) Constitutional Convention, in U.S. history, the 1787 meeting in which the Constitution of the United States was drawn up. The convention at Philadelphia drew up one of the most influential document...

(Encyclopedia) Olympia, city (1990 pop. 33,840), state capital, and seat of Thurston co., W Wash., at the southern tip of Puget Sound, on Budd Inlet; inc. 1859. A port of entry, it ships lumber products and agricult...

(Encyclopedia) Reform party, in the United States, political party founded in 1995 by H. Ross Perot as an alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties. The Reform party's aims originally included mandating h...

(Encyclopedia) Sacramento săkrəmĕnˈtō [key], city (1990 pop. 369,365), state capital and seat of Sacramento co., central Calif., on the Sacramento River at its confluence with the American River; settled 1839, ...

(Encyclopedia) state: see government.

(Encyclopedia) Pará pəräˈ [key], state (1996 pop. 5,552,783), 474,896 sq mi (1,229,981 sq km), N Brazil, in the lower Amazon River basin bordering on the Guianas and the Atlantic Ocean. Belém is the capital. Mo...

(Encyclopedia) Homeland Security, United States Department of (DHS), executive department of the federal government charged with protecting the security of the American homeland as its main responsibility. Its prima...

(Encyclopedia) Veracruz yäˈbā [key], state (1990 pop. 6,228,239), 27,759 sq mi (71,896 sq km), E central Mexico. The capital is Xalapa. Stretching c.430 mi (690 km) along the Gulf of Mexico and reaching from 30 t...

(Encyclopedia) Muncie mŭnˈsē [key], city (1990 pop. 71,035), seat of Delaware co., E Ind., on the White River; inc. 1854. It is a trade, processing, and manufacturing center. The city is in a fertile agricultural...