Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821–77, Confederate general, b. Bedford co., Tenn. (his birthplace is now in Marshall co.). At the beginning of the Civil War, Forrest, a wealthy citizen of Memphis, organi...

(Encyclopedia) Nansen International Office for Refugees, worldwide agency est. 1931 by the League of Nations to work on behalf of refugees. It was named for Fridjof Nansen, head of the League's High Commission for R...

(Encyclopedia) Marbury v. Madison, case decided in 1803 by the U.S. Supreme Court. William Marbury had been commissioned justice of the peace in the District of Columbia by President John Adams in the “midnight ap...

(Encyclopedia) Dred Scott Case, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1856–57. It involved the then bitterly contested issue of the status of slavery in the federal territories. In 1834, Dred Scott, a black slav...

(Encyclopedia) Treasury, United States Department of the, federal executive department established in 1789. It is charged with advising the president on fiscal policy and acting as fiscal agent for the federal gover...

(Encyclopedia) fugitive slave laws, in U.S. history, the federal acts of 1793 and 1850 providing for the return between states of escaped black slaves. Similar laws existing in both North and South in colonial days ...

(Encyclopedia) margin requirement, that part of a security's price that a buyer must pay for in cash. The balance of the price is met by the broker, who, in effect, is supplying a client with a loan. The smaller the...

(Encyclopedia) Chattanooga campaign, Aug.-Nov., 1863, military encounter in the American Civil War. Chattanooga, Tenn., which commanded Confederate communications between the East and the Mississippi River and was a...

(Encyclopedia) social security, government program designed to provide for the basic economic security and welfare of individuals and their dependents. The programs classified under the term social security differ f...

(Encyclopedia) Muscat, Maskat, or Masqat all: mŭsˈkăt, mŭsˈkət [key], city (1993 pop. 533,774), capital of Oman, SE Arabia, on the Gulf of Oman. It is flanked by rugged mountains. Muscat, which has a fine har...