Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Wisdom, John Minor, 1905–99, American jurist, b. New Orleans; grad. Tulane Univ. Law School, 1929. A Republican, long in private practice, he was named to the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in...

(Encyclopedia) Bedford, Gunning, Jr., 1747–1812, American political leader, b. Philadelphia. Settling in Delaware, Bedford became a member of the local legislature, attorney general (1784–89), and a delegate to ...

(Encyclopedia) USA PATRIOT Act [Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorists], 2001, U.S. federal law intended to give federal authorities increased ...

(Encyclopedia) adult education, extension of educational opportunities to those adults beyond the age of general public education who feel a need for further training of any sort, also known as continuing education....

(Encyclopedia) secession, in political science, formal withdrawal from an association by a group discontented with the actions or decisions of that association. The term is generally used to refer to withdrawal from...

(Encyclopedia) election, choosing a candidate for office in an organization by the vote of those enfranchised to cast a ballot. In the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, and many other nations, usuall...

(Encyclopedia) North Canadian, river, 760 mi (1,223 km) long, rising in NE N.Mex., and flowing SE through Okla. to join the Canadian River in the Eufaula reservoir, E Okla. Federal dams and reservoirs on the river a...

(Encyclopedia) Kapuskasing kăpəskāˈsĭng [key], town (1991 pop. 10,344), central Ont., Canada, on the Kapuskasing River, N of Timmins. It has lumbering and pulp and paper mills, a cold-weather automotive testing...

(Encyclopedia) Arlington, county (2020 pop. 238,643), N Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Arlington is a residential and commercial suburb of Washington. Within its boundaries are Arlin...

(Encyclopedia) Chertoff, Michael, 1953–, U.S. government official, b. Elizabeth, N.J., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1975, J.D., 1978). A lawyer, Chertoff was an assistant federal prosecutor in New York (1983–87) and New...