Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) state of emergency, situation in which a government or a government body is empowered to act with enhanced powers in order to respond to a crisis. The enhanced or emergency powers, and in many cases i...

(Encyclopedia) State College, borough (1990 pop. 38,923), Centre co., central Pa., surrounded by farmland; settled 1859, inc. 1896. Manufacturing includes electronic products, foods, chemicals, and bottled water. Ag...

(Encyclopedia) United States, Great Seal of the, official impression that validates a United States government document. It was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1782 and, with only minor changes in the design,...

(Encyclopedia) Lippe lĭpˈə [key], former state, N central Germany, between the Teutoburg Forest and the Weser River. It was incorporated in 1947 into the state of North Rhine–Westphalia. Detmold, the former cap...

(Encyclopedia) Stevenson, Adlai Ewing, 1835–1914, Vice President of the United States (1893–97), b. Christian co., Ky. He practiced law at Bloomington, Ill., and was twice (1874, 1878) elected to the U.S. Congre...

(Encyclopedia) Missouri Compromise, 1820–21, measures passed by the U.S. Congress to end the first of a series of crises concerning the extension of slavery. By 1818, Missouri Territory had gained sufficient popul...

(Encyclopedia) Brandenburg bränˈdənbo͝ork [key], state (1994 est. pop. 2,540,000), c.10,400 sq mi (26,940 sq km), E Germany. Potsdam is the capital; other leading cities include Cottbus, Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, a...

(Encyclopedia) Paraná pərənäˈ [key], state (1996 pop. 8,985,981), 77,048 sq mi (199,554 sq km), S Brazil, on the borders of Paraguay and Argentina and the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Curitiba. After coffee, ...

(Encyclopedia) Grellet, Stephen grĕlĕtˈ [key], 1773–1855, Quaker missionary, b. France; son of well-to-do Roman Catholic parents. His name originally was Étienne de Grellet du Mabillier. He fled France at the ...

(Encyclopedia) city-state, in ancient Greece, Italy, and Medieval Europe, an independent political unit consisting of a city and surrounding countryside. The first city-states were in Sumer, but they reached their p...