Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Megan's law, in the United States, a state or federal statute that requires the notification of public organizations and private citizens when a convicted sex offender has been released from prison an...

(Encyclopedia) home schooling, the practice of teaching children in the home as an alternative to attending public or private elementary or high school. In most cases, one or both of the children's parents serve as ...

(Encyclopedia) Tacna-Arica Controversy täkˈnə-ərēˈkə [key], 1883–1929, dispute between Chile and Peru. It arose from provisions of the Treaty of Ancón (1883), which ended the War of the Pacific (see Pacifi...

(Encyclopedia) North Dakota State University, at Fargo; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered and opened 1890 as North Dakota Agricultural College, achieved university status in 1960. The agricult...

(Encyclopedia) sovereignty, supreme authority in a political community. The concept of sovereignty has had a long history of development, and it may be said that every political theorist since Plato has dealt with t...

(Encyclopedia) employment bureau, a government-run establishment for bringing together the employer offering work and the employee seeking it. As a not-for-profit service, employment bureaus operate differently from...

(Encyclopedia) Ohio State University, main campus at Columbus; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1873 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, renamed 1878. There are also cam...

(Encyclopedia) lese majesty or leze majesty both: lēz măˈjĭstē [key] [Fr. lèse majesté, Lat. laesae maiestatis (crimen)=(crime of) violating majesty], offense against the dignity of the sovereign of a state o...

(Encyclopedia) Fourteenth Amendment, addition to the U.S. Constitution, adopted 1868. The amendment comprises five sections. Section 2 provides for apportionment of membership in the House of Representatives on th...

(Encyclopedia) Frauds, Statute of, basis of most modern laws requiring that certain promises must be in writing in order to be enforceable; it was passed by the English Parliament in 1677. In the United States, alth...