Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Thoreau, Henry David thôrˈō, thərōˈ [key], 1817–62, American author, naturalist, social activist, and philosopher, b. Concord, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1837. Thoreau is considered one of the most...

(Encyclopedia) American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), largest union of public employees in the United States. It began as a number of separate locals organized by a group of Wisconsi...

(Encyclopedia) Long Island (1990 pop. 6,861,454), 1,723 sq mi (4,463 sq km), 118 mi (190 km) long, and from 12 to 20 mi (19–32 km) wide, SE N.Y.; fourth largest island of the United States and the largest outside ...

(Encyclopedia) showboat. In the early 19th cent. entertainment was brought by boat to the pioneers that settled along the western rivers (especially the Mississippi and Ohio) of the United States. At first companies...

(Encyclopedia) Independent Treasury System, in U.S. history, system for the retaining of government funds in the Treasury and its subtreasuries independently of the national banking and financial systems. In one for...

(Encyclopedia) Open Door, maintenance in a certain territory of equal commercial and industrial rights for the nationals of all countries. As a specific policy, it was first advanced by the United States, but it was...

(Encyclopedia) Norton, Eleanor Holmes, 1937–, African-American lawyer and government official. As an attorney (1965–70) for the American Civil Liberties Union, she specialized in First Amendment cases. She later...

(Encyclopedia) Zea, Francisco Antonio fränsēsˈkō äntōˈnyō sāˈä [key], 1770–1882, Colombian botanist and revolutionist. He was associated with Mutis in botanical studies. Zea, like Antonio Nariño, was a...

(Encyclopedia) reciprocal trade agreement, international commercial treaty in which two or more nations grant equally advantageous trade concessions to each other. It usually refers to treaties dealing with tariffs....

(Encyclopedia) drainage, in agriculture, the removal of excess water from the soil, either by a system of surface ditches, or by underground conduits if required by soil conditions and land contour. Diesel or centri...