Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) corrupt practices, in politics, fraud connected with elections. The term also refers to various offenses by public officials, including bribery, the sale of offices, granting of public contracts to fa...

(Encyclopedia) Sun Belt or Sunbelt, southern tier of the United States, focused on Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, and extending as far north as Virginia. The term gained wide use in the 1970s, when the eco...

(Encyclopedia) Webster, Noah, 1758–1843, American lexicographer and philologist, b. West Hartford, Conn., grad. Yale, 1778. After serving in the American Revolution, Webster practiced law in Hartford. His Grammati...

(Encyclopedia) Salisbury, Robert Cecil, 1st earl of, 1563–1612, English statesman; son of William Cecil, Baron Burghley. He entered Parliament and came gradually to rank second only to his father as adviser to Que...

(Encyclopedia) Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, self-sustaining public corporation established in 1921 by the states of New York and New Jersey to administer the activities of the New York–New Jersey por...

(Encyclopedia) labor law, legislation dealing with human beings in their capacity as workers or wage earners. The Industrial Revolution, by introducing the machine and factory production, greatly expanded the class ...

(Encyclopedia) social welfare or public charity, organized provision of educational, cultural, medical, and financial assistance to the needy. Modern social welfare measures may include any of the following: the car...

(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) microcredit, the extension to individuals of small loans to be used for income-generating activities that will improve the borrowers' living standards. The borrowers, most of whom usually are poor wom...

(Encyclopedia) Concord kŏngˈkərd, kŏnˈkôrdˌ [key]. 1 city (2020 pop. 125,410), Contra Costa c...