Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

territory

(Encyclopedia)territory, in U.S. history, a portion of the national domain that is given limited self-government, usually in preparation for statehood. Territorial governments have been similar in form to those of ...

McLuhan, Marshall

(Encyclopedia)McLuhan, Marshall (Herbert Marshall McLuhan), 1911–80, Canadian communications theorist and educator, b. Edmonton, Alta. He taught at the Univ. of Toronto (1946–80) and at other institutions of hi...

charter school

(Encyclopedia)charter school, alternative type of American public school that, while paid for by taxes, is independent of the public-school system and relatively free from state and local regulations. A charter sch...

minimum wage

(Encyclopedia)minimum wage, lowest wage legally permitted in an industry or in a government or other organization. The goal in establishing minimum wages has been to assure wage earners a standard of living above t...

Grenada

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Grenada grĭnāˈdə [key], independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations (2015 est. pop. 107,000), 133 sq mi (344 sq km), in the Windward Islands, West Indies. The state includes the is...

federal government

(Encyclopedia)federal government or federation, government of a union of states in which sovereignty is divided between a central authority and component state authorities. A federation differs from a confederation...

Ordinance of 1787

(Encyclopedia)Ordinance of 1787, adopted by the Congress of Confederation for the government of the Western territories ceded to the United States by the states. It created the Northwest Territory and is frequently...

Sheldon, Edward Austin

(Encyclopedia)Sheldon, Edward Austin, 1823–97, American educator, b. Wyoming co., N.Y., studied at Hamilton College. After illness forced him to cut short his own education, he held a variety of positions in the ...

local government

(Encyclopedia)local government, political administration of the smallest subdivisions of a country's territory and population. The British system of local government, which has been the model for most of that cou...
 

Browse by Subject