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Aleutian Islands

(Encyclopedia)Aleutian Islands əlo͞oˈshən [key], chain of rugged, volcanic islands curving c.1,200 mi (1,900 km) west from the tip of the Alaska Peninsula and approaching Russia's Komandorski Islands. A partial...

Confederation, Articles of

(Encyclopedia)Confederation, Articles of, in U.S. history, ratified in 1781 and superseded by the Constitution of the United States in 1789. The imperative need for unity among the new states created by the America...

federation

(Encyclopedia)federation: see federal government. ...

Herzog, Roman

(Encyclopedia)Herzog, Roman, 1934–2017, German political leader and legal scholar. After receiving his doctorate in law from Ludwig Maximilian Univ., Munich (1958), he taught there, at the Free Univ. of Berlin (1...

Education, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Education, United States Department of, executive department of the federal government responsible for advising on educational plans and policies, providing assistance for education, and carrying out ...

excess profits tax

(Encyclopedia)excess profits tax, levy on any profit above a standard level. Chiefly a wartime phenomenon, it is intended to increase revenue during periods of distress and to prevent businessmen from taking unfair...

Australian Capital Territory

(Encyclopedia)Australian Capital Territory, 939 sq mi (2,432 sq km), SE Australia, an enclave within New South Wales, containing Canberra, capital of Australia. It was called the Federal Capital Territory unt...

Sarney de Araújo Costa, José

(Encyclopedia)Sarney de Araújo Costa, José, 1930–, Brazilian politician, president of Brazil (1985–90), b. José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa. He served as a federal deputy (1958–64), governor of Maran...

Souter, David Hackett

(Encyclopedia)Souter, David Hackett, 1939–, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1990–2009), b. Melrose, Mass. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he served as New Hampshire's attorney general (1976–78)...

Public Works Administration

(Encyclopedia)Public Works Administration (PWA), in U.S. history, New Deal government agency established (1933) by the Congress as the Federal Administration of Public Works, pursuant to the National Industrial Rec...
 

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