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spoils system
(Encyclopedia)spoils system, in U.S. history, the practice of giving appointive offices to loyal members of the party in power. The name supposedly derived from a speech by Senator William Learned Marcy in which he...breakfast cereal
(Encyclopedia)breakfast cereal, a food made from grain, commonly eaten in the morning. The oldest type of cereal, known as porridge or gruel, requires cooking in water or milk. The modern breakfast cereals, however...Blair, Francis Preston, 1791–1876, American journalist and politician
(Encyclopedia)Blair, Francis Preston, 1791–1876, American journalist and politician, b. Abingdon, Va. Through the Frankfort, Ky., journal Argus of Western America, which he edited with Amos Kendall, Blair was an ...Sydney, city, Australia
(Encyclopedia)Sydney, city (2016 pop. 208,374, Greater Sydney 2016 pop. 4,823,991), capital of New South Wales, SE Australia, surrounding Port Jackson inlet on the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is Australia's largest metro...nullification
(Encyclopedia)nullification, in U.S. history, a doctrine expounded by the advocates of extreme states' rights. It held that states have the right to declare null and void any federal law that they deem unconstituti...Johnson, Martin Elmer
(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Martin Elmer, 1884–1937, American explorer and author, b. Rockford, Ill. He left home at 14 to work his way to Europe on a cattle boat, returning as a stowaway. He then joined the crew of J...American Civil Liberties Union
(Encyclopedia)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Founded (1920) by such prominent figur...Harrisonburg
(Encyclopedia)Harrisonburg, city (2020 pop. 51,814), seat of Rockingham co., NW Va., in the Shenandoah Valley; settled 1739, inc. 1916. It is a processing center in a...Baldwin, Simeon Eben
(Encyclopedia)Baldwin, Simeon Eben, 1840–1927, American jurist and politician, b. New Haven, Conn., grad. Yale, 1861. He taught at Yale from 1869 to 1919, serving as a professor of law after 1872. His teaching an...Grey, Zane
(Encyclopedia)Grey, Zane, 1872–1939, American writer of Western stories, b. Zanesville, Ohio, as Pearl Zane Gray, grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1896. His melodramatic tales of the West and Southwest are vivid in t...Browse by Subject
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