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school vouchers
(Encyclopedia)school vouchers, government grants aimed at improving education for the children of low-income families by providing school tuition that can be used at public or private schools. The idea behind schoo...Hay-Herrán Treaty
(Encyclopedia)Hay-Herrán Treaty hā-ĕränˈ [key], 1903, aborted agreement between the United States and Colombia providing for U.S. control of the prospective Panama Canal and for U.S. acquisition of a canal zon...air pollution
(Encyclopedia)air pollution, contamination of the air by noxious gases and minute particles of solid and liquid matter (particulates) in concentrations that endanger health. The major sources of air pollution are t...shopping center
(Encyclopedia)shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marke...homelessness
(Encyclopedia)homelessness, the condition of not having a permanent place to live, widely perceived as a societal problem only beginning in the 1980s. Figures for the number of homeless people in the United States ...Ramakrishna
(Encyclopedia)Ramakrishna or Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa shrē räˌməkrĭshˈnə pəräˌməhänˈsä [key], 1836–86, Hindu mystic. He was born of a poor Brahman family in Bengal, and his given name was Gadadha...road
(Encyclopedia)road, strip of land used for transportation. The history of roads has been related to the centralizing of populations in powerful cities, which the roads have served for military purposes and for trad...Tiverton
(Encyclopedia)Tiverton tĭvˈərtən [key], rural town (1990 pop. 14,312), Newport co., SE R.I., between the Sakonnet River and the Mass. line; settled 1680, included in Massachusetts until 1746, inc. 1747. Tiverto...Opium Wars
(Encyclopedia)Opium Wars, 1839–42 and 1856–60, two wars between China and Western countries that marked the shift of wealth and power from East to West. The first was between Great Britain and China. Early in t...extraterritoriality
(Encyclopedia)extraterritoriality or exterritoriality, privilege of immunity from local law enforcement enjoyed by certain aliens. Although physically present upon the territory of a foreign nation, those aliens po...Browse by Subject
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