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Rhode Island, island, United States

(Encyclopedia)Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. Known to the...

prostitution

(Encyclopedia)prostitution, act of granting sexual access for payment. Although most commonly conducted by females for males, it may be performed by females or males for either females or males. Prostitution in A...

flamethrower

(Encyclopedia)flamethrower, mechanism for shooting a burning stream of liquid or semiliquid fuel at enemy troops or positions. Primitive types of flamethrowers, consisting of hollow tubes filled with burning coals,...

Jackson, Maynard Holbrook, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Maynard Holbrook, Jr., 1938–2003, American politician, b. Dallas, Tex., grad. Morehouse College (B.A., 1956), North Carolina Central Univ. (J.D., 1964). Jackson, a Democratic lawyer with a ...

Ghost Dance

(Encyclopedia)Ghost Dance, central ritual of the messianic religion instituted in the late 19th cent. by a Paiute named Wovoka. The religion prophesied the peaceful end of the westward expansion of whites and a ret...

coolie labor

(Encyclopedia)coolie labor, term applied to unskilled laborers from Asia, especially from India and China. With the discontinuance of slavery, the use of Chinese and Indian contract labor in British and French colo...

manifest destiny

(Encyclopedia)manifest destiny, belief held by many Americans in the 1840s that the United States was destined to expand across the continent, by force, as used against Native Americans, if necessary. The controver...

wickiup

(Encyclopedia)wickiup wĭkˈēŭpˌ [key], temporary dwelling of nomadic Native North Americans. It is a framework of arched poles covered by brush, bark, rushes, or mats. The wickiup is found among Native American...

food adulteration

(Encyclopedia)food adulteration, act of intentionally debasing the quality of food offered for sale either by the admixture or substitution of inferior substances or by the removal of some valuable ingredient. The ...

fraud

(Encyclopedia)fraud, in law, willful misrepresentation intended to deprive another of some right. The offense, generally only a tort, may also constitute the crime of false pretenses. Frauds are either actual or co...