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criticism

(Encyclopedia)criticism, the interpretation and evaluation of literature and the arts. It exists in a variety of literary forms: dialogues (Plato, John Dryden), verse (Horace, Alexander Pope), letters (John Keats),...

Declaration of Independence

(Encyclopedia)Declaration of Independence, full and formal declaration adopted July 4, 1776, by representatives of the Thirteen Colonies in North America announcing the separation of those colonies from Great Brita...

Franklin, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Franklin, Benjamin, 1706–90, American statesman, printer, scientist, and writer, b. Boston. The only American of the colonial period to earn a European reputation as a natural philosopher, he is bes...

abolitionists

(Encyclopedia)abolitionists, in U.S. history, particularly in the three decades before the Civil War, members of the movement that agitated for the compulsory emancipation of the slaves. Abolitionists are distingui...

Gaelic literature

(Encyclopedia)Gaelic literature, literature in the native tongue of Ireland and Scotland. Since Scots Gaelic became separate from Irish Gaelic only in the 17th cent., the literature is conventionally divided into O...

Republican party

(Encyclopedia)Republican party, American political party. In 1980, the conservative Ronald Reagan, a former supporter of Barry Goldwater, regained the presidency for the Republicans and reversed long-standi...

mystery

(Encyclopedia)mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

tragedy

(Encyclopedia)tragedy, form of drama that depicts the suffering of a heroic individual who is often overcome by the very obstacles he is struggling to remove. The protagonist may be brought low by a character flaw ...

children's book illustration

(Encyclopedia)children's book illustration, any type of picture or decorative work produced for books specifically intended for a youthful audience. During the 1960s a number of seldom-used techniques were introd...

Indian wars

(Encyclopedia)Indian wars, in American history, general term referring to the series of conflicts between Europeans and their descendants and the indigenous peoples of North America. After 1860 the wars continued...