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territory

(Encyclopedia)territory, in U.S. history, a portion of the national domain that is given limited self-government, usually in preparation for statehood. Territorial governments have been similar in form to those of ...

cabinet

(Encyclopedia)cabinet, group of advisers to the head of the state who themselves are usually the heads of the administrative government departments. The nature of the cabinet differs widely in various countries. In...

Homestead Act

(Encyclopedia)Homestead Act, 1862, passed by the U.S. Congress. It provided for the transfer of 160 acres (65 hectares) of unoccupied public land to each homesteader on payment of a nominal fee after five years of ...

Wallace, Sir Richard

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Sir Richard, 1818–90, English art collector. The illegitimate son of the marquess of Hertford, he inherited in 1871 his father's superb collection of continental art, which he had helped to...

force bill

(Encyclopedia)force bill, popular name for several laws in U.S. history, notably the act of Mar. 2, 1833, and the Reconstruction acts of May 31, 1870; Feb. 28, 1871; and Apr. 20, 1871. The first force bill, passed ...

Obote, Apollo Milton

(Encyclopedia)Obote, Apollo Milton ōbōˈtā [key], 1924–2005, president of Uganda (1966–71, 1980–85). Obote, a member of the legislative council of Uganda from 1957, founded (1960) the Uganda People's Congr...

Trelleborg

(Encyclopedia)Trelleborg trĕləbôrˈyə [key], city (1990 pop. 22,850), Malmöhus co., extreme S Sweden, a port on the Baltic Sea. Manufactures include machinery, rubber, cement, and refined sugar. It is an impor...

Yoho National Park

(Encyclopedia)Yoho National Park yōˈhō [key], 507 sq mi (1,313 sq km), SE British Columbia, Canada, in the Rocky Mts. at the Alta. border; est. 1886. It lies W of the Continental Divide, adjoining Banff and Koot...

Tonkin Gulf resolution

(Encyclopedia)Tonkin Gulf resolution, in U.S. history, Congressional resolution passed in 1964 that authorized military action in Southeast Asia. On Aug. 4, 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonki...

Carey, Hugh Leo

(Encyclopedia)Carey, Hugh Leo, 1919–2011, American politician, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. St. John's Univ. (1942), St. John's Univ. School of Law (1951). A liberal Democrat, Carey was elected to Congress in 1960 an...

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