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prehistory

(Encyclopedia)prehistory, period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some reco...

passive resistance

(Encyclopedia)passive resistance a method of nonviolent protest against laws or policies in order to force a change or secure concessions; it is also known as nonviolent resistance and is the main tactic of civil d...

belligerency

(Encyclopedia)belligerency bəlĭjˈərənsē [key], in international law, status of parties legally at war. Belligerency exists in a war between nations or in a civil war if the established government treats the i...

veto

(Encyclopedia)veto [Lat.,=I forbid], power of one functionary (e.g., the president) of a government, or of one member of a group or coalition, to block the operation of laws or agreements passed or entered into by ...

parliamentary law

(Encyclopedia)parliamentary law, rules under which deliberative bodies conduct their proceedings. In English-speaking countries these are based on the practice of the British Parliament, chiefly in the House of Com...

Malinovsky, Rodion Yakovlevich

(Encyclopedia)Malinovsky, Rodion Yakovlevich rōdyōnˈ yäˈkəvlyĭvĭch mälyĭnŏfˈskē [key], 1898–1967, Soviet marshal, b. Ukraine. He joined the Communist party in 1926. In World War II Malinovsky command...

Green, Theodore Francis

(Encyclopedia)Green, Theodore Francis, 1867–1966, American politician, b. Providence, R.I. After studying law at Harvard and in Europe, he was admitted to the bar (1892) and practiced in Providence. Active in Dem...

Cummings, Homer Stillé

(Encyclopedia)Cummings, Homer Stillé, 1870–1956, American lawyer, U.S. Attorney General (1933–39), b. Chicago. He practiced law in Stamford, Conn., where he was mayor three times. He served as chairman of the ...

Gingrich, Newt

(Encyclopedia)Gingrich, Newt (Newton Leroy Gingrich) gĭngˈgrĭch [key], 1943–, U.S. congressman, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1995–98), b. Harrisburg, Pa., as Newton Leroy McPherson. A histor...

Mérida, city, Venezuela

(Encyclopedia)Mérida mārēˈdĕ [key], city (1990 pop. 170,902), capital of Mérida state, W Venezuela. The highest city in Venezuela, Mérida has fishing and a variety of light manufacturing, in addition to such...