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Slaughterhouse Cases

(Encyclopedia)Slaughterhouse Cases, cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1873. In 1869 the Louisiana legislature granted a 25-year monopoly to a slaughterhouse concern in New Orleans for the stated purpose of...

Cadbury, Dame Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Cadbury, Dame Elizabeth kădˈbərē, –bĕrē [key], 1858–1951, English social worker and philanthropist, b. Elizabeth Mary Taylor, studied in France and Germany; wife of George Cadbury. She becam...

Marshall, John

(Encyclopedia)Marshall, John, 1755–1835, American jurist, 4th chief justice of the United States (1801–35), b. Virginia. Marshall in his arguments drew much from his colleagues, especially his devoted adhe...

London, Declaration of

(Encyclopedia)London, Declaration of, international code of maritime law, especially as related to war, proposed in 1909. The declaration grew largely out of the attempt at the second of the Hague Conferences to se...

affirmative action

(Encyclopedia)affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women....

Fitzwilliam, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Fitzwilliam, Sir William, 1526–99, lord deputy of Ireland. He acquired (1547) land in Ireland by a grant of Edward VI. Although a Protestant, he was loyal to Queen Mary I, and she appointed him keep...

Willing, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Willing, Thomas, 1731–1821, American merchant and financier, b. Philadelphia. He studied law in London. Returning to Philadelphia in 1749, he entered his father's business and later established with...

Sessions, William Steele

(Encyclopedia)Sessions, William Steele, 1930–2020, U.S. government official, b. Fort Smith, Ark. After serving in the U.S. air force (1951–55), he attended Baylor Univ. (B.A. 1956, LL.B. 1958). A Republican, he...

Mosquito Coast

(Encyclopedia)Mosquito Coast or Mosquitia məskēˈtēə, mōskētēˈä [key], region, east coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. The name is derived from the Miskito, the indigenous inhabitants and remnants of the Cho...

George, James Zachariah

(Encyclopedia)George, James Zachariah, 1826–97, American jurist and legislator, b. Monroe co., Ga. He moved to Mississippi in 1834 and, after serving in the Mexican War, became a prominent lawyer. He was long a r...