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American Colonization Society

(Encyclopedia)American Colonization Society, organized Dec., 1816–Jan., 1817, at Washington, D.C., to transport free blacks from the United States and settle them in Africa. The freeing of many slaves, principall...

American Film Institute

(Encyclopedia)American Film Institute (AFI), nonprofit organization established in Washington, D.C., in 1967 by the National Endowment for the Arts to preserve and catalog American films and television, to provide ...

American Fur Company

(Encyclopedia)American Fur Company, chartered by John Jacob Astor (1763–1848) in 1808 to compete with the great fur-trading companies in Canada—the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. Astor's most ...

American Geographical Society

(Encyclopedia)American Geographical Society (AGS), oldest geographical society in the United States, founded 1852 in New York City. Its purpose is to advance the science of geography through discussion and publicat...

American Indian languages

(Encyclopedia)American Indian languages: see Native American languages. ...

American Indian Movement

(Encyclopedia)American Indian Movement (AIM), Native American civil-rights activist organization, founded in 1968 to encourage self-determination among Native Americans and to establish international re...

American International Group

(Encyclopedia)American International Group (AIG), American multinational insurance corporation whose potential bankruptcy in 2008 led to the largest federal bailout of a private company. AIG was founded as American...

American Kennel Club

(Encyclopedia)American Kennel Club (AKC), national organization in the United States devoted to the advancement and welfare of pure-bred dogs. It is comprised of approximately 500 autonomous clubs. A delegate repre...

American Labor party

(Encyclopedia)American Labor party, organized in New York by labor leaders and liberals in 1936, primarily to support Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal and the men favoring it in national and local elections. It...

American Landrace swine

(Encyclopedia)American Landrace swine, relatively new breed of swine developed from Danish Landrace hogs imported in 1934 by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. They are totally white. Noted for their smoothness, length...