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Ferguson, Patrick

(Encyclopedia)Ferguson, Patrick, 1744–80, British army officer in the American Revolution. He invented an early breech-loading rifle in 1776. Ferguson fought at Brandywine and Charleston before he was assigned to...

Health, Education, and Welfare, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Health, Education, and Welfare, United States Department of: see Education, United States Department of; Health and Human Services, United States Department of. ...

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 ...

Orr, James Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Orr, James Lawrence, 1822–73, American politician, b. Craytonville, S.C. He served in the South Carolina legislature (1844–48) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1849–59), where he was (1...

Rogers, James Harvey

(Encyclopedia)Rogers, James Harvey, 1886–1939, American economist, b. South Carolina, grad. Univ. of South Carolina (B.A., 1906) and Yale (B.A., 1909; Ph.D., 1916). He was professor of economics at the Univ. of M...

Lease, Mary Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Lease, Mary Elizabeth, 1853–1933, American agrarian reformer and temperance advocate, b. Ridgeway, Pa. The daughter of an Irish political refugee, she first gained recognition for a series of lectur...

Lynch, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Lynch, Thomas, 1749–79, political figure in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, known as Thomas Lynch, Jr., b. Prince George Parish, S.C., studied Cambridge and law a...

minister, in parliamentary government

(Encyclopedia)minister, in government: see cabinet. ...

Government National Mortgage Association

(Encyclopedia)Government National Mortgage Association: see under Federal National Mortgage Association. ...

constitution, principles of government

(Encyclopedia)constitution, fundamental principles of government in a nation, either implied in its laws, institutions, and customs, or embodied in one fundamental document or in several. In the first category—cu...