Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

206 results found

Bayh, Birch Evans, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Bayh, Birch Evans, Jr. bÄ« [key], 1928–2019, U.S. politician, b. Terre Haute, Ind., grad. Indiana Univ. law school (1960). A Democrat, Bayh served (1954–62) in the Indiana legislature, then (1963â...

police power

(Encyclopedia)police power, in law, right of a government to make laws necessary for the health, morals, and welfare of the populace. The term has greatest currency in the United States, where it has been defined b...

due process of law

(Encyclopedia)due process of law: see Fourteenth Amendment. ...

Gideon v. Wainwright

(Encyclopedia)Gideon v. Wainwright, case decided in 1963 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Clarence Earl Gideon was convicted of a felony in a Florida court. He had defended himself after being denied a request for free c...

Platt, Orville Hitchcock

(Encyclopedia)Platt, Orville Hitchcock, 1827–1905, U.S. Senator (1879–1905), b. Washington, Litchfield co., Conn. Platt held many public offices in Connecticut before he served in the U.S. Senate. He helped fra...

Catt, Carrie Chapman

(Encyclopedia)Catt, Carrie Chapman, 1859–1947, American suffragist and peace advocate, b. Carrie Lane, Ripon, Wis., grad. Iowa State College (now Iowa State Univ.), 1880. She was superintendent of schools (1883â€...

Equal Pay Act

(Encyclopedia)Equal Pay Act, U.S. law passed (1963) as an amendment to the Wages and Hours Act (see Fair Labor Standards Act) which prohibits discrimination based on sex that results in unequal pay for equal work. ...

poll tax

(Encyclopedia)poll tax, a capital tax levied equally on every adult in the community. Although no longer a significant source of revenue for any major country, the poll tax did provide large sums for many governmen...

initiative

(Encyclopedia)initiative, the originating of a law or constitutional amendment by popular petition. It is intended to allow the electorate to initiate legislation independently of the legislature. This direct form ...

New York Times Company v. Sullivan

(Encyclopedia)New York Times Company v. Sullivan, case decided in 1964 by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1960, the Times ran a fundraising advertisement signed by civil-rights leaders that criticized, among other thing...