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Pilgrims

(Encyclopedia)Pilgrims, in American history, the group of separatists and other individuals who were the founders of Plymouth Colony. The name Pilgrim Fathers is given to those members who made the first crossing o...

Dong, Pham Van

(Encyclopedia)Dong, Pham Van fäm vän dông [key], 1906–2000, prime minister of the Democratic Republic of (North) Vietnam (1954–76) and of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–87). Scion of a prominent M...

coercion

(Encyclopedia)coercion, in law, the unlawful act of compelling a person to do, or to abstain from doing, something by depriving him of the exercise of his free will, particularly by use or threat of physical or mor...

European Council

(Encyclopedia)European Council, institution of the European Union (EU) responsible for defining the EU's general political direction and priorities. It is composed of an elected president (who serves a two-and-a-ha...

Hay-Herrán Treaty

(Encyclopedia)Hay-Herrán Treaty hā-ĕränˈ [key], 1903, aborted agreement between the United States and Colombia providing for U.S. control of the prospective Panama Canal and for U.S. acquisition of a canal zon...

Habermas, Jürgen

(Encyclopedia)Habermas, Jürgen yûrˈgən häˈbûrmäs [key], 1929–, German philosopher. He is a professor at the Univ. of Frankfurt (emeritus since 1994) and is the best-known contemporary proponent of critica...

Genoa, Conference of

(Encyclopedia)Genoa, Conference of, 1922, at Genoa, Italy. Representatives of 34 nations convened on Apr. 10 to attempt the reconstruction of European finance and commerce. It was the first conference after World W...

Foley, Thomas Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Foley, Thomas Stephen, 1929–2013, U.S. congressman, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1989–95), b. Spokane, Wash. A lawyer, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964 ...

Oder-Neisse line

(Encyclopedia)Oder-Neisse line, frontier established in 1945 between Germany and Poland; it followed the Oder and W Neisse rivers from the Baltic Sea to the Czechoslovak border. The boundary, desired by most Poles ...

Organization of African Unity

(Encyclopedia)Organization of African Unity (OAU), former international organization, established 1963 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by 37 independent African nations to promote unity and development; defend the sovere...