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Stair, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Stair, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount dălrĭmˈpəl, dălˈrĭmpəl [key], 1619–95, Scottish jurist. A student and then a regent of the Univ. of Glasgow, he was admitted to the bar in 1648. He suppo...

Ten Commandments

(Encyclopedia)Ten Commandments or Decalogue [Gr.,=ten words], in the Bible, the summary of divine law given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They have a paramount place in the ethical systems of Judaism, Christianity,...

age of consent

(Encyclopedia)age of consent, the age at which, according to the law, persons are bound by their words and acts. There are different ages at which one acquires legal capacity to consent to marriage, to choose a gua...

Brennan, William Joseph, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Brennan, William Joseph, Jr., 1906–97, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1956–90), b. Newark, N.J. After receiving his law degree from Harvard, he practiced law in Newark. He served as ...

Whiskey Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Whiskey Rebellion, 1794, uprising in the Pennsylvania counties W of the Alleghenies, caused by Alexander Hamilton's excise tax of 1791. The settlers, mainly Scotch-Irish, for whom whiskey was an impor...

Ur-Nammu

(Encyclopedia)Ur-Nammu ŭr-nämˈo͞o [key], fl. 2060 b.c., king of the ancient city of Ur, sometimes called Zur-Nammu or Ur-Engur. He founded a new Sumerian dynasty, the third dynasty of Ur, that lasted a century....

land tenure

(Encyclopedia)land tenure: see tenure, in law.

eight-hour day

(Encyclopedia)eight-hour day: see labor law.

rules of order

(Encyclopedia)rules of order: see parliamentary law. ...

Lansing, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Lansing, Robert, 1864–1928, U.S. Secretary of State (1915–20), b. Watertown, N.Y. An authority in the field of international law, he founded the American Journal of International Law in 1907 and r...