Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

coeducation

(Encyclopedia)coeducation, instruction of both sexes in the same institution. The economic benefits gained from joint classes and the need to secure equality for women in industrial, professional, and political act...

Gordon, John Brown

(Encyclopedia)Gordon, John Brown, 1832–1904, U.S. public official and Confederate general, b. Upson co., Ga. Gordon began his Civil War service as an infantry captain and so distinguished himself through four yea...

National Defense Education Act

(Encyclopedia)National Defense Education Act (NDEA), federal legislation passed in 1958 providing aid to education in the United States at all levels, public and private. NDEA was instituted primarily to stimulate ...

state flowers

(Encyclopedia)state flowers. Each state of the United States has designated, usually by legislative action, one flower as its floral emblem; the rose has been designated by Congress as the national flower of the Un...

open enrollment

(Encyclopedia)open enrollment, a policy of admitting to college all high-school graduates in an effort to provide a higher education for all who desire it. To critics it means an inevitable lowering of standards as...

states' rights

(Encyclopedia)states' rights, in U.S. history, doctrine based on the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to ...

home schooling

(Encyclopedia)home schooling, the practice of teaching children in the home as an alternative to attending public or private elementary or high school. In most cases, one or both of the children's parents serve as ...

Confederation, Articles of

(Encyclopedia)Confederation, Articles of, in U.S. history, ratified in 1781 and superseded by the Constitution of the United States in 1789. The imperative need for unity among the new states created by the America...

Freeman, Orville Lothrop

(Encyclopedia)Freeman, Orville Lothrop, 1918–2003, American political figure, b. Minneapolis. In World War II he served in the U.S. marine corps, was severely wounded, and was discharged with the rank of major in...

parochial school

(Encyclopedia)parochial school pərōˈkēəl [key], school supported by a religious body. In the United States such schools are maintained by a number of religious groups, including Lutherans, Seventh-day Adventis...

Browse by Subject