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Davis, David

(Encyclopedia)Davis, David, 1815–86, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1862–77), b. Cecil co., Md., grad. Kenyon College, 1832; cousin of Henry Winter Davis. In 1836 he settled as a ...

Education, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Education, United States Department of, executive department of the federal government responsible for advising on educational plans and policies, providing assistance for education, and carrying out ...

Defense, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Defense, United States Department of, executive department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to nationa...

Des Moines, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Des Moines, river, 535 mi (861 km) long, rising in SW Minn. and flowing SE across Iowa to the Mississippi River at Keokuk, SE Iowa. Flowing through fertile farmland, the river floods in the spring and...

Des Plaines, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Des Plaines, river, 110 mi (177 km) long, rising in SE Wis., and flowing S and SW through NE Ill., joining the Kankakee River S of Joliet, Ill., to form the Illinois River. The lower Des Plaines is pa...

Congress of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Congress of the United States, the legislative branch of the federal government, instituted (1789) by Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which prescribes its membership and defines it...

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