Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

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...

e-commerce

(Encyclopedia)e-commerce, commerce conducted over the Internet, most often via the World Wide Web. E-commerce can apply to purchases made through the Web or to business-to-business activities such as inventory tran...

Great Migration

(Encyclopedia)Great Migration, in U.S. history. 1 The migration of Puritans to New England from England, 1620–40, prior to the English civil war. As a result of the increasingly tyrannical rule of King Charles I ...

strike

(Encyclopedia)strike, concentrated work stoppage by a group of employees, the chief weapon of organized labor. A suspension of work on the employer's part is called a lockout. Strikes usually result from conflicts ...

McCumber, Porter James

(Encyclopedia)McCumber, Porter James, 1858–1933, American political leader, b. Crete, Ill. He began law practice in North Dakota and served (1885–89) in the territorial legislature. From 1899 to 1923 he was a R...

curare

(Encyclopedia)curare kyo͝orärˈē [key], any of a variety of substances originally used as arrow poisons by Native South Americans in hunting and in warfare. The main active substance of curare, tubocurarine, is ...

embargo

(Encyclopedia)embargo ĕmbärˈgō [key], prohibition by a country of the departure of ships or certain types of goods from its ports. Instances of confining all domestic ships to port are rare, and the Embargo Act...

Sherman, Stuart Pratt

(Encyclopedia)Sherman, Stuart Pratt, 1881–1926, American critic and editor, b. Anita, Iowa, grad. Williams, 1900, Ph.D. Harvard, 1906. Professor of English at the Univ. of Illinois from 1907 to 1924, he resigned ...

Clinton, James

(Encyclopedia)Clinton, James, 1733–1812, American Revolutionary general, b. Orange co., N.Y.; brother of George Clinton and father of De Witt Clinton. He served in the French and Indian Wars and early in the Revo...

Eagle Pass

(Encyclopedia)Eagle Pass, city (2020 pop. 28,130), seat of Maverick co., W Tex., a port of entry on the Rio Grande opposite Piedras Negras, Mexico; inc. 1918. Linked ...

Browse by Subject