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National Republican party

(Encyclopedia)National Republican party, in U.S. history, a short-lived political party opposed to Andrew Jackson. In the election of 1828, which Jackson won overwhelmingly, some of the supporters of his opponent, ...

National Science Foundation

(Encyclopedia)National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government concerned with promoting a national science policy by supporting basic research and educ...

National Security Agency

(Encyclopedia)National Security Agency (NSA), an independent agency within the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Founded by presidential order in 1952, its primary functions are to collect and analyze communications intellige...

National Security Council

(Encyclopedia)National Security Council (NSC), federal executive council responsible for planning, coordinating, and evaluating the defense policies of the United States and also exercising direction over the Centr...

National Youth Administration

(Encyclopedia)National Youth Administration (NYA), former U.S. government agency established in 1935 within the Works Progress Administration; it was transferred in 1939 to the Federal Security Agency and was place...

Australian National University

(Encyclopedia)Australian National University, located in Canberra and state-sponsored, founded 1946 as Australia's only completely research-oriented university. Originally limited to graduate studies, it expanded i...

Audubon Society, National

(Encyclopedia)Audubon Society, National, one of the oldest and best-known U.S. environmental organizations; founded 1886 by George Cird Grinnell and named for John James Audubon. The nonprofit organization, which h...

Navajo National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Navajo National Monument: see National Parks and Monuments (table)national parks and monuments (table). ...

Argonne National Laboratory

(Encyclopedia)Argonne National Laboratory, research center, based in Argonne, Ill., 27 mi (43 km) SW of downtown Chicago, with other facilities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, 50 mi (80 km) W of Idaho...

Arlington National Cemetery

(Encyclopedia)Arlington National Cemetery, 420 acres (170 hectares), N Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.; est. 1864. More than 60,000 American war dead, as well as notables including Presidents Wi...

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