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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 ...

Latrobe, Benjamin Henry

(Encyclopedia)Latrobe, Benjamin Henry (Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe) lətrōbˈ [key], 1764–1820, American architect, b. Yorkshire, England. He is considered the first professional architect in the United State...

Trumbull, John , American painter

(Encyclopedia)Trumbull, John, 1756–1843, American painter, b. Lebanon, Conn.; son of Gov. Jonathan Trumbull. He served in the Continental Army early in the Revolution as an aide to Washington. He resigned his com...

Jackson, Michael Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Michael Joseph, 1958–2009, American performer, b. Gary, Ind. Jackson was an extremely successful pop singer, superb dancer, and talented composer who often conveyed an androgynous image and...

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

(Encyclopedia)Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, in U.S. history, resolutions passed in opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were enacted by the Federalists in 1798. The Jeffersonian Republicans first r...

social contract

(Encyclopedia)social contract, agreement or covenant by which men are said to have abandoned the “state of nature” to form the society in which they now live. The theory of such a contract, first formulated by ...

Liberal Republican party

(Encyclopedia)Liberal Republican party, in U.S. history, organization formed in 1872 by Republicans discontented at the political corruption and the policies of President Grant's first administration. Other disaffe...

Mexico, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Mexico, Gulf of, arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.700,000 sq mi (1,813,000 sq km), SE North America. The Gulf stretches more than 1,100 mi (1,770 km) from west to east and c.800 mi (1,290 km) from north t...

Schuller, Gunther Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Schuller, Gunther Alexander, 1925–2015, American composer and conductor, b. Queens, N.Y. He studied French horn and flute, becoming principal hornist with the Cincinnati Symphony (1943–45) and Met...

Coltrane, John

(Encyclopedia)Coltrane, John kōltrānˈ, kōlˈtrān [key], 1926–67, American jazz musician, b. Hamlet, N.C. He began ...