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Reclamation, United States Bureau of

(Encyclopedia)Reclamation, United States Bureau of, agency set up in the Dept. of the Interior under the Reclamation Act of 1902. It is charged with promoting regional economies by developing water and related land...

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

(Encyclopedia)Vietnam Veterans Memorial, war memorial in Washington, D.C., built 1982. Designed by the American sculptor and architect Maya Ying Lin, it is a sloping, V-shaped, 493-ft (150-m) wall of highly polishe...

American Legion

(Encyclopedia)American Legion, national association of male and female war veterans, founded (1919) in Paris. Membership is open to veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The preamble...

Senate, United States

(Encyclopedia)Senate, United States: see Congress of the United States. ...

Memorial Day

(Encyclopedia)Memorial Day, holiday in the United States observed in late May. Previously designated Decoration Day, it was inaugurated in 1868 by Gen. John A. Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of Civi...

Derwinski, Edward Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Derwinski, Edward Joseph,1926–2012, U.S. politican and government official, b. Chicago. After serving in the army during World War II, he graduated (1951) from Loyola Univ., Chicago, and was preside...

Great Seal of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Great Seal of the United States: see United States, Great Seal of the. ...

National Museum of the United States

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of the United States: see Smithsonian Institution. ...

Presidents of the United States (table)

(Encyclopedia)Presidents of the United States

United States, Great Seal of the

(Encyclopedia)United States, Great Seal of the, official impression that validates a United States government document. It was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1782 and, with only minor changes in the design,...