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Civil War, in U.S. history

(Encyclopedia)Civil War, in U.S. history, conflict (1861–65) between the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy. It is generally known in the So...

Maryland

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Maryland mârˈələnd [key], one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States. It is bounded by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean (E), the District of Columbia (S), Virginia and West Virgi...

novel

(Encyclopedia)novel, in modern literary usage, a sustained work of prose fiction a volume or more in length. It is distinguished from the short story and the fictional sketch, which are necessarily brief. Although ...

League of Nations

(Encyclopedia)League of Nations, former international organization, established by the peace treaties that ended World War I. Like its successor, the United Nations, its purpose was the promotion of international p...

romanticism

(Encyclopedia)romanticism, term loosely applied to literary and artistic movements of the late 18th and 19th cent. Romanticism in music was characterized by an emphasis on emotion and great freedom of form. It...

Fourteenth Amendment

(Encyclopedia)Fourteenth Amendment, addition to the U.S. Constitution, adopted 1868. The amendment comprises five sections. Section 2 provides for apportionment of membership in the House of Representatives on th...

piracy

(Encyclopedia)piracy, robbery committed or attempted on the high seas. It is distinguished from privateering in that the pirate holds no commission from and receives the protection of no nation but usually attacks ...

San Francisco

(Encyclopedia)San Francisco săn frănsĭsˈkō [key], city (2020 pop. 873,965), coextensive with San Francisco co., W ...

Antarctica

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Antarctica ăntärkˈtĭkə, –ärˈtĭkə [key], the fifth largest continent, c.5,500,000 sq mi (14,245,000 sq km), asymmetrically centered on the South Pole and almost entirely within the An...

Wisconsin, state, United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Wisconsin wĭskŏnˈsən, –sĭn [key], upper midwestern state of the United States. It is bounded by Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, from which it is divided in part by the...

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