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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...

student movements

(Encyclopedia)student movements, designation given to the ideas and activities of student groups involved in social protest. Historically, student movements have been in existence almost as long as universities the...

Air Force, United States Department of the

(Encyclopedia)Air Force, United States Department of the, military department within the U.S. Dept. of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). The Air Force traces its roots to the founding of the Aeron...

fortification

(Encyclopedia)fortification, system of defense structures for protection from enemy attacks. Fortification developed along two general lines: permanent sites built in peacetime, and emplacements and obstacles hasti...

air forces

(Encyclopedia)air forces, those portions of a nation's military organization employing heavier-than-air aircraft for reconnaissance, support of ground troops, aerial combat, and bombing of enemy lines of communicat...

Foreign Ministers, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Foreign Ministers, Council of, organization of the foreign ministers of the World War II Allies—the United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR—that, in a long series of meetings, attempted...

neutrality

(Encyclopedia)neutrality, in international law, status of a nation that refrains from participation in a war between other states and maintains an impartial attitude toward the belligerents. Neutrality is not to be...

selective service

(Encyclopedia)selective service, in U.S. history, term for conscription. Conscription was established (1863) in the U.S. Civil War, but proved unpopular (see draft riots). The law authorized release from service to...

Japanese art

(Encyclopedia)Japanese art, works of art created in the islands that make up the nation of Japan. In the mid-19th cent. a few print designers attained distinction, but no masters appeared to equal their p...

Defense, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Defense, United States Department of, executive department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to nationa...

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