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dower

(Encyclopedia)dower, that portion of a deceased husband's real property that a widow is legally entitled to use during her lifetime to support herself and their children. A wife may claim the dower if her husband d...

Commerce, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Commerce, United States Department of, federal executive department charged with promoting U.S. economic development and technological advancement. In Feb., 1903, the Congress established a Department...

Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States

(Encyclopedia)Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States, in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall, memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Designed by architect James Ingo Freed, it opened in 1993. Using a stark, ...

International Trade Commission, United States

(Encyclopedia)International Trade Commission, United States, independent agency of the U.S. government established in 1916 as the Tariff Commission; renamed International Trade Commission in 1975. It is charged wit...

State, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)State, United States Department of, executive department of the federal government responsible, under the President's direction, for the making and execution of American foreign policy. Before and ...

Bedford, Gunning, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Bedford, Gunning, Jr., 1747–1812, American political leader, b. Philadelphia. Settling in Delaware, Bedford became a member of the local legislature, attorney general (1784–89), and a delegate to ...

federalism

(Encyclopedia)federalism. 1 In political science, see federal government. 2 In U.S. history, see states' rights. ...

Agriculture, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Agriculture, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1862, whose head was made a cabinet member in 1889. The department administers federal programs related to food pr...

Mott, Lucretia Coffin

(Encyclopedia)Mott, Lucretia Coffin, 1793–1880, American feminist and reformer, b. Nantucket, Mass. She moved (1804) with her family to Boston and later (1809) to Philadelphia. A Quaker, she studied and taught at...

Maine, state, United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Maine, largest of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by New Hampshire (W), the Canadian provinces of Quebec (NW) and New Brunswick (NE), the Bay of Fundy (E), and th...