Résultats pour "were"

Electoral College.

III HISTORY OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE A Origins One thing is clear about the political theory underpinning the electoral college: The framers of the Constitution could not agree on one. From the outset, the framerswere uncertain about how the president should be chosen. Meeting in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787, the framers originally decidedto have Congress choose the president, and that there should be no popular vote to elect the president. Then the Con...

Pyramids (Egypt) - geography.

displayed in its full majesty. B Interior The interior of the Great Pyramid is complex, with a series of passages leading to several rooms. The most important room is the King’s Chamber, the room in which Khufu’sbody was placed during his funeral. In this room the priests left items that Khufu, like all Egyptians, would need for the afterlife. Although the builders tried to blockpassages and doors when they left the pyramid after the king’s funeral, tomb robbers did eventually take everything o...

Qur'an.

man who profoundly influenced the history of the world. See Spread of Islam. Muhammad’s home, the Arab city of Mecca, was a major religious center and site of the revered sanctuary and shrine, the Kaaba. According to legend, the ancientreligious patriarch of the Hebrew Bible, Abraham, and his son, Ishmael, built the shrine using foundations laid by the first human being and father of humankind, Adam.During Muhammad’s years there, from about AD 570 to 622, Mecca was also an environment of spir...

Gambling.

C Lotteries Lotteries are another form of gambling. In a lottery, tickets are sold for a set amount and a share of the proceeds is returned to the winners, usually through a randomdraw. Most games allow players to pick their own numbers or let a computer randomly pick for them. Lotteries offer a wide variety of games, including weekly drawings,instant “scratch” tickets, daily games, and superlottos with prizes increasing until there is a winner. Large lottery prizes sometimes exceed $100 millio...

Gold - chemistry.

producers of gold during this period. Spain's domination in South America resulted, in the 16th century, in a large increase in gold produced in the New World; someresulted from simple seizure of gold from the Native Americans, who had long mined the metal. In the same century Mexico contributed about 9 percent of the totalworld production. Gold was discovered in Australia in February 1851, and rich fields were found there. By the middle of the 19th century the United States produced a considera...

Wilfrid Laurier.

The Manitoba schools were the main issue in the 1896 election. Although the Catholic clergy campaigned against him, Laurier argued in Québec that he would obtainbetter terms for the Catholics by negotiating directly with the provincial government of Manitoba. “Hands off Manitoba” was an effective slogan in the other provinces aswell. A second issue was corruption in the Conservative Party, as a series of scandals had rocked the Bowell administration. Israel Tarte, a former Québec conservativewho...

Wilfrid Laurier - Canadian History.

The Manitoba schools were the main issue in the 1896 election. Although the Catholic clergy campaigned against him, Laurier argued in Québec that he would obtainbetter terms for the Catholics by negotiating directly with the provincial government of Manitoba. “Hands off Manitoba” was an effective slogan in the other provinces aswell. A second issue was corruption in the Conservative Party, as a series of scandals had rocked the Bowell administration. Israel Tarte, a former Québec conservativewho...

Togo - country.

corn, millet, and sorghum. The leading export crops are coffee, cotton, groundnuts, and cacao. Livestock, chiefly sheep and goats, are raised on the northern plateau.Fish are caught in Togo’s rivers and in the Gulf of Guinea. B Mining and Manufacturing Togo is a leading producer of phosphates, which are by far the country’s most significant mineral product. In 2004, 400,000 metric tons of phosphate rock were mined.Industrial activity is limited but growing. The leading manufactures include ceme...

From The Canterbury Tales - anthology.

In Gernade at the sege eek hadde he beOf Algezir, and riden in Belmarye;At Lyes was he and at Satalye,Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete SeeAt many a noble arivee hadde he be. At mortal batailes hadde he been fifteene,And foughten for oure feith at TramisseneIn listes thries, and ay slayn his fo. This ilke worthy knyght hadde been alsoSometime with the lord of PalatyeAgain another hethen in Turkye;And everemore he hadde a soverein pris.And though that he were worthy, he was wis,And of his po...

Babylonia - USA History.

Pharmacology, too, doubtless had made considerable progress, although the only major direct evidence of this comes from a Sumerian tablet written several centuriesbefore Hammurabi. C Legal System and Writing Law and justice were key concepts in the Babylonian way of life. Justice was administered by the courts, each of which consisted of from one to four judges. Often theelders of a town constituted a tribunal. The judges could not reverse their decisions for any reason, but appeals from their...

Scramble for Africa - history.

Sir Henry Morton StanleyAnglo-American explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley was a key figure in the Scramble for Africa. His late 19th-century exploration anddevelopment of the lower Congo River in the name of Belgian king Leopold II led to the creation of the huge Congo Free State asLeopold’s personal property.THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE European competition over African territory in the 1870s heightened once Belgian king Leopold II got involved. Merchants under French government protection had beenadvan...

Connecticut Yankee - anthology.

This missionary knight's name was La Cote Male Taile, and he said that this castle was the abode of Morgan le Fay, sister of King Arthur, and wife of King Uriens,monarch of a realm about as big as the District of Columbia—you could stand in the middle of it and throw bricks into the next kingdom. “Kings” and “Kingdoms”were as thick in Britain as they had been in little Palestine in Joshua's time, when people had to sleep with their knees pulled up because they couldn't stretch outwithout a passp...

Social Psychology.

During the 1960s, American psychologist Stanley Milgram studied a form of social influence stronger than conformity: obedience to authority. In a famous series ofexperiments that attracted controversy about human research ethics, Milgram put each of 1,000 subjects into a situation in which they were ordered by anexperimenter to administer painful electric shocks to a confederate (who did not actually receive any shocks). The subjects in these studies were led to believe that theywere acting as '...

Calligraphy I INTRODUCTION Japanese Calligraphy This hanging scroll is an example of Japanese calligraphy.

Section of the Egyptian Book of the DeadThe Egyptian Book of the Dead was a text containing prayers, spells, and hymns, the knowledge of which was to be usedby the dead to guide and protect the soul on the hazardous journey through the afterlife. This section of one such book,dating from the early 19th Dynasty, shows the final judgment of the deceased (in this case Hu-Nefer, the royal scribe)before Osiris, the god of the dead. Hieroglyphs as well as illustrations portray the ritual of weighing t...

British Empire .

B1 The Seven Years’ War During the Seven Years’ War in Europe (1756-1763), Britain made large imperial gains at the expense of France. The North American segment of the Seven Years’ Warwas known as the French and Indian War. It was launched by the British against French possessions in North America in 1754, and in 1758 the British captured theFrench fortress of Louisbourg, which gave them access to French territory in the St. Lawrence Valley. In the following year Québec was captured, marking t...

Confucianism.

IV NEO-CONFUCIANISM After centuries of intellectual and cultural dominance by Buddhism, China began to experience a revival of Confucian thought during the Tang dynasty ( AD 618-907). It was led by poet and essayist Han Yu (Han Yü). Han Yu attacked Buddhism and Daoism, which he believed had kept government officials from seeing how they couldhelp the people. To further public welfare, he urged them to study the way of the ancient sages through the Five Classics . Han Yu almost lost his life f...

Statistics I INTRODUCTION Statistics, branch of mathematics that deals with the collection, organization, and analysis of numerical data and with such problems as experiment design and decision making.

Professional pollsters typically conduct their surveys among sample populations of 1,000 people. Statistical measurementsshow that reductions in the margin of error flatten out considerably after the sample size reaches 1,000.© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The raw materials of statistics are sets of numbers obtained from enumerations or measurements. In collecting statistical data, adequate precautions must be taken tosecure complete and accurate information. The first problem of...

Liberia - country.

West Atlantic, or Kwa linguistic groups. D Education Education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 15. However, a scarcity of educational facilities means that few Liberians progress beyondprimary school. Almost all children of primary school-age attend school, but the figure drops to 23 percent (1999–2000) for secondary school-age children. Just 60percent of the population was literate in 2005. Higher education is provided by the University of Liberia (1862), in Monro...

Illustration I INTRODUCTION Illustration, pictorial material appearing with a text and amplifying or enhancing it.

Hypnerotomachia PoliphiliThe Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (The Strife of Love in a Dream), a work attributed to Dominican monk Francesco deColonna, was first published in Venice, Italy, in 1499 by Aldus Manutius. Its text and its beautiful woodcut illustrationsinfluenced Renaissance art and architecture. This illustration shows the book’s protagonist, Poliphilus, asleep under a tree.The Pierpont Morgan Library/Art Resource, NY The first illustrated book with a text printed from movable type was pro...

San Antonio (city, Texas) - geography.

The SBC Center is the home venue for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the San Antonio Silver Stars of the Women's NationalBasketball Association (WNBA). The dome also serves as the site for the Alamo Bowl, an annual post-season college football game. Large themed amusement parks inthe San Antonio area are Fiesta Texas and Sea World of Texas. San Antonio’s major annual event is the Fiesta, a ten-day celebration in late April with carnivals, ethnic feasts, art...

Cheetah - biology.

animals such as zebras. Unlike most cats, cheetahs hunt during the day, when lions and hyenas that compete with them for prey are less likely to be active. Still,scientists in Tanzania have observed that cheetahs lose 10 to 13 percent of their kills to lions and hyenas. Alerted by the panic of a gazelle herd or by the circling ofvultures, lions and hyenas close in and easily drive the more timid cheetah away from a fresh kill. A cheetah usually stalks prey to within about 10 m (about 33 ft) and...

Impressionism (art) I INTRODUCTION Vegetable Garden at the Hermitage, Pontoise Vegetable Garden at the Hermitage, Pontoise (1879) was painted by the French artist Camille Pissarro.

the Grass; 1863, Musée d’Orsay, Paris), which depicts a nude woman at a woodland picnic. To emphasize the woman’snakedness, Manet not only shows that she has recently disrobed (by painting her clothes in a heap nearby) but alsodepicts her male companions fully clothed. In addition, the woman stares directly and unabashedly at the viewer, makingus feel almost like voyeurs as we gaze back. Manet’s painting style–the flat figures, which look almost like cutouts, andloose brushwork–also bewildered a...

Arabic Literature I INTRODUCTION Arabic Literature, literature written in the Arabic language, from the 6th century to the present.

The life of the Prophet Muhammad also generated its own literary sources, primary among which is the hadith. The hadiths were a collection of the Prophet's sayings and actions, transmitted through a chain of authorities said to go back to Muhammad himself. The two most famous collections of hadiths are those of al-Bukhari andMuslim in the 9th century. These works provide a wealth of information covering all aspects of a Muslim's life, from prayer to personal, social, and business conduct. The...

Native American Literature I INTRODUCTION Leslie Marmon Silko Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko is perhaps best known for her first novel, Ceremony (1977), a coming-of-age story about a young man of mixed Native American and white ancestry.

SequoyahNative Americans did not use a complex written language before the immigration of Europeans to the Americas. In theearly 1820s the Cherokee leader Sequoyah developed an alphabet and written language for his native tongue. ManyCherokee learned the new written language readily, and in 1828 they published the first Native American newspaper,written in both Cherokee and English.THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE Before Native Americans came into contact with Europeans, many tribes supplemented the spoken...

Sir Charles Tupper.

campaign, Macdonald asked him to become minister of finance. He was then sent to Washington, D.C., as leader of the Canadian delegation to settle a fisheries disputewith the United States. A treaty was worked out and signed, but the U.S. Senate refused to ratify it. Tupper had already become a Knight Commander of St. Michaeland St. George in 1879, and he received the Knight Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George in 1886. For his services in Washington he was given the hereditary titleof baron...

Sir Charles Tupper - Canadian History.

campaign, Macdonald asked him to become minister of finance. He was then sent to Washington, D.C., as leader of the Canadian delegation to settle a fisheries disputewith the United States. A treaty was worked out and signed, but the U.S. Senate refused to ratify it. Tupper had already become a Knight Commander of St. Michaeland St. George in 1879, and he received the Knight Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George in 1886. For his services in Washington he was given the hereditary titleof baron...

Musical I INTRODUCTION George Gershwin American pianist, songwriter, and composer George Gershwin was one of the most important figures in popular song in the 1920s and 1930s.

C Extravaganzas Another predecessor of musical comedy, the extravaganza, evolved soon after the American Civil War (1861-1865) from traditional English pantomime. Extravaganzaswere typically based on fairy tales and Mother Goose. They introduced some of the elements—songs, dances, and comedy combined with spectacular stage sets andeffects—that American musical comedy later became known for. The first and most famous extravaganza show was The Black Crook (1866), often described as America’s fi...

From Bulfinch's Mythology: Hercules - anthology.

'…amidst the gardens fairOf Hesperus and his daughters three,That sing about the golden tree.' The poets, led by the analogy of the lovely appearance of the western sky at sunset, viewed the west as a region of brightness and glory. Hence they placed in it theIsles of the Blest, the ruddy Isle Erytheia, on which the bright oxen of Geryon were pastured, and the Isle of the Hesperides. The apples are supposed by some to bethe oranges of Spain, of which the Greeks had heard some obscure account...

Athens (Greece) - geography.

At the heart of the modern city is Syntagma (Constitution) Square, located east of the Acropolis. The square is bordered by the national Parliament Building, originally aroyal palace completed in 1842 for King Otto I. Nearby is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which features a daily changing of the guard. Several of the city’s principalhotels as well the offices of major banks and airline companies also face the square. Behind the Parliament Building is the National Gardens, a public park that i...

Republican Party.

the reaction to the depression that the Republican Party controlled Congress for only 4 of the 48 years between 1932 and 1980. The Republicans did win the presidencyfour times during that period—in 1952, 1956, 1968, and 1972—when the Democratic Party split or when some unusual combination of circumstances occurred. Fromthe 1930s through the 1970s, however, the Democratic Party was the dominant party in the United States. The response of the Republicans to this new situation was confusion, anger,...

disseminating popular music until the 1920s remained printed sheet music. By the late 19th century, the music-publishing business was centralized in New York City,particularly in an area of lower Manhattan called Tin Pan Alley. “After the Ball” (1892) by Charles K. Harris, the first popular song to sell 1 million copies—in this case, ofsheet music—inspired rapid growth in the music-publishing industry. Composers were hired to rapidly produce popular songs by the dozens, and the techniques ofFost...

The Beatles I INTRODUCTION Beatlemania BBC Worldwide Americas, Inc.

more sophisticated lyrical ideas. The group’s next album, Rubber Soul (1965), is regarded as a creative breakthrough. It featured instruments innovative to Western pop/rock music, such as the Indian sitar, and experimental sounds. The Revolver album (1966) was another important advance in songwriting and musical craftsmanship for the band. IV LATER YEARS AND BREAKUP The pressures caused by the group’s extreme popularity—known as Beatlemania—resulted in safety problems for the group, especi...

Comics I INTRODUCTION Comics, series of drawings arranged to tell a story.

is still used to refer to sensationalistic techniques that publishers use to draw more readers to their newspapers. Outcault finally won the right to continue his strip andgradually adopted the panel style and balloon narration that mark “The Yellow Kid” as the first true comic strip. Other early comics included “Little Bears” by JamesSwinnerton, which first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner in 1892, and “The Katzenjammer Kids” by Rudolph Dirks, which first appeared in The American Humo...

Dwight D.

maneuvers in Louisiana in 1941, he played a leading role as a staff officer, adding to his reputation and securing him a promotion to brigadier general. On December 7,1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the next day the United States entered World War II against the Axis Powers (Japan, Germany, and Italy). A weeklater, the army’s new chief of staff, General George C. Marshall, called Eisenhower to Washington, D.C., and put him in charge of the War Plans Division. Opinions differed on...

Moscow (city, Russia) - geography.

V RECREATION About 30 percent of Moscow’s territory is occupied by parks and public gardens, which were important elements of Soviet city planning. Gorky Park, which providesactivities such as amusement rides and boating, sits on the right bank of the Moscow River; the park’s display of a retired Soviet space shuttle dominates the riverside.The Moscow Zoo is located just west of the city center. The Botanical Gardens, administered by the Russian Academy of Sciences, offers a diverse display of...

Lyndon B.

A1 First Years in Office Johnson quickly made a two-fold reputation. He was a firm supporter of Roosevelt’s program, both domestic and foreign, and he was also a tireless worker on behalf ofthe voters he represented. Often the two activities coincided, as was the case when he helped to bring public power into Texas through the Rural ElectrificationAdministration and the Lower Colorado River Authority. He also secured funds for the building of dams, roads, and other public improvements in his di...

Kyrgyzstan - country.

are Bishkek, the capital, located on the Chu River in the far north; and Osh, located in the Fergana Valley. A Ethnic Groups Ethnic Kyrgyz make up about 65 percent of the population of Kyrgyzstan. Uzbeks, who live primarily in the Fergana Valley, constitute about 14 percent of thepopulation. Russians, who live principally in Bishkek and other industrial centers, make up about 13 percent of the population. Other ethnic groups include Hui (ChineseMuslims, also known as Dungans), Ukrainians, Uygur...

Atlanta - geography.

Prominent cultural and historical institutions in the city include the High Museum of Art (1983), designed by the noted postmodern American architect Richard Meier; theAtlanta Symphony; the Atlanta History Center, which maintains a history museum, historic houses and gardens, and extensive library and archives; NexusContemporary Art Center; the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center; the Apex Museum; the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University; the Clark Atlanta University ArtGallery; Fernbank Scie...

Sigmund Freud.

reminiscences from the past and about her daydreams. Remarkably, as her narrative revisited memories from the past, which were associated with the onset of aparticular symptom, each symptom disappeared when accompanied by an emotional outburst. Breuer made use of this discovery to eliminate her symptoms one at atime. He called the treatment the cathartic technique (from the Greek katharsis meaning “purgation”). The treatment was time consuming and required considerable effort to reach dimly re...

Latvia - country.

The population of Latvia is about 2,245,423 (2008 estimate), yielding an average population density of 35 persons per sq km (91 per sq mi). Latvia is highly urbanized.Some 66 percent of the population lives in urban areas, with nearly one-third of the total population residing in the capital, Rīga. Other important cities includeDaugavpils, an industrial center in the southeast, on the Daugava River; Liep āja, an important port on the Baltic Sea; Jelgava, an industrial center near Rîga; J ūrmala,...

Benin - country.

French is the official language of Benin, but most people speak an African language. Each of the country’s ethnic groups has its own language. Fon is the most widelyspoken language. About 52 percent of the population professes traditional religious beliefs, chiefly Vodun, a belief in spirits. Arab merchants introduced Islam to the region, and today it isthe religion of some 20 percent of the people, most of whom live in the north. Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism, is the religion of ab...

Census.

Prior to any census, a census agency must develop an accurate list of addresses and maps to ensure that everyone is counted. The U.S. Census Bureau obtainsaddresses primarily from the United States Postal Service and from previous census address lists. It also works closely with state, local, and tribal governments tocompile accurate lists. Finally, census agencies often conduct an extensive marketing campaign before Census Day to remind the general population about theimportance of responding t...

The Gambia - country.

The population of The Gambia (2008 estimate) is 1,735,464, making it one of the least populous countries of Africa. Still, the country has a fairly high overall populationdensity of 174 persons per sq km (449 per sq mi), and the population is increasing at a rate of 2.7 percent a year. Banjul, formerly called Bathurst, is the capital andonly seaport. The largest city is Serrekunda, a transportation hub and commercial center. B Religion and Language The great majority of the people of The Gambia...

German Literature I INTRODUCTION German Literature, literature written in the German language from the 8th century to the present, and including the works of German, Austrian, and Swiss authors.

Till EulenspiegelThe medieval peasant Till Eulenspiegel appears in many German folktales as a trickster who outwits people in positions ofauthority. In this image his first name is spelled Tyll.Keystone Pressedienst GmbH The rise of the middle class in the 14th and 15th centuries and the struggles of the peasants against the nobility culminated in the great 16th-century religiousrevolution known as the Reformation. This movement was reflected in literature, especially by Martin Luther, whose tra...

Dominica - country.

Other crops are being promoted to diversify the economy away from reliance on bananas. They include coffee, cacao, mangoes, citrus fruit, and root vegetables. Pumice is quarried and exported on Dominica. Manufacturing is on a small scale and largely limited to the processing of farm products. The main manufactured goodsare fruit juices, alcoholic beverages, soap, and essential oils. The island also has electronic assembly plants, data-processing companies, and garment manufacturers. The governme...

Georgia (country) - country.

1917. During the subsequent Soviet period, religious practice was strongly discouraged because the Soviet state was officially atheistic; however, the GeorgianOrthodox Church was allowed to function openly. Orthodox Christianity is the religion of about 58 percent of the Georgian population. Muslims represent about 19 percent of the country’s population, with ethnicAzerbaijanis, Kurds, and Ajars comprising the principal Muslim groups. Ajars are ethnic Georgians who converted to Islam in the 17th...

Panama Canal - Geography.

The size of ships using the Panama Canal has steadily increased. About 27 percent of the vessels that use the canal are built to the maximum dimensions that can passthrough it (a category called “Panamax”). This has prompted further widening of Gaillard Cut, so that the larger Panamax vessels may transit safely. However, some ofthe world’s commercial and military ships are too large for the canal. Since the 1940s, new U.S. battleships and aircraft carriers have been built exceeding the canal’sdi...

Manhattan Project - U.

other possible uses of nuclear energy, such as using uranium to operate large power plants or, perhaps, as power sources for ships or submarines. Then Nazi Germanyinvaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and Europe plunged into war. The scientists realized that any plans to build large-scale nuclear power plants would have to waituntil the war was over. Two weeks after the invasion of Poland, Hitler made a radio speech in which he threatened Britain with “a weapon against which there is no defense.”...

Zimbabwe - country.

contamination—especially from the dieldrin and DDT used in tsetse fly control—has significantly affected wildlife and human health. III PEOPLE AND SOCIETY OF ZIMBABWE In 2008 Zimbabwe’s population was estimated to be 12,382,920, giving the country a population density of 32 persons per sq km (83 per sq mi). With a birth rate of27 per 1,000 and a death rate of 22 per 1,000, Zimbabwe’s population growth rate is 0.6 percent. Life expectancy at birth was estimated at 40 years in 2008, downfrom 59...

Mythology.

Across cultures, mythologies tend to describe similar characters. A common character is the trickster. The trickster is recklessly bold and even immoral, but through hisinventiveness he often helps human beings. In Greek mythology, Hermes (best known as the messenger of the gods) was a famous trickster. In one version of acharacteristic tale, Hermes, while still an infant, stole the cattle of his half-brother Apollo. To avoid leaving a trail that could be followed, Hermes made shoes from thebark...

1609 résultats pour "were"