America
America names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
America the grand land division of the western hemisphere of the world
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the grand land division of the western hemisphere of the world, comprising North, Central, and South America, the West Indies and other adjacent islands. Although the indigenous inhabitants of the greater part of America display no family connection with the other races of the earth, the Eskimos of the Arctic regions are unquestionably of Mongolian origin. By many it is believed that the earliest discovery of America was by the Chinese. According to a circumstantial Chinese narrative, the voyager Hwui-Shan, at the end of the 5th century A. D., sailed 32,000 li E. to the Fu-Sang country. Moreover, students of the ancient Mexican and Peruvian civilizations find in them evidences of the imitation of Chinese institutions and practices. The first European voyages to American shores were made by the Northmen, who, in the middle of the 10th century, discovered and colonized Greenland, and (about 1001) visited the coasts of New England, where they established settlements. In 1492 Columbus discovered the West Indies, and in 1498 the mainland of South America; the first navigator to reach the North American mainland was Cabot (1497). The circumstances of the origin of the name America are highly interesting. Amerigo Vespucci, a navigator of Florence, undertook four voyages across the Atlantic-in 1497, 1499, 1501, and 1503. He described his experiences in a series of letters, addressed to his friend Soderini, gonfalonier of Florence, and to other gentlemen. Th These letters were translated by Martin Waldseemüller, a German schoolmaster and cosmographer at St. Dié in Lorraine, and incorporated by him in a treatise, " Cos mographiæ Introductio, " published in He 1507. In his preface Waldseemüller prois fourth part of the world" should be called, after its discoverer, a man of sagacious mind, by the name of Amerigé that is to say, the land of Americus or America, since both Europe and Asia have obtained the name of women." The mature judgment of historical specialists acquits Vespucci of any collusion or participation in the naming of America, and places the responthe obscure Vosgian sibility wholly upon pedagogue. The two American conti nents, with their N. and S. islands, have a length of about 8,280 geographical miles, covering 138 degrees of latitude. Their extreme E. and W. points are separated by 131½ degrees of longitude. The combined area is estimated at 16,- 000,000 square miles; the population at 200,000,000. AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LA- BOR. See LABOR, AMERICAN FEDERA- TION OF. AMERICAN INDIANS. See INDIANS, AMERICAN. AMERICANIZATION. This term was brought into general use during the organization of "Americanization Day" celebrations in a number of cities for July 4, 1915. It properly refers to the "science of race assimilation" -the process of making an American people out of the vast army of immigrants who have come from every nation of the world to seek homes in the United States. The term has consequently been applied somewhat indiscriminately to a wide variety of activities among the foreign born on the assumption that such programs contribute to the process of race assimilation in America. Interest in this fundamental problem of American democracy had been increasing for many years before such programs were designated "Americanization." The publication of the report of the United States Immigration Commission in 1911 marked the culmination of an attempt to formulate a constructive national policy toward immigration and naturalization and has been the basis of many of the programs adopted since. Public interest in the foreign born was quickened by the outbreak of the Great War which revealed the intense nationalistic feeling of many foreignborn groups in America and their utter ignorance of and even estrangement from the daily life of the American people. This situation came to be seriously considered as a problem of national defense when it became clear that the United States would enter the conflict, and a systematic campaign of patriotic education among the foreign born was commenced at once by the Councils of National Defense, the United States Department of the Interior, the Food Administration and other Government agencies charged with the task of uniting the American people in support of the war aims of the nation. The emphasis was gradually shifted from emergency propaganda to a long-time educational program, when a study of conditions in the draft army made by the Surgeon-General's Office showed conclusively that from 18 per cent. to 42 per cent. of the men in army camps were unable to read a newspaper or to write a letter home, and that in the Northern and Middle Western States these illiterates were almost entirely foreign born whites. Indications were that barriers to any understanding of American aims and interests were even more marked than this among the older men and the women in the foreign colonies within America. The whole nation was aroused to the situation and hundreds of Americanization agencies sprang up overnight. National Program. - The leadership in the national movement was assumed by Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, who enlisted the co-operation of the National Council of Defense and the National Americanization Committee, through the Bureau of Education. In March, 1919, connection with the National Americanization Committee was severed and a Federal Division of Americanization, headed by Mr. Fred C. Butler, was organized as a part of the Bureau. Eleven "regional directors" represented the Washington division throughout the United States. Permanent financial support of this division was provided for in the Smith-Bankhead Americanization bill, but the failure of this measure to pass caused the discontinuance of the division at the close of 1919. Interest in Americanization legislation was again roused by the investigation of the steel strike in the fall of 1919 by the Education and Labor Committee of the Senate. This committee became convinced of the need of education of the adult foreign born and introduced the Kenyon bill which (amended) provided for an appropriation of $6,500,000 for the year 1920-1921 for the purpose of educating illiterates and non-Englishspeaking adults. This sum was to have been spent through the various States, on condition that each State should appropriate a sum equal to its share of the Federal grant and should make attendance at classes compulsory for illiterate and non-English-speaking persons from 16 to 45 years. The measure passed the Senate in January, 1920, but was not voted upon in the House. Simultaneously with the Americanization program of the Department of the Interior, the Department of Labor, through its Bureau of Naturalization, has been active in stimulating a program of education in citizenship throughout the country, working through State and local boards of education, as well as through the courts and the industries. State and City Programs. Prior to the war, practically nothing had been done in the individual States toward developing a definite policy toward immigration. Notable exceptions to this rule were California and New York, where permanent Commissions on Immigration have been functioning for some years. During 1917 and 1918, thirty States organized Americanization committees usually as a part of State Defense Council programs-and six had appointed State directors of Americanization. a. A large number of these States passed laws providing facilities for the education of adult immigrants; a few made attendance at school compulsory for non-Englishspeaking adults under 45. Most of these State committees went out of existence with the Defense Councils, but a number have been continued and developed, either as departments of State Divisions of University Extension (e. g., Massachusetts, New York) or as separate departments, attached more or less closely to the State Boards of Education (e. g., Connecticut Delaware, Maryland). A number of city Americanization committees survived the armistice and developed constructive programs. Outstanding features of typical State and city programs follow: (1) The drive against illiteracy (as in New York State, where the elimination of illiteracy has been adopted as a definite goal). (2) Improvement of facilities for immigrant education (as in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Ohio, California, and other States, where teachers have been given special training, methods have been standardized, attendance stimulated, and definite studies of results made). (3) Intensive training of aliens in constructive citizenship-particularly in Massachusetts, where standards have been greatly improved. (4) Home classes for immigrant women-particularly in California, where teachers are paid by the State to teach groups of women in their own homes. (5) Industrial classes in which immigrant workers are given lessons in English and citizenship in factories and shops, either on their own time, or on the employer's, or both. This work is usually run under private auspices, but is often under the direction of State or city educational authorities, as in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Ohio, and other States. (6) Prevention of exploitation of the immigrant, handled by private agencies in many States and cities, but an integral part of the Americanization programs of California, Massachusetts, New York, Delaware, and other States. (7) Stimulation of self-expression of the foreign born and of mutual sympathy among all groups through pageants, parades, homeland exhibits, etc. This has been done by scores of city committees and notably by the New York State Division of University Extension. (8) Recreational work and community organization. (Chiefly by city committees and boards of education, but sometimes as a part of a State program, as in Delaware.) Private Organizations.-Huge sums have been raised by numerous religious activities among immigrants. In some instances the contribution made by these programs to the process of Americanization, or race assimilation, is necessarily subordinated to the special aims and interests for which these groups were organized; in other cases the work is exactly similar to the public programs outlined above. Among the religious groups carrying on systematic programs of work among immigrants are most of the larger Protestant denominations, the National Catholic War Council, the Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A., the Knights of Columbus, the Y. M. H. A., and the W. C. T. U. Extensive campaigns have been conducted by such patriotic organizations as the National Seiga curity League, the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Colonial Dames of America. The National Chamber of Commerce and hundreds of city chambers have done systematic and successful work. The National Federation of Women's Clubs and the National Council of Jewish Women have adopted definite and comprehensive programs of work. Incidentally, the contribution to the process of race assimilation made steadily for many years by the publi libraries, countless social settlements, immigrant aid societies, and legal aid bureaus has been more widely recognized as the Americanization movement developed. an organi-
America the western continent including North and South America and adjacent islands
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
the western continent including North and South America and adjacent islands. The name was applied originally to the eastern part of Brazil by reason of a book of travels written by the Florentine navigator, Amerigo Vespucci. In 1541 Mercator's map extended the name to the entire western world. By a peculiar shift again, the term is now applied, in a narrow and incorrect sense, to the United States by way of distinction from Canada, Mexico, and the countries of South America. GEOLOGY. Roughly speaking, America consists of two triangular land masses joined by a third known as Central America . There is a theory, probably fanciful, that in a remote geologic age the western continent was torn away from the eastern by a convulsion of nature and that the Atlantic Ocean now fills the chasm between. Whether well advised or not, the theory is useful to call attention to the nearly uniform width of the Atlantic when measured on east and west lines; and to the fact that, were the continents brought together, Africa would fit into the Caribbean region, Brazil would fill the Gulf of Guinea, and Labrador would approach the British Isles. The islands now in the way of such a joining are of recent, chiefly volcanic, origin. Though called the New World, America is geologically an old continent. The North American highlands, including Labrador, the Adirondacks, and the Great Lake region, northward to Hudson Bay , are older than any portion of Europe. The rocks about the head of Lake Superior are among the oldest in the world. The eastern highlands of South America are also of great antiquity. TOPOGRAPHY. In many respects the physical features of North and South America are alike. The northeastern highlands have been mentioned. The major mountain chain of each American grand division runs north and south along the western border; the Andes very near the ocean, the Rockies far enough from the coast to permit room for lower ranges and large areas of valuable territory. The Appalachians and the mountains of Brazil complete the comparison. As to rivers and their plains, the La Plata corresponds to the Mississippi; the Amazon to the St. Lawrence; the Orinoco to the Red River of the North and the Saskatchewan, and the Magdalena to the Mackenzie; but here the parallel stops. South America has no land mass corresponding to Alaska, no river answering to the mighty Yukon. The North American triangle is the larger. If we add the West Indies and Central America, its area is approximately 8,700,000 square miles, while that of South America is reckoned at 7,300,000, a total area of 16,000,000 square miles for the continent, exclusive of Greenland. It is somewhat less than a third of all land areas of the world combined. The student cannot fail to note that the broken and irregular coasts of northern and of eastern North America resemble in this respect the northern and western coasts of Europe; and that South America and Africa resemble each other in regularity of outline. The greater part of South America lies in the torrid zone. The greater part of North America lies in a temperate zone, greatly to the advantage of the North American countries. FLORA AND FAUNA. In its plants and animals North America is closely related to Northern Asia and Europe; South America has a peculiar fauna and flora of its own. In respect to plants and animals Central America and the West Indies resemble South America. The North American animals of the deer, cat, and dog families are quite like those of north Asia and Europe. In the case of rats, mice, squirrels, marmots, and a long list of furbearing animals, as the beaver, marten, and otters, the similarity is close, and many native animals are apparently identical. The same remark applies to fishes, as pike, trout, salmon; to birds and insects without number, and even to serpents. The opossum may be mentioned as a strictly North American animal. In South America, on the contrary, including Central America and the West Indies, as stated, the animals are quite distinct from their Old World relatives. There are a few native animals also found elsewhere. The numerous monkeys and parrots of the South American forests are peculiar to the region. The sloth, armadillo, ant-eater, tapir, llama, capybara, guinea pig, boa, and anaconda are as peculiar to South America as the zebra and the hippopotamus are to Africa. Many humming birds, flycatchers, pigeons, goatsuckers, wading birds, the rhea, and others, in fact the greater part of 3,000 species, are known only to the South American region. It is the egg collector's paradise. In fishes, too, Agassiz found the waters rich. Sturgeon and perches are entirely wanting, but he found over a thousand new species in the waters of the Amazon alone. Between the border of the Arctic Ocean and Patagonia there is room for a variety of plant regions that we cannot take space to describe in full. The sharpest contrasts are found within the tropics where differences in moisture and elevation produce corresponding differences in vegetation. Within a few degrees of the equator are found the lofty forests of the Amazon, in which ordinary trees are but underbrush; the grassy plains of the llanos of the Orinoco; the upland fertile valleys of the Andes; the region of eternal ice and snow; volcanoes under the equator itself, and barren deserts on the Pacific coast. No greater contrast is possible and many interesting parallels may be drawn. The frozen tundras of the Arctic coast, with moss, shrub, and saxifrage, correspond in a way to the barren rocks of Patagonia; the Great Plains to the cattle region of Argentina; the cereal region of the Mississippi Valley to that of the La Plata; Mexico to the uplands of Bolivia and Peru; while the West Indies have points in common with the coffee country of Brazil and with the banana region of Central America. See articles on the various countries, rivers, cities, minerals, animals, plants, etc.
America an organization formed in 1899 by Walter E
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
an organization formed in 1899 by Walter E. Bentley, an actor who had formerly been a clergyman. Its object was to foster a better understanding between the stage and the church, to urge that no theatrical performances be given on Sunday, and to promote the wel fare of actors. It is affiliated with a British organization of similar aims and has had a steady growth. Its membership is over 5,000, and it has at its call 1,500 chaplains in more than 400 cities of America.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's put the population of the Americas at 200,000,000 in 1921; today the two continents and their islands hold well over a billion people, roughly a third of them in the United States and Brazil alone. The Norse voyages the entry reports on faith were confirmed in 1960, when Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad excavated a Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland; a 2021 tree-ring study dated its timbers to exactly AD 1021, a thousand years to the year before the study appeared. The Chinese Fu-Sang voyage of Hwui-Shan, which Collier's calls "circumstantial," is no longer taken seriously by historians, and the supposed Chinese borrowings in Mexican and Peruvian civilisation have been abandoned; DNA instead traces all Indigenous Americans, Inuit included, to Siberian populations who crossed Beringia, with the Inuit arriving in a much later wave. Waldseemüller's part in the naming still stands as Collier's tells it — and the sole surviving copy of his 1507 map, found in a German castle in 1901, was bought by the Library of Congress in 2003 for $10 million.
Written for this edition, 2026.