Core Knowledge
Pierre Beauchamp
(1631-1705) taught dance to French King Louis XIV at Versailles for over two decades. An early director of the Western world's first dance institution, the Académie Royale de Danse, he collaborated extensively with Molière's acting company and composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. He is often credited with codifying the five basic feet positions in ballet. His system of dance notation, later revised by Raoul-Auger Feuillet and Pierre Rameau and today known as "Beauchamp-Feuillet notation," was used until the late 1700s.
Oresteia
(Aeschylus, c. 458 BC) Originally a four-play cycle, only three works (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides) survive. (A "satyr play" entitled Proteus has been lost.) Agamemnon, the first play in the trilogy, describes the murder of Agamemnon and his concubine Cassandra by Agamemnon's adulterous wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus. The Libation Bearers continues the story, describing how Agamemnon's children, Orestes and Electra, avenge their father by murdering Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. However, the Furies relentlessly pursue Orestes for his matricide, leading to the events of The Eumenides. In this third play, Orestes appeals to Athena, who organizes a trial for him (with Apollo as a defense counsel). Ultimately, when Apollo argues that the man is more important than the woman in a marriage, Orestes is acquitted, and the Furies are renamed the Eumenides, or "The Kindly Ones." The cycle has been retold numerous times in modern literature, notably by Eugene O'Neill in Mourning Becomes Electra and by Jean-Paul Sartre in The Flies.
Seven Against Thebes
(Aeschylus, c. 467 BC) This early Greek tragedy tells the story of Oedipus's two sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, who initially agreed to rule Thebes together before Eteocles seized the kingship for himself. Most of the play consists of a conversation between Eteocles, the chorus, and a spy who describes the seven captains who have arrived to besiege the seven gates of Thebes. After each man is described, Eteocles selects the warrior who will face that attacker. When the seventh attacker is revealed to be Polyneices, Eteocles sets off to confront his brother. At the conclusion of the play, it is announced that although Eteocles's forces have turned back the invaders, the brothers have slain each other. Antigone, the sister of Eteocles and Polyneices, vows to defy the laws of Thebes by giving Polyneices a proper burial.
Aluminum
(Al, 13) is the most common metal in Earth's crust, and the first metal in the p block of elements. First isolated by Hans Christian Oersted, its primary ore is bauxite, from which it is refined using large amounts of electric current, via electrolysis, through the Bayer and Hall-Héroult processes. (Because aluminum exists only in a +3 oxidation state, it takes three moles of electrons to produce one mole of aluminum; as a result, it has been estimated that 5% of all electricity in the U.S. goes to purifying aluminum.) It is found in the mineral corundum, which is found in many gems, including sapphires and rubies; the specific impurities found in a gem determine its color. It is also found in aluminosilicates such as feldspar.
Lawrence v. Texas
(Anthony Kennedy, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 6-3, 2003) In 1998, a false police report led Houston police to the apartment of John Lawrence; upon entering, deputies claimed they found Lawrence having sex with another man, Tyron Gardner. Both men were charged with homosexual conduct, still a misdemeanor in Texas. Justice Kennedy's majority opinion held that the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause protected a person's "liberty" to engage in consensual homosexual activity, and declared the Texas law unconstitutional. The decision in Lawrence overturned Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)—in which the court upheld a similar Georgia law—and has been cited as a key predecessor of both U.S. v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges.
The Frogs
(Aristophanes, c. 405 BC) This comedy centers on the god Dionysus, who journeys to the underworld with his much smarter slave Xanthias. Dionysus is unhappy with the low quality of contemporary theater, and plans to bring the playwright Euripides back from the dead. As the ferryman Charon rows Dionysus to the underworld (Xanthias is forced to walk), a chorus of the title creatures appears and repeatedly chants the phrase "Brekekekex, ko-ax, ko-ax." Dionysus and Xanthias then have a series of misadventures, during which they alternately claim to be Heracles. Finally, the two find Euripides arguing with the playwright Aeschylus as to which is the better author. After the dramatists "weigh" their verses on a scale, and offer advice on how to save the city of Athens, Dionysus judges that it is Aeschylus who should be brought back to life.
Lysistrata
(Aristophanes, c. 411 BC) The title character of this comedy is an Athenian woman who decides to end the Peloponnesian War, which was still ongoing when the play premiered in 411 BC At the beginning of the play, Lysistrata assembles a secret "Council of Women," whose members represent many different regions of Greece. Once the women have gathered, Lysistrata reveals her proposal: all Greek women should abstain from having sex until the men agree to stop fighting. Although Lysistrata's plan draws protests from her bawdy neighbor Calonice, and from the amorous wife Myrrhine, the Spartan Lampito reluctantly supports the idea, and helps to convince the other women. As Athenian women capture the Acropolis, the female representatives from other regions return home to enlist their compatriots in the plan. The ensuing events include conflicts between a chorus of old women and a chorus of old men, and a personal plea to Myrrhine from her husband, Cinesias. Both genders suffer from sexual deprivation, but the women of Greece remain united. With the aid of a beautiful girl called Diallage, or Reconciliation, Lysistrata convinces the frenzied men to agree to an equitable peace.
The Birds
(Aristophanes, c. 414 BC) At the start of this comedy, two Athenians named Peisthetaerus and Euelpides seek out Tereus, a human king who was transformed into a a bird called a hoopoe (some translations refer to Tereus as "Epops," the Greek word for hoopoe). Peisthetaerus convinces Tereus and his fellow birds to build a city in the sky, which would allow the birds to demand sacrifices from humans, and to blockade the Olympian gods. Peisthetaerus and Euelpides eat a root that gives them wings, and aid the birds in the construction of the city Nephelokokkygia, or "Cloudcuckooland." Peisthetaerus also drives away objectionable visitors, such as a poet, an oracle-monger, and a dealer in decrees. After the messenger goddess Iris is found in the city, the residents of Cloudcuckooland demand concessions from the Olympians. On the advice of Prometheus, Peisthetaerus demands that Zeus give up his mistress Basileia, or Sovereignty, from whom "all things come." Peisthetaerus marries Basileia, and is crowned king.
The Clouds
(Aristophanes, c. 423 BC) This comedy lampoons Athenian philosophers, especially Socrates and his Sophist followers, whose insubstantial, obfuscating arguments are inspired by the title goddesses. The protagonist Strepsiades fears that his horse-obsessed son, Pheidippides, is spending too much money. Consequently, Strepsiades wants Pheidippides to enroll in the Phrontisterion, or "Thinkery" of Socrates to learn specious arguments that can be used to avoid paying debts. Pheidippides refuses, so Strepsiades enrolls in the Thinkery himself. There, Strepsiades learns about new discoveries, such as a technique to measure how far a flea can jump. Eventually Pheidippides is also pressured into studying at the Thinkery, where he and Strepsiades are instructed by the beings Just and Unjust Discourse. Strepsiades believes that the education will enable Pheidippides to foil all creditors, but Pheidippides instead uses his new-found debating skills to justify beating up his father. In response, Strepsiades leads a mob to destroy the Thinkery.
Gold
(Au, 79) was known to the ancients as a relatively inert metal. Its atomic symbol Au comes from its Latin name, aurum. It is resistant to attack by most acids, but it (along with platinum) will dissolve in aqua regia, a mixture of concentrated nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. Among all metals, it has the highest electronegativity and electron affinity; it occasionally is found in a -1 oxidation state as Au-. Widely used in jewelry, it also has a number of scientific uses. Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment demonstrated the existence of a positively charged nucleus. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) often requires that specimens be "sputtered," or thinly coated, with gold atoms to allow imaging. Suspensions of gold compounds have been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Hohenzollern
(Brandenburg, Prussia, Germany and Romania) The House of Hohenzollern began as Burgraves of Nuremburg, but eventually gained such titles as Margrave of Brandenburg, Duke and later King of Prussia, Emperor of Germany, and King of Romania. Some of its notable rulers included Frederick the Great (an Enlightened ruler who established the military might of Prussia) and Wilhelm II (the Emperor of Germany during World War I). Hapsburg, also known as Habsburg (Holy Roman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Spain) The Hapsburgs ruled much of Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the end of World War I. Their first important ruler was Rudolf I, the King of Germany and Duke of Austria in the late thirteenth Century. Other notable rulers included Charles V, Maria Theresa and Franz Joseph.
Carbon
(C, 6) is found, by definition, in all organic compounds. It is the fourth most abundant element in the Universe. It has three major isotopes: isotope 12, which is stable; isotope 13, which is used in NMR spectroscopy; and isotope 14, which is radioactive and is the basis of carbon dating. Carbon's ability to form four chemical bonds means that it has many different allotropes. The best-characterized natural isotopes are diamond, which consists of a tetrahedral network of carbon atoms, and graphite, which consists of planes of carbon atoms arranged in hexagons. Fullerenes such as buckyballs and carbon nanotubes, on the other hand, are generally produced synthetically; buckyballs are roughly spherical. More recently, graphene, which is a single layer of atoms shaped like graphite, has proven to have remarkable properties; for example, it is nearly transparent while being about 200 times stronger than an equivalent mass of steel.
Muller v. Oregon
(David Brewer, Chief Justice Melville Fuller, 9-0, 1908) Oregon laundry owner Curt Muller was fined for violating an Oregon law that limited the working hours of female employees; he appealed, claiming the law was an unconstitutional restriction of freedom of contract. Arguing on behalf of Oregon, future Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis invoked scientific evidence to support the notion that excessive working hours were deleterious to a woman's health. Oregon's statute was upheld on the grounds that the state had a compelling interest in protecting the health of its female workers. One side effect of the decision was the judicial justification of sex discrimination in legislation.
Austerlitz
(December 2, 1805, Czech Republic) Napoleon's Grand Army then struck east at Austria and Russia, the land-bound members of the Third Coalition. Napoleon's first move was to force the surrender of 30,000 Austrians under General Mack at Ulm. The French then turned east into the heart of Austria, where they seized Vienna and awaited counterattack by the Russians. At Austerlitz on December 2, 1805, a mostly-Russian coalition army collided with the waiting French. (The Russians, led in person by Tsar Alexander I, were joined by the scattered remains of the Austrian army under Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Austerlitz is thus known as the "Battle of the Three Emperors.") The allies, planning to advance their left, abandoned the Pratzen Heights, a dominating hill in the center of the battlefield. Napoleon seized the heights, splitting the Russian army and then defeating each half in turn. The resulting Peace of Pressburg (December 26, 1805) ended the War of the Third Coalition and brought about the downfall of the Holy Roman Empire.
Baker v. Carr
(Earl Warren, 6-2, 1962) Charles W. Baker, a Tennessee citizen, sued the Tennessee secretary state, Joe Carr, claiming that the state's electoral districts had been drawn to grossly favor one political party. The defendant argued that reapportionment issues were political, not judicial, matters, but the court disagreed and declared the issue justiciable before remanding the case to a lower court. Two years later, in Reynolds v. Sims, the court mandated the principle of "one man, one vote."
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
(Earl Warren, 9-0, 1954) The suit was filed on behalf of Linda Brown, a third grader, who had to walk a mile to a blacks-only school when a whites-only school was much closer. Future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall argued the case for the plaintiff. The court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and ruled that "separate but equal" facilities were not constitutional. A second case in 1955 required that desegregation proceed "with all deliberate speed" but Southern schools were notoriously slow in complying; it was not until 1970 that a majority had complied with the ruling.
Gideon v. Wainwright
(Earl Warren, 9-0, 1963) Clarence Earl Gideon was accused of breaking into a pool hall in Florida. Because his crime was not capital, the court declined to provide him with an attorney. He was convicted, sued Louie Wainwright, the director of the corrections office, and took his case to the Supreme Court. The court overruled Betts v. Brady and held that the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments required appointed counsel in all trials. Gideon was retried and found innocent. The case is the subject of the book Gideon's Trumpet.
Miranda v. Arizona
(Earl Warren, author and Chief Justice, 5-4, 1966) In 1963, Phoenix police arrested Ernesto Miranda on suspicion of kidnapping and rape; he subsequently confessed to those crimes. During his initial interrogation by police, Miranda was never informed of his Fifth or Sixth Amendment rights. Writing for a thin majority, Chief Justice Warren stated that "[p]rior to any questioning, [a] person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed," laying the groundwork for the iconic "Miranda warnings."
Loving v. Virginia
(Earl Warren, author and Chief Justice, 9-0, 1967) Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was an anti-miscegenation law that criminalized marriages between whites and non-whites. In 1958, Virginia residents Richard Loving (a white man) and Mildred Jeter (a woman of both African-American and Native American heritage) were married in Washington, D.C., which did not have such a statute. After returning to their Virginia home, they were arrested and convicted under the Racial Integrity Act. Striking down that Act as violating both the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, Chief Justice Warren wrote that "the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State."
Hammer v. Dagenhart
(Edward Douglass White, 5-4, 1918) The Keating-Own Act prohibited the interstate sale of goods produced by child labor leading Roland Dagenhart to sue U.S. attorney Hammer in Charlotte since his two sons would be put out of work. The court ruled that the federal government did not have the right to regulate child labor; Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a notable dissent focusing on the lack of proper state regulation. The case was overturned by the 1941 U.S. v. Darby Lumber Company case upholding the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Stuart
(England and Scotland) The first Stuart King of England was James I (James VI of Scotland), who commissioned the King James Bible and survived the Gunpowder Plot. Other notable rulers included Charles I (who was beheaded following the English Civil War) and Charles II (who was restored to power after Oliver Cromwell died). It was under the last Stuart Queen, Anne, that the Acts of Union were passed and Great Britain was founded.
Plantagenet
(England, 1154-1399) The Plantagenets rose to power when Geoffrey V of Anjou married Matilda, and their rule ended when Richard II was deposed in 1399. Some of their notable rulers included Richard I, John, and Edward I. The signing of the Magna Carta, the English conquest of Wales, and the beginning of the Hundred Years War all occurred during their reign. The houses of Lancaster and York were cadet branches (new royal houses formed by non-inheriting members) of the Plantagenets. Tudor (England, 1485-1603) The Tudors rose to power when Henry Tudor aligned with the Lancasters in the War of the Roses. He became King Henry VII following his victory at Bosworth Field. Their notable rulers included Henry VIII (who broke with the Catholic Church in England and had six wives) and Elizabeth I (whose lack of a husband and heir led to the extinction of the house).
The Bacchae
(Euripides, c. 405 BC) At the start of this tragedy, the god Dionysus arrives in Thebes to seek vengeance against his aunt Agave, who has denied his immortality, and her son Pentheus, who as King of Thebes bans worship of Dionysus. The god first drives the women of the city mad, causing them to act as wild Maenads. He then convinces Pentheus to disguise himself in animal skins, and spy on the maddened women. However, the demented Agave mistakes Pentheus for a mountain lion, and dismembers her own son. The climax of the play occurs when Agave presents the head of Pentheus to her horrified father, Cadmus. As Agave realizes what she has done, Dionysus chastises her for her lack of respect, and foretells how Cadmus will spend his final days.
Medea
(Euripides, c. 431 BC) This Euripides play retells the myth of Medea, a sorceress from Colchis who saved Jason and the Argonauts during their quest for the Golden Fleece. Set after the Argonauts' quest, the play depicts Medea's vengeance against Jason as he prepares to marry the Corinthian princess Glauce. Medea uses poisoned robes to kill Glauce and Glauce's father Creon (a different character than the Creon who appears in Sophocles's Theban plays). Not content with this, Medea seeks to hurt Jason further by killing the sons that she bore him. When Jason tries to confront Medea, she appears above the stage in a chariot pulled by dragons, and exchanges bitter words with her former lover before departing to seek refuge with King Aegeus of Athens. The play's ending is a classic example of a deus ex machina, a literary device in which plot problems are suddenly resolved by an unexpected contrivance.
Iron
(Fe, 26) is the most common metal in the Earth, and one of the major components of the core as well. Iron was known to the ancients; its atomic symbol Fe comes from the Latin name ferrum. Iron is the namesake of ferromagnetism; one of its ores is magnetite, Fe3O4, which contains iron in both of its most common oxidation states, 2+ and 3+. Iron(II) sulfide, FeS2, is formally known as pyrite, but because of its appearance has long been known as fool's gold. Iron can react with oxygen in the air to form iron(III) oxide, Fe2O3, in a relatively slow but exothermic process; this process is used in "all-day" heat patches. Hydrated iron(III) oxide is better known as rust; rust only forms when iron is exposed to both oxygen and water. Its isotope 56 is "doubly magic" in that its nucleus has 28 protons and 28 neutrons; 28 is a magic number that carries special stability. As a result, iron-56 is one of the most stable of all nuclei, and it is the heaviest nucleus that is normally produced during stellar nucleosynthesis. The largest use of iron is in steel.
Valois
(France, 1328-1589) The first Valois King of France was Philip VI, during whose reign the Hundred Years' War began and the Black Death struck France. Notable Valois rulers included Louis XI (who acquired Burgundy), Francis I (who began the French Renaissance) and Henry III (whose assassination in the French Wars of Religion ended the Valois dynasty).
Bourbon
(France, 1589-1792) The first Bourbon king was Henry IV, who was victorious in the War of the Three Henrys and issued the Edict of Nantes guaranteeing religious freedom. Notable Bourbon rulers included Louis XIV and Louis XVI (who was beheaded during the French Revolution). Following Napoleon's fall, the Bourbons briefly ruled France again until the July Revolution of 1830. Spain has also been ruled mostly by the Bourbons since 1700.
Capetians
(France, 987-1328) The Capetians' first monarch was Hugh Capet, who was elected king following the death of Louis V. Their notable rulers included Philip II (who went on the Third Crusade), Louis IX (a canonized saint), and Philip IV (who expelled the Jews of France in 1306 and arrested the Knights Templar in 1307). The rule of the Capetians ended when Philip IV's sons failed to produce male heirs.
Helium
(He, 2) is the lightest noble gas and the second most abundant element in the Universe (after hydrogen). Discovered by Sir William Ramsey, Pierre Janssen, and Norman Lockyer, it has two stable isotopes, helium-3 and helium-4, with helium-4 by far the more common. Because of their different quantum properties (the helium-3 nucleus is a fermion, while the helium-4 nucleus is a boson), the isotopes of helium actually have significantly different physical properties. Helium-4 can exist in a zero-viscosity state known as superfluidity when its temperature drops below the lambda point. Helium has the lowest boiling point of any element; liquid helium is used for devices that need intense cooling, such as MRI machines. Most helium on Earth results from radioactive decay, since the helium nucleus is equivalent to an alpha particle.
Mercury
(Hg, 80) is one of just two elements that is a liquid at standard temperature and pressure (the only other one is bromine). It has been known since antiquity, and is found in ores such as cinnabar. Older names for it, reflecting its liquid nature, include hydrargyrum (the source of its symbol) and quicksilver. Because it is a very dense liquid, it is commonly used in barometers to measure atmospheric pressure; the pressure exerted by the atmosphere equals the pressure exerted by a column containing 760 millimeters of mercury. Alloys of mercury with other metals are called amalgams, some of which have been used as dental fillings. Chronic exposure to mercury can cause psychological problems; its use in hatmaking led to the expression "mad as a hatter." More recently, concerns about mercury exposure have led to the banning of mercury in thermometers.
Marbury v. Madison
(John Marshall, 4-0, 1803) On his final day in office in 1801, John Adams signed commissions for 42 federal judges (the so-called "midnight judges"). His successor, Thomas Jefferson, opted to not deliver most of the commissions. One appointee, William Marbury, sued the new secretary of state, James Madison, to force the delivery of his commission. The Judiciary Act of 1789 had granted the court original jurisdiction in such cases, but the Constitution did not. The court ruled that the Judiciary Act conflicted with the Constitution and was therefore void. Therefore Marbury's request was denied for lack of jurisdiction. This case established the principle of judicial review, the power of the court to nullify unconstitutional laws.
Fletcher v. Peck
(John Marshall, 6-0, 1810) In 1795 the Georgia legislature corruptly sold land along the Yazoo River (now in Mississippi) to private citizens in exchange for bribes. The legislators were mostly defeated in the next elections and the incoming politicians voided the sales. In the meantime, John Peck sold some of the land in question to Robert Fletcher, who then sued him, claiming that he did not have clear title. The Supreme Court held that the state legislature did not have the power to repeal the sale. This was one of the earliest cases in which the Supreme Court struck down a state law.
McCulloch v. Maryland
(John Marshall, 9-0, 1819) After the Second Bank of the United States began calling in loans owned by the states, Maryland passed a law taxing out-of-state banks. The federal bank refused to pay, so the state sued its Baltimore cashier, James McCulloch. The court ruled that the federal government had the right to establish the bank even though it was not expressly enumerated in the Constitution and also noted that since "the power to tax was the power to destroy," Maryland could not tax the bank without destroying federal sovereignty.
Gibbons v. Ogden
(John Marshall, author and Chief Justice, 6-0, 1824) Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden were partners in a steamboat business that ferried people between New York and New Jersey. Ogden had purchased a license granting him a monopoly under New York law. After the partners suffered a disagreement and split up, Gibbons applied for and received a federal permit to run a similar business. Ogden sued Gibbons for violating Ogden's monopoly. In a unanimous decision, Marshall held that Congress' interstate regulatory power under the Commerce Clause had "no limitations other than are prescribed in the Constitution." Gibbons' federal permit trumped Ogden's state-granted monopoly.
Salamanca
(July 22, 1812, Spain) While Napoleon struggled against Austrians, Russians, and Prussians on the plains of central and eastern Europe, a smaller but no less violent conflict was fought for control of Spain and Portugal. During this "Peninsular War" (1807-1814), the throne of Spain was claimed by Napoleon's older brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Spanish and Portuguese resistance (the first "guerrilla" warfare, from the Spanish for "little war") was supported by the landing of British troops under the command of the Duke of Wellington. Wellington's triumph over Marshal Auguste Marmont at Salamanca in July 1812 was a decisive blow against the stability of Joseph's regime.
Marengo
(June 14, 1800, northern Italy) The coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799) brought down France's existing government (the Directory) and made Napoleon himself "first consul," the effective leader of France. While Napoleon was absent in Egypt, a coalition of Austria, Russia, and Britain had pushed French troops back on all fronts. In 1800 Napoleon marched over the Alps to roll back Austrian gains in Italy. His troops, overextended in an attempt to relieve the Austrian siege of Genoa, were hit by an Austrian surprise attack on June 14, 1800. General Louis Desaix led a column of French reinforcements to Napoleon's aid; the additional troops drove off the Austrian army, but Desaix was shot and killed.
Waterloo
(June 18, 1815, Belgium) Napoleon's escape from Elba began a period known as the "Hundred Days," in which the emperor briefly returned to the throne of France. The struggle between the restored emperor and the "Seventh Coalition" began when Napoleon's Army of the North marched into the Low Countries, hoping for a showdown with the British, Dutch, and Prussians before the Austrian and Russian armies gathering further east could come to their aid. The French brushed aside Allied advance guards at the two preliminary battles of Quatre Bras and Ligny on June 16. Napoleon's victory over the Prussians at Ligny led him to falsely believe that he had enough time to pursue and defeat the British without further Prussian interference. On June 18 Napoleon's advance on Brussels approached the crossroads of Mont St. Jean, where the Duke of Wellington had set up a defensive position for a combined army of British Peninsular War veterans, Dutch, and pro-British Germans. On the French left, British troops defended the walled farm of Hougoumont from a series of infantry assaults; in the center, Marshal Michel Ney's massed cavalry charge was broken by the square formations of the British infantry; on the right, Gebhard von Blücher's Prussian army arrived to attack the French army in the flank. Napoleon's final gamble was to commit his Imperial Guard to a renewed assault on the Allied center. The guardsmen were cut down by the fire of British light infantry, leading to the general collapse of the French army. Napoleon was exiled once more, this time to the isolated South Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821.
Plessy v. Ferguson
(Melville Fuller, 7-1, 1896) Homer Plessy (an octoroon) bought a first-class ticket on the East Louisiana Railway. He sat in the whites-only car in violation of an 1890 Louisiana law mandating separate accommodations. He was convicted, but appealed to the Supreme Court against John Ferguson, a Louisiana judge. The court upheld the law provided that "separate but equal" facilities were provided. John Marshall Harlan issued a famous dissent claiming "Our constitution is color-blind." Plessy was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.
Munn v. Illinois
(Morrison Waite, author and Chief Justice, 7-2, 1877) Ira Munn owned a set of Chicago grain elevators and charged oppressively high fees for their use. In 1871, the Illinois legislature passed a law setting maximum rates for grain storage. On appeal to the Supreme Court, lawyers for the business claimed that the Illinois statute violated Fourteenth Amendment due process rights regarding private property. Chief Justice Waite's opinion upheld the Illinois law, and proclaimed that "when private property is devoted to a public use, it is subject to public regulation." The decision was a landmark in the history of government regulation of businesses, especially railroads.
Nitrogen
(N, 7) is the most abundant element in Earth's atmosphere. Nitrogen, which was first isolated as "noxious air" by Daniel Rutherford, exists primarily as a diatomic molecule containing two triple-bonded nitrogen atoms (N2). Because nitrogen gas is extremely stable, N2 is unusable for many biological and chemical purposes. To make it useful, it often undergoes fixation to convert it into usable nitrogen species such as the ammonium ion (NH4+)—as it is by bacteria in the root nodules of legume plants—or ammonia gas (NH3), as is done industrially in the Haber-Bosch process. Conversely, its stability makes it useful in preventing unwanted combustion reactions. It also has a relatively low boiling point (-196°C), which makes liquid nitrogen useful as a refrigerant.
Orange-Nassau
(Netherlands, 1544-present) The House of Orange was founded by William the Silent, who led the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish in the Eighty Years War, resulting in the recognition of the Netherlands' independence in 1648. In 1688, William III of Orange, at the invitation of Parliament, invaded England with his wife Mary in what is called the Glorious Revolution. The House of Orange is currently led by Willem-Alexander, the King of the Netherlands.
Chisholm v. Georgia
(No majority opinion, Chief Justice John Jay, 4-1, 1793) Following the death of Robert Farquhar, his estate's executor, Alexander Chisholm—who, like Farquhar, was a South Carolina resident—sued the state of Georgia to collect money Georgia owed Farquhar for goods it purchased during the American Revolution. Georgia claimed that sovereign immunity protected it from Chisholm's suit. However, the Supreme Court held that Article III Section 2 gave citizens the right to sue a state, finding against Georgia. The Court's ruling proved so controversial that it resulted in the 1794 passage of the Eleventh Amendment, which specifically prohibited U.S. or foreign citizens from filing a lawsuit against a state (with certain exceptions).
Oxygen
(O, 8) is, by mass, the most common element in Earth's crust. It was discovered independently by Carl Scheele and Joseph Priestley; Priestley originally called it "dephlogisticated air." Oxygen normally exists in elemental form as a diatomic gas (O2), but it can also exist in a triatomic form, ozone (O3), which is known for its role in blocking UV rays in Earth's stratosphere. Diatomic oxygen is, despite having an even number of electrons, paramagnetic, meaning it has unpaired electrons. This points out a problem with traditional valence bond theories, which predict that oxygen should be diamagnetic; molecular orbital theory correctly explains this behavior. Because oxygen is easily capable of accepting electrons, reactions in which a species gives up electrons are known as oxidation reactions.
Jena-Auerstedt
(October 14, 1806, Germany) In 1806 Napoleon turned his forces against Prussia. At the twin October battles of Jena and Auerstedt, Napoleon and Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout worked together to smash a Prussian army led by the Duke of Brunswick, who was mortally wounded by Davout's troops near Auerstadt. The collapse of the Prussian army, widely considered the continent's most experienced and professional military force, shocked European observers. Napoleon felt that he had secured revenge for Frederick the Great's victory over France at Rossbach in the Seven Years' War (1757).
Leipzig
(October 16-19, 1813, Germany) The following year the Russian army marched west into central Europe at the head of a "Sixth Coalition" that brought the previously defeated Austrians and Prussians back into hostilities against France. At Leipzig in central Germany coalition forces met a hastily-assembled replacement army raised by Napoleon after the disaster in Russia. More than 600,000 men fought in this four-day struggle, popularly known as the "Battle of the Nations" for the multi-ethnic nature of the coalition army. The forces of Saxony, one of the minor German states, switched sides during the Battle of Leipzig, leaving Napoleon's army to join the allies. The premature destruction of a bridge over the River Elster hindered Napoleon's retreat from Leipzig, the first in a series of military disasters that led to the emperor's forced abdication and exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba in 1814.
Trafalgar
(October 21, 1805, off the coast of southwestern Spain) In 1804 Napoleon abolished the consulate and became France's emperor. He faced an array of enemies who made up the "Third Coalition": the humiliated Austrians sought military aid from both Russia and Britain. France and Spain allied in the hope of challenging the Royal Navy and making it possible for Napoleon's armies to launch an invasion of Britain. Trafalgar, fought in the Atlantic off the coast of Spain in the fall of 1805, was the last great naval battle of the Napoleonic era. A combined French and Spanish fleet under admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve was attacked by Royal Navy ships under Lord Horatio Nelson, Britain's greatest admiral. Just before the battle, Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, flew the signal "England expects that every man will do his duty." Although Nelson was killed by a French sniper in the battle that followed, his ships captured half of the French fleet, including Admiral Villeneuve. French plans to invade Britain were postponed indefinitely.
Schenck v. United States
(Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Chief Justice Edward White, 9-0, 1919) The Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited—among other things—any attempt to inhibit recruitment by the U.S. Armed Forces. Charles Schenck was a Socialist who opposed conscription and distributed literature urging readers to resist the draft. Follwing his arrest and conviction, he appealed, claiming that his advocacy was protected speech covered by the First Amendment. Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Holmes claimed the First Amendment does not protect speech that creates a "clear and present danger," and that "the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting 'fire' in a theatre."
Dred Scott v. Sandford
(Roger Taney, author and Chief Justice, 7-2, 1857) Dred Scott was a slave purchased by John Emerson in the 1820s and who at various points lived in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, both of which prohibited slavery. In 1853, Scott sued his then-owner John Sanford for his freedom. The Supreme Court ruled that no African-American—slave or free—was a citizen of the United States, and that therefore Scott lacked standing to initiate a lawsuit in the first place. In addition, the Court found the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional, holding that Congress lacked authority to prohibit slavery in any new territory that was not originally part of the United States.
Romanov
(Russia, 1613-1917) Following the Time of Troubles, sixteen-year-old Michael Romanov was appointed Tsar and co-ruled with his father, Patriarch Filaret. Its rulers included Peter the Great (who westernized Russia and defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War), Catherine the Great (an enlightened despot who greatly expanded the borders of Russia), and Alexander II (who freed the serfs). The Romanovs ruled Russia as Tsars and Emperors until the Russian Revolution and Nicholas II's execution.
Thomas Jefferson
(served 1790-1793 under President Washington) Known more for his Presidency and completing the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson began his feud with Alexander Hamilton while serving as Secretary of State even though his office had no bearing on Hamilton's Treasury. He founded the Democratic-Republicans. He resigned his post after failing to secure from the British compensation for released slaves, withdrawal from garrisons in the Northwest Territory, and admission of violating the terms of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolution.
Sulfur
(S, 16) was widely known in the ancient world, and is referred to in the Bible as brimstone. Its nature as an element was first recognized by Antoine Lavoisier. Its most stable allotrope is an eight-membered ring that exists as a yellow solid. It is most often isolated by injecting superheated steam into the ground in the Frasch process. As an element, it is used in the vulcanization process to cross-link the polymer strands of rubber to increase rubber's strength; similarly, sulfur-sulfur bonds hold many proteins together. Industrially, though, the majority of sulfur is used to make sulfuric acid, H2SO4 (in fact, sulfuric acid is the most widely produced chemical in the chemical industry). Sulfur compounds are noted for their strong and unpleasant odors; small quantities of hydrogen sulfide, H2S, are frequently added to natural gas, which is normally odorless, to help detect gas leaks.
Borodino
(September 7, 1812, Russia) In 1812 Napoleon assembled the largest army of his reign for the most ambitious military operation of the 19th century: a full-scale invasion of Russia. Russan Tsar Alexander I, despite losing to Napoleon in central Europe between 1805 and 1807, refused to agree to the "Continental System," the Napoleonic proposal for a Europe-wide embargo on British trade in manufactured goods. Napoleon's march on Moscow was slowed by Russian resistance at Borodino, where Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov's army was driven out of fortified redoubts after a day of destructive fighting. Although French forces were briefly able to seize control of Moscow, the subsequent retreat through the worst of the Russian winter ruined Napoleon's Grand Army.
Oedipus Rex
(Sophocles, c. 429 BC, also known by its translated title Oedipus the King) This tragedy tells the story of Oedipus, a man who became king of Thebes by defeating a monster called the sphinx. After a mysterious plague devastates Thebes, Oedipus sends his brother-in-law Creon to ask the Oracle at Delphi about the cause of the affliction. The Oracle attributes the plague to the fact that the murderer of Laius, the previous king of Thebes, has never been caught and punished. Oedipus then seeks information from the prophet Teiresias, who is provoked into revealing that Oedipus himself was the killer. Oedipus initially rejects this claim, but begins to have doubts after talking with his wife Jocasta, who was once married to Laius. Jocasta recalls a prophecy that Laius would be killed by his own son, but she claims that this prophecy did not come true, because Laius was murdered by highwaymen. This leads Oedipus to recall killing a man who resembled Laius, and a prophecy which had claimed that Oedipus would kill his own father, and marry his own mother. A shepherd from Mount Cithaeron reveals the awful truth: in response to the prophecy about their son, Laius and Jocasta had tried to expose the infant Oedipus in the wilderness. However, the shepherd had taken pity on the child, and sent him away to be raised in another area. Not knowing his true heritage, Oedipus eventually left home to avoid harming the people whom he believed to be his parents, but unknowingly fulfilled the prophecy by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta. Upon learning this, Jocasta commits suicide, and Oedipus blinds himself with Jocasta's brooches. Creon assumes control of Thebes as Oedipus begs to be exiled along with his daughters, Ismene and Antigone.
Antigone
(Sophocles, c. 441 BC) Along with Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone is one of the three surviving "Theban plays" by Sophocles that center on the family of Oedipus. The tragedy takes place in the immediate aftermath of a battle in which Oedipus's two sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, killed each other while struggling to control Thebes. The current ruler of the city, Creon, has declared that Eteocles will be given an honorable funeral, but Polyneices will be treated as a rebel and left unburied. Oedipus's daughter Antigone disobeys Creon's order, and buries her brother Polyneices against the advice of her frightened sister, Ismene. Despite the intervention of Creon's son Haemon, who is betrothed to Antigone, Creon sentences Antigone to be entombed alive. Soon after she is imprisoned, Antigone hangs herself. Haemon then commits suicide out of grief, and Creon's wife Eurydice kills herself when she learns that Haemon is dead. The once-proud Creon blames himself for the loss of his wife and son, and prays for death.
Roe v. Wade
(Warren Burger, 7-2, 1973) Norma McCorvey (under the alias Jane Roe), a rape victim, sued Dallas County attorney Henry Wade for the right to an abortion. When the case reached the Supreme Court, the plaintiff depended on the growing recognition of a "right to privacy" which began with the 1965 case of Griswold v. Connecticut. The court struck down state anti-abortion laws as "unconstitutionally vague," held that the word "person" in the Constitution "does not include the unborn," and legalized abortion in the first trimester. McCorvey later joined the pro-life movement and claimed that she was not actually raped and that she was pressured into filing the case by her ambitious attorney Sarah Weddington.
Griswold v. Connecticut
(William O. Douglas, Chief Justice Earl Warren, 7-2, 1965) In 1879, Connecticut outlawed the use of contraception. In 1961, Estelle Griswold and Lee Buxton, who were directors of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, were charged with violating that ban after they opened a birth control clinic. Justice Douglas' majority opinion held that "specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras," and that "emanations" of those guarantees create a Constitutional "right to privacy" that protects intensely personal decisions, such as the right of married couples to choose whether or not to use birth control. Connecticut's law was struck down.
Hydrogen
(atomic symbol H, atomic number 1) is the first element on the periodic table and, by far, the most common element in the Universe. In addition to the main isotope (also called protium), there are two other significant isotopes of hydrogen: deuterium (2H or D), which has one neutron, and tritium (3H or T), which has two neutrons. It naturally exists as a diatomic gas (H2), which was discovered by British chemist Henry Cavendish. Hydrogen is highly flammable when exposed to high temperatures or electric current; a notable example of this was the Hindenburg disaster. It can react with nonmetals by losing an electron to form the H+ ion, or react with metals to form the hydride ion H-.
Napoleon Bonaparte
(born 1769 on the Mediterranean island of Corsica) rose to power during the later stages of the French Revolution. He defended the revolutionary government with artillery fire during the coup of 13 Vendémiaire (October 1795) and was rewarded with command of the French forces in Italy, where his series of battlefield victories forced Austria to sign the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio. Over the next eighteen years, Napoleon rose from general to first consul to emperor of France, effectively ending the French Revolution and provoking a series of "Napoleonic Wars" that sent French troops into battle in places as distant as Egypt, Portugal, and central Russia. To defeat and depose the upstart emperor, it took a coalition of European powers nearly two decades of warfare, including the following battles:
Henry Clay
(served 1825-1829 under President John Quincy Adams) Clay helped negotiate the "corrupt bargain" that led to John Quincy Adams winning the House vote that decided the presidency in 1824 and led to his appointment as Secretary of State. While serving in that post his slave, Charlotte Dupuy, sued for her freedom in a move that foreshadowed the Dred Scott case. He lost presidential elections as a Whig candidate three times prior to his involvement in the Compromise of 1850.
Daniel Webster
(served 1841-1843 under Presidents Harrison and Tyler then again from 1850-1852 under President Fillmore) Webster negotiated the Webster-Ashburton treaty that defined the border between Maine and New Brunswick (the Eastern border) and left his post in 1843 under pressure from Whigs, who had resigned in protest from Tyler's cabinet over the issue of the national bank. In his second term, he upheld the Compromise of 1850; that compromise cost him popularity with his fellow New Englanders.
William H. Seward
(served 1861-1869 under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson) Seward wanted to resign prior to Lincoln's inauguration, but the request was denied. Prior to the purchase of Alaska (Seward's Folly), he helped set the conditions that ended the Atlantic slave trade in the Lyons-Seward treaty between the US and UK. He survived an assassination attempt the night Lincoln was shot. The purchase of Alaska was completed on March 30, 1867 for close to two cents an acre from Russia.
John Hay
(served 1898-1905 under Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt) Hay negotiated the 1898 Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War and established the "open door policy" with China. He also served as Lincoln's personal secretary while working as a clerk in the Interior Department. He negotiated the Hay-Bunau-Varilla treated that established the Panama Canal Zone in 1903. Elihu Root (served 1905-1909 under President T. Roosevelt) Succeeding Hay after his death, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912 for attempting to bring nations together for arbitration and cooperative agreements. During his tenure, he moved the consular service under the umbrella of the civil service. His negotiations with Great Britain settled border disputes regarding Alaska and Canada, and he was a proponent of free trade policies with China that Hay established.
Cordell Hull
(served 1933-1944 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt) Known as "Father of the United Nations," Hull was a Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1945 for his work in founding that organization. He sent a namesake note to Japan prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor making a futile attempt to force the Japanese out of French Indochina, China, and Manchukuo, in accordance with his predecessor's Stimson Doctrine.
George Marshall
(served 1947-1949 under President Truman) As a general, he oversaw the largest expansion of the U.S. military in its history and wrote the central strategy for the Allies in Europe. Namesake of the Marshall Plan to help Europe recover after World War II from 1948 to 1952. After he left his post, he was president of the American Red Cross. He correctly predicted that Israel's declaration of statehood would lead to war and attempted to mediate the Chinese Civil War.
Dean Acheson
(served 1949-1953 under President Truman) The successor to Marshall, he is known primarily for developing the policy of containment — designed to prevent the spread of Communism — and the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. His autobiography Present at the Creation is a major source for Cold War historians.
Henry Kissinger
(served 1973-1977 under Presidents Nixon and Ford) Kissinger held the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks that resulted in SALT I with the Soviet Union and pursued the "détente" policy to de-escalate the Cold War. He was instrumental in opening relations between the United States and China in 1972. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for the negotiation of Paris Peace Accords and ceasefires that ended the Vietnam War. Kissinger used "shuttle diplomacy" to settle the Yom Kippur War among Egypt, Syria, and Israel.
Hillary Clinton
(served 2009-2013 under President Obama) Hillary Rodham Clinton is the wife of former president William Jefferson Clinton and also a former Senator from New York. President Clinton appointed Hillary as the face of the failed 1993 health care bill. She also sought the Democratic nomination for President in 2008, losing to eventual President Barack Obama. During her term, she presented a "reset button" to Russia and accepted formal responsibility for failures in consulate security that led to death of Ambassador Christopher Stephens in Benghazi.
John Kerry
(serving since 2014 under President Obama) Kerry was a former Senator from Massachusetts — spending the majority of his time as the junior senator to Ted Kennedy — and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He received the Democratic Party nomination for President in 2004, but lost the general election to George W. Bush. His major foreign policy involvement has been in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Gross Domestic Product.
A commonly used measure of the size of a country's or state's economy. GDP is computed by summing consumption, investment, government expenditures, and exports, and then subtracting imports.
The Pyramids (July 21, 1798, Egypt) and the Nile (August 1-3, 1798, Egypt)
After his victory over Austria, Napoleon proposed crossing the Mediterranean and invading Egypt. While the stated goal of this expedition was to strike a blow against British trade with the Middle East and Asia, it also catered to Napoleon's fascination with antiquity. A team of scientists followed his military expedition, whose most lasting result was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, unearthed by soldiers digging to construct a fort in the Nile delta. Napoleon supposedly cried "Soldiers, forty centuries look down upon you" at the 1798 Battle of the Pyramids, where his troops used modern artillery and large square formations to ward off a cavalry charge by the Egyptian Mamluks. French control of Egypt, however, was dependent on communications across the Mediterranean, which were interrupted by the Royal Navy's attack on the French fleet in Aboukir Bay in early August. British victory at the Nile forced Napoleon to abandon his army and return to France.
Duke Frederick
From As You Like It. Before the opening of the play, Frederick overthrew his brother, Duke Senior, and seized control of the court. There, Frederick harbors his brother's daughter Rosalind as a companion to his own daughter, Celia. When Frederick banishes Rosalind out of fear that she is plotting against him, Celia volunteers to go with her beloved cousin, and suggests that they reunite with Duke Senior in the Forest of Arden. At the same time, a young nobleman named Orlando flees to the Forest of Arden to escape his brother Oliver's mistreatment. Frederick suspects that Orlando is in the company of Celia and Rosalind, and seizes Oliver's lands until Orlando can be produced. After Oliver departs to search for his brother, Duke Frederick is not heard of again until the end of the play, when Oliver and Orlando's brother Jaques reports that Frederick suddenly repented of his crimes after meeting "an old religious man." Frederick relinquishes the crown to Duke Senior, and restores the property of Duke Senior's supporters.
Regan and the Duke of Cornwall, and Goneril and the Duke of Albany
From King Lear. Regan and Goneril are the elderly King Lear's two evil daughters. After Lear bequeaths his kingdom to them, they conspire to undermine Lear's remaining power and defeat Cordelia, Lear's sole loyal daughter. Angered by the treatment that he has received from his heirs, Lear leaves Regan's home in the middle of a thunderstorm. Gloucester, who desires Lear's reinstatement, aids Cordelia's invading army; he is exposed, and Regan and Cornwall gouge Gloucester's eyes out. While Albany and Cornwall arrange their armies to fight Cordelia, Regan and Goneril both romantically pursue the villainous Edmund. This love triangle results in Goneril killing Regan with poison. Goneril also tries to have Albany killed, but commits suicide when the plot is exposed. Cordelia is captured and executed, and Lear dies of grief soon afterward, leaving the redeemed Albany and Edmund's half-brother Edgar to take charge of the realm.
Lady Macbeth
From Macbeth. Though Macbeth is the play's protagonist, his pursuit of the Scottish throne is largely driven by his wife's ambition. After three witches predict that Macbeth will be king, Lady Macbeth fears that her husband is "too full 'o the milk of human kindness" to commit murder, and bids "spirits" to "unsex" her and imbue her with willpower. She insults Macbeth's masculinity, and urges him to "screw [his] courage to the sticking-place" and kill King Duncan. When Macbeth is unable to frame two grooms for the murder, Lady Macbeth does so in his place. Later, Lady Macbeth is wracked with guilt for her actions. While sleepwalking, she tries to wash imaginary blood from her hands, and cries "out, damned spot!" In the final act, the news of her death prompts Macbeth to deliver the "tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy.
Angelo
From Measure for Measure. Angelo is entrusted with the rule of Vienna by Duke Vicentio, who pretends to leave the city but actually remains present, disguised as "Friar Lodowick." Angelo enforces antiquated laws against fornication, resulting in Claudio's arrest and imminent execution. Claudio's sister, the novice nun Isabella, pleads for Claudio to be pardoned; Angelo agrees, but only if Isabella will have sex with him. After debate, Duke Vincentio proposes a "bed trick." Isabella pretends that she is willing to have sex with Angelo in absolute darkness and silence, which allows Mariana, a woman who was once betrothed to Angelo, to take Isabella's place. Although the plan works, and Angelo believes that he had sex with Isabella, he goes back on his word and orders Claudio's execution. This forces the duke to arrange a "head trick," in which the head of the pirate Ragozine is presented to Angelo, and Claudio's life is saved. Once the duke "returns" to Vienna, Isabella and Mariana petition him to right their wrongs. Angelo initially denies the charges brought against him, but confesses once he learns that the duke and Friar Lodowick are the same person. Angelo's life is spared for Mariana's sake, and the duke proposes marriage to Isabella.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester
From Richard III. The quintessential antihero, Richard describes how his hunchbacked appearance has made him "determined to prove a villain" in a monologue that begins "now is the winter of our discontent / made glorious summer by this son of York." In the aftermath of a Yorkist victory in the Wars of the Roses, Richard plots against his brothers King Edward IV and George, Duke of Clarence, and causes Edward to imprison Clarence in the Tower of London. Assassins sent by Richard later kill Clarence, who is drowned in a "malmsey-butt," or cask of wine. Richard also marries and kills the Lady Anne, and orders the deaths of Edward's children (the "princes in the tower"). Although Richard becomes king, he soon faces a rebellion led by Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. On the eve of a battle at Bosworth Field, Richard is haunted by the ghosts of those he wronged. The battle turns against Richard (who cries "a horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!"), and Richmond is crowned as King Henry VII of England.
Tybalt
From Romeo and Juliet. Tybalt is a hot-headed member of the Capulet family who is the beloved cousin of Juliet. During the public brawl that begins the play, Tybalt provokes the peaceful Benvolio. At a ball given by the Capulets, Tybalt recognizes the disguised Romeo and calls for a sword, but is prevented from fighting by Lord Capulet. Tybalt then demands a duel with Romeo, who does not wish to fight one of Juliet's kinsmen. Romeo's friend Mercutio is shocked by this "vile submission," and calls Tybalt "king of cats" while challenging him to a duel. (Tybalt shares his name with a feline character from medieval fables about Reynard the Fox.) Romeo tries to intervene in the duel, which allows Tybalt to kill Mercutio. Romeo then kills Tybalt, and is banished from Verona.
Caliban
From The Tempest. Caliban is the son of the Algerian witch Sycorax, who once ruled the island where Caliban was born. After Sycorax died the island fell under the control of the magician Prospero, an exiled duke of Milan. Prospero taught the young Caliban language, and showed kindness to him, until Caliban tried to rape Prospero's daughter Miranda. In response, Prospero enslaved Caliban, and began treating him as a subhuman creature. (Caliban's exact nature is unknown, but he seems to be physically distinct from the other characters in the play. At various points, Caliban is called a "monster," a "demi-devil," a "strange fish," a "thing of darkness," a "moon-calf," and a "freckled whelp" who lacks a "human shape.") When the play begins, Caliban longs to overthrow Prospero but still fears Prospero's magic, which is stronger than that of Caliban's god, Setebos. Trinculo and Stephano, two drunkards who are shipwrecked and separated from the rest of their crew, give Caliban liquor; Caliban then conspires with them to kill Prospero. When the group hears music played by the spirit Ariel, Caliban delivers a speech beginning "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises" that demonstrates sensitivity and loss. The plot to unseat Prospero quickly fails, and Caliban vows to be "wise hereafter." Unlike Ariel, Caliban is not freed at the end of the play.
King Claudius
From The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Before the start of the play, Claudius became the ruler of Denmark by pouring poison into the ear of his sleeping brother, King Hamlet. Claudius then married Gertrude, King Hamlet's widow. In the play's first act, Prince Hamlet learns of his uncle's treachery by speaking to King Hamlet's ghost. Hamlet then arranges for a troupe of actors to perform a play titled The Murder of Gonzago, which Hamlet revises to increase the similarities to his father's death. Claudius is disturbed by the performance, and storms out during the murder scene. Later, Claudius prays for forgiveness, causing Hamlet to delay killing him out of fear that Claudius's soul would go to heaven. As Hamlet feigns madness, Claudius sends him to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who unknowingly carry a letter calling for Hamlet's execution. After Hamlet escapes and returns to Denmark, Claudius arranges for Hamlet to fight a duel with Laertes, who seeks revenge for the death of his father, Polonius, and sister, Ophelia. Laertes uses a poison-tipped sword, and Claudius prepares a poisoned drink as a back-up. When Laertes falls in combat he reveals the plot, prompting Hamlet to stab Claudius with the poisoned sword, and make Claudius drink from the poisoned cup.
Iago
From The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. Iago is the "ancient," or standard-bearer, of the general Othello, and is passed over for a promotion to lieutenant in favor of the less-experienced Michael Cassio. In addition, Iago believes that his wife, Emilia, may have cheated on him with Othello. Consequently, Iago vows revenge. At the start of the play, Iago and his associate Roderigo alert the Venetian senator Brabantio that Brabantio's daughter, Desdemona, has eloped with Othello. After Desdemona testifies that she married Othello willingly, the Duke of Venice places Othello in charge of defending Cyprus. On the island, Iago ingratiates himself with Othello, and deceitfully warns the general against the "green-eyed monster" of jealousy. Iago then places Desdemona's handkerchief in Cassio's room, causing Othello to believe that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Once Othello has murdered Desdemona, Emilia exposes Iago's plot. Before killing himself, Othello stabs Iago, who survives to be arrested by Cassio.
Proteus
From The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Proteus begins the play as an innocent lover, but develops into the primary antagonist after he visits his friend Valentine in Milan, and becomes infatuated with Valentine's love, Silvia. Although Proteus has sworn that he will be faithful to a woman in Verona named Julia, he breaks his promise and tries to win Silvia for himself. To this end, Proteus betrays Valentine by telling Silvia's father, the duke, that Valentine and Silvia plan to elope. After the duke exiles Valentine, Silvia rejects Proteus because of his treachery towards his friend, and his unfaithfulness to Julia. When Silvia escapes to the woods to find Valentine, Proteus follows her and rescues her from outlaws. Silvia continues to reject Proteus, who threatens to rape her ("I'll force thee yield to my desire") before Valentine intervenes. Proteus repents, and Julia, who has been disguised as Proteus's male page, reveals herself. Proteus then reunites with Julia and resumes his friendship with Valentine, whom the duke permits to marry Silvia.
Interest rate.
The "price of money," inasmuch as it is the amount one must pay to use somebody else's money ("borrow") for a given period of time; the term is also used for the payment the lender (e.g., a person with a savings account) receives for loaning out his money. Because inflation lowers the value of currency, economists routinely distinguish between nominal interest rates (the actual amount earned by a lender/saver) and real interest rates (which are corrected for the inflation rate). A savings account earning 5% interest is not acquiring the ability to buy more things if prices are also going up by 5% per year! Comparative advantage. Comparative advantage is the idea that every pair of potential trading partners (two firms, two neighbors, two countries, etc.) can benefit by trade if they are producing at least two goods. The counterintuitive aspect is that this result is true for every pair, no matter how unproductive one of the parties might be (in absolute terms). Broadly speaking, each party should specialize in what it does best (relative to the other party) and then trade for everything else. David Ricardo formulated this theory with a famous example involving Britain's cloth industry and Portugal's wine industry.
Inflation.
The pace at which prices are rising, usually expressed in the form "2.5% per year." This is equivalent to the rate at which currency loses its value. Inflation is often measured by the consumer price index, which establishes a standard basket of goods that a family might buy and seeing how its total price changes over a year.
Invisible hand.
The metaphorical notion that producers and consumers acting in their own narrow interest (e.g., by trying to maximize income from their business) will create an overall benefit to society. This might happen by their rewarding technologies that make production more efficient, rewarding firms who can sell at lower cost, rewarding inventors who discover new processes, and so on. The phrase was introduced by Adam Smith in his 1776 book The Wealth of Nations, but the modern understanding (and broad-based application of the metaphor) is due to later thinkers.
Supply and Demand.
This embodies the general idea that, at any given price, producers are willing to produce a given amount of a good (the quantity supplied) and consumers are willing to buy a different amount (the quantity demanded). As the price rises, firms will be willing to supply more goods, but fewer will be demanded; conversely, as price falls, consumers will demand more goods, but fewer will be supplied. On a graph showing price and quantity on its two axes, this is represented by a downward sloping demand curve and an upward sloping supply curve. Where the two curves intersect, there is an equilibrium; economists predict this equilibrium quantity will be produced (and consumed) in a free market.
Elasticity.
This is a measure of how much one economic variable changes in response to a change in a different variable, expressed in the form of "Every 1% change in the independent (second) variable leads to an x% change in the value of the first (dependent) variable." A common example is the price elasticity of demand, which measures the degree to which the quantity demanded changes when the price is altered.
Tariff.
This is a tax placed on the import (common) or export (rarer) of a good. Tariffs have various—often controversial—sociopolitical goals, but economists agree that they raise consumer prices relative to equilibrium (resulting in a lower quantity demanded). Tariffs are analyzed similar to quotas, in which a government limits the amount of a good that may be imported. Factors of production. There are three classical factors of production: land, labor, and capital (i.e., machinery and tools). Modern economists sometimes add a fourth, entrepreneurship.
Monopoly.
This occurs when there is only one firm producing goods for a given market. This allows that firm to set the price higher—and thus the quantity sold lower—than would otherwise occur. An oligopoly is a similar market environment where production is dominated by a few firms, whereas a monopsony is the opposite case: a market with only a single consumer.
Unemployment.
This rate refers to the percentage of the population that is actively seeking work but cannot find a job. Unemployment can be cyclical (common in seasonal industries like fieldwork), frictional (the natural time between jobs that exists in most labor markets), or structural (when workers' skills do not match those required by open jobs).
Ex Parte Merryman (Roger Taney, 1861)
This was not actually a Supreme Court case, but a federal court case heard by Chief Justice Roger Taney while "circuit-riding" when the court was not in session. Lieutenant John Merryman of the Maryland cavalry took an active role in evicting Union soldiers from Maryland following the attack on Fort Sumter. Abraham Lincoln declared a secret suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and had a number of opposition leaders, including Merryman, arrested. Taney found the president had acted unconstitutionally (only Congress can suspend the writ), but Lincoln simply ignored his ruling.
