Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Ocean to North and South America. By

the 1600s Portugal, Spain, England,

France, and the Netherlands had set up

colonies, or settlements, around the

world.

In the 1700s the Industrial Revolution

began. This was a period when people

invented machines to make goods in

factories. This improved manufacturing

and transportation, and trade increased.

An idea called laissez-faire capitalism

soon became popular. “Laissez-faire” is a

French phrase that means “to let do.” It

meant that governments should not

interfere with trade or other economic

activities. It allowed companies and their

owners to do whatever they wanted.

Many became rich as a result.

Workers soon started labor movements

to protest their poor treatment by rich

companies. In the early 1900sWorld

War I and the Great Depression led to a

decline in trade. Many governments

began to support workers and to control

trade more strictly. The idea of free trade

did not become popular again until after

WorldWar II (1939–45).

#More to explore

Capitalism • Civilization • Colony

• Economics • Tax • Transportation

Trail of Tears

In 1838 and 1839 the U.S. government

took away the homeland of the Cherokee

people. It forced the Cherokee to

travel from the Southeast to what is now

Oklahoma. Most of them had to walk

all the way. This event is known as the

Trail of Tears.

In the early 1800s the Cherokee got

along better with the United States than

most other Native American groups.

Then, in 1835, gold was found on

A painting shows Cherokee taking a long

forced journey called the Trail of Tears.

Thousands of them died along the way.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Trail of Tears 89

 

Cherokee land in Georgia. Some white

people decided to take over the land and

push the Cherokee out.

In 1835 a few Cherokee signed a treaty,

or agreement, with the U.S. government.

They agreed to sell all Cherokee

land to the United States for 5 million

dollars. But most of the tribe did not

think the treaty was legal. The U.S.

Supreme Court agreed with them.

President Andrew Jackson and Georgia

officials ignored the Court’s decision. In

the fall of 1838 U.S. troops began

rounding up about 15,000 Cherokee

and putting them in prison camps.

Local residents burned their homes.

Troops then sent the Cherokee west in

groups of about 1,000.

The Cherokee suffered terribly on the

march, which lasted 116 days. They had

to walk in the cold, and they were not

allowed to rest. They did not have

enough food. Some went by boat in

conditions that were just as bad. About

4,000 Cherokee died.

90 Trail of Tears BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

In Oklahoma the Cherokee were given

some land. Many Cherokee still live

there.

#More to explore

Cherokee • Jackson, Andrew • Native

Americans

Transplant

During the type of surgery called a

transplant, doctors remove a part from a

person’s body and then replace it with a

similar part. A transplant is also called a

graft. The purpose of a transplant is to

replace a damaged or sick body part

with a part that works.

The working part can be from the person’s

own body or from another person.

The person who gets the body part is

called the recipient. If another person

gives a body part, that person is called

the donor. Transplant donors can be

living or dead.

When a doctor moves a body part from

one place to another on the same person,

the operation is called an autograft.

One common type of autograft is a skin

graft. This operation uses skin from one

area of a person’s body to replace lost

skin on another area.

When a doctor transplants a body part

from another person into a recipient, the

operation is called an allograft.

Allografts can be done with many body

parts, including kidneys, livers, lungs,

and intestines. These parts can come

from living donors. Corneas (parts of

eyes needed for sight) and hearts must

come from dead donors. Doctors also

can replace certain diseased parts,

including heart valves and hip sockets,

with artificial, or man-made, ones.

The main problem with transplants is

rejection. When this happens the body’s

immune system treats the new part like

a germ or an infection and tries to kill it.

To prevent rejection doctors give recipients

medicines that keep the body from

attacking the new part.

#More to explore

Immune System • Surgery

Transportation

Transportation is a general word for all

the methods people use to move themselves

and their goods from one place to

another. Just as they have for thousands

of years, people today rely on walking to

travel short distances. For longer distances,

people depend on animals,

bicycles, automobiles, trucks, railroads,

ships, and airplanes.

Doctors can replace a damaged hip joint

with an artificial joint made out of metal

and plastic.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Transportation 91

 

Reasons for Transportation

The world’s economy depends on

transportation. Raw materials must be

moved from where they are produced

to factories, where they are processed.

Food, minerals, and wood often travel

by truck, railroad, or ship. Oil and gas

often travel by pipeline. Next,

manufactured products must be moved

from factories to stores. They may