Below is the article summary. For the full article, see bank.

bank, Institution that deals in money and its substitutes and provides other financial services. Banks
accept deposits and make loans and derive a profit from the difference in the interest paid to lenders
(depositors) and charged to borrowers, respectively. They also profit from fees charged for services. The
three major classes of banks are commercial banks, investment banks, and central banks. Banking
depends entirely on public confidence in the system’s soundness; no bank could pay all its depositors
should they simultaneously demand cash, as may happen in a panic. See also credit union; Federal
Reserve System; savings and loan association; savings bank.

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see capitalism.

capitalism, or free-market economy or free-enterprise system, Economic system in which most of the
means of production are privately owned, and production is guided and income distributed largely
through the operation of markets. Capitalism has been dominant in the Western world since the end of
mercantilism. It was fostered by the Reformation, which sanctioned hard work and frugality, and by the
rise of industry during the Industrial Revolution, especially the English textile industry (16th–18th
centuries). Unlike earlier systems, capitalism used the excess of production over consumption to enlarge
productive capacity rather than investing it in economically unproductive enterprises such as palaces or
cathedrals. The strong national states of the mercantilist era provided the social conditions, such as
uniform monetary systems and legal codes, necessary for the rise of capitalism. The ideology of classical
capitalism was expressed in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776), and Smith’s free-market theories
were widely adopted in the 19th century. In the 20th century the Great Depression effectively ended
laissez-faire economics in most countries, but the demise of the state-run command economies of
eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (see communism) and the adoption of some free-market
principles in China left capitalism unrivaled (if not untroubled) by the beginning of the 21st century.

Conservative Party Summary

Conservative Party, in the United Kingdom, a political party whose guiding principles include the
promotion of private property and enterprise, the maintenance of a strong military, and the
preservation of traditional cultural values and institutions. Since World War I the Conservative Party and

Republican Party pin

Republican Party Summary

Republican Party, in the United States, one of the two major political parties, the other being the
Democratic Party. During the 19th century the Republican Party stood against the extension of slavery
to the country’s new territories and, ultimately, for slavery’s complete abolition. During the

Rosa Luxemburg

Rosa Luxemburg Summary

Rosa Luxemburg, Polish-born German revolutionary and agitator who played a key role in the founding
of the Polish Social Democratic Party and the Spartacus League, which grew into the Communist Party of
Germany. As a political theoretician, Luxemburg developed a humanitarian theory of Marxism,

Max Weber

Max Weber Summary

Max Weber, German sociologist and political economist best known for his thesis of the “Protestant
ethic,” relating Protestantism to capitalism, and for his ideas on bureaucracy. Weber was the eldest son
of Max and Helene Weber. His father was an aspiring liberal politician who soon joined the more

Conservative Party

Related Summaries

Carson, Edward Henry Carson, Baron

Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson Summary

Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill

Lord Randolph Churchill Summary

New York Stock Exchange

capitalism Summary

Stanley Baldwin

Stanley Baldwin Summary

Arthur James Balfour

Arthur James Balfour, 1st earl of Balfour Summary

Frank Holl: Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain Summary

Discover
Chapter 4 pg 42 - Chapter header of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Published in 1884
by The American Publishing Company

Periods of American Literature

15:018-19 Teeth: Tooth Fairy, girl asleep in bed, tooth fairy collects her tooth

8 Mythological Monsters You Should Be Glad Aren’t Real

Christmas tree, holiday, pine

How Did the Tradition of Christmas Trees Start?

Start of Men's 100 meter sprint where Usain Bolt wins and sets a new world record at the 2008 Summer
Olympic Games August 18, 2008 in Beijing, China.

How Fast Is the World’s Fastest Human?

Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally
murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including
by identifying Short through her fingerprints that

America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

Encyclopaedia Britannica First Edition: Volume 1, Plate XXXVIII, Figure 2, Ark, Ark of the Covenant, a
small chest, coffer, contains Aaron's rod, manna pot, tables of covenant, Schechinah, Divine Presence,
oracle, shittim-wood, acacia tree

Where Is the Ark of the Covenant?

Close up of praying mantis walking on stone ground against a blurred background in Japan

6 Animals That Eat Their Mates

Home

Politics, Law & Government

Politics & Political Systems

Conservative Party Article

Conservative Party summary

Written and fact-checked by

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Conservative Party.
Conservative Party, officially National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations., British political
party whose guiding principles include promotion of private property and enterprise, maintenance of a
strong military and foreign policy, and preservation of traditional cultural values and institutions. It is the
heir of the old Tory Party, whose members began forming “conservative associations” after electoral
rights were extended to the middle class in 1832. The modern party (whose members are often known
as Tories) is essentially a coalition of two groups, and must balance its traditionalist and communitarian
wing against its libertarian and individualist wing. It also experiences internal conflict over Britain’s
relationship with the European Union. Its membership is heavily dependent on the landowning and
middle classes, but its electoral base has extended at times to incorporate about one-third of the
working class. Since World War I, it and the Labour Party have dominated British politics.

Carson, Edward Henry Carson, Baron

Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson Summary

Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, lawyer and politician, known as the “uncrowned king of Ulster,”
who successfully led Ulster unionist resistance to the British government’s attempts to introduce Home
Rule for the whole of Ireland. Although Carson was to become the champion of the northern

Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill

Lord Randolph Churchill Summary

Lord Randolph Churchill British politician who was a precociously influential figure in the Conservative
Party and the father of Winston Churchill. He became leader of the House of Commons and chancellor
of the Exchequer in 1886, at the age of 37, and seemed certain to be prime minister in due

New York Stock Exchange

capitalism Summary

Capitalism, economic system, dominant in the Western world since the breakup of feudalism, in which
most means of production are privately owned and production is guided and income distributed largely
through the operation of markets. Although the continuous development of capitalism as a system

Stanley Baldwin

Stanley Baldwin Summary

Stanley Baldwin, British Conservative politician, three times prime minister between 1923 and 1937; he
headed the government during the General Strike of 1926, the Ethiopian crisis of 1935, and the
abdication crisis of 1936. A relative of the author Rudyard Kipling and the painter Sir Edward

Republican Party

Related Summaries
Kemp addressing the Republican National Convention in San Diego, Calif., August 1996

Jack Kemp Summary

Adams, Charles Francis

Charles Francis Adams Summary

Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani Summary

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger Summary

New York Stock Exchange

capitalism Summary

Cheney, Dick

Dick Cheney Summary

Discover

The Elephant symbol of the Republican Party and the Donkey symbol of the Democratic Party, with the
American flag behind

Why Are Two Political Parties Dominant in the U.S.?

Pre-historic cave painting in the Lascaux cave in Montignac, France

11 Caves That Made History

Nativity Scene, Adoration of the Magi, Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Montenegro

Why Is Christmas in December?

Berlin, 1936 - Jesse Owens of the USA in action in the mens 200m at the Summer Olympic Games.
Owens won a total of four gold medals.

Was Jesse Owens Snubbed by Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympics?

Apollo 11 Lunar Module with its four landing-gear footpads deployed. This photograph was taken from
the Command Module as the two spacecraft moved apart above the Moon.

5 Unforgettable Moments in the History of Spaceflight and Space Exploration

Start of Men's 100 meter sprint where Usain Bolt wins and sets a new world record at the 2008 Summer
Olympic Games August 18, 2008 in Beijing, China.

How Fast Is the World’s Fastest Human?

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Home

Politics, Law & Government

Politics & Political Systems

Republican Party Article

Republican Party summary

Written and fact-checked by

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Republican Party.

Republican Party, or GOP (Grand Old Party), One of two major U.S. political parties. It was formed in
1854 by former members of the Whig, Democratic, and Free Soil parties who chose the party’s name to
recall the Jeffersonian Republicans’ concern with the national interest above sectional interests and
states’ rights. The new party opposed slavery and its extension into the territories, as provided by the
Kansas-Nebraska Act. Its first presidential candidate, John C. Frémont, won 11 states in 1856; its second,
Abraham Lincoln, won the 1860 election by carrying 18 states. Its association with the Union victory in
the American Civil War allowed it a long period of dominance nationally, though it was uncompetitive in
the South for more than a century after the war. Republican candidates won 14 of 18 presidential
elections between 1860 and 1932, through support from an alliance of Northern and Midwestern
farmers and big-business interests. In 1912 the party split between a progressive wing led by Theodore
Roosevelt and a conservative wing led by Pres. William Howard Taft; the rift enabled the Democratic
candidate, Woodrow Wilson, to win that year’s election. The Republican Party’s inability to counter the
impact of the Great Depression led to its ouster from power in 1933; in 1953 the presidency of Dwight
D. Eisenhower brought a moderate wing of the party to prominence. The party’s platform remained
conservative, emphasizing anticommunism, reduced government regulation of the economy, and lower
taxes; many members also opposed civil rights legislation. In the 1950s the GOP gained new support
from middle-class suburbanites and white Southerners disturbed by the integrationist policies of the
national Democratic Party. Richard Nixon, who narrowly lost the 1960 presidential race, won narrowly in
1968 and by a landslide in 1972, but he was forced to resign in 1974 as a result of the Watergate
scandal. Ronald Reagan, who had assumed the leadership of the conservative wing of the Republican
Party after Barry Goldwater’s defeat in the presidential election of 1964, won the presidency in 1980
and 1984; he introduced deep tax cuts and launched a massive buildup of U.S. military forces. Reagan’s
vice president, George Bush, was elected in 1988 and enjoyed enormous popularity after success in the
Persian Gulf War, but an anemic economy led to his defeat in 1992 by Democrat Bill Clinton. The defeat
was offset in 1994, when the Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives for the first
time in 40 years. In 2000 George W. Bush narrowly won the presidency in one of the closest and most
controversial elections in U.S. history. In 2004 he won reelection. In part because of growing opposition
to the Iraq War, Republicans lost control of both the House and the Senate following the 2006 midterm
elections. In the 2008 presidential election Republican nominee John McCain was defeated by Democrat
Barack Obama, and the Democrats increased their majorities in both the House and the Senate. The
Republican Party continues to emphasize tax cuts, traditional social values, and a strong national
defense.

Kemp addressing the Republican National Convention in San Diego, Calif., August 1996

Jack Kemp Summary

Jack Kemp, American gridiron football player and Republican politician who served as a congressman
from New York in the U.S. House of Representatives (1971–89) and later was secretary of Housing and
Urban Development (1989–93) in the administration of Pres. George H.W. Bush. Kemp was selected by

Adams, Charles Francis

Charles Francis Adams Summary

Charles Francis Adams U.S. diplomat who played an important role in keeping Britain neutral during the
U.S. Civil War (1861–65) and in promoting the arbitration of the important “Alabama” claims. The son of
Pres. John Quincy Adams and the grandson of Pres. John Adams, Charles was early introduced

Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani Summary

Rudy Giuliani American lawyer and politician who served as mayor of New York City (1994–2001). He
was especially known for his handling of the September 11, 2001, attacks and his involvement in Pres.
Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Giuliani was

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger Summary

Arnold Schwarzenegger Austrian-born American bodybuilder, film actor, and politician who rose to fame
through roles in blockbuster action movies and later served as governor of California (2003–11).
Schwarzenegger was known as the Styrian Oak, or Austrian Oak, in the bodybuilding world, where he