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Armenian Genocide

Campaign of deportation and mass killing conducted against the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire by the Young Turk government during World War I (1914–18). Armenians charge that the campaign was a deliberate attempt to destroy the Armenian people and, thus, an act of genocide. The Turkish government has resisted calls to recognize it as such, contending that, although atrocities took place, there was no official policy of extermination implemented against the Armenian people as a group.

Britannica, “Armenian Genocide,” last updated January 17, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/event/Armenian-Genocide.

 

Joseph Biden

(Born November 20, 1942, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.) is the 46th president of the United States (2021–25) and was the 47th vice president of the United States (2009–17) in the Democratic administration of Pres. Barack Obama. He previously represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate (1973–2009).

Britannica, “Joe Biden,” last updated March 11, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Biden. 

 

Catholicos

(“Universal” bishop), in Eastern Christian Churches, title of certain ecclesiastical superiors. In earlier times the designation had occasionally been used, like archimandrite and exarch, for a superior abbot; but the title eventually came to denote a bishop who, while head of a major church, was still in some way dependent on his patriarch. The titles catholicos and patriarch later became synonymous and were both applied to the heads of the Armenian, Nestorian (Assyrian), and Georgian churches. In the Armenian Church there are two catholicoi: the supreme catholicos of Ejmiadzin and the catholicos of Sis. The title catholicos patriarch is also used by the primates of the Armenian Catholic Church and the Chaldean Church.

Britannica, “catholicos,” last updated March 17, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/topic/catholicos

 

Cloture

(See also: Filibuster)

The closing or limitation of debate in a legislative body especially by calling for a vote.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “cloture,” accessed August 15, 2025,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloture

The Senate tradition of unlimited debate has allowed for the use of the filibuster, a loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question. Prior to 1917 the Senate rules did not provide for a way to end debate and force a vote on a measure. That year, the Senate adopted a rule to allow a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster, a procedure known as "cloture." In 1975 the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds of senators voting to three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 of the 100-member Senate.

United States Senate, "About Filibusters and Cloture"
https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture.htm

 

Bob Dole

(Born July 22, 1923, Russell, Kansas, U.S.—died December 5, 2021, Washington, D.C.) was an American politician who served in the U.S. Senate (1969–96) and who was the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 1996.

Britannica, “Bob Dole,” last updated February 4, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bob-Dole 

 

Filibuster

(See also: Cloture)

(Verb) To make a long speech in order to delay or prevent a new law being made.

(Noun) A long speech that someone makes in order to delay or prevent a new law being made.

Cambridge Dictionary, "Filibuster," Accessed August 15, 2025
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/filibuster

The Senate tradition of unlimited debate has allowed for the use of the filibuster, a loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question. Prior to 1917 the Senate rules did not provide for a way to end debate and force a vote on a measure. That year, the Senate adopted a rule to allow a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster, a procedure known as "cloture." In 1975 the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds of senators voting to three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 of the 100-member Senate.

United States Senate, "About Filibusters and Cloture"
https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture.htm

 

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race. The term, derived from the Greek genos (“race,” “tribe,” or “nation”) and the Latin cide (“killing”), was coined by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-born jurist who served as an adviser to the U.S. Department of War during World War II.

Although the term itself is of recent origin, genocide arguably has been practiced throughout history (though some observers have restricted its occurrence to a very few cases). According to Thucydides, for example, the people of Melos were slaughtered after refusing to surrender to the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War. Indeed, in ancient times it was common for victors in war to massacre all the men of a conquered population. The massacre of Cathari during the Albigensian Crusade in the 13th century is sometimes cited as the first modern case of genocide, though medieval scholars generally have resisted this characterization.

Twentieth-century events often cited as genocide include the 1915 Armenian massacre by the Turkish-led Ottoman Empire, the nearly complete extermination of European Jews, Roma (Gypsies), and other groups by Nazi Germany during World War II, the killing of some three million Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, and the killing of Tutsi by Hutu in Rwanda in the 1990s.

Britannica, “genocide,” last updated February 20, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/topic/genocide

 

Adolf Hitler

(Born April 20, 1889, Braunau am Inn, Austria—died April 30, 1945, Berlin, Germany) was the leader of the Nazi Party (from 1920/21) and chancellor (Kanzler) and Führer of Germany (1933–45). His worldview revolved around two concepts: territorial expansion and racial supremacy. Those themes informed his decision to invade Poland, which marked the start of World War II, as well as the systematic killing of six million Jews and millions of others during the Holocaust.

Britannica, “Adolf Hitler,” last updated March 6, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler

 

Holocaust

The systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. The Germans called this “the final solution to the Jewish question.” Yiddish-speaking Jews and survivors in the years immediately following their liberation called the murder of the Jews the Ḥurban, the word used to describe the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 bce and the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 ce. Shoʾah (“Catastrophe”) is the term preferred by Israelis and the French, most especially after Claude Lanzmann’s masterful 1985 motion picture documentary of that title. It is also preferred by people who speak Hebrew and by those who want to be more particular about the Jewish experience or who are uncomfortable with the religious connotations of the word Holocaust. Less universal and more particular, Shoʾah emphasizes the annihilation of the Jews, not the totality of Nazi victims. More particular terms also were used by Raul Hilberg, who called his pioneering work The Destruction of the European Jews, and Lucy S. Dawidowicz, who entitled her book on the Holocaust The War Against the Jews. In part she showed how Germany fought two wars simultaneously: World War II and the racial war against the Jews. The Allies fought only the World War. The word Holocaust is derived from the Greek holokauston, a translation of the Hebrew word ʿolah, meaning a burnt sacrifice offered whole to God. This word was chosen because in the ultimate manifestation of the Nazi killing program—the extermination camps—the bodies of the victims were consumed whole in crematoria and open fires.

Britannica, “Holocaust,” last updated March 11, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/event/Holocaust

 

Joint resolution

A resolution passed by both houses of a legislative body that has the force of law when signed by or passed over the veto of the executive.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “joint resolution,” accessed March 11, 2025,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joint%20resolution

Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution. Both are subject to the same procedure, except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution. On approval of such a resolution by two-thirds of both the House and Senate, it is sent directly to the Administrator of General Services for submission to the individual states for ratification. It is not presented to the President for approval. A joint resolution originating in the House of Representatives is designated “H.J.Res.” followed by its individual number. Joint resolutions become law in the same manner as bills.

United States House of Representatives, accessed March 11, 2025,
https://www.house.gov/the-house-explained/the-legislative-process/bills-resolutions

 

Hampar Kelikian

Dr. Kelikian was an emeritus associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University Medical School, performing 10 operations a week when he was 80.

He operated on Senator Bob Dole, Republican of Kansas, then a soldier who had been wounded in Italy. The operation restored the use of Mr. Dole's arm by transplanting leg bone and muscle to the limb.

Dr. Kelikian was decorated by President Truman and by the British for his work in reconstructing soldiers' mangled hands and feet.

New York Times, July 27, 1983
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/27/obituaries/hampar-kelikian.html

 

Lobbyist

One who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “lobbyist,” accessed March 11, 2025,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lobbyist

 

Ottoman Empire

Empire created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor) that grew to be one of the most powerful states in the world during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Ottoman period spanned more than 600 years and came to an end only in 1922, when it was replaced by the Turkish Republic and various successor states in southeastern Europe and the Middle East. At its height the empire encompassed most of southeastern Europe to the gates of Vienna, including present-day Hungary, the Balkan region, Greece, and parts of Ukraine; portions of the Middle East now occupied by Iraq, Syria, Israel, and Egypt; North Africa as far west as Algeria; and large parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The term Ottoman is a dynastic appellation derived from Osman I (Arabic: ʿUthmān), the nomadic Turkmen chief who founded both the dynasty and the empire about 1300.

Britannica, “Ottoman Empire” last updated February 11, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire

 

Treaty of Lausanne

(1923), final treaty concluding World War I. It was signed by representatives of Turkey (successor to the Ottoman Empire) on one side and by Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) on the other. The treaty was signed at Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 24, 1923, after a seven-month conference.

The treaty recognized the boundaries of the modern state of Turkey. Turkey made no claim to its former Arab provinces and recognized British possession of Cyprus and Italian possession of the Dodecanese. The Allies dropped their demands of autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan and Turkish cession of territory to Armenia, abandoned claims to spheres of influence in Turkey, and imposed no controls over Turkey’s finances or armed forces. The Turkish straits between the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea were declared open to all shipping.

Britannica, “Treaty of Lausanne” last updated February 17, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Lausanne-1923

 

Treaty of Sèvres

(August 10, 1920), post-World War I pact between the victorious Allied powers and representatives of the government of Ottoman Turkey. The treaty abolished the Ottoman Empire and obliged Turkey to renounce all rights over Arab Asia and North Africa. The pact also provided for an independent Armenia, for an autonomous Kurdistan, and for a Greek presence in eastern Thrace and on the Anatolian west coast, as well as Greek control over the Aegean islands commanding the Dardanelles. Rejected by the new Turkish nationalist regime, the Treaty of Sèvres was replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.  

Britannica, “Treaty of Sèvres,” last updated January 25, 2025
https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Sevres