Chapter 1

geographical divisions of a country or of the world.

_East_, _West_, _North_, _South_, _Westerner_, _Oriental_.

When these words are used in their ordinary significance of mere direction or location they are not capitalized except that in writing of Biblical history we speak of the _Northern Kingdom_ and the _Southern Kingdom_ into which Solomon's territory was split after his death.

16. Generic terms for political divisions.

a. When the term is part of the name and directly follows it.

_Holy Roman Empire_ _British Empire_ _Northwest Territory_ _Queen's County_.

b. When it is used with the preposition of in such phrases as _Borough of the Bronx_, _Department of the Gulf_.

c. When part of a nickname, _The Crescent City_, _the Buckeye State_, _the City of Brotherly Love_.

Be careful not to capitalize such words when they are not an actual part of the name. _French Republic_ is the name of the county, exactly translating _Republique Francaise_, but _American republic_ is not such a name. You would write _State of New York_ in a legal document in which the state would be considered as a corporate person, but in ordinary references it would be _state of New York_.

17. The days of the week and the months of the year, but not the seasons unless personified.

_Monday the fifth of August._ _April is the first month of spring._ _Spring, beautiful Spring._

But write _ten o'clock_, _nine a.m._, _ten p.m._

18. Festivals and historic or famous days.

_Easter Day_ _Fast Day_ _Independence Day_ _Black Friday_.

19. Stars, planets, constellations, and the like, except _sun_, _moon_, _stars_, _earth_.

_Mars_, _the Milky Way_, _the Pleiades_.

20. Ordinal numbers used to designate numbered political divisions, sessions of Congress, names of regiments, Egyptian dynasties, and the like.

_Second Congressional District_, _First Ward_, _Ninth Precinct_, _Forty-third Congress_, _Sixth Massachusetts Regiment_, _Fifth Dynasty_.

21. Names of genera but not of species: except that in botanical and zoölogical copy the species may be capitalized if derived from a proper name.

_Agaricus campestris_ _Parkinsonia Torreyana_ _Pterygomatopus schmidti_, (Medical).

The English derivatives from these scientific words are not capitalized. We write of the _agarics_, the _felids_, the _carnivores_, etc.

22. _Father_, _mother_, and other words denoting relationship when used with a proper name or without a personal pronoun.

_I saw Aunt Lucy and Cousin Charles._ _I saw my aunt Lucy and my cousin Charles._ _I have received a letter from my mother._ _I have received a letter from Mother._

23. Names of political parties and of philosophical, literary, and artistic schools, and their adherents.

_Republican_, _National Liberal_, _Social Democrats_, _Stoics_ (but _neo-Platonism_, _pseudo-Christianity_, etc.) _the Lake school_, _the Romantic movement_, _the Symbolic school of painters_.

24. Political and historical designations which have been much used and have come to have special significances such as names of leagues, parties, classes, movements, and the like.

_Holy Alliance_, _Dreibund_, _Roundheads_, _Independents_, _Reformation_, _Dissenter_.

25. Names of well-known historic epochs, periods in the history of language, and geological ages and strata. The word "age" is not capitalized except when necessary to avoid ambiguity.

_Stone age_, _Middle Ages_, _Age of Elizabeth_, _Crusades_, _Commune (of Paris)_, _Middle English_, _Neolithic_.

26. Names of important events.

_Hundred Years War_, _Battle of Trenton_, _Louisiana Purchase_, _Norman Conquest_.

27. Names of specific treaties, important laws, and the like.

_Peace of Amiens_, _Edict of Nantes_, _Concordat_, _Emancipation Proclamation_, _Fourteenth Amendment_.

28. Names of governmental bodies and departments and their branches when specifically designated.

_Congress_, _the Senate_, _the Board of Aldermen_, _the House of Commons_, _the Committee on Education_.

Care must be taken to distinguish between these specific references and general uses of the same word.

_The state legislature of Massachusetts is officially termed the General Court._ _The matter was referred to the War Department but was sent back on the ground that it belonged to another department._

29. The official titles of corporations, organizations, and institutions, social, religious, educational, political, business, and the like.

_Knights Templars_, _Knights of Columbus_, _Associated Charities_, _Cook County Normal School_, _Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals_, _Chicago_, _Rock Island and Pacific Railroad_.

In long titles, like the last example given, the important words are capitalized as in book titles (see Sec. 31). Use capitals when referring to such organizations by initials, _C. R. I. & P. R. R._ Here again it must be remembered that the capitals are used in specific references only.

_The Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor of the Third Congregational Church._ _The young people's societies connected with the Congregational churches do great good._

30. The names of conventions, congresses, expositions, etc.

_Parliament of Religions_, _International Peace Congress_, _Panama-Pacific Exposition_.

31. The first words, principal words, and last word in English tides of books and other publications; of their divisions (parts, chapters, cantos, etc.); of the topics of speeches, sermons, toasts, and the like; of pictures; of plays; of musical compositions, etc.

In long titles nouns and pronouns are capitalized always; verbs, participles, and adverbs usually; articles, prepositions and conjunctions never.

_Standard Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases_, _Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures_, _Lincoln's Gettysburg Address_, _Paradise Lost_, _Measure for Measure_, _A New Way to Pay Old Debts_, _The Coronation of Charles VII at Rheims_, _the Moonlight Sonata_.

The word "the" is capitalized when it forms an actual part of the title of a book but not otherwise.

_The Printer's Dictionary_. _The Life and Times of Charles V._ _the Review of Reviews_, _the Laacoon_, _the Fifth Symphony_.

32. Dedications; headings of parts and chapters; headings of many important minor parts of a book.

_To All Who Love Good Printing._ _Chapter Twenty-Seven._ _Part Three._ _The Invention of Movable Types._ _The Practical Value of Gutenberg's Invention._ (These last as sections of a book on the origin of printing).

33. In foreign languages the usage is somewhat different. The following rules will be found useful:

a. Always capitalize the first word.

b. In Latin capitalize only proper nouns and adjectives derived therefrom.

_Commentarii Cæsaris de bello Gallico._