The United States of America is a nation-state stretching across North America between Canada and Mexico, plus Alaska in the continent's northwest, the mid-Pacific archipelago of Hawaii and several territories in the Pacific & Caribbean. Founded by European émigrés rebelling from British control in ...
3
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1answer
69 views
What were the first “Big Banks” in the United States?
The large financial institutions of the world have dominated the news cycle for the past few years, and it got me thinking, what were the first large banks in the US? I am interested in hearing about ...
3
votes
2answers
64 views
Was Brown v Board of Education the only major decision that changed educational choice in America?
Brown v Board of Education was the landmark Supreme Court case in America that was supposed to allow more educational choice for all Americans, basically stopping segregational policies and on a legal ...
3
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1answer
133 views
United States Incarceration Rate
How many people were sentenced to prison in 2011 in the United States? This statistic is hard to come by online. The only measured incarceration rate I've come across is the amount of people ...
3
votes
1answer
60 views
Why did Jefferson have to 'Stretch the Constitutional Breaking Point' for the Louisiana Purchase?
Because the U.S. Constitution did not explicitly grant the president the power to purchase territory, when the 'Now or Never' moment came to purchase the Louisiana territory, he had 'stretched ...
3
votes
1answer
100 views
Is the Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL) still used for anything?
Section 411 of the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001 (8 U.S.C. § 1182) authorized the Secretary of State, in consultation with or upon the request of the Attorney General, to designate terrorist organizations ...
3
votes
2answers
164 views
Recommended Reading 19th Century US Settler Daily Life?
At the time of this writing, I am riding in the comfort of an air conditioned minivan, traveling through the deserts of Arizona and California along I-10. I began to think about 19th century settlers ...
3
votes
1answer
214 views
Symbol on utility pole in photograph from 1906
I happened to notice this symbol:
on a utility pole in a photograph from 1906.
What's the meaning of that symbol?
3
votes
0answers
50 views
How many firearms were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA?
How many firearms in total were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA (cumulatively, not simultaneously)?
The timeframe is what I would consider "Old West" timeframe, but starting ...
3
votes
0answers
61 views
What was done to prevent electoral fraud in Texas following the controversial 1948 election?
In his second attempt at the Senate in 1948, Lyndon Johnson narrowly defeated Coke Stevenson in the Democratic primary when a box with 202 votes, largely in favour of LBJ, was found late in the ...
3
votes
0answers
47 views
Why did Carter force the Shah toward a more open political atmosphere in Iran?
Why did Jimmy Carter force Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi toward a more open political atmosphere in Iran? (This policy led to change the regime in Iran, and transformed it into an enemy of the United ...
3
votes
0answers
41 views
Who invented and marketed the first “clip on” headphones?
Headphone style terminology seems dodgy at best, but I'm trying to determine what company first sold this style of headphone in the US:
I've seen them variously described as "on the ear," "clip on" ...
2
votes
3answers
765 views
Has the US Congress ever repealed a law?
Has the United States Congress ever repealed legislation, rather than amend the legislation or let the legislation be annulled by the Supreme Court?
It seems to me that once a law is passed it ...
2
votes
2answers
222 views
What is the single longest Presidential Campaign run in the United States?
Looking back to 2008 it looks like Mitt Romney has been running for President ever since he was in the 2008 Republican primaries where he lost to John McCain. Considering a short stoppage while ...
2
votes
1answer
64 views
When did USA start to help developing countries?
In 2006, the United States government gave $23.53 billion in overseas development assistance.
When did these programs start?
2
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3answers
75 views
Time zones in USA
Time zones are demarcations of solar hours (15 degrees) on the planet (a few are offset by 30 or 45 minutes) used by many nations. Solar noon moves closer on average (depending on the month and day) ...
2
votes
1answer
230 views
Where did the railroad companies find workers to build the rails?
In the building of the various transcontinental railroads in the western US during the late 1800s, how did the railroad companies find workers?
I suppose I'm looking for an answer like "They paid a ...
2
votes
1answer
95 views
What differences led to Technicolor becoming the dominant color filming technology in Hollywood?
Apparently another technology, Kinemacolor, was invented first in the UK, but it never caught on in Hollywood. Kinemacolor was expensive, and had some other glitches involved, but the fact that it was ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views
What factors enabled the New York Journal to survive the yellow journalism wars?
The height of yellow journalism was a battle waged between the Joseph Pulitzer owned New York World, and the William Hearst owned New York Journal. However, even though these two papers boasted large ...
2
votes
1answer
93 views
How many illegal aliens were deported under “Operation Wetback”?
There are all kinds of numbers surrounding Operation Wetback. My understanding is the vast majority left voluntarily. Is there any official number on the amount of illegal aliens that were actually ...
2
votes
1answer
30 views
When was federal sovereign immunity in the U.S. established?
Lawsuits against the federal government can be dismissed under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. For example, Al Haramain Islamic Foundation v. Obama was recently dismissed (Appeals court dismisses ...
2
votes
1answer
84 views
What factors led to the US government issuing nutrition guidelines in 1916?
This timeline from the Washington Post says that the United States Department of Agriculture issued its first food guidelines in 1916 for children, and then did one in 1920 for adults. My question is, ...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
What does 'trade in' mean in this article on the Westway project?
A little background so you know where we are at. I'm doing a paper concerning the Westway project* specifically the period immediately before the collapse of the project in which hundreds of ...
2
votes
1answer
120 views
Has the US Congress's power to declare war been rendered superfluous by recent conflicts?
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Congress of the United States formally declared war on Japan. After Germany declared war on the United States, the Congress then formally declared war on ...
2
votes
1answer
44 views
Were labor shortages ever a problem for the railroads in the Old West?
Many different rail lines were build in the western United States from the 1850s onwards. Was construction ever delayed/canceled due to difficulty in finding workers, or due to workers leaving the ...
2
votes
1answer
97 views
What role did the United States government and major corporations have in controlling dissent and protest starting in the late 1940s? [closed]
After the Second World War, numerous movements of dissent and protest amongst workers or soldiers which had been kept in check by the profits of war developed into significant movements, such as the ...
2
votes
0answers
40 views
How has enforcement of the USA-Mexico border changed over time?
Illegal immigration into the United States across the USA-Mexico border has been a big hot-button issue in recent years.
As many people here may already know, a person from Mexico wishing to travel ...
1
vote
4answers
612 views
What factors contributed to the U.S economy flourishing during the early cold war period?
Wars, cold or otherwise, are bad for economies, right? So why did American capitalism flourish during the early cold war period (shortly after World War II)?
I think there are several positive ...
1
vote
2answers
115 views
Were Civil-War-era Americans better writers than modern Americans? [closed]
Whenever I hear people recite speeches, letters, and historical accounts from Americans who lived through the Civil War, I'm struck by the exceptional quality of their writing. Compared to modern ...
1
vote
1answer
123 views
How many non-partisan (independent) legislature members were in the USA compared to the USSR?
How many legislature members there were who were not members of any party in the USA compared to the USSR during the Cold War and now?
1
vote
3answers
651 views
What is the oldest movie theater in the US that has been in continuous use as a movie theater?
It appears from Wikipedia that the oldest theater in continuous use is in Denmark, but since so much of the film industry is dominated by Hollywood, I was wondering what is the oldest movie theater in ...
1
vote
1answer
101 views
When the United States Congress passes an amendment, how are its votes counted?
For a constitutional amendment to pass in the United States Congress, must the two-thirds vote include those present only (i.e., abstentions count against) or those present and voting (i.e., ...
1
vote
1answer
463 views
Underground Tunnels in New York City and Boston
Where are the underground tunnels built by masons in New York City and Boston in 1760's~1780's? Do they exist till our present day?
1
vote
1answer
90 views
Which battle enabled Andrew Jackson to become the President of USA?
Which significant battle enabled Andrew Jackson to become the President of the USA? Considering his leadership and contribution to this war he was catapulted to the White House.
1
vote
0answers
27 views
Did most colleges in the United have semesters that began in September and ended in January during the 1890s?
I have been researching college calendars from the 1890s and have found that their semesters are very different from most "modern" semesters in the United States. Here are two examples: ...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
When was the electric iron introduced to the state of Georgia?
I am aware that the electric iron was invented in 1882 by Henry W. Seely, but I would like to find out when rich and middle-class Georgians started using it.
1
vote
0answers
70 views
What involvement did Jonathan Edwards have with the Conspiracy of 1741?
According to this article:
Rev. Jonathan Edwards delivered the hellfire and brimstone "spider" sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in Enfield, Connecticut on July 8, 1741. This topical ...
1
vote
0answers
20 views
Were there more robberies of “commercial” or “personal” nature in 19th century in USA?
Is there any statistics showing which trips on highways were statistically safer from being robbed in 19th century USA?
the "commercial" ones (e.g. banks or government moving money) which offered ...
0
votes
1answer
436 views
What was the average US unemployment rate for Democrat and Republican presidents?
Starting with the end of World War 1, what was the average unemployment rate for each United States President? Was the overall average different for Republican and Democratic presidents, and if so, by ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views
Battle of Seattle [closed]
The "Battle of Seattle," a large civil protest that led to sporadic rioting in 1999, is commonly portrayed as influential in the sociology of Western activism, and in the contemporary history of ...
0
votes
1answer
68 views
What is the source of the Senate-as-saucer story?
A famous (though perhaps fictional) simile often quoted to point out
the differences between the House and Senate involves an argument
between George Washington, who favored having two chambers ...
0
votes
0answers
108 views
Did the US destroy all equipment returned after the war from the USSR? [closed]
According the land lease terms all the equipment shipped to the USSR during WWII had to be returned to the US after the war if not lost in fighting.
But according to some memoirs of Russian sailors, ...
-1
votes
1answer
2k views
Who were some famous Vietnam War Hawks and Doves?
Who were some famous people who opposed/supported the Vietnam War?
-1
votes
2answers
249 views
What are the differences between actual Roman Catholicism and American Catholicism? [closed]
What are the differences between actual Roman Catholicism and American Catholicism?
Please point out the historical, political, cultural and belief differences.
You can also provide me with some ...
-1
votes
1answer
86 views
Did Johnny Appleseed actually exist? [closed]
According to Wikipedia, his real name was John Chapman. Is this true?
-1
votes
1answer
188 views
What is the historicity of the film “Revolution.com - USA: The Conquest of the East”?
This is a Russian version of a French film from mid-2000s "Revolution.com"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3QxDgft148
It shows how US government and government-sponsored NGOs organize "color ...
-1
votes
1answer
46 views
Why has the United States not attacked Iran in the past thirty years? [closed]
Why didn't the United States of America even try to attack Iran to change it's Islamic regime through a lightning war like Iraq war in past three decades?
According to my own opinion the Islamic ...
-1
votes
0answers
60 views
Why did the United States attack Iraq and Afghanistan, but not Iran? [closed]
Why did the U.S choose to attack Iraq and Afghanistan?
It seems to me that the threat of a nuclear Iran was more serious and Iran was a more serious enemy to U.S. Now U.S is not able to attack Iran ...
-1
votes
0answers
53 views
Was Ayatollah Khamenei a KGB spy before the 1979 revolution?
(1) Was Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, a graduate of the Patrice Lumumba People’s Friendship University in Moscow?
(2) If the answer to (1) is 'yes', then is there evidence he had ...
-1
votes
1answer
46 views
American History Dating To The 1700's - Ben Franklin [closed]
Can anyone put in context the history of the 1700's, with specific events and circumstances, that are evidence of why Ben Franklin conclusively divided mankind into three classes - immovable, movable ...
-2
votes
1answer
46 views
Why the resurgence of Islamic powers in the middle east in the past three decades? [closed]
Why has Islam made such a resurgence in the Middle East?
Why did it began with Iran? (while Islam originally came from Saudi Arabia)
Is there any relation between US President Carter's open political ...
