Questions tagged [political-history]

Political history is the history of: political events, politicians, political bodies, political movements and anything else related to politics. Questions on topic will be related to the significance, evolution, or veracity of things of historical consequence related to politics.

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What were the heir and children of monarchs with the titles "Grand Prince" or "Prince" called?

I've tried to look everywhere, but I could not find anything substantial. What I want to know is, what were the heirs and grander offspring of monarchs, with titles such as "Grand Prince" or ...
3 votes
1 answer
254 views

When in 1885 did Stafford Northcote cease to be Commons leader of the Conservatives?

Northcote was leader in the Commons until 1885. Wikipedia says: On Benjamin Disraeli's elevation to the House of Lords as Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876, Northcote became Leader of the Conservatives in ...
5 votes
2 answers
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How did 19th century politicians discredit rivals?

I'm writing a fantasy novel in which a pivotal election takes place (first vote in which everyone above the age of 21 can vote - and the first time women can vote). The setting of the novel is heavily ...
-1 votes
1 answer
386 views

Has Sun Tzu ever advocated for something that in modern society is a war crime, or what has Sun Tzu ever said about war crimes? [closed]

I've read The Art of War 3x, but I didn't yet know the concept of 'war crime'. So I never really paid much attention to the text in that regard. Question: Has Sun Tzu ever advocated for something that ...
4 votes
1 answer
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What religions were persecuted and disappeared (between 1000 BCE – 1 CE)? [closed]

R Gottlieb wrote in his book called "Reason to Believe" on page 66 that many cultures were persecuted between 1000 BCE – 1 CE, and none survived. As far as I'm aware, he does not provide any ...
2 votes
0 answers
217 views

In the Gettysburg Address, what is the exact meaning of the phrase 'under God'?

Recently, while studying Chinese translations of this classic speech, EDIT: that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the ...
12 votes
3 answers
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How did the elite maintain the status quo throughout the British Colonies of North America?

Though Nathaniel Bacon himself may not have been poor, the rebellion he became a leader of in 1676 eventually proved to be evidence of the class envy that existed in the British colonies of North ...
19 votes
3 answers
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Did Lord Acton ever say "freedom faces four major challenges"?

I read a Chinese article that quoted a passage purported to be from Lord Acton, describing how "freedom faces four major challenges". The original Chinese states: 每个时代,自由都会面临着四大挑战: ...
5 votes
4 answers
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Why was Stalin chosen as the First General Secretary in 1922?

At the 11th Party Congress, Stalin was voted into the position of General Secretary. This was the first time the party had a General Secretary. This was in 1922 Mar/Apr. Why was Stalin chosen? I ...
21 votes
3 answers
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Why was Harry Truman chosen to be Vice President in 1944?

In 1944, FDR was running for his fourth and final election. He was starting to age rapidly, he would be dead in just 82 days from being sworn in to his fourth term. Henry Wallace had been FDR's VP ...
6 votes
1 answer
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Were there political parties in ancient Greece?

So I'm reading a Spanish translation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War and he frequently mentions a "popular party". For example: That is why the Athenians made many other ...
3 votes
0 answers
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What impact did Georgists have on the Sixteenth Amendment, and vice versa?

The Sixteenth Amendment, which allows the federal government to directly tax citizens' incomes, was ratified in 1913. That seems to be the same period of time (late 19th and early 20th centuries) that ...
6 votes
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What is the evidence that Galerius raised Severus II to the rank of Augustus?

It is widely reported that Severus II was made Augustus by Galerius. But Zosimus in Historia Nova reports: "Maximianus Gallerius, when he had learned this, sent Severus Caesar against Maxentius ...
10 votes
5 answers
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Why is Napoleon III seen as a bad leader?

I'm asking that because, with the exception of the defeats against Prussia and Mexico, he succeeded to raise France as a fully industrial nation, gave some rights to the workers (like the right of ...
4 votes
0 answers
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What was Northern Ireland electoral law pre-1972?

I have seen claims that the voting system used in Northern Ireland pre-1972 was discriminatory. In particular, I've seen the claim that voting was allocated per household and not per person; I have ...
2 votes
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Did mother Teresa ask to allow to Christianise Arunachal Pradesh to receive Bharat Ratna?

Mother Teresa is a popular person, generally known for her humanitarian work. But from my childhood, I repeatedly used to hear that she promoted and converted many Indians to Christianity either ...
11 votes
1 answer
696 views

Have primary voters in US overseas territories or their delegates ever had a noteworthy influence in any primary election or convention?

While watching Ken Burns' The Roosevelts I noticed that from the days of TR up through the early 1960s, footage of the party conventions where presidential candidates were nominated seemed to ...
2 votes
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Did William Ward write "An Address At a Meeting of the Society for Political Information held at the Talbot Inn in Derby, July 16th 1792"?

William Ward (1769–1823) the Baptist missionary assistant to William Carey (1761-1834) was a Derby man and, as a youth at any rate, a radical. He is said to have been the author of "An Address At ...
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1 answer
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Were Korean and Tibetan rulers ever styled as 'sons of heaven'?

Chinese dynasts adopted the term "Son of Heaven" or "Son of [the god] Tian" (天子) during the early Zhou period around the turn of the 1st millennium BCE, and continued using it until the overthrow of ...
-4 votes
1 answer
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Examples of failed leftist movements without support today [closed]

By support I mean popular support, whether in polls or any means of trying to gauge the views of the average citizen. It seems like almost every major historical movement spearheaded by the left ...
4 votes
1 answer
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Why is it said that the Qin dynasty was the first to unite China?

I have often heard that the Qin dynasty was the first to unite China. For example, Wikipedia says: Qin Shi Huang, or Shihuangdi, was the founder of the Qin dynasty, and first emperor of a unified ...
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1 answer
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Do negotiations/concessions to dictatorial powers always bring them to wanting more? [closed]

Let's focus on European powers that existed from the 18th century until today. There's a common theory which basically says: giving concessions or not being firm enough towards dictators always ...
3 votes
1 answer
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Why was East Pakistan never divided into multiple provinces? [closed]

East Pakistan had a population much bigger than West Pakistan. West Pakistan had multiple provinces, but the East had only one province. This had been a recognized problem, and that was why Mohammad ...
3 votes
2 answers
259 views

What was the meaning of Auguste Delfosse's statement "La liberté française pour faire le tour du monde n'a pas besoin de passer en Belgique!"

Auguste Delfosse, a Belgian politician, is said to have given this statement in the Belgian House of Representatives on March 1, 1848: La liberté française pour faire le tour du monde n'a pas ...
7 votes
2 answers
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When the Chinese were driven out of modern Vietnam in AD 938, did an Vietnamese ethnic identity already exist?

With some periods of interruption, China dominated Vietnam for more than 10 centuries between 111 BC and 938 AD. This wikipedia article and its subsidiary links spoke of sinification and shifting of ...
7 votes
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What did US presidential ballots look like when unpledged electors were offered?

Unpledged presidential electors have run in at least four US presidential elections. In 1960, 14 were elected. In this age, where the electoral college is almost a mere formality and we rarely think ...
7 votes
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Under what circumstances did feudal rulers grant land to someone new?

From wikipedia: A fief (/fiːf/; Latin: feudum) was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable property or rights granted by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty (or "in ...
15 votes
1 answer
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Why did China decide to support Poland in 1956, but not Hungary?

In 1956, the fate of the Eastern Block was pretty uncertain: The Khrushchev Thaw was causing the satellite countries to rethink their place in the world, as de-Stalinization was bringing the promise ...
2 votes
0 answers
181 views

What made Seleucid monarchy so unstable?

I would not claim that the Seleucid monarchy was more unstable than other Hellenistic monarchies (though contemporary Antigonid Macedonia appears to be more politically robust) but throughout the 3rd ...
2 votes
2 answers
740 views

Why was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin so popular in Russia?

Recently I watched a documentary film from "Star Media" (a Russian film) called "The First World War". Up to this moment, I thought that the February Revolution happened because ...
119 votes
10 answers
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Were there women who were against giving women the right to vote?

The TV show Sherlock prompted an interesting question about the historical role of women during the United Kingdom's road to women's suffrage. In the episode "The Abominable Bride" (set in ...
3 votes
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How did the Dominican Civil War impact culture?

I'm trying to find information about any cultural changes caused by the Dominican Civil War-- whether that be more or less radical politics, a general move to the right or left, hostility towards ...
5 votes
3 answers
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When did abolition of property qualifications for voting begin in the USA?

I understand that voting qualifications in the USA are a state matter and this didn't all happen in one blow. But which states were the first and last to abolish property qualifications for voting? ...
1 vote
1 answer
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Why were the kingdom of Prussia's territorial ambitions focused in Saxony?

If I have remembered it correctly the Hohenzollerns tried several times to annex the electorate/kingdom of Saxony. From the reign of Frederick II (the great) to the aftermath of Napoleonic wars where ...
4 votes
1 answer
250 views

How common was Nixon-esque espionage in 20th-century American politics?

During the Watergate scandal, President Nixon's supporters were reportedly fond of saying, "Everyone does it." When I listened to Slate's Slow Burn podcast recently, I remember them saying ...
18 votes
1 answer
951 views

Was the European slave market in the East during the colonial era similar to the transatlantic slave market? If not (less brutal, etc), why?

As far as I understand it, European colonialist powers did have a slave market in the East, in the Indian Ocean. That is, there was this market as well as the Transatlantic slave market[1-3]. What I ...
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1 answer
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Is the former adviser to the prime minister Dominic Cummings related by marriage to Andrew Wakefield? [closed]

Is Dominic Cummings, the British prime minister's former chief adviser, related by marriage to Andrew Wakefield, director of the 2016 film "Vaxxed"? Dominic Cummings, the former adviser to ...
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1 answer
246 views

When did the news start reporting 'women and children were killed'

I'm trying to figure out when news specifically started mentioning women and children were killed when reporting fatalities. Does anyone have any reference or idea when this differentiation happened - ...
7 votes
1 answer
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What were the most common reactions to Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

I'm curious about the general reactions to historical events in civil rights by people wanting to keep the status quo. However, this information is hard to find. News clippings I can find are ...
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0 answers
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Who Was The Last Head Of State To Participate In Battle While In Office? [duplicate]

Many historical heads of state, e.g., Charlemagne (ca. 800 CE), Henry V (ca. 1413-1422 CE), George Washington (as head of state during the Revolutionary War ca. 1776 CE), and Napoleon (late 18th and ...
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2 answers
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When was the first usage of the slogan "Wer hat uns verraten..."?

Inspired by this question on Movie&TV.SE, I am looking for the origin of the phrase/slogan Wer hat uns verraten? Sozialdemokraten! Who betrayed us? Social democrats! It is still used ...
8 votes
1 answer
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Which 1848 German revolutionaries became key players in the US Republican party?

Gillian Brockell wrote in an article at the WP: In 1860, two major factors helped to propel Lincoln — a one-term congressman and country lawyer most known for losing a Senate campaign — to the ...
9 votes
4 answers
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Have any national leaders been kept unaware of their own wars?

I've seen a number of scifi/fantasy stories (most recently the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender) in which nominally-powerful leaders are insulated from the events of their own countries by ...
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2 answers
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When names of these countries were first called

I'd like to know when the first time the name of India in English (Inde in French) was called. What is the name in Latin and if there is one? Also, I'd like to know the first time the names of Myanmar ...
3 votes
5 answers
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What was the first political document that invoked the interest or betterment of humanity?

What was the first political document or speech that invoked the interest or betterment of humanity as a whole as a substantiation for an action or a move? Invocation of the betterment for a nation, ...
14 votes
3 answers
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What factors contributed to earlier democratic states failing?

Conventional wisdom says that democracy is the superior form of government. If this is true, then factors might have contributed to earlier democratic states like Athens in 500 BCE and the Roman ...
5 votes
1 answer
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What was the purpose of military prefectures in Song?

The Song dynasty administrative system is really hard to understand (at least for me), and I have many questions about it. Here I'll concentrate on the military prefectures. It's well documented the ...
6 votes
5 answers
818 views

What were the origins of democracy?

I realize that many people say that Athens is where democracy started, but is there any solid proof that it was the first? On Wikipedia, it is stated that: there is evidence to suggest that ...
0 votes
1 answer
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Exactly what time of the day was the UN charter official?

I have been searching for information about the creation of the United Nations. The UN website says that the official date of creation was October 24, 1945. The same information can be found in ...
27 votes
3 answers
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Was Kaliningrad offered to the Lithuanian SSR; was this offer rejected; and if so, why?

This is a follow up to this other question Why was Kaliningrad placed under the Russian SFSR rather than the Lithuanian SSR? Semaphore's answer states: ... a similar offer was made to give ...

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