Questions tagged [united-states]
The United States of America is a sovereign state stretching across North America between Canada and Mexico, 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 the 1700s, the US spread across the continent by conquest and land-purchase to become the most powerful country on the planet after the Cold War in the 1900s.
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In the US Army in WWII how long did it typically take for a promotion from private to PFC?
In early 1943 how long might it take for an US Army inductee to be promoted from private to PFC? What were the requirements?
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Where can I find a comprehensive collection of all American Founding Fathers' writings?
I was taught in school that the Founding Fathers of America were very prolific and that they produced many documents during their time, including books, pamphlets, magazines, letters, diaries, etc. ...
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Was Ford the only person who became a US president without winning an election?
I have a question about the 38th US president Gerald Rudolph Ford.
Ford is the only person to become U.S. president without winning an
election for president or vice president.
link
I told my father ...
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Did the drapes in old theatres actually say "ASBESTOS" on them?
In many old cartoons from the 1920s and 1930s, whenever there is a theatre scene or similar, and the curtains come down, they literally say "ASBESTOS" on them.
Was this based on real life? ...
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What was the logic behind state censuses?
Conducting genealogy research, I always liked when my targets were in times and places where they have state censuses to back up the federal census. Frequently, the state census is conducted in years ...
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Which institutions are known to have been involved in Project MK-Ultra?
Apparently, during the MKUltra project (the CIA's notorious research project into poisons, intoxicating drugs, drug-assisted interrogation and whether mind control was really possible, involving a lot ...
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What patriotic music might have been popular for Independence Day in 1866?
I am on a search for American patriotic music that would have been performed at a New England (specifically, Portland, Maine) Independence Day celebration in 1866. I would like to find a list of ...
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Where can I find more details about "historian" André Du Nay?
André Du Nay appears as the author of one book, The Origins of the Rumanians: The Early History of the Rumanian Language, Toronto; Buffalo: Matthias Corvinus Pub. reviewed here on a respectable ...
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In the days of slavery, were heterosexual interracial pairings more common with black men and white women, or black women and white men? [closed]
Of course, the anti miscegenation laws were in place that prohibited interracial marriage, so it must have been something that went on and so was a concern.
On that note, did miscegenation laws mainly ...
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Was Emperor Norton I recognised by Kamehameha V?
Emperor Norton I "reigned" as Emperor of the United States from 1859 to his death in 1880 – though he was mostly ignored by the de facto government of the time. Wikipedia makes the claim ...
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Where did Carlson's Raiders get Boys anti-tank rifles in 1942 and why?
According to English Wikipedia, during the 1942 Raid on Makin Atoll (modern-day Butaritari, Kiribati) the Marine Raiders used Boys anti-tank rifles to attack the Japanese flying boats that attempted ...
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How adamant/sustained was George F. Kennan's opposition to the [creation of the] UN?
Wikipedia's page on George F. Kennan says that he
warned against U.S. participation and reliance on multilateral, legalistic and moralistic organizations such as the United Nations.
(Citing a review ...
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Where is the other surviving chest from the Boston Tea Party?
A web site dicussing the Boston Tea Party has the following paragraph:
Two hundred thirty-nine years later, young John’s find, one of only
two known surviving tea chests from the Boston Tea Party, ...
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Why did Women's Day never really catch on in the US, even though it started there?
The roots of International Women's Day (March 8th) go all the way back to New York City in 1909 and the Socialist Party of America. However, from what I have learned the International Women's Day is ...
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Are there some concrete examples of the pre-1962 Soviet complaints in re CORONA spy satellites?
According to Pat Norris' book Spies in the Sky (p. 111)
until the first successful Zenit flight in summer 1962 the Soviets complained bitterly to America about the CORONA flights.
However he does ...
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When was the official cover of Project Genetrix abandoned? Did the Soviets show (or threaten to show) any of the balloons' equipment?
I've read the Wikipedia page on Project_Genetrix (and one of its sources) but one aspect that's not clear to me is when the official cover the project was abandoned. According to the declassified ...
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Did Edith Wilson influence the passage of the 19th Amendment?
Edith Wilson handled her husband Woodrow Wilson's presidential business, heavily so, after his stroke until the end of his term. As
"In My Memoir, published in 1939, Edith Wilson justified her ...
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Were the alleged CIA attempts to set up an economic spy ring in Japan in the 1980s disclosed in the Japanese press at the time?
According Brad Williams' book Japanese Foreign Intelligence, which also has a chapter (#2) on CIA's activities in spying on Japan, the CIA tried their hand at economic & tech spying on Japan in ...
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Do We Know 100% of the Victims of 9/11?
The 9/11 Memorial contains nearly 3,000 names for the victims of 9/11. However, based on a news article on September 7, 2021, there are still 1,106 victims of 9/11 who have not yet been identified.
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How is "Jones series" used in the National Archives Office of Strategic Services records?
I was looking around on the National Archives' website in their World War II archives and came across Records of the Office of Strategic Services 1940-1946 (RG 226). One of the contents of the records ...
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Is it true that the A10 gun was made less accurate on purpose?
I heard that the engineers that worked on the A-10 modified the gun to increase its spread. Supposedly because it was very hard for the pilot to keep the gun perfectly on target, and with higher ...
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Who presided over the election and swearing in of the first Speaker of the House?
The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is elected by the incoming members of the House at the start of each new Congress. House rules stipulate that this election is presided by the Clerk ...
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How did the tomato become the iconic pin cushion design?
When I was growing up, my mother had a pin cushion shaped and colored like a tomato. I recently discovered that my wife's grandmother has one too, which led me to discover that tomato pin cushions are ...
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What promises were not fulfilled (meaning were not done) in the Indian Removal Act?
I was genuinely wondering what promises were actually fulfilled in the Indian Removal Act. Out of these, it would be especially nice if I could find out whether the 2nd and 8th one were actually ...
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Did people attempt to repair their television sets themselves back in the day and die from it?
I have a big 1989 CRT TV which I'm both in love with and genuinely fear. It recently took me extreme precautions just to eventually dare to open it up (after being unplugged for a long time) and just ...
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Why did this anti-communist pamphlet, from the USA in the 1950s, include UNESCO among its targets?
The English language Wikipedia article on McCarthyism includes an image of an "anti-communist" pamphlet, apparently from the 1950s:
I was intrigued by point 4:
RIGHT NOW films are being ...
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How long, historically speaking, did it take to tally and report the vote?
I am trying to get an idea of how long it may have taken American states to tally and report election results in days of yore---e.g., late 1700s till the civil war. I know the telegraph was used to ...
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Why did Associate justice Black speak of a Pyrrhic victory?
At the end of the case Beauharnais vs Illinois, the Associate Justice Black said:
In his dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Black quoted Pyrrhus of Epirus by alluding to the term Pyrrhic victory: &...
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Did Washington ever impose any sort of investment ban on Nazi germany?
There is archived coverage about multinational companies, headquartered in the US, that have had operations in Nazi Germany, like here. While these multinationals appear to have received some public ...
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Why did the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal take a much longer route to the Des Plaines River?
So reading about the the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal, you can see on the map that the route travels about 15 miles parallel to the Des Plaines River.
I've been trying to find out why. This ...
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Were there universities that treated socioeconomic status as a major factor in college admissions? [closed]
For many years I have been asking myself the same question: Are there universities that treat socioeconomic status as a major factor in college admissions (without taking race into consideration at ...
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Why hasn't the Centralia fire been starved to death? [closed]
The infamous Centralia coal mine fire has been burning for approximately 60 years now. Googling "why hasn't the Centralia fire been put out" gives plenty of results for why it would be ...
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Which WWII Medal and ribbon are these?
I am trying to identify a possible medal that my great grandfather was awarded as I am putting his medals together for my grandmother. Though I'm not quite sure it's a medal. I looked through his ...
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Is there any evidence that the US strategy at Midway was deliberate?
The Battle of Midway was a crushing US victory over the Empire of Japan that, at face value, appears to be due to good SIGINT and a huge amount of luck by the Americans.
In particular, the piecemeal ...
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Were doctors who were drafted in the 1950/1960 years, compelled to take an officer's oath of allegiance?
Anyone who's ever watched M*A*S*H, knows that many of the doctors there, didn't want to be there, and had been drafted. Then I recently ran across this (non-official) article, which says
Officers on ...
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Were families allowed to watch boys swim naked at the YMCA before the 70s?
from Minneapolis Tribune, 1950 as cited in Medium
And does "families" mean female siblings would have been allowed to watch or was it just the parents?
I found American High Schools Mandated ...
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Were there written (draft) Soviet proposals that would have effectively restricted the US navy from (parts of) Europe?
I'm pretty sure that if one trawls the Soviet propaganda, one can find something asking Americans to bugger off from Europe altogether (ok, on a more serious note--Gorbatchev did propose the ...
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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 ...
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Was Frederick Douglass right that in his day 'religious slaveholders are the worst'? If so why would this be?
I am quoting from the autobiography of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), who as many readers will probably know escaped from slavery in Maryland in 1838, settled in Massachusetts and became an anti-...
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What is the name of the ceramic artist who created this large platter?
I am trying to find the name of the name of the ceramic artist who made this large platter. I think it is an American piece made by a woman. I’d like to know her name.
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What happened on July the 5th, 1943, at the Gerbini airfield on Sicily?
I read on this site an event that happened on July, the 5th 1943:
About 30 Flying Fortresses which set out to bomb the Sicilian airfield at Gerbini are attacked by more than 100 enemy fighters, 35 of ...
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Why did Jimmy Carter handily win the state of Georgia in 1980, despite losing other southern states?
Two explanations easily come to mind.
The first is that Georgia is "bluer" than other southern states. In support of this theory is that Joe Biden won it in 2020, and Bill Clinton in 1992.
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What was that book that listed all the rich/influential people and defined socioeconomic status for many Americans?
Americans in the upper-elite class specifically, I think. It was a semi-annual publication, and was significant before WWII, perhaps even before WWI.
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Were there plans to admit the Territory of New Mexico as a slave state? [closed]
Prior to the Civil War, were there any plans to eventually admit Arizona and New Mexico as slave states?
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How was coffee brewed in Philadelphia (or surrounding area) in 1904?
I am writing a story about a physician in Philadelphia in 1904. I read that Hills Bros. packaged the first 'vacuum packed tins' of coffee. I just don't know if there was enough distribution that he ...
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Were weapons allowed in Carpenters Hall during the first and second continental Congresses?
During the founding of the nation, what restrictions were in place at public forums related to the carrying of weapons (fire arms, knives, small caliber pistols, etc.), especially during the ...
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Why was Hannah Ocuish believed to have been mentally disabled?
Hannah Ocuish was a 12 year old Native American girl who had the dubious honor in 1786 of being the youngest female to be legally executed in the United States, allegedly for murdering another girl ...
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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 ...
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What was the new identity of the white slave in Kentucky ~1840, called the Boy John, after he was freed?
In 1897, a book called "The Boy John" was published by a Kentucky lodge of the Order of Odd Fellows (a mutual benefit society with history going back to England), detailing the efforts of ...
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What other ships were with USS Saratoga when it was hit by a torpedo on 1942 Jan 11?
USS Saratoga (CV-3) was a Lexington-class Carrier of the USN. On 1942 Jan 11 it was hit by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-6, and then went in for repairs.
However, I would like to know what ...
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