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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How long was the lung cancer knowledge gap between big tobacco and publically available information?
How long can a huge, deadly secret be kept? According to this paper, evidence was accumulating from lung-cancer studies in the 1940's-1950's, but in 1960 only 1/3 of doctors knew. The official warning ...
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What did a 19th century New Orleans Yellow Fever immunity passport look like?
In response to proposals for a so-called "immunity passport" system to be developed so that people who have recovered from COVID-19 can return to life as usual (without being subject to ...
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Is there anything to back up Mearsheimer's claims that Roosevelt pushed the Japanese to attack the United States and tried to get the US into WW2?
In this video at 1:20:05 (and a little bit of the part preceding it), Mearsheimer claims that Roosevelt "was deeply committed" to get the United States into the second world war and "...
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Where did John Adams write of the night he shared a bed and an argument with Benjamin Franklin? Did Franklin write of it as well?
The BBC News article Viewpoint: Why Trump may win his legal fight over border wall it says:
American politics have not been so bitter and divided since Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were forced to ...
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Did any African-American slaves with Jewish owners ever adopt Judaism?
In a separate question, it was suggested that because Jews tend not to proselytize, there would not, in contrast to slaves who became Christians, be many Blacks who became Jewish even though their ...
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Which part of Japanese air forces fought in Burma and how much was destroyed?
My current understanding of WW2 involving Japan is that US forces destroyed the brunt of Japanese air and naval forces in the Pacific.
I know however that land battles occurred on large scale in Burma ...
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When did the White House get its current address, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
Thanks to Wikipedia's "On this day" feature, I’ve just seen this painting of the White House after it was burned by the British forces in 1812:
The background appears to be farmland, but ...
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What time of day was the White House burned in August of 1814?
I am working on a project for the War of 1812 and for one of the illustrations I am drawing the White House as it is burning down. I am trying to make sure everything is historically accurate such as ...
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What led the U.S. to standardize option contracts to 100 shares per lot?
I want to ask a question about the standardization of options to a lot size of 100 shares per options contract.
I was reading the following article which mentions the standardization of options in ...
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Did the US provide oil assistance to Germany during WW2?
Some Russian guy on BBC Radio 5 (Up all night) just now shouted down a Yank, claiming that the US had helped Germany maintain its oil supplies during WW2. At least that's what I recall of his rant. I ...
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Was the Reagan administration particularly known for studies?
In the book "Oil Money - Middle East Petrodollars and the Transformation of US Empire, 1967 - 1988" by David M. Wight which covers the US policy and decisions dealing with world events ...
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During Iranian Hostage Crisis, were shredded documents reassembled by children?
The movie Argo(2012) is a historical thriller detailing a CIA rescue mission during the Iran Hostage Crisis. The movie depicts Iranian intelligence attempting to re-assemble shredded documents from ...
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When was the last US letter of marque issued?
Article I of the United States Constitution lists "grant[ing] Letters of Marque and Reprisal" as an explicit power of the Congress. Are these still being issued? If not, when was the last ...
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How was immigration from Latin America handled before the passage of the Immigration & Nationality act of 1965?
I know that in the United States, before the passage of the Immigration & Nationality act of 1965, immigration was controlled by the Immigration Act of 1924.
It limited the number of immigrants ...
MCW♦
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How many vehicles were involved in Operation Gothic Serpent (Mogadishu, October 3-4, 1993)?
I wanted to know how many vehicles (include their model and which country used it), aircraft and infantry were deployed in Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu in October 1993.
Specific numbers of:
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How to decode / read US Veterans Bureau Form 7202?
In doing some family background research, I came across an old military service record which says it is a "Form 7202 - Rev. Sept., 1927". I would like to decipher the meanings of the various codes to ...
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Why did Filipinos form the guards of the Ever victorious Army?
The Ever Victorious Army was formed under the Chinese imperial Authority and the commercial counters in Shanghai. It was formed by Frederick Ward, an American. During a time (I could not identify the ...
MCW♦
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Have sanctions ever stopped a nation from starting or continuing a war?
I am asking about nations that would be considered “Great Powers”. It is my understanding that the U.S. oil embargo on Imperial Japan did nothing to stop Japan’s war in China and actually caused them ...
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Why did the US drop nuclear bombs on a weakened Japan? [closed]
Why did the United States drop two nuclear bombs on the Japanese mainland? It appeared that Japan was ready to surrender.
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Was the US Navy larger in 1917, and if so, why?
Following the recent discussion in the third US Presidential Debate on Oct. 22, 2012 about the size of the Navy, there actually seemed to be a good discussion buried in there, primarily in this quote ...
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Besides Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have any other U.S. states changed their names?
In 1781 the State of Massachusetts Bay became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In 2020 the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became the State of Rhode Island (when most people who ...
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Were hippies in the USA "refused ambulance service" for some reason?
In one episode of The Simpsons, Homer buys an old ambulance from the 1960s (I think). This is very vague in my memory, but at some point, somebody says something along the lines of:
Many hippies were ...
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What did the US state department do in the Chinese Civil War from 1945–1949?
James J. Drummey writes in The Real McCarthy Record:
It was also during the mid-to-late Forties that communist sympathizers
in the State Department played a key role in the subjugation of
mainland ...
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How widespread was hunger and starvation during The Great Depression? [duplicate]
There has been some discussion over how many people have died of starvation during The Great Depression, with the common consensus being that direct starvation killed very few, but the symptoms of ...
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What was the last public school to desegregate in the US? And when?
What was the last public school to desegregate in the United States? What was the date of completion for that schools desegregation?
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Was FDR right that a garden hose was really $15 in 1940 (c.a. $300 today)?
As FDR stated in a White House Press conference on December 17, 1940: "What I am trying to do is eliminate the dollar sign. All right! Well let me give you an illustration: Suppose my neighbor's ...
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Was there really a Communist presidential nominee or political party in the 1876 election?
In David Leip's political atlas, it says that 'Communist' gained 32 votes in the 1876 presidential election. The name of the candidates and the state where these votes were counted doesn't appear.
Of ...
MCW♦
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What would a criminal defense attorney charge in late 19th century America?
What would a criminal defense attorney charge on the American frontier in a murder trial in 1885? I am specifcally interested in what it would have cost three cowpokes to mount a murder defence in ...
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What kind of radio equipment is depicted in this Vietnam era picture?
The following photograph is from the first years of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. These soldiers are wearing baseball caps and their patches are in color. Later, the patches were olive drab. Obviously, ...
MCW♦
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What kind of wood was the standard decking for aircraft carriers in World War 2?
I know that both Japan and the United States used wooden decks on their WWII Aircraft Carriers. Was there a specific, "ideal" standard type of wood that was utilized by either country? If so, what ...
MCW♦
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How did Pocahontas die?
The Wikipedia says the following about the death of Pocahantas:
In March 1617, Rolfe and Pocahontas boarded a ship to return to
Virginia; the ship had only sailed as far as Gravesend on the river
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Did Wilson's 'He kept us out of war' really win the 1916 Presidential Election?
In the 1916 United States presidential election, President Woodrow Wilson barely defeated Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican candidate.
Wilson ran on the slogan 'He kept us out of war'. From what I ...
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How colonialism have been done right (benevolently)? [closed]
The British Empire (& Europeans, Arabs etc.) colonised many countries but the colonial experience, advertised as a "westernizing the backward people for their own good" masked the ...
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Where did Asian Americans go to school during the 'separate but equal' era?
I know that Brown vs. Board of Ed. desegregated schools. Reading Through History has a great video that clearly summarizes what this landmark case was about. However, everything I've heard about Brown ...
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Was the M4 Sherman used frequently in artillery capacity?
I've heard the M4 Sherman had instruments on it that allowed it to act as an artillery piece. Is there any evidence to suggest this was effective?
I've heard that the Sherman had of course, its High ...
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Besides NY, which other US states, if any, mandate the appointment of public historians?
As per the website of The Association of Public Historians of New York State :
The Association of Public Historians of New York State is a 501(c)3 non-profit professional organization that represents ...
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What % of slave owners in the antebellum south committed rape?
In David Blight’s biography of Frederick Douglas, he explains the young Frederick witnesses several violent beatings and or rapes by the age of 7 or 8.
It’s also unclear weather or not the head of the ...
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Did non-Indians go into Indian Territory (now Oklahoma)?
From 1854 to 1907 there was a territory reserved for American Indians (aptly named "Indian Territory") in what is now the state of Oklahoma.
How exclusive was this territory? Did non-Indians go ...
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What did MLK, Jr. mean by "Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor"?
In his famous 1968 "I've been to the mountaintop" speech in support of the striking Memphis Sanitation Workers, Martin Luther King, Jr. made a reference to then-mayor Henry Loeb:
You know ...
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Why did United States stop celebrating The Eighth(January 8) as a federal holiday?
According to Wikipedia the Eighth celebrated United States' victory in battle of New Orleans over Great Britain in War of 1812. It was once larger celebration than Christmas. It was a federal holiday ...
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How did Martin Luther King Jr. Day become a day of service?
Martin Luther King day was officially declared a national day of service by the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994. But I have been able to find no discussion on the internet of how the idea ...
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Was there a well-known controversy about homosexuality in the U.S. State Department in the late 1960's?
In 1969, a film called Don't Drink the Water was released. It was based on a play by Woody Allen, and Woody remade it in 1994. In the 1969 version, an American family called the Hollanders is touring ...
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What did the CIA think about the partition of Pakistan in 1971?
According to the defected KGB agent Yuri Bezmenov, the KGB trained the Awami League and the Mukti Bahini and helped them organize a civil war in 1971 to split Pakistan.
He also said that the CIA knew ...
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What did Nathan Forrest do on September 19 1863?
I am currently reading a book on bad military leaders in history, and this one chapter concerns a man named Nathan Forrest.
I only have very basic knowledge on the US Civil War, so I have trouble ...
MCW♦
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What flag are the men in these photos flying?
The below pictures show US Army troops in 1945, having captured the city of Nuremberg. I was curious about the flags they are waving, though - they don't seem to match up with any of the recorded ...
MCW♦
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Did Churchill and Roosevelt know about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, or the following secret pacts between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union?
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany prior to, and during WWII. It seems that the actions of the two countries after the invasion of Poland ...
MCW♦
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When did the last (non-tourist) commercial stagecoach line run in the USA?
Stagecoach at Holladay Express Office, Boise City, Idaho, circa mid-1860s. Source: A Stamp a Day- National Stamp Collecting Month: The Mail Coach
Background
Across from my office is a small Wells ...
MCW♦
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Who said this quote about assimilation?
I remember when I was in school, a teacher told us about a famous quote in American History, something along the lines of :
"In the 20th century, the negro will be integrated and not assimilated&...
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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 ...
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In late-18th and 19th century America, how common were lawyers in criminal trials?
Before a slew of cases in the 20th century (Powell v. Alabama, Johnson v. Zerbst, Gideon v. Wainwright), there was no right to a public defendant in criminal trials. How often were defendants able to ...
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