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.
1,490
questions
2
votes
1
answer
199
views
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 ...
- 5,893
3
votes
1
answer
112
views
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 ...
- 131
25
votes
1
answer
3k
views
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 ...
- 351
1
vote
0
answers
130
views
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 ...
- 259
3
votes
1
answer
740
views
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 ...
- 41
6
votes
0
answers
71
views
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 ...
- 291
1
vote
0
answers
114
views
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 ...
- 5,893
3
votes
2
answers
462
views
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 ...
- 67
3
votes
1
answer
290
views
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 ...
2
votes
0
answers
107
views
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 ...
- 339
0
votes
0
answers
78
views
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 ...
- 1
15
votes
1
answer
4k
views
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 ...
- 279
5
votes
0
answers
171
views
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 ...
- 59
-3
votes
1
answer
168
views
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 ...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
58
views
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 ...
- 109
6
votes
1
answer
403
views
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 ...
- 161
2
votes
1
answer
93
views
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 ...
- 187
3
votes
0
answers
146
views
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 ...
- 353
4
votes
1
answer
219
views
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 ...
0
votes
1
answer
411
views
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 ...
user52230
8
votes
1
answer
458
views
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 ...
- 189
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
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&...
- 181
6
votes
0
answers
105
views
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 ...
- 561
5
votes
0
answers
595
views
Was United Fruit Company connected to the Rockefeller family?
Was United Fruit Company connected to or controlled by the Rockefeller family?
Wikipedia says:
The directors of United Fruit Company (UFCO) had lobbied to convince the Truman and Eisenhower ...
- 225
2
votes
2
answers
461
views
Did the US promise to save Romania from the Soviets?
Around and after the end of WW2, many Romanians believe that "the Americans are coming" to save us from the Soviet takeover. There is a belief that promises were made at high levels to ...
- 121
2
votes
0
answers
63
views
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 ...
- 29
3
votes
1
answer
181
views
Did Robert F. Kennedy call Police Review boards a "sinister movement against law enforcement" in the 1960's?
Background
On multiple Fraternal Order of Police websites, they state that Robert F. Kennedy was opposed to Police Review boards and called them a "sinister movement against law enforcement" ...
- 231
0
votes
0
answers
69
views
What should I read to understand the New Deal coalition?
I'm interested in learning about the history and the structure of the New Deal coalition formed during the 30s up until its end in the 60s from an academic perspective, particularly with regards to ...
- 109
5
votes
1
answer
767
views
What percentage of US households had electricity and telephones in 1940?
I'm trying to find a published source giving the percent of U.S. households having electricity and percent having telephones in 1940 (+/- a year or two). Not interested in the rural vs city divide per ...
- 153
1
vote
1
answer
130
views
Did the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo intend for Mexicans to live in the USA but under Mexican law? [closed]
The text of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo seem to have allowed Mexicans living in California and New Mexico to make some choices: (1) leave or stay and (2) become a US citizen or remain a Mexican ...
- 1,547
1
vote
2
answers
125
views
What is the correct English terminology to refer to New Mexico and Texas under Spain, then Mexico?
I am finding a strange inconsistency in sources between those about New Mexico's history and those about Texas. As I know, New Mexico and Texas both started as parts of New Spain, under Spanish rule, ...
- 1,547
0
votes
0
answers
83
views
How did economic composition change during the world wars?
I'm trying to understand how economic composition changed during the world wars in various countries.
One route would be following the expenditure approach to gdp accounting, but in more detail. For ...
- 1
2
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Were there hippies in the USA in 1930?
I was wondering if there were hippies or a group with similar worldviews, around 1930 in Chicago or in general in the USA. I would also be interested in their worldview / philosophy. Are they ...
- 55
0
votes
2
answers
235
views
Were there duststorms in Louisiana in the 1930's?
I am researching the dust-bowl era of the US, and am wondering if the dust-bowl impacted Louisiana. I know it was mostly in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico etc. But I am wondering if it is plausible for a ...
4
votes
2
answers
327
views
What did anti-Greek stereotyping look like in the United States in the early 20th century?
I am writing a story that is set in the 1920s. Several of the characters in the story are either immigrants from southern or eastern Europe (e.g., Greece, Italy) or their children, and I'm trying to ...
- 387
16
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Which state capital did the Apollo 11 command module NOT visit after it returned from the moon?
According to Wikipedia, after Apollo 11 returned from the Moon:
The command module Columbia went on a tour of the United States, visiting 49 state capitals, the District of Columbia, and Anchorage, ...
- 275
6
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What was the reasoning behind the Washington Committee's complaint to the Liquor Tax during the Whiskey Rebellion?
The tax was on distilled liquor and the first ever levied by the United States on a domestic product. The town of Washington, Pennsylvania, held a meeting concerning this tax and they adopted a ...
- 259
0
votes
0
answers
169
views
Can anyone identify this 19th century US military uniform?
I found this among our family photos and am trying to figure out who it might be.
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
59
views
Did Zolmy Khalilzad lobby for the Taliban in the 1990s?
Only Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recognized the legitimacy of the Taliban government in 1996-2001.
Many Afghans on Twitter and Facebook claim that Zolmy ...
- 111
43
votes
5
answers
7k
views
How were smallpox vaccines enforced in the US?
Smallpox was eradicated in 1977 thanks to a massive worldwide vaccination campaign. But how did the US government enforce the smallpox vaccine, given that you needed 90+% vaccinated to achieve herd ...
- 4,110
3
votes
1
answer
299
views
What was the wealth distribution in US antebellum North / South
My question relates to the following quote from chapter XI of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass:
I had very strangely supposed, while in slavery, that few of the comforts, and ...
- 331
4
votes
1
answer
232
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 ...
- 561
0
votes
2
answers
296
views
Have there been any other US presidents besides JFK that were groomed from birth to be president?
I know it was Joe Jr who was groomed, and then JFK took his place after Jr's death.
"From a very young age, Kennedy was groomed by his father and predicted to be the first Roman Catholic US ...
- 61
3
votes
1
answer
438
views
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 ...
- 3,159
1
vote
0
answers
75
views
Was the first use of glass teleprompters in Lyndon Johnson’s speech to the UN’s 20th anniversary celebration? (1965)
I came across a short video recording of his speech at c-span.org
I was surprised by the appearance of the sleek glass devices that appear to be teleprompters beside the podium. They appear almost ...
- 518
2
votes
5
answers
479
views
What caused the stagnation in real wage growth in the later half of the 20th century?
During that time, U.S. per capita GDP grew briskly, "average" (mean wages) grew slowly, and "median" wages grew hardly at all. What reasons do economists cite for the differences ...
- 1,093
0
votes
2
answers
223
views
What is the source of this quote about hope and POWs?
I seem to recall someone who was a POW, possibly held by Japanese, saying something like that the people that survived were the ones that gave up hope of getting out and the people that died were the ...
- 157
24
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Why was the US so pro-China and so anti-Japan before WW2?
There is little doubt that the US embargoes on Japan pushed an already aggressive Japan towards Pearl Harbor. Japanese Navy doctrine had already been contemplating a conflict with the US and this ...
1
vote
1
answer
226
views
Will we ever get anything like the LBJ & Nixon White House recordings for contemporary presidents?
There are fantastic recordings of Lyndon Johnson's phone calls where for instance he discusses his apprehensions about Vietnam with Robert Macnamara. Likewise we have recordings of Richard Nixon ...
- 1,143
5
votes
2
answers
402
views
What percentage of US population descended from immigration per immigration year?
The title question is somewhat ill-defined because, of course, most Americans living today descended from immigrants from different years: one of your grandpas is a Mayflower descendant, another one's ...
- 4,583