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1500 questions
54
votes
3 answers
Was murdering a slave illegal in American slavery, and if so, what punishments were given for it?
Was there any punishment for killing slaves, and what punishment was given for it, and was it enforced?
The Z
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54
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2 answers
Why was the Council of Nicea held in Nicea rather than Rome or Constantinople?
The title sums it up quite nicely. At school, we refer to the 5 centres of the Christian world as being Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria. I'm only wondering if there is any evidence as to why Nicea was chosen as the location…
PolymorphismPrince
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7 answers
Was race really unimportant in the 1660's?
There's this quote by Lerone Bennett Jr. where he said:
Back there [in the 1660s], before Jim Crow, before the invention of the Negro or the white man or the words and concepts to describe them, the Colonial population consisted largely of a great…
Mou某
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54
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2 answers
Why was the Scout movement so successful?
I find it amazing how fast the scout movement spread after its creation. What I got from Wikipedia: Robert Baden-Powell became famous (rightly or not) at home for his activity in the British Army. When he learned that his military book "Aids to…
trunklop
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9 answers
Why did Hitler not invade Sweden?
I was looking over a map of where the Nazis invaded and they never attacked Sweden.
I was wondering why since it seems like a much better strategic move than invading Russia. Why might they have chosen not to do so?
philip
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3 answers
Why did Britain not purchase Alaska when Russia had it up for sale?
One thing that comes up often when discussing "what-ifs" with family or friends is why the British government never nabbed Alaska when Russia had placed it up for sale and made it into Canada's fourth territory. Was it bad timing (Canada gained…
canadiancreed
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53
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5 answers
What are the factors that caused the new world civilizations to be less technologically advanced than the old world?
Assuming they started at the same point (maybe the split of the continents or the migration of what became the first "Native Americans" to the American continent), why did the Old World end up developing faster? When the first conquistadors set foot…
Louis Rhys
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5 answers
Why were there no internment camps for German-American citizens in USA during WW2?
I am certainly aware of Japanese-Americans being detained in internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor and subsequent declaration of war on United States by the empire of Japan.
About 110,000+ Japanese-American residents of the Pacific coast…
Barath Bushan
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53
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2 answers
How would a Spartan have held his shield?
I am astonished at the weight of a Spartan shield, which I have read would have weighed 30 lbs (13.5 kg). This is, of course, extremely heavy for most people.
Ergo, it raised the question for me: would those shields have to have been held for the…
Charlie
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What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
The 2nd amendment states:
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
There is a lot of controversy in the US about how this should be interpreted.…
user2848
53
votes
8 answers
Why didn't Great Britain give the colonies voting rights?
The thirteen colonies rebelled after "No Taxation without Representation", and Great Britain probably could have appeased them for quite some time the same way they did Canada (who stayed with Great Britain against America).
Why didn't Great Britain…
Charles Shiller
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53
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6 answers
When did worshipping of ancient Greek gods come to an end?
The ancient Greeks had their pantheon of gods whose significance vanished with the civilization. Some individual gods entered the belief systems of later cultures, but such mutations are not what I am concerned about here.
I assume that even after…
Drux
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53
votes
9 answers
Is the claim that Hitler came to power democratically justified?
I often encounter a claim that Hitler came to power democratically, exploiting democratic procedures, was "elected" etc.
Such claims are usually made by right-wing Liberals who use this argument to justify political restrictions on their opponents…
Anixx
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52
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7 answers
Has a state ever "attacked" another one by printing fake money?
Has any state ever performed an "economic attack" against another state, by printing fake money of the victim's currency?
Or, is it known if someone ever considered doing it, and which were the supposed pros and cons?
o0'.
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11 answers
Why were Spain and Portugal neutral / not invaded in WWII?
Why weren't Spain and Portugal involved in World War II with either side? Was not Franco sympathetic with the Axis powers given the help they offered during the civil war?
Also, given their strategic geographical locations with the ability to…
The Byzantine
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