/r/askhistorians
In the early years of the United States, the US Marshals were the Federal law enforcement service. Why was a new agency (FBI) created to take over their role, with the Marshals relegated to mostly court order enforcement and escort, rather than continue using them as the general Federal LEO service?
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We hear a lot of the United States' treatment of Native Americans during their Westward expansion, but how did Russia treat local populations during their colonization of Siberia?
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When the US entered WW2, how far did geography determine where a draftee would be deployed? For instance were those from Cali more likely to head into the Pacific, and likewise New Yorkers into Europe/North Africa? Brit here and it's something I've no idea about!
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Was sunburn ever a problem for European (or other) armies going into much hotter climates? E.g The Crusades
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In Engliſh writing, was it mainly þe early printing preſs not having a Þ ſort þat cauſed þe trend of only uſing Th inſtead of Þ or were þere oþer factors involved? Why abandon ſuch a uſeful & common letter?
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In Mark Twain's books, Tom Sawyer has two sets of clothes and bathes once a week. Was this considered normal, or was Twain using this to present his characters' social and economic circumstances as much worse than average? (Mid-19th century)
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The opening scene of Monty Python: The Life of Brian depicts the stoning of a blasphemer while two Roman soldiers look on. How much would the Republic or Empire have allowed the subjugated people to carry out their own justice based on their laws and customs?
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It's always been said that Otto Von Bismarck engineered conflicts in Europe all for the purpose of unifying the German states. Was this really his intended goal and the driving force of his policies, or was this just a fortunate turn of events that he later exploited?
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