askhistorians

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During the Cold War, the US sold millions of tons of wheat to the USSR. Was this trade controversial in America for essentially propping up its main enemy? Was it controversial in the USSR for demonstrating weakness to its main enemy?	312
Why was the source of the Nile so hard to find, and why did the search for it capture the imagination of so many Europeans?	103
In the US, the SAT is just one factor in a holistic evaluation for university admissions. In many other countries, the equivalent test (A-levels, CSAT, etc.) is far more determinative. Why did US higher education evolve such a different approach?	97
Many of America's most prestigious research universities and liberal arts colleges began as religious institutions devoted to training pastors in a particular denomination. When and why did the transition to secular research and liberal arts education occur? Was it controversial?	96
When and why did cul-de-sacs become such a ubiquitous feature of American suburbs?	86
Odin today is seen as an analogue of Zeus and Jupiter, but the contemporary Romans considered him equivalent to Mercury. Why did the Romans view him this way, and how did perceptions change for him to be upgraded to his current status?	83
In the early 20th century, Republicans in Congress, representing big business interests, nearly all supported high tariffs. Democrats, representing unions and farmers, nearly all opposed tariffs. By the century’s end, unions supported high tariffs and big businesses opposed them. Why the reversal?	65
How did French post-structuralists, particularly Foucault, become so staggeringly dominant across academia?	61
Samuel Pepys’s father was a tailor who married a butcher’s daughter. Yet he had several relatives who served in Parliament and various distinguished positions, and who were very wealthy. Was it common for English families of the time to have such a mix of humble and elite members?	58
Was the decline of knights in Western Europe as a military force due to the rise of gunpowder or the rise of well-trained, pike-wielding infantries?	57

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