AskHistorians

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Asian-American history is often talked about in the context of Chinese migrant railroad laborers in the old west and during the Gold Rush. Were there any notable Asian-American "gunslingers" who came from that kind of background? If so, what were their most notable exploits?	2184
What was life like for students at medieval European universities in their earliest forms? What would their social life be like at an early university? How would their studies have been formatted and what would they have done after graduation?	92
How do historians of politics in the classical world feel about applying "modern" concepts like nationalism, etc. when discussing classical political models like the Roman Republic, Greek democracies, etc.? Is there significant debate about this among classicists?	67
In War and Peace (set during the Napoleonic Wars), Tolstoy portrays the Russians as begrudgingly admiring of their French enemies and their culture, rather than loathing or fearing them. Was this a common attitude about wartime enemies during that time period?	36
What were large/franchised businesses like in Europe and the Americas (or did they even exist) before the Industrial Revolution?	31
Many iconic fairy tales set in Europe's middle ages often feature trolls, dragons, etc. Were these story elements treated as pure fantasy during medieval times, or was belief in these beings at all widespread in medieval Europe? Did belief in these concepts differ between different social statuses?	27
Geographers Diener and Hagen claim that Pacific Northwest tribes had a concept of property similar to modern Americans' - contrasting common claims that Native Americans had no concept of ownership. Where did the idea that Native Americans had no concept of property emerge?	22
The phrase "First as Tragedy, Then as Farce" originates from Marx's comments on Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III. Was it generally held in 19th century Europe that the reign of Napoleon was a historical "tragedy"?	14
In Tolstoy's War and Peace, the Russian characters' attitude toward their French opponents (including Napoleon) comes off as unusually adulatory. Was this a common perspective on military opponents or rival countries during the time the novel was written?	9
How were worship practices and religious services handled in the (pre-Christian/polytheistic) classical world? What were the similarities and differences from services at Abrahamic centers of worship as we would know them today?	6

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