AskHistorians

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No President between Jackson and Lincoln won more than one term. Why? Did the growing problems surrounding slavery cause federal politics to become less stable, or did the instability of federal politics and the lack of a strong leader allow the slavery issue to grow out of control?	2526
Alexander the Great was famous for founding cities (and naming them after himself). But how does someone actually go about founding a city? Where does the initial population come from?	2043
Why did Stalin start the Berlin Blockade in 1948, risking a war with the West so soon after the devastation of WWII and with the US still having a monopoly on nuclear weapons?	1577
What was life like for the average citizen of Sarajevo during the siege between 1992 and 1996? How much could you continue to live a normal life?	1127
Why did the Germanic word France replace the Latin name Gaul, but the Latin name Germany survive against the German name Deutschland?	1047
Why have Monarchies historically been such a common form of government?	243
Why is Ancient Egypt so well known in popular culture but the other Bronze Age empires of the Near East are not?	200
Indian nationalism includes many 'British' elements, such as the use of the English language, the drinking of tea, and cricket. By contrast, Irish nationalism generally rejects these things in favour of indigenous alternatives. Why have these countries reacted to British colonialism so differently?	170
How did Nationalism change from being a concept associated with the left wing in the 18th and early 19th centuries, to a concept associated with the right wing in the late 19th and 20th century?	157
When the English Civil War was starting in the early 1640s, the enormously costly Thirty Years War had been raging for over 20 years on the Continent. Were there Englishmen who were worried that the start of war in England would be similarly destructive, and if so why were they unable to stop it?	145

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