askhistorians

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In 1933, Marine Corps General Smedley Butler testified before Congress that fascists were trying to recruit him for a coup. My understanding is that historians don't put much stock in Butler's testimony, but I don't understand why? What incentive would Butler have to make up the conspiracy?	5569
I just realized that the Chinese Tiananmen Square protests happened in 1989, which is in the middle of the Soviet Union's perestroika and just before its collapse. Were the Chinese student protestors influenced by the opening of Soviet society?	3980
In 1989, the US invaded Panama under Operation Just Cause. Panama had McDonald's restaurants since 1971. How did McDonald's respond to the invasion?	2315
When/where did the stereotype of fat Americans eating McDonalds all day develop? In particular, did communist propaganda use this trope?	1883
I'm a young white adult in 1900-1950, and I don't like the way black Americans are treated. What do I do to work for equality? How does the black community respond to my efforts?	766
When Lincoln said "Four score and seven years ago", was he talking the way average Americans talked, or was he intentionally using lofty language?	685
How realistic would it have been for someone with a low IQ like Forest Gump to fight in Vietnam for the US?	643
When did American civilians start saying "thank you for your service" to veterans? Was there a coordinated military PR campaign to get this phrase in the public consciousness?	394
I'm a female computer (someone who performs calculations by hand) sometime between 1700 and the advent of modern electrical computers. How much mathematical training do I have and where did I study?	336
US copyright currently lasts 70 years after the death of the author, but has been expanded many times. A common trope says that these expansions were due to Disney wanting to protect Mickey Mouse's copyright. Is there any truth to that claim?	312

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