askhistorians

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Ben Franklin was a self-proclaimed deist who didn't believe in an interventionist god. So why did he ask the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to open their proceedings with a prayer? Even weirder, why did the other presumably Christian convocates turn him down?	32
Germany and Japan had their cities bombed to rubble and millions of their civilians and soldiers killed. Did all this destruction succeed in breaking their morale in any way that really mattered (willingness to surrender, etc), or did it just numb them and inure them to suffering and violence?	32
The 732 A.D. Battle of Tours is sold as important, ensuring that Christianity, not Islam, would be the dominant religion in Western Europe. Was it really this critical?	32
The Roman governor Arrian repelled an invasion of the nomadic Alans around 135 AD. He apparently used innovative tactics to allow his infantry-based legions to beat the mobile horse-archers of the Alans. What new ideas did he come up with to do this?	31
The Civilian Conservation Corps's national and state parks sometimes seemed developed with a grand vision in mind. Others seem ad hoc, with amenities scattered at random. How well planned were the original CCC parks?	31
Starvation was a regular occurrence in 17th-18th century Europe, but after the first few hard winters we rarely hear of starvation in the England's 13 colonies. Is population density enough to explain this, or was it more about societal and economic structure?	31
What options did a literate, non-rich Roman have for buying/renting/borrowing written works to peruse?	31
Were there any "slave havens," during antiquity where runaway slaves from the Mediterranean could escape to and find freedom?	30
How did the Romans adapt their warm climate architecture and building techniques to the cold climates of Northern Europe?	30
John Rambo is horribly mistreated by the police in the movie "First Blood". Was this sort of abuse of returning Vietnam vets normal?	30

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