askhistorians

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What is the modern view on the "gentleman's agreement" between the presidency & the media that kept, for example, Wilson's stroke, Roosevelt's reliance on a wheelchair, and Kennedy's infidelity, under wraps?	1454
Are there any historical periods on which the book is essentially closed and we know all we are realistically ever going to know?	531
I'm the 3rd son of the 3rd son of the 3rd son of an earl in 16th century England. Am I still a member of the gentry, or would I be a farmer or tradesmen living hand to mouth like any other commoner?	480
The Battle of Hastings is said to have lasted from 9 am until dusk - 8 or 9 hours. Would this have been constant combat, straight through, or would the two sides have pulled back to regroup during the course of the battle?	169
In the English/British/UK peerage, were there any tangible benefits in being elevated from an earl to a marquess, or a marquess to a duke, or was it just, for lack of a better term, a codified form of flattery?	38
McCain just published an op-ed in a Russian newspaper - historically, how many non-presidential politicians would have had the name recognition to speak to a foreign audience w/ any credibility?	23
If I were an average (non-noble) Englishman or Frenchman born at the outset of, or during, the Hundred Years War, how likely was it that I would see combat during my lifetime?	17
How common has it been, historically, for non-politicians/military men to run for President of the United States, and were any of them able to mount a serious candidacy?	11
When did the British custom of granting the heir to a peerage the use of a courtesy title arise?	10
Was there a distinction made, historically, between "regular" war and total war?	8

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