askhistorians

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In the 1970s and 80s, the left-wing British Labour party was generally anti-EU, whilst the right-wing Conservative party was pro-EU. By the 1990s, these positions had swapped almost completely. Why did this happen?	190
In the 1630s, Japan initiated a “closed country” policy (“Sakoku”) which severely limited any relations with foreign countries (including trade and immigration). This policy lasted until 1853. Why was such a policy considered necessary? Did it achieve its aims?	72
In 1996, Boris Yeltsin won re-election as President of Russia in a close race against the Communist candidate. Russia was in crisis in the 90s, with the economy crashing, violent crime skyrocketing and social services collapsing. How did Yeltsin win re-election? Was the election a complete fraud?	67
US President Rutherford B. Hayes nominated Stanley Matthews to the Supreme Court in 1881. The Senate ultimately approved his nomination 24-23 in the closest SCOTUS nomination vote in history. Why was Matthews so controversial? What happened with the Senate vote?	53
In the 1920s and 30s, Ataturk modernised Turkey into a democratic and secular nation-state, sidelining Islam in many ways. How did he achieve this? Were the Turkish people aware of what he was doing? Was there any significant resistance to his plans?	52
Why didn’t the Protestant Reformation happen before Martin Luther? Various people (such as Wycliffe and Hus) raised similar issues to Luther over a 100 years earlier, but they didn’t have anything like his impact.	50
Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in the UK and not elsewhere? I have seen several theories, including colonialism, natural resources, Protestantism, capitalism and the rule of law. Is there any historical consensus on this?	36
To what extent was Germany responsible for the outbreak of World War I? Christopher Clark claimed in 2013 that there was no peculiar "war guilt" attaching to Germany. His research was seen as "groundbreaking". Is his thesis now accepted as historically accurate?	32
At the Potsdam Conference, Churchill was unexpectedly replaced as Prime Minister of the UK by Attlee. Did Attlee have different positions to Churchill on the matters discussed? Did the switch cause any disruption to the conference?	27
In August 1864, President Lincoln believed he would lose the upcoming election. He pledged that if he lost he would co-operate with the new president to "save the Union" as the new President wouldn't be able to. Why did Lincoln believe he would lose? And what were his plans in the event of losing?	26

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