askhistorians

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Political scientist Stephen Van Evera argues that "quirks in historian culture" leave most historical works with significant explanatory and evaluative gaps. Is his characterization/criticism of the field (see inside for his argument and additional questions) accurate?	16
According to S3E9 of the West Wing, the term "red tape" originates from the difficulty in accessing the records of American Civil War veterans, which were all bound in red tape. Is this accurate (all sources on this are shoddy)?	12
In Europe, there are currently 12 monarchies. Two questions: (i) How did the larger ones (the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain) move from absolute monarchs to effectively powerless monarchs (ii) Why did they not get rid of monarchs entirely like other states had done?	12
In Schindler's List, Schindler purposely produces malfunctioning equipment for the Nazis. Is this accurate? Did this occur on a wider scale among war industrialists who opposed the Nazis? Did this form of nonviolent resistance put a dent in the German war effort?	12
Why didn't the Israeli acquisition of nuclear weapons lead to a regional nuclear arms race?	10
How do you regard the Black Book of Communism?	9
On what basis did Stalin target certain ethnic and religious groups?	7
How do you regard Howard Zinn and "A People's History of the United States"?	7
In the film 'Thirteen Days' (2000), which is about the Cuban Missile Crisis and supposed to be based on a book by Ernest May and Philip Zelikow, hard-liners in the National Security Council openly defied instructions by JFK and took decisions that escalated the crisis. Is the film/book accurate?	2
What were some important historical figures who had substance abuse problems?	2

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