AskHistorians

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The Federalist Papers, advocating the adoption of the US Constitution, were published as a series of essays in New York newspapers; had New York already established itself as the media capital of the country by this point?	34
Were the other great powers aware that the US was working on a nuclear weapon during WWII, and, if so, were they aware that it was a realistic possibility that they would succeed? Did it have any effect on their relations?	34
Thomas Aquinas is quoted "Take away prostitutes from the world, and you will fill it with sodomy"; was there such benign indifference towards prostitution among church leaders of the 13th century, or are his views exceptional? What about among civil authorities?	34
What caused countries in the 20th century to feel shame over imperialism and wars of aggression (whereas up to that point, empire-building and wars of conquest had seemed to be points of pride)?	33
Why did the Germans declare war on the United States after Pearl Harbor? Did anyone in the military question the wisdom of taking on yet another major power, when they were already engaged on both fronts with major powers?	33
Are the revolutions of 1848 seen as one sprawling movement, or a bunch of separate, coincidental events? Are there theories on the underlying causes?	32
Arpanet had existed for well over 20 years by the early '90s, when the internet became a global phenomenon. Had the barriers preventing it from being a bigger tool to that point been political (because of the Cold War), technogical, or financial (or something else)?	31
How reliable are the extraordinary contemporary estimates of casualties from the battles of Crecy and Agincourt? The battles seem to have played out very similarly; how is it the French made the same mistakes and fell for the same tactics twice (or am I mistaken)?	31
Berlin was awarded the 1936 Olympics in 1931; had Germany already recovered from the economic crisis of the 1920s by that point? Were there misgivings about awarding them the games then or in the subsequent run up to the games?	30
Was Helen Keller world-famous within her lifetime? Was she aware of this? Did she comment on it?	30

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