askhistorians

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In Ken Burns's The Civil War, it's stated that after Grant captured Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, the city didn't celebrate the Fourth of July again for another 81 years; was this true?	30
What were the factors that determined which countries went Protestant and which remained Catholic in the wake of Martin Luther's theses?	30
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
Mary,Queen of Scots was a notorious, scandal-ridden figure; did she get a fair rap? How much was this a product of being the wrong gender, from the wrong country, at the wrong time? Do historians generally believe she was complicit in the murder of her husband?	29
What's known about the compromise of 1877? The election of 1876 had the highest rate of participation in American history; did voters know going into the election that the fate of Reconstruction was at stake?	29
Where did the mystery storytelling cliche that "the butler did it" come from?	28
Nixon governed in contrast with modern conservatism (founding the EPA and OSHA, enacting the first nuclear treaty with the USSR and entering into detente, reengaging China, as some examples). Were these in contrast with contemporary 'conservatism' in his time, or is this hindsight?	28
Is Brutus, founder of the Roman Republic, a historic figure or a mythic one? Was his legend embraced wholeheartedly, or was it more complicated than that (particularly, the "had two of his sons executed for plotting to restore the monarchy" story)?	28
How was Abelard's Sic Et Non, which presented contradictory quotes from church leaders on theological questions side-by-side, received upon publication(?) in 1120? Was it regarded as at all controversial, and, if not, why not? Was he affected, personally or professionally?	28
How did late-night AM talk radio become the bastion of conspiracy theorists in the United States?	28

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