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What was Sacagawea well-known for?

She was an asset to the team because she was able to translate the Shoshone language, which was her native language. Sacagawea had been born to a Shoshone chief, but was sold by a rival tribe. She ended up as one of the many wives of a French-Canadian trapper, which led to meeting Lewis and Clark. Her legacy has been preserved with her image on the United States $1 coin as well as many statues and location names.

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Why is black history month celebrated in February?

February has been designated Black History Month, also known as National African-American History Month, by every U.S. president since 1976. The month-long celebration recognizes the achievements of African-Americans in the arts, science, education and all aspects of American history. Each year Black History Month is built around a different theme, just as the early Negro History Weeks focused on a specific theme in order to draw public attention to the unique contributions and history of African-Americans in the United States.\nThe 2015 theme, A Century of Black Life, History and Culture, coi..

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What are some interesting facts about Harry S. Truman ?

After graduating from high school, Truman worked a variety of jobs until joining the Army in 1917. He served in France during World War I until 1919 when he left the Army as a captain and returned home to marry his childhood friend, Elizabeth Virginia Wallace.\nTruman started a men's clothing company, but this ultimately failed. He moved into politics, where he was successful and became a senator for Missouri in 1935. He was selected as Roosevelt's running mate in 1945, and was sworn in as president after Roosevelt's death the same year. Truman made the decision to drop the atom..

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When was the first microwave invented?

While Spencer was working on a microwave-emitting radar set during one of his shifts at Raytheon, he realized that the candy bar in his pocket was melting. After some trial and error, he discovered that microwaves could effectively heat food. Spencer went on to create the world's first microwave oven, which was patented by Raytheon. Spencer himself received no royalties for his invention beyond a $2 reward from his corporate bosses. The first food prepared in Spencer's microwave was popcorn, a microwaveable snack that is still popular today.

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When was Balboa the explorer born?

He used his knowledge of the area to usurp the authority of the appointed governor and convinced a group of settlers to follow him to present-day Darien, where he established the first Spanish foothold on the American mainland. Prompted by native descriptions of gold-rich lands beyond the South Sea, Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and became the first European to reach the eastern shores of the Pacific, claiming it and its land for Spain. However, Balboa's rivals convinced King Ferdinand that he had committed treason, and Balboa was arrested and beheaded in 1519.

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Who were some of the worst American presidents according to experts?

The second-worst president, according to pollsters, was 29th President Warren G. Harding, who served from 1921 to 1923. Detractors say that Harding was a womanizer who played poker instead of attending to national affairs. Harding himself declared that he was unfit for the office.\nNumber three on the list of worst presidents is Andrew Johnson, the nation’s 17th president, who served from 1865 to 1869. Johnson’s critics cite his opposition to the 14th Amendment and his resistance of policies for newly freed African Americans among his biggest faults. His unpopular policies lead to his impe..

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Why did people go on the Crusades?

After the Muslim Turks defeated the army of the Byzantine Empire and settled in the holy lands in 1071, the Emperor of Byzantium asked Pope Urban II for help in winning them back. The Pope then appealed to the knights of Europe to go on a crusade to win back Jerusalem. Knights who had committed grave sins in the past were told by the Church that they could have their past sins forgiven by participating in this Holy War. The more violent knights of the time were encouraged to take part because they could kill as much as they wanted as long as their victim was Muslim, and this was sanctioned by ..

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What were ancient China's natural resources?

China ranks first in the world in the minerals graphite, tungsten, titanium, antimony, magnesite, pyrite, barite, flourite, zinc, rare earth, plaster stone and vanadium. China ranks high in the world for many other metals, such as molybdenum, iron, lead and others. Despite the abundance of natural resources contributing to agriculture, China's huge population reduces the abundance of some of its reserves.\nThe abundance of iron in ancient China contributed to its advancements in iron-making. China was centuries more advanced than Europe in the same period in metal-making, where bronze wea..

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How did the Abbasid dynasty fall?

After defeating the Umayyad caliphate in 750, the Abbasid dynasty became the third Islamic caliphate. Choosing to de-emphasize Arab ethnicity and focus on the international aspect of Islam, the Abbasid caliphate moved its capital from Damascus in Syria to Baghdad. Though the Abbasids adopted a Persian method of government, they based their laws on the Islamic religion. For almost a century, the period of the Abbasid dynasty became a golden age of Islam, with its rulers promoting advances in medicine, astronomy, science and the arts. During this time, their mathematicians invented algebra, scie..

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What were the "breadbasket colonies"?

The "breadbasket colonies" were also called the "Middle Colonies," and they included Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and New Jersey. They grew far more food than the Southern or New England colonies, and each farmer had his own farm of between 50 to 150 acres.Farmers who grew wheat would take their wheat to flour mills and grind it into flour so that it would not spoil. Once they had flour, they would send it down to other colonies, and this was how they made a living.

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