History

Refine Search

Why did the French come to America?

One of the renowned explorers sent by King Francis I in 1524 was Italian-born Giovanni da Verrazano, who was given the job of exploring the region around present-day Florida and Newfoundland to find a route to the Pacific Ocean. In 1534, Jacques Cartier embarked upon one of three journeys to explore the St. Lawrence River and the coast of Newfoundland. He was also charged with looking for a northwest passage linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.\nSeveral colonies were started by the French in America in places such as Parris Island, S.C., Saint Croix Island, Maine, Fort St. Louis, T..

Continue Reading

What was life like for Anglo-Saxons?

Life for Anglo-Saxons differed depending on their class in the society. The top, land-owning class were the thanes who rented out their land to the churls who worked the land. The thanes owned slaves called thralls. Although thanes hunted, feasted and slept in beds, their houses were usually only wooden huts with simple furniture and tapestry-covered walls. They were in charge of the small Anglo-Saxon villages and the land.\nChurls lived in rough houses with thatched roofs, earthen floors and no windows that they often shared with livestock. They commonly used rushes for light. Other than farm..

Continue Reading

When was JFK born?

JFK began his political career in 1946, when he ran for Congress and won. In 1952, Kennedy ran for the Senate and defeated the incumbent Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. The freshman senator married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953.\nIn 1960, Kennedy ran for President. His opponent was Richard Nixon, whom he defeated in a very close race.\nKennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963 as he rode through the streets of Dallas, Texas.

Continue Reading

Why did people join the army in WW1?

At first, joining the army was not seen as so dangerous a profession, particularly because people believed the war would be over quickly. As the stalemate developed and the death toll rose, however, men and women that enlisted into the army joined for more sobering reasons. People were also persuaded by the many propaganda posters that existed during the time. These posters depicted service in the army as a noble cause, and were especially popular in the US. Eventually, many countries also resorted to conscription, forcibly drafting people to serve in the military as the war waged on and incur..

Continue Reading

What is Thomas Edison famous for?

Edison was born in Ohio in 1847 and began experimenting at a young age. In 1868, he became an independent inventor in Boston and moved to New York the following year. His reputation as an inventor grew because one of his inventions, the quadruplex telegraph, Edison's first financial success, allowed telegraph companies to send more messages over fewer wires.\nEdison built a research facility in Menlo Park, N.J., in 1876. There, Edison and his employees spent long hours creating well-known inventions such as the electric light bulb, the phonograph and an improved telephone transmitter.\nIn..

Continue Reading

Who said "the British are coming"?

Paul Revere rode his horse on the evening of April 18, 1775 to warn patriot leaders and surrounding townspeople that there was an impending British invasion in the town of Lexington, Massachusetts. According to history, it is unlikely that he actually shouted the specific words "the British are coming." Discretion was very important during his ride, due to the existence of hidden British soldiers throughout the countryside.

Continue Reading

What was social structure like in the Indus Valley?

The people of the Indus Valley are also known as Harappans, named after one of the major cities of the civilization. Early Harappans inhabited the geographical areas of present-day Pakistan and India around 3300 B.C. and remained there until unknown events led to the fall of the society around 1800 B.C. Scholars disagree on exactly what caused this downfall, but there is a general consensus of opinion that it was a gradual decline and not necessarily a catastrophic event.\nOne thing that is known about the Harappans is that they were highly urbanized and traded extensively. Many of their artif..

Continue Reading

What is some information related to the German SS?

Himmler divided the SS into three distinct sections. The security section was comprised of both the SD and the Gestapo, and ruthlessly eliminated threats to Nazi power while protecting Nazi Party elites. The military section actively fought in World War II, with the elite Leibstandarte primarily on the Eastern Front and the Verfügungstruppe in the African and European theaters. The Totenkopfverbände, or SS-TK and later Waffen SS, was responsible for the administration of the concentration camps that sought to rid Germany of "undesirables" such as Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and the disabled.\..

Continue Reading

What was the importance of the Battle of Cowpens?

The commander of the southern campaign of the Continental Army, Major General Nathanael Green, kept his men separated in small groups so they could better harass the British on multiple fronts. One group of about 1,000 men under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan set out to attack a British fort called Ninety-Six. Cornwallis ordered Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton with 1,100 men to defeat Morgan. In a remote pastureland called Cowpens in the hill country of South Carolina, Morgan and his men made their stand.\nMorgan positioned his men so they could not flee but had to stand and fight. The b..

Continue Reading

What are Native American grinding stones?

The large stone metate had a bowl-like hollow that held food. The mano was held and used to grind the food against the hard surface of the metate. The resulting grounds had a mealy texture.\nSome Native American tribes would use a large, communal rock for grinding, and the women of the tribe would gather to socialize while working. An example of this occurrence is the California Indian Grinding Rock in Capitol Park.

Continue Reading
Showing 2291 to 2300 of 8554 (856 Pages)