History

Refine Search

What were the most important causes of the French Revolution?

After fighting in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution, the French government of Louis XVI was deeply in debt. The nobility and the clergy rejected proposals to increase royal revenue that would force them to begin paying taxes. This did not sit well with the commoners, who would have to bear the financial burden despite having only a restricted role in the formation of policy.\nInspired by Enlightenment philosophies that emphasized the equality of all people, these commoners formed their own legislative body, earning the support of the poor who were discontent with the king&a..

Continue Reading

Why did people think the Earth was flat?

It is a myth that people thought the planet was flat when Christopher Columbus set sail. By this point, it was known that the Earth was a sphere, and the debate then was about actually how large the Earth actually was.The Ancient Greeks knew that the Earth was a globe approximately 2,000 years before the time of Columbus. They discovered this by observing ships as they sailed away and taking note of the Earth's shadow during lunar eclipses.

Continue Reading

What was the Seventh of March speech?

Daniel Webster's "Seventh of March" speech was given in answer to speeches from Henry Clay and John Calhoun over the issue of slavery in the United States. Webster argued that the issue had already been settled and that the existence of slavery must be allowed to remain in the South. Northern states should protect the rights of the South and return slaves to their owners. He also stated that slavery could not exist in newly created territories based on the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.

Continue Reading

What did Sargon and Hammurabi have in common?

Writers left behind "The Legend of Sargon of Akkade." In this document, the history of Sargon is laid out in brief statements such as "My city is Azupiranu, which is situated on the bank of the Purattu." However, much more is known about Hammurabi.Hammurabi was a member of the Babylonian dynasty and created what was known as "Hammurabi's Code." This code was 282 laws and rules for the people of Hammurabi's empire and involved intense punishments for those who did not obey. Punishments included removing breasts, ears, tongues or other body parts. However, the code did promise that all..

Continue Reading

How did the war in Iraq begin?

After the defeat of Iraq's conventional forces, pockets of resistance continued fighting, and attacks by insurgents against the occupying forces began to increase. A temporary lessening of hostilities took place following the capture of Saddam Hussein on a farm near Tikrit on December 3, 2003, but serious fighting with insurgents began again on March 31, 2004 when U.S. military contractors were ambushed in the city of Fallujah. This led to the First and Second Battles of Fallujah, which involved long-term heavy urban combat. The Pentagon released a report in March of 2008 stating that vio..

Continue Reading

Who is the only family member of Elie Wiesel to survive the Holocaust?

The Wiesel family was sent to Auschwitz in 1944. Auschwitz was not a single concentration camp, but it was a complex made up of three main camps. The family was divided by gender; Elie and his father were sent to one death camp, while his sisters and mother were sent to another. Elie actually had three sisters at the time. The youngest child, Tzipora, did not survive. From 1944 until the liberation of the camps, Elie did not have any contact with his female family members. He was reunited with Hilda and Bea after the war at an orphanage in France.

Continue Reading

What was the name of Sir Walter Raleigh's ship?

The Ark Royal was built for Sir Walter Raleigh by shipbuilder R. Chapman and was originally named the Ark Raleigh. In 1587, it was purchased by the crown for the sum of £5,000. It was renamed the Ark Royal and put under the command of Lord High Admiral Charles Howard. The Ark Royal was the flagship in the fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 and was used once again in the 1596 raid on Cadiz. It was in service until 1636 when it struck anchor in the River Medway and sank.

Continue Reading

When was pop art invented?

While the term first appeared in England in the 1950s, pop art's full impact was felt in the 1960s in America when artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein began producing artworks influenced by popular culture. Along with artists such as Richard Hamilton, these artists adopted an aesthetic approach characterized by the incorporation of imagery and cultural elements thought to belong to the "low" culture of mass media and advertising into the purview of high Western Art.

Continue Reading

How do you use an American History timeline in teaching?

Timelines are useful tools in both the American history and American literature classroom because they give students a visual representation of the time period they're reading about. Many teachers put up timelines that come with the textbook or that they purchased separately. They refer to these timelines during instruction to help students keep track of the order of events. Timelines associated with American literature include the main literary events occurring concurrently to the historical events.\nHistory and English teachers also use primary sources in their classrooms to give a sens..

Continue Reading

What was a city-state in Mesopotamia?

Each city-state's central temple was devoted to a specific deity and administrated by a priest king. This priest king was also responsible for fortifying the perimeter and protecting the citizens.The priest king of each city-state was housed in a palace, while his citizens typically lived in thatched and tightly packed homes. Most people worked in agriculture, either on their own land or land owned by the state. Others beneath the ruling priest class served as scribes, artisans or merchants.

Continue Reading
Showing 7661 to 7670 of 8554 (856 Pages)