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Why was Galileo important?

Galileo was an undistinguished college teacher through his middle ages. It wasn't until he was 70 that he made waves with his theories on the structure of the galaxy.\nBorn in 1564 in Pisa, Galileo was an astronomer, mathematician, physicist and philosopher. He later became known as the father of modern observational astronomy, if not modern science in general, for his improvements to the telescope and subsequent research.\nHowever, as a teacher, prior to his discoveries, he was required to teach the prevailing wisdom that dictated the Sun and other planets all revolved around Earth. His ..

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Where is Thanksgiving held?

The first Thanksgiving was held in 1691 when the pilgrims and Indians sat down together for a meal in honor of their harvest. Author Sarah Hale begin arguing for turning Thanksgiving into a national holiday in 1846. After many failed attempts, she sent a personal request letter to President Abraham Lincoln in 1963. Several days later on Oct. 3, 1863, Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday. In 1941, President Roosevelt signed a bill into law that ensured Thanksgiving would be a national holiday.

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What year was segregation ended in Alabama?

The passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964 provided equal treatment to all American citizens in terms of race, sex, color, religion and nativity. The law was expanded in 1968, which outlawed discrimination in housing services. By the late 1960s, all forms of segregation were legally banned in all states.

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How did the United States gain the Oregon Territory?

After the initial no, people in favor of expansion began to call for all of the territory or go to war for it. Neither nation wanted war, and the proslavery members of Congress refused to fund any kind of war against Britain for the Oregon Territory. The initial war cries called for land to be given up much further north than the 49th parallel. The final agreement did split the territory at that dividing line and managed to avoid war. The Oregon Territory eventually became the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The area also covered smaller sections of Montana and Wyoming. These make up t..

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Why did the Southern states secede?

The debate over slavery had been raging since before the United States officially existed, but it had grown more bitter as the North pursued industrialism rather than agriculture, and the West attracted people who wanted to build small family farms, not giant plantations that needed slaves. Attempts to preserve a balance of power between slave states and free states, such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850, helped paper over the sectional differences for a time. As the new states joined the union, however, the question of slavery kept arising.\nThe new Republican Par..

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How was the slinky created?

James first discovered the Slinky's use as a toy when he accidentally knocked over some prototypes and noticed how they moved unusually as they fell. Betty James, Richard's wife, helped him market the toys and even came up with the Slinky name. From these humble beginnings, Richard and Betty managed to successfully market the world-famous Slinky.

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What did the Aztecs sacrifice?

According to archaeological evidence and eyewitness accounts, the Aztecs made sacrifices of human life during their monthly festivities. Each month, in Aztec life was 20 days long. Generally, the victim of the human sacrifice was painted and positioned on a slab. The heart of the victim was removed and then held up to the sun before the body was cast down the stairs of a temple. Humans might also be burned, drowned, shot with arrows or even killed in a gladiator-style fight. Usually, enemies were sacrificed but, sometimes, the Aztecs sacrificed their own people.It wasn't uncommon for the ..

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Why did Karl Benz invent the car?

Benz patented a two-stroke engine in 1879 and founded Benz and Company in 1883 to improve his designs into a four-stroke motor carriage. The first car was a three-wheeled "Motorwagen" that seated two people and topped out at 8 miles per hour. Benz patented technology such as electric ignition, water cooling and gears.\nPublicity was needed to make the car a commercial success. Enter Benz's wife Bertha who made the 66-mile trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim to visit her mother. The car startled local residents along the route, and word of the invention quickly spread. Every two years, auto en..

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What are James Monroe's accomplishments?

Monroe's signal accomplishment was the formation of the Monroe Doctrine. In this policy, Monroe asserted that European colonization in the New World was over, and that any attempts to reconquer the newly independent nations of South and Central America would be opposed with force. He also promised not to intervene in European politics.\nEven before he was president, Monroe played a large role in expanding the territory of the United States. In 1803, he assisted in the negotiations to purchase the Louisiana Territory from France. He continued this practice while in office. He supported the..

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What role did the residents of Andersonville play in the Civil War?

The town of Andersonville is most known for the notorious Camp Sumter. The prison was the South's largest and was used to hold captured Union soldiers. The facility first opened because of disagreements about how to handle black soldiers. It was put together quickly to house 10,000 prisoners, though more than 30,000 ended up imprisoned there. The overcrowding created inhumane conditions, and some guards brutalized prisoners.\nDuring the 14 months the prison was open, 13,000 Union soldiers died there. The prison closed after the Civil War ended. A month later, Henry Wirz, Camp Sumter'..

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