Got in a debate with one of my friends who lives down in South Carolina and he posed a theory I had never heard before. I'll post his abridged comments (he's got some long windup about educating some ungrateful millennial which I'll chop out) down below but the Crux of his comment was that we only celebrate July 4th because of a military victory in South Carolina.

Now I've done some light reading on the topic (McCullough, Phillips, Bunker, Ellis, as well as a good deal of Jefferson and Adams letters) but I'd never heard this before. I can accept that maybe this victory influenced the South Carolina delegation (even then I'm not sure, as being from PA all my education focused around Dickinson and Morris) but is there any greater truth there?

"I asked this gentleman if he had any idea why we celebrate the 4th. I reminded him that the Battle of Sullivan's Island was a decisive victory over the Bittish Royal Navy that not only secured Charleston Harbor from the invading Brittish but it sent them high tailing their Navy to New York. SC delegates rode to Philadelphia and informed our founding fathers of this victory and they struck, declared independence from England as a result of this great victory. (Keep in mind that Charleston was one of the richest ports of the day) Certainly, we would be celebrating our independence but it may have been a completely different date had it not been for this South Carolina victory. (Take that Bean Town) Indeed, South Carolina has a rich history that often goes unnoticed."

Thanks in advance!

Since im starting high school next year, im starting to think about my future. History is really my passion, but can I turn a career into it? Does a history major make good money? What jobs are available? I know liberal arts is going on the downfall and a specialized skilled field is good. So I ask historians, can I make a career out of history?

I grew up in the midwest, where many of the nearby cities have indigenous names (Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis, most small towns in Wisconsin). But now i live in California, where all the major cities i know of have Spanish names (San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, San Diego). I imagine this is due to differences in Spanish vs French/English colonial policy, why did the Spanish not keep any indigenous city names while the English did?

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I am asking because here in Bangladesh or in most Muslim cultures, dancing between men and women is totally forbidden. I was wondering given how Christian Europe was, whether there was a similar prohibition. Or is it just that dancing between men and women has always been socially acceptable in Europe since time immemorial or when history began?

I've seen a lot of instances where Winston Churchill for example flew to Russia, Egypt, etc. How did he manage to fly over German occupied territory?

Have thoroughly enjoyed APTEAP so far, and would like to continue my reading on the area. I don't have much background, so would it be advisable to read a more over-arching historical account like "A History of the Arab Peoples"?

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Have considered "All the Shah's Men" as I am am most interested in the development of the modern Middle East. As well have considered "The Great War for Civilization".

Although the Eastern Roman Empire lasted far longer than the West did, any literate man in the Empire was almost certain to know the origin of the Romans was from the Italian Peninsiila rather than the Hills of Thrace. How did the Romans reconcile this history with their Eastern Greek Empire as opposed to the Western Latin Empire which had been dissolved since the times of Emperor Zeno? Especially after the Fourth Crusade.

If you were a citizen of Germany during WWII, reading their newspapers and such, did you know what was happening in the camps? Would you have just thought they were holding camps, similar to American internment camps? Or were everyday folks genuinely aware of what was happening?

Thanks so much!

I work in an archaeometallurgy lab and we recently received a few iron rings from a chainmail and after watching it under the microscope, I found out there's tin (actually, a Sn/Pb alloy, if anyone cares) between the overlapping ends of the ring. Someone suggested it was used as a mean of holding them together to rivet them easier, but I remember readig about tin being used as a coating in chainmails to prevent rusting, but I don't remember the source, and it might be my memory betraying me. Also, the rings are heavily corroded, so there's no way of telling if the rest of the ring was covered by tin as well.

So.... is this a possibility? Was tin ever used to coat chainmail rings?

(I don'y mind if it was in the roman age or during the renaissance or any other period).

As long as I can remember (I’m 60+), I could always tell what time it was by counting the church bells. No matter what state I lived in, it was the same.

I know bells of the church were used to summon town folks in an emergency, but when and why did churches start keeping time?

I once read that the US once signed a treaty with the Barbary states that states in one of it's articles that the US must pay them money. Is there any truth to that?

Further, would it depend on one’s relationship to the person? For example, I have heard that in Japanese culture you typically address a person by their family name unless you are close to them, upon which you can refer to them by their given name.

Hi Reddit, I am a student looking for a good reading list concerning the growth and decline of the Spanish Empire from 1469 onwards, with the intention of studying to what extent did Spain become a 'great power' as a result of exploration.

After a little bit of research myself I have found the following three books:

• Spain 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict by Henry Kamen
• Empire: How Spain Became a World Power, 1492-1763 by Henry Kamen
• Imperial Spain 1469-1716 by J. H Elliott

Elliott seems to be a very reputable historian for the period and Kamen's work has gotten some praise but I'd like to find at least one more historian so I can compare the views of three different historians, at a minimum.

Please note that I will be using this reading list to assist me with an assessment, so that I can compare the views of historians, as a result, I'd greatly appreciate it if any responses could only inform me of any books and historians that are worth reading.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Due to poverty, or different other factors, homelessness has been a part of American urban life for centuries. There is a whole subculture in the United States that revolves around homeless people and, especially, vagrant workers, the HOBO culture.

Can someone please point to the historical moment when that subculture began to arise from the general American homeless population and summarize the historical factors made it endure for so long as it is still alive?