Also we were taught that the Grant administration was the most corrupt in American history. Now that I'm a bit older I'm wondering how much of this was true and how much this was southern textbook manufacturers attempting to rewrite history in their favor.

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I'm rewatching the History Channel's "Mankind" show, and they're portraying the rise of Christianity as this kind of peasant rebellion. Are there any good resources to learn more about this idea?

I'm reading Dantes Inferno and in Limbo Saladin is chilling out. I understand Limbo is for those who didn't convert and weren't saved but didn't do anything else wrong, but then later Muhammad the Prophet is placed in actual Hell. Why wasn't Saladin placed lower for being both a non believer and possibly violence or what not? Was Saladin viewed in good context by Europeans at the time?

I'm interested in finding out more about how the spice trade worked before the Portuguese and Dutch showed up. Were these areas in the sphere of influence of any larger empire?

As far as I can tell there was no indication that the Union was planning the first strike, deciding instead to wait until after Fort Sumter had been fired upon to begin military movements.

What was Lincoln's reasoning behind this rationale? The Constitution makes it very clear that secession (which the Confederates had already demanded) authorizes the federal government to “suppress insurrections" (Article 1, Sec. 8).

I'm not aware of how militarily advantageous Fort Sumter was at the time. It does seem strange, however, that Lincoln would essentially hand off ownership of it to the enemy to claim "justification" for something he/Congress was already authorized to do.

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My grandfathers brother was killed on DDay at Juno Beach. He was a member of 5th Field Company Royal Canadian Engineers. Obviously there is no way of knowing his exact experience that day. Couldn't even know for sure if he made it off the landing craft, although I'm told (unsubstantiated) he was killed clearing obstacles off the beach. Is there any way someone could provide an answer as to what a member of that units day/role in the Juno beach landing would have been like? What tasks they were given? How many casualties they suffered?

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This is my first post but I'm a big fan of this sub. Thanks

When did westerners begin expressing the year in the current numerical system. I'm sure no one expressed the year '35', especially since Christianity did not take off for many years after Jesus' death. And, how was the year described during the B.C years within 1000 years before year 1?

Lately I've been starting my papers with a thesis and building my research around that, but I feel like that's being dishonest. This has been about topics I'm familiar with, but I am definitely not an expert.

Should I be starting with objective (as much as possible) research into a topic before formulating a thesis?

I'm applying to grad schools right now and I have a 4.0 in my undergrad history work, but I've been struck by the feeling that I've gone about some of my work backwards.

Is there any identifiable "occidentalism" in Ottoman, Imperial Chinese, or Mughal culture? Did eastern empires fetishize or essentialize the west in a way comparable to orientalism?

How many were murdered as a direct/indirect cause of the European colonists in North America? Also, did the slaughtering of the Indians get into full swing when there were still European settlers there or when (I don't really know how to put it into words) the people developed the American culture and accent etc. and they were seen as their own nation? (I don't mean in 1776, maybe before that).

Apparently there are very little "purebred" Indians alive today, that's why they are such a tight-knit community. So I want to know how many were murdered and if there were a lot of indigenous people before the colonists or were there little of them to begin with.

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Hello, awesome community! I'm a long time fan/lurker, this is my first post and I'm so excited!

I've read loads of stuff on Rome and I've never seen left-handedness mentioned, even once. Given how important physical integrity was for the elites (Justin II's nose seems to be a huge exception) and specially, the dominance of right hand oriented clothing in the elites (toga, claims) and, I'm guessing, in military performance and training, how was left-handedness viewed during the centuries? Did it change overtime, maybe after Christianity was imposed? More generally, do we have any specific lefty oriented anecdote, testimony, opinion or something that might amuse me and not make me feel like we lefties were left out of history?

Thanks :)

Additionally, given this huge difference in resources and population, why did the war in North America last as long as it did?

I'm reading a history book right now written by a fairly well respected academic historian in Asian studies. The book explores bilateral relations between two nation-states. The author repeatedly includes a quote from one of the government actors (e.g. a public speech, internal memorandum, etc.), and then in his follow-up analysis he will say something like, "Truman clearly believed X," "Eisenhower thought Y", "A had Z feelings", "Y realized..." etc.

For some reason it seems wrong to me that the author is making somewhat speculative claims about what was going on inside historical actors heads instead of focusing on what actually happened in the real world. My question is, are these kinds of analyses standard practice in historical studies, or is something off about this academic's work?

I was in class a few weeks ago and my professor said that Socrates had the option to accept exile instead of the death penalty, which was a common choice in the ancient Mediterranean world.

When did that stop being an alternative?

Sorry if this breaks any rules mods. It's Tuesday, and college, so drunk. Remove at your discretion.

In an episode of Outlander, a slave-owner and his former slave (now a paid, working free black man) are working together moving a couple and their friends across on a river boat. The black gentleman is rowing the boat.

According to the story, the black man had saved his former slave owner in a fire accident. Then petitioned to a court for his release on grounds of meritorious service, and subsequently granted his freedom. Would heroism have allowed a slave to become a free man in Colonial America, or even later in the 19th century?