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The Elizabeth Warren controversy reminded me of an ancestor of mine that was supposedly Choctaw and how everybody I know seems to have a similar ancestor who was at least part Indian. Is this something that is in fact common or did Indian ancestors become a common romantic notion for white people at some point in history?

Hello, I'm looking to find some primary sources detailing the role of the German military branches in the Holocaust, excluding the SS. Any documents that disprove the 'Clean Wehrmacht' myth and the role of the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. Specifically if you guys know of diaries, records, or anything else accessible that would be great!

I’m writing a history essay on Mormon srtlmany in Utah. Thanks for the help!

I'm curious what the effects would have been to the British of having a reliable Northwest passage ~1850, and why going Northeast past Russia wasn't an option.

If 1% of the people own half of the wealth today how was the wealth distribution in the times of Kings and Queens?

I've had an on-off discussion with a friend about the motivation for the average revolutionary American -- from soldiers, to supporters at home; essentially, anyone who wasn't a Tory. Most of what I have read or heard about is the opinions from the political elite: the wealthy, the highly educated, and the prominent, but I know little about the motivations of regular folk.

Having listened to Mike Duncan's Revolutions, and read some material on other revolutionary eras, the motivations and goals of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie were often at odds, with the former concerned about bread and survival and the latter lofty ideals of political philosophy. I find it hard to believe that the American revolution would be much different.

• He argues that individuals were committed to the ideals of republicanism and self determination, and were motivated by a desire to implement those ideals.
• I, on the other hand, suspect a base motivation: just pay less taxes. The Political Philosophers could concern themselves with the lofty ideals of constitutions and the like, but for the average person, I think it's more about cold currency than political freedom or anything else.

In support of his argument, he puts forth the widespread success of Common Sense. For mine, I point to the longstanding aversion of Americans to taxation as part of our national spirit -- the founding fathers carefully avoided the language of taxation in the new government specifically to prevent revolts.

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Is one of these more correct? Were your average soldiers just part of a fired up tax revolt, or did they go past those desires to something more substantial?

I'm aware that protectorate we're considered colonies (an example could be the protectorate of Laos) but how were they linked to the protecting nation? What I mean is, when you look up the definition of a protectorate, it is just one nation protecting another nation, but by that logic could Belgium just before both world wars be considered a protectorate of the UK? So:

• how much independence is lost when a colonial protectorate is established (ex. To what extent was Tunis, or the indochinese protectorates independent from France)
• What does the senior nation usually get in return for protecting the protectorate?

Sorry if this wasn't really clear, I'd gladly attempt to clarify if needed

Or, why did depictions of Satan in popular culture end up with a fork? Was it originally an agricultural implement, a military weapon, a medieval torture tool, or what?

The failure of a single crop should not have led to the mass starvation and emigration of the Irish. What set the stage for the famine to occur? Were the Irish just too poor? Or did Great Britain just refuse to assist Ireland in many ways?

I was talking to my roommate, who was born and bred in South Carolina, and she was trying to tell me that the South wasn't racist in the civil war and that they were right, which, as a mixed-race person, really offended me. The way I've been taught my whole life, it's that the South was racist. But now I'm starting to doubt what I've learned because I know some things have been lost in history.

I specifically chose US and UK because they are among the longest functioning democracies but examples from parliaments of other democracies are also appreciated.