To what degree did the "Iroquois Confederacy" have an influence on the US founding fathers?

These series of videos called Extra History imply in the series on the formation of the confederacy that the ideals behind it influenced some of the founding fathers.

Some preliminary googling seems to indicate that congress at one point thought this as well. At least they did in 1988: https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/hconres331.pdf

But Im not so sure. Ideas often arise independent of each other, and from what ive read the founding fathers drew most of their inspiration from the enlightenment writers. Is there any writings to indicate some of the founding fathers drew inspiration from the Iroquois confederacy?

2 Answers 2017-06-08

Was every Roman legionary equipped with lorica segmentata in a unit (e.g. cohort), or was diversity of gear allowed?

I was playing Total War: Rome II and the question popped into my head.

Naturally during the Principate

cohort, century, legion, etc

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Is the identity of the soldier(s) that accidentally killed Stonewall Jackson known?

It is known that Stonewall Jackson died as a result of friendly fire from a picket line of soldiers from the North Carolina 18th, and that he was shot three times so it is likely more than one person delivered the fatal shot.

But, is the identity of soldiers who fired shots known? Are there any lists of witnesses/soldiers from that brigade?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

What was/is the Privilege of Non-Appeal?

I saw it in EU4 regarding the Holy Roman Empire and couldn't find out what exactly it was. This is the closest I could find. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_de_non_evocando Are they the same thing?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Translations of Soviet scientific papers to English?

I am a physics graduate student and needed to read a seminal 1969 theory paper from Russian authors. I dispaired until I discovered that the paper (and upon quick research, most after 1956) was translated to English.

If the Soviets were in competition with the West, what was the motivation to translate their papers into English, potentially giving Western scientists advancements where there might not be otherwise? Were there limits on sharing scientific research with the West? Did American journals translate their texts into Russian?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Theory Thursday | Academic/Professional History Free-for-All

Previous weeks!

This week, ending in June 08 2017:

Today's thread is for open discussion of:

  • History in the academy

  • Historiographical disputes, debates and rivalries

  • Implications of historical theory both abstractly and in application

  • Philosophy of history

  • And so on

Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion only of matters like those above, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.

4 Answers 2017-06-08

Roman military reforms and tactics

What was so-called "defense-in-depth?" Is it a viable theory? Were there elements of the practice of having a "home guard", or militia army which arose out of need? What political trends permeated the Empire such that measures were not merely accepted by the army, but came to be effective? If that is not a personal misconception in any case?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

How and when did we decide upon 18 as the age that someone is an adult?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

What kind of tea would have been thrown into Boston harbor during the Boston Tea Party?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

The English Reformation Parliament is credited with changing the role of the King from 'King and Parliament' to 'King-in-Parliament'. What is the difference between the two, and which of the acts passed in the 1530s cemented this transition?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

During what time period did people begin to shower/bathe regularly? (Every day or two)

[deleted]

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Is piano tuning the same as it was in the 1700s?

Many classical piano pieces were written over 200 years ago, and I am curious about whether we are interpreting those pieces accurately. Kind of like the pronunciation/interpretation of Shakespeare, where using the original dialect helps to convey some of the jokes and double meanings that are otherwise lost to a modern accent/ear.

Is it possible that some older pieces of music would sound wrong or out of tune to the original composer, when played with modern tuning? I'm wondering about both pitch and interval. What details do we have about how pianos were tuned historically?

Thank you

3 Answers 2017-06-08

I've been reading Anna Karanina, which takes place in the 1880s, not long after the end of serfdom. How accurate was Tolstoy's portrayal of the peasantry? Was it as idyllic as he makes it sound?

He goes into detail about the difficulties that post-serfdom land owners had in getting the peasants to produce enough, and there's also lots of handwringing about agricultural modernization vis-a-vis Europe.

That aside, he makes the peasants sound like a jolly, carefree lot, whose existences aren't much more than wholesome outdoor work, homemade vodka, and joyous outbursts whenever their landlord comes ambling by.

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Why is it that the Duchy of Warsaw was a Client State of France, but in a Personal Union with Saxony?

EDIT: Who was in control?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Has Belgium ever acknowledged or apologized for Leopold's Congo? If not, how/why did it get away with it?

This question has been asked before here, but most of the comments were removed, and the one that's left is about Lumumba, so the question is still unanswered: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2itjl3/has_belgium_ever_acknowledged_or_apologized_for/ Thanks!

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Feminine hygiene during long trips

As there is a bunch of books and series in which female characters travel long distances, often camping overnight and not staying at an in or someone's house, but this topic is never touched or explained, I felt I had to ask here. How would these women deal with their periods and feminine hygiene, especially if their overnight encampments included many men and no privacy? Do any historical records exist? The question is primarily about Europe 11.-19. century, but if anyone knows the answer in relation to other cultures or areas, I would very much like to know that too.

1 Answers 2017-06-08

When did animal sacrifice fall out of favor in early Jewish/Christian society?

For some reason I've always thought of animal sacrifice as a trait of pagan religions, but when I was flipping through the Bible recently looking for inspiration I was struck by how many animal sacrifice references I found. So roughly when did animal sacrifice fall out of favor in these religions and why? I've not read the Quran, but did early Islam also include animal sacrifice?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Were there literal grammar nazis? Did the Nazi party place a special value in proper German?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Why is Italy is known for having great notarial records during the Middle Ages compared to other regions of Europe? And how did they do it?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

How are we able to differentiate religious texts from ancient fiction?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

For the US, the Vietnam War was portrayed as an extremely new and difficult and treacherous campaign. It seems quite similar to the WW2 Pacific theater campaign, which should have prepared them. What made the Vietnam War different?

I'm watching The Pacific from HBO now, and it's striking me how similar island hopping battles in WW2 Pacific theater were to the Vietnam War. The show mentions that Iwo Jima was the only battle where Japanese casualties were lower in number than Allied casualties, which made me wonder why the Vietnam war was a complete opposite. The jungle, the suicide tactics, the climate, the guerrilla forces seem extremely similar comparing the Japanese soldiers with the Vietnamese. Why was one a difficult, but lopsided, US victory while the other was a difficult, but much more deadly and ultimately losing war for the US?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

Why does there seem to be a distinct lack of people named 'Jason' between antiquity and the present day (20th-21st century)

Of course I'm hardly an expert on all periods of history and it's probably just that my interests just focus on the wrong locations/eras, but it seems to me that after various Jasons of note in the Classical era, I can't call to mind any famous figures with the name until very recently.

1 Answers 2017-06-08

When did research which culminated in today's understanding of the fundamental forces begin?

I know that there are periods of history where most science and medicine was ill informed. When did non pseudo science, the seeds of our now massive scientific literature, begin-- and where?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

What made Boston such a hotbed for dissent against the English Crown during and before the American Revolution?

While reading Wikipedia it has come to my attention that the Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, etc. was not the first time opposition to Royal control got violent. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1689_Boston_revolt) Is there a reason Boston instead of other cities in the American colonies, became such a focal point for protest and violence against Royal authority?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

There are lots of stories of white slave-owning men banging their female slaves. How often did the reverse happen?

1 Answers 2017-06-08

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