During WW2, General Eisenhower was named Supreme Allied Commander. As the Americans joined later in the war, why was a Soviet/British/French figure not elected to this position?

Ive heard the factoid thrown around about how shakespeare invented thousands of words in the English language. How did people know what he was saying and adopt these words ?

After the Germans fell back to the Hindenburg line, why did the western allies decide to attack as opposed to simply continuing and intensifying the already devastating siege of the Central powers?

Just a thought that occurred to me; there are plenty of empires started by non-literate people like the Mongols. If there were such an empire in pre-history, we would probably have no idea it existed. Is that an idea that people have thought about? Or is there a compelling reason to be sure that pre-historic empires are simply not possible?

My grandfather worked for Henry Ford, and according to the oral history that I was told, had a very interesting career with the Ford Motor Company.

How can I corroborate this? When I do google searches for his name (Rhodes Walters), nothing comes up. He was quoted in a book about Ford, and I was told that a graduate student from Wayne State University did a paper on him, but they don't know how to find that. (I can share the oral history if you're interested).

My broader question is, how does anyone corroborate family stories? Is there a process to go through? Where should one start?

Wouldn't that mean not enough paid jobs for free men?

I've recently been reading up on famous pirates during the Age of Sail. Guys like Blackbeard and Henry Morgan. Just started to wonder if there were pirates like them in Southeast Asia. The closest one I found was Madame Cheng. Are there any others that have been written about?

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I have read about the Salem Witch trials, but what I am wondering about it comparatively, how did people react to allegations of magic, witchcraft, and other local non-European customs of power (dances, sacrifices, etc.) in religious circumstances? What kind of interlacing with the secular powers happened when magic and witchcraft came into play in Spanish Colonial areas.

I ask in part because Catholicism in Mexico seems very much influenced by such rituals and I am wondering if they are a newer development or a long running effect from the melding of Spanish Catholicism with Aztec (and in Peru, Incan) mysticism.

Hey, hope this is within the rules, cause its a little different than normal questions. Historians of Reddit, how do you think the study of modern history will change in the far future? The rise of social media, the internet, and technology in general allow us to capture about life than ever before. What effect do you think this will have on the study of history say 100 or more years ahead?

I read that the common citizen of ancient Rome didn't write in all caps but used a handwriting style of cursive. Can anyone explain it to me, how common was it, how do we know what it was, when it was used, etc...?

On top of that, I'm asking a far bigger question; were the barrage balloons in any way effective, and/or, useful during the far.

I'm assuming he possibly swapped medals with a US soldier or made some other trade. But is it at all possible that he could have been awarded it?

Hey! I was recently reading about the history of South Africa and how they were colonised by the Dutch East India Trading company. I would like to know more about the long term impacts/legacys/political structure that the colonisers left behind, and what has changed berfore and after the colonisation.

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