I've been doing a lot of research lately into various histories of political ideologies and economic systems and I've found to my surprise that Roosevelt is often called a Facist president in a genuine way too, rather than the manner of insults it is thrown about.

How true is this statement and could you share various sources such as books and the like that explore FDR less as a person and more as a politician as well in terms of ideology?

P.S the sake of argue net we'll define racism as pre-racialist Italian Facism eg with a high focus on militarism, corpratism and the belief in a strong leader to guide the nation. I'll assume he wasn't a national socialist unless you think he could be categorised as such. All opinions that are researched and sourced are welcome in this thread!

All of the following information is what I have read from Wikipedia. In 1439, Albert who was King of Bohemia died. 4 months later, his son Ladislaus was born. Until 1453, Bohemia was ruled by a regency.

What I want to know is who was in charge of Prague after Albert died and before Ladislaus was born. Is this even something that we know?

I've read the battle may never have happened, because let's be honest, I can't believe the Austrians would just lose 10,000 men by themselves. So, did it actually happen?

With the founding fathers being big on equality and eradicating of all titles of nobility, it is weird that they decided to keep the name "county" for local administrative areas.

During the Cold War, would people have referred to Russians as "Russians" or as "Soviets"? Would it have been interchangeable? Was Russia referred to as "Russia" during this time, or only ever the "Soviet Union"?

The alleged quote gets bandied about a lot by everybody from teachers, professors to think tanks (I recently heard the New Economics Foundation reciting the quote), but I've never seen anybody actually source their claim.

In your standard 20th and 21st century "Hollywood" war films you'll often see soldiers headed off to combat (and while in combat) with hand grenades strapped to their chest. Is this an accurate depiction of the way in which a soldier might carry an item so explosive? One would think that the risk of the grenade going off due to strikes from bullets/shrapnel etc... would be quite high and that other places on the body, such as the back of a belt pack, would be a less dangerous spot to keep such and item.

"If a European war were to arise through Austria's attacking Serbia, and Russia, compelled by public opinion, were to march into Galicia rather than again put up with a humiliation like that of 1909, thus forcing Germany come to the aid of AUstria, France would inevitably be drawn in and no one could foretell what further developments might follow." Clearly implying (according to text and further German notes) Great Britain would enter 'to prevent France from being crushed by Germany'.

From the book The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark.

Anyone read/opinion of? The most fascinating account yet of the insane diplomacy being practiced in pre war Europe and interconnecting alliances swirling ans starting w/Serbia

Has that claim since been debunked by the historical community? Who would be considered rival claimants for that title?

Thanks for any response.

I have a term paper, and am looking for a topic. The question I was hoping to research is "what effect, if any, did the English longbow's adoption in warfare have on non aristocratic society? " but I am having some trouble finding enough primary sources in english, or at least a form of English I can read. I was wondering if any of you knew where to find some primary documents on the subject that were in close to modern English or had been translated into modern english. Thank you for any help you can offer.

This wasn't meant to be political, I'm sorry I don't really know how to word this question.

I was reading in my history textbook about how the first ancient societies of nomadic people had a more 'egalitarian' sort of setup, like both women and men hunted and gathered for food, raised children, etc, cooked and built shelter. Was it immediately after settling in one place that gender roles or whatever became formed and stuff? This isn't meant to be political I'm just genuinely curious. Thanks!

So, as in the title I have a few questions that hopefully someone can answer. I am Irish and many people here feel an affinity with the Basque people, so I've been looking a bit more into it.

Firstly, how far back can we trace 'modern' Basque Nationalism/Separatism? As in the roots of the current conflict, in say, the 18th or 19th centuries are there examples of Basque revolutionary/separatist activity? For example modern Irish republicanism generally traces it's roots back to the 1798 rebellion, so that's the sort of thing I am wondering. I read that ETA were only founded in the 1950s, but are they part of a longer tradition?

Secondly, after Franco's dictatorship ended and Basque's were given even more independence what were the factors that radicalized some people and convinced them of the need for an armed struggle? Were the majority of Basque's happy with the new system or was there widespread discontent?

Thirdly and finally, during the Basque conflict how much support was there for ETA's actions? Where they a tiny minority or did they have significant grassroots support?

Sorry if the questions are too long and perhaps too broad, but if anyone can answer any of them then thank's very much. I'm also coming from a point of almost complete ignorance about longer term Spanish history so if any of these questions are daft then feel free to correct me.

It's a part of the war I know little about, and I'd like to know more about what he and the British military did there.

Hi everyone! Today's panel AMA will have a bit of a different tone than our regular panels; instead of focusing on a specific period or topic in history, we will talk about our work in a specific subfield of history: gender history. My hope is to give some of our flairs with obscure specialties some exposure, while simultaneously introducing many of you to a subfield of history that you may be unaware of. Think of this panel as a half-AMA, half-workshop: we will all be glad to discuss questions about our fields of research, but we will also answer questions about the nitty-gritty of doing gender history: how does a gender historian conduct their research? What makes their methodological approach distinct from other subfields? What kinds of sources do they use, and in what ways do they use them?

So, what is gender history? To the uninitiated, the subfield may sound like a synonym for women's history, but this is far from the case. In fact, gender history is to an extent antithetical to the practice of women's history because it focuses on all kinds of genders, and studies how gender is socially constructed in contrast to women's history which assumes that a gendered category called “women” has existed throughout history. Consequently, gender historians examine gender as a social construct relative to the societies that construct it, but more importantly understand gender as an important factor in social relationships and hierarchies. Joan Scott asserted, in a much more elegant fashion, that “gender is a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived differences between the sexes, and gender is a primary way of signifying relationships of power.” So there you have it: gender historians study how gender is constructed in historical societies, and the roles those genders played in historical social relationships and hierarchies.

Your panelists today are:

• /u/TheShowIsNotTheShow: Generally, While I am not a historian of gender, I have read widely in the field. My reading clusters around gender and work in the twentieth century and before; workplaces ranging from factories to fields to white-collar workplaces are all fair game. Plus, I've done a fair bit of thinking about how what counts as 'work' is deeply gendered; 'work' traditionally happens outside the home in the public/male sphere while women's labor within the home has rarely received this value or designation. So, questions about work, labor, employment, and gender. Oh, and food!

• /u/caffarelli: I study eunuchs in history. My particular focus is on the Italian Castrati, and how they were understood (and understood themselves!) in the gender paradigm of early modern Europe. However I am comfortable fielding questions about the gender (or social role, or sexual role, or anything else) of other major eunuch traditions, including the Middle East, China, Byzantium and the Ancient world.

• /u/Cephalopodie studies late 19th and 20th century American LGBTQ history. She is particularly interested in activism and the relationships between people in different LGBTQ identity categories. Gender-centric topics that she would be happy to discuss today include (but are not limited to) the rise, fall, and rise again of Butch/Fem(me) lesbian subcultures, the historical concept of "gender inversion" and how it relates to early homosexual identities, gender, sex, and sex roles in male homosexual communities ("trade," "wolves," "fairies," "punks," etc), gender presentation and fashion in post-Stonewall gay and lesbian communities, and shifting notions of gender-nonconforming and trans* identities.

• /u/TenMinuteHistory: I am a phd candidate studying the Soviet Union. My work on the arts in the Soviet Union often benefits from using gender as a category of analysis. I am particularly interested in the meaning of bodies and movement and their representation in culture.

• /u/historiagrephour holds a master's degree in Scottish history and specializes in the concept of cultural gradation within the early modern Scottish Highlands. Additionally, my research looks at the performance of masculinity and femininity within Scottish Gaelic and Scottish Lowland society and the ways in which these concepts were defined. For the purposes of the AMA, I can discuss gender issues as they relate to marriage, fosterage, divorce, concubinage, education, language, literacy, honor codes, and hospitality among the early modern Scottish elite.

• /u/CrossyNZ has worked with masculinity during the First World War, especially as men negotiated their masculinity with things such as woundings, the static nature of trench warfare, and mental health.

What is the name for a blacksmith shop in the middle ages? Thanks!