I'm wondering if Southern senators/congressmen made special appropriations or if Southern-leaning Generals transferred weapons/etc to Southern states in the years preceding the war. If yes, did it have any real impact on the early course of the war?

I wound up on the Wikipedia page on the Lincoln-Douglas debates which included, unsourced, this supposed quote from Lincoln: “the electric… cord that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together,” and my immediate thought was, “Did the U.S. even have electricity yet?”

Searching for the quote on Google (minus ellipsis and with “patriotic” corrected to “patriot”), it does seem to be legit. Searching for the history of electricity likewise confirmed that, while they did have electric motors at the time, electric transmission and electric lighting were still in the future of 1858.

Now while the word “electric” goes back to the 17th century, most of its definitions have always referred to what we know as, well, electricity, although at its earliest it may have referred to amber. I could almost see “amber cord” as a metaphor for blood. At the same time, the combination of these two words is so common in our high tech times that it makes the apparent anachronism of the phrase even more striking.

So… do any of you have any idea of the context in which Lincoln may have been using this phrase and what he might have actually been referring to? Thanks!

EDIT: Yes, I did look up the speech and read it, and in that context it still makes no sense.

The Star Spangled Banner was written during the War of 1812, and wasn't the official national anthem until 1931. Where does it fall in the hsitory of national anthems?

Throughout history, olive branches and doves have been used to signify peace and cooperation between different parties. From a historical aspect, when and how did these things come to mean peace?

Why did the allies declare war on Germany and not Russia following the 1939 invasion of Poland? They both invaded at the same time so I don't understand why Germany was singled out.

More specifically, what were her views concerning the Sino-Japanese conflict?

From basic knowledge I know that Germany was crucial in helping to modernise China's military through trade agreements, in exchange for raw materials... but at the same time they signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan in 1936, thus becoming major allies against communism.

Was it anywhere in Nazi foreign policy to ensure that their Axis allies would not be able to break China?

How has it evolved over time, and adapted to different cultures and time periods? How far back can we trace it's origins?

Finally getting around to decorating my house, which was built in the mid teens. The past few owners have destroyed much of the original charm, and I'd like to give a good effort to bringing it back.

House is outside Chicago, Colonial Revival.

Was it him just looking to get ahead as popularly portrayed, or did he have any new found philosophical problems with fighting for the then rebels?

I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive or offends anybody. I'm genuinely curious to see if they had any findings that they may have used to try to justify their experiments, or if they just enjoyed experimenting on humans.

I read somewhere that Prussia was abolished as a political entity by the Allies in 1946/7. Why did the Allies decided that Prussia as a political entity need to be abolished?

If one thinks about the history of the guitar as an instrument, the classical approach (using the fingers exclusively) makes up most of its history. The earliest classical guitar music dates from around 1536. Classical guitar history much better documented and understood, in my opinion, than other genres that employ the guitar. I know very little about the history of the "pop" guitar myself. If I had to take a guess, I'd say pick technique was applied to the guitar by blues or jazz guitarists sometime between the 20's and 40's.

Any thoughts?

I could have sworn that within contemporary discourse it was always called the Roman Empire, but at a certain point it became easier to refer to those lands in the East as Byzantium rather than Roman. I was curious when that change occurred.

For example, I have heard foreigners question why everyone in America is in such a hurry whereas in Europe people are a lot more relaxed and easy going. Why did the United States become such a fast paced nation?

I'm curious what the earliest known use of leather was, and how it was used the most often. I've found spotty answers through google, but I was hoping someone could shed a brighter light on it. I'm genuinely curious as to how it was discovered, and what usages it might have had other than clothing. Thanks!