The city of Pergamon, sometimes spelled Pergamum, was not only one of the greatest cities in the Hellenistic world, it was arguably one of the greatest cities of the entire ancient world. Located in the mountains a few miles in… Read More ›
Gladiator was a film released in 2000 starring Russell Crowe that focused on General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who was enslaved after escaping his execution for not supporting the new Roman emperor Commodus (starring Joaquin Phoenix). Maximus rises as a well-skilled gladiator,… Read More ›
The movie Peterloo tells the story of a mass demonstration in Manchester in 1819, where British forces ultimately broke up the protest that was calling for increased democratic representation. The government forces killed many of the protesters, leading to the event to… Read More ›
For children and adolescents, summer camp has been a fixture of American life. In the summer months, parents have often placed their children in summer camps to avoid boredom or even keep them out of trouble. Summer camps can be… Read More ›
During the 1930s, the combination of the Great Depression and the memory of tragic losses in World War I contributed to pushing American public opinion and policy toward isolationism. Isolationists advocated non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts and non-entanglement in… Read More ›
The colonies of East Florida and West Florida remained loyal to the British during the war for American independence, but by the Treaty of Paris in 1783, they returned to Spanish control. Americans move into Florida during the American Revolution… Read More ›
The conversion of the Mauryan Indian King Ashoka (ruled 272-231 BC) to Buddhism is rightfully viewed as a significant turning point in world history. Ashoka promoted the relatively new philosophy of Buddhism throughout his realm and allowed it to flourish,… Read More ›
The Old Testament Book of Exodus has played an essential role in world history. It represents one of the most fundamental aspects of Jewish religion and early history and is also recognized as an important event by Christians and Muslims…. Read More ›
The Carthaginians, who were Rome’s primary rival in the third century BC, were written about extensively by classical historians and geographers. Carthaginian society was described as a mixture of the Phoenician culture, from whom most of the people were descended,… Read More ›
The first involvement of the United States in the wartime conferences between the Allied nations opposing the Axis powers actually occurred before the nation formally entered World War II. In August 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston… Read More ›
On November 4, 1791, on the banks of the Wabash River in what is now western Ohio, the United States Army suffered its worst defeat of the entire U.S.-Indian Wars. The battle, alternatively known as St. Clair’s Defeat, the Battle… Read More ›
Yellow journalism was a style of newspaper reporting that emphasized sensationalism over facts. During its heyday in the late 19th century, it was one of many factors that helped push the United States and Spain into war in Cuba and… Read More ›
The British won vast territory in North America after the Seven Years’ War, but with the land came numerous problems of how to govern it. Conflicts arose from the inability of British officials to balance the interests of colonists and… Read More ›
Gordon Wood’s The Radicalism of the American Revolution, winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History, challenges the argument that American Revolution lacked sufficient social or economic change to considered truly revolutionary. Historians and philosophers (Wood cites Hannah Arendt’s On Revolution as one… Read More ›
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by the Continental Congress. This act was only the first step towards the creation of the United States. The United States then fought a seven year war to cement its… Read More ›
The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. It established a weak central government that mostly, but not entirely, prevented… Read More ›
The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic incident between French and United States diplomats that resulted in a limited, undeclared war known as the Quasi-War. U.S. and French negotiators restored peace with the Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty… Read More ›
On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, the joint British-French enterprise which had owned and operated the Suez Canal since its construction in 1869. Nasser’s announcement came about following months… Read More ›
The French Revolution lasted from 1789 until 1799. The Revolution precipitated a series of European wars, forcing the United States to articulate a clear policy of neutrality in order to avoid being embroiled in these European conflicts. The French Revolution also… Read More ›
In 1862, French Emperor Napoleon III maneuvered to establish a French client state in Mexico, and eventually installed Maximilian of Habsburg, Archduke of Austria, as Emperor of Mexico. Stiff Mexican resistance caused Napoleon III to order French withdrawal in 1867,… Read More ›
On July 8, 1853, American Commodore Matthew Perry led his four ships into the harbor at Tokyo Bay, seeking to re-establish for the first time in over 200 years regular trade and discourse between Japan and the western world. Although… Read More ›
On May 1, 1960, the pilot of an American U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying through Soviet airspace. The fallout over the incident resulted in the cancellation of the Paris Summit scheduled to discuss the ongoing situation in… Read More ›
The development of the electric telegraph greatly changed the way diplomacy was conducted in the 19th century. Until that time information was exchanged at the speed of a sailing ship or a galloping horse. During the 1830s and 1840s, inventors working independently… Read More ›
The Spanish-American War of 1898 ended Spain’s colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and secured the position of the United States as a Pacific power. U.S. victory in the war produced a peace treaty that compelled the Spanish to relinquish claims… Read More ›
One of the most important victories won by the United States during the Civil War was not ever fought on a battlefield. Rather, it was a series of diplomatic victories that ensured that the Confederacy would fail to achieve diplomatic… Read More ›
The Napoleonic Wars continued the Wars of the French Revolution. Great Britain and France fought for European supremacy and treated weaker powers heavy-handedly. The United States attempted to remain neutral during the Napoleonic period, but eventually became embroiled in the… Read More ›