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U.S. History/Questions Answered by Expert Tom Schott
| Subject | Date Asked |
| 1840's and slavery question | 1/3/2012 |
| Q: During the 1840's most Northerners a.) disliked abolitionism b.) disliked slavery c.)supported ... A: Jobs in the North had nothing to do with it. Abolitionists, especially those who demanded an ... | |
| 1840's and slavery question | 12/30/2011 |
| Q: During the 1840's most Northerners a.) disliked abolitionism b.) disliked slavery c.)supported ... A: Alyssa, The correct answer would be a). During the 1840s, most northerners were indifferent to ... | |
| civil war- use of words ma and pa | 10/6/2011 |
| Q: I am currently working on a short story about the civil war. I actually have two questions. 1. Would ... A: Kathleen, 1. The vernacular pronunciation would be something more along the lines of "maw" and ... | |
| Real Wage Growth | 9/8/2011 |
| Q: Where do I find statistics on American real wage growth going far back into the 19th century? ... A: Ilya, The place to look for this data would probably be in Historical Statistics of the United ... | |
| real reasons for those 2 US wars | 7/13/2011 |
| Q: A while back, I read a US history book which explained the real reasons behind the American Civil ... A: Geoff, Wherever you got this information, it is bogus and is itself laughable. The American Civil ... | |
| Slavery documents | 6/6/2011 |
| Q: Greetings! I've been having a little difficulty finding out exactly what papers were likely to be ... A: Amanda, this isn't really my area, but I'm thinking bill of sale would be the only document legally ... | |
| Runaway Slaves | 5/31/2011 |
| Q: When slave catchers were roaming the north for slaves how did they know who they belonged to when ... A: Slave catchers usually had two vital pieces of information: description of the runaways and a trail ... | |
| Samuel J. Tilden | 5/26/2011 |
| Q: I find no record that he was ever married. Do you know about this? James Buchanan, also a lifetime ... A: Marcia, Yes, Tilden never married. As to why, we won't ever know for sure. So we can certainly ... | |
| Late 1800s towns and farms | 4/4/2011 |
| Q: My questions are really specific, so I apologize if you're not the right expert to answer them. ... A: Sarah. To some extent, the description of a town as large would be dependent on geography. For ... | |
| American History | 5/22/2010 |
| Q: What and where was the star spangled banner A: It was the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. The fort ... | |
| traveling by carriage/coach | 4/23/2010 |
| Q: I'm doing research for a novel that takes place in rural Minnesota in the late 1800s. My question is ... A: Anna, I did some poking around on the Net, and it appears that at a trot your horse and buggy would ... | |
| Battles of Fort Wagner | 3/24/2010 |
| Q: During the battle at Fort Wagner,it it true that the fort was never claimed? Also, who truly won the ... A: Katlyn, There were two Union assaults on Fort Wagner. Tactically, the South won both of the ... | |
| Wilson's 14 points | 3/9/2010 |
| Q: My 12 yr old, (autistic) son has a paper to write on Woodrow Wilsons 14 Points. We are having a ... A: Addie, Have you tried Wikipedia? It's got a full discussion of The Fourteen Points. Once you know ... | |
| american government | 3/6/2010 |
| Q: i just took my exam for american government and got an A-. i thougt or sure it was an "A." keep in ... A: Well, without knowing exactly what materials you looked at, I'd say you're both wrong. I would ... | |
| Civil War History | 2/27/2010 |
| Q: I have to interview an expert for an English paper on the Civil War that I am writing. I was hoping ... A: Carrie, I will be brief because I don't usually answer any questions for school projects. ... | |
| Dissertation Topic | 2/20/2010 |
| Q: I hope this doesn't fall into the school assignment category. I have recently received admission to ... A: Hey, Della. Real quick take, OK? --food-supply logistics: relevant, likely not too much explored ... | |
| Civil War | 1/13/2010 |
| Q: if the North wasn't making any money because of all the trading with England then why didn't they ... A: Who said the North was not making money conducting trade with England? It was quite profitable as ... | |
| Grant''s memoirs | 8/25/2009 |
| Q: Do you know the publication date of U.S. Grant's Memoirs? Grant died in July 1885 and I believe his ... A: Jerry, Grant's Memoirs were indeed published after his death in July 1885. The publication date ... | |
| Texas' Independence from Mexico | 6/23/2009 |
| Q: I recently went to Washington, TX, which was the location of the signing of Texas' declaration of ... A: Cathy, The information that there were a lot of Mexicans who wanted independence from Texas is ... | |
| Civil War Conscription | 5/13/2009 |
| Q: In doing some family history research, I've come upon a puzzling question concerning my great-great ... A: Joe, I can give you an educated guess, and I think it's as likely an explanation as any. Contrary ... | |
| Civil War: Total Men under Arms | 3/3/2009 |
| Q: You asked me to be more precise with my question, which was - How bad did the North outnumber the ... A: Brian, The figure is actually lower than you think. For the Union, a total of 2.129 million ... | |
| Asians in the South | 1/16/2009 |
| Q: I've been a life long history buff but there's one area that is just really hard to find any ... A: Tim, To tell you the truth, the Asian population was so minuscule in the South it was practically ... | |
| American /English abolition | 1/4/2009 |
| Q: i would like to affirm a premise for a paper if that is ok.... It is really for a speech com class ... A: The idea that I should get dinged in not one but two areas for taking the time to respond to ... | |
| Books on South & 19th Century US? | 12/8/2008 |
| Q: British and American. My main problem is finding more books on 19th century America, particularly ... A: James, Anybody wanting to understand southern history at all has to start with W. J. Cash, The ... | |
| American Revolution | 11/4/2008 |
| Q: Can you please let me know the importance of liberty statue and the construction? My son who is in ... A: Krithiga, There is also a ton of good information on the American Revolution, how the 13 British ... | |
| White Slavery in America | 10/27/2008 |
| Q: While reading this site, I noticed a response to a previous question about white slaves in early ... A: James, Well, I've got a Ph.D. in American history with a concentration on the South, and I can tell ... | |
| us history | 9/23/2008 |
| Q: Many technological advances such as the telegraph and the Wright brothers' flight attracted little ... A: Alma, I've never really thought about it, but I think the reason is pretty easy to discern. They ... | |
| Black slave owners | 9/14/2008 |
| Q: Mr. Schott, Thank you for your reply. I guess I got carried away. I had not considered the ... A: Mary Jane, The number of black slaveholders compared to whites was small: about 3,000. They held ... | |
| Beneficiaries of Slavery | 8/18/2008 |
| Q: I am studying US History at university and am trying to get my head round the issue of who actually ... A: Tim, You've mentioned the main beneficiaries. A few more that I can think of would be all of the ... | |
| NC Senator Wm Henderson | 8/10/2008 |
| Q: Best source of info on service of Senator William Henderson from Henderson, North Carolina.....late ... A: Ed, This gentleman was not a U.S. Senator. I have not been able to locate a good place on the web ... | |
| Ethnic conflicts | 4/25/2008 |
| Q: Were there any other specific ethnic conflicts (except the Civil War) in the USA during 19th century ... A: Petra, Several: --between the white settlers and Indian tribes (white emigration to Indian ... | |
| Hollywood vs History | 4/11/2008 |
| Q: I'm interested in the Hollywood vs History angle. The film "300" won big at the box office so it ... A: Jim, It's just my opinion, of course, but I would certainly include "Eight Men Out" and "Glory" ... | |
| us history | 3/28/2008 |
| Q: What gives states the right to nullify federal laws? A: Maia, Nothing. The US Constitution establishes the primacy of federal law over the states. South ... | |
| Thomas Jefferson | 3/10/2008 |
| Q: Can i ask your opinion? Do you think Thomas Jefferson would be a Democrat or a Republican in 2008? ... A: Beth, Pretty good question. Although he distrusted a central government with more than just the ... | |
| Jim Crow Laws | 2/20/2008 |
| Q: Sorry, I didn't mean for my previous question to sound like a homework question. We've just started ... A: Michael, Of course they affected the black people "legally." They were laws, after all. And these ... | |
| Immigrants in the Civil War | 1/20/2008 |
| Q: The question isn't for school per se. Its just that earlier we had been learning about the Lowell ... A: Laura, As I recall your earlier question was about why immigrant mill workers volunteered for ... | |
| traveling during the civil war and post civil war era | 1/12/2008 |
| Q: Tom, Thank you so much for your time. I have been doing some research for the Civil War Era. I ... A: Tanya, A person traveling from northern Arkansas could use the rudimentary road system to get to ... | |
| lousiana political history | 12/17/2007 |
| Q: My question is: What Louisiana politician rejected the offer to become Emperor? I know this ... A: Joy, There was not ever any such politician from LA. This is bogus information, and you can stop ... | |
| USF History Class | 10/31/2007 |
| Q: I was going through my college notes from 1995. I am now an attorney in Fort Myers, FL, but I took ... A: Ryan, Thank you so much for writing to me. Amazing! Do you know that that was the only class I ... | |
| civil war times | 7/9/2007 |
| Q: Where did the term (city of ten thousand whores )come from, and where can I read up on this ... A: Neither I nor any of the three Civil War Ph.D.s I consulted on this question have heard of this term ... | |
| Relevance of the Bill of rights and the U.S. Constitution in relation to the Civil War | 4/23/2007 |
| Q: There is a school of thought that was very prevalent in the south at the time. The gist is that the ... A: Karlin, It was not just a school of thought in the South. Most in the North, including Lincoln ... | |
| Early 18th Century Speech? | 1/15/2007 |
| Q: I am in search of any references to vocabulary used in the early history of New England.... the ... A: Here's a couple of sources that might help: ... | |
| The value of a dollar at mid-19th century | 11/11/2006 |
| Q: How much was an 1858 dollar worth in comparision to a 2006 dollar? Would a man with a fortune of ... A: Charlotte, It would be worth a considerable amount of money by almost any measure. The problem is ... | |
| Civil War Banking | 9/9/2006 |
| Q: I live in a Kentucky town that was occupied by both Union and Southern forces during the Civil War. ... A: Depending on which side the state bank supported, and which side's troops were in town, I suppose ... | |
| Civil War and Minne Balls | 6/20/2006 |
| Q: In a class I had on the Civil War (in 1976), the instructor said that a Minne ball was a hunk of ... A: Well, I think I'd have to flunk your instructor in 1976. The Minie "ball" is a misnomer anyway. It ... | |
| immigration | 5/25/2006 |
| Q: In the early 1800s, would immigrants working for factories take away jobs from natives just like in ... A: Jeff, you could spend a lot of time giving a full answer to these questions. I do not have that ... | |
| Peace with Honor Plan | 5/5/2006 |
| Q: I was wondering if you could help me out. Can you explain to me what Nixon's Peace with Honor plan ... A: I will be brief. There have been books written about this. Basically "peace with honor" meant ... | |
| Icon of abolition | 5/3/2006 |
| Q: I have an illlustrated poem that shows a shackled slave lifting his arms to the sky. The poem is by ... A: Pat, A little difficult to tell about an illustration without seeing it, but I can say something ... | |
| Immigrant Communities in US | 3/21/2006 |
| Q: Please help, Paul. I am looking for the locations and nationalites of major immigrant communities ... A: This kind of thing is not my forte, Fox, but I can give you a pointer or two. The most under-valued ... | |
| Klu Klux Klan | 7/27/2005 |
| Q: Was the Klux Klux Klan founded on social rather than racial grounds? Is there any truth in this ... A: Hugh, Not so. But like many bald statements in history, it is more complex than that. The KKK ... | |
| Cities in Georgia and Tennessee | 7/14/2005 |
| Q: We recently travelled through Georgia and Tennessee and noticed that many of the cities are named ... A: It's a phenomenon not just confined to the South--it's a nationwide thing. The age of ancient Greece ... | |
| Teddy Roosevelt | 6/11/2005 |
| Q: I was wondering why Teddy Roosevelt said his famous phrase "Walk softly and carry a big stick." It ... A: Apparently it just struck him as quotable. The following appeared in a William Safire column, June ... | |
| compromise of 1877 | 4/20/2005 |
| Q: I'm trying to find out more information about the compromise of 1877. I have read that three ... A: Paul, I can only be brief but I'm going to append the article on the electoral commission from ... | |
| Kennedy assassination | 12/10/2004 |
| Q: Do respected historians tend to believe that President Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald ... A: Goodmy impression, and that's all it is, is that historians are about as split as the general public ... | |
| The Democratic-Republican Party | 9/3/2004 |
| Q: Tom: Look at this conversation: ROl1103908 [1:54 AM]: you still there? B [1:55 AM]: ... A: This is way too long to plow through, but I can tell you this: the "Democratic-Republicans" of ... | |
| Texas Expatriots to Mexico | 4/29/2004 |
| Q: I saw a magazine, I think it was called "Historical Magazine" that was published by an encyclopedia ... A: Virginia, I cannot confirm anything about what you saw in the magazine; I don't know it. However ... | |
| civil war causation | 12/10/2003 |
| Q: i asked you a question about the other causes for the beginning of the civil war, besides slavery. i ... A: Edward, Sorry. You would not believe how many questions I get from kids wanting me to do their ... | |
U.S. History
Answers by Expert:
Tom Schott
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Civil War, Reconstruction, military and political, Southern politics, slavery, civil war causation, general American history. Prefer 18th/19th century, but can handle all.
Experience
College level teacher. Published author.
Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in American history (LSU, 1978)
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