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Gettysburg Battlefield National Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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9 Events That Led to the Civil War

The Compromise of 1850 In the wake of the Mexican War, tensions developed between the North and South over whether the western land gained by the U.S. should become free or slave territory. Things came to a head when California sought approval to enter the Union as a free state in 1849, which would have […]

How the Code of Hammurabi Influenced Modern Legal Systems

It’s been nearly 3,800 years since Hammurabi extended his rule across ancient Mesopotamia, a region that between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that includes what is now Iraq, as well as portions of Kuwait, Turkey and Syria. But the Babylonian king, whose likeness is among the pantheon of ancient lawgivers carved into the south wall […]

14 Everyday Objects of Ancient Egypt

For nearly 3,000 years, ancient Egypt thrived as the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean world. Its legacy persists through a wealth of objects left behind—majestic monuments, written documents, artifacts and art. From that rich trove of information, archaeologists and scholars have identified items that were a part of ancient Egyptians’ everyday lives. In a culture […]

10 Major Labor Strikes Throughout US History

Since colonial times, when fishermen, bakers, refuse collectors and tailors tried to get more money or fairer treatment by refusing to perform their jobs, going on strike has been an important tactic of American labor. Strikes figured prominently in the rise of the organized labor movement that began in earnest in the mid‑to‑late 1800s. Over […]