Reacting to the Reformation: The Council of Trent
Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III in 1534 and immediately came face-to-face with the Protestant Reformation. At first sight, Paul looked pretty much like his predecessors: born into a rich Roman [more…]
Strategizing for Victory in Vietnam . . . Or at Least a Stalemate
When violence erupted in South Vietnam in the mid-1950s, the government under Ngo Dinh Diem initially faced an internal threat from VC guerrilla forces. [more…]
Putting Socrates on Trial
The Greek philosopher Socrates was a pretty amazing example of a person living the search for wisdom. He himself did not leave any writings. He did his philosophizing orally, in the company of other people [more…]
Pueblo: Indian Villages
There was no single tribe called the Pueblo. The word Pueblo, Spanish for "village," is cultural and describes how some of the tribes in the Southwest lived. The Pueblos live mainly in Arizona, New Mexico [more…]
Seminole: The Unconquered People
The Seminole people are the descendants of many Southeastern tribes who joined together in Florida. The formation of this North American tribe occurred over many decades. There were several significant [more…]
Seven Steps to Reading Nostradamus
The most natural mistake people make when reading Nostradamus's predictions is trying to take in everything he wrote all at once. He was a very deep guy with a lot to say, so don't try to get your PhD [more…]
Developing Campaigns: The Art of War during the Civil War
Military commanders follow the principles of war to defeat an enemy in the best and quickest way possible. An army commander must first decide whether to conduct an offensive or defensive campaign. The [more…]
Geographical Expectations for Lewis and Clark
From the beginning of New World exploration, Europe's stubborn belief was that the world simply didn't have room for a continent between Europe and Asia. After they discovered that a continent did lie [more…]
Pope John Paul II's Inspiration: The Bible
John Paul II, like the popes before him, quoted the scripture, but he was second only to St. Peter himself in quoting the Bible. St. Peter was inspired to write an epistle of the New Testament. John Paul [more…]
Fighting Slavery with the Pen
At the beginning of the 19th century, many black abolitionists favored moderate and strategic action over violence to end slavery. Since white Americans outnumbered black Americans, violence just wasn't [more…]
Pope John Paul II Brings the Vatican Online
In 1995, Sister Judith Zoebelein, a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist, was asked to create a Web site for the Holy See. Archbishop Foley of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications had already [more…]
Weathering Iraq's Stormy Romance with the West
With some imagination, you may view Jordan as a success story of European meddling. During World War I, the British instigated the Arab Hashemite Bedouin clan of the Arabian Peninsula to revolt and throw [more…]
Ushering in Racial Freedom in the U.S.
While the civil rights movement began in the 1950s, it reached full steam in the 1960s, marked by several new tactics that proved effective in breaking down discrimination. [more…]
Generals McClellan and Bragg: Civil War Washouts
Bad generals are dangerous. When they make poor decisions, people get killed. Every war has its successful and unsuccessful generals, but Confederate General Bragg and Union General McClellan were the [more…]
Napoleon: Basking in the Glow of Glory
When the 28-year-old General Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris in early December 1797, it must have seemed like he had the entire world at his feet. In a very short period of time, he had saved his [more…]
Navajo: A Language and People
The Navajo Nation is the second-largest tribal group in the United States. Their name for themselves is Ni'hookaa Diyan Diné, which translates as "Lords of the Earth [more…]
Spotting a Myth a Mile Away
A myth is a story. The Greek word mythos means "story." That's the basic concept. But, of course, not just any old story can be a myth. If you happen to be served a whole pig's head for dinner in Thailand [more…]
Visiting the Homeland with Pope John Paul II
The year 1979 was the 900th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Stanislaus, and Pope John Paul II made it clear that he had every intention of returning to his native Poland [more…]
Analyzing the Causes of the Great Depression
America had gone through hard times before: a bank panic and depression in the early 1820s, other economic hard times in the late 1830s, the mid-1870s, and the early and mid-1890s. But never did it suffer [more…]
Analyzing the Consequences of the Great Depression
America had gone through hard times before: a bank panic and depression in the early 1820s, other economic hard times in the late 1830s, the mid-1870s, and the early and mid-1890s. But never did it suffer [more…]
A Timeline of World History
The history of the world isn’t easily condensed, but the timeline here does a good job of hitting the high notes and most significant events of roughly 4,000 years from the beginnings of Hinduism to the [more…]
World History For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Trying to grasp the history of the world may seem more than a bit daunting — all those names! all those dates! That’s when a timeline with the most significant names and dates included comes in really [more…]
Concepts that Influenced Nostradamus
Although Nostradamus (and many of his adherents) believed he could see the future, Nostradamus was a man of his times who was influenced by the popular concepts and culture of the day. He was a student [more…]
World Events of Nostradamus's Day
Nostradamus led a somewhat normal life — he studied and traveled, married and fathered two children, then saw his wife and children fall victim to the plague. He continued to travel and study; remarried [more…]
Important People in the World of Nostradamus
People are at the heart of many of Nostradamus's prophecies, so knowing who's on stage is important. Nostradamus himself leads this cast of major players and influences: [more…]
