Search results

I just can't see it. While there may have been some abolitionist sentiment, it was more than offset by pro-slavery sentiment where it mattered -- in several states involved in drafting/ratifying the constitution. If there's a hard push to ban slavery throughout the US, I don't think you'll...

Well, if you're going to date a musket, "Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed, old b*tch -- she's as human as you are and you'll treat her as such" (Kipling, Young British Soldier)

Probably not possible -- there simply aren't enough resources. They'd need more and better directed aircraft to knock down the RAF and they'd need a lot more landing craft.

Talking pre-1900, at least one terrible "lines of secession" outcome DID happen -- Andrew Johnson when Lincoln was shot. He completely changed how the post-ACW / reconstruction periods worked and likely had a HUGE impact on African-American civil rights/relations up till the present. Pre-1900...

Generally true, but they realized that America wouldn't stopping hitting military and industrial targets, with severe effects and civilian casualties, until Japan surrendered. I think the nuanced difference is important for two reasons: 1) Intent -- The US wasn't really trying to kill...

Perhaps, but they should have realized both long before they did. Unconditional surrender had been discussed for quite some time and formally stated in the Potsdam Declaration (Jul 45). They should have known about a year before that continuing would just bring destruction to Japan.

1) In general, probably not, but the answer, of course, depends on the situation. If you can instead counterattack conventionally, can wait and see if international pressure gets them to leave, etc then you probably wouldn't. But, if you can't match them conventionally, are suffering...

The general 'escalate from conventional war' idea generally assumes you'll threaten and, if necessary, use nukes if the other guy crossings some line/border. So, the idea would be to threaten, then nuke them, before you were heavily occupied and while you still have some capability to resist...

There may be a point where they could still extract some of them and pull them home, but if they're 'desperate' that may be problematic and they may not be able to deploy them anywhere else at home. It would seem that the biggest effect would be to bolster their defenses in the event of an...

That depends a great deal on who you're fighting. If your enemy is murdering and raping your people in every town they come to (ala the Rape of Nanking, Pol Pot, etc.), the chance of nuclear retaliation may not be viewed as that much worse.

I think the biggest thing would be to have a Japanese military (especially Army) that was disciplined and not focused on radical politics leading up to the war. Japan didn't have a coherent, long-range strategy when going into Manchuria, N. China, and then S. China. Their strategy repeatedly...

Agree that MAD was essentially the best preventative. However, despite the Soviet rhetoric, SDI doesn't undermine either MAD nor nuclear armament negotiations. Keep in mind that we had previously had, and the Soviets still had a specified number of anti-ballistic missile (ABM) sites. Those...

While possible, I think SCOTUS would soon declare that the coin toss was the method decreed in Florida law and that no other method could be put in place in time, so the coin toss was it. That's essentially what they decided in 2000 -- that having every county do their own thing as far as...

Or, the Franklin Mint, with stylized portraits of the candidates added. The original would be placed in the Smithsonian, but only after enduring a series of tests for weight, balance, etc. You'd probably need to have a robotic machine flip it about 1000 times and ensure it came up very close...

To get momentum on rights you need numbers (or, at least, perception of numbers). To get the likely needed volume of numbers you need the medical folks to widen the definition and spectrum far earlier. The redefinition contributed greatly to the 10-fold increase in diagnoses within the last...

If we had a coin toss to determine a presidential election, I bet it would wind up looking a LOT like the beginning of the superbowl. You'd have each candidate, their VP, and their campaign adviser stride onto the field. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court would do the toss, with the...

Of course, if it was the reverse you'd have Gore, "That was clearly wrong -- our observers need to check again, but only the ones that are likely to vote my way." That's exactly what he wanted in Florida.

All too true. However, if they weren't going to be able/willing to enforce the treaty in the long-term, perhaps it should have had a 'sunset clause'

True, in that that's what I'm suggesting. It may be unprofitable (in terms of financial return on investment), but if it avoids (or dramatically reduces) WWII it's far from unproductive ...

There's a 3rd scenario to consider: C) The Treaty of Versailles is just as harsh, but the allies actively (but reasonably) enforce it. This wouldn't be as likely to prevent the rise of the Nazis, but would likely nip their expansionism in the bud and possibly lead to a short-live Nazi regime...