Nowhere in the developed world places more importance on religious belief than the United States, and nowhere finds more diverse channels for expressing belief in the same god. Zonal demarcation fails to do justice to this rich variety, which glitters kaleidoscopically at county level. Hinduism is the second most popular... More
Between 1867–1903, the United States acquired Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Philippines. The Panama Canal zone, which consisted of the canal and a 5-mile (9.8-km) radius on each bank, was made ‘unincorporated US territory’ in 1903 by the new Republic of Panama. Alaska was purchased from... More
As the USA entered the war in 1917, new branches of government were created to ease the burden on the pre-existing peacetime administrative system. President Woodrow Wilson, although possessing ultimate jurisdiction over all aspects of the war effort, delegated combat decisions to the top ranks of the Army and Navy,... More
The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 opposed any further European colonization in the western hemisphere, effectively placed Latin America under US guardianship. In this context, the Spanish-American War (1898–1902), which led to Cuba and Puerto Rico being seized from Spain, was cast as supporting liberation from a colonial aggressor. However, until... More
Until the 1890s, the US had little interest in Latin America, but had business interests in Mexican mines and railroads. In the 1890s the US adopted a more outward looking foreign policy and enacted the Monroe doctrine of opposing European colonialism in the region. The US resolved a diplomatic crisis... More
After the initial troop deployment on Guadalcanal on 7 August, Allied naval forces rushed to move supplies ashore for the Marines currently engaging Japanese defenders. Over the next few days three perimeter patrols were set up to protect the north, south and eastern approaches to the area in which the... More
Enrico Fermi first achieved self-sustaining nuclear fission in Chicago in 1942. In 1946, the Atomic Energy Commission was established to oversee research into peaceful applications for the technology. The first experimental breeder reactor went live in Arco, Idaho (1951), with the first commercial plant following at Shippingport, Pennsylvania (1957). The... More
Woodrow Wilson won re-election as US President in 1916 (albeit narrowly) with the slogan ‘He kept us out of the War’. Yet, less than five months later, he passionately advocated the declaration of war on Germany, proclaiming, ‘the world must be made safe for democracy…against selfish and autocratic power’, and... More
After the debacle of the French attempt to build a canal through Panama, informed US opinion tended to favour an alternative route through Nicaragua. However, the irrepressible Teddy Roosevelt favoured Panama, and when he became President in 1901 was ready to steamroller it through. When Colombia (of which Panama was... More
The common factor in US migration patterns in the middle decades of the 20th century was rural depopulation, with over half of the nation’s 3,100 counties registering absolute declines in population. Choice of urban destination was more mixed. The ‘Great Migration’ of African Americans from the southern states resumed in... More
The American post-war planning process turned out a number of differing proposals for the division and management of Germany. Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed splitting Germany and Austria into six separate states and two small international zones, but believed that Germany should experience some form of punishment, whilst the Secretary of... More
By the turn of the 20th century, the American railroad network was largely controlled by a handful of tycoons. High monopolistic rail freight rates had been successfully challenged in the east by the Grange farmers’ movement, but the issue succeeded in capturing presidential attention in 1901, with a battle for... More