At times, I reflect that for Americans living on the Great Plains, the Dust Bowl years must’ve been about the most miserable time imaginable. The Dust Bowl years were during the 1930s. This was the same time as the Great Depression in the U.S. But for people living on the Great Plains, their great depression […]
Tag: World War 1
1920s Prohibition – Was It Really a “Noble Experiment”?
When I used to teach my college classes, each student did a presentation from a preselected list of about fifty options. Unsurprisingly, I don’t think a single semester went by without someone choosing 1920s Prohibition. America’s “Noble Experiment” with moral purity still fascinates people today. Especially when they are young, adventuresome, and, shall we say, […]
Ukraine and Russia – How Does World War I Influence Today?
If you’re like me, you’ve followed the news of Russia’s baseless invasion of Ukraine since it began in February of 2022. Perhaps you’ve wondered, though, about the history of these two neighbors. Today’s post will discuss an important part of that history. I’ll describe for you the events that followed World War I and how […]
Was Greek Fire a New, Genuine Breakthrough Chemical Weapon?
Most of us think of chemical weapons as a twentieth century phenomenon. But did you know that one existed in the medieval world as well? We call that chemical weapon Greek fire. For many, the term chemical weapon has negative connotations. We recall the gas mask as an essential piece of equipment for World War […]
Why the Dust Bowl Happened in the 1930s
The question of why the Dust Bowl happened is not merely an academic one. Far from it. Personally, I regard the Dust Bowl of 1930s America as one of the six worst ecological disasters of all time. Even if one doesn’t go quite as far as I do, no one denies it was a human […]
What German Fascism Adds to the Witch’s Brew
German fascism is the most notorious of all for its destructive actions, and rightly so. It is time, then, to examine what Germany added to the basic beliefs of fascism described in my last blog. Heading the list is the idea of scapegoating enemies for the problems of society. Of course, Jewish people headed this […]