American history game

Malte279 · **Reply #720 on:** June 02, 2009, 05:37:14 AM

The last Confederate general to surrender was Edmund Kirby-Smith who surrendered on June 2nd 1865 in Texas (he had been in command of the trans Mississippi part of the CSA which after the fall of Vicksburg in 1863 had been so isolated from the rest that some referred to it jokingly as "Kirby-Smithdom"). The news did not reach all CS soldiers though. One CS riding ship (I think her name was Stonewall, but it may be different) struck her flag in a British port as late as November 1865. A few isolated CS soldiers on some garrison duty (apparently well provisioned) in the tidewater region of Virginia learned about the end of the war in spring 1866(!). Some consider reconstruction as so integral a part of the Civil War that they consider the withdrawal of Federal troops from the south in 1877 the "real" end of the Civil War.
If we are talking of formal surrenders of not utterly isolated commands of any dimension the surrender of Kirby-Smith would be the last one.

Noname · **Reply #721 on:** June 02, 2009, 01:41:15 PM

That ship was the Shenandoah, but you gave one of two historically acceptable answers, and were thus correct. Yes, Kirby Smith OR the Sherman-Johnson armistice are considered the end... and few historians really consider reconstruction to be a part of the civil war itself, although it was a period of time in which Northern troops occupied the south.

You turn, Malte.

Malte279 · **Reply #722 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:27:01 PM

^ Johson's surrender can hardly be considered the end though. Not only had Kirby Smith not surrendered by the time Johnson did (and a final battle was fought in Texas too), but the department of Alabama and Mississippi under the command of Richard Taylor did not surrender before May 8th 1865 either.

Who was the attorney of the British soldiers tried for the so called "Boston massacre" of 1770 and why is the term "massacre" controversial when applied to the events?

Noname · **Reply #723 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:30:05 PM

The attorney was none other than John Adams! I think there was another man named Josiah Quincy...

Anyway, the term "massacre" was controversial because the British troops were having stones thrown at them first, and someone in the crowd of colonists may or may not have had a pistol aimed at them.

Malte279 · **Reply #724 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:32:02 PM

Aye, your turn noname.

Noname · **Reply #725 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:39:03 PM

Roughly how much money (in the terms of his own day) did US steel baron Andrew Carnegie give away?

Malte279 · **Reply #726 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:46:53 PM

What do you meant? Give away in donations or including business expenditures?

Noname · **Reply #727 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:52:01 PM

I meant give away... as in donate in form of charity. Not business expenditures.

Malte279 · **Reply #728 on:** June 02, 2009, 04:16:22 PM

According to Wikipedia (I don't pretend knowing that one by heart) it was $350,695,653. It is very difficult to decide what to think of many of those late 19th century capitalists who turned very philantropic in the end, but had been very ruthless in their ways of obtaining their wealth (often justifying their actions on the basis that if they hadn't done what they did someone else would have). There are some good examples of how many characters are not plain good or plain bad bud in a very murky gray zone.

Noname · **Reply #729 on:** June 02, 2009, 04:19:10 PM

I checked my history book, and that is correct, down to the last dollar. I think that many of those robber barons felt guilty at the end, or else came to the realization that they cannot take their money with the when they died.

Your turn, Malte.

Malte279 · **Reply #730 on:** June 02, 2009, 04:51:59 PM

Most of the work of one very famous American poet was not published until 1955, long after the poet's death because the relatives of the poet apparently did not approve of the writings. Only a tiny fraction of the poets work was published during the poets lifetime. When at last the rest was published the public image of this poet had to be totally revised. Who was the poet and why was much of the poets work kept from the public for such a long time?

Nick22 · **Reply #731 on:** June 02, 2009, 08:15:17 PM

Emily Dickinson?

Malte279 · **Reply #732 on:** June 03, 2009, 05:33:02 AM

Aye, and why was her art concealed from the public for such a long time?

Nick22 · **Reply #733 on:** June 08, 2009, 06:17:40 PM

She hid her poems away adfter writing them, only one poem of hers was oppublished during her life, and thast was anonymously. her poems weren't discovered to after her death..

Malte279 · **Reply #734 on:** June 08, 2009, 06:22:55 PM

Not quite. A few more of her poems were published, though not entirely in the form in which she had written them. Was the decision about publication entirely hers?

Nick22 · **Reply #735 on:** June 08, 2009, 06:32:54 PM

She was pretty reclusive during her life, so the decison to publish anything of hers was probably against her wishes..

Malte279 · **Reply #736 on:** June 08, 2009, 07:01:45 PM

For my shame I have to admit that I had been woefully misinformed by the time I posted the question. According to a professor at the university her family had actively stopped her from publishing any of the works which they considered indecent. I did not find any such hints in what I read about her since I posted the question; sorry about that

Your turn Nick.

Nick22 · **Reply #737 on:** June 08, 2009, 07:03:50 PM

Thats not surprising..How much did the Us spend to buy the rights to Panama Canal?

Noname · **Reply #738 on:** June 08, 2009, 09:15:52 PM

$10,000,000 for the canal construction rights and $250,000 annually for use of it.

Nick22 · **Reply #739 on:** June 08, 2009, 09:18:13 PM

That is how much they paid Panama, I was refering to the original fRench canal..