What was...?

Teaches important dates and facts about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Describes the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and includes details on troop movements of both the Union and Confederate armies, the notable figures on the battlefield, and the famous Gettysburg Address.

On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, to demand equal rights for all races. It was there that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and it was this peaceful protest that spurred the momentous civil rights laws of the mid-1960s. With black-and-white artwork throughout and sixteen pages of photographs, the March is brought to life!

Describes the struggles and accomplishments in building the Panama Canal and its current status.

Describes the history of Ellis Island, a gateway for many immigrants coming to the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and details the restoration of the landmark and its reopening as a museum.

Describes the history of the Hindenburg airship and its fateful flight from Germany to the United States in 1937, when it burst into flames upon arrival, and details the decline of the use of airships for commercial transportation.

Introduces facts about the Super Bowl, including the history of the game, famous players throughout its history, and the spectacle of the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Find out all about the Summer Olympics in this informative book.

"Did the Great Chicago Fire really start after a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn? Find out the truth in this addition to the What Was? series. On Sunday, October 8, 1871, a fire started on the south side of Chicago. A long drought made the neighborhood go up in flames. And practically everything that could go wrong did. Firemen first went to the wrong location. Fierce winds helped the blaze jump the Chicago River twice. The Chicago Waterworks...

"On August 15, 1969, a music festival called 'Woodstock' transformed one small dairy farm in upstate New York into a gathering place for over 400,000 young music fans. Concert-goers, called 'hippies,' traveled from all over the country to see their favorite musicians perform. Famous artists like The Grateful Dead played day and night in a celebration of peace, love, and happiness. Although Woodstock lasted only three days, the spirit of the festival...

"Here is the story behind the ten laws that have been the guiding light of Judeo-Christian belief. Not just about Moses, whose origin story leaves open questions, this book looks back at the time when the commandments were written, how the belief in one all-powerful God set the Israelites apart from other ancient peoples, and the roles the Ten Commandments have played in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It also looks at what each individual commandment...

Presents facts about the prehistoric world in which dinosaurs lived, the types of dinosaurs that lived in different time periods, and how dinosaur bones were discovered and studied.

Presents an overview of climate change, discussing if humans are at fault for the rapidly warming Earth, and describes why climate change has recently become a political issue.

"For more than 100 years, people have been captivated by the disastrous sinking of the Titanic that claimed over 1,500 lives. Now young readers can find out why the great ship went down and how it was discovered seventy-five years later. At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, the Royal Mail Steamer Titanic, the largest passenger steamship of this time, met its catastrophic end after crashing into an iceberg. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew onboard, only...

"Find out all about NASA in this out-of-this-world addition to the What Was? series. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, began in 1958. With its creation, the United States hoped to ensure it won the space race against the Soviet Union. Author Sarah Fabiny describes the origins of NASA, the launching of the Apollo program that landed the first human on the moon, and the many missions and discoveries that have taken...

What was the Stonewall? -- Which of these facts are true? It is a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. On a june night in 1969, a crowd stood up against police harassment there. It inspired a nationwide LGBTQ+ rights movement in America. All the above! -- provided by the publisher

"Learn how the United States ended up fighting for twenty years in a remote country on the other side of the world. The Vietnam War was as much a part of the tumultuous Sixties as Flower Power and the Civil Rights Movement. Five US presidents were convinced that American troops could end a war in the small, divided country of Vietnam and stop Communism from spreading in Southeast Asia. But they were wrong, and the result was the death of 58,000 American...

Who can run for president? What's the difference between America's two major political parties? Why do candidates spend so much time in Iowa and New Hampshire? And is the Electoral College really a college? Answers to these questions and many, many more can be found in the pages of this official Who HQ guide to the 2020 US presidential election. From stump speeches to catchy slogans, debates to nominating conventions, and finally to Election Night...

Even though slavery had ended in the 1860s, African Americans were still suffering under the weight of segregation a hundred years later. They couldn't go to the same schools, eat at the same restaurants, or even use the same bathrooms as white people. But by the 1950s, black people refused to remain second-class citizens and were willing to risk their lives to make a change--

Although fans the world over have been fascinated by the modern Summer Olympics since 1896, the Winter Olympics didn't officially begin until 1924. The event celebrates cold-weather sports, displaying the talents of skiers, ice skaters, hockey players, and, most recently, snowboarders. Like its summer counterpart, the Winter Games are dedicated to bringing together the world's top athletes to honor their talents and see who gets to stand on the medal...

Explaining clearly and concisely what exactly Congress does, this book is peppered with fascinating stories, including the bloody beating in the Senate of a lawmaker in pre-Civil War days, the Watergate hearings, and Senator Joe McCarthy's shameful witch hunt of Communists--

Before the fifteenth century, European sailors were unsure what waited for them beyond their well-known travel routes around the Mediterranean Sea, so they kept within sight of land. But all of that changed after Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal started sending ships down the coast in the hope of finding a sea route to India and Africa. This was the beginning of a giant leap toward understanding what the globe actually looked like. Certain European...

While the coronavirus disease COVID-19 changed the world in 2020, it still isn't the largest and deadliest pandemic in history. That title is held by the Plague. This disease, also known as the Black Death, spread throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe in the fourteenth century and claimed an astonishing 50 million lives by the time it officially ended. Author Roberta Edwards takes readers back to these grimy and horrific years, explaining just how this...

Hear ye, hear ye! Get ready to learn all about the most powerful court in the United States. Ever since it was established in 1789, the United States Supreme Court has had a major impact on the lives of all Americans. Some of its landmark decisions have helped end segregation, protected a person{u2019}s privacy, and allowed people to marry whomever they love.