It was mainly the construction of railroads that helped cities thrive in the 1800s, while it was mostly the invention of the television that <span>had the most significant impact on the rise of mass entertainment in the late nineteenth century</span>.
In June 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain in reaction to three issues: the British economic blockade of France, the induction of thousands of neutral American seamen into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier. A faction of Congress, made up mostly of western and southern congressmen, had been advocating the declaration of war for several years. These “War Hawks,” as they were known, hoped that war with Britain, which was preoccupied with its struggle against Napoleonic France, would result in U.S. territorial gains in Canada and British-protected Florida.
Niccolo Machiavelli was an official in the Florentine Republic from 1498 - 1512, during the years between the reign of the religious reformer Savanarola and the return of the Medici family to power in Florence. He carried out various diplomatic missions for Florence during those years and had responsibility for Florence's militia. But perhaps Machiavelli is most significant for his political writings, <em>The Prince </em>and <em>Discourses on Livy.</em>
Lorenzo de'Medici had ruled Florence for decades in a way that was popular. After Lorenzo's death in 1492, Dominican preacher Savonarola ran the city as a religious regime. Machiavelli's service in government occurred after Savonarola fell from power and was executed, and Florence operated very much as a republic. When the Medici family again seized power in Florence in 1512, Machiavelli lost his government post. He also was accused of conspiracy (a false charge). He was imprisoned and tortured, but after a few weeks was released. In exile from Florence, Machiavelli wrote <em>The Prince </em>as a way of praising the style of rule of princes like the Medici, in hopes of gaining favor with the new rulers of Florence. That didn't work, but <em>The Prince </em>has become a famous treatise in the field of political science. Machiavelli also wrote a lengthier work that extolled the virtues of a republic (closer to his own true views), <em>Discourses on Livy.</em>
