• In Private Browsing mode some menu items are disabled (grayed) and features like visited links are disabled and not showing
• You are in Private Browsing mode if you see "Tools > Stop Private Browsing", possibly grayed

• You enter Private Browsing mode if you select: Tools > Options > Privacy > History: Firefox will: "Never Remember History"
• To see all History and Cookie settings, choose: Tools > Options > Privacy, choose the setting Firefox will: Use custom settings for history
• Uncheck: [ ] "Automatically start Firefox in a private browsing session"

See also Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history

I tried what you said and after I closed the browser and opened a new one I was able to click on "Clear Recent History" in the "tools" drop down tab, but it still did not clear any history. What now?

This can be a problem with the file places.sqlite that stores the bookmarks and the history.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Bookmarks_history_and_toolbar_buttons_not_working_-_Firefox

That did the trick cor-el, thanks so much!!!

You're welcome.