The
25
Worst
Moments In American History
1804:
Aaron Burr kills one of the greatest figures in American history, Alexander Hamilton, in a duel.
1814:
British forces burn down the White House during the War of 1812.
1838:
The Trail of Tears. 4000 Cherokees die during a forced relocation to the West.
1857:
The Dred Scott Decision. The Supreme Court essentially
rules that black people are nothing more than property like a chair or
couch.
1861:
The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the beginning engagement of the Civil War.
1862:
The battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day in American history with 25,000 soldiers killed, wounded, or missing.
1865:
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. One of our greatest
Presidents, if not our greatest President, was murdered soon after the
beginning of his second term.
1900:
A hurricane strikes Galveston, Texas killing 6000 in the worst disaster in American history.
1917:
The Zimmerman Telegraph. Germany's Foreign Secretary
Arthur Zimmermann sends a telegram to Mexico encouraging them to attack
the United States. The British intercepted the telegram and sent it to
the United States where it led to America's entry into WW1.
1918:
The influenza pandemic begins at Fort Riley, Kansas. By the time it was over,
25% of the US population
would become sick and by some estimates, well over half a million Americans died as result.
1929:
A massive drop in value of the stock market helped
trigger the Great Depression which lasted until the increased economic
activity spurred by WW2 got us going back in the right direction.
1941:
Pearl Harbor. "A date which will live in infamy" indeed.
1942:
The US government came to the conclusion that interning Japanese-American citizens was the
best of a number of bad options
. Roughly a hundred thousand Japanese-Americans ended up in camps.
1949:
The Soviet Union tests an atomic bomb. For the next 50 years, Americans fear the Cold War will end in a nuclear holocaust.
1950:
As American and Rok forces appear poised to finish off
the Norks and reunite Korea, a Chinese offensive caught them completely
by surprise and drove them back, nearly into the sea before they
regrouped, pushed back, and managed to fight them to a stalemate.
1961:
The Bay of Pigs invasion. Kennedy's decision to go
forward with the invasion and then deny them air support doomed the
entire enterprise to failure. Today, 44 years later, Fidel Castro, a
diehard enemy of the United States, is still in power.
1963:
In an event that scarred the American psyche and produced countless conspiracy theories, John F. Kennedy is assassinated.
1968:
The Tet Offensive was a crushing defeat for North
Vietnamese forces but was incorrectly portrayed as a huge victory for
them by the American media. This was a key event in destroying the
American public's support for the war.
1968:
America's greatest civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, is assassinated.
1973:
The Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision leads to the
legalization of abortion nation wide and the deaths of countless
millions of innocent children.
1974:
Richard Nixon resigns after being disgraced by Watergate, a scandal which shook American faith in the government.
1975:
After the Democrats in Congress cut off aid and
promised air support, South Vietnam was doomed. When Saigon actually
fell, that symbolized what a disaster the Vietnam War turned out to be.
1977:
Jimmy Carter hands over control of the Panama Canal to Panama mainly because they asked for it.
1995:
Oklahoma City Bombing. 168 people die as the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building is destroyed by domestic terrorists.
2001:
9/11. Terrorist madmen attack the Twin Towers and Pentagon, kill nearly 3000 Americans, and set off a war on terrorism.
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The
25 Greatest
Moments In American History
1776:
The Declaration of Independence is signed. Americans officially begin their fight for freedom.
1776:
Washington's surprise strike and victory at Trenton
increases morale, heartens his troops, and provides enough of a
recruiting boost to keep his army from melting away in the Spring,
which would have meant an end to the war.
1781:
Washington's victory at Yorktown, with the help of the French, seals the victory for America over the Brits.
1789:
The Constitution is ratified.
1791:
The Bill of Rights is ratified.
1803:
The Louisiana Purchase: Roughly 1/5 of modern day
America was purchased by Thomas Jefferson from Napoleon for about 15
million dollars.
1805:
The members of the Lewis and Clark expedition become the first Americans to reach the Pacific ocean.
1814:
Andrew Jackson defeats the British forces at the Battle
of New Orleans in a fight that took place after the war had already
ended. Had the British controlled New Orleans, which was a vital
American port at the time, they might have wrung more concessions out
of America or even taken a large swath of what is today American
territory for Canada.
1836:
Sam Houston and a group of Texans, outnumbered 2 to 1
by the Mexican Army, got revenge for the Alamo in the Battle of San
Jacinto. Their victory and the capture soon after of Santa Anna secured
the freedom of Texas and cleared the way for them to eventually join
the United States.
1846:
The Oregon Treaty, made with Britain, officially brings Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming into the US.
1848:
After
being defeated in the Mexican-American war
,
Mexico was forced to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which granted
America control of "Texas as well as California, Nevada, Utah, and
parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming" in return for
about $18 million dollars.
1863:
Abraham Lincoln frees the slaves in the South, technically at least, with the Emancipation Proclamation.
1864:
Sherman's victory in Atlanta not only helped hasten the
end of the war, it likely was the key factor that led to Abraham
Lincoln defeating George McClellan in the November elections. Had
McClellan won, he made it clear that he intended to cut and run rather
than press on to victory.
1898:
America crushes the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, which cemented our position as a world power.
1903:
The Wright Brothers are the "first in flight."
1908:
The Model-T Ford, the first car cheap enough for the general public to afford, becomes available.
1914:
The 48 mile long Panama Canal is completed.
1918:
WW1 ends in victory for the Allied forces after the Germans surrender.
1920:
For the first time, American women are allowed to vote.
1945:
WW2 ends in victory for the Allied forces after the Japanese surrender.
1947:
America helps rebuild Europe after WW2 with the Marshall Plan.
1950
: In what was perhaps the most brilliant military
maneuver in American history, Douglas MacArthur lands behind the North
Korean lines at Inchon. The subsequent strikes against the Norks broke
their army and only the entry of the Chinese into the war kept Korea
from being reunited.
1964:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
1969:
Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon -- An amazing feat that showcased American ingenuity and technology.
1989:
The Berlin Wall came tumbling down which symbolized the
break-up of the Soviet Union and the victory of the United States in
the Cold War.
