America as a great nation has a rich and diverse history spanning almost 250 years ever since its inception as one nation. Today the USA has undergone transformation and reformation even while witnessing both the joys and sadness of a history that can never be forgotten. Either way, be it the tragedy of 9/11 or the joys of the 4th of July, America always prevails steadfast as its pledge of allegiance proclaims, “One Nation Under God For Liberty And Justice For All”. Here are 12 important events in US history not likely to be forgotten.
Thomas Jefferson doubled the area of the USA when as the President o he purchased Louisiana from the French for 60 million francs. Frances debts that totaled an additional 18 million was canceled which made it a total of 78 million francs or $15 million. The area amounting to 828,800 sq miles is now valued in excess of $220 million today. The entire area makes up the states of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. The ruler of France was none other than Napoleon Bonaparte who besides needing the money also thought he was giving a fitting rival to England on the high seas.
Louisiana was explored by Louis and Clark on commission from the President to find a suitable water communication across the continent. This one large transaction allowed a third of the United States to be explored, acquired and founded.
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America has had many of its worst moments in history but perhaps this was the first one of them. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth who attributed the destruction of the south to Lincoln and the abolition of slavery. Booth’s conspirators were David Herold, John Surat, George Atzerodt and Lewis Powell. They had also planned to break into the house of the secretary of state William Seward and stab him to death. Atzerodt was also deputed to shoot vice president Andrew Johnson. Only Booth succeeded when he shot Lincoln with a .44 derringer at the Ford Theatre when Lincoln was watching a play “Our American Cousin”.
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Weapons of mass destruction may not be an idealistic vision but the way of the world is such that the measure of a super power is governed by its powers of destruction and nuclear ability and America too is proud of its ability to defend itself “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” When Albert Einstein signed a letter written by Leo Szilard that the Nazis were working on a super weapon which they most probably would use on cities like London and Moscow, The US got cracking. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi worked 6 years on Nuclear physics which led to one of the first destructive weapons of unfathomable power and destruction.
It was the Atom Bomb and Harry Truman decided to use it in 1945 on Japan. Although it was a controversial decision to use the bomb o a civilian population, it did its job by putting an end to the worst war in history, WWII. Fat man and little boy changed the warring mindset of the Japanese in 4 days and they too have never been the same.
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The USA may have abolished slavery in 1861 but a slur on human history remained in the likes of segregation and racism widely practiced in America till the sixties and early seventies. Racial segregation was one of the worst periods of American history when almost every way of life was divided among the white and colored population.
Although the courts ruled that desegregation in schools was unconstitutional, the country wasn’t ready to accept it. Through the mammoth contribution of social activists like Martin Luther King, the civil rights movement in the US ultimately put an end to an era of discrimination. Although sporadic incidents do take place Now and then, The USA, by and large, is one big society free from racism and communalism.
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The Vietnam War can well be said to be the result of bad politics. The global spreads of communism were feared by western countries like the USA who felt it had to be stopped. Communism was a threat to American interests in Southeast Asia namely democratic South Vietnam and it felt it needed to interfere to protect the country from it.
Americans didn’t really want the war in Vietnam as it never had an actual villain. This time nuclear bombs was not an option as that would have complicated things with Russia and China. The Vietnam War was more like a face-saver for the USA where it needed to remove a much of its influence people and militarily away from the country. It incurred a terrible loss by way of resources and men but in a way, the Vietnam War consolidated the American public into one out pouring of solidarity for peace. Thousands of citizens took to the streets in peace rallies clamoring for an end to the war and to bring the boys home. The rallies worked and plans of re-invasion were scrapped. America had enough of seeing body bags of GIs, little girls napalmed in gruesome pictures and massacres without any purpose. BY the time the war was over, 58,000 Americans died for stupid reasons.
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Why did Kennedy die? This is America’s greatest conspiracy still on the lips of many an American. One popular theory was that the mafia who was said to have helped put Kennedy in office was peeved at how Bobby Kennedy the attorney general and brother of JFK clamped down on organized crime. The reason, of course, was then revenge but is that really true? Theories claim that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone and there were two gunmen or more who shot Kennedy. JFK’s assassination was more of a shock given the high security at the time. The uncanny aspect of the assassination was the weird similarities and coincidences between the death of Lincoln and Kennedy but that’s another story.
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Which American isn’t proud of the events of July 20, 1969 when Humanity finally breached its frontiers of space and touched down on the moon? Neil Armstrong indeed took a giant step from mankind when he first stepped on the moon. It was the USA who led the march in space exploration but one must never forget the heroes behind the scenes who made it possible as well as the sacrifice of Virgil Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chafee, the original NASA astronauts who died a fiery death during the pre-launch of the first Apollo mission launched from Cape Canaveral.
Many within the country itself regard it's another conspiracy, some feel the effort was to spite the Russians but regardless, it is America who has put 12 astronauts on the moon planting flags of several countries on moon soil.
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One of the most infamous days in American history when America bled and people wept out of frustration, remorse, sadness and anger. When commercial airliners were seen crashing into the world trade center witnessed on TV screens worldwide, it was an earth-shattering moment declaring how terrorism was now a global reality that could do damage on a war footing. Terrorism had shown how it could resort to mass murder through pure evil.
Ransom was a thing of the past, here was fanaticism at its worst when people were turned into weapons even as terrorist were indoctrined into thinking they were achieving glorious martyrdom, The world witnessed some of the saddest moments in American history and the morning of 9/11 will never be forgotten. Terrorism will never stop until the world unites in one challenging voice to put a stop to it.
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If you have watched the movie Zero dark Thirty, you will get an inkling of why this is regarded as a defining moment in American history. The hunt for Osama Bin laden involved mammoth combined effort of military and intelligence resources which was possibly the greatest secret manhunt in American history, Here was the mastermind of the 9/11 bombings living a secluded life in a safe house in Pakistan. To many depraved minds, Bin laden was a hero but that hero turned out to be just another bullet-riddled face when American secret forces shot him in his haven in Abbottabad Pakistan on 2nd may 201. Justice will come to you sooner or later. Americans including the Muslim population in Michigan rejoiced at the death of a mastermind of terrorism who could have reaped an even more bloody harvest had he been allowed to live.
Perhaps only the men and women involved know how strenuous, dangerous and grueling was the task of bringing Bin laden down and Americans have them to thank for bringing justice to those who died in the ill fateful day of 9/11.
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The civil war of 1861 was a sad day in American history when the North and south were divided on grounds of the institution of slavery. None can say the north won or the south dealt a blow to the American union because in civil war only the people of a country die and in this case it was Americans. The slavery issue polarized the country like never before and war was the only answer. 10,600,000 Americans died in a horror that no American ever saw before or after. Many of the soldiers who fought did so for wages and three square meals. Hardly can anyone say it was for glory on the battlefield because there is no glory in killing your brother.
The war ended with the surrender of the South in 1865 but not before it had taken a huge toll on the American people. The southern states were welcomed back into the union as per Lincoln’s wishes. Post war, colored population was given the right to vote and hold office. A new era in the greatness of America had begun.
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Regardless of what many may think, till that fateful day of January 20th 209, Americans had seen black presidents on celluloid. Barack Obama became America’s first black president which was a turning point in the history of America. Americans embraced that moment as a victory for humanity and the unity of people that defined the greatness of the American Nation to reform itself within. Barack Obama held office from 2009 to 2016 and it was during his tenure that America did see many reforms that were envisioned by Obama as beneficial for the American people. With Landmark bills in healthcare care Obama won the heart of several of his countrymen not forgetting his better half the first lady Michelle Obama who was as popular as her husband the 44th president of America.
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Had it not been for the American Revolution, would there be an America to discuss. As one of the most important and defining events in US history, the revolution was one cry against the English who despite their military might lost to what they often referred to as an army of irregulars. However what they never realized is that though Washington’s army consisted and depended a lot on the contribution of the militiamen and local armies, the men fought not for money but for a cause. When you fight against tyranny and Independence, you are motivated and strengthened mentally and physically.
The American Revolution could well be the greatest drama of world history where several personalities have etched names for themselves in ballads, poems and history books for children and adults alike. People like Paul Revere, George Washington, Lafayette, Patrick Henry and Benjamin Franklin among many others will never be forgotten as the founding fathers of the great nation of the United States of America. Certainly not Lord Cornwallis whose crushing defeat at Yorktown turned the tide of the revolution which finally led to Independence on 4th of July 1776.
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