1. The Revolution being fought to a successful conclusion. Without that as a starting point it's difficult to imagine our becoming our own nation.
2. The Dred Scott Decision. That assured that there would be a Civil War when it nullified the Missouri Compromise.
3. The Civil War. Not only did slavery die but we went from a collection of individual virtually independent nation states with only a lose association to a single nation.
4. The Spanish American War. Right or wrong it brought America onto the world scene and demonstrated that the Nation was a force to be reckoned with.
5. The Second World War. America emerged as a global superpower with a sense of responsibility for the whole of the world. From that perception the Korea, The Cold War, Vietnam and the current situation in the Middle East have all sprung. Once America entered World War Two the course and fate of the planet changed irrevocably.
Now as to how history might have played out if these events hadn't happened, or if they been decided other than they were, if the revolution wasn't fought, or if it had been lost, then the British mindset would have continued to hold sway on the continent. more gentile and less violent but also less industrious and inventive.
If the Dred Scott Descision had gone against the slave holding interests it would have meant that the slave culture in the south wouldn't have had the foundation of legality that they, and sadly even some today, held as a basis for secession. It also would have meant that the Missouri Compromise would have stood and possibly the Civil War might have been delayed until slavery died a non violent death, economically slavery was a bust and it wouldn't have survived until 1900. Since that would have meant that America would not have developed a strong central government it couldn't have become a power on the world stage and the civl rights movement would have been delayed another twenty or so years, if it ever developed in the south at all. If America had not fought the Spanish American War then it is questionable whether America would have developed the wolrd sense to have become embroiled in the First World War and as the French armies were on the verge of mutiny in 1917 Germany might very well have won that conflict. In that case facisism would probably have been taken rute in a beaten France and all bets are off as to what that would have meant for the world. If America had not fought in the Second World War the it is questionable if England and the USSR could have truimphed over Hitler without American industry even more than American manpower. Then the cold war would have been between two very different power blocks, America, Canada, Mexico and Austrailia against a united Nazi Europe and Japan with the USSR a hollow smoking cinder. On the whole I think we can be thankful that things have turned out as they have. Not a perfect world by any stretch but it could be much worse.
2006-08-06 18:00:17
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answer #1
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answered by mjlehde@sbcglobal.net 3
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The first major event was the signing of the Declaration, the second was the signing of the Constitution - without these two events our nation as we know it would not exist. The third major event was the Union winning the battle of Gettysburg - the defeat of the Confederacy reunited the US. The fourth was the bombing of Pearl Harbor - it drew us together as a nation and was the start of the US becoming a true super power. The fifth is the moon landing which gave the US and the world a hope for tomorrow and also brought along a great deal of new technology.
I know that many people feel that the tragedy of 9/11 will qualify for this question but I feel that it is too recent of an event to know if it will have changed our history significantly.
If any one of the above mentioned events had not occured we would not be as fortunate or as advanced as we are at this very moment. We also would have lost some of what makes us American.
2006-08-06 13:02:08
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answer #2
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answered by Susan G 6
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Events That Changed America
2016-11-07 05:34:15
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answer #3
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answered by ? 4
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Well, here are my Top 5. Someone else could come up with something different.
July 4th, 1776: Declaration of Independence.
April 12th, 1861: Beginning of Civil War.
December 7th, 1941: Pearl Harbor - US enters WWII.
November 22nd, 1963: JFK assassinated.
September 11th, 2001: WTC & Pentagon attacked by terrorists.
If none of these things had happened:
The US might still be a British colony.
There might be a separate country known as the Confederate States of America.
We might be speaking German or Japanese, not English.
Our 2-party political system might work better than it does.
We might be over-run by terrorism from within.
All these events have shaped our history, for good or bad. And good has often come out of the bad things.
This is all pure speculation, of course. Others could propose their own theories.
2006-08-06 13:46:45
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answer #4
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answered by WillyC 5
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I would think that the most influential and catalystic events that have shaped US History have been:
1. Slavery and the Civil War
2. September 11th
3. The Civil Rights Movement
4. The Great Depression
5. The Sexual & Cultural Revolution of the 1960's & 1970's
2006-08-06 12:48:22
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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That's very hard to assess. ANYTHING that happens has the potential to "change history."
French and Indian War
Boston Massacre
Stamp Act
Declaration
Treaty of Paris
Constitution
French Revolution
Louisiana Purchase
War of 1812
Mexican-American War
Irish Famine
Missouri Compromise
Fugitive Slave Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Fort Sumter
Civil War
Lincoln's Assassination
Reconstruction
Depression of 93
Spanish-American War
Russian Revolution
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
Great Depression
Pearl Harbor
The list is endless...
If these never happened, something else would have happened to cause the USA to become the world's strongest superpower.
Love, Jack.
2006-08-06 12:59:08
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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1. Age of Discovery and the Colonial period (concluding with the English winning the French and Indian War). Without the British supremacy (and hegemony as another respondant stated) of the American mainland our governmental system would be radically different (perhaps in a Latin America sort of way which was/is flooded with corruption.)
2. The American Revolution and immediate aftermath (self-explanatory). The signing of the Declaration of Independence and development of the U.S. Constitution are milestones not just in U.S. history, but (at the risk of sounding arrogant) also in the history of western democracies.
2. The War of 1812. Prior to the war each state still thought of itself as a separate entity apart from the others. Indeed, the United States was still a plural term. It was only during the war that we began to develop a national identity. The war and subsequent victory over the British united us as a single element and people from Georgia considered people from New York as fellow Americans. Unfortunately, fifty years later this national unity would shatter under the growing shame of slavery.
4. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It is believed (with good reason) that Lincoln was going to be much more conciliatory to the southern states and allow for quick readmission into the Union. But his own party (the Republicans)controlled congress and wanted to see the South suffer and thus began the infamous Reconstruction. The animosity still runs deep in some parts of the south (carpetbaggers and scallywags still exist in those parts!). If Lincoln had lived who knows what would have happened. Additionally, the Republican controlled congress took extra steps to see that they would control the presidency for years to come and this bore out in history. (remember: The Republican and Democratic parties of the 1850s and 1960s are NOT the same parties they are today.)
5. I believe the biggest event in the 20th century, that has affected more events than any other is the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 which brought about the first World War and could be said to have caused the second World War. Additionally, one could even attribute the Russian Revolution (in part) to this event. With that one event millions (including thousands of Americans) died in World War One and millions more in World War Two and millions on top of that in the Stalin purges. Communism might not have had such a huge impact as it did in the 20th century as well, hence the Cold War might not have happened. It was partly as a result of the First World War that the Russian government bled the country dry for food and money to continue the war that the communist revolutionaries gained momentum in the country.
Of course one could go on as to what all was a result of what and how that effected thus and thus...
2006-08-06 17:13:04
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answer #7
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answered by no one 2
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Top five events that cganged US History?
1. Freeing the slaves.
2. Entering Wotld War II
3. The great depression
4. Entering the Vietnam War
5.. Sending men into space/
2006-08-06 12:49:08
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answer #8
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answered by danadee l 3
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476 AD - Fall of the Roman Empire, the last emperor is deposed by barbarians, although the fall was a steady decline, this was the year that it finally happened, europe descending into the dark ages after this point
Aug 6, 1588 - Spanish Armada defeated, beginning Britain's hegemy (sp) that lasted several hundred years.
July 3, 1863 - Longstreet's frontal assault with Trimble, Picket and Garnett's 15,000 men marked high tide of the Confederacy, a victory would've meant the end of the Civil War and Southern independence.
December 2, 1942 - first controlled nuclear fission under direction of scientist Enricco Fermi marked the beginning of nuclear haulocaust potention, relying on E-MC2 and other scientists work/knowledge before him.
November 11-12 - Fall of the Berlin Wall, end of Soviet Union as we knew it under the Cold War era, leaving one super power in the world.
2006-08-06 14:44:53
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answer #9
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answered by Its not me Its u 7
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#1 Has to be the Revolution. Without it we'd never have become a country.
#2 I'd say would be our civil war, it not only freed the slaves but it gave the power from individual states to the federal government.
#3 I'd have to say is the Louisanna Purchase, it tripled the size of America and opened the country up to people.
#4 I'd have to say was Texas. When we joined the union it defined our southern border and gave America the southwest.
#5 I'd have to say would be the fact that England ruled us before our independence instead of France or Spain. If we'd have been Spain's colony we'd have been as backwards as Mexico is and if we'd have been France's colony we'd have been a weakened country instead of the strong one we became.
2006-08-06 12:50:41
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answer #10
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answered by Dagblastit 4
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