Tragic American History?

Question

In class we read Ballad of Birmingham, and now I have to right a peom about an american tragedy. Do you have any ideas for the theme of my story? (besides 9/11 and the stock market crash)

~thanks

Answer 1

You've received a lot of good answers already, but I'll add a few more.

The Civil War, though necessary to save the Union and end slavery, was still a tragedy. Brother fighting brother, fathers fighting sons; an entire generation of men - from little boys to old men - dying.

The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln was a tragedy.

The assassination of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were all tragedies.

Hurricane Katrina was a tragedy.

The Depression was an American tragedy.

The massacre at Columbine High School was a tragedy.

In 1939 a ship (the St. Louis) full of German Jews was turned away from American shores where they sought refuge from Hitler's Nazi regime. They had already been turned away from Cuba and then Roosevelt refused them refuge, too. So, they were returned to Europe. See http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EEDB1639F932A05750C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print That was a tragedy, in my estimation.

Answer 2

The San Fransico Earthquake of 1906
The Dust Bowl
Pearl Harbor
The Salem Witchcraft Trials
The Donner Party
The Trail of Tears

Answer 3

Pearl Harbor, Virginia Tech Massacre, The Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy, or more recently Columbia space shuttle tragedy

Answer 4

The burning of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama where 4 African American girls were killed in 1963.

The Chicago Fire in 1901

Donner Party

The Imprisonment of the Japanese Americans during WW!!

Answer 5

the stories of the people who fought in the Vietnam war and came back and now they have mental problems because what they saw was so horrific. its a sad true story. people have gone crazy because of what they witnessed while serving their country.