Your country's finest and worst hours

[Mathematician]

This extends to Canadians as well. We can take a look at historical examples and reach conclusions that differ from the textbooks - hopefully (or maybe not, which isn't always so bad). What do you believe was your country's finest action/move? Its worst? You can make lists if narrowing these choices becomes too hard.

In fact I think I'll make a list. Feel free to act as someone's critic:

Worst actions:
- Continuation of slavery up until 1865.
- Treatment of foreigners, including Native Americans.
- Limiting voting rights to most people in the 19th century because they didn't own property.
- Not acting in favor of the "Radical Republican" agenda, and consequently stepping backwards on minority rights after Reconstruction.
- Using nuclear weapons against Japan.
- Forming NATO.
- Practically any military involvement after WWII, including - but not limited to - our banana republics in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Iraq, and support of anti-Cuban terrorist organizations.
- The Mexican-American War.
- Electing Dubya to a second term. Hey, I had to say it.

Finest:
- Lincoln's realization that he must end slavery for the union to coexist peacefully.
- Reconstruction. This was truly one of the most humanitarian approaches ever taken to a defeated region. I'm constantly amazed at how civil Lincoln wanted to manage post-war America.
- Washington stepping down to preserve the ideas of the Constitution, despite some of his fellows calling for a king.
- The Civil Rights movement.
- The push for female suffrage.
- The labor movement. Ours was particularly bloody, but thousands of American workers gave up their lives to fight for the living conditions we take for granted.
- Coming up with the Constitution.
- Our post-WWII program for recovery.

 

[whereismynotecard]

I suck at history... But probably everything what you said, I'd agree to that.

 

[sandandfoam]

From a long list of possibilities for worst, this in particular stands out Greysteel massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finest hour - Voting 'No' to Lisbon.
edit - oops, just realised this was for Yanks!

 

[Makaveli]

I don't want to read into anything but is there a reason you put the worst actions of America first and her best second? Somewhat interesting to me. I think you should also include a category for actions that were not admirable but were bonuses to America, or that were admirable but impacted us negatively. Anyway,

Finest:
Rebellion against Britain, and the various documents that followed which affirmed our natural rights to liberty
Ending slavery after the Civil War
Women's suffrage
Saving extensive Japanese and American casualties by using the atomic bomb
Post WWII recovery plan
Civil Rights
Korean War
Vietnam (if we had succeeded)

Worst:
Fractioning of government into political parties
Oppression of Indians
Lincoln taking a legitimate military action by the Confederates against a hostile military fort on their soil and blowing it into the worst military conflict in this nation's history
Post WWI recovery plan
Various hostile takeovers of overseas territory (Hawaii, Philippines)
The organization of the UN

Neutral actions:
Manifest destiny (We procured a lot of territory but inflicted suffering along the way)

There are more, obviously, but these are off the top of my head.

 

[Dunemeister]

Treatment of foreigners, including Native Americans.[/quote]

Huh? How are American First Nations foreigners? Weren't the Europeans and their descendants the foreigners?

 

[Mathematician]

Huh? How are American First Nations foreigners? Weren't the Europeans and their descendants the foreigners?

It's all relative. But good point.

reason you put the worst actions of America first and her best second? Somewhat interesting to me.

Not consciously. Although it is well known I have no love for nationalism.

 

[Quagmire]

Finest: the dawn of the cultural revolution in the 60's. This may be the only example in history of a revolution being initiated by a class that wasn't being oppressed; by a class, in fact, that had more to gain by maintaining the status quo than by opposing it, but opposed it anyway, on purely moral grounds.

Worst: Kent State Massacre. The moment our goverment showed us to what extent our rights were just an illusion.

 

[Mister_T]

I don't think I could add or take away from Gene's list at the moment.

 

[amorphous_constellation]

I would say, maybe the nuclear testing on the Marshall Islands seems like it was probably near the top of the 'worst' list. It doesn't really get worse than that, and they did not teach us any of that in High School. People should have the freedom to live as naturally as possible, without have radioactive earth to walk on, and with a healthy natural food supply.