What is the worst moment in American history

[WilliamPitt]

Poll question: What is the worst moment in American history

I'm not talking about slavery or the Native American slaughter. These are demonstrably horrible, as are many other things. But I am aiming for one moment, one single event, that in a shutterclick changed everything.

[Az]

1. The end of Democracy in the 2000 election

And the selection of George W Bush as president.

[lkinsale]

2. The Civil War

Not because of its outcome, of course. But because we had to be torn apart to get there.

[SOteric]

5. That's what came to my mind.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. I disagree. We were torn apart before that and God only knows how many

countries there would be in place of one had we not fought that war.

[rasputin1952]

51. The Civil War cast us as a nation...

before it, we were more a system of states that loosely formed a Federal Gov't. It was probably, the most decisive period in our history.

Unfortunately, with the assasination of Lincoln, the country was placed on a path that led to ruin for a time, reconstruction. Lincoln planned on a smooth transition, a quick reconcilliation. Booth ensured that the hate would continue for a long time.

I voted the Kennedy Assasination BTW. Perhaps because I lived through that terrible day and the aftermath. It seems to me, that a cloud came over the country on 11-22-63, and it has never lifted. We had hard times before that date, but since then, except on rare accasions, it seems as though the country has taken a dark path.

[Northwind]

3. Why didn't you include...

The assasination of Bobby Kennedy?

[fishnfla]

4. The civil war

pick any major slaughter

[OKNancy]

76. I picked the Civil War too

or should I say "other"
We lost 500,000 people and almost didn't make it as a single country. There is no comparison to any other event in our history. It always amazed me to hear people say that 9/11 was the worst, etc. I can only guess that people who said that were either very young ( so they only relate to things in their liftime as being bad) or ignorant of history.

[sugargoose]

6. I might have voted Nixon........

but since it was not avail, I then figured the JFK scandal led up to just a torrent of shenanigans.

[JustJoe]

7. Age is a big

variable in this. E.g. if you werent around
when JFK was assassinated ...

[NashVegas]

8. The Day Allen Dulles Got His Way

1954: Guatemala
CIA overthrows the democratically elected Jacob Arbenz in a military coup. Arbenz has threatened to nationalize the Rockefeller-owned United Fruit Company, in which CIA Director Allen Dulles also owns stock. Arbenz is replaced with a series of right-wing dictators whose bloodthirsty policies will kill over 100,000 Guatemalans in the next 40 years.

[Rose Siding]

9. SCOTUS selection of American President

[Maddy McCall]

10. American Indian Holocaust?

Wounded KNee I and II?
Train of Tears?

The above are "moments" and are despicable failures of American diplomacy.

[G_j]

15. I tend to agree

the destruction of the original peoples of this land.
There may not be a single moment to mark it, though wounded knee has come to be it's symbol.

[Maddy McCall]

17. just lots of single moments...

Numerous wars, land-robbing treaties, wholesale slaughter on defenseless women and children, in many forms and at many times.

[kainah]

50. Wounded Knee I Dec 26, 1890

or the massacres at Sand Creek, Washita, the Marias, eastern Idaho....

[JanMichael]

11. Since the 12.12.2000 horror hasn't yet panned out I voted CW.

However the current situation is precariously close to an explosive turn.

For sure US Democracy, while never perfect, is under severe duress and the Social upheavals in the very near future may rival (Perhaps not in Death toll) the CW in vast destruction.

I'm not joking.

[Josh]

13. JFK's assassination -

because on that day, America died, and everything after it is just a logical extension of it going - sometimes fighting - into the night.

[Andy_Stephenson]

45. My sentiments exactly....

I would not be surprised to find Poppys prints on the gun.

Which is why I voted for that choice.

Nice poll Will.

When you coming to Seattle???

[nolabels]

14. Christopher Columbus And his Quest for things outside the ........

realm of his immediate world?


http://216.239.57.104/search?

q=cache:yVzKxMspMOsJ:www.viterbo.edu/personalpages/faculty/DWillman/p431_caff%26nico.htm+Christopher+columbus+%

Psychostimulants: Caffeine and Nicotine
(snip)
"American schoolchildren learn that Christopher Columbus and countless others set sail across unknown seas in search of the treasures of the Indies-gold and spices, the school books might have added, drugs. For the civilized residents of western Europe in Columbus's time were very poor in mind-affecting substances: no coffee, no tea, no tobacco, little opium, no LSD-like drugs, little or no marijuana, no cocaine-like stimulants, and no sedatives or intoxicants except alcohol. As a result, Europeans had to make use of alcohol in a variety of ways, as a social beverage, a before meals aperitif, a thirst-quenching beverage during meals, an after-dinner drink, an evening drink, a nightcap, a tranquilizer, a sedative, a religious offering, an anesthetic, a deliriant, and a means of getting drunk. Alcohol thus permeated every aspect of European culture, and still does. Wherever they went, however, the European explorers from Columbus on found other mind-affecting drugs, and brought them home with them. Tobacco was discovered on Columbus's first voyage. Cocaine was found in large areas of South America. Opium was imported from China. Caffeine and LSD-like drugs were found scattered all over the world. During the next two centuries, the Europeans not only adopted nicotine and caffeine but spread them everywhere. In a remarkably short space of time, western Europe was converted from an alcohol-only culture to a multidrug culture".

Our objective today is to gain a better understanding of these popular and psychoactive "nondrugs".
(snip):wow:

Actully, I was looking for amount of natives that died after his arrivial, but that one was kind of funny.

On edit: guess i missed that part about no natives, thank goodness I am a Jack Morman

[davekriss]

38. 1492

Starting with the Arawaks of the Bahamas, who numbered around 250,000 and totally disappeared, I recall reading estimates as high as 8 million. Sorry, no link... Christopher and crew were quite the genocidal maniacs, though. Funny how that fact is so seldom heard.

December 12, 2000 got my vote, as it marks the most geniune threat to liberal democracy I've seen in my lifetime, more than JFK, more than the manufactured threat of "communism" (or, now, "terrorism" -- though I do recall Reagan and GHWB using the phrase "war on terrorism" during our American Holocaust in Central America in the eighties/early nineties). But its hard to discount the sheer terror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[nolabels]

55. If you hang around DU enough we might be able to help you shake........

out that illusion of a "genuine threat to liberal democracy " right out of ya. I don't know about any kind of majority opinion here, but I could figure a few people that hang around DU are actually waiting for the genuine one to take root.

Maybe Mr. Pitt should of posted “USA” instead of “America” but when in an Imperialist country you do like the Imperialists do. Here is some kind of link from after 1776, from it’s gage I am sure it’s way past 20 or 30 million when you count Canada and everything south of the Rio Grand from 1492.

Original article is at http://la.indymedia.org/news/2002/11/22725.php
basic stats for US imperialism
by cecil • Sunday November 24, 2002 Sunt 04:18 PM
(snip)
6. Chronological list of US murder toll:
The murder toll has been achieved by either direct violence (e.g. the
firebombing and nuking of Japan or the firebombing of Dresden) or indirect/proxy
“low intensity conflict” (e.g. Rwanda in the 90s or Nicaragua in the 80s). (I
have not here accounted for the deaths attributable to SAP.) Some extremely
conservative estimates—
Native Americans (1776-2002): 4M
West Africans (1776-1865): 4M
Philippines (1898-1904): 600K
Germany (1945): 200K
(snip)

[JohnOneillsMemory]

16. Robert F. Kennedy assassinated on June 5, 1968

When RFK was killed on June 5, 1968 shortly after Martin Luther King was killed, this country lost the last presidential candidate who would have steered our government's policies away from Nazi-style Machiavellian atrocities and instead towards the humanistic promise for a benevolent government by and for the people that our Constitution describes.

[Terwilliger]

18. of the selections: JFK

the annihilation of native Americans and thievery of the African peoples is basically first and foremost of the worst of American history

[ryharrin]

19. The start of the civil war.

The second people who were supposed to be on the same side decided that they couldn't work out their differences and had to fight was the second that this country stopped working. Things have healed somewhat, but I see them heading back in that direction.

[lanlady]

20. I had to go with JFK assassination

Everything changed from that day forward. The country lost its bearings, and in many ways large and small, I don't think we've really recovered.

[tinanator]

60. big event

I would say the most horrible aspect wasnt the magical bullets and the frame by frame horror of it all, it was that THEY GOT AWAY WITH IT! That crime did pay, and lead in many ways straight to this junta's ability to rob the voters in plain day. Despite all the ramifications and tragic losses of 60's leaders, the payoff was never clearer until the 2000 election.

[sandnsea]

21. Railroad - Santa Clara

I know there are alot of atrocious things that have happened and I sympathize, but for one thing that in an instance changed everything, it's gotta be personhood for corporations.

[jobycom]

24. Except of course

that personhood was the definition of corporation, dating back to before the Roman era, so if corporate personhood is the worst thing to happen to America, then the worst date in American history predates America by millenia. Santa Clara was just one interpretation of that definition.

[sandnsea]

26. Yes but

It wasn't interpreted as a person with rights in the U.S. until Santa Clara. States had control over corporations and could revoke their charters until Santa Clara. And it seems corporations as defined in the Roman era was quite a bit different than what we have now. And I'd need my son to clarify the facts more, but he's on a fire. Santa Clara changed everything.

[Dirk39]

22. Other (please specify)...

Hello from Germany,
O.K. I do. For me it's what happened to the parents of Nina Simone, when she was playing the piano as a 6 or 7 or 8 years old girl.
Dirk

[Maddy McCall]

25. Hi Dirk. And what happened to Marian Anderson, too...

In 1936, she was asked to give a performance at the White House. She confessed that this occasion was the first time that she had really been frightened on stage. She and Eleanor Roosevelt became close friends, and that friendship became evident with the Daughters of the American Revolution affair. Despite Ms. Anderson's tremendous success, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let her perform in Constitution Hall in 1939. The public outcry was so great over this issue that Mrs. Roosevelt withdrew her membership from the organization. The White House made arrangements for Ms. Anderson to give her concert on Easter Sunday on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before an audience of 75,000. She sang from Handel, Hayden and Schubert, but her repertoire also included spirituals. Ms. Anderson said the spirituals gave an aura of faith, simplicity, humility and hope. Later, she did sing at Constitution Hall.


Anderson's bio is at http://www.bridgew.edu/HOBA/Inductees/Anderson.htm

[birdman]

23. Wilson at Versailles

WWI was the pivotal event of the 20th Century. It made
America into the worlds greatest power and at the same
time set the stage for WWII. Wilson naively tried to
settle the war with a vision of a world based on international
cooperation. He didn't realize that his allies had lost half
a generation of their young men and had to come home with a win.

Wilson conceded everything to the French and British while holding
out for the Quixotic League of Nations. In the end Wilson couldn't
sell the US on the League and the ugly Versailles Treaty created an
even more devastating war 20 years later.

[sujan]

27. have to go with the destruction of lives/properties in

Hiroshima/Nagasaki.

[juajen]

28. My vote was for the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima

I cannot find any justification for this horrific act, even though I know the rationale.

[kittykitty]

34. I voted for the A-Bomb blasts,too

Great countries rise and fall, but the power of atomic and hydrogen bombs
cause the termination of all living things.

[bicentennial_baby]

42. Agreed nt

:nuke: 's are no good!

[Andy_Stephenson]

47. There was no need! Revisionist history says there was....when

in fact Japan had already made gestures. They needed a face saving way to end the war...Had the US obliged...things would have been far different. No the US wanted to vanquish them completely.

[Yupster]

57. I can justify the first one

I don't know why they couldn't have waited two or three weeks for the second one. The second one was dropped three days later, before the Japanese government could have possibly put together a damage assessment and decided what to do about it.

[kentuck]

29. When the shells started falling on Fort Sumter ....

There must have been the ominous feeling of "where does this end?"

[mdmc]

30. Trail of Tears

The 'ethnic cleansing of America'.

[ferg]

37. plus Jackson ignoring the Supreme Court decision

which was probably more damaging even than the corrupt Bush/Gore decision

[PurityOfEssence]

44. Yes, that's why I voted "other"

They were civilized and toed the line and it was just as cynical a land grab as it was of the Japanese Americans during WW2. Naked greed at it's shameless best.

[HEyHEY]

31. July 4th 1776

just kidding

[elcondor]

32. Lincoln assassination

Not only was it the first time a president had been murdered in office, but Lincoln would have handled the South recontruction much better than Andrew Johnson did. If that would have been handled better, the course of American history would have changed for the better.

Pearl Harbor comes in close second because it brought the United States into World War II, which ended the war in Europe much quicker than it otherwise would have. (I mean where we officially declared war, I know that we were sending ships and supplies to the UK, etc. before Pearl Harbor.)

[tomp]

33. wow, that's a tough one.

i chose other=the warren commission report=the COVERING UP OF the overt theft of democracy. not like there was a whole lot of it before but the assassination meant that sectarian corporate/mafia internecine warfare for control of the country was at work and that real fascists were in power. it also was notable for the collusion betwen dems and repubs (you'll never convince me that bush I and johnson wasn't in on it). the warren commission failed to reveal that. i liken it to the ongoing failure of america to deal with corporate corruption, i.e, the robber barons, the imperialists, the post wwii new imperialists/cia, nixon, vietnam, watergate, indonesia, chile, iraq, iran-contra, bcci, the 2000 coup, 9/11, ad nauseum. you see it really is a tough call.

but i also have to agree with the others here who pointed to the native american genocide and slavery as monumental atrocities.

it is shameful that that it is so hard to choose between atrocities.

[Zan_of_Texas]

41. What you said

Tomp, I like what you said.

But, you all are convincing!

I was going to pick the Civil War. But the atomic bombings were awful too. And, the Santa Clara decision was huge and is affecting us bigtime today.

In my lifetime, I'd pick the day JFK was shot. But, the potential for even worse is embedded in the Bush/Cheney administration if things can't be turned around.

In sum, I suppose it is a pattern of (1) brutalizing people with violence and murder, either one by one or by the millions, and (2) exploiting people's labor and economics by slavery, sexism, taking of lands, etc.

[jafap]

35. the election of McKinley

and the defeat of the Populists, perhaps the last chance to stop "the rise of the corporate machines".

[southern_demo]

36. War of 1812 Burning of Washington

It seems to me that two events rival each other.

The day after 9/11 or the Burning of the White House and Capital in the War of 1812.

The later needs no comment. The day after 9/11 is a defining moment. The Government just gave up, said it couldn't govern and shut down all domestic travel. Business and life came to a complete stop. This is where I believe we should fault Bush. He acted like a coward, afraid to take any risk.

[LiberalLibra]

39. The USSC stealing an election rigfht out of the ballot box........

....that alone changed everything forever more, we can't ever be sure again that an election is fair.

[Jack Rabbit]

40. You left out the attack on Fort Sumpter

Perhaps the secession of South Carolina would be an equivalent event.

I would put the start of the Civil War just ahead of the selection of Bush.

The September 11 attacks were grim, but we will prevail over them.

[Eloriel]

43. Tough call

I finally voted for the Kennedy assassination, rather than the Dec. 12, 2000 betrayal of democracy itself.

And the reason is because from what I know about things (remember Reality 501: A DU Course Syllabus?), what we have now is just the logical extension of that. THEY GOT AWAY WITH IT IN 1963, then succeeded again against MLK, and then again against RFK.

And they were off and running. The world was their oyster.

That's why, as much as I want Dean to win the nomination and the election (assuming we get the eletion machine issues fixed, which is doubtful at this point), I maintain that unless the Bush Mafia and ALL their cronies and enablers are exposed, tried, shot at dawn or imprisoned for life, a Democratic Presidency will only be a pleasant respite.

Eloriel

[stevedeshazer]

46. A-bomb (1945) gets my vote

It changed EVERYTHING for the worse.

[LSdemocrat]

48. 1968

RFK and MLK assasinated. The Chicago convention riots. The election of Nixon.

[kainah]

49. Kent State -- May 4, 1970

Intentionally assassinating students for disagreeing with their government -- and to silence a burgeoning movement demanding change -- gets my vote.

[Cointelpro_Papers]

52. Patriot ACT

or John Ashcroft, or are they one in the same?

[joeprogressive]

53. October 2nd, 1945 at 10:52.......

3 mins after Barbara tells George "I'm feeling kind of frisky tonight"

[TheDonkey]

54. 9-11

September 11th 2001.

[ScreamingMeemie]

56. March 20,2003...when the greed of a few threatened/and took the lives

of many. When I began to fear for my children's future in earnest...when I began apologizing on international message boards for the stupidity of the leadership of this country. When propaganda in this country hit an all time high...Oh how I wish those hands could be turned back...

[rasputin1952]

58. Reading the above posts...

I realized that I agreed with all of them. So...I figured I'd sit and thhink for a bit on that.

Everything that moved this country, (that was written about), was a tragedy. Most of those who were the main players, had no idea how things would turn out. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, are obvious examples. So many people were simply vaporized, can we even comprend that? But it actually saved lives. Many more Allied and Japanese would have died in an invasion. Horrible as it was, we at least learned to try our damnedest not to ever use them again.

RFK and MLK; Pearl Harbor; Lincoln; The Civil War; 9-11; the 2000 election. All of these things were horrid. It takes ones breath away to realize that so much can balance on singular events, and suddenly, we move into the darkness.

I chose the JFK assassination. Partly because I lived through that day, and the days that followed. That day saw a cloud come over the country, and it has not left yet. We've had moments of sunshine, sure, but always, that dark cloud returns. We've been moving in darkness since 1963. We had the VN war, 58,000+ killed, 3x that many scarred for life, not to mention the emotional scars. Nixon...a disgrace to the country, but an intelligent man, who did have some good ideas. All of that overshadowed by the paranoia of an ego maniac.

Carter, a man of integrity and character, something quite out of the ordinary in politics. But maligned by micromanagement. Reagan; took us off to a debt that may never be paid; sold our country to the highest bidder. Bush I, just plain too dumb to be pres. Clinton, hounded for years by spurious scandals that left his administration far weaker than it should have been. Bush II, we don't even know what hell this moron can drag us down to.

The one thing we have, is resilience. The American people may be kicked around occasionally, but we reach critical mass ands fight back. We are far from stupid, and we have spines that are as strong as steel; but we must be nudged from time to time before we do anything about it. The country has finally awakened. Perhaps, 40 years after the Kennedy Assassination, we can finally come out of the gloom, and see that there is light and warmth that can be embraced.

Look to the future my fellow DU'ers, we will all be singing in the street when this nightmare is finally over. We are the true patriots of this nation. We are willing to take the country to new heights of equality and freedom. We have learned from the tragedies of the past, and will not make the same mistakes. We are progressives and proud.

:toast: to all here!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

67. Thanks for this post

It was the perfect last thing to read before I retire for the night...I read your comments above as well under my post.

I couldn't decide which was actually the worst and in fact, I guess I choose NOT to decide which was the worst because frankly I think the macro-events happening between each of them was much worse than the event that sticks for everyone.

I was at an event the other night where one of the speakers asked us to consider what the outcome would have been today had Kruchev been assassinated rather than Kennedy...it turned out to be a joke..the punchline being that Onassis would have never married Mrs K but ti did get me thinking. Again, the big events are like a release of the energy that builds..but it was all the little events in between when nobody's attention is jolted that seem to be the real tragedies.

[rasputin1952]

83. Hi NSMA...

let me say, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. I have read your posts often, and am impressed with the eloquence and sense you write with.

You also seem to have an excellent sense of humor, a quality that is sorely lacking these days. Keep up the good work!

I have a feeling we will move forward soon, and the progressives will rule the day!

[WINEWOMAN7]

59. what is the worst moment in American history?

the worse thing after slavery and the Native American
slaughter, is the take over of our democratic country by the
extreme right wing, U.S. house, white house, judicial, media. 
But we, the people, can take it back with a grass roots
movement.

[tinanator]

61. 1947 NSA act

thats where it was really shoved up our butts. The seminal act which fathered the PATRIOT ACTion, and all those black ops that got us there.

[Phatfish]

62. for all of you who think that that the 2 A-Bombs in Japan are #1...

Of course those two bombs brought MASSIVE amounts of death and destruction to the citizen of Japan but what a lot of people don't know is that the U.S. had a tremendous planned invasion of the Japanese mainland in the works for December of '45 (then pushed back the March of '46). There are many estimates that there could have been around 1 million US casualties (Because of the difficult nature of the Okinawa invasion) and upwards of 2 million+ Japanese casualties. The U.S. even had undeveloped plans within certain circles of the military and administration of using chemical weapons that could have taken the lives of over 5 million Japanese. Many very intelligent people believe the dropping of the atomic bombs and the unconditional surrender that followed actually saved the lives of millions of people on both sides and changed the outcome of the war for the better. I am not saying that it was a good thing killing almost 100,000 with two weapons, but considering the alternative, it could have been much worse.

[moondust]

66. Many believe

the use of WMDs on civilians was unnecessary and immoral. Some say a well-crafted demonstration for the Japanese leadership such as wiping out an uninhabited island would have succeeded in convincing them of the futility of continuing the war. Others say the reason the U.S. rushed into using the WMDs was to prevent the Russians from winning the war.

Some resources:
"American Atomic-Genocide of the People of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 1945." Howard Zinn, et al.

[Maddy McCall]

78. and many historians believe that Truman used it

preemptively, against almost all of his advisors' recommendations, to end the war and thereby to preempt Russia from entering and claiming its piece of the postwar pie in Japan.

And, Japan was at the point of capitulating on all but one of the US's stipulation, that one being that they wanted the emperor to remain, as a figurehead. There was no true justification for Fat Man and Little Boy's payloads, IMHO.

[Art_from_Ark]

81. Actually, the USSR did get a share of the Japanese pie--

viz, the southern half of Sakhalin Island, the Kurile Islands (including Etorofu (Iteruppu) and Kunashiri), Shikotan, and some very small islets called the Habomais, which are just a stone's throw from the Hokkaido mainland.

In February 1945, Roosevelt and Churchill met with Stalin at Yalta to plan for the post-war world-- that is, how their respective spheres of influence would be divided. No doubt most people familiar with this chapter of history would be aware of the plan to divide Germany between the Allies and the USSR, but there was also a plan to get the USSR to break its non-aggression pact with Japan by promising to restore to the USSR "all territories taken from the USSR by force" dating back to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, if the USSR would join in the war against Japan. Unfortunately, Roosevelt was either unaware of which islands had actually been taken by "force" or didn't care, or even purposefully included in Stalin's bag of goodies islands that had always been Japanese.

At any rate, once victory was declared in Europe, the Soviet army turned toward the east. By this time, Japan had absolutely no chance of winning the war-- her only real ally (Germany) lay in ruins (as did much of Japan's manufacturing base), she had lost Indonesia and the Philippines, the Chinese were rising up in Manchuria, and the Americans were closing in on the mainland from the Pacific side. Japan had no real source of oil, only a few domestic sources of coal, almost no strategic metals, and chronic shortages of basic civilian necessities.

Long before the nuclear bombs were dropped, it had been known that the Japanese were interested in suing for peace (for example, see the Brown diary at http://www.historians.org/archive/hiroshima/030745.html). However, that was not part of the plan. The plan, it appears, was to allow the Soviets to occupy Japanese islands, including some that had always been Japanese, which would then become a permanent bone of contention between Japan and the USSR (and thus help to keep Japan in the US camp after the war). This perpetual contention was virtually assured because the Russians would get islands at about the 49th parallel which would give them unblocked access to the Pacific Ocean.

On August 6, 1945, the first nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The next day, the USSR declared war against Japan, and began its methodical conquest of the Kuriles, southern Sakhalin and other islands. Two days later, before Japanese authorities had had a chance to really survey the damage in Hiroshima, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Six days later, Japan surrendered, but the Soviets continued their conquest of all Japanese islands north of Hokkaido, including Etorofu and Kunashiri, which had never previously been claimed by the Russians. The Russians also went on to take Shikotan and the Habomais, one of which is just one mile from the Nemuro Peninsula on the Hokkaido mainland.

In the end, the United States was able to show Japan, the USSR, and the world the terrible weapon it had developed (and justify its use by claiming it would shorted the war-- and who would speak up for Japan at this point?). For their part, the Russians got the islands they coveted, and still hold to this day. And Japan is still seeking return of some of these islands before it officially signs a peace treaty with Russia.

[roguevalley]

63. waging a war of aggression

on a sovereign nation that was doing nothing to us in
defiance of international law and world opinion.

The worst.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

64. Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad

This 1886 court case held that corporations had the same rights as people and was the turning point in American history.

[The White Rose]

69. That's the one.

And it wasn't even the decision of the court. A single sentence added by the court reporter, J.C. Bancroft Davis, ultimately led to human rights, powers and protections being granted to compassionless, amoral entities.Talk about the "Rise of the Machines"...

[Yupster]

65. Kennedy assasination beating Lincoln

This is one I just don't get.

Is it just because it's more recent?

The assasination of Lincoln was the first in US history, so for pure shock value, that should be considered. Also the assasination came in the midst of our bloodiest and most costly war. The news was so potentially enflaming that Generals Sherman adn Johnston agreed to keep the fact a secret from their armies. General Sherman was afraid his troops might go on a rampage (even worse than the march to the sea) and General Johnston hurried surrender negotiations once he found out.

Directly related to Lincoln's assasination was the poor way that Reconstruction developed which is still a problem in the country today with both whites and blacks in the south feeling wronged. It also led to the impeachment of Lincoln's VP.

The Kennedy assasination was tragic, and perhaps Kennedy would have developed into a great president, but I just can't see comparing it to Lincoln's assasination.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

68. Yes and to think it set up the stage for political impeachments since

Johnson's IMpeachment was also a bit of a sham and completely a partisan political event. In fact, the Repubs practically pulled their game out of the cookbook.

[rhite5]

70. Corporate Personhood, after much thought.

The thing that makes JFK assassination worse than Lincoln's ... is the sham way the investigation was handled and the obvious phoniness of the Warren Report. THEY GOT AWAY WITH IT.

Nothing has been the same in our government since.

That was going to be my vote, but after much reflection I realize that something else made that possible. The decision (and interpretation) in Santa Clara County vs Southern Pacific Railroad in the late 19th Century actually trumps it for the damage done to our country.

It gave corporations a strange power (personhood), guaranteeing the growth of capitalism as we are seeing it today. All efforts over the years after that to try to limit the growth and power of corporations were only marginally successful at best, and today with those limits almost all removed, the power seems unsurmountable.

That kind of power can start wars, assassinate whomever it wants, nullify the people's voting power, shape, manipulate and mold public opinion, dictate what belongs in the education system and what does not, poison the food supply, destroy the environment, pay people a minimum wage and make them happy just to have a job, and on and on. It is turning us into a feudal society.

[sybylla]

82. Same here. Voted "other" for Corporate Personhood

This has to be the most damning event in our history and one that has directly effected the american people for over 100 years. Barely a week seems to go by with out seeing some reason to mourn that most horrible of mistakes in the news.

[REP]

71. Iran/Contra

and Watergate.

I think it's probably heresy, but while the assassination of JFK was not a good thing, I think his cult of personality has overshadowed that he wasn't that good a president, and his death was personally devastating to many, but had little actual negative effect on the machinations of the country.

[Toby109]

72. The A-bombs

Sorry to sound like the Unabomber but the Western world's dependence on technology, especially in warfare, will be our downfall. At least spiritually. It takes 5 to 7 years for the FDA to approve of a new drug on the market. We built and used two atomic warheads before we really even knew what we had in less time than that. Now we have DU bombs, MOABS, and all the others in between dropped from 50,000 feet on unseen enemies. And it will only get worse...

[Maddy McCall]

79. warfare has always and will always involved technology

But the means to wage modern industrial total war without ever seeing the face of your victim is MOST dispicable.

[depakid]

73. There's no #1 worst- maybe a top 10.

But if you want one- perhaps the Supreme Court's decison to give corporations the same rights as individuals would be the defining moment.

Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company.

A close second would be the proclamation that workers (including children) cannot not be protected from abuses, because that would violate their "freedom" to contract.

Lochner v. New York.

This was a really far reaching decision, affecting virtually all federal protective legislation and regulation until about 1937, and it spells out the doctrine that Scalia, et al have us headed back to.

[rman]

74. other: allowing the Federal Reserve to take care of America's money

allowing the Federal Reserve to take care of America's money.

[DrBB]

75. Trail of tears, internment of Japanese, My Lai....

Depends on the meaning of "worst," but our WORST "worsts" have been when we have betrayed out ideals and acted out our imperial impulses. The US Constitution and empire don't mix. You can have one or the other, not both.

on edit: oops--missed your little qualifier. But I still think of these things when I think of our worst moments.

[Lost4words]

77. December 12, 2000, no question! n/t

[redeye]

80. 9/11

9/11 is the worst of the options given, and unfortuantely I can't think of a single event that started the process that has turned the Americans into the stupidest people in the world (maybe the Scopes trial - I'm not sure). 9/11 and the outrage that followed it highlight several terrible things in American history:

a) The inability of the government to protect its citizens (that alone is proper cause for dissolution IMO)
b) The inability of the United States to cooperate with the world, even though 9/11 sent a wave of sympathy toward the USA thruout the world
c) The preventable death of almost 3,000 innocent people in a single event - preventable unlike death from incurable diseases or from old age or even from non-poverty-related crime
d) The patriotic outrage of Americans for the government that had just failed them
e) The patriotic outrage of Americans against Arabs and Persians who had nothing to do with 9/11 (to be honest, I was in nuke-'em mode too for the rest of September, but I sincerely regret that now)

[drdigi420]

84. The drug war

It has destroyed millions of lives for zero gain.