This list is a response to the one published a couple of days ago with the topic of ’10 great moments’ in American history. A lot of people objected and asked for a list with ’10 worst moments’ in American history. So here it is, just to present both sides of American history, good & bad. It is in chronological order and if you have any suggestions to make, feel free to do so & constructive criticism is appreciated while argument for the sake of arguing will not lead us anywhere. Anyway, here it is:
The Trail of Tears was the relocation and movement of Native Americans, including many members of the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, and Choctaw nations among others in the United States, from their homelands to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in the Western United States. The phrase originated from a description of the removal of the Choctaw Nation in 1831. Many Native Americans suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route to their destinations, and many died, including 4,000 of the 15,000 relocated Cherokee. By 1837, 46,000 Native Americans from these southeastern nations had been removed from their homelands thereby opening 25 million acres for settlement by European Americans
The Dred Scott Decision was a decision by the United States Supreme Court that ruled that people of African descent imported into the United States and held as slaves, or their descendants—whether or not they were slaves—were not protected by the Constitution and could never be citizens of the United States. It also held that the United States Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories. The Court also ruled that because slaves were not citizens, they could not sue in court. Lastly, the Court ruled that slaves—as chattel or private property—could not be taken away from their owners without due process.
The battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties. The Union had 12,401 casualties with 2,108 dead. Confederate casualties were 10,318 with 1,546 dead. This represented 25% of the Federal force and 31% of the Confederate. More Americans died on September 17, 1862, than on any other day in the nation’s military history. Several generals died as a result of the battle, including Maj. Gens. Joseph K. Mansfield , Israel B. Richardson and Brig. Gen. Isaac P. Rodman on the Union side (all mortally wounded), and Brig. Gens. Lawrence O. Branch, William E. Starke on the Confederate side (killed).
A massive drop in value of the stock market helped trigger the Great Depression which lasted until the increased economic activity spurred by WW2 got us going back in the right direction. The Great Depression had devastating effects in virtually every country, rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, and international trade plunged by a half to two-thirds. Unemployment in the United States rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by approximately 60 percent.
The US government came to the conclusion that interning Japanese-American citizens was the best of a number of bad options. Roughly a hundred thousand Japanese-Americans ended up in camps. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 on February 19, uprooting Japanese Americans on the west coast to be sent to Internment camps. The order led to the internment of Japanese Americans or AJAs (Americans of Japanese Ancestry) in which some 120,000 ethnic Japanese people were held in internment camps for the duration of the war. Of the Japanese interned, 62% were Nisei (American-born, second-generation Japanese American and therefore American citizens) or Sansei (third-generation Japanese American, also American citizens) and the rest were Issei (Japanese immigrants and resident aliens, first-generation Japanese American).
A decision was taken to drop atomic bombs on Japanese civilians killing roughly 200,000 people in total to ‘shorten’ the war. ( It completely ignored the fact that war is between armies, not civilians). On Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM, the nuclear bomb ‘Little Boy’ was dropped on Hiroshima by an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, directly killing an estimated 80,000 people. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought total casualties to 90,000-140,000. Approximately 69% of the city’s buildings were completely destroyed, and about 7% severely damaged. On August 9, 1945, Nagasaki was the target of the world’s second atomic bomb attack (and second plutonium bomb; the first was tested in New Mexico, USA) at 11:02 a.m., when the north of the city was destroyed and an estimated 40,000 people were killed by the bomb nicknamed “Fat Man.” According to statistics found within Nagasaki Peace Park, the death toll from the atomic bombing totaled 73,884, as well as another 74,909 injured, and another several hundred thousand diseased and dying due to fallout and other illness caused by radiation.
Kennedy’s decision to go forward with the invasion and then deny them air support doomed the entire enterprise to failure. Today, 44 years later, Fidel Castro, a diehard enemy of the United States, is still in power. The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency in the United States. The Cuban armed forces, trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the exile combatants in three days. Bad Cuban-American relations were made worse by the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The invasion is often criticized as making Castro even more popular, adding nationalistic sentiments to the support for his economic policies. Following the initial attacks by 8 CIA-owned B-26s on Cuban airfields, he declared the revolution “Marxist-Leninist”. There are still yearly nationwide drills in Cuba during the ‘Dia de la Defensa’ (Defense Day) to prepare the population for an invasion.
The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. Military advisors arrived, beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with U.S. troop levels tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, including 3 to 4 million Vietnamese from both sides, 1.5 to 2 million Laotians and Cambodians, and 58,159 U.S. soldiers. The Case-Church Amendment, passed by the U.S. Congress in response to the anti-war movement, prohibited direct U.S. military involvement after August 15, 1973. U.S. military and economic aid continued until 1975. The capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of Vietnam War. North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year.
Terrorist madmen attack the Twin Towers and Pentagon, kill nearly 3000 Americans, and set off a war on terrorism. (Some accounts suggest it was an inside job, or a horrific case of neglect). Afghanistan invaded to destroy the groups (Taliban & al Qaeda) America itself made, trained & armed to fight the Russian invasion. The campaign is still going on and has spilled into neighboring Pakistan, India & Iran, highlighting the inability of American forces to contain the war. The initial attack removed the Taliban from power, but Taliban forces have since regained some strength. T he war has been less successful in achieving the goal of restricting al-Qaeda’s movement than anticipated. Since 2006, Afghanistan has seen threats to its stability from increased Taliban-led insurgent activity, record-high levels of illegal drug production, and a fragile government with limited control outside of Kabul
The ‘Invasion of Iraq’ on the basis of alleged reports saying Iraq possesses WMD’s. Nothing found but hundreds of thousands of lives shattered. Bush later admitted that “[my] biggest regret of the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq. In 2005, the Central Intelligence Agency released a report saying that no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some traditional U.S. allies, including France, Germany, New Zealand, and Canada. Their leaders argued that there was no evidence of WMD and that invading Iraq was not justified in the context of UNMOVIC’s February 12, 2003 report. On February 15, 2003, a month before the invasion, there were many worldwide protests against the Iraq war, including a rally of three million people in Rome, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest ever anti-war rally. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between January 3 and April 12, 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war, but the decision remained & Iraq was invaded.
McCarthyism is the politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. Originally coined to criticize the anti-communist pursuits of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, “McCarthyism” soon took on a broader meaning, describing the excesses of similar efforts. During the post–World War II era of McCarthyism, many thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. Many people suffered loss of employment, destruction of their careers, and even imprisonment. Historian Ellen Schrecker wrote that “in this country, McCarthyism did more damage to the constitution than the American Communist Party ever did.”
It makes one wonder if it had been a "greatest moments in European history" list if people would have cried about it until they made a "worst moments" list.
America sucks amirite?
Senator Joseph McCarthy was right, check your history. Read the book "Blacklisted by History". He was proven to be absolutely right. No apologies have been given. Check your history.
America doesn't suck. It's far from perfect but still a great nation. Perhaps the greatest depending on the criteria.
I think he was basically saying it to see if people would agree with it.
Most note worthy fact on this page. Thank you.
shut up
not quite after their surrendering but! they were in the middle of talking about surrender with the us and they deffinatly knew about it and still bombed the
no america sucks lol canada is the greatest or austrailia lol america is even think of hiroshima or iraq or not uganada tell me honestly that ur all not tryin to “stop kony” because u dont want ugandan oil lol
I cant tell you anything until you learn to write a cohesive sentence.You type like a monkey with down syndrome.
There is no such thing as a good nation or not. All nation have done very bad stuff but they don’t want to admit it. U.S.A for example is a big LIAR.
America sucks so bad that they've literally had to enter 2 world wars in order to save the asses of other pansy ass nations….I don't agree with all of their policies, but I know quite a few Americans, and they are fine people …. Your stupidity and ignorance is well shown, sir.
Well spoken, my good man.
Go f yourself punk
Horrible list. By the way, american forces in Vietnam never lost a battle. With proper support from the nation at home, the war could have been easily won.
The war was not winnable, no matter how many battles we won. "The conventional army loses if it does not win, the insurgency wins if it does not lose." Vietnam was the only nation in Asia to defeat the Mongols, then they defeated the French, the Americans and the Chinese in a twenty year period. It had nothing to do with political ideology for them, i.e. Communism vs Capitalism, it had to do with the fact that they saw us as invaders and nothing more, all Vietnam has aver wanted was to remain an independent nation and not under anyones influence. We had no chance as long as one Vietnamese person was alive. The only way to win that war was to annihilate their entire people.
Wrong. The vietnamese were indeed some tough bastards but they were not the innocent victims you seem to think. The NVA were trying to invade the south and were some sadistic SOBs. I'm not saying we were justified in entering the war but the NVA was facing a massive army that had defeated the best jungle fighters: the Japanese, only a few decades before. If the american people had supported them we would have won.
America hasn't won a war it started in since the American civil war
Completely untrue. We started the Mexican American war and won it, we started the Indian Wars and won them, and we didn't start the American Civil War the Confederacy did and they were no longer Americans of thier own accord.
wrong lincoln had granted the south sucession but he wanted control of all the military forts in the south and we would not give him 2 of them.do your research for i have and have plenty of wood on the wall to prove it %95 of the us does not even know how the cw was all about…….it wasnt slavery quote from lincoln himself”if i could win the war without freeing the first slave i would if i could win the war by freeing only half the slaves i would but i have no choice but to free them all”and he was the great hero that stopped slavery?i dont think so he new without the extra almost 200k black soldiers the south would win read a little.
Winning battles doesn't matter,its what goals you achieve in a military sense and the US got none done.
Vietnam was a massive cluster***** for everyone, i doubt anyone "won" there.
Was never declared a "war" and America got it's ***** handed to them in Nam…
I consider our bombing of Japan to be one of our finest moments alongside the interment camps being one of our worst.
And since the Natives weren't really using the land for progressive action, I don't consider booting them off the land to be a negative (were they more advanced, they may have survived)
The great Depression was necessary under the circumstances but could have been avoided. Frankly, government interference in the economy causes more problems than it prevents.
I can agree with #2 and #9 (and the bonus) but beyond that, I find the list fairly naive.
"And since the Natives weren't really using the land for progressive action, I don't consider booting them off the land to be a negative (were they more advanced, they may have survived)"
That has got to be one of the most absurd things i have ever read, who are you to say they weren't using land for "progressive action"
"I consider our bombing of Japan to be one of our finest moments"
holy *****…… really? I don't even know what to say to that, that is beyond terrible
"
I agree with you. Dropping the bombs was necessary but not something to be proud of. And the natives definetly were not using the land for "progressive" action, they were just living on it, but that still doesn't mean they didn't have a right to live there.
if we had nor dropped the bombs would you like the life you do?
It’s people like you that make the rest of us Americans look like douchebags. Our treatment of the Native Americans is most definitely something to be ashamed of. We decimated their entire civilization for no other reason than we were afraid of them because they were different from us and we wanted their land.
In regards to dropping the bombs on Japan I have not done a lot of research on the subject but it seemed like a horrible but necessary thing at the time. While it may have been the lesser of two evils it is certainly nothing to be proud of. It is also hypocritical of us to berate others for building nuclear weapons when we are the only country to have actually used one against an enemy nation.
Actually tribes such as the Cherokee were relatively advanced, with their own schools, newspapers, police force, and constitution.
Also, I’d like to be the first to state the fact that had the USA invaded japan in world war 2 the death rate would have increased by 2 or 3 million. Soo in contrast 500,000<3,000,000. I don't understand why McCarthyism is a bonus… That's by far one of the worst things that has happened in American history.
I agree with this and I will add to it. The battle of Okinawa showed the US one thing, there were no Japanese civilians, they were all indoctrinated to fight to the death. So I saw 200,000 potential Japanese militia get killed instead of a million or more allied soldiers. Also, think of how many civilians would have been killed by our forces and the Japanese if we had to invade. The bombs were to save the Japanese as much as they were to save us.
Is this why the leader of the Pacific fleet and other noted generals said dropping the bomb wasn't militarily necessary because Japan would have surrendered without invasion? This is supported by other researches and experts. But hey, that doesnt help people sleep at night. At least be aware of the facts of both sides of the coin before forming and opinion either way.
Regardless of what they say, the fact that Japan was stockpiling weapons, training militia and building things like one man kamikaze submarines shows that they wouldn't surrender. There is a huge difference between an american and a japanese fighter in the 1940's. Dropping those bombs was easily not the worst, but the greatest. Perhaps if we didn't, we might have lost the war. Who knows? All I know is that dropping the bombs was the only choice. Japan was clear with the fact that they would never surrender.
Um…yeah. Go read a book, or something? Japan was prepared to surrender, and of their own accord. Not only that, but it was well-known to Truman and his administration that if Russia entered the war, which they were planning on doing, Japan would surrender.
Oh, and I also don't understand where your idea about Japan building up their army comes from? The Japanese navy and air force were completely depleted at the time of the bombings. Also, one of the reasons for their impending surrender was that they were so short of resources (because of western embargoes) that even if they had wanted to continue the war, they wouldn't have been able to. Kind of hard to build up your army when you're missing the necessary materials. Oh, also kind of hard to fly planes and sail ships when you've got no oil – especially in the 1940s!
also Japanese culture states that surrendering or giving up is a cowardly. Invading Japan would have cost millions of more lives. Not just allied but Japanese as well. Because the Japanese wouldn’t have stopped till they had completely decimated their entire population.
I realize I’m way late to the discussion, but I still had to comment on the absurdity of your assertion. So, in your mind, all of those babies, pregnant women, and elderly people who were vaporized and/or poisoned by radiation were “indoctrinated to fight to the death?” What, did Japan make tiny, tiny machine guns for babies? Gosh, aren’t those babies lucky that they were vaporized to “save the Japanese.” Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.
It annoys me to see armchair generals second geussing the actions of soldiers from the safety of thier studio apartments. The bombing were tragic, but necessary as an invasion would have destroyed the japanese homeland in it's entirety as well as cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of US soldiers. The deaths of the people of hiroshima and nagasaki should be blamed on the leaders who allowed it to happen rather then surrender.
Interesting list, but are the sentiments that created it purely ‘list-making’ or ‘Let’s have a pop at Yankee man’?
I hope it’s not the latter.
(I’m not American btw, just don’t want to see the site fall down into a slagging pit)
the nuclear attacks on japan were what cemented the united states as world power because it gave them the biggest punch of the group. to say it was a bad moment is entirely wrong. it was a bad moment for japan but to be honest the way japanese treated people during the war…OH WELL. war is war. the treatment of native americans is nothing different than any other world power did to a native race. iraq and vietnamt should not be considered bad because it was merely a case of an army fighting a guerilla people and so how do you win? stock market…well that was bad for everyone. the civil war was self induced so suck it up. any treatment towards blacks was just another case for the times. to look back and say it was wrong was to not understand the times. just wait till 60 years from now what people will say about the injustice of these times. the only bad moment would really be 9/11 due to the fact it was the first actual attack on american soil. you wanna talk bout a bad time, how bout when ur white house burned to the ground.
All I'm reading is: "I can't accept any criticism when it comes to my own country, even when it's completely justified".
Killing thousands of innocent men, women & children (that would be CIVILIANS, NOT SOLDIERS) is a war crime, and putting your fingers in your ears isn't gonna change that.
America: McDonalds, some moonwalks and popcorn flicks. Good stuff. But the US government has commited horrible deeds.
They were not innocent, they were indoctrinated to kill us, and many more Japanese "civilians" would have been killed during the invasion if we did not drop the bombs. Besides, war is not against an army anymore, it hasn't been that way for centuries, war is against an entire people and to fight it, you must wage war against the whole people.
I am sick and tired of this, I consider myself liberal, but not liberal to the point of historical ignorance.
The US has done some bad things, I am not saying that they didn't, like Iraq for example. But the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although a moral grey area, was not one of these bad decisions.
The US has done no more horrible deeds than Britain, Germany, France, and every other nation had during its lifetime.
Maybe. Maybe not. Ultimately irrelevant. This is about the US's disgusting acts not any other nation so your point is merely a red herring.
Also, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred after the Japs had surrendered. Did someone mention indoctrination?
Nagasaki was after they surrendered, Hiroshima was not.
If these people actually care about human rights violations, they should start with Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot. Take note how many ‘liberals’ out there never condemn a single thing that a communist government did to their own people.
how about the entire civil war??? not just antitem
The USA are a bunch of clowns it has to be said. If America was a person, that person would be a whopping douchebag.
This sounds trollish and I should not comment on it, but alas, you drew me into your own web of douchebagerry.
What is the US, but a group of people under one flag, but they are still people and people everywhere act the same. I mean, I could say bad things to the Stuck up hypocrite French who sit upon their high horses and look down and ask, "why do Americans start so many wars?" Wasn't it the French who started that whole Napoleon thing that cost 8 million lives or the French delegation at Versailles that refused to let by-gones b e by-gones and created a treaty that was one of the leading factors in WWII. Wasn't they who fought in Vietnam before us, or how about Algeria. Then there is the fact that they are one of the world's leading weapon manufactures and constantly supply arms to civil wars and Genocides in Africa. But I am not all about dissing the French, there are so many more countries. How about the Japanese and their revisionist history, the Chinese and their censorship, among many other things, the British and their government that seems more inept then ours, the Greeks and their financial collapse, the Russians and their growing Fascism, the Italians and their corruption. The list goes on and on…
If America was a person it would look like everyone else.
Saying that USA is a clown is really stupid. Whether or not you like us is one thing but we are still the indisputable leader of the western world. Yes, if America was a person he may indeed be a bit of an ***** but frankly, you have to be an ***** sometimes to get things done.
I love how anti American is=diots such as yourself, spit your stupidity without representing where you're from. America is the bailing bucket of every sinking ship nation on this planet and you know it. Either you've been raised by morons, or you're to stupid to comprehend that envy is the reason that you hate America. If your country were to be invaded today, the first nation they would turn to, would be the U.S.A….. Your statement would be like me thinking that all Englismen looked like Austin Powers simply because…well, every picture I see of English men shows them to look like Austin Powers…hell, even a good amount of the women. It's like the electric current they use is so low, that they can't see how pasty and near death they look…and those accents…SHEEEEEZZZZZZZZ…. And don't get me started on the teeth..my God, the teeth……
I have lived in Canada and the US. They are both fantastic countries. Every country has their major screw ups. I find Americans to be great people but they just haven't made some good decisions like evryone else. I would like to see YOU run a country.
@gh0st (3): Hey!! That is extremely racist!! Don’t post your stupid & disgusting remarks on here, obviously just shows how ignorant you are.
@#7 – “paki” is a derogatory word for a Pakistani.
Jack it's people like you who are bringing this country down. Please move to Paki-stan .
not racist, (because it's not a race he's complaining about) its just douchebag. ish.
Re no.10…the war in Iraq was not a matter of necessity, but of choice.
Unlike most other foreign wars in which the United States became involved, the invasion of Iraq was not preceded by an attack on this country or on one of its allies.
Talk of the US secret service…what can one expect of it…it doesn’t even know the who’s who at the Prez’s dinner.
What the hell do you mean? The war was sparked by an attack on U.S. soil (9/11). America knew that Al Quaeda and Taliban were in Iraq, and Iraq knowingly harbored those criminals without making any move to hunt them down and bring them to justice. It is the only move that would ensure America's security to treat Iraq as hostile at that time.
are you really that stupid?
Al Qaeda were operating in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime there – A totally different country miles from Iraq. Afghanistan was a religious dictatorship. Iraq, while lead by an *****, was secular. Afghanis aren't Arab. Iraqis are.
Well said karma tiger. Can I also refer to the fact that even Bush admitted the invasion of Iraq was a mistake?
Excellent list. There are some minor grammatical and syntactical errors, but no biggie.
I think this is a very fair list, regardless of whether you’re an American liberal or a conservative, or not an American at all. Of course, people WILL ***** about this list, because people on the Internet just love to *****.
Oh, and I know people are going to ***** about the ordering. IT’S IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, PEOPLE.
Oh, and I’m guessing it won’t be long before someone argues November 4th, 2008 (or perhaps January 20th, 2009) was the worst moment in US history.
*sigh*
I'm not sure but are these dates relating to Barack Obama's election? If they are that's crazy, like bat***** insane crazy.
No, it's not a great list if you aren't American. As most things are, it's completely US-centric. How about Stalin, Hitler, the Crusades, etc.? Are you saying the events listed are worse than that?
US-Centric? Wow what else were you expecting from a list titled 'Worst Moments in US History?'
This is not a list about world history so I'm guessing that the writer was not trying to say any of the historical incidences listed were better/worse than the ones you listed. Rather, they were trying to demonstrate particularly nasty moments in the history of the United States… again, that's the USA, not the world.
@Emmett Brown (12):
Thank you for your insight. [/not]
@Jack (13):
I sincerely doubt it was racist in nature. The only people that particularly dislike Pakistanis are Indians. I can’t imagine anyone else in the world – American or otherwise – having a specific dislike for Pakistanis.
Me thinks that ghost is an astonishing idiot..having no other intentions other than spreading hate n filth..get lost moron..listverse is no place for you
Wheres Tuskegee? The KKK? LA Riots? Oklahoma bombing? Waco?
@Emmett Brown (12): Sorry but USA literally controls the world and it is the only superpower today…whether you like it or not,the lives of many people in the world depend directly or indirectly on what USA thinks and acts.
Dont forget the Ruskies!
For you folks who don't get it, the Russians.
To me the racist and hateful group the KKK and the atrocities they committed is by far the worst thing that has ever happened to the US.
You're kidding, right? The Klan faded quickly… The worst thing in American history will occur within the next decade if the citizens don't wake up….SOCIALISM…. it's happening to them by textbook definition, and the people aren't even noticing….shame, I liked America…..
Between makework programs and farm subsidies, the US has been semisocialist since the 1930s. It hasn'r grown much more socialist, it's just that pundits sling the scary 'S' word around more now. Before they would have said communist but even the idiots who believe in the socialism boogeyman find the idea that the US is in fact going communist harder to swallow.
Am I the only one that noticed Obama is not on this list?
Big ups!
Also, the dropping of the bomb was probably the most morally courageous act a President has ever made EVER. If the US hadn’t dropped the 2 bombs and instead invaded Japan the fanatical Japanese would have fought to the last man, killing hundreds of thousands of US soldiers. Dropping the bomb was the lesser of 2 evils and a totally justifiable act.
So killing about 200,000 CIVILLIANS (Not to mention the generations of deformed children due to radiation) is "the lesser of 2 evils" in order to save a few thousand SOLDIERS?
Change “few thousand” to “few million” and you’ve got it.
Yes, agreed.
I mean agreed that dropping the bomb was the RIGHT thing to do.
you keep forgetting that wars are fought between armys and soldiers not armys with a-bombs and civilians…
You keep forgetting that Japan was willing to fight to the last man, woman, and child. Japan rejected our peace offers and prepared for an invasion which even the most conservative estimates say would have cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of allied troops and millions of Japanese soldiers and civilians. Japan as a culture could have been beaten so far down it may have never risen again.
Compare that to 200,000 civilians dead. Sad, but necessary. As someone else said before, war is hell.
Wow your ignorance amazes me. Japanese culture during the Second World War was not that much different than the Samurai. It was a honor to die and I bet you every man woman and child would've wielded a weapon and fought. It would've been an unbelievable death toll. Like said before since when is war between two armies it's always been cruel and if you can't realize that don't say anything.
I don't like that we dropped the bomb but it was necessary. My father was a nuclear engineer and he told me of the power of a a-bomb.
I dare you to try to go back and change history if you could. Nuclear wars would've happened sometime after that it was inevitable. Hiroshima and Nagasaki's destruction was the only reason why full on nuclear war didn't happen between U.S. and Russia because they saw the affects.
And I love how some Americans are still believing 60-year old propaganda rhetoric about how the savage Asians were determined to kill any and all Americans they came across. Tell me, were the children and babies interred in the camps across America also a threat to the American way, because of their 'evil' Japanese culture?
Yeah because you know, the Japanese didn't attack civilians in the countries they invaded(the Rape of Nanking), shoot our medics on the field(a practice not seen in the European theatre), and surprise attack us when we never would've gone to war. More civilians would have died in an invasion anyways.
This is a very tough subject. I am caught in the middle. It was a terrible thing to do, but it was the only way.
this list really says something about humanity. and especially white people. i just ask myself, how can one group of people decide that another group is soo evil, that the only way to handle them is to completeleey exterminate them, discounting the fact that they cant even defend themselves against you.
Which incident are you referring to? Our treatment of the Indians, which I agree was terrible and worthy of shame. Or our fight against Japan, which was unfortunate but totally their fault.
oh, and still have the peace to sleep at night. i just know that if it was me, i couldnt kill someone for no reason.
excellent myth-busting article about the vietnam war:
http://www.lindasog.com/military/vietnam.htm
@Giantshredder (21): YES you are.
McCarthyism is at it’s fullest in china…
December 13, 2000
The worst moment in American history is when this list was published!!!!!!!!!
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Taaz doesn’t like white people. lol.
I guess we could add the attitude towards Latin America as a whole.
If Japan had ended WW2 by obliterating LA and San Francisco, would anyone hail it as “a morally courageous act”, or would it be decried by what was left of the USA as the two biggest single acts of mass murder in the history of the world?
Populations of LA and SF =/= Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
And if the USA had attacked Japan first and then, when surrounded by dozens of nations *****ed off at you for some of the worst atrocities seen in modern war just begging to attack, denied multiple peace offerings, and swore to fight to the last man, woman, and child, then yes, I would consider it a morally courageous act.
My friends,war is always tragic and it is humbling when one thinks that no weapon ever created by the mind of man has been too terrible to use on our fellow man. We Americans faced a difficult choice in 1945. While the atomic bomb was built to be used on Hitler’s Nazi war machine they were beaten before the weapon was finished. There was a strong chance that the bomb would never be used, and then the invasion of the territorial islands of Japan occured. Any fair minded reading of the Battle of Okinawa will show that nearly 1/4 of the Okinawans were killed and nearly 90 percent of their building were destroyed. After three years of intense war the battle hardened leadership of the American Army,Navy, and Marines were looking at the soul chilling realization that invading the home islands of Japan would mean casualties in the two to four hundred thousand range. The decision to use the atomic bomb was not made lightly, nor was it made solely on the basis of saving American lives. Would Japan have recovered as quickly as it did to take it’s place in the first rank of civilized nations if America had to wage an Okinawa-style invasion? As an American and a human being I take no pride from knowing only my nation has used this weapon in war. Can we not, as we are all brothers and sisters, dedicate ourselves to making the world a place where people of differenct beliefs and faiths can live togeter in mutual respect and peace?
All great nations have “worst moments.” the united states of america is no different. But neither is britain or spain or china. And a great deal more. @ 23 you are a parasite quite obviously. only a cancerous little growth would veiw the slaughter and mis-placement of native people compared to the betterment of europeans as nothing. lol so very european of you. shall i slay some natives for you pleasure my lord? worm….
@Gregory (18):
Tuskegee is hardly a “moment”.
@Gregory (20):
The KKK is hardly a “moment”.
@ULMFLB (33):
Neither is that a “moment”.
@taaz (24):
You’re incredibly ignorant if you think such things have been restricted to only white people.
@astraya (34):
Go ask some Chinese who had relatives from World War II what they think.
Only 10?
Quite a fair list.
dont know about its authenticity but i am hearing that 9/11 was done by american goverment itself?? cant it not be said that the worst moment of american history was caused by american goevernment? I may not be correct…i am just saying wat i have read on internet
That's a conspiracy theory that few people pay attention to. The US government is far too incompetent to pull off a deception of that scale and complexity lol.
@BravehisTickle (19): have you ever heard of china?? Well just look whats written on about everything you own.
I would agree with gregory about the kkk but i would also include nixon as a bonus and probably the support given to dictatorial regims just to spike ussr. Pretty good list. And america’s finest was a good list as well. I dont think love for ones country means that we have to agree with all the bad policies that country has supported
@jfrater: hey what about those submarine stories??
after apologising, for not finding any WMD, to the world and to the iraqi civilians, is america going to repay the damages it has caused in the country?
Apologising may happen in a few generations, and we are already in the process of repairing the country. Which quite frankly seems ridiculous after doing such a thorough job of blowing it to bits.
im pretty sure all they did was make big rocks into smaller ones. I gues the US could send them a couple ships full of big rocks
You're kidding right? Having nearly the entire U.S. military's engineering corps rebuilding far better than it was under Sadam, new hospitals, power and electricity were they didn't have it before, schools, roads, etc, doesn't count as "repaying the damages".
Wow, the comments…
The list is ok in my opinion, but my knowledge of the USA is not terribly big, especially pre-1900 history… so I can’t say whether this list is ‘true’. Regardless, worst/best lists are and will always be biased, so…
Americans are dumba*ssws. Its simple and I am american and I am native american. I think the trail of tears is the saddest but maybe because I am judging how stupid it is to make people leave their own land so some snooty a** peopple can raise their ignorant a** kids. Look what america is @ now. Its s sh*t.
well lets see if a "native american" can fix america with a little dance. and maybe we can pretend that different native tribes didnt fight eachother stealing land, food, and women. how about that sh*t
Hey you know in america you don't have to censor yourself…nobody is going to come busting down your door ready to haul you off to some remote prison camp…..so you can chill with the *****ing asterisks. Be grateful that you live in the greatest country on earth.
uselss savage injan, stfu
@Arsnl (40):
Aaaargh. What’s with the submarine stories dude??
@El the erf (44): jfrater once said that he was trained by an ex-nuclear submarine commander and that he told some great stories. I think it would be interresting to read about them. This guy runned such complex system. You dont get many chances to hear about these things
where’s dubiya?
How can you have a list on the worst moments in American history and not include the assasination of your own president???!!
Unbelievable!
Good call, JFK's assassination definitely deserves to be up hear because of what it did to the country. Lincoln's too, but there wasn't as much of an emotional impact to the American people then.
@Giantshredder: I’d love to hear you say that where it counts.
I wonder if those people who claim the atomic bomb was justified have an informed opinion on Nagasaki as opposed to Hiroshima. At a stretch, the latter could be justified, but the former was an act of mass murder with no reasonable justification.
Incidentally, the only remaining sticking point at the time on a surrender treaty was the position of the Emperor and some Korean territories. This idea that the Japanese would have “fought to the last man” is a myth peddled so people can sleep at night.
A comment born of ignorance. Look at the battle of Okinawa if you doubt the japanese people's willingess to die for thier country. Or the fact that the vast majority of Japanese soldiers killed themselves rather then surrender after a battle.
The Emperor and Navy minister were the ONLY ones willing to surrender. The war cabinet refused Potsdam, and sealed their fate.
A myth? Look at this quote from the War Journal of the Imperial Headquarters:
"We can no longer direct the war with any hope of success. The only course left is for Japan's one hundred million people to sacrifice their lives by charging the enemy to make them lose the will to fight."
Korean territories? Are you kidding me.
Anyone who claims to have "the facts" and claims the Japanese going to make themselves look like an idiot. Which you have just done.
I like cake
I agree, cake is good.
The cake is a lie!
good list! americans have some really *****ty moments in their history.
“How can you have a list on the worst moments in American history and not include the assasination of your own president???!!”
one man as apose to the injustice many people and races have had to endure to poor government decission really dosent stack up in my opinion
"as apose to"?
I think you mean "as opposed to".
What about the time when Fonzie jumped the shark? That was a pretty awful moment.
May this murdering nation hang its head in shame! (unfortunatly its not the only nation to have to do this but it is the ultimate evil member of the gang)
Pretty damn pathetic, even as internet comments go. America has made mistakes but none even come close to those made by other nations. Consider China, Russia, Germany, North Korea, nations which in the past have done things America would never consider and in the case of China and North Korea are still in the process of doing. American influence has, taken as a whole, done more good than bad.
Look up Unit 731. Look up the Holocaust. Look up the Great Leap Forward. Look up Stalin's atrocities in post WW2 Russia. Look up the history of practically any nation on earth.
In comparison, the US is possibly the LEAST evil.
@Giantshredder (21): +1 for this. )
@Chris (49): Dropping atomic bomb on Japan was justified. It’s just too very easy now to judge people who did it. But they’re was strong men, not like today, all humanist and weak (arab-terrorists are good guys, let’s talk with them, and they will understand.) Sure…
I hope they’ll do the same with Iran.
Can I say that I was really against america after the nuclear bombings (which I don’t think is jusified at all and is the worst thing in us history) but all these american hating people online you all a bunch of *****ers yes america has lots of faults (which some americans can’t seem to admit) but so does every other country in the world
Why can’t everyone just calm down you know everyone thinks raciasm is bad but no one thinks that hating a specific country is bad…I think they are about equal
Cheers
What is your rationale against the bombing of japan. Would you have preferred a bloody invasion that costs the lives of millions and destroyed the Japanese entirely? Overall though, you're right of course.
What is your rationalization of bombing Nagasaki? Wouldn't they have surrendered after Hiroshima itself? Defending evil will make you evil yourself.
@Arsnl (40): Me is not talking about what one is owning or the market as you are implying..but in general the whole situation of the world and the lives of the people are intertwined with the decisions of USA
@Chris (49): Me thinks you are right,the second dropping of the bomb was in fact
‘targeted mass murder’ ..so there you are.
the columbine massacre.
@Ba5tarD (55): You are a fascist bigot and pseudo- patriot..bet if you were attacked you’d turn tail and run away..humph..to talk of brave,strong men..
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me!
Haha, it didn’t take that long for someone to post this list.
I must say despite the perception that it was hastily written (as it was posted right after the heels of the other list)this list is nonetheless fairly well researched for the (controversial) topic at hand.
Not bad.
@BravehisTickle (59): I spend 3 of my army years in Gaza and saw a lot of stuff. And I didn’t “turned my tail and run away”. So actually I’m fascist Israel agressor. And before that I saw another war – in Karabakh, when I was about 9 years old. Call me as you wish. I don’t give a *****. But if you’re blaming U.S. for dropping those bombs, I don’t think you’re actually remember what WAR is.
P.S. And yeah, I start every morning with a big hot cup of Palestinian’s babies blood. It’s like energy drink, you know.
@max (41):
America has already funneled billions and billions of dollars into Iraq. Even when we didn’t even have any money back home.
@Jessica Rabbit (43):
Why should we listen to a self-proclaimed dumbass such as yourself?
@amadee (54):
I’d like to know what country you’re from.
"America has already funneled billions and billions of dollars into Iraq. Even when we didn't even have any money back home."
That's okay, we'll make it up in all the billions of dollars of oil were getting out of the deal.
Oh wait.
I don’t like the way you biased *****s on here judge america knowing that if it wasn’t for us a lot of you would still be third world countries.
especially the british with all the atrocities your own country has.
@Ba5tarD (62): Yer going to Hell,ye miserable pathetic man remember this..ye may think it as a joke and snigger and snort all you want at what I say..anyways it’s not your fault,your parents brought you up like this..
as aunt marge says-’when somethin’s wrong with the ***** you can’t blame the pup.’
yeah and if you think that’s offensive look at your own statement..