Name the top 5-10 pivotal moments in American political history

[Dolemite 143]

18 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

California gold rush.  Mass migration within the country and immigration from dirty foreigners outside right at the peak of whether new states would be free or slave states.

Oregon made their choice:

 

Quote

The Oregon black exclusion laws were attempts to prevent black people from settling within the borders of the settlement and eventual U.S. state of Oregon. The first such law took effect in 1844, when the Provisional Government of Oregon voted to exclude all black settlers from Oregon's borders. The law authorized a punishment for any black settler remaining in the territory to be whipped with "not less than twenty nor more than thirty-nine stripes" for every six months they remained.^[1] Additional laws aimed at African Americans entering Oregon were ratified in 1849 and 1857.^[2] The last of these laws was repealed in 1926.^[3] The laws, born of anti-slavery and anti-black beliefs,^[2][4] were often justified as a reaction to fears of blacks instigating Native American uprisings.^[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_black_exclusion_laws

[Dolemite 143]

On 5/22/2018 at 11:04 PM, Rex Kramer said:

Revolution Era deserves more than a mere passing mention. 

I wonder from time to time what it would be like if America had remained part of the British Empire. No Civil War, likely no WW1, so no WW2. Probably war with Spain to take Mexico and the South West.

 

[bolverk 29,684]

3 minutes ago, Dolemite said:

I wonder from time to time what it would be like if America had remained part of the British Empire. No Civil War, likely no WW1, so no WW2. Probably war with Spain to take Mexico and the South West.

 

I don't know about those particular events, but I do agree that it's a fascinating thought-experiment. What if the Colonies and the King/Parliament had reached a compromise? Would the eastern US have essentially become a Canada-like outpost? Would colonization have spilled over the Appalachian Mountains, leaving the interior to the Indians? Would Mexico and several other Latin American countries have been inspired to declare their own independence against Spain?

[Dolemite 143]

1 minute ago, bolverk said:

I don't know about those particular events, but I do agree that it's a fascinating thought-experiment. What if the Colonies and the King/Parliament had reached a compromise? Would the eastern US have essentially become a Canada-like outpost? Would colonization have spilled over the Appalachian Mountains, leaving the interior to the Indians? Would Mexico and several other Latin American countries have been inspired to declare their own independence against Spain?

The British were about ruthless as you could find back then and they would have gotten rid of all the Indians and blacks beat the hell out of Mexico and France. 

[bolverk 29,684]

3 minutes ago, Dolemite said:

The British were about ruthless as you could find back then and they would have gotten rid of all the Indians and blacks beat the hell out of Mexico and France. 

And, yet, they were still defeated by a ragtag uprising with naval support by the French (at least in our timeline).

Mexico and the Indian nations were largely defeated by a swelling American population fed by waves of European immigrants IMHO. Do those immigrants still arrive on these shores if the Colonies were still "colonies"?

[Dolemite 143]

Would make a good movie. 

[Michael Knight 12,988]

Election of 1912

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

The decision to allow the Southern states to keep slaves at the forming of the country.  It was done in the sake of expediency in order to fight the British but they gave the South everything they wanted in regards to the issue.  We've felt the ramifications of that even to this day.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,819]

May have been mentioned but ending Bretton-Woods in 1971 was a pretty big deal.

Edited May 24, 2018 by Judge Roybeanbag

[The People’s Elbow 707]

War on Drugs and the eventual, domestic War on Terrorism. These have framed over time our cities and neighborhoods as battlegrounds on which domestic law enforcement are soldiers. I think thats a very recent data point for how the relationship between state and citizen continues to further degrade. 

[TahoeHorn 107]

There were three times in our history when our nation would have been lost had things not gone well (internal factors): Valley Forge, Constitutional Convention, Civil War.  George saved us twice and Abe the other.  Had we not had them we'd have almost surely been screwed.

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

The invention of air conditioning is severely underrated in my opinion.

[Parliament 14,260]

Yeah, why do we need to discuss only politics?  If we're expanding:

The commercialization of the Haber-Bosch process in 1919.  It was a cheaper, easier way to produce commercial nitrogen that was used to DRAMATICALLY improve crop yields.   They US became a food-exporting powerhouse.  And all nations could build bombs cheaper.

Shale fracking.  In the early 00's, the US was beginning to need imported NG and/or replacement energy sources.  We were about to become MORE dependent on foreign despots for oil and gas.  Then some smart people figured out how to get O&G from shale deposits in TX, ND and northern Appalachia.  Today we are a net exporter of NG and refined fuels.  It is a HUGE swing from 15 years ago.  And I don't think our political leaders recognize the power it gives us.

 

[Brisketexan 105,154]

Quote

In 1961, the American plastic surgeons Thomas Cronin and Frank Gerow, and the Dow Corning Corporation, developed the first silicone breast prosthesis, filled with silicone gel; in due course, the first augmentation mammoplasty was performed in 1962 using the Cronin–Gerow Implant, prosthesis model 1963. 

Those things can destroy empires.

[lemonlime 5,503]

Nomination of Sarah Palin as VP.  Legitimized the idiocracy and led to the end of country.

[JBJ 3,655]

The Loiusiana Purchase has to be the number one non-war, non-politics event.

Amendments 12-17 drastically alter the political framework from that of the consitution.  I'd argue the 16th has the most impact on society.

[Guest]

What about going to the moon?

Can we quantify what that meant both scientifically and for the psyche of a nation?

[Brisketexan 105,154]

21 minutes ago, slorch said:

What about going to the moon?

Can we quantify what that meant both scientifically and for the psyche of a nation?

Nothing.  Because....

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

11 hours ago, bolverk said:

And, yet, they were still defeated by a ragtag uprising with naval support by the French (at least in our timeline).

Mexico and the Indian nations were largely defeated by a swelling American population fed by waves of European immigrants IMHO. Do those immigrants still arrive on these shores if the Colonies were still "colonies"?

The French fought proxy wars for America with England all over the globe during the rev war years. They stretched the British military support and supply system and kept the Brits from being able to focus full attention to the colonies.  

Had the British been able to focus full attention to the rev war there would be no USA Today in all probability..

[bolverk 29,684]

1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

The French fought proxy wars for America with England all over the globe during the rev war years. They stretched the British military support and supply system and kept the Brits from being able to focus full attention to the colonies.  

Had the British been able to focus full attention to the rev war there would be no USA Today in all probability..

Yeah, that's a really good point.

[Jiggy-Z 3,432]

The stealing of the 1945 VP nomination from Henry Wallace (FDR's current VP and choice for VP). Big labor replaced him as the nominee in an 11th hour shady DNC deal to put in place puppet bumpkin Henry S. Truman while FDR was absent from the convention due to illness.  FDR dies a few months later.  Truman drops the bomb, bungles his way into the cold war. Rest is history.

[gsoda3 3,263]

Help from the Netherlands and France during the R War. Without either we're Canada.

 

The blockade against the Confederacy sending cotton to England. If we don't pull that off the war gets extended by years maybe and what happens after Lincoln gets assassinated?

 

Restricting oil to Japan preceding Pearl harbor.

 

Not electing romney in 2012, who was telling us Russia was a problem in 2007.

 

 

 

 

[Dolemite 143]

20 hours ago, bolverk said:

And, yet, they were still defeated by a ragtag uprising with naval support by the French (at least in our timeline).

Mexico and the Indian nations were largely defeated by a swelling American population fed by waves of European immigrants IMHO. Do those immigrants still arrive on these shores if the Colonies were still "colonies"?

I think England gave up more than they were beaten.

Don't think you would have had the mass migrations if America had not become independent.  

Edited May 25, 2018 by Dolemite

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

Repealing Glass Steagall.

Invading Iraq.  We're still dealing with the fallout and might be for more decades to come.

[Dolemite 143]

Manipulation by and collusion with extraterrestrials is the biggest event by far in the history of man, although that has not been generally acknowledged. 

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

5 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

Help from the Netherlands and France during the R War. Without either we're Canada.

 

The blockade against the Confederacy sending cotton to England. If we don't pull that off the war gets extended by years maybe and what happens after Lincoln gets assassinated?

 

Restricting oil to Japan preceding Pearl harbor.

 

Not electing romney in 2012, who was telling us Russia was a problem in 2007.

 

 

 

 

Romney would have been similar to Obama's second term and by that I mean he would have been a solid president with not much policy difference between the two. 

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

11 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Repealing Glass Steagall. 

Invading Iraq.  We're still dealing with the fallout and might be for more decades to come.

Invading Iraq was a top 10 pivotal event in all of American history ??   Viet Nam says hey if yer going  that route.

And you broke the rules Kimosabe.... internal events.

[Buzzrock 14,922]

When news outfits decided they had to turn a profit.

[David Dennison 18,922]

11 hours ago, lemonlime said:

Nomination of Sarah Palin as VP.  Legitimized the idiocracy and led to the end of country.

That started with Ronald Reagan.

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3,861]

Just now, David Dennison said:

That started with Ronald Reagan.

Boooo.  Reagan was a talented politician who surrounded himself with the best.  He wasn’t Einstein, but he proved you could get it done with other skills.  

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

When news outfits decided they had to turn a profit.

Or maybe when they traded journalism for editorial bullshit.  Then the drug of influencing public opinion kept them on the take, and they all turned into methheads.

Edited May 25, 2018 by slorch

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,976]

6 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

Help from the Netherlands and France during the R War. Without either we're Canada.

 

The blockade against the Confederacy sending cotton to England. If we don't pull that off the war gets extended by years maybe and what happens after Lincoln gets assassinated?

 

Restricting oil to Japan preceding Pearl harbor.

 

Not electing romney in 2012, who was telling us Russia was a problem in 2007.

 

 

 

 

Would Southern Cotton reaching England have made that big of a difference? I was under the impression that England didn't help the South more largely because they had India producing enough cotton for their needs.

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

24 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Invading Iraq was a top 10 pivotal event in all of American history ??   Viet Nam says hey if yer going  that route.

And you broke the rules Kimosabe.... internal events.

We're not done with Iraq yet.

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

9 minutes ago, SuingToGetAMessageBoard? said:

Boooo.  Reagan was a talented politician who surrounded himself with the best.  He wasn’t Einstein, but he proved you could get it done with other skills.  

Yeah, Reagan was the head of a union, two term governor of the largest state, and spent years writing well thought out position papers.  Sarah Palin was basically mayor of Leander.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

6 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

We're not done with Iraq yet.

Viet Nam was a larger cultural event for the nation than the Iraqi invasion IMO.

[David Dennison 18,922]

20 minutes ago, SuingToGetAMessageBoard? said:

Boooo.  Reagan was a talented politician who surrounded himself with the best.  He wasn’t Einstein, but he proved you could get it done with other skills.  

He was a good politician for sure. 

But he was an idiot who did long lasting damage to this country.

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Viet Nam was a larger cultural event for the nation than the Iraqi invasion IMO.

The draft, combined with civil rights movement in our own country coinciding with the Vietnam War would make me inclined to agree with you.

9-11 changed our country in a huge way too though.  Anyone born after 2001 hasn't known a time of peace in the Middle East, with regard to our military forces all being home or on " non-combat" duties abroad.

 

There were also 52000+ killed in Vietnam while around 7000 combined KIA have been attributed to Iraqi Freedom and the Afghani campaigns.

Edited May 25, 2018 by slorch

[deadshank 24,653]

45 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

That started with Ronald Reagan.

Nope. You're a poo flinging monkey. 

[deadshank 24,653]

22 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

He was a good politician for sure. 

But he was an idiot who did long lasting damage to this country.

You're still goofy.  

[bolverk 29,684]

47 minutes ago, slorch said:

The draft, combined with civil rights movement in our own country coinciding with the Vietnam War would make me inclined to agree with you.

9-11 changed our country in a huge way too though.  Anyone born after 2001 hasn't known a time of peace in the Middle East, with regard to our military forces all being home or on " non-combat" duties abroad.

 

There were also 52000+ killed in Vietnam while around 7000 combined KIA have been attributed to Iraqi Freedom and the Afghani campaigns.

I'm not going to take issue with your assessment that Civil Rights + Vietnam were more pivotal than Iraq, because I largely agree. I do, however, want to point out the KIA comparisons aren't entirely fair. An article I read a couple years ago touched on this and explained that our medical technologies have advanced enough that many of the casualties that were inflicted in Iraq would've resulted in deaths. Don't quote me on this, but I think they calculated a number close to 15,000-20,000 Iraqi war vets would've died with 1960s med tech. Still, it's less than half of Vietnam.

Edited May 25, 2018 by bolverk

[GopherRock 1,765]

Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad. Establishment of corporate personhood. Citizens United doesn't happen without this. 

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

9 hours ago, bolverk said:

I'm not going to take issue with your assessment that Civil Rights + Vietnam were more pivotal than Iraq, because I largely agree. I do, however, want to point out the KIA comparisons aren't entirely fair. An article I read a couple years ago touched on this and explained that our medical technologies have advanced enough that many of the casualties that were inflicted in Iraq would've resulted in deaths. Don't quote me on this, but I think they calculated a number close to 15,000-20,000 Iraqi war vets would've died with 1960s med tech. Still, it's less than half of Vietnam.

The Iraqi invasion is a border skirmish compared to the effects of Viet nam on our nation, history and culture.

Iraq gave us ISIS (maybe... maaaaaybe) but that's still a drop in the bucket to the effects of Viet fucking Nam maaaaaan.

[HenryJames 66,121]

Has Hugo Stiglitz signing up for Shaggy been mentioned yet?