I've been watching America: The Story of the US, which pretty much goes through the entire history of America and ends at the present day (with Obama getting elected). I find American history fascinating - the speeches by Washington (Declaration of Independence) and Lincoln (Gettysburg Address) are absolutely godly, and always make me emotional every time I hear them. Do Americans think their history is wonderful? As a British man in Northern Ireland, and I don't particularly think my own Irish/British history is that interesting, although I'm not sure if that's because its my own history or because it's not as interesting as other histories.
I watched that entire series, from the first to the last and I'm really proud of our history. :) There were faults here and there (Veitnam), but no one's history is perfect.
Listen to Churchill's speeches during wartime, those are quite impressive. But you are correct, Lincoln was an amazing orator. Our history, like British history, is full of impressive accomplishments but also some shameful acts. But nonetheless, it is an interesting history.
I like american history, apart from the native american elements the history of the U.S, is very interesting and inspiring. A lot of the people landing in America had nothing and in the case of the Irish during the famine they were lucky to arrive at all, lots died on the way in coffin ships.
Considering how short the history of the actual United States of America part of American history is, I'd say it's got about as many interesting moments per length of time as any other country. And as someone who's interesting in economics, the development of United States' monetary policy has always been particularly interesting to me.
As politically indoctrinated as America's youth is, I not sure anyone knows how history.
Uhh, lemme see if I get this right, Jesus created America, the indians gave us land in exchange for turkey and we saved the world from hitler.
Blue-Sky
:lol: But in all seriousness, our history is definitely interesting... I feel we are in and plunging deeper into an even darker part of our story right now though...
I must say I find your historic characters very intrigung, but the history itself is nothing special.
Damn right nothing special. We believe in tradition here in the states. We've succeeded in keeping the historical method of advancement/creation of new societies going with our own birth and damn if it does not feel good.
I must say I find your historic characters very intrigung, but the history itself is nothing special.
CreasianDevaili
Damn right nothing special. We believe in tradition here in the states. We've succeeded in keeping the historical method of advancement/creation of new societies going with our own birth and damn if it does not feel good.
You mean screwing other countries for oil and taking a crap in mexico every once in a while?
I must say I find your historic characters very intrigung, but the history itself is nothing special.
Damn right nothing special. We believe in tradition here in the states. We've succeeded in keeping the historical method of advancement/creation of new societies going with our own birth and damn if it does not feel good.
You mean screwing other countries for oil and taking a crap in mexico every once in a while?
I find many parts of it very interesting. I've never really studied other countries histories in depth, whereas I've at least taken an AP class and researched the history of the United States on my own time, so I don't really have anything to compare it to though.
not really a history to be proud of the way they treated black people and the indians all the way up to now, and dont forget Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Iraq, they better solve there own problems instead of investing money in war etc.
not really a history to be proud of the way they treated black people and the indians all the way up to now, and dont forget Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Iraq, they better solve there own problems instead of investing money in war etc.DarthRoel
america has a facinating history. expecially for how brief it is compared to the rest of the world. so yes, i am proud of our history, even though there are some shameful bits like slavery and the indians and the near extinction of the buffalo
There are parts I like and parts that utterly disgust me. I do somewhat admire men like Washington, despite them being slave owners. I think we should just forget about Christopher Columbus... or at least do away with that joke of a holiday.
not really a history to be proud of the way they treated black people and the indians all the way up to now, and dont forget Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Iraq, they better solve there own problems instead of investing money in war etc.DarthRoel
Every country has committed horrible atrocities. Even then, some Native American tribes allied with Europeans to wipe out some other rival tribes. And black slavers also existed too, enslaving other black people. Absolutely horrible, I know, but the blame shouldn't lie with any particular country or group of people, but rather humanity. If given the power, we can be very cruel and brutal. I'm always thankful how today, we no longer have such tribalistic thinking.
I have a History degree and American history and WWII history were always my favorites. I am admittedly an American but just find our history more interesting than most.
I find it pretty interesting. I think the attractive factor about it is that it is easy to understand and easy to follow. Compare it to the history of England and you will understand what I mean. American history is still so very recent and almost everything that happened still has a visible impact today. It also gives you a great perspective on how a country forms and goes through highs and lows and develops over time. I also find the development of the government very interesting, as if you take a few actions that some presidents like Washington did, you would realize that the country would be extremely different than what it is today.
not really a history to be proud of the way they treated black people and the indians all the way up to now, and dont forget Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Iraq, they better solve there own problems instead of investing money in war etc.DarthRoel
I am exceedingly grateful historians and teachers don't take your view on this. Every country on earth has dark blemishes in their past. Does that mean they shouldn't be proud of their history as well?
A colony controlled by the largest empire of all time becomes the worlds largest super power in 200 years ........ not to mention all the social/economic/political issues we faced. I just find it sad to see how a lot of people take **** for granted and don't understand what it means to be an American. I also don't mean that BS modern view, I mean the old 18th/19th century view.
I think American history is very interesting, I remember when I was a kid I was always confused as to why people found it so boring. Some of the speeches given by presidents were incredibly epic and its a shame a fair amount of Americans have never bothered to listen to them. The Gettysburg Address in particular gets me every time I hear it especially when you consider how hopelessly divided the country seemed during that period. It all makes our current issues seem small in comparision to what they faced.
As someone with Native American strongly in the family history, I have a darker view of the countries past. 1- Kill a bunch of dark people 2- Enslave a bunch of dark people 3- Get dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age.
[QUOTE="RandoIph"]As someone with Native American strongly in the family history, I have a darker view of the countries past. 1- Kill a bunch of dark people 2- Enslave a bunch of dark people 3- Get dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age. How did England become England? Slowly, over centuries, one small proto-English group becomes bigger and bigger until it smashes and envelopes another, and another, and another, until that group barely even exists in the histories. Everyone but the ultimate winners get obliterated in every locale, the only this that makes NA different is the recentness and comprehensive documentation of it all.
[QUOTE="RandoIph"] 3- Get dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age. ...come again? America has always been at the forefront of such things, alongside Britain.
[QUOTE="Verge_6"][QUOTE="RandoIph"] 3- Get dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age. ...come again? America has always been at the forefront of such things, alongside Britain. I think he was referring to them dragging the natives kicking and screaming.
[QUOTE="Verge_6"][QUOTE="RandoIph"] 3- Get dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age.dsmccracken
...come again? America has always been at the forefront of such things, alongside Britain. I think he was referring to them dragging the natives kicking and screaming. Well, he's listing off the actions of the US rather than those of the Native Americans.
[QUOTE="dsmccracken"][QUOTE="Verge_6"] ...come again? America has always been at the forefront of such things, alongside Britain.Verge_6
I think he was referring to them dragging the natives kicking and screaming. Well, he's listing off the actions of the US rather than those of the Native Americans. Maybe, but that's what I think he was referring to.
The U.S. does have an interesting history, but I've always been more fascinated with the history of Europe and Asia since it goes back by a thousand years and even more as opposed to our 235 years.
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