4 Interesting Moments in American History

From just another British colony to the world’s lone super power, America has a lot of interesting history. Here however are four events in American history that I find especially historically interesting due to their influence on American culture or uniqueness.

The California Gold Rush is a period of time that seemed to confirm the now laughed at idea of Manifest Destiny. As the enterprising John Sutter sought to build a mill, his foreman stumbled across a handful of gold nuggets that would unleash a mass exodus of the California cities and a mass migration from all corners of the world. The Golden State would be born and American optimism was boundless. (One of the men who moved to California at this time to seek his fortune was a guy named Levi Strauss)

The Whiskey Rebellion was another interesting time. Aside from a great name, the Whiskey Rebellion was caused by farmers who resented a tax specifically on their products. As grain was hard to transport to market, farmers had learned to refine their raw material into a finished product that was smaller and easier to ship. President George Washington and his Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton (the tax was actually Hamilton’s idea), personally led the federal troops in to quash the rebellion.

Another great period in American history is the life of the forgotten great President, Teddy Roosevelt. He was the youngest President ever (JFK was the youngest elected) and quite the character. Though he was born (sickly) to a wealthy family, Roosevelt set out to live a manly life, a far cry from the pampered elite of today. A short run down of his bio: he doesn’t shoot a bear on a hunting trip thus the teddy bear, led the ‘Rough Riders’ in battle up San Juan Hill, he supposedly comments that Maxwell House coffee is ‘good to the last drop’, he finished a speech after being shot, he was the only sitting President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, was instrumental in founding the National Park System, and came up with the term White House. He was also a world traveled explorer and hunter.

I also have always been fascinated by the Great Depression. My grandparents all agreed that they didn’t see the big deal. They were eating from the toil of their own hands before, during, and after and saw little to get excited about. And no, none of them had much great to say about FDR. Regardless, the plight of the city folk and their search for work has always interested me. From the Grapes of Wrath to biographies of a young guy looking to find a job in radio (Ronald Reagan) the Depression was a time in American history unlike any other. Unless, of course, you were a poor farmer in West Virginia and nothing really changed.

While the Revolution and the Civil War were fascinating times, there are certainly many other interesting times in American history. A comprehensive list of them all would take a long time.