My 6 Picks

Ok, so for my new class I have to pick six events of US History that were major turning points.

Without doing any reading or research - just using my own thoughts, these are my picks and why. I have seven, and can't part with any of them.

Establishment of the House of Burgesses

Although they were rich, white, male and land holding, they were representatives and set up the first representative government in the New World. And they are still up and running (now called the General Assembly). And they are still mostly rich, white and male!


Revolution
This is kind of a "duh!" pick. Of course, we didn't really win the revolution as much as the British lost it, but still, it was a major turning point. Of note, the British were an organized traditional bunch determined to squash those rebellious insurgents, mostly unorganized and rag tag soldiers with little experience on the matters of war. (Kind of sounds familiar).


LA Purchase -- that is Louisiana Purchase. I may be biased on this one, but it expanded our territory immensely. I am biased due to my reverence for Mr. Jefferson, but I don't think our country was the same after it as they were before - which is a turning point.

Civil War
Another "Duh." It tested whether we would be a unified group of states or two separate unified groups of states. Sometimes I think we should have gone with the two - especially when I think of South Carolina.

WWI
This, not the Spanish American war, in my opinion, really put the US on the map - the world map that is. We for the first time really showed the world that we had a strong military and strong leaders. Not only that, but good old Woody Wilson tried to effect the lasting peace with his Fourteen Points. Perhaps had the world listened to him more closely, we could have avoided the next one:

WWII
I pick this war because of the dramatic changes to government, diplomacy, and society that took place as a result. I don't include the whole greatest generation thing, although that is nice. Diplomacy changed - ushered in the Cold War, women's roles changed, racism --err the spotlight on it as wrong changed, and the way we look to our government (GI Bill, Marshall Plan) really changed. Oh, and music and Hollywood changed, too!

Civil Rights Movement
When I teach this I call it the Civil Rights War. I set the beginning with the development of the NAACP and the growth of the KKK. The peak of lynching, the deaths associated with Freedom Summer, Emmett Till, MLK, Malcolm X, and marches being the campaigns along the way. It also influenced and was influenced by the Women's movement and the so-called sexual revolution.

So, that is it, what I picked and I'd like to hear some commentary - I am sure I've left off some glaring thing, or included something **wrong** This was relatively easy for me, but the World History section won't be I am sure.