The most important date in U.S. history?

[OakWood]

 

[Guest]

Amen~!

 

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15 (NIV)

[Rodion_Raskolnikov_]

 

 

OakWood! This is great! This is an angle I had not considered, honestly. I do not disagree. in fact, I agree.

Thank you for my further education.

Reflecting, though...we can say the same about any number of what if's. The Spanish Admiral dying, then being replaced with a (decidedly incomparable) substitute, and the English naval officers, recognizing this, taking advantage of the situation...and then (!) the storm that "finished off" the Spanish Armada....Plus, Ferdinand never took his time to begin with. He could have used his superior position with the church and royals, not to mention his superior position with economy as it pertained to the trade routes...but, he didn't. Ferdinand rushed things. Because of "the Virgin Queen", and Mary, probably. Yet, he still rushed. He didn't have to. All this leads up to a series of events that can't be pinned down to one date. We might as well consider Mary's execution "the most important date". Or, Elizabeth's coronation "the most important date".

We could also speculate that if Knig George hadn't been (literally) insane the British would have won. Well, they probably would have. Any number of circumstances could have changed the direction of American history, or any history. If the fog had led Washington astray over the Potomic...If someone had failed to light the lamps for Paul Revere (if Paul Revere was saddle sore that night?)...If Andrew Jackson had been killed by the bullet that struck his ribs (and then shot back, and killed, the other man in his duel), If Andrew Jackson hadn't had his Tennessee squirrel hunters on the Bayou to repress British troops landing...if, if, if...

The Civil War was mentioned. In one of the first great battles of the Civil War a Confederate general was killed. He was shot in the leg by a stray bullet in a battle that he had tried to avoid. His (stupid) scouts, and even more inept captain, had begun the confrontation absent of his approval. He was considered one of the greatest military commanders for the South. If he hadn't been killed the war might have gone differently. All this might have come down to the fact that a lesser officer was trying to "rise above his station". But, it still led to a stray bullet hitting the commander in the leg. I believe this was the battle of Shiloh, in Tennessee. It's been (more than a few years) since I've been into this. So, please forgive me if I'm mistaken and I won't be offended at any correction. What I do know is that one of the greatest Confederate military minds was killed by a stray bullet in his leg in a battle that could have been avoided, in a battle that he tried to avoid, at the beginning of the Civil War.

Once again, Oakwood. I love this piece of education. And, you did educate me. I knew some (in fact, a lot) of this but I had never put it together in such a way. That being said...there is a multitude of potential possibilities that would lead to a different outcome, if changed.

I don't think you can pin down American history, or any history by any single act and/or any single date.

For that matter...Imagine how British history would have differed if the maid of Orleons had been struck by any stray arrow. Or, if the French had been intelligent enough to not encumber themselves with armor, heavier than themselves, upon a muddy battlefield terrain. The latter not being part of Joan d'Arc (just so I'm not misunderstood).

What if Napoleon had listened to his advisers and 'not' invaded Russia? Considering Napoleon...how would we now consider the Sphynx without defacing? What if that catalyst (whatever it was, wine barrel or not) had not happened that caused the inflammation that led to the storming of the Bastille? All of present human history, when you consider Robespierre and the "elnightenment" crowd, could have been altered by something as simple as a barrel of wine at just the right time. Certainly the history of France. Modern atheism might owe its affirmation to some lazy sot that couldn't tie a simple knot on a wagon. Ha! I never thought of that before I'll have to use that at another time.

Once again, OakWood. I thank you for the education. Once again, you did educate me. However, I think it's impossible to pin down the exact time of any culmination of events. It's a "culmination" of events. Not just any one particular date, and time (or circumstance).