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My vote would go to an event which was subsumed under World War II in the poll, namely the development of the atomic bomb and its explosion in the remote mountains of New Mexico in July of 1945. On the day of that explosion human history changed forever. Henceforth humanity had the capacity to destroy itself and things would never be quite the same. Of course this transcends United States history in the sense that its impact was world-wide, but it was an event directly brought about by the U.S. Government utilizing labs and processing plants on U.S. soil. (Yes, I recognize that the cast of scientific characters was international.) Since almost all of us participating in this forum are too young to have had a consciousness formed before the atomic bomb, we may tend to forget just what a monumental event its creation was.
There are 2 events that arent on your list that I think had profound effects on The USA. Maybe not THE most important. But important nontheless.
The advent of antibiotics was important for obvious reasons.
The advent of Rural Free Delivery[RFD] opened up a world of knowledge to peoples who before had only limited ways to learn about events that were shaping the world around them.
The creation of the income tax in 1913. There have really been two Americas. Before 1913 it was unique in history with low taxes and light-handed gov't. For example when the FBI was created around 1919, Congress was still so attuned to the idea of limited gov't that the first FBI agents were not even allowed to carry guns. They were supposed to enlist the help of local police if they had a situation where guns were required. Today that would be ludicrous. Even the federal Dept of Education has armed agents.
After 1913, the federal governent started growing like a weightlifter on steroids, and still shows no signs of having hit its limits.
My vote would go to an event which was subsumed under World War II in the poll, namely the development of the atomic bomb and its explosion in the remote mountains of New Mexico in July of 1945. On the day of that explosion human history changed forever. Henceforth humanity had the capacity to destroy itself and things would never be quite the same.
It is not at all certain, nor even likely, that the use of atomic weaponry has enabled humanity to destroy itself. And, the same atomic intelligence has been used to generate electrical power and make significant strides in medicine. Quite possibly already offsetting any harm that it has done.
No matter what we do with atomic bombs, it is extremely likely that some humans, if not most of them, will survive and carry on. Maybe even philosophically the better for the experience. It is possible that even learning how to put carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will come closer to extirpating humans, than learning to detonate nuclear arms.
The Spanish-American war isn't listed in the poll, but it stands out as one of the most salient and far-reaching events in American history. It marked a dramatic shift in American foreign policy from a non-interventionist power to that of an expansionist power with a global reach. The war gave America it's first major acquisitions by conquest outside of the continental US. For advocates of manifest destiny and American expansionism, it was as, one bureaucrat put it, "a splendid little war."
It was as though America had lost its innocence and moved into the arena with the big boys. The war was quickly followed by Theodore Roosevelt's show of force with gunboat diplomacy. Involvement in two world wars followed, and America now stands as the global colossus. However, in a sense, it is hamstrung by it's own success, unable to relinquish the reins of global policeman.
The question included what singular event of all time. Not just an event in the US. I know the printing press is almost obsolete, as is the land line telephone and mail service.
Ben Franklin used the printing press to share the news and views of the times. As did many other printers. It's just my opinion.
Probably no document served more as a catalyst for American independence than Thomas Paine's 48-page pamphlet Common Sense. It was a printing phenomenon, selling 120,000 copies in three months. Nothing previously had so motivated the colonist's desire for independence from England.
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