I've come up with the next thrilling GNABB list concept, but it may be a little while before it gets started because it takes some prep. There was a great History Channel documentary series put out awhile back called "10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America," and the premise is exactly what it sounds like. The series consisted of ten documentaries, each one hour and each directed by someone else so they had their own feel and style. Each documentary focused on one pivotal day. Obviously the documentaries discussed larger themes and events in American history, but the focal point was an event on a particular day. For instance, one great one that I show to my students every year is about the Homestead Strike at Carnegie's mill. The episode also covers broader history and development of industry during the Gilded Age and the growth of the labor movement, rightfully focusing on Homestead because that was a pivotal battle to determine who would be the dominant power, labor or management, during the Gilded Age and beyond.
Anyway, I thought I would expand it a bit and pick maybe 20 or 25 days throughout our history and discuss why they were so important. Haven't decided whether I want to actually rank them or just list them. Perhaps some of mine will overlap with the History Channel series, I'm not sure yet. Here are the ones used in the History Channel documentary: the massacre at Mystic during the Pequot War, Shay's Rebellion (that one has to be there), discovery of gold sparking the Gold Rush, Battle of Antietam, Homestead Strike, McKinley assassination, Scopes Trial, Einstein's letter to FDR sparking the Manhattan Project, Elvis appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show and the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. I'm not sure if they felt those were the most impotant ten days, or they just picked ten real important days that would make for interesting documentaries.
Anyway, that is my idea. More soon.
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4 comments:
I imagine the History Channel didn't think it was doing 10 most important days. Because Elvis on Ed Sullivan is awesome and all -- and important, I do believe -- but when it's alongside things like Antietam...
Anyway, can't wait to see your list. Get crackin'.
I don't know. Elvis on sullivan was about more than just the music. The doc does a good job of using it as a catalyst for the whole shift in youth culture leading into the 60s, bringing white youth closer to black culture and therefore feeding into civil rights. That is what is fun about this approach. Making the connections. I've got my 20 days already picked out.
Wouldn't Lincoln's assassination have to be on there? Imagine what Reconstruction would have been like had he lived--the whole history of the American south, Jim Crow, the civil rights movement...all would have been different.
I would also propose the day that Washington decided not to run for reelection, and essentially passed on being "president for life." History-altering, for sure.
Yeah, I imagine they picked 10 important days, probably not the ten most important. Anyway, I've got 25 days picked out. I will give details tomorrow.
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