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The history of the United States

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  • BIG_ROB
    BIG_ROB Posts: 5,274
    se9addick said:

    I don't think it's possible to be xenophobic towards ones own nationality

    Call it what you like, but some people on here do seem to enjoy knocking their own.
  • shine166
    shine166 Posts: 13,933
    BIG_ROB said:

    se9addick said:

    I don't think it's possible to be xenophobic towards ones own nationality

    some people on here do seem to enjoy knocking their own.

    now you're talking :)

  • BIG_ROB
    BIG_ROB Posts: 5,274
    shine166 said:

    BIG_ROB said:

    se9addick said:

    I don't think it's possible to be xenophobic towards ones own nationality

    some people on here do seem to enjoy knocking their own.

    now you're talking :)

    Go on The Brazilian Women Play Wet Football thread, you'll be done in a few seconds!
  • cafckev
    cafckev Posts: 2,915
    It won't take long. After all, they only have about 200 years of history!
  • Goonerhater
    Goonerhater Posts: 12,677
    edited December 2012
    A great read "bury me at wounded knee"
  • seth plum
    seth plum Posts: 53,448
    Was America populated by migration via the baring straights and Alaska, not by Europeans after Columbus? I am aware that we early European settlers practiced murder, robbery, and mass genocide of the native population, in order to take the gaff over.
  • Stig
    Stig Posts: 29,087

    There's over 900 episodes of Letter from America that can be heard on iPlayer. I believe they aim to put all of them on there:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00f6hbp/episodes/player
  • kentaddick
    kentaddick Posts: 18,729
    seth plum said:

    Was America populated by migration via the baring straights and Alaska, not by Europeans after Columbus? I am aware that we early European settlers practiced murder, robbery, and mass genocide of the native population, in order to take the gaff over.

    i'm really interested in native american history, however i cant seem to find any decent reads on it if at all.
  • Goonerhater
    Goonerhater Posts: 12,677
    edited December 2012
    as i said above the book "Bury me at wounded Knee" its a great read and its about Native American history
  • Jints
    Jints Posts: 3,502
    Goonerhater said:

    as i said above the book "Bury me at wounded Knee" its a great read and its about Native American history

    I couldn't get very far into it. So depressing.

    A new biography of Geronimo has just come out and is being reviewed very well.

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  • seth plum
    seth plum Posts: 53,448
    One trick European settlers were good at was to give the native American population gifts of smallpox infested blankets I once heard.
  • harveys_gardener
    harveys_gardener Posts: 7,038
    I would like to expand this thread with reasons why the yanks are absolute tw@ts, but I don't want to threaten the number of posts on my favourite " Rumours, rumours" topic.
  • BIG_ROB
    BIG_ROB Posts: 5,274
    seth plum said:

    One trick European settlers were good at was to give the native American population gifts of smallpox infested blankets I once heard.

    Probably in response to their women and children being scalped!
  • seth plum
    seth plum Posts: 53,448
    edited December 2012
    Big Rob, scalping was originally by the Europeans on the Native Americans, and the Native Americans matched like with like.
    Took this from Wiki:

    Scalping is often associated with frontier warfare in North America, and was practiced by Native Americans, colonists, and frontiersmen across centuries of violent conflict. Some Mexican (e.g., Sonora and Chihuahua) and American territories (e.g., Arizona) paid bounties for enemy Native American scalps.[1] Contrary to popular belief, scalping was far from universal amongst Native Americans.[2]
  • Shrew
    Shrew Posts: 5,751
    'even the rain' is a great film about the arrival of Columbus
  • ScrappyCAFC
    ScrappyCAFC Posts: 278
    I think the best thing ive seen on the states is - America - The History of the U.S. Starts with the first settlements and rebellion against Britain all through the gateway to the west, american civil war, henry ford, great depression, becoming a super power, the war on terror. It doesnt include Columbus and discovering a new world but then again it wasn't America at that point in time anyways.

    Check it out if your interested.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America:_The_Story_of_Us
  • Man_About_Town
    Man_About_Town Posts: 997
    Curb_It said:

    colthe3rd said:

    harveys gardener said:

    Do these histories explain when most of the population became absolute tw@ts?

    I do enjoy a nice casual bit of xenophobia on CL now and again, thanks!
    Now I thought this comment was quite funny but knew you and your pal would pick up on it.

    For the record, I love Americans and America.


    For thecrecord, hate America with a vengeance. I have met thousands of Yanks over thectears and, must admit, two of them were ok.


  • charltonkeston
    charltonkeston Posts: 7,374
    Hotdogs.......Cant remember the rest of Bob Hoskins rant....a bit drunk
  • se9addick
    se9addick Posts: 32,072
    Man_About_Town said:

    Curb_It said:

    colthe3rd said:

    harveys gardener said:

    Do these histories explain when most of the population became absolute tw@ts?

    I do enjoy a nice casual bit of xenophobia on CL now and again, thanks!
    Now I thought this comment was quite funny but knew you and your pal would pick up on it.

    For the record, I love Americans and America.


    For thecrecord, hate America with a vengeance. I have met thousands of Yanks over thectears and, must admit, two of them were ok.


    Is it really possible to "hate" America ? For me it's an amazing country, if they could sort their mediocre sports out it might even become the best !
  • kentaddick
    kentaddick Posts: 18,729
    USA is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen. Has everything, beaches, fields, snowy mountains, deserts and great cities. I can definitely see why so many Americans don't own passports.

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  • rananegra
    rananegra Posts: 3,695
    For an alternate take on America's history, that uncovers a lot of the stuff that most Americans don't know, or only know the "official" version, I'd recommend Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States". Ironically, it's published by Harper Collins (i.e. Rupert Murdoch). Would dearly love to find an English version, as Chris Wood says (the Kent folk singer not the WBA striker) - most ENglish people have heard more about the Highland Clearances than the enclosures.
    While I'd be very critical of American foreign policy, their racial divisions, healthcare etc, as well as their ridiculous habit of calling US championships "World Series", I've nearly always found Americans as individuals to be alright. All societies have their good and bad, and their divisions, which is why there are so many different versions of history I suppose.
  • Stig
    Stig Posts: 29,087
    Rananegra, doesn't AL Morton do the trick?

    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/449190.A_People_s_History_of_England
  • limeygent
    limeygent Posts: 3,217
    harveys gardener said:

    I would like to expand this thread with reasons why the yanks are absolute tw@ts, but I don't want to threaten the number of posts on my favourite " Rumours, rumours" topic.

    I can understand why, in your daily encounters with Americans, you would have difficulty.

  • Happy Valley
    Happy Valley Posts: 212
    fatrob said:

    Did you know that the red stripes on the American flag was originally taken off the St Georges Cross.

    Did you know that Hawaii is the only US state where the Union Flag is incorporated into their own flag? This was because Hawaii was once under British influence.

    Coincidentally, Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. No, I won't go there...

  • Happy Valley
    Happy Valley Posts: 212
    Henry Irving said:

    colthe3rd said:

    harveys gardener said:

    Do these histories explain when most of the population became absolute tw@ts?

    I do enjoy a nice casual bit of xenophobia on CL now and again, thanks!
    Careful. Pointiing our such uncomfotable truths often leads to personal abuse. : - (

    Back on topic Studs Terkel's American Century (or anything by him) give a broader insight into the US.

    Hugh Brogan is also good.

    Dee Browns' Bury my head at Wounded Knee is a must read.

    Ken Burns has done some award winning TV series. The Civil war is my favorite. PBS shows them ocer here if you have that channel.
    An American friend recently lent me the Ken Burns History of the Civil War. It is absolutely riveting - I can't recommend it enough. The Civil War defined the US as much as the War of Independence did and many of the scars of the Civil War are still present to this day. We see the US as a homogenous country (the same way they see the UK, I suppose), but the History of the Civil War shows just how divided they were and, to some extent, still are.

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