I’m a big believer in cyclical history.
As per the OP A little vague before Pearl Harbor but let me suggest:
-1861- American Civil War
-1880??? (I’ll take suggestions but it does seem Reconstruction fell apart by then)
-1898 Spanish blow up the Maine leading us into the Spanish-American War that established the United States into a World Pwer
-1917 US sends troops to Europe in our first international overseas operation followed by the Spanish Flu
Now:
1941- Pearl Harbor
For the first time since in American history, a foreign power totally sundays America and bombs its entire Pacific fleet and kills 2001 troops.
Effect-I think this one is probably obvious. Ranks #2 on my books behind 9/11 because 9/11 was an attack on New York City on American civilians.
1963- JFK Assassination
The youngest and arguably the most charismatic President in history gets his brains blown out by a mysterious assassin. First time a President gets killed in modern times.
Effect- still goes on today with 1001 conspiracies. The JFK assassination began the complete distrust in our government which was part of the fuel of the fire of the late 1960s and beyond and I would argue lead to the protests and civil discord that lead to the end of the Vietnam War.
1986-Space Shuttle Challenger
To me this was a traumatic movement as a 12th grader in High School. It was during the heady times of the Reagan era, and was the first “Black Swan” event of my lifetime.
Effect: 100% personal, it shattered my vision of American invincibility of the Reagan era. Perhaps even worse in the long term, it pushed back our advances in space exploration for decades.
2001- 9/11
For the first time in America, a massive military/terror attack not only kills 3000 American civilians, but destroys an iconic skyscraper and landmark in our largest city.
Effect— America no longer feels safe, and xenophobic attitudes towards “brown skinned people” come to the surface. America enters into two costly and eventually fruitless wars that expose our country as a paper tiger and bad actor on the world stage (BTW, I was in favor of bombing Afghanistan at the time).
2020- Coronavirus
For the first time in modern America, sports leagues are cancelled, schools shut down, Americans are in mass quarantines, travel to other countries is shut down.
Effect— SPECULATION: social distancing, already exacerbated by our obsession with smart phones, will make American society more isolated than ever. Fractures in our society already exacerbated by the 20 year old Democrat v Republican rivalry manifested in pandemic handling blame/agendas distances Americans from each other even more.
