The Past Was Pretty Harsh

There never was a time in this country which could be described as idylic.  Before we were even a country there were wars between England and France for dominance.  Each side used different tribes to attack the others settlers.  Of course there was fairly constant warfare against Native Americans and the fairly constant import of Slaves.

We then had the revolution followed by further westward expansion the war of 1812 where the White House was burned and ongoing war against the native Americans, the Texas situation and war with Mexico, 

Of course we then had the Civil War which wasn't very civil and reconstruction, westward expansion which wasn't normally good for Native Americans, a steady stream of immigrants from Europe and Asia settling the great plains and building the railroads at great risk.

After the Spanish American war things were fairly good until we got into the Great War (WW1) and we lived through prohibition the rise of organized crime, the rise of the fascists in Europe the Great Depression and then Pearl Harbor, the war, the nuclear age the cold war, the Korean War, the Civil Rights troubles (not done yet), the Vietnam War.

What we do have is the greatest consumer based economy that ever existed and much less need for debilitating manual labor.

Whatever you may think about your nostalgic past, America is better today than it ever has been.  It was probably better under the previous President but that could be a matter of opinion.  Its not politics its science and technology that has create the world we inhabit.

There are challenges but they are not as bad as the ones faced by our fore parents.

Lets move forward  because the past is not so great really.