13. Battle of Antietam
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On September 17, 1862, Union and Confederate forces met in Maryland. What resulted was the bloodiest day of war in American history, with 23,000 casualties between the two sides.
12. Japanese Internment
Source: Imgur
After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, a wave of anti-Japanese paranoia swept through the U.S., and in 1942, President Roosevelt signed an executive order that directed the military to move much of the country’s Japanese population to “internment” camps. More than 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced from their homes, primarily on the West Coast, into camps across the country. An investigation later brought by President Carter found that the incarceration had been fueled by racial prejudice rather than national security, and President Reagan would order reparations be paid to the camp survivors and their families in 1988.
11. McCarthyism
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In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy spearheaded a sweeping anti-communist campaign, investigating and ruining the careers of thousands of Americans, whether they were actual communists or not.