1. The 1946 Bikini Atoll Nuclear Tests
After WWII, the U.S. relocated residents of Bikini Atoll to test nuclear weapons on their home, Mark Piesing of the BBC explains. The detonations were powerful, symbolic, and environmentally catastrophic. The tests helped shape the Cold War arms race and led to long-term radiation issues that are still unresolved. Yet they’re mostly remembered today as the namesake of a swimsuit.
What’s often missed is how these tests displaced native islanders, who remain in exile generations later. The U.S. called it a “temporary relocation,” but they were never allowed to return. It was an early example of how Cold War geopolitics could steamroll indigenous lives. The Bikini tests were more than just military experiments—they were human tragedies.
2. The 1835 Assassination Attempt on Andrew Jackson
In 1835, President Andrew Jackson became the first U.S. president to survive an assassination attempt—and the whole thing played out like a bizarre stage drama. While leaving a funeral at the Capitol, a man named Richard Lawrence stepped from the crowd, aimed a pistol at Jackson, and pulled the trigger, Laura Kiniry of Smithsonian Magazine explains. The gun misfired, so Lawrence pulled out a second pistol—which also misfired. An enraged Jackson reportedly beat him with his cane until others restrained the would-be assassin.
What’s incredible is that both guns worked in tests afterward, suggesting sheer luck saved Jackson’s life. The event sparked new concerns about presidential security, though no major changes happened right away. Lawrence was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and the moment faded into historical obscurity. It was a close call that could’ve rewritten presidential history but now barely gets more than a classroom mention.
3. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
This was the most destructive river flood in U.S. history, submerging 27,000 square miles and displacing over 600,000 people, Jim Bradshaw of 64 Parishes explains. Yet it rarely gets the spotlight it deserves outside of Southern history books. The disaster deeply influenced African American migration to northern cities and intensified racial tensions in the South. It also exposed federal mismanagement, laying the groundwork for future New Deal reforms.
What makes this flood historically huge isn’t just its size, but its political ripple effects. The federal government’s slow response lost them support among Southern Black communities. This shift helped kick-start the eventual political realignment of the South. But despite all that, it’s mostly a regional story few Americans today remember.
4. The Ludlow Massacre of 1914
When striking coal miners in Colorado clashed with the National Guard, things turned deadly fast, according to Tyler Biscontini from EBSCO Research Starters. The Guard set fire to a miners’ tent colony, killing two dozen people, including women and children. It shocked labor activists nationwide and sparked outrage in newspapers for weeks. But it barely made it into school history curricula.
The massacre helped galvanize support for labor reforms and union protections. It was a key moment in the rise of organized labor in the 20th century. Still, it’s often overshadowed by better-known strikes and riots like Haymarket or Pullman. Ludlow’s story remains a tragic example of how corporate and state power once violently collided.
5. The Bonus Army Protest of 1932
In the thick of the Great Depression, thousands of WWI veterans marched on Washington demanding early payment of their promised bonuses. They camped peacefully, hoping Congress would listen. Instead, the federal government sent in troops—led by future WWII generals MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Patton—to drive them out. Fires were set, protesters were injured, and public opinion turned sharply against the Hoover administration.
Despite its drama and historical irony, the Bonus Army is often reduced to a paragraph in textbooks. But it revealed deep cracks in how America treated its veterans. The backlash arguably helped Franklin D. Roosevelt win the 1932 election. And it led to the eventual creation of the G.I. Bill after WWII.
6. The 1933 Business Plot to Overthrow FDR
In 1933, a group of wealthy businessmen allegedly planned to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install a military dictator. They approached retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler to lead the coup, believing his popularity with veterans would legitimize the takeover. Instead, Butler reported the plot to Congress, leading to a quiet investigation that confirmed elements of the scheme—but no one was prosecuted. It’s a story so bizarre and buried that many Americans think it’s a conspiracy theory.
The plot was real enough for Congress to take it seriously, though they downplayed it to avoid panic. Historians still debate how close it came to succeeding, but the idea that a Wall Street-backed coup was even possible is chilling. It revealed just how threatened the elite felt by FDR’s New Deal reforms. Yet this episode is rarely taught, likely because it undercuts the notion of American democratic stability in the 20th century.
7. The Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921
This was the largest labor uprising in U.S. history, with over 10,000 coal miners clashing with lawmen and strikebreakers in West Virginia. It looked like a scene from a war movie, complete with machine guns and aerial bombings. The federal government finally sent in troops—not to support the miners, but to shut down the rebellion. The battle ended the immediate strike but cemented coal country’s legacy of resistance.
Despite its sheer scale and drama, Blair Mountain is often skipped in American history courses. It showed the lengths people would go for basic labor rights. It also demonstrated how quickly the government would intervene to protect industry over workers. The scars from that fight are still felt in Appalachian labor politics today.
8. The Near-Bankruptcy of New York City in 1975
New York City almost went bankrupt in 1975, and President Ford famously refused to bail it out—leading to the infamous “Ford to City: Drop Dead” headline. The crisis was so dire that schools, hospitals, and transit faced shutdowns. Eventually, the city struck a deal with the state and unions to avoid collapse. But it marked the beginning of a new era of fiscal conservatism in urban America.
Despite its impact on national economic policy, this event is rarely emphasized in U.S. history. It transformed how cities managed budgets and interacted with federal power. The crisis also gave rise to new financial watchdog agencies. What happened in NYC shaped urban policy for decades but remains under-discussed today.
9. The Wilmington Coup of 1898
In Wilmington, North Carolina, a white supremacist mob violently overthrew a legitimately elected, biracial government. They killed dozens of Black residents, destroyed Black-owned businesses, and forced officials to resign at gunpoint. It remains the only successful coup d’état on U.S. soil. Yet for over a century, it was either whitewashed or ignored entirely in historical narratives.
This wasn’t just a local tragedy—it helped cement Jim Crow laws across the South. The event signaled to other regions that democracy could be overturned with violence if the racial order was threatened. Only recently has Wilmington started receiving the historical scrutiny it deserves. It’s a crucial chapter in understanding how racial power was maintained after Reconstruction.
10. The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
The Spanish Flu killed an estimated 675,000 Americans—more than all U.S. combat deaths in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam combined. It swept through the country in waves, often killing young, healthy adults. Cities imposed quarantines, mask mandates, and shutdowns eerily similar to the COVID-19 era. Yet the pandemic was largely left out of historical memory for decades.
One reason it was forgotten is that it happened just as WWI was ending, stealing the spotlight. But it also didn’t fit the narrative of American triumph that dominated post-war storytelling. Only in the last few years has it regained attention due to obvious parallels. It’s a reminder that even deadly plagues can vanish from the collective memory.
11. The 1973 Occupation of Wounded Knee
Members of the American Indian Movement seized the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, to protest broken treaties and government abuse. The standoff lasted 71 days and involved shootouts, federal agents, and intense media coverage. It was one of the most visible acts of Native American resistance in modern times. And yet, it’s barely covered outside of specialized courses.
The occupation brought Native issues into the national spotlight for a brief time. But once it ended, so did most of the public attention. The demands—sovereignty, treaty rights, and recognition—largely went unmet. Wounded Knee 1973 is a crucial but forgotten chapter in Indigenous civil rights.
12. The 1944 Port Chicago Disaster
In California, a massive explosion at the Port Chicago naval base killed over 300 sailors—most of them young Black men. Afterward, 50 survivors refused to return to the unsafe work conditions and were convicted of mutiny. The incident exposed deep racial inequalities in the military during WWII. But it took decades for their story to even begin to be told properly.
The tragedy led to one of the earliest sparks for desegregation in the U.S. armed forces. Yet for years, it was buried under red tape and silence. President Clinton finally pardoned one of the “mutineers” in 1999, but many still await justice. Port Chicago shows how institutional racism literally exploded into public view—and was quickly covered up.
