Natural Disasters Have Affected American Life And Culture

America has experienced many disasters throughout her vast and interesting history. Even though she has been plagued with several overwhelming tragedies, she is still standing. Many disasters have affected American life and culture; examples such as natural disasters, terrorism, war, and man on man crime are among them. Natural disasters are devastating because people cannot fight against nature. One of the biggest natural disasters in U.S. history was the Galveston hurricane in 1900. This hurricane had an estimated 12,000 victims and was a very tragic time for the nation and specifically Galveston, Texas. Another disastrous event happened only six years later in San Francisco, California (Hanner). San Francisco first experienced an earthquake that leveled eighty percent of the city; then, a fire destroyed the rest of the city. In more recent years, Hurricane Katrina also was an awful natural disaster. Yes, the Galveston hurricane and the earthquake in San Francisco were two of the biggest natural disasters in American history, but there are a plethora of smaller disasters that still took lives. Some examples of smaller hurricanes include Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Andrew. Natural disasters are a heart-breaking example of a catastrophe in America.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II resulting in the loss of about 500,000 Americans. World War II was a far-reaching war that affected and involved many people, not just Americans. Wars, of course, have to be mentioned when talking about American tragedies because they take so many lives. The Civil War is a great example of tragedy because it was fought internally. Americans created all of the casualties and debt that came from the Civil War. Wars are an inevitable part of U.S. history, but it also shows the longevity of America because we are still