Readers Pick America’s Greatest Year

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/upshot/readers-pick-americas-greatest-year.html

Version 0 of 1.

When was America greatest? How about 1491?

Yes, the year before Christopher Columbus landed in the New World was an answer we got from at least five readers when we asked them to pinpoint the American golden age. “Things went downhill pretty rapidly after that,” said jda, a commenter from California.

Donald Trump has made “Make America Great Again!” his campaign slogan, so we wanted to know just when his supporters — and all Americans for that matter — thought their country was at its greatest. A survey from the digital media and polling company Morning Consult asked a sample of Americans for their take on the greatest year.

Our article on the results generated many thoughtful (and a few silly) ruminations on America’s high points — and how greatness should be measured. Some big dates from our country’s early history got a nod. And so did some milestones from our readers’ own lives — including birthdays — and years that favorite sports teams won championships. One reader voted for “whichever year preceded the invention of Facebook.”

The survey found that, across all demographic groups, the year 2000 was the most popular choice for the greatest. Republicans tended to pick years in the 1950s and 1980s. Democrats tended to pick years in the 1990s, or close to today.

Here are a few of the responses that were posted on our website and on Facebook. We edited them lightly.

1996. I still had all my hair.

West Coast Best Coast

1908: Chicago Cubs win World Series

lane mason, Palo Alto CA

For me it was the mid-90s: I was in my 20s, had a fun job with a lot of flexibility and local travel (.87 gas!) and good friends. I was single and carefree, my grandparents and my dad were still alive and (mostly) well, and my friends and I could head down to New Orleans on a whim (and often did). I was blissfully clueless about politics. I had a fun car, a great figure and fabulous hair. I also drank and smoked too much, and showed terrible judgment regarding men and money. But man, I sure had fun. :) So my vote is for 1994.

BlueDot RedState, Mississippi Gulf Coast

For those choosing the 50s or 60s, remember: no cellphones. One screen at the movie theater. Supermarkets half the size. AM radio only. Three, maybe four television choices. No Internet. Houses about half as big as today. Corded tools only. Help wanted ads said “No Women.” Pat Boone tops the Hit Parade. Yeah, those are the days I want to go back to.

Rick Starr, Knoxville

I’d have to say now. Any year before two years ago I would be just another unknown (Trans) woman making it through a life of dealing with slurs and hatred. Fast forward to today, and PayPal is boycotting North Carolina for their recent discrimination laws against me using the bathroom. I can get health insurance that actually helps me transition. I can get married to who I want, and I am much more accepted and supported by the wider community. Maybe the 50s were great for white men, but they were horrible for every other group. L.G.B.T. people could be thrown in jail just for being who they were in the 50s. Women slaved all day housewifing to support their master, Mr. Man. Indeed, that sounds like an Orwellian nightmare to me.

Jacqueline, Colorado

The American dream was built on optimism — that we would move forward to build a more perfect union, that our children and their children would have a progressively better future. America’s greatest year — that’s in the future — it’s that optimism and idealism coupled with hard work and a willingness to address our flaws and overcome our challenges that has and will continue to make America great.

MC, New Jersey

On one hand, it is a silly question. What does “great” mean to most people in this context? I don’t know. Most powerful? Strongest economically? Militarily mighty? Diverse, equal and free? So many Americans are happy to settle for part of the promise and potential of the U.S. and that is just sad. There are so many problems we have yet to confront, much less solve, but I still believe our best year is 2016, with 2017 holding the same potential to make us a better version of ourselves.

Paula Callaghan, Pennsylvania

A “democracy” in which about half of the adult population has no real voice in government is a farce. Therefore I think 1920 was America’s greatest year because that’s when ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment made it illegal throughout the entire country to prohibit women from voting.

Bob, Cincinnati

The last year before the amendment on the income tax (1912), which was used to finance the country’s past century of bloated military spending and foreign interventions. The world was largely at peace, neither communism nor fascism was a force yet, and the country’s possibilities seemed limitless.

Roger, New Jersey

It’s the winter of 1944-1945 and the 101st Airborne is taking on multiple SS Panzer divisions in the Ardennes. America has come through four years of war and with its allies has almost defeated the Axis powers in Europe and the Pacific. America is united by a cause, not divided and polarized as it is now.

Peter Litton, London

It is hardly a surprise that 2000 garners the most votes of any year. The Cold War was a fading memory, around 22 million jobs had been created in the past eight years, the stock market was up by some 6,000 points in the past six years, inflation was low, the federal government had a budget surplus, and terrorism seemed like a distant problem. It was undoubtedly a wonderful time.

JEG, New York City

Americans, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins went from Cape Kennedy, Fla., to the moon aboard Apollo 11. And for the first time in the history of humankind, people from the earth stepped out onto another celestial body. 1969. “America, America, God shed his grace on thee.”

Getreal, Colorado

There are way too many factors involved. Maybe the best were those a few years after the War of 1812. It was known as the “era of good feelings,” and the biggest smudge on the landscape was slavery. The brief era from 1964 to 1966 created the end of de jure segregation and the birth of the Great Society. Vietnam killed the latter, and the “Southern strategy” finished civil rights if not in name in practice. Over all, my bet is for the first four years of Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency.

Stephen

1933. The end of Prohibition.

HR, Maine