Was American independence a good thing?

[lewisnotmiller]

Was united Great Britain a good thing?
Should they have fallen to the Vikings?
Were the Vikings a good thing?

They were certainly 'a thing'.
Whether they were good may depend on which end of the axe you were standing...

 

[Revoltingest]

They were certainly 'a thing'.
Whether they were good may depend on which end of the axe you were standing...

I just figure that stuff happened.
And we are where we are.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Canada is doing as well or better in terms of development. So did the early independence and associated wars actually achieve? Further, slavery would have been eradicated earlier and native Americans would have gotten better treaties with the British without independence than they got with the expansionist colonies. The civil war would have been avoided. Also was it not true that the independence was about avoiding taxes that sought to pay for the debts of the costly Anglo French wars that were actually fought to secure the colonies against French aggression?

So why is fourth of July a good day to celebrate? Isn't it another example where colonial expansionist ideas won over more moderate ideas of cohabitation? Did not America go on to conquer Indian territories afterwards and created a horrible system of exploitative slavery free from the constraints of British laws?

For me it is a bittersweet celebration. I think we celebrate because of the value that we hold on freedom and liberty, but the contrast to those ideals crop up all too often for one to not notice.

Canada has its own nuances as well. First Nations comes to mind as well, and not to discount that Canada had been a slave state until the abolition act in 1834.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I just figure that stuff happened.
And we are where we are.

Pretty much.
I think it is kinda, maybe possible to judge what things in history have had a positive effect, and which haven't. But only if you tightly define how you're judging 'positive' on any given occasion, and ignore the rest. Otherwise it's like the butterfly effect on steroids.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Pretty much.
I think it is kinda, maybe possible to judge what things in history have had a positive effect, and which haven't. But only if you tightly define how you're judging 'positive' on any given occasion, and ignore the rest. Otherwise it's like the butterfly effect on steroids.

And by 'judge' I mean 'guess'.