historical rootsFollow

Not that anyone has the answer because there's no way of knowing but I guess the hypothetical answer would depend on whether you believe in a greater destiny or not.

If you don't, I'd imagine you'd hold to the Ray Bradbury Sound of Thunder idea where stepping on a butterfly changes the course of humanity thousands of years down the line. If you do believe that there's a greater direction then time is like a stream where you can disrupt points by tossing in pebbles or even rocks but the water keeps moving along. If not Darwin, Jefferson and Shields then someone else would be theorizing about evolution, government and post-partum depression.

Edit: Oh, and my lineage supposedly traces back to some minor Polish nobility. That and $2.85 will get me a small latte at Starbucks.

Edited, Jul 5th 2006 at 10:42am EDT by Jophiel

No one can tell. I am of the belief that none of that would have happened, or would have happened earlier/later in time. So we could be progressivly better off, or still not using dental care...

Im now getting a very creepy feeling that if we traced our ancestory back, we'd find out we're somehow related

If this is your way of saying you won't have sex with me, I'll have you know that I'm already taken.

AtomicFlea! Your cat/dog has a punk French hairdo!!

Is this for tonight's game? Solidarity?

Allons enfants de la patrie...

\o/

I guess this is does the man make history or does history make the man debate. I tend to believe it is a question of the unique contributions of the individual.

Whilst the founding father mentioned made great contributions, the revolution would have happened with out them. There were so many great thinkers on the side of the colonies, others would have stepped up to take the roles filled by them. The exact wording of the documents they contributed to might have changed slightly, and some of battles may have happened slightly differently but the war would likely have ended the same way.

When it comes to artists like Jane Austen, it is likely that that art would never have existed because the contribution is so unique to the individual.

The others on the list would have to face the same test. Zachary Taylor would not be missed at all, Teddy Roosevelt would certainly be missed he was such a unique personality who promoted policies that probably would never have be implemented at that point in history were it not for him. FDR contributed a lot, but his new deal plans were dictated by the Great Depression and those would likely have been implemented by any another democrat who would have taken his place.

A bigger question if there was no FDR, is could a republican have won office in the 1940 election if FDR had not been there to choose to go for a third term? That is a question better answered by historians, though IMHO I think it would be unlikely with the start of WW II in Europe and most of the country and the democrats leaning towards isolationism, a republican who would be more likely to get us involved in the war earlier would not fared well unless the democratic candidate screwed up somehow. Though, if a republican had gotten in 1940 (President Wendell Willkie for the win) and the US entered the war earlier, would that have saved some of the millions who died in the holocaust? Would the US and British have started the oil embargo that forced Japan into the Pearl Harbor attack if the US was already involved in the war against Hitler and wanted to avoid a 2 front war and thereby freed more resources to fight Hitler sooner? Would Hitler have invaded Russia in June 1941 if the US had already declared war? A lot could have been changed just by the absence of FDR.


Edited, Jul 5th 2006 at 11:17am EDT by fhrugby

Even Creationists allow that we're all related, ultimately. Of course they date it back to Adam and Eve, as opposed to back to the hominids in the African savannahs; but still. One point that everyone can agree upon is that if you go back far enough you'll find a common ancestor with everyone else on earth.

Wasn't there a fluff piece out several months ago about how the Royal Family in Britain could trace their ancestry back to Vlad the Impaler?

As far as the "what if these particular individuals had never been born" question goes, individuals rarely effect great changes by themselves. Edison's work was built on the work of others. The American Revolution was probably inevitable, given the difficulty of ruling a colony so far away in terms of travel.

In spite of what certain revisionists would have you believe, the Northern victory in the Civil War was a foregone conclusion, in my opinion. Of course we could argue that with different people at the helm, the war might never have happened at all.

Scientific and technological progress will be made, when basic human needs are met. The fact that there were boosters and supporters touting the benefits of progress probably did help, a bit; but innate human curiosity seems to account for most of the big "AHA" moments. Bless our restless monkey brains.

My sister-in-law traced our family tree. According to her, we are descended from one time king of England, Ethelred the Unready (apparently he was unready to be king, as he only lasted a few months). Another branch of the family can be traced back to some viking types that claim to be descened from Odin.

On a more realistic note, we also have a Medal of Honor winner in the family.

I watched that movie only recently at like 1am, and the whole time I was like "She reminds me of somebody..."

If that article can be counted on for accuracy, what it points to more than anything is the utter rubbish that the whole "royal vs commoner" thing is, particularly in light of the school of thought in royal circles that being an aristocrat gives you superior genes. That is, after all, supposedly the defining characteristic of royalty. It would be proof positive that they are just as moronic as those of us in the unwashed masses. Prince Charles could have wed that two toothed, Cockney accented harlot that just finished servicing Nobby and done better than the vaunted Spencer family line.

/shrugs

Just by looking at that goofball, you'd think the Queen would be terminally ashamed of the progeny which sprang forth jug earred and homely from her verdant and creamy thighs.

Totem

True dat. It's amazing the Queen Mum turned out as stellar as she did. Btw, does anyone have her in their death pool? If not, I claim dibs on her for sometime early next spring.

Totem

Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! If the Queen Mum is dead, then who is sitting on the throne these past eleven decades? Some doppleganging female Crypt Keeper?

Totem