A History of Miracles

1492 Against mutiny, short supplies and impossible odds, Christopher Columbus reached the Americas, opening an entire hemisphere to European exploration and permanently altering world history.

1607 Jamestown narrowly survived disease, starvation and conflict, giving England a permanent foothold in North America and laying the foundation for what would become the United States.

1755 George Washington emerged unscathed from battle despite bullets tearing through his coat and killing his steeds, preserving the future commander who would later lead the American Revolution to victory.

1776 A sudden, dense fog concealed Washington’s retreat after the Battle of Long Island, saving the Continental Army from destruction and keeping the American Revolution alive.

1803 After a colonial uprising, plague and winter storm, Napoleon sold the U.S. the Louisiana Territory for a stunningly low price, instantly doubling the nation’s size and securing control of the continent’s heartland.

1804 The Lewis and Clark expedition successfully crossed the vast and unknown American West, proving the continent could be traversed and securing U.S. claims to the Pacific Northwest.

1819 Spain ceded Florida to America, eliminating a major foreign foothold on America’s southern border and securing control of the Gulf Coast.

1845 The annexation of Texas brought a vast and fiercely independent republic into the Union, dramatically expanding American territory and influence.

1846 The Oregon settlement peacefully secured the Pacific Northwest for the U.S., granting America strategic access to the Pacific without war with Britain.

1848 The Mexican Cession transferred an immense swath of western territory to the U.S., giving the nation California and much of the modern American Southwest.

1863 Three days after Abraham Lincoln oversaw a day of national “humiliation, fasting and prayer,” Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, perhaps the Confederacy’s most brilliant commander, was accidentally shot by his own men.

1863 The Union victory at Gettysburg on July 3 continued the answer to the day of prayer, halting the Confederacy’s momentum and ultimately preserving the U.S. as a single nation.

1867 The United States acquired Alaska from Russia for a trivial sum, gaining immense natural wealth and a strategic position that would later prove vital in global affairs.

1869 The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad linked the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for the first time, connecting the continent and transforming America into an industrial superpower.

1942 After a series of inexplicable turning points, the U.S. defeats Japan at the Battle of Midway against overwhelming odds, reversing the course of Allied failures in the Pacific theater during World War II.

1944 A brief break in terrible weather allowed the Normandy landings to proceed with stunning effectiveness, enabling the liberation of Western Europe and commencing the final defeat of Nazi Germany.

1981 A would-be assassin’s bullet came within less than an inch of President Ronald Reagan’s heart, allowing him to continue leading the U.S. through the final, victorious years of the Cold War against
the Soviet Union.

2024 Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, reshaping the political atmosphere of the presidential election and all but guaranteeing his victory.