What was the most determinative date in American history? Was it July 4, 1776? Or was it Dec. 7, 1941, which then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt described as a “date which will live in infamy? Maybe it was Sept. 11, another date so infamous that the year is seldom mentioned when the nation solemnly recalls that fateful day in 2001.
Probably July 28, 1588 is not among the dates you would pick. Richard McMillan, Professor of History at Pierce College, explains why that seemingly random date is so important.
