Has America ever faced any hardship as a nation? Feels like everything was pretty much gifted to them...

not really, that's why things like vietnam or 9/11 had such an effect on them when for the average nation those events wouldn't be something to write home about.

Americans had the numerical advantage in every single battle.

This is how I always felt, look at Pearl Harbour. This would be quickly forgotten about here as one of many instances in one of many wars, instead it's all "muh pearl harbour NEVER FORGET!! sneaky japs"

Britain also has gotten off remarkably easy due to geography. The European nations were devastated by wars again and again which retarded their development, but Britain was able to develop and start the Industrial Revolution unhindered.

What about Sweden? Never had a bomb or a bullet from a foreign army fall on their soil in over 1000 years of history.

9/11 isn't really fair, it's the biggest terrorist attack ever
almost 3000 people dead, it was a legit big thing

They were accidentally bombed in WW2 IIRC

Correct, but what I'm saying is that a very significant portion of our male population died. In the South I think it was something like 1 in 6 white men died in the war.

>Never had a bomb or a bullet from a foreign army fall on their soil in over 1000 years of history.
You mean 100, right?

>In the South I think it was something like 1 in 6 white men died in the war.

Whoa that's alot. Good thing they mostly were evil racists.

Practically the entire white male population under the age of 45 had to serve. Conscription was implemented in the spring of 1862 and soldiers' enlistment terms were to last for the duration of the war.

During the final assault on the Petersburg trenches in the spring of 1865, Union soldiers were shocked to find the bodies of old men and boys as young as 14--that was how pitifully desperate for manpower the Confederacy was at the end.

I think the fact that Swedes haven't suffered hardships in hundreds of years and had such a peaceful homogenous society is what lead to them becoming mentally ill. People always aks how they of all people could turn to a path of self destruction cause they have no national guilt complexes or anything that warrants a death wish. It was probably just that they were too removed from suffering and needed to create problems out of thin air as humans do.

>the civil war never threatened the Union
>takes five years to barely defeat a "nonexistent" nation with a quarter of your population, a quarter of your military power, and a tenth of your industrial capacity

Japan has somehow also gotten off really freaking easy. Aside from WWII, they've also never been touched by a foreign army (not counting the postwar US occupation since it was after combat ended).

They're somewhat of a statistical outlier in being one of the only countries in the world not touched by colonialism, Christianity, Islam, or communism.

They came close to getting MONGOL'D twice, though.

For comparison, there are some countries, in particular Poland and Serbia where you have to wonder how they even survived the 20th century at all.

>this post
Sweden was involved in a fuckton of wars all over the European continent and had it's share of military disasters before becoming what it is today.

This so much
I guess it's becausr of their lack of culture

On the flipside, they haven't had that good access to natural resources, which was one of the main reasons they partake in WW2 with such enthusiasm.

civil war, which was caused by themselves so it barely counts

Much as Southerners like to act as if Sherman and Sheridan's armies were the equivalent of the Einsatzgruppen, in reality the conduct of the two armies in the ACW was remarkably humane compared to contemporary European conflicts like the German wars of unification or Crimea.

They fought external wars, but their core territory has never been invaded by a foreign army.

Poland had it easy, they only ended up in the situation they did because of their own failures. Serbia is a much better example.

We're turning into Amexico but that's about it

have Great Depression and Oil Crisis been posted? ah yes nothing to do in this thread anymore

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Poland has not seen war since 1945. Serbia however had one final huge shitstorm to close out the XX century with.

Poland didn't deserved to exist the solely reason of their country was because other great powers didn't want for Germany to have that much of land

Even back in colonial times, Americans had lower costs of living, more personal freedoms, and greater material wealth than Europeans. At that time millions of Europeans were peasants who couldn't leave a nobleman's estate without permission, lived on a very meager diet especially deficient in protein, and were not allowed to practice any religion but the state church. And send their sons to die because some king liked it better when a certain part of the map was a certain color.

>Now, millions of Americans are in debt who can't leave their hometown without a lot of money, live on a very meager diet consisting primarily on fastfood and Ramen, and are discouraged to practice any religion but the community one. The government send their sons to die in wars because (((they))) like it better when a certain part of the map was a certain color.

Your favorable geographical and economic conditions that the Brits left you with allowed you to take those liberties. Europe wasn't the way it was for lack of reason.

The ASW killed 2% of the population. The Battle of Shiloh killed more Americans than every previous war combined.

But other than that, no.