Voices of America: In what era of American history would you have liked to have lived?

The thing that is most responsible for shaping America is, well, Americans. That is why in our celebration of the country’s 250th birthday, we decided to talk to those who make America what it is: its citizens. The biggest takeaway? We're not all the same. But that’s just one of the things that makes us great. 

In this series, we asked dozens of Americans nine questions to gather their thoughts on America yesterday, today and tomorrow. Here is what they had to say.

In what era of American history would you have liked to have lived?

I don’t know if I would have liked to live then, but it would have been interesting to see when the country was founded in the 1700s. The only thing is that people didn’t live very long.

— Ken Rushing, co-owner of Couch LBK

If I couldn’t live today, the era of American history I would have liked to live in would be before America was called America. I would have wanted to experience this land before colonization, before slavery, before forced oppression and before people were stripped from their culture, identity and land. I’m speaking of the time when the original Indigenous people of this land lived connected to nature, family, spirit, community and the land itself. That version of America, before it became 'America,' is the one I would have wanted to see.

— Rahim Turner, Lakewood Ranch resident, independent contractor and barber 

The ’60s, just because I feel that in that 10-year span, from 1960 to 1970, the country changed so drastically. Throughout that era, so many great and terrible things happened, from the moon landing to assassinations, but it really shifted minds, and it definitely shattered what life was like, and what was coming. 

— Chelsea Martin, Sarasota resident and former art gallery director

 There is no other time than today. The best time is now.

— Este Lennox, Realtor

I kind of like the 1980s because it was just enough technology and enough freedom. 

You could still go outside, run around and play, but you had to mind your P’s and Q’s and grow up and be responsible. We had quarters in our pockets to call our mom and say, 'Hey, come pick us up,' or we would do the collect-call thing. 'Mom, the movie’s over, come pick us up.' But at the same time, we weren’t so attached to devices and stuff.

— Ben Pieper, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and case manager with Veterans Affairs Law

The Revolutionary period. I would have been on the ramparts against the king.

— Carol Matthias, retired Sarasota resident

The Industrial Revolution. That was probably the peak growth in the economic history of America that I would like to see. It would be interesting seeing the factories pop up, and everyone fighting in the race to grow.

— Antoine Arthur, kitchen design specialist

The Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age would have been an interesting and fun time to have lived. The country was prospering economically, socially and artistically after World War I. It was a new era and kind of life that broke with many traditions. New things like automobiles, moving pictures, radio and jazz were all more available to the people.

— Rosalie Weiss, retired 

The 1970s. That would have been a pretty cool era to grow up in. There’s a lot of great music and a lot of cool culture shifts that happened. My parents that were born in the ‘50s and were able to live their high school and college years in the ‘70s, it sounds like they had a really great time living in that time of America.

— Sean Keith, HR advisor

I’ve always been fascinated by Lincoln’s America and the aftermath. The Civil War and then Reconstruction. It was a tough period, but the abolition of slavery, the rebuilding of America, followed by the great migration west were monumental times of change. They also contained some of our darkest moments.

— Barry Weisblatt, founder, WhiteLeaf Private Music Club

I would love to have been here for the Revolutionary War. I'm not sure that I'd be as talented as Betsy Ross on a flag, but I'd like to think that I would have tried to make a difference.

— BJ Bishop, Longboat Key town commissioner