Lack of knowledge of American history. Not all their fault I suppose - American History probably isn't taught in our schools today. My vote for the lowest point in American history are the immediate years leading up to the Civil War, the Civil War itself, and then Reconstruction. The period of roughly 1850 to 1870 in America. It was really a lawless and dangerous time in American history for the average citizen, especially if you lived in the or near the South. The country was far more divided than now, so much so that a section of it wanted to break away and form their own country and did more than talk about it, they actually tried to. Gangs of murdering thugs roamed the countryside pillaging and killing. Google "Lawrence, Kansas" for one example during that period in the late 1850's. Truly a terrible time in American history and I thank God I wasn't alive then. But the bottom line is that we as a country survived all of this, and prospered, stronger than ever.