Civil rights, moon landings and war wins: What Americans see as the country’s greatest achievements

The NBC News poll asked American adults which historical event they thought was the country’s biggest accomplishment in its 250 years.

The abolition of slavery. The expansion of civil rights and voting rights. Victory in World War II. Landing people on the moon.

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As America nears its 250th anniversary, those are among the events its people call the greatest accomplishments in their country’s history, according to the latest NBC News poll, which was sponsored by More Perfect, a nonpartisan nonprofit group dedicated to advancing democracy.

Unlike other poll questions with multiple-choice answers, this one was completely open-ended. Still, people’s answers generally fell into three broad buckets: Close to two-thirds of respondents chose events related to the expansion of rights, while about one-sixth each chose military or diplomatic-related events and events related to science or economic achievement.