Which is an example of a national symbol for the united states?

Some of the most popular ones are the Stars and Stripes (the US flag), the Great Seal of the USA, the bald eagle (our national bird), the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the US Capitol, the White House, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty (a gift from France), the Gateway Arch.

explanation: we can only guess at how our actions may be perceived in the future. doing something really big like killing lots of people, saving lots of people, affecting the lives of lots of people is a sure fire way of being remembered in historical records. we can also make a difference in the history records by being a small influence on something bigger, whether that is as a civil servant, scientist or artist.

of course you could argue that we all affect history just as tiny cogs in a   bigger machine.

if you mean how do people influence our opinions of things which have already happened, then simply by writing a book which looks at things form a different perspective and trying to convince people that this perspective is more accurate or truthful. people do it all the time i.e. richard the third was a terrible or was he? plenty would disagree, it's just that their views aren't the most widely known.n: