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Invention of the Model T
The first mass produced automobile in the world. Ford’s production methods revolutionized manufacturing and transportation, beginning in the US and spreading worldwide. -
The Zimmerman Telegram
Germany sent a telegram to Mexico seeking an alliance, and for them to attack the US, but was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. It bolstered support for America to get involved in WWI. -
WWI Armistice
The official end of fighting in WW1. At the time people thought WW1, aka The Great War, was the war to end all wars. Not only did the armistice signal the end of hostilities in WW1, it was considered a much grander event because people thought it ushered in a new era of endless world peace. They were wrong. -
19th Amendment
Granted women the right to vote that had been withheld by many states before that. -
Charles Lindbergh's Flight
The first transatlantic airplane flight demonstrated to the world that it was possible for airplanes to cross large oceans. This eventually led to transoceanic passenger flights, which are common today. -
Black Thursday
The worst stock market crash in US history helped foster national and worldwide financial instability. This was one of the significant causes of the Great Depression. -
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The New Deal
A series of government projects, programs, and financial reforms that were intended to lighten the effects of the Great Depression. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor
Adolph Hitler becomes the de facto supreme leader of Germany. This led to the expansion of the police state and ultimately to WW2. -
The Munich Pact
An agreement between Germany and Britain that allowed Germany to seize portions of Czechoslovakia in exchange for a worthless guarantee that Germany would not attach Brittain. -
Hitler Invades Poland
Some in Germany had long desired to annex portions of Poland. Germany’s invasion of Poland triggered the beginning of WW2. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan launched an unprovoked attack on US military ships, aircraft, and facilities near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Up to this time the US had resisted involvement in WW2, since most Americans had unpleasant memories of WW1 and its after effects. But the attack on Pearl Harbor caused the US to enter WW2 with gusto. -
D-Day
Large scale invasion of German-occupied France by Allied forces during WW2. This paved the way for the liberation of France and in time, other areas occupied by Axis forces, as well as the capitulation of Germany and its allies. -
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Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Allied nuclear bomb attacks on two Japanese cities significant to Japanese military operations during WW2. This led directly to Japan’s surrender on 8/15/1945. -
The Formation of United Nations
As WW2 wrapped up, many felt that the Allied nations that had succeeded in WW2 should create a formal peacetime association, believing this approach to offer the best chance for maintaining world peace. -
The Long Telegram
US official George F. Kennan sent a very long telegram to the secretary of defense, recommending US policy toward the USSR and communism. With permission, the contents of the telegram were later published in Foreign Affairs magazine under a pseudonym. The recommendations in the article ended up becoming the basis for US management of the Cold War for more than 40 years. -
The Formation of NATO
Following WW2, the US and other Western nations realized military the threat posed by the USSR and communism. The US and six other countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to work together militarily to address threats to the West. NATO has since expanded to include 29 countries. -
Russians Acquire the Atomic Bomb
Following WW2 when the world saw how effective nuclear weapons were in causing Japan to capitulate, the USSR began aggressively working to develop their own nuclear weapons, with the first successful test coming in August 1949. Up to this point, only the US had nuclear weapons. The USSR’s gaining of nuclear weapons ushered in an entirely new paradigm where enemy nations could cheaply and effectively threaten massive destruction with no military presence in target areas. -
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The Korean War
Both North and South Korea claimed to have jurisdiction over all of Korea. After the USSR-supported North Korea attempted to invade the US-supported South Korea, NATO came to the aid of the south, resulting in a war that was a surrogate for the worldwide Cold War. -
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Brown v Board of Education
A landmark US Supreme Court ruling that declared official segregation of races in public schools to be unconstitutional, even if races were treated equal. The court had ruled in 1896 that racial segregation was fine as long as the races were treated equal. The new ruling helped fuel the dismantling of official segregation of all kinds throughout the US, but especially in the South. -
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Vietnam War
Following the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the US became involved in the ongoing war in Vietnam between the communists in the north and the anti-communists in the south. The Vietnam War became increasingly unpopular with Americans as it drew on for more than a decade. Tens of thousands of young American men were drafted and sent into combat for a cause that was poorly defined. Widespread discontent with the war caused large scale protests, as well as cultural and political upheaval in the US. -
Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat
Rosa Parks, a black woman, was arrested after refusing a bus driver’s demand that she relinquish her seat to a passenger with white skin, as required by Montgomery, AL city statute. Parks refused efforts to quietly free her from jail, with the result that the terrible injustice of her plight becoming a national symbol for everything that was wrong with racism. Parks’ case was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
After the US became aware that the USSR had deployed ballistic missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles away from US shores, the US demanded removal of the missiles. The US rapidly engaged in a number of military, policy, and negotiation efforts. The US and the USSR were at the brink of another world war. The USSR finally agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba, averting such a war. -
JFK Assassination
US President John F. Kennedy was shot to death during a political trip to Dallas, TX. Although subsequent investigations never arrived at a clear understanding of the motives behind Kennedy’s murder, the event was a landmark moment in the lives of many Americans of that era. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Five days after the USS Maddox was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin, the US Congress passed a resolution that gave US President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to use military force in Southeast Asia without any formal declaration of war. This led to heavy US involvement in the Vietnam War. -
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The Invention of The Internet
The US Department of Defense developed the first wide area network, ARPANET in 1969. Advances in networking technology by an array of defense, education, and private concerns eventually resulted in the World Wide Web in 1990. While commercial interests such as America Online brought elements of the WWW Internet to average Americans, the development and deployment of the first web browser in 1993 forever revolutionized the way people would get and interact with information. -
Apollo 11 Moon Landing
Only a few years after the US made its intentions clear to land humans on the moon, two members of the Apollo 11 crew successfully landed on the moon. They walked on the moon, collected samples, and successfully returned to the orbiting space capsule that was piloted by the third crew member. The event captured the imagination of people around the world and was considered by many to be one of the greatest human achievements of all time. -
The Watergate Break-in
US President Richard M. Nixon personally authorized a break in at the offices of the Democratic National Party by Republican Party operatives, in an effort to collect intelligence for the president’s re-election effort. The subsequent investigation resulted in the indictment of 69 people and the legal punishment of 48, many of whom were top Nixon officials. The scandal caused additional nationwide political upheaval. -
Nixon's Resignation
While President Richard M. Nixon was re-elected in November 1972, he later came under intense fire as the depth of his complicity in the Watergate burglary became clear. He resigned to avoid certain impeachment by Congress. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was erected by USSR supported East Germany in 1961 to cut off the West German portion of Berlin. The militarily protected wall became a worldwide symbol of communist oppression. In late 1991 as the political and economic infrastructure of the USSR crumbled, West Germany citizens took over portions of the wall. Then they used heavy equipment to demolish it. This symbolized the downfall of the USSR and communism throughout the world. -
The 9/11 Attacks
Middle Eastern terrorist organizations coordinated four attacks on important US buildings using commercial aircraft as weapons in order to make a political statement. Three of the attacks succeeded, causing widespread panic in America. The attacks ushered in a new paradigm where non-state actors could go to war against states. Responses to the attacks have included nearly two decades of US war in the Middle East and efforts to reduce terrorist threats throughout the world.