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Invention of the Model T
Completed at the Ford company's Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit. It had the longest production run of any car until 1972. The Model T was invented to be versatile, affordable, and durable for the common man. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British cryptographers deciphered a secret diplomatic communication between the German Foreign Minister and the German Minister to Mexico offering Mexico land in the United States if they joined the German cause. This accelerated the United States involvement into WWI. -
Armistice of WWI
The agreement between Germany and the Allies to stop fighting instead of one side surrendering. It ended fighting on land, air, and sea. -
19th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -
Charles Lindbergh's Flight
Lindbergh completed the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean landing in Paris. He was just 25 when he completed the trip in his Spirit of St. Louis. -
Black Thursday
Sellers traded nearly 13 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange and investors suffered $5 billion in losses. -
The New Deal
New programs initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help restore prosperity, stabilize the economy, and provide jobs to Americans during the Great Depression. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor
Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, was appointed chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg. -
The Munich Pact
An agreement between France and Nazi Germany that the French would not provide military assistance to Czechoslovakia during the German conquests there. It broke the French-Czechoslavak alliance. The British prime minister also signed it. -
Hitler invades Poland
The invasions began one week after Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Hitler claimed invading Poland was a "defensive act" and would provide "living space" for the German people. Warsaw eventually was forced to surrender on Sept. 27, 1939 and Britain and France had declared war on Germany on Sept. 3, 1939 -
Pearl Harbor
A U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii that was surprise bombed by Japanese air forces. The next day FDR asked Congress to declare war on Japan and therefore the U.S. would enter WWII. -
D-Day
Allied forces invaded Northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy. More than 160,000 Allied troops landed on the 50 mile stretch of beach amidst the heavily fortified Nazi German coastline. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The first ever atomic bombs were deployed by the U.S. on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were dropped by 2 B-29 bombers 3 days apart. After the bombings, the Japanese emperor surrendered. -
Formation of the United Nations
An organization of countries formed in order to prevent future wars. The countries met together in San Francisco to discuss, agree on, and sign the United Nations Charter. -
The Long Telegram
An 8,000 word telegram sent by the American charge d'affaires in Moscow, George Kennan, to the Department of State. It detailed his views and observations of the Soviet Union and the U.S. policy towards the communist state. -
Russians acquire the atomic bomb
A secret classified research and development project authorized by Joseph Stalin in order for the Soviet Union to obtain atomic bombs during WWII as well. -
Formation of NATO
The United States and 11 other countries joined together in Washington D.C. to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to prevent the expansion of communism. The Soviet Union and other communist Eastern European countries made a rival alliance named the Warsaw Pact in 1955. -
Korean War
75,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the Republic of South Korea. North Korea was backed by the Soviet Union and China, while South Korea was supported by the United States. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional [history.com] -
The Vietnam War
A civil war between the communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam. It intensified the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union with the Cold War. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis began on the October 16th, 1962, when the United States reconnaissance data revealed Soviet nuclear missile installations in Cuba, these were shown to U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The crisis ended twelve days later when on October 28, 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that the installations would be dismantled. [nationalcoldwarexhibition.org] -
JFK's Assassination
Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. [jfklibrary.org] JFK was assassinated by Lee Harry Oswald. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Lyndon Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” by the communist government of North Vietnam. It was passed on August 7, 1964, by the Congress after an alleged attack on two U.S. naval destroyers stationed off the coast of Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution effectively launched America’s full-scale involvement in the Vietnam War.
[history.com] -
Apollo 11 Moon Landing
Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin were the first two people to step on the moon. The spacecraft was named Apollo Lunar Module Eagle. -
Watergate Break-ins
5 men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. President Richard Nixon's administration was heavily involved and tried to cover it up which led to scandal and conspiracy. Top-secret documents were stolen and offices were bugged. -
Nixon's Resignation
Nixon resigned after the Watergate scandal increased and Nixon faced almost certain impeachment. He lost much of his political support. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The East German government announced that on that day citizens of West Germany and West Berlin would be allowed to cross the country's border. This was led up to by weeks of civil unrest. -
Invention of Internet
The world wide web and the modern internet was created by computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee. -
9/11 Attacks
Four coordinated attacks against the United States by by the Islamic terrorist group al-Quada. Two planes were flown into the twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. Another plane was flown into the Pentagon outside Washington D.C. and the last plane landed in a field in Pennsylvania. All the planes were hijacked in the air by terrorists with passengers still on board.