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The Ford Model T
Essentially the first vehicle to be introduced to the middle class as a reasonable means of transportation. This was mainly due to the use of the assembly line instead of the vehicle being hand-crafted. The first Model T left the factory on September 27, 1908. -
The Zimmerman Telegram
A telegram sent by Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance under the scenario that the United States were to join World War I. Popularized American opinion to declare war on Germany. -
The World War I Armistice
The armistice of World War I was an agreement between the Allies and Germany to put an end to hostilities and begin peace negotiations between the nations. **End of WW1 -
The 19th Amendment
The 19th amendment to the United States constitution that was ratified on August 18th of 1920 - gave women in the United States the right to vote as a result of a long and hard fought campaign across the United States. -
Charles Lindbergh's Flight
Early in the morning of May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off in his plane, the "Spirit of St. Louis" on Roosevelt Field, Long Island. He landed in Paris three and a half hours later - becoming the first person to fly the Atlantic alone. -
Black Thursday
On this day, panicked investors at the New York Stock Exchange traded a record number of shares, which eventually heavily contributed to the Great Depression. -
Hitler's Rise to Power
On January 30, 1933, President Hindenburg of Germany agreed to the plan of appointing Adolf Hitler to the position of Chancellor. This was a huge milestone in the process of Hitler's rise. -
The New Deal
During the time-span of 1933 to 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced a series of programs that were intended to employ the American people suffering from the crisis that was the Great Depression. Most noticeably, Social Security was implemented during this time period. -
The Munich Pact
The Munich Pact was an agreement between British and French prime ministers and the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. This agreement gave away Czechoslovakia to German rule. It was one of several appeasements to Germany as an attempt to avoid the outbreak of another world war. -
Hitler's Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland was a joint effort by Nazi Germany, and most notably the Soviet Union. This invasion essentially marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
In the early morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese led a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This devastating event was acclaimed by Japan at the time as a huge success, and it eventually led to the United States joining the second World War. -
D-Day
A day in which over 160,000 allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy along a heavily defended coast-line. It was a gruesome day for both sides, resulting in enormous numbers of casualties. Despite all of this, it was a decisive victory for the Allies. -
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
On the 6th of August, 1945, atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. Japan was prepared for all-out war in which they proclaimed that every citizen would fight until death. To avoid this war and many more casualties, these nuclear bombs were dropped. This marked the end of WW2 when Japan surrendered soon after. -
Formation of the United Nations
On this day, the United Nations officially came into existence after over 26 leaders from different nations pledges their support and alliance with each other against the Axis powers. -
The Long Telegram
This 8,000+ word telegram was sent by George Kennan, a to-be U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union. This was a telegram in which he expressed that the views of the Soviet Union could and would never co-align with the views of the West. -
Formation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was organized to prevent further communist expansion. The participants included the U.S. and eleven other Western nations, many of which were in Europe. As a response, the Soviet Union and other communist entities formulated the Warsaw Pact, which essentially divided Europe politically. -
Russia/S.U. - Nuclear Capability
On this day in history, the Soviets successfully test and explode an atomic bomb at a test site in Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. This is a huge concern to Western civilization in general and leads to growing tensions between mainly the United States and the Soviet Union. -
The Korean War Begins
On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. In a controversial war decision, the United States came to the aid of South Korea, while China and the Soviet Union aided North Korea. The war lasted until July 27th of 1953. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
This case that made it all the way to the supreme court was a huge milestone in our country's history. It declared that state laws establishing separate public schools for white and black citizens was unconstitutional. This paved way for the Civil Rights movement which came later on. -
The Vietnam War
This war was officially fought between the governments of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The North was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist nations, while the South was supported by the U.S., Australia, Thailand, South Korea, and other anti-communist nations. This war is often considered to be a cold-war era proxy-war. -
Rosa Parks
On this day in United States history, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man when the driver told her to. Although she wasn't the first to do this, her case became the most famous and sparked the Civil Rights movement. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States. This occurred when the Soviet Union installed nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba. The president ordered a naval blockade around Cuba to assert that they were ready to use military force. Eventually, the two nations came to an agreement and the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba in exchange for the U.S. removing theirs from Turkey. -
Assassination of JFK
On the fateful day of November 22 of 1963, in Dallas, Texas, the then-president of the United States John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The suspected murderer Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested just an hour later. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
This resolution between the United States and North Vietnam was a response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which the destroyer USS Maddox was attacked and pursued by three Vietnamese Navy torpedo boats. This contributed to the entrance of the United States into the Vietnam War. -
Apollo 11 Moon Landing
The crew of the Apollo 11 spaceship, the first manned spaceship to land on the moon, took the first steps in human history on the moon. Neil Armstrong uttered this famous quote after landing: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." -
The Watergate Scandal
Early in the morning of June 17, 1972, several robbers were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee building in Washington D.C. while attempting to steal secret documents and wiretap phones. It was later discovered that President Nixon had ties to this, and that he tried to cover it up. -
President Nixon Resigns
As a result of the Watergate scandal that was unfolding, Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States, officially resigned from his position as president. -
Beginning of the Internet
This date marked the most notable beginning to the internet. Tim Berners-Lee is credited with inventing it. However, the internet didn't begin to become popular until the World Wide Web was produced and presented in 1990. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Starting at midnight on this day in history, citizens were free to cross the then-border dividing Berlin. Citizens began tearing down the wall with sledgehammers and other means. -
9/11 Attacks
In one of the most notable terrorist attacks of the 21st century, terrorists hijacked multiple planes, two of which were intentionally crashed into both Twin Towers, one that hit the Pentagon, and one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
