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Date |
Event(s) |
| 1 | 1882 | - 4 Sep 1882: Edison's Pearl Street Station,Thomas Edison's electric power plant began operation in New York City, providing power for the first time.
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| 2 | 1886 | - 1 May 1886: Haymarket Affair,A labor protest rally in Chicago turned into a riot after a bomb was thrown, killing police officers and civilians.
- 28 Oct 1886: Statue of Liberty dedicated,The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor.
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| 3 | 1890 | - 1 Dec 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre,U.S. soldiers killed over 150 Lakota people in what is considered the final major conflict of the Indian Wars.
- 29 Dec 1890: Sherman Antitrust Act,Congress passed the first federal law prohibiting trusts and monopolies to promote competition.
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| 4 | 1893 | - 1 Jan 1893: Panic of 1893,A severe economic depression began, marked by bank failures and high unemployment.
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| 5 | 1896 | - 1 Jan 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson decision,The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.
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| 6 | 1898 | - 15 Feb 1898: USS Maine explodes,The USS Maine battleship exploded in Havana Harbor, leading to the Spanish-American War.
- 21 Apr 1898: Spanish-American War begins,The United States declared war on Spain.
- 13 Aug 1898: Spanish-American War ends,The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the war and ceding territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States.
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| 7 | 1900 | - 14 Dec 1900: Hawaii annexed,The United States officially annexed Hawaii.
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| 8 | 1901 | - 14 Sep 1901: Theodore Roosevelt becomes President,Theodore Roosevelt became president after the assassination of President William McKinley.
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| 9 | 1903 | - 1 Jan 1903: Wright brothers' first flight,Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first powered, controlled, and sustained flight of an aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
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| 10 | 1906 | - 1 Jan 1906: San Francisco Earthquake,A major earthquake and subsequent fires devastated San Francisco, California.
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| 11 | 1908 | - 1 Jan 1908: Ford Model T introduced,Henry Ford introduced the Model T, making the automobile affordable for the average American.
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| 12 | 1912 | - 15 Apr 1912: Titanic sinks,The "unsinkable" passenger liner Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg, resulting in over 1,500 deaths.
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| 13 | 1913 | - 1 Jan 1913: 16th Amendment ratified,The 16th Amendment was ratified, allowing the federal government to collect an income tax.
- 1 Jan 1913: 17th Amendment ratified,The 17th Amendment was ratified, providing for the direct election of U.S. Senators.
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| 14 | 1914 | - 1 Jan 1914: Panama Canal opens,The Panama Canal officially opened, allowing ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
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| 15 | 1915 | - 1 Jan 1915: Lusitania sinks,A German U-boat sank the British passenger liner Lusitania, killing 128 Americans and turning public opinion against Germany.
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| 16 | 1917 | - 6 Apr 1917: U.S. enters World War I,The United States declared war on Germany, officially entering World War I.
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| 17 | 1918 | - 1 Jan 1918: Spanish Flu pandemic,The first cases of the devastating influenza pandemic were reported in the U.S.
- 11 Nov 1918: Armistice Day,An armistice was signed, ending World War I.
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| 18 | 1919 | - 1 Jan 1919: 18th Amendment ratified,The 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages, was ratified.
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| 19 | 1920 | - 19 Jan 1920: Prohibition begins,The Volstead Act went into effect, implementing the 18th Amendment.
- 18 Aug 1920: 19th Amendment ratified,The 19th Amendment was ratified, granting American women the right to vote.
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| 20 | 1921 | - 1 Jan 1921: Emergency Quota Act,Congress passed a law limiting the number of immigrants from any country to 3% of the people from that country already living in the U.S.
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| 21 | 1924 | - 1 Jan 1924: Immigration Act of 1924,A law that further restricted immigration, establishing a national origins quota.
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| 22 | 1925 | - 21 Jan 1925: Scopes "Monkey" Trial,A high school teacher, John Scopes, was tried for teaching evolution in a highly publicized trial.
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| 23 | 1927 | - 1 Jan 1927: Charles Lindbergh's solo flight,Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris.
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| 24 | 1929 | - 29 Oct 1929: Stock Market Crash,Known as "Black Tuesday," the stock market crashed, beginning the Great Depression.
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| 25 | 1931 | - 1 Jan 1931: Empire State Building opens,The Empire State Building officially opened in New York City.
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| 26 | 1932 | - 1 Jan 1932: Bonus Army march,Thousands of World War I veterans marched on Washington, D.C., to demand early payment of a bonus owed to them.
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| 27 | 1933 | - 1 Jan 1933: 20th Amendment ratified,The 20th Amendment was ratified, moving the presidential inauguration date from March to January.
- 4 Mar 1933: FDR's first inauguration,Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd President, promising a "New Deal" for the American people.
- 5 Apr 1933: FDR's Fireside Chats,President Roosevelt began his series of radio broadcasts to address the American public directly.
- 5 Dec 1933: 21st Amendment ratified,The 21st Amendment was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and ending Prohibition.
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| 28 | 1935 | - 1 Jan 1935: Social Security Act,A law was passed creating a system of old-age benefits, unemployment insurance, and aid for disabled and dependent Americans.
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| 29 | 1936 | - 1 Jan 1936: Jesse Owens at the Olympics,African American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, defying Adolf Hitler's belief in Aryan supremacy.
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| 30 | 1937 | - 1 Jan 1937: Hindenburg disaster,The German airship Hindenburg caught fire while docking in New Jersey, ending the era of commercial airship travel.
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| 31 | 1938 | - 1 Jan 1938: Fair Labor Standards Act,A law was passed establishing a national minimum wage, a 40-hour work week, and prohibiting child labor.
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| 32 | 1939 | - 1 Jan 1939: World War II begins in Europe,Germany invaded Poland, marking the start of World War II in Europe.
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| 33 | 1940 | - 1 Jan 1940: FDR reelected for third term,Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first and only president to be elected to a third term.
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| 34 | 1941 | - 11 Mar 1941: Lend-Lease Act,Congress passed a law allowing the U.S. to lend or lease war supplies to Allied nations.
- 7 Dec 1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor,The Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
- 8 Dec 1941: U.S. declares war on Japan,The United States officially entered World War II.
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| 35 | 1942 | - 1 Jan 1942: Declaration by United Nations,Representatives of 26 Allied nations signed a declaration to fight against the Axis powers.
- 19 Feb 1942: Japanese-American internment,President Roosevelt signed an executive order authorizing the internment of Japanese Americans.
- 25 Feb 1942: Battle of Los Angeles,A rumored air raid on Los Angeles led to a panicked anti-aircraft barrage, though no enemy planes were ever found.
- 4 Jun 1942: Battle of Midway,The U.S. Navy defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway, a turning point in the Pacific War.
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| 36 | 1943 | - 1 Jan 1943: War Production Board,The U.S. government took control of industries to produce war materials.
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| 37 | 1944 | - 1 Jan 1944: Servicemen's Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill),A law that provided benefits to World War II veterans, including low-cost mortgages and tuition assistance.
- 6 Jun 1944: D-Day Invasion,Allied forces launched a massive amphibious invasion of Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe.
- 17 Dec 1944: Battle of the Bulge begins,The German army launched a surprise counteroffensive in the Ardennes region of Belgium.
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| 38 | 1945 | - 20 Jan 1945: FDR's fourth inauguration,Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term.
- 4 Feb 1945—11 Feb 1945: Yalta Conference
The leaders of the U.S., UK, and Soviet Union met to discuss the post-war reorganization of Europe.
- 12 Apr 1945: FDR dies,President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office; Harry S. Truman became president.
- 28 Apr 1945: Mussolini executed,Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was captured and executed.
- 30 Apr 1945: Hitler commits suicide,Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker.
- 8 May 1945: V-E Day (Victory in Europe),The Allied forces celebrated the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.
- 26 Jun 1945: United Nations Charter signed,The United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco, officially creating the organization.
- 16 Jul 1945: First atomic bomb test (Trinity),The first detonation of a nuclear weapon occurred in the New Mexico desert.
- 17 Jul 1945—2 Aug 1945: Potsdam Conference
The leaders of the U.S., UK, and Soviet Union met to decide the future of Germany.
- 6 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
- 8 Aug 1945: Soviets declare war on Japan,The Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria.
- 9 Aug 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki,A second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, Japan.
- 14 Aug 1945: V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day),Japan announced its unconditional surrender, effectively ending World War II.
- 2 Sep 1945: Formal Japanese surrender,Japanese officials formally signed the instrument of surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
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