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Galveston hurricane
Galveston hurricane leaves an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 dead. According to the census, the nation's population numbers nearly 76 million. -
McKinley's second inauguration.
McKinley's is shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, N.Y. -
U.S. acquires Panama Canal Zone.
Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty -
Theodore Roosevelt's second inauguration.
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San Francisco earthquake
San Francisco earthquake leaves 500 dead or missing and destroys about 4 sq mi of the city. -
William Howard Taft is inaugurated as the 27th president.
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Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the 28th president.
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World War I
World War I: U.S. enters World War I, declaring war on Germany (April 6, 1917) and Austria-Hungary (Dec. 7, 1917) three years after conflict began in 1914 -
Panama Canal opens to traffic
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telephone
First long distance telephone service, between New York and San Francisco, is demonstrated. -
Worldwide
Worldwide influenza epidemic strikes; by 1920, nearly 20 million are dead. In U.S., 500,000 perish. -
League of Nations
League of Nations meets for the first time; U.S. is not represented. -
Warren G
Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the 29th president -
President Harding
President Harding dies suddenly. He is succeeded by his vice president, Calvin Coolidge. -
United Nations is established.
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Marshall Plan
Congress passes foreign aid bill including the Marshall Plan, which provides for European postwar recovery. -
Truman's second inauguration.
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Korean War:
Cold war conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces on Korean Peninsula. -
Vietnam War
: Prolonged conflict between Communist forces of North Vietnam, backed by China and the USSR, and non-Communist forces of South Vietnam, backed by the United States. President Truman authorizes $15 million in economic and military aid to the French, who are fighting to retain control of French Indochina, including Vietnam. As part of the aid package, Truman also sends 35 military advisers. -
Twenty-Second
Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, limiting the president to two terms. -
Explorer I, first American satellite, is launched.
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Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech before a crowd of 200,000 during the civil rights march on Washington, DC. -
Amendment
The Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. -
U.S
U.S. establishes diplomatic ties with mainland China for the first time since Communist takeover in 1949. -
congress
Congress holds public hearings in Iran-Contra investigation. -
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st president. -
President Clinto
President Clinton denies having had a sexual relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky.