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Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the 29th U.S. President
Republican Harding defeats Democrat James M. Cox with 404 electoral votes. -
Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty
Great Britain, France, Japan, Italy, and the United States promise to limit their naval forces as well as respect China's sovereignty and outlaw poison gas and submarine attacks on business ships. -
Sound is added to a movies
A movie with sound called Phonofilm is played in New York's Rivoli Theater. -
Vice President Calvin Coolidge becomes President after Harding dies from an illness.
Harding becomes sick and dies from a heart attack following a trip to Alaska. -
The Indian Citizenship Act makes Native Americans citizens
Coolidge allows Indians to be citizens but several states still prohibit them from voting. -
The Scopes Trial (Monkey Trial) begins in Dayton, Tenn
William Jennings Bryan represents the Dayton public school suing teacher and football coach John T. Scopes for teaching evolutionary biology. -
Calvin Coolidge retain the Presidencial office in the 1924 election
Coolidge defeats his Democrat opponent John W. Davis with 382 electoral votes -
The TV is invented by Philo Taylor
A patent for the electronic television system is produced three years later. -
Amelia Earhart completes a flight over the Atlantic Ocean
The flight takes nearly 15 hours from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to Culmore, Northern Ireland. -
Herbert Hoover is inaugurated as the 30th U.S. President
Republican Hoover defeats his Democrat opponent Alfred E. Smith with 444 electoral votes. -
Black Tuesday: the stock market crashes and the Great Depression begins
Over two years from this date, more than $50 billion is lost from the stock market. No other crash matches these losses to this day. -
The 1930 census shows a 16.2% increase in the American population
This growth is approximately 123,202, 624 more people in the country. -
Smoot-Hawley Tarrif Act signed by President Hoover
The act spiked tariffs on foreign goods with the hope that American prices might increase. Foreign markets suffered and joined America in a worldwide economic depression. -
The Star Spangled Banner becomes the national anthem
Francis Scott Kelly wrote the song in 1814 when the British navy was bombing the Baltimore Harbor. -
Roosevelt creates the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
RFC provides loans to banks, railroad companies, and other private enterprises. While these corporations receive short term relief, the general public continues to struggle. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd U.S. President
Democrat Roosevelt beats Republican Hoover by a landslide, claiming 472 of 531 electoral votes. -
Emergency Banking Act
The act closes down banks across the nation for four days. FDR tells Federal Reserve Banks to supply private banks with the money they need. The act also transitions America off the gold standard to paper currency. -
Roosevelt begins a series of radio talks called Fireside Chats
The Fireside Chats are for encouraging the nation and explaining how the New Deal will work. -
Civilian Conservation Corps
CCC provides 2.5 million jobs to build parks, plant trees, and develop other projects. Single, young men (17-28) are the primary beneficiaries of the work program. -
Tennessee Valley Authority Act
The TVA brings jobs and electricity by building dams on the Tennessee River. Floods can be more controlled now and the local economy benefits greatly. -
The 21st Amendment ends prohibition
The sale and purchase of alcoholic beverages are now legal. -
Black Monday: The Supreme Court strikes down the National Recovery Administration
The NRA allowed companies to manipulate prices. This required suspending antitrust laws established years before. The Supreme Court declared the NRA unconstitutional and did the same for the Agricultural Adjustment Administration the following year. -
National Labor Relations Act
Roosevelt restores the right of workers to unionize with the hope that collective bargaining will result in higher wages. -
Social Security Act
The SSA provides financial assistance to retired workers but requires a fraction of existing worker's checks. At that time, 2% of the first $3,000 earned go towards Social Security, half coming from the employer and half from the employee. -
Sen. Huey Long is assasinated
Sen. Long criticized FDR's approach to fixing the economy. He proposed in his Share Our Wealth programs that money should be taken from the rich and distributed. He becomes very popular but dies in Louisiana. -
Franklin Roosevelt retains presidential office for a second term
Roosevelt's popularity increased during his first term and he defeats the Republican Alfred Landon with 523 electoral votes. -
The Roosevelt Recession leads to a spike in unemployment
Attempting to lower federal spending, Roosevelt cuts spending in June 1937. Unemployment increases by nearly five percent to 19%. Manufacturing output also decreases with a 34% decline. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
Set the minimum wage to $0.25/hr and prohibits minors from working -
Albert Einstein warns Roosevelt of the potential for atomic weapons
In a letter, Einstein and other German physicists tell Roosevelt that Germany may be developing an atomic weapon. Roosevelt initiates the Manhattan Project, an American attempt to build the first atomic weapon. -
The United States remains neutral after Germany invades Poland
Neither Roosevelt nor the American population is eager to join another world war. -
The 1940 census shows 7.3% population growth
The United States population increases by 132,164,569, a small number compared to the previous census reports -
Naval Expansion Act
The U.S. Navy increases by 11%. America begins to anticipate involvement in world war. -
Roosevelt wins his third presidential campaign
Roosevelt defeats Republican Wendell Wilkie with 449 electoral votes. FDR is the only president in American history to be elected four times. -
Pearl Harbor is attacked by Japanese bombers
'A date which will live in infamy." Over 2,400 Americans die at Pearl Harbor; the navy is crippled for years. The United States joins the Allies against Axis forces four days later. -
The United States joins World War II
Pearl Harbor ends American neutrality. In Europe, U.S. troops fight alongside the British forces. In the Pacific, America tackles the Japanese empire.