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        Vice President Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 26th President of the United States. - 
  
  
        : The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded in New York City to fight for civil rights for African Americans. - 
  
  The first global war involves major world powers and results in millions of casualties.
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        The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. - 
  
  
        The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, granting women the right to vote. - 
  
  
        The Wall Street Crash of 1929 marks the beginning of the Great Depression, the most severe economic downturn in the history of the United States and the world. - 
  
  A global war that involved most of the world's nations and resulted in millions of casualties, including the Holocaust.
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        The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leads to the United States' entry into World War II. - 
  
  
        The United States drops atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan's surrender and the end of World War II. - 
  
  
        The Supreme Court decision declares racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. - 
  
  
        Civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., lead a massive march on Washington, D.C., advocating for civil and economic rights for African Americans. - 
  
  
        The Supreme Court decision legalizes abortion in the United States. - 
  
  
        The Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin, falls, marking the symbolic end of the Cold War. - 
  
  
        A coalition of nations led by the United States launches a military operation to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. - 
  
  
        A domestic terrorist bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City kills 168 people.