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Hitler and Germany invade Poland
On this date: WWII begins with the invasion of Poland. "Two days later, Britain and France declared war, although they could not prevent the German conquest of Poland" (Brands, 681) -
Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
On this date: "Japanese warplanes attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack marked America's entrance into World War II" (Brands, G-8) -
U.S. defeat Japanese at Battle of Midway
On this date: The turning point of the Pacific theater occurred when the Japense threatened the remote American outpost at Midway. "Japan's real objective was to destroy what remained of the American Pacific fleet...Japan lost four carriers at Midway compared to the loss of just one American carrier" (Brands, 690-691) -
Allied Forces invade Normandy France (D Day)
On this date: "Allied troops crossed the English Channel and opened a second front in western Europe during World War II" (Brands, G-3) -
Truman meets Stalin at Potsdam
On this date: "The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union was held at Potsdam, outside Berlin, in July, 1945. Their failure to agree about the future of Europe led to the Cold War" (Brands, G-8) -
U.S. drop atomic bomb on Hiroshima
On this date: The bomb called "Little Boy" detonated with the power of 13,000 tons of TNT, killing perhaps 70,000 Japanese. Three days later, a second bomb called "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki, leading to the final surrender of Japan (Brands, America Since 1945, 17) -
Truman Doctrine announced
On this date: "President Truman asked Congress for money to aid the Greek and Turkish governments that were then threatened by communist rebels. Truman asserted that the United States was committed to support free people everywhere against communist attack or rebellion" (Brands, G-11) -
McCarthy claims communists in government
On this date: "A sensationist campaign by Senator Joseph McCarthy against supposed communists in government that began in 1950 and ended when the Senate censured him in 1954" (Brands, G-6) -
Supreme Court orders schools desegregated in Brown v. Board of Education
On this date: "The Supreme Court reversed the Plessy v. Ferguson decision (1896), which established the 'separate but equal' doctrine. The Brown decision found segregation in schools inherently unequal and initiated a long and difficult effort to integrate the nation's public schools" (Brands, G-2) -
Disneyland opens in California
On this date: Stressing the importance of family and wholesome entertainment, "Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California...wrapped the whole package in themes--Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland--keyed to Disney movies and Disney television shows" (Brands, America Since 1945, 64) -
African Americans begin Montgomery Bus boycott
On this date: "African Americans led by Martin Luther King, Jr., boycotted the buses in Montgomery, Alabama, after seamstress Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus. The boycott, which ended when the Supreme Court rules in favor of the protesters, marked the beginning of a new, activist phase of the civil rights movement" (Brands, G-6) -
Bay of Pigs Invasion begins
On this date: "A group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the CIA landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro. When the invasion ended in disaster, President Kennedy took full responsibility for it" (Brands, G-2) -
John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas!
On this date: "Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated Kennedy as the president rode in a motorcade in Dallas" (Brands, 753) -
Congress approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
On this date: "After a North Vietnamese attack on an American destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964, Congress gave President Johnson authority in this resolution to use force in Vietnam" (Brands, G-5) -
U.S. astronauts land on the moon
On this date: Once on the moon, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin "planted an American flag, set up some scientific experiments, gathered rock and soil samples, and skipped about like schoolboys, enjoying the moon's weak gravity" (Brands, America Since 1945, 144) -
Woodstock Festival begins
On this date: "The climatic event of the decade was the Woodstock concert in upstate New York, when 400,000 young people indulged in a three-day festival of rock music, drugs, and public sex" (Brands, 764) -
Last U.S. troops leave Vietnam
On this date: Through a series of peace talks led by Henry Kissinger, the North Vietnamese agreed to a "ceasefire in exchange for the withdrawal of the last American troops from South Vietnam" (Brands, America Since 1945, 150) -
Nixon resigns due to Watergate Scandal
On this date: "A break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington was carried out under the direction of White House employees. Disclosure of the White House involvement in the break-in and subsequent cover-up forced President Richard Nixon to resign in 1974" (Brands, G-11) -
Berlin Wall falls
On this date: The wall that "symbolized and embodied the Cold War division of Europe" fell re-connecting East and West Berlin/Germany. (Brands, America Since 1945, 235-236) -
Bill Clinton Impeached
On this date: What evolved into a Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal, "the House (where the 1998 midterm elections had narrowed the GOP advantage to six) approved two articles of impeachment--perjury and obstruction of justice--by nearly straight party-line votes" (Brands, 817-818) -
Attacks of September 11th
On this date: "19 Islamic terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners and turned them to attack targets in New York City and Washington D.C. The hijackers took over two planes...and flew them into the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York.." A third plane slammed into the Pentagon and the fourth plane (Flight 93) crashed in Pennsylvania (Brands, 822) -
Barack Obama assumed office
On this date: Barack Obama became the first African American President of the United States of America when he defeated Republican John McCain with 53 percent of the popular vote (Brands, 827-28).
