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Before 1900s
The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century was
an era with rapid economic growth and industrialization.
The USA attracted millions of immigrants who helped build the countty. -
1917
The USA did not want to get involved in WWI, but eventually declared war on Germany in 1917. -
The 1920s
The 1920s, the Roaring Twenties, was again a booming
decade which brought the automobile, the telephone,
electricity, the motion picture and more industrial gtowth. -
Stock Market Crash in 1929
However, the happy times came to a sudden stop with the
Stock Market Crash on WaII Street in 1929. -
The 1930s
The Stock Market Crash in 1929 led to the Great Depression.
The 1930s was a decade of poverty, struggle and massive
unemployment. -
World War 2
Towards the end of the decade, WWII broke
out in Europe. -
The 1940s
The USA had decided not to get involved in WWII. After WWII, Europe was in ruins and had to be rebuilt, whereas the USA was
intact because no battles had taken place on the
American mainland. -
1941 - America enters the War
However, when Pearl Harbor, a US navy base in Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, the USA entered the war on the side of the Allies. -
The 1950s
This decade was a good one for the USA. It was a decade of
gtowth in all areas: economic, political, military and in population. Households of the 1950s had refrigerators, television
sets, and hoovers. Cars were becoming common, and
American goods were popular all over the world. The country became one of the world’s two superpowers both economi cally and politically. However, these superpowers also started
a Cold War which lasted for decades. -
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a traumatic experience for Americans.
Thousands of young men and women died far from home in a
war they did not understand. The Vietnam War was the first
war that people protested against and the first war America
had ever “lost.” The hippie movement, with their siogan of
“make love, not war’ was typicai of this period. -
The 1960s
The 1960s was a decade of both war and change. It was the
era of the Clvii Rights Movement, the Space Race, the
Kennedys, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the hippies. -
The 1960s
The 1960s was a decade of both war and change. It was the
era of the Clvii Rights Movement, the Space Race, the
Kennedys, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the hippies. -
The 1980s
This was the decade of Ronald Reagan and conservative USA.
The country was in a Cold War with the Soviet Union and
supported anti-communist movements around the globe. The
Berlin Wall was a symbol of the “Iron Curtain” that separated
the democratic western countries from the communist coun
tries of Eastern Europe throughout the Cold War. -
1962 - Cuba
In 1962, with the Cuban Missile Crisis, the US was on the
brink of war with the Soviet Union. The Sovjet Union had placed
nuclear missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from the US. President
Kennedy insisted the missiles be withdrawn, and a full-scale
war was avoided. -
The death of the Kennedys
-
1969
On July 20, 1969, Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon. He and lunar lander Eagle pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin walked around the surface for about three hours and carried out experiments. -
The 1970s
Movements that started in the 60s continued into the 70s:
civil rights for minorities, women’s rights and the end of the
Vietnam War. Environmental issues became important.
Recession in the steel industry created problems in the indus
trialized areas of the Midwest. This area, previously known as
“the Steel Belt”, now became known as “the Rust Beit’ as
industries were shut down and the factories literally rusted.
. -
The End of the Vietnam War
During this decade there was a large influx of immigrants
from Asia, in the aftermath of the US defeat in Vietnam. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the “Iron Curtain” that separated
the democratic western countries from the communist coun
tries of Eastern Europe throughout the Cold War. However, in
1989 the Berlin Wall came down. -
The 1990s
In 1991, there was a short war in the Middie East, called
Operation Desert Storm. The aim of this war was to protect
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which were major suppliers of oil to
the USA. Gradually throughout the decade the US did better eco
nomically. Immigration increased, with most new immigrants
coming from Latin America. The “Information Revolution” changed both our personal lives and our professional lives. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
Fall of the Soviet Union. In December of 1991, as the world watched in amazement, the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries. Its collapse was hailed by the west as a victory for freedom, a triumph of democracy over totalitarianism, and evidence of the superiority of capitalism over socialism. -
The 21st century
On New Year’s Eve 1999, most of the western world was
worried: Would there be a worldwide computer crash? Wouia
our lives ever be the same? -
9/11
On September 11, 2001, terror struck on US soil and 3000 people died. Four planes were hijacked. Two crashed into the Twin Towers on Manhattan, one hit the Pentagon and the fourth plane missed
its target and crashed. 9/11 will always be remembered as
the “day that changed the world” and the beginning of the
Global War on Terror. Following the attacks the US and its
allies deciared war on the Taliban in Afghanistan. -
First "black" president
The 2008 election of Barack Obama, the first African American US
president, brought hope to many Americans, who believed
hïs health and poverty programs would bring change. -
45th president of the USA
The presidency of Donald Trump began on January 20, 2017, when Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States, succeeding Barack Obama. -
Today - 2020 COVID-19
Since the first U.S. case of the coronavirus was identified in Washington state on Jan. 21, health officials have identified thousands of cases across the United States. By March 16, the virus had expanded its presence from several isolated clusters in Washington, New York and California to 49 states and the District of Columbia. To date, there have been over 80 deaths across the country. -
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States
https://www.history.com/news/8-moments-freedom-us-history
Booklet about US History given in class.
