American History Timeline 1900-21st C

Question 1

1903

Answer 1

Wright Brothers

Made the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk, N.C. (Dec)

Question 2

1908

Answer 2

Bureau of Investigation (a.k.a forerunner of FBI) is established (July)

Question 3

1913

Answer 3

17th Amendment

Providing direct election of U.S. Senators by popular vote rathe than by the state legislatures (Apr)

Question 4

1916

Answer 4

Jeannette Rankin

First women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (Nov)

Question 5

1919

Answer 5

18th Amendment (Jan)
Prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of liquor until 1933 (repealed by 21st Amendment)
19th Amendment (Aug)
Granted women the right to vote

Question 6

1923

Answer 6

Teapot Dome scandal

State launches an investigation into improper leasing of naval oil reserves during Harding administration (Oct)

Question 7

1925

Answer 7

Tennessee
Passes a law against teaching evolution in public schools (Mar)
Sets stage for the Scopes Monkey Trial (July)

Question 8

1929

Answer 8

Great Depression

The Wall Street Crash (Oct) precipitates the Great Depression worldwide

Question 9

1931

Answer 9

The Star-Spangled Banner

Adopted as the national anthem (Mar)

Question 10

1932

Answer 10

Hattie Wyatt Caraway
First woman elected to U.S. Senate (filling her dead husbands vacancy) and is re-elected twice ‘32 and ‘38
Amelia Earhart
Completes first solo nonstop transatlantic flight by a woman (May)

Question 11

1933

Answer 11

20th Amendment
‘Lame Duck Amendment’ - moved the president’s inauguration to Mar 4, rather than Jan 20
21st Amendment
Repeals the Prohibition

Question 12

1935

Answer 12

Bureau of Investigation (est. 1908)

Under J. Edgar Hoover, it becomes the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Question 13

1938

Answer 13

Fair Labor Standards Act

Sets the first minimum wage in the U.S. at 25 cents per hour (June)

Question 14

1939-45

Answer 14

WW2
Declares war on Japan, then Germany/Italy (Dec ‘41)
Tehran, Yalta (Feb), Potsdam (July-Aug)
First atomic bomb detonated, N.M. (July)
Drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (Aug 6), and Nagasaki (Aug 9)
Japan surrenders (Sept)

Question 15

1945

Answer 15

United Nations established (Oct)

Question 16

1947

Answer 16

Presidential Succession Act
Signed by President Truman, (July) established line of succession (in the event both the President/V-P are unable)
CIA is established

Question 17

1948

Answer 17

Marshall Plan
Included in a foreign aid bill passed by Congress (Apr)
Provides for European postwar recovery
Berlin Blockade
Soviets blockade Berlin, so the British and Americans airlift food/fuel to West Berlin

Question 18

1949

Answer 18

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is established (Apr)

Question 19

1950-1953

Answer 19

Korean War
North Korean communists invade South Korea (June)
Truman, without Congress approval, commits American troops to battle
Armistice agreement signed (July, ‘53)

Question 20

1950-75

Answer 20

Vietnam War
Prolonged conflict between North Vietnam (backed by China and USSR) and the South (backed by U.S.)
Gulf of Tonkin resolution, let Pres take any measures necessary to defend U.S. forces
Last U.S. Troops leave Vietnam (Mar, ‘73)
South V gov surrenders to North (Apr, ‘75)

Question 21

1951

Answer 21

22nd Amendment

Limited the president to two terms (Feb)

Question 22

1952

Answer 22

First Hydrogen Bomb

Detonated by U.S. on Eniwetok, an atoll in the Marshall Islands

Question 23

1954

Answer 23

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans

Declares that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional (May)

Question 24

1957

Answer 24

President sends federal troops to Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., to enforce integration of black students

Question 25

1958

Answer 25

Explorer I | First American satellite is launched

Question 26

1959

Answer 26

Alaska becomes the 49th state (Jan) and Hawaii the 50th (Aug)

Question 27

1961

Answer 27

``` Cuba U.S. severs diplomatic ties (Jan) Bay of Pigs invasion fails (Apr) 'Freedom Riders' Mixed-race group of volunteers travel on buses through the South to protest racially segregated interstate bus facilities (May) ```

Question 28

1962

Answer 28

Cuban Missile Crisis | Kennedy denounces USSR for secretly installing missile bases on Cuba and initiates a naval blockade of the island

Question 29

1963

Answer 29

Martin Luther King 'I have a dream' speech (Aug) | Kennedy assassination, Dallas, TX. (Nov)

Question 30

1964

Answer 30

Civil Rights Act signed by President Johnson (July)

Question 31

1965

Answer 31

Great Society Program Proposed by President Johnson in his annual state of Union address (Jan) Selma, Ala. State troopers attack peaceful MLK and demonstrators (Mar) Voting Rights Act (Aug) Prohibits discriminatory voting practices

Question 32

1966

Answer 32

Miranda v. Arizona (June) Further defines due process clause of 14th Amendment Establishes Miranda rights

Question 33

1968

Answer 33

Martin Luther King assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. (Apr)

Question 34

1969

Answer 34

Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon (July)

Question 35

1971

Answer 35

26th Amendment | Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

Question 36

1972

Answer 36

Nixon visits Communist China (Feb) SALT I, an strategic arms control agreement between U.S. / USSR (May) 5 employees of Nixon's re-election campaign are caught breaking into rivals headquarters, Watergate complex in Washington D.C. (June)

Question 37

1973

Answer 37

Roe v. Wade Legalizes abortion in 1st trimester Watergate Televised hearings to investigate cover-up (May-Aug) Gerald Ford 1st VP to succeed to the office under the terms laid out by the 25th Amendment

Question 38

1974

Answer 38

Watergate House Judiciary Committee recommends that Nixon be impeached for obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress Nixon resigns (Aug) 5 former Nixon aides go on trial, Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Mitchell serve time

Question 39

1977

Answer 39

President Carter signs treaty agreeing to turn control of Panama Canal over to Panama (Sept)

Question 40

1979

Answer 40

U.S. establishes diplomatic ties with mainland China for 1st time since Communist takeover in 1949 (Jan)

Question 41

1980

Answer 41

Olympics President Carter refuses to send U.S. athletes will not attend in Moscow unless USSR withdraw from Afghanistan Abscam FBI undercover bribery investigation, implicates a U.S. Senator, 7 members of the House and 31 other public officials

Question 42

1981

Answer 42

Sandra Day O'Connor | Sworn in as first woman Supreme Court justice

Question 43

1986

Answer 43

Challenger Space shuttle explodes 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all 7 crew (Jan) Iran Contra Scandal breaks when White House is forced to reveal secret arms-for-hostages deals (Nov)

Question 44

1987

Answer 44

INF treaty Signed by Reagan and Gorbachev (Dec) The first arms-control agreement to reduce the superpowers' nuclear weapons

Question 45

1990-91

Answer 45

Persian Gulf War Iraqi troops invade Kuwait (Aug, '90) U.S. leads international coalition in military operation ('Desert Storm') to drive Iraqis out of Kuwait (Jan-Feb) Ceasefire (Apr)

Question 46

1991

Answer 46

START I Treaty | U.S. and USSR sign treat agreeing to further reduce strategic nuclear arms (July)

Question 47

1992

Answer 47

End of Cold War After breakup of the USSR (Dec '91), President Bush and Russian president Yeltsin meet at Camp David to formally declare an end to Cold War (Feb) Rodney King The acquittal of the four white policeman who beat RK sparks rioting (Apr)

Question 48

1995

Answer 48

Vietnam U.S. establishes full diplomatic relations Budget standoff between Clinton and Congress results in partial shutdown of gov (Dec)

Question 49

1998

Answer 49

Lewinsky Scandal Clinton denies having sex with a White House intern (Jan), later admits the affair (Aug) House of Representatives Votes to impeach Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice (Dec), he's later cleared (Jan '99)

Question 50

2001

Answer 50

Twin Towers (Sept 11) Two hijacked jets ram World Trade Center, a third crashed into Pentagon and a fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania More than 3,000 people died Following air and ground assault, the Taliban regime topples (Dec)