Recent American History

**World War I (1917-18)** The United States entered World War I because **Germany attacked U.S. civilian ships** and to support the Allied Powers (England, France, Italy, Russia) against the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire). Women won the right to vote in **1920** after the war, with the 19th Amendment. **The Great Depression** The **Great Depression** was the longest economic recession in modern history. It began with the **stock market crash of 1929** and lasted through the 1930s, causing widespread unemployment, bank failures and poverty. **Franklin Roosevelt (FDR)** was president during both the Great Depression and most of World War II. He introduced the **New Deal** to address the Depression. **World War II (1941-45)** The United States entered WWII after **Japan bombed Pearl Harbor** on December 7, 1941 ("a date which will live in infamy"). The U.S. joined the Allied Powers (England, France, Russia) against the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan). **Dwight Eisenhower** was a general during WWII (Supreme Allied Commander in Europe), later the 34th President, and signed the **Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956** creating the Interstate Highway System. **The Cold War** After WWII, the United States and the **Soviet Union (USSR)** became the world's two superpowers in a period called the **Cold War**. The main U.S. concerns were: • The spread of communism • The threat of nuclear war The U.S. fought the **Korean War (1950-53)** and the **Vietnam War** to stop the spread of communism. **The Civil Rights Movement** The civil rights movement fought to **end racial discrimination** against African Americans. Key moments include: • Supreme Court ruling against school segregation (1954) • Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56) • March on Washington (1963) • Civil Rights Act (1964) • Voting Rights Act (1965) **Martin Luther King, Jr.** is famous for fighting for civil rights, working for equality for all Americans, and delivering the "I Have a Dream" speech (1963). **The Persian Gulf War** The United States entered the **Persian Gulf War (1990-91)** to force the Iraqi military from Kuwait after Iraq invaded Kuwait. **September 11, 2001** On **September 11, 2001**, terrorists attacked the United States: • Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City • One plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia • One plane (aimed at Washington, D.C.) crashed in a field in Pennsylvania Military conflicts that followed include the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq. **American Indians** American Indian tribes in the United States include: Apache, Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux, Lakota, Mohawk, Cheyenne, Seminole, Pueblo, Crow, Blackfeet and many others. **American Innovations** Americans have contributed many world-changing innovations including: the light bulb, automobile, airplane, assembly line, skyscrapers, landing on the moon (1969), and the integrated circuit (microchip).