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The Industrial Revolution (1820-1870)
The Industrial Revolution was a time of economic, technological, social, and cultural change, that started in the UK and spread to America. It improved the speed and quality of production, and provided new and improved machines and transport. -
Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone (1876)
Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone. Businesses benefited from the additional means of communication that made completing transactions and connecting to customers easier and more efficient. -
Thomas Edison invents the incandescent light bulb (1879)
The invention of the light bulb allowed people to work longer, and businesses to stay open later, even when it was dark. -
Henry Ford Implements the Assembly Line (1913)
The invention of the assembly line increased the speed of production and reduced the cost of an automobile, making it more accessible to the average American. -
World War I begins (1914-1918)
Also known as the Great War, the first World War increased U.S. industrial production and the economy, however the government was weak. -
Panama Canal Opens (1914)
When the Panama Canal opened, it connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, providing a new route for international trade and military transport. -
Stock Market Crash (1929)
The Stock Market crash led to the loss of jobs, increase of homelessness, failure of banks, and ultimately to the Great Depression. -
Pearl Harbor/World War II (1941-1945)
The bombing of Pearl Harbor pulled America into World War II. Production of war necessities increased the economy and pulled the United States out of the Great Depression. -
The Cold War (1947-1991)
The Cold War, primarily between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, was based on a fear of the power each country possessed. The American economy grew because of the people's belief that they should buy consumer goods to help the economy. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization is founded (1949)
NATO was formed to help protect against the Soviet Union, and to encourage European political integration. -
Vietnam War (1955-1975)
The Vietnam War was the longest, most debilitating war, and the only one the U.S. ever lost. It damaged the economy, lowered the voting age to 18, and ended the draft. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
The Cuban Missile Crisis was 13 days of tension on the "brink of nuclear war" between the U.S. and the USSR, who had set up missiles in Cuba. Because of the close proximity of Cuba to America, the American people felt true vulnerability for the first time. -
World Wide Web invented (1989)
The Internet expands with the World Wide Web. It gave the average person access to an infinite amount of information. -
North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (1994)
NAFTA is a trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It reshaped North American economic relations and improved the American economy. -
9/11 Terrorist Attack (2001)
The goal of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was to cripple the U.S. by destroying its centers of power: the World Trade Center/Wall Street, the Pentagon, and the White House. They only succeeded in the first two attacks, however the economy was still hurt and further entered a recession. -
2008 Recession
The recession of 2008 was a major economic downturn worldwide. It was caused by the Financial Crisis of 2008.
