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The Wright brothers had carefully studied the problems of earlier airplanes and had designed one with wings, a more efficient propeller, and a strong but very light engine. On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright made the first crewed, powered flight in history.
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In 1913, Edwin Armstrong, an American engineer, invented a special circuit that made it practical to transmit sound via long-rang radio. The radio industry began a few years later.
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In 1913, Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line at his plant in Highland Park, Michigan. The Assembly Line divided operations into simple tasks and cut unnecessary motion to a minimum. By the following year, workers were building an automobile every 93 minutes. Before, the task had taken 12 hours.
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The League of Nations is established with the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, ending the hostilities of the first World War. Nine days later the United States Senate votes against joining the League.
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The 18th Amendment made it illegal to manufacture, sell, or transport alcohol.
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Women are given the right to vote when the 19th Amendment to the United States constitution grants universal women's suffrage.
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In 1920, the Westinghouse Company broadcast the news of Harding's landslide election victory from station KDKA in Pittsburgh. It was one of the first public broadcast in history. That success persuaded Westinghouse to open other stations.
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In 1921, President Harding signed the Emergency Quota Act. The act restricted annual admission to the United States to only 3 percent of the total number of people in any ethnic group already living in the nation.
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Major powers were involved in a costly postwar naval arms race. To end the weapons race, the United States invited representatives from eight major countries to discuss disarmament. The Washington Conference opened on November 12, 1921.
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This act raised tariffs dramatically in an effort to protect American industry from foreign competition.
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The Teapot Dome scandal secretly allowed private interests to lease lands containing U.S. Navy oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, and Elk Hills, California.
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The Scopes Trial begins and would later convict John T. Scopes of teaching Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory at a Dayton, Tennessee high school, which violated Tennessee law. He is fined $100 for the charge.
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In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made an transatlantic solo flight, showing the possibilities of commercial aviation. By the end of 1928, 48 airlines were serving 355 American cities.
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On August 27, 1928, the United States and 14 other nations signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact. The pact was hailed as a victory for peace. It stated that all signing nations agreed to abandon war and to settle all disputes by peaceful means.
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In Chicago, Illinois, gangsters working for Al Capone kill seven rivals and citizens in the act known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
