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Period: to
Economics Hundred Years Timeline - Seminara
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Gold Standard Act
The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard. -
The First Plane
Inventors Wilbur and Orville Wright succeed in the first sustained and manned plane flight. The plane flew 120 feet in 12 seconds, and later the same day, flew 852 feet in 59 seconds. -
Presidential Election
Theodore Roosevelt wins his first election for President after serving three years in the office due to the death of William McKinley. He defeats Democratic candidate Alton B. Parker, 336 to 140 in the Electoral College vote. -
Representative Law
The law establishing the number of United States representatives at 435 is passed. It would go into effect in 1913 after the 1912 elections. -
Fed. Reserve System
A major reform of the American financial and banking system occurs with the authorization of the U.S. Congress for the establishment of the Federal Reserve System. -
Rural Credits Act
Financial aid to farmers is awarded by the passage of the Rural Credits Act. These payments would be further strengthened with the passage of a second bill, the Warehouse Act, on August 11. -
The first type of Television
Radiovision is born. The precursor to television is demonstrated by Charles Francis Jenkins when he transmits a 10 minute film of synchronized pictures and sound for five miles from Anacostia to Washington, D.C. to representatives of the United States government. -
Hoover becomes President
Herbert Hoover wins election as President of the United States with an Electoral College victory, 444 to 87 over Democratic candidate Alfred E. Smith -
Stock Market Crash
Postwar prosperity ends in the 1929 Stock Market crash. The plummeting stock prices led to losses between 1929 and 1931 of an estimated $50 billion and started the worst American depression in the nation's history. -
FDR Inaugurated
President Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for the first time. His speech with its hallmark phrase, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself," begins to rally the public and Congress to deal with great depression issues. -
Securities & Exchange
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is established with the signing of the Securities Exchange Act into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
Social Security
The Social Security Act is passed by Congress as part of the New Deal legislation and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act is approved, which provided $7 billion in military credits for American manufactured war supplies to Great Britain and other allies -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, commences at 7:55 a.m. when Japanese fighter planes launch a surprise attack on United States soil, destroying the U.S. Pacific Fleet docked at the base. One day later, the United States of America declares war on Japan, officially entering World War II. -
G.I. Bill of Rights
The G.I. Bill of Rights is signed into law, providing benefits to veterans. -
Color TV
The first color televisions go on sale. -
First Civil Rights Bill
U.S. Congress approves the first civil rights bill since reconstruction with additional protection of voting rights. -
The Last Two States
Alaska is admitted to the United States as the 49th state to be followed on August 21 by Hawaii. -
U.S. Flag
The fifty star flag of the United States is debuted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reflecting the admission of Hawaii into the union in 1959. -
Medicare
Medicare, the government medical program for citizens over the age of 65, begins. -
Apollo
The Apollo program completes its mission. Neil Armstrong, United States astronaut, becomes the first man to set foot on the moon. -
Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is made independent in a postal reform measure for the first time in almost two centuries. -
Disney World
Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida, expanding the Disney empire to the east coast of the United States. -
Chrysler Bailout
The Chrysler Bailout is approved by the federal government. A $1.5 billion loan-guarantee plan is floated to assist the third largest car maker in the United States. -
PC - Personal Computer
IBM introduces the IBM-PC personal computer, the IBM 5150. It was designed by twelve engineers and designers under Don Estridge of the IBM Entry Systems Division. It sold for $1,565 in 1981. -
Social Security Bankrupt
President Reagan signs legislation meant to rescue the Social Security System from bankruptcy. -
Largest Corp. Merger
General Electric Corporation agrees to buy RCA Corporation for $6.28 billion in the largest corporate merger ever outside the oil industry. -
Finacial aid to Mexico
U.S. President Bill Clinton invokes emergency powers to extend a $20 billion loan to Mexico to avert a financial disaster that had begun on December 19, 1994 during a planned exchange rate correction between the Mexican peso and American dollar. -
U.S. vs. Microsoft
The United States Department of Justice and twenty states file the anti-trust case, U.S. versus Microsoft. On November 5, 1999, a preliminary ruling stated that Microsoft had monopoly power. -
The Best Thing That Ever Happened
MY BIRTHDAY!!!! What historical event is better than that? XD -
Dow Jones
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 10,000 for the first time. -
Winter Olympics
The International Olympic Committee votes in Prague that the Winter Olympic Games are coming back to North America, selecting Vancouver, Canada as host of the XXI Olympic Games in 2010. -
Huricane Katrina
Over one thousand three hundred people perish from Alabama to Louisiana in one of the worst natural disasters to strike the United States. -
Un-employment
The economic recession continues to deepen as jobless claims climb above 10.0%, reaching 10.2% with October's monthly figures.