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President Warren G. Harding dies suddenly of a heart attack while in office.
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John Scopes is put on trial for violating the Butler Act, which prevented the teaching of evolutionary theory in public schools in Tennessee.
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Charles Lindbergh restores faith of Americans in individual effort and technology by completing the first trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris.
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The stock market crashes prompting the beginnings of the Great Depression.
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In his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, Franklin Delano Roosevelt pledges a "new deal" for the American people.
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The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down one of the signature reforms of President Roosevelt's New Deal.
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The Social Security Act is passed providing old age pensions, unemployment insurance, and economic aid.
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The Japanese army invades the capital city of China, Nanjing, killing between 250,000 and 300,000 people.
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Hitler invades Poland which fell in defeat after three weeks of battles, marking the beginning of World War II.
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Japanese forces launch an attack on the American naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II.