1900 — 1909 HISTORIC EVENTS AND TECHNOLOGY

1900 - 1909 • HISTORIC EVENTS AND TECHNOLOGY Many changes during this time were brought about through advances in technology. • Radio broadcasts and transportation, especially automobiles, ships, and trains, changed the way people viewed their world. • During this decade the Wright Brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, the first cross country auto trip took 52 days. • Cadillac was founded and Henry Ford provided the first affordable car ($700 -900). The Sunday drive became a national pastime. • The Presidents were Mc. Kinley, [assassinated in 1901] Roosevelt, and Taft. FACTS about this decade. 76, 000 Americans in 46 states (by the end of the decade. ) $46, 000 + in the U. S. treasury 8, 000 cars - 10 miles of paved roads 1900 - Autodeaths 96; lynchings 115 San Francisco Earthquake took 700 lives and cost over $4, 000 in damage. Average worker made $12. 98/week for 59 hours Life expectancy: 47. 3 female, 46. 3 male - 33. 0 blacks

1910 - 1919 • The 1910 s was a decade of great change for America. It was during this decade that the United States was first considered a world leader. • American became the most highly industrialized country during this time. Mass production of cars created a nationwide prosperity and resulted in one of the most profound social changes in America's history. Popular culture became a lucrative national product for the United States. All over the world people were dancing their dance crazes, listening to their jazz tunes, wearing their fashions and buying their products.

• Historic events include the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912 when more than 1500 people lost their lives. Other news events included the initiation of the The National Park Service and Prohibition (1919). The first parachute jump was made, and the Girl Scouts of America were formed. • The Presidents were William Howard Taft 1909 -1913 Woodrow Wilson 1913 -1921 1910 - 1919

Facts about this decade • • Population: 92, 407, 000 Life Expectancy: Male 48. 4 Female: 51. 8 Average Salary $750 / year Unemployed 2, 150, 000 National Debt: $1. 15 billion Attendance: Movies 30 million per week Lynchings: 76 Divorce: 1/1000 1910 - 1919

1920 - 1929 • Thanks to Henry Ford and mass production, one could buy a ford for $290. • The Volstead Act became effective Jan 16, 1920 and made the sale of a drink containing as much as one halfounce of alcohol unlawful. • At the beginning of the decade the US was paralyzed by the grip of the red scare. Racial tensions were high and quotas were set for immigrants coming into America. The Ku Klux Klan (three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically expressed through terrorism )was very active during this period. During this decade, Presidents were • 1913 -1920 Woodrow Wilson • 1921 -1923 Warren G. Harding • 1923 -1928 Calvin Coolidge • 1928 -1932 Herbert Hoover 1920 - 1929

By October 24, 1929, Black Thursday, the stock market crashed and panic broke out. Banks closed. The nation stayed in this depression through the end of the twenties and most of the thirties. FACTS about this decade. • • • 106, 521, 537 people in the United States 2, 132, 000 unemployed, Unemployment 5. 2% Life expectancy: Male 53. 6, Female 54. 6 Average annual earnings $1236; Illiteracy rate reached a new low of 6% of the population. • It took 13 days to reach California from New York There were 387, 000 miles of paved road. 1920 - 1929

1930 - 1939 • By the 1930 s money was scarce because of the depression, so people did what they could to make their lives happy. Movies were hot, parlor games and board games were popular. People gathered around radios to listen to the Yankees. • The Presidents of the 1930 s were Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt FACTS about this decade. Population: 123, 188, 000 in 48 states Life Expectancy: Male, 58. 1; Female, 61. 6 Average salary: $1, 368 Unemployment rises to 25% Car Sales: 2, 787, 400 Lynchings: 21

1940 - 1949 • The forties are pretty well defined by World War II. US isolationism was shattered by the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor • Unemployment almost disappeared, as most men were drafted and sent off to war. • The government reclassified 55% of their jobs, allowing women and blacks to fill them. First, single women were actively recruited to the workforce. In 1943, with virtually all the single women employed, married women were allowed to work.

• In April, 1945, FDR died, and President Harry Truman celebrated V-E Day on May 8, 1945. Japan surrendered only after two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United States emerged from World War II as a world superpower, challenged only by the USSR. • Television made its debut at the 1939 World Fair, but the war interrupted further development. In 1947, commercial television with 13 stations became available to the public. Computers were developed during the early forties. The digital computer, named ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), weighing 30 tons and standing two stories high, was completed in 1945. 1940 - 1949

Facts about this decade • • Population 132, 122, 000 Unemployed in 1940 - 8, 120, 000 Average. Salary $1, 299. Minimum Wage $0. 40 per hour Life expectancy 68. 2 female, 60. 8 male Autodeaths 34, 500 Supreme Court decides blacks do have a right to vote • World War II changed the order of world power; the United States and the USSR become super powers • Cold War begins. 1940 - 1949

1950 - 1959 • The end of World War II brought thousands of young servicemen back to America to pick up their lives and start new families in new homes with new jobs. With an energy never before experienced, American industry expanded to meet peacetime needs. Americans began buying goods not available during the war, which created corporate expansion and jobs. Growth everywhere. Facts about this decade Population: 151, 684, 000 Unemployed: 3, 288, 000 Life expectancy: Women 71. 1, men 65. 6 Car Sales: 6, 665, 800 Average Salary: $2, 992

1960 - 1969 • The sixties were the age of youth, as 70 million children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers and young adults. The movement away from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in revolutionary ways of thinking and real change in the cultural fabric of American life. Many of the revolutionary ideas which began in the sixties are continuing to evolve today. • The Civil Rights movement made great changes in society in the 1960's. The movement began peacefully, with Martin Luther King The term "blacks" became socially acceptable, replacing "Negroes. "

• The hippie movement endorsed drugs, rock music, mystic religions and sexual freedom. They opposed violence. The Woodstock Festival at which 400, 000 young people gathered in a spirit of love and sharing, represents the pinnacle (пик) of the hippie movement. Many hippies moved to Haight Ashbury in San Francisco, East Village in New York City, or lived in communes. 1960 - 1969

• The Space Race, begun by the Soviets in 1957, was highlighted by Alan Shepard, the first American in space in 1961. • In 1963, John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth. • Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, in Apollo XI, were the first men to walk on the moon in 1969. Facts about this decade Population 177, 830, 000 Unemployment 3, 852, 000 Average Salary $4, 743 Life Expectancy: Males 66. 6 years, Females 73. 1 years Autodeaths 21. 3 per 100, 000 1960 - 1969

1970 - 1979 • The floppy disc appeared in 1970, and the next year Intel introduced the microprocessor, the "computer on a chip. " • Atari produced the first low-priced integrated circuit TV games, and the videocassette recorder(VCR) changed home entertainment forever. • The neutron bomb, which destroys living beings but leaves buildings intact, was developed. • Other noteworthy developments of the 1970 s included these inventions or innovations: email (1971), the laser printer (1971), and the first space lab (USA Skylab, 1973). Additionally, the electronic book was invented in 1971 FACTS about this decade. Population: 204, 879, 000 Unemployed in 1970: 4, 088, 000 Life Expectancy: Male, 67. 1; Female, 74. 8

1980 - 1989 • Science and technology made terrific strides in the eighties. Large numbers of Americans began using personal computers in their homes, offices, and schools. • Families changed drastically during these years. The 80 s continued the trends of the 60 s and 70 s - more divorces, more unmarrieds living together, more single parent families. The two-earner family was even more common than in previous decades, more women earned college and advanced degrees, married, and had fewer children.

FACTS about this decade. Population: 226, 546, 000 Unemployed in 1980: Average salary: $15, 757 Life Expectancy: Male 69. 9 Female 77. 6 Minimum Wage: $3. 10 BMW was $12, 000; Mercedes 280 E was $14, 800 Attendance: Movies 20 million/week 1980 - 1989

1990 - 1999 • The 1990 s was truly the electronic age • The World Wide Web was born in 1992, changing the way we communicate, spend our money, and do business. In 1989, 15% of American households had a computer. And by 2000, this figure increased to 51%, with 41. 5% online. Internet lingo like plug-ins, BTW (by the way), GOK (God only knows), IMHO (in my humble opinion), and phrases like "See you online" or "The server's down" became part of our everyday vocabulary. We signed our mail with a : -) smile, a ; -) wink, or a : -* kiss. And - everyone has a cell phone

• In the 1990's the United States played the role of world policeman, sometimes alone but more often in alliances. The decade began with Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and the resultant Gulf War • In 1993, war was in the African country of Somalia • In 1996 about 20, 000 American troops were deployed to Bosnia as part of a NATO peace keeping force. In late March 1999, the U. S. joined NATO in air strikes against Yugoslavia 1990 - 1999

FACTS ABOUT THIS DECADE Population: 281, 421, 906 (2000 Census) Unemployment: 5. 8 million, or 4. 2% Average Salary: $13. 37/hr (1999) Minimum Wage: $5. 15/hr (1997) Life Expectancy: Male 73. 1 Female 79. 1(1997) Auto Deaths: 49, 772 (1997) 1990 - 1999