USH Timeline by Tori Seggerman

September, 1940 - Destroyers for Bases

2025-04-03 15:58:50 UTC

The US signed the Destroyers for Bases agreement which gave 50 destroyers to Britain in exchange for the use of British bases and assets. The lease was guaranteed for the duration of 99 years.

1940 - FDR's 3rd Term

2025-04-03 15:59:28 UTC

FDR broke the 2 term precedent when he won the 1940 election by a wide margin. He had lots of support and dominated his Republican contender, Wendell Wilkie.

March 1941 - Captain America

2025-04-03 15:59:40 UTC

Created by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby, Captain America was first introduced in March 1941. Captain America was a symbol of patriotism, heroism, and unwavering commitment to justice.

October 1941 - Mt Rushmore Construction Ends

2025-04-03 15:59:52 UTC

Construction of the monument Mt. Rushmore began in 1927 and was funded at first by individuals and community organizations. In 1929, the Mount Rushmore bill was passed under president Calvin Coolidge, and this provided funding for up to half of the estimated cost of the memorial. No-one died in the making of the monument and it was considered complete on October 31, 1941.

1944 - FDR wins a 4th term

2025-04-03 16:00:07 UTC

Roosevelt won a 4th term after defeating Republican Thomas Dewey with 54 percent of the popular vote and a large majority of the electoral vote, but he passed away only 11 weeks later, on April 12, 1945. Two years later the 22nd Amendment, limiting the number of terms a president can serve, was passed into law.

1946 - Cold War Begins

2025-04-03 16:00:18 UTC

After WW2 ended in 1945, the growing superpowers emerging from the rubble had vastly different ideas about how to rule a country. With the race to control deadly new technologies, the tensions that would determine superiority lead the U.S. and the Soviet Union to prepare to fight a proxy war in Europe.

March 1947 - Truman Doctrine

2025-04-03 16:00:30 UTC

The Truman Doctrine, passed in March 1947, proclaimed that the US would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from other forces. At the time, this was especially crucial as the Soviet Union was looking to expand their ideals into small Eastern European countries.

October 1947- Breaking the sound barrier

2025-04-03 16:00:31 UTC

Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight. He was a test pilot for the US Air Force. He flew the Bell X-1, reaching the speed of 700 miles per hour. This was a major milestone in aviation history, and marked the military as a force to be reckoned with.

April 1947 - Jackie Robinson is first AA in MLB

2025-04-03 16:00:42 UTC

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in the MLB. He played as a Brooklyn Dodger and helped his team defeat the Yankees and win their first World Series Championship. In 1962, Robinson was inducted as the first African American into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He passed away in 1972 after a life chop full of great achievements.

June 1947 - Taft-Hartley Act

2025-04-03 16:01:02 UTC

The Taft Hartley Act was a complex bill introduced by Senator Robert Taft and Rep. Fred Hartley Jr. and was designed to limit the power of unions with regards to labor practices. After being vetoed by President Truman, it was easily overridden by Congress and became law.

1948- NASCAR first race

2025-04-03 16:04:04 UTC

On Febuary 15 NASCAR was officially founded and ran its first race in Daytona Beach at the beach road course. Red Bryron, an American Motorsports racing driver, won in a Ford. There were an estimated 14,000 people that attended, and other future Hall of Famers Tim Flock and Lee Petty would race as well.

June 1948--May 1949- Berlin Airlift

2025-04-03 16:04:43 UTC

The Berlin Airlift was a major and defining event in the Cold War. It started when Soviet Forces blockaded rail, road, and water to Allied controlled areas of Berlin. The United States responded with an Airlift to come to Berlin's aid. This went on for many months (almost a year) before the blockade ended.

1949- The book 1984

2025-04-03 16:05:09 UTC

It was a dystopian novel and cautionary tale envisioning a future where the freedom of individuals are subjugated to the conformity of society. It is a warning against the dangers of totalitarianism and the erosion of freedom. Something that was seen as the enemy during this Cold War Era.

April 1949- NATO

2025-04-03 16:05:28 UTC

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (aka. NATO) was created by the United States, Canada, and many of the Western European nations totaling in 30 different countries. It was to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. In other words if an attack was set on one member of the group, it is seen as an attack on them all.

1950--1953- Korean War

2025-04-03 16:06:15 UTC

It began in June when North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, invaded the south, who was supported by the United States. It was very bloody and led to the deaths of 3 million people. This fight was seen as one of the major conflicts of the Cold War, filled with tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the end the two sides agreed to stay separated and now have a Demilitarized Zone.

1951- 22nd Amendment Ratified

2025-04-03 16:07:10 UTC

This amendment established the two term limits on those elected as president, and it outlined an accompanying series of stipulations regarding the eligibility of succession for unfinished presidential terms.

June 25, 1951- 1st color TV program

2025-04-03 16:07:40 UTC

Broadcasted on CBS, a commercial aired as a special presentation. It was the very first colored production in TV history. Not the first of anything in color, but it was the first television program. It would create the excitement that continued through the 1970's.

August 1953- CIA in Iran

2025-04-03 16:08:06 UTC

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the UK were involved in overthrowing the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh (the 30th Prime Minister) in Iran, this was to regain power for the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

July 8, 1953 - Elvis Presley

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:09:50 UTC

The first song to be played on the radio by Elvis Presley was “That’s All Right”. It wasn’t even released or pressed yet. DJ Dewey Phillips, had heard the song a few days earlier at Sun Records on a tape and wanted to give it to the world as soon as possible. He played it over and over while trying to get a hold of Elvis on the phone.

September 1954 - SEATO

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:10:15 UTC

SEATO stands for Southeast Asia Treaty Organization that was created by the United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan. This organization was formed in order to prevent communism from spreading.

July 1953 - Disneyland

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:10:37 UTC

Disneyland was first called “The Mickey Mouse Park”. Walt Disney purchased 160 acres of land that was an orange grove and started the construction of Disneyland in 1954. It didn’t officially open until July 17th, 1955 with only 18 rides and attractions. One year after it opened, they already had 5 million visitors.

1956 - Eisenhower re-elected

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:11:22 UTC

The election was held on Nov 6, 1956. Republican Eisenhower’s main competitor was Democrat Adlai E. Stevenson. This was the second consecutive election that Eisenhower beat Stevenson. Eisenhower had 457 electoral votes while Stevenson only had 73 from Missouri, Arizona, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and both South and North Carolina.

1956 - Military in South Vietnam

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:11:58 UTC

The US expanded their numbers of men in South Vietnam as France withdrew men. They felt as if South Vietnam needed the extra help with France taking their men back and felt as if South Vietnam was our “offspring” therefore we needed to continue to support and help them.

July 1958 - NASA

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:12:15 UTC

“In April 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower asked congress to pass legislation to create a civilian space agency to oversee the nation’s space activities.” Just 3 months later, he signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 into law which created NASA.

1959 - Polio Vaccine

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:12:32 UTC

The first vaccine was in liquid form. It was not allowed in the US, however it was allowed in other countries where it was used. Jonas Salk was the first person to successfully kill off the virus with the vaccine. A later type that came out was oral medication that Albert Sabin created and came into commercial use in 1961.

January 1959 - Alaska became a state

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:13:04 UTC

Alaska was a US territory since 1867 however it didn’t become a state until January of 1959. Alaska was the 49th state added to America. James Wickersham was the first to introduce the law in 1916 shortly after the First Organic Act. Then Delegate E. L. "Bob" Bartlett reintroduced it with Truman backing him up and eventually got Eisenhower to sign it.

February 1959 - Castro overthrows Cuba

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:13:30 UTC

The Cuban communist revolutionary and politician Fidel Castro took part in the Cuban Revolution from 1953 to 1959. Following on from his early life, Castro decided to fight for the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista's military junta by founding a paramilitary organization, "The Movement". Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was pardoned by Batista just 2 years later because they said he wasn’t a threat anymore.

August 1959 - Hawaii became a state

toriseggerman — 2025-04-03 16:13:54 UTC

Hawaii has been a US territory since 1898. Hawaii was the 50th state added to america. At the time of the vote, 90% of the residents were American citizens. Hawaii was denied multiple times to become a state.