1.

World War I (1914- 1918)

a. The United States joins the war as an ally of France, Britain
and Russia due to Germany's denial to end unrestricted
submarine warfare, among other things.

2.

Bombing of Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)

a. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, angering America and causing
it to join World War II.

3.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

a. America, Britain, and Canada debark on the beaches of
Normandy, fighting their way through France and
liberating Paris. From there, the Allies continued east to
Germany.

4.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs (August 6 & 9, 1945)

a. The United States drops an atomic bomb, deemed the
quickest way to end the war, on Hiroshima, hoping to
shock Japan into surrender. Since Japan does not
surrender, another atomic bomb is dropped three days
later on Nagasaki, causing Japan to agree to unconditional
surrender.

5.

United Nations established (October 24, 1945)

a. The United Nations is established after World War II as an
alliance of countries in order to resolve conflict through
diplomacy and prevent another conflict similar to World
War II.

6.

Marshall Plan (April 1948-1952)

a. In 1948, America created the Marshall Plan to provide aid
to Europe and help rebuild devastated regions after World
War II.

7.

NATO established (April 4, 1949)

a. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a military
treaty between many countries, including America, in
which all of the participating countries agree to defend
each other in the case of attack by a group not part of
NATO.

8.

Korean War (1950-1953)

a. America and the United Nations fought the Soviet Union
and China in Korea to stop the spread of communism. This
war led to the permanent division of Korea into a
communist North Korea and a capitalist South Korea.

9.

Vietnam War (1955-1975)

a. America, feeling pressure from other countries, joined the
war in order to prevent the loss of Vietnam to
communism. After many years of fighting, America
withdrew its troops and allowed communists to take
control due to anti-war sentiments at home.