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  • reaganomics

    reagan wanted to shrink government's role in american life by cutting taxes, relaxing regulations on business, and reducing the amount of money spent on social programs. he began his first term by pushing through congress a $280 billion tax cut-the largest in history. a tax cut decreases the amount of money that the government takes from every worker's paycheck. reagan hoped these policies, dubbed "reaganomics," would help the economy grow, because people would have more money to spend on goods and services.

  • estonia

    the official name of estonia is the republic of estonia.

    estonia has the highest population of atheists in europe. more than 80% of its population is atheist.

    estonia is the first country to leave the soviet union and produce its own money.

    estonia is the home of important organizations and companies. (see: skype)

    estonia wanted to be recognized as a northern country, not as a baltic country.

    estonia has 2,222 islands.

    estonia became the first country to have legally binding general elections using the internet.

  • 1960 united states presidential election

    the 1960 presidential election was one of the closest in history. republican richard m. nixon seemed to have an edge with eight years' experience as eisenhower's vice president, while democrat john f. kennedy, a roman catholic, struggled against anti-catholic prejudice. kennedy, however, attracted voters with his sense of mission. he also gained votes in the first-ever tv debates by appearing fresh and energetic, while nixon looked pale, unshaven, and tired. kennedy's words on january 20, 1961-inauguration day, the formal celebration marking the first day of a presidency–set the tone for his administration: "now the trumpet summons us again ... against the common enemies of man–tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself."

  • at&t

  • nato

    on april 4, 1949, the united states joined 11 other nations primarily western european nations such as great britain and france, plus canada-to form the north atlantic treaty organization (nato). the nato members agreed that an attack on one would be considered an attack against all. they also agreed to form a military force, with headquarters in paris and general dwight eisenhower as supreme commander.

  • joseph stalin

    ruled as dictator of the soviet union from 1924 until his death in 1953. he maintained his grip on power by murdering his political opponents and repressing any segments of the population that he considered disloyal.

  • israel

    during world war 1, great britain took control of palestine from turkey, which was fighting with germany against the british. at the end of the war, the league of nations assigned the governing of palestine to great britain, but also entrusted to the british the establishment within palestine of "a national home for the jewish people." both arabs and jews lived in this largely desert land, and neither group was willing to form a government with the other.

    during hitler's dictatorship, thousands of european jews fled to palestine. in 1947, the un proposed that separate arab and jewish states be created out of palestine. the jews living in palestine immediately accepted and announced the formation of the state of israel on may 14, 1948.

  • atomic bomb

    in july 1945, at a meeting of the allied leaders in potsdam, germany, president truman received word that the world's first atomic bomb had been tested in the new mexico desert. the bomb was the result of the top-secret manhattan project, started by roosevelt in 1942 after learning that german scientists were working on such a bomb.

    truman faced one of history's most difficult decisions: to invade japan, the allies would need soviet help, but truman did not trust the soviet union. additionally, america's victories in the pacific had involved so many casualties that u.s. military leaders were concerned about the loss of life that would come with a full-scale invasion. if america used this terrifying new weapon, it might force japan to surrender without an invasion. however, it would mean a tremendous loss of life and property for the japanese. with great britain's support, truman decided to use the bomb.

    the japanese surrender – august-september 1945

    on august 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on the japanese city of hiroshima by the enola gay, a b-29 bomber. a four-square-mile area of the city was destroyed, killing 80.000 people. the japanese military leaders refused to surrender. on august 8, the soviet union declared war on japan. on august 9, the united states dropped a second bomb on nagasaki, killing 35,000. the japanese finally surrendered. august 15 was v-j day –victory over japan– and world war 2 was over.

  • yalta conference

    in february 1945, the "big three" allied leaders — roosevelt, churchill, and stalin — met at yalta on the black sea. there they agreed that, when the war in europe was over, germany would be divided into four occupation zones, to be controlled by american, british, french, and soviet forces. they also made plans for a united nations organization, as a successor to the failed league of nations, this time with the united states as a founding member. stalin was promised pieces of japan's empire in exchange for soviet help against japan after germany's surrender. unlike the treaty of versailles, which punished germany harshly after world war 1, this agreement emphasized rebuilding postwar europe.

  • victory in europe day

    was celebrated in new york city with ticker-tape streamers on wall street. the day after germany surrendered, people poured into the streets and celebrated across america and in liberated european cities. but with japan still fighting, the war was not yet over.

  • operation overlord

    operation overlord required incredibly detailed planning, as well as perfect coordination and timing. the final decisions were made by american general dwight d. eisenhower, nicknamed "ike." he was the supreme commander of the allied expeditionary force (aef). weather was ike's biggest headache. there were only a few days each month when the tides were right for the invasion, and, as june approached, storms howled out of the north sea and into the english channel.

    secrecy was also vital. hitler's forces had built a wall of concrete bunkers and gun emplacements along the french coast, and had lain tank traps, mines, and miles of barbed wire. through a variety of deceptions, the allies convinced hitler that the landing target was not normandy, but farther north where the channel narrowed.

  • normandy landings

    aka d-day. by the spring of 1944, the countryside of great britain had been transformed into a gigantic armed camp and supply depot. the allies were now prepared for operation overlord. allied troops would cross the english channel and invade occupied france. this would force hitler to fight a two-front war, since the russian allied force was keeping most of the german army busy in eastern europe. over the previous year, the americans and british had gained the upper hand over german u-boats in the atlantic, and their planes had destroyed much of hitler's air force. now the allies faced their greatest challenge – cracking hitler's land defenses in europe.

  • users' confessions

    i don't want to be right, i want to be happy!

  • jesse owens

    in 1936, the olympic summer games were held in germany, and adolf hitler wanted it to be a great showcase of german-or aryan-racial superiority. but jesse owens, an african american track and field star, stole the show, setting records and winning four gold medals.

  • hideki tojo

    he was the most important military leader in japan after 1931 and led japan during world war 2.

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