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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

the kkk, which had terrorized southern blacks after the civil war, was reestablished in georgia in 1915. the new klan claimed it was protecting america's "pioneer heritage" from not only blacks but also radicals, foreigners, jews, and catholics. membership soared following a series of antiblack riots in 1919, when white mobs rampaged through black neighborhoods in chicago and washington, d.c., killing at least 100 african americans.

money poured into the ku klux klan treasury, and its membership swelled to more than four million. for a few years the klan was a political force in small towns in the south, midwest, and southwest, helping elect senators and governors in several states. by 1925, economic prosperity and full employment reduced fear of radicals, and the popularity of the klan went into a steep decline. by 1930, membership had dropped below 10,000.

in 1902, a coal miners' strike threatened the nation's supply of heating fuel. roosevelt invited the mine owners and union officials to the white house, but the owners refused to negotiate. furious, the president got them to back down, and the strike was settled, with the miners receiving a pay raise and a nine-hour work day, down from 12 hours.

in his bid for reelection in 1904, roosevelt said that in brokering the settlement he had tried for a "square deal"—a fair result-for both sides. the square deal became his motto for the rest of his career. roosevelt won a landslide election to become president in his own right in 1904.

became a cruel sport after the railroad system was established. the great herds were seen as hindrances to the settling of western lands. then, in 1871, a process was developed for tanning buffalo hides. tanning companies sent teams of hunters to kill the animals for the hides, leaving the meat to rot and threatening the survival of the plains indians, who relied on the herds for their livelihood.

regarded as the best officer in the u.s. army, lee symbolized the conflict faced by many, lee had mixed feelings about slavery. though he never publicly spoke against it, he considered it a "moral and political but also felt it was a necessary lesson to civilize the slaves. he opposed secession, however, and so president lincoln offered him command of the union armies in 1861. but when virginia joined the confederacy, lee turned down the offer and accepted a commission in the confederate army. he said,

"i cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children."

peter cooper was an inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist who believed that the wealthy have a duty to help society. before the age of 30, cooper made his fortune with a glue factory. about 1828, he built an ironworks in baltimore and began a second career in the iron industry. during his life, cooper produced many inventions, including a steam-powered locomotive and flavored gelatin, and he supported the development of the new telegraph network. he also helped to secure public education and improve sanitation in new york city. in 1859, he founded the cooper union, a university that gives all its students a free education.

people refer to the 1830s as the period of "jacksonian democracy," but these terms refer more to the spirit of reform that swept jackson into office than to any democratic reforms that he created, jackson's own ideas of democracy were limited. he was, for example, a slave owner, and he designed the indian removal policy. the american people embraced him in large part because he was a self-made man who, like many of them, had settled in the frontier west.

when the new congress met in 1789, james madison proposed several amendments to the constitution. as well as being inspired by the virginia declaration of rights created by anti-federalist george mason, the amendments included proposals from state representatives. congress approved the ten amendments to the constitution, which were named the bill of rights.

the first four amendments listed the individual rights of americans, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion the next four were protections of people who were arrested. the ninth amendment stated that other rights of the people were also protected even though they weren't listed, and the tenth said that powers not given to the government belonged to the states or to the people.

even in good economic times, farmers usually had only a little bit of extra goods to trade or sell after they had provided for their families they rarely had much actual money. so farm families had trouble paying their taxes. many, like captain daniel shays of massachusetts, had been paid for serving in the army, but the paper money was worthless because the government had no wealth which would give it value. in january 1787, shays and about 1,000 other farmers seized weapons from the springfield armory and closed courts so their property could not be sold off. shays' rebellion was easily put down, but it convinced many that a stronger government was needed to address the country's problems.

an adaptation of an african lyre, was a common instrument in slave quarters. singing songs reinforced slaves sense of community and tied their lives in america to their ancestors' in africa.