Unit 8: The Modern Era

As industry continued to grow in the United States, many people called for more government regulations. President Theodore Roosevelt hoped to improve trade by approving the construction of the Panama Canal.

When World War I began in 1914, Europe was divided in two alliances-the Allied and Central Powers. In 1917, after the sinking of several American ships, the United States declared war on the Central Powers and joined the Allied forces.

In the 1930s the United States fell into a period of economic crisis called the Great Depression and the government created programs to help people recover from the effects poverty and unemployment.

By the end of the 1930s, Germany, Italy, and Japan-called the Axis Powers-threatened world peace. The United States joined the Allied Powers. In 1945 Allied forces gained control of Europe and freed the survivors of the Holocaust. Later that year the United States dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities, bringing an end to the war.

After World War II, the United States developed a rivalry with the Soviet Union called the Cold War. America's commitment to stopping the spread of Communism led to its involvement in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The civil rights movement also began in the 1950s when African Americans, Mexican Americans, women, Native Americans and people with disabilities fought for equal rights.

The United States faced new challenges in the second half of the twentieth century. In the early 1990s, the United States became involved in a war in the Middle East. After the events of September 11th, 2001, the United States launched a war on terrorism, which led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.