Introduction
This book provides a brief history of U.S. Government agencies that were retrieved from the agency websites and other sources. The purpose is to preserve that documentation. The editor is not attempting to copyright public documents.
Quotes from Inaugural Addresses
“And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
– John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961
“Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying, ‘His color is not mine,’ or ‘His beliefs are strange and different,’ in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this nation.”
– Lyndon B. Johnson, January 20, 1965
“The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker. This honor now beckons America — the chance to help lead the world at last out of the valley of turmoil and onto that high ground of peace that man has dreamed of since the dawn of civilization.”
– Richard M. Nixon, January 20, 1969
“I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our government but civilization itself.”
– Gerald R. Ford, address after taking the oath of office on August 9, 1974
“To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others. We will not behave in foreign places so as to violate our rules and standards here at home, for we know that the trust which our Nation earns is essential to our strength.”
– Jimmy Carter, January 20, 1977
“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
– Ronald Reagan, January 20, 1981
“America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world.”
– George H. W. Bush, January 20, 1989
“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”
– Bill Clinton, January 20, 1993
“Through much of the last century, America’s faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea. Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations.”
– George W. Bush, January 20, 2001
“Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
– Barack Obama, January 20, 2009
(Link: https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/)
The history of the United States is vast and complex, but can be broken down into moments and time periods that divided, unified, and changed the United States into the country it is today:
1700-1799
-
The American Revolution (sometimes referred to as the American War of Independence or the Revolutionary War) was a conflict which lasted from 1775-1783 and allowed the original thirteen colonies to remain independent from Great Britain.
-
American politician and soldier George Washington became the first President of the United States in 1789, serving two terms.
-
Beginning in Great Britain in the late 1790s, the Industrial Revolution eventually made its way to the United States and changed the focus of our economy and the way we manufacture products.
1800-1899
-
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson agreed to the Louisiana Purchase, successfully adding 530 million acres of land to the United States. The area was purchased from France for $15 million. The following year, President Jefferson assigned Meriwether Lewis (who asked for help from William Clark) to head west and explore the newly purchased land. It took about a year and a half for the duo to reach the west coast.
-
The American Civil War divided the United States in two – the Northern States versus the Southern States. The outcome of the four year battle (1861-1865) kept the United States together as one whole nation and ended slavery.
1900-1999
-
On December 17, 1903, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright became the first people to maintain a controlled flight in a powered, heavier-than-air machine. The Wright Flyer only flew for 12 seconds for a distance of 120 feet, but their technology would change the modern world forever.
-
On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I by declaring war on Germany.
-
After nearly 100 years of protests, demonstrations, and sit-ins, women of the United States were officially granted the right to vote after the 19th Amendment was ratified on August 26, 1920.
-
The worst economic crisis to happen in the United States occurred when the stock market crashed in October 1929 resulting in the Great Depression.
-
World War II officially begins in September 1939 after Germany invades Poland. The United States didn’t enter the war until after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
-
On August 6 and August 9 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, effectively ending World War II.
-
After World War II, an agreement was reached to divide Korea into two parts: a northern half to be controlled by the Soviet Union and a southern half to be controlled by the United States. The division was originally meant as a temporary solution, but the Soviet Union managed to block elections that were held to elect someone to unify to country. Instead, the Soviet Union sent North Korean troops across the 38th parallel leading to the three-year long (1950-1953) Korean War.
-
From 1954-1968, the African-American Civil Rights movement took place, especially in the Southern states. Fighting to put an end to racial segregation and discrimination, the movement resulted in the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
-
The Vietnam War was a nearly 20 year battle (November 1, 1955–April 30 1975) between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam won the war and Vietnam became a unified country.
-
The Apollo 11 mission (July 16-24, 1969) allowed United States astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin to become the first humans to walk on the moon’s surface.
2000-Present
-
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, changed the United States forever. Less than a month later (October 7, 2001) the United States began the War in Afghanistan, which is still happening today.
-
On March 20, 2003, the United States invaded and occupied Iraq. The war lasted for more than eight years before it was officially declared over on December 18, 2011.
-
In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African-American to be elected President of the United States.
-
Operation Neptune Spear was carried out on May 2, 2011, resulting in the death of long-time al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
(Link: https://www.usa.gov/history#item-37632)
