Martin Stezano

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America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian - the U.S. president - would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The 1970s was an era when the women's rights, gay rights and environmental movements gained momentum. The Vietnam War came to a close, the Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, the United States ended direct involvement in the Vietnam War and President Jimmy Carter grappled with an energy crisis, inflation and the Iran Hostage Crisis.&nbsp;

1970s

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

The 1990s is often remembered as a decade of relative peace and prosperity: The Soviet Union fell, ending the decades-long Cold War, and the rise of the internet ushered in a radical new era of communication, business and entertainment.&nbsp;However, the decade was not without violence and tragedy, including&nbsp;the Bosnian genocide,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Rodney King beating and subsequent L.A. Riots, and the&nbsp;jihadist bombing of the World Trade Center. The Columbine High School shooting marked a solemn chapter in gun violence, and the devastatingly deadly Oklahoma City bombing by a domestic terrorist followed lethal standoffs between federal agents and armed civilians at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas.&nbsp;

1990s

During the 1980s, conservative politics and Reaganomics held sway as the Berlin Wall crumbled, new computer technologies emerged, AIDS ravaged the United States, especially the gay male community, and blockbuster movies and MTV reshaped pop culture.

Martin Stezano

Stories

How MLB’s First Japanese Player Made it to Big Leagues

World War I—in Color

One Man Exposed the Secrets of the Freemasons. His Disappearance Led to Their Downfall

The Biggest Political Scandals in American History