President Barack Obama signs the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection financial overhaul bill at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington. Pictured from left to right: Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, teacher Robin Fox, Vietnam veteran Andrew Giordano, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Rep. M (Photo by Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images)

Ted Benna, head of the 401(k) Association, poses for a portrait in a San Francisco hotel, 2002.

(Credit: KT Design/Science Photo Library)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 16: A Wall St. sign next to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) September 16, 2008 in New York City. U.S. stocks continued to drop Tuesday morning for the second consecutive day, following yesterday's Dow Jones Industrial Average plunge of 4.4% or 504 points, being the worst single day loss since the terrorist attacks of September 2001. Today the Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce the target interest rates for the federal funds. It's not clear how the central bank will respond to recent turmoil in the world's financial markets. This comes after news of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc selling itself to Bank of America Corp, the financial firm Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) attempting to raise capital to stay afloat. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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HISTORY

1867

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

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

From raising families to leading armies, women such as Catherine the Great, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Amanirenas, Queen Elizabeth I, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and countless others have played a vital role in history.

Women’s History

In the Roaring Twenties, a surging economy created an era of mass consumerism, as Jazz-Age flappers flouted Prohibition laws and the Harlem Renaissance redefined arts and culture.

Roaring Twenties

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.

U.S. Government and Politics

In the early 20th century, America was flexing its economic and political muscle on the international stage. The era was defined by the temperance movement, Progressive-era activism, the sinking of the Titanic and World War I.

Early 20th Century U.S.

2005

1929

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

19th Century

2008

1982

Stretching more than 3,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, the United States of America is comprised of 50 states, each with its own state capital, traditions and history.

U.S. States

The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. Explore topics on the era, from the stock market crash of 1929, to the Dust Bowl, to FDR’s response to the economic calamity—the New Deal.

Wall Street

Topics

Wall Street Timeline

Dodd-Frank Act

Stock Market Crash of 1929

SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission

Stories

Here Are Warning Signs Investors Missed Before the 1929 Crash

How Did the Gold Standard Contribute to the Great Depression?

Decades Before They Had the Vote, Women Launched Their Own Stock Exchange

Meet the Man Who Invented Modern Retirement

This Day in History

Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy

Bear Stearns collapses, sold to J.P. Morgan Chase

Stock market crashes on Black Tuesday

First stock ticker debuts

Martha Stewart is released from prison

Wall Street informer, Martin Siegel, hatches insider trading scheme