Modern Era
Chaco War (1932-1935): Bolivia and Paraguay's Desert War
Paraguay won and the 1938 peace settlement gave it most of the disputed Chaco Boreal; both countries suffered heavy losses and political upheaval.
Region
Americas
Modern Era
New Deal (1933-1939): Roosevelt's Answer to the Great Depression
The federal government took on lasting roles in banking regulation, relief, social insurance and labour relations, though full recovery came only with the Second World War.
Modern Era
Labor Day Hurricane (1935): The Florida Keys Catastrophe
More than 400 people died, including about 250 veterans in federal work camps; the Overseas Railroad was wrecked and replaced by the Overseas Highway.
Modern Era
Hindenburg Disaster (1937): The End of the Airship Age
The hydrogen-filled airship burned in about half a minute; 36 people died and passenger airship travel effectively ended.
Modern Era
1938 New England Hurricane: The Long Island Express
The fast-moving hurricane killed roughly 680-800 people, destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of buildings and changed New England's coastline and forests.
Modern Era
Battle of the River Plate (1939): The Hunt for the Graf Spee
The damaged Admiral Graf Spee took refuge in Montevideo and was scuttled by her crew on 17 December 1939.
Modern Era
Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945): U-Boats, Convoys and Codes
The Allies defeated the U-boat campaign, keeping Britain supplied and making possible the build-up for the invasion of Europe.
Modern Era
Tuskegee Airmen: The First Black Military Aviators in the US
Nearly 1,000 Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee; their combat record helped pave the way for the desegregation of the US armed forces in 1948.
Modern Era
Lend-Lease Act (1941): America Becomes the Arsenal of Democracy
The United States supplied about $50 billion of war material to Allied nations, becoming the main arsenal of the anti-Axis coalition.
Modern Era
Attack on Pearl Harbor (1941): The Day the US Went to War
Japanese tactical success; eight US battleships damaged or sunk and 2,403 Americans killed, and the United States entered the Second World War.
Modern Era
Manhattan Project (1942–1945): The Race for the Atomic Bomb
The United States, with British and Canadian participation, produced the first nuclear weapons, tested one on 16 July 1945 and used two against Japan in August 1945.
Modern Era
Navajo Code Talkers: The Unbreakable Code of the Pacific War
Around 400 Navajo Marines served as code talkers; Japanese forces never broke their code, and the programme was declassified in 1968.