This is the time period I have been patiently waiting for. The part of history that catches me the most. I understand that everything that leads up to the 1900's is important, but I feel it interests me because it is closer to the time I am living in. My ancestors fought for my freedom to be here today. I wish the World Wars, the Cold War, and the Holocaust did not occur, but it is what shapes America today and the society I live in.
The technology over the past century has advanced greatly. Albert Einstein made a great contribution to science. In 1905, building onto electromagnetism and the study of light, he proposed a special theory of relativity that held that time and mass were relative to the observer's frame of reference. His theory was confirmed quickly by other physicists studying the speed of light. Einstein made contributions to quantum mechanics, determining that sub-atomic particles, such as neutrons, protons, and electrons, perform at time like particles of matter and other times they act like light energy moving in waves. This man was a genius of his time and still is to this day. I am astonished the amount of research he was able to do just over one hundred years ago. I would have thought that someone would take this information and use it as a weapon. Shockingly, these new discoveries of science had little to do with the wars that were about to unravel in the upcoming years.
The music during this era reassured America through the hardship of the Great Depression. Jazz to be specific. Louis Armstrong is the best-known figure in the history of jazz, performing with his trumpet solo. Unfortunately, the Great Depression in America led to a global war. Countries united with each other to abolish other countries. Japan surprisingly attacked the United States, bombing Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Adolf Hitler invaded Europe with his German armies. As World War II ended, it brought on harder times than ever.