The Story | detroit2

The story, so far...

1701: founded by the French as Ste. Anne de Detroit.
1760: Handed over to the British following the French and Indian War, name shortened to just Detroit.
1796: Detroit becomes American after the Jay Treaty is signed.
1800s: Detroit grows as a major commerce hub and industrial center.

1910: Henry Ford invents the Model T and assembly line.
1920s: Ford, General Motors, and rival auto companies set up factories and offices in the city. High demand for cars creates plentiful jobs.
1930s: Great Depression sweeps across America. Car companies are faced with drastic decline in car demand.
1942: WWII begins. Car factories transition to churning out thousands of B-24 bombers, Sherman tanks, and 2 1/2 ton trucks. Jobs are plentiful again
1943: Riots explode over integration of assembly lines.
1950s: Post-war boom brings demand for cars again. Returning veterans easily find jobs in the car companies.

1950s: Families begin to move to the suburbs as Detroit becomes increasingly crowded.
1967: Five days of race riots kill 43 people and damaged thousands of businesses and homes. 17,000 police, National Guardsmen, and Paratroopers were needed to put a stop to the destruction. The riot increased the amount of people and business moving out of the city.
Late 1960s: White Flight begins as families flee from the increasing danger and tensions in Detroit.
1970: Rising oil prices being to affect car demands. German and Japanese imports create powerful rivals to American car companies.
1980s: Crime becomes an epidemic. Drug gangs roam the streets and Detroit becomes murder capital of the world.
2008: Auto companies face severe drop in sales, Chrysler and GM forced into bankruptcy. Layoffs coupled with pay or benefit cuts become widespread throughout the car companies.
2008: Corruption trail of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick brings to light the level of corruption and damage afflicting Detroit.
2013: Detroit files for bankruptcy.