History often moves at a leisurely pace, with major events occurring months and even years apart. But this 12 months, it seems as if someone has pushed the time lapse forward, with significant events occurring weekly and even each day. One company is now selling a T-shirt that claims “THIS IS MY LIFE IN LOW TIMES SHIRT.”

The announcement on July 21, 2024, that Joe Biden would drop out of the presidential race was the newest in a dizzying array of major national events in 2024. Here is a brief list:

Although the rapid development of events in 2024 is rare in American history, it just isn’t an isolated case.

1968: Assassinations, political unrest, war

Many observers have already compared the 12 months 2024 with the 12 months 1968. In each years, the incumbent Democratic presidents retired the election and tragic outbreaks political violence. But 1968 was also a 12 months of rapid development of other historical events. The following happened in that 12 months:

• January 23, 1968: North Korea hijacks naval ship USS Pueblo.
• January 30: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launch the Tet Offensiveand thus undermines the claim that the USA would win the Vietnam War.
• February 8: Alabama Governor George Wallace, a segregationist, broadcasts his presidential candidacy as a 3rd party.
• March 10: US commander in Vietnam, General William Westmoreland, calls for 200,000 additional soldiers.
• March 12: Minnesota U.S. Sen. Eugene McCarthy almost annoys President Lyndon Johnson within the New Hampshire primaries.
• March 16: New York US Senator Robert F. Kennedy broadcasts his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
• 31 March: Johnson agrees to a Partial cessation of bombing of North Vietnam to barter an end to the war. He also announced that he wouldn’t run for re-election.
• 4. April: Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Serious unrest occurs in several American cities.
• tenth of May: Peace talks on the Vietnam War begin in Paris.
• June 5: Kennedy is shot in Los Angeles after winning the California primary. He died the following day.
• August 8: The Republican National Convention nominated Richard Nixon as president.
• August 20: Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces Invasion of Czechoslovakia and suppression of the Prague Spring Liberalization movement.
• August 26-29: A bitterly divided Democratic convention nominates Vice President Hubert Humphrey as PresidentOutside Congress, Chicago police unleash a wave of violence against peaceful protesters.
• September 30: Humphrey broadcasts Support for stopping the bombing of Vietnam and peace negotiations.
• Nov. 5: Nixon wins a narrow victory within the presidential election.

1940: War, conscription and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s historic re-election

Two other years saw significant events in particularly rapid succession. The first 12 months was 1940, marked by Nazi Germany's invasion of European countries, the response to this aggression, and a landmark third term for US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1973: Abortion, peace agreement, Watergate, political chaos

Finally, 1973 saw a rapid succession of historic events. The U.S. Supreme Court guaranteed the suitable to abortion on the federal level. The Vietnam War ended after nearly 60,000 Americans and tens of millions of civilians were killed. War broke out within the Middle East. And the congressional hearings led to a political scandal that may end Nixon's presidency the next 12 months.

What do these years of unprecedented events have in common?

One factor appears to be that wars and presidential elections appear to trigger a cascade of events. Second, major events appear to trigger other events. In 1940, the Nazi invasions led to Churchill becoming British Prime Minister and presumably increased the likelihood that Roosevelt would run for and win a 3rd term.

In 1968, the Tet Offensive helped challenge President Johnson, causing him to quit the party, setting the stage for the disastrous Democratic National Convention that 12 months.

Trump's political and legal comebacks this 12 months have made Democrats much more desperate to seek out a winning candidate and increased pressure on Biden after his poor debate performance.

We don't know if the pace of stories events will decelerate this 12 months, but what we do know is that almost all Americans appreciate somewhat breather before facing one other potentially historic event.