The rules were simple—the selections had to be specific moments (not trends or broad social movements, or even necessarily a well-known date) and these moments had to have occurred sometime during the 20th century.
Time has now published the results in a story titled 25 Moments That Changed America, which includes short essays–based on interviews with each historian–explaining why their moment was selected.
One of the distinguished historians that Time contacted for the piece is UC Santa Cruz humanities dean Tyler Stovall, who is also currently president-elect of the American Historical Association.
Stovall chose for his moment: Busing is Mandated in Boston (June 21, 1974). He said that he chose that moment because it seemed to mark a transition between…