January: Jackson begins his first term, U.S. Representative, 2nd District, Washington State and appoints John L. Salter as his administrative assistant
January: President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his annual message to Congress encouraging aid to Great Britain
December: World War II begins
Jackson is appointed to the U.S. House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and the U.S. House Rivers and Harbors Committee (1941-1952)
February: President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues an executive order authorizing the internment of Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest
June 1: Opening of the Grand Coulee Dam, Grand Coulee, Washington
November: Jackson is reelected to U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State, defeating Republican opponent Payson Peterson
Jackson serves on U.S. House Civil Service Committee
The Northwest PowerPool is formed
Dr. Dorothy Fosdick joins the U.S. State Department
January: Jackson begins second term, 78th Congress, U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State
March: Construction of the Hanford Facilities begins, Benton County, Richland, Washington
September: Jackson enlists in the army in Fort Lewis, Washington and is sent to boot camp in Fort McClellan, Alabama, where he meets George Wallace
November: President Roosevelt orders all Congressmen out of the military
Jackson serves on U.S. House Small Business Select Committee (1943-1948)
November: Jackson is reelected to U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State, defeating Republican opponent Payson Peterson
November: Warren G. Magnuson elected to U.S. Senate
Jackson is appointed to the U.S. House Conservation of Wildlife Resources Select Committee (1944-1946) and serves as chairman, U.S. House Indian Affairs Committee (1944-1947)
January: Jackson begins third term, 79th Congress, U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State
April 12: President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies, and Vice President Harry S. Truman is inaugurated 33rd President of the United States
April 22: Jackson and U.S. Congressional delegation visit the Buchenwald concentration camp, Buchenwald, Germany
November 15: President Harry S. Truman appoints Jackson U.S. delegate to the Maritime Preparatory Technical Conference of the International Labor Organization, Copenhagen, Denmark
December: Jackson visits Norway
President Harry S. Truman sends General George C. Marshall to China to negotiate the conflict between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang (KMT) party
Jackson declines Senator Samuel T. Rayburn’s offer to chair the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
March 5: Winston S. Churchill delivers his Iron Curtain Speech, Westminster College, Fulton, Massachusetts
June-July: Jackson is elected chairman, International Maritime Labor Conference, Seattle, Washington
November: Jackson is reelected to U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State, defeating Republican opponent Payson Peterson
Jackson co-sponsors and aids the passage of the Indian Claims Commission Act
January: Jackson begins fourth term, 80th Congress, U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State
February: Chinese Civil War resumes between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang (KMT) party
March 12: President Harry S. Truman issues the Truman Doctrine establishing economic and military support to Greece and Turkey
June 23: The Taft-Hartley Act passes
July 12: The U.S. issues the Marshall Plan
August: Jackson visits Norway
Washington State counterpart to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the Cantwell Committee, begins investigations
Jackson serves on U.S. House Appropriations Committee (1947-1952)
February: Klement Gottwald, Communist Party Leader, becomes the leader of Czechoslovakia
April: Hungry Horse Dam construction contract approved
May 14: Israel declares independence
May 30: The Columbia River floods near Vanport, Portland, Oregon
June 24: Soviets blockade access to Western Berlin
June: Vandenberg resolution (S.R. 239) is passed
November-December: Jackson serves as chairman, International Labor Organization, Joint Commission Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland
November: Jackson is reelected to U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State
Peter Jackson (father) dies
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Jackson is appointed to the U.S. Congress, Atomic Energy Joint Committee (1948-1952)
January: Jackson begins fourth term, 81st Congress, U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State
January: Jackson is appointed to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and the U.S. House Interior Subcommittee
April 21: Mao Zedong's communist forces cross south of Yangtze River and capture Nanking
August 24: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established
August: The Soviet Union explodes its first atomic bomb
October 1: People's Republic of China is established
January 25: Alger Hiss is found guilty of perjury and sentenced to five years imprisonment
April: Paul Nitze's National Security Council (NSC) 68 is sent to President Harry S. Truman
June 25: Korean War begins
November: Jackson is reelected to U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, Washington State, defeating Republican opponent Herb Wilson
November: Warren G. Magnuson is reelected to U.S. Senate
Jackson declines President Harry S. Truman’s offer of undersecretary of the Department of the Interior
April 11: President Harry S. Truman dismisses General Douglas MacArthur
April 27: Jackson designated one of ten most effective Congressmen by Liberty Magazine
Second powerhouse built, Grand Coulee Dam, Grand Coulee, Washington
Columbia Basin irrigation project begins
February 4: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is established
May 31: Jackson announces candidacy, U.S. Senate, Washington State
September: Jackson defeats Democratic candidate Hugh B. Mitchell in the primaries
November: Jackson elected to U.S. Senate, defeating Republican opponent Harry P. Cain
November: Dwight D. Eisenhower elected President of the United States
December 9: Jackson contacts the secretary of the U.S. Navy concerning Admiral Hyman G. Rickover