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Gay rights movement
sparked by Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, NY -
Kent State Shooting
On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen fired upon an already dispersed crowd of student protesters, killing four and wounding nine others. -
EPA
EPA created by congress to protect the environment and curb the polluton of the nation's air and water -
26th Amendment ratified
the 26th amendment to the constitution gave 18 year olds the right to vote -
Equal Rights Amendment
stated simply, "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or any state on account of sex" -
Watergate Scandal
a break in at the Democratic national committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington was carried out under the direction of White House employees. -
Roe vs Wade
the supreme court ruled that women had a constitutuional rights to abortion during the early stages of pregnancy. the decision provoked a vigorous right to life movement that opposed abortion -
Nixon Resigns
As a result of the Watergate Scandal, Nixon resigns in order to avoid impeachment -
End of Vietnam
The last evacuation helicopter leaves roof of US embassy in Saigon, South Vietnam -
Bicentennial
The Nation celebrate the bicentennial with fireworks, patriotic music, and a parade of sailing ships -
Panama
President Carter signs Panama Canal treaties restoring sovereignty to Panama -
Iranians take Americans hostage
Iranian militants take 53 Americans hostage in US embassy in Tehran. They are not released until 444 days of capitivity in 1981 -
Election
Republican Ronald Reagan beats Democrat Jimmy Carter and independent John B Anderson. This marked the culmination of a Republican presidential realignment that ended a half-century of Democratic dominace -
First Woman on US Supreme Court
Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as the first woman to serve on the US Supreme Court in September by Chief Justice Warren Burger -
Congress guaranteed the Solvency of Social Security
Congress approved a series of changes involving: gradually raising the retirement age, delaying cost of living increases for 6 moths, and taxing pentions paid to the well to do elderly -
Iran-Contra Affair
involved officials high in the REagan administration secretly selling arms to Iran and using the proceeds to finance the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. This illegal transaction usurped the congressional power of the purse -
Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger explodes, killing 7 astronauts -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987, it was ratified by the United States Senate on May 27, 1988 and came into force on June 1 of that year.he treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with intermediate ranges -
Election
George HW Bush defeats Michael Dukakis decisively in presidential election
