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Era
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Richard Nixon
President Nixon made a plan called "New Federalism". Elememts of this plan were used to help end segregation in schools and helped further Women's Rights. -
Energy Crisis
In the early 1970s Americans were using more oil and gasoline than was being produced which caused us to depend on outside sources for oil and gasoline. Prices shot up and rules were made to conserve these resources. A national 55 mph speed limit was made to conserve gasoline use. Since the 1970s energy crisis the US has become more heavily involved in the Middle Eastern politics. The US also searched more heavily on their land for natural resources. The energy crisis helped the US to better -
Energy Crisis (cont.)
understand how to face worldwide energy problems. -
Watergate Scandal
The watergate scandle was created to crash the Democratic party. Nixon spent millions to try and cover it up. Nixon was trialed for impeachment but would resign before it happened to avoid admitting to watergate. The Watergate Scandal had such an impact on the US that today modern scandals will often have the suffix "-gate" at then end of the name assigned. -
Richard Nixon (cont.)
Richard Nixon was the first President to ever go to China. Detente between the US and the Soviet Union was reached because of Nixon. -
The Munich Olympics
During the Munich Olympics eight members of the Palestinian group, Black September, rushed into the games killing two Israelis and taking nine more hostage. They did this demanding the release of 200 Arab prisoners. A night firefight between the Germans and the terrorists killed the other nine hostages. President Nixon convened the Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism. The new forces would attempt to avoid the mistakes of Munich. And security in the Olympics everywhere increased dramatically. -
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford was our 38th President and was the only President to not be elected vice president or pressident. Ford's most famous desicion was when he pardoned Nixon for all crimes he had committed. Ford recieved a lot of negative feedback for his pardon of Nixon but he did it for the good of the country. Ford had to do a lot to heal the wounds that Nixon's presidency had left behind. In 1974 Ford and the Soviet Union's leader signed the SALT treaty which put a limit on nuclear weapons. -
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter did many things to influence the 1970s. He created the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, and the treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel. He also helped Human Rights all throughout the world. He made a new Department of Education and major environmental protections programs. His presidency would later be hurt by the Iran Hostage Crisis and he would lost his next race against Ronald Reagan. -
Three Mile Island
Three Mile Island was when a failure occurred with water pumps in a power plant allowing pressure to build inside the reactor core. A relief valve oped in response but failed to close again. Operators at the plant were never informed that the valve had not closed. Nuclear fuel rods overheated and melted but luckily the radioactive material never escaped. Some say that the radiation exposure was not enough to cause a health defect in the population. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
A group of Iran students took more than 60 Americans as hostages. The Iran Hostage Crisis was the students was to end the American interference with the Iranian people. It was also a way to make people aware of the international profile of their leader, Khomeini. The hostages were set free 444 days later in 1981 after President Ronald Reagan took office. It is said that the hostage crisis took away Jimmy Carters second term. -
The Miracle on Ice
It was known as "The Miracle on Ice" when the USA beat the Soviet Union in the Olympics in Ice Hockey. The win caused an uproar in patriotism. They won 4-3 and it is known as one of the most well known events in ice hockey history. The "Miracle on Ice" is credited for being the event that lifted the Americans out of gloom and depression, reviving and renewing patiotism. It also marked the foreshadowing of a national renewal. -
The Discovery of AIDS
AIDS was originally the disease of gay men and druggies. It started to spread and people were uneducated about the illness and did not know what to do. AIDS attacks the immune system and there is no cure or medicine. One of the most famous people who became a face for AIDS/HIV was Magic Johnson and it was then people saw it was not just a gay man disease. The discovery of AIDS helped promote safe sex and more information about the disease. It helped the raise of money for medicine to prolong it. -
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981 by John Hinckley Jr. He missed Reagan's heart and is remembered for his good humor after the removal of the bullet. Reagan tried to cut taxes, make people less dependent on the government, and increase national defense. He had accomplished all of this making an impact on this era. Reagan later developed Alzheimer's and it is said he might have started to develop it while still in office. Reagan was and still holds the record of being our oldest President. -
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran-Contra Affair was a secret arrangement in the 1980s to provide funds to the Nicaraguan contra rebels from profits gained by selling arms to Iran. The affair raised questions about the nature of congressional oversight of foreign affairs. It also brought up questioning the limits of the executive branch. It demonstrated what the government could of if they didn't get caught and of what we thought of it when the government did get caught. -
Challenger Explosion
The Challenger launched from the Kennedy Space Center and while millions of people watched it take off only 73 seconds after launch the Challenger exploded. All members on board died and later it was discovered that the O-rings on the right solid rocket booster was not working right causing the explosion. After it had happened it caused NASA to temporarily suspend all shuttle missions. The Challenger explosion showed that even scienctists in NASA can have human error. -
Chernobyl
Workers were doing a test when something went wrong causing a power surge. Since the core had not been shut down during the test it triggered events causing two explosions. The explosions sent a giant cloud of radioactive material into the atmosphere, then carried on by winds. Two Chernobyl plant workers died on that night and more than 28 people died within weeks of the explosions from radiation poisoning. The long term effect is that several thousand more people were put at a risk for cancer. -
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush our 41st President and was also a World War II naval aviator and Texas oil industry executive. While he was in office he launched many successful military operations, the most famous was Operation Desert Storm. He also signed the Americans with Disablilites Act in 1990 and the Clean Air Act. The Americans with DIsablities Act helps Americans today get jobs and other things even if they have a disability so when Bush signed that act it made a major influence of that time. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Wall of Berlin was a boundary line dividing East and West Berlin. East Berlin was under communism while. West Berlin had become much wealthier and better than the East side. The wall also separated many families and there was nothing the people could do because you could not cross it. When the fall of the Berlin Wall occurred it marked the end of the Cold War in Europe and it also marked the end of Communism and the reunion of East and West Berlin making it once again whole. -
The Rise of Computers/Internet
When computers and Internet first come out the biggest user was the NASA program. In 1976 Steve Jobs made the first Apple computer. In the mid 1980s apple computers were becoming more widely known and more affordable for the public. In 1975 Bill Gates invented Microsoft which revolutionized the home computer. The World Wide Web was born in the European Nuclear Research Center. In the 1990s computers and the Web start to become apart of everyday life. It boosted communication and research. -
Operation Desert Storm
The 43-day aiir flight campaign during Operation Desert Storm was the first large use of air power since Vietnam. Ben Laden starts to hate the US because we use their homeland as a military base. The operation lasts about 6 months and we bombed them and won and the resaults were amazing. Operation Desert Storm resulted in the liberation of Kuwait and the collapse of Iraqi forces. It has characterized all American military practices ever since.
