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Mt. St. Helens
On May 18, 1980, the Mt. St. Helens volcano, in Washington State, erupted, killing fifty-seven people and economic devastation to the area with losses near $3 billion. M any estimated that the power of the blast was five hundred times greater than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. -
Attempted Assassination
On March 30, 1981, someone attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. He withstood a shot in the chest while walking to his limousine in Washington, D.C. -
Terrorist Attack
On October 23, 1983, a terrorist truck bomb killed two hundred and forty-one United States peacekeeping troops in Lebanon at Beirut International Airport. -
Geneva Summit
On November 19, 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan engaged in a five hour summit conference in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the first meeting in six years between the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States. -
Black Monday
On October 19, 1987, the stock market crashed. This was known as Black Monday. There was a record 22.6% drop in one day. -
Largest Oil Spill
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez crashed into Bligh Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound and caused the largest oil spill in American history. Over eleven million gallons were spilled and extended forty-five miles. -
Largest Art Theft
On March 18, 1990, the largest art theft in U.S. history occurred in Boston, Massachusetts. Two thieves posed as policemen and stole twelve paintings worth an estimated $100-200 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. -
Operation Desert Storm
On January 12, 1991, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution authorizing the use of force to liberate Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm began four days later with air strikes against Iraq. Iraq responded by sending eight Scud missiles into Israel. -
27th Amendment
On May 7, 1992, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution was passed two hundred and two years after its initial proposal. It barred the United States Congress from giving itself a midterm or retroactive pay raise. This amendment had been originally proposed by James Madison in 1789, as part of twelve amendments, of which ten would become the original Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. -
7/11
On September 11, 2001, Islamic fundamentalist terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners and crashed them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York City. Over 3,000 lives were lost.