1980-2001

  • Reagan Elected President

    Republican nominee Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter. This was the 49th quadrennial presidential elections.
  • Equal Rights Amendment failed

    The Senate passed The Equal Rights Act with 84-8 vote on March 22, sending it to the states for ratification but with a deadline, requiring the requisite 38 states to ratify the amendment within seven years.
  • Star Wars

    U.S. strategic defensive system against potential nuclear attacks—as originally conceived, from the Soviet Union. ... The SDI was first proposed by President Ronald Reagan in a nationwide television address.
  • Beirut Terrorist attack

    Two bombs struck buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American French service members from the Multinational Force in Lebanon a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War. It was a bad military loss for the French military. 241 U.S military personnel were apart if the 307 deaths total.
  • Invasion of Grenda

    The purpose of the invasion was to eliminate the threat of native attacks against the British. The U.S. and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, 100 miles (160 km) north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation within a few days.
  • Reagan defeats Mondale

    Republican President Ronald Reagan defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate, winning 525 electoral votes and 58.8% of the popular vote.
  • William Rehnquist

    16th chief justice of the United States, appointed to the Supreme Court in 1971 and elevated to chief justice in 1986.
  • Treaty of Moscow

    The Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, requires destruction of the Parties' ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, their launchers and associated support structures and support equipment within three years after the Treaty enters into force. It was signed by President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev in Washington.
  • Election of 98

    Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush defeated Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts. Bush won the popular vote by just under eight points, and won 426 of the 538 electoral votes.
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    Invasion of Panama

    The purpose of the invasion was to depose the de facto Panamanian leader, general and dictator Manuel Noriega. Noriega, who for a long time worked with the Central Intelligence Agency, was wanted by the United States for racketeering and drug trafficking.
  • Berlin Wall

    The wall was to keep so-called Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West.
  • 1990 recession

    This lasted 8 months. Although the recession was mild relative to other post-war recessions, it was characterized by a sluggish employment recovery, most commonly referred to as a jobless recovery.
  • Iraq invades Kuwait

    The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was a two-day-long operation by Iraq starting by it invading the neighbouring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country.
  • Cold War ends

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    The Gulf War

    The Gulf War was a war waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait arising from oil pricing and production disputes
  • Election of 92

    Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush, Bill Clinton became the 42nd president of the United States.
  • Truck Bombing in the World Trade Center

    A bomb exploded in a parking garage of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. This event was the first indication for the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) that terrorism was evolving from a regional phenomenon outside of the United States to a transnational phenomenon.
  • Oklahoma City Bombing

    A domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. There were 168 deaths.
  • Election 96

    President Bill Clinton is re-elected president.
  • Clinton Lewinsky Scandal

    A political sex scandal involving 49-year-old US President Bill Clinton and 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky took place in 1998. Their sexual relationship lasted between 1995 and 1997
  • Election of 2000

    Between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Bush was elected president with 266 votes.
  • No Child left behind

    The No Child Left Behind Act authorizes several federal education programs that are administered by the states. The law is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Under the 2002 law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3–8 and once in high school.
  • 9/11 attack

    19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners, intentionally crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York City. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.