1980-2001

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    Jimmy Carter Presidency

    James Earl Carter Jr. is an American former politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967.
  • Mt. Saint Helen's Eruption

    An earthquake followed by the eruption of Mt St Helen's kills 57 people in Washington. There was over $1 billion in damage and the eruption caused the land to be wasteland.
  • Iran Releases Hostages

    US citizens were held hostage for 444 days from Nov. 4 1979 - Jan. 20 1981 after the US embassy was taken over by Islamic students and militants.
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    Ronald Reagan Presidency

    Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975 after a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader.
  • First Female Supreme Court Associate Justice

    Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in as the first woman Supreme Court justice.
  • Unemployment at a high

    The highest unemployment rate since 1940 is recorded at 10.4%. By the end of November, over eleven million people would be unemployed.
  • Windows Operating System

    The first version of the Windows operating system for computers is released.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day

    Martin Luther King Day is officially observed for the first time as a federal holiday in the United States.
  • Challenger Space Shuttle Explodes

    The Challenger Space Shuttle explodes 73 seconds after lift off at Cape Canaveral, Florida, killing seven people, including Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire school teacher. It is the worst accident in the history of the U.S. space program.
  • Tax Reform Act of 1986

    Simplified the tax code and broadened the tax base. It was referred to as "Reagan tax cuts".
  • Black Monday

    October 19, 1987 - The stock market crash known as Black Monday occurs on the New York Stock Exchange, recording a record 22.6% drop in one day. Stock markets around the world would mirror the crash with drops of their own.
  • INF Treaty First Arms-Control Agreement

    The United States and the Soviet Union sign an agreement, the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, to dismantle all 1,752 U.S. and 859 Soviet missiles in the 300-3,400 mile range.
  • Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing

    Also known as the Lockerbie bombing. All 270 people on board the aircraft were killed.
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    George H. W. Bush Presidency

    George Herbert Walker Bush was an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993.
  • Cold War Ends

    George H. W. Bush declares the Cold War to be over at the Malta Summit
  • Hubble Space Telescope Launched

    The Hubble Telescope is placed into orbit by the United States Space Shuttle Discovery. One month later, the telescope becomes operational. Launched during a Space Shuttle Discovery mission. The telescope allows us to see farter into space.
  • Resolution to Liberate Kuwait.

    U.S. Congress passes a resolution authorizing the use of force to liberate Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm begins four days later with air strikes against Iraq. Iraq responds by sending eight Scud missiles into Israel.
  • USSR Dissolved

    The Cold War officially ends when the USSR is dissolved.
  • 27th Amendment Ratified

    The 27th Amendment to the Constitution is passed two hundred and two years after its initial proposal. It bars 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.
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    Bill Clinton Presidency

    William Jefferson Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992, and as attorney general of Arkansas from 1977 to 1979.
  • 93 Superstorm

    300 people are dead after one of the worst blizzard in history hits the East Coast causing $6 billion in damages.
  • NAFTA Goes Into Effect

    The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect, creating a free trade zone between Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
  • Oklahoma City Bombing

    Anarchists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols explode a bomb outside the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. 168 people were killed including 19 children under the age of 6. It was the worst tragedy on US soil before 9/11.
  • Centennial Olympic Park Bombing

    The bombing occurred during the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta. 1 person was killed and 111 were injured.
  • Clinton–Lewinsky scandal

    A political sex scandal involving 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.
  • Clinton Found Not Guilty

    President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the U.S. Senate in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The Senate trial, which began January 7 and needed a 2/3 majority to convict, ended with a 55-45 not guilty vote on the charge of perjury and 50-50 vote on the charge of obstruction of justice.
  • Columbine Massacre

    Fourth deadliest school shooting in US history. Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, leaves 14 students and 1 teacher dead including 2 shooters and 23 others wounded.
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    George W. Bush

    George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and son of former president George H. W. Bush, he previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 as part of the Republican Party.
  • US and Britain Launch Attack Afghanistan

    In response to the tragedy of September 11, the United States military, with participation from its ally the United Kingdom, commence the first attack in the War on Terrorism on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Later on May 2, 2011, mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is killed by US Special Forces during an early morning (approximately mid-afternoon on May 1 in the United States) raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
  • 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

    Islamic fundamentalist terrorists hijack four U.S. airliners and crash them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York City. The attack of two planes levels the World Trade Center and the crash of one plane inflicts serious damage to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, causing more than 3,000 deaths. The plot is attributed to the Al-Qaeda organization led by Osama Bin Laden.