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Passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act was a civil rights bill that protected against the discrimination of people with disabilities. This covered a very wide range of situations that had be controlled to be accessible for people with disabilities. Including, Employers having to create accommodations so disabled employees can do their job, and public accommodations so disabled citizens can still access all public places. -
Confirmation of Clarence Thomas
On July 1st of 1991, Clarence Thomas, an worker of the United States Department of Education, was chosen by George W. Bush to hold a position on the Supreme Court. Thurgood Marshall was stepping down and Thomas interested him the most. There were also allegations about about a sexual assault case possibly involving Thomas while he worked at the DoE. Thomas’ hearing was heard in front of the entire Senate. When the voting was over, Thomas was confirmed by a very close majority of 52-48. -
MAGIC JOHNSON HIV ANNOUNCEMENT
Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a NBA player who played for the LA Lakers for 13 seasons. We won a National Championship and MVP Award his rookie year, and went on to become one of the best point guards in Lakers history. In a physical prior to his 1991 season, he tested positive for HIV/AIDS. He made a public announcement on November 7th, 1991, in one of the most watched and talked about press conference in sports history. -
US Soldiers in Somalia / Blackhawk Down
When Mohamed Aidid was elected president in Somalia, things escalated quickly between the US and Somalia. The U.S. quickly opposed this, and decided fix the situation. This special forces mission would start the Battle of Mogadishu. When the mission started, almost immediately two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by civilian soldiers. So the United States joined with the Pakistani and Malaysian army, to set out on another mission to rescue these men and take down Aidid. -
Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement
This Agreement was meant to help the trading economies of all three participating countries; United States of America, Mexico, and Canada. The goal of NAFTA was to get rid of all barriers for trading between these countries. Right off the bat, the agreement eliminated more than 50 percent of the tariffs on mexican imports to America, Canada was already mostly tariff free. This agreement had a majority benefit to all countries, but it did have some small issues. -
OJ Simpson Trial
OJ Simpson is a former USC Heisman Trophy winner and played 11 seasons in the NFL, where he played for the Bill and the 49’ers. OJ Simpson became involved as what came to be the most publicized Trial in U.S. history. Nicole Brown and OJ had the divorce finalized on February 25, 1992. On June 13, 1994 Brown and another man, Ronald Goldman were found dead outside Brown’s condo in LA. OJ was the head suspect, but eventually found innocent. -
EXPLOSION OF TWA FLIGHT 800
The explosion of TWA Flight 800 was the third most deadly plane crash in U.S. territory. TWA Flight 800 was a Boeing 747 which exploded only 12 minutes after takeoff, leaving from JFK Airport and destined to land in Rome. The plane exploded from the inside, and then crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.It was concluded that a short circuit in the fuel tank sparked an explosion, ripping a hole in the plane and ultimately causing it to crash. -
NATO Boming in Yugoslavia
This attack took place during the Kosovo War against the Serbian people and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. NATO's claim was that the attack took place as an attempt to stop human rights abuse in Kosovo. This is listed as the first time NATO used military force without first getting permission from the United Nations. The calculated casualties from the attack were about 550 citizens deaths and 2000 wounded military personnel. The attack also caused around 3.8 billion in damages. -
Columbine Shooting
The Columbine Shooting occurred on April 20th, 1999, and was reported as the most deadly shooting in the history of the U.S. It was carried out by two seniors- Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who ultimately killed 12 students and one teacher. They both killed themselves in the library a little after noon. The Columbine Shooting became a staple in U.S. history, and invoked topics such as gun rights and depression, because one of the boys was suffering from depression. -
Y2K Scare
The Y2K scare was a very scary time for people, at the turn of the century. The problem was inside United States’ computer systems. Computers were starting to have a greater and greater impact on people’s everyday lives. As they came closer to the year 2000 computer scientists thought it would cause a complete shutdown of these systems, and literally everything, including the economy, would collapse. After attempting for months to fix the problem, 2000 came around and everything was ok.
