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N.A.F.T.A.
Picture Source North American Free Trade Agreement - In 1994, the U.S. joined Mexico and Canada in forming this to promote free trade and increase U.S. exports so as to compete with the European Union. -
Immigration Act
Picture Source The Immigration Act of 1965 eliminated national quotas and allowed more immigration from areas other than Western Europe. Asian immigration increased due to refugees from Southeast Asia following the Vietnam War. -
The James Carter Election
Picture Source James Carter defeated Pres. Ford in the 1976 election. Carter’s attraction to voters was his being a “Washington outsider” and moral individual when the public was distrustful of government following the Watergate Scandal. Pres. Carter was also committed to human rights. This is important because duing this time period socioty was looking for someone who was willing to help those around them. -
Proposition 13
Picture Source Proposition 13 - California voters led a movement to lower property taxes. The proposition decreased property taxes by assessing property values at their 1975 value and restricted annual increases of assessed value of real property to an inflation factor, not to exceed 2% per year. -
Camp David Accords
Picture Source Camp David Accords: Pres. Carter’s greatest foreign policy triumph was the peace treaty signed between:
- Anwar Sadat : Egyptian president
- Menachem Begin : Israeli Prime Minister.
Efforts initially focused on a comprehensive resolution of disputes between Israel and the Arab countries, gradually evolved into a search for a bilateral agreement between Israel and Egypt. -
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Iran Hostage Crisis
Iran Hostage Crisis : Pres. Carter’s greatest foreign policy crisis occurred in Iran when the U.S. backed Shah was overthrown in an Islamic revolution headed by the religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Revolutionaries took 52 American hostages from the U.S. Embassy and held them for 444 days. In the United States, the hostage-taking is said to have created "a surge of patriotism" and left "the American people more united than they have been on any issue in two decades." -
Soviet Invasion
Picture Source Afghanistan : Invaded by the Soviet Union. Carter placed an embargo of grain exports on the U.S.S.R. and had the U.S. boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. This marks an important event within our history. By placing an embargo and beginng the boycott in moscow it began to suppress the U.S.S.R. -
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James G. Watt
James Watt : Sec. of Interior criticized by environmentalists for opening much of the public lands for business exploitation as a consequence of deregulation. Deregulation : reducing government rules on business to decrease costs and increase profits. -
Star Wars
Picture Source Strategic Defense Initiative ( SDI ) or “Star Wars” - Pres. Reagan funded an initiative to develop a system to intercept and destroy nuclear missiles. This is important because it led to a feeling of safty withing our nation for those who lived in the United States. -
The Election of Reagan
Picture Source Pres. Reagan won reelection in 1984 by defeating Democrat Walter Mondale and his running mate Geraldine Ferraro : the first female V.P. candidate of a major party. His election began the Reagan Administration. -
Reagan Doctrine
Picture Source The Reagan Doctrine was to build up the military and aid those opposed to communism. The U.S. gave aid to:
- Afghan rebels ( Mujahadeen ) fighting Soviet occupiers
- Contras who sought to overthrow the socialist Sandinista government of Nicaraguacommunist nations.
This is important because it helped deplete the amount of communist nations. -
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Iran-Contra Scandal
Iran-Contra Scandal - Members of Reagan’s administration such as Colonel Oliver North secretly sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of U.S. hostages in the Middle East. Money from the sales was given to the Contras after Congress had forbidden it. -
The Election of Bush
Picture Source Vice president George H. W. Bush won election in the 1988 election over Democrat Michael Dukakis. He called for a “compassionate conservatism” in his domestic policy. Pres. Bush called for “no new taxes” in the election but later agreed to new taxes due to the federal budget deficit. This played a part in his failure to be reelected. -
Tiananmen Square Protests
Picture Source Tiananmen Square - Place where the Chinese communist government crushed a student pro-democracy demonstration in Beijing in 1989. Beijing students began the demonstrations to encourage continued economic reform and liberalization, and evolved into a mass movement for political reform. -
Operation Desert Storm
Picture Source Operation Desert Storm - The U.S. organized a U.N. coalition of forces to expel Iraq from Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War.
U.S. casualties
- Army: 98 battle; 105 nonbattle
- Navy: six battle; eight nonbattle
- Marines: 24 battle; 26 nonbattle
- Air Force: 20 battle; six nonbattle.
Resulting in 148 U.S. battle deaths, and 145 nonbattle deaths, including 15 women. Wounded in action: 467. -
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Liberation of Kuwait
Saddam Hussein : Iraq’s dictator who invaded Kuwait in 1990. The Iraqis were defeated in 100 hours and Kuwait was liberated, but the U.S. stopped short of overthrowing Saddam Hussein after achieving its stated objective of liberating Kuwait. The majority of the fighting took place in Iraq, rather than Kuwait. -
Terrorist Attack
Picture Source On Sept. 11, 2001 four planes were hijacked in a terrorist attack on the U.S. Two were crashed into the World Trade Center Towers and one into the Pentagon. The attack was launched by an Islamic group called Al Qaida led by Osama Bin Laden. The destruction of the twin towers caused serious damage to the economy of Lower Manhattan and had a significant impact on global markets -
Patriot Act
Picture Source Patriot Act : Passed by Congress to make it easier to conduct surveillance in the U.S. to fight terrorism. Controversial and opposed by civil rights groups. The terrorist attacks of September 11th, dramatically reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; and eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering in the US. -
Homeland Security
Picture Source Department of Homeland Security - Created to coordinate government agencies in the war on terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism. -
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Iraqi Invasion
In 2003, believing Iraq to still be capable of producing chemical or possibly nuclear weapons of mass destruction and not complying with U.N. mandates, Pres. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq. Dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown though these weapons were not found. The Iraqi government and military collapsed within three weeks of the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion. By the beginning of April, U.S.-led forces occupied much of Iraq.
