-
G.I. Bill
The G.I. Bill is also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 was a law that provided a rang of benefits for returning World War II veterans. Benefits from the bill included dedicated payments of tuition and living expenses to attend high school, college or vocational/technical school, low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, as well as one year of unemployment compensation. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the physical barrier that ran across Europe, from the Arctic Ocean, through the Baltic Sea, all the way 'till it reached the Black Sea. It separated Eastern and Western Europe into two different states: the West Side which wasn't in control by the soviets and was still known as Europe and the East Side that was being controlled by the soviets and considered Communist One-party states. -
Hiroshima & Little boy
After the Peal Harbor attack on the U.S. from the Japanese in 1941, the U.S. officially entered World War II. The U.S. developed the bomb known as the atomic bomb. A weapon capable of wiping out entire cities and making them inhabitable due to the cause of destruction, debris, and radiation that spread throughout the sector. On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped a bomb called "Little Boy" on Japans greater city, Hiroshima. The bomb wiped out 90% of the city and instantly killed 80,000 people. -
Nagasaki & Fat Man
3 days later after the first atomic weapon attack, the U.S. follows with another attack on another major city in Japan, Nagasaki. A B-29 plane dropped another atomic bomb that killed about 40,000 people. This officially caused the Japanese to wave the white flag and surrender. The Emperor of Japan, Hirohito announced his surrender on August 15 due to the tragic loss of both cities and about 175,000 people were killed. -
Period: to
Cold War
The political and economic dispute between the two superpowers: United States of America and The Soviet Union. After WW2, many European countries and their governments fell into a "depression" making them vulnerable to communism. The U.S. intervenes and does its best to stop any countries and their possibilities of becoming a communist state. This lead on for decades until finally the USSR was disbanded. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was established to help protect European countries from the threat of Communism. Great Britain was incapable of aiding Turkey & Greece's weak government because they were also experiencing struggles, so the U.S. took over their role. The U.S. feared that if Communism were to spread to Greece & Turkey then it would soon spread to Western Asia. So President Truman pleaded for $400 million dollars in military & economic support for dismantled countries under communist threat. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a plan set to help re-establish and rebuild Western Europe's economic and financial problems due to their continent being left in ruins after World War II. This plan was originally known as Economic Recovery Act of 1948 that was signed by President Truman in.The U.S. Congress appropriated 13.3 billion dollar for Europe, with this and the Marshall plan, markets for American goods were provided, trading partners were created and democratic governments remained in Europe. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was the time when the Iron Curtain cut Berlin in half, Europe had the west side and the USSR had the east side. The USSR closed off all the highways, railroads and transportation, disallowing people of Berlin to escape. This caused a lot of suffering and hunger in the city of Berlin, so the U.S. and its allies supported them by dropping big cargo of supplies in West Berlin -
Fair Deal
The Fair Deal was an ambitious set of proposals put forward by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to Congress in his State of the Union Address. Truman adds to the New Deal. Wants to focus on health care, public housing, education, and public works. It raised the minimum wage and brought electricity and telephone access to further areas. It was forced to scale back because of Korea and anti-communist agenda. -
Period: to
1950s
This era was the era of baby boomers, beginning of the cold war and beginning of civil rights. As the second World War ended, many returning hero's of Germany returned to their wives and created new "lives". The population exploded immensely. Although all the fighting stopped, this did not stop the tension. Communism had arrived and the U.S. was not going to let it or the USSR slide. Meanwhile in America, tensions rise between Black and White people as the fight for equality continues. -
Joseph McCarthy & McCarthyism
Joseph McCarthy was the Senator of Wisconsin from 1947-1957, during the period of the Red Scare. During a public speech, he lied to the people claiming he had a list of people on a piece of paper in his hand with 205 names of communist spies in America. In reality there were only 57. McCarthy reached his level of insanity when begins to attack and accuse government officials and famous celebrities. He also looked like Ted Cruz. -
Beat Generation
The people of the Beat Generation are known as "beats" or "beatniks." They are made of artists, novelists, and poets. The bulk of their work was published and popularized throughout the 1950s. They reject American materialism, culture, home ownership, careers, and marriage. They are the "proto-hippies." They inspire and lay the foundation for war protests in the 1960s. The beats borrow slang like "dig it" and "man" from black communities. -
Korean War (The Forgotten War)
The Korean war was commonly known as a dispute rather than an actual war. The north which was lead by communism and the south which was a capitalist gov't created by the U.S. The U.S. backed out of the war due to expenses, but still promised to help. However, North Korea surprise attacks the south and pushes them to the edge, but Truman helps drive them out. Once President Ike was elected, he threatened to deploy nuclear arms if there wasn't a ceasefire. Thus, it was known as the "forgotten war" -
Ike Turner
Izear Luster "Ike" Turner was born on November 5, 1931 and died on December 12, 2007. He was an American musician. He recorded the first Rock and Roll song called "Rocket 88" on March 3 1951, although the song is credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats. -
Alger & Ethel Rosenburg
Rosenberg's were American people who were known to be communist spies.The Rosenberg couple accomplished in sharing Atomic Bomb secrets to the soviets, the two were trialed and electrocuted. However, it was the husband Julius who was truly the spy, not the wife Ethel. On July, Julius was arrested and the month after Ethel was arrested. 8 months later the both were sentenced to death and electrocuted. -
Bill Haley and the Comets
Bill Haley and the Comets were an American Rock and Roll band that founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was the earliest group of white musicians to bring Rock and Roll to the attention of America and the rest of the world. Bill Haley ripped off the song "Rocket 88" from a black artist named Ike Turner and recorded a country and western-styled version. -
Dr. Jonas Salk
Jonas Edward Salk was born on October 28, 1914 and died on June 23, 1995. He was an American medical researcher and virologist. He discovered and developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He attended the New York University School of Medicine, later choosing to do medical research instead of becoming a practicing physician. Until 1955, polio was considered one of the most frightening public health problems in the world. -
Earl Warren Supreme Court
Chief Justice Earl Warren was born on March 19, 1891 and died on July 9, 1974. He served as the 30th Governor of California and later the 14th Chief Justice of the United States. He is best known for his liberal decisions, which outlawed segregation in public schools and transformed many areas of the American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public school-sponsored prayers, and requiring "one man-one vote" rules of apportionment of election districts. -
Period: to
Civil Rights
This was the era where African-Americans began to take a stand toward the white society. Many acts of non-violent resistance took place, many of these actions led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, but also many participated in very lethal manners like Malcom X and the Black Panther party. The Black society did not tolerate the actions and cruelty that white people give them, many actions took place that forever changed the white communities in America. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The brown vs. board of education case was one of the biggest cases in U.S. and civil rights history. This was the battle of the Brown family that fought the board of education into allowing their black children in attending closer schools which were also the white schools. Judge Earl Warren saw the actions of separate but equal segregation of black and white students to be unequal thus unconstitutional and approved the case, giving Brown and her family the easy dub. -
Television
World War II slowed TV's introduction to the consumer market. By 1955, 75 percent of American homes had a TV. It had no colors and only showed in black and white. TV's are the way people were entertained and got their news. Drive-in theaters were still popular around this time. "I Love Lucy" and "Father Knows Best!" portrayed ideals of the 1950s like obedience and hard work. Politicians invoked the power of TV. Richard Nixon gave his "Checkers Speech" on television. -
Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy from Chicago that came down south to Money, Mississippi to visit family. At Money, he was dared by friends to ask a white women out. The white women claimed that he sexually and verbally made her uncomfortable (not true). Days later the wife's husband took Emmett away, beat him, shot him and threw him in a river, only to be found later by the police. The man was convicted innocent by an all white jury, the body was proven to be him bc of a ring given by his mom. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
After the Rosa Parks incident where she refused to give up her front seat to a white man on the Montgomery Boycott Bus and was arrested for her action, the rest of the black people boycotted the bus. They did not ride the bus until they had the same rights as the white man. This did not seem like a concern to the industry until they realized that black folk were ruining their business and so after about 9 months of boycotting they gave the black people what they wanted. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 and died on August 16, 1977. He was an American signer and actor. He made Rock and Roll a phenomenon, adopting rhythm and blues from African Americans. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll," or simply "the King." He was born extremely poor in Tupelo, Mississippi and moved to Memphis, Tennessee with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career started in 1954 when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips and Sun Records. -
Albert Sabin
Albert Sabin was a scientist that begun his research to end Polio once he got his medical degree in 1931. However, his research was interrupted once World War 2 came to be in 1939, but once the war was over he returned to Cincinnati to complete his polio vaccine. His intentions were to isolate the virus to stop producing the the illness and so it wouldn't cause harm to the body, he tested his work on inmates for 2 years with no bad results. It was even proven that his work was safer than Jonas' -
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman was born on December 5, 1932. He was known as Little Richard, and was an American musician, signer, and songwriter. Little Richard is well known for his song "Tutti Frutti." -
Little Rock Nine
Little Rock Nine was a town in Arkansas that was furious after the the Brown vs Board of Education trial. After that law was passed, they did what they could to resist integration, but it slowly integrates Central High school with 9 black students. However, governor Orval Faubus tried to stop them. President Eisenhower interferes and order troops to escort the black teenagers into school. They were were admitted and 8 of them graduated, dealing with physical and verbal abuse in their 4 years. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 began a new era in civil rights legislation and enforcement after more than three-quarters of a century of congressional inaction. The act initiated a greater federal role in protecting the rights of African Americans and other minorities. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 did not create new rights, but it increased protection of voting rights and laid the foundation for federal enforcement of civil rights law by creating the Civil Rights act. -
Sputnik
On October 4, 1957 at 7:28, the USSR launched the very first orbiting satellite. This satellite did not have any special details but the fact that all it did was orbit and beeped. It was about the size of a beach volleyball and did not do nothing to bring harm to other countries. The U.S. saw this however as a sign of defeat. The U.S. feared that they were behind the soviets when it came to space and space travel, so JFK and the U.S. knew they had to get someone to space before the Russians. -
Hippies
Hippies were an example of counter culture, regular middle class that opposed of being a part of regular society. A lot of these people were influenced by Musicians who have the same beliefs, as well as the influence of drugs, exploration of their inner selves and many of their common peers. -
Feminism
Feminism is the concept of wanting equal rights as the "Man" himself. Many women separated themselves from the fight for and against Civil Rights and focused on themselves. Many of these women embraced their sexuality as dominant women and were inspired by women like Betty Friedman. Their goal was to have equal opportunities, pay and rights as men and not be commonly known as housewives. -
Period: to
1960s
This was an era of death and success. This era takes place during a time where Civil rights rises and then the tensions cools, however this did not stop others from taking the lives of one of the leaders, nor the same society of america stop themselves from taking the lives of a president. Though two tragic deaths occurred, the U.S. was successful in achieving more equality between the black and white society and as well was capable of winning the space race. -
Sit Ins
Sit Ins was a action of non-violent resistance to the white man during the civil rights era. Back then, black and whites had separate but equal sections, usually black people would not be served food until after the whites, so black people under the influence of MLK Jr, created the first sit in in Greensboro, NC. They sat in the white sections of diners and refused to move until they were served. White people, hit, spit, abused the black people with trash, hot coffee, violence and even arrest. -
New Frontier
The term New Frontier was used by President John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the Election of 1960. He was the youngest elected in American history. He wanted to raise the minimum wage, relieve overcrowded schools. He believed in cutting taxes for businesses from 90% and wanted to increase spending to alleviate a downturn. -
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a group consisting of 12 of the world's major oil-exporting nations. OPEC was founded in 1960 to coordinate the petroleum policies of its members, and to provide member states with technical and economic aid. OPEC is a cartel that aims to manage the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil on the world market, in order to avoid fluctuations that might affect the economies of both producing and purchasing countries. -
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States Government. It was founded by President John F. Kennedy. It inspired young college graduates to work in poor countries on humanitarian projects. Volunteers work with governments, schools, non-profit organizations, non-government organizations, and entrepreneurs in education, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment. After 24 months of service, volunteers can request and extension of service. -
LSD
LSD is a common drug today and was very common and hip in the 60s. LSD is a psychological drug that tampers with the mind of the one who takes the drug. The drug could be taken a regular pill or more commonly taken like a Listerine paper that dissolves in your tongue. It usually takes the taker on a "trip" showing unrealistic things and an unrealistic reality without the taker being conscious of his present body. It's all an illusion. -
Assassination of JFK
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during the Election of 1964. On November 22, Kennedy flew to Love Airfield in Dallas. He planned on traveling through downtown Dallas. Wanted maximum exposure to crowds to generate excitement. Kennedy rode in an open air motorcade. He was on a route that took him by the Texas School Book Deposit in Dealey Plaza. Lee Harvey Oswald was waiting on the 6th floor of the book depository. He was supposedly the only shooter in the assassination. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. First proposed by President John F. Kennedy, it survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress and was then signed into law by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. In subsequent years. -
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was born on January 2, 1909 and died on May 29, 1998. He was an American politician and businessman. He was a United States Senator from Arizona from 1953 to 1965 and again from 1969 to 1987. He was the Republican Party's nominee for President in the Election of 1964. He was very conservative and wanted to get rid of the New Deal and Great Society along with Social Security and Civil Rights. -
Anti-War Movement
Along with the Civil Rights campaigns of the 1960s, one of the most divisive forces in twentieth-century U.S. history. The antiwar movement actually consisted of a number of independent interests, often only vaguely allied and contesting each other on many issues, united only in opposition to the Vietnam War. Attracting members from college campuses, middle-class suburbs, labor unions, and government institutions, etc. -
The Great Society
The Great Society programs had problems that needed to be fixed. Moderates grew tired of "entitlement" for minorities, they felt "entitlement" only helped African Americans. White working class people turned to the Republican Part in droves. President Nixon utilizes the "Southern Strategy" and gained voters that were upset about Civil Rights. Living standards began declining with interest rates soaring because of the costs of the New Society and Vietnam. Nixon wins Election of 1948. -
Black Power Movement
The black power movement became a force among African Americans around 1965. It was so diverse and loosely coordinated, it is almost impossible to define. Although white Americans tended to interpret the “black power” slogan as a call to racial violence, blacks most often understood it as a call for racial pride and the achievement of political and economic power -
MLK Death
In the early evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed by a single shot which struck his face and neck. He was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had come to lead a peaceful march in support of striking sanitation workers. About an hour later, he was pronounced dead at 7:05 PM at St. Joseph Hospital, his killer was James Earl Ray. -
Stonewall Riot
In the early hours of June 28, 1969, a group of gay customers at a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village called the Stonewall Inn, who had grown angry at the harassment by police, took a stand and a riot broke out. As word spread throughout the city about the demonstration, the customers of the inn were soon joined by other gay men and women who started throwing objects at the policemen, shouting "gay power." -
Period: to
1970s
The 1970s was a continuation of the 60s. Many separated groups wanted more equality like gays, lesbians, African Americans, Hispanics, women. Many of them protest against the government in order to have equal rights. Also, tensions began to rise in presidency and foreign problems grew. -
Equal Rights Amendment
his simple sentence comprised Section 1 of the EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT (ERA), which was first proposed in Congress by the National Women's Party in 1923. Feminists of the late 1960s and early 1970s saw ratification of the amendment as the only clear-cut way to eliminate all legal gender-based discrimination in the United States. -
Watergate
Early in the morning of June 17, 1972, several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. This was no ordinary robbery: The prowlers were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. In August 1974, after his role in the Watergate conspiracy had finally come to light, the president resigned. -
Title IX
On June 23, 1972, the President signed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, into law. Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. The principal objective of Title IX is to avoid the use of federal money to support sex discrimination in education programs and to provide individual citizens effective protection against those practices. -
Roe v. Wade
A pregnant single woman (Roe) brought a class action challenging the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws, which proscribe procuring or attempting an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving the mother's life. A licensed physician (Hallford), who had two state abortion prosecutions pending against him, was permitted to intervene. A childless married couple (the Does), the wife not being pregnant, separately attacked the laws. -
Endangered Species Act
When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, it recognized that our rich natural heritage is of “esthetic, ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific value to our Nation and its people.” It further expressed concern that many of our nation’s native plants and animals were in danger of becoming extinct.The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. -
Video Head System (VHS)
They were recorded sound the same way as an audio-tape recorder, but did it in such a way that allowed for the majority of the width of the tape to be available for the video track. The 1970s was the period when major steps and improvement were made to video tape recorders, resulting in the eventual creating of the Video Home System standard. However, during this time several other companies also made attempts to produce a television recording device. -
Camp David Accords
At the White House in Washington, D.C., Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign the Camp David Accords, laying the groundwork for a permanent peace agreement between Egypt and Israel after three decades of hostilities. The accords were negotiated during 12 days of intensive talks at President Jimmy Carter’s retreat. The final peace agreement–the first between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors–was signed in March 1979. -
Three-Mile Island
The accident to unit 2 happened at 4 am on 28 March 1979 when the reactor was operating at 97% power. It involved a relatively minor malfunction in the secondary cooling circuit which caused the temperature in the primary coolant to rise. This in turn caused the reactor to shut down automatically. Shut down took about one second. At this point a relief valve failed to close, but instrumentation did not reveal the fact, and so much of the primary coolant drained away that the residual decay heat. -
The Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was a fundamentalist Christian organization founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell in 1979. The Moral Majority was established to preserve “traditional” American values and to combat increasing acceptance of social movements and culture changes. The organization became a major political influence in its opposition to gay rights, abortion, feminism, and other liberal movements during the 1980 In 1989, Falwell disbanded the organization, declaring that it had achieved its goals. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
Representing the United States abroad has been a dangerous job since the beginning of the Republic, but that was never truer than during the Carter Administration. In the wake of a successful revolution by Islamic fundamentalists against the pro-American Shah of Iran, the United States became an object of virulent criticism and the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was a visible target. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students seized the embassy and detained more than 50 Americans,. -
Period: to
1980s
The 1980s was the era of Reaganomics and the Reagan Revolution -
Election of 1980
he United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent. Reagan, aided by the Iran hostage crisis and a worsening economy at home, won the election in a landslide. Carter, after defeating Ted Kennedy for the Democratic nomination, attacked Reagan as a dangerous right-wing radical. -
Reaganomics
During the campaign of 1980, Ronald Reagan announced a recipe to fix the nation's economic mess. He claimed an undue tax burden, excessive government regulation, and massive social spending programs hampered growth. Reagan proposed a phased 30% tax cut for the first three years of his Presidency. The bulk of the cut would be concentrated at the upper income levels. The economic theory behind the wisdom of such a plan was called supply side or trickle down economics. -
A.I.D.S. Crisis
In 1981, cases of a rare lung infection called Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) were found in five young, previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. At the same time, there were reports of a group of men in New York and California with an unusually aggressive cancer named Kaposi’s Sarcoma. In December 1981, the first cases of PCP were reported in people who inject drugs.By the end of the year, there were 270 reported cases of severe immune deficiency among gay men. Eazy-E also died :( -
Music Television (MTV)
The ‘80s brought us Discmans, big hair and the birth of a music-video channel that helped change the face of American television. MTV, which celebrates its 34th birthday on Saturday, was a powerful platform for emerging and seasoned artists alike, and even helped launch the careers of more than a few popular video jockeys, like Downtown Julie Brown. 20-something music lover had no idea what she was in for, and she was pleasantly surprised when producers gave her instructions on what to do. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
andra Day O’Connor will always be known as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, but her impact reaches much further than that. O’Connor was born in El Paso, Texas on March 26, 1930. She spent her childhood on the Lazy B, her family’s ranch in Arizona. O’Connor displayed high levels of intelligence at a young age. Her family wanted to instill in her a love of education, but schooling options near the ranch were limited for a young woman. -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) "Star Wars"
Strategic Defense Initiative aka Star Wars, proposed 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 on March 23, 1983. Because parts of the defensive system that Reagan advocated would be based in space, the proposed system was dubbed “Star Wars,” after the space weaponry of a popular motion picture of the same name. -
Reagan Doctrine
In his State of the Union address, President Ronald Reagan defines some of the key concepts of his foreign policy, establishing what comes to be known as the “Reagan Doctrine.” The doctrine served as the foundation for the Reagan administration’s support of “freedom fighters” around the globe. Reagan began his foreign policy comments with the dramatic pronouncement that, Freedom is not the sole prerogative of a chosen few; it is the universal right of all God’s children. -
Iran Contra Affair
Ronald Reagan's efforts to eradicate Communism spanned the globe, but the insurgent Contras' cause in Nicaragua was particularly dear to him. Battling the Cuban-backed Sandinistas, the Contras were, according to Reagan, "the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers." Under the so-called Reagan Doctrine, the CIA trained and assisted this and other anti-Communist insurgencies worldwide. -
Challenger Explosion
On January 28, 1986, the American shuttle orbiter Challenger broke up 73 seconds after liftoff, bringing a devastating end to the spacecraft’s 10th mission. The disaster claimed the lives of all seven astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire who had been selected to join the mission and teach lessons from space to schoolchildren around the country. It was later determined that two rubber O-rings. -
Lionel Sosa
Growing up in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Mexican immigrants, Lionel Sosa was expected to learn a trade, defer to gringos and vote Democratic. But he was so impressed at age 13 by Dwight Eisenhower's version of the American Dream during a televised speech at the 1952 Republican Convention that he decided he wanted to be a rich businessman and a Republican. Two decades later, as a struggling ad-agency owner, Sosa helped U.S. Senator John Tower win his 1978 re-election bid with 37% of HIS vote. -
Period: to
1990s
This was the era of Bill Clinton and his failed presidency as well as the beginning of the first Persian Gulf War -
Persian Gulf War/1st Iraq War
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early August 1990. Alarmed by these actions, fellow Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and other Western nations to intervene. Hussein defied United Nations Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991, and the Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. -
Rodney King Incident
four police officers were filmed beating taxi driver Rodney King after a pursuit through the streets of Los Angeles. The video shocked the city, and the events that followed shocked the nation.King, who was intoxicated, had been caught speeding and initially tried to evade the police. When he finally pulled over and exited his car, multiple LAPD units and a helicopter were pursuing him. The police beat him while he shown no signs of resisting, they just kept beating him. -
World Trade Center Attack - 1993
an ugly new phase of terrorism was ushered in when Jordanian Eyad Ismoil drove Kuwaiti Ramzi Yousef and a 1,300-pound nitrate-hydrogen gas enhanced bomb also stuffed with cyanide into the parking garage below the World Trade Center in Manhattan. Yousef lit a 20-foot fuse, and the two fled quickly enough to evade immediate capture by authorities. The bomb killed six people and injured more than 1,000 that day. When the bomb went off, their goal of bringing down the Twin Towers failed. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect, creating one of the world’s largest free trade zones and laying the foundations for strong economic growth and rising prosperity for Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Since then, NAFTA has demonstrated how free trade increases wealth and competitiveness, delivering real benefits to families, farmers, workers, manufacturers, and consumers. -
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy
byname for the former official U.S. policy (1993–2011) regarding the service of homosexuals in the military. The term was coined after Pres. Bill Clinton in 1993 signed a law directing that military personnel “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue, and don’t harass.” When it went into effect on October 1, 1993, the policy theoretically lifted a ban on homosexual service that had been instituted during World War II, though in effect it continued a statutory ban. I -
Contract with America
The Contract with America was a document released by the United States Republican Party during the 1994 Congressional election campaign. Written by Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey, and in part using text from former President Ronald Reagan's 1985 State of the Union Address, the Contract detailed the actions the Republicans promised to take if they became the majority party in the United States House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. -
Welfare Reform
Twenty years ago, President Clinton kept a promise. "I have a plan to end welfare as we know it," he said in a television spot during his campaign for office. He did, on Aug. 22, 1996.
The law that the president signed that day, together with other policies enacted by Congress and the states, profoundly changed the lives of poor Americans. It was intensely controversial at the time — a controversy that is heating up again today. -
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
The Defense of Marriage Act, the law barring the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages legalized by the states, is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday by a 5-4 vote. The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in person hood and dignity. -
Lewinsky Affair
The Lewinsky scandal was an American political sex scandal that involved 49-year-old President Bill Clinton and a 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The sexual relationship took place between 1995 and 1996 and came to light in 1998. Clinton ended a televised speech with the statement that he did not have sexual relations with Lewinsky. Further investigation led to charges of perjury and led to the impeachment of President Clinton in 1998 by the U.S. House of Representatives. -
Period: to
Contemporary
This is my era, the era of the 9/11 terrorist attack that caused the U.S. to suffer financially. Not just the 9/11 but also many weather storms like Katrina, the depression in 2008, the 2nd Persian Gulf War, North Korea and Bin Laden problems. Just so many bad this nowadays, especially Trump. -
Election of 2000
This was a heavy campaign between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The run for presidency all came down to one state; Florida. However, this drew out a controversy that had to be taken to the courts. Later at the SCOTUS, they declared Bush president, 5-4. President Bush won the Electoral College, while Al Gore won the popular vote by over half a million. -
9/11 Attacks
Around 8:45-9:03am New York City's World Trade Center (Twin Towers) were crashed by United Airline Airplanes. The two flights were on route to Boston before hijacked by members of the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda. The buildings end up collapsing to the ground and created a enormous smoke cloud in the city. At 9:43 am, a 3rd plane was hijacked and crashed into a side of the Pentagon, then a 4th plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field after passengers attack Hijackers. About 3000 people died. -
PATRIOT ACT
After the tragedy on 9/11, american people became more cautious with its fellow citizens. the Patriot Act was the first of many changes to surveillance laws that made it easier for the government to spy on ordinary Americans by expanding the authority to monitor phone and email communications, collect bank and credit reporting records, and track the activity of innocent Americans on the Internet. It was "meant" for catching terrorist but made ordinary people into suspects. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, President George W. Bush's education-reform bill, was signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002. By all accounts, it is the most sweeping education-reform legislation since 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson passed his landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The act was passed so that the children could get the highest level of education by the government. They would support public schools, poor districts, monitor students progress and test students. -
2nd Iraq War
After the events of 9/11, president George W. Bush declared war on Iraq because of its crime on the New York in 2001, support of terrorist groups and for its cause of creating weapons of mass destruction. This later on became a meaningless war that made former president look ridiculous because his accusations of weapons in Iraq were false. Many American soldiers died for a pointless caused and the people of America refused the point of the war and disagreed with the presidents actions. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Hurricane Katrina was an enormous hurricane that came from the Gulf of Mexico and hit Louisiana; it drove the state into a economic depression that is still recovering today. The aftermath of the hurricane was what drove the people to their limit. The city of New Orleans was flooded, food and water were scarce for those who did not evacuate and President W. Bush failed to be more involved. Many homes and businesses were destroyed and in the end a total of 1,836 casualties were dead. -
The Great Recession
The Great Recession occurred in 2008 and was simply a time when the economy in america went weak. Many people lost their jobs like real estate agents because no one was capable of buying homes due to the economy and their financial situations. There was an 8 trillion dollar bubble and people stopped spending and people stopped investing leading to a whole ton of people needing jobs. The government had to spend millions of dollars to get it back on track. -
Barrack Obama
Barrack Obama is of White-American and Kenyan decent, born in Hawaii and graduated from Harvard law school. He was the former Senator of Illinois and U.S. Senate & announced his candidacy for presidency in May 2007. Obama ran in the democratic party, facing former first lady, Hilary Clinton in a derby run for democratic candidate and won. Obama promised American citizens health care and getting the U.S. out the Iraq War. By the election, Obama won 365 Electoral votes and 53% of the popular vote. -
John McCain
John McCain was born on a Naval Base in the Panama Canal Zone on August 28, 1936. McCain volunteered in combat for the Navy; on his 23rd mission, his plane was shot down and he was captured by the North Vietnamese for 5 years. By 1981, he went into politics. He served as the Arizona Senator and U.S. then ran as a Republican candidate for the 2008 election. McCain was a supporter of the Iraq war and pledged to stop Gay marriage, immigration, global warming, etc. He lost to Barrack Obama in 2008. -
Sonya Sotomayor
Sonya Sotomayor is the first ever Hispanic Supreme Court Judge. She was nominated by Barack Obama once he went into office. She was born in the Bronx of New York City and studied at the Ivy League School Princeton and graduated summa cum laude and was also nominated by former president George W. Bush a U.S. District Court and New York southern district court.
