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Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave born in Virginia. He was moved to Illinois and then Wisconsin both of which were free states. He was then moved to Missouri which was a slave state. Scott took his case to the Court in hopes of gaining his freedom. However, the Supreme Court which was led by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney declared all blacks slaves as well as free were not and could never be citizens of the United States. They also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. -
Lincoln Assassination
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was watching the play "Our American Cousin" when Booth slipped into the back of the box where Lincoln was sitting in and shot him in the back of the head. Booth jumped out of the box and broke his leg but preceeded to the back of the theater to escape. Lincoln was pronounced dead on April 15th at 7:22 a.m. On April 26th Union troops found Booth and killed him. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown vs. Board of Education is a Supreme Court case in which the Court declared seperate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. This overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson which allowed segregation. This was a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement and it all started in Topeka, Kansas. -
Gideon v. Wainwright
The Supreme Court ruled in this case that the Constitution requires the states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants charged with serious offenses who cannot afford lawyers themselves. Gideon was arrested but could not afford a lawyer and requested that one would be appointed to him. He was sentenced to prison but filed petition stating his conviction was unconstitutional because he didnt have a defense attorney.They granted him the right to a second trial and was found innocent. -
Medicare
Medicare is a national social insurance program that guarantees access to health insurance for Americans ages 65 and older and younger people with disabilities. -
Civil Rights Act 1965
The Civil Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of legislation that outlawed discriminatory voting practices. The Act enforced the 15th ammendment. The Act prohibits states from imposing any voting qualifications or prerequisites to voting. They are not able to deny any citizen of the United States the right to vote on account of race or color. -
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate Scandal was a political scandal that occured as a result of a break in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. It started when 5 men were arrested for breaking into the headquarters. The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by a fundraising group for the Nixon campaign. They found tape recordings of Nixon trying to cover up the break in. This scandal eventually led to Nixon resigning. -
Reagan's "Tear down this wall" Speech
Tear Down this Wall was a statement issued by President Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall. Reagan said this in his speech at the Brandenburg Gate commemorating the 750th anniversary of Berlin. Reagan challenged Gorbachev to tear it down in order to support Gorbachev's desire to increase freedom in the Eastern bloc through transparency and restructuring. -
Bill Clinton Impeachment
Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, perjury and obstruction of justice. Two other charges, one of abuse of power and the other a second perjury charge failed in the House. These charges stemmed from the Monica Lewinsky scandal in which he was accused of cheating. Clinton was aquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. The Senate was 17 votes away from removing Clinton from office. -
September 11th
9/11/01 On September 11, 2001 19 people associated with al-Qaeda highjacked 4 airplanes. Two of the planes were flown into the North and South tower of the World Trade Center. One plane was flown into the Pentagon and the other was headed for the Capital in Washington D.C. but was taken over by the passengers and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people died.
