-
California v. Bakke
The Supreme Court ruled that a university use of racial "quotas" in its admissions process was unconstitutional. -
Supply-Side Economics
The belief that the economic problems come from high rates of taxation and heavy regulations. -
Trickle-Down Economics
A economic theory that advocates reducing taxes on businesses and the wealthy in society and the benefits will trickle down to everyone else. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
She was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court; she was the first woman justice to serve on the nation's highest court. -
Tea Party
A national social movement that seeks to limit government spending and cut taxes. -
Religious Fundamentalism
A belief of an individual or a group in the authority of sacred religious text or teachings. -
AIDS
It was a worldwide epidemic from the HIV virus. -
Ronald Reagan
His is the 40th president who's known for redefining the purpose of government and pressured the Soviet Union to end the Cold War. -
Economic Recovery Tax Act
A law that lowered income tax for individual taxpayers and an acceleration of the capital cost recovery of investment in real property, incentives for saving, and other purposes. -
PATCO Strike
Air traffic controllers went on strike after the Federal Aviation Administration collapsed. -
Walter Mondale
He was a politician, diplomat, and lawyer who served as the 42nd Vice President under Jimmy Carter. -
Boland Amendment
Acts that prevented American assistance or any interference with the anti-communist rebel Contras in Nicaragua. -
SDI
SDI( Strategic Defense Initiative) Reagan's intent to pursue a high technology missile defense system. -
Beirut Bombings
In Lebanon a suicide bomber crashed a bomb-filled truck into the U.S. Marine barracks, killing over 200 marines. -
Geraldine Ferraro
She was a democratic party politician; a first female vice president candidate representing a major American political party. -
Iran Contra Affair
A political scandal about Reagan who secretly supported the Sandinitas and funneled weapons to Iranian terrorists in exchange for American hostages. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
Head of the Soviet Union who improved relations with the West. -
Glasnost and Perestroika
A policies by Gorbachev to revitalize the Soviet economy and open up with the nations of the West more. -
Enron
An American energy company that manipulated energy prices in California and lied about its profits. -
William Rehnquist
He went up from associate justice to chief justice under Reagan and served on the Supreme Court for 33 years. -
Immigration Act of 1986
A law meant to stop illegal immigration in the U.S and it established penalties for those employing illegal immigrants. -
Tear Down This Wall
A line from a speech made by President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin. -
INF Agreement
A treaty that required the U.S. and the Soviet Union to eliminate all of their nuclear missiles. -
Moral Majority
A political group to further conservative and religious agendas. -
Saddam Hussein
A dictator in Iraq who tried to take over Iran and Kuwait to gain land and resources. -
Read my lips, no new taxes
George H.W. Bush campaigned that helped boost his popularity with the conservative wing. -
Tiananmen Square
Site in Beijing where Chinese students and workers protested for greater political openness and was crushed by the Chinese military. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The wall the separated East and West Germany fell, symbolizing the end of the Cold War. -
Panama Invasion
US invaded Panama to overthrow Manuel Noriega, a military dictator who endangered U.S. nationals. -
George H.W. Bush
He served as the 41st and the 43rd president who campaigned for a kinder, gentler nation. -
Sandinistas
A Nicaraguan group that overthrew the dictator Anastasio Somoza and governed Nicaragua from 1979-1990. -
Persian Gulf War
A conflict between Kuwait with the help from the U.S. and several Arab nations against Iraq. -
Internet
A global network making exchanging information easier and promoted boarderless economy. -
Lech Walesa
A polish president and co-founder Solidarity, the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union. -
Bosnia and Kosovo
During the Balkan Wars, a Serbian dictator tried to suppress independence movements in the former Yugoslav provinces; Bosnia and Kosovo were fighting for independence. -
Breakup of the Soviet Union
Gorbachev's reforms were slow and did not help the Soviet Union and their oil and gas revenue dropped. Then Gorbachev resigned as leader and soon after the Soviet Union separated into 15 different countries. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
A act that banned the discrimination against the disabled in employment and mandated easy access to all public and buildings. -
Boris Yeltsin
He was a Soviet politician and was the first President of the Russian Federation. -
Start I and II
A treaty between the U.S. and the Russia Federation on reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms. -
Clarence Thomas
An American judge who currently serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. -
Ross Perot
A third party candidate who won 19% of the popular vote, providing evidence that voters were dissatisfied with the two major parties. -
Ethnic Cleansing
A systematic attempt to remove a certain ethnicity from a region by explusion or genocide. -
Kyoto Accord
Agreement the extends the UNFCCC by several nations to prevent environmental damage such as reducing greenhouses. -
PLO
The Palestinian Liberation Organization represented all Palestinians and strove to achieve national goals. -
Yasser Arafat
PLO leader who agreed to the recognize Israel's right to exist in exchange to govern West Bank and Gaza ship. -
Bill Clinton
The 42nd president who advocated economic and healthcare reforms and is the second president to be impeached. -
Brady Bill
A law that mandated a waiting period on sales on handguns, along with a criminal record check on the buyers. -
West Bank and Gaza Strip
Territory of the Palestinians that was constantly fought over with Iraq. -
EU
An organization by the European countries to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation. -
Al Gore
gore was Clinton's vice president who work to fix environmental issues. -
Failure of Health Reform
The programs that was only directed towards the poor failed to appeal to the middle class that had elected Clinton. -
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement that allowed open trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. -
Contract with America
A republican plan by Newt Gingrich that focused on balancing the budget and cutting taxes. -
NRA
National Rifle Association, a nonprofit organization that defends the Constitution of the United States advocates for gun rights. -
Newt Gingrich
The 50th speaker in the United States House of Representative who pushed for more conservative legislation. -
Oklahoma City Bombing
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bombed of Murrah Federal building killing over a hundred people. -
Nuclear Proliferation
The spread of nuclear weapons to nations that do not have nuclear capabilities. -
WTO
Administers the rules governing trade between its members and helps the member conduct their business. -
Welfare Reform
Reforms signed by Clinton that scaled back social spending and reversed welfare legislation from the New Deal. -
Taliban
A group of Muslims who took control of Afghanistan's government, but were driven from power by the US-led coalition after being blamed for the 9/11 attacks. -
Bob Dole
An American attorney and politician who represented Kansas in Congress and was the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate. He was a presidential nominee, but quickly dropped out. -
Madeleine Albright
She is the first woman to become the United States Secretary of State. -
G-8
Major industrialized democratic nations have meeting to discuss global problems. -
Clinton Impeachment
Clinton was impeached because of two charges, one of perjury and the other from the obstruction of justice. -
Bush v. Gore
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush by saying the recounting the votes was unconstitutional. -
George W Bush
The 43rd president who began a campaign towards energy self-sufficiency and against terrorism. -
No Child Left Behind
It holds schools more accountable for their standardized test scores. They wanted better tests results for a smarter population. -
9/11
A terrorist group flew airplanes into the World Trade Center killing almost 3,000 people. -
Al-Qaeda
An Islamic extremist terrorist group that hijacked four airplanes and flew it into the World Trade Center. -
Osama Bin Laden
He's the founder of the Al-Oaeda, the group responsible for 9/11. -
Bush Tax Cuts
It refers to the two tax code changes with the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act that President Bush authorized. -
Homeland Security
It was put in place to defend the nation from threats and stop terrorist attacks by controlling borders. -
Axis of Evil
The nations accused of sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction by George W Bush. -
Operation Iraqi Freedom
The U.S. invaded Iraq in order to stop the development of nuclear weapons. -
WMD's
A weapon of mass destruction is nuclear weapon that can kill a large number of people and it was present in Iraq. -
Hurricane Katrina
A hurricane that destroyed 80% of New Orleans, killed over a thousand people, and damages costed $150 billion. -
Housing Bubble
A rapid increase in value of houses followed by a rapid decline in the value. -
Sarah Palin
An American politician who served as the 9th governor of Alaska. -
Barack Obama
The 44th president and 1st African American president who reformed for health care. -
John McCain
A republican candidate in 2008 and was the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. -
Deficit Reduction Budget
Taxation and economic policy debates to reduce the federal budget deficit -
Great Recession
A period of general economic decline in world markets due to international trade imbalances. -
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
They reassured investors who were worried about homeowners defaulting on mortgages by selling bonds to investors and using the funds to but mortgages from banks. -
D.C. v. Heller
Supreme Court ruled that the 2nd amendment allowed an individual to possess firearms. -
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia was appointed by Obama and was the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. -
Dodd-Frank Act
An act passed at reforming the banking industry and offering consumers greater protection. -
Affordable Care Act
An expansion of medicaid; health reform legislation pass by Obama. -
Citizens United
Government can't restrict independent political expenditures by a non-profit. -
Abu Ghraib Prison
A prison complex west of Baghdad that shut down because U.S. Army and the CIA commit a series of human right violations. -
Arab Spring
A revolutionary wave of protests and demonstrations overtaking dictators in the Middle East. -
Syria Civil War
Arab Spring caused an on-going civil war in Syria and Obama was criticized for not being more involved. -
Don't ask, don't tell
A policy restricting U.S. military personnel from efforts to discriminate or harass homosexual or bisexual members. -
Mitt Romney
Republican presidential nominee and the governor of Massachusetts. -
Mitt Romney
He was the Republican nominee for president and the 70th governor of Massachusetts. -
Boston Marathon Bombing
Two terrorists bombed the Boston Marathon killing hundreds of people. -
John Kerry
A U.S. Senator from Massachusetts who became the U.S. Secretary of State and ratified the new START treaty. -
Shelby County v. Holder
The decision struck down on two provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and declared it unconstitutional. -
Same-Sex Marriage
The Supreme Court called it unconstitutional for the federal government to deny federal benefits of marriage in states where same-sex marriages were legal. -
Hillary Clinton
Obama's Secretary of State, served as the first lady, and later ran against Donald Trump in the election of 2016. -
Debt Ceiling
The maximum amount of money that a government can borrow.
