-
Smith Act
The Smith act was passed because it made offense to advocate or belong to a group that advocated the violent overthrow of the government, was the basis of later prosecutions of members of the Communist & Socialist parties. About 215 people were indicted under the legislation, including alleged communists, anarchists, and fascists. Prosecutions under the Smith Act continued until a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1957 reversed a number of convictions under the Act, as unconstitutional. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain received prominence after Winston Churchill’s speech in which he said that an “iron curtain has descended” across Europe. He referred to the boundary line that divided Europe in two different political areas. The first, the Western Europe, had political freedom, and the second, Eastern Europe, was under communist Soviet rule. This term also symbolized the way in which the Soviet Union blocked its territories from open contact with the West world. -
38th Parallel
The 38th Parallel was a line chosen by U.S. military planners at the Potsdam Conference near the end of World War II as an army boundary, north of which the U.S.S.R. was to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces in Korea and south of which the Americans were to accept the Japanese surrender. The line was intended as a temporary division of the country, However, the Cold War led to the establishment of a separate U.S.-oriented control in South Korea and a communist control in North Korea . -
Hiroshima
On 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Hiroshima, a Japanese city. The bomb was called "Little Boy," a uranium bomb that exploded 13 kilotons of force. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and killed 80,000 people. Thousands more would die later, due to their exposure to radiation. -
Fat Man Bomb
Fat Man was the code name for the atomic bomb that was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the US on August 9 1945. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the first being Little Boy, and its detonation marked the third-ever man-made nuclear explosion in history. It was built by scientists and engineers at Los Alamos Laboratory using plutonium. It was a very big explosion that showed our power of these atomic bombs during those times, we had many. -
Nagasaki
Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing around 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s surrender in World War II through the radio claiming how powerful this new and most cruel bomb was. Although this bomb was bigger than the other one, there were less casualties because many were evacuated to rural areas of the city. -
Joseph McCarthy
During the Red Scare era, Republican Joseph McCarthy was the most enduring symbol for Americans. He was Senator of Wisconsin and spent about five years trying to expose communists and other loyalty risks in the U.S. government. His accusations were very intimidating that people would not dare to speak against his name. In 1954, he spoke against the army and it was then that his actions earned his place as U.S. Senate. -
Period: to
Cold War
-
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy whose stated purpose was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. It was first announced to Congress by President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947 and further developed on July 12, 1948 when he pledged to contain threats to Greece and Turkey. More generally, the Truman Doctrine implied American support for other nations allegedly threatened by Soviet communism. It became the foundation of american foreign policy. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an plan to help rebuild Western Europe after the end of World War II. The plan was in operation for four years beginning on April 3, 1948.The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-torn regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, improve European prosperity, and prevent the spread of Communism.It also required a lessening of interstate barriers, a dropping of many regulations, and encouraged an increase in productivity, trade union membership. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift, 1948–1949. At the end of the Second World War, U.S, British, and Soviet military forces divided and occupied Germany. Also divided into occupation zones, Berlin was located far inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany so they would send these planes for their help. The Berlin Airlift was simply a 327 day operation in which the U.S. and British planes flew food and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviets blockaded the city in 1948. This was an important event in us history -
The Fair Deal
The Fair Deal was President Truman's proposal to Congress to congress to continue New Deal liberalism. Many have said the fair deal is similar to the New Deal, only newer and modified a little. When he proposed it, only a few of its major initiatives became law. The most important ones were education, health insurance, and the Fair Employment Practices Commission. -
Little Richard
Little Richard was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known as the architect of Rock and Roll. His most famous work began in the mid 50s, when his music was laid the foundation of rock and roll. Richard has been honored by many institutions and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its first group of inductees. He influenced many singers and musicians across different genres of music. -
Rock 'n' Roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s,from African American musical styles such as gospel, jump blues, jazz, boogie woogie, and rhythm and blues,along with country music.While elements of what was to become rock and roll can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s, the genre did not acquire its name until 1954 -
TV Shows
There is no exact date, but actual TV shows for entertainment did not air until 1950. Usually they just broadcasted news and other information. This was when TVs became a need in the home. Fathers would come home and the first thing they would do is turn on the TV. They saw another means of entertainment and it became very common. The first broadcast of Broadway Open House was aired in 1950. -
Period: to
1950s
-
Bill Haley and the Comets
Bill Haley and the Comets were a rock and roll band, founded in 1952. From late 1954 to 1956, they placed 9 singles in the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top 10. Leader, Bill Haley, previously had been a country performer; after recording a country and western-styled version of "Rocket 88", he changed the musical direction to rock and roll. After Haley's death, no fewer than 7 groups have existed under the Comets name, all claiming to be the continuation of the group. -
Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater is best known as a senator from Arizona and the republican candidate of the U.S. presidential election of 1964. He is credited for sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s. Goldwater also rejected the New Deal and fought against it. He was suspicious of labor unions as a base of political power and unbalanced budgets. Goldwater became a "star" of the republican party. -
Dr. Jonas Salk
Salk was an American biologist and physician best known for the research and development of a killed-virus polio vaccine. While researching and developing a vaccine for polio, an infection disease caused by a virus that lives in the throat and intestinal tract, Salk injected himself, his wife and his three sons. Salk announced the success of the initial human tests to a national radio audience on March 26, 1953. He was a very important person during this time when horrible things were going on. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was an American singer, actor and song producer; who was also was known as the King of Rock `n Roll or just "The King". More than one billion Elvis records have sold worldwide, with over 120 singles in the U.S. He is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century. Presley was inducted into several music halls of fame. -
Beat Generation
The Beat writers were a small group of close friends first, and a movement later. The term "Beat Generation" came to represent an entire period in time, but the entire original Beat Generation in literature was small enough to have fit into a couple of cars. Most struggled for years to get published, and it's inspiring to learn how they managed to keep each other from giving up hope. Their fame began with a poetry reading at the 6 Gallery in San Francisco. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education was a supreme court case in which justices ruled that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. This was one of the most impacting cases of the civil rights movement. The case also helped establish the "separate but equal" term for education and other services that were not really equal. It was the spark for the beginning of the civil rights movement. -
Period: to
Civil Right`s Movement
-
Emmett Till Tragedy
Emmett Till was a 14 year old African American boy who was from Chicago. He was visiting family in Money, Mississippi and was accused of flirting with a white woman. Till was brutally beat by the woman's husband and brother, who shot him in the head then tied him to a cotton gin fan with barbed wire, and into the river. The family members held an open casket funeral so people may see what racial injustice was committed. -
Polio Vaccine
Polio crippled and killed millions worldwide, and the successful vaccine virtually eliminated the scourge caused. Generates serum antibodies to neutralize the virus in the bloodstream. Jonas Salk an American doctor invented the polio vaccine in 1953 and announced safe on April 12, 1955. This vaccine helped many people get a cure of this disease going around. It was a very strong impact that was on the people and society so now this isnt around due to this vaccine. -
Albert Sabin
Best known as the developer of the oral live virus polio vaccine, Dr. Sabin not only dedicated his entire professional career to the elimination of human suffering though his groundbreaking medical advances, he also waged a tireless campaign against poverty and ignorance throughout his lifetime. On October 6, 1956 Sabin announced that his live-virus polio vaccine is ready for mass testing. He was a very professional person that many people looked up to as smart and with the people. -
Sputnik
When the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race. -
The New Frontier
The New Frontier was used by liberal Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the United States presidential election to the Democratic National Convention at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the Democratic slogan to inspire America to support him. The phrase developed into a label for his administration's domestic and foreign programs. Among the legislation passed by Congress during the Kennedy Administration, unemployment benefits were expanded. -
Feminism
Second-wave feminism is a period of feminist activity and thought that began in the U.S. in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It quickly spread across the Western world, with an aim to increase equality for women by gaining more than just enfranchisement. Issues addressed by the movement included rights regarding domestic issues such as clothing and employment. In the 1960s, women did not tend to seek employment due to their engagement with domestic and household duties. -
Hippies
Hippies grew up in the midst of a revolution, a time when sexual freedom, drug use and wild music took the stage. Many of them were rebelling after the post war era, because of their parents being conservative. It gave them the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions in different ways, such as, how they dressed, what music they listened to and how they danced. Hippies freed themselves from societal restrictions and decided to choose their own way to find a new meaning in life. -
Period: to
1960s
-
Sit-ins
On February 1, 1960, four African American college students went to a white only lunch counter in North Carolina and asked for coffee. When service was refused, they sat patiently. Despite other's words and feelings they waited quietly. This was the birth of the civil sit-in. -
Counter Culture
Members of the counter culture or hippies were thought to be out of touch. Because of this, many new drug laws were passed in the 70's. They also made heroin and LSD popular and commercialized rock music and marijuana. Hippies were turned off to their own culture. All in all, they rejected middle class values. -
LSD
LSD is a powerful drug that came to prominence with the counter culture. It caused addiction and spread from the United States to the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. It remains a poplar drug in the UK. Here in the US, it was used to escape the problems of society. -
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps was founded by president Kennedy. It inspired young college grads to work in poor countries and humanitarian projects. Unfortunately, his plan did not carry out as planned because he was only in office for 3 years. Conservatives were against his liberal agenda. -
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips through the American South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals. Due to the violence and arrests continued to garner national and international attention, and drew hundreds of new Freedom Riders to the cause. -
Birmingham Bombing
The Birmingham church bombing occurred when a bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama—a church with a predominantly black congregation that also served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders. Four young girls were killed and many other people injured.This attacked was caused due to Jim crow and the organization know as the KKK. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
Oswald was an ex-marine that associated with the communists. He was defected to the Soviet Union. He came back to the United States with a special permission. He is responsible for killing the president and was claimed to be the only shooter in the assassination. -
Assassination of JFK
Kennedy flew to Love Airfield in Dallas and planned on travelling through downtown Dallas. He wanted maximum exposure to crowds to generate excitement. The route was publicized for several days ahead of schedule. Lee Harvey Oswald took advantage of this and waited on the 6th floor of a book depository. Five shots were made, while only 2 hit the president. He died at Parkland Hospital. -
Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby lived in Dallas, Texas where he owned a nightclub. On November 24, 1963, just two days after the assassination of JFK. He shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald. He was found guilty of murdering Oswald, and was sentenced to death. His conviction was appealed, but as he got his new trial, he died of pulmonary embolism. -
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was an activist and outspoken public voice of the Black Muslim faith. He urged followers to defend themselves against white aggression with “by any means necessary.” He changed his last name to X to signify his rejection of his “slave” name. Malcolm became an influential leader of the Nation of Islam, which combined Islam with black nationalism and sought to encourage and enfranchise disadvantaged young blacks searching for confidence in segregated America. -
Selma March
The Selma to Montgomery march was part of civil rights protests that occurred in Alabama. Protesters marched a 54-mile route from Selma to the capital of Montgomery and were confronted with violence from local authorities and white vigilante groups. They finally achieved their goal, walking for 3 days to reach Montgomery. The march, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s participation in it, raised awareness of the difficulties faced by black voters, and the need for a national Voting Rights Act. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This voting act was aimed to overcome all voting barriers on state and local levels that did not allow African Americans to vote. It showed that the government was helping African Americans and is a very important legislation passed. It also prohibits literacy tests, poll taxes, and other discriminatory laws. -
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party's core practice was its armed citizens' patrols to monitor the behavior of officers of the Oakland Police Department and challenge police brutality in Oakland, California. In 1969, community social programs became a core activity of party members.The Black Panther Party instituted a variety of community social programs, most extensively the Free Breakfast for Children Programs, and community health clinics to address issues like food injustice. -
Death of MLK
MLK traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to give a speech at a local Church. He stayed at the Lorraine Motel, where he stayed a lot. But on April 4, 1968 he was shot talking to someone from the balcony. James Earl Ray shot him from a distance and was later arrested in London. The bullet went through King's cheek and it severed a major artery. -
Stonewall Riot
At 3 a.m. in New York City, in a gay club the Stonewall Riot becomes violent as patrons and local sympathizers begin rioting against the police. There was then a series of riots by members of the LGBT community. These events are considered the most important ones leading to the gay liberation movement. -
Period: to
1970s
-
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA was created to protect human health and the environment by making regulations based on laws passed by congress. The order that establishes the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by somebody appointed by the president. -
Nixon`s Tapes
President Richard Nixon secretly taped conversations and telephone calls in several locations, including the oval office, office in the Old Executive Building, cabinet room, and Camp David. When the tapes are brought to light, there were a total of 2,636 hours of tapes containing conversations. These tapes revealed how Nixon was involved in the Watergate scandal, which changed American politics forever. -
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlalfy was an opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment during the 1970s. She organized the STOP ERA campaign which meant "Stop Taking Our Privileges." Her belief was that it would take away gender specific privileges enjoyed by women, including dependent wife benefits. Her campaign ended up being a failure when she turned into a war among women over gender roles. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was to provide legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discrimination dependent on sex. There were many supporters of this amendment that won the required two-thirds vote from the US House of Representatives and approved by the US Senate. -
Watergate
The Watergate Scandal took place in June 17, 1972. Several burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington, D.C. The burglars were connected to President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign, and they were caught wiretapping phones and stealing important documents. Nixon took defensive steps to cover up the crime afterwards, and his role in the conspiracy was revealed. He was the 1st president to resign. -
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade was a landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a woman’s legal right to an abortion.The Court ruled, in a 7-2 decision, that a woman’s right to choose an abortion was protected by the privacy rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The legal precedent for the decision was rooted in the 1965 case of Griswold v. Connecticut, which established the right to privacy involving medical procedures. -
OPEC
OPEC rose during the 70s, as its member countries took control of their domestic petroleum industries and took say in the pricing of oil. It broadened its mandate with the 1st Summit of Heads of State and Government in Algiers in 1975, which addressed the situation of poorer nations and called for a new era of cooperation in international relations, interests of world economic development and stability. -
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act is a key legislation for both domestic and international conservation. The act aims to provide a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats.By providing States with financial assistance and incentives to develop and maintain conservation programs the Act serves as a method to meet many of the United States’ international responsibilities to treaties and conventions. -
Federal Election Commision
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. It was created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, the commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections." -
Rap Music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop is a music genre developed in the United States by inner-city African Americans in the 1970s which consists of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements:turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing.Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records and rhythmic beatboxing. -
A.I.D.S Crisis
The AIDS crisis, caused by HIV, found its way to the United States as early as 1960, but was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters in young gay men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981. Treatment of HIV/AIDS is primarily via a "drug cocktail" of protease inhibitors, and education programs to help people avoid infection. Initially, infected foreign nationals were turned back at the U.S. border to help prevent additional infections. -
Period: to
1980s
-
Satellite Entertainment
This is a service that delivers TV programs to the viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth. The signals are received from an outdoor parabolic antenna referred to as a satellite dish and low-noise block down converter. -
Jimmy Carter
Carter was the 38th president of the US. He faced many challenges, including a major energy crisis as well as high inflation and unemployment. He also reopened US relations with China and attempted to make peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict, but was not successful as the hostage crisis in Iran approached. -
Reaganomics
Reaganomics refers to the economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan. These policies are commonly associated with supply-side economics, referred to as trickle-down economics or voodoo economics by political opponents, and free-market economics by political advocates.The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to reduce the growth of government spending, reduce the federal income tax and capital gains tax, and reduce government regulation. -
Sandra Day O`Connor
Sandra Day O’Connor was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006, and was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. For 24 years, Sandra Day O’Connor was a pioneering force on the Supreme Court and will always be remembered as acting as a sturdy guiding hand in the court’s decisions. In 2009 her accomplishments were acknowledged by President Obama who honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. -
Ronald Reagan
In the 30's, Reagan became a Hollywood actor. His films and TV career not only earned him public recognition, but it also helped in making his good-guy reputation. He was a conservative. During his presidency, he redefined the center in American politics towards Republicans. -
Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine was created by the Reagan Administration to overcome the global influence the Soviet Union had to end the cold war. It was the centerpiece of the US foreign policy until the end of the cold war. Under this doctrine, the US offered aid to anti-communist groups and resistance movements in an attempt to stop Soviet influence. -
MTV
MTV launched with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll," spoken by John Lack and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia and of the launch of Apollo 11. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song, a crunching rock tune composed by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over the American flag changed to show MTV's logo changing into various textures and designs. -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) "Star Wars"
In 1983, Ronald Reagan announced his intention to embark upon groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete. The research was called the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI. It was also known as "Star Wars" because of its actions like portrayed in the movie. Its purpose was to eliminate the threat of nuclear attack. -
Balkans Crisis
During the Balkans Crisis, the Ottoman empire lost the bulk of its territory in Europe. The crisis, which first came to international attention in 1993 and rose again in 1999, occurred when the communist government of Yugoslavia collapsed and its six provinces fought each other, utilizing "ethnic cleansing", until NATO and the United Nations intervened. -
The Internet
Unlike other common things we use today, the internet does not have a single inventor or a specific date of invention. Similar to emails it evolved over time and continues to change now. It got its start over 50 years ago in the Cold War. Many used it to communicate and share date, now it is part of our daily life. -
Lionel Sosa
Lionel Sosa is a Hispanic advertising and marketing executive. He created famous ads for big corporations such as presidential campaigns. In 1980, he created a new agency, called Sosa and Associates, which eventually became the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the United States. He was named one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America. -
Period: to
1990s
-
Rodney King Incident
Rodney King became known after he was beat by the LAPD. A witness videotaped the beating and sent footage to a local news station. It shows 4 officers surrounding King, hitting him repeatedly, while other officers just watched. This raised modern concern about police treatment of minorities in the US. -
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah is an American media proprietor, talk show host, producer, actress, and philanthropist. She is best known for her personal talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show. IT has been around since 1986-2011. She has won many awards like Best Talk Show Host at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 1992. -
World Trade Center Attack -1993
Six suspects were convicted of participating in the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. Six people were killed and over a 1,000 were injured. The explosion created a hole 200 feet by 100 feet and was several stories deep. The 1,200-pound bomb was in a Ryder truck parked in the garage under the Trade Center. -
Don`t Ask, Don`t Tell Policy
(DADT) was the official United States policy on military service by gays, bisexuals, and lesbians, instituted by the Clinton Administration on February 28, 1994, when Department of Defense Directive took effect, lasting until September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. -
Lewinsky Affair
The Lewinsky affair was a political sex scandal involving President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. They began a sexual relationship that continued until 1997. She was transferred to a job at the Pentagon, where she told coworker Linda Tripp about it. Tripp secretly taped some of their conversations. When news became public, Clinton denied it before admitting to intimacy. The House of Representatives impeached him for perjury and obstruction of justice, but he was pardoned by the Senate. -
Mobile Phones
Mobile phone have become an important part of our daily life. Many cannot imagine life without it. Phone have not always looked like that though. Mobile phones came around in 1995 and seemed like huge bricks. Now they can be put almost everywhere. 30 years ago, the first mobile phone sold for $4,000. Over the years this number has decreased. -
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is a Viacom–owned cable network based in Washington, D.C. The cable channel is viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide. Its founder, Robert L. Johnson, was a former lobbyist for the cable television industry in the late 1970s. In that capacity, Johnson quickly recognized the dearth of television programming designed for the African American public and created BET to reach that demographic audience. Also he was the first African American Billionaire. -
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
DOMA is a federal law that denies federal recognition of same sex marriages and authorizes states to refuse to recognize same sex marriages licensed in other states. It was passed after the Hawaii Supreme Court issued a ruling in the Baehr v. Lewin case. Three same-gender couples filed a lawsuit after being denied marriage licenses. The couples alleged the state had acted unconstitutionally because Hawaii's state constitution contains an equal rights provision. Their rights were justified later. -
Period: to
Contemporary
-
The Election of 2000
The 2000 presidential election pitted Republican George W. Bush, governor of Texas and son of former US president George H.W. Bush, against Democrat Al Gore, former senator from Tennessee and vice president in the administration of Bill Clinton.
Because Clinton had been such a popular president, Gore had no difficulty securing the Democratic nomination, though he sought to distance himself from the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Clinton’s impeachment trial. -
9/11 Attacks
On this day, 4 airplanes were hijacked with the intent of knocking down the twin towers, the Pentagon, and the white house. Thankfully only 3 of those spots were successful. The 2 twin towers were knocked down causing a lot of damage. Both mentally and physically. Many died and were injured. One other plane did hit the Pentagon, but the damage was not nearly as bad and the last hit a field in Pennsylvania. -
War on Terror
This war was a result of the attacks on 9/11. It is a war against terrorists organizations and regimes accused of helping them. It was focused on countries associated with Islamic terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda, which is responsible for the 9/11 attacks, and organizations similar to that one. -
The Patriot Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. With its ten-letter abbreviation (USA PATRIOT) expanded, the full title is “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001”. The abbreviation, as well as the full title, have been attributed to Chris Kyle, a former staffer on the House Judiciary Committee -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating, and it brought winds of 100–140 miles per hour and stretched some 400 miles across. The storm did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were displaced from their homes, and experts estimate that Hurricane Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage. -
The Great Recession
It was a sharp decline in the economy of the US during the late 2000s. It considered the largest recession since the Great Depression. It began when the US housing market went from being all successful to large amounts of mortgage-backed securities and derivatives lost a lot of value. -
Barack Obama
Barack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States. He was the first African American to take on the presidency. During his first two years, he signed many landmark bills into law. The main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (referred as "Obamacare"). In foreign policy, the increased U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the United States–Russia New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. -
Election of 2008
The election of 2008 consisted of Barack Obama and John McCain. It is one that will be marked in history because it is the first election in which an African American becomes president. After a campaign that lasted almost 2 years, Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. -
Housing Bubble
The United States housing bubble was a real estate bubble affecting over half of the U.S. states. Housing prices peaked in early 2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and reached new lows in 2012. Any collapse of the U.S. housing bubble has a direct impact not only on home valuations, but mortgage markets, home builders, real estate, home supply retail outlets, Wall Street hedge funds held by large institutional investors, and foreign banks, increasing the risk of a nationwide recession. -
Affordable Care Act "Obamacare"
Obamacare is the informal way of saying Affordable Care Act passed by president Obama. The most important thing about this act is that it requires you to have health insurance for at least 9 months out of the 12 in a year. Otherwise you get taxed 2.5% of your income.
