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Air-traffic controllers strike
The air-traffic controllers stirke involved thousands of air-traffic controllers going on strike in order to increase their pay and working conditions. President Reagan decided to fire them all instead of making a deal with them. He fired them because they were breaking a law that said federal workers couldn't go on strike. This event changed some people's thoughts about Reagan. Some thought he was strong while others thought he was too harsh. -
Equal Access Act
This act was passed by Congress. It said that schools must allow all groups equal access for use of the school. It was greatly supported by religious groups like the Conservative Christian because it changed the previous fact that many groups for students that involved religion weren't allowed to be held at the school. -
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act
This was an law that passed that said if the nation's debt became too much then federal spending would be automatically cut off. It did not do what it was made for and was rewritten to better decrease the debt. -
Iran-Contra Scandal
The Iran-Contra Scandal was a political scandal under President Reagan that involved using money from secret arms sales to Iran to support the Contras in Nicaragua illegally. -
Westside Community School District v. Mergens
The principle at Omaha high school denied a group of students to have a Christian religious group at the school. Mergens decided to take it to court saying that the 1984 federal law required equal access for all religious groups. The court ruled that it was okay to have the group because it was not sponsered by the state. -
Reno v. ACLU
The 1996 Federal Communications Decency Act said it was a crime to send and recieve inappropriate messages over the internet in hope to protect minors. The court ruled that the 1996 Federal Communications Decency Act was a violation of the 1st Amendment. The court said it violated freedom of speech by not stating clearly which materials were inappropriate. -
Mitchell v. Helms
Chapter two of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act provided funding for both public and private schools, like religious schools. The ruling of this case was that having a federal law that would provide funding to buy materials for schools, both pulic and private, would not violate the 1st Amendment's Establishment Clause. -
Bush v. Gore
This was a case in which the court rules 5-4 that the recounting of the ballots would stop and Florida's methods for recounting the ballots was unconstitutional. The case happened as a result of the of the presidential election of 2000. The election was very close and very controversial and the ballots in Florida had to be recounted. However, most of the counties had different methods for recounting them and couldn't come to an agreement. Thus the Supreme Court made their ruling.