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Oklahoma City Bombing
In Oklahoma City, a truck bomb destroyed the Alfred Murray Federal building. The bombing took 168 lives leaving 600 injured. Law enforcement agents found that two men named, Timothy Mcveigh and Terry Nicholas were apart of white nationalist groups. This bombing led to the conclusion that proved white hate groups had increased at the end of the 1990's. This event is significant to history because it impacted the lives of thousands and impacted national security (Kruse and Zelizer, 220). -
DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)
In 1996, the defense of marriage act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The defense of marriage act allowed states the right of not recognizing same-sex marriages from other states. DOMA also developed the legal definition of marriage as being strictly only heterosexual which means one male and one female get married. DOMA is a significant part of history as it did not recognize and allow same sex marriages and denied them their legal rights (Kruse and Zelizer, 218). -
Columbine High School Massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999 when two twelfth-grade students named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold started a mass shooting within the school and attempted to bomb it. In total, 13 students and 1 teacher were murdered. The school shooting resulted in Harris and Klebold committing suicide. The Columbine High School Massacre is a pivotal moment in history as it is the deadliest mass shooting in Colorado and infamous for inspiring other school shootings. -
Election of 2000
The 2000 election was between Gore vs. Bush. Neither of them had the number of electoral votes needed to claim victory. The media declared both electors as president but then took it back and declared neither of them as president. The Republican Party asked for the Supreme Court to get involved which ended with Bush taking the victory as as they ordered a recount. This election is significant to history as it was one of the closest elections in American history (Kruse and Zelizer, 240-242). -
Bush Tax Cut
The Bush tax cut provided a major reduction at an estimated cost of $1.35 trillion. This was the largest tax cut in American history. During Bush's acceptance speech he states, "The surplus is the people's money." He believed that the money should be restored from what they have lost. This tax cut is significant due to provided workers with higher wages because the marginal effective tax rate was reduced (Kruse and Zelizer, 245). -
Obergefell v. Hodges Case
In the Obergefell v. Hodges case, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right for same-sex marriage across all 50 states. The fundamental right to marry anyone of your choosing is now guaranteed due to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. This is a pivotal moment in history because it requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and allows them to be seen regardless of what state the marriage occurred in. -
The Terrorist Attack on September 11th, 2001
On September 11th, 2001, a horrific attack was completed by terrorists linked to an Islamic group that was founded by Osama bin Laden. Four planes were hijacked and flown into The World Trade Center located in New York City, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. leaving almost 3,000 people dead. George W. Bush was president at the time where he soon later declared war on terrorism. I chose this event as I feel it is a pivotal moment for history. 99/11 created a shift in foreign policy in the U.S. -
Iraq War
The Iraq war lasted from 2003-2011, was an extended war where U.S. troops invaded Iraq to destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction while also ending the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein because he supports terrorist groups. The U.S. was in a vulnerable spot after the 9/11 attacks which was a major cause of the start of the Iraq war. The Iraq war was split into two phases and ended on December 15th, 2011 with the U.S. taking victory. 4,500 service members were killed with 32,000 others injured. -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 23rd, 2005 and lasted 7 days. It was considered a category 5 tropical hurricane that destroyed the coast all the way from Texas to Florida. This hurricane completed $180 billion worth of damage. This was the deadliest hurricane in American history leaving 1,833 dead. Hurricane Katrina was a significant part of history as it was the most expensive natural disaster to occur (Kruse and Zelizer, 280). -
Economic Crisis of 2008
The economic crisis which was also known as the stock market crash occurred in 2008 in the United States. The stock market had multiple different causes but the main cause was risky mortgage lending and inadequate regulation. The stock market decreased by half, with unemployment at a high rate of 10%. This was a pivotal moment in history because the crisis sparked the Great Recession following the years after during 2007 through 2009 (Stock Market Crash of 2008, Gratton). -
Obama gets elected as president
The 2008 election was between Barack Obama and John McCain. Barack Obama, apart of the Democratic Party was elected to be the 44th president of the United States on November 4th, 2008. Obama served two terms in office from 2009-2017. He left a long-lasting impact on the United States as he created Obama Care which is his term for the Affordable Care Act. Obama's presidency was a pivotal moment in history because he was the first African-American to serve as president. -
Sandy Hook School shooting
On December 14th, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Sandy Hook elementary school located in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator named Adam Lanza, took 26 lives. 20 of the lives were students while the other 6 were teachers and staff members. The school shooting led to a national debate about gun regulation laws throughout the states to prevent future school shootings from happening. This was a pivotal moment in history as school safety initiatives were taken more seriously to protect schools.