-
The Cold War was a time in history where two superpowers of the world, the United States and the Soviet Union, were in a strained conflict. This conflict was due to the political and ideological rivalry between these two global superpowers. The Cold War began on March 12, 1947, and ended on December 26, 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite having the word war in its name, there was never any actual fighting or battles during this time. (The National WWII Museum - New Orleans). -
The Oklahoma City Bombing was an event in history where an Army Veteran named Timothy McVeigh detonated a bomb just outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He decided to commit this terrorist act on the same date of the Waco Siege because he was so angry about that. This event killed 168 people, 19 of them being children. There were hundreds more that were injured. This event is the most devastating act of homegrown terrorism in U.S. history. (FBI.gov). -
A shooting in Columbine High school occurred on April 20th, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado. This event is also known as the Columbine High School Massacre. 15 people were killed, and 21 others were injured. Among these 15, 12 were students, 1 was a teacher, and 2 were the shooters. This shooting was one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, and began many of the conversations about how to end gun violence. It also changed the way police were trained for these situations. (Britannica) -
The Y2K Bug, also known as the Year 2000 Bug, was an issue with the coding in computers, people were worried that there would be a huge technological crash when the computers were changing from 12/31/1999 to 1/1/2000. There was a mass panic, people were afraid that computers and technology of important people and corporations, like the government and banks would all crash and shut down. People believed that this would be the end of society as everyone knew it. (Britannica). -
9/11 was a day in U.S. history where a terrorist group hijacked 4 commercial flights. The first 2 flights crashed into the World Trade Center. The 3rd flight crashed into the Pentagon. The 4th flight is thought to have been going to either the Capital Building or the White House. However, once the passengers found out what was happening they took over the plane and crashed it into an empty field. This was the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history, with 2,977 victims. (Kruse & Zelizer, 251). -
The No Child Left Behind Act was an update to The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. This update was signed into law on January 8, 2002. This Act increased the Federal Government's role in monitoring schools and holding them accountable for every student's academic success. This means that standardized testing was given more often, as a way for the government to monitor the progress and growth of students. This law was later replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act. (EdWeek). -
Facebook is a social network that was created in 2004. It was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Harvard students Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, the most well known being Mark Zuckerberg. Originally, it was only marketed and available for college students, however, now it is open and free to anyone who wants to join and start an account. Facebook is the largest social network globally. It has almost three billion people who own accounts. (Britannica). -
Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane spanning from August 23, 2005 to August 31, 2005. It hit the Gulf Coast, and damaged areas from Florida to Texas. New Orleans was the most impacted. This hurricane was the costliest and one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history. There was $108 billion in damages, and 1,833 deaths. This also damaged President Bush's reputation. Citizens saw how slow he and the government were to help those affected by this disaster. (Kruse & Zelizer, 280).
-
The Great Recession was the economic turn down that occurred from 2007 to 2009. This recession was the longest economic downturn America has seen since World War 2. The main cause of this recession is believed to be too much mortgage lending to people who would not usually qualify for a home loan, and limited regulation of certain financial institutions. This recession not only affected the U.S., it also affected other countries as well, such as Ireland and Mexico. (Federal Reserve History).
-
Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, with Joe Biden as his Vice President. He served 2 consecutive terms from 2008 to 2016. Barack Obama became the first African-American President in American history, after serving as a Senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008. During his two terms of presidency, Obama signed many important acts into laws, such as the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and the Recovery Act. (National Archives).