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Albert Sabin
Was a Polish American medical researcher, best known for developing the oral polio vaccine which has played a key role in nearly eradicating the disease. -
Joseph McCarthy
Senator McCarthy spent almost 5 years trying to expose communists in the U.S government. In the hyper-suspicious atmosphere of the Cold War, insinuations of disloyalty were enough to convince many Americans that their government was packed with traitors and spies. McCarthy’s accusations were so intimidating that few people dared to speak out against him. It was not until he attacked the Army in 1954 that his actions earned him the censure of the U.S. Senate. -
Hector P. Garcia
Was an advocate for Hispanic-American rights during the Chicano movement. He was the first Mexican-American member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and was awarded the Medal of Freedom. And also was a physician, surgeon, World War II veteran, civil rights advocate, and founder of the American G.I. Forum. -
Panama Canal
The United States built the Panama Canal to have a quicker passage to the Pacific from the Atlantic and vice versa. It cost $400,000,000 to build. Columbians would not let Americans build the canal, but then with the assistance of the United States a Panamanian Revolution occurred. The new ruling people allowed the United States to build the canal. -
Election of 1992
The election took place in the middle of Republican President Warren G. Harding's term. The Republican Party lost seats in both chambers of Congress, but retained their majority in the House and Senate. -
Malcom X
The activist and outspoken public voice of the Black Muslim faith, challenged the mainstream civil rights movement and the nonviolent pursuit of integration championed by Martin Luther King Jr.He urged followers to defend themselves against white aggression “by any means necessary.” -
Cesar Chavez
A Mexican-American that was a prominent union leader and labor organizer. Hardened by his early experience as a migrant worker, Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. His union joined with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee in its first strike against grape growers in California, and the two organizations later merged to become the United Farm Workers. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
Was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S from 1981 to 2006. She was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. In 2009 her accomplishments were acknowledged by President Obama who honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. -
Dolores Huerta
An American labor leader and civil rights activist who was the co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Worers (UFW). -
Ike Turner
American rhythm-and-blues and soul performer and producer who was best known for his work with Tina Turner. Their first recording, “Rocket 88”—made at Sam Phillips’s Memphis (Tennessee) Recording Service but released on the Chess label—was a number one rhythm-and-blues hit in 1951 -
Little Richard
Has been honored by many institutions. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its first group of inductees in 1986. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. -
Elvis Presley
A Rock 'n' Roll first 'real' star.s His hip-shaking symbol of liberation for the staid America of the 1950's.A white Southerner singing blues laced with country, and country laced with gospel, he brought together American music from both sides of the color line and performed it with a natural sexuality that made him a teen idol and role model for generations of cool rebels. -
Lionel Sosa
A Mexican-American advertising and marketing executive. Founder of Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar & Associates which became the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the U.S. Was media consultant for President Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. -
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Rock 'n' Roll
A genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the U.S during the late 1940's and early 1950's. It was a mixture of different styles such as gospel, jump blues, jazz, boogie-woogie, blues and country music. -
Atomic Bomb
An American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. -
Iron Curtain
The boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. A term symbolizing the efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West and non-Soviet-controlled areas. -
Iron Curtain
The notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West prior to the decline of communism that followed the political events in eastern Europe in 1989. -
Robert Johnson
Was founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television) he sold program to Viacom 2001 and became the first African American billionaire -
Truman Doctrine
With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. The Truman Doctrine effectively reoriented U.S. foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of possible intervention in far away conflicts. -
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Marshall Plan
Also known as the European Recovery Program, channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe between 1948 and 1951. The Marshall Plan successfully sparked economic recovery, meeting its objective of ‘restoring the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole.’ -
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Berlin Airlift
A military operation in the late 1940s that brought food and other needed goods to West Berlin by air after the government of East Germany, which at that time surrounded West Berlin, had cut off its supply routes. -
Fair Deal
Was an ambitious set of proposals put forward by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to Congress in his January 1949 State of the Union address. More generally the term characterizes the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration, from 1945 to 1953. -
North Korea invades South Korea
North Korea invaded South Korea in a surprise attack and took over Seoul(the capital). From 1905 to 1945 the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese control. During its occupation, Japan built up Korea's infrastructure, especially the street and railroad systems. However, the Japanese ruled with an iron fist and attempted to root out all elements of Korean culture from society. -
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Korean War (Forgotten War)
The war began in 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea.It was conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces. -
Earl Warren Supreme Court
Served as the 14th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, from 1953 to 1969. His term of office was marked by numerous rulings that reshaped U.S. law and society, and granted the lower federal courts wide berth in enforcing individual constitutional rights. -
Dr. Jonas Salk
The first polio vaccine was developed by Jonas Salk. The purpose of the vaccine was to kill several strains of the virus and then inject the benign viruses into a healthy person’s bloodstream. The person’s immune system would then create antibodies designed to resist future exposure to poliomyelitis. Salk conducted the first human trials on former polio patients and on himself and his family, and by 1953 was ready to announce his findings. -
Polio Vaccine
Polio is an incurable crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease caused by a virus that spreads from person to person invading the brain and spinal cord and causing paralysis. The vaccine trials showed the vaccine was 80-90% effective and the US government licensed the IPV (inactivated polio vaccine) vaccine the same day. -
Bill Haley & His Comets
An America rock n roll band, founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. One of their most famous songs "We're Gonna Rock Around The Clock". -
Emmett Till Tragedy
14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, is brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman four days earlier. His assailants–the white woman’s husband and her brother–made Emmett carry a 75-pound cotton-gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. The two men then beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head, and then threw his body, tied to the cotton-gin fan with barbed wire, into the river. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
African-Americans refused to ride the city buses in Montgomery, Alabama. In order to protest segregated seating. The first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the U.S. -
Sputnik
The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite which was about the size of a beach ball. It took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. -
Counter Culture
An anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed first in the UK and the US and then spread throughout much of the western world in the early 1960's. It was a way of life and set of attitudes opposed to the prevailing social 'normal'. -
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD. Became available for recreational use, it started to gain a massive reputation as a magic pill for direct spiritual experience. This dovetailed perfectly with the radical questioning of government and social norms that was prevalent in the 1960s. -
Hippies
The movement originated on college campuses in the United States, although it spread to other countries, including Canada and Britain.Hippies rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Eastern philosophy, championed sexual liberation, were often vegetarian and eco-friendly, promoted the use of psychedelic drugs which they believed expanded one's consciousness -
Chicano Mural Movement
Began in the 1960s in Mexican-American barrios throughout the Southwest. Artists began using the walls of city buildings, housing projects, schools, and churches to depict Mexican-American culture. -
New Frontier
Was used by liberal, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the 1960 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. -
OPEC
A group of 12 of the world's major oil exporting nations. Founded in 1960 to coordinate the petroleum policies of its members and to provide member states with technical and economic aid. -
Peace Corps
An organization sponsored by the US government that sends young people to work as volunteers in developing countries. Was established by Executive Order 10924, issued by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961, announced by televised broadcast March 2, 1961, and authorized by Congress on September 21, 1961, with passage of the Peace Corps Act -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. President John Kennedy notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. -
"I Have a Dream" Speech
A public speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. an American civil rights activists. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
JFK the 35th president of the U.S is assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas in an open-top convertible.As their vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository Building at 12:30 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital. He was 46. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
The presumed assassin of Priesident John F. Kennedy. Oswald shot Kennedy from a high window of a building in Dallas on November 22,1963 as Kennedy rode down the streets of Dallas in a convertible car. -
Jack Ruby
A 52-year-old Dallas nightclub operator, shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John Kennedy. Two days earlier, on November 22, Kennedy was fatally shot while riding in a motorcade in Dallas.The event was witnessed by millions of Americans on live television. He claimed he had acted out of grief and denied any involvement in a conspiracy. In 1966 Ruby’s conviction was overturned; however, while waiting for a new trial, he died of cancer. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Is a landmark civil rights and US labor law in the United States it ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. First proposed by President John F. Kennedy, it survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress and was then signed into law by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Warren Commision
Lyndon Johnson established a commission to investigate Kennedy’s death. After a nearly yearlong investigation, the commission, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren concluded that alleged gunman Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating America’s 35th president and that there was no conspiracy, either domestic or international, involved.Despite its seemingly firm conclusions, the report proved controversial and failed to silence conspiracy theories surrounding the event. -
Rodney King Incident
In 1991 Rodney King was pulled over for drunken driving. Four white police officers proceeded to beat him with their night sticks. The whole incident was caught in tape, and brodcasted over the nations new. The four cops were aquited by an all white jury, and were released back to their previous jobs. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
A landmark piece of federal legislation in the U.S that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement. -
My Lai Massacre
American soldiers brutally killed the majority of the population of the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai.Higher-ranking U.S. Army officers managed to cover up the events of that day for a year before revelations by a soldier who had heard of the massacre sparked a wave of international outrage and led to a special investigation into the matter. -
Warren Burger Supreme Court
The Burger Court marks the tenure of Warren E. Burger as Chief Justice of the United States. Chief Justice Burger replaced Earl Warren in 1969 and retired from the bench in 1986. Warren Burger was nominated by President Richard Nixon. -
Stagflation
Persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country's economy.During the 60's and 70's, the U.S. was suffering from 5.3% inflation and 6% unemployment. Refers to the unusual economic situation in which an economy is suffering both from inflation and from stagnation of its industrial growth. -
Watergate Scandal
A major political scandal occurred in the U.S in the 1970's. Burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National committee, located in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. The prowlers were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. -
Roe v. Wade
A right of privacy was extended to abortion in this court case - SC ruled in a 7-2 decision that women have a right to abortion during the 1st two trimesters. 1973 All state laws prohibiting abortions were made unconstitutional based on a woman's right to privacy. -
Heritage Foundation
Conservative ideas; The Heritage Foundation, a public policy that promotes the principles that made America great: free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense -
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The federal Election Commission administers and enforces campaign finance laws. -
Jimmy Carter
39th President of the United States, who stressed human rights. Because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, he enacted an embargo on grain shipments to USSR and boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. -
The Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was a prominent American political organization associated with the Christian right and Republican Party. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell and associates, and dissolved in the late 1980s.Development of Protestant fundamentalism, they became energized about politics and social actions -
Iran Hostage Crisis
A group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. The immediate cause of this action was President Jimmy Carter’s decision to allow Iran’s deposed Shah, a pro-Western autocrat who had been expelled from his country some months before, to come to the United States for cancer treatment. The hostages were kept for 444 days. -
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
A Viacom–owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.As of 2010 it was the most prominent television network targeting young black-American audiences and was the leading provider of black American cultural and entertainment based programming. On January 25, 1980, Robert L. Johnson acquired a loan for $15,000 and decided to launch BET. Initially broadcasting for two hours a week as a block of programming on Nickelodeon it became a full-fledged channel in 1983 -
Election of 1980
Ronald Reagan won over Jimmy Carter because of the Iranian hostage crisis and America's stagflation. -
Reaganomics
Refers to the economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. These policies are commonly associated with supply-side economics, referred to as trickle-down economics by political opponents, & free-market economics by political advocates.The 4 pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to reduce the growth of government spending, reduce the federal income tax and capital gains tax, reduce government regulation, and tighten the money supply in order to reduce inflation -
Ronald Reagan
40th President of the US. He ran a campaign based on the common man & "populist" ideas.Served as governor of California & participated in the McCarthy Communist scare. Iran released hostages on his Inauguration Day in 1980. He developed his own form of economics, the trickle-down effect of government incentives.Cut out many welfares and public works programs. He used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict. His meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the Cold War. -
Reagan Presidency
Believed in tax cuts and less government spending; cut out many welfare and public works programs; used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict; His meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the Cold War; responsible for the Iran-contra Affair which bought hostages with guns -
A.I.D.S Crisis
It was first diagnosed in the U.S. in 1981. It didn't receive much attention as perceived as a gay mans disease. Falwell said men getting what they deserve; over 32,000 died in a 7 yr period -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Also known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983 under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union. -
Reagan Doctrine
Oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War; U.S. provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to "rollback" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; opening the door for capitalism -
Iran Contra Affair
Iran-Contra affair is the secret arrangement in the 1980s to provide funds to the Nicaraguan contra rebels from profits gained by selling arms to Iran. The Iran-contra affair was the product of two separate initiatives during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. -
Persian Gulf War
After Iraq invaded Kuwait, the US invaded Iraq to liberate Kuwait. Iraq set Kuwait's oil fields on fire so the Americans couldn't gain the oil and this conflict caused the US to set military bases in Saudi Arabia also called Operation Desert Storm. -
Health Care Reform
Under the Clinton Administration that required each US citizen and permanent resident alien to become enrolled in a qualified health plan. President Clinton set up a task force led by his wife to come up with a comprehensive plan to provide universal health care along these lines. The Health Care bill was defended by Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell in Congress but was ultimately defeated in 1994 because there were not enough Democratic Senators behind a single proposal to pass a bill. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Came into effect, creating one of the world's largest free trade zones and laying the foundations for strong economic growth and rising prosperity for Canada, the United States, and Mexico. -
G.I Bill
A law that provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans. -
Lewinsky Affair
The Lewinsky scandal was an American political sex scandal that involved 49-year-old President Bill Clinton and a 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The sexual relationship took place between 1995 and 1996 and came to light in 1998. -
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
Was a U.S. federal law that, prior to being ruled unconstitutional, defined marriage for federal purposes as the union of one man and one woman, and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted under the laws of other states. -
9/11 Attacks
19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked 4 airliners & carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Extensive deaths and destruction. -
Bush v. Gore
In Bush v. Gore (2000), a divided Supreme Court ruled that the state of Florida's court-ordered manual recount of vote ballots in the 2000 presidential election was unconstitutional. The case proved to be the climax of the contentious presidential race between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush. -
War on Terror
A war started after 9/11 to end the terrorists groups that attacked the U.S. and later overthrew Suddam Hussein's rule in Iraq. The terrorists didn't want western influence, so they found in their religious mission to kill Americans. -
Patriot Act
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". -
No Child Left Behind Act
Authorizes several federal education programs that are administered by the states. The law is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Under the 2002 law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3–8 and once in high school. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. -
The Great Recession
Was a period of general economic decline observed in world markets during the late 2000s and early 2010's. Began with the bursting of an 8 trillion dollar housing bubble.The resulting loss of wealth led to sharp cutbacks in consumer spending.This loss of consumption, combined with the financial market chaos triggered by the bursting of the bubble, also led to a collapse in business investment. As consumer spending and business investment dried up, massive job loss followed. -
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. Developed in response to the Great Recession, the ARRA's primary objective was to save existing jobs and create new ones as soon as possible. Other objectives were to provide temporary relief programs for those most affected by the recession and invest in infrastructure, education, health, and renewable energy. -
First Hispanic SCOTUS Judge Sonya Sotomayor
On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice. The nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August 2009 by a vote of 68 to 31, making Sotomayor the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in U.S. history. -
Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
A U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th U.S Congress. Is a U.S. healthcare reform law that expands and improves access to care and curbs spending through regulations and taxes.
