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G.I Bill
The G.I. Bill is also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. It established hospitals, made low-interest mortgages available, granted stipends covering tuition and expenses for veterans attending college or trade schools. It also gave them money to start businesses -
Atomic Bomb
On July 16, 1945, scientists of the Manhattan Project detonated the world's first atomic bomb at Trinity Site. The United States dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Tthe Soviet Union exploded its first bomb in 1949. -
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The Cold War
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Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy was a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin from 1947 to his death in 1957. He waved around a piece of paper at a Republican club claiming to have the names of 250 communists. The paper had no names on it, it was just a prop. He settled on 57 communists after attacking Democrats, celebrities, and government officials. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine planned to stop the spread of communism around the world. It gives military and economic aid to countries under communistic threat. It helped countries around the world that want to fight communism because war-torn areas of Europe were under threat of turning to communism. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was devised by George Marshall, it worked on a micro scale. It channeled 13 billion dollars to Europe to help finance the economy. It also restored Western Europe's faith in capitalism, and spread American labor, farming, and manufacturing practices to Western Europe. -
Berlin Airlift
Stalin was upset because he didn't like propping up Germany, so he sealed off the border. Berlin was divided the same way Germany was. Stalin wanted the West to give up on Berlin. West Berlin would have fallen without tons of supplies every day. U.S. and British planes supplied West Berlin with air shipments for almost a year.Stalin eventually gave up and reopened the border. -
Fair Deal
The Fair Deal was Harry S. Truman made in his message to Congress. It adds to the New Deal. Truman wanted to focus on health care, public housing, education and public works. It raised the minimum wage and brought electricity and telephone access to further areas. It was forced to scale back because of Korea and America's anti-communist agenda. Truman's success kept most of the New Deal intact. -
Television
In the 1950s Television was the main source of news for many American families about the United States or the world. On September 26, 1960, the first presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon was televised. Makeup was also a new thing for television, and Kennedy didn't need any. Nixon messed up by not putting makeup on so he looked less professional and that cost him the election. -
Beat Generation
The people of the Beat Generation are known as "beats" or "beatniks" They were artists, novelists, and poets. Beatniks rejected American materialism and culture, they also rejected home ownership, careers, and marriage. They are the "proto-hippies." The beatniks borrowed slang like "dig it" and "man" from black communities. -
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The 1950s
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The Korean War (Forgotten War)
The Korean War was officially a conflict, not a war. Korea, which was a Japanese colony at the time, was divided between the U.S. and USSR and was split at the 38th parallel. The USSR appointed Kim Il-sung as the leader of the northern communists. Meanwhile, the U.S. created a capitalist government in the south. -
Ike Turner
Ike Turner was born on November 5, 1931. He was a black musician who made the first Rock and Roll song called "Rocket 88." The song was recorded on March 3, 1951. The recording was credited to Ike Turner's saxophonist, Jackie Brenston. -
Bill Haley and the Comets
Bill Halley and the Comets were an American band that was founded in 1952. They copied Rock and Roll songs written by black musicians. An example is the song "Rocket 88" that they copied from Ike Turner. -
Hydrogen Bomb
A hydrogen bomb employs the fusion of isotopes of hydrogen. The United States tested its first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands on November 1, 1952. The Soviet Union exploded their first hydrogen bomb in 1953. -
Dr. Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk was born on October 28, 1914, in New York City, NY. Salk attended the New York University School of Medicine from 1934-1939. He is well known for creating the first polio vaccine. In 1952 more than 3,000 people died from polio. -
Earl Warren Supreme Court
Earl Warren was born on March 19, 1891, in Los Angeles, California. He was the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 before being appointed as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. He was the most liberal SCOTUS in history. Warren chopped conservative tenements down. He was preceded by Fred M. Vinson and succeeded by Warren E. Burger. -
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Civil Rights
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Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education case if the second most important case in American history. The court case was argued on December 9, 1952, and decided on May 17, 1954. The case was brought up because a 7-year-old named Linda Brown went to a school far away from home and her parents wanted her to go a school that was closer, but it was a white school and interracial schools were not allowed. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War occurred between the communist North and the capitalist South. The communists from North Vietnam were called the Viet Cong. South Vietnam was allied with the Unites States, while North Vietnam was allied with other communist countries like the Soviet Union. The Vietnam war lasted around 20 years and ended with more than 3 million deaths. The war ended with the capture of Saigon by North Vietnam. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Mongomery Bus Boycott started when a woman named Rosa Parks would not give up her seat to a white man on a nearly empty bus. She was later arrested. Jo Ann Robinson heard of the arrest and made 35K flyers and told others to boycott the bus system in Montgomery. The bus company needed black riders to stay in business. Former riders now start to carpool and the boycott lasts a year. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935. He is the one to make Rock and Roll and phenomenon. He was born extremely poor. He adopted rhythm and blues from African Americans and melds it with gospel and country. He created his own sexually suggestive dance style. Elvis' music was taken from African Americans. -
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman, known as Little Richard, was born on December 5, 1932. He is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. Little Richard is well known for his song "Tutti Frutti." He debuted his religious album called "God Is Real" in 1959. -
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine incident occurred when Little Rock tried to “slowly” integrate Central High School, but whites were trying to resist integration for as long as they can. Governor Orval Faubus ordered state troops to stop nine black students from entering the high school. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was enacted by President Eisenhower. It was meant to protect African-American voting rights across the country. This act had little real effect and was mostly symbolic. -
Space Race
The Space Race was a competition that occurred between the Soviet Union and the United States. It started with the launch of the Soviet satellite called Sputnik. -
Hippies
Hippies secede the Beat Generation. They reject middle class values, cars, suburban homes, and average jobs their parents had. They renounced material possession and used drugs like LSD and Heroin. Hippies were about peace and living in the moment without inhibition. -
Feminism
The feminist movement in the 1960s campaigned for equal rights for women in employment, marital relationships, and sexual orientation. The movement began with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. -
Chicano Mural Movement
The Chicano Mural Movement was focused on education. It made White Americans aware of Mexican-American culture and issues. These murals would be located on churches, schools, and businesses in the Southwest. -
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The 1960s
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New Frontier
John F. Kennedy was the youngest elected president in American history. He wanted to raise the minimum wage and relieve overcrowded schools. Kennedy believed in cutting taxes for business from 90%. He wanted to increase spending to alleviate a downturn. Kennedy challenged the Unites States to land a man on the moon because the Soviets were still ahead in space technology. -
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed in Baghdad, Iraq in September of 1960. Although it didn't come into effect until January of 1961. OPEC controls much of the world's oil. It places an oil embargo on the United States for supporting Israel. Nixon convinces the Israelis to give up some territory and the embargo ends. -
Albert Sabin
Albert Sabin was born on August 26, 1906, in Bialystok, Poland. He attended the New York Universtiy School of Medicine. Albert Sabin is well known for developing the oral vaccine for polio. -
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps was founded by President John F. Kennedy. It inspired young college graduates to work in poor countries, and example would be humanitarian projects. It provides labor to help developing countries improve their infrastructure, health care, educational systems, and other aspects of their societies. -
LSD
LSD is a powerful hallucinogenic drug that is manufactured from lysergic acid. The first time LSD was synthesized was on November 16, 1938 by a Swiss chemist named Albert Hofmann. Hippies made drugs like Heroin LSD popular in the 1960s. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis started because Castro wanted protection from the Unites States. The Soviet Union secretly sent troops and medium range ICBMs to Cuba. U-2 spy planes found the missile sites in Cuba. Soviet soldiers had orders to attack American forces if they invaded. Kennedy ordered the naval quarantine of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from delivering and arming more ICBMs. Kennedy and Krushchev came to a deal to end the crisis. -
Birmingham March
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Martin Luther King's Civil Rights organization, wanted to desegregate all of Birmingham not just the buses. Protesters stage sit-ins and shut down businesses. Black teens volunteered to march in Birmingham to keep their families afloat. The head of Birmingham police, Connor, unleashed fire hoses and dogs on the protestors. The media caught the violence on camera and broadcasted it to the rest of the country. -
Assassination of JFK
Kennedy's assassination occurred right before the election of 1964. He was in Texas for fundraisers in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. Kennedy flew to Love Airfield in Dallas because he planned on traveling through downtown. He wanted maximum exposure to crowds to generate excitement so he rode in an open-air motorcade. Oswald was waiting for Kennedy on the 6th floor of the book depository. -
Freedom Summer
Mississippi was the new target of desegregation. Freedom Summer became the turning point of the movement in the South, it forces the Government to intervene. The media ignored black-only protests so they needed whites to protest with blacks. The media attention was thought to protest the protestors. Whites go to Mississippi to get rural blacks to register to vote. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned segregation in businesses and places open to the public. The act made it illegal not to hire businesses on race, religion, or ethnicity. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has the "teeth" to make civil rights happen. -
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was born on January 2, 1909, in Phoenix, Arizona. He was the republican nominee in the election of 1964 against Lyndon Johnson. Goldwater was an Arizona Senator from 1953 to 1965 and again from 1969 to 1987. He was very conservative. Goldwater wanted to get rid of the New Deal and Great Society, which included Social Security and Civil Rights. -
Anti-War Movement
The Anti-War Movement was a student protest that started as the Free Speech Movement in California and spread around the world. All of the people involved in this movement were against going to war in Vietnam and condemned the presence of the United States there. -
The Great Society
The Great Society programs had problems that needed to be fixed. Moderates grew tired of "entitlement" for minorities, they felt the entitlement only helped African-Americans. White working class people that were formerly Democrats turned to the Republican Party. The Great Society promised education, good standard of living and beautification. -
Watts Riots
Watts was a ghetto area with high unemployment, poor schools, and drug use. Many black men were arrested for drunk driving. The city burned for 6 days. The National Guard was called in to stop the violence. Whites started changing their views on Civil RIhts because of Watts. They saw militant black protestors. MLK traveled to Watts to convince protestors to use nonviolence. -
Black Power Movement
The Black Power Movement started when the SNCC leader, Stokely Carmichael was arrested while marching to Jackson, Mississippi. The march was called the March against Fear. -
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly was instrumental in defeating the Equal Rights Amendment. She organizes a movement of conservative women. She was a conservative Illinois lawyer who received support from conservatives across the country. She feared it would reduce the rights of wives and harm family life. -
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The 1970s
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Watergate
Watergate was a political scandal that occurred in the United States. The headquarters for the Democratic Party was the Watergate Complex. 5 of Nixon's "plumbers" stole campaign information. They were caught by a security guard and arrested. The trial for the plumbers revealed that Nixon used taping systems to record his conversations. -
Title IX
Title IX was is part of the Education Act of 1972. It states that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." It means that there have to be an equal amount of women teams for all of the men teams. -
Roe v. Wade
The Roe v. Wade case deal with abortion. Women had protested for legalized abortion for years. Most states totally outlawed it, but it was sometimes allowed only for the life of the mother. Norma McCarvey sued Texas for her right to privacy. She sued under the name Jane Roe. She had a baby before SCOTUS case and gave it up for adoption. SCOTUS rules that outlawing abortion is unconstitutional. -
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act became effective on December 27, 1973. It requires Fish and Wildlife Service to list species of plants and animals that are threatened with extinction. Wildlife was being killed off by industrialization and poison in the environment. -
Video Head System (VHS)
The Video Head System was developed by Victor Company of Japan in the early 1970s and was released in Japan in late 1976. The Video Head System was brought to the United States from Japan in 1977. -
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords is a treaty between Israel and Egypt. Israel withdraws from Sinai Peninsula, Gaza, and West Bank. Israel stops settling the West Bank for now. The Palestinians were promised their own government. -
Three-Mile Island
The Three-Mile Island incident occurred when a partial nuclear reactor had a meltdown in Eastern Pennsylvania in 1979. Nuclear radiation leaked out into the nearby town, but no one was sickened. Americans became weary of nuclear power after this incident. -
Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was founded by an evangelical preacher named Jerry Falwell in 1979. Jerry Falwell was pro-life, pro-family, pro-American, and pro-morality. Falwell and other evangelicals like Pat Roberston, Oral Roberts preach this new movement. They form a conservative political bloc in the late 70s and early 80s. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
The United States supported the Shah Of Iran. He was a major oil supplier and brutal dictator, but he was anti-communist. Ayatollah Khomeini leads Islamic revolution. The Shah will flee to the United States, gave amnesty to the Shah. 52 Americans were taken hostage from American embassy in Tehran. A special forces team was sent to rescue hostages. The hostages were released on 1/20/1981 after Reagan was sworn into office. -
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The 1980s
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Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Black Entertainment Television was founded by Robert Johnson, the first black billionaire. BET was launched on January 25, 1980, as a programming block on Nickelodeon and again on July 1, 1983, as a 24-hour TV channel. The network targets African American audiences. It features music and stories from the African-American community. -
Election of 1980
The candidates in the Election of 1980 were Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan was a Republican and Jimmy Carter was a Democrat. Ronald Reagan was a former governor of California and actor in the 40s and 50s. He testified before HUAC about communism. He unites Conservative Coalition behind him. Jimmy Carter was incumbent and was haunted by a bad economy. The hostage crisis in Iran brought down his popularity. Special forces mishap in the desert seals his defeat. Reagan defeats Carter. -
Reaganomics
Reaganomics was introduced in Reagan's Domestic Policy. It cut income and corporate taxes to spur the economy and create better jobs. There was a reduction in welfare spending. Massively increased defense spending, it was supposedly offset by new taxes from a booming economy. Democrats were critical of his ideas and trickle-down economics. -
Space Shuttle Program
The first space shuttle, the Columbia, was launched in April of 1981. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. The Space Shuttle program was the U.S. government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011 administered by NASA. The Space Shuttle system was composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank. Satellites become important for communication, TV, and entertainmemt. -
A.I.D.S. Crisis
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (A.I.D.S.) starts affecting thousands of homosexuals in 1981. It spreads to the heterosexual community through blood transfusions. On August 1-2, 1983, The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Government Operations held hearings on the federal response to A.I.D.S. -
Music Television
Music Television is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks that is headquartered in New York City. It was launched on August 1, 1981. The main demographic was young adults, but now it is teenagers. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor was the first female Supreme Court Justice. She was nominated by Reagan, preceded by Potter Stewart and succeded by Samuel Alito. She was a moderate who sided with the conservatives of the court. She sides with the liberal members later on. O'Connor retires in 2006 due to her husband's declining health (Alzheimer's). -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) "Star Wars"
Missile shield defense against Soviet incoming missiles. Satellites with lasers shoot down incoming missiles. We intended to give Soviets te same technology hoping they would go bankrupt in doing so. SDI was a failure fo the Unites States. Soviets took challenge and spent more resources than the U.S developing it. Soviets start resenting communism, but they didn't have enough food. -
Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine states that the United States supports guerilla groups fighting communists, and they were no longer going to try to contain communism, but get rid of it completely. The doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the U.S. to overwhelm the global influence of the Soviet Union in an attempt to end the Cold War. -
Iran Contra Affair
Sandinistas (pro-Communist) overthrow pro-American dictator in Nicaragua in 1979. Reagan secretly arms Contras against Sandinistas, and Congress finds out. People in Reagan's administration continued to illegally support the Contras. Colonel Oliver North was key in covering up their actions. A plan crashes revealing the weapons. -
Lionel Sosa
Lionel Sosa is a Hispanic advertising mogul. He created famous ads for big corporations and presidential campaigns. He grew up in San Antonio, Texas and served in the United States Marine Corps after graduating high school. He designed many logos in his twenties and eventually opened up his graphic design studio, SosArt. -
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The 1990s
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Persian Gulf War
Iraq fights Iran in the 1990s. The U.S. and Arab nations (Kuwait) lend Iraq billions of dollars. Saddam Hussein (Iraqi leader) blames Kuwait for flooding the world with cheap oil, it hurts Iraq. Iraq invades Kuwait when they refuse to forgive the debt, claimed Kuwait historically part of Iraq. The war ends in a stalemate. -
Election of 1992
The candidates for the Election of 1992 were Bill Clinton (Democrat), George H.W. Bush (Republican), and Ross Perot (Independent). Clinton was the governor of Arkansas. He was an unknown running for President, and also charismatic and understanding. Bush was incumbent, large deficits and down turning economy, he is popular for the Persian Gulf War. Perot was a successful businessman. Clinton wins 43% of the vote. -
World Trade Center Attack
Terrorists explode massive car bombs in the basement parking garage of the World Trade Center. They hoped it would collapse the building. It only left a 6 story hole in the ground. The incident was quickly forgotten. Osama bin Laden tries again on September 11, 2001. He gets financing from sympathizers in Saudi Arabia. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
The North American Free Trade Agreement encompasses Mexico, the United States, and Canada. It knocks down trade barriers. Rules put in place for several industries. Americans lose many jobs from NAFTA. It stopped Mexican knock-off products. -
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was Clinton's new policy of allowing gays in the military. It meant that you were to stay quiet about being gay, if no one asked, then don't tell. The old policy did not allow gays. -
Contract With America
The Contract with America was released by the United States Republican Part during the 1934 Congressional campaign. The contract included a list of 8 reforms the Republicans had promised to enact. and 10 bills they promised to bring to floor debate and votes, if they were made the majority following the election. -
Welfare Reform
Clinton reforms welfare limiting time single mothers could stay on it. This bill restricted access to social services and requires able-bodied welfare recipients to find work. It also tightly restricted welfare benefits for legal and illegal immigrants alike. -
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
The Defense of Marriage Act was passed in 1996. It is a federal law that defines marriage between a man and a woman. States don't have to accept gay marriages of other states. In 2011 federal courts rule DOMA is unconstitutional. Justice department does not defend legal challenges to the law. -
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Contemporary
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Election of 2000
The candidates were Al Gore (Democrat), George W. Bush (Republican), and Ralph Nader (Independent/Green Party). Al Gore was Clinton's VP. He was an environmentalist and wanted to save the new government surplus fo Social Security. George W. Bush was the governor of Texas and believed in an ownership society. Ralph Nader was a former consumer rights advocate and environmentalist. Florida announces Bush won the state and there was a big controversy. -
9/11 Attacks
19 al-Qaeda hijackers boarded 4 planes, they had box cutters. The 4 planes turn course, 2 hit the World Trade Center buildings, 1 hits the Pentagon because it couldn't find the White House. The 4th plane passengers learn of the attacks and subdue the terrorists, and the terrorists nosedived the plane. 2,973 people die in the attacks. -
PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act expands the government's law enforcement powers. Security concerns lead to new federal legislation. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are allowed to conduct wide-sweeping searches and surveillance. They detained immigrants, monitored bank accounts, and wiretapped suspected callers without a warrant. Many opposed it because of the executive overreach in power, it threatened individual liberties and invaded a personal privacy. -
No Child Left Behind Education Act
There were reports of declining schools across the country, so Bush sends a bill to Congress. The act revamps standards and linking federal funding to student performance on standardized tests. The act was signed into law by George W. Bush on January 8, 2002. -
2nd Iraq War
The 2nd Iraq War started in 2003 and ended in 2011. It lasted 8 years, 8 months, and 28 days. Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons in the war with Iran (1980s), and also against the Kurds that lived in Iraq. He supposedly tries to get nuclear and biological weapons. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
The Storm surge also devastated the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, making Katrina the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, and the deadlines hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. -
The Great Recession
The economy went bust in the middle of the campaign in 2008. Falling home prices, poor lending habits by banks, risky investments lead to massive foreclosures. Government forced to bail out failing banks, brokerage houses and insurance companies. Worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. Bush helped bail out financial institutions with federal money. Loans almost $1 trillion to private banks, wants to get credit rolling again. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
President Barack Obama signed this act into law in February of 2009, it was a stimulus package that was enacted by the 11th U.S. Congress. $700 billion in government spending to create new jobs, save existing ones, and spur economic growth. -
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic SCOTUS judge. Sonia was nominated by Obama along with Elena Kagan and Merrick Garland, but it failed due to Republican refusal on hearings. Obama announced his nomination of Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice on May 26, 2009. On August 8, 2009, she assumed office. -
Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The Affordable Care Act is known as Obamacare. Barack Obama gets passed reforms for private health insurance. Everyone is required to have insurance or they have to pay a fine. Many liberals are upset because it's not a single-payer system like Europe.
