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Apple Computer Company
Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak founded Apple Computer Company. Their goal was to create personal computers. Their compant released the first home computer to use on-screen icons and a mouse in 1984. Picture -
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Carter-G. W. Bush Adminitstrations
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Carter Becomes President
President Jimmy Carter officially took his place in office as president of the United States of America. Picture -
Proposition 13
Proposition 13, an amendment to California's Constitution, was approved by California voters. This amendment placed specific limitaitions on taxes. It lowered property taxes and also demanded a two-thirds majority in both houses to increase any state taxes, including income taxes. Approval of this proposition led to a "tax-payer" revolt across the nation. Picture -
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. This occurred at the White House, under the watch of Presidnet Jimmy Carter. This peace treaty was considered Carter's greatest foreign policy triumph. Picture -
Iran Hostage Crisis
Islamic Revolutionaries took 52 American hostages from the U.S. Embassy. They kept them hostage for 444 days. They were released after a failed attempt to free them known as Operation Eagle Claw. This release occured just moments after President Ronald Reagan's inauguration. Overall, this incident proved to worsen tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Picture -
Reagan Becomes President
Ronald Reagan officially took his place in office as president of the United States of America. Picture -
First Space Shuttle Launched
PictureN.A.S.A. lauched the first space shuttle. This led to many more launches. Overall there have been many successes, but many failures as well. However, the launching of this space shuttle showed just how much technology was advancing. -
Sandra Day O'Connor Takes Office
Sandra Day O'Connor, nominated by President Ronald Reagan, becomes the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. This was regarded as a historical step towards women's rights. Many people believed Connor was commonly the swing-opinion in many cases. She retired in 2006 after serving nearly 25 years with the Court. Picture -
Reagan Doctrine
President Ronald Reagan discusses what comes to be known as the Reagan doctrine. He described his plan to build up military forces. He also explained his idea of aid to those opposed to communism. This seemed to be the general basis for America's foreign policy until the end of the Cold War. Picture -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
This was an agreement signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. It required both the U.S. and the Soviet Union to permanently give up their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. Picture -
George H. W. Bush Becomes President
George H. W. Bush officially took his place in office as president of the United States of America. Picture -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This law, signed into effect by President George H.W. Bush, further reduced discrimination. It focused on granting civil rights to American citizens who were either mentally or physically. disabled. It was later amended in 2009 but is still effective today. Picture -
Operation Desert Storm
The U.S. organized a U.N. coalition of forces to expel Iraq from Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War. This war was over in 100 hours. Kuwait was declared liberated, but the U.S. stopped before overthrowing Saddam Hussein because they felt like they had achieved their stated objective. Picture -
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project begins. The project, intended to last for 15 years, wanted to discover all the estimated 20,000-25,000 human genes and make them accessible for further biological study. This porject was finished two years early due to unexpected technological advances. Picture -
N.A.F.T.A. is signed
The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed. This document was drafted to help promote free trade among the United States, Mexico, and Canada. This was a controversial issue because many Americans believe it was the reason they lost their jobs to foreign countries. Others believe it helped to increase U.S. exports.
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Clinton Becomes President
Bill Clinton officially took his place in office as president of the United States of America. Picture -
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization formed to settle trade disputes between nations. Many concerns arose from the formation of these programs including fear of the loss of U.S. unskilled jobs to cheaper overseas labor. Picture -
Oklahoma City Bombing
Timothy McVeigh set off a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. This incident killed 168 people, injuring at least 800 more. This bombing was intended as revenge for federal actions at Ruby Ridge incident in 1992. McVeigh hoped to spark a revolt against the government. Picture -
Welfare Reform Act
This Act is more formally know as The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton and required work in order to receive benefits. It also added Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to the welfare program. Picture -
Bill Clinton Impeached
Bill Clinton was impeached from office by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. He was later acquitted by the Senate, and remained in office. It was only the second impeachment of a president in U.S. History. Picture -
Bush v. Gore
PictureThis was a Supreme Court Case that decided the outcome of the presidential election of that year. It was decided in Bush's favor due to the ruling that ruled that the Florida Supreme Court's method for recounting ballots was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
George W. Bush Becomes President
George W. Bush officially took his place in office as president of the United States of America. Picture -
World Trade Centers are Attacked
Four U.S. planes were hijacked by Al Qaida members. Two of these planes crashed into the World Trade Towers in New York. Another crashed into the Pentagon. The fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania due to the bravery of the passengers. Picture -
PATRIOT Act
PictureThis Act was passed in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks. It dramatically reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records. It has been considered highly controversial. -
Bush Orders an Invasion of Iraq
President Bush ordered an invasion of Iraq under the concern that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction and was furthermore not in compliance with the United Nations. The U.S. feared for their safety, and began an invasion, which overthrew the dictator, Saddam Hussein, but found no weapons of mass destruction. Picture
