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March on Washington
More than 200,000 Americans gathered in a peaceful movement at the Lincoln Memorial. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s gave his "I Have a Dream” speech and prompted a major turning point in the civil rights movement. -
War on Poverty
Led Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act proposed by Johnson to administer federal funds to target poverty. This established federal programs such as Head Start, Volunteers in Service to America, and the Job Corps. -
Civil Rights Act Enacted
Ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex religion, color or national origin. -
The Removal of the Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws were a system of segregation and discrimination. The law that ended the practice of Jim Crow was the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which, declared it illegal to use literacy as a requirement for voter registration. Segregation lost the support of the federal government in the passage of the act. -
Nixon takes US off of gold standard
The government had the $35 per ounce price until August 15, 1971. When Nixon announced that the United States would no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value he completely abandoned the gold standard. While trying to solve the problem of inflation, this caused a major economic crisis. -
1973 Oil Crisis
OPEC announced a decision to cut oil exports to the United States and other nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. In December, a full oil embargo was imposed against the United States and several other countries, prompting a serious crisis in nations dependent on foreign oil. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
A mob of Islamic revolutionaries overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 Americans hostage. Revolutionaries were mad because Nixon allowed the loathed Shah to seek cancer treatment in the US. The hostages were released minutes after Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as president 444 days later. People saw this as Nixon's incapability of handling foreign affairs -
Carter Doctrine
The Carter Doctrine was made by Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union Address, which stated that the United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf. This expanded the US's containment policy and caused tension in the Middle East. -
Election of George H. W. Bush
Bush senior served as the 41st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. He also was a two-term U.S. vice president under Ronald Reagan. In office, he launched successful military operations against Panama and Iraq. -
Gulf War
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein accused Kuwait for stealing oil from a disputed oil field which ran beneath both countries. Kuwait then sought assistance from the US. The US then launched an air-war against Iraq. -
The World Wide Web Was Made Public
The development of the World Wide Web improved the economy, allowed the globe to be interconnected, improved commerce, and defined a new era of the world. This began the e-commerce boom. -
End of Cold War
The Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ended Communist regimes in eastern Europe. The Soviet Union itself dissolved into republics. The Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War came to an end. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties limited the amount of nuclear weapons the US and the USSR. -
NAFTA is formed
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, creating a free trade zone between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. -
Recession
The US economy sank into a recession in March, ending 10 years of growth that was the longest expansion on record in the United States -
9-11
19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners to attack the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center, a third plane hit the Pentagon, and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Defined Bush's presidency and increased US terror -
Patriot Act
Developed as anti-terrorism legislation in response to the September 11 attacks. The law was signed into law by President George W. Bush. These laws just recently went out of effect due to a deadline. -
George W. Bush Re-elected
Bush’s argument that the invasion of Iraq had made the world more secure against terrorism won the political debate and gained supporters. Bush was re-elected with 51 percent to 48 percent
