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Period: to
U.S. History
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Gold Standard Act passed
Established gold as the only standard for redeeming paper money, stopping bimetallism (which had allowed silver in exchange for gold). It was signed by Pres McKinley. The Gold Standard Act confirmed the nation's commitment to the gold standard by assigning gold a specific dollar value (just over $20.67 per Troy ounce). This took place after McKinley sent a team to Europe to try to figure out a silver agreement with France and Great Britain. 1933 the US & Canada dropped the gold standard. -
McKinley reelected president
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Congress passes Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment, an amendment to a U.S. army appropriations bill, est the terms under which the US would end its military occupation of Cuba & “leave the govt & control of the island of Cuba to its people.” The Platt Amendment laid down 8 conditions to which the Cuban Govt had to agree before the withdrawal of US forces and the transfer of sovereignty would begin. -
J.P. Morgan creates United States Steel Corp
1 of the most powerful bankers of his era, he financed RxR's & helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric & etc. In 1895, their firm was reorganized as J.P. Morgan & Company, a predecessor of the modern-day financial giant JPMorgan Chase. Morgan used his influence to help stabilize U.S. financial markets during several economic crises, including the panic of '07. However, he faced criticism that he had too much power & was accused of manipulating the nation’s financial system for his own gain -
American Socialist Party formed
a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the US, by a merger between the 3 yr-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party. it drew significant support from many different groups, including trade unionists, progressive social reformers, populist farmers, & immigrant communities. Its presidential candidate, Eugene V. Debs, while the party also elected 2 US Rep (Victor L. Berger and Meyer London) and dozens of st legs, 100s of mayors -
McKinley assassinated; TR becomes president
Pres McKinley is shot at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. Anarchist Leon Czolgosz is arrested in connection with the attack. McKinley dies of complications from his bullet wounds. VP Roosevelt assumes the presidency. A funeral train carrying McKinley’s casket travels from Buffalo to the Capitol in Washington, DC, & finally to Ohio, where McKinley is buried. Czolgosz’s trial begins. 3 days later, the jury finds him guilty & sentenced to death. -
TR intervenes in anthracite coal strike
The strike of 1900 was the prelude to a larger drama--the great anthracite coal strike of 1902. Restless miners demanded more pay and shorter hours, while the mine operators complained that profits were low, and that the union destroyed discipline. When the owners refused to negotiate with the union, miners appealed to President Roosevelt to call a special session of Congress. The operators, on the other hand, resented the Federal mediation which had brought about the shotgun agreement of 1900, -
Souls of Black Folk
W. E. B. Du Bois’s landmark book of essays, Souls of Black Folk, combined history and sociology with commentary on the experiences of African Americans in the United States. In 1905, Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement as an organized response to Booker T. Washington’s policies of accommodation and conciliation. The Niagara Movement aimed to counteract Washington’s influence over the black community and in its manifesto declared its intention to “claim for ourselves every single right that belo -
Women's Trade Union League Formed
a U.S. org of both working class & more well-off women formed to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions & to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL played an important role in supporting the massive strikes in the first 2 decades of the twentieth century that established the Intn'l Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and in campaigning for women's suffrage among men and women workers. The WTUL was key in reforming women's working conditions -
Wright Bros. make 1st successful flight
Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a wind-swept beach in North Carolina. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Three more flights were made that day with Orville's brother Wilbur piloting the record flight lasting 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet. -
Ida Tarbell writes about the History of Standard Oil
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Panama Canal begins construction
American construction began on the Panama Canal. It took ten years and $352 million dollars to complete. The canal opened in 1914. During the building of the canal, begun under the French in 1879, more than 26,000 workers, many West Indian, died from construction accidents and yellow fever and other diseases. -
TR is elected president
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Roosevelt Corollary announced
The corollary states that the US will intervene in conflicts between European Nations & Latin American countries to enforce legitimate claims of the European powers, rather than having the Europeans press their claims directly. U.S. Presidents cited the Roosevelt Corollary as justification for U.S. intervention in Cuba (1906–1909), Nicaragua (1909–1910, 1912–1925 and 1926–1933), Haiti (1915–1934), and the Dominican Republic (1916–1924). -
Great Migration
In the first decades of the twentieth century, African Americans left, in greater and greater numbers, the southern states where they had been subject to economic abuses and outright intimidation. The Great Migration, in which about half a million African Americans moved to the urban North from the rural South, began about 1905 and ended around 1930. -
Niagara Movement
a meeting of blacks at Niagara Falls in 1905, including Du Bois, where they created a list of demands (ex. unrestricted right to vote, end to segregation, equality of economic opportunities, exc.) -
Jungle is published
Upton Sinclair was a muckraker who shocked the nation when he published The Jungle, a novel that revealed gruesome details about the meat packing industry in Chicago. The book was fiction but based on the things Sinclair had seen. -
Pure Food and Drug Act passed
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Meat Inspection Act passed
However in 1905, the BAI faced its first challenge with the publication of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. The ground breaking book exposed insanitary conditions in the Chicago Meat Packing industry, igniting public outrage, which eventually led to the establishment of continuous governmental inspection. President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the Neill-Reynolds report, which confirmed many of Sinclair’s horrid tales. In response to both The Jungle and the Neill-Reynolds report, -
Financial panic & recession
Was a six-week stretch of runs on banks in New York City and other American cities in October and early November of 1907. It was triggered by a failed speculation that caused the bankruptcy of two brokerage firms. But the shock that set in motion the events to create the Panic was the earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. The devastation of that city drew gold out of the world's major money centers. This created a liquidity crunch that created a recession starting in June. -
Henry Ford produces 1st automobiles
The Model T made its debut in 1908 with a purchase price of $825.00. Over ten thousand were sold in its first year, establishing a new record. Four years later the price dropped to $575.00 and sales soared. By 1914, Ford could claim a 48% share of the automobile market. -
GA Disfranchisement Amendment
After Reconstruction states in the South used various tactics to disenfranchise African American voters. In 1901, the Virginia General Assembly authorized a constitutional convention to draft election reforms including poll taxes and literacy tests as requirements for voting.The disfranchisement of African Americans throughout most of the South was completed with a 1906 amendment to the Georgia constitution. -
William Howard Taft becomes president
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NAACP formed
The NAACP was formed partly in response to the continuing horrific practice of lynching & the '08 race riot in Springfield, IL & resting place Pres Lincoln. Appalled at the violence that was committed against blacks, a grp of white liberals that included Mary White Ovington & Oswald Garrison Villard, both the descendants of abolitionists, William English Walling & Dr. Henry Moscowitz issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. Some 60 people, 7 of whom were African American. -
Payne-Aldrich Tariff passed
Lowered the overall tariff rate by only five percent and raised rates on crucial resources like coal and iron ore. In seeming contradiction of his pledge to oversee meaningful reform, -
TR gives "New Nationalism" speech
The central issue he argued was government protection of human welfare and property rights, but he also argued that human welfare was more important than property rights. He insisted that only a powerful federal government could regulate the economy and guarantee social justice, and that a President can only succeed in making his economic agenda successful if he makes the protection of human welfare his highest priority. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Fire started on the 8th floor. Work had ended at 4:30 that day & most of the workers were gathering their belongings & their paychecks when a cutter noticed a small fire had started in his scrap bin. No one is sure what exactly started the fire, but a fire marshal thought a cigarette butt had possibly gotten tossed into the bin. Nearly everything in the room was flammable: hundreds of lbs. of cotton scraps, tissue paper patterns, and wooden tables - Of the 500 employees, 146 were dead. -
Taft Administration files antitrust suit against U.S. Steel
In papers filed for the suit, Taft alleges that Roosevelt in 1907 had mistakenly let U.S. Steel purchase the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company. This action damages the Taft-TR relationship irreparably. -
TR forms Bull Moose Party
In 1912, Roosevelt was unhappy with Taft's time in office and put his name forward to become the Republican Party's nominee again. The Party chose to stick with Taft. This angered Roosevelt who walked out of the convention and then formed his own party, the Progressive Party in protest. Hiram Johnson was chosen as his running mate. -
Woodrow Wilson elected President
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16th Amendment
was ratified in 1913, allowing the federal government to “lay and collect taxes on incomes.” -
17th Amendment ratified
Established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. -
Federal Reserve Act
Two major pieces of anti-trust legislation were enacted under President Wilson. The Federal Trade Commission Act prohibited unfair interstate commerce competition and created a commission to investigate illegal business practices. The Clayton Antitrust Act prohibited some monopolistic business practices and protected unions and farmers’ organizations from prosecution under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated; starting WWI
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Panama Canal opens
President TRoosevelt gave tacit approval to a Panamanian independence movement, which was engineered in large part by Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla and his canal company. the United States recognized the Republic of Panama, and on November 18 the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed with Panama, granting the U.S. exclusive and permanent possession of the Panama Canal Zone. In exchange, Panama received $10 million and an annuity of $250,000 beginning 9 years later. -
Federal Trade Commission Act passed
bans "unfair methods of competition" & "unfair or deceptive acts/practices." The S Ct has said that all violations of the Sherman Act also violate the FTC Act. Thus, although the FTC does not technically enforce the Sherman Act, it can bring cases under the FTC Act against the same kinds of activities that violate the Sherman Act. The FTC Act also reaches other practices that harm competition, but that may not fit neatly into categories of conduct formally prohibited by the Sherman Act. -
Clayton Anti-Trust Act passed
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Birth of a Nation premiered
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Sinking of the Lusitania
On May 1, 1915, the Lusitania left port in NY for Liverpool to make her 202nd trip across the Atlantic. On board were 1,959 people, 159 of whom were Americans. Since the outbreak of World War I, ocean voyage had become dangerous. Each side hoped to blockade the other, thus prevent any war materials getting through. German U-boats (submarines) stalked British waters, continually looking for enemy vessels to sink.Enraged Americans and hastened the USs' entrance into WW I. -
US troops pursue Pancho Villa
American forces are recalled from Mexico after nearly 11 months of fruitless searching for Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, who was accused of leading a bloody raid against Columbus, New Mexico. -
Sussex attacked
French cross-channel passenger ferry, the Sussex, was torpedoed the ship was severely damaged and about 50 lives were lost. Although no US citizens were killed in this attack, it prompted Pres Wilson to declare that if Germany were to continue this practice, the US would break diplomatic relations with Germany. Fearing the entry of the US into WWI, Germany attempted to appease the US by issuing, on May 4, 1916, the Sussex pledge, which promised a change in Germany’s naval warfare policy. -
Marcus Garvey creates UNIA
He settled in New York City and formed a Universal Negro Improvement Association chapter in Harlem to promote a separatist philosophy of social, political, and economic freedom for blacks. In 1918, Garvey began publishing the widely distributed newspaper Negro World to convey his message. -
Wilson relected president
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Harlem Renaissanec begins
The New York City neighborhood of Harlem became a major cultural center for African Americans. Black artists, musicians, and writers based in Harlem created a social and artistic community, producing major works and challenging barriers created by Jim Crow. Prominent figures included Duke Ellington, Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston. -
Zimmerman Telegram released
Wilson released a decoded telegram sent by German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German embassy in Mexico in January. Zimmermann had proposed that, if the US entered the war against Germany, Mexico go to war with the US as a German ally. Zimmermann promised that if Mexico allied with Germany, Germany would provide “financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.” -
Puerto Rico granted U.S. citizenship
At the time, many Puerto Ricans believed the act’s true purpose was to conscript them into the armed forces. (About 20,000 Puerto Ricans served in the U.S. Army during the World War I.) Congress, however, weighed the legislation long before the United States entered the war. Moreover, all male U.S. residents, including Puerto Ricans, were eligible for the draft whether or not they were citizens. -
US enters WWI
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Espionage Act passed
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Race conflicts in E St. Louis, IL & Houston
in E St. Louis, IL & Hoston -
Bolshevik Revolution
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Wilson annonunces 14 points
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Sedition Act passed
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Armistice ends WWI
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18th Amendment ratified
Volstead Act: Prohibiting the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors -
Treaty of Versailles signed
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Race riots break out in Chicago
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Palmer Raids
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Motion Picture Association founded
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Sacco and Vanzetti case
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19th Amendment ratified
Guaranteeing women the right to vote. -
Warren Harding elected President
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1st comemercial radio station begins broadcasting
station KDKA made the nation's first commercial broadcast. They chose that date because it was election day, and the power of radio was proven when people could hear the results of the Harding-Cox presidential race before they read about it in the newspaper. -
Margaret Sanger founded American Birth Control League
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Washington Naval Conference
Aggreement to limit navy was signed on this date -
Sinclair Lewis publishes Babbitt
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Fordney-McCumber Tariff passed
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Time Magazine founded
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Sec of Interior Albert B Fall resigns
Due to his involvement in the Teapot Dome Scandal -
National Origins Act passed
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Immigration Act passed
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Dawes Plan
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Harding dies, Coolidge becomes president
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Calvin Coolidge elected president
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KKK reaches peak membership
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F.Scott Fitzgerald publishes the Great Gatsby
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Scopes Trial begins
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McNary-Haugen bill re-introduced
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Charles Lindbergh makes solo transatlantic flight
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Jazz Singer Released
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Amelia Earhart becomes 1st woman to fly solo
across the Atlantic Ocean -
Kellogg-Briand Pact signed
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Herbert Hoover elected president
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Hemingway publishes A Farewell to Arms
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Stock market crashed
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Hawley-Smoot Tariff enacted
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Atlanta organizes Black Shirts
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Dust Bowl
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Scottsboro defendants arrested
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Elijah Poole founded Nation of Islam
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Reconstruction Finance Corporation established
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Bonus Marchers came to Washington D.C.
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FDR elected president
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Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
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FDR proclaims Good Neighbor Policy
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First New Deal Legislation enacted
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Dr. Francis Townsend campaign
for old-age pensions -
21st Amendment ratified
Repealed Prohibition -
Huey Long establishes Share-Our-Wealth Society
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Father Coughlin establishes NUSJ
National Union for Social Justice -
Black Sunday
The Dust Bowl got its name after Black Sunday. More and more dust storms had been blowing up in the years leading up to that day. In 1932, 14 dust storms were recorded on the Plains. In 1933, there were 38 storms. -
Supreme Court invalidates NRA
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Second New Deal Legislation enacted
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Neutrality act passed
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Italy invades Ethopia
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Supreme Court invalidates AAA
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2nd Neutrality act passed
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Germany reoccupies Rhineland
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Spanish Civil War starts
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FDR reelected
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New Deal spending reduced
causes a recession -
FDR proposes court packing plan
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3rd Neutrality act passed
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HUAC created
The Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was originally established in 1937 under the chairmanship of Martin Dies. The main objective of the HUAC was the investigation of un-American and subversive activities. -
Japan attacks Panay
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Munich Conference
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John Steinbeck publishes Grapes of Wrath
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World War II begins
Germany invades Poland -
Fight for Freedom Committee founded
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Richard Wright publishes Native Son
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America 1st Committee founded
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Tripartite Pact signed
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FDR reelected president again
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Lend-lease plan
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Atlantic Charter signed
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Atlantic Charter drafted
Churchill and FDR met to discuss their respective war aims for the Second World War and to outline a postwar international system. The Charter they drafted included eight "common principles" that the United States and Great Britain would be committed to supporting in the postwar world. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The U.S.S. Arizona was completely destroyed and the U.S.S. Oklahoma capsized. A total of twelve ships sank or were beached in the attack and nine additional vessels were damaged. More than 160 aircraft were destroyed and more than 150 others damaged. -
Manhattan Project begins
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Executive Order 9066 is signed
which called for the exclusion and internment of all Japanese Americans from the West Coast--where the majority of Japanese Americans lived, outside of Hawaii. -
C.O.R.E. founded
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Battle of Midway
considered the decisive battle of the war in the Pacific. Before this battle the Japanese were on the offensive, capturing territory throughout Asia and the Pacific. By their attack, the Japanese had planned to capture Midway to use as an advance base, as well as to entrap and destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet. After Midway, the Americans and their Allies took the offensive in the Pacific. -
News of Holocaust reaches US
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Battle of Stalingrad
The defeat of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad not only dealt a crippling blow to Hitler's campaign in the East but also marked the strategic turning point of the Second World War, and has come to be recognized as one of the greatest military debacles of all time. Over the years, the terrible fighting at Stalingrad has also come to symbolize the senseless sacrifice of human life to individual pride and political whim. -
Zoot Suit riots in LA
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Battle of Normandy
The Allied forces, based in Britain, decided to begin the invasion by landing a huge army at a place called Normandy Beach, which is located on the northwest coast of France. Code-named "Operation Overlord", and commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allies landed at five beaches in the Normandy area with the code names of: Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, Juno Beach and Sword Beach. -
Servicemen's Readjustment Act
Spurred by public remembered a post-World War I recession, when millions of veterans returned to face unemployment and homelessness. It offered veterans up to $500 a year for college tuition and other educational costs—ample funding at the time. An unmarried veteran also received a $50-a-month allowance for each month spent in uniform; a married veteran received slightly more. Other benefits included mortgage subsidies, enabling veterans to purchase homes with relative ease. -
FDR reelected to a 4th term
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Yalta Conference
FDR & Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the USSR would enter the war against Japan & all 3 agreed that, in exchange for potentially crucial Soviet participation in the Pacific, the Soviets would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria following Japan's surrender. The Allied leaders also discussed the future of Germany, Eastern Europe and the United Nations. -
FDR dies; Truman becomes president
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A-Bomb tested in NM
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Potsdam Conference
The Big 3 met to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. The major issue was the question of how to handle Germany. The negotiators confirmed the status of a demilitarized and disarmed Germany under four zones of Allied occupation. One of the most controversial matters addressed at the Potsdam Conference dealt with the revision of the German-Soviet-Polish borders and the expulsion of several million Germans from the disputed territories. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
Hiroshima became the target of the first weapon at 08.15 on 6 August 1945. The all-clear had in fact sounded from an initial alert when the bomb was dropped. It was carried by a B-29 Superfortress called Enola Gay. The Japanese government attempted to play down the impact and significance of this ominous development, which was followed a few days later by a second atomic bombing. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
he bombing of Nagasaki on August 9th was the last major act of World War Two and within days the Japanese had surrendered.Two senior American military figures - General Groves and Admiral Purnell - were convinced that two atomic bombs dropped within days of the other would have such an overwhelming impact on the Japanese government that it would surrender. -
Germany Surrenders
Russian troops fought to within yards of his subterranean bunker, Adolph Hitler put a pistol to his head, pulled the trigger and closed the curtain on the Third Reich. Before his death, Hitler anointed Admiral Karl Donitz as his successor with orders to continue the fighting. Hitler was unaware that the German surrender had already begun. -
UN formed
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in SF @ the UN Conference on Int'l Org to draw up the UN Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the reps of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the US at Dumbarton Oaks, US in Aug-Oct '44. The Charter was signed on 26 Jun '45 by the reps of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the conference. -
ENIAC, World's 1st Automatic Digital Computer, Introduced
Was designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the United States Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory. heralded in the press as a "Giant Brain".[6] It had a speed of one thousand times that of electro-mechanical machines. This mathematical power, coupled with general-purpose programmability, excited scientists and industrialists. The inventors promoted the spread of these new ideas by conducting a series of lectures on computer architecture. -
Keenan starts containment
Containment was a foreign policy strategy followed by the United States during the Cold War. First laid out by George F. Kennan, Containment stated that communism needed to be contained and isolated, or it would spread to neighboring countries. This spread would allow the Domino Theory to take hold, meaning that if one country fell to communism, then each surrounding country would fall as well, like a row of dominoes. -
Truman Doctrine announced
In a speech to Congress, Pres Truman asks for US assistance for Greece & Turkey to forestall communist domination of the 2 nations. Historians have often cited Truman's address, which came to be known as the Truman Doctrine, as the official declaration of the Cold War. -
Jackie Robinson Signs with Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers announce the purchase of the contract of Jack Roosevelt Robinson from Montreal. Jackie makes his big-league debut against the Boston Braves making him the 1st African American to play in the major leagues. -
Marshall Plan
Officially known as the European Recovery Program (ERP), the Marshall Plan was intended to rebuild the economies and spirits of western Europe, primarily. Marshall was convinced the key to restoration of political stability lay in the revitalization of national economies. Further he saw political stability in Western Europe as a key to blunting the advances of communism in that region. -
Taft-Hartly Act
It allows the president to appoint a board of inquiry to investigate union disputes when he believes a strike would endanger national health or safety, and obtain an 80-day injunction to stop the continuation of a strike. It declares all closed shops illegal. It permits union shops only after a majority of the employees vote for them. It forbids jurisdictional strikes and secondary boycotts. It ends the check-off system whereby the employer collects union dues. No political campaigns for unions -
National Security Act passed
It streamlined & unified the nation's military establishment by bringing together the Navy Dept & War Dept under a new Dept of Defense. This dept would facilitate control and utilization of the nation's growing military. The act established the National Security Council (NSC). Based in the White House, the NSC was supposed to serve as a coordinating agency, sifting through the increasing flow of diplomatic and intelligence information in order to provide the -
HUAC begins investigating Hollywood
HUAC began an investigation into the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry. In September 1947, the HUAC interviewed 41 people who were working in Hollywood. These people attended voluntarily and became known as "friendly witnesses". During their interviews they named several people who they accused of holding left-wing views. Those identified as communists or socialists were now ordered to testify before the HUAC. If these people refused to name names, they were added to a blacklist that had been -
Israel becomes a nation
Jewish leaders assembled at the Tel Aviv Museum to sign the Israeli Declaration of Independence and announce the creation of the first modern Jewish state. The next day, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan attacked the fledgling country -
Executive order 9981 issued
Desegregation of the Armed Forces -
Truman's "Fair Deal"
His Fair Deal recommended that all Americans have health insurance, that the minimum wage be increased, and that, by law, all Americans be guaranteed equal rights. -
NATO established
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is established by 12 Western nations: the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Canada, and Portugal. The military alliance, which provided for a collective self-defense against Soviet aggression, greatly increased American influence in Europe. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
Nationalists, led by Chaing Kai-Shek, were defeated at Nanjing and forced to flee to Taiwan. Communist rule was established in the People's Republic of China under the leadership of Mao Zedong. -
George Orwell's 1984 Published
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USSR has the atomic bomb
According to legend, the Soviet physicists who worked on the bomb were honored for the achievement based on the penalties they would have suffered had the test failed. Those who would have been executed by the Soviet government if the bomb had failed to detonate were honored as "Heroes of Socialist Labor," and those who would have been merely imprisoned were given "The Order of Lenin," a slightly less prestigious award. -
Alger Hiss convicted
Harvard-trained lawyer with an impeccable pedigree. Whittaker Chambers was a short, stocky, and rumpled Columbia drop-out and confessed former Communist from a poor and troubled Philadelphia family. Time and time again the two men would tell congressional committees, trial juries, and a reading public flatly contradictory stories about Hiss's allegiances during the period from 1933 to 1938. Hiss, according to Chambers, was a dedicated Communist engaged in espionage -
McCarthyism starts
Senator Joseph McCarthy publicly charges that Communists are in the U.S. State Department -
NSC-68 created
NSC Paper NSC-68 was a Top-Secret report completed by the U.S. Dept of State's Policy Planning Staff. Its authors argued that one of the most pressing threats confronting the US was the "hostile design" of the USSR. The authors concluded that the Soviet threat would soon be greatly augmented by the addition of more weapons, including nuclear weapons, to the Soviet arsenal. They argued that the best course of action was to respond in kind with a mass US military build-up -
Korean War Begins
The Korean War begins when communist North Korea invades non-communist South Korea -
First credit card invented
by Ralph Schneider a diners credit card. -
Super glue invented
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Mr. Potato Head invented
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Hydrogen bomb invented
Its chief architect was Dr. Edward Teller. It was detonated in Enewetak in the Marshall Islands. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower elected President
34th president, served two terms as president -
Lucy Goes to Hospital
1st woman have pregnancy shown on TV -
Joseph Stalin dies
The second leader of the Soviet Union, serving as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death. He created a series of Five Year Plans, created a period of rapid industrialization and economic collectivization. He launched the Great Purge a campaign to rid the Communist Party of people accused of sabotage, terrorism and treachery. -
Korean War ends
Formally ended the war in Korea. North and South Korea remain separate and occupy almost the same territory they had when the war began. -
Rosenbergs executed
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for treason -
Playboy Magazine Debuts
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Vietminh defeat French
Ho Chi Minh forces win their war for independence at the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu. -
Brown v. Board of Education ruling
Supreme Court ended segregation of public education -
The pill invented
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Khruschev is dominat leader in USSR
In the years following Stalin‟s death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev emerged as the dominant figure in the collective leadership of the USSR and, by early 1955, had consolidated his position to become the most prominent member of said leadership and de facto leader of the Soviet Union -
Salk's polio vaccine becomes widely available
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AFL-CIO is formed
It was formed in 1955 when the AFL and the CIO merged after a long estrangement. From 1955-2005, the AFL–CIO's member unions represented nearly all unionized workers in the US. Several large unions split away from AFL–CIO and formed the rival Change to Win Federation in 2005. The largest union currently in the AFL–CIO is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), with more than a million members. -
Disneyland Opens in Anaheim, CA
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Murder of Emmett Till
While visiting family in Money, MS, 14-yr-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, is brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman 4 days earlier. His assailants--the white woman's husband & her brother- beat and killed Emmett. The Emmett Till murder trial brought to light the brutality of Jim Crow segregation in the South and was an early impetus of the African American civil rights movement. -
Rosa Parks
Refuses to give up seat and starts the Montgomery bus boycott in AL -
Federal Highway Act Passes
The 1956 act called for uniform interstate design standards to accommodate traffic forecast for 1975. Two lane segments, as well as at-grade intersections, were permitted on lightly traveled segments. -
Elvis 1st appears on Ed Sullivan
Over 60 million people, both young and old, watched the show and many people believe it helped bridge the generation gap for Elvis' acceptance into the mainstream. -
Hungarian revolt
The protestors boycotted work and demanded and independent country, but the Soviets put down the revolt. -
Suez Canal Crisis
Britain, France, and Egypt all fought for control of the canal. Britain and France recieved control. -
Ike reelected
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Galbraith's The Affluent Society published
Galbraith outlined his view that to become successful, post-World War II America should make large investments in items such as highways and education using funds from general taxation. The Affluent Society contributed to the "war on poverty". -
40 million TVs in US
Top TV shows
1.I Love Lucy
2.The Ed Sullivan Show
3.General Electric Theatre
4.The $64,000 Question
5.December Bride
6.Alfred Hitchcock Presents
7.I've Got A Secret
8.Gunsmoke
9.The Perry Como Show
10.The Jack Benny Show -
Little Rock Nine
Ike sends troops to Little Rock, AR H.S. to ensure integration -
"West Side Story" Opens on Broadway
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USSR launches Sputnik
The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race. -
The hula hoop was invented
by Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin -
Cuban Revolution
A successful armed revolt by Fidel Castro which overthrew the US-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. -
The Barbie doll was invented
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Khruschev-Eisenhower Summit
There were no specific agreements or treaties, but both nations did resolve to reopen talks about Berlin and other issues related to cultural exchanges and trade. A U-2 spy plane incident 1960 crushed any hopes for further improvement of U.S.-Soviet relations during the Eisenhower years. -
Sit-in protests begin
Greensboro, NC lunch counter sit-in -
U2 incident
A U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers was brought down in the Soviet Union -
John F. Kennedy elected President
35th president of the United States, was assinated just before the end of his 1st term -
Eichmann trial
Israeli Security Service agents seized Eichmann in Argentina and took him to Jerusalem for trial in an Israeli court. Testimonies of Holocaust survivors, especially those of the ghetto fighters, generated interest in Jewish resistance. The trial prompted a new openness in Israel. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by United States-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. -
Freedom rides occur
C.O.R.E -
Construction of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by East Germany that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls,which circumscribed a wide area that contained anti-vehicle trenches, and other defenses. -
Presidential commission on status of women created
Established by President John F. Kennedy to explore issues relating to women and to make proposals in such areas as employment policy, education, and federal Social Security and tax laws relaing to women. -
SCt. decides on Baker v. Carr
was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that retreated from the Court's political question doctrine, deciding that redistricting (attempts to change the way voting districts are delineated) issues present justiciable questions, thus enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases. The defendants unsuccessfully argued that reapportionment of legislative districts is a "political question", and hence not a question that may be resolved by federal courts. -
SDS formed
fewer than 100 people attend the first SDS convention at Port Huron, Michigan. The group adopts an official political manifesto, the Port Huron Statement, based largely on a draft by Tom Hayden. The power of the Port Huron Statement lies in the concept of a participatory democracy, in which people take part in making decisions that affect their lives. This view of political ownership is a central theme in the rise of the New Left. -
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring published
The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement. -
James Meridith
Univ of Mississippi -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba. Kennedy announced the discovery of the missiles to the public and his decision to blockade the island. -
Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique published
It is widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States. -
March on Birmingham
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Organization of African Unity formed
To promote the unity and solidarity of the African states and act as a collective voice for the African continent and to eradication of all forms of colonialism. -
March on Washington
200,000 civil rights supporter march on Washington, D.C. to support legislation -
JFK assassinated
Was killed in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was fatally shot while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas governor John Connally in a Presidential motorcade.
The Warren Commission concluded that the President was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone and that Jack Ruby acted alone when he killed Oswald. -
Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president of US
Took over as president when JFK was assassinated. Got elected president in the 1964 election and served just one term. -
Civil Rights Act passed
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Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Congress resolution authorizing the president to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent aggression." -
Malcolm X assassinated
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US combat troops arrive in Vietnam
The first American combat troops, the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, arrive in Vietnam to defend the US airfield at Danang. -
Medicare & Medicaid programs
This act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. It established Medicare, a health insurance program for the elderly, and Medicaid, a health insurance program for the poor. -
Voting rights act passed
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Race riots in Watts
A California officer, pulled over African American who the officer believed was intoxicated. African American failed to pass sobriety tests and soon after arrested. Officer refused to let African American's brother drive the car home, and radioed for it to be impounded. As events escalated, a crowd of onlookers steadily grew from dozens to hundreds. The mob became violent, throwing rocks and other objects while shouting at the police officers. -
SCt decides on Miranda v. AZ
The Ct held that statements made in response to interrogation by a defendant in police custody will be admissible at trial only if the prosecution can show that the defendant was informed of the rt to consult with an attorney before & during questioning and of the right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police, & that the defendant not only understood these rights, but voluntarily waived them. This had a significant impact on law enforcrcement -
NOW formed
In several informal meetings followed by a national conference, a number of activists came together to form the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966, seeing the need for a civil rights organization specifically focused on women's rights. Betty Friedan was elected the first president of NOW and served in that office for three years. -
Medicare enacted
Medicare coverage began. All persons age 65 and over were automatically covered under Part A. Coverage began for seniors who signed up for the voluntary medical insurance program (Part B). More than 19 million individuals ages 65 and older were enrolled in Medicare. -
Tet Offensive
The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. -
MLK assassinated
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AIM launched
The movement was committed to unifying Native Am all across Am, &encouraging them to take pride in their Indian heritage. Native Americans were experiencing poverty, unemployment, & tribal land invasion throughout the generations after the forced assimilation period. The AIM’s primary goal was to make sure that the US govt followed through on the guidelines of its treaties with the Indians. As the gt continued to ignore the desires of the movement, the AIM became more aggressive -
Democratic National Convention
Held on Aug 26-29th in Chicago, the divisive politics of the convention, brought about by the Vietnam War policies of Pres Johnson, prompted the Dem party to completely overhaul its rules for selecting presidential delegates -- opening up the political process to millions. The violence between police & anti-Vietnam War protesters in the streets & parks of Chicago gave the city a black eye form which it has yet to recover from. -
Richard Nixon elected president
The Rep nominee, former VP Nixon, won the election over the Dem nominee, incumbent VP Hubert Humphrey. Nixon ran on a campaign that promised to restore law & order to the nation's cities, torn by riots and crime. Analysts have argued the election of '68 is a realigning election as it permanently disrupted the New Deal Coalition that had dominated presidential politics for 36 yrs. LBJ chose not to run. -
America lands on the moon
American Neil Armstrong has become the first man to walk on the Moon. As he put his left foot down first Armstrong declared: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He described the surface as being like powdered charcoal and the landing craft left a crater about a foot deep. Armstrong spent his first few minutes on the Moon taking photographs and soil samples in case the mission had to be aborted suddenly. -
Beatles Break Up
Because of the death of their manager, legal/financial conflicts, and different artistic views, the relationship between the members of the Beatles began to strain. Realizing that them breaking up would eventually lead to their growth as icons and artists, they eventually broke up and went on with solo careers: John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney continued on with their own careers. Paul and Ringo are the only members remaining today. -
First Earth Day
1st beginning as a protest to help the environment become an issue in US politics, Earth Day became an annual celebration to help promote awareness of some of our negative effects on our environments and ecosystems. -
Kent State shootings
National Guardsmen open fire on a crowd of student antiwar protesters at Ohio's Kent State University, resulting in the death of four students and the wounding of eight others. President Nixon publicly deplores the actions of the Guardsmen, but cautions: "when dissent turns to violence it invites tragedy." Several of the protesters had been hurling rocks and empty tear gas canisters at the Guardsmen. -
26th Amendment passed
lowering the voting age in America from 21 to 18 began during World War II and intensified during the Vietnam War, when young men denied the right to vote were being conscripted to fight for their country. -
Pentagon Papers published
The New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers, revealing a legacy of deception concerning U.S. policy in Vietnam on the part of the military and the executive branch. -
Disney World Opens
There was little to no room for the development of Disneyland in CA. Therefore, various parts of FL were bought seperately. However, FL did not realize that these pieces of land were being bought by the Disney Corporation to become the next theme park. -
Equal Rights Amendment approved
1st proposed by the Nat'l Woman's political party in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was to provide for the legal equality of the sexes & prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. More than 4 decades later, the revival of feminism in the late '60s spurred its intro into Congress; Under the leadership of US Rep Bella Abzug of NY & feminists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, -
SALT I signed
Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev and U.S. President Richard Nixon, meeting in Moscow, sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) agreements. At the time, these agreements were the most far-reaching attempts to control nuclear weapons ever. -
Watergate Burglars arrested
A political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s as a 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement. The scandal eventually led to the resignation of Richard Nixon -
SCt decides on Furman v. GA
was a US SCt decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the US, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was decided in 1976. -
Nixon reelected
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Stock Market crashes and recession begins
Among the causes were the 1973 oil crisis & the fall of the Bretton Woods system. The emergence of newly industrialized countries increased competition in the metal industry, triggering a steel crisis, where industrial core areas in N Am & Europe were forced to re-structure. The 1973-74 stock market crash made the recession evident. The recession in the US lasted from Nov 1973 to Mar 1975, although its effects on the US were felt until mid-term of Reagan's 1st term as president. -
SCt decides on Roe v. Wade
Decided simultaneously with a companion case, Doe v. Bolton, the Court ruled 7–2 that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests in regulating abortions: protecting prenatal life and protecting women's health. Giving the right to women to have an abortion. -
End to Vietnam War
A cease-fire agreement in Paris, in the words of Richard Nixon, "brings peace with honor in Vietnam and Southeast Asia," is signed in Paris by Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. The agreement is to go into effect on January 28th -
War Powers Act passed
a fed law intended to check the Pres' power to commit the US to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. The resolution was adopted in the form of a US Congress joint resolution; this provides that the Pres can send US armed forces into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the US, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces." It requires the Pres to notify Congress within 48 hrs of committing armed for war. -
OPEC levys oil embargo
is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It is an oil cartel whose mission is to coordinate the policies of the oil-producing countries. The goal is to secure a steady income to the member states and a secure supply of oil to the consumers. Those who invest in petroleum activities should receive a fair return on their investments. OPEC began to gain influence and steeply raised oil prices during the 1973 Oil Crisis in response to US aid to Israel during the Yom Kippur War. -
Nixon resigns
Gerald Ford takes over as President of the US. In an evening televised address, Pres Nixon announces his intention to become the 1st pres in US history to resign. With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvement in the Watergate affair, -
Microsoft Inc. Founded
The most well-known computer company was founded by Bill Gates & Paul Allen. They were said to be on a mission to make the PC public, spending vast amounts of time on creating a home computer. The first computer language sold in the 1st year was the Altair BASIC. -
Jimmy Carter elected president
A peanut farmer & one-term governor from GA, the divisive Vietnam conflict & Nixon's Watergate saga had undermined confidence in govt & left public spirit at an all-time low. The election was so close that it was not until 3:30 am that Carter knew he had won. Carter received 50% of the popular vote to Ford's 48%, but his advantage in the electoral college was a thin 297 to 241. Carter received 50% of the pop vote to Ford's 48%, but his adv in the electoral college was a thin 297 to 241. -
Apple introduces 1st personal computer
The personal computer industry truly began when introduced the Apple II, one of the first pre-assembled, mass-produced personal computers. Radio Shack and Commodore Business Machines also introduced personal computers that year. These machines used eight-bit microprocessors (which process information in groups of eight bits, or binary digits, at a time) and possessed rather limited memory capacity—i.e., the ability to address a given quantity of data held in memory storage. -
Prop 13
was an amendment of the Constitution of California, which limited the tax rate for real estate. -
Camp David Accords signed
At the White House in Washington, D.C., Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign the Camp David Accords, laying the groundwork for a permanent peace agreement between Egypt and Israel after three decades of hostilities. The accords were negotiated during 12 days of intensive talks at President Jimmy Carter's Camp David retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. -
Energy crisis
in the US occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil sector, with production being greatly curtailed and exports suspended. When oil exports were later resumed under the new regime, they were inconsistent and at a lower volume, which pushed prices up. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
A group of Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 US hostages. The immediate cause of this action was Pres 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 US for cancer treatment. The students set their hostages free on January 21, 1981, 444 days after the crisis began and just hours after Pres Reagan delivered his inaugural address. Sets up the movie "Argo". -
US boycotts Olympics
President Jimmy Carter informs a group of U.S. athletes that, in response to the Dec1979 Soviet incursion into Afghanistan, the US boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. It marked the first and only time that the US has boycotted the Olympics. -
Pac-Man video game released
in Japan and by October of the same year it was released in the United States. The yellow, pie-shaped Pac-Man character, who travels around a maze trying to eat dots and avoid four mean ghosts, quickly became an icon of the 1980s. To this day, Pac-Man remains one of the most popular video games in history. -
Ted Turner establishes CNN
the 1st 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television. -
Ronald Reagan elected President
Reagan won the Republican nomination and successfully ran against incumbent President Jimmy Carter for president. He is the oldest person elected president. -
AIDS 1st reported in US
The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has had a substantial impact on the health and economy of many nations (1). Since the first AIDS cases were reported in the United States in June 1981, the number of cases and deaths among persons with AIDS increased rapidly during the 1980s followed by substantial declines in new cases and deaths in the late 1990s. -
1st Woman appointed U.S. Supreme Court
President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. On September 21, the United States Senate confirmed O'Connor in a vote of 99 for and zero against. Sandra Day O'Connor was officially sworn in and took her seat on the U.S. Supreme Court on September 25, 1981. -
SDI plan announced
Reagan announced his intention to embark upon groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete. The heart of the program was to develop a space-based missile defense program that could protect the country from a large-scale nuclear attack. -
Sally Ride 1st American Woman in Space
Ride's turn to go into space came at the shuttle program's seventh mission, as a crew member aboard Challenger. She was aboard Challenger for her second flight as well, an eight-day mission in 1984. In all, Ride logged around 345 hours in space. While it was a milestone for the U.S. space program, the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova preceded Ride into space by almost exactly 20 years. On June 16, 1963, the former textile worker went aloft aboard Vostok VI. -
US invades Grenada
President Ronald Reagan, citing the threat posed to American nationals on the Caribbean nation of Grenada by that nation's Marxist regime, orders the Marines to invade and secure their safety. There were nearly 1,000 Americans in Grenada at the time, many of them students at the island's medical school. In little more than a week, Grenada's government was overthrown. -
Reagan wins reelection
Repub Reagan was elected to a 2nd term, defeating Dem Walter Mondale, a former US vice president. Reagan won 49 states en route to amassing 525 electoral votes to Mondale’s 13—one of the biggest landslides in US election history. Mondale made history by choosing as his running mate Geraldine Ferraro—the 1st woman selected by a major political party for its presidential ticket. -
Crack cocaine in US cities
While the use of coca leaves as an intoxicant dates back three thousand years, crack cocaine, a crystallized form of cocaine, was developed during the cocaine boom of the 1970s and its use spread in the mid-1980s. -
U.S. space shuttle "Challenger" explodes
Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 sec into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic O, off the coast of central FL. Disintegration of the entire vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster failed at liftoff. -
US launches airstrike on Libya
President Reagan has justified the attacks by accusing Libya of direct responsibility for terrorism aimed at America, such as the bombing of La Belle discoteque in West Berlin 10 days ago. -
Iran-contra scandal revealed
U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese announced that the United States was selling weapons to Iran in contravention of an embargo and funneling the profits to the brutally barbaric Contra rebels in Nicaragua in direct violation of U.S. law. What would come to be known as the Iran-Contra Affair exploded into the biggest scandal of Ronald Reagan’s scandal-ridden administration, and the President himself would be implicated in criminal activity. -
US & USSR sign INF treaty
The treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with intermediate ranges, defined as between 300-3,400 miles. -
George H.W. Bush becomes president
Former VP, Bush, won the Repub nomination, & chose the young Sen of IN, Dan Quayle as his running mate. The Dem nominated Michael Dukakis, Gov of MA and TX Senator Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate. Bush capitalized on a good economy, a stable international stage, and on Pres Reagan's popularity, running an aggressive campaign. -
Berlin Wall is dismantled
In 1989, a series of radical political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc, associated with the liberalization of the Eastern Bloc's authoritarian systems and the erosion of political power in the pro-Soviet governments in nearby Poland and Hungary. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German govt announced on that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany & West Berlin. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on 3 Oct 1990. -
American forces in Panama
American troops have invaded Panama in a bid to oust dictator Manuel Noriega. Around 200 civilians, 19 US soldiers and 59 Panamanian troops are believed to have died in the fighting after President George Bush sent forces into the Central American country -
US invade Panama
Bush announces U.S. military action in Panama leading to the capture of renegade dictator Manuel Noriega. -
Americans with Disabilities Act passed
prohibiting discrimination based on disabilities. -
Clean Air Act Amendments
The Amendments seek ways to reduce smog and atmospheric pollution, which includes prohibiting the use of leaded gasoline in motor vehicles by the end of 1995. -
Persian Gulf War begins
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early Aug 1990. Alarmed by these actions, fellow Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia & Egypt called on the US & other Western nations to intervene. Hussein defied UN Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-Jan '91, & the War began with a massive US-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. -
End of the Cold War
The concluding drama of the Cold War -- the collapse of communism in the USSR and E Europe & the end of the 4 decade-old East-West conflict. The 1st step in end of the Cold War came when Mikhail S. Gorbachev implicitly abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine. The 2nd act of the drama began in the fall of 1989 with peaceful revolutions in E & Cen Europe (except Romania) & the fall of the Soviet "outer empire." The third and final act closed with the '91 dissolution of the USSR. -
Race riot in LA
Also known as the Rodney King Riots were a race riot & subsequent looting & civil disturbance that occurred in LA, CA following a police brutality incident. It was among the largest riots in US history. The riots started after a trial jury acquitted four LAPD officers of assault and use of excessive force. The mostly white officers were videotaped beating an African-American named Rodney King following a high-speed police pursuit. -
Bill Clinton becomes president
There were three major candidates: Incumbent Republican Pres Bush; Demo AR Gov Bill Clinton, & independent TX businessman Ross Perot. Bush had alienated much of his conservative base by breaking his 1988 campaign pledge against raising taxes, the economy was in a recession, and Bush's perceived greatest strength, foreign policy, was regarded as much less important following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the relatively peaceful climate in the Middle East after the defeat of Iraq. -
1st World Trade Center Attack
A bomb built in nearby Jersey City is driven into an underground garage at the trade center and detonated, killing six and wounding 1,500. Yousef, nephew of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, masterminds the attack, working with nearly a dozen local Muslims. -
Family and Medical Leave Act passed
employers to provide employees job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. Qualified medical and family reasons include: personal or family illness, family military leave, pregnancy, adoption, or the foster care placement of a child. -
NAFTA passed
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Clinton said he hoped the agreement would encourage other nations to work toward a broader world-trade pact. NAFTA, a trade pact between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, eliminated virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions between the three nations. -
OJ Simpson Trial
Former American football star and actor O. J. Simpson was tried on two counts of murder following the Jun 1994 deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman. The case has been described as the most publicized criminal trial in American history. Ultimately, Simpson was acquitted after a lengthy trial that lasted over eight months which was presided over by Judge Lance Ito. -
Congress passes major welfare reform bill
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) is a US federal law considered to be a fundamental shift in both the method and goal of federal cash assistance to the poor. The bill added a workforce development component to welfare legislation, encouraging employment among the poor. -
Clinton reelected president
The contest was between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton from Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore from Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp from New York for Vice President. Businessman Ross Perot ran as candidate for the Reform Party with economist Pat Choate as his running mate. -
Kyoto Protocol
A GlobKyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity. -
Clinton impeached
was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. 2 other impeachment articles, a 2nd perjury charge and a charge of abuse of power, failed in the House. The charges arose from the Lewinsky scandal and the Paula Jones lawsuit. -
Columbine Shooting
in Littleton, Colorado, 2 high-school seniors, Dylan Klebold & Eric Harris, enacted an all-out assault on Columbine HS during the middle of the school day. The boys' plan was to kill hundreds of their peers. With guns, knives, & a multitude of bombs, the 2 boys walked the hallways and killed. When the day was done, 12 students, 1 teacher, and the 2 murderers were dead; plus 21 more were injured.
