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Period: 1 CE to 1 CE
Contemporary
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G.I. Bill
The G.I. bill was a law passed in 1944 that provided educational and other benefits for people who had served in the armed forces in World War ll. Benefits are still available to persons honorably discharged from the armed forces. This is important to the timeline because it helped veterans of World War ll. -
North American Free Trade Agreement
NAFTA is an agreement among the US, Canada, and Mexico designed to remove tariff barriers between the three countries. This is important to the timeline because it created the largest free trade area and richest market in the world. -
Period: to
Civil Rights
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Fat man
Fat man was the code name for the atomic bomb that was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the US. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare. This is important to the timeline because it was the the third ever man made nuclear explosion in history. -
Period: to
Cold War
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Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West prior to the decline of communism that followed the political events in eastern Europe in 1989. This is significant to the timeline because the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared that an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was the principle that the US should give support to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or communist insurrection. It was first expressed by President Truman in a speech to Congress seeking aid for Greece and Turkey. This was seen by the communist as a open declaration of the Cold War. This is important to the timeline because it became the foundation of American foreign policy. This led to the formation of NATO. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall plan was a program by which the United States gave large amounts of economic aid to European countries to help them rebuild after the devastation of World Was ll. This is significant to the timeline because this also helped reduced the influence of Communist parties within them. -
Fair Deal
The Fair deal was an ambitious set of proposals put forward by US President Harry S. Truman. More generally the term characterizes the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration. The Fair deal recommended that all Americans have health insurance, that minimum wage be increased, and that, by, law all Americans be be guaranteed equal rights. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift is a military operation in the late 1940's that brought food and other needed goods into West Berlin by air after the government of East Germany had cut off its supply routes. This is important to the timeline because it showed that the Soviet blockade had failed. It had not persuaded West Berliners to reject their allies in the West, nor had it prevented the creation of a unified West German state. -
Ike Turner
Ike Turner is a very important man in American music. The texture and flavor of R & B owe a lot to him. He defined how to put the Fender bass into that music. He is important to the timeline because he had a huge impact on rock 'n' roll. -
2nd Red Scare
This refers to the fear of communism that permeated American politics, culture, and society from the late 1940's through the 1950's during the opening phases of the Cold War with Soviet Union. This is important to the timeline because as the Cold War between the Soviet and United States intensified so did the hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists. -
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman is an American musician, songwriter, singer, and actor. He has been honored by many institutions. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is important to the timeline because he helped define the early rock 'n' roll era of the 1950's with is driving, flamboyant sound. -
Beat Generation
The Beat Generation was a literary movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War ll era. the bulk of their work was published and popularized throughout the 1950s. -
Period: to
1950's
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Bill Haley and the Comets
Bill Haley and the Comets were one of the few who first made rock and roll popular. They were founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death. The group placed nine singles in the Top 20. They are important to the timeline because rock n roll influenced the US a lot. -
Polio Vaccine
The Polio vaccine was a vaccine that is made from a suspension of polio virus types that are inactivated with formalin. People would be left paralyzed after the disease was over with. It was created by Dr. Jonas Salk. -
Korean War (The Forgotten War)
The Korean war was fought in the early 1950's between the United Nation and the communist Korea. The war began in 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea. This is important to the timeline because it was the first armed conflict in the Cold war, It created a stale mate between South and North Korea, and it also prevented North Korea from taking over all of Korea. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case was a landmark United States Supreme court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. This is significant to the timeline because it signaled the start of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, while for others, it represented the fall of segregation. -
Dr. Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk developed and introduced the Polio Vaccine in 1955. He took a position at the University of Pittsburgh, where he began conducting research on polio. By 1951, Salk had determined that there were three distinct types of polio viruses and was able to develop a "killed virus" vaccine for the disease. -
Emmett Till Tragedy
Emmett Till was a 14 year-old African-American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after a white woman said she was offended by him in her family's grocery store. Two white men tortured and murdered Till. His murder galvanized the emerging Civil Rights Movement. -
Little Rock 9
The little Rock 9 was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock central high school in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Oval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. -
Orvaul Fabous
He was an American politician who served as 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967. He became internationally known during the Little Rock Crisis of 1957, when he used the Arkansas National Guard to stop African Americans from attending Little Rock Central High School as part of federally ordered racial desegregation. -
Feminism
A movement for granting women political, social, and economic equality with men. In the US this refers o the collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending a stated of equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women in US. Feminism has had a massive influence on American politics. -
Counter Culture
This is a way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm. Many college-age men and women became political activists and were the driving force behind the civil rights and antiwar movements. -
Anti- war movement
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. -
Period: to
1960's
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Albert Sabin
Albert Sabin was a Polish American medical researcher, best known for developing the oral polio vaccine which has played a key role in nearly eradicating the disease. He is important to the timeline because help eliminate human suffering. -
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States government. The stated mission of the Peace Corps includes providing technical assistance, helping people outside the US to understand American culture. This is important to the timeline because it helped the people of nations who were "struggling for economic and social progress." -
Cuban Missle Crisis
The Cuban Missile crisis was a confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the presence of missile sites in Cuba. This was considered one of the "hottest" periods of the cold war. This is significant to the timeline because this was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict. -
Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez was an American labor leader and civil rights activist who co- founded the National Farm Workers Association. He dedicated his life to improving the treatment, pay and working condition for farm workers. He knew all too well the hardships farm workers faced. -
Birmingham Bombing
The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was an act of white supremacist terrorism which occurred at the African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four members of the Ku Klux Klan planted at least 15 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the church. This left 4 African- American girls dead. -
Assassination of JFK
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while riding in a presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza. This was one of the most significant because it shaped modern history. He was shot by a man named Lee Harvey Oswald. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was an American Marxist and es-Marine who assassinated United States President John F. Kennedy. About 45 minutes after Oswald assassinated Kennedy, he shot and killed Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit on a local street. He is important to the timeline because he was the man who killed our 34th president -
Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby was a nightclub owner from Dallas, Texas who shot and killed lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President JFK. Ruby was born Jack Rubenstein on March 25, 1911, in Chicago, Illinois. -
Warren Commision
This was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through Executive Order 11130 to investigate the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy that had taken place. -
Daisy girl ad
Daisy was a controversial politcal advertisement aired on television during the 1964 US presidential election by incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign. It remains one of the most controversial political advertisements ever made. -
Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater was an American politician, businessman, and author who was a five-term US Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for president in 1964.He is important to the timeline because Goldwater mobilized a large conservative constituency to win the hard-fought Republican presidential primaries. -
Macolm X
Malcolm X was an African-american political leader of the 20th century. He was assassinated in 1965. When twenty-one, he was sentenced to prison for burglary and there encountered the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, popularly known as the Black Muslims. Muhammad's thesis that the white man is the devil with whom blacks cannot live had a strong impact on Malcolm. -
Watts Riots
Watts riots was a group of violent disturbances in Watts in 1965. Over thirty people died in the Watts riots, which were the first several serious clashes between black people and police in the late 1960s. -
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther party was a militant black American organization active in the 1960s and early 1970s. It was formed to work for the advancement of the rights of blacks, often by radical means. It was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The party's original purpose was to patrol African American neighborhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality. -
Death of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American clergyman and civil rights leader. He was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was known for his use of nonviolence and civil disobedience. -
Stagflation
Stagflation is persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country's economy. In the 1970's, Keynesian economists had to reconsider their beliefs as the U.S. and other industrialized countries entered a period of stagflation. -
Period: to
1970's
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Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly was an American constitutional lawyer and conservative political activist. She founded the Eagle Forum and remained its chairwoman and CEO until her death in 2016. She is important to the timeline because she became an outspoken opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment. -
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments is enacted by Congress and is signed into law by Richard Nixon. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving any type of federal financial aid. -
OPEC (organization of petroleum exporting countries)
This is a group consisting of 12 of the world's major oil-exporting nations. OPEC was founded in 1960 to coordinate the petroleum policies of its members, and to provide member states with technical and economic aid. OPEC is often called a "cartel" that manipulates the price of oil for the benefit of its members. It announced a decision to cut oil exports to the US and other nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur war. -
Nixon tapes
The Nixon White House tapes are audio recordings of conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Nixon administration officials. This was also apart of the Watergate scandal. -
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade was the Supreme Court case that held that the Constitution protected a woman's right to an abortion prior to the viability of the fetus. The court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy "is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy." This is important to the timeline because this is why women are able to have abortions. -
Endangered species act
The Endangered species act is a key legislation for both domestic and international conservation. The act aims to provide a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats. The law was signed by President Nixon. It has been in force for more than 40 years. This important to the timeline because it aspires to prevent extinction, recover imperiled plants and animals, and protect the ecosystems on which they depend. -
Space Race
The Space Race was a competition between nations regarding achievements in the field of space exploration.This was so important because it showed the world which country had the best science, technology, and economic system. After World War ll both the United States and the Soviet Union realized how important rocket research would be to the military. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam Was was a cold war conflict pitting the US and the remnants of the French colonial government in South Vietnam against the indigenous but communist Vietnamese independence movement. This is important to the timeline because it was a direct result of the First Indochina War. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was a 20th century American rock 'n' roll singer, known for his distinctive throaty tone in songs such as "Hound Dog". He was highly influential in changing the social and moral values of white American society. This is important to the timeline because he was ne of the first stars of rock 'n' roll. -
Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords is a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt issuing from talks at Camp David between Egyptian President Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Begin, and the host, and U.S. President Carter. It established a framework for a historic peace treaty concluded between Israel and Egypt . -
Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson is an American entrepreneur, media magnate, executive, philanthropist, and investor. He is the co-founder of BET. He also founded RLJ companies, a holding company that invests in various business sectors. -
The Moral Majority
Moral Majority was a political action group formed in the 1970's to further a conservative and religious agenda, including the allowance of prayer in schools and strict laws against abortion. It was led by Rev. Jerry Falwell. It is important to the timeline because it played a significant role in the 1980 elections through its strong support of conservative candidates. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
In the Iran Hostage crisis 52 american diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days. It happened after a group of Iranian students supporting the Iranian revolution took over the US Embassy in Tehran. This is important to the timeline because its aftereffects changed the political and diplomatic landscape between the US and Iran for decades to come. -
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
BET is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the BET Networks division of Viacom. It was created by Robert Johnson. He wanted to reach a demographic audience. -
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the US from 1977 to 1981. Carter has remained active in public life during his post-president, and in 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in co-founding he Carter Center. -
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was a political leader of the 20th century. He was elected president in 1980 and 1984. Reagan went into politics after a career as a film actor. Her served as governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and became a leading spokesman for conservatism in the US. -
Period: to
1980's
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space shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and space Administration, which accomplished routine transportation for earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. -
Music Television (MTV)
MTV is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York City. Founded and manned by people with a background in radio and a deep consciousness of the importance of branding, MTV introduced a corporate and marketing dimension to the world of rock'n'roll. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra is a retired Associate Justice of he Supreme Court of the US, serving from her appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan to 2006. She is the first woman to serve on the Court. -
Reagonomics
Reaganomics is the economic policies of the former US president Ronald Reagan, associated especially with the reduction of taxes and the promotion of unrestricted free- market activity. This called for widespread tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending and the deregulation of domestic markets. -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) "Star wars"
Star Wars was a program first initiated under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union. -
Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the US under the Reagan Administration to overwhelm, the global influence of the Soviet Union in an attempt to end the Cold war. The US provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to "roll black" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. -
Iran Contra Affair
The Iran-Contra was a political scandal in the US that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. North claimed that both Reagan and his vice President, George Bush, had known about the covert operations. -
Challenger Explosion
The NASA shuttle orbiter mission STS-51-L and the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members, which consisted of five NASA astronauts and two payload specialists. The space shuttle's external fuel tank collapsed, causing what looked like an explosion, and the shuttle broke apart and fell approximately 46,000 feet to the Atlantic Ocean. -
George H.W. Bush
He was the 41st President of the US from 1989 to 1993. Bush is important to this timeline because he led the US response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and initiated the Iraq war. Before his presidency, Bust was a businessman and served as governor of Texas. -
Ross Perot
He was a 20th century businessman and politician. He founded the Electronic Data systems corporation in Dallas in 1962. He became extremely wealthy and in 1992 ran for president of the US as an independent. -
Period: to
1990s
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Persian gulf War/ 1st Iraq War
Persian Gulf War was a war between the forces of the United Nations, led by the US, and those of Iraq that followed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Though the Gulf War was recognized as a decisive victory for the coalition, Kuwait and Iraq suffered enormous damage, and Saddam Hussein was not forced from power. -
Rodney King incident
Rodney King was an African-American taxi driver who became known internationally as the victim of Los Angeles Police department brutality, after a videotape was released of several police officers beating him during his arrest. This is significant to the timeline because this led to LA riots. -
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton is an American Politician who served as the 42nd President of the US. At age 46 he became the third youngest president and the firs from the Baby Boomer generation.This is important to the timeline because he is known for being president during one of the longest periods of peace and economic expansion in American history. -
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
The DOMA is a federal law that denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and authorizes states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states. It was overruled on June 26, 2015 by the US supreme court decision. -
Lionel Sosa
Lionel Sosa was a Hispanic advertising mogul. He is famous for creating famous ads for big corporations such as presidential campaigns. He also helped Obama. -
Bush v. Gore (SCOTUS case)
Bush v. Gore was a decision to the US supreme court that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election. George W. Bush believed that the recount violated the American presidential election system and the preservation of equality. The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of George Bush in Bush v. Gore. -
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney, noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism and government reform causes. In 1971 he founded the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen and has continued to be an opponent of unchecked corporate power. -
9/11 Attacks
The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda on the US. -
No Child left Behind Education act
The NCLB was a US act of congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education act. It included title l provisions applying to disadvantaged students to receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels. President George W. Bush's education-reform bill was the most sweeping education reform legislation since 1965. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the US. Wen the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in US history, -
The Great Recession
Great recession is a label used by journalists and economists to describe a severe, prolonged economic downturn. Some economists trace the most recent great recession to the collapse of the US housing market in 2007. It began with bursting of 8 trillion dollar housing bubble. The resulting loss of wealth led to sharp cutbacks in consumer spending. -
John McCain
John McCain is an American Politician serving as the senior US Senator from Arizona since 1987. He was the Republican nominee for President of the US in the 2008 election,in which he lost. He enrolled at the US naval academy and was dispatched to Vietnam, where he was tortured as a prisoner of war between 1967 and 1973. -
Barack Obama
Barack Obama was the 4th president of the US. He previously served in the Senate, representing Illinois. He became the firs African American to be elected to that office. He was subsequently elected to a second term over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
The ARRA is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th US congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. It was developed to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery. -
Affordable Car Act (ACA) "Obamacare"
ACA was a comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010. The law goals were to make affordable health insurance available to more people, expand the medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the poverty level and support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally.
