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Passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act prevents people with disabilities from being dicriminated against. The act requires that people with disabilities be provided with sufficiant accomodations and resonable accessibility in public places. The act was first introduced to the House of Senate in 1988, when the National Council on Disability drafted and recommended the first act of disability. However the act was not signed untill July 26th, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush. -
Confirmation of Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas was nominated to replace Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, on July 1at 1991 by President George H. W. Bush. However, many opposed Thomas because of his political views and certain alligations against him. Many womans rights groups opposed him especially because of his views on abortion and civil rights. Anita Hill, a former collegue of Thomas, accused him of sexual harrassment and leaked it to the media leading to investigations. Thomas was voted in by the Senate 52-48. -
Magic Johnson's HIV Announcement
On November 7th, 1991, the Basketball star Magic Johnson abruptly retired announcing he had HIV. Johnson also announced that his wife and children did not have HIV and that he would spend his life fighting the disease. During this time many people still thought only gay people got HIV so rumors were spread that Magic Johnson was gay. Johnson came back to compete in the 1992 NBA all star game despite the protest of some other NBA players. Johnson became a huge advocate for HIV prevention. -
U.S. Soldiers in Somalia / Blackhawk Down
On October 3rd, 1993 the U.S. engaged in the Battle of Mogadishu as part of Operation Gothic Serpant. The battle was in Somalia between the U.S. and Somalia militiamen who were loyal to Mohamed Farrah Aidid. During the battle to U.S. UH-60 blackhawks were shot down. The attempt to rescue crews of both helicopters extended the mission into an overnight operation. The ended up with there being 18 deaths, 73 injured, Somalia National Alliance claims there were 315 Somali dead and 812 injured. -
Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement
The NAFTA was a agreement between 3 nations. The United States, Canada, and Mexico. The agreement got rid of any and all trade reatrictions and tariffs between the 3 countries, creating the world's largest free-trade zone. Though the agreement was signed into law by President Clinton on December 8th, 1993, it did not go into effect untill January 1st of 1994. -
O.J. Simpson Trial
O.J. Simpson was a NFL star as well as an actor and he was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Lyle Goldman on June 12th, 1994. The trial began Novermeber 9th, 1994 and went until January 24th, 1995. Defended by Johnnie Cochran and his team, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty. O.J's trial is considered the most publicized criminal trial in American history. It was one of the first times a trial had been televised on T.V. -
Explosion of TWA Flight 800
On July 17th, 1996, 12 minuets after take off from JFK airport Trans World Airlines Flight 800 exploded. All 230 people on board were killed. There were no survivors. It was determined that the explosion was not caused by terrorist. The cause was believed to be an explosion of flammable fuel vapors in the fuel tank, most likely caused by a short circuit. After the inccident new requirements were required for all aircraft in hopes of avoiding a similar situation in the future. -
Olympic Park Bombing
The Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia was attacked and bombed by terrorist on July 27th, 1996 during the Summer Olympic Games. Security guard Richard Jewell discovered the bomb befor it was detonated and had gotten most of the people out of the park before it detonated. 1 person was killed and 111 were injured. Jewel was initally accused of setting the bombs, but it was later discovered that it was Eric Robert Rudolph, who had placed the bomb in hopes of canceling the Olympics. -
NATO bombing in Yugoslavia
The bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 was an attempt by NATO to stop human rights abuses in Kosovo during the Kosovo War. The official operation code name was Operation Allied Force, however the U.S. called it Operation Noble Anvil. NATO performed air strikes from March 24th, 1999 to June 10th, 1999 when an agreement between NATO and Yugoslavia was reached. In the agreement Yugoslavia withdrew armed forces from Kosovo and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo was established. -
Columbine Shooting
On April 20th,1999, two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, entered the building and opened fire on everyone in the school. The two students killed 12 students, 1 teacher, and injured 21 people before committing suciide. Others were injured trying to escaped the school. The students had premeditated their attack and had researched other deadly attacks such as the Oklahoma City Bombing. The motive was never fully discovered and the incident caused people to debate gun control laws.
