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Americans with Disablities Act
The ADA was passed in 1990 and ammended in 2008. Similar to other civil rights laws, the ADA protects disabled americans and grants them the same public opportunities as anyone else. This means that anindividual with adisability may not be discriminated against in public life such as education, jobs, transportation or government services. Small effects of this Act are seen through mendatory captioning of federal announcements and sign language interpreters. -
Confirmation of Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas worked as the Assistant Attorney General of Missouri in the 70s and was later appointed as Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the early 80s. When supreme court judge Thurgood Marshall announded his retirement, Thomas was nominated by President Bush to fill the position in 1990. This sparked heated debate, as Marshall was a highly regarded and most wanted a replacement who shared many of his beliefs. But, he was confirmed with a 52-48 vote from the senate. -
Hurricane Andrew
What began as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa morphed into a hurricane with wind speeds up to 145mph. It reached the United States where citizens in Florida, Louisiana and Texas were undergoing evcuations. It clamined 26 lives and 15 indirectly. There was mass destruction of buildings in the South as well as electrical and phone lines at about 1.4 million our of service. -
US Soldiers in Somalia
The Bush Administration launched Operation Restore Hope in 1992 in Somalia for civilian crowd control and urban fighting due to warlord violence. Despite the morality of the plan, it proved ineffective as the US did not have a clear understanding of the Somali government. Somali forces used guerilla tactics and the Special Forces, who had not been trained for these tasks, did not have a home front advantage. Gradually, US forces left the area, leaving the attempt at peacekeeping in disaster. -
North American Free Trade Agreement
The passage of NAFTA was a collaborativeagreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It was made to set clear rules about trade amongst these nations, aiming to stimulate growwth in all their economies. In 2008, this was accomplished, all tariff barriers had been eliminated. Additionally, all ecomomies were strengthened due to the increase in investments as well as the creation of jobs. -
O.J. Simpson Trial
Former football star O.J. Simpson was found "Not Guilty" by the jusry furing this trial in Oct. of 1995. He was not charged for the murder of his wife Nicole Simpson or her friend Ron Goldman by a jury verdict that took only four hours to be deliberated. The decision polarized the nation because even with DNA evidence left at the crime scene could not sway the jury. This trial lasted for 2 weeks. -
Olympic Park Bombing
During the Summer Olympic games, a terrorist 40lb bomb was detonated in Centennial Olymic Park in Atlanta, GA. 30 minutes prio to this, 911 operatives recieved a warning from the terrorist bomber and traced it to a payphone not too far from the site. Two lives were claimed, however, the park was reopened three days later.. Further investigation showed that the bomber was an American named Eric Rudolph who was later convicted for this crime. -
Murder of Matthew Shephard
Matthew Shephard was a 21 yr. old victim of a gay-hate crime, beaten to death and tied to a fence to die, in his hometown of Laramie, WY. Although he was found and rushed to the hospital 18hrs. later, he did not make it. Those responsible were also locals with a criminal history who were both charged for the murder. The two argued that it was not hate, but money, that motivated the attack. -
NATO Bombing in Yugoslavia
Tension between Serbians and Kosovar Albanians, who had come under the oppression of Serbian forces, prompted the Kosovo War in the late 1990s. Despite NATO's attempt to facilitate a ceasefire, fighting persisted. After the masacre of 45 Kosovar Serbians in early 1999, NATO decided to intervene by bombing serbian forces and buildings. Although the bombing was successful in withdrawing serbian forces from Kosovo, hundreds of civilians were harmed and buildings and infrastructure destroyed. -
Columbine Shooting
Two teens went on a mass shooting atr Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. That tragic day, they claimed the lives of 13 students and injured 20. After, the two gunmen commintted suicide leaving the nation to deal with one of the worst shootings in US history. They are thought to have acted out of resentment toward the school they percieved to have outcasted them.
