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Eyewitness to History
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Saturday Night Massacre
What Happened- President Nixon dismissed special prosecutor Cox and Attorney Generals Richardson and Ruckelshaus resigned. Importance- This made the citizens irritated by Nixon, which then made him more likely to turn over the tapes he had, the evidence that proves that he was guilty. -
Watergate Breaks Open
What Happened- On this date guilty members of the Watergate scandal resigned from office. Importance- This showed America that the people they had running the country were guilty and it showed that Nixon was guilty also, so they didn't trust him or want him to be their president anymore. -
Nixon Resigns
What Happened- President Richard Nixon resigned from President of the United States. Importance- Americans were happy that he was gone. Gerald Ford then took office as president. -
Saigon Falls
What Happened- North Vietnam captured Saigon, therefore ending the Vietnam War. The U.S. soldiers started to be evacuated by helicopters because of Operation Frequent Wind. Importance- The U.S. was done fighting and the soldiers could come back home. -
Carter Elected President
What Happened- Carter beat out Ford and was elected president. Importance- Carter was the leader of the U.S. for 4 years. He thought that human rights were very important, and he did a lot for the country. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
What Happened- After being held hostage for 444 days to promote the Iranian Revolution, 66 Americans were finally let go. Importance- This ended the tension between the Iranians and the U.S. It also made more economic negotiations between the two countries happen. -
Challenger
What Happened- The space shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after its launch and killed the 7 people on board. Importance- The Space Shuttle group couldn't launch for 3 years. More safety measures were added before there could be a launch. -
INF Treaty
What Happened- The U.S. and Soviet Union signed a treaty to get rid of Intermediate-Range nuclear weapons. Importance- This got rid of the nuclear weapons that could have done a lot of damage to the opposite country. -
Tiananmen Square
What Happened- Students had a sit-in and hunger strike in and near Tiananmen Square. They were trying to social equality, freedom of speech, and other stuff. Importance- This led to other protests around the country. The protestors eventually started to be arrested, but that wasn't before they has made their point. -
Berlin Wall
What Happened- East Germany finally announced that the people of East Germany could visit West Germany. The wall that separated them was then useless so it was taken down. Importance- This was a major step in Germany coming back together again. -
AIDS
What Happened- On this day Magic Johnson held a press conference in which he announced that he had AIDS. Importance- He played a big role in showing people that anyone can get AIDS and live through it. He informed many people about the disease and made people with AIDS not seem so different. -
Rodney King Riots
What Happened- After Rodney King had been beaten by cops, the cops went to trial. At first they weren't found guilty, which then sparked the riots to happen. After the riots, 2 officers were found guilty and sent to prison. Importance- The case caused many riots to start in several different cities. This also showed that there was still racism happening in the country. -
Oklahoma City Bombing
What Happened- American terrorists set off a bomb in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion killed 168 people. Importance- This was the most destructive act of terrorism in the U.S. until 9/11. The U.S. made more restrictions on terrorism. -
Clinton Impeachment
What Happened- President Clinton was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice and then impeached by the Senate based on those means. Importance- It got rid of him as president, so the US could have a better one. -
9/11
What Happened- People from al-Qaeda hijacked planes. Two of the planes crashed into the twin tours and deystroyed them. Another plane attacked the pentagon, and the last plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Importance- This event made the U.S. more worried about terrorists and many people were killed on this day.
