-
Air-Traffic Controllers Strike
Almost 13,000 of 17,500 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike, hoping to gain higher wages, a shorter work week, and a better retirement plan. -
Equal Access Act
A federal law passed to compel federally funded secondary schools to provide equal access to extracurricular clubs. -
Iran-Contra Scandal
During the Reagan Administration, senior officials secretly sold weapons to Iran. They hoped this would make them let go of the American hostages. -
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act
This law provided for automatic spending cuts to take effect if the president and Congress failed to reach the established targets. It failed at getting reduced deficits and was revised in 1987 because it seemed unconstitutional. -
Westside Community School District v. Mergens
This was a case involving a school district's ability to hold classes on Bible study after school. The descision was that the club could hold their meetings, but their sponsor could not be paid. -
Reno v. ACLU
This was a case that all nine Supreme Court Justices voted to strike down anti-indecency provisions of the Communications Decency Act. Only two judges concurred. This was the first big Supreme Court ruling regarding the regulations of materials distributed via internet. -
Bush v. Gore
Supreme Court decision that effectively resolved the presidential election of 2000 in favor of George W. Bush. -
Mitchell v. Helms
This was a decision by the Supreme Court that ruled it was permissable for loans to be made to religious schools.