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Dred Scott Decesion
Dred Scott was born a slave in Virginia, and in 1820 was taken by his owner to Missouri. It was in Fort Snelling that Scott was legally married to Harriet Robinson. Scott attempted to buy his freedom for himself and his family, but was unsuccessful. He tried to sue for his freedom in 1847, but was denied because he could not provide a witness. Then in 1853 he tried to sue for his freedom again in federal court, and the court decided that slaves were not people and that Scott was property. -
Lincoln Assassination
The 16th president of the United States was assasinated on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. The President was watching 'Our American Cousin' when Booth slipped up into the president's box and shot him in the back of the head with a .44 caliber derringer. Booth then proceed to jump on the balcony, breaking his leg in the process and made his escape on horseback. Lincoln died during that night, and Booth was later captured and killed by Union troops. -
Social Security
Throughout a worker's career, the Social Security Administration keeps track of his or her earnings. The amount of the monthly benefit a worker gets depends upon their earnings record and the age at which the retiree chooses to begin receiving benefits. -
McCarthy Hearings
The McCarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations between April 1954 and June 1954. The hearings were held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy. The Army accused chief committee counsel Roy Cohn of pressuring the Army to give preferential treatment to G. David Schine, who was a former McCarthy aide and a friend of Cohn's. -
Brown vs. BOE
Brown vs BOE was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the court declared state laws that separate public schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which allowed state-sponsored segregation. -
Medicare
Medicare is a national social insurance program, created by the U.S. federal government in 1965. It guarantees access to health insurance for Americans of 65 years and older and younger people with disabilities as well as people with terminal diseases. -
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes. People served by Medicaid are legal US citizens. It including low income adults, their children, and people with certain disabilities. Poverty does not necessarily qualify someone for Medicaid. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health related service for people with limited income in the United States. -
Watergate Affair
The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the DNC headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, which was a fundraising group for the Nixon campaign. Nixon laster resigned as president of the United States for fear of being impeached and due to substantial evidence against him. -
Clinton Impeachment
Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice, on December 19, 1998. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of power, failed in the House. The charges arose from the Lewinsky scandal and the Paula Jones lawsuit. Clinton was not convicted at his impeachment trial as President of the United States, he was aquitted by the Senate. -
9/11/01
102 Minutes that Changed America On September 11, 2001 there were a series of 4 terrorists attacks on the United States of America. The World Trade Center in New was hit, and the buildings eventually collapsed. In Washington D.C. the Pentagon was struck by a plane killing 55 military personnel. Altogether these attacks took the lives of over 2,500 people and to this day is the largest terrorist attack on American soil.