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Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was an African American slave who was taken by his master from Missouri to Illinois. He had lived on free soil for a long period of time in his life. The army had told Scott's master to back to Missouri, and he took Scott with him but he died. Scott was helped by anti- slavery lawyers to sue for his freedom in court, and claimed he should be free because he lived on free soil for a long period of time. In 1857,he lost the case; the Supreme Court decided no slave could be a US citizen. -
Lincoln Assassination
On April 15, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in the back of his head at a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Lincoln's body was boarded to Springfield, Illinois, where he had lived before becoming president. About ten thousands of Americans lined the railroad route and paid their respects to their leader. -
Social Security
The Social Security Act was signed by FDR on 8/14/35. Taxes was collectedfor the first time in January during the year 1937. This term was first used in the US by a man named Abraham Epstein. The original name of this act was called the Economic Security Act. -
Brown v. BOE
This lawsuit started in 1951, when Linda, an African American third grader wanted to attend the local "white schools" in the summer of 1950. Her dad Oliver Brown, and 13 other parents tried to enroll them but were turned down because they were African American. Oliver Brown filed a suit against the Topeka Board of Education and lost this case. He decided to go to the NAACP, who decided to take this case to the Supreme Court. After 3 years, it ended with the court in favor or Linda Brown. -
Gideon v. Wainwright
Larence Earl Gideon was charged with breaking and entering a poolroom. Since he had no funds, Gideon requested that a counsel be appointed for him; the Florida trial court refused and Gideon regulated his own defense. This case resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that the Constitution requires the states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants charged with serious offenses who cannot afford lawyers themselves. -
Medicare
It was created in 1965, and guaranteed access to health insurance for Americans ages 65 and older and younger people. It spreads the financial risk associated with illness across society to protect everyone. -
Watergate Affair
This happend early morning of June 17, 1972, when several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), located in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. These burglars were related to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign scandal, and they had been caught while trying to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. -
Reagan's "Tear Down this Wall" Speech
Reagan told Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall in a speech he made in front of the Brandenburg Gate. About 45,000 people attended -
9/11/01
World Trade Center19 militants from the al- Qaeda hijacked four airlines, and 2 of them were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The third one hit the Pentagon outside Washington D.C, and the fourth one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Over 3000 people were killed,which included more than 400 police officers and firefighters. -
Health and Affordability Act
The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and then signed into law by the President on March 23, 2010. The Affordable Care Act puts individuals, families and small business owners in control of their health care. It also reduces premium costs for millions of working families by providing hundreds of billions of dollars in tax relief.
