-
NRA
The National Rifle Association is a nonprofit organization that advocates for gun rights. -
Ethnic Cleansing
The mass expulsion or killing of members of an unwanted ethnic or religious group in a society. An example of this is the Holocaust. -
WMD's
WMD's are weapons of mass destruction that can cause mass casualties. The three types of WMD's are biological, chemical, and nuclear. First use of this term was in 1937 -
Sandinistas
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is socialist party in Nicaragua and its members are called sandinistas. Their leader is Daniel Ortega. -
PLO
The Palestine Liberation Organization was an organization that used arms and violence especially towards Israeli civilians. The founders are Arab League and Ahmad Shukeiri -
West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Palestinian territories and occupied Palestinian territories are terms often used to describe the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which are occupied or otherwise under the control of Israel. -
PACTO Strike
The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was a U.S. trade union that ended in 1981 following a strike that was illegal and broken by the Reagan Administration -
Nuclear Proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT. -
Yasser Arafat
Arafat was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization(1969-2004) and President of the Palestinian National Authority -
William Rehnquist
Rehnquist served on the Supreme Court for 33 years and was appointed by Nixon and Reagan. -
Walter Mondale
Mondale served as the 42nd vice president from 1977 to 1981 and he served under the Democratic party -
California v. Bakke
In this Supreme Court ruling it allowed for race to be a factor in the admission policy for colleges -
Moral Majority
This was an American political organization focused on Christian religion and the Republican Party. This was founded by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell and was dissolved in the 1980's -
Saddam Hussein
He was the president of Iraq and a leader in the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party -
Glastnost and Perestrokia
Glastnost was an openness policy established during Soviet leader Gorbachev's reign which helped turn an end to the Cold War. Perestrokia was a political movement for reformation inside the Communist party. -
Religious Fundamentalism
This is a belief of a group or individual who is in absolute authority of religious texts -
Ronald Reagan
Reagan was the 40th Republican president from 1981 to 1989 -
Supply-Side Economics
macroeconomic theory that says economic growth can be made by lowering taxes and decreasing regulation, consumers will benefit from a greater supply for goods and services at lower prices and employment will increase -
Trickle-Down Economics
an economic theory that reduces taxes on businesses and the wealthy to stimulate business investment short term and society long term -
Sandra Day O'Connor
She is the first woman to serve on court. She is a former associate justice of the supreme court of the united states -
Economic Recovery Tax Act
This law lowered income tax rates and allowed for expensing of decpreciable assests, this included several incentives for small businesses and saving -
Boland Amendment
This term is used for the three legislative amendments between 1982-1984 that all aimed at limiting US government to Contras in Nicaragua -
SDI
Strategic Defense Initiative was a missile defense system intended to protect the U.S. from attack by nuclear weapons -
Beirut Bombings
These were barrack bombings which were considered acts of terrorism during the Lebanese Civil War -
Internet
ARPANET adopted TCP/IP on January 1, 1983, and from there researchers began to assemble the “network of networks” that became the modern Internet. The online world then took on a more recognizable form in 1990, when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. -
Geraldine Ferraro
Ferraro was a Democratic politician who served in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female vice presidential candidate. -
Iran Contra Affair
This was a political scandal during the second term of the Reagan administration where seniors secretly sold arms to Iran -
Bob Dole
He represented Kansas in Congress(1961-1996) and was leader of the Republican Leader of the United States (1985-1996) -
Enron
This was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Texas. -
AIDS
An American scientist named Robert Gallo discovered the probable cause of AIDS. This retrovirus is transmitted through contact with infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluids. -
Immigration Act of 1986
Passed in 1986, it was an update of the 1965 Immigration Act and outlawed the hiring of undocumented immigrants, but offered legal status to aliens who had lived in the U.S. for five years. Debates over immigration policy persisted, however, as did efforts to tighten U.S. border controls. -
"Tear down this wall"
This is a famous line from a speech Reagan gave to Soviet leader Gorbachev to open the barrier of the Berlin Wall -
INF Agreement
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was made between the United States and the Soviet Union to end of their shorter range missiles -
"Read my lips, no new taxes"
This was a famous phrase given by George H.W. Bush at the Republican National Convention. -
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a militant Sunni islamist multi-national organization founded by Osama bin Laden and several other Arabs who fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980's. -
George H.W. Bush
He was the 41st President in the United States and the 43rd Vice President in the United States -
Tiananmen Square
Protesters located to Tiananmen Square to voice their opinions on China's communistic government. Chinese troops entered and fired on civilians. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Cold War began to thaw across Eastern Europe and the East Berlin's Communist Party declared that citizens are free to cross the borders. -
Panama Invasion
The U.S. invades Panama to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega who had drug trafficking charges and suppressed democracy. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
He was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union. He introduced the ideas of Glasnost and Perestrokia which helped bring an end to the cold war -
Lech Walesa
Walesa was the President of Poland starting in 1990. He headed Solidarity, the Soviet's first independent trade union, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. -
Persian Gulf War
Iraq President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait which violated the United Nations rules and when he refused to withdraw the Persian Gulf War began -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This is a civil rights law which prohibited discrimination based on disability -
Tea Party
This is an American conservative movement within the Republican Party. Members called for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit and lower taxes. -
Breakup of the Soviet Union
The Soviet's hammer and sickle flag was lowered and the tricolored Russian flag was put up. Gorbachev resigned as Soviet leader and Yeltsin became president of Russia. -
Boris Yeltsin
He was the first president of the Russian Federation -
Start I and II
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed between the United States and USSR to reduce and limit strategic offensive arms. -
Clarence Thomas
Thomas replaced Thurgood Marshall during Bush's presidency. He is currently an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He is currently being considered for impeachment due to sexual harassment accusations and lying to enter Supreme Court -
Bosnia and Kosovo
Both Bosnia and Kosovo were art of Yugoslavia but began to break up in 1991 by nuclear armed wars. -
Ross Perot
Perot formed his own company called the Electric Data Systems which made him a billionaire. In 1992 he ran as an independent candidate for presidency and won 19% of the popular vote. -
Bill Clinton
He was the 42nd president of the United States and his vice president was Al Gore -
Brady Bill
In response to being shot during Reagan's attempted assassination James Brady proposed the Brady Bill which requires a waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks. -
EU
The European Union was founded in 1993 and its HQ is in Belgium. It is a political and economic union made up of 28 members located in Europe. -
Al Gore
45th Vice President of the United States who was also an environmentalist. -
Hillary Clinton
Clinton was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was also elected in the U.S. senate in 2001, the first lady to ever win a public office seat, and she also became the 67th US secretary of state in 2009. -
Failure of Health Reform (1990's)
High health care costs and the growth of the uninsured population made the public anger so in response the Clinton administration in 1993 tried to pass the Clinton Health Security Act but unfortunately it wasn't passed due to it's attempts at universal coverage -
"Don't ask, don't tell"
DADT was a policy in the military for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. This was created during the Clinton administration. -
NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement allowed Canada, Mexico, and the United States which created trilateral trade -
Taliban
Taliban is a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan. Taliban in Afghanistan was accused of providing sanctuary for bin Laden before his death. -
Newt Gingrich
He is the former 50th Speaker of the House of Representatives -
Oklahoma City Bombing
This was terrorist truck bombing on the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. -
WTO
The World Trade Organization was founded in 1995. This intergovernmental organization regulates international trade. -
Welfare Reform
After two reform bills were vetoed by Clinton, Gingrich and his followers pushed for the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a bill that aimed at substantially reconstructing the welfare system. -
Contract with America
This is document released by the Republican Party during the 1994 election -
Madeleine Albright
She is the first woman to become the United States Secretary of State and served under Clinton -
G-8
G8 was an inter-governmental political forum from 1997 to 2014 with major industrialized countries in the world that viewed themselves as democracies. -
Clinton Impeachment
The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. -
Bush v. Gore
This was decision held by the Supreme Court which settled to recount a dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election -
Deficit Reduction Budget
This refers to taxation, spending, and economic policy debates and proposals designed to reduce the Federal budget deficit. -
George W. Bush
He was the 43rd President of the United States(2001-2009) and the 46th Governor of Texas(1995-2000) -
9/11
9/11 was a series of terrorist attacks by the Islamic group Al-Qaeda -
Bush Tax Cuts
This refers to changes in the tax codes passed during the presidency of George H. W. Bush and through Barack Obama through the Economic Growth and Tex Relief Reconciliation Act 2001 -
No Child Left Behind
Most recent update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 -
Homeland Security
This is a cabinet department of the United States government which is responsible for public security. Founder is George W. Bush. -
"Axis of Evil"
This phrase was first used in George W. Bush's State of the Union address which represented the governments that his administration accused of sponsoring terrorism and seeking arms of mass destruction. -
Operation Iraqi Freedom
The Iraq War was an arms conflict that began when the United States invaded Iraq. The United States planned to overthrow Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. -
Abu Ghraib Prison
Now known as The Baghdad Central Prison, this was a prison complex in Abu Ghraib. Prisoners held in this prison were violated physically and sexually through torture, rape, and murder. -
Hurricane Katrina
Katrina was a deadly category 5 hurricane that caused damage to the Gulf from Florida to Texas. Many were angry with Bush for the way he handled the damage and poverty that resulted from Katrina. -
Kyoto Accord
This is an international treaty which extends the UNFCCC which makes parties involved to reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to scientific discovery on its negative effects. There are currently 192 parties involved -
Housing Bubble
The Housing Bubble was a real estate bubble affecting the United States. Housing prices peaked due to demand and limited supply -
Great Recession
This was a period of general economic decline in world markets during the late 2000's and early 2010's. Major causes include international trade imbalances and lax lending standards. -
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
These are both government sponsored enterprises of GSE's which means they are privately owned with support from the federal government. GSE's provide a secondary market for mortgages. Frannie Mae buys mortgage loans from commercial banks and Freddie Mac buys from smaller banks. -
John MaCain
McCain served as the Republican nominee for President in the 2008 election and lost against Obama -
Sarah Palin
She served as the 6th governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. She was also running as vice president under John McCain in the 2008 election. -
D.C. v. Heller
In this Supreme Court case the second amendment was protected and allowed an individual to possess a firearm. -
Barack Obama
Obama served as the 44th president of the United States and the first African American to become president. -
Sonia Stotomayor
She is the first justice of Hispanic descent and the first Latina. She's been serving since 2009 as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. -
Dodd-Frank Act
This law places more regulation on the financial industry in the hands of the government. -
Affordable Care Act
The three primary goals of this act which are to make affordable health insurance available to more people, expand the medicare program to more adults under the income poverty level, and to support innovative medical care. -
Arab Spring
This was a revolutionary wave of violent and non-violent demonstrations, protests, riots, and civil wars. The main cause of this revolution was a man who set himself on fire when he was denied from selling fruit to make a living. -
Citizens United
This supreme court case dealt with the regulation of political campaign spending by organizations. This case ruled out that political spending is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment and that the government may not keep corporations and unions from spending money to support elections. -
Osama bin Laden
He is the founder of the Al-Qaeda, the organization responsible for 9/11 and other mass casualty attacks worldwide. He was killed in 2011. -
Syrian Civil War
This is an ongoing multi-sided conflict mainly between forces of the Ba'ath government and forces who want to remove it. -
Debt Ceiling
The Republicans in Congress wanted to raise the debt ceiling by deficit reduction, but it resulted in a fall of the federal government's credit rating. -
Mitt Romney
Romney served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003-2007. He was also the Republican party's nominee for President in the 2012 election. -
John Kerry
Kerry served as the 68th United States Secretary of State(2013-2017). He ran for president in the 2004 election but lost to George W. Bush. He judged Bush for the Iraq War and had ties to the Iran-Contra hearings. -
Boston Marathon Bombing
Two homemade bombs were detonated near the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon resulting in three deaths and many injured. The motive was due to Islamic extremism -
Shelby County v. Holder
This court case was over the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In this case the decision struck down the preclearance section calling it unconstitutional. -
Same-Sex Marriage
Same sex marriage was official in all 50 states in 2015. President Obama had varied views on same-sex marriage throughout his presidency but he is the first president to agree with same-sex marriage
