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NRA
National Rifle Association formed to advocate for gun rights -
Ethnic Cleansing
"The mass expulsion or killing of members of an unwanted ethnic or religious group in a society." -- Bosnia, Holocaust, Rwanda, Myanmar, etc -
WMDs
weapons of mass destruction (three types: biological, chemical, nuclear), term coined in 1937 -
PLO
political and paramilitary organization in favor of Palestine being a free state -
West Bank and Gaza Strip
Palestinian territories occupied by Israel -
Nuclear Proliferation
spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" -
Yasser Arafat
chairman of PLO -
William Rehnquist
American lawyer, jurist, and political figure, served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and as the 16th Chief Justice -
California v Bakke
use of racial quotas in college admission unconstitutional, but affirmative action constitutional -
Sandinistas
leftist coalition that overthrew Nicaraguan dictatorship under Anastasia Somoza, US financed armed Contra opposition, Sandinistas lost 1990 elections -
Moral Majority
political group founded to promote religious and conservative agenda -
Saddam Hussein
President of Iraq, hung in 2006, started Iran-Iraq war -
Religious Fundamentalism
group believes themselves to be "absolute authority" on religious texts -
Ronald Reagan
Reagan elected president -
Supply Side Economics
Economic growth from lowering taxes and deregulation -
Trickle-Down Economics
benefits of the wealthy "trickle down" to others -
Economic Recovery Tax Act
lowered income tax rates and allowed for expending of assets -
Sandra Day O'Connor
first woman to serve on supreme court -
PATCO Strike
Profession Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike, strike declared illegal and striking workers banned from being rehired by FAA -
Boland Amendment
limited US gov't activity and assistance in Nicaragua -
SDI
Strategic Defense Initiative, aka "Star Wars," called for a land- or space-based shield against nuclear attack -
Beirut Bombings
US marines bombed in Lebanon while on a peacekeeping mission -
Internet
ARPANET adopted TCP/IP in 1983, and from there researchers began to assemble the “network of networks” that became the modern Internet. -
Geraldine Ferraro
first woman to appear on major-party presidential ticket running as VP to Walter Mondale -
Walter Mondale
Carter's VP, ran for president but defeated by Reagan -
Gorbachev
Soviet leader committed to reforming the USSR -
Glasnost & Perestroika
openness and restructuring, Gorbachev's reform policies for USSR -
Bob Dole
Kansas Congressman, leader of Republican party 85-96 -
Iran-Contra Affair
secret US arms deal that funded conflict in Central America -
AIDS
deadly outbreak of virus originally only thought to affect gay men, but later found to be prevalent in hemophiliacs, drug users, and other groups -
Immigration Act of 1986
criminalized hiring of "unauthorized aliens" -
"Tear Down This Wall"
Reagan speech at the Berlin wall asking Gorbachev to end the separation of the two Germanies -
INF Agreement
US and the USSR agreed to eliminate their nuclear and conventional ballistic and cruise missiles -
Al-Qaeda
militant Sunni Islamic organization founded by Osama Bin Laden and others that fought against Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 80s -
"Read my lips, no new taxes!"
quote from G HW Bush's speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention -
George H.W. Bush
41st president, republican -
Tiananmen Square
Chinese military fired on protesting civilians -
Panama Invasion
attempt to overthrow Miguel Noriega, dictator accused of drug trafficking and suppressing democracy -
Fall of Berlin Wall
East Berlin's Communist Party declared that citizens were free to cross the borders. -
Tea Party
American conservative movement within the Republican Party. Members called for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit and lower taxes. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
civil rights law, prohibited discrimination based on disability -
Lech Walesa
President of Poland starting in 1990, headed Solidarity, the Soviet's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. -
Persian Gulf War
Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait which violated the United Nations rules, refused to withdraw and the Persian Gulf War began -
Bosnia and Kosovo
Bosnia and Kosovo were part of Yugoslavia, began to break up in 1991 by nuclear armed wars. -
START 1 & 2
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed by United States and USSR to limit strategic offensive arms. -
Breakup of Soviet Union
Gorbachev resigned as Soviet leader and Yeltsin became president of Russia. -
Clarence Thomas
Thomas replaced Thurgood Marshall during Bush's presidency and is currently an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Currently being considered for impeachment due to sexual harassment accusations and lying to enter Supreme Court -
Boris Yeltsin
1st president of Russian Federation -
Ross Perot
self-made billionaire, ran for president 1992 as an independent candidate -
Brady Bill
placed restrictions on purchase of guns -
Bill Clinton
42nd president, vice president was Al Gore -
Failure of Health Reform
High health care costs and the growth of the uninsured population upset the public so the Clinton administration tried to pass the Clinton Health Security Act but was unable to due to its attempts at universal coverage -
Hillary Clinton
First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was also elected in the U.S. senate in 2001, the first woman to ever win a public office seat, and became the 67th US secretary of state in 2009. -
Al Gore
45th Vice President, also an environmentalist. -
NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement allowed Canada, Mexico, and the United States to trade with each other trilaterally -
"Don't ask, don't tell."
DADT - Clinton administration military policy aimed at the L, G, and B of LGBT. -
Taliban
a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan accused of providing sanctuary for bin Laden before his death. -
WTO
World Trade Organization was founded in 1995 to regulate international trade. -
Newt Gingrich
50th Speaker of the House of Representatives -
Oklahoma City Bombing
truck bombing in downtown Oklahoma city, killed 168 -
Welfare Reform
two reform bills were vetoed by Clinton, so Gingrich and his followers pushed for the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, aimed at substantially reconstructing the welfare system. -
Contract with America
proposal presented by republican party in 1997 -
Madeleine Albright
first woman to become the United States Secretary of State and served under Clinton -
G-8
inter-governmental political forum from 1997 to 2014 with major industrialized countries in the world that viewed themselves as democracies. -
Clinton Impeachment
Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. -
Deficit Reduction Budget
taxation, spending, and economic policy debates and proposals designed to reduce the Federal budget deficit. -
Bush v Gore
decision held by the Supreme Court which settled to recount a dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election -
9/11
militant saudi-arabian radicals hijacked passenger planes and flew two into the world trade center, one into the pentagon, and inteded to fly one to either White House or Capitol Building, but last plane crashed in PA due to passengers retaking it -
Bush Tax Cuts
changes in the tax codes passed through the Economic Growth and Tex Relief Reconciliation Act 2001 -
George W. Bush
43rd President of the United States(2001-2009) and the 46th Governor of Texas(1995-2000) -
Enron
energy company that sold electricity to governments for unfair prices, did a lot of damage to the stock market. -
Homeland Security
George W. Bush founded HS to protect public security after 9/11 -
"Axis of Evil"
represented the governments that his administration accused of sponsoring terrorism and seeking arms of mass destruction. -
No Child Left Behind
Most recent update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 -
Operation Iraqi Freedom
USA planned to overthrow Saddam Hussein, hence "Iraqi freedom" -
Abu Ghraib Prison
Now The Baghdad Central Prison, prisoners held here were violated physically and sexually through torture, rape, and murder. -
John Kerry
Massachusetts senator (democrat) who ran against George W Bush for nomination, lost. -
Kyoto Accord
makes parties involved reduce greenhouse gas emissions, currently 192 countries involved -
Hurricane Katrina
category 5 hurricane that caused damage to the Gulf from Florida to Texas, many angry w Bush for how he handled it -
DC v Heller
Supreme Court case -- the second amendment was protected and allowed an individual to possess a firearm. -
John McCain
Republican nominee for President in the 2008 election and lost against Obama -
Sarah Palin
6th governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009, ran as vice president under John McCain in the 2008 election. -
Sonia Sotomayor
first justice of Hispanic descent and the first Latina, she's been serving since 2009 as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court -
Barack Obama
44th president of the United States and the first African American to become president. -
Affordable Care Act
three primary goals: 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. -
Citizens United
supreme court case - dealt with the regulation of political campaign spending by organizations, 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. -
Arab Spring
revolutionary wave of violent and non-violent demonstrations, protests, riots, and civil wars. main cause: a man who set himself on fire when he was denied from selling fruit to make a living. -
Dodd-Frank Act
places more regulation on the financial industry -
Syrian Civil War
between forces of the Ba'ath government and forces who want to remove it. -
Osama Bin Laden
founder of Al-Qaeda, killed in 2011. -
Debt Ceiling
Republicans in Congress wanted to raise the debt ceiling by deficit reduction, resulted in a fall of the government's credit rating. -
Mitt Romney
70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003-2007, the Republican party's nominee for President in the 2012 election. -
Shelby County v Holder
court case ]over the Voting Rights Act of 1965, struck down the preclearance section calling it unconstitutional. -
Boston Marathon Bombing
Two homemade bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon resulting in three deaths and numerous injured, motive due to religious extremeism -
Same-Sex Marriage
same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states (thanks, Obama! :D)
