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G.I. Bill
The G.I. Bill provided many benefits to veterans of World War II. It established veterans’ hospitals, provided for vocational rehabilitation, made low-interest mortgages available, and granted stipends covering tuition and living expenses for veterans attending college or trade schools. -
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Cold War
The Cold War was a time of tension between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or the Soviet Union and the United States, and their respective ideologies. It followed the Second World War and persisted from roughly 1945-1991. -
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The 1950s
During the 1950s, it was easy to see what Churchill meant. The United States was the world’s strongest military power. Its economy was booming, and the fruits of this prosperity–new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods–were available to more people than ever before. -
Little Boy
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped its first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The bomb was known as "Little Boy", a uranium gun-type bomb that exploded with about thirteen kilotons of force. At the time of the bombing, Hiroshima was home to 280,000-290,000 civilians as well as 43,000 soldiers. -
The Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the name for the edge/border dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. A term showing (by using a physical object to represent an idea or emotion) the efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West and non-Soviet-controlled areas. -
Second Red Scare
The Second Red Scare was a fear-driven phenomenon brought on by the growing power of communist countries in the wake of the Second World War, particularly the Soviet Union. Many feared in the United States that a communist revolution could take place in America. A massive witch hunt to root out communist sympathizers ensued. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a de facto declaration of the Cold War. Truman’s address outlined the broad parameters of U.S. Cold War foreign policy. The Soviet Union was the center of all communist activity and movements throughout the world. Communism could attack through outside invasion or internal subversion, and the United States needed to provide military and economic assistance to protect nations from communist aggression. -
The Marshall Plan
The plan promoted European economic integration and federalism, and created a mixture of public organization of the private economy similar to that in the domestic economy of the United States. This reorganization of the European economy provided a more congenial environment for American investment. -
Berlin Airlift
The crisis started on June 24, 1948, when Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. The crisis ended on May 12, 1949, when Soviet forces lifted the blockade on land access to western Berlin. -
Fair Deal
The Fair Deal was President Henry Truman's plan in addition to the New Deal. All Americans have health insurance, that the minimum wage (the lowest amount of money per hour that someone can be paid) be increased, and that, by law, all Americans be guaranteed equal rights. -
Domino Theory
The Domino Theory began in the 1950s that later lead to the involvement of the Vietnam war. The theory stated that if one country was taken over under communism than all the surrounding countries will fall into communism making it a domino effect. -
Rock 'n' Roll
Rock 'n' Roll was part of African-American rhythm and blues that was typically associated with words and dance moves that relate to sexual intercourse. Rock and Roll was a time that really brought out the rebellious side of teens to parents since they had more leisure time and money from after-school jobs. -
Ike Turner
American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. An early pioneer of 1950's rock and roll, he is most popularly known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his then-wife Tina Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. -
Beat Generation
The Beat Generation is a literary movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. Beats valued individual freedom and pleasure, that later laid some of the foundation for all the war protests later in the 1960s. -
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Civil Rights
The Civil Rights Movement of the United States began as a challenge to segregation, which was the legal separation of whites and blacks. Segregation began as a method to control blacks because slavery was no longer permitted or accepted in the United States. -
Elvis
Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer, musician, and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King". -
Television
During the 1950s, television gradually became increasingly popular and prominent in the American pop-culture. TV's were a form of entertainment for Americans across the country. -
Little Richard
He has called himself “The Architect of Rock and Roll”—a title he has every right to claim by force of both his music, which played a critical role in moving early rock and roll toward its now-familiar sound, and his personality, which helped create our basic expectations of rock-and-roll performers and performances. Little Richard walked into a New Orleans recording studio and gave birth to a record called “Tutti Frutti.” Which is his main record. -
Polio Vaccine
An American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a national radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. In 1952–an epidemic year for polio–there were 58,000 new cases reported in the United States, and more than 3,000 died from the disease. -
The Space Race
Once the cold war began it created an issue between The United States and The Soviet Union. Although the conflict wasn't just on land space also became another area of competition. They both wanted to prove their dominance in technology and military firepower. U.S. launched its own satellite, Explorer I, designed by the U.S. Army under the direction of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. -
Hippies
A member of a liberal counterculture, originally a youth movement that started in the United States and the United Kingdom during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. Hippies created their own communities, listened to psychedelic music, embraced the sexual revolution, and used drugs such as marijuana, LSD, peyote and psilocybin mushrooms to explore altered states of consciousness. -
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The 1960s
At the beginning of the 1960s, many Americans believed they were standing at the dawn of a golden age. -
Sit-Ins
One of the first sit-ins was in Greensboro, North Carolina. This movement began in school and slowly integrated into public places. Protesters went into restaurants and sat in the white only section and sat in their seats until they were fed, an act of civil disobedience. Although it got violent after whites threw protestors off their seats and beat them, and no one was allowed to fight back. -
Politics (Nixon, Kennedy)
In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debates in American history. A form of political strategy for politicians, such as John F. Kennedy during the Kennedy-Nixon debate using his looks. -
Peace Corps
A federal agency created by President Kennedy in 1961 to promote voluntary service by Americans in foreign countries. The Peace Corps provides labor power to help developing countries improve their infrastructure, health care, educational systems, and other aspects of their societies. Part of Kennedy's New Frontier vision, the organization represented an effort by postwar liberals to promote American values and influence through productive exchanges across the world. -
Freedom Rides
A group of 13 African-American and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Rides, a series of bus trips through the American South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. The Freedom Riders, who were recruited by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a U.S. civil rights group, departed from Washington, D.C., and attempted to integrate facilities at bus terminals along the way into the Deep South. -
New Frontier
The campaign program advocated by JFK in the 1960 election. He promised to revitalize the stagnant economy and enact reform legislation in education, health care, and civil rights. -
“I Have a Dream Speech”
A public speech delivered by Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the march on Washington for jobs and freedom. He wanted to put an end to racism in the United States and also called for civil and economic rights. His main purpose of his speech is to remind America of the struggles of the Blacks in America and to demand equality. -
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was an American politician and businessman who was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1964 election. But Goldwater loses the election to LBJ. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy took multiple shots to the neck and a fatal shot to the side of the head as he rode down Elm Street through Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, an ex-marine with communist sympathies, from the 6th floor of a book depository. But there are theories behind this assassination because it looks like he got shot from behind but also in the front. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
On November 22, President Kennedy was fatally shot while riding in an open-car motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas. Then later after the shooting, a police officer was questioning Lee Harvey Oswald so then the policeman was killed. Thirty minutes after that, he was arrested in a movie theater by police. Oswald was formally arraigned on November 23 for the murders of President Kennedy and Officer J.D. Tippit. -
The Warren Commission
The Warren Commission was set up by President Johnson to investigate the assassination of JFK. Many who were part of it were enemies to Kennedy and came to a conclusion that Oswald acted alone in the crime. Although there are still many theories that people have. -
Great Society
A revision and addition to the New Deal proposed by Lyndon B. Johnson that promised a higher focus on education, good standards of living, and beautification. Its main goal was to eleminate poverty and stop racism. -
Daisy Girl Ad
"Daisy", sometimes known as "Daisy Girl" or "Peace, Little Girl", was a controversial political advertisement aired on television during the 1964 United States presidential election by incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign. This formed an unstated message a vote for Goldwater meant everyone dies along with the daisy girl. This ad gave us victory over Barry Goldwater and made an important turning point in both politics and advertising. -
Selma March
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile highway from Selma, Alabama to the state capital of Montgomery. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment (1870) to the Constitution of the United States. -
Watts Riots
The Watts riot was the worst urban riot in 20 years. A riot soon began, spurred on by residents of Watts who were embittered after years of economic and political isolation. The rioters eventually ranged over a 50-square-mile area of South Central Los Angeles, looting stores, torching buildings, and beating whites as snipers fired at police and firefighters. -
Black Panther Party
The Black Panthers Party was a para military organization that dressed in black commando attire. It was originally founded in Oakland, California and were armed in self defense of black people. Many whites feared the Black Panthers because of their military style that was unusual to the civil rights movement. The Black Panther leader, Huey Newton was later jailed for manslaughter, killing a cop. By the time he got out of jail the Black Panthers had destroyed themselves. -
Death of MLK
In early April 1968, shock waves reverberated around the world with the news that U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated. Has fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead that evening. He was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was known for his use of nonviolence and civil disobedience. -
Cesar Chavez
Mexican-American Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) was a prominent union leader and labor organizer. Hardened by his early experience as a migrant worker, Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. His union joined with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee in its first strike against grape growers in California, and the two organizations later merged to become the United Farm Workers. -
LSD
Synthesized by Albert Hoffman in 1938 and promoted by psychologist Timothy Leary during the 1960s, LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, was a psychedelic drug used by hippies and young rebels during the Counterculture movement in order to highlight their perception of the purpose of life and escape the issues of society. Consumption of LSD could cause death or really bad trips. -
Nixon's Presidency
Richard Nixon. the 37th U.S. president is best remembered as the only president ever to resign from office. Nixon stepped down in 1974, halfway through his second term, rather than face impeachment over his efforts to cover up illegal activities by members of his administration in the Watergate scandal. -
Stonewall Riot
Although the police were legally justified in raiding the club, which was serving liquor without a license among other violations, New York’s gay community had grown weary of the police department targeting gay clubs. The crowd on the street watched quietly as Stonewall’s employees were arrested, but when three drag queens and a lesbian were forced into the paddy wagon, the crowd began throwing bottles at the police, because of this LGBT rights were brought to light. -
Apollo 11
Space flight that landed the first two men on the moon. This marked a huge win for the U.S in the Space race against the Soviets. This event was broad casted on TV and a total of 600 million people watched as a new frontier was being crossed for mankind. -
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The 1970s
The 1970s, pronounced "the Nineteen Seventies", was the decade that started on January 1, 1970, and ended on December 31, 1979. In the Western world, social progressive values that began in the 1960s, such as increasing political awareness and political and economic liberty of women, continued to grow. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender; it seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. -
Watergate
The Watergate scandal is what took Nixon down. Watergate was a hotel where a break-in had occurred in 1972. 5 of Nixon's "plumbers" were sent in and stole campaign information by fixing a broken wiretap. The "plumbers" were caught by security and were arrested. During the election of 1972l, Nixon distanced himself from the scandal and still crushed McGovern. During the trial of the "plumbers", it came out that they were paid to keep quiet and led to Nixon's resignation. -
Title IX
"No person in the US shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." The law was signed during 1972 as a part of the Education Act. Because of Title IX, more teams and sports were made for female athletes. Title IX demonstrated that laws could be challenged and still receives a lot of backlash. -
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. -
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is an act that provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range, and the conservation of the ecosystems in which they depend on. -
Stagflation
The U.S. was suffering from 5.3% inflation and 6% unemployment. Refers to the unusual economic situation in which an economy is suffering both from inflation and from stagnation of its industrial growth. -
Beginnings of the Personal Computer
Doesn't begin with IBM or Microsoft, although Microsoft was an early participant in the fledgling PC industry. The first personal computers, came as kits: The MITS Altair 8800, followed by the IMSAI 8080, an Altair clone. -
Panama Canal
The U.S still controlled the Panama Canal, but some of their biggest ships and subs couldn’t fit in Canal. So on September 7, 1977, they signed a treaty to give the Panama Canal back to Panama and the handover was completed in 2000. -
The Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was a prominent American political organization associated with the Christian right and Republican Party. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell and associates, and dissolved in the late 1980s. -
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The 1980s
The populist conservative movement known as the New Right enjoyed unprecedented growth in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It appealed to a diverse assortment of Americans, including evangelical Christians; anti-tax crusaders; advocates of deregulation and smaller markets; advocates of a more powerful American presence abroad; disaffected white liberals; and defenders of an unrestricted free market. -
Rap Music
The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles. Prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined to the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to music scenes in dozens of countries, many of which mixed hip-hop with local styles to create new subgenres. Although Rock was a top genre Rap came to the top slowly. -
Video Head System
VHS tapes were invented in the 70s but during the 80s they reached their peak in popularity. During the 80s there was video format wars going on. Two of the formats, VHS and Betamax, received some of the most exposure. VHS won eventually and took 60% of the North American market, trumping over Betamax. VHS became known as one of the home video format dominating the whole VHS time period of popularity. Although they aren't used anymore it lead it's way through home entertainment. -
Ronald Reagon
He believed in tax cuts and less government spending; cut out many welfares and public works programs; used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict; His meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the Cold War; responsible for the Iran-contra Affair which brought hostages with guns. -
A.I.D.S. Crisis
The A.I.D.S. Crisis broke out among mainly homosexual mean and was perceived as nothing less. People began resenting homosexual people thinking that just being around them would cause it to be spread. They said the homosexual population was getting what they deserved and 32,000 people died in the span of seven years. A.I.D.S. started spreading after people started having relations with bisexual partners. -
Music Television (MTV)
On Saturday, August 1, 1981, at 12:01 am Eastern Time, MTV launched with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll," spoken by John Lack and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia and of the launch of Apollo 11. -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) “Star Wars”
The Reagan administration increased spending on the Strategic Defense Initiative, a plan for building a high-tech system of lasers and particle beams to destroy enemy missiles before they reached the U.S. Star wars puts pressure on the USSR to respond, but their economy couldn't handle it -
Reagan Doctrine
In his State of the Union address, President Ronald Reagan defines some of the key concepts of his foreign policy, establishing what comes to be known as the “Reagan Doctrine.” The doctrine served as the foundation for the Reagan administration’s support of “freedom fighters” around the globe. -
Challenger Explosion
The space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into flight, killing all aboard. The explosion was caused by a faulty seal in the fuel tank. The shuttle program was halted while investigators and officials drew up new safety regulations, but was resumed in 1988 with the flight of the Discovery. -
Oprah Winfrey
On this day in 1986, The Oprah Winfrey Show was broadcasted nationally for the first time. A huge success, her daytime television talk show turns Winfrey into one of the most powerful, wealthy people in show business and, arguably, the most influential woman in America. -
Sam Walton’s Just-in-Time Inventory
Just-in-time inventory systems allow producers to reduce the amount of inventory they hold, thus keeping their inventory costs down. However, the supplier must deliver the needed materials and parts just in time to be used in the production process. This calls for more effort on the supplier's part, and more costs. -
Discount Retailing
A retail store that sells products at prices lower than the typical market value. In the United States, discount stores had 42% of overall retail market share in 1987; in 2010, they had 87%. More stores are opening as time goes. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall stood until November 9, 1989, when the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the border whenever they pleased. That night, ecstatic crowds swarmed the wall. Some crossed freely into West Berlin, while others brought hammers and picks and began to chip away at the wall itself. -
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The 1990s
We are having more freedom for gay rights. -
Climate Change
Scientists continue to warn us about great changes that can occur if reductions to the burning of fossil fuels don't stop. They have seen a rise in temperature by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1800. Although it doesn't stop there they have seen ice caps melting, beaches eroding and water to encroach coastal cities. -
Persian Gulf War / 1st Iraq War
The war began with the Iraqi army invading into Kuwait. On top of that President George W. Bush subsequently were deploying troops in Saudi Arabia and urging other countries to do so as well.After 42 days of relentless attacks by the allied coalition in the air and on the ground, U.S. President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire on February 28. -
Rodney King Incident
On this day, Robbery parolee Rodney G. King was on an 8-mine pursuit in Los Angeles, California. The chase started because King was speeding and driving intoxicated. So the cops were trying to pull him over but he refused. After a while, King finally came to a stop at Hansen Dam Park. And police brutality caught on video. -
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
BET was founded in 1979, but it would not be until 1983 that BET became a full-fledged channel. The network's lineup consisted of music videos and reruns of popular black sitcoms. Then in 1991, the network became the first black-controlled TV company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. -
Internet
The internet was originally developed in the 1950s. In the start of the internet, it was only used in government buildings or universities, but that changed in 1991 when the internet went commercial and was opened to the public. Then as we progressed we hold the entire internet in our smartphones. -
Election of 1992
The Election of 1992 was a presidential election between Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George Bush. Democrats chose Bill Clinton (despite accusations of womanizing, drug use, and draft evasion). Republicans chose Bush for another election. Third candidate Ross Perot added color to the election by getting 19.7 million votes in the election (no electoral votes though), but Clinton won, 370 to 168 in the Electoral College. Democrats also got control of both the House and the Senate. -
Clinton Health Care
A healthcare reform package made by the administration of President Bill Clinton. The main priority for the reform package was to come up with a comprehensive plan to provide universal health care for all Americans. -
Don't Ask Don't Tell
is the common term for the policy about homosexuality in the U.S. military mandated by federal law. he policy prohibits anyone who "demonstrate(s) a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because it "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability." -
The Contract With America
The contract pledged support for conservative reforms, proposing a sweeping reduction in the role and activities of the federal government. The contract was ultimately either passed over by Congress or vetoed by President Clinton. -
Lewinsky Affair
Monica Lewinsky had affair with Clinton who denied it under oath, but there was physical evidence; he was impeached for perjury and his resulting political battles kept him from being productive in his final term paving way for the seemingly moral Bush in 2000. -
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Contemporary
Today the world is basically ran by social media. Overall technolgy -
Immigration upticks from Asia and Latin America
During this generation, there were many Latin American and Asian immigrants. So many Right-wing politicians call for restrictions to protect American jobs. Since they were many concerns of Crime, taxes, and healthcare. -
Al Gore
Albert Al Gore was the 45th vice president from 1993 to 2001 alongside President Bill Clinton. He was the democratic nominee for the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush beat him. -
PATRIOT ACT
On this day in 2001, President George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism law drawn up in response to the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. The USA PATRIOT Act, as it is officially known, is an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” Bush hoped the bipartisan legislation would empower law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent future terrorist attacks on American soil. -
No Child Left Behind Education Act
The No Child Left Behind Education Act was put in place because there had been no reports of declining schools across the country. So in a wish to prevent this Bush sends a bill trough congress, so he required all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a statewide standardized test annually to all students. -
2nd Iraq War
The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi forces were quickly overwhelmed as U.S. forces swept through the country. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding. Hundreds of thousands in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama were displaced from their homes, and estimates state that Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage. -
The Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of general economic decline observed in world markets during the late 2000s and early 2010s. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country. -
Housing Bubble
The United States housing bubble was a real estate bubble affecting over half of the U.S. states. Housing prices peaked in early 2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and reached new lows in 2012. On December 30, 2008, the Case-Shiller home price index reported its largest price drop in its history. -
Barack Obama
On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was elected president of the United States. Obama became the 44th president, and the first African American to be elected in office. -
Undoing the DOMA
DOMA outlawed gay marriage and in 2013 it was considered unconstitutional. Opening the doors for gay marriage Obama undid DOMA and allowed gay marriage to be allowed and accepted in every stage. Many court cases have tried to go against DOMA and until 2013 it finally succeeded and showed that it was clearly unconstitutional. It was very well known.
