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G.I. Bill
The Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944 is also known as the G.I Bill. The G.I Bill is a law that provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans. The act established hospitals, made low-interest mortgages available and granted stipends covering tuition and expenses for veterans attending college or trade schools. The act was available to all veterans who had been on active duty during the war years for at least 90 days and had not been dishonorably discharged. -
Period: to
Cold War
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Truman Doctrine
The Truman doctrine was an american foreign policy that states the purpose was to counter soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. The United States sent $400 million to reduce the danger if communism took over that supported Greece and turkey. It was proposed to Congress in 1947 by President Truman. Direct military force wasn't involve, but congress appropriated financial aid to support those countries from falling to communist. It became the foundation of american foreign policy. -
Second Red Scare
The 2nd Red Scare was a fear-driven phenomenon that was brought on by the fear of communist countries particularly in the Soviet Union. This scare was longer and was more pervasive than the first Red Scare. Senator Joseph McCarthy made himself famous in 1950 by claiming he had a list of communist that infiltrated the US State Department. Americans thought that the Soviet Union were planning to spread communism around the globe. Also during this time it was illegal to be a communist in the US. -
Marshall Plan
George G Marshall proposed massive and systematic American economic aid to Europe after WWI named after himself called the Marshall Plan, or also known as the European Recovery Program. It channeled over $13 billion loans to rebuild the economic recovery of Western Europe. The plan restored the faith in capitalism and prevented the spread of communism. It was also intended to prevent domestic communist groups from riding poverty and misery to power. -
Berlin Airlift
At the end of WWII, US, British, and Soviet military force divided and occupied Germany. The question if whether the western occupation zones in Berlin would stay under Western Allied control or whether the city would be absorbed into Soviet controlled Germany led to the first Berlin crisis of the Cold War. The crisis forced blockaded rail, road, and water access to areas controlled by Berlin. The US then airlifted food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases this was called the Berlin Airlift. -
Fair Deal
The fair deal was an ambitious set of proposals put forward by President Truman. It was an economic extension of the New Deal. Truman was building on Roosevelt's New Deal and believed that the federal government should guarantee economic opportunity and social stability. Truman's first priority was calling for a higher minimum wage, housing, and full employment. The fair deal only led to the Housing Act of 1949 and the Social Security Act of 1950 due to opposition in congress. -
Period: to
1950's
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Period: to
Civil Rights
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Beat Generation
The beats or the beatniks were hipsters who were unkempt and indiscipline that were more concerned with reforming themselves instead of their society. The beats included but were not limited to artist, novelists, and poets. They rejected american culture , materialism, home ownership, and individual freedom.Their salvation lay in drugs, alcohol, sex, jazz, Buddhism and slang from black communities. They're significant because they played a role in preparing for the youth revolt of the 1960's. -
TV Shows
The 1950's were the Golden Age of television. Sports events and comedy shows were popular like the show I Love Lucy and Father knows best. Television reflected values of white suburban Americas like secure jobs, well-behaved children, and material success. Television idealized white America. Politicians used TV's power like Nixon with his checkers speech that saved his career. Also TV shows in the 1950's had strict gender roles. Men would go to work and be the perfect father figure and husband. -
Hydrogen Bomb
The hydrogen bomb was an immensely powerful bomb whose destructive power comes from the rapid release of energy during the nuclear fusion of isotopes of hydrogen using an atom bomb as a trigger. It is also known as the thermonuclear weapon or the "H-bomb". It was established by award-winning physicist Edward Teller after the wonderful soviet atomic bomb success. The test of the hydrogen bomb gave the United States a short-lived advantage in the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. -
Brown v Board of Education
Brown v Board of Education was a landmark supreme court case under the warren court which the court overturned Plessy v Ferguson. It rules that racial segregation of children in public schools were inherently unequal and thus unconstitutional. It was a big cornerstone in the civil rights movement. Separate schools, waiting rooms, and restrooms are now illegal and were forced to integrate. The court case was important because schools in the south had to desegregate then reduce radical tensions. -
Dr. Joans Salk
Jonas Edward Salk was an American medical researcher and virologist. In 1942, he went to the University of Michigan on a research fellowship to develop an influenza vaccine. Salk discovered one of the first successful polio vaccines. Before he introduced the vaccine, polio was one of the most frightening public health problems in the world and it affected president Roosevelt. Polio vaccine was an easy cure to the paralysis of the polio virus that destroys nerve cells in the spinal cord. -
Rock 'n' Roll
Rock and Roll was a term made up by Alan Freed in the 1950's. It is a type of music combining r&b and country and It was also known as the African Americans Rhythm and Blues. Its important because Freed's Rock n Roll radio station helped to bridge the gap between "white" and "black" music. It also the rise of artists making Rock n Roll led white teenagers to rebelled against their parents and their rules. Bill Haley and the Comets "Rock around the clock tonight" is a popular Rock n Roll song. -
Elvis
Elvis Presley is easily known as the king of Rock and Roll. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His music career began in 1954 with a producer who wanted to bring the sound of African American music to a wider audience. Presley first single, Heartbreak Hotel, was released in January 1956 and became the number one hit in the United States. He has a series of successful network television appearances and chart topping records throughout his career. -
Bill Haley and the Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and his Comets was released in 1955, spawning the culture of rock and roll in many American teenagers. The groups success came because the group appeared in the film Blackboard Jungle. Bill Haley alone claims he was the one who invented rock and roll. -
Ike Turner
Ike Turner, Jr, originally named Izear Luster Turner, was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, and record producer. Turner began playing piano when he was 8, forming his group, the Kings of Rhythm, as a teenager. His very first recording Rocket 88 is considered a contender for the first rock and roll song. He recorded for many of the Key R&B records labels of the 1950s and 1960s. Allegations by Tina Turner of domestic violence by Ike, damaged Ike Turner's career in the 1980s and 1990s. -
Emmett Till Tragedy
Emmett Till was an African American 14 year old boy who traveled to Money, Mississippi in 1955. During his stay he supposedly whistled and asked a girl "how about a date, baby". 4 days later he was kidnapped and driven to a river where he was beaten, shot in the head, and dumped in the river. His death was only of the events that led to the American Civil Rights movement. Emmett's body was found bloated and unrecognized 3 days later. A ring his mother gave him was the only clue to who it was. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an NAACP member who initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 when she was arrested for violating Jim Crow rules on a bus. She refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Her actions and the long 381 day boycott that followed became an icon of the quest for civil rights and focused national attention on boycott leader Martin Luther King, Jr. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
On September 9, 1957, President Eisenhower signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The 1957 Civil Rights Bill aimed to ensure that all African Americans could exercise their right to vote. It wanted a new division within the federal Justice Department to monitor civil rights abuses and a joint report to be done by representatives of both major political parties on the issue of race relations. -
Little Rock 9
Little Rock 9 was a group of African American students who were enrolled in a all-white high school in Little Rock. They enrolled in the school to test the Brown v Board of Education court case that ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Although that court case was put in place Governor Faubus called in the National Guard to block the students entry into the HS. Eisenhower, however, sent in troops to escort them into the school. They were constantly threatened but never gave up. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first earth-orbiting communications satellite launched by the Soviet Union. It was launched in the fall of 1957: October 4th 1957. It was only the size of a basketball and had a weird beeping radio signal. The sputnik was the reason American became fearful of falling technologically behind. The sputnik was important because it led the United States to increase defense spending an establish a crash program to enhance science education and military research. -
New Frontier
The new frontier was a term used by presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. The campaign program promised to revitalize the stagnant economy and enact reform legislation in education, civil rights, and health care. Kennedy issues a challenge to the Americas to make great sacrifices to achieve their potential greatness like medical assistance for the elderly, space exploration, and the peace corps. The new frontier campaign would most likely appeal to the younger population. -
Period: to
1960's
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Politics (Nixon and Kennedy)
In 1960, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debates in American history. During the debate Nixon’s exhaustion and Kennedy’s preparedness showed that the republican and democrat were more or less evenly matched when it came to substance. Both had skills and remarkable agendas. The debates not only had a major impact on the election’s outcome, but showed that taking advantage of media exposure became essential in a successful political campaign. -
Counter Culture
The counter culture refers to a time period where long- held values and norms of behavior started to disappear, particularly dealing with the teens and young adults. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights movement continued to grow. Many college aged people became political activist or other young people would drop out and separate themselves from mainstream culture through their appearance and lifestyle. Many of their attitudes toward sexuality appeared to loosen also. -
Peace Corps
The peace corps was a federal organization that was founded in the year 1961 by President Kennedy. It provided technical assistance and helped people outside of the United States understand American culture while helping Americans understand the culture of other countries. The peace corps also provided labor power to help countries develop their health care, educational system, and infrastructure, or any other parts of their societies. His agency was largely unaccomplished. -
Cesar Chavez
Chavez was an American labor leader and civil rights activist who founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. He led strikes and marches to achieve better working and living conditions for Mexican Americans. He became the best known Latino American civil rights activist and was promoted by the American labor movement. Colegio Cesar Chavez was one of the few institutions named in his honor, but after his death he became a major historical icon with many things named after him. -
Feminism
Feminism in the 1960s is a period of feminist activity in the United States, and eventually spread throughout the Western world and beyond. In the United States the movement lasted through the early 1980s. It later became a worldwide movement that was strong in Europe and parts of Asia, such as Turkey and Israel, where it began in the 1980s, and it began at other times in other countries. Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day dangerous confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was the moment when the two came closest to nuclear conflict. President Kennedy announced his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear that the US was prepared to use any military force to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. However, US agreed to the SU offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the US to not invade Cuba. -
LSD
Albert Hofmann was a chemist working for Sandoz Pharmaceutical. He synthesized LSD in 1938, in Basel, Switzerland, while looking for a blood stimulant. However, its hallucinogenic effects were unknown until 1943 when Hofmann accidentally consumed it. In the 1960s, LSD was commonly used amongst those of the counterculture to "turn on, tune in, and drop out." Many experiments for the use of LSD to change the personalities of intelligence targets continued until the US banned it in 1967. -
MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail
The Letter from Birmingham Jail, also known as The Negro Is Your Brother, is an letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. It says that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take direct action rather than waiting potentially forever for justice to come through the courts. The letter became an important text for the Civil Rights Movement and was widely known during the Birmingham campaign. -
Birmingham Bombing
On September 15th, 1963 a bomb exploded before the Sunday morning services at the 16th street baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young girls were killed and many other people were injured. National attention was drawn to the hard dangerous fought struggle for African American Civil Rights by the violent clash between protesters and police. The Ku Klux Klan was responsible because they were upset about Dr King's march. The man were never put on trial until after the year 2000. -
Assassination of JFK
John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd of the year 1963. He was killed while riding in the open-air presidential motorcade in a parade to drum up support for the upcoming election. His wife Jacqueline and the Governor of Texas, Johnson, was riding with him in the motorcade. The route that he would be taken was publicized several days prior. He was shot once in the head then he was rushed to Parkland Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The suspected killer was Lee Harvey Oswald. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was born on October 18th, 1939. He is an american Marxist and ex-marine who allegedly assassinated United States president John F. Kennedy. He was honorable discharged from the Marine corps and defected into the Soviet Union then lived in the Belarusian city Minsk until June 1962 when he returned to the US with special permission. Two days after he shot Kennedy and a Dallas police officer he was fatally shot by a local nightclub owner Jack Ruby on live television. -
Warren Commission
The Warren Commission was established by President Johnson through the Executive Order 111300 in 1963.The US Congress passed Senate Joint Resolution 137 authorizing the presidential appointed commission to report on the assassination for Kennedy. Its a 888 page final report presented to Johnson and made public 3 days later. The warren commission concluded that Oswald killed Kennedy and acted alone. Also that Ruby acted alone when he killed Oswald two days later. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a a voter registration drive sponsored by civil rights organizations. It aimed at increasing black voter registration in Mississippi. It was the turning point of the Civil Rights Movement. During the 1st day, 3 Civil Rights worker became missing. They were pulled over for "speeding", booked at jail, let go, and then disappeared. The FBI had a search over 5 states and put up missing posters. They were found 6 weeks later shot in the head and buried in a dirt dam. -
Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater was an american politician, businessman, and author who was a Arizona Senator and a nominee for the republican presidential election. Despite his lost, he is the politician most often credited with sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960's. Barry stance appealed to Americans disturbed by the federal government's growing decision making power and transformed the republicans. He also was a vocal opponent of the civil rights act of 1964. -
Great Society
The great society was a series of policy initiatives, legislation, and programs established by president Johnson. The main goal of John's domestic programs were to eliminate poverty, reducing crime, improving the environment, and racial injustice. New major spending programs that addressed all of the items he wanted to help were launched during this period. The program and its initiatives were subsequently promoted by him and fellow Democrats in Congress in the 1960s and many years after. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a conflict that began with North Korea's invasion of South Korea. Shorty after it started to involve the United States, but primarily the United States, allying with South Korea and the people's Republic of China allying with North Korea. This war was commonly known as "The Forgotten War". There was a total of 37,000 US casualties and over 100,000 wounded soldiers. The war ended in an armistice and original borders. Eisenhower ends up ending this war during his presidency. -
Domino Theory
Domino Theory is the fear that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries, like a falling domino causing an entire row of upended dominoes to fall. Many thought the domino theory would happen and communist Vietnam would open the door to a complete communist takeover of Southeast Asia. It basically describes the spread of communist. -
Death of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4th, 1968. This event sent shock waves around the world because King had led the civil rights movement since the 1950s, using impassioned speeches and nonviolent protests to achieve significant civil-rights for African Americans. He was shot while standing on a balcony outside his second-story room at the Lorraine Motel. The bullet struck him in the jaw and severed his spinal cord; he was later pronounced dead at the hospital. -
Apollo 11
On July 16th, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center to try to achieve the dream and it was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Aldrin landed the lunar module on 20 July 1969. Armstrong become the 1st human to step onto the lunar surface 6 hours after landing. The two collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Majority of the Apollo 11 existence was because the US was trialing the Soviet Union in space developments. -
Period: to
1970's
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OPEC
OPEC stands for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and is a group consisting of 12 of the world's major oil-exporting nations. The organization is an international cartel that inflates price of oil by limiting supply. The goal of this conference was to coordinate and unify petroleum policies among member countries, and to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers. Ehile OPEC does not directly set fuel prices the organization still does influence fuel prices. -
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Environmental Protection Agency is an independent agency of the United States federal government for environmental protection. President Nixon was the reason for the EPA and began operation on December 2nd. The EPA is responsible for creating standards and laws that promoting the health of individuals and the environment. This agency was created alongside the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. -
Title IX
Title IX, a federal civil rights law, states that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. That applies to institutions that receive financial assistance from educational agencies. Title IX was enacted as a follow-up of the 1964 Civil Rights Act because that act didn't prohibit sex discrimination. -
Watergate
The Watergate is a Nixon administration scandal where hired goons broke into the Headquarters at Watergate hotel. The burglars were arrested but soon were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents. The Watergate scandal changed American politics forever, leading Americans to question their leaders. Because of the scandal, Impeachment proceedings were started but Nixon resigned from his office in August of 1974. -
Roe v Wade
Roe vs Wade was a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court in the issue of the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortion. The decision gave woman a right to abortion during the entirety of the pregnancy and defined different levels of state interest. This court case is important because the court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy “is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy”. -
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose policies were taken from Heritage's policy study Mandate for Leadership. Heritage has since continued to have a significant influence in U.S. public policy making, and is considered to be one of the most influential conservative research organizations in the United States. -
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act (EPA) is one of the few dozens of US environmental laws passed in the 1970s. The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. It is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the NMFS. The Service has primary responsibility for terrestrial and freshwater organisms, while the responsibilities of NMFS are mainly marine wildlife such as whales and anadromons fish such as salmon. -
Gerald Ford’s Presidency
Gerald Ford was the Vice President to Richard Nixon before he resigned, and was president from August 9th, 1974 to January 20th, 1977. Ford was the only person to serve as vice president and president without being elected. His biggest political downfall was when he pardoned Nixon for his Watergate scandal, this resulted in his failed run for reelection. But on the other hand he is credited with helping to restore public confidence in government after the disillusionment of the Watergate era. -
Three-Mile Island
The Three-Mile Island is the site of a nuclear power plant in south central Pennsylvania. On March of 1979, a series of mechanical and human errors at the plant caused the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history, resulting in a partial meltdown that released dangerous radioactive gasses into the atmosphere. . It was the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history and made Americans wary of the nuclear power. -
Moral Majority
Jerry Falwell, a reverend from Virginia, began an organization known as the Moral Majority in 1979. The Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States that focused on social issues such as the ban of abortion, banning of the states' acceptance of homosexuality, and also feminism. Although not it did not accomplish much, it did show that Americans were starting to worry about the moral fabric of society. -
A.I.D.S. Crisis
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) occurs after the HIV virus has destroyed the body's immune system. The virus appeared in the early 1980s. Public health officials had reported that gay men were especially at risk for developing AIDS. The Reagan administration was slow to respond because effects of the virus were not fully understood and they deemed the spread of the disease as the result of immoral behavior. Others believe Reagan showed little interest because it was viewed as "gay". -
Period: to
1980's
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Ronald Reagan
Reagan was was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He ran on a campaign based on the common man and populist ideas. He served as governor of California from 1966-1974, and he participated in the McCarthy Communist scare. While president, he developed Reagannomics, the trickle down effect of government incentives. He cut out many welfare and public works programs. He also used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict. -
Robert L. Johnson
Robert Louis Johnson is an American entrepreneur, media magnate, executive, philanthropist, and investor. He is the co-founded of BET, Black Entertainment Television. He also founded a holding company that invests in various business sectors called the RLJ Companies. In 2001, Johnson was the First African-American billionaire and the first black person to be listed on any of Forbes world's richest list. -
Video Head System (VHS)
In the 1970s, videotape entered home use, creating the home video industry. In the 1980s and 1990s, at the peak of VHS's popularity, there were videotape format wars in the home video industry. Two of the formats, VHS and Betamax, received the most media exposure. VHS eventually won the war, dominating 60 percent of the North American market by 1980 and emerging as the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period. -
Election of 1980
The United States presidential election of 1980 was held on November 4, 1980, in which Republican Ronald Reagan defeated Democratic Jimmy Carter. Carter has low approval ratings with the Iran hostage situation, falling economy, and Nicaragua. His rival, Ronald Reagan exuded confidence and promised a new optimistic version of America. Ronald Reagan won overwhelmingly putting the Republicans back in control for the first time in 25 years. Carter was defeated and had a lack of managerial skills. -
Music Television (MTV)
MTV was launched in 1981 for music TV and it became the first 24-hour video music, as music became a symbol of the 80s. The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video to air on the new cable television channel, which initially was available only to households in parts of New Jersey. It's main demographic was young adults. MTV started the careers of several famous musicians and became a sensation. In 1984, MTV started its very one Video Music Awards. -
Sandra Day O’Connor
Sandra O'Conner is a retired Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from her appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan until her retirement in 2006. She was a judge in Arizona serving as the first female Majority Leader in the United States. Considered a federalist and a moderate conservative, O'Connor tended to approach each case narrowly without arguing for sweeping precedents and she most frequently sided with the court's conservative bloc. -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) “Star Wars”
The Strategic Defense Initiative also known as Star Wars was a program initiated under President Reagan on nationwide television. It was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. Because parts of the defensive system that Reagan advocated would be based in space, the proposed system was dubbed “Star Wars,” after the space weaponry of a popular motion picture of the same name. -
Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy implemented by the United States under the Reagan Administration to overwhelm the global influence of the Soviet Union in an attempt to end the Cold War. The doctrine served as the foundation for the Reagan administration’s support of “freedom fighters” around the globe. The doctrine was the centerpiece of United States foreign policy from the early 1980s until the end of the Cold War in 1991. -
Challenger Explosion
On January 28, 1986, the NASA shuttle orbiter mission broke apart 73 seconds into its flight killing all seven crew members. 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. The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the shuttle program and the formation of the Rogers Commission appointed by Reagan to investigate the accident. -
Period: to
1990's
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Persian Gulf War / 1st Iraq War
Persian Gulf War was a war fought by a UN authorized coalition led by the United States. Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait. Saudi Arabia and Egypt were alarmed and called the U.S. and other Western nations. The Persian Gulf War began with a massive United States led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. This led to the buildup or troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm in its combat phase, was a war waged by alliance. -
Rodney King Incident
On March 3rd, Rodney King was caught by the Los Angeles police after a high-speed chase. The officers pulled him out of the car and beat him brutally, while amateur cameraman George Holiday caught it all on videotape. The four officers involved were indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force by a police officer. King's beating after a high-speed car chase and its aftermath forever changed Los Angeles, its police department and the dialogue on race in America. -
Election of 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 was held on November 3, 1992, in which Democrat Bill Clinton defeated Republican George Bush. Independent candidate Ross Perot secured nearly 19 percent of the vote which was the highest percentage of any third-party candidate in a U.S. presidential election in 80 years. Clinton won the presidency with less than 50% of the vote with a campaign focused on the economy and the solving of foreign policy problems. -
World Trade Center Attack - 1993
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. When a truck bomb detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City 1,336 pounds of urea nitrate-hydrogen gas was intended to send the north tower into the south towers killing thousands of people. It failed to do so but killed six people and injured over a thousand. The FBI searched for suspects and in days they found several Islamic fundamentalists that caused the terrorist attack. -
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy
The "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy" was a policy intended as a "compromise" enacted under Bill Clinton in 1994. It was one that purports to restrict the United States military from "witch-hunting" secretly gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members or applicants. It states that one is not allowed to ask a soldiers sexual preference. The policy took last effect until September 20, 2001 when the military ended the 18-year ban on gays serving openly in the military. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1993 and established by President Clinton. The agreement opened up free trade with Mexico and Canada allowing the flow of increased goods, services, & jobs across the international border by lessening and eliminating tariffs. It was a symbol of the increased reality of a globalized market place. The agreement was strongly criticized by organized labor and conservative groups who viewed it as selling American jobs to cheap labor across the border. -
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
The Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law President Clinton. Defense of Marriage Act was a federal law that ruled marriage is with one man and one woman, and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. Same sex marriages didn't receive any legal benefits. The law was challenged and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in 2013 ruling in the case of Windsor v. United States that the section denying federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples was unconstitutional. -
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is a Viacom–owned cable network based in Washington, D.C. The cable channel is viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide. It was founded by Robert L. Johnson and Sheila Johnson in 1998. It consist of mainly music videos and reruns of popular Black sitcoms. As of 2010 it was the most prominent television network targeting young black-American audiences and was the leading provider of black American. -
Lewinsky Affair
The Lewinsky Affair was a high profile scandal involving Clinton's sexual relationship with a young White House intern, Monica. Although he initially gave a testimony stating he had never engaged in sexual activity with her, he eventually was forced to admit to his relationship. When they found out the president had lied under oath about the affair, republicans in Congress began impeachment process. The public opinion swayed in favor of keeping Clinton in office and he was found not guilty. -
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was the highest-rated television program of its kind in history. North America's first multi-billionaire black person and has been ranked the greatest black philanthropist in American history. Many rank her as the most influential woman in the world. -
Period: to
Contemporary
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George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush was also the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. He is only the 2nd president to assume the nation's highest office after his father. He signed into law a lot of programs including the Patriot Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors, and funding for the AIDS relief program known as PEPFAR. -
Bush v. Gore (SCOTUS case)
On December 12th, the Supreme Court of the US reversed a Florida Supreme Court request for a selective manual recount of that state’s U.S. presidential election ballots. Many of the ballots weren't properly punched and did not reveal who the voter intended to vote for. Bush believed that the recount violated the presidential election system and violated the preservation of equality that existed within the administrative system. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of George Bush in Bush v. Gore. -
9/11 Attacks
On September 11, 2001, the Islamic group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the US. Its known as the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil in U.S. history. Two of the planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the third plane hit the Pentagon, and the fourth plane crashed in a open field in Pennsylvania. 19 young men carried out the attacks. They planned this attack for years and spent time in the US learning to fly planes. -
PATRIOT ACT
The PATRIOT ACT is a 10 letter abbreviation whose full title is “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. The law is an act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush passed due to the September 11th attacks. It was the first of many changes for the government to spy on Americans. It sought to prevent further terrorist attacks by allowing greater government access to electronic communications. -
No Child Left Behind Education Act
This act was an act that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This law states that states are required to test students in reading and math in 3–8 grade and in high school. The focus of the act is to close student achievement gaps by providing all children with a fair and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education. The Department of Education emphasizes four pillars within the bill: Accountability, Flexibility, Research-based education, and Parent options. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Hurricane Katrina was a major hurricane that had a Category 3 rating which destroyed New Orleans and the golf region in August 2005. There was a lack of federal response and compassion ignited debate of poverty and race in America. The Bush administration was accused of showing indifference to those who were affected by the massive storm. More than 1300 people died, while the damages were over $150 billion. Also the largest and 3rd strongest hurricane ever recorded to make landfall in the US. -
Barack Obama
Barack Obama was born to white American mother and Kenyon father. He grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii and graduated from Harvard Law School; Obama worked as a community activist in Chicago and served in US Senate 3 years before running for President. President Barack Obama set a historic landmark in American history he became the first African American to become president, and seems to have brought the American dream to a whole new level. He ran an on campaign of hope and changes. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was intended to create jobs and promote investment and consumer spending during the recession that followed the financial collapse in 2008. It provided 787 billion to state and local governments for schools, hospitals, and transportation projects. It was one of the largest single packages of government spending in history. The act was signed into law by President Obama. Its effects have produced a range from strongly positive to strongly negative reactions. -
First Hispanic SCOTUS judge - Sonya Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1976 and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979 where she was an editor. In May 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. She has the distinction of being its first justice of Hispanic descent. Sotomayor is known on the court for her trust in the judicial process, and her cutthroat attitude toward ill-prepared attorneys, while she is also known for her kindness toward jurors and attorneys. -
Affordable Care Act (ACA) “Obamacare”
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. Also known as Obamacare has 3 primary goals: make affordable health insurance available to more people, expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level, and Support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally.
