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Jimmy Carter becomes 39th President
Jimmy Carter becomes the 39th President of the United States. -
Growth and Fall of the Economy (77-79)
In 1977, President Carter dealt with a recovery from the economic recession in previous years. As unemployment decreased, new jobs were created, and average median household income increased, it seemed that the economy was on the up. However, in 1979, the energy crisis struck the economy harshly. Inflation and oil prices rose as job creation and economic growth decreased. -
Removal of nuclear weapons from South Korea
In this month, President Carter cut the defense budget by $6 billion, removed all nuclear weapons from South Korea, and began cutting back the number of American troops in South Korea. -
Camp David Accords
Following the Arab-Israeli Conflict, President Carter witnessed the signing of the Camp David Accords. The signing was down by the Egyptian President and the Israeli Prime Minister. -
Energy Crisis
Throughout this year, President Carter set various price controls on gasoline due to the crisis for conservation of energy. He also took steps to conserve energy at the White House, such as having solar panels installed into the roof. -
Malaise Speech
President Carter delivered this speech on national television to discuss the growing issue of the energy crisis. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
From November 4th of 1979 to January 20th of 1981, President Carter dealt with the Iran Hostage Crisis. 66 Americans were held hostage in Iran for 444 days. Carter's attempts to save the Americans were unsuccessful, and this was seen as a failure of his presidency. -
Involvement in the Cold War
Throughout his presidency, President Reagan was involved in the Cold War. A new policy was put in place that would allow military to confront the USSR. Reagan was adamant that he would try to stop the Cold War up until the end of the war. -
Ronald Reagan becomes 40th President
Ronald Reagan becomes the 40th President of the United States. -
Reaganomics
President Reagan implemented a new system called "Reagonomics." He presented his new ideas in a televised address. Trickle down economics and Reagonomics consisted of four points: 1. Reduce government spending. 2. Reduce taxes. 3. Reduce regulation. 4. Reduce inflation. -
Air Traffic Controllers Strike
President Reagan declared an emergency on this day when an air traffic controllers strike took place. He explained in a national address that if the workers did not show up within 48 hours, they would lose their jobs. On August 5th, he fired over 11,000 workers and essentially ended the strike. -
Order to Invade Grenada
In 1983, President Reagan ordered for the invasion of the Carribean island, Grenada. This was the first major foreign event to occur under his presidency, and it was the first military operation to occur since the Vietnam War. -
Ronald Reagan re-elected
Ronald Reagan is re-elected for a second term as President. -
Iran-Contra Affair
From 1985 to 1987, President Reagan supported the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. He ensured that the military and CIA of the U.S. would be able to sell arms to the Iranian government in order to give the money to Contra rebels. This was considered a controversy during his presidency. -
War on Drugs
President Reagan signed a drug bill in 1987; this bill gave $1.7 billion to fighting drugs. Additionally, the First Lady, Nancy Reagan, went on many "Just Say No" rallies to motivate America's youth to abstain from any type of drug use. -
George H.W. Bush becomes 41st President
George H.W. Bush beomes the 41st President of the United States. -
Invasion of Panama
In this month, President Bush over 2,000 troops to Panama. They conducted military exercises in preparation for an invasion. In December, 24,000 more troops were sent to the country with the goal of removing President Noriega from the Presidency. Though this was controversial as it broke previous treaties, Noriega surrendered to the U.S. and the operation was successful. -
Economic Deficit
Following a major economic deficit created by the Reagan administration, President Bush had to deal with how to fix the problem. The deficit in 1990 was three times what it was 10 years previous. Although he raised tax revenues (controversially so), he began to ignore the issue of the economic problems later in his presidency. -
Clean Air Act
Following an environmental disaster in 1989, President Bush signed this act which built on previous clean air acts. The amendments he added mainly focused on urban smog reduction, acid rain prevention, and industrial emission elimination. -
Two New Judicial Appointments
President Bush appointed David Souter (pictured) in 1990 and Clarence Thomas in 1991 as Justices in the Supreme Court. -
Americans With Disabilities Act
The Americans With Disabilites Act was signed by President Bush in 1990. This act increased federal funding for special education and childcare. -
Gulf War
Following the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein and Iraq, President Bush began to rally against him. He sent armies to Kuwait to attack Hussein's forces in January 1991. The attack was successful and approval of Bush increased greatly following the event. -
NAFTA
President Bush and the Canadian Prime Minister created the North American Free Trade Association. This organization took away many of the tariffs and taxes that were traded between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Some believed this organization caused a loss in jobs. -
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
President Clinton created this policy to allow homosexuals to join the army under the grounds that they not say that they are homosexual, and that officers in higher rank not ask if they are or aren't. -
Bill Clinton becomes 42nd President
Bill Clinton becomes 42nd President of the United States. -
Osama bin Laden Car Bomb
On February 26th, 1993, terrorists under the control of Osama bin Laden set of a car bomb underneath the World Trade Center. After security measures were taken, Clinton acknowledged this in a speech in 1995. He proposed a strengthening of legislation in order to prevent harm from terrorism, both "home and abroad." -
Health Care Reform
President Clinton attempted to reform health care by making it affordable to every U.S. citizen. He appointed his wife, Hillary Clinton, as the leader of the reform. Many criticized this choice, as her decisions for the program were disagreed upon greatly by the administration. -
Major Economic Grwoth
There was a huge growth in the economy of the U.S. throughout Clinton's presidency. He submitted a budget in 1994 that would cut the deficit by $500 billion over a period of five years. He also fought against tax cuts for the wealthy. Around 22.5 million jobs were created throughout his administration. -
Troops in Somalia
Not long before Clinton became President, Bush had sent troops into Somalia to protect food and supplies for civilians being affected by a Civil War. President Clinton removed troops from Somalia in March of 1994. This caused chaos in Somalia, from which the country may have never fully recovered. -
Rwandan Genocide
A genocide in Rwanda between two ethnic groups, the Tutsis and the Hutus, resulted in nearly 1 million Rwandan deaths. Though President Clinton was fully aware of the issue, no action was taken by his administration. Many countries in the United Nation declined to use the word "genocide" when referring to what was going on in Rwanda. -
Bill Clinton re-elected
Bill Clinton is re-elected for a second term as President. -
Impeachment Trial
The House of Representatives voted two articles of impeachment against President Clinton in 1998. They charged him with prejury and obstruction of justice. This arose following the revelation that he had been keeping a secret affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. -
George W. Bush becomes 43rd President
George W. Bush becomes the 43rd President of the United States. -
9/11 Attacks
During George W. Bush's presidency, members of al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Two airplanes went into the two twin towers that made up the World Trade Center. One plane went into the Pentagon, while the last plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania (with the original goal being a target in Washington D.C.) -
War on Terrorism
Following the 9/11 attacks, President Bush responded by declaring War on Terror. He also launched an invasion of Afghanistan in order to remove the Taliban (a holder of al-Qaeda members.) -
No Child Left Behind Act
President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, which went into effect on January 8th, 2002. The act required states to create tests on basic skills, and stated that they must give the test to all students in certain grades in order to receive federal government funding. -
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
From 2003 to 2008, President Bush created this program to give $15 billion to AIDS relief. The program worked to provide treatment for those with AIDS, and to prevent the spread of AIDS. -
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
Following its enaction in November 2003, this act made it illegal to perform late-term abortion. It also stated that any physician who performed this act could be subject to no more than 2 years in prison. -
George W. Bush re-elected
George W. Bush is re-elected for a second term as President. -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina hit landfall in the Southern and Southeastern areas of the United States in August 2005. New Orleans was hit particularly hard, as the levys meant to hold back rising waters broke and flooded the entire city. President Bush declared states of emergencies in Louisiana, Alabama, and other Southern states previous to landfall. This event hit the economy hard, and many people believed Bush and the administration had not done enough to help people following the hurricane. -
Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
Congress created this act, unde the Bush administration, to provide economic stimuli to Americans who had been hit by the recession of the early 2000's. This stimulus package was an attempt at boosting the economy. -
Barack Obama becomes 44th President
Barack Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States, and the first African American President of the United States. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
President Obama reccommended to Congress that an $800 economic stimulus package be put into place. Although no Republicans voted for the act, Democratic control was strong enough to put the act into law on February 17th, 2009. -
Two New Justice Appointments
President Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor (the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice) on August 6th, 2009 and Elena Kagan (pictured) on August 5th, 2010. Both became Supreme Court Justices. -
Obamacare
This Act, created by President Obama, will make it required for all people to purchase health insurance. It will go into effect starting in 2014. -
Capture and Killing of Osama bin Laden
President Obama created the Opeartion Neptune Spear to capture Osama bin Laden. Navy seals were sent to bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. Following an accidental crash landing by the Navy, they were successful in the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. President Obama and many other government officials looked on as they watched the capture in live time. -
Removal of Troops
Following his 2009 announcement that army levels would be brought down from 160,000 to 50,000, Preisdent Obama decalred that all troops would be removed by the end of 2011. -
Announcement of Gay Marriage Support
President Obama became the first President to publicly announce that he is a supporter of gay marriage. Bristol Palin responded to this announcment by making a blog post that criticized this decision, further qualifying the fact that she is, in fact, an idiot.
