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Creation of the Atomic Bomb
The creation of the first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico at a site called Trinity. The main objective of atomic bombs was to end the World War II and possession by the US.
The Soviets, on the other hand, tested their atomic bomb at Arzamas-16. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb called Little Boy on Hiroshima. Three days later a second atomic bomb called Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. These two events killed thousands of people. -
Iron Curtain
It was a term used by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for the closure to western ideas, by erecting a physical barrier across Eastern Europe. It was divided between the Soviet dominated East to the US dominated West. It was an example of one of the physical and ideological struggles of what happened during the Cold War and represented the way Europe was viewed, after WWII. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an foreign policy that was announced by US President Harry Truman. It once stated that the US would support any nation threatened by Communism. It resulted in a conflict by the Koreans; this lets America attempting to stop the communist government. -
Period: to
Cold War
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Marshall Plan
Also known as the European Recovery Program, was devised by American Secretary of State George Marshall. He helped provided aid for the Europeans, as well as economic help in which Congress gave billions of dollars to those countries in need. It was very successful, in a way that it recovered the European economy as a whole and boosted American economy as well. -
Berlin Airlift
It was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. After World War II, Germany was divided into four sections: the Soviets zone, American zone, British zone, and a French zone. The Russians blocked all areas by closing highways, railroads, and canals. The US and allies, however, supplied their sectors of the city by the air. -
Fair Deal
It was a set of proposals led by President Harry Truman. It created projects to create jobs, build public housing, and end racial discrimination. It included civil rights legislation and repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, but only extensions of some of New Deal programs were enacted. -
2nd Red Scare
It was the fear of communism in the US government. It peaked during the Korean War and declined soon where US Senate censured Joseph McCarthy, who made the hysteria in the country. The communists were referred to as "Reds" due to the red Soviet Flag. -
Rock n' Roll
A type of music that was popular in the 1950s. Its style is emerging rhythm and blues with white bluegrass and country, featuring a heavy beat and driving rhythm. Some remarkable singers who use the work of rock n' roll are Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Ike Turner, and Little Richard. The music became a defining feature of 1950's culture. -
Beat Generation
It was a literary movement started by a group of authors whose work influenced American culture and politics. They brought bourgeois conformity and advocated free-form experimentation in life and literature. -
Joseph McCarthy
(Nov 14, 1908 - May 2, 1957) A US Senator from Wisconsin. He rose to infamy by accusing the State Department of employing communists. He conducted high-profile red-baiting hearings that damaged countless careers before he finally over-reached -
McCarthyism
The term associated with Joseph McCarthy, who led the search for communists in America during the early 1950's through his leadership in the House Un-American Activities Committee. It was the practice of making accusations of treason without providing evidence. -
Period: to
1950's
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Korean War
It began as a conflict instead of a war. 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean army went across the 38th parallel. The Soviet-backed North Koreans invaded South Korea before meeting a counter-offensive by UN forces, dominated by the United States. -
Creation of the Hydrogen Bomb
Made by the United States, they first tested their first hydrogen bomb. It was a very powerful bomb, more powerful than the atomic bomb and those dropped on Japan. -
Domino Theory
It was the theory that if a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries, a falling domino, causing an entire row of dominoes will fall. This particular example came from the 50s when a country came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. -
Brown v. Board of Education
A Supreme Court case that overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. It was led by Chief Justice Earl Warren; the Court ruled that "separate but equal' schools for blacks were unequal and unconstitutional. The decision was energized at the Civil Rights Movement. -
Period: to
Civil Rights Movement
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Space Race
A competition between the US and the Soviet Union in space. It was considered important because it showed the world which country had the best science, technology, and economic systems. -
Emmett Till Tragedy
While visiting family in Mississippi, 14 year-old Emmett Till, was brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman four days earlier. His assailants made Emmett carry a 75-pound cotton-gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. The two men then beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head, and then threw his body, tied to the cotton-gin fan with barbed wire, into the river. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
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Rosa Parks
(February 4, 1913 - Oct 24, 2005) She was a Civil Rights Activist who refused to give up her seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. She was sent to jail because of this. This also led to a group of black people organizing a bus boycott that began the day Parks was convicted of violating the segregation laws. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
After Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat, Martin Luther King rallies the black community to do this. This seriously hurt the bus companies and lasted in a span of less than a year. It ended in 1956 when the Supreme Court declared segregated buses unconstitutional. -
Little Rock 9
It was a group of 9 African-American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. The ensuing Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, and then attended after the intervention of President Eisenhower, is considered to be one of the most important events in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
It was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress. It prove that it marked the first occassion, since the Reconstruction, that the federal government undertook significang legislative action to protect civil rights. It signaled a growing federal commitment to the cause of civil rights. -
The Launching of Sputnik
One of the Russians' success during the space race is the launching of Sputnik (originally Sputnik I). It was the first artificial satellite to travel into orbit and sparked the fears of Soviet dominance in technology and space. It led to the creation of NASA and the Space Race. -
Orval Faubus
He was the governor of Arkansas during the time of the Little Rock Crisis. He attempted to block the integration of the school by using the national guard, leading to a confrontation with the Eisenhower and ultimately integration of the school. -
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The United States Congress passes legislation formally inaugurating the NASA. The Advanced Research Projects Agency was created to develop space technology for military application. Eisenhower then signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act. -
Ho Chi Minh Trail
It was a network of jungle paths by the Vietnamese used to transport supplies from North Vietnam without crossing the border directly. -
Counterculture
A group that rejects the values, norms, and practices of the larger society. It replaces of the larger society and replaces them with a new set of cultural patterns. -
Hippies
They believed in anti-materialism, free use of drugs, and had a casual attitude towards sex and anti-conformity. They practiced free love and took drugs, flocked to San Francisco- low rent/interracial, they lived in communal "crash pads", smoked marijuana and took LSD, sexual revolution, new counter culture. Protestors who influenced US involvement in Vietnam -
Period: to
1960's
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Greensboro Sit-ins
The first sit-in started in Greensboro, North Carolina. On February 1, 1960, four negro students sat down at a white lunch counter. They were refused service but remained there until the shop closed. The next day, 30 students came and did the same thing. It continued daily, until crowds of students began to abuse the protestors without reacting. -
Dr. Jonas Salk
(October 28, 1914 - June 23,1995) He was an American biologist and physician. He was best known for the research and development of a killed-virus polio vaccine at the 1950s. -
Peace Corps
It is a volunteer program run by the United States Government adn created by Kennedy. The mission of this was to provide technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand the culture, and helping Americans to understand the cultures of other countries. -
Freedom Rides
On May 4, 1961, Civil Right Supporters travelled on busses throughout the South and at the stops making use of toilets and restaurants reserved for whites. Although a law was passed in 1960 declaring negros had the same rights in terminals as on busses, direct action was needed to put it into practice. -
Cesar Chavez
(March 31, 1927 - April 23, 1993) He was a farm worker, labor leader, and civil-rights activist who helped form the National Farm Workers Association, later the United Farm Workers. He helped to improve conditions for migrant farm workers and unionize them -
Kennedy's Speech at Rice University
"We choose to go to the moon" Kennedy stated at a speech at Rice University. It was an order to call for the United States to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Kennedy gave out one of his most inspirational calls. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
An international crisis in which the United States and the Soviet Union came to an all-out nuclear war. The Soviets began transporting nuclear missiles to Cuba. American spy planes began observing the construction of missile bases on on Cuba but were assured by the Soviets that were for defensive purposes. -
MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail
It states:
"WHILE confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities "unwise
and untimely." Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all of the criticisms
that cross my desk, my secretaries would be engaged in little else in the course of the day, and I would have no time for
constructive work..." -
"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. -
Assassination of JFK
In 1963 in Dallas, Kennedy and his wife were at a parade to support the upcoming presidential election in 1964. He was shot twice and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Supposedly Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated JFK but he was murdered by Jack Ruby. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Passed under the Johnson administration, this act outlawed segregation in public areas and granted the federal government power to fight black disfranchisement. The act also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to prevent discrimination in the work place. -
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by former democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. The main goal of this was to eliminate property and racial justice. The Congress passed many measures in this society:
- Medicare
-Civil Rights Legislation - Federal aid to education -
Nixon's Election (Election of 1968)
An election against Republican Richard Nixon and Democratic Hubert Humphrey. This election year was tumultuous. It marked the assassination of Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King Jr subsequent King assassination riots across the nation, the assassination of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and widespread opposition to the Vietnam War across university campuses. Nixon ended up winning this election, with 301 electoral votes. -
Panama Canal
Originally built in 1914, it was a ship canal that is 50 miles long across the Isthmus of Panama built by the United States. It was used as a shortcut between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. The United States wanted the Panama Canal to be built because they wanted to avoid going around South America and have less time for the naval ships to travel and protect US possessions around the world. -
Period: to
1970's
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Watergate
It was a name given to the scandal the Nixon administration committed during the 1972 Presidential election. They hired goons and broke into the Watergate hotel for any dirt. The scandal revealed several other dirty plays during Nixon's administration, forcing him to resign as president. -
Title IX
Out of the Education Amendments of 1972. It is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity at any institution that receives federal funds. It allows women to play in any sports activities. -
Roe v. Wade
This court case has the right to privacy to extend the abortion. The Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that women have a right to abortion during the 1st two trimesters. Two people, by the names of Jane Roe (a single woman) and Henry Wade (Texas attorney general) were involved during this case. -
Endangered Species Act
This act was to preserve ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend. It was also to conserve and reverse listed species. It was necessary because various fish, wildlife, and plant species have been known to be extinct and others are in danger of becoming, so these species have important values. -
OPEC
Known as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it is a international cartel that inflates price of oil by limiting supply; Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and UAE are prominent members. -
The Moral Majority
Reverend Jerry Falwell found Moral Majority to combat "amoral liberals," drug abuse, "coddling" of criminals, homosexuality, communism, and abortion. The Moral Majority represented the rise of political activism on the part of organized religion's radical right. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. The immediate cause of this action was President Jimmy Carter’s decision to allow Iran’s deposed Shah, a autocrat. -
Home Video Game Systems
During the 1980's video games were starting to develop. Consoles such as the Atari, Nintendo Entertainment System, and much more. This provided entertainment to families at their homes, and they would do this at their free time as well. -
Lionel Sosa
He was the founder os Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar, and Associates (Now Bromley Communications), the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the United States. He is one of the most infuential pepole, according to the TIME magazine, in 2006. -
Period: to
1980's
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Black Entertainment Television
It is an American basic cable and satellite television channel owned by the BET Networks division of Viacom. The network first aired on January 25, 1980. Its founder, Robert L. Johnson, was a former lobbyist for the cable television industry in the late 1970s. This cable channel is viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide. -
Election of 1980
This election was a match between Republican Ronald Reagan and Democratic Jimmy Carter. Reagan won easily with 489 electoral votes and because of the Iranian hostage crisis and America's stagflation. Carter was defeated with dignity though, and was well meaning but had a lack of managerial skills. -
Reaganomics
The federal economic polices of the Reagan administration, elected in 1981. These policies combined a monetarist fiscal policy, supply-side tax cuts, and domestic budget cutting. Their goal was to reduce the size of the federal government and stimulate economic growth. -
MTV
Launched in 1981 for Music Television. It started in the small market of New Jersey on cable and became a sensation. A generation of kids grew up watching music videos; started the careers of several famous musicians. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
(March 26, 1930) The first woman to be on the Supreme Court. Appointed by Ronald Reagan, O'Connor was an associate Justice from 1981 to 2006. -
Strategic Defensive Initative (SDI) "Star Wars"
Popularly known as "Star Wars," President Reagan's SDI proposed the construction of an elaborate computer-controlled, anti-missile defense system capable of destroying enemy missiles in outer spaced. Critics claimed that SDI could never be perfected. -
Robert Johnson
(April 8, 1946) He is an African-American entrepreneur, and also the founder of Black Entertainment Television and sold his program to Viacom 2001. He became the first African-American billionaire. -
Reagan Doctrine
It was a strategy implemented by the United States under the Reagan Administration to overwhelm the global influence of the Soviet Union in an attemp to end the Cold War. The US would give overt and covert support for anticommunist and resistance movements in order to roll back Communist expansion -
Iran Contra Affair
It was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of Ronald Reagan. It began as an operation to free seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah terrorists.The US took millions of dollars from the weapons sale and routed them and guns to the right-wing "Contra" guerillas in Nicaragua. -
Challenger Explosion
The NASA shuttle orbiter mission STS-51-L and the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flights. This disaster claimed the lives of all seven astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire who had been selected to join the mission and teach lessons from space to children around the country. It was determined that two rubber O-rings, which had been designed to separate the sections of the rocket booster failed. -
Oprah Winfrey
(January 29, 1954) She is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is most known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show which was the highest rated television program in history. She is also made is one of the richest African-Americans in the world and currently North America's first and only multi-billionaire black person. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was torn down as a symbol of the fall of the repressive East German communist government. When East Germans were finally allowed to freely enter West Germany. Thousands of Germans responded emotionally by demolishing the wall with sledgehammers and axes. -
Welfare Reform
It is a movement to change the federal government's social welfare policy by shifting some of the responsibility to the states and cutting benefits.There is also a Welfare Reform Bill that makes reductions in welfare grants and required able welfare recipients to find employment. -
Technology
Technology during this time period drastically changed. One example of this is the VCR. It was a recorder that can detect audio and analog video from broadcast television or other sources on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. -
Period: to
1990's
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Persian Gulf War / 1st Iraq War
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early August 1990. Alarmed by these actions, Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and other Western nations to intervene. Hussein defied UN Security council demands to withdraw from Kuwait and so the Persian Gulf War began with a massive US-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. -
Election of 1992
It was an election between Democratic Bill Clinton and Republican George HW Bush. "Daddy" Bush decided to resign as President but lost against Clinton who ended up winning the election with 370 electoral votes. -
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement was negotiated among the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the purpose removing barriers to the exchange of goods and services among the three countries. Free trade had existed between the US and Canada since 1989. -
Period: to
Contemporary
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Election of 2000
It was an election between Republican George W. Bush and Democratic Al Gore.It was considered to be one of the closest votes in election history, with electoral votes of 271 for Bush and 266 for Al Gore. Gore, however, won the popular vote, but the results in Florida were disputed and a recount was ordered by the Florida courts. In a 5 to 4 decision, the SC ordered a halt to the recount, giving Bush the victory. -
Bush v. Gore
Following the SCOTUS decision, and concurrent with Vice President Al Gore's contest of the certification of Florida presidential election results, on December 8, 2000, the Florida Supreme Court ordered that the Circuit Court of Leon County tabulate by hand 9000 contested ballots from Miami-Dade County. It also ordered that every county in Florida must immediately begin manually recounting all "under-votes" -
9/11 Attacks
The 9/11 was a series of four suicidal attacks in New York City and the Washington DC. The hijackers crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in NYC, as well as the Pentagon in Virginia and in the fields in Pennsylvania. Over more than a thousand people died on the attacks. -
PATRIOT Act
An act of Congress that was signed by George W. Bush. It was enacted in response to terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It broadened the investigative authority of law enforcement agencies throughout America and is applicable to any crimes other than terrorism. -
No Child Left Behind Education Act
It authorizes federal education programs that are administrated by the states. The law is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Under the 2002 law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school. President George W. Bush signed this law on 2002; it is the most sweeping education-reform legislation since Lyndon B. Johnson passed his Elementary and Secondary Education Act. -
2nd Iraq War
Also called the Second Persian Gulf War, it was an armed conflict with the invasion of Iraq. It consisted of two phases: the first of these was a brief, conventionally fought war in March-April 2003 in which a combined force of troops from the United States and Great Britain invaded Iraq and rapidly defeated Iraqi military and paramilitary forces. It was followed by a longer second phase in which a U.S.-led occupation of Iraq was opposed by an insurgency. -
Election of 2008
This election was a match between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. At the time, Obama was a Senator from Illinois while McCain served as a Senator from Arizona. Obama won the number of electors necessary to be elected President, with 365 electoral votes. He was inaugurated on January 20, 2009 and became the first Black President. -
Barack Obama
(born 1961) He was an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States. He became the first African-American president to serve as president, as well as born outside the United States (born in Hawaii). He has done significant things while serving as president, such as signing the Affordable Care Acts and ending the US combat operations in Iraq. -
Sonya Sotomayor
(born 1954) Sotomayor became the first Hispanic-American Justice and the third women overall. She earned many degrees during her education: a Bachelor's Degree from Princeton and JD from Yale Law School. Before making it to her career as supreme court justice, Sotomayor served as the US District Court and a judge. She was appointed by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009 and played her role on August 8, 2009. -
Affordable Care Act - Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare, is a United States federal state statute enacted by the Congress and signed into law by Obama on March 23, 2010. At the time, debates have been held on both sides of people. It was created to make health care more affordable and easily accessible to a wider range of Americans. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Government's first attempt to help the economy recover from the financial crisis and recession of 2008, enabling the government to borrow an additional $787 billion, so it could increase government spending and cut taxes by that amount.
