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G.I. Bill
Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This act provided veterans of the Second World War funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing. From 1944-1949, nearly nine million veterans received close to four billion from the bill's unemployment compensation program. -
Joseph McCarthy
American politician who was a U.S Senator from Wisconsin. Over the years he continued to make more spectacular attacks on alleged Communists inside the government. -
Truman Doctrine
American foreign policy which was created to counter Soviet expansion during the Cold War. This became the main foundation of American foreign policy which ended up leading into the formation of NATO, a military alliance. -
Fair Deal
Ambitious set of proposals put forward by United States President Harry S. Truman to Congress in his State of the Union address. The term meant that it could characterize the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration, from 1945-1953. -
Beat Generation
Literacy movement that started with a group of authors whose work was explored and influenced in American culture and politics in the post-World War 2 era. The bulk of all of their work was published and recognized throughout the 1950s. Beat culture were rejections of standard narrative values. -
North Korea invades South Korea
First major conflict of the Cold War as the Soviet Union supported North Korea and the United States supported South Korea. President Truman decided to go on the offense. The war was now about liberating North Korea from communism. -
Duck and Cover
Method used for personal protection against any effects of a nuclear explosion. This focuses on protective actions one can take during anytime and place. Flashes of intense heat and light developing into a nuclear fireball, one should use this method of defense. -
Ike Turner
American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. Began playing the piano and guitar when he was only eight years old, forming his group, the Kings of Rhythm, as a teenager. First recording was "Rocket 88." -
Bill Haley and the Comets
American rock and roll band, was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of America and the rest of the entire world. Group actually placed nine singles in the top twenty. "Rock Around the Clock", recorded by Bill Haley became successful peaking at no.23 on the Billboard pop singles chart. -
Television
One of the most popular products during the 1950s was the television. In the beginning of the decade there were an estimated of three million tv owners, by the ed, there were fifty-five million. Television news was able to broadcast the Republican and Democratic conventions live from Philadelphia to the rest of the entire nation. -
Domino Theory
Speculated that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then other countries would follow in a domino effect. This "domino theory" dominated the United States from thinking about Vietnam for the next decade. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. This decision was very important because it helped inspire the civil rights movement. -
Elvis Presley
American singer and actor who won many hearts during the 1950's. He was one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, often referred to as "King of Rock and Roll", or "The King." His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style made him extremely popular. -
Orval Faubus
American Democratic politician who served as 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967. Best remembered for his 1957 stand against desegregation of the Little Rock School District during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the U.S Supreme Court made in the 1954 case Brown v Board of Education. -
Albert Sabin
Polish American medical researcher, best known for developing the oral polio vaccine which played a huge key role in nearly eradicating the disease. -
Little Richard
American musician, singer and songwriter. His music played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including funk and soul. Also his music help share rhythm and blues for generations to come. Plus, his performances -
Dr. Jonas Salk
American medical researcher and virologist. He discovered and developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. It wasn't until 1955, when Salk vaccine was first introduced, polio was considered one of the most frightening public health issues in the world. -
Emmett Till Tragedy
African American teenager who was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 for being falsely accused of flirting with a white woman. Till was brutally beat and several men abducted him.They kept on beating him until they shot him and sunk his body in the Tallahatchie River. -
Lewinsky Affair
An American political sex scandal that involved 49-year-old President Bill Clinton and a 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The sexual relationship took place between 1995 and 1996 and came to light in 1998. Clinton ended a televised speech with the statement that he did not have sexual relations with Lewinsky. Further investigation led to charges of perjury and led to the impeachment of President Clinton in 1998 by the U.S. -
Rosa Parks
Activist in the Civil Rights Movement, Parks refused to obey the bus driver to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger. "Tired of giving in" is how Parks felt after attempting her act of defiance. She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. -
Eisenhower Interstate System
Network of controlled-access highways that forms a part of the National Highway System of the United States. Eliminated unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffics jams and all of the other things that got in the way of "speedy, safe transcontinental travel." -
Little Rock 9
Was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. Students were prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. -
NASA
known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which is a civilian space program , as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA. Majority of the US space exploration have been led by NASA that include Apollo Moon landing missions. -
Sit-ins
All began when four African American students from North Carolina A&T College sat down at a Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. Mainly was a use of nonviolent protests that involved one or more people occupying an area to protest. -
LSD
Known as acid, psychedelic drug known for its psychological effects. Side effects may include altered awareness of the surroundings, perceptions, and feelings as well as sensations and images that seem real though they are not. -
Hippies
Young people near the Woodstock festival. Any member of a liberal counterculture, originally a youth movement that started in the United States and the United Kingdom. Created their own communities, listened to psychedelic music, embraced into the sexual revolution and used drugs like marijuana and more. -
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
This organization primarily focused on trying to eliminate competitors so they could control the world crude oil market. Formed to unify and coordinate the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets, in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum. -
Peace Corps
John F. Kennedy , proposed to the University of Michigan, to help the developing countries by promoting peace. He encouraged them to go to needy countries and give them aid, financially, educationally, and physically. -
Freedom Rides
Goal was to draw national attention to and incite federal immediate action against the non-enforcement in the segregated south of the Supreme Court decisions Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia. Black and whites rode buses into the South in the early 1960s in order to challenge racial segregation. -
Naval Quarantine
Distinguished an action of a blockaded, which assumed a state of war. Was an arc of 500 miles from Cape Maysi, Cuba. The range was chosen to be out of range of the Soviet IL-28 bombers based in Cuba. -
"I Have a Dream Speech"
Public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. This speech brought greater attention to the Civil Rights Movement which had been going on for many years. -
Assassination of JFK
While riding in a motorcade in Dallas, was fatally shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, while traveling with his wife, Jacqueline. Bullets struck the president's neck and head and he slumped over Mrs. Kennedy. People throughout the nation and world struggled on trying to make sense of the tragic act. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
American former U.S Marine who assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Shot and killed Kennedy as the President was traveling by motorcade through Dealey Plaza in the city of Dallas, Texas. He ended up getting shot by Jack Ruby in full view on TV cameras broadcasting live. -
Jack Ruby
He fatally was best known for shooting Lee Harvey Oswald while the latter was in police custody after being charged with assassinating United States President John F. Kennedy two days earlier. Dallas jury found him guilty of murdering Oswald, and Ruby was sentenced to death. -
Great Society
Set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. New major spending programs focused on education, medical care, urban issues, rural poverty and transportation. -
Barry Goldwater
American politician and businessman who was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona. Goldwater is the politician most often credited for sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement during the 1960s. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Is the nation's premier civil rights legislation. The act outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, required equal access to public places and employment, and enforced desegregation of schools and the right to vote. -
Daisy Girl Ad
a 60 second TV ad changed American politics forever. Even though it was only aired once, it was an important factor in Johnson's landslide victory. Also this was a very important turning point in political and advertising history. -
Selma March
600,00 people decided to start a planned march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. When state troopers met the demonstrators at the edge of the city by the Edmund Pettus Bridge, that day became known as "Bloody Sunday." -
Earl Warren Supreme Court
American jurist and politician, who served as the 30th Governor of California and later the 14th Chief Justice of the United States. Best known for the liberal decisions of the so-called Warren Court, which outlawed segregation in public schools and transformed many areas of American law. -
Apollo 11
Spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. First steps by humans on another planetary body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The two astronauts also managed to return to Earth the first samples from the Moon. -
Equal Rights Amendment
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
Major political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s, following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C in 1972. This event eventually brought down Republican President Richard Nixon, forcing him to resign after secret tapes were revealed. -
Roe v. Wade
Landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The court recognized for the first time that the constitutional tight to privacy to privacy "is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy". Roe is known as the case that legalized abortion nationwide. -
Endangered Species Act
Strongest and most important federal law that protects imperiled wildlife and plants. Less than one percent of the more than 2,000 plants and animals protected by the Act worldwide have ever been formerly delisted due to extinction. -
Nixon Tapes
Audio recordings of conversations made by United States President Richard Nixon administration officials, Nixon family members, and White House staff. Nixon's refusal of a congressional subpoena to release the tapes constituted an article of impeachment against Nixon, and led to his subsequent resignation. -
Nixon's Presidency
His six years in the White House remained widely viewed as critical in American military, diplomatic, and political history. As the 37th United States President, he is best remembered as the only president ever to resign from office. Stepping down from his term in office in 1974, halfway through his second term , rather than facing impeachment over his efforts to cover up his illegal activities. -
Jimmy Carter's Presidency
A Democrat, who took office after defeating Republican incumbent President Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. He sought to make the government "competent and compassionate" but, in the midst of an economic crisis produced rising energy prices. -
Panama Canal
Authorized the immediate abolishment of the Canal Zone, a 10-mile-wide, 40-mile-long U.S controlled area that bisected the Republic of Panama. The treaty, signed by President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos promised an end to U.S control of the canal. The neutrality component of the treaty gave the U.S permanent authority to defend the canal if it were placed under threat as a neutral water passage. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
Diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United States, Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4,1979, to January 20, 1981 after a group of Iranian students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the United States Embassy in Tehran. -
Robert L. Johnson
is an African American entrepreneur, media magnate, executive, philanthropist and investor. He is the founder of BET, which was sold to Viacom in 2001.He also founded a holding company that invests in various business sectors.Johnson is the former majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. He became the first black American billionaire. Johnson's companies have counted among the most prominent African-American businesses in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. -
Video Head System (VHS)
Standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes. Developed by Victor Company of Japan (JVC). In the 1980s at the peak of the VHS's popularity, there were videotape format wars in the home video industry. Two of the formats VHS and Betamax, received the most media attention exposure. -
A.I.D.S Crisis
The epidemic of the immunodeficiency disease AIDS, which began in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1930s as a mutation of the chimpanzee disease SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus), which was named Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) found its way to the shores of the United States as early as 1960, but was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in young gay men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981 -
Election of 1980
The United States presidential election of 1980 was the 49th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1980. The contest ran between the Democratic national ticket of incumbent President Jimmy Carter from Georgia and Vice President Walter Mondale from Minnesota. -
Reagan Presidency
Originally an American actor and politician, who became the 40th President of the United States who served from 1981 through 1989. His term was important because it saw restoration of prosperity at home, with the goal of achieving "peace though strength" abroad. He also viewed the achievements made of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, this aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce reliance upon the government. -
Space Shuttle Program
United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. This composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank that carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 pounds. -
Music Television (MTV)
American cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks which headquartered in New York City. Big corporations in American television in the 1980's proved to be a much better promoter for popular music than it was for their competition in radio and motion pictures. MTV reached over 40 million people mostly teenagers who became the focal point of advertisers because they were the one's who purchased the music in stores. -
Sandra Day O' Connor
Retired associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, served from her appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan until her retirement in 2006. First woman to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Elected official judge in Arizona serving as the first female Majority Leader of a state senate as the Republican leader in the Arizona State. -
Sam Walton's Just-in-Time Inventory
The first Sam’s Club, the company’s first members-only warehouse store, opens in Oklahoma. The new club is setup to compete with Costco, which first opened for business customers in 1976.In the first year after going public, Wal-Mart added six stores, followed by 13 stores in each of the next two years, then 14, then 26. By the end of 1980, Walton had 276 stores and would soon be opening stores at the rate of about 100 per year. -
Iran Contra Affair
Was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration. The scandal began as an operation to free seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, a paramilitary group with Iranian ties connected to the Army of the Islamic Revolution. It was planned that Israel, and then the U.S would resupply Israel and receive the Israeli payment. -
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 and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011 in Chicago, Illinois.Dubbed the "Queen of All Media",she has been ranked the richest African-American, the greatest black philanthropist in American history. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
As the Cold War began to thaw across Eastern Europe, the spokesman for East Berlin's Communist Party announced a major change in the city's relations with the West. At midnight that day, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country's borders. -
Persian Gulf War/ 1st Iraq War
Operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm in its combat phase, which was a war waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. The Iraq Army's occupation met with international condemnation. -
Rodney King Incident
Taxi driver who became internationally known after being beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers following a high-speed car chase.George Holiday, videotaped much of the beating from his balcony, and sent the footage to local news station. The footage shows four officers arounf King, several of them striking him repeatedly, while other officers stood by. Parts of the footage were aired around the world, and raised public concern about police treatment of minorities in the U.S -
Election of 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 was the 52nd quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1992. There were three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush, Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot. -
Health Care Reform
Its goal was to come up with a comprehensive plan to provide universal health care for all Americans, which was to be a cornerstone of the administration's first-term agenda. When insurance companies spent millions to stop her efforts to reform health care in the ’90s, she refused to give up. Instead, she worked across the aisle to help pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Today, it covers 8 million kids. She has never given up on the fight for universal coverage. -
George H.W. Bush
Is an American politician who was the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd Vice President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he was previously a congressman, ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence. He is the oldest living former President and Vice President. -
Bill Clinton Presidency
Is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Prior to the Presidency he was the 40th Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and the state's 42nd Governor from 1983 to 1992. Before that, he served as Arkansas Attorney General from 1977 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was ideologically a New Democrat, and many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy. -
Internet
Is the first web browser and editor. It was discontinued in 1994. At the time it was written, it was the sole web browser in existence,as well as the first WYSIWYG HTML editor.The source code was released into the public domain on April 30, 1993.Some of the code still resides on Tim Berners-Lee's NeXT Computer in the CERN museum and has not been recovered due to the computer's status as a historical artifact. -
Lionel Sosa
Is a Mexican-American advertising and marketing executive. He entered political advertising by supporting John Tower. With Sosa's support, Tower won 37% of the Hispanic vote. The success of Sosa's agency in the Tower campaign led several national companies, including Coca Cola and Coors, and In 1980 Sosa created a new Agency, Sosa and Associates (most recently Bromley Communications) and eventually Sosa and Associates became the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the United States. -
Election of 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was the 54th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-incumbent governor of Texas and the eldest son of the 41st President George H. W. Bush, narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee Al Gore, then-incumbent vice president and former Senator for Tennessee, as well as various third-party candidates including Ralph Nader. -
George W.Bush Presidency
George W. Bush was inaugurated as President of the United States. A Republican, he took office following a very close win in the 2000 presidential election over Democratic nominee Al Gore, the then–incumbent Vice President. Bush, the 43rd United States president, is the son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush. Bush was re-elected in 2004, defeating his Democratic opponent John Kerry. He was succeeded in office by Democrat Barack Obama, who won the 2008 presidential election. -
No Child Left Behind Education Act
The No Child Left Behind Act authorizes several federal education programs that are administered 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. -
9/11 Attacks
Were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, and caused at least $10 billion in property and infrastructure damage and $3 trillion in total costs.Four passenger airliners operated by two major U.S. passenger air carriers (United Airlines and American Airlines) -
2nd Iraq War
The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 20 March to 1 May 2003 and signalled the start of the Iraq War, which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States The invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. -
John McCain
Is an American politician who currently serves as the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.McCain followed his father and grandfather, both four-star admirals, into the United States Navy, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. The storm is currently ranked as the third most intense United States landfalling tropical cyclone. Overall, at least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S hurricane.Total property damage was estimated at $108 billion roughly four times the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in the U.S. -
Obama Presidency
Is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have served as president, as well as the first born outside the contiguous United States. He previously served in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004. -
First Hispanic SCOTUS judge- Sonya Sotomayor
Is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. She has the distinction of being its first justice of Hispanic heritage, the first Latina, its third female justice, and its twelfth Roman Catholic justice.Her father died when she was nine, and she was subsequently raised by her mother. Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1976 and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979. -
First Hispanic SCOTUS judge - Sonya Sotomayor
is a United States federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Under the act, hospitals and primary physicians would transform their practices financially, technologically, and clinically to drive better health outcomes, lower costs, and improve their methods of distribution and accessibility.
