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Rock 'n' Roll
"Rock 'n' Roll" was popular dance music originating in the 1950s, characterized by a heavy beat and simple melodies. Rock and roll was an amalgam of black rhythm and blues and white country music, usually based on a twelve-bar structure and an instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums. African-American rhythm and blues stolen by white musicians later on.Rock & Roll referred to a slang for sexual intercourse, applied to teenagers mostly which allowed Rock & Roll to grow. -
38th parallel established as a border
The bordering line at latitude 38° N in East Asia that roughly demarcates North Korea and South Korea. The line crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. Key point of interest in the beginning of the Korean War -
Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain, the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies from open contact with the West and other noncommunist areas. -
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Cold War
State of tension between powers in the Eastern & Western Bloc.
The geopolitical tension between the USSR and the US.
Key events that increased the tension were the arms and space race along with the rising sensation of a third world conflict amongst America and the Soviet Union in dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was enacted by President Harry S. Truman who established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from communist forces.
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Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe between 1948 and 1951. The Marshall Plan succesfully sparked economic recovery and was enacted to promote European economic integration and federalism and created a mixture of public organization of the private economy similar to that in the domestic economy of the United States. -
Stalin Closes The Border
The Soviet Union blocks all road and rail traffic to and from West Berlin. The blockade turned out to be a terrible diplomatic move by the Soviets, while the United States emerged from the confrontation with renewed purpose and confidence. The Berlin Airlift arises and gets supplies to West Berlin and prevents it from falling to communist influence -
West Berlin Supplied
In response to the Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin, the United States begins a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of the besieged city. For nearly a year, supplies from American planes sustained the over 2 million people in West Berlin. The constant flow of supplies prevented the ever looming communist presence of the Soviets to completely gain influence over West Berlin. -
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Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was the aerial transportation of supplies into Western Europe's Berlin. Via this system of supply carry, the U.S. prevented West Berlin from falling into the control of the Soviet Union. -
Fair Deal
Truman announced his plans for domestic policy reforms including national health insurance, public housing, civil rights legislation and federal aid to education. He advocated an increase in the minimum wage, federal assistance to farmers and an extension of Social Security, as well as urging the immediate implementation of anti-discrimination policies in employment. Eventually Truman managed to convince Congress to pass several of his liberal reforms, including the Housing Act. -
TV Shows
Entertainment sources of the 1950s derived from television were mainly shows that portrayed many ideals of the 1950s and continue to shine as the "perfect family" model today. These shows coined the terms of obedience and hard work in a family and helped reinforce the roles of a traditional family. Shows such as "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" highlighted these traditional family values. -
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1950s
Shortly after the end of WWII, the end of the 1950s saw the United States rise as the world’s strongest military power. A Superpower in Its booming economy and a vast amount of resources. As well as the growing fruits of prosperity bestowed in new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods, which were made available to much more people than ever before. However, the 1950s was also a time of the rising advent of communism and the civil right movements. -
North Korea Invades South Korea
Invasion of the communist North Koreans Into South Korea by crossing the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south intiated the Korean War. The first armed conflict of the Cold War. -
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Korean War (The Forgotten War)
The first military action of the Cold War. Armed conflict between the Northern Korean forces and the South Korean forces backed up by America. In a broader view, it was a war against the forces of international communism itself. Thus showing just how far America was to go to prevent communist forces to gain influence. In the midst of it all, American officials worked anxiously to fashion some sort of armistice with the North Koreans in fear of a wider war with Russia or China. -
Ike Turner
Ike Turner, a black musician made the first Rock & Roll song "Rocket 88". White artists would later rip off Turner's music and other African American artists. Ike Turner was born on November 5, 1931, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and grew up playing the blues. He debuted many popular singles with his partner Tina Turner and was a major catalyst in the beginning of popular Rock 'n' Roll music. In the long run however Turner faced abuse allegations from Tina and virtually lost his whole fanbase. -
Bill Haley and the Comets
Bill Haley & The Comets song “Rock around the Clock Tonight" made Rock 'n' Roll popular, but did not spread it as wide as Elvis did in his phenomenon of unique music. The group was formed in the year 1952 but would only go on to gain much of its popularity between the years of 1954-1956. Bill Hailey, was the most popular of the group and later went on to rip off songs of other African American artists taking the credit, and thereby elevating Rock 'n' Roll to a higher popularity level. -
Polio Vaccine
Developed and perfected by Dr. Jonas Salk, On March 26, 1953, the American medical researcher announced on a national radio show that he had successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. In 1954, clinical trials using the Salk vaccine began on nearly two million American schoolchildren. In April 1955, it was announced that the vaccine was effective and safe, and a nationwide inoculation campaign began. -
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Civil Rights
In a turbulent decade and a half that followed, civil rights activists used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to bring about change, and the federal government made legislative headway with initiatives such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Peaceful protest consisting of "sit-ins", leaders from within the African American community and beyond rose to prominence during the Civil Rights era, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The decision of this landmark supreme court case declared that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Brown v. Board decision helped end state-sponsored segregation, and provided a spark to the American civil rights movement. Chief Justice Earl Warren rejected the Plessy doctrine, declaring that “separate educational facilities” were “inherently unequal” because the intangible inequalities of segregation deprived black students of equal protection under the law. -
Little Richard
Little Richard helped define the early rock ‘n’ roll era of the 1950s with his driving, flamboyant sound. In 1955 Richard hooked up with Specialty Records producer Art Rupe, who’d been hunting for a piano-pounding frontman to lead a group of musicians in New Orleans. In September, Richard stepped into the recording studio and pumped out “Tutti-Frutti,” an instant Billboard hit that reached No. 17. Over the next year, the musician churned out several more rock hits, amassing a grand following. -
Television's major Introduction to the masses
WWII slowed TV’s introduction to the consumer market, however, after the war, the television spread to the masses of America. By 1955, 75% of American homes had a TV, Televisions are now the way people were entertained and gained their information, the television proved to be vastly influential in all types of campaigns and conflicts in the world. For example, being vastly influential in elections and the news. -
Emmett Till Tragedy
While visiting family in Money, Mississippi, 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African-American from Chicago, is brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman. Till was dragged out of his home in the middle of the night and then beat to near death by two men, the white woman's husband and her brother gouged out his eye, shot him in the head, then threw his body, tied to a cotton-gin fan with barbed wire, into the river. The brutal events proved to be the kick-starter of the civil rights movement. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was regarded as the first large-scale demonstration of civil rights against segregation. A largely peaceful protest towards segregation on the African American side. The boycott began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white male and sit at the back of the bus, she was then arrested and fined. On the day of her court hearing, the boycott began and lasted for more than a year. Eventually, the Supreme court ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system. -
Elvis Presley Mass Stardom influence
Musician and actor Elvis Presley endured rapid fame in the mid-1950s—on the radio, TV and the silver screen. Presley began to develop a following with fans who were drawn to his unusual musical style, provocative gyrating hips, and good looks. His music style adopted African American rhythms & blues which were molded with gospel and country music. As a result of all his redeeming qualities and unique music style, Presley made Rock 'n' Roll a phenomenon. -
Little Rock 9
Little Rock, Arkansas, September 1957, nine black students enrolled at formerly all-white, Central high school testing a landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. The Supreme court advocated for schools to integrate “with all deliberate speed”. However, On September 4, 1957, the first day of classes at Central High, Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas called in the state National Guard to bar the black students’ entry into the school. -
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1960s
At the beginning of the 1960s, many Americans believed they were standing at the dawn of a golden age. The 1960s was characterized by a large optimism in middle-class society Americans, predominantly white, who with Kennedy's confidence had a positive tone set for the era. However, the 1960s were also filled with the ideals of civil rights, the counterculture, equal rights, feminism and the controversy on the war with Vietnam. The optimistic 60s continued to get sour as the war in Vietnam raged. -
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Counter Culture
The counterculture of the 1960s refers to an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed in the United States and then spread throughout much of the Western world between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s, with London, New York City, and San Francisco being hotbeds of early countercultural activity. Counterculturalists/hippies lived in separate communities rejected cars, suburban homes & average jobs their parents had, Renounced material possession & used drugs -
Greensboro, North Carolina Sit-In
Greensboro, North Carolina recorded as the first Sit-In against segregation. The sit-ins started on February 1st, 1960 when four black students from North Carolina A&T College sat down at a Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro. They protested to fight against the racial segregation of the "Whites only" lunch counters at Woolworth. These Sit-ins lasted from about February 1 - July 25, 1960. The end result was the light sparked in the hearts of young people to fight for civil rights. -
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Sit-Ins
A sit-in is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The civil rights era of the 1960s saw sit-ins as one of the more extreme types of peaceful protests. Primarily ran by young African-Americans and some white supporters, they were abused both mentally, physically and embarrassed in the end. However, these protests lit many sparks of freedom in the civil rights movement amongst young people. -
Nashville, Tennessee Sit-In
The Nashville sit-in movement is widely regarded as one of the most successful student-directed sit-in campaigns of the Civil Rights movement. Contributing to its success was the leadership and organization provided by the noted pacifist, James M. Lawson. Lawson and the Nashville Student Movement launched a large-scale sit-in campaign targeting segregated restaurants and department stores in the city's downtown commercial district. Eventually, the city agreed to desegregate public businesses. -
New Frontier
The term New Frontier was used by liberal Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the 1960 United States presidential election to the Democratic National Convention.The ideas behind the New Frontier instilled a sense of both confidence and new ambitions in America's society. Reaching new frontiers in space, economy, and politics. These promises made by Kennedy was a major catalyst in the positive vibes around the 1960s until a certain assassination occurred. -
Peace Corps
On September 22, 1961, Kennedy signed congressional legislation creating a permanent Peace Corps that would “promote world peace and friendship”. This was done via an agenda of three key components, one being to help the peoples of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women. The next, to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.Finally, to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. -
Freedom Rides
To challenge laws mandating segregated interstate transportation, busloads of integrated black and white students rode through the South. The first freedom riders left Washington, D.C., in May 1961 en route to New Orleans. Several participants were arrested in bus stations. When the buses reached Anniston, Alabama, an angry mob slashed the tires on one bus and set it aflame. Soon after, the rides ended by highlighting the bravery of civil rights activists all around, predominantly young teens. -
Birmingham Bombing
At 10:22 a.m. on the morning of September 15, 1963, some 200 church members were in the building–many attending Sunday school classes before the start of the 11 am service–when the bomb detonated on the church’s east side. The bodies of four young girls were found beneath the rubble and injured more.This event in Birmingham only elevated the intensity of the civil rights movement. In the aftermath of the bombing, thousands of angry black protesters gathered at the scene of the bombing. -
Assassination of JFK
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas. As their vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository Building at 12:30 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital. Kennedy's assasination ended the optimistic era of the 1960s. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
The presumed assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Oswald allegedly shot Kennedy from a high window of a building in Dallas on November 22, 1963, as Kennedy rode down the street in an open car. Oswald was captured the day of the assassination but was never tried. A government commission led by Chief Justice Earl Warren concluded later that Oswald, though active in communist causes, was not part of a conspiracy to kill Kennedy. Assumed to be working with another organization or person. -
Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby, had relations with a number of Dallas police officers, operated strip joints and dance halls and had minor connections to organized crime.On November 24, Oswald was brought to the basement of the Dallas police headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. As Oswald came into the room, Jack Ruby fatally wounded him with a single shot from a concealed .38 revolver. Ruby, who was immediately detained, claimed that rage at Kennedy’s murder was the motive for his action. -
Warren Commission
On November 29, 1963, Johnson established the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy in order to investigate his predecessor’s death.During its almost yearlong investigation, the Warren Commission reviewed reports by the FBI, Department of State and the attorney general of Texas. The commission concluded that the bullets that killed Kennedy and injured Connally were fired by Oswald from a rifle pointed out of a sixth-floor window in the Texas School Book Depository. -
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Anti-War Movement
The anti-war movement began mostly on college campuses, as members of the leftist organization Students for a Democratic Society began organizing “teach-ins”. Those who opposed war were a minority as opposed to the majority that supported the war in Vietnam. This minority included many students as well as prominent artists and intellectuals and members of the hippie movement, a growing number of young people who rejected authority and embraced the drug culture. -
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. Following Johnson’s lead, Congress enacted sweeping legislation in the areas of civil rights, health care, education and the environment. The 1965 State of the Union address heralded the creation of Medicare/Medicaid, Head Start, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act. -
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1970s
The 1970s were a tumultuous time for women, African Americans, gays, lesbians and other oppressed people would come to a rise in larger numbers advocating for equal rights. The 70s was characterized by a mobilized defense of political conservatism and traditional family roles. Along with a movement for environmental protection and anti-war movements followed by Watergate, and Nixon's ruined image as a result. Thus setting the tone for a pessimistic America, which many argue is with us today. -
Environmental Protection Agency
President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA and it began operation on December 2, 1970, to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. Created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. Since its creation,EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people. -
Equal RIghts Amendment
First proposed by the National Woman’s political party in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was to provide for the legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. More than four decades later, the Amendment won the requisite two-thirds vote from the U.S. House of Representatives in October 1971. In March 1972, it was approved by the U.S. Senate and sent to the states. However, it failed to achieve ratification. -
Title IX
On June 23, 1972, the President signed Title IX of the Education Amendments into law. Title IX was a comprehensive federal law that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. The principal objective of Title IX was to avoid the use of federal money to support sex discrimination in education programs and to provide individual citizens effective protection against those practices. -
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
President Richard Nixon declared current species conservation efforts to be inadequate and called on the 93rd United States Congress to pass comprehensive endangered species legislation. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was then passed, the act provided and still provides to this day, assistance for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range, and the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend. -
Nixon's Resignation
In an evening televised address, President Richard M. Nixon announces his intention to become the first president in American history to resign. With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvement in the Watergate affair, Nixon was finally bowing to pressure from the public and Congress to leave the White House.Minutes later, Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States in the East Room of the White House. Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon. -
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) Rise to prominence
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, with an objective to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers. The 1970s saw OPEC rise to international prominence as its Member Countries took control of their domestic petroleum industries and Member Countries embarked on socio-economic development schemes where membership grew to 13 by 1975. -
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978. President Jimmy Carter invited Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin to the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, where dual peace accords were hammered out under the direction of Carter. The Camp David Accords laid the groundwork for a permanent peace agreement between Egypt and Israel after three decades of hostilities. -
Three Mile Island
The Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor, near Middletown, Pa., partially melted down on March 28, 1979. This was the most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history. Its aftermath brought about sweeping changes involving emergency response planning, reactor operator training, and many other areas of nuclear power plant operations. It also caused the NRC to tighten and heighten security and its regulatory oversight. Caused U.S. nuclear power plants to increase safety. -
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1980s
The decade saw great socioeconomic change due to advances in technology and a worldwide move away from planned economies. Many economists agree that the change in global economic trends of the 1980s can be attributed to the economic boom of "Reaganomics".The decade also saw the rise of the “yuppie,” an explosion of blockbuster movies and the emergence of cable networks like MTV, which introduced music videos and launched the careers of many iconic artists. -
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Rap Music
Throughout the 80’s, artists like Grandmaster Flash, the Furious Five, and Afrika Bambaataa were routinely battling it out at parties in the park and local clubs to see who could best move the crowd with their unique verses. By 1982, the gloves were off. Record companies who had previously ignored the musical style were scrambling to fill their rosters with rap acts. However, it wasn't until N.W.A's hit song 'Straight Outta Compton' in 1988 that turned rap music into a worldwide phenomenon. -
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Reaganomics
During the campaign of 1980, Ronald Reagan announced a recipe to fix the nation's economic mess. He claimed an undue tax burden, excessive government regulation, and massive social spending programs hampered growth. Reagan proposed a phased 30% tax cut for the first three years of his Presidency. The bulk of the cut would be concentrated at the upper-income levels. The economic theory behind the wisdom of such a plan was called 'Supply-Side' or 'Trickle-Down Economics'. -
Space Shuttle Program
NASA's space shuttle fleet began setting records with its first launch on April 12,1981, and continued to set high marks of achievement and endurance through 30 years of missions. Starting with Columbia and continuing with Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, the spacecraft has carried people into orbit repeatedly, launched, recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the largest structure in space, the International Space Station. -
Music Television (MTV)
August 1, 1981, MTV Music Television goes on air. MTV went on to revolutionize the music industry and become an influential source of pop culture and entertainment in the United States and other parts of the world. In MTV’s early days, its programming consisted of basic music videos that were introduced by video jockeys and provided for free by record companies. As the record industry recognized MTV’s value as a promotional vehicle, money was invested in making creative, cutting-edge videos. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O’Connor was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006 and was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. A moderate conservative, she was known for her dispassionate and meticulously researched opinions. In opposition to the Republican call to reverse the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights, O’Connor provided the vote needed to uphold the court’s earlier decision. She tended to vote in line with her politically conservative nature. -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) "Star Wars"
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983, under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union. With the tension of the Cold War looming overhead, the Strategic Defense Initiative was the United States’ response to possible nuclear attacks from afar. -
The Reagan Doctrine
In his State of the Union address, President Ronald Reagan defines some of the key concepts of his foreign policy, establishing the foundation for the Reagan administration’s support of “freedom fighters” around the globe. In action, this policy translated into covertly supporting the Contras in their attacks on the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua; the Afghan rebels in their fight against the Soviet occupiers; and anticommunist Angolan forces embroiled in that nation’s civil war. -
Iran Contra Affair
On August 20, 1985, the Iran–Contra scandal, was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. They hoped, thereby, to fund the Contras in Nicaragua while at the same time negotiating the release of several U.S. hostages. On November 1986, the U.S. was exposed for the weapons-for-hostages deal. -
Challenger Explosion
On January 28, 1986, the American shuttle orbiter Challenger broke up 73 seconds after liftoff, bringing a devastating end to the spacecraft’s 10th mission, the disaster claimed the lives of all seven astronauts aboard. The tragedy and its aftermath received extensive media coverage and prompted NASA to refrain from sending astronauts into space for more than two years as it redesigned a number of the shuttle’s features. In the era, it discouraged the faith and enthusiasm in many Americans. -
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1990s
The 1990s possessed a sense of happiness that seems long vanished. Money still generated money. Computers were becoming fast easy and cheap, and with them came a sense equality for everyone. Things were steadily getting better everywhere. The 1990s was politically defined by a movement towards the right wing, and cuts in social spending in the United States, Canada, and the UK. The 1990s saw huge advances in technology, with the World Wide Web, the first gene therapy trial, all emerging in 1990. -
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Climate Change Findings Come Out
The first report of the IPCC finds that the planet has warmed by 0.5°C over the past century. IPCC warns that only strong measures to halt rising greenhouse gas emissions will prevent serious global warming. This provides scientific clout for UN negotiations for a climate convention. Negotiations begin at the Climate Change Convention agrees to prevent “dangerous” warming from greenhouse gasses and sets the initial target of reducing emissions from industrialized countries, from 1990 to 2000. -
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 U.S. and other Western nations to intervene. Hussein defied the UN Security Council's demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991, thus launching the war into full action. Though the Persian Gulf War was initially considered an unqualified success for the international coalition. -
Rodney King Incident
On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was caught by the Los Angeles police after a high-speed chase. Thereafter, the officers pulled him out of the car and beat him brutally, while amateur cameraman George Holliday caught it all on videotape. As a result, riots engulfed the intersection of Florence and Normandie in South Central Los Angeles. The riots stemmed from 3 other black men and lit Los Angeles ablaze with the reminiscing fires of the civil rights movement and racial violence appearing once more. -
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Balkans Crisis
On June 25, 1991, the parliaments of Slovenia and Croatia declared independence, triggering the immediate deployment of the Belgrade-controlled Yugoslav army towards the affected borders and airports. After a ten-day conflict, the JNA withdrew from ethnically homogenous Slovenia. Croatia's ethnic Serb rebels who opposed independence launched a four-year war. Serbs boycotted the referendum, 60% of Bosnia's citizens voted for independence and Bosnia won international recognition on April 6, 1992. -
1993 World Trade Center Bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, carried out on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The bomb was intended to send the North Tower crashing into the South Tower, bringing both towers down. It failed to do so but killed six people and injured a good amount. The charges included conspiracy, explosive destruction of property, and interstate transportation of explosives. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
NAFTA, a trade pact between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, eliminated virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions between the three nations. Clinton said he hoped the agreement would encourage other nations to work toward a broader world-trade pact. The passage of NAFTA was one of Clinton’s first major victories as the first Democratic president in 12 years though the movement for free trade in North America had begun as a Republican initiative. However, it received heavy criticism. -
Contract With America
The “Contract with America” outlined legislation to be enacted by the House of Representatives. Among the proposals were tax cuts, a permanent line-item veto, measures to reduce crime and provide middle-class tax relief, and constitutional amendments requiring term limits and a balanced budget. With the exception of the constitutional amendment for term limits, all parts of the “Contract with America” were passed by the House, under the leadership of the speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. -
Welfare Reform
The bill was a cornerstone of the Republican Contract with America and signed by President Bill Clinton on August 22, 1996, fulfilling his 1992 campaign promise to "end welfare as we have come to know it". PRWORA instituted Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which became effective July 1, 1997. The law was heralded as a "reassertion of America's work ethic" by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, largely in response to the bill's workfare component. -
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law that, prior to being ruled unconstitutional, defined marriage for federal purposes as the union of one man and one woman, and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted under the laws of other states. DOMA's passage did not prevent individual states from recognizing same-sex marriage, but it imposed constraints on the benefits received by all legally married same-sex couples. -
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Contemporary Times
The Contemporary World, characterized by a number of events, and the ongoing advent of war in the Middle East. Now in modern times, technology has made a gigantic leap in the medical, science, and engineering field. A number of healthcare and economic reforms have also been laid out in the century, as the rate of living has increased all around. However, on the horizon and outwards America's foreign policies and connections will undoubtedly bring about a new era of war and injustices. -
9/11 Attacks
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked 4 airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. 2 of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. As a result, the American-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan began on October 7. -
PATRIOT ACT
"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001" Congress enacted the Patriot Act by overwhelming, bipartisan margins, arming law enforcement with new tools to detect and prevent terrorism: The USA Patriot Act was passed nearly unanimously by the Senate in the House, with the support of members from across the political spectrum. The safety and security of the American people was enforced to a never before seen level. -
No Child Left Behind Education Act
The major focus of No Child Left Behind is to close student achievement gaps by providing all children with a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. The U.S. Department of Education emphasizes four pillars within the bill, accountability, flexibility, research-based education, parent options. Ensured that states and schools boost the performance of certain groups of students, such as students in special education, and poor, minority children. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Early in the morning, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding, many people charged that the federal government was slow to meet the needs of the people affected by the storm. Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama were displaced from their homes, estimated costs in damage were around $100 billion in damage. -
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The Great Recession
The Great Recession represents the sharp decline in economic activity during the late 2000s, which is generally considered the largest downturn since the Great Depression. The “Great Recession” applies to both the U.S. recession, officially lasting from December 2007 to June 2009, and the ensuing global recession in 2009. The economic slump began when the U.S. housing market went from boom to bust and large amounts of mortgage-backed securities and derivatives lost significant value. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was developed in response to the Great Recession, the ARRA's primary objective was to save existing jobs and create new ones as soon as possible. Other objectives were to provide temporary relief programs for those most affected by the recession and invest in infrastructure, education, health, and renewable energy.
The approximate cost of the economic stimulus package was estimated to be $787 billion at the time of passage. -
First Hispanic SCOTUS Judge - Sonya Sotomayor
On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice. The nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August 2009 by a vote of 68 to 31, making Sotomayor the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in U.S. history. Her impressive profile from Princeton and Yale gained her the position of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992–1998. -
Affordable Care Act (ACA) "Obamacare"
The Purpose of "ObamaCare" was to make affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies (“premium tax credits”) that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. Expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level. Support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally. -
Undoing of DOMA
The Repealing of DOMA was enacted by the landmark Supreme court case, United States v. Windsor in which the United States Supreme Court held that restricting U.S. federal interpretation of "marriage" and "spouse" to apply only to opposite-sex unions, by Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The Court declared it "a deprivation of the liberty of the person".
