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Malcolm X
Converts to Islam after spending 6 years in prison. Malcolm thought Islam was a religion for black people, changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X, to signify last names of his African ancestors. His goal was to give black militancy mainstream for self defense. Malcolm didn't let whites help in his struggle for Civil Rights and didn't agree with non-violent strategy. Malcolm X later separated from Islam after seeing that Islam was for everyone, not just black people. -
Elvis
Musician and actor Elvis Presley endured rapid fame in the mid-1950s on the radio, TV and the silver screen, and continues to be one of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll. In 1955, Teens were drawn to his unusual musical style, provocative gyrating hips and good looks. Soon he became famous and was going on interviews on TV. He was inducted into the Army the following March, he eventually served in Germany for about a year and a half. Died of heart failure due to drugs. -
LSD
LSD, short for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. This is a drug used by hippies and the counterculture. Its hallucinogenic effects were unknown until 1943 when Hoffman accidentally consumed some LSD. While the ‘60s counterculture used the drug to escape the problems of society, the Western intelligence community and the military saw it as a potential chemical weapon. -
G.I. Bill
The G.I. Bill, also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, helped aid veterans in World War II. It established hospitals, offered low-interest on houses, and granted all spending and tuition for veterans attending college. They were also granted money to start a business or just simply if they were unemployed. This is still around today. -
The 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 non-communist areas. The term Iron Curtain had been in occasional and varied use as a metaphor since the 19th century, but it came to prominence only after it was used by the former British prime minister Winston Churchill in a speech at Fulton, Missouri, U.S. -
The Fair Deal
In a reference to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, Truman announced his plans for domestic policy reforms, called the "Fair Deal", 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. -
Rock 'n' Roll
African American blues and gospel, created rock and roll. When African Americans started moving towards the North, the sound of rhythm and blues attracted suburban teens. Although African Americans created rock and roll, they didn't get much credit due to segregation. White artist started to get the songs that A.A. made and took them as their own music, of course no one could do anything about it because it wouldn't make a difference anyway. -
Atomic/hydrogen Bomb
The United States detonates the world’s first thermonuclear weapon, the hydrogen bomb. The test gave the United States a short-lived advantage in the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. Following the successful Soviet detonation of an atomic device, the United States accelerated its program to develop the next stage in atomic weaponry, a thermonuclear bomb. Popularly known as the hydrogen bomb, this new weapon was approximately 1,000 times more powerful than conventional nuclear devices. -
McCarthyism
The prospect of communist subversion at home and abroad seemed frighteningly real to many people in the United States. These fears came to define the era’s political culture. For many Americans, the most enduring symbol of this “Red Scare” was Republican Senator Joseph P. McCarthy of Wisconsin. Senator McCarthy spent almost five years trying to expose communists in the U.S. government, and convinced everyone that everyone that was in the government, were traitors and spies. -
Beat Generation
Also known as "Beats" or "Beatniks", was an American social and literary movement originating in the 1950s. These were artist, novelist, and poets. they rejected American materialism, culture, home ownership, careers, and marriage. They believed in individual freedom and pleasure. Beats borrow slang from black communities like "sup", "dig it" or "man". Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko influenced. -
38th Parallel
Started with the Korean War, which was officially a conflict and not a war. Korea is divided between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., split at the 38th parallel. The line was chosen near the end of World War II as an army boundary, north of which the U.S.S.R. was to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces in Korea and south of which the Americans were to accept the Japanese surrender. The line was intended as a temporary division of the country. -
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Korean War
The Korean War, also known as the "Forgotten War", because it never actually ended, it started when the North Korean Army crossed through the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet and American occupation zones. The leader of North Korean, Kim II Sung, invaded South Korea to unite the both North and South into a fully communist country. First armed conflict in the Cold War. -
Television Politics
John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debates in American history. The Kennedy-Nixon debates not only had a major impact on the election’s outcome, but ushered in a new era in which crafting a public image and taking advantage of media exposure became essential ingredients of a successful political campaign. They also heralded the central role television has continued to play in the democratic process. -
Little Richard
Little Richard helped define the early rock ‘n’ roll era of the 50s with his driving, flamboyant sound. With his croons, wails and screams, he turned songs like “Tutti-Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally” into huge hits and influenced such bands as the Beatles. He used his blood-pumping piano playing and suggestive lyrics, Little Richard, along with the likes of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, established rock as a real musical form and inspired others, most notably the Beatles, to make a go of it. -
Duck and Cover
After the Soviet Union dropped its first bomb, and made a big destruction in Japan, the Americans were scared that the same thing would happen to them. The FCDA assured them that there were ways to survive an atomic attack. They teach students to drop and cover, when they would shout "Drop" the children would have to go under their desk and cover their heads with their hands, of course this wouldn't really help because the radiation would be worse but they didn't know that at the time. -
TV Shows
Americans loved situation comedies sitcoms, like "I Love Lucy". Through shows such as Leave It to Beaver, The Donna Reed show, and Father Knows Best, television created an idyllic view of what the perfect family life should look like, though few actual families could live up to the ideal. Television's idea of a perfect family was a briefcase-toting professional father who left daily for work, and a pearls-wearing, nurturing housewife who raised their mischievous boys and obedient girls. -
Polio Vaccine
Polio is an infectious disease caused by a virus that lives in the throat and intestinal tract. Polio started debilitating thousands of American children every year, during the 1950's, FDR was one of these when he was an adult, after the disease ran its course many people were left paralyzed for the rest of their lives. Dr. Jonas Salk developed deactivated vaccine to combat this disease. In 1961, oral vaccine was available and in 1994, polio was eradicated from the U.S. -
Alger & Ethel Rosenbergs
Julius & Ethel Rosenberg were a married couple who were members of the American Communist Party. Both couples were accused of being involved on suspicious espionage activities involving their secret on making atomic bombs and giving it to the Soviet Union. Although only Julius was the one involved, Ethel was accused too, and were sentenced to death. Angler was a Soviet spy and was convicted of perjury but was only arrested, not sentenced to death. -
Emmett Till Tragedy
He traveled from Chicago to Mississippi to visit relatives. His mother wanted him to become accustomed to southern segregation. One day, his friends dared him to ask a white girl out in a store, and he accepted. Carolyn Bryant was 21 years old and co-owner of the store, she said that Emmett had bought candy and grabbed her arm and asked her "how about a date, baby?". Days later Carolyn's husband abduct Emmett in the middle of the night, they beat him, tell him to strip and shot him in the head. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
4 months after the death of Till. It started when Rosa Parks boards the back of the bus and a white man comes up and demands her seat, she refuses and got arrested. Jo Ann Robinson heard of the arrest and made millions of flyers announcing to other A.A. to boycott the bus system in Montgomery. Its success convinced them to continue until something happened. Bus company needed black riders to stay in business. -
Space Race
After World War II drew to a close in the mid-20th century, a new conflict began. Known as the Cold War, this battle pitted the world’s two great powers–the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union–against each other. Beginning in the late 1950s, space would become another dramatic arena for this competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower, and its political-economic system. -
Little Rock 9
Segregationists resist Brown v. Board, they start integrating public places like Little Rock, Arkansas. Little Rock decides to "slowly" integrate Central High School, they opposed integration due to fears of intermingling. Governor Orval Faubus orders stated troops to stop 9 black students from entering the high school, National Guard only admits white students and turned the black ones away. Eisenhower intervenes and escorted them to the school, they are admitted and only 8 graduate. -
Feminism
Many white woman split from Civil Rights, look towards feminism. Helen Gurley, one of the influential feminist was empowered through sexuality, she encouraged women to explore their sexuality, wait to get married when looks started going away. Betty Friedman wrote the book "The Feminine Mystique", she believed women could do everything men could. Her movement focused on equal treatment, opportunity & pay, it changed the mentality instead of legislating female equality. -
Chicano Mural Movement
Got white Americans aware of Mexican-American culture & issues. This was about education and they but murals on churches, schools, and businesses in the Southwest. Cesar Chavez started this, he used strikes & marches for better working & living conditions for Mexican workers in California. Art manifested in the rise of the Raza Unida Party, the United Farm Workers Union, and the Mexican American Youth Organization, all of which tried to affirm cultural identity and challenge racism. -
Sit-Ins
Non-violence goes from schools to other public places, so more whites could see the struggle. First sit-in happened in Greensboro, North Carolina. This started a movement across the country, protesters went to white lunch counters and sit in seats only for white and remained there even when they were denied service and were thrown down from their seats and beaten. This hurt white businesses and brought Civil Rights to everyday lunch counters. Nashville desegregated its lunch counters. -
The New Frontier
Started with John F. Kennedy, youngest elected president in American history. His goal was to rise the minimum wage, relieve overcrowded schools, and wanted to increase spending to alleviate a downturn. He also believed in cutting taxes for business from 90%. Kennedy challenged the U.S. to land a man on the moon, soviets were still ahead in space technology at this time. -
Peace Corps
Founded by president Kennedy, it inspired young college graduates to work in poor countries; humanitarian projects. It provides labor power to help developing countries improve their infrastructure, health care, educational systems, and other aspects of their societies. His agenda was largely unaccomplished in his 3 years in office, and conservatives didn't like giving equal money to minority schools. -
Freedom Rides
Whites and blacks traveled on interstate buses together into the Deep South, this challenges Southern resistance to SCOTUS cases and wanted Southerners to violently clash with them and therefore will force the government to do something. In Anniston, Alabama, freedom riders were forced to flee when a bus was pelted and the tires slashed, the riders were beaten and bus firebombed. Mississippi & Alabama intimidate riders, state police look the other way when beaten, and arrested activists. -
Dr. Jonas Salk
American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a national radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. in an epidemic year for polio–there were 58,000 new cases reported in the United States, and more than 3,000 died from the disease. Dr. Salk was celebrated as the great doctor-benefactor of his time. -
Birmingham March
Movement organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Martin Luther King's Civil Rights organization, wanted to desegregate all of Birmingham, not just buses. MLK wielded power of media to broadcast brutalities yet to come. Black teens volunteered to march in Birmingham to keep their families afloat, Bull Connor, Head of Birmingham police, unleashed fire hoses and dogs on the protesters. Media caught violence on camera and broadcasted it to the rest of the country. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
The election of 1964, Kennedy was campaigning for re-election in Texas for fundraisers in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. On nov 1963, Kennedy flew to Dallas for his campaign, since he wanted maximum exposure to crowds to generate excitement, he chose to ride an open air motorcade. His route took him by the Dealey Plaza, after taking a few turns, Lee Harvey Oswald was waiting on the 6th floor of Book depository and shot him from the back, one in the neck and the other in the head. -
Lee Harvey Oswald
Ex- marine with communist sympathies, defected to U.S.S.R, got married, came back to the states with special permission, and was also the supposedly the shooter in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. While Kennedy was driving through Elm Street, Oswald was already in position on the 6th floor of book depository. He will shoot five times and only two will strike the president one in the neck and one in the head. -
Daisy Girl Ad
For 30 seconds, a freckled, brown-eyed girl counts as she plucks petals from a daisy on a sunny day. When she gets to 10, a chilling voice-over countdown begins. The frame freezes and the camera zooms into a close-up of the child's eye. As the countdown hits zero, a nuclear bomb detonates with a mushroom cloud. "These are the stakes," says President Lyndon Johnson. "To make a world in which all of God's children can live, or to go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die." -
The Great Society
"The Great Society" was president Lyndon B. Johnson's new plan that went further than the New Deal. He promised education, good standard of living and beautification. Johnson wanted to eliminate poverty and therefore gave a lot of money to education. He increased healthcare for the elderly, increase public housing, and wanted to beautify highways as well. -
Watts Riots
Ghetto area with high unemployment, poor schools and drug use. Residents rioted on the daily because it was all too routine, this area would burn for 6 days, National Guard called in to stop the violence. Whites started changing their views on Civil Rights because of Watts, saw militant black protesters as threat, and supported the suppression of protesters. MLK goes to Watts to convince them to use nonviolence, MLK learns the extent of black poverty in other parts of the country, changed view. -
Hippies
Part of the counterculture, rejected middle class values, renounced material possession and used drugs. Their goal was to explore their inner selves. They were all about peace and living the moment without inhibition, "free love and peace". Rock music was a catalyst in spreading the counterculture, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, etc. -
Earl Warren Supreme Court
Chief of justice Earl Warren, most liberal SCOTUS in history. Chopped conservative tenements down. He was a part of many court cases including prayer in school (Engel v. Vitale), Jim Crow (Brown v. Board), interracial marriage (Loving v. Virginia), free counsel for the accused (Gideon v. Wainwright), right to remain silent when arrested (Miranda v. Arizona), and right to privacy concerning the use of contraception (Griswold v. Connecticut). -
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Stonewall Riot
a police raid of the Stonewall Inn–a gay club located on New York City’s Christopher Street–turns violent as patrons and local sympathizers begin rioting against the police. This sparks protests around the country, paramount bringing gay rights to the forefront of debate. New York’s gay community had grown weary of the police department targeting gay clubs, a majority of which had already been closed. Begin gay was often categorized as having a mental disorder. -
Apollo 11
American astronaut, Neil Armstrong became the first human to ever land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. As he set took his first step, Armstrong famously said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The Apollo 11 mission occurred eight years after President John Kennedy announced a national goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the 60s. Apollo 17, the final manned moon mission. -
Silent Majority
nixon courts angry voters over liberal policies of 1960s. Disliked programs that aided minorities, they wanted the New deal programs the same. Nixon cuts budget for Great Society programs, conservationism is going to rise and stay that way. He first mentioned it on television and radio saying his perspective on the situation, he then appealed to the American people, calling on the “great silent majority” for their support as he worked for “peace with honor” in Vietnam. -
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Black Entertainment Television (BET), American cable television network and multimedia group providing news, entertainment, and other programming developed primarily for African American viewers. BET was launched in 1980 by media entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson. Johnson saw an opportunity to reach African American audiences through a cable TV channel. BET originated with two hours of weekly programming in 80s and slowly gained viewership. Music videos were an early staple of BET programming. -
Equal Rights Amendment
Passed by congress in 1972, goes to state for ratification and fails by 3 states in 1979. Phyllis Schlafly is instrumental in defeating the amendment, she organizes movement of conservative women. She is a conservative Illinois lawyer who received support from conservatives across the country, she feared it would reduce the rights of wives and harm family life, unisex restrooms, and women would have to serve in combat. -
Watergate
Watergate Hotel, headquarters of Democratic Party. 5 of Nixon's "plumbers" stole campaign information, they were fixing a broken wire tap and were caught. In the election of 1973, Nixon distances himself from Watergate, which he wins. Trial of the plumbers, came out that the White House paid bribe to keep "plumbers" quiet. During all this it was revealed that Nixon used tapping systems to record his conversations for future references, Nixon edits the tapes and was proven innocent. -
OPEC
OPEC stands for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it controls much of the world's oil. It places an oil embargo on U.S. for supporting Israel. Nixon convinces Israelis to give up. Announces a decision to cut oil exports to the United States and other nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. -
Endangered Species Act
One of the few dozens of US environmental laws passed in the 1970s, and serves as the enacting legislation to carry out the provisions outlined in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Required fish and Wildlife service to list species of plants and animals that are threatened with extinction, these were further steps to protect after identification, Wildlife was being killed off by industrialization and poison in the environment. -
Nixon Tapes
After plumber trial, they found out that Nixon had tapes of his conversations and the Senate & Justice department launch investigations into Nixon. They demanded he turn the tapes over, Nixon refuses, cites executive privilege. Nixon asks Attorney General to fire head of Justice Department. Court order for tapes appear, and attorney General resigns. Nixon gives edited version of tapes over to senate investigation committee and Nixon said he was proven innocent. Nixon later resigns from office. -
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Jimmy Carter's Presidency
Election of 1976, Jimmy Carter, Democrat. He was a peanut farmer from Georgia, former submarine commander, and was relatively unknown. Gerald Ford, republican. This was his first election, challenged by Ronald Reagan, and barely wins nomination. Carter narrowly wins, which was Ford's pardon of Nixon, unhealthy economy. Carter tries to create populist excitement. He pardons 10,000 draft dodgers from Vietnam era, creates department of education, and creates the department of energy as well. -
Panama Canal
President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos sign a treaty agreeing to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama at the end of the 20th century. The Panama Canal Treaty also 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. Since big ships and subs couldn't fit in the canal Carter decided to give the canal to Panama. Handover is completed in 2000. -
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Iran Hostage Crisis
U.S. supported Shah of Iran, major oil supplier and brutal dictator and anti-communist which became unpopular. Ayatollah Khomeini leads Islamic revolution and mistrusted the United States. U.S. gave amnesty to the Shah. 52 Americans are taken hostage from American embassy in Tehran, and a special forces team was sent to rescue hostages. Helicopter crashed in Iranian desert on April, 1980. Iraq invades Iran, Khomeini negotiates an end to it. -
Oprah Winfrey
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. Named the "Queen of All Media", she has been ranked the richest African-American, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and is currently North America's first and only multi-billionaire black person. -
AIDS Crisis
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Starts affecting thousands of homosexuals. Spreads to heterosexual community through blood transfusions. In June 1982, a group of cases among gay men in Southern California suggested that the cause of the immune deficiency was sexual and the syndrome was initially called gay-related immune deficiency. Activists, in the gay community, responded by creating care and education centers, and calling for increased government funding to help in the crisis. -
The New Right
Collection of different conservative groups in a business, religious right, former democrats, and neoconservatives, it advocates economically liberal and increased socially conservative policies. Many are angry over liberal policies like welfare and busing, they wanted a smaller government, ad industrial jobs back. The South starts voting for Republicans. The religious right was beginning to return to politics, prayer in public schools. -
Reaganomics
Regan's domestic policy, it was meant to cut income and corporate taxes to spur economy and create better jobs. Reduction in welfare spending, massively increased defense spending. "Supposedly" offset by new taxes from a booming economy. Democrats critical of his idea and trickle-down economics. one of his plans was to create a tax relief for the rich and this would enable them to spend and invest more. This new spending would stimulate the economy and create new jobs. -
Election of 1980
Ronald Reagan, republican, former governor of California, former actor in the 40s and 50s, testified before HUAC about communism, and united Conservative Coalition behind him. Jimmy Carter, Democrat. Incumbent, haunted by a bad economy, hostage crisis in Iran brought down his popularity, and special forces mishap in the desert seals his defense. On November of 1980, Reagan defeats Carter. Ayatollah Khomeini, spites Carter and releases American hostages after Reagan was sworn in. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
First female Supreme Court Justice. Nominated by Reagan, she was a moderate who sided with the conservatives of the court, and sides with the liberal members later on. She retires in 2006 due to her husband's declining health which was Alzheimer's. For 24 years, Sandra Day O’Connor was a pioneering force on the Supreme Court and will always be remembered as acting as a sturdy guiding hand in the court’s decisions during those years, and serving a swing vote in many important cases. -
MTV
On this day in 1981, MTV, Music Television goes on the air for the first time ever, with the words: “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The Buggles’, was the first music video to air on the new cable television channel. 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, including Europe, Asia and Latin America. -
SDI/ "Star Wars"
Peace through Strength Initiative, preventing war was to make our enemies think we had the means and will to fight. SDI, Strategic Defense Initiative also known as "Star Wars". It was a missile shield defense against Soviet incoming missiles. Satellites with lasers shoot down incoming missiles, this was intended to give Soviets the same technology and hoped they would go bankrupt in doing so. SDI was a failure for the U.S., the Soviets took the challenge and spent more resources than the U.S. -
Challenger Explosion
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. It was later determined that two rubber O-rings, which had been designed to separate the sections of the rocket booster, had failed due to cold temperatures on the morning of the launch. The tragedy and its aftermath received extensive media coverage and prompted NASA to temporarily suspend all shuttle missions. -
Warren Burger Supreme Court
Nixon appoints Warren Burger as Chief Justice of SCOTUS, he wants Burger to scale back desegregation and Burgers goes forward with integration. Busing policies big issues in the 70s, white kids bused across town for integration purposes, silent majority was angry in the North. Riots & demonstrations against busing, conservative SCOTUS overturned forced busing. Whites got away from further integration and inner city schools became mostly all-black. -
Sam Walton Just-In-Time Inventory
Start of discount retailing started in the 1960s, K-mart, Home Depot, Best Buy. Sam Walton created a chain of stores offering large variety of products at low prices (Wal-Mart). His strategy was using just-in-time inventory, which means that products arrive at the precise time they are needed, computers track inventory, no need for large in-house stock. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
As the Cold War began to thaw across Eastern Europe, the East Berlin’s Communist Party announced a change in his city’s relations with the West. He said, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country’s borders. East and West Berliners flocked to the wall, drinking beer and champagne and chanting “Open the gate!”. More than 2 million people from East Berlin visited West Berlin that weekend to participate in a celebration that was, “the greatest street party in the history of the world.” -
Personal Computers
Became affordable for millions in the early to mid-1990s, computer industry flourishes, becomes very lucrative. The internet starts on military bases in the 1960's. 1980's supercomputers allow communication on college campuses, they start to be in millions of homes by the late 1990's. This changes in business and lifestyle, people no longer needed to travel long distances for meetings they could do it over the interned on camera. Made life so much easier and faster. -
Persian Gulf War/ First Iraq War
Iraq fights Iran in 1980, war ends in a stalemate, U.S. and arab nation lend Iraq billions of dollars. Saddam Hussein blamed Kuwait for flooding the world with cheap oil which hurts Iraq. Invades Kuwait when they refuse to forgive the debt and claimed Kuwait historically part of Iraq. Operation Desert Island, president Bush quickly deploy troops to saudi arabia, wants Iraq to withdraw, and they don't so they bomb on Iraq installations, destroy power grids, and communication. -
Rodney King Incident
Rodney King and two of his friends get drunk one night, while watching a game on TV. Afterwards, he takes his friends home and while driving in the highway, he gets into a high speed chase with the police, going 50-80 mph on a residential neighborhood. When King pulls over, the police tells them to get out an lay on their stomachs, King did not obey and tries to grab his gun this makes the officer mad and beats him brutally. After trial a white jury acquitted them causing violent riots in LA. -
Election of 1992
William Jefferson Clinton, Democrat, governor of Arkansas, unknown running fro president, he was charismatic and understanding. George H.W. Bush, republican. Incumbent, large deficits & down turning economy, popular for Persian Gulf War. Ross Perot, independent, successful businessman, he was the third party. Clinton wins 43% of the vote, Perot took votes away from Bush. Perot secured nearly 19% of the vote, the highest percentage of any third-party candidate in a U.S. presidential election -
World Trade Center Attack 1993
Terrorist bomb explodes in a parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, leaving a crater 60 feet wide and causing the collapse of several steel-reinforced concrete floors in the vicinity of the blast. Although the terrorist bomb failed to critically damage the main structure of the skyscrapers, six people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. After the attack, authorities evacuated 50,000 people from the buildings, many of whom were suffering from smoke inhalation. -
NAFTA
In 1994 President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. (N.A.F.T.A.) The North American Free Trade Agreement removed barriers for trade between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It also reduces trading costs, increases business investment, and it helps North America be a competitor in global trade. It eliminated many taxes on imported goods between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Also, Mexico has bought many more goods from the U.S. -
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Clinton's new policy of allowing gays in the military. The term was coined after Pres. Bill Clinton in 1993 signed a law directing that military personnel “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue, and don’t harass.” The old policy did not allow gays. It lifted a ban on homosexual service that had been put in WWII. In December 2010 both the House of Representatives and the Senate voted to repeal the policy. -
Lewinsky Affair
Clinton has an affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Special prosecutor, Kenneth Star got a hold of the affair from a Linda Tripp. Monica had told Tripp about the whole affair in confidence. Media gets a hold of the story and Clinton denies the whole affair, he testifies to Starr that he did no wrong. House of Representatives impeaches Clinton for lying under oath, obstruction of justice. The charges however, did not get the 2/3 vote required to remove Clinton. -
Bush v. Gore
Gore takes it to SCOTUS, SCOTUS decides 5-4 that bush won. Judges couldn't be told how to count votes. Gore wins popular vote by half a million, Bush wins the electoral college. Gore called Bush to concede the election, but in the early hours of the following morning it became apparent that the Florida race was much closer than Gore’s staff had originally believed. -
Election of 2000
Al Gore, Democrat. Clinton's VP, an environmentalist, he wanted to save the new government surplus for Social Security, he was also a baby boomer retirement. George W. Bush, republican. Governor of Texas, and ownership society. Ralph Nader, independent, green party. Former consumer rights advocate, he was an environmentalist. This was one of the closest elections in American history. Florida is the center of the contested election, no one can decide who won. Florida announces Bush won the state -
9/11 Attacks
19 Al-Qaeda hijackers boarded 4 planes. They turn course and hit buildings. 2 hit the World Trade Center building, and 1 hit the pentagon because they couldn't find the White House, the 4th plane doesn't hit anything because the passengers learn about the attacks and subdue the terrorists, terrorist nosedive the plane. 2,973 will die in the attacks. Bush demands Afghanistan to turn over terrorist, but refuses and Afghanistan is bombed.This created the USA PATRIOT Act. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2001 and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, is the name for the most recent update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. This was created so schools for A.A. who didn't get much attention or help, due to segregation, would not be left behind and they can also learn the same things white students are learning. -
Hurricane Katrina
Early in the morning, hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating and it brought sustained winds of 100–140 miles per hour–and stretched some 400 miles across. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding, and many people charged that the federal government was slow to meet the needs of the people affected by the storm. -
The Great Recession
Economy goes bust in the middle of the campaign. Falling home prices, poor lending habits by banks, risky investments lead to massive foreclosures. Government forced to bail out failing banks, brokerage houses and insurance companies. The jobs lost during the Great Recession has meant that family incomes have dropped, poverty has risen, and adults as well as children have lost health insurance. It was the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. -
Election of 2008
Barack Obama, democrat. He was a first term senator from Illinois, and against the war in Iraq. Beats out Hillary Clinton, nasty campaign. John McCain, republican. Former Vietnam War prisoner of war, former navy pilot, ran against G.W. Bush is 2000 and lost. He tries to get Hillary supporters by selecting Sarah Palin as running mate, he runs as a moderate. Both candidates promised to end the Bush tax cuts, and get out of Iraq. Economy went bust in the middle of the campaign. -
Obama Presidency
On November 4, 2008 Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was elected president of the United States over Senator John McCain of Arizona. Obama became the 44th president, and the first African American to be elected to that office. But had to suffer the great recession. Obama campaigns on economic hope and change because of the sudden downturn, Obama wins 55% of the vote. Beats McCain by large margins in the electoral college. Obama creates new jobs, and spurs economic growth, also creates Obamacare -
Sonya Sotomayor
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, and was the third female justice in U.S. Supreme Court history. Sotomayor releases her memoir "My Beloved World," which discusses her father's alcoholism, her struggle with diabetes and her divorce. -
Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), nicknamed Obamacare, 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.
