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Joseph McCarthy
Born in Appleton, Wisconsin. He was chosen Wisconsin Senator in 1950. Sadly, things didn't turn out well when he started waving a piece of paper around claiming he had 205 known communists on it. Many people started getting scared and wanted answers but there was not names on the paper! it was just a prop. This paper accused all type of people; Democrats , celebrities and government officials. McCarthy went too far when he started intimidated witnesses, ignored facts and made up unreal charges. -
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Ronald Reagan
Born in a poor family in Illinois, Ronald Reagan was an American politician (Republican) who served as the 40th President of the United States. Before becoming President, he was the governor of California and before that he was a famous actor in the 1940s and 1950s. A great communicator who cut taxes, increased defense spending, negotiated a nuclear arms reduction agreement with the Soviets and helped to bring a quicker end to the Cold War, this led to an assassination attempt which he survived. -
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Hector P. Garcia
Mexican-American physician, surgeon, World War II veteran, civil rights advocate, and founder of the American G.I. Forum. Helped create equality for Mexican by helping veterans file claims, purposely chose the name "American G.I. Forum" in order to emphasize the fact the members were american citizens and where entitled to their constitutional rights. Appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. -
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Malcolm X
Malcolm Little was born in Nebraska and moved to Boston. Arrested in 1946, sentenced to 10 years but got out after 7 years, educated himself, converting to Muslim religion and changing his last name to X which represents the lost names of his ancestors and the pride of being black. Disagreed on the non-violent strategy but after visiting Mecca, he realized Islam is for everyone which caused Elijah Muhammad to arrange his assassination planned to separate the black nation and rejected integration -
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Cesar Chavez
Born in Yuma, Arizona to immigrants parents, Chavez grew up seeing unfair treatment for Mexicans in California. This made him start the United Farm Workers Union (also known as the UFW) while using strikes and marches to better the working and living conditions of Mexican immigrants. One of his main achievements was to convince 17 million Americans not to buy non-union picked grapes to help workers. Worker conditions and wages increased.
Cesar's slogan was “Si Se Puede”. -
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Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and even though his family was extremely poor, Elvis worked hard for his dream. He endured rapid fame in the 1950's not just on the radio but on TV as well because he made Rock & Roll a phenomenon. Elvis adopted rhythm & blues from African Americans, later on most people would call him "the King" with his swiveling hips and snarling lips he created his own dance style. For this same reason, many used to call him Elvis the Pelvis. -
Smith Act
Also known as the Alien Registration Act of 1940, this was a federal law passed that made it a criminal offense to advocate the violence overthrown of the government or to organize or be a member of any group or society devoted to such advocacy. This act also required all non-citizen adult residents to register with the government. About 215 people were indicted under the legislation, including alleged communists, anarchists, and fascists. This went on until a decision in 1957 reversed the act. -
G.I. Bill
The G. I. Bill of Rights or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 provided for college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as GIs or G. I.s) as well as one-year of unemployment compensation. It also provided loans for returning veterans to buy homes and start businesses.The education and training provisions existed until 1956, providing benefits to nearly 10 million veterans. The Veterans’ Administration offered insured loans until 1962. -
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The Cold War
Intense economic, political, military, and ideological rivalry between the United States and The Soviet Union, short of military conflict; sustained hostile political policies and an atmosphere of strain between opposed countries. This event was not an actual war in which people went out fighting and killing for power but instead it was more of a political disagreement that could escalate quick. -
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Iron curtain
This was the name for the boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas. It symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the West and non-Soviet-controlled areas. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were the countries that were connected to and or influenced by the Soviet Union. This era also separated international economic and military alliances that used to developed on each side of the Iron Curtain. -
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Bill Clinton
Arkansas native and Democrat governor of his home state, Bill Clinton helped as the 42nd United States President. Clinton gave America a time of prosperity and marked a low unemployment rate which was declined crime rates after beating George Bush in 1992. But, he was the second president in the United States to ever be impeached. Charges related to sexual relationship he had with a White House intern (Monica Lewinsky) which he swore was a lie. He was acquitted by the Senate on Feb 12 1999. -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry S. Truman gave a speech to a joint session of Congress, a foreign policy of the United States asking for assistance for Greece and Turkey. This speech was meant to stop the spread of communism in this area and give economic & military aid to countries under communistic threat. This event also helped many countries around the world that wanted to fight and stop communism, in fact this is known as the official declaration of the Cold War. -
Marshall Plan
This was a plan devised by George Marshall - it was also known as the European Recovery Program - that offered loans to rebuild Europe and to restores Western Europe’s faith in capitalism. This plan helped spread American labor, farming and manufacturing practices to Western Europe. The Marshall Plan successfully sparked economic recovery and restored the confidence of the European people in the economic future but, sadly Joseph Stalin Refused Eastern Europe’s participation. -
Fair Deal
Truman 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. However, economic conversion from wartime to peacetime industries and growing anti-communist sentiment provided major obstacles for this plan. -
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1950s
During this time the United States was the world’s strongest military power. Its economy was booming, and the fruits of this prosperity–new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods– were available to more people than ever before. However, the 1950s were also an era of great conflict. Including the nascent civil rights movement and the crusade against communism at home and abroad exposed the underlying divisions in American society. -
Rock 'n' Roll
This started out as slang young individuals used to refer to sex. But, it became a "crossover" musical style that rose to dominance in the 1950s, merging rhythm and blues with white bluegrass and country; featuring a heavy beat and driving rhythm, rock 'n' roll music became a defining feature of youth culture. Became very big with Elvis who is known as the King of Rock and Roll or simply the king. -
Television
TV overpowered newspapers, magazines, radios as source of news info and diversion. TV advertising meant a vast market for new fashions/ products. TV programming created a popular image of american life: white, middle class, suburban, with traditional gender roles. also sometimes portrayed less conventional lifestyles. Oppressed/less fortunate people could see the way everyone else lived - contributed to sense of powerlessness and isolation but also connected people with each other better. -
T.V. shows
The nation once marked by strong regional differences, network television programmings of the 1950s blurred these distinctions and helped forge a national popular culture.The first TV show in the 1950s was I Love Lucy which first aired on October 15, 1951. Many shows followed including Gunsmoke, Father Knows Best, The Honeymooners, etc. About 2/3 of Americans had a television in their home at this time and enjoyed television shows such as these. This was the time to spend time with the family. -
Dr Jonas Salk
Dr. Salk was an American biologist and physician best known for the research and development of a killed-virus polio vaccine. While researching and developing a vaccine for polio, an infection disease caused by a virus that lives in the throat and intestinal tract, Salk injected himself, his wife and his three sons. Salk announced the success of the initial human tests to a national radio audience on March 26, 1953. -
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Civil Rights
This is the name given to the struggle faced by African Americans in the mid-1950s to late 1960s to achieve Civil Rights equal to those of white Americans, including equal opportunity in employment, housing, and education, as well as the right to vote, the right of equal access to public facilities, and the right to be free of racial discrimination. Also, movement for those undergoing discrimination due to sexual preference. -
Polio Vaccine
Created by physician and medical researcher Jonas Salk developed the first SAFE and effective vaccine for Polio. Polio was also known as infantile paralysis and it affected more than 57,000 infants. After the vaccine which used polio viruses that had been grown in a laboratory and then destroyed that number changed to less than 1000. After a while this vaccine was replaced with a live virus vaccine developed by Albert Sabin because it was less expensive and way easier to use. -
Emmett Till Tragedy
Emmett was dared to ask Carolyn Bryant out. Supposedly, he vulgarly asked while grabbing her arm. 4 days later Carolyn’s husband, Roy Bryant and John Milam come to his house, abducted Emmett with a gun, beat him, got him naked and shot him in the head. The body was thrown on a river tied to a cotton gin with barbed wire, it was found 3 days later unrecognizable -identified because of a ring on his finger- A trial was held for an hour; just a fine. Later on they sold story admitting they did it. -
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Vietnam War
Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955, to April 30, 1975 when Saigon fell. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other capitalist nations. The United States had the disadvantage of not knowing the land -a jungle- which made the lose the war. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Political and social protest campaign in 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. It started when an African American lady didn't want to give up her seat to a White man. It caused deficits in public transit profits because a large percentage of people who used the public transportation were now boycotting it, the ensuing struggle led to a Supreme Court decision that the laws requiring segregated buses is unconstitutional -
Beat Generation
A group of young poets, writers, and artists who wrote harsh critiques of what they considered the sterility and conformity of american life, the meaninglessness of american politics, and the banality of popular culture; visible evidence of a widespread restlessness. Small coterie of mid-twentieth century bohemian writers and personalities,who bemoaned bourgeois conformity and advocated free-form experimentation in life and literature. Rebellious individuals expressing themselves. -
Albert Sabin
Sabin is best known as the developer of the oral live virus polio vaccine, Dr. Sabin not only dedicated his entire professional career to the elimination of human suffering though his groundbreaking medical advances, he also waged a tireless campaign against poverty and ignorance throughout his lifetime. On October 6, 1956 Sabin announced that his live-virus polio vaccine is ready for mass testing which he started working on thanks to Dr. Jonas Salk. -
Little Rock 9
9 African American students enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, testing the Supreme Court ruling that declared desegregation in public schools. Mandated that all public schools be integrated. The first day of classes at Central High, Governor Orval Faubus called in the state National Guard to bar the black students’ entry into the school. In response Eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort the “Little Rock Nine” into the school. -
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Space Race
This is the name for an informal competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could make the furthest advancements into space first. It involved the efforts to explore outer space and artificial satellites, to send humans into space, and to land them on the Moon. It effectively began after the Soviet Union Launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. Continued through the United States. Apollo Moon landing of 1969. -
Sputnik
History changed when the Soviet Union inaugurated the space age with the launch of the first orbiting satellite. This satellite was the size of a basketball and it would constantly make beeping radio signal that were very simple but desired by every other nation, specially the United States. Even though this was a remarkable day and a huge step forward on science for everyone, Americans now more than ever felt fearful of falling behind to the Soviets ans their inventions. -
Chicano Mural Movement
This movement got White Americans aware of Mexican-American culture and issues. There were murals (paintings) on churches, schools and businesses in the Southwest which was meant to educate white people, to show what Mexican-Americans had to go through like a low education rate in California and workers having to face discrimination every day. Painters José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaros Siquieros, are known as "Los tres grandes" who painted murals in the United States. -
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1960
This was a decade of extremes, of transformational change and bizarre contrasts: hippies and black panthers, idealism and alienation, rebellion and backlash. For many in the massive post-World War II baby boom generation, it was both the best of times and the worst of times. At the beginning of the 1960s, perceived as the dawn of the golden age while towards the end it seemed the nation was falling apart. -
New Frontier
John F. Kennedy's program for change in which he issued a challenge to the American people, calling upon them to make sacrifices to achieve their potential greatness; included medical assistance for the elderly, increased education spending, space exploration, public service initiatives such as the peace corps, a commitment to civil rights and fiscal policies to revitalize the economy. -
Peace Corps
A federal agency created by President Kennedy (founded on March 1, 1961) to promote voluntary service by Americans in foreign countries, it provides labor power to help developing countries improve their infrastructure, health care, educational systems, and other aspects of their societies. Part of Kennedy's New Frontier vision, the organization represented an effort by postwar liberals to promote American values and influence through productive exchanges across the world. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
The U.S. and the Soviet Union had a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed missiles on Cuba, which were 90 miles from U.S. Kennedy notified Americans about the presence of the missiles and explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary. Disaster was avoided when the U.S. offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba. -
I Have a Dream Speech
On Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech to about 250,000 people on the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. The theme of the speech was to come together as a nation, black and white, poor and rich. Equal opportunities and to appeal for an end to racial segregation and discrimination. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." -
Lee Harvey Oswald
This is the man who killed President Kennedy. Fatally shot while riding in an open-car motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas. Less than an hour after the shooting, Lee Harvey Oswald killed a policeman who questioned him on the street. Thirty minutes after that, he was arrested in a movie theater by police. Oswald was formally arraigned on November 23 for the murders of JFK and Officer J.D. Tippit. He transferred jails two days later where he was shot by Jack Ruby. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Kennedy was visiting Dallas to start gathering support for the upcoming presidential election of 1964. Kennedy's assassination and funeral became a defining moment for that generation as the nation was caught up in grief and watched his state funeral on television. His brief presidency was viewed as a high point of the postwar era and cast its influence on American politics during the 1960s. -
Jack Ruby
He was Dallas nightclub operator, who stunned America when he shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy. As Oswald was being transferred, Ruby stepped out of a crowd and gunned him down. The event was witnessed by millions on live television. Ruby was convicted of murder. He claimed he had acted out of grief and denied any involvement in conspiracy. In 1966 Ruby’s conviction was overturned however, while waiting for a new trial he died of cancer. -
Warren Commission
This was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Its 888-page final report was presented to Johnson on September 24, 1964 and It concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the killing of Kennedy, officer J.D. Tippit and that Jack Ruby acted alone in the murder of Oswald. The Commission's findings have since proven controversial and been both challenged and supported by later studies. -
Great Society
This was an idealistic call for improved environmental, conservation, racial, educational, and health programs, the Great Society was inspired by John. F. Kennedy and prompted by Lyndon B. Johnson's insecure need to win over the American people. Largely successful in the first two years of the Johnson administration, the idealism would later give way to virulent conservatism and a return to traditional values. The idea that America was great while being better than everyone else -
Counter Culture
Government faced rejection of the cultural standards of past generations, specifically racial segregation and initial widespread support for the Vietnam War. White middle-class youths, called hippies embraced counterculture and turned back on America because they believed in a society based on peace and love. Growth in interest of Rock an Roll, colorful clothes, and the use of a lot of drugs everyday. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Topeka board of education denied Linda Brown admittance to an all white school close to her house. Warren decided separate educational facilities were inherently unequal and unfair. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the desegregation of schools. The court held that "separate but equal" violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and was unconstitutional making it possible for her to go to school changing school for African Americans forever. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This was the nation's premier civil rights legislation. An act passed by President John F. Kennedy which main focus was to end segregation in public places but it also banned employment discrimination based on color, race, religion, sex or national origin since unfair treatment of minorities and Jim Crow laws were a huge issue. This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. This wasn't the end of discrimination, but it did open the door for further progress. -
Barry Goldwater
Born in January 2nd 1909 in Arizona he was a Republican contender against Lyndon B. Johnson for presidency; attacked the federal income tax, the Social Security system, the Tennessee Valley Authority, civil rights legislation, the nuclear test-ban treaty, and the Great Society. Platform overall included lessening federal involvement, therefore opposing Civil Rights Act of 1964; lost by largest margin in history. Goldwater lost campaign when Johnson won the election on November 3, 1964. -
Selma March
MLK organizes a march in Selma. Tens of thousands of black protesters petition for the right to vote outside of the city hall and are ignored. Then marched to governor's mansion in Montgomery. Police meet them with tear gas and clubs. "Bloody Sunday" is highly publicized and Americans are shocked. Southern police brutality of peaceful demonstrators in Selma outrage many Americans. Outrage aided President Johnson in his decision to propose and win passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
U.S. legislation passed in 1965 which aimed to overcome legal barriers such as literacy tests at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote accorded to them under the Fifteenth Amendment. Outlawed literacy tests and sent federal voter registrars into several Southern states. This act did not end discrimination and oppression overnight but it sure helped African Americans get a foothold on change. -
Hippies
This were the members of the youthful counter-culture that dominated many college campuses in the 1960s. Rather than promoting a political agenda these teenagers challenged conventional sexual standards, rejected traditional economic values, and encouraged the use of drugs. First use of the term "hippies" appeared in the article "A New Paradise for Beatniks" in the San Francisco Examiner, issue of September 5, 1965 by San Francisco journalist Michael Fallon. -
Black Panthers Party
This was a military organization founded in Oakland, California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. They were identified and feared by white man because of their black cloths while being armed in self-defense. They tried to get help from African Americans in inner cities to make them bigger and stronger since the main purpose was to patrol African Americans neighborhoods and protect residents from acts of violence and police brutality. After the leader was jailed for killing a cop this group ended. -
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Nixon’s Presidency
The 37th U.S. president best remembered as the only president ever to resign from office. Nixon stepped down in 1974, halfway through his second term, rather than face impeachment over his efforts to cover up illegal activities by members of his administration in the Watergate scandal. He ran for the White House in 1968 and won for the second time. Nixon’s achievements included forging diplomatic ties with China and the Soviet Union, and withdrawing U.S. troops from the war in Vietnam. -
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1970's
In some ways the 1970s was a continuation of the 1960s. Women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and lesbians and others continued to fight for equality, and many Americans joined the protest against the ongoing war in Vietnam. However, they were also a repudiation of the 1960s. A “New Right” mobilized in defense of political conservatism, traditional family roles, and the behavior of President Richard Nixon undermined many people’s faith in the good intentions of the federal government. -
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
A governmental organization signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1970 designed to regulate pollution, emissions, and other factors that negatively influence the natural environment. The creation of this organization marked a newfound commitment by the federal government to actively combat environmental risks and was a significant triumph for the environmentalist movement. It helped citizens take care of natural resources while enjoying them at the same time. -
Watergate
Watergate is a name given to the scandal during President Nixon's administration committed during the 1972 presidential election where he hired "plumbers" to break into the Democrat HQ at Watergate hotel for any information. This scandal revealed several other dirty plays Nixon's administration did in the years leading up to the election and forced him to resign and killed the faith the public had in the government. After all this didn't end in an impeachment. -
Roe v. Wade
Norma McCorvey a citizen of Texas, she was pregnant and wanted an abortion but state laws made it illegal. She went to court using the name Jane Roe, argued that Texas was violating her right to privacy. Henry Wade who represented the state argued that abortion was murder requiring them to protect the life of the unborn child. Court ruled prohibition of abortion unconstitutional due to the violation of guaranteed personal liberty and right to privacy under the 4th amendment. -
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a public policy think tank that promotes the principles that made America great. Factors that made America great are things such as free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. This 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. -
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
An intergovernmental organization with the goal of determining the best means for safeguarding the organization's interests. This was announced a decision to cut oil exports to the nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Exports were to be reduced by 5 percent every month until Israel evacuated the territories occupied. A full oil embargo was imposed against the U.S. and several other countries, a serious energy crisis for those dependent on foreign oil. -
Endangered Species Act
This Act identifies threatened and endangered species in the United States and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations, protected threshold and endangered species and directed the FWS to prepare recovery plans; Richard Nixon, Enacted in 1973. Recognizes the value of species habitat. Authorizes designation of critical habitat and calls for recovery plans for listed species. Legislation designed to protect species in danger of extinction. -
Camp David Accords
A diplomatic controversy: For several weeks, tense negotiations between Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt occurred at Camp David in Maryland. The end result was a Treaty between Israel and Egypt, pledging peace. In exchange, America gave Egypt billions of dollars in aid every year. Begin and Sadat were both awarded the Noble Peace Prize. -
Three-Mile Island
This was an economic issue: The site of a nuclear reactor explosion in the Soviet Union in 1986, the worst in American history. A combination of mechanical failure and human error combined to permit an escape of radiation over a 16 mile radius. All of these incidents increased the public's questioning of technological progress and the public opinion against building of nuclear power plants. It was designated in March 25, 1999. -
The Moral Majority
A Political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying. It was formed by Jerry Falwell. Organization made up of conservative Christian political action committees which campaigned on issues its personnel believed were important to maintaining its Christian conception of moral law. This group pressured for legislation that would ban abortion and ban the states' acceptance of homosexuality. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
In November 1979, revolutionaries stormed the American embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans citizens hostage. Presidents Jimmy Carter's administration tried unsuccessfully to negotiate for the hostages release. On January 20, 1981, the day Carter left office, Iran released the Americans, ending their 444 days in captivity. -
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1980's
By the end of Carter’s presidency, idealistic dreams of the 1960s were worn, foreign policy turmoil and rising crime. Americans embraced a new conservatism in social, economic and political life during the 1980s, characterized by the policies of Reagan. Often remembered for materialism or consumerism, the decade was the rise of the “yuppie,” an explosion of blockbuster movies and cable networks like MTV, which introduced the music video and launched the careers of many iconic artists. -
Election of 1980
This was the time period when candidate Ronald Reagan, who represented the Republican party, was fighting against candidate Jimmy Carter who represented the Democrat party, for Presidency. Reagan won because of the Iranian hostage crisis and America's stagflation. This event revealed conservatives had come to dominate the Republican Party. Before presidency Reagan was a well known actor and then the Governor of California. Reagan had 489 electoral votes while Carter only got 49. -
Reagan's Presidency
The 40th U.S. President, who led a conservative movement against the Soviet Union and the growth of the federal government; some people credit him with America's victory in the Cold War while others fault his insensitive social agenda and irresponsible fiscal policies. He believed in tax cuts/less government spending; cut out many welfare and public works programs; used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict; responsible for the Iran-contra Affair which bought hostages with guns. -
Reaganomics
The federal economic polices based on the theory that allowing companies the opportunity to make profits, and encouraging investment, will stimulate the economy and lead to higher standards of living for everyone. Enforced by Reagan administration. These policies combined a monetarist fiscal policy, supply-side tax cuts, and domestic budget cutting. Their goal was to reduce the size of the federal government and stimulate economic growth of the nation. -
Music Television (MTV)
MTV was a 24/7 stream of music videos. In the 1980s, MTV was instrumental in promoting the careers of performers such as Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince and Duran Duran, whose videos played in heavy rotation. 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, which all have MTV-branded channels. -
A.I.D.S. Crisis
In the 1980s, the virus was little understood. Scientists were yet to pin-point why swathes of otherwise healthy people were dying from rare conditions. Misinformation and homophobia were rife. AIDs was labelled the “gay plague”, suggesting that it was spread among men who had sex with men (MSM). For a period of six months in 1982, the condition was mistakenly labelled “Gay Related Immune Deficiency”. But it all changed when the diseases started spreading even to heterosexual people. -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) "Star Wars"
The Reagan administration increased spending of the nation on the Strategic Defense Initiative, a plan for building a high tech system of lasers and particle beams to destroy enemy missiles before they reached the United States. Critics called this Star Wars and said it would cause the USSR to build more missiles as well (escalating the arms race). Star wars puts pressure on the USSR to respond, but their economy couldn't handle it. -
Reagan Doctrine
"Short sweet and to the point" a promise to restore American pride and confidence. Under the Reagan Doctrine, the U.S. provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to "rollback" Soviet-backed communist governments. The doctrine was designed to serve the dual purposes of diminishing Soviet influence, while also potentially opening the door for capitalism in nations that were largely being governed by Soviet-supported socialist governments. -
Iran Contra Affair
Scandal that erupted after the Reagan administration sold weapons to Iran in hopes of freeing American hostages in Lebanon; money from the arms sales was used to aid the Contras (anti-Communist insurgents) in Nicaragua, even though Congress had prohibited this assistance. Talk of Reagan's impeachment ended when presidential aides took the blame for the illegal activity. -
Challenger Explosion
Explosion of the U.S. space shuttle orbiter Challenger, shortly after its launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 28, 1986. The space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into flight, killing all aboard. The explosion was caused by a faulty seal in the fuel tank. The shuttle program was halted while investigators and officials drew up new safety regulations, but was resumed in 1988 with the flight of the Discovery. -
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The 1990's
The 1990s are characterized by the rise of multiculturalism and alternative media. Movements such as grunge, the rave scene and hip hop spread around the world to young people during that decade, aided by then-new technology such as cable television and the World Wide Web. In the absence of world communism which collapsed in the first two years of the decade the 1990s was politically defined by a movement towards the right wing, including increase in support for far right parties in Europe. -
Persian Gulf War / 1st Iraq War
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of neighboring Kuwait. Alarmed by this, fellow Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the US and other nations to intervene. Hussein defied UN Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait. Persian Gulf War began with U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. After 42 days of attacks by the allied coalition, U.S. President Bush declared a cease-fire; by that time, most Iraqi forces had either surrendered or fled. -
Rodney King Incident
When a videotape of Los Angelos police officers beating a black bystander, Rodney King, got out, it provoked outrage throughout whites and blacks alike. e received 56 blows from nightsticks while a dozen other officers stood by and watched. The officers were acquitted, however. Black residents in South Central Los Angelos erupted in anger and started one of the largest racial disturbances of the twentieth centuries. More than 50 people died. -
Election of 1992
The time when Bill Clinton (a Democrat) ran against George Bush (a Republican) for presidency. Clinton’s campaign was nearly derailed by widespread press coverage of his alleged twelve-year affair with an Arkansas woman named Gennifer Flowers. Because of this marital problems, Clinton's popularity rebounded but, Clinton scored a strong second place showing a performance for which he labeled himself the “Comeback Kid.” After his wife stood with him Democrats defeated Republicans. -
Ross Perot
He ran on the independent ticket for the 1992 Presidential election. Harped incessantly on the problem of the federal deficit and made a boast of the fact that he had never held any public office. Reflected pervasive economic unease and the virulence of the throw-the-bums-out national mood. Earned 20 percent of the popular vote. Won no electoral votes but 19.7 million popular vote. -
World Trade Center Attack - 1993
A 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, one of the most recent and noticeable terrorist attacks on the United States. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect, creating one of the world’s largest free trade zones and laying the foundations for strong economic growth and rising prosperity for Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NAFTA has demonstrated how free trade increases wealth and
competitiveness, delivering real benefits to families, farmers, workers, manufacturers, and consumers. -
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy
This is a policy that was intended as a "compromise" — one that purports to restrict the United States military from "witch-hunting" secretly gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members or applicants, while absolutely barring "openly" gay or bisexual people from joining the military, and expelling those already serving during Clinton's term. (Official United States policy on military service by gays, bisexuals, and lesbians.) -
Lewinsky Affair
This was an American political sex scandal that involved President Bill Clinton and a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Further investigation led to charges of perjury and led to the impeachment of President Clinton in 1998 by the United States House of Representatives and his subsequent acquittal on all impeachment charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Hillary, his wife, decided to stay with him after all this was over. -
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
Signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Mandates unequal treatment of legally married same-sex couples, selectively depriving them protections and responsibilities that marriage triggers at the federal level. Under DOMA, married same-sex couples are denied a long list of important protections and responsibilities, including Social Security survivor benefits, immigration rights, family and medical leave, and the ability to pool resources as a family without unfair taxation. -
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Contemporary
The first years of the contemporary time period have thus far been marked by the rise of a global economy and Third World consumerism, mistrust in government, deepening global concern over terrorism and an increase in the power of private enterprise.The Digital Revolution which began around the 1980s also continues into the present.Millennials and Generation Z come of age and rise to prominence in this century. -
Election of 2000
It came down to electoral college votes and specifically the vote in Florida; because of the controversy over a recount in Florida, Gore sued to have a manual recount; was the 1st time the Supreme Court got involved in electoral college decision; decided the votes should stand as counted and Bush got the votes for the state giving Bush the presidency without winning the popular vote. Gore gained a half-million more votes than Bush, but Gore lost the Electoral College when he lost Florida. -
Bush Vs. Gore (SCOTUS CASE)
The 2000 presidential election pitted U.S. Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat, George W. Bush, a Republican. As the election results were counted, it became clear that the vote would be very close, and that the results in the state of Florida would decide the election. Gore demanded a recount. Supreme Court's decision that declared Florida's mandates for recounting ballots during the disputed election was unconstitutional and the process was forced to stop, thereby guaranteeing Bush a victory. -
9/11 Attacks
Common shorthand for the terrorist attacks that occurred to the United States in which 19 militant Islamist men hijacked and crashed four commercial aircraft. Two planes hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing them to collapse. One plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and the fourth, overtaken by passengers, crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. Nearly 3000 people were killed in the worst case of domestic terrorism in American history. -
No Child Left Behind Education Act
An education bill created and signed by the George W. Bush administration. Designed to increase accountability standards for primary and secondary schools, the law authorized several federal programs to monitor those standards and increased choices for parents in selecting schools for their children. The program was highly controversial, in large part because it linked results on standardized to federal funding for schools and school districts. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
This hurricane struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. 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. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from their homes, and caused more than $100 billion in damage. -
The Great Recession
Worst economic period for the United States since the Great Depression. Officially began in December 2007 and ended in mid-2009, has had long-term lingering effects on unemployment, and was preceded by the largest housing bubble in United States history, caused by short term economic thinking, speculation, and irresponsible spending. All of this happened during President Obama's turn. -
Election of 2008
Barack Obama vs. John McCain. 365 electoral votes to Obama, 173 electoral votes to McCain, *Then-Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was the Democratic nominee, and Senator John McCain of Arizona was the Republican nominee George W. Bush was ineligible for re-election & Vice President Dick Cheney declined to run for the office. Senator Obama won the number of electors necessary to be elected President and was inaugurated on January 20, 2009. 1st Black president. -
Barack Obama
Forty-forth president of the United States, and first African American elected to that office. A lawyer and community organizer in Chicago, Obama served in the Illinois State Senate before being elected to the United States senate in 2004. After a protracted primary election campaign against Senator Hillary Clinton, Obama sealed the Democratic Party's nomination and defeated Senator John McCain on November 4, 2008. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
This was among the earliest initiatives of the Obama Administration to combat the Great Recession. It was based on the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes that called for increased government spending to offset decreased private spending in times of economic downturn. The Act was controversial from the outset, passing with no Republican votes in the House, and only three in the Senate, and helping to foster the "Tea Party" movement to curb government deficits. -
Affordable Care Act (ACA) A.K.A. "Obamacare"
It is a US federal statute signed into law by President Obama. Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act amendment, it represents the most significant regulatory overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. It was enacted to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance, lower the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage, and reduce the costs of healthcare for individuals and the government. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
This was the first civil rights legislation passed since reconstruction, an act enacted by President Eisenhower meant to ensure that all Americans could exercise their vote across the country. Not just white people but African-Americans as well. This act demanded to stop unjust treatment, no more literacy test nor poll taxes to try to stop them from exercising their rights. Sadly, whites in the South were heavily resisting black voting rights so blacks were target with violence.
