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"Stagflation"
"Staglflation" is an economic scenario in which inflation and unemployment are high and the economic growth rate is slow. The U.S. experienced a period of "stagflation" starting in 1971, when Nixon implemented a series of price and wage controls. The situation was worsened by the 1973 oil crisis. resulting in oil shortages and a recession. -
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Fight Over Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA was actually first introduced in 1923. However, it took until 1972 to pass Congress and move to be ratified by the states. The ERA would have guaranteed equal rights for women, however, Phyllis Schafly and a group of vocal conservatives travelled around the country and urged states not to ratify the amendment on the grounds that it denied women the rights to be supported by their husbands. The amendment was not ratified by the required number of states and died in 1982. -
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Wounded Knee Standoff
A group of Oglala Latoka and members of the American Indian Movement seized and occupied Wounded Knee, South Dakota in protest of the failure to impeach tribal president Richard Wilson and the more general failures of the U.S. government in regard to the fulfillment and respect of treaties they held with Indian peoples. Indian activists faced law enforcement in an armed conflict, and these events brought more attention to the injustices suffered by the American Indians throughout history. -
OPEC Crisis
In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel. The U.S. chose to supply Israel with weapons, prompting Arab nations to create an embargo on oil. This caused oil prices in the U.S. to skyrocket and caused a recession,the first lasting one since the Great Depression. -
Ford Pardons Nixon
Ford pardoned Nixon for all crimes he may have committed. Ford justified the action by saying that the concern about having a trial for Nixon was occupying all his time, when his focus should be on more important issues. Critics, however, accused Ford and Nixon of being involved in a "corrupt bargain" where Ford pardoned Nixon in return for Nixon's resignation. -
Helsinki Accords
A declaration between Europe, the U.S., Canada, that was meant to improve relations between the West and Communist Europe. This was an important step toward ending the Cold War, despite not having true treaty status. -
Panama Canal Treaty
A treaty between the U.S. and Panama that said that Panama would gain control of the Panama Canal in 2000. The U.S. maintained the right to use military force to defend the canal. This was a step in undoing all the horrible imperialistic things that the U.S. had done at the turn of the century. -
Camp David Accords
Agreements between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat that led to the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty of 1979. The negotiations happened over a 13-day period at Camp David and were mediated by President Jimmy Carter. This earned him increased support from the American people and was a significant step toward solving the tensions in the Middle East. -
Three-Mile Island Incident
The worst nuclear power plant accident in U.S. history. It happened in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania and leaked radiation into the air. Despite this, no cancers have been reported as a result of the accident. This accident resulted in new regulations on nuclear energy. -
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Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was a political organization that arose in the 80s in response to the social movements of the 60s and 70s. The Moral Majority, a conservative religious group, felt that the moral values of the nation were being undermined and therefore lobbied against legalized abortion, the women's movement, the gay rights movement, and "anti-family" messages while it lobbied for prayer in schools, anti-communist foreign policy, and other conservative positions. -
SALT II
A treatyt between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in which they agreed to not start any new nuclear weapon programs and to reduce they number of nuclear weapons they currently had. Due to the Soviet's invasion of Afghanistan and the discovery of Soviet soldiers stationed in Cuba, the Senate did not ratify the treaty. Despite this, the treaty was honored until Reagan's time, and improved relations between America and the USSR. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
A group of 444 Americans were taken hostage by Islamic revolutionaries at a U.S. embassy in Iran. A 1980 attempt to free the hostages failed miserably. They were not all freed until minutes after Reagan was sworn into office. The crisis hurt Carter's re-election bid and hurt the relationship between the U.S. and Iran. -
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Savings & Loan Scandal
[Dates are approximate] The interest rates of the 1970s were volatile and investors made risky or corrupt decisions, which came to head in the 1980s and early 1990s when 747 savings and loan associations failed and had to be bailed out, which cost $87.9 billion. This was due to the fact that some of these S&Ls had been turned into Ponzi schemes so CEOs would have to admit to insolvency, and then of course they were dragged further into debt. -
Boycott of Olympics in Moscow
The U.S. was not pleased with the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Jimmy Carter told them that if they refused to withdraw their troops, the U.S. would not attend the 1980 Summer Olympics. The Soviets did not withdraw their troops, and so the U.S. boycotted the Olympics. This prompted the Soviets to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and did not help the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviets. -
Election of 1980 and the "Reagan Revolution"
The election pitted the incumbent Jimmy Carter against Republican Richard Nixon. Nixon won by a landlslide, heloed by negative attitudes toward the Iran Hostage Crisis and the failing economy. The term "Reagan Revolution" refers to Nixon's presidential style. He revitalized the conservative movement, loved capitalism, and worked toward the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War. -
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Reaganomics
Reagan's economic policies. He supported supply-side economics, which is the belief that the economy will improve if barriers hindering purchase are reduced. This means lowering taxes. He particularly liked trickle-down economics, which say that by providing tax breaks for the rich, their extra spending will help the entire population. He also tried to control inflation by lowering government spending and regulation. This actually improved the economy somewhat. -
Sandra Day O'Connor appointed to Supreme Court
The first woman appointed to the Supreme Court. She was appointed by Nixon, and tended to lean conservatively, altough occasionally was a bit of a swing voter. She opened the door for other women to serve in the Supreme Court. -
Strategic Defense Initiative/Star Wars
Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a plan to protect the U.S. from nuclear missiles using ground-based and space-based systems. The proposal was technologically out of reach as well as extremely expensive. The Soviets took it seriously, however, and poured so much money and resources into trying to counter it that they crippled their own economy. -
Military Actions in Grenada
On October 23, 1983, a group of American peacekeepers in Lebanon were bombed. Two days later Reagan sent Operation Urgent Fury to invade Grenada, saying he was trying to protect American students there from a potential Soviet-Cuban attack. This was the first major U.S. military operation since the Vietnam War. The American soldiers easily won the war and a new government was implemented there. -
Military Action in Nicaragua
In 1984, the U.S. sent CIA agents to help contras from Honduras overthrow the Nicaraguan government. The U.S. also illegally supplied the contras with weapons. The event brought great negative feelings on America and a wave of international condemnation. -
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Iran-Contra Affair
The U.S. sold arms to Iran in order to appease the Iranian government and secure the release of American hostages, and they used the funds to aid the anti-communist Nicaraguan contra rebels. This was done covertly because Congress had prohibited any government agency from aiding the contras, and the Reagan administration had found a loophole. The operation to support the contras was led by Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North. When the scandal broke, it raised issues about the limits of executive power. -
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Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War, codenamed Operation Desert Storm, was a response by a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States and authorized by the U.N. to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. The liberation of Kuwait was the primary objective of the war, and the Coalition eventually achieved this and a ceasefire agreement was negotiated. The Gulf War marked the first time there was live news coverage of the front lines of a war. -
Rodney King beating and riots
Rodney King, an African-American construction worker, was beat by the LAPD after a car chase, and a local resident videotaped the incident. The footage was aired around the world, sparking outrage. In the following court case, all officers were aquitted of all charges, sparking the Los Angeles riots, in which 53 people were killed and more than two thousand were injured. These events illustrated lasting issues of racism and police brutality in America. -
Breakup of the Soviet Union
Gorbachev tried to revive the stagnant Soviet economy by liberalizing politics, which led to political unrest and various nationalist movements. When the Union formally dissolved, the independence of twelve republics of the Soviet Union that then created the Commonwealth of Independent States was acknowledged. The same liberalization affected Berlin, and in November of 1989, people were allowed across the Berlin Wall, although the wall was primarily destroyed in 1990. -
Clinton proposes national health care
The Health Security Act was a healthcare reform package proposed by the Clinton administration. The goal of the Clinton administration in this matter was to provide universal health care for all Americans. The proposed plan included a mandate for empoyers to provide health insurance coverage to all of their employees through health maintenance organizayions. Conservatives and the health insurance industry opposed the plan, and Democrats tried to come up with other competing plans The bill died. -
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Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the name of the U.S.'s policy on LGBTQ+ people serving in the military. Openly queer people were barred from military service, but if they remained closeted, discrimination or harrasment against them was prohibited. The DADT policy existed because of homophobia, although its supporters often argued that the presence of queer people in the military would disrupt other soldiers. DADT was eventually repealed in 2011. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
NAFTA, which was signed by Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. took the place of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement and worked to create an area of free trade among the North American nations. Many tariffs were eliminated or phased out, and all non-tariff barriers were removed. -
Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America"
[Date is approximate] Gingrich, an extremely conservative Republican representing Georgia in the House of Representatives, contributed to what called the Contract with America, a document written by Larry Hunter and used during the Congressional election campaign to rally Republican support. The Contract was a detailed account of what the Republican party promised to do if they became the majority party in the House of Representatives. -
Clinton Scandals and Impeachment
Clinton was caught up in scandals when Paula Jones sued him for sexual harassment and later when he denied having a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky. This led to his impeachment trial where he was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. Clinton was aquitted, and the voting in the impeachment trial was partisan in nature. -
Election of 2000/Bush vs Gore
The presidential election of 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore was extremely close. Gore won the popular vote, but Bush won the electoral vote 271 to 266. There was a great deal of controversy over Florida's 25 electoral votes because the margin of Bush's victory was very slim. -
9/11 attacks; significance and changes
Four passenger airliners were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists. Two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one plane crashed into the Pentagon, and the third crashed in a field without reaching its target. In total, almost 3,000 people died. Americans were unused to attacks on home soil even though they were willing to inflict that thoughtlessly on the people living in the Middle East. Bush used this to launch his "War on Terror."