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Smith Act
U.S. federal law passed in 1940 that made it a criminal offense to advocate the violent overthrow of the government or to organize or be a member of any group or society devoted to such advocacy.This Act also required all adult residents that are “non-citizens” to register with the government of the United States. About 215 individuals were obliged to register.The Act is best known for its use against political organizations and figures, mostly on the left. -
Period: to
Cold War
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GI Bill
The purpose of the 1944 GI Bill was to help retuning veterans from WW2, both men and women to make an efficient and speedy readjustment to civilian life and the economy. The provisions of the GI Bill were extremely costly and ensured that hospital facilities were strengthened, provided educational and training opportunities, loans for aid in buying or building houses and purchasing farms or business properties. -
Period: to
1950's
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Atomic Bomb
The Atomic Bomb was developed during WW2 by scientists working on the top secret Manhattan Project.An Atomic Bomb is an explosive weapon of great destructive power which results from the rapid release of an immense quantity of energy in a chain reaction of nuclear fission giving the power to destroy a city and kill every person in it.The WW2 Atomic Bomb was dropped at Hiroshima -
House of Un-American Activities Committee
HUAC stands for the House of Un-American Activities Committee. HUAC was formed in 1938 to investigate Fascist and Communist activities in the United States. HUAC became a permanent committee in 1945 to investigate suspected threats of Communist subversion or propaganda by people of influence in American society.HUAC mounted investigations into the Hollywood movie industry that resulted in a blacklist and conviction on contempt of Congress charges for the "Hollywood Ten". -
Iron Curtain
The term 'Iron Curtain' is a related to the Cold War and the guarded border between the countries of the Soviet bloc.The idea of the 'Iron Curtain' was made famous in a speech by the former British Prime Minister.The term 'Iron Curtain' describes the "impenetrable barrier" or border between the states that became members of the Warsaw Pact.The Iron Curtain refers to the sphere of influence that the Soviet Union had among eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe during the Cold War. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine derives from a speech made to Congress by President Harry Truman.Doctrine pledged to support other countries in their struggle to resist communism. The key element of the Truman Doctrine was the policy of containment. Containment was the policy of restricting communist expansion by diplomatic, military and economic actions.The purpose of the Truman Doctrine were to ease the USSR demands in Turkey and to stabilize the government in Greece to prevent the spread of communism. -
The Berlin Airlift
A military operation initiated as a rescue mission to keep West Berlin alive despite the Soviet blockade of the city.The Berlin Airlift ended when Stalin lifted the blockade.The purpose of the Berlin Airlift was to supply vital food, fuel and provisions to West Berlin after the Soviets mounted a blockade of the city. The Airlift was undertaken the U.S. and Great Britain.US Planes participating in the Berlin Airlift took off from western European airports and landed at airport in West Berlin. -
The Fair Deal
The Fair Deal was the name given to Harry Truman's domestic program. Building on Roosevelt's New Deal, Truman believed that the federal government should guarantee economic opportunity and social stability. His Fair Deal recommended that all Americans have health insurance, that the minimum wage (the lowest amount of money per hour that someone can be paid) be increased, and that, by law, all Americans be guaranteed equal rights. -
Television
One of the most popular products in the 1950s was the TV. Viewing became a shared family event. At the start of the decade, there were about 3 million TV owners; by the end of it, there were 55 million, watching shows from 530 stations. Americans loved situation comedies sitcoms. Television forever changed changed politics.With more and more American families owning televisions, manufacturers now had a new way to sell their products. The life of the American consumer would never be the same. -
Beat Generation
The Beat Generation was a literary movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. Their work was published and popularized throughout the 1950.Elements of Beat culture are rejection of standard narrative values, spiritual quest, exploration of American and Eastern religions, rejection of materialism, explicit portrayals of the human condition, experimentation with drugs, and sexual liberation and exploration. -
Ike Turner
Ike Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. An early pioneer of fifties rock and roll. One of his songs, "Rocket 88," is considered by many to be the "first rock and roll song". in 1954, he built the Kings into one of the most renowned acts on the local club circuit. Ike married his wife in 1958, and Ike helped transform Anna Mae into Tina Turner. Tina and Ike made very successful music. -
Polio Vaccine
In 1952–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. American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a radio show that he has successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio. Clinical trials using the Salk vaccine and a placebo began on nearly two million American schoolchildren. -
The Domino Theory
The Domino Theory related to the spread of Communism and communist rule during the Cold War. The Domino theory is about that if one region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a falling domino effect until the entire region was 'lost' as part of the chain reaction. President Dwight D. Eisenhower put the theory into words.It was this belief together with the US policy of Containment that led to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis began attracting attention with his music in 1954, when he was 19. By the mid-1950s, he appeared on the radio, television and the silver screen. He infused Black rhythm-and-blues songs with his distinctive style, which came to include dance moves that were considered quite sexually suggestive for the time. At the end of 1957, Elvis received his draft notice, serving as an ordinary GI in the U.S. military until 1960. -
Bill Haley and the Comets
Bill Haley and His Comets, initially a Country & Western band morphed into rock `n roll after discovering new potential in rhythm & blues music. The wrote one of the first major rock ‘n roll songs of the 1950s, “Rock Around The Clock.” The song is widely considered the one song, that brought rock `n roll into mainstream culture around the world. The song was used in the opening of a movie, it was the first time rock ’n roll music would be used in film. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court unanimously announced an end to public segregation in schools in the famous Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case. The supreme court that racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the states from denying equal protection of the laws to any person within their jurisdictions. The decision declared that separate educational facilities for white and African American students were inherently unequal. -
Period: to
Civil Rights
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Tragedy of Emmett Till
While visiting family 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, is brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman four days earlier. His corpse was recovered but was so disfigured that the body was only identified by an initialed ring. The mother decided to have an open-casket funeral so that all the world could see what racist murderers had done to her only son.The Emmett Till murder trial brought to light the brutality of Jim Crow segregation in the South. -
Rosa Parks
By refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus , black seamstress Rosa Parks helped initiate the civil rights movement in the United States. The leaders of the local black community organized a bus boycott that began the day Parks was convicted of violating the segregation laws.The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional. Over the next half-century, Parks became a symbol of dignity and strength in the struggle to end racial segregation. -
Albert Sabin
Albert Sabin is best known as the developer of the oral live virus polio vaccine to prevent or mitigate the illness. Dr. Sabin not only dedicated his entire professional career to the elimination of human suffering through his groundbreaking medical advances, he also waged a tireless campaign against poverty and ignorance throughout his lifetime. From the development of his vaccine Sabin did not gain a single dollar, and continued to live on his salary as a professor. -
Period: to
1960's
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Politics (Nixon and Kennedy
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. -
The Chicano Mural Movement
The Chicano mural movement began in the 1960s in Mexican-American barrios throughout the Southwest. Artists began using the walls of city buildings, housing projects, schools, and churches to depict Mexican-American culture. This movement was for the political and social equality for Mexican-Americans.They enhance education, to voting and political rights as well as emerging awareness of collective history, and they also stated the goal of achieving Mexican American empowerment. -
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
was a civil-rights group formed to give younger blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement.The SNCC soon became one of the movement's more radical branches.Baker encouraged those who formed SNCC to look beyond integration to broader social change and to view King’s principle of nonviolence more as a political tactic. group played a large part in the Freedom Rides aimed at desegregating buses and in the marches organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC. -
Peace Corps
The organization sent young Americans to perform humanitarian services in under developed countries. The Peace Corps program was aimed at helping developing nations by addressing challenges in agriculture, education, environment, health, youth development and community economic development. Peace Corps volunteers were given training before helping out.Kennedy challenged the youth of America to devote a part of their lives to living and working in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. -
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips through the American South to protest segregated bus terminals. Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters at bus stations in Southern states. The groups were confronted by arresting police officers as well as horrific violence from white protestors along their routes, but also drew international attention to their cause. -
Warren Commission
A week after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, a commission to investigate Kennedy’s death was established. After a nearly yearlong investigation, the commission, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, concluded that alleged gunman Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating the 35th president.The commission also included two U.S. senators, two U.S. representatives, a former CIA director and a former World Bank president. -
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. New programs in relation to Health and Welfare (Medicare and Medicaid), Education, Environmental and Consumer Protection were greated to develop the great society . New Housing Programs and the Office of Economic Opportunity were established to fight the "War on Poverty". -
JFK Assassination
The JFK Assassination took place on November 22, 1963 as the President was traveling, beside his wife Jacqueline Kennedy, in a presidential motorcade through the city of Dallas, Texas to attend a luncheon at the Dallas Trade Mart. At 12:30 p.m. CST, President John F Kennedy was fatally hit with two bullets, one in the head and one in the neck, and was rushed to the Hospital where he was pronounced dead. -
Feminism
During the 1960s, influenced and inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, women of all ages began to fight to secure a stronger role in American society. Betty Friedan’s 1963 book is often remembered as the beginning of the second wave of feminism in the United States. Title VII is the section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender. Many things changed for women in the 1960s. -
Birmingham Bombing
Terrorist attack in on the predominantly African American Church by local members of the KuKluxKlan. Resulting in 14 injuries and the death of four girls, the attack garnered widespread national outrage.Throughout the civil rights movement, Birmingham was a major site of protests, marches, and sit-ins that were often met with police brutality and violence from white citizens. Homemade bombs by supremacists in homes and churches became so common that the city was sometimes known as “Bombingham.” -
March on Washington
the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the event aimed to draw attention to continuing challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans a century after emancipation. It was also the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s now-iconic “I Have A Dream” speech, a speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial during the march. President JFK met with civil rights leaders before the march, voicing his fears that the event would end in violence. -
Barry Goldwater
His first foray into the political sphere was participation in a Phoenix municipal reform movement. He ran as a Republican for a seat in the United States Senate, and won.Goldwater captured the Republican nomination for president. The campaign against Goldwater produced the "Daisy ad," one of the most famous political advertisements in American history, which presented nuclear war as a clear consequence of voting Republican in 1964. -
Anti-War Movement
A social movement, against to a nation's decision to start or continue a war. It does not matter whether the nation has a just cause for war.The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many activists distinguish between anti-war movements and peace movements. Anti-war activists work through protest and other peaceful means to attempt to pressure a government to put an end to a particular war or conflict. In this case the Vietnam War -
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was a very passionate defender of African Americans' civil rights. He was the leader of the Nation of Islam, a group that believed African Americans should form a separate nation from white Americans. Malcolm believed that African Americans should not be afraid to do whatever it takes to defend their rights including with violence. In 1965, he was killed during a meeting in New York City. Malcolm X remains, though, an important hero for many African Americans. -
Daisy Girl Ad
Known as "Daisy Girl" or "Peace, Little Girl," was a controversial political advertisement aired on television during the 1964 United States presidential election by president Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign. Johnson's campaign was widely criticized for using the prospect of nuclear war, as well as for the implication that Goldwater would start one, to frighten voters. The ad was immediately pulled, but the point was made, appearing on the nightly news and on conversation programs. -
Counterculture
Disillusioned young people, concerned about the threat of nuclear war and disenchanted with inequality, began to openly criticize and reject the conventional political and social system. Counterculture represented a movement, that was 'counter to', or opposite to, the accepted beliefs and conventions of American middle class society, by creating a completely new lifestyle. They renounced material possession. They love to explore their inner self -
LSD
Over time, the drug became a symbol of the 1960s counterculture, eventually joining other hallucinogenic and recreational drugs at rave parties.During the Cold War, the CIA conducted clandestine experiments with LSD for mind control, information gathering and other purposes. The U.S. federal government didn’t outlaw LSD until 1968. Throughout the 1960 LSD was used for many experiments and were highly written about and also used as entertainment. -
Black Panther Party
The Panthers practiced militant self-defense of minority communities against the U.S. government, and fought to establish revolutionary socialism through mass organizing and community based programs.The Black Panther Party achieved national and international presence through their deep involvement in the local community. The Black Power movement was one of the most significant movements with regards to social, political, and cultural aspects. -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the first mission organised to send people to the moon and back. It was done by NASA, the American space agency. It launched on July 16, 1969, carrying three astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the moon successfully while Collins flew above them.The mission fulfilled the challenge John F. Kennedy made in 1961 to "land a man on the moon, and return him safely to the Earth", -
Environmental Protection Agency
A governmental organization signed into law by Richard Nixon in 1970 designed to regulate pollution, emissions, and other factors that negatively influence the natural environment. The creation of the it marked a newfound commitment by the federal government to actively combat environmental risks and was a significant triumph for the environmentalist movement. -
OPEC
OPEC decisions have a large influence on world price of oil and is a rare example of a success cartel. Member Countries took control of their domestic petroleum industries. On two occasions, oil prices rose steeply in a volatile market, triggered by the Arab oil embargo in 1973 and the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The policy has been successful in the past, causing the prices of oil to rise to levels that otherwise are not reached by raw materials, but only by industry products. -
Stagflation
Stagflation was an economic phenomenon of the 1970's .Stagflation is a combination of inflation and stagnation. Inflation is a rise in prices relative to money available. Economic stagnation is a prolonged period of slow economic growth, usually accompanied by high unemployment.It was eventually halted when President Ronald Reagan introduced "Reaganomics", combining monetarism with supply-side economics with monetarism. -
Period: to
1970's
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Watergate
Was a problem in Washington during the presidency of Richard Nixon.Members of an association working to have Nixon re-elected, CREEP, were involved in a burglary, and it was then linked to Nixon. The CREEP group also gotten lots of money from unidentifiable places. Suspicion set in and Nixon was accused of getting illegal help in being re-elected. Nixon tried to use government to cover-up his involvement. Impeachment proceedings were started but Nixon resigned from his office in August of 1974. -
Title IX
Title IX is a part of the Education Amendments, it protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance. Before Title IX, schools could segregate students based on their gender. Colleges could be open to boys only, Title IX made this type of stereotyping and segregating illegal, so everybody can take the classes they want and go to many more colleges than before. -
The Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act provides a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and animals and the habitats in which they are found. The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.The law also prohibits any action that causes a "taking" of any listed species of endangered fish or wildlife. Likewise, import, export, interstate, and foreign commerce of listed species are all generally prohibited. -
War Power Resolution Act
War Power Act was passed by Congress as a check on the President's war powers. It requires that the President, upon ordering any military forces into combat without a declaration of war, formally notify Congress of the action within 48 hours. In addition, the combat action must be ended within 60 days.The War Powers Act was adopted near the end of the Vietnamese War, when dissatisfaction with the undeclared war was high. -
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency created by Congress in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Elections Campaign Act. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions, and the overseeing the public funding of presidential elections.The Federal Election Commission is composed of six members appointed by the president of the United States subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. -
The Camp David Accords
Before the Camp David Accords, Israel and Egypt had been at war for many years.The Camp David Accords were historic peace agreements signed by the leaders of Egypt and Israel. The negotiations were tense. They lasted for 13 days.They led to an official peace treaty between the two countries that returned the Sinai to Egypt, established diplomatic relations between Egypt and Israel, and opened the Suez Canal to Israeli ships. -
Iran hostage crisis
Iran hostage crisis, international crisis in which militants in Iran seized 66 American citizens at the U.S. embassy in Tehrān and held 52 of them hostage for more than a year. The crisis, which took place during the chaotic aftermath of Iran’s Islamic revolution and its overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy, had dramatic effects on domestic politics in the United States and poisoned U.S.-Iranian relations for decades. -
Moral Majority
Itwas a prominent American political organization associated with the Christian right and Republican Party. Many conservative Christians believed that they had no proper voice in politics. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell and associates. The Moral Majority was formed in response to the social and cultural transformations that occurred in the 60s and ’70s. They fought the media, focusing on programs that opposed what the organization believed were wholesome family values. -
Election of 1980
This election marked the beginning of what is popularly called the "Reagan Revolution." Ronald Reagan won over Jimmy Carter because of the Iranian hostage crisis and America's stagflation.The general election campaign between Carter and Reagan seemed more an exercise in shadowboxing than a serious discussion of the issues that concerned the voters: double-digit inflation, rising unemployment, the crisis in Iran, the Cold War with the Soviet Union -
Robert L. Johnson
The founder and president of Black Entertainment Television.Creator of the first cable network to provide solely black programming, Johnson built his nearly $3 billion company on a format that featured black music videos and comedy as its highlight. After selling the company to Viacom in 2000, Johnson became the first African-American billionaire and set his sights on other ventures such as becoming an owner in the airline industry, authoring books, and owning professional sports teams. -
Period: to
1980's
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AIDS Crisis
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome occurs after the HIV virus has destroyed the body's immune system. HIV is transferred when body fluids, such as blood or semen, which carry the virus, enter the body of an uninfected person. The virus appeared in America in the early 1980s. The Reagan administration was slow to respond to the "AIDS Epidemic," because effects of the virus were not fully understood and they deemed the spread of the disease as the result of immoral behavior. -
Sandra Day O'Connor
President Ronald Reagan nominated her for associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. She broke new ground for women in the legal field when she was sworn in as the first female justice on the Supreme Court. Connor was considered to be a moderate conservative. She was was supported by most conservatives, led by Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, and liberals, including Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and women's rights groups like the National Organization for Women. -
Music Television
MTV came online in 1981. 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. It was a kind of cable channel formed expressly to broadcast the new media of music videos and most importantly a new clearinghouse for rating and promoting recorded music. MTV's main target demographic was young adults. -
Reaganomics
Reaganomics is President Ronald Reagan's conservative economic policy that attacked the 1980 recession and stagflation. Reaganomics is a popular term used to refer to the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president. The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to reduce the growth of government spending, reduce the federal income tax and capital gains tax, reduce government regulation, and tighten the money supply in order to reduce inflation. -
Jimmy Carter
The Presidency of Jimmy Carter spanned the period in United States history that encompasses the events of the Cold War Era and the age of the Space Race and the Cold War Arms Race. President Jimmy Carter represented the Democratic political party which influenced the domestic and foreign policies of his presidency.Carter's presidency was also marked by escalating economic problems. Inflation and unemployment rose dramatically with many people losing their jobs. -
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983 under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union.Although SDI was criticized as unfeasible and in violation of the Antiballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, Congress approved billions of dollars for development. -
The Iran Contra Affair
The scandal , also known as Irangate, arose due the foreign policies of President Ronald Reagan and his administration regarding the change of government in the two seemingly unrelated countries of Iran and Nicaragua. The Affair was a secret U.S. government arms deal that freed some American hostages held in Lebanon but also funded armed conflict in Central America. In addition, the controversial dealmaking and the political scandal threatened to bring down the presidency of Ronald Reagan. -
Space Shuttle Program
The Shuttle was launched for the first time in 1981 and flew on more than 130 missions. It carried a crew and cargo, and its missions included launching satellites and building space stations. John Young and Robert Crippen launched the space shuttle program by piloting Columbia to space and returning successfully two days later. A string of successful missions was broken in 1986 when Challenger disintegrated seconds after liftoff, killing its seven-person crew. -
The Fall of Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall was built during the Cold War.The Berlin Wall stood as a visible symbol of the Cold War division of East from West Germany and of eastern from western Europe. The reason the Berlin Wall was built was to block movement between the sectors of Berlin.The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolized the fall of communism and the birth of democracy in the Iron Curtain countries.The reform policies of Mikhail Gorbachev to stimulate the Soviet economy inadvertently led to the Fall of the Berlin Wall. -
Balkan Crisis
A series of ethnic conflicts, wars of independence and insurgencies fought in the former Yugoslavia. These wars accompanied and facilitated the breakup of the Yugoslav state, when its constituent republics declared independence, but the issues of ethnic minorities in the new countries (chiefly Serbs, Croats and Albanians) were still unresolved at the time, though the republics were eventually recognized internationally. -
Rodney King Incident
An African-American taxi driver who became known internationally as the victim of Los Angeles Police Department brutality, after a videotape was released of several police officers beating him during his arrest. A civilian, George Holliday, filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and sent the footage to local news station KTLA. The footage clearly showed King being beaten repeatedly, and the incident was covered by news media around the world. -
Period: to
1990's
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Bill Clinton
William "Bill" Clinton was born in 1946. In 1978, he became the youngest governor in the country when he was elected governor of Arkansas. In 1992, he was elected as President of the United States and was re-elected in 1996. He enacted legislation including the Family and Medical Leave Act and oversaw two terms of economic prosperity. In 1998, Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives following the revelation of his affair with Monica Lewinsky but was acquitted by Senate in 1999. -
Election of 1992
The Presidential Election of 1992 had three major candidates: Republican President George H.W. Bush, Democrat Bill Clintion, and Independent Ross Perot. After already serving his 1st term as President, George H.W. Bush allienated much of his conservative base by breaking his pledge against raising taxes. He gained only 168 of the electoral votes and Perot zero. Bill Clinton, winning 370 of the electoral votes and the majority of the popular votes, became the 42nd President of the United States. -
World Trade Center Attack
On February 26, 1993 a terrorist bomb exploded in a parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. A crater created by the explosion 60 feet wide and causing the collapse of several concrete floors in the way 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. 50,000 people were evacuated from buildings and the World Trade Center suffered more than $500 million in damage. -
Dont Ask, Dont tell Policy
The official United States policy on military service by gays, bisexuals, and lesbians, instituted by the Clinton Administration. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. This relaxation of legal restrictions on service by gays and lesbians in the armed forces was mandated by United States federal law. -
North American Free Trade Agreement
An agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. It superseded the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada. Most economic analyses indicate that NAFTA has been beneficial to the North American economies and the average citizen, but harmed a small minority of workers in industries exposed to trade competition. -
Lewinsky Affair
The Lewinsky Affair had to do with President Bill Clinton and young White House intern, Monica Lewinsky and their affair. In 1995, the two began a sexual relationship that continued sporadically until 1997. In 1998, when news of his extramarital affair became public. Clinton denied the relationship but later admitted to “inappropriate intimate physical contact” with Lewinsky. The House of Representatives impeached Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice, but was acquitted Senate. -
Defense of Marriage Act
A United States federal law that, prior to being ruled unconstitutional, defined marriage for federal purposes as the union of one man and one woman, and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted under the laws of other states. DOMA's passage did not prevent individual states from recognizing same-sex marriage, but it imposed constraints on the benefits received by all legally married same-sex couples. -
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey was born in 1954 in Mississippi. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore, where she hosted a television chat show and was then recruited by a Chicago TV station and Winfrey later became the host of her own popular program, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired from 1986 to 2011. In 1999, she co-founded Oxygen Media, a company that is dedicated to producing cable and Internet programming for women. She is considered to be one of the most powerful and wealthy people in show business. -
Bush v. Gore
The Supreme Court of the U.S. reversed a Florida Supreme Court request for a selective manual recount of that state’s U.S. presidential election ballots. The Supreme Court, stated that the Supreme Court of Florida had violated the U.S. Constitution when it ordered the recount only in certain districts.As a result, it ordered the recounts abandoned, effectively naming Bush the winner of the national election. By the time of the decision, a month had passed since the nation had cast its ballots. -
Period: to
Contemporary
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George Bush Presidency
America’s 43rd president, served in office from 2001 to 2009. In 2000, he won the presidency defeating Democratic challenger Al Gore. Bush’s time in office was shaped by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against America. In response to the attacks, he declared a global “war on terrorism,” established the Department of Homeland Security and authorized U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. -
The No Child Left Behind Education Act
The No Child Left Behind Education Act, or NCLB, is the name for the most recent update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. NCLB passed Congress with overwhelming support in 2001 and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002. This act significantly increased the federal role in holding schools responsible for the academic progress of all students. It put a focus on ensuring that states and schools boost the performance of certain groups of students. -
9/11 Attacks
19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism -
USA Patriot Act
Stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001"Following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks and the Anthrax attacks Congress had to balance the need to increase the nation's security with the protections of the 4th Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure. The USA Patriot Act is an antiterrorism law allowing federal officials greater authority in tracking and intercepting communications -
John McCain
An American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Arizona since 1987. He was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. Since the loss he largely opposed actions of the Obama administration, especially in regard to foreign policy matters. -
The Great Recession
\It was sparked by a loss of confidence by investors in the mortgage and loan markets in the United States. The close interaction of banks across the world resulted in a global liquidity crisis. There was sudden reduction in the easy availability of loans or credit from banks and mortgage as lenders insisted on stringent checks before any bank or mortgage loans were approved. Many were unemployed and left homeless and many went bankrupt. -
Obamas Presidency
The Presidency of Barack Obama spanned the period in United States history that encompasses the events of the Modern Era and the rise of terrorism. President Barack Obama represented the Democratic political party which influenced the domestic and foreign policies of his presidency. The main events of the presidency include the end of the Afghanistan War and Iraq War . The death of Obama Bin Laden , Benghazi attack in Libya and Boston Marathon bombing The threat of terrorism continued . -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
was a spending bill passed by the U.S. Congress in 2009. It was one of the early things Barack Obama did as president. It gave more money to unemployed people for longer.It cut taxes for workers, students, and the middle class. It gave more money to Medicaid. It gave money to improve roads and bridges in the U.S. It gave millions of dollars to various government agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts. It has taken awhile for the stimulus money to be used. -
Sonia Sotomayor
Born on June 25, 1954 in New York City, Sonia Sotomayor went on to become the first Hispanic Sumpreme Court Justice in United States history in 2009; she was nominated by President Barack Obama. The nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August 2009 by a vote of 68 to 31. In 1980, she graduated from Yale Law School and passed the bar. She became a U.S. District Court Judge in 1992 and was elevated to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 1998.
