US History

Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam)

Dam built on the Colorado River to help stimulate business and provide jobs; located on the border between Nevada and Arizona

Pan Am Flight 103

Dec 1988: bomb exploded on a plane headed from London to NY; crashed in Scotland and killed all 259 aboard. 2 Libyans charged for the attack.

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

December, 1955 - In Montgomery, Alabama, she refused to give up her bus seat for a White man as required by city ordinance. It started the Civil Rights Movement and an almost nation-wide bus boycott lasting 11 months.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Declared all slaves in rebelling states to be free but did not affect slavery in non-rebelling Border States. The Proclamation closed the door on possible compromise with the South and encouraged thousands of Southern slaves to flee to Union lines; Lincoln issued it on January 1, 1863

General "Mad Anthony" Wayne

Defeated Miamis at the Battle of Fallen Timbers when British refused to shelter them.

Simpson Bowles Commission

Deficit and debt reduction commission. National commission of Fiscal Responsibility, tried to create grand bargain to avoid sequestration- cuts in entitlements and defense; founded by Barack Obama

Estes Kefauver

Democratic candidate from Tennessee elected to the Senate in 1948 despite being accused of being communist by his opponent. He was Adlai Stevenson's running mate in the Presidential Election of 1956. He later led a Senate congressional committee that investigated organized crime in the U.S.

Strom Thurmond

Democratic governor of South Carolina who headed the State's Rights Party (Dixiecrats); he ran for president in 1948 against Truman and his mild civil rights proposals and eventually joined the Republican Party.

Timothy Geithner

Department of Treasury under President Obama during the recession of 2008

Brooklyn Bridge (1883)

Designed by John Roebling. Combines two structural systems, steel cables(tension) and the arches themselves (compression). established the structural basis for all modern suspension bridges; it also employed the first steel used in an American structure.

The Godfather (1972)

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Characters include Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) , Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) , Kay Adams (Diane Keaton), Sonny Corleone (James Caan), and Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall)

Medgar Evers

Director of the NAACP in Mississippi and a lawyer who defended accused Blacks, he was murdered in his driveway by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

38th Parallel (DMZ)

Division between North and South Korea- Demilitarized Zone

Missouri Compromise of 1820

Drafted by Henry Clay, allowed Missouri to enter the union as a slave state, Maine to enter the union as a free state, prohibited slavery north of latitude 36˚ 30' within the Louisiana Territory (1820)

Mark Spitz

During the 1972 Munich Olympic games he set a swimming record with seven gold medals that stood until Michael Phelps received eight in 2008

William Rehnquist

During the Reagan administration, he was the new Supreme Court chief justice. Under his leadership the court scaled back on affirmative action in hiring and promotions and limited Roe v. Wade influence by allowing states to impose some restrictions on abortions.

1958 Lebanon Crisis

Eisenhower's first application of the Eisenhower Doctrine. He sent 14,000 marines to this country to prevent a civil war between Christians and Muslims. U.S. Marines landed on beaches south of Beirut in mid-July. The U.S. troops helped to end the conflict, but not before an estimated 2000 to 4000 people were killed.

Homestead Act of 1862

Encouraged westward settlement by allowing heads of families to buy 160 acres of land for a small fee ($10-30); settlers were required to develop and remain on the land for five years. Over 400,000 families got land through this law.

American Pharoah

Ended the 37 year drought , winning the 2015 Triple Crown

Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)

English film director and producer, nicknamed "The Master of Suspense", he pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. Best known for his films "Psycho," "Vertigo," and "The Birds."

Yellowstone National Park

Established in 1872 by Congress, was the United States's first national park; found mostly in Wyoming, and also in parts of Montana and Idaho

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established judicial review; "midnight judges;" John Marshall; power of the Supreme Court.

Sand Creek Massacre (1864)

Event at which Colonel John Chivington and his troops attacked and destroyed a village of friendly Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped in southeastern Colorado Territory; killed over 150 inhabitants, about two-thirds of whom were women and children.

Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet

Explored the Mississippi River

Yalta Conference (1945)

FDR, Churchill and Stalin met at this conference in the Crimean peninsula in the USSR. Russia agreed to declare war on Japan after the surrender of Germany and in return FDR and Churchill promised the USSR concession in Manchuria and the territories that it had lost in the Russo-Japanese War

Sarah Bernhardt

Famous 19th century French actress. Known for her extravagant behavior. Slept in a coffin in order to connect with her tragic characters. Played Hamlet and made one of the earliest silent films; made debut in NYC's Booth Theater

Seabiscuit

Famous racehorse of the 1930's. In 1938 he defeated War Admiral in a match race at Pimlico Track in Maryland that was one of the most famous sporting events in the first half of the 20th century; was an "underdog" racehorse who inspired Americans during the Great Depression

Monkey Trial/Scopes Trial (1925)

Famous trial in Dayton, TN to determine the constitutionality under the First Amendment--> separation of church and state of a Tennessee law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in the public schools

Richard Nixon and China

February 21, 1972 - He visited for a week to meet with Chairman Mao Tse-Tung for improved relations with China, Called "ping-pong diplomacy" because he played ping pong with Mao during his visit. He agreed to support China's admission to the United Nations; his trip nicknamed "journey for peace"; 1st President to visit China

1993 World Trade Center Bombing

February 26,1993. Truck bomb detonated beneath North Tower. Killed 6 people injured 1042.

Fort Sumter, 1861

Federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina; Lincoln sent supplies as a way to provoke the south (secretly) to begin the war. the confederate attack on the fort marked the start of the Civil War

Pendleton Act of 1883

Federal legislation which created a system in which federal employees were chosen on the basis of competitive examinations, therefore making merit, or ability, the reason for hiring people to fill federal positions

Black Friday, 1869

Financial tycoons Jim Fisk and Jay Gould bribed officials in Grant's cabinet to ignore their attempts to corner the gold market; led to the Panic of 1869

Iroquois (ee ra coy) Theater Fire

Fire occurred in 1903 in Chicago, IL 602 killed; deadliest theater fire ever

Model T Car

First Affordable Car made by Henry Ford. Every car looked exactly the same and was made in mass production on an assembly line; released in 1908

Ed White

First American to walk in space

Sally Ride

First American woman in space; aboard the Challenger; First woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova from Russia

Alberto Gonzales

First Hispanic attorney general in American history. Became the nation's top law enforcement and legal authority; selected in 2005

Chuck Yeager

First Person to Break the Sound Barrier, with his X-1 rocket plane; phenomenon creates a "sonic boom "

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 1828

First US passenger steam railroad commissioned in the US

1903 World Series

First World Series in which the Boston Americans beat the Pittsburgh Pirates

Publick Occurrences

First colonial newspaper, Boston, 1690

The Netherlands

First country in the world to make same-sex marriage legal

Crawford Long

First doctor to use inhaled diethyl ether as an anesthetic.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

First federal action against monopolies, it was signed into law by Harrison and was extensively used by Theodore Roosevelt for trust-busting. However, it was initially misused against labor unions

Viking I (1976)

First space probe to land on Mars; landed in 1976

Massachusetts

First state in the United States to make same-sex marriage legal; official in 2004

Pennsylvania

First state to abolish slavery

Elian Gonzalez

Five-year-old boy who made headlines in 1999 by surviving trip to Florida from Cuba, only to be returned by U.S. immigration in 2000; mother drowned on same trip and child was returned to his father in Cuba

Branch Davidians

Followers of David Koresh who lived in a compound outside Waco, Texas, were sieged by federal agents, had illegal firearms. The building caught fire and no one survived.

Emma Willard (1787-1870)

Foremost 19th century proponent of higher education for women. She founded the Troy (NY) Female Academy, the first US all-women's college

Tom Foley

Former Democratic House Member from Washington State; became first sitting Speaker of the House voted out by constituents since 1862.

Robert Hanssen

Former FBI Agent who spied for the Soviet Union for 22 years (1979-2001)

Martin O'Malley

Former Governor of Maryland (2007-2015); Ran for Democratic presidential nomination in 2016

John Kasich

Former Governor of Ohio; ran for Republican presidential nomination in 206

Fort McHenry

Fort in Baltimore Harbor unsuccessfully bombarded by the British in September 1814; Francis Scott Key, a witness to the battle, was moved to write the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner".

The Hudson River School

Founded by Thomas Cole, first native school of landscape painting in the U.S.; attracted artists rebelling against the neoclassical tradition

Library Company of Philadelphia (1731)

Founded in 1731 by Ben Franklin, it was the first subscription library in the American colonies.

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Founded in Chicago in 1905, this radical union, also known as the Wobblies aimed to unite the American working class into one union to promote labor's interests. It worked to organize unskilled and foreign-born laborers, advocated social revolution, and led several major strikes. Stressed solidarity.

American Legion (1919)

Founded in Paris by Teddy Roosevelt, Jr., Members met periodically to renew old hardships and let off steam in good natured horseplay. Soon became known for militant patriotism, anti-radicalism, and conservatism. Also became notorious for lobbying for veteran's benefits.

Kent State Massacre

Four killed, nine wounded by Ohio National Guard during protest of U.S. invasion of Cambodia at this university

Jean Baptiste Rochambeau

French nobleman marched by Washington from Rhode Island to Virginia who played a significant role in a decisive battle in 1781.

Trent Lott

From Mississippi, Served as a member of the U.S. House and as Senate majority leader

Alaska Purchase (1867)

From Russia by the United States occurred in 1867 at the behest of Secretary of State William Seward. The territory purchased was about 600,000 square miles (1,600,000 km²) of the modern state of Alaska.

David Petraeus

General who was a commander of US forces in Afghanistan as well as the head of the Multi-National Force in Iraq (MNF-I); oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq from 2007-2008; proponent of the surge and of the Take-Clear-Hold-Rebuild Strategy because of its success in cities in Iraq. Later became the head of the CIA; involved in scandal with his biographer which forced him to resign in 2012

Hindenburg Disaster (1937)

German passenger airship caught fire and was destroyed in an attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey

Nelson Rockefeller

Governor of NY and VP to Ford. Considered a moderate Republican.

Kate Brown

Governor of Oregon; first openly bisexual governor

Scott Walker

Governor of Wisconsin

Little Rock Nine (1957)

Governor sent the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School. Eisenhower sent in U.S. paratroopers to ensure the students could attend class.

14th Amendment (1868)

Grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the US"; it forbids any state to deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws." It has been the vehicle for the expansion of civil rights, women's rights, gay rights among other movements. It also allowed for the "incorporation doctrine" which means the application of the national Bill of Rights to the states.

Samuel J. Tilden

Hayes' opponent in the 1876 presidential race, he was the Democratic nominee who had gained fame for putting Boss Tweed behind bars. He collected 184 of the necessary 185 electoral votes; Congress agreed to certify Hayes as winner after Republicans agreed to end federal Reconstruction of South

Roger Williams

He founded Rhode Island for separation of Church and State. He believed that the Puritans were too powerful and was ordered to leave the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious beliefs.

Ted Kennedy

He is a Senator from Massachusetts and the last of the Kennedy brothers. In 1979, he said that he was going to challenge Carter for the Presidency, but an incident back in '69 with a car crash, handicapped his decision; died of cancer in 2009; served in US senate for almost 47 years

Pope Francis

He is the current Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church; succeeded Pope Benedict XVI

Robert "Bobby" Kennedy

He was a Democrat who ran for president in 1968 promoting civil rights and other equality based ideals. He was ultimately assassinated by Palestinian man Sirhan Sirhan in 1968, leaving Nixon to take the presidency but instilling hope in many Americans; was attorney general during his brother's presidency

James Meredith

He was a civil rights advocate who spurred a riot at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). The riot was caused by angry whites who did not want Meredith to register at the university. The result was forced government action, showing that segregation was no longer government policy.

John Dewey

He was a philosopher who believed in "learning by doing" which formed the foundation of progressive education. He believed that the teachers' goal should be "education for life and that the workbench is just as important as the blackboard."; wrote "School and Society

Lord Baltimore (George Calvert)

He was a prominent English Catholic who was seeking a haven for other Catholics. In 1632, he received the land grant first promised to his father. He made Maryland into a haven for all Christians.

Charles Manson

He was a serial killer/cult leader who murdered many people, including Sharon Tate. He was sentenced the death penalty, but his sentence was changed to life in prison after Furman v. Georgia case about death penalty being "cruel and unusual punishment"; Cult based in California

Crispus Attucks (1723-1770)

He was an African American and one of the colonials involved in the Boston Massacre, and when the shooting started, he was the first to die. He became a martyr.

Ivan Boesky

He was an investment broker who illegally manipulated the stock market and in the process redefined the crime of insider trading(1985)

Michael Dukakis

He was governor of Massachusetts and George H.W. Bush's democratic opponent in the election of 1988

General Douglas MacArthur

He was one of the most-known American military leaders of WW2(He liberated the Philippines and made the Japanese surrender at Tokyo in 1945, also he drove back North Korean invaders during the Korean War

Gary Gilmore

He was the first person to be executed after the resumed capital punishment. 1977, was executed from by Utah firing squad.

Matthew C. Perry

He was the military leader who convinced the Japanese to sign a treaty in 1853 with the U.S. The treaty allowed for a commercial foot in Japan which was helpful with furthering a relationship with Japan.

Leon Jaworski

He was the next Special Prosecutor of the Watergate case after Cox was fired. Jaworski was responsible for bringing to light many damaging facts of the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up.

Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro

He was the vice president of Carter and when he won the democratic nomination he was defeated by a landslide by Reagan. He was the first presidential candidate to have a woman vice president, Geraldine Ferraro from NY

Boss Tweed

Head of Tammany Hall, NYC's powerful democratic political machine in 1868. Between 1868 and 1869 he led a group of corrupt politicians in defrauding the city. Example: Responsible for the construction of the NY court house; actual construction cost $3million. Project cost tax payers $13million.

Patricia "Patty" Hearst

Heiress whose kidnapping and brainwashing by the Symbionese Liberation Army led to one of the most dramatic and highly sensationalized episodes of the 1970s; granddaughter of the father of "yellow journalism"

Columbian Exposition of 1893

Held in Chicago, Americans saw this World's Fair as their opportunity to claim a place among the world's most "civilized" societies, by which they meant the countries of western Europe. The Fair honored art, architecture, and science, and its promoters built a mini-city in which to host the fair that reflected all the ideals of city planning popular at the time. For many, this was the high point of the "City Beautiful" movement.

James Earl Ray

Hired by unidentified people to assassinate Martin Luther King, Jr. He shot and killed King on the balcony of his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. He was captured two months later in London.

Buffalo Bill

His real name was William F. Cody and was an American adventurer, soldier, and showman of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His popular "Wild West Show," begun in the 1880s, featured acts such as the marksmanship of Annie Oakley, mock battles between Native Americans and army troops, and breathtaking displays of cowboy skills and horsemanship. It toured the United States, Canada, and Europe.

1932 Presidential Election

Hoover v. FDR: FDR won because he promised a fairer distribution of wealth and served as a turning point in the way Americans viewed the responsibility of the federal government

California gold rush, 1849

Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world, mostly young men, came to west coast in 1849 after gold was discovered in search of instant riches. Led to quick population of California, and new conflicts over slavery as California petitioned for admission as a free state. Led to Compromise of 1850

Lois Lerner

IRS (internal revenue service) official; being investigated for targeting conservative groups ahead of 2012 elections

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Identify the following literary classic that has become a movie that won the Best Picture Oscar: This Tolkien work features the epic Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Geneva Summit 1955

Ike and Khrushchev meet to discuss disarmament and Germany; shows that Ike tried to help but was rejected by Soviets

George Ryan

Illinois governor; suspended his state's death penalty in 2003

Spanish-American War

In 1898, a conflict between the United States and Spain, in which the U.S. supported the Cubans' fight for independence; Pres. McKinley signed a treaty to end the war

Wall Street Bombing

In 1920, a bomb exploded here, killing 38 people; this event fueled fears that communists threatened the nation's existence.

Peace Corps, 1961

In 1961, JFK called for volunteers who help third world nations and prevent the spread of communism by fighting poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The work is generally related to social and economic development. Volunteers went abroad to work with governments, schools, non-profit organizations, non-government organizations, entrepreneurs in education, hunger, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment.

Alan Shepard (1961)

In 1961, he became the first American in space aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule

USS Cole

In 2000, two suicide bombers in a small rubber boat nearly sank this billion dollar warship docked in Yemen

Curiosity rover

In 2012, landed on Mars to study rocks, the atmosphere/production of Methane

Bay of Pigs, 1961

In April 1961, a group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro. When the invasion ended in disaster, President Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure.

Freddie Gray

In April, his death a week after sustaining a spinal cord injury while in police custody became the nation's latest symbol of police brutality, opening a deep wound in Baltimore, a majority-black city, and resulting in riots and demonstrations.

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

In December 1890, Army troops captured some of Sitting Bull's followers and took them to a camp. 300 Sioux men, women, and children were killed. South Dakota and the Lakota people.

Berlin Airlift, 1948

In June 1948, the USSR-who wanted Berlin all for themselves-closed all highways, railroads and canals into Berlin from West Germany. This, they believed, would make it impossible for the people who lived there to get food or any other supplies and would eventually drive Britain, France and the US out of the city for good. However, the US and its allies decided to supply their sectors of the city from the air. It lasted for more than a year and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo in 277,000 flights into West Berlin.

Enron

In November 2001 this company, the United States' seventh largest corporation, issued a statement drastically revising its stated profits over the past three years. Within a month, the company was forced to declare bankruptcy—the largest bankruptcy in business history—and numerous charges surfaced that the company had engaged in a repeated pattern of un-ethical and perhaps illegal practices. In addition to shareholder and employee lawsuits, executives also faced potential criminal charges for their roles in the scandal.

Lehman Brothers

In September 2008, this large Wall Street investment bank declared bankruptcy, which led to a panic in the financial industry

Dumbarton Oaks Conference

In a meeting near Washington, D.C., held from August 21 to October 7, 1944, U.S., Great Britain, U.S.S.R. and China met to draft the constitution of the United Nations.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

In early 2008, the federal government tried a $170 billion stimulus package and took over a few critical financial institutions including these two government-sponsored enterprises

54 40 or fight

In the election of 1844, Polk used this as a campaign slogan, implying that the he would declare war if Britain did not give the United States all the Oregon territory up to its northern boundary (49th parallel)

Battle of Midway (1942)

In this battle the US destroyed Japanese aircraft carriers and ended Japanese offensive in the Pacific Theater; turning point in WWII as it was Japan's first major defeat

Battle of Tippacanoe (1811)

Indiana Territory Governor William Henry Harrison defeats Shawnee chief Tenskwatawa"the prophet" in the indiana wilderness. after the battle, the prophet's brother, Tecumseh, forged an alliance with the British against the US

National Rifle Association (NRA)

Interest group organized to defend the rights of gun owners and defeat efforts at gun control; formed in 1871

Earth Day (1970)

International day of celebration and awareness of global environmental issues launched by conservationists on April 22, 1970

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Interracial organization founded in 1909 to abolish segregation and discrimination and to achieve political and civil rights for African Americans.

Coca-Cola

Invented by Pemberton in 1886, major growth under Asa Candler; World's largest non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer

Alexander Graham Bell (1876)

Invented the telephone

Enrico Fermi

Italian nuclear physicist (in the United States after 1939) who worked on artificial radioactivity caused by neutron bombardment and who headed the group that in 1942 produced the first controlled nuclear chain reaction (1901-1954), using fission of uranium isotope U-235 in Chicago, IL

Achille Lauro Hijacking (1985)

Italian passenger ship hijacked by PLO and American Jewish passenger is killed

Breakup of Bell/AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph Company) Monopoly

January 8, 1982 - This company settles its lawsuit with the U.S. Justice Department. The agreement forced the independence of the twenty-two regional Bell System companies in return for expansion into the prohibited areas of data processing and equipment sales.

Battle of Bull Run

July 21, 1861. Va. (outside of D.C.) People watched battle. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson: Confederate general, held his ground and stood in battle like a "stone wall." Union retreated. Confederate victory. Showed that both sides needed training and war would be long and bloody

Barry Bonds

Key figure in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) scandal. Under investigation by a federal grand jury and was indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice. His trainer Greg Anderson was indicted for supply anabolic steroids to athletes. Convicted in April 2001 for obstruction of justice by giving an evasive answer under oath, but did not go to prison; passed Hank Aaron as MLB home-run all-time leader in 2007 and holds record with 762

John Philip Sousa

Known as "The March King", American bandmaster and composer who wrote comic operas and marches such as The Stars and Stripes Forever (1897), the national march of the United States

King George's War (1744-1748)

Land squabble between France and Britain. France tried to retake Nova Scotia (which it had lost to Britain in Queen Anne's War). The war ended with a treaty restoring the status quo, so that Britain kept Nova Scotia).

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956

Largest federal project in U.S. history that created a national network of interstate highways and was the largest federal project in history; signed into law by Dwight D. Eisenhower

Sicily

Largest island in Mediterranean sea invaded by Britain in 1943; operation codenamed "Operation Husky"

Clara Barton

Launched the American Red Cross in 1881. An "angel" in the Civil War, she treated the wounded in the field.

Patriot Act (2001)

Law responding to 9/11. Expands anti-terrorist powers (wiretapping, surveillance); 4th Amendment concern for civil liberties.

Manuel Noriega

Leader of the Panamanian Defense Forces, this man supplied information to the CIA during the Bush administration, but was indicted in 1988 for drug and other charges and eventually captured and convicted after a military standoff with U.S. troops in Panama.

Albany Congress (1754)

Led by Ben Franklin, meeting of representatives of seven colonies to coordinate their efforts against French and Native American threats in the Western frontier regions.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops (the largest invasion force in history) stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. The turning point of World War II.

Knights of Labor

Led by Terence V. Powderly; open-membership policy extending to unskilled, semiskilled, women, African-Americans, immigrants; goal was to create a cooperative society between in which labors owned the industries in which they worked; formed in Philadelphia, PA

2001 Anthrax attacks (Amerithrax)

Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and senators Leahy and Daschle; this killed 5 people and infected 17

Jim Crow Laws

Limited rights of blacks. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses and poll taxes limited black voting rights; designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites; first law enacted in Tennessee

Ernest Hemingway

Lost Generation writer, spent much of his life in France, Spain, and Cuba during WWI, notable works include A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls

Brownie Camera

Low cost photography; snap-shot; "you push the button we do the rest" Invented by George Eastman; introduced by the Eastman Kodak Company

Hurricane Andrew

Major hurricane that caused heavy damage in Florida and Louisiana in 1992, its name was retired in Florida

Eric Garner

Man strangled in Bronx by police officer after repeatedly saying "I can't breath"; occurred in 2014

Department of Transportation (1966)

Manages the nations highways, railroads, airlines, and sea traffic; created in 1966 and signed by LBJ

Triangle Shirtwaist Co. Factory Fire

March 1911 fire in New York factory that trapped young women workers inside locked exit doors; nearly 50 ended up jumping to their death; while 100 died inside the factory; led to the establishment of many factory reforms, including increasing safety precautions for workers

Johnstown Flood

May 31, 1889; dam on Lake Conemaugh breaks causing damage and loss of 2,209 people in Pennsylvania

Constitutional Convention

Meeting in 1787 of the elected representatives of the thirteen original states to write the Constitution of the United States.

Oliver North

Member of the National Security Council under President Ronald Reagan; Chief member of funneling arms to Iran and then transferring the money to the Contras in Nicaragua; gave testimony

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Military alliance created in 1949 made up of 12 non-Communist countries including the United States that support each other if attacked.

My Lai Massacre (1968)

Military assault in a small Vietnamese village on March 16, 1968, in which American soldiers under the command of 2nd Lieutenant William Calley murdered hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children. The atrocity produced outrage and reduced support for the war in America and around the world when details of the massacre and an attempted cover-up were revealed in 1971.

Guantanamo Bay

Military base granted to the US in Cuba which is now used as a prison; Nicknamed "G-Bay" and "Gitmo"

William Faulkner (1897-1962)

Mississippi novelist who explored the South's collective memory of racism and conservatism in his fictional chronicle of "Yoknapatawpha" County. His many modernist novels inspired a twentieth-century southern literary renaissance; wrote "The Sound and the Fury"; also said "Man will not merely endure, he will prevail"

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937?)

More than 70 years after her disappearance, she remains the most famous aviatrix. In 1932 she became the first woman to make a trans-Atlantic solo flight, and three years later she became the first pilot of either gender to fly solo from Hawaii to California. In June 1937, she and navigator Fred Noonan embarked on a 29,000-mile, around-the-world flight in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra. They completed most of the journey, but became lost and eventually disappeared on the leg between Lae, New Guinea, and Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. Speculation as to their ultimate fate continues to this day; founded "The Ninety-Nines", an international organization for women pilots

1980 Mt St. Helens Eruption

Most destructive volcano eruption in US History, killing 57 people and thousands of animals; took place in Skamania County in Washington State in Cascade Mountain Range

I Love Lucy

Most popular sitcom of the 1950s, star Lucille Ball: played Lucy, married to Cuban American, Lucy always tried to outthink her husband, she rarely succeeds, but keeps trying

Tora Bora

Mountain range where Osama bin Laden escaped. Cave Complex in white mountains of eastern Afghanistan; failed capture attempt in 2001

Occupy Wall Street

Name of the original protest that launched the populist, anti-Wall Street movement in late 2010 and early 2011. Youthful radicals pitched tents and occupied Zuccotti Park in New York's financial district beginning in September 2010 to protest inequality and corporate political power. This demonstration inspired similar occupations in many other cities.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

New Deal agency that helped create jobs for those that needed them. It created around 9 million jobs working on bridges, roads, and buildings.

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)

New England-born author of popular novels for adolescents, most notably Little Women.

Arthur Miller (1915-2005)

New York-born playwright who dramatized the pitfalls of postwar American materialism in Death of a Salesman and Cold War hysteria in The Crucible, among other plays.

Miracle On Ice (1980)

Nickname for Ice hockey game during 1980 winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY where the US team defeated the Soviet Union team

Spiro Agnew

Nixon's vice-president resigned and pleaded "no contest" to charges of tax evasion on payments made to him when he was governor of Maryland. He was replaced by Gerald R. Ford.

St. Lawrence Seaway

North America's most important deepwater ship route, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the St. Lawrence River

Proposition 8

Nov 2008, was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the Nov 08 state elections--stated only marriage between a man and a woman is recognized in California

Howard Dean

Obscure former Vermont Governor who momentarily became the front-runner for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2003 behind an unprecedented internet fund-raising and organizing effort; signed first state law recognizing same-sex civil unions

Newark Riots

Occurred on July 17, 1967, in New Jersey; an African-American taxi driver was arrested for tailgating and driving in the wrong direction on a one-way street; peaceful protesting began, but it deteriorated into violent rioting and looting; screamed "Black Power", while smashing store windows; National Guard and Mayor Hugh Addonizio helped to restore order

Ralph Ellison (1914-1994)

Oklahoma-born and Tuskegee-educated novelist best known for writing "Invisible Man", one of the great novels of the twentieth-century African-American experience.

Battle of the Bulge (1944)

On December 16, 1944, Hitler ordered the last of his reserves, 250,000 troops to attack the American position in the Forest of Ardennes. The Germans drove a bulge deep into the Allied line; however, the Allies stopped the Germans last ditch counterattack and advanced to the Rhine; went down as failed Nazi counteroffensive attack

Bernhard Goetz (Gets)

On December 22, 1984 He shot four young men who he said were threatening him on a New York City subway. He was charged with attempted murder but was acquitted of the charges, though convicted of carrying an unlicensed gun; known as the "Subway Vigilante"

2012 Aurora Shooting

On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in this Colorado city during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. Dressed in tactical clothing, James Eagan Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms

Boston Massacre (1770)

On March 4, 1770, a group of colonials started throwing rocks and snowballs at some British soldiers; the soldiers panicked and fired their muskets, killing a few colonials. This outraged the colonies and increased anti-British sentiment.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

On febuary 14, 1929 Capone's men dressed as police officers raided a rival gang. They killed seven suspects execution style with their hands against the wall. Capone's men shot them with over 150 bullets.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Ordered states to provide lawyers for those unable to afford them in criminal proceedings. Warren Court's judicial activism in criminal rights.

John J. Pershing (Black Jack)

Ordered to break up Villa's bandit gang. His hastily formed troops went deep in to Mexico and clashed with Carranza's forces and killed many Villistas, but missed Villa himself. the army was withdrawn as the treat of war with Germany moved closer; served as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front in WWI

American Colonization Society (1817)

Organization established to end slavery gradually by helping individual slave owners liberate their slaves and then transport the freed slaves to Africa

Indian Removal Act of 1830

Passed by Congress under the Jackson administration, this act removed all Indians east of the Mississippi to an "Indian Territory" where they would be "permanently" housed.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

Passed in 1887, Established the ICC; monitors the business operation of carriers transporting goods and people between states; created to regulate railroad prices

War Powers Act of 1973

Passed in 1973, gave any president the power to go to war under certain circumstances, but required that he could only do so for 60 days before being required to officially bring the matter before Congress.

Obamacare (Affordable Care Act)

Passed in March 2010; created by Obama and aims at reforming the healthcare system mandates health insurance for all, while expanding subsidies for low-income families, and taxing healthcare providers and higher-income earners.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)

Passed under President Hoover, it raised tariffs up to sixty percent which became the nation's highest protective tariff during peacetime. Hoover & Republicans hoped it would help US economy, but instead it resulted in retaliatory tariff increases against the US by other countries. It deepened depression and increased international financial chaos.

Benjamin Spock

Pediatrician in the 1940s whose book "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" influenced the upbringing of children around the world; written during "baby boom"

Don Larsen

Pitched the only perfect game in World Series history; played for the Yankees; Yogi Berra was the catcher for the Yankees

Whitewater Scandal

Political controversy that began with the real estate dealings of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates, in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a failed business venture. It was claimed that Clinton, while governor of AK, pressured an advisor to provide an illegal $300,000 loan; Kenneth Starr Named as independent counsel to probe

Dashiell Hammett

Popular American writer of noir, or detective, fiction. Many of his novels, including Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, became successful movies; Created "Sam Spade" detective series that are the basis of the character played by Humphrey Bogart in noir film "The Maltese Falcon" (1941)

Horatio Alger

Popular novelist during the Industrial Revolution who wrote "rags to riches" books praising the values of hard work

Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971)

Premier of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1964. He was a Communist Party official who emerged from the power struggle after Stalin's death in 1953 to lead the USSR. As Soviet premier, he notably renounced Stalin's brutality in 1956, the same year that he crushed a pro-Western uprising in Hungary. In 1958, he issued an ultimatum for Western evacuation; People of Berlin, from which he backed down a year later. He defended Soviet-style economic planning in the Kitchen Debate with American Vice President Richard Nixon in 1959, and attempted to send missiles to Cuba in 1962 but backed down when confronted by John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Operation Neptune Spear

President Barack Obama; US operation to locate and kill on site terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden.

David Souter

President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice and he took his seat October 9, 1990; originally from NH, he retired in 2009

Ich Bin Ein Berliner Speech (1963)

President Kennedy trying to tell Berliners that the US is with them; speech given in West Berlin

Saddam Hussein

President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003. Waged war on Iran in 1980-1988. In 1990 he ordered an invasion of Kuwait but was defeated by United States and its allies in the Gulf War (1991). Defeated by US led invasion in 2003.

Jimmy Carter

President who pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders

Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime minister of Israel since 2009, and previously from 1996-99.

Abu Ghraib prison

Prison in Iraq made famous by revelation of photos taken by Army Reserve MP guards in the acts of humiliating and torturing prisoners

Operation Sail (1976)

Procession of decorated ships in New York Harbor in honor of the American Bicentennial in 1976

18th Amendment (1919)

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages

15th Amendment (1870)

Prohibited voting restrictions based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (slavery)

Booker T. Washington

Prominent black American, born into slavery, who believed that racism would end once blacks acquired useful labor skills and proved their economic value to society, was head of the Tuskegee Institute in 1881. His book "Up from Slavery."

Air Commerce Act of 1926

Provided federal funds to aid in the advancement of air transportation and navigation; among the projects it supported was the construction of airports

John Winthrop (1588-1649)

Puritan governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Speaker of "City upon a hill"; wrote "The History of New England"

George Wallace

Racist Governor of Alabama in 1962 ("segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever"); runs for pres. In 1968 on American Independent Party ticket of racism and law and order, loses to Nixon; runs in 1972 but gets shot

Marco Rubio

Ran for Republican presidential nomination in 2016; senior senator of Florida

19th Amendment (1920)

Ratified on August 18, 1920 (drafted by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton), prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. The Constitution allows the states to determine the qualifications for voting, and until the 1910's most states disenfranchised women. The amendment was the culmination of the women's suffrage movement in the U.S.

Emily Dickinson

Reclusive New England poet who wrote about love, death, and immortality

Titanic (1997)

Released in 1997 and directed by James Cameron, First movie to earn $1 billion world wide; won 11 oscars

21st Amendment (1933)

Repeal of prohibition (18th Amendment)

Newt Gingrich

Representative from Georgia who led the "Contract with America" and eventually became the Speaker of the House; he and Clinton battled many times while he demanded tax cuts and a balancing of the budget

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

Republican candidates for 2012 election (president; vice president)

John Paul Jones (1747-1792)

Revolutionary War naval officer. His ship, the Bonhomme Richard, was sunk in a battle with the British ship Serapis, but he managed to board and gain control of the Serapis; considered the founder of the U.S Navy

Pocket Books

Robert de Graff introduced the idea to the US. Books were small, inexpensive(25 cents) reissues of books that had already become successful as hardcovers. Sold on newsstands bookstores train stations terminals and drug department stores. 15,000 copies sold a day; the first paperback publisher in the USA

Grenada Invasion (1983)

Ronald Reagan dispatched a heavy- fire- power invasion force to this island country where a military coup had killed the prime minister and brought Marxists to power ----Americans captured the island quickly demonstrating Reagan's determination to assert the dominance of the US in the Caribbean; invasion took place in 1983

Roosevelt Corollary

Roosevelt's 1904 extension of the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the United States has the right to protect its economic interests in South And Central America by using military force; associated with his "Good Neighbor" policy

New Nationalism

Roosevelt's progressive political policy that favored heavy government intervention in order to assure social justice

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

Ruled slaves were not citizens under the Constitution; struck down Missouri Compromise (Taney Court)

Boston Marathon

Run since 1897; 20,000 participants, 500,000 Spectators Largest sporting event in New England; takes place annually on the 3rd Monday in April

Axis of Evil Speech

SOTU address in 2002 by George W. Bush in which he used this phrase to show the "bad guys" which include: Iran, Iraq, and N. Korea

Pentagon Papers, 1971

Secret document papers, leaded by Daniel Ellsberg, published by the New York Times in 1971, showed the blunders and deceptions that led the United States that led to the Vietnam war. Revealed the government misleading the people of its involvement in Vietnam, both about the intentions and the outcomes of the conflict.

Molly Maguires (1860s-1870s)

Secret organization of Irish miners who campaigned, at times violently, against poor working conditions in the Pennsylvania mines.

Donald Rumsfeld

Secretary of Defense under G.W.Bush, wanted the US to start the War in Iraq, headed the invasion of Afghanistan, coined the terms "War on Terror," and "Weapons of Mass Destruction", resigned on own power in 2006 after being displeased with US strategy in Iraq.

Ben Carson

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; retired Neurosurgeon

Edwin M. Stanton

Secretary of War appointed by Lincoln. President Andrew Johnson dismissed him in spite of the Tenure of Office Act, and as a result, Congress wanted Johnson's impeachment.

Benghazi Attack

September 11, 2012, when Islamic militants attacked the American diplomatic compound in Libya, killing U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith. Hillary took blame for security.

Operation Rolling Thunder (1965)

Series of bombing campaign that start in March 1965. Largely trying to cut off the Ho Chi Ming Trail, but it is very very difficult. Tens of thousands of American troops are being sent to Vietnam. At the peak, there are 536,000 troops in Vietnam.

Black Hawk War (1832)

Series of clashes in Illinois and Wisconsin between American forces and Indian chief of the Sauk and Fox tribes, who unsuccessfully tried to reclaim territory lost under the 1830 Indian Removal Act.

Janet Reno

She was an attorney General of the United States from 1993-2001. Nominated by Clinton, was the first female Attorney General and second longest serving Attorney General.

Ayatollah Khomeini

Shiite religious leader of Iran, led the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and ordered the invasion of the US Embassy.

Pony Express (1860)

Short-lived, speedy mail service between Missouri and California that relied on lightweight riders galloping between closely placed outposts.

Your Show of Shows

Sid Caesar turned Saturday nights into TV Night during the 1950s.

Motor Voter Act of 1993

Signed into law by President Clinton, it enables people to register to vote at motor vehicle departments.

Battle of Antietam (1862)

Single bloodiest day of the American Civil War; Union victory that turned back a Confederate invasion of the North; took place in Maryland

OK Corral

Site of a famous gun battle involving The Earp brothers, Doc Holiday; took place in Tombstone, AZ

Nat Turner

Slave in Virginia who started a slave rebellion in 1831 believing he was receiving signs from God; His rebellion was the largest sign of black resistance to slavery in America and led the state legislature of Virginia to a policy that said no one could question slavery.

JFK Jr.

Son of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy who was a lawyer who died in a plane crash near Martha's Vineyard.

Fall of Saigon (1975)

Soon after the Paris Peace Accords removed the last of the American troops from South Vietnam, the Vietnam War escalated, and a full-scale offensive launched in March 1975 brought the fall of this city, the capital of South Vietnam, a month later. It was renamed Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam was reunited under the rule of the North Vietnamese Communist government.

"Crisis of Confidence" Speech

Speech given by President Carter on July 15, 1979, saying that the U.S. had lost unity of purpose and to become a more energy secure nation.

Open Door policy, 1899

Statement of U.S. foreign policy toward China issued by U.S. Secretary of State John Hay. The policy proposed to keep China open to trade with all countries on an equal basis; thus, no international power would have total control of the country; rooted in desire of American businesses to exploit Chinese markets it could not reach because of European spheres of influence. It was mainly used to mediate competing interests of the colonial powers without much meaningful input from the Chinese

Brigham Young

Successor to the Mormons after the death of Joseph Smith; responsible for the survival of the sect and its establishment in Salt Lake City, Utah

Hurricane Sandy

Superstorm; hit the eastern seaboard in October 2012 resulting in tremendous damage in several states including destroying parts of the Atlantic City Boardwalk and flooding New York Subway tunnels

Truman and the Steel Mills

Supreme Court ruled that President Truman could not take over the Steel Mills because of his role as Commander in Chief

Bakke vs. Regents of the University of California (1978)

Supreme Court upheld university's use of race in admissions decisions (favored minority applicants). Court found that a white student should have been admitted to the university's medical school. Said that preference in admissions could not be given to members of any group based on ethnic or racial identity alone. But racial factors could come into play for overall admissions. This holding banned the use of racial quotas. 1978

The Ed Sullivan Show

TV show that Beatles were featured on when they first came to the US. 1/2 the US population watched the show and gave them instant fame ("Beatlemania"); show ran from 1955 to 1971

Tariff of Abominations

Tariff passed by Congress in 1828 that favored manufacturing in the North and was hated by the South; South Carolina declared right of state nullification of federal laws in opposition to it

Four Freedoms Speech (1941)

Technically Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address in which he proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy: Freedom of speech and expression Freedom of worship Freedom from want Freedom from fear

Kitchen Debate (1959)

Televised exchange in 1959 between Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and American Vice President Richard Nixon. Meeting at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, the two leaders sparred over the relative merits of capitalist consumer culture versus Soviet state planning. Nixon won applause for his staunch defense of American capitalism, helping lead him to the Republican nomination for president in 1960.

Birmingham Church Bombing (1963)

The 16th Street Baptist Church in this city in Alabama was bombed on Sunday, September 15, 1963. The explosion at the African-American church, which killed four girls, marked a turning point in the U.S. 1960s Civil Rights Movement and contributed to support for message of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Panama Canal opened, 1914

The American-built waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is inaugurated with the passage of the U.S. vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship. Panama later pushed to revoke the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, and in 1977 U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos signed a treaty to turn over the canal to Panama by the end of the century. A peaceful transfer occurred at noon on December 31, 1999.

Jackie Robinson (1947)

The Brooklyn Dodger became the first African American to play for a Major League Baseball team.

Pearl Harbor, 1941

The Japanese wanted to continue their expansion within Asia in the late 1930s and early 40s but the US had placed an extremely restrictive embargo on Japan in the hopes of curbing Japan's aggression. The Japanese decided to launch a surprise attack against the United States at this military base in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 (a "day that will live in infamy" according to the famous words of FDR). The United States abandoned its policy of isolationism and entered WWII by declaring war on Japan the following day.

Baker vs. Carr

The Supreme Court ruling that all state districts must be equal in population., required that voting district needed to be reapportioned.

Treaty of San Francisco

The Treaty of Peace with Japan between the Allied Powers and Japan, was officially signed by 48 nations on September 8, 1951 in California. The treaty served to officially end World War II, to formally end Japan's position as an imperial power and allocate compensation to Allied civilians and former prisoners of war who had suffered Japanese war crimes. The Treaty made extensive use of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to enunciate the Allies' goals.

Panama Canal

The United States built it to have a quicker passage to the Pacific from the Atlantic and vice versa. It cost $400,000,000 to build. Columbians would not let Americans build the it, but then with the assistance of the United States a Panamanian Revolution occurred. The new ruling people allowed the United States to build it.

Hurricane Katrina (2005)

The costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States, killing nearly 2000 Americans. The storm ravaged the Gulf Coast, particularly the city of New Orleans, in late August of 2005. In New Orleans, high winds and rain caused the city's levees to break, leading to catastrophic flooding, particularly centered on the city's most impoverished wards. A tardy and feeble response by local and federal authorities exacerbated the damage and led to widespread criticism of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); breaches in levees on Lake Pontchartrain (pon-cha-train)

Federal Reserve System

The country's central banking system, which is responsible for the nation's monetary policy by regulating the supply of money and interest rates; creation signed into law by Pres. Woodrow Wilson

Draft Riots of 1863

The draft law of 1863 focused on conscription but exempted the wealthy who could pay $300 for a substitute; led to riots in New York city where for three days, Irish working class gangs vented their anger on blacks until federal troops arrived to end the looting and lynching; showed that whites were unwilling to risk their lives for what they perceived as a Black cause

Trayvon Martin

The fatal shooting of this teenager in Florida sparked controversy when the man responsible for the shooting, George Zimmerman, invoked a "Stand Your Ground" defense.

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (gala det)

The father of the American Education for the Deaf; created first free public school for the deaf in Hartford CT (1817)

Potsdam Conference (1945)

The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union was held outside Berlin, in July, 1945. Truman, Churchill, and Stalin discussed the future of Europe but their failure to reach meaningful agreements soon led to the onset of the Cold War.

Great Chicago Fire (1871)

The fire destroyed over 60,000 buildings and killed over 300 people. Legend has it that Mrs. O'Leary's cow knocked over a lantern to start the fire. Mrs. O'Leary was a great scapegoat because she was an immigrant and a Catholic. The reporter who came up with the story admitted that he made it up about 20 years later. The MLS team is called the Fire to commemorate this event. After the fire, architect Louis Sullivan planned the reconstruction of the city. He made a new type of building - the skyscraper - made possible by the development of steel.

Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini

The first American citizen to become a Catholic Saint, canonized in 1946. She was known for her work with Italian immigrants and is the Patron Saint of Immigrants.

Sugar Act of 1764

The first act that Parliament passed that raised taxes on the colonies. Indirect tax on imported foods from the West Indies. Colonists became so angry that Parliament lowered the duties.

Mayflower Compact (1620)

The first agreement for self-government in America. It was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony.

Harvard College (1636)

The first college founded in America, founded to train young men for the ministry

House of Burgesses, 1619

The first elected lawmaking body in North America, established by the Virginia Company to allow representative government in Virginia.

USS Nautilus

The first nuclear powered submarine; also the first to cross the North Pole under the ice in 1958

Trail of Tears (1838)

The forced relocation of the Cherokee tribe to the Western United States; resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4,000 Cherokees.

1985 hijacking of a TWA flight

The hijacking of TWA Flight 847 by a group believed to have links to Hezbollah (militant group based in Lebanon) while it was en route from Athens to Rome. The plane went to Beirut and then to Algeria, where terrorists tortured and murdered U.S. Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem, a passenger on the flight. The plane returned to Beirut, and passengers were dispersed throughout the city. Terrorists released began releasing hostages as the incident continued. After Israel agreed to release 700 Shiite prisoners, the terrorists released the remaining hostages and escaped.

Bikini Atoll

The isolated reef, located in the Marshall Islands of the central Pacific, that was the site of U.S. nuclear bomb tests, consequently contaminating it with high levels of radiation and driving its inhabitants away.

Clean Air Act of 1970

The law aimed at combating air pollution, by charging the EPA with protecting and improving the quality of the nation's air; signed by Richard Nixon

Continental Congress

The legislative assembly composed of delegates from the rebel colonies who met during and after the American Revolution

Camp David Accords (1978)

The meeting in Maryland between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and the US President Jimmy Carter. They agreed that Egypt would never again invade Israel if Israel turned over the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, a land tied with access to the Suez Canal

Jack Abramoff

The most influential Republican lobbyist in Washington D.C. responsible for millions of dollars of campaign donations to over 200 congressmen; charged for bribery in 2006

West Berlin

The part of the capital city of Berlin that was under control of the Americans, Brits and French after World War II.

Queen Anne's War (1702-1713)

The second of the four wars known generally as the French and Indian Wars, it arose out of issues left unresolved by King Williams' War (1689-1697) and was part of a larger European conflict known as the War of the Spanish Succession. Britain, allied with the Netherlands, defeated France and Spain to gain territory in Canada, even though the British had suffered defeats in most of their military operations in North America.

Columbia Disaster (2003)

The shuttle that exploded on re-entry, killing all the crew, in 2003. The tragedy was caused when the heat tiles failed; Commander of crew was Rick Husband

Ruby Ridge Incident (1992)

The site of a deadly confrontation and siege in northern Idaho in 1992 between Randy Weaver, his family and his friend Kevin Harris, and agents of the United States Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It resulted in the death of Weaver's son Sammy, his wife Vicki, and Deputy U.S. Marshal William Francis Degan.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945

The two Japanese cities on which Truman ordered the dropping of atomic bombs; August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively. About 250,000 Japanese died, either immediately, or as a result of prolonged suffering caused by radiation poisoning as a result of the two bombs. Reasons for dropping bomb: save American soldiers lives, end war more quickly, prevent Soviet claims in Japan. Criticisms: Japan had already asked for surrender terms, nukes dropped more to show off to Soviets (first shots of Cold War) than to win WWII which was already near-certain to be won by US; Two bombs were called "Little Boy" and "Fat Man"

Manhattan Staten Island Queens The Bronx Brooklyn

These are the 5 boroughs of New York City

Chrysler Automobiles Ford Motor Company General Motors

These are the big three automobile manufacturers in the USA

Orville and Wilbur Wright

These brothers were bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio who built and flew the first plane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903.

Reagan and Gorbachev

These two leaders of USSR and U.S. reached a sort of understanding of each other in the late 1980s

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

These two presidents died on the same day, July 4, 1826, 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10

These two teams played in the first Super Bowl

Benjamin Franklin 5 cents George Washington 10 cents

They were on the 1st adhesive US postage stamps

Kentucky Derby

This "Run for the Roses" traditionally occurs on the first Saturday in May. Race held in Louisville. It is the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown; area location is churchill downs

Shay's Rebellion (1786)

This MA conflict caused criticism of the Articles of Confederation; weak govt; increased calls for a Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles

Hank Aaron

This MLB player broke Babe Ruth's homerun record when he hit his 755th homerun in 1974; played for the Atlanta Braves and nicknamed "Hammer"

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

This Supreme Court case allowed Same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

Ross Perot

This Texas billionaire was a third-party candidate in the 1992 presidential election won 19 percent of the popular vote. His strong showing that year demonstrated voter disaffection with the two major parties; later founded the Reform Party in 1995

Glasnost and Perestroika

This a policy that was introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev which means openness in 1985. He supported the Soviet citizens to talk about ways to improved their living environment. In 1985, he imported the idea of Perestroika, which means economic restructuring. This was tried in 1986.

Embargo Act of 1807

This act issued by Jefferson forbade American trading ships from leaving the U.S. It was meant to force Britain and France to change their policies towards neutral vessels by depriving them of American trade. It was difficult to enforce because it was opposed by merchants and everyone else whose livelihood depended upon international trade. It also hurt the national economy, so it was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act.

Stamp Act of 1765

This act required colonists to pay for an official stamp, or seal, when they bought paper items.

26th Amendment (1971)

This amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

27th Amendment (1992)

This amendment places limits on Congressional pay raises until the beginning of the next term

Liberty Bell

This bell was rung in Philadelphia when the Declaration of Independence was read aloud.

New York City

This city is where the UN Headquarters are located

Mark Felt

This deputy director of the FBI was "Deep Throat", an inside source on the watergate investigation to journalists; helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein probe the 1972 Watergate break-in

Aldrich Ames

This former CIA employee and his wife were involved in espionage activities with the Russian government for over 9 years; charged in 1994

Grand Old Party

This is what GOP stands for

Clarence Thomas

This man was an African American jurist, and a strict critic of affirmative action. He was nominated by George H. W. Bush to be on the Supreme Court in 1991 to replace Thurgood Marshall and shortly after was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill. Hearings were reopened, and he became the second African American to hold a seat in the Supreme Court.

Richard Jewell

This man was the security guard who discovered the bomb during the 1996 Atlanta summer olympics. He was originally suspected in the crime.

Robert C. Weaver

This man, head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was the first black cabinet member, and was such under LBJ

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (1989)

This oil tanker accident in 1989 was the largest oil spill in the United States until 2010: a supertanker carrying 53 million gallons of oil, crashed into a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Roughly 11 million gallons of oil spilled into the sound. Much of it washed up on shore, coating the coastline and killing hundreds of thousands of birds and thousands of marine mammals

Franklin D. Roosevelt

This president passed law that enacted federal "minimum wage" requirement in 1938

Northern Pacific Railroad

This railroad ran from Lake Superior to Puget Sound, WA; completed in 1883

9/11 Commission Report

This report summarized that 9/11 happened because of weaknesses in the imagination of the US government, permeable aviation security, and underestimation of Al Qaeda's abilities.

Boston Red Sox

This team won the World Series in 2004, the first time since 1918

Armistice, 1918

This was the agreement between the Allies and Central Powers that ended the fighting after WWI. It began at 11/11/1918 at 11:11 am. This marked a victory for the Allies and stated that the Central Powers lost. Germans would later look at this as "the stab in the back."

Washington Monument

This white obelisk, which is located on the National Mall, was built to honor George Washington.

Dylann Roof

Twelve federal jurors said that thos man who killed nine people in a 2015 massacre at a historically black Charleston, South Carolina, church, should be put to death; Became the first person in U.S. history sentenced to death in a federal hate-crimes trial.

Currier and Ives

Two business partners who produced colored lithographic prints of everyday American life in the nineteenth century; issued first print in 1857

Martin Luther King Jr.

U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nobel Peace Prize (1964); "I Have a Dream" speech

USS Maine

U.S. Battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898; Evidence suggests an internal explosion, however Spanish military was framed by Yellow Journalism; The incident was a catalyst for the Spanish American War

Frances Perkins

U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, and the first woman ever appointed to the cabinet; part of FDR's cabinet

Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)

U.S. forces - led by Andrew Jackson - defeated the Red Sticks, a part of the Creek Indian tribe who opposed American expansion. Effectively neutralized the Native Americans as British allies; Jackson emerged as a war hero.

Battle of Lake Erie (1813)

U.S. forces - led by Oliver Perry - defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy. Ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, allowing the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh.

Barney Clark

U.S. patient, received the first permanent artificial heart

Operation Desert Storm (1991)

U.S.-led multi-country military engagement in January and February of 1991 that drove Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army out of neighboring Kuwait. In addition to presaging the longer and more protracted Iraq War of the 2000s, the 1991 war helped undo what some called the "Vietnam Syndrome," a feeling of military uncertainty that plagued many Americans.; originated as "Desert Shield" to help protect Saudi Arabia from invasion

Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)

US Secretary of State and British ambassador created a treaty splitting New Brunswick territory into Maine and British Canada; also settled boundary of the Minnesota territory (giving iron-rich Mesabi range to US)

Charles Lindbergh's flight, 1927

US aviator who in 1927 made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. His plane was the "Spirit of St Louis" flew from Long Island, New York to Paris, France. Total flight time: 33 hours, 30 minutes, 29.8 seconds. He gained great publicity for this effort and was widely praised by all Americans. He was a huge figure in the eyes of common people and created a new sense of pride within the US.

Wikileaks

Unaffiliated online source that posts secret government and corporate documents. Designed to correct abusive practices and promote public dialogue; created by Julian Assange

George Gershwin

United States composer who incorporated jazz into classical forms and composed scores for musical comedies (1898-1937); wrote "Rhapsody in Blue" (background music to Fantasia, 2000); also wrote opera "Porgy and Bess"

Scott Joplin

United States composer who was the first creator of ragtime to write down his compositions (1868-1917); Compositions included Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer; "King of Ragtime"

Amnesty Act of 1872

United States federal law that removed voting restrictions and office-holding disqualification against most of the secessionists who rebelled in the American Civil War, except for some 500 military leaders of the Confederacy.

George Custer

United States general who was killed along with all his command by the Sioux in the "last stand" at the battle of Little Bighorn (1876) that took place in Montana during the Sioux Indian War (1839-1876)

Henry Ford

United States manufacturer of automobiles who pioneered mass production (1863-1947).

Fort Hood

United States military post located in Killeen, Texas. The post is named after Confederate General John Bell Hood. It is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about 60 miles (100 km) from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. Its origin was the need for wide-open space to test and train with World War II tank destroyers. The War Department announced the location in January 1942; venue of 2009 shooting that killed 12 soldiers

Sinclair Lewis

United States novelist who satirized middle-class America in his novel Main Street (1885-1951); 1st American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature

Jesse James (1847 - 1882)

United States outlaw who fought as a Confederate soldier and later led a band of outlaws that robbed trains and banks in the West until he was murdered by a member of his own gang (1847-1882). The James brothers were most active as members of their own gang from about 1866 until 1876, when as a result of their attempted robbery of a bank in Northfield, Minnesota, several members of the gang were captured or killed. They continued in crime for several years afterward, recruiting new members, but came under increasing pressure from law enforcement seeking to bring them to justice. On April 3, 1882, he was shot and killed by Robert Ford, a new recruit to the gang who hoped to collect a reward on James's head and a promised amnesty for his previous crimes

Sam Houston

United States politician and military leader who fought to gain independence for Texas from Mexico and to make it a part of the United States (1793-1863)

Carrie Nation

United States prohibitionist who raided saloons and destroyed bottles of liquor with a hatchet (1846-1911); temperance leader from Kansas

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910)

Richard Wright

United States writer whose work is concerned with the oppression of African Americans (1908-1960); wrote "Native Son"

H1N1 (swine flu)

Virus that attacks respiratory system that originated in pigs and mutated to humans that causes coughing, body aches, fever, loss of appetite, and diarrhea; caused national emergency in 2009 after originating in Mexico

Tamir Rice

Was a 12-year-old boy (June 25, 2002 - November 23, 2014), shot in an event that occurred on November 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio. Two police officers, 26-year-old Timothy Loehmann and 46-year-old Frank Garmback, responded after receiving a police dispatch call of a black male that "keeps pulling a gun out"

Michael Brown

Was shot in an event that occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis. He was an 18-year-old black man, was a suspect in a "strong-arm" robbery of a convenience store. He was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, a 28-year-old white police officer.

Battle of Trenton (1776)

Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania on Christmas night 1776 to make a surprise attack on Hessian troops; greatly improved morale

Veracruz Incident (1914)

When U.S. sailors were arrested in Mexico by Huerta's soldiers, Wilson used the incident to seize this Mexican port to prevent German arms from reaching Huerta which not only enraged Huerta but also Carranza and Villa who saw it as an arrogant use of Yankee power by the bullies from the north. The U.S. heavily bombed it, killing 150 civilians during a seven-month occupation

Robert E. Lee (1807-1870)

When the South seceded, Lincoln offered him the command of Union forces but he refused, resigned from the U.S. Army, and returned to Virginia to serve with the Confederate forces. In 1862 he was appointed to command the Army of Northern Virginia. His battle strategies are admired to this day, but he was criticized for having a narrow strategy centered on his native Virginia. He surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, VA in 1865. Following the war he urged southerners to pledge allegiance to the north and rebuild the nation.

John Dean

White House aide who participated in the Watergate cover-up; in a plea bargain he testified that President Nixon knew and participated in the cover-up. Many did not believe his testimony until the White house tapes surfaced

Lincoln, Thanksgiving

Who signed into law a national holiday in 1863 that marked the yearly Harvest Festival that was celebrated by the Natives and Pilgrims

Nixon vs. Kennedy- Election of 1960

Winner was able to win because of his televised charisma while Nixon was seen as pale and nervous

Joseph McCarthy

Wisconsin Senator convinces that communists had infiltrated high levels of the US government and military. After a series of televised hearings, he was seen as paranoid or crazy by the American people. His name is associated with paranoia and fear of communism

1959

Year that: Alaska was admitted as 49th state Hawaii was admitted as 50th state

Raul Castro

Younger brother of Fidel Castro who also took place in the Cuban Revolution and was the President of Cuba from 2011-2018

Battle of King's Mountain (1780)

a 1780 Revolutionary War battle in South Carolina in which Patriots defeated a Loyalist militia; Thomas Jefferson called it "the turn of the tide of success"

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal; "Separate but equal"

Kinsey Report

a 1948 book detailing the results of thousands of interviews with men about their sexual behavior

Chelsea Manning

a United States Army soldier who was convicted in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after releasing the largest set of classified documents ever leaked to the public; disclosed classified documents to Wikileaks; trans woman

L. Douglas Wilder (1989)

a Virginia governor who was the first African American to be elected a state governor in the United States; elected in 1989

Stonewall Inn (1969)

a bar in Greenwich Village, New York, where the modern Gay Pride movement began after rioters protested the police treatment of the LGBT community there

Emmitt Till

a black teenager who lived in Chicago, he was killed in Mississippi for whistling at a white girl, his death is said to be the jump-start for the beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement

Bonus March, 1932

a chaotic series of events that ruined Hoover's public image. He ordered Gen. Douglas MacArthur to clear out the army vets who came to DC in 1932 to lobby for a bonus promised them for 1945. Senate reflected it but some still stayed in littles huts (Hoovervilles), driven away by tear gas and their shacks were burnt down

Great Society

a domestic program in the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson that instituted federally sponsored social welfare programs, including introduction of Medicare and Medicaid

1995 Oklahoma City Bombing

a domestic terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. The bombing killed 168 people and injured more than 680 others; conducted by Timothy McVeigh

Nathaniel Bacon

a farmer in the backcountry, his resentment of Berkeley and the unbalanced power of the Virginia government, lead to a rebellion, by him and other backcountry farmers. When Berkeley refused to let Bacon and other farmers fight nearby Indians, he went into Jamestown, with his own militia, burned most of the city, and drove Berkeley out of town.

James Jeffords

a former U.S. Senator from Vermont. Sworn into the Senate in 1989, he served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an Independent and began caucusing with the Democrats

The Great White Fleet (1907)

a group of US warships which took a world tour from 1907-1909 to show the world that the US was an emerging power

Rotary Club

a group of businessmen in a town organized as a service club and to promote world peace; "He profits most who serves best"; oldest service club organization in the USA and founded in Chicago

Statue of Liberty

a large statue symbolizing hope and freedom on Liberty Island in New York Harbor

American with Disabilities Act of 1990

a law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accomodations" for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment; signed by H.W. Bush

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

a law that established a procedure for the admission of new states to the Union

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

a national organization of labor unions founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers

National Security Agency

a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence.

Planned Parenthood

a nonprofit organization that does research into and gives advice on contraception, family planning, and reproductive problems.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

a novelist and chronicler of the jazz age. his wife, Zelda and he were the "couple" of the decade but hit bottom during the depression. his novel THE GREAT GATSBY is considered a masterpiece about a gangster's pursuit of an unattainable rich girl.

Superfund Program

a program funded by the federal government and a trust that's funded by taxes on chemicals; identifies pollutants and cleans up hazardous waste sites; Jimmy Carter signed it into law

Watts riots, 1965

a race riot that took place in this neighborhood of Los Angeles from August 11 to 17, 1965. The six-day unrest resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, 3,438 arrests, and over $40 million in property damage. It was the most severe riot in the city's history until the Los Angeles riots of 1992.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

a resolution adopted by Congress in 1964, giving the president broad powers to wage war in Vietnam

The Beatles

a rock group from Liverpool who between 1962 and 1970 produced a variety of hit songs and albums (most of it written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon)

Columbia University (1968)

a student strike shut down the campus and inspired other student strikes around the nation in protest against school's involvement in military research

Agent Orange

a toxic leaf-killing chemical sprayed by U.S. planes in Vietnam to expose Vietcong hideouts; part of US chemical warfare program "Operation Ranch Hand"

Jacob S. Coxey

a wealthy Ohio quarry owner turn populist who led a protest group to Washington D.C. to demand that the federal government provide the unemployed with meaningful work (during the depression of 1893). The group was arrested and disbanded peacefully in D.C. movements like this struck fear into American's hearts

RU-486 (mifepristone)

abortion pill approved in 2000 by the FDA

San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

after a 7.8 earthquake (Mercalli Intensity XI) major fires broke out; more than 3,000 people were killed, 80% of the city was destroyed

23rd Amendment (1961)

allowed citizens of Washington, D.C. to vote in presidential elections

William Brennan

an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990. known for his outspoken progressive views, including opposition to the death penalty and support for abortion rights. Established "one person one vote"; appointed by Ike

Colin Powell

an American military general and leader during the Persian Gulf War. He played a crucial role in planning and attaining America's victory in the Persian Gulf and Panama.. He was also the first black four star general and chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff under President HW Bush

John C. Fremont

an American military officer, explorer, the first candidate of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, and the first presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery.

Whitey Bulger

an American organized crime boss and FBI informant who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Boston; found guilty of murder in 2013

Arnold Schwarzenegger

an Austrian and American former professional bodybuilder, actor, producer, director, businessman, investor, and politician; played the Terminator; He served two terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011

Land Grant Act

an act of congress passed in 1862 that provide public land to fund the creation of colleges

Grange

an association formed by farmers in the last 1800s to make life better for farmers by sharing information about crops, prices, and supplies

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)

an index of 30 representative stocks used to monitor price changes in the overall stock market

United Nations (UN)

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

International Ladies Garment Workers Union

an organization of people that make ladies' garments. Their members went on strike in the years just before to the Triangle Factory Fire. Shorter hours better pay. Women workers worked to gain shorter hours and better pay in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Boy Scouts of America

an outdoor youth organization formed partly as a response to growing desire for conservationism; formed in 1910

Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

anti-union law passed by increasingly conservative Congress over Truman's veto. Prohibited the closed shop (union only), permitted states to ban union-shop agreements (to become anti-union "right to work" states), forbade union contributions to candidates in federal elections, forced union leaders to swear in affidavits that they were not communists, and mandated an 80 day cooling off period before carrying out strikes. This enraged labor, who called it a "slave labor" law. Helped contribute to massive decline in unions.

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979)

attempt to prop up a communist regime in this country led to years of brutal war followed by civil war after the Soviets gave up and withdrew; the Taliban took over and allowed Osama Bin Laden to set up terrorist training camps

Margaret Mitchell

author of "Gone With the Wind", a sweeping story of the Old South set during the Civil War and Reconstruction; created characters Scarlett O'Hara played by Vivian Leigh, Ashley Wilkes played by Leslie Howard, and Rhett Butler played by Clark Gable in the 1939 film adaptation

Chrysler LLC

automobile manufacturer that declared bankruptcy in 2009

Robert H. Goddard

called the "Father of Modern Rocketry"; built and launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926

Mormon Church (1830)

church founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 with present day headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Smith and his followers established a new settlement at Nauvoo, Illinois, where he became a spiritual and political leader. In 1844, when the Nauvoo Expositor criticized Smith's power and practice of polygamy, Smith and the Nauvoo city council ordered the destruction of their printing press, inflaming anti-Mormon sentiment. Fearing an invasion of Nauvoo, Smith rode to Carthage, Illinois, to stand trial, but he was killed when a mob stormed the jailhouse.

Freedom Riders, 1961

civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern U.S. in 1961. They wanted to challenge local laws or customs that enforced segregation in seating and bus terminals and the non-enforcement of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions, which ruled segregated public buses unconstitutional. The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did not enforce them. Helped push Kennedy towards supporting civil rights.

Manhattan Project

code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II; produced at Los Alamos, New Mexico

Microsoft (1975)

company founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen

Samuel Alito Jr.

conservative Associate Justice replacing Sandra Day O'Connor in 2006; appointed by George W. Bush

Antonin Scalia

conservative associate justice appointed by Ronald Reagan; died in 2016 and was replaced by Neil Gorsuch

Operation Anaconda

consisted of the battle at Shan-I-Kot Mountain and the Battle of Robert Ridge; military operation set in place by George W Bush

Teapot Dome Scandal

corruption by a Harding cabinet member Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall, who took bribes to allow oil drilling on public lands, a former US Navy oil reserve in Wyoming

Ben-Hur (1959)

culmination of series of Hollywood movies dealing with ancient Rome, Jewish prince born ca.1 BC/1AD in Jerusalem; His arrest and imprisonment by Romans on trumped up charge; His quest to return to Jerusalem, save his family, and avenge wrong done to him; directed by William Wyler; starring Charles Heston as Judah

Xi Jinping

current president of China

Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

developed the scientific method

Saturday Night Massacre

dismissal of independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, and the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus during the Watergate scandal 1973

Dmitri Medvedev

elected president in 2008 after Putin stepped down to stay on as Prime Minister until 2012; known as Putin's right-hand man

2004 presidential election

election between John Kerry vs George W. Bush. Bush coming off the hotly contested election of 2000 vs. Gore. Behind republican mastermind Karl Rove, Bush turned the tables of Kerry's storied war career and questioned his service. Bush won the election for his second term.

Times Beach, MO

entire town was evacuated after being contaminated with dioxin from waste oil sprayed on roads; soil removed & incinerated to get rid of dioxin molecules within soil; now Route 66 state park; declared a federal disaster area by Pres. Reagan

Armory Show of 1913

exposed American public to 1600 artworks of contemporary European and American artists. It was a significant catalyst in the disseminating knowledge of recent developments in art.

Harold Washington

first Black mayor of Chicago; elected in 1983

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

first Star Wars movie released (also first in the original trilogy); directed by George Lucas

Skylab (1973)

first US space station; launched in 1973

Carl Stokes and Richard Hatcher

first black majors of major U.S cities (Cleveland, OH and Gary, IN); elected in 1967

Oberlin College

first college to teach women and African Americans

University of North Carolina

first state university to begin operating (1795)

Sandra Day O'Connor

first woman supreme court justice. appointed by Reagan in 1981

Madeleine Albright

first woman to become United States Secretary of State. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996 and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate 99-0. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997.

Carly Fiorina

former HP (Hewlett-Packard) boss, wrote book about the story of business aka the story of people

Scott Brown

former US Senator (R, MA) from 2010-2013, replacing Ted Kennedy; currently serves as the. US ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa

Ted Kaczynski

former math professor who became better known as the "Unabomber." (University and Airline Bomber)

Tom DeLay

former republican house majority leader from Texas who resigned from congress in disgrace due to charges of conspiracy to violate state election laws in 2002; resigned in 2005

Richard "Dick" Cheney

forty-sixth vice president of the United States; a former White House staffer, congressman, and secretary of defense during the first Persian Gulf War, he joined the Bush ticket in 2000 to add experience and a link to the first Bush presidency; as vice president, he was more active in policy and politics than his predecessors, playing decisive roles especially in matters of foreign policy

General Motors

founded on September 27, 1908, in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant. often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker.

Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

gives Native Americans citizenship and the right to vote in federal elections in 1924

Sarah Palin

governor of Alaska who was the first female to ever be nominated for VP as a Republican in 2008 when she ran with John McCain

Milton Hershey

he made milk chocolate available to the world. A Pennsylvania city bears his name.

Cyrus W. Field

in 1858, he laid a transatlantic telegraph cable to Europe, one of the most important innovations in communications.

WorldCom

in 2005, Bernard Ebbers (former CEO of this company) was convicted to 25 years in prison for conspiracy, fraud and filing false statements; represented the largest fraud ever perpetrated in the US

Intolerable Acts (1774)

in response to Boston Tea Party, 4 acts passed in 1774, Port of Boston closed, reduced power of assemblies in colonies, permitted royal officers to be tried elsewhere, provided for quartering of troop's in barns and empty houses

Eli Whitney

invented the cotton gin in 1793

Elias Howe

invented the sewing machine in 1846

Samuel F.B. Morse

invented the telegraph; first message from Washington to Baltimore: "What hath God Wrought?" (1844)

Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)

lasted 6 weeks, several thousand marines, and more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed, this battle is also notable for the famous photograph of US marines lifting the American flag to a standpoint

Brady Bill (1993)

law passed requiring a waiting period on sales of handguns, along with a criminal background check on the buyer

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

law that suspended Chinese immigration into America. The ban was supposed to last 10 years, but it was expanded several times and was essentially in effect until WWII. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant law that restricted immigration into the United States of an ethnic working group. Extreme example of nativism of period; signed by Chester Arthur

Elena Kagan

liberal Associate Justice appointed by Obama in 2010; replaced John Paul Stevens

Verrazano Narrows Bridge

longest suspension bridge in the US; located in New York as it connects the boroughs Brooklyn and Staten Island

Apollo 11

made the first lunar landing, July 20, 1969 - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin with Michael Collins in orbit.

Heaven's Gate

members believed that they were to be "renewed" if they committed suicide so that their souls could board a UFO; led by Marshall Applewhite ("Doe")

Upton Sinclair

muckraker who shocked the nation when he published The Jungle, a novel that revealed gruesome details about the meat packing industry in Chicago. The book was fiction but based on the things he had seen.

Bitburg Controversy (1985)

occurred in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan visited an SS (Schutzstaffel) and Wehrmacht cemetery. He gave a speech recognizing fallen men as honorable people who fought under the banner of a wicked regime. The condemnation of the speech that he experienced proved how much World War 2 and the Holocaust was still a sore topic in Germany and around the world.

Klondike Gold Rush

occurred in the Yukon Territory in 1897 after gold was discovered there

1983 Lebanon bombing

on October 23rd 1983 at 1:00 a truck bomb bombed the portico part of the Embassy in Beirut; blew up Marine barracks; 2000 lbs of explosives loaded into a truck. Around 241 American Service people were killed.

Guadalcanal

one of the Solomon Islands in southwest Pacific, Japanese building airstrip, August 1942 battle, Allies won

Phonofilm

one of the earliest technologies to develop sound-on-film playback, invented by Lee de Forest

Rachel Carson

one of the first people to realize the global dangers of pesticide abuse (DDT). Wrote Silent Spring.

Baseball Hall of Fame

opened in Cooperstown, NY (1936)

Republican Party (1854)

organized in 1854 by antislavery Whigs, Democrats, and Free Soilers in response to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act; nominated John C. Frémont for president in 1856 and Abraham Lincoln in 1860

Detention Camps

over 100,000 Japanese Americans lost their homes and business and were held by the American government in these camps

Charles Van Doren

participant on the quiz show "Twenty One," won $129,000; big scandal when it got out that he had received the answers to the questions in advance; had to go before a congressional committee and apologize; show hosted by Jack Barry

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

passed Congress in 1996; defined marriage as between only a man and women; however many states and companies extended benefits to same sex partners and many states legalized same sex marriages

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

passed by Federalists, signed by President Adams;; increased waiting period for an immigrant to become a citizen from 5 to 14 years, empowered president to arrest and deport dangerous aliens, & made it illegal to publish defamatory statements about the federal government or its officials.

Townshend Acts (1767)

passed by Parliament, put a tax on glass, lead, paper, and tea. The acts caused protest from the colonists, who found ways around the taxes such as buying smuggled tea. Due to its little profits, the Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770, except for the tax on tea. The tax on tea was kept to keep alive the principle of Parliamentary taxation.

Jeremiah Wright

pastor of Barack Obama, center of many controversies throughout President Obama's election

Ronald Reagan

president that issued MLK day as a national holiday in 1986

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; he helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; became the first postmaster general

No Child Left Behind Act (2001)

provides financial assistance to schools with high concentrations of children from disadvantaged homes. It requires statewide reading and mathematics tests each year in grades 3-8, starting in 2005-2006. Each school must attain academic proficiency for all students in 12 years, and document progress toward that goal

Chicago 7

radical activists arrested for conspiring to incite riots at the Democratic National Convention in Illinois, 21-29 August 1968. Ignoring Mayor Richard Daley's warnings to stay away, thousands of antiwar demonstrators descended on Chicago to oppose the Democratic administration's Vietnam policy.

Naturalization Act of 1790

restricted citizenship to "any alien, being a free white person" who had been in the U.S. for two years. In effect, it left out indentured servants, slaves, and most women.

Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott

riders who warned the militia (Minutemen) of British designs on the town of Concord

Ted Cruz

runner-up for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 election; junior senator of Texas

Robert Peary and Matthew Henson

sailed to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian North and became the first men to reach the North Pole in 1909

Iran-Contra Affair (1986-1987)

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.

Condoleezza Rice

secretary of state under GW Bush. first African-American woman secretary of state. pioneered a policy of Transformational Diplomacy, with a focus on democracy in the greater Middle East; selected in 2005

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas over the issue of slavery

Aaron Burr

served as the 3rd Vice President of the United States. Member of the Republicans and President of the Senate during his Vice Presidency. He was defamed by the press, often by writings of Hamilton. Challenged Hamilton to a duel in 1804 and killed him.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

stated that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to resist internal left-wing (and therefore it was assumed "communist") movements and prevent them from falling into the Soviet sphere. Some see this as beginning of Cold War.

Golden Gate Bridge

suspension bridge over a strait connecting the San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

territory in western United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million

George Tiller

the Kansas medical director at Women's Health Care Services- one of the first clinics to provide later-term abortions. murdered in 2009 by an anti-abortion activist

Boston Police Strike of 1919

the Police Force in Boston, MA went on a strike, and in fear of communism, President Coolidge (then governor at the time) fired them and called in the militia to be the police force

William T. Sherman

the Union general who led a 400 mile "march to the sea" of destruction through Georgia and South Carolina

Lord Charles Cornwallis

the commander of British troops in the South, best known for his defeat at the Battle of Yorktown

Influenza of 1918 (Spanish Flu)

the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet's population—and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims, including some 675,000 Americans.

Great Depression

the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

Jeb Bush

the governor of Florida during the disputed Gore-Bush election of 2000, the brother of Republican candidate George Bush that caused much of the controversy in the election.

Republic of California (Bear Flag Republic)

the nation proclaimed by American settlers in Sonoma California when they declared their independence from Mexico in 1846

Boston Latin School

the oldest public school in America with a continuous existence. It was founded April 23, 1635 by the Town of Boston, antedating Harvard College by more than a year.

Reconstruction

the period after the Civil War in the United States when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union

22nd Amendment (1951)

the president is limited to two terms or a total of 10 years in office

Net Neutrality

the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites; measures approved by FCC

Miranda vs. Arizona

the supreme court case in which the court held that criminal suspects must be informed of their right to consult with an attorney and of their right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police.

Hurricane Hugo

this hurricane was one of SC's most devastating natural disasters; it created a landfall near Charleston in the late September of 1989; caused 7 billion dollars in damage

Lou Gehrig

tough baseball player, the Iron Horse, who died from ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), which now bears his name in its nickname

John Hinckley Jr.

tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan by shooting him in 1981; also wounded Press secretary James Brady; found not guilty due to insanity and sent to mental asylum; motivation was to impress actress Jodie Foster

Columbine High School (1999)

two Colorado high school seniors armed with guns and explosives waged a violent assault in 1999, they killed 12 fellow students and one teacher before shooting themselves; led to increase in school security and mass movement toward gun control

Lusitania (1915)

was a British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-Boat on May 7, 1915. 128 Americans died. The unrestricted submarine warfare caused the U.S. to enter World War I against the Germans.

War of 1812 (1812-1815)

was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war for a number of reasons, including a desire for expansion into the Northwest Territory, trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy, British support of American Indian tribes against American expansion, and the humiliation of American honor.

John Wilkes Booth

was an American stage actor who, as part of a conspiracy plot, assassinated Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865 during the show "Our American Cousin" by Tom Taylor

Apollo 1

was intended to be a test of the Command/Service Module in low-Earth orbit (LEO). However, a fire on the launchpad during a test killed the three astronauts aboard (Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Ed White). The fire was exacerbated by the pure-oxygen, positive-pressure environment inside the capsule, and the fact that the capsule door opened inward. Both of these design elements were scrapped in subsequent missions, and the second was replaced with an outward-opening hatch nominally to facilitate spacewalks. Lessons learned were also taken into account during the design of the Space Shuttle.

Lance Armstrong

wins his record 7th straight Tour de France... eventually stripped of his titles because of his ties to performance enhancing drugs and blood doping

Tiger Woods

wins the Master's and becomes the youngest player ever to hold all 4 majors at once (Masters, PGA Championship, British Open, US Open)

Terri Schiavo (shy vo)

woman who had been in a vegetative state for 15 years, supreme court ruled that her husband could remove the feeding tube, she died 15 days later; occurred in Florida when Jeb Bush was governor

Peanuts

written and illustrated by Charles Schultz; Characters include Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock, Lucy Van Pelt, Peppermint Patty, Linus Van Pelt, and Sally Brown

Robert Penn Warren

wrote "All the King's Men"; one of the founders of "New Criticism"; appointed nation's first poet laureate

Vladimir Nabokov

wrote "Lolita"; characters include Lolita (Dolores, Dolly Schiller) and Humbert Humbert

T.S. Eliot

wrote "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "The Waste Land" and "The Hollow Men;" British WWI poet, playwright, and literary critic

Thornton Wilder

wrote Our Town, a 1938 play telling the story of fictional American small town Grover's Corner in New Hampshire between 1901-1913

Stephen Crane

wrote Red Badge of Courage (1895); American novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist, raised in NY and NJ; style and technique: naturalism, realism, impressionism; themes: ideals v. realities, spiritual crisis, fears

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)

wrote Slaughterhouse Five (story about Billy Pilgrim), Cat's Cradle, Harrison Bergeron, and Breakfast of Champions (story about Kilgore Trout)

J.D. Salinger

wrote The Catcher in the Rye; characters include Holden Caulfield, Phoebe Caulfield, Stradlater, Sally Hayes, Jane Gallagher, Mr. Antolini

James Fenimore Cooper

wrote The Spy (1821), novel set during the American Revolution which became a best-seller

Noah Webster

wrote the first major American dictionary, American Dictionary of the English Language

Nathan Hale

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." a soldier of the American Revolution who was hanged as a spy by the British

Michael Jackson

"King of Pop" killed by an apparent overdose of prescription drugs given by his long time doctor on June 25, 2009; "Thriller" album became monumental best-seller

Huey Long

"Kingfish" Rep. senator of LA; pushed "Share Our Wealth" program and make "Every Man a King' at the expense of the wealthy; assassinated in 1935

Michael Milken

"junk bond king" imprisoned for insider trading in 1988

New York World's Fair, 1939-40

'The World of Tomorrow' and 'Dawn of a New Day'; first exposition to be based on the future

Compromise of 1850

(1) California admitted as free state, (2) territorial status and popular sovereignty of Utah and New Mexico, (3) resolution of Texas-New Mexico boundaries, (4) federal assumption of Texas debt, (5) slave trade abolished in DC, and (6) new fugitive slave law; advocated by Henry Clay and Stephen A. Douglas

French and Indian War

(1754-1763) Nine-year war between the British and the French in North America. It resulted in the expulsion of the French from the North American mainland and helped spark the Seven Years' War in Europe.

Bank of North America

(1781) The first bank in the US, modeled on the Bank of England, helped to solve the wartime fiscal crisis. Instead of issuing paper currency through a land office, as farmers wanted, the bank issued money in the form of short-time loans backed by gold and silver plate

Harriet Beecher Stowe

(1811-1896) American author, she was an abolitionist and author of the famous antislavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

James McNeill Whistler

(1834-1903) A member of the realist movement, although his works were often moody and eccentric. Best known for his Arrangement in Black and Grey, No.1, also known as "Whistler's Mother".

14 points

(1918) President Woodrow Wilson's plan for organizing post World War I Europe and for avoiding future wars.

Checkers Speech (1952)

(1952) Nationally televised address by vice-presidential candidate Richard Nixon. Using the new mass medium of television shortly before the 1952 election, the vice presidential candidate saved his place on the ticket by defending himself against accusations of corruption; speech named after reference to his dog

Gerald Ford

(1974-1977), Solely elected by a vote from Congress. He pardoned Nixon of all crimes that he may have committed. Evacuated nearly 500,000 Americans and South Vietnamese from Vietnam, closing the war. We are heading toward rapid inflation. He runs again and debates Jimmy Carter. At the debate he is asked how he would handle the communists in eastern Europe and he said there were none and this apparently sealed his fate.

Persian Gulf War (1990-1991)

(1990 - 1991) War between Iraq and a coalition of countries led by the United States to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait which they had invaded in hopes of controlling their oil supply. A very one sided war with the United States' coalition emerging victorious.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

(Burger) Certain state criminal abortion laws violate the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment, which protects against state action the (implied) right to privacy in the Bill of Rights (9th amendment). Abortion cannot be banned in the 1st trimester (1st 3 months), states can regulate the 2nd trimester, 3rd trimester - abortion is illegal except to save the life of the mother

Jeanette Rankin

(R, MT); First woman to serve in Congress. Suffragist and pacifist, voted against US involvement in WWI and WWII.

Jones Act

(WW) 1916, Promised Philippine independence. Given freedom in 1917, their economy grew as a satellite of the U.S. Filipino independence was not realized for 30 years; also made Puerto Rico a U.S. Territory

Kennedy Assassination (1963)

*On November 22nd of 1963, while riding in an open limousine through Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a concealed rifleman Lee Harvey Oswald;* perhaps ironically, the alleged assassin of President Kennedy was himself assassinated a few days later in front of television cameras; Oswald was killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby

U-2 Reconnaissance plane incident (1960)

*the type that had been provided the kind of information about Soviet military capability that Eisenhower had kept secret; was shot down by a soviet rocket as it flew 1,300 mile inside Russia; the Soviets had the plane; the pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured alive and had found both the poison and the needle with which he was supposed to kill himself rather than risk capture and a pistol with a silencer that he had been supplied; there would be little talk of friendly coexistence in the next 2 years after this incident.

Mir Space Station

-Russian Space station that orbited Earth for 11 years and was assembled in space starting in 1986; occupied until 1999; fell into the South Pacific in 2001; involved in a series of dockings with Atlantis Space Station

March from Selma to Montgomery, 1965

-Three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American Civil Rights Movement. -The first march took place on March 7,1965 "Bloody Sunday", when 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police officers with billy clubs and tear gas. -Second march took place the following Tuesday, resulted in 2500 protestors turning around after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge meeting more police and state troopers with clubs and tear gas. -Third march started on March 16, protected by 2000 soldiers of the US army, 1900 members of the Alabama national guard under federal command, and many FBI agents and Federal Marshals, they arrived in Montgomery on the 24th and at the Alabama state capital on the 25th.

Matthew Shepard

1 December 1976-12 October 1998, University of Wyoming; He was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming. He died from severe head injuries. The violence against Shepard was due to how the attacker felt about gays. It brought national and international attention to the hate crimes

Beltway Sniper Attacks

10/24/02 the snipers were caught by the FBI. 10 people were gunned down and three were critically injured while mowing the lawn, pumping gas, shopping, or reading a book; Lee Malvo and John Muhammad were arrested

Haymarket Riot

100,000 workers rioted in Chicago. After the police fired into the crowd, the workers met and rallied in Haymarket Square to protest police brutality. A bomb exploded, killing or injuring many of the police. The Chicago workers and the man who set the bomb were immigrants, so the incident promoted anti-immigrant feelings.

The Great Brinks Robbery (1950)

11 thieves stole $2.7 million dollars in Boston, Massachusetts. Many called it the perfect crime because little evidence was left behind

USS Stark

17 May 1987, during Iraq-Iran war, an Iraqi aircraft attacked the ship with 2 anti-surface missiles, 37 American Sailors died.

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 protest against the government's tax, drafted by Alexander Hamilton, on whiskey by backcountry farmers

Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States, A Southerner form Tennessee, as V.P. when Lincoln was killed, he became president. He opposed radical Republicans who passed Reconstruction Acts over his veto. The first U.S. president to be impeached, he survived the Senate removal by only one vote. He was a very weak president.

William Lloyd Garrison

1805-1879. Prominent American abolitionist, journalist and social reformer. Editor of radical abolitionist newspaper "The Liberator", and one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

1848 gathering of feminists in NY, in which Elizabeth Cady Stanton read her "Declaration of Sentiment", asserting that men and women are equal; at the meeting, a resolution was put forth that formally demanded voting rights; attributed with launching the modern women's rights movement; faced scorn and denunciation from the press and church; also led by Lucretia Mott

Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses)

1860-1961 American painter. An untrained farm wife, she began painting her primitive scenes of rural life while in her 70's. Works include Sugaring-Off

Homestead Strike (1892)

1892 steelworker strike near Pittsburgh, PA against the Carnegie Steel Company. Ten workers were killed in a riot when "scab" labor was brought in to force an end to the strike.

Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

1906 - Forbade the manufacture or sale of mislabeled or adulterated food or drugs, it gave the government broad powers to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs in order to abolish the "patent" drug trade. Still in existence as the FDA.

Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey vs United States (1911)

1911 Supreme Court ruling breaking up Rockefeller's monopoly under the Sherman anti trust act

Clayton Antitrust Act

1914 act designed to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890; certain activities previously committed by big businesses, such as not allowing unions in factories and not allowing strikes, were declared illegal.

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti

1920- 2 Italian immigrants believed to be anarchists were accused of murder in MA - found guilty, though evidence against them was disputable - executed in 1927- though many believed they were convicted just b/c of political beliefs

Betty Friedan

1921-2006. American feminist, activist and writer. Best known for starting the "Second Wave" of feminism through the writing of her book "The Feminine Mystique".

The Jazz Singer

1927 - The first movie with sound; this "talkie" was about the life of Al Jolson.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

1934 - Created to supervise stock exchanges and to punish fraud in securities trading.

Atlantic Charter (1941)

1941-Pledge signed by US president FDR and British prime minister Winston Churchill not to acquire new territory as a result of WWII and to work for peace after the war

Battle of Leyte

1944 World War II naval battle between the United States and Japan. Largest naval engagement in history. Japanese navy was defeated; took place in the Philippines

Malcolm X

1952; renamed himself to signify the loss of his African heritage; converted to Nation of Islam in jail in the 50s, became Black Muslims' most dynamic street orator and recruiter; his beliefs were the basis of a lot of the Black Power movement built on seperationist and nationalist impulses to achieve true independence and equality

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

1954 court decision that declared state laws segregating schools to be unconstitutional. Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

1957 group founded by Martin Luther King Jr. to fight against segregation using nonviolent means

Sherman Adams

1958. The Chief of Staff received an oriental rug and fur coat for helping a Boston industrialist deal with the federal bureaucracy; Eisenhower's Chief of Staff

Greensboro Sit-Ins (1960)

1960 in NC (seeking integration of public facilities), 4 students defy segregation, sit at segregated lunch counters in department store, then more show up, 4th day 300 show up; they are arrested and beat; continues until they allow it; it spread to other cities; now the venue of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum

Laos Civil War

1961-62--Conflict between American-supported forces and communist Lao rebels; Kennedy agreed that he would restore a neutralist government but left communist forces dominant in the countryside

Barry Goldwater

1964; Republican senator from Arizona who was the contender against LBJ for presidency; platform included lessening federal involvement, therefore opposing Civil Rights Act of 1964; lost by largest margin in history

Voting Rights Act of 1965

1965; invalidated the use of any test or device to deny the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks; as more blacks became politically active and elected black representatives, it brought jobs, contracts, and facilities and services for the black community, encouraging greater social equality and decreasing the wealth and education gap; signed by LBJ

Apollo 8 (1968)

1968, U.S.; is first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon; makes 10 orbits on 6-day mission

Tet Offensive

1968, during the Vietnam lunar new year , Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army raiding forces attacked provincial capitals throughout Vietnam including Saigon, even seizing the U.S. embassy for a time. U.S. opinion began turning against the war.

Woodstock Music Festival

1969 music festival in Bethel, NY that some perceive as the pinnacle of the 1960s counterculture. 400,000 young people came together for a weekend of music and a relative lack of hassles or conflict. The difficulty of mixing the 1960s counterculture with the radical politics of the era was demonstrated when Peter Townshend of the Who kicked Abbie Hoffman off the stage

Apollo 13

1970: aborts mission after explosion of oxygen tanks Astronauts return safely; subject of movie starring Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell and famous line "Houston, we have a problem"

Nixon Shock

1971 Nixon unilaterally canceled the Bretton Woods system and stopped the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. The second shock was the 1972 Nixon visit to China that brought a surprising new twist to Cold War diplomacy.

Department of Energy

1977 - Carter added it to the Cabinet to acknowledge the importance of energy conservation.

Three-Mile Island

1979 - A mechanical failure and a human error at this power plant in Pennsylvania combined to permit an escape of radiation over a 16 mile radius.

Live Aid (1985)

1985 concert broadcasted around the globe to gather benefit funds to help the Ethiopian famine

1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake

1989 California, not as strong as Landers but more destructive and loss of human life because it was in a highly populated area; killed 67 in the San Francisco Area and emerged prior to a World Series game

Bill of Rights, 1791

1st 10 amendments of the Constitution

John Glenn

1st American to orbit Earth in "Friendship 7" in 1962. He was an Ohio Senator for 25 years then he became the oldest person to travel in space at the age of 77 in "Discovery"

Janet Yellen

1st Female Chairman of the Federal Reserve; confirmed in 2014

1904 St. Louis Olympics

1st Olympics hosted by the USA

Explorer I

1st U.S. earth-orbiting satellite launched into space; Nov., 1958; discovered Van Allen belts

New York City Philadelphia Washington D.C.

1st US Capital (1785-1790) 2nd US Capital (1790-1800) 3rd US Capital (1800-present)

Switchback Railway

1st US roller coaster opened at Coney Island in NYC

Atlantic City Boardwalk (1870)

1st boardwalk in the United States; built in 1870

Tremont Street Subway (1897)

1st public subway service in US; opened in Boston, MA in 1897

Philadelphia Zoo

1st public zoo in the United States

Thomas Jefferson Henry Knox Alexander Hamilton John Jay

1st secretary of state 1st secretary of war 1st secretary of treasury 1st Supreme Court chief justice

New Horizons

1st space craft to flyby up close to Pluto

Wyoming gave women right to vote, 1870

1st state to allow women to vote

Sandy Hook Shooting

20 children were killed by Adam Lanza at an Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut

Kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr (1932)

20 month old baby of famous aviator was kidnapped in New Jersey and found dead 11 days later

Oregon Trail

2000 mile long path along which thousands of Americans journeyed to the Willamette Valley in the 1840's; journey began from Missouri

Virginia Tech Shooting (2007)

2007, Seung Hi Cho killed 32 people and wounded 25 more, the worst college shooting in US history.

Karen Quinlan

21-year-old woman who stopped breathing and slipped into a coma and was kept alive on a respirator. The family asked the respirator be removed, and the case went to court. The court decided it was okay to remove the respirator legally. The first "right to die" case

USS Pueblo

23 January 1968, off the coast of North Korea in international water, North Korea attacked ship, 1 man died, 3 men wounded, and 82 men were held for 11 months before released. It constituted the largest single loss of sensitive material.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice

2nd female supreme court justice; from Brooklyn, NY; appointed by Bill Clinton; replaced Byron White

Rod Blagojevich (Bla go ya vich)

40th Governor of IL (D); impeached from office in 2009 in relation to filling President Obama's seat in Senate

Black Sox scandal of 1919

8 white sox players were accused of intentionally losing games in exchange for money; team including "Shoeless" Joe Jackson

Charlie Chaplin

A "silent comedian," this movie star continued to lengthen the silent film style and offer an alternative to the sound film with his trademark tattered suit, derby hat, and cane, playing the "little tramp" who made audiences laugh with his silent jokes; famous movie "City Lights" (1931)

The Great Train Robbery

A 1903 black and white silent western film that was 14 minutes long and the first film to tell a coherent story. Due to its success it is credited for creating Hollywood and the success of the movie industry; Directed by Edwin Porter

Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

A 2008 Federal government program that authorized the U.S. Treasury to loan up to $700 billion to critical financial institutions and other U.S. firms that were in extreme financial trouble and therefore at high risk of failure

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering

Deepwater Horizon

A 2010 oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the explosion and sinking of this oil rig owned by BP (British Petroleum)

Henry George

A California printer, journalist, and influential activist whose ideas about taxes and reform, expressed in Progress and Poverty (1879), were widely propagated.

Jacob Riis (Reese)

A Danish immigrant, he became a reporter who pointed out the terrible conditions of the tenement houses of the big cities, such as NYC, where immigrants lived during the late 1800s. He wrote How The Other Half Lives in 1890.

William Bradford (1590-1657)

A Pilgrim, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, 1621-1657. He developed private land ownership and helped colonists get out of debt. He helped the colony survive droughts, crop failures, and Indian attacks; wrote "the History of Plymouth Plantation"

William Penn

A Quaker that founded Pennsylvania to establish a place where his people and others could live in peace and be free from persecution.

George McGovern

A Senator from South Dakota who ran for President in 1972 on the Democrat ticket. His promise was to pull the remaining American troops out of Vietnam in ninety days which earned him the support of the Anti-war party, and the working-class supported him, also. He lost however to Nixon.

Alamo

A Spanish mission converted into a fort, it was besieged by Mexican troops in 1836. The Texas garrison held out for thirteen days, but in the final battle, all of the Texans were killed by the larger Mexican force.

Title IX

A United States law enacted on June 23, 1972 that states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

Watergate Scandal, 1972

A botched Republican-engineered break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington DC that forced Nixon to resign in 1974.

Federalist Papers (1787)

A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail and to support its ratification

Seinfeld (1989)

A comedy based on the everyday, absurd problems in NY. The main character's profession is a comedian; premiered on NBC in 1989

Y2K

A computer glitch that only showed the year by the last two digits. It was feared that when the year changed from 1999 to 2000, computers would think it was really 1900 as it only read the last two digits.

Carnegie Hall

A concert hall, world famous for its acoustics, in New York City; opened in 1891

Equal Rights Amendment

A constitutional amendment originally introduced in Congress in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972, stating that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." Despite public support, the amendment failed to acquire the necessary support from three-fourths of the state legislatures.

Marian Anderson

A famous African American concert singer who had her first performance in 1935, dazzling the audience and launching herself into fame. The next year she performed at the White House by presidential invitation, and performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let her rent Constitution Hall (Eleanor Roosevelt and several others resigned after this decision).

Al Capone (Scarface)

A famous Chicago gangster who made a fortune ($60 million in one year) off of bootlegging, and "murdered" his way to the top of the crime network, buying off public officials, the police, and judges. He was not convicted of any wrongdoing, however, until a judge in a federal court convicted him of income-tax evasion and sent him to jail in 1931; boss of the Chicago Outfit; basis of character "Tony Montana" played by Al Pacino in "Scarface" (1983)

Alger Hiss

A former State Department official who was accused of being a Communist spy and was convicted of perjury. The case was prosecuted by Richard Nixon; trial involved Whittaker Chambers

OJ Simpson Trial

A former football star who was accused of murdering his former wife and a young man in Los Angeles in 1994. He was eventually acquitted in the fall of 1995 by famous glove decision. This trial brought on a lot of racial tensions because most whites believed he was guilty while most blacks believed he was innocent; nicknamed "The Juice" and primarily played for Buffalo Bills

Million Man March (1995)

A gathering of mostly African American men on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. the men gathered to affirm their commitment to black women, children, and communities and to dedicate their lives to improving themselves and their communities; called by Louis Farrakhan who is the leader of the Nation of Islam (appointed by Elijah Muhammed)

Taliban

A group of fundamentalist Muslims who took control of Afghanistan's government in 1996; target of US in 2010 after attack on Helmand Province

Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

A group of women who advocated total abstinence from alcohol and who worked to get laws passed against alcohol; Established in Cleveland, OH

Jack Kerouac

A key author of the Beat movement whose best selling novel, On the Road helped define the movement with its featured frenzied prose and plotless ramblings.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A large number of railroad workers went on strike because of wage cuts. After a month of strikes, President Hayes sent troops to stop the strike (example of how government always sided with employers over workers in the Gilded Age). The worst railroad violence was in Pittsburgh, with over 40 people killed by militia men

Civil Rights Act of 1875

A law that required "full and equal" access to jury service and to transportation and public accommodations, irrespective of race.

Ida Tarbell

A leading muckraker and magazine editor, she exposed the corruption of the oil industry with her 1904 work A History of Standard Oil.

Spindletop

A major oil discovery in 1901 near Beaumont, TX that began the industrialization of Texas.

Richard Henry Lee

A member of the Philadelphia Congress during the late 1770's. On June 7, 1776 he declared, "These United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." This resolution was the start of the Declaration of Independence and end to British relations.

Kinetoscope

A moving-picture device, invented by Thomas Edison and his associates in 1892, that allowed one person at a time to watch a motion picture by looking through the viewer.

Cumberland Road (1811)

A national road that stretched from Maryland to Illinois. It was the first national/interstate highway, and it was a milestone for the eventual connection of all the states by highways, thus increasing trade.

Winston Churchill

A noted British statesman who led Britain throughout most of World War II and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns. He predicted an "Iron Curtain" that would separate Communist Europe from the rest of the West; National museum dedicated to him in Fulton, MO

Marshall Plan (1947)

A plan that the US came up with to revive war-torn economies of Europe. This plan offered $13 billion in aid to western and Southern Europe on condition they wouldn't go communist. Helped contain communism in Europe and helped our economy as Europe bought from US businesses to rebuild; named after U.S secretary of state

Francisco "Pancho" Villa

A popular leader during the Mexican Revolution. An outlaw in his youth, when the revolution started, he formed a cavalry army in the north of Mexico and fought for the rights of the landless in collaboration with Emiliano Zapata; Commander of the "Division of the North" in the Constitutionalist Army

Hubert Humphrey

A prominent liberal senator from Minnesota dedicated to the promotion of civil rights, he served as Johnson's vice-president from 1964-68 and ran an unsuccessful personal campaign for the presidency in 1968 after losing to Richard Nixon

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A relief, recovery, and reform effort that gave 2.5 million poor citizens jobs and land. It brought cheap electric power, low-cost housing, cheap nitrates, and the restoration of eroded soil.

Confederate States of America

A republic formed in February of 1861 and composed of the eleven Southern states that seceded from the United States

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

A secret organization that used terrorist tactics in an attempt to restore white supremacy in Southern states after the Civil War; formed in 1866

SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

A series of negotiations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. on the issue of nuclear arms reduction. The talks helped lower the total number of missiles each side would have and eased the tension between the two. Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty

New Deal

A series of reforms enacted by the Franklin Roosevelt administration between 1933 and 1942 with the goal of ending the Great Depression.

Legionnaire's disease

A severe, often fatal bacterial disease characterized by pneumonia, dry cough and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms; killed 29 people who attended AL convention in Philadelphia in 1976

"I have a dream" speech (1963)

A speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the demonstration of freedom in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. It was an event related to the civil rights movement of the 1960's to unify citizens in accepting diversity and eliminating discrimination against African-Americans

Pullman Strike (1894)

A staged walkout strike by railroad workers upset by drastic wage cuts. The strike was led by socialist Eugene Debs but not supported by the American Federation of Labor. Eventually President Grover Cleveland intervened because it was interfering with mail delivery and federal troops forced an end to the strike. The strike highlighted both divisions within labor and the government's continuing willingness to use armed force to combat work stoppages.

Proposition 13 (1978)

A successful California state ballot initiative that capped the state's real estate tax at 1 percent of assessed value. The proposition radically reduced average property tax levels, decreasing revenue for the state government and signaling the political power of the "tax revolt," increasingly aligned with conservative politics.

Great Awakening (1739-1744)

A sudden outbreak of religious fervor that swept through the colonies. One of the first events to unify the colonies.

Khobar Towers 1996

A terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in this city in Saudi Arabia, located near the national oil company headquarters of Dhahran and nearby King Abdulaziz Air Base on June 25, 1996; attack linked to Hezbollah

Benedict Arnold (1741-1801)

A traitorous American commander who planned to sell out the American garrison at West Point to the British, but his plot was discovered before it could be executed and he joined the British army.

Hydrogen Bomb (H-Bomb)

A type of nuclear weapon at least one thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb. Truman ordered the development of it to surpass the Soviets' weapons supply

Philippine American War (or Philippine Insurrection)

A war fought from 1899 to 1903 to quell Filipino resistance to U.S. control of the Philippine Islands. Although often forgotten, it lasted longer than the Spanish-American War and resulted in more casualties. Filipino guerilla soldiers surrendered after their leader, Emilio Aquinaldo, was captured.

Articles of Confederation

A weak constitution that governed America during the Revolutionary War.

League of Nations (1919)

A world organization of national governments proposed by President Woodrow Wilson and established by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. It worked to facilitate peaceful international cooperation. Despite emotional appeals by Wilson, isolationists' objections to the League created the major obstacle to American signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Helen Hunt Jackson

A writer. Author of the 1881 book "A Century of Dishonor". The book exposed the U.S. governments many broken promises to the Native Americans. For example the government wanted Native Americans to assimilate, i.e. give up their beliefs and ways of life, that way to become part of the white culture.

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolition of slavery w/o compensation for slave-owners

John Brown

Abolitionist who was hanged after leading an unsuccessful raid at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (1800-1858)

Gettysburg Address (1863)

Abraham Lincoln's oft-quoted speech, delivered at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania on Nov 9, 1863. In the address, Lincoln framed the war as a means to uphold the values of liberty.

Quartering Act of 1765

Act forcing colonists to house and supply British forces in the colonies; created more resentment; seen as assault on liberties.

Jesse Owens

African American who won 4 gold medals at Olympic games in Germany under Hitler (a blow to Nazi notions of a master race) at 1936 Olympic Games.

Joe Louis

African-American boxer from Detroit, MI who fought during the 1920's through the 1940's; nicknamed the "Brown Bomber"

F.W. Woolworth

After starting his first discount store in 1879, his chain of five-and-dime stores grew into one of the largest, its New York City headquarters being the world's tallest building from 1913 to 1930.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Agency established in 1932 to provide emergency relief to large businesses, insurance companies, and banks.

Gadsden Purchase

Agreement w/ Mexico that gave the US parts of present-day New Mexico & Arizona in exchange for $10 million; all but completed the continental expansion envisioned by those who believed in Manifest Destiny.

Family Jewels (1974)

All the wrongdoings of the CIA in a compiled collection in the Inspector General's hands under Nixon following Watergate; had the potential to destroy the Agency but it would be too damaging to national security

Barbary Wars

Also known as Tripolitan Wars, President Thomas Jefferson's refusal to pay tribute to protect American ships from pirates off the Mediterranean coast of Africa sparked an undeclared naval war with North African nations that lasted from 1801 to 1805.

25th Amendment (1967)

Amendment regarding presidential succession and presidential disability

16th Amendment (1913)

Amendment that authorized the collection of a progressive income tax. "Progressive" means as you make a higher income, you pay a higher percentage. This tax does not apply to money made on investments or in the stock market. Today, this is the primary source of revenue for the federal government. Helped replace revenue lost after the Underwood-Simmons Tariff of 1913 (passed under Wilson) significantly lowered tariffs.

17th Amendment (1913)

Amendment that established that senators were to be elected directly by voters (instead of by state legislatures as under the Constitution originally). This law was part of the Progressive Era effort to curb the power of political parties and open up the government with more democracy to the people.

AOL-Time Warner Merger

America Online bought Time Warner fo 182 billion dollars, making it the largest corporate merger in US History

1980 Moscow Summer Olympics Boycott

America protests the olympics in 1980 because of Soviet Russias invasion of Afghanistan; took place in this Russian city

Eugene O'Neill

America's great playwright of tragedy; author of "The Iceman Cometh," "Long Day's Journey into Night," and "Moon for the Misbegotten'

Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963) [no deen dee-em]

American ally in South Vietnam from 1954 to 1963; his repressive regime caused the Communist Viet Cong to thrive in the South and required increasing American military aid to stop a Communist takeover. he was killed in a coup in 1963.

Thurgood Marshall

American civil rights lawyer, first black justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall was a tireless advocate for the rights of minorities and the poor.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Native Americans, boarded three British ships and dumped British tea into the Boston harbor.

Edward Snowden

American computer specialist who worked for NSA contractors and said that he was an employee of the CIA and NSA before leaking details of several top-secret United States and British government mass surveillance programs to the press; claimed responsibility of crimes in 2013 after fleeing

Thomas Edison

American inventor best known for inventing the electric light bulb, acoustic recording on wax cylinders, and motion pictures

John Steinbeck

American novelist who wrote "The Grapes of Wrath". (1939) A story of Dustbowl victims who travel to California to look for a better life.

Walt Whitman

American poet and transcendentalist who was famous for his beliefs on nature, as demonstrated in his book, Leaves of Grass. He was therefore an important part for the buildup of American literature and breaking the traditional rhyme method in writing poetry; published O Captain, My Captain! in response to Abraham Lincoln's death

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

American poet that was influenced somewhat by the transcendentalism occurring at the time. He was important in building the status of American literature; published Evangeline in 1847

Challenger Explosion (1986)

American ship. Occurred on January 28, 1986, when this Space Shuttle broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members; crew included Dick Scobee (commander) and Christa McAuliffe (first american civilian selected to go to space)

Bataan Death March (1942)

American soldiers (MacArthur's men) were forced to march 65 miles to prison camps by their Japanese captors

Billie Jean King

American tennis star, has been an advocate against sexism (wanted equal pay for women and men) in sports and society. She is known for the "The Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, in which she defeated 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, a former Wimbledon men's singles champion; match was held at Houston Astrodome

Secretariat

American thoroughbred racehorse who became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years; victory at Belmont Stakes in 1973 is widely regarded as one of the greatest races in history

Henry David Thoreau

American transcendentalist who was against a government that supported slavery. He wrote down his beliefs in Walden. He started the movement of civil-disobedience when he refused to pay the toll-tax to support the Mexican War.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American transcendentalist who was against slavery and stressed self-reliance, optimism, self-improvement, self-confidence, and freedom. He was a prime example of a transcendentalist and helped further the movement; published his first work, Nature (1836)

Edgar Allan Poe

American writer known especially for his macabre poems, such as "The Raven" (1845), and short stories, including "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839); Published "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841) which became one of the first American detective stories

Herman Melville

American writer whose experiences at sea provided the factual basis of Moby-Dick (1851), considered among the greatest American novels

Aleksei Kosygin

Among one of the most liberal reformers in the 60's Soviet Union. He was unable to enact any reform due to the conservatives in government; met with LBJ at Glassboro State College in NJ in 1967

James Foley

An American journalist captured by ISIS while in Syria on November 22, 2012, while covering the civil war. As part of their "message to the American people" video, ISIS executed him in August 2014.

The Birth of a Nation, 1915

An American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film was a commercial success, but was highly controversial owing to its portrayal of African-American men as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women, and the portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force. It is is also credited as one of the events that inspired the formation of the "second era" Ku Klux Klan. Despite the film's controversial content, Griffith's innovative film techniques make it one of the most important and influential films in the commercial film industry.

Jefferson Davis

An American statesman and politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history from 1861 to 1865

Steven Sotloff

An American-Israeli journalist captured by ISIS in August 2013 while in Aleppo, Syria. ISIS killed him on September 2, 2014.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

An act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776 which declared that the Thirteen British Colonies in North America were "Free and Independent States" and that "all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain" was dissolved. The document, explained the justifications for separation from the British crown.

Orson Welles

An actor, director, producer, writer. Created one of the most renowned radio broadcasts of all time "The War of The Worlds" by H.G. Wells which caused Martian invasion scare (1938); also directed "Citizen Kane" (1941) and its last line "Rosebud"; Kane is loosely based off of William Randolph Hearst, the father of "Yellow Journalism"

Cross of Gold Speech

An address given by William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic presidential nominee during the national convention of the Democratic party, it criticized the gold standard and supported the coinage of silver. His beliefs were popular with debt-ridden farmers.

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

An agreement for free trade between the United States and Canada and Mexico; signed into law by Pres. Bill Clinton

Battle of Inchon (1950)

An amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations

Sesame Street

An educational television program for preschool children, particularly aimed at disadvantaged children, that began in the late 1960s. It teaches awareness of letters and numbers and combines live actors, animation, and puppets in a great number of small segments, many of them musical; created by Joan Ganz Cooney (founder of Sesame Workshop)

Ellis Island

An immigrant receiving station that opened in 1892, where immigrants were given a medical examination and only allowed in if they were healthy

Iran Hostage Crisis (1979)

An incident on November 4th of 1979 where anti-American Muslim militants stormed the United States embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking all of its occupants hostage and demanding that the United States return the exiled Shah of Iran to his home country; it would be capped off by a failed rescue attempt under the direction of President Carter; rescued after agreement by Ronald Reagan; "Canadian Caper" is a mission based on this crisis and is the inspiration of film "Argo"

Human Genome Project (HGP)

An international collaborative effort to map and sequence the DNA of the entire human genome

Empire State Building

An office building in New York City, over one thousand feet high. Opened in the 1930s, it was for many years the tallest skyscraper in the world; Displaced Chrysler Building as the tallest in NYC

League of Women Voters (LWV)

An organization formed by white women after passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. A strictly nonpartisan group, focused on training women voters to be good citizens. The organization lobbied for women's and children's issues. Members also educated voters on citizenship and voting rights and encouraged women to take advantage of their voting power. They spearheaded the formation of the Women's Joint Congressional Committee, whose goal was to promote legislation backed by women's organizations.

Boxer Rebellion (1900)

An uprising in China directed against foreign influence. It was suppressed by an international force of some eighteen thousand soldiers, including several thousand Americans; Paved the way for the revolution of 1911, which led to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912.

Bernard Madoff

Antisocial person sentenced to 150 years after a Ponzi scheme; caught in 2008

Geronimo

Apache chieftain who raided the white settlers in the Southwest as resistance to being confined to a reservation (1829-1909)

Sonia Sotomayor

Appointed by President Obama in 2009, first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice; replaced David Souter

Jan Brewer

Arizona's governor, who angrily confronted President Obama over SB-1070 (controversial immigration measure) in January 2012, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a ruling.

Orval Faubus

Arkansas governor who called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Little Rock's Central High School under federal court order.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Arrested in the Summer of 1950 and executed in 1953, this couple was convicted of conspiring to commit espionage by passing plans for the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union; Morton Sobell also involved

U.S. Neutrality (1914-17)

As World War I erupts in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson formally proclaims this of the United States, a position that a vast majority of Americans favored, on August 4, 1914.

Daniel Webster (1782-1852)

As a representative from New Hampshire, he led the New Federalists in opposition to the moving of the second national bank from Boston to Philadelphia. Later, he served as representative and a senator for Massachusetts and emerged as a champion of a stronger national government. He also switched from opposing to supporting tariffs because New England had built up its manufactures with the understanding tariffs would protect them from foreign competitors. (page 412)

John Lennon (1940-1980)

Assassinated in 1980 by Mark David Chapman in NYC rock star, former member of 'The Beatles'; married to Yoko Ono

Underwear Bomber

Attempted to detonate plastic explosives on a flight en route from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009; also known as "Christmas Bomber"

Ernest Thayer

Author of "Casey at the Bat"

Joseph Heller

Author of Catch-22 (set in WWII), which typifies postwar disillusionment by satirizing war; Characters include Yossarian, Major Major Major Major, Orr, Milo Minderbinder

Thomas Paine

Author of Common Sense (1776), the famous pro-independence pamphlet

Washington Irving (1783-1859)

Author, diplomat. Wrote The Sketch Book, which included "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." He was the first American to be recognized in England (and elsewhere) as a writer.

Forest Reserve Act of 1891

Authorized the President to set aside public forests as National Parks and other reserves; signed by Benjamin Harrison

McCain-Feingold Act (2002)

Banned soft money, increased amount of individual contributions and limited issue ads.

2008 Presidential Election

Barack Obama won 53% of the total popular vote and 365 electoral votes. John McCain won 46% of the total popular vote and 173 electoral votes. Most expensive election in history: $1.6 billion raised and spent by all the parties and their candidates from the primary to the election. Obama spent $7.40 per vote, while McCain spent $5.80 per vote.

Rodney King

Beaten by police in 1991, his case causes uproar because police are acquitted. Starts the 1992 L.A Riots

Nancy Pelosi

Became the first female Speaker of the House following the 2006 elections; Democrat from California; replaced John Boehner (R, OH)

Nellie Tayloe Ross

Became the nations first female governor when she took office in Wyoming in 1925

Manifest Destiny (1840s and 1850s)

Belief that the United States was destined by God to spread its "empire of liberty" across North America. Served as a justification for mid-nineteenth-century expansionism.

Poor Richard's Almanack (1732-1758)

Benjamin Franklin's highly popular collection of information, parables, and advice

The Lonely Crowd

Book written by David Riesman that criticized the people of the 50s who no longer made decisions based on morals, ethics and values; they were allowing society to tell them what is right and wrong.

Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

Born in Virginia, he taught himself law and developed a promising career. He entered the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1765, and quickly influenced the colonial resistance to British taxation without representation. He was a member of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774. In March 1775, in an impassioned speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses, he stated: "...but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" He was active in Virginia politics, serving as the first governor of the new commonwealth. He did not participate in the Constitutional Convention, and he opposed ratification because of the potential limitations to the rights of states.

Merrill Lynch

Bought by Bank of America in 2008

Red Scare (1919-1920)

Brief period of mass anti-communist paranoia in the U.S., during which a number of legislatures passed anti-red statutes that often violated the right to free speech.

Molasses Act of 1733

British legislation which taxed all molasses, rum, and sugar which the colonies imported from countries other than Britain and her colonies. The act angered the New England colonies, which imported a lot of molasses from the Caribbean as part of the Triangular Trade. The British had difficulty enforcing the tax; most colonial merchants ignored it.

Navigation Acts (1650, 1660, 1663, and 1696)

British regulations designed to protect British shipping from competition. Said that British colonies could only import goods if they were shipped on British-owned vessels and at least 3/4 of the crew of the ship were British.

2014 Measles Outbreak

CDC confirmed 667 measles cases for 2014; health officials declared the disease eliminated in 2000

Department of Homeland Security

Cabinet department created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to coordinate domestic security efforts; proposed by President George W Bush and created in 2002

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

Captains of the Corps of Discovery sent by President Jefferson to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory.

Bernard Law

Cardinal accused of covering up sexual abuse by priests, resigned as archbishop of Boston

Virgin Islands

Caribbean territory purchased by the United States from Denmark in 1917

Garry Trudeau

Cartoonist; created popular comic strip "Doonesbury." in 1970

Earl Warren

Chief Justice during the 1950's and 1960's who used a loose interpretation to expand rights for both African-Americans and those accused of crimes; former California governor

Warren Burger

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1969 to 1986, he was responsible for bringing the Court somewhat back to the right after the Earl Warren years. He presided over major cases involving abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, and school desegregation

John G. Roberts

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; took over for William Rehnquist after his passing in 2005; appointed by George W. Bush

Lewis "Scooter" Libby

Chief of Staff to VP Cheney; revealed the identity of Valerie Plame in order to prove an author, who spoke out against the president, wrong; the author said that Bush was wrong and that Hussein wasn't trading weapons in Africa, but this man and Dick Cheney said that this man got wrong information from his wife who is a CIA agent; this man breached her security and put her life on the line; convicted; Bush later commutes his sentence and so he is freed from prison but still keeps this on his record

Pete Rose

Cincinnati Reds; played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989.August 1989, three years after he retired as an active player, agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while playing for and managing the Reds, including claims that he bet on his own team; nicknamed "Charlie Hustle"

Don't Ask Don't Tell Don't Pursue Policy

Clinton managed to gain support for a compromise measure under which homosexual servicemen and servicewomen could remain in the military if they did not openly declare their sexual orientation

Battle of Okinawa (1945)

Closest island to homeland Japan Japan started to use 'Kamikazes' pilots—suicide pilots Attack on Homeland Japan would come from here; Codenamed "Operation Iceberg"

Warren Commission

Commission made by LBJ after killing of John F. Kennedy. Conclusion is that Oswald killed Kennedy on his own. Commissioner is Chief Justice Warren.

Stephen Foster

Composer of popular minstrel show tunes such as Oh, Susanna, and My Old Kentucky Home.

Mexican War (1846-1848)

Conflict between the US and Mexico after the US annexation of Texas, which Mexico still considered its own; US troops fought primarily on foreign soil; covered by mass-circulation newspapers; Whigs opposed; Mexico ceded claims to Texas and California

AFL-CIO (1955)

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) joined together to create a united organization; Represented 90% of union workers

Social Security Act of 1935

Created both the Social Security Program and a national assistance program for poor children, usually called AFDC; signed by FDR