|
|
1974
|
|
Congress initiates impeachment proceedings against Nixon for role in
Watergate cover-up, but Nixon resigns before proceedings can take place;
Vice President Gerald Ford becomes 38th
president
|
|
| |
Ford pardons Nixon, ending Watergate inquiries
|
|
|
1975
|
|
Helsinki Accords solidify European
boundaries
|
|
| |
South Vietnam falls to North Vietnam, ending Vietnam War as U.S.
defeat
|
|
|
1976
|
|
Jimmy Carter elected 39th
president
|
|
|
1977
|
|
Panama Canal Treaties provide for control of
canal to revert to Panama in 1999
|
|
|
1978
|
|
Bakke v. University of California ruling
upholds affirmative action policies
|
|
| |
Signing of Camp David Accords brings peace
between Egypt and Israel
|
|
| |
Fundamentalist Ayatollah Khomeini deposes
U.S.-backed shah in Iranian Revolution
|
|
|
1979
|
|
United States officially recognizes People’s Republic of China under
new leader Deng Xiaoping, establishes full
diplomatic relations
|
|
| |
Near-disastrous accident at Three Mile
Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania raises public concern about
nuclear power safety
|
|
| |
Islamic militants take 52 Americans hostage at U.S. embassy in
Tehran, Iran
|
|
| |
Sandinistas overthrow U.S.-backed Somoza
dynasty in Nicaragua
|
|
| |
USSR invades Afghanistan
|
|
|
1980
|
|
United States begins deregulation of oil prices
|
|
| |
United States boycotts 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, USSR;
imposes grain embargo on USSR
|
|
| |
Ronald Reagan elected 40th
president
|
|
|
1981
|
|
Embassy hostages in Iran released after 444 days in
captivity
|
|
| |
United States increases intervention in El
Salvador
|
|
| |
CIA begins training Contras in effort to
overthrow Sandinistas in Nicaragua
|
|
|
1982
|
|
Strategic Arms Reduction Talks begin between
United States and USSR
|
|
| |
United States invades Grenada to upend
military coup, restore old government
|
|
|
1983
|
|
Reagan proposes Strategic Defense Initiative space-based missile
defense program popularly known as “Star Wars”
|
|
|
1984
|
|
Reagan reelected president
|
|
|
1985
|
|
United States begins secret arms negotiations with Iran, selling arms
to Iran in attempt to free hostages, then using profits from sales to fund
Contras in Nicaragua
|
|
|
1986
|
|
Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on takeoff,
killing crew
|
|
| |
United States bombs Libya in retaliation for
Libya’s support of Palestinian terrorists
|
|
| |
U.S. Senate ratifies existing U.N. treaty outlawing
genocide
|
|
| |
Exposure of Iran-Contra scandal causes public
uproar
|
|
|
1987
|
|
Stock market crashes nearly 23% on “Black
Monday” (October 19)
|
|
| |
Free Trade Agreement established between
Canada and United States
|
|
|
1988
|
|
USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight
655 in apparent accident, killing 290
|
|
| |
George H. W. Bush elected 41st
president
|
|
| |
Terrorists bomb Pan Am Flight 103 over
Scotland, killing 281
|
|
| |
Saudi militant Osama Bin Laden founds
Islamist Al Qaeda network in
Afghanistan
|
|
|
1989
|
|
Chinese government crushes pro-democracy revolt
in Tiananmen Square
|
|
| |
Berlin Wall falls shortly after resignation
of East German leader Erich Honecker
|
|
| |
United States invades Panama to capture leader Manuel
Noriega
|
|
| |
Catastrophic Exxon Valdez oil spill occurs in
Alaska
|
|
|
1990
|
|
NASA launches Hubble Space
Telescope
|
|
| |
Nelson Mandela freed in South Africa,
signaling beginning of end of apartheid
|
|
| |
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein orders invasion of
Kuwait
|
|
|
1991
|
|
United States and coalition forces launch Operation Desert
Storm against Iraq
|
|
| |
Failed coup leads to dissolution of USSR; Boris
Yeltsin becomes leader of Russia
|
|
| |
Commonwealth of Independent States formed
from 11 former Soviet republics
|
|
|
1992
|
|
Not-guilty verdict in Rodney King police-brutality case
sparks Los Angeles riots
|
|
| |
Bill Clinton elected 42nd
president
|
|
|
1993
|
|
North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) opens unimpeded commerce among
Canada, United States, and Mexico
|
|
| |
Clinton appoints Janet Reno first female
attorney general
|
|
| |
Members of Al Qaeda bomb World Trade
Center in New York City, killing six
|
|
| |
80 Branch Davidian sect members killed in
bungled government raid in Waco, Texas
|
|
| |
18 U.S. soldiers killed in firefight during U.S. intervention in
Mogadishu, Somalia
|
|
|
1994
|
|
U.S. troops invade Haiti to restore deposed
President Aristide to power
|
|
|
1995
|
|
Whitewater hearings investigate allegations
of Clinton financial misconduct
|
|
| |
Bombing of federal building in Oklahoma
City kills 168
|
|
| |
World Trade Organization established to
facilitate operations between multinational corporations and capital
brokers
|
|
|
1996
|
|
Clinton reelected president
|
|
| |
Members of Al Qaeda bomb U.S. barracks
in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing 19
|
|
| |
U.S. authorities
apprehend “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski
|
|
|
1997
|
|
Major tobacco settlement reached between U.S.
tobacco companies and several states and smokers; companies agree to pay
billions of dollars
|
|
|
1998
|
|
Members of Al Qaeda bomb U.S. embassies
in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 268
|
|
| |
United States retaliates for embassy bombings with missile
strikes against Afghanistan and Sudan; launches additional
air strikes against Iraq
|
|
| |
Clinton announces first balanced budget in 20
years
|
|
| |
Clinton faces perjury charges in inquiry over White House intern
Monica Lewinsky
|
|
| |
Clinton impeached in House over perjury;
acquitted by Senate in 1999
|
|
|
1999
|
|
Senate rejects international Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
|
|
| |
Control of Panama Canal reverts to Panama;
United States maintains joint authority
|
|
| |
Columbine High School shootings raise concern
about school safety, gun control
|
|
|
2000
|
|
Software giant Microsoft Corporation found
guilty of violating Sherman Antitrust Act
|
|
| |
Members of Al Qaeda bomb warship USS Cole in
Yemen, killing 17
|
|
| |
George W. Bush becomes 43rd president after
intensely disputed election against Vice President Al Gore; Supreme Court
forced to resolve disputed vote counts after voting and ballot
irregularities reported in Florida
|
|
|
2001
|
|
Members of Al Qaeda destroy World Trade
Center in New York, damage Pentagon near Washington, D.C., by
crashing four hijacked commercial airliners
|
|
| |
Bush orders sustained war on terror; U.S.
forces launch invasion of Afghanistan in pursuit of
Al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden and
fundamentalist Taliban regime
|
|
| |
USA Patriot Act gives U.S. law enforcement
agencies unprececdented surveillance, search, and detainment powers; critics
contend it threatens civil liberties
|
|
|
2002
|
|
Widespread Roman Catholic Church sex abuse
scandal exposed, leading to resignations of many U.S. bishops
and priests
|
|
| |
Enron Corporation bankruptcy dissolves
millions in employee pension plans; scandal prompts inquiries that expose
accounting fraud at other large U.S. corporations
|
|
|
2003
|
|
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during
reentry, killing crew
|
|
| |
Coalition of mainly U.S. and British forces
launch invasion of Iraq; Baghdad falls quickly
under “shock and awe” bombing campaign, but insurgency and unrest
persist
|
|
| |
U.S. forces in Iraq capture Saddam
Hussein
|
|
|
2004
|
|
State of Massachusetts, city of San Francisco spark national debate
by allowing first legally recognized same-sex
marriage
|
|
| |
Independent 9/11 Commission Report identifies
U.S. intelligence and policy failures that allowed September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks to take place
|
|
| |
Bush reelected president
|
Neoconservatism, Globalization, and Terrorism 1974–Present
