Comprehensive Timeline From 1865
Content
Comprehensive Timeline from 1865 – 1993
1862: Homestead Act grants free land to citizens who live on and cultivate the land for five years Morrill Land Grant Act gives states public lands to finance agricultural and industrial colleges 1865: President Johnson begins Reconstruction Confederate leaders regain power White southern governments pass restrictive black codes Congress refuses to seat southern representatives Thirteenth Amendment ratified 1866: Congress passes Civil Rights Act and renewal of Freemen’s Bureau over Johnson’s veto Congress approves Fourteenth Amendment Most southern states reject Fourteenth Amendment In Ex parte Milligan the Supreme Court reasserts its influence 1867: Congress passes Reconstruction Act and Tenure of Office Act Secretary of State Seward arranges purchase of Alaska Constitutional conventions called in southern states First law regulating tenements passes in New York State 1868: House impeaches Johnson; Senate acquits him Most southern states gain readmission to Union Fourteenth Amendment ratified Ulysses S Grant elected president 1869: Congress approves Fifteenth Amendment (ratified in 1870) First transcontinental railroad, the Union Pacific, completed 1870: Congress passes first Enforcement Act 1871: Congress passes a second Enforcement Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act Treaty with England settles Alabama claims 1872: Amnesty Act frees almost all remaining Confederates from restrictions on holding office Liberal Republicans organize Debtors urge government to keep greenbacks in circulation Grant re-elected 1873: Slaughter-House case limit power of Fourteenth Amendment Panic of 1873 damages economy Overly rapid expansion causes economic decline (1873-78) Congress ends coinage of silver dollars 1873-1978: Economic hard times hit 1874: Grant vetoes increase in paper money Democrats win majority in House of Reps. Barbed-wire fence patented, enabling easier control of cattle herds 1875: Several Grant appointees indicted for corruption Congress passes a weak Civil Rights Act
Congress requires that after 1878 greenbacks be convertible into gold 1876: US v Cruikshank and US v Reese further weaken Fourteenth Amendment Rutherford B. Hayes elected president US v Reese affirms that Congress has no power over states wishing to disfranchise black voters 1877: Exoduses migrate to Kansas Widespread railroad strikes protest wage cuts Munn v Illinois upholds state regulation of railroad rates 1878: Timber and Stone Act allows citizens to buy timber land cheaply but also enables large companies to acquire huge tracts of forest land Bland-Allison Act requires US to buy between $2 million and $4 million worth of silver each month Susan B Anthony-backed bill for women’s suffrage amendment is defeated in Congress 1879: Henry George’s Progress and Poverty argues against economic inequality. Edison perfects incandescent light bulb 1880s: Chain-pull toilets spread across US Doctors accept germ theory of disease Mass production of tin cans begins “New” immigrants from eastern and southern Europe begin to arrive in large numbers 1880: George Manypenny’s Our Indian Wards indicts the government’s treatment of Indians (-81) Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor influences public conscience about treatment of Indians James Garfield elected President 1881: First federal trademark law begins spread of brand names Garfield assassinated; Chester Arthur assumes the presidency 1882: Transcontinental route of Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and Northern Pacific railroads completed Standard Oil Trust formed 1883: Supreme Court, in Civil Rights Cases, strikes down 1875 CRA and reinforces claims that the federal government cannot regulate behavior of private individuals in matters of race relations National time zones standardized Pendleton Civil Service Act creates Civil Service Commission to oversee competitive examinations for government position 1884: Economic decline results from numerous causes (1884-85) Grover Cleveland elected president 1885: Safety bicycle invented 1886: Haymarket riot in Chicago protests police brutality against labor demonstrators; 7 people killed, 8 anarchist tried and convicted American Federation of Labor (AFL) founded Wabash case declares that only Congress can limit interstate commerce rates 1887: Dawes Severalty Act dissolved tribal lands and grants land allotments to individual families Hatch Act provides for agricultural experiment stations in every state Farm prices collapse Interstate Commerce Act regulates rates and practices of interstate shippers
1888: Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward depicts utopian world free of monopoly, politicians and class divsions Benjamin Harrison elected president 1889: Thomas A. Edison invents the motion picture and viewing device 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre: final suppression of Plain tribes by US Army Census Bureau announces closing of the frontier Yosemite National Park established Sherman Anti-Trust Act outlaws “combinations in restraint of trade” Electric trolleys replace horse-drawn mass transit McKinley Tariff raises tariff rates and introduces a foreign backlash Congress passes the first federal budget surpassing $1 billion dollar 1892: Homestead (Pennsylvania) steel workers strike against Carnegie Steel Company Cleveland elected president 1893-97: Worst depression in the country’s history Severe economic depression causes high unemployment and numerous business failures 1893: Sherman Silver Purchase Act repealed Anti-Saloon League founded 1894: Workers at Pullman Palace Car Company in company town of Pullman, Illinois, strike Wilson-Gorman Tariff attempts to reduce tariff rates Pullman Strike; Eugene Debs arrested and turns socialist 1895: US v E.C. Knight Co. limits congress’s power to regulate manufacturing President Cleveland deals with bankers to save the gold reserve Booker T. Washington gives Atlanta Compromise speech 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson upholds doctrine of “separate but equal” among blacks and whites in public facilities Holden v Hardy uploads law regulating miner’s working hours because of mining danger William McKinley elected president 1897: Maximum Freight Rate decision rules that the Interstate Commerce Commission has no power to set rates 1898: Race riots erupt in Wilmington, North Carolina Louisiana enacts literacy and property qualifications to prevent blacks from voting Holden v Hardy upholds Utah’s mining regulations 1899: Cummins v Country Board of Education applies “separate but equal” to public schools 1900-10: Immigration reaches peak 1901-03: US Steel Corporations founded Ford Motor Company founded 1900: Gold Standard Act requires all paper money to be backed by gold McKinley re-elected president
1901: McKinley assassinated; Theodore Roosevelt assumes the presidency 1903: Elkins Act 1905: Lochner v New York overturns law limiting bakery workers’ work hours and limits scope of labor protection laws Industrial Workers of the World founded Theodore Roosevelt elected president 1906: Race riot erupts in Atlanta, Georgia Niagara Falls Convention promotes more militant pursuit of African-American rights Hepburn Act tightens control over railroads Pure Food and Drug Act requires ingredient labels on patent-medicines 1907: 1908: Muller v. Oregon upholds law limiting women to ten-hour workdays First Ford Model T Built William H. Taft elected president Muller v. Oregon upholds limits on women’s work hours 1909: NAACP founded Payne-Aldrich Tariff passed 1910: Mann-Elkins Act reinforces ICC powers White Slave Traffic Act prohibits transportation of women for “immoral purposes” Ballinger-Pinchot controversy angers conservationists 1911: Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in New York City leaves 146 workers dead 1912: Theodore Roosevelt runs for president on the Progressive (Bull Moose) ticket Woodrow Wilson elected president 1913: First moving assembly line begins operations at Ford Motor Company Sixteenth Amendment ratified; legalizes federal income tax Seventeenth Amendment ratified; provides for direct election of US senators Federal Reserve Act establishes central banking system 1914: Federal Trade Commission created to investigate unfair trade practices Clayton Anti-Trust Act outlaws monopolistic business practices Margaret Sanger indicted for sending articles on contraception through the mail First World War begins in Europe 1915: Wilson announces German U-boat sinking of Lusitania 1916: Wilson re-elected on a peace platform, progressivism and preparedness Federal Farm Loan Act provides credit to farmers Gore-McLemore resolution bars Americans from traveling on belligerent ships is defeated After Sussex is torpedoed, Germany promises to not attack without warning National Defense Act provides for larger military 1917: Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare
Zimmermann telegram tries to stir up Mexican-US troubles Russian Revolution ousts the Czar US enters WWI Selective Service Act sets up compulsory military service (the draft) Espionage Act limits First Amendment Rights Whites attack African-American in race riot in Illinois 1918: Wilson announces Fourteen Points to guide future international relations Sedition Act further limits free speech Eugene Debs imprisoned for speaking against the war US troops at Chateau-Thierry helps to fend off German offensive US troops intervene in Russian civil war Armistice ends the WWI 1919: Eighteenth Amendment ratified; prohibition Paris Peace Conference punishes Germany and plans new world order May Day bombings contribute to fears and stimulate Red Scare American Legion organizes for veterans’ benefits and antiradicalism Chicago race riot – one of many during the “Red Summer” Workers strike against the steel industry Communist Party of the US is founded Wilson suffers from stroke Senate rejects Treaty of Paris and US membership in League of Nations Schenck v US upholds Espionage Act – “Clear and Present danger” precedent is set 1920: Majority (51.4%) of Americans lived in cities Nineteenth Amendment ratified; gives women the vote in federal elections Palmer Raids of the Red Scare round up suspected radicals Harding is elected president 1921: Federal Highway Act funds national highway system Johnson Act establishes immigration quotas Sacco and Vanzetti convicted Sheppard-Towner Act allots funds to states to set up maternity and pediatric clinics Washington Conference opens to limit naval arms race 1922: Economic recovery raises standard of living Mussolini comes to power in Italy Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act raises duties 1923: Harding dies, Coolidge assumes the presidency Ku Klux Klan activity peaks Equal rights amendment introduced in Congress, but does not pass 1924: Johnson-Reid Act revises immigration quotas Coolidge elected president Daws Plan eases German reparations payments US troops depart Dominican Republic 1925: Scopes trial highlights battle between religious fundamentalists and religious liberals 1926: American troops occupy Nicaragua 1927: Sacco and Vanzetti executed Lindbergh pilots solo transatlantic flight Jiang Jieshi attacks Communists in China
1928: Stock market soars Herbert Hoover elected president Kellogg-Briand Pact outlaws war 1929: Stock market crashes; Great Depression begins Young Plan reduces German reparations 1930: Hawley-Smoot Tariff raises duties 1931: Japan seizes Manchuria 1932: Reconstruction Finance Corporation established to make loans to business Bonus Expeditionary Force marches on Washington [Bonus March] FDR elected president Stimson Doctrine protests Japanese control of Manchuria 1933: 12 million Americans unemployed National bank holiday suspends banking activity Agricultural Adjustment Act encourages decreased farm production Civilian Conservation Corps provides jobs to 300,000 people Tennessee Valley Authority established to aid economies in seven states Banking Act creates Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) National Industrial Recovery Act attempts to spur industrial growth Twentieth (lame Duck) Amendment sets presidential inaugurations at January 20 Twenty first Amendment repeals prohibition Hitler establishes Nazi government in Germany United States recognizes Soviet Union Good Neighbor Policy announced for Latin America 1934: Townsend devises Old Age Revolving Pensions plan Huey Long starts Share Our Wealth Society Indian Reorganization Act restores lands to tribal ownership Democrats win victories in congressional elections Coughlin creates national Union for Social Justice United States abrogates Platt Amendment Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act attempts to increase foreign trade by lowering tariffs US troops withdraw from Haiti Export-Import Bank founed to expand foreign trade 1935: Emergency Relief Appropriation Act authorizes establishment of public work programs Works Progress Administration creates jobs in public work projects Schehter v US invalidates NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act) National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act grants workers right to unionize Social Security Act establishes insurance for aged and unemployed Huey Long assassinated Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) established Revenue (Wealth Tax) Act raises taxes on business and the wealthy Italy invades and annexes Ethiopia Neutrality Act prohibits arms shipments 1936: US v Butler invalidates AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) Roosevelt defeats Landon United States votes for nonintervention at Pan American Conference Neutrality Act forbids loans to belligerents 1937:
United Auto Workers hold sit-down strikes Roosevelt’s court-packing plan fails NLRB v Jones & Laughlin upholds Wagner Act Memorial Day Massacre leaves ten steel strikers dead in Chicago Farm Security Administration established to aid farm workers Neutrality Act creates cash-and-carry trade with warring nations Sino-Japanese War breaks out (Dubbed as the “China Incident”) 1938: AFL expels CIO unions Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage 10.4 million Americans unemployed Practicing appeasement, Munich Conference grants part of Czechoslovakia 1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact carves up Eastern Europe Germany invades Poland WWII begins US repeals arms embargo to help Allies 1940: Roosevelt defeats Willkie Soviet invade Finland Committee to Defend American by Aiding the Allies formed Germany, Italy, and Japan join in the Tripartite Pact Great Britain and the US swap destroyers for bases Isolationists form America First Committee Selective Training and Service Act starts first peacetime draft 1941: African-Americans threaten to march on Washington to protest unequal access to defense jobs Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) prohibits discrimination in war industries and government Lend-Lease Act gives aid to Allies Germany attacks Soviet Union United States freezes Japanese assets; trade drops Atlantic Charter produced at Roosevelt Churchill meeting Roosevelt exploits Greer incident to convoy British ships Japanese flotilla attacks Pearl Harbor US enters WWII 1942: The National War Labor Board is created to deal with labor management conflict War Production Board begins to oversee conversion to military products West Coast Japanese-Americans are now interned in prison camps War Manpower Commission created to manage labor supply Office of Price Administration creates to control inflation Bataan Death Match intensifies anti-Japanese sentiments US defeats Japanese forces at battles of Coral Sea and Midway Office of War information is created Manhattan Project set up to produce atomic bomb Allies invade North Africa Republicans gain in Congress Synthetic-rubber program begins 1943: Russian Red Army defeats German troops at Stalingrad Soft-coal an anthracite miners strike Office of War Mobilization established Congress passes War Labor Disputes (Smith-Connally) Act Race riots break out in Detroit, Harlem and forty-five other cities Allies invade Italy Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meet at Teheran Conference 1944: Roosevelt requests Economic Bill of Rights War Refugee Board established
Supreme Court upholds Japanese-American internment GI Bill of Rights provides educational benefits for veterans Allied troops land at Normandy; D-Day Dumbarton Oaks Conference approves charter for United Nations Roosevelt re-elected 1945: Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill meet at Yalta Conference Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa result in heavy US and Japanese losses Roosevelt dies; Harry S Truman assumes the presidency United Nations founded Germany surrenders Potsdam Conference calls for Japan’s “unconditional surrender” First atomic bomb exploded in test at Alamogordo, New Mexico Atomic bomb devastates Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan surrenders Twelve million GIs demobilized Ho Chi Minh declares independence for Democratic Republic of Vietnam 1946: Congress passes Employment Act of 1946 Coal Miners strike Truman fires Secretary of Commerce Wallace Inflation reaches 18.2% Republicans win both houses of Congress Baby boom begins Spock’s Baby and Child Care changes childrearing practices Over 1 million GIs enroll in colleges Anti-colonial war against France begins in Vietnam United States back shah during crisis in Iran 1947: Truman institutes Employee Loyalty Program Taft-Hartley Act limits power of Unions To Secure These Rights issued by the President’s Committee on Civil Rights Gross national project ($231.3 billion) begins postwar rise Planned community begun in Levittown, New York Truman Doctrine declares policy of containment National Security Act creates Central Intelligence Agency 1948: Truman appoints President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services Truman elected president Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male sparks controversy State of Israel founded amid Arab-Jewish hostilities 1949: Russia explores an atomic bomb Communists win revolution in China National Housing Act fails to improve housing conditions for the poor 1950: Klaus Fuchs arrested as an atomic spy Alger Hiss convicted of perjury Hydrogen Bomb project announced McCarthy alleges Communists in government Korean War begins Julius and Ethel Rosenberg charged with conspiracy to commit treason Internal Security (McCarran) Act passed Point Four Program of technical assistance to developing nation begins United States recognizes government of Bao Dai, sends military aid to French for war in Vietnam 1951: Dennis et al. v U.S. upholds Smith Act 1952:
Eisenhower elected president Republicans win both houses of Congress Peale applies religion to worldly ambition in The Power of Positive Thinking Ellison’s Invisible Man shows African-Americans’ exclusion from the American Dream 1953: Korean War ends Rosenberg executed J. Robert Oppenhiemer’s security clearance is revoked. Congress adopts termination policy for Native Americans Recession hits United States Kinsey causes a public uproar with Sexual Behavior in the Human Female United States helps restore shah to power in Iran 1954: Brown decision rules “separate but equal” is illegal Senate condemns Senator McCarthy Siege of Dienbeinphu in Vietnam persuades France to negotiate CIA intervenes in Guatemala Geneva Accords partition Vietnam SEATO created 1955: Montgomery bus boycott begins United States backs government of Ngo Dinh Diem Bandung Conference organizes Nonaligned Movement 1956: Highway Act launches interstate highway project Eisenhower re-elected Salk polio vaccine approved for use AFL and CIO merge Rebel Without a Cause idealizes youth subculture Suez crisis pits Naseer’s Egypt against Israel, France, and Britain 1957: Little Rock has desegregation crisis Congress passes Civil Rights Act Recession recurs Baby boom peaks (4.3 million births) Soviet Union launches Sputnik Kerouac criticizes white middle-class conformity in On the Road Eisenhower Doctrine declares containment of communism in Middle East 1958: National Defense Education Act passed [emphasizes math science and language education] US toops land in Lebanon 1959: Castro launches Cuban Revolution North Vietnam begins sending aid to Communists in the South 1960: Sit-in Greensboro, North Carolina SNCC formed John F. Kennedy elected president Recession hits again Gross national product reaches $503.7 billion National liberation Front (Vietcong) organized in South Vietnam Birth control pill approved for use 1961: CIA-directed Bay of Pigs invasions fails to overthrow Castro Peace Corps founded Alliance for Progress announced to spur Latin American economies Kennedy increases aid and military “advisers” to Vietnam
Freedom Rides protest segregation in transportation First President’s Commission on the Status of Women established 1962: Harrington’s The Other America creates awareness of America’s poor Agreement reached on neutralizing Laos Cuban missile crisis leads to nuclear brinkmanship John Glenn orbits the globe in space capsule James Meredith enters University of Mississippi Baker v Carr establishes “one person, one vote” principle 1963: Strategic Hamlet Program established in South Vietnam Diem assassinated Kennedy assassinated; Lyndon B Johnson assumes presidency Friedan’s the Feminine Mystique published Civil rights advocates march on Washington Birmingham, Alabama, Baptist church bombed 1964: Tonkin Gulf resolution authorizes Johnson to handle the war his way Economic Opportunity Act allocates funds to fight poverty Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination in jobs and public accommodations Riots break out in first of the “long hot summers” Free Speech Movement begins at Berkeley 1965: United States invades Dominican Republic Johnson Americanizes Vietnam War by sending large numbers of troops Operation Rolling Thunder bombs North Vietnam Malcolm X assassinated Voting Rights Act allows federal supervision of voting registration Medicare program established Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides federal aid to education Watts race riot leaves thirty-four dead 1966: National Organization for Women (NOW) founded Miranda v Arizona requires police to inform suspects of their rights 1967: Peace rallies staged across the nation Six-Day War in Middle Ease Race riots erupt in Newark, Detroit and outer cities 1968: Tet offensive in Vietnam sets back US objectives Dollar/gold crisis threatens US economy My Lai massacre leaves many women and children dead Vietnam peace talks open in Paris Richard M. Nixon elected president U.S.S. Pueblo captured by North Korea Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated African-Americans riot in 168 cities and towns Civil Rights Act bans discrimination in housing Antiwar protests escalate 1969: 543,400 US troops in Vietnam Nixon begins withdrawal of troops from Vietnam Nixon Doctrine declares United States will help nations that help themselves Stonewall riot sparked by police harassment of homosexuals 400,000 gather at Woodstock festival Moratorium Day calls for an end to Vietnam War 1970: Suburbs surpass central cities in population
Invasion of Cambodia sets off US demonstrations United States invades Cambodia 1971: Pentagon Papers indicate that administrations had lied about Vietnam Twenty-sixth Amendments extends vote to eighteen-year-olds Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenberg upholds North Carolina desegregation plan 1972: In Christmas bombing, US Air Force pounds North Vietnam Nixon visits China and Soviet Union Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) approved by Congress “Plumbers” break into Watergate 1973: Vietnam cease-fire agreement reached Allende ousted in Chile after US subversive efforts Outbreak of Arab-Israeli war and imposition of Arab oil embargo War powers Resolution restricts presidential war making authority Watergate burglars tried Senator Sam Ervin chairs Watergate hearings White House aids Ehrlichman and Haldeman resign Roe v Wade legalizes abortion War Powers Act passed Agnew resigns; Nixon appoints Ford vice President Saturday Night Massacre provokes public outcry 1974: Nixon resigns; Gerald Ford becomes president New International Economic Order proposed by Third World Supreme Court orders Nixon to release White House tapes House Judiciary Committee votes to impeach Nixon Nelson Rockefeller appointed vice president Ford pardons Nixon OPEC oil prices increase Ford creates WIN program to fight inflation Equal Credit Opportunity Act equalizes loan and credit card terms for men and women 1975: Egyptian-Israeli accord authorizes UN peacekeeping forces in Sinai Vietnam War ends Civil war breaks out in Angola after Portugal grants independence Nuclear accident occurs at Brown’s Ferry Antibusing agitation erupts in Louisville and Boston Economic recession hits nation 1976: Jimmy Carter elected president Hyde Amendment cuts of Medicaid funds for abortions 1977: Human rights policy announced 1978: Panama Canal treaties approved by Congress Carter negotiates Egyptian-Israeli peace accord at Camp David Bakke v University of California outlaws quotas but upholds affirmative action 1979: Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty signed Shah of Iran overthrown; American hostages seized Three Mile Island nuclear accident raises fears of meltdown Moral Majority established Federal Reserve Board tightens money supply American hostages seized in Iran
1980: Carter Doctrine announced for Persian Gulf region Ronald Reagan elected president Economic recession recurs Race riots break out in Miami and Chattanooga 1981: American hostages in Iran released after 444 days United States steps up in El Salvador’s civil war CIA begins to train contras for attacks against Nicaragua AIDS first observed in US Congress approves of Reagan’s budget cuts Reagan breaks air traffic controllers strike Economy Recovery Tax Act Economic recession; unemployment hits 8% 1982: US troops ordered to Lebanon Unemployment reached 10% Voting Rights Act of 1965 renewed Democrats gain 26 house seats 1983: Terrorists kill US Marines in Lebanon Reagan orders invasion of Grenada ERA dies for lack of ratification 1984: Reagan Doctrine declares US aid to “freedom fighters” Unemployment drops to 7.1% Reagan re-elected Inflation falls to 4% 1985: Gramm-Rudman bill calls for balanced budget by 1991 1986: US bombers attack Libya Iran-contra scandal breaks Tax Reform Act lowers personal income taxes Immigration Reform and Control Act provides amnesty to undocumented workers Republicans lose control of Senate in congressional elections 1987: Third World debt reaches $1.2 trillion Stock market prices drop 508 points in one day 1988: Palestinian uprising occurs in West Bank (intifada) George Bush elected president Terrorists bombing of Pan American flight Understanding AIDS mailed to 107 million households Reagan travels to the Soviet Union George Bush elected president 1989: Cold War winds down Bush inaugurated as president Federal deficit rises to $206 billion Helsinki agreement outlines phase-out of ozone-destroying chemicals Berlin Wall is opened US troops invade Panama 1990: Sandinistas defeated in Nicaraguan elections Clean Air Act requires reduction in emission of pollutants
Communist regimes in Eastern Europe collapse Iraq invades Kuwait Bush orders US armed forced to Persian Gulf region Bush-Congress budget agreement raises taxes Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination Reunification of Germany signals Cold War’s end 1991: Persian Gulf War Antarctica agreement bans oil exploration and mining Military outs elected government in Haiti; more Haitians flee to the United States START I treaty reduced nuclear warheads in Soviet and United States Soviet Union disintegrates; Yeltsin ousts Gorbachev Confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas to Supreme Court spotlight issues of sexual harassment 1992: Federal deficit hits $4 trillion Los Angeles riots erupt United States opposes many resolutions at Rio “Earth Summit” California pays bills with IOUs Clinton elected president US troops sent to Somalia to ensure delivery of relief supplies North American Free Trade Agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States Bush pardons Weinberger in Iran-contra scandal START II agreement calls for cuts in warheads and ICBMs 1993: Clinton and Gore inaugurated Hillary Rodham Clinton heads task force on health-care reform Clinton lifts restrictions on abortions President’s proposal to lift ban on homosexuals in the military stirs controversy Congress modifies and passes Clinton’s economic proposals Yeltsin and Clinton meet at Vancouver summit to discuss US foreign aid to Russia Clinton appoints Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court Moto-voter and family-leave bills are signed
1862: Homestead Act grants free land to citizens who live on and cultivate the land for five years Morrill Land Grant Act gives states public lands to finance agricultural and industrial colleges 1865: President Johnson begins Reconstruction Confederate leaders regain power White southern governments pass restrictive black codes Congress refuses to seat southern representatives Thirteenth Amendment ratified 1866: Congress passes Civil Rights Act and renewal of Freemen’s Bureau over Johnson’s veto Congress approves Fourteenth Amendment Most southern states reject Fourteenth Amendment In Ex parte Milligan the Supreme Court reasserts its influence 1867: Congress passes Reconstruction Act and Tenure of Office Act Secretary of State Seward arranges purchase of Alaska Constitutional conventions called in southern states First law regulating tenements passes in New York State 1868: House impeaches Johnson; Senate acquits him Most southern states gain readmission to Union Fourteenth Amendment ratified Ulysses S Grant elected president 1869: Congress approves Fifteenth Amendment (ratified in 1870) First transcontinental railroad, the Union Pacific, completed 1870: Congress passes first Enforcement Act 1871: Congress passes a second Enforcement Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act Treaty with England settles Alabama claims 1872: Amnesty Act frees almost all remaining Confederates from restrictions on holding office Liberal Republicans organize Debtors urge government to keep greenbacks in circulation Grant re-elected 1873: Slaughter-House case limit power of Fourteenth Amendment Panic of 1873 damages economy Overly rapid expansion causes economic decline (1873-78) Congress ends coinage of silver dollars 1873-1978: Economic hard times hit 1874: Grant vetoes increase in paper money Democrats win majority in House of Reps. Barbed-wire fence patented, enabling easier control of cattle herds 1875: Several Grant appointees indicted for corruption Congress passes a weak Civil Rights Act
Congress requires that after 1878 greenbacks be convertible into gold 1876: US v Cruikshank and US v Reese further weaken Fourteenth Amendment Rutherford B. Hayes elected president US v Reese affirms that Congress has no power over states wishing to disfranchise black voters 1877: Exoduses migrate to Kansas Widespread railroad strikes protest wage cuts Munn v Illinois upholds state regulation of railroad rates 1878: Timber and Stone Act allows citizens to buy timber land cheaply but also enables large companies to acquire huge tracts of forest land Bland-Allison Act requires US to buy between $2 million and $4 million worth of silver each month Susan B Anthony-backed bill for women’s suffrage amendment is defeated in Congress 1879: Henry George’s Progress and Poverty argues against economic inequality. Edison perfects incandescent light bulb 1880s: Chain-pull toilets spread across US Doctors accept germ theory of disease Mass production of tin cans begins “New” immigrants from eastern and southern Europe begin to arrive in large numbers 1880: George Manypenny’s Our Indian Wards indicts the government’s treatment of Indians (-81) Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor influences public conscience about treatment of Indians James Garfield elected President 1881: First federal trademark law begins spread of brand names Garfield assassinated; Chester Arthur assumes the presidency 1882: Transcontinental route of Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and Northern Pacific railroads completed Standard Oil Trust formed 1883: Supreme Court, in Civil Rights Cases, strikes down 1875 CRA and reinforces claims that the federal government cannot regulate behavior of private individuals in matters of race relations National time zones standardized Pendleton Civil Service Act creates Civil Service Commission to oversee competitive examinations for government position 1884: Economic decline results from numerous causes (1884-85) Grover Cleveland elected president 1885: Safety bicycle invented 1886: Haymarket riot in Chicago protests police brutality against labor demonstrators; 7 people killed, 8 anarchist tried and convicted American Federation of Labor (AFL) founded Wabash case declares that only Congress can limit interstate commerce rates 1887: Dawes Severalty Act dissolved tribal lands and grants land allotments to individual families Hatch Act provides for agricultural experiment stations in every state Farm prices collapse Interstate Commerce Act regulates rates and practices of interstate shippers
1888: Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward depicts utopian world free of monopoly, politicians and class divsions Benjamin Harrison elected president 1889: Thomas A. Edison invents the motion picture and viewing device 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre: final suppression of Plain tribes by US Army Census Bureau announces closing of the frontier Yosemite National Park established Sherman Anti-Trust Act outlaws “combinations in restraint of trade” Electric trolleys replace horse-drawn mass transit McKinley Tariff raises tariff rates and introduces a foreign backlash Congress passes the first federal budget surpassing $1 billion dollar 1892: Homestead (Pennsylvania) steel workers strike against Carnegie Steel Company Cleveland elected president 1893-97: Worst depression in the country’s history Severe economic depression causes high unemployment and numerous business failures 1893: Sherman Silver Purchase Act repealed Anti-Saloon League founded 1894: Workers at Pullman Palace Car Company in company town of Pullman, Illinois, strike Wilson-Gorman Tariff attempts to reduce tariff rates Pullman Strike; Eugene Debs arrested and turns socialist 1895: US v E.C. Knight Co. limits congress’s power to regulate manufacturing President Cleveland deals with bankers to save the gold reserve Booker T. Washington gives Atlanta Compromise speech 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson upholds doctrine of “separate but equal” among blacks and whites in public facilities Holden v Hardy uploads law regulating miner’s working hours because of mining danger William McKinley elected president 1897: Maximum Freight Rate decision rules that the Interstate Commerce Commission has no power to set rates 1898: Race riots erupt in Wilmington, North Carolina Louisiana enacts literacy and property qualifications to prevent blacks from voting Holden v Hardy upholds Utah’s mining regulations 1899: Cummins v Country Board of Education applies “separate but equal” to public schools 1900-10: Immigration reaches peak 1901-03: US Steel Corporations founded Ford Motor Company founded 1900: Gold Standard Act requires all paper money to be backed by gold McKinley re-elected president
1901: McKinley assassinated; Theodore Roosevelt assumes the presidency 1903: Elkins Act 1905: Lochner v New York overturns law limiting bakery workers’ work hours and limits scope of labor protection laws Industrial Workers of the World founded Theodore Roosevelt elected president 1906: Race riot erupts in Atlanta, Georgia Niagara Falls Convention promotes more militant pursuit of African-American rights Hepburn Act tightens control over railroads Pure Food and Drug Act requires ingredient labels on patent-medicines 1907: 1908: Muller v. Oregon upholds law limiting women to ten-hour workdays First Ford Model T Built William H. Taft elected president Muller v. Oregon upholds limits on women’s work hours 1909: NAACP founded Payne-Aldrich Tariff passed 1910: Mann-Elkins Act reinforces ICC powers White Slave Traffic Act prohibits transportation of women for “immoral purposes” Ballinger-Pinchot controversy angers conservationists 1911: Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in New York City leaves 146 workers dead 1912: Theodore Roosevelt runs for president on the Progressive (Bull Moose) ticket Woodrow Wilson elected president 1913: First moving assembly line begins operations at Ford Motor Company Sixteenth Amendment ratified; legalizes federal income tax Seventeenth Amendment ratified; provides for direct election of US senators Federal Reserve Act establishes central banking system 1914: Federal Trade Commission created to investigate unfair trade practices Clayton Anti-Trust Act outlaws monopolistic business practices Margaret Sanger indicted for sending articles on contraception through the mail First World War begins in Europe 1915: Wilson announces German U-boat sinking of Lusitania 1916: Wilson re-elected on a peace platform, progressivism and preparedness Federal Farm Loan Act provides credit to farmers Gore-McLemore resolution bars Americans from traveling on belligerent ships is defeated After Sussex is torpedoed, Germany promises to not attack without warning National Defense Act provides for larger military 1917: Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare
Zimmermann telegram tries to stir up Mexican-US troubles Russian Revolution ousts the Czar US enters WWI Selective Service Act sets up compulsory military service (the draft) Espionage Act limits First Amendment Rights Whites attack African-American in race riot in Illinois 1918: Wilson announces Fourteen Points to guide future international relations Sedition Act further limits free speech Eugene Debs imprisoned for speaking against the war US troops at Chateau-Thierry helps to fend off German offensive US troops intervene in Russian civil war Armistice ends the WWI 1919: Eighteenth Amendment ratified; prohibition Paris Peace Conference punishes Germany and plans new world order May Day bombings contribute to fears and stimulate Red Scare American Legion organizes for veterans’ benefits and antiradicalism Chicago race riot – one of many during the “Red Summer” Workers strike against the steel industry Communist Party of the US is founded Wilson suffers from stroke Senate rejects Treaty of Paris and US membership in League of Nations Schenck v US upholds Espionage Act – “Clear and Present danger” precedent is set 1920: Majority (51.4%) of Americans lived in cities Nineteenth Amendment ratified; gives women the vote in federal elections Palmer Raids of the Red Scare round up suspected radicals Harding is elected president 1921: Federal Highway Act funds national highway system Johnson Act establishes immigration quotas Sacco and Vanzetti convicted Sheppard-Towner Act allots funds to states to set up maternity and pediatric clinics Washington Conference opens to limit naval arms race 1922: Economic recovery raises standard of living Mussolini comes to power in Italy Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act raises duties 1923: Harding dies, Coolidge assumes the presidency Ku Klux Klan activity peaks Equal rights amendment introduced in Congress, but does not pass 1924: Johnson-Reid Act revises immigration quotas Coolidge elected president Daws Plan eases German reparations payments US troops depart Dominican Republic 1925: Scopes trial highlights battle between religious fundamentalists and religious liberals 1926: American troops occupy Nicaragua 1927: Sacco and Vanzetti executed Lindbergh pilots solo transatlantic flight Jiang Jieshi attacks Communists in China
1928: Stock market soars Herbert Hoover elected president Kellogg-Briand Pact outlaws war 1929: Stock market crashes; Great Depression begins Young Plan reduces German reparations 1930: Hawley-Smoot Tariff raises duties 1931: Japan seizes Manchuria 1932: Reconstruction Finance Corporation established to make loans to business Bonus Expeditionary Force marches on Washington [Bonus March] FDR elected president Stimson Doctrine protests Japanese control of Manchuria 1933: 12 million Americans unemployed National bank holiday suspends banking activity Agricultural Adjustment Act encourages decreased farm production Civilian Conservation Corps provides jobs to 300,000 people Tennessee Valley Authority established to aid economies in seven states Banking Act creates Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) National Industrial Recovery Act attempts to spur industrial growth Twentieth (lame Duck) Amendment sets presidential inaugurations at January 20 Twenty first Amendment repeals prohibition Hitler establishes Nazi government in Germany United States recognizes Soviet Union Good Neighbor Policy announced for Latin America 1934: Townsend devises Old Age Revolving Pensions plan Huey Long starts Share Our Wealth Society Indian Reorganization Act restores lands to tribal ownership Democrats win victories in congressional elections Coughlin creates national Union for Social Justice United States abrogates Platt Amendment Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act attempts to increase foreign trade by lowering tariffs US troops withdraw from Haiti Export-Import Bank founed to expand foreign trade 1935: Emergency Relief Appropriation Act authorizes establishment of public work programs Works Progress Administration creates jobs in public work projects Schehter v US invalidates NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act) National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act grants workers right to unionize Social Security Act establishes insurance for aged and unemployed Huey Long assassinated Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) established Revenue (Wealth Tax) Act raises taxes on business and the wealthy Italy invades and annexes Ethiopia Neutrality Act prohibits arms shipments 1936: US v Butler invalidates AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) Roosevelt defeats Landon United States votes for nonintervention at Pan American Conference Neutrality Act forbids loans to belligerents 1937:
United Auto Workers hold sit-down strikes Roosevelt’s court-packing plan fails NLRB v Jones & Laughlin upholds Wagner Act Memorial Day Massacre leaves ten steel strikers dead in Chicago Farm Security Administration established to aid farm workers Neutrality Act creates cash-and-carry trade with warring nations Sino-Japanese War breaks out (Dubbed as the “China Incident”) 1938: AFL expels CIO unions Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage 10.4 million Americans unemployed Practicing appeasement, Munich Conference grants part of Czechoslovakia 1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact carves up Eastern Europe Germany invades Poland WWII begins US repeals arms embargo to help Allies 1940: Roosevelt defeats Willkie Soviet invade Finland Committee to Defend American by Aiding the Allies formed Germany, Italy, and Japan join in the Tripartite Pact Great Britain and the US swap destroyers for bases Isolationists form America First Committee Selective Training and Service Act starts first peacetime draft 1941: African-Americans threaten to march on Washington to protest unequal access to defense jobs Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) prohibits discrimination in war industries and government Lend-Lease Act gives aid to Allies Germany attacks Soviet Union United States freezes Japanese assets; trade drops Atlantic Charter produced at Roosevelt Churchill meeting Roosevelt exploits Greer incident to convoy British ships Japanese flotilla attacks Pearl Harbor US enters WWII 1942: The National War Labor Board is created to deal with labor management conflict War Production Board begins to oversee conversion to military products West Coast Japanese-Americans are now interned in prison camps War Manpower Commission created to manage labor supply Office of Price Administration creates to control inflation Bataan Death Match intensifies anti-Japanese sentiments US defeats Japanese forces at battles of Coral Sea and Midway Office of War information is created Manhattan Project set up to produce atomic bomb Allies invade North Africa Republicans gain in Congress Synthetic-rubber program begins 1943: Russian Red Army defeats German troops at Stalingrad Soft-coal an anthracite miners strike Office of War Mobilization established Congress passes War Labor Disputes (Smith-Connally) Act Race riots break out in Detroit, Harlem and forty-five other cities Allies invade Italy Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meet at Teheran Conference 1944: Roosevelt requests Economic Bill of Rights War Refugee Board established
Supreme Court upholds Japanese-American internment GI Bill of Rights provides educational benefits for veterans Allied troops land at Normandy; D-Day Dumbarton Oaks Conference approves charter for United Nations Roosevelt re-elected 1945: Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill meet at Yalta Conference Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa result in heavy US and Japanese losses Roosevelt dies; Harry S Truman assumes the presidency United Nations founded Germany surrenders Potsdam Conference calls for Japan’s “unconditional surrender” First atomic bomb exploded in test at Alamogordo, New Mexico Atomic bomb devastates Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan surrenders Twelve million GIs demobilized Ho Chi Minh declares independence for Democratic Republic of Vietnam 1946: Congress passes Employment Act of 1946 Coal Miners strike Truman fires Secretary of Commerce Wallace Inflation reaches 18.2% Republicans win both houses of Congress Baby boom begins Spock’s Baby and Child Care changes childrearing practices Over 1 million GIs enroll in colleges Anti-colonial war against France begins in Vietnam United States back shah during crisis in Iran 1947: Truman institutes Employee Loyalty Program Taft-Hartley Act limits power of Unions To Secure These Rights issued by the President’s Committee on Civil Rights Gross national project ($231.3 billion) begins postwar rise Planned community begun in Levittown, New York Truman Doctrine declares policy of containment National Security Act creates Central Intelligence Agency 1948: Truman appoints President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services Truman elected president Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male sparks controversy State of Israel founded amid Arab-Jewish hostilities 1949: Russia explores an atomic bomb Communists win revolution in China National Housing Act fails to improve housing conditions for the poor 1950: Klaus Fuchs arrested as an atomic spy Alger Hiss convicted of perjury Hydrogen Bomb project announced McCarthy alleges Communists in government Korean War begins Julius and Ethel Rosenberg charged with conspiracy to commit treason Internal Security (McCarran) Act passed Point Four Program of technical assistance to developing nation begins United States recognizes government of Bao Dai, sends military aid to French for war in Vietnam 1951: Dennis et al. v U.S. upholds Smith Act 1952:
Eisenhower elected president Republicans win both houses of Congress Peale applies religion to worldly ambition in The Power of Positive Thinking Ellison’s Invisible Man shows African-Americans’ exclusion from the American Dream 1953: Korean War ends Rosenberg executed J. Robert Oppenhiemer’s security clearance is revoked. Congress adopts termination policy for Native Americans Recession hits United States Kinsey causes a public uproar with Sexual Behavior in the Human Female United States helps restore shah to power in Iran 1954: Brown decision rules “separate but equal” is illegal Senate condemns Senator McCarthy Siege of Dienbeinphu in Vietnam persuades France to negotiate CIA intervenes in Guatemala Geneva Accords partition Vietnam SEATO created 1955: Montgomery bus boycott begins United States backs government of Ngo Dinh Diem Bandung Conference organizes Nonaligned Movement 1956: Highway Act launches interstate highway project Eisenhower re-elected Salk polio vaccine approved for use AFL and CIO merge Rebel Without a Cause idealizes youth subculture Suez crisis pits Naseer’s Egypt against Israel, France, and Britain 1957: Little Rock has desegregation crisis Congress passes Civil Rights Act Recession recurs Baby boom peaks (4.3 million births) Soviet Union launches Sputnik Kerouac criticizes white middle-class conformity in On the Road Eisenhower Doctrine declares containment of communism in Middle East 1958: National Defense Education Act passed [emphasizes math science and language education] US toops land in Lebanon 1959: Castro launches Cuban Revolution North Vietnam begins sending aid to Communists in the South 1960: Sit-in Greensboro, North Carolina SNCC formed John F. Kennedy elected president Recession hits again Gross national product reaches $503.7 billion National liberation Front (Vietcong) organized in South Vietnam Birth control pill approved for use 1961: CIA-directed Bay of Pigs invasions fails to overthrow Castro Peace Corps founded Alliance for Progress announced to spur Latin American economies Kennedy increases aid and military “advisers” to Vietnam
Freedom Rides protest segregation in transportation First President’s Commission on the Status of Women established 1962: Harrington’s The Other America creates awareness of America’s poor Agreement reached on neutralizing Laos Cuban missile crisis leads to nuclear brinkmanship John Glenn orbits the globe in space capsule James Meredith enters University of Mississippi Baker v Carr establishes “one person, one vote” principle 1963: Strategic Hamlet Program established in South Vietnam Diem assassinated Kennedy assassinated; Lyndon B Johnson assumes presidency Friedan’s the Feminine Mystique published Civil rights advocates march on Washington Birmingham, Alabama, Baptist church bombed 1964: Tonkin Gulf resolution authorizes Johnson to handle the war his way Economic Opportunity Act allocates funds to fight poverty Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination in jobs and public accommodations Riots break out in first of the “long hot summers” Free Speech Movement begins at Berkeley 1965: United States invades Dominican Republic Johnson Americanizes Vietnam War by sending large numbers of troops Operation Rolling Thunder bombs North Vietnam Malcolm X assassinated Voting Rights Act allows federal supervision of voting registration Medicare program established Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides federal aid to education Watts race riot leaves thirty-four dead 1966: National Organization for Women (NOW) founded Miranda v Arizona requires police to inform suspects of their rights 1967: Peace rallies staged across the nation Six-Day War in Middle Ease Race riots erupt in Newark, Detroit and outer cities 1968: Tet offensive in Vietnam sets back US objectives Dollar/gold crisis threatens US economy My Lai massacre leaves many women and children dead Vietnam peace talks open in Paris Richard M. Nixon elected president U.S.S. Pueblo captured by North Korea Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated African-Americans riot in 168 cities and towns Civil Rights Act bans discrimination in housing Antiwar protests escalate 1969: 543,400 US troops in Vietnam Nixon begins withdrawal of troops from Vietnam Nixon Doctrine declares United States will help nations that help themselves Stonewall riot sparked by police harassment of homosexuals 400,000 gather at Woodstock festival Moratorium Day calls for an end to Vietnam War 1970: Suburbs surpass central cities in population
Invasion of Cambodia sets off US demonstrations United States invades Cambodia 1971: Pentagon Papers indicate that administrations had lied about Vietnam Twenty-sixth Amendments extends vote to eighteen-year-olds Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenberg upholds North Carolina desegregation plan 1972: In Christmas bombing, US Air Force pounds North Vietnam Nixon visits China and Soviet Union Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) approved by Congress “Plumbers” break into Watergate 1973: Vietnam cease-fire agreement reached Allende ousted in Chile after US subversive efforts Outbreak of Arab-Israeli war and imposition of Arab oil embargo War powers Resolution restricts presidential war making authority Watergate burglars tried Senator Sam Ervin chairs Watergate hearings White House aids Ehrlichman and Haldeman resign Roe v Wade legalizes abortion War Powers Act passed Agnew resigns; Nixon appoints Ford vice President Saturday Night Massacre provokes public outcry 1974: Nixon resigns; Gerald Ford becomes president New International Economic Order proposed by Third World Supreme Court orders Nixon to release White House tapes House Judiciary Committee votes to impeach Nixon Nelson Rockefeller appointed vice president Ford pardons Nixon OPEC oil prices increase Ford creates WIN program to fight inflation Equal Credit Opportunity Act equalizes loan and credit card terms for men and women 1975: Egyptian-Israeli accord authorizes UN peacekeeping forces in Sinai Vietnam War ends Civil war breaks out in Angola after Portugal grants independence Nuclear accident occurs at Brown’s Ferry Antibusing agitation erupts in Louisville and Boston Economic recession hits nation 1976: Jimmy Carter elected president Hyde Amendment cuts of Medicaid funds for abortions 1977: Human rights policy announced 1978: Panama Canal treaties approved by Congress Carter negotiates Egyptian-Israeli peace accord at Camp David Bakke v University of California outlaws quotas but upholds affirmative action 1979: Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty signed Shah of Iran overthrown; American hostages seized Three Mile Island nuclear accident raises fears of meltdown Moral Majority established Federal Reserve Board tightens money supply American hostages seized in Iran
1980: Carter Doctrine announced for Persian Gulf region Ronald Reagan elected president Economic recession recurs Race riots break out in Miami and Chattanooga 1981: American hostages in Iran released after 444 days United States steps up in El Salvador’s civil war CIA begins to train contras for attacks against Nicaragua AIDS first observed in US Congress approves of Reagan’s budget cuts Reagan breaks air traffic controllers strike Economy Recovery Tax Act Economic recession; unemployment hits 8% 1982: US troops ordered to Lebanon Unemployment reached 10% Voting Rights Act of 1965 renewed Democrats gain 26 house seats 1983: Terrorists kill US Marines in Lebanon Reagan orders invasion of Grenada ERA dies for lack of ratification 1984: Reagan Doctrine declares US aid to “freedom fighters” Unemployment drops to 7.1% Reagan re-elected Inflation falls to 4% 1985: Gramm-Rudman bill calls for balanced budget by 1991 1986: US bombers attack Libya Iran-contra scandal breaks Tax Reform Act lowers personal income taxes Immigration Reform and Control Act provides amnesty to undocumented workers Republicans lose control of Senate in congressional elections 1987: Third World debt reaches $1.2 trillion Stock market prices drop 508 points in one day 1988: Palestinian uprising occurs in West Bank (intifada) George Bush elected president Terrorists bombing of Pan American flight Understanding AIDS mailed to 107 million households Reagan travels to the Soviet Union George Bush elected president 1989: Cold War winds down Bush inaugurated as president Federal deficit rises to $206 billion Helsinki agreement outlines phase-out of ozone-destroying chemicals Berlin Wall is opened US troops invade Panama 1990: Sandinistas defeated in Nicaraguan elections Clean Air Act requires reduction in emission of pollutants
Communist regimes in Eastern Europe collapse Iraq invades Kuwait Bush orders US armed forced to Persian Gulf region Bush-Congress budget agreement raises taxes Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination Reunification of Germany signals Cold War’s end 1991: Persian Gulf War Antarctica agreement bans oil exploration and mining Military outs elected government in Haiti; more Haitians flee to the United States START I treaty reduced nuclear warheads in Soviet and United States Soviet Union disintegrates; Yeltsin ousts Gorbachev Confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas to Supreme Court spotlight issues of sexual harassment 1992: Federal deficit hits $4 trillion Los Angeles riots erupt United States opposes many resolutions at Rio “Earth Summit” California pays bills with IOUs Clinton elected president US troops sent to Somalia to ensure delivery of relief supplies North American Free Trade Agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States Bush pardons Weinberger in Iran-contra scandal START II agreement calls for cuts in warheads and ICBMs 1993: Clinton and Gore inaugurated Hillary Rodham Clinton heads task force on health-care reform Clinton lifts restrictions on abortions President’s proposal to lift ban on homosexuals in the military stirs controversy Congress modifies and passes Clinton’s economic proposals Yeltsin and Clinton meet at Vancouver summit to discuss US foreign aid to Russia Clinton appoints Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court Moto-voter and family-leave bills are signed
