Nixon to Obama

Election of 1968 LBJ, exhausted and growing unpopular from Vietnam decides not to run RFK, assured the Democratic nomination over Senator McCarthy and VP Humphrey, is gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan (a Jordanian immigrant) Nixon wins the election over Humphrey with support from those who want to see the war won

Vietnamization Plan to train the South Vietnamese Army to take over the war as we slowly pull troops out Nixon, angry that NVA troops are using Cambodia to run supplies, begins a full scale bombing campaign claiming to be protecting Cambodia

Kent State Shootings Protests against Vietnam were common on college campuses, many students went to college to avoid the draft May 4th 1970, the National Guard shoots and kills 4 while wounding 9 others during a protest at Kent State

Vietnam 1972 Nixon did not want to agree to a cease-fire unless he could claim victory Bombing campaigns intensified to force the NVA to surrender Nixon called this his “Madman Theory” He miscalculated the Vietnamese who now fought harder

26th Amendment Changes voting age from 18 to 21 Most argued that if you could serve your country you should be able to vote for the President that could draft you

An End in Vietnam Nixon agrees to a cease-fire when bombings fail, neither side concedes defeat South Vietnam’s government collapses in 1975 and they surrender to the North Domino Theory never pans out, Vietnam remains communist

Vietnam Death Toll 58,000 American deaths 185,000 South Vietnamese soldiers Approx 1 Million NVA and Vietcong 500,000 Vietnamese civilians

The Energy Crisis Yom Kippur War between Arabs and Israelis erupts in 1973 US supports Israelis June 1973, Arab nations cut off fuel supplies to US forcing prices to rise Triggers a panic and all energy costs rise in US and inflation sets in for rest of decade

Watergate Scandal 5 men are caught breaking into the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate complex in DC to “bug” phones Over time it comes out that they were paid off by men who worked for CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President) The White House initially denies the allegations and most people forget the story

Watergate Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were young ambitious reporters who refused to let the story go Woodward had an informant, “Deep Throat” (now known to be Mark Felt, #2 in FBI) giving him clues to uncover the conspiracy

Woodward and Bernstein

Mark Felt: aka Deep Throat

Watergate John Dean, former Nixon attorney claims Nixon ordered the cover-up of the Watergate story “What did the President know and when did he know it” Nixon denies any knowledge but refuses to give up White House tapes

Watergate U.S. V Richard M. Nixon Once the Supreme Court orders the tapes handed over Nixon is impeached A strange 17 minute gap appears on one tape, Nixon’s secretary claims she taped over it by accident (nobody buys it) Nixon resigns rather than be thrown out of office

Nixon Resigns

Ford’s Presidency Ford pardons Nixon from prosecution and takes a hit in popularity Ford vetoes 66 bills Had serious problems with Congress that didn’t allow him to accomplish much Most felt he was a puppet for Nixon

38th President: Gerald Ford

Jimmy Carter 1976-1980 Gov. of Georgia, he was a good candidate because he was seen as a Washington outsider with no ties to Watergate Carter cut taxes and reduced unemployment but he had no answer for inflation Energy crisis continued under Carter

39th President: Jimmy Carter

Three Mile Accident Nuclear reactor failed at a power plant in PA 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes and flee Carter refused to shutdown nuclear power plants as a result of the accident

Three Mile Island

Three Mile Island

Carter and the Cold War The USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979 In response the US gave military support to Afghan rebels (some of those weapons are being used against us today) As a result the US also boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow

Camp David Accords Carter’s greatest accomplishment Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin met with Carter to discuss a peace The men worked out an agreement that ended 30 years of warfare between the two sides

Iran Hostage Crisis Carter’s approval rating dropped to 31% by June 1980 In Nov. 1979, 53 hostages were taken from the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran A failed rescue mission cost the lives of 8 American soldiers Carter’s inability to handle the crisis killed his Presidency, the hostages were released minutes after Reagan’s inauguration

Iran Hostage Crisis

Ronald Reagan: Election of 1980 Reagan, a former actor from California ran against Carter and won a landslide victory Reagan’s VP was George HW Bush March 30th, 1981: Assassin John Hinkley,Jr. shoots Reagan just 61 days into his Presidency Reaganomics: Reagan’s economic philosophy, trickle-down economics (cut taxes and allow the wealthy to create jobs with the increased income)

Reagan and the Cold War Referred to the Soviet Union as the “Evil Empire” Defense budget nearly doubled Even talked about developed a space based missile defense system, SDI or “Star Wars” During Reagan’s term the Soviets began to lose power Evil Empire Speech

Iran-Contra Affair Sandinistas were Nicaraguan rebels who overthrew government Contras were US backed Nicaraguan fighters financed and trained by US Congress cut off that funding in 1982 CIA then began selling arms to Iran and using the profits to fund the Contra’s Nearly brings down Reagan’s administration

Election of 1984 Reagan easily defeats Mondale, Carter’s VP and is re-elected Election was very lopsided, 525 to 13 Mondale picked the first female VP for a major party, Geraldine Ferraro Reagan appointed 1st female justice to court, Sandra Day O’Connor

Sandra Day O’Connor

The Challenger Mission Social Studies teacher Christa McAuliffe is chosen to travel on space shuttle 70 Seconds after takeoff the “Challenger” exploded killing all 7 on board

Challenger Explosion

AIDS First case reported in 1981 First believed to be a virus that only affected homosexuals Becomes widely accepted as a mainstream problem after the deaths of celebrities Arthur Ashe and Rock Hudson and the announcement that Magic Johnson was infected

Arthur Ashe Magic Johnson

Election of 1988 George HW Bush used Reagan's popularity to win the election Gov. Michael Dukakis was the Democratic nominee, beating Jesse Jackson, the first African American to run for a major political nomination Bush won a landslide by painting the Democrats as soft on crime

41st President: George HW Bush

Collapse of the USSR The Soviets lost power when communist governments fell throughout Eastern Europe In October 1990, Germany was unified and the Berlin Wall was torn down Without its “satellites” the USSR was weakened and divided over whether Gorbachev was a strong leader

Tiananmen Square Pro-democracy rallies broke out in China during 1989 The army was sent to put down one such rally in Tiananmen Square Hundreds if not thousands were slaughtered by the Chinese Army Tank Man

Operation Desert Storm

Persian Gulf War Iraq and Saddam Hussein invade Kuwait, ally of the US (we buy oil from them) The US demands Saddam pull his troops out immediately When he refuses the US begins Operation Desert Storm bombing and invading Iraq Within a month Saddam withdraws from Kuwait and the US exits Iraq

Persian Gulf War Unlike any war to that point Technology changed the way war was fought Also, the media covered the war on a day to day basis in the battlefield

Bush's Problems A recession hit in 1990 Federal deficit ballooned to 291 Billion in part thanks to the Persian Gulf War Unemployment was up as was the number of families below the poverty line, Bush had also faltered on his “promise” to not raise taxes "Read My Lips..."

Election 1992 George HW Bush is hurt by the fact that he went back on his promise of no new taxes Gov. of Arkansas, Bill Clinton capitalizes and wins Presidency Clinton and his wife Hillary campaign promising healthcare reform Third Party candidate Ross Perot steals votes from Bush sealing the election for Clinton

42nd President: Bill Clinton

Hillary Care Hillary campaigned for Bill Clinton and was at the forefront of the healthcare fight When the healthcare bill fails short in Congress Clinton’s first two years appear to be a disappointment Republicans seized the opportunity and took control of both houses with their “Contract with America” in 1994 mid term elections

Terrorism in the 90’s Feb 1993: World Trade Center is bombed killing 6 April 1995: Oklahoma City Federal Building is blown up by a truck bomb killing 168 1996: the Unabomber carries out mail bombings scaring the nation Aug 1996: During the Summer Olympics in Atlanta a pipe bomb blows up killing 1 and disrupting the games

WTC: 1993

Oklahoma City

Unabomber

Atlanta: Summer Olympics

Economy of the 1990’s Clinton’s popularity soared as the economy took off Longest and largest boom in the economy in US history Unemployment, interest rates, and inflation all remained low (unsustainable over time)

Presidential Scandal: Clinton and Lewinsky Clinton is being investigated for sexual harassment in Ark from when he was Gov During the investigation it is uncovered that he was involved with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky During a civil trial he claimed he did not have a relationship with her under oath When he finally admits to the affair he is charged with perjury

Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky

Clinton’s Impeachment The Senate decided to put Clinton through an impeachment trial for only the second time in US history In the end they found that his crime of perjury did not justify him being removed from office Clinton Impeachment

Kosovo Crisis Albanians living in Kosovo were being targeted by Slavs trying to remove them from their land, mass murder and genocide were taking place Clinton, with help from NATO, launches a three week bombing campaign on Yugoslavia to stop the atrocity In the end a peace is settled, however many were frustrated that the Yugoslavian leader stayed in power

Election of 2000 VP Al Gore runs for Democrats, George W Bush for Republicans Gore concedes Election to Bush on election night but withdraws concession when Florida votes are called into question A recount was ordered in Florida and the Florida Supreme Court ordered the recount stopped and called the election for Bush

Sept 11th, 2001 4 hijacked airplanes target major US landmarks 2 planes hit the Twin Towers, 1 hits the Pentagon, and the 4th is taken down in a field in PA (intended target was either the Capital Building or the White House) 3,100 Americans lost their lives Al Qeada, a middle eastern terrorist group claimed responsibility

Pentagon: Sept 11, 2001

World Trade Center Memorial

War on Terror The US began bombing Afghanistan in in hunt for Bin Laden in Oct of 2001 Bin Laden would be killed in Pakistan in May of 2011 after one of the largest manhunts in history American troops remain in Afghanistan hoping to leave the region stable and secure by 2014

War on Terror: Afghanistan

Bin Laden Raid

Operation Iraqi Freedom The US entered Iraq in 2003 when it believed that Iraq had obtained “Weapons of Mass Destruction” The US removed Saddam Hussein from power and he was executed by the World Court for “Crimes Against Humanity” The US helped establish a new government and left the country in 2010

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Economic Downturn of 2008 A lack of regulation in the financial market led to an unprecedented collapse in the industry in the fall of 2008 Pres Bush ordered the financial institutions involved to take “TARP” money to stabilize banks and prevent a depression Pres Obama followed suit and the US government spent and loaned money to prevent an economic collapse Obama also used “stimulus” programs to attempt to get the economy back on track

Election of 2008 After a heated primary Senator Barack Obama of Illinois defeats Hillary Clinton to be the Dem nominee The Republicans nominate Sen John McCain of Arizona who chooses Gov Sarah Palin of Alaska as running mate Obama wins the election rather easily due to the “Bush Backlash” over the struggling economy and two unpopular wars