Late 20th Century

President Obama was elected in 2008 and went on to serve two terms, beating out Mitt Romney in the 2012 election. In the 2016 election, Hilary Clinton ran against Donald Trump. Hilary Clinton, President Bill Clinton’s wife, had a long history of political experience. She had served as Secretary of…

George W. Bush’s presidential campaign promised “compassionate conservativism.” He promised to lower taxes while caring for the poor and needy. He wanted to reduce government regulations and ensure individual freedoms. His agenda changed after 9/11 though. Crushing terrorism became a major concern. Bush remained a popular president and won a…

The terrorist attacks on 9/11 took a toll on U.S. industries. The stock market plummeted in the days following the attacks. Airlines struggled to avoid bankruptcy as Americans, leery of airline travel, cancelled their travel plans. The economy recovered quickly, though. Low interest rates and lax lending rules made it…

Gun control has always been a hot topic in the U.S. Early colonists relied on their guns for both hunting and protection. Had they not had guns, they would have had a difficult time winning the Revolutionary War. After the war, most Americans fiercely defended the right to keep guns.…

The first part of the 21st century marks rapid changes in social values, similar to the changes that occurred in the first part of the 20th century. Families become more diverse. For the first time in history, large groups of people opt not to get married or have children. Technology…

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, rescue workers searched through the debris to find survivors, as well as the bodies of those who were killed. Sixteen acres of New York’s business district was covered with ash. Crews came in to begin cleaning away the rubble. In Washington,…

Terrorist attacks overseas began in the 1980s and continued to increase through the 1990s. Americans still felt relatively safe because terrorists had never ventured to U.S. soil. That changed on the morning of September 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked four planes. Fun Facts The first plane slammed into the north…

The year, 2000, marked the beginning of a new millennium or thousand year period. People were excited and apprehensive about what the new century would bring. The 1990s had been prosperous years. Would the next decade bring the same? Fun Facts President Bill Clinton had served two terms, or eight…

Since World War II, the United States’ main foreign policy concern had been stopping Communism’s growth. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, that threat was gone. The focus turned to environmental concerns, terrorism, and humanitarian service. Fun Facts Yugoslavia, formerly a Communist country, began to break into small states…

The 1990s were a time of rapid change in America. New laws allowed more immigrants to enter the country. Between 1950 and 2000, more than 13 million people came from Asia and Central America and Hispanic-Americans became the fastest growing minority group. At the same time, family dynamics were changing…