George H.W. Bush
This 1991 conflict involved a U.S.-led coalition to liberate Kuwait after it was invaded by Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.
Persian Gulf War
This trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico was designed to eliminate tariffs and encourage free trade.
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
This series of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon led to the start of the "Global War on Terror."
September 11, 2001
He became the first African American to be elected President of the United States in 2008.
Barack Obama
This term describes the process by which businesses and economies worldwide become more interconnected through trade and technology.
Globalization
This landmark 1990 law prohibited discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Clinton became the second President in U.S. history to undergo this legal process, though he was eventually acquitted by the Senate.
Impeachment
This 2001 law was passed to increase the government's power to conduct surveillance to prevent future terrorist attacks.
USA PATRIOT Act
This 2010 landmark health care reform law aimed to increase the number of Americans with health insurance.
Affordable Care Act
This 2000 Supreme Court case stopped a recount in Florida, effectively awarding the presidency to George W. Bush.
Bush v. Gore
This major Cold War event occurred in 1989, symbolising the beginning of the end of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.
fall of the Berlin Wall
During the 1990s, the U.S. economy experienced a massive boom largely due to the rise of this new technology.
Internet
This cabinet-level department was created following 9/11 to coordinate national security and protect the U.S. from threats.
Department of Homeland Security
This 2009 law provided over $700 billion in stimulus funds to save jobs and jumpstart the economy during the Great Recession.
America Recovery and Reinvestment Act
This phrase refers to the "just-in-time" manufacturing and distribution systems that have been revolutionized by computers and robotics.
Information Technology
Despite promising "No new taxes," Bush had to raise them to deal with a crisis involving these financial institutions.
Savings and Loan Crisis
Clinton sent U.S. troops as part of a NATO effort to stop "ethnic cleansing" in this war-torn region of Europe.
Balkans (Bosnia/Kosovo)
This massive natural disaster in 2005 led to widespread criticism of the federal government’s slow response to the flooding in New Orleans.
Hurricane Katrina
In 2011, U.S. Special Forces successfully located and killed this leader of Al-Qaeda during a raid in Pakistan.
Osama Bin Laden
This 1997 international treaty aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; while Clinton signed it, the U.S. Senate never ratified it.
Kyoto Protocol
This Soviet leader worked with Bush to sign the START I treaty, significantly reducing the number of nuclear weapons.
Mikhail Gorbachev
This 1994 Republican plan, led by Newt Gingrich, proposed tax cuts and welfare reform, leading to a divided government during Clinton's term.
Contract with America
This 2008 economic event was the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression, caused largely by a collapse of the housing market.
Great Recession
Obama appointed this person in 2009, making her the first Hispanic Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court
Sonia Sotomayor
This Third Party candidate in the 1992 election won nearly 19% of the popular vote, highlighting modern dissatisfaction with the two-party system.
Ross Perot