1971

In Gillette v. United States, the U. S. Supreme Court limits conscientious-objector status to those who oppose all wars, not just a particular war.

The U. S. Supreme Court decision Swann v. Char-lotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education upholds the constitutionality of court-imposed desegregation plans, such as busing students to schools outside of their neighborhoods.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown is published; it provides inspiration to the burgeoning Native American protest movement.

The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution establishes a uniform voting age of 18 years for national elections.

In New York Ti-mes v. United States; United States v. Washington Post, the U. S. Supreme Court limits the constitutional right of the federal government to prohibit the publication of certain material considered vital to national security.

U. S. Congress bans all broadcast advertising for tobacco products.

The silicon chip is invented.

President Nixon freezes prices and wages to control inflation, unemployment, and international monetary speculation.

U. S. Congress passes the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which provides public funding for presidential election campaigns through a voluntary one dollar income tax check-off.

1972

Nixon visits the People’s Republic of China; this is a major step in normalizing relations between the two nations.

Congress approves the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U. S. Constitution, originally proposed in 1923, which explicitly stipulates “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

U. S. Congress enacts the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, which encourages racial quotas in hiring and education and marks the beginning of affirmative action.

The Trail of Broken Treaties, a protest march to Washington, D. C., culminates in the takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building.

U. S. president Richard Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev negotiate the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I), which mandates a reduction in U. S. and Soviet strategic offensive weapons launch vehicles.

The Democratic Party’s national headquarters at the Watergate Hotel is burglarized by agents of the Nixon White House.

In Branzburg v. Hayes, the U. S. Supreme Court rules that the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution does not grant journalists the right to withhold the identities of their sources.

In Furman v. Georgia, the U. S. Supreme Court declares the death penalty to be “cruel and unusual punishment” and in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U. S. Constitution.

U. S. Congress passes the Clean Water Act of 1972 with the principal goal of eliminating all water pollution discharges by 1985.

President Richard Nixon is reelected, defeating Democratic challenger George McGovern.

Nixon’s “Vietnamization” policy leads to the withdrawal of many U. S. troops from South Vietnam.

1973

In Roe v. Wade, the U. S. Supreme Court rules that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution gives an adult woman the right to terminate her pregnancy during the first trimester without any government interference. The decision stipulates that a woman’s right to privacy includes her reproductive organs and draws a distinction between utter dependency and human viability.

Members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupy the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 for 71 days. The protestors make a wide range of demands, including an investigation into the treatment of Native Americans. The demonstration ends in an armed confrontation between AIM activists and government officials.

The United States signs the Paris Accord, which pledges to end U. S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

President Nixon announces the end of the draft.

The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of disorders.

The Senate conducts an investigation of the Watergate affair under Senator Sam Ervin.

Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigns after an investigation reveals that he had accepted bribes while governor of Maryland; Representative Gerald R. Ford of Michigan succeeds him.

In retaliation for U. S. support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) begins an oil embargo; the resulting gas shortage leads many Americans to question the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels in general, and on imported oil in particular. The embargo and a subsequent fourfold increase in oil prices drive inflation higher and prompt worldwide recession and fuel shortages.

President Nixon refuses to cooperate with the Watergate investigation of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox and orders Cox’s dismissal. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resign rather than carry out the illegal order. These resignations and Cox’s eventual firing come to be called the “Saturday Night Massacre.”

U. S. Congress passes the War Powers Act of 1973; it requires the president to consult with Congress before and during any direct involvement of U. S. forces in hostilities abroad.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides greater protection for fish and wildlife that are in danger of becoming extinct.

Responding to U. S. business interests in Chile, the United States assists General Augusto Pinochet in a military coup against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende. Pinochet’s regime remains in power until 1990.

1974

Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s home run record when he hits his 715th home run in Atlanta.

The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 standardizes the federal budget process.

Riots break out in Boston, Massachusetts, in reaction to the busing of black students into white neighborhoods.

Under threat of impeachment and with his administration discredited by the Watergate scandal, President Nixon resigns; Gerald Ford becomes president.

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 provides public financing of presidential primaries and elections, and sets limits on contributions and spending in House, Senate, and presidential campaigns.

President Gerald Ford preemptively pardons Richard M. Nixon for Watergate and related charges.

U. S. Congress passes the Trade Reform Act, which significantly reduces tariffs and, in some circumstances, eliminates them altogether.

U. S. Congress passes the Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits the executive branch of government from using information gathered for one purpose to be used for another purpose.

Facing bankruptcy, New York City receives loan guarantees from the federal government.

U. S. Congress passes the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which outlaws the refusal of credit due to discrimination by sex or marital status.

1975

Led by Pol Pot, Communist rebels known as the Khmer Rouge seize Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. Communist leaders in nearby Laos likewise gain power.

After the last U. S. forces withdraw from Saigon, South Vietnam falls to North Vietnam. An influx of Southeast Asian refugees to the United States begins.

1976

America holds its bicentennial celebration in recognition of the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Alex Haley publishes Roots, which is later adapted to television and viewed by millions; Haley receives a special Pulitzer Prize for the novel in 1977.

In Runyon v. McCrary et al., the U. S. Supreme Court prohibits private schools from denying admission based on race.

Barbara Jordan delivers a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in New York City; she is the first African American ever to do so.

Gerald Ford loses the presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter, former governor of Georgia.

1977

President Carter pardons Vietnam draft evaders.

Tip O’Neill of Massachusetts becomes Speaker of the House, a position he holds for 10 years.

President Carter’s human rights speech at Notre Dame University outlines his foreign policy framework of championing the cause of human rights around the world.

The movie Star Wars, directed by George Lucas, is released. With cutting-edge special effects and sound, the film draws huge audiences and revolutionizes the movie industry, prompting a shift to fewer, more expensive blockbusters.

U. S. Congress enacts the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 to deter bribery of foreign officials by American businesses.

The Panama Canal Treaties grant Panama control of the isthmian canal in 1999.

Bell Labs invents the fiber optic cable, which permits high-speed digital data transmission for telephone and, later, Internet connections.

1978

President Carter helps to negotiate the Camp David accords formalizing an end to hostilities between Israel and Egypt.

In Regents of University of California v. Allan P. Bakke, the U. S. Supreme Court upholds the use of factors of race, gender, and ethnicity in evaluating applicants but declares unconstitutional the use of rigid quota systems.

1979

A potential nuclear disaster is averted at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The scare prompts a nationwide “anti-nuke” movement.

The Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty of 1979 ends the state of war that had existed between the two nations since 1948.

U. S. president Jimmy Carter and Soviet president Leonid I. Brezhnev sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II), which reduces the number of U. S. and Soviet nuclear weapons. U. S. Congress never ratifies the treaty.

The U. S.-supported shah of Iran is deposed; Iranian militants seize the U. S. embassy, trapping 52 Americans inside.

The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) overthrows the U. S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua.

U. S. Congress approves $1.5 billion in loan agreements to the Chrysler Corporation to stabilize the foundering U. S. automaker.

1980

The United States boycotts the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Eight U. S. servicemen are killed in an abortive attempt to free the American hostages in Iran.

Inflation reaches 13.5 percent.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro permits the emigration of 125,000 Cubans by way of the port city of Mariel. Some Americans charge that Castro used the Mariel boatlift to “dump” undesirable immigrants on the United States.

Republican Ronald Reagan, former governor of California, is elected president over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and National Unity Party candidate John B. Anderson. In the same election, Republicans gain control of the U. S. Senate for the first time since 1958. The “gender gap” is evident at the polls: For the first time, more women than men vote.

1981

On President Carter’s last day in office, the hostages in Iran are freed.

Sandra Day O’Connor is appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court; she is the first female Supreme Court justice.

President Reagan is wounded in an assassination attempt.

The cable channel Music Television, or MTV, debuts. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), is first identified in the United States.

IBM introduces the personal computer (PC); its operating system becomes the standard used by a variety of manufacturers.

In August, 11,300 federal air traffic controllers strike to protest hours, understaffing, and pay. President Reagan declares the strike illegal and replacement workers soon break the strike—and, consequently, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association—setting the stage for future decades of private-sector strike-breaking.

1982

The Census Bureau reports that the poverty level in the United States is at its highest point since 1967.

The space shuttle Columbia makes its first successful flight.

The United States sends marines into Beirut, Lebanon, as a peacekeeping force.

U. S. Congress passes the Boland Amendment, prohibiting further U. S. aid in support of the U. S.- organized rebel forces that are fighting against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government.

The deadline for states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as part of the U. S. Constitution expires.

1983

U. S. Congress makes the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a national holiday; the bill takes effect in 1986.

Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first U. S. woman to travel in space.

In Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha, the U. S. Supreme Court restricts Congress’s ability to veto immigration and deportation rulings.

Unemployment reaches its highest rate, 11 percent, since the Great Depression.

A terrorist bomb kills 239 U. S. marines in Beirut, Lebanon.

U. S. and Caribbean troops invade the island of Grenada after an anti-U. S. coup.

1984

In Lynch v. Donnelly, the U. S. Supreme Court decides that a Christmas Nativity display that had been sponsored and funded by a city did not necessarily violate the First Amendment doctrine of separation of church and state.

Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale, a former vice president, is defeated by incumbent Ronald Reagan; Mondale’s running mate is Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to be nominated for vice president by a major party.

U. S. Congress passes the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, which includes forfeiture provisions for all drug offenses.

The U. S. Supreme Court rules in Sony v. Universal that home recordings of televised programming do not constitute a copyright violation.

1985

President Reagan meets with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva to discuss human rights, regional conflicts, and arms control.

With the deficit at nearly $2 trillion and rapidly rising, U. S. Congress passes the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act of 1985, which requires the president and Congress to eliminate the budget deficit by 1991.

1986

The space shuttle Challenger explodes seconds after takeoff, killing all seven members on board.

The United States bombs suspected terrorist bases in Libya.

The Iran-contra affair is exposed; funds from the clandestine sale of U. S. arms to Iran have been secretly and illegally funneled to anticommunist rebels in Nicaragua by members of the Reagan administration.

In Bowers v. Hardwick, the U. S. Supreme Court rules that an 1816 Georgia state law prohibiting sodomy does not violate an individual’s constitutional right to privacy.

U. S. Congress passes the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to lower tax rates and eliminate some tax loopholes.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 creates a process for legalizing the status of many illegal aliens and requires employers to verify applicants’ eligibility for employment.

U. S. Congress overrides President Reagan’s veto of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, which imposes wide-ranging economic sanctions on South Africa and prohibits U. S. trade and investment.

William Rehnquist succeeds Warren Burger as chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The United States sends 24,000 troops into Panama to depose the government of General Manuel Antonio Noriega.

General Colin Powell is appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; he is the youngest person and first African American to hold the position.

The Exxon Valdez oil tanker strikes a reef in Alaska’s Cape William Sound, causing one of the largest oil spills in history.

The U. S. Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson holds that burning the American flag as a form of symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.

In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the U. S. Supreme Court rules that a Missouri state law restricting the availability of abortions is constitutional.

Euphoric crowds demolish the Berlin Wall, symbol of Soviet control in Eastern Europe.

1987

The U. S. Senate refuses to confirm U. S. Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork.

The Dow Jones Index drops severely; many express concern over the growth of the federal deficit.

The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF); the accord calls for both countries to remove many midrange nuclear weapons from Europe.

1988

U. S. Congress passes the U. S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988, which provides for the elimination of most remaining tariffs.

U. S. Congress passes the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988, which protects the elderly against medical bankruptcy in case of severe illness.

Jesse Jackson receives strong support in Democratic presidential primaries, the first African-American candidate to win such contests.

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 authorizes reparation payments to all Japanese Americans and Alaskan Aleuts who were interned, relocated, or evacuated during World War II.

The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 prohibits discrimination against the disabled and families with children in public and private housing.

Republican vice president George Bush is elected president over Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, the Democratic candidate.

A bomb set by Islamic fundamentalists explodes in Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland; 270 die in the terrorist attack.

1990

The Hubble Telescope is set into orbit 370 miles above the Earth where it transmits images of the universe without the distorting effects of the Earth’s atmosphere.

U. S. Congress passes the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, barring discrimination against the handicapped.

The United States sends troops and warplanes to the Persian Gulf to restore the Kuwaiti regime after its ouster by Iraq.

East and West Germany, Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, which begins the process of restoring full sovereignty to Germany upon reunification.

The Clean Air Act of 1990 tightens federal air pollution standards in order to curb acid rain, urban smog, and the release of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.

The Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty formally ends the tension between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries.

U. S. Congress passes the Immigration Act of 1990, which allows more immigrants into the United States, especially skilled workers and immediate relatives of U. S. citizens.

1991

The United States and its allies defeat Iraq in the Persian Gulf War.

The General Accounting Office discloses that 325 current and former U. S. representatives have regularly overdrawn their accounts at the House “bank” (actually a check-cashing office) without penalty, effectively receiving free overdraft insurance. Voters react angrily, replacing many of those implicated.

A coup d’etat in Haiti leads to the migration of thousands of refugees to Florida.

The Senate approves Clarence Thomas as a Supreme Court justice. Sexual harassment charges brought against Thomas by law professor Anita Hill spark a nationwide controversy.

U. S. Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which makes it easier for employees to sue employers in job discrimination cases.

After the collapse of an anti-Gorbachev coup, the Soviet Union renounces communism and splinters into an array of affiliated and independent nations.

1992

A New York Times article by Jeff Gerth implies wrongdoing by presidential candidate Bill Clinton relating to a real-estate development called Whitewater.

Riots and looting break out in Los Angeles after an allwhite jury acquits four policemen on all but one count in the beating of motorist Rodney King. The attack had been videotaped and shown on television.

Democratic governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeats Republican incumbent George Bush and independent H. Ross Perot in the presidential election.

The United States sends 28,000 troops to Somalia to restore civil order.

1993

U. S. Congress passes the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which requires businesses employing 50 or more people to grant their employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually for family and medical emergencies.

A terrorist bomb explodes in New York’s World Trade Center, killing six and injuring 100. The event sets off a decade-long escalation of U. S. antiterrorism efforts.

Janet Reno becomes the first female U. S. attorney general.

After a 51-day standoff, federal agents storm the Waco, Texas, compound of the Branch Davidians, a fundamentalist Christian sect wanted for the murder of federal law-enforcement agents, child abuse, and possession of illegal firearms. The Davidians set fire to the compound; 86 of its occupants die.

In Shaw v. Reno, the U. S. Supreme Court rules that U. S. congressional districts that were deliberately created to elect minority candidates violate the rights of white voters.

The U. S. Senate ratifies the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which limits trade barriers between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

U. S. troops on a humanitarian mission in Somalia encounter unexpected resistance. In a two-day battle with local warlord Muhammad Farah Aideed, 30 American soldiers are killed and the bodies of two of them are dragged past cheering crowds through the streets of the capital, Mogadishu.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act requires a five-day waiting period and a background check on all persons seeking to purchase a handgun.

1994

Responding to continuing rumor and charges of impropriety concerning President Clinton’s investment in the Whitewater real-estate development, Attorney General Janet Reno appoints Robert B. Fiske in January to investigate the matter. In August a three-judge panel appoints conservative movement activist and former U. S. solicitor general Kenneth Starr to take over the investigation.

An earthquake strikes Los Angeles, killing 61 people and causing heavy damage.

In response to North Korea’s threatened invasion of South Korea, the United States promises full-scale war and begins military buildup. Former president Jimmy Carter negotiates a compromise averting armed conflict.

Major League Baseball players go on strike, forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time since 1904.

U. S. Congress passes the Crime Act of 1994, which authorizes $30.2 billion in federal spending over the next six years for a wide range of anticrime measures.

More than 300 Republican House candidates, including about 150 incumbents, sign the Contract with America, which promises a balanced budget amendment, tax cuts, and more defense spending.

The Health Care Security Act, the most ambitious federal proposal in 30 years, is defeated after a fierce nationwide debate.

The United States issues an ultimatum to the government of General Raoul Cedras in Haiti, threatening military action if the U. S.-negotiated Governor’s Island Accords are not implemented. Cedras capitulates and agrees to leave the country, permitting democratic elections.

In November elections, Republicans take control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Thomas Foley, a Democrat, becomes the first Speaker of the House since 1862 to lose his seat.

A conference of 128 countries develops the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which advances globalization by cutting international trade barriers and creating the World Trade Organization to administer trade laws.