A | B |
Richard Nixon | Winner of the 1968 Election- détente, Kissinger, ping pong diplomacy, Philadelphia Plan, New Federalism- paranoid- brought down by the Watergate scandal and his role in covering it up- resigned before being impeached |
Henry Kissinger | Nixon's chief foreign policy advisor- saw the world was no longer a bipolar world but a multipolar world- architect of détente with the USSR and "ping pong diplomacy" with China- effectively played China and Russia off one another |
Mao Zedong | Chinese communist leader from 1969 to 1976, Nixon met with Mao as part of his "ping pong diplomacy" to better relations with China to achieve détente with the Soviet Union |
George McGovern | Democratic candidate for POTUS in 1972- beaten handedly by Richard Nixon- attracted support from feminists, minorities, and anti-war protesters |
James McCord/G. Gordon Liddy | The two most prominent members of the Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP) and were involved in the Watergate break-in |
Bob Woodward/Carl Bernstein | The two reporters from the Washington Post who continued to investigate the burglary of the Watergate complex until they tied the burglary to CREEP |
Archibald Cox/Leon Jaworski | The special prosecutors involved in the Saturday Night Massacre (Oct 1973) when Nixon fired Cox for trying to subpoena the tapes- Jaworski persisted that the tapes be turned over |
Gerald Ford | The only unelected POTUS in U.S. history because he had been elevated to fill Agnew's vacant spot, took office when Nixon resigned- one of the 1st moves was to pardon Nixon, very controversial- basically a lame duck POTUS- defeated easily by Jimmy Carter in 1976 |
Jimmy Carter | POTUS (1977-1981)- won the Election in 1976 because of his honesty, he was a born-again Christian, and most importantly he was an outsider to Washington D.C.- as POTUS found himself over his head, mostly a failure- lagging economy, "National Malaise" Speech, Iran Hostage Crisis, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan- highlight arranging the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt |
The Shah of Iran | The King of Iran who was hated by most of the Iranian people, came to the U.S. for cancer treatments- Iran was upset the U.S. let him in --> Iran Hostage Crisis (1979) |
Ayatollah Khomeini | Islamic fundamentalist leader of the Iranian Revolution, Iran Hostage Crisis |
Zbignew Brzezinski | Jimmy Carter's primary foreign policy advisor- great deal of influence over how Carter handled the Cold War |
Ronald Reagan | President during much of the 1980s, rode into office on a wave of conservatism, took a hard-line against the USSR (what he called the "Evil Empire") but was willing to work with Gorbachev later, promoted small government, favored supply-side (trickle-down) economics, put down the Air Traffic Controllers' Strike, the Iran-Contra Scandal |
Jerry Falwell/Pat Robertson | Two of the most prominent leaders of the Religious Right. Falwell the leader of the Moral Majority; Robertson- the Christian Coalition |
Richard Viguere | Conservative strategist who helped the wave of conservatism in the late 1970s and early 1980s |
Geraldine Ferraro | Walter Mondale's running mate (D) in the 1984 Election, the first woman to run for vice president |
Oliver North | Point man on the Iran-Contra Scandal |
George H.W. Bush | Reagan's Vice President for eight years before being the next POTUS, most known for the Persian Gulf War in which he became very popular but a recession in 1992 ended his reelection attempt |
Saddam Hussein | Dictator of Iraq who proved to be a problem for the United States from the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 to his capture in 2005 in the Second Gulf War |
Mikhail Gorbachev | Became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985; promoted glasnost ("openness") and perestroika ("restructuring") to better the Soviet Union, improved relations with the U.S. as he met and worked with Ronald Reagan and Bush, presided over the end of the Cold War |
Bill Clinton | Democratic candidate for POTUS In 1992, successfully campaigned on the recession. Early in his first term had difficulty with issues such as health care reform and gays in the military. Foreign policy: NAFTA, Bosnia, figuring out the United States' role as the sole superpower. Reelected in 1996. Scandals such as Whitewater and was impeached for perjury in the Monica Lewinsky incident. |
Ross Perot | Third party candidate in the 1992 and 1996 elections. Billionaire from Texas who campaigned on making government more efficient and less wasteful |
Newt Gingrich | Republican Speaker of the House who was Clinton's main rival. Called for a "Contract With America" which espoused conservative principles |
Kenneth Starr | Lead prosecuting attorney in Clinton's impeachment proceedings in the Monica Lewinsky case |
George W. Bush | Texas governor who won the 2000 election vs. Al. Gore. Had to deal with 9/11 and the War on Terrorism. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Patriot Act. No Child Left Behind. Katrina |
Ralph Nader | Third party candidate in the 2000 Election for the Green Party, probably cost Gore the election |
Barack Obama | Winner of the 2008 Election. 1st African-American President. |
Earl Warren | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969 who 1) promoted civil rights (ex: Brown), 2) individual rights (ex: Griswold), 3) equal apportionment (ex: Wesberry and Baker Cases), and 4) the rights of criminal suspects (ex: Miranda, Gideon, and Mapp Cases) |
Betty Friedan | Feminist leader, author of The Feminine Mystique (1963) and in 1966 co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) |
Phylis Schlaffly | Conservative woman leader who led the backlash against of feminism, major opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment |
Sandra Day O'Connor | Appointed to the Supreme Court by Reagan in 1981, first woman to serve on the Supreme Court |
Douglas Wilder | 1st African-American governor (Virginia) |
O.J. Simpson | Famous football player who was accused of killing his wife (Nicole Brown Simpson) and her male acquaintance (Ron Goldman). The verdict of not guilty showed wide different reactions in the white and black communities |
César Chávez | Hispanic labor leader of the United Farm Workers, led a boycott ("Uvas no") |
Rachel Carson | Environmental activist, author of Silent Spring (1962) which argued against the use of DDT and other pesticides |
Bill Gates | Founder of Microsoft and helped the revolution in personal computers more than anyone |
Ted Turner | Founder of CNN and other cable channels |
Timothy McVeigh | Right-wing militia member who bombed the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. Later executed for this crime. |
Osama Bin Ladin | Leader of Al Qaeda who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Killed by SEAL Team 6 in Spring 2011 |