1991 — The
Gulf War is waged in the
Middle East, by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from thirty-four nations, led by the U.S. and
United Kingdom, against
Iraq.
1992 —
Los Angeles riots result in over 60 deaths and $1 billion in damage, spurred by the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist
Rodney King.
1992 —
Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane, kills 65 people and causes $26 billion in damage to Florida and other areas of the U.S.
Gulf Coast, and will be the costliest natural disaster until
Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
1993 —
The "Storm of the Century" strikes the Eastern Seaboard, with blizzard conditions and severe weather, killing 300 people and causing $6 billion in damage.
1993 —
Massive flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers kill 50 people and devastate the
Midwest with $15–$20 billion in damage.
1993 — President Clinton signs '
Don't ask, don't tell' into law which prohibits gay or bisexual people from serving openly in the military.[1]
1995 —
Oklahoma City bombing kills 168 and wounds 800. The bombing is the worst domestic terrorist incident in U.S. history, and the investigation results in the arrests of
Timothy McVeigh and
Terry Nichols.
1995 — Retired professional football player
O. J. Simpson is acquitted of two charges of first-degree murder in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife,
Nicole Brown Simpson, and
Ronald Goldman. The nine-month trial receives worldwide publicity.
1995 —
A heat wave kills 739 in Chicago, bringing to attention the plight of the urban poor and the elderly in
extreme weather conditions.
1998-1999 —
Clinton-Lewinsky scandal: President Clinton is accused of having a sexual relationship with 22-year-old White House intern
Monica Lewinsky. This leads to the impeachment of Clinton later in the year by the U.S. House of Representatives. Clinton is acquitted of all
impeachment charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in a 21-day Senate trial.
1999 — The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark for the first time, at 10,006.78.
1999 — Along with the rest of the world, the U.S. prepares for the possible effects of
the Y2K bug in computers, which was feared to cause computers to become inoperable and wreak havoc. The problem isn't as large as theorized, preparations are successful, and disaster is averted.
2001 —
September 11 attacks; 19 terrorists hijack four planes and crash them into the
World Trade Center, the
Pentagon, and a field in
Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people and injuring over 6,000. All civilian air traffic is suspended for three days, the first time an unplanned suspension had occurred in U.S. history.
2001 — Congress passes an emergency bailout package for the airline industry as a result of the attacks
2001 —
Anthrax attacks kill 5 and infect a further 17 through the U.S. Mail system.
2002 — 10 people are killed and 3 are injured in the
Beltway sniper attacks around the Washington D.C. area.
2003 —
Republicans retake narrow control of the
Senate following 2002 elections.
2003 —
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts and resulting in a 29-month suspension of the Space Shuttle program.
2003 — A series of incidents occur that institute a crackdown on building, fire, and safety code violations across the United States, including
the E2 nightclub stampede which killed 21,
The Station nightclub fire which killed 100, and
a porch collapse which killed 13.
2003 — U.S. forces
continue fighting an insurgency in Iraq while helping the Iraqis build a new army of their own and develop a democratic form of government
2004 — The social networking website
Facebook is launched.[2]
2004 — The
2004 Atlantic hurricane season produces four deadly and damaging hurricanes which impact Florida,
Charley,
Frances,
Ivan, and
Jeanne, which kill a combined 100 people in the U.S. and produce over $50 billion in damage
January 20, 2005 — President Bush and Vice President Cheney begin their second terms.
2005 —
Hurricane Katrina devastates the
Louisiana,
Mississippi, and
Alabama coastlines killing at least 1,836 people and causing $81 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Weeks later,
Hurricane Rita causes $10 billion damage along the Louisiana and
Texas coastlines. In October,
Hurricane Wilma kills 35 and causes $20 billion in damage in Florida.
2006 — The
Democratic Party retakes control of both houses of Congress, and gains a majority of state governorships (28-22).[3]
2007 —
George W. Bush orders a
troop surge which substantially increases the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and ultimately leads to reductions in casualties and major victories for coalition and Iraqi forces, against the insurgency.
2007 — A South Korean student shoots and kills 32 other students and professors in the
Virginia Tech massacre before killing himself. It stands as the worst
mass shooting in U.S. history until 2016 and spurs a series of debates on gun control and journalism ethics.
2007 — The first
IPhone is released for sale in the U.S.
2007 — The
I-35W Mississippi River bridge in
Minneapolis, Minnesota collapses, killing 13 people. The bridge collapse brings to national attention the need to rehabilitate the aging U.S. infrastructure system.
2008 —
Hurricane Ike kills 100 people along the Texas coast, produces $31 billion in damage, and contributes to rising oil prices.
2008 — U.S. oil prices hit a record $147 per barrel in the wake of—among other factors—international tensions and the falling
U.S. dollar vs. the
Euro.
January 20, 2009 — Obama becomes the 44th president, Biden becomes the 47th vice president. Obama is the first African-American to hold the office.[5]
2009 — The first of a series of
Tea Party protests are conducted across the United States, focusing on smaller government, fiscal responsibility, individual freedoms and conservative views of the Constitution.