apush project exam key terms/people

Cold War

The geopolitical state of tension that had just ended, leaving the U.S. as the sole superpower.

Saddam Hussein

The leader of Iraq who invaded Kuwait, prompting a U.S.-led military response.

George H.W. Bush

The U.S. President who led the response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Operation Desert Storm

The U.S.-led multinational coalition's high-tech, media-saturated war against Iraq in 1991.

Smart bombs

A feature of the high-tech weaponry used in Operation Desert Storm.

Night-vision

A technology featured in the media coverage of Operation Desert Storm.

Early 1990s recession

An economic downturn characterized by factory closures, wage stagnation, and rising unemployment.

Rodney King

A Black man who was brutally beaten by four white LAPD officers, an event captured on viral camcorder footage.

LAPD

The Los Angeles Police Department, whose officers were acquitted in the Rodney King beating case.

1992 LA Riots

A six-day period of riots in South Central Los Angeles following the acquittal of the officers who beat Rodney King, resulting in over 60 deaths.

National Guard

Deployed to Los Angeles to quell the 1992 riots.

Bill Clinton

A charismatic "New Democrat" who won the 1992 presidential election, seen as a symbol of hope.

New Democrat

A political identity adopted by Bill Clinton, described as economically moderate and socially progressive.

Arsenio Hall

Host of a popular talk show where Bill Clinton played the saxophone, demonstrating his cultural fluency.

"It's the economy, stupid!"

The 1992 campaign slogan for Bill Clinton, emphasizing domestic economic issues.

1993 World Trade Center Bombing

An attack on February 26, 1993, where Islamic extremists detonated a van bomb in the WTC parking garage, killing 6 and injuring over 1,000.

Islamic extremists

The group responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Battle of Mogadishu

A disastrous U.S. mission in Somalia on October 3, 1993, to capture warlord lieutenants, resulting in 18 American deaths.

Black Hawk Down

A common name for the Battle of Mogadishu, referring to the two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters that were shot down.

Nirvana

An iconic grunge band whose 1991 album Nevermind symbolized the era's alienation and anti-materialism.

Pearl Jam

A prominent band of the early 1990s cultural rebellion.

Soundgarden

A prominent band of the early 1990s cultural rebellion.

Nevermind (album)

Nirvana's 1991 album that dethroned Michael Jackson from the #1 chart position, marking a cultural shift.

Michael Jackson

A pop superstar whose #1 album was replaced by Nirvana's Nevermind.

MTV

A music television channel that played a key role in turning the underground angst of grunge into mainstream culture.

Tupac Shakur

A key figure in West Coast hip-hop during its rise to the mainstream.

The Notorious B.I.G.

A key figure in East Coast hip-hop during its rise to the mainstream.

Friends (TV show)

A popular TV show reflecting urban, middle-class idealism.

ER (TV show)

A popular TV show focused on medical heroism and glamour.

The X-Files (TV show)

A popular TV show exploring institutional mistrust and conspiracy culture.

Twin Peaks (TV show)

A popular TV show that depicted surreal suburban darkness.

Quentin Tarantino

The director of Pulp Fiction, a milestone film that redefined cool with postmodern style.

Pulp Fiction

A 1994 film that marked a stylistic breakthrough with nonlinear plots and ironic violence, blurring lines between indie and mainstream cinema.

Palme d'Or

The prestigious award won by Pulp Fiction at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Lion King (film)

A 1994 Disney animated film that became a cultural phenomenon with multigenerational appeal, exploring themes of death and responsibility.

Elton John

A musician who collaborated with Hans Zimmer on the iconic soundtrack for The Lion King.

Hans Zimmer

A composer who collaborated with Elton John on the iconic soundtrack for The Lion King.

Michael Jordan

An NBA superstar who won three straight titles (1991-1993), retired, and then returned in March 1995, confirming his mythic status.

Tonya Harding

An Olympic figure skater involved in a scandal where her rival, Nancy Kerrigan, was attacked.

Nancy Kerrigan

An Olympic figure skater who was attacked in a plot involving Tonya Harding's ex-husband.

1994 MLB Strike

A labor dispute between players and owners that led to the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years.

O.J. Simpson

A celebrity whose murder trial for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman became a cultural spectacle.

Nicole Brown Simpson

The ex-wife of O.J. Simpson, who was murdered in June 1994.

Ron Goldman

A victim murdered alongside Nicole Brown Simpson in June 1994.

White Bronco chase

An iconic televised event where O.J. Simpson was pursued by police, watched live by millions.

Windows 95

A game-changing operating system released by Microsoft in August 1995 that helped bring everyday people to the digital world.

Microsoft

The company that released Windows 95.

Bill Gates

The co-founder of Microsoft who became a tech icon with the launch of Windows 95.

AOL

A company that brought dial-up internet and email to millions of American homes.

Yahoo

An early search tool that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s.

Netscape

An early search tool that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s.

Amazon

A company founded by Jeff Bezos that started as an online bookstore and grew into the world's biggest retailer.

Jeff Bezos

The founder of Amazon.

eBay

An auction site founded by Pierre Omidyar that democratized commerce.

Pierre Omidyar

The founder of eBay.

Oklahoma City Bombing

An act of domestic terrorism on April 19, 1995, where a Ryder truck bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people.

Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building

The location of the Oklahoma City Bombing.

Timothy McVeigh

An ex-soldier and white nationalist who perpetrated the Oklahoma City Bombing.

Waco

A government action that, along with Ruby Ridge, served as a motivation for Timothy McVeigh's attack.

Ruby Ridge

A government action that, along with Waco, served as a motivation for Timothy McVeigh's attack.

TWA Flight 800

A flight that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 people on board and leading to major aviation safety reforms.

NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board)

The agency that investigated the TWA Flight 800 crash and determined the cause was an explosion in the center fuel tank.

Bob Dole

The Republican candidate defeated by Bill Clinton in the 1996 presidential election.

Ross Perot

The Reform Party candidate who ran in the 1996 presidential election.

Welfare Reform Act

A law signed by President Clinton that ended the federal entitlement to welfare and instituted work requirements and time limits.

Princess Diana

A member of the British royal family whose death in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, sparked massive public mourning in the U.S.

Monica Lewinsky

A White House intern with whom President Clinton admitted to having a relationship, leading to a major political scandal.

Impeachment

The process by which the House of Representatives charged President Clinton with perjury and obstruction of justice in 1998.

iMac

A stylish, user-friendly, and internet-ready computer introduced by Apple in 1998 that marked the company's comeback.

Apple

The company that introduced the iMac in 1998.

Steve Jobs

The co-founder of Apple whose return to the company preceded the launch of the iMac.

Al-Qaeda

The terrorist organization that bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and attacked the USS Cole in 2000.

Operation Infinite Reach

U.S. missile strikes on Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and a factory in Sudan in August 1998, the first direct military response to bin Laden.

Osama bin Laden

The leader of Al-Qaeda and the target of Operation Infinite Reach.

Budget Surplus

Achieved in 1998 for the first time since 1969, symbolizing late-'90s economic optimism.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

A controversial U.S. military policy that allowed closeted LGBTQ+ people to serve but led to discharges and protests.

Columbine High School Shooting

A school shooting on April 20, 1999, where two students killed 13 people, prompting national debates on gun control and school safety.

Kosovo War

A conflict in which NATO, led by the U.S., bombed Yugoslavia in 1999 to stop the ethnic cleansing of Albanians.

Y2K Scare

Widespread fear that computers would malfunction at the turn of the year 2000 due to two-digit year coding, which turned out to be a non-event.

Bush v. Gore

The Supreme Court case that decided the 2000 presidential election by halting the Florida recount, resulting in a win for George W. Bush.

George W. Bush

The Republican candidate who won the controversial 2000 presidential election.

Al Gore

The Democratic candidate who won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote in the 2000 presidential election.

USS Cole Bombing

An Al-Qaeda suicide attack in Yemen in October 2000 that killed 17 U.S. sailors.

NASDAQ

The stock market index that peaked in early 2000 before the dot-com bubble burst.

Dot-Com Crash

The bursting of the internet bubble in early 2000, causing many tech companies to collapse and ending the '90s economic boom.

9/11

Terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, where al-Qaeda hijacked four planes, resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths and reshaping U.S. policy.

World Trade Center

The location in New York City where two hijacked planes struck on 9/11.

Pentagon

The U.S. Department of Defense headquarters, which was struck by a hijacked plane on 9/11.

Shanksville, PA

The location where the fourth hijacked plane crashed on 9/11.

Department of Homeland Security

A cabinet-level department created in response to the 9/11 attacks.

PATRIOT Act

Legislation passed after 9/11 that expanded government surveillance powers.

Operation Enduring Freedom

The U.S. military operation launched in October 2001 in Afghanistan to dismantle al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban.

Taliban

The regime ruling Afghanistan that was overthrown by the U.S. military in 2001.

Guantánamo Bay

A U.S. detention center opened in 2002 to hold suspected terrorists, criticized for indefinite detention and harsh interrogation methods.

Waterboarding

A harsh interrogation method used at Guantánamo Bay that sparked global condemnation.

Enemy combatant

A term used for suspected terrorists to sidestep the Geneva Conventions.

Geneva Conventions

International treaties on the humanitarian treatment of war, which the term "enemy combatant" sought to circumvent.

Anthrax Attacks

A series of incidents in 2001-2002 where letters laced with anthrax were mailed to media and political figures, killing 5 people.

Iraq War

A war initiated by the U.S. in March 2003 based on claims that Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs and had ties to terrorism.

WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction)

The justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, though none were ever found.