CHRONOLOGY

1968

  • Richard Nixon elected president.

    • 1969

  • Warren E. Burger appointed chief justice of Supreme Court.

    • 1971

  • Nixon vetoes child care bill.

    • 1972

  • Watergate scandal begins.

  • Nixon reelected president.

    • 1974

  • Nixon resigns; Vice President Gerald Ford becomes president.

  • Ford pardons Nixon.

    • 1976

  • Jimmy Carter elected president.

    • 1977

  • United States signs Panama Canal treaty.

    • 1978

  • Regents of University of California v. Bakke decided.

  • Congress deregulates airlines.

    • 1979

  • Carter facilitates Camp David accords.

  • Carter establishes formal diplomatic relations with China.

  • Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

  • Iranian hostage crisis begins.

  • Moral Majority founded.

    • 1980

  • Congress deregulates banking, trucking, and railroad industries.

  • Congress passes Superfund legislation.

  • Ronald Reagan elected president.

    • 1981

  • AIDS virus discovered.

  • Economic Recovery Tax Act passes.

    • 1983

  • Terrorist bomb kills 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut, Lebanon.

  • Family Research Council founded.

    • 1984

  • Reagan reelected president.

    • 1986

  • Iran-Contra scandal uncovered.

    • 1987

  • Intermediate-range nuclear forces agreement signed.

    • 1988

  • Civil Rights Restoration Act passes.