| 1968 | Richard Nixon elected president. |
| 1969 | Warren E. Burger appointed chief justice of Supreme Court. |
| 1971 | Nixon vetoes child care bill. |
| 1972 | Watergate arrests. Nixon reelected president. |
| 1974 | Nixon resigns; Gerald Ford becomes president. Ford pardons Nixon. |
| 1976 | Jimmy Carter elected president. |
| 1977 | Panama Canal treaty. |
| 1978 | Regents of University of California v. Bakke. Congress deregulates airlines. |
| 1979 | 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. |
| 1983 | Terrorist bomb kills 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut, Lebanon. Reagan announces Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars"). |
| 1984 | Family Research Council founded. Reagan reelected president. |
| 1986 | Iran-Contra scandal. |
| 1987 | INF agreement. |
| 1988 | Civil Rights Restoration Act. |