| •1975 | Microsoft formed |
| •1976 | Apple Computer Company formed |
| •1980–1990s | Immigration surges from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South and East Asia |
| •1991 | World Wide Web created |
| •1994 | Contract with America announced; Republicans win control of Congress |
| •1995 | Dayton Peace Accords |
| •1996 | Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act passed |
| Defense of Marriage Act passed |
| •1998 | President Clinton impeached |
| •2000 | Supreme Court rules in favor of George W. Bush in contested presidential election |
| •2001 | September 11 attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon |
| U.S. troops invade Afghanistan; Patriot Act passed |
| •2002 | No Child Left Behind Act passed |
| •2003–2011 | War in Iraq |
| •2005 | Hurricane Katrina |
| •2008 | Great Recession begins |
| Barack Obama elected president |
| Tea Party movement formed |
| •2009 | Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act passed |
| •2011 | Osama bin Laden killed |
| Occupy Wall Street movement formed |
| Black Lives Matter movement formed |
| •2015 | Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide |
| Obama pledges to take 10,000 Syrian refugees |
| Agreement signed by 195 nations to lower greenhouse gas emissions |