Interactive Timeline – 1973-1988

correct incorrect Jan Roe v. Wade ruling by Supreme Court upholds abortion rights

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Oct Arab-Israeli War and oil embargo occur, followed by oil embargo and blow to U.S. economy

correct incorrect Aug Nixon resigns and Gerald Ford becomes president

correct incorrect Sep Ford pardons Nixon

correct incorrect Jan-Dec "Stagflation" worsens

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Apr North Vietnam defeats South Vietnam

correct incorrect Nov Jimmy Carter elected president

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Sep Chinese leader Mao dies

correct incorrect Jan President Jimmy Carter offers pardon to Vietnam draft resisters

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Nov Egyptian president Sadat visits Israel

correct incorrect Mar Senate approves the Panama Canal Treaty

correct incorrect Jun Bakke v. University of California Supreme Court ruling upholds affirmative action

correct incorrect Jun Proposition 13 tax cut is passed in California

correct incorrect Sep Camp David Accords signed between Israel and Egypt

correct incorrect Mar A major accident occurs with Three Mile Island nuclear reactor

correct incorrect Jun Moral Majority is formed

correct incorrect Nov Iranian radicals seize U.S. hostages while gasoline shortages worsen

correct incorrect Dec United States begins covert aid to Afghan guerrillas

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Jan Shah flees Iran, succeeded by Ayatollah Khomeini

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Feb–Mar China and Vietnam fight border war

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Jul Somoza regime overthrown in Nicaragua

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Sep Conservative Margaret Thatcher elected British prime minister

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Dec Soviet forces invade Afghanistan

correct incorrect Apr Attempt to rescue Iranian U.S. hostages fails

correct incorrect Apr–Oct Controversial Mariel boat lift from Cuba

correct incorrect Nov Ronald Reagan elected president

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Sep Iraq-Iran war begins and lasts until 1988

correct incorrect Jan Reagan is inaugurated; Iran hostages are released; AIDS is identified for the first time in the United States; covert aid is increased to Afghan guerrillas and Contras

correct incorrect Aug–Oct Congress approves Reagan tax cuts and defense increase

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Dec Solidarity reform movement challenges Communist control in Poland; martial law imposed

correct incorrect Oct Garn–St. Germain bill deregulates Savings and Loans

correct incorrect Oct Reagan declares illicit drugs "threat to national security"; Nancy Reagan calls for "Just Say No" antidrug campaign

correct incorrect Nov Democrats regain some House seats

correct incorrect Dec Boland amendment bars aid to Contras

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Jun Israel invades Lebanon

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Apr–Jun Britain and Argentina fight war over Falkland Islands

correct incorrect Mar Reagan unveils SDI anti-missile plan

correct incorrect Oct Marine barracks bombed in Lebanon; United States invades Grenada

correct incorrect Apr HIV is identified as cause of AIDS

correct incorrect Nov Reagan is reelected

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Dec Thatcher meets and praises rising Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev

correct incorrect Aug Reagan authorizes first secret arms sales to Iran

correct incorrect Nov Reagan and Gorbachev meet in Geneva

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Mar Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader

correct incorrect Jan Space Shuttle Challenger explodes

correct incorrect Oct Iran-Contra scandal erupts

correct incorrect Nov Democrats regain control of Senate

correct incorrect Feb Reagan condemned by the Tower Commission for his role in Iran-Contra scandal

correct incorrect Nov United States and Soviets agree to treaty limiting intermediate-range missiles

correct incorrect Dec Gorbachev visits United States to sign Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Jun Reagan calls on Gorbachev to "tear down" Berlin wall

correct incorrect May Reagan visits Soviet Union

correct incorrect Nov George H. W. Bush is elected president

correct incorrect Dec Gorbachev again visits United States

correct incorrect THE WORLD: Feb Gorbachev announces pullout of Soviet forces from Afghanistan