The World Wide Web (1992)

    In 1992 the World Wide Web was born. The World Wide Web, or the Web is a global information system that enables uses to write and read via computers that are connected to the Internet. Many people mistake the Web for the Internet, but they are much different. The internet is a massive network of networks. It connects millions of computers together; which forms a network where any computer can communicate with any other computer that is connected to the Internet.
     The Web is a different way of accessing information over the Internet. The web uses the HTTP protocol, which enables applications to communicate so that information can be exchanged. The Web also allows browsers, like Internet Explorer and Firefox, to access Web pages. The World Wide Web was a very important invention that changed the way the Internet was used.

Facts about the 1990's

              Facts of the 1990's

•  Population: 281, 421, 906 
• Unemployment: 5.8 million
• Average Salary: $13. 37 per hour
• Minimum Wage: $5.15 per hour
• Life Expectancy: 73 years for males, and 79 years for females

Columbine Massacre (1993)

    On Tuesday April 20th, 1993 in Littleton, Colorado the first major high school shooting occurred. Months before gradation two seniors at Columbine High school Dylan Kebold and Eric Harris slaughtered 12 students and one administrator before they took their own lives. The two students hid bombs within the school, planning to kill the whole school but the bombs failed to detonate. Both boys were A+ students, however they both had criminal records. After the massacre the psychological states of the two students were questioned and investigated. 
   Shortly after the shooting, journals written and films created by the two teenagers offered insight into the minds of the young men. Harris dreamt of a world where filled with solitude and serenity and he favored mass destruction. Kebold was very quiet and his actions were very influenced by Eric. Not only did the massacre shock the American public, it was also a revolutionary event.  The aftermath was very scarring for the family and it will be remembered in our hearts forever.

The Y2K Scare (1999)

    When the year 2000 came the computer would automatically change its date. Many computers assumed that all the dates started with 19, so when 99 changed to 00, many computers would think it would be 1900. This was called the Y2K Scare. The computer industry  became scared because hospital records, bank accounts, and National Defense systems all depended on computers, and there could be vital consequences if they all crashed at one time. Also, people believed that all of their luxuries would crumble and that they would have to live without running water, electricity, and heat. People bought canned foods and gallons of extra water before the New Year started. 
    People around the world held their breath when the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1999.  New Year's Day continued and nothing happened to the computers. Some computers had a few glitches, but almost all of them were alright. Everyone realized that all the brouhaha was for nothing and the computers were fine and that people could continue their normal lives. 

Bill Clinton's Impeachment (1998)

    In 1998 Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives. Bill Clinton's charges were perjury, obstruction of office, and malfeasance in office. He had been having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, and he was denying it. Also, Paula C. Jones came to Washington D.C. and sued Clinton for sexual harassment, when he was an Arkansas governor. When the government found out that the scandals had been true, the House of Representatives tried him for impeachment.

Bill Clinton

      First, the House of Representatives voted on if Bill Clinton should have been impeached, and when they voted yes, a trial in the Senate was set up for him. When the Senate voted to impeach him also, his second term was almost over; so he stayed in office until it was over. Polls taken in the late 1990's said that only one third of the American population agreed with the impeachment of Bill Clinton, but when they found out that he was going to stay in office, more than half of Americans agreed with the impeachment. Bill Clinton's impeachment process was a major event in political history because he is the second President to be impeached in the United States.

Bombing of the World Trade Center (1993)

    In 1993 a group of Muslim terrorists attempted to bomb the World Trade Center. They wanted to do this because they did not approve of the United States helping Israel. They sent a letter to many New York newspapers before the attack with three demands: that U.S. aid would stop coming to Israel, that the U.S. would stop having relations with Israel, and they wanted the U.S. to stop interfering with any Middle East country's affairs. The terrorists said that if their demands were not met they would continue the attacks on the United States.

This is a photo taken of the underground damage after the
first attack on the World Trade Center

    The terrorists plan for the attack was to knock the North Tower into the South Tower, killing thousands of people inside the buildings. Little did they know that their plan did not succeed they way they thought it would. They constructed the bomb and put it in a yellow van. They drove the van into the public parking garage beneath the World Trade Center. They ignited the fuse, and ran. Twelve minutes later, there was an explosion in the garage. The bomb created a 98 ft. hole through four levels in the building. Immediately, the building's electricity went out and smoke rose to many floors. With smoke in the stairwells and no electricity, it was very hard for the people to evacuate the building, but the bomb only caused 6 deaths and 1,042 injuries.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (N.A.F.T.A.) (1994)

     In 1994 President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. (N.A.F.T.A.) The North American Free Trade Agreement removed barriers for trade between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. N.A.F.T.A. reduces trading costs, increases business investment, and it helps North America be a competitor in global trade. Between 1994-2007 trade went from $297 billion to $1 trillion. Immediately N.A.F.T.A. eliminated many taxes on imported goods between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Also, Mexico has bought many more goods from the U.S. than it did before N.A.F.T.A. The North American Free Trade Agreement is a very controversial issue because while many Americans agreed with it, many Americans did not agree with it.

The Great Flood of 1993 (1993)



This photo was taken in Festus, Missouri
and it is 1.5 miles from the river.

     In 1993, there was a large flood along the Mississippi River, Missouri River, and their tributaries. The flooding was from April to October and it was very damaging to many states. The flood affected Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Around 50,000 homes were destroyed because of the floods. Also, fifty people lost their lives because of the floods. The flooded area was a total of 30,000 square miles and the damage cost the United States $15 billion. Over 1,000 mm (39 in) of rain fell and some valleys in Mississippi were flooded for over 200 days.

Hubble Space Telescope (1990)

    Another important event in 1990 was the launching of the Hubble Space telescope. Even though it was not the first space telescope, the Hubble was one of the largest and most versatile. It was launched into orbit by a space shuttle and it was built by NASA. The Hubble orbits outside the Earth's atmosphere which allows it to take very sharp and clear images.

    In 1993 one of the Hubble's main mirrors was turned incorrectly, which withdrew many of the Hubble's abilities. Luckily, scientists and astronauts were able to fix the problem and the Hubble's            abilities were restored. The Hubble Space Telescope is something that Americans are fortunate to have, so that we can see what the world looks like from space.

This is a picture of a galaxy that the
Hubble Space Telescope took. 

This is the Crab Nebula, a remnant of
a supernova that Chinese observers
recorded. 

Oklahoma City Bombings (1995)

This photo was taken after the bombings. 

In 1995 there were several bombings in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed by Timothy McVeigh because he hated the way the federal government handled situations. He bombed the building by parking an explosive filled truck in front of the government building. 168 people were killed and 800 people were wounded because of the bombings in Oklahoma City.The bombing was considered one of the worst bombings on American soil. The people who died because of the Oklahoma City bombing will be remembered in our minds, and our hearts forever. 

O. J. Simpson Case (1995)

    In the 90's one case that caught the public's eye was The O. J. Simpson Case. O. J. Simpson was a former NFL star, and he was accused of murdering Nicole Simpson and Robert Goldman. Nicole Brown-Simpson was O. J.'s ex-wife, and Robert Goldman was an friend of Nicole's. He was returning sunglasses that her mother left at the restaurant he worked at when Nicole was being murdered. Goldman happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and he was murdered also.
    The night that they were murdered O. J. Simpson was leaving for a flight to Chicago, Illinois for a convention of the Hertz Rental Car company, and the police contacted him and asked him to come back to Los Angeles so that he could be questioned. They gathered enough evidence to arrest Simpson and he was supposed to turn himself in the next day at the Los Angeles Police Department. 
    The next day, when Simpson did not come, the police went to his apartment and searched for him. They found a note that resembled a suicide note, but he was gone. Later that day, someone reported to the police that they saw a man who looked like O.J. in Orange Country. The police found him with $8,750 in cash, a passport, a loaded gun, a fake beard, and a fake mustache. Once the police caught him he was brought into custody and then put on trial.
      A writer called the trial "the Superbowl of murder trials." When O.J. was asked, "How do you plead?" he responded with "Absolutely one hundred percent not guilty, Your Honor." Later, the jury decided that O. J. was in fact, not guilty and he was released. The O. J. Simpson Case was  one of the many court cases in the 1990's, but it will always be remembered. 

Events of the 1990's

     The OJ Simpson Court Case, the Comlumbine School shooting, the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Y2K scare. These are only some of the events that took place in the 1990's that changed American history. The 1990's was a very important decade that led America to where it is today. Take a look inside the 1990's and see what really happened...