1. 1999
January 1, 1999 - The Euro currency is introduced as a competitive tool to stem the power of the
dollar and maximize the economic power of the European Union nations.
February 12, 1999 - President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the U.S. Senate in the Monica Lewinsky
scandal. The Senate trial, which began January 7 and needed a 2/3 majority to convict, ended with a
55-45 not guilty vote on the charge of perjury and 50-50 vote on the charge of obstruction of justice
May 3, 1999 - A series of tornadoes strikes Oklahoma, including an F5 category storm that slams
Oklahoma City, killing thirty-eight. The fastest wind speed ever recorded on earth is measured by
scientists at 509 km (318 mph) during this tornado.
November 30, 1999 - The first major mobilization of the anti-globalization movement occurs in
Seattle, Washington, during the days before the 1999 World Trade Organization meetings. The
protests and rioting caused the cancellation of the WTO opening ceremonies.
In 1999, the unemployment rate was 8.2 for African Americans and 3.6 for whites.
2000
April 1, 2000 - The 2000 census enumerates a population of 281,421,906, increasing 13.2% since
1990. As regions, the South and West continued to pick up the majority of the increase in
population, moving the geographic center of U.S. population to Phelps County, Missouri.
April 3, 2000 - The ruling in the case of the United States versus Microsoft states that the company
did violate anti-trust laws by diminishing the capability of its rivals to compete.
June 1, 2000 - For the first time since 1851, the United States of America does not participate in a
major World's Fair, the Hannover 2000 World Expo, despite a record number, 187, of international
participants. President Bill Clinton had withdrawn U.S. participation late in 1999 after agreement to
participate in 1997. Congressional apathy toward participation in world events continues a decline in
U.S. involvement after the fall of the Soviet Union and victory in the Cold War. A consequence of this
policy has led to a rise, among some experts, of anti-American sentiment and a decline of U.S.
influence in diplomatic affairs. Less than half, 18.1 million, of the original attendance estimate, 40
million, visit Hannover's event.
November 7, 2000 - George W. Bush, son of the former President, and Vice President Al Gore hold a
virtual dead-heat for the presidency, with a disputed vote in Florida holding off the naming of the
winner of the Presidential Election until the Supreme Court of the United States voted in favor of
November 7, 2000 - Hillary Rodham Clinton wins a seat for the United States Senate from New York.
It is the first time a former First Lady wins public office.

2. 2001
January 6, 2001 - Certification of the Electoral College victory of the 2000 United States Presidential
election in the U.S. Senate confirms George W. Bush as the victor, with Dick Cheney as his Vice-
President.
April 1, 2001 - China-U.S. incident. An American spy plane collides with a fighter plane of China and
makes an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for ten days.
September 11, 2001 - Islamic fundamentalist terrorists hijack four U.S. airliners and crash them into
the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York City. The attack of two planes levels the
World Trade Center and the crash of one plane inflicts serious damage to the Pentagon in Arlington,
Virginia, causing nearly 3,000 deaths. The fourth plane is heroically crashed by passengers into a
Shanksville, Pennsylvania cornfield when they learn of the plot, preventing destruction of another
structure in Washington, D.C., supposed to be the White House or the Capitol building. The plot is
attributed to the Al-Qaeda organization led by Osama Bin Laden.
September 18, 2001 - Anthrax attacks by mail from Princeton, New Jersey against news and
government targets begin. Federal officials announce the first case on October 4.
October 7, 2001 - In response to the tragedy of September 11, the United States military, with
participation from its ally the United Kingdom, commence the first attack in the War on Terrorism on
the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. By November 12, the Taliban government leaves the
capital, Kabul
2002
February 8, 2002 - Amid tight security due to terrorism concerns, the Winter Olympic Games are
opened by President George W. Bush in Salt Lake City, Utah. They would continue without major
incident until the closing ceremony on February 24.
May 21, 2002 - The United States State Department issues its report in the War on Terror. It states
that there are seven nations that a State-Sponsors: Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and
Syria.
July 5, 2002 - Continuing its pattern of the past several years, Iraq refuses new proposals from the
United Nations concerning weapons inspections. The inspections were part of the cease-fire
agreement and terms of surrender in the 1991 Gulf War.