The Unipolar MomentMilitary
Gulf War and the sole superpower
A U.S.-led coalition drives Iraq out of Kuwait in the Gulf War, and with the Soviet collapse the United States stands unrivaled at the head of a new world order.
American History · Chronicle X of X
Contemporary America
Digital Age · 1991-Present
The internet, 9/11, financial crisis, and a divided nation.
- Span
- 1991 – Present
- Entries
- 7
Entry 1 of 7
The Digital DawnCultural
The internet and the tech boom
The World Wide Web goes mainstream and a booming Silicon Valley reshapes the economy, launching an information revolution centered in the United States.
September 11Military
The September 11 attacks
Al-Qaeda hijackers destroy the World Trade Center and strike the Pentagon, killing nearly three thousand and launching the War on Terror and the invasion of Afghanistan.
The attacks reshaped American security, foreign policy, and civil liberties for a generation, leading to prolonged wars in Afghanistan and, in 2003, Iraq.
Crisis and ChangePolitical
Financial crisis and Obama's election
The collapse of the housing market triggers the worst financial crisis since the Depression; that November, Barack Obama is elected the first Black president.
A Connected NationCultural
Smartphones and social media
Smartphones and social media transform daily life, politics, and business, even as they deepen the divisions and disruptions of the digital age.
Pandemic and DivisionEvent
The COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic kills more than a million Americans, upends the economy, and unfolds amid deep political polarization and a contested presidential election.
A Republic TestedPolitical
The Capitol riot and a divided nation
A mob storms the U.S. Capitol on January 6 seeking to overturn the election, a stark sign of the political divisions confronting American democracy in the 2020s.