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The West Wing: 1975-1999

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The West Wing: 1975-1999 - Photo 1
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA

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1979: Islamic militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, and took Americans hostage. The West Wing once again became a crisis center as President Jimmy Carter and his staff planned a response.

The West Wing: 1975-1999 - Photo 2
RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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1981: President Ronald Reagan announced the appointment of Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court in a Rose Garden ceremony. O’Connor became the first female to be sworn in as Supreme Court Justice on September 25.

The West Wing: 1975-1999 - Photo 3

1986: President Reagan and his staff watched a tape of the space shuttle Challenger launch from the West Wing offices on January 28 and with the nation mourned the horrific explosion.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARA

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The West Wing: 1975-1999 - Photo 4
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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1991: The U.S.-led multinational force launched Operation Desert Storm on January 16 to begin the Persian Gulf War against Iraq. President George Bush transformed the West Wing into a strategic center to plan a build up and invasion that ended Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and forced Iraq’s acceptance of U.N. ceasefire terms that formally ended the war.

1995: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed. Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House was closed to traffic.

The West Wing: 1975-1999 - Photo 5
WILLIAM J. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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1998: The U.S. House of Representatives approved two of four proposed Articles of Impeachment against President Bill Clinton. The president held a Rose Garden rally with supporters and later was acquitted of the two articles by the Senate.

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