Al Gore - Gore Chronology | The Choice 2000 | FRONTLINE
Publish date: 2024-07-10
Albert Arnold Gore is born at Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington DC. A headline in the Nashville Tennessean reads, "Well, Mr. Gore, here HE Is--On Page 1." Al splits his childhood between the school year in Washington DC and summers and holidays on the family farm in Carthage, Tennessee.
· Click here to read an interview with Gore's childhood friend Steve Armistead.
· "A Boys Life in and Out of the Family Script"
Albert Gore Sr. is elected to the Senate, having defeated the powerful chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Kenneth D. McKellar.
Albert Gore Sr. refuses to sign the "Southern Manifesto," which opposed federal efforts to desegregate schools. That same year, the Interstate Highway Act is passed; Senator Gore helped write this major piece of legislation and later assumed credit for it.
At the 1956, Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic presidential nominee, throws open the selection of his vice president to the convention delegates. Senator Gore briefly challenges his Tennessee colleague Senator Estes Kefauver for the vice presidency. Under pressure from the kingmakers of the party and the Tennessee delegation, however, Gore Sr. withdraws his name from consideration. He would never again be in the running for national office.
Al Jr. is enrolled at St. Albans preparatory school in Washington D.C. which he attends through his graduation from high school.
· Click here to learn more about Gore's years at St. Albans.
Al Gore meets Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Aitcheson at a high school dance.
Al Gore graduates from St. Albans, where he was known for his work ethic, competitiveness, and confidence. Referred to as a "wooden Apollo" by one former teacher, Gore was captain of his football team, played basketball, and was a member of the art and government clubs.
Al Gore attends Harvard University, where he majors in government and studies under Martin Peretz and Richard Neustadt. After serving as freshman class president he withdrew from campus leadership positions. He spent much of his free time with his friends and with Tipper, who attended college in Boston to be close to Al.
· Click here to read more about Gore's years at Harvard.
· "On Campus Torn by 60s, Agonizing Over the Path"
Al Gore attends the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with his father. The young Gore helps his father the Senator write an important anti-war speech.
· Click here for more on Gore's political education during the summer of 1968.
Al graduates from Harvard with honors. He spent much of his senior year debating whether he should serve in Vietnam. While he opposed the war he knew that his service could help his father's reelection campaign in Tennessee.
Al Gore enlists in the U.S. Army in Newark, New Jersey, hoping not to be recognized as a Senator's son. He spent two months in basic training at Ft. Dix.
Al reports to Ft. Rucker, Alabama and is assigned to be an information officer for the U.S. Army Aviation School.
Gore is recognized as "post soldier of the month" at Ft. Rucker.
Al Gore and Tipper Aitcheson are married at Washington's National Cathedral.
Albert Gore Sr. loses his reelection race to Congressman Bill Brock, who was supported by President Nixon. Throughout the fall, while on weekend leave, Al campaigned in uniform with his father, but the Senator's anti-Vietnam stance cost him many votes in "The Volunteer State."
· Click here to read how "Gore Adapted to Army, Dad's Defeat"
Al Gore is sent to Vietnam as an army journalist, assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade headquartered at Bien Hoa, an airbase twenty miles northeast of Saigon.
· Click here to read about Gore's experience in Vietnam.
· "For Gore, Army Years Mixed Vietnam and Family Politics"
Al Gore receives an honorable discharge from the army after he is accepted to Vanderbilt University's Graduate School of Religion.
Gore works at Nashville Tennessean, where his assignments include policy, Metro government and editorials.
· Click here to read FRONTLINE'S interview with Gore's Tennessean colleague Ken Jost.
Al and Tipper's first child, Karenna Gore, is born.
As the result of a sting set up by the Tennessean and local law enforcement, Al Gore breaks the story of a bribery scandal involving Nashville councilman Morris Haddox. Haddox is indicted but acquitted in a second trial after the first jury deadlocked.
Al Gore attends Vanderbilt University Law School.
After veteran Congressman Joe Evins announced his retirement, Gore quickly announces his candidacy for U.S. Representative from Tennessee's Fourth District at the Smith County Courthouse in Carthage.
· Click here to read FRONTLINE'S interview with Ken Jost about Gore's first campaign.
Al Gore is elected to Congress. After the election he immediately begins to hold a series of town meetings across the district in order to stay in touch with his constituents, a practice he continued throughout his Congressional career.
· "Birth of a Candidate: Al Gore Goes into the Family Business"
Kristin Gore is born.
Al Gore is reelected to Congress. He would be reelected twice more in 1980 and 1982.
Sarah Gore is born.
Gore delivers the first televised speech from House floor. During his years in Congress, Gore--known for his adoption of high-profile issues--was sometimes called "Prime Time Al."
Al Gore introduces a comprehensive arms control proposal in Congress. His proposal serves as an example of Gore's tendency to master the details of complicated issues, including arms control, technology, and the environment.
Albert Arnold Gore III is born.
1983 - Upon learning Tennessee Senator Howard Baker would not seek reelection, Gore declares his Senate candidacy.
Al Gore's sister Nancy LaFon Gore Hunger dies after a battle with lung cancer. At the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Gore would deliver an emotional speech about his sister's cancer battle.
Gore is elected to the U.S. Senate with more than 60% of the vote.
Tipper Gore and Susan Baker (wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker) form the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) and begin a controversial crusade for parental guidelines on explicit content in the music industry.
Gore formally announces his campaign for the presidency on the steps of the Smith County Courthouse in Carthage. He would first face questions about marijuana use during this campaign.
As one of the nation's youngest presidential candidates, Gore wins five states in the Super Tuesday primaries (Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee.) His almost successful strategy involved skipping the Iowa caucus in order to concentrate his efforts on the South.
April 1988 - After a poor showing in New York Gore drops out of the presidential race. He vows to erase his fundraising debt and returns to the Senate.
Albert Gore III is struck by a car and seriously injured while leaving a Baltimore Orioles game. Al and Tipper stayed by his side as Albert III remained in the hospital for three weeks. In the aftermath of the accident, Al began work on a book about one of his passionate political causes, the environment.
· Click here to read more.
· "Career in the Balance, Gore Focused His Energy on a Book"
Gore is reelected to Senate.
Gore is one of ten Democratic Senators who votes in favor of the Gulf War.
Gore announces he will not run for the presidency in 1992 in order to spend more time with his family.
Gore publishes Earth in the Balance. The book debuts in 13th place on New York Times bestseller list.
Bill Clinton announces the selection of Gore as his vice-presidential running mate, suddenly returning Gore to the national stage.
Bill Clinton is elected president. Clinton and Gore create a working partnership that establishes Gore as one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history.
As the president of the Senate, Gore casts the tie-breaking vote to pass Clinton's major economic plan.
On Larry King Live Gore debates Ross Perot over NAFTA. Gore's strong performance helps to change public opinion and ensure passage of the bill.
Gore makes seventy-one fundraising phone calls for the Clinton/Gore reelection campaign from the White House. In an infamous March 1997 press conference he contends that "no controlling legal authority" prohibited him from making the calls.
Gore attends fundraiser at Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple. He later states he believed it to be a community outreach event.
Gore gives an emotional speech at Democratic National Convention recalling his sister Nancy's death from cancer. He is later criticized for exploiting his sister's death to capitalize on the current anti-tobacco political atmosphere.
The Clinton/Gore ticket is easily reelected.
1998 - Gore supports President Clinton throughout the Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment process.
Attorney General Janet Reno announces she will not appoint an independent counsel to investigate Gore's fundraising for reelection campaign.
Albert Gore Sr. dies of natural causes at home in Carthage.
June 16, 1999 - Speaking from the steps of the courthouse in Carthage, Tennessee--the same place he announced his first campaign for Congress in 1976--Al Gore announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In an attempt to steady a faltering campaign, Gore moves his campaign headquarters from Washington D.C. to Nashville.
Gore wins the Iowa caucus. One week later, he defeats Bill Bradley in the New Hampshire primary, effectively ending the only challenge to his nomination.
Gore announces the selection of Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman as his vice-presidential running mate.
Al Gore accepts his party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.
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