Flashcard Set #1 - Colonies to War

for Independence

Mercantilism

The colonies had limits on trading

The colonies only existed for the benefit of the mother country (Great Britain)

Virginia House of Burgesses and the Mayflower Compact –

First representative democracies

Self-government in the colonies

Salutary Neglect

The British didn’t really enforce the laws against the colonies, so the colonies were

left alone.

It ended with new taxes: Stamp Act and Sugar Act, which upset the colonists.

Causes of the Revolutionary War

End of salutary neglect with new taxes

Taxation without representation

Proclamation of 1763 – kept colonists from moving west

Consent of the Governed –

The people get to approve the government

John Locke

Believed in “Natural Rights” and the “Social Contract Theory”

The Social Contract

The people can overthrow a government that does not protect their rights

The Declaration of Independence

Statement and explanation of why we are fighting for Independence

Includes “Natural Rights” and the “Social Contract Theory”

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Pamphlet that encouraged the Colonists to fight the British

Articles of Confederation

First US Government – TOO WEAK!

The states had too much power

No president or Supreme Court, only a Congress

The Land Ordinance and Northwest Ordinance in the AOC

Land Ordinance of 1785 –set up admission of new states to US

Northwest Ordinance 1787 – prohibited slavery in NEW territories

Constitutional Convention

Wanted to “fix” the weak Articles of Confederation to make it stronger

Then, instead of fixing it, the weak AOC was replaced by the stronger Constitution

Flashcard Set #2 – Constitution I

Great Compromise

Representation in Congress

Created a bi-cameral (two house) legislature

Senate + House of Representatives = Congress

Laws must pass both houses

3/5ths Compromise

Question of counting slaves for representation in Congress

Counted as 3/5ths of a person

Electoral College to Elect the President

Each state gets votes based on population

It is possible for the popular vote loser to win the electoral college, like Bush in 2000

“Separation of Power” and “Checks and Balances”

The idea of dividing power comes from the Enlightenment

Each branch makes sure the other branch is not abusing its power

Powers of the President (Executive Branch)

Commander in Chief of the military

Appoints judges

Can sign laws or veto laws

Power of the Supreme Court (Judicial Branch)

Has Judicial Review - Declares laws either Constitutional or Unconstitutional

Powers of Congress

Makes laws

Approves Treaties

Approves Supreme Court Justices

Declares war

Can impeach the President

Can override a veto with 2/3rds vote

Elastic Clause

Congress can do anything “necessary and proper”

Gives flexibility, but DOES NOT CHANGE the Constitution

Flashcard Set #3 – Constitution II

Ratify

Means “to accept”

Example: The states ratified the Constitution; Congress can ratify an amendment

Federalists

The group that was FOR ratification of the Constitution

Thought a strong government was good

Wrote the Federalist Papers

Anti-Federalists

The group that was AGAINST the ratification of the Constitution

Wanted a Bill of Rights added

Bill of Rights

First 10 Amendments added because of the Anti-Federalist

Protects people’s rights from government abuse

Lobbying

When a special interest group wants Congress to pass laws that will help it

Unwritten Constitution

Traditions that are followed, but not in the constitution

Includes the Cabinet, Political Parties, Lobbying, and Judicial Review

Two-Term Tradition

Unwritten tradition that became a part of the Constitution

Tradition started by Washington

Broken by FDR so it became 22nd Amendment

Amendment

Gives flexibility by actually changing the words of the constitution

Example: During the Vietnam War, you could be drafted at 18, but couldn’t vote until 21. So, the 26th Amendment CHANGED the voting age to 18.

Federalism

Two levels of government: State and Federal

Federalism: Delegated Powers

Federal (National) Government Powers

Declare War, Coin Money, Elastic Clause

Federalism: Reserved Powers

State Powers

Schools, Elections, Marriage & Divorce

Federalism: Concurrent Powers

Shared Powers: Both Federal and State

Roads and Taxes

Flashcard Set #4 – Early Republic

Political Parties

Started by disputes between Hamilton and Jefferson

Unwritten Constitution

President Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)

Supported his Proclamation of Neutrality

Against political parties

Alexander Hamilton

Paid off debts and created the National Bank with the Elastic Clause

“Loose” Interpretation

Thomas Jefferson

“Strict” Interpretation

Bought Louisiana with Treaty Powers, NOT the Elastic Clause

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

Jefferson used Treaty Powers to buy from France

Doubled the size of US

Gained control of the Mississippi River

Jefferson went against his own “strict” beliefs

Chief Justice John Marshall - STRONG

His rulings made the federal government STRONGER

He made the Supreme Court stronger by giving it Judicial Review

He also gave Federal Government regulation of trade and the National Bank

Marbury v Madison (1803)

The “Midnight Judges” case

The Constitution didn’t include judicial review, so Marshall gave the Supreme Court it’s power of “Judicial Review”

Judicial Review : Can declare laws constitutional or unconstitutional

McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

Maryland was taxing the National Bank

Marshall and the SC ruled the National Bank CONSTITUTIONAL, so Maryland couldn’t tax it

Gibbons v Ogden (1824)

Marshall and the SC ruled that the Congress could regulate trade between the states

Flashcard Set #5 – Madison to Polk

War of 1812

War Hawks wanted to expand US territory into Canada

Battle of New Orleans – makes Andrew Jackson famous

Era of Good Feeling

1815 to 1825 – Sectionalism takes backseat to Nationalism for short time

Monroe Doctrine

Told Europe not to colonize any more of the Western Hemisphere

Said US would stay out of Europe

US wanted to control trade in Latin America

Sectionalism

Economic differences between the North and South caused tension

Each side disagreed over slavery, the tariff, and “states’ rights”

Transportation Revolution in America

Steam Power, Canals, Roads, and Railroads

Internal improvements helped to improve industry and trade

Manifest Destiny

The belief that God says that the US should expand its territory from coast to coast

Texas Independence

Americans invited into Mexico, cheap land, promised to obey Mexican laws

Santa Anna led army against rebellious Anglos at Alamo

1845 - Texas became the 28th state

Mexican War

Caused by Manifest Destiny

US takes a huge amount of new territory from Mexico

The new territory causes arguments over the expansion of slavery

President Andrew Jackson: “King Andrew I”

Jacksonian Democracy – Era of the Common Man

Spoils System – hired his own supporters

Force Bill against South Carolina

Killed National Bank

Indian Removal Act

Worcester v Georgia (1832)

Jackson wanted the Native Americans removed from Georgia and put into the Oklahoma territory

SC said it was Unconstitutional so they could stay

Jackson moved them anyway, violating “checks and balances”

Led to the horrible Trail of Tears

Seneca Falls Convention

Organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott

Wrote the Declaration of Sentiments supporting equality and suffrage for women

Horace Mann

Led the public school reform movement

Flashcard Set #6 – Decade of crisis

William Lloyd Garrison

Abolitionist who published the anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator

Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner

Former slaves who attempted violent (separate) slave revolts

Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglas

Former slaves who gave speeches supporting abolition (separately)

Timeline From Manifest Destiny to Reconstruction (1) Manifest Destiny → (2) New Land from Mexico → (3) Arguments over slavery in the new territories → (4) Weak Compromises → (5) Secession → (6) The Civil War → (7) Reconstruction

Causes of the Civil War

Economic issues (Industry vs. Cotton)

Sectionalism

The Tariff

Slavery in the new territories

Weak compromises

States Rights and Nullification

Weak Compromises Before Civil War

Missouri Compromise – divided US into free and slave

Compromise of 1850 – California – free state and fugitive slave act

Kansas-Nebraska Act – Popular sovereignty vote on slavery, which led to violence

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

SC case where a slave was taken by his owner from a slave state (Missouri) to a free state (Illinois) and wanted to remain free

Supreme Court Ruling in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

Slaves are property and blacks are not citizens

The government cannot take away property

Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional

Flashcard Set #7 –

Civil War and Reconstruction

Lincoln’s Goal during the Civil War

Keep the Union together

Did NOT free slaves at first, but did later

Lincoln Suspends Habeas Corpus

Lincoln took away Constitutional Rights

Arrested people in Maryland and Delaware who wanted those states to join the south

Helped the Union win the war

Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation

Told the Confederacy to free slaves, but it didn’t really free any slave

BUT it led to the 13th Amendment which got rid of slavery

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plans

Wanted to forgive the South and bring them back into the Union

Assassinated before the plan went into action

Radical Republicans in Congress Plan for Reconstruction

Wanted to punish the South

Impeached Johnson because he was to forgiving

Reconstruction Amendments: 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments

13th: Freed the Slaves

14th: Gave blacks citizenship and “equal protection”

15th: Gave blacks the right to vote

Poll Tax, Literacy Test, Grandfather Clause

The South used these to keep blacks from voting

Official End to Reconstruction: Compromise of 1877

Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) becomes President in exchange for removing federal troops from the South

Plessy v Ferguson (1896)

A black man wanted to ride in the white section of a train

The Supreme Court ruled against him and said that segregation was constitutional

“Separate, but equal”

Flashcard Set #8 –

Western Frontier, Big Business, and

Industrialization

Homestead Act (1862)

Gave land away to settlers to get people to move west

Dawes Act (1887)

Tried to “Americanize” the Native Americans by splitting up their tribes and giving them small land

Chief Joseph

Leader of the Nez Perce who led a Native American Indian rebellion against the government

The “Gilded Age”

The nickname of the big business era in the late 1800s

Reasons for Industrialization in the North after the Civil War

INVESTMENT CAPITAL – money for investing in business

Transcontinental Railroad and Immigration

Monopolies, Trusts, and Pools

Eliminated competition and raised prices

Captains of Industry or Robber Barons?

Captains of Industry: The monopolists made billions, helped the economy, and provided jobs to immigrants

Robber Barons: The monopolists paid low wages, had dangerous factories, child labor, and eliminated the competition

Andrew Carnegie: Steel Entrepreneur

Carnegie Steel: Vertical monopoly in steel

Big philanthropist

John D. Rockefeller: Oil entrepreneur

Standard Oil: Monopoly that controlled 90% of oil refining

Big philanthropist

JP Morgan: Banking, Railroads, Steel Entrepreneur

Horizontal monopoly in railroads

Bought Carnegie Steel and created US Steel

Social Darwinism

“Survival of the Fittest” applied to business

Believes monopolies are good

Supports laissez-faire: Doesn’t want any laws regulating business

Collective Bargaining and Strikes

How unions negotiate for better conditions

Strikes were violent

Unions usually failed because government was on the side of business

Samuel Gompers: American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A labor union formed by Gompers for skilled workers

Eugene Debs: Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

A union organizer who led the Pullman Strike

Flashcard Set #9 –

Immigration, urbanization, and

Politics

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) and Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan (1907)

Nativist policies that limited Chinese immigration and Japanese immigration

Urbanization During Industrialization

Big businesses needed immigrants to move to the US

Moved into northern cities

Ghetto – an area with the same ethnic group, like Chinatown and Little Italy

Tenement

Crowded city apartment, usually with immigrants

Old Immigration vs. New Immigration

Old (Before Civil War) – Irish and German

New (After Civil War) – Italian, Russian, Japanese, Chinese

Assimilation

Immigrants adapting to US culture and learning English

Melting Pot Theory of Immigration

America is a mix of cultures and our country benefits from the different ideas

Salad Bowl Theory of Immigration

Numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society

Nativism

Hate immigrants: Think they take jobs from American born natives

Political Machine

Organized group that controlled the activities of a political party in a city

Patronage

Giving government jobs to people who got candidates elected

Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883

Bipartisan civil service commission to make appointments to federal jobs based on merit system.

Candidates performance on examination

Tammany Hall and William Tweed

NYC political machine gains power through graft, bribery, and corruption

Exposed by Thomas Nast, cartoonist

Flashcard Set #10 –

Populism and progressivism

The Grange

Farmers against the railroad monopolies that raised prices on transporting food on the railroads Populist Party

“Third Party” - Supported free silver –which would help farmers pay debts

Supported the Progressive income tax

Lost elections, but ideas adopted by both Republicans and Democrats Progressive Era

The time period after industrialization when things improved because of REFORMS Jane Addams Hull House

Settlement house for immigrant children Muckraker

They exposed the bad things of industrialization and urbanization Upton Sinclair – Muckraker

Exposed the Meat Industry

The Jungle led to the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act Frank Norris – Muckraker

Exposed railroad monopolies

The Octopus Lincoln Steffens – Muckraker

Exposed the corruption of the cities

The Shame of the Cities

Thomas Nast – Muckraker

Exposed the corruption of the political machines by drawing cartoons

Focused on Tammany Hall’s Boss Tweed in NYC Jacob Riis – Muckraker

Exposed the tenements with his pictures

How the Other Half Lives Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Clayton Anti-Trust Act

Broke up monopolies to help smaller businesses compete Progressive Voting Reforms

Initiative, referendum, recall, direct election of Senators

Gives the people more direct democracy Progressive Income Tax – 16th Amendment

Based on the ability to pay – the rich pay a higher percentage rate and the poor pay a lower percentage rate

Flashcard Set #11 –

Progressivism and Imperialism

President Teddy Roosevelt - Progressive

Trust Buster – broke up the bad trusts, kept the good

Conservation – saved land in the west by setting up national forests and national parks

“Square Deal” – Progressive ideas President Wilson’s New Freedom

Wilson’s Progressive Reforms: Progressive Income Tax and the Federal Reserve Federal Reserve

Can protect the economy by controlling the money in circulation

Raises or lowers interest rates Spanish American War (1898)

US freed Cuba from Spain

Yellow Journalism exaggerated Spain’s abuse of Cuba

The US went to war for the Cuban people, for imperialism, and because the Maine exploded Open Door Policy (1899)

The US demanded an “open door” for trade

The US forced fair trading access into the Chinese/Asia market President McKinley After Spanish American War

Takes land for business to get more raw materials and markets

Takes Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines from Spain

Later the US takes over Hawaii and Samoa Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Believed the US should “speak softly but carry a big stick”

“International Police Power” – Roosevelt said the US would step in and solve problems in Latin America and the Caribbean

Roosevelt Takes the Panama Canal

Important for trade and US military

TR gave Panama independence, so the US could take the canal from Colombia President Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy

Better relations with Latin America through trade Booker T. Washington

Thought job training education was the best way for African Americans to gain acceptance WEB DuBois

Thought an education would provide an “educated elite” to protest for rights

Started the NAACP

Flashcard Set #12A –

World War I

Reasons for US involvement in World War I

German subs disrupted trade

Propaganda

The Sinking of the Lusitania & Zimmerman Note to Mexico

AND Wilson wanted to make the “world safe for democracy”

Espionage and Sedition Acts during World War I

Freedom of Speech was restricted during World War I

Couldn’t interfere with the draft or speak out against the war

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Charles Schenck arrested for mailing leaflets against the draft - violated the Espionage Act

The SC ruled speech can be limited only if there is a “clear and present danger”

Free Speech is not absolute: example – can’t yell “FIRE” in a crowded theater

Wilson’s 14 Points and the League of Nations

After WWI, Wilson wanted a League of Nations included in the Treaty of Versailles

BUT The US Senate rejected the treaty

The Senate thought it would get us into more wars

US went back to isolation and neutrality

Flashcard Set #12B –

Roaring 20s

US Isolationism in the 1920s

The Senate rejected the League of Nations

“The return to normalcy” was based on neutrality

US tried to use weak international agreements: Washington Conference and Kellogg-Briand Pact

Women Suffrage (SUFFRAGE = THE RIGHT TO VOTE)

Western states were the first to grant suffrage (the right to vote)

Led by Susan B. Anthony

19th

Amendment: gave women suffrage

Red Scare and the Palmer Raids

Red Scare – Americans feared Communist would take over

Palmer Raids – police raids that violated the habeas corpus rights

Sacco and Vanzetti

Italian immigrants who were convicted of murder and executed

Nativism against immigrants and fear of Communism

Quotas on Immigration

Immigration Act of 1924: limits (QUOTAS) on immigrants based on nativism

Discriminated against people from eastern Europe, southern Europe, and Asia

Prohibition (1919-1933)

The Temperance movement led to the 18th

Amendment (1919)

Many broke the law: difficult and expensive to enforce

Congress repealed prohibition by the 21st Amendment (1933)

Scopes Trial

“The Monkey Trial”: religion vs. science

Teacher on trial for teaching evolution

The “fundamental religious” argument was weakened by modern ideas

Flashcard Set #13 –

Great depression and new deal

Great Depression

Worst economy in American history with millions unemployed, farm problems, and bank failures

Causes of the Great Depression

Overproduction of farms and factories

Big gap between rich and poor

Too much buying on credit

Bank failures

Stock Market crash

Weak international economy

The New Deal

FDR’s plan to end the Great Depression

Government took an active role: “pump priming”

Provided jobs, saved the banks, provided a “safety net”

New Deal Program: AAA

Paid farmers not to grow certain crops so prices would go up

New Deal Program: The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

Regulates the stock market

New Deal Program: TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

Provided jobs and cheap electricity to local parts of the South that need it

New Deal Program: Social Security Act

Benefits for the elderly, the unemployed, and welfare for the poor and their children

New Deal Program: FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

Insures deposits and makes people more confident in US banks

New Deal Program: Wagner Act

Gave unions the right to collective bargaining

FDR’s Court Packing Plan

The Supreme Court declared some New Deal plans unconstitutional

So, FDR tried to increase the size of the court from 9 to 15

Congress killed it because it violated “checks and balances”

Was the New Deal effective?

World War II ended the Great Depression, not the New Deal

Good: The New Deal provided jobs, helped people cope, and saved capitalism

Bad: People now rely more on the government

Flashcard Set #14 –

World War II

“Neutrality” Before World War II (Kellogg-Briand Pact and Neutrality Acts)

Before WWII, the US tried to stay neutral but couldn’t

Kellogg-Briand Pact – outlawed war

Neutrality Acts – declared US neutrality

BUT the US needed to sell weapons to get us out of the Great Depression

“Cash and Carry”, Destroyers for Bases, and the Lend Lease Act

Policies that traded weapons with the Allies (the democracies fighting in Europe)

FDR said the US was an “arsenal for democracy”

Slowly got the US more involved in WWII

FDR Puts the Japanese-Americans into Internment Camps

After Pearl Harbor, there was racism against Japanese Americans

FDR was worried about spies so he locked them up

Violated Civil Liberties and Congress apologized to them 40 years later

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Korematsu was a Japanese American who wanted out of internment

SC ruled that a race of people can lose rights during wartime

Truman Drops Two Atomic Bombs on Japan (1945)

Wanted to end the war quickly and save American lives

Bad: Together killed 200,000 civilians instantly and thousands died in the years after

Good: Japan surrendered and WWII ended

Domestic Issues in World War II

The government sold war bonds

Women worked in the factories: Rosie the Riveter

Rationing – Americans rationed and saved products for the war

Nuremberg Trials

After WWII ended, the US was an international leader in holding trial against Nazis for “crimes

against humanity.”

Flashcard Set #15 –

Cold war

HUAC

Investigated communist activity

Led to “blacklisting” actors and writers in Hollywood who were accused o f communism

President Truman and the Military

The G.I. Bill gave money for housing and college to soldiers

Desegregation of the Military

Fired Gen. MacArthur during the Korean War: “Civilian Control of the Military”

The “Baby Boom” Generation Right after WWII

Largest population explosion in US history

Will be a huge problem for Social Security when they retire

Cold War (1946 – 1991)

Tension and hate between the US and the USSR without real war

Couldn’t go to war because both had nuclear bombs

Containment

Foreign policy where the US tried to keep communism in Eastern Europe

Marshall Plan

US gave money to Western Europe to rebuild, for trade, and to stop communism

Truman Doctrine and Eisenhower Doctrine

Foreign policies that gave aid to stop communism

Truman sent military aid and money to Greece and Turkey to fight Communism

Collective Security

Alliance systems to protect US and the USSR

NATO = US, Warsaw Pact = USSR

Korean War (1950 – 1953)

US uses containment and saves South Korea from becoming communist

Used United Nations forces

JFK Orders a Blockade Around Cuba (1962)

USSR tried to sneak missiles into Cuba, but JFK challenged the USSR with a blockade

USSR backed down and took the missiles out

McCarthyism

Senator Joseph McCarthy tried to make a name for himself by wrongly accusing government workers

o f being communist

His “Witch Hunt” ruined reputations and violated rights

Flashcard Set #16 –

1950s and 1960s

USSR Launches Sputnik

Soviets put first satellite into space

To catch up, US spent more money on science and math education

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

A black girl in Kansas wanted to go to a white school

SC said that “separate but equal” is NOT equal (14th

Amendment)

Reversed Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

President Eisenhower Sends Troops to Central High in Little Rock, AK

President used federal troops to get 9 black students into an all white high school

Federalism Issue – this proved Federal government is more powerful than the states

Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, the Sit-Ins, and the Freedom Rides

Used civil disobedience and non-violent protest against segregation

Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks – Montgomery Bus Boycott

Sit-Ins – protested segregated lunch counters

Freedom Rides – protested segregated Greyhound Buses

President Johnson’s “Gulf of Tonkin” Resolution

This gets the US more involved in the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

US lost trying to practice containment in Southeast Asia

The US thought the “domino theory” was correct

Unpopular war at home

58,000 Americans died

Johnson’s Great Society and “War on Poverty”

Laws for African Americans – Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and 24th

Amendment

Programs to help the poor

Medicare: free health insurance for the elderly

Flashcard Set #17 –

1960s and 1970s

Cesar Chavez

The “Latino Martin Luther King”: Civil Disobedience, marches, and non-violent protest

Formed the United Farm Workers

Chief Justice Earl Warren

Supreme Court Chief Justice who expanded rights for minorities and accused criminals

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

The Warren Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained in violation of the 4th

Amendment cannot be

used in court

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964)

The Warren Supreme Court ruled that Congress can stop public racial discrimination

Gideon v. Wainwright (1962)

Gideon was too poor to afford a lawyer

The Warren Supreme Court ruled the 6th

Amendment gives everyone an attorney

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

The Warren Supreme Court ruled that you must be informed of your rights upon arrest

The Miranda Warning: “You have the right to remain silent …”

Roe v. Wade (1973)

A woman in Texas wanted to have an abortion, but it was illegal there

A controversial decision where the SC ruled that a woman has a right to privacy and therefore

abortions should be legal in all states

Nixon Visits China

Nixon went to Communist China for better relations and to trade

Nixon: Détente and SALT

Détente – better relations with the USSR

SALT – A treaty with the USSR that reduced the number of nuclear bombs for each side

Nixon RESIGNS because of Watergate Scandal (1974)

Nixon lied to cover up the Watergate break-in

The Supreme Court forced Nixon to give up tapes that proved he was lying

Nixon quit before Congress was going to impeach him

People lost trust in the government

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Nixon claimed “executive privilege” to not hand over the Watergate Tapes

SC ruled Nixon had to because of “Separation of Powers”

Flashcard Set #18 –

1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s

War Powers Act (1973)

Because Vietnam was a disaster, Congress took back some war powers from the President

Nixon vetoed the act, but Congress overrode the veto

The President must get approval from Congress to send troops for more than 60 days

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

Issue: Freedom of the Press that was established by the John Peter Zenger case 200 years before

SC said The Times could print the stolen Pentagon Papers, which showed the government was lying

about Vietnam

Camp David Accords (1978)

Carter brings the first peace agreement to the Middle East between a Muslim country (EGYPT) and

Israel

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

Helps end the Cold War with Gorbachev (USSR)

Increases military spending + cutting taxes = huge deficit

Iran-Contra – Illegally traded arms for hostages

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Prohibited discrimination in employment and public buildings (“wheelchair access”)

President George HW Bush fights the Gulf War (1991)

Iraq invaded Kuwait, which supplies the US with oil

US got support from the UN to kick Iraq out

Clinton Gets Impeached (1998)

Clinton lied under oath about an affair, which many thought was not really a crime

Impeached by the House of Representatives, but the Senate let him keep his job

President Clinton (1993 – 2001): Bosnia and Kosovo, NAFTA

Sent troops to Bosnia and Kosovo to stop ethnic cleansing

NAFTA – easier trade with Mexico and Canada

President George W. Bush’s response to the 9/11 attacks

The Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, and war in Afghanistan

Iraq WAS NOT a response to 9/11 – we thought Iraq had WMDs, but it didn’t