GEORGE BUSH

George Bush’s aim was a kindler, gentler government (not divisive like Reagan’s!) His campaign promised “NO NEW TAXES!”

Bush easily won the election.

Economically we ended up with: recessiontax hikeshigher deficit.

GEORGE BUSH

Bush was the 1st president to realize the shortages we’d face in Social Security, as baby boomers started to retire.

DESERT STORM

In 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded the small country of Kuwait

This put him in a position to control nearly ¼ of the world’s oil reserves.

DESERT STORM

Bush, with tentative help from the UN, sent troops into Kuwait, with the aim of getting Hussein’s troops out

Not to allow them into Saudi Arabia (Operation Desert Shield).

DESERT STORM

Once the ground war began in Operation Desert Storm, it was over within 100 hours.

General “Stormin” Norman Schwarzkopf led the forces to the quick victory.

This was called Operation Desert Storm, or the Persian Gulf War.

1992 ELECTION

The election of 1992 was a close race between

Democrat Bill ClintonRepublican George BushAnd Texas billionaire H.

Ross Perot.

BILL CLINTON

The biggest decision Americans had to make was, who was going to pull us out of a mild recession.

Bush’s betrayal with his “no new taxes” promise, and Clinton’s “middle of the road” approach won Clinton the election with 43% of the vote.

Perot won 19% of the popular vote

NAFTA AND ECONOMY Under Clinton:

government spending was cut the federal budget had a surplus tax revenues rose fewer people were on public aid.

Considering trade to be vital to America’s economic prosperity, Clinton championed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which opened trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

NEWT GINGRICH

Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, detested Clinton’s policies

In 1994, Republicans took control of Congress. Clinton and Congress clashed so often, the federal government actually shut down several times over clashes on budget changes and federal programs.

DOMESTIC TERRORISM In the 1990s, the terrorism

that had been plaguing the world since the 1960s came to America in some of the worst domestic terrorist incidents carried out on American soil.

These incidents called into question how much force the government should be allowed to use on their own citizens.

RUBY RIDGE 1992• Randy Weaver, a white separatist (neo-NAZI), had

been watched by the federal government after failing to appear in court to face charges related to his selling of two illegal sawed-off shotguns to an ATF informant.

• On August 21, 1992, after a period of surveillance, U.S. marshals came upon Harrison; Weaver; Weaver's 14-year-old son, Sammy; and the family dog, Striker, on a road near the Weaver property. A marshal shot and killed the dog, prompting Sammy to fire at the marshal. In the ensuing gun battle, Sammy and U.S. Marshal Michael Degan were shot and killed.

• A tense standoff ensued, and on August 22 the FBI joined the marshals besieging Ruby Ridge.

• One federal agent, and Weaver’s wife and son were killed before Weaver surrendered.

WACO, TX STANDOFF 1993

• David Koresh, a commune leader, claimed that he was the Lamb from Revelation, and that his children would be descended from God. He was the only one allowed to have wives, and his wives were as young as 12.

• Federal agents attempted to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, Koresh, on information that the religious sect was stockpiling weapons. A nearly two-month standoff ensued after the unsuccessful raid.

• Agents from the ATF raided the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas, prompting a gun battle in which four agents and six cult members were killed.

• After 51 days of negotiating, the FBI received permission for a raid, but the compound caught fire, killing 54 adults including Koresh, and 28 kids (some shot themselves, others killed in fire.)

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=QPIADTCY9F8

WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBING 1993

• February 26, 1993 a bomb was detonated in a parking garage at the World Trade Center in NYC. It left a crater 60 ft. wide, 6 people were killed, and more than 1000 injured.

• City authorities and the FBI undertook a massive manhunt for radical Islamic fundamentalists were arrested. In March 1994, 3 men were convicted by a federal jury for their role in the bombing, and each was sentenced to life in prison.

WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBING CONT…

• A Palestinian man was arrested when he went to retrieve the $400 deposit he had left for the Ryder rental van used in the attack.

• Two other men who played a role in the construction of the bomb, were arrested soon after.

• A 4th man who helped buy and mix the explosives, fled to Saudi Arabia but was caught in Egypt two weeks later.

• The mastermind, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef--remained at large until February 1995, when he was arrested in Pakistan. On the flight home he admitted his regret that the towers had not collapsed.

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=TNMBIJVMDCC

OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING 1995

Timothy McVeigh, a Gulf War veteran and anti-government extremist, bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City to show his belief that the government had grown too big, and shouldn’t be controlling people’s lives.

This building housed the local ATF offices – and McVeigh had been inspired by men like David Koresh in how they fought the government. Two years after the Waco fire, his bomb exploded, killing 168 men, women and children.

McVeigh was executed for the crime – the worst terrorist attack on American soil.

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=L08ZD9PN1JK

UNABOMBER 1996

FBI caught the man responsible for the longest-lasting terrorist campaign in America, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. From 1978-1995 Kaczynski mailed bombs to airlines and university scientists, in opposition to the effects of technology.

He killed 3 and wounded 23 with his mail bombs. He is serving life in prison with no possibility for parole.

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=8EHGFN_BRPU

COLUMBINE 1999

• April 20, 1999, two teenage gunmen kill 13 people in a shooting spree at Columbine High School

• Dylan Klebold, 18, and Eric Harris, 17, dressed in trench coats, began shooting

• By 11:35 a.m.killed 12 fellow students and a teacher and wounded another 23 people. Shortly after noon, the two teens turned their guns on themselves and committed suicide.

• The crime was the worst school shooting in U.S. history (until 33 people, including the gunman, were killed in the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16, 2007)

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=DYRYMEKHOI4

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=RVDFHHAYUL8

1990S OVERVIEW

Overseen by Vice President Al Gore, this linked people through technology all over the world. With this came the growth of the internet.

The internet had been developed by the Department of Defense in the 1960s for defense research.

By 2000, 97 million Americans were using email and the internet regularly.

The internet was a major factor in globalization

WORLD WIDE WEB

With the internet, cell phones, fax machines, and overnight shipping, people could now telecommute to work

Entrepreneurs exploited the internet and the web, and started up thousands of technology dotcom companies with little regulation – creating a population of youths nicknamed “dotcom millionaires.”

In 1996 Congress started regulating telecommunications to protect consumers with the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

IMPEACHMENT

As Clinton started compromising with Congress – he was able to win the 1996 re-election.

Unfortunately, just as Americans were starting to trust the President, scandal rocked the White House.

Clinton was accused of using funds from a land deal “Whitewater” for use in his campaign for governor.

Kenneth Star was appointed to investigate the matter, and took the investigation beyond Whitewater.

MONICA-GATE Starr found out that Clinton had

improper relations with a young White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Clinton then lied under oath about the relationship.

Though Americans agreed with the job he was doing, the House voted to impeach him on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

The Senate vote fell short of the 2/3

majority needed to take him out of office. Clinton apologized for his actions, and remained in office.

HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=9M9TZ1EBQCA

W.• The 2000 presidential race between Vice-

President Al Gore, and George W. Bush, became one of the closest races in history.

• As the results flooded in, it looked like Al Gore won the popular vote, but the electoral votes hinged on Florida, which was too close to call.

• After several recounts due to confusing ballots, and voting machine errors, George W. Bush was declared President, winning 5 more electoral votes than Gore, though Gore won the popular vote by more than 500,000.

9/11

• Bush’s Presidency was put to the test shortly after he took office.

• On September 11, 2001, 19 Arab terrorists hijacked 4 airplanes.

• The first airplane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center. 20 minutes later, a second plane hit the south tower.

9/11

• Less than an hour after the twin towers were hit, a third airplane rammed into the side of the Pentagon.

• The fourth airplane never reached its destination. As passengers received information about the attacks, they overcame the terrorists, forcing the plane to crash down in an empty Pennsylvania field.

PATRIOT ACT

• Controversy over freedoms

• How far can govt go?

• Allows government to violate privacy to prevent terrorism.• Phone calls

• Internet usage, etc…

• Guantanamo Bay holding and torturing prisoners

WAR ON TERROR

• After the attacks, Bush addressed Congress and the nation – vowing to find those responsible.

• Initial investigations led to Osama Bin Laden, hiding in Afghanistan under the protection of their Islamic government, the Taliban, as the organizers of the attack.

• When the U.S. demanded that the Afghanis turn over Bin Laden, they refused, leading to military action in Afghanistan in 2001.

WAR ON TERROR 2001

• The U.S. started bombing key Taliban military sites, hunting for Bin Laden and his Muslim fundamentalist terrorist organization called Al-Qaeda.

• By December the Taliban had been removed from power, but al-Qaeda still remained a threat.

WAR ON TERROR CONT…

• War in Iraq• Search for WMD

• Connection between Saddam and Bin Laden

• No WMD were found