goal 12. gerald ford 1974-1977 republican ford is the un-elected president is nixon’s vice...
TRANSCRIPT
Goal 12
Gerald Ford 1974-1977 Republican
Ford is the un-elected presidentIs Nixon’s Vice President after
Agnew’s resignationAssumes presidency after Nixon’s
resignation
Pardons Nixon
Signed Helsinki Accords with Canada & most European nationsStated all nations would maintain current European
borders (essentially victory for USSR)
Urged Congress to cut billions from national budget & increase taxes on corporationsCalled his initiative W.I.N. (“Whip Inflation Now”)
Bilingual Education Act of 1974: provided for immigrant students to be taught in native language while learning English
Loses re-election campaign in 1976
Jimmy Carter 1977-1981 Democrat
Was a Washington “outsider” – elected b/c not connected to Watergate or anyone involved
March 1979: nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in PA partially melted downAs a result, Americans fear nuclear power even
more; favor oil, despite its expense
Granted amnesty to all draft dodgers of the Vietnam WarIntended as healing gesture & succeeded to some
extentAngered many American veterans & their families
1979: the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised oil prices 50%U.S. was heavily dependent on foreign oil b/c highly
industrializedhaving to cut back = energy crisisDepartment of Energy created in 1977 to address
energy conservation & research & develop new energy sources
September 1978: hosted Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat & Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin at the presidential retreat Camp DavidNegotiated a peace treaty between Egypt & Israel, the
Camp David Accords
Iran Hostage Crisis 1979:Military Islamic leader ayatollah Khomeini seized power
in Iran, ousting the Shah & forced him to flee IranU.S. allowed the Shah to enter for medical careKhomeini’s followers thought it an insult & stormed the
U.S. embassy in Tehran in retaliation○ Took 70 Americans hostage
Carter unable to bring the crisis to an end○ Released on Reagan’s inauguration
U.S. boycotted participation in Moscow Olympics in 1980 in protest of the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan
1977: Gave the Panama Canal back to Panama (effective in 2000), strengthening our relationship with Latin America
Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 Republican
Ends Iran Hostage Crisis
Increased defense spending to scare the USSR caused national debts to soar
Iran-Contra Affair: wanted to interfere in a civil war in Nicaragua supporting the Contras fighting against the Sandinista gov’t & communismSecretly sold missiles to Iran through Israel, then
used the money to support ContrasInvestigations cleared Reagan of direct involvement,
but several aids convicted
Supported trickle-down (supply-side) economicsa.k.a. ReaganomicsEmphasized tax cuts & deregulation of big
business to stimulate savings & investment○ Profits went up, but salaries did not○ Modest success: inflation down & stock trading up○ But did not improve lives of poor & working class
George H.W. Bush 1989-1993 Republican
1989: Chinese troops opened fire on students demonstrating against the communist gov’t at Tiananmen Square U.S. & others immediately placed
economic sanctions against China for approx. 1 year
Persian Gulf War (a.k.a. Desert Storm) 1990: Iraq invaded Kuwait, then ignored UN orders to
withdraw UN forces, led by the US, attacked in Jan 1991 During 2 months of fighting, 100,000 Iraqis were killed Considered a success
Immigration Act of 1990 Limited immigration to 675,000 a year Passed in response to concerns over immigration
○ Some claimed immigrants worked hard energized economy & paid taxes
○ Others worried they were taking jobs from Americans
New Right Coalition: united Christian fundamentalists & other conservativesMoral MajorityNew Federalism (transferring federal power back
to the states) popular under Reagan and George H.W. Bush
Signed the Americans with Disabilities ActCovers range of disabilities including AIDS,
mental, & physical difficultiesRequires equal access to public
transportation & facilities & outlaws job discrimination against disabled people
End of the Cold War Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars): missile
defense system designed to force the USSR to admit defeat in the Cold WarPolicy of spending billions on defense made national &
foreign debts soar under Reagan
Mikhail Gorbachev (new USSR premier) begins in 1985:Glasnost: opennessPerestroika: restructuring of the economy
& societyMet w/ Reagan to sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear
Forces Treaty: eliminated many medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe & USSR
Dec 1988: Gorbachev announced Eastern Europe could no longer count on the USSR ○ Hungary & Poland immediately hold democratic elections○ Czechoslovakia & Romania the next to fall
Berlin Wall falls in 1989
1990: East & West Germany reunited
1991: Soviet Union broke up into 11 separate republics
William Clinton 1993-2001 Democrat
1993: signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)Promotes trade between the U.S., Canada &
Mexico by eliminating tariffs & other barriersHelped improve relations between 3 countriesCritics suggest it has led to loss of 100,000s of American
manufacturing jobs
Clinton & his supporters called New Democrats: embraced traditionally Republican fiscal responsibility w/ traditionally Democratic concerns for education & social programs
Family & Medical Leave Act: requires large companies to give employees 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave
Cut federal spending & increased taxes, reducing deficit by ½ by first term; had become a surplus by end of 2nd term
Passed legislation to protect the environment
Overhauled the welfare system
Unsuccessfully tried to bring universal healthcare coverage
2000 Presidential Election VP Al Gore vs. TX Gov. George W. Bush Gore won popular vote, Bush appeared to have one
narrow electoral victory FL announces a vote recount b/c margin of victory so slim
Ballots not uniform in all FL counties, many had marked ballots improperly or ambiguously
Bush took Gore to court to stop recount○ Bush v. Gore: Supreme Court ruled
5-4 (conservatives to moderates) to stop recount & declare Bush president
Americans began calling for voting and election reform
George W. Bush 2001-2009 Republican
No Child Left Behind: Expands standardized testing, designed to prevent unqualified children from passing to the next grade
September 11, 2001:Islamic fundamentalists hijacked 4 jet liners
○ 2 planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City
○ 1 plane hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C.○ Passengers of the 4th plane crashed it into the
Pennsylvania countryside before it could make it back to D.C.
○ Plan organized & executed by al Qaeda, an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden
In response: ○ Patriot Act: allows gov’t more privileges in
searching phone, email, financial, etc. records○ Bush creates Department of Homeland
Security to coordinate domestic national-security efforts
○ Oct. 2001 – U.S. Invades Afghanistan, ruled by the fundamentalist Muslim group the Taliban, who was protecting bin Laden○ Have also tried to bring democracy to Afghanistan
2003: preemptive strike against Iraq, claiming the U.S. was going after nuclear weaponsAgainst instruction from UN Security CouncilOnly support came from BritainNo nuclear weapons ever found – announced after
Bush was re-electedWhite House blamed CIA for misleading information
Dec 2003 – captured & imprisoned Saddam HusseinFree elections in 2005
Resistance & involvement continues today
Barack Obama 2009- Democrat
First African American President
Concerns of his presidency:Global warming & the environmentGreen technologyThe economyWar on Terror
Fast Facts - Legislation 26th Amendment: lowered the voting age from 21
to 18Passed largely b/c of anti-Vietnam War protests
27th Amendment: if Congress voted itself a pay raise, the raise can’t go into effect until after the next congressional election, so no raise would be voted on by the individuals who would benefit from itOriginally proposed in 1789, but ratified until 1992
Title IX: outlawed gender discrimination in school programs & activities, such as athletics
Brady Bill: Requires background checks to purchase guns
Affirmative Action Programs: attempts to compensate for decades of discriminationDesigned to help African Americans specificallySchools & businesses took race & gender into account
when accepting students or hiring employeesSupporters believed it was essential to achievement of
social equalityCritics claimed applicants should be judged solely on
qualifications
Fast Facts – Supreme Court Cases Brown v Board of Education: separate is not equal,
overturned Plessy v Ferguson
Nixon v U.S.: impeachment trial for President Nixon, ordered he turn over the tapes
Roe v Wade: made abortions legal
Texas v Johnson: burning the American flag is protected under the First Amendment
Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education: busing to prevent segregation is legal
Regents of the University of California v Bakke: ended quota systems for affirmative action, described as “reversed discrimination”
Bush v Gore: The court ruled 5-4 to stop the vote recount in Florida during the 2000Decision made George W. Bush
president
Fast Facts – Domestic Issues National Association of Securities Dealers Automated
Quotations (NASDAQ): first stock exchange to use computer technology to monitor trades
Graying of America: average age of the American population is getting older, thanks to better medical care & the 1950s baby boom
Multiculturalism & Diversity: new emphasis for schools and education
Immigration: most new immigrants from Asia & MexicoAdditionally – illegal immigration from Mexico becoming
more common
The 1990s saw a decrease in jobs in manufacturing & an increase in the service and information industries
1986: the Challenger was the first space mission to have a civilian on boardExcitement turned to horror when the Challenger
exploded a minute after takeoff
1998: federal courts ruled Microsoft’s combination of its Internet browser w/ its operating system a monopoly & ordered Microsoft to break upOrder eventually overturned
Stagflation: simultaneous inflation & rising unemployment
American PoliticsAl Gore: ran against George W. Bush in 2000
○ today – campaigns to combat global warming
Geraldine Ferraro: first woman to run for VP○ Ran w/ Walter Mondale○ Lost to Ronald Reagan in 1984
Fast Facts – People
Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall: first African American
Clarence Thomas: second African American
Sandra Day O’Connor: first woman
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: second woman
Clarence Thomas
Thurgood Marshall
Sandra Day O’Connor
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
American EconomyRay Kroc: founder of McDonalds
Bill Gates: co-founder of Microsoft (with Paul Allen)
Samuel Walton: founder of Wal-Mart, the largest chain of
retail stores in the U.S.
World LeadersSaddam Hussein: Deposed military dictator
of Iraq○ Invaded Kuwait in 1991○ Was tried, convicted, and executed
for various war crimes
Osama bin Laden: leader of al Qaeda terrorist network○ Organized & funded the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks on the U.S.
Mikhail Gorbachev: last leader of the Soviet Union○ Introduced reforms of glasnost (openness)
& perestroika (restructuring)
Anwar al-Sadat: Egyptian president participated in & signed the Camp David Accords w/ Israel & the U.S.
Menachem Begin: Israeli prime minister who participated & signed the Camp David Accords w/ Egypt & the U.S.
Ayatollah Khomeini: militant Islamic leader in Iran in the 1970s & 1980s○ His followers conducted the Iran
Hostage Crisis in 1979