United States HistoryChapter 36:

Launching the New Millennium

Bill ClintonElection of 1992

◦Bill Clinton (D) and George Bush (R)◦An independent candidate Ross Perot made a

strong showing◦Resulted in a strong electoral victory for Clinton◦Women played a large role in the victory

Created a diverse Cabinet upon coming to office

Biggest, most ambitious idea, and ultimately a failure, was an overhaul of healthcare

Bill Clinton 1993-2001

Bill ClintonHowever, very successful on the economic

front (over time)◦Raised taxes and cut spending◦Reduced the deficit significantly by 1996◦Unemployment and inflation were both low

Republicans made gains in 1994 as a result of the slow recovery◦Gained control of both houses in Congress◦Implemented the Contract with America,

pledging a balanced budget

Bill Clinton Terrorism became a pressing issue with the end of the

Cold War◦ Much of it was linked to Osama Bin Laden and Muammar

Gadhafi ◦ Attacks were made in Berlin, a plane over Scotland, the World

Trade Center, and embassies in Kenya and Tanzania◦ American Timothy McVeigh exploded a truck bomb on a

federal buliding in Oklahoma City in 1995◦ A bomb exploded at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta◦ The Unabomber sent bombs through the mail, killing numerous

Wars broke out in many former Soviet republics and African nations

But, on a positive note, apartheid in South Africa ended, with Nelson Mandela becoming president

Bill ClintonIn 1992, the UN sent troops to Somalia to fight

a famine, but warring parties continued to plague the nation◦American troops were pulled in 1993 after a

helicopter of Marines was shot down and several Marines were killed

Fighting ensued between peoples of the former Yugoslavia◦Thousands were murdered, and Bosnian Serbs

rounded up and murdered Bosnian Muslims in an “ethnic cleansing” campaign

◦Eventually, the US would send in planes to end the crisis and bring war criminals to justice

Election of 1996Clinton’s popularity improved as the economy

improvedRan against Bob Dole (R) and Ross Perot

(Reform)Clinton won easily, partially because of taking

the middle ground on issues◦Agreed with Republicans on smaller government

and reforming welfare◦Disagreed on issues like gun control and the

environmentRepublicans held the majority in Congress still

Economy and Society of the 1990s Clinton focused on improving race relations during his

second term◦ April 1992: Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King beating◦ June 1998: dragging death of James Byrd by white supremacists◦ Launched Initiative on Race, but had limited results

The stock market boomed during the 1990s, bring the economy up with it

The government actually ran a surplus in the late 1990s, to which Democrats and Republicans could not agree on what to do with◦ Clinton wanted to invest in social security, healthcare, and

education◦ Republicans wanted to return it to the people in the form of tax

cuts and refunds

Clinton’s ImpeachmentIn 1994, Clinton was accused of sexual

harassment by a former employee when he was governor of Arkansas

During this investigation, it was found that Clinton may have been involved in shady financial dealings (Whitewater scandal)

Prosecutor Kenneth Starr also discovered Clinton was having an affair◦White House intern Monica Lewinsky◦Denied any inappropriate behavior with the

woman

Clinton’s Impeachment

Clinton eventually admitted the affair◦Accused of perjury and obstruction of justice in the

matter◦Brought up on charges of impeachment by the House

of RepresentativesSenate conducted impeachment hearings

◦Concluded that no “high crimes and misdemeanors” had been committed

◦Acquitted Clinton on a party line vote in February 1999

Became only the second president to go through impeachment proceedings (Andrew Johnson)

KosovoFighting in the former Yugoslavia continued

throughout the 1990sSlobodan Milosovic began cracking down

on Albanians in the province of KosovoNATO launched airstrikes against

Milosovic’s forcesEventually, he accepted defeat in an

election that brought a new leader to powerIn 2001, was put on trial for war crimes and

sentenced to death for his role

Living in the 1990s The US and Russia built a space station called Mir Computer technology took off

◦ Bill Gates and Microsoft◦ Internet◦ Y2K bug of the late 1990s frightened people of what would

happen to the world in 2000 Exportation of American culture

◦ American companies opened overseas (ex. McDonald’s)◦ TV and movies made it to foreign nations like never before

Immigration was reformed to allow for 675k a year (Immigration Reform Act of 1990)

Family and Medical Leave Act: signed in 1993, allows for up to 12 weeks unpaid leave/year for emergencies without fear of losing benefits or job

Global EconomyEuropean Union was created in 1993 to

open trade between membersNorth American Free Trade Agreement

(NAFTA): free trade between US, Canada and Mexico

More and more companies began investing overseas, sending thousands of jobs to other nations

Energy conservation and recycling became popular in the 1990s and continues today

Election of 2000George W. Bush (R) and Al Gore (D)Very close race across the nationFlorida was decided by less than 1000

votes◦Voting irregularities and absentee ballots

played a significant role◦Many recounts were ordered

Finally, the Supreme Court had to step in◦In Bush v. Gore, recounts were ceased and the

presidency was given to Bush◦Bush won 271 votes, Gore won 266 votes

George W. Bush 2001-2009

George W. BushBush pushed tax cuts and education

reform as his agenda upon taking officeProposed a controversial missile defense

system in Europe◦Opposed by Russia◦Has not been developed yet, and the US and

Russia still argue about itHad to work with a very divided Congress,

so getting anything done was a struggle

September 11, 2001Bush’s presidency was defined on 9/11/2001Fundamentalist Muslims of Al-Qaeda hijacked four

planes on that morning◦ Under the direction of Osama Bin Laden◦ Two planes were crashed into the Twin Towers of NYC’s

World Trade Center◦ One plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC◦ One plane’s hijackers were overtaken by the passengers of

the plane and crashed in a field near Shanksville, PA It is thought that the destination for the fourth plane was the

White House The attacks took place early enough in the morning

that less people were at the sites of the crashes

September 11, 2001As a result of the attacks, over 3000 people died,

most of which from the collapsing of the Twin Towers

The nation came to an absolute standstill, with the stock markets, air travel, sports teams, etc. coming to a halt◦ When the stock markets reopened 4 days later, markets

plunged◦ American came together in an astounding show of

patriotism, with stores selling out of flags◦ President Bush promised to avenge the attacks, declaring

a war on terror Thousands of suspected terrorists were rounded up

around the world and questioned about the attacks

September 11, 2001

Bush’s Presidency The United States, in pursuit of terrorists, invaded

Afghanistan shortly after 9/11◦ The Taliban government was suspected of sponsoring terror◦ Fighting continues to root out the Taliban and Al-Qaeda

Iraq was suspected of a WMD program and was invaded in 2003◦ Evidence is shaky of weapons programs and no weapons were

ever found Bush was reelected in 2004 and continued war on terror

policies◦ Many were very controversial, especially some interrogation

techniques◦ The USA PATRIOT Act is also controversial as it limits citizens

civil liberties and rights in the name of security◦ Also pledged to reform immigration and Social Security, but

was unsuccessful in both ventures

The Lasting Legacy of 9/11In 2008, Barack Obama was elected president

◦Became first black president in nation’s history◦Pledged to scale back wars in Iraq and Afghanistan◦Had to deal with a stagnant economy, plagued by a

housing and credit crisis and high unemployment 9/11 still has a huge impact on Americans’

lives◦Airport security and travel restrictions◦Guidelines for obtaining IDs and bank accounts◦The continued search and destruction of terrorist

cells around the world

Barack Obama 2009-?????