Bush I and Clinton Use the packet given to you and the last few subsections in the Enduring Vision for additional info (p. 1056-1082).

Bush I and Clinton

Use the packet given to you and the last few subsections in the Enduring Vision for additional info (p. 1056-1082).

George H.W. Bush 1989-1993 Son of a Wall Street banker and Senator,

from CT WWII naval pilot Moved to TX: oil business 2 terms in Congress Many high-level appointments; CIA

director; Vice President to Reagan “I’m a conservative, but I’m not a nut about

it.” Vice President: Dan Quayle Campaign promise: “Read my lips- no new

taxes.” Wins 1988 election easily over Michael

Dukakis; Democrats held the House and Senate.

1989: A year of shocking international events

Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China: pro-democracy students demonstrated for freedom

Chinese Communist government crushed the protests

Invasion of Panama

Dec 1989 Bush invaded Panama

to overthrow dictator Manuel Noriega; troops remained until a new democratic government was formed

1989: The twilight of the Cold War

Gorbachev stops supporting Communist governments in Eastern Europe

Poland: Lech Walesa, Solidarity elected

Communist governments fall in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany- the Berlin Wall falls! The following year, Germany was reunified as one country!

The end of the Soviet Union

START I and II: Bush works to reduce nuclear weapons wit Soviets/Russians

1990 and 1991: republics declare their independence

Communist Party dissolved Democracy, free-market

capitalism

The Persian Gulf War

Saddam Hussein/Iraq invades Kuwait on Aug 2, 1990

Coalition of 29 nations cooperate in “Operation Desert Storm”

5 weeks of bombing, 500,000 troops; 100 hours of fighting and it was over!

Hussein remained in power At the conclusion of the war,

Bush was at 89% approval

The end of the “Vietnam syndrome?”

Domestic affairs

Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990 Bush nominated conservative African American justice Clarence

Thomas Savings and loan scandal: bailouts cost $250 billion Annual budget deficits over over $250 billion Bush accepted a plan to raise taxes $133 billion: top tax rate

increased to 31%, new taxes on alcohol, gas, etc. Recession (caused in part by the cancellation of defense contracts at

the end of The Cold War)

The 1992 Election

Bill Clinton 1993-2001

1st Baby Boomer President Governor of Arkansas (first

elected at age 32!) “The Natural” “New Democrat” “The 3rd way” Vice President: Al Gore

Domestic affairs

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in military First Lady leads universal health care task force; defeated Family and Medical Leave Act Brady Handgun Bill: 5 day waiting period Anti-Crime Bill/assault weapons ban Deficit reduction: spending cuts and tax increases NAFTA: free trade with Canada and Mexico

1994 Republican Revolution

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-republican-revolution

Republicans win the House and the Senate for the first time in 40 years.

Speaker: Newt Gingrich “The Contract With America” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_with

_America The conflict between Clinton and Gingrich

led to to two government shutdowns in 1995

Oklahoma City Bombing, 4/19/1995; 168 killled

“It’s the economy, stupid!”

After Clinton’s reelection in 1996, the US was on a path to a balanced budget; welfare reform, etc. The first federal surplus in decades!

10 million new jobs by 1996; longest period of continuous economic growth ever.

Tech boom Low inflation Stock market boom: 22% increase per year! 4x the number of millionaires! Unemployment dropped to 3.9%

Scandal and impeachment

Monica Lewinsky -> December, 1998: The House

of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton on two counts: perjury and obstruction of justice; the Senate does not convict (2/3 majority needed)

Foreign affairs

Somalia civil war, 1993: peacekeeping troops killed: “Black Hawk Down” 20,000 troops sent into Haiti in 1994 Balkan wars: Serbs killed hundreds of thousands of people fighting for

independence in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo: “ethnic cleansing” UN forces intervened in Bosnia in ‘95, Kosovo in ’99 New nuclear nations: North Korea, India, Pakistan Clinton continued sanctions and air strikes against Saddam Hussein, who

continued to defy UN weapons inspectors Israeli-Palestinian peace process

Globalization

Important trends

Increasing diversity Aging population Decline of the traditional two parent family Homeownership increases Growing concentration of wealth in in the top 2/5;

lowest 3/5 in decline The lone superpower in the world!