III. Clinton Years ( )

A. Election of 1992

1. democratic party united behind Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and fellow baby-boomer, Al Gore

2.despite raising taxes, President Bush is unable is to stop the recession but ran for a second term

3.Texas billionaire Ross Perot ran under the Independence Party

4.the economy proved to be the major issue and Governor Clinton won a close election (43% popular vote) and democrats control both houses of Congress

B. Politics 1. Appointments

a.cabinet positions were filled with many minorities and women including the first female Secretary of State (Madeleine Albright) and Attorney General

b.added two justices to the Supreme Court including the second female

2. Contract with America (1994)

a.Republicans gained control of both houses for the 1 st time since 1954 during this “midterm” election by attacking Clinton’s liberal failures

b.led by Newt Gingrich (Speaker of the House) Republican Congress shut down government twice over budget issues

c.gradually, the American public grew tired of Republican conservatism and sided with Clinton

d.in the Election of 1996, Clinton became the first Democrat to win re-election since FDR after running “towards the middle”

C. Social Issues 1. Health Care Reform

a. presented health care reform to Congress b. committee was run by his wife, and called for guaranteed health insurance

c. critics called it costly, complex and stated that it would limit people’s choice of doctors d. not passed by Congress and considered a huge defeat

2. Gun Control

a. due to the recent outburst of violence many called for increased gun control

b. named after President Reagan’s Press Secretary (“Brady Bill”) the law called for a 5 day waiting period for purchasing a weapon c. also passed ban on assault weapons

3.Family Medical Leave Act ( FMLA ) provided workers with 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave to care for a newborn or family member

4.Clinton called for accepting homosexuals in the armed forces but finally had to settle for a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy that unofficially accepted gays and lesbians.

D.Economic 1. a fiscal conservative, Clinton fiscal government

2. increased revenues by increasing the income tax on the wealthy and created a new excise tax on gas

3. Budget Deficit a. increase in military spending and a decrease in revenue during the 1980s, caused the national deficit to increase b. in 1998 the US had a surplus for the first time since 1969

4. attempted to increase interdependence with North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA) which called for a phasing out of tariffs between the US, Mexico and Canada

5.helped by the growth of computer related industries “e” commerce) nation entered its longest period of sustained growth

E. Foreign Policy

1.brought peace to the Middle East with treaties between Israel and the Palestinians

2. China a. highly desirable market due to its large population (1.3 billion)

b.criticized by President Clinton for their human rights violations during the 1990s but granted favored-nation status which has led to a massive trade imbalance (US imports exceed exports)

3.Somalia

a. Bush administration began humanitarian airlift of food and supplies b. local warlords began stealing shipment

c. President Bush sent in troops to control the situation d.President Clinton removes troops due to lack of progress and safety concerns for US soldiers

4.forced Iraq to allow UN inspectors to investigate nuclear and biological weapons

5. Bosnia

a.in 1991, Bosnia and Herzogevenia declared their independence from Yugoslavia b.violence broke out and millions became refugees

c.led by Slobodan Milosevic, Bosnian Serbs carried out ethnic cleansing killing thousands of innocent civilians

d. Clinton sends in troops to stop this violation of human rights

F. Impeachment

1.an independent prosecutor hired to investigate the Clinton’s involvement in an illegal real estate scheme uncovered a sexual relationship between President Clinton and a White House intern

2. Clinton lied under oath about the affair 3.House of Representatives impeached the president (obstruction of justice and perjury)

4.Senate did not get 2/3 votes needed (like Andrew Johnson ) so Clinton remained an extremely popular president due to the strength of the American economy