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Contemporary America (1974 – Present) CSS 11.7, 11.8, 11.10, 11.11
Unit 13—Chapters 30 – 31 Contemporary America (1974 – Present) CSS 11.7, 11.8, 11.10, 11.11
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Ford and Carter 1974-1981 1976 Gerald Ford first non-elected president
appointed VP by Nixon under 25th Amendment to replace Agnew House minority leader pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed as president “Our long national nightmare is over.” Helsinki Accords, 1975 34 nations agreed to recognize borders of Poland and other eastern bloc nations USSR agreed to a more open exchange of people and knowledge stagflation period of inflation and recession Ford’s response (WIN) called for voluntary measures which failed entire 1970s sees less economic growth than any single year of 1950s or 1960s lack of modernization many unskilled workers D Jimmy Carter 40,828,657 297 R Gerald R. Ford 39,145,520 240 Jimmy Carter peanut farmer and governor of Georgia Christian honesty was refreshing after Watergate after presidency, championed Habitat for humanity won Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 Malaise Speech, 1979 Carter spoke on “crisis of confidence” in America SALT II, 1979 Carter and Brezhnev agreed to first limit on total number of strategic launchers and US strategic bombers never ratified by senate but honored by the presidents
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The US and the Middle East
Israel, 1948 UN ordered partition of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state, hours after Israel created the forces of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon invaded Six-Day War, 1967 Israel takes Golan Heights, West Bank Gaza and Sinai Yom Kippur War, 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel Oil Embargo, 1973 OPEC’s response to US support of Israel “energy crisis” led to Alaskan pipeline and concern for alternate energy and fuel sources Camp David Accords, 1978 Sadat (Egypt) became the first Muslim nation to recognize Israel Begin (Israel) agreed to give back the Sinai peninsula Afghanistan, 1979 USSR invaded presumably to get closer to Middle East (oil) Carter threatened to use any force necessary to stop it became the USSR’s Vietnam US boycotted 1980 Olympics in Moscow and USSR responded in 1984 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 1979 Islamic fundamentalists overthrew Reza Shah Pahlavi blamed US for conditions in Iran advocated violence against US fought war with Iraq in 1980s Iranian Hostage Crisis, 1979 52 Americans captured from US embassy in Teheran by Iranian militants and held for 444 days Carter ordered a failed rescue returned after Reagan’s election
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Environmental Movement
Silent Spring, 1962 Rachel Carson explained that pesticides (DDT) caused thinning in birds’ eggs Congress restricted DDT began the environmentalist movement Earth Day (April 22, 1970) created as a grassroots on college campuses over concern that human activity affects the environment Environmental Protection Agency, 1970 regulates the impact businesses have on the environment industry argues that regulation raises costs and hurts the economy Clean Air Act, 1970 limited automobile and factory emissions by smog checks and unleaded gas Clean Water Act, 1973 limited industrial and agricultural waste Endangered Species Act, 1973 gave federal protection to animals and plants (bald eagle) Love Canal, 1978 the EPA found the community had high rates of cancer and birth defects because of 1000s of tons of chemical waste buried under it led to creation of Superfund to clean these sites up Three Mile Island, 1979 a partial nuclear meltdown in PA sent panic across the nation the radiation was contained but 25,000 lived within 5 miles of it still debate what to do with the nuclear energy and waste Kyoto Protocol, 1997 international greenhouse emissions treaty not signed by US
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Affirmative Action Roe v. Wade, 1973 multiculturalism
most states banned or restricted abortion the Supreme Court created one national standard - in 1st trimester, abortion is legal Phyllis Schlafly argued that ERA would hurt families military service, sex-segregated bathrooms conservative backlash against ERA made it fail by three states Sandra Day O’Connor, 1981 Reagan appointed the first female Supreme Court justice Geraldine Ferraro, 1984 first female VP candidate affirmative action programs designed to rectify ethnic/gender gap college admissions, jobs, promotions multiculturalism new emphasis of uniqueness of each ethnic/cultural group Immigration Reform and Control Act, 1986 amnesty for all immigrants who entered the US before 1982 priority to skilled labor immigrants Rodney King Riots, 1992 4 white offices acquitted after beating a black motorist largest LA riot since Watts 51 dead, 500 buildings destroyed Proposition 187, 1994 CA amendment to bar illegal immigrants from welfare, schools, or medical care required doctors and teachers to report illegal immigrants declared unconstitutional racial profiling laws requiring officers to keep track of the ethnicity of people they pull over
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Neo-Conservatism New Right (neo-conservatives) Proposition 13, 1978
religious, fiscally conservative, republicans opposed to affirmative action, communism, and the feminist movement conservative reaction to liberalism of the 1970s (ERA) televangelism, 1980s religious cable channels that mixed prayer and politics reached 20 million weekly Moral Majority, 1979 Jerry Falwell established it to promote Christian candidates and values anti-abortion, anti-homosexual rights promoted republican candidates in 1980, 1984 and 1988 Christian Coalition, 1988 under Pat Robertson, the group sends out voter information guides to churches for elections Proposition 13, 1978 CA amendment that prohibits raises to property taxes supported by conservatives who distrusted government and opposed social welfare snowbelt/rustbelt depopulation caused by stagflation, declining industry, and outsourcing NY, OH, PA, MI sunbelt major area of population in the South and West due to military spending, immigration, and retirement housing FL, CA, TX, AR, NC white flight departure of white middle class to suburbs, leaving cities even higher rates of poverty and crime
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Reagan Administration 1981-1985
1980 Reagan Administration “Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?” Ronald Reagan “Government is the problem” the Great Communicator and the Teflon President former actor, union president, California governor shot by John D. Hinckley in 1981 Reaganomics / New Federalism combined supply-side economics with deficit spending 25% cut in income tax and increased military spending cut back on social programs deregulated of business national debt grew from $1 to $3.5 trillion Economic Recovery Tax Act, 1981 lowered income and corporate taxes as well as capital gains taxes Maximum tax dropped from 70% to 50% R Ronald Reagan 43,899,248 489 D Jimmy Carter 35,481,435 49 I John B. Andersen 5,719,437 -- Omnibus Reconciliation Act, 1981 mandated $136 billion in federal spending mostly in social programs Air Traffic Controllers Strike, 1981 Reagan threatened to replace strikers with military personnel Union membership dropped Alan Greenspan, 1987 chairman of Federal Reserve encouraged freer market AIDS, 1981 160,000 had AIDS by 1990 and 100,000 had died at first seen as a gay disease
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Reagan Administration 1985-1989
1984 Reagan Administration Iran-Contra Affair, 1986 US feared “domino effect” in Latin America US sold weapons to Iran and then laundered the money to fund the Contras Reagan denied knowledge and Oliver North shredded evidence Spaceship Challenger Disaster, 1986 76 seconds after liftoff the space shuttle Challenger exploded all seven passengers perished, including Christa McAuliffe, a civilian teacher precipitated comprehensive review of the goals and procedures of NASA war on drugs spent billions to get drug trafficking under control critics argued it put too much attention on foreign supply rather than cutting down demand R Ronald Reagan 52,609,797 525 D Walter Mondale 36,450,613 13 Black Monday, 1987 508-point stock plunge was the biggest stock market crash of all time Federal Reserve Bank stepped in to save banks to avoid collapse Savings and Loan Scandal, 1988 deregulation of banks led to fraud, abuse of power by CEOs cost almost $1 trillion to “bail out” S&Ls “Keating Five” five senators accused of tampering with federal investigations received $1M in campaign donations from S&L
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The End of the Cold War US-USSR Summits Mikhail Gorbachev
Reagan abandoned détente for more aggressive language series of summits with Gorbachev led to mutual weapons inspections Reagan Doctrine, 1985 Reagan promised to back anti-communist guerillas Nicaragua, El Salvador, Afghanistan Grenada, 1983 Reagan sent troops to stop Marxist uprising in Caribbean one-day war restored US confidence Strategic Defense Initiative, 1983 high-tech space-based laser defense system to shoot down enemy missiles more expensive than gold-plated nuclear missiles START, 1991 limited number of warheads each nation could have Mikhail Gorbachev his liberal policies helped end communism in USSR pulled troops from Afghanistan refused to interfere in soviet bloc nations affairs glasnost—allowed free speech perestroika—allowed rudimentary capitalism won Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 Berlin Wall falls, 1989 relaxation of travel restrictions in East Germany led to flooding of border Germany reunited in 1990 USSR dissolved, 1990 reforms undermined communist regime rise of nationalist movements in Baltic States communists imprisoned Gorbachev Boris Yeltsin led uprising in Moscow
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Read my lips, no new taxes
1988 Bush Administration George H.W. Bush ex-CIA director criticized for refusing to eat broccoli Panama Coup, 1989 Bush sent troops to oust Gen. Manuel Noriega for drug trafficking Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 demanded rights for the disabled at places of business and in employment followed by IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1990 Persian Gulf War, 1991 Operation Desert Storm Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait UN responded with trade embargos and sanctions US led coalition pushed Iraq out of Kuwait but Hussein stayed in power Read my lips, no new taxes R George Bush 48,886,588 426 D Michael Dukakis 41,809,485 111 27th Amendment, 1992 changes in congressional pay don’t take effect until after the next election Somalia, 1992 US troops were sent to Somalia in 1992 to protect food and relief supplies the country was ravaged by civil war Tiananmen Square, 1989 Chinese students protested for more freedom Bush continued dealing with China rather than cut off relations
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Clinton Administration 1993-1997
1992 Clinton Administration William Jefferson Clinton governor of Arkansas voters punished Bush for raising taxes, budget deficits, post-war recession avoided Vietnam draft, drug use, played saxophone strongest economy in American history H. Ross Perot wealthy Texas businessmen ran as an independent argued he was uncorrupted by election system National Health Care Hillary Clinton spearheaded the push for this program but it failed NAFTA, 1993 lowered tariffs between US, Canada, Mexico increased trade between nations Americans worried they’d lose their jobs D William Clinton 44,909,806 370 R George Bush 39,104,550 168 I Ross Perot 19,742,240 -- Contract with America, 1994 Newt Gingrich led Republican takeover of both houses of Congress at midterm elections Republican goals included balanced budget amendment welfare reform flag burning amendment Defense of Marriage Act, 1996 federal government only recognizes traditional marriage Welfare Reform Act, 1996 limited time families could receive welfare replaced AFDC
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Clinton Administration 1997-2001
1996 Clinton Administration Family and Medical Leave Act, 1993 guaranteed full-time employees 12 weeks off per year for newborns or to care for families (unpaid leave) Brady Bill, 1994 5-day waiting period for gun sales banned assault weapons federal funding for more police Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrance Act banned blocking/bullying people at abortion clinics Kosovo, 1993 communist Yugoslavia collapsed hard-line fascists in Bosnia begin to commit genocide on Muslims 200,000 are murdered in “ethnic cleansing” UN sent troops to stop it D William Clinton 47,402,357 379 R Bob Dole 39,198,755 159 I Ross Perot 8,085,402 -- Starr Report, 1998 Clinton was investigated for using his office to influence real estate deals the investigation lasted years and led to questions about adultery as governor and as president Ken Starr released his 336 page account of what Clinton had done the House voted to impeach the president for perjury ( ), the Senate did not convict Budget Showdown, 1995 Gingrich and Clinton faced off over the budget and shut down nonessential government services hurt both their images
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Bush Administration 2001-2005 2000 George W. Bush
“compassionate conservatism” Bush won by 500 votes in Florida where his brother was governor recounts stopped under Bush v. Gore No Child Left Behind, 2001 Bush required all states to test their students and show progress failing schools are put on a list and face sanctions students at failing schools must be bussed to better ones all students will be proficient by 2014 Department of Homeland Security new agency ensured domestic security coordinated federal and state agencies in emergency FBI, CIA, NSA had separate information that could have prevented 9-11 R George W. Bush 50,455,156 271 D Albert Gore, Jr. 50,997,335 267 G Ralph Nader 2,882,897 -- Y2k (1/1/00) companies and governments spent $300 billion in fear that computers would malfunction on 1/1/00 Hurricane Katrina, 2005 most expensive and devastating hurricane in US history 80% of New Orleans submerged $81 billion in damages 3 million left without electricity 1,836 died (mostly in Louisiana) disproportionately hit the poor and elderly many criticized the government’s response
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War on Terrorism Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, 1996
limited appeals for and sped up process for the execution of convicted terrorists September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda attack on the twin towers shifted America’s attention to foreign policy more than 3000 were killed when four airplanes were hijacked and used as weapons 2 in NYC, 1 in PA, and 1 in DC Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001 al Qaeda was hiding out in Afghanistan which was ruled by the Taliban Bush vowed to punish al Qaeda and any nation that sponsored terrorism—Bush Doctrine within 3 months the US, UK, allies, and rebels overthrew the Taliban democratic elections were held for the first time Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003 Bush believed that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons fighting lasted from March to May, 2003 WMDs were never found USA Patriot Act, 2001 laws created to fight terrorism within the US House vote , Senate vote 98-1 allows the government to search bank records, seize property, and monitor phone calls criticized for giving too much power to the President Osama bin Laden vocal leader of Al Qaeda killed by US troops in Pakistan responsible for attacks on US embassies, twin towers, and USS Cole
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