1. Challenges of the twenty-first century 2000-present
Unit 9 Ch.31

2. America in 2000 Third most populous nation at 281.4 million
10.4% foreign born
Fastest growing segment are 85 and over
Decline in two-parent, heterogeneous households
Increase in single-parent households headed by women
Children in these households tend to grow up poor and without adequate family support
Richest country in the world
Largest gap between lowest paid and highest paid
Per-capita income increased
after-tax income decreased for the lowest fifth of wage earners
College graduates earn double the income of high school graduates

3. Election of 2000
Vice president Al Gore: “champion of working families” v. Texas Governor George W. Bush: “compassionate conservative”
Closest election since 1876
First election settled by the Supreme Court
Contested votes in Florida, election settled by the Supreme Court

4. W’s Domestic Policy No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Economics
Aimed to improve student performance (through testing) and close the achievement gap between rich and poor students
Economics
Tax cuts ($1.35 trillion over 10 year)
Large corporations such as Enron and World Com falsified their earnings statements
“Dotcom Crash” in 2002

6. War on Terror Roots Early Attacks Sept.11,2001 Afghanistan
Collapse of Ottoman Empire, U.S. support of Israel, U.S. troops in Middle East after Persian Gulf war
Early Attacks
World Trade Center bombing (1993)
Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania (1998)
Attack on USS Cole in Yemen (2000)
Sept.11,2001
Four planes were hijacked by Al-Qaeda operatives and two were flown into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and the other crashed in a field in Pennsylvania
Afghanistan
U.S. invaded in Dec after Taliban government refused to hand over Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda members

7. War on Terror
Patriot Acts (2001 & 2003) expanded government surveillance and arrest powers
Department of Homeland Security
Director of National Intelligence
Bush Doctrine
Containment and deterrence were no longer effective against stateless enemies
Iraqi War
Invaded in 2003 on evidence that Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction
U.S. feared that he would distribute those weapons to terrorists organizations
Failure to find WMDs, diverse insurgent groups, treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib

8. Bush’s Second Term Bush won reelection in 2004 against John Kerry (D)
Republican majorities expanded in the House and Senate
Washington Politics
Tried to privatize Social Security and pass law of immigration reform that Congress called “amnesty”
FEMA was slow to react to devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans (2005)
Financial Crisis
Fueled by crash of housing boom
Banks and other financial institution failed, gas prices soared
Economic Stabilization Act created a $700 billion TARP to save companies deemed “too big to fail” in 2008
Conservatives criticized this as socialism and Liberals called in a bailout for wall street

10. Election of 2008
Barak Obama and Joe Biden v. John McCain and Sarah Palin
Barak Obama becomes the first mixed-race president of the United States with his successful grassroots campaign for “change”
Bush and Obama worked together to transition from one president to the other
Worked on the TARP stimulus package together

12. Obama’s First term Executive Orders Economic Action
Started process for Guantanamo Bay shut down; failed to win Congressional support
Renounced used of torture
Economic Action
Controversial stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 2009) gave money to General Motors and Chrysler, which included partial government ownership of GM
Dodd-Frank Act (2010) designed to prevent another bailout; set up Bureau of Consumer Protection
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)
Designed to add million Americans to health care system

13. Obama’s First term
Tea Party movement of conservatives and libertarians won the House in the midterms by focusing on economics and limited government
Compromise was not an option for either major party
National debt at $16 trillion by 2012
Foreign Policy
U.S. troops withdrawn in 2011: chaos erupted soon after
Surge of forces in Afghanistan in 09-10; use of drones criticized
May 2, 2011 Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan
Sympathy to pro-democracy movements during the Arab Spring of

14. Election of 2012 Obama v. Mitt Romney, governor of MA
Nine republicans had vied for the party nomination
Major issues were Obamacare and the Great Recession

16. Obama’s second term
16 day government shutdown by Congress resulted in automatic budget cuts and a near default on government debt
Mass shootings in Colorado and Connecticut; bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013
Foreign Policy
Prolonged civil war in Syria
Nuclear negotiations with Iraq
Renewed relations with Cuba

17. The Robert’s court
Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee; corporations are legal persons and have the same rights to donate to political campaigns
1996 Defense of marriage Act ruled unconstitutional
District of Columbia v. Heller; individuals not associated with state militia can own firearms
Obamacare ruling (National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius); requiring individuals to purchase health care or pay a penalty was constitutional based on the government’s power to levy taxes