CONTEMPORARY AMERICA
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Transcript of CONTEMPORARY AMERICA
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CONTEMPORARY AMERICA
1963 - 2014
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Vocabulary
1. Gradual – slow; not immediate2. Resign – to leave your job (by choice)3. Impeach – to find guilty of a crime while holding
political office (government job)4. Pardon – to legally forgive someone for a crime5. Recession – slow period in economy; not as bad
as a depression.6. Fundamentalist – “old school” believe holy books
are the word of god (bible, koran, etc.)7. Deficit – Spending more than you make in a one-
year period.
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Recent Presidents
• Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) D• Richard Nixon (1969-1974) R• Gerald Ford (1974-1977) R• Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) D• Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) R• George Bush (1989-1993) R• William (Bill) Clinton (1993-2001) D• George W. Bush (2001-2009) R• Barack Obama (2009-Present) D
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Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
• Became President When JFK was assassinated• Signed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act
into law (ending legal discrimination against minority groups)
• Fought against poverty through the “Great Society” A group of programs similar to the New Deal which tried to help the poor.– Economic opportunity Act (most programs geared
towards poor youth)– Established Medicare and Medicaid – programs
assisting the poor with the costs of medical bills.
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• Increased number of troops fighting in Vietnam through the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
• Supported Immigration Act of 1965 - ended years of racial discrimination in America’s immigration laws
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Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
• Called for gradual end to Vietnam War and “Vietnamization” handing over the fighting in Vietnam to the Vietnamese
• Vietnam War protests increased during his presidency as Americans became angry at the war.
• Pentagon Papers – secret documents showing Johnson had lied to the American people about Vietnam (increased anti-war feelings)
• Nixon responded to anti-war feelings: All US troops out of Vietnam by March 1973)
• Nixon was able to increase cooperation with China and Soviet Union and decreased tension between the U.S. and both nations.
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• There was evidence that he knew about a Republican break-in to the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington DC.
• The scandal was known as Watergate (the hotel where the break-in occurred)
• Nixon probably would have been impeached, but instead chose to resign in 1974.
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Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
• Became President When Nixon resigned
• Pardoned Nixon (this made him very unpopular)
• Not a lot of accomplishments because congress was controlled by the other party (dem)
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Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
• Helped Israel and Egypt sign a peace treaty (The Camp David Accords) which helped reduce Middle East tension
• Placed a tax on gas guzzling cars through the National Energy Act.
• The nation suffered through an economic recession in 1979
• His insistence that the Soviet Union must honor civil rights (voting, free speech, etc) led to tension with USSR.
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• In 1979 there was an Iranian Revolution (fundamentalist Muslims took over Iran)
• Iranian Hostage Crisis: New Iranian government took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
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Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
• Reformed entitlements (government programs to help the poor and elderly) by cutting many programs.
• Promoted “trickle down” (supply side) economics through massive tax cuts
• Trickle down: if a business or wealthy person has more money, they will grow their business and hire more workers, everyone wins (it doesn’t always work though)
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• Also boosted military spending through the Strategic Defense Initiative
• Promoted deregulation of the economy (less rules for business and banks to follow)
• Slow to deal with growing HIV/AIDS crisis.
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George Bush (1989-1993)
• First President to deal with a non-communist Russia after the end of the cold war.
• Operation Desert Storm (helping kick Iraqi army out of Kuwait) 1991.
• He campaigned not to raise taxes but broke this promise to pay for rising war costs and other government programs.
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Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
• Tried and failed to get all Americans health care coverage.
• Reformed the welfare system to avoid corruption and abuse.
• Successfully balanced the budget of the United States.
• Supported free trade in North America (North American Free Trade Agreement)– led to increased trading with Canada and Mexico, but
cost some U.S. jobs in the process.
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• Was impeached (found guilty of a crime) for lying under oath about an affair with white house intern Monica Lewinsky.
• Was not removed from office for this offense.
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George W. Bush (2001-2009)
• Terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001• America was attacked by Al Qaeda (a
fundamentalist Muslim group) based in Afghanistan.
• War on Terror begins.• Afghanistan (2001-present)• Iraq (2003-2013)• Gave large tax cuts to all Americans – leads to
budget deficit (Gov. was spending more than it made)
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• USA Patriot Act - Domestic war on terror included tapping of phones and emails sometimes without a warrant – controversial, continues into Obama Presidency.
• Supported Comprehensive Immigration reform, but had no support from other Republicans – Bill never passed congress
• Supported a law to help banks and auto industry after recession of 2009 (Called an economic Stimulus)
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Barack Obama (2009-Present)
• First African-American President• Continued domestic war on terrorism of
Bush Presidency – phone/email taps.• Continued stimulus -assistance to banks,
and auto industry began by Bush Presidency.
• Supported raising taxes on millionaires to help balance budget.
• Ended war in Iraq in 2013 (promises to end war in Afghanistan by end of 2014)
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• Signed a law hiring workers to build bridges and roads; one way out of the recession of 2009.
• Signed Affordable Care Act into law. The law is designed to make sure all Americans have health insurance.
• First President to support marriage equality – the right of any two consenting adults to marry.