Goal 12 WARM-UP 5/19 During the Cold War, the United States was determined to stop the spread of Communism. Give one example of the U.S. practicing containment and how successful it was at stopping the spread of Communism. WARM-UP Why do you think Jimmy Carter didnt use force in dealing with the Iran Hostage Crisis? Was this the right thing to do? Was this the sole reason he lost his re-election? Explain. Gerald Ford Republican Ford is the un-elected president Is Nixons Vice President after Agnews resignation Assumes presidency after Nixons resignation Pardons Nixon Signed Helsinki Accords with Canada & most European nations Stated all nations would maintain current European borders (essentially victory for USSR) Urged Congress to cut billions from national budget & increase taxes on corporations Called his initiative W.I.N. (Whip Inflation Now) Bilingual Education Act of 1974: provided for immigrant students to be taught in native language while learning English Loses re-election campaign in 1976 Jimmy Carter Democrat Was a Washington outsider elected b/c not connected to Watergate or anyone involved March 1979: nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in PA partially melted down As a result, Americans fear nuclear power even more; favor oil, despite its expense Granted amnesty to all draft dodgers of the Vietnam War Intended as healing gesture & succeeded to some extent Angered many American veterans & their families 1979: the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised oil prices 50% U.S. was heavily dependent on foreign oil b/c highly industrialized having to cut back = energy crisis Department of Energy created in 1977 to address energy conservation & research & develop new energy sources September 1978: hosted Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat & Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin at the presidential retreat Camp David Negotiated a peace treaty between Egypt & Israel, the Camp David Accords Iran Hostage Crisis 1979: Military Islamic leader ayatollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, ousting the Shah & forced him to flee Iran U.S. allowed the Shah to enter for medical care Khomeinis followers thought it an insult & stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran in retaliation Took 70 Americans hostage Carter unable to bring the crisis to an end Released on Reagans inauguration U.S. boycotted participation in Moscow Olympics in 1980 in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 1977: Gave the Panama Canal back to Panama (effective in 2000), strengthening our relationship with Latin America Ronald Reagan Republican Ends Iran Hostage Crisis Increased defense spending to scare the USSR caused national debts to soar Iran-Contra Affair : wanted to interfere in a civil war in Nicaragua supporting the Contras fighting against the Sandinista govt & communism Secretly sold missiles to Iran through Israel, then used the money to support Contras Investigations cleared Reagan of direct involvement, but several aids convicted Supported trickle-down (supply-side) economics a.k.a. Reaganomics Emphasized tax cuts & deregulation of big business to stimulate savings & investment Profits went up, but salaries did not Modest success: inflation down & stock trading up But did not improve lives of poor & working class George H.W. Bush Republican 1989: Chinese troops opened fire on students demonstrating against the communist govt at Tiananmen Square U.S. & others immediately placed economic sanctions against China for approx. 1 year Persian Gulf War (a.k.a. Desert Storm) 1990: Iraq invaded Kuwait, then ignored UN orders to withdraw UN forces, led by the US, attacked in Jan 1991 During 2 months of fighting, 100,000 Iraqis were killed Considered a success Immigration Act of 1990 Limited immigration to 675,000 a year Passed in response to concerns over immigration Some claimed immigrants worked hard energized economy & paid taxes Others worried they were taking jobs from Americans New Right Coalition: united Christian fundamentalists & other conservatives Moral Majority New Federalism (transferring federal power back to the states) popular under Reagan and George H.W. Bush Signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Covers range of disabilities including AIDS, mental, & physical difficulties Requires equal access to public transportation & facilities & outlaws job discrimination against disabled people End of the Cold War Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) : missile defense system designed to force the USSR to admit defeat in the Cold War Policy of spending billions on defense made national & foreign debts soar under Reagan Mikhail Gorbachev (new USSR premier) begins in 1985: Glasnost : openness Perestroika : restructuring of the economy & society Met w/ Reagan to sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty: eliminated many medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe & USSR Dec 1988: Gorbachev announced Eastern Europe could no longer count on the USSR Hungary & Poland immediately hold democratic elections Czechoslovakia & Romania the next to fall Berlin Wall falls in : East & West Germany reunited 1991: Soviet Union broke up into 11 separate republics William Clinton Democrat 1993: signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Promotes trade between the U.S., Canada & Mexico by eliminating tariffs & other barriers Helped improve relations between 3 countries Critics suggest it has led to loss of 100,000s of American manufacturing jobs Clinton & his supporters called New Democrats : embraced traditionally Republican fiscal responsibility w/ traditionally Democratic concerns for education & social programs Family & Medical Leave Act : requires large companies to give employees 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave Cut federal spending & increased taxes, reducing deficit by by first term; had become a surplus by end of 2 nd term Passed legislation to protect the environment Overhauled the welfare system Unsuccessfully tried to bring universal healthcare coverage 2000 Presidential Election VP Al Gore vs. TX Gov. George W. Bush Gore won popular vote, Bush appeared to have one narrow electoral victory FL announces a vote recount b/c margin of victory so slim Ballots not uniform in all FL counties, many had marked ballots improperly or ambiguously Bush took Gore to court to stop recount Bush v. Gore : Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (conservatives to moderates) to stop recount & declare Bush president Americans began calling for voting and election reform George W. Bush Republican No Child Left Behind: Expands standardized testing, designed to prevent unqualified children from passing to the next grade September 11, 2001 : Islamic fundamentalists hijacked 4 jet liners 2 planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City 1 plane hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Passengers of the 4 th plane crashed it into the Pennsylvania countryside before it could make it back to D.C. Plan organized & executed by al Qaeda, an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden In response: Patriot Act : allows govt more privileges in searching phone,, financial, etc. records Bush creates Department of Homeland Security to coordinate domestic national-security efforts Oct U.S. Invades Afghanistan, ruled by the fundamentalist Muslim group the Taliban, who was protecting bin Laden Have also tried to bring democracy to Afghanistan 2003: preemptive strike against Iraq, claiming the U.S. was going after nuclear weapons Against instruction from UN Security Council Only support came from Britain No nuclear weapons ever found announced after Bush was re-elected White House blamed CIA for misleading information Dec 2003 captured & imprisoned Saddam Hussein Free elections in 2005 Resistance & involvement continues today Barack Obama Democrat First African American President Concerns of his presidency: Global warming & the environment Green technology The economy War on Terror Fast Facts - Legislation 26 th Amendment : lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 Passed largely b/c of anti-Vietnam War protests 27 th Amendment : if Congress voted itself a pay raise, the raise cant go into effect until after the next congressional election, so no raise would be voted on by the individuals who would benefit from it Originally proposed in 1789, but ratified until 1992 Title IX : outlawed gender discrimination in school programs & activities, such as athletics Brady Bill : Requires background checks to purchase guns Affirmative Action Programs : attempts to compensate for decades of discrimination Designed to help African Americans specifically Schools & businesses took race & gender into account when accepting students or hiring employees Supporters believed it was essential to achievement of social equality Critics claimed applicants should be judged solely on qualifications Fast Facts Supreme Court Cases Brown v Board of Education : separate is not equal, overturned Plessy v Ferguson Nixon v U.S. : impeachment trial for President Nixon, ordered he turn over the tapes Roe v Wade : made abortions legal Texas v Johnson : burning the American flag is protected under the First Amendment Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education : busing to prevent segregation is legal Regents of the University of California v Bakke : ended quota systems for affirmative action, described as reversed discrimination Bush v Gore : The court ruled 5-4 to stop the vote recount in Florida during the 2000 Decision made George W. Bush president Fast Facts Domestic Issues National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) : first stock exchange to use computer technology to monitor trades Graying of America : average age of the American population is getting older, thanks to better medical care & the 1950s baby boom Multiculturalism & Diversity : new emphasis for schools and education Immigration : most new immigrants from Asia & Mexico Additionally illegal immigration from Mexico becoming more common The 1990s saw a decrease in jobs in manufacturing & an increase in the service and information industries 1986: the Challenger was the first space mission to have a civilian on board Excitement turned to horror when the Challenger exploded a minute after takeoff 1998: federal courts ruled Microsofts combination of its Internet browser w/ its operating system a monopoly & ordered Microsoft to break up Order eventually overturned Stagflation : simultaneous inflation & rising unemployment American Politics Al Gore : ran against George W. Bush in 2000 today campaigns to combat global warming Geraldine Ferraro : first woman to run for VP Ran w/ Walter Mondale Lost to Ronald Reagan in 1984 Fast Facts People Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall : first African American Clarence Thomas : second African American Sandra Day OConnor : first woman Ruth Bader Ginsburg : second woman Clarence Thomas Thurgood Marshall Sandra Day OConnor Ruth Bader Ginsburg American Economy Ray Kroc : founder of McDonalds Bill Gates : co-founder of Microsoft (with Paul Allen) Samuel Walton : founder of Wal-Mart, the largest chain of retail stores in the U.S. World Leaders Saddam Hussein : Deposed military dictator of Iraq Invaded Kuwait in 1991 Was tried, convicted, and executed for various war crimes Osama bin Laden : leader of al Qaeda terrorist network Organized & funded the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. Mikhail Gorbachev : last leader of the Soviet Union Introduced reforms of glasnost (openness) & perestroika (restructuring) Anwar al-Sadat : Egyptian president participated in & signed the Camp David Accords w/ Israel & the U.S. Menachem Begin : Israeli prime minister who participated & signed the Camp David Accords w/ Egypt & the U.S. Ayatollah Khomeini : militant Islamic leader in Iran in the 1970s & 1980s His followers conducted the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979