THE 1990’s and the21st Century

In 1989, several Eastern European nations ousted their

communist regimes.

• Czechoslovakia• Germany• Bulgaria• Poland• Hungary• Romania

The fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany symbolized the end of

communism in Europe.

The Soviet Union broke apart in 1991.

The Cold War, which had lasted more than

45 years, was finally over.

Newly elected President George H.W. Bush signed agreements with Gorbachev and his successor, President Boris Yeltsin.

They pledged friendship, cooperation, and reduction in the buildup of nuclear weapons.

Bush sent 12,000 U.S. troops to invade Panama. Dictator Manuel Noriega was deposed and convicted of drug trafficking.

In China, a prodemocracy protest in Tiananmen Square was crushed by Chinese tanks.

In South Africa, democracy replaced segregation

Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994

• Nelson Mandela, imprisoned since 1962 for leading the

antiapartheid movement, was released from prison in 1990.

The Bush administration adopted the role of international peacekeeper, but chose its battles carefully.

But in 1992, he sent Marines to Somalia to establish a cease-fire between rival warlords

and to deliver food to starving people.

In 1990, Iraq’s ruthless dictator, Saddam Hussein, invaded neighboring Kuwait, determined to take over its significant oil

deposits.

Diplomacy and sanctions failed to make Hussein withdraw. The Persian Gulf War began.

Operation Desert Storm, the American-led attack on Iraq, began on January 16, 1991.

Coalition ground troops stormed into Kuwait on February 23. Within five days, Iraq agreed to a UN cease-fire and withdrew

from Kuwait.

President George H.W. Bush could not sustain his popularity after the Gulf War.

•The American economy had gone into recession.

•The federal deficit rose.

•Bush broke his promise to not increase taxes.

•Saddam Hussein was still in power and threatening the Middle East.

During the 1992 election, voters responded by nominating a centrist candidate, Democrat William Jefferson Clinton.

When Clinton took office, the Democrats also controlled both houses of Congress

One of his first acts was to sign the Family Medical Leave Act, guaranteeing employees unpaid leave in the event of a health crisis.

He also increased the minimum wage, made college loans easier to obtain, and expanded tax credits for higher education.

Clinton addressed the issue of gun violence by signing the Brady Bill in 1993.

But violence still shook the nation, with the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the Columbine High School shootings in 1999.

Clinton also attempted to reform healthcare.

A task force, led by First Lady Hillary Clinton, was formed to develop a program that would guarantee

care for all Americans.

The healthcare reform bill was widely criticized, and it was dropped after a year of debate

This setback, two years into Clinton’s term, signaled a turning point in his popularity, and Republicans responded

Led by Congressman Newt Gingrich, the Republicans set forth a plan called the Contract With America.

For the first time in 40 years, the Republicans

won control of the House and the Senate.

But Clinton’s presidency was also marred by scandal.

In 1994, Clinton was investigated by a special federal prosecutor, Kenneth Starr, regarding an Arkansas real

estate investment.

In 1998, Clinton was investigated again regarding his relationship with a White House intern. Under oath, he denied that the two had an affair. Later, he admitted he had lied. The

House impeached him in 1998.

After a Senate trial in early 1999, Clinton was acquitted on both counts.

A world economic leader, the U.S. supported free trade blocs and promoted globalization.

• Under Clinton’s watch, the United States agreed to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the North

American response to Europe’s European Union (EU), in 1994.

• But many groups opposed NAFTA, saying it would take jobs away from the United States and hurt the environment

Conflict in the Middle East increased in the 1990s.

Fighting between the Israelis and Palestinians became more violent, threatening to destabilize the entire region

In 2000, Clinton brought Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and Israeli leader Ehud Barak to Camp David to broker a peace agreement between them. It was not successful.

The United States became a target of Middle Eastern extremists.

A terrorist group called al Qaeda exploded a bomb in the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993.

The group also set off bombs, killing more than 225 people at American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania

In 2000, they attacked the USS Cole, a warship anchored off Yemen, killing 17 American sailors

American leaders learned that fighting terrorism would be

extremely difficult

As Clinton’s second term neared its end in 2000, his Vice President, Democrat Al Gore, ran for President against

Republican George W. Bush.

Although Gore won more popular votes than Bush, the electoral vote margin was too close to call.

The election depended on Florida’s 25 electoral votes.

Because the vote in Florida was so close, state law mandated an

automatic recount

The Supreme Court case of Bush v. Gore

ended the recount. Bush was declared President

Bush pursued an aggressive conservative agenda when he took

office.

•He passed a series of tax cuts.

•Bush promoted the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act to raise national academic standards.

•In 2003, despite criticism, Bush worked with Congress to extend Medicare to cover prescription drugs for seniors

September 11, 2001

Then something happened that challenged the new President and led to a shift in U.S. foreign policy.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked and crashed four airplanes. Two planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City. More than 3,000 people died as the twin towers collapsed.

In response, the United States began a “war on terror.”

Bush first focused on the terrorists who perpetrated 9/11

Osama bin Laden, leader of the al Qaeda network, was thought to be hiding in Afghanistan, where the Taliban allowed him to

operate.

The United States and its allies sent forces to

Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban

Bin Laden escaped captureuntil 2011 when he was

killed in Pakistan

Congress passed the Patriot Act. Critics claimed it violated civil liberties.

President Bush worked to prevent future terrorist attacks.

The new Department of Homeland Security coordinated security matters among federal, state, and local agencies

Bush then turned his attention to Iraq, where many feared Saddam Hussein was stockpiling Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

In 2003, American and British forces invaded Iraq.

Saddam and many of his supporters were captured.

Many Americans were troubled by the war, terrorism, and the budget as they cast their votes in the 2004 election

The Iraq war continued in Bush’s second term.

Although Saddam was overthrown, fighting broke out among three rival groups in Iraq. The country was consumed by chaos.

In 2008, a Senate Intelligence Committee report determined that there was no credible evidence to

support claims that Iraq was developing WMDs or had ties to

terrorist groups.

Critics of Bush said he had misled Congress and the American

people.

Meanwhile, President Bush faced domestic challenges.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast

Federal response to the disaster was slow. Discontent with the administration grew

In 2008, Americans faced an economic crisis centered on the financial industry.

The American economy entered a recession in 2007. Unemployed Americans who couldn’t pay their mortgages faced foreclosure

In September 2008, the stock market plunged

Housing prices fell, and mortgage-related investments lost value. Several investment firms collapsed or were sold.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was implemented to bail out the banks and prevent financial meltdown.

The 2008 presidential election broke new ground in American

politics

Democratic senator Barack Obama of Illinois was a graduate of Harvard Law School. He had been a community organizer in Chicago and a state senator in Illinois.

Republican senator John McCain of Arizona served as a pilot in Vietnam, and had been a prisoner of war. He was first elected to Congress in 1982.

Barack Obama won the election, becoming the first African American President of the United States.

Upon entering office, President Obama addressed domestic issues.

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a stimulus package designed to pump money into the economy.

• In 2009, legislation was passed overhauling the nation’s healthcare system. It included coverage for the 46 million uninsured Americans, and prevented denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Some opposed the healthcare plan, saying it cost too much and gave the federal government too much power.

Obama also addressed the war in Iraq.

• In August 2010 the President announced that the American mission in Iraq had ended.

• More than 4,000 troops had been killed in the war and over 31,000 wounded.

• 50,000 American troops stayed behind in support roles. • Thanks to a troop surge, Iraq was significantly more stable,

although acts of terrorism continued.

At the same time, Obama increased the American military presence in Afghanistan.

As the 2010 elections approached, the nation seemed increasingly divided.

Many Americans supported Obama, while others were angered by his actions.

The Tea Party Movement wanted to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. They ran as Republicans but also criticized Republicans as big spenders

Republicans won control of the House and Senate in the 2010 congressional elections. In the 2012 Presidential election Obama

won re-election running against Republican Mitt Romney