the attacks of September 11, 2001
four planes used as missiles; took down the symbol of US financial power, the World Trade Center Towers; the deadliest attack on US soil; it leads to far reaching changes in American life
Globalization
buzzword of the 90's; includes web of connections such as commerce, communication, travel infrastructure, and culture; the attacks on the 9/11 used all these tools to bring down the towers and sought to destroy these very ideas
the war on terrorism
a complex and dangerous campaign of undefined scope and duration; started by George W. Bush; its initiative was to keep the country safe
Rodney King
black man who fled pursing police officers after speeding up to 110 mph; and the jury acquitted the 4 white police officers who beat him; during the LA riots of 1992; symbolized the fundamental conflicts at the heart of America
Bill Clinton
elected in '92; as the first democratic president since Jimmy Carter and a self-proclaimed activist; He had a very domestic agenda; when in office he had a lot of controversial appointments; he tried to push through national health care and it failed
Al Gore
was VP for Clinton; ran for the Presidency in 2000 against George W. Bush; the highly contested election was ultimately decided by US Supreme Court
Ross Perot
battled with Clinton over free trade but eventually gave the approval for the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement; third party presidential candidate in 1992 and 1996
the presidential and congressional elections of 1992
mass changes in Congress (110 new reps, 11 new senators), Democratic dominance following economic failures of Bush administration, PEOPLE VOTE
Hillary Rodham Clinton
proposed a sweeping reform designed to guarantee coverage to every American and hold down the costs of medical care; prominent child care advocate; won senate seat in 2000.
the Contract with America
developed by Newt Gingrich in 1994; promised to end big government that was too intrusive and too easy with tax payer money; congress was to respect the values and faiths of the American family; called for a balance budget amendment; end welfare; increase
Newt Gingrich
controversial republican speaker of the house who quickly became one of the most unpopular political leaders in the nations.
the congressional elections of 1994
Republicans made "Contract with America"; Republicans won control of both the house and senate for first time since 1954
the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996
mandated that the heads of families on welfare had to find work within two years or lose their benefits; limited benefits to five years for an individual's life; made legal immigrants ineligible
the Family and Medical Leave Act
guaranteed the right of millions of worker to take time off work to care for ailing relatives or newborns; companies had to give workers the same or similar position when they returned to work
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
ensured that when a worker changed jobs, he/she didn't loose healthcare for pre-existing conditions
Kenneth Starr
conservative Republican who spent $72 million investigating the wrongdoings of the Clintons; his report outlined 11 possible grounds for impeachment which included the affair with Monica Lewinsky
the Whitewater scandal
a real estate deal in which the Clintons invested during the '70s; death of Vince Foster the White House council brought out banking and real estate ventures that included the Clintons
the Monica Lewinsky affair
an intern that President Clinton had an affair with; infamous blue dress; lied about the affair during depositions in the Paula Jones lawsuit; included in the indictment of Clinton; Americans didn't want Clinton removed from office as they approved of job
the Oklahoma City bombing
April 19, 1995; killed 168 people; blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
Timothy McVeigh
American born veteran of the Persian Gulf War; blew up building seeking revenge for the Branch Davidian religious sect who he believed were deliberately slaughtered by the FBI; led to the discovery of many white supremacist, militia groups, and tax resist
the Columbine massacre
AKA the Colorado Massacre; on April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 13 at their high school and injured many more; led to national panic about gun violence and also grieving; a sense of national loss
James Byrd, Jr.
black man murdered by three white supremacists who tied him with a chain to the back of a pick up truck and drug him for miles in Jasper TX in 1998
Matthew Shepherd
a gay college student who was beaten unconscious and tied to a fence post and left to die in Laramie, WY in 1998
the Kyoto protocol
1997 protocol that limited greenhouse gas emissions; renounced by the Bush administration
Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda
an international terrorist network led by this man; dedicated to purging Muslim countries of western influence; son of Yemen born construction tycoon who used his fortune to support his beliefs; attacked many American interests overseas killing Americans
Information technology
computers, faxes, cell phones, and the Internet; had huge economic impact
Silicon Valley
near San Francisco; place where new companies and industries sprang up; a technological revolution took place here
Bill Gates
created Microsoft; one of the wealthiest Americans; company produced operating software for most personal computers
Steve Jobs
created Apple; a competitor of Bill Gates
the microprocessor
microprocessor miniaturized the central processing unit of a computer; meant small machines could now perform calculations previously done by large machines
Intel
the company that introduced the microprocessor in 1970
the New Economy
economy based on the technology; dubbed by analysts; Clinton took advantage of this as he saw the technology shrinking the world; make it interconnected; help spread democracy, free trade, and deregulation
Al Gore
Presidential candidate in 2000; won the popular vote, failed to win the electoral college; lost presidency in hotly contested election; took 36 days after election day, and ultimately the Supreme Court to decide that he lost
George W. Bush
won the Presidential election in 2000 in a hotly contested election; lost popular vote, but won the electoral college; son of previous President George H. Bush
the contested presidential election of 2000
between George W. Bush and Al Gore; Bush narrowly won election; the closest election since 1876 and only the fourth election in which the electoral vote did not reflect the popular vote. In Florida there were multiple recounts because of the voting machin
chads, hanging chads, and pregnant chads
small perforated squares that were punched out on the ballots; they could be either partially detached or punched but still attached
the National Missile Defense System
Bush withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia to make this, which was forbidden under the treaty; it was similar to Reagan's "Star Wars
9/11/2001
nineteen hijackers seized control of four commercial jets; two planes flew into the World Trade Center towers, one crashed into the Pentagon, and the last one crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania
the Afghanistan War
since Al Qaeda operated out of this country, Bush made it his priority to counter them; he launched a sustained bombing campaign against them and sent special ops forces to help
the new patriotism
a renewed sense of nationalism and pride; flag sales soared; Bush's approval rating soared
the USA PATRIOT Act
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism; makes it easier for conduct searches, wiretaps, and obtain electronic records and allowed for monitoring internet usages by anyone; gave FBI swe
the Department of Homeland Security
developed in November 2002, incorporated parts of eight cabinets and 22 agencies to coordinate intelligence and defense against terrorism
the dot-com collapse
months before 9/11 over 500 companies declared bankruptcy or closed; cooperate revenues
the Congressional elections of 2002
Republican party retakes control of Senate and widens majority in House, enhancing Bush's power; idea of a united nation at war, supporting their [oh, so] intelligent president
Bush's preemptive-action strategy
the Bush Doctrine; plan to use militaristic force to prevent further acts of terrorism from the "axis of evil" (North Korea, Iraq, Iran); leads to US invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, claiming Iraqi ties to Al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks
Colin Powell
first black Secretary of State; during the Bush administration he tried to keep the focus on Afghanistan; he eventually became part of the secret planning to invade Iraq
Condoleezza Rice
was political science professor at Stanford for 3 decades; first woman and black to serve as provost for Stanford University; 2001 first black woman to serve on the National Security Council; 2005-2009 first black woman to serve as Secretary of State; bel
UN Security Council Resolution 687
passed by UN on April 3, 1991; required Iraq to destroy its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons; refrain from creating more; pay reparations to Kwait
UN Security Council Resolution 688
passed on April 5, 1991; allowed international human rights groups to check on Iraqi people for violations and provide protections; created Iraqi no fly zones although not specifically written in the document
UN Security Council Resolution 1441
decision by UN Security Council to impose rigarous and stronger arms inspections on Iraq
the Iraq war and the fall of Baghdad
March 17, 2003 Bush gave Hussein 48hrs to leave; on March 19 US and Britain invaded Iraq; on April 9 Baghdad fell
the Iraq insurgency
a multisided insurgency of Saddam loyalists, Iraqi nationalists of various stripes, and Islamic revolutionaries that frequently attacked US forces who lost more soldiers in 2003 in these types of attacks
the Coalition Governing Council
headed by Ambassador Paul Bremer; decisions made by this group made life in Baghdad worse; notably his decision to disband the Iraqi army leaving thousands of men without work, but armed and angry
Abu Ghraib prison
spring 2004; graphic photos showing abuse of Iraqi detainees being abused by American soldiers made public around the world; cause international condemnation; suggestions that Bush and his administration knew of and approved of the abuse surfaced
the presidential election of 2004
Bush was reelected against John Kerry; Bush convinced country he condemned the Abu Ghraib incidents and dissolved the Coalition Governing Council replacing it with an interim Iraqi government; Kerry lost as he couldn't seem to put together a plan to convi
the Iraq troop surge
increase of troops in 2007 to protect civilians; caused dramatic drop in violence against civilians; but did nothing to bring reconciliation between warring factions within Iraq.
the Bush tax plan
cut $1.3 trillion in taxes the largest in US history; wiped out the $200 billion budget surplus left by Clinton;
John Roberts
conservative federal judge confirmed at age 51 as chief justice of the supreme court when William Renquist died; Bush appointee
Samuel Alito
55 yr old conservative confirmed as junior associate justice when Sandra Day O'Connor resigned from the supreme court; Bush appointee
No Child Left Behind
meant to fix a broken public education system; linked federal money to state action requiring states to have high standards for all students; evaluation of progress was through standardized testing
Medicare prescription drug program
an enormously expensive program that allowed senior citizens to have prescription meds covered by Medicare regardless of income
Hurricane Katrina
major hurricane that destroyed New Orleans and the golf region in August 2005; 1,800 died; lack of federal response and compassion ignited debate of poverty and race in America; Bush administration was accused of showing indifference to those who were aff
subprime mortgages
experiments by lending agencies to make it easy for any American despite lack of economic means to be approved for a home loan or a loan much larger than the person could afford to pay back
NINA loans
No Income No Asset loans for homes; allowed people without the economic means to purchase homes they could not afford; most of the homes were foreclosed; caused a collapse in the housing market
Mortgage-backed securities
security firms bundled the loans in mutli-million dollar bundles and sold them to investors as means to make a rapid short term profit; bundles could contain good and bad loans; these securities were complex and difficult to value; deregulation allowed fo
Troubled Asset Relief Program
AKA TARP; provided $700 billion to troubled banks to bail out banks that were perceived "too big to fail" to prevent financial collapse; main street America however continued to loose houses, cars, jobs, wealth, and became very angry at the Bush administr
The presidential election of 2008
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fought for the Democratic nomination; John McCain as the Republican; Obama ran a grass roots campaign that engaged young voters and the black community; the failing economy was the centerpiece of the election
Barack Obama
born to white American mother and Kenyon father; grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii; graduated from Harvard Law School; worked as a community activist in Chicago; served in US Senate 3 yrs before running for President; first black President; ran on campaign
John McCain
Senator from AZ who rain for President in 2008 on the Republican ticket; an independent thinker who could be explosive at times; plain speaker and had a reputation for honesty; survived 5 yrs in POW camp in Vietnam;
Sarah Palin
Alaskan governor chosen as McCain's running mate in 2008 to appease socially conservative Republicans; she frequently appeared unprepared or uneducated on key national and international issues and policies; became the fodder for many comedic acts and impe
the Defense of Marriage Act
passed Congress in 1996; defined marriage as between only a man and women; however many states and companies extended benefits to same sex partners and many states legalized same sex marriages
Arizona's immigration law
April 2010; toughest immigration law in nation; sparked national debate; required immigrants to carry their documentation papers; authorities could question and detain anyone until his/her immigration status could be verified
the debate over stem cell research
blastocytes contained inside these cells can be induced to become cells that could be created to perform special functions such as cures for diabetes, Parkinsons disease; 2001 Bush said cells had potential for life and limited the research as a moral haza
the swine flu pandemic
Spring 2009; outbreak started in Mexico; H1N1 virus had spread to 22 countries; considered first pandemic in 40 yrs; Japan closed its borders to those from Mexico; signaled how quickly disease can spread in the world due to international travel and the la
the internet
Google it"; originally created in the '60's as a way for government and universities to share information; in late 80's the term for the connection was renamed to this term; the world wide web was created in 1990 and used this to send graphics and multi-