| 8003433516 | Strategic Defense Initiative | A missile system proposed by President Ronald Reagan. As president, Ronald Reagan was highly critical of the standard Cold War defense model of mutually assured destruction which argued that by both countries having an arsenal of nuclear weapons, they would be deterred from actually engaging in war. Instead, Nixon advocated building a complex anti-ballistic missile system called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Nicknamed Star Wars for some of its far-fetched ideas, SDI theoretically would use both space and ground-based nuclear X-ray lasers, subatomic particle beams, and computer-guided projectiles to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles while they were still high above the Earth. In spite of Reagan's ambitious plans, the project soon ran into problems of insufficient scientific advancement and the lack of a suitable energy source. It also faced both domestic and international scrutiny as critics argued it violated the arms limitations agreements made in the first SALT talks. They feared the Soviet Union would see the SDI as an aggressive move and retaliate, triggering a new arms race. The plan was soon abandoned, although it did initiate renewed research into lasers and supercomputing, increasing funding for universities and research centers. | | 0 |
| 8003433517 | Iran-Contra Affair | A political scandal in which senior officials in the Reagan administration facilitated the sale of arms to Iran and funded the Contras in Nicaragua. In the mid-1980s, American political leaders strongly disagreed over American action in Iran and Nicaragua. Some pushed for a repeal of the arms embargo against Iran, arguing it opened the door for Soviet influence in Iran. Others were strongly opposed based on Iran's support of terrorist organizations. Similarly, while President Ronald Reagan wanted to aid the Contras in overthrowing the Nicaraguan government, Congress—afraid of another Vietnam—passed the Boland Amendment, prohibiting the use of federal funds to support the Contras. In 1983, the National Security Agency devised a plan to circumvent both. Using Israel as an intermediary, the U.S. sold weapons to Iran and then channeled the money that was channeled to the Contras. A newspaper in Lebanon broke the story, creating both an international and domestic crisis. Congress launched an investigation into the apparent violation of the law. While the evidence showed that Reagan was clearly aware of the arms sale, his knowledge of the funding of the Contras remained unclear. Fourteen administrative officials were indicted in the scandal with 11 convicted. Reagan appeared on television; he took full responsibility for the misdeeds happening on his watch and apologized to the American people. The incident contributed to the erosion of American trust in government officials which began during the Vietnam War and undermined American credibility abroad. In spite of an initial drop in approval ratings, however, Reagan recovered from the scandal, leaving office in 1989 with the highest approval rating of any departing president up to that point. | | 1 |
| 8003433518 | Mikhail Gorbachev | Final leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev joined the Communist Party while at university and quickly became very active in the party. In 1970, he was appointed as a regional party secretary and as a first party secretary of the Soviet Union Communist Party four years later. In 1979, he became a member of the Politburo and was noted by Western observers as representing a younger—and potentially more open—generation. In 1985, the Politburo elected him as the general secretary. In office, Gorbachev pursued a policy of reconciliation with the West and a reorganization of the Soviet system. He actively sought relationships with western world leaders, including President Ronald Reagan, and initiated disarmament with the United States. Domestically, Gorbachev pursued the policy of glasnost, an openness and transparency in government. He encouraged citizens to openly discuss problems in the Soviet system and to seek solutions. He even encouraged scrutiny of public officials and decreased censorship of publications and broadcasts. In an attempt to make the socialist system work more efficiently, he also pursued a program of government restructuring, called perestroika, in which greater independence was given to ministries and some market-like reforms were introduced, including private ownership in some sectors. He revised the constitution to eliminate the Communist Party's mandated control of the government. While Gorbachev's intentions were to improve the Soviet system, they gave room to discontent and nationalist movements already brewing throughout the country, ultimately triggering the collapse of the Soviet Union. | | 2 |
| 8003433519 | Tiananmen Square | A massive Chinese student protest that the Soviet Union violently crushed by the Chinese government. After Mao's death in 1976, the People's Republic of China underwent dramatic economic, political, and social changes. While the emerging market economy improved the standard of living of some, it alienated others. University students particularly were anxious and feeling they were suffering from inflation, unprepared for the new economy, and stifled in their participation in politics. They began to call for democracy, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and greater government accountability. The movement grew rapidly, and on April 15, students congregated in Tiananmen Square. As many as one million protesters gathered in the square at the height of the movement. Chinese officials wavered between trying to appease and squelch the protesters, but as the protest spread to other cities, they increasingly viewed it as a political threat. They ordered troops and security policy to storm the square where tanks rolled over the protesters who stood in their way on the way to the square and fired indiscriminately once they were there. While some protesters attempted to fight back, most fled. Death estimates range from 300 into the thousands, with over 10,000 arrested. The world reacted with outrage. The actions of the government were condemned widely, including by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Three weeks after the massacre, the United States imposed economic sanctions against the People's Republic of China, and the World Bank and other foreign governments suspended all loans to China. Within China, the protests led to a shakeup in the government, a strengthening of the role of the state, and a rollback of freedoms that had been granted during the 1980s. | | 3 |
| 8003433520 | European Union | An economic union of 28 European states. After World War II, many political leaders in Europe advocated integration of the European states in order to prevent the extreme nationalism that had led to both world wars. Between 1951-1958, six member states—Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany—worked together to found three organizations focused on this effort: the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community designed to create a common market and customs union, and the European Atomic Energy Community dedicated to joint nuclear research. As each of these organizations was intentionally designed as a stepping stone towards full integration, in 1967, the three organizations were brought under a single set of governing institutions. Over the next twenty years, the European Communities (as they were called) expanded in membership to include six more countries. They also began to remove other transnational barriers like passport controls and created a European flag. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and then the Soviet Union two years later, leaders pushed for a more ambitious and encompassing European integration. In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty officially formed the European Union, which included all of the previous organizations and guaranteed four freedoms to its members: movement of goods, services, people, and money. In 1999, the Union launched a single currency, the euro, further binding the countries together. The EU represents the new focus on internationalism and globalization that emerged after World War II and that really flourished after the Cold War. | | 4 |
| 8003433521 | Panama Invasion | The American invasion of Panama to overthrow its dictator Manuel Noriega. As part of its campaign to combat the spread of communism in Central America, the CIA recruited a top member of the Panamanian military named Manuel Noriega, in spite of his role in drug trafficking. Noriega became the military dictator of Panama in 1983 and—despite clear evidence of his continued involvement in the drug trade—he worked closely with the Reagan administration in its efforts to overthrow the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. In 1986, shortly before the Iran-Contra affair came to light, the U.S. government discovered that not only had Noriega been involved in drug trafficking and money laundering within the United States, he had also been acting as a double agent for the Cuban government and the Sandinistas. The U.S. severed ties with Noriega, leading to increasing tension between the Panamanian Defense Forces and the American civilians and troops stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. Then President George H. Bush ordered more troops in the zone to protect American interests. After Noriega's soldiers killed an American soldier, Bush ordered Operation Just Cause, an invasion of Panama to remove Noriega from power. Within only a few days, the 21,000 American troops held the country and two weeks later they arrested Noriega. He was convicted in an American court—the only foreign leader in history—and then was sent back to Panama to serve his jail sentence. The invasion was widely condemned internationally with both the Organization of American States and the European Parliament filing formal protests that argued the U.S. had flagrantly violated international law. Like the U.S. invasion of Grenada, the Panama invasion indicated a return to the turn of the century, Teddy Roosevelt-style approach to Latin America and complicated American relations both in Latin America and abroad. | | 5 |
| 8003433522 | Operation Desert Storm | The combat phase of the Gulf War. In 1990, relations between Kuwait and Iraq deteriorated over a dispute over an oil field and debts owed by Iraq to Kuwait from the Iraq-Iran War. When Kuwait refused to comply with Iraq's demands, President Hussein stunned the world by ordering an invasion of Kuwait. Iraq's military—fourth largest in the world at the time—quickly overran Kuwaiti forces and Iraq seized control of the country. Both the Arab League and the United Nations condemned the invasion, and the U.N. issued economic sanctions against Iraq. Fearful that Hussein would next attack Saudi Arabia—thereby controlling the majority of the world's oil—President George H. Bush ordered Operation Desert Storm, sending 500,000 troops on a mission to defend Saudi Arabia's borders. He then worked through the United Nations to obtain a Security Council resolution supporting military action and organized a coalition of 35 countries to support American efforts. On January 15, Operation Desert Storm was launched with hundreds of bombs dropped on key Iraqi targets. For six weeks the coalition forces launched thousands of air attacks on Iraq which were answered with missiles targeting American barracks in Saudi Arabia and Israel. On February 24 ground troops entered into Kuwait, declaring victory in just 100 hours. The troops moved into southern Iraq, but President Bush feared international condemnation and civil war in Iraq if he removed Hussein. Hussein agreed to a ceasefire and the conflict ended. Kuwait was severely damaged as a result of the Iraqi occupation, and Bush's decision to leave Hussein in power became one of the most controversial of the late 20th century. | | 6 |
| 8003433523 | September 11, 2001 | A series of four coordinated attacks by al-Qaeda on the United States. On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists hijacked four American planes on the east coast bound for California, crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. The terrorists were associated with and funded by the terrorist group al-Qaeda led by Osama Bin Laden. Although he first denied it, Bin Laden later admitted to orchestrating the attacks on September 11 himself as a protest against American support of Israel, its role in the Gulf War, and its continued military presence in the Middle East. He intentionally targeted key American institutions and symbols. The first plane hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center; the second hit the second tower. Both towers later collapsed due to the heat produced by the burning fuel. About 3,000 people were killed in New York City as a result of the crashes with almost 10,000 others injured. The third plane hit the side of the Pentagon, destroying part of the building and killing 125 people. The fourth plane's target remains unknown because, upon learning via cell phone about New York and Washington D.C., some of the individuals on the fourth hijacked plane attacked the hijackers forcing it to crash land in a field, killing all 45 passengers onboard. The attacks led to a re-orientation of the American policy towards terrorism, ushered in new—and sometimes controversial--domestic legislation, triggered an extended American military commitment in Afghanistan, and defined the presidency of George H.W. Bush. | | 7 |
| 8003433524 | Bush Doctrine | President George H.W. Bush's foreign policy of unilaterally pursuing U.S. military and security interests. In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, the National Security Council wrote a document called the National Security Strategy of the United States which outlined four main foreign policy components of Bush's foreign policy strategy. The first was unilateralism. Bush pulled the United States out of global treaties, preferring to make decisions instead based solely on the needs of the United States. Second, after the attacks on September 11th, George Bush asserted the United States' right to secure itself against countries that aid or harbor terrorists and then invaded Afghanistan. Third, Bush advocated the use of pre-emptive strikes, taking military action to prevent potential threats rather than waiting for those threats to fully materialize. He applied this philosophy particularly to what he termed the "Axis of Evil": Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, the three most complex foreign challenges facing the United States. Finally, Bush supported democratic regime change, arguing that the United States had a responsibility to actively support democratic governments around the world, particularly in the Middle East. The Bush Doctrine signified a significant change in American foreign policy which had relied on alliances and coalition building since the end of World War II. Unlike his predecessors, George H.W. Bush never articulated his doctrine himself nor did he ever utilize the term "Bush Doctrine." Instead, the name was given to the dramatic foreign policy shift reflected in many of his actions. | | 8 |
| 8003433525 | Department of Homeland Security | A cabinet-level federal department created to streamline the communication of the various federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, the communication and sharing of information between various federal agencies came under close scrutiny. Evidence showed that multiple federal agencies had some information relevant to the attack ahead of time but were unable to anticipate the attack itself because the various pieces of information were not shared in a common space. President George H.W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security. He announced its purpose as developing and implementing a national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The creation of the new department led to an extensive re-organization of the federal government, bringing 22 government agencies under the umbrella of the new department. Tom Ridge was nominated as the department's first secretary. The new department spearheaded most of the measures to protect American national security in the 21st century. | | 9 |
| 8003433526 | Fall of Berlin Wall | The dismantling of the wall separating East and West Berlin. In 1989, as part of its transition away from communism, Hungary dismantled the electrified fence along its border with Austria with Czechoslovakia soon following suit, opening the door for East Germans to escape to the West. These destabilizing events and the East German government's mild response to them emboldened protesters in East Germany itself. Mass demonstrations spread throughout the country as some demanded to get out and others asserted their right to stay while demanding change. By November, the demonstrations had swelled with half a million people gathering at Alexanderplatz, East Berlin's large public square. Faced with both internal pressure from the demonstrations and external pressure from the mass exodus of East Germans, the East German government relented and agreed to open up checkpoints between East and West Germany. Originally, they were only supposed to be opened for round-trip private travel, but a miscommunication in the announcement led to thousands gathering at the checkpoints. Unwilling to use deadly force to stop the crowds, the border patrol eventually relented and opened the gates. People began to chip away at the wall with whatever tools they had, continuing for weeks, and demolished large sections of the wall. The opening of the wall was symbolic of the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe which had begun with the various democratic movements throughout the East. | | 10 |
| 8003433527 | Fall of the Soviet Union | The withdrawal of all Soviet republics from the Soviet Union. As part of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's extensive reforms, he reduced central control over the countries of Eastern Europe. This allowed the nascent democratic movements within the countries to grow rapidly, destabilizing communism in the region. In 1990, Gorbachev decided to allow multi-party elections for the first time which reduced the power of the Communist Party within the Soviet Union itself. In 1991, seeing the changes in the former Soviet satellites and the reunification of Germany, the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia demanded independence. The Soviet tanks were used to stop the uprisings. Gorbachev's power within the country diminished, and he resigned as head of the Communist Party, thereby separating the party from the presidency for the first time in the nation's history. Taking advantage of the internal instability, Ukraine and Belarus followed the Baltic States in declaring independence. During this period of instability, American President George H. Bush kept a careful distance. He communicated regularly with both Gorbachev and Yeltsin but refrained from interfering directly in the process. As the new republics emerged, the United States agreed to help them as long as they followed the basic principles of democracy and the protection of human rights and national sovereignty. Bush also met with Gorbachev and Yeltsin to help formulate an economic and political plan to allow for the least disruptive transition. In December of 1991, the leaders of the twelve Soviet republics met and agreed to disband the Soviet Union. The transition was remarkably peaceful and the U.S.' role allowed it to easily and quickly establish diplomatic relations with the new nations. It marked the end of the Cold War and left the United States as the sole superpower in the world. | | 11 |
| 8003433528 | Arthur Laffer/ Laffer Curve | An economic theory that lower taxes boost economic growth. From 1932 until 1970, the federal income tax rate on the top earners increased from 25% to 70%. In the 1970s, as the economy slowed, Americans became increasingly unhappy with the tax rates which had been increasing over the previous decades in order to fund the New Deal, World War II, the progressive programs of the Great Society, and the war in Vietnam. Arthur Laffer, an economist at the University of Southern California Business School, was one of many economists who challenged the Keynesian economics that had guided American tax policy. In 1974, he introduced what became known as the "Laffer Curve" to top Republican officials. He advocated a decrease in tax rates across the board—at both the state and federal level—in order to boost economic growth. He agreed that a decrease in taxes in the short run meant a decrease in government revenue. However, he argued that tax cuts had the opposite effect over the long term. According to Laffer, lower tax rates kept money in the hands of consumers who then spent that money, fueling economic growth, which in turn grew the tax base and increased government revenue. His argument had a profound impact on Republican economic theory and was incorporated into the platform of the emerging New Right. In 1978, Laffer helped to write a landmark initiative in California amending the state's constitution limiting property taxes. The initiative, supported by then California governor Ronald Reagan, triggered a national revolt against taxes. When Reagan became president, Laffer's curve became the basis for his economic policy known as Reaganomics. | | 12 |
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| 8003433530 | Reaganomics | President Ronald Reagan's economic policy. By 1980, the stagflation of the 1970s was receding, but Americans—especially middle class and wealthy Americans—still chafed under high tax rates. In his 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan tapped into this discontent, promising widespread tax cuts as president. He promised to break from the tradition of his predecessors who increased taxes in order to expand government revenue, allowing for more government spending. Instead, he argued for what became known as supply-side economics: policies that focused on keeping money in the market rather than in the government. His policies, nicknamed Reaganomics, were based on four tenets: slowing the growth of government spending, reducing federal taxes, reducing government regulation, and continuing to tighten the money supply to curb inflation. Drawing on the Laffer Curve, Reagan and his supporters argued for a return to the free market principles of the pre-Depression era. By cutting income taxes—particularly for the highest earners—as well as taxes on investments, Reagan argued that businesses and investors would invest that money in the economy, spurring economic growth. In 1981, with his support, Congress passed a law reducing income tax rates across the board, with the top tax rate falling to 50 percent. It was followed in 1986 by a second law substantially rewriting the American tax code. It greatly simplified the tax code, lowered the top tax rate to 38.5 percent, consolidated tax brackets, and modified policies to remove six million poor Americans from the tax rolls. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve continued to increase interest rates in order to hold down inflation. The result of Reagan's policies was mixed. Inflation dropped dramatically during his time in office, and unemployment decreased overall. The gross domestic product, the measure of the country's economic output, grew steadily, and the percentage of American households in poverty declined. However, government spending also increased dramatically under Reagan—primarily due to defense spending—and the national debt mushroomed. Also, the gap between the rich and the poor widened significantly, with income growth slowing for the middle and lower class while more than doubling for the wealthy. | | 14 |
| 8003433531 | North American Free Trade Agreement | A treaty between the United States, Canada, and Mexico creating a trade bloc in North America. As early as 1979, American political leaders advocated a free trade agreement in North America allowing for goods to move more easily between countries. In 1989, the United States and Canada signed the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, phasing out many of the trade restrictions between the two countries over a period of ten years. Talks began immediately to expand the agreement to Mexico, making it the North American Free Trade Agreement. In all three countries, the proposed agreement was highly controversial. Supporters in the business community argued that it would open up new markets and allow for easier access to resources, driving down consumer prices. Workers and unions feared that it would impact wages and job opportunities, while others were concerned about the environmental impact as regulations differed greatly between the three countries. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, adding on two provisions to protect labor and the environment. These provisions calmed fears enough to allow for ratification of the agreement, although it did not fully silence opposition. As a result of the agreement, all three economies grew to varying degrees. Consumers in each country had ready access to goods previously harder to acquire, like fruits from Mexico and meat from the United States. A new industry of maquiladoras, factories that assembled imported components into finished goods that are then exported, grew in Mexico and became the primary sector of trade. These maquiladoras provided new opportunities for Mexican workers but renewed American concerns about job loss and decreased wages. There were also concerns about the impact on labor conditions in Mexico as well as environmental regulations. In spite of these concerns, however, NAFTA has been reconfirmed by every president and Congress since its inception. | | 15 |
| 8003433532 | The Euro | The official currency of the member states of the European Union (EU). As part of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty that established the European Union, the member nations of the EU agreed to move towards a common currency to facilitate trade and movement between the countries. To ensure the stability of the new currency, the treaty set strict economic requirements for member nations including a small budget deficit, low inflation, and interest rates in line with the EU average. Both Denmark and the United Kingdom requested and were granted exemptions from participation in the currency as they were unwilling to tie their economies so fully to the others in Europe. The transition to the euro was a complicated and drawn-out process. First, a conversion rate had to be established for each member nation's currency and then a system for the new money's rollout and the removal of the national currencies from the economy. The euro was first introduced in 1999 for banking purposes only, and actual euro notes and coins were released in 2002. The euro further tied the countries of Europe together, binding them economically to each other. Therefore, even as countries flouted the debt requirements set for participation, they were allowed to continue to use the currency as extraction was too difficult. For most countries, the euro stabilized their economies as its value was based on the combined gross domestic product (GDP) of all member states. Also trade increased significantly between member states, boosting overall GDP. | | 16 |
| 8003433533 | World Trade Organization | An intergovernmental organization tasked with regulating international trade. In 1948, as part of the movement towards greater global cooperation after World War II, over 30 countries signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a legally binding document reducing trade barriers between countries and establishing a framework for regular trade negotiations and discussions. As the global economy became more complex and additional nations joined the talks, the negotiations became difficult and more complex. In 1986, the eighth round of negotiations called the Uruguay Round began. They lasted for the next twelve years, significantly expanding the scope of the trading system. During that round, participating countries agreed to create a new intergovernmental organization to regulate the process on a continuous basis. The resulting organization, the World Trade Organization (WTO), would be responsible for regulating trade between participating countries by supporting trade negotiations, resolving disputes, and enforcing compliance with existing agreements. The WTO was an important step in furthering and supporting globalization, reflected the new spirit of internationalism guiding American as well as other countries—and foreign and economic policy in the second half of the 20th century. With a focus on liberalizing trade, the WTO has since drawn criticism and even protest from opponents of free trade who fear the increasingly open borders harm workers and the environment. | | 17 |
| 8003433534 | Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act | A law passed by Congress reforming financial regulation. The financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 led to strong American distrust of Wall Street and intense pressure for increased government oversight. One of President Barack Obama's first priorities after being elected was to address this concern. His administration drafted a series of bills which were sent to Congress to significantly alter financial regulation procedures. The final bill included the majority of Obama's recommendations: a consolidation of regulatory agencies, an increase in overall regulation of all sectors of the financial markets, a new consumer protection agency, uniform standards for financial products, new tools for handling financial crises, and efforts to improve international standards and cooperation. The law was the most significant re-write of financial regulations since the changes made after the Great Depression as a part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. The impact of the regulations remains to be seen; some in the industry argue they did not go far enough, while others argue that they are not well-thought-out and will ultimately slow economic growth. | | 18 |
| 8003433535 | Sandra Day O'Connor | The first female justice on the Supreme Court. O'Connor attended law school at Stanford University at a time when few women practiced law. After graduating, she struggled to find employment as no firm wanted to hire a woman. She finally found a job as a county attorney after offering to work for no salary. She served as a lawyer for the army during World War II. After the war, she settled in Arizona and became involved in the local Republican Party, eventually being selected as Assistant Attorney General of Arizona in 1965 and then elected to the state Senate in 1970. By 1973, she was the first woman to act as a Majority Leader in any state. The following year, she left the Senate and was elected as a judge in Arizona where she served until Ronald Reagan selected her as a Supreme Court nominee in 1981. Her nomination faced some initial opposition as some of Reagan's supporters questioned her stance on abortion, but she was eventually confirmed by a unanimous vote. As a justice, Connor was a conservative member of the court in the early years, helping to move it away from the liberal approach of the Warren and—to a lesser extent—Burger courts. She had a very narrow interpretation of cases and resisted using individual cases to set wide-ranging precedents. In her later years, she became a swing vote. O'Connor paved the way for greater diversity on the court and in law in general. | | 19 |
| 8003433537 | William Rehnquist | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1986 until 2005. William Rehnquist graduated from Stanford Law School—in the same class as Sandra Day O'Connor, and then moved to Washington D.C. to be a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson. He then entered into private practice in Arizona before serving in the Nixon administration as Assistant Attorney General. In 1971, he was nominated and confirmed as a U.S. Supreme Court justice. A staunch conservative, Rehnquist divided Congress with 26 senators opposing his confirmation. On the court, he reaffirmed liberal fears by clearly establishing himself as the most conservative member of the court. He supported a federalist approach to constitutional interpretation, placing a great deal of emphasis on states' rights and the limits on the federal government. In 1986, when Warren Burger retired from the court, President Ronald Reagan nominated Rehnquist as Chief Justice. The decision was widely supported inside of the court; in spite of ideological differences, all of the justices respected and admired Rehnquist. His confirmation hearing and the following vote, however, was drawn out and contentious. He led the court for 19 years, making him one of the longest serving Supreme Court Chief Justices. | | 20 |
| 8003433538 | George H.W. Bush | The 41st president of the United States. When World War II broke out, George Bush postponed going to college in order to enlist in the army, becoming the youngest aviator in the U.S. Navy at the time. After the war, he graduated from Yale, moved to Texas, and entered into the oil business where he was very successful. He turned to politics in 1966, successfully winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives. A rising star in the Republican Party, Bush was appointed Ambassador to the United Nations in 1971, Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973, and Director of the CIA in 1976. In 1980, he ran against Ronald Reagan for the Republican presidential nomination. Although he lost, Reagan chose Bush as his vice president, and he served in that role for the next eight years. In 1988, he won the presidency decidedly, in part because of his strong association with the incredibly popular Reagan. Domestically, his primary focus was on the country's large deficit. He struggled with a Congress divided over cutting spending or raising taxes and was ultimately forced to raise taxes—in spite of his campaign promise to the contrary—in order to secure a compromise bill that included spending cuts. Angry at Bush for giving in to the Democrats, Republican congressmen sank the bill, and Bush—eager to take action--signed a Democratic bill including higher taxes and more spending. The decision cost him significant popularity and crippled the rest of his domestic agenda. In foreign policy, Bush faced a quickly changing world. The Berlin Wall fell in his first year in office with the dissolution of the Soviet Union following less than two years later. He worked well with Gorbachev, signing START I which had been nine years in the making. The defining foreign policy act of Bush's presidency, however, was the Gulf War. While eager to engage, Bush was careful to work through the United Nations and NATO and to build a solid coalition of international support before committing American troops. Bush was credited with the relatively rapid success of the war, although he was later criticized for not deposing Saddam Hussein. Facing dwindling popularity, Bush was defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992. | | 21 |
| 8003433539 | Clarence Thomas | An Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. After graduating from Yale Law School, Clarence Thomas was appointed Assistant Attorney General in Missouri. He then practiced law privately for a few years before returning to government work in the Reagan administration, first as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education and then as Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. President George H.W. Bush appointed him to the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. but then appointed him to the Supreme Court only sixteen months later when Thurgood Marshall retired. Thomas' confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court were the most embittered and public of any in history. Civil rights leaders and liberal activists opposed Thomas' nomination as he was a staunch conservative with a record opposing both affirmative action and abortion rights. Then, near the end of the hearings, an FBI interview with a former employee of the Department of Education, Anita Hill, was leaked. In it, she accused Thomas of persistent sexual harassment. Hill was called to testify before the committee, leading to a media firestorm. The televised hearings—which featured explicit details—were watched by millions of Americans. In the end, however, as Hill was the only person to testify to improper conduct, the committee determined there was not enough evidence to believe Hill's accusations. Thomas was confirmed by a 52-48 vote. As a justice, Thomas has maintained a strongly conservative position and is considered the most conservative member of the court. He believes the Constitution should be interpreted and applied based on its original meaning and opposes precedents based on expanded interpretations. | | 22 |
| 8003433541 | U.S. Term Limits Inc. v. Thornton | A case in which the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot establish qualifications for members of Congress that are stricter than those listed in the Constitution. In 1992, Arkansas voters approved an amendment to their state constitution limiting members of Congress representing the state to three terms and senators to two. Shortly after its passage, a member of the League of Women Voters challenged the amendment in court, arguing it violated the Constitution. Supporters of the amendment argued that the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which gave the people of the state the power to select senators allowed for those people to set requirements for those representatives. Both the trial court and the Arkansas State Supreme Court declared the amendment unconstitutional and the case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's ruling in a 5-4 split. The case reflected the divide in the court over how to interpret the Constitution based on the literal meaning of the words or their perceived intent. It also was another defeat for states' rights as the court ruled that the unified national character created by the common qualifications of federal representatives was more important than the states' rights in selecting those representatives. | | 23 |
| 8003433543 | William Jefferson Clinton | The 42nd president of the United States. In 1978, at the age of 32, Bill Clinton was elected as the nation's youngest governor, serving the state of Arkansas. Although he lost the next election, he returned to the governorship in 1983, remaining in the office for the next ten years. As governor, Clinton emerged as a leader among the "New Democrats", a group who argued that the Democratic Party needed to take a more centrist position in light of Reagan's overwhelming victory in 1984. While Clinton espoused many traditional Democratic beliefs, he also advocated for smaller government and welfare reform. In 1986, he was elected as the chair of the National Governors Association which first brought him into the national spotlight. In 1992, Clinton entered the presidential race as a dark horse candidate. While he was known nationally, he was not expected to win the nomination. From the beginning, his campaign was also plagued with scandal and accusations—both of extramarital affairs and potential conflicts of interest with his wife's position at a powerful Arkansas law firm. In spite of this, he won the election handily, in large part because of President George Bush's falling approval ratings. As president, he continued to pursue the New Democrat agenda, overseeing a major overhaul of the welfare system and financial deregulation. He worked closely with his wife, Hillary Clinton, particularly on a national healthcare reform bill which ultimately failed. In office, accusations and scandal continued to plague the Clintons—first over potential corruption in real estate deals in Arkansas and then over an affair with a White House intern. The Republican-dominated Congress actively pursued an open investigation into Clinton. After lying under oath about the affair, the House of Representatives brought impeachment charges against Clinton in 1998, only the second time in American history. However, he was acquitted by the Senate. The impeachment had little impact on Clinton's popularity or his effectiveness as president. He served the rest of his term leaving with the highest end-of-office approval ratings of any post-World War II president. | | 24 |
| 8003433544 | "Contract With America" | A document released by the Republican Party during the 1994 congressional election. In the 1992 election, the Republican Party was dealt a heavy blow when it lost both the presidency and control of both houses of Congress. To motivate voters during the 1994 congressional elections, party leader Newt Gingrich organized a unified party platform that placed the Republicans in contrast to the dominant Democrats. This platform was released as the "Contract with America", a document signed by all Republican members of the House of Representatives and all of the Republican candidates in the election. Drawing on President Ronald Reagan's 1985 State of the Union Address, the contract outlined in detail the ten actions Republicans would take if given control of Congress. These focused on welfare reform, reform of civil law procedures and regulations, shrinking the size of government, lowering taxes, and promoting entrepreneurial activity. It was highly popular among voters for its specificity and detail and helped win Republicans 54 seats in the House of Representatives and 9 seats in the Senate. Republicans sought to fulfill the contract once in office, bringing to the floor all of the promised bills. Most elements of the contract did not pass Congress, while still others were vetoed by President Bill Clinton or significantly altered during negotiations with him. However, it did shift the control of the legislative agenda from the president to Congress and established a new unity within the Republican Party. | | 25 |
| 8003433545 | Moral Majority | An influential right-wing political organization. In 1976, prominent Baptist minister Jerry Falwell emerged as a prominent political leader. Rejecting the Baptist tradition of keeping religion and politics separate, Falwell believed that religious leaders had a responsibility to speak out on social issues of importance to their faith. He launched a series of rallies around the country, culminating in the formation of a new organization, the Moral Majority. The organization became the flagship of the New Christian Right and quickly grew in membership across the country (although predominantly in the South). With a large base, the Moral Majority used its influence to shape the political agenda. They advocated a complete prohibition on abortion, opposed the Equal Rights Amendment, and resisted efforts for recognition of gay rights. They also actively promoted a traditional vision of family life, targeting media organizations they felt produced content that countered that vision. The sheer power of the Moral Majority significantly shifted the Republican Party to the right socially and established the Christian Right as a major political force for the first time. By the end of the 1980s, Falwell resigned, and Christian Right organizations, in general, began to decline. The organization declared victory as their agenda was now a part of the mainstream political discourse and was dissolved in 1989. | | 26 |
| 8003433546 | George W. Bush | The 43rd president of the United States. As the son of former President George H.W. Bush, George Bush entered into politics at an early age, running unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in 1978. He worked closely with his father throughout his presidency, running his father's re-election campaign in 1992. In 1994, he won election as the governor of Texas. A very popular governor, he served two terms before announcing his intention to run for president in 2000. In the election, Bush aligned himself with traditional Republican ideals but labeled himself a "compassionate conservative" to indicate he was more centrist than many other Republicans. Bush won the presidency in 2000 against Vice President Al Gore after a controversial and extremely close election. In his domestic agenda, Bush focused heavily on education reform, increasing funding for science organizations and launching the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. He also signed legislation reforming Medicare and undertook a major initiative to reform Social Security that ultimately stalled. In spite of his domestic efforts, the September 11 attacks made foreign policy the centerpiece of Bush's presidency. He launched the War on Terror in response to the attacks and led the invasion of Afghanistan, followed by the invasion of Iraq. While these military operations led to the removal of both the Taliban and Saddam Hussein from power and the creation of new democratic governments, it also entangled the United States in a protracted and turbulent occupation in both countries. Americans divided over Bush's policies, with some objecting to his strong language and black and white depiction of world events. For example, in his 2002 State of the Union Address, he labeled Iraq, Iran, and North Korea the "axis of evil." Controversies surrounding surveillance and interrogation policies during his administration further sunk his popularity among the American people. He left office in 2008 with historically low approval ratings. | | 27 |
| 8003433547 | Chief Justice John Roberts | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. After graduating from Harvard Law School, John Roberts clerked for future Chief Justice William Rehnquist and then served in the Justice Department during both the administrations of both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He then left government and entered into private practice in which he frequently argued cases before the Supreme Court. In 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Roberts to the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, a stepping stone for several justices to the Supreme Court. When Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement, Bush nominated Roberts to replace her. However, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died unexpectedly before Roberts confirmation hearings, so Bush nominated him for the position of Chief Justice instead. He was approved primarily along party lines, with 22 of 44 Democrats voting against him. As Chief Justice, Roberts has demonstrated a conservative approach to his interpretation of the law, however, he is considered one of the more moderate conservatives on the court. Appointed at the age of 50, Roberts was the youngest member of the court and one of the youngest ever Supreme Court Chief Justices, behind only John Jay and John Marshall. He was the first Supreme Court nomination of the 21st century. | | 28 |
| 8003433548 | Barack Obama | The 44th president of the United States. Raised primarily in Hawaii, Barack Obama worked for five years as a community organizer in Chicago after graduating from Columbia University. He then earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, becoming a civil rights attorney and law professor working at the University of Chicago. He entered politics in 1997 as a state senator. After serving three terms, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and garnered national attention for his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. In 2008, he ran for president, beating Hillary Clinton in a close primary and John McCain in the general election to become the first African American president. His campaign was the first campaign that fully integrated the Internet and social media tools, and he developed a large following of young voters disaffected with the policies of George Bush. In office, Obama pursued a moderate liberal agenda focused on helping the nation recover from the Recession of 2007 and 2008 and establishing measures to prevent future financial problems. He also made healthcare reform a central policy goal, ultimately winning passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010. In foreign policy, he inherited two major military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. While he fulfilled his promise to end American involvement in Iraq (although later he sent troops back in), he increased U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan. He also authorized the military operation that resulted in Osama Bin Laden's death and ordered military involvement in Libya. In 2009, just nine months after taking office, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a controversial decision as it was not based on a specific policy or achievement. In spite of strongly divided opinion over his leadership—both in Congress and among the public—Obama left office with 60% approval ratings, among the highest of modern presidents. | | 29 |
| 8003433549 | Patient and Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 | A law enacted by Congress designed to increase access to healthcare. Attempts at creating a federal healthcare program date back to Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, however, any attempts met with strong resistance in Congress. The Democratic Party came close to passing a plan under President Bill Clinton, but once again it fell short. Upon coming into office, President Barack Obama made healthcare a top priority. After considerable negotiations and debate, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), nicknamed "Obamacare", in 2010. The act established an individual mandate, requiring anyone without health insurance to pay a fine and created insurance exchanges through which individuals not covered by their employers could obtain insurance. It also contained other provisions expanding Medicaid, reducing the cost of drugs for Medicare recipients, preventing insurers from denying insurance to those with pre-existing conditions, requiring all employers of a certain size to offer basic insurance including pre-natal care and birth control for women, and extending the age at which young adults could stay on their parents' insurance. Other provisions focused on decreasing the cost of healthcare and eliminating seemingly unnecessary hospital admissions and other practices. The bill was hotly contested by Republicans and passed with essentially no Republican support; the Republican Party immediately began a campaign to overturn it, which they failed to do during Obama's presidency. The ACA decreased the number of uninsured in the country by half but received criticism for increasing premium rates and instability in the insurance exchanges. It continues to be a key debate between the parties. | | 30 |
| 8003433550 | The Tea Party | A conservative movement within the Republican Party. After the inauguration of President Barack Obama, fifty conservative activists—led by a conservative political advocacy group called Americans for Prosperity—organized in opposition to Obama's political agenda. Drawing on the regional protests' movement and discontent within the Republican Party, they planned a sustained resistance movement centered on a series of protests. The first of these protests was the Taxpayer March on Washington on September 12, which drew between 75,000 and 300,000 people to Washington in opposition to big government and Obama's proposals on healthcare and taxation. Naming themselves the "Tea Party" in reference to the 1775 tax revolt in Boston Harbor, the group harnessed the power of the Internet and social media to quickly grow their base. In the 2010 congressional elections, Tea Party members focused on organizing voters for their chosen candidates, staging a kind of rebellion within the party. Republican leaders were astonished when several Tea Party candidates were elected across the country. This had a tremendous impact on the direction and focus of the Republican Party. While officially a caucus within the Republican Party, the Tea Party often acted like a third, further right party, challenging Republican standard bearers and policies and refusing to fall in line with the party platform or party votes. The emergence of the Tea Party reflected the growing partisanship in American politics and echoed the backlash against progressivism that had previously emerged in the 1920s and the 1960s. | | 31 |
| 8003433551 | Yuppies | A term for young professionals working in a city in the 1980s. The economic boom of the 1980s led to the emergence of a young urban social class with distinct characteristics. They—especially the men—mostly worked in tech, finance, and consulting industries and were considered middle class and upwardly mobile. The label spanned the tail end of the baby boomers, many of whom had been radicals and hippies in the 1960s but had transitioned to more traditional social roles—and the children of the early baby boomers. The yuppies were characterized as career and money-driven, with an emphasis on elite education, a particular preppy-type style of dress, and common recreational activities. Associated with an emphasis on capitalism, as the decade continued on, the term developed a negative connotation. Yuppies were often criticized for being out of touch with the rest of the country who was much less well off than them and became the image associated with the growing divide between wealthy and poor. | | 32 |
| 8003433552 | Exxon Valdez oil spill | The spillage of almost 11 million gallons of oil into the Prince William Sound, Alaska. In March of 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez was traveling from the oil field at Prudhoe Bay to Long Beach, California, when it ran into a reef, opening a hole in the ship. Over the next few days, 10.8 gallons of crude oil spilled from the ship into the ocean. Because of its remote location, response crews struggled to intervene and the resulting oil slick stretched over 11,000 square miles of ocean. The spill was one of the biggest man-made natural disasters and resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of animals which lived in the area. The disaster was widely publicized leading to public condemnation both of the company and the government response. Pressured to completely clean up the spill, the government hired a private company to apply a chemical treatment to dissolve the oil, however, the chemical led to further health and environmental issues. In spite of extensive efforts, only 10 percent of the spill was cleaned up with the rest still contaminating the area, breaking down quite slowly. The spill led to new regulations for oil tankers and created a negative public opinion about the oil industry. | | 33 |
| 8003433553 | World Wide Web | An information space in which documents and resources can be accessed via the Internet. In the 1970s and 1980s, computer scientists began developing ways to communicate between computers located far away from each other. Based on these advancements, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee envisioned a global hyperlinked information system which utilized links embedded in the readable text to access documents, graphics, and multimedia. In 1990, he published his proposal for what he called a "WorldWideWeb," a network of hypertext documents which could be viewed through "browsers" that were programmed to be able to access the documents from where they were stored. Each item on the web was assigned a specific locator, an identifier that browsers could look up in order to retrieve the document. The first website was published at the end of that year. Berners-Lee, in organizing the project, developed several systems essential to the functioning of the Internet and the World Wide Web today. In 1993, a new web browser named Mosaic was introduced which revolutionized the Web by combining images and graphics. The browser increased the Web's popularity and led to the proliferation of new websites around the world. Although international standards and protocols were developed, the Web continued as a user-generated technology, democratizing access to information and connecting the world more closely together. | | 34 |
