Key Events and Issues in Early 21st Century America

Globalization

Process by which national economies, politics, cultures and societies become integrated with those of other nations through trade, US now economically interdependent with other nations.

Labor Unions

Formed to protect workers, membership in decline, resulted in lower wages.

Multinational Corporation

Company that produces/sells its goods in multiple countries, spreads US culture (McDonalds, Coca-Cola).

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Goal to negotiate trade disputes between countries, help make trade agreements, some workers critical of WTO saying it would lead to job loss (outsourcing).

2000 Election

Highly controversial, Gore wins popular vote, Bush wins Electoral College, major controversy in Florida, Supreme Court intervention.

Al Gore

Former Clinton VP and Democrat candidate in the 2000 election.

Ralph Nader

Third party candidate in 2000 election, speculation that he pulled votes from Gore and cost Democrats the election.

Taliban

Fundamentalist Islamic government of Afghanistan that protected al-Qaeda.

al-Qaeda

Terrorist organization, led by Osama bin Laden, wanted to expel the US from Middle East, responsible for 9/11 and other attacks.

September 11th, 2001

US attacked by al-Qaeda terrorists, hijacked planes crashed into World Trade Center in NYC/Pentagon in DC/field in PA.

Osama bin Laden

Saudi Arabian born leader of Al-Qaeda, hid in Afghanistan, trained terrorists.

Hurricane Katrina

Hit New Orleans in 2005, levee failure caused major flooding, people got trapped because they refused to evacuate, little to no coordination between state/federal governments, disaster.

Bush

President, paid special attention to Latino voters, launched global "war on terror" which used preemptive strikes to stop terrorist attacks, President during 9-11/war in Afghanistan/war in Iraq, criticized for slow response to Hurricane Katrina.

Kyoto Protocol

Treaty that placed regulations on the US for producing greenhouse gasses to reduce global warming, Bush withdrew US from treaty saying it hurt US economy, critical of treaty because it did not apply to all countries.

PATRIOT Act

Passed after 9/11, created the National Security Agency (NSA) which monitors suspected terrorists in the US, gave law enforcement power to look through emails/wiretap/voicemails/texts without a search warrant, controversial.

Department of Homeland Security

New Cabinet position created after 9/11 to coordinate local/state/federal agencies in order to keep US safe from attacks.

Tea Party Movement

Movement from the 2000's, wanted reduced government spending and less government regulation, successful in drawing attention to US debt and government overreach.

Government Shutdown 2013

Congress fighting over budget approval, needed to raise the debt ceiling, Republicans and Democrats refused to compromise, resulted in shutdown of the government until they could reach an agreement.

Iraq

Middle Eastern country led by Saddam Hussein, brutal dictator who killed his own citizens, refused to cooperate with the UN weapons inspectors, Bush got intel that Hussein had "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs) so launched a war, supported by Americans until not WMDs found then became controversial.

Immigration Act of 1990

Increased quotas by 40%, reduced restrictions to allow more immigrants into the US, mainly Latin Americans and Asians.

Afghanistan

Country ruled by the Taliban, provided a safe place for al-Qaeda to train and plan terrorist attacks, US launched a war in Afghanistan after 9/11 to oust the Taliban from power and capture al-Qaeda.

Boston Marathon

Bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon by two brothers motivated by radical Islam.

War on Coal

New measures put in place by EPA to reduce carbon emissions, goal to fight global warming, very heavy regulations by Obama administration, lots of job losses as coal mines/power plants had to shut down.

Barrack Obama

2008, first African-American President, used internet/social media in his campaign to mobilize voters/raise money, passed healthcare reform, passed stimulus spending package to help economy after 2008 recession.

Sonia Sotomayor

First Hispanic on the Supreme Court, appointed by Obama.

Hillary Clinton

Secretary of State under Obama, under investigation due to attack on US Embassy in Benghazi.

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

Required all Americans to enroll in health insurance or pay a penalty, no denial for pre-existing conditions, some plans cancelled which made people unhappy, very controversial with lots of ongoing problems.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Passed by Obama, stimulus package to help end the recession by spurring economic growth.

Reasons for US Declaring War on Afghanistan and Iraq

Launched war in Afghanistan immediately after 9/11, Taliban refused to help crack down on al-Qaeda or stop their terrorist training, US ousted the Taliban from power and crush al-Qaeda; war in Iraq due to Saddam Hussein's brutality to his people and possibility of WMDs, war becomes controversial due to not finding WMDs.

Controversy over the 2000 Election

Gore leading Bush in the popular vote, candidates tied in the Electoral College, winning Florida would determine election, extremely close so FL started a recount, Gore wanted a second recount done by hand and challenged FL law on certification date, US Supreme Court intervened to halt hand-recount and certify the election due to lack of precedent/procedure, made the Supreme Court seem partisan in favor of Bush.

Environmental Concerns in the 2000s

Global warming/climate change biggest issue, people also concerned with pollution and aging infrastructure around the country, heavy EPA regulations of coal/fossil fuel industries, cost many jobs, people accused Obama of starting a "war on coal," led to higher energy prices across the country, huge concern over dependence on foreign oil due to restrictions on drilling/fracking, protests against opening land to drilling/Keystone pipeline/etc., Deep Horizon explosion increases fear of oil industry damaging the environment.

Financial Collapse of 2008 and Economic Concerns

Recession due to collapse of the housing market, sub-prime lending/risky mortgages, houses ended up not worth as much as loan, people facing foreclosure, government bailed out banks to stabilize economy, manufacturing faced a major decline too, very slow economic recovery.