Unit 9: Modern America (1980- )

Reagan’s “Supply Side Economics”

pursued conservative domestic policy; 20-25% decrease in personal income tax; cuts in corporate tax, capital gains tax, inheritance taxes; large spending cuts to food stamps, public transportation, environmental protection, and student loan programs; de-regulation of banks and auto industry, and less support for unions

Recession of 1982

a severe economic downturn; highlighted the effects of Supply-Side Economics; high interest rates and a significant drop in inflation

war on drugs

a phrase used to refer to a government-led initiative that aims to stop illegal drug use, distribution and trade by dramatically increasing prison sentences for both drug dealers and users; used as dog-whistle politics

AIDS crisis

the emergence and rapid spread of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a deadly disease caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), in the 1980s and 1990s; especially in the LGBTQ+ community

Immigration Reform and Control Act

a compromise among many groups that increased border enforcement, established penalties for employers who hired undocumented people, allowed almost three million undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status

Strategic Defense Initiative “Star Wars”

the Reagan administration planned to build a complex system of space lasers and particle beans to destroy enemy missiles in the air; technology too difficult and costly, project cancelled

Reagan military intervention

intervened to fight communism; provided military aid to groups fighting the socialist Nicaraguan government and fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, provided $5 billion to support the capitalist government of El Salvador, who was killing their citizens; invaded island of Grenada

Iran-Contra Affair

a 1986 investigation uncovered the fact that the Reagan administration had broken federal law by secretly selling weapons to Iran and using the money to fund the Contras; funding the Contras prohibited by Congress; advisors took the blame and Reagan did not get impeached

improvement in United States and Soviet relations

new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced policies of Glasnost and Perestroika; which allowed for freedom of the press, political freedom, and restructuring of economy; nations reduce missile stockpiles

Persian Gulf War

United States assists Kuwait with Iraqi invasion; H.W. Bush decides not to send American troops into Iraq to overthrow the Hussein regime

H.W. Bush domestic policy

continued to escalate the War on Drugs; agreed to raise taxes to pay off national debt, despite promising not to during campaign, Americans With Disabilities Act banned discrimination based on disability and requiring accomodations

Clinton domestic policy

Congress blocked attempts to pass new environmental regulations, create universal government healthcare, end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in military; “don’t ask, don’t tell”

Contract with America

Republicans take control of the House and the Senate, promises to promote conservative policies on a national level

1994 Crime Bill

continued War on Drugs, further toughened criminal sentencing, banned assault weapons for ten years

Welfare Reform Act

converted welfare into block grants to states, limited welfare to five years across a person’s life with work requirements

North American Free Trade Agreement

opened up trade between the three big North American economies— Canada, Mexico, and the United States; reduced prices in the United States; outsourcing of manufacturing jobs

Dot Com Boom

proliferation of the Internet and the personal computer revolutionized the world and powered the United States economy; unemployment fell; globalization

Monica Lewinsky scandal

a sex scandal involving President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky; resulted in Clinton’s impeachment but Senate acquits him

Bush tax cuts

reduced income taxes by 4% for the rich and 2% for everyone else; reduced capital gains taxes to 15%; increased tax deductions for small businesses

No Child Left Behind Act

meant to improve public schooling; all schools required to give standardized tests; students expected to reach proficiency by 2014; schools that didn’t meet targets could get punished or shut down, with teachers and administrators fired; claims that it reduced time for electives

9/11

the series of four coordinated terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, on the United States

War in Afghanistan

the Taliban refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, the Untied States sends troops into Afghanistan to track down leaders of Al Qaeda

PATRIOT Acts

gave government sweeping power to tap phones and emails, engage in spying, and arrest suspects on terrorism charges and hold them in detention for long periods of time without trial

Guantanamo Bay Prison Facility

a U.S. military detention facility located on the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba; intended to house “illegal enemy combatants” suspected of terrorism following 9/11, many wrongly convicted and tortured

War in Iraq

Saddam Hussein refused to allow UN inspectors in to make sure he is not building weapons of mass destruction; United States gives him ultimatum to let them in or they would invade

Hurricane Katrina

a powerful Category 5 hurricane that caused widespread devastation in the southeastern United States, particularly in Louisiana and Mississippi, in late August 2005; destroyed the area

Great Recession

a severe global economic downturn that began in December 2007 and officially ended in June 2009; triggered by bursting of housing bubble

Economic Stabilization Act

provided $700 billion dollars to stabilize banks that were failing and $600 “tax rebates” to Americans nationwide

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

$800 billion economic stimulus to resuscitate the still-failing economy

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

major healthcare reform that expanded Medicaid and mandated that everyone buy health insurance, with subsidies for those who cannot afford it

Dodd-Frank Act

created new government agencies to regulate the financial industry to ensure finance companies don’t cause another recession; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect consumers from fraud and exploitation

Tea Party

Republicans won seats in state and national level in midterm elections; opposed Obama’s new laws and called for a smaller government; goal to make Obama a one-term president

gridlock

a situation where there is little to no progress on political decisions due to opposing parties or factions being unable to reach understanding

DACA program

allowing undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to legally work, serve in military, and attend college, while being shielded from deportation

Paris Climate Accords

committing to work with other nations to act on climate change

Obergefell v. Hodges

same-sex marriage is a right

#MeToo

a social movement and awareness campaign against sexual violence, harassment, and assault, particularly in the workplace

Trump’s first year

nominated cabinet secretaries that trie to reduce the size of the government by cutting funding and programs from the inside; removed the United States from the Paris Climate Accord; toughened immigration law by increasing enforcement, attempting to cancel DACA, restricting immigration from countries, separating children from their families

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

provided temporary income tax cuts that expire in 2025, and permanently cut corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%

First Step Act

reformed the criminal justice system by shortening sentences, encouraging the system to place people in prisons closer to home, increasing funding for rehabilitation

CARES Act

$500 billion for loans and assistance to companies, stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, funding for vaccine development

January 6

violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building, which occurred during the certification of the 2020 presidential election results