APUSH Exam Review - TP 9 (MODERN)

1980-present; reagan revolution/reagonomics, conservatism, new tech, globalization, war on terror (9/11); Presidents: Reagan, Bush (George HW), Clinton, Bush (George W), Obama, Trump, Biden, Trump (again)

What is the span of the “modern” period (TP 9)?

1980-present

“reagan revolution”

rightward turn of American politics after election of 1980

made individual freedom a rallying cry for the right

reduced business regulation and environmental protections

tough against labor

supply-side/trickle down/reaganomics

reagan’s economic program

higher interest rates to curb inflation and lower tax rates, especially for businesses and high income americans

hoped it would stimulate private investment; assumed cutting taxes would inspire Americans to work harder because they could keep more money

initially caused recession but eventually led to economic expansion

companies downsized workforces and shifted production overseas, becoming more profitable

inflation decreased because of increased oil production

widened wealth gap (rich spent money on personal spending over philanthropy)

middle class life stagnated or declined

national debt jumped to $2.7 trillion

tax reform act (1986)

reduced the rate on wealthiest Americans to only 28%

yuppie

“young urban professionals” who earned a high income working in a bank or stock brokerage firm and spent lavishly

election of 1984

reagan remained popular and beat Walter mondale (who had first female VP candidate) by a large margin

immigration reform and control act (1986)

provided amnesty and a path to citizenship for 3 million undocumented immigrants

also penalized employers who knowingly hired illegals

comprehensive crime control act (1984)

reinstated federal death penalty

abolished federal parole

anti-drug abuse act (1986)

expanded prison population

disproportionately targeted black/latino communities

“just say no” (nancy reagan)

strategic defense initiative

space-based system to intercept and destroy enemy missiles

not possible technologically and would violate anti-ballistic missile treaty

appealed to reagan’s desire to reassert america’s worldwide power

nicknamed “star wars”

iran-contra affair

against congress’s demand

Reagan secretly sold weapons to iran and secretly used the money to support contras in Nicaragua

not popular because americans had just been fighting iran in the 70s

Reagan and gorbachev and end of cold war

gorbachev’s reforms: glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring)

reagan softened American attitude toward communism

negotiated to help Soviet union with economic stability

limited arms production and usage

republics of the Soviet union declared independence, leaving gorbachev a leader without anything to lead

1989:

tianmen square protest in china weakened communist presence

berlin wall was breached, which reunited germany

soviet union collapsed and other communist governments faced rebellion (velvet revolution), ending most communist presence in the world

Election of 1988

George H W Bush (rep) vs Michael Dukakis (dem)

lots of personal attacks

bush won

“new world order”

bush’s term for post-cold war world

Persian Gulf War

military action in 1991

international coalition led by US reclaimed Kuwait from Iraq, who had occupied it a year earlier

succeeded within 100 hours

Saddam Hussein (Iraqi leader) still remained in power (will cause problems later)

Americans with Disabilities Act

1990

protects people with disabilities from discrimination; provides accessible public functions (ramps, elevators, etc)

Election of 1992

George HW Bush (rep) vs Bill Clinton (dem) vs Ross Perot (independent billionaire)

Clinton was conservatist with some social liberalism (supported gay rights, abortion rights, and affirmative action for minorities)

Bush was out of touch and had been stuck with recession; one of the republicans declared a cultural war against gays, feminists, and abortion, portraying his party as divisive and intolerant

Perot attacked Bush and Clinton as economically unaware (since he was a Texas billionaire); was very popular and one of the largest non-party contenders (his popularity showed dissatisfaction with parties)

Clinton won

27 amendment

1992

prohibits Congress from raising their own salaries

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

1993 agreement with Canada and Mexico

allowed goods to travel across borders without tariffs

crtitics argued americans would lose jobs to cheaper mexican labor

*cheap products but declined jobs

“don’t ask, don’t tell”

allowed gay people to serve in the military if they were incognito

they couldn’t openly express their “identity” but wouldn’t be sought out

Contract with America

conservative promises in response to clinton’s liberalism

created by newt gingrich (speaker of the house)

more a campaign tactic than practical program

promised to cut back taxes and regulations, curtail government powered, overhaul welfare, and end affirmative action

allowed for a republican takeover of congress

led to government shutdowns in 1995

Election of 1996

Bill Clinton (dem) v Bob Dole (rep)

neither were very exciting (only 50% of voters showed up)

Clinton campainged against radical congress

neutralized claims of “high taxes, lavish spending, and apathy to labor”

Clinton won

Clinton scandals + impeachment

whitewater = shady real estate deal

“travelgate” = firing of white house staff

“filegate” = using FBI for politics

*not charged for anything

IMPEACHMENT (1998)

Kenneth Starr charged that Clinton lied under oath about his closeness with white house intern Monica Lewinsky

*wasn’t in (that much) trouble for his actions with Monica; he was only impeached because he’d lied under oath

republicans used his lie to impeach him, but democrats had control of the house and senate didn’t vote him out of office

Balkan Crisis

a series of political and social crises following the dissolution of Yugoslavia (southeastern Europe - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Macedonia) and eventually Montenegro and Kosovo) in the 90s

many atrocities occurred

required NATO/UN/US intervention

Ethnic cleansing

systematic removal of an ethnic group through violence or intimidation to create a homogeneous society (genocide)

*popularized after Yugoslavs targeted Albanian Muslims in Kosovo

globalization

rapid acceleration of international commerce, financial resources, labor, and cultural products

caused by satellites/internet/increased communication/info; fall of Soviet union which opened the world to market communism

effects:

americans could get cheap goods

service employment increased but manufacturing declined in the US

wages stagnated, which led to economic inequality

World Trade Organization

group of 135 countries created in 1995 to reduce barriers to international commerce

settled trade disputes

anti-globalization movement

against globalization’s social consequences

claimed it widened wealth gap and corporations made undemocratic decisions

demanded standard for wages, labor condition, and environmental consideration

also wanted better healthcare and education in poor countries

computers + internet effects

revolutionized entertainment

made businesses more efficient

expanded flow of info and communications

anyone could post ideas for everyone to see

new democratic sphere

gave racists, conspiracy theorists, and other negative people a platform to spread their ideas

dot com bubble burst

people really invested in “dot com” companies that conducted business purely online

however many of them didn’t turn a profit and were marred by scandal and fraud

questionable legality was ignored because it was “modern!”

4/14/2000 - stock dropped and continued to decline for the next 3 years

caused a nationwide recession

immigration in the 80s and 90s

mostly Latino immigration (compared to earlier European immigration)

“pushed” because of economic and political instability in their home countries and repressive governments

“pulled” because of more skilled jobs in the US

created a huge Latino influence in entertainment, sports, and politics

Election of 2000

george w Bush (rep and hw’s son) vs al gore (dem and clinton’s vp)

Bush won

9/11

terrorist attack in 2001

four planes were hijacked by members of Al Qaeda (Islamist group led by Osama Bin Laden); massive death count

two crashed into the two world trade center towers; one crashed into the Pentagon; one (probably headed for the white house) was recaptured by the passengers but crashed into a field in Pennsylvania

bin Laden was against Soviet presence in Afghanistan and mad at the US after the Gulf War (especially since the US had established military bases in Saudi Arabia and had also supported Israel)

EFFECTS:

-increased patriotism (common social purpose) and trust in the government, created sympathy for the victims, firemen and police men became national heroes

War on Terror

military campaign in the middle east (mainly Afghanistan because that’s where in response to 9/11

there was split American support once it expanded to Iraq based on flawed intelligence

increased prejudice against Muslims

Patriot Act

created to try to prevent another terrorist attack

broadened federal government’s surveillance and investigative powers

included wiretapping communication, information sharing, and “sneak and peek searches” without warrants

raised questions of the protections of civil rights

Climate change debate and Hurricane Katrina

worried about environment and fossil fuel impact vs energy independence

*a lot of people worried about increasing oil/fuel prices because of turmoil in the middle east; wanted to drill their own oil to maintain low prices and cut dependence

*others argued that the places were drilling were protected reserves and the drilling was causing a lot of environmental damage

Katrina - hurricane in New Orleans in 2005 that showed damage brought about by climate change; 1500 people died because of the lack of government preparation and slow evacuation (people blamed government for unhelpfulness in climate change; aided the “worried about environment” side)

Election of 2004

George W Bush (rep) vs John Kerry (dem)

bush won

Election of 2008

Barack Obama (dem) vs John McCain (rep)

Obama won (became the first president of color)

entered office at a time of financial crisis

Great Recession

earlier, home prices had rose, and the loans given to buy them were bought and sold as investments on Wall Street

home prices fell, and people who couldn’t pay defaulted their loans, rendering the investments as practically worthless

stock market plunged and banks almost failed

americans cut back on spending, which led to a decrease in business, which led to unemployment

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

required all americans to get health insurance and offered subsidies to help poorer americans pay for it

bitterly opposed by republicans

Tea Party

grassroots movement to oppose Obama’s liberal legislation

encouraged conservative gains in 2010 election

kickstarted a republican resurgence

Obergefell v Hodges

ruled that the 14th amendment establishes a constitutional right to marriage for gay americans