AP US History Unit 9: Contemporary America

Reagans administration

________ supported governments that were anti- Communist, even if they were undemocratic or repressive, sending troops to Grenada in 1983 to topple to Marxist leaders of the country, and supporting the dictatorial regime of the Philippines led by Marcos, despite reports of electoral fraud.

Obamas campaign

________ demonstrated the power of the Internet to build a grassroots network of activists and contributors, and Twitter has served as a primary method for Trump to communicate with the public.

Clinton

________ broke with organized labor and environmental groups by embracing NAFTA, eliminating all trade barriers and tariffs among the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Reagan

________ cut taxes for corporations and reduced regulations on industry, arguing for increased deregulation- he came under criticism for weakening much of the environmental legislation of the 70s.

Boland Amendment

The US funded and trained a military group known as the Contras, but Congress, in 1982, alarmed at reports of human rights abuses by the Contras, passed the ________ to halt US aid to the group.

Apple

________ launched a PC in 1977 and IBM followed; in the early 1980s, Microsoft developed operating systems, and through the 1980s, PC became ubiquitous in workplaces.

Arab oil embargo

After the ________ of 1973 and the energy crisis that followed the 1979 Iranian Revolution, American policymakers began to look for ways for the US to reduce its consumption of energy, which has been augmented by concerns over climate change.

Social Security

In the 1980s, Reagan led the effort to pass a(n) ________ reform bill designed to ensure the long- term solvency of the program.

1960s

The origins of the Internet date from the ________ as the Department of Defense sought to create a computer system that would allow far- flung military installations to exchange computer information.

Medicaid

________ is a government insurance program for low- income people.

Great Recession

Obama addressed the ________ with a major stimulus bill- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009)

2012

In ________, SCOTUS upheld the constitutionality of the acts individual mandate as an exercise of Congresss taxing power.

Trump

________ suspended the Obama- era policy of granting Cuba relief from sanctions, but he (Obama) did not rescind diplomatic relations between the two countries Subject to Debate.

2001

The ________ attacks were followed by W Bush initiating military action in Afghanistan and Iraq.

financial firms

Republicans argue for deregulation of major industries, including ________, and resist calls for increased government oversight.

repressive apparatus

He (Mikhail Gorbachev) introduced glasnost, a dismantling of the ________ of the USSR, and perestroika, the introduction of elements of capitalism to the sluggish Soviet economy.

Treasury

The Fed outlined a loan program for the countrys largest banks to borrow ________ securities at discounted rates.

Russian

In 2014, Putin occupied Crimea with ________ troops, which was seen as illegal by the US, and Obama imposed sanctions on several wealthy advisors close to Putin.

TaskRabbit

________ and Uber are prominent companies- 36 % of American workers are involved in the gig economy.

Congress

________ passed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 which allowed states to not recognize same- sex marriages performed in other states.

W Bush

The ________ administration and the Federal Reserve Bank took a number of steps to address the economic crisis and prevent a collapse of major economic institutions.

Mexico

Republicans have generally sided with anti- immigrant sentiment, arguing for a more secure border with ________ and passing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, forcing employers to ensure that their workforce was composed of only legal immigrants.

Second Amendment

The NRA has lobbied against any type of gun control, citing the importance of the ________ The End of the Cold War The United States and the World During the Reagan Administration.

LBJ

In 1965, ________ urged Congress to engage in an effective war against crime, Nixons tough on crime policies further criminalized the possession and use of illegal drugs, and the drug war was a major goal of Reagan.

AIDS

________ swept through gay communities- many Christian fundamentalists saw ________ as Gods punishment as Gods punishment for sinful behavior.

BLM

________ emerged in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Zimmerman, a Florida man who shot Martin, a black teenager.

Cuba

Obama announced in 2015 that the US and ________ would resume diplomatic relations and that the United States would open an embassy in Havana.

correctional facilities

Blacks are incarcerated at more than 5x the rate of whites and comprise over 35 % of people in ________.

Medicare

________ provides health insurance to those over 65 and those with disabilities.

New Right

The ________ stands for its opposites- conservative approaches to sexuality, respect for authority and discipline, and unifying patriotism.

Cold War conservatives

________: focused on containing or rolling back communist regimes abroad.

Persian Gulf War

During the ________, significant numbers of women served in combat roles for the first time.

Florida

The voting in ________ was split almost evenly between Al Gore and Bush, and without ________, neither candidate had 270 electoral votes.

Israel

Since the Six- Day War in 1967, ________ has occupied adjacent lands where Palestinians live, including the West Bank of the Jordan, the Gaza Strip, and Eastern Jerusalem.

Hussein

When ________ failed to comply with Bushs 6 week deadline to withdraw, the coalition initiated Operation Desert Storm, defeating Iraqi forces and driving them from Kuwait.

Internet use

________ grew rapidly in the 1990s and changed the way of life- email rendered letter writing obsolete, file sharing of music and video have forced the entertainment industry to rethink its business model, and traditional news outlets have been forced to compete with the instantaneous information available on the Internet.

anti crime bill

The 1994 ________ signed by Clinton is seen by many as contributing to the increase in prison population.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care

The ________ was challenged in several federal courts- 3 upheld it and 2 deemed parts of it unconstitutional.

Bush

________ identified an axis of evil consisting of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

President Saddam Hussein

Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003; it was the US military campaign to remove ________ from power and create a more democratic government in Iraq.

rights movement

The womens ________ also called attention to sexual harassment and assault through the MeToo Movement, shedding light on workplace dynamics and empowered women to break the silence around these issues.

Clinton

________ deployed US forces to aid a UN humanitarian mission in Somalia in 1993- troubles had begun a year earlier when the government was overthrown and a civil war ensued between competing factions, leading to famine and ½ million deaths.

Reagan

________ denounced the USSR using pointedly ideological language, labeling them an evil empire.

Congress

________ passed the Military Commission Act (2006) intended to address concerns, but still allows for the removal of procedural safeguards ordinarily employed in judicial trials.

Trump

In 2018, ________ removed the US from the deal and in 2020, the US killed Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani.

Obama campaign

The ________ was able to harness the power of the Internet, as well as Obamas charisma, to build a large base.

Bush

________ distrusted many of the multilateral entities in which the US had participated, withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement on environmental goals, the Anti- Ballistic Missile Treaty so that the US could develop a space- based missile- defense system, and the UNs International Criminal Court.

Clinton

________ put forth the idea of a federal health insurance plan that would provide subsidized insurance to many of the 39 million uncovered Americans and would bring down health insurance costs for everyone.

Reagan

________ tried to undermine the left- wing Sandinista government in Nicaragua who took power in 1979 after overthrowing the US backed dictatorship of Somoza.

Clinton

________ took the lead in ensuring a transition to democracy in Haiti in 1994 after democratically elected Jean- Bertrand Aristide was ousted by a Haitian general.

Cold War conservatives

focused on containing or rolling back communist regimes abroad

Pro-business economic conservatives

argue for lower corporate taxes, deregulation, and an economic atmosphere friendly to big business (laissez faire in terms of environmental regulations but willing to use the power of government to further their interests, aka

Religious and cultural wing

grassroots support = victory for Reagan (twice), HW Bush (once), and W Bush (twice) → gained steam as tradition-minded people grew frustrated with counterculture (womens liberation, gay liberation, assertiveness of African Americans, and illegal drug use)

Reagan cut taxes for corporations and reduced regulations on industry, arguing for increased deregulation

he came under criticism for weakening much of the environmental legislation of the 70s

In 1994, Republicans gained control of the House and Senate

they had not had control of the House since 1954

House Republicans signed and issued "Contract with America" weeks before the 1994 election

it was a call to arms for Republicans and called for tougher anti-crime measures, tort reform, and welfare reform

The Senate declared him not guilty however Reducing Big Government

Rhetoric and Reality

This led to a doubling of the national debt

hindering economic growth to some degree since and forced careful considerations of American debt for future administrations Debates over the Scope of Government and International Trade

Issues of globalization and free trade have inspired protests

some believe that these agreements have caused the decline of industrial jobs in the midwest while others cite the ready availability of inexpensive consumer products as evidence of the success of the free-trade ethos

Many see the crisis in the housing market as an important cause of the Great Recession

in the 2000s, lending institutions devised new methods of borrowing money after the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, removing regulatory constraints on the banking industry

In 2007, this bubble burst as the real-estate market weakened and interest rates increased → many subprime borrowers found themselves underwater

the market value of their homes sank below the amount they owed on their mortgages

Obama addressed the Great Recession with a major stimulus bill

the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care was challenged in several federal courts

3 upheld it and 2 deemed parts of it unconstitutional

In 1981, there was a mysterious disease that seemed to disproportionately affect gay men called AIDS

the cause of which was HIV

AIDS swept through gay communities

many Christian fundamentalists saw AIDS as Gods punishment as Gods punishment for sinful behavior

This was a policy adopted by the military in 1994 that allowed LGBTQ members to serve as long as they remained closetted

this was protested by the LGTBQ community on the grounds of discrimination and limiting freedom of speech and expression

The tide turned in 2003, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state may not forbid same-sex couples from legally marrying

several other state courts followed

A study in 2018 found that 22% of blacks were living in poverty whereas only 13% of all Americans were

blacks in poverty are much more likely to live in neighborhoods with overall high poverty rates

Details of this affair became public in 1986, and 14 members of the Reagan administration were tried for violating US law

Reagan claimed to have had no direct knowledge of the program

HW Bushs main accomplishments were in foreign affairs

it was during his presidency that the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union collapsed

Clinton deployed US forces to aid a UN humanitarian mission in Somalia in 1993

troubles had begun a year earlier when the government was overthrown and a civil war ensued between competing factions, leading to famine and ½ million deaths

Former president Carter was dispatched to try to negotiate an end to military rule, and he was successful

Aristide returned to power in 1995

Ethnic violence developed as Serbain forces attempted to gain control of areas of Bosnia with large Serbian populations

they would try to remove Bosnians through a campaign of ethnic cleansing

Internet use grew rapidly in the 1990s and changed the way of life

email rendered letter writing obsolete, file sharing of music and video have forced the entertainment industry to rethink its business model, and traditional news outlets have been forced to compete with the instantaneous information available on the Internet

Critics note that smartphones tend to distract users from tasks such as driving and social interactions in front of them Economic Shifts

The Decline of Manufacturing and the Rise of the Service Sector

Since the 1980s, there has been a rapid shift of the manufacturing sector out of the US and into less-developed parts of this world

a trend accelerated by free-trade agreements

The rise of the private manufacturing sector in Communist China has also played a major role

because firms in China are able to produce goods at lower costs, American imports from China grew dramatically in the late 20th and early 21st century

A major turning point toward unionized workers came in 1981 under Reagan when he fired air traffic controllers who went on strike

this broke their union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, and was consistent with helping big business

It grew significantly from 1980 to present

the primary sector includes the extraction and production of raw materials and the secondary sector is considered manufacturing; the service sector is considered the tertiary sector which involves the production of services rather than end products

The growth of low wage jobs in the retail and fast-food fields has contributed to the stagnation of wages and to a growing income gap

and efforts to unionize workers in these fields have almost all failed due to anti-union activities by the corporations

TaskRabbit and Uber are prominent companies

36% of American workers are involved in the gig economy

Currently, immigration accounts for a third of population growth

immigration has been an important factor in the growth of the Southwestern states

Defeating Hussein and the Iraqi army was an easy task, but creating stability in Iraq was not

attacks by insurgents continued and Operation Iraqi Freedom hurt Bushs approval ratings and created tensions between the US and some European nations Liberty, Security, and Human Rights in the War on Terrorism

The New Right stands for its opposites

conservative approaches to sexuality, respect for authority and discipline, and unifying patriotism

One topic that historians begin to wrestle with is the origins of the toxic partisan atmosphere

some look to the impeachment against Clinton as a turning point