APUSH - Ch 41: The American People Face a New Century, 2001-2014

Occupy Wall Street

NYC movement which protested economic inequality and corporate political power, movement spread and inspired demonstrations in other major US cities

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

also known as "ObamaCare" this extended healthcare to over 30 million uncovered Americans, a major step towards achieving universal healthcare coverage

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Obama administration initiative to combat the Great Recession. Based on Keynesian economic theory that calls for government spending to restart the economy.

No Child Left Behind Act

highly controversial education bill signed into law by George W. Bush to increase accountability standards in public schools.

Hurricane Katrina

one of the costliest and deadliest storms in US history that ravaged the Gulf coast and New Orleans.

Kyoto Treaty

international agreement to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The Bush administration backed out of the 1997 agreement in 2001.

Department of Homeland Security

cabinet level agency created in 2003 to unify and coordinate public safety and antiterrorism operations within the federal government

Axis of Evil

Iran, Iraq, North Korea

Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

in an effort to avoid another Great Recession, this updated many federal regulations affecting the financial and banking systems

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

ruled unconstitutional, this law prohibited same sex marriage

Debt Ceiling

refers to the amount of money the government can owe at any given time, under Obamas presidency there are two crisis's over attempts to raise it

The Pentagon

the other site of direct attack by terrorists on September 11, 2001, besides the twin towers of the World Trade Center

Al Qaeda

the international terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden

USA Patriot Act

controversial law restricting civil liberties, passed in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks

Tea Party

grassroots conservative political movement within the Republican Party that mobilized in opposition to Obama's fiscal, economic and healthcare policies

John McCain

veteran reform-minded senator who won the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2008

Nancy Pelosi

Democratic Congresswoman from California, in 2007, became the first female Speaker of the House

Sarah Palin

former Alaska Governor, social conservative, VP candidate in 2008 with John McCain

Joseph Biden

former Delaware Senator and Chair of Foreign Relations Committee, served as Vice president from 2008-2016

Abu Ghraib Prison

Iraq detention facility became the focal point of prisoner abuse and torture

George W. Bush

son of a former president whose narrow election as president in 2000 did not prevent him from pursuing a strong conservative agenda in office

Richard Cheney

George W. Bush's vice president who vigorously promoted conservative domestic policies and the invasion of Iraq

Osama bin Laden

wealthy Saudi Arabian exile who formed a global terrorist network that assaulted the United States

Saddam Hussein

long-time Iraqi dictator who was overthrown by invading American armies in 2003

Barack Obama

Illinois senator who became the first African American to be elected president, in 2008

Guantanamo Bay

controversial Prison, located on land occupied but not technically owned by the US

Al Gore

President Clinton's loyal vice president who won the most popular votes but lost the election of 2000

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

biological, chemical, nuclear, or radiological weapons capable of causing mass casualties, cited as the primary justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq

9/11

the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in which Al Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes, crashing two into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one into a field in Pennsylvania

Deleveraging

the process by which individuals, businesses, and financial institutions reduce their debt levels, a key feature of the economic contraction following the 2008 financial crisis