9.1 Contextualizing Period 9

• The political divide between rural and urban regions increased

• End of Cold War + Conservatism

• Middle-Eastern conflicts

• War on Terror

Reagan and Conservatism

Ronald Reagan and the Election of 1980

• Ronald Reagan → likable and sensible + won rep nomination

• Campaign for President → Reagan attacked Dems for expanding gov and undermining US prestige

• Reagan won 51% of the popular vote and almost 91% of the electoral votes

• Significance → Reagan broke up the New Deal coalition by taking mo50% of blue-collar votes

• The election ended a half-century of Democratic dominance of Congress

The Reagan Revolution

• Reaganomics

  • Supply-side economics: tax cuts and reduced gov spending would increase investment by the private sector

  • Reaganomics → contrasted with Keynesian

• Federal Tax Cut

  • Economic Recovery Tax Act (1981): included a 25% decrease in personal income taxes

• Spending

  • With the help of conservative Dems, Reps cut more than $40 billion from domestic programs

• Deregulation

  • Reduced federal regulations on business and industry

  • Restrictions were eased on savings and loan institutions, mergers, and takeovers + auto safety loosened

• Labor Unions

  • Reagan was against unions + fired many for violating contracts and decertified the PACTO union

  • Decrease in union membership → loss of manufacturing jobs

• Recession and Recovery

  • 1982 → nation suffered a big recession + bank failures

  • Recovery widened the economic gap

• Privatization

  • Replacing government jobs with private business (air strike)

Social Issues

• Election of 1984

  • Reagan and VP George Bush were renominated by the Rep party

  • Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro → first female VP candidate of a major party + won the nomination of Dems

  • Reagan won with 59% of the popular vote and 525 of the 538 electoral votes

  • Reagan's policies → boosted the economy and made him a popular president

• Budget and Trade Deficits

  • Reagan’s tax cuts + increased military spending + larger fed deficits

  • The US became a debtor nation

  • Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act → across the board spending cuts

• Impact of President Reagan

  • His conservative policies included tax cuts, reduced government spending, and deregulation,→ lasting impact on the economy and business environment.

  • Reagan is also known for his strong anti-communist stance, which played a role at the end of the Cold War.

  • Criticized for its handling of the Iran-Contra affair, in which senior officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran and used the proceeds to fund anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua.

Foreign Policy During the Reagan Years

Renewing the Cold War

• Military Buildup

  • Reagan’s administration spent billions to make weapons to expand the US navy

  • Increased spending on Strategic Defense Initiative → Plan to build a high-tech system to destroy enemy missiles before they could reach US territory

  • $171 billion → $300 billion

• Central America

  • Reagan supported right-wing dictators to keep out communism

  • The Marxist movement (Sandinistas) had overthrown the country’s dictator

  • The US provided military aid to the contras to dislodge Sandinistas

  • Dems opposed and passed the Boland Amendment → prohibited further aid to contras

  • Reagan administration spent $5 billion to support Salvadorn gov against a coalition of leftist guerrillas

• Grenada

  • The coup led to est. of pro-Cuban regime

  • Reagan ordered marines to invade the island to prevent communist bases in the US

  • Succeeded in re-est. Pro-US gov

• Iran-Contra Affair

  • Iran and Iraq had been engaged in a bloody war

  • Stuff had the idea to use profits of the arms deal with Iran to fund contras in Nicaragua

  • Reagan denied knowing diversion funds → drop in popularity votes

Lebanon, Isreal, and PLO

• Isreal invaded Lebanon to stop PLO terrorists from raiding Isreal

• The US sent peacekeeping forces into Lebanon to contain the country’s civil war

• Arab suicide squad bombed the US embassy in Beirut + another terrorist drove a bomb truck into US Marines barracks

• Reagan pulled forces out of Lebanon

• Geroge Schultz pushed for a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Improved US-Soviet Relations

• The cold war intensified as a result of arms buildups + soviet deployment of missiles against NATO

• Mikhail Gorbachev became the new Soviet leader + made reforms

• Glasnost (openness) → end political repression + more political freedom

• Perestroika (resurrecting) → free-market practices

• “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” (Berlin Wall)

• Gorbachev + Reagan agreed to remove + destroy intermediate-range missiles (INF agreement)

Assessing Reagan’s Policy

• Reagan administration argued military buildup forced the Soviet Union to concede defeat and abandon Cold War

• Others concluded that Gorbachev needed to reform the community economy

• Others believed George Kenan’s containment policies helped

The Collapse of Soviet Communism and the Soviet Union

• Tiananmen Square →  Pro-democracy students demonstrated for freedom in Beijing but the communist government crushed the protest

• Eastern Europe →  declared that he would no longer support Communist governments of Eastern Europe with Soviet Armed Forces

• East German protesters tore down Berlin Wall

• Break Up of the Soviet Union → Nationalist desire for self-doubt termination overwhelmed Gorbachev and the Soviet Union +Failed group against Gorbachev dissolved the Soviet Union

• Soviets came with the loose Confederation of the Commonwealth of independent states

• Yeltsin disbanded the party

• End of Cold War → Agreements to dismantle nuclear weapons tangible proof ended the Cold War

• START I and START II → reduced nuclear warheads and weapons + offered US economic assistance to the Russian economy

• Yugoslavia + Bosnia and Herzegovina in chaos

• The end of the Cold War raised questions about whether the US needed heavy defense spending

Invasion of Panama

• US troops were sent to remove the General to stop Noriega from using the drug pipeline to the US

Persian Gulf War

• Saddam Hussein ( Iraq's  dictator)  invaded oil Rich Kuwait

• President Bush built a Coalition of United Nations members to pressure Husain to withdraw from Kuwait

• un embargo against Iraq had no effect

• Bush won Congressional approval for a military campaign to roll back Iraq's aggression

• Operation Desert Storm: military operative sent to Iraq

• After 100 hours of fighting Iraq conceded defeat

Domestic Problems

• Clarence Thomas:  to replace Thurgood Marshall became controversial as sexual harassment issue angered African Americans and women

• Taxes and the Economy

  • Week Savings and Loan institutions to pay insurance depositors for funds lost in s&l's would cost taxpayers more than $250 billion

  • Republicans fall betrayed when Bush violated no new taxes

  • Recession in 1990 and did the Regan era of prosperity, increased unemployment, and decreased average family income

• Political Inertia

  • Americans with Disabilities Act (1990):  prohibited discrimination against citizens with physical and mental disabilities

  • Emphasized Cuts in federal programs

The Clinton Years: Prosperity and Partisanship

Anti-Incubant Mood

• A stagnant economy, huge budget deficits, political Deadlock fueled to solutions meant with government

• US Term Limits Inc. v. Thorton: States could not limit the tenure of federal lawmakers without a Constitutional Amendment

• 27th Amendment: prohibited members of Congress from raising their own salaries

The Election of 1992

• In 1992, George H.W. Bush ran for re-election against Democratic Bill Clinton and Independent candidate Ross Perot.

• H. Ross Perot → Texas billion as an independent + appealed to millions with anti-Washinton, anti-deficit views

• Despite his high approval ratings following the Gulf War, Bush faced criticism for his handling of domestic issues, including the economy and rising unemployment.

• Clinton won with 43% of the popular vote and 370 electoral votes

Clinton’s First Term (1993-1997)

• Early Accomplishments

  • Family and Medical Leave Act + “motor-voter” law

  • Brady Handgun Bill → mandated a 5-day waiting period for the purchase of handguns

  • Anti-Crime Bill → provided $30 billion in funding for more police protection + crime prevention

  • National Rifle Association

  • NAFTA → free trade zone between Canada and Mexico

Republicans Take over Congress

• Zealous Reformers → Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House, led Reps in an attack on fed programs + spending “contract with America”

• Resulted in 2 shutdowns of fed gov + Oklahoma City bombing

• Balanced Budget → Congress and President compromised on a budget that left Medicare and Social Security benefits intact

• Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act: set curves on immigrants, increased minimum wage, and balance the budget

• Record and the economy helped eliminate the deficit in federal spending plus created Federal Surplus plus created 10 million new jobs

The Election of 1996

• President Bill Clinton won a second term in office, defeating Republican nominee Bob Dole

• largely fought over domestic issues, such as the economy and healthcare

• Clinton won the popular vote with 49.2% and secured 379 electoral votes.

Technology Boom

• The advent of the internet, communication became faster and more efficient, while personal computing made it easier for people to access information and perform tasks

• Rise of many tech companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon

• Development of new technologies and software paved the way for the digital revolution

Clinton’s Second Term: Politics of Impeachment

• Investigations and Impeachment

  • Associates of Clinton under investigation appointed independent prosecutors

  • Dems viewed investigations as right-wing conspiracy

  • Clinton wasn’t charged with any illegalities in Whitewater real estate deal+  firing

  • Kenneth Starr charged Clinton during his deposition in a civil suit about alleged sexual harassment while gov of AK lied about relations with a young woman

• Impeachment

  • House voted to impeach the president on counts of perjury and obstruction of justice

  • The popular opinion did not support rep impeachment

  • Allowed Congress to est. independent prosecutor’s office to lapse

Foreign Policy in the Clinton Administration

• Peacekeeping

  • US soldiers in humanitarian missions came in the Somalian civil war + Haiti

  • Played a key diplomatic role in a negotiated end to British rule in Northern Irelan

• Europe

  • UE became the unified market of 15 nations

  • Boris Yeltsin struggled to reform its economy and fight rampant corruption

  • Serbian dictator carried out a series of armed conflicts to suppress independence movements in Yugolace provinces

• Asia

  • Nuclear proliferation becoming a concern (North Korea, India, Pakistan)

  • Diplomatic ties with Vietnam

  • Trade agreements with China despite protests from human rights activists

• Middle East

  • Saddam Husien defiance of UN weapons instructors → Airstrikes

  • Anti-American sentiment in the Islamic world

• Globalization

  • World Trade Org (WTO): oversaw trade agreements, trade rules, disputes

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) + World Bank: made loans + supervised economic policies of poorer nations with debt

  • The growing gap between rich and poor

American Society in 2000

• Immigration

  • Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986) → fair entry process for immigrants but failed to stop illegal entry through Mexico

• Aging and the Family

  • More ethnically diverse + increased life expectancy

  • A growing number of single-parent families

• Income and Wealth

  • Americans were achieving the American dream

  • Homeownership continued to climb

  • The economy continues to generate more and more wealth

  • Income tax for the lowest declined

  • High school graduates earned half the income of college graduates

  • The US was the richest country in the world among industrialized nations

  • The largest gap between lowest and highest paid workers and the greatest concentration of wealth among top-earning households

Challenges of the 21st Century

Political Polarization

• Anti-gov rural and many suburban areas went Rep

• Diverse large urban centers voted Democrat

• The shift of southern white conservatives from dem Rep Party transformed American politics

• Both parties gerrymandered congressional districts to create safe seats → regarded partisanship and discouraged compromise

Disputed Election of 2000

• George W. Bush and Al Gore were so close that it had to be decided by the Supreme Court

• Bush v. Gore: outcome of the Election in Favor of Bush

• The court's majority opinion argued that the Florida Supreme Court's method of manual vote recounting was unconstitutional, as it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

• Others argued that the court's intervention in the election was unwarranted and could have far-reaching consequences for future elections.

• Significant and debated cases in the history of the Supreme Court

Domestic Policies of the George W. Bush Administration

• Republican Tax Cuts → lowered top tax bracket, gradually eliminated estate taxes, increased child tax credit and IRA + 401(k) limits + gave all taxpayers immediate tax rebates

• Educational and Health Reform

  • No Child Left Behind Act → pushed schools to give struggling students more attention, support, and help

  • Congress fulfilled prescription drug coverage for seniors

• Economic Bubbles and Corruption

  • The technology boom peaked in the 2000s

  • The stock market crashed + the unemployment rate claimed + people living in poverty increased

  • Federal Reserve fought the recession by cutting interest rates

  • End of tech boom → Investors moved their money into real estate (bubble)

The War on Terrorism

• Early Terrorist Attacks

  • Truck bombing of WTC

  • Osama Bin Laden allied himself with the Taliban

• September 11, 2001

  • Terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes and flew them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania

  • The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and injured thousands more

  • The event had a profound impact on American society and foreign policy, leading to the War on Terrorism and changes in national security measures.

• War in Afghanistan

  • Bush declared that he wanted Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders “dead or alive”

  • Taliban refused to turn him over

• Home Land Security

  • USA PATRIOT ACT (2001): expanded the gov’s surveillance powers, allowing for increased monitoring of communication and financial transactions in an effort to prevent future terrorist attacks

  • Some argue that it infringes on civil liberties and others argue that it is necessary for national security.

  • Department of Homeland Security

  • Director of National Intelligence → Coordinating the intelligence activities of all agencies

• George W. Bush Foreign Policy

  • Bush refused to join Kyoto Accords to prevent global warming

  • Did the administration value cooperation with nations or follow a unilateralist approach?

  • Bush claimed that the US would be justified in using a pre-emptive attack to stop the acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists and by nations that support it

• Iraq War

  • Began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a coalition of primarily Western countries led by the United States

  • The war was launched in response to the September 11 attacks and the belief that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)

  • Despite numerous international protests and a lack of evidence supporting the WMD claim, the invasion went ahead.

• Operation Iraqi Freedom

  • Aimed to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power and eliminate Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)

  • Although Hussein was eventually captured and executed and Iraq's government was overthrown, the WMDs were never found

Elections of 2004 and a Bush Second Term

• Elections of 2004

  • George W. Bush won re-election over Democratic nominee John Kerry

  • The election was held in the midst of the War on Terrorism and the ongoing conflict in Iraq

  • Bush campaigned on a platform of national security and the need for continued military action in the Middle East

  • Kerry criticized Bush's handling of the war and emphasized domestic issues such as healthcare and education

• Four More Years at War

  • Reconstruction of Iraq made some headway when Iraq had its first election → National assembly, prime minister + cabinet members

  • In US bipartisan Iraqi study group recommended steps to have Iraqis take greater responsibility

  • In Afghanistan, the Taliban stepped up their attacks

• Washington Politics

  • Bush pushed Congress to privatize social security by encouraging Americans to invest part of their Social Security payroll deduction in market investments

  • PEMA failed to anticipate and respond to Hurricane Katrina

  • Scandals tarnished Reps

  • Failures helped Dems win control of both houses in 2006

  • Bush left a lasting impact on courts by appointing conservatives

• The Great Recession

  • Characterized by a housing market bubble, the subprime mortgage crisis, and the collapse of several large financial institutions

  • Resulted in high unemployment rates, a significant decline in home values, and a decline in consumer spending

  • The government responded with a series of measures designed to stimulate the economy, including bailouts of major financial institutions, tax cuts, and increased government spending.

  • The recession officially ended in 2009, but its effects continued to be felt for years afterward.

  • TARP: provided $700 billion to troubled banks to bail out banks that were perceived "too big to fail" to prevent financial collapse

Election of 2008

• Marked the first time an African American was elected President of the United States.

• Barack Obama, a Democrat, defeated Republican nominee John McCain in a landslide victory.

• Obama campaigned on a platform of hope and change, promising to address issues such as healthcare reform, climate change, and income inequality.

• His victory was seen as a rejection of the policies of the Bush administration and a call for a new direction in American politics.

The First Obama Administration, 2009 -2013

• The Transition

  • Growing economic crisis dominated the transition

• Presidential Initiatives

  • Obama signed a number of executive orders to overturn the actions of the Bush administration

  • Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: strengthen protection of equal pay for female employees

  • Obama failed to carry out all his campaign pledges

• Economic Stimulus

  • American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: unprecedented action to stimulate the economy + measures to modernize our nation's energy and communication infrastructure and enhance energy independence

  • General Motors + Chrysler Corp near collapse → Recovery of domestic auto

  • Consumer Protection Act: improved bank regulations of banking and investment firms + protect taxpayers from future bailouts of businesses

  • Bureau of Consumer Protection: regulate consumer products

• Health Care

  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: extended affordable help care insurance to additional Americans

• Budget Deficits

  • Recession lowered federal tax income and increased government spending

  • Medicare and Social Security costs add to future deficits

  • Bowles-Simpson Plan: would have eliminated the deficit by 2035

  • Rejected by Democrats for its cut to social services and Reps for tax increases

• The Tea Party and 2010 Mid-Term Elections

  • Emerged in 2009 in response to growing concerns over government spending, taxes, and the national debt

  • The movement was largely made up of conservative Republicans and libertarians who sought to limit the size and scope of government

  • In the 2010 midterm elections, the Tea Party helped Republicans win control of the House of Representatives and gain seats in the Senate

  • However, the movement's influence began to wane in subsequent years as it became associated with more extreme and controversial views

• Congress in Gridlock

  • Partisan political climate + gov in chaos

  • Do-nothing congress passed more legislation

  • Super-committee failed + spending cuts seemed likely

Obama’s Foreign Policy

• Iraq

  • Pres developed a plan to wind down US ground combat operations in Iraq

  • Forces withdrawn

  • Sunni + Al-Qaeda continued to terrorize the majority Shiite gob

• Death of Osama bin Laden

  • Killed in Pakistan in an operation of CIA + Navy SEALS

  • Raised the question of whether the US needed to stay in are or not

• Arab Spring

  • Series of protests, uprisings, and revolutions that spread across the Middle East and North Africa in the early 2010s.

  • Sparked by the self-immolation of a Tunisian street vendor in December 2010

  • The movement quickly spread to other countries, including Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen

  • The protests were largely driven by discontent with authoritarian regimes, corruption, economic hardship, and lack of political freedoms

  • Led to the overthrow of several governments and sparked ongoing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere

• Asia and Europe

  • Middle East limited pres pivot to Asia

  • Budget gridlock provided China with more opportunities to project growing power

  • EU continued to struggle for not being Bush

Election of 2012

• Barack Obama was re-elected to a second term as president, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney

• The election was held in the midst of ongoing economic struggles and the continued conflict in the Middle East

• Obama campaigned on a platform of continued progress and change, while Romney emphasized his business experience and criticized Obama's handling of the economy.

Election of 2014

• Republicans won control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections

• The election was characterized by a low voter turnout and widespread dissatisfaction with both major political parties

• The new Republican majority in the Senate promised to challenge Obama's legislative agenda and push for conservative reforms in a number of policy areas.

Second Obama Administration

• Partisan Budget Conflicts

  • The budget impasse between Democrats and Republicans resulted in a government shutdown, with many federal workers being furloughed for several weeks

  • The conflict centered around disagreements over federal spending levels, and both sides were criticized for their unwillingness to compromise

  • This led to a series of automatic spending cuts known as sequestration, which further strained government programs and services.

• Gun violence

  • Mass shootings sparked debates about guns

  • Proposals to tighter gun laws + background checks

• Terrorism

  • Homegrown terrorism sparked in **Boston Marathon (**2 brothers motivated by Islamic beliefs)

  • Efforts to prevent terrorism classes with civil liberties + human rights

• Foreign Policy

  • Sectarian division between Sunni + Shiite Muslims worsens

  • OSS moved to re-est. worldwide caliphate under strict Islamic law

  • Iran

    • Election of a new leader provided an opportunity to start negotiations over the nuclear energy program

  • Europe

    • Russia + NATO + Ukraine tensions worsened

  • China

    • Wanted more territories + treated southeast-asian nations

    • Emerged as a serious threat in the 21st century

Contemporary Issues and the Roberts Court

• Affirmative Actions and Voting Rights

  • Affirmative action: increase the representation of historically disadvantaged groups in areas such as employment, education, and politics.

  • The practice has been controversial, with some arguing that it unfairly advantages certain groups and others arguing that it is necessary to address past and ongoing discrimination.

  • Shelby County v. Holder → required that certain states with a history of voter discrimination obtain prior federal approval of voting changes

• Elections and Money

  • Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: ruled that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions

• Environment

  • Used stimulus bill to promote reduced reliance on oil + alternative energy

  • EPA: had authority under Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide + other greenhouse gases

• Gay Rights

  • Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

  • Defense of Marriage Act → unconstitutional

  • Same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry under the 14th Amendment

• Gun Rights

  • District of Columbia v. Heller → 2nd amendment protects the right to possess firearms

• Immigration

  • Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting: the state had the right to require employers to check the immigration status of potential employees

  • Arizona v. US: federal immigration law pre-empts most states’ anti-immigration law

• Healthcare

  • The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act → Critics argue that it represented government overreach and would lead to higher healthcare costs.

  • Court upheld the constitutionality of the law's individual mandate, which requires Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty.

  • King v. Burwell: healthcare could be used in states that did not have their own health insurance exchanges

  • Despite these legal challenges, the law remains in effect today, although it has been modified and scaled back by subsequent administrations.

The Trump Presidency and the Election of Biden

• Donald Trump ran as the Republican nominee, defeating a crowded field of more traditional politicians.

• Trump campaigned "Make America Great Again," promising to bring back jobs, renegotiate trade deals, and crack down on illegal immigration.

• Hillary Clinton ran as the Democratic nominee, becoming the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party.

• Clinton campaigned on experience and continuity, promising to build on the legacy of the Obama administration and promote progressive policies such as universal healthcare and equal pay for women.

• Characterized by controversy and scandal, with Trump facing allegations of sexual assault and Clinton facing criticism over her handling of classified information as Secretary of State.

• Trump won the election, despite losing the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes.

Trump’s Domestic Policy

• The tax overhaul that lowered corporate and individual tax rates, a repeal of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, and an immigration policy that sought to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and increase border security

• Travel ban on individuals from several predominantly Muslim countries and a zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration that resulted in the separation of families at the border

• Marked by significant polarization and controversy, with many of his policies and actions facing legal challenges and widespread criticism from opponents.

Trump's Foreign Policy

• America First

  • Trump's foreign policy was characterized by an "America First" approach that emphasized protecting American interests and reducing foreign involvement.

• NATO and European Allies

  • Trump criticized NATO allies for not contributing their fair share to the organization's budget and called for increased defense spending from other countries.

  • Strained relations with European allies, particularly Germany, over trade and security issues.

Investigation and Impeachment

• In 2019, a complaint alleged that President Trump had pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son in exchange for military aid

• The House investigated and impeached Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress

• The Senate acquitted Trump, with Republicans arguing that it was a politically motivated attempt to remove the president from office

• The impeachment and acquittal were controversial and divisive, highlighting the deep polarization and partisanship in American politics.

2020 Pandemic

• Covid-19 was first identified in China

• spread like crazy all around the world + people had to wear masks

• Trump’s Operation Warp Speed → help pharmaceutical companies develop vaccines

• Many lost jobs and businesses failed

Election of 2020

• Vice president Joe Biden and Kamala Harris defeated the Republican President Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence

• The election took place against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic and related recession.

Attack on the Capital and a Second Impeachment

• Trump held a rally near the White House encouraging supporters to march to the capitol → turned into an attack

• Trump’s actions → 1st president to become impeached twice

Biden’s Administration

• Called for unity + end suffering from the pandemic by vaccinating all Americans against COVID-19