Challenges of the 21st Century, 2000-Present

Challenges of the 21st Century, 2000-Present

Political Polarization

  • Early 21st-century elections revealed a divided nation:
    • Conservative South, Great Plains, and Mountain states.
    • Moderate to liberal Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast.
  • Swing states determined federal elections due to this division.
  • Traditional, religious, and anti-government rural/suburban areas leaned Republican.
  • Diverse urban centers and internationally-minded coasts voted Democrat.
  • Shift of Southern white conservatives from Democratic to Republican after the 1960s transformed politics.
  • Rise of Southern conservatives (Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, Trent Lott) in the Republican party.
  • Republican party became more conservative and partisan.
  • Moderate Republicans lost influence.
  • Gerrymandering created "safe seats," rewarding partisanship and discouraging compromise.

Disputed Election of 2000

  • The 2000 presidential election was the closest since 1876, settled by the Supreme Court.
  • Al Gore (Democrat) vs. George W. Bush (Republican).
  • Ralph Nader (Green Party) may have taken votes from Gore, affecting the outcome in Florida.
  • Gore won more popular votes nationwide, but the election hinged on Florida's 25 electoral votes.
  • Bush led by only 537 votes in Florida after a partial recount.
  • Democrats requested manual recounts of punch cards.
  • The Supreme Court of Florida ordered recounts, but the U.S. Supreme Court overruled them in Bush v. Gore.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that varying recount standards in Florida violated the Equal-Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
  • Bush won with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 (one elector abstained).

Domestic Policies of the George W. Bush Administration

  • Aggressively pushed a conservative agenda.
    • Tax cuts.
    • Deregulation.
    • Federal aid to faith-based organizations.
    • Pro-life legislation.
    • School choice.
    • Privatization of Social Security and Medicare.
    • Drilling for oil and gas in the Alaska wildlife refuge.
    • Voluntary environmental standards for industry.
Republican Tax Cuts
  • In 2001, Congress passed a 1.351.35 trillion tax cut over ten years.
    • Lowered top tax bracket.
    • Gradually eliminated estate taxes.
    • Increased child tax credit and limits for IRA and 401(k) contributions.
    • Immediate tax rebate for all taxpayers.
  • In 2003, another round of tax cuts for stock dividends, capital gains, and married couples.
  • Democrats criticized tax cuts for benefiting the richest 5% and doubling the national debt from 55 trillion to 1010 trillion.
Educational and Health Reform
  • No Child Left Behind Act: Aims to improve student performance and close the achievement gap through:
    • Testing of all students nationwide.
    • Granting students the right to transfer to better schools.
    • Funding stronger reading programs.
    • Training high-quality teachers.
  • Medicare: Republicans passed laws to give seniors the option to enroll in private insurance companies and provide prescription drug coverage.
  • Democrats criticized the legislation as designed to profit insurance and drug companies.
Economic Bubbles and Corruption
  • The technology boom peaked in 2000 and was over by 2002.
  • The stock market crashed; the Dow Jones Average fell by 38%.
  • The unemployment rate climbed to 6%.
  • Increased poverty.
  • Fraud by business leaders (Enron, WorldCom).
  • The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to 1.25%, the lowest in 50 years.
  • The end of the technology boom-bust cycle (1995-2002) encouraged investors to move into real estate, creating a speculative bubble (2002-2007).

The War on Terrorism

  • Terrorism dominated U.S. foreign policy after September 11, 2001.
  • George W. Bush's administration adopted a confident and aggressive approach against terrorism.
Roots of Terrorism
  • U.S. support for Israel was faulted by many in the Arab world.
  • Anti-Americanism stemmed from:
    • Replacement of the Ottoman Empire with Western-style nation-states after World War I.
    • Religious fundamentalists decried modernization and corruption of the "House of Islam."
    • Stationing of U.S. troops in the Middle East after the Gulf War.
  • Islamic extremists preached jihad against the "Jews and Crusaders" to restore an Islamic caliphate.
  • Restrictive economic and political conditions in the Middle East facilitated the recruitment of extremists.
Early Terrorist Attacks
  • 1993: Truck bombing of the World Trade Center.
  • 1998: Bombing of two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, followed by U.S. bombing of Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and Sudan.
  • Osama bin Laden allied with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
  • 2000: The USS Cole was nearly sunk by suicide bombers in Yemen.
September 11, 2001
  • Coordinated attacks by Al-Qaeda terrorists on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
  • Galvanized public opinion and empowered the Bush administration to take action.
War in Afghanistan
  • President Bush wanted Osama bin Laden "dead or alive."
  • The Taliban government was overthrown by U.S. bombing, U.S. Special Forces, and Afghan troops in the Northern Alliance.
  • American and Afghan forces pursued Al-Qaeda remnants, but failed to capture bin Laden.
  • Hamid Karzai became head of the government in Kabul, but Afghanistan remained unstable.
Homeland Security
  • The Patriot Acts of 2001 and 2003 expanded government powers for surveillance and arrest.
  • Concerns about unlimited wiretaps, collection of records, military tribunals, and indefinite imprisonment.
  • Creation of the Homeland Security Department, combining over 20 federal agencies.
  • A bipartisan commission criticized the FBI, CIA, and Defense Department for failing to work together.
  • A Director of National Intelligence was created to coordinate intelligence activities.
George W. Bush Foreign Policy
  • Worked with European nations to expand the European Union and NATO.
  • Supported China's admission to the World Trade Organization.
  • Brokered conflicts between India and Pakistan.
  • Refused to join the Kyoto Accord, walked out of a U.N. conference on racism, abandoned the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and would not negotiate with North Korea or Iran.
  • Critics questioned cooperation vs. unilateralism.
  • The "Bush Doctrine" advocated pre-emptive attacks.
Iraq War
  • Iraq, North Korea, and Iran were labeled the "axis of evil" in 2002.
  • The Bush administration pursued a pre-emptive attack on Iraq based on claims of WMDs.
  • U.N. inspectors failed to find WMDs in Iraq.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
  • Launched in March 2003 without U.N. Security Council support.
  • U.S. forces overran Iraqi forces and captured Baghdad in less than four weeks.
  • Criticism mounted due to the failure to find WMDs.
  • Insurgents attacked U.S. and allied troops.
  • The Bush administration was criticized for insufficient troops and disbanding the Iraqi army.
  • The Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal damaged America's reputation.

Elections of 2004 and a Bush Second Term

  • The Democrats nominated Senator John Kerry.
  • Republicans energized their conservative base on issues such as the war against terrorism, tax cuts, and opposition to gay marriage and abortion.
  • President Bush received 51% of the popular vote and 286 electoral votes to Kerry's 252.
  • Republicans expanded majorities in the Senate and House.
Four More Years at War
  • The reconstruction of Iraq made some headway by 2005.
  • Violence continued, killing an average of 100 Americans and 3,000 Iraqis a month.
  • The Iraqi Study Group recommended a timeline for U.S. withdrawal.
  • President Bush rejected a timetable and sent an additional 30,000 troops in a "surge" in 2007.
  • By late 2008, militia violence and American deaths were down in Iraq.
  • In Afghanistan, the Taliban stepped up their attacks and American deaths outnumbered those killed in Iraq.
Washington Politics
  • President Bush pushed to privatize Social Security and for immigration reform.
  • Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed FEMA in 2005.
  • A variety of scandals tarnished many Republicans.
  • Democrats won control of both houses of Congress in 2006.
  • President Bush appointed John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.
The Great Recession
  • The housing boom of 2002-2007 was fueled by risky subprime mortgages.
  • Wall Street firms packaged these loans into complex investments and sold them to investors.
  • The bubble burst, prices collapsed, and foreclosures climbed.
  • A credit crisis resulted from failing banks and financial institutions.
  • Soaring gas prices, stock market declines, and rising unemployment.
  • The federal government tried a 170170 billion stimulus package and took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
  • The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers led to panic.
  • The Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 created a 700700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).

Election of 2008

  • Barack Obama captured the Democratic nomination.
  • John McCain nominated as Republican candidate.
  • The economic crisis, Obama's message for change, and his well-funded campaign helped the Democrats win.
  • Obama-Biden gained 7,000,000 more votes than McCain-Palin.
  • Obama won with 364 electoral votes to McCain's 174.
  • The Democrats also increased their majorities in the House and Senate.

The First Obama Administration, 2009-2013

  • Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Eric Holder as Attorney General.
  • Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense.
The Transition
  • Congress approved the use of the second half of TARP funding-350350 billion.
  • Bush used more than 1010 billion of TARP funds to support General Motors (GM) and the Chrysler Corporation.
Presidential Initiatives
  • Obama overturned actions of the Bush administration.
  • He placed a formal ban on torture.
  • The new president expanded stem-cell research and ended restrictions on federal funding to overseas health organizations.
  • One of the first bills passed by Congress that Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
  • Obama failed to close the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Economic Stimulus
  • The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided a 787787 billion economic stimulus package.
  • The government temporarily took over General Motors ("Government Motors").
  • The popular "Cash for Clunkers” program provided 33 billion in incentives to U.S. residents.
  • The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) was designed to improve regulations of banking and investment firms.
Health Care
  • The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 ("Obamacare") aimed to extend affordable healthcare insurance to an additional 25 to 30 million Americans.
Budget Deficits
  • The combination tripled the annual deficit to 1.751.75 trillion in 2009 and increased the national debt from 99 trillion in 2007 to 1616 trillion by 2012.
The Tea Party and 2010 Mid-Term Elections
  • In the fall of 2010, the Republicans took over the House with a 242 to 193 majority.
Congress in Gridlock
  • In August 2011, as the deadline to raise the debt ceiling closed in, the two sides agreed to cut 900900 billion in spending and an additional 1.41.4 trillion cuts to be worked out by a bipartisan super-committee.
Obama's Foreign Policy
  • Iraq: U.S. military support and air power continued to help the Iraqi forces battle insurgents through the end of 2011.
  • Afghanistan: Obama made fighting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan a priority.
Death of Osama bin Laden
  • In May 2011, Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaida, was killed in Pakistan in a clandestine operation of the CIA and Navy SEALS.
Arab Spring
  • Civil unrest and armed rebellion toppled governments in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, and produced an ongoing civil war in Syria.
Asia and Europe
  • U.S. preoccupation with the Middle East, terrorism, and budget gridlock has provided China with more opportunities to project its growing power around the world.

Election of 2012

  • Obama defeated Romney with 332 to 206 electoral votes.

Second Obama Administration

Budget Brinkmanship
  • Last-minute legislation again put off the budget crisis to early 2014.
Gun Violence
  • President Obama's proposals to tighten gun laws and background checks went nowhere.
Terrorism in Boston
  • Two self-radicalized brothers set off two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.