Reagan (1981-1989)
-fall of the USSR because of such radical policy and ussr was no longer suppporting communsit govt in satellite nations so places like poland elected democrat govts and east germany took down the berlin wall
-us and russia agreed to the start i treaty to reduce the number of warheads they had
-Start 2 treaty- us offered russia funds to help their unstable economy after the collapse
-appoint clarence thomas to supreme court, many liberal groups like NOW and organized labor were against this, leaked story of amita hill for claims of sexual harassment
-Bush recieved criticism from a continued high unemployment rate (+7%), huge budget deficit of 250 mil, people distrusted him because in 1990 he added a tax adding up to 133 billion for the us govt but 2 years prior claimed there wouldn’t be any new taxes
-claimed credit for ending cold war and bragged about his leadership in the persian gulf war but brought down by the absolutely shit economy
George H W Bush (1988-1992)
-campaign of being a “new democrat”
-Democrat Leadership Council- pro growth, strong defense, anticrime policies
- faced election against h.w bush, republicans worried over issues from reagan’s admin and prioritized family values
- additionally democrat majority in congress (very diverse, people of varied races)
-1993 ruth bader ginsburg
don’t ask don’t tell policy- gay people could serve in the military as long as they didn’t acknowledge their prescence (repealed 2010)
-Hillary Clinton assigned to redesigning the medical-service industry
1993 Deficit Reduction Bill- tax increased on rich, passed with no republican support to shrink economic deficit
-1995 Oklahoma City Bombing- brought light to paramilitary militias, ultrasuspicious of govt, states began to pass term limit laws for elected officials
Republicans- campaign Contract with America, wants to get rid of budget deficit and radical reductions in welfare programs(??) and won control of both houses in congress
1966- Welfare Reform Bill- cuts in welfare grants, required able bodied recipients to find employment
-racial divisions of the 1990’s
-Los Angeles- city of minorities- many immigrants from asia and LA, where there were many riots due to black mistrust of the justice system and people were upset at asian merchants…? additionally OJ simpson’s murder trial added on to disillusionment of racism and there was a chasm separating black and white americans
blacks pro-clinton, many minorities democratic
-had a very good economy, low interest rates, unemploymnet down to 4%, low inflation
-Repealed 1930s Glass-Seagall Act that barred banks from dealing in securities
-deregulation of the financial sector
1993 NAFTA- created free trade zone of MX, Canada, and US
1993- Family and Medical Leave Act- job protection for working mothers and fathers who need time off of work for family reasons (maternity/paternity leave, though often unpaid)
1994-promoted WTO, but protesters upset over human and enviornmental costs to it
-traditional nuclear family units changed, huge increase in divorce and single parents at the start of 1990s, by the mid 1990s, teen pregnancy and divorce begins to decline
-clinton wants to replace anticommunism with a new base for us democracy
Lewinsky affair 1998, clinton impeached for perjury before grand jury and obstruction of justice for lying under oath about sexual harassment
Bill Clinton (1992-2000)
George W Bush (2001-2009)
Economic Crisis
-Neoconservatism- especially seen in Reagan’s and Bush (?)’s, the hidden majority (from nixon), wanted to undo liberal reforms like welfare programs, appointed conservative judges to fight “culture wars”
-“Moral Majority”- preached against sexual permissiveness, feminism, gay rights, and abortions, made up 2-3 million but still Regaon appointed the first woman on the Supreme couty, suprme court
-1987-leading stock market dramticallyy decreased
Movements of the period
-Inf agreement, glasnost, perestroika in ussr
-iran-iraqi war, iran-contra conflict
-stopped protecting communist govt so berlin wall went down and poland became democratic
-communist goves in czechsolvaika and romania fell
-1989, protests against authoritarian rule and were stopped in china–> tank man
-civil rigbs viplations such as yugoslavia
-terrorists/al qaeda
MICROSOFT, rise of computers, emails, accelerated globalization, paved way for “information age” internet= communication revolution, jobs could be outsourced internationally to places such as india (RAHH india)\
ethnic cleansing of albanians in bosnia, rwandans, and somali rebels killed americans so they pulled out of international affairs
1995 NATO interference to get slobodan milosovec to stop ethnic cleansing of kosovo when US sent NATO to threaten an air war over serbia
1998 Fatwa, Al Qaeda declared war on all americans and their allies and denouned US military in regions like Saudi Arabia
international affairs
end of the cold war
1970s+ Wage Stagnation
carter- things went downhill with the oil embargo alongside distrust in the govt, stagflation and inflaton carried in (STARTED IN NIXON’S TERM), department of energy established, interest rates on loans neared 20%, very high unemployment rate
reaganomics- supply side economics!!!- so he believed if taxes were reduced, the corporations would get greater profits- a new and improved version of trickle down economics, because more jobs would be created which would stimulate the economy, he also lobbied for tax cuts (and welfare programs cuts)
- however the rich just used that saved money for luxury items
George H W Bush- promised no new taxes and then passed taxes, simpson-mazzoli act outlawed the deliberate emplyoment of illegal immigrants, guest worker programs gave temporary employent to workers (ex. bracero program)
Clinton- NAFTA, general agreement on tariffs and trade, sought to reduce trade barriers like tariffs
George W Bush- marked rise in neoconservatism
obamacare, controversial, meant to regulate medical industry and help uninsured americans
changing the economy
1970s-today, huge immigration spike for asians and hispanics
Immigration Act of 1965- got rid of 1968 national quotas
latin american and asian immigrants number 1 and 2 most populous immigrants
migration and immigration of the 1990s and 2000s
-neoconservative movement
-stagflation (late 1990s), high unemployment rate
- debates between liberalism and conservatism- polar politics
- reagan wants abstinence from sex and drugs “just say no!”
- continued divisions on tariffs
- us foreign policy was focusing on stability in the middle east/ defending human rights
american and disabilities act: 1990, made it so that all buildings had to be handicap accessible
DIGITAL MOVEMENT
- use of digital products leads to the acceleration of globalism
promotes an interconnectivity of nations through economic agreements (typically free trade reducing tariffs), immigration and military intervention
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed it into law in 1993
similar to the global treaty from 1947, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,
reduced trade barriers such as tariffs and preferential treatment
Nafta eliminated trade barriers among the US, mexico, and canada
unions didn’t like it cause they feared companies would move their factories to other places to reduce costs
family and medical leave act: maternity leave
brady handgun bill: limits access to handguns
-urban riots, such as against Rodney King in the 1990s
challenges of the 21st century