CHAPTER 40 AMERICA CONFRONTS THE POSTCOLD WAR ERA

CHAPTER 40 AMERICA CONFRONTS THE POST-COLD WAR ERA 1992 -2000

Election of 1992: Democrats chose Bill Clinton as their candidate (despite accusations of womanizing and draft evasion) and Albert Gore, Jr. Republicans re-nominated George H. W. Bush for the presidency and J. Danforth Quayle Tried new approach, promoting growth, strong defense, and anticrime policies, while campaigning to stimulate the economy Dwelled on "family values" Third party candidate - Ross Perot entered the race and ended up winning 19, 237, 247 votes Won no Electoral votes Clinton won election of 1992 & Democrats gained control of both houses Hired minorities and more women in Congress and presidential cabinet. First female Attorney General - Janet Reno Secretary of Health and Human Services - Donna Shalala Supreme Court - Ruth Bader Ginsburg BILL CLINTON: THE FIRST BABY-BOOMER PRESIDENT

Called for accepting homosexuals in the armed forces, BUT settled for "don't ask, don't tell" policy Clinton appointed wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to revamp the nation's health and medical care system When the plan was revealed in Oct. 1993 - critics blasted it as cumbersome, confusing, and stupid Previous image of Hillary as an equal political partner of her husband changed to a liability 1998 - Clinton 's policies led to budget surplus and had shrunk the federal deficit to lowest levels in 10 years A FALSE START FOR REFORM

February 26, 1993 - radical Muslim group bombed World Trade Center in New York April 19, 1993 - standoff at Waco, Texas between the gov’t and the Branch Davidian cult Killed six people Ended in a fire that killed 82 people April 19, 1995 - Timothy Mc. Veigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City Killed 169 people TERRORISM OF THE 1990 S

1994 - Newt Gingrich led Republicans on an attack of Clinton's liberal failures with a conservative "Contract with America. " That year, Republicans won eight more seats in the Senate and 53 more seats in the House Gingrich became new Speaker of the House Conservative Congress passed the Welfare Reform Bill - made cuts to welfare programs 1995 – gov’t shut down Congress could not agree on a budget Election of 1996 Clinton beat Republican Bob Dole Ross Perot, the third party candidate, again finished third During his second term, Clinton was more of a political moderate THE POLITICS OF DISTRUST

Affirmative action struck down in a court ruling in California Riots in Los Angeles broke out in 1992 when white police officers were acquitted in the beating of a Rodney King Riots spread to most major cities across the US Highlighting the anger and frustration that had built up in cities over gentrification, police brutality, and a gov’t that seemed to be ignoring the issues facing minority groups RACIAL PROGRESS AND PERILS

Economy booming in late 1990 s due to Federal Reserve Board's low interest rates and growth of Internet business (dotcom boom) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passed in 1993 Created a free-trade zone between Mexico, Canada, and the US Eliminated tariffs between the countries and created trade minimums between each country World Trade Organization (WTO) - created in 1994 Promoted trade between participating countries Supported by Clinton fought for two domestic issues during his second term: Fight against tobacco companies Fight for gun control. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS

By the 1990's - half of the workforce was comprised of women Congress passed Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) Gave job protection to men and women who needed to take off of work due to family-related reasons Maternity leave, sick family member, etc. THE FEMINIST REVOLUTION

Struggled to develop American foreign policy that wasn't centered around fighting communism Sent troops to Somalia, but eventually withdrew them Initially criticized China for its human rights abuses, but eventually supported them when he realized how important trade was with them Committed American troops to NATO to keep the peace in former Yugoslavia Led the 1993 reconciliation meeting between Israel's Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Yasser Arafat at White House Two years later, though, Rabin was assassinated, ending hopes for peace in the Middle East SEARCHING FOR A POST-COLD WAR FOREIGN POLICY

1998 - discovered that President Clinton had an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky (Lewinsky Affair) He lied about the affair under oath House Republicans passed two articles of impeachment against Clinton: Perjury before a grand jury Obstruction of justice 1999 - Senate voted to remove Clinton from office, but the Republicans failed to obtain the 2/3 majority that was required SCANDAL AND IMPEACHMENT

American economy prospered during Clinton's era in large part because of the global economic expansion 2000 Election Republicans nominated George W. Bush for president and Dick Cheney for vice president. Supported returning federal budget surplus back to people through tax cuts and through giving money to private institutions who would help the poor Democrats nominate Albert Gore for president and Joseph Lieberman for vice president Supported smaller tax cuts and strengthening Social Security Bush won nomination in large part because he was the son of former president George H. W. Bush. Election was very close and the electoral votes of Florida would decide who won For five weeks - uncertain who won Florida's ballots, some of which were defective or unreadable Supreme Court eventually ruled (on party lines) that Bush had won the presidency. Although Bush won more electoral votes, Bush lost the popular vote CLINTON'S LEGACY AND THE 2000 ELECTION

In late 20 th century Americans began to stress the need to preserve and promote ethnic and racial cultures As racial barriers were broken down, Americans were becoming more interracial E PLURIBUS PLURES

More Americans receiving college degrees Expanding population of educated people increased interest in liberal arts (reading, museums, music, etc. ) American West became a popular literary focal point as more Americans moved west Number of popular authors and artists who were minorities also increased New York became art capital of the world after WWII Ford Foundation & federal gov’t(NEA) supported the arts Film continued to grow as generations of younger filmmakers emerged Notable artists after WWII included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Georgia O’Keeffe. George Lucas, Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, etc. Interest in architecture also increased after WWII due to the building boom THE POSTMODERN MIND