1913 – 2006 38 th President (1974 – 77) Former Univ. of Michigan football player, WWII veteran, and 25 year Congressman Self-deprecatingly once

1913 2006 38 th President (1974 77) Former Univ. of Michigan football player, WWII veteran, and 25 year Congressman Self-deprecatingly once described his abilities as president with, Im a Ford, not a Lincoln Only president to never be elected to the office of president or vice-president, since he was appointed Nixons vice-president after Spiro Agnew resigned due to scandal

39 th President (1977-81) Issues: Oil Crisis Iran Hostage Crisis Graduate of the US Naval Academy, but took over his familys peanut farm after the sudden death of his father

40 th President (1981 89) Issues: Reaganomics Iran-Contra Affair Actor before he became involved in politics, then Gov. of California

41 st President (198993) Issues: Persian Gulf War- 1 st war with Iraq Last WWII vet to be president Former head of the CIA, Only the second president in US history to have a son also serve as president

42 nd President (1993 2001) Issues: Election of 1992- Ross Perot (split Republican party) Whitewater- Monica Lewinsky- Impeachment Won election despite numerous reports of extramarital affairs Promised major health-care reform in his campaign, but was unable to gain approval

43 rd President (2001 -09) Issues: Election of 2000- recoutn 9/11- War on Terror- War with Iraq Former Governor of Texas Son of President George H.W. Bush Former part-owner of the MLBs Texas Rangers

44 th President (2009 now) Issues: War with Iraq Healthcare Economy First black president First from Hawaii Won 2008 election by a wide margin, winning over 10 million more popular votes and nearly 100 more electoral votes than his opponent

Stagflation: when inflation and unemployment increase and the economy is stalled- causing a recession (1970s)

Asked Americans to voluntarily reduce energy and fuel consumption When that failed, he tried cutting government spending but that didnt work either

He cut taxes by 25% on the rich Trickle-down theory: by helping the rich, they will have more money to create jobs and the benefits will trickle- down to the poor (also called supply- side economics)

Reaganomics worked and the economy recovered and began to grow at a record rate The average family income rose by 15% and 20 million new jobs were created

North American Free Trade Agreement Its purpose was to Open up trade between US, Mexico and Canada

In general, the stock markets boombed during the 1990s which promoted great economic growth

In anger over US support for Israel, most Arab states began to punish America, and the most effective way was restricting oil production Oil that was $3/barrel in 1973 climbed to $30/barrel by 1980. Increased fuel costs meant less money to spend on other things, which led to a recession No longer an issue because America and OPEC get along.

Organizatio of Patroleum Exporting Countries OPEC stopped selling oil to the U.S. after we sent massive military aide to their enemy, Israel. When OPEC started selling oil back to the U.S. the price quadrupled.

Placed higher taxes on cars that werent fuel efficient Gave tax credits to homeowners who improved insulation or used solar energy Provided funding for research into alternative energy sources

Nuclear plant- part of reactor melted- radiation released- caused improvements in nuclear plants Although there were no deaths directly contributed to the accident, cancer and infant mortality rates in the areas downwind showed marked increases in the years immediately following Since the accident, use of nuclear power has declined in the US

Ronald Reagan was the first president to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court. Her name was Sandra Day OConnor. President Bush (the 1 st ), appointed a controversial judge to the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas. During his confirmation hearings he faced tough questions about views on civil rights and sexual harassment. This started a public debate on the matter.

Part of the Education Amendments of the Civil Rights Act, this section prohibits discrimination in federally funded educational facilities based on sex. It has impacted equality in sports teams, recruiting, admissions, housing and scholarships among other things. This court case determined that flag burning was legal due to a persons rights under the First Amendment

This act is a wide- ranging legislation intended to make American society more accessible to people with disabilities. It requires accommodations to be made in places of employment, public services, public accommodations and telecommunication services to allow access by those with disabilities.

This case looked at whether Microsoft had violated antitrust laws (like those used against big business in the early 1900s- Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Laws) The court did not break up Microsoft, but came to an agreement whereby Microsoft has to give access to its systems to ensure compliance with court rulings.

Why was this an important case? Busing could be used to achieve integration (voluntary integration not working) Integrated busses forced the school to become integrated.

What is it? Giving preference to women and minorities in employment and education (to increase diversity)

Decision: Quotas can not be used to achieve diversity, but schools do have the right to use race as a factor in admissions More recent cases have said that affirmative action is illegal.

Passed in 2001 Increasing accountability of student performance, flexible funding, more info for parents, research how to improve schools and teachers. AKA: No Child Left Behind

Why was it an issue? Increased immigration= many know little English

Large number of people immigrating to the U.S. in the past 20 years Coming from Asia and Latin America Many settle in the Sunbelt and mostly in larger cities

Graying of America= huge population growth in older Americans (65+) as baby boomer generation ages Effects= A loss in money for the social security system. Growing expenses for Medicare.

1973: OIL CRISIS OPEC conspires to sell less oil while massively increasing the price creating huge amounts of inflation. 1979: Ayatollah Khomeini overthrows IRAN establishing a fundamental Islamic country.

Saddam Hussein attacks Iran because the Ayatollah was asking Muslims worldwide to overthrow their governments leading to a 10 year war. 1979: SOVIET UNION INVADES AFGHANISTAN: US gives money to the Taliban to help them fight the Communists.

1979: IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS: Iran kidnaps 52 Americans from the US Embassy and holds them hostage for 444 days. 1980s: IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR: The US sells weapons to Iranian terrorists and gives the money to Nicaraguan freedom fighters even though Congress said not to.

1991: IRAQ INVADES KUWAIT for its oil George Bush leads U.N. forces to invade Iraq (1 st War on Iraq). Kuwait liberated but Saddam left in power. TERRORIST ATTACKS: World Trade Center 1993,U.S. Embassies Tanzania and Kenya bombed 1998, USS Cole attacked 2000.

9/11- 2001: Twin Towers and the Pentagon attacked by hijacked planes. The Taliban government of Afghanistan helped hide Osama bin Laden of Al-Qaeda. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY created to coordinate government agencies. PATRIOT ACT passed to increase domestic surveillance to protect Americans.

George W. Bush attacks AFGHANISTAN because it was helping Al-Qaeda making it a member of the Axis of Evil 2002: 2 nd WAR ON IRAQ: UN forces led by George W Bush invade Iraq to bring down Saddam Hussein because he may have Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) Saddam Hussein is captured, put on trial and executed.

(1980s/1990s): US put embargos on goods from South African to try and help the end of apartheid. Under the leadership of Nelson Mandela and others, apartheid ended in 1994. Apartheid is the legalized segregation of people by race

(early 1990s): Somalia experienced both widespread famine and a civil war. Clinton sent troops to help with food aid and to stabilize the country. After about a dozen American troops were killed, Clinton pulled them out of the country. Civil war continued.

(1990s-present): Ethiopia has been hurt by political unrest and widespread poverty for many years. The US has given a lot of humanitarian aid (billions of dollars) to Ethiopia.

Only a month into his presidency, Ford issued a presidential pardon to Nixon, ending the Watergate scandal Ford explained his actions as helping to heal the nation, but many suspected that Nixon had negotiated the pardon out of Ford in return for making Ford president with his resignation

1975 meeting of NATO and Warsaw Pact leaders Soviets promised to uphold basic human rights, but when they did not keep that promise, American enthusiasm for dtente began to fade and the Cold War began to deepen once again

May 1975 Cambodia seized an American cargo ship off its shore that they claimed was spying Ford ordered the ship retaken by the Marines, but the rescue attempt (which proved unnecessary since the ships crew had already been released) proved costly, with 41 Marines killed Still, rescue attempt was seen as a success and helped Fords reputation both at home and abroad

Republicans nominated Ford Democrats nominated former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter a Washington outsider who promised to restore morality and honesty to the government, as well as major reforms to US energy, welfare, and economic policies Carter won in a close election

Tried to fix the faltering economy by increasing government spending and cutting taxes it didnt work Reversed course and killed his own hard- won programs and tax cuts that didnt work either

Carter approved removing government regulations on several industries: Oil industry to encourage increased domestic production Airlines to open up free market competition and reduce prices for consumers

Carter issued a blanket amnesty for anyone who had fled the US to avoid being drafted during the Vietnam War This cost him the support of the hundreds of thousands of Vietnam veterans who had done their duty as American citizens

Carter convinced the Senate to agree to a treaty which would transfer control of the Panama Canal to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999 Intended to help repair US image in Latin America

1978 Carter brokered a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, creating hope for a stabilized Middle East Menachem Begin (Israel) and Anwar Sadat (Egypt) shared the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, but Sadat was assassinated 2 years later, largely due to his willingness to negotiate with Israel

January 1979 Irans pro-US Shah (king) was forced to flee due to civil unrest, leaving Iran in the control of Muslim fundamentalists under the Ayatollah Khomeini When the US allowed the fugitive Shah to receive cancer treatments in the US, tensions boiled over

Nov. 4, 1979 Angry college students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and seized 66 members of the embassy staff as hostages Ultimately, 52 hostages were held for 444 days, released only once Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president (female and black hostages had been released almost immediately after the embassy was taken)

Operation Eagle Claw April 1980 Daring plan was to rescue the hostages using helicopters, but one of the helicopters crashed en route and the mission was aborted The failure of the mission, and of Carters diplomatic attempts to gain the hostages release, badly damaged his already shaky reputation

In December 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan to help the communist government put down a rebellion US responded to this invasion with a grain embargo against the Soviet Union, by boycotting the 1980 Olympic Games which were being held in Moscow, and by refusing to ratify the recently agreed to SALT II treaty Dtente completely collapsed

The sex, drugs, and rock and roll culture of the late 1960s and 1970s prompted a backlash that led many Americans to embrace religious conservatism during the 1980s Many were greatly concerned by such things as the Roe v Wade and Engel v Vitale decisions, and the feminist and gay rights movements, which they saw as eroding to the moral fabric of America

Powerful lobbying group Founded by Jerry Falwell in 1979, dissolved after the 1988 election Designed to promote the interests of evangelical Christian groups Their support of Republican candidate Ronald Reagan was a major factor in his win in the 1980 presidential race

Democrats nominated Carter despite his growing unpopularity; many Democrats would have preferred to nominate Ted Kennedy, but an old scandal cost him the nomination Republicans nominated conservative Ronald Reagan, while a more moderate Republican, John Anderson, chose to run as an independent Reagan won in a landslide, carrying all but 5 states

1911 2004 40 th President (1981 89) Former actor Former Gov. of California Reagan promised to rebuild the US military strength and to fix the economy, all while creating a balanced budget and cutting taxes "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."

March 30, 1981 John Hinckley fired six shots at Reagan, seriously injuring both the President and White House Press Secretary Jim Brady Hinckley was only seeking publicity, had no political agenda Reagan fully recovered, but Brady was paralyzed and would become a gun control advocate for whom the 1993 Brady Bill, which required federal background checks on persons purchasing handguns, was named

Young Urban Professionals Ambitious, hardworking white collar workers who spent heavily on luxury goods as a symbol of their status Helped drive the economic recovery through their consumerist spending on luxury cars, high-end electronics, and designer clothes

Sony Walkman: mobile cassette player, precursor to the iPod VCR: Video Cassette Recorder, precursor to the DVD player and TiVo Cable TV: Most viewers had only 4 stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS) before the late 1970s Video Games: Atari 2600 home system, public video arcades with games like PacMan, Asteroids, Missile Command, Donkey Kong, & Space Invaders

Crack cocaine became a serious problem in US cities due to its highly addictive nature and its side effect of increasing aggressiveness in its users Crime rates rose as users began to steal or prostitute themselves to fund their drug habit First Lady Nancy Reagan responded with the Just Say No and D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) programs aimed at kids and teenagers

Funding cuts under Reagan to government housing projects for low- income families and to mental health programs led to a surge in the homeless population, especially among Vietnam veterans

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Mysterious disease which had first been noticed among young homosexual men in the late 1970s Between 1981 and 1988, over 100,000 cases were reported in the US, triggering a panic and causing many to abandon the promiscuity of the 1960s and 70s

AIDS helped increase the visibility of the homosexual community in the US At first the attention was negative, since AIDS was misunderstood as a gay disease and was even called a punishment of the gay community from God by many religious conservatives Over time, however, many Americans took a sympathetic stance towards AIDS victims and began to be more tolerant of the gay community

1930 Present Supreme Court Justice (1981 2006) First woman appointed to the Supreme Court, fulfilled one of Reagans campaign promises Reagan preferred Justices who were strict interpreters of the Constitution, but OConnor turned out to be fairly moderate

Democrats nominated former vice-president Walter Mondale for president and NY Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro (the first woman on a presidential ballot) as his running mate, but they took only one state in the election as Reagan won re-election in a landslide

Reagan encouraged greater exploitation of natural resources and deregulating industry, both of which were opposed by environmentalists The 1980s saw a surge in scientific research into how pollutants and deforestation were damaging the ozone layer and creating global warming Many American communities also began recycling programs during the decade

Reagan was the first US president to deal with foreign terror attacks on Americans Beirut (Oct. 23, 1983): US Marines on a peace-keeping mission in Lebanon had their barracks attacked by truck bombs, killing 241 Americans Libya (Apr. 15, 1986): After Libyan sponsored terror attacks in Germany, the US retaliated with an air strike aimed at taking out Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and terrorist training facilities

Reagan abandoned all efforts at dtente and negotiation with the Soviets, declaring them an evil empire and set out to win the Cold War by forcing the Soviets to deplete their economy through military spending

Reagan spent $1.5 trillion on defense, forcing the Soviets to match with their own military buildup or run the risk of losing global influence The idea was to break the Soviet economy and thereby win the Cold War it worked, but it would not be until after Reagan had left office that the Soviet economy failed

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Reagan called for the development of a space- mounted weapons platform which could be used to destroy Soviet nuclear missiles before they could reach the US The US spent about $100 billion trying to develop such a system (with no success), forcing the Soviets to spend money on how to counter such a system

Reagan believed that that the US had a moral obligation to show support for guerrilla groups who were fighting communist or pro- Soviet governments This policy would lead to US intervention in several conflicts

Reagan provided over $570 million in military aid to the mujahadeen rebels fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, allowing them to drag the fight out for 9 bloody years In 1988, the Soviets withdrew after losing nearly 15,000 men

Reagan began to secretly fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua who were fighting the socialist Sandinista government Congress banned any further US aid to the Contras, due to not wanting to damage US- Latin relations and because the Contras trafficked in drugs to help fund their cause

In 1986, it was exposed that Reagans administration had not cut off aid to the Contras in Nicaragua as directed by Congress but had instead been funding them with the proceeds from the illegal sale of weapons to Iran Reagan claimed to have no knowledge of the operation, placing blame on his Security Council and the CIA 14 men were indicted, including Col. Oliver North who had run the entire operation, but none ever did any prison time

In 1983, Reagan sent US troops to the island nation of Grenada after a communist regime took power there; US forces overthrew the new government and restored the old to power Reagan was concerned that Cuban and Soviet military forces could use the island to help destabilize the region

1931 Present Became new leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 Believed that economic and political reform was necessary to the survival of the USSR and pursued an arms reduction agreement with the US Signed an agreement with Reagan in 1987 to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, leading to a new dtente

By 1981, NASA was ready to begin a new chapter in space exploration with its reusable space shuttle US has spent over $170 billion on the shuttle program since its inception, building 6 shuttles (2 of which have been destroyed in accidents) and funding 135 missions through the final flight scheduled for next year

January 28, 1986 Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff due to a mechanical failure, killing all 7 astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher who had been selected to be the first teacher in space

Republicans nominated vice-president George Bush who made the famous campaign promise: Read my lips - No new taxes! Democrats nominated Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis over civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Bush won easily. Thanks largely to Reagans success as president

Gorbachev instituted new programs to try to save the Soviet economy Perestroika (restructuring): allowed some small private businesses to operate outside of government control Glasnost (openness): allowed Soviet citizens new freedoms of religion and speech and to have a voice in Soviet politics

Nov. 9, 1989 East Germans guards opened the gates in the Berlin Wall, removing the barrier between East and West; within days the wall was completely dismantled The next year, East and West Germany reunited into one country for the first time since 1945

The Soviets inability to financially support communist states in Eastern Europe led to mostly peaceful overthrows of their unpopular governments In 1989, the old communist bloc collapsed as communist regimes fell one after another In late 1991, the Soviet Union itself collapsed after an attempted coup by communist hardliners failed to unseat Gorbachev and the communist party was banned in Russia the Cold War was over and the US had won

June 1989 Inspired by the collapse of communism in Europe, Chinese students began a massive demonstration in Tiananmen Square in Chinas capital of Beijing The Chinese government ordered a military crackdown which led to the deaths and arrests of unknown numbers of dissidents The US objected strongly and took economic sanctions against the Chinese government

December 1989 Operation Just Cause US military invaded Panama to oust dictator Manuel Noriega US was concerned because Noriega was encouraging drug trafficking and threatening US interests in Panama, especially the Panama Canal 23 Americans died in the operation Noriega was eventually captured and sent to prison in the US on drug charges

August 1990 Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein sent his forces to invade Kuwait and secure that nations rich oil reserves, thereby eliminating competition The UN objected to Iraqs aggression, taking economic sanctions and setting a deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait Iraq refused

Jan. 16, 1991 US-led forces attacked Iraq, launching six-weeks of air and missile attacks before beginning a ground invasion of Kuwait and southern Iraq

Jan. 16 Feb. 28, 1991 149 Americans were killed in combat, 458 wounded Iraq suffered between 20,000 and 35,000 military casualties Bush elected not to fully conquer Iraq because the UN-approved mission had been to simply liberate Kuwait and the political consequences of removing Saddam Hussein from power would have been too steep

The end of the Cold War led to decreased US military spending and a down-sizing of US military forces as the nation tried to pay down some of its debt As the economy slowed, many Yuppies began to focus on paying off their debts as well and reduced their consumerism, deepening the recession In an attempt to jumpstart the economy, Bush was forced to break his campaign promise and raise taxes

1990 Forbids discrimination in workplaces and in public facilities against those with mental or physical disabilities Forced businesses to become wheelchair accessible, provide signage in Braille, and offer closed captioned television

Republicans nominated Bush for re-election Democrats nominated Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, who promised widespread reforms Billionaire H. Ross Perot ran as an independent, promising to run America like a business by cutting the federal deficit and balancing the budget Clinton won in a hotly contested election

1946 Present 42 nd President (1993 2001) Won election despite numerous reports of extramarital affairs and having no national-level political experience Promised major healthcare reform in his campaign, but was unable to gain approval from a Republican controlled Congress

During the mid-1990s, localized computer networks began to become interconnected as part of the World Wide Web, forever changing how we communicate Between 1997 and 2000, internet use soared 300% The internet also sparked a boom in dot.com companies, briefly driving economic prosperity in the late 1990s

Clinton had campaigned on a platform of economic recovery through reduction of the federal deficit To do this, he was forced to increase taxes on the middle- class and on fuels

Clinton had also promised health care reform to provide health insurance to the 40 million Americans without it Clinton lacked enough political support in Congress for his reforms and was not able to fulfill this campaign promise

Bill passed in 1993 Provides workers up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid family leave for the birth or adoption of a child, or for dealing with a serious illness of themselves or a close family member

Created in 1993 to put people to work improving low-income housing, tutoring students in reading, or in cleaning up the environment While in AmeriCorps, you earn a small salary and scholarship money for continuing your education Expanded by Pres. Bush Over 500,000 Americans have participated in the program

Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993: requires federal background check before the purchase of a handgun, disallows handgun ownership for convicted felons, illegal aliens, the mentally ill, drug addicts, and domestic abusers Clinton also won funding for building new prisons and putting over 100,000 more police officers on the streets

Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, a Republican, put forward a plan in 1994 calling for lower taxes, welfare reform, tougher anti-crime laws, term limits, and a balanced budget amendment, which resulted in Republicans winning control of Congress and Gingrich becoming Speaker of the House Democratic president + Republican Congress = stalemate for two years until the two sides learned to work together in 1996

Clinton allowed the federal government to shut down in 1995 rather than accept a Republican-backed budget which cut into social program spending Eventually the two sides compromised and produced a balanced budget bill that was acceptable to all parties

Passed in 1996 Limited recipients to no more than 2 consecutive years on welfare and no more than 5 years total Required those receiving welfare to work Gave tax breaks to any company hiring a person on welfare

Democrats nominated Clinton for a 2 nd term Republicans nominated Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas Billionaire H. Ross Perot ran once again as an independent Clinton won, but in a fairly close race

As the economy recovered, so did federal tax collections, leading to a federal budget surplus the government actually took in more in taxes than it spent from 1997 to 2002

Banned tobacco advertising aimed at children or teenagers Childrens Health Insurance Program: provides health insurance for children whose families can not afford it Expanded federal loans for college tuition Expanded funding for Head Start

Travelgate: scandal over the questionable dismissal of White House Travel Office staff Troopergate: scandal over Clintons use of state troopers to cover-up his extramarital affairs while Governor of Arkansas Whitewater: scandal over Clintons alleged arranging of illegal loans to a real estate developer while Governor

In 1998, Clinton was accused of having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky When questioned under oath, Clinton lied about his relationship, committing the crime of perjury Clinton later admitted to the affair and apologized

In Dec. 1998, Clinton became only the second president to be impeached The House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Lewinsky scandal In Feb. 1999, Clinton was acquitted by the Senate in a narrow vote

Battle of Mogadishu: Oct. 3-4, 1993 US forces on a peace- keeping mission in Somalia were ambushed while attempting to rescue the crews of two helicopters which had been shot down 19 Americans were killed and 73 wounded Popularized in the movie Black Hawk Down US forces left Somalia

After a military coup overthrew the democratically elected government of Haiti, the UN put a trade embargo in place To end the violence in Haiti, Clinton ordered US troops to invade and restore order, but Haitis new rulers were convinced to step down by former Pres. Carter before the invasion took place US troops still took up position in Haiti for many weeks to ensure a peaceful transition

Civil war between Orthodox Christian Serbs, Catholic Croatians, and Bosnian Muslims broke out between 1991 and 1995 US-led NATO forces were used to end the fighting and to enforce the 1996 Dayton Accords peace plan

Civil war broke out in 1998 between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo Again, US-led NATO forces were used to bring an end to the fighting and to enforce a peace plan

Clinton orchestrated an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in which the two sides agreed to negotiate over Palestinian rights in Israel Unfortunately, no lasting peace agreement was ever struck

North American Free Trade Agreement Passed in 1994 Canada, Mexico, and the US joined into a free trade zone Increased US trade with its neighbors, but shifted many manufacturing jobs to Mexico while the US became a service and technology based economy

Formed in 1993 Created to promote economic and political cooperation amongst European states Members share a common currency (the Euro) Weakened US political and economic influence in Europe, as EU members began to cut back on US imports

International environmental conference, held in Japan in 1997 38 nations plus the EU agreed to reduce greenhouse emissions, but the US never approved the plan and pulled out of the talks in 2001

April 19, 1995 Terror attack carried out by American Timothy McVeigh, an anti- government militiaman Truck bomb detonated in front of the federal building, killing 168 McVeigh was later executed for his role in the attack

World Trade Center bombing: Feb. 26, 1993, Islamic terrorists detonated a truck bomb under the WTC in an attempt to bring down the North Tower, killing 6 and injuring over 1000 US Embassy bombings: US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were attacked by terror bombers in Aug. 1998 USS Cole: US warship which was attacked in Oct. 2000 by al Qaeda suicide bomber, killing 17

Democrats nominated Vice- President Al Gore Republicans nominated Texas Governor George W. Bush Environmentalist and reformer Ralph Nader ran as an independent

In one of the closest elections in US history, Bush won by only 6 electoral votes, thanks largely to his victory in Florida The votes in Florida were so close that a recount was called, but due to problems with the ballots, recounting was difficult and required too much interpretation of voter intent

When Bush was declared the winner in Florida, Gore sued The US Supreme Court was forced to rule on the validity of the election results and found that a hand recount of ballots, requiring interpretation of voter intent, was unfair, thereby allowing the election results to stand

1946 Present 43 rd President (2001 -09) Former Governor of Texas Son of President George H.W. Bush Former part-owner of the MLBs Texas Rangers Only US President to have an MBA

Sept. 11, 2001 Terrorists seized control of 4 airliners, crashing 2 into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 1 into the Pentagon, and 1 into a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3000 Americans, more than died at Pearl Harbor or on D-Day

Al Qaeda cited increased Western influence in the Muslim world, the presence of US military bases in Saudi Arabia, US sanctions against Iraq, and the US support for Israel as reasons for the attacks

1957 Present? Billionaire member of a high-ranking Saudi family Reported leader of al Qaeda terrorist group Believed to have orchestrated or been involved with multiple attacks, including the USS Cole bombing, US embassy bombings, and attacks in London and Madrid in Europe

After the 9/11 attacks, Bush declared a War on Terror aimed at destroying terrorist organizations anywhere in the world and stated that any nation which did not support the US in this effort would be viewed as hostile to our interests Bush also vowed to engage in preventive war against nations which actively support terror groups

Created in 2002 to coordinate all federal agencies in the fight against terrorism Oversees the Border Patrol, Coast Guard, Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Transportation Security Agency (TSA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Passed in Oct. 2001 Allowed secret searches in terror cases Allowed wire-tapping, tracking of voicemail and e-mail Criticized by many as a violation of 4 th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure

Oct. 2001 Present US began campaign against Taliban forces in Afghanistan due to their support of al Qaeda operations By Dec. 2001, Taliban had been ousted from leadership in the Afghan government, but continued to mount a resistance campaign Over 1400 US soldiers have died in the campaign

Bush also focused US attention on North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as major threats to world peace and to US security He collectively called these states an axis of evil in a speech in early 2002

Iraq was identified by the Bush administration as the greatest threat due to suspicions that they possesses chemical, biological, and possibly nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMD)

March 20, 1993 Present After UN sanctions failed to satisfy US suspicions of Iraqi possession of WMDs, Bush authorized invasion US quickly toppled Saddam Husseins government, but no WMDs were ever found Over 4500 US soldiers have died in Iraq since

Republicans nominated Bush for a 2 nd term Democrats nominated Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts Bush won by a narrow margin, largely due to support for his handling of the 9/11 attacks

August 2005 Killed over 1800 along the Gulf coast, heavily damaged city of New Orleans Bush endured harsh criticism, including charges of racism, over the slow federal response to the disaster

As federal deficits climbed in the mid- 2000s, the US economy became unstable Over-extension of credit led to a collapse in the housing market Sharp declines in consumer spending led to business failures and a sharp rise in unemployment

Republicans nominated Sen. John McCain of Arizona for President and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President, only the 2nd woman to ever appear on a presidential ticket Democrats nominated Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the first black candidate for president in US history

1961 Present 44 th President (2009 Present) First president from HawaiI Won 2008 election by a wide margin, winning over 10 million more popular votes and nearly 100 more electoral votes than his opponent

Documents

1913 – 2006 38 th President (1974 – 77) Former Univ. of Michigan football player, WWII veteran, and 25 year Congressman Self-deprecatingly once