1992–present Into a New Century - Scholars Academy

926 CHAPTER 12 Becoming a World Power926

Into a NewCentury

1992–present

. The Big Ideas ,SECTION 1: The Technological Revolution

Societies change over time. The introduction of the first electronic digital computer in 1946 launcheda technological revolution.

SECTION 2: The Clinton YearsSocieties change over time. Although President Clinton struggled with Republicans in Congress and

faced impeachment, several major economic and social reforms were achieved during his presidency.

SECTION 3: An Interdependent WorldInternational competition can lead to conflict and cooperation. As the world adjusted to a new

era, it faced the advantages and disadvantages of growing economic globalization and saw the end ofthe U.S.-Soviet rivalry.

SECTION 4: America Enters a New CenturySocieties change over time. The closest presidential election in American history served as the prelude

to the new century. The new president initiated an ambitious program.

SECTION 5: The War on TerrorismThe fate of nations is forever changed by monumental world events. After suffering the worst

terrorist attack in its history, the United States launched a massive effort to end international terrorism.

The American Vision: Modern Times Video The Chapter 21 video, “America’s Response to Terrorism,” examines how ordinary Americans responded to the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.

1993• Mosaic, the first popular

Web browser, is released

1991• Bosnia declares

independencefrom Yugoslavia

1992• Earth Day

summit held inRio de Janeiro,Brazil

1993• Israeli-Palestinian

peace accord signed

• European Unionlaunched

1994• U.S., Mexico, and Canada

inaugurate NAFTA

▲

▲

▲ ▲

▼▼▼

1991• U.S. leads coalition of

nations against Iraq inOperation Desert Storm

▲

1995• Budget impasse shuts

down federal government

• Oklahoma City bombing

1996• Bill Clinton reelected

1994• Multiracial elections

held in South Africa;Nelson Mandelaelected president

▼1995• Cease-fire

signed inBosnian war

▼

1993 1996

G. Bush1989–1993

Clinton1993–2001

1990

(l)file photo, (r)White House Historical Association AP/Wide World Photos

927927

January 20, 2001: George W. Bush is inaugurated as the nation’s 43rd president.

HISTORY

Chapter OverviewVisit the American Vision:Modern Times Web site at

andclick on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 21 to preview chapterinformation.

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1998• House of Representatives

impeaches PresidentClinton

▲

1999• Senate

acquitsClinton

▲

2000• Electoral crisis

delays naming of43rd president

▲

2001• First map of the human

genome published

• Terrorist attacks destroyWorld Trade Center anddamage Pentagon

2002• Winter Olympics held

in Salt Lake City, Utah

▲

▲

1997• Britain returns control

of Hong Kong to China

▼2000• Mexico’s election of

Vicente Fox ends 71 yearsof single-party rule

▼2001• China chosen to be site

of 2008 Olympic Games

▼

1999 2002

G.W. Bush2001–

(l)National Museum of American History/Smithsonian Institution, (c)Digital Art/CORBIS, (r)Official White House Photo by Eric Draper

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928 CHAPTER 21 Into a New Century

Effective readers monitor their understanding of a text. This means thatthey notice when something they read makes sense and when it does

not. When a portion of the reading is confusing, good readers use differentstrategies to gain a better understanding. They may look up new words,reread a passage, or read a bit further to locate additional explanations.When you use these strategies, this is called clarifying.

When you read a text, you should stop at the end of a paragraph or pas-sage and ask yourself whether it made sense. If it did not, determine whichparts were unclear. Find definitions for unfamiliar vocabulary words. Youshould then reread the passage or read further to better understand the pas-sage. You can also look on the page for diagrams, maps, or pictures thatmight help you understand the passage.

Read the following paragraph on the election of 2000 and notice whether anythingseems unclear to you.

The 2000 election turned into one of the closest in American history. Gorenarrowly won the popular vote, 48.4 percent to 47.9 percent for Bush. To win the presidency, however, candidates have to win a majority of state electoral

votes, not the overall popular vote.

Neither Gore nor Bush had the 270 electoralvotes needed to win. The election came down tothe Florida vote—both men needed its 25 electoralvotes. (page 948)

• Were any words unfamiliar to you? If so, look themup in a dictionary. You can look up any bold-facedor highlighted words in the glossary in the back ofyour textbook.

• Did you understand the distribution of electoralvotes? Look at the map and chart on page 950 tohelp you understand the popular vote and thedistribution of electoral votes.

• Can you determine the close margin in the percent-age points of the popular vote? The difference is 0.5percent (48.4% � 47.9%).

As you read through the chapter, stop at the end of each major passage toreview the information and to determine if you understood everything youhave just read. If not, use one of the strategies outlined above to help youclarify the information in each passage.

928

Monitoring and Clarifying

MONITORING AND CLARIFYING

When a passage contains a lot of numbers, write them down in your notes.Organize them in charts ortables to help you under-stand the information theyare conveying.

CHAPTER 21 Into a New Century 929929

Chronological and Spatial Thinking You should be able to relate current events to thephysical and human characteristics of places and regions.

Relating Current Events

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the citizens of the UnitedStates wanted to know why the attacks happened. Within a short period, a

number of rumors, opinions, and unsubstantiated stories surrounding the causeof the attacks developed. As it became clear that al-Qaeda was responsible, U.S.citizens became increasingly interested in the characteristics of people who couldcommit such acts. One of the outcomes of the terrorist attack was that Americanshave tried to more fully understand the physical and human characteristics thathave resulted in the conflicts in the Middle East.

Read the following passage about the background of Middle East terrorism.

As oil became important to the American economy in the 1920s, the United Statesinvested heavily in the Middle East oil industry. This industry brought great wealth tothe ruling families in some Middle Eastern kingdoms, but most of the people remainedpoor. Some became angry at the United States for supporting the wealthy kingdomsand families.

The rise of the oil industry increased the Middle East’s contact with Western society.As Western ideas spread through the region, many Muslims—followers of the region’sdominant religion—feared that their traditional values and beliefs were being weak-ened. New movements arose calling for a strict interpretation of the Quran—theMuslim holy book—and a return to traditional Muslim religious laws.

These Muslim movements wanted to overthrow pro-Western governments in theMiddle East and create a pure Islamic society. Muslims who support these movementsare referred to as fundamentalist militants. Although the vast majority of Muslimsbelieve terrorism is contrary to their faith, militants began using terrorism to achievetheir goals. (pages 955–956)

In this passage you learn that the roots of Middle East terrorism reach far back into the early part of the previous century. U.S.policy at the time created ill feelings towardthe United States among people in the MiddleEast. People there also were concerned aboutthe erosion of their traditional values.

As you read this chapter, find other instancesand events that had their roots in the past.Consider how these events might have beendifferent if there had been different develop-ments. For example, how might the historyof computers have been different without thedevelopment of microprocessors?

Analysis Skill Standard CS4

Guide to Reading

ConnectionIn the previous chapter, you learnedabout the Reagan and Bush administra-tions and the end of the Cold War. Inthis section, you will discover how a technological revolution changedAmerican society.

• A computer revolution changed theworkplace and the way people com-municate. (p. 931)

• The 1996 Telecommunications Actincreased competition among tele-phone companies. (p. 932)

• A computer resource that linked gov-ernment agencies quickly developedinto the Internet. (p. 933)

• Major developments in biotechnologyspurred advances in medicine and improvements in agricultural technol-ogy. (p. 934)

Content Vocabularyintegrated circuit, microprocessor,software, telecommute

Academic Vocabularymanipulate, protocol, sequence

People and Terms to IdentifyENIAC, Silicon Valley, Bill Gates, Internet,biotechnology, James Watson, FrancisCrick, DNA

Reading Objectives• Describe the evolution of the computer

from scientific tool to householdappliance.

• Evaluate how the computer hasrevolutionized science, medicine, and communications.

Reading StrategyCategorizing As you read about thecomputer age, complete a chart similar tothe one below to describe products thatrevolutionized the computer industry.

Preview of Events

The TechnologicalRevolution


How It RevolutionizedComputer Industry

Microprocessors

Apple II

Macintosh

Windows

1993Mosaic, the first popularWeb browser, introduced

1996Congress deregulatestelephone companies

1999Over 86 million Americansown cell phones

2001Human Genome Projectmaps the human genome

✦1996 ✦2002✦1993 ✦1999

. The Big Idea ,Societies change over time. A computer revolution created competition andadvancement in the technology industry. Computers became widely available andchanged the way people communicated and worked. The use of the Internetexpanded rapidly and led to a new “dot-com” economy. Other advances includedbreakthroughs in biotechnology. The use of computers helped scientists map thehuman genome.

The following are the mainHistory–Social Science Standardscovered in this section.

11.8.7 Describe the effects on society and the economy of techno-logical developments since 1945,including the computer revolution,changes in communication, advancesin medicine, and improvements in agricultural technology.

The Rise of the Compact Computer

A computer revolution changed the work-place and the way people communicate.

Reading Connection What computer devices do youuse regularly? Read on to learn about the beginnings of com-puter history.

The world’s first electronic digital computer,called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator andComputer), went into operation in February 1946.ENIAC weighed over 30 tons and was the size of asmall house. As the size of the computer decreased,so did the possibilities for its uses.

After years as a magazine editor and televisionnews commentator, Michael Kinsley jumped into thenew technology of the Internet in 1996, by agreeing to edit an online magazine called Slate. “I was deter-mined,” Kinsley said, “to be on the next train to pullout of the station no matter where it was going—provided that I was the engineer.”

Soon newspaper and print magazines were alsodeveloping Web resources. Television stations alsoused the Internet to update news stories, allowingconsumers to access news when and how theywanted. As Kinsley explained:

“Web readers surf. They go quickly from site to site.If they really like a particular site, they may visit itoften, but they are unlikely to devote a continuoushalf-hour or more to any one site. . . . This appears tobe in the nature of the Web and not something that islikely to change.”

—from “Slate Goes Free,” Slate, February 13, 1999

Long before computers and Internet use werecommon, the issues of weight and size needed to besolved. In early 1959, Robert Noyce designed the firstintegrated circuit—a complete electronic circuit on asingle chip of silicon—which made circuits muchsmaller and very easy to manufacture. Noyce’s com-pany was located south of San Francisco. As newcompanies sprang up nearby to make products usingintegrated circuits, the region became known asSilicon Valley.

By 1968, Noyce and colleague Gordon Mooreformed Intel, for “Integrated Electronics,” a company

that revolutionized computers by combining on asingle chip several integrated circuits containing bothmemory and computing functions. Called micro-processors, these new chips further reduced the sizeof computers and increased their speed.

Computers for Everyone Using microprocessortechnology, Stephen Wozniak and his 20-year-oldfriend Steven Jobs set out to build a small computersuitable for personal use. In 1976 they founded AppleComputer and completed the Apple I. The followingyear they introduced the Apple II, the first practicaland affordable home computer.

Apple’s success sparked intense competition inthe computer industry. In 1981 International BusinessMachines (IBM) introduced its own compactmachine, which it called the “Personal Computer”(PC). Apple responded in 1984 with the revolution-ary Macintosh, a new model featuring a simplifiedoperating system using onscreen graphic symbolscalled icons, which users could manipulate with ahand-operated device called a mouse.


Apple Founders In 1984 Apple president John Sculley (center), alongwith Steve Jobs (left) and Steve Wozniak, show off their new briefcase-sized Apple IIc computer. On what basic technology do personalcomputers rely?

History

CORBIS

Bill Gates and MicrosoftAs Jobs and Wozniak werecreating Apple, 19-year-oldHarvard dropout Bill Gatesco-founded Microsoft todesign PC software, theinstructions used to programcomputers to perform desiredtasks. In 1980 IBM hiredMicrosoft to develop an oper-ating system for its new PC.Gates quickly paid a Seattleprogrammer $50,000 for therights to his software, and

with some refinements, it became MS-DOS (MicrosoftDisk Operating System).

In 1985 Microsoft introduced the “Windows”operating system, which enabled PCs to use themouse-activated, on-screen graphic icons that theMacintosh had popularized. Soaring sales and risingMicrosoft stock values made Gates a billionaire at theage of 31. Compact computers soon transformed theworkplace, linking employees within an office oramong office branches. They became essential toolsin virtually every kind of business. By the late 1990s,many workers used home computers and electronic

Student WebActivity Visit theAmerican Vision:Modern Times Web siteatand click on StudentWeb Activities—Chapter 21 for anactivity on the techno-logical revolution.

HISTORY

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MagneticResonanceImagingOne extension of computertechnology is magnetic reso-nance imaging (MRI). AnMRI allows physicians todiagnose certain diseases,abnormalities, and injurieswithout resorting to x-raysor surgery. An MRI unit ismade up of a large cylindri-cal magnet, devices fortransmitting and receivingradio signals, and a com-puter. Why do you thinkphysicians prefer MRIsover x-rays and surgery?

1

2

3

A large cylindricalmagnet with a mag-netic field 30,000times stronger thanthe earth’s magneticfield surrounds thepatient.

Radio signals aretransmitted withinthe machine andpass through thepatient’s body.

A computer convertsthe radio signals into precise imagesof the body’s internalstructure.

cylindrical magnet

radio signals

computer

cylindrical magnet

computer

radio signals

mail to “telecommute,” or do their jobs via computerwithout having to go to the office.

Describing How was Microsoft dif-ferent from other computer companies?

The TelecommunicationsRevolution

The 1996 Telecommunications Act increasedcompetition among telephone companies.

Reading Connection What telecommunications inven-tions were developed at the end of the 1800s? Read on to findout more about the developments a century later.

A parallel revolution in communications coincidedwith the growing impact of computers. In the 1970s,1980s, and 1990s, the government loosened telecom-munications regulations, allowing more companies tocompete in the telephone and television industries. In1996 Congress passed the Telecommunications Act.This act allowed telephone companies to competewith each other and to send television signals, but italso permitted cable television companies to offer

Reading Check

R. Masonneuve/Publicphoto/Photo Researchers



i n H i s t o r y

telephone service. Such developments spurred thecreation of new technologies such as Web-enabled cellular phones and other mixing of data-platforms.

Explaining How did deregulationaffect the telecommunications industry?

The Rise of the Internet

A computer resource that linked governmentagencies quickly developed into the Internet.

Reading Connection How do you evaluate whether aWeb site is a wise choice for research or personal enrichment?Read on to discover how the World Wide Web began.

Digital electronics also made possible a newworldwide communications system. The Internet letcomputer users post and receive information andcommunicate with each other. It had its roots in acomputer networking system that the U.S. DefenseDepartment’s Advanced Research Project Agencyestablished in 1969. Known as ARPANET, this sys-tem linked government agencies, defense contrac-tors, and scientists at various universities, enablingthem to communicate with each other by electronicmail. In 1985 the National Science Foundationfunded several supercomputer centers across the

Reading Check

country. This paved the way for the Internet, a globalinformation system that operated commerciallyrather than through the government.

At first, Internet users employed different types ofinformation. With the development of the hypertexttransport protocol (http) and new software known asWeb browsers, the Internet rapidly expanded. Userscould now click on Internet links using their com-puter mouse and easily jump from Web site to Website. Internet users could search for news, informa-tion, shop, and even meet new people. Internet useexpanded by almost 300 percent between 1997 and2000. As the Internet became more popular with con-sumers, more businesses and companies took advan-tage of the opportunity to increase advertising andsales through the Internet.

The Internet also spawned a “dot-com” economy(from the common practice of using a business nameas a World Wide Web address, followed by “.com”).Seemingly rich with promise, a wide variety ofdot.com companies made millions of dollars forstock investors without ever earning actual profitfrom operations. Internet-related stocks helped fuelthe prosperity of the 1990s but dropped dramaticallyin 2000, raising questions about the ultimate prof-itability of online companies.

Explaining How did the Internetexpand business opportunities?

Reading Check

Jerry Yang1968–

Jerry Yang was born in Taiwan in1968 and immigrated with his family to San Jose, California, when he was 10 years old. Yang is a cofounder ofYahoo!, one of the world’s best-knowngateways to information and consumergoods on the Web. It is estimated thatby the late 1990s, around 40 millionpeople were visiting the Yahoo! Website every month.

The company developed out ofYang’s desire to be able to find goodWeb sites quickly. At StanfordUniversity, he and cofounder David Filowere doctoral students sharing officespace in a trailer. They also shared

information on their favorite Web sites,and Yang began compiling a list ofthem. He nicknamed the list “Jerry’sGuide to the World Wide Web,” and heposted it on the Internet.

Inquiries to the site boomed, andYang and Filo concluded that they hadfound an untapped market. With thehelp of a loan from an imaginative ven-ture capitalist, Yahoo! was born. Yangsays they chose the name because itsuggested the sort of “Wild West” char-acter of the Internet. The mission forYahoo! was not just to collect Web sitesbut to organize them into convenientcategories, such as news, sports, games,and weather. Yahoo! became a populargateway, or “portal,” to the Web.

Reuters/Natalie Behring/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Breakthroughs in Biotechnology

Major developments in biotechnologyspurred advances in medicine and improvements inagricultural technology.

Reading Connection Do you think everyone shouldhave access to the findings of the Human Genome Project?Read on to discover the National Institutes of Health’s answerto that question.

Computers greatly assisted scientists engaged inbiotechnology—the managing of biological systemsto improve human life. Computers made it possiblefor scientists to study and manipulate genes andcells at the molecular level for the first time. Thisimprovement in scientific study and research madenew advances possible. Through biotechnology,researchers developed new medicines, animalgrowth hormones, genetically engineered plants,and industrial chemicals.

Unraveling the Secrets of Life The first stepstoward biotechnology came in 1953, when Americanmolecular biologist James Watson and his British col-league, Francis Crick, deciphered the structure ofdeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA is the geneticmaterial in cells that determine all forms of life. Crickand Watson began working on the structure of DNAin the fall of 1951. Their first attempt proved unsuc-cessful. Their second attempt in early March of 1953,however, was more successful. Their success in deci-phering the structure of DNA opened the door foradvances in biotechnology.

Once scientists learned how to read the message ofDNA, their new knowledge improved medicalresearch and provided law enforcement with newmethods of identification for both victims and crimi-nals. Further research in biotechnology created artifi-cial genes and assisted genetic engineering for plants,animals, and humans.

The Human Genome Project For years scientiststalked of mapping out the human genome by record-ing the DNA sequence of the human species. With thedevelopment of supercomputers, the Human GenomeProject began in earnest at the National Institutes ofHealth (NIH) in 1990. NIH decided to place all of theHuman Genome Project’s data on the Internet to makeit available to scientists all over the world, free ofcharge. Researchers hoped to prevent any single nationor private laboratory from controlling the outcome andlimiting the use of genome findings. In February 2001,the project published its first map of the humangenome. Researchers finished the sequence two yearslater. Scientists continue expanding their knowledge ofDNA. Medical researchers expect that this informationwill help them determine which genes make peoplemore susceptible to disease, thereby improving med-ical diagnoses and preventive medication and assistingin finding cures.

Explaining How did computersassist the development of biotechnology?

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: integrated circuit,

microprocessor, manipulate, software,telecommute, protocol, sequence.

2. People and Terms Identify: ENIAC,Silicon Valley, Bill Gates, Internet,biotechnology, James Watson, Francis Crick, DNA.

3. Explain how scientific discoveries inbiotechnology have improved people’slives.

Reviewing Big Ideas4. Describing How have personal com-

puters transformed the workplace?

Critical Thinking5. Analyzing How

have advances in telecommunicationsand the rise of the Internet affected thestandard of living in the United States?

6. Organizing Complete a graphic organ-izer similar to the one below by listingdevelopments that led to the technolog-ical revolution.

Analyzing Visuals7. Analyzing Photographs Study the

photograph of the Apple computerfounders on page 931. How havecomputers changed since this picture in 1984?CA HI1

Writing About History8. Descriptive Writing Write two para-

graphs describing the ways that youand your family use the Internet andhow your way of life would be differentwithout it. CA 11WA2.1e

TechnologicalRevolution

For help with the concepts in this section of AmericanVision: Modern Times go to andclick on Study Central.

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Study CentralHISTORY


Guide to Reading

ConnectionIn the previous section, you learnedabout technological advances. In this section, you will find out about eventsduring President Clinton’s administration.

• President Clinton took office in 1992with plans for improving health care,reducing the federal deficit, helpingfamilies, and strengthening gun control. (p. 936)

• Republican victories in Congress set thestage for battles between the executiveand legislative branches. (p. 937)

• Riding the tide of economic prosperity,Clinton won reelection over Senator

Bob Dole and third-party candidateRoss Perot. (p. 938)

• Clinton tried to focus the domesticagenda on the needs of children, butpersonal problems marred his secondterm. (p. 939)

• During Clinton’s second term, theUnited States became more involved inworld events. (p. 940)

Content Vocabularyperjury, ethnic cleansing

Academic Vocabularymodify, stress, submit

People and Terms to IdentifyAmeriCorps, Contract with America,Kenneth Starr, Dayton Accords

Reading Objectives• Describe the difficulties and successes

of Bill Clinton’s two terms as president.• Discuss the nation’s involvement in

world affairs during the Clintonpresidency.

Reading StrategyTaking Notes As you read about theadministration of President Clinton, usethe major headings of the section to cre-ate an outline similar to the one below.

Preview of Events

The Clinton Years

CHAPTER 21 Into a New Century 935CHAPTER 21 Into a New Century 935

The Clinton YearsI. Clinton’s Agenda

A.B.C.D.

II.

1993Israeli-Palestinianpeace accord

✦1997

1994Republicans win bothhouses of Congress

1995Federal government shutsdown during budget impasse

1998House impeachesClinton

1999Senate acquits Clinton;NATO aircraft bomb Serbia

✦1993 ✦1995 ✦1999

Frostbelt-to-Sunbelt migration, international migration,decline of family farms, increases in out-of-wedlockbirths, and drug abuse.

. The Big Idea ,Societies change over time. President Clinton was able to push through lawsto help families and strengthen gun control, but he also raised taxes and failed toreform health care. During the 1994 mid-term elections, dissatisfied voters gaveRepublicans a majority in both houses of Congress. Although Congress and thepresident battled over the budget and legislation, they were able to approvereforms for health insurance and welfare. With a prospering economy, PresidentClinton won reelection in 1996. Personal scandal and impeachment, however,marred his second term. During this time, the president worked to end a crisis inHaiti, sent peacekeeping troops to Bosnia and Kosovo, and attempted to negotiatebetween Israeli and Palestinian leaders.


11.9.6 Describe U.S. Middle Eastpolicy and its strategic, political, and

economic interests, including thoserelated to the Gulf War.

11.11.2 Discuss the significant domesticpolicy speeches of Truman, Eisenhower,

Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan,Bush, and Clinton (e.g., with regard to

education, civil rights, economic policy,environmental policy).

11.11.3 Describe the changing roles ofwomen in society as reflected in the entry

of more women into the labor force and the changing family structure.

11.11.6 Analyze the persistence of povertyand how different analyses of this issue influ-

ence welfare reform, health insurance reform,and other social policies.

11.11.7 Explain how the federal, state, and localgovernments have responded to demographic

and social changes such as population shifts tothe suburbs, racial concentrations in the cities,

Clinton’s Agenda

President Clinton took office in 1992 withplans for improving health care, reducing the federaldeficit, helping families, and strengthening gun control.

Reading Connection Do you know anyone who hasworked for Americorps? Read on to learn about the beginningsof this program.

President Clinton’s first years in office were filledwith grandiose plans and the difficult realities ofpolitics.

Bill Clinton was the third-youngest person ever toserve as president and the first of the “baby boom”generation to reach the Oval Office. Clinton broughtwith him a team of young, energetic advisers. In theearly weeks of the administration, Clinton’s teamspent many hours at the White House adjusting totheir new life. In early 1993, they began discussingplans for Clinton’s new economic strategy for payingdown the deficit and reducing interest rates. GeorgeStephanopoulos, an aide to the president, rememberstheir inexperienced beginnings:

“The president presided over the rolling RooseveltRoom meetings in shirtsleeves, with glasses slidingdown the end of his nose. . . . Clinton let everyonehave a say, played us off against one another, askedpointed questions, and took indecipherable notes. But the reminders of who we were and what we weredoing was never far away. Late one night, we orderedpizzas. When they arrived, the president grabbed aslice with the rest of us . . . [b]ut just before he took hisfirst bite, [a secret service] agent placed a hand on hisshoulder and told him to put it down. The pie hadn’tbeen screened. . . .”

—quoted in All Too Human

The new president put forth an ambitious domes-tic program focusing on five major areas: the econ-omy, the family, education, crime, and health care.

Raising Taxes, Cutting Spending As he hadpromised in his election campaign, Clinton focusedfirst on the economy. The problem, in the president’sview, was the federal deficit. Under Reagan and

Bush, the deficit had nearly quadrupled, adding bil-lions of dollars annually to the national debt. Highdeficits forced the government to borrow large sumsof money to pay for its programs and helped to driveup interest rates.

Clinton believed that the key to economic growthwas to lower interest rates. Low interest rates wouldenable businesses to borrow more money to expandand create more jobs. Low rates would also make iteasier for consumers to borrow money for mort-gages, car loans, and other items, which in turnwould promote economic growth.

One way to bring interest rates down was toreduce the federal deficit. In early 1993, Clinton sentCongress a deficit reduction plan. In trying to cut thedeficit, however, Clinton faced a serious problem.About half of all government spending went to enti-tlement programs, such as Social Security, Medicare,and veterans’ benefits. Entitlement programs arevery hard to cut because so many Americans dependon them.

Faced with these constraints, Clinton decided toraise taxes, even though he had promised to cut taxesduring his campaign. Clinton’s plan raised tax ratesfor middle- and upper-income Americans and placednew taxes on gasoline, heating oil, and natural gas. The tax increases were very unpopular, andRepublicans in Congress refused to support them.Clinton pressured Democrats, and after manyamendments, a modified version of Clinton’s plannarrowly passed.


George Stephanopoulos

➤

CORBIS

Stumbling on Health Care During hiscampaign, Clinton had promised to reform theU.S. health care system. An estimated 40 mil-lion Americans, or roughly 15 percent of thenation, did not have private health insurance.The president appointed a task force headedby his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton—anunprecedented role for a first lady. The taskforce developed a plan that guaranteed healthbenefits for all Americans, but it put much ofthe burden of payment of these benefits onemployers. Small-business owners feared theycould not afford it. The insurance industry anddoctors’ organizations also opposed the plan.

Republicans opposed the plan as beingcomplicated, costly, and reliant on govern-ment control. Congressional Democrats weredivided. Some supported alternative plans,but no plan had enough support to pass. Facedwith public opposition, Clinton’s plan diedwithout ever coming to a vote.

Families and Education Clinton did man-age to push several major pieces of legislationthrough Congress. During his campaign, hehad stressed the need to help American families. Hisfirst success was the Family Medical Leave Act. Thislaw gave workers up to 12 weeks per year of unpaidfamily leave for the birth or adoption of a child or forthe illness of a family member. Clinton also per-suaded Congress to create the AmeriCorps program.This program put students to work improving low-income housing, teaching children to read, and clean-ing up the environment. AmeriCorps volunteersearned a salary and were awarded a scholarship tocontinue their education.

Crime and Gun Control Clinton had promised toget tough on crime during his campaign. He had alsostrongly endorsed new gun-control laws. Despitestrong opposition from many Republicans and theNational Rifle Association (NRA), the Democrats inCongress passed a gun-control law known as theBrady Bill. The bill imposed a waiting period beforepeople could buy handguns. It also required gundealers to have police run a background check on aperson’s criminal record before selling them a hand-gun. The following year, Clinton introduced his firstanticrime bill. The bill provided states with extrafunds to build new prisons and put 100,000 morepolice officers on the streets.

Explaining Why did PresidentClinton’s proposed health care plan fail?

Reading Check

The Republicans Gain Control of Congress

Republican victories in Congress set thestage for battles between the executive and legislativebranches.

Reading Connection Have you ever refused to backdown or give in when you believed you were right? Read on tofind out how President Clinton’s resolve led to better coopera-tion in Congress.

Despite his successes, Clinton was very unpopularby late 1994. Instead of cutting taxes, he had raisedthem, and he had not fixed health care. Although theeconomy was improving, many companies were still downsizing. Several personal issues involvingPresident Clinton further weakened public confi-dence in him. These factors convinced manyAmericans to vote Republican in 1994.

The Contract With America As the 1994 midtermelections neared, congressional Republicans, led byNewt Gingrich of Georgia, created the Contract withAmerica. This program proposed 10 major changes,including lower taxes, welfare reform, tougher anti-crime laws, term limits for members of Congress, and


High Hopes The Clintons entered the White House in 1993 determined to change theUnited States for the better. It took time for them to adjust to life in Washington, and manyof their ambitious plans were defeated in Congress. What legislative proposal was givento the First Lady to oversee?

History

Jeffrey Markowitz/Sygma/CORBIS

Later that month Congress passedthe Welfare Reform Act, which lim-ited people to no more than two con-secutive years on welfare andrequired them to work to receivewelfare benefits. Welfare reform hadbecome a major issue by the mid-1990s because of growing evidencethat welfare programs trapped peo-ple in poverty by giving them incen-tives to stay unemployed and to havechildren without getting married.Despite all the money spent onantipoverty programs, the percent-age of Americans in poverty hadchanged very little. Both theRepublican-led Congress andPresident Clinton agreed that thewelfare system needed reforms toencourage people to go back to work.

IdentifyingWhat two reforms did Clinton and Congressagree to support?

The 1996 Election

Riding the tide of economic prosperity,Clinton won reelection over Senator Bob Dole and third-party candidate Ross Perot.

Reading Connection How important is the unemploy-ment rate during an election year? Read on to discover howlow unemployment, inflation, and crime rates helped Clintonwin the 1996 election.

As the 1996 campaign began, Clinton took creditfor the economy. The economic boom of the 1990swas the longest sustained period of growth inAmerican history. Unemployment and inflation fellto their lowest levels in 40 years. The stock marketsoared, wages rose, crime rates fell, and the numberof people on welfare declined. With the economybooming, Clinton’s popularity climbed rapidly.

The Republican Party nominated Senator BobDole of Kansas, the Republican leader in the Senate,to run against Clinton. Dole promised a 15 percenttax cut if elected and tried to portray Clinton as a tax-and-spend liberal.

H. Ross Perot also ran again as a candidate. Thistime he ran as the candidate of the Reform Party,which he had created. Once again Perot made thedeficit the main campaign issue.

Reading Check


Republicans Triumphant As a result of the 1994 midterm con-gressional elections, the Republican Party gained control of the Houseand the Senate for the first time since the 1950s. Newt Gingrich (atpodium) helped lead a group of young GOP congressional represen-tatives in passing the Contract with America legislation. How success-ful was the Contract with America legislation? Explain.

History

a balanced budget amendment. Republicans won astunning victory—for the first time in 40 years, theyhad a majority in both houses of Congress.

In their first 100 days in office, House Republicanspassed almost the entire Contract with America, butthey soon ran into trouble. The Senate defeated sev-eral proposals, including the balanced budgetamendment, while the president vetoed others.

The Budget Battle In 1995 the Republicans lostmore momentum when they clashed with the presi-dent over the new federal budget. Clinton vetoedseveral Republican budget proposals, claiming theycut into social programs too much. Gingrich believedthat if Republicans stood firm, the president wouldback down. Otherwise, the entire federal governmentwould shut down for lack of funds. Clinton, how-ever, refused to budge.

By standing firm against Republican budget pro-posals and allowing the government to shut down,Clinton regained much of the support he had lost in1994. The Republicans in Congress realized theyneeded to work with the president to pass legislation.Soon afterward, they reached an agreement withClinton to balance the budget.

In the months before the 1996 election, the presi-dent and the Republicans worked together to passnew legislation. In August Congress passed the HealthInsurance Portability Act. This act improved coveragefor people who changed jobs and reduced discrimina-tion against people with preexisting illnesses.

Erik Freeland/Matrix

President Clinton won reelection, winning a littlemore than 49 percent of the popular vote and 379electoral votes. Dole received slightly less than 41percent and 159 electoral votes. Perot won about 8.4percent of the vote—less than half of what he hadreceived in 1992. Despite Clinton’s victory,Republicans retained control of Congress.

Explaining Why do you thinkPresident Clinton won reelection in 1996?

Clinton’s Second Term

Clinton tried to focus the domestic agendaon the needs of children, but personal problems marredhis second term.

Reading Connection What president in the 1800s was threatened with impeachment? Read on to learn aboutClinton’s impeachment trial.

During Clinton’s second term, the economy con-tinued its expansion. As people’s incomes rose, so toodid the amount of taxes they paid. At the same time,despite their differences, the president and Congresscontinued to shrink the deficit. In 1997, for the firsttime in 24 years, the president was able to submit a

Reading Check

CHAPTER 21 Into a New Century 939Chief Justice William Rehnquist being sworn in for the impeachment trial in the Senate

A somber President and Mrs.Clinton after the decision for

impeachment was reached

A somber President and Mrs.Clinton after the decision for

impeachment was reached

The Constitution gives Congress the powerto remove a president from office “uponimpeachment for and Conviction of, Treason,Bribery, or other High Crimes andMisdemeanors.” The House of Representativeshas the sole power over impeachment—the for-mal accusation of wrongdoing in office. If themajority of the House votes to impeach thepresident, the Senate conducts a trial. A two-thirds vote of those present is needed for con-viction. When the impeachment proceedinginvolves a president, the chief justice of theUnited States presides.

Impeaching the President

balanced budget to Congress. Beginning in 1998, thegovernment began to run a surplus—that is, it col-lected more money than it spent.

Putting Children First During his second term,Clinton’s domestic agenda shifted toward children’sissues. He began by asking Congress to pass a $500-per-child tax credit. He also signed the Adoption andSafe Families Act and asked Congress to ban ciga-rette advertising aimed at children. In August 1997,Clinton signed the Children’s Health InsuranceProgram—a plan to provide health insurance forchildren whose parents could not afford it.

Clinton also continued his efforts to help students.“I come from a family where nobody had ever goneto college before,” Clinton said. “When I becamepresident, I was determined to do what I could togive every student that chance.” To help students, heasked for a tax credit, a large increase in studentgrants, and an expansion of the Head Start programfor preschoolers.

Clinton Is Impeached The robust economy andhis high standing in the polls allowed Clinton toregain the initiative in dealing with Congress. By1998, however, he had become entangled in a seriousscandal that threatened to undermine his presidency.

The scandal began in Clinton’s first term, when he was accused of arranging illegal loans for

Wally McNamee/CORBIS, (inset)Greg Gibson/AP/Wide World Photos

Whitewater Development—an Arkansas real estatecompany—while he was governor of that state.Attorney General Janet Reno decided that an inde-pendent counsel should investigate the president. Aspecial three-judge panel appointed Kenneth Starr, aformer federal judge, to this position.

In early 1998, a new scandal emerged involving apersonal relationship between the president and aWhite House intern. Some evidence suggested thatthe president had committed perjury, or had liedunder oath, about the relationship. The three-judgepanel directed Starr to investigate this scandal aswell. In September 1998, after examining theevidence, Starr sent his report to the JudiciaryCommittee of the House of Representatives. Starrargued that Clinton had obstructed justice, abusedhis power as president, and committed perjury.

After the 1998 elections, the House beganimpeachment hearings. Clinton’s supporters chargedthat Starr’s investigation was politically motivated.Clinton’s accusers argued that the president wasaccountable if his actions were illegal.

On December 19, 1998, the House of Represen-tatives passed two articles of impeachment, one forperjury and one for obstruction of justice. The votesplit almost evenly along party lines, and the casemoved to the Senate for trial. On February 12, 1999,the senators cast their votes. The vote was 55 to 45that Clinton was not guilty of perjury, and 50–50 onthe charge of obstruction of justice. Although bothvotes were well short of the two-thirds needed toremove the president from office, Clinton’s reputa-tion had suffered.

Examining What events led to theimpeachment of President Clinton?

Clinton’s Foreign Policy

During Clinton’s second term, the UnitedStates became more involved in world events.

Reading Connection When and why was NATO cre-ated? Read on to find out how the United States and NATOworked to resolve a crisis in southeastern Europe.

While attracting worldwide attention, theimpeachment drama did not affect world affairs. Thecollapse of the Soviet Union virtually ended thestruggle between communism and democracy, butsmall bloody wars continued to erupt around theworld. On several occasions President Clinton usedforce to bring an end to regional conflicts.

Reading Check

The Haitian Intervention In 1991 military lead-ers in Haiti overthrew Jean Bertrand Aristide, thecountry’s first democratically elected president inmany decades. Aristide sought refuge in the UnitedStates. The new rulers of Haiti used violence, evenmurder, to suppress the opposition. Seeking torestore democracy, the Clinton administration con-vinced the United Nations to impose a tradeembargo on Haiti. The embargo created a severe eco-nomic crisis in that country. Thousands of Haitianrefugees fled to the United States in small boats, andmany died at sea.

Determined to put an end to the crisis, Clintonordered an invasion of Haiti. Before the troopsarrived, however, former president Jimmy Carterconvinced Haiti’s rulers to step aside.

Peacekeeping in Bosnia and Kosovo TheUnited States also was concerned about mountingtensions in southeastern Europe. During the ColdWar, Yugoslavia had been a single federated nationmade up of many different ethnic groups under astrong Communist government. In 1991, after the col-lapse of communism, Yugoslavia split apart.

In Bosnia, one of the former Yugoslav republics, a vicious three-way civil war erupted betweenOrthodox Christian Serbs, Catholic Croatians, andBosnian Muslims. Despite international pressure, thefighting continued until 1995. The Serbs began whatthey called ethnic cleansing—the brutal expulsion ofan ethnic group from a geographic area. In somecases, Serbian troops slaughtered the Muslimsinstead of moving them.

The United States convinced its NATO allies thatmilitary action was necessary. NATO war-planesattacked the Serbs in Bosnia, forcing them to nego-tiate. The Clinton administration then arrangedpeace talks in Dayton, Ohio. The participants signeda peace plan known as the Dayton Accords. In1996 some 60,000 NATO troops, including 20,000Americans, entered Bosnia to enforce the plan.

In 1998 another war erupted, this time within theSerbian province of Kosovo. Kosovo has two majorethnic groups—Serbs and Albanians. Many of theAlbanians wanted Kosovo to separate from Serbia. Tokeep Kosovo in Serbia, Serbian leader SlobodanMilosevic ordered a crackdown. The Albanians thenorganized their own army to fight back. Worried byreports of Serbian violence against Albanian civilians,President Clinton convinced European leaders thatNATO should again use force to stop the fighting. InMarch 1999, NATO began bombing Serbia. The bomb-ing convinced Serbia to pull its troops out of Kosovo.



Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: modify, stress,

submit, perjury, ethnic cleansing.2. People and Terms Identify:

AmeriCorps, Contract with America,Kenneth Starr, Dayton Accords.

3. Explain why the federal governmentshut down in 1995.

Reviewing Big Ideas4. Evaluating What government policies

helped create the U.S. prosperity of the1990s?

Critical Thinking5. Analyzing Why was President Clinton

able to win reelection in 1996?6. Categorizing Complete a chart similar

to the one below by explaining the for-eign policy issues facing PresidentClinton in each of the areas listed.


photographs on page 939 of Clinton’simpeachment trial. What elements inthe photograph reflect the seriousnessof the occasion?

Writing About History8. Persuasive Writing Take on the role of

a member of Congress. Write a letter inwhich you attempt to persuade otherlawmakers to vote either for or againstthe impeachment of President Clinton.Provide reasons for your position.

CA 11WS1.1

Middle East Conflict The struggle over control of the Israeli/Palestinian areasintensified in the 1990s. Although President Clinton directed many negotiationsto attempt to resolve the conflict, the region remained a very dangerous place.Which leaders agreed to a framework for peace in 1993?

History

Peacemaking in the Middle East Despite theoverwhelming defeat Iraq suffered in the PersianGulf War, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein remainedin power and continued to make threats againstIraq’s neighbors. Hussein’s threats eventually esca-lated into action. In 1996 Iraq attacked the Kurds, anethnic group whose homeland lies in northern Iraq.To stop the attacks, the United States fired cruise mis-siles at Iraqi military targets.

Relations between Israel and the Palestinians wereeven more volatile. Many believed progress wasbeing made in achieving peace. In 1993 Israeli PrimeMinister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine LiberationOrganization leader Yasir Arafat reached an agree-ment. The PLO recognized Israel’s right to exist, andIsrael recognized the PLO as the representative of thePalestinians. President Clinton then invited Arafatand Rabin to the White House, where they signed theDeclaration of Principles—a plan for creating aPalestinian government.

Opposition to the peace plan emerged on bothsides. Radical Palestinians exploded bombs in Israeland in 1995 a right-wing Israeli assassinated PrimeMinister Rabin.

In 1998 Israeli and Palestinian leaders met withPresident Clinton at the Wye River plantation inMaryland to work out details of the withdrawal ofIsraeli troops from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.This agreement, however, failed to settle the status ofJerusalem, which both sides claimed.

In July 2000, President Clinton invited Arafat andIsraeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to reach an agree-ment, but these talks failed. Beginning in October,violence started to break out between Palestiniansand Israeli soldiers. The region was as far from peaceas ever.

Clinton Leaves Office As he prepared to leaveoffice, President Clinton’s legacy was uncertain. Hehad balanced the budget and presided over the great-est period of economic growth in American history.Clinton’s presidency was marred, however, by theimpeachment trial, which had divided the nation andwidened the divide between liberals and conserva-tives. In the election of 2000, that division would leadto the closest election in American history.

Identifying In what three regionsof the world did Clinton use force to support his foreign policy?

Reading Check

Region Issue

Latin America

Southeastern Europe

Middle East


tav.mt.glencoe.com


Amit Shabi/Reuters/STR/Archive Photos/Getty Images


Guide to Reading

ConnectionIn the previous section, you learnedabout the Clinton administration. In thissection, you will discover how the worldbecame increasingly interdependent.

• Regional trade agreements, such as theNorth American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA), became common in anincreasingly interdependent world. (p. 943)

• Concerns about nuclear proliferationand the environment led to efforts toreduce nuclear weapons and pollution.(p. 945)

Content Vocabularytrade deficit, euro, nuclear proliferation,global warming

Academic Vocabularycurrency, cite, phase

Terms to IdentifyNorth American Free Trade Agreement,Kyoto Protocol

Reading Objectives• Explain the development of regional

economic blocs around the world.• Assess environmental issues that have

become important internationally.

Reading StrategyOrganizing Complete a graphic organ-izer like the one below to chart the majorpolitical and economic problems facingthe world at the turn of the century.

Preview of Events

An InterdependentWorld

GlobalConcerns

1993European Unionlaunched

✦2001✦1992

1994United States, Mexico, andCanada inaugurate NAFTA

2000U.S. gives permanenttrade status to China

1995Oklahoma Citybombing

1998Terrorist bombings inKenya and Tanzania

✦1995 ✦1998


. The Big Idea ,International competition can lead to conflict and cooperation. Computertechnology and the Internet played an important role in creating an interdependentworld and a global economy. While the United States accumulated trade deficits,trade relations between countries became more important and trade agreementsbetween countries more common. The United States entered into a major tradepact with Mexico and Canada and increased trade with China. Concerns aboutnuclear proliferation, ozone depletion, and global warming led to new legislationand international discussions.


11.9.7 Examine relations betweenthe United States and Mexico in the

twentieth century, including key eco-nomic, political, immigration, and

environmental issues.

11.11.5 Trace the impact of, need for,and controversies associated with envi-

ronmental conservation, expansion of thenational park system, and the develop-

ment of environmental protection laws,with particular attention to the interaction

between environmental protection advo-cates and property right advocates.

The New Global Economy

Regional trade agreements, such as theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), becamecommon in an increasingly interdependent world.

Reading Connection Do you think tariffs directly affectyou? Read on to learn about one alternative to tariffs.

In the latter part of the 1900s, American leadersbecame more concerned with many global issues.Economies around the world had become muchmore interdependent. Computer technology and theInternet played a big role in forging a globaleconomy.

It was an important breakthrough when PresidentClinton appointed Madeleine Albright in 1996 to bethe first woman to serve as secretary of state. Born inCzechoslovakia, Albright immigrated to the UnitedStates as a young girl. She earned a Ph.D. in Russianstudies from Columbia University. Her tough-talkingapproach as U.S. ambassador to the United Nationsearned her the nation’s top foreign policy job.

As secretary of state, Albright dealt with everythingfrom peace negotiations in the Middle East to improv-ing trade relations with China. She also championedwomen’s rights in developing countries. Here, sheexpresses her views on women’s rights:

“[Halting violence against women] is a goal ofAmerican foreign policy around the world, whereabuses range from domestic violence . . . to forcingyoung girls into prostitution. Some say all this is cultural, and there’s nothing we can do about it. I say it’s criminal, and we each have a responsibility to stop it.”

—quoted in Madeleine Albright and the New American Diplomacy

Working on improved trade relations became animportant task for Albright and other cabinet mem-bers. Selling American-made goods abroad had longbeen important to American prosperity. By the 1970s,however, serious trade deficits had mounted—Americans purchased more from foreign nations thanAmerican industry and agriculture sold abroad. TheUnited States found it necessary to compete harder in

the global marketplace by streamlining industry,using new technology, and opening new markets.

From World War II to the present, Republican andDemocratic administrations have both tried to lowerbarriers to international trade. They reasoned that theU.S. economy benefited from the sale of Americanexports, and that the purchase of imports would keepconsumer prices, inflation, and interest rates low forAmericans. Opponents warned that the global econ-omy might cost the United States industrial jobs asmanufacturing shifted to lesser-developed nationswith few environmental regulations and cheap labor.By the 1990s, the debate between supporters of freetrade and those who wanted to limit trade to protectindustries had become an important part ofAmerican politics.

Regional Blocs One means of increasing interna-tional trade was to create regional trade pacts. In 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) joined Canada, the United States, andMexico in a free-trade zone. With NAFTA in opera-tion, exports of American goods to both Canada andMexico rose dramatically. From 1993 to 2000, it is esti-mated that combined exports to those two countriesrose from $142 to $290 billion, an increase of 104percent.


Madeleine Albright

➤

Bureau of Public Affairs/U.S. Department of State

One concern of many Americans was that indus-trial jobs would go to Mexico, where labor costs werelower. Although some jobs were lost to Mexico,unemployment rates in the United States fell duringthis period and wages rose. Many American busi-nesses upgraded their technology, and workersshifted to more skilled jobs or to the service industry.

NAFTA faced competing regional trade blocs inEurope and Asia. In 1993 the European Union (EU)was created to promote economic and political coop-eration among many European nations. The EU cre-ated a common bank and the euro, a commoncurrency for member nations. The organization alsoremoved trade barriers between its members and setpolicies on imports from nations outside thecommunity.

EU rules tended to favor imports from theEuropean nations’ former colonies in Asia, Africa,and the Pacific over competing products from theUnited States. The EU also banned scientifi-cally modified food, such as hormone-treated beef from the United States.American exporters argued that hormoneswere a safe way to accelerate livestock

growth rates and produce leaner meat. Theyprotested that European fears lacked a scientific basis.

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)was an attempt to create a Pacific trade community torival the European Union. APEC represented thefastest-growing region in the world and controlled 47percent of global trade in 2001. APEC began as aforum to promote economic cooperation and lowertrade barriers, but major political differences kept itsmembers from acting together.

The World Trade Organization Central to theeffort to promote a global economy was the WorldTrade Organization (WTO). The WTO administeredinternational trade agreements and helped settletrade disputes. American supporters of the WTOcited benefits for U.S. consumers, including cheaperimports, new markets, and copyright protection forthe American entertainment industry. On the otherhand, the United States had no veto power in the

WTO and poorer nations couldoutvote it.

History

A Busy Border NAFTA greatly increased tradeacross the Texas-Mexico border (below). It also ledto the building of foreign-owned factories, knownas maquiladoras, in Mexico near the Americanborder to take advantage of low Mexican wages.The maquiladora pictured at right is located inTijuana. How did NAFTA affect both theUnited States and Mexico?

(t)Annie Griffiths Belt/CORBIS, (b)Pablo San Juan/CORBIS

Trade With China China played an increasinglyimportant role in world trade. Its huge populationoffered vast potential as a market for Americangoods. Many Americans, however, had strong reser-vations about China’s record on human rights, andthey worried about its threats to invade Taiwan.These Americans were wary of negotiating a tradeagreement with China. Despite these concerns,President Clinton argued that regularizing tradewith China would help bring it into the worldcommunity.

After negotiating a new trade agreement, Clintonpressed Congress to grant China permanent normaltrade relation status. Those opposing the bill were anunusual coalition. Labor unions were concerned thatinexpensive Chinese goods would flood U.S. mar-kets; conservatives objected to China’s military ambi-tions; and environmentalists worried about pollutionfrom Chinese factories. Despite their opposition, thebill passed in late 2000.

Explaining Why was the EuropeanUnion (EU) created in 1993?

Reading Check

Issues of Global Concern

Concerns about nuclear proliferation and theenvironment led to efforts to reduce nuclear weaponsand pollution.

Reading Connection Are there groups in your school orarea working to improve the environment? Read on to learnabout efforts to reduce damage to the environment.

Although the end of the Cold War had reduced thethreat of nuclear war between the United States andthe Soviet Union, it increased fears that nuclearweapons might fall into the wrong hands. Equallyworrisome were efforts by several nations, includingPakistan, North Korea, and Iraq, to acquire nuclearweapons and long-range missiles. In the 1980s, nationsalso began to be concerned about the environment.

Nuclear Proliferation During the Cold War, onlya few nations had possessed nuclear weapons, andthey tried to restrict the spread of nuclear technology


MOMENTinHISTORYTERRORISM IN THEHEARTLANDA couple comforts each otherafter placing flowers on one ofthe 168 chairs that form part ofthe Oklahoma City NationalMemorial. The site was dedi-cated on April 19, 2000—fiveyears to the day after TimothyMcVeigh detonated a massivebomb outside the Alfred P.Murrah Federal Building indowntown Oklahoma City.Most of the 168 killed and hun-dreds injured were governmentemployees, but 19 childrenattending a day-care facility inthe building also died in theblast. A jury found McVeighguilty, and he was executed in2001.

Reuters Newmedia Inc./CORBIS

to other countries. When Russia agreed to reduce itsnuclear arsenal, concerns arose that some of itsnuclear weapons or radioactive material could belost, stolen, or sold on the black market. In response,the United States provided funds to Russia to assistin the reduction of its nuclear stockpile.

Other measures followed to reduce the threat ofnuclear proliferation, or the spread of nuclearweapons to new nations. Congress passed legislationthat cut aid and imposed sanctions on nations seek-ing to acquire nuclear weapons. In 1996 PresidentClinton also signed the Comprehensive Nuclear TestBan Treaty, but the U.S. Senate refused to ratify itfearing it would limit American nuclear research.

Concern About Ozone In the 1980s, scientists dis-covered that chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs) had the potential to deplete the earth’s atmos-phere of ozone. Ozone is a gas in the atmosphere thatprotects life on Earth from the cancer-causing ultravi-olet rays of the sun. At that time, CFCs were widelyused in air conditioners and refrigerators. Manyenvironmental activists began to push for a ban onCFC production. In the late 1980s, public awarenessof the ozone issue increased dramatically when sto-ries appeared documenting a large ozone “hole” overAntarctica. In 1987 the United States and 22 othernations agreed to phase out the production of CFCsand other chemicals that might be weakening theozone layer.

Global Warming In the early 1990s, another globalenvironmental issue developed when some scientistsfound evidence of global warming—an increase inaverage world temperatures over time. Such a rise in

temperature could eventually lead to more droughtsand other forms of extreme weather. A furious debateis now underway among scientists over how tomeasure changes in the earth’s temperature andwhat the results mean.

Many experts believe carbon dioxide emissionsfrom factories and power plants cause global warm-ing, but others disagree. Some question whetherglobal warming even exists. The issue is very contro-versial because the cost of controlling emissionswould affect the global economy. Industries wouldhave to pay the cost of further reducing emissions,and those costs would eventually be passed on toconsumers. Developing nations trying to industrial-ize would be hurt the most, but economic growth inwealthier nations would be hurt, too.

Concern about global warming led to an interna-tional conference in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Thirty-eight nations and the EU signed the Kyoto Protocolpromising to reduce emissions, but very few put itinto effect. President Clinton did not submit theKyoto Protocol to the Senate for ratification becausemost senators were opposed to it. In 2001 PresidentGeorge W. Bush withdrew the United States from theKyoto Protocol, citing flaws in the treaty. As the 2000sbegan, Americans struggled to balance economicprogress with environmental concerns.

Identifying What is the ozonelayer, and why is it important?

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: trade deficit, euro,

currency, cite, nuclear proliferation,phase, global warming.

2. People and Terms Identify: NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement, KyotoProtocol.

3. Describe the international response toconcerns about global warming.

Reviewing Big Ideas4. Explaining Why was China an impor-

tant factor in world trade?

Critical Thinking5. Analyzing Do you think the new global

economy has helped or hurt the UnitedStates?

6. Organizing Complete a graphic organ-izer similar to the one below by listingand describing the regional trade blocsthat formed in the 1990s.


photograph on page 945 of theOklahoma City National Memorial.What do the empty chairs represent?How has the memorial helped relativesof the victims?

Writing About History8. Expository Writing Decide which issue

of global concern today is the most seri-ous. In an essay, explain why you thinkit is the most serious problem, and pro-vide some possible solutions.

CA 11WA2.3a; 11WA2.3b

Regional Trade Blocs


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Guide to Reading

ConnectionIn the previous section, you learnedabout the increasingly interdependentworld. In this section, you will find outabout the close presidential election of 2000.

Main Idea• One of the closest and most contested

races for the presidency led to aSupreme Court decision in favor ofGeorge W. Bush. (p. 948)

• Bush focused on stimulating the econ-omy, reforming education, and promot-ing strategic defense in the earlymonths of his presidency. (p. 950)

Content Vocabularychad, strategic defense

Academic Vocabularyfinal

People to IdentifyAl Gore, George W. Bush, Ralph Nader

Reading Objectives• Describe the unusual circumstances

surrounding the outcome of the 2000presidential election.

• Evaluate the programs PresidentGeorge W. Bush initiated.

Reading StrategyOrganizing As you read about the 2000presidential election, complete a graphicorganizer similar to the one below bycharting the key post-election events cul-minating in George W. Bush’s victory.

Preview of Events

America Enters a New Century


Bush’sVictory

August 2000Republicans nominate Bush;Democrats nominate Gore

✦Mar. 2001

November 2000Election takes place;recounts begin in Florida

January 2001George W. Bush inaugurated as president

June 2001Bush signs tax cutbill into law

✦Aug. 2000 ✦Dec. 2000 ✦June 2001

December 2000Gore concedes election to Bush

. The Big Idea ,Societies change over time. In the presidential election of 2000, RepublicanGeorge W. Bush faced Vice President Al Gore and Green Party candidate RalphNader. The close election results in Florida led to a Supreme Court decision over arecount. While Gore won the popular vote, Bush became president based on theelectoral votes. The president focused on cutting taxes and introducing health-careand education reforms. The government improved accounting regulations after a number of corporate scandals rocked the country. Bush also looked at ways toprepare the military for the post-Cold War world.


11.11 Students analyze the majorsocial problems and domestic policy

issues in contemporary Americansociety.

A New President for a New Century

One of the closest and most contested racesfor the presidency led to a Supreme Court decision infavor of George W. Bush.

Reading Connection Do you think the Electoral Collegeneeds to be modified or eliminated? Read on to find out howelectoral votes affected the 2000 election.

The close election of 2000 was, in some ways,another legacy of Bill Clinton’s years in power.Clinton’s presidency had left the country deeplydivided. Many people were pleased with the econ-omy but disappointed with the president’s personalbehavior.

The 2000 presidential election was very close. Twocandidates battled over the Electoral College votes ofone state—Florida. The election remained undecidedfor over a month. Though this election was a spectacleof demonstrations and ballot evaluations, some peo-ple tried to put it all in perspective. May Akabogu-Collins, an American citizen originally from Nigeria,contrasted the “turmoil” and “chaos” of the electionwith the transfer of power in other parts of the world:

“America should be grateful that this election wasas wild as it gets. Some of us originally came fromplaces where heads would have rolled during a similarcrisis. So far, not a gunshot has been heard onaccount of the balloting, and you call this ‘wild’? Anelection held in Nigeria in 1993 led to the President-elect’s being thrown in jail for trying to assume officeand ultimately to his mysterious death. Going to courtto decide who won this contest is, in my opinion, ascivilized as it gets.”

—quoted in Time, December 11, 2000

Long before the election, both Republicans andDemocrats tried to find candidates who wouldappeal to a broad cross-section of society.

The 2000 Campaign Democrats nominated VicePresident Al Gore. To demonstrate his independ-ence, Gore chose as his running mate Senator JosephLieberman, who had been outspokenly critical ofPresident Clinton’s conduct in office. Republicans

selected Texas governor George W. Bush, son of theformer president. To compensate for his inexperi-ence in foreign and defense policy, Bush selected forhis running mate former secretary of defenseRichard Cheney.

The prosperity of the 1990s had turned the federalbudget deficit into a large surplus in tax revenue.Both Bush and Gore promised to cut taxes, but Bushproposed a much larger tax cut than Gore. Instead ofa large tax cut, Gore said he would set aside funds tostrengthen Social Security. Both candidates pledgedto improve public education and to support plans tohelp seniors pay for prescription drugs. In addition,Bush promised to restore dignity to the White House.

Frustrated by the similarities between Bush andGore, well-known consumer advocate Ralph Naderentered the race as the nominee of the Green Party.Nader was critical of the power of corporations andaccused both Bush and Gore of being dependent oncampaign funds from large companies. Naderreceived less than 3 percent of the popular vote, buthe still cut into Gore’s margin in several states.

A Close Vote The 2000 election turned into one ofthe closest in American history. Gore narrowly wonthe popular vote, 48.4 percent to 47.9 percent forBush. To win the presidency, however, candidateshave to win a majority of state electoral votes, not theoverall popular vote.

Neither Gore nor Bush had the 270 electoral votesneeded to win. The election came down to theFlorida vote—both men needed its 25 electoral votes.

The results in Florida were so close that state lawrequired a recount of the ballots using vote-countingmachines. Thousands of ballots were thrown out,


May Akabogu-Collins

➤

Courtesy May Akabogu-Collin

however, because the counting machines were notable to read them accurately.

After the machine recount showed Bush slightlyahead, a battle began over a manual recountrequested by Gore in several counties. Most Floridaballots required voters to punch a hole. The littlepiece of cardboard punched out of a ballot is calleda chad. The problem for vote counters was how tocount a ballot when the chad was still partiallyattached. On some, the chad was still in place, andthe voter had left only a dimple on the surface of theballot. Vote counters had to determine what thevoter intended—and different counties used differ-ent standards.

When it became clear that the recount could not befinished in time to meet the deadline set by Floridalaw, Gore went to court to overturn the deadline. TheFlorida Supreme Court agreed to set a new deadline.Bush appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.Meanwhile, on November 26, Florida officials certi-fied Bush the winner by 537 votes.


7 P.M. 8 P.M. 9 P.M. 10 P.M. 11 P.M. Midnight 1 A.M. 2 A.M. 3 A.M. 4 A.M. 5 A.M.

140,000

120,000

100,000

80,000

60,000

160,000

40,000

20,000

0

-20,000

Gore declaredwinner

Bush declaredwinner

Winnerundecided

Source: Associated Press.

Gore has lead for15 minutes. AP,networks call himwinner of Florida.

Bars represent the number of votes by which Bush led in Florida, in 15-minute intervals.Over next two hours,Bush lead builds tonearly 150,000 votes.

Florida called “undecided”around 10:30 P.M.Bush lead soon beginsto shrink.

Networks call Bushwinner in Florida—and president-elect—just after 2:15 A.M.

Bush’s lead shrinksto 1,655 votes;state again calleda toss-up.

The Florida Election, 2000

A controversial punchballot from West Palm

Beach, Florida

A Tense Wait During the unprecedented wait fora winner in the 2000 presidential election, candidateGeorge W. Bush (right) waits with his father, the 41stpresident. The outcome of the election dependedon the vote counts in which state?

History

Bush v. Gore Although Bush had been declared thewinner in Florida, the state’s supreme court orderedall Florida counties to begin a hand recount of ballotsrejected by the counting machines. As countingbegan, the United States Supreme Court ordered therecount to stop until it had issued its ruling.

On December 12, in Bush v. Gore, the U.S. SupremeCourt ruled 7–2 that the hand recounts in Florida vio-lated the equal protection clause of the Constitution.The Court argued that because different vote counters used different standards, the recount did nottreat all voters equally. The U.S. Supreme Court alsoruled 5–4 that there was not enough time to conduct amanual recount. Federal law requires all electoralvotes to be cast on a certain day. If Florida missed thatdeadline, its electoral votes would not count, and Gorewould be the winner. This ruling left Bush the certifiedwinner. ; (See page 1004 for more information on Bush v. Gore.)

Analyzing Why did the U.S.Supreme Court stop the manual recounts in Florida?

Reading Check

(t)Reuters New Media Inc./CORBIS, (b)AP/Wide World Photos

Bush Becomes President

Bush focused on stimulating the economy,reforming education, and promoting strategic defense inthe early months of his presidency.

Reading Connection Have the new policies in educa-tion affected the testing process in your school? Read on tolearn about President Bush’s education reforms.

On January 20, 2001, George W. Bush became the43rd president of the United States. In his inauguraladdress, Bush promised to improve the nation’s pub-lic schools, to cut taxes, to reform Social Security andMedicare, and to build up the nation’s defenses.

Cutting Taxes After taking office, the president’sfirst priority was to cut taxes to try to boost theeconomy. During the election campaign, the econ-omy had begun to slow. The stock market droppedsharply, and many new Internet-based companieswent out of business. Other businesses laid off thou-sands of workers. Despite opposition from someDemocrats, Congress passed a large $1.35 trillion

tax cut to be phased in over 10 years. In the summerof 2001, Americans began receiving tax rebatechecks. The president hoped people would spendthis money, thus putting about $40 billion back intothe economy and preventing a recession.

The tax cuts did not stimulate the economy asgreatly as the president had hoped. Also, while taxrevenue declined, federal spending increased, whichdrained the economy until the budget surplus turnedto a record-high deficit. This reduced the financialresources available to the federal government to dealwith expanding demands on Social Security andMedicare as the large baby-boom generation beganreaching retirement age.

Education and Health Reforms In both the Senateand the House of Representatives, Republicans andDemocrats were almost evenly divided, and parti-sanship was intense. On many issues and nomina-tions, Congress was stalemated. Still, the presidentdid manage to score some legislative victories.

In education, President Bush wanted to allow par-ents to use federal funds to provide vouchers for pri-vate schools if their public schools were doing a poorjob. Congress, however, refused to give federal funds

to private schools. Bush was moresuccessful in persuading Congressto vote in favor of annual readingand math tests in public schoolsfor grades 3 through 8, a programknown as “No Child Left Behind.”Some members of Congress sup-ported this program with theunderstanding that the govern-ment would increase funding topublic schools to help them meetthe new standards. They protestedwhen budget deficits causedPresident Bush to cut funds for hisown education programs.


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The Election of 2000

CandidateElectoral

VotePopular

VotePolitical

Party

Democrat50,999,897266Gore

Presidential Election, 2000

Bush 271 50,456,002 Republican

* 1 elector from Washington, D.C., abstained.

1. Interpreting Maps Which single NewEngland state did George W. Bush win inthe election?

2. Applying Geography Skills Though Gorewon less than half of the states, the elec-tion was extremely close. Why?

In health care, the president endorsed legislationproviding prescription drug benefits for senior citi-zens. The bill was mired in controversy until it wasfinally passed in November 2003. Passage of the billby a single vote in the House of Representatives wasa major achievement for the administration. The billprovided for the biggest overhaul of Medicare sinceits creation in 1965. Liberal critics of the plan arguedthat it made too many concessions to the pharma-ceutical industry. They thought it restricted the gov-ernment’s ability to negotiate to buy medicines inbulk and individuals’ ability to import cheaper pre-scription drugs from Canada. Some conservativesexpressed dismay that the prescription drug bill hadcreated another expensive entitlement programwithout a plan to pay for it.

Congress also reacted to a rash of corporate scan-dals. In one of the most flagrant cases, corporate lead-ers at the large energy trading company, Enron, costinvestors and employees billions of dollars before thecompany went bankrupt. The federal governmenttightened accounting regulations and toughenedpenalties for dishonest executives.

Rethinking America’s Defenses Shortly aftertaking office, President Bush asked for a comprehen-sive review of the nation’s military. The presidentwanted to increase military spending, but he alsowanted new military programs designed to meet theneeds of the post–Cold War world.

His secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, favoredthe use of light forces—small, mobile units that couldbe deployed swiftly as circumstances required. Hebelieved that superior air power and missile strikeswould reduce the need for large numbers of combattroops on the ground in potential conflicts in the future.


Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: chad, final,

strategic defense.2. People and Terms Identify: Al Gore,

George W. Bush, Ralph Nader.3. Reviewing Facts What did the

Supreme Court decide in Bush v. Gore?

Reviewing Big Ideas4. Explaining What caused the vote-

count controversy in Florida in the 2000election?

Critical Thinking5. Forming an Opinion Do you think the

2000 presidential election was decidedfairly? Why or why not?

6. Organizing Complete a graphic organ-izer similar to the one below by listingPresident Bush’s goals when he tookoffice.

Analyzing Visuals7. Interpreting Graphs Study the graph

on page 949. By how many votes wasGore leading when news networksdeclared him the winner in Florida?What was Bush’s lead when networksdeclared him to be the winner?

Writing About History8. Persuasive Writing Take on the role of

a Supreme Court justice. Write a state-ment explaining how you voted in Bushv. Gore and why you took this position.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld➤

BushGoals

President Bush also favored strategic defense—theeffort to develop missiles and other devices that couldshoot down nuclear missiles. Bush argued that mis-sile defense was needed because many unfriendlynations were developing the technology to buildnuclear missiles.

The debate about the nation’s military programscontinued during the summer of 2001, until a horrificevent changed everything. On September 11, 2001,terrorists crashed passenger jets into the World TradeCenter and the Pentagon. A new war had begun.

Explaining What was PresidentGeorge W. Bush’s first priority when he took office?

Reading Check


tav.mt.glencoe.com


Reuters/CORBIS


Steps To . . . RepresentativeGovernment

The United States has a representative governmentin which citizens elect representatives to speak forthem on political matters. The roots of American rep-resentative government date back to the colonial era.

Virginia House of Burgesses The first repre-sentative body in colonial America was the VirginiaHouse of Burgesses. The House was comprised oftwo elected representatives, or burgesses, from eachof 10 of Virginia’s settlements. The body had the

power to pass laws for the colony. The VirginiaCompany, however, had the power to disallow lawspassed by the Burgesses.

Despite this limitation on its authority, theHouse of Burgesses changed Virginia from a company-run colony into a partially self-governingcolony where elected representatives made thelaws. Later on, Virginia became a royal colony,ruled by a governor appointed by the king. To keepsettlers’ support, the king allowed the House ofBurgesses to continue to meet. This established thetradition of representative government in thecolonies.

Why It Matters Bill Daley, the chairperson of Vice President Al Gore’s presiden-tial campaign, was frantically trying to reach the vice president. It was 2:00 A.M. on Wednesdaymorning, November 8, 2000, the day after the presidential election. The election had come downto the vote counts in one state—Florida—and the votes in Florida were showing George W. Bush ashaving a significant lead. Gore was preparing to publicly concede the election. Daley, however,had heard that the latest Florida counts showed Bush’s lead shrinking to below one percent.There would have to be a recount. When Daley finally got Gore on the phone, Daley shouted,“Whatever you do, do not go out on the stage.”

As the debate began in Florida over how to recount the ballots, Daley stressed that “techni-calities should not determine the presidency of the United States; the will of the people should.”The dispute over how to recount the ballots in Florida mattered deeply to both candidates andto the American people, because it involved one of the basic ideas of the American system ofgovernment—that officials are elected to represent the needs and wishes of the people.

RepresentativeGovernment

Ballot box

“The right of voting for representatives is the primaryright by which other rights are protected. To take awaythis right is to reduce a man to [the] slavery . . . ofbeing subject to the will of another. . . .”

—Thomas Paine, 1795

952CORBIS

The Mayflower Compact The MayflowerCompact was an agreement signed in November1620 by the male passengers aboard the Mayflowerbefore they came ashore at Plymouth. The signersagreed to form a civil government that representedthe wishes of the majority. The compact called forgovernment leaders to “enact, constitute, and framesuch just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitu-tions . . . as shall be thought most meet and conven-ient for the general good of the colony. . . .”

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut Thenotion of representative government took anotherstep forward in 1639 when several towns alongthe Connecticut River joined together to create a government. They laid out the structure of this government in the Fundamental Orders ofConnecticut—the first written constitution inAmerican history. The document, which consistedof a preamble and eleven orders, gave citizens theright to elect the governor, judges, and representa-tives to make laws. The Orders also introducedthe idea of limited government. For example, citi-zens could call the legislature into session if thegovernor refused to do so. The legislature couldalso remove officials from power for misbehavior.

Colonial Assemblies By the time of theAmerican Revolution, most British colonies inAmerica had local assemblies elected by the people. Colonial governments were not truly rep-

resentative, however,because the king chosethe governors and gavethem the power to vetolaws passed by theassemblies. Althoughthe governors werepowerful, the assembliescould control them byrefusing to vote for newtaxes. The AmericanRevolution was partlycaused by Britain’s chal-lenge to this system.When Britain began tax-ing the colonies directly,it endangered the powerof the local assemblies.Americans insisted that

taxation without representation violated theirrights.

The U.S. Constitution These ideas of represen-tative government and limited government wouldbe bound together in the document that has gov-erned the nation as a whole for more than 200 years:the U.S. Constitution. The Federalists, or those whosupported the Constitution during its ratificationprocess, strongly believed in representative govern-ment. Indeed, the authors of the Federalist Papers,the collection of famous essays written in support ofthe Constitution, preferred a government one stepremoved from the common people, whom theyinsisted “seldom judge or determine right.” The factthat the Constitution placed political power “in thehands of the representatives of the people,” theauthors stated, “is the essential, and, after all, onlyefficacious security for the rights and privileges ofthe people.”

Virginia House of Burgesses

Checking for Understanding1. What is a representative government? 2. What was significant about the formation of the Virginia

House of Burgesses?

Critical Thinking1. Do you think a written constitution is preferrable to a constitu-

tion based on tradition? Explain. 2. Would you rather live under a representative government or

in a direct democracy, where people govern themselves byvoting directly on all issues? Explain.

Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

954 CHAPTER 21 Into a New Century954 CHAPTER 21 Into a New Century

Guide to Reading

ConnectionIn the previous section, you learnedabout the election of George W. Bush. Inthis section, you will discover how a ter-rorist attack changed the United States.

• Terrorist attacks on the World TradeCenter and the Pentagon changedAmerican life. (p. 955)

• Support for the victims of the terroristattacks showed American heroism andpatriotism. (p. 957)

• The war on terrorism included cuttingterrorists’ access to funding, creatingthe Department of Homeland Security,and launching a war in Afghanistan. (p. 958)

• Doubting the effectiveness of UN reso-lutions, the United States went to warwith Iraq. (p. 959)

• Despite obstacles in the war with Iraq, a divided nation reelected PresidentBush. (p. 960)

Content Vocabularyterrorism, state-sponsored terrorism,anthrax

Academic Vocabularycontrary, editor, inspector

People and Terms to IdentifyOsama bin Laden, al-Qaeda

Reading Objectives• Describe the development of Middle

East terrorism.• Explain the response of the United

States to the terrorist attacks on theWorld Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Reading StrategyAs you read about America’s war on terrorism, complete a graphic organizersimilar to the one below to show the different reasons terrorists attackAmericans.

Preview of Events

The War on Terrorism

Causes ofTerrorism

1988Al-Qaeda isorganized

✦1990 ✦1995 ✦2000

1998Bombs explode at U.S. embassiesin Kenya and Tanzania

2001Attacks on the Pentagonand World Trade Center

2003War in Iraq begins

✦2005

. The Big Idea ,The fate of nations is forever changed by monumental world events. OnSeptember 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York Cityand the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The attacks were traced to al-Qaeda, aMuslim terrorist organization under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. Theadministration responded by declaring a war on terrorism, creating a newDepartment of Homeland Security, and attacking targets in Afghanistan. A coali-tion led by the United States invaded Iraq over concerns about weapons of massdestruction. While U.S. troops fought terrorists in Iraq, the country remainedpolitically divided in the 2004 presidential election. Voters chose to stay thecourse and reelected George W. Bush over his challenger Senator John Kerry.


11.9.6 Describe U.S. Middle Eastpolicy and its strategic, political, and

economic interests, including thoserelated to the Gulf War.

September 11, 2001

Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centerand the Pentagon changed American life.

Reading Connection What was the significance of thetwo sites chosen for the attacks? Read on to learn more aboutthe events of September 11.

On September 11, 2001, the United States was facedwith an event it had never before experienced.Terrorists attacked major buildings on the East Coast.

At 8:45 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time on September 11,2001, a Boeing 767 passenger jet slammed into theNorth Tower of the World Trade Center in New YorkCity. As people below gazed in horror, a second planecollided with the South Tower. Soon afterward, a thirdplane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. At 9:50 A.M., the South Tower collapsed in a billowingcloud of dust and debris. The North Tower fell about 40 minutes later. The falling towers killed thousands ofpeople, burying them beneath a vast mound of rubble.

The airplanes did not crash accidentally. Hijackersdeliberately crashed them into the buildings. Hijackersalso seized a fourth airplane, United Airlines Flight 93,probably hoping to crash it into the White House orthe Capitol. Many passengers on Flight 93 had cellphones. After hearing about the World Trade Center,four passengers—Todd Beamer, Thomas Burnett,Jeremy Glick, and Mark Bingham—decided to dosomething. An operator listening over a cell phoneheard Todd Beamer’s voice: “Are you ready, guys?Let’s roll.” Soon afterward, Flight 93 crashed in a fieldin Pennsylvania. At that moment, Vice President DickCheney was in a bunker under the White House. Afterhearing that Flight 93 had crashed, he said, “I think anact of heroism just took place on that plane.”

—adapted from Let’s Roll: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage

The attacks on the World Trade Center and thePentagon were acts of terrorism. Terrorism is the useof violence by nongovernmental groups against civil-ians to achieve a political goal. Terrorist acts areintended to instill fear in people and to frighten theirgovernments into changing their policies. The terrorist

attacks on September 11, 2001, killed all 266 passen-gers and crewmembers on the four hijacked planes.Another 125 people died in the Pentagon. In New YorkCity, nearly 3,000 people died. More Americans werekilled in the attacks than died at Pearl Harbor or on D-Day in World War II.

Middle East Terrorism Although there have beenmany acts of terrorism in American history, mostterrorist attacks on Americans since World War IIhave been carried out by Middle Eastern groups. Thereason Middle Eastern terrorists have targetedAmericans can be traced back to events early in thetwentieth century.

As oil became important to the American econ-omy in the 1920s, the United States invested heavilyin the Middle East oil industry. This industry broughtgreat wealth to the ruling families in some MiddleEastern kingdoms, but most of the people remainedpoor. Some became angry at the United States forsupporting the wealthy royal families.

The rise of the oil industry increased the MiddleEast’s contact with Western society. As Western ideasspread through the region, many Muslims—follow-ers of the region’s dominant religion—feared thattheir traditional values and beliefs were being weak-ened. New movements arose calling for a strict inter-pretation of the Quran—the Muslim holy book—anda return to traditional Muslim religious laws.

These Muslim movements wanted to overthrowpro-Western governments in the Middle East andcreate a pure Islamic society. Muslims who support


Todd Beamer

➤

AP/Wide World Photos


these movements are referred to as fundamentalistmilitants. Although the vast majority of Muslimsbelieve terrorism is contrary to their faith, militantsbegan using terrorism to achieve their goals.

American support of Israel also angered many inthe Middle East. In 1947 the UN divided British-controlled Palestine into two territories to provide ahome for Jews. One part became Israel. The other partwas to become a Palestinian state, but fightingbetween Israel and the Arab states in 1948 left this ter-ritory under the control of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

The Palestinians wanted their own nation. In the1950s, they began staging guerrilla raids and terror-ist attacks against Israel. Since the United Statesgave military and economic aid to Israel, it becamethe target of Muslim hostility. In the 1970s, severalMiddle Eastern nations realized they could fightIsrael and the United States by providing terroristgroups with money, weapons, and training. When agovernment secretly supports terrorism, this iscalled state-sponsored terrorism. The govern-ments of Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Iran have all spon-sored terrorism.

A New Terrorist Threat In 1979 the Soviet Unioninvaded Afghanistan. In response, Muslims fromacross the Middle East headed to Afghanistan to jointhe struggle against the Soviets. Among them was 22-year-old Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden came from oneof Saudi Arabia’s wealthiest families. He used hiswealth to support the Afghan resistance. In 1988 hefounded an organization called al-Qaeda (al KY·duh),or “the Base.” Al-Qaeda recruited Muslims and chan-neled money and arms to the Afghan resistance.

Bin Laden’s experience in Afghanistan convincedhim that superpowers could be beaten. He alsobelieved that Western ideas had contaminatedMuslim society. He was outraged when SaudiArabia allowed American troops on Saudi soil afterIraq invaded Kuwait in 1991.

Operating first from Sudan and then fromAfghanistan—then under the control of Muslim fun-damentalists known as the Taliban—bin Laden dedi-cated himself and al-Qaeda to driving Westerners, andespecially Americans, out of the Middle East. In 1998he called on Muslims to kill Americans. Soon after-ward, bin Laden’s followers set off bombs at the

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1988 Bomb on Pan Am flight 103 kills 270in Lockerbie, Scotland

1986 Bombing at West Berlin dance club;kills 3, injures 150

1985 TWA flight 847 hijacked; hostagesheld for 17 days in Beirut, Lebanon

1983 Bombing of U.S. Marine barracks inBeirut, Lebanon, kills 241

1979 Fifty-two Americans held hostage inIran for more than a year

1970 Terrorists hijack airplanes to Jordan

2001 Hijacked airliners crash into the World TradeCenter, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania,killing thousands2002 Bombs in Indonesia kill over 200

2003 Bombings in residential areas of Riyadh,Saudi Arabia, kill 8 Americans

2000 Bomb kills 17 American sailors and injures39 aboard USS Cole

1998 Bombing at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania kills more than 200

1993 Bomb at World Trade Center kills 6

1995 Truck bomb destroys a federal building inOklahoma City; kills 168, injures more than 5001996 Bomb at U.S. complex in Dharan,Saudi Arabia, kills 19 American soldiers

Major Terrorist Attacks Affecting Americans, 1970–2003

American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Over 200people died in the attacks, including 12 Americans,and more than 5,400 were injured.

Shortly after these bombings, President Clintonordered cruise missiles launched at terrorist facili-ties in Afghanistan and Sudan. The attacks did notdeter bin Laden. In 1999 al-Qaeda terrorists werearrested while trying to smuggle explosives into theUnited States in an attempt to bomb Seattle. InOctober 2000, al-Qaeda terrorists crashed a boatloaded with explosives into the USS Cole while itwas docked in Yemen.

Explaining What are the three mainreasons some Muslims became angry with the United States?

America Unites

Support for the victims of the terroristattacks showed American heroism and patriotism.

Reading Connection Have you or anyone you knowdonated blood? Read on to learn how Americans responded tothe tragedy after September 11.

The attack on the Cole and the attempted bombingof Seattle were overshadowed by the close presiden-tial election of 2000. The new president, George W.

Reading Check

Bush, did not consider terrorism an imminent threat,although there were troubling signs of possible al-Qaeda activity within the United States. “The systemwas blinking red during the summer of 2001,” CIADirector George Tenet later testified. Then, onSeptember 11, 2001, terrorists struck again, hijackingfour American passenger planes and executing themost devastating terrorist attack in history.

Citizens Respond to the Crisis The attacks onthe World Trade Center and the Pentagon shockedAmericans, but people responded rapidly to the cri-sis. Firefighters and medical workers from othercities headed to New York to help. Across the nation,Americans donated blood, raised money, and col-lected food, blankets, and other supplies. Americansdid everything they could to help victims. Withinweeks, they had donated over one billion dollars.From around the world came sympathy. “We are allAmericans!” wrote one French journalist.

Across the nation, Americans put up flags to showtheir unity and resolve. They held candlelight vigilsand prayer services as they searched for ways tohelp. If the terrorists had hoped to divide Americans,they failed. As the Reverend Billy Graham noted at amemorial service: “A tragedy like this could havetorn our country apart. But instead it has united usand we have become a family.”

Transcending Tragedy Althoughthe destruction of the World TradeCenter (lower right) and the attack on the Pentagon (right) shockedAmericans, people responded rapidlyto the crisis. Across the nation,images such as that of firefightersraising a flag in the ruins of theWorld Trade Center (left) inspiredAmericans. Many lined up todonate blood. Others raised moneyand collected food, blankets, and other sup-plies for the victims and rescue workers.On what date did the attacks occur?

History

(l)Thomas E. Franklin/Bergen Record/SABA/CORBIS, (tr)Tom Horan/AP/Wide World Photos, (br)Robert Clark/Aurora Quanta

A New War Begins

The war on terrorism included cutting ter-rorists’ access to funding, creating the Department ofHomeland Security, and launching a war in Afghanistan.

Reading Connection Has your school or communitymade any plans for a response to bioterrorism or other attacks?Read on to learn of the national response to September 11.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld warnedAmericans that “this will be a war like none other ournation has faced.” The enemy, he explained, “is aglobal network of terrorist organizations and theirstate sponsors, committed to denying free people theopportunity to live as they choose.” Military forcewould be used to fight terrorism, but other meanswould be used as well.

Fighting Terrorism at Home In an effort to pro-tect the American people from further terroristattacks, President Bush called on Congress to createthe Department of Homeland Security to merge thedozens of federal agencies working to prevent terror-ism. Among the organizations that the new depart-ment controls are the Coast Guard, the Border Patrol,the Immigration and Naturalization Service, theCustoms Service, and the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency.

President Bush also asked Congress to pass leg-islation to help law enforcement agencies trackdown terrorist suspects. Congress acted withunusual speed, and the president signed theantiterrorism bill—known as the USA Patriot Act—into law in October 2001. The new law allows secretsearches to avoid tipping off suspects in terrorismcases. It also allows authorities to obtain a singlenationwide search warrant that can be used any-where. The law also makes it easier to wiretap

suspects, and it allowsauthorities to track e-mail and seize voicemail. Although Congresshas sought to balanceAmericans’ rights withthe need to increasesecurity, civil libertariansworry that the new law erodes the FourthAmendment’s protec-tion against unreason-able search and seizure.

Airport Security Airline passengers, such as these at Denver InternationalAirport, had to wait in long lines to go through checkpoints when American airports increased security measures after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

A National Emergency The American govern-ment reacted quickly by grounding civilian airlinersand alerting the armed forces. On September 14,President Bush declared a national emergency.Congress voted to authorize the use of force to fightthe terrorists. Intelligence sources and the FBIquickly identified the attacks as the work of Osamabin Laden and the al-Qaeda network.

President Bush decided the time had come to endthe threat of terrorism in the world. He issued an ulti-matum to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan,demanding they turn over bin Laden and his sup-porters and close all terrorist camps. He also declaredthat although the war on terrorism would start by tar-geting al-Qaeda, it would not stop there. “It will notend,” he announced, “until every terrorist group ofglobal reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.”

The president also announced that the UnitedStates would no longer tolerate states that aided terrorists. “From this day forward,” he proclaimed,“any nation that continues to harbor or support terror-ism will be regarded by the United States as a hostileregime.” The war, President Bush warned, would notend quickly, but it was a war the nation had to fight:

“Great harm has been done to us. We have suf-fered great loss. And in our grief and anger we havefound our mission and our moment. . . . Our Nation—this generation—will lift a dark threat of violence fromour people and our future. . . . ”

—President George W. Bush, Address to Joint Session of Congress, September 20, 2001

Explaining How did American citi-zens respond to the terrorist attacks?

Reading Check

Steve Liss/CORBIS

Bioterrorism Strikes America As the nationtried to cope with the events of September 11, a newterrorist attack began. On October 5, 2001, a Floridanewspaper editor died from anthrax. Anthrax is atype of bacteria. Several nations, including the UnitedStates, Russia, and Iraq, have used it to create biologi-cal weapons. Antibiotics can cure anthrax, but if leftuntreated, it can kill quickly.

Soon after appearing in Florida, anthrax wasfound at several news organizations in New YorkCity. In Washington, D.C., a letter filled with anthraxarrived at Senator Tom Daschle’s office. It becameclear that terrorists were using the mail to spreadanthrax. Several postal workers contracted anthrax,and two died. The FBI investigated the anthraxattacks, but no suspects were publicly identified.

War in Afghanistan On October 7, 2001, theUnited States began bombing targets in Afghanistanto attack al-Qaeda’s camps and the Taliban’s militaryforces. President Bush explained that Islam and theAfghan people were not the enemy, and he pledgedfood, medicine, and other supplies to Afghanrefugees. The United States also sent aid to a coalitionof Afghan groups known as the Northern Alliance,which had been fighting the Taliban.

The American bombing campaign quickly shat-tered the Taliban’s defenses. The Northern Alliancethen launched a massive attack on Taliban lines. Byearly December, the Taliban regime had collapsed.The United States and its allies then helped Afghanleaders create a new government. Meanwhile, thou-sands of American and allied troops began arrivingin Afghanistan to act as peacekeepers and to hunt forbin Laden and other al-Qaeda terrorists.

Weapons of Mass Destruction The United Statesgrew concerned that groups such as al-Qaeda mightacquire nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons.These weapons of mass destruction could kill tens ofthousands of people all at once.

In his state of the union speech in January 2002,President Bush warned that an “axis of evil,” whichhe identified as Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, posed agrave threat to the world. Each of these countries hadbeen known to sponsor terrorism and was suspectedof trying to develop weapons of mass destruction.The president promised to take strong action: “TheUnited States will not permit the world’s most dan-gerous regimes to threaten us with the world’s mostdestructive weapons.”

Months later, North Korea announced that it hadrestarted its nuclear weapons program. The Bush


administration tried to use diplomatic pressure topersuade the North Korean government to stop theprogram. The North Koreans argued that theyneeded the weapons to protect themselves from aU.S. attack.

Outlining What steps did the presi-dent take in response to the terrorist attacks?

Confronting Iraq

Doubting the effectiveness of UN resolu-tions, the United States went to war with Iraq.

Reading Connection Do you think the UN is effectiveas a mediator in world affairs? Read on to learn about UNactions before the war with Iraq.

President Bush considered Iraq a more immediatethreat than North Korea in developing and distribut-ing weapons of mass destruction. Iraq’s dictator,Saddam Hussein, had already used chemical weaponstwice, once in Iraq’s war against Iran in the 1980s andagain in 1988 against the Kurds, an ethnic minority innorthern Iraq who had rebelled against Hussein’s

Reading Check

U.S. soldiers assist a young Afghani girl at a military medical tent.➤

Cherie A. Thurlby/USAF/Getty Images

regime. After the Gulf War in 1991, UN inspectorsfound evidence that Iraq had developed biologicalweapons and was working on a nuclear bomb.

Pressure on Iraq Also in the summer of 2002,President Bush increased pressure on Iraq, callingfor a regime change in the country. In September heasked for a UN resolution demanding that Iraq giveup its weapons of mass destruction. He made itclear, though, that the United States would act withor without UN support. He asked Congress toauthorize the use of force against Iraq, and Congressgranted his request.

During the congressional elections of 2002,Democrats focused on the nation’s faltering economy,but Bush made national security his chief theme. Hisvigorous campaigning helped Republicans add seatsin the House of Representatives and regain a slimmajority in the Senate.

War and Its Aftermath Soon after the elections, theUnited Nations approved a new resolution that set adeadline for Iraq to readmit weapons inspectors. Theinspectors returned to Iraq, but the Bush administra-tion doubted their effectiveness. The administrationbelieved that Saddam Hussein had hidden weaponsof mass destruction that were ready or nearly readyfor use. Bush also believed that Hussein had ties to al-Qaeda. Many of America’s traditional allies in Europe,however, wanted to give the inspectors more time,and President Bush failed to achieve a declaration ofwar in the UN Security Council. The president argued

that Iraq posed such an imminent threat that it justi-fied a preemptive war—a war launched to preventrather than respond to an attack. The United Statesand Great Britain, with the support of about 30 othercountries, prepared for war.

On March 20, 2003, the U.S.-led coalition forcesattacked Iraq. Over the next six weeks, the Iraqi armydissolved as soldiers refused to risk their lives forHussein. The coalition forces quickly seized control ofthe country, and on May 1, President Bush declared thatthe major combat was over. About 140 Americans, andseveral thousand Iraqis, had died. American troopscaptured Saddam Hussein by the end of the year.

Both the controversy over Iraq and the fighting,however, continued. No evidence was found that Iraqpossessed weapons of mass destruction, nor was aserious link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaedaever uncovered. The United States also did not havesufficient forces in Iraq to stop the widespread lootingthat broke out after Hussein’s government fell. Thelawlessness that followed the war encouraged radicalreligious factions within Iraq and terrorists whoentered the country to target American troops andconsultants from coalition countries. More Americansdied in Iraq after President Bush had declared the endof combat than during the war itself.

As casualties and costs mounted, President Bushsought help from the UN and other countries to stabi-lize and rebuild Iraq. “Iraqi democracy will succeed,”he insisted, “and that success will send forth the news,from Damascus to Tehran, that freedom can be thefuture of every nation.”

Summarizing Why did PresidentBush decide to confront Iraq?

The 2004 Elections

Despite obstacles in the war with Iraq, adivided nation reelected President Bush.

Reading Connection Have you ever participated in aschool, local, or national election? Read on to learn about the2004 presidential election.

The war on terrorism and the war in Iraq domi-nated the election of 2004. In the wake of the terroristattacks, President Bush won widespread support forhis firm determination to wage war on terrorism.

The Kerry Challenge President Bush and VicePresident Cheney won nomination for a second termwithout challenge. After primary campaigns that

Reading Check


War in Iraq On April 9, 2003, just three weeks after the war in Iraq began,American troops reached the capital of Baghdad and helped Iraqis teardown a statue of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

AP/Wide World Photos

focused largely on the war in Iraq, Democrats nomi-nated Massachusetts senator John Kerry and NorthCarolina senator John Edwards.

Kerry’s nomination revived the Vietnam War as acampaign issue. Unlike President Bush, who servedat home in the National Guard, and Vice PresidentCheney, whose student deferments had kept himfrom military service, John Kerry had enlisted in thenavy. He fought in Vietnam, where he was decoratedfor valor. Kerry returned from Vietnam convinced ofthe futility of the war and became an outspoken critic.

Kerry’s Vietnam experiences made him leery ofsending American troops into combat. As a senatorhe opposed the first Gulf War, but he voted to author-ize President Bush to use military force in Iraq. Whenno weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq,Kerry called the war a “diversion” from the hunt foral-Qaeda.

A Choice for a Divided Nation In policies andpersonalities, Bush and Kerry offered the nation asharp choice. As a conservative, President Bushpledged to continue cutting taxes and building astrong national defense. He opposed abortion andendorsed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. His supporters saw him as someonewho operated on fixed moral and religious princi-ples, trusted his instincts, and steadfastly followed acourse of action once he made a decision.

Senator Kerry criticized what he considered Bush’ssingle-mindedness, insisting that a president must beable to focus on more than one issue at a time. Hepledged to address domestic economic problemswhile pursuing the war on terrorism. As a liberal,Kerry promised to strengthen Social Security and to

raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals in order tofund health-care insurance for the millions ofAmericans who lacked health coverage. Although aCatholic, Kerry differed with church leaders on manysocial issues, including abortion.

While the events of September 11, 2001, had unitedthe nation emotionally, the country remained asdivided politically as it had been during the 2000 elec-tion. President Bush drew his strength from theSoutheast and Southwest, as well as from rural areasand outer suburbs. Senator Kerry’s base was in theNortheast and on the West Coast, along with cities andinner suburbs. Both candidates devoted most of theircampaigning to a few “battleground” states in theMidwest and in Florida, where voters’ opinions werethe most narrowly divided.

Bush Wins a Second Term Both parties saw voterturnout as the key to the victory. On election day theRepublicans best succeeded in mobilizing their coresupporters. President Bush took the lead in the popu-lar vote and a majority in the Electoral College. Hisvictory helped preserve the Republican majorities inthe Senate and House of Representatives. Despite seri-ous concerns about both foreign and domestic policy,voters felt safer in staying the course and askingPresident Bush to pursue the war on terrorism.

Summarizing Which issues dividedthe country during the 2004 presidential election?

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: terrorism, con-

trary, state-sponsored terrorism, editor,anthrax, inspector.

2. People and Terms Identify: Osama binLaden, al-Qaeda.

3. Explain how the United Statesresponded to the attacks on New YorkCity and Washington, D.C.

Reviewing Big Ideas4. Making Inferences Why does

American foreign policy anger Islamicfundamentalists in the Middle East?

Critical Thinking5. Interpreting

What factors have contributed to therise of Middle Eastern terrorist groups?

6. Organizing Use a graphic organizersimilar to the one below to list the rea-sons why President Bush declared waron Iraq.

Analyzing Visuals7. Examining Maps Study the map on

page 956 of terrorist attacks. In whatregion of the world did most of theattacks take place?CA HR4; HI2

Writing About History8. Persuasive Writing The attacks on

New York City and Washington, D.C.,convinced many Americans that moresecurity was needed, even if it meantgiving up some freedoms. Write a letterto a newspaper explaining why you arefor or against increased security.

CA 11WA2.1a; 11WA2.1b

War on Iraq


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SOURCE 1:Retaliating for the August 7, 1998, terrorist bomb-ings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania,the United States on August 20 used missiles toattack targets in Afghanistan and the Sudan. In atelevised speech, President Bill Clinton linked thetargets to the terrorists.

And so, this morning, based on the unanimousrecommendation of my national security team, Iordered our Armed Forces to take action to counteran immediate threat from the bin Laden network.Earlier today, the United States carried out simulta-neous strikes against terrorist facilities and infrastruc-ture in Afghanistan. Our forces targeted one of themost active terrorist bases in the world. . . .

Our forces also attacked a factory in Sudan asso-ciated with the bin Laden network. The factory wasinvolved in the production of materials for chemicalweapons.

I want you to understand, I want the world tounderstand, that our actions today were not aimedagainst Islam, the faith of hundreds of millions of good,peace-loving people all around the world, including theUnited States. No religion condones1 the murder ofinnocent men, women, and children. But our actionswere aimed at fanatics and killers who wrap murder in the cloak of righteousness; and in so doing, profanethe great religion in whose name they claim to act.

My fellow Americans, our battle against terrorismdid not begin with the bombing of our embassies inAfrica; nor will it end with today’s strike. It will requirestrength, courage and endurance. We will not yield tothis threat. We will meet it, no matter how long it maytake. This will be a long, ongoing struggle between

freedom and fanaticism; between the rule of law andterrorism. We must be prepared to do all that we canfor as long as we must.

America is and will remain a target of terroristsprecisely because we are leaders; because we act toadvance peace, democracy and basic human values;because we’re the most open society on Earth; andbecause, as we have shown yet again, we take anuncompromising stand against terrorism.

SOURCE 2:On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorist attackskilled about 3,000 people and destroyed the two 110-story World Trade Center towers. On September 14,President George W. Bush delivered a speech in a cere-mony at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.,marking a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance.

As the twentieth century ended and the twenty-first century began, the United States becamethe target of Islamic terrorists. Since the terrorist attacks came from small groups of people, noindividual nation could be held responsible. Both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bushstruggled to respond to this new type of war.


President Clinton meets with the National Security Council onAugust 20, 1998.

➤

➤1condones: excuses or ignores

Getty Images

We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So manyhave suffered so great a loss, and today we express ournation’s sorrow. We come before God to pray for themissing and the dead, and for those who love them. . . .

War has been waged against us by stealth anddeceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fiercewhen stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on thetiming and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing. . . .

It has joined together political parties in bothhouses of Congress. It is evident in services of prayerand candlelight vigils, and American flags, which aredisplayed in pride, and wave in defiance.

Our unity is a kinship of grief, and a steadfastresolve to prevail against our enemies. And this unityagainst terror is now extending across the world.

America is a nation full of good fortune, with somuch to be grateful for. But we are not spared fromsuffering. In every generation, the world has pro-duced enemies of human freedom. They haveattacked America, because we are freedom’s homeand defender. And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.

SOURCE 3:In September 2002, the Bush administration changed thelong-standing military policy of the United States. Thenew “National Security Strategy of the United States ofAmerica” stressed a commitment to human rights andclaimed the right of preventive strikes against terrorists.

Today, the United States enjoys a position ofunparalleled military strength and great economicand political influence. In keeping with our heritageand principles, we do not use our strength to press forunilateral2 advantage. We seek instead to create a bal-ance of power that favors human freedom: conditionsin which all nations and all societies can choose forthemselves the rewards and challenges of political andeconomic liberty. In a world that is safe, people will be able to make their own lives better. We will defendthe peace by fighting terrorists and tyrants. We will preserve the peace by building good relations amongthe great powers. We will extend the peace by encour-aging free and open societies on every continent. . . .

The gravest danger our Nation faces lies at thecrossroads of radicalism and technology. Our enemieshave openly declared that they are seeking weapons

of mass destruction, and evidence indicates that theyare doing so with determination. The United Stateswill not allow these efforts to succeed. . . . Americawill act against such emerging threats before they are fully formed. . . .

Finally, the United States will use this moment ofopportunity to extend the benefits of freedom acrossthe globe. We will actively work to bring the hope ofdemocracy, development, free markets, and free tradeto every corner of the world. The events of September11, 2001, taught us that weak states, like Afghanistan,can pose as great a danger to our national interests asstrong states. Poverty does not make poor people intoterrorists and murderers. Yet poverty, weak institutions,and corruption can make weak states vulnerable to terrorist networks and drug cartels within their borders.


President Bush and staff discuss the attack on the Talibanin Afghanistan.

➤

➤2unilateral: one-sided

Source 1: Why did Clinton order the bombings?

Source 2: According to Bush, what effect did theterrorist attacks have on the United States?

Source 3: How does the Bush administration planto stop terrorism?

Comparing and Contrasting Sources:In what ways do Clinton and Bush agree in theirapproaches to defeating terrorism?

CA HR4; HI3

The White House/CORBIS

Section 531. Who is Osama bin Laden, and what is al-Qaeda?

Critical Thinking32. Monitoring and Clarifying Reread

the text under the heading “Issues of Global Concern” onpages 945–946. Provide definitions for any unfamiliar words.Then write questions and answers clarifying the meaning ofthe text.

33. Civics Read what the Constitution of the United States saysregarding impeachment. Refer to Article I, Section 2 andSection 3, and Article II, Section 4. What are the stepsinvolved in the impeachment of a president? What vote isrequired to impeach the president? What vote is necessary toremove a president from office? Do you think impeachmentis usually politically motivated? Explain your views.

34. Categorizing Complete the graphic organizer below by list-ing changes in communications, politics, the economy, andpopulation that occurred in the United States by the end ofthe 1900s.

Reviewing Key TermsOn a sheet of paper, use each of these terms in a sentence.

Reviewing the Main IdeasSection 127. How did compact computers transform the workplace?

Section 228. After his election in 1992, how did President Clinton propose

to strengthen the nation’s economy?

Section 329. What regional trade blocs were formed in the 1990s to

increase international trade?

Section 430. Which state was significant in the 2000 presidential election?

• Personal computers grow faster and more powerful.

• Communications deregu-lation expands cellular phone usage.

• The Internet provides a worldwide network of information.

• Biotechnology research increases knowledge of

human genetics.

• A new global economy emerges based on regional trade blocs.

• The ozone layer and global warming become major environmental issues.

• Clinton and Congress cut spending; reform welfare and health care.

• U.S. economy grows rapidly; federal budget is balanced.

• U.S. tries to end violence in Haiti, the Middle East, and the Balkans.

• Scandal and impeachment tarnish the Clinton administration.

• 2000 election results disputed in Florida; Supreme Court resolves dispute; George W. Bush becomes president.

• Bush focuses on cutting taxes, reforming education, and working on energy problems.

• Terrorists destroy the World Trade Center and attack the Pentagon.

• Bush organizes a global coalition and launches a new war on terrorism.

• War in Iraq ends the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The Technological Revolution

Bush Takes OfficeThe Clinton Years

1. microprocessor2. software3. telecommute4. Internet5. perjury6. ethnic cleansing7. trade deficit

8. euro9. nuclear proliferation

10. global warming11. chad12. strategic defense13. terrorism14. state-sponsored terrorism

Reviewing Academic VocabularyOn a sheet of paper, use each of these terms in a sentence thatreflects the term’s meaning in the chapter.

15. manipulate16. protocol17. sequence18. modify

19. stress20. submit21. currency22. cite

23. phase24. contrary25. editor26. inspector

Change

Communications

Politics

Economy

Population

Standards 11.8.7, 11.9.6, 11.9.7, 11.11, 11.11.2, 11.11.3, 11.11.5, 11.11.6, 11.11.7


Directions: Choose the phrase that best completes the following sentence.

The Contract with America involved

A a commitment by Russia to eliminate land-based nuclear weapons.

B a campaign promise by President Clinton to create anational health-care system for all Americans.

C a legislative agenda promoted by the Republican Party in 1994.

D programs intended to increase the size and readiness ofthe military.

39.

Writing About History35. Relating Current Events What

effect did U.S. actions in the Middle East have on people’sperceptions of the United States? How do these perceptionscontinue today?

36. Study the 2000 election map and chart on page949. Then use library or Internet resources to research statis-tics on the 2004 presidential election. Using the 2000 electionmap and chart as a guide, create a similar map and chart ofthe 2004 election. Create questions about your map andchart that would help a classmate understand the data youhave compiled.

37. Analyzing Points of View Read the excerpt below aboutglobal warming, and then answer the questions that follow.

“The world is getting warmer, and by the end of the21st century could warm by another 6 degrees Celsius(10.8 degrees Fahrenheit). . . . And climate scientists atthe heart of the research are now convinced that humanaction is to blame for some or most of this warming. . . .

Everywhere climatologists look—at tree-ring patterns, fos-sil successions in rock strata, ocean-floor corings . . . theysee evidence of dramatic shifts from cold to hot to coldagain. . . . None of these ancient shifts can be blamed onhumans. . . . There is still room for argument about theprecise role of the sun or other natural cycles in the con-tribution to global warming. . . . Richard S. Lindzen, aleading meteorologist at the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology said . . . the picture of a consensus aboutglobal warming was ‘misleading to the public and even toscientists. . . .’ But most climate scientists . . . now believethat the climate is being influenced by human beings.”

—from World Press Review, February 2001

a. According to the article, what two points of view existabout global warming?

b. Why is the debate on global warming important?

CA 11RC2.4

CA CS4

Self-Check QuizVisit the American Vision: Modern Times Web site at

and click on Self-Check Quizzes—Chapter 21 to assess your knowledge of chapter content.

HISTORY

tav.mt.glencoe.com

*Percentages add to more than 100 percent because Hispanics may be of any race.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

White

75.1%

AfricanAmerican

12.3%

Hispanic

12.5%*

NativeAmerican

0.9%

Others

5.5%

Multiracial

2.4%

Asian andPacific

Islander

3.7%

7080

6050403020100

American Diversity, 2000

Perc

ent o

f Tot

al P

opul

atio

nGeography and History38. The graph above shows the diverse population of the United

States at the beginning of the new century. Study the graphand answer the questions below.a. Interpreting Graphs Why is getting accurate data on the

Hispanic population difficult?

b. Making Generalizations How will population diversityaffect government in the future?

Standard 11.11: Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporaryAmerican society.

Standards Practice


Documents

1992–present Into a New Century - Scholars Academy