Chapter 31The United States in a Global Age

1992 - 2008

Chapter 31The United States in a Global Age

1992 - 2008

OUT OF MANYA HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Chapter Focus Questions Chapter Focus Questions As a “New Democrat,” what changes in public

policy did Bill Clinton promote during his presidency?

What factors contributed to the economic boom of the 1990s?

What major demographic shifts were revealed by the 2000 Census?

How did the presidency of George W. Bush rekindle conservatism in the early years of the twenty-first century?

Is globalization a meaningful term and, if so, how did it affect U.S. policies at home and abroad?

How did the threat of global terrorism transform the American political landscape in the first decade of the twenty-first century?

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American Communities: Transnational American Communities: Transnational Communities in San Diego and TijuanaCommunities in San Diego and Tijuana

Borderlanders live on the Mexican-American border and enjoy the best of both nations.

Mexicans came to Tijuana to find better jobs and eventually move to San Diego and the two border communities became more and more intertwined.

This represented the creation of a community known as globalization.

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The Presidency of Bill Clinton

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A “New Democrat” in the White A “New Democrat” in the White HouseHouse

Despite being an excellent persuader, Clinton got off to a rocky start.

Clinton unsuccessfully promoted a plan for national health insurance.

This led to Republican control of the House and Senate after the 1994 elections.

Led by Newt Gingrich, a new breed of younger conservative Republicans swept the Congressional elections of 1994.

Republicans promoted a “Contract with America” to cut welfare and eliminate affirmative action.

Failure to compromise on a budget in 1995 shut the government down and proved a public relations disaster for the GOP.

Clinton undercut Republicans by adopting many of their positions to his own. Sneaky and smart!

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Chief Justice William Rehnquist administers the oath of office to President William Jefferson Clinton on January 20, 1993. Daughter Chelsea and wife Hilary Rodham Clinton stand by his side. In his Inaugural Address as the nation’s 42nd president, Clinton invited his fellow citizens to “celebrate the mystery of the American renewal” and to help him “revitalize our democracy.”

After the 1994 midterm election gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years, the new Speaker, Newt Gingrich of Georgia, presented a list of legislative initiatives to be completed within the first one hundred days of the new session. On April 7, 1995, he appeared at a rally on Capitol Hill to celebrate the success of the Republicans’ “Contract with America.”

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The “Globalization” The “Globalization” PresidentPresident

Now that the Cold War had ended, Clinton sought to replace containment with humanitarianism.

Transnational human rights emerged as another issue.

Human rights became factors in trade and diplomatic relations (i.e.- China).

Clinton pushed through a series of trade agreements (NAFTA and GATT), which raised fears that jobs were being sent abroad while environmental standards were being weakened at home.

The UN humanitarian mission to Somalia was a failure.

Heightened ethnic nationalism and religious fundamentalism created unrest across the globe, especially in the Balkans.

The civil war in Kosovo between the Serbians and Albanians was the worst foreign crisis of Clinton’s presidency. 8

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U.S. Army Military Police stop and search vehicles for weapons and explosives at this checkpoint near Vitina, Kosovo in Yugoslavia, 1999. They were part of the NATO led international force sent to attack Serbian forces in Kosovo.

Silicon Silicon ValleyValley

Silicon Valley in northern California emerged as the capital of the American computer industry.

Although Silicon Valley resembled a suburb, it was a sprawl of two dozen cities that expanded rapidly as the computer industry grew.

Silicon Valley divided along class lines:◦ the white male managers and engineers lived in

affluent communities.◦ non-unionized, Latino, and Asian workers lived in

poor communities. By the early 1990s, the Silicon Valley had lost its

boomtown atmosphere as competition increased. 10

An Electronic CultureAn Electronic Culture

New computer and telecommunications technologies transformed American cultural life.

VCRs and cable TV revolutionized the American entertainment industry.

The most revolutionary aspect of the electronic culture was the Internet.

The new information technologies gave rise to a media community that transcended national boundaries.

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Yi Li, a graduate student from Taiwan, uses a computer terminal at the New York Public Library to gain access to the Internet. By the 1990s banks of personal computers had become a familiar sight in American offices, businesses, schools, and libraries. Millions of Americans made connecting with the new world of “cyberspace” a part of their daily routines.

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Presiding over the BoomPresiding over the BoomThe greatest stimulus to

the economy was the soaring stock market, led by “tech” stocks.

The resulting economic boom created huge profits.

Critics noted the ill effects of downsizing and the pay disparity between white- and blue-collar workers plus the continuing decline of blue-collar jobs.

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The The ISSISS

The International Space Station took 10 years and over 30 missions to assemble. It is the result of unprecedented scientific and engineering collaboration among five space agencies representing 15 countries. The space station is approximately the size of a football field: a ◦ Directed by Reagan, NASA started

planning the ISS in 1984◦ It is a 460-ton, permanently crewed

platform orbiting 240 miles above Earth.

◦ The first component was launched in 1998.

◦ The first crew visited for 3 months starting in November 2000.

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High Crimes and High Crimes and MisdemeanorsMisdemeanorsThroughout his political career,

Bill Clinton faced questions of morality.

In 1998, a sex scandal embroiled the White House, leading to impeachment inquiries. The midterm election resulted in Democratic gains, due in part to the economic prosperity.

The Republican House voted to impeach Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice but failed to convict him.

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Changing American Communities

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The New Immigrants and Their The New Immigrants and Their CommunitiesCommunitiesThe 2000 census showed

that the U.S, population had experienced greater growth than any other decade.

More than one-third of the population increase came from foreign immigration, the Latino and Asian populations increasing by 70 percent.

Most Mexican immigrants struggled in low-paying, often dangerous jobs.

Immigrants formed their own communities and maintained their group identity.

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The sign at this 1996 vigil in Echo Park, Los Angeles, reads, “This fruit is the product of immigrants’ labor.” Members of the city’s Latino community bless fruit baskets as they protest a state crackdown on illegal immigration and the increase of the border patrol guards.

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A New Age of Anxiety

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The Racial The Racial DivideDivide

In the spring of 1992, rioting broke out when a jury acquitted four Los Angeles police officers who had been videotaped beating a black motorist.

The rioting revealed the animosity between Korean storeowners and African-American customers who targeted the stores for destruction.

For many African Americans, the Los Angeles situation seemed more desperate than ever and whites seemed to not care at all.

The widening racial divide was also shown by the percentage of racial minorities in prisons, especially African-American males.

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The Culture WarsThe Culture Wars

Culture wars erupted over a struggle to define American values that pit conservative Republicans and Clinton Democrats.

Conservatives supported what they called universal, traditional values.

Democrats supported multiculturalism. Conflicts also arose over affirmative

action, gays, and women. A growing controversy arose over

stem-cell research.

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Global WarmingGlobal WarmingClimate change was a controversial issue

that required international solutions.The United States did not sign the Kyoto

Protocol on global warming that had been signed by 169 other nations.

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More than 5,000 activists gathered in Seattle in November 1999 to demonstrate against the meeting of the World Trade Organization. The event, which was marked by a violent clash with police and the arrest of dozens of protestors, marked the beginning of a movement for global economic justice.

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The Forces of FearThe Forces of FearDuring the 1990s and early

twenty-first century, random violence and terrorism escalated, culminating with the catastrophic September 11, 2001, suicide attacks. The 1988 bombing of a Pan Am plane was followed by the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, which brought terrorism home to the United States.

In 1998, Middle East terrorists car-bombed U.S. embassies in Africa.

The 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City was different in that domestic terrorists were responsible.

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Pan Am 1988

Khobar Tower Bombing

Oklahoma city bombing

Rescue workers carried an injured man from the ruble of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. A terrorist bomb killed more than 100 people and injured more than 1,600 on August 8, 1998.

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The Presidency of George W. Bush and the War on Terror

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The Election of 2000The Election of 2000 Following a dull campaign, the 2000

election ended with dramatic controversy. Al Gore won the popular vote, but George

W. Bush won the electoral vote because of a disputed decision in Florida that eventually involved a Supreme Court ruling.

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Election of 2000

The 2000 presidential election was the closest one in U.S. history and the first one to be decided by a decision of the Supreme Court.

A Global Community?A Global Community?Bush overturned Clinton’s

economic policies.Bush announced his

opposition to the Kyoto Protocol and did not participate with the other 178 nations.

What made the current trend toward “globalization” distinctive was the absolute volume and character of the exchange.

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Terrorist Attack on Terrorist Attack on AmericaAmerica On September 11, 2001, hijackers crashed

two jetliners into the World Trade Center towers and another crashed into the Pentagon.

A fourth plane was diverted from its mission by courageous passengers and crashed near Pittsburgh.

The devastation was horrendous and played continuously on TV.

President Bush declared the attacks an act of war and received congressional approval to take whatever action necessary to capture the responsible parties.

In the aftermath, major public events were cancelled or postponed, skyscrapers were evacuated, and airports were closed.

The following day, Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were identified as the prime suspects.

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Seeing History The 9/11 Attacks.

Reshaping U.S. Foreign Reshaping U.S. Foreign PolicyPolicy

Osama bin Laden was thought to be hiding in Afghanistan and supported by the Taliban government.

Bush dispatched aircraft carriers and began air strikes on Afghanistan.

Partisan bitterness dissolved and Bush was able to push new legislation through Congress.

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Invasion of IraqInvasion of IraqBush believed a regime change

was necessary in Iraq.Saddam Hussein needed to be

removed because of his biological and chemical weapons, he had direct connections to 9/11, and creating an Iraqi democracy would start political change in the Middle East.

Growing opposition to the war led to America seeking international help.

Hussein was removed in December 2003, but a coordinated resistance to American occupation began in early 2004.

America bogged down in Iraq and resistance widening has led to military commanders strapped for troops.

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Invasion in Iraq On March 20, 2003, American and British troops poured into Iraq from bases in Kuwait, crossing the Iraqi border to the east near Safwan. The American Third Infantry Division used armored bulldozers to create wide gaps in the Iraqi defensive line.

President George W. Bush announces the end of major combat operations in Iraq, May 1, 2003, speaking on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, anchored near San Diego. A banner proclaimed “Mission Accomplished,” but American troops would continue to face stiff opposition and endure thousands of casualties battling Iraqi insurgents.

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Really? REALLY?

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U.S. Marines and Iraqi Special Forces conduct a security patrol in the war-torn city of Falluja, November 23, 2004. The brutal fighting there made it clear that defeating the Iraqi insurgency would be a tougher battle for American forces than the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s government.

The Election of 2004The Election of 2004Bush identified himself as

a wartime president.John Kerry, senator from

Massachusetts, took the Democratic nomination, but soon faltered.

Bush claimed victory with 51 percent of the popular vote and 279 electoral votes.

Bush claimed his victory was a victory of Iraq war policy.

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Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaBush endured controversy

by his response to Hurricane Katrina.

Rescue operations stalled due to bureaucratic mishaps.

Bush excused FEMA’s poor response.

The events underscored the shame regarding class and racial divides.

Years after the hurricane, New Orleans has still not fully recovered.

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A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescues flood-stranded victims of Hurricane Katrina from their homes in New Orleans, September 2005. Images like this one received wide circulation in the news media, prompting criticism of the government’s failures to offer more and swifter help to Katrina’s victims.

Focus points on the next Focus points on the next testtestChanges in media: Internet, cable broadcasts,

etc… Immigration Reform and Control Act.Tiananmen Square demonstrationFirst Gulf WarRodney King RiotsNAFTA and GATTKyoto ProtocolNATO in Kosovo9/11 Invasion of Iraq and AfghanistanHurricane Katrina

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