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U.S. History Unit 9:The End of the Cold War to Today
1975-2009
The Big IdeaWith the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Cold War ended and
the U.S. was seen as the world’s lone superpower. But on September 11, 2001 terrorists struck the U.S. bringing new fear
and war.
I. 1976 - President Jimmy Carter
A. Cold War – calm but still exists
B. Troubles with Iran
1. Iranian Islamic Revolution
a) Iran becomes isolated
b) cuts off oil exports
c) Gas prices in U.S. U.S. economy
d) American Embassy in Iran under attack
e) 52 US hostages taken
f) Carter unable to solve crisis
g) Carter very unpopular
II. 1980 - President Ronald Reagan – Conservative
A. Reagan - Very Popular President
1. “The Great Communicator”
2. “Reaganomics”
a) Cut Taxes – mostly for wealthy
b) trickle-down theory
III. Reagan’s Plan to End the Cold War
A. 1984 – Pres. Reagan is re-elected
1) Largest landslide victory in U.S. history
B. 1984 -- Olympics
1) Los Angeles host – boycotted by USSR
C. Late 1980’s -- U.S. Winning the Cold War
1) USSR economy , U.S. economy
2) Pres. Reagan’s military spending
a) 1980 – $150 billion
b) 1988 – $300 billion
3) USSR couldn’t keep up w/spending
4) U.S. fell into debt
a)1980 – $80 billion in debt
b)1990 – $220 billion
D. Reagan and USSR Leader Mikhail Gorbachev
1) First positive relations b/t USSR and U.S. leaders
2) Gorbachev agrees to allow some freedom
a) glasnost – some political freedom
b) perestroika – some economic freedom
IV. 1988 – Pres. George H.W. Bush - the Fall of USSR
A. Communism falls across E.Europe
1) 1989 –Poland, Czech, Romania, etc rebel, democratic hold elections
2) Leader of E. Ger allows E. Berliners to move to W. Berlin
3) Berlin Wall is torn down
4) 1990 – E and W Ger unify = dem gov’t
5) 1991 – USSR Republics hold elections, become independent
6) USSR no longer exists –
Cold War Ends
V. 1991 - Pres. H.W. Bush – Persian Gulf War
A. Iraq attacks Kuwait
B. “Operation Desert Storm”
1. Goal: to remove Iraq from Kuwait
2. total casualties: U.S. = 148, Iraq= 20,000
Saddam Hussein
VI. 1992 – Pres. Bill Clinton – Success and Scandal
A. “Pax Americana” – peace and prosperity
1. Thriving Economy
2. Balanced U.S. Budget
3. Stock Market SuccessSTOCK MARKET
FEDERAL DEFICIT
B. Pres Clinton Impeachment Scandal
1) 1998 – Clinton impeached by Congress for lying
under oath, obstruction of justice
2) intense polarization and partisanship
3) not forced out of office
VII. 2000 Presidential Election
A. George W. Bush vs. Al Gore
1. Gore wins popular vote
2. Florida is disputed
3. Supreme Ct - Bush wins Florida by 537 votes
4. Bush wins electoral vote
Electoral Vote Popular Vote
Bush 271 50,456,169
Gore 266 50,996,116
VIII. The War in IraqA. How did it start?
1. September 11, 2001 = fear a) The War on Terrorism begins b) War in Afghanistan – Taliban provided safe harbor for Al-Queda + Osama Bin Laden c) Iraq is suspicious
- possible Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD’s) in Iraq?
- are the United Nations WMD inspections in Iraq reliable?- Saddam Hussein can’t be trusted
2. 2003 – The war begins
a) “Shock and Awe”
b) Dec 2003 -- Saddam Hussein captured “like a rat in a hole”
3. April 2004 - “Mission Accomplished”
a) Except - No WMDs? No stable gov’t?
4. Mission Accomplished?
a) Civil War
1. Iraq’s Islamic Ethnic Groups fighting for control of country
- “The Triangle of Death”
- Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds
- Sunnis had the power under Saddam
- Shiites want the power now
2. Guerilla Warfare, IED’s
b) Iraq’s new democracy struggled to provide order and security
c) Iraqi soldiers targeted, uncommitted
d) Increased American Frustration
– Still no WMD’s?– Americans Killed = 4,279– http://www.npr.org/news/specials/tollofwar/tollofwarmain.html
- Abu-Ghraib Prison Torture Scandal – Bush’s approval rating=under 30%– New Plan: Troop surge to secure Baghdad
e) What about other threats?
-- Iran? North Korea? Venezuela?Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran
Kim Jong Il in North Korea
f) When will it end?
- When Iraqi gov’t achieves democratic stability without the need for U.S.
troops
