CHALLENGES OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY2000-PRESENTUNIT 9 CH.31
AMERICA IN 2000
Third most populous nation at 281.4 million 10.4% foreign born
Fastest growing segment are 85 and over
Decline in two-parent, heterogeneous households Increase in single-parent households headed by women
Children in these households tend to grow up poor and without adequate family support
Richest country in the world Largest gap between lowest paid and highest paid
Per-capita income increased
after-tax income decreased for the lowest fifth of wage earners
College graduates earn double the income of high school graduates
ELECTION OF 2000
Vice president Al Gore: “champion of working families” v. Texas Governor George W. Bush: “compassionate conservative” Closest election since 1876
First election settled by the Supreme Court
Contested votes in Florida, election settled by the Supreme Court
W’S DOMESTIC POLICY
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Aimed to improve student performance (through testing) and close the achievement gap between
rich and poor students
Economics Tax cuts ($1.35 trillion over 10 year)
Large corporations such as Enron and World Com falsified their earnings statements
“Dotcom Crash” in 2002
WAR ON TERROR
Roots Collapse of Ottoman Empire, U.S. support of Israel, U.S. troops in Middle East after Persian Gulf war
Early Attacks World Trade Center bombing (1993)
Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania (1998)
Attack on USS Cole in Yemen (2000)
Sept.11,2001 Four planes were hijacked by Al-Qaeda operatives and two were flown into the World Trade Center,
one into the Pentagon, and the other crashed in a field in Pennsylvania
Afghanistan U.S. invaded in Dec. 2001 after Taliban government refused to hand over Osama bin Laden and
other Al-Qaeda members
WAR ON TERROR
Patriot Acts (2001 & 2003) expanded government surveillance and arrest powers Department of Homeland Security
Director of National Intelligence
Bush Doctrine Containment and deterrence were no longer effective against stateless enemies
Iraqi War Invaded in 2003 on evidence that Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction
U.S. feared that he would distribute those weapons to terrorists organizations
Failure to find WMDs, diverse insurgent groups, treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib
BUSH’S SECOND TERM
Bush won reelection in 2004 against John Kerry (D) Republican majorities expanded in the House and Senate
Washington Politics Tried to privatize Social Security and pass law of immigration
reform that Congress called “amnesty”
FEMA was slow to react to devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans (2005)
Financial Crisis 2007-2009 Fueled by crash of housing boom
Banks and other financial institution failed, gas prices soared
Economic Stabilization Act created a $700 billion TARP to save companies deemed “too big to fail” in 2008
Conservatives criticized this as socialism and Liberals called in a bailout for wall street
ELECTION OF 2008
Barak Obama and Joe Biden v. John McCain and Sarah Palin
Barak Obama becomes the first mixed-race president of the United States with his successful grassroots campaign for “change”
Bush and Obama worked together to transition from one president to the other Worked on the TARP stimulus package together
OBAMA’S FIRST TERM
Executive Orders Started process for Guantanamo Bay shut down; failed to win Congressional support
Renounced used of torture
Economic Action Controversial stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 2009)
gave money to General Motors and Chrysler, which included partial government ownership of GM
Dodd-Frank Act (2010) designed to prevent another bailout; set up Bureau of Consumer Protection
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) Designed to add 25-30 million Americans to health care system
OBAMA’S FIRST TERM
Tea Party movement of conservatives and libertarians won the House in the midterms by focusing on economics and limited government Compromise was not an option for either major party
National debt at $16 trillion by 2012
Foreign Policy U.S. troops withdrawn in 2011: chaos erupted soon after
Surge of forces in Afghanistan in 09-10; use of drones criticized
May 2, 2011 Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan
Sympathy to pro-democracy movements during the Arab Spring of 2010- 2011
ELECTION OF 2012
Obama v. Mitt Romney, governor of MA Nine republicans had vied for the party nomination
Major issues were Obamacare and the Great Recession
OBAMA’S SECOND TERM
16 day government shutdown by Congress resulted in automatic budget cuts and a near default on government debt
Mass shootings in Colorado and Connecticut; bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013
Foreign Policy Prolonged civil war in Syria
Nuclear negotiations with Iraq
Renewed relations with Cuba
THE ROBERT’S COURT
Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee; corporations are legal persons and have the same rights to donate to political campaigns
1996 Defense of marriage Act ruled unconstitutional
District of Columbia v. Heller; individuals not associated with state militia can own firearms
Obamacare ruling (National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius); requiring individuals to purchase health care or pay a penalty was constitutional based on the government’s power to levy taxes