Gerald Ford –George W Bush

US History 2012

Gerald Ford

0 September 8 1974– President Ford Pardoned Richard Nixon

0 Popularity rate fell!

0 One week late he offered clemency, official forgiveness to Vietnam draft evaders—

Gerald Ford

0 Whip Inflation Now—WIN!0 Cut back on their use

of oil and gas and to take other energy saving measures

0 Plan fell flat, interest rates soared—worse economic recession in 40 yrs.

Gerald Ford

0 Foreign Policy—0 Nov. 1974, meeting with

Leonid Brezhnev

0 Helsinki, Finland—35 nations, including USSR, signed the Helsinki Accords0 Series of Agreements

that promised greater cooperation between the nations of Eastern and Western Europe

Jimmy Carter

0 Domestic Policies0 National Energy Act—

0The act placed a tax on gas-guzzling cars, removed price controls on oil and natural gas produced in the U.S. and extended tax credits for the development of alternative energy

Jimmy Carter

0 Civil Rights0 Andrew Young

0U.S. Ambassador to United Nations

0 Judicial Branch028 African Americans029 Women 014 Latinos

0 Turn Against Affirmative Action!

Jimmy Carter

0 U.S. Foreign Policy— “Human Rights”0 Promoting freedoms

and liberties listed in the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights

0 Cutting off aid to Argentina and Brazil

Jimmy Carter

0 Panama Canal0 1914-US owned Panama

Canal

0 Hated having country split in half

0 1977-nation agreed to treaty turning over canal on Dec. 31, 1999

0 Improved relations between US and Latin America

Jimmy Carter

0 CAMP DAVID ACCORDS-0 (1977) Egyptian

President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin

0 Peace talks deadlocked in Jerusalem

0 (1978) invited to Camp David—a presidential retreat in Maryland

0 12 days of intense negotiation

0 Camp David Accords—0 Israel agreed to

withdraw from the peninsula which it had captured from Egypt—

0 Egypt formally recognized Israel’s right to exist

Jimmy Carter

0 IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS-0 (Jan 1979) Shah of Iran

overthrown by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

0 Established a religious state based on Quran

0 Allowed the Shah to enter the US for cancer treatment—made revolutionaries angry!

0Nov. 4, 1979—armed students seized the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 American hostages

0RETURN FOR TRIAL!0 (1980) attempted rescue

mission---killing 80New Election: Reagan

and Bush0444 days later, hostages

were released

Earth Day— April 22, 1970Environmental Awareness spotlighting

pollution, toxic waste, and dwindling resources

Three Mile IslandMarch 28, 1979A nuclear reactor at a plant near Harrisburg,

Pennsylvania malfunctioned: overheated b/c a cooling system failed—thousand evacuated for fear of radiation poison!

Ronald Reagan

0 Republican 1981-19890 Vice President: George

W. Bush

Assassination Attempt

0 Two months into office (March 31, 1981), Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.

0 Hinckley shot six rounds:0 One bullet ricocheted off the limousine and went

into Reagan’s left side, bounced off a rib and stopped an inch from his heart

0 One bullet hit press secretary James Brady in the head and left him paralyzed

0 Two others were severely wounded

John Hinckley Jr. Assassination Attempt on President Ronald Reagan

Problems in Nicaragua

0 Americans in Nicaragua since 1912 to protect our Latin American Interests

0 Samoza (dictator of the country) ruled for 42 yrs before facing opposition0 To keep control, he rigged elections and assassinated

political rivals0 1977-1979 A Civil War Broke out between

0 The Contras (known as the “rebels”, they were Samoza’s guardsmen)

0 The Sandinistas (the rebels who overthrew the regime)

Problems in Nicaragua

0 (1979) The Carter Administration funded the new Sandinista regime, along with the Soviet Union and Cuba

0 (1981) The Reagan Administration fully supported the Contras (“rebel” guardsmen)

0 Government refused any further funding for fear of another “Vietnam”

0 The Reagan Administration found other ways to fund the Contras……..BUT HOW?!?

Iran-Contra Scandal

0 At the same time, there is a war going between Iraq and Iran

0 Reagan denounced Iran and urged U.S. allies not to sell weapons to Iran

0 In 1983, a terrorist group loyal to Iran took a number of American hostages in Lebanon 0 Behind the scenes, in exchanges for hostages,

Reagan agreed to sell weapons to Iran….0 He took the money and sent it to Nicaragua to fund

the Contras!

0 Arms negotiations were published in a Lebanese newspaper---White House denied the deal

0 Televised congressional hearing, National Security Adviser (John Poindexter) admitted that he had approved the scheme BUT he didn’t tell the President

0 Lt. Colonel Oliver North, a White House ambassador, took the blame and admitted to lying and falsifying documents

0 Both North and Poindexter were charged with conspiracy—North’s charges were later dropped when the Reagan Administration refused to release classified documents

Ronald Reagan

0 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)0 Tons of money spent0 Proposed a

technological system called “STAR WARS”

0 In theory—it could detect and intercept missiles fired at the U.S.

“Peace Through Strength”

0 Gorbachev’s New Policies:

0 Glasnost—0 openness and more

freedom for the Soviet People

0 Perstroika—0 His plan to restructure

their economy and govn’t; began to move toward some capitalist ideas

“Peace Through Strength”

0 INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces)0 Limited two classes of

weapons systems in Europe

0 Formed a friendship with Grobachev

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!”

“Reaganomics”—trickle down theory

0 It gave tax cuts to the consumers, then ideally the consumers had more money to spend, spurring the economy

0 By 1983, the inflation rate had dropped to 4%; business and the stock market soared, and unemployment dropped as well as interest rates

0 PROBLEMS: did not help the poor, stockbrokers took advantage of the relaxed government policies and bought/sold stock on overvalued prices

Society Changes!

01984 Election—0Walter Mondale

chose Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate

0She became the first female from a major party to run on a national ballot

0 ERA (Equal Rights Amendment)0 Failure to Ratify

0 Women’s movement remained strong

0 Ratification process bogged down

0 ERA failed in 1982 (three states short)

0 Appointment of Conservative Supreme Court Justices0 Sandra Day O’Conner-

first woman justice0 Antonin Scalia0 William Rehnquist-

chief justice in 1986

0 Appointed by Reagan: ALL 3 WERE CONSERVATIVE JUSTICES!

REHNQUIST (TOP)

SCALIA (BOTTOM)

SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER-Explodes after take-off with the nation’s schools watching live–

the first teacher to go up in space

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

0 Major Problem of the 80s

0 Virus destroying the immune system

0 Weakens the body making it susceptible to infections and cancer

0 Homosexual men or intravenous drug users sharing needles

George Bush

0 Foreign Affairs:0 Students in China

began to demand freedom of speech and a voice

0 April 1989—marches in Tiananmen Square

0 Ordered military to crush students—slaughtering unarmed students

0 Operation Desert Storm:0 Saddam Hussein (leader of Iraq) in massive war debts

0 Claimed Kuwait was really part of Iraq

0 Aug. 2, 1990: Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait and headed toward Saudi Arabia

0 Operation Desert Storm: to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi control

0 Jan. 16, 1991: a massive air assault against Iraq

0 Feb. 23, 1991: a successful ground offensive from Saudi Arabia

0 Feb. 28, 1991: Bush announces a cease-fire…Kuwait was liberated!

George Bush

0 Domestic Affairs:0 Americans with

Disabilities Act (ADA)0Lowered Legal and

physical obstacles for the physically challenged

0Approved in 1990

(5) NAFTA0 Clinton promoted another controversial issue during this period

regarding free trade.

0 1993: Clinton supported the North American Free Trade Agreement for ratification by the U.S. Senate.

NAFTA called for eliminating many of the tariffs set on products traded among the United States, Canada and Mexico

(7) World Trade Center Bombing

0 On February 26, 1993, a massive bomb exploded in the parking garage of the north tower of the World Trade Center building in New York City, killing six people and leaving a crater six stories deep in the building's basement floors

0Planned by a group of terrorists of Middle Eastern descent; Ramzi Yousef is known as the “mastermind”

(11) Oklahoma City Bombing0April 19, 1995: a truck bomb destroyed a federal building in OK City, killing 168 people0destroyed about half of the building, damaged/destroyed

300 other buildings, and was felt as far as 30 miles away 0Timothy McVeigh was charged with the crime (most

likely reason was he was mad at the government for the Waco incident)and was executed on June 11, 2001

0Accomplice Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison0Largest act of US terrorism until 9-11

Timothy McVeigh, 26

OK City bombing memorial

Bombing Casualties0The toll eventually reached 168 confirmed dead, not

including an unmatched leg that might be from a possible, unidentified 169th victim. Of these, 160 were killed in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, four people in the Athenian Building, one woman in a parking lot across the street, a man and woman in the Oklahoma Water Resources building, and a rescue worker struck in the head by debris. The victims ranged in age from three months to seventy-three, not including unborn children of three pregnant women. Nineteen of the victims were children, including fifteen who were in the America's Kids Day Care Center

(13) UnabomberTheodore “Ted” Kaczynskiis an American mathematician who

carried out a campaign of bombings and mail bombings which killed three people and wounded 23.

His brother recognized his picture and turned him in

(15) Clinton Impeachment01998: 2nd president to be impeached by

the House of Representatives (the other being Andrew Johnson).

0Two charges against him were for perjury and obstruction of justice. The perjury charge arose from Clinton's testimony about his relationship to Monica Lewinsky during a sexual harassment lawsuit (later dismissed, appealed and settled for $850,000) brought by former Arkansas-state employee Paula Jones. The obstruction charge was based on his actions during the investigation of that testimony. Acquitted by Senate

Dan Rather repeatedly said the Democratic argument that Kenneth Starr's investigation of the Monica Lewinsky matter was about Bill Clinton's personal life and sex. He chooses not to relay the Republican view that Clinton may have committed perjury or obstruction of justice.

Paula Jones; Clinton

Monica Lewinsky; Clinton

42. George Walker Bush2001- Present (R)

Birth/Death: 1946-Elected from: TexasVice President: Dick Cheney

0FL’s 25 electoral votes were in question. 0Bush led the popular vote in FL by < 2,000. 0FL law required a recount. 0Supreme Court

0 December 12, 20000Bush v. Gore awarded FL to Bush.0 1st president in over 100 years to win electoral

vote, but not the popular.

(1) The 2000 Election/ Supreme Court Intervention

0 8 months into Bush’s first term0 19 terrorists (under bin Laden’s orders) 0 2 airline passenger jets into the Twin Towers (NYC)0 1 into the Pentagon (DC), and one on way to DC that was

taken over by passengers and crashed in PA.0 3,000 Americans die within an hour and a half. Rudy

Giuliani becomes “America’s Mayor.”

(2) Sept. 11, 2001

0Education plan to increase efforts to fully educate every child.

0Schools are held more accountable (state testing)

0Federal and state governments have increased education spending.

(3) No Child Left Behind

(4) Invasion of Afghanistan:0Beginning of George W’s “War on

Terrorism”0Purpose: to capture Osama bin Laden,

destroy al-Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime which had provided support and safe harbor to al-Qaeda.

0Oct. 7, 2001: US and Great Britain begin strategic air strikes.

0 The U.S.-led Coalition is credited with removing the Taliban from power and seriously crippling al-Qaeda and associated militants in both Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

0 U.S. has maintained its presence in Afghanistan ever since, fighting continued opposition by Muslim extremists.

(5) USA Patriot Act (2001)0 " Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing

Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001"

0 The Act expanded the authority of US law enforcement agencies for the stated purpose of fighting terrorism in the United States and abroad.

0 Very Controversial- supposedly “suppresses civil liberties”

(6) Enron/ World Com/ Big Business Bankruptcy (2002)

0 Enron- Energy Co. out of Houston, TX0 Employs/ Investors lost millions because of accounting

fraud0 Inflated profits and assets

0 World Com- Telecommunication Co. out of Clinton, MS0 CEOs took money (loan) and inflated assets 0 Bernie Ebbers: CEO now serving a 25 year jail sentence!

0 Feb. 1, 20030 Caused by damage sustained during launch when a piece of

foam insulation from the external fuel tank peeled off during the launch 16 days earlier, puncturing the edge of the wing.

0 Upon re-entry, hot gases entered the wing, destroying the support structure. The shuttle disintegrated over Texas.

(7) Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

(8) Invasion of Iraq/ Capture of Saddam Hussein (2003)

0March 20, 2003- US and GB forces invade Iraq after the UN would not invade.

0The Iraqi military was defeated, and Baghdad fell on April 9.

0On May 1, U.S. declared the end of major combat operations, terminating the Ba’ath’s party rule and removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from office.

0Coalition forces ultimately captured Saddam Hussein on Dec. 13, 2003.

(13) Hurricane Katrina (2005)0 August 23, 2005- Category 50 Costliest and one of deadliest in history0 Gulf Coast0 Over 1800 people killed0 Haley and Ray

(14) Saddam Hussein is convicted & hanged (2006)

0Dec. 13, ’03: Captured by U.S. forces 0Brought to trial under the Iraqi interim

government set up by U.S.-led forces.0Nov. 5,’06: Convicted of executing 148 Iraqi

Shi'ites sentenced to death by hanging. 0Dec. 30, ’06: Executed