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America since Nixon

Goal 12. America since Nixon. Gerald Ford 1974-1977. Republican Ford is the un-elected president Is Nixon’s Vice President after Agnew’s resignation Assumes presidency after Nixon’s resignation Pardons Nixon Signed Helsinki Accords with Canada & most European nations

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America since Nixon

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  1. Goal 12 America since Nixon

  2. Gerald Ford 1974-1977 • Republican • Ford is the un-elected president • Is Nixon’s Vice President after Agnew’s resignation • Assumes presidency after Nixon’s resignation • Pardons Nixon • Signed Helsinki Accords with Canada & most European nations • Stated all nations would maintain current European borders (essentially victory for USSR)

  3. Urged Congress to cut billions from national budget & increase taxes on corporations • Called his initiative W.I.N. (“Whip Inflation Now”) • Bilingual Education Act of 1974: provided for immigrant students to be taught in native language while learning English • Loses re-election campaign in 1976

  4. Jimmy Carter 1977-1981 • Democrat • Was a Washington “outsider” – elected b/c not connected to Watergate or anyone involved • 1977: Gave the Panama Canal back to Panama (effective in 2000), strengthening our relationship with Latin America • September 1978: hosted Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat & Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin at the presidential retreat Camp David • Negotiated a peace treaty between Egypt & Israel, the Camp David Accords

  5. March 1979: nuclear reactor at Three Mile Islandfailed • As a result, Americans fear nuclear power even more; favor oil, despite its expense • Iran Hostage Crisis: angry supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran • Took 70 Americans hostage in Nov. 1979 • Carter failed to end standoff; it will end on Reagan’s inauguration

  6. 1979: the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised oil prices 50% • U.S. was heavily dependent on foreign oil, so having to cut back = energy crisis • Department of Energy created in 1977 to address energy conservation & research & develop new energy sources • Granted amnesty (forgiveness) to all draft dodgers of the Vietnam War

  7. Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 • Republican • Ends Iran Hostage Crisis • Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars): • missile defense system designed to force the USSR to admit defeat in the Cold War • Policy of spending billions on defense made national & foreign debts soar

  8. Political Cartoon:Strategic Defense Initiative a.k.a. Star Wars

  9. Mikhail Gorbachev (new USSR premier) begins in 1985: • Glasnost: openness • Perestroika: restructuring of the economy & society • Met w/ Reagan to sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty: eliminated many medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe & USSR • Dec 1988: Gorbachev announced Eastern Europe could no longer count on the USSR – Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania quickly fall • Berlin Wall falls in 1989; Soviet Union will officially break up in 1991

  10. Involved in Iran-Contra Affair, where Reagan’s administration raised money for the Contras fighting Nicaragua’s gov’t by selling weapons to Iran through Israel • Nominated Sandra Day O’Connor • the first woman on the Supreme Court

  11. Supported trickle-down (supply-side) economics • a.k.a. Reaganomics • Emphasized tax cuts & deregulation of big business to stimulate savings & investment • Profits went up, but salaries did not • Modest success: inflation down & stock trading up • But did not improve lives of poor & working class

  12. George H.W. Bush 1989-1993 • 1989: Chinese troops opened fire on students demonstrating against the communist gov’t at Tiananmen Square • U.S. led U.N. forces against Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait • Known as Persian Gulf War (a.k.a. Desert Storm) • Signed the Americans with Disabilities Act • Covers range of disabilities including AIDS, mental, & physical difficulties • Requires equal access to public transportation & facilities & outlaws job discrimination against disabled people

  13. William Clinton 1993-2001 • Democrat • 1993: signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) • Promotes trade between the U.S., Canada & Mexico by eliminating tariffs & other barriers • Clinton & his supporters called New Democrats: • embraced traditionally Republican fiscal responsibility w/ traditionally Democratic concerns for education & social programs

  14. Family & Medical Leave Act: required large companies to give employees 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave • Cut federal spending & increased taxes, reducing deficit by ½ by first term; had become a surplus by end of 2nd term • Passed legislation to protect the environment • Overhauled the welfare system • Unsuccessfully tried to bring universal healthcare coverage

  15. George W. Bush 2001-2009 • Republican • Won the 2000 election when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (conservative-moderate) to stop the recount taking place in Florida & declared Bush the winner in Bush v. Gore • People across the nation begin calling for voting reforms • No Child Left Behind: Expands standardized testing, designed to prevent unqualified children from passing to the next grade

  16. September 11, 2001: • Islamic fundamentalists hijacked 4 jet liners • 2 planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City • 1 plane hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C. • Passengers of the 4th plane crashed it into the Pennsylvania countryside before it could make it back to D.C. • Plan organized & executed by al Qaeda, an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden • In response: • Bush creates Department of Homeland Security to coordinate domestic national-security efforts • Invades Afghanistan, ruled by the fundamentalist Muslim group the Taliban, who was protecting bin Laden • 2003: preemptive strike against Iraq, claiming the U.S. was going after nuclear weapons • But no nuclear weapons ever found

  17. BarackObama 2009- • Democrat • First African American President • Concerns of his presidency: • Global warming & the environment • Green technology

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