Chapter 34: The United States in Today's World

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Prominent child care advocate and health care reformer in Clinton administration; won U.S. senate seat for NY in 2000. Bill Clinton's wife and First Lady from 1993 - 2001. Ran for President in 2008 and 2016.

Newt Gingrich

Representative from Georgia who led the "Contract with America" in 1994 and eventually became the Speaker of the House; he and Clinton battled many times while he demanded tax cuts and a balancing of the budget

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

a 1993 treaty that lowered tariffs & brought Mexico into the free-trade zone established by the United States & Canada

dotcoms

a business related to or conducted on the Internet

Information Superhighway

a computer communications network linking people and institutions throughout the world, providing individuals with services such as libraries, shopping, movies, and news

NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations)

a stock exchange for over-the-counter sales, comprised largely of technology companies

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see cross-sectional images within the body

Internet

a worldwide network, originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, that links computers and allows almost immediate communication of texts, pictures, & sounds.

infrastructure

the basic facilities, service, & installations needed for the functioning of a community or society

interface

the point of communication between a computer & any other entity, such as a printer or human operator

downsize

to dismiss numbers of permanent employees in an attempt to make operations more efficient and save money

Globalization

to make worldwide in scope or application.

William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton

42nd president of the United States; vowed to strengthen the weak economy and work to move the Democratic Party toward the political center; Former Governor of Arkansas who became the first member of the baby-boom generation to win presidency. Second U.S. president to be impeached (in 1998 for perjury & obstruction of justice). The Senate did not convict him.

George W. Bush

43rd president of the US, former governor of Texas & son of the former 41st president - who began a campaign against terrorism in 2001. His win of the State of Florida during the 2000 election was very close & led to his razor-thin victory.

Barack Obama

44th President of the U.S. -Democrat; first African American president, health care bill; Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster; economy: huge stimulus package to combat the great recession, removed troops from Iraq, strengthened numbers in Afghanistan; In 2011, during his administration -special forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Proposition 187

A bill passed in California in 1994 that ended all education and nonemergency health benefits to illegal immigrants

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

A complex molecule containing the genetic instructions used in the formation, growth, & reproduction of nearly all cells and organisms.

Contract with America

A document that was drafted by Representative Newt Gingrich and signed by more than 300 Republican candidates in 1994, setting forth the Republicans' conservative legislative agenda.

Telecommunications Act of 1996

A law enacted in 1996 to remove barriers that had previously prevented communications companies from engaging in more than one type of communications business

Urban flight

A migration of people from cities to the surrounding suburbs.

Free Trade Area of the America (FTAA)

A proposed free trade area that would include all 34 democratic nations of South, Central, and North America - Demonstrations & protests halted plans for this

Human Genome Project

An international collaborative effort to map and sequence the DNA of the entire human genome.

Bill Gates

American computer software designer who Co-founded Microsoft and built it into one of the largest computer software manufacturers -by 2008 he was the 2nd wealthiest individual in the world.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

An act passed by Congress establishing a regulatory board to oversee the accounting industry and its involvement with corporations after the Enron & World Com scandals

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

An international agreement first signed in 1947. In 1944, the U.S. and other countries adopted a new version of this. This treaty lowered the trade barriers, such as tariffs, and created the World Trade Organization, which resolves trade disputes

International Space Station

An orbiting space satellite, construction of which began in 2001 with the cooperation of 16 nations; used for scientific and space research. Was originally established by joining & expanding upon the Russian station, Mir, and the American, Spacelab

H. Ross Perot

Billionaire Texas businessman, best remembered for running for President in 1992 and 1996 under Independent Party banner. Saw the soaring federal budget deficit as the nation's number 1 problem.

Events dealing with Politics -chapter 34

Clinton is impeached; U.S. becomes involved in conflicts in the Balkans & the Middle East; Election 2000 is settled by the Supreme Court- George W. Bush wins.

partisan

Devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause

Oklahoma City Bombing

Domestic terrorist attack of Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The blast, set off by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, killed 168 people, including 19 children in the building's day-care center.

Alan Greenspan

Federal Reserve Board chairman from 1987 - 2006 whose firm and astute leadership helped American business and industry witness record profits as the twentieth century came to a close.

Events dealing with Demographics - chapter 34

Minorities move to suburbs, urban living attracts single adults; Changing immigration policy affects culture; Native Americans dispute land rights

job flight

Sending jobs from America to overseas markets because manufacturers can pay workers over there less and the corporations make more profit

Slobodan Milosevic

Serbian leader who initiated a policy of ethnic cleansing against Bosnian Muslims

Al Gore

Served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Ran for President in 2000 as the democrat party nominee

Events dealing with Technology - chapter 34

Technological revolution transforms daily life; Advanced communications allow wider contact; Inventions improve health & lifestyle

genetic engineering

The alteration of the molecular biology of organisms' cells in order to create new varieties of bacteria, plants, and animals

service sector

The part of the economy that provides consumers with services rather than goods

Gentrification

The process of restoring deteriorated urban property by middle-class people, which often results in the displacement of lower-income residents

Telecommute

To work at home for a company located elsewhere, by using such communications technologies as computers, the Internet, and fax machines

September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks

Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City destroyed by two hijacked airplanes; Two other planes crashed into the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; Al-Qaeda network responsible

Events dealing with Economics - chapter 34

U.S. records its longest economic expansion; Service industries grow, manufacturing declines, telecommuting increases; Trade relations become globalized