The Americans Chapter 33
William Jefferson Clinton
42nd president of the united states
George W. Bush Jr.
43rd President of the United States; the son of former president George H. W. Bush
Entitlement Program
A government program-such as Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid-that guarantees and provides benefits to a specific group.
The Contras
A guerrilla force in Nicaragua that opposed the left-wing Sandinista government 1979-90, and was supported by the US for much of that time.
Conservative Coalition
A late-20th-century alliance of right-wing groups concerned with cultural, social, and moral issues; opposed to big government, entitlement programs, affirmative action, the busing of students to achieve integration, and the supposed moral decline of the U.S. people.
Sandinista
A leftist rebel group, supported by the Soviet Union, that overthrew the Nicaraguan government.
Affirmative Action
A policy that seeks to correct the effects of past discrimination by favoring the groups who were previously disadvantaged.
Moral Majority
A political alliance of religious groups, consisting mainly of fundamentalist Christians, that was active in the 1970s and 1980s, condemning liberal attitudes and behavior and raising money for conservative candidates.
Strategic Defense Initiative
A proposed defense system-popularly known as Star Wars-intended to protect the United States against missile attacks.
Operation Desert Storm (The Gulf War)
A war that began in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait and ended in 1991 when a coalition of countries led by the United States expelled the Iraqi army from Kuwait and destroyed much of Iraq's military capability.
Ronald Reagan
American politician and actor who was the 40th President of the United States
Reverse Discrimination
An unfair treatment of members of a majority group-for example, white men-resulting from efforts to correct discrimination against members of other groups.
Deregulation
Cutting back of federal regulation of industry.
EPA
Established in 1970 to fight pollution and conserve natural resources.
Sandra Day O'Connor
First woman to be appointed as a supreme court justice.
Geraldine Ferraro
President Carter's running mate. First woman on major party presidential ticket.
George HW Bush
Reagan's Vice President. 41st president. No new taxes promised.
Tiananmen Square
Site of peaceful demonstrations in Beijing, China, where students demanded freedom of speech and greater voice in government
Reaganomics
The economic policies of President Ronald Reagan, which were focused on the granting of large tax cuts in order to increase private investment.
Supply-Side Economics
The idea that a reduction in tax rates will lead to a increase in jobs, savings, and investments, and therefore to an increase in government revenue.
A.I.D.S
a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body's cellular immunity, greatly lowering the resistance to infection and malignancy. During the 1980's, America faced a huge epidemic related to this disease.
Al Gore
an American politician and environmentalist who served as vice president during the Clinton administration
pay equity
basing an employee's salary on requirements of the job rather than by gender
Hillary Rodham Clinton
first American "first lady" to win a public office seat
Mikhail Gorbachev
general secretary of the communist party in the Soviet Union in 1985
INF treaty
intermediate range nuclear forces treaty between the Soviet Union and USA that eliminated weapons systems and allowed for on site inspection of military installations
Glasnost
the open discussion of social problems and criticism of the government in the Soviet Union; more freedom for the Soviet press
Perestroika
the restructuring of the economy and government in the Soviet Union
North American Free Trade Agreement
trilateral trade bloc between the US, mexico, and canada; removed barriers to the exchange of goods and services among the three countries
