APUSH Chapter 40

Searching for a Post-Cold War Foreign Policy

-After a failure to successfully intervene in Somalia, Clinton did not send troops to deal with ethnic violence in Rwanda -NATO forces intervened in Bosnia during President Slobodan Milosevic's ethnic cleansing against the Albanians in Serbia -Clinton helped mediate a resolution between Israeli premier Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat that quickly went to hell Rabin was assassinated -Terrorist organizations in the Middle East

Bill Clinton: The First Baby-Boomer President

-Bill Clinton and Al Gore ran for the Democrats -Bush Sr. had basically no chance against Clinton -A third party candidate from Texas got nearly 20% of the vote -Democrats were also majority in both houses of Congress

Racial Progress and Perils

-Clinton began to take the middle ground and supported welfare reform as well as an end to affirmative action -Riots erupted in Los Angeles in 1992 because of racial tensions that had to do with racism among white police -Racial divides in cities and the suburbs were becoming ever more pronounced -Elected black officials began to rise dramatically -During Clinton's administration, minorities began to form the base of the Democratic party

A False Start for Reform

-Clinton's reputation was damaged, as was his wife's, when a proposed health care reform led by Hillary epically failed -Clinton's proposed budget plan did effectively reduce the deficit -The US came to have the highest rate of incarceration while the rate of violent crime went down

E Pluribus Plures

-Debates over color and culture became the center of ideas -Multicultural identification became more popular

The Politics of Distrust

-In 1994, Republicans had a majority in Congress -Anti-immigrant sentiment was expressed with the GOP's Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 -Due to a disagreement over welfare, the federal government shut down for 27 days in 1995-1996 -The backlash against the GOP made people like Clinton a bit more -In 1998, the federal budget was balanced for the first time in three decades

Globalization and Its Discontents

-In 2000, the economy had sustained the longest period of growth in American history and unemployment was down to 4% -Internet businesses had fueled growth and inflation was low as well -Repealed the Glass-Steagall Act that had barred commercial banks from dealing in securities -Clinton wanted to expand trade and even began trading with China -The computer has allowed international business to expand

The Feminist Revolution

-Most women began to hold jobs and the workforce became equal -Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 which offered job protection for new fathers and mothers -The nuclear family began to dissolve

The Postmodern Mind

-Nobody really knows what postmodernism is, but most people agree that it means that people are beginning to hold their own ideas about life -Minorities began to be more recognized

Clinton's Legacy and the 2000 Election

-Sound economic policies but undefined foreign policies -Democrat nominee Al Gore had to connect himself to Clinton's economic success while avoiding his mishaps -Bush wanted to return surplus back to the people -A giant conflict appeared over how to count the votes in Florida, but eventually the Supreme Court ruled that a recount by hand would be unconstitutional -Gore won the popular vote by a lot

Whitewater

A series of scandals during the Clinton administration that stemmed from a failed real estate investment from which the Clintons ere alleged to have illicitly profited. The accusations prompted the appointment of a special federal prosecutor, though no indictments

World Trade Organization (WTO) (1995)

An international body to promote and supervise liberal trade among nations. The successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, it marked a key world trade policy achievement of the Clinton administration

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1993)

Free-trade zone encompassing Mexico, Canada, and the US. A symbol of the increased reality of a globalized marketplace, the treaty passed despite opposition from protectionists and labor leaders

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

From 1993 to 2010, the policy affecting homosexuals in the military. It emerged as a compromise between the standing prohibition against homosexuals in the armed forces and President Clinton's push to allow all citizens to serve regardless of sexual orientation. Military authorities were forbidden to ask about a service member's orientation, and gay service personnel could be discharged if they publicly revealed their homosexuality. At President Obama'a urging, Congress repealed DADT in 2010, permitting gays to serve openly in uniform

Welfare Reform Bill (1996)

Legislation that made deep cuts in welfare grants and required able-bodied welfare recipients to find employment. Part of Bill Clinton's campaign platform in 1992, the reforms were widely seen by liberals as an abandonment of key New deal/Great Society provisions to care for the impoverished

Contract with America (1994)

Multipoint program offered by Republican candidates and sitting politicians in the 1994 midterm election. the platform proposed smaller government, congressional ethics reform, term limits, greater emphasis on personal responsibility, and a general repudiation of the Democratic party. This articulation of dissent was a significant blow to the Clinton administration that led to the Republican party's takeover of both houses of Congress for the first time in half a century

Democratic Leadership Council (DLC)

Nonprofit organization of centrist Democrats founded in the mid-1980s. the group attempted to push the Democratic party toward pro-growth, strong defense, and anti-crime policies. Among its most influential early members was Bill Clinton, whom it held as an example of "third way" politics

Lewinsky affair (1998-1999)

Political sex scandal that resulted in Bill Clinton's impeachment and trail by Congress. In 1998, Clinton gave sworn testimony in a sexual harassment case that he had never engaged in sexual activity with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. When prosecutors discovered evidence that the president had lied under oath about the affair, to which Clinton admitted, Republicans in Congress began impeachment proceedings. Although Clinton was ultimately not convicted by the Senate, the scandal put a lasting blemish on his presidential legacy

Oklahoma City bombing (1995)

Truck-bomb explosion that killed 168 people in a federal office building on April 19, 1995. The attack was perpetrated by right-wing and antigovernment militant Timothy McVeigh, who was later executed by the US government for the crime