Chapter 27 Give Me Liberty
What increased efficiencies, increased instantaneous communication across larger geographical spaces, and democratized access to information during the 1990s?
computers and the internet; they were brought into the consumer sphere as manufacturing costs became more affordable for the everyday consumer.
What phenomenon received greater attention during the culture wars in the 1990s?
undocumented immigrant families crossing into the US
Describe immigration trends in the United States
According to the map of 1910, the ethnic origin of the largest majority immigrant group to the United States was German, while the largest majority immigrant group in 2013 was of Mexican descent.
Describe the events from the 2000 presidential election in chronological order.
Al Gore picks the first Jewish vice presidential candidate. Democrats demand a hand recount of Florida ballots. The Supreme court orders a halt to the recount of Florida ballots. George W. Bush takes office as president.
Though George H. W. Bush's administration had to face a new world order due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, his administration's first foreign policy initiative hearkened back to Theodore Roosevelt's corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, commonly referred to as Big Stick Diplomacy. Describe Bush's first major foreign policy action.
At the end of 1989, President Bush dispatched troops to Panama to overthrow the government of General Manuel Antonio Noriega, a former ally of the United States who had become involved in the international drug trade. The United States installed a new government and flew Noriega to Florida, where he was tried and convicted on drug charges
In President Clinton's speech on the signing of NAFTA, he spoke about the time of change that America, and the rest of the world, were experiencing. Why, according to Clinton, was NAFTA necessary?
Because it promoted international commerce, allowing for the exchange of goods to flow more freely throughout North America and promoting economic growth for the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
What effect did outsourcing as a result of NAFTA and other international trade agreements have on the American economy and workers during the 1990s and beyond?
Companies could employ workers overseas for a fraction of the cost they hired Americans, which lowered prices for consumers but also drove American wages downwar
Describe the rights revolution at the end of the twentieth century.
Conservatives sought to get government out of economic regulation and environmental regulations; Moral conservatives, or those who sought to have the government set the moral standard for the country, were in the minority at the time; Personal liberty became the dominant point of view, as individuals sought greater freedom in how they chose to live their life.
During Franklin Roosevelt's First Hundred Days, Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act to regulate banking and investments that were a major cause of the stock market crash in 1929. This law protected consumers from corporate misconduct by separating two types of banking: commercial and investing. Describe the ramifications of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act
During the 1990s economic boom, the model of free trade and deregulation allowed for Congress to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, one of the protections for consumers against the creation of superbanks. The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act allowed corporations to engage in increasingly high-risk business ventures and investments, and would eventually lead to the 2007-2008 housing bubble collapse that sunk America into the Great Recession
Was Globalization made increasingly possible through advances made in communications technology toward the end of the twentieth century?
Globalization had taken on a new meaning as technology facilitated more instantaneous communication across great distances.
Many identify increased globalization as a main factor that led to the economic resurgence seen in the 1990s. Although globalization has been an important part of international commerce since the Columbian Exchange between the Old and New Worlds beginning in the 1500s, the globalization of the late twentieth century is unique in many ways. Describe the response to globalization at the World Trade Organization conference in Seattle in 1999
In 1999, the World Trade Organization met in Seattle to discuss trade negotiations for the new millennium. Protesters drew attention to many issues during this meeting, from the depletion of atmospheric ozone, to the shift of production centers to low-wage centers. Others protested the risks to Earth's ecology through unregulated economic development and unrestricted ocean fishing
During the Clinton administration, a landmark free trade agreement was approved by both the executive and legislative branches of the government. The effects of this agreement were long lasting on the American economy and domestic workers across the country. Describe the agreement.
In an effort to bolster trade between America and its neighbors, President Clinton sought congressional approval in 1993 for the North American Free Trade Agreement, more commonly referred to as NAFTA. It authorized the creation of free-trade zones located in Canada, Mexico, and the United States
n the 1840s Irish Catholics came to America in search of economic opportunity. Due to their economic status and religious difference, they were the most discriminated immigrant population of the nineteenth century, but they were willing to take jobs that others did not want. Today, which group of lower socio-economic standing, majority-Catholic peoples have faced the brunt of economic discrimination and are forced to take the jobs that few others volunteer to do?
Latinos; Latino communities are, on average, poorer than the rest of the country, who immigrated to the United States from many different countries in search of economic and physical security.
What did the Supreme Court rule in the Bush v. Gore case with their vote of 5-4?
Mandated that the recount taking place in Florida be halted, and it granted Jeb Bush the right to certify that his brother, George Bush, had won the state and presidency;
What is true about the demographics and economic status of African-Americans as an ethnic group at the turn of the twenty-first century?
One-third of the black population lived in predominantly black suburbs; Half of all black children lived in poverty
After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, in February 1991, the United States launched Operation Desert Storm, which was successful in ending the conflict and restoring security to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. At the time, American efforts were considered successful. What were some of its more lasting consequences?
The U.S. army quickly repelled the Iraqi army from Kuwait and then proceeded to set up six permanent U.S. military bases there; A large American military presence was established in Saudi Arabia.
Bill Clinton's popular appeal was due, in part, to some of his more liberal leanings toward abortion, gay rights, and civil rights. One of the policies enacted during his first term was to institute the policy of "Don't ask, don't tell" within the military. What's the best description of this policy?
The US military would no longer seek out and dismiss soldiers based on their sexual orientation; it was an exclusive policy that did not truly address the larger homophobia issues within the military
In 1999, the Declaration for Global Democracy was written in protest against what aspect of the World Trade Organization's role within the global community?
The WTO represented the interests of corporations rather than that of the ordinary citizen; run for the enrichment of the few at the expense of the many, it and stated its grievances against the organization.
In the 1990s, the personal computer became more easily available to the average American consumer. Which factors played a role in its increased availability?
The internet, Silicon Valley, and microchip
In the 1990s, with an increasingly diverse populace due to immigration and reproduction, the idea of multiculturalism was used to describe the new awareness of diversity in America, not only in the present but also the past. What impact did this new awareness have on American colleges and universities?
These institutions moved aggressively to diversify their faculties and revise the traditional curriculum
One hundred years ago, the United States took in immigrants and asked them to assimilate their diverse cultural heritages into the American cauldron dubbed the "melting pot." Today, which factors of technology allow immigrants to be more of a "salad bowl"—able to retain their strong cultural ties to their countries of origin without completely surrendering them to prevalent American culture?
cheaper air travel & access to global communications
Since Lyndon Johnson advocated opening our country again to immigrants in 1965, the country has become more culturally diverse. Describe the impact of that diversity on the United States since then.
Whereas previously immigrants most commonly came from Europe, in the latter half of the twentieth century there was increased immigration from places like Latin America and Asia. The influx of these new populations shifted the black-white divide, suggesting that the two-race system was no longer truly relevant to America as it entered the twenty-first century
With nearly half of all American households owning a personal computer by the year 2000, it is no surprise that investors were interested in the potential of new businesses that operated online. Describe the economic boom and subsequent recession at the turn of the millennium
With the advent of the microchip, affordable personal computers and other electronics became widely available to the public. Because the Internet connected users across America and the world, investors were attracted to the idea of business being conducted over the Internet. This led to a rapid increase in dot-com investment, creating an unsustainable bubble that burst in April 2000 and drove stock prices down for the next three years
Tyco International
chairman looted millions of dollars from the company; Dennis Kozlowski was sent to prison in 2005 for stealing or misappropriating around $100 million
Enron
convicted by a Texas jury of multiple counts of fraud; fraudulently been using its employees' pension money to drive up its stock value and concealing debt from its investors.
Adelphia Communications
convicted of misuse of company funds; filed bankruptcy in 2002 after the founding family was discovered to have embezzled over $100 million for themselves.
Newt Gingrich, a Republican congressman from Georgia, led the charge that saw both the Senate and House of Representatives come under Republican control. His campaign strategy was grounded in his Contract with America, wherein conservatives listed promises in response to the supposed liberalism of President Clinton's administration. Describe the goals of Gingrich's Contract with America.
decrease the size and role of the federal government; cut funding to social, educational, and environmental programs
Arthur Andersen
devised complex schemes to help push up companies' stock prices by hiding their true financial condition; Convicted of tampering with witnesses, the company was dissolved and about 28,000 people lost their jobs
Conservative pundit, and former presidential candidate, Pat Buchanan called for a religious war for the soul of America in 1992. What groups was he worried would ruin the moral character of the country?
feminists and homosexuals
The Culture Wars of the 1990s were battles over the moral values of Americans. The Christian Coalition was organized in opposition to what it perceived as an attack on "traditional" American values. These organized counterattacks were against which tenets of perceived social liberalism?
gay rights, secularism, & abortion clinics
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed by Congress in 1990. It provided certain rights and protections for Americans with disabilities. What are provisions of that act?
prohibited discrimination in hiring and promotion against persons with disabilities; required that entrances to public buildings be redesigned to ensure access for the disabled
What arguments support globalization and global free trade?
provided a path to better living standards & greater worldwide freedom
With the Cold War coming to a close, George H. W. Bush took the office of president in 1989 having to face a "new world order," unseen by his predecessors. What is the best way to describe this new order?
shift from Cold War tensions to unquestioned American predominance
The major initiative of President Clinton's first administration was to address the rising cost of health care and the growing number of uninsured Americans. Although the idea of providing universalized health care ultimately failed to get congressional approval, what were some of this plan's initial goals?
to provide universal health-care coverage through large groupings of medical care businesses; provide health care for citizens who could not normally afford it and typically need it the most
With an increasing emphasis on human rights within international affairs, the 1990s saw the growth of international human rights organizations. Which two choices represent human rights issues most relevant in the 1990s?
women's rights and aboriginal rights
Confronted with the spreads of AIDS in the early 1980s, the gay community responded in a variety of ways. What were parts of the strategy to combat this epidemic?
worked to prevent discrimination against people suffering from AIDS; pressed the federal government to devote greater resources to fighting the disease; demanded that the drug AZT be placed on the market to treat the disease
