George H.W. Bush Policies

Persian Gulf War (1991)-

A short war that prevented Iraq from taking over Kuwait. This war was approved by congress in 1991 and Bush sent 500,000 troops to Kuwait to prevent it from being taken over. In doing so, Bush was able to prevent the United States from losing its best oil supplier. Bush gained 90% approval after the successes of Operation Desert Storm.

Thurgood Marshall (1991)-

After his successes as a lawyer in the NAACP cases and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka he was voted in as the supreme court justice by President Johnson, the first African American to be so.

"No New Taxes"-

Bush's campaign slogan during the election of 1988. Bush, however violated his slogan by agreeing to the Democratic Congress's tax plans of $133 billion a year. This tax plan aimed to fix the increasing national debt of $250 Billion as well as saving debtors from the weak savings and loan institutions (S&L). Due to this, many Republicans and taxpayers looked at Bush with contempt because they lost their prosperity from the Reagan era and a new recession began.

Saddam Hussein-

Dictator of Iraq who invaded Kuwait in 1990. He did so because Kuwait is oil rich and weak. He did not withdraw forces after receiving pressure from the United States and United Nations.

Election of 1988-

During this election, the democrats were able to hold much of congress starting in 1986. They expected the Republicans to lose popular support due to the overspending during Reagan's presidency as well as the Iran Contra affair. The Democrats chose Michael Dukakis as their nominee and Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as the vice presidential running mate to gain support in the South. The Republican nominee included former Vice President, George H.W. Bush. Bush's platform included not raising any taxes and attacked the democrats for being soft on crime and weak on national defense. The results included a Republican win by 7 million votes and an electoral vote of 426 to 111. This showed that the Middle Class whites did not believe in the politics of the Democrats and showed that nothing would get done due to a system of checks and balance.

George H.W. Bush-

Former Vice President to Reagan, Director of the C.I.A, and ambassador to the United Nations, he was nominated by the Republicans for the 1988 election. Since the Cold War ended during his presidency his foreign policy would shape America's foreign policy for the decades to come. He betrayed his Republicans by passing the Democratic tax plan and offered only cuts in federal programs during recession. This only left behind the upper class who prospered from Reaganomics.

Operation Desert Storm-

Military operation created by Bush to prevent Kuwait from being taken over by Iraq. Bush was able to send 500,000 troops including military units from 28 other nations to defend Kuwait and western oil. In just 100 hours, Iraq's forces were ousted from Kuwait under General Norman Schwarzkopf.

Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)-

Passed by Bush who claimed to be an "education president" as well as "a kinder, gentler America". This stated that jobs cannot discriminate against those with physical and mental disabilities when applying for a job.

Panama Invasion (1989)-

This invasion was the first invasion since the start of the Cold War to not prevent the spread of communism. It included George H.W. Bush sending troops to Panama to prevent the autocratic General Manuel Noriega from using the Panama Canal as a drug pipeline to the United States. Troops were stationed in Panama until a more credible government was established through election.

Clarence Thomas-

This man was elected to the Supreme Court by George H.W. Bush. Although he was opposed by African Americans and women for his sexual harassment charges and conservative views, the Senate still voted him in.