period 8 & 9: terms/ids quiz #2

September 11, 2001

19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.

Regents of UC v. Bakke

1978 Supreme Court case which held that a university's admissions criteria which used race as a definite and exclusive basis for an admission decision violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Roe v. Wade

A pregnant single woman brought a class action challenging the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws, which proscribe procuring or attempting an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving the mother's life. A licensed physician (Hallford), who had two state abortion prosecutions pending against him, was permitted to intervene. A childless married couple (the Does), the wife not being pregnant, separately attacked the laws, basing alleged injury on the future possibilities of contraceptive failure, pregnancy, unpreparedness for parenthood, and impairment of the wife's health. A three-judge District Court, which consolidated the actions, held that Roe and Hallford, and members of their classes, had standing to sue and presented justiciable controversies. Ruling that declaratory, though not injunctive, relief was warranted, the court declared the abortion statutes void as vague and overbroadly infringing those plaintiffs' Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The court ruled the Does' complaint not justiciable. Appellants directly appealed to this Court on the injunctive rulings, and appellee cross-appealed from the District Court's grant of declaratory relief to Roe and Hallford.

"Axis of Evil"

After 9/11, George W. Bush's administration waited less than a month before invading Afghanistan and deposing the Taliban regime there. It was not long before Bush turned his attention to "regime change" in Iraq. Although there were no direct links between Iraq, Iran and North Korea—Iraq and Iran, in fact, were commonly understood to be geopolitical enemies—the concept of an "axis of evil" united in its desire to harm Americans proved useful to those making the case for a second invasion of Iraq.

Moral Majority (ID)

American political organization that was founded in 1979 by Jerry Falwell, a religious leader and televangelist, to advance conservative social values. Although it disbanded in 1989, the Moral Majority helped to establish the religious right as a force in American politics. The Moral Majority was formed in response to the social and cultural transformations that occurred in the United States in the 1960s and '70s. Christian fundamentalists were alarmed by a number of developments that, in their view, threatened to undermine the country's traditional moral values. These included the civil rights movement, the women's movement, the gay rights movement, the relatively permissive sexual morality prevalent among young people, and the teaching of evolution. Furthermore, they opposed the U.S. Supreme Court rulings that banned institutionally initiated group prayer and Bible reading in public schools (School District of Abington Township v. Schempp) and that affirmed the legal right to abortion (Roe v. Wade).

Hurricane Katrina

Early in the morning on August 29, 2005, struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale-it brought sustained winds of 100-140 miles per hour-and stretched some 400 miles across. While the storm itself did a great deal of damage, its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding, and many people charged that the federal government was slow to meet the needs of the people affected by the storm. Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were displaced from their homes, and experts estimate that Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage.

Silent Majority

Nixon reported progress in the "Vietnamization" effort to increase the combat capability of South Vietnam's armed forces so that they could assume more responsibility for the war. Having provided this perspective on the situation, he then appealed to the American people, calling on the "great silent majority" for their support as he worked for "peace with honor" in Vietnam. The term "silent majority"—to refer to Conservative voters who do not participate in the public discourse—later resurfaced in the political campaigns of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.

Title IX

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Shelby County v. Holder

On June 25, 2013, the United States Supreme Court held that it is unconstitutional to use the coverage formula in Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act to determine which jurisdictions are subject to the preclearance requirement of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Shelby County v. Holder, 133 S. Ct. 2612 (2013). The Supreme Court did not rule on the constitutionality of Section 5 itself. The effect of the Shelby County decision is that the jurisdictions identified by the coverage formula in Section 4(b) no longer need to seek preclearance for the new voting changes, unless they are covered by a separate court order entered under Section 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act.

Affordable Care Act

(ACA) is a comprehensive reform law, enacted in 2010, that increases health insurance coverage for the uninsured and implements reforms to the health insurance market.

Americans with Disabilities Act

(ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA is divided into five titles (or sections) that relate to different areas of public life.

National Rifle Association

(NRA), leading gun rights organization in the United States. The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) was founded in New York state in 1871 as a governing body for the sport of shooting with rifles and pistols. By the early 21st century it claimed a membership of nearly five million target shooters, hunters, gun collectors, gunsmiths, police, and other gun enthusiasts.

Strategic Defense Initiative

(SDI), derisively nicknamed the "Star Wars program", was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons (intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles).

Balkan Wars

Calls for more autonomy within Yugoslavia by nationalist groups led in 1991 to declarations of independence in Croatia and Slovenia. The Serb-dominated Yugoslav army lashed out, first in Slovenia and then in Croatia. Thousands were killed in the latter conflict which was paused in 1992 under a UN-monitored ceasefire. Bosnia, with a complex mix of Serbs, Muslims and Croats, was next to try for independence. Bosnia's Serbs, backed by Serbs elsewhere in Yugoslavia, resisted. Under leader Radovan Karadzic, they threatened bloodshed if Bosnia's Muslims and Croats - who outnumbered Serbs - broke away. Despite European blessing for the move in a 1992 referendum, war came fast. Over a million Bosnian Muslims and Croats were driven from their homes in ethnic cleansing. The UN was humiliated and over 100,000 died. The war ended in 1995 after Nato bombed the Bosnian Serbs and Muslim and Croat armies made gains on the ground. A US-brokered peace divided Bosnia into two self-governing entities, a Bosnian Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat federation lightly bound by a central government.

Domino Theory (ID)

Context By 1950, makers of U.S. foreign policy had firmly embraced the idea that the fall of Indochina to communism would lead rapidly to the collapse of other nations in Southeast Asia. The National Security Council included the theory in a 1952 report on Indochina, and in April 1954, during the decisive battle between Viet Minh and French forces at Dien Bien Phu, President Dwight D. Eisenhower articulated it as the "falling domino" principle. In Eisenhower's view, the loss of Vietnam to communist control would lead to similar communist victories in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia (including Laos, Cambodia and Thailand) and elsewhere After Eisenhower's speech, the phrase "domino theory" began to be used as a shorthand expression of the strategic importance of South Vietnam to the United States, as well as the need to contain the spread of communism throughout the world. Definition The domino theory was a Cold War policy that suggested a communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in neighboring states, each falling like a perfectly aligned row of dominos. In Southeast Asia, the U.S. government used the now-discredited domino theory to justify its involvement in the Vietnam War and its support for a non-communist dictator in South Vietnam. Significance In fact, the American failure to prevent a communist victory in Vietnam had much less of an impact than had been assumed by proponents of the domino theory. With the exception of Laos and Cambodia, communism failed to spread throughout Southeast Asia. After Eisenhower's speech, the phrase "domino theory" began to be used as a shorthand expression of the strategic importance of South Vietnam to the United States, as well as the need to contain the spread of communism throughout the world.

Vietnamization (ID)

Context When President Richard M. Nixon took office in January 1969, the U.S. had been sending combat troops to fight in Vietnam since 1965, and some 31,000 American lives had been lost. full-scale U.S. military commitment seemingly had made little progress in defeating communist North Vietnam and its Viet Cong guerrilla allies. The enemy forces had absorbed tremendous punishment but remained determined to overthrow the U.S.-supported government of South Vietnam and reunite the country under Communist rule. Definition the US policy of withdrawing its troops and transferring the responsibility and direction of the war effort to the government of South Vietnam. The increasingly unpopular war had created deep rifts in American society. President Nixon believed his Vietnamization strategy, which involved building up South Vietnam's armed forces and withdrawing U.S. troops, would prepare the South Vietnamese to act in their own defense against a North Vietnamese takeover and allow the United States to leave Vietnam with its honor intact. Nixon sought a way to disengage American combat forces without appearing to abandon South Vietnam to the communists. He rejected calls from the anti-war movement to order an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops and publicly expressed a desire to achieve "peace with honor" in Vietnam. Significance Nixon administration also escalated U.S. military activity in other parts of Southeast Asia. In April 1970, for example, the president secretly authorized bombing campaigns and a ground invasion of Cambodia, a neutral country. Nixon gradually reduced the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam in several stages, from a peak of 549,000 in 1969 to 69,000 in 1972. However, during this same period, North Vietnamese leaders launched several offensives that tested the president's resolve and cast doubt on his Vietnamization strategy. as South Vietnam fell to North Vietnamese communist forces in 1975.

Kent State Shootings

Four students were killed and nine were injured on May 4, 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. The tragedy was a watershed moment for a nation divided by the conflict in Southeast Asia. In its immediate aftermath, a student-led strike forced the temporary closure of colleges and universities across the country. Some political observers believe the events of that day in northeast Ohio tilted public opinion against the war and may have contributed to the downfall of President Richard Nixon.

Bush Tax Cuts

In 2001, President Bush proposed and signed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act. This legislation: Reduced tax rates for every American who pays income taxes, including creating a new 10 percent tax bracket.

Flexible Response

Kennedy implemented this defense strategy, one that relied on multiple options for responding to the Soviet Union, discouraged massive retaliation, and encouraged mutual deterrence. Kennedy believed Eisenhower's emphasis on developing nuclear weapons had greatly weakened the United States' conventional forces. The new president and his Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, introduced the policy of "flexible response." In describing the approach, Kennedy stated that the nation must be ready "to deter all wars, general or limited, nuclear or conventional, large or small."

Alliance for Progress

Kennedy proposed, through the Agency for International Development and the Alliance for Progress, both launched in 1961, to loan more than $20 billion to Latin American nations that would promote democracy and undertake meaningful social reforms, especially in making land ownership possible for greater numbers of their people. At the time, it was the largest US aid program created for the developing world.

Immigration Act of 1986

On November 6, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). The law, which is best known for connecting strengthened immigration enforcement with legalization provisions for unauthorized immigrants, marked a significant milestone in immigration policy. IRCA ushered in the most far-reaching changes in immigration law since the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. The primary goal of the sponsors and proponents of IRCA was to increase border security and establish penalties for employers who hired unauthorized immigrants. Employer sanctions represented a fundamental policy shift from a historic laissez-faire attitude toward employer responsibility in fueling illegal immigration. In addition, the law held out the promise of legal status and eventual citizenship to millions of unauthorized immigrants, marking the first large-scale legalization program in U.S. immigration history.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Russian and former Soviet politician. The eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union, he was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991.

SEATO

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, regional-defense organization from 1955 to 1977, created by the Southeast Asia CollectiveDefence Treaty, signed at Manila on September 8, 1954, by representatives of Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The treaty came into force on February 19, 1955. Pakistan withdrew in 1968, and France suspended financial support in 1975. The organization held its final exercise on February 20, 1976, and formally ended on June 30, 1977.

OPEC

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10-14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. OPEC's objective is to coordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.

Welfare Reform

The bill scrapped the welfare program known as Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) and created a new one that lasts to this day—Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). There was a grandiose idea behind the change: TANF was no simple safety net; it was also meant to be a springboard to self-sufficiency through employment, which encouraged recipients to find work by imposing work requirements and limiting how long they could receive benefits.

Decolonization

The collapse of colonial empires. Between 1947 and 1962, practically all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Treaty signed in Moscow on August 5, 1963, by the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom that banned all tests of nuclear weapons except those conducted underground.

Asymmetric Warfare

Unconventional strategies and tactics adopted by a force when the military capabilities of belligerent powers are not simply unequal but are so significantly different that they cannot make the same sorts of attacks on each other.

Don't Ask Don't Tell

When President Bill Clinton signed "don't ask, don't tell" into law in 1993, it was a compromise between the White House and Congress to end the existing policy of outright banning gay service members that had dated to World War II. Under the new policy — which passed 77-22, with bipartisan support — gay men, lesbians and bisexuals were in theory permitted to serve in the military, but they would be "separated from the armed forces" if they revealed themselves to be homosexual or bisexual, tried to marry a person of the same sex, or there was evidence they had engaged in same-sex sexual activity.

Abu Ghraib Prison

a US Army detention center for captured Iraqis from 2003 to 2006. An investigation into the treatment of detainees at the prison was prompted by the discovery of graphic photos depicting guards abusing detainees in 2003. The facility was located 20 miles west of Baghdad on 280 acres. At the height of the scandal, the prison held as many as 3,800 detainees. Most of the detainees lived in tents in the prison yards. The abuses took place inside the prison in cell blocks 1A and 1B. Eleven US soldiers were convicted of crimes relating to the Abu Ghraib scandal. Seven of those were from Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company. A number of other service members were not charged but reprimanded.

Tet Offensive

a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War.

Credibility Gap

a difference in perception between the government and its people. It occurs when there is a disconnect between what is being told to the people and what they actually believe. It became part of American culture during the Vietnam War.

Operation Desert Storm

a military operation to expel occupying Iraqi forces from Kuwait, which Iraq had invaded and annexed months earlier. For weeks, a U.S.-led coalition of two dozen nations had positioned more than 900,000 troops in the region, most stationed on the Saudi-Iraq border. A U.N.-declared deadline for withdrawal passed on January 15, with no action from Iraq, so coalition forces began a five-week bombardment of Iraqi command and control targets from air and sea. Despite widespread fears that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might order the use of chemical weapons, a ground invasion followed in February. Coalition forces swiftly drove Iraq from Kuwait, advancing into Iraq, and reaching a cease-fire within 100 hours—controversially leaving Saddam Hussein in power. While coalition casualties were in the hundreds, Iraqi losses numbered in the tens of thousands.

Arab Spring

a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in response to corruption and economic stagnation and was first started in Tunisia.

Camp David Accords

a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retreat of the President of the United States in Maryland. establish a framework for peace in the Middle East by formalizing Arab recognition of Israel's right to exist, developing a procedure for the withdrawal of Israeli forces and citizens from the so-called "Occupied Territories" of the West Bank

Iran-Contra Affair

a secret U.S. arms deal that traded missiles and other arms to free some Americans held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon, but also used funds from the arms deal to support armed conflict in Nicaragua. The controversial deal—and the ensuing political scandal—threatened to bring down the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Indochina

also called (until 1950) French Indochina or French Indochina Française, the three countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia formerly associated with France, first within its empire and later within the French Union

William Rehnquist

appointed to the Supreme Court in 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon. In 1986 President Ronald Reagan elevated Rehnquist to chief justice, a position he held until his death in 2005. During his tenure on the Court, both as associate justice and chief justice, Rehnquist was not known as a sympathetic defender of First Amendment rights, although he appeared more supportive of some aspects of the amendment than others.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

authorized President Lyndon Johnson to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression" by the communist government of North Vietnam.

No Child Left Behind Act

authorizes several federal education programs that are administered by the states. The law is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Under the 2002 law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school.

Watergate

began early in the morning of June 17, 1972, when several burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington, D.C. This was no ordinary robbery: The prowlers were connected to President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign, and they had been caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents. Nixon took aggressive steps to cover up the crimes, but when Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed his role in the conspiracy, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. The Watergate scandal changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leaders and think more critically about the presidency.

Operation Enduring Freedom

began in October, 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 and the fall of the Afghan Communist government in 1992, a protracted civil war raged on between the various factions of anti-Communist Afghan fighters, who called themselves the Mujahadeen.

Arab Nationalism

belief that all Arabs should ban together and form one large Arab country. Nasser [leader of Egypt at the time] was major component and leader of this new Arab country. power struggles soon began between countries.

Tea Party

conservative populist social and political movement that emerged in 2009 in the United States, generally opposing excessive taxation and government intervention in the private sector while supporting stronger immigration controls.

Israel

declared independence on May 14, 1948, after almost two millennia of Jewish dispersal and persecution around the Mediterranean. The surrounding Arab oil nations opposed the creation of the Jewish state of Israel. Truman officially recognized Israel on May 14, 1948. This was opposed by the State and Defense Departments and European Allies, who were afraid to antagonize the oil-endowed Arab nations. The support for Israel complicated US relations with the Arab world.

Bush Doctrine (ID)

foreign policy package specifically dealing with the strategy of preemptive attack as a means for self defense. This strategy took shape throughout the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, developing in various speeches by the President and high ranking staff. It was finalized in the 2002 national security strategy. In order to account for its impact on international law a multi layered analysis must be undertaken. Firstly, a concise reading of the applicable international laws that the doctrine collided with must be laid out - both customary and Charter. Secondly, the core tenets of the Doctrine must be established. This will be done chiefly, but not exclusively through a reading of the 2002 national security strategy. Once it is clear what the canvas onto which the Bush doctrine seeks to add its particular interpretation to, and it is similarly clear what that interpretation is, a third layer of analysis can address how the doctrine compliments, or challenges existing international law.

Ho Chi Minh

founder of the Indochina Communist Party (1930) and its successor, the Viet-Minh (1941), and president from 1945 to 1969 of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).

Geneva Conference

intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War, was a conference involving several nations that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 26 to July 20, 1954.

Bush v. Gore

legal case, decided on December 12, 2000, in which the Supreme Court of the United States reversed an order by the Florida Supreme Court for a selective manual recount of that state's U.S. presidential election ballots. The 5-4 per curiam (unsigned) decision effectively awarded Florida's 25 Electoral College votes to Republican candidate George W. Bush, thereby ensuring his victory over Democratic candidate Al Gore.

24th Amendment

outlawing the poll tax as a voting requirement in federal elections, by a vote of 295 to 86. At the time, five states maintained poll taxes which disproportionately affected African-American voters

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

protects people and the environment from significant health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops and enforces environmental regulations.

Tiananmen Square

protests that were student-led demonstrations calling for democracy, free speech and a free press in China. They were halted in a bloody crackdown, known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, by the Chinese government on June 4 and 5, 1989.

Reaganomics (ID)

refers to economic policies put forward by US President Ronald Reagan during his presidency in the 1980s. The policies were introduced to fight a long period of slow economic growth, high unemployment, and high inflation that occurred under Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Reaganomics was built upon four key concepts: (1) reduced government spending, (2) reduced taxes, (3) less regulation, and (4) slowdown of money supply growth to control inflation. Ronald Reagan's economic policies are based on supply-side economics, which is a macroeconomic theory that states economic growth can be created by reduced taxes and lower regulation. Reagan believed a tax cut would ultimately generate more revenue for the government. The idea is that consumers will benefit from cheaper goods and services and unemployment will decrease. Tax cuts will put more money in the consumer's wallet, which they spend, and this will stimulate business growth and lead to more hiring. The end result is a larger tax base, and thus more revenue for the government. The policy is also called trickle-down economics as lower taxes on businesses and the wealthy will increase investments in the short term, and the benefits will trickle down to society as a whole. Reagan's policies were a drastic change from his predecessors such as Presidents Johnson and Nixon, who both looked to increase the government's role in the economy. On the other hand, President Reagan promised to reduce the government's role and adopt a more laissez-faire approach.

Pentagon Papers (NYT v. US)

the name given to a top-secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. As the Vietnam War dragged on, with more than 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam by 1968, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg—who had worked on the study—came to oppose the war, and decided that the information contained in the Pentagon Papers should be available to the American public. He photocopied the report and in March 1971 gave the copy to The New York Times, which then published a series of scathing articles based on the report's most damning secrets.

Clarence Thomas

the second black justice and the only one currently sitting on the bench. As a Supreme Court justice, Thomas is notorious for his lack of questions during oral arguments. While many justices use questions to show their opinion on an issue or communicate with the other justices as to their feelings on a case, Thomas remains silent - but that does not hinder the other justices from discerning his thoughts. His reputation of conservativism guides their predictions. He has shown his opinions to lean farther right than any other justice on the bench today. Though Thomas is known for his lack of engagement in the oral arguments, his intellect is indispensable to his conservative cohorts

"Great Recession"

the sharp decline in economic activity during the late 2000s. It is considered the most significant downturn since the Great Depression. The term Great Recession applies to both the U.S. recession, officially lasting from December 2007 to June 2009, and the ensuing global recession in 2009.

Stagflation (ID)

when there is high inflation, high unemployment, and slow or negative real economic growth—a world that is triply uncomfortable. Traditionally there are two periods in the 1970s that economists have defined as stagflation, 1974-1975 and 1978-1982. Both periods overlap with recessions. Economists debate what causes stagflation, but for the most part, it is seen as a combination of supply shocks, such as oil price shocks, and monetary policies. Oil price shocks occurred during each of the stagflation periods and expansionary monetary policies preceded each. In October 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued an embargo against Western countries. This caused the global price of oil to rise dramatically, therefore increasing the costs of goods and contributing to a rise in unemployment.7 Because transportation costs rose, producing products and getting them to shelves became more expensive and prices rose even as people were laid off. Critics of this theory point out that sudden oil price shocks like those of the 1970s did not occur in connection with any of the simultaneous periods of inflation and recession that have occurred since then.