Matakuliah : G0862/American Culture and Society
Tahun
: 2007
The Clinton’s Administration
(1990 – 2000)
Meeting 11
Contents
• Clinton Administration and Policy
• Violence:
- Columbine: Gun control in the US
- the Oklahoma Bombing
• Gore vs. G.W. Bush election: A Close call in
Florida
William Jefferson Clinton
Clinton and JFK
Violence in the US
Columbine tragedy
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20,
1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County,
Colorado (the CDP of Columbine) near Denver and Littleton. Two students,
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, carried out a shooting rampage, killing 12
students and a teacher, as well as wounding 24 others, before committing
suicide. It is the third-deadliest school shooting in United States history,
after the 1966 University of Texas massacre and the 2007 Virginia Tech
massacre.
The massacre provoked debate regarding gun control laws, the availability
of firearms in the United States, and gun violence involving youths. Much
discussion also centered on the nature of high school cliques, subcultures
and bullying, as well as the role of violent movies and video games in
American society. The shooting also resulted in an increased emphasis on
school security, and a moral panic aimed at goth culture, social pariahs, the
gun culture, the use of pharmaceutical anti-depressants by teenagers,
violent films and music, teen internet use and violent video games
Oklahoma bombing
• The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist attack on
April 19, 1995 aimed at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building, a U.S. government office complex in downtown
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The attack claimed 168 lives
and left over 800 injured. Until the September 11, 2001
attacks, it was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.
• Shortly after the explosion, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer
pulled over 27-year-old Timothy McVeigh for driving without a
license plate and unlawfully carrying a weapon.[2] Within days after
the bombing, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were both arrested
for their roles in the bombing. Investigators determined that McVeigh
and Nichols were sympathizers of an anti-government militia
movement and that their motive was to avenge the government's
handling of the Waco and Ruby Ridge incidents. McVeigh was
executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001; Nichols was
sentenced to life in prison. A third conspirator, Michael Fortier, who
testified against the two conspirators, was imprisoned for failing to
warn the U.S. government. As with other large-scale terrorist
attacks, conspiracy theories dispute the official claims and point to
additional perpetrators involved.
• The attacks led to widespread rescue efforts from local,
state, and federal agencies, along with considerable
donations from across the country. As a result of the
destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building the
U.S. government passing legislation designed to
increase protection around federal buildings and to
thwart future terrorist attacks. Under these measures,
law enforcement has since foiled over fifty domestic
terrorism plots. On April 19, 2000, the Oklahoma City
National Memorial was dedicated on the site of the
Murrah Federal Building to commemorate the victims of
the bombing and annual rememberance services are
held at the time of the explosion.
The Oklahoma Building