The 1990s
Essential Question:
Date:
Daily 10:
Which of the following events is a direct cause of the involvement of the United States in the Persian Gulf
War?
A. Iran threatened to launch missiles toward Israel, an ally of the United States.
B. Iraq invaded Kuwait, an ally of the United States.
C. Saudi Arabia and Iraq threatened to cut off oil to the United States.
D. Syria and Iraq invaded Iran, a member of the United Nations.
Define:
impeachment
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Persons of Interest
George H. W. Bush
William Clinton
Read pages 245-249 in the workbook
GEORGE H.W. BUSH & THE PERSIAN GULF WAR
 Following Reagan's departure,
became the
new president of the United States. After serving 8 years as Reagan's
president, Bush defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis to win the
election.
 He was in office when the
came down and when
the Soviet Union finally collapsed in the early '90s. He also acted as
over the nation's military during the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
 In 1990, Iraq's leader,
, invaded the neighboring country of
. Due in part to the United States' reliance on
from Kuwait
and nearby Saudi Arabia, Saddam's actions were of much concern to the United States.
 President Bush worked through the
to coordinate an alliance of
countries that took
military action against Iraq after Saddam refused to withdraw back across the
border.
 The war lasted only
days and resulted in the
of
Kuwait. Citing that he had only received
approval to liberate Kuwait, President Bush
elected not to push the attack into Iraq and
Saddam to remain in power. It was a
decision of which his son, President
, would feel the effects a decade
later.
THE ELECTION OF 1992
 After the Gulf War, Bush's
soared. Citizens cheered him as a leader who had stood up
to
and led the nation to a great victory. By the time of the 1992 election, however,
things had drastically
. The president's foreign policy success was quickly forgotten as
the
took a downturn.
 Using the slogan, "It's the economy,
," the Democrats successfully portrayed
Bush as not only responsible for the economic difficulties, but also as being out of touch with the struggles of
.
 In addition, Bush found himself
by his own words. During is 1988 acceptance
speech at the
, Bush had vowed not to raise taxes by
stating, "
!“ However, to
deal with the debt of the Reagan years, Bush felt he had no choice but to go back on his word and raised
after all.
 The presidential election of
was one of the Most memorable in history. The Republicans put
their hopes in President Bush. Meanwhile, the Democrats nominated a gifted politician and public speaker by
the name of
.
 Clinton had served for years as
of Arkansas. Although he was not well known
before 1992, Clinton ran a calculated campaign which Emphasized the nation's
challenges
and portrayed Bush as being
of recognizing, much less dealing with, the problems.
 Clinton also understood that Democratic candidates had suffered in recent elections because they were
often perceived as being "
" who would raise taxes to
fund big government. Clinton successfully portrayed himself as a "
" who was moderate (in between conservative and liberal) rather than liberal.
 What made the '92 election so different, however, was not the Democratic and Republican candidates, but
rather its formidable
candidate. Texas billionaire businessman
entered the race for president as an independent candidate. Because of the
discontent many felt with the federal government and the traditional two-party system, Perot gained a great
deal of
.
 At one point, Perot was actually dead even with Clinton and Bush in the
__.
Things got quirky, however, when Perot
of the race unexpectedly,
only to change his mind & re-enter. Perot's
cost him the loyalty of many
of his supporters, & his campaign never regained its earlier momentum. In 1992, the
recaptured the
for the first time since 1980 when Bill Clinton won
the election with less than
of the popular vote.
NAFTA
 Following an early '90s
that cost President Bush his job, the
economy saw an
during the Clinton presidency. The nation went
from having a massive budget
(spending more money than the
government has in a given year) to a budget
(spending less
money than the government has in a given year). Under Clinton, the United States also ratified NAFTA (
_
_).
 NAFTA promoted
(no trade restrictions) between the
,
,&
, and caused considerable controversy in the United
States. Many labor unions
that the agreement would encourage U.S. businesses to relocate
to
where they'd face
restrictions and be able to
lower
wages.
 This, of course, would result in a
of U.S. jobs. Proponents of NAFTA, however, argued that
it would create
in the United States by
for U.S. businesses.
 Since the 1970s, the United States has had a persistent
, meaning that
U.S. imports exceed its exports. This trend
following NAFTA. Meanwhile, more and more U.S.
companies have been forced to
.
 While some blame NAFTA for such trends, others criticize
, blaming them and the strict
business regulations they help institute as reasons for the United States'
in certain markets. Such restrictions, critics claim, cost U.S. citizens’ jobs because they
______U.S. manufacturers to hire workers in other nations who require
and/or
instead of U.S. citizens.
 Meanwhile,
and their
often respond that regulations are
necessary to maintain fair and just labor practices. They argue that the
should use its
power to force, or at least encourage, U.S. businesses to hire workers at
rather than allowing
them to move their operations overseas.
HEALTH CARE
 One of the areas Clinton was most
about was the U.S
system. Disturbed that nearly forty million U.S. citizens still had
in
1993. Clinton appointed his own wife,
, to head a task force to
analyze health care and propose reforms.
 Clinton ended up
to Congress a plan that called for a
health insurance program that
affordable health coverage to every U.S. citizen.
 The plan was
by Congress after roughly a
of debate. Many insurance &
business interests
the plan and did an effective job of
and building political
support against it.
 In addition, many
felt that it was too
& another example of "taxand-spend liberalism" to fund government programs. Critics also argued that
would ultimately hurt the
of health care in the United States & pointed to examples in other
countries to support their claim.
SHOWDOWNS WITH CONGRESS AND A SECOND TERM
 The
won control of both the House & the Senate in 1994, forcing President Clinton to
work with a Congress controlled by the opposing party.
Republican representative
became a nationally known politician when he instituted the "
.“
 The "
" was a pledge by conservatives to
back the role of government,
taxes, &
the budget. It helped propel the Republicans to victory in the 1994 congressional
elections and enabled Gingrich to become the
____.
 A huge
between Clinton & Gingrich's Republican-led
finally
occurred in 1995 over proposed budget cuts. When the two sides could not
, the federal
government temporarily shut down & ceased services to millions of people. It was the spring of 1996 before
the two sides reached an
.
 The
battle turned out to be a plus for Clinton. Prior to it, Clinton's
had been fading. Fortunately for the president, however, most people blamed
for the
government shutdown. The following November, Clinton easily
a second term in the White
House.
SCANDAL AND IMPEACHMENT
 Bill Clinton is acknowledged by many to have been a
president. His legacy is forever attached, however, to a series of
and his administration. As early as his
president were nearly derailed by accusations of an extra
politician and an
that dogged his candidacy
campaign, Clinton's hopes of being
affair.
 He also had to deal with charges that he had used
means to avoid the draft during
Vietnam. Clinton's ability to
these challenges and bounce back earned him the
nickname the "
."
 During his first term, Clinton was accused of taking part in
business practices in Arkansas and using his influence as
to cover
them up. This came to be known as the
affair. It also involved
accusations against Mrs. Clinton and her former law firm. Although some Clinton’s
associates were eventually convicted of crimes, the president and the first lady were
linked to any wrongdoing.
 The
scandal to hit the Clinton White House was by far the
biggest. A young woman named
accused Clinton of
sexual harassment before he became president.
 During the investigation, Clinton was asked about the nature of his relationship with a White House intern
named
. Under oath, before a grand jury, the president
that he had ever had any sexual relationship with the young lady. As more evidence came to light,
however, it became apparent that Clinton had
.
 In August
, Clinton went on national television and admitted having a relationship with the
intern that was "
.“ On December 19,1998, the House voted to
President Bill Clinton for lying to a grand jury.
 He is only the
president in history to be impeached; the first was Andrew Johnson.
Clinton's presidency
after he was acquitted by the Senate, but the
of the Lewinsky scandal remained throughout the rest of his time in office.
 Despite his
, however, Clinton proved to be an
president. He
the national budget and presided over a time of economic
. Almost ten
years after leaving office, polls showed that most U.S. citizens still had a
opinion of the
Clinton presidency.
Study Questions:
1. Bill Clinton was
A. the first Democrat to win the presidency since 1976.
B. the first Democrat elected president since Franklin Roosevelt.
C. the first Democrat to serve only one term as president during the twentieth century.
D. the first person ever to serve as governor of a southern state before becoming president.
2. What do Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton all have in common?
A. They were all conservative Republicans.
B. Each one's presidency was tarnished by scandal.
C. Each was impeached.
D. All three were elected during the cold war.
3. How would a union leader favoring trade restrictions to protect U.S. jobs feel about NAFTA?
A. They would only support NAFTA if U.S. companies agreed to open more facilities on foreign soil.
B. They would support NAFTA.
C. They would not be concerned because NAFTA had to do with military weapons.
D. They would oppose NAFTA.
4. From late 1995 until spring 1996, certain departments and services of the federal government shut down
because there was no approved federal budget. The reason there was no budget was predominantly due to
A. the debt of the Reagan years.
B. the president and Congress’ irresponsibility and overspending.
C. the executive and legislative branches’ inability to compromise on government spending.
D. the fact that taxes were too low.