The 1990s
Alisabeth, Anna, Marylena, Maya,
Michelle, Molly
Politics
George Bush (1988-1992)
Bill Clinton (1992-2000)
Bush’s Term 1990-1992: Actions and
Policies
•1990 Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA)
•1992: major water projects bill:
reformed distribution of funded
federal water in West
•Anti affirmative action
•Anti abortion lost women
supporters
1992 Presidential Election
•Rep: George Bush
•Dem: Bill Clinton
•Independent: H. Ross Perot
•weak economy (federal deficit
problem)
•Gender gap
•Persian Gulf War
•Record number of voters
•Clinton won
•Democratic majority in both houses of
Congress
Clinton’s First Term
• Too many controversial issues
• Supported free trade (NAFTA & WTO)
• Deficit reduction bill of
1993successful
• Gun control & anticrime laws
• Term limit laws for elected officials
Clinton’s First Term
• Problems with Republicans
• Contract with America
• Attack on budget deficits & reductions
in welfare programssuccessful
• Republicans criticized for extreme
views
1996 Presidential Elections
•Rep: Robert Doyle
•Dem: Bill Clinton
•Healthy economy
•Clinton won easy victory
Clinton’s Second Term
• Claimed political middle ground
• 1996 Welfare Reform Bill
• Disagreement over trade policy
• Protestors at Seattle meeting of WTO in
1999
• Campaign finance reform
Lewinsky Scandal
Charges for Impeachment
•“perjury before grand jury”
& “obstruction of justice”
•Was Clinton guilty of “high
crimes and misdemeanors”
described in Constitution?
•Democrats said no
•Republicans said yes;
lied under public oath
•50 voted guilty, 55 voted
not guilty
•Need 2/3 majority guilty
vote for impeachment  no
impeachment
Business and the Economy
Short Recession
• 1990 – 1991 recession
• Slow recovery: increased unemployment
rates
• 1991 -1993: 7% increase in unemployment
• After the recession, employment increased
steadily throughout the rest of the 90s
Employment
• Manufacturing employment declined
• Labor union memberships declined slightly
• 13.5% of the population was in poverty in
1990
Lifestyle Improvements
• People had a longer life expectancy
• It increased from 75.4% to 76.7%
• Improved medical treatment and lifestyles
• Less smoking and fat intake
• The proportion of people graduating college
increased to 26%
The Stock Market
• The stock market boomed in the late
1990s
• This was partially because of the “dot – com
boom”
• The 90s were profitable for corporations
and investors
• High profits aided to a boom in prices of
corporate stocks
Balanced Budget Act of 1997
• Signed into a law on August 5, 1997
• This bill is considered to be an ominous bill
• Provisions with food stamps, housing, children’s
health, Medicaid
• Reduce deficit with shifts in policy and enacting new
laws
• The act offered a new Medicaid + Choice option
• More private insurances could contract with the
government
• Wider coverage with less out of pocket expenses
New Technology
• Audio books
• Cell Phones
• Computers
• Digital Cameras
• DVDs
• Automobile Industry
Dot-Coms
• The internet availability to the public greatly
increased productivity
• In 1998, the NASDAQ tripled
• Incomes and stock values increased greatly as
well
• Main beneficiaries: corporations and CEOs
• Improved customer service and business transactions
• Contributed to the boom in housing and real
estate market
• Provided many new job opportunities
• Lack of caution with dot – coms: not completely
successful
Websites
Trends
Clothing
• Formal/ Business Attire
• High Fashion: casual/ comfortable
• Casual Wear
• T- shirt
• Jeans
• The Gap
• Pro- team sport logos popular
Hip Hop
largest market not in ghetto- more in
suburban youth.
• Baggy denim pants and overalls.
• Wool/baseball caps.
• Sport jerseys/ jackets.
• Nike brand shoes
Teen Clothing
• Grunge: Seattle Scene. Musician look.
• Skate: oversized clothing.
• Gothic: dark. High School Shootings.
• Rave: bright. Underground dance
parties.
Clothing cont.
• School Uniforms:
• feared gang problems
• Keep girls from wearing inappropriate
clothes.
• Technology: synthetic material made to be
breathable and windproof.
• Gore-Tex
• Micro fibers for clothes.
Jewelry
• Important for casual wear.
• Brooches and chokers.
• Peace signs made comeback.
• Hemp twine and wooden beads
• Christian iconography: crosses/doves
• Homemade jewelry.
Hair
• Natural- Low Maintenance
• Black women:
• hair extensions- bob and bee-hive.
• Hair pieces; weaved into hair straight or
braided.
• Hair coloring: Increased 70% over the
course of the decade.
• More dying of hair to red and blond because
of Britney spears
• Men: Bleaching hair and spiked with dark
roots: Nsync and Rieke Martin.
Entertainment
• Books:
• Happy Potter: best selling child’s fantasy
series. J.K. Rowling.
• Received protests from Christian groups:
promoted which craft
• Games/ Toys:
• Tomagatchis, Pokémon, Neopets, Poochi,
Ferbi, computer games
Television Shows
Slang
- “Playah”, “Pigeon”, “chica”, “Dawg”,
- homeys, gangsters, Gs, buzzkill,
borechore, geek, chillin’, goin’ postal,
throw down, bounce, phat, dope, fly, your
mom. Money: bills, bling, coin.
- I-M ing/ text messaging:
• OMG, IDK, LOL
Blogs
• online diaries.
• Ritual Entertainment hired full time
blogger in 1997- first company to have a
professional blogger
• Dredge Report: Matt Drudge makes news
blog
• Blogging exploded in 1998- tens of thousands
by end of 99’
• Opened handful of host blogging services
• people can comment on other people’s blogs
Tattoos/ Piercings
• Tattoos were just for gang members,
prisoners, bikers, and sailors• Now: more mainstream.
• Piercing: not just ears anymore.
• Tongue, navel, nose.
Food Trends
-
Frozen dinners
Power bars/ Cereal Bars
Genetically Modified Food
Organic Food: whole foods marketry
Coffee Houses
- Starbucks
Foreign Policy
Persian Gulf War
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Iraq invades Kuwait
U.N. ordered removal of Iraqis
U.S. leads invasion
Ceasefire- February 24, 1991
Persian Gulf War
North American Free Trade Agreement
• Agreement between Mexico, Canada, and
the U.S.
• Decreased tariffs
Balkans
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•
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Bosnian freedom from Yugoslavia
Ethnic cleansing of Croats
Clintons idea to bomb Serbians
Agreement made in Ohio
Social/ Cultural Changes
Education
- 82% of the nation had completed four
years of high school
• High school drop out rate was less than
6% (was an improvement from the 80s,
which was 11%)
• Average amount of homework hours
changed (for example from ages 6-8)
from 52 minutes to over two hours
• More students were attending college
because of the economic boom
Work
• Part-time jobs  80% of students had one
• Jobs were becoming more based of college
educations
Teen Violence
• 1991: highest rate of teen violence
• teens living in the ghetto lead to a higher
chance of a more violent lifestyle
Drugs
• There was an increase with teens using
drugs, smoking, and alcohol
• Raised from 14-46% from 1992-1997
Advertising
• Was increased through television,
magazines, the radio, and the internet
• Was a major stimulant of the economy
• The average American was estimated to
be targeted with a daily rate of 3000
advertisements in 1991
• Growth in telemarketing
The Internet
• Simplified the process of getting
information
• EBay: founded in 1995
• Was one of the most dominate market places
• By end of 90s 40 million were registered and
made over five billion dollars in transactions
Sports
• Soccer had its come back in the 90s
• Mia Hamm: U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
• Sports event tickets were becoming more
expensive
• Sports celebrities and athletes were
becoming the face of many commercial
advertisements
• Most popular: Michael Jordan (Hanes and Nike)
and Tiger Woods (Titlist golf gear, Nike,
American Express, Rolex, and more).
Food
• Fast Food Industry
• By the end of the 90s - spent $110 billion
• Increased marketing towards children
• put playgrounds in restaurants
• Put advertisement in kid movies  BK in Toy
Story
• Soda
• Reached to an annual rate of 56 gallons per
person at the end of the 90s
• Americans had poor diets because of
fast food
• Mostly effected the children  poor
exercise\
Music
• Nirvana: band of the 90s
• Rock/Metal: Example Bands: Metallica,
Beastie Boys, Beck, Sound Garden
• Indie Rock: Became a new genre in the
90s, but wasn’t mainstream
• Alternative rock
• Was more popular with teens- MTV
• Examples: U2, Nirvana, R.E.M., Pearl Jam,
House of Pain, Counting Crows, Radiohead,
Third Eye Blind, Oasis, Green Day, Goo Goo
Dolls, Spin Doctors
Music Cont.
• Rap / Hip-hop
• Sales were extremely high for the music
• Wasn’t played on the commercial radio
because it was too obscene
• Example Bands: Sir Mix-A-Lot, Dr. Drew,
Red Hot Chili Peppers, MC Hammer, Salt-nPepper, Eminem, Vanilla Ice, Color Me Badd,
Fat Boy Slim-
• Country: Billy Ray Cyrus, Tim McGraw,
Dixie Chicks…
• Pop: Backstreet Boys, Brittany Spears…
Key Events
Aids Epidemic of the 1990’s
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•
•
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In the 1990’s, the aids epidemic continued
to kill multiple people.
Every year, the United States had 40,000
aids related cases.
In May 1990, the number of aids patients
of 13 to 19 year olds increased by 35%.
There were public service announcements
by the National Institute on Drug Abuse to
encourage teens to avoid usage of drugs
and alcohol.
(one of many) 1995-1997
• Clinton had an affair with Monica
Lewinsky (22) since November of
1995.
• When confronted about this affair, he
denied that he ever did anything with
anyone.
• Ended up testifying his faults.
• Was acquitted for his charges.
Oklahoma City Bombing:
April 19, 1995
• At 9:02 am a truck exploded in front
of the Alfred P. Murrah federal
building.
• Timothy Mcveigh was found
responsible for the bombing.
• Video:
• http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?i
d=2683183n
Princess Diana car crash:
August 30, 1997
• Princess Diana was in France
celebrating with her companion, Dodi.
• One the way back to the hotel was the
fatal car crash.
• Millions mourned over her sudden death.
Columbine Massacre:
April 20, 1999
• Extreme school shooting
• Littletown, Colorado
• Seniors: Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris
• April 20th, 11:15 am was the 1st lunch period with
around 500 kids near the cafeteria.
• Evidences were found from a security tape
• Total of 13 people killed
• 1 teacher, 12 students
• Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phAp
xy7aqFw&feature=related
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
novel: 1999
• Series by J.K. Rowling
• Started a new obsession for readers
• Total of 7 books and 6 movies