Bill Clinton and the Role of the Government:

Bill Clinton and the Role of the Government: 1992-1996

There are many pictures and diagrams in this presentation. Yet, you have a set of notes as depicted to the right. Whenever a slide comes up with the title that matches your note taking guide, that is when you copy down the notes. On the presentation, the sentence will be underlined. It will be blank on your note sheet. Simply fill in the blanks with the matching lines.

E. America Enters World War II (1945-Present) g. Analyze the origins of the Cold War, foreign policy developments, and major events of the administrations from Truman to present

2.Changes at Home a. Analyze major domestic issues and responses of the administrations from Truman to present e. Identify the major contemporary social, environmental, and political issues (e.g., immigration, global warming, terrorism), the groups involved, and the controversies engendered by those issues f. Assess increasing global interdependence, the potential for conflict, and the U.S. role in world events in the present and future

The Start of Clinton s Presidency -When the Gulf War ended, President George H.W. Bush was scoring high in the opinion polls. It seemed inevitable that he would be elected to a second term. -Yet, the economy entered into a downturn in the early 1990s. This led to a recession and many citizens desired to see the economy change. Bush raised taxes, something he said he would never do in his campaign. -Although he experienced high popularity following the Gulf War, Bush was not able to win victory in the Election of 1992. He was defeated by a Democrat, Bill Clinton.

Although he had great popularity after the Gulf War, President George H.W. Bush, pictured to the right, lost the Election of 1992 to a Democrat, Bill Clinton, pictured to the left, partially due to the poor economy that had occurred while he was President.

One Election and Three Candidates -Typically in the 20 th Century, the two major parties, Democrats and Republicans, dominated the run for the Presidency. -It was very difficult for a third party to run for office and defeat the two leading parties. Yet, in 1992, Ross Perot ran in the election. Perot started a company called Electronic Data Systems and was a billionaire. -Perot championed conservative ideals, such as loose gun control, and many felt he pulled votes away from the Republicans. Perot received over 18% of the popular vote, a high percentage for a 3 rd party candidate.

The Election of 1992

These next slides are not in your notes that you are taking. The following is a recap of the Republican model for economics and the Democrat model. This is to help you to understand how the economic policies of both parties impacted the Presidency of Bill Clinton.

When the Great Depression began, in 1928, many were discontent with Hoover s hands off approach. Hoover was a Republican. He did not want to raise taxes to give direct relief and aid to struggling Americans. He was afraid this would make people dependent on the government. He felt the government should get out of the way and let the free market work out the Great Depression on its own.

Villages of homeless people in shacks were nicknamed Hoovervilles and Hoover s tension with WW I veterans, called the Bonus Army, tarnished his political popularity.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Democrat, defeated Herbert Hoover for the Presidency in the Election of 1932. While Hoover wanted the government to get out of the way in the Great Depression, FDR felt the government had to be involved and intentional to fix the bad economy.

Like the Progressives, FDR and the Democrats wanted the government to act like a strict referee in the economy.

Yet, to pay for the New Deal, FDR was going to have to spend tax payer money.

By planting trees, the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal government program, helped to prevent a future Dustbowl. It also gave men jobs who were out of work. Yet, the men were paid with taxpayer money.

Social Security was a major aspect of the New Deal and is still around today and funded by taxes.

This is how Social Security works. The top row represents the younger generation of Americans in the workforce. As they work, they pay a portion of their income into Social Security as a tax. The bottom row is the older generation of those 65 and older. Since they paid into the system when they were young, they get to draw money out of the system during their retirement years.

Some people thought the New Deal was a good thing that would take the USA toward economic recovery. Others thought it was a negative thing and that FDR was becoming a dictator and increasing taxes to an unhealthy level.

By the 1960s, many Republicans felt that Americans were paying taxes that were too high to fund the various government programs that had appeared since FDR s New Deal. Republican: Barry Goldwater -Claim: The government is taxing too much and must reduce its size and lower taxes. Democrat: Lyndon Baines Johnson -Claim: The government should use taxes to provide social programs for the poor, elderly, and others who need assistance. LBJ won the election. The Election of 1964

These economic distinctions between Republicans and Democrats persist to today. For the most part, Republicans believe in a small government and reducing taxes, while the Democrats believe in a government that is heavily involved and uses tax payer money to fund social programs. This concludes the recap.

Should the USA have a Big or Small Government? -In the 1980s, two term President, Ronald Reagan, a Conservative Republican, asserted that the government of the USA had grown too large and that heavy taxes for social programs were burdening the economy. This was a view that gained him massive support. -Clinton believed in government intervention funded by taxes. Yet, he was willing to take moderate approaches to reduce government involvement and spending in various areas to appeal to the desire by many Conservatives to shrink the role of the government. -Many people supported George H.W. Bush, Reagan s Vice President, assuming he would continue this trend of shrinking the government and lowering taxes.

The Role of the Government and Clinton -While Clinton was moderate in enforcing government power, compared to past Democrats, he still pursued government intervention in various ways. -For instance, George H.W. Bush vetoed the Family Medical Leave Act, a bill in which the government required businesses to allow employees to take off 12 unpaid weeks off for individual or family medical situations. -When Clinton became President, the bill again arose and he signed it into law. This showed that, while Clinton was willing to shrink the government s intervention is some ways, he was also willing to increase the government's involvement in other matters.

Bill Clinton signing the Federal Medical Leave Act into law on February 5 th, 1993.

Gun Control and Clinton -In the early 1990s, many Republicans supported loose gun laws and believed the 2 nd amendment supported such views, while many Democrats wanted to have stricter gun laws and believed their approach did not violate the 2 nd amendment. -Bill Clinton favored stricter gun laws. He signed the Brady Bill into law. This law meant that citizens had to get background checks to purchase guns. The National Rifle Association and other Conservative groups opposed the bill. Yet, it still passed. -Raising again the issue of gun laws in the USA, tragically, in 1999, two teenagers killed 12 students and 1 teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado. This caused the nation to reflect on school security and to pursue zero tolerance tactics toward school violence.

The Rise of Newt Gingrich -Early on, Clinton pursued measures to try and create a national healthcare system for the USA. This would have radically increased the role of the government. This endeavor failed. -Partially as a backlash against Clinton s attempts to expand the government s involvement in healthcare, the Republicans strategized a political takeover. They claimed Clinton was not the moderate he claimed to be but was actually very liberal on political issues. -Newt Gingrich, a Republican Congressman from Georgia, proposed what he called the Contract With America. This was a Conservative plan to limit the government s involvement and spending. His goal was for the Republicans to gain the House of Representatives.

Sometimes refereed to as The Republican Revolution, Senator Newt Gingrich of Georgia successfully led a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the Midterm elections of 1994.

The Elections of 1994 -Although the Democrats gained the Presidency in 1992, the Republicans rallied massive victories in the 1994 midterm elections. Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. -While the Republicans reduced spending in various areas, they faced opposition when they tried to reduce several government programs, such as Medicare, government funded insurance for the poor. -Clinton did compromise and cooperate with Gingrich's Republican alliance. He agreed to reform welfare to encourage require recipients to seek work. Likewise, he took measures to reduce spending by balancing the government s budget.

The Presidential Election of 1996 -The Republicans nominated Senator Bob Dole of Kansas to run for their party against Bill Clinton in 1996. -Once again, Ross Perot entered the Presidential race as a 3 rd party candidate. This time, Perot was backed by the Reform Party, a party Perot created. -Despite the momentum of Republican victories in the 1994 midterm elections, Bill Clinton won a 2 nd term to office in the Election of 1996. His victory was achieved partially by an incredibly strong economy that had developed in the USA during his first term.

The Election of 1996

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