Was Ronald Reagan s Vice-President for eight years Pledged to continue much of Reagan s economic, domestic, and foreign policy commitments Famous line from the Republican convention, Read my lips; no new taxes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5dzbfbmdji
Environment Civil Rights Savings and Loan Crisis The Economy
THE GOOD The Clean Air Act of 1990 Was designed to cut pollutants from factories The hope was to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses Because of the price the phase in was extended THE BAD Exxon Valdez oil spill The oil tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska 10.8 million gallons of oil spilled Exxon was not expedient with its cleanup Destruction of wildlife and ecosystem Blame game Government for not regulating the oil tankers The Captain for being drunk on duty
The Americans with Disabilities Act is passed in 1990 Public entities must have equal access and opportunities for mentally and physically disabled people.
Under Reagan the Savings and Loan industry was deregulated. Unlike banks, S&L s are not covered under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) In the mid-1980 s, many S&L s began making risky real estate investments
The industry collapsed, costing many their life savings Congress voted to bail out the industry (at mostly tax payer expense) Charles Keating was indicted for fraud, racketeering and conspiracy he served 4 ½ years in prison He was a campaign contributor to Senators who had supported the bill
Five Senators were disciplined for their roles: Reprimanded -- Alan Cranston (D-CA) Criticized for acting improperly -- Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI) Cleared of wrongdoing, but criticized of poor judgment -- John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R- AZ)
Bush is elected on strength of the economy Inflation was down to 3% Interest rates were at 20 year lows Increased exports reduced the trade deficit HOWEVER More businesses failed since the Great Depression 10% of the population was on food stamps Record yearly deficit of $350 billion mid-1992 the unemployment rate reached 7.8% (highest since 1984) September 1992 14.2% of all Americans lived in poverty (highest since 1983)
June 1990 Bush asks Congress for tax increases (remember what he said earlier?) Conservatives are outraged The economy enters a recession in late 1991 Approval rating in mid to late 1992 is as low as 29% TIMING?
$350 $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 $0 Deficit (in billions) $269 $290 $255 $208 $212 $221 $221 $203 $185 $150 $155 $152 $128 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 Deficit (in billions)
$4.5 $4.0 $3.5 $3.0 $2.5 $2.0 $1.5 $1.0 $0.5 $0.0 Debt (in trillions) $4.0 $3.6 $3.2 $2.8 $2.6 $2.3 $2.1 $1.8 $1.6 $1.4 $0.9 $1.0 $1.1 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 Debt (in trillions)
Nicaragua Panama Persian Gulf War Cold War
Reversed Reagan s policy of armed overthrow of the Sandinistas Bush pushed for a political overthrow through elections In 1990, Violeta Chamarro (whose husband was murdered by Somoza s men) was elected to head a coalition government The Bush administration ended sanctions against Nicaragua
Led by General Manuel Noriega Had been involved in drug trafficking since the 1970 s Had threatened U.S. military personnel stationed in the Canal Zone
Bush sent in Marines to capture Noriega in December of 1989 Noriega holed himself up in the Vatican embassy Came out after nonstop heavy metal music is blared through loudspeakers
Noriega is captured by Marines and arrested Noriega is put on trial in Florida and convicted Currently serving a 40 year sentence The American invasion was condemned by many countries
Saddam Hussein and Iraq are broke from fighting the Iran-Iraq War Saddam invades oil-rich neighbor Kuwait on August 2, 1990 He claims Kuwait was a historic region of Iraq He s also interested in Saudi Arabia Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia has 50% of the world s oil production
President Bush asks the United Nations for a resolution to liberate Kuwait The stated goal by the U.N. is to liberate Kuwait Fifteen nations (including the Soviet Union) send troops to Saudi Arabia Congress, using the War Powers Act, allows for United States participation This is known as Operation Desert Shield
GENERAL COLIN POWELL JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF GENERAL NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF COMMANDER OF UNITED NATIONS FORCES
U.N. forces amass on the Saudi/Kuwaiti border Saddam is ordered to leave Kuwait or risk being invaded Some militant Muslims hate American presence in Saudi Arabia (Osama bin Laden) The U.S. convinces Israel to stay out of the war
January 16, 1991 Operation Desert Storm begins American and British pilots bomb Iraqi military facilities Iraq attempts to hit Israel with Scud missiles almost all are stopped Saddam still refuses to leave
February 23, 1991 the ground war begins The Iraqi army (4 th largest in the world at that time) surrenders in 100 hours February 28 th Iraq surrenders
Kuwait is liberated 289 deaths (141 American) some from friendly fire Saddam is left in power in Iraq WHY? Veterans report mysterious illnesses
Retreating Iraqi armies destroy oil wells American soldiers return as heroes (including Vietnam veterans for the first time) George Bush has an 89% approval rating
Mikhail Gorbachev had become head of the Soviet Union in 1985 Glasnost An openness of ideas Perestroika Economic restructuring How does Gorbachev seem to be similar or different from past Soviet leaders?
Economy in collapse Soviets leave Afghanistan in 1988 Soviet satellite nations began to pull away Berlin wall comes down in 1989 http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wnyxbj_bclc East and West Germany reunify in 1990
Gorbachev allows eastern European nations to set up non-communist governments (most peacefully) Uses military strength to keep Soviet republics from breaking away Hard-line communists stage a coup against Gorbachev in August 1991 Boris Yeltsin turns Russians against coup
The former Soviet Union split into 15 separate countries Boris Yeltsin serves as a two term president of Russia In going from communism to capitalism, inflation reached as high as 800% The United States and other western European nations provided some support Both sides eliminate many nuclear weapons from their arsenals With the election of Vladimir Putin, Russia becomes more like the old Soviet Union Is the Cold War really over?