1990s Notes drawn from Maier’s Inventing America, Kennedy’s American Pageant, and other sources

1990s1990s

Notes drawn from Maier’s Inventing America, Kennedy’s American Pageant, and other sources

End of Cold War: collapse of Soviet Union

End of Cold War: collapse of Soviet Union

• 1989: Central European

countries rid themselves of most Communist leadership (Poland, Hungary; break away from USSR (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia)

Berlin Wall (dividing E. and W. Berlin) torn down

Source: TIME.com

End of Cold War: Bush’s goals, and the outcomesEnd of Cold War: Bush’s goals, and the outcomes

• Goals: Maintain stable balance of

power Foster democratic capitalism

• Methods: 1990: grants trade package

to Gorbachev in exchange for support for German reunification by 1994

1991: START I: cut strategic nuclear weapons by 30-40%

• Endgame: Dec. 1991—USSR officially comes to end; replaced by Commonwealth of Independent States Gorbachev resigns; Yeltsin

takes power 1993: Bush and Yeltsin

sign START II: 2/3 reduction in long-range nuclear weapons; elimination of land-based missiles

1992 Election1992 Election

• Republican: George H. W. Bush

• Democrat: Bill Clinton Gov. of Arkansas, Rhodes Scholar Noted for ability to empathize w/ disadvantaged: “I feel your

pain.”

• Independent: Ross Perot


• Clinton wins, mainly on economic issues “It’s the economy, stupid.”

• But the election wasn’t decisive: no mandate

• Dems retain Congress


1992: Clinton1992: Clinton

Not Negroes! Not women! Not gays!Within days of his inauguration, political pressure from the military and other sources forced newly-elected President Bill Clinton to delay his campaign pledge to lift the ban on gays in the armed forces. Gay and lesbian leaders subsequently announced their intention to hold Clinton to his election promise. Eventually a watered-down and largely ineffectual "Don't ask, don't tell," policy was announced and later questioned by Clinton himself. In this image, Herb Block lampoons earlier unsuccessful efforts by the military to avoid including African Americans and women.

Domestic politics in the Clinton Era: Gay RightsDomestic politics in the Clinton Era: Gay Rights

Domestic politics in the Clinton Era


• Economy Reduces federal deficit with

tax hikes on wealthy, spending cuts ($225 billion)

Gets NAFTA (negotiated by Bush admin) passed (1993)

• creates free-trade zone in N. America

• Opposed by labor and many Dems: thousands of jobs will go to Mexico, which has fewer environmental and safety standards

• Advocates: creates jobs• By 1994, NAFTA estimated to

have cost 12,000 jobs, but also created 130,000 jobs b/c of more exports to Mexico



• Economy, con’t promotes creation of World Trade Organization (WTO) (1994),

promoting global free trade• Clinton cuts tariffs and abolishes trade quotas

Economic recovery• By end of 1994,

unemployment down to 5.4% Deficit down and still falling Consumer confidence up, retail sales up

• Crime and gun control: “Brady Bill” (1993): gun control law named after pres. aide

James Brady, wounded in Reagan assassination attempt Anticrime bill (1994) bans several types of assault weapons



• Health care (1993) Data suggest need for action:

• US spending more per capita on medical care than anyone else in the world

• 39 million uninsured Americans Attempts to get gov’t subsidized health insurance program

passed• A “hybrid of federal and private arrangements” (Maier 974)

Provides universal health coverage; market competition used to bend cost curve

headed by Hillary Clinton (prominent lawyer, children’s advocate)

• Opposed by pharmaceutical, insurance industries, Republicans• Fails

1996: pass law to allow workers to keep medical insurance if they changed or lost jobs

Violence in the 1990sViolence in the 1990s

• 1992: Ruby Ridge, Idaho Confrontation b/t armed

white separatists and law enforcement (separatist’s wife and son killed)

• 1993: Waco, Texas standoff b/t federal agents

(searching for illegal firearms) and fundamentalist sect: “Branch Davidians”

• antigovernment paramilitary

• ends in deaths of all 76 at the compound


• Significance of Ruby Ridge and Waco: “galvanized the far right” (Maier 976)

• 1,000+ patriot groups and armed militias formed• Conspiracy theories abound

Gov’t trying to eradicate white Christians Gov’t becoming totalitarian

Leads to Oklahoma City…


• 1995: bombing of Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City 168 killed, including

children Timothy McVeigh, an

antigovernment extremist, convicted and executed

Terry Nichols, co-conspirator, sentenced to life


• Columbine (1999): 12 students, 1 teacher

killed by two students• Psychologically

troubled, angry, suicidal; hoped to murder thousands

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm

Patrick Ireland, who was severely wounded in the Columbine shooting, was helped out of a school window by members of the FBI.


Clinton: foreign policyClinton: foreign policy

• “Democratic enlargement” replaces doctrine of containment: “Strengthen…market democracies” “foster and consolidate new democracies” “counter aggression and support the

liberalization of states hostile to democracy” (Maier 981-2)


• Russia: US grants billions in assistance to Russia

• Supports growth of private sector activity in Russia

Enacts START I and II, detargets US and Russian strategic missiles (Maier 982)

• Dissolution of Yugoslavia (see next slides) US helps negotiate peace; sends

peacekeepers to Bosnia

The Balkans Since 1815 http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/yugo1815.GIF.html

YugoslaviaYugoslavia

Milosevic's attacks in Croatia and Bosnia, and his practice of "ethnic cleansing" were too long ignored by the U.S. and its allies. Later, despite warnings from the NATO nations, Milosevic persecuted ethnic Albanians in the province of Kosovo. On February 23, 1999, Serbian and ethnic Albanian leaders announced they had reached an accord, but NATO reserved the option to begin air strikes if the situation did not improve. Herb Block correctly figured that an intransigent Milosevic would not adhere to the agreement.


• Pacific rim: Negotiates free trade

zone in Asia; opens Japan to more American goods

Lifts trade embargo on Vietnam (1994); normalizes relations (1995) (Maier 983)


• China Troubling behaviors:

• Sells missiles, nuclear technology to Pakistan, Libya

• Jails dissidents• Oppresses Tibet• Pirates US intellectual

property Clinton criticizes, but only

pushes so far—China was massive trading partner (Maier 983)

Clintons at State Dinner w/ Jiang Zemin (1998); source: politico.com


• North Korea: Selling missiles to Iran, Syria, Pakistan Withdraws from nuclear nonproliferation treaty

(1993) Cautious rapprochement in 2000, and Clinton

ends economic sanctions; but N. Korea demands money for ending missile exports; Clinton refuses (Maier 983-4)


• Haiti: Clinton gets UN resolution allowing multinational force to oust

military junta• Threat of force causes collapse of junta and democracy comes

to Haiti

• Ireland: Clinton helps to bring peace to Northern Ireland (see Maier 984)

• Israeli-Palestinian conflict Clinton struggles to bring peace, sees temporary successes

• Oslo Accords (negotiated by Norway but signed in D.C. in 1993)

• Wye Memorandum (1998) Peace breaks down by time Clinton leaves office (Maier 984-5)


• Iraq: UN sanctions (since 1991) badly damaged Iraq’s

economy Iraq occasionally fired missiles at US planes

patrolling no-fly zones in north and south; US retaliated

1997: Saddam Hussein kicks out UN inspectors (looking for production of chemical, biological, nuclear weapons)

• US and GB respond w/ sustained bombing of suspected weapons sites and sanctions (Maier 985-6)

1994 Congressional Election1994 Congressional Election

• “Republican Revolution” antigovernment, anti-

incumbent sentiment leads to

• Republicans take control of both H and S

first time in 40 years

• “Contract with America” calls for

tax cuts, balanced budget, other conservative programs

associated w/ Newt Gingrich, House leader

Domestic politics in the Clinton era

Domestic politics in the Clinton era

• Clinton responds by shifting further right few significant differences b/t Rs’ agenda and Clinton’s (both want to cut

taxes, balance budget)• but compromise difficult b/c of partisan atmosphere as 96 election approaches

• Republicans gain a victory: Welfare Reform (1996)

• deep cuts in welfare grants: Cuts food stamps; abolishes Aid to Families with Dependent Children (helped impoverished

children)

but overplay hand• Gingrich suggested children of welfare families should be sent to orphanages• blamed for two gov’t shutdowns in 1995 and 1996 b/c of disagreements over

budgets Congress slashed spending on Medicare, Medicaid, education; Clinton vetoed, gov’t shut down

• momentum shifts back toward Clinton


• D: Clinton/Gore (incum)• R: Bob Dole (Kansas

senator, Ford VP candidate)/Kemp

• Clinton benefits from: moderate positions strong economy (driven by

growth of internet businesses, high-tech and media companies)

reductions in federal deficit




Economy: on the one hand…

1998-2001: nation no longer has budget deficits; instead budget surpluses

By 2000: unemployment rate falls to 4%

1994-1998: GDP up 14% Inflation was low—1.7%;

wages rose twice as fast Poverty rate: down to 13.3 Amenities widespread

Economy: on the other hand…

Outsourcing continues Many new jobs were low-

end Labor weaker than ever Rich-poor divide increasing

• 1989-1998, adjusting for inflation:

Bottom 20%: wages rise 1%

Top 20%: wages rise 16%

Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment (1998-99)

Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment (1998-99)

• Clinton had affair w/ White House intern; lied under oath Claims, on TV: “I did not

have sexual relations with that woman.”

Hillary Clinton blames investigations on “vast right-wing conspiracy”

• House passed two articles of impeachment: perjury and obstruction of justice (Only 2nd time a president

has been impeached)

• Senate fails to convict

Documents

1990s Notes drawn from Maier’s Inventing America, Kennedy’s American Pageant, and other sources