1989-2001 Review

George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)

Domestic Issues
1988 election
George H.W. Bush (R) vs. Michael Dukakis (D)
Bush = Reagans former VP; kinder, gentler America; read my lips no new taxes; VP Dan
Quayle
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990) = prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities
Clarence Thomas = conservative appointed to Supreme Court by Bush
-accused of sexual harassment by law professor Anita Hill
Economy
unemployment over 7 %, high federal deficit
Went against campaign promise and raised taxes
Foreign Issues
Tiananmen Square (1989) = Chinese students in Beijing protested communist rule; tanks sent to crush
protestors
Berlin Wall (1989) = torn down, which symbolized the end of the Cold War
German reunification (1990)
End of Soviet Union (1991)
Boris Yeltsin becomes new leader of Russia after Gorbachev resigns
START II accord (1993)
committed US and Russia to reducing long-range nuclear arsenals by twothirds within 10 years
Ethnic cleansing in places like Chechnya and Yugoslavia (Bosnian War)
Persian Gulf War (1990)
-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait (small, oil-rich country) to pay off debts
-UN called for immediate withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait & imposed economic sanctions
-US assembled massive force led by Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf
-Operation Desert Storm = four days of precision bombing of Iraq; led to cease-fire; Kuwait
liberated

Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

Domestic Issues
1992 election
George H.W. Bush (R) vs. Bill Clinton (D) vs. H. Ross Perot (I)
Al Gore = Clintons VP
New Democrat = strong defense, healthcare reform, welfare reform, fix economy
Perot = TX billionaire; largest # votes for an Independent since TR ran in 1912
Clinton created a very diverse cabinet (women and minorities)
Dont ask, dont tell policy for homosexuals in the military
Attempted to reform national health-care system and failed miserably
Appointed his wife, Hillary Clinton, to head the task force to redesign medical-service industry
Did create a patients bill of rights
Deficit-reduction bill (1993) = led to lowest deficit in a decade
Economy
prosperous; unemployment rates decreased (about 4%)
Brady Bill (1993) = gun control law
Tobacco wars = restrict advertising for young people and give states $ to offset public health costs
Bombing of NYs World Trade Center (1993)
Govt standoff in Waco with Branch Davidians (1993)
Oklahoma City Bombing (1995)
Newt Gingrich and conservative Contract with America
Managed to get Clinton to sign a Welfare Reform Bill
Columbine High School shooting (1999)
Scandal and Impeachment (1998-1999)
Sexual affair w/White House intern Monica Lewinsky
Clinton lied about it under oath during a sexual harassment trial brought by Paula Jones
Two articles of impeachment by the House: a) perjury before a grand jury, b) obstruction of
justice
Foreign Issues
NAFTA (1993) = North American Free Trade Agreement; free-trade zone between Mexico, Canada, and
US
WTO (1994) = World Trade Organization
Meeting b/n Israeli premier Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasir Arafat (1993)
Agreed to self-rule for Palestine within Israel
Kosovo (1999) = US and NATO sent troops to stop Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic from
ethnically cleansing the province