President%20George%20H.W.%20Bush

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President George H.W. Bush

• Ch. 32, Section 2, pg. 928

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Presidential Election of 1988

• Ronald Reagan had already served two terms, so
  George H.W. Bush (his Vice-President) is the
  Republican nominee.
• George H. W. Bush defeats Democrat candidate
  Michael Dukakis.

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START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)

• In 1990, George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev
  agreed, along with other European leaders, to
  destroy tanks and other nuclear weapons that were
  positioned in Europe.
• Why important? It was the first time that two
  nuclear powers agreed to destroy existing nuclear
  weapons.

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Collapse of Soviet Union

• Because of glasnost, Soviet citizens began to
  express their dissatisfaction.
• Thousands marched through Moscow in February
  1990.
• The citizens were calling for democracy instead
  of communism.
• Some parts of the Soviet Union republics were
  trying to break free and form their own
  independent nations.

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Collapse of the Soviet Union

• MAJOR EVENTS
• Berlin Wall is torn down on November 9, 1989.
  (East and West Germany united)
• Gorbachev is overthrown by communist military
  leaders taken prisoner.
• Gorbachev is freed by republics and Boris Yeltsin
  declares 15 republics free and independent from
  the Soviet Union.
• Group of republics become known as Russia and
  the Communist Party is outlawed.
• December 25, 1991

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People crossing the Berlin Wall East Germany
meets West
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A New War - Persian Gulf War

• On August 2, 1990, the dictator of Iraq Saddam
  Hussein invaded Kuwait a small country that was
  rich with oil.
• President George H.W. Bush was scared Saddam
  Hussein would also try to invade other Middle
  Eastern countries and we needed to protect our
  oil interests.
• President Bush sent military troops into Kuwait
  in what we call Operation Desert Shield to try to
  push Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait.

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Saddam Hussein the dictator of Iraq
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Kuwait
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Operation Desert Storm

• Saddam Hussein refused to remove his troops from
  Kuwait, so on January 16, 1991, we launches
  several laser-guided missiles and thousands of
  tons of bombs on Iraq.
• After six weeks, we launched a second attack
  using ground forces.
• Saddam Husseins troops finally left Kuwait.

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Presidential Election of 1992

• President George H.W. Bushs approval rating was
  90 after the success of Operation Desert Storm.
• However, the American economy was in shambles.
  This was due to the federal debt that had gotten
  much higher due to Reagans 8 years as President.
  People wanted government help, and he refused to
  increase government spending.
• BILL CLINTON VS. GEORGE H.W. BUSH
• (Clinton wins as he promises to restore the
  nations economy)

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President Bill Clinton

• Chapter 32, Section 3, pg. 936

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Bill Clinton vs. George H.W. Bush(and Ross Perot)

• Clinton 43 of the vote
• Bush 38 of the vote
• Perot 19 of the vote
• The Presidential Election of 1992 marks the first
  time that a third-party (independent) candidate
  gained so many votes. Many blame Perot for
  stealing votes from Bill Clintons followers.

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Dealing with the economy

• President Bill Clinton proposed the following
• 1) reduce the budget deficit
• 2) cut government spending
• 3) raise taxes on middle and upper-class
• 4) tax credits for lower-class poor

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Healthcare Reform Hillary Rodham Clinton

• Both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton wanted to
  provide health care for every American.
• First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, put in charge
  of healthcare reform.
• The plan failed as it was rejected by the
  majority Republican congress.

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Clinton wins a Second Term Presidential
Election of 1996

• Clinton defeated Republican candidate Bob Dole in
  the election of 1996.
• Clinton won because of the booming American
  economy.
• The GDP (gross domestic product) was growing at a
  rate of 4 per year, and the American people were
  happy.
• GDP the value of all the goods and services
  produced in a nation in a year.

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Scandal erupts

• In early 1998, a scandal emerged involving a
  personal relationship between President Bill
  Clinton and a White House intern named Monica
  Lewinsky.

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Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton together.
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Impeachment

• Impeach make a formal accusation against a
  public official (possibly removing them from
  office).
• Bill Clinton was impeached by Congress in 1998 on
  the following counts
• 1) perjury lying under oath
• 2) obstruction of justice trying to conceal
  information during the investigation.

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Impeachment Trial

• On February 12, 1999, U.S. Senators voted on
  whether or not to remove Bill Clinton from the
  office of President.
• Votes on perjury charge
• 45 guilty
• 55 not guilty
• Votes on obstruction of justice charge-
• 50 guilty
• 50 not guilty
• President Bill Clinton was never removed from
  office and was acquitted of all charges.

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Presidential Election of 2000-the closest
election in U.S. History
George W. Bush vs. Al Gore
271 vs. 266 (very close margin)