Entering a New Century, 1992 - 2004 - Term Paper Example

The Shifting Economy The importance of manufacturing and large industries was reduced and the service sector and information technology companies became the center of the economy. Globalization reduced governmental boundaries on trade and the flow of resources and ideas. The proponents of globalization claimed that it would help in ending world hunger, insuring human rights for all and reducing threats to the environment. The opponents of globalization maintained that the globalized economy only benefitted multinational corporations. They protested against the institutions that oversaw globalization such as G-8 and the WTO. Globalization was opposed by the nationalists of foreign countries who saw it as American imperialism because globalization contributed to the spread of such ideas as materialism and individualism and due to globalization, American cultural products displaced local culture for example American fast foods reduced the importance of local cuisine. Rich and Poor In the early 90’s rapid growth in the information technology sector resulted in many more people becoming rich and moving to the suburbs. The size of big cities was reduced with the decline in industrial job. By the end of the decade the size many suburbs had risen to the levels of traditional cities. The size of the middle class shrank as many people formerly employed in industry joined the ranks of the poor. The income of the middle class also somewhat declined. The number of immigrants allowed into the country was increased by the passage of the Immigration Act of 1990 which gave preference to highly skilled workers and those with family living in the United States. Many new immigrants came to the United States from Asia and South America. The skilled ones mostly settled in the rising suburbs while the unskilled joined the ranks of the poor in the big cities. On average the new immigrants did worse than the rest of the country in terms of employment, wages, education and crime. The growing ethnic diversity of the United States was reflected in the census of 2000 with the inclusion of the “multiracial” category. Women and Family Values The resurgent right-wing emphasized traditional family values and condemned feminism. They desired an end to abortion rights and single parenthood. In 1992 the Supreme Court upheld a woman’s right to abortion but allowed states to put limits on it. The movement against abortion became increasingly more radical as their legal efforts to ban abortion through the Congress and the Courts failed. Some of the anti-abortion activists advocated and carried out violent attacks on those providing abortion services. The feminist on the other hand tried to maintain their movement, pointing out the efforts to combat sexual harassment in the workplace, the increasing number of professional women and the growing number of women in top management positions as feminist victories. The Clinton Era Clinton and Congress Clinton was a liberally inclined centrist president; he enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act and increased federal spending on AIDS prevention programs. The number of AIDS victims continued to rise. Clinton failed to have the ban on homosexuals in the military lifted and was forced to accept the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” compromise. He struggle with the Republicans in Congress over economic and social issues. Judicial Restraint and the Rehnquist Court The Republicans wanted an end to “Judicial Activism”. They wanted the judiciary to practice restraint and uphold the autonomy of state and local governments. By 1992, the Rehnquist Court watered down the de-segregation and affirmative action principles promulgated by the earlier, liberal Warren Court; but the right-wing efforts for a judicial revolution failed and the judiciary continued to strike down legislation which they considered to be unconstitutional and upholding abortion rights, sexual harassment laws and the separation of religion and state etc. Clinton’s Comeback The mid-term elections gave Republicans the majority in both houses of the parliament. The Republicans forced Clinton to cut spending and produce a balanced budget. On April 19, 1995 an anti-federal government extremist destroyed a federal government building in Oklahoma City killing 168 people including 19 children. The explosion underscored how deep the political divisions among Americans ran and the extent of extremism in the nation. Clinton made a series of compromises with the Republican majority in congress; passing anti-crime legislation, and legislation limiting the depiction of sex and violence on television, reforming welfare and affirmative action. He won the “Battle of the Budget” with the Republicans, whose policies he successfully portrayed as extreme, by closing down government for 6 days in November 1995 and 21 days in December 1995 and January 1996. A Revitalized Economy An economic boom occurred during the Clinton years and the President was able to boast that his administration had created of 10 million new jobs and the reduced of poverty. The economic boom lasted till around 2001. In this economic boom the stock market raised, wages increased and unemployment and inflation rates fell. Clinton’s Second Term Clinton was reelected in an election with low voter turnout. He proposed new programs to improve education, daycare, Medicare, and Medicaid in congress. The Republicans and Democrats managed to collaborate to pass the Balanced Budget Act and the Taxpayer’s Relief Act. Clinton was dogged by sex scandals and faced impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Clinton’s Foreign Policy Clinton worked to increase globalization. He tried to help resolve the dispute between the Palestinians and the Israelis through accords giving limited self-rule to Palestinians in some Israeli-Occupied areas and through treaties between Jordan and Israel. Clinton sent in troops to Haiti to restore the elected President Aristide to power. The state department brokered the Dayton Agreement which partitioned Bosnia into a Bosnian-Croat federation and a Bosnian Serb Republic. In 1996 the United States started a bombing campaign which forced Serbians to end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, recognize Kosovar autonomy and let UN peacekeepers enter the region. The Testing of President Bush The 2000 Election President Bush come into power in the 2000 elections, with a narrow majority in Electoral College votes, having lost the popular vote. Judicial decisions over the Florida vote led to his election and generated much controversy. Establishing the Bush Agenda Bush worked to cut taxes, limit federal control and reform education. When Senator James Jeffords left the Republican Party, it gave the Democrats a one vote majority in the senate and leadership in senate committees; this allowed Democrats to block the Republican agenda. A declining economy increased Bush’s problems. Charting New Foreign Policies In the view of the Republicans, the Clinton administration had been too cautious in foreign policy and that US should not hesitate to act unilaterally in the international sphere to further their own national interests. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld led their view of foreign policy. An Assault against a Nation On September 11, 2001 four hijacked planes were used in terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. killing around 3000 people. The attacks solidified national support behind President Bush. The event was linked to the international terrorist movement Al-Qaeda, which was opposed to the presence of US forces in the Middle East. The Congress enacted the USA Patriot Act which gave law enforcement agencies greater powers in dealing with suspected terrorists. Some opposed the Act, considering the new powers of law enforcement agencies a violation of personal liberties. Western and allied Nations joined the US in invading Afghanistan which was the sanctuary for Al-Qaeda leaders; in 2002 the Taliban regime allied with Al-Qaeda was removed from power with the help of the Northern Alliance, a competing group of warlords and an interim government was put in place. In October 2002, Bush gained approval from congress for invading Iraq without UN support, citing fears of renewed production of Weapons of Mass Destruction by the regime of President Saddam Hussein. The Saddam Hussein regime was quickly removed from power and the US declared an end to the war in mid-April 2003. However many Iraqis Sunni and Shia rose up against the US occupation and guerilla warfare against the occupation and the US supported Iraqi regime continued. A Political Race President Bush enjoyed widespread public support due to the War but had to face a faltering economy. The employment rate continued to fall and the budget deficit grew. Senator John Kerry emerged as the Democratic nominee for the 2005 elections, contesting the re-election of President Bush. Kerry claimed to have the solutions for the worsening economic conditions and for the tarnished international image of the US, caused by President Bush’s unilateralism. Both sides poured huge amounts of money in their campaigns, polls showed that the candidates had nearly equal support from the public. There was a high voter turnout and President Bush was elected by 51% popular vote. The issue of homosexual marriage and civil unions proved to be the most important issue and most of the President’s support came from those who supported Republican social policies. President Bush announced that strengthening family values and reforming social security, tax codes and education were his priorities. Read More