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U.S. History
Goal 12 The U.S. Since Vietnam War 1973-Present
Foreign Policy since Vietnam War
After the Vietnam War, the United States stayed involved in global events. Different areas of the world have changed through political upheavals, wars, unifications, and more.Europe
1987— / The United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Both countries had to destroy many of their nuclear missiles.1989— / The Berlin Wall, which separated communist East Germany and democratic West Germany, was knocked down. It was a key event that led to the reunification of Germany in 1990.
1992— / Twenty-seven European countries signed a treaty to form the European Union (EU). It works to promote cooperation and trade among the countries. As a single group, the EU gives more economic and political power to the countries within it than they would have otherwise.
Africa
1948— / A system of racial separation between blacks and whites called apartheid existed in South Africa for much of the 20th century. Under this system, a white minority had more power and rights than those of the black majority. In an attempt to rid the nation of this system, the United States and several other members of the United Nations placed sanctions on South Africa, severely disrupting South Africa's international trade. Nelson Mandela was a leader who opposed apartheid in the 1960s. He was put in prison for planning a revolt, and he was not released until 1990, when apartheid was coming to an end. As South Africa was becoming a democratic nation in the early 1990s, the U.S. and other countries lifted the sanctions.1992— / Somalia was a country suffering from civil war and widespread famine. Countries tried to send relief supplies, but the government often stole them. The U.S. and UN sent troops to provide security and make sure the supplies reached the needy, but they met with heavy resistance.
1994— / The Hutu and Tutsi were two ethnic groups in Rwanda. After decades of tension between the two groups, the Hutu took power and killed almost 800,000 Tutsis. The Tutsis were able to seize control of the government, but ethnic tensions continued to exist.
2003— / The Darfur Conflict began in 2003 as violence erupted between different ethnic groups in the Darfur region of western Sudan. The Janjaweed, an Arab militia, has committed many human rights violations against non-Arab people living in Darfur. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, and even more people have been displaced from their homes.
Asia
1989— / Students protested in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. They wanted a more democratic government. The army was sent to break up the demonstrations, but they killed hundreds of people.Middle East
1969— / Yasser Arafat became the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which wanted to create an independent Palestinian state. Israel and Palestine have had tensions and clashes for many years.1973— / Egypt and Syria attacked Israel to begin the Yom Kippur War. The U.S. supported Israel. Arab countries supported the opposite side and placed an oil embargo on the U.S. When the supply of oil was cut, the price of oil in the U.S. went up dramatically.
1978— / Israel and Egypt attended peace talks at Camp David in Maryland. The two countries signed the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, the first treaty in which an Arab country recognized the nation of Israel.
1979— / Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah of Iran to become the new leader. He was a religious leader who felt that Iran had become too influenced by the West. He made Iran return to traditional Muslim values.
1979— / The new Iranian government was angry at the U.S. for supporting the former Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Iranians abducted Americans from the U.S. embassy in Tehran. They held the Americans hostage for more than a year.
1985— / In a Nicaragua civil war, "contras" fought against a socialist dictator. The U.S. administration wanted to help the contras, but Congress banned getting involved. The Reagan administration illegally sold weapons to Iran in order to get Western hostages released. Then, the profits were secretly given to the contras. This event was known as the Iran-Contra Affair.
1990— / Iraq invaded the small country of Kuwait, which was one of America’s main sources of oil. The U.S. and other countries went to Kuwait to remove Iraq. It was called Operation Desert Storm, or the Persian Gulf War.
Impact of Recent Legislation
Legislation is drafted by the Congress and judged in the courts. Some major court cases and laws have impacted the lives of all Americans in the last 40 years.Legislation
· The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates businesses to make workplaces safe for employees.
· Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 said that educational opportunities must be equal for males and females, even in athletics.
· The Bilingual Education Act (1974) said that schools must provide educational opportunities to students who are not fluent in English.
· Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) protects disabled people from discrimination at work. It also makes buildings follow rules to keep places accessible to all people.
· The 27th Amendment (1992) changed the way senators and representatives get pay raises. They now must wait until after an election for their raise to take effect.
· The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) was signed by President Bush and is meant to improve the educational system through standardized testing and school accountability.
Supreme Court Cases
· The Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1969) ruling said that students could be transported to other schools in order to end segregation.
· The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) ruling said that using racial quotas in college admissions was unconstitutional. Colleges can use affirmative action, which seeks to specifically provide opportunities to minorities.
· The Texas v. Johnson (1989) ruling said that burning the American flag is a right protected by the First Amendment.
· The United States v. Microsoft (2000) ruling said that Microsoft was illegally creating a monopoly with its products.
Important Supreme Court Judges
Sandra Day O’Connor— / The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She was appointed by Ronald Reagan, and she served from 1981 to 2006.Thurgood Marshall— /
The first African American to serve on the Supreme Court. He was chosen by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 and served until 1991.
Clarence Thomas— /
The second African American to serve on the Supreme Court. He was nominated by George H.W. Bush in 1991.
Changes in the United States
From the 1974 to 2000, the office of the president flipped from Republican to Democrat and back again. As each president encountered his own difficulties, the American people rallied around a change. From Gerald Ford to George W. Bush, below are the U.S. presidents from 1974 to 2000 and important events during their time in office.Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
After the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon resigned, leaving Vice President Gerald Ford in office. Ford wanted to help Americans move past the Watergate scandal, and so he granted Nixon a presidential pardon for any criminal acts he committed while he was president. This angered many Americans, who wanted Nixon to be tried and convicted of his crimes. Also during Ford's presidency, the energy crisis increased. In 1973, Arab oil-producing countries placed an embargo on oil and refused to sell oil to the U.S. because of the U.S. support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Because of the decrease in oil supply, oil and gasoline prices increased. This price increase contributed to the rise in inflation. Ford proposed an anti-inflation program known as WIN, or "Whip Inflation Now."
Ford ran for president in 1976, but the energy crisis and inflation combined with his pardon of Nixon cost him the election.
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
Democratic candidate James "Jimmy" Carter defeated Republican Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. Because of the energy crisis of the mid-1970s, stagflation came about. Stagflation meant that the U.S. economy was not changing, but there was severe inflation. To combat this, Carter created the Department of Energy in 1977. The department emphasized energy consumption and worked to create a working energy policy. During this time, Congress also passed the National Energy Act of 1978, which promoted the use of renewable energy, gave tax credits to individuals and companies who used solar energy (harnessing the sun's heat as energy), and provided services to encourage energy conservation. Congress also passed the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, which allowed airlines to set their own routes and, after 1982, set their own fares. Toward the end of Carter's presidency, an accident occurred at a nuclear power plant. The accident took place on March 28, 1979 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station in Pennsylvania. Americans became concerned about the safety at nuclear power plants following this accident, though no one was hurt. New safety measures were implemented at nuclear facilities following this accident.
Carter ran for a second term in 1980, but the energy crisis and other political events had turned some of the U.S. against him, and he lost to Republican Ronald Reagan.
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
Republican candidate Ronald Reagan beat out Democratic President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election. Many economic changes took place during Reagan's two-term presidency. Reagan's economic policy was known as Reaganomics, or supply-side economics. Supply-side economics is an economic theory that focuses on influencing the supply of labor and goods as the way to economic stability, rather than approaching the issue through the gross national product. The "trickle-down theory" is part of Reaganomics. This theory states that tax cuts for businesses and high-income individuals would contribute to new investment and economic growth, which would then indirectly benefit those who do not pay those taxes. The national debt increased during Reagan's presidency because of the combination of increased military spending and tax cuts. To combat the national debt, Reagan made significant cuts to many domestic programs such as food stamps.
George Herbert Walker Bush (1989-1993)
In the 1988 presidential election, Republican candidate and current Vice President George Bush won. During his term, he passed the Immigration Policy Act. This act raised the total number for immigrants allowed into the U.S. and reorganized the system for entrance. This law made the newly legal aliens exempt from prosecution as illegal immigrants. In 1992, Bush signed an agreement with Mexico and Canada which eliminated tariffs on many goods traded between the countries. The agreement is known as the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. It went into effect in 1994.
Bush ran again in 1992, but because of economic uncertainty towards the end of his presidency, he lost to Democratic candidate Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
In the 1992 presidential election, Republican president George Bush ran against Democrat Bill Clinton. A third party candidate, Ross Perot, also ran and won 19% of the popular vote but did not win any electoral votes. Clinton and his running mate Al Gore won the election. Clinton's win was thought to have marked a new Democratic coalition of labor, women, minorities, moderates, and the south. In 1994, Newt Gingrich became the first Republican speaker of the House in more than 40 years. Gingrich led other Republicans in attempts to pass conservative legislation, which led to many conflicts with President Clinton. Clinton won a second term in the 1996 election, with Ross Perot again as a third party candidate. Gingrich kept his position as speaker of the House, but began to lose favor with conservative Republicans. In 1998, Gingrich resigned both his position as speaker and his House seat. During his presidency, Clinton proposed major health care changes, welfare reform, and tax increases combined with spending cuts.
2000 Presidential Election
In the 2000 presidential election, Vice President Al Gore (left) won the Democratic nomination. His vice presidential candidate was Joe Lieberman, a senator from Connecticut. Senator John McCain ran for the Republican nomination, but he lost to George W. Bush, former President Bush's son and the governor of Texas. George W. Bush's running mate was Dick Cheney. The election was a close race. Gore won the popular vote by receiving more than 500,000 more votes than Bush, but Bush was declared the winner of the electoral vote. The results in Florida were very close, and recounts were ordered. On December 12, 2000, the Supreme Court ordered that the recounts in Florida be stopped and that Bush be declared the winner of the Florida electoral votes. That gave Bush enough electoral votes to become president, with 271 electoral votes. Gore received 266 electoral votes.