The Modern Presidency

John F. Kennedy (Democrat) Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat) Richard M. Nixon (Republican) Gerald Ford (Republican) Jimmy Carter (Democrat) Ronald Reagan (Republican) George H.W. Bush (Republican) Bill Clinton (Democrat) George W. Bush (Republican) Barack Obama (Democrat) Present

John F. Kennedy ●1st televised US Presidential debate -Kennedy vs. Nixon (1960) ●First “Non-Protestant” President ●In office during Cold War: -Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis ●Famous Quote: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. -Asked businesses to limit prices and workers to accept fewer pay raises.

Lyndon B. Johnson ●Took over after Kennedy's assassination (1963) ●Was effective in getting JFK’s programs passed into law o Civil Rights Act (1964 and 1968) o Fair Housing Act ●Domestic Policies called “The Great Society” o Medicare: Health Insurance for the elderly o Medicaid: Free Health Insurance for the needy

Richard M. Nixon ●Believed “Great Society” programs failed to decrease poverty in the United States o Attempted to reform the Welfare system ●Appointed conservative Justice Warren Burger to replace Chief Justice Earl Warren ●Foreign Policy based on “realpolitik” o A system of politics based on a country’s situation and needs, rather than ideals (democracy, human rights, etc)

Richard M. Nixon ●Wins Re-Election in 1972 ●Watergate Scandal o Members of Nixon’s administration broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee o Nixon was involved in the cover-up ●Results of Watergate o 1st President to resign office o Congress investigates Executive Branch for abuse of power o Americans lose faith in government

Gerald Ford ●Took over the Presidency when Nixon resigned (1974) o Gave Nixon a Presidential Pardon for involvement in the Watergate Scandal ●First President to not be elected by the people o Appointed Vice President when Spiro Agnew resigned

Jimmy Carter ●“The Outsider” President o Promised a new approach to government o Said he would not lie or mislead the people o Religious beliefs strongly shaped his politics ●Foreign Policy o Rejected Nixon’s “Realpolitik” approach to foreign affairs o Based his policies on Human Rights ●Carter and the Middle East o Camp David Accords - Meeting between US, Egypt, and Israel that ended a 30 year state of war in the Middle East

Ronald Reagan ●The Republican Revolution o Reduced the size of government by:  Cutting Taxes  Shrinking the Federal Budget o Increased Military spending  Increased National Debt ●Increasingly friendly relations with the Soviet Union o 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall - Symbolic end of the Cold War ●Appointed the 1st female Supreme Court Justice o Sandra Day O’Connor

George H.W. Bush ●President during Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) o Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait ●Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) o Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, and public accomodations

Bill Clinton ●Defeated Ross Perot in the Election of 1992 o Ross Perot (a wealthy businessman) promised to cut spending and balance the budget. ●Was impeached on December 20, 1998 o Violation of constitutional oath of office o Accused of perjury stemming from the Monica Lewinski scandal o Was not convicted

George W. Bush ●Bush won the Presidential Election of 2000 o The election was decided by electoral votes from the state of Florida o The Florida votes had to be recounted several times ●9/11/2001: Al Qaeda Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Centers and Pentagon o Bush declares a war on Terrorism o United States becomes involved in Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq o In the years since Terrorist leaders such as Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein have been captured and executed.

Barack Obama ●First African American President of the US ●44th and Current U.S. President ●The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) o Controversial US law aimed at reforming the American health care system. ●Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 o "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"