Chapter 36 Section 2 Clinton’s Second Term

Section 2 Objectives 1. Discuss the issues that affected the 1996 presidential election. 2. Describe the domestic issues that shaped President Clinton’s second term. 3. Relate what led to the impeachment of President Clinton, and describe what the outcome was. 4. Analyze why NATO launched air strikes against Yugoslavia in 1999.

The Election of 1996 As the 1990s progressed President Clinton’s popularity continued to climb due to a better economy. Many Americans were frustrated with the Republican led Congress and the Contract with America. Republican’s tried to cut social and environmental programs. 1995: Congress and Clinton dueled over the budget which led to the government shutting down for a short time.

Clinton enjoyed the backlash of the Republican plunders. The Republicans were divided over various issues. 1996: Bob Dole will emerge as the Republican candidate. The candidates were on opposite sides on major issues such as, environmental protection, welfare reform, and gun control. Clinton supported the idea of reducing Tobacco use among young Americans.

1996-Welfare-reform bill: The Republicans pushed for changes in the welfare system. The system would limit benefits, shift programs from the federal government to state governments, and introduced work requirements. States were given the task of creating and designing its own welfare program.

The outcome: Clinton did very well in the election with the strategy of supporting government programs. Clinton felt Americans were doing well. He was going to promote Healthcare for children and people with disabilities, welfare revisions, and connect classrooms with the internet. The Reform Party led by Ross Perot continued to want to promote change in politics at the national level.

Domestic Prosperity and Concerns 1990s led in the longest economic prosperity in history. Across the socioeconomics everyone was doing well. Technology stocks did very well in the 1990s, but as the year 2000 emerged the prices fell. During the 90s inflation, unemployment, and interest rates remained low. Alan Greenspan: Chair of the Federal Reserve used reversed stagflation to raise and lower interest rate. The nation had a surplus of 124 billion dollars by The president wanted to enhance domestic programs such as Social Security, education, and Medicare. Clinton wanted to pay off the federal debt by 2015 and give tax breaks.

In 2000 Congress wanted to have a pay raise and return surplus money to the people in the form of tax cuts. Clinton refused to sign the bill due to the pay raise request by congress.

Race Relations Race was an issue in the mid to late 1990s. April, 1992: Rodney King [African-American]in South Central Los Angeles was beaten by four white police officers. The outcome was the Los Angeles race riot. 1997: Initiative on Race was a social program that was developed to discuss racial issues and concerns. June, 1998: James Byrd, Jr. African-American Texan who was attacked and dragged to his death behind a pickup truck.

What Led to President Clinton’s Impeachment Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr expands his investigation to include a civil sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton. Clinton gives a video-taped testimony in the civil trial. Starr investigates whether Clinton had conducted an improper relationship with a White House intern and lied about it during the civil trial. The president testifies before a grand jury in the Starr investigation. He acknowledges the affair with the intern but insists he did not commit perjury. The House Judiciary Committee investigates disagrees with Clinton, and recommends impeachment. The House of Representatives votes to impeach the president.

Senate Trial’s Outcome The Senate votes to acquit Clinton. Many Americans say they distrust the president. Congress lets the independent counsel law expire.

War in Kosovo In the Kosovo ethnic groups involved were the Serbians and ethnic Albanians. There are many ethnic groups in the Balkan region. The Balkan region has a troubled history. Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic wanted to drive ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo province, which is part of Serbia. Serbians were carrying out mass murders and other atrocities against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and that NATO air strikes were designed to end the violence.