POST-WWII TO PRESENT DAY NORTH AMERICA

United States – economic and baby boom “Red Scare” led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s – Communists are everywhere waiting to take over the country – McCarthy works to “expose” Communists living in America President John F. Kennedy – Camelot, beginning of Civil Rights, Cuban Missile Crisis – Nov. 22, 1963 – assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald?

President Lyndon B. Johnson – Civil Rights Act 1964 – Pursued the growth of the welfare state, the “Great Society” – Sends American troops to war in Vietnam President Richard Nixon – Pulls the U.S. out of Vietnam – Watergate Scandal – Nixon uses illegal methods to gain political info about opponents Nixon’s men break into the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., which is the Democratic National Headquarters

Nixon lies, but secret tapes of his own conversations tell the truth – Aug – Nixon resigns rather than be impeached President Gerald Ford – Nixon’s vice-president, isn’t in office long President Jimmy Carter – High inflation and gas shortages – Hostage crisis: Ayatollah Khomeini takes control of the Iranian gov’t away from the pro-U.S. shah and 52 Americans are held hostage for over a year They are released the day Reagan is sworn in as president

President Ronald Reagan – “evil empire” and arms race – largest peacetime military build up The Soviet Union tries to keep up and goes bankrupt – Budget deficit – the gov’t deficit triples President George Bush – Desert Storm to free Kuwait from Iraq – Economic problems President Bill Clinton – Economic revival and great foreign affairs – Impeached over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, later acquitted

NAFTA = North American Free Trade Agreement – Trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico – The purpose is to make trade easier and more profitable by establishing guidelines for cooperation