1. Bush & Obama

2. Warmup
Out of all of the presidents we have studied in the last year, which one is your favorite and why?

3. Agenda Warmup Bush & Obama PPT and Notes
“Inside Obama’s Presidency” video notes
Laptops

4. W. Bush: Pre-Presidency
Son of George H. W. Bush
Attended public schools, prep schools, and boarding schools
He was the head cheerleader!
Attended Yale and Harvard
Also a cheerleader!
Joined the Texas Air National Guard
Bought a controlling interest in the Texas Rangers
Sold it and earned $15 million
Governor of Texas (1995 – 2000)

5. W. Bush: Election Controversy
Ran on the campaign he was a “compassionate conservative”
The 2000 election was one of the closest in history
Gore won the popular vote, but electoral vote in Florida too close to call
Machine recount of Florida votes took place
Bush declared the winner by 537 votes
Gore demanded hand recount
Hand recounts began, but Bush sued to stop hand recounts
Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore that hand recounts were unconstitutional
Bush won Florida’s electoral votes and became President

6. Background
Terrorism: the use of violence by nongovernmental groups against civilians to achieve a political goal
In 1988, Osama Bin Laden formed an organization called al-Qaeda, whose goal was the removal of western influence from Muslim society
Al-Qaeda conducted terrorist attacks on US targets
World Trade Center bombing in 1993
American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania bombed in 1998
USS Cole bombed in 2000
September 11, 2001

7. War on Terror Bush declared a “War on Terror”
Transportation Security Agency (TSA) created to prevent another terrorist hijacking/attack
Department of Homeland Security: cabinet level agency created to protect the US from all threats
The Patriot Act: expanded the government’s law enforcement and monitoring powers
Wars in Afghanistan (after al-Qaeda) and then Iraq (to search for Weapons of Mass Destruction)
Increase in US society of attacks on Muslims/Sikhs/people suspected of being from the Middle East
Detention and torture of suspected terrorists
Suspects held in Guantanamo Bay
Military tribunals now being held, but in secrecy

8. Key Events: No Child Left Behind
One of Bush’s early initiatives was to try to close the “achievement gap” between children with different socioeconomic statuses
Targeted more federal funding to low-income schools
In 2002, Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act
Students have performed better in math and science tests
The act focuses on “high-stakes testing”, which means students prove that they are learning through test results

9. Key Events: Hurricane Katrina
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the north-central Gulf Coast (Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and parts of Texas)
Around 1,800 people died
$108 billion in property damage
Bush’s administration was very slow to respond to the crisis
Bush tasked the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to manage the disaster, but they didn’t do much

10. Key Events: the Great Recession
The housing market collapsed and banks were holding onto millions of worthless mortgages
Investment firms that held mortgage-backed securities (stocks backed up by mortgages) failed
Banks stopped lending money
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act = authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to spend $700 billion to prevent banks and large corporations from failing

11. Obama: Pre-Presidency
Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to a white mother and black Kenyan father
Went to Harvard to study law
Magna cum laude
Met Michelle while working for a Chicago law firm
Worked for Project Vote, a voter registration campaign to register African American voters in Chicago
Democratic Senator of Illinois (1997 – 2008)

12. Obama: Pre-Presidency (part 2)
After running against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Primary, Hillary eventually backed out to support Obama
He selected Joe Biden as his VP
Ran against John McCain and Sarah Palin

13. Obama: Presidency First African-American elected president
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: $700 billion to create new jobs, save existing jobs, and spur economic activity
Saved a lot of companies like GM
Affordable Care Act: expanded Medicaid and created an insurance marketplace to help give more Americans access to health insurance
Appointed Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Latina woman on the Supreme Court

14. Key Events: Osama bin Laden’s Death
In 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed by Seal Team Six in his compound in Pakistan
Obama had rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and instead authorized a “surgical raid”

15. Key Events: LGBT Rights
President Obama repealed Bill Clinton’s policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Allowed gays to serve in the military if no one knew they were gay
Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
Expanded on the 1969 federal hate crime law to include attacks on people based on their sexual orientation, perceived gender, & gender identity
Obergefell v. Hodges = the Supreme Court ruled (2015) that gay marriage is a fundamental human right

16. Key Events: Gun Control
After the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012), Obama announced a series of sweeping gun control proposals
Extensive background checks required
Limit ammunition sales
Ban armor-piercing bullets
Harsher penalties for weapons traffickers

17. Key Events: the Cuban Thaw
In 2013, Pope Francis advised Cuba and the United States to exchange prisoners as a gesture of good will to each other
In 2014, Obama announced the negotiation of regaining relations with Cuba
In 2015, US formal diplomatic relations with Cuba resumed
Ended sixty years of détente!
Obama visited Cuba for a few days in 2016
The first president to do so since Calvin Coolidge in 1928!