1. Bill Clinton & 1990s

2. 1.America by 1992
-Republican control of the presidency continued after Reagan under George Bush
-After defeating Iraq in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Bush’s popularity was high
-But, large gov’t deficits due to years of tax cuts & increased military spending led to a recession in 1992
-After promising “no new taxes” in 1988, Bush raised taxes in order to decrease deficit spending

3. 2.Clinton Elected -Election of 1992 – Clinton/Gore defeat Bush/Quayle
-Clinton defined himself as a “New Democrat” by embracing both liberal & conservative policies
-Liberal policies
Clinton proposed a plan to guarantee affordable health care for all Americans
Republicans in Congress defeated Clinton’s “big gov’t” health care reform

4. 2.Clinton Elected -Conservative Policies
Clinton worked with Republicans to reform the welfare system
The law put limits on how long people could receive benefits & allowed states to decide how welfare money would be spent
Clinton worked with Congress to reduce the federal deficit & balance the federal budget
In 1997, Clinton cut gov’t spending & lowered taxes
-“Contract with America”
Gingrich pushed for a “Contract with America” that would have created a balanced budget amendment, tax cuts, welfare reform, & tougher crime laws
The clash between Clinton & Gingrich led to a gov’t shut down in 1995.
In 1994, Republicans took control of the House of Representatives for the 1st time since 1954 & named Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House.

5. For the 1st time in 30 years, the gov’t had a surplus which Clinton used to pay down the nation’s debt

7. 3.Clinton’s Foreign Policy
-Clinton signed the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which reduced trade barriers among USA, Mexico, & Canada.
-During his presidency, Clinton committed U.S. troops to peacekeeping efforts
-From 1995 to 1999, U.S. troops were sent to Bosnia to stop ethnic cleansing by Serbs & to Kosovo to stop a civil war
-From , U.S. troops were sent to Somalia to offer food & restore order to civil war

8. 4.Crime & Terrorism
-During the Clinton years, America experienced new waves of violence
-Race riots hit Los Angeles in 1992 when 4 white police officers were acquitted of police brutality charges in the Rodney King case
-In 1995, Gulf War veteran Timothy McVey detonated a bomb that destroyed a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people (known as Oklahoma City Bombings)
-In 1999, 2 students opened fire in a shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, killing 13 people & wounding 23 others
-After the Persian Gulf War, Osama bin Laden formed al-Qaeda & began terrorist attacks on the USA
-Embassy bombings in Tanzania & Kenya & attack on USS Cole
-Bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993

9. 5.Scandals & Impeachment
-While president, Clinton faced numerous scandals
-While still governor of Arkansas, Clinton was connected to an improper land deal (Whitewater Scandal)
-Clinton was accused of numerous sexual affairs, including with White House intern Monica Lewinsky
-When Clinton lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, Republicans in Congress voted to impeach him
-Clinton became only the 2nd president to be impeached, but he was not removed from office

10. 6.Conclusions
The Clinton years during the 1990s represented new changes for the U.S.:
-The Democratic Party took back the presidency by becoming more moderate
-The economic boom of the 1990s was based largely on technology innovation that would crash in early 2000
-The emergence of terrorism, at home & abroad, presented new threats to American security