1. U.S. History CHAPTER 27 George W. Bush & Barack H. Obama

2. The 2000 Election Vice President Al Gore ran for the Democrats, while the Republicans nominated Texas Governor George W. Bush. On election night, votes in several states were too close to call. One undecided state, Florida, could give either candidate enough electoral votes to win the presidency. Lawyers, politicians, and the media swarmed to Florida to monitor a recount of votes there. A series of court battles eventually reached the Supreme Court, which voted 5–4 to stop the Florida recounts, awarding the state’s electoral votes to Bush. Although Gore had won the popular vote, Bush won the election by 271 electoral votes to Gore’s 266.

3. The George W. Bush Administration Early in his presidency, Bush received congressional approval for a tax cut that granted most taxpayers a $300 rebate. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina killed 1800 people. In New Orleans, the levees gave way. Who should be blamed? Bush also proposed an educational reform bill that called “No Child Left Behind Act” for redirected funding and increased accountability from schools.

4. Attack on America “War on Terror” On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, A third plane hit the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in a field near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thousands died in the collapse of the towers, including hundreds of emergency workers who had rushed to the scene. On October 7, an American bombing campaign known as “Operation Enduring Freedom” began against Afghanistan, whose ruling Taliban was believed to be harboring Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, suspected of masterminding the attack.

5. The PATRIOT ACT OF 2001 Law enforcement to conduct sweeping searches and surveillance, detain immigrants and monitor bank accounts. The NSA could wiretap callers without a warrant.

6. Political Changes Worldwide South Africa In South Africa, a system called apartheid had separated people of different racial backgrounds and denied equal rights to the nation’s black majority. The U.S. imposed economic sanction because of apartheid. Between 1990 and 1994, Prime Minister F. W. de Klerk and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela worked together to end apartheid peacefully. Russia and Eastern Europe The United States sent 2.5 billion in aid to Russia to create a free market economy, including the election of Boris Yeltsin as president.

7. The Search for Peace in Israel and the Balkans Israel In September 1993, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a historic peace agreement in Washington, D.C. This agreement, however, failed to resolve all issues in the Middle East or stop violence in the region. The Balkans Tensions among ethnic and religious groups in Yugoslavia exploded into violence after the collapse of the nation’s Communist government. Millions were killed in a ferocious “ethnic cleansing” campaign carried out by Bosnian Serbs. In Dayton Ohio, steps toward peace in 1995 failed to resolve underlying issues, and violence again erupted.

8. Making Diversity Work Affirmative Action Another continuing debate concerns affirmative action, or giving preference to African Americans, women, and other minorities who had been discriminated against in the past. Whether race should be a deciding factor in hiring, or just one of the factors, is still being debated today. Multiculturalism A movement known as multiculturalism called for greater attention to non-European cultures in areas such as education Some think it would damage the unity of society.

9. The Election in 2008 Obama v. McCain Senator from Illinois Democratic nominee. Son of a Kenyan father and a white American mother. first African- American to be elected President Ran against Hillary Clinton in the primaries. Defeated John McCain/ Sarah Palin in the general election. Oprah Winfrey endorsed Obama.

10. President Obama’s policies In 2011 President Obama began to withdraw troop’s from Iraq. Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (700-B) Supported National Health Care Appointed the first Hispanic Justice “Sonia Sotomayor”