1.  Mr. White’s US History 2

2.  Main Idea: After the Clinton administration, American conservatives took more power in the federal government.  After this section, we should be able to: o Describe the events surrounding the election of 2000 o Explain the events of the Bush administration

3.  A close election led to a controversial decision in the 2000 election.

4.  In the 2000 presidential race, the Democrats chose Vice President Al Gore to take over as President  The Republicans nominated Texas governor George W. Bush  The Green Party nominated Ralph Nader, a consumer advocate and a champion of environmental causes

5.  On election night, Al Gore appeared to be taking the lead,  Television networks predicted that he would win the key states of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Michigan  Later, television networks went back on their prediction about Florida, and said it was “too close to call.”

6.  It soon became clear that whoever won in Florida would win the election  About 2 A.M., the networks predicted Bush would win Florida, but his victory margin shrank as the votes were counted  While Bush did win Florida, and the presidency, and Gore conceded defeat, the Florida vote went to an automatic recount

7. The recount showed Bush winning Florida by only 500 votes Democrats demanded manual recounts in four mostly Democratic counties Republicans opposed this; said there could be an opportunity for people to tamper with the votes Eventually, this debate went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the recounts should be stopped Bush wins the Presidency

8.  George W. Bush inherited many problems, and addressed them immediately.

9.  Bush advanced his agenda as soon as he took office as President o Declared plans to reform the federal role in education o Wanted to privatize Social Security o Also proposed a $1.35 trillion tax cut, which passed in June, 2001

10. After the September 11 th attacks, the Bush administration shifted its attention to fighting terrorism October, 2001 – Bush signed an antiterrorism bill into law – Allowed the government to detain foreigners suspected of terrorism for seven days without charging them of a crime Bush also set up the Department of Homeland Security, which would coordinate national efforts to fight terrorism The federal government also increased its involvement in aviation security

11. Internationally, the Bush administration took measures to fight terrorism October, 2001 – coalition forces led by the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan to hunt down Osama bin Laden In 2002, the coalition disrupted Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan Although Bin Laden would not be killed or captured until 2011, the Bush administration won much support for its aggressive approach Bush also won support for the first elections held in Afghanistan, in October 2004

12. In 2002, during Bush’s State of the Union address, he placed the nations of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea into an “axis of evil” that threatened the peace and stability of the world Bush expanded his war on terror to include these nations, and he and his administration began to call for increase pressure on the nation of Iraq

13. Iraq had agreed to UN demands to stop the production of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons (sometimes called NBC) During the 1990s and early 2000s, Saddam Hussein refused to cooperate fully with the UN arms inspectors and eventually kicked them out of Iraq After the September 11 th attacks, Bush called for the renewal of inspections of Iraq’s program for the production of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)

14. In November of 2002, the United Nations passed Resolution 1441, giving Iraq a final chance to comply with the terms of the ceasefire and allow inspections – Hussein refused U.S. and British forces then broke off diplomatic relations, and demanded that Hussein leave Iraq – Hussein refused U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq in March, 2003

15. Within a month, Iraqi forces were defeated and Hussein went into hiding Upon an intensive search, no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq Hussein was captured in December of 2003 He was handed over to the Iraqi people for trial of crimes against humanity Hussein was later convicted of these crimes, and executed on December 30 th, 2006 U.S. forces would stay in Iraq to help the Iraqi government stabilize until December, 2011

16.  At home, Bush concentrated on education and the economy  Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind o This plan provided federal funds in return for a states’ compliance with accountability measures for schools’ success, as well as mandatory achievement testing, and more school options for parents

17. In the economy, corporate scandals threatened the economy, such as the Enron and WorldCom scandals Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which provided for a federal regulatory board to oversee the accounting industry Many American investors began to lose faith in the corporations, which was bad for the economy

18.  In 2003, Congress passed and Bush signed into law a $350 billion tax cut o Bush believed that the tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs o Democrats opposed the tax cuts, saying that they would mostly benefit the rich  Nonetheless, the tax cut went into law

19.  With these successes, and growing support, Republicans expanded their power throughout the country  California governor Gray Davis was recalled, and then replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger  Running against Democrat John Kerry, George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, winning both the popular vote and the electoral college

20.  Main Idea: After the Clinton administration, American conservatives took more power in the federal government.  After this section, we should be able to: o Describe the events surrounding the election of 2000 o Explain the events of the Bush administration

21.  So… o One of the ways that the Bush administration combatted terrorism or hostile nations was… o One of the measures that Bush took to improve life inside the United States was…