Transcript Slide 1

U.S. History Unit 9:
The End of the Cold War to Today
1975-2009
The Big Idea
With the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Cold War ended and
the U.S. was seen as the world’s lone superpower. But on
September 11, 2001 terrorists struck the U.S. bringing new fear
and war.
I. 1976 - President Jimmy Carter
A. Cold War – calm but still exists
B. Troubles with Iran
1. Iranian Islamic Revolution
a) Iran becomes isolated
b) cuts off oil exports
c) Gas prices in U.S.
U.S. economy
d) American Embassy in Iran under
attack
e) 52 US hostages taken
f) Carter unable to solve crisis
g) Carter very unpopular
II. 1980 - President Ronald Reagan – Conservative
A. Reagan - Very Popular President
1. “The Great Communicator”
2. “Reaganomics”
a) Cut Taxes – mostly for wealthy
b) trickle-down theory
III. Reagan’s Plan to End the Cold War
A. 1984 – Pres. Reagan is re-elected
1) Largest landslide victory in U.S. history
B. 1984 -- Olympics
1) Los Angeles host – boycotted by USSR
C. Late 1980’s -- U.S. Winning the Cold War
1) USSR economy , U.S. economy
2) Pres. Reagan’s military spending
a) 1980 – $150 billion
b) 1988 – $300 billion
3) USSR couldn’t keep up w/spending
4) U.S. fell into debt
a)1980 – $80 billion in debt
b)1990 – $220 billion
D. Reagan and USSR Leader Mikhail Gorbachev
1) First positive relations b/t USSR and U.S.
leaders
2) Gorbachev agrees to allow some freedom
a) glasnost – some political freedom
b) perestroika – some economic freedom
IV. 1988 – Pres. George H.W. Bush - the Fall of USSR
A. Communism falls across E.Europe
1) 1989 –Poland, Czech, Romania, etc rebel,
democratic hold elections
2) Leader of E. Ger allows E. Berliners to move to W.
Berlin
3) Berlin Wall is torn down
4) 1990 – E and W Ger unify = dem gov’t
5) 1991 – USSR Republics hold elections, become
independent
6) USSR no longer exists –
Cold War Ends
V.
1991 - Pres. H.W. Bush – Persian Gulf War
A. Iraq attacks Kuwait
B. “Operation Desert Storm”
Saddam
1. Goal: to remove Iraq from Kuwait Hussein
2. total casualties: U.S. = 148, Iraq= 20,000
VI. 1992 – Pres. Bill Clinton – Success and Scandal
A. “Pax Americana” – peace and prosperity
1. Thriving Economy
2. Balanced U.S. Budget
3. Stock Market Success
STOCK MARKET
FEDERAL DEFICIT
B. Pres Clinton Impeachment Scandal
1) 1998 – Clinton impeached
by Congress for lying under
oath, obstruction of justice
2) intense polarization and
partisanship
3) not forced out of office
The Clinton Legacy
VII. 2000 Presidential Election
A. George W. Bush vs. Al Gore
1. Gore wins popular vote
2. Florida is disputed
3. Supreme Ct - Bush wins Florida by
537 votes
4. Bush wins electoral vote
Electoral Vote
Popular Vote
Bush
271
50,456,169
Gore
266
50,996,116
VIII. The War in Iraq
A. How did it start?
1. September 11, 2001 = fear
a) The War on Terrorism begins
b) War in Afghanistan – Taliban provided
safe harbor for Al-Queda + Osama Bin Laden
c) Iraq is suspicious
- possible Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMD’s) in Iraq?
- are the United Nations WMD
inspections in Iraq reliable?
- Saddam Hussein can’t be trusted
2. 2003 – The war begins
a) “Shock and Awe”
b) Dec 2003 -- Saddam Hussein captured “like a
rat in a hole”
3. April 2004 - “Mission Accomplished”
a) Except - No WMDs? No stable gov’t?
4. Mission Accomplished?
a) Civil War
1. Iraq’s Islamic Ethnic Groups fighting for
control of country
- “The Triangle of Death”
- Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds
- Sunnis had the power under
Saddam
- Shiites want the power now
2. Guerilla Warfare, IED’s
b) Iraq’s new democracy struggled to provide
order and security
c) Iraqi soldiers targeted, uncommitted
d) Increased American Frustration
– Still no WMD’s?
– Americans Killed = 4,279
– http://www.npr.org/news/specials/tollofwar/tollofwarmain.html
- Abu-Ghraib Prison Torture Scandal
– Bush’s approval rating=under 30%
– New Plan: Troop surge to secure Baghdad
e) What about other threats?
-- Iran? North Korea? Venezuela?
Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad
in Iran
Kim Jong Il
in North
Korea
f) When will it end?
- When Iraqi gov’t achieves democratic
stability without the need for U.S. troops