History of the United States (1991–present)
Encyclopedia
The history of the United States from 1991 to present began after the fall of the Soviet Union
which signaled the end of the Cold War
and led into the United States' heightened military involvement in the Middle East
. The U.S. expelled an Iraq
i invasion force from Kuwait
, a Middle Eastern ally of the U.S., in the 1991 Gulf War
. Trailing the early 1990s recession, the Democrats
returned to the White House
with the election of Bill Clinton
in 1992. In the 1994 midterm election
the Republicans
gained control of Congress
for the first time in 40 years. Strife between Clinton and the Republicans in Congress initially resulted in a federal government shutdown following a budget crisis
, but later they worked together to pass welfare reform
, the Children's Health Insurance Program
, and a balanced budget. Charges from the Lewinsky scandal
led to the 1998 impeachment of Clinton
by the House of Representatives but he was later acquitted by the Senate. The U.S. economy boomed in the enthusiasm for high-technology industries in the 1990s until the NASDAQ
crashed as the dot-com bubble
burst and the early 2000s recession
marked the end of the sustained economic growth.
In 2000
, Republican George W. Bush
was elected president in one of the closest and most controversial elections in U.S. history. Early in his term, his administration approved education reform
and a large across-the-board tax cut
aimed at stimulating the economy. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the U.S. embarked on the War on Terror
, first invading Afghanistan
and then Iraq again, which deposed the controversial regime of Saddam Hussein
. The Homeland Security Department
was formed and the Patriot Act
was passed to bolster domestic efforts against terrorism. In 2006, criticism over the handling of the disastrous Hurricane Katrina
(which struck the Gulf Coast region
in 2005), political scandals, and dwindling patience among the American public regarding the Iraq War helped the Democrats gain control of Congress. In 2007, President Bush ordered a troop surge
in Iraq, which led to reduced casualties and significant victories for coalition forces. The collapse of the housing bubble
, which led into the late-2000s recession, helped the Democrats gain the presidency in 2008
with the election of Barack Obama
. The government enacted large loans and economic stimulus packages aimed at improving the economy. Obama's domestic initiatives also included the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
, which made large reforms to the American healthcare system. President Obama eventually withdrew combat troops from Iraq, and shifted the country's efforts in the War on Terror to Afghanistan, where a troop surge was initiated there in 2009. In 2010, due to public discontent with the economic situation, unemployment, and federal spending, Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives
and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate. In 2011, Obama announced that al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden
was killed by U.S. forces during a covert operation in Pakistan.
", and relatively high increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below five percent. The Internet
and related technologies made their first broad penetrations into the economy, prompting a Wall Street
technology-driven bubble, which Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan
described in 1996 as "irrational exuberance".
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union
in 1991, the United States was the world's dominant military power and Japan
, sometimes seen as the largest economic rival to the U.S., was caught in a period of stagnation. China
was emerging as the U.S.'s foremost trading competitor in more and more areas. Localized conflicts such as those in Haiti
and the Balkans
prompted President Bill Clinton
to send in U.S. troops as peacekeepers
, reviving the Cold-War
-era controversy about whether policing the rest of the world was a proper U.S. role. Islamic radicals overseas loudly threatened assaults against the U.S. for its ongoing military presence in the Middle East, and even staged the first World Trade Center attack
, a truck bombing in New York's twin towers, in 1993, as well as a number of deadly attacks on U.S. interests abroad.
Immigration, most of it from Latin America
and Asia
, swelled during the 1990s, laying the groundwork for great changes in the demographic makeup of the U.S. population in coming decades, such as Hispanic
s replacing African-Americans as the largest minority. Despite tougher border scrutiny after the September 11 attacks, nearly 8 million immigrants came to the United States
from 2000 to 2005—more than in any other five-year period in the nation's history. Almost half entered illegally.
. Excitement over the prospects of Internet stocks had led to huge increases in the major indexes. On March 10, 2000 the NASDAQ
peaked at 5,048.62, more than double its value just a year before. The massive initial batch of sell orders processed on Monday, March 13 triggered a chain reaction of selling that fed on itself as investors, funds, and institutions liquidated positions. In just six days, the NASDAQ had lost nearly nine percent, falling to 4,580 on March 15. The poor results of Internet retailers following the 1999 Christmas season may have been first unequivocal and public evidence that the "Get Rich Quick" Internet strategy was flawed for most companies. These retailers' results were made public in March when annual and quarterly reports of public firms were released. By 2001, the bubble was deflating at full speed. A majority of the dot-coms ceased trading after burning through their venture capital
, many having never made a profit.
The considerable dependence of the industrialized world on oil, with much of the proved oil reserves situated in Middle Eastern countries, became evident to the U.S., first in the aftermath of the 1973 world oil shock and later in the second energy crisis of 1979
. Although in real terms oil prices fell back to pre-1973 levels through the 1980s, resulting in a windfall for the oil-consuming nations (especially North America, Western Europe, and Japan), the vast reserves of the leading Middle East producers guaranteed the region its strategic importance. By the early 1990s the politics of oil still proved as hazardous as it did in the early 1970s.
Conflict in the Middle East triggered yet another international crisis on August 2, 1990, when Iraq
invaded and attempted to annex neighboring Kuwait
. U.S. officials feared that Hussein was then on the verge of armed conflict with oil-rich Saudi Arabia
, a close ally of Washington's since the 1940s. The United Nations condemned the invasion as an act of aggression; Bush compared Hussein to Adolf Hitler
and declared that if the United States and international community did not act, aggression would be encouraged elsewhere in the world. The Security Council to give Iraq a deadline to leave Kuwait; he ignored it; the Security Council declared war on Iraq. The war began in January 1991, with U.S. troops forming the majority of the coalition which participated in Operation Desert Storm
. By the time Iraqi troops withdrew from Kuwait in late February, Iraq had lost approximately 20,000 troops, with some sources citing as many as 100,000 casualties on the Iraqi side.
In December 1992, President Bush ordered sent troops to join the UN Operation Restore Hope, a multi-national effort to restore order and provide humanitarian aid in Somalia
, which was torn by civil war, famine, and warlords. By the summer of 1993, the situation had deteriorated. After 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in June 1993, the UN passed a resolution calling for the arrest and trial of those responsible for the attack. Under the leadership of newly-elected President Bill Clinton
, U.S. forces launched a concentrated attack on Aidid's stronghold in Mogadishu
in Operation Gothic Serpent
. In October 1993, 19 soldiers were killed and 84 were wounded in the Battle of Mogadishu. After the attack, Clinton ordered U.S. forces withdrawn from the region, with the last being withdrawn by 1995, and fired his Secretary of Defense Les Aspin
who had not sent adequate forces.
In the mid 1990s, the United States was involved in the Bosnian War
through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), most notably the 1995 bombing campaign, which finally led to the Dayton Agreement which ended the war by the end of 1995. In late 1998, the region became volatile again as war erupted between the army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Liberation Army
, a guerrilla group. A 1999 NATO bombing campaign struck Yugoslavia, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Yugoslavian soldiers and civilians. As a result, Yugoslavia withdrew from Kosovo
and Kosovo became an independent state.
President Clinton also presided over cruise missile strikes on Iraq in 1996 and bombing attacks on Iraq in 1998, which were launched in response to Saddam Hussein's violation of several UN resolutions, including repression of ethnic minorities (Kurds
) and removing UN weapons inspectors. The 1998 campaign, in particular, was meant to de-stabilize the Iraqi government and degrade the power of Hussein. Clinton also signed the Iraq Liberation Act
to appropriate funds to Iraqi opposition groups in the hopes of overthrowing Hussein's regime and establishing democracy.
Throughout the 1990s, the United States also played an active role in peace efforts
in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
. President Clinton, Israel
i Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
, and Palestinian
Prime Minister Yasser Arafat
met and the Oslo Accords
were signed in 1993, which called for the gradual ceding of control of Palestinian areas to the Palestinians in exchange for peace. However, Rabin was assassinated in 1995 and by 2000, the Camp David Summit
failed to yield a new agreement when Arafat rejected new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
's 95% offer, which would give Palestine control of 95% of their territories with the condition that refugees that had fled Palestine since 1948 cannot return. Arafat never made a counter-offer. In the 2000s, under the leadership of President George W. Bush
, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
, peace talk efforts continued with the new "road map for peace
".
, a terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden
. On February 26, 1993, a truck bomb was detonated
at the World Trade Center in New York City
, killing 6 and injuring over 1000. The attack was intended to destroy the foundation of the North Tower, knocking the tower into the South Tower, which would destroy both buildings and kill thousands of people. While this did not happen, the bomb caused considerable damage to the lower levels of the North Tower. In 1994, four men were convicted in carrying out the bombing and in 1997, two men were convicted for their roles, including the truck driver and the mastermind, Ramzi Yousef
.
On June 25, 1996, al-Qaeda terrorists bombed the Khobar Towers
, a complex in Saudi Arabia
where members of the U.S. military were being housed, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring over 300.
Al-Qaeda bombed the U.S. Embassy in Kenya
on August 7, 1998, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans. The U.S. launched cruise missile strikes on a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, yet this failed to destroy al-Qaeda's vast network. In October 2000, al-Qaeda militants bombed the USS Cole
off the coast of Yemen
, killing 17 servicemen and severely damaging the ship.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, four airliners were hijacked; two of them were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and another into the Pentagon
in Arlington, Virginia, destroying both towers and taking just under 3,000 lives. The fourth plane crashed in southern Pennsylvania
after some passengers fought back and are believed to have caused the piloting hijackers to crash. The immense shock, grief and anger brought on by the attacks profoundly altered the national mood; it was found that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda
terrorist network sponsored the attacks and President Bush announced a "war on terror
".
Congress approved several measures to protect against future attacks, including creating the Department of Homeland Security and passing the USA PATRIOT Act
, which was criticized by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union
. The administration's military response was to invade Afghanistan
on October 7, 2001, targeting al-Qaeda and the Taliban government that supported and sheltered them. The U.S. was joined by a coalition which included forces from more than a dozen countries, and was successful in removing the Taliban from power, although fighting continues between the coalition and Afghans of various factions.
In 2002, the GDP
growth rate rose to 2.8%. A major short-term problem in the first half of 2002 was a sharp decline in the stock market
, fueled in part by the exposure of dubious accounting practices in some major corporations. Another was unemployment, which experienced the longest period of monthly increase since the Great Depression
. The United States recovered from the post-9/11 recession between 2003 and 2005, but the robustness of the market, combined with the unemployment rate, led some economists and politicians to refer to the situation as a "jobless recovery
".
In his State of the Union address
in January 2002, President George W. Bush called Iran
, Iraq
, and North Korea
an "axis of evil
". The Bush administration later began making a public case for an invasion of Iraq, accusing them of violating the 1991 UN-imposed ceasefire
, supporting terrorism and being in possession of weapons of mass destruction
(these accussations were later proven to be false).
Some important allies of the U.S., including India
, Japan
, Turkey
, New Zealand
, France
, Germany
, and Canada
, did not believe that the evidence for the President's accusations was well-founded enough to justify a full-scale invasion, especially as military personnel were still needed in Afghanistan. The UN Security Council did not approve of the invasion, and the U.S. therefore provided most of the forces in the invasion of Iraq
. With the support of a coalition whose major partners included the United Kingdom
, Australia
, Poland
, Spain
, and Italy
, Iraq was invaded on March 20, 2003.
After six weeks of combat between the coalition and the Iraqi army, the invading forces had secured control of many key regions; Hussein had fled his palace, his regime clearly over; on May 1, Bush declared, under a sign reading "mission accomplished", that major ground operations were at an end. Saddam Hussein's sons Qusay
and Uday
were killed by U.S. forces; Saddam himself was captured in December 2003 and taken into custody. Nevertheless, fighting with the Iraqi insurgency
continued and escalated through the 2004 U.S. national elections and beyond.
With casualties increasing and the cost of the invasion and reconstruction of Iraq estimated at over $200 billion, the war has lost about one-third of its supporters in the U.S. since the end of major operations was announced. Contemporary polls suggested that international displeasure with the United States was at an all-time high, with a majority of people in Europe believing that the country was too powerful and acted mainly in self-interest, and a vast majority in predominantly Muslim nations believing that the United States was arrogant, belligerent, or hateful to Islam
.
As the situation in Iraq became increasingly difficult, policymakers began looking for new options. This led to the formation of the Iraq Study Group
, a nonpartisan commission chaired by James Baker
and Lee H. Hamilton
. This produced a variety of proposals; some of the more notable ones were to seek decreased US presence in Iraq, increased engagement with neighboring countries, and greater attention to resolving other local conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The recommendations were generally ignored and, despite the end of combat operations in August 2010, U.S. involvement in Iraq continues to this day (November 2010).
The 1990s and 2000s became known for several incidents of domestic terrorism, usually perpetrated by those dissatisfied with actions of the federal government, big business, or other aspects of American society.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, a mysterious man known in the media as the "Unabomber" sent mail bombs to figures in the academic and airline industries for various reasons. After a lull, he began another mail bombing campaign in earnest, beginning in 1993. His targets expanded to include big businesses such as representatives of the timber and oil industries. Two people were killed in the mid 1990s and an exhaustive and expensive investigation by the FBI coupled with intense national media interest in the story resulted in the identification and arrest of the perpetrator Theodore Kaczynski
, who was sentenced to life in prison.
On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb was detonated
outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
, killing 168 people and injuring over 600. The bombing became the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the United States and led to sweeping reforms in United States federal building security
. The attack's perpetrator, Timothy McVeigh
, was an anti-government extremist who used the Waco Siege
and Ruby Ridge
incidents as justification for his retaliation against the federal government. While McVeigh wanted to specifically target federal agents, the bombing killed many innocent civilians, including 19 children. McVeigh was executed in 2001 and his accomplice Terry Nichols
was sentenced to life in prison.
In July 1996, in the midst of the 1996 Summer Olympics
at Centennial Olympic Park
in Atlanta, Georgia
, a homemade bomb was detonated
, resulting in the deaths of 2 people and injuring over 100. This was followed by similar attacks at two abortion clinic
s and a lesbian nightclub. In 2003, suspect Eric Robert Rudolph
was arrested and sentenced in 2005 to five life sentences for these attacks.
In 2001, only days after the September 11 attacks, letters laced with anthrax
were sent to several individuals
, including prominent news personalities and government officials. The letters killed 5 people and infected a further 17. This incident of bioterrorism
was initially blamed on international terrorist organization al-Qaeda, but in 2008, was determined to stem from a Maryland scientist by the name of Bruce Edward Ivins, who committed suicide before he could be prosecuted.
In the early 1990s, the U.S. violent crime rate reached its peak before a steady decline began around 1993. Nevertheless, the ongoing drug problem (involving sales of marijuana and cocaine) continued to be a major factor in crime in the United States
. The overall rate of major crimes fell during the period. In 2009, the FBI estimated 1,318,000 violent crimes occurred nationwide, which was 7.5% below the 2000 level of 1,425,000 and 31% below the 1991 level of 1,912,000.
In 1992, the Los Angeles riots
occurred after four Los Angeles
police officers were acquitted in the beating of black motorist Rodney King
. The riots occurred primarily in South Central Los Angeles, a predominantly black and Hispanic area. Over 50 people were killed and 2000 were injured. Two prominent examples of the carnage were Reginald Denny
and Fidel Lopez, who were nearly beat to death by savage mobs. 3,600 fires were set, destroying over 1,000 buildings and widespread looting occurred, especially of businesses owned by the Korean American community
. In all, nearly $1 billion in damage was caused. Then-president George H. W. Bush denounced the rioting and worked with the Governor of California Pete Wilson
and Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley
to restore order. A curfew was established and 4,000 National Guardsmen
were deployed, in addition to law enforcement agents and fire service personnel from several agencies.
In the 1990s and 2000s, a surge of hate crimes against the lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, and transgender
community occurred in the United States. The most publicized incident was the murder of Matthew Shepard
in Wyoming after two young men kidnapped, tortured, and murdered him near the University of Wyoming
in 1998. Despite public awareness, many American gay youths continued to experience bullying among their peers, and some were even driven to suicide. Organizations such as the It Gets Better Project and the Trevor Project were created to help LGBT youths. In 2009, Congress passed the Matthew Shepard Act
which extended the hate crime law to women, the disabled, and gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transexuals.
A spate of school shootings rocked the country in the late 1990s and 2000s, the deadliest and most prominent of which were the Westside Middle School massacre
(1998), the Columbine High School massacre
(1999), the Red Lake High School massacre
(2005), the Amish school shooting
(2006), the Virginia Tech massacre
(2007), and the Northern Illinois University shooting
(2008). These shootings added fuel to the fire for the debates over gun politics
and media violence, and led to increased focus on mental health, school safety, and anti-bullying.
The Capital Region
was struck by the Beltway sniper attacks
, a series of sniper attacks on civilians and federal workers by two gunmen over a month-long period in October 2002. The attackers killed 10 people and injured three. The suspects, John Allen Muhammad
and Lee Boyd Malvo
, were taken into custody on October 24, 2002 and sentenced a year later. Muhammad was executed in 2009 and Malvo received six life sentences.
In November 2009, U.S. Army major Nidal Malik Hasan
killed 13 fellow servicemen and injured 30 in the Fort Hood shooting
in Killeen, Texas
. While the act was called terrorism by some due to Hasan's Muslim heritage, the attack was ruled out by the FBI to have been perpetrated by a terrorist organization.
On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords
was the target of an assassination attempt, when a gunman went on a shooting spree
, critically injuring Giffords, killing federal judge John Roll and five other people, and wounding at least 14 others, at a "Congress on Your Corner" event Giffords was hosting in suburban Tucson, Arizona
.
made landfall in South Florida, devastating the southern suburbs of Miami
, including Homestead
, Kendall
, and Cutler Ridge. Two days later, the storm made landfall again in a sparsely populated part of Louisiana
, with relatively less damage than in Florida. The storm killed 26 people directly, 39 indirectly. With $26 billion in damage, it became the costliest storm in history at that time. The storm was known for many controversies including the sluggish federal response, which may have impacted President George H.W. Bush's image on domestic issues, as well as poor housing construction which may have led to such high levels of destruction.
In March 1993, a massive storm, known as the "Storm of the Century" or "Superstorm" struck the Eastern Seaboard
of the United States. The storm set low pressure records; produced hurricane-force winds, storm surge, and killer tornadoes in Florida; and produced snowfall up to 2 feet (61 cm) across many portions of the Eastern United States. The storm was particularly crippling to the Southern United States, where places like Birmingham, Alabama
received one-and-a-half feet of snow and record low temperatures, highly unusual for the region. In all, 300 deaths were attributed to the storm and $6 billion in damage was caused.
The Great Flood of 1993
affected the Midwestern United States
in the spring and summer of that year, devastating large portions of the Mississippi
and Missouri River
Valleys and their tributaries. Many small towns were devastated and agricultural losses were significant. 10,000 homes were destroyed and 15 million acres (60,702.9 km²) of agricultural lands were inundated. 50 people perished in the floods and $15 billion in damage was done.
In the early morning hours of January 17, 1994, the San Fernando Valley
region of Los Angeles was hit by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake, known as the "Northridge earthquake". The quake killed more than 70 people and injured 9,000. Most of the fatalities were attributed to collapsed buildings, parking structures, or freeways. Striking an urban area, it was very destructive, causing $20 billion in damage.
In July 1995, the city of Chicago
was hit by a heat wave
that had severe repercussions. During a five-day spell from July 12 to July 16, the high temperature hovered from the mid 90s to the mid 100s. The heat index pushed 120 degrees on many days. The heat wave resulted in the deaths of over 700 people, many of whom were black, elderly, or poor. The event brought increased attention to these segments of the population and the importance of reaching out to them during heat waves, as well as the concept of the urban heat island
effect, in which urban environments exacerbate heat and humidity levels. Additionally, power failures and lack of adequate warning and general preparedness aggravated the situation and may have contributed to such high fatalities.
In January 1996, the Blizzard of 1996
affected the Northeastern
and Mid-Atlantic United States, dumping up to 36 inches (91.4 cm) of snow on many areas, crippling major American cities like Washington, D.C.
, Baltimore
, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston
. The storm killed 150 people and caused $3 billion in damages.
On May 3, 1999, a violent tornado outbreak struck the Southern Great Plains
, predominantly Oklahoma
. The most destructive tornado was an F5 tornado that struck Oklahoma City and the suburb of Moore
. The tornado is one of the most prominent examples of a tornado striking a major urban area and became the first tornado to incur over $1 billion in damages. In all, the outbreak resulted in 50 deaths and over 600 injuries.
In 2004, four hurricanes--Charley
, Frances
, Ivan
, and Jeanne
--struck the state of Florida in a one-month timespan, resulting in over 100 U.S. deaths and nearly $50 billion in damage combined. Out of the four hurricanes, Ivan was the deadliest in the U.S., while Charley was the most destructive.
2005 brought the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history
. In August 2005, the powerful Hurricane Katrina
struck the Gulf Coast
region. Katrina broke the levees of New Orleans, Louisiana
and flooded 80% of the low-lying city. Extensive devastation and flooding also occurred from Mobile
, Alabama
west to Beaumont, Texas
, with the Mississippi
coastline especially hard hit. At least 1,800 lives were lost in the worst domestic calamity since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane
. Port facilities, oil rigs and refineries in the Gulf region were damaged, further increasing already high U.S. fuel prices. Residents of New Orleans, many of whom were impoverished and unable (or unwilling) to evacuate before the storm, were trapped for days by the flood waters. Tens of thousands had to be rescued by the U.S. military from their rooftops or from unsanitary and dangerous shelters in public buildings. State and local authorities were overwhelmed by the scale of the events. Their response to the disaster, as well the federal government's, were harshly criticized by legislators and citizens who saw in the confusion a dangerous lack of readiness and inability to preserve public safety. President Bush promised that the federal government would underwrite the rebuilding of New Orleans and other storm-damaged areas, the cost of which was estimated to run as high as $200 billion. Only weeks after Katrina, Hurricane Rita
struck the Texas/Louisiana border in September. Rita caused the largest evacuation in U.S. history, as millions of people fled the Houston area, as well as portions of Louisiana. Rita resulted in over 100 fatalities, the vast majority of which were indirect, occurring during the evacuation or in the aftermath of the storm. Additionally, $10 billion in damage was attributed to Rita. Later in the season, Hurricane Wilma
struck the state of Florida in October 2005, killing 35 people and doing $20 billion worth of damage. The storm yielded the lowest pressure value ever recorded in history before making landfall in Florida, making it the most intense storm on record.
On Super Tuesday
in February 2008, in the midst of heated primary elections in multiple states, a destructive tornado outbreak
hit the Mid-South
region, spawning dangerous nighttime twisters across the region. A total of 87 tornadoes were reported. Over 60 people were killed across Tennessee
, Kentucky
, Arkansas
, and Alabama and hundreds were injured. Losses exceeded $1 billion. The outbreak was the deadliest outbreak in the U.S. in 23 years, and brought renewed attention to the dangers of nighttime tornadoes, winter tornadoes, and the vulnerability of populations in the Southern United States.
In September 2008, after two straight years of not being affected by a serious hurricane, Hurricane Gustav
caused $18 billion in damage in Louisiana, and a few weeks later, the Galveston, Texas
and Houston, Texas
areas were devastated by Hurricane Ike
with over $31 billion in damage, making Ike the third most destructive hurricane ever to hit the United States behind Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina. Over 100 people were killed. The hurricanes also caused gas prices to spike to around $4 per gallon.
In the spring of 2011, several major tornado outbreaks affected the Central
and Southern United States
. 43 people were killed in a tornado outbreak from April 14 - 16
. Approximately 350+ people were killed in a tornado outbreak from April 25 - April 28
, the deadliest U.S. tornado outbreak in 75 years (since the 1936 Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak). States particularly hit hard by the outbreaks included Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and most especially, Alabama, which sustained over 250 fatalities alone. The latter outbreak produced $10 billion in damage, making it the costliest tornado outbreak in history. On May 22, an EF5 tornado
devastated Joplin, Missouri
, killing 154, injuring over 1,000 people, and causing $1-3 billion in damage, making it the deadliest single U.S. tornado in 64 years and the costliest single tornado of all time.
In August 2011, Hurricane Irene was the first hurricane to make landfall since Ike in 2008, striking the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, making landfalls in North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York. The storm killed at least 45 people and caused $10 billion in damage. The storm was particularly notable for its extensive flooding in the Northeast, and a couple days later, Tropical Storm Lee
made landfall in Louisiana, its remnants tracking to the Northeast for even more devastating floods.
crashing off the coast of Long Island
, en route to Paris, France, on July 17, 1996 due to an explosion of the fuel tank, killing 230 and EgyptAir Flight 990
crashing south of Nantucket, Massachusetts
, en route to Cairo, Egypt, on October 31, 1999 due to deliberate crashing by the first officer, killing 217. Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the second-deadliest U.S. aviation incident occurred when American Airlines Flight 587
crashed in Queens, New York, en route to the Dominican Republic
, on November 12, 2001 due to overuse of rudder controls by the pilot to counteract turbulence, killing 265 (including 5 on the ground).
On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry to the Earth over parts of Texas and Louisiana during STS-107
, resulting in the deaths of all seven astronauts. The incident resulted from a piece of foam insulation that fell off during launch, which struck the shuttle, creating a hole that allowed hot gases to penetrate the shuttle during re-entry. In the aftermath of the disaster, the space shuttle program
was suspended for 29 months as NASA
investigated the incident and made plans to prevent future tragedies.
On February 17, 2003, a stampede occurred at the E2 nightclub
in Chicago, after an incident involving pepper spray, resulting in the deaths of 21 people. Three days later, on February 20, 100 people perished and over 200 were injured in The Station nightclub fire
in West Warwick, Rhode Island
, when pyrotechnics ignited flammable sound-proofing during a performance by the band Great White
. Both incidents brought attention to the need to crack down on building, fire, and safety code violations to prevent future tragedies. A porch collapse
that killed 13 and seriously injured 57 in June 2003 in Chicago further emphasized the problems with building code violations in the United States.
On August 1, 2007, the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis
collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and injuring over 50. The bridge was under construction at the time. The incident brought to attention the need to inspect and rehabilitate the aging infrastructure system in the United States.
On April 20, 2010, an off shore oil drilling rig, the Deepwater Horizon
, exploded and burned off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Dozens of workers fled the flames and were rescued by lifeboats and helicopters, however 11 were killed and 17 were injured in the incident. The rig burned for 36 hours before sinking. On April 24, it was discovered that a damaged wellhead was leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico at a rapid rate. For approximately 90 days, tens of thousands of barrels of oil leaked into the ocean every day, resulting in the largest oil spill in United States history. The wellhead was successfully contained in mid-July, stopping the flow, and efforts are ongoing to cap the wellhead and create a replacement well. Despite significant efforts to protect coastlines, the spill has had devastating impacts on the environment and the economies of the Gulf Coast states. The Obama administration has ordered rig owner BP responsible for all cleanup costs, which are expected to run in the tens of billions of dollars. The spill has resulted in negative public approval ratings of the U.S. government, the Obama administration, and BP, for their handling of the spill, with BP suffering the worst ratings.
to wind power
and solar power
were discussed and, indeed, funded by Congress after 2000. In the economic stimulus package
signed by President Obama in early 2009, billions of dollars were allocated for research and development of new energy sources.
While public attention focused on supplies from the Middle East, the main source was actually Canada. After 2007, new methods of extraction opened up vast new deposits of oil in the Bakken Formation
in North Dakota and Montana. As much as two trillion dollars worth of natural gas is potentially available in the Marcellus Formation
deposits located in the historic 19th century oil fields in Appalachia
, stretching from West Virginia through Pennsylvania into western New York. However, there is sharp debate underway regarding the environmental impact on the region's fresh water supply. The question of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(ANWR) was highly controversial, as Republican proposals were blocked by the Democrats in Congress. Republicans in 2008 were campaigning for more offshore drilling, with the slogan "drill, baby, drill
", but the 2010 Gulf oil spill put all new drilling on hold.
Riding high on the success of the first Gulf War, George H. W. Bush
enjoyed very high approval ratings as president. However, economic recession and a reneged campaign pledge dogged Bush, sinking his formerly high approval ratings from the high 80s to the lower 40s and upper 30s. In the wake of Bush's political problems, Bill Clinton
won the 1992 contest
with 43% of the vote in a three way race against Bush's 38%. Independent candidate Ross Perot
tapped the discontent of the electorate with both parties, drawing roughly evenly from both candidates to receive a record 19% of the popular vote, but no electoral votes. Perot's result qualified his Reform Party
to receive Federal Election Commission
matching funds for campaign contributions in the 1996 election, thus laying the groundwork for another three-way race during the 1996 presidential election
.
Clinton entered office as one of the youngest presidents in U.S. history and the first of the Baby Boom Generation to reach the White House
. Promising to focus on and resolve some of the United States' many domestic issues, he entered office with high expectations. Immediately, however, he was troubled by controversy over the personal backgrounds of some of his appointees and by political clashes stemming from his announcement that he would permit homosexuals
to serve in the U.S. military. The latter resulted in the "don't ask, don't tell
" policy of the military.
These events in 1993 seemed to set the pattern for a man who would become one of the more divisive U.S. presidents, regarded with great affection by some and abhorrence by others. One early domestic victory of the Clinton administration was the enactment of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban
. The ban was widely decried by the Republican Party
, who allowed it to lapse in 2004 while they controlled both Congress and the presidency. Bill Clinton's proposal of a national health care system, championed by his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton
, ignited a political firestorm on the right, which vigorously opposed it on the general principle that government size should be reduced not expanded. The proposed system did not survive the debate. However Hillary Clinton did succeed, along with a bipartisan coalition of members of congress, in establishing the Children's Health Insurance Program
.
The New Deal
, the Great Society
, and Watergate
helped solidify Democratic control of Congress, but the 1980s and early 1990s were a period of fragmentation of their coalition, when the popularity of Democratic incumbents as constituent servants masked growing disenchantment with Congress' governing capacities. Democrats suddenly lost control of the House and the Senate for the first time in four decades in the 1994 midterm elections. Once in power, House Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich
, faced the difficulty of learning to govern after forty years as the minority party while simultaneously pursuing their "Contract with America
", which they unveiled on the steps of Congress on September 27, 1994.
Year by year, polarization grew in Washington between the president and his adversaries on the right. There was a surge in the market of new media outlets that gave more voice to the right. Rush Limbaugh
's radio talk show was a spectacular success and a major influence in the GOP legislative victory. The Weekly Standard
was formed in 1995 and after the election of George W. Bush would advertise itself as the most read publication in the White House. These new media amplified the ever-louder quarrels, causing some to speak of a new "culture war
" in U.S. politics. The more extreme right-wing voices, which veered into uncompromising hostility toward the Federal government—particularly after the botched ATF raid on the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas
, were somewhat discredited, however, after the Oklahoma City bombing, in April 1995, by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
Along with strong backing from traditional Democrats and liberals, Clinton was able to garner the support of moderates who appreciated his centrist "New Democrat" policies, which steered away from the expansion of government services of the New Deal and Great Society and allowed him to "triangulate
", taking away many of the Republicans' top issues. One example of such compromises was welfare reform
legislation signed into law in 1996. The new law required welfare recipients to work as a condition of benefits and imposed limits on how long individuals may receive payments, but did allow states to exempt 20% of their caseloads from the time limits. Clinton also pursued tough federal anti-crime measures, steering more federal dollars toward the war on drugs
, and calling for the hiring of 100,000 new police officers. Compromise came with difficulty, though, as the parties failed to agree on a budget, causing the federal government to shut down in late 1995 into early 1996. By the end of his administration, the federal government had experienced the country's longest economic expansion and produced a budget surplus. The first year of the budget surplus was also the first year since 1969 in which the federal government did not borrow from the Social Security Trust Fund
.
Clinton was reelected in 1996
, defeating Republican Senator Bob Dole
and Reform Party candidate Ross Perot, who did not repeat the success of his 1992 campaign.
Many voters in 1992 and 1996 had been willing to overlook long-standing rumors of extramarital affairs by Clinton, deeming them irrelevant. These matters came to a head, however, in February 1998 when reports surfaced of ongoing sexual relations between Clinton and a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky
. Clinton initially and vigorously denied the relationship; "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." His wife Hillary described the allegations as fraudulent smears dredged up by a "vast right-wing conspiracy
." Clinton was forced to retract his assertions in August 1998 after the Lewinsky matter came under investigation by independent counsel
Kenneth Starr
, who had been looking into Clinton's involvement in the Whitewater controversy
for several years. Since Clinton's denials had extended to a deposition
before Starr's office, impeachment
proceedings began in the House against the President on charges of perjury
and obstruction of justice
.
The matter climaxed as Clinton was impeached in the United States House of Representatives, but acquitted at his trial by the U.S. Senate
. A public backlash occasioned Newt Gingrich to resign after a poor showing in the 1998 midterm elections
. His heir apparent, Speaker-elect Bob Livingston
, was forced to resign from Congress before impeachment proceedings began due to a confirmed report of his extramarital affairs. After the impeachment trial, a scandal-weary and embarrassed U.S. public seemed largely satisfied to have the matter resolved.
In 1999, Republican Dennis Hastert
of Illinois became Speaker of the House, a position he would hold until 2007, making him the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House.
Though his 2000 election
had been the focus of intense controversy which led eventually to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bush v. Gore
where the court ruled 5–4 in the former's favor by siding with the State of Florida's official vote count, George W. Bush was sworn in as President on January 20, 2001. This made the 2000 election the third presidential election in which the electoral vote winner did not receive at least a plurality of the popular vote. The first eight months of his term in office were relatively uneventful; however, it had become clear by that time that the economic boom of the late 1990s was at an end. The year 2001 was plagued by a nine-month recession
, witnessing the end of the boom psychology and performance, with output increasing only 0.3% and unemployment and business failures rising substantially. Prior to his 2000 election, Bush campaigned largely on domestic issues, and early in his term, he signed a $1.3 trillion federal tax cut
with the intent of revitalizing the economy as well as the No Child Left Behind Act
education reform bill.
On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
in the September 11 attacks, killing nearly 3,000 and injuring over 6,000 people. Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the attacks. President Bush ordered all flights grounded and U.S. airspace remained closed for the rest of the week. An emergency bailout package for the airline industry was passed, and stocks fell dramatically when markets re-opened the following week. In response to the attacks, the Bush administration and Congress passed the controversial USA PATRIOT Act
, aimed at enhancing security, and established the Department of Homeland Security, a mass consolidation of many federal agencies charged with investigation, intelligence, and emergency management. A new Terrorist Finance Tracking Program
monitored the movements of terrorists' financial resources but was discontinued after being revealed by The New York Times
. Telecommunication usage by known and suspected terrorists was studied through the NSA electronic surveillance program
. On October 7, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan
as part of a global War on Terrorism
, aimed at rooting out al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist organizations.
In 2003, Bush launched the War in Iraq on March 20, 2003, under controversial grounds that Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction. Bush announced on May 1, 2003 from an aircraft carrier that major combat operations in Iraq were completed, with a "Mission Accomplished" banner serving as a backdrop. However, a guerilla war led by the Iraqi insurgency
would continue for the remainder of the decade, resulting in the deaths of over 4,000 U.S. troops. Late in 2003, Hussein was captured, and was subsequently put to trial before the Iraqi people and executed in 2006.
In addition, Bush continued to pursue domestic issues, signing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
in 2003 and the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
in 2004.
George W. Bush was re-elected in November 2004
, defeating Democratic contender John Kerry
in the electoral vote
, and receiving 50.7% of the popular vote against John Kerry's 48.3%. Republicans also made gains in both houses of Congress.
After seeing high approval ratings for much of his first term, Bush's popularity plummeted to record lows in his second term, due to his handling of the prolonged Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina
, and the 2008 financial crisis. Some major acts in Bush's second term included the Energy Policy Act of 2005
, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act
, and the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Bush was succeeded on January 20, 2009 by a Democratic
president, Barack Obama
.
Democrats swept to victory in the 2006 elections
, making Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
, the first woman in that position, and electing record numbers of women and minorities. Upon winning the elections, the Democrats drew up a 100-Hour Plan
of policy proposals upon assuming power in Congress. Major components of the plan included a pay-as-you-go plan for reducing the deficit; enacting the 9/11 Commission
recommendations; increasing the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour; allowing the government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to secure lower drug prices for Medicare
patients; and ending large tax subsidies for big oil companies to help foster energy independence.
The 110th Congress did little to change the Iraq War except to pass a non-binding resolution against President Bush's troop surge. In addition, the House passed a $124 billion emergency spending measure for war funding with the stipulation of a phased troop withdrawal. President Bush vetoed the bill because of the proposal of scaling down forces, making this the second veto of his term.
During the months of May–June 2007, Ted Kennedy
and other senators co-sponsored the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
. The purpose of this bill called for immigration reform under the intent of bringing amnesty and citizenship. On June 28 the Senate voted 53–45 for cloture, with 60 votes needed, spelling the end to the 2007 Immigration Bill.
told a federal commission in November 2009:
The Federal Reserve and the Treasury cooperated by pouring trillions into a financial system that had frozen up worldwide. They rescued most of the large financial corporations (except for Lehman Brothers
which went bankrupt), and took government control of insurance giant AIG, mortgage banks Fanny May and Freddy Mac, and both General Motors and Chrysler.
In October 2008, Bush sought, and Congress passed, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
(commonly referred to as the "bank bailout"), which aimed to protect the U.S. financial system from complete collapse in wake of the late-2000s recession, which brought significant falls in the stock market. The bill provided guarantees by the federal government of up to $700 billion to troubled financial institutions through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). However, by 2010, it was reported that only a fraction of that money was ever spent, as banks were able to quickly pay back loans from the federal government or ended up never needing the money.
Meanwhile unemployment doubled to nearly 10%, with states such as California and Michigan especially hard hit. While the stock market rebounded by 2011, and corporate profits had recovered, unemployment remained over 9% into 2011. The recession was worldwide, with Europe and Japan hard hit, while China, India and Canada fared much better.
The nation went into the 2008 election cycle having a Republican president and Democratic congress both with extremely low approval ratings. The presidential elections saw the Republican John McCain
, the senior Senator from Arizona
, with his running mate Sarah Palin
, the Governor of Alaska, run against the Democrat Barack Obama
, the junior Senator from Illinois
, with Joe Biden
, the senior Senator from Delaware
. The economic crisis of 2008 escalated in the late stages of the campaign and doomed McCain. On November 4, 2008, Obama defeated McCain to become the 44th President of the United States
, making history in becoming the first African-American to be elected to the highest executive office. Obama and Biden were inaugurated
on January 20, 2009. Part of the strong showing came from a surge of support from younger voters, African Americans, Hispanics and independents. Democrats made further gains in Congress, adding to the majorities they had won in 2006.
Obama's policy decisions have addressed a continuing global financial crisis and have included changes in tax policies, foreign policy initiatives
and the phasing out of detention of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba
. While Obama has set down a timeline for a 2011 military withdrawal from Iraq, the War in Afghanistan has escalated with additional U.S. troops being sent to the country and a deadline of summer 2011 to show results.
Shortly after taking office, Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
, a bill aimed at stimulating the economy which provided $787 billion in federal funds for tax relief, as well as significant investments in infrastructure improvements, social welfare programs, education programs, healthcare, and housing. In March 2010, President Obama signed the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
, which made large reforms to the U.S. healthcare system. Throughout the spring of 2010, the Obama administration had to deal with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
, the largest oil spill in U.S. history, which resulted from a failed wellhead operated by BP
that gushed oil for about 90 days, resulting in devastating impacts to the environment and to the economies of the Gulf Coast states.
The U.S. also maintains ongoing talks, led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
, with North Korea
over its nuclear weapons program
, as well as with Israel
and the Palestinian Authority over a two-state solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
.
In the 2010 elections
, the GOP regained control of the House and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate,, due to voters' continued frustration with the economy, high unemployment, and rising federal debt. Voter frustration was partially fueled by the conservative Tea Party movement
.
In late 2010, Obama signed another stimulus package worth $858 billion that included continuation of all the Bush tax cuts
of 2001, a cut in the federal estate tax, and a cut of two points in the Social Security tax that amounted to a 2% pay raise for most. During a highly-productive lame duck session of Congress, several other important measures passed including a repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy in the US Army and a major arms reduction treaty
with Russia.
On May 1, 2011, President Obama announced in a televised speech to the nation that al-Qaeda
leader and culprit behind many deadly acts of terrorism (including the September 11 attacks) Osama bin Laden
was killed
by U.S. forces at a compound in Abbottabad
, Pakistan
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
which signaled the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and led into the United States' heightened military involvement in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. The U.S. expelled an Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i invasion force from Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, a Middle Eastern ally of the U.S., in the 1991 Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. Trailing the early 1990s recession, the Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
returned to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
with the election of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in 1992. In the 1994 midterm election
United States elections, 1994
The 1994 elections in the United States were held on November 8, 1994. This was the year known as the Republican Revolution, in which members of the Republican Party stormed back to majorities in the House and Senate...
the Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
gained control of Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
for the first time in 40 years. Strife between Clinton and the Republicans in Congress initially resulted in a federal government shutdown following a budget crisis
Budget crisis
A budget crisis is an informal name for a situation in which the legislative and the executive in a presidential system deadlock and are unable to pass a budget. In presidential systems, the legislature has the power to pass a budget, but the executive often has a veto in which there are...
, but later they worked together to pass welfare reform
Welfare reform
Welfare reform refers to the process of reforming the framework of social security and welfare provisions, but what is considered reform is a matter of opinion. The term was used in the United States to support the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act...
, the Children's Health Insurance Program
State Children's Health Insurance Program
The State Children's Health Insurance Program – later known more simply as the Children's Health Insurance Program – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children...
, and a balanced budget. Charges from the Lewinsky scandal
Lewinsky scandal
The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...
led to the 1998 impeachment of Clinton
Impeachment of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...
by the House of Representatives but he was later acquitted by the Senate. The U.S. economy boomed in the enthusiasm for high-technology industries in the 1990s until the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
crashed as the dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
burst and the early 2000s recession
Early 2000s recession
The early 2000s recession was a decline in economic activity which occurred mainly in developed countries. The recession affected the European Union mostly during 2000 and 2001 and the United States mostly in 2002 and 2003. The UK, Canada and Australia avoided the recession for the most part, while...
marked the end of the sustained economic growth.
In 2000
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, Republican George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
was elected president in one of the closest and most controversial elections in U.S. history. Early in his term, his administration approved education reform
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
and a large across-the-board tax cut
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 , was a sweeping piece of tax legislation in the United States by President George W. Bush...
aimed at stimulating the economy. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the U.S. embarked on the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, first invading Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
and then Iraq again, which deposed the controversial regime of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
. The Homeland Security Department
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
was formed and the Patriot Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
was passed to bolster domestic efforts against terrorism. In 2006, criticism over the handling of the disastrous Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
(which struck the Gulf Coast region
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
in 2005), political scandals, and dwindling patience among the American public regarding the Iraq War helped the Democrats gain control of Congress. In 2007, President Bush ordered a troop surge
Iraq War troop surge of 2007
In the context of the Iraq War, the surge refers to United States President George W. Bush's 2007 increase in the number of American troops in order to provide security to Baghdad and Al Anbar Province....
in Iraq, which led to reduced casualties and significant victories for coalition forces. The collapse of the housing bubble
United States housing bubble
The United States housing bubble is an economic bubble affecting many parts of the United States housing market in over half of American states. Housing prices peaked in early 2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and may not yet have hit bottom as of 2011. On December 30, 2008 the...
, which led into the late-2000s recession, helped the Democrats gain the presidency in 2008
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
with the election of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. The government enacted large loans and economic stimulus packages aimed at improving the economy. Obama's domestic initiatives also included the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, which made large reforms to the American healthcare system. President Obama eventually withdrew combat troops from Iraq, and shifted the country's efforts in the War on Terror to Afghanistan, where a troop surge was initiated there in 2009. In 2010, due to public discontent with the economic situation, unemployment, and federal spending, Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
The 2010 United States House of Representatives elections, also known as the 2010 midterm elections, were held on November 2, 2010, at the midpoint of President Barack Obama's first term in office. Voters of the 50 U.S. states chose 435 U.S. Representatives. Voters of the U.S...
and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate. In 2011, Obama announced that al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
leader Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
was killed by U.S. forces during a covert operation in Pakistan.
Globalization and the new economy
Clinton's terms in office will be remembered for the nation's domestic focus during this period. The six years span of 1994 through 2000 witnessed the emergence of what many commentators called a technology-driven "new economyNew Economy
The New Economy is a term to describe the result of the transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy. This particular use of the term was popular during the Dot-com bubble of the late 1990s...
", and relatively high increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below five percent. The Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and related technologies made their first broad penetrations into the economy, prompting a Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
technology-driven bubble, which Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
described in 1996 as "irrational exuberance".
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
in 1991, the United States was the world's dominant military power and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, sometimes seen as the largest economic rival to the U.S., was caught in a period of stagnation. China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
was emerging as the U.S.'s foremost trading competitor in more and more areas. Localized conflicts such as those in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
prompted President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to send in U.S. troops as peacekeepers
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
, reviving the Cold-War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
-era controversy about whether policing the rest of the world was a proper U.S. role. Islamic radicals overseas loudly threatened assaults against the U.S. for its ongoing military presence in the Middle East, and even staged the first World Trade Center attack
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
, a truck bombing in New York's twin towers, in 1993, as well as a number of deadly attacks on U.S. interests abroad.
Immigration, most of it from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, swelled during the 1990s, laying the groundwork for great changes in the demographic makeup of the U.S. population in coming decades, such as Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
s replacing African-Americans as the largest minority. Despite tougher border scrutiny after the September 11 attacks, nearly 8 million immigrants came to the United States
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
from 2000 to 2005—more than in any other five-year period in the nation's history. Almost half entered illegally.
Dot-com bubble
Early 2000 to 2001 saw the dramatic bursting of the dot-com bubbleDot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
. Excitement over the prospects of Internet stocks had led to huge increases in the major indexes. On March 10, 2000 the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
peaked at 5,048.62, more than double its value just a year before. The massive initial batch of sell orders processed on Monday, March 13 triggered a chain reaction of selling that fed on itself as investors, funds, and institutions liquidated positions. In just six days, the NASDAQ had lost nearly nine percent, falling to 4,580 on March 15. The poor results of Internet retailers following the 1999 Christmas season may have been first unequivocal and public evidence that the "Get Rich Quick" Internet strategy was flawed for most companies. These retailers' results were made public in March when annual and quarterly reports of public firms were released. By 2001, the bubble was deflating at full speed. A majority of the dot-coms ceased trading after burning through their venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
, many having never made a profit.
First Iraq War
1979 energy crisis
The 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil...
. Although in real terms oil prices fell back to pre-1973 levels through the 1980s, resulting in a windfall for the oil-consuming nations (especially North America, Western Europe, and Japan), the vast reserves of the leading Middle East producers guaranteed the region its strategic importance. By the early 1990s the politics of oil still proved as hazardous as it did in the early 1970s.
Conflict in the Middle East triggered yet another international crisis on August 2, 1990, when Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
invaded and attempted to annex neighboring Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. U.S. officials feared that Hussein was then on the verge of armed conflict with oil-rich Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, a close ally of Washington's since the 1940s. The United Nations condemned the invasion as an act of aggression; Bush compared Hussein to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and declared that if the United States and international community did not act, aggression would be encouraged elsewhere in the world. The Security Council to give Iraq a deadline to leave Kuwait; he ignored it; the Security Council declared war on Iraq. The war began in January 1991, with U.S. troops forming the majority of the coalition which participated in Operation Desert Storm
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. By the time Iraqi troops withdrew from Kuwait in late February, Iraq had lost approximately 20,000 troops, with some sources citing as many as 100,000 casualties on the Iraqi side.
Conflicts in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Middle East
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, which was torn by civil war, famine, and warlords. By the summer of 1993, the situation had deteriorated. After 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in June 1993, the UN passed a resolution calling for the arrest and trial of those responsible for the attack. Under the leadership of newly-elected President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, U.S. forces launched a concentrated attack on Aidid's stronghold in Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
in Operation Gothic Serpent
Operation Gothic Serpent
Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid...
. In October 1993, 19 soldiers were killed and 84 were wounded in the Battle of Mogadishu. After the attack, Clinton ordered U.S. forces withdrawn from the region, with the last being withdrawn by 1995, and fired his Secretary of Defense Les Aspin
Les Aspin
Leslie "Les" Aspin, Jr. was a United States Representative from 1971 to 1993, and the United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from January 21, 1993 to February 3, 1994.-Early life:...
who had not sent adequate forces.
In the mid 1990s, the United States was involved in the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), most notably the 1995 bombing campaign, which finally led to the Dayton Agreement which ended the war by the end of 1995. In late 1998, the region became volatile again as war erupted between the army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Liberation Army
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
, a guerrilla group. A 1999 NATO bombing campaign struck Yugoslavia, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Yugoslavian soldiers and civilians. As a result, Yugoslavia withdrew from Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Kosovo became an independent state.
President Clinton also presided over cruise missile strikes on Iraq in 1996 and bombing attacks on Iraq in 1998, which were launched in response to Saddam Hussein's violation of several UN resolutions, including repression of ethnic minorities (Kurds
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
) and removing UN weapons inspectors. The 1998 campaign, in particular, was meant to de-stabilize the Iraqi government and degrade the power of Hussein. Clinton also signed the Iraq Liberation Act
Iraq Liberation Act
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 is a United States Congressional statement of policy calling for regime change in Iraq. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, and states that it is the policy of the United States to support democratic movements within Iraq...
to appropriate funds to Iraqi opposition groups in the hopes of overthrowing Hussein's regime and establishing democracy.
Throughout the 1990s, the United States also played an active role in peace efforts
Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The peace process in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years, despite the ongoing violence in the Middle East and an "all or nothing" attitude about a lasting peace, "which prevailed for most of the twentieth century"...
in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
. President Clinton, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
, and Palestinian
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
Prime Minister Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
met and the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
were signed in 1993, which called for the gradual ceding of control of Palestinian areas to the Palestinians in exchange for peace. However, Rabin was assassinated in 1995 and by 2000, the Camp David Summit
Camp David 2000 Summit
The Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David of July 2000 took place between United States President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat...
failed to yield a new agreement when Arafat rejected new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
's 95% offer, which would give Palestine control of 95% of their territories with the condition that refugees that had fled Palestine since 1948 cannot return. Arafat never made a counter-offer. In the 2000s, under the leadership of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
, peace talk efforts continued with the new "road map for peace
Road map for peace
The roadmap for peace or "road map" for peace is a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proposed by a "quartet" of international entities: the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations. The principles of the plan, originally drafted by U.S. Foreign Service...
".
Early al-Qaeda attacks
1993 began a series of increasingly high-profile attacks associated with al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, a terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
. On February 26, 1993, a truck bomb was detonated
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
at the World Trade Center in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, killing 6 and injuring over 1000. The attack was intended to destroy the foundation of the North Tower, knocking the tower into the South Tower, which would destroy both buildings and kill thousands of people. While this did not happen, the bomb caused considerable damage to the lower levels of the North Tower. In 1994, four men were convicted in carrying out the bombing and in 1997, two men were convicted for their roles, including the truck driver and the mastermind, Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
.
On June 25, 1996, al-Qaeda terrorists bombed the Khobar Towers
Khobar Towers bombing
The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, located near the national oil company headquarters of Dhahran. In 1996, Khobar Towers was being used to house foreign military personnel.Al-Qaeda has incorrectly been described by...
, a complex in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
where members of the U.S. military were being housed, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring over 300.
Al-Qaeda bombed the U.S. Embassy in Kenya
1998 United States embassy bombings
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were a series of attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous truck bomb explosions at the United States embassies in the East African capitals of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The date of the...
on August 7, 1998, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans. The U.S. launched cruise missile strikes on a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, yet this failed to destroy al-Qaeda's vast network. In October 2000, al-Qaeda militants bombed the USS Cole
USS Cole bombing
The USS Cole Bombing, or the USS Cole Incident, was a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored and refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured...
off the coast of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, killing 17 servicemen and severely damaging the ship.
September 2001 attacks
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
in Arlington, Virginia, destroying both towers and taking just under 3,000 lives. The fourth plane crashed in southern Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
after some passengers fought back and are believed to have caused the piloting hijackers to crash. The immense shock, grief and anger brought on by the attacks profoundly altered the national mood; it was found that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
terrorist network sponsored the attacks and President Bush announced a "war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
".
Congress approved several measures to protect against future attacks, including creating the Department of Homeland Security and passing the USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
, which was criticized by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
. The administration's military response was to invade Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
on October 7, 2001, targeting al-Qaeda and the Taliban government that supported and sheltered them. The U.S. was joined by a coalition which included forces from more than a dozen countries, and was successful in removing the Taliban from power, although fighting continues between the coalition and Afghans of various factions.
In 2002, the GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
growth rate rose to 2.8%. A major short-term problem in the first half of 2002 was a sharp decline in the stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
, fueled in part by the exposure of dubious accounting practices in some major corporations. Another was unemployment, which experienced the longest period of monthly increase since the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The United States recovered from the post-9/11 recession between 2003 and 2005, but the robustness of the market, combined with the unemployment rate, led some economists and politicians to refer to the situation as a "jobless recovery
Jobless recovery
A jobless recovery or jobless growth is an economic phenomon in which a macroeconomy experiences growth while maintaining or decreasing its level of employment...
".
Second Iraq War
2002 State of the Union Address
The 2002 State of the Union address, the first after the September 11th attacks, was given by U.S. President George W. Bush. In the address, Bush said that "As we gather tonight, our nation is at war, our economy is in recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers...
in January 2002, President George W. Bush called Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
an "axis of evil
Axis of evil
"Axis of evil" is a term initially used by the former United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002 and often repeated throughout his presidency, describing governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction...
". The Bush administration later began making a public case for an invasion of Iraq, accusing them of violating the 1991 UN-imposed ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
, supporting terrorism and being in possession of weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
(these accussations were later proven to be false).
Some important allies of the U.S., including India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, did not believe that the evidence for the President's accusations was well-founded enough to justify a full-scale invasion, especially as military personnel were still needed in Afghanistan. The UN Security Council did not approve of the invasion, and the U.S. therefore provided most of the forces in the invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. With the support of a coalition whose major partners included the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Iraq was invaded on March 20, 2003.
After six weeks of combat between the coalition and the Iraqi army, the invading forces had secured control of many key regions; Hussein had fled his palace, his regime clearly over; on May 1, Bush declared, under a sign reading "mission accomplished", that major ground operations were at an end. Saddam Hussein's sons Qusay
Qusay Hussein
Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000.- Family :...
and Uday
Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti , was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein from his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was the brother of Qusay Hussein. Uday was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father; however, Uday lost his place in the line of succession due to his erratic behavior and...
were killed by U.S. forces; Saddam himself was captured in December 2003 and taken into custody. Nevertheless, fighting with the Iraqi insurgency
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
continued and escalated through the 2004 U.S. national elections and beyond.
With casualties increasing and the cost of the invasion and reconstruction of Iraq estimated at over $200 billion, the war has lost about one-third of its supporters in the U.S. since the end of major operations was announced. Contemporary polls suggested that international displeasure with the United States was at an all-time high, with a majority of people in Europe believing that the country was too powerful and acted mainly in self-interest, and a vast majority in predominantly Muslim nations believing that the United States was arrogant, belligerent, or hateful to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
As the situation in Iraq became increasingly difficult, policymakers began looking for new options. This led to the formation of the Iraq Study Group
Iraq Study Group
The Iraq Study group , was a ten-person bipartisan panel appointed on March 15, 2006, by the United States Congress, that was charged with assessing the situation in Iraq and the US-led Iraq War and making policy recommendations...
, a nonpartisan commission chaired by James Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
and Lee H. Hamilton
Lee H. Hamilton
Lee Herbert Hamilton is a former member of the United States House of Representatives and currently a member of the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council. A member of the Democratic Party, Hamilton represented the 9th congressional district of Indiana from 1965 to 1999...
. This produced a variety of proposals; some of the more notable ones were to seek decreased US presence in Iraq, increased engagement with neighboring countries, and greater attention to resolving other local conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The recommendations were generally ignored and, despite the end of combat operations in August 2010, U.S. involvement in Iraq continues to this day (November 2010).
Domestic terrorism
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, a mysterious man known in the media as the "Unabomber" sent mail bombs to figures in the academic and airline industries for various reasons. After a lull, he began another mail bombing campaign in earnest, beginning in 1993. His targets expanded to include big businesses such as representatives of the timber and oil industries. Two people were killed in the mid 1990s and an exhaustive and expensive investigation by the FBI coupled with intense national media interest in the story resulted in the identification and arrest of the perpetrator Theodore Kaczynski
Theodore Kaczynski
Theodore John "Ted" Kaczynski , also known as the "Unabomber" , is an American mathematician, social critic, anarcho-primitivist, and Neo-Luddite who engaged in a mail bombing campaign that spanned nearly 20 years, killing three people and injuring 23 others.Kaczynski was born in Chicago, Illinois,...
, who was sentenced to life in prison.
On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb was detonated
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Federal Government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, which killed 168 people, including 19 children...
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
, killing 168 people and injuring over 600. The bombing became the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the United States and led to sweeping reforms in United States federal building security
United States federal building security
United States federal building security refers to the security of federal government installations in the United States. A variety of measures are undertaken to make the buildings safer, while preserving an "open" architecture consistent with democratic governance...
. The attack's perpetrator, Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
, was an anti-government extremist who used the Waco Siege
Waco Siege
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
and Ruby Ridge
Ruby Ridge
Ruby Ridge was the site of a violent confrontation and siege in northern Idaho in 1992. It involved Randy Weaver, his family, Weaver's friend Kevin Harris, and agents of the United States Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation...
incidents as justification for his retaliation against the federal government. While McVeigh wanted to specifically target federal agents, the bombing killed many innocent civilians, including 19 children. McVeigh was executed in 2001 and his accomplice Terry Nichols
Terry Nichols
Terry Lynn Nichols is a convicted bomber's accomplice. Prior to his incarceration, he held a variety of short-term jobs, working as a farmer, grain elevator manager, real estate salesman, ranch hand, and house husband. He met his future co-conspirator, Timothy McVeigh, during a brief stint in the...
was sentenced to life in prison.
In July 1996, in the midst of the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
at Centennial Olympic Park
Centennial Olympic Park
Centennial Olympic Park is a 21 acre public park located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA that is owned and operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. The park was built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as part of the infrastructure improvements for the Centennial...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, a homemade bomb was detonated
Centennial Olympic Park bombing
The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist bombing on July 27, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first of four committed by Eric Robert Rudolph...
, resulting in the deaths of 2 people and injuring over 100. This was followed by similar attacks at two abortion clinic
Abortion clinic
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.-Canada:*There were 197 abortion providers in Canada in 2001....
s and a lesbian nightclub. In 2003, suspect Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph , also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is a criminal responsible for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured at least 150 others in the name of an anti-abortion and anti-gay agenda...
was arrested and sentenced in 2005 to five life sentences for these attacks.
In 2001, only days after the September 11 attacks, letters laced with anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
were sent to several individuals
2001 anthrax attacks
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...
, including prominent news personalities and government officials. The letters killed 5 people and infected a further 17. This incident of bioterrorism
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
was initially blamed on international terrorist organization al-Qaeda, but in 2008, was determined to stem from a Maryland scientist by the name of Bruce Edward Ivins, who committed suicide before he could be prosecuted.
Crime and violence
Crime in the United States
Crime statistics for the United States are published annually by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Uniform Crime Reports which represents crimes reported to the police...
. The overall rate of major crimes fell during the period. In 2009, the FBI estimated 1,318,000 violent crimes occurred nationwide, which was 7.5% below the 2000 level of 1,425,000 and 31% below the 1991 level of 1,912,000.
In 1992, the Los Angeles riots
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
occurred after four Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
police officers were acquitted in the beating of black motorist Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
. The riots occurred primarily in South Central Los Angeles, a predominantly black and Hispanic area. Over 50 people were killed and 2000 were injured. Two prominent examples of the carnage were Reginald Denny
Reginald Denny
Reginald Denny may refer to:*Reginald Denny *Reginald Oliver Denny, survivor of attack during 1992 Los Angeles riots...
and Fidel Lopez, who were nearly beat to death by savage mobs. 3,600 fires were set, destroying over 1,000 buildings and widespread looting occurred, especially of businesses owned by the Korean American community
Korean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
. In all, nearly $1 billion in damage was caused. Then-president George H. W. Bush denounced the rioting and worked with the Governor of California Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton "Pete" Wilson is an American politician from California. Wilson, a Republican, served as the 36th Governor of California , the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator , eleven years as Mayor of San Diego and...
and Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley (politician)
Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
to restore order. A curfew was established and 4,000 National Guardsmen
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
were deployed, in addition to law enforcement agents and fire service personnel from several agencies.
In the 1990s and 2000s, a surge of hate crimes against the lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
community occurred in the United States. The most publicized incident was the murder of Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
in Wyoming after two young men kidnapped, tortured, and murdered him near the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
in 1998. Despite public awareness, many American gay youths continued to experience bullying among their peers, and some were even driven to suicide. Organizations such as the It Gets Better Project and the Trevor Project were created to help LGBT youths. In 2009, Congress passed the Matthew Shepard Act
Matthew Shepard Act
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, is an American Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010...
which extended the hate crime law to women, the disabled, and gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transexuals.
A spate of school shootings rocked the country in the late 1990s and 2000s, the deadliest and most prominent of which were the Westside Middle School massacre
Westside Middle School massacre
The Westside Middle School massacre was a school shooting that occurred on March 24, 1998 in Westside Middle School in unincorporated Craighead County, Arkansas, United States, near Jonesboro. A total of five people, four female students and a teacher, were killed. Ten people, nine students and...
(1998), the Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
(1999), the Red Lake High School massacre
Red Lake High School massacre
The Red Lake massacre was an incident of spree killing that occurred in two places on the Red Lake reservation in Red Lake, Minnesota, United States. The first murders began on the morning of March 21, 2005, when 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend...
(2005), the Amish school shooting
Amish school shooting
The Amish school shooting was a shooting at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order Amish community of Nickel Mines, a village in Bart Township of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 2006...
(2006), the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
(2007), and the Northern Illinois University shooting
Northern Illinois University shooting
The Northern Illinois University shooting was a school shooting that took place on February 14, 2008, during which Steven Kazmierczak shot multiple people on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, United States, killing five and injuring twenty-one, before committing...
(2008). These shootings added fuel to the fire for the debates over gun politics
Gun politics
Gun politics addresses safety issues and ideologies related to firearms through criminal and noncriminal use. Gun politics deals with rules, regulations, and restrictions on the use, ownership, and distribution of firearms.-National sovereignty:...
and media violence, and led to increased focus on mental health, school safety, and anti-bullying.
The Capital Region
Washington Metropolitan Area
The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...
was struck by the Beltway sniper attacks
Beltway sniper attacks
The Washington sniper attacks took place during three weeks in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three others critically injured in various locations throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia...
, a series of sniper attacks on civilians and federal workers by two gunmen over a month-long period in October 2002. The attackers killed 10 people and injured three. The suspects, John Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad was a spree killer from the United States. He, along with his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing at least 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert...
and Lee Boyd Malvo
Lee Boyd Malvo
Lee Boyd Malvo , is a spree killer convicted, along with John Allen Muhammad, of murders in connection with the Beltway sniper attacks, which took place in the Washington Metropolitan Area over a three-week period in October 2002...
, were taken into custody on October 24, 2002 and sentenced a year later. Muhammad was executed in 2009 and Malvo received six life sentences.
In November 2009, U.S. Army major Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan, USA is a United States Army officer and sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shooting, which occurred less than a month before he would have deployed to Afghanistan....
killed 13 fellow servicemen and injured 30 in the Fort Hood shooting
Fort Hood shooting
The Fort Hood shooting was a mass shooting that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others...
in Killeen, Texas
Killeen, Texas
Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, The United States. The population was 86,911 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, Killeen had 119,510 people. In 2010 Killeen's population shot to 127,921...
. While the act was called terrorism by some due to Hasan's Muslim heritage, the attack was ruled out by the FBI to have been perpetrated by a terrorist organization.
On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords
Gabrielle Giffords
Gabrielle Dee "Gabby" Giffords is an American politician. A Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, she has represented since 2007. She is the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to the U.S. Congress...
was the target of an assassination attempt, when a gunman went on a shooting spree
2011 Tucson shooting
On January 8, 2011, a mass shooting occurred near Tucson, Arizona. Nineteen people were shot, six of them fatally, with one other person injured at the scene during an open meeting that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was holding with members of her constituency in a Casas Adobes Safeway...
, critically injuring Giffords, killing federal judge John Roll and five other people, and wounding at least 14 others, at a "Congress on Your Corner" event Giffords was hosting in suburban Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
Natural disasters
On August 24, 1992, the category-five Hurricane AndrewHurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...
made landfall in South Florida, devastating the southern suburbs of Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, including Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
, Kendall
Kendall, Florida
Kendall is a suburban neighborhood of metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226....
, and Cutler Ridge. Two days later, the storm made landfall again in a sparsely populated part of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, with relatively less damage than in Florida. The storm killed 26 people directly, 39 indirectly. With $26 billion in damage, it became the costliest storm in history at that time. The storm was known for many controversies including the sluggish federal response, which may have impacted President George H.W. Bush's image on domestic issues, as well as poor housing construction which may have led to such high levels of destruction.
Eastern seaboard
An Eastern seaboard can mean any easternmost part of a continent, or its countries, states and/or cities.Eastern seaboard may also refer to:* East Coast of Australia* East Coast of the United States* Eastern Seaboard of Thailand-See also:...
of the United States. The storm set low pressure records; produced hurricane-force winds, storm surge, and killer tornadoes in Florida; and produced snowfall up to 2 feet (61 cm) across many portions of the Eastern United States. The storm was particularly crippling to the Southern United States, where places like Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
received one-and-a-half feet of snow and record low temperatures, highly unusual for the region. In all, 300 deaths were attributed to the storm and $6 billion in damage was caused.
The Great Flood of 1993
Great Flood of 1993
The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 occurred in the American Midwest, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood was among the most costly and devastating to ever occur in the United States, with $15 billion in damages...
affected the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
in the spring and summer of that year, devastating large portions of the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
Valleys and their tributaries. Many small towns were devastated and agricultural losses were significant. 10,000 homes were destroyed and 15 million acres (60,702.9 km²) of agricultural lands were inundated. 50 people perished in the floods and $15 billion in damage was done.
In the early morning hours of January 17, 1994, the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
region of Los Angeles was hit by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake, known as the "Northridge earthquake". The quake killed more than 70 people and injured 9,000. Most of the fatalities were attributed to collapsed buildings, parking structures, or freeways. Striking an urban area, it was very destructive, causing $20 billion in damage.
In July 1995, the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
was hit by a heat wave
1995 Chicago heat wave
The 1995 Chicago heat wave was a heat wave which led to approximately 750 heat-related deaths in Chicago over a period of five days. Eric Klinenberg, author of the 2002 book Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, has noted that in the United States, the loss of human life in hot spells...
that had severe repercussions. During a five-day spell from July 12 to July 16, the high temperature hovered from the mid 90s to the mid 100s. The heat index pushed 120 degrees on many days. The heat wave resulted in the deaths of over 700 people, many of whom were black, elderly, or poor. The event brought increased attention to these segments of the population and the importance of reaching out to them during heat waves, as well as the concept of the urban heat island
Urban heat island
An urban heat island is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas. The phenomenon was first investigated and described by Luke Howard in the 1810s, although he was not the one to name the phenomenon. The temperature difference usually is larger at night...
effect, in which urban environments exacerbate heat and humidity levels. Additionally, power failures and lack of adequate warning and general preparedness aggravated the situation and may have contributed to such high fatalities.
In January 1996, the Blizzard of 1996
North American blizzard of 1996
The Blizzard of 1996 was a severe nor'easter that paralyzed the U.S. East Coast with up to of wind-driven snow from January 6 to January 8, 1996. It was followed by another storm on January 12th, then unusually warm weather and torrential rain which caused rapid melting and river...
affected the Northeastern
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
and Mid-Atlantic United States, dumping up to 36 inches (91.4 cm) of snow on many areas, crippling major American cities like Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. The storm killed 150 people and caused $3 billion in damages.
On May 3, 1999, a violent tornado outbreak struck the Southern Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, predominantly Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The most destructive tornado was an F5 tornado that struck Oklahoma City and the suburb of Moore
Moore, Oklahoma
Moore is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 55,081 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
. The tornado is one of the most prominent examples of a tornado striking a major urban area and became the first tornado to incur over $1 billion in damages. In all, the outbreak resulted in 50 deaths and over 600 injuries.
In 2004, four hurricanes--Charley
Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to August 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the...
, Frances
Hurricane Frances
Hurricane Frances was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. The system crossing the open Atlantic during mid to late August, moving to the north of the Lesser Antilles while strengthening. Its outer bands affected Puerto...
, Ivan
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
, and Jeanne
Hurricane Jeanne
Hurricane Jeanne was the deadliest hurricane in the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurricane, and the fifth major hurricane of the season, as well as the third hurricane and fourth named storm of the season to make landfall in Florida...
--struck the state of Florida in a one-month timespan, resulting in over 100 U.S. deaths and nearly $50 billion in damage combined. Out of the four hurricanes, Ivan was the deadliest in the U.S., while Charley was the most destructive.
2005 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, repeatedly shattering numerous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with an estimated 3,913 deaths and record damage of about $159.2 billion...
. In August 2005, the powerful Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
struck the Gulf Coast
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
region. Katrina broke the levees of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
and flooded 80% of the low-lying city. Extensive devastation and flooding also occurred from Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
west to Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, with the Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
coastline especially hard hit. At least 1,800 lives were lost in the worst domestic calamity since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane
1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
The Okeechobee hurricane, or San Felipe Segundo hurricane, was a deadly hurricane that struck the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Florida in September of the 1928 Atlantic hurricane season...
. Port facilities, oil rigs and refineries in the Gulf region were damaged, further increasing already high U.S. fuel prices. Residents of New Orleans, many of whom were impoverished and unable (or unwilling) to evacuate before the storm, were trapped for days by the flood waters. Tens of thousands had to be rescued by the U.S. military from their rooftops or from unsanitary and dangerous shelters in public buildings. State and local authorities were overwhelmed by the scale of the events. Their response to the disaster, as well the federal government's, were harshly criticized by legislators and citizens who saw in the confusion a dangerous lack of readiness and inability to preserve public safety. President Bush promised that the federal government would underwrite the rebuilding of New Orleans and other storm-damaged areas, the cost of which was estimated to run as high as $200 billion. Only weeks after Katrina, Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
struck the Texas/Louisiana border in September. Rita caused the largest evacuation in U.S. history, as millions of people fled the Houston area, as well as portions of Louisiana. Rita resulted in over 100 fatalities, the vast majority of which were indirect, occurring during the evacuation or in the aftermath of the storm. Additionally, $10 billion in damage was attributed to Rita. Later in the season, Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma was the twenty-second storm , thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 season...
struck the state of Florida in October 2005, killing 35 people and doing $20 billion worth of damage. The storm yielded the lowest pressure value ever recorded in history before making landfall in Florida, making it the most intense storm on record.
On Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday, 2008
Super Tuesday 2008, Super Duper Tuesday, Mega Tuesday, Giga Tuesday, Tsunami Tuesday, and The Tuesday of Destiny are names for February 5, 2008, the day on which the largest simultaneous number of state U.S. presidential primary elections in the history of U.S. primaries were held...
in February 2008, in the midst of heated primary elections in multiple states, a destructive tornado outbreak
2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak
The 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak which affected the Southern United States and the lower Ohio Valley on February 5 and 6, 2008. The event began on Super Tuesday, while 24 U.S. states were holding primary elections and caucuses to select the presidential...
hit the Mid-South
Mid-South
Mid-South may refer to:*The East South Central States*The region centered on the Memphis and Little Rock MSAs, including portions of West Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and northeastern Arkansas, as well as the Missouri Bootheel and extreme northwestern Alabama; see Memphis metropolitan...
region, spawning dangerous nighttime twisters across the region. A total of 87 tornadoes were reported. Over 60 people were killed across Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and Alabama and hundreds were injured. Losses exceeded $1 billion. The outbreak was the deadliest outbreak in the U.S. in 23 years, and brought renewed attention to the dangers of nighttime tornadoes, winter tornadoes, and the vulnerability of populations in the Southern United States.
In September 2008, after two straight years of not being affected by a serious hurricane, Hurricane Gustav
Hurricane Gustav
The name Gustav has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean:* 1984's Tropical Storm Gustav - Spent most of its existence as a tropical depression hovering over Bermuda, no major damage was reported....
caused $18 billion in damage in Louisiana, and a few weeks later, the Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
and Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
areas were devastated by Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike was the second-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States, the costliest hurricane ever to impact Cuba and the second most active hurricane to reach the Canadian mainland in the Great Lakes Region after Hurricane Hazel in 1954...
with over $31 billion in damage, making Ike the third most destructive hurricane ever to hit the United States behind Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina. Over 100 people were killed. The hurricanes also caused gas prices to spike to around $4 per gallon.
In the spring of 2011, several major tornado outbreaks affected the Central
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States and Western United States as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the Southern United States; the term is also sometimes used...
and Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. 43 people were killed in a tornado outbreak from April 14 - 16
April 14–16, 2011 tornado outbreak
One of the largest single-system tornado outbreaks in United States history occurred from April 14 to 16, 2011, resulting in 178 confirmed tornadoes across 16 states and severe destruction on all three days of the outbreak. A total of 38 people were killed from tornadoes and an additional five...
. Approximately 350+ people were killed in a tornado outbreak from April 25 - April 28
April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak
An extremely large and violent tornado outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded, and popularly known as the 2011 Super Outbreak, occurred from April 25 to 28, 2011. The outbreak affected the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States, leaving catastrophic destruction in...
, the deadliest U.S. tornado outbreak in 75 years (since the 1936 Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak). States particularly hit hard by the outbreaks included Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and most especially, Alabama, which sustained over 250 fatalities alone. The latter outbreak produced $10 billion in damage, making it the costliest tornado outbreak in history. On May 22, an EF5 tornado
2011 Joplin tornado
The 2011 Joplin tornado was a devastating EF5 multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, USA late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011. It was part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak sequence and reached a maximum width of in excess of during its path through the southern part of...
devastated Joplin, Missouri
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
, killing 154, injuring over 1,000 people, and causing $1-3 billion in damage, making it the deadliest single U.S. tornado in 64 years and the costliest single tornado of all time.
In August 2011, Hurricane Irene was the first hurricane to make landfall since Ike in 2008, striking the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, making landfalls in North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York. The storm killed at least 45 people and caused $10 billion in damage. The storm was particularly notable for its extensive flooding in the Northeast, and a couple days later, Tropical Storm Lee
Tropical Storm Lee (2011)
Tropical Storm Lee was the twelfth named storm and thirteenth system overall of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, developing from a broad tropical disturbance over the Gulf on September 1. It was designated as Tropical Storm Lee the next day...
made landfall in Louisiana, its remnants tracking to the Northeast for even more devastating floods.
Other disasters
Notable aviation disasters in the 1990s included TWA Flight 800TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...
crashing off the coast of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, en route to Paris, France, on July 17, 1996 due to an explosion of the fuel tank, killing 230 and EgyptAir Flight 990
EgyptAir Flight 990
EgyptAir Flight 990 was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport, California to Cairo International Airport, Egypt, with a stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York...
crashing south of Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the United States. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the coterminous Nantucket County, which are consolidated. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket...
, en route to Cairo, Egypt, on October 31, 1999 due to deliberate crashing by the first officer, killing 217. Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the second-deadliest U.S. aviation incident occurred when American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, a borough of New York City, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport on November 12, 2001. This is the second deadliest U.S...
crashed in Queens, New York, en route to the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, on November 12, 2001 due to overuse of rudder controls by the pilot to counteract turbulence, killing 265 (including 5 on the ground).
On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry to the Earth over parts of Texas and Louisiana during STS-107
STS-107
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 39.0°*Period: 90.1 min- Insignia :...
, resulting in the deaths of all seven astronauts. The incident resulted from a piece of foam insulation that fell off during launch, which struck the shuttle, creating a hole that allowed hot gases to penetrate the shuttle during re-entry. In the aftermath of the disaster, the space shuttle program
Space Shuttle program
NASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
was suspended for 29 months as NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
investigated the incident and made plans to prevent future tragedies.
On February 17, 2003, a stampede occurred at the E2 nightclub
2003 E2 nightclub stampede
The E2 nightclub stampede occurred on February 17, 2003, at the E2 nightclub located above the Epitome Chicago restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, in which 21 people died and more than 50 were injured when panic ensued from the use of pepper spray by security guards to break up a fight...
in Chicago, after an incident involving pepper spray, resulting in the deaths of 21 people. Three days later, on February 20, 100 people perished and over 200 were injured in The Station nightclub fire
The Station nightclub fire
The Station nightclub fire was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people. The fire began at 11:07 PM EST, on Thursday, February 20, 2003, at The Station, a glam metal and rock n roll themed nightclub located at 211 Cowesett Avenue in West Warwick, Rhode Island.The...
in West Warwick, Rhode Island
West Warwick, Rhode Island
West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 29,191 at the 2010 census.West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the state. Prior to 1913, the town, situated on the western bank of the Pawtuxet River, was the population and...
, when pyrotechnics ignited flammable sound-proofing during a performance by the band Great White
Great White
Great White is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. The band released several albums in the late 1980s and gained airplay on MTV with music videos for songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"...
. Both incidents brought attention to the need to crack down on building, fire, and safety code violations to prevent future tragedies. A porch collapse
2003 Chicago balcony collapse
The 2003 Chicago balcony collapse was a disaster that occurred on June 29, 2003 in the city of Chicago, resulting in the deadliest porch collapse in United States history. An overloaded balcony collapsed during a party in an apartment building, killing thirteen people and seriously injuring...
that killed 13 and seriously injured 57 in June 2003 in Chicago further emphasized the problems with building code violations in the United States.
On August 1, 2007, the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and injuring over 50. The bridge was under construction at the time. The incident brought to attention the need to inspect and rehabilitate the aging infrastructure system in the United States.
On April 20, 2010, an off shore oil drilling rig, the Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore oil drilling rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon, which later became part of Transocean, registered in Majuro, Marshall...
, exploded and burned off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Dozens of workers fled the flames and were rescued by lifeboats and helicopters, however 11 were killed and 17 were injured in the incident. The rig burned for 36 hours before sinking. On April 24, it was discovered that a damaged wellhead was leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico at a rapid rate. For approximately 90 days, tens of thousands of barrels of oil leaked into the ocean every day, resulting in the largest oil spill in United States history. The wellhead was successfully contained in mid-July, stopping the flow, and efforts are ongoing to cap the wellhead and create a replacement well. Despite significant efforts to protect coastlines, the spill has had devastating impacts on the environment and the economies of the Gulf Coast states. The Obama administration has ordered rig owner BP responsible for all cleanup costs, which are expected to run in the tens of billions of dollars. The spill has resulted in negative public approval ratings of the U.S. government, the Obama administration, and BP, for their handling of the spill, with BP suffering the worst ratings.
Energy issues
After 1970 the U.S. began importing oil, as consumption kept rising and the nation's oil fields became less productive. Throughout the 1990s the world price of crude oil range between $10 and $40, and the average price at the pump did not exceed $1.40. Oil prices tripled after 2002, peaking at $147 in July 2008, about $4 dollars a gallon; the price has continued to fluctuate widely. The theme of "energy independence" led to legislation mandating more fuel efficient autos—even electric vehicles—and more efficient use of energy, ranging from insulation to new light bulbs. Even worse than the high price, was the fear of shortages. Many proposals and pilot projects for replacement energy sources, from ethanolEthanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...
to wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
and solar power
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
were discussed and, indeed, funded by Congress after 2000. In the economic stimulus package
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
signed by President Obama in early 2009, billions of dollars were allocated for research and development of new energy sources.
While public attention focused on supplies from the Middle East, the main source was actually Canada. After 2007, new methods of extraction opened up vast new deposits of oil in the Bakken Formation
Bakken Formation
The Bakken formation, initially described by geologist J.W. Nordquist in 1953,is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, and Saskatchewan...
in North Dakota and Montana. As much as two trillion dollars worth of natural gas is potentially available in the Marcellus Formation
Marcellus Formation
The Marcellus Formation is a unit of marine sedimentary rock found in eastern North America...
deposits located in the historic 19th century oil fields in Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
, stretching from West Virginia through Pennsylvania into western New York. However, there is sharp debate underway regarding the environmental impact on the region's fresh water supply. The question of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...
(ANWR) was highly controversial, as Republican proposals were blocked by the Democrats in Congress. Republicans in 2008 were campaigning for more offshore drilling, with the slogan "drill, baby, drill
Drill, baby, drill
"Drill, baby, drill!" was a 2008 Republican campaign slogan first used at the 2008 Republican National Convention by former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, who was later elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee...
", but the 2010 Gulf oil spill put all new drilling on hold.
The Clinton administration
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
enjoyed very high approval ratings as president. However, economic recession and a reneged campaign pledge dogged Bush, sinking his formerly high approval ratings from the high 80s to the lower 40s and upper 30s. In the wake of Bush's political problems, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
won the 1992 contest
United States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
with 43% of the vote in a three way race against Bush's 38%. Independent candidate Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
tapped the discontent of the electorate with both parties, drawing roughly evenly from both candidates to receive a record 19% of the popular vote, but no electoral votes. Perot's result qualified his Reform Party
Reform Party of the United States of America
The Reform Party of the United States of America is a political party in the United States, founded in 1995 by Ross Perot...
to receive Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
matching funds for campaign contributions in the 1996 election, thus laying the groundwork for another three-way race during the 1996 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1996
The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
.
Clinton entered office as one of the youngest presidents in U.S. history and the first of the Baby Boom Generation to reach the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Promising to focus on and resolve some of the United States' many domestic issues, he entered office with high expectations. Immediately, however, he was troubled by controversy over the personal backgrounds of some of his appointees and by political clashes stemming from his announcement that he would permit homosexuals
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
to serve in the U.S. military. The latter resulted in the "don't ask, don't tell
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
" policy of the military.
These events in 1993 seemed to set the pattern for a man who would become one of the more divisive U.S. presidents, regarded with great affection by some and abhorrence by others. One early domestic victory of the Clinton administration was the enactment of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban
Federal assault weapons ban
The Federal Assault Weapons Ban was a subtitle of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a federal law in the United States that included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms, so called "assault weapons"...
. The ban was widely decried by the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, who allowed it to lapse in 2004 while they controlled both Congress and the presidency. Bill Clinton's proposal of a national health care system, championed by his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, ignited a political firestorm on the right, which vigorously opposed it on the general principle that government size should be reduced not expanded. The proposed system did not survive the debate. However Hillary Clinton did succeed, along with a bipartisan coalition of members of congress, in establishing the Children's Health Insurance Program
State Children's Health Insurance Program
The State Children's Health Insurance Program – later known more simply as the Children's Health Insurance Program – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children...
.
The Republican Congress
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
, the Great Society
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States promoted by President Lyndon B. Johnson and fellow Democrats in Congress in the 1960s. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice...
, and Watergate
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
helped solidify Democratic control of Congress, but the 1980s and early 1990s were a period of fragmentation of their coalition, when the popularity of Democratic incumbents as constituent servants masked growing disenchantment with Congress' governing capacities. Democrats suddenly lost control of the House and the Senate for the first time in four decades in the 1994 midterm elections. Once in power, House Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
, faced the difficulty of learning to govern after forty years as the minority party while simultaneously pursuing their "Contract with America
Contract with America
The Contract with America was a document released by the United States Republican Party during the 1994 Congressional election campaign. Written by Larry Hunter, who was aided by Newt Gingrich, Robert Walker, Richard Armey, Bill Paxon, Tom DeLay, John Boehner and Jim Nussle, and in part using text...
", which they unveiled on the steps of Congress on September 27, 1994.
Year by year, polarization grew in Washington between the president and his adversaries on the right. There was a surge in the market of new media outlets that gave more voice to the right. Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
's radio talk show was a spectacular success and a major influence in the GOP legislative victory. The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of...
was formed in 1995 and after the election of George W. Bush would advertise itself as the most read publication in the White House. These new media amplified the ever-louder quarrels, causing some to speak of a new "culture war
Culture war
The culture war in American usage is a metaphor used to claim that political conflict is based on sets of conflicting cultural values. The term frequently implies a conflict between those values considered traditionalist or conservative and those considered progressive or liberal...
" in U.S. politics. The more extreme right-wing voices, which veered into uncompromising hostility toward the Federal government—particularly after the botched ATF raid on the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, were somewhat discredited, however, after the Oklahoma City bombing, in April 1995, by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
Along with strong backing from traditional Democrats and liberals, Clinton was able to garner the support of moderates who appreciated his centrist "New Democrat" policies, which steered away from the expansion of government services of the New Deal and Great Society and allowed him to "triangulate
Triangulation (politics)
Triangulation is the name given to the act of a political candidate presenting his or her ideology as being "above" and "between" the "left" and "right" sides of a traditional democratic "political spectrum". It involves adopting for oneself some of the ideas of one's political opponent...
", taking away many of the Republicans' top issues. One example of such compromises was welfare reform
Welfare reform
Welfare reform refers to the process of reforming the framework of social security and welfare provisions, but what is considered reform is a matter of opinion. The term was used in the United States to support the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act...
legislation signed into law in 1996. The new law required welfare recipients to work as a condition of benefits and imposed limits on how long individuals may receive payments, but did allow states to exempt 20% of their caseloads from the time limits. Clinton also pursued tough federal anti-crime measures, steering more federal dollars toward the war on drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
, and calling for the hiring of 100,000 new police officers. Compromise came with difficulty, though, as the parties failed to agree on a budget, causing the federal government to shut down in late 1995 into early 1996. By the end of his administration, the federal government had experienced the country's longest economic expansion and produced a budget surplus. The first year of the budget surplus was also the first year since 1969 in which the federal government did not borrow from the Social Security Trust Fund
Social Security Trust Fund
In the United States, the Social Security Trust Fund is a fund operated by the Social Security Administration into which are paid contributions from workers and employers under the Social Security system and out of which benefit payments to retirees, survivors, and the disabled, and general...
.
Clinton was reelected in 1996
United States presidential election, 1996
The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
, defeating Republican Senator Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
and Reform Party candidate Ross Perot, who did not repeat the success of his 1992 campaign.
Many voters in 1992 and 1996 had been willing to overlook long-standing rumors of extramarital affairs by Clinton, deeming them irrelevant. These matters came to a head, however, in February 1998 when reports surfaced of ongoing sexual relations between Clinton and a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
. Clinton initially and vigorously denied the relationship; "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." His wife Hillary described the allegations as fraudulent smears dredged up by a "vast right-wing conspiracy
Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy
"Vast right-wing conspiracy" was a conspiracy theory advanced by then United States First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in 1998 in defense of her husband, President Bill Clinton, and his administration during the Lewinsky scandal, characterizing the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long,...
." Clinton was forced to retract his assertions in August 1998 after the Lewinsky matter came under investigation by independent counsel
United States Office of the Independent Counsel
United States Office of the Independent Counsel was an independent prosecutor — distinct from the Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice — that provided reports to the Congress under . The office was terminated in 1999 and replaced by the U.S...
Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Winston "Ken" Starr is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration....
, who had been looking into Clinton's involvement in the Whitewater controversy
Whitewater controversy
The Whitewater controversy was an American politics controversy that began with the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates, Jim and Susan McDougal in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a failed business venture in the 1970s and 1980s.A New York...
for several years. Since Clinton's denials had extended to a deposition
Deposition (law)
In the law of the United States, a deposition is the out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes. It is commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada and is almost always conducted outside of court by the...
before Starr's office, impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
proceedings began in the House against the President on charges of perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
and obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
.
The matter climaxed as Clinton was impeached in the United States House of Representatives, but acquitted at his trial by the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. A public backlash occasioned Newt Gingrich to resign after a poor showing in the 1998 midterm elections
United States elections, 1998
The 1998 elections in the United States were held on November 3, 1998. The elections showed little swings, as the composition in both houses of the United States Congress were not significantly altered....
. His heir apparent, Speaker-elect Bob Livingston
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
, was forced to resign from Congress before impeachment proceedings began due to a confirmed report of his extramarital affairs. After the impeachment trial, a scandal-weary and embarrassed U.S. public seemed largely satisfied to have the matter resolved.
In 1999, Republican Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
of Illinois became Speaker of the House, a position he would hold until 2007, making him the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House.
The George W. Bush administration
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
had been the focus of intense controversy which led eventually to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore, , is the landmark United States Supreme Court decision on December 12, 2000, that effectively resolved the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush. Only eight days earlier, the United States Supreme Court had unanimously decided the closely related case of Bush v...
where the court ruled 5–4 in the former's favor by siding with the State of Florida's official vote count, George W. Bush was sworn in as President on January 20, 2001. This made the 2000 election the third presidential election in which the electoral vote winner did not receive at least a plurality of the popular vote. The first eight months of his term in office were relatively uneventful; however, it had become clear by that time that the economic boom of the late 1990s was at an end. The year 2001 was plagued by a nine-month recession
Early 2000s recession
The early 2000s recession was a decline in economic activity which occurred mainly in developed countries. The recession affected the European Union mostly during 2000 and 2001 and the United States mostly in 2002 and 2003. The UK, Canada and Australia avoided the recession for the most part, while...
, witnessing the end of the boom psychology and performance, with output increasing only 0.3% and unemployment and business failures rising substantially. Prior to his 2000 election, Bush campaigned largely on domestic issues, and early in his term, he signed a $1.3 trillion federal tax cut
Tax cut
A tax cut is a reduction in taxes. The immediate effects of a tax cut are a decrease in the real income of the government and an increase in the real income of those whose tax rate has been lowered. Due to the perceived benefit in growing real incomes among tax payers politicians have sought to...
with the intent of revitalizing the economy as well as the No Child Left Behind Act
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
education reform bill.
On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
in the September 11 attacks, killing nearly 3,000 and injuring over 6,000 people. Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the attacks. President Bush ordered all flights grounded and U.S. airspace remained closed for the rest of the week. An emergency bailout package for the airline industry was passed, and stocks fell dramatically when markets re-opened the following week. In response to the attacks, the Bush administration and Congress passed the controversial USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
, aimed at enhancing security, and established the Department of Homeland Security, a mass consolidation of many federal agencies charged with investigation, intelligence, and emergency management. A new Terrorist Finance Tracking Program
Terrorist Finance Tracking Program
The Terrorist Finance Tracking Program is a United States government program to access the SWIFT transaction database revealed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times in June 2006. It is part of the Bush administration's "Global War on Terrorism"...
monitored the movements of terrorists' financial resources but was discontinued after being revealed by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Telecommunication usage by known and suspected terrorists was studied through the NSA electronic surveillance program
NSA electronic surveillance program
An electronic surveillance program, whose actual name is currently unknown, was implemented by the National Security Agency of the United States in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was part of the President's Surveillance Program which was in turn conducted under the overall umbrella...
. On October 7, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
as part of a global War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, aimed at rooting out al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist organizations.
In 2003, Bush launched the War in Iraq on March 20, 2003, under controversial grounds that Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction. Bush announced on May 1, 2003 from an aircraft carrier that major combat operations in Iraq were completed, with a "Mission Accomplished" banner serving as a backdrop. However, a guerilla war led by the Iraqi insurgency
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
would continue for the remainder of the decade, resulting in the deaths of over 4,000 U.S. troops. Late in 2003, Hussein was captured, and was subsequently put to trial before the Iraqi people and executed in 2006.
In addition, Bush continued to pursue domestic issues, signing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is a United States law prohibiting a form of late-term abortion that the Act calls "partial-birth abortion", often referred to in medical literature as intact dilation and extraction...
in 2003 and the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act is a federal law of the United States, enacted in 2003. It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program's 38-year history.The MMA was signed by President George W...
in 2004.
George W. Bush was re-elected in November 2004
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
, defeating Democratic contender John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
in the electoral vote
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
, and receiving 50.7% of the popular vote against John Kerry's 48.3%. Republicans also made gains in both houses of Congress.
After seeing high approval ratings for much of his first term, Bush's popularity plummeted to record lows in his second term, due to his handling of the prolonged Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, and the 2008 financial crisis. Some major acts in Bush's second term included the Energy Policy Act of 2005
Energy Policy Act of 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users is a funding and authorization bill that governs United States federal surface transportation spending. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 10, 2005, and expired as of September 30, 2009...
, and the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Bush was succeeded on January 20, 2009 by a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
president, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
The Democratic Congress
110th United States Congress
The One Hundred Tenth United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the second term of President George W. Bush. It was composed of the Senate and the House of...
, making Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
, the first woman in that position, and electing record numbers of women and minorities. Upon winning the elections, the Democrats drew up a 100-Hour Plan
100-Hour Plan
The 100-Hour Plan was a United States Democratic Party political strategy detailing the actions the party pursued upon assuming leadership of the 110th Congress on January 4, 2007. The strategy was announced before the 2006 midterm elections. Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged that her party would...
of policy proposals upon assuming power in Congress. Major components of the plan included a pay-as-you-go plan for reducing the deficit; enacting the 9/11 Commission
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
recommendations; increasing the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour; allowing the government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to secure lower drug prices for Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
patients; and ending large tax subsidies for big oil companies to help foster energy independence.
The 110th Congress did little to change the Iraq War except to pass a non-binding resolution against President Bush's troop surge. In addition, the House passed a $124 billion emergency spending measure for war funding with the stipulation of a phased troop withdrawal. President Bush vetoed the bill because of the proposal of scaling down forces, making this the second veto of his term.
During the months of May–June 2007, Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
and other senators co-sponsored the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, or, in its full name, the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 was a bill discussed in the 110th United States Congress that would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for the approximately 12 to...
. The purpose of this bill called for immigration reform under the intent of bringing amnesty and citizenship. On June 28 the Senate voted 53–45 for cloture, with 60 votes needed, spelling the end to the 2007 Immigration Bill.
Financial crisis and recession
Federal reserve Chairman Ben BernankeBen Bernanke
Ben Shalom Bernanke is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis....
told a federal commission in November 2009:
- "As a scholar of the Great Depression, I honestly believe that September and October of 2008 was the worst financial crisis in global history, including the Great Depression." Of the 13 most important U.S. financial institutions, "12 were at risk of failure within a period of a week or two."
The Federal Reserve and the Treasury cooperated by pouring trillions into a financial system that had frozen up worldwide. They rescued most of the large financial corporations (except for Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
which went bankrupt), and took government control of insurance giant AIG, mortgage banks Fanny May and Freddy Mac, and both General Motors and Chrysler.
In October 2008, Bush sought, and Congress passed, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Division A of , commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis...
(commonly referred to as the "bank bailout"), which aimed to protect the U.S. financial system from complete collapse in wake of the late-2000s recession, which brought significant falls in the stock market. The bill provided guarantees by the federal government of up to $700 billion to troubled financial institutions through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). However, by 2010, it was reported that only a fraction of that money was ever spent, as banks were able to quickly pay back loans from the federal government or ended up never needing the money.
Meanwhile unemployment doubled to nearly 10%, with states such as California and Michigan especially hard hit. While the stock market rebounded by 2011, and corporate profits had recovered, unemployment remained over 9% into 2011. The recession was worldwide, with Europe and Japan hard hit, while China, India and Canada fared much better.
The Obama administration
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, the senior Senator from Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, with his running mate Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
, the Governor of Alaska, run against the Democrat Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, the junior Senator from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, with Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
, the senior Senator from Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. The economic crisis of 2008 escalated in the late stages of the campaign and doomed McCain. On November 4, 2008, Obama defeated McCain to become the 44th President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, making history in becoming the first African-American to be elected to the highest executive office. Obama and Biden were inaugurated
Inauguration of Barack Obama
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joe...
on January 20, 2009. Part of the strong showing came from a surge of support from younger voters, African Americans, Hispanics and independents. Democrats made further gains in Congress, adding to the majorities they had won in 2006.
Obama's policy decisions have addressed a continuing global financial crisis and have included changes in tax policies, foreign policy initiatives
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
The Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration is the foreign policy of the United States from January 20, 2009 onward under the administration of President Barack Obama. Some of Obama's major foreign policy advisors include Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, National Security...
and the phasing out of detention of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. While Obama has set down a timeline for a 2011 military withdrawal from Iraq, the War in Afghanistan has escalated with additional U.S. troops being sent to the country and a deadline of summer 2011 to show results.
Shortly after taking office, Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
, a bill aimed at stimulating the economy which provided $787 billion in federal funds for tax relief, as well as significant investments in infrastructure improvements, social welfare programs, education programs, healthcare, and housing. In March 2010, President Obama signed the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, which made large reforms to the U.S. healthcare system. Throughout the spring of 2010, the Obama administration had to deal with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
, the largest oil spill in U.S. history, which resulted from a failed wellhead operated by BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
that gushed oil for about 90 days, resulting in devastating impacts to the environment and to the economies of the Gulf Coast states.
The U.S. also maintains ongoing talks, led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, with North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
over its nuclear weapons program
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
North Korea has declared that it has nuclear weapons and is believed by many to have nuclear weapons. The CIA assesses that North Korea also has a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons...
, as well as with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Palestinian Authority over a two-state solution
Two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007...
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
.
In the 2010 elections
United States elections, 2010
The 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. During this midterm election year, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 37 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were contested in this election along with 38 state and territorial...
, the GOP regained control of the House and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate,, due to voters' continued frustration with the economy, high unemployment, and rising federal debt. Voter frustration was partially fueled by the conservative Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
.
In late 2010, Obama signed another stimulus package worth $858 billion that included continuation of all the Bush tax cuts
Bush tax cuts
The Bush tax cuts refers to changes to the United States tax code passed during the presidency of George W. Bush and extended during the presidency of Barack Obama that generally lowered tax rates and revised the code specifying taxation in the United States...
of 2001, a cut in the federal estate tax, and a cut of two points in the Social Security tax that amounted to a 2% pay raise for most. During a highly-productive lame duck session of Congress, several other important measures passed including a repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy in the US Army and a major arms reduction treaty
New START
New START is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms...
with Russia.
On May 1, 2011, President Obama announced in a televised speech to the nation that al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
leader and culprit behind many deadly acts of terrorism (including the September 11 attacks) Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
was killed
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
by U.S. forces at a compound in Abbottabad
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Further reading
- Abramson, Paul R., John H. Aldrich, and David W. Rohde. Change and Continuity in the 2004 and 2006 Elections (2007), 324pp
- Alter, Jonathan. The Promise: President Obama, Year One (2010) table of contents, excerpt, search
- Barone, Michael. The Almanac of American Politics (1992 and every 2 years to 2010), highly detailed coverage of electoral politics and Congress.
- Berman, William C. From the Center to the Edge: The Politics and Policies of the Clinton Presidency (2001) 160pp
- Edwards III, George C. and Desmond King, eds. The Polarized Presidency of George W. Bush (2007), 478pp; essays by scholars
- Hyland, William G. Clinton's World: Remaking American Foreign Policy (1999)
- Levy, Peter. Encyclopedia of the Clinton Presidency (2002), 400pp; 230 articles, focus on politics
- Congressional Quarterly. Congress and the Nation 1993-1997: A Review of Government and Politics: 103rd and 104th Congresses (1998); Congress and the Nation 1997-2001: A Review of Government and Politics: 105th and 106th Congresses (2002). Congress and the Nation 2001-2005: A Review of Government and Politics: 107th and 108th Congresses (2007). Highly detailed nonpartisan coverage (1200 pp each) of all political issues, including presidency
- Gillon, Steve. The pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the rivalry that defined a generation (2008) 342 pages
- Patterson, James T. Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore (2005), Oxford History of the United States
- Stiglitz, Joseph E. The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous Decade (2004) economic history
- Zelizer, Julian E., ed. The Presidency of George W. Bush: A First Historical Assessment (Princeton University Press; 2010) 386 pages
Primary sources
- Bush, George W. Decision PointsDecision PointsDecision Points is a memoir by former U.S. President George W. Bush. It was released on November 9, 2010, and the release was accompanied by national television appearances and a national tour. The book surpassed sales of two million copies less than two months after its release.-Content:Bush's...
(2010) - Clinton, Bill. My Life (2004).
- Greenspan, Alan. The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World (2007), memoir by head of Federal Reserve