U.S. History 3 Chapter 24-1

1
U.S. History 3Chapter 24-1Into a New Century
1992-Today

• The Computer and Technology Revolutions

2
Technology Changes American Life

• 1900s Wright Brothers invented the Airplane
• 1950s Television became mainstream
• 1969 Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon
• 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s Computer
  Technology is developed

3
Developing the Modern Computer

• 1946 U.S. military developed the first modern
  computer
• -It was as large as a basement and calculated
  artillery locations and atomic bomb
  information-basically, it was a giant calculator
• After WWII Private companies worked to shrink
  the size of the computer and make it practical
• 1954 International Business Machines (IBM)
  developed first commercial computer
• Microchip- used silicon circuits to run complex
  operations Silicon Valley was born
• Personal Computers- small computers equipped with
  microchips that could be sold commercially

4
Transforming Business and Industry

• At first, personal computers were expensive and
  hard to use
• Apple Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak developed the
  first user friendly PC (APPLE II) in a garage
• Apple also developed the technology for
  condensing complicated codes into icons and a
  navigation tool called the mouse
• Microsoft Bill Gates developed the technology
  for the Microprocessor that allowed PCs to get
  smaller, faster, and easier to use

5
ARPANET

• ARPANET was created by the military, so
  different offices could communicate with one
  another on a network (Computers connected to
  one another and able to communicate)
• this technology became the foundation of the
  Internet (World Wide Web)
• Amazon.com- revolutionized buying and selling
  products by computer (then came Craigs Listetc)
• Social Networking Sites- allow users to
  communicate conveniently with one another from
  any where in the world at a relatively cheap
  price (MySpace, Facebook)

6
Revolutions in Science and Agriculture

• Biotechnology- use of living organisms in the
  making of new products
• Medicine Drugs, Artificial Hearts, Organ
  Transplantsetc
• Lasers now used for surgery (remember Star
  Wars)
• Human Genome Project- plan to map ALL human DNA
  thought is that genetic diseases (sickle cell)
  could be isolated and cured- some feel
  information could be used as a weapon
  (biological warfare)
• Agricultural Technology- better machines,
  irrigation, biologically modified foods- stay
  fresh longeretc.
• 1900 50 of Americans worked on farms
• 2000 2 did

7
A Communications Revolution

• Information Age Name given to the 1990s and
  2000s.
• Computers
• Cell Phones
• Internet
• Allowed people access to enormous amounts of
  information
• Allowed people to get news from sources other
  than the major networks- for good or bad

8
Satellite Technology

• Satellites- mechanical devices that orbit the
  earth and are able to send and receive
  information
• 1970s Ted Turner- 1980 Turner used Satellite
  technology to form a 24-hour program called
  Cable News Network (CNN)

9
A Changing American Economy

• Technology caused the service industry to grow
  rapidly- Today 75 of U.S. Jobs are in the
  Service Industry (Nurse, Teachersetc)
• Globalization- process by which national
  economies, politics, cultures, and societies
  become integrated with those of other nations
  around the world
• Multi-national Corporations- Companies that have
  their headquarters in one nation but factories or
  stores in another (ALDI)
• Positive- price of goods tend to drop
• Negative- U.S. jobs tend to get outsourced to
  nations that have a lower standard of living
  because people will work for less

10
Computers Transform Workplaces

• Most U.S. jobs require some form of computer
  training (Bankers, Stockbrokers, Programming
  Engineerseven teachers I am using one right
  now!)
• The Service Sector Expands- Lawyers, Teachers,
  Doctors, Research Analysts, Consultants, Police
  Officers, Professional Athletes, Movie Stars,
  Sales People, Fast Food Employees
• these jobs make up the lowest and highest paying
  in the country (depends on level of formal
  education)
• 1948 Richard and Maurice McDonald- opened a
  restaurant based on quick/cheap service
• Walton Family- Sam Walton formed a department
  chain based on efficiency and cheap prices
• Wal-Mart

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Organized Labor (Union) Declines

• Rise in service economy and the shrinking of
  manufacturing led to a dramatic decrease in labor
  union membership
• 1945- 35 of U.S. workers were union.
• 2000- 14 of workers were union
• 2011- 11 Wisconsin voted on a bill that
  stripped public workers of their right to
  collectively bargain contracts
• Unions are often scapegoated for rising prices
  and outsourcing during recessions
• Globalization allows companies to exploit
  foreign labor markets (many Chinese and other
  Asian workers face conditions similar to American
  industrial workers in the 1800s)

12
Unions Decline

• Because Americans expect a higher standard of
  living, companies ship jobs overseas and then
  ship the finished product back into the country
  without penalty (Nike a Vietnamese worker will
  make 1.60 to produce a pair of shoes the company
  will sell for 100 at Foot Lockerto you)
• After shipping costs are added You will pay 100
  for a pair of shoes that cost 5 to make and ship
• Would you be willing to make 1.60/day? Without
  benefits? Why/Why Not?
• So much for cheaper products for cheaper
  labor
• Average wages for American workers has declined
  (When adjusted for inflation) while business
  profits have skyrocketed
• The Wealth Gap continues to grow

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U.S. History 3Chapter 24-2Into a New Century
1992-Today

• The Clinton Presidency

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1992 Presidential Election

• 1991 George H.W. Bush had an approval rating of
  91
• 1991-1992 U.S. entered an economic recession
• Saddam Hussein remained in power and defiant
• Federal Deficit had risen
• Bush raised taxes 1988 Read my lips, no new
  taxes

15
Clinton Raises the Challenge

• William Jefferson Clinton- Governor of Arkansas
• New Democrat- attempted to reconcile liberal
  and conservative ideas- find middle ground
• Government was important but had become too
  large and inefficient

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Winning the White House

• George H.W. Bush- Republican
• Bill Clinton- Democrat
• H. Ross Perot- Billionaire who ran as an
  independent and promised to run the country like
  a business
• Clinton identified with average Americans
  because he was from a modest background
• Clinton won 43 of the popular vote to Bushs 37

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Clintons Domestic Policies

• Family Medical Leave Act- guaranteed 12 weeks of
  unpaid leave from work to care for a newborn,
  recover from serious illness, or care for an
  immediate family member with one
• Healthcare Reform Fails- Hillary Clinton was
  appointed to a health care task force
• Americans did not want the government to run the
  health care system

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Dealing With Violence

• 1992-1993 Violent crime rate extremely high
• Brady Bill- Gun control bill named after James
  Brady (Reagan aide who was wounded and paralyzed
  during the Reagan assassination attempt)
• Bill called for waiting period and background
  checks when purchasing firearms
• 30 Billion- Given to police departments around
  the country

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Dealing With Violence

• 1995 Oklahoma City- Timothy McVeigh bombed a
  federal building killing 168 people and injured
  over 800 (many of them children)
• McVeigh was a Gulf War Veteran and had become an
  Anti-Government Extremist
• McVeigh later said that he did it as retaliation
  for Waco and was executed in Terre Haute,
  Indiana
• 1999 Columbine High School- two students killed
  12 classmates in Littleton, Colorado

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Clinton Wins Re-Election

• Clinton adopted some conservative ideas (Crime
  Bills)
• 1996 Economy, driven by the .com boom began to
  grow at a rapid pace and unemployment dropped.
• Clinton was also able to balance the budget and
  inflation dropped
• Clinton defeated Bob Dole (Republican) and H.
  Ross Perot

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Scandals, Impeachment, and Trial

• Whitewater- Bill and Hillary were under
  investigation for their role in a real estate
  scandal while he was the Governor of Arkansas
• Janet Reno- Attorney General appointed an
  Independent Counsel established after
  Watergate
• 1994 U.S. Court of Appeals (Enforcing
  Congressional Law), Appointed Kenneth Starr- to
  investigate Clinton
• Starr was not able to find evidence of Clinton
  wrongdoing, but some of their associates were
  convicted

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Impeachment

• During the Whitewater Investigation, Starr
  uncovered a potential relationship between
  Clinton and a White House Intern named Monica
  Lewinsky
• Clinton denied the affair while under oath
  (Perjury) and later admitted to it
• 1998 Starr recommended Clinton be impeached for
  Perjury and Abuse of Power (related to cover-up)
• No charges were ever brought in the Whitewater
  Investigation

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Impeachment

• Impeachment- Process of putting a sitting
  President on trial for Treason, Bribery, and
  High Crimes and Misdemeanors
• System of Checks and Balances
• House of Representatives decides if a President
  should be impeached
• Senate Conducts the trial and votes on guilt or
  innocence (66 Guilty Votes for removal)
• Supreme Court Presides over legal procedures to
  ensure that all rules are followed

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Impeachment

• Most Americans were disgusted by Clintons
  actions but did not think that they rose to an
  impeachable offense level
• Clinton was acquitted on all counts on February
  12th, 1999
• During the trial, Clinton ordered a bombing
  campaign of Serbia (Over ethnic cleansing in
  Kosovo) and many critics accused him of waging
  the dog a reference to a movie starring Robert
  DeNiro in which a politician starts a war (in
  Hollywood) to distract people from his scandals
  at home

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U.S. History 3Chapter 24-3Into a New Century
1992-Today

• Global Politics and Economics

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Competing in the Global Economy

• The Role of Free Trade- Globalization the
  concept of Free Trade (Commerce free of tariffs
  and extensive government regulations)
• Catch 22 Americans want low cost goods
  (From China), but dont want to lose high paying
  jobs to China
• Outsourcing Business practice of shipping
  jobs overseas to cut production costs (Technical
  Support for Comcast to Indiaetc.)

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Globalization Good or Bad?

• Democratic Philosophy
• Outsourcing helps big business make more
  profits at the expense of the middle class
• Prices do not drop as much as they should
• Product quality suffers because of lack of
  regulations in other nations (Lead paint in toys
  from China)
• Good paying jobs are lost to China and replaced
  with low paying jobs
• Ex. Steel worker loses his job at 75,000/year
• Job is replaced by three low level service jobs
  at 23,000/year

• Republican Philosophy Outsourcing will lower
  consumer prices
• Dirty industrial jobs will export our
  pollution to other countries while we replace
  it with a white collar job that is cleaner
  (Requires College)
• Philosophy will ONLY work if business lowers
  prices instead of keeping bigger profits also,
  Americans need to increase their level of
  education to do that higher paying white collar
  jobs

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Globalization What is the artists personal
feelings about globalization?

• Step 1 What picture/images do you see?-Literally
• Step 2 What words give clues to the pictures
  meaning
• Step 3 Can you connect the images/words to any
  events that you know?
• Step 4 What is the overall message of the
  picture
• Step 5 Answer the Question

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Global Trade Blocs

• Trade Bloc- Trade partnerships formed between
  multiple nations in a general geographic area
  (For economic trade and security)
• European Union- formed in 1993 by European
  nations
• Adopted a common currency (Euro) by 2000 (More
  valuable than U.S. Dollar)
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)-
  Mexico, United States, and Canada-1992
• Final Provisions went into effect in 2008
• Many Industrial Jobs have been lost to Mexico
  where people are willing to work for less and the
  government is more relaxed in environmental issues

30
Expanding Global Trade

• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)-
  1994 Attempted to lower tariffs and open more
  free trade
• World Trade Organization- 1995 Replaced GATT
• Settles trade disputes between nations
• Many fear that the WTO favors business over
  environmental concerns and worker rights
• Many fear that a recession/depression in one
  nation would start a chain reaction (2008 U.S.
  Housing Crash led to a worldwide recession)

31
Americans on the Global Stage

• Under Clinton, Americans tended to favor
  financial aid to former Soviet Republics, but
  frowned on any military intervention
• 1980s-1991 Somalia- Civil War had created a
  widespread famine (lack on food)
• 1992- United Nations sent in a peacekeeping force
  that also distributed food
• 1994- After an intense firefight in which many
  international and American troops were killed,
  the UN began to pull out of Somalia (Black Hawk
  Down)
• Haiti- 1994 After a military coup over threw the
  President, the U.S. intervened to restore the
  Democracy

32
Fighting Ethnic Cleansing in Eastern Europe

• Ethnic Cleansing- removal of specific ethnic
  group from a region (through murder and violence)
• Balkans- Area of E. Europe, comprised of many
  different ethnic groups, that were once under
  Soviet control
• Yugoslavia- (Catholic Croatians, Orthodox
  Serbians, Albanians, Bosnian Muslims, and Ethnic
  Albanians began to fight)
• Atrocities were committed on all sides
• World was slow to react and hundreds of
  thousands of people were killed

33
Galvanizing (Uniting) NATO Forces

• 1995-Clinton convinced NATO to start bombing
  Serbian held areas
• Dayton Accords- Set up Bosnia as a
  multi-national city
• 1998- Kosovo- Serbian President Slobodan
  Milosevic Carried out ethnic cleansing by
  removing Ethnic Albanians from city
• Fighting spread to Macedonia and Albania
• This occurred during Clintons impeachment
  hearings and many accused him of trying to
  distract Americans
• NATO forced Serbia to withdraw and Milosevic was
  arrested for crimes against humanity
• Russia immediately occupied Kosovo in fear that
  the U.S.- I guess the Cold War is gone but not
  forgotten

34
America and the Middle East

• 1990s- Fighting between Israel and the
  Palestinians intensified
• Trying for Peace in Israel- Oslo, Norway
• Declaration of Principles 1993
• Palestinians get Self control of Jericho and the
  Gaza Strip
• West Bank and Jerusalem still in dispute
• 2000 Yasir Arafat- Palestinian Leader
• Ehud Barak- Israeli Prime Minister
• Met at Camp David but could not agree

35
Dealing With Terrorism

• 1993 al Qaeda- Terrorist organization (Muslim
  Extremists) led by Osama Bin Laden (Saudi born
  helped push the USSR out of Afghanistan (With CIA
  Training) offered Saudi Arabia help during
  Desert Storm but was denied became enemy of U.S.
  when troops stayed in Saudi Arabia after First
  Gulf War
• Bomb exploded in basement of World Trade Center
  (NYC) Six were killed
• 1998 Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam,
  Tanzania- U.S. Embassies Bombed (225
  Killed)Clinton fired rockets at bases in the
  Sudan but did not invade
• 2000 Yemen- USS Cole is bombed 17 American
  Sailors Killed

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U.S. History 3Chapter 24-4Into a New Century
1992-Today

• The George W. Bush Presidency

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An Election Controversy

• 2000 Presidential Election
• George W. Bush- Republican Governor of Texas
• Al Gore- Democrat and Clintons Vice President
• Ralph Nader- Green Party

38
A Tight Race

• Gore received 500,000 more votes than Bush in the
  Popular Vote But Bush won the Electoral
  College by a 271-266 Margin (270 Needed to win)
• Florida- 25 Electoral Votes were in dispute
• Bush won Florida by 327 Popular Votes
• Democrats wanted a hand recount
• Republicans sued to stop recounts in Miami-Dade
  County (High Minority Populations that tend to
  vote Democrat)
• Ballot confusion caused many to accidentally
  vote for wrong candidate
• Bush v. Gore- Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of
  Bush and he was awarded all 25 Electoral Votes in
  Florida

39
Bush Launches an Ambitious Agenda

• Bush inherited a budget surplus from Clinton
• Bush cut taxes by 1.3 Trillion Dollars
• Bush created a budget deficit with tax cuts
• No Child Left Behind- bi-partisan (supported by
  both major parties) bill aimed at improving
  education
• Schools held accountable by standardized tests
  (ISTEP)
• Under law, failing schools could be taken over
  by government
• Information had to be posted by school districts
  for parents (test scores)
• Medicare Reform- Medicare extended to cover drug
  prescriptions for Seniors

• http//mustang.doe.state.in.us/SEARCH/snapshot.cfm
  ?schl3809

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The United States is Attacked

• September 11th, 2001
• Four commercial passenger planes were high
  jacked by Islamic Terrorists (al Qaeda)
• American Airline Flight 11- Hit the North Tower
  of the World Trade Center at about 845am (EST)
  (92 People On Plane)
• United Airline Flight 175- Hit the South Tower
  of the WTC at 903am (EST) (65 People On Plane)
• American Airline Flight 77- Hit the Pentagon
  (Washington D.C./Arlington, VA) at 940 am (EST)
  (64 People On Plane)
• United Airline Flight 93- Crashed into a field
  near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 1007 am after
  passengers attempt to retake the plane (44
  People On Plane)
• 2,977 People (victims) were killed at the WTC and
  19 Highjackers were killed

41
Americas War on Terrorism

• Afghanistan- Osama Bin Laden was being protected
  by the Islamic Extremist Government known as the
  Taliban
• Bush ordered the Taliban to turn over Bin
  Laden-they refused
• Bush launched an invasion of Afghanistan (With
  support of world)
• Bush to the world You are either with us, or
  against us
• Tora Bora- U.S., British, and Afghan rebels trap
  Bin Laden in a mountainous region on the Pakistan
  border- Decision is made to let the rebels lead
  the assault since they are more familiar with
  area- Bin Laden Escaped and later mentioned
  incident in video
• Bin Laden believed to be in Pakistan today

42
Improving National Security

• Department of Homeland Security- Cabinet position
  set up by Bush to handle internal crisis that
  threaten national security
• DHS has prevented about 20 potential terrorist
  attacks in U.S. since 2001
• Patriot Act- Gave law enforcement broader
  powers to monitor and detect potential terrorists

43
Launching Operation Iraqi Freedom

• 1991-2003 Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein defied
  U.N. Sanctions numerous times and Iraqi forces
  consistently fired on U.S. aircraft patrolling
  the No Fly zone set up by the U.N.
• Saddam Hussein killed 187,000 Kurdish Civilians
  with Chemical Weapons between 1986-1988
• Post Gulf War Hussein killed thousands of Kurds
  who had rebelled after the Gulf War
• Weapons of Mass Destruction- Nuclear, Biological,
  and Chemical Weapons
• Bush thought that Hussein had been developing
  WMDs as late as 2001 (It was later proven that
  most WMDs were dismantled in the Mid/Late
  1990s)
• March 19th, 2003- Bush launches an invasion of
  Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom)
• Public support for war dropped when it was
  discovered that there were no WMDs in country
• Husseins government collapsed and he was
  eventually captured, tried, and executed for
  crimes against humanity
• President Obama has promised to end U.S.
  Operations in Iraq by 2012-2013

44
Other Issues Faced by Bush

• November of 2004 Bush narrowly defeated Mass.
  Senator John Kerry in the Presidential Election
• August 2005 Hurricane Katrina Gulf Coast
• Bush was criticized heavily for the governments
  slow response in aiding poor minority victims
• During a nationally televised fundraiser,
  outspoken hip hop artist, Kanye West stated
  George Bush doesnt care about black people
• Bushs approval rating began to fall
• 2008 The economy started to struggle and a
  banking crisis threatened to throw the U.S.
  into a deep recession or depression

45
Election of 2008

• 2006 Democrats won back control of the House and
  Senate in Midterm Elections-Republicans looked
  vulnerable
• Barack Obama- African American (1/2 at least)
  Illinois Senator who ran on idea of Change
• Joe Biden- Catholic Senator from Maryland
  (Obamas VP Candidate)
• John McCain- Popular GOP Senator, Vietnam War
  Veteran, Former POW, and Arizona Senator who ran
  as a Maverick (McCain often broke with is party
  on votes)
• Sarah Palin- Alaska Governor (McCains VP
  Candidate)
• November, 2008- Obama defeated McCain in a
  landslide
• January 20th, 2009- President Obama is
  Inaugurated as the first black president of the
  United States (By Chief Justice John Roberts who
  is from LaPorte)

46
Banking Crisis

• Causes
• Banks made risky (Sub-prime) loans for homes
  (0 Down)
• Borrowers defaulted on loans when interest rates
  adjusted
• Banks lost money and began to close
• Home values declined and Americans became
  trapped in upside down mortgages (Owed more
  than true value of house)
• Housing prices in inflated markets- (CA, NV,
  FL) began to crash when supply of buyers declined
• FL 1998- 100,000 House sold for 500,000 by 2007
• Overproduction of new homes put over 2,000,000
  unoccupied houses on the market
• Predatory Lenders targeted poor, elderly, and
  minority owners and pushed them into unsafe loans
• American ignorance in understanding home equity,
  interest rates, and loan terms
• The Great Recession 2008-2009 Worst economic
  downturn since the Great Depression (Unemployment
  grew to almost 12)
• President Bush Proposed a plan to inject
  billions of dollars into the economy to prevent a
  depression
• President Obama also supported plan
• T.A.R.P. (Troubled Asset Relief Program)
• Gave taxpayer money (in the form of loans) to
  banks and companies that asked
• Many Americans did NOT support plan and began
  calling it a bail out

47
Health Care Reform

• President Obama passed a controversial Health
  Care Reform Bill through Congress in 2009
• Bills requires ALL citizens to purchase health
  insurance in the hope of driving down costs
• Republicans argue that the bill gives the
  government too much power
• Republicans also think the law is
  unconstitutional because of the requirement
  to purchase health insurance
• Mitch Daniels- Republican Governor who has joined
  a class actio lawsuit to sue the Federal
  Government and get the Health Care Bill Repealed
• Taxed Enough Already Party (TEA Party)- Party (Of
  Conservatives) who fear the health care law will
  increase taxes and take away personal freedom)
  (Sarah Palin is seen as leader)
• 2010 Midterm Elections- The Tea Party had a huge
  influence on the Republican Party as it took back
  control of the House of Representatives

48
U.S. History 3Chapter 24-5Into a New Century
1992-Today

• Americans Look to the Future

49
Immigrants Shape the Nation

• Immigration Act of 1990- Increased immigration
  quotas by 40
• Today Immigrants represent 10 of the population
  (about 30,000,000)
• By 2050, it is estimated that
• 49 White
• 25 Latino
• 20 Black
• 5-10 Asian

50
Latinos Exert Their Influence

• 2000 27 of all immigrants were Mexican
• 17 from other Latin American nations (44 of all
  immigrants are Latino)
• 1/3 of the populations of TX, CA, AZ, and NM are
  Latino
• Between 10-20 Million Immigrants are considered
  illegal (Aliens Undocumented)
• 2010 Arizona- passed a controversial immigration
  law that is very strict at trying to stop the
  flood of illegal immigrants into the state
• Many critics say that the law is set allow
  police to racially profile Latinos
• Supporters demand that the U.S. Government
  enforce border security (Minutemen Project)
• Eric Holder- Obamas Attorney General Has filed
  a lawsuit against the State of Arizona in regards
  to immigration law

51
A Surging Asian Population

• 2000 Asians make up 23 of IMMIGRANT population
• -China
• -Philippines
• -India

52
Debating Immigration

• Many immigrants DO NOT speak English
• Some states are pushing to make English the
  official language
• Bilingual Education- Immigrants learn subjects in
  their native language while learning English
  (Prevents students from falling behind)
• Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986-
  Attempted to punish employers for hiring illegal
  workers
• George Bush- Tried to pass a bill that would make
  it easier for illegal immigrants to become
  citizens
• Most Americans do not support this Amnesty Bill
  because they think it rewards people for
  ignoring U.S. laws and cutting in line
• Even some Latinos and other immigrant groups
  point out that they were expected to assimilate
  to enjoy American opportunities
• It would be unfair to those that immigrated the
  right way if people who violate the law are
  allowed to become citizens
• Anchor Baby Debate- Some immigrants have snuck
  into the U.S. and have had children- Under the
  14th Amendment, these children are American
  citizens
• Some people feel that the 14th Amendment should
  be changed to address this loophole in the
  immigration process

53
Changing American Demographics

• The Changing Family- 1960 70 of households
  headed by a working father
• 2000- Only 15 (Dual earner families and single
  parent homes are more common)
• Divorce rate 50
• 1960 5 of Children born out of wedlock
• 2000
• White 25 born to single mothers
• Latino 33
• African American 50

54
Debating Affirmative Action

• Affirmative Action- giving preference to minority
  and women applicants in job/education process
• Proponents- needed to reverse generations of
  discrimination
• Opponents- is a form of reversed discrimination
  that hurts whites (Especially poor whites)
• U. of Texas Ruled unconstitutional by Federal
  Court
• 2003 U. Of Michigan Race COULD be one of
  SEVERAL factors in determining admission

55
Expanding Rights for All

• Women and Minorities have made dramatic political
  gains since the 1960s and 1970s
• 2002- 33 of African American families made over
  50,000/year
• 2002 17 of African Americans held Bachelors
  Degrees (20 is national average)
• There is still disparity however, the pay gap
  has decreased dramatically
• Women have also earned incomes that are more in
  line with men
• Women also have more child care benefits at
  work
• Violence Against Women Act- Federal Government
  spent more on programs to arrest and prosecute
  criminals who commit violent acts against women

56
America Grows Older

• 1900 Life Expectancy lt 50
• 2000 Life Expectancy 77
• 1960 100,000,000 Spent on Welfare
• 2003 1,400,000,000 (Simple math people are
  living longer and collecting longer)
• Baby Boomers (Americans born between 1945-1965)
  are entering retirement and starting to collect
  Social Security (Life expectancy was mush shorter
  when SSA was passed by Franklin Roosevelt
• Possible solutions
• Privatize Social Security- allow young workers to
  invest some of their Social Security in
  individual retirement accounts (Could have been a
  catastrophe in 2008 when the stock market
  collapsed)
• Raise the Retirement Age to 70- Many Baby Boomers
  do not support this plan
• Baby Boomers are very politically active (They
  were the youth of the 60sremember?) and
  politicians fear losing their jobs if they anger
  them
• AARP (American Association of Retired People)-
  Fight politically for elderly Americans

57
Facing the Future

• One way or another, you will help write the next
  chapter of this book-
• What will it say?
• What will your children and grandchildren learn
  about your generations contribution to America?
• Will you be as proud of your contribution as the
  Civil Rights and Baby Boomers are about theirs?
• Will you be a part of Americas progress or a
  contributor to its problems?
• Throughout its history, the United States has
  risen to many challenges it has faced.
• It isnt perfect, but it is a lot better at
  dealing with issues than nations that have come
  before it.
• The reason this has occurred is because it has
  taken people from all parts of the world and
  given them a chance and opportunity to be great
• Americas most valuable resource, her people,
  have helped a nation grow from an agricultural
  experiment into the wealthiest, fairest, and
  most powerful nations in the world.
• After your generation has had its chance to lead,
  will the next generation be able to say the same
  thing?