The Bush Administration

1
The Bush Administration

• Mr. Whites US History 2

2
Main Idea and Objectives

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

3
Part I The Race for the White House

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

4
The Candidates

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

5
Election Night

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

6
Florida

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

7
Recounts

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

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Part II The Bush Administration

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

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Bushs Agenda

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

10
Fighting Terrorism

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

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Fighting Terrorism

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

12
Axis of Evil

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

13
Iraq - WMDs

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

14
Invasion

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

15
Collapse of Hussein

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

16
Education

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

17
Corporate Scandals

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

18
Bushs Tax Cut

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

19
Conservative Power Grows

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

20
Main Idea and Objectives

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

21
Wrap-up

• So
• One of the ways that the Bush administration
  combatted terrorism or hostile nations was
• One of the measures that Bush took to improve
  life inside the United States was