The 1990s

William Jefferson Clinton

• President 1993-2000• Governor of Arkansas• Centrist• Budget surplus• Economic good times• Deal with GOP congress

Election of 1992

• Clinton and Gore• Won less than 50% of

popular vote• Still won electoral• H. Ross Perot won

19%

Domestic Policy

• Healthcare Reform

-Hillary• Economy

-raised taxes

-cut federal budget deficit

The Republicans

• Contract with America

• Newt Gingrich

-Speaker of the House

• Control Congress

Foreign Policy

• Sent troops to

-Haiti

-change its gov’t

-Somalia

-Black Hawk Down

-former Yugoslavia

-genocide

Trade

• NAFTA• North American Free

Trade Agreement• Remove tariffs and

trade barriers• Pro - increase trade• Con - lose jobs to

Mexico

Scandals

• Whitewater

-failed real estate project

-improper getting and use of loans

• Sexual harassment

-Paula Jones

• Monica Lewinsky

-intern

Impeachment

• To bring charges against

-lying under oath

-influencing testimony• Andrew Johnson• Not convicted

Rodney King and LA Riots

• March 1991

• Arrest and beating of King by 4 white police officers

• Millions saw it on TV

• Racial profiling

• Jury found officers not guilty

• Three days of riots

• 54 dead

Waco

• April 1993• David Koresh• Branch Davidians Cult• Waco, Texas• 51 day standoff with

FBI/ATF• Ended in large fire –

84 dead

Oklahoma City Bombing

• April 19, 1995• Timothy McVeigh• Angry about what had

happened at Waco• Truck bomb explodes

outside federal building

• 168 dead – 19 children

Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols

Oklahoma City BombingMemorial

OJ Simpson Trial

• Famous football player

“The Juice”• Murders of

Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman

The Chase

• 5 days after murder

• low-speed car chase on LA freeway

• White Bronco

OJ Simpson Trial

• Trial on TV-8 months 9 days

• Domestic abuse/race relations

• October 3, 1995 –not guilty

Unabomber

• Ted Kaczynski• Harvard• Hermit in Montana• Manifesto• Wanted to slow down

science and technology

• Mail bombs -3 dead, injured 23

Unabomber Cabin

Columbine

• April 20, 1999• School shooting in

Littleton, Colorado• Two seniors

-Eric Harris

-Dylan Klebold• Killed 14 students and

one teacher

Information Age

• Computers

-smaller and more personal – microchip

• Internet

-developed for Pentagon

-WWW – U of Illinois

-made world smaller – end of communism

-worry about impact on society