-
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Compromise
The "don't ask, don't tell" compromise allowed LGBTQ members to serve in the military because officials could not investigate a person's sexuality. The goal was to appease those who wanted gays to serve in the military and those who felt having openly gay troops would hurt morale. Controversy came from the gay community and the military because they were betrayed and lost their trust. Despite controversy, this compromise helped in promoting the advancement of gay rights. (Kruse and Zelizer, 206) -
"Dot-Com" Boom
The "dotcom" boom occurred from 1995-2000. This boom had internet companies involved that profitted from low interest rates and private capital rather than the value of their products. The companies at the center of the boom were not even close to their alleged values and this caused the market collapse as well as many companies which caused the Dow Jones to fall by 72%. This boom is significant because it created market growth and the adoption of the world wide web. (Kruse and Zelizer, 238) -
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Pentalty Act
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, passed in 1996 aimed to deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and create an effective death penalty policy. This act labelled terrorism as a federal crime which allowed the government to crack down on terrorist groups in order to shut them down. This act is significant because it created a greater penalty for terrorism crimes while also giving law enforcement more power to prosecute for these crimes. (Kruse and Zelizer, 221) -
Children's Health Insurance Program
President Bill Clinton moved ahead with domestic issues and specifically in 1997, he created the Children's Health Insurance Program. This offered states matching fund to provide health insurance to children. This program ensured that children would have health coverage even if their families could not afford to pay for their health insurance. This program is significant because it created an enormous expansion of insurance coverage all throughout the country. (Kruse and Zelizer, 222) -
No Child Left Behind Act
This act promoted the federal commitment to funding public education. This act created national standards for subjects in school which made is so every public school in the nation would be required to meet the standards. If schools could not meet these standards within the school subjects, the school itself would lose federal funding and the students in the schools would be granted the opportunity to transfer to better performing schools meeting the standards. (Kruse and Zelizer, 248) -
War on Terror
President Bush signed the war on terrorism into law. It created a plan that was used to find and stop terrorists around the world in response to the acts of terrorism that occurred on September 11th, 2001. This sparked a global uprising in wanting to stop terrorism as there were many domestic counterterrorism programs created. As well, this launched a new part of American Foreign Policy in regards to stamping out terrorism globally because the immense threat it imposed. (Kruse and Zelizer, 254) -
9/11
19 members of the terrorist group al-Qaeda boarded four commercial airplanes in American cities. They snuck through airport security with box cutters, killed the pilots and took control of the planes. Two planes flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, a 3rd flew into the Pentagon, and the 4th was crashed by passengers to stop the terrorist from completing their goal. This was the greatest act of terrorism and intentional attack that the US has experienced. (Kruse and Zelizer, 250) -
Establishment of the Department of Homeland Security
This cabinet-level department centralized and coordinated government operations during the war on terror. They created a color-coded system with advisory alerts to keep Americans knowing the daily threat levels within the United States. While there were positives in this department, the alerts worried people and they bought enough supplies to stay safe which caused a rise inflation. This is significant because it was a large step in promoting the security of Americans. (Kruse and Zelizer, 262) -
Unborn Victims of Violence Act
This was an antiabortion legislation act that stated if a pregnant woman were murdered, the fetus would be legally considered a second victim in federal crimes. This was the first act signed into law that acknowledged a fetus legally as a victim because prior to this being signed into law a fetus would not be recognized as a victim which led to many injustices for families. Therefore, this increased the justices related to federal crimes involving unborn children. (Kruse and Zelizer, 272) -
The Prism Program
This program was secretly launched by the Bush administration. It allowed the National Security Agency to collect internet communications and interactions of potential terrorist threats. They used the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to work with telecommunications and internet firms to collect data. This program was significant because it made the US safer from terrorist threats, but it led to distrust with Americans as they believed that they were being spied on. (Kruse and Zelizer, 287)