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The bombing in Oklahoma City happened because of a truck bomb set off by a white nationalist group, with the main perpetrators being Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. It was first blamed on Islamic groups as a terrorist attack, and it killed 168 people. Clinton addressed it and said the United States should fight domestic or foreign terrorist attacks. He also criticized right-wing extremists for performing this action for political reasons (Kruse and Zelizer, 220–221). -Showed terror threats -
DOMA was passed into law after voted upon by both houses of Congress. It stated states could choose if they recognized same-sex marriages and this would come with benefits of tax advantages that come with marriage. Additionally, it stated that marriage was between only man and woman. This act was passed at midnight to limit the media attention from Bill Clinton who practiced triangulation or the attempt to appease moderate voters (Kruse and Zelizer, 218-219). -Defined 90s social conflict -
The Republicans looked to take Bill Clinton down and they discovered the Monica Lewinsky scandal. This scandal looked into whether the President had lied about the affair under oath. From there, he was put on trial for charges related to the investigation. The House of Representatives officially voted to impeach President Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, but the Senate found him not guilty (Kruse and Zelizer, 231–232). -Huge scandal in Media -
The 2000 presidential election was between George Bush, who had pushed past the scandal, and Al Gore. Al Gore polarized Americans as well and split the country in half. While Gore won the popular vote, the electoral vote came down to Florida's 25 votes. Bush was declared the winner, but a recount started to erode Bush's lead. Eventually, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to stop the recount, and this gave the presidency to Bush (Kruse and Zelizer, 238–242).- Divided American voters/courts
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On September 11, 2001, members of Al-Qaeda hijacked four planes, crashing them into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and killing around 3,000 Americans. Bush explained to Americans that this was not a war against Muslims, but a war against terror. Bush declared war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, who were harboring Osama bin Laden and members of Al-Qaeda. While tragic, Americans united together(Kruse and Zelizer, 243–255).- Deadliest attack on U.S. soil in modern history
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Following 9/11, America looked at North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as rogue states that harbored terrorists. The reason for the Iraq invasion and the war was to eliminate Saddam Hussein, who was tied to Al-Qaeda, and to eliminate the weapons of mass destruction that were in Iraq. The war efforts were initially positive but led to a long, drawn-out war, that people were opposed to (Kruse and Zelizer, 262–270).- Modern war with many for and against the war.