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Significant Historical Events from 1995 to 2015
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Oklahoma City Bombing
In 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, both involved in white nationalist groups, committed a truck bombing that destroyed the Alfred Murrah Federal Building. This bombing shows an increase in white hate groups and antigovernment militias in the 1990s. This also made the country look at both foreign and domestic terrorism. In 1996, an an antiterrorism act in 1996 was passed to give the government more power towards terrorism, what President Clinton wanted. (Kruse and Zeilzer, 220-221.) -
Bill Clinton's Impeachment
Due to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Clinton was accused of lying under oath and obstructing justice, leading the House to vote to impeach him in 1998. The media covered Clinton's scandal with cable news channels like Fox News and the Drudge Report. Even though the House impeached him, many Americans disapproved, and Clinton's approval rating actually increased. This shows ho liberals and Democrats' didn't believe the media and defended Clinton. (Kruse and Zelizer, 226-231.) -
2000 Presidential Election
The 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was close, with Florida as the deciding state. Florida’s counties had butterfly ballots, inconsistent vote counting, and voter roll purges. The Gore campaign wanted recounts when Bush initially won. The U.S. Supreme Court stopped the recount and gave Bush the presidency. This election showed the Supreme Court influencing the outcome of a presidential election and revealed errors in the voting system. (Kruse and Zelizer, 239–242.) -
The Fall of NASDAQ
In 2000, the fall of the NASDAQ, an exchange focused on tech companies, marked the end of the "dot-com" boom. This boom was increased investments in internet companies that had no real profit and relied on advertisement. Because of this, many online companies soon lost value, shut down, or went bankrupt. The crash changed expectations in investments, especially in younger Americans, and there was now fear around the market. (Kruse and Zelizer, 237-238) -
Kyoto Protocol
In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement reduce greenhouse gases, was made. When President George W. Bush took office, his administration announced it had no interest in the agreement and withdrew U.S. support in 2001.
The Bush administration did not agree with scientists on the connection between greenhouse gases and climate change and believed that no action was necessary. This hurt interactional climate change efforts and ignored science. (Kruse and Zelizer, 244.) -
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act was a education related law that required every public school in the country to meet national standards in reading and math. If a school failed to do this, their students could transfer to better ranking schools, lose federal funding, and could be shut down entirely. This act was directed towards low performing schools and corrected them for not expecting enough from certain students, frequently from poor backgrounds. (Kruse and Zelizer, 248.) -
The Bush Tax Cut
In 2001, the Bush tax cut was the largest single tax cut in U.S. history, costing about $1.35 trillion. This cut reduced taxes for many Americans and modeled after Reagan’s tax reduction policies. President Bush believed that the government should return the budget surplus from the Clinton-era boom since it's the people's money. This moved financial power from the federal government to states, local governments, and religious institutions. (Kruse and Zelizer, 245.) -
9/11 Terrorist Attack
On September 11, 2001, three airplanes from the Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda flew into the twin towers and the Pentagon. President George W. Bush and other leaders pushed for national unity. He prepared for war and launched the "War on Terror". This led to the Authorization for the Use of Military Force that gave him broad power to respond with military action against al-Qaeda and countries involved with terrorists. Bush was seen as a strong leader. (Kruse and Zelizer, 249-253.) -
The Iraq War
In 2003, the first American bombs hit Baghdad and started war against Iraq. The war began based on claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but none were found. This led to the Iraqi insurgency, which is violent resistance by many groups against U.S. forces snd the new Iraqi government. The U.S. couldn't contain the insurgency. The war officially ended on December 18, 2011 when the last U.S. combat forces completely left Iraq on December 18, 2011.(The American Yawp, The Recent Past) -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest and most expensive natural disaster in American history. Although the storm was warned about in advance, local, state, and federal governments were unprepared. People were left in dangerous conditions without basic supplies. The Bush administration was criticized for its unengaged response. FEMA was unprepared as Michael Brown, who Bush praised, was inexperienced. Bush's response to the hurricane lowered his approval ratings. (Kruse and Zelizer, 280–283.) -
The Great Recession
The Great Recession was an economic crisis in 2007–2008 caused by risky mortgage loans and deregulation that collapsed the market. Mortgage companies bundled these loans to sell repeatedly. The market crashed when homeowners couldn't pay. It caused massive job losses and frozen wages for Americans, especially young workers. President Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to allow the government to give billions to struggling banks. (The American Yawp, The Recent Past.) -
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
This act, called Obamacare, made healthcare more affordable for Americans. Unlike past presidents, Barack Obama succeeded in passing national healthcare. It made it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions and set up state-operated health care marketplaces. It also gave states money to expand Medicaid and required everyone to have a health plan that met government standards, with help for those who couldn't afford it. (The American Yawp, The Recent Past.)