Key Terms:
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weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
- Weapons including nuclear, biological, and chemical that can kill large numbers of people or do great damage to the environment. The Bush Administration claimed that Saddam Hussein had developed these which provided reason to invade Iraq; these weapons were never found.
Democratic Leadership Council
- Attempted to push the Democratic party toward pro-growth, strong defense, and anti crime policies. Bill Clinton was a very influential member.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
- Policy that affected gays in the military. t was a compromise between the prohibition against homosexuals in the armed forces and Clinton's push to allow all citizens to serve. Military authoriteis couldn't ask and a person couldn't tell their orientation.
Oklahoma City bombing
- A bombing that killed 168 people in a federal office building; it wa perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh.
Contract with America
- Multi-point program that proposed smaller government, Congressional ethics reform, term limits, great emphasis on personal responsibility, and a general repudiation of the Democratic party. It was a significant blow to Clinton's administration.
Welfare Reform Bill
- Made deep cuts in welfare grants and required able-bodied welfare recipients to find employment. Part of Clinton's platform and seen by many as an abandonment of provisions to care for the impoverished.
North American Free Trade Agreement
- A free trade zone that included Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. Was a huge step towards global trade on Clinton's part.
World Trade Organization
- International body that promotes and supervises liberal trade among nations. Key wold trade policy achievement of the Clinton Administration.
Whitewater
- A series of scandals during Clinton's presidency that branched out from a failed real estate investment that was allegedly profited by the Clinton Administration.
Lewinsky affair
- Clinton swore under oath that he had never engaged in sexual activity with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. Prosecutors discovered he lied and Congress began impeachment proceedings; but he was not convicted and stayed in office.
Kyoto Treaty
- International treaty that limited greenhouse gas emissions. The Bush Administration rejected the plan.
9/11
- Terrorist attack by Al Qaeda that led to the high jacking of planes that were flown into the Twin Towers in New York on September 11th, 2001. Another high jacked plane crashed into the Pentagon and another was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania as a result of brave passengers.
Al Qaeda
- Terrorist organization led by Osama Bin Laden; they were reponsible for the 9/11 attacks in the U.S.
USA Patriot Act
- Passed shortly after 9/11 that allowed broad surveillance and detention authority to the government.
Department of Homeland Security
- Agency created to unify and coordinate public safety and anti-terrorism operations within the government. Created in response to the 9/11 attacks.
Guantanamo Detention Camp
- A prison facility constructed after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
Abu Ghraib prison
- A detention facility near Baghdad, Iraq. Under the rule of Saddam Hussein, it was the site of infamous torturing and execution of political dissidents.
No Child Left Behind Act
- Passed by the Bush Administration which was designed to increase accountability standards for primary and secondary schools. it linked results on standardized to federal funding for schools and school districts.
Hurricane Katrina
- One of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history. It hit the Gulf Coast especially the city of New Orleans in 2005. There was catastrophic flooding in New Orleans due to city levees breaking. Occurred during Bush's presidency.
deleveraging
- Businesses increase their financial power by borrowing money in addition to their own assets. It led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers but it only took the Bush administration days to intervene instead of years like the Great Depression.
American Relief and Recovery Act
- One of the earliest initiatives of Obama administration. It called for increased government spending to offset decreased private spending in times of economic downturn.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- Also known as Obamacare which extended health care insurance to 30 million Americans. Obama's Administration said that everyone had to have health insurance by 2014.
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
- An effort to avoid financial crisis like the Great Recession which updated many federal regulations. Passed under the Obama Administration.