Period+5+2000s

Period 5 2000s - Daniella Edmonds, Jonelle Allen and Leyna Lee

The era of the 2000’s signified the beginning of **George W. Bush** ’s presidency, succeeding that of Bill Clinton’s. The Republican President portrayed himself as being heavily conservative, thus influencing many conservative ideas upon America. During the elections against Al Gore, Bush campaigned his interest in improving education, increasing the size of The United States Armed Forces and cutting taxes. In 2001, during the **Bush era tax cuts**, President Bush established the **Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act** to lower the income tax for people who came from families of low income. Before Bush’s presidency, Presidency Clinton passed **The Banking Deregulation Bill** in 1999, which gave the federal government less power to control banking and finances. This bill, which caused an uprise in bigger banks and businesses, was still in affect during Bush’s presidency. Another goal of President Bush was to give students with learning disadvantages opportunities to do better in school. Therefore, during this first year in office, he passed the **No Child Left Behind Act**. Later, that same year, September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden, a terrorist of Al-Qaeda, high-jacked four planes. Two of which destroyed the twin towers in New York City, killing thousands. Because of this attack, President Bush wanted to implement more laws that would decrease the risk more terrorist attacks. He passed the **Patriot Act** in 2001, which allows the government to detect and persecute criminal acts before they occur. He also passed **the Homeland Security Act** in 2002, which lessened the amount of damages caused by terrorist attacks. Not only was America. The United States of America was not only experiencing many political and social issues, but economic issues as well. **The real estate bubble**, otherwise known as the housing bubble, was during a time in which their was a high demand in the buying and selling of houses, causing the price of housing to increase rapidly. This progressed until America’s demand for property decreased, causing the prices of houses to lower as well. The dramatic change in house prices, also affected the rate of mortgages. In 2008, **TARP, or Troubled Asset Relief Program**, was created in order to take mortgages with decreasing values out of the financial system. After serving 8 years as President, George W. Bush was succeeded by The democratic nominee, **Barack Obama**, as President. Barack Obama’s top priorities coming into presidency was education for everybody. He initiated the **Race to the Top** program in 2009 so schools could provide children with adequate learning experiences and give each student an equal opportunity. In September of 2009, Obama wanted the nation’s health care system to be fixed and called for congress to emphasize taking action in health care reform. His speech on **Health Care Reform** appealed greatly to the public and inspired thousands. Aside from health care reform, Obama wanted to provide people with jobs due to the high unemployment rate. He stressed that putting people back to work will help the economy long term and short term and thus initiated the **American Recovery and Reinvestment Act** to help America get back onto it’s feet and out of the economic crisis. Another plan of Obama’s passed in 2009 allowed people who wanted new cars, to trade in their old one for up to $4500. He believed that people needed more fuel-efficient cars for health and safety reasons and **Cash for Clunkers** allowed this. In comparing the two presidents of the 2000 era**, George W. Bush had a conservative view in leading the Nation**, whereas our new found president, Barack Obama falls more on the liberal side of the political spectrum.
 * __2000s __**
 * Historical Context:**

Al-Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden did not approve of what America stood for: freedom, liberty, and the rights of men and women of all races, backgrounds, and beliefs. On the morning of September 11, 2001, they engineered a plan in which they hijacked four planes and attacked America, endangering the lives of thousands. Two of the airplanes were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. The third plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The last plane was going to crash into another building in Washington, D.C., but the passengers aboard successfully stopped the hijackers, causing the plane to crash into an open field instead.

= = CNN - President George W. Bush's Post 9/11 Speech

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//Listen to George W. Bush's speech in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. Listen carefully to the hope President Bush bestows upon America as he says **"As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world."** His anger and outrage towards the recent events is evident in his voice as he speaks. Key Point: War on Terrorism to deploy troops.//

[|The Bush era tax cuts] Read the first two sections of this CBS news article on the **Bush era tax cuts**. Take note in the angry tone of the article and what kind of light it sheds on George W. Bush after he breaks his promise of eliminating taxes, showing no defining difference between himself and **Ronald Reagan** during his presidency.



[|Banking Deregulation in the 21st Century] Skim the following article on the 1999 **Banking Deregulation Bill** passed during the Clinton Administration. Based on the article, think about whether or not government reduction of power truly 'went to far' and if the repealing of the **Glass-Steagall Act** contribute to the financial difficulties America has today.



**Banking deregulation reversed laws that were set up in the 1930s, taking away much of the federal control that was put into place as part of the New Deal.** Deregulation led to finance companies taking over other companies. Big banks bought out all of the smaller banks and covered private banking, investing, mortgages and insurance.

[|No Child Left Behind] Article giving brief summary of **No Child Left Behind Ac** t proposed by George W. Bush in 2001. [|The No Child Left Behind Act] Listen to this short excerpt of George W. Bush's speech on the No Child Left Behind Act and pay attention to how he speaks and whom he is speaking to. Does the tone of his voice imply that he is attempting to bestow hope within children that they can succeed academically? Do you believe that **President Obama's** plan to make the Act more flexible is necessary?



This is a political cartoon of the **Patriot Act of 2001**. The purpose of this act is to, by any measure, detect and persecute criminal acts before they occur. Take note that the gorilla represents America's Civil Liberties, while the planes represent the United States government. Do you think the illustrator supports the Patriot Act? President Barack Obama's Message to the American People In **President Obama** 's message to the American people, he addresses his plans for change during his presidency. Scroll down and read paragraphs 6-8. What are some changes that he is striving to make?

 



On Wednesday, September 9th, 2009, President Obama made a call for Congress to help fix the nation’s health care system. In his [|speech], he proposed to address the chronic health care problems and take action to improve it. Pay attention to his emotional and passionate tone and how this may have appealed to the public’s opinion.
 * Healthcare Reform:**



On Tuesday March 23rd, President Obama’s signature ratified the healthcare bill into law. This law affects every family differently, depending on their different circumstances.



**Race to the Top:** In July of 2009, President Obama, who is a strong advocate when it comes to educating the people, announced $4.35 billion funds, known as **Race To The Top Fund**, which was geared towards reforming American public schools and providing the opportunity for student learning.

In his [|speech], President Obama talks about a competition to get states to apply schools reforms in order to produce legitimate results for future improvements. Notice how his charismatic attitude seems alluring and motivational for people to support his stance on education.


 * American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:**

On February 13th, 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Act strongly urged by President Obama. Pay attention to the long term benefits of the acts in which Obama strongly emphasizes during his [|speech]. Notice how his enthusiasm really adds excitement and inclination to achieve the goal of putting people back to work.

President Obama signed into law, the “cash for clunkers” program. This allowed car shoppers to have an advantage of government incentives by trading their old vehicles for more fuel-efficient new vehicles worth up to $4,500.
 * Cash for Clunkers:**


 * Analysis:**

During the 2000’s the role of the government changed in response to the events that occurred during its time. After **President Bush**’s election in 2000, his goal was to pass laws that would help America recover from many financial strains. Because he wanted to do this in a conservative way, he passed laws that got the government more involved. He passed more tax cuts during his **era tax cuts,** he passed  the **Banking Deregulation Bill**, he made efforts to terminate the **Real Estate Bubble**, and he formed the **Troubled Asset Relief Program**. Another goal of President Bush was to provide schooling programs for children who were at a disadvantage academically. He tried to achieve this goal by passing the **No Child Left Behind Act** in 2001. A major event that occurred during his presidency was the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans. Following the attack, the government enforced more laws that would decrease the risk of attacks on America in the future. These laws were the **Homeland Security Act**, and the **Patriot Act**. These laws caused the government to become more involved in people’s personal lives, which many people claim, take away their civil liberties and right to privacy. After George W. Bush’s Presidency, the government passed many domestic policies that greatly affected the lives of the American people. In the 2008 elections, the nation became fed up with how George Bush was handling the national and domestic affairs. In response, the people elected **Barack Obama**, who changed the perception of history forevermore. He was a democrat and his liberal mindset led the country into a new era of promises. During his presidency, he had many priorities he wished to take care of. He pressed the Congress to pass the **healthcare reform** and the **American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.** These programs helped the lives of the average Americans going through the tough times of the recession. Other programs Barack Obama issued were **Race to the Top** and **Cash for Clunkers**. After George W. Bush’s presidency, the people looked toward President Obama in hopes of leading the country out of the recession and expectations to have a stable economy and government. So far, President Obama has created many reforms and programs to give the people relief and lead them in the era of great advances.

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