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Unit 13 Key Terms
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George H. W. Bush
41st president of the United States, served one term. during his presidency, the Cold War ended, the Soviet Union collapsed, new relations with Russia sparked agreements to dismantle strategic weapons, and the ideas for NAFTA and tariff reductions were tossed around. -
Third Party Candidates
candidate that does not belong to either of the two major political parties (Democrats and Republicans). these candidates can sometimes change an election by causing a mainline party candidate to lose by gaining some of their votes for themselves. -
Sierra Club
national organization that was founded in 1892 by conservationists such as John Muir. their goal is to protect the environment and influence public policies on the environment through legislation and lobbying. -
Collapse of Soviet Union
the fall of the Berlin Wall symbolized the collapse of the Soviet Union, which broke up into 16 independent nations. the primary reason for this collapse was the Cold War - the arms race and the financial demand. -
Bill Clinton
42nd president of the United States, served 2 terms. impeached in 1998 for lying under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinski. his impeachment caused a decine of public trust in the government. -
Greenpeace
environmental organization founded in 1972 that is not affiliated with the government. it works for environmental conservation and the preservation of endangered species in multiple countries around the world. in the 90's Greenpeace played a huge role in making global warming publically aware. they created an alternative refrigerator that was less harmful to the environment in 1992. -
WTO
a.k.a. World Trade Organization, and international body founded to promote trade and economic development by reducing tariffs. the U.S. supported the WTO because it would increase the flow of U.S. commerce. -
Kyoto Protocol
agreement between countries all over the world to reduce the production of carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases -
George W. Bush
43rd president of the United States, served two terms. he wanted to focus on domestic issues during his presidency. in 2002 he signed the No Child Left Behind Act. in 2001, the terrorist attacks on 9/11 changed his focus to the War on Terror. the Department of Homeland Security was formed, the U.S. went to war with Afghanistan in 2001, and later with Iraq in 2003. -
Hillary Clinton
she has served as a U.S. Senator of New York, a First Lady, and as the Secretary of State. Clinton was the First Lady that was involved the most in politics. -
Donald Rumsfeld
American businessman and politician. he was the 13th Secretary of Defense under Gerald Ford's presidency, and again as the 21st Secretary of Defense for George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2006. -
Osama Bin Laden
the founder and leader of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. he was the primary suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. when the U.S. had a presence in Saudi Arabia, he resented both the U.S. and the Saudi Arabian governements. He was pronounced dead when Navy Seals stormed his house in Pakistan on May 2, 2011. -
9/11
on 9/11, terrorists hijacked commercial airplanes and flew them into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and tried to fly one into the White House. about 3000 people died from this attack, and it changed America. the U.S. began to focus their foreign policy on combating terrorism, a.k.a. the War on Terror, which has actually caused an increase in terrorism. -
USA PATRIOT Act
a.k.a. Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. it was passed after the 9/11 attack and it gave law enforcement agencies increased and more widespread powers in order to bring terrorists to justice. there has been much debate over this act because it is thought to limit constitutional rights -
International Criminal Court
a.k.a. ICC, it is a court system between countries that deals mainly with trials involving genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. the U.S. sees the ICC as a good thing due to the credibility received by following other nations' rules, but also as a bad thing because there are U.S. soldiers and officials charged with war crimes and not being tried in the U.S. -
Saddam Hussein
"puppet" that the U.S. put into power as the president of Iraq. the U.S. strongly supported Hussein's position because their ally, Great Britain, wanted Iranian oil, and Hussein would help them. however, when he decided to invade Kuwait, one of the largest oil producers, U.S. opinions about Hussein changed. in 2006, he was assassinated. -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was categorized as a Category 5 hurricane, and became one of the most destructive and deadliest hurricanes in the U.S. when it hit New Orleans, the failure of the levees to hold, citizens that did not evacuate, and the location of the city below sea level are some of the factors that led to the intensified destruction of the New Orleans area. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2008
ARRA was created to help the economy recover from the 2008 economic crisis and the recession that followed. it was designed to get more money to American families and small businesses. -
Sonya Sotomayor
first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court. she currently holds a Justice position.
