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The growth of Radio Stations
The growth of radio talk shows gave Republicans the ability to have a platform and spread the message, a quote says, "Much as Gingrich used the new media of C-SPAN to attack House Democrats, other Conservatives made use of 'Talk Radio' to attack liberalism at large." (Kruze and Zelizer, 214) The radio shows that were produced were produced to push a certain agenda to the American people, which had a large impact on the growth of people identifying as republicans. -
Clinton's State of the Union Address
Clinton's state of the union address was a big turning point in America and created a larger focus on preventing government from taking complete control, a quote says, "Clinton insisted-twice for good measure that 'the era of big government is over'" (Kruse and Zelzier, 219) this pushed a movement of a less overbearing government while creating a more efficient government at the same time. He shared many of the things he would be pushing to fix like affirmative action and welfare reform. -
Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal
Monica Lewinsky started as an unpaid intern in the White House, where she and Clinton quickly began to have an affair. This was reported to many news outlets, which led Lewinsky to be accused, where she claimed they never had a sexual relationship; this was later proven wrong. Lewinsky and Clinton were also caught coaching witnesses on what to say and what not to say. These events quickly led to the impeachment of Clinton and his taking a step away from office. (EBSCO.com) -
Columbine Shooting
The Columbine was one of the most deadly school shootings in all of America; it left 14 dead, not including the two shooters. It left many families shaken after the events because it made people feel like their kids would not be safe at school. This event was met with criticism of the police for their slow response time. This event to this day prompts many questions, while school shootings are still prominent in the world we live in today, and are not a thing of the past. (Britannica.com) -
George W. Bush vs Al Gore
The election of Bush vs Gore created an issue because the votes were so close in Florida, which was one of the states that would determine the new president. At the time, Gore demanded a manual recount of the votes, which caused arguments based on deadlines that the votes must be counted. The Supreme Court later ruled that the recounting of votes "violated the equal rights protection act and that there was no legal standard to recount the votes" (constitutioncenter.org) -
September 11th Attacks
The terrorist attacks on the twin towers and the attempted attacks that took place afterwards claimed 3,000 lives and had a large impact on people globally. The September attacks were unlike anything that Americans had seen before and were a direct attack on our country, which called many things into question. Things like how we can prevent this from happening in the future, and how we can, as a country, move forward from this together to create a stronger, more united America. (Archives.gov) -
Department of Homeland Security
The September 11th attacks were the main thing that called for the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The American people felt unsafe in their everyday lives, doing things like going to work, being out to eat, or even going to a park were all things that caused uneasy feelings for the average American. It was created from the passing of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to try and protect Americans and seek retribution from the people responsible for the attacks. (EBSCO.com) -
Hurricane Katrina
This hurricane struck the southeastern United States and claimed more than 1,800 lives. New Orleans, where the most damage occurred, is below sea level, which means that the storm hitting there almost completely submerged the area, and it was 80% underwater. 1.2 million people evacuated, but many didn't leave. It wasn't until a decade after the storm that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acknowledged flaws in the construction of the city’s levee and flood-protection system. (Britannica.com) -
Barack Obama
Barack Obama was the 44th president and was the first African American president of the United States. In 2009, "residents in many countries expressed a sharp increase in confidence in the ability of the U.S. president to do the right thing in international affairs" (pewresearch.org) During his time as president many social issues that had been not looked at before came into question and ultimatley lead to things like a better economy, a rise in black voters, and a shift in many social issues. -
Same Sex Marrige
The Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples, regardless of where they live in the United States, had the same marriage rights as opposite-sex couples. This was a landmark decision for many people in same-sex relationships as it affirmed them and their relationships. The president at the time, Barack Obama, said the ruling was "A victory for America" (npr.org). When the ruling was made, it not only gave marriage rights to everyone but also gave hope that it would strengthen all communities.