home

=__**Chapter 24 Section 3 and 4**__ =



Section 3: Bush Takes Over

 * In 1988, Vice President //George Bush// broke a 152-year-old tradition by running for President and winning.

The Election of 1988

 * Democrats found more than half dozen candidates to go against Bush, Governor of Massachusetts, //Michael Dukakis// and Reverend //Jesse// //Jackson// let this group.
 * In the end Democrats chose Dukakis and his running man was Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas.
 * Bush won in both popular and electoral vote. Dukakis continued to hold majority in both houses of Congress though.

**The New President **

 * Bush brought a wide range of experience to the White House for being the President.
 * Bush said "A new breeze was blowing," meaning he would not follow the old ideas and attitudes of Reagan.
 * He stressed a moderate course.

Drugs, Education, and the Environment

 * George Bush appointed //William Bennett// to be a "Drug Czar".
 * In 1990 Bennett resigned and //Bob Martinez// took his place.
 * Bush appointed //William Reilly// to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
 * 17 million manufacturing nuclear weapon plants were closed, it could rise to $200 billion.

The Savings and Loan Crisis

 * A rash of savings bank failures put even ore pressure on the nation's finances.
 * Many banks were crashing and they got money.

**Reducing the Deficit **

 * In 1988, president Bush firmly pledged not to raise taxes.
 * If they failed to pass a budget by October 1st, the automatic budget cuts called for in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act would go into effect.

The Elections of 1990

 * Voters reelected most of Congress.
 * Political leaders faced and angry public.

Flags and the Supreme Court

 * The Court struck down a Texas law that had made burning the American flag a crime.
 * They ruled that burning the flag was a form of freedom of speech.

The End of the Cold War?

 * Since the end of World War II, Soviet-dominated governments had controlled the nations of Eastern Europe.
 * //Lech Walesa// won as the President of Poland in 1990, Lech was the founder of the Solidarity which was and independent labor union.
 * A wall comes down.**
 * Communists East Germany had built the wall in 1961 to prevent its citizens from fleeing to the West.
 * On November 9th, 1989, hundreds of East Berliners rushed through the gates of the Berlin Wall that was now open.
 * NATO and The Soviet Union after 45 years of separation became one nation again.
 * Moving toward democracy.**
 * In Czechoslovakia, the communist government was forced to resign in 1989.
 * The Czechs then chose as their new president Vaclav Havel, who had been jailed several times by the communist government.
 * The American response.**
 * In 1989, Lech Valesa visited the United States followed by Vaclav Havel in 1990.
 * Bush's 1990 budget called fro only as small reduction in defense spending.

New Directions in Latin America

 * In February 1990, Nicaragua held elections. Everyone thought Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista Party would win, but Violeta Chamorro won handily.
 * Invasion of Panama.**
 * On December 20, 1989, President Bush sent American military forces into Panama.

Unrest in China

 * Bush thought he could better influence Chinese behavior by keeping diplomatic channels open, because in 1989 many Chinese were arrested.

A Policy Toward South Africa

 * __Economic Sanctions__- are limits on trade and investment.
 * __Divestiture__- Policy where many American universities and some state governments sold their stock in companies that operated in South Africa.

War Clouds in the Middle East

 * A complex threat.**
 * If Saddam conquered Saudi Arabie as well as Kuwait, he would control more than 80 percent of the oil in the region.
 * The world responds.**
 * President Bush immediately dispatched American forces to Saudi Arabia.

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Fugitives in a Desert Drama

 * Iraq tanks rumbled through the streets of Kuwait City. Saddam Hussein allowed some women and children foreigners to leave Kuwait.
 * Jeff Rickert, a chemical worker from North Carolina, saw his wife off at the Kuwaiti airport on August 14th.

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">War in the Persian Gulf

 * In November 1990 President Bush convinced the United Nations Security Council to declare January 15, 1991, as a deadline for Iraq's removal from Kuwait.
 * On January 16th, the United States and other nations including Saudi Arabia and Britain launched an air attack on Iraq.