History of USA

Lecture 7
1. Cold War
2. The War on Terror
3. Major Presidents
Origins of the
Cold War
Cold War Characteristics
• Political, strategic and
ideological struggle between the
US and the USSR that spread
throughout the world
• Struggle that contained
everything short of war
• Competing social and economic
ideologies
 Development
of the Cold War
• The Cold War (1945-91) was one of
perception where neither side fully understood
the intentions and ambitions of the other. This
led to mistrust and military build-ups.
• United States
– U.S. thought that Soviet expansion would
continue and spread throughout the world.
– They saw the Soviet Union as a threat to
their way of life; especially after the Soviet
Union gained control of Eastern Europe.
 Development
of the Cold
War
• Soviet Union
– They felt that they had won World War II. They had
sacrificed the most (25 million vs. 300,000 total
dead) and deserved the “spoils of war.” They had
lost land after WWI because they left the winning
side; now they wanted to gain land because they
had won.
– They wanted to economically raid Eastern Europe
to recoup their expenses during the war.
– They saw the U.S. as a threat to their way of life;
especially after the U.S. development of atomic
weapons.
 Cold War Mobilization
by the U.S.
• Alarmed Americans viewed the Soviet
occupation of eastern European countries
as part of a communist expansion, which
threatened to extend to the rest of the
world.
• In 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech
at Fulton College in Missouri in which he
proclaimed that an “Iron Curtain” had
fallen across Europe.
• In March 1947, U.S. president Harry
Truman proclaimed the Truman Doctrine.
 The Early
Cold War:
1945-1960
 The Ideological Struggle
Soviet & US & the
Eastern Bloc Western
Nations Democracies

GOAL  spread world- GOAL  “Containment”

wide Communism of Communism & the
eventual collapse of the
Communist world.
METHODOLOGIES:
 Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]
 Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
 Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of
Third World peoples  “proxy wars”
 Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]
 Key Concept: What were the six major
strategies of the Cold War?

The six major strategies were:

•1. Brinkmanship,
•2. Espionage,
•3. Foreign aid,
•4. Alliances,
•5. Propaganda,
•6. Surrogate wars. 2.

4.

6.

5.
 A.

Roots of the Cold

War
Shaping of the Post-War World

• The 2 sides disagreed what model

the world should follow
• Yalta violated by both sides
The Bipolarization of Europe
• West takes after the U.S.
• East takes after the Soviet Union
 The “Iron Curtain”
• Divide between Eastern & Western
Europe

From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an

iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind
that line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern
Europe. -- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946
Partition of Germany

•4 zones of
influence after
WWII
•Soviet Union
wanted to punish
Germany for
WWII
•US (& Allies)
wanted to rebuild
B.
 George Kennan & The
Long Telegram & Article X
• U.S. ambassador to the Soviet
Union
• 1946 – writes the “Long
Telegram” and later Article X
• To Truman: the Soviets are
expanding & they must be
contained

“The Soviets ideology is the outside world was hostile and

that it was their duty eventually to overthrow the political
forces beyond their borders”
Truman Doctrine [1947]
• Containment – stopping the spread of
Communism, but not eliminating it from
countries that already are communist
• 1947: Greece and Turkey under threat of
communist parties
• The U. S. should support free peoples
throughout the world who were resisting
takeovers by armed minorities or outside
pressure.
• The U.S. gave Greece & Turkey $400 million
in aid.
• Aid will be provided
to other nations
under threat from
communism
 Marshall Plan [1948]
• Western European nations
threatened by Communism
because of instability
• The U. S. should provide
aid to all European nations
that need it.
• “This move is not against any
country or doctrine, but
Sec of State
George Marshall
against hunger, poverty,
desperation, and chaos.”
• $12.5 billion of US aid to
Western Europe extended to
Eastern Europe & USSR, [but
this was rejected]
Eisenhower Doctrine
• The Eisenhower Doctrine was announced in
a speech to Congress on January 5, 1957.
•It required Congress to yield its war-making
power to the president so that the president
could take immediate military action.
•It created a US commitment to defend the
Middle East against attack by any
communist country.
• The doctrine was made in response to the
possibility of war, threatened as a result of
the USSR’s attempt to use the Suez War as a
pretext to enter Egypt.
– The British and French withdrawals from their
former colonies created a power vacuum that
communists were trying to fill.
 C.
Conflict
over
Germany
1948-49
 Independence?
• 1948 – the U.S.,
France, &
Britain wanted
Germany to
become
independent
• Soviet Union
does not & takes
Berlin Hostage
• Became a
symbolic issue
 Berlin Blockade & Airlift
(1948-49)
•Soviet Union cuts off all ground
transportation in and out of Berlin

•June 1948 – May 1949 U.S. had

to fly all supplies into Berlin

•277,000
flights and 2
million tons
of supplies

•U.S. would win &

blockade ended
 The End Effect
• Germany would be
divided into 2
nations
• West Germany:
Democratic
• East Germany:
Communist
• Berlin continued
to be divided
 D.
The Arms
Race &
Military
Alliances
 NATO: North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
• In 1949 the western nations formed the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization to co- ordinate
their defense against USSR.
•It originally consisted of:
–America
–Belgium
–Britain
–Canada
–Denmark
–France
–Holland
–Italy
–Luxembourg
–Norway
–Portugal
• Since the fall of the Soviet Union in
1991,some former Soviet republics have
NATO flag applied for membership to NATO.
 Warsaw Pact
•Warsaw Pact: organization of communist states in Central and
Eastern Europe.
•Established May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, Poland
•USSR established in in response to NATO treaty
•Founding members:
–Albania (left in 1961 as a result of the Sino-Soviet split)
–Bulgaria
–Czechoslovakia
–Hungary
–Poland
–Romania
– USSR
–East Germany (1956)

Greatest extent of Warsaw Pact

Two Nuclear Powers
} The Soviet Union
exploded its first
A-bomb in 1949.
Hydrogen Bomb
• Both now wanted
stronger nuclear weapons
• U.S. 1st to test a
Hydrogen Bomb in Nov.
1952
• Soviet Union tested
theirs in August 1953
 The Arms Race
• Both nations will now compete to
develop and create more nuclear
weapons
 Arms Race
• Cold War tensions
increased in the US when
the USSR exploded its first
atomic bomb in 1949.

• Cold War tensions

increased in the USSR
when the US exploded its
first hydrogen bomb in
1952. It was 1000 times
more powerful than the
 Space Race
• Cold War tensions increased in the US
when the USSR launched Sputnik I,
the first artificial satellite into
geocentric orbit on October 4, 1957.
– The race to control space was on.

• April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin

became first human in space and
first to orbit Earth.
• US felt a loss of prestige and
increased funding for space
programs and science
education.
• On May 25,1 961, Kennedy
gave a speech challenging
America to land a man on the
moon and return him safely
by the end of the decade.
• Apollo 11 landed on the moon
on July 16, 1969.
The U-2 Incident
• USSR was aware of American U-2 spy missions
but lacked technology to launch
countermeasures until 1960.
–May 1, 1960: CIA agent Francis Gary Powers’ U-
2, was shot down by Soviet missile.
• Powers was unable to activate plane's self-
destruct mechanism before he parachuted to
the ground, right into the hands of the KGB.
• When US learned of Powers' disappearance
over USSR, it issued a cover statement
claiming that a "weather plane" crashed after
its pilot had "difficulties with his oxygen
equipment." US officials did not realize:
– Plane crashed intact,
– Soviets recovered its photography equipment
– Captured Powers, whom they interrogated
extensively for months before he made a
"voluntary confession" and public apology for
his part in US espionage
 The Bay of Pigs Invasion
•The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful attempt by US-backed Cuban exiles to
overthrow the government of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
• Increasing friction between the US and Castro's communist regime led President
Eisenhower to break off diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961.
• Even before that, however, the CIA had been training anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles
for a possible invasion of the island.
•The invasion plan was approved by Eisenhower's successor, John F. Kennedy.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion…
• On April 17, 1961 about 1300 exiles, armed with US weapons, landed at the Bahía
de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the southern coast of Cuba hoping for support from
locals.
• From the start, the exiles were likely to lose. Kennedy had the option of using the
Air Force against the Cubans but decided against it.
• Consequently, the invasion was stopped by Castro's army. The failure of the
invasion seriously embarrassed the Kennedy administration.
–Some critics blamed Kennedy for not giving it adequate support
–Others blamed Kennedy for allowing it to take place at all.
• Additionally, the invasion made Castro wary of the US He was convinced that the
Americans would try to take over the Cuba again.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro watches events during

the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
Berlin Wall
• In the dark on August 13, 1961, a low, barbed-wire barrier rose between East and West
Berlin. Within days, workers cemented concrete blocks into a low wall, dividing neighborhoods
and families, workers and employers, the free from the repressed.
• The USSR called the wall a barrier to Western imperialism, but it also was meant to keep its
people going to the West where the standard of living was much higher and freedoms
greater.
• The West Germans called it Schandmaur, the "Wall of Shame." Over the years, it was rebuilt
three times. Each version of the wall was more higher, stronger, repressive, and
impregnable. Towers and guards with machine guns and dogs stood watch over a barren no
man's land. Forbidden zones, miles wide, were created behind the wall. No one was allowed
to enter the zones. Anyone trying to escape was shot on sight.

Early 1960s view of east side of Berlin Wall with A view from the French sector looking over the
barbed wire at top. wall.
Cuban Missile Crisis
•This was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The US
armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever, and
Soviets in Cuba were prepared to launch nuclear weapons to
defend the island if it were invaded.
• In 1962, the USSR lagged far behind the US in the arms
race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched
against Europe but US missiles were capable of striking the
entire Soviet Union.
• In April 1962, Soviet Premier Khrushchev deployed missiles in
Cuba to provide a deterrent to a potential US attack against
the USSR.
• Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was looking for a way to defend his
island nation from an attack by the US. Ever since the failed
Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Castro felt a second attack was
inevitable. Consequently, he approved of Khrushchev's plan to
place missiles on the island. In the summer of 1962 the USSR
secretly installed the missiles.

CIA map showing range of Soviet supplied

intermediate and medium range missiles if
launched from Cuba
 • The crisis began on October 15, 1962 when
Cuban Missile Crisis… reconnaissance revealed Soviet missiles under
construction in Cuba.
• After seven days of intense debate within the
White House, Kennedy imposed a blockade
around Cuba to stop the arrival of more Soviet
missiles.
• On October 22, Kennedy announced the
discovery of the missiles and his decision to
blockade Cuba and that any attack launched from
Cuba would be regarded as an attack on the
US by the USSR and demanded that the
Soviets remove all of their offensive weapons
from Cuba.
• October 27 was the worst day of the crisis. A
U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba.
• Tensions finally began to ease on October 28
when Khrushchev announced that he would
dismantle the installations and remove the
missiles, expressing his trust that the US would
not invade Cuba.
• Further negotiations were held to implement
the October 28 agreement, including a US
demand that Soviet bombers be removed from
Cuba, and specifying the exact form and
conditions of US assurances not to invade Cuba.
National Defense Budget
 E.

Containment
in Asia
 China: 1949
• Civil War ends
• Becomes communist under Mao Zedong
– Called the People’s Republic of China
• Seen as a major failure of containment
• Nationalists set up their own government
in Taiwan called the Republic of China
United Nations deals with
China
• Which China gets the seat in the
UN?
• ROC given the seat
• Soviet Union will boycott in protest
 War in Korea
1950-1953
• Korea divided at the end of WWII
at 38th parallel
• 1950: N. Korea
invaded S. Korea
• U.S. didn’t want
containment to fail
• Pressures UN to invade
 War in Korea
1950-1953
• Troops led by MacArthur
• Takes war into N. Korea
• China enters the war
War in Korea
1950-1953
• Mac wants to
use the A-
bomb
• Truman fires
him
• Negotiations
begin for a
cease-fire
• Achieved in
1953
 F.
Cold War
Under
Eisenhower
Massive Retaliation
• Created by Sec. of State
Dulles
• Rejection of Containment
• 2 Principals:
1. Encourage
Liberation
2. Retaliation
• Brinkmanship – being on the
verge of war
• “New Look Military”
Eisenhower scales back
army & navy in favor of
nuclear capabilities
 Death of Stalin (1953)
• Nikita Khrushchev
becomes premier
• Believed in “peaceful
coexistence”
• Agreement at Geneva
Summit (1955) for “We will bury you”
nuclear disarmament
• Relations sour after
Hungarian Uprising in
1956
 Sputnik (1957)
• Soviet satellite launched into space
• Showed the U.S. falling behind
technologically
• National Defense Education Act
(NDEA): rigorous education
program
– Science
– Math
– Foreign Lang.
• 1958: U.S. launches satellite
Explorer I
• NASA formed in 1958
 Berlin (Again)
• 1958: Khrushchev
issues ultimatum
– Get out of W. Berlin
• Eisenhower refuses to
give in
• Send Nixon to U.S.S.R
in 1959
– Kitchen Debates
• Khrushchev visits for
2 weeks
• 2 countries agree to
summit in 1960 to
discuss issues
 The Slow Thaw…
•In 1969 Nixon began negotiations with USSR on SALT I, common name for the
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty Agreement.
• SALT I froze the number of ballistic missile launchers at existing levels, and provided
for the addition of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers only after
the same number of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and SLBM launchers
had been dismantled.
• It was the first effort between US/USSR to stop increase nuclear weapons.
• SALT II was a second round of US/USSR talks (1972-1979), which sought to
reduce manufacture of nuclear weapons. SALT II was the first nuclear treaty
seeking real reductions in strategic forces to 2,250 of all categories on both
sides.
Reagan’s Star Wars Interrupts Thaw
•The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposal by President Reagan on in 1983 to use
ground and space-based systems to protect the US from attack by nuclear ballistic missiles.
It focused on strategic defense rather than doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD).
• It was quickly nicknamed “Star Wars.”
•Criticism of SDI:
– It would require the US to change, withdraw from, or break earlier treaties.
– The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which requires "States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in
orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass
destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any
other manner" and would forbid the US from pre-positioning in Earth orbit any devices powered by
nuclear weapons and any devices capable of "mass destruction.“
–The program proposed to use unproven technology.
–The program would cost many billions of dollars.
– It would start a new arms race with the Soviets.
 Cold War Thaw Continues
•Gorbachev becomes Soviet premier and
understands that the Soviet economy cannot
compete with the West, partly because of
Afghanistan and partly because of the costs of
keeping up militarily.
• Gorbachev recognizes there is increasing unrest
in the country.
• He tries to reform the USSR with glasnost (=
openness: think “glass” because you can see
through it) and perestroika (=restructuring: think
“structure/stroika”).
•Gorbachev is further pressured to reform the USSR
when Reagan gives his speech in Germany
challenging Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”

Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev

President Reagan delivers his speech in

Berlin.
The Wall Falls, 1989
• A wave of rebellion against Soviet influence
occurs throughout its European allies.
• Poland’s Solidarity movement breaks the Soviet
hold on that country
• Hungary removed its border restrictions with
Austria.
•Riots and protests break out in East Germany.
• East Germans storm the wall. Confused and
outnumbered, border guards do not fight back.
• The wall is breached.
• Eventually East and West Germany are
reunited in 1990.
 The USSR Dissolves
• On December 21, 1991, the presidents of
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha
Accords declaring the USSR dissolved and
established the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) in its place.
• On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev yielded as the
president of the USSR, declaring the office extinct. He
turned the powers that until then were vested in him
over to Boris Yeltsin, president of Russia.
•The following day, the Supreme Soviet, the highest
governmental body of the Soviet Union,
recognized the collapse of the Soviet Union and
Boris Yeltsin (far left) stands on a dissolved itself.
tank to defy the 1991 coup – This is generally recognized as the official, final
dissolution of the Soviet Union as a functioning state.

Rocky beats Ivan Drago.

 • After Germany was reunified, the Soviet
republics that had once been separate
countries began seeking their independence
also.

• In 1991, Soviet Union was no more and the

Cold War finally ends.

• Many countries were created; Russia was the

largest.
© 2014 Brain Wrinkles
THE WAR ON TERROR

Post 9/11 attacks.

WHAT IS TERRORISM?
TERRORISM…
• DEFINITION:
– THE USE OF
VIOLENCE OR THE
THREAT OF
VIOLENCE TO
ACHIEVE A POLITICAL
GOAL
• TERRORISM IS NOT A
UNIQUELY MIDDLE
EASTERN OR
ISLAMIC
PHENOMENON.
• IT IS NOT A NEW
CREATION.
GOALS OF TERRORISM
• CHANGE OR OVERTHROW A
GOVERNMENT
• GAIN INDEPENDENCE
• SEEK JUSTICE FOR A WRONGED
GROUP
• OBTAIN CONCESSIONS FROM A
GOVERNMENT
• GET NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL
ATTENTION
TERRORISM AGAINST THE US BEFORE 9/11
• TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS CARRIED
OUT ATTACKS ON THE U.S.
AND ITS ALLIES
THROUGHOUT THE LATTER
PART OF THE 20TH
CENTURY
• THERE WERE OCCASIONAL
MILITARY RESPONSES BY
U.S.:
– 1986 – PRES. REAGAN
ORDERED AIR STRIKES
AGAINST LIBYA BECAUSE OF
ITS INVOLVEMENT IN A
BERLIN DISCO BOMBING
THAT KILLED 2 AMERICANS
 BOMBING OF AMERICAN EMBASSIES
• 1998 EMBASSY BOMBINGS IN KENYA AND TANZANIA

PRESIDENT CLINTON LAUNCHED A BOMBING

CAMPAIGN IN SUDAN AND AFGHANISTAN
AGAINST TARGETS ASSOCIATED WITH AL-
QAEDA
AND THEN . . . 9-11, 2001
•
AFGHANISTAN
MAY OF 1996:
– OSAMA BIN LADEN HAD BEEN
LIVING IN AFGHANISTAN ALONG
WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF AL-
QAEDA:
• INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF
ISLAMIC TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS FOUNDED IN 1988
& LED BY OSAMA BIN LADEN
– OPERATED TERRORIST TRAINING
CAMPS IN A LOOSE ALLIANCE WITH
THE TALIBAN:
• ISLAMIST NATIONALIST MOVEMENT
THAT RULED MOST OF
AFGHANISTAN FROM 1996 UNTIL
2001
• FOLLOWING THE 1998 U.S. EMBASSY BOMBINGS IN
AFRICA, THE US MILITARY LAUNCHED SUBMARINE-
BASED CRUISE MISSILES AT THESE CAMPS WITH
LIMITED EFFECT
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL IN 1999 AND 2000 PLACED
SANCTIONS ON THE TALIBAN & ENCOURAGED THEM TO TURN
OVER BIN LADEN FOR TRIAL IN THE EMBASSY BOMBINGS
AFGHANISTAN BEFORE THE TALIBAN
• SOVIET INVASION IN 1979
• MUJAHIDEEN (ISLAMIC WARRIORS)
FOUGHT AGAINST THE SOVIETS WITH
U.S. SUPPORT
• FOLLOWING SOVIET WITHDRAWAL:
– AMERICA LOST INTEREST IN AFGHANISTAN:
• DID NOT INFLUENCE NEW AFGHANI
GOVERNMENT
– BITTER CIVIL WAR
– TALIBAN EMERGES AS A RELIGIOUS AND
POLITICAL FORCE
– TOOK CONTROL OF AFGHANISTAN BY 2000
TALIBAN
 TALIBAN RULE
• RESTRICTIONS ON
FREEDOM AND
VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN
RIGHTS
• WOMEN WERE BANNED
FROM JOBS, SCHOOLS
AND UNIVERSITIES AND
FORCED TO WEAR
BURKAS IN PUBLIC
• THIEVES WERE PUNISHED
BY AMPUTATING ONE OF
THEIR HANDS OR FEET
• ERADICATED THE
MAJORITY OF THE OPIUM
PRODUCTION BY 2001
 THE TALIBAN AND 9/11
• THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION:
– OSAMA BIN LADEN PLANNED 9/11-
CARRIED OUT BY AL-QAEDA
– TALIBAN MUST GIVE UP BIN LADEN
AND OTHER AL-QAEDA OPERATIVES
OR FACE INVASION
• TALIBAN REFUSES TO
NEGOTIATE WITH BUSH,
BECAUSE HE’S A NON-MUSLIM
• SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2001:
– BUSH DECLARES “WAR ON
TERRORISM”
– LIKENS THIS NEW WAR TO THE COLD
WAR
 OPERATION ENDURING
FREEDOM: 2001-PRESENT
• BRITISH AND AMERICAN AIRSTRIKES BEGAN ON
OCTOBER 7, 2001
• MILITIAMEN FROM PAKISTAN POURED INTO
AFGHANISTAN IN SUPPORT OF THE TALIBAN
• AMERICAN SPECIAL FORCES REINFORCED THE
NORTHERN ALLIANCE, A TRADITIONAL ENEMY
OF THE TALIBAN
• ON NOVEMBER 12TH, THE TALIBAN FLED KABUL
AND TOOK REFUGE IN THE MOUNTAIN CAVES
OF TORA BORA WITH AL-QAEDA FIGHTERS
• IT IS BELIEVED BIN LADEN WAS ABLE TO
ESCAPE TO PAKISTAN DURING THE BATTLE FOR
TORA BORA
TALIBAN PRISONERS
 AFTER TORA BORA
• AFTER THE BATTLE FOR
TORA BORA, THE US AND
AFGHANI ALLIES SET UP AN
INTERIM GOVERNMENT LED
BY HAMID KARZAI
• THIS GOVERNMENT HAS
DEMONSTRATED HIGH
LEVELS OF CORRUPTION
• AL-QAEDA AND TALIBAN
FIGHTERS SOUGHT REFUGE
IN THE TRIBAL REGION OF
PAKISTAN
• GUERILLA ATTACKS IN
SOUTH AND EASTERN
AFGHANISTAN INCREASED
FROM ACROSS THE
PAKISTANI BORDER
 AFGHANISTAN TODAY
• CURRENTLY, THE UN LISTS AFGHANISTAN
AS AT RISK FOR BECOMING A “FAILED-
STATE”:
– SUICIDE BOMBINGS, ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS,
AND THE CONTINUED PRESENCE OF AL-QAEDA
AND THE TALIBAN PREVENT THE NEW AFGHANI
DEMOCRACY FROM ACHIEVING LASTING
STABILITY
– OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS THE U.S. HAS
BEEN FORCED TO INCREASE ITS MILITARY
FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN DUE TO THE
RESURGANCE OF THE TALIBAN
 THE END FOR BIN LADEN

• THE FORMER HEAD

OF AL-QAEDA WAS
KILLED IN PAKISTAN
ON MAY 2, 2011, BY
NAVY SEALS. THE
OPERATION, CODE-
NAMED OPERATION
NEPTUNE SPEAR,
WAS ORDERED BY
UNITED STATES
PRESIDENT BARACK
OBAMA.
 DEFENDING THE AMERICAN
HOME FRONT
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
CREATED
• USA PATRIOT ACT:
– ALLOWS U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO:
• FIGHT TERRORISM IN THE U.S. & OVERSEAS
• SEARCH TELEPHONE, E-MAIL, MEDICAL & FINANCIAL
RECORDS
• DETAIN AND DEPORT IMMIGRANTS SUSPECTED OF
TERRORISM
• REGULATE FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING
FOREIGN INDIVIDUALS
– CRITICS SAY THE PATRIOT ACT VIOLATES
AMERICANS’ FIRST AND FOURTH AMENDMENT
RIGHTS
 DETAINEES AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA:

• DETENTION CAMP:
– 750 PRISONERS-MOST
HAVE NOT BEEN
CHARGED WITH ANY
CRIME (DUE PROCESS?)
– ALLEGATIONS OF
HUMILIATION, TORTURE
AND GENERAL
MISTREATMENT
– HAS BECOME A
POLITICALLY DIVISIVE
ISSUE
 OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
• IRAQ:
– PRESIDENT BUSH SAID IT WAS
NECESSARY TO DISARM IRAQ IN
ORDER TO “PROSECUTE THE WAR
ON TERROR”:
• SUSPECTED IRAQ OF PRODUCING
WMDS:
– WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
– NONE FOUND
• CLAIMED IRAQ SUPPORTED AL-
QAEDA & PALESTINIAN SUICIDE
BOMBERS
• IRAQI HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
• SPREAD DEMOCRACY TO IRAQ
– INSURGENCY FOLLOWING THE
INVASION IN 2003
– IRAQ BECAME A BREEDING-GROUND
FOR TERRORIST GROUPS
SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS OVERTHROWN
& EVENTUALLY EXECUTED
 INSURGENCY IN SAUDI ARABIA
• SAUDI ARABIA:
– 2000 TO PRESENT
– RADICAL FIGHTERS
ALLIED WITH AL-
QAEDA
– ATTACKS ON SAUDI
MILITARY, FOREIGN
WORKERS AND
WESTERN TOURISTS
– RESENT AMERICAN
MILITARY PRESENCE
IN THE MUSLIM HOLY
LAND
 PAKISTAN AND WAZIRISTAN
• PAKISTANI-
AFGHANI BORDER:
– TALIBAN AND AL-
QAEDA FIGHTERS
FOUND SUPPORT
WITH THE TRIBAL
WARLORDS IN
WAZIRISTAN
– CIA LED RAIDS IN
PAKISTAN LED TO
THE ARREST OR
KILLING OF
SEVERAL AL-
QAEDA LEADERS
 OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM
HORN OF AFRICA
• HORN OF AFRICA:
– SOMALIA, DJIBOUTI,
KENYA, CHAD, NIGER,
MAURITANIA, MALI AND
ETHIOPIA
– ISLAMIC COURTS UNION
TAKES CONTROL OF
SOMALIA
– SUSPECTED OF
HARBORING AL-QAEDA
MEMBERS-INCLUDING THE
EMBASSY BOMBERS FROM
1998
– U.S. TROOPS DISRUPTED
THE ICU’S ATTEMPTS TO
ESTABLISH ISLAMIC LAW IN
SOMALIA
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM -
PHILIPPINES
• PHILIPPINES:
– US MILITARY HELPED
TRAIN THE FILIPINO
ARMED FORCES
– FIGHTING ISLAMIC
SEPARATISTS
– ALSO BUILT SCHOOLS
AND PROVIDED
MEDICAL SUPPLIES
– NOT ALL ARE HAPPY
TO HAVE A U.S. TROOP
PRESENCE IN THE
PHILIPPINES AGAIN
 OPERATION ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR-
EUROPE
• NATO OPERATION
FOLLOWING 9/11:
– FOCUSED ON THE
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
– DESIGNED TO
DISRUPT THE
MOVEMENT OF
WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION
– GENERAL
ENHANCEMENT OF
SHIPPING SAFETY
What important events occurred
during the presidency of
Dwight D. Eisenhower?
• Dwight D. Eisenhower was president
from 1953 to 1961.
• Under Eisenhower, the U.S. continued a
foreign policy of containment, . . .
. . . used the domino theory to justify its
involvement in Southeast Asia (to help
nations in Southeast Asia resist
communism), . . .
 . . . and used the Eisenhower Doctrine to
help any nation in the Middle East resist
communism.

Over 14,000 U.S. military

advisers sent to Lebanon (1958)
• Under Eisenhower, the U.S.
government focused on improving the
U.S. educational system . . .
. . . after the launch of Sputnik 1 by the
Soviet Union in 1957, which was the
first artificial satellite in space.

Sputnik 1 launch (October 4, 1957)

• During Eisenhower’s presidency, the
U.S. population grew, the U.S. middle
class expanded, and mass migrations
to the suburbs of the U.S. occurred.

Post-World War II
baby boom
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• In the 1954 case Brown v. Board of
Education, the Supreme Court ruled that
public schools were required to be
desegregated.

Linda Brown
• Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little
Rock, Arkansas, in 1957 to enforce the
Supreme Court’s decision to
desegregate public schools.

Little Rock Nine

Richard M. Nixon
 Seeking Peace with Honor
Vietnamization – A Nixon administration policy that turned the
bulk of the ground fighting over to the South Vietnamese Army

Détente – Relaxing Cold War tensions by using diplomatic,

economic, and cultural contacts to improve U.S. relations with
China and the Soviet Union

SALT I (1972) – The first treaty between the Soviet Union and the
United States that limited the deployment of intercontinental and
submarine-launched ballistic missiles and the creation of missile-
defense systems

98 Visions of America, A History of the United States

 Nixon and Detente

• “Realpolitik”
• Detente – easing of
tensions
• Nixon and Kissinger
worked in secret
• Played USSR and China
against each other
• Open’s relations w/ China
• Signs first strategic arms
limitation treaty w/U.S.S.R.
• Nixon could do this as a
lifelong “cold warrior”
 Ping Pong Diplomacy
• Nixon first President to
visit China
• U.S. ping-pong athletes
first to visit China since
1949
• January 1st 1979 the
U.S. officially shifted
diplomatic recognition
from Taipei to Beijing
 WATERGATE - “A THIRD-RATE
BURGLARY”
• June 17, 1972 5 men
arrested for breaking into
Dem party headquarters
• Part of systematic paranoia
about leaks
• Rather than just allow
justice to take its course,
Nixon arranged hush money
and encouraged the CIA to
stop the FBI from
investigating
• Washington Post picks up
story
Saturday Night Massacre
• Senator Baker, “What did
the President know and
when did he know it”?
• Request for White House
tapes
• Nixon tries to fire special
investigator – Attorney
General and Deputy
Attorney General resign in
protest
• Nixon releases only edited
transcripts
• One tape has 18 ½ minute
gap
 U.S. v. Nixon (1974)

• The special prosecutor

appointed by Nixon and
the defendants sought
audio tapes of
conversations recorded
by Nixon in the Oval
Office.
• Is the President's right to
safeguard certain
information, using his
"executive privilege"
confidentiality power,
entirely immune from
judicial review?
The Meaning of Watergate
• Constitution survives crisis
– CHECKS AND BALANCES

• Ford Pardons Nixon

• End of “imperial
presidency”? - Ford first
President not elected to
Pres or VP

• Combined with Vietnam,

further eroded people’s faith
in government

• Campaign finance laws

The Jimmy Carter Presidency

1976-1980
(1977-1981)
TIME -
January
3, 1977
Carter Faces Domestic Challenges

• Jimmy Carter came across as an honest man of deep

religious faith who promised not to lie to the
American people.
• Carter immediately tried to help the nation heal some
of the wounds of the past.
– Ex. He issued a pardon to thousands of Vietnam
War draft dodgers.
• Carter tackled problems in the economy and with
energy.
• Finally, Carter tried to deal with environmental issues.
 Challenges Facing the Nation
The Economy and Energy The Impact
• Inflation and unemployment were • The economy added many new jobs
high. to help battle unemployment.
• Carter made the development of a • Carter was unable to bring down
national energy policy a priority. inflation, in fact, it got worse.
• Wanted to ease dependence on • Carter’s energy policies were
foreign oil through energy successful at helping reduce
conservation, developing new energy American dependence on foreign oil.
supplies, and loosening government
regulation of the American oil • American production of energy
industry increased under Carter.
• Asked Americans to conserve energy
• Promoted the development of
alternative energy sources
 Environmental Concerns
Environmental Wins Environmental Losses
• Believed that conserving fuel was a • In 1979 a mishap at a nuclear power
key way to avoid plundering the plant on Three Mile Island terrified the
environment nation.
• Passed the Alaska National Interest • Although little radiation was released,
Lands Conservation Act public concern about the safety of
nuclear power grew.
• The act protected more than 100
million acres of land and doubled the
size of the nation’s park and wildlife
refuge system.
TIME -
April 25,
1977
 The Energy Crises of the 1970s
• OPEC Oil Embargo of 1974 • Effects:
• Gas Shortages – Seeking of alternative
• Gas-price inflation fuel sources
• 1977- Carter proposes – More fuel-efficient autos
comprehensive National
Energy Policy – Recession
• 1977 - Department of – More domestic
Energy - Cabinet position petroleum exploration
added to Executive Branch and production
The National Energy Act of 1978
• Higher tax on inefficient
cars (gas-guzzlers)
• New utilities to use other
non-petroleum fuel
sources
• Deregulate oil prices
• Provide tax credits for
homeowners seeking to
make their homes more
energy efficient
• Funding for alternative
fuels research
• Focus on nuclear energy
TIME -
April 9,
1979
 Three-Mile Island

• Spring 1979
• Middletown,
Pennsylvania
• Nuclear Power
station
• Media attention and
public backlash to
accident led to
Nuclear Protests all
over the world
• http://video.teacher.hotchalk.com/player/?
id=0&nlcid=9266&vty=353444&ice=t&dataKey=
121077581652#videoid=130767
Jimmy Carter: Foreign Policy
• 1977
– The Panama Canal Treaty *
• 1978
– Camp David Accords *
• 1979
– Iranian Hostage Crisis
• 1980
– Continuing Hostage Crisis
– Boycott of Moscow Summer Olympics
 Carter’s Foreign Policy
Panama Canal Camp David Accords
• American control of the Panama • Greatest foreign-policy
Canal had been a source of achievement
conflict between the two
countries. • Conflict between Egypt and
Israel continued. Egypt would not
• In 1977 Carter and Panama’s recognize Israel and Israel
leader agreed that Panama would continued to occupy Egyptian
take control of the canal by the territory.
end of 1999.
• Carter guided Anwar el-Sadat
• The Senate narrowly approved and Menachem Begin to a
the treaties. historic agreement that came to
be called the Camp David
• For some Americans, loss of Accords.
control of the canal represented a
decline in American power. • Begin and Sadat won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1979.
Camp David Peace Accords
• Anwar el-Sadat (EGYPT)
• Menachem Begin (ISRAEL)
• September, 1978 at Camp
David Presidential retreat
center, Maryland.
Camp David Peace Accords
• Israel to withdraw from
Sinai Peninsula
(occupied since 6-day
war in 1967)
• Egypt - 1st Arab
country to recognize the
existence of the nation
of Israel
US-Iranian Relations
• US supported Shah (King)
of Iran
• The Shah had modernized
Iran
• Supplier of oil and pro-
Western leadership in the
region.
• US overlooked repression
and corruption of his
administration
 The Iranian Revolution
• January, 1979
• Backed by Muslim
Fundamentalists and
liberal critics of the Shah
• The Shah fled Iran
• Replaced by Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini - who
had been exiled
– Extremely anti-Western
• October, 1979 - President
Carter allowed Shah into
US for cancer treatment.
Seizing the US Embassy in Tehran
• Nov. 4, 1979
• Followers of Khomeini
seized US Embassy
• 52 American hostages
taken
• Hostages terrorized and
threatened
• http://video.teacher.hotchalk.com/player/?
id=0&nlcid=9266&vty=353444&ice=t&dataKey=121
077581652#videoid=136823
 444 Days
• American public increasingly
impatient for hostages release
• Nightline with Ted Koppel
began nightly news updates
and broadcasts
• Carter tried:
– Broke diplomatic relations with
Iran
– Froze Iranian assets in the US
– 1980 Commando Mission to
rescue hostages (disastrous
crash in Iranian desert)
• 8 US soldiers died
• US internationally humiliated
 • Hostages released
Hostages released… and sent home -
January 20-21,
1981
• Inauguration of
Ronald Reagan -
same day
• Reagan sent
Carter (as a
private citizen)
the day of the
inauguration to
greet the freed
hostages
 A Crisis of Confidence
• The Iranian Hostage situation dragged on
throughout the presidential election year of
1980.
• The situation in Iran also drove up gasoline
prices so that prices of goods in the United
States went up and inflation soared.
• Many voters held Carter responsible for the
problems and the downcast mood of the
country.
 1980
• Carter’s administration gradually lost the confidence
of the American public. (A Crisis of Confidence)
• Continued rising inflation rates
• Approval rating of 21%
• Unemployment nationally - 7% +
• Election year: Carter lost to Republican Ronald
Reagan in November of 1980 by a wide margin.
 Ronald Reagan 1981-1989
B Movie Actor (and Governor
of California)
Old Man (oldest president
ever)
Stood for lower taxes,
traditional American values,
and military preparedness
(especially vs. USSR, which
he called “The Evil Empire”)
Conservative Resurgence
coupled with bad economic
times in the late 70s, helped
Reagan win the 1980
Presidential election.
“Government is not the
solution, government is the
problem.”
 “Reagonomics”
Supply-Side (trickle-down) economics:
•Cut taxes (and thus domestic/social spending*) so that the
private sector would invest more, leading to increased
production, jobs, and prosperity.
•Cutting taxes to the rich was seen as especially useful
(why?).
•Economic Recovery Act: Cut overall federal taxes by 25%;
28% for the wealthiest Americans.
•Also reduced government regulation of industry
*Note that the spending savings was greatly offset by
dramatic increase in military spending
 Results of Reaganomics
• Economy sputtered from 1981-82, but greatly
improved by 1983.
• Rich got richer (yuppies), but the number of poor
increased, and the middle class standard of living
remained stagnant or slightly decreased.
• The return of American prosperity, even if not fully
shared by all Americans, earned Reagan a landslide
victory in his 1984 re-election bid
• Deficit spending -Budget deficits (and therefore the
national debt) increased dramatically between 1981
and 1986…but that would be dealt with later, by
Bush Sr.
The End of the Cold War
 Reagan Built Up the Military

• Reagan significantly increased military

spending in the Cold War, both nuclear
and conventional arms increased.
• Increased military spending from 100
billion to 300 billion per year during his
presidency.
• Believed (correctly) that the USSR
could not compete with this type of
spending
 SDI
• Strategic Defense Initiative: meant to
create a system of anti-missile
defenses to protect the United States.
This was something the USSR could
definitely not pursue, economically…
may have ben the last straw for them.
 Fought Communism
• Supported the Contras: anti-communist rebels in
Nicaragua (funded by 1986 sales of arms to Iran …
Iran-Contra Affair Scandal…oops)
• Removed a leftist dictator from power in Grenada
• Supported a right-wing government in El Salvador
against leftest rebels
• Continued to aid Afghanistani anti-Soviet
rebels.
Why Change in the Soviet Union
• Huge economic problems in the USSR
• Their war in Afghanistan had drained their
economy
• Gorbachev (to power in 1985): Perestroika
(economic reform) and Glasnot
(openness)
 Gorbachev and Reagan
• Met four times between 1985 and 1989
to discuss arms reduction, Soviet pull-
out of Afghanistan and diplomatic
cooperation…The two men turned out
to be friends.
 Berlin Wall Fell in 1989
• “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”…
East Germans were at last allowed into
West Berlin.
• Bush Sr. President by this time
The Soviet Union Broke Up in
1991, and the Cold War Was
Officially Over
President Bill Clinton
1992-2000
 The Election of 1992
In the 1992 election, George Bush lost
to Arkansas governor Bill Clinton
 Bill Clinton - Democrat

• Arkansas governor
1979-81, 1983-93 –
youngest in country (32)
• Pushed for middle class
tax cuts and a national
health care system
• Strong alliance with his
wife, Hillary Rodham
Clinton, when dealing
with politics
 1992 Election
• Running mate, Senator Al Gore
of Tennessee
• Three way race – Clinton (D),
George H.W. Bush (R), H. Ross
Perot (I)
• Clinton presented himself as
protector of the middle class
A New Democrat
• Centrists who sought to
reconcile liberal and
conservative ideals
• Strong National Defense
• Tough Stands on Crime
• Free Trade
• Welfare Reform
• Closer Ties with Corporations
• Gov’t necessary but had grown
too large and inefficient
 Domestic Policy – Budget Deficit
• Increased taxes (went against campaign promise to middle
class) to deal with budget deficit
• Critics felt tax increase would hurt economy – did not
• Presidency longest period of sustained economic growth in
U.S. history
The Presidency of Bill Clinton
Clinton defined himself a “new
Democrat” by embracing both
liberal & conservative policies
Clinton worked
In 1997, with Congress
Clinton cut to reduce the
gov’t federal deficit
spending & & balance the
federal budget
lowered
taxes
 Foreign Policy
Clinton signed
the North
American
Free Trade
Agreement
(NAFTA) which
reduced trade
barriers among
USA, Mexico, &
Canada
(strongest
among big
businesses)
 Foreign Policy
• The chief reason that the United States sent
troops to Bosnia in 1995 was to try to bring a
peaceful end to the Civil War
George W. Bush Presidency

2000–2008
 George W. Bush’s domestic policy

• As Bush took office the economy began to slow.

– Dot.com profits failed to appear.
– Stock prices were hurt by dishonest accounting
practice scandals.
• Bush pushed tax cuts to fulfill campaign promises and to
spur the slumping economy.
– New laws cut taxes, reduced the marriage penalty,
and lowered the estate tax.
– The economy did not improve, it went into a
recession.
– Tax cuts in 2003 eliminated the tax on dividends.
 Bush’s Domestic Policy

• Bush announced the No Child Left Behind Act to

improve education.
Education
• States were required to develop academic
standards and test students annually to ensure that
the standards were being met.

• In 2003 Bush updated the Medicare program.

Health
Care • Included a benefit to help Medicare recipients pay
for prescription medicine.

• Established the White House Office of Faith-Based

Other Initiatives to help religious community-service
Issues organizations develop greater access to federal
funding.
 Bush’s Second Term

Bush ran against Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts

and won re-election in another close contest.

Bush announced his plan to reform Social Security.

By late 2005, Congress had still not acted on Bush’s idea
to privatize Social Security.

Bush also filled vacancies on the Supreme Court.

John Roberts was confirmed as Chief Justice. Bush
named Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O’Connor but
she withdrew her name from contention.
Bush nominated conservative judge Samuel Alito to
replace O’Connor in 2005.
 September 11, 2001

• 19 al-Qaeda terrorists coordinated attack

– 8:45 am North Tower struck by American Airlines Flight
11
– 9:03 am South Tower struck by United Airlines Flight
175
– 9:43 am Pentagon struck by American Airlines Flight 77
– 10:10 am United Airlines Flight 93 crashes in
Shanksville, PA
– 8:30 pm President Bush's Address
 Obama
• One of the first actions
Obama takes is to introduce
a stimulus package
– $830 billon to bail out the
banks and keep
unemployment from
rising over 8%
• TARP: Troubled Assets
Relief Program
• Additional regulations to
hold regulators accountable
Major Events in Barack Obama’s First Term
Major Events in Barack Obama’s First Term
Major Events in Barack Obama’s First Term
Election of 2008