Printed Page 970-880-860(cont.)

America’s History: Printed Page 970

America: A Concise History: Printed Page 880

America’s History: Value Edition: Printed Page 860

Global Capitalism and the End of the American Century

1980 to the Present

Question

Thematic Understanding This timeline arranges some of the important events of this period into themes. Consider the entries under “Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture” and “Peopling.” What were the major events of the “culture wars,” and how did American attitudes and public policy change over the decades between the 1980s and the 2010s?
AMERICA IN THE WORLD POLITICS AND POWER IDEAS, BELIEFS, AND CULTURE PEOPLING WORK, EXCHANGE, AND TECHNOLOGY
1980

  • Ronald Reagan begins arms buildup

  • United States arms Contras in Nicaragua

  • Berlin Wall comes down (1989)

  • New Right helps elect Ronald Reagan president

  • Iran-Contra scandal (1985–1987)

  • George H. W. Bush elected president (1988)

  • HIV/AIDS crisis prompts national conversation about homosexuality

  • Renewed emphasis on material success and the “rich and famous”

  • Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)

  • Rise in Latino and Asian immigration

  • Californians vote to establish English as official language (1986)

  • Recession (1981–1982) followed by strong growth (1982–1987)

  • Reagan tax cut (1981)

  • Apple personal computer introduced (1983)

  • National debt triples (1981–1989)
1990

  • Persian Gulf War (1990–1991)

  • USSR breaks apart; end of Cold War

  • Al Qaeda bombs World Trade Center (1993)

  • UN peacekeeping forces in Bosnia (1992–1995)

  • Bill Clinton elected president (1992)

  • Republican resurgence (1994)

  • Welfare reform (1996)

  • Clinton impeached and acquitted (1998–1999)

  • Pat Buchanan declares “culture war” (1992)

  • Proposition 209 ends affirmative action in California universities

  • Defense of Marriage Act (1998)

  • WTO protests in Seattle (1999)

  • Backlash against “multiculturalism”

  • California bans bilingual education in public schools (1998)

  • Internet gains in popularity

  • Recession (1990–1991)

  • NAFTA ratified (1993)

  • Debt reduction under Bill Clinton
2000

  • Al Qaeda attacks World Trade Center and Pentagon (2001)

  • United States and allies invade Afghanistan (2002)

  • United States invades Iraq (2004)

  • George W. Bush wins presidency in contested election (2000)

  • USA PATRIOT Act (2002)

  • Barack Obama elected first African American president (2008)

  • Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

  • Massachusetts becomes first state to legalize same-sex marriage (2004); nine states follow by 2012

  • “War on terror” becomes fixture in American discourse

  • New scrutiny of airport passengers after 9/11

  • California, Texas, Hawaii, and New Mexico become “majority-minority” states (where the majority of the population is composed of minorities)

  • Crisis in newspaper industry

  • Great Recession (2007–2010)

  • President Bush asks for and receives bank bailout from Congress (2008)

  • Unemployment hits 10 percent
2010

  • Arab Spring (2010–2012)

  • Osama bin Laden killed (2011)

  • Last combat troops withdrawn from Iraq (2011)

  • Health-care reform (2010)

  • Tea Party helps Republicans regain control of House of Representatives

  • Barack Obama reelected president (2012)

  • Congress and President Obama end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in U.S. military (2011)

  • Obama’s 2012 electoral coalition heavily African American, Hispanic, Asian American, female, and young

  • Financial industry accounts for largest share of GDP among all industry sectors