Transcript Chapter 31.2 Lecture Station - Waverly

Exploring American History
Unit X – Modern America
Chapter 31– America Looks to the
Future
Section 2 – George W. Bush in Office
George W. Bush in Office
The Big Idea
George W. Bush led the country in response to terrorist
attacks and through domestic challenges.
Main Ideas
• George W. Bush won the disputed 2000 presidential
election.
• Americans debated the future of the War on Terror that
began after terrorists attacked the United States.
• The nation faced difficult challenges during President
Bush’s second term.
Main Idea 1:
George W. Bush won the disputed 2000
presidential election.

United States at peace and enjoying economic prosperity at
time of 2000 election.

Democratic candidate: Vice President Al Gore
– Said he would use budget surplus for education and health care

Republican candidate: Texas governor George W. Bush, son
of former President George H. W. Bush
– Promised to return budget surplus to taxpayers in the form of tax
cuts

Voting was very close
– It became clear that Florida’s twenty-five electoral votes would
determine the outcome of the election.
– Popular vote in Florida was so close that state law required the
votes to be recounted.
Election of 2000

Election of 2000
– Candidates:
• Republican- George Bush
• Democrat- Al Gore
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Campaign issues
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abortion
campaign financing reform
defense
economy/energy
education
gun control
environment
Health care
taxes
– Outcome- Closest in American
History. Between Nov. 8 and Dec.
13 after the Supreme ordered no
further recounts, there were various
recounts. 50,996,000 to 50,456,000
votes. 271-266 electoral.
Election Results
Election Disputes
Bush’s Early Days in Office
• Machine recount found Bush
received a few hundred more
votes than Gore.
• Caused lasting bitterness
between Democrats and
Republicans.
• Gore supporters demanded a
recount by hand to ensure
proper counting.
• Bush appointed Colin Powell to
key position of secretary of
state, the first African
American to hold the office.
• Supreme Court ruled that
manual recounts could not
ensure all votes would be
counted in the same way.
• Florida’s votes went to Bush,
making him the first president
in more than 100 years to win
the electoral vote while
receiving fewer popular votes.
• Signed into law $1.35 trillion
tax-cut plan
• Signed into law a reform plan
called No Child Left Behind,
creating a national set of
educational standards and
increasing school funding
President George Bush



43rd President- 2001- 2005 Republican
Who was he?
Domestic Policies
– $1.6 Trillion tax cut- primarily to help
wealthy.
– Sept. 11 Terrorist attack on World Trade
Center and the Pentagon have push
emphasis on foreign affairs.
– Office of Homeland Security
– Slow response to financial scandals- Enron
– Signed corporate-fraud bill - July 2002
– 2003- cut taxes by $670 billion over 10
years. Over 1/2 benefits go to 10% richest
Americans.
President George Bush

Foreign Policies
– International Terrorism
• Taliban in Afghanistan
• Osama bin Laden and
al-Qaeda
• Axis of Evil- Iraq, Iran,
and North Korea.
• Operation Iraqi
Freedom- March 19,
2003 and the capture of
Saddam.
• High Tariffs on steel.
• Alienated many allies.
Main Idea 2:
Americans debated the future of the War on Terror
that began after terrorists attacked the United
States.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists seized four
commercial planes, intending to fly them into major
targets.
– Two planes crashed into and destroyed the World Trade
Center, an important business center in New York City.
– One plane crashed into the Pentagon– the headquarters of
the Department of Defense located just outside
Washington, D.C.
– A fourth plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field after
passengers began fighting back against the terrorists.

Thousands of Americans were killed in the attacks,
including emergency rescue workers.
The National Strategy for Homeland
Security and the Homeland Security Act of 2002
served to mobilize and organize our nation to
secure the homeland from terrorist attacks.

Critical Mission Areas
– Intelligence and warning
– Border and Transportation Security
– Domestic Counterterrorism
– Protecting Critical Infrastructures and Key
Assets.
– Defending against Catastrophic Threats.
– Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Dept. of Homeland Security
Strategic Goals
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Awareness -- Identify and understand threats, assess vulnerabilities, determine potential
impacts and disseminate timely information to our homeland security partners and the
American public.

Prevention -- Detect, deter and mitigate threats to our homeland.

Protection -- Safeguard our people and their freedoms, critical infrastructure, property and
the economy of our Nation from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies.

Response -- Lead, manage and coordinate the national response to acts of terrorism, natural
disasters, or other emergencies.
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Recovery -- Lead national, state, local and private sector efforts to restore services and
rebuild communities after acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies.

Service -- Serve the public effectively by facilitating lawful trade, travel and immigration.

Organizational Excellence -- Value our most important resource, our people. Create a
culture that promotes a common identity, innovation, mutual respect, accountability and
teamwork to achieve efficiencies, effectiveness, and operational synergies.
The Nation Pulls Together

The tragedy brought Americans together.
– There was an outpouring of support from foreign leaders and
U.S. citizens.

President Bush promised to find and punish those
responsible for the attacks.

U.S. officials determined that the hijackers were
members of a fundamentalist Islamic terrorist group
called al Qaeda, or “the Base.”
– Led by a wealthy Saudi Arabian exile, Osama bin Laden
– Group based in Afghanistan where the Taliban, an extreme
Islamic government, ruled the country
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Taliban leaders refused to turn over bin Laden, and the
United States prepared for military action.
The Fight Against Terrorism
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In October 2001 the United States began air strikes in Afghanistan.
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By December U.S. forced had driven Taliban from power and captured
many al Qaeda members.
– Began helping Afghanistan to rebuild and establish a democratic government

In 2002 UN inspectors were sent to Iraq to ensure that Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein fulfilled his promise to give up weapons of mass
destruction– chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons that can kill
thousands.
– Saddam interfered with inspectors’ work.
– UN members could not agree on how to handle the crisis.

On March 23, 2003, the United States and a coalition of allies launched an
attack on Iraq.

By December 2003 Saddam’s government had collapsed and Saddam
was captured.
– U.S. officials began working with Iraqis to establish a democratic government.
– Violence continued.
The military objectives of Operation Iraqi
Freedom
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First, ending the regime of Saddam Hussein.
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Second, to identify, isolate and eliminate, Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction.
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Third, to search for, to capture and to drive out terrorists from the country.
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Fourth, to collect intelligence related to terrorist networks.
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Fifth, to collect such intelligence as is related to the global network of illicit
weapons of mass destruction.
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Sixth, to end sanctions and to immediately deliver humanitarian support to
the displaced and to many needed citizens.
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Seventh, to secure Iraq's oil fields and resources, which belong to the Iraqi
people.
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Finally, to help the Iraqi people create conditions for a transition to a
representative self-government.
Operation Iraqi Freedom Reasons
For
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Generally, Hussein is a proven threat to
international security, he is interested in
developing chemical, biological, and nuclear
weapons and has shown a willingness to use such
weapons on Iraq's neighbors but also against
Iraq's Kurdish population.
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Alternatives to invasion won't solve the problem.
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If Iraq were to acquire Weapons of Mass
Destruction it could threaten regional stability and
deter any potential military action against Iraq.
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Winning the war would be easy and the costs
would be minimal
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Removing Hussein would be consistent with the
goals of the war on terrorism.
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The Iraqi people would support this action

Toppling Hussein will have little or no negative
impacts the region.
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If Hussein develops chemical, biological or nuclear
weapons he could give the weapons to terrorist
organization who could use those materials against
the United States or its allies.
Against
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Iraq is effectively contained.
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Inspections will work and were successful in
the 1990s.
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The United States' nuclear capability
currently deters Hussein from using WMD on
its neighbors.
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The costs of this war could be prohibitive.
Reports indicate that over 200,000 troops
could be needed and that the war could cost
$80 billion.
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Invading Iraq will hurt the war on terrorism.
A US attack will alienate Muslim countries
especially the Arab
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The conflict between the Israelis and the
Palestinians centers on cultural and territorial
issues that transcend political systems.
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Iran, fearing that it could be the next state to
be attacked, could nuclearize.
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Fears that Iraq would give WMD to terrorists
lack credibility.
Debates at Home

War in Iraq caused fierce debate at home.
– Supporters of the war argued that removing Hussein from
power was an important part of the war on terror.
– Critics doubted that Saddam had posed a serious threat to the
United States as no weapons of mass destruction were found
and no concrete ties to al Qaeda could be proved.
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Democratic nominee: Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
– Argued that Bush rushed into war.
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Republican nominee: President George Bush
– Insisted that the war had made Americans safer and brought
freedom to millions of Iraqis.
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Bush won the election with 286 electoral votes to Kerry’s 251.
Main Idea 3:
The nation faced difficult challenges during
President Bush’s second term.
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After the 2004 election, four of the president’s cabinet members
stepped down.
– Condoleezza Rice became the first African American woman to be
appointed secretary of state.
– Alberto Gonzales became the first Hispanic attorney general.
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In 2005 two vacancies opened on the Supreme Court, and President
Bush nominated replacements.
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Bush’s administration faced major domestic challenges in August
2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast region.
– New Orleans was hardest hit, where thousands of residents who
weathered the storm in the city were left with few or no resources and no
way to evacuate.
– Many criticized the local, state, and federal governments for what they
believed was an inadequate response to the crisis.
– The Bush administration worked to step up the response to states hardest
hit by the disaster.