President Jimmy Carter(D)-39th1977-1981

• Only U.S. President to have received the Nobel Peace Prize after leaving office

• Had been a peanut farmer and governor of Georgia before being President

• Strongly emphasized human rights as President

• Has been a very active former President

Presidential Accomplishments

• Created two new cabinet-level departments-- the Department of Energy and the Department of Education

• Declared amnesty to Vietnam draft dodgers • He encouraged energy conservation and

installed solar panels on the White House• Signed a treaty with Panama that would give

control of the Panama Canal back to Panama on December 31, 1999

• Started SALT II talks but ended them after USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979

• Boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow due to the invasion as well

Camp David Accords-”Land for Peace”

Problems as President

• Had to deal with high inflation and unemployment during his four years

• Iran hostage crisis (1979–1981) • 52 US citizens were held hostage for 444 days

from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981• A group of Islamic students and militants took

over the Embassy of the United States in support of the Iranian Revolution

• Carter was blamed for not freeing the hostages and many consider it the reason he lost the 1980 election

Ayatollah Khomeini

Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident

• The accident began on March 28, 1979

• It was a core meltdown at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1979

• It was the most significant nuclear power accident in the history of the US

1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan-1979

• The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December, 1979

• The purpose was to help out the communist gov’t that had been in place there since 1978

• Western countries(US, UK, France, etc) conspired to help get rid of this gov’t

• We sent military aid to the mujahideen(“people doing jihad”)

• While the Soviets took control of the cities and the transportation and communication center, the mujahideen resorted to guerilla tactics

• The Soviet were hoping that their invasion would pacify the country against the “insurgents”

• Their invasion had the opposite effect and more and more people joined the mujahideen

• The Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan in February, 1989• Afghan deaths vary from 1-to 2 million• 5-10 million Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran• Another 2 million Afghans were displaced within the

country• Along with fatalities were 1.2 million Afghans disabled

and 3 million maimed or wounded• Many consider Afghanistan to be the Soviet Unions’

Vietnam

1979-80 Energy(Oil) Crisis

• Occurred in the US during the Iranian Revolution• Protests severely disrupted Iranian oil

production• Exportation of oil was stopped• Widespread panic resulted driving the price of oil

far higher than it had been • Oil prices were $15.85 per barrel (42 US

gallons) before the crisis and rose to $39.50 per barrel during which was only topped in 2008

Ronald Reagan(R)-40th

1981-1989 • Was a radio

broadcaster in Iowa, an actor and Governor of California

Reagan’s Assassination Attempt-March 1981

• Survived an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr.

Presidential Accomplishments

• "Reaganomics"

1. advocated reducing tax rates to spur economic growth

2. control the money supply to reduce inflation

3. deregulate the economy

4. reduce government spending.

• 1983 invasion of Grenada

• 1986 bombing of Libya• Publicly described the

Soviet Union as an "evil empire”

• Supported anti-Communist movements worldwide

• Opposed to détente• Ordered a massive

military buildup in an arms race with the USSR

Reagan and Gorbachev-Ending the Cold War

• Had numerous meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev which helped bring an end to the Cold War

• INF Treaty-1987– The treaty eliminated intermediate nuclear and

conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles

• Reagan Doctrine-provided aid to anti-communist resistance movements in Africa, Asia, and Latin America

• US was instrumental in training, equipping and leading Mujahideen forces against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan

Discussion

• Why did the US win the Cold War?

• Why did the USSR lose the Cold War?

1. We had close ties with our Allies and the USSR didn’t.

2. China started siding with us after 1972.

3. The Soviet economy was in shambles whereas the US’s was flourishing.

1. Huge deficit

2. High inflation

3. Corruption

4. Social problems

5. Shortage of basic needs(food, housing)

4. The strong anti-communist presidency of Reagan.

5. Gorbachev’s willingness for change and reform.1. glasnost and perestroika2. admitted Soviet mistakes3. took blame for the Cold War4. communist system had failed**5. allowed Eastern Europe to do what they wanted**

6. Arms Reduction Talks1. SALT, INF, Reagan-Gorbachev

meetings

7. Soviet Mistakes

1. invasion of Afghanistan

2. ignoring social concerns

3. spent everything on military

Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion

War on Drugs

• Reagan announced a War on Drugs in 1982 due to crack epidemic.

• Nancy Reagan “Just Say No”

• Anti-Drug Commercial

Iran Contra Scandal-1986

• US used the $$ from secret weapons sales to Iran to fund the Contras(anti-communists) in Nicaragua which Congress had outlawed

• The goal was to free seven US Hostages in Iran at the time

• The International Court of Justice ruled that the U.S. had violated international law in doing so

• Reagan said he knew nothing of this action

• Eleven people within the Reagan Administration we convicted

Oliver North

George H.W. Bush(R)-41st

1989-1993• Served as the Vice

President of the United States under Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)

• Was a Congressman from Texas

• Was Ambassador of the US to the United Nations

• Director of the CIA• Currently the oldest

surviving former President

1988 Election

Berlin Wall Comes DownNov. 9, 1989

Persian Gulf WarAugust 1990-February 1991

• August 2, 1990, Iraq Invaded Kuwait

Persian Gulf War

• Why did it start?

• Operation Desert Shield

• Operation Desert Storm

• Results: – Coalition Force victory, Iraqi withdrawl from Kuwait,

destruction of Iraqi/Kuwaiti infrastructure

• Coalition-482 dead, Iraq-20,000-35,000

• 1991-2003– No-fly zone, weapons inspectors, WMD’s

No Fly Zone

• How did the Persian Gulf War eventually lead to 9-11?

• Signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 which prohibits discrimination based on disability

• He worked to increase federal spending for education, childcare, and advanced technology research

• Signed the Clean Air Act requiring cleaner burning fuels

• Signed the Immigration Act of 1990 which increased legal immigration to the United States by 40 percent

• Took down Manuel Noriega in Panama

• Tried to help with the Somali Civil War with UNITAF

• Signed North the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)-eliminated the most tariffs on products traded among the United States, Canada, and Mexico, to encourage trade between the countries

Why did President Bush lose the 92 Election?

• “It’s the economy stupid.”

• “Read my lips, no new taxes.”

Bill Clinton(D) 42nd

1993-2001• Law Professor at

Arkansas • Elected Arkansas

Attorney General in 1976

• Elected Governor of Arkansas in 1978

• Only 2nd President to ever be impeached by the House of Representatives

President Carter and Governor Clinton

1992 Election Bush vs. Clinton vs. Perot

1996 ElectionClinton vs. Dole vs. Perot

Accomplishments as President

• NAFTA was passed into law• Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 -

required large employers to allow

employees to take unpaid leave for pregnancy or a serious medical condition.

• Lowered taxes for low income families and raised taxes for the wealthiest Americans

• Under Clinton, the United States had a federal budget surplus for the first time since 1969

• Brady Bill– started federal background checks on firearm

purchasers in the United States

• “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy in US Military

• Set up first official presidential website

• Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)– defines marriage for federal purposes as the

legal union of one man and one woman– allowed individual states to refuse to

recognize gay marriages performed in other states

• U.S.–China Relations Act of 2000

Challenges• Failed to get his universal health care plan

passed

• Whitewater Scandal

• Troopergate

• Paula Jones-Settled $850,000

• Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia

• Osama bin Laden-al-Qaeda bombings in Africa

• Kosovo Crisis in Yugoslavia• Bombed Iraq(Saddam Hussein) frequently from

1998-2001

Impeachment

• Due to lying under oath about his “relationship” with Monica Lewinsky

• The Senate voted to acquit Clinton

Clinton’s Approval Rating

George W. Bush(R)-43rd

2001-2009• His father was the 41st

President of the US• Governor of Texas

1995-2000• Went to Yale and

Harvard• In the oil business• Co-owner of the

Texas Rangers 1989-1994

2000 Election Bush vs. Gore vs. Nader and the Chad’s

• The closeness of the Florida vote led to a machine recount

• The initial recount also went to Bush, but the outcome was tied up in courts for a month until reaching the U.S. Supreme Court

• On December 9, in the Bush v. Gore case, the US Supreme Court stopped an ordered statewide hand recount

• The machine recount showed that Bush had won the Florida vote by 537 votes out of six million

• Although Bush received 543,895 fewer individual votes than Gore nationwide, Bush won the election, receiving 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266

2004 Election-Bush vs. Kerry vs Nader

Accomplishments• Bush Tax Cuts

– Passed after US gov’t had three straight years of budget surpluses

– “The surplus is not the government’s money. The surplus is the people’s money.”

• No Child Left Behind Act– aimed to measure and close the gap between rich and

poor student performance – provide options to parents with students in low-

performing schools– target more federal funding to low-income schools

• Medicare Act of 2003

• Bush Doctrine– policy that the United States had the right to

secure itself against countries that harbor or give aid to terrorist groups

– which was used to justify the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq

The Capture, Trial and Execution of Saddam Hussein

Challenges• 9-11 and the War on Terror• War in Afghanistan-2001 to present• War in Iraq-2001-2011• Abu Ghraib Prison Abuse• Enhanced interrogation techniques-waterboarding

• North Korea• Hurricane Katrina• Bank Bailout-Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of

2008• The struggling US economy• Stem Cell Research• Immigration

9-11-2001

Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda

Abu Ghraib Prison Abuse

Waterboarding

Hurricane Katrina

President Bush’s Approval Rating

2008 Election-Obama vs McCain

Barack Obama and Joe Biden(D)

John McCain and Sarah Palin

2008 Presidential Election Map

Barack Obama-D

• Born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961

• Married his wife, Michelle, in 1992

• Has two children-Malia and Sasha

Michelle Obama

The Obama Family

Professional Background

• Graduated from Columbia College and Harvard Law School

• Was a community organizer in Chicago in mid 1980’s

• Was a college professor at the University of Chicago Law School in early 1990’s

• Was a civil rights lawyer from 1993-96• Has been an author of several books• Was a state senator from 1997-2004• Was a US Senator from 2005-2008• Has been the 44th President of the United States

since 2009

Major Accomplishments of President Obama’s First Term 2009-2013

• Stopped the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques”

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009-aka Economic Stimulus Package

• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act-aka Obamacare

• Ended War in Iraq in 2010• Ending War in Afghanistan in 2014• Killed Osama bin Laden• Ended “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act– Equal pay for women

• Instituted part of the Dream Act by Executive Order in 2012

• Helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in Libya in 2011

• Passes the GI Bill 2.0 in 2011

• Race to the Top

Issues of President Obama’s First Term

• The bad US economy

• The huge national debt

• The War in Iraq and Afghanistan

• Ending enhanced interrogation methods

• Obamacare

• GM Bailout

• Obama’s a Socialist

• Supporting gay marriage

• Gun control

• SOPA/PIPPA

2012 Election-Obama vs Romney

Barack Obama and Joe Biden(D)

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan(R)

2012 Presidential Election Map