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Waco Seige
David Koresch, a religious leader, lead his followers in a massive shootout with federal agents. This resulted in Koresch and his followers barricading themselves inside their compound and a two month standoff. On April 19th, the FBI invaded the compound, however, Koresch and his followers set the building on fire, which lead to several deaths, including Koresch. This was one of many acts of the government that lead many to feel the government was too intrusive. (Kruse and Zelizer, 208) -
Contract with America
A ten point program that was created by Newt Gingrich. He brought in republican candidates around this program that promoted various items such as a balanced budget amendment, a line item veto for the president, welfare rollback, more defense money, term limits, stringent crime control, and a reduction in capital gains tax. The program left out several other important issues at the time in order to avoid the controversy that came along with them. (Kruse and Zelizer, 216). -
Communication Decency Act
The Communication Decency Act was an act that was pushed by President Clinton.This act pushed for the use of V-Chips that could be used by parents to monitor the content being played on a television. The chip only cost five dollars and would block any violent or sexual rated show. (Kruse and Zelizer, 218). This is important because as the internet and media became more popular, there were increasing concerns of what was being shown to the public. -
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
This act came in the midst of several antiterrorism pieces of legislation, and attempted to increase the power of the federal government, through things like authorizing wiretaps. It also prohibited certain firearms for the general public. It allowed the government to take action against groups who were suspected to engage in terrorist activities. (Kruse and Zelizer, 221). This is significant because there were several white supremacist acts occurring at the time, such as the OKC bombing. -
Y2K
Y2K refers to the New Years Day, January 1st 2000, and the year changing for 1999 to 2000. After such a boom in computers and excitement regarding them, any people were scared that computers were not going to be able to switch to this year and that all the computers knew was years starting with "19". There never was actually an issue with the computers, however, this did lead to financial problems. (Kruse and Zelizer, 237) -
US PATRIOT Act
Formally the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. This act would increase the ability of the federal government to conduct surveillance on its citizens. It gave the government the ability to use wiretaps, monitor emails records, have more control over undocumented immigrants and expanded the definition of a terrorist.(Kruse and Zelizer, 257). This is important becuase it shows the US protecting itself after 9/11. -
No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind was a government initiative focused on education and grew the governments role in education. It imposed national standards for education that public schools would now have to meet in order to receive funding from the government. This initiative also stopped children from being advanced to the next grade when it was something they were not ready for, through the creation of the new standards. (Kruse and Zelizer, 248) -
9/11
This was a very large scale terrorist attack on the United States by Osama Bin laden and al-Qaeda. Two planes were taken over and flown into the World Trade Center in New York City. There was another plane that was flown into the Pentagon. There was a fourth plane headed for the White House, however, it was taken over by passengers and crashed into rural Pennsylvania. These attacks eld to several changes throughout the US, such as the creation of TSA. (Kruse and Zelizer, 242,255) -
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
The President's emergency Plan for AIDS Relief was an initiative put into place by President Bush. In his State of the Union Address, Bush declared that he would put $15 billion to the fight against AIDS. This gave people in Africa access to drugs in order to keep HIV from developing into AIDS. This saved millions of peoples lives in Africa. (Kruse and Zelizer, 263). This is significant because there were past presidents not as inclined to help with the Aids crisis. -
Unborn Victims of Violence Act
This act was one of several pieces of pro-life legislation passed by President Bush. It stated that if a pregnant women was killed, the unborn baby would be legally considered a victim. This law had very little practical applications, however, there were many ramifications. This act recognized that a fetus in the womb could be considered a life. (Kruse and Zelizer, 272). This is significant because the debate of if a fetus is considered a life was and still is a major political issue