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=**Bush Takes Over**=

In 1836, over the next 150 years 10 vice presidents became presidents because of death. Van Buren was elected president while holding the vice president title in 1836. George Bush ran for the presidency and won, while breaking a 152-year old tradition.

=The Election of 1988= Everyone knew vice president George Bush was the best choice for success in the running election. He chose Senator J. Danforth as his running mate. Many democrats such as Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis and Reverend Jesse Jackson led the group that were willing to challenge Bush. Jackson got a lot of support from African Americans, in the end Dukakis ended up getting nominated by the Democrats. Bush and Dukakis competed for the spot by being on evening news programs, this emphasized the candidates appearance rather than serious issues. Bush ended up winning the popular vote by 53 percent.

=The New President= Bush was a very experienced man, he served as a pilot in World War II and left his home state to start an oil business in Texas. He was a member of congress, an ambassador, and the director of the CIA. He tried maintaining a balance between Reagan's policies and working more with democratic-controlled congress.

=Drugs, Education and the Environment= The spread of illegal drugs was huge, Bush appointed to William Bennett to oversee the nation's war on drugs. The federal deficit ruled out anti drug programs, but the drug use claimed to have dropped, at least among some populations. The Reagan administration had cut back on government programs. Bush made clear that states and local school districts would have to raise money to put standards in effect to set national goals for education.

=The Savings And Loan Crisis= S&L's encouraged people to save money when buying homes. S&L's financed mortgages or loans for americans looking to buy a home. Reagan led a campaign to deregulates S&L's, which meant giving the government more freedom, they could invest higher money and where to invest it at. People used these to make high-risk loans and invest in junk bonds. Some people made a lot of profit off these. The Bush administration then took over the failed banks, they either sold them or sold off their assets. The cost of bailing out S&L's would be more than 600 billion dollars in over 10 years. People blames Reagan and congress for the collapse.

=**Reducing The Deficit**= The S&L added to the hole in the federal budget. Bush's plan was to cut spending or raise more money. The "capital gains" tax cut would stimulate the economy. It would only benefit the rich investors. The congress and president made an agreement that would cut the deficit by 500 million dollars in 5 years. This increased alcohol, tobacco and gasoline prices.

=Election of 1990= Congress was unwilling to make the difficult choices on raising taxes or cutting programs. During the election campaign, voters reelected most of congress. 4 out of 10 eligible voters went to the poles, political leaders faced an angry public!

=Flags and the Supreme Court= President bush was angered by the Texas law, that had made burning the American flag a crime. It was a way of protest and protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. People thought it was disrespectful to insult the nation by burning the flag. In July 1990, Justice Williams Brennan retired, he announced defending burning the flag that it was a way of speech.

=**A World In Transition**= One of the creators of the cold war announced that the cold war was over. The collapse of communist dictatorship helped ease world tension. When a crisis happened in the middle east the united states and the soviet union found themselves on the same side.

=The End of the Cold War?= -Communist governments collapsed, the bloc changed and the "freedom fighters" were harshly put down. -in 1989, there was an announcment that there was an opening on the wall. hundreds of eastern berliners ran through to visit the west. -by 1990, the east and the west charted towards reunion. american response was to the democratic reforms in eastern europe. =New Directions in Latin America= -Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Helped american support but became big in drug smuggling. Panama was a banking center and a shipping place for big time drug dealers. -American forces went to panama, where noriega's army put up resistance and manuel went into hiding. he surrendered and was taken to US trial. = = Unrest In China -european communists were in china, students began to campaign for democrats. hundreds of thousands gathered together. one day the regime struck back, army tanks rumbled into tiananmen and many protestors were killed and arrested. =A Policy Towards South Africa= -economic sanctions, limits on trade and investment. divesture, stock policy in companies that operated in south africa.