Unit 10...Contemporary America
History by Sasha Ahuja
Motown superstar Marvin Gaye put it best when describing a changing contemporary America when he asked, "What's Going On?" The era of post Vietnam into the 21st century, although undoubtedly complimented by reform for the better, has been clouded by coercion on various fronts.
The decade of the 1980's began with a turn towards a conservative norm as Ronald Reagan defeated the incumbent Carter, breaking the trend in Democratic dominance that had shadowed both Congress and the executive office for years. Continuing Nixon's "New Federalism" ideal, Reagan proceeded to reduce government in size and expenditures, and embraced what became known as "supply-side economics," the precise antithesis of FDR's long-standing policies of pumping funds into the economy. In its conservative transformation, America plunged into recession but nonetheless recharged as "Reaganomics" proved to be quite effective. Although prosperity took hold, the following election of 1984 sparked a transitory liberal revival as minority leaders Jesse Jackson and Geraldine Ferraro attempted to appeal to the mainstream. Reagan continued in office into 1988, however, supporting the interests of upper class America and putting the nation into a period of foreign trade inequity. While somewhat domestically inept, Reagan's foreign circumstances proved to be similarly disagreeable as the remnants of Cold War discord subsided with a brief expansion of Nixon's Strategic Defense Initiative and various overseas attempts at yet again, diluting Communist interests. The infamous Iran-Contra scandal, in which America delivered aid to a warring Iran without public knowledge, defined the discrete corruption in the Reagan administration. The 1980's also saw the continuance of public outcry as the gay liberation, women's, and environmental movements continued through protective legislation for all three causes.
Cold War tensions were mending themselves as relations between Soviet leader Gorbachev and both Reagan and his successor George Bush embraced reform. The Election of 1988 brought the United States into a rejuvenated era of foreign policy, one which continued to promote democratic ideals, yet in a more tolerant manner, as the elected George Bush advocated a "new world order." As the Cold War officially ended in 1991, the United States kept up with its tradition of conflict involvement by engaging in the Persian Gulf War in 1990 after the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded the nation of Kuwait in search of precious oil reserves. Bush's administration appeared to be quite triumphant on the foreign front, yet added to the already existent economic stress by adding to federal debt and deceiving Americans by approving a Congressional proposal for new taxes.
By 1992, Americans were in desperation on the home front, thus paving the way for the smooth victory of Democrat William Jefferson Clinton. Americans were truly disenchanted by the tendencies of American politics; notions of cynicism were not at all quelled by the ongoing political feuds in Washington as Republicans made every attempt to destroy any reconstructive attempts of Democratic reform. The United States nonetheless embarked upon a prosperous eight years of Clintonian dominance, as technological advancement, recession revival, and public interest reforms took hold. The issues of health care proliferation, rapid economic growth and budget balancing all contributed to Clinton's success. Although scandal ravaged Clinton's second term, his collaborating Vice President Al Gore captivated the ideals of innumerable Americans as the following heated 2000 election was lost by an inch.
The scheme of terrorism seemed to dominate both foreign and domestic issues at the turn of the millennium, beginning with the vicious Oklahoma City bombings in 1995 to the horrific terror attacks of September 11th, 2001. Middle Eastern religious fundamentalists are believed to be the route of such acts of terror, both in America and on their own land. The elected George W. Bush sought a continuance in the deeply rooted desire to spread democracy by declaring war on hostile Iraq in the midst of his first term. Economic issues such as outsourcing and globalization have come to dominate heated debates as Americans, although welcoming of the influence from foreign lands, are not prepared to lose their jobs to them. As the election of 2004 is yet to take place, such issues, and others, promise to dictate the campaign scene.
All songs and essays are the intellectual property of their respective authors and are protected under United States copyright laws. The image on the inside label is credited to Mark Hess. The CD design is the Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States as reproduced from Our Documents, 100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives. History Raps & History Rocks is ™ Peter Mastrota 2001. A Music History of the American People is Copyright © South Studio Productions 2004. Site design is Copyright NuTech Web & Services © 2005. All Rights Reserved.
