Post-Cold War and beyond (1991–present)
Post-Cold War era
Bill Clinton was President in the 1990s.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Cold War came to an end. This was due to the Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev starting a policy called perestroika, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Soviet Union breaking into different countries. Around this time, the United States cut down on its production of cheap goods, and had many people working in service jobs. Part of these service jobs were in computers and the internet, which came into wide use in the 1990s. By this time, the United States had a very large trade deficit, meaning it received more goods from other countries, such as China, than it sent to other countries.
The Middle East became the main focus of U.S. foreign policy. In 1991, the United States fought a war with Iraq called the First Gulf War or Operation Desert Storm. This was to stop Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from occupying Kuwait, a small oil-producing country.
In 1992, Bill Clinton became President. Under Clinton, the United States sent soldiers into Bosnia as part of a United Nations mission. The United States also agreed to a trade pact called the North American Free Trade Agreement (and repealed Glass–Steagall Legislation). Clinton was impeached for lying in court about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, but the Senate voted against removing him as President.
21st century
The September 11 attacks
In 2000, George W. Bush was elected President. Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Thousands of people died. Soon after the attacks, the U.S. and NATO went to Afghanistan to find Osama bin Laden and others who they believed planned the September 11 attacks. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq because some people thought Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Millions of people from around the world did not like the War in Iraq. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have lasted many years and have been called a "Long War" or a new American Empire. By 2011, most American soldiers had left Iraq, and combat there was over.
In 2005, the southern United States was hit by a huge hurricane called Hurricane Katrina. Much of the city of New Orleans was destroyed. In 2006, the Democrats won back Congress because Americans did not like the way Bush dealt with War in Iraq or Katrina. At the end of Bush's term, the United States entered the worst recession since the Great Depression. Barack Obama was elected President in 2008. He became the first African-American President of the United States. During his first years in office, Obama and Congress passed reforms on health care and banking. They also passed a large stimulus bill to help the economy during the recession. During the recession, the government used large amounts of money to keep the banking and auto industries from falling apart. There was also a large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
A "Tea Party movement" started during Obama's presidency. This group opposes Obama's health care plan and other policies they see as "big government." Due to the recession, the Tea Party and a dislike of what Obama did, Republicans won a large number of House and Senate seats in the 2010 election. In 2011, Tea Party members of Congress almost shut down the government and sent the U.S. into default (not being able to pay people the government owes money). A few months later, many young people protested against big business. They thought big business made too much money. In 2012, Obama was reelected to a second term.
The United States presidential election, 2016 attracted much arrention. On November 9 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in a "political upset" to become the 45th president of the United States. Mike Pence became Vice President. They were inaugurated on January 20, 2017. In the aftermath, there were many protests against Trump across the country.
Barack Obama is inaugurated as President of the United States, January 2009
A changing country
The United States faces many political issues. One of these is what kind of government the United States should become. Liberals want a large government, while the Tea Party and other groups want a smaller government. One of these debates is over health care. Health care costs have risen. Conservatives and liberals also disagree on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.Many more people have come to accept gays and gay marriage as an acceptable part of American society. There are also many trends and developments that the U.S. must deal with. One of these is immigration. Many people are coming to the U.S. from Latin America and Asia, especially Mexico. This is called the "browning of America". Baby Boom Americans are getting older and a larger fraction of the people are retired. Other issues facing the United States are a growing concern about the environment. This has led to the creation of many "green jobs," or jobs that create clean or renewable energy.Read More...