MYP Unit Question: How can the contributions of one person affect the direction of an entire nation?

 

 

The 1990s

Featuring President Clinton

By: Max Mezhiborsky

Kyoko Yamamoto

Adam Gros

and Mitchell Rasak

 

 

Consider the influence on your decade on the following topics:

• Business & the Economy

                  The economy in the 1990’s was very successful. It was the longest economic growth in United States History. The unique aspect about the economy was that as the economy grew and accelerated inflation decreased. This expansion was due to innovation and new technology which led many people to view this time period as “the second industrial revolution”. Businesses were also doing very well in the 1990’s. Many jobs were lost due to the restructuring and downsizing process, but were replaced be with a larger numbers of jobs. These new innovated jobs were said by economists to have a future unlike the other jobs that were lost in the restructuring and downsizing process. One of the main businesses that acquired growing competition was the telecommunications industry. The internet was also introduced in this time period which led to new and improved wasys of transfering information.  During the second half of the 1990’s unemployment fell blow 5 percent. (Vincent, 101)

 

• Education

               Education in the 1990’s was innovated, but it still had a few controversial issues.  One of the main issues was affirmative action. Affinitive action relies upon race-or gender-based preferences in school admissions, public hiring, and public contracting decisions for an institution. This caused a lot of controversy and across the United States because people believed this interfered with their constitutional rights. The states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi were strongly against affirmative action and banned race-based admissions at state-run schools. “In 1998, 58 percent of the voters in WashingtonState approved the ban of state and local agencies from granting preferential treatment” (Vincent 167). Affirmative action was considered a defeat. Other topics that were related to education at the time were sexual harassment, single sex education, teaching evolution, technology, and violence in schools. (Vincent 167) 

 

 

• Fashion

             A very large aspect in fashion was casual clothing in the 1990’s. This decade was the start of casual Friday, office casual or casual day. Half of the workers in the United States had some kind of causal dress code by the mid 1990’s. Employees became worried that workers would begin to wear clothing that was too casual which lead to a general rule that became a guideline for workers. The rule suggested “to look comfortable and casual, but not sloppy and ungroomed” (Vincent 206).  An example how this guideline work was “A denim shirt was fine; old T-shirts were not” (Vincent 206). This casual clothing day still continues to this day. Another aspect of fashion that was brought up around this time period was “designers frequently showcased pieces that women and men would not dare to wear out in public” (Vincent 206). There was no clear answer to why designers showcased these pieces. (Vincent 206)

• Film &  Theatre

               In the 1990s, special effects continued to be prominently used in films. Special effects were heavily used to create action and fantasy. Jurassic Park (1993) was made using special effects with realistic computer-generated dinosaurs. Filmmakers made movies with more impact and intensity with the use of these special effects including, Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace (1999), with Jar Jar Binks the first digitally generated principal character in a movie. Also, the film Twister was made in 1996 using special effects to create tornadoes. 

               Filmmakers also started making animated and horror films once again during this decade. In 1994, the animated film The Lion King was made and was one of the most popular films in the 1990s. Toy Story (1995), was the first ever computer-generated animation unlike previously, where animated films created an illusion of movement by using many drawings that were photographed frame by frame. Also, Films such as Scream (1996) and The Blair Witch Project (1999) used humor, gore and suspense to scare viewers.

 

• Medicine and Health

There were major technological advances in American medicine during this time period including plastic surgery and improving a person’s vision. Advances were made in general surgery with the development of small incisional and endoscopic surgical procedures. Before, this specialty had been shrinking but in the 1990s it expanded and improved. But because of the many improvements in medicine, ethical and legal questions began to be raised. in the 1980s, the AIDS epidemic was identified and continued on through the 1990s along with infectious diseases like tuberculosis which was thought to have been eradicated. Health care became more expensive as the population aged and the political and economic consequences of every health-car decision became a national debate.

 

• Print Culture

               In the 1990s, print culture began to change. Instead of reading everything on paper, many people began listening to books on tape. While these books on tape had existed before this decade, they weren’t very popular but in the 1990s prices dropped and more and more people started listening to books on tapes in cars or cassette players. Also, the Internet revolution changed print culture tremendously. By offering some books online, book publishers looked to increase their profits. They used “e-book” so readers could download a book onto their computer or other electronic device. The Internet also affected magazines and newspapers. Publishers began producing electric versions of magazine and newspaper articles so users could read them online for free or for a small charge. Some magazines were created that were Web-only magazines such as Salon.com or Slate.com. Also popular during this decade, was the start of the series Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, with Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone in 1995 and it became an enormous hit in the United States and around the world.

 

 

• Sports &  Games

                The 90’s sparked the reign of Michael Jordan and the Bulls dynasty.  Winning six championships in eight years, they became the most dominant sports team of the decade.  These years were those that such stars as Ervin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird ended their magnificent careers.  With all these stars combined in the 1992 and 1996 winter Olympics, they became known as the “Dream Team” after beating every team by an embarrassing amount each time.

                During this time the reputation of the NFL (National Football League) took a hit as off-the-field criminal activities started to rise.  Such activities included drug abuse, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse, and in one case, murder.  In spite of these tragedies, football was still the most watched sport in the country.

             Pete Sampras was known as the most dominant men’s tennis player of this time.  He won the Australian Open twice, the U.S. Open four times, and won six Wimbledon trophies during this time.  The Williams sisters (Venus and Serena) both became big stars in women’s sports.

   

 

• Music

               Since the music demanded by people is always changing, the music industry is always changing.  New variations of music became popular such as rock and roll becoming alternative rock, rap becoming gangster rap, and country becomes alternative country.  Country music becomes noticed as a major growth in music industry.  Teen bands and groups became a huge hit as well.  Such groups included NSYNC, New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys.  These groups shaped the future of the music industry and were mostly based on the youth's demands.

 

 

• "They Way We Lived"

The creation of the internet caused a drastic change in life by adjusting the way we thought, worked, and communicated.  The World Wide Web became a tool for living.  Personal computers came from being a device used at work, to a tool used in everyday life.  The amount of people that used internet in the U.S. and Canada grew from 18 million people in 1995, to 106 million in 1999.  The easy access changed the ways of the work force.  These capabilities the internet had at any location made jobs at home more realistic to do. 

           Drug industries created many new helpful drugs, including Prozac used for depression.  Other industries expanded that had much to do with children.  Such industries that grew were Beanie Babies, and Pokémon. 

 

• Government & Politics

                    The 1990's saw the end of the cold war and began with the downfall of the Soviet Union. Because of the destruction of the loss of the USSR, many smaller conflicts began to arise. Because of this, the tendency to move towards isolationism reappeared because of a reluctance to become entwined in world affairs again and also to deal with domestic affairs rather than foreign issues. This was largely due to the fact that the Us was experiencing its own affairs, such as dealing with presidential impeachment and the economy roared with growth.

With the downfall of the Soviet Union, the US had no clear enemies and the former US states, now the Commonwealth of Independent States was dominated by Nationalism and needed to rely on Western countries for assistance. George Bush tried to propose a New World Order without the threat of nuclear holocaust but this could not succeed with the conflicts arising in the Middle East such as the Gulf War. It seemed like Clinton did not act during his first year in office. And congress was dominated by the Republicans and when this caused the US to temporarily go broke, the voters blamed the Republicans. With Clinton's second election in 1996, the economy was doing well and the US remained the only superpower.

• Law &  Justice

                    Laws and justice began to focus more on crime rates in the 1990’s. The crime rates decreased after a certain period of time. Although the crime rate went down, drug-related crimes increased nationwide. With support from presidential administrations, Congress addressed public concern over weapons and drugs by further expanding on the laws to owning weapons such as background checks for gun purchases. US government also increased security due to the high amount in terrorist attacks in the 1990’s. There were also many disputes between the civil rights of minorities, women, and the terminally ill in National and state Congress as well as in court. All of which made further advances in equality.

In the 90’s, homosexuality became an increasingly controversial issue with many countries banning it and others, such as Hawaii, allowed it; all of this was in reaction to Clinton’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy which tried to leave the Federal Government out of such issues. Numerous legal issues arose due to the impeachment of President Clinton such as scandals for various more members of the white house. Science also made advances which benefitted law, with more evidence present from new technological features in court. The 1990’s expanded the internet, and required Congress, the court, and the public to act towards the problems with privacy, censorship, intellectual property rights, and national security.

• Religion

  The religious landscape was dominated by Catholics and Protestants, while Jews remained an influential but still small minority. Other religions were still small in numbers but were increasing, such as Muslims and Hindus. About 40 percent of Americans attended religious services regularly and 95 claimed that they believed in god. This was also a time without many religious disputes between the church and others. The court ruled that religious behavior is not exempt from government regulation as well, as long as the intent of the regulation is not to help or hinder religion and is general.

  Also, violence intruded into the religious world with racist hate groups justifying themselves with the bible and there were also religious elements found in some of the most violent events of the decade such as the shootings at Columbine High School and the Bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building.

 

Presidents Name

William J. Clinton

 

  

Where I Live(ed):

·         Hope, AK

Date of Birth:

·         August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas

Date of Death:

·         I am still alive.

Political Views:

·         I support the Democratic party 

Religious Views:

·         Protestant 

Years Served as President:

·         1993-2001

Occupations:

·         He briefly taught law at the University of Arkansas

·         Attorney General of Arkansas

·         Governor of Arkansas

Interests/Hobbies:

·         Politics

·         Boys Nation

·         Musician (saxophone)

Education:

·         Georgetown University

·         Oxford University

·         Yale University

 

Friends:

 

·         Vincent W. Foster Jr.

·         Hillary Rodham (wife)

·         James William Fulbright ( Bill Clinton interned him in the Senate office)

·         Paula Corbin Jones's

·         Monica S. Lewinsky

Sports:

·         Musician was the closest activity to a sport.

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (at home) included:

 

Political

• Regaining political trust from nation

• Health Care Reform

• Presidential Scandals

• Homosexuality in the Military

 

Social

• Changing the welfare distribution system

• Student Loan Payment

• Gun carrying laws and fight crime

• Improve education

• Preserve the environment

 

Economic

• Clinton convinces Congress to approve the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was an agreement among the United States, Canada, and Mexico to phase out tariffs, or taxes on imports, and generally encourage free trade between the three countrie 

• Middle-class tax cuts that were promised during his campaign were abandone 

• Deficit shrank, interest rates fell, inflation slowed, and home buying and job creation rose, improving the nation’s economic health for Americans 

• Internet boom completely changed the economy with companies merging to form bigger, richer and more powerful entities and inflation growing.

   

 

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (abroad) included:

 

Political

• The Genocide in Rwanda was a major issue during this time. American public criticized the United States for being too active, or not taking enough action in this situation.

• Clinton helped settle foreign affairs with Serbian withdrawal from Kosovo.

• There were issues with fighting between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland which had gone on for years, costing hundreds of lives.

• There were also issues in the Middle East. Arab states except for Egypt continued to refuse to recognize Israel while the Palestinians continued to resist Israel’s occupation and the ongoing settlement of territories taken in the 1967 war.

• There was a conflict with the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea, breaking the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

•  

 

Social

• There was an agreement reached with The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was a group that included the United Sates and some allied European powers, to bomb the Serbs that were in Kosovo so they would leave. (McConnell 1)
• The bombing ended when a treaty was finally made with the Serbs political leadership that stated the Serb withdrawal from Kosovo. (McConnell 1)
• The internet was introduced and it completely changed the ways that business and commerce was conducted, information exchanged, and social interaction carried out. (Vincent 521)

 

Economic

• Since the North American Free Trade Agreement was passed, the economy was boosted because of lower tariffs resulting in more trading in countries.

• Although he wasn't completely respondsible Clinton and the 90's was known for the internet, which created many jobs, stimulating the economy all around the world.

 

Looking back at my presidential career, I had to wear several "hats."  Wearing these different "hats," these were my most significant achievements and failures:

 

Commander-in-Chief

 

Clinton wasn’t most recognized as his position of Commander-in-Chief, except for a few instances, including, what is now known as, the First Battle of Magodishu.  This battle took place in Somalia in October of 1993.  But other than that instance, since America’s foreign affairs were stable, this role wasn’t as actively used and necessary as for other presidents before during the Cold War.  Because of this, there was no need to put this role into use.

 

Chief Executive

 

                Choosing an intelligent Presidential Cabinet, Clinton was helped tremendously in passing and creating many decisions, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, which provided cheap goods and economic prosperity for America.  This result only lasted a short time because the dependency on imported goods soon came back to haunt them.

 

Chief Diplomat

 

          As Chief Diplomat, Clinton helped the nation’s economy, managed foreign affairs and made trade agreements with other countries. He created the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy allowing homosexuals to join the military as long as they did not say they were gay. By doing so, he discriminated against homosexuals and did not promote human rights. However, Clinton did help with peace agreements in Israel, Ireland, and Kosovo.

 

Ceremonial Head of State

 

          Clinton promoted his ideas traveling around to different smaller countries and speaking. He attended fairs and festivals to connect with Americans but Throughout Clinton’s presidency, rumors and scandals followed. Even before he was president, during his 1992 campaign, rumors about his past philandering and apparent draft dodging appeared but he still won the election. There were more, minor scandals and rumors during his presidency but the main historic one was his affair with Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern.

 

Manager of the Economy

 

               Clinton balanced inflation without too much increase and still being able to increase the minimum wage. And there was a reduction of poverty with the Welfare Reform Act. Clinton signed the NAFTA or North American Free Trade agreement to improve trade and the economy as well. Overall, Clinton sete records for the lowest unemployment rates and inflation in 25 years.

 

Party Leader

  

               Bill Clinton was the Democratic Party leader. He benefited from the fact that several nationally prominent Democrats did not try to run against George H. W. Bush. Focusing on the economy was the main thing Clinton did to relate to the people of the United States and he blamed many of the economic issues on Bush. Clinton believed that he could not rely only on old Democratic coalition of labor, liberals, and blacks to win the election, but instead believed he had to focus on more important issues.(McConnell 1)

 

National Leader

 

               As President, Bill Clinton tried to further regulate gun control and decrease the crime rates by hiring more than 100,000 new police officers. He also tried to improve the social security and he wanted to improve the economy and lower the unemployment rate. Bill Clinton lead his country through several terrorist attacks in the 90's as well, such as the attacks on the World Trade Center.

 

Favorite Quote About Me by a Famous Historian:

"Bill has always been someone who has lived on the edge, politically and personally,"-Elizabeth Drew quoting a friend of Clinton

 

 

Presidential Debate on the Economy:

 

Positive Political Cartoon

 

 

Negative Political Cartoon

 

 

How did Culture and the Role of the President Shape Post-WWII America? 

 

     In many ways, culture and the role of the president helped to shape Post-WWII America. William Clinton was elected in 1993. the 1990's also saw the appearance of many new cultural trends. It also experienced new advances in technology such as in films and computers. Both of these crucial factors contributed to the shaping of Post-WWII America through social, political, and economic aspects.

     Bill Clinton’s work as president helped settle foreign affairs and balance budget, while also raising a lot of tension between the military and homosexuals. One example of how Bill Clinton helped settle foreign affairs was with the Serb withdrawal from Kosovo. He decided that he wanted to bomb the Serbian assets, particularly the military, governmental, and economic infrastructure in Serbia to force them to withdraw from Kosovo. Clinton’s economic policies were increasing minimum wage, signing a modest health care reform law, and he was an advocate of free trade. During his presidency, Clinton created a policy called the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” which allowed homosexuals to be allowed to join in the military service as long as they did not tell others of their orientation. The policy created tension between homosexuals and the traditional military. 

     Post-WWII America was shaped by social and economic aspects of American culture. During this decade, America became much more technological with advances in films and computers. Filmmakers began heavily using special effects because viewers wanted to see action-packed films. This brought in more money and helped the economy. The expansion of the internet was also a major change in the 1990s. Internet was now used in everyday life helping with jobs at home. It also affected print culture. Many books, articles, and magazines were now being posted online. This affected the social aspect of culture by allowed people to obtain much more information faster.

     Therefore, the impact of American culture and the role of the President helped shape Post-WWII America through social, political, and economic aspects. The President helped settle foreign affairs with hostile groups. He also raised the minimum wage, helped with health care reform, and advocated free trade. He also implemented policies to protect homosexuals. Culture advanced films by advancing special effects, computers by expanding the internet, and medicine with new treatments available. Because of these things, the 1990’s have shaped Post-WWII America and changed the way we live.

 

Works Cited:

"1990s: Film and Theater." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Detroit: U*X*L, 2002. 

 

"The 1990s Sports: Topics in the News." U*X*L American Decades. Eds. Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: U*X*L, 2003. 

 

"1990s: Print Culture." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Detroit: U*X*L,2002.

 

 "1990s: The Way We Lived." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Detroit: U*X*L, 2002. 

 

"American Decades 1990-1999." American Decades." Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 

 

"Bill Clinton." Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Volume 6: World Leaders, 10th ed. Gale Group, 2001.

 

"Bill Clinton." American Decades 1990-1999. Tandy McConnell, ed. Gale Group, 2001.

 

"Bill Clinton, President of the United States." Current Leaders of Nations. Gale Research, 1998. 

 

"The American Economy." American Decades. Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2001.

 

"Affirmative Action." American Decades. Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2001

 

"Clothing Trends." American Decades. Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2001.

 

"Internet." American Decades. Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 

 

http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/bill_clinton/

 

"Clinton, William J." Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. Vol. 1. 3rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002.

 

Berman, William C. "Clinton Scandals." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. Vol. 2. 3rd ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003.