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CHAPTER 32
Twenty-First-Century America, 1993–
Present
This chapter describes recent demographic trends and covers the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W.
Bush, and Barak Obama, as well as the first few years of Donald Trump’s presidency. The chapter shows
how major issues such as health care reform, gun legislation, and economic policies evolved as the focus
of a clash between the Democratic and Republican parties. While the rise of terrorism was apparent
during the Clinton years, the chapter highlights how 9/11 transformed it into a major security threat for
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. America’s Changing Population
II. The Clinton Presidency (1993–2001)
A. The Economy
B. Health-Care Reform
C. Landslide Republican Victory
D. The Supreme Court and Race
I. Foreign Policy in the Nineties
i. The Middle East
ii. The Balkans
J. The Scandal Machine
i. Monicagate
ii. The Impeachment of Clinton
iii. Assessing the Clinton Presidency
III. A Chaotic Start to a New Century
A. A Disputed Election
B. A Change of Direction
i. 9/11—A New Day of Infamy
C. The “War on Terror”
IV. Second-Term Blues
A. Hurricane Katrina
B. The “Surge” in Iraq
C. Economic Shock
V. A Historic New Presidency
A. Obama’s First Term
B. Health-Care Reform
C. Regulating Wall Street
D. Foreign Affairs
i. The Obama Doctrine
ii. “Surge” in Afghanistan
E. Polarized Politics
i. The Tea Party
ii. Occupy Wall Street
F. Bold Decisions
i. Marriage Equality
ii. The Dream Act and DACA
iii. The Supreme Court in the Twenty-First Century
iv. The 2012 Election
v. Black Lives Matter
vi. Obamacare on the Defensive
G. New Global Challenges in an Age of Insecurity
i. Russia’s annexation of Crimea
VI. The “Angry” 2016 Election
A. The 2016 Presidential Primaries
B. Clinton versus Sanders
C. Trump the Outsider
D. “Make America Great Again”
E. A Campaign Like No Other
VI. A Populist President
E. Trump’s Assault on Obamacare
F. Building a Wall
G. Forging Foreign Policies
VIII. The 100-Day Mark
LECTURE IDEAS
1. A lecture on Bill and Hillary Clinton would be a great way to trace American politics from the culture
wars of the 1960s into the Obama administration. For Bill Clinton’s life preceding his presidency, see
2. A lecture on the election of 2000 would give students a good insight into the state of politics by the
turn of the twenty-first century. It would also give you an opportunity to discuss the Electoral College
3. A lecture on President George W. Bush’s domestic agenda, including his No Child Left Behind policy,
tax cuts, and environmental policy, would give students a good basis for understanding America in the
early twenty-first century. See No Child Left Behind?: The Politics and Practice of School Accountability,
(2006) and Alexander Moens’s The Foreign Policy of George W. Bush: Values, Strategy, and Loyalty
(2006), and Thomas Ricks’s Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (2007).
5. A presentation on Hurricane Katrina could facilitate a larger examination of environmental issues of
the 2000s and some of President Bush’s second-term difficulties. For video clips to augment your
lecture, see Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke (2006), Trouble the Water (2008) for live footage from
6. A presentation on hip-hop as an American and global phenomenon would be an excellent way to
excite student interest about multicultural developments of the recent past. You should cover major
7. Prepare a lecture on the historic presidency and mixed legacies of Barak Obama, including his journey
to the White House and the outcomes of his social policies such as Obamacare. In foreign affairs,
8. Although it is too early to consider the legacy of the Trump presidency in its entirety, Trump’s rise will
undoubtedly be the subject of endless historical debate. A lecture might focus on Trump’s background
(2018).
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. Divide the class into several groups and have each determine what factors led to the Democratic
resurgence in the early 1990s. How did Bill Clinton contribute to this resurgence? Despite these
developments, what explains the surprising Republican landslide of 1994? Have each group present
2. Ask students to evaluate how the election of 2008 changed the national political conversation.
Consider showing clips from some of the presidential debates, available on C-Span. What were the
major differences between Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama and Republican candidate
John McCain? What were the major issues of the campaign? Who were their running mates and what
did they represent? What was the nature of voter turnout and the electoral vote? A brief comparison
3. Ask student groups to identify issues that have led to the increasing polarization of American politics
during the early part of the twenty-first century.
4. Outline the state of the world in 2016 and President Obama’s policy as he left office. What challenges
did he face? What were the strengths and weaknesses of his foreign policy decisions? You might ask
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
2. Discuss the foreign policy challenges that President Clinton faced during his presidency. How did he
deal with the many issues that confronted America’s role in the world?
3. Discuss the election of 2000, paying particularly close attention to the role of the third-party
candidate in determining the outcome.
4. Evaluate the idea that George W. Bush followed a domestic agenda based on “compassionate
conservatism.”
5. Why did President George W. Bush go to war against Iraq in the second Gulf War? Was the war
6. Discuss President Obama’s attempt at reviving the American economy.
7. What was President Obama’s response to the growing threat of terrorism?
8. Explain the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street.
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
One of the challenges and rewards of American citizenship in the early twenty-first century is
experiencing the richness and occasional tension inherent in an increasingly diverse society. Promote
constructive dialogue on this topic with friends and classmates through a showing on or off campus of the
movie Crash, winner of the Academy Award for best picture in 2005. Watch the film together and take
extended time to discuss it over coffee afterward. What points does the film make about racial or ethnic
stereotypes? In what sense is it an examination of the human ecology of a major metropolis? Is the Los
