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CHAPTER 24: SECTION 4

BUSH TAKES OVER -No one since Van Buren had ever been elected President while serving as Vice President. -In 1988, Vice President George Bush ran for presidency, and broke the 152-year-old-tradition.

THE ELECTION OF 1988 --Bush's low profile encouraged Senator Robert Dole and television evangelist Pat Robertson to challenge him for the nomination. -Bush overcame his opposition and chose an unknown young conservative from Indiana, Senator J. Danforth "Dan" Quayle. -More than a half dozen candidates were found by the Democrats to try and challenge Bush. Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis and Reverend Jesse Jackson led this group. -Jackson won wide support from African Americans and liberal Democrats. -Dukakis won the Democratic vote, with Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate. -The contest for the White house played on television, and both parties paid political advertisements to stress negative aspects of their opponents. -Bush received 53 % of the popular vote to Dukakis's 46%. He took 426 electoral votes to Dukakis's 111. Democrats continued to hold the majority.

THE NEW PRESIDENT -In Bush's inaugural address, Bush hinted that he would not simply follow the old ideas and attitudes of the Reagan era. He promised a "kinder, gentler nation." -Tried to maintain a balance between continuing the policies of the Reagan years and working more closely with the Democratic-controlled Congress.

DRUGS, EDUCATION, AND THE ENVIRONMENT -During the 1988 campaign, George Bush spoke strongly on the need to control the spread of illegal drugs. -Appointed William Bennett to be a special "drug czar" to oversee the nation's war on drugs. -Bennett resigned in 1990, claiming the drug use was dropping. -Bob Martinez replaced Bennett. -Bush promised to chart a new course for the environment and education. -The Reagan administration cut back on government programs. -In 1989, Bush called a conference of the nation's governors to set national goals for education. -Appointed a strong defender of the environment, William Reilly, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -In 1990, Reilly signed into law a bill setting tougher standards to reduce air pollution. These regulations were the first to be passed since the "Carter Years". -Nuclear wastes posed a special threat to the environment. -17 military plants that had manufactured nuclear weapons were closed, when President Bush took office. -Investigations showed that the plants were unsafer or had dumped dangerous nuclear wastes. -Energy Department estimated that the cost of cleaning up and repairing the plants might rise to $200 billion. -No solution was found.

THE SAVINGS AND LOAN CRISIS -Rash of savings bank failures put even more pressure on the nation's finances. -S&Ls had long finaced mortgages, or loans for Americans buying homes. -Many S&Ls were on the verge of going out of business. -Reagan administration led a campaign to deregulate S&Ls to allow them more freedom from government control. -S&Ls offered high interest rates and choose where to invest their money. -Falling energy prices in the 1980s sent real estate prices tumbling in the Southwest. -Some S&Ls were able to make huge profits. -Falling energy prices in the 1980s sent real estate prices tumbling in the Southwest. -A number of S&Ls went bankrupt because the loans they made were not repaid. -By 1990, a recession in New England led to more savings bank failures. -The Bush Administration set up a federal agency to take over the failed banks, sell them, or sell off their assets. -By the 1990s, the collapse of many S&Ls weakened the nation's banking system in general.

REDUCING THE DEFICIT --To reduce the growing deficit, Congress and the PResident needed either to cut spending or raise more money. -During the campaign of 1988, George Bush firmly pledged not to raise taxes. -If they failed to pass a budget by October 1, the automatic budget cuts called for in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act would go into effect. -Congress and the President finally reached a budget agreement that would cut the deficit by nearly $500 billion over 5 years. The plan increased taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline.

THE ELECTIONS OF 1990 -Many people felt that the President was unable to direct a solution to the budget crisis. -In 14 states, voters elected governors from a different party from those who had been in office.

FLAGS AND THE SUPREME COURT -In 1989, the Court struck down a Texas law that had made burning the American flag a crime. -Justices ruled that burning the flag in protest was a form of free speech. -Supporters of the amendment argued that burning a beloved national symbol was not free speech but was an insult to the nation. -The amendment was defeated in Congress. -Cases involving abortion, race and sex discrimination, and the death penalt often have divided liberal and conservative Justices on the Court. -In July 1990, Justice William Brennan announced his retirement, who was the leader of the Court's liberal wing. -President Bush nominated a little-known New Hampshire judge, David Souter, to take Brennan's place. -Souter took his seat on the Supreme Court in October 1990.

SECTION 4: A WORLD IN TRANSITION -In 1947, George Kennan warned PResident Truman that hte United States must act firmly to contain Soviet aggression. -The United States and the Soviet Union found themselves on the same side.

THE END OF THE COLD WAR? -In 1981, the Polish government had outlawed Solidarity, and independent labor union. -In 1989 the communist government allowed Solidarity candidates to run for the Polish parliament, all of them won. -Solidarity leader replaced a communist as head of the government. -Started of a flood of changed of Walesa as the President of Poland in 1990. -In November of 1989, after months of protests by East Germans the East German government stunned the world by announcing that it was opening the wall. -On November 9,1989, hundreds of East Berliners streamed through the gates to visit the West. -By the summer of 1990, East and West Germany had charted a course toward reunion. -NATO and the Soviet Union agreed on a timetable. -Germany became on nation again on October 4, 1990. -Czechoslovakia was forced to resign in 1989. They were the communist government. -Rumania dictator Nicolae Ceausescu resisted the tide of change and had protesters shot. -Ceausescu and his wife were executed in December 1989. -Rumanian government officials consulted American legal experts for advice on writing a democratic constitution. -Gorbachev acepted the movement toward democratic reform in Eastern Europe. -Lithuania and Estonia demanded independence. -In 1990, the Soviet government announced that it would allow private ownership of land and businesses. -Lech Walesa visited the United States in 1989 and Vaclav Havel followed in 1990, they received a hero's welcome. -Bush's 1990 budget called for only a small reduction in defense spending.

NEW DIRECTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA -Bush did not continue for military aid to the contras. -Bush administration worked out a bipartisan agreement with Congress. The United States would provide the contras with food, clothing,and medical supplies.