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Bush takes over
In 1988, Vice President George Bush defied the odds and became president, breaking an 152 year old tradition.

George H.W Bush became the new president after Ronald Reagan. Bush's running mate was a young conservative from Indiana, Senator J. Danforth Quayle.
 The two democratic nominations were Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, and Jesse Jackson. The special thing about Jesse Jackson was the he was the first black man to run for the presidental nomination of a major party. In the end, Michael Dukakis was the winner in the end and he was the democratic nomination. Although many people wanted Dukakis, Bush prevailed and won the election. He received 53% of the popular vote, and 426 electoral votes.

The New President  Bush made a point in his speech that he was going to follow the old ideas and attitudes of the Reagan era. Which was that he was going to put much emphasis on material wealth, but Bush promised a "kinder, gentler nation." He also was making sure that he would work more closely with the democratic- controlled congress.  Drugs, education, and the environment During the election, Bush made it clear that he had strong feelings on the need to control the spread of illegal drugs. He appointed William Bennett to be a special "drug czar." He was made to oversee the nation's war on drugs. He also promised to chart a new course for environment and education. He appointed another person to his administration who was William Reilly and he was appointed the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The last problem he had to deal with was nuclear waste. when he took office there were 17 military plants the manufactured nuclear weapons were closed, they were unsafe and dumped dangerous nuclear wastes. As of today, there is still no solution to the problem. The Savings and Loans Crisis A rash of savings bank failures put even more pressure on the nation's finances. S&L 's had long financed mortgages, or loans, for Americans buying homes. It's purpose was to encourage people to save money. In the end the purpose of the program was not fulfilled and it discouraged investors. And it weakened the nation's banking system in general.

 Reducing the Deficit  The S&L crisis added to the growing deficit in the federal budget. In order to reduce the deficit the president needed to cut spending or raise more money. The "capital gains" tax cut would stimulate the economy, but others argued that it would only help rich investors. Finally after a lot of debate they reached an agreement that would cut the deficit by nearly 500 billion dollars over 5 years. It would increase taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline.  The Elections of 1990 After looking back on the years of Bush people saw a president who seemed to no be able to direct a solution to the budget crisis and a congress who was unwilling to make difficult decisions.  Flags and the Supreme court President Bush and the supreme court struck down a texas law and it made the burning of the flag a crime. Justices protested that the burning of the flag was a form of free speech and it was protected by the first amendment. Bush didn't think that the burning of the flag should be legal but the supreme court ruled otherwise and there for it wasn't a crime to burn the flag it was a form of free speech and was protected by the first amendment. 


<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> A World in transition George Kennan warned President Truman that the United States must act firmly to contain soviet aggression. As the years went on Kennan changed his view on communism and the soviets. He saw through to the end of the cold war and could finally announce that it was over.

<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">The End of the Cold War? No other event symbolized the cold war ending but for the berlin wall coming down. It reunited west and east germany. The Americans responded enthusiastically to the reforms in Eastern Europe. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> New Directions in Latin America Bush did not press to continue military aid to the contras. Instead the Bush administration worked out a bipartisan agreement with congress. With that the U.S would only provide food, clothing and medical supplies. Although once being an alley to the united states and helping them with funding the contra's he soon became a big part of drug smuggling. Finally Bush sent American military forces to Panama hoping it would stop the flow of drugs in the country.

<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Unrest in China The wave of reform that swept through communist Europe and sent shock through China. Chinese students began to reform and campaign for democratic reforms. Thousands of protesters were killed or arrested. Bush refused to take strong action against the chinese government.

<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">A Policy Toward South Africa The worldwide move toward democracy also seemed to spread the to South Africa. The South African government continued to pursue the policy of apartheid, or separations of races. Bush didn't support this policy so he adopted the policy known as " constructive engagement." The congress didn't agree with the cautious approach. They called for <span style="background-color: rgb(0, 255, 255);">economic sanitations or limits on trade and investment. F.W De Klerk was introduced to the world and he helped get rid of apartheid. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> War Clouds in the Middle East In August of 1990 Saddam Hussein sent his troops to invade Kuwait, one of the richest oil- producing countries in the Middle East. The United Nations along with the Soviet Union all approved a total trade boycott of Iraq. In response Saddam held many Americans hostage in Kuwait and Iraq. If the United States or any other country were to attack Iraq, the hostages would die!

<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">War in the Persian Gulf Bush convinced the UN to make January 15, 1991 the final day that the Iraqi's can remove themselves from Kuwait. In preparation of an offensive strike, Bush sent 200,000 additional troops to the Middle East. Saddam Hussein rejected the chance to negotiate but released most of the hostages, including Americans. As the deadline for the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait passed the United States and other nations of Saudi Arabia and Britain launched an air attack on Iraq on January 16. It took only six weeks to defeat Iraq.