APUSH: Period 9 Concepts

A proposal by Ronald Reagan to intercept incoming nuclear missiles using lasers fired from orbital platforms. Popularly known as “Star Wars,” it was considered technologically infeasible by scientists.

Eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union (1985–1991). He sought reform with his glasnost and perestroika policies. Oversaw the democratisation of Eastern Europe. However, the revival of nationalism throughout the Warsaw Pact proved problematic for him. The failed August Coup of 1991 by hardline communists fatally wounded his power base. Resigned on December 25, 1991. Transferred power over Russia to Boris Yeltsin.

(“openness”) A policy instituted by Gorbachev, it allowed Soviet citizens to publicly criticize the government and discuss social problems in the hope of finding solutions.

(“restructuring”) A policy instituted by Gorbachev, it introduced limited free market reforms to the Soviet Union’s socialist planned economy. A key aspect of the Soviet Union’s fall.

Forty-first President. Served 1989–1993. Considered a moderate Republican, his presidency was defined by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. He pushed for international cooperation in a “New World Order,” such as in Operation Desert Storm. Signed but did not ratify the NAFTA treaty. Breaking his “Read my lips: no new taxes” promise alienated conservatives ahead of the 1992 election.

First President of the Russian Federation (1991–1999). Russian nationalist. Engineered his country’s transition from a socialist to capitalist economy via “shock therapy” reforms, such as rapid large-scale privatization. This effort led to massive social upheaval and a rise in powerful business oligarchs. Appointed Vladimir Putin as his successor.

Forty-second President. Served 1993–2001. Clinton advocated for centrist reform as a “New Democrat,” signing NAFTA and welfare reform into law, but notably failed to reform health care. Intervened in the Kosovo War. Helped broker the Good Friday Agreement. Impeached in 1998 over allegations arising from his affair with Monica Lewinsky; he was not convicted.

A pledge that listed specific conservative policies the GOP would enact if they gained control of the House of Representatives in the 1994 midterm elections.

Former Speaker of the House (1995–1999). He helped draft the Contract with America, which led to the 1994 Republican Revolution. Oversaw welfare reform, the 1995–1996 government shutdown, and the Clinton impeachment. Officially reprimanded for ethics violations, he resigned his seat in 1999.

More commonly referred to as “welfare reform,” Bill Clinton signed it into law. It stopped open-ended benefits, instead favoring a limited work-based concept, and shifted control to the states.

Forty-third President. Served 2001–2009. He won election after the 2000 recount. The 9/11 attacks defined his presidency. Directed the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Domestically, he signed the No Child Left Behind Act, Patriot Act, and an expansion of Medicare into law. The final months of his presidency were marked by the 2008 Financial Crisis. He signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which bailed out failing banks.

Also known as NCLB. Established federal standards in education and test-based performance measurement. Passed in 2001 with bipartisan support. Replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, which reverted standards to the states.

A right-wing anti-government domestic terrorist, McVeigh helped orchestrate the Oklahoma City bombing, which targeted the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. 168 people were killed and nearly 700 were injured. McVeigh was executed on June 11, 2001.

A Salafist jihadist transnational terrorist organization. Formed in 1988 by veteran mujahideen fighting against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, along with other attacks in several other countries over the years.

A Saudi national infamous for orchestrating the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. Born into a family of billionaires, in 1979 he joined the mujahideen opposed to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Later founded al-Qaeda. Killed on May 2, 2011 in a U.S. Navy SEALS raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

 Also known as the September 11 attacks or 9/11. Using four hijacked airliners, al-Qaeda destroyed the Twin Towers in New York City and severely damaged the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvanian field after its passengers attempted to retake the cockpit. 2,977 victims died. Over 6,000 were injured. Sparked the War on Terror.

A cabinet-level department formed in 2002 in response to the 9/11 attacks, it consolidated various public security agencies. It has since been criticized on several grounds, ranging from ineffectiveness to violating civil liberties.

Typically refers to a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon that can kill a large number of people in a single action. Also known as WMD.

Forty-fourth President. Served 2009–2017. A freshman senator from Illinois, he defeated Hillary Clinton in a protracted 2008 primary fight and went on to a landslide general election victory. First African American President. Along with George W. Bush, he oversaw the response to the 2008 Financial Crisis. Signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010. His foreign policy was marked by a multilateral approach and the targeted use of military force.

 Served as First Lady to Bill Clinton 1993–2001. Served as Senator from New York 2001–2009. Served as Secretary of State 2009–2013. Ran for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama after a protracted campaign. Won the nomination in 2016, becoming the first female nominee for a major party, but lost the presidential election. Politically, she advocated for health care reform and women’s rights, and was considered a foreign policy hawk.

A health care reform act that reduced the uninsured population via expanded Medicaid eligibility and a reworking of the individual insurance marketplace. Th

A 1986 law signed by Ronald Reagan. It made it a crime to knowingly hire an illegal immigrant, but also legalized millions of immigrants who had unlawfully entered the U.S. before January 1, 1982.

A region of the United States centered around the Great Lakes and upper Midwest. The term references the economic decline of the country’s former industrial heartland.

The policy of favoring members of a historically disadvantaged group, usually in the context of employment or education. Came into practice in the United States in the 1960s but has become the subject of increasing controversy. It is banned in several states by law.

Co-founded the Microsoft Corporation. A pioneer in the personal computer revolution, his business tactics led to an antitrust case where Microsoft was ruled a monopoly. However, the court order to break up Microsoft was reversed upon appeal.

A worldwide computer network that uses the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). Grew out of ARPANET, a project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

 Distinct from but related to the Internet. It is a system by which documents are coded in HTML, identified by URLs, and linked together by hypertext. Invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989.

The name refers to a March 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Led to the decline of the U.S. nuclear power industry.

Beginning in 1994, it created a free trade bloc between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Negotiated by George H. W. Bush and ratified with the approval of Bill Clinton. Opposed in the 1992 election by Ross Perot.

Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, the IMF facilitates global trade to avoid another Great Depression.

 A global banking crisis that arose from the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market. Resulted in the federal bailout of U.S. banks. Led to the Great Recession.