The 1990sAlisabeth, Anna, Marylena, Maya,

Michelle, Molly

PoliticsGeorge Bush (1988-1992)

Bill Clinton (1992-2000)

Bush’s Term 1990-1992: Actions and Policies

• 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• 1992: major water projects bill: reformed distribution of funded federal water in West

• Anti affirmative action• Anti abortion lost women

supporters

1992 Presidential Election

• Rep: George Bush• Dem: Bill Clinton• Independent: H. Ross Perot

• weak economy (federal deficit problem)

• Gender gap• Persian Gulf War

• Record number of voters• Clinton won• Democratic majority in both houses

of Congress

Clinton’s First Term

• Too many controversial issues• Supported free trade (NAFTA & WTO)• Deficit reduction bill of

1993successful• Gun control & anticrime laws• Term limit laws for elected officials

Clinton’s First Term

• Problems with Republicans• Contract with America• Attack on budget deficits & reductions

in welfare programssuccessful

• Republicans criticized for extreme views

1996 Presidential Elections

• Rep: Robert Doyle• Dem: Bill Clinton

• Healthy economy

• Clinton won easy victory

Clinton’s Second Term

• Claimed political middle ground• 1996 Welfare Reform Bill• Disagreement over trade policy

• Protestors at Seattle meeting of WTO in 1999

• Campaign finance reform

Lewinsky Scandal

Charges for Impeachment

• “perjury before grand jury” & “obstruction of justice”

• Was Clinton guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors” described in Constitution?• Democrats said no• Republicans said yes;

lied under public oath

• 50 voted guilty, 55 voted not guilty

• Need 2/3 majority guilty vote for impeachment no impeachment

Business and the Economy

Short Recession

• 1990 – 1991 recession• Slow recovery: increased unemployment rates• 1991 -1993: 7% increase in unemployment• After the recession, employment increased

steadily throughout the rest of the 90s

Employment

• Manufacturing employment declined

• Labor union memberships declined slightly

• 13.5% of the population was in poverty in 1990

Lifestyle Improvements

• People had a longer life expectancy• It increased from 75.4% to 76.7%

• Improved medical treatment and lifestyles• Less smoking and fat intake

• The proportion of people graduating college increased to 26%

The Stock Market

• The stock market boomed in the late 1990s• This was partially because of the “dot – com

boom”• The 90s were profitable for corporations

and investors• High profits aided to a boom in prices of

corporate stocks

Balanced Budget Act of 1997

• Signed into a law on August 5, 1997• This bill is considered to be an ominous bill• Provisions with food stamps, housing, children’s

health, Medicaid• Reduce deficit with shifts in policy and enacting new

laws• The act offered a new Medicaid + Choice option

• More private insurances could contract with the government

• Wider coverage with less out of pocket expenses

New Technology

• Audio books• Cell Phones• Computers• Digital Cameras• DVDs• Automobile Industry

Dot-Coms• The internet availability to the public greatly

increased productivity• In 1998, the NASDAQ tripled• Incomes and stock values increased greatly as

well• Main beneficiaries: corporations and CEOs

• Improved customer service and business transactions• Contributed to the boom in housing and real

estate market• Provided many new job opportunities

• Lack of caution with dot – coms: not completely successful

Websites

Trends

Clothing

• Formal/ Business Attire• High Fashion: casual/ comfortable• Casual Wear

• T- shirt• Jeans• The Gap• Pro- team sport logos popular

Hip Hop

largest market not in ghetto- more in suburban youth.  • Baggy denim pants and overalls. • Wool/baseball caps.  • Sport jerseys/ jackets. • Nike brand shoes

Teen Clothing

• Grunge: Seattle Scene. Musician look. • Skate: oversized clothing.• Gothic: dark. High School Shootings.• Rave: bright. Underground dance

parties.

Clothing cont.

• School Uniforms: • feared gang problems• Keep girls from wearing inappropriate clothes. 

• Technology: synthetic material made to be breathable and windproof.  • Gore-Tex• Micro fibers for clothes.

Jewelry

• Important for casual wear. • Brooches and chokers.  • Peace signs made comeback.  • Hemp twine and wooden beads • Christian iconography: crosses/doves• Homemade jewelry.

Hair

• Natural- Low Maintenance• Black women:

• hair extensions- bob and bee-hive. • Hair pieces; weaved into hair straight or

braided.  • Hair coloring: Increased 70% over the

course of the decade.  • More dying of hair to red and blond because of

Britney spears• Men: Bleaching hair and spiked with dark

roots: Nsync and Rieke Martin. 

Entertainment

• Books: • Happy Potter: best selling child’s fantasy

series.  J.K. Rowling. • Received protests from Christian groups:

promoted which craft• Games/ Toys:

• Tomagatchis, Pokémon, Neopets, Poochi, Ferbi, computer games

Television Shows

Slang

- “Playah”, “Pigeon”, “chica”, “Dawg”,  - homeys, gangsters, Gs, buzzkill,

borechore, geek, chillin’, goin’ postal, throw down, bounce, phat, dope, fly, your mom. Money: bills, bling, coin.

- I-M ing/ text messaging: • OMG, IDK, LOL

Blogs

• online diaries.• Ritual Entertainment hired full time

blogger in 1997- first company to have a professional blogger

• Dredge Report: Matt Drudge makes news blog•   Blogging exploded in 1998- tens of thousands

by end of 99’• Opened handful of host blogging services

• people can comment on other people’s blogs

Tattoos/ Piercings

• Tattoos were just for gang members, prisoners, bikers, and sailors- • Now: more mainstream.

• Piercing: not just ears anymore.  • Tongue, navel, nose. 

Food Trends

- Frozen dinners- Power bars/ Cereal Bars- Genetically Modified Food- Organic Food: whole foods marketry- Coffee Houses

- Starbucks

Foreign Policy

Persian Gulf War

• Iraq invades Kuwait• U.N. ordered removal of Iraqis • U.S. leads invasion• Ceasefire- February 24, 1991

Persian Gulf War

North American Free Trade Agreement

• Agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.

• Decreased tariffs

Balkans

• Bosnian freedom from Yugoslavia• Ethnic cleansing of Croats• Clintons idea to bomb Serbians• Agreement made in Ohio

Social/ Cultural Changes

Education

- 82% of the nation had completed four years of high school

• High school drop out rate was less than 6% (was an improvement from the 80s, which was 11%)

• Average amount of homework hours changed (for example from ages 6-8) from 52 minutes to over two hours

• More students were attending college because of the economic boom

Work

• Part-time jobs 80% of students had one• Jobs were becoming more based of college

educations

Teen Violence

• 1991: highest rate of teen violence• teens living in the ghetto lead to a higher

chance of a more violent lifestyle

Drugs

• There was an increase with teens using drugs, smoking, and alcohol• Raised from 14-46% from 1992-1997

Advertising

• Was increased through television, magazines, the radio, and the internet

• Was a major stimulant of the economy• The average American was estimated to

be targeted with a daily rate of 3000 advertisements in 1991

• Growth in telemarketing

The Internet

• Simplified the process of getting information

• EBay: founded in 1995• Was one of the most dominate market places• By end of 90s 40 million were registered and

made over five billion dollars in transactions

Sports

• Soccer had its come back in the 90s• Mia Hamm: U.S. Women’s Soccer Team

• Sports event tickets were becoming more expensive

• Sports celebrities and athletes were becoming the face of many commercial advertisements• Most popular: Michael Jordan (Hanes and Nike)

and Tiger Woods (Titlist golf gear, Nike, American Express, Rolex, and more).

Food• Fast Food Industry

• By the end of the 90s - spent $110 billion• Increased marketing towards children

• put playgrounds in restaurants• Put advertisement in kid movies BK in Toy Story

• Soda• Reached to an annual rate of 56 gallons per

person at the end of the 90s• Americans had poor diets because of

fast food• Mostly effected the children poor exercise\

Music• Nirvana: band of the 90s• Rock/Metal: Example Bands: Metallica,

Beastie Boys, Beck, Sound Garden• Indie Rock: Became a new genre in the

90s, but wasn’t mainstream• Alternative rock

• Was more popular with teens- MTV• Examples: U2, Nirvana, R.E.M., Pearl Jam,

House of Pain, Counting Crows, Radiohead, Third Eye Blind, Oasis, Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, Spin Doctors

Music Cont.• Rap / Hip-hop

• Sales were extremely high for the music• Wasn’t played on the commercial radio

because it was too obscene• Example Bands: Sir Mix-A-Lot, Dr. Drew, Red

Hot Chili Peppers, MC Hammer, Salt-n-Pepper, Eminem, Vanilla Ice, Color Me Badd, Fat Boy Slim-

• Country: Billy Ray Cyrus, Tim McGraw, Dixie Chicks…

• Pop: Backstreet Boys, Brittany Spears…

Key Events

Aids Epidemic of the 1990’s

• In the 1990’s, the aids epidemic continued to kill multiple people.

• Every year, the United States had 40,000 aids related cases.

• In May 1990, the number of aids patients of 13 to 19 year olds increased by 35%.

• There were public service announcements by the National Institute on Drug Abuse to encourage teens to avoid usage of drugs and alcohol.

Bill Clinton Scandal (one of many) 1995-1997

• Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky (22) since November of 1995.

• When confronted about this affair, he denied that he ever did anything with anyone.

• Ended up testifying his faults.• Was acquitted for his charges.

Oklahoma City Bombing: April 19, 1995

• At 9:02 am a truck exploded in front of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building.

• Timothy Mcveigh was found responsible for the bombing.

• Video: • http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id

=2683183n

Princess Diana car crash: August 30, 1997

• Princess Diana was in France celebrating with her companion, Dodi.

• One the way back to the hotel was the fatal car crash.• Millions mourned over her sudden death.

Columbine Massacre: April 20, 1999

• Extreme school shooting• Littletown, Colorado• Seniors: Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris

• April 20th, 11:15 am was the 1st lunch period with around 500 kids near the cafeteria.• Evidences were found from a security tape• Total of 13 people killed• 1 teacher, 12 students

• Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phApxy7aqFw&feature=related

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone novel: 1999

• Series by J.K. Rowling• Started a new obsession for readers• Total of 7 books and 6 movies