Global Challenges (College Board AP® US History)

Summary

As the United States entered the new millennium, it faced significant global and national challenges that reshaped its politics, economy, security, and environmental politics. These challenges affected all Americans and raised important questions about the costs, and financial and human sacrifice, of addressing them.

Presidential elections & September 11, 2001

Presidential election of 2000

• Candidates in the Election of 2000:

  • George W. Bush (Republican)

  • Al Gore (Democrat)

• The 2000 presidential election was one of the closest in U.S. history

  • The race came down to the state of Florida, where the results were very close and controversial

• Gore won the popular vote by over half a million votes, but Bush won the electoral college vote

  • after a contentious recount process of the popular vote

• The Supreme Court ultimately settled in the case, Bush v. Gore

  • This stopped a recount and awarded Florida’s electoral votes to Bush

  • Bush became president

• This election raised concerns about:

  • the electoral system

  • electronic voting

  • voter recounts

• This sparked debates over electoral reform, which continued as the 21^st century progressed

September 11, 2001 Attacks

• The Islamic extremist group, al-Qaeda, carried out terrorist attacks using commercial airliners as weapons on September 11, 2001

• The World Trade Center in New York City was targeted, leading to the collapse of the Twin Towers

• The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia was also hit

• A fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was also hijacked but crashed into a Pennsylvania field as a result of passengers' initiative as they attempted to retake control of the plane

• Over 3,000 people were killed and thousands more injured, making it one of the deadliest days in American history 

• The attacks drastically changed U.S. foreign and domestic policies

  • It prompted a global war on terrorism

The Government response to 9/11

• Patriot Act (2001)

  • This law expanded the government’s surveillance powers to track and investigate suspected terrorists

  • It allowed for eavesdropping on private phones and electronic communications to prevent future terrorist activity

  • Critics saw this Act as an infringement on civil and privacy rights

  • War on Terror

    • This is the term for a multinational military and intelligence campaign aimed at defeating terrorist groups, especially al-Qaeda     

• The outcome of the war is mixed:

  • Millions of individuals living under regimes influenced by terrorist groups were liberated and nearly 66 percent of al-Qaeda leadership was taken into custody or killed

  • However, the war caused the widespread dispersal of terrorist factions, thus making it difficult to fight

• Afghanistan War (2001–2014)

  • The Taliban government, which harbored al-Qaeda, was overthrown

  • The U.S. launched a military campaign to destroy terrorist networks

  • Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda and instrumental in the 9/11 attacks, was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in May 2011

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

  • The DHS was established in 2002 to consolidate national security efforts

    • It aims to ensure the safety of America’s citizens and protect the borders of the U.S.

    • It searches for and identifies possible terrorists

    • It combines 22 federal departments under one agency

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Explosion_following_the_plane_impact_into_the_South_Tower_(WTC_2)_-_B6019~11.jpg

Election of 2008

• Barack Obama, a Democrat, became the  44^th president of the U.S.

  • He was the first African American U.S. president

    • This was a historic milestone, symbolizing progress in racial equality in the U.S.

• The Great Recession (2007–2009)

  • A global economic downturn that began with the housing market collapse and led to a financial crisis

  • Over 30 million jobs were lost

  • The U.S. economy faced widespread unemployment and instability

• In response to the recession, Obama implemented the American Recovery Act and Reinvestment Act (2009)

  • This aimed to stimulate growth in the economy through:

    • tax incentives

    • social programs

    • infrastructure projects designed to create new jobs and support economic recovery

  • While it did help stabilize the economy, the recovery was slow

    • Many Americans faced long-term unemployment

• President Obama would be reelected in 2011 

Election of 2016

• In the election of 2016, Donald Trump was the Republican candidate against Hilary Clinton the Democratic candidate

• Donald Trump became the 45^th president

• Events of this term included:

  • Repeal of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare

    • a federal health insurance program designed to reduce the number of uninsured Americans

  • Low unemployment rate

  • Tariffs on goods imported from China

    • leading to heightened tensions with the communist country

  • Outbreak of the COVID-19 virus led to social isolation in March 2020 and a downturn in the economy greater than any previous period of decline 

• Donald Trump was reelected in 2024 becoming the 47^th president

Environmental Concerns

• In the 21^st century, environmental issues became increasingly urgent

  • This affected both domestic policies and global relations

• The U.S is dependent on fossil fuels 

  • The wars in the Middle East, and U.S. involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, drew attention to the country’s dependency on oil from Arab nations

    • This raised concerns about energy security and the need for alternative energy sources

Nuclear power

• Nuclear energy was viewed as an alternative to fossil fuels

• However, concerns remained about possible environmental risks associated with nuclear power, including:

  • the potential for catastrophic accidents

  • waste disposal

  • safety issues

Fracking

• Fracking is the use of high-pressure water to extract natural gas and oil reserves from deep underground

• The benefit of fracking is that it could dramatically increase domestic oil supplies

• However, there are environmental concerns with fracking regarding:

  • water contamination

  • disposal of wastewater

  • earthquake risks (for example, Oklahoma has seen an increase in seismic activity with significant earthquakes in 2011 and 2016 which coincided with the rise of fracking)

Solar Power

• Solar power is a solution to fossil fuels, promoted as a cleaner, renewable energy source

• However, solar power faces environmental concerns regarding:

  • efficiency

  • cost

  • scalability

Electric cars

• Electric vehicles (EVs) became a growing market as a solution to the use of fossil fuels, which helps to reduce oil dependence

• They have lower carbon emissions compared to gas-powered cars

• There are environmental concerns which continue to be discussed about EVs, including:

  • the environmental impact of battery production

  • the charging infrastructure required for EVs

Hydrogen fuel cars 

• Hydrogen fuel cars use hydrogen stored in pressurized tanks in the vehicle to charge their battery

• While getting extremely good mileage with zero emissions, these automobiles are disconcerting due to:

  • the high cost of production 

  • issues with hydrogen flammability

  • high CO₂ emissions resulting from hydrogen production from fossil fuels

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electric_charging_station_at_VISA_(32595147468).jpg