Changes

Consider the history of the United States to be like a child who grows into an adult.  At what age would you expect a baseball player to hit his first home run?  At what age would you expect a country to be old enough to have a prolonged Civil War?  At what age would you expect a country to be able to lead the world?  Put things in perspective and realize that we had to be 180 years old before we could write a Constitution, and over 300 years old before we could become the most powerful nation in the world.  But once our country grew old enough, our enemies began to grow from within (e.g., infiltration by anarchists, communists and, more recently, terrorists).

Consider the history of the United States to be like a child who grows into an adult.  At what age would you expect a baseball player to hit his first home run?  At what age would you expect a country to be old enough to have a prolonged Civil War?  At what age would you expect a country to be able to lead the world?  Put things in perspective and realize that we had to be 180 years old before we could write a Constitution, and over 300 years old before we could become the most powerful nation in the world.  But once our country grew old enough, our enemies began to grow from within (e.g., infiltration by anarchists, communists and, more recently, terrorists).

Be able to identify overall trends in our history.  One trend is ever-increasing federal power.  Another trend is inflation.  A third trend is increased democracy.  A fourth trend is increasing power in the world.  A fifth trend is the Supreme Court pushing us away from our religious roots.  In Engel v. Vitale (1962), the Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools.  Many consider this to be one of the Supreme Court’s worst decisions ever.

Be able to identify overall trends in our history.  One trend is ever-increasing federal power.  Another trend is inflation.  A third trend is increased democracy.  A fourth trend is increasing power in the world.  A fifth trend is the Supreme Court pushing us away from our religious roots.  In ''Engel v. Vitale'' (1962), the Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools.  Many consider this to be one of the Supreme Court’s worst decisions ever.

Also understand history as a struggle between two sides.  It is like two wrestlers combating each other on a mat.  The wrestlers rotate on the map as each one tries to gain an advantage on the other.  Same for the two political parties: they rotate their regional support over the years.  At the time of the Civil War, the Republican Party dominated in the North and the Democratic Party dominated in the South.  Now it is the opposite.

Also understand history as a struggle between two sides.  It is like two wrestlers combating each other on a mat.  The wrestlers rotate on the map as each one tries to gain an advantage on the other.  Same for the two political parties: they rotate their regional support over the years.  At the time of the Civil War, the Republican Party dominated in the North and the Democratic Party dominated in the South.  Now it is the opposite.

We have seen several important figures who were Quakers:  William Penn, Susan Anthony (who favored women’s right to vote), Whittaker Chambers and Richard Nixon.  What was the Quaker religion really about?  It was Protestant against Protestantism.  Every Quaker is his own pastor; every Quaker is his own church using the Bible and his “inner light.” This led to a fierce independence in the character of Quakers, including a pacifism (opposition to war) by the Quakers in the eastern United States.

We have seen several important figures who were Quakers:  William Penn, Susan Anthony (who favored women's right to vote), Whittaker Chambers and Richard Nixon.  What was the Quaker religion really about?  It was Protestant against Protestantism.  Every Quaker is his own pastor; every Quaker is his own church using the Bible and his "inner light." This led to a fierce independence in the character of Quakers, including a pacifism (opposition to war) by the Quakers in the eastern United States.

What "drives" or "leads" or "causes" history?  Do politicians lead or follow?  Do writers of books lead or follow?  What's the real cause of history?

What "drives" or "leads" or "causes" history?  Do politicians lead or follow?  Do writers of books lead or follow?  What's the real cause of history?

Reagan could have done better in certain areas.  His appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court were Sandra Day O'Connor (the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court), Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy, and only Scalia proved to be a consistently strong conservative.  To Reagan's credit, he probably appointed O'Connor on the recommendation of conservative Justice (and future Chief Justice) William Rehnquist, who had been her law school classmate and friend.  And Reagan's first pick for the seat filled by Kennedy was Robert Bork, a solid conservative, but he was not confirmed by the Senate.

Reagan could have done better in certain areas.  His appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court were Sandra Day O'Connor (the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court), Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy, and only Scalia proved to be a consistently strong conservative.  To Reagan's credit, he probably appointed O'Connor on the recommendation of conservative Justice (and future Chief Justice) William Rehnquist, who had been her law school classmate and friend.  And Reagan's first pick for the seat filled by Kennedy was Robert Bork, a solid conservative, but he was not confirmed by the Senate.

Reagan also signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it a crime for an employer to hire an illegal alien (immigrant).  This Act forced employers to have their employees complete the "I-9 form" to prove that they were here legally.  The law imposed financial penalties on companies who caught employing illegal aliens, in the hope of discouraging illegal immigration.  But the Act granted amnesty to most illegal aliens who arrived before 1982, and that made many think that future illegal aliens would receive amnesty also.  Illegal immigration increased even more.

Reagan also signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it a crime for an employer to hire an illegal alien (illegal immigrant).  This Act forced employers to have their employees complete the "I-9 form" to prove that they were here legally.  The law imposed financial penalties on companies who caught employing illegal aliens, in the hope of discouraging illegal immigration.  But the Act granted amnesty to most illegal aliens who arrived before 1982, and that made many think that future illegal aliens would receive amnesty also.  Illegal immigration increased even more.

== Gulf War ==

== Gulf War ==

'''Debate:  Do you think Congress should pass treaties as ordinary laws when unable to obtain the 2/3rd vote necessary under the Constitution to ratify a treaty?'''

'''Debate:  Do you think Congress should pass treaties as ordinary laws when unable to obtain the 2/3rd vote necessary under the Constitution to ratify a treaty?'''

The Republican Congress that took over in 1995 passed several important conservative laws, including a massive welfare reform () and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  Clinton, chastened by the landslide defeat of his Democratic Party, began to govern more like a conservative.  He also wanted to win reelection in 1996, and he knew he had to move in the same direction as teh nation: to the "right" (more conservative).

The Republican Congress that took over in 1995 passed several important conservative laws, including a massive welfare reform (this was in last week's lecture) and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which established that federal law would only recognize marriages between a man and a woman and that one state did not have to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state.  Clinton, chastened by the landslide defeat of his Democratic Party, began to govern more like a conservative.  He also wanted to win reelection in 1996, and he knew he had to move in the same direction as the nation: to the "right" (more conservative).

On April 19, 1995, domestic terrorism hit the United States when Timothy McVeigh exploded a massive truck bomb in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  This caused the building to collapse and kill 168 people, including children in a day care center that was in the building, and injured over 800.  Reportedly McVeigh was angry at the federal government for a raid that it conducted against a group in Waco, Texas, which occurred exactly two years earlier and resulted in the deaths of dozens of citizens.  Speculation that McVeigh had foreign help for this attack was never proven, and McVeigh himself was executed after a lengthy trial that included testimony by a friend who described how McVeigh intended to do this.  A jury did not grant the prosecutor's request to impose the death penalty on a colleague of McVeigh, who instead received life imprisonment.

On April 19, 1995, domestic terrorism hit the United States when Timothy McVeigh exploded a massive truck bomb in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  This caused the building to collapse and kill 168 people, including children in a day care center that was in the building, and injured over 800.  Reportedly McVeigh was angry at the federal government for a raid that it conducted against a group in Waco, Texas, which occurred exactly two years earlier and resulted in the deaths of dozens of citizens.  Speculation that McVeigh had foreign help for this attack was never proven, and McVeigh himself was executed after a lengthy trial that included testimony by a friend who described how McVeigh intended to do this.  A jury did not grant the prosecutor's request to impose the death penalty on a colleague of McVeigh, who instead received life imprisonment.