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=Chapter 24, section 3 = __**Bush Takes Over.**__ Christian Lowery  Bush was the first Vice president to win the president to win the president in a very long time, 2. __The new president.__ Bush brought a wide range of experience to the white house because he was vice president under Reagan. He has also served as a member of congress, an ambassador, and as the director of the central Intelligence Agency. But he still tried to keep things how Reagan left them. 3. __Drugs, Education, and the Environment.__ As president Bush appointed William Bennett to be a special "drug czar" to oversee the nation's war on drugs. He also appointed him head of the Environmental Protection Agency. 4. __The Savings and Loan Crisis.__ A rash of savings bank failures put even more pressure on the nation's finances. The Bush administration set up a federal agency to take over the failed banks, sell them or sell off their assets. Government economists estimated that the cost of bailing out the S&Ls would probably run more than $600 billion over 10 years. 5. __Reducing the Deficit.__ The savings and loan crisis added to the growing deficit in the federal budget. After days of bargaining late into the night, Congress and the President finally reached a budget agreement that would cut the deficit by nearly $500 billion over 5 years. The plan increased taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and gasoline, but it also cut spending in many areas. 6. __The Elections of 1990.__
 * 1) __The election of 1988__

7. __Flags and the Supreme Court.__ In 1989 the court struck down a Texas law that had made burning the American flag a crime. Bush wasn't happy about it. Flag burning was just one of many controversial issues facing the Supreme Court.

 __**Section 4, A World in Transition.**__ 1.__The End of the Cold War.__ Soviet dominated governments had controlled the nations of Eastern Europe. Those in power brutally stifled dissent. The first stirrings occurred in Poland. In 1981, the Polish government had outlawed Solidarity, an independent labor union. 2. __A wall comes down.__ No single event symbolized these changes more vividly than the opening of the Berlin wall. On November 9, 1989, hundreds of East Berliners streamed through the gates to see the wall. 3. __New Directions in Latin America.__ George Bush took a less militant approach toward affairs in Nicaragua than Ronald Reagan had. In February 1990, Nicaragua held elections. Most observers thought that Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista Party would win. But Violeta Chamorro won Handily. 4.__Unrest in China.__ The wave of reform that swept communist Europe sent shock waves through China. President Bush disapproved of the return to repression. However he refused to take strong action against the Chinese government. 5.__A Policy Toward South Africa.__ The worldwide move toward democracy also seemed to spread to South Africa. At the same time many Americans universities and some state governments sold their stock in companies that operated in South Africa. 6.__War Clouds in the Middle East.__ Despite hopeful signs in other parts of the world the Middle East remained a threat to world peace. After the Iran-Iraq war ended in 1988, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein rebuilt his military.