1990s

= = 1990’s A. Culture The 1990's are known as the "computer age" or the "electronic age". 98% of households had a television, and the average viewer watched it for 7 hours a day. Three million people were connected to the internet in 1994, and this number increased to 100 million by 1998. [] 1) Technology  __Communication and the Internet __  There were many new, faster ways of communication. E-mail (short for Electronic Mail) was used for family and friends to stay in touch, but more frequently for the workplace. It was also a way for people to have “pen-pals” in far off locations. Cell phones were also grew popular during the nineties as their size became smaller. By the end of the decade, most parents had cell phones for their children. Cell phones were not just beneficial, they also created problems such as car accidents when people talked on their phone while driving.

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a) Where did it come from?

Many people have many misconceptions about how the internet started. As early as the late fifties, the government’s ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) wanted to find a way to connect 4 different computers running on different operating systems. By the late seventies, this connection became a reality, and the start of what would lead the technological world. “In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee developed a system designed to simplify navigation on the Internet. In time, this system became known as the World Wide Web. It didn't take long for some people to mistakenly identify the Internet and the Web as the same thing. The Internet is a global interconnection of computer networks; the World Wide Web is a way to navigate this massive network. In sailing terms, it's like comparing an ocean to a ship.” The internet started with people in the government and military, but expanded to college graduates, and soon students in college. []

b) Why? The internet provided people with a way to get out of the cubicle and do their work at home. This allowed them to “explore a different lifestyle that would have been inconceivable even ten years beforehand”.

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c) A New Language

The internet created a new "language" as people began to type in shorthand for ease. This Internet slang is referred to as "chatspeak" and "netspeak". Many common words/acronyms include:
 * **<3** || //Heart (can also be typed as **S2**)// ||
 * **@** || //At// ||
 * **1** || //Bye, Goodbye// ||
 * **2** || //To//, //Too// or //Two// ||
 * **4** || //For// or //Four// ||
 * **B** || //Be// ||
 * **B4** || //Before// ||
 * **C** || //See// ||
 * **Ite** || //Are you alright, Yo// ||
 * **Cuz** || //Cousin// ||
 * **Cos** || //Because// ||
 * **da** || //The// ||
 * **der** || //There// ||
 * **Gonna** || //Going to// ||
 * **Iggy** || //Ignore// ||
 * **K** || //Okay// ||
 * **L8r** || //Later// ||
 * **M8** || //Mate// ||
 * **O** || //Oh// ||
 * **Pic** || //Picture// ||
 * **Pics or Pix** || //Pictures// ||
 * **Plz or Pls** || //Please// ||
 * **R** || //Are// ||
 * **sup** || //What's up?// ||
 * **sup homes** || //What's up, friend?// ||
 * **Tho** || //Though// ||
 * **Thx** || //Thanks// ||
 * **U** || //You// ||
 * **W8** || //Wait// ||
 * **Wanna** || //Want to// ||
 * **Wile** || //While// ||
 * **Yo** || //Hey// or //Your// ||

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The Nineties is known for its rapid technological advances. There are too many to list them all, but here are a few other key advances:

1) Medical Sciences - Cloning: Dolly the Sheep - Stem Cell Research - Biotechnology: Genetic Engineering (GM)

2) Microsoft: One of many small technology companies that grew to a “market domineering position”. Bill Gates was the Chief Executive Officer, along with being one of the founders.

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3) CD’s (Compact Discs) popularized

4) DVD’s (Digital Versatile Disc) popularized

2. Education  -In 1999, 83.5% of people completed 4 years of High school (compared to only 41% in 1960)

[] -ERIC (Educational Resources database) went online  []

-ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) were known as the ”diagnosis of the 90’s” and were seen mostly in students.

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3. Pop Culture  __Fashions and Fads __  Toys 1) Playstation 2) Teletubbies 3) Giga Pets 4) Furby

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Fashion 1) Cargo Pants 2) Low-rise jeans 3) Flannel Shirts 4) Blazers 5) Grunge

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Fads 1) SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) 2) Beanie Babies 3) Fannypacks 4) Napster Music 5) Piercings

  __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The end of the Cold War __ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> America’s economy suffered after the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union became Russia. The U.S. had been relying on “defense spending”. __“Persian Gulf Crisis”__ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">August 2, 1992, Saddam Hussien (Iraqi Leader) invaded Kuwait searching for oil. The U.N. Security Council demanded Iraq to withdraw its troops, but Hussien refused, and the U.S. sent 539,000 troops to the Persian Gulf. On Jan. 16, 1991, The U.S. and U.N. led a 37-day war on Iraq, led by U.S. general Norman Schwarzkopf. This failed to remove Hussien from power.
 * <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">B. Politics and Citizenship **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">1) The Last Years of Bush **

[] __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">National Affairs __ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> 1990- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)- put an end to discrimination against people with mental and/or physical disabilities 1992- Water Projects Bill- reformed distribution of federal water in Western states

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 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">2) Clinton **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">



Clinton became president in the Election of 1992 with Al Gore as his Vice President. “Presidency Clinton placed in Congress and his presidential cabinet minorities and more women, including the first female attorney general, Janet Reno, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Supreme Court”.

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Clinton’s presidency was during the most peaceful time in U.S. history, along with it’s economic peak, having a surplus in the nation’s budget. During his presidency the U.S. saw: a. The lowest inflation in 30 years b. Lowest unemployment rate (in the modern era) c. The highest home-ownership in U.S. History d. Lowered crime rates e. Reduced welfare rolls

Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal

“In 1998, as a result of issues surrounding personal indiscretions with a young woman White House intern, Clinton was the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">” Clinton was impeached for perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power. He was found not-guilty by the Supreme Court and apologized to the nation.

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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> a) Feb. 26, 1993- Group of radical Muslims bombed the World Trade Center, killing 6 people
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">3) Major Events under Clinton’s Presidency **

b) Newt Gingrich - Led Republicans against Clinton -Became Speaker of House 1994

c) North American Free Trade Agreement Made a “free-trade zone” around the U.S., Canada, and Mexico Severly criticized by US labor unions Supported by Corporate Interests

d) No Peace in the Middle East -1993 reconciliation meeting between Yitzhak Rabin (Isreal) and Yasir Arafat (Palestine) at the White House -Rabin assinated in 1995, destroying hope for peace

e) 1999: Clinton supported a bombing campaign in (former) Yugoslavia

f) "Don't ask, Don't tell" A way of "accepting" gays in the Military

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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> 1997 - 1999: Foreign investment doubled from $468 billion to $827 billion Thomas Friedman said that globalization in the 90's was “farther, faster, cheaper, and deeper.”
 * <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">C. Globalization **

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__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Internet __ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">

The Internet connected people all around the globe. This allows information to move around the world easier and faster, making the world “smaller”.

Thomas Friedman wrote in his book, “The World is Flat”, that the Internet and other technologies are flattening the world "without regard to geography, distance, or, in the near future, even language."

With so much information on the internet, the government is not able to filter all of it and get rid of information they do not like. They do try to filter what information comes to Americans from other countries.

[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Thomas Friedman describes eBay as a "self-governing nation-state—the V.R.e., the Virtual Republic of eBay”. This website allows people around the globe to “trade”, selling personal belongings to people who previously would not have had access to it.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">eBay **

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__<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Companies becoming Global

__ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Many companies could not just stay in the United States, there were so many economic offers in other nations. Many people in other countries were against Globalization, thinking it destroyed their culture.

[] A few popular companies that globalized in the 90's are: 1) Sony 2) Coca-Cola 3)McDonalds 4) Starbucks <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Climate __ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Scientists began to realize that “most of the [global] warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities”. Not many people were aware of or informed of this in the 90’s

[] __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Good or bad? __ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Joseph S. Nye, a professor at Harvard writes, “unless governments cooperate to stimulate their economies and resist protectionism, the world may find that the current economic crisis does not mean the end of globalization, but only the end of the good kind, leaving us with the worst of all worlds.” [] Globalization can be bad, because it gets rid of jobs in the U.S., giving them to underpaid workers in other countries, commonly in "sweatshops"


 * Review Questions**

1. Who is Bill Gates? a) A founder of Microsoft b) He created the internet c) Both A and B d) Neither A or B

2. Which of the following is NOT a factor under Clinton's Presidency: a) Lowest unemployment rates b) Higher crime rates c) Reduced wellfare rolls d) Lowest inflation in 30 years

3. Who was NOT at the reconciliation meeting at the White House in 1993 to create Peace in the Middle East? a) Bill Clinton b) Saddam Hussien c) Yitzhak Rabin d) Yasir Arafat

4. Who created the World Wibe Web (www)? a) The U.S. Government b) Bill Gates c) Tim Berners-Lee d) None of the above

5. What was the North American Free Trade Agreement? a) It allowed everyone in North America to trade without restrictions b) It put the U.S. in charge of trade in North America c) It made a "free-trade" zone around the U.S., Canada, and Mexico d) An act under President Bush (Sr) that made trade with Canada and Mexico easier


 * Essential Question**: How did the Internet wave affect American Society?