1989 Ap World History

1. Why was the year 1989 one of the most momentous in the twentieth century? Overall, the year 1989 saw the greatest expansion of pro-democracy protests the world had seen in years. In April, thousands of students, teachers, workers, and even some government officials crowded “…Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing, demanding greater democracy in China” (Foner 1048). Inspired by America and recent reforms in the Soviet Union, the protests lasted until July, when government troops reportedly killed an unknown number of protesters. Later, in the fall of 1989, “…pro-democracy demonstrations spread across Eastern Europe” (Foner 1048), and the Soviet Union stated it would not interfere with the protests. On November 9, the Berlin Wall was
Realizing that the United States was one of the world’s top powers, President Clinton “…took steps to encourage settlement of long-standing international conflicts and tried to elevate support for human rights” (Foner 1055) on the international level. Unlike President Bush, Clinton was very much opposed to prompt intervention in international affairs. As a supporter of peace, Clinton aimed to ease growing tensions in the Middle East, specifically between Israel and Palestine. He even went as far as to bring “…Israeli and Palestinian leaders to Camp David to try to work out a final peace treaty” (Foner 1055). However, the meeting did not result in a peace treaty, but instead brought more violence between the two nations. While President Clinton’s attempt to keep peace is understandable, he often “…found it difficult to balance concern for human rights with strategic and economic interests” (Foner 1055). As someone who refrained from using force, the United States did nothing to intervene in Rwanda in 1994, where “…tribal massacres…[slaughtered] more than 800,000 people” (Foner 1055). Overall, in the post-Cold War world, President George H. W. Bush envisioned the United States to take such a role so it could “police” other countries—that is, it would intervene and use violence and force if necessary.
Democratic nominee Al Gore and Republican nominee George W. Bush were tied head-to-head, with Al Gore winning the popular vote by a small margin of “…one-half of 1 percent” (Foner 1079). The electoral college result, however, depended solely on who won the state of Florida, where confusion and claims of inconsistent counting of ballots produced an outcome that was uncertain. After tallying had been completed, it appeared as if George Bush won the state by a difference of a couple of hundred votes, but shortly after, Democrats “…demanded a hand recount of the Florida ballots” (Foner 1079). The Florida Supreme Court allowed the recount, but the decision to determine the outcome ultimately fell upon the Supreme Court of the United States. Less than a month later, by a “…5-4 vote” (Foner 1079), the Supreme Court ordered the termination of the recount to instead allow the governor of Florida to determine who won the state. The governor, however, just happened to be Jeb Bush, brother of George W. Bush, who hastily confirmed that “…the Republican candidate had carried the state and had therefore won the presidency” (Foner 1079). The outcome of the Bush v. Gore case shocked thousands, for a mere few years earlier, the Supreme Court “…had reasserted the powers of the states within the