The United States since 1990

In the 1990s, the United States was the world's only superpower. Under President Bill Clinton, a technology boom driven by personal computers and the internet fueled strong growth, Congress approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993, and the federal budget ran surpluses for a few years. On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners and killed nearly 3,000 people, striking the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while a fourth plane, United Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back. President George W. Bush launched a war in Afghanistan in 2001 and, citing claims about weapons of mass destruction that proved false, invaded Iraq in 2003; the government also created the Department of Homeland Security and expanded surveillance powers, sparking debates over security and civil liberties. The Great Recession of 2007-2009, triggered by a housing and financial crisis, brought the worst downturn since the Great Depression. In 2008, Barack Obama was elected the first African American president, and the Affordable Care Act (2010) expanded health insurance coverage. The following years saw growing political polarization, continuing debates over immigration, health care, and the role of government, and rapid change driven by smartphones and social media.

This explanation is AI-generated and can occasionally be wrong. 🚩 Report