What you’ll learn to do: explain the political partisanship and movements of the 1990s

Figure 1. (Left to right) Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, for the 1997 Christmas season.

Bill Clinton’s presidency and efforts at remaking the Democratic Party reflected the long-term effects of the Reagan Revolution that preceded him. Reagan benefited from a resurgent conservatism that moved the American political spectrum several degrees to the right. Clinton managed to remake the Democratic Party in ways that effectively institutionalized some of the major tenets of the so-called Reagan Revolution. A leader of the New Democrats, he moved the party significantly to the moderate center and supported the Republican call for law and order, and welfare reform—all while maintaining traditional Democratic commitments to minorities, women, and the disadvantaged, and using the government to stimulate economic growth.

In terms of foreign policy, Clinton continued many conservative-leaning policies. Clinton continued the Middle East peace talks initiated by Bush’s secretary of state James A. Baker III and completed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to abolish trade barriers between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Nevertheless, Clinton’s legacy was undermined by the shift in the control of Congress to the Republican Party and the loss by his vice president Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election.