21st Century America

It is difficult to say what America's experience in the 21st century will be because we are only two decades in. What we can do is look at what Americans have accomplished. The presidents, social awareness, significant events, and achievements can tell much about present-day America. Let's take a closer look at 21st-century America so far!

21st Century America Summary

The 21st century began with the election of 2000, and America has seen three more presidencies since. There were natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Covid Pandemic. Major human rights events have occurred, like the legalization of same-sex marriage and the progress brought on by the Black Lives Matter Movement. The 21st century has been very eventful; let's examine these events!

21st Century American Presidents

America has seen four presidents since 2000, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and the current president (at the time of writing this article!) Joe Biden. Bush and Trump were Republicans, while Obama and Biden were Democrats.

George W. Bush (2000-2008)

George W. Bush became president in 2000. His presidency was thrust into action on September 11, 2001. Terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed two into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, one into the Pentagon, and the last crashed into a Pennsylvania field because the passengers gained control over it. This tragic event is referred to as 9-11 by Americans who still remember the loss of life, from the passengers to the people within the buildings to the first responders.

The War on Terror

Bush launched the Patriot Act, which allowed the government to monitor civilians' phones and emails to find terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security was established, and the War on Terror began. Bush's War on Terror involved the United States and Great Britain, Russia, France, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The president sent the military into Afghanistan to capture Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Taliban that claimed responsibility for 9-11.

In 2003, Bush claimed to suspect Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. American soldiers would go on to invade and occupy Iraq through Operation Iraqi Freedom for twenty years and never find proof of weapons of mass destruction. The War on Terror initially had the support of the American people, but after several years without results, Americans' faith wavered. They questioned if the cost of human lives was even worth it.

Fig 1: George W. Bush

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Katrina was a category 5 hurricane that killed more than 1,300 people and caused 13 billion dollars worth of damages. Critics believed that Bush's response to Katrina was weak. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) didn't do enough, and what it did do was too late.

Barack Obama (2008- 2016)

Fig 2: Barack Obama

Barack Obama was the first African American to become president, but he inherited an unofficial war from the Bush Administration. Obama allowed troops to remain in Afghanistan and Iraq but wouldn't let America become involved with the Syrian Civil War. Critics argued that Obama was too weak regarding foreign affairs in the Middle East. Obama also allowed drone strikes in the Middle East to kill Isis, a new terrorist organization threat. These strikes killed Isis targets but also innocent civilians.

America was also in the worst economic remission since the Great Depression at the start of the Obama administration. Obama passed the Recovery Act and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The Recovery Act created infrastructure projects to put Americans back to work, while Obamacare created affordable insurance. Obama tried to increase the minimum wage nationwide but was struck down by Congress. This did encourage many states to raise the minimum wage.

Donald Trump (2016-2020)

Fig 3: Donald Trump

Donald Trump was elected into office promising to "Make America Great Again." One of his campaign promises was to build a wall that would keep immigrants from Mexico out of America and that the Mexican government would pay for it. By the end of his campaign, only a few miles, the wall had been put up in places with no previous defenses. The Mexican government didn't pay for it.

In 2020, the Coronavirus spread throughout America, causing America to enter a global pandemic. Critics of Trump believed that he did not do enough to slow the spread of the virus. Trump believed that "it (the coronavirus) miraculously goes away." After the vaccine was released in December 2020, critics believed that Trump didn't properly encourage Americans to get vaccinated.

Trump was the third American president impeached by the House of Representatives and the first president to be impeached twice. A conservative majority Senate acquitted him during both impeachment trials, so Trump was not removed from office. Trump's first impeachment occurred because he attempted to bribe Ukraine to find damaging information on his political opponent, Joe Biden. The second article of impeachment came from the House of Representatives due to Trump's connections with the rioters' actions during the January 6th insurrection at the US Captial.

Joe Biden (2020 -)

fig 4: Joe Biden

Joe Biden is the current President of the United States and was Barack Obama's vice president. In 2020 America's unemployment rate had risen to 6.3, but Biden reduced it to 3.9. Unemployment has not seen a reduction this drastic since 1969. Biden issued a Covid Relief plan that spent 1.9 trillion dollars to give American adults 1,400 dollars. Biden re-entered the Paris Climate Accord, which Trump had left. The Climate Accord was an agreement between multiple countries to control climate change.

Joe Biden's presidency is continuing, and we won't know the full scale of it until it has ended.

American Culture in the 21st Century

America has shifted its values in the 21st Century. Activist groups that support human rights and represent marginalized communities are a part of this. Third-wave feminism was popular in the 2000s but shifted to the fourth wave in the mid-2010s. The fourth wave is categorized by its use of social media in the information age.

Fig 5: Black Lives Matter, Colorado Mural.

Civil Rights Activists have formed groups like Black Lives Matter, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and the Me Too movement to raise awareness for marginalized groups. The Black Lives Matter movement raises awareness about police brutality against African Americans. The Me Too movement empowers victims of sexual assault to come forward and seek justice. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement raises awareness about the high numbers of missing and murdered Native American women.

Major Events in 21st-Century America

There were many significant events in America during the 21st Century; let's take a moment to highlight two of these: Hurricane Katrina and the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage.

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina touchdown in the Southern United States in August 2005; though it affected multiple states, the most damage was done in Louisiana. The American government was informed that a category five hurricane would strike. Government officials had six days to evacuate and prepare Louisiana for the hurricane's touchdown. The government's handling of Katrina was a failure.

fig 6: Sunken House After Hurricane Katrina

Evacuation of New Orleans, the state capital, only began 24 hours before touchdown, even though the government knew it would take 72 hours to evacuate the city fully. Refugees were told that the Super Dome Stadium was safe to bunker down. The stadium did not have enough food or water, and the people left there had to wait five days after the storm to get supplies.

The immediate support of victims of Katrina was a failure because of the government's slow response. It was not declared national significance until 36 hours after the hurricane ended. At least 1,833 people died, and 80% of New Orleans was flooded.

Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage