U.S.

History Decades
Project:2000-2010
By: Kiran Parmar and Ronan Sanchez

Social Changes

Social Media

Social Media allows people to always be connected to those we care about and
allows us to know whats going on.

People are constantly informed about the world around them thanks to the
accessibility of this information.

Over the past decade companies like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
and Google have dramatically changed our lives making information more
available and making it easier to stay in touch with one another.

Over the years to come these mediums will only increase and stay in our lives.
Social media has forever changed how we receive information.

Video Games

Video games are an important part of todays society, whether they are on
consoles or computers.
Video games take up a huge part of the entertainment industry as our
culture shifted towards them.
Triple a titles can cost anywhere from 20 million to 50 million dollars to
produce.
Some video game companies have share holders and are expected to
deliver a quality product time after time.
One example that shows video games prevalence in todays society is the
PlayStation 2 with 153 million units sold.

Movies

Movies have always been a part of our culture, and that hasnt changed within the
last decade.

Americans expect a high quality product with excellent acting, good plot, and
flawless effects, and cinematography.

A two hour movie can be in development for years, take millions of dollars to
make, and require skilled actors to play the part.

Clearly it is a profitable as Americans spend roughly 10 billion dollars yearly on

movies.

One example is Avatar by James Cameron which cost 280 million dollars to make
and made three times when it hit box offices.

Political Changes

Climate Change

Climate change has been discussed by scientists and politicians

throughout the world since 1980s, without any major concessions or
agreements

In 2000, Al Gore launches a campaign to educate Americans on the

dangers of global warming. His documentary, An Inconvenient Truth,
winner of 2 academy awards, set the stage for changing attitudes on
this issue.

In 2000, Al Gore launches a campaign to educate Americans on the

dangers of global warming. His documentary, An Inconvenient Truth,
winner of 2 academy awards, set the stage for changing attitudes on
this issue.

In 2007, IPCC, the group established by the UN to investigate

climate change releases a major report confirming climate change
due to human activity.

Attitudes are beginning to change, but there are still plenty of

skeptics. Big Industry and politicians are still debating, and the issue
remains controversial.

Rethinking American Defense

Shortly after taking office in 2001, President Bush proposes

comprehensive review of US Military Budget.

There was talk of reducing number of personnel to pre- World War 2

levels, and increase spending on smart weapons, light forces and
superior air power.

President Bush favored strategic defense, developing new missile

strike systems.

What changed the equation was the terrorist attack on the World
Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

US became entangled in two major wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and

got involved in conflicts in Africa, in Libya, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Despite many base closures and cuts in personnel, US Defense

Budget is still the largest in the world, at greater than $680 Billion,
which exceeds that of 10 other nations combined, including U.K.,

Post 9/11 Legislation

After the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Patriot
Act was passed. The act greatly expanded the government's power to
carry out surveillance and imprisonment.

After the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Patriot
Act was passed. The act greatly expanded the government's power to
carry out surveillance and imprisonment.

People were arrested for associating with terrorist groups or arrested

for providing "material support" to terrorist groups.

People were arrested for violating immigration laws without proof and
were deemed guilty until proven innocent.

The government became more aggressive in use of informants and

sting operations.

In 2002, the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court granted the

Justice Department broad new powers to use wiretaps for intelligence
gathering in criminal cases.

All these great powers granted to the government has eroded civil
rights.

Historical Events

September 11 Attacks

The September 11 attacks were carried out by Al Qaeda because of

their distaste of American involvement in Middle East affairs in prior
years. Leader of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for
the attacks in 2004.

On September 11, 2001, 19 Al Qaeda operatives hijacked four

passenger airlines with the intent of flying them into buildings, on a
suicide mission.

The first two planes headed for the World Trade Center, the North
tower was hit first, followed by the south tower. The third plane
crashed into the Pentagon and the fourth plane was flown into a field
in Pennsylvania, after passengers got word of the other attacks and
regained control of the plane from the terrorists.

Both of the World Trade Center towers collapsed after burning from
the impact.

September 11, 2001 has been dubbed the "Day the World Changed".

War on Terror

The Global War on Terrorism, known as the War on Terror, is the

International Military campaign in response to the September 11
attacks.
The goal of the war on terror was to find those responsible for the
attacks and destroy them and their organizations, and make sure
that events like these never happen again.
The war on terror spanned several countries, but primarily focused
on Afghanistan and Iran, as these were the countries that the
terrorists originated from.
Several operations were carried out to locate and exterminate
terrorist threats, for example Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation
Enduring Freedom.
President Obama declared the official end to the war on terror was
on May 23, 2013.
The total cost of the war on terror was over 5 trillion dollars.

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States on the
morning of August 29, 2005.

The storm developed five days before over the Bahamas and rapidly
gained strength, eventually becoming a category 5 hurricane due to
the warm waters. Hurricane Katrina consistently had winds of 175 mph.

Its rapid growth left the Gulf Coast states unprepared with Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Alabama being hit the worst. The city of New Orleans,
Louisiana was hit particularly hard, being that it was surrounded by
water and some of the city's seawalls and levees were not adept to
deal with the storm. Parts of the city flooded with eventually 80% of
the city under some quantity of water.

After the storm people helped one another out and aid and supplies
were sent out to help.

Nearly 2,000 people lost their lives in the storm and it caused an
estimated 81.2 billion dollars of damage, making it the costliest natural
disaster in the history of the United States.

Important People

Barack Obama

Barack Obama is the first African American president of the United States of America.

In the earlier decades, African Americans have been fighting for their rights to many
things, such as freedom from slavery, freedom to vote, and freedom to go to any
school or to any place without segregation.

Now they are full first class citizens, which shows how much the world has changed.
Obama, being the first to run for president and the first to be elected, will forever be
a symbol of complete equality for all Americans and our countrys progression.

This was a huge event, and some even say that it was an achievement to have put
him in the White House.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey was the first African American woman to become a billionaire
and is also the first woman to produce her very own talk show.
Her ideas have helped shaped how our society thinks today.
Oprah is known for her good heart. She helps our society in many different
ways, such as donating to charities, and even giving her personal thoughts
on society, whether it is about politics, spirituality, or relationships, she is
known for helping many.

Being successful at her age and with her ethnicity and gender, it shows that
none of those things matter.

Oprah Winfrey is a selfless person who has influenced millions of people.

Osama Bin Laden

Although he did not make a positive impact on the United States, Osama Bin
Laden has made a great impact on American life.

After September 11th, many were left fearful. Before that day, people felt like all
conflicts between countries was over. They all believed that history will never
repeat itself with violent actions.

Many thought that they had nothing to be afraid of anymore and that the world
was at peace and will be in a state of peace for a long time if not forever. The
way many Americans saw things, the idea of a peaceful world, was destroyed.

People were struck with fear and even hate. Many then thought that perhaps we
will never find peace in this world. September 11 th was much like Pearl Harbor:
They are both days that will never be forgotten.

Science and
Technology

Medicine
There have been huge strides in medicine in last ten years, but a
very difficult problem is plaguing the medical world right now.

Each year in the United States, at least 2 million people become

infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least

23,000 people die each year as a direct result of these infections.

Center for Disease Control (CDC) has set up nationwide tracking

program to electronically report, infections, antibiotic use and
resistance.

A new GetSmart campaign is implemented by CDC to improve

anti-biotic prescription and use in outpatients and inpatient
settings.

Protecting patients from Infections reduces the need for

antibiotic use. CDC conducts research to find new ways of

preventing infections.

Human Genome Project

Last decade has seen tremendous strides in this field.
Will I have blue eyes, will I have curly hair, will I suffer from
Parkinson's disease, will I have cancer?

The HGP answers all these questions, by cracking the genetic

code.

In the last decade, all of human's 25,000 genes have been

decoded and this information is put in a database.

This information will tell us about a person's past, present

and future.

What will scientists do with all this information? They will be

able to cure diseases and prevent diseases.

Communications

In 1965, Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, predicted that transistors in

an integrated chip would double every two years. This prediction has
proven to be accurate.

What does this mean? By the end of 2010, a CPU, the heart of a computer,
would have over 2.5 billion transistors!

This level of IC density allows us to make laptops, smart-phones, tablets,

gaming consoles, etc., very small and very powerful.

All sorts of electronic devices pervade our lives now.

We can communicate via cell phones across oceans.

Communication Networks of computers, fiber optic cables, and microwave

links have has transformed the world, a very connected world.

We can talk, send text messages, and see videos on our smart-phones
and electronic gadgets, at lightening fast speeds.
Satellites in the sky can take pictures of any part of the earth at high
resolution.

Work Cited

Antimicrobial Resistance."Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
04 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.

Appleby, Joyce Oldham., Alan Brinkley, and Albert Broussard. "Chapter 21."The American Vision: Modern times.
New York, NY: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2006. 960. Print.

"Hurricane Katrina."History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.

"Patriot Act."Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 May 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.
"September 11 Attacks."Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 May 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.
Stiles, TJ. "'Barack Obama': A Masterful Portrait of a Guarded Politician." n.d.: n. pag. Print.
"UCSC Genome Browser Home."UCSC Genome Browser Home. UCSC, n.d. Web. 23 May 2014.
"UN Report: Climate Change Will Deepen Poverty, Hunger."PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 23 May 2014.
"War on Terror."Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 May 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.