American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 32: THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION

Primary Sources

1
Read the sections of the chapter under the headings "The Two-Tiered Economy," "Globalization," and "Science and Technology in the New Economy." Trade and technology are among the forces that contribute toward making the American economy increasingly two-tiered in nature. Some social commentators have expressed fears that the technological revolution may accentuate the division of the nation into structurally separate haves and have-nots. Many politicians and some economists have expressed fears that U.S. prosperity is threatened by increasing globalization that leads corporations to shift jobs and capital abroad. President Clinton addressed both of these issues—not trying to restrict trade and hold back technology but by actively promoting both as indicated in the excerpts from two speeches below. He took up the theme of computer technology in his commencement speech at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 1998, and he addressed globalization at the Summit of the Americas in December 1994 in Miami. How accurate are the President's appeals to history that he uses to shape his vision of the future?

President Clinton

2
Scarcely six weeks after the attack on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon, Congress passed at the behest of President George W. Bush a new anti-terrorism bill. The President's remarks at the bill signing ceremony give a flavor of how quickly the American consciousness was transformed by terrorism. Read the speech and consider the following questions. (1) Is the anger, resolve, and unity reflected in the fall of 2001 likely to persist? (2) Is responding to terrorism principally a process of law enforcement and military response or does it require an effort to change the hearts and minds of the potential terrorists? (3) How does the war on terrorism differ from other challenges that American faced in the past?

President George W. Bush

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