George W. Bush Digital Project
Timeline of Major Events of the Bush Presidency 2000-2009
In the Year of 2000:
Republican candidate: George W. Bush and Democratic candidate: Al Gore, along with various third-party competitors (including Ralph Nader) competed in the 54th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 7th, 2000. Many complications arose, due to the close voting statistics between Bush and Gore. One of the issues was a mandatory re-count conducted in the state of Florida. Before the Bush v. Gore case, the original voting percentages were 47.9% for George W. Bush and Al Gore received 48.4% of the votes.
The image showed above is the electoral voting results, throughout each state in the U.S. This furthermore illustrates how close the race was between Bush and Gore.
After the mandatory re-count of votes in Florida, litigation in other countries began additional re-counts. This news eventually made it's way to the United States Supreme Court. The case was argued on December 11th, 2000 and they came to a final decision on December 12th, 2000. This ended the re-counting, along with rewarding Bush with Florida's poles. With a total electoral vote of 271, Bush won the election. Later on, conflicting opinions were formed of who would've won if the re-count hadn't been interrupted by the Bush v. Gore conclusion.
The political cartoon above portrays the "tug-of-war" of votes, between Al Gore and George W. Bush throughout the Bush v. Gore case.
The Year of 2001:
An estimated amount of 300,000 people flooded Washington, D.C., on January 20th, 2001. With eager ears, they came to hear the newly elected President's Inauguration. George W. Bush's speech consisted of 1,571 words. He stated towards the beginning: "And this is my solemn pledge: I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity." The Inaugural Address was: "Thank you all." This marked the beginning of Bush's eight years of presidency.
The picture above was a photograph taken of the audience, as well as George W. Bush who was reciting his Inauguration of 2001.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 a group of militants associated with the Islamic extremist group: Al-Qaeda, hijacked an American Airlines plane, to then intentionally crash into the North tower of the World Trade Center. This attack was followed by another shortly after, hitting the South tower. A third plane hit the Pentagon, just outside of Washington, D.C. and the fourth airplane crash-landed into a field in Pennsylvania. The destructive attacks resulted in many deaths, (both on the planes and inside the targets) as well as major U.S. initiatives to prevent future terrorism, and it forever defined the presidency of Bush.
The photograph above was taken on September 11th, 2001 (more familiarly known as "9/11"). The photo shows both the North and South towers decaying, after severe terrorist attacks.
After the devastation of both "9/11" and the 2001 anthrax terrorist attacks, the congress was in a much-needed rush to pass legislation, to strengthen security controls. So the Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26th, 2001 by President George W. Bush. U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. stood for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001." It was overall designed to enhance tools/strategies to prevent terrorism, punish terrorists etc. It was effective at the time but later on caused issues.
The photo taken above shows George W. Bush signing the Patriot Act into law, along with various government officials watching/supporting him, as he signs it.
Throughout the Year of 2002:
In 2001, North Korea warned the U.S. of disobeying the agreement of not testing missiles, if the U.S. does not proceed to create normal relations with them. They also threatened to restart the nuclear program, if no progress was made on two U.S.-sponsored nuclear power plants that were being built in North Korea. Despite this, on October 4th, 2002 U.S. officials acquired proof that North Korea was testing nuclear weapons, against the 1994 Nuclear Agreement. This information was not made public by Bush for a while. The result was on December 31st, 2002, when North Korea expelled I.A.E.A. inspectors (the International Atomic Energy Agency).
The map above shows/labels specific facilities in which nuclear weapons were being tested. It also states the magnitude of a quake detected, in 2002.
Enron was formed in 1985, by Kenneth Lay. He eventually merged the energy company with Houston Natural Gas (in Houston, Texas) and Inter-North. A man named Jeffery Skilling was hired several years later, who, through loopholes, poor financial reporting etc. was able to hide billions of dollars in debt, from failed deals and projects. After Enron's stock prices plummeted, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) began an investigation. On December 2nd, 2001 Enron was filed for bankruptcy. Many of Enron Corporation members were charged for destroying documents directly related to the investigation. The company was eventually shutdown but it caused many long-term issues, that negatively impacted Bush's presidency. He had to deal with years worth of money loss.
The graph above demonstrates the severe crash of Enron's stock prices. This proves how much money was lost and how much it impacted society, as well as Bush.
After the tragedy of "9/11", the U.S. government was determined to find the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden (the founder of Al-Qaeda). After escaping his capture at the Battle of Tora Bora, his sightings became unclear. President Bush, along with officials, and citizens were eager to find the man primarily responsible for the terror attacks of September 11th. Despite this, the possibility of a war against Iraq became a bigger concern. Bush admitted to the public that he hadn't spent much time looking for him, convincing citizens of the U.S. to put the search for him on pause. The hunt for him eventually continued but came to a necessary halt in 2002.
A mugshot of Osama Bin Laden is displayed above.
In 2003:
On March 19th, 2003 the war in Iraq officially began. The United States, along with various forces from the United Kingdom initiated war on Iraq. Moments after multiple explosions went off in Baghdad, (the capitol of Iraq) President Bush announced through a televised address: "At this hour, American and Coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger." Bush's advisers and himself believed that under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, Iraq already did, or eventually would possess weapons of "mass destruction." This, being the primary reason for the built-up tensions of the war.
The newspaper page above shows the outbreak of war and displays the media's participation in spreading the news to the public.
Shuttle Columbia Explosion:
On February 1st, 2003 space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over both Louisiana and Texas, as it re-entered earth's atmosphere. Midway through the launch of STS-107, a piece of foam insulation broke off the space shuttle external tank. To make matters worse, it then hit the left wing of the orbiter, after violently flying off of the shuttle. NASA managers eventually concluded that the seven crew members (that all died) wouldn't have been able to fix the problem, even if they had been aware prior to the explosion. President Bush addressed the Columbia accident through a speech in The Cabinet Room. He concluded that: "Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on."
In the photograph above are the seven crew members that were aboard the shuttle, that eventually exploded.
Capture of Saddam Hussein:
After nine months of continuously searching for former Iraq dictator- Saddam Hussein, he was finally captured on December 13th, 2003. His downfall began on the date of March 20th, 2003 after the United States led an invasion force into Iraq, to destroy what was left of his government (which had controlled the government for 20 years). They found him about nine miles away from his hometown, Tikrit. The capture of Hussein was simple, as well as injury-free. His fate was decided later on, in the future.
In the Year of 2004:
Former President Reagan Dies:
On June 5th, 2004 the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan passed away. After years of struggling to fight through Alzheimer's Disease, he died at the age of 93. Shortly after, a seven-day long state funeral was conducted. On June 11th, 2004 Bush declared a national day of mourning. It was a necessary day full of grief among everyone, because he wasn't only a former President but also someone the U.S. citizens had grown very fond of.
The photo above was taken at the seven-day-long funeral for former POTUS, Ronald Reagan.
SE Asian Tsunami:
On December 26th, 2004 an earthquake began off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake eventually tuned into a tsunami, killing approximately 280,000 people. The undersea earthquake was caused when the Indian plate was sub ducted by the Burma Plate, which is what caused the multiple devastating tsunamis, along the majority of coasts bordering the Indian Ocean (across 14 different countries). On January 3rd, 2004 President Bush announced to the public that: "As men and women across the devastated region, begin to rebuild, we offer our sustained compassion and our generosity, and our assurance that America will be there to help."
The picture above is a photograph taken of just some of the damage, caused by the multiple tsunamis in the horrific Southeast Asian cortrastify.
Kerry/Bush Campaign and Election:
The 55th quadrennial presidential election was on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2004. It was between former Republican, President George W. Bush and Democratic candidate, John Kerry. Bush won the re-election with a percentage of 51.7%, against the 48.3% that Kerry had earned.
The map above illustrates the number of votes per state, as a result of the Bush V.S. Kerry election.
Year 2005:
Election of Pope Benedict XVI:
After the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2nd, 2005 the cardinals automatically set a conclave to elect their new Pope. Pope Benedict XVI served as Pope of the Catholic Church from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. Benedict was elected on April 19th, 2005 in the papal conclave. He was officially inaugurated on April 24th, 2005.
The photo above is Pope Benedict.
Hurricane Katrina Hits New Orleans:
On the morning of August 29th, 2005 a devastating hurricane (often referred to as Katrina today) hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. The winds throughout the disaster reached as high as 100-140 miles per hour and stretched about 400 miles across. The storm was awful but the after-effects were even greater. Many people lost their lives and a lot of people had to be re-located to another home. Experts came to a bewildering conclusion that the storm altogether destroyed 100 billion dollars worth of damage.
The photo above shows the hundreds of people that had to stay inside the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.
Throughout the Year of 2006:
Hurricane Rita Hits Texas:
Only after a month of Hurricane Katrina, a new storm (referred to as Rita today) hit the Gulf of Mexico, exactly on the date of September 18th, 2005. It eventually reached it's highest peak of 180 miles per hour, making it apart of the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season. It eventually made it's way onto the Texas, Louisiana coast (more specially, Beaumont, Texas) on September 24th, 2005. It altogether damaged 10 billion dollars worth of the states it hit, as well as killing a total of 120 people.
The photo taken above shows just a tad of what Hurricane Rita did in Beaumont, Texas. This was once Parkdale Mall.
Democrats Take Control of House and Senate:
On Tuesday, November 7th, 2006 the United States midterm elections were held. The election results consisted of a large victory for the Democratic Party. This then led to new control of both the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as many governorships and state legislatures from the Republican Party. The reasons for the Democratic victory vary but the main reason was the decline of the public image of Republican, George W. Bush.
The image above represents the results of the 2006 Midterm Elections.
Saddam Hussein is Executed:
On Saturday, December 30th, 2006 Saddam Hussein was executed. He was hung as a result of his many crimes against humanity. After his execution a phone recording of the process was leaked and it caused a lot of commotion, that the video both supported and went against capital punishment. Hussein's body was finally returned to his birthplace of Al-Awja, on Sunday, December 31st, 2006.
The blurry photo above is a little snipit of the leaked footage, of Saddam Hussein's execution in 2006.
In the Year of 2007:
Nancy Pelosi Becomes the First Female Speaker of the House:
Serving as the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives was Nancy Pelosi. Beginning on January 3rd, 2007 she served as the speaker until 2011. She to this day is still the only woman to have served as the House Speaker and the highest-ranking female politician in American history. This was a monumental moment for the Women's Right's movement, and it's still remembered/talked about to this day.
In the photo above Nancy Pelosi waves to colleagues while being nominated as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The McCain/Obama Campaign and Race:
After eight years of George W. Bush being the President of the United States, he was not eligible to be elected a third term of precedency, according to the twenty-second amendment. So it was time for a new President to take office and with that the 56th quadrennial presidential race began. The remaining two candidates competing were Democratic, Barack Obama and Republican, John McCain. The competition between the both of them was rather interesting. McCain tried to convince the public that Obama would only win because he pulled "the race card," if he did in-fact win.
The collage created above is an accurate visual of not only what the candidates look like but also the difference between the two.
In 2008:
First Bailouts Begin:
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was officially signed into law on October 3rd, 2008 by President Bush. It was made in response to the subprime mortgage crisis. It allowed the United States Secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-back securities, and also supply money directly to the banks. This all occurred during The Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
The picture above shows the Wallstreeet Bailout Protest that eventually occured during this time.
In 2009:
President Barack Obama Inauguration:
The Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. As of today it still sets a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C. During his speech, he referenced a lot to the I Have A Dream Speech, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He did this by proving how far we've come as a nation sense then, now having the first African American as a President. This day officially marked the first term of President Obama.