The Nineties in America - Salem Press (2009)

(C. Jardin) #1

some types of drug-related crimes. Members of Con-
gress called for her resignation, but president
Clinton defended her.
In December, 1994, Elders spoke at a United Na-
tions conference on AIDS. When asked whether
masturbation should be included in comprehensive
sex education programs, Elders replied in the affir-
mative, stating that masturbation was a natural part
of human sexual activity. Her comments created a
firestorm of controversy. Clinton fired Elders that
month, and she returned to the University of Arkan-
sas Medical School as a professor of pediatric medi-
cine. She wrote two books:Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From
Sharecropper’s Daughter to Surgeon General of the United
States of America(1996), her autobiography, andHere
I Stand(1997), a response to her critics.


Impact Elders repeatedly emphasized the correla-
tion between the amount and quality of information
available to Americans and the general level of
health. Elders’s brief tenure as surgeon general
highlighted the immense political complexities of
all public health policies, regardless of medical va-
lidity.


Further Reading
Elders, Joycelyn. Here I Stand. Pine Bluff, Ark.:
Dancing Bear, 1997.
Elders, Joycelyn, and David Chanoff.Joycelyn Elders,
M.D.: From Sharecropper’s Daughter to Surgeon Gen-
eral of the United States of America. New York: Wil-
liam Morrow, 1996.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Office of the Surgeon General: M. Joycelyn Elders
(1993-1994).” http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/
library/history/bioelders.htm.
Victoria Erhart

See also Abortion; African Americans; AIDS epi-
demic; Clinton, Bill; Health care; Medicine; Novello,
Antonia Coello.

 Elections in Canada
The Event Canadian politicians run for office
Date October 25, 1993, and June 2, 1997
The first federal election saw a historic defeat suffered by the
Progressive Conservative government and the return of the
Liberal Party to power, while the second saw the Liberal gov-
ernment continue its domination of the Canadian political
scene.

The outcome of two federal elections in the 1990’s
had a significant impact on the Canadian landscape.
The 1993 election marked the first time since 1984
that the Liberal Party had control, with Jean
Chrétien, the party’s leader, becoming prime minis-
ter. It also saw the rise of strong regional parties, with
western Canada dominated by the Reform Party and
Quebec controlled by the separatist Bloc Québécois.
The latter won the second-highest number of parlia-
mentary seats and, as a result, formed the official op-
position. The 1997 election featured the reelection
of the Liberal Party. Regional divisions also contin-
ued as the Reform Party became the main opposi-
tion party while the Bloc Québécois once again won
the most seats in the province of Quebec.

The Election of 1993 By 1993, the Progressive Con-
servative government of Prime Minister Brian
Mulroney had been in office since 1984 and, with an
election legally required before 1993 ended, had be-
come increasingly unpopular with the Canadian
public. Mulroney announced his retirement in Feb-

The Nineties in America Elections in Canada  295


Joycelyn Elders.(NLM/National Institutes of Health)
Free download pdf