But the following year, in October of nineteen ninety-three, eighteen American soldiers on a raid were killed in a battle in Mogadishu. More than eighty were wounded. The failed operation would haunt the American military for years to come. The events of that day were the basis for the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."

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In December of nineteen ninety-two, as Bush was about to leave office, he and the leaders of Canada and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA called for removing taxes and other barriers to trade in North America. Some Americans accused Bush of sacrificing American jobs to lower-paid workers in Mexico by supporting NAFTA. Others praised him for supporting the agreement, which still had to pass Congress.

But, by the time it did, George Bush was no longer president. He had lost his campaign for a second term. In November of nineteen ninety-two he lost the election to the Democratic governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton. That will be our story next week.

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You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember, inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.