document_title: The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

question_text: when does season 2 episode 3 of handmaids tale come out

text: The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In the near future, fertility rates collapse as a result of sexually transmitted diseases and environmental pollution.[4] With this chaos, the totalitarian, theonomic government of "Gilead" establishes rule in the former United States in the aftermath of a civil war.[5][6][7] Society is organized by power-hungry leaders along with a new, militarized, hierarchical regime of fanaticism and newly created social classes, in which women are brutally subjugated, and by law are not allowed to work, own property, handle money, or read.[7] Worldwide infertility has resulted in the conscription of the few remaining fertile women in Gilead, called "Handmaids", according to an extremist interpretation of the Biblical account of Bilhah.[7] They are assigned to the homes of the ruling elite, where they must submit to ritualized rape by their male masters in order to become pregnant and bear children for those men and their wives.

text: Alongside the red-clad Handmaids, much of society is now grouped into classes that dictate their freedoms and duties. Women are divided into a small range of social categories, each one signified by a similarly-styled plain dress in a specific color: Handmaids wear red, Marthas (who are housekeepers and cooks, named after the biblical figure) wear green, and Wives (who are expected to run their households) wear blue. Econowives, the lower-class women who still have minimal agency, are a sort of mixture of all these categories, and they wear gray (a departure from the book in which Econowives wear clothing striped with the aforementioned colors). Women prisoners are called Unwomen and are worked to death clearing toxic waste in the Colonies. Another class of women, Aunts (who train and oversee the Handmaids), wear brown. Additionally, the Eyes are a secret police watching over the general populace for signs of rebellion, Hunters track down people attempting to flee the country, and Jezebels are prostitutes in secret brothels catering to the elite ruling class.

text: June Osborne, renamed Offred (Elisabeth Moss), is the Handmaid assigned to the home of the Gileadan Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski). Offred is subject to strict rules and constant scrutiny; an improper word or deed on her part can lead to brutal punishment. Offred, who is named after her male master ("Of Fred") like all Handmaids, can remember the "time before", when she was married and had a daughter, a job, a bank account, and her own name and identity, but all she can safely do now is follow the rules of Gilead in hopes that she can someday live free again and be reunited with her daughter. The Waterfords, key players in the rise of Gilead, have their own conflicts with the realities of the society they have helped create.

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne / Offred, a woman who was captured while attempting to escape to Canada with her husband, Luke, and daughter, Hannah. Due to her fertility, she is made a Handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy, and is named "Offred".
Joseph Fiennes as Commander Fred Waterford, a high-ranking government official and June's master. Both he and his wife played an instrumental role in Gilead's founding. He wishes to have more contact with June outside of what is lawful between a Handmaid and her master, and starts inviting her to play nightly games of Scrabble.
Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford, Fred's wife and a former conservative cultural activist. She appears to have accepted her new role in a society that she helped create. She is poised and deeply religious, but capable of great cruelty and is often callous to June. She is desperate to become a mother.
Alexis Bledel as Emily / Ofglen / Ofsteven, June's shopping partner. Although June is initially wary of her, it is revealed Ofglen is not as pious as she seems, and the two become friends. Ofglen had a wife and son, and was a university lecturer in cellular biology. Being homosexual is punishable by death in Gilead, and most university professors are sent to labour camps, but Ofglen was spared and made a Handmaid, due to her fertility. She is later captured and punished for her relationship with a Martha, and is sent to another household where she becomes "Ofsteven". She is involved with a resistance movement called "Mayday".
Madeline Brewer as Janine / Ofwarren / Ofdaniel, a Handmaid who entered the Red Center for training at the same time as June and considers June a friend due to her kind treatment. Initially non-compliant, Janine's right eye is removed as a punishment. She becomes mentally unstable due to her treatment and often behaves in temperamental or childlike ways. She gives birth to a child for Warren and Naomi Putnam, whom they name "Angela", but Janine insists the baby's name is "Charlotte". Janine is later reassigned and becomes "Ofdaniel". She was temporarily assigned to the Colonies until a bombing at the new Rachel and Leah Center.
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia, a woman in charge of overseeing the Handmaids in their reeducation and duties. She is brutal and subjects insubordinate Handmaids to harsh physical punishment, but she also cares for her charges and believes deeply in the Gileadean mission and doctrine. She appears to have a soft spot for Janine, and even goes so far as to address her by her given name on occasion. Showrunner Miller has suggested that Aunt Lydia was a schoolteacher before Gilead, and Dowd has said this, and her own upbringing as a student at Catholic schools, informs her performance.[8]
O. T. Fagbenle as Lucas "Luke" Bankole, June's husband from before Gilead. Because he and June began their relationship before his divorce from his first wife, their union is considered invalid in the new society. June is considered an adulteress and their daughter, Hannah, is considered illegitimate. Initially, June believes he has been killed, but it is later revealed Luke managed to escape to Canada.
Max Minghella as Nick Blaine, Commander Waterford's driver and a former drifter from Michigan who has feelings for June. June and Nick develop an intimate relationship and she eventually discovers that he is an Eye, a spy for Gilead.
Samira Wiley as Moira / Ruby, June's best friend since college. She is already at the Red Center when June enters Handmaid training but escapes before being assigned to a home. She is recaptured and becomes "Ruby", a Jezebel. She seems to have given up hope of ever being free, but on meeting June again regains the conviction to escape.
Amanda Brugel as Rita, a Martha at the Waterford home. She had a son who died fighting in the civil war when he was 19 years old.[9]

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Ever Carradine as Naomi Putnam, Commander Warren Putnam's wife. She views her baby largely as a status symbol and has no sympathy for the Handmaids.
Tattiawna Jones as Lillie Fuller / Ofglen No. 2, who replaces Emily in the position after Emily is captured by the Eyes. She initially follows the rules and does not wish to upset the status quo, but this is because she believes her life as a Handmaid is better than the difficult, impoverished life she led prior to Gilead, rather than out of religious piety.
Nina Kiri as Alma / Ofrobert, another Handmaid who trained at the Red Center with June, Moira, and Janine. She is frank and chatty, and often trades gossip and news with June. She is also involved with Mayday and becomes June's first contact with the resistance group.
Jenessa Grant as Dolores / Ofsamuel, a local Handmaid with a friendly and talkative nature.
Bahia Watson as Brianna / Oferic, another local Handmaid who is friends with June.
Jordana Blake as Hannah Bankole, June and Luke's daughter.
Erin Way as Erin, a young mute woman who was being trained to become a Handmaid but managed to escape to Canada.[10]
Sydney Sweeney as Eden Spencer (season 2), a pious and obedient girl who dreams of one day being a Commander's wife.[11]
Bradley Whitford as Commander Joseph Lawrence (season 2), the architect of Gilead's economy, who is gruff and intimidating, with a disheveled mad genius vibe. His sly humor and flashes of kindness make him a confusing, mysterious presence for his newest Handmaid.[12]
Greg Bryk as Commander Ray Cushing (season 2)
Rohan Mead as Isaac (season 2), a Guardian assigned to the Waterford home.

text: Guest[edit]

text:
Kristen Gutoskie as Beth (season 1), a Martha at Jezebel's. She has an arrangement with Nick whereby she trades illegal alcohol and other contraband for drugs, which the Jezebels use. She has a casual sexual relationship with him and is aware that he is an Eye.
Marisa Tomei as Mrs. O'Conner (season 2), a Commander's wife who is sent to the colonies as punishment for having sex with another man.[13]
Cherry Jones as Holly Maddox (season 2), June's mother, an outspoken feminist.[14]
Clea DuVall as Sylvia (season 2), Emily's wife.[15]
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Omar (season 2) a man who helps June attempt to escape.
John Carroll Lynch as Dan (season 2), Emily's boss at the university where she worked.
Kelly Jenrette as Annie (season 2), Luke's ex-wife.
Rebecca Rittenhouse as Odette (season 2), a Doctor and Moira's fiancee.
Sam Jaeger as Mark Tuello (season 2), a mysterious stranger who Serena encounters in Canada.

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Series overview[edit]

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally released

First released
Last released

1
10
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)
June 14, 2017 (2017-06-14)

2
13[16]
April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)
July 11, 2018 (2018-07-11)[16]

text: Season 1 (2017)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Teleplay by
Original release date

1
1
"Offred"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

A family is pursued by a group of armed men. The woman is caught, and separated from her young daughter and husband as shots are fired in the distance. She is now known as Offred, the Handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford. While walking with another Handmaid, Ofglen, they pass by a wall on which men have been hanged for crimes such as being gay, working in an abortion clinic, and being a Catholic priest.[17] In a flashback, various women are indoctrinated into their Handmaid roles by Aunt Lydia, and Offred notices Moira, a woman she knew in college. Handmaid Janine taunts Aunt Lydia and is shocked with a cattle prod, later her right eye is removed as punishment. In the present, Commander Waterford tries to impregnate Offred during "the Ceremony" as she lies in the lap of his wife, Serena Joy. The next day, the Handmaids are encouraged to beat a man to death after Lydia announces he raped a pregnant Handmaid. Janine tells Offred that her friend Moira is dead. On the way home, Ofglen tells Offred that she had a wife and son, and warns her there is an Eye in the Waterford house. Offred affirms to herself that her true name is June and that she intends to survive to find her daughter.

2
2
"Birth Day"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

Offred and Ofglen go shopping, and they reveal more personal information about themselves to each other. While they are walking, they see St. Paul Catholic Church, their local church, being destroyed by the new régime.[18][17] Ofglen tells Offred that the régime also bulldozed St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan to try to "erase" the fact that it ever existed. When Offred asks how Ofglen knows this information, she reveals that she is part of a resistance movement against the government, but Offred declines to join.[19] Commander Waterford's driver, Nick, tells Offred that the Commander wants to see her alone later that night, which is forbidden, and warns her that Ofglen is dangerous. Offred and other Handmaids visit a home to witness the birth of Ofwarren (Janine)'s child, named Angela by the Puttnams, but Charlotte by Ofwarren. In flashbacks, June (Offred) remembers the birth of her and Luke's daughter, Hannah. At that time healthy births were already rare, and a woman who tried to kidnap baby Hannah was arrested. Warily, Offred goes to the Commander's office, but he just wants to play Scrabble, to her relief. The next day, when Offred prepares to tell Ofglen what happened that night, a different woman introduces herself as Ofglen.

3
3
"Late"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

In flashbacks, the rise of Gilead is detailed. June and all the other women at her office were fired, and the government froze women's bank accounts and ruled they could no longer own property. In the present, Serena takes Offred to see Ofwarren and the baby, and Offred fears Ofwarren is delusional. Back home, Offred is interrogated by an Eye and Aunt Lydia about her knowledge of Ofglen. Offred eventually reveals she knew Ofglen was gay and for this, Aunt Lydia shocks Offred with a cattle prod. Before she can leave the room, Offred quotes one of the Beatitudes from the Bible, which would have earned her a much more serious beating, but Serena intervenes, believing that Offred is pregnant. When Offred later tells Serena that she's not pregnant, Serena angrily locks her in her room. In a flashback, June and Moira attend a protest against the new laws amidst automatic gunfire and explosives. In the present, Ofglen and the Martha she's in a relationship with are charged with "gender treachery". The fertile Ofglen receives a lesser sentence, but the Martha is executed by hanging as Ofglen watches, sobbing and horrified. Later, Ofglen (now referred to by her "old" name, Emily), to her grief and anger, undergoes female genital mutilation surgery as explained by Aunt Lydia.

4
4
"Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum"
Mike Barker
Leila Gerstein
May 3, 2017 (2017-05-03)

Banished to her room, Offred retreats to her closet where she finds what appears to be a Latin phrase, Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum, scratched discreetly into the wall. When Rita, the Commander's housekeeper, finds Offred lying on the closet floor, Offred tells her that she fainted. Serena then has Offred sent to the hospital for a check-up. During the examination the physician remarks that the Commander is most likely sterile, as is common. He offers to personally impregnate her but she declines. In flashbacks, Aunt Lydia teaches the Handmaids about The Ceremony in which a Commander endeavours to fertilize a Handmaid. Later, June and Moira assault Aunt Elizabeth, and Moira takes Elizabeth's outfit. June and Moira plan to escape via train to Boston, which has safe houses. Moira manages to catch the train without June, who lets Moira know it's okay. June is later caught and punished by having her feet whipped. Commander Waterford has an unsuccessful Ceremony night with Offred, but later that night, they have another game of Scrabble. She asks him about the Latin phrase, and he tells her it means, Don't let the bastards grind you down. When she inquires about the previous Offred, he tells her that she committed suicide because life was unbearable. He then releases Offred from her solitary confinement.

5
5
"Faithful"
Mike Barker
Dorothy Fortenberry
May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10)

Serena suggests to Offred that she have sex with Nick in case Commander Waterford is sterile. Later that day, Serena leads Offred up to Nick's room and waits by the door while Offred and Nick have detached sex. Flashbacks detail Luke and June's first meeting and courtship. At the grocery store, Offred talks to the original Ofglen, now called Ofsteven, but Ofsteven is not as responsive as she used to be. During a Ceremony night, the Commander touches Offred's thigh, which she later tells him never to do again. In their ensuing conversation, the Commander admits that while they thought they were building a better world, they knew that "better never means better for everyone." Nick reveals to Offred that he is indeed an Eye. At an open-air market, Offred questions Ofsteven about the resistance group called Mayday. Ofsteven jumps behind the steering wheel of a security car and drives erratically around the plaza. She hits a guard, and is caught and put into a black van. Offred returns to Nick's coach house alone, and they have passionate sex.

6
6
"A Woman's Place"
Floria Sigismondi
Wendy Straker Hauser
May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)

Mexican trade delegates visit the Commander's home to evaluate the effects of the Gilead cultural movement. The female head of the delegation questions Offred about her experience, but she lies, saying that she is happy. Offred visits the Commander's office later, but there is tension. She reluctantly obeys his demand to kiss him, but ferociously brushes her teeth afterward. The Handmaids and children are then taken to a function to demonstrate Gilead's success. Offred's friend remarks that the delegates are only interested in fertile women. The next day, as the delegates are leaving, Offred tells them the brutal truth about Gilead. She pleads for their help, but in response, the Mexican ambassador explains her own country's dire situation. However, the ambassador's assistant quietly claims June's husband is alive and that he can deliver a message to Luke. A flashback details Serena and Fred's life at the beginnings of the Gilead movement when Serena was a conservative cultural activist with passion and intelligence equal to her husband's. Serena Joy wrote a book about her beliefs, titled A Woman's Place. However, after the takeover, she is completely shut out of the new government planning and accepts her new limited role in the society she helped create. A copy of her book is seen being thrown out with the trash.

7
7
"The Other Side"
Floria Sigismondi
Lynn Renee Maxcy
May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24)

A flashback chronicles Luke's story after he becomes separated from his wife and daughter. Luke is shot by Gileadan guards, but he escapes when the ambulance crashes, and he takes some medical supplies. He reaches a small abandoned town and, after passing out from his wounds, is rescued by a resistance group traveling to Canada. These survivors included a Roman Catholic nun, a seemingly mute escaped Handmaid, a homosexual man, and a daughter of a US Army soldier.[20] Initially reluctant, Luke joins them after one of the survivors, Zoe, shows him that Gileadan authorities hung townspeople from the rafters of their church for resisting.[21][22] As they board a boat, Gileadan guards open fire, killing several members of the group, but Luke and Erin, the escaped Handmaid, survive. A further flashback shows Luke, June, and their daughter Hannah before they were separated. June and Luke are helped by Mr. Whitford, a man who knew June's mother. He leaves them at a secluded cabin in the woods while he arranges documentation for them to escape to Canada. Later, a local hunter tells them Whitford has been caught and hanged, but the hunter helps them cross the border. Three years later, in the present, Luke and Erin live safely in "Little America", based in Toronto, Ontario. While in the main administrative office, Luke receives the letter from June, which reads "I love you so much. Save Hannah."

8
8
"Jezebels"
Kate Dennis
Kira Snyder
May 31, 2017 (2017-05-31)

Commander Waterford gifts Offred with makeup and a dress as he is taking her out for the night. Nick drives them to Boston to an underground brothel, where prostitutes (known as "Jezebels") work. Offred spots Moira working in the club, and they briefly reunite. Nick trades drugs and pregnancy tests for alcohol with one of the brothel's Marthas. Offred goes to see Moira again, and she explains to Offred how Quakers tried to help her escape but were caught.[23][24] Moira had the choice of being sent either to the colonies or one of the brothels.[24] Moira tells Offred, "Forget about escaping. This is Gilead. No one gets out." Offred reveals to Moira that she knows Luke is alive. Flashbacks detail how Nick got involved with the Gilead movement and how he became an Eye after reporting a Commander for breaking protocol with his Handmaids. There are other flashbacks to the suicide of the previous Offred, with Serena pointedly saying to her husband, "What did you think was going to happen?" In the present, after Nick drives Waterford and Offred home, he ends his relationship with Offred, which upsets and angers her. Offred receives a gift from Serena, a music box. The episode closes with Offred etching "You are not alone" into the closet wall.

9
9
"The Bridge"
Kate Dennis
Eric Tuchman
June 7, 2017 (2017-06-07)

Ofwarren's daughter is handed over to Commander Putnam and his wife, and Ofwarren is transferred to another couple and renamed Ofdaniel. However, Offred is worried about Ofwarren/Ofdaniel's mental state. During the first Ceremony night with her new Commander, Ofdaniel forcefully stops it. At the market, Alma pulls Offred aside, tells her that she is involved with the resistance group Mayday, and requests that Offred retrieve a package from the bar at Jezebel's. Offred convinces Waterford to take her to Jezebel's again that night. After Offred and Waterford have sex in their room, Waterford presents Moira, as he believes they have a sexual attraction. Offred asks Moira to retrieve the package, but she refuses, seemingly resigned to her fate. The next day Offred is taken to a bridge where Ofdaniel is standing on the edge with baby Charlotte, while Gileadan guards, the Putnams, the Waterfords, and Aunt Lydia stand fearfully by. Ofdaniel shouts that Commander Putnam promised to leave his wife for her. Offred convinces Ofdaniel to give her the child, and Ofdaniel then jumps into the icy water below. Later, while Ofdaniel lies comatose in hospital, Commander Putnam is led away by guards. When Serena Joy tries to offer comfort to Mrs. Putnam, she reminds Serena of the first Offred's fate, causing Serena to doubt her husband's loyalty. At the market, Offred is given a package by the butcher, sent by Moira from Jezebel's. At the brothel, Moira kills a client and takes his clothes, then jubilantly drives off in his car.

10
10
"Night"
Kari Skogland
Bruce Miller
June 14, 2017 (2017-06-14)

A flashback shows June's capture and indoctrination by Aunt Lydia at the Red Center. After Serena discovers Fred's trips to Jezebel's, she slaps Offred hard and forces her to take a pregnancy test. It is positive. Serena then angrily accuses her husband, telling him the child is not his. Upon learning the news, Nick shares a brief, tender moment with Offred. Serena takes Offred to where Hannah now lives, but Offred is kept in the car, and unable to attract her daughter's attention. Serena warns Offred that Hannah will be cared for as long as the unborn child is safe. Fred participates in Commander Putnam's trial advocating leniency, but Mrs. Putnam wants the harshest punishment possible, and ultimately Putnam's left arm is amputated at the elbow. The package from Jezebel's contains letters from women who have lost family members and been enslaved in the Gilead takeover. Later, an emotional Aunt Lydia gathers the Handmaids for the execution of Janine/Ofdaniel. The Handmaids hesitate, and Ofglen No. 2 is brutally beaten when she voices her angry refusal. Offred, then the other Handmaids, drop their stones. The guards prepare to kill them all, but Aunt Lydia saves them, although assuring them that there will be consequences. Not long afterward, a black van comes for Offred. Nick urges her to trust him and go with them. Offred's transfer is unusual, as neither of the Waterfords have any idea this would be happening. As Offred leaves, she whispers to Rita where to find the hidden letters. In a side story, Moira reaches Canada and is reunited with Luke.

text: Season 2 (2018)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Teleplay by
Original release date

11
1
"June"
Mike Barker
Bruce Miller
April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)

Offred and other handmaids are taken to Fenway Park where they are made to believe they will be hanged, but it turns out to be a ruse to frighten them. During another punishment, Offred is freed after Aunt Lydia is told of her pregnancy. When she rejects a meal Aunt Lydia gives her, she is shown a pregnant handmaid, Ofwyatt, chained in a prison room due to her attempt to kill herself with drain cleaner. Offred agrees to eat, and during her meal Aunt Lydia, who had told her that her friends would be punished for their disobedience but her pregnancy would mean that she would be exempted, brings the other handmaids into the room, and one by one they are burned with a gas flame. Later, Offred is at a pregnancy check-up, where she is visited by Fred and Serena, but afterwards finds a key in one of her boots, which she uses to escape to a van parked underneath the hospital. The van drops her off to a safe house in Back Bay where she meets Nick, while Fred authorizes a highly resourced search for her. He tells her to change out of her handmaid outfit, and to cut her hair. After stripping off her handmaid's dress, she burns it, before cutting the red cattle tag out of her ear. In flashbacks throughout the episode, Hannah is admitted to the hospital for having a fever while in school; June is questioned by one of the hospital workers about giving Hannah medication to bypass the school's fever policy, as well as questioning June and Luke's fitness as parents. Later, they arrive home to a news story about the Capitol Building and the White House being attacked.

12
2
"Unwomen"
Mike Barker
Bruce Miller
April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)

June has been transported to the former headquarters of The Boston Globe, another safe place arranged by Mayday.[25] Emily has been taken to the Colonies, where disobedient and lower-class infertile women ("unwomen") are forced to dig on highly toxic land.[26] Many of the unwomen are falling sick, and Emily is doing what she can to help them. A commander's wife arrives at the Colonies and is not welcomed by the unwomen: Emily befriends her and finds that she was taken to the colonies for committing a "sin of the flesh". Emily gives her tablets that turn out to be poison, which leads to her death. Emily blames her for "holding a woman down while her husband rapes her".[25] The unwomen are warned that there will be consequences for this death. Janine arrives at the Colonies, where she is briefly greeted by Emily. Nick visits June and she gets upset when he tells her she needs to wait for several weeks before she can leave because everyone is looking for her. Nick ends up giving her the keys to a car and a gun but she decides to stay, and they have sex. In a flashback, after the attack on the Capitol Building and the White House, Emily is told by her boss, Professor Dan, that she will not be teaching the following semester at the university, giving her a lower profile to avoid attracting criticism for her sexual orientation. Professor Dan is later seen hanged at the university with the word "faggot" spray painted underneath him. While Emily, along with her wife Sylvia and son Oliver, attempt to emigrate to Canada, she is unable to leave the country because their same-sex marriage is no longer recognized, and it becomes known that she is the biological mother of Oliver. June makes a memorial for The Boston Globe employees who were executed at the newspaper's former headquarters and prays to God to send an angel to watch over it.[25]

13
3
"Baggage"
Kari Skogland
Dorothy Fortenberry
May 2, 2018 (2018-05-02)

Having spent two months at The Boston Globe offices, June has found evidence in their archives of the early emergence of the Gilead movement. Nick visits occasionally. She is abruptly moved to a place where she meets Omar, who tells her he is bringing her to another safe house near an airstrip to fly to Canada. He receives a message that the safe house has been compromised, and tries to leave without her, but she stands in front of his van to make him take her. He takes her to his apartment, where she meets his wife, Heather, and their son, Adam. Left alone when his family goes to church, June finds a hidden Qur'an and prayer rug under the bedsprings; Omar and his family do not return. She dons Heather's Econowife outfit and gets out of the apartment, blending in with other Econowives. After a train ride, June runs into the woods. She realizes she has no way of rescuing Hannah and advances to the airstrip that Omar had told her of; however, the plane is intercepted before take-off, the pilot is executed, and June and another fugitive are apprehended by the Guardians. Meanwhile, Moira, now living with Luke and Erin (who is no longer mute) in Canada, gives a tour to a new co-worker but he has a breakdown, traumatized by what he did as a Guardian. In a flashback, June as a child is taken to a Take Back the Night rally by her mother, Holly. When she grew up, Holly was disappointed at June's career choices and plan to marry Luke, hoping that she would have been an activist. Moira and June learned during their training at the Red Center that Holly had been declared an Unwoman and was sent to the Colonies to be worked to death.

14
4
"Other Women"
Kari Skogland
Yahlin Chang
May 9, 2018 (2018-05-09)

June is taken back and chained in a room where Aunt Lydia explains that if she must choose between this imprisonment, followed by execution after the birth of her child, and return as a handmaid to the Waterfords. She chooses the latter and is under close supervision from Lydia. The Waterfords, who still employ Nick, publicly treat Offred's disappearance as a kidnapping, but privately Serena is furious and grabs Offred by the throat. Rita returns the letters she found and tells Offred that she will no longer be involved. A baby shower is held Serena, incorporating prayer and a ritual binding of Offred to Serena. Offred learns from Alma that Ofglen's tongue was removed for speaking up to save Ofwarren (Janine) as she was about to be stoned and that Mayday has now gone silent. Aunt Lydia takes Offred out to show her what is presumed to be Omar's hanging corpse. She tells June that Omar's wife, Heather, is now a handmaid and that their child, Adam, was given away to another family. Aunt Lydia tells Offred that this was her fault, and Offred accepts the blame. Aunt Lydia encourages June to distinguish between Offred's person and June's. In a flashback, June sees Luke's first wife Annie, who tells her that they made wedding vows before God, but Luke rejects her attempts to come between him and June; a few years later, Annie sees Luke and June in a restaurant with their child, Hannah. Offred has collapsed emotionally under the knowledge of Omar's family's fate. June prays that Hannah might forget her, and ignoring Nick, appears to be conforming to the expectations of a handmaid.

15
5
"Seeds"
Mike Barker
Kira Snyder
May 16, 2018 (2018-05-16)

Offred is very subdued, and starts to burn the letters she had been keeping for Mayday. She notices vaginal bleeding, which continues and gets worse but does not inform anyone, although Rita notices her unsteadiness. Nick notices Offred's apparent depression and lets Mrs. Waterford know about it. Mrs. Waterford becomes alarmed at Nick's interest in Offred and informs Commander Waterford, who arranges for him to be married at a Prayvaganza where loyal Guardians are issued a wife as a reward for their work. Nick's new bride, Eden, moves into his room. Nick later finds Offred unconscious and drenched in the bushes outside the Waterfords' house and she is taken to the hospital. Offred, still pregnant, promises to her baby that they both will escape Gilead. Meanwhile, in the Colonies, Janine assures Emily that God is protecting them through their struggles in Gilead, and helps to arrange a small wedding for a dying worker, officiated by another Unwoman who is a rabbi. Emily, who has begun to lose her teeth, argues with her over her faith and her wishes to bring brightness to a place that otherwise seems so bleak. When the newlywed Unwoman dies, the rabbi officiates at the burial as she is lowered into her grave in a cemetery adorned with crosses.

16
6
"First Blood"
Mike Barker
Eric Tuchman
May 23, 2018 (2018-05-23)

Offred and Serena seem to be bonding when Serena gathers several handmaids and hosts lunch in Offred's honor. Serena offers her airy sitting room to Offred to use as a bedroom and shows Offred the nursery for the baby. Offred asks to see Hannah, which angers Serena. Eden reveals to Offred that she fears Nick may be a "gender traitor" due to his reluctance to have sex with her so Offred warns him and he has sex with Eden to avoid suspicion. Fred visits Offred in secret and gives her a photograph of Hannah. Nick asks Commander Pryce to be reassigned. Ofglen goes rogue at the opening of the Rachel and Leah Center and detonates a bomb. Flashbacks show Serena promoting her book tour A Woman's Place and being verbally attacked and shot by a protester, as well as Fred's efforts in punishing those who threatened Serena.

17
7
"After"
Kari Skogland
Lynn Renee Maxcy
May 30, 2018 (2018-05-30)

Wearing mourning veils, the handmaids and aunts attend a funeral for all of the 31 handmaids who perished in the bomb blast carried out by Ofglen. Twenty-six commanders were also killed in the attack on the Rachel and Leah Center, including Commander Pryce, while others, such as Commander Waterford, were seriously injured. Following the attack, Commander Cushing takes Commander Pryce's role and tightens security in Gilead, instituting an increased number of checkpoints and having numerous civilians summarily executed. He questions Offred, asking who aided her when she tried to flee the country. Offred responds that she was kidnapped, an answer that Commander Cushing does not believe. Mrs. Waterford is alarmed at the possibility of her household being targeted, and is angry at his heavy-handed response to the bombing. She forges orders from her husband to have Commander Cushing arrested. Because so many handmaids were killed at the Rachel and Leah Center during Ofglen's attack, some fertile women are taken back from the Colonies and are made to serve as handmaids once again, including Janine and Emily. Both reunite with Offred in the grocery store, with Janine happily telling her that it was God's plan that she be rescued. Offred tells her real name, June, to Emily and another handmaid and following this, several of the handmaids whisper their real names to one another. Later, Mrs. Waterford enlists Offred's help in illicitly performing the Commander's work for him while he is in the hospital. At the refugee center, Moira looks through countless records to try to confirm whether her fiancée, Odette, has died. Through flashbacks Moira is revealed to have been a voluntary surrogate for a couple before the war. She met Odette, a doctor, during this process. In the present, Moira eventually finds photographs showing Odette was killed.

18
8
"Women's Work"
Kari Skogland
Nina Fiore & John Herrera
June 6, 2018 (2018-06-06)

Offred helps Serena to complete Fred's work while he is too ill from his bomb injuries to do so himself. Serena tells Offred that the Putnams' child, Angela (called Charlotte by Janine, who is her biological mother) is sick. Offred advocates for Janine to be able to see the baby, and Serena agrees to ask about it for the baby's sake. Naomi Putnam dislikes the idea, but she is overruled by her husband, Warren. Serena petitions Fred to allow the sick child to be seen by a Martha who, prior to the Sons of Jacob coup, was one of the nation's top neonatologists. Fred denies the request, saying that whatever happens to the child must now be left to God's will. A dismayed Serena forges Fred's signature to a written order that transfers the Martha to the hospital for a day. Aunt Lydia tells June that she will hold her personally responsible if anything goes wrong with Janine's visit to the hospital. Offred, with true concern, tells Aunt Lydia that she will hold herself responsible too. The neonatologist can find nothing physically wrong with the child, and she advises them to simply unplug the baby from all of the machines and help her to feel safe and warm. When Fred discovers that Serena forged his signature on an order to temporarily transfer the physician/Martha, he beats Serena with his belt as Offred is forced to watch. Meanwhile, Eden is working hard to please Nick, but after rearranging his garret and uncovering the bundle of handmaids' letters he is keeping safe for Offred, he becomes aggressive towards her, demanding that she never touch his belongings. The episode ends with Janine singing "I Only Want to Be with You" to her child and bouncing her as her baby gurgles happily. Janine is in a state of undress, paying tribute to the theory that skin-to-skin maternal contact can solve a variety of infant maladies.

19
9
"Smart Power"
Jeremy Podeswa
Dorothy Fortenberry
June 13, 2018 (2018-06-13)

Fred orders Serena to travel with him on a diplomatic mission to Canada, despite the baby's birth is so close,saying that outsiders need to see "a strong Gilead wife." Serena punishes Offred by telling her she'll be kicked out of the house as soon as the baby is born. Offred is disturbed to learn that she won't be permitted to nurse and then wean the baby, as is customary, but tries to hide her dismay by agreeing with Serena that they've all had enough of one another. As Serena and Fred are driven through the streets of Toronto, Serena is reminded of what normalcy used to look like in the US. The Waterfords are officially greeted by a contingent of Canadian government officials, with a gay male government official pointedly telling Fred that he used to enjoy visiting the US with "his husband." Fred then diplomatically attempts to whitewash Gilead's anti-gay stance. An aide hands Serena a schedule of activities that consists of pictures rather than words. Feeling ambivalent about all of the reminders of open society surrounding her in Toronto and embarrassed by her welcome, Serena goes to a bar and orders a glass of wine. She is soon approached by a handsome man named Mark, who reveals he's a spy working for the remnant of the US government in Hawaii. Mark offers to help Serena defect and denounce Gilead and her husband in exchange for her freedom. Serena declines even after Mark offers to arrange fertility treatment so Serena can have a baby of her own. US refugees stand in protest at the entrance to Fred and Serena's hotel. One of the protesters is Luke, who accosts the Waterfords as their limo pulls up. Luke, holding an enlarged, sign-sized photo of himself, June, and their daughter Hannah, accuses Waterford of raping his wife. Serena and Nick are visibly disquieted by the photo. Afterwards, Nick quietly finds Luke at a bar and tells him June is pregnant but safe, and gives him the bundle of letters from handmaids who are enslaved in Gilead. Luke, Moira, and Erin release the letters on the Web, causing a huge public outcry that prompts the Canadians to cancel the summit. At the airport, as the Waterfords are surrounded by more protesters, Moira angrily bangs on the Waterfords' car and holds up a sign that says "My name is Moira." Fred learns that Moira (who he knew as "Ruby" at Jezebel's) successfully escaped from Gilead. Offred pleads with Rita, and then with Aunt Lydia, to protect the child from the Waterfords after Offred is expelled from the house. Offred is able to extract a somewhat grudging promise to do so from Rita and a tearful promise to do so from Aunt Lydia. Serena burns the Hawaiian tiki bar matches Mark gave her to remind her that a United States still exists beyond the borders of Gilead, with some apparent regret. Meanwhile, Nick gives Offred news of Luke and Moira, which lifts her spirits and reignites her will to fight.

20
10
"The Last Ceremony"[27]
TBA
TBA
June 20, 2018 (2018-06-20)

text: Production[edit]

text: A straight-to-series order by Hulu of The Handmaid's Tale was announced in April 2016, with Elisabeth Moss set to star.[28] Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the series was created by Bruce Miller, who is also an executive producer with Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Warren Littlefield.[28] Atwood serves as consulting producer, giving feedback on some of the areas where the series expands upon or modernizes the book.[28][29] She also played a small cameo role in the first episode.[30] Moss is also a producer.[31] In June 2016, Reed Morano was announced as director of the series.[32] Samira Wiley, Max Minghella, and Ann Dowd joined the cast in July 2016.[33][34][35] Joseph Fiennes, Madeline Brewer, and Yvonne Strahovski were cast in August 2016,[36][37][38] followed by O. T. Fagbenle and Amanda Brugel in September 2016.[39][40] In October 2016, Ever Carradine joined the cast,[41] and Alexis Bledel was added in January 2017.[42]

text: Filming on the series took place in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Oakville, and Cambridge, Ontario, from September 2016 to February 2017.[43][44] The first full trailer of the TV series was released by Hulu on YouTube on March 23, 2017.[45] The series premiered on April 26, 2017.[46]

text: On May 3, 2017, The Handmaid's Tale was renewed for a second season to premiere in 2018.[47] Moss told the news media that the subsequent episodes would cover further developments in the story, filling in some of the unanswered questions and continuing the narrative already "finished" in the book.[48] The second season consists of 13 episodes and began filming in fall 2017. Alexis Bledel returned as a series regular.[49] Showrunner Bruce Miller stated that he envisioned 10 seasons of the show, stating, "Well, you know, honestly, when I started, I tried to game out in my head what would ten seasons be like? If you hit a home run, you want energy to go around the bases, you want enough story to keep going, if you can hook the audience to care about these people enough that they're actually crying at the finale."[50]

text: Broadcast and release[edit]

text: The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017; the subsequent seven episodes were released on a weekly basis.[46][51] In Canada, the series is broadcast by Bravo; the first two episodes premiered on April 30, 2017.[52] In Scandinavia, the series is available on HBO Nordic.[53] In the United Kingdom, the series premiered on May 28, 2017, on Channel 4.[54] In Ireland, the series premiered on February 5, 2018 on RTÉ2, with a showing of the first two episodes.[55] RTÉ also became the first broadcaster in Europe to debut Season 2 following its broadcast in the US and Canada.[56]

text: In New Zealand, the series was released on the subscription video on demand service Lightbox on June 8, 2017.[57] In Australia, the series premiered on the TV channel SBS's video streaming service SBS on Demand, on July 6, 2017.[58]

text: The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 13, 2018.[59]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text:
Season
Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic

1
95% (106 reviews)
92 (41 reviews)

2
94% (69 reviews)
86 (28 reviews)

text: Season 1[edit]

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 95% based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Haunting and vivid, The Handmaid's Tale is an endlessly engrossing adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel that's anchored by a terrific central performance from Elisabeth Moss."[60] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[61]

text: Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called it "probably the spring's best new show".[62] Jen Chaney of Vulture gave it a highly positive review, and wrote that it is "A faithful adaptation of the book that also brings new layers to Atwood's totalitarian, sexist world of forced surrogate motherhood" and that "this series is meticulously paced, brutal, visually stunning, and so suspenseful from moment to moment that only at the end of each hour will you feel fully at liberty to exhale".[63]

text: There was much debate on whether parallels could be drawn between the series (and by extension, the book it is based on) and American society following Donald Trump and Mike Pence's elections as President and Vice President of the United States, respectively. [64] [65] A comparison has also been made to the Salafi/Wahabbi extremism of ISIL, under which enslaved women of religious minorities are passed around and utilized as sex objects and vessels to bear new jihadis.[66][67]

text: Season 2[edit]

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 94% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 8.35/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Beautifully shot but dishearteningly relevant, The Handmaid's Tale centers its sophomore season tightly around its compelling cast of characters, making room for broader social commentary through more intimate lenses."[68] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[69]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee(s)
Result
Ref.

2017
Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Drama Series
Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Ilene Chaiken, Sheila Hockin, Eric Tuchman, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Kira Snyder, Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Boccia, and Leila Gerstein
Won
[70]

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss (for "Night")
Won

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Ann Dowd (for "Offred")
Won

Samira Wiley (for "Night")
Nominated

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Reed Morano (for "Offred")
Won

Kate Dennis (for "The Bridge")
Nominated

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Bruce Miller (for "Offred")
Won

Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Alexis Bledel (for "Late")
Won

Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Russell Scott, Sharon Bialy, and Sherry Thomas
Nominated

Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)
Colin Watkinson (for "Offred")
Won

Outstanding Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series, or Movie
Ane Crabtree and Sheena Wichary (for "Offred")
Nominated

Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More)
Julie Berghoff, Evan Webber, and Sophie Neudorfer (for "Offred")
Won

Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role
Brendan Taylor, Stephen Lebed, Leo Bovell, Martin O'Brien, Winston Lee, Kelly Knauff, Zach Dembinski, Mike Suta, and Cameron Kerr (for "Birth Day")
Nominated

Peabody Award
Entertainment, children's and youth honoree
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[71]

Gold Derby TV Awards
Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Nominated
[72]

Drama Actress
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Drama Guest Actress
Alexis Bledel
Won

TCA Awards
Program of the Year
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[73]

Outstanding Achievement in Drama
Won

Outstanding New Program
Nominated

Individual Achievement in Drama
Elisabeth Moss
Nominated

American Film Institute Awards
Top 10 TV Programs of the Year
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[74]

2018
American Cinema Editors Awards
Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television
Julian Clarke and Wendy Hallam Martin (for "Offred")
Won
[75]

Art Directors Guild Awards
One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Television Series
Julie Berghoff (for "Offred", "Birth Day", "Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum")
Won
[76]

Andrew Stearn (for "The Bridge")
Nominated

Casting Society of America
Television Pilot and First Season – Drama
Sharon Bialy, Sherry Thomas, Russell Scott, Robin D. Cook, and Jonathan Oliveira
Won
[77]

Cinema Audio Society Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – One Hour
John J. Thomson, Lou Solakofski, Joe Morrow, and Don White (for "Offred")
Nominated
[78]

Costume Designers Guild Awards
Excellence in Contemporary Television Series
Ane Crabtree
Won
[79]

Critics' Choice Television Awards
Best Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[80]

Best Actress in a Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Ann Dowd
Won

Directors Guild of America Awards
Outstanding Directorial Achievement for a Drama Series
Reed Morano (for "Offred")
Won
[81]

Golden Globe Awards
Best Television Series – Drama
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[82]

Best Actress – Television Series Drama
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Ann Dowd
Nominated

Location Managers Guild Awards
Outstanding Locations in Contemporary Television
John Musikka and Geoffrey Smither
Nominated
[83]

Producers Guild of America Awards
Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
The Handmaid's Tale
Won
[84]

Satellite Awards
Best Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Nominated
[85]

Best Actress in a Drama / Genre Series
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Film
Ann Dowd
Won

Saturn Awards
Best New Media Television Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Pending
[86]

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Ann Dowd, O. T. Fagbenle, Joseph Fiennes, Tattiawna Jones, Max Minghella, Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, and Samira Wiley
Nominated
[87]

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss
Nominated

USC Scripter Awards
Best Adapted TV Screenplay
Bruce Miller and Margaret Atwood (for "Offred")
Won
[88]

Writers Guild of America Awards
Dramatic Series
Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, and Eric Tuchman
Won
[89]

New Series
Won


document_title: Aretha Franklin

question_text: aretha franklin's first record contract was with which label

question_tokens: aretha franklin 's first record contract was with which label

root

text: Aretha Franklin

text: Early life[edit]

text: Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Barbara (née Siggers) and Clarence LaVaughn "C. L." Franklin. Her father was an itinerant preacher originally from Shelby, Mississippi, while her mother was an accomplished piano player and vocalist.[6] Alongside Franklin, her parents had three other children while both C. L. and Barbara had children from outside their marriage. The family relocated to Buffalo, New York when Franklin was two. Before her fifth birthday, C. L. Franklin permanently relocated the family to Detroit, Michigan where he took over the pastorship of New Bethel Baptist Church. Franklin's parents had a troubled marriage due to stories of C. L. Franklin's philandering and in 1948, they separated, with Barbara relocating back to Buffalo with her son, Vaughn, from a previous relationship.

tag: p

text: Contrary to popular notion, Franklin's mother did not abandon her children; not only would Franklin recall seeing her mother in Buffalo during the summer, Barbara also frequently visited her children in Detroit.[7] Franklin's mother died on March 7, 1952, before Franklin's tenth birthday. Several women, including Franklin's grandmother Rachel, and Mahalia Jackson took turns helping with the children at the Franklin home.[8] During this time, Franklin learned how to play piano by ear.[9] Franklin's father's emotionally driven sermons resulted in him being known as the man with the "million-dollar voice" and earning thousands of dollars for sermons in various churches across the country.[10][11] Franklin's celebrity led to his home being visited by various celebrities including gospel musicians Clara Ward, James Cleveland and early Caravans members Albertina Walker and Inez Andrews as well as Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.[12][13]

text: Music career[edit]

text: Beginnings (1952–1960)[edit]

text: Just after her mother's death, Franklin began singing solos at New Bethel, debuting with the hymn, "Jesus, Be a Fence Around Me".[8][14] Four years later, when Franklin was 14, her father began managing her, bringing her on the road with him during his so-called "gospel caravan" tours for her to perform in various churches.[15] He helped his daughter get signed to her first recording deal with J.V.B. Records, where her first album, Songs of Faith, was issued in 1956. Two singles were released to gospel radio stations including "Never Grow Old" and "Precious Lord, Take My Hand". Franklin sometimes traveled with The Caravans and The Soul Stirrers during this time and developed a crush on Sam Cooke, who was then singing with the Soul Stirrers before his secular career.

text: After turning 18, Franklin confided to her father that she aspired to follow Sam Cooke to record pop music. Serving as her manager, C. L. agreed to the move and helped to produce a two-song demo that soon was brought to the attention of Columbia Records, who agreed to sign her in 1960. Franklin was signed as a "five-percent artist".[16] During this period, Franklin would be coached by choreographer Cholly Atkins to prepare for her pop performances. Before signing with Columbia, Sam Cooke tried to persuade Franklin's father to have his label, RCA sign Franklin. He had also been courted by local record label owner Berry Gordy to sign Franklin and her elder sister Erma to his Tamla label. Franklin's father felt the label was not established enough yet. Franklin's first Columbia single, "Today I Sing the Blues",[17] was issued in September 1960 and later reached the top ten of the Hot Rhythm & Blues Sellers chart.

text: Initial success (1961–1966)[edit]

text: In January 1961, Columbia issued Franklin's first secular album, Aretha: With The Ray Bryant Combo. The album featured her first single to chart the Billboard Hot 100, "Won't Be Long", which also peaked at number 7 on the R&B chart. Mostly produced by Clyde Otis, Franklin's Columbia recordings saw her recording in diverse genres such as standards, vocal jazz, blues, doo-wop and rhythm and blues. Before the year was out, Franklin scored her first top 40 single with her rendition of the standard, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody", which also included the R&B hit, "Operation Heartbreak", on its b-side. "Rock-a-Bye" became her first international hit, reaching the top 40 in Australia and Canada. By the end of 1961, Franklin was named as a "new-star female vocalist" in Down Beat magazine.[18] In 1962, Columbia issued two more albums, The Electrifying Aretha Franklin and The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin, the latter of which charted number 69 on the Billboard Pop LPs chart.

text: By 1964, Franklin began recording more pop music, reaching the top ten on the R&B chart with the ballad, "Runnin' Out of Fools" in early 1965. She had two R&B charted singles in 1965 and 1966 with the songs "One Step Ahead" and "Cry Like a Baby" while also reaching the Easy Listening charts with the ballads "You Made Me Love You" and "(No, No) I'm Losing You". By the mid-1960s, Franklin was netting $100,000 from countless performances in nightclubs and theaters.[18] Also during that period, Franklin appeared on rock and roll shows such as Hollywood A Go-Go and Shindig!. However, it was argued that Franklin's potential was neglected at the label. Columbia executive John H. Hammond later said he felt Columbia did not understand Franklin's early gospel background and failed to bring that aspect out further during her Columbia period.[17]

text: Commercial success (1967–1979)[edit]

text: In November 1966, choosing not to renew her Columbia contract after six years with the company, Franklin signed to Atlantic Records.[19] In January 1967, she traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record at FAME Studios to record the song, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" in front of the musicians of the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.[17] The song was later issued that February and shot up to number-one on the R&B chart, while also peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Franklin her first top ten pop single. The song's b-side, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", reached the R&B top 40, peaking at number 37. In April, Atlantic issued her frenetic version of Otis Redding's "Respect", which shot to number-one on both the R&B and pop charts and later became her signature song and was later hailed as a civil rights and feminist anthem.[17]

text: Franklin's debut Atlantic album, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, also became commercially successful, later going gold. Franklin scored two more top ten singles in 1967 including "Baby I Love You" and "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman". Franklin's rapport with producer Jerry Wexler helped in the creation of the majority of Franklin's peak recordings with Atlantic. In 1968, she issued the top-selling albums, Lady Soul and Aretha Now, which included some of Franklin's most popular hit singles including "Chain of Fools", "Ain't No Way", "Think" and "I Say a Little Prayer". In February 1968, Franklin earned the first two of her Grammys including the debut category for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.[20] On February 16, 1968, Franklin was honored with a day in her honor and was greeted by longtime friend Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave her the SCLC Drum Beat Award for Musicians just two months before his death.[21][22][23] In June 1968, she appeared on the cover of Time magazine.[24]

text:
"Respect"

"Respect" was a huge hit for Franklin, it became a signature song for her.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

tag: table

text: Franklin's success expanded during the early 1970s in which she recorded top ten singles such as "Spanish Harlem", "Rock Steady" and "Day Dreaming" as well as the acclaimed albums, Spirit in the Dark, Young, Gifted & Black and her gospel album, Amazing Grace, which sold over two million copies. In 1971, Franklin became the first R&B performer to headline Fillmore West, later recording the live album, Aretha Live at Fillmore West.[25] Franklin's career began to experience problems while recording the album, Hey Now Hey, which featured production from Quincy Jones. Despite the success of the single, "Angel", the album bombed upon its release in 1973. Franklin continued having R&B success with songs such as "Until You Come Back to Me" and "I'm in Love" but by 1975, her albums and songs were no longer top sellers. After Jerry Wexler left Atlantic for Warner Bros. Records in 1976, Franklin worked on the soundtrack to the film, "Sparkle", with Curtis Mayfield. The album yielded Franklin's final top 40 hit of the decade, "Something He Can Feel", which also peaked at number-one on the R&B chart. Franklin's follow-up albums for Atlantic including Sweet Passion, Almighty Fire and La Diva bombed on the charts and in 1979, Franklin opted to leave the company.[citation needed]

text: Later years (1980–present)[edit]

text: In 1980, after leaving Atlantic Records,[26] Franklin signed with Clive Davis' Arista Records and that same year gave a command performance at the Royal Albert Hall in front of Queen Elizabeth. Franklin also made an acclaimed guest role as a waitress in the comedy musical, The Blues Brothers. Franklin's first Arista album, Aretha, featured the No. 3 R&B hit, "United Together" and her Grammy-nominated cover of Otis Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose". The follow-up, 1981's Love All the Hurt Away, included her famed duet of the title track with George Benson while the album also included her Grammy-winning cover of Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'". Franklin returned to the Gold standard– for the first time in seven years– with the album, Jump to It. Its title track was her first top 40 single on the pop charts in six years.

text: In 1985, inspired by her desire to have a "younger sound" in her music, her fifth Arista album, Who's Zoomin' Who?, became her first album to be certified platinum, after selling well over a million copies, thanks to the hits, "Freeway of Love", the title track and "Another Night".[27] The following year's Aretha album nearly matched this success with the hit singles "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Jimmy Lee" and "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me", her international number-one duet with George Michael. During that period, Franklin provided vocals to the theme songs of the shows, A Different World and Together.[28] In 1987, she issued her third gospel album, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, which was recorded at her late father's New Bethel church, followed by Through the Storm in 1989. Franklin's 1991 album, What You See is What You Sweat, flopped on the charts. Franklin returned to the charts in 1993 with the dance song "A Deeper Love" and returned to the top 40 with the song "Willing to Forgive" in 1994.

text: In 1998, Franklin returned to the top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song, "A Rose Is Still a Rose", later issuing the album of the same name, which went gold. That same year, Franklin earned international acclaim for her performance of "Nessun Dorma" at the Grammy Awards. Her final Arista album, So Damn Happy, was released in 2003 and featured the Grammy-winning song, "Wonderful". In 2004, Franklin announced that she was leaving Arista after over 20 years with the label. To complete her Arista obligations, Franklin issued the duets compilation album, Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen, in 2007. The following year, she issued the holiday album, This Christmas, Aretha, on DMI Records.

text: Franklin performed The Star Spangled Banner with Aaron Neville and Dr. John for Super Bowl XL, held in her hometown of Detroit in February 2006. She later made international headlines for performing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony with her church hat becoming a popular topic online. In 2010, Franklin accepted an honorary degree from Yale University.[29] In 2011, under her own label, Aretha's Records, she issued the album, Aretha: A Woman Falling Out Of Love. As of 2014, Franklin is now signed under RCA Records, controller of the Arista catalog and a sister label to Columbia via Sony Music Entertainment, and is currently working again with Clive Davis. A new album is in the works with producers Babyface and Danger Mouse planning to work with Franklin.[30]

text: On September 29, 2014, Franklin performed to a standing ovation, with Cissy Houston as backup, a compilation of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" on the Late Show with David Letterman.[31] Franklin's cover of "Rolling in the Deep" would be featured among nine other songs in her first RCA release, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, released on October 21, 2014.

text: In October 2014 Franklin became the first woman to have 100 songs on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with the success of her cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", which debuted at number 47 on the chart.[32]

text: In December 2015 Franklin gave an acclaimed performance of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors during the section for honoree Carole King, who co-wrote the song.[33][34][35][36] During the bridge of the song, Ms. Franklin dropped her fur coat to the stage, for which the audience rewarded her with a mid-performance standing ovation.[37]

text: Music style and image[edit]

text: According to Richie Unterberger, Franklin is "one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged."[38] She has often been described as a great singer and musician due to "vocal flexibility, interpretive intelligence, skillful piano-playing, her ear, her experience."[39] Franklin's voice has been described as being a "powerful mezzo-soprano voice" and has been praised for her arrangements and interpretations of other artists' hit songs.[40] Of describing Franklin's voice as a youngster on her first album, Songs of Faith, released when she was just fourteen, Jerry Wexler explained that Franklin's voice "was not that of a child but rather of an ecstatic hierophant."[41] Franklin's image went through rapid changes throughout her career. During the 1960s, Franklin was known for wearing bouffant hairdos and extravagant dresses that were sometimes embellished with either mink fur or feathers. In the 1970s, embracing her roots, Franklin briefly wore an Afro and the Afrocentric styled clothing admired by her peers. In the mid-1970s, after dropping weight, Franklin began wearing more fitted attire. By the 1980s, she had settled on wearing evening gowns and extravagant dresses.

text: Personal life[edit]

text: After being raised in Detroit, Franklin relocated to New York City in the 1960s, where she lived until moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. She eventually settled in Encino, Los Angeles where she lived until 1982. She then returned to the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan to be close to her ailing father and siblings. Franklin maintains a residence there to this day. Following an incident in 1984, she has cited a fear of flying that has prevented her from traveling overseas; she has performed only in North America since then.[42]

text: Franklin is the mother of four sons. She became pregnant at the age of just 12[43] and gave birth to her first child, named Clarence after her father, on January 28, 1955. The father of the child is Donald Burk, a boy she knew from school. At the age of 14 on January 22, 1957, Franklin had a second child named Edward after his father Edward Jordan. Both of her children took her family name.[44] While Franklin was pursuing her career and "hanging out with [friends]", Franklin's grandmother Rachel and sister Erma took turns raising the children.[45] Franklin's third child, Ted White, Jr., was born in 1964 and is known professionally as Teddy Richards. He has provided guitar backing for his mother's band during live concerts.[46] Her youngest son, Kecalf Cunningham born March 28, 1970 is the child of her road manager Ken Cunningham.

text: Franklin has married twice. She married Ted White in 1961, despite objections from her father. After a contentious marriage that involved domestic violence, she divorced White in 1969.[47] She then married her second husband, actor Glynn Turman, on April 11, 1978 at her father's church. By marrying Turman, Franklin became stepmother of Turman's three children from a previous marriage. Franklin and Turman separated in 1982 after Franklin returned to Michigan from California, and they divorced in 1984. At one point, Franklin had plans to walk down the aisle with longtime companion Willie Wilkerson.[48][49] Franklin and Wilkerson had had two previous engagements stretching back to 1988. Franklin eventually called the 2012 engagement off.

text: Franklin's sisters Erma and Carolyn were professional musicians as well and spent years performing background vocals on Franklin's recordings. Following Franklin's divorce from Ted White, her brother Cecil became her manager, and maintained that position until his death from lung cancer on December 26, 1989. Sister Carolyn died the previous year in April 1988 from breast cancer, while eldest sister Erma passed from throat cancer in September 2002. Franklin's half-brother Vaughn died two months after Erma in late 2002. Half-sister Carl Kelley (née Jennings; born 1940) is still alive at 77. Kelley is C. L. Franklin's daughter by Mildred Jennings, a then 12-year-old congregant of New Salem Baptist Church in Memphis, where C. L. was pastor.[50] Franklin was performing at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, on June 10, 1979, when her father C. L. was shot twice at point blank range in his Detroit home.[51] After six months at Henry Ford Hospital, still in a state of coma, C.L. was moved back to his home with 24-hour nursing care. Aretha moved back to Detroit in late 1982 to assist with the care of her father, who died at Detroit's New Light Nursing Home on July 27, 1984.[52]

text: Some of her music business friends have included Dionne Warwick, Mavis Staples, and Cissy Houston, who began singing with Franklin as members of the Sweet Inspirations. Cissy sang background on Franklin's classic hit "Ain't No Way".[53] Franklin first met Cissy's daughter, Whitney, in the early 1970s.[54] She was made Whitney's honorary aunt, and Whitney often referred to her as "Auntie Ree".[55] Whitney died on February 11, 2012.[56] Franklin stated she was surprised by her death.[56] She had initially planned to perform at Houston's memorial service on February 18, but her representative claimed that Franklin suffered a leg spasm and was unable to attend. In response to criticism of her non-attendance, she stated, "God knows I wanted to be there, but I couldn't."[57]

text: Franklin is a registered Democrat.[58] In 2014, she was granted the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts from Harvard University for her contributions to music.[59]

text: Weight issues and health problems[edit]

text: Franklin dealt with weight issues for years. In 1974, she dropped 40 pounds (18 kg) during a crash diet[60] and maintained her new weight until the end of the decade.[61] Franklin again lost the weight in the early 1990s before gaining some back.[62] A former chain smoker who struggled with alcoholism, she quit smoking in 1992.[63] Franklin admitted in 1994 that her smoking was "messing with my voice",[64] but after quitting smoking she said later, in 2003, that her weight "ballooned".[65]

text: In 2010, Franklin canceled a number of concerts after she decided to have surgery for an undisclosed tumor.[62] Discussing the surgery in 2011, she quoted her doctor as saying it would "add 15 to 20 years" to her life. She denied that the ailment had anything to do with pancreatic cancer, as it was rumored.[66] On May 19, 2011, Franklin had her comeback show in the Chicago theatre.[67] In May 2013, Franklin canceled two performances to deal with an undisclosed medical treatment.[68] Later in the same month, Franklin canceled three more concerts in June and planned to return to perform in July.[69] However, a show of July 27 in Clarkston, Michigan was canceled due to continued medical treatment.[70] In addition, Franklin canceled an appearance at an MLB luncheon in Chicago honoring her commitment to civil rights on an August 24 date.[71] She also canceled a performance of September 21 in Atlanta due to her health recovery.[72] During a phone interview with The Associated Press in late August 2013 Franklin stated that she had a "miraculous" recovery from her undisclosed illness but had to cancel shows and appearances until she was at 100% health, stating she was "85% healed".[73] Franklin has since returned to live performing, including a 2013 Christmas concert at Detroit's Motor City Casino. She launched a multi-city tour beginning the summer of 2014, starting with a performance of June 14 in New York at the Radio City Music Hall.[74]

text: In 2017, Franklin canceled a series of concerts due to health reasons. During an outdoors Detroit show, Franklin told the audience to "keep me in your prayers".[75] In July 2017, Franklin reemerged, appearing to lose more weight before a performance at the Wolf Trap in Virginia.[76]

text: Legacy[edit]

text: Franklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1979, had her voice declared a Michigan "natural resource" in 1985,[77] and became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.[78] NARAS awarded her a Grammy Legend Award in 1991, then the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. Franklin was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1994, recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 1999, and was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

text: Franklin become the second woman inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. She was the 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year, performing at the Grammys days later. Following news of Franklin's surgery and recovery in February 2011, the Grammys ceremony paid tribute to the singer with a medley of her classics performed by Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, and Yolanda Adams.[79] That same year she was ranked among the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time top artists,[80] and ranked first on the Rolling Stone list of Greatest Singers of All Time.[81]

text: Inducted to the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012, Franklin has been described as "the voice of the civil rights movement, the voice of black America" and a "symbol of black equality".[82][83] Asteroid 249516 Aretha was named in her honor in 2014.[84]

text: "American history wells up when Aretha sings", president Obama explained his emotional response to her performance of "A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. "Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll--the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope".[85]

text: On June 8, 2017, the City of Detroit honored Franklin's legacy by renaming a portion of Madison Street, between Brush and Witherell Streets, "Aretha Franklin Way".[86]

text: Honorary degrees[edit]

text: Franklin received an honorary degree from Harvard University in 2014,[87] as well as honorary doctorates in music from Princeton University, 2012; Yale University, 2010; Brown University, 2009; Berklee College of Music, 2006; New England Conservatory of Music, 1995; and University of Michigan, 1987. Franklin was granted an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Wayne State University in 1990 and an honorary Doctor of Law by Bethune-Cookman College in 1975.[88]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: Discography[edit]

text: List of number-one R&B singles[edit]

text:
"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (1967)
"Respect" (1967)
"Baby I Love You" (1967)
"Chain of Fools" (1967)
"(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" (1968)
"Think" (1968)
"Share Your Love with Me" (1969)
"Call Me" (1970)
"Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" (1970)
"Bridge over Troubled Water" (1971)
"Spanish Harlem" (1971)
"Day Dreaming" (1972)
"Angel" (1973)
"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (1973)
"I'm in Love" (1974)
"Something He Can Feel" (1976)
"Break It to Me Gently" (1977)
"Jump to It" (1982)
"Get It Right" (1983)
"Freeway of Love" (1985)

tag: ol

text: Filmography[edit]

text:
Black Rodeo (1972) (documentary)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (1990) (documentary)
Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (2003) (documentary)
The Zen of Bennett (2012) (documentary)
Muscle Shoals (2013) (documentary)

tag: ul


document_title: History of the United States public debt

question_text: when has growth in the national debt been highest

text: Early history[edit]

text: Except for about a year during 1835–1836, the United States has continuously had a fluctuating public debt since its Constitution went into effect on March 4, 1789. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, amassed huge war debts, but lacked the power to repay these obligations through taxation or duties on imports.[1][2]

text: On the founding of the United States, the financial affairs of the new federation were in disarray, exacerbated by an economic crisis in urban commercial centers.[3] In 1790, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton pushed for Congress to pass a financial plan, called the First Report on the Public Credit,[4] a controversial part of which involved the federal government assuming state debts incurred during the Revolutionary War.[5]  Northern states had accumulated a huge amount of debt during the war, amounting to $21.5 million, and wanted the federal government to assume their burden. The Southern states, which had lower or no debts, whose citizens would effectively pay a portion of this debt if the federal government assumed it, were disinclined to accept the proposal. Some states, including Virginia, had already paid off almost half of their debts, and felt that their taxpayers should not be assessed again to bail out the less provident, and further argued that the plan was beyond the constitutional power of the new government. James Madison, then a representative from Virginia, led a group of legislators from the South in blocking the provision and prevent the plan from gaining approval. Jefferson supported Madison[6] The plan was finally adopted as part of the Compromise of 1790, as the Funding Act of 1790.  The compromise meant that the state debts were all picked up by the federal Treasury, and the permanent national capital would be located in the South, along the Virginia-Maryland border in what became the District of Colombia.

text: The assumption issue[edit]

text: Historian Max M. Edling has explained how assumption worked.  It was the critical issue; the location of the capital was a bargaining ploy.  Hamilton proposed that the federal Treasury take over and pay off all the debt that states had incurred to pay for the American Revolution. The Treasury would issue bonds that rich people would buy, thereby giving the rich a tangible stake in the success of the national government.  Hamilton proposed to pay off the new bonds with revenue from a new tariff on imports. Jefferson originally approved the scheme, but Madison had turned him around by arguing that federal control of debt would consolidate too much power in the national government. Edling points out that after its passage in 1790, the assumption was accepted. Madison did try to pay speculators below 100%, but they were paid the face value of the state debts they held regardless of how little they paid for them.  When Jefferson became president he continued the system.  The credit of the U.S. was solidly established at home and abroad, and Hamilton was successful in signing up many of the bondholders in his new Federalist Party. Good credit allowed Jefferson's Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin to borrow in Europe to finance the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, as well as to borrow to finance the War of 1812.[7]

text: The Southern states extracted a major concession from Hamilton in the recalculation of their debt under the fiscal plan.[8] For example, in the case of Virginia, a zero-sum arrangement was contrived, in which Virginia paid $3.4 million to the federal government, and received exactly that amount in federal compensation.[9] The revision of Virginia’s debt, coupled with Potomac residence issue, ultimately netted it over $13 million.[10] Another result of federal assumption of state debts was to give the federal government much more power by placing the country's most serious financial obligation in the hands of the federal government rather than the state governments. The federal government was able to avoid competing in interest with the States.

text: The debts of the federal government on January 1, 1791 amounted to $75,463,476.52, of which about $40 million was domestic debt, $12 million was foreign debt, and $18.3 million were state debts assumed by the federal government, of the $21.5 million that had been authorized.[11]

text: 1790s to 1910[edit]

text: To reduce the debt, from 1796 to 1811 there were 14 budget surpluses and 2 deficits. There was a sharp increase in the debt as a result of the War of 1812. In the 20 years following that war, there were 18 surpluses. The United States actually paid off its debt entirely in January 1835, only to begin accruing debt anew by 1836 (the debt on January 1, 1836 was $37,000).[12][13]

text: Another sharp increase in the debt occurred as a result of the Civil War. The debt was just $65 million in 1860, but passed $1 billion in 1863 and reached $2.7 billion by the end of the war. During the following 47 years, there were 36 surpluses and 11 deficits. During this period 55% of the national debt was paid off.

text: World War I and Great Depression[edit]

text: Debt increased again during World War I (1914–1918), reaching $25.5 billion at its conclusion. Approximately $17 billion in debt was raised through the selling of Liberty Bonds to the general public to finance the U.S.'s military effort. The war was followed by 11 consecutive surpluses that saw the debt reduced by 36% by the end of the 1920s.[14]

text: Warren G. Harding was elected president in 1920 and believed the federal government should be fiscally managed in a way similar to private sector businesses. He had campaigned in 1920 on the slogan, "Less government in business and more business in government."[15] Under Harding, federal spending declined from $6.3 billion in 1920 to $5 billion in 1921 and $3.3 billion in 1922. Over the course of the 1920s, under the leadership of Calvin Coolidge, the national debt was reduced by one third.[16] The decrease was even greater when the growth in GDP and inflation is taken into account.

text: Debt held by the public was $15.05 billion or 16.5% of GDP in 1930. When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, the public debt was almost $20 billion, 20% of GDP. Decreased tax revenues and spending on social programs during the Great Depression increased the debt and by 1936, the public debt had increased to $33.7 billion, approximately 40% of GDP.[17] During its first term, the Roosevelt administration ran large annual deficits of between 2 and 5% of GDP. By 1939, the debt held by the public had increased to $39.65 billion or 43% of GDP. The buildup and involvement in World War II during the presidencies of F.D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman led to the largest increase in public debt. Public debt rose over 100% of GDP to pay for the mobilization before and during the war. Public debt was $251.43 billion or 112% of GDP at the conclusion of the war in 1945 and was $260 billion in 1950.

text: After World War II[edit]

text: The public debt fell rapidly after the end of World War II under the presidency of Harry S. Truman, as the U.S. and the rest of the world experienced a post-war economic expansion. Unlike previous wars, the Korean War (1950–53) was largely financed by taxation and did not lead to an increase in the public debt.[18]

text: Growth rates in Western countries began to slow in the mid-1960s. Beginning in the mid-1970s and afterwards, U.S. national debt began to increase faster than GDP.[19][20]

text: The public debt reached a post-World War II low of 24.6% in 1974.[14][21] In that year, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 reformed the budget process to allow Congress to challenge the president's budget more easily, and, as a consequence, deficits became increasingly difficult to control.[22] National debt held by the public increased from its postwar low of 24.6% of GDP in 1974 to 26.2% in 1980.[23]

text: Debt held by the public relative to GDP rose rapidly again in the 1980s. President Ronald Reagan's economic policies lowered tax rates (Reagan slashed the top income tax rate from 70% to 28%, although bills passed in 1982 and 1984 later partially reversed those tax cuts.)[22][24] and increased military spending, while congressional Democrats blocked cuts to social programs.[20][22][24][22] As a result, debt as a share of GDP increased from 26.2% in 1980 to 40.9% in 1988,[23] and it continued to rise during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, reaching 48.3% of GDP in 1992.[14][25]

text: Debt held by the public reached a high of 49.5% of GDP at the beginning of President Clinton's first term. However, it fell to 34.5% of GDP by the end of Clinton's presidency due in part to decreased military spending, increased taxes (in 1990, 1993 and 1997), and increased tax revenue resulting from the 1990s boom.[14][21][26][27][28] The budget controls instituted in the 1990s successfully restrained fiscal action by the Congress and the President and together with economic growth contributed to the budget surpluses at the end of the decade.[29] The surpluses led to a decline in the public debt from about 43% of GDP in 1998 to about 33% by 2001.[29]

text: In the early 21st century, debt held by the public relative to GDP rose again due in part to the Bush tax cuts and increased military spending caused by the wars in the Middle East and a new entitlement Medicare D program. During the presidency of George W. Bush, debt held by the public increased from $3.339 trillion in September 2001 to $6.369 trillion by the end of 2008.[30][31] In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007–08 and related significant revenue declines and spending increases, debt held by the public increased to $11.917 trillion by the end of July 2013,  under the presidency of Barack Obama.[30][32]

text: 2011 credit rating downgrade[edit]

text: On August 5, 2011, the United States debt-ceiling crisis of 2011, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the rating of the federal government from AAA to AA+. It was the first time the U.S. had been downgraded since it was originally given a AAA rating on its debt by Moody's in 1917.[33] BBC News reported that Standard & Poor's had "lost confidence" in the ability of the U.S. government to make decisions.[34]

text: Changes in debt by political affiliation[edit]

text: The President proposes a national budget to Congress, which has final say over the document but rarely appropriates more than what the President requests.[35]

text: Economist Mike Kimel has noted that the former Democratic Presidents (Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Harry S. Truman) all reduced public debt as a share of GDP, while the last four Republican Presidents (George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford) all oversaw an increase in the country's indebtedness.[36] Economic historian J. Bradford DeLong, observed a contrast not so much between Republicans and Democrats but between Democrats and "old-style Republicans (Eisenhower and Nixon)" on one hand (decreasing debt) and "new-style Republicans" on the other (increasing debt).[37][38] David Stockman, former director of the Office of Management and Budget, blamed the "ideological tax-cutters" of the Reagan administration for the increase of national debt during the 1980s.[39] Former Treasury official Bruce Bartlett attributed the increase in the national debt since the 1980s to the policy of "starve the beast".[40][41] While noting that George H.W. Bush's budget deal in 1990 was one of the reasons for improvement of the fiscal situation in 1990s, Bartlett was highly critical of George W. Bush for creating budget deficits by reducing tax rates and increasing spending in the early 2000s.[42][43]

text: Causes of recent changes in debt[edit]

text: Public debt is the cumulative result of budget deficits; that is, government spending exceeding revenues.

text: 2001 vs. 2009[edit]

text: According to the Congressional Budget Office, the United States last had a budget surplus during fiscal year 2001. From fiscal years 2001 to 2009, spending increased by 6.5% of gross domestic product (from 18.2% to 24.7%) while taxes declined by 4.7% of GDP (from 19.5% to 14.8%). Spending increases (expressed as percentage of GDP) were in the following areas: Medicare and Medicaid (1.7%), defense (1.6%), income security such as unemployment benefits and food stamps (1.4%), Social Security (0.6%) and all other categories (1.2%). Revenue reductions were individual income taxes (−3.3%), payroll taxes (−0.5%), corporate income taxes (−0.5%) and other (−0.4%).

text: The 2009 spending level was the highest relative to GDP in 40 years, while the tax receipts were the lowest relative to GDP in 40 years. The next highest spending year was 1985 (22.8%), while the next lowest tax year was 2004 (16.1%).[44]

text: 2001 vs. 2011[edit]

text: In June 2012, the Congressional Budget Office summarized the cause of change between its January 2001 estimate of a $5.6 trillion cumulative surplus between 2002 and 2011 and the actual $6.1 trillion cumulative deficit that occurred, an unfavorable "turnaround" or debt increase of $11.7 trillion. Tax rate cuts and slower-than-expected growth reduced revenues by $6.1 trillion and spending was $5.6 trillion higher. Of this total, the CBO attributes 72% to legislated tax rate cuts and spending increases and 27% to economic and technical factors. Of the latter, 56% occurred from 2009 to 2011.[45][46]

text: The difference between the projected and actual debt in 2011, the budget office said, could be attributed largely to:

text:
$3.5 trillion – Economic changes (including lower than expected tax revenues and higher safety net spending due to recession)
$1.6 trillion – Bush Tax Cuts (EGTRRA and JGTRRA), primarily tax rate cuts but also some smaller spending increases
$1.5 trillion – Increased non-defense discretionary spending
$1.4 trillion – Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
$1.4 trillion – Incremental interest due to higher debt balances
$0.9 trillion – Obama stimulus and tax cuts (ARRA and Tax Act of 2010)[46]

text: The U.S. budget situation has deteriorated significantly since 2001, when the CBO forecast average annual surpluses of approximately $850 billion from 2009–2012. The average deficit forecast in each of those years as of June 2009 was approximately $1,215 billion. The New York Times analyzed this roughly $2 trillion "swing", separating the causes into four major categories along with their share:

text:
Recessions or the business cycle (37%);
Policies enacted by President Bush (33%);
Policies enacted by President Bush and supported or extended by President Obama (20%); and
New policies from President Obama (10%).

text: Several other articles and experts explained the causes of change in the debt position.[47][48][49]

text: 2008 vs. 2009[edit]

text: In October 2009, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gave the reasons for the higher budget deficit in 2009  ($1,410 billion, i.e. $1.41 trillion) over that of 2008 ($460 billion). The major changes included: declines in tax receipt of $320 billion due to the effects of the recession and another $100 billion due to tax rate cuts in the stimulus bill (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA); $245 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and other bailout efforts; $100 billion in additional spending for ARRA; and another $185 billion due to increases in primary budget categories such as Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, Social Security, and Defense – including the war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. This was the highest budget deficit relative to GDP (9.9%) since 1945.[50] The national debt increased by $1.9 trillion during FY2009, versus the $1.0 trillion increase during 2008.[51]

text: The Obama Administration also made four significant accounting changes to more accurately report total federal government spending. The four changes were:

text:
Account for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ("overseas military contingencies") in the budget, rather than through supplemental appropriations
Assume the Alternative Minimum Tax is indexed for inflation;
Account for the full costs of Medicare reimbursements
Anticipate inevitable expenditures for natural disaster relief

text: Obama administration officials predicted that these changes will make the debt over ten years look $2.7 trillion larger than it would otherwise appear.[52]

text: Historical debt levels[edit]

text: Gross federal debt[edit]

text: This table lists the U.S. federal debt as a percentage of gross domestic product, or GDP, each year since World War II.[53] The gross federal debt shown below reached 102.7% of GDP at the end of 2012, the most recent figure available; it was the highest percentage since 1945 and the first yearly percentage figure to go over 100% since then. (The gross federal debt in the table includes intra-government debt – that is, money owed by one branch of the federal government to another. When this latter amount is subtracted, the remaining quantity is known as the public debt.)

text:
Congressional session

Years

President

President's party

Debt-to-GDP ratio at start of period

Debt-to-GDP ratio at end of period

Change in debt  (in billions of dollars)

Change in debt-to-GDP ratio  (in percentage points)

77–78

1941–1945

Roosevelt

Democratic

50.4%

117.5%

+203

+67.1

79–80

1945–1949

Roosevelt, Truman

Democratic

117.5%

93.1%

-8

-24.4

81–82

1949–1953

Truman

Democratic

93.1%

71.4%

+13

-21.7

83–84

1953–1957

Eisenhower

Republican

71.4%

60.4%

+6

-11.0

85–86

1957–1961

Eisenhower

Republican

60.4%

55.2%

+20

-5.2

87–88

1961–1965

Kennedy, Johnson

Democratic

55.2%

46.9%

+30

-8.3

89–90

1965–1969

Johnson

Democratic

46.9%

38.6%

+43

-8.3

91–92

1969–1973

Nixon

Republican

38.6%

35.6%

+101

-3.0

93–94

1973–1977

Nixon, Ford

Republican

35.6%

35.8%

+177

+0.2

95–96

1977–1981

Carter

Democratic

35.8%

32.5%

+288

-3.3

97–98

1981–1985

Reagan

Republican

32.5%

43.8%

+823

+11.3

99–100

1985–1989

Reagan

Republican

43.8%

53.1%

+1,050

+9.3

101–102

1989–1993

Bush Sr.

Republican

53.1%

66.1%

+1,483

+13.0

103–104

1993–1997

Clinton

Democratic

66.1%

65.4%

+1,018

-0.7

105–106

1997–2001

Clinton

Democratic

65.4%

56.4%

+401

-9.0

107–108

2001–2005

Bush

Republican

56.4%

63.5%

+2,135

+7.1

109–110

2005–2009

Bush

Republican

63.5%

84.2%

+3,971

+20.7

111–112

2009–2013

Obama

Democratic

84.2%

102.7%

+6,061

+18.5

text: (Source: CBO Historical Budget Page and Whitehouse FY 2012 Budget –  Table 7.1 Federal Debt at the End of Year PDF, Excel,  Senate.gov)

text: Notes:

text:
Some of the debt included in this chart for each presidential administration may include debt added under the next presidential administration.[54]
For net jobs changes over the corresponding periods, see: Jobs created during U.S. presidential terms.

text: Publicly held debt[edit]

text: Publicly held debt is the gross debt minus intra-governmental obligations (such as the money that the government owes to the two Social Security Trust Funds, the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program, and the Social Security Disability Insurance program).[55]

text: Federal spending, federal debt and GDP[edit]

text: The table below shows annual federal spending, gross federal debt and gross domestic product for specific fiscal years.[56]  The government fiscal year runs from October 1 of the previous calendar year to September 30 of the year shown.

text:
Fiscal year

Federal spending

Federal debt

Gross domestic product

Inflation adjuster[57]

Billions[58]

Adjusted[59]

Change

Billions[60]

Adjusted[61]

Change

Billions[62]

Adjusted[63]

Change

1977

$409

$1,040

$705

$1,795

$1,974

$5,019

0.39

1978

$459

$1,093

5.1%

$776

$1,850

3.1%

$2,217

$5,285

5.3%

0.42

1979

$504

$1,107

1.3%

$829

$1,821

−1.5%

$2,501

$5,494

4.0%

0.46

1980

$591

$1,175

6.1%

$909

$1,808

−0.8%

$2,727

$5,422

−1.3%

0.50

1981

$678

$1,219

3.8%

$994

$1,787

−1.1%

$3,055

$5,492

1.3%

0.56

1982

$746

$1,252

2.6%

$1,137

$1,908

6.8%

$3,228

$5,417

−1.4%

0.60

1983

$808

$1,294

3.4%

$1,371

$2,195

15.0%

$3,441

$5,510

1.7%

0.62

1984

$852

$1,300

0.4%

$1,564

$2,386

8.7%

$3,840

$5,858

6.3%

0.66

1985

$946

$1,396

7.4%

$1,817

$2,680

12.3%

$4,142

$6,108

4.3%

0.68

1986

$990

$1,426

2.1%

$2,120

$3,052

13.9%

$4,412

$6,352

4.0%

0.69

1987

$1,004

$1,406

−1.4%

$2,345

$3,283

7.6%

$4,647

$6,506

2.4%

0.71

1988

$1,065

$1,447

2.9%

$2,601

$3,534

7.7%

$5,009

$6,806

4.6%

0.74

1989

$1,144

$1,499

3.6%

$2,867

$3,757

6.3%

$5,401

$7,077

4.0%

0.76

1990

$1,253

$1,590

6.1%

$3,206

$4,067

8.3%

$5,735

$7,277

2.8%

0.79

1991

$1,324

$1,610

1.3%

$3,598

$4,374

7.5%

$5,935

$7,215

−0.8%

0.82

1992

$1,382

$1,624

0.9%

$4,001

$4,703

7.5%

$6,240

$7,334

1.7%

0.85

1993

$1,410

$1,615

−0.5%

$4,351

$4,987

6.0%

$6,576

$7,536

2.8%

0.87

1994

$1,462

$1,642

1.7%

$4,643

$5,216

4.6%

$6,961

$7,820

3.8%

0.89

1995

$1,516

$1,662

1.2%

$4,920

$5,395

3.4%

$7,326

$8,033

2.7%

0.91

1996

$1,561

$1,673

0.7%

$5,181

$5,554

3.0%

$7,694

$8,248

2.7%

0.93

1997

$1,601

$1,684

0.7%

$5,369

$5,647

1.7%

$8,182

$8,606

4.3%

0.95

1998

$1,653

$1,721

2.2%

$5,478

$5,704

1.0%

$8,628

$8,985

4.4%

0.96

1999

$1,702

$1,746

1.5%

$5,605

$5,750

0.8%

$9,125

$9,361

4.2%

0.97

2000

$1,789

$1,789

2.5%

$5,628

$5,628

−2.1%

$9,710

$9,710

3.7%

1.00

2001

$1,863

$1,821

1.8%

$5,769

$5,638

0.2%

$10,058

$9,829

1.2%

1.02

2002

$2,011

$1,929

6.0%

$6,198

$5,945

5.5%

$10,377

$9,954

1.3%

1.04

2003

$2,160

$2,018

4.6%

$6,760

$6,316

6.2%

$10,809

$10,099

1.4%

1.07

2004

$2,293

$2,082

3.2%

$7,354

$6,677

5.7%

$11,500

$10,441

3.4%

1.10

2005

$2,472

$2,165

4.0%

$7,905

$6,923

3.7%

$12,238

$10,717

2.6%

1.14

2006

$2,655

$2,249

3.9%

$8,451

$7,158

3.4%

$13,016

$11,024

2.9%

1.18

2007

$2,730

$2,263

0.6%

$8,951

$7,419

3.6%

$13,668

$11,329

2.8%

1.21

2008

$2,931

$2,366

4.6%

$9,654

$7,793

5.0%

$14,312

$11,553

0%

1.24

2009*

$3,107

$2,452

3.6%

$10,413

$8,218

5.5%

$14,097

$11,529

2.6%

1.27

2010*

$3,091

$2,392

−2.4%

$11,875

$9,247

12.5%

$14,508

$11,297

−2.0%

1.29

text: Note: The values for the years 2009, and 2010 represent estimates from the source material.