Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of a partial shutdown of the U.S. government, the upshot of an impasse over spending cuts that pitted the Republican-controlled Congress and the administration of President Bill Clinton.
The shutdown was one of the more disruptive political events of 1995, furloughing as it did some 800,000 federal employes deemed â??non-essentialâ? as well as the closing the countryâ??s 368 national parks, monuments, and recreation areas â?? including the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, Yosemite, and the National Zoo.
â??Only Washington Would Try to Close the Grand Canyon,â? the Washington Post observed at the time. That landmark, a national park since 1919, also was closed to visitors.
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