14 November 1995: US government shuts down

On this day in 1995, the US government shut down museums and national parks after Bill Clinton and Congress were unable to agree on a budget.

Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton
Newt Gingrich (L) and Bill Clinton (R) eventually reached an agreement
(Image credit: © DAVID AKE/AFP via Getty Images)

In the 1994 American mid-term elections, the Republicans gained control over both Houses of Congress, putting them on course for a collision with US President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Clinton was willing to let them have their way on a variety of issues, such as tougher sentencing laws.

But he felt their demand for large spending cuts would hit the economic recovery and was also concerned about the impact on health and pension entitlements.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri