Warm-up

Why might a country like the United States
change political course.?



conservatives argued that
state govt.’s, businesses, &
individuals needed more
freedom from Washington
D.C.
“Government is not the solution
to our problem. Government is
the problem.” Ronald Reagan
Entitlement programsprograms that provide
guaranteed benefits to a
specific group

$300 billion annually in 1980- over
$1 trillion in 04’
New Right
 alliance of conservative special interest groups
 controversial issues



opposing abortion, blocking the Equal Rights Amendment, evading
court-ordered busing, return to school prayer
criticized affirmative action- required employers &
educational institutions to give special consideration to
women, African Americans, & other minority groups
reverse discrimination- favoring one group over another
on the basis of race or gender

Conservative coalition



alliance of business leaders,
middle-class voters, disaffected
Democrats, and fundamentalist
Christian groups
began in the mid-1960’s
Moral Majority- evangelical &
fundamental Christians who
interpreted the Bible literally &
condemned liberal attitudes


led by Jerry Falwell & Pat Robertson
hoped to reduce high divorce rate,
lower out of wedlock births, &
encourage individual responsibility
Conservatives Win Political Power
 Ronald Reagan









originally a New Deal democrat
actor, spokesman for General Electric
favored less govt., lower taxes, & traditional values
governor of California - 1966-1975
relaxed, charming, well-spoken
“A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you
lose yours. And a recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.”
Great Communicator – name given because of his ability to simplify
issues and present clear cut answers
won 1980 Presidential election w/ VP George H. W. Bush
R won Senate for the 1st time since 1954
Warm-up

Consider a time when you felt that someone
else had control over your life (parents,
teachers, friends). Was the perception a valid
one? How did you handle the situation?
Reaganomics
 President Reagan’s economic
policies
 3 parts – budget cuts, tax cuts, &
increased defense spending
1. Budget Cuts
 cut govt. spending on social
programs
 10% cut on urban mass transit, food
stamps, welfare benefits, job training,
Medicaid, school lunches & student
loans
 kept Social Security, Medicare, &
veteran’s benefits intact
2. Tax Cuts
Supply-side economics- idea that a reduction of tax rates will
lead to increases in jobs, savings, & investments and govt.
revenue
 Ex. -people pay fewer taxes, safe more money, banks loan more
money to businesses which increase productivity, supply increases,
driving prices down
 Trickle-Down Theory – idea that as prosperity returned the profits at
the top would trickle down to the middle class and even the poor1980’s rich got richer & the poor got poorer

3. Increased Defense Spending
between 1981 & 1984 Defense Dept. budget doubled
 new weapons systems – MX missile & B-1 bomber
 Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

 known popularly as Star Wars
 intended to protect the U.S. against missile attacks

National Debt Climbed



in 1983 the recession ended and the markets boomed until
1987
tax cuts helped the rich, while social welfare cuts hurt the poor
Federal spending still outstripped federal revenue and
the national debt doubled
Judicial Shift






Reagan filled 4 seats
Sandra Day O’Connor- 1st woman
Antonin Scalia, Anthony
Kennedy, & CJ William Rehnquist
H.W. Bush later nominated David
H. Souter & Clarence Thomas
(filled Thurgood Marshalls seat)
Anita Hill- law professor that
testified Thomas has sexually
assaulted her- he was still
confirmed
conservative court restricted
woman’s rights to an abortion &
narrowed the rights of arrested
persons
Reducing the size of govt.
 Environmental Protection Agency



(EPA) regulated pollution & conserved natural resources
Reagan sold public land to private developers, opened the continental
shelf to oil drilling, & eased restrictions on coal mining
Deregulation- the cutting back of federal regulation of industry
removed price controls on oil, eliminated inspections for nursing homes,
deregulated the airline industry
 positives- increased competition & lower prices
 negatives- leads to risky investments, eased conflict of interest
protections

1984 Election
 D’s challenge w/ Walter Mondale (VP under
Carter) & Geraldine Ferraro **1st woman on a
major party presidential ticket**
 1984- economy was strong- landslide for R
 George Bush- Reagan’s VP would win 1988
Presidential election (sign that most voters saw
little reason for change)

built on Reagan’s legacy promising, “Read my lips:
no new taxes” **later raised taxes- Desert Storm
Warm-up

Identify some school and community
problems. How might the government address
these issues? Do you think the government is
doing enough to help?
Health Issues

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) – disease caused by a
virus that weakens the immune system, making the body prone to
infections & rare forms of cancer



transmitted through bodily fluids
early victims were mostly homosexual men & intravenous drug users sharing needles
30 million deaths worldwide as of 2009
Abortion
 had been legal since 1973 (Row v. Wade)
 1st trimester abortions were protected by a woman’s right to
privacy


Webster v. Reproductive Health Care Services – 1989 SC casestates had the right to impose new restrictions on abortion
many states require parental consent, insurance funds only if the
mother’s life is endangered, waiting periods, counseling on fetus’
ability to feel pain, or ultrasounds
Drug Abuse

Reagan admin. launched a war on drugscampaign slogan –”Just say no!”
Education

federal commission in 1983 recommended
more homework, longer school days,
extended school year, & merit pay for
teachers

Bush (2)- No Child Left Behind, Obama -Race to the
Top
Urban Crisis

country becoming increasingly
suburbanized

businesses followed w/ jobs & tax revenues

cities facing problems w/ infrastructure,
unemployment, schools, lack of health
services

Rodney King beating & riots in 1992
exemplified social problems in the country
Political Losses & Gains

ERA did not become law

Geraldine Ferraro chosen as VP candidate

Reagan appointed 2 woman to his cabinet




Elizabeth Dole & Margaret Heckler
only 6 female Senators by 1992 election – 20 elected in the 2012
elections
1992- woman earned 75 cents for every $ a man earned & 31% of
female heads of households lived in poverty
pay equality- basing an employee’s salary on the requirements
of his or her job rather than on traditional pay scales


Govt. & corporations start including maternity leaves, flexible hours, &
work at home arrangements
Reagan cut daycare budget
The Fight Continues

African American




Latinos




funds slashed by govt. – gambling casinos
provide new wealth
Asian-Americans


fastest growing minority (still true)
Lauro Cavazos- Reagan app. Sect. of
Education
Dr. Antonia Coello- Reagan app. Surgeon
General
Native Americans


political gains made even w/ lack of
economic progress
L. Douglas Wilder- 1st AA governor
(Virginia)
Jesse Jackson- reverend that ran for president
in 1984 & 1988
successful growing minority w/ low crime &
low school dropout rates
Gay Rights

movement gains steam fighting openly for
civil rights (ongoing)
Warm-up

How might you react if a feud between two
people you knew suddenly ended?
The Cold War Ends

Mikhail Gorbachev- general secretary of the Communist Party in the
Soviet Union.

inherited stagnant Soviet economy

glasnost- “openness” policy of open discussion of social problems in the
USSR

perestroika- restructuring of Soviet society in the 80’s




less govt. control of economy
introduction of private enterprise
steps towards est. a democratic govt.
INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty)


eliminated 2 classes of weapons systems
each nation allowed on-site military inspections




Gorbachev
encouraged satellite
nations to move
towards democracy
11/9/1989- East
Germany opened the
Berlin Wall (28 years)
Dec. 1991- 14 nonRussian republics
declared
independence
Czechoslovakia
withdrew from Soviet
bloc




Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania declare
independence
Yugoslavia collapsed & ethnic rivalries turned into a
brutal war (Muslims, Orthodox Serbs, and Roman Catholic
Croats)
Gorbachev resigned & the USSR dissolved
2/92- Bush & Boris Yeltsin declare an end to the Cold
War (1945 – 1992)
Communism cont.’s in China
 Tiananmen Square- site of 1989 demonstrations in
Beijing , in which Chinese students demanded
freedom of speech & a greater voice in the govt.


students constructed a version of the Statue of Liberty
hundreds died
Nicaragua
 had presence since 1912, helped dictator come to power in 1933
 Sandinistas- rebels that waged civil war against the
Somoza family (in power since 1933)
 Sandinistas won & Pres. Carter recognized (sent aid)
 USSR sent aid as well & Reagan cut aid in 1981 &
supported guerrilla forces known as the Contras
 CIA was directing operations by 1983 w/o congressional
approval

Contra supporter elected president in 1990, Sandinistas elected 2006
Grenada
 2,000 U.S. troops
overthrow pro-Cuban
govt. in 1983
 18 American soldiers
died
Panama
 20,000 U.S. troops
overthrow General
Manuel Noriega
 Noriega arrested on
charge of drug
trafficking
Iran-Contra Scandal
 1986 scandal in which secret
arms were sold to Iran
(under an arms embargo)
with the intention of
winning the release of
American hostages in
Lebanon.
 $ from illegal sales were
sent to the Contras, which
was in violation of the
Boland Amendment
(banned military aid to the
Contras for 2 years)
The Persian Gulf War
 Saddam Hussein (leader of Iraq) faced huge debts from war w/ Iran
in the 1980’s
 invaded & looted Kuwait (oil rich) & then moved against
Saudi Arabia
 Operation Desert Storm- 1991 operation by coalition forces
led by the U.S. drove Iraqi forces from Kuwait
 Less than 400 casualties among UN coalition forces
 war forced Bush to go back on campaign pledge & raise taxes
– lost 1992 election to Bill Clinton