The New Right and the Reagan Revolution

1
The New Right and the Reagan Revolution
2
Why did Reagan win the presidency in 1980?
3
Why Reagan?

• Disgust with the Anti-war Movement
• Disapproval of rioting in the 1960s by
  minorities and students
• Disgust with the Counter-culture (sex, drugs, and
  rock n roll
• Discomfort with the Feminist movement
• Discomfort with Gay Rights movement
• Jimmy Carters perceived weakness as President
• A longing to return to a simpler time
• What time would that be?

4
Carters Crisis of Confidence

• President Carter struggled with inflation, high
  unemployment, and soaring energy costs.
• After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran stopped
  oil shipments to the US.
• He delivered a televised address that became
  known as the "Malaise Speech."
• Carter asks Americans to return to the attitudes
  and values that made America strong and to share
  the responsibility of energy conservation.
• Congress rejected most of the energy proposals in
  the speech.
• Carter's approval rating plummeted.
• The president was criticized for "blaming" the
  American people and offering few solutions.

5
Roe v. Wade Mobilizes Conservatives

• In Roe v. Wade (1973), the Supreme Court ruled
  that state laws restricting abortion violated a
  woman's constitutional right to privacy.
• The issue of legalized abortion helped galvanize
  the rise of the Christian Right in the 1970's and
  1980's.
• In the wake of the sexual revolution and the
  women's liberation movement, many conservatives
  sought to restore "traditional family values".

6
Phyllis Schlafly and the ERA

• One item on the agenda of social conservatives in
  the 1970's was the defeat of the Equal Rights
  Amendment.
• Many felt that felt that "traditional family
  values" had been undermined by the women's
  liberation movement.

7
The Christian Right Reversing the Counterculture

• The growth of evangelical Christianity in the
  1970's reflects the concern for what many
  perceived as a decline in traditional moral
  values.
• By 1978, 40 of Americans described themselves as
  "born again," including President Carter.
• The divisive issues pervading American politics,
  including abortion and women's rights were
  central to Christian Conservatives.

8
Political Influence of the Christian Right

• Groups like the National Conservative Political
  Action Committee and Reverend Jerry Falwell's
  Moral Majority pioneered the use of sophisticated
  campaigning and fundraising techniques such as
  direct mail.

Rev. Jerry Falwell
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Intellectual Foundations of Modern Conservatism
Goldwater

• Senator Barry Goldwater is widely regarded as the
  Father of Modern American Conservatism.
• Goldwater's libertarian orientation often put him
  at odds with the social and moral agenda of the
  Reagan Administration and the Christian Right by
  the 1980's.

10
Election of 1980

• The election came down to a single televised
  debate in October 1980. Reagan closed the debate
  with the campaign's signature refrain,
• "Are you better off now than you were four years
  ago?"

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Reagan Landslide
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Election of 1980
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Effect of Reagan on US Political Culture

• Left Right
• Left-right defined as accepted level of
  government intervention in the economy
• right less intervention
• left more intervention

US Pre-1981 New Deal and Great Society era
Reagan era
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Political Realignment

• New Deal Coalition
• (Democrats)
• White Southerners
• African-Americans
• Blue Collar Union members
• Urban North
• Immigrant/newer ethnic groups
• Farmers

• Reagan Coalition
• (Republicans)
• Midwest small towns
• Farmers
• Wealthy Americans
• Foreign Policy Hawks
• Blue Collar in North and Midwest (union and
  non-union)
• White Southerners
• Evangelical Christians

15
The Reagan Revolution Overview

• The Reagan Revolution
• A significant conservative shift
• He promised a return to traditional American
  values
• Family life, hard work, respect for the law, and
  patriotism
• Air Traffic Controllers Strike
• Reagan fired them and ordered the military to run
  airports
• Showed strong leadership
• Deregulation
• Cut govt. spending and regulations
• Led to higher pollution, but cheaper production
  of cars

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The Reagan Revolution Overview

• The Supreme Court
• Nominated the first woman
• Sandra Day OConnor
• Survived an assassination attempt
• Reaganomics
• Reverse the New Deal and Great Society
• Supply-side economics/ trickle down theory
• Cut taxes on businesses and the wealthy
• This money is invested and stimulates the economy
• Cut taxes and 40 billion in the federal budget
• Vastly Increased military spending
• Called the Soviets the evil empire.
• The goal was to bankrupt the USSR by outspending
  them.

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Reaganomics

• The rise of conservatism in the 1980's can be
  partially attributed to the economic
  "stagflation" of the 70s.
• Reagan espoused supply-side economic theory.
• Supply-siders favored tax cuts and reductions in
  spending to encourage investorment.
• Conservative author George Gilder wrote, "a
  successful economy depends on the proliferation
  of the rich."

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Reaganomics

• Reagan delivered an address to Congress shortly
  after being wounded in an assassination attempt.
• In the spirit of the Reagan Revolution, he calls
  upon lawmakers to try a radical new approach to
  economic policy.
• Congress members received him with applause and
  quickly passed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of
  1981 (with cut taxes by 747 billion over five
  years) and the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981
  (which in one piece of legislation, cut over 200
  social and cultural spending by 136 billion over
  two years).
• The tax cut was the largest in history.

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• Tax Cuts ()
• Safety Net Cuts ()
• Massive increase in weapons spending
• Debt!

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Reaganomics cont.

• Government Debt
• Led to a huge deficit
• 1980 909 billion to 1990 3.2 trillion
• Recession and Recovery
• Recession hit America early in his 1st term
• 1983, the economy made a long, steady rise
• The rest of the 1980s were strong economically
• Especially the stock market

22
The Reagan Doctrine

• Under the Reagan Doctrine, the United States
  provided overt and covert aid the following
• anti-communist guerrillas
• governments fighting communist insurgencies
  (uprisings)
• The idea was to "roll back" Soviet-backed
  communist governments in around the world
• The doctrine was designed to diminish Soviet
  around the world.

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Reagans Foreign Policy

• Tough on communism
• Massive military buildup
• Proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative
  (S.D.I.)
• Star Wars was too expensive and far-reaching
• Latin America
• Reagan sent aid to contras in Nicaragua to fight
  the communist Sandinistas
• Oct. 1983, troops rescued Americans in Grenada
  during a rebellion
• The Middle East
• Marines sent to Lebanon to keep peace in 1982
• Car bombing at the U.S. Embassy killed over 50,
  April 1983
• 241 Americans and 58 French killed after attacks
  on barracks in Oct. 1983
• Troops were pulled out

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The Election of 1984

• Reagan ran against Walter Mondale and Geraldine
  Ferraro
• 1st major party female VP candidate

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Landslide!!

• Won in the biggest landslide in history
• Won 49 out of 50 states

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Reagans Second Term

• A Changing Soviet Policy
• 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR
• Preached glasnost political openness
• Perestroika economic and political reform
• The Soviet economy was in deep trouble
• Wasted too much money in the arms race
• 1987, Reagan and Gorbachev met to sign the INF
  Treaty
• Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
• Reduced the number of nukes
• The two became friends and relations were better

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Iran-Contra Scandal

• terrorists held American hostages in Lebanon
• Reagans officials made a deal with them
• Oliver North and John Poindexter
• Sold weapons to the Iranians to free the hostages
• The money was then sent to contras in Nicaragua

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The Iran Contra Scandal
Contras

• Private US
• Foreign Govt

Swiss bank accounts controlled by North
Iran
US
Israel
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Congressional Investigation

• Congress charged the Reagan admin. overstepped
  the Constitution
• Hearings were held to see if Reagan was connected
• Reagan couldnt remember any involvement
  plausible deniability
• No one cared. His popularity barely suffered.
• The Teflon President

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The Election of 1988

• VP George H.W. Bush and his running mate, Dan
  Quayle ran in 1988
• Against Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Benson

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The Election of 1988
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The Bush Presidency

• New World Order
• A Changing Soviet Union
• Gorbachev described a new world order before
  the UN
• Eastern European and Soviet Peoples wanted
  independence, democracy, and social justice
• He met with Bush often
• Reduced conventional weapons in Europe, 1990
• Signed START in 1991 (Strategic Arms Reduction
  Treaty)
• Destroyed many existing nukes

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New World Order cont.

• A Rising Tide of Freedom
• Unrest grew in Eastern Europe
• Poland, workers gained the right to form the
  Solidarity in 1980
• Lech Walesa
• A symbol of resistance to communism
• The Polish government agreed to have free
  elections in 1989
• This marked the end of the Iron Curtain

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New World Order cont.

• Poland inspires reform in East Germany
• The Wall Comes Tumbling Down
• November 9,1989, the Berlin Wall is tore down
• Germany reunited in 1990

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New World Order cont.

• Unrest in the Soviet Union
• Shortages of food and basic items
• Thousands march in protest of the govt. in 1990
• Only possible because of glasnost
• Many republics demanded independence

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New World Order cont.

• Collapse of the Soviet Union
• Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia declared
  independence from the Soviets, 1990
• Hard-line communists and the military resisted
  the changes
• August 1991, they staged a coup and held
  Gorbachev captive
• 50,000 Russians surrounded the Parliament
  building, demanding reform
• Mayor of Moscow Boris Yeltsin led the people
• The coup collapsed Aug. 22
• Soon all 15 republics declared independence
• Dec. 25, 1991, the USSR ceased to exist
• The End of the Cold War
• Bush pledged 24 billion in aid to the former
  Soviet Union

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A New Foreign Policy

• Panama
• U.S. troops sent in to capture Gen. Manuel
  Noriega for drug trafficking, Dec. 1989
• He refused to yield power to a newly elected
  pres.
• Tried and convicted in 1992

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A New Foreign Policy cont.

• China
• Government began to reform the economy in the
  1980s
• No political reforms
• Student demonstrations held form May to June 1989
• The Chinese crushed them at Tiananmen Square
• Killed several hundred
• Bush was careful in condemning the Chinese
  government.
• He didnt want to sour relations.

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A New Foreign Policy cont.

• The Persian Gulf War
• Aug. 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait
• Led by Saddam Hussein
• The U.S. feared an invasion of Saudi Arabia
• Bush sent troops to protect Saudi Arabia
• Operation Desert Shield
• Norman Schwarzkopf commanded the troops
• The UN gave a deadline for Iraq to pull out
• Congress voted to support military action

41
A New Foreign Policy cont.

• Operation Desert Storm
• Jan. 16, 1991, missiles launched and bombs
  dropped in Iraq
• After six weeks of round the clock bombings, the
  ground war began
• Took 100 hours to liberate Kuwait
• Bush, Schwarzkopf, and Colin Powell were heroes
• Very popular at home
• The U.S. helped rebuild Kuwait and extinguish
  oil-field fires
• Bush refused to finish the war and conquer Iraq.
  Hussein stays in power. Consequences.?

42
A New Foreign Policy cont.

• War in the Balkans
• With the death of President Tito, Yugoslavia
  collapsed, creating new countries
• Brutal civil war began in Bosnia with ethnic
  cleansing taking place in almost all of the
  former Yugoslavia.
• The next president, Bill Clinton, will act on
  this.

43
Pres. Bush Domestic Issues

• Accomplishments
• Clean Air Act, 1990
• Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990
• Created the Office of National Drug Control Policy

44
Domestic Issues

• Faced a banking crisis because of deregulation.
• Savings and loan scandal-many banks around the
  country close because of bad lending practices
• Economic Downturn
• Huge national debt from the Reagan years the
  cause. The ensuing recession lasted for several
  years
• Businesses closed
• Military spending cut because of the end of the
  Cold War
• Bush didnt really do anything to fix it

45
The Election of 1992

• Governor William Jefferson Clinton and Senator
  Albert Gore were selected by the Democrats.
• Its the economy stupid
• Ross Perot, a Texas billionaire, ran under the
  Reform party

46
The Election of 1992
The economy and Ross Perot hurt Bushs reelection
bid Clinton 43 Bush 38 Perot 19
47
The Clinton Administration

• A controversial Beginning
• Dont ask, dont tell
• Health Care Reform (HillaryCare)
• The standoff in Waco Texas

48
The Clinton Administration Republican Revolt

• Contract with America
• 1994, the Republicans pledged a variety of
  reforms
• Led by Newt Gingrich
• Contract with America was about shrinking the
  size of government. Cut taxes and spending.
• Republicans won control of Congress
• 1st time in 40 years
• Passed many parts of the Contract
• Passed a line-item veto
• Supreme Court overturned it
• Many reforms stalled as Clinton vetoed them

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The Clinton Administration cont.

• Budget Problems and Compromise
• 1996 budget didnt pass so the govt. shut down
  for 27 days
• Who won?

50
Clintons Foreign Policy

• NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
• Essentially ends tariffs between the U.S.,
  Mexico, and Canada
• Ross Perot campaigned against it
• Fear of a loss of American jobs. Why?
• Peacekeeping in the Balkans
• NATO and UN troops sent in to stop ethnic
  cleansing by Serbs in Bosnia.
• Serbs tried to drive Muslims out of Bosnia
• US launches air strikes to protect Muslims.

51
Looking To the Future

• Global Economy
• Communications boom
• Internet, cell phones, satellites
• A Changing Society
• Baby boomers are retiring Social Security?
• Immigration issues
• Hispanics now the largest minority
• Environmental Changes
• Global warming
• Threats to Peace and Security
• Terrorism
• Oklahoma City bombing, 1995
• Killed 168
• Columbine shootings, 1999
• Killed 15

52
The Clinton Administration Scandal

• Under Investigation
• Whitewater questions arose, 1994
• Janet Reno appointed Kenneth Star to investigate
• 1998, an affair with Monica Lewinsky led to
  scandal. Clinton denied the affair.
• Clinton was accused of perjury and obstruction of
  justice.

53
The Clinton Administration

• Impeachment
• Dec. 1998, the House impeached Clinton on two
  counts
• He was found not guilty by the Senate, Feb. 1999

54
New President for a New Century

• Election of 2000
• George W. Bush and Dick Cheney Republicans
• VP Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman Democrats
• Ralph Nader from the Green Party
• Disputed returns in Florida
• Whoever won the state, won the electoral college
• Both sides sued each other

55

• Al Gore won the popular vote by half a million
  votes
• The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Bush five
  weeks after the election

56
New President for a New Century

• The Bush Administration
• Need for unity and cooperation as the Senate was
  split 50-50
• Cabinet and Advisers
• Colin Powell Sec. of State
• Elaine Chao 1st Asian woman to serve
• Sec. of Labor
• Condoleezza Rice Natl. Security Advisor and
  later Sec. of State
• Tax Cut
• Signed a 10-year, 1.3 trillion tax cut
• International Affairs
• Powell Doctrine use of American troops only when
  a vital interest is at stake and there is a clear
  and realistic goal

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The Terrorist Threat

• Terrorist Acts
• Fundamentalists in Afghanistan harbored
  terrorists
• The Taliban govt.
• Al-Qaeda declared jihad on the U.S. and other
  non-Muslims until they leave the Middle East
• Bombings of American embassies in 1998
• Killed 200, injured 4,500
• Clinton ordered missile attacks in Sudan and
  Afghanistan
• USS Cole attacked in Yemen, Oct. 2000

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The War on Terrorism

• September 11, 2001
• Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and
  the Pentagon
• Left 2,973 dead
• The Terrorist Threat
• Who Was Responsible?
• Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda
• Fundamentalist Muslims
• War in Afghanistan
• Soviets invaded in 1979
• Young Muslims fought
• Bin Laden formed al-Qaeda then
• Aided by the U.S., Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia
• Got the Soviets to pull out in 1989

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A New War Begins

• New Threats
• Anthrax-laced letters
• Protecting America
• Dept. of Homeland Security coordinates
  counter-terrorism
• USA Patriot Act allows the govt. to break many
  civil liberties to catch terrorists
• Attorney General John Ashcroft uses them

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A New War Begins cont.

• Building a Coalition
• U.S., Britain, India, Germany, Turkey, Poland,
  Australia
• On the Trail of Terrorism
• Oct. 7, 2001, U.S. military and the Northern
  Alliance began strikes on the Taliban
• Kabul fell to the Alliance
• The Taliban removed from power and new democracy
  set up

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A New War Begins cont.

• Continuing the War on Terrorism
• March 20, 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq to oust
  Saddam Hussein
• Claimed they were a threat and had weapons of
  mass-destruction
• Still there, still fighting
• Saddam was ousted and later tried, and hanged

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War in Iraq
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Chapter 40 41 New Challenges Questions

1. How did Ronald Reagan becoming president signal a
   change in attitude and policy in America? What
   was his lasting legacy domestically? What was the
   biggest disappointment of his two terms?
2. How did the Cold War end? How did Gorbachev
   contribute to the collapse of communism? What
   ultimately ended the Cold War?
3. What were some major events and successes of
   George H.W. Bushs presidency? How was he
   defeated in the 1992 election?
4. What are some major events of the Clinton
   Administration? What were his successes and
   failures as president? Does your group think he
   was a good president?
5. What are some new challenges for George W. Bush
   and America entering the 21st Century? How has
   our foreign policy changed and what caused this?
   Do you think the war on terrorism is still
   necessary?