33.3 American Society in a
Conservative Age
Objective: To understand the social and economic
changes that occurred in society during the
presidencies of Reagan and Bush
Essential Question: What were the effects of the new
conservative movement in American politics
Key Terms
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AIDS
Pay equity
L. Douglas Wilder
Jesse Jackson
Affirmative Action
Women’s Issues in the 1980s
• Political Gains
• Movement set back by the defeat of the ERA
– Shift to trying to elect women to political office
• Geraldine Ferraro’s - VP nomination
• Congresswomen increased from 28-47 during 1980s
• Were still under represented in politics
• Economic Gains
• Still earned less then Men 76 cents to a dollar
• 31% of female heads of household lived in poverty- higher for
minorities
• Pay Equity was enforced in gov. work- not necessarily the private
sector
• Some companies started to give more flexible hours and other
benefits to mothers ex. Maternity Leave
• These policies were not initiated by the Reagan and Bush
administrations
Geraldine Ferraro
African American Political Gains
• Rise in political participation
– Mayors of Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans,
Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Washington D.C.
• 1990 L. Douglas Wilder- VA governor
– 1st African American Governor
• Jesse Jackson runs for Democratic nomination in
1984 and 1988
• What other issues were African Americans facing
during the 1980s?
L. Douglas Wilder
Jesse Jackson
African Americans in the Reagan Economy
• Political wins didn’t necessarily transfer into economic
gains
– Income gap rose throughout decade peaking in 1988
– Middle Class grew and moved into managerial and
professional positions
– Poor faced diminishing opportunities
• Reaganomics = welfare cuts
• Richmond v. J.A. Croson Company
– Reversed previous court endorsement of Affirmative Action
“There’s a finite pie and everybody wants his piece. Everybody
is afraid of losing his piece of the pie. That’s what the fight
against Affirmative Action is all about. People feel
threatened. As for blacks they’re passé. They’re not in
anymore. Nobody wants to talk about race.”
-Sylvester Monroe
Latinos
• Fastest growing minority group
during 1980s
• Currently largest minority group in
the US
• Gained political power
• Toney Anaya- NM Governor
• Robert Martinez- FL Governor
• Promoted to prominent positions
in Reagan and Bush
administrations
Native Americans
• Victim to budget cuts
• Advocated against bans on
gambling
• Las Vegas style casinos
Asian Americans
• 2nd fastest growing minority group
in U.S.
• Significant economic advances,
little interest in political power
• “Model Minority”
Gays and Lesbians
• Began to advocate for their rights
• AIDS epidemic
• George H.W. Bush increased
funding for AIDS research
• Penalties for homosexuality were
reduced in many states
James G. Watts
“We have every kind of mix you can have. I
have a black, I have a woman, two Jews and a
cripple.”- James G. Watts, Secretary of the
Interior – 1981-1983
AIDS Quilt
Group
Issues
Gains/Losses
Group
Issues
Gains/Losses
Quiz 33.3
• Replaced traditional pay scales for government
workers, but rarely in the private sector
• He became gov. of Virginia in 1990.
• African American who ran for president both in
1984 and 1988 as a Democrat
• Policy designed to reverse the effects of
discrimination
• This was the fastest growing minority group in the
United States during the 1980s.