Ch 39 – The Resurgence
of Conservatism
Essential Questions:
• What were the reasons for the
resurgence of conservative
values?
• What were the major goals of the
New Right?
• What was the New Coalition?
• What was the Reagan
Revolution?
Goals of the Conservative Movement
• Shrink the size of the Federal
Government and reduce spending
• Promote family values and patriotic
ideas
• Stimulate business by reducing
government regulations and lowering
taxes
• Strengthen the national defense
Sunbelt & Suburban Conservatism
• Americans in the sunbelt opposed high taxes and
regulations
• Westerners resented regulations
• Middle class voters supported tax cuts
The New Right
• Pro- Life
• School Prayer
• Anti-Affirmative
Action/Reverse
Discrimination
• Blocked the ERA
• Personal Responsibility
The Conservative Coalition
• An Alliance of:
–Business Leaders
–Middle class voters
–Disaffected Democrats
–Fundamentalist Christian
Groups/Evangelical Christians
Ronald Reagan
• Pres. Screen Actors Guild/
Friendly Witness (HUAC)
• Elected CA Governor 1966
• Election of 1980 elected Pres
• Attempted Assassination 1981
• Re-Elected in 1984
Reagan Road the White House
• Pres. Screen Actors Guild/ Friendly
Witness (HUAC)
• Movie Actor 1940’s
• MC for the opening of Disney land
1955
• Elected CA Governor 1966
• Election of 1980 elected Pres
• Attempted Assassination 1981
Reaganomics- Supply side Economics
Essential Questions
• What was Reaganomics?
• What changes occurred on the
Supreme Court?
• What were the results of
deregulation in the Savings and Loan
industry?
• Who supported Conservatives
Reagan and Bush in the 1984 and
1988 elections?
Reaganomics Takes Over
• Reagan wanted to reduce the size and influence of
the Federal Government
• Deep Cuts in Social Programs – Urban Mass
Transit, Food Stamps, welfare benefits, jobtraining, Medicaid, school lunches and student
loans.
• Supply-side economics – Tax cuts by 25 %, money
saved would be reinvested to improve business
and productivity, lowering price.
• Increased Defense Spending – MX Missile, B-1
Bomber, and SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)
Recession, Recovery, and the National
Debt
• Severe Recession – July 1981- Nov. 1982
• Tax Cuts and the 1983 Consumer Spending
Spree sparked the economy
• Stocks surged, unemployment declined, and
GNP went up 10%.
• ( Stocks crash 1987 then rebounded)
• Federal Spending still exceeded Federal
revenue due to the tax cuts. By 1984 the
National Debt almost doubled.
Deregulating the Economy
• Deregulation – The cutting back of
Federal regulation of industry.
• ( Increased competition and resulted in
lower prices for consumers) Savings and
Loan Scandal
• Budget Cuts for the EPA resulted in more
mining, logging of forests and more oil
and gas drilling. Environmental risk?
Conservative Coalition 1984/88
• Businesspeople – wanted a deregulated
econ.
• Southerners – Welcomed limits of
Federal Power + Fundamentalist
Christian Groups
• Westerners – resented federal controls
on mining and grazing
• Reagan Democrats- agreed with limited
gov. and felt the Democratic party had
drifted too far left.
Conservative Supreme Court
• Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M.
Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and a new Chief
Justice William Rehnquist
Reagan Renews the Cold War
Essential Questions:
• What changed in the Communist world
that ended the Cold War?
• What did the US do to influence Central
American and Caribbean affairs?
• What was the Iran-Contra Scandal?
• How and Why was the US involved in
the Persian Gulf War?
The Cold War Ends
• March 1985 – Mikhail
Gorbachev became
General Secretary of the
USSR
• Glasnost – “Openness”
– Criticism of the USSR
– Freedom of the Press
– Perestrokia –
Restructuring of The
Soviet Economy
Relations with the US
• Summits with President Reagan
• INF Treaty –Intermediate-Range Nuclear
Forces Treaty)
• Eliminated two classes of weapon and
allowed on site inspections
Troubles Abroad - Peace through
Strength
• Reagan Doctrine- The US should support
guerrilla groups who were fighting to
overthrow Communist governments. (1.5
trillon dollars in Military Build-up)
• Libya
• Afghanistan
• Nicaragua
• Grenada
Nicaragua
• US Marines left in 1933, but left a dictator
Anastasio Somoza in power
• Between 1977-79 The Sandinistas take
control
• Reagan viewed the Sandinistas as a
communist threat
• The US supported the Contras with CIA
training and weapons
• The Boland Amendment banned aid to the
Contras for two years
Grenada
• In 1983 Reagan sent in 2,000 US Marines
to overthrow a Pro-Cuban government
and rescue US citizens
• 18 US solders were killed
Round 2 for Reagan Election of 1984
• Reagan (R) vs. Walter Mondale (D) VP
under Carter
• Landslide for Reagan
• Geraldine Ferraro of NY Mondale’s VP
candidate was the first women on a
major party’s Presidential ticket.
Iran-Contra Scandal
• In 1985 seven Americans were taken hostage
in Lebanon by Pro- Iranian group
• President Reagan approved the sale of arms
to Iran in exchange for the hostages release
• National Security Council Aid Colonel Oliver
North had diverted millions in profits from
the arms sale to the Anti- communist Contras
fighting in Nicaragua
• Oliver North – American
Dad to explain the Iran
Contra Scandal
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbLD2Jy
FAlE
The Moral Majority
• Televangelist Preachers
Life in the Eighties
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Yuppies
Wall-Mart
Cable TV
Sony Walkman, Heavy Metal, Rap
CD
VCR
Pong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders
Life in the 1980’s – Social Concerns
• AIDS
• Drug Abuse
• Abortion
• Education
Essential Questions:
• What were the national concerns
about education, drug use, health
issues and urban problems?
• What political, economic, and social
gains were achieved by women?
• How did conservative policies affect
minority groups?
Health Issues 1980’s
• AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome)
• Abortion – Roe v Wade 1973
–Pro-life
–Pro-choice
–Webster v Reproductive Health Care
Services
(States had the right to impose restrictions
on abortion.)
Drug Abuse
• War on Drugs
• Nancy Reagan’s anti- drug campaign
“Just Say no!” to drugs
“This is your brain
on drugs.”
Education 1980’s
• A Federal Commission issued a
report in 1983 called A Nation at
Risk
• 23 million Americans could fill out
a job application or follow an
instruction manual
• School Vouchers were introduced
“America 2000”
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Urban Crisis
Flight to the suburbs hurt the inner city
High Unemployment
Homelessness
Crumbling Infrastructure
Lack of health services
Deteriorating Schools
Drugs (Crack)
Gangs (Crips & Bloods)
LA Riots 1992
• Rodney King was beaten by four white police
officers after a car chase
• Officers were found not guilty
• South Central rioted for five days, 53 killed
Equal Rights 1980’s
•
•
•
•
•
ERA failed ratification in 1982
47 women were elected to the HOR in 1992
6 women in the US Senate
2 women in Reagan’s cabinet
Pay Equality was fought for by women’s
organizations
Fight for Rights
• African American Mayors of many big cities
– (Ex. Philadelphia –Mayor Wilson Goode)
– 1992 L. Douglas Wilder became the Governor of
VA
– Jesse Jackson ran for President in 1984 and 1988
Gains for Latinos
• 1988 Lauro Cavazos was appointed Sec.
of Ed.
• 1990 Dr. Antonia Coello Novello was
appointed Surgeon General
Native Americans Speak Out
• Aid was slashed to Native Americans for
health, education and other services
• Native American campaigned for gambling
casinos as a source of revenue
Asian American Population
• They were the second fastest growing
minority population in the US
• By 1992 the Asian American Population
was 8.3 million.
Advances in Gay Rights
• In the 1980’s gay rights groups fought for civil
rights
• Direct Action groups called for an end to
anti-gay discrimination.
• By 1993, 7 states and 110 communities
outlawed anti-gay discrimination
Election of 1988
• George HW Bush (R) vs. Michael Dukakis ( D)
• Moral Majority, comfortable economy, no
reason to change.
• Bush “Read my Lips: no new Taxes!”
Collapse of Communisim
• Nov. 9th , 1989 East Germany opened the
Berlin Wall
• Oct., 1990 Germany united
• Czechoslovakia divided, Latvia, Estonia, and
Lithuania became independent
• Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania transitioned
from communism
• Yugoslavia collapsed, igniting a brutal war
among Muslims, Orthodox Serbs, and
Catholic Croats
Decline of the USSR
• In Dec. 1991 14 republics declared
independence from the USSR
• Gorbachev lost power , the USSR ended
• CIS (Common Wealth of Independent States)
was established
• Boris Yeltsin new leader of Russia, START II
signed
Tiananmen Square
• Student in China demanded freedom of
speech and a voice in gov.
• April 1989, Students held marches in Beijing
and other cities
• The PLA under the order of Li Peng crushed
the protestors
Panama
• In 1989 Pres. Bush sent 20,000 soilders to
overthrow and arrest General Manuel
Noriega on charges of international drugtrafficking
The Persian Gulf War
• On Aug. 2nd, 1990 Iraq led by Saddam Hussein
invaded the oil rich nation of Kuwait
• Saddam then looked to Saudi Arabia
• Pres. Bush organized an international coalition and
with the support of the UN and Congress launched
Operation Desert Storm
• On Jan 16th, 1991 the air war began, in February
the ground war began
• Kuwait was liberated, Iraq was weakened
• Less than 400 American casualties, but Gulf War
Syndrome?
Domestic Challenges for HW Bush #41
• The Economy Slows- Cold war ended,
and some companies downsized
• Gridlock in Government – capital gains
tax was perceived to help the rich and
was defeated by Congress
• “It’s the economy stupid…” James
Carville 1992. ( Aid to Bill Clinton)