Ronald
Reagan
The Rise of the
Modern
Conservative
Movement
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Born in Illinois, 1911
Active in college.
Lifeguard, Radio Announcer
Went to California to launch
an acting career during the
Great Depression
Successful actor
Eventual president of the
Screen Actors Guild (Union
for Actors)
Became increasingly
conservative in face of
radical socialists and
communists in the movie
industry
Switched from Democratic
to Republican Party in the
late 50s/early 60s
Ronald Reagan
Modern Conservative Evolution
1930s-1960s
• New Deal opponents
• Eisenhower and ‘Modern Republicanism’
• 1964 - Barry Goldwater (AZ) conservative Senator.
– Opposed government activism
– Opposed social security
– Opposed Federal Civil Rights laws (not necessarily
local or state)
– Demanded military buildup to defend against
Soviet attack
• Opposed Great Society - extension of New Deal.
– Overextension of what needs government could or
should meet
Conservative Evolution and
Organizations
• Young Americans for
Freedom
• William F. Buckley
• Barry Goldwater
• Disenchanted
Southern Democrats
• Some ‘fringe’
organizations
– John Birch Society
(though most including Reagan, et al
- distanced themselves
from this group)
Richard Nixon & the Welfare
State
• Trimmed social welfare
programs of the Great Society
• Did not cut them altogether
• Established OSHA (Office of
Safety and Health
Administration)
• Established EPA
(Environmental Protection
Agency)
• NEW FEDERALISM - Redistributed federal monies to
states
– Covertly gutted high $
federal programs of their
‘liberal’ intent by
redirecting funding
Social Issues and Conservatism
• Rapid cultural change of
the 1960s
• Opposition to Warren
Court decisions
– ‘criminal rights’
– Church-state issues like
school prayer
– Privacy rights/issues
• Rock music
– Openly sexual, drugoriented, rebellious
• Widespread Use of illegal
drugs
Social Issues and Conservatism
• Radical and increasingly
violent student protests
• Reagan strongly opposed
FSM (Free Speech Movement
- radical) on UC-Berkeley
campus
– Dismissed UC president
• Opposed ‘sexual’ revolution
– Said Birth control pill
encouraged promiscuous
behavior
Social Issues and Conservatism
• 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme
Court decision
– Legalized abortion by striking
down state laws prohibiting
abortions
– Launched modern pro-life
movement (aka ‘antiabortion’)
• Opposed emerging gay rights
movement
• Opposed radical feminism
• Blamed these for decline of
traditional nuclear family
– Rising divorce rate
– ‘No-fault’ divorce laws
(ironically passed during
Reagan’s term in California)
Social Issues and Conservatism
• Civil Rights:
– Federal government laws =
end of state mandated
segregation
– Opposed forced and
unreasonable integration
(forced busing)
– Opposed Affirmative Action
quotas - said it was reverse
discrimination
– Democratic Blue Collar
Workers - called “Reagan
Democrats”
The 1980
Election
The New Conservative Coalition
The NEW RIGHT
• The NEW RIGHT - a political coalition of:
– Conservative evangelical Christians
– Moral Majority founded by Rev. Jerry Falwell Baptist minister (founder - Liberty University Lynchburg, VA)
• To restore Christian Values in America
–
–
–
–
–
–
Southern Democrats
Reduction of Social Programs
Called for reduction in size and scope of government
“Reagan Democrats”
Favored return of US military prominence
Patriotic focus
The 1980 “Revolution”
• Nixon Victories in 1968
and 1972 early
indicators of change
• Carter’s series of
‘Unfortunate’ Events
• Carter’s perceived
mishandling of major
challenges
• Reagan’s ability to
communicate - “The
Great Communicator”
• Few simple wellarticulated idea
Right Turn
QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video 3 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Map 30.4 Presidential Election of 1980 (p. 903)
Ronald Reagan
QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video 3 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The Reagan Revolution and
the First Inaugural Address
“In the days ahead I will propose removing the
roadblocks that have slowed our economy and
reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed
at restoring the balance between various levels of
government. Progress may be slow, measured in
inches and feet, not miles, but we will progress.
It is time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get
government back within its means, and to lighten
our punitive tax burden. And these will be our
first priorities, and on these principles there will
be no compromise.” - Ronald Reagan 1981
Supply-Side Economics a.k.a
“Reaganomics”
• Cut taxes to put more money
into the hands of businesses
• Cut taxes on the wealthiest
Americans
• Lower taxes = more
investment in the “supply
side” of the economy
• Would:
– promote and create new jobs
– encourage capital investment,
and
– lead to stimulated industrial
growth
Cutting Government
Regulation - “deregulation”
• Continued Carter’s
programs to deregulate
key industries
• Energy, Transportation
and Banking Industries
• Challenged Air Traffic
Controllers in 1981 Fired those who refused
to go back to work after
a strike.
Slowed Federal Growth - New
Federalism (Reagan-style)
• Limiting government
– Eliminated public service
jobs,
– reduced unemployment
compensation,
– lowered welfare benefits,
– raised fees for Medicare
patients
• Federal domestic
spending still grew for a
couple of years
Reagan and
Military Buildup
• Sharp increase in military
spending = buildup
• New weapons and new
technology
• Neoconservatives (Neocons = Dick Cheney, Don
Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz,
Condoleeza Rice, Richard
Armistead, Colin Powell,
etc.)
• Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI) = better known as
Star Wars
Reagan and the
Cold War
• Called Soviet Union
the “evil empire”
• Reagan - Cold
Warrior
–
–
–
–
–
Lebanon
Libya
Grenada
El Salvador
Nicaragua (Contra
rebels supported by
US)
Reagan: Economic
Recession, and Recovery
• 1981-1982 Recession
• Inflation slowed, consumer spending
increased
• Stock market grew
• Federal deficit grew even as domestic
spending decreased
• National debt = $909 billion in 1980 --$3.2 trillion in 1990
Election of 1984
Patriotic Renewal
• “It’s Morning in America,
Again”
• 59% of popular vote
• Second largest electoral
victory in history
• 1984 Olympics in Los
Angeles
• Communist-bloc countries
boycotted
• 1986 - 100th anniversary
of Statue of Liberty
• 1987 - 200th anniversary
of the Constitution
Other issues 1984-1988
• AIDS Awareness
• Women’s Movement stalled (ERA failed
in 1982)
• Supreme Court conservatives
– Sandra Day O’Connor
– Anthony Kennedy
– Antonin Scalia
– Chief Justice William Rehnquist
More issues: 1984-1988
• Farm Crisis - foreclosures
• Manufacturing shift - from metal and textiles
(overseas = outsourcing due to labor costs)
• Service sectors continued to grow
• Wealthiest Americans flourished in the 1980s
• Jan 28, 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger
exploded shortly after take off
Scandal
• S & L Crisis
• Savings and Loan
institutions deregulated
and some corrupt
individuals used this to
make huge personal
fortunes
• S & L’s collapsed in late
1980s
• $2.6 billion in savings
lost
• Iran Contra Scandal
• Selling arms (to Iran) for
the release of hostages
to support Nicaraguan
Contras
• Covered up
• Reagan admitted
covering up
• No long term impact
• “Teflon” president.