The Conservative Resurgence
1980-1993
Chapter 32
What was the conservative
resurgence, and how did it
affect the domestic and foreign
policy of the United States?
Standards
• Element: SSUSH25.d
• Describe domestic and international events
of Ronald Reagan's presidency including
Reagonomics, the Iran-contra scandal and
the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Conservative Movement Grows
Section 1
• What spurred the rise of
conservatism in the late 1970s and
early 1980s?
• Vocabulary:
-liberal
-conservative
-New Right
unfunded mandate
Moral Majority
Ronald Reagan
The Conservative Movement Grows
Two Views: Liberal and Conservative
Main Idea: In the end of the twentieth century, the two major political
parties in the United States were labeled as Republican and conservative
or Democrat and liberal.
The Conservative Movement Gains Strength
Main Idea: In the late 1970s, liberal policies were criticized for causing
problems and a rise in the conservative movement occurred.
Reagan Wins the Presidency
Main Idea: Ronald Reagan’s background as an entertainer gave him an
easy communication style that helped him win the presidential election
of 1980.
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Summarize
QUICK STUDY
Two Viewpoints: Liberal and Conservative
Ronald Reagan
• Movie actor
• Democrat, who switched
to the Republican Party
• Governor of California
• Defeats Jimmy Carter in
1980
• New Right: coalition of
conservative groups
TRANSPARENCY
Winning the South
MAP
Presidential Election of 1980
PM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency
The Reagan Revolution
Section 2
• What were the major characteristics
of the conservative Reagan
Revolution?
• Vocabulary:
-supply-side economics
-Savings and Loan crisis
-budget deficit
-national debt
voucher
AIDS
deregulation
The Reagan Revolution
Reaganomics Guides the Economy
Main Idea: Reagan implemented many economic policies
based on supply-side economics or “Reaganomics,” the idea
that if taxes are reduced the economy will grow.
Conservative Strength Grows
Main Idea: Reagan easily won reelection, and used his power
to appoint several conservative Supreme Court judges and get
George H.W. Bush elected as his successor.
Witness
Confronting Challenging Issues
Main Idea: The rising cost of Social Security, the education
system, and a new disease, Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome (AIDS), were some of the many new problems that
arose in the United States in 1980s.
Reagan’s Policies
• Supply-side economics: focused on the supply of goods;
cutting taxes would put more money into the hands of
businesses and investors; businesses would then hire
more people and produce more goods and services,
making the economy grow
• Reagan reduced taxes and tried to reduce spending
• New Federalism: plan to give states more control over
the use of federal aid
• Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or “Star Wars”:
massive satellite shield to intercept Soviet missiles
Second Term
• Appoints Sandra Day O’Connor: the first female
justice on the Supreme Court
• AIDS: acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome
• Savings and Loan scandal
• Iran-contra affair: Marxist Sandinistas in control in
Nicaragua; Contras supported by U.S. government;
• Congress cut of military aid; officials took profits from
secret arms sales to Iran and sent money to contras
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas
CHART
Comparing Supply-Side and Keynesian Economics
TRANSPARENCY
Political Cartoons: Reagan’s Foreign Policy
INFOGRAPHIC
A Snapshot of the Reagan Years
Reagan’s Legacy
• Reagan had good relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev,
the leader of the Soviet Union
• Glasnost: “political openness”
• Perestroika: “restructuring”
• INF Treaty: destruction of 2,500 Soviet and American
missiles in Europe
• Reagan told Gorbachev to “tear down that wall”
George H. W. Bush
• Wins the Election in 1988
• World War II hero
• “Iron Curtain” comes down and the Soviet Union
dissolves
• Poland holds a free election and chooses Lech Walesa
• Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ( START I)
reductions in nuclear weapons
• Persian Gulf War, 1991; kicks Hussein out of Kuwait
George Bush
PM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency
The End of the Cold War
Section 3
• What were Reagan’s foreign policies,
and how did they contribute to the
fall of communism in Europe?
• Vocabulary:
-SDI
-Contras
-Mikhail Gorbachev
glasnost
perestroika
Iran-Contra affair
The End of the Cold War
Reagan Challenges Communism
Main Idea: Reagan increased federal defense spending and provided
support to anticommunist rebels in foreign counties. Gorbachev, the new
leader of the Soviet Union, realized he could not match the buildup and
pursued reform, leading to peace talks between the two nations.
The Cold War Ends
Main Idea: East Germany’s communist government fell in 1989, followed
by communists losing power in many other Eastern European countries
and the Soviet Union splitting into numerous independent nations in 1991.
Trouble Persists in the Middle East
Main Idea: The Middle East continued to be a source of conflict, including
the Iran-Contra affair, a scandal that tarnished Reagan’s reputation.
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Sequence
Berlin Wall
CHART
Federal Defense Spending, 1978-1990
ANALYZE
Political Cartoons: A Bumpy Ride?
TRANSPARENCY
The End of Communism
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas
PM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency
Foreign Policy After the Cold War
Section 4
• What actions did the United States
take abroad during George H.W.
Bush’s presidency?
• Vocabulary:
-Manuel Noriega
divest
-Tiananmen Square
Saddam Hussein
-apartheid
Nelson Mandela
-Operation Desert Storm
Foreign Policy After the Cold War
A New Role in the World
Main Idea: Bush dealt with drug traffickers in Latin
America, China’s harsh treatment of protestors, free
elections starting in South Africa, and human rights
issues in Somalia.
The Persian Gulf War
Main Idea: When Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein,
invaded Kuwait and attempted to gain control of
their oil deposits, American troops were sent.
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Summarize
Foreign Policy
• Latin America and the war on drugs
• Tiananmen Square in China 1989
• Nelson Mandela released from jail; elected
leader in 1994 in South Africa
• Somalia
• Persian Gulf War – Saddam Hussein
TRANSPARENCY
Tiananmen Square Protests
Desert Storm
• Colin Powell – American Joint Chiefs of Staff
leader
• Norman Schwarzkopf commander
• 1991 coalition troops stormed into Kuwait and
Iraq
• Hussein forced to leave Kuwait
PM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency