The Resurgence Of Conservatism
1980-2000
Chapter 41
Jimmy Carter
Elected 1976
Could not control
inflation or foreign
affairs
Ted Kennedy
attempted to run as
Dem in 1980
1969 death of young
girl who drowned
haunted him
Ronald Reagan
Republicans chose
conservative and
former actor Ronald
Reagan
Political philosophy
that condemned
federal intervention in
local affairs,
favoritism for
minorities, and the
elitism of bureaucrats
Election of 1980
Ronald Reagan
defeated Jimmy Carter
January 20, 1981 Inauguration Day –
Iran released
American hostages
after 444 days
Reagan assembles
conservative cabinet
Reagan
A major goal of Reagan was to reduce the
size of the government by shrinking the
federal budget and cutting taxes
Proposed a new federal budget that called
for cuts of $35 billion, mostly in social
programs like food stamps and federallyfunded job-training centers.
Reagan Shot !
March 6, 1981 Reagan was shot. 12
days later, Reagan
recovered and returned
to work.
John Hinckley – shot
Reagan in hopes of
gaining attention from
actress Jodie Foster
The Battle of the Budget
Reagan called for tax cuts amounting to 25%
across-the-board reductions over a period of 3
years
Budgetary discipline and tax reduction, the
“supply-side” economics Reagan hoped would
stimulate new investment, boost productivity,
promote dramatic economic growth, and reduce
the federal deficit.
The economy slipped into its deepest recession
since the 1930s as unemployment rose and banks
closed.
Money in the 1980s
For the first time in the 20th century, income
gaps widened between the rich and the poor
Some economists blamed increased military
spending
Reagan gave the Pentagon nearly $2 trillion
in the 1980s. He plunged the government
into major deficit that made the New Deal
look cheap.
The Cold War Renewed
Reagan’s strategy for
dealing with the USSR
was simple: expanding
U.S. military
capabilities, threaten
the Soviets with an
expensive new round
in the arms race.
Star Wars
March 1983 - Reagan announced defense
system called the Strategic Defense
Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars.
The plan called for orbiting battle stations in
space that could fire laser beams to vaporize
intercontinental missile on liftoff.
Very expensive and still not completed
today!
International Conflict Under
Reagan
1982 – Israel invades Lebanon – 200
Marines killed by bomb in barracks
1980 – US forces sent to El Salvador to
back up US led puppet govt.
1983 – Island of Grenada – US forces sent
to stop Communist takeover
Election of 1984
Reagan easily defeated
Walter Mondale
Geraldine Ferraro –
Mondale’s VP
candidate was first
woman to run on
major party ticket
1985 – Mikhail
Gorbachev becomes
Premier of Russia
Gorbachev
March 1985 –
becomes Chairman of
Soviet Communist
Party
Glasnost and
Perestroika –
programs designed to
give some freedom
back to Soviets
Reagan and Gorbachev
December 1985, Reagan
and Gorbachev signed the
IFN treaty, banning all
intermediate-range
nuclear missiles from
Europe.
The two leaders capped
their friendship in May
1988 at a final summit in
Moscow.
Iran Contra - 1986
Oliver North was
brought to trial for
selling arms to
Nicaragua despite a
ban on funding the
Sandinista
The money was
intended Iran…where
Muslim Groups
continued to capture
Americans