CHAPTER
33
The Conservative Tide
Overview
Time Lines
SECTION
1 A Conservative Movement Emerges
SECTION
2 Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush
SECTION
3 American Society in a Conservative Age
SECTION
4 Changes in America’s Foreign Policy
Chapter Assessment
Transparencies
CHAPTER
33
The Conservative Tide
“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to
our problem; government is the problem.”
President Ronald Reagan, first inaugural address, 1981
THEMES IN CHAPTER 33
Women In America
Civil Rights
Cultural Diversity
Constitutional Concerns
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CHAPTER
33
The Conservative Tide
“In this present crisis, government is not the solution
to our problem; government is the problem.”
President Ronald Reagan, first inaugural address, 1981
What do you know?
• What does the phrase “conservative tide”
mean to you?
Read the quote above and answer the following:
• How would you paraphrase the quotation?
• How does the quotation help you understand
what a conservative believes?
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CHAPTER
33
Time Line
The United States
1981 Sandra Day O’Connor is appointed to the
Supreme Court.
President Reagan is shot.
Iran frees U.S. hostages.
1982 Equal Rights Amendment fails to win
ratification.
1986 The space shuttle Challenger explodes.
Iran arms deal is exposed.
1987 The U.S. and USSR sign Intermediate
Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
1990 The U.S. sends troops to defend Saudi
Arabia from Iraq.
1991 The Persian Gulf War breaks out.
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CHAPTER
33
Time Line
The World
1980 Zimbabwe claims independence.
1982 Great Britain and Argentina go to war
over the Falkland Islands.
1986 In Russia, Chernobyl nuclear power
plant emits radioactive material into the
atmosphere.
1989 Chinese troops kill student dissidents in
Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
Germans dismantle the Berlin Wall.
1990 Communist governments fall in
Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Hungary.
1991 The Soviet Union breaks up.
Yugoslavia dissolves in civil war.
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SECTION
1
A Conservative Movement Emerges
HOME
Learn About
the conservative movement that swept the country.
To Understand
how conservatism changed American politics and led
to the elections of Presidents Reagan and Bush.
SECTION
1
A Conservative Movement Emerges
Key Idea
The new conservatism begins with the
defeat of Barry Goldwater in 1964 and
triumphs with the election of Ronald
Reagan in 1980.
HOME
SECTION
1
A Conservative Movement Emerges
HOME
Section 1 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What are some of the issues that conservatives believed in
strongly?
strengthen national
defense
reduce entitlement
programs
reduce taxes
allow school prayer
end affirmative action
Conservative Issues
cut back government
defeat the ERA
end busing
outlaw abortion
stop regulating guns
SECTION
1
A Conservative Movement Emerges
Section 1 Assessment
ANALYZING MOTIVES
How did the leaders of the conservative movement of the
1980s want to change government?
THINK ABOUT
• the conservative view of government compared to the
liberal view
• the groups that made up the conservative coalition
• how those changes would affect existing government
programs
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SECTION
1
A Conservative Movement Emerges
Section 1 Assessment
SYNTHESIZING
Who were the main groups that made up the conservative
coalition and why did Ronald Reagan appeal to them?
THINK ABOUT
• their economic beliefs
• their political beliefs
• their religious beliefs
HOME
SECTION
2
Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush
HOME
Learn About
the programs of Presidents Reagan and Bush.
To Understand
how the conservative philosophy changed government
policies and priorities.
SECTION
2
Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush
Key Idea
President Reagan puts in place conservative
policies concerning the nation’s budget and
federal government.
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SECTION
2
Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush
HOME
Section 2 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What were the short-term and long-term effects of Reaganomics?
Definition of Reaganomics:
Reagan’s economic policies advocated large tax cuts to increase private
investments, leading to an increase in the nation’s supply of goods and services.
Short-Term Effects
Interest rates fell, stocks soared, inflation dropped, the economy grew.
Long-Term Effects
Increased national debt, budget deficit, trade imbalance, higher taxes.
SECTION
2
Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush
Section 2 Assessment
ANALYZING MOTIVES
Why did Presidents Reagan and Bush think it was important
to appoint more conservative justices to the Supreme Court?
THINK ABOUT
• the impact that the Supreme Court has on the nation’s laws
• rulings that the Court made on social issues in the late
1980s and early 1990s
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SECTION
2
Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush
Section 2 Assessment
FORMING OPINIONS
In your opinion, was deregulation generally good or bad for
the country, or a mixture of both?
THINK ABOUT
• the effect of deregulating the savings and loan industry
• the effect of cutting back on environmental regulations
• the effect of deregulation on the airline industry and other
businesses
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SECTION
3
American Society in a Conservative Age
Learn About
the social and economic changes that occurred in
society during the presidencies of Reagan and Bush.
To Understand
the effects of the new conservative movement in
American politics.
HOME
SECTION
3
American Society in a Conservative Age
Key Idea
Social issues of many kinds continue to
concern the nation during the conservative
backlash.
HOME
SECTION
3
American Society in a Conservative Age
SUMMARIZING
HOME
Section 3 Assessment
3
What were some of the social issues of the Reagan and Bush
years? How did the government respond to them?
Social Problem
Government Response
abortion
Supreme Court restricted access
drug abuse
“Just Say No!” campaign
low student test scores
“America 2000” education initiative
urban crisis
reduced federal spending on cities
equal rights for women
federal government cut budget for day care and cut AFDC;
some states offered pay equity
equal rights for minorities
Supreme Court reversed affirmative action
SECTION
3
American Society in a Conservative Age
SYNTHESIZING
Section 3 Assessment
3
How might improvements in the educational system affect
other social problems?
THINK ABOUT
• the impact education might have on health-related
problems
• the impact education might have on urban problems
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SECTION
3
American Society in a Conservative Age
COMPARING
Section 3 Assessment
3
Compare the political gains and losses experienced by
various groups during the Reagan and Bush administrations.
THINK ABOUT
• the experiences of women
• the experiences of African Americans
• the experiences of Latinos
• the experiences of other minorities
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SECTION
4
Changes in America’s Foreign Policy
HOME
Learn About
the end of the Cold War and the emergence of a global
economy.
To Understand
America’s search for a new world role.
SECTION
4
Changes in America’s Foreign Policy
Key Idea
Major changes throughout the world have a
great impact on the direction of U.S. foreign
policy.
HOME
SECTION
4
Changes in America’s Foreign Policy
HOME
Section 4 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What was U.S. foreign policy in Europe, Central America
and the Caribbean, and the Middle East?
U.S. Foreign Policy
Europe
INF Treaty, START II treaty, announced end of Cold War, encouraged spread of democracy
Central America and the Caribbean
Cut aid to Sandinistas, sent secret aid to the Contras, invaded Grenada, seized Noriega
Middle East
Secretly sold Iran weapons, Operation Desert Storm
SECTION
4
Changes in America’s Foreign Policy
Section 4 Assessment
RECOGNIZING CAUSES
What factors caused the end of the Cold War?
THINK ABOUT
• events in the Soviet Union
• events in Germany and Eastern Europe
• how U.S. leaders responded to those events
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SECTION
4
Changes in America’s Foreign Policy
Section 4 Assessment
ANALYZING
What factors do you think determined whether or not the
United States intervened militarily in other nations?
THINK ABOUT
• economic factors
• geographic factors
• political factors
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Chapter
33
Assessment
1. Briefly explain what brought about the conservative
backlash of the 1980s.
2. What factors led to Ronald Reagan’s victory in 1980?
3. What were the three economic tactics that formed the
basis of Reaganomics?
4. How did Reagan’s Supreme Court appointments affect
the philosophy of the Court?
5. What is deregulation and how did it affect certain
industries in the 1980s?
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Chapter
33
Assessment
6. What progress and obstacles did different minority
groups experience in the 1980s?
7. What were some gains that women achieved as a result
of the equal rights struggle of the 1980s?
8. What caused the downfall of the Soviet Union and the
founding of the Commonwealth of Independent States?
9. What was the Iran-Contra scandal and how did it pit
presidential power against congressional power?
10. Summarize the U.S. response to Iraq’s invasion of
Kuwait.
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