Ford and Beyond
“Beginning of the End”
President Leslie Lynch King Jr. aka
Gerald Ford (1974-1976)
• Ford’s Presidency is based on healing
– Ford attempted to get past Watergate and the
feelings of loss in Vietnam
• He gives Nixon a full Presidential Pardon
• The Nation turns 200!
President James Carter (19761980)
• Successes
– Political reformer, “Outsider”
– SALT II
– Peace treaty with Egypt and Israel (Camp
David Accords)
• “Non-Successes”
– Inflation
– Oil Issues-Fuel Shortages
– Iran Hostage Crisis
Mutually Assured Destruction
• In the movie War Games the idea of
M.A.D. is discussed. In the end, the writer
contends that in the world of M.A.D., there
can be no winner. But, is this the case?
• Please list the pros and cons of living in a
world dominated by two super powers who
are willing to destroy each other in a move
that would guarantee their own
destruction.
Ronald Reagan (1980-1988)
• Used the failing economy and falling
popularity to usher in “Reagan
Revolution”
• Ran on ticket of small federal
government and Cold War fears
• Nicknamed the “Great
Communicator” and the “Teflon”
President
“Land of Confusion”
• Genesis - Land Of
Confusion
Reagan (Continued)
• Foreign Policy
– A serious “Cold Warrior”
– Played up the rhetoric and tensions of the
cold war. In many ways undoing what had
been done by Nixon’s Détente
– Strategic Defense Initiative or “Star Wars”
– Iran-Contra affair
• Weapons to Iran via Israel
• Hostages released
• Money for Contras in Nicaragua
Reagan (FP-continued)
• Working with Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret
Thatcher (Iron Lady), Reagan’s tough talk
will lead to diplomatic success
• The two leaders became very willing to
discuss policies that would open the
Soviet Union to the world
• Other political leaders of the time, such as
Pope John Paul II, also were essential to
the end of the Cold War
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this
wall”
•
"Remarks at the
Brandenburg Gate on the
40th Anniversary of the
Marshall Plan“
• "Mr. Gorbachev, open this
gate..."
The End of the Cold War-Policies
of Mikhail Gorbachev
• Glasnost and Perestroika
– The policy of maximal publicity, openness, and
transparency in the activities of all government
institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom
of information, introduced by Gorbachev
– Overcoming the stagnation process, breaking down
the braking mechanism, creating a dependable and
effective mechanism for acceleration of social and
economic progress and giving it greater dynamism
Reagan Domestic
• “Reaganomics” or trickle down
economics
• Rise of homelessness
• A.I.D.S.
George H.W. Bush (41)
• Highs
– Fall of the Berlin Wall
– Persian Gulf War
– The promise of “Thousands Points of
light” and a New World Order
• Lows
– “Read my lips, no new taxes”
– “It’s the Economy Stupid”
William Jefferson Clinton (19922000)
• “It’s the economy stupid”
• Ran country as social liberal but moderate
on economic issues
– Budget surplus
– Welfare Reform
• Continued Conflicts with Iraq
• Monica Lewinsky