1980S AND BEYOND! THE TOTALLY GNARLY ENDING OF THE COLD WAR

The “New Right” THE RISE OF NEO-CONSERVATISM IN THE 1980S

Rise of the “New Right” Post WWII: Conservatism  1960s/70s: Rebellion  1980s: Conservatism Causes: Social turmoil from the civil rights and counterculture movements Faith lost in traditional authority (e.g. Watergate, Pentagon Papers) Stagflation of the 1970s causes economic fears Barry Goldwater: First conservative Republican to be nominated (1964) since WWII The Conscience of A Conservative “A Time for Choosing” by Ronald Reagan

Rise of the “New Right” Religious Right Fears of moral degradation from liberalism Evangelicalism/”born again” – similar to Fundamentalist movement Moral Majority Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell Sunbelt Massive population growth = electoral power Opposed high taxes and federal regulations (e.g. environmental regulations) that interfere with growth Suburbs “White flight” increases population “stagflation” reduced buying power + high taxes Proposition 13 (CA)

Liberal or Conservative? LIBERAL  Government regulation of big business  Government should help the disadvantaged through social programs  Strong supporters of free speech and privacy  Opposed to government support of religion  Support high taxes on wealthy  Broad government power to support social programs CONSERVATIVE  Deregulation of business to foster competition  Social programs should be provided by private charities  Strong supporters of tradition and traditional authority  Religious faith is vitally important in sustaining society  Oppose high taxes  Limited government, strong states’ rights

THE REGAN REVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF CONSERVATISM

Ronald Reagan – The “Great Communicator”

The Election of 1980 Carter (D) vs. Reagan (R) Carter suffering from low approval (21%) Highly conservative Republican platform offers stability, return to traditional values “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” “Let’s make America great again.”

Reaganomics Supply-side economics + increased interest rates Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) SS and Medicare preserved for political reasons Defense spending increases Criticism: “trickle-down” economics did not reach the average American Federal deficit increases 300% Reaganomics: A conservative form of economic policies aiming to reduce government spending, regulation, and inflation to improve the economy

Reagan’s Economy Reaganomics causes recession ( ) Deregulation of trucking, airline, and railroad industries Decline of manufacturing – America becomes a service industry Decline of union membership – vilified for stopping economic expansion Stagnation of wages Wage gap increases exponentially Expansion finally begins in 1984

The Space Race Continues Development of a reusable space shuttle Explosion of Challenger, January 28, 1986 Christa McAuliffe – first female teacher in space

The Reagan Doctrine: The U.S. supports guerrilla groups around the world who were fighting to overthrow Communist or pro-Soviet governments. Iran-Contra Scandal: Secret “arms for hostages” deal with Iran (despite an embargo) in order to smuggle $ to fund Nicaraguan Contras’ coup Col. Oliver North Reagan implicated, but never tried The Iran-Contra Scandal

THE COLD WAR HEATS UP Massive buildup of military arsenal Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, AKA: “Star Wars”): Called for the development of weapons that could intercept and destroy incoming missiles. Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START): Limited arms, but increased American advantage in sea and air- based weaponry

IF YOU GIVE A COMMIE FREEDOM… China and USSR’s alliance fails (1970s) Failure of invasion of Afghanistan Revolts in satellite nations Mikhail Gorbachev elected (1988) Glasnost Perestroika Democratization Something missing?

THE COLD WAR COOLS OFF Attempts to cooperate between the two nations Warm personal rapport between Reagan and Gorbachev Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF)

AND THE WALL COMES TUMBLING DOWN! Speech at Brandenburg Gate “Tear down this wall!” East German politician’s televised mistake leads to the opening of the wall

And the wall comes tumbling down!

I WANT MY MTV! THE, LIKE, TOTALLY RADICAL POP CULTURE OF THE 80’S MAN! Mr. C was born in 1989!!

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE 360 KB memory HP Notebook c.2000 Apple iPhone 3G c.2008 Commodore 64 c.1980

THE TECH REVOLUTION Silicon Valley The Personal Computer Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs founded Apple Computer Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft to design PC software Microprocessor Telecommuting Internet introduced to the public

“GREED IS GOOD”

Silicon Valley The Personal Computer Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs founded Apple Computer Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft to design PC software Microprocessor Telecommuting Internet introduced to the public