Chapter 30 – America’s History Conservative America in the Ascent

I. The Rise of the New Right A. Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan: Champions of the Right 1. The Conscience of a Conservative – Goldwater’s 1960 book, The Conscience of a Conservative, attacked the reforms of the New Deal; Celebrated by the Republican Party who wanted a conservative candidate In 1964; Goldwater further enchanted conservatives with another book, Why Not Victory? criticized the containment policy—as weak.

I. The Rise of the New Right 2. Grassroots Conservatives – The John Birch Society, Young Americans for Freedom, and the Liberty Lobby all campaigned for Goldwater in 1964; Phyllis Schlafly’s book, A Choice Not an Echo, accused Republicans of being “Democrats in disguise” Goldwater won nomination but was defeated by Johnson easily Goldwater people now supported Ronald Reagan’s campaigns for California governor in 1966 and 1970; supporters viewed Reagan as successor to Nixon as party leader and potential president.

I. The Rise of the New Right B. Free-Market Economics and Religious Conservatism 1. A three-legged stool –A conservative movement had three main components: 1. anticommunism 2. free-market economics 3. religious traditionalism

I. The Rise of the New Right 2. The Religious Right – Conservative Protestants and Catholics joined together to condemn divorce, abortion, premarital sex, and feminism; charismatic televangelists Jerry Falwell & Pat Robertson - champions of a morality-based political agenda

I. The Rise of the New Right C. The Carter Presidency 1. Hostage Crisis – Challenges in foreign relations during late 1970s included Carter’s struggle to maintain a policy of human rights abroad while fighting the Cold War; Panama Canal over to Panama (effective December 31, 1999); Negotiated peace agreement between Israel and Egypt; Boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow; provided covert assistance to anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan (including Osama bin Laden);

I. The Rise of the New Right Problems in Iran (U.S. ally) began when the U.S.- supported shah (king) was ousted by a revolution, bringing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power. U.S. admitted the shah into the country for cancer treatment, Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking sixty-six Americans hostage for 14 months; Iraq invaded Iran; hostages were released the day after Carter left office.

I. The Rise of the New Right 2. The Election of 1980 – Carter’s popularity fell to 21 percent with high inflation, stagnant wages, crippling mortgage rates, and unemployment near 8 percent; Reagan won 51 percent of the vote to Carter’s 41 percent, and 6.6 percent went to Independent candidate John Anderson.

II. The Dawning of the Conservative Age A. The Reagan Coalition 1. The core of the Republican Party – affluent, white, Protestant voters Wanted balanced budgets Opposed big government Feared crime, limit social-welfare spending

II. The Dawning of the Conservative Age 2. Moral Majority – The Religious Right proved crucial to 1980 victory; Republican Party platform Constitutional ban on abortion, Voluntary prayer in public schools Mandatory death penalty for certain crimes; An end to court-mandated busing to achieve racial integration in schools; Opposed Equal Rights Amendment

II. The Dawning of the Conservative Age B. Conservatives in Power (cont.) 3. Remaking the Judiciary – Reagan appointed 368 federal judges, most with conservative credentials, and three Supreme Court Justices (Scalia, O’Connor, and Kennedy); elevated William Rehnquist to Chief Justice ( ); the Court remained relatively moderate despite these conservative appointments. 4. HIV/AIDS –Slow national response to HIV and AIDS epidemics; Emerging in 1981 but did not act until 1987.

II. The Dawning of the Conservative Age C. Morning in America 1. Election of 1984 – Reagan promoted his tax policies and economic recovery; ran against former vice president Walter Mondale and Rep. Geraldine Ferraro (NY); Reagan won in a landslide 2. Return to Prosperity – By 1985, U.S. was importing more than exporting; the country became a debtor nation; recovery in late 1980s resulted from growth in financial services, medical services, and computer technology, not manufacturing.

II. The Dawning of the Conservative Age 3. Culture of Success – Wealth was celebrated in second half of 1980s (ex: Lee Iacocca at Chrysler, Donald Trump in NYC real estate). 4. The Computer Revolution – Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, and Steve Wozniak were four entrepreneurs who pioneered the computer revolution in the late 1970s and 1980s, including advent of the personal computer (PC); Apple Computers was founded by Jobs and Wozniak in 1976; Microsoft was founded by Gates and Allen in 1975.

Internet Use

III. The End of the Cold War A. U.S.-Soviet Relations in a New Era 1. Reagan’s Cold War Revival – Rejected the Nixon-era détente with the Soviet Union instead rearmed U.S. to force the Soviets into a prolonged arms race that would damage their economy; 2. Iran-Contra – Administration sold arms to Iran in an effort to gain assistance in negotiating hostage releases in Lebanon; did so without congressional approval; used the profits to overthrow democratically elected government in Nicaragua (Sandinistas), despite a ban on aid to the CIA- supported Contras passed by Congress in 1984.

III. The End of the Cold War 3. Gorbachev and Soviet Reform – In 1985, Soviet leader Gorbachev introduced policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring) in Soviet Union; Negotiated the elimination of intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe; Reagan favored a renewal of détente; Gorbachev then began to focus on domestic reform; series of peaceful uprisings in eastern Europe (“Velvet Revolution”) led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989; December 25, 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics formally dissolved.

III. The End of the Cold War B. A New Political Order at Home and Abroad 1. Election of 1988 – Vice President George H.W. Bush (Rep) defeated Massachusetts governor, Michael Dukakis 2. Middle East – U.S. under Reagan had attempted to persuade Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to accept Israel, while seeking Israel’s acceptance of a Palestinian state; was unsuccessful during Reagan years; remained a divisive issue in Bush years.

III. The End of the Cold War 3. Persian Gulf War – In August 1990, Saddam Hussein’s troops invaded Kuwait, believing U.S. would support, and threatened to invade Saudi Arabia Bush convinced UN to use force against Iraq; Coalition of 34 nations undertook military action; Imposed economic sanctions against Iraq unless it allowed unfettered inspection of its weapons systems, Destroyed all biological and chemical arms, and unconditionally pledged not to develop nuclear weapons.

The Recap The Rise of the Right- Reagan, Schlafly, Goldwater Three Legged Stool Religious Right Carter Presidency – Stagflation, Hostages, Rise of Reagan New Moral majority HIV/Aids epidemic Return to Prosperity Computer Revolution US & Soviet Relations End of Gulf War Persian Gulf