APUSH Unit 9 1980-present

The Modern Presidents Ronald Reagan (R) 1981 - 1989 George H. W. Bush (R) 1989 - 1993 William J. Clinton (D) 1993 - 2001 George W. Bush (R) 2001 - 2009 Barack Obama (D) 2009 - 2016 The Modern Presidents

1980: Rise of the Conservative Coalition/ Moral Majority An alliance of right-wing groups who: -Opposed government regulation of business, federal taxation, entitlement programs, & affirmative action -Supported a return of morality to America (ex. encouraged prayer and creationism in public schools; restricted abortion rights) -Evangelical T.V. ministers preached both religion and politics to their audiences

Election of 1980 Former Governor of CA and well known actor GOP spokesperson for conservative issues Defeated Carter with 51% of the popular vote & 91% of electoral vote Election of 1980

Reaganomics Believed in supply-side or “trickle-down” economics 1981 Economic Recovery Act: Tax cuts for the wealthy & corporations and reduced government regulation would increase spending and investment Results—upper income groups prospered while the middle class remained stagnant and the lower class declined Legacy—huge federal deficits of 2-3 billion dollars a year Reaganomics

Conservative appointees to the Supreme Court (Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, & O’Connor—first woman) AIDS epidemic came to light, but no federal funding for research Geraldine Ferraro (D) was the first major-party female VP candidate in 1984 1980s Social Change

Immigration Reform 1986 Immigration Reform & Control Act Granted amnesty to 4 million illegals in U.S. before 1982 Created penalties for hiring illegals Immigration Reform

Reagan’s Foreign Policy Reagan rejected détente and instead increased defense spending, military action, and Cold War rhetoric Reagan’s Foreign Policy

Examples of Renewed Cold War Increased the DOD budget to $300 billion in 1985 Escalated the arms race, placing 572 nuclear warheads in Western Europe in in one year Spent $3 trillion on the Strategic Defense Initiative “Star Wars” Examples of Renewed Cold War

The U.S. would aid anti-communist guerillas and resistance movements in Africa, Asia, and Latin America Gave military aid to the Contras in Nicaragua (a violation of the Boland Amendment) Gave $5 billion to El Salvador to resist leftist guerillas Invaded Grenada to topple a pro-Cuban regime there The Reagan Doctrine

Foreign Policy Debacles Terrorist attacks on U.S. forces in Lebanon led Reagan to withdraw peacekeeping troops The Iran Contra Scandal—the administration secretly sold weapons to Iran & funneled the money to the Contras in Nicaragua (both illegal) Officials were indicted, but Reagan denied knowledge of the events, which made him appear uniformed Foreign Policy Debacles

Foreign Policy Achievements Developed a friendly relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev Supported glasnost and perestroika INF agreement led to destruction of intermediate missiles By the end of Reagan’s 2nd term, the end of the Cold War was at hand Foreign Policy Achievements

The Space Program Space Shuttle program First launch of the Space Shuttle in 1981 Sally Ride was the first female astronaut in space Challenger Disaster (Jan. 28, 1986) broke apart 73 seconds after take-off Resulted in the death of all seven crew members (including the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe) Sally Ride, Ph.D.

Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush won with 54% of the popular vote Democrats regained control of the House & Senate His campaign pledge would be his undoing Election of 1988

Domestic Policy & Social Change The Americans With Disabilities Act (1990) Controversial confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas over sexual harassment charges Deregulation led to the collapse of the savings & loan industry Unpopular tax increases implemented to address the deficit Domestic Policy & Social Change

Foreign Policy—End of the Cold War 1991 break-up of the USSR marked the end of the Cold War START I and START II treaties drastically reduced nuclear warheads Foreign Policy—End of the Cold War

Additional Foreign Policy 1989 invasion of Panama to remove dictator Manuel Noriega and stop drug trafficking 1991 Persian Gulf War to liberate Kuwait from the invading forces of Iraq Additional Foreign Policy