Knights Charge 5/17 What did Ford do for Nixon? Why was Ford not so successful? How did Ford continue Nixon’s programs? Describe Carter’s foreign policy. How did Carter try to create peace in the Middle East Why was Carter seen as a weak President?
The Presidency of Ronald Reagan
Carter’s Presidency End Poorly Due to his inability to free the American hostages in Iran, Carter looked weak Reagan is elected President and frees hostages making him look good
Rise of “The New Right” The New Right- Resurgence of conservatives during the 1970’s and 1980’s Americans grew tired of government failure Watergate Iran Hostage Crisis Stagflation Oil shortage Moral Majority- stressed that Americans should return to more traditional values
Conservatives vs. Liberals Smaller federal government Lowe taxes Larger military Support free market and business People independent from government Larger federal government Higher taxes Support international cooperation More government regulation of business Social welfare programs
Pick a Side Taxes should be low to allow the people to have money and spend money
The federal government should stay out of how business do business
We need to have a large military to protect our interest oversees as well as from enemies abroad
The US should engage with other countries through cooperative organizations such the UN and NATO
The US should allow free trade among itself and other neighboring nations
The federal government must help the needy through social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare even if it means higher taxes
Reagan Wins Election of 1980
Reaganomics Supply-side economics- lower taxes will lead to more jobs which will lead to people spending more money As people spend more money, the economy will grow
Reagan’s Economy Deregulation- less government regulation on industry Tax cuts- Richest received largest cut Budget Cuts- cut spending to social programs
Recession and Recovery Economy struggled at first then recovered Inflation fell Number of poor increased Led to federal budget deficit- money spent greater than money brought in Increased National Debt- amount government owes others
Reagan Confronts Issues Nation faced new epidemic- HIV/AIDS Space Shuttle Challenger Explodes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfnvFnzs91s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEjXjfxoNXM
Reagan Challenges Communism Reagan built up the nation’s military Proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)- a space to land laser that would destroy any missile aimed at the US Some called it “Star Wars”
Russia’s New Leadership Mikhail Gorbachev passed legislation to move away from communism Glasnost- Let the Russian people know what is going on with the government Perestroika- restructuring of the Soviet communist system
The Cold War Ends By the late 1980’s, USSR economy was failing USSR could not keep up with US military spending during Reagan’s Presidency Fall of Berlin Wall- symbolic end to Cold War
Fall of the Berlin Wall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snsdDb7KDkg
Trouble in the Middle East Iran Contra- US sold weapons to Iran to help hostages in Lebanon US then used money to finance “Contras” in Nicaragua On both occasions, the US funded and negotiated with terrorists Damaged Reagan’s reputation