The 1980s

Ronald Wilson Reagan Former actor turned governor of California in 1966 Very Conservative Lost to Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican Primaries

Review Carter fails to win re-election done to the Iran Hostage At the time, Communism is winning the Cold War: Afghanistan, Nuclear Weapons, and various other victories Carter is seen as inept and unable to show strength to the rest of the world

Reaganomics The goal is to spur economic growth First developed by English economist John Keyner in the 1920s and 1930s To improve the economy, the best thing to do is to increase consumers demand for goods.

Reaganomics Give Money: 1. Directly: Government Aid 2. Indirectly: Jobs Once people have money, they will buy goods; the more goods available, the more people will be interested in buying

Reaganomics This is the same economic theory that was used to help the United States to get out of the Great Depression.

Supply Side Economics Cut taxes: This will place $ in the hands of businesses and investors These people will in turn hire more workers and produce more goods Investors must invest, not pocket money!!! Reagan cut taxes: % % % He also cut the sizes of many government agencies like: Dept of Energy Dept of Transportation Dept of Banking EPA

Some things were left alone In 5 years, the United States spent 1.5 TRILLION on defense Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) 1983; Massive satellites would shoot down nukes from space Research for things like AIDS were non-existent because of the stigma of the disease

Reagan Scandal Reagan was wildly popular all 8 years of his Presidency One scandal continues to follow his legacy: Iran- Contra Scandal

Reagan Scandal The country of Nicaragua was run by a communist government These people were called Sandinistas The United States wanted to overthrow the country

Reagan Scandal The United States trained revolutionaries, called Contras to overthrow the Nicaraguan government Congress found out that secret missions were being carried out and stopped military and economic aid This did not stop the CIA, they diverted money from profits they made by selling arms to Iran

Reagan Scandal Arms were sold in hopes of freeing hostages in the Middle East This was done under Reagans watch because he used to not read documents or take the word of his workers. No one will ever know what he knew Lt. Oliver North takes the fall for the whole ordeal

Lastly….. In 1981, Reagan is shot by an assassin's bullet John Hinkley Jr. wished to impress the actress Jodie Foster. Jodie never knew the man or ever spoke to him The Nation never knew how much disarray the government was during this event.