Mr. BermudezMrs. Kypers

 Students will be able to understand the political and social events of the 1980’s and early 1990’s  Core Curriculum Content Standards  The government pursued conservative economic and social policies during Reagan’s Presidency  The Soviet Union’s collapse ended the Cold War and brought major changed to the U.S foreign policy  Events in the Middle East continued to trouble the U.S

 It is the autumn of You are a campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan, former film star and past governor of California. Reagan must defeat President Jimmy Carter, who has lost support. Carter has failed to bring home the hostages in Iran and to revive the economy. Reagan, an optimist, pledges to do both. He also plans to cut taxes and cut back on government programs.  What campaign slogan will you create?  What qualities in your candidate will win support?  What issues are important?  How can you present Reagan as a winner?

 Why did conservative values re-emerge in the 1980’s?  How did Reagan come into political power?  “Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” –Reagan Political Slogan  What does this mean? Do YOU agree?

 What are Entitlement Programs? $300 billion annually  Issues with the Civil Rights Act of How might this be an issue?  Very skeptical

 Focus on controversial social issues  Abortion  Equal Rights Amendment  Court-ordered bussing  Return to school prayer  Outlawed in 1962 by Supreme Court  Do you agree or disagree?

 Affirmative Action: What is this?  Reverse Discrimination: How might this be?

 Business leaders, middle-class voters, disaffected Democrats, and fundamentalist Christian groups  Belief that conservative policies and principles appealed to the majority of voters.  Goal: Shrink size of Gov  Family values/patriotism  Reduce government intervention in economy  Cut taxes  Strengthen national defense

 Evangelical and Fundamentalists who interpreted the Bible literally and believed in absolute standards of right and wrong  Condemned liberal attitudes and behaviors  Demanded restoration of traditional moral values  Reduce divorce rate  Reduce # of unmarried couples  Increase individual responsibility  People watching Televangelists- Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson

 Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale receive Democratic nomination  Even though low ratings  Ronald Reagan and George Bush receive Republican nomination

 Originally a New Deal Democrat  Became more conservative  Claimed he did not leave the Democratic Party but rather the party had left him  Spokesman for General Electric  Campaigned for Barry Goldwater-1964  Became Governor of California in 1966

 Key issues on Supreme Court decisions  Abortion, pornography, teaching of evolution, and prayer in schools  Reagan becomes likely candidate for conservatives  Prolonged Iranian Hostage Crisis  Weak economy and high inflation

 Very charismatic-ACTING CAREER  Can simplify issues and present clear-cut answers  Great Communicator  Commitment to economic and military strength  “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.”

 P_aw P_aw

 Reagan pushes for reduction in income tax and MAJOR REDUCTION IN GOVERNMENT SPENDING  Three Parts of “Reaganomics”  Budget Cuts  Tax Cuts  Increased defense spending

 Decrease influence of federal government = encouragement of private investment  Cuts in spending for social programs  NOT ONES FOR MIDDLE CLASS- social security, Medicare, veterans pensions  Congress slashed 10 % for other groups Urban mass transit, food stamps, welfare benefits, job training, Medicaid, school lunches, and student loans

 Supply-Side Economics: George Gilder Arthur Laffer  People pay less in taxes, they will save more money.  Banks can loan this saved money to businesses which would invest money in resources to improve productivity  Supply of goods would then increase  Driving down prices  Reagan pushed congress to cut taxes by 25 % over a 3 year period  “Trickle-Down” Theory

 Between Defense Department’s budget DOUBLED  Reagan pushes scientist to develop a defense system to keep Americans safe  Strategic Defense Initiative: Known as Star Wars  Could blow up enemy missiles before reaching USA  Defense Department estimated it to cost trillions

 July November worst recession since Great Depression  1983 economy rebounds  Consumers go on spending spree thanks to tax cuts, lower interest rates, and lower inflation  Stock Market surged, unemployment declined, GNP went up 10%

 Tax cuts had helped the rich  Poor hurt because of loss of social programs  Massive military spending caused deficit to outstrip the federal reserve

 Reagan appoints more conservative faces to Supreme Court  Sandra Day O’Connor Antonin Scalia, and Anthony M. Kennedy  O’Connor is the first woman appointed to court

 Deregulation: what does this mean? Is this good?  Price controls for oil  Health and safety inspections for nursing homes  Airline industry  Saving and loans industry  Cut the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency  Sold public land to private developers  Opened drilling on continental shelf for oil and gas drilling

 By 1984 large coalition of supporters  Businesspeople: wanted deregulation of economy  Southerners: welcomed limits of the federal power  Westerners: resented federal controls on mining and grazing  Reagan Democrats: agreed on limiting the federal government and thought the Democratic Party had drifted too far left

 Ronald Reagan and George Bush: Republican nomination  Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro: Democratic nomination  Ferraro is the first female candidate on a major party ticket  Economy was strong  Reagan wins

 Many Americans economically comfortable- credit Reagan and Bush for this  Bush runs for office  Many continue to support him  “read my lips: no new taxes”  Opponent is Michael Dukakis  Bush wins. Lowest turnout due to attack ads.

 Major concerns include  Health  Education  Safety  Americans direct attention to  AIDS  Drug Abuse  Abortion  Education

 Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)  1960’s spread throughout world  Virus which destroys immune system  Weakens the body  People become prone to infections and rare cancers Transmitted through bodily fluids Early victims: homosexual men, intravenous drug users, some infected by contaminated blood transfusions  Awareness heightens, prevention and cure become important

 Roe V. Wade: st trimester legal abortion  Pro-life movement: life begins at conception  What do you think?  Webster v. Reproductive Health Care Services: states have the right to impose new restrictions on abortion.  As a result abortions restrictions varied from state to state

 Some argue that drugs should be legalized  Weaken the power of gangs who made a living off of selling drugs  Reagan administration launches war on drugs  Nancy Reagan: “Just say no!” Campaign

 A Nation at Risk: report that American students lagged behind other students in industrialized nations  Indicated that 23 million Americans could not follow a manual instruction or fill out an application  Commission organized- suggests more HW, longer school days, extended school year  Increased pay and merit raises for teachers  Greater emphasis on English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Computer Science

 More people leaving cities for suburbs in the 1970’s  Businesses follow: taking jobs and tax revenues  High unemployment rates, crumbling infrastructure, deteriorating schools, and social tensions were common in cities  Rodney King beaten by 4 white police officers  Verdict not guilty  1992 race riots in South-Central Los Angeles

 Women have political losses and gains  Failure of the Equal Rights Amendment only getting 35 out of 38 states to ratify  More female candidates like Geraldine Ferraro  House of Representatives had an increase of females from 23 to 47  Senators 2 to 6  Appointments to cabinet  Women still under-represented

 “feminization of poverty”  57.8% of women working by 1992  Women only made 75 cents to every dollar a man made  Female college graduates only made slightly more than that of high school male graduates  Many women live in poverty  Pay Equity: jobs would be rated on the amount of education needed, the amount of physical strength needed to perform a task. Pay rates would reflect the job’s requirements

 African Americans: serve as mayors, sheriffs, school boards, state legislators, and members of congress  L. Douglas Wilder: 1 st African American governor- VA  Jesse Jackson runs for Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988  Affirmative action under fire

 Like African Americans, Latinos gain more positions of power in the 1980’s  Lauro Cavazos- Secretary of Education  Dr. Antonia Coello Novello- Surgeon General  Bilingual Education  Voting Rights Act

 Reagan slashes government funding of health, education, and other services  Need for new revenues  Certain Native American tribes open up Casinos

 million Asian Americans  Low crime rates, low school dropout rates and low divorce rates  Unemployment was higher than the national average

 1970’s and 1980’s gay men and lesbians fight for civil rights  Set backs: Conservative opposition and AIDS  Late 1980’s early 1990’s activist demand an end to anti-gay discrimination  Success in states and 110 communities outlawed such discrimination

 Changes in the Communist world  America influences Central and Caribbean affairs  Iran Contra Scandal  Persian-Gulf War

 Mikhail Gorbachev: 1985  Glastnost: Openness – criticism – freedom – press  Perestroika: Restructuring – economic – political  Need to improve relations with the USA  INF Treaty: 1987 eliminated two classes of weapons systems in Europe. Allow for each nation to check each other

 Eastern Europe begins to split up  1989 East Germans tear down the Berlin Wall   October 3 rd 1990 Reunification of Germany  Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Yugoslavia

 Democracy leads to nationalism  December nations declare independence from USSR  74 years of the Soviet Union total collapse

 Early 1980’s China underwent economic reforms  Eliminated price controls  Students demand freedom of speech  Tiananmen Square: student demonstration, Statue of liberty  Ordering of military intervention

 U.S supports pro-American governments only  Nicaragua: U.S presence since 1911  Instilled Dictator Anastsio Somoza 1933  Revolution Somoza’s National Guard Sandinistas Somoza government is toppled Carter Recognizes new regime  1981 Reagan believes this is a Soviet outpost Throws support behind Contras: because they are against Sandinistas CIA stationed: without congressional approval  Boland Amendment: banning all military aid to Contras for 2 years

 Grenada  Believed to support Communist Cuba  U.S sends direct military force to accomplish aims  Panama  President Bush sends 20,000 soldiers to Panama  General Miguel Antonio Noriega involved in drug scandal Flown to Miami to face trials Yankee Imperialism Beneficial

 U.S not very successful here  Iran-Contra Scandal: U.S sold illegal arms to Iran sent profits to financially back the contras in Nicaragua  Violated the Boland Amendment  Persian Gulf War: Iraq invades Kuwait and loots it, heads for Saudi Arabia, possibility of Iraq controlling 50% of world’s known oil reserves  Operation Desert Storm: liberate Kuwait, massive air strike on Iraq