Reagan

Domestic-Influence of Nixon Reagan was the most important political figure of the age. He made it successful not solely responsible but a big leader. Political turning point 1968 Nixon’s Southern political strategy Reagan used Nixon’s strategy on o School desegregation o Judicial appointments o Reagan used Nixon’s men  Rumsfeld and Cheney

Domestic-Economics Reaganomics-still widely practiced Military spending=Keep Military strong Supply-side economics=Trickle down effect, o Sometimes known as “Voodoo Economics” o Introduced several tax cuts for wealthy Americans o Lower taxes o Deregulation The economy had been in decline since 1973 With Stagflation

Domestic-Economics Cont. Problem with America was leadership solved by: Optimism Cut Taxes Shrink Government =Small Federal Government Cut spending Encourage private investment Aid those abroad fighting communism

Domestic-Social and Political Suburbs Civil Rights and Feminists movements broke down barriers Need for large amounts of money Upheaval of JFK, LBJ, and Nixon caused alienation

Domestic-Social and Political Cont. “Halting and ineffective” fight on AIDS o Reagan's communications director Pat Buchanan argued that AIDS is "nature's revenge on gay men." Pat Buchanan Air Traffic Controllers strike o Fired more than 11,000 of them when they ignored his order to return to work Assassination attempt o March 30, 1981, shot by John Hinckley Jr. while leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel

Domestic New Federalism (championed by Nixon) o “Political philosophy of devolution, or the transfer of certain powers from the United States federal government back to the states.” devolution United States federal government states

Foreign-Iran Iran Contra Affair o Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo Iran arms embargo o Some U.S. officials also hoped that the arms sales would secure the release of several hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras hostages Nicaraguan Contras

Foreign-Star Wars SDI “Starwars” (Strategic Defense Initiative) o March 23, 1983 o Ground-based and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles nuclear ballistic missiles o Focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic offense doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) Mutual Assured Destruction

Foreign U.S. military led an international invasion of Grenada to topple a new Communist government there Aid those abroad fighting communism Foreign Policy- divisions caused by Vietnam

Foreign In foreign policy, Reagan was a full-fledged Cold War Hawk Supported repressive regimes and right wing insurgents in territories that opposed communism

“The age of Reagan is over” 2008, His conclusion Obama won nomination with Clinton’s support, Biden VP (who had foreign policy credentials) McCain – chose Palin VP who had conservative credentials