Reagan, Culture Wars, and Recent American History 1980-2004

Women’s Rights Equal access to education, family, employment Domestic violence Control over bodies Betty Freidan NOW Planned Parenthood 2-person family incomes Affirmative Action

The Women’s Civil Rights Era? Title IX and women in college sports (Ed. Amend. 1972) Roe v. Wade (1973) Constitutional right to privacy Women in politics “Liberation” Gloria Steinem & Ms. Magazine

Conservative Backlash, 1965-1980 Conservatives react against changes in America during the 1960s American foreign policy “Lost Vietnam” Affirmative Action Women’s liberation

The Growing Backlash 1978: Regents of U.C. v. Bakke “Quotas” in college admissions were unconst. 1976: Hyde Amendment Limited Medicaid funds for Abortion Moral Majority, 1978 Southern Democrats become Republicans Many working class Anglos or “White Ethnics” in industrialized urban areas, and new suburbanites blamed immigrants and the poor for their condition, as well as economic decline of “Americans”

Conservative ideology Ignored global changes in economy that led to the decline of American manufacturing and industrial base “Tax and spend” Great Society & War on Poverty Creationism, “family values,” cut government, stop communists, end abortion, no immigration Strong military / national defense American global power Individualism Lead to “Culture Wars” & Reagan “Revolution…” Religious Fundamentalism

Conservative Groups & Leaders Barry Goldwater, AZ Orrin Hatch, UT Strom Thurmond, MS Ronald Reagan, CA Jerry Falwell Phyllis Schafly

Jerry Falwell, 1974 "I listen to feminists and all these radical gals... These women just need a man in the house. That's all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it and they're mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They're sexist. They hate men; that's their problem."

Conservative Concerns Conservative reactions to the “excesses” of the 1960s and 1970s Lost control of America Diversity = Divorce, gay rights, abortion, day care, big government, & decline of the family Stopped ERA New “traditionalism”

American Malaise Soft America and “decline” of American power OPEC and Oil Embargo Stagflation De-Industrialization Iranian Hostage Crisis (Nov. 1979) Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew Shah of Iran 50 Hostages for over a year Failed rescue effort USSR invaded Afghanistan (Dec. 1979)

Political Influence of the Christian Right Groups like the National Conservative Political Action Committee and Reverend Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority pioneered the use of sophisticated campaigning and fundraising techniques such as direct mail. The influence and campaign tactics of Christian Right delivered a critical proportion of votes to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Rev. Jerry Falwall

Ronald Reagan CA. Governor Reagan Anti-communist “Black and white” “New Day in America” Charismatic Channeled anger of mainstream white America at minorities, immigrants, feminists, taxes, affirmative action, big government

Election of 1980

Reagan’s Conservative Vision Vietnam was a “Noble Cause” Renew the Cold War American Power Patriotism Traditionalism State’s Rights “Individualism” Feel Good

“The Culture Wars” Abortion Immigration Affirmative Action Bilingual Education Multiculturalism Communism Homosexuality Taxation Church and State

Continued… HIV-AIDS Desegregation School Prayer Abortion God’s punishment Desegregation State’s Rights School Prayer Abortion Operation Rescue Affirmative Action Hand-outs

Reaganomics The acendancy of conservatism in the 1980's can be partially attributed to the economic "stagflation" of the Carter years. Reagan espoused supply-side economic theory. Supply-siders favored simultaneous tax cuts and reductions in spending to encourage investors and entrepreneurs. Conservative author George Gilder wrote, "a successful economy depends on the proliferation of the rich."

“The Speech” Reagan's televised 1964 "A Time for Choosing" speech on behalf of the Goldwater campaign propelled the actor from corporate spokesman to conservative champion. It became known simply as "The Speech." Reagan outlined the goals of the modern conservative movement: smaller government, lower taxes, personal autonomy, and more aggressive policy toward Communist states. He implies that liberal policies represent a dangerous shift toward socialism, even drawing parallels between Lyndon Johnson and Karl Marx.

Reaganomics Reagan delivered an address to Congress shortly after being wounded in an assassination attempt. In the spirit of the Reagan Revolution, he calls upon lawmakers to try a radical new approach to economic policy. Congress members received him with applause and quickly passed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (with cut taxes by $747 billion over five years) and the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 (which in one piece of legislation, cut over 200 social and cultural spending by $136 billion over two years). The tax cut was the largest in history.

Reaganomics: “Trickle-Down” DOD spending up 45% $3 trillion debt, 1981-9 Rising # of Fortune 500 companies Expansion of “working poor” Decline in real wages Household debt Deregulation and Savings & Loan Crisis $500 b Ketchup is a vegetable Tax cuts boosted elite incomes Privatization and deregulation

Impact on social classes? De-industrialization 1 million manuf. Jobs lost in 1982 Growth of non-union service sector, minimum wage jobs Unions lost millions of members Federal subsidies to corporations

Recession and Rebound A recession occurs when GDP declines for two or more consecutive quarters. During a recession, production levels go down, the stock market is unhealthy, unemployment rises, and consumer spending declines. By the middle of 1983, the economy made its recovery.

The Deficit and the National Debt The hike in defense spending, and vastly reduced tax revenues resulted in a skyrocketing federal budget deficit . By 1988, the interest alone on the national debt reached 14% of the annual budget and the United States became the world's biggest debtor. Reagan’s goal to balance the budget by 1984 became infeasible.

Iran-Contra Affair, 1980s 1979 election in Nicaragua Sandinistas U.S. opposed them Sold military land & weapons to Iran (Khomeini), in return for release of hostages Used weapons against Iraq Gave $ to “Contras” who fought Sandinistas Col. Oliver North Illegal sale of US property w/o Congressional approval Aid to Contras violated the Boland Amendments

US opposed Sandinistas in Nicaragua Secret weapon sales to Iran $ from weapon sales send to Contras Contras fought war against Sandinistas Destabilized both regions

Immigration 1964 law 1986 IRCA (Reagan Administration) Reasons 8 million legally 1986 IRCA (Reagan Administration) Legalization Nominal fines Southeast Asia & Latin America Reasons Economics Obstacles Culture wars, racism INS/Border Patrol, Operation Hold the Line, Gatekeeper Propositions against bi-lingual education and public schooling, health care for undocumented immigrants

Cycles of Anti-Immigrant Fear

International Events End of the Cold War Reagan: “Evil Empire” Mikhail Gorbachev Fall of the Berlin Wall Collapse of USSR Reagan took credit for the end of the Cold War

Bush I to Bush II: The 1990s Post Cold War Unclear foreign policy Who is the enemy now? Focused on domestic issues Gulf War NAFTA New Democrats Balanced Budget Immigration 2000 Election

George I: 1988-1992 Connecticut Family Director of CIA VP to Reagan Invasion of Panama Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War Over 60% of global oil

Middle East Persian Gulf War of 1991 Iraq invaded Kuwait Sent 200,000 troops to Saudi Arabia (Desert Shield) warn Saddam Hussein Increased troops to 430,000 and in February 1991 invaded Iraq to free Kuwait Control of the media, “smart bombs”, and Colin Powell’s “overwhelming force” doctrine

Continued Americans with Disabilities Act Clean Air Act Corporate Mergers Computers, Autos, financial industry Indian Gaming and Regulatory Act, 1988 Indian Casinos 1991 Rodney King, police brutality, and “riots / rebellion” in Los Angeles Police acquitted Over 50 died, $1 billion in damage

A “New Democrat”: 1992-2000 Arkansas Gov. Working class, single parent household Charismatic Sexual issues… Opposed Vietnam War New Democrat Fiscally conservative Socially moderate Multilateralism

Main Issues and Events Tried to allow gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military Failed. Cultural conservatives and military leaders opposed it. “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Tried to reform health care system to benefit the poor and uninsured. Failed. Pharmaceutical industry, doctors, republicans opposed it. Balance the Budget. Succeeded. Returned taxes on the rich back to previous levels. Cut spending. Increased tax credit for low income families

Early 1990s Post-Cold War era Economic growth Deep political divisions No communist “menace” Base closures Economic growth Wealth discrepancies, “knowledge economy” Demise of Unions Deep political divisions Ongoing “Culture Wars” Global Warming and environmental pollution Consumer Debt

“Contract with America” 1994 Congressional Elections Newt Gingrich Speaker of the House Welfare “Reform” Balanced Budget More prisons & harder sentences Defense spending End abortion 39% voted

Continued… Bill and Monica Cover-up House: Articles of Impeachment Senate: No 1993: North American Free Trade Agreement 1994: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1995: Oklahoma City and Timothy McVeigh

The 2000 Election Most bitterly contested election in 100 years Gore/Lieberman Moderate populism Shadow of Clinton Bush/Cheney “Compassionate Conservative” Roughly ½ of eligible voters went to polls Voting irregularities Florida

The Aftermath…. Close election in Florida Bush lead pop vote in FL, Gore wanted recount in 4 Democratic counties Ballot irregularities, inaccurate registration, incomplete lists, old voting machines, butterfly ballots, hanging chads Katherine Harris (R-Sec State & manager of Bush campaign in FL) refused recount, declared Bush winner Florida Supreme Court approved recount Bush appealed to U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 Court supported Bush and ruled against it Gore won national popular vote Bush won electoral college vote (Mainly because all ballots were not counted in FL, he kept the 27 electoral votes)

Bush II Reversal of Clinton’s policies $1.3 Trillion tax cut Economic recession Globalization and Y2K Rolled back environmental protection 2000 census and multiple identities Immigration, borders and cheap labor

US & Globalization The very same capitalist system promoted by the US, exported globally, brought changes to the US Immigration to US fueled by globalization and movement of capital, search for cheap labor Global capital left the US, wages declined, cheap goods imported, produced by lower wage workers Attack on unions, benefits, entitlements “Wal-Mart economy” Small population, massive resource use & pollution 2000 Mexico was second largest trading partner Cultural intermixture vs. fear and reaction

September 11th, 2001 Attack on World Trade Center Nearly 3,000 dead Islamic fundamentalists attacked symbol of economic and cultural imperialism OR economic freedom and opportunity… Bush became a “War President” Osama Bin Ladin

Invasion of Iraq, 2003--??? Bush administration tied 9/11 attacks, Bin Laden and Al Qaeda to Iraq and Saddam Hussein No ties, no links Global terrorist threat and “Axis of Evil” Remake the Middle East into pro-Western democracies favorable to the US “Mission Accomplished” War dragged on…Where’s Bin Laden? Several trillion dollars

Election of Barak Obama Constitutional Lawyer, Harvard Law Review Bi-racial Moderate/liberal Economic crisis Health Care National debt Crippled GOP

Conclusions History is who we are Multiple perspectives Evidence, sources, argument Skepticism and free thinking People make history Resistance and criticism are healthy Multiple views of patriotism Justice, equality, human rights