1. Reagan and the Rise of Conservatism

2. Ideas and Goals Reduce taxes Limit government regulation Anticommunism!

3. The New Right Endorsed – School prayer – Deregulation – Lower taxes – A smaller government – A stronger military – Teaching a Bible- based account of human creation Opposed – Gun control – Abortion – Homosexual rights – School busing to achieve desegregation – Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) – Affirmative action – Nuclear disarmament

4. Religion Moral Majority – Political organization – Registered 2 million voters – Report cards for candidates – Engel v. Vitale – Roe v. Wade

5. Population

6. Reagan-Election of 1980 White House-Republican Senate-Republican (first since 1955) House of Representatives-Democrat “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”—Reagan Campaign

7. THE REAGAN REVOLUTION

8. Ronald Reagan From California Former Actor Great Public Speaker Governor of California

9. The Economy Supply-side economics “Reaganomics – Reduce taxes by 25% over 3 years – Richest Americans received the largest tax cuts Wealthy would use their money to invest in new business Cut federal budget by $40 billion – Social programs – deregulation

11. US Economy Recession from 1980-82 Unemployment was over 10% Economy turned around in 1983 however number of poor increased and richest Americans grew richer

12. The Judicial Branch 3 Conservative Judges – Sandra Day O’Connor (First woman) – Antonin Scalia (died this year) – Anthony Kennedy (considered the swing vote today)

13. Soviet Foreign Policy Soviets are the evil- empire Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) – A space shield to protect the US from the Soviets Negotiates with Mikhail Gorbachev

14. Star Wars In 1983, President Reagan proposed his Strategic Defense Initiative as an additional check on Soviet nuclear capability. Reagan envisioned space-based missile defense technology capable of striking down nuclear weapons before they reached the United States. "Wouldn't it be better to save lives than to avenge them?" The press derisively dubbed the plan "Star Wars", and many believed it was infeasible due to the enormous expense and technical innovation that it would require to become operational.

15. Strategic Defense Initiative Reagan’s SDI speech, March 23, 1983SDI From: http://www.milnet.com/pentagon/spacecom/sdi.gif

16. Latin America-Foreign Policy El Salvador civil war – US supported a moderate (who won election) Nicaragua civil war – Communists took over – US spent $20 million for the CIA to train an opposition group (the Contras) Did things not approved by Congress-spending banned White House continued to financially support them – Iran-Contra affair

17. The Iran Contra Scandal Private US $ Foreign Gov’t $ $$$ Hostages weapons Swiss bank accounts; controlled by North Contras Israel Iran US

18. The End is near for USSR USSR is failing – Lack of food – Money being spent on military – Failure in Afghanistan – Factories could not compete with West More and more countries are rebelling against Soviet control

19. Berlin Wall Falls East Berlin government is failing The gates were opened

22. Reagan and the Berlin Wall

23. End of the Cold War Soviet Union official ends December 1991 Russia is back!