1. APUSH Unit 9
1980-present

2. The Modern Presidents Ronald Reagan (R) 1981 - 1989
George H. W. Bush (R)
William J. Clinton (D)
George W. Bush (R)
Barack Obama (D)
The Modern Presidents

3. 1980: Rise of the Conservative Coalition/
Moral Majority
An alliance of right-wing groups who:
-Opposed government regulation of business, federal taxation, entitlement programs, & affirmative action
-Supported a return of morality to America (ex. encouraged prayer and creationism in public schools; restricted abortion rights)
-Evangelical T.V. ministers preached both religion and politics to their audiences

4. Election of 1980 Former Governor of CA and well known actor
GOP spokesperson for conservative issues
Defeated Carter with 51% of the popular vote & 91% of electoral vote
Election of 1980

5. Reaganomics Believed in supply-side or “trickle-down” economics
1981 Economic Recovery Act: Tax cuts for the wealthy & corporations and reduced government regulation would increase spending and investment
Results—upper income groups prospered while the middle class remained stagnant and the lower class declined
Legacy—huge federal deficits of 2-3 billion dollars a year
Reaganomics

6. Conservative appointees to the Supreme Court (Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, & O’Connor—first woman)
AIDS epidemic came to light, but no federal funding for research
Geraldine Ferraro (D) was the first major-party female VP candidate in 1984
1980s Social Change

7. Immigration Reform 1986 Immigration Reform & Control Act
Granted amnesty to 4 million illegals in U.S. before 1982
Created penalties for hiring illegals
Immigration Reform

8. Reagan’s Foreign Policy
Reagan rejected détente and instead increased defense spending, military action, and Cold War rhetoric
Reagan’s Foreign Policy

9. Examples of Renewed Cold War
Increased the DOD budget to $300 billion in 1985
Escalated the arms race, placing 572 nuclear warheads in Western Europe in in one year
Spent $3 trillion on the Strategic Defense Initiative “Star Wars”
Examples of Renewed Cold War

10. The U.S. would aid anti-communist guerillas and resistance movements in Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Gave military aid to the Contras in Nicaragua (a violation of the Boland Amendment)
Gave $5 billion to El Salvador to resist leftist guerillas
Invaded Grenada to topple a pro-Cuban regime there
The Reagan Doctrine

11. Foreign Policy Debacles
Terrorist attacks on U.S. forces in Lebanon led Reagan to withdraw peacekeeping troops
The Iran Contra Scandal—the administration secretly sold weapons to Iran & funneled the money to the Contras in Nicaragua (both illegal)
Officials were indicted, but Reagan denied knowledge of the events, which made him appear uniformed
Foreign Policy Debacles

12. Foreign Policy Achievements
Developed a friendly relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
Supported glasnost and perestroika
INF agreement led to destruction of intermediate missiles
By the end of Reagan’s 2nd term, the end of the Cold War was at hand
Foreign Policy Achievements

13. The Space Program Space Shuttle program
First launch of the Space Shuttle in 1981
Sally Ride was the first female astronaut in space
Challenger Disaster (Jan. 28, 1986)
broke apart 73 seconds after take-off
Resulted in the death of all seven crew members (including the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe)
Sally Ride, Ph.D.

14. Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush won with 54% of the popular vote
Democrats regained control of the House & Senate
His campaign pledge would be his undoing
Election of 1988

15. Domestic Policy & Social Change
The Americans With Disabilities Act (1990)
Controversial confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas over sexual harassment charges
Deregulation led to the collapse of the savings & loan industry
Unpopular tax increases implemented to address the deficit
Domestic Policy & Social Change

16. Foreign Policy—End of the Cold War
1991 break-up of the USSR marked the end of the Cold War
START I and START II treaties drastically reduced nuclear warheads
Foreign Policy—End of the Cold War

17. Additional Foreign Policy
1989 invasion of Panama to remove dictator Manuel Noriega and stop drug trafficking
1991 Persian Gulf War to liberate Kuwait from the invading forces of Iraq
Additional Foreign Policy