1. Reagan and Bush Sr.

2. Ronald Reagan Represented the New Right Coalition:
new group of conservatives with new ideas of the role of government in foreign and domestic issues
Involved the revival of the Republican Party due to the fall of the Democratic Party (Vietnam and troubled economy)
Criticized big government, high taxes and communism
Lived through an assassination attempt
Appointed the first female justice to the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor

3. Reagan and the Economy
Used supply-side economics (Reaganomics) that relies on the belief that if taxes are reduced, people will work more and have more money to spend causing the economy to grow, then the government can collect more in taxes (sales not income)
Economic Recovery Act reduced taxes by 25% with the wealthy receiving the largest tax cut so they could take the money they saved to invest in new businesses which would help everyone (trickle-down economics)
Also called for deregulation in which the government removes its control over industries, specifically airlines
Still ran a deficit and debt
Soon the economy recovered from the recession

4. Reagan and the Cold War
His plan was to weaken communism by challenging it as much as possible without provoking a military battle
Bring down smaller communists nations
Aid anticommunists rebellions
Built up the military by developing new nuclear missiles…out produce Soviet’s
Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars): a plan that would set up ground based and space-based lasers that would destroy any missiles aimed at the US before they could reach their targets…big blow to Soviet confidence and dominance

6. Change in the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the SU and brought new ideas and better relations with the US and Reagan
Knew he could not keep up with Reagan's military buildup
Signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force Treaty which banned the launch of nuclear ballistic missiles
Signed the START I Treaty in which both nations agreed to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world
Eventually communism fell in in the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall fell, Germany was united again…communism was over and so was the Cold War

7. Trouble in the Middle East
Reagan sent troops to Lebanon in an attempt to bring peace to the nations civil war
Many Marines killed and finally withdraw
Problems in Mid-East are complex and on-going
Iran-Contra Affair: US sends weapons to Iran if they pressured terrorists in Lebanon…used the money to fund Contras (anticommunists counterrevolutionaries) in Nicaragua even though it had been banned

8. The Challenger Disaster
The space shuttle the Challenger broke away in an explosion 73 seconds after take off, killing all 7 crew members
Americans watched in shock as the shuttle disintegrated into the Atlantic Ocean

9. Bush Sr. in Office
Had to raise taxes in an attempt to balance the budget due to the deficit that Reagan had created under Reaganomics
Had promised not to raise taxes
Americas role as world leader could not last if she was running a large deficit
Signed the Americans with Disabilities Act which protected the disabled from discrimination

10. Bush Sr. and Foreign Policy
Tiananmen Square: prodemocracy Chinese students stage protests so Chinese tanks rolled in and killed hundreds of protestors…condemned by Bush but we still continued to trade with China
Nelson Mandela who had been in prison for leading an antiapartheid movement, America supported his democratic efforts and he later became the elected leader for South Africans when he was released

11. Persian Gulf War
Iraq under dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to control their oil deposits…America and the United Nations will not tolerate his aggressions…US worried that he would set his sights on Saudi Arabia next to control more oil…US sends troops
Operation Desert Storm: America attacked Iraqi forces devised and executed by General Colin Powell with air attacks eventually getting into Kuwait with an Iraqi surrender
Hussein is still in power