1. The Era of Reagan
APUSH –

2. Who is Ronald Reagan?
“If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
“We should measure welfare's success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.”
“We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”
“Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15.”
“How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”

3. Reagan’s Appeal Reagan was an New Deal Democrat and actor
He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild, which made him the only union leader to ever reach the White House
By the 1960s, Reagan had become a Republican
Reagan appealed to both old and new conservatives
Libertarians liked his anti-government opinions
Cold warriors liked his aggressive foreign policy
The Christian Right liked his focus on “traditional American morals”

4. Reaganomics
Reagan promoted the ideas of “economic freedom” and an “economic Bill of Rights”
What did Reagan mean by “economic freedom”?
Limit the power of labor unions
De-regulate industries and businesses
Reduce taxes

5. Reaganomics Supply-side Economics/ “Trick-down Economics
Cut taxes for businesses and wealthier Americans in order to promote private investment
Lower taxes will encourage people to work harder since they are able to keep more of their income
Reagan rejected progressive taxes
Despite losing income tax revenue, the government’s revenues would actually rise due to a growing economy
Tax Reform Act of 1986
Reduced the highest tax rate on the wealthiest Americans from 50% to 28% (four years earlier the rate was 70%)

6. Criticism of Reaganomics

7. Assessing Reaganomics
Successful
Unsuccessful
Inflation dropped from 13.5% in 1981 to 3.5% in 1988
Dow Jones Industrial average went from to (Stock Exchange value measure)
Unemployment rates dropped from 9.7% to 5.3%
Recession in 1981 – 1982
Inflation drop may have had more to do with increased oil production and not Reaganomics
In October of 1987, stock market had its sharpest drop since 1929
Income of the poorest one-fifth declined

12. Two Americas?

13. Reagan and the Cold War
While Nixon and Carter toned down the Cold War rhetoric, Reagan aggravated Cold War tensions
In a 1983 speech, Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as the “evil empire”
Reagan sponsored the largest military buildup in American history
Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars)
Reagan called for a space-based anti-ballistic missile system
At the time, it was technologically impossible

14. Reagan and the Cold War
Reagan’s military spending caused a massive deficit and created the largest debt increase in history

16. Reagan and the Cold War The Second Term and Gorbachev
The U.S.S.R. had tried to keep up with Reagan’s military spending, but was unable to
When Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power he realized his policies of glasnost and perestroika would not work without cutting the Soviet military budget
Reagan and Gorbachev hold arms talks from 1985 – 1987
They agree to eliminate intermediate and short missiles in Europe
The Cold War tension Reagan built up in his first term eased

17. The Regan Legacy
The Reagan administration is filled with contradictions
He vowed to get the federal government “off our backs,” but did not reduce the size of the federal government
Reagan vowed to increase economic freedom, but his deregulation allowed for speculation, corporate takeovers, and a widening gap between rich and poor
Reagan vowed to restore American values and family traditions, but continued deindustrialization and job insecurity threatened family stability
Reagan vowed to cut taxes, but raised the gas tax, payroll tax, and rolled back some corporate tax cuts
Reagan did restore hope in many Americans; hope that the American dream could still come true
Further strengthened conservatism in America