1. 1980-present

2. * Ronald Reagan (R) 1981 - 1989 * George H. W. Bush (R) 1989 - 1993 * William J. Clinton (D) 1993 - 2001 * George W. Bush (R) 2001 - 2009 * Barack Obama (D) 2009 - present

3. 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. * 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

5. * Believed in supply-side or “trickle-down” economics * 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

6. * Conservative appointees to the Supreme Court (Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, & O’Connor—first woman) * AIDS epidemic came to light * Geraldine Ferraro (D) was the first major-party female VP candidate in 1984

7. * Reagan rejected détente and instead increased defense spending, military action, and Cold War rhetoric

8. * Escalated the arms race and spent $3 trillion on the Strategic Defense Initiative * Gave military aid to the Contras in Nicaragua * Gave $5 billion to El Salvador to resist leftist guerillas * Invaded Grenada to topple a pro-Cuban regime there

9. * 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

10. * 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 2 nd term, the end of the Cold War was at hand

11. * 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.

12. * 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

13. * 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

14. * 1991 break-up of the USSR marked the end of the Cold War * START I and START II treaties drastically reduced nuclear warheads

15. * 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