Chapter 25

Reagan & Conservatism

1980-1993

Sec.1: Emergence of Conservatism

A. Growth of Conservatism
1. Sen. Barry Goldwater (R)
Mr. Conservative in 1964 Election

2. resentment toward entitlement programs

provide guaranteed benefits to particular groups

3. frustration w/growing liberalism

 B. The New Right

1. focus on social issues (culture wars)
2. opposed affirmative action policies
Saw it as form of reverse discrimination (favoring
one group over another)

3. conservative coalition alliance of middleclass, business leaders, fundamentalist

Christians

 4. Moral Majority
Founded by Jerry Falwell
Political group that advocates traditional Christian
values
GOALS OF THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT
Shrink size of federal government & reduce spending
Promote family values & patriotic ideals
Stimulate business by reducing government & lowering
taxes
Strengthen the national defense

 C. 1980 Election
1. Jimmy Carter (D) vs. Ronald Reagan (R)*
2. Carter refused to campaign while hostages
still held in Iran
3. Reagan former Gov. of CA
A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A
depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is
when Jimmy Carter loses his.

Sec.2: Conservatism Under Reagan & Bush

A. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989, R)
1. Reaganomics
a. budget cuts
Mostly social welfare programs

b. tax cuts
Supply-side economics
trickle down theory

 c. increased defense spending

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Star Wars;
missile defense system using lasers in space
Increased Cold War tensions

 2. Economy
Slowly improved
National debt doubled
Deregulation

B. Supreme Court
1. became more conservative
2. Sandra Day OConnor first female justice

 C. 1984 Election
1. Reagan (R) vs. Walter Mondale (D)
2. Geraldine Ferraro 1st female VP candidate
3. Jesse Jackson rainbow coalition

 D. 1988 Election
1. VP George Bush (R) vs. Michael Dukakis (D)
2. Bush Read my lips, no new taxes
Ended up raising taxes due to poor economy

Sec.3: Social Concerns in the 1980s

A. Health, Education, & Cities
1. AIDS disease that destroys
immune system; passed through
bodily fluids
2. Abortion
Arguments over when life begins

3. Drug Abuse
Crack cocaine epidemic
Reagans War on Drugs; Just say
no!

 4. Education
US students lagged behind other industrialized
nations
More focus on quality and amount of education

5. Cities in Crisis
Low tax base had huge impact on education
More affluent Americans lived in suburbs
LA Riots (1992) broke out after police beating of
Rodney King

 B. Other Social Issues

1. push for pay equity
2. emphasis on bilingual education
3. Native Americans given right to open casinos
on tribal land
4. huge growth in Asian population
5. gay activism

Sec.4: Post-Cold War Foreign Policy

A. End of Cold War
1. Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991)
Soviet leader who enacted radical
reforms
Glasnost freedom of speech
Perestroika more free enterprise in
Soviet economy
INF Treaty (1987) right to inspect
each others military installations;
eliminated some missiles

 2. Collapse of Soviet Union

a. Pres. Bush called for a new world
order where democracy reigned
supreme
b. Berlin Wall torn down (1989)
Reunification of Germany (1990)

c. Boris Yeltsin pulled Russia out

of USSR on Dec.25, 1991; end of
USSR

 3. Peoples Republic of China

a. Tiananmen Square (1989) Chinese students
protested communist rule

 B. Latin America & the Caribbean

1. Nicaragua civil war
a. Daniel Ortega & Sandinistas (communist-backed
govt)
b. Contras guerilla forces against the Sandinistas
c. Reagan supported the Contras despite Boland
Amendment prohibiting aid

 2. Panama (1989)
a. overthrow of dictator
Manuel Noriega for drug
trafficking

3. Iran-Contra Affair
US sold weapons to release
hostages in Iran
$ used to arm Contras in
Nicaragua

 C. Persian Gulf War (1990-1991)

1. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait
(oil)
2. UN imposed economic sanctions
3. Operation Desert Storm = bombing of Iraq
to liberate Kuwait