chapter 25 the conservative tide section 1 a conservative movement emerges
TRANSCRIPT
CHAPTER 25THE CONSERVATIVE
TIDESECTION 1A CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT EMERGES
WHY A CONSERVATIVE SWING?• The New Right
– A group of conservatives who focused on social issues like opposing abortion, blocking the ERA, and evading bussing
• Conservative coalition– An alliance of business leaders, middle class
voters, disaffected democrats and fundamentalist Christian Groups
• Moral Majority– Founded by Jerry Falwell– Consisted mostly of evangelical and
fundamentalist Christians– Interpreted the Bible literally - absolute
standards of right and wrong– Condemned liberal attitudes and entitlement
programs
Conservative Policies under Reagan and Bush
Chapter 25, Section 2
Reaganomics
• Reagan won election of 1980 against Jimmy Carter
• New Economic Plan – Reaganomics–Budget cuts–Tax cuts– Increased defense spending
• Wanted to reduce size and influence of federal government–Encourage private investment
Budget Cuts
• Downsize federal govt through cutting out social programs–Save money–Did not effect middle class
entitlement programs• Congress slashed budget of
food stamps, mass transit, welfare, student loans
Tax Cuts• Supply-side economics
– If people pay less in taxes, they will save money (in theory)
–Banks could loan that money to businesses
–Businesses are the base of prosperity
• US Govt lowered income taxes by 25%
• “Trickle Down” Theory – more rebates to rich - $ would trickle down
Increased Defense Spending
• Reagan doubled the defense budget
• Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)–Defense system to protect
Americans from enemy missiles–Known as “Star Wars”–System would cost trillions of
dollars
Recession and Recovery
• Economy had sunk into recession–Worst since Great Depression
• 1983 – Economic upturn leads to recovery
National Debt Climbs
• Economy still had problems–Tax cuts helped the rich–Social welfare cuts hurt the poor
–Federal spending was larger than income – deficit
–National debt doubled during Reagan’s first term
Supreme Court
• Reagan nominated conservatives to Supreme Court–Sandra Day O’Connor–Antonin Scalia–Anthony Kennedy
• Bush continued the trend–David Souter–Clarence Thomas
ScaliaKennedy
O’Connor
Souter
Thomas
Supreme Court
• Conservative William Rehnquist was Chief Justice
• Ended liberal control of the court–Restricted abortion–Restricted civil rights–Narrowed rights of accused
Deregulation
• Deregulation – cutting back of federal regulations of industry–Reagan removed price controls on
oil–Eliminated federal health and
safety inspectors for nursing homes
–Deregulated savings and loan industry
• Increased competition and lowered prices for consumers
Deregulation
• Reagan cut the EPA’s budget• Government sold public land to
private developers• Opened continental shelf to
drilling–Risks?
• Cut timber in national forests
Election of 1984
• Reagan had a conservative coalition–Business – liked deregulation–Southerners – liked small fed. govt–Westerners – liked less environ.
restrictions–Reagan Democrats – Dem. too
liberal• 1984 – Reagan/Bush v. Walter
Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro • Reagan won by a landslide
Election of 1988• George Bush (Reagan’s VP) v.
Michael Dukakis (Gov. of Mass.)• Economy was strong –no reason
for change• Bush was part of moral majority• Bush – “no new taxes”• Bush ran negative ads – low
voter turnout• Bush wins…53% of vote
Ch. 25 Sec. 3 Social Concerns 1980’s
• AIDS• Drug Abuse• Abortion• Education
Health Issues 1980’s• AIDS (Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome)• Abortion – Roe v Wade 1973
–Pro-life–Pro-choice–Webster v Reproductive Health Care Services(States had the right to impose restrictions on abortion.)
Drug Abuse• War on Drugs• Nancy Reagan’s anti- drug
campaign“Just Say no!” to drugs
“This is your brain on drugs.”
Education 1980’s• A Federal Commission issued a report in 1983 called A Nation at Risk
• 23 million Americans were unable to fill out a job application or follow an instruction manual
• School Vouchers were introduced “America 2000”
Urban Crisis• Flight to the suburbs hurt the inner city
• High Unemployment• Homelessness• Crumbling Infrastructure• Lack of health services• Deteriorating Schools
LA Riots 1992• Rodney King was beaten by four
white police officers after a car chase
• Officers were found not guilty• South Central rioted for five
days, 53 killed
Equal Rights 1980’s• ERA failed ratification in 1982• 47 women were elected to the
HOR in 1992• 6 women in the US Senate• 2 women in Reagan’s cabinet• Pay Equality was fought for by
women’s organizations
Geraldine Ferrero Elizabeth Dole
Fight for Rights• African American Mayors of many big
cities– 1992 L. Douglas Wilder became the
Governor of VA– Jesse Jackson ran for President in 1984
and 1988– Many African Am. Also served as
sheriffs, school board member, state legislators, and members of Congress
Gains for Latinos• 1988 Lauro Cavazos was appointed Sec. of Ed.
• 1990 Dr. Antonia Coello Novello was appointed Surgeon General
Native Americans Speak Out• Aid was slashed to Native
Americans for health, education and other services
• Native American campaigned for gambling casinos as a source of revenue
Asian American Population• Were the second fastest
growing minority population in the US
• By 1992 the Asian American Population was 8.3 million.
Advances in Gay Rights• In the 1980’s gay rights groups
fought for civil rights• Direct Action groups called for
an end to anti-gay discrimination.
• By 1993, 7 states and 110 communities outlawed anti-gay discrimination
Ch. 25 Sec. 4 Foreign Policy After the Cold War
The Cold War Ends• March 1985 –
Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the USSR
• Glasnost – “Openness”– Criticism of the
USSR– Freedom of the
PressPerestrokia – Restructuring of The Soviet Economy
Relations with the US• Summits with President Reagan• INF Treaty –Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty• Eliminated two classes of
weapons and allowed on site inspections
Decline of the USSR• In Dec. 1991 14 republics
declared independence from the USSR
• Gorbachev lost power , the USSR ended
• CIS (Common Wealth of Independent States) was established
• Boris Yeltsin new leader of Russia, START IIsigned
Collapse of Communism• Nov. 9th , 1989 East Germany
opened the Berlin Wall• Oct., 1990 Germany united• Czechoslovakia divided, Latvia,
Estonia, and Lithuania became independent
• Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania transitioned from communism
• Yugoslavia collapsed, igniting a brutal war among Muslims, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats
Tiananmen Square• Student in China demanded
freedom of speech and a voice in gov.
• April 1989, Students held marches in Beijing and other cities
• The PLA (People's Liberation Army) under the order of
Li Peng crushed the protestors
“Goddess of Democracy”
Nicaragua• US Marines left in 1933, but left
a dictator, Anastasio Somoza in power
• Between 1977-79 The Sandinistas take control
• Reagan viewed the Sandinistas as a communist threat
• The US supported the Contras with CIA training and weapons
• The Boland Amendment banned aid to the Contras for two years
Grenada• In 1983 Reagan sent in 2,000 US Marines to overthrow a Pro-Cuban government and rescue US citizens
• 18 US solders were killed
Panama• In 1989 Pres. Bush sent 20,000
soldiers to overthrow and arrest General Manuel Noriega on charges of international drug-trafficking
Iran-Contra Scandal• In 1985 seven Americans were
taken hostage in Lebanon by Pro- Iranian group
• President Reagan approved the sale of arms to Iran in exchange for the hostages release
• National Security Council Aid Colonel Oliver North had diverted millions in profits from the arms sale to the Anti- communist Contras fighting in Nicaragua
The Persian Gulf War
• On Aug. 2nd, 1990- Iraq led by Saddam Hussein invaded the oil rich nation of Kuwait
• Saddam then looked to Saudi Arabia• Pres. Bush organized an international coalition
and with the support of the UN and Congress launched Operation Desert Storm
• On Jan 16th, 1991 the air war began, in February the ground war began --Led by “Stormin”Norman Schwarzkopf
• Kuwait was liberated, Iraq was weakened• Less than 400 American casualties, but Gulf War
Syndrome?
Bush’s Domestic Policies
Rising deficitsRecession – 1990-1992
Bush was forced to raise taxes despite pledge (read my lips…)
Approval rating droppedDoomed for reelection