Chapter 31The Conservative Ascendency &

the New Millennium

Essential Questions:

• What were the reasons for the resurgence of conservative values?• What were the major goals of the

New Right?• How did Reagan and Bush emerge as

conservative leaders?

Goals of the Conservative Movement

• Shrink the size of the Federal Government and reduce spending• Promote family values and patriotic ideas• Stimulate business by reducing

government regulations and lowering taxes• Strengthen the national defense

The New Right

• Pro- Life –Anti-abortion• School Prayer• Anti-Affirmative Action/Reverse

Discrimination• Blocked the ERA• Personal Responsibility

The Conservative Coalition

• An Alliance of:–Business Leaders–Middle class voters–Disaffected Democrats–Fundamentalist Christian

Groups/Evangelical Christians

The Moral Majority• Televangelist Preachers

Ronald Reagan

• Pres. Screen Actors Guild/ Friendly Witness (HUAC)• Elected CA Governor 1966• Election of 1980 elected Pres• Attempted Assassination 1981• Re-Elected in 1984 in a landslide

Conservative Policies under Reagan and Bush

Essential Questions

• What was Reaganomics?• What changes occurred on the Supreme

Court?• What were the results of deregulation in

the Savings and Loan industry?• Who supported Conservatives Reagan

and Bush in the 1984 and 1988 elections?

Reaganomics Takes Over• Reagan wanted to reduce the size and influence of

the Federal Government• Deep Cuts in Social Programs – Urban Mass Transit,

Food Stamps, welfare benefits, job-training, Medicaid, school lunches and student loans.

• Supply-side economics – Tax cuts by 25 %, money saved would be reinvested to improve business and productivity, lowering price.

• Increased Defense Spending – MX Missile, B-1 Bomber, and SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)

Recession, Recovery, and the National Debt

• Severe Recession – July 1981- Nov. 1982• Tax Cuts and the 1983 Consumer Spending

Spree sparked the economy• Stocks surged, unemployment declined, and

GNP went up 10%. • ( Stocks crash 1987 then rebounded)• Federal Spending still exceeded Federal

revenue due to the tax cuts. By 1984 the National Debt almost doubled.

Conservative Supreme Court• Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M.

Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and a new Chief Justice William Rehnquist

Deregulating the Economy

• Deregulation – The cutting back of Federal regulation of industry. • ( Increased competition and resulted in

lower prices for consumers) Savings and Loan Scandal• Budget Cuts for the EPA resulted in more

mining, logging of forests and more oil and gas drilling. Environmental risk?

Conservative Coalition 1984/88• Businesspeople – wanted a deregulated econ.• Southerners – Welcomed limits of Federal

Power + Fundamentalist Christian Groups• Westerners – resented federal controls on

mining and grazing• Reagan Democrats- agreed with limited gov.

and felt the Democratic party had drifted too far left.

Election of 1984• Reagan (R) vs. Walter Mondale (D) VP under

Carter• Landslide for Reagan• Geraldine Ferraro of NY Mondale’s VP

candidate was the first women on a major party’s Presidential ticket.

Election of 1988

• George HW Bush (R) vs. Michael Dukakis (D)• Moral Majority, comfortable economy, no reason to

change.• Bush “Read my Lips: no new Taxes!”

Social Concerns 1980’s• AIDS• Drug Abuse• Abortion• Education

Essential Questions:• What were the national concerns

about education, drug use, health issues and urban problems?• What political, economic, and social

gains were achieved by women?• How did conservative policies affect

minority groups?

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.)

• 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 could 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• Drugs (Crack)• Gangs (Crips & Bloods)

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

Fight for Rights• African American Mayors of many big cities– (Ex. Philadelphia –Mayor Wilson Goode)–1992 L. Douglas Wilder became the Governor of

VA– Jesse Jackson ran for President in 1984 and 1988

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• They 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

Foreign Policy After the Cold War

Essential Questions:

• What changed in the Communist world that ended the Cold War?• What did the US do to influence Central

American and Caribbean affairs?• What was the Iran-Contra Scandal?• How and Why was the US involved in the

Persian Gulf War?

The Cold War Ends• March 1985 – Mikhail

Gorbachev became General Secretary of the USSR

• Glasnost – “Openness”– Criticism of the USSR– Freedom of the Press– Perestrokia –

Restructuring of The Soviet Economy

Relations with the US• Summits with President Reagan• INF Treaty –Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces

Treaty)• Eliminated two classes of weapon 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 II

signed

Collapse of Communisim

• 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 under the order of Li Peng crushed

the protestors

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 soilders 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

• Kuwait was liberated, Iraq was weakened• Less than 400 American casualties, but Gulf War

Syndrome?