MR. WHITE’S US HISTORY 2

CONSERVATIVE POLICIES UNDER REAGAN AND BUSH

MAIN IDEA AND OBJECTIVES

• Main Idea: Presidents Reagan and Bush pursued a conservative agenda that included tax cuts, budget cuts, and increased deficit spending.• After this section, we should be able to:– Summarize Reagan’s economic programs– Describe the changes that occurred in the makeup and

decisions of the Supreme Court

PART I: REAGANOMICS TAKES OVER

BASED ON POLICIES OF REDUCING THE FEDERAL BUDGET, CUTTING TAXES, AND INCREASING DEFENSE SPENDING, RONALD REAGAN SPONSORED HIS ECONOMIC POLICY, NICKNAMED REAGANOMICS.

REAGANOMICS

• In his first televised speech, Reagan outlined his program to help bring the economy out of recession – would become nicknamed “Reaganomics”– Cut the federal budget – decrease expenses federal

government expenses and entitlement programs– Cut taxes – this would encourage private investment, and

help the economy recover– Increase defense spending – this would allow the United

States to stay ahead of the Soviet Union in military power

DECREASING GOVERNMENT EXPENSES

• Reagan’s strategy for decreasing government expenditures included deep cuts for social programs, but not all– Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ pensions –

largely kept intact– Urban mass transit, food stamps, welfare benefits, job

training, Medicaid, school lunches, and student loans – cut in large amounts

• Some criticized Reagan’s measures as discriminatory – the programs he kept intact benefitted middle class Americans, while the ones that he cut tended to benefit poor or working-class Americans

SUPPLY-SIDE ECONOMICS

• Reagan’s policy relied heavily on the idea of supply-side economics:– If people paid less in taxes, they would save more money– Banks could then loan this money out to businesses,

which could invest the money to increase productivity– This increase in productivity would drive the supply of

goods up, and the prices would decrease

• Congress lowered income taxes by 25 percent over a three-year period

MILITARY SPENDING

• Reagan authorized increases to military spending that more than offset the money that he had saved from cutting social programs• Reagan revived development on two

controversial weapons systems– MX Missile – ICBM developed for delivering nuclear

warheads– B-1 Bomber – Bomber developed for delivering nuclear

warheads

• Reagan also asked the nation’s scientists to develop a defense system that would use satellite- and ground-based system to shoot down nuclear missiles– This system never went into operation

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

• As Reagan was working on his economic policies, the country again hit an economic downturn– Lasted from July, 1981 (just before Mr. White’s birthday)

until November, 1982

• In early 1983, consumers started to spend more, and this boosted the economy– Tax cuts, declining interest rates, and lower inflation

bolstered their confidence in the economy

• The Stock Market dropped briefly at the end of this upswing, but then it started to climb again

DEREGULATION

• Reagan also pursued a policy of deregulation, which means the reduction of laws, regulations, and restrictions on economic practices– Removed price controls on oil– Eliminated federal health and safety inspections for

nursing homes– Deregulated the airline industry – allowed airlines to

abandon unprofitable air routes– Deregulated the savings and loan industry

• These measures did increase competition, an often resulted in lower prices for consumers

REAGAN DOWNSIZES THE EPA

• Reagan also cut the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency• James Watt, Reagan’s secretary of the interior,

sold millions of acres of public land to private developers• Watt also:– Opened up off-shore oil drilling– Encouraged timber cutting in national forests– Eased restrictions on coal mining

RISING NATIONAL DEBT

• Even though the economy was doing well, there were still some economic problems for the country– Tax cuts had benefitted the rich, while social program

cuts had hurt the poor– Even though Reagan had made budget cuts, federal

spending was still more than what it took in – budget deficit

• By the end of Reagan’s first term, the national debt had almost doubled

PART II: JUDICIAL POWER SHIFTS TO THE RIGHT

RONALD REAGAN APPOINTED SEVERAL JUSTICES TO THE SUPREME COURT, AND SHIFTED THE COURT TOWARDS A CONSERVATIVE ATTITUDE.

A MORE CONSERVATIVE SUPREME COURT

• Reagan was able to further his conservative goals by appointing many new, conservative justices to the Supreme Court– Sandra Day O’Connor – first woman on the Supreme Court– Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, William Rehnquist

• After Reagan, President George H. W. Bush nominated David Souter

• Bush also nominated Clarence Thomas– Anita Hill, a law professor, testified that Thomas had

sexually harassed her when she worked for him in the 1980s– Thomas was still confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice

SUPREME COURT MEASURES

• Through Reagan and Bush, the Supreme Court became much more conservative and much less liberal than it had been in the past• Restricted abortion rights for women• Imposed new restrictions on civil rights laws• Narrowed the rights of arrested persons

PART III: CONSERVATIVE VICTORIES IN 1984 AND 1988

IN 1984 AND 1988, CONSERVATIVES CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN THEIR POWER IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

REAGAN’S SUPPORTERS

• Reagan and his supporters had been able to construct a large coalition of conservative voters who approved of his policies– Businesspeople – supported economic deregulation– Southerners – welcomed the limits on federal power– Westerners – liked Reagan’s deregulation of the mining,

timbering, and grazing laws– Reagan Democrats – agreed with limiting the federal

government, and felt that the Democratic party had become too liberal

1984 OPPOSITION

• In the 1984 election, Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman on a presidential ticket, ran against Reagan and V.P. George H. W. Bush.• The economy was still strong – this was a good

sign for Reagan and Bush• Reagan and Bush won in a landslide

ELECTION OF 1988

• In 1988, with the economy still strong, many people attributed this to Reagan and Bush’s policies

• Michael Dukakis ran as the Democratic candidate against George Bush, Republican

• Many people didn’t feel a need for a change, and supported Bush– Bush promised to continue the policies of Reagan– Bush attacked Dukakis as soft on crime, and unpatriotic

• Bush won the election with 53% of the popular vote, and 426 electoral votes

• Bush’s election appeared to many people to be an endorsement of conservative policies

MAIN IDEA AND OBJECTIVES

• Main Idea: Presidents Reagan and Bush pursued a conservative agenda that included tax cuts, budget cuts, and increased deficit spending.• After this section, we should be able to:– Summarize Reagan’s economic programs– Describe the changes that occurred in the makeup and

decisions of the Supreme Court

WRAP-UP

• So…• One of the things Reagan wanted to do to help the

economy was…• And he carried this out by…

• One of the reasons that Ronald Reagan appointed more conservatives to the Supreme Court was that…• And the Supreme Court carried out a conservative agenda

by…