Resurgence of Conservatism and the 1980’s

• FDR- Court Packing Scheme• Made treaties without consent or advice

– Yalta, destroyer base deal, Atlantic Charter• Truman- Korea• Johnson- Vietnam• Nixon-Cambodia and funds• Reagan-Grenada • Bush – Panama• Clinton- …..bosnia/Serbia?....• Bush- Iraq, Afghanistan• Obama-Libya?.....

Imperial President

• War Powers Act of 1973• Congressional Budget and Impoundment

Control Act• Privacy Act• Iran – Contra Scandal-Reagan(1987)• Remains a discussion today

Imperial President

• Election of 1980• Ronald Reagan• Jimmy Carter• John Anderson• Religion - New Right- Moral

Majority, Jerry Falwell. Pat Robertson…

• Reagan Revolution• The Great Communicator

Imperial President and the 1980’s

Issues of the Day• Americans Awaken to the AIDS Crisis,

1985-AIDS the "gay plague" until 1985, when Rock Hudson's death made AIDS a household word

• Exxon Valdez Spills      In 1989 the oil tanker, Exxon Valdez. This was the largest and most harmful oil spill in U.S. history

• Drug Usage, Crack Houses, Cocaine• Massive debt both national and Household grows• Me Generation – focus on credit and material,

Patriotic, wealth/goods defines a person

Music and Art

• Graffiti Art- Keith Haring, dies of AIDS

Radical Music

• RAP, New Wave, Punk.• Subversive music• Minority elements coming to main stream.

• Afghanistan 1979• Encourage round of Arms build up• Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) “Star

Wars” 1983• NUTS v. MAD• KAL 007• “Evil Empire”

Reagan and the Cold War

• Lebanon• Teflon President• Libya• Iran-Iraq War

Middle East

• Sandinistas• Contras- Freedom Fighters• Death Squads• Grenada- 1983

Western Hemisphere Foreign Policy Challenges

• Mikhail Gorbachev• INF Treaty• Iron Curtain Fell -1989• Berlin Wall 1990• George Bush – ICBMs• START• Fall of the Soviet Union-

Poland, Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania

Reagan and The Cold War

• Assassination attempt, James Brady Press Secretary

• Largest tax cut in U.S. history, reduced spending by sharply curtailing aid to the poor and to state and local governments, and increased the defense budget.

• Reaganomics – Trickle Down, Voodoo Economics- Cut taxes on wealthy, 23% verses middle class -28%

• Supply side economics • The triumph of upper America. The celebration of

wealth and the political ascendancy of the richest third of the population.

• Economic Recovery Act -1981• Defense Budget up $12 billion• Deficit $1 Trillion to $3 trillion 1980-88• Recession-But critics of the time saw another

America were the 1980’s were one last national fling with credit card economics one filled with beggars

• Inflation goes down from Carter years 12% to 4% by 1984

• Sandra Day O'Connor

Reagan Domestic policy

• Deregulation- LBO Wall Street Mergers and Monopolies

• Savings and Loan Bailout (Sand L)

• Air Traffic Controllers strike

• Women and Minorities• Election of 1984

– Geraldine Ferraro

• Landslide Win over Mondale

1980’s Domestic policy

Congress raised the limits on deposit insurance from $40,000 to $100,000 per account. This was significant because a failed S&L by definition had a negative net worth and thus would likely not be able to pay off depositors in full from its loans. Increasing FDIC coverage also permitted managers to take more risk to try to work their way out of insolvency so that the government would not have to take over an institution. With that goal in mind, early in the Reagan administration, the deregulation of federally chartered S&Ls accelerated rapidly putting them on a more equal footing with commercial banks, with no securities to check them

• Tax Reform Act of 1986• Immigration Reform and

Control Act of 1986• Iran – Contra Scandal 1986• Mergers and international

corporation• Black Monday October

19,1987• Challenger Explosion• 1989-U.S. military troops

invade Panama and install a new government (Bush)

Reagan Domestic policy- Part 2

• Reagan’s legacy Economic• 1986 national debt of $269 billion, • 1987 it was $368 billion, • 1992 it was $3.5 trillion. • The top 10% of U.S. households controlled over 68% of the wealth

of the U.S. by 1988. • Prop 13 in California and eventually to Reagan’s 1981 Economic

Recovery Tax Act. Tax rates for corporations and the wealthy were slashed with the middle class bearing the brunt of the new tax rates.

• Reagan had delivered exactly on what he had promised: deregulation, tax cuts and policy that favored the wealthy and he had created a new American.

• Political-message• Social- right vs. conservative right• Anti regulation, government intervention, voting rights, equal pay• Widening gap between rich and poor

Reagan Legacy

•Red Scare•Americanism- Nativism•BMW5•Heroes•Flappers/Women•Radical Music •Harlem Renaissance•The Lost Generation•Prohibition - Lawlessness•Politically Conservative Period-small government•Economic advantages to wealthy•Corrupt Governments•Radical Life styles: Music, Clothing•Stock Market Crash/Economic changes

Comparing 1920’s, 1950’s, 1980’s

Comparing 1920’s, 1950’s, 1980’s1920’s

• Radical Music: Jazz/Harlem

• Pol. Gov, Cons, Harding,Coolidge, Hoover

– Less active presidency, Laizze Faire

• Illegal Activities: Prohibition, Speakeasies, Gangs, Blind Pig

• Art: Hopper/Benton, OKeefe

• Writers: lost generation• Red Scare #1-Palmer

Raids• Heroes-• Americanism- Billie

Sunday• Materialism – BMW5• Taxing: trickle Down• Stock Market Crash –

1929• Corruption in Government

– Tea pot dome scandal $$$

1950’s• Radical Music: rock n

Roll/south• Pol. Gov Eisenhower- Support

Cars Federal Highway Act

• Illegal Activities, mafia, Vegas

• Art: Abstract Expression

• Writers: beatniks - Kaurac• Red Scare Number 2

McCarthism- MAD• Heroes• Americanism• Materialism• Taxing Not so much• Stock market Crash –not so

much• Corruption in Gov- Not so

much $$$

1980’s• Radical Music: rap/urban, punk• Pol. Gov Reagan, Bush

• illegal Activities: Crack House, Cocaine, gangs lawlessness

• Art: graffiti Art: Basquiat, Haring

• Writers : Vonnegut, Douglas Adams -Hitch hikers guide to the Galaxy

• Red Scare #3 Evil Empire

NUTS• Heroes• Americanism- jerry Farwell• Materialism• Taxing Trickle Down theory• Stock market crash – 1987

• Corruption in Gov – SNL Iran Control Scandal, HUD, $$$

•Red Scare - terrorism•Americanism- Nativism----anti immigration laws….•BMW5- Snooki, kardashians….•Heroes - •Flappers/Women•Radical Music •Harlem Renaissance•The Lost Generation•Prohibition - Lawlessness•Politically Conservative Period-small government•Economic advantages to wealthy•Corrupt Governments•Radical Life styles: Music, Clothing•Stock Market Crash/Economic changes

Today?????!!!!!!! 30 year cycle?