The Reagan Revolution

Section 23.2Close-up of Reagan, our first actor President

What was the zeitgeist of America under Jimmy Carter?

• Economic struggles

• Military humiliation

• Lack of patriotism

• America had lost confidence in itself

Montage of negative 1970s images

Who was Ronald Reagan?• ‘B’ movie actor• President of Screen Actors Guild

– Aided HUAC in its anticommunist investigations

• Governor of California (1967-1975)• Known as “The Great

Communicator”– Used TV to present his political

point of view brilliantly• Extremely Optimistic• Delegator of authority• Very conservative• Favored strong military

Above: early movie comic; below: Reagan the smiling cowboy

Capture from clip on the Reagan presidency

Who were the neoconservatives?

• Reagan’s most ardent supporters

• Came from broad coalition of voters

• Economically

– Against government regulation, hated high taxes

– Favored small government that stayed out of people’s business

• Believed liberalism just wasted taxpayer’s money on welfare programs

• Socially

– Against: abortion, gay rights, communism, social experimentation

• Favored strong military and continued anti-communism

Above: Reagan at a parade; below: protest outside abortion clinic

What was the Religious Right? • Evangelical Christians who

favored conservatism

• Agreed with neo-cons on economic and foreign policy but focus was on social conservatism

• Moral Majority– Political organization that

registered nearly 3 million voters– Led by preacher Jerry Falwell– Had major political influence on

Reagan and Republican Party

Above: Reagan and Falwell share a laugh; below: Falwell on TV

Capture from clip on social conservatism

How did political allegiances shift in the 1980s?

• Great Lakes and Northeast– “Reagan Democrats”

• Blue collar and ethnic voters from traditionally democratic states who supported Reagan

• Liked Reagan’s views on communism, abortion, lower taxes

• South– Many voters joined religious right– Former Democratic strongholds

supported Reagan and the Republicans

• Elderly– Believed Reagan at 69 understood

their issues betterTop: Reagan poster; above: the first Reagan landslide

What is Reaganomics?• Reagan’s economic policy of lowering taxes and

cutting ‘wasteful’ government programs• Keynesian economic theory (Traditional)

– Government spending key to stimulating economy

• Great Depression• Reaganomics or Supply-side economics

– Lower taxes will stimulate investment which would lead to business expansion and more jobs

– More jobs means more products and therefore lower prices for consumers

• Economic Recovery Tax Act (1981)– Slashed taxes (especially for the wealthy)– Cut social programs

• Welfare benefits, food stamps, unemployment compensation

Above: Reagan’s Time cover

•George H.W. Bush, in the primaries, had called it ‘voodoo economics’

Capture from clip of Reagan speech

What were some of the negative effects of Reaganomics?

• Initially a severe recession

– Factories and mines shut down

– Unemployment reached 10% (1982)

– Farms foreclosed

• Had taken high interests loans

– Crime and poverty increased in urban areas

– Deficit skyrocketed

• National Debt:

- Nearly $1 Trillion (1980)

- Nearly $2.5 Trillion (1987)

Below: chart shows debt as a growing percentage of GDP in 1980s

Capture from clip on urban problems (effects of Reaganomics)

What were some of the positive effects of Reaganomics?

• After 1983 the economy boomed– Interest rates fell greatly– Companies invested again– Lower inflation allowed

consumers to consume, plan, invest

– 1984: GNP rose by 9% • Most since 1951• Set up second (larger)

Reagan landslide

Above: jubilant stock traders celebrate an up day on Wall St.; below: the Merrill Lynch bull

Capture from clip on Wall Street in the 1980s

Describe Reagan’s policies regarding the regulation of business?

• Laissez-Faire

• Presidential Taskforce on Regulatory Relief– Advised Reagan on loosening

rules for certain industries– Eased demands for air bags,

fuel efficiency, fossil fuel emissions, airline traffic routes

– Opened up public lands for oil drilling, mining, logging

Above: Reagan economic team; below: oil rig in Texas

How did the Supreme Court become more conservative under Reagan?

• Appointed conservative justices• Wanted to reverse some of Warren

Court decisions on:– Abortion– Prayer in school– Gay rights– Affirmative action

• Appointed Sandra Day O’Connor– 1st female on Supreme Court

• Court showed restraint by not completely reversing Warren Court

•A later, more reactionary appointee was rejected by Senate

Above: Reagan with O’Connor

Social Change in the 1970s and 1980s•What the media portrayed in the 1960s, Americans became in the 1970s. This was when Baby Boomers in their greatest numbers flooded into high school and college, and when the Establishment “gave up” its fight against SDR+R

•The 1980s saw a partial reversal: Reagan and the Moral Majority were part of the reason, but young Americans were also chastened by the AIDS epidemic and the deaths of ‘crackheads’

First Lady Nancy Reagan with her simple, memorable anti-drug message

The 1988 Election•Main issue was the Reagan presidency

•Election of George H.W. Bush considered “Reagan’s Third Term”

•Democrats pulled leftward by Jesse Jackson’s ‘Rainbow Coalition’

•Nominee, Michael Dukakis, hurt by poor campaign tacticsLeft: Dukakis, tank commander; right: a Rainbow Coalition van