Ronald Reagan Objective: Analyze the Presidency of Reagan

Conservative Movement As the 1970s progressed, right-wing groups gained strength across the country. The voice of the conservative movement became known as the New Right.

Conservative Movement Support traditional family values, oppose gay marriage

Conservative Movement Oppose abortion

Conservative Movement Oppose affirmative action policies: those policies forcing employers and colleges to give special consideration to women and minorities, even if they were less qualified.

Conservative Movement Evangelical Christians Moral Majority

Conservative Movement Promote patriotism and support the troops

Conservative Movement Decrease taxes, decrease regulation of business. More profits for business owners. Supply side economics or “trickle down” theory

1980 Election Reagan’s career started in Hollywood, where he acted in 53 films.

1980 Election As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan worked to remove Communist influences from the movie industry.

1980 Election Reagan appealed to conservative Americans’ traditional values. Also, the Iranian hostage crisis, a weak economy, and high inflation, hurt Carter’s popularity.

1980 Election Reagan’s ability to simplify issues, and give clear answers earned him the nickname, “The Great Communicator.”

Reaganomics Reagan’s package of new economic policies was dubbed “Reaganomics” and consisted of three parts:

Reaganomics 1. budget cuts Less government spending on social programs, such as food stamps, welfare, Medicaid, school lunches, and student loans.

Reaganomics 2. tax cuts Less taxes people save more money banks loan more money to businesses business expands, productivity improves, and prices fall

Reaganomics 3. increased defense spending From 1981-1984, the Defense Department budget almost doubled.

Reaganomics Despite these measures, problems continued to plague the economy. Tax cuts helped the rich, while social welfare cuts had hurt the poor.

Reaganomics Despite large budget cuts, government spending was still greater than revenue received through tax dollars.

Reaganomics By the end of his first term, the national debt had doubled.

Deregulation Reagan sought to reduce the size of the federal government, through less interference and regulation in industry.

Deregulation Eliminated federal health and safety inspections for nursing homes

Deregulation Also, deregulated the airline, and banking industries. Reagan cut the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Other Challenges Under Reagan, NASA took a hit when the space shuttle, the Challenger exploded mid flight  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4JOjcDFtBE Reagan survived an assassination attempt.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYI79ziwh0w

His Legacy According to most ranking systems (liberal and conservative), Ronald Reagan usually ranks between 8th and 25th in terms of the best U.S. Presidents in history. For those who are conservative, he was one of America’s best leaders, pulling us out of recession and winning the Cold War. For liberals, he favored the rich with conservative policies, ran up the debt, and was connected to other scandals.