President Ronald Reagan

Reaganomics – Supply-Side Economics Provided businesses incentives to increase the supply of goods and services Lowered taxes People save more and invest their savings Companies produce more and hire more workers Tax cuts benefited the rich more than the poor Widened the gap between rich and poor

Reaganomics - Deregulation Pros Cons Increase business competition Businesses more profitable Pass savings onto their customers Lower standards on air and water quality Weaken worker safety laws

Reaganomics – Reduction in Social Welfare Reagan believed that welfare trapped people in a cycle of poverty and dependence on government aid Hurt the poor and forced cities to reduce services to those in need Most affected: Single moms with young children Young adults

New Jersey v. TLO A student was suspected of carrying drugs in her purse. Her purse was searched and she was suspended for having drugs on campus. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school district. Schools needed to be able to maintain discipline and ensure student safety Denied students equal protection under the law

Appointment of Sandra Day O’Connor Born in El Paso, Texas She struggled to find a job as a lawyer because of gender discrimination In 1981, President Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor as the first women Supreme Court Justice Reagan appointed O’Connor as a response to the feminist movement and his administration's stance on Roe v. Wade O’Connor was conservative, but also served as the swing vote between liberals and conservatives.

Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) Led to the largest peacetime military build-up in history Goal: build a “missile shield” to protect the U.S. from nuclear attack Included both land-based and space-based weapons

Reagan Doctrine and Star Wars http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=A7A91976-617F-4B62-8D66-2A4C6A40710D&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

Reagan Doctrine What is the Reagan Doctrine? Central America Nicaragua U.S. trained and armed an insurgent group called the Contras to overthrow the communist Sandinista government Continue covert actions even after Congress no longer approved

U.S. Intervention in Southwest Asia Reagan Doctrine Civil War in Lebanon The U.S., France, and Italy sent in peacekeeping troops Many people living in the region did not approve of outside intervention Bombed the U.S. embassy in Lebanon Terrorist attacks continued, so the U.S., Italy, and France withdrew their troops Terrorist attacks continued despite troop withdrawal

Iran-Contra Affair U.S. was illegally selling arms to Iran, to try and get hostages released Americans were shocked because Reagan had vowed “never to deal with terrorists” Money was also used to supply Contras in Nicaragua, which was a violation of U.S. law There is some evidence that Reagan did not know what was going on

Summit Meetings and INF Treaty Gorbachev became Premier of Russia Introduced perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (openness) Summit Meetings Reagan and Gorbachev met at a serious of different locations over the span of several years Talks stalled for various reasons at various times Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty Destroy missiles ranging between 300 and 3,400 miles Countries could inspect each other

Communism and Eastern Europe 1989 Gorbachev announced the Soviet Union would no longer take part in the internal affairs of other countries With this announcement communism fell across Eastern Europe Berlin Wall falls in 1989/1990 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9VKVt4yuhI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A Development of Nation States Eastern Europe started to create nation states, countries whose population share a common culture, history, and language

Reagan and the End of the Cold War

Communism in Other Countries Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea, and China Vietnam Began to embrace a mixed economy Improved relations with the U.S. and other Western Nations North Korea Remained isolated and rigidly controlled China Some economic change but no political change Tiananmen Square Incident

Political Cartoon Analysis Using your notes, decide which cartoon(s) relate to what event you just learned about. Label each cartoon with the event For each cartoon, answer this question: Does this cartoonist believe the effects of President Reagan’s foreign policy actions were mostly positive or mostly negative? Explain your answer.