America in the 70s-80s Ford, Carter & Reagan Chapter 30 Sections 2-3 America in the 70s-80s Ford, Carter & Reagan

Gerald Ford – 38th President of the United States President Gerald Ford Former Michigan Congressman and Vice President under Richard Nixon Known for his honesty and hard-working attitude Ford was the only person to serve as President who wasn’t elected either President or Vice President by the people Gerald Ford – 38th President of the United States

Ford as President Ended Watergate scandal by pardoning President Nixon Ford’s popularity dropped drastically Proposed WIN – Whip Inflation Now (cut spending and energy usage) Asked Congress to help South Vietnam when cease-fire broke in 1974 Negotiated the Helsinki Accords – spelling out basic human rights

Jimmy Carter as President Elected as an outsider Faced severe energy crisis (shortages of oil and natural gas) Plagued by high unemployment and inflation Panama Canal Treaty Camp David Accords

Iran Hostage Crisis Islamic leaders in Iran overthrew the Shah and installed a fundamentalist Islamic government Nov. 1979 – 52 Americans were taken hostage from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran Americans blamed Carter for failing to secure the hostages’ return Was Carter making the U.S. look weak in the world?

Ronald Reagan Elected President in 1980 as a Republican Former actor and governor of California Represented a more conservative voice for America Iran Hostage Crisis ends with hostages released the day of Reagan’s inauguration Survived assassination attempt - 1981

Reagan’s Conservative Goals Lower Taxes (supply side economics) – People keep more of their own money. Business productivity would drive prices down (often called “Reaganomics”) Lower taxes combined with increased military spending led to huge budget deficits Economy grew at record rates / inflation fell / unemployment dropped

Reagan’s Conservative Goals A Conservative Supreme Court – Conservative justices on the Supreme Court would use a strict interpretation of the Constitution – similar to Reagan’s beliefs Reagan named the first woman to the Court – Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Reagan and the Cold War Reagan strongly opposed Communism He set out to reverse the “détente” policies of the past and confront the “Evil Empire” of the Soviet Union But how do you defeat communism in the Soviet Union without risking nuclear war?

Reagan’s Solutions Oversaw a huge buildup in American defense spending with 2 trillion dollars being spent over 8 years (on programs like SDI and the B-1 Bomber) America’s defense spending caused the Soviets to match the trillions spent with build-ups of their own When the Soviet economy couldn’t handle the budget deficits, Soviet leaders were forced to make concessions to the U.S.

SDI – Strategic Defense Initiative Reagan’s SDI plan was designed to send U.S. missiles into space to intercept any incoming missiles towards our borders Plan was dubbed “Star Wars” by opponents for its Science Fiction characteristics The plan did require the Soviets to make concessions and respect our power – even though SDI was never put into place

Reagan and Gorbachev Reagan met with Mikhail Gorbachev to discuss relations The two signed several treaties that improved relations The “leverage” created by America’s defense buildup allowed Reagan to “push” Gorbachev further on many reforms Soviet Union collapses in early 1990s