Standard Discuss the significant domestic policy speeches of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton (e.g., education, civil rights, economic policy, environmental policy) Essential Question: How would you characterize the 1980s from an economic and societal standpoint?

Moderate Centrist Conservative Republican Liberal Democrat Issues low taxes social programs pro-military police force gun rights pro-life Christian value little/no regulation environmentalism laissez-faire pro-choice labor rights affirmative action freedom of speech stem cell research death penalty censorship anti-illegal immigration Gay marriage euthanasia personal drug use Minimum wage Universal health care

Moderate Centrist Conservative Republican Liberal Democrat The People African American unions veterans Gays-Lesbians Moral Majority Catholics PhDs White Protestant rural urban Elderly 55+ under 35 Hispanic Asian women men single married Cubans

Reagan Ronald Reagan –charismatic, humorous ex-CA governor the Great Communicator the Teflon President age 70 at the beginning of his presidency shot by John D. Hinckley in 1981 –Reagan restarted the arms race –he fought for “traditional” American values

RRonald Reagan43,899, DJimmy Carter35,481,43549 IJohn B. Andersen5,719,437--

Reagan’s Domestic Policy LiberalConservative national governmentstate government higher taxes on richreduce taxes on rich social programsfeared growing debt regulation of industryderegulation diplomacystrong military

The New Right New Right –new coalition of conservative voters lost faith in Great Society suburban voters southern whites Moral Majority –abortion, gay rights, school prayer

Reagan + Economics = Reaganomics Reaganomics –Reagan cut taxes by 25% –Investment = Jobs unemployment rose to 10% in 1982 but fell after that hit blue collar and farm workers the hardest –increased military spending –cut $40 billion from the budget (mostly social programs) –deregulated banks, airlines, and telecommunications

Another Crash Black Monday, 1987 –biggest single-day stock market drop of all time 508-point stock plunge –Federal Reserve Bank stepped in to avoid collapse

Reagan’s Domestic Policy budget deficit –the amount the government is short at the end of the year $79 billion in 1981 $221 billion in 1986 national debt –the amount the national government owes rose to 2.5 trillion

Reagan’s Domestic Policy Sandra Day O’Connor –Reagan appointed her to the Supreme Court in 1981 –held the deciding vote on the court for several years

RRonald Reagan52,609, DWalter Mondale36,450,61313

1980s Culture

Reagan’s Foreign Policy Strategic Defense Initiative, 1983 –high-tech space-based laser defense system to shoot down enemy missiles (don’t write this )the “Star Wars” system would have been more expensive than gold-plated nuclear missiles –combined with funding for B-1 bombers and MX missiles restarted the arms race

Two L’s Lebanon, 1983 –truck filled with explosives crashes into Marine headquarters in Beirut 241 U.S. peacekeeping troops killed Libya, 1986 –Muammar Qaddafi claimed he bombed a nightclub in Berlin –Reagan bombed Libya killing one of Qaddafi’s daughters

Iran-Contra Affair Iran-Contra Affair, 1986 –Reagan feared “domino effect” in Latin America –US military sold weapons to Iran then sent the money to anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua –Oliver North destroyed any evidence that might link Reagan to the scandal Reagan said he didn’t know it was happening

Mikhail Gorbachev –Soviet secretary implemented reforms in USSR that led to the end of the USSR –glasnost allowed limited freedom of speech, press and religion –perestroika allowed limited capitalism

USA + USSR = BFF’s? US-USSR summits, 1985 – 1989 –four meetings between Reagan and Gorbachev –discussed cutbacks in weapons and START I