1. Chapter 25 – The Conservative Tide
U.S. History
Unit 10 – U.S. International Affairs
Chapter 25 – The Conservative Tide

2. Conservative Movement Builds
Conservatives argued that state governments, businesses, and individuals needed more freedom from Washington DC.
Government spending on entitlement programs was nearly $300 billion annually.
The New Right focused its energy on controversial social issues (opposing abortion and affirmative action/reversed discrimination, return of pray in school, etc…).

3. Moral Majority
Conservative groups formed the conservative coalition – an alliance of business leaders, middle-class voters, disaffected Democrats, and Christian groups.
Evangelical Christianity played a key role in the growing of the conservative coalition.
The Moral Majority was formed – Christians who believed in absolute standards of right and wrong, and argued for the restoration of traditional moral values/family values.

4. 1980 Presidential Election
Ronald Reagan ran on key issues to include the opposition of abortion, pornography and the teaching evolution. Other key issues were prayer in public schools, the Iranian hostage crises, and the high rate of inflation.
Reagan received 51% of the popular vote but won 489 electoral votes, compared to Carter’s 49 electoral votes.

6. Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator
Former Hollywood Actor and governor of California.
Charming and cheerful.
Superb analyst of the public mood.
“The Teflon President”
Peace through strength.
Public affection for him as a person.

7. “Reaganomics” Takes Over
President Reagan immediately reduced the size and influence of the federal government.
Deep cuts in govt spending on social programs like mass transit, food stamps, welfare benefits, job training, Medicaid, school lunches, and student loans.
Reaganomics rested heavily on supply-side economics.
If people paid fewer taxes they would save more $$ and banks would loan $$ to businesses, who would invest in productivity - “trickle down” effect.
Tax cuts will actually raise government revenues that would help reduce the budget deficit because wealth will be increased.

8. Reagan and the Economy Economic Recovery Act (1981)
Cut personal income taxes by 25%
Lowed max from 70% to 50%
Reagan tax cuts, however, were accompanied by massive increases in defense spending (B-1 Bomber & Star Wars/SDI).
The combination of massive defense spending and substantial tax cuts left the federal government with massive a national debt that almost doubled.

9. Deregulating the Economy
Reagan cut back federal entitlement programs and federal regulation of industry through deregulation, which resulted in increased competition and lower prices for consumers.
The budget of the EPA was also cut, opening millions of public land to oil and gas drilling.

10. Judicial Power Shifts to Right
Reagan nominated several conservative Supreme Court justices to include Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and Sandra Day O’Connor – the first woman to be appointed to the Court.
President Bush later made the Court more conservative by nominating Clarence Thomas – to replace Thurgood Marshall.

11. Conservative Victories
In 1984, President Reagan and VP Bush won re-election by a landslide.
In 1988, VP Bush won the Presidency. One of his campaign slogans was – “Read my lips, no new taxes.”

12. Social Concerns in the 1980’s
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
Early victims were either homosexual or intravenous drug users who shared needles.
Abortion – Roe v. Wade 1973 (first trimester)
Pro-life
Pro-choice
Webster v. Reproductive Health Care Services - (States had the right to impose restrictions on abortion.)
Drug Abuse
Education
1980’s most troubling issues was AIDs. It spread very rapidly throughout the world. Gist of AIDS is that it is a virus that destroys the immune system and makes the body prone to infections
-How is AIDS transmitted? Through bodily fluids
-Turned into an epidemic and led to concern over prevention and cure.
ABORTION:
What made ruling made abortion legal in the United States? Roe v. Wade
-Pro-life- feel that life begins at inception and no women has the right to terminate a human life
-Pro-choice-Argued that reproductive choices were personal health care matters and argued that before it was legalized many women died from having illegal abortions
-Webster v Reproductive Health Care services caused abortion laws to vary from state to state.

13. Drug Abuse “This is your brain on drugs.” War on Drugs.
Nancy Reagan’s anti- drug campaign.
“Just Say no!” to drugs.
“This is your brain on drugs.”
-Some felt they should be legalized to reduce the power of gangs
-Also the first time that treatment facilities to treat addiction really came to attention
-Nancy Reagan coined the term “just say no”

14. Education 1980’s
A Federal Commission issued a report in 1983 called “A Nation at Risk.”
23 million Americans were unable to fill out a job application or follow an instruction manual.
School Vouchers were introduced “America 2000.”
-Report revealed that American students lagged behind students in most other industrialized nations
-That same commission recommended more homework, longer school days and an extended school year.
-More emphasis on the basic subjects english, math, science, social studies.
-America 2000 used public funds to send children to schools of their choice whether it was public, private or religious.

15. Urban Crisis Flight to the suburbs hurt the inner city.
High Unemployment.
Homelessness.
Crumbling Infrastructure.
Lack of health services.
Deteriorating Schools.
City riots – 1992 Los Angles.
Rodney King was beaten by four white police officers after a car chase.
Officers were found not guilty
South Central rioted for five days, 53 killed.
-they were moving to these suburbs because of the new homes, big lawns, shopping malls, and well equipped schools.
-Not only did many white families move, but businesses picked up and moved taking jobs and tax revenue with them
-By 1992 there were thousands in these cities were homeless
-Cities were divided into wealthy neighborhoods and poverty stricken areas

17. Equal Rights 1980’s ERA failed ratification in 1982.
47 women were elected to the House of Representatives in 1992.
6 women in the US Senate.
2 women in Reagan’s cabinet.
Pay Equality was fought for by women’s organizations.
-Needed ratification by 38 states and only received it from 35
-who can tell me what ratification means? making something valid by formally ratifying or confirming it.
-Before the 1992 election there were only 27 women in the HOR and 2 in the Senate as well as none appointed to Reagan's cabinet
-in 1992 women earned only 75cents to every dollar a man earned
-I found this to be pretty amazing that female college graduates earned only slightly more then male HIGH SCHOOL graduates.
-first picture is Geraldine ferraro second picture is of Elizabeth dole

18. Fight for Rights Continues
African American Mayors of many big cities
1992 L. Douglas Wilder became the Governor of VA.
Jesse Jackson ran for President in 1984 and 1988.
Many African Americans also served as sheriffs, school board member, state legislators, and members of Congress.
-By the mid 1980s AA were mayors of Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.
-Wilder is the first African American Govenor

19. Gains for Latinos
1988 Lauro Cavazos was appointed Secretary of Education.
1990 Dr. Antonia Coello Novello was appointed Surgeon General.
-Latinos were the fastest growing minority during the 1980’s
-Bilingual education act of 1968 enabled spanish speakers to attend school and vote in their own language
-critics thought it would slow the rate at which spanish speakers entered mainstream american life
- worried about the nation becoming split between english speakers and spanish speakers

20. Native Americans Speak Out
Aid was slashed to Native Americans for health, education and other services.
Native American campaigned for gambling casinos as a source of revenue.
-Native Americans were fighting for the return of the ancestral lands that had been wrongfully taken from them.
-These casinos were approved and many Native American operated casinos did provide them the additional funding they needed due to all of the aid that was slashed.

21. Asian American Population
They were the second fastest growing minority population in the US.
By 1992 the Asian American Population was 8.3 million.
-Many people have cited that Asian Americans as an example of how minorities can succeed in the U.S.
-Asian American unemployment and poverty are higher then the national figures.

22. Advances in Gay Rights
In the 1980’s gay rights groups fought for civil rights.
Direct Action groups called for an end to anti-gay discrimination.
By 1993, 7 states and 110 communities outlawed anti-gay discrimination.
-faced a setback in the early 1980’s in regard to conservatism opposition and the AIDS crisis but by the late 1980’s gay activism was surging.

23. Cold War Rhetoric
President Reagan combined the increases in defense spending with strong rhetoric such as calling the Soviet Union an evil empire and demanding that the Berlin Wall come down.
By his second term, it was clear that the faltering Soviet economy would not be able to match the spending of the United States.
Mikhail Gorbachev’s election in 1985 brought a Soviet leader who wanted to bring domestic reform within the Soviet Union and improve relations with the U.S.

24. The Cold War Ends
March 1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the USSR.
Glasnost – “Openness”
Criticism of the USSR.
Freedom of the Press.
Perestroika – Restructuring of The Soviet Economy.

25. Relations with the US Geneva Summit (1985)
Reagan and Gorbachev met and signed several cultural and scientific agreements and promised arms limitation talks.
INF Treaty –Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty)
Eliminated two classes of weapon and allowed on site inspections.

26. Decline of the USSR
In Dec 1991, 14 republics declared independence from the USSR.
Gorbachev lost power, the USSR ended.
CIS (Common Wealth of Independent States) was established.
Boris Yeltsin new leader of Russia, START II signed – cut both nations nuclear weapons by a third.

27. Collapse of Communism
Nov 9th, 1989 East Germany opened the Berlin Wall
Oct, 1990 Germany united.
Czechoslovakia divided, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania became independent.
Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania transitioned from communism.
Yugoslavia collapsed, igniting a brutal war among Muslims, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats.

30. Communism Continues in China
Students in China demanded freedom of speech and a voice in govt.
April 1989, Students held marches in Beijing and other cities.
The PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) under the order of Li Peng crushed the protestors.

34. Nicaragua
US Marines left in 1933, but left a dictator Anastasio Somoza in power
Between The Sandinistas take control.
Reagan viewed the Sandinistas as a communist threat.
The US supported the Contras with CIA training and weapons.
The Boland Amendment banned aid to the Contras for two years.

35. Grenada
In 1983, Reagan sent in 2,000 U.S. Marines to overthrow a Pro-Cuban government and rescue US citizens (mainly college students).
18 U.S. Soldiers were killed.

36. Panama
In 1989, Pres. Bush sent 20,000 Soldiers and Marines to overthrow and arrest General Manuel Noriega on charges of international drug trafficking.

37. Iran-Contra Scandal
In 1985 seven Americans were taken hostage in Lebanon by Pro- Iranian group.
President Reagan approved the sale of arms to Iran in exchange for the hostages release.
National Security Council Aid Colonel Oliver North had diverted millions in profits from the Iran arms sale to the Anti-communist Contras fighting in Nicaragua.

38. The Persian Gulf War
On Aug 2, 1990, Iraq led by Saddam Hussein invaded the oil rich nation of Kuwait.
Saddam then looked to Saudi Arabia.
President Bush organized an international coalition and with the support of the UN and Congress launched Operation Desert Storm.
On Jan 16, 1991 the air war began, in February the ground war began.
Kuwait was liberated, Iraq was weakened.
Less than 400 American casualties, but Gulf War Syndrome?

44. Significant Events under 12 years of Conservative Presidents
 1979 Moral majority established
 1980 Reagan defeats Carter
 1981 Reagan breaks air traffic controllers’ strike
 1983 Attack on U.S. marine barracks in Lebanon
 1983 Reagan proposes SDI (Star Wars)
 1986 Iran-Contra scandal breaks
 1988 Bush elected president
 1989 Berlin Wall taken down
 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait
 1991 Operation Desert Storm launched
 1992 Clinton defeats Perot and Bush