1. Essential Question:
To what extent did the two-term presidency of Ronald Reagan amount to a revolution?
Warm-Up Question:
What is the difference between the “New Left” & “New Right”?

2. Neoconservativism & the Rise of Reagan

3. Neoconservativism
In late-1970s, Neo-Conservatives reacted against the social protest & liberalism of the 1960s & 1970s
Focused on free-enterprise capitalism, a balanced budget, & lower taxes
Wanted a smaller gov’t, less social welfare, stronger military
Looked at what’s right in the USA & a return to family values
The rejection of social liberalism and the “New Left” counterculture of the 1960s
A balanced budget Constitutional amendment
A return to prayer in public schools
Typically referred to as the “New Right”
For the death penalty for criminals
Against homosexuality & pornography
rejection of social liberalism and the New Left counterculture of the 1960s

4. Neo-Conservativism
The early Neo-Conservative movement was led by evangelist Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority
The Moral Majority led the conservative attack on:
The Equal Rights Amendment
Abortion & the Supreme Court’s ruling of Roe v Wade (1973)
School busing programs, pornography, & social welfare
The Moral Majority allied with Phyllis Schlafly to defeated the ERA
“Life begins at conception”
“The rights of the unborn supersede a woman’s right to control her own body”

5. The Reagan Revolution in 1980
By the 1980 election, Jimmy Carter was in trouble:
Stagflation was still problem
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan & Iran hostage crisis made the U.S. look weak in foreign policy
Former California governor Ronald Reagan gained the groundswell of neo-conservative support & the Republican nomination

6. The Reagan Revolution of 1980
Reagan asked voters: “Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?”
Reagan won in a landslide:
Republicans rode Reagan’s coat-tails in Congress as well
The Republican party picked up “Reagan Democrats”— women, blue-collar workers, southerners
The only group in the “FDR bloc” who overwhelmingly voted for Carter were African-Americans
…& narrowed the Democrat’s majority in the House
Reagan presented himself as the “Great Communicator”
Republicans gained a majority in the Senate for the 1st time since 1954
Reagan benefited from conservative PACs
Republicans used the 1st effective direct-mailings

7. Domestic Policy under Ronald Reagan
Reagan video (11:00 minutes)
Reagan Video

8. Limiting the Role of Government
Reduced gov’t restrictions on air pollution, fuel efficiency, wilderness, endangered species, & stock market
Reagan’s 1st term was defined by deregulation of the national gov’t:
Conservatives were appointed to the EPA, OSHA, SEC, & the Consumer Price Commission who reduced gov’t restrictions in favor of business productivity
Reagan took a strong anti-labor stance & weakened the power of American unions
Fired air traffic controllers & decertified the PATCO union when members went on strike
PATCO = Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization

9. …but military spending jumped to $2 trillion over 8 years
Reaganomics
Reagan blamed 1970s stagflation on gov’t spending & high taxes
Reagan’s economic plan involved:
“Supply-side economics”: a 25% tax cut over 3 years to allow people to spend more money & boost the economy
A plan to decrease gov’t spending by $41.4 billion & end Keynesian deficit spending
The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 cut social services like food stamps, urban mass transit, student loans, & the arts
In 1980, interest rates were at 20% & the value of the dollar dropped to 36¢
…but military spending jumped to $2 trillion over 8 years
The Economic Recovery Act of 1981 was the largest tax cut in U.S. history & called for a 5% tax cut in 1981, 10% in 1982, 10% in 1983

10. Supply-Side Economics
Supply-side economic seemed to fail as a recession hit in 1981 & grew worse in 1982
But, Reagan continued with his plan for a 10% tax cuts in 1982 & 1983
By 1983, the economy boomed & the recession ended as Americans spent more money

11. 16 million new jobs, unemployment below 6%, inflation fell to 4%
Reaganomics
Benefits of “Reaganomics”
Inflation, unemployment, & the trade deficit all declined by 1990
Growth in service sector jobs
Disadvantages of “Reaganomics”
Industry jobs fell as companies used off-shore manufacturers with cheaper labor costs
Increased social inequalities
Huge federal deficits
16 million new jobs, unemployment below 6%, inflation fell to 4%

12. U.S. Budget Deficits,
Congress passed Gramm-Rudman Act in 1985 to create a budget ceiling & set 1993 as the target date to end the federal deficit
The deficit was $70.5 billion in 1976 but $207 billion in 1983
By 1988, foreigners controlled 20% of the national debt

13. Essential Question:
To what extent did the two-term presidency of Ronald Reagan amount to a revolution?
Warm-Up Question:
Explain Reaganomics
Do you agree with the premise of “supply-side” economics?

14. Share of Household Income
The 1980s was defined by the “Me Generation”—money, status, & wealth
The economic gap hurt blacks the most (60% lived in cities with high unemployment)
In the 1980s, the rich got richer at the expense of middle class & the poor

15. In the 1970s & 1980s, the 3rd wave of American immigration began
Mexican, Haitian, & Dominican immigration increased but 20-30% lived in poverty by the 1980s
Immigrants from Korea, Vietnam, & Philippines tended to thrive in America

16. Social Programs
The Reagan administration opposed major social reforms:
High school dropout rates & crime increased in the 1980s
Affirmative action & school busing programs to assist African-Americans were limited
Women’s abortion rights were attacked
But…Reagan appointed the 1st female Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O’Conner
In Univ of California v Bakke (1978) ruled in favor of affirmative action but not purely quota systems

17. DEA, Customs, & Coast Guard attempts to keep drugs out
The War on Drugs
In the 1980s, cocaine use boomed, especially with the creation of “crack” cocaine
The Reagan administration declared a “war on drugs”:
Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” program helped educate kids
The federal gov’t failed to stop the flow of drugs into the U.S.
DEA, Customs, & Coast Guard attempts to keep drugs out
Negotiations with Peru, Bolivia, Colombia failed to limit drug smuggling
&

19. The AIDS Epidemic
The 1st documented cases of AIDS occurred in the 1980s:
1st cases were among gay men in San Francisco & NY in 1981
As cases were found in drug abusers & hemophiliacs, people worried about a contaminated national blood supply
Lack of sympathy for gays, budget cuts, & ignorance about HIV led to a limited government response
2,800 known AIDS cases by 1983
12,000 AIDS cases by 1985
50,000 AIDS cases by 1987
982,498 AIDS cases by 2006

20. HIV/AIDS Statistics, 2008

21. Mailed to every US household in 1988 by U. S
Mailed to every US household in 1988 by U.S. Public Health Service: Understanding AIDS is the largest public health mailing in U.S. history

22. Reagan Affirmed In the 1984 election:
Democrat Walter Mondale & VP Geraldine Ferraro attacked Reagan deficits & promised to raise taxes to end U.S. debts
Reagan made leadership the issue “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet”
Reagan won in a landslide by attracting even more “Reagan Democrats” than in 1980

23. Do you agree with the premise of “supply-side” economics?
Essential Question:
To what extent did the two-term presidency of Ronald Reagan amount to a revolution?
Warm-Up Question:
Define “Reaganomics”
Do you agree with the premise of “supply-side” economics?
Lesson Plan for Wednesday, April 3, 2008: Warm-Up Question, Reagan foreign policy notes

24. Reagan & Foreign Policy

25. Reagan & Foreign Policy
Reagan was committed to restoring America’s supremacy in the world
Blamed Carter for allowing U.S. prestige to drop to an all-time low
Increased military spending
Confronted challenges in the Middle East & in Latin America
Ended the Cold War with the Soviet Union

26. Trouble Spots in the Middle East under Reagan & Bush, 1980-1991
In 1982, Reagan sent Marines to help evacuate Lebanon during an Israeli attack on PLO bases
Marines were seen as the enemy & 239 were killed when attacked by a suicide bombing
Reagan was concerned that the Palestinian Liberation Org (PLO) would threaten the Camp David accords
In 1983, the terrorist group Hezbollah captured 6 American hostages
Reagan gave the order to withdraw from Lebanon in 1984

27. Trouble Spots in Latin America
Reagan attempted to resist Communism in Latin America
U.S. Marines invaded Grenada in 1983 to keep a radical regime from turning over an airfield to Cuba or the USSR
In 1979, Nicaraguan Sandinista rebels led a coup against a U.S.-backed regime
In 1983, Congress denied Reagan’s request to aid Nicaraguan efforts to overthrow the Sandinista gov’t (Contras)

28. The Iran-Contra Affair
In 1987, the Iran-Contra Affair rocked the Reagan administration:
To free 6 U.S. hostages in Iran, the NSC & CIA covertly sold missiles to Khomeini’s gov’t
Profits from missile sales were used to aid Nicaragua Contras
Reagan avoided implication through “plausible deniability”
The “Teflon President”
The “Teflon president”

29. Challenging the "Evil Empire"
Reagan viewed the USSR as the "focus of evil in the modern world” & as a threat to U.S. security
Maintained a hard-line approach
Sent 572 nukes within range of Moscow to match USSR ICBMs aimed at NATO nations
Began the Strategic Defense Initiative, an anti-missile laser system in space to defend U.S.
SDI was dubbed the “Star Wars” program
“Soviet-sponsored guerillas & terrorists are at work in Central & South America, in Africa, the Middle East, in the Caribbean, & in Europe, violating human rights & unnerving the world with violence.”

31. Ending the Cold War
Introducing moderate capitalism into the Soviet economy such as legalization of small private business cooperatives, relaxed laws prohibiting land ownership, & approval of foreign investment within the USSR
Gorbachev cut the Soviet defense budget, withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan, & promoted the democratization of former satellite nations in Eastern Europe
Reagan’s most important foreign policy triumph was working with new USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev to end the Cold War:
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev began perestroika & glasnost & eased Cold War tensions
The Reagan-Gorbachev summits from 1986 to 1988 led to a reduction of nuclear arms
In 1982, 75-year-old Soviet party leader Leonid Brezhnev died. Growing stagnation, corruption, and a huge military buildup had marked his regime. Initially, the post-Brezhnev era seemed to offer little change in U.S.-Soviet relations. KGB leader Yuri Andropov succeeded Brezhnev, but died after only 15 months in power. Another Brezhnev loyalist, Konstantin Chernenko, who died just a year later, replaced him. In 1985, Soviet party leadership passed to Mikhail S. Gorbachev, a 54-year-old agricultural specialist with little formal experience in foreign affairs. Gorbachev pledged to continue the policies of his predecessors.
Within weeks, however, Gorbachev called for sweeping political liberalization (glasnost) and economic reform (perestroika). He allowed wider freedom of press, assembly, travel, and religion. He persuaded the Communist party leadership to end its monopoly on power; created the Soviet Union's first working legislature; allowed the first nationwide competitive elections in 1989; and freed hundreds of political prisoners. In an effort to boost the sagging Soviet economy, he legalized small private business cooperatives, relaxed laws prohibiting land ownership, and approved foreign investment within the Soviet Union.
In foreign affairs, Gorbachev completely reshaped world politics. He cut the Soviet defense budget, withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan and Eastern Europe, allowed a unified Germany to become a member of NATO, and agreed with the United States to destroy short-range and medium-range nuclear weapons. Most dramatically, Gorbachev actively promoted the democratization of former satellite nations in Eastern Europe. For his accomplishments in defusing Cold War tensions, he was awarded the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.
“Political openness” led to freedom of press, assembly, travel, & religion; the 1st working legislature; the 1st competitive elections; & liberation of hundreds of political prisoners

32. In 1987, Reagan & Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty eliminating ICBMs in Europe

33. Countries of the former USSR by 2000
The End of the Cold War
In 1989, Gorbachev’s promotion of democratization in Eastern Europe inspired the overthrow of 40 years of communist rule
Countries of the former USSR by 2000
For 40 years, Communist Party leaders in Eastern Europe had ruled confidently. Each year their countries fell further behind the West; yet, they remained secure in the knowledge that the Soviet Union, backed by the Red Army, would always send in the tanks when the forces for change became too great. But they had not bargained on a liberal Soviet leader like Mikhail Gorbachev.
As Gorbachev moved toward reform within the Soviet Union and détente with the West, he pushed the conservative regimes of Eastern Europe outside his protective umbrella. By the end of 1989, the Berlin Wall had been smashed. All across Eastern Europe, citizens took to the streets, overthrowing 40 years of Communist rule. Like a series of falling dominos, Communist parties in Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria fell from power.
Gorbachev, who had wanted to reform communism, may not have anticipated the swift swing toward democracy in Eastern Europe. Nor had he fully foreseen the impact that democracy in Eastern Europe would have on the Soviet Union. By 1990, leaders of several Soviet republics began to demand independence or greater autonomy within the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev had to balance the growing demand for radical political change within the Soviet Union with the demand by Communist hardliners. The hardliners demanded that he contain the new democratic currents and turn back the clock. Faced with dangerous political opposition from the right and the left and with economic failure throughout the Soviet Union, Gorbachev tried to satisfy everyone and, in the process, satisfied no one.
In 1990, following the example of Eastern Europe, the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia announced their independence, and other Soviet republics demanded greater sovereignty. Nine of the 15 Soviet republics agreed to sign a new union treaty, granting far greater freedom and autonomy to individual republics. But in August 1991, before the treaty could be signed, conservative Communists tried to oust Gorbachev in a coup d'etat. Boris Yeltsin, the President of the Russian Republic, and his supporters defeated the coup, undermining support for the Communist Party. Gorbachev fell from power. The Soviet Union ended its existence in December 1991, when Russia and most other republics formed the Commonwealth of Independent States.
In 1990, following the example of Eastern Europe, many Soviet republics within the USSR demanded independence, leading to…

34. Passing the Torch to George Bush
Bush video 7:00 minutes
Bush Video

35. Reagan’s Successor: George Bush
Reagan’s successor was George Bush who promised voters in 1988 a “kindler, gentler nation”
Bush kept most of Reagan’s domestic agenda but added few policies of his own
Bush had great foreign policy experience before becoming president which he needed to win the Persian Gulf War
Especially the war on drugs
Former envoy to China
Former director of the CIA
Former UN ambassador
Two-term VP under Reagan

36. The Persian Gulf War, 1991
In 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered an Iraqi invasion of oil-rich Kuwait
The U.S. feared a subsequent invasion of ally Saudi Arabia
At 2 a.m., August 2, 1990, some 80,000 Iraqi troops invaded and occupied Kuwait, a small, oil-rich emirate on the Persian Gulf. This event touched off the first major international crisis of the post-Cold War era. Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, justified the invasion on the grounds that Kuwait, which he accused of intentionally depressing world oil prices, was a historic part of Iraq.
Iraq's invasion caught the United States off guard. The Hussein regime was a brutal military dictatorship that ruled by secret police and used poison gas against Iranians, Kurds, and Shiite Muslims. During the 1970s and 1980s, the United States--and Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and West Germany--sold Iraq an awesome arsenal that included missiles, tanks, and the equipment needed to produce biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. During Baghdad's eight-year-long war with Iran, the United States, which opposed the growth of Muslim fundamentalist extremism, tilted toward Iraq.
On August 6, 1990, President Bush dramatically declared, "This aggression will not stand." With Iraqi forces poised near the Saudi Arabian border, the Bush administration dispatched 180,000 troops to protect the Saudi kingdom. In a sharp departure from American foreign policy during the Reagan presidency, Bush also organized an international coalition against Iraq. He convinced Turkey and Syria to close Iraqi oil pipelines, won Soviet support for an arms embargo, and established a multi-national army to protect Saudi Arabia. In the United Nations, the administration succeeded in persuading the Security Council to adopt a series of resolutions condemning the Iraqi invasion, demanding restoration of the Kuwaiti government, and imposing an economic blockade.
Bush's decision to resist Iraqi aggression reflected the president's assessment of vital national interests. Iraq's invasion gave Saddam Hussein direct control over a significant portion of the world's oil supply. It disrupted the Middle East balance of power and placed Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf emirates in jeopardy. Iraq's 545,000-man army threatened the security of such valuable U.S. allies as Egypt and Israel.
In November 1990, the crisis took a dramatic turn. President Bush doubled the size of American forces deployed in the Persian Gulf, a sign that the administration was prepared to eject Iraq from Kuwait by force. The president went to the United Nations for a resolution permitting the use of force against Iraq if it did not withdraw by January 15, After a heated debate, Congress also gave the president authority to wage war.
President Bush's decision to liberate Kuwait was an enormous political and military gamble. The Iraqi army, the world's fourth largest, was equipped with Exocet missiles, top-of-the-line Soviet T-72 tanks, and long-range artillery capable of firing nerve gas. But after a month of allied bombing, the coalition forces had achieved air supremacy; had destroyed thousands of Iraqi tanks and artillery pieces, supply routes and communications lines, and command-and-control bunkers; plus, had limited Iraq's ability to produce nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Iraqi troop morale suffered so badly under the bombing that an estimated 30 percent of Baghdad's forces deserted before the ground campaign started.
The allied ground campaign relied on deception, mobility, and overwhelming air superiority to defeat the larger Iraqi army. The allied strategy was to mislead the Iraqis into believing that the allied attack would occur along the Kuwaiti coastline and Kuwait's border with Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, American commander of the coalition forces, shifted more than 300,000 American, British, and French troops into western Saudi Arabia, allowing them to strike deep into Iraq. Only 100 hours after the ground campaign started, the war ended. Saddam Hussein remained in power, but his ability to control events in the region was dramatically curtailed. The Persian Gulf conflict was the most popular U.S. war since World War II. It restored American confidence in its position as the world's sole superpower and helped to exorcise the ghost of Vietnam that had haunted American foreign policy debates for nearly two decades. The doubt, drift, and demoralization that began with the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal appeared to have ended.
The U.S. forged an international coalition against Iraq & the UN imposed economic sanctions on Iraq

37. In 1991, Bush gained approval from Congress to begin Operation Desert Storm & removed Iraqi forces in Kuwait in 100 hours

38. The Persian Gulf War
U.S. success in Iraq led Bush to declare a “new world order” & saw his approval ratings soar to 90%
But…
Hussein was not removed from power & economic sanction did little to weaken his rule
American troops in Saudi Arabia led to increased anti-American sentiment & the rise of Al Qaeda under Osama bin Laden
From 1980 to 2000, the U.S. engaged in 17 distinct military operations in the Middle East

39. “It’s the economy, stupid”
The Election of 1992
Despite voter approval of his handling of Iraq, Bush’s real problem was the economy:
The massive federal deficit & downward trend in the stock market led to a 1989 recession
Bush cut military spending & broke a 1988 campaign promise not to raise taxes
By 1992, Clinton took advantage of the economic recession & won
“It’s the economy, stupid”

40. Conclusions: The Success of Neoconservativism?

41. Conclusions
Reagan was the 1st president to serve 2 full terms since Eisenhower
Reagan’s supporters claim he restored the economy, military, patriotism, family values, & America’s place as a world power
Reagan’s detractors claim he removed social safety-nets, skirted Congress in foreign policy, & tripled the national debt
In the presidential election of 1984, Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush won in a landslide over Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. Ferraro was the first woman nominated for vice president on a major party ticket. Although Reagan's second term was plagued by the Iran-Contra scandal, he left office after eight years more popular than when he arrived. He could claim the distinction of being the first president to serve two full terms since Dwight Eisenhower.
Ronald Reagan could also point to an extraordinary string of accomplishments. He dampened inflation, restored public confidence in government, and presided over the beginning of the end of the Cold War. He doubled the defense budget, named the first woman to the Supreme Court, launched a strong economic boom, and created a heightened sense of national unity. In addition, his supporters said that he restored vigor to the national economy and psyche, rebuilt America's military might, regained the nation's place as the world's preeminent power, restored American patriotism, and championed traditional family values.
On the other hand, his detractors criticized him for a reckless use of military power and for circumventing Congress in foreign affairs. They accused Reagan of fostering greed and intolerance. His critics also charged that his administration, in its zeal to cut waste from government, ripped the social safety net and skimped on the government's regulatory functions. The administration, they further charged, was insensitive on racial issues. Reagan's detractors were particularly concerned about his economic legacy. During the Reagan years, the national debt tripled, from $909 billion to almost $2.9 trillion (the interest alone amounted to 14 percent of the federal budget). The deficit soaked up savings, caused interest rates to rise, and forced the federal government to shift more and more responsibilities onto the states. Corporate and individual debt also soared. During the early 1990s, the American people consumed $1 trillion more goods and services than they produced. The United States also became the world's biggest debtor nation, as a result of a weak dollar, a low level of exports, and the need to borrow abroad to finance budget deficits.

42. Billy Joel "We Didn't Start the Fire"
We Didn't Start the Fire Music Video - You Tube

43. Presidential Comparison Charts