1. Reagan & the Culture Wars of the 1980s
“Remember those walls I built? / Baby they were tumbling down”
--Beyoncé

2. Recent Social Trends Higher divorce rates Rise in women working
Rise in drug use & crime rates
Decline in church attendance among the white middle-class
Growth of fundamentalist, evangelical churches and television ministries among Southern whites and working-class.

3. Women’s Rights Equal access to education
Title IX – federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity like sports
Control over their bodies
Roe v. Wade (1973) – legalized abortion
Employment
Glass ceiling: barrier that keeps women form rising to top corporate jobs, regardless of their qualifications
Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to guarantee equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender; it seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment
Did not pass due to a conservative faction of women

4. Ongoing Civil Rights Concerns
Affirmative Action
Business and universities must look at a variety of diverse candidates for employment and admittance
Busing
Attempt to fully integrate schools by busing in students from racially diverse neighborhoods
Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenberg - Supreme Court held that busing was an appropriate remedy to create racially balanced schools
Black Power movement continues
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

5. The Conservatives Strike Back
Strong anti-communism stance, military, and national defense
Promote “family values”
Cut government spending
Reduce regulations on corporations/businesses
Cut taxes to stimulate the economy

6. Ronald Reagan Actor turned California Governor Strongly anti-communist
Wanted a “New Day in America”

7. Reaganomics: “Trickle-Down” Economics
Cutting taxes = less revenue but more employment
Record deficit – not a balanced budget which was the goal
Deficit caused by a large increase in military spending

10. The New Class Warfare Gap between rich and poor grows:
More working poor
De-industrialization
1 million manuf. jobs lost in 1982, unions lose members
Growth of non-union service sector, minimum wage jobs

11. Social Challenges“The Culture Wars”
Decline of the family?
Abortion
Homosexuality
Working women
AIDS crisis
War on Drugs
Poverty in cities

12. Political Trends Increased minorities:
Ex: Jesse Jackson (‘84 and ‘88 Presidential
Nominee)
Supreme Court gets conservative
Reagan appoints Sandra Day O’Connor (1st woman)
Bush appointees will continue this trend
George HW Bush continues Reagan’s ideas

13. International Events Reagan called USSR “Evil Empire”
Reagan took credit for end of the Cold War when he tells Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall and USSR “collapses”