The Imperial President

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Cordelia Shields
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1 The Imperial President

2 The Accidental President

3 The candidate for a Change in Washington: 1976

4 Our Ally The Shah of Iran

5 The Ayatollah Religious Leader of Shiites in Iran

6 Becomes President after Vietnam War, after the Watergate Scandal and after the Pardon of Pres. Nixon by Pres. Ford

7 Imperial Presidency ends * Abandons limousine; walks after inauguration * First Green President: Energy Conservation; creates Department of Energy; tried to cut consumption through taxation. Encourages Americans to lower the thermostat and sets an example by wearing a sweater.

8 Human Rights: Cornerstone of Carter s Foreign Policy The U.S. should always act ethically!t Criticized foreign governments that violated basic rights of their citizens Supported dissidents in the USSR Such as: Alexander Solzhenitsyn

10 Soviets violating Human Rights; US refused to play games with them: Boycotts 1980 Olympics

11 Vietnam Era Draft Dodgers Should we let them come home? President Carter says, if they were not involved in violent acts Yes. A full Presidential Pardon was granted.

12 Panama Canal: Should we Return it to the Panama? Yes. Why? Because it s the right thing to do. The Hay Bunau-Varilla Treaty (1903) Many Panamanians wanted it renegotiated. After riots in 1964, talks were begun. Fears in 1979 of Panamanian incompetence, Chinese influence, loss of profits and revolution all proved to be false.

13 Oil Crisis fueled by Iranian Revolution OPEC: prices tripled; inflation grows to + 10%. President suggests tax cuts and public works program Democratic Congress does not act. Priority: Inflation or Unemployment?

14 Our ally, the Shah is seriously ill. Should we allow the Shah to enter the US for treatment of cancer? On humanitarian grounds, President Carter says... Yes.

15 Three Mile Island: 1979 Accident increases fear among Americans regarding energy

racial minorities in hiring & admissions programs.

16 The Bakke Case: California v. Bakke Affirmative action case, Carter files an Amicus Brief supporting the use of flexible quota systems that give preference to racial minorities in hiring & admissions programs. Given the history of discrimination & the benefit of diversity in all places, including the college campus, Carter supports California in this case. The Court would later rule that while strict quota systems are unconstitutional, the use of race as a factor in hiring and school admission is permissible.

17 Greatest Achievement: Camp David Accords Biblical enemies (Egypt and Israel) brought together and sign a Peace Treaty.

18 Greatest Challenge: Iran Hostage Crisis 444 Days Carter held captive too: Rose Garden strategy

Crisis of Confidence Speech (so called Malaise speech) Televised speech, President Carter looked critically at himself and his own failures but also warned Americans about the potential consequences

20 Crisis of Confidence Speech (so called Malaise speech) Televised speech, President Carter looked critically at himself and his own failures but also warned Americans about the potential consequences of theirs. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America / We simply must have faith in each other / I will do my best, but I will not do it alone. Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the American spirit.

21 At first, well received. When Carter follows up with the dismissal of his cabinet (for a fresh start, public opinion turned. Somehow, people believed he was blaming themfor the country s woes. People begin to say, hey, there s nothing wrong with us!

22 After the scandals of Watergate and the nightmare of Vietnam (58,000 Americans died) what were President Carter s Goals?

23 1. Restoreethics to government (pledged: I will never lie to you. And he didn t.) 2. Restore the world s respect for us. Act in a way that shows mutual respect (Panama Canal treaty) 3. Defend liberty and justice where ever it is threatened (USSR: support dissidents; boycott Olympics) 4. Be a force for Peace (brokered the Peace alliance between Egypt and Israel) 5. Be an example of human rights (allow Shah to receive medical treatment; bring our other boys home - draft evaders) 6. Protect American lives (Rose Garden strategy: work through 3 rd parties to release hostages; use force only as a last resort but be willing to use it -& he did.)

24 President who re-established an ethical element to politics and restored the free world s good opinion of us after Vietnam by brokering peace and supporting traditional American values of free speech and fairness? YES President who led by example? YES Unpopular President who took difficult and unpopular positions during times of great national and international upheavals? Yes A Failed Presidency? NO Currently believed to be an example of a weak, ineffective President? YES

25 The return of the traditional American hero Ronald Reagan defeats Carter easily in 1980 election.

26 President Carter analyzed and studied complex problems, Reagan took a different approach: There aresimple solutions -just not easy ones. Our best days are in front of us. It s morning in America again I find no national malaise, I find nothing wrong with the American people. They are sturdy and robust, as they have always been.

28 The Reagan Revolution - Domestic 1.After being shot he recovered and his upbeat spirit endeared him to many Americans

29 Reagan gets Congress to follow Supply Side Economics Lower taxes on the richest Americans. They, he believed, will invest it and create new jobs which would bring in more tax revenue The government begins to de-regulate business; lower Capital gain tax and Estate taxes are changed to help those wealthy recipients

30 With all of the tax cuts, government suffers deficits of $100 billion each year. Budget cuts were enacted against educational, social and cultural programs.

The AIDS Crisis 1 st case: 1981 1983, 1,025 AIDS cases 394 had died in the United States. Reagan said nothing.

31 The AIDS Crisis 1 st case: , 1,025 AIDS cases 394 had died in the United States. Reagan said nothing. April 23, 1984, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced 4,177 reported cases in America and 1,807 deaths. In San Francisco, the health department reported more than 500 cases. Again, Reagan said nothing

32 Mysterious disease affected at first gay men They become targets ofan unprecedented level of mean-spirited hostility. Reagan's support: the Moral Majority, a political-action group founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Falwell: "AIDS is the wrath of God upon homosexuals." Reagan's communications director Pat Buchanan argued that AIDS is "nature's revenge on gay men. With each passing month, death and suffering increased at a frightening rate. Scientists and researchers expressed the urgent need for funding. Reagan continued to be silent.

33 Paul Boneberg, Mobilization Against AIDS 84begged President Reagan to say something. 1985, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, stated: "It is surprising that the president could remain silent as 6,000 Americans died, that he could fail to acknowledge the epidemic's existence. Dr. C. Everett Koop, Reagan's surgeon general, said he was cut out of all AIDS discussions for the first five years of the Reagan administration. The reason was "because transmission of AIDS was understood to be primarily in the homosexual population and in those who abused intravenous drugs." The president's advisers, Koop said, "took the stand, 'They are only getting what they justly deserve.'

34 Reagan addressed the crisis: May 31, 1987 (near the end of his 2nd term), -3rd International Conference on AIDS in Washington. When he spoke, 36,058 Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS and 20,849 had died. The disease had spread to 113 countries, with more than 50,000 cases

35 Military Build Up: $279 billion for SDS Nicknamed Star Wars Defense: most scientists said it was not feasible given the then current technology

36 Arguing for fewer hours on a stress-filled job, Air Traffic Controllers went on strike Reagan fires all 11,000 of them and bans them from government jobs for life.

37 Rise of the Religious Right - The Moral Majority. Goals * Overturn Roe v. Wade * Return prayer and bible reading to the public classroom * Oppose laws for gay rights * Censor anti-family TV shows * Teach Creationism or Intelligent Design not just theory of Evolution (remember the Scopes trial in the 20 s) * Oppose sex education (it s a family matter)

38 Foreign Policy Invasion of Grenada: Leftist/Socialist island. CIA tried to destabilize. Civilian airport was being expanded; Cuban outpost? Over 7,000 American troops invaded island to protect the lives of American medical students Only 19 American soldiers died(some by friendly fire) New government is ally and recipient of US foreign aid. Americans celebrate a great military victory

39 Iran Contra Scandal Problem #1: Americans hostageswere taken in Lebanon by Islamic radicals. Reagan says he will never negotiate with terrorists. Problem #2: Nicaragua: Ruled by a socialist Sandinista government. US supported Contras who wanted to overthrow the government. Problem: Congress passed Boland Amendment specifically banning military aid to the Contras.

40 Reagan s solution: Solve both at the same time. Secretly weaponsare sold to the Iranianswho would work behind the scenes to get our hostages released in Lebanon. (Reagan, in effect, negotiated with one set of terrorists to have them use their influence over another set of terrorists. ) The secret money received from the Iranians is then diverted to the Contras in Nicaragua. This is in direct violation of the Boland Amendment. Hostages released; Contras funded: No one knows. Reagan s popularity rises!

41 Thanks to Congress and independent counsel Lawrence Walsh, the plot unravels.

42 After the truth is revealed, Reagan s popularity does notdecline. The : Teflon President

officials convicted in the Iran-Contra Scandal Today, Reagan is

43 Left office in His Vice President George H Bush becomes President Bush pardons officials convicted in the Iran-Contra Scandal Today, Reagan is the most beloved President of the Republicans (just as FDR was the most beloved President of the Democrats.)

The Imperial President

The Imperial President The Accidental President The candidate for a Change in Washington: 1976 Our Ally The Shah of Iran The Ayatollah Religious Leader of Shiites in Iran Becomes President after Vietnam