The Resurgence of Conservatism and the Culture War, 1980 to the Present

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1 AP U.S. History: Unit 9.1 Student Edition The Resurgence of Conservatism and the Culture War, 1980 to the Present I. The Election of 1980 A. Nominations 1. Democrats renominated Jimmy Carter after a challenge from Massachusetts Senator Edward Ted Kennedy. 2. Republicans nominated Ronald Reagan of California a. He was the leading spokesman for American conservatism. He became a B-grade movie star in the 1940s and was a New Deal Democrat until he became a spokesman for General Electric in 1954 (during the "red scare"). He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild in the 1950s who helped purge communists from the film industry. b. He served as California s governor from 1966 to John Anderson, an independent Congressman, ran on a third party ticket. Use space below for notes B. Campaign 1. Reagan called for reductions in government spending and taxes, a shift in power from the federal gov t to the states, and advocated "traditional American values": family, religion, hard work, and patriotism. a. He blasted the Soviets for their aggression and vowed to rebuild the U.S. military. b. He received vigorous support from the "New Right" including evangelical Christian groups like Jerry Falwell s Moral Majority. The Religious Right denounced abortion, pornography, homosexuality, the ERA, and affirmative action. Religious conservatives also championed prayer in public schools and tougher penalties for criminals. c. Reagan denounced the activist federal gov t and failed "social engineering" of the "Great Society" in the 1960s. He promised to get the government off people's backs. 2. Carter defended his record, but was uninspiring in style. a. His inability to deal with the "double digit" inflation of the 1970s was damaging. b. The Iran-Hostage crisis was especially damaging. c. Carter charged that Reagan was a war-monger who might push the country into a nuclear war.

2 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 2 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present C. Results: Reagan defeated Carter 489 to 49 in the electoral college. 1. Reagan got over 51% of the vote; Carter 41%; Anderson 7%. 2. Carter was the first sitting president to be unseated by voters since Herbert Hoover in Republicans gained control of the Senate for the first time in 25 years. 4. The election ushered in the conservative "Reagan Revolution" that would continue into the 21 st century. D. Reagan as the Great Communicator 1. Reagan s superb communication skills and optimism gave Americans a renewed sense of hope and destiny in the 1980s following the frustrating and cynical 1970s (e.g. OPEC oil embargo, loss in Vietnam, and stagflation). 2. Reagan publicly made light of the assassination attempt on March 30, 1981 that nearly ended his life. Reagan to his surgeon before the operation to remove the bullet from his chest: I hope you re all Republicans II. Reagan and the Cold War A. Reagan s early rhetoric regarding the Soviet Union was harsh. 1. He decried the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in He sought to deal with the Soviets from a position of strength by embarking on a massive new round to the arms race. Americans could better bear the economic burden of a renewed arms race while the Soviets couldn t. 3. October 1981, Reagan seemed to endorse the concept that the U.S. might fight the Soviets in a "limited" nuclear war on European soil. a. Western Europeans were horrified and an anti-nuclear movement emerged there by b. Reagan called for intermediate-range missiles to be placed in western Europe to counter the Soviet implementation of intermediate range missiles in eastern Europe. 4. "Evil Empire" speech (March 1983) a. Reagan called the USSR "the evil empire" and the "focus of evil in the modern world." b. The speech justified his military build-up as necessary to thwart the aggressive Soviets; the U.S. eventually placed intermediate-range missiles in western Europe. B. Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) "Star Wars" 1. March 1983, Reagan announced his intention to pursue a hightechnology missile-defense system. a. The plan envisioned orbiting battle stations in space that could fire laser beams or other forms of concentrated energy to

3 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 3 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present vaporize Soviet intercontinental missiles on lift-off. b. Reagan claimed SDI would offer a nuclear umbrella over U.S. cities. c. Most scientists viewed SDI as impossible and it became the cause of much ridicule in the scientific community. 2. Diplomatically, Reagan sought to use SDI to scare the Soviets. 3. NUT vs. MAD a. SDI upset four decades of strategic thinking concerning nuclear weapons. b. Nuclear Utilization Theory (NUT) advocated the winning of a nuclear war. Reagan s staff drew up estimates of so-called reasonable losses in the event of a nuclear war (some as high as 40%). c. Hitherto, Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), had assured a "balance of terror" for 4 decades. d. Reagan s dramatic increase in defense spending placed enormous pressures on the Soviet economy. When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985, he would try to reform the Soviet system rather than outcompete the U.S. Some historians today credit Reagan's aggressive policies for winning the Cold War and forcing the disintegration of the Soviet Union in C. Reagan Doctrine: The U.S. gave overt and covert support for anti- Communist guerrillas and resistance movements in order to roll back Communist expansion. 1. This represented an aggressive move away from containment. 2. Reagan continued Carter s support for the Afghani mujahideen against the Soviets in Afghanistan. The Soviets finally pulled out of Afghanistan in 1988; Gorbachev called it a bleeding wound. 3. The U.S. aided Nicaraguan Contras in an effort to overthrow the Sandinistas (leaders of the Communist government). a. "Sandinistas" were socialist revolutionaries who condemned capitalism and U.S. policies in Latin America. They were supported by Cuba. b. Reagan accused the Sandinistas of turning their country into a forward base for Soviet and Cuban military penetration of all of Central America. c. Reagan sent covert aid, including the CIA-led mining of harbors, to the "Contra" rebels ("freedom fighters") opposing the anti-u.s. government in Nicaragua. d. Atrocities committed by the Contras resulted in the U.S. Congress banning further aid to them. e. The Reagan administration s continuation of secret and

4 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 4 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present illegal funding of the Contras resulted in the damaging Iran- Contra Scandal (1987). f. The Sandinistas were eventually voted out of office by the early 1990s. 4. El Salvador a. Reagan sent military "advisors" to prop up the pro-u.s. (anticommunist) gov t of El Salvador as well as gaining congressional approval for $5 billion in aid. b. U.S. public opinion soured after news of El Salvadoran gov t "death squads" eliminating hundreds, perhaps thousands of opposition members. 5. Grenada (1983) a. Reagan sent 6,000 troops to tiny Grenada in the Caribbean where a military coup had killed the prime minister and brought a Marxist regime to power. b. U.S. forces successfully overran the island. 6. Angola: The U.S. supported the anti-communist UNITA movement. D. KAL 007, September The Soviets destroyed a Korean airliner carrying hundreds of civilians, including many Americans. The plane had accidentally veered into Soviet airspace. 2. By end of 1983, all arms-control negotiations with the Soviets had broken off. III. The End of the Cold War A. Mikhail Gorbachev 1. In 1985, Gorbachev, a reform-minded leader, became leader of the Soviet Union. He allowed for free-speech ( glasnost ), capitalist economic reforms ( perestroika ) and some democracy. 2. Gorbachev courted the West a. He stated the Soviets would cease deployment of intermediaterange nuclear forces (INF) targeted on western Europe if the U.S. would also agree to their elimination. b. Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva in 1985 to discuss improving relations and in Reykjavic, Iceland in 1986 to discuss arms reductions. Gorbachev proposed dramatic cuts in nuclear forces if Reagan agreed to suspend SDI; Reagan refused. 3. The INF Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. in December 1987 (after 2 years of negotiations). a. It banned all intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe. b. It represented a dramatic breakthrough in the Cold War. c. Reagan and Gorbachev: "Nuclear war cannot be won and must

5 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 5 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present never be fought" B. Revolutions of 1989: the fall of the "Iron Curtain" 1. The costs of maintaining satellite countries, both politically and economically, were too much of a burden for the USSR to handle. 2. Gorbachev's political reforms opened the floodgates for the democratization of eastern Europe and the decline of Soviet influence. 3. Solidarity prevailed in Poland in August 1989, removing the Communist government, and a wave of freedom spread throughout eastern Europe. 4. Hungary broke from Soviet influence in October. 5. The Berlin Wall fell in November; Germany was reunited in October Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania broke from the Soviets by the end of the year. C. Reduction of nuclear weapons 1. President George H. W. Bush and Gorbachev agreed to dramatic cutbacks in ICBMs (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles) in the early 1990s. 2. START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, 1991 a. It would cut 10% of U.S. nuclear weapons and 25% of Soviet nukes and limit ICBM warheads to 1,100 each. b. A later treaty called for 50% reductions within a few years. D. Fall of the Soviet Union (December 25, 1991) resulted in the end of the Cold War. 1. An attempted coup by Soviet hardliners over Gorbachev in August 1991 fatally weakened his leadership. a. Several republics within the USSR continued to demand independence from the Soviet Union. b. Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, seceded from the USSR, thus destroying the Soviet Union. 2. Russia assumed the Soviet position in the United Nations Security Council. 3. Fifteen new countries emerged from the disintegration of the Soviet Union. 4. Americans claimed victory in the Cold War and the U.S. became the world s hegemon. IV. Reagan s domestic policy A. Assassination attempt in March 1981 nearly killed Reagan 1. White House Press Secretary James Brady was shot in the head and debilitated for years after. 2. Reagan s aides began to notice a decline in his mental acuity.

6 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 6 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present B. Reaganomics -- Supply-side economics 1. Reagan cut taxes based on the "trickle down" idea that if the people had more money, they would invest rather than spend the excess on consumer goods. a. This would result in greater production, more jobs, and greater prosperity. b. Arthur Laffer theorized gov t revenues would increase despite lower taxes. 2. Economic Recovery Tax Act, 1981 Congress granted Reagan a 25% cut, spread over three years. 3. Meanwhile, Reagan enacted large budget cuts in domestic programs including education, food stamps, public housing, and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. Reagan said he would maintain a "safety net" for the "truly needy" focusing on those unable to work because of disability or need for child care. 4. The defense budget increased by $12 billion. 5. Results: a. Huge budget deficits resulted in the rise of the national debt from $1 trillion in 1980 to $3 trillion in The continued expansion of certain programs such as Medicare and Medicaid resulted in large increases in government spending. o Most Americans were unwilling to see these safety net programs compromised, especially as the percentage of those in retirement age as a proportion of the total population continued to increase ( the graying of America ). b. Taxes had to be implemented in 1984 in order to make up for budget deficits. c. In the mid-1980s, the U.S. became a debtor nation for the first time since WWI. C. Reagan Recession ( ) 1. By December 1982, the economy was in recession due to the Federal Reserve s "tight money" policy: led to 10% unemployment. 2. Yet, inflation fell from 12% in 1979 to 4% in This resulted from the lower demand for goods and the oversupply of oil. 3. The Federal Reserve Board began to lower interest rates which, together with lower inflation and more income due to lower taxes, resulted in an increase in business. Unemployment fell to less than 8%.

7 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 7 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present D. Deregulation (begun under Carter) 1. Reagan and Congress deregulated AT&T (the nation s largest telephone company), and the airline and trucking industries. The consolidation of industries resulted with many smaller companies going under. 2. Savings and Loan (S & L) bailout a. In 1982, many savings and loan institutions were threatened with insolvency. b. Reagan pushed for the deregulation of the savings and loan industries. Banks began to make riskier loans and corrupt administrators bilked millions of dollars from investors. Third World countries were unable to repay risky loans. A wave of mergers, acquisitions, and leveraged buyouts (LBOs) left companies saddled with heavy debt. o Bankruptcy became a convenient way to escape debt and became a hefty tax write-off. c. Starting in 1989, the federal gov t was forced to bail out over $500 million worth of bank failures; U.S. taxpayers covered the bill. 3. Mergers a. Encouraged by deregulation under Carter and Reagan as well as an emerging international economy, and fueled by funds released by new tax breaks, mergers became a widespread phenomenon in the b. Multinational corporations came to dominate the international economy. 4. Stock Market Crash (Black Monday), October 19, 1987 a. Stock prices had soared in the early 80s due in part to Reagan s easing of controls on the stock market, brokerage houses, banks, and savings and loan institutions. b. October 19, 1987, Dow Jones stock market average dropped over 500 points but did not seriously damage the economy. c. Fearing a recession, Congress reduced 1988 taxes by $30 billion. d. By the mid-1990s, stock market indexes doubled in light of a more stable economy. E. Air Traffic Controllers strike 1. August 1981, federally employed air traffic controllers began an illegal strike. 2. Reagan fired 11,400 of them after they refused to follow his order to return to work. Airports began training replacements and used military controllers during the interim. 3. The air traffic controllers union was destroyed as a result.

8 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 8 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present F. Election of Democrats nominated Walter Mondale, former vice president under Carter and a former senator from Minnesota. a. Geraldine Ferraro was nominated as the first female vice presidential nominee from a major party in U.S. history. b. Mondale criticized Reagan for his budget deficits, high unemployment and interest rates, and reduction of spending on social services. 2. Ronald Reagan and George Bush were renominated by the Republican party. 3. Reagan defeated Mondale 525 to 13 and gained 60% of popular vote; Reagan won 49 of 50 states. a. The Democratic coalition from the days of FDR consisting of industrial workers, farmers, and the poor was broken apart. b. Reagan Democrats provided his decisive victory. c. Only African Americans remained as a Democratic voting block within the Democratic party. G. Tax Reform Act of It lowered tax rates, changing the highest rate on personal income from 50% to 28% and corporate taxes from 46% to 34%. 2. Yet, it removed many tax shelters and tax credits that had favored the rich. H. Iran-Contra Scandal (1987) 1. It represented the biggest crisis of Reagan s presidency. 2. The Reagan administration continued to fund the Nicaraguan Contras even though Congress had forbidden it. a. The money came from the U.S. secret sale of weapons to Iran (America s sworn enemy) in return for uncertain Iranian guarantees that U.S. hostages being held in the Middle East would be released. b. When the press discovered the illegal flow of money, Reagan publicly denied any sales of arms for hostages 3. Congressional hearings led to the admission of guilt by several high ranking Reagan administration officials. 4. Reagan was shielded from any wrong-doing in the scandal but his credibility among many Americans was damaged. I. Reagan s economic legacy 1. The 1980s saw low inflation and the reduction of interest rates. This combination sparked a dramatic economic recovery that fueled optimism among a majority of Americans. 2. The national debt tripled from about $1 billion in 1980 to about $3 billion in a. Tax cuts and increased military spending created lost revenue

9 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 9 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present of $200 billion per year. b. Deficits did not begin to diminish until Clinton's presidency in the mid-1990s. c. The debt was serendipitous for conservatives: The reduced growth of gov t led to cuts in social spending since less money was available for gov t to spend. VII. George H. W. Bush s Presidency A. Election of Bush benefited from the popularity of Reagan s presidency and the rising tide of conservatism. a. He advocated strong defense policy, toughness on crime, and opposition to abortion. b. His campaign pledge read my lips, no new taxes would come back to bite him in the election of He defeated Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis easily although the Democrats held on to their seats in Congress. B. George H. W. Bush 1. He made his fortune in the Texas oil boom after having served as one of the youngest pilots in the Air Force in WWII. 2. He brought significant political and diplomatic experience to the presidency: he had served as a congressman, emissary to China, ambassador to the United Nations, director of the CIA, and vice president. 3. He was more moderate in economic policies than Reagan was. C. Foreign Policy 1. Bush oversaw the Revolutions of 1989 in eastern Europe and the fall of the Soviet Union in a. He continued the constructive relationship with Gorbachev that Reagan had fostered. b. Bush formally recognized each of the 15 new countries that emerged from the defunct Soviet Union. 2. Invasion of Panama,1989 (Operation Just Cause ) a. The democratic government of Panama was overthrown by military dictator Manuel Noriega. b. Bush sent U.S. airborne troops to Panama to restore the democratically-elected government. c. Noriega was extradited to the U.S. where he underwent a trial and became a POW in the American jail system. 3. First Gulf War (see next sub-unit) a. Success of Operation Desert Storm in removing Iraq from Kuwait in 1991 helped make Bush enormously popular. b. In early 1991, Bush enjoyed a 91% approval rating.

10 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 10 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present VIII. The Culture War (late-1970s to the present) A. Liberalism in the late-20 th century continued to challenge what many Americans considered core traditional American values. 1. Since the late-1970s, the culture war increasingly polarized Americans around such issues as abortion, gay marriage, evolution vs. creationism, and affirmative action policies. 2. The debate over what constituted American values was similar to the 1920s conflict between modernists and traditionalists. 3. Liberalism tended to be strongest in the blue states where large cosmopolitan populations welcomed a more open society. The coasts were the strongest bastions of liberalism (e.g. California, New York and Massachusetts). 4. Social conservatives dominated the South, the Great Plains states and certain states in the Midwest. B. Rise of the Religious Right 1. The 1970s experienced a major revival of conservative Christianity among both fundamentalists and more moderate evangelicals. a. In a 1977 survey, roughly 30% of Americans considered themselves born-again Christians. b. Jimmy Carter was the most prominent example as he was a devout Baptist. 2. Rev. Jerry Falwell and his organization, the Moral Majority became politically active, favoring prayer and the teaching of creationism in the public schools, opposing abortion, pornography, homosexuality, the ERA, and supporting a strong national defense. 3. Born-again activists came to be called the Religious Right and were led by several prominent leaders in the late 1980s and 1990s including Pat Robertson, head of the Christian Coalition. Dr. James Dobson, leader of Focus on the Family became the leading voice of evangelicals in the late-1990s and 2000s. 4. President Reagan supported many ideas of the Religious Right. 5. The abortion issue affected many local and state political elections in 1980s and 90s and became the single most important social issue of the late-20 th century, leading to the polarization of politics between Democrats and Republicans. a. Liberals saw Roe v. Wade (1973) as a bastion for women s rights and the rights and for separation of church and state b. Conservatives saw abortion as murder and against Biblical principles. c. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) the Supreme Court largely upheld Roe v. Wade, even though a majority of the Court consisted of conservatives.

11 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 11 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present d. Abortion rights became a cornerstone of women s rights advocates who argued women should have control over their reproductive rights. 6. Conservatives opposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and efforts by such conservatives as Phyllis Schlafly succeeded in killing the amendment in Religious conservatives made runs at local school board elections. 8. Multiculturalism came under attack as well. C. Sexual Orientation 1. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) a. It initially received little attention as the earliest victims were gay men and intravenous drug users. b. The issue entered the culture war as conservatives opposed government funding for AIDS research. The controversy was exemplified by President Reagan s son, Ron Reagan, Jr., criticizing his father s administration for its seeming indifference to the AIDS issue. c. By the end of the 1980s, at least 600,000 people were infected. Many were heterosexual and the nation became intensely alerted. d. By the mid-1990s drugs to prevent the onset of AIDS showed promise. 2. Gays in the military a. Up until 1993, the military required those who enlisted to declare, under oath, that they were not homosexual. For decades, policy makers and military leaders argued that allowing gays in the military would hurt morale and disrupt the readiness of the nation s armed forces. b. In 1993, President Bill Clinton lifted the ban on gays in the military. A political firestorm erupted and most Republicans and some Democrats severely criticized Clinton s policy. c. Don t Ask, Don t Tell, 1993 A political compromise ensued whereby the military would no longer require enlistees to declare their sexual orientation; however, if anyone was found to be gay they would be discharged from the military. 13,640 service men and women were dishonorably discharged for homosexual conduct between 1994 and d. Repeal of Don t Ask, Don t Tell occurred in December, 2010 when President Barack Obama signed legislation ending the policy. The DADT policy expired in September 2011 and open gays

12 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 12 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present and lesbians thereafter were able to serve. 3. Same-Sex Marriage a. During the 1980s, the gay rights movement became increasingly vocal in their demands for equal treatment before the law. b. Conservatives often argued that sexual orientation should not be protected under civil rights laws and that gay marriage contradicted Biblical principles. c. In the 1990s a few states began allowing gay marriage with certain restrictions. d. Defense of Marriage Act, 1996 In 1996, an election year, President Bill Clinton signed legislation that established that the federal government only recognized marriage as between a man and woman. o Despite his support for gay rights, Clinton signed the measure, echoing the sentiment of nearly 80% of Americans who opposed gay marriage at that time. o Each state would determine their own policies o Gay married couples were denied the right to federal aid and could be denied right to state aid and benefits that applied to heterosexual spouses. Many Democratic supporters of Clinton criticized him for caving into conservative demands for such legislation. e. By 2015, 37 states recognized gay marriage or civil unions. In 2011, New York became the largest state to recognize same-sex marriages, followed by California in E. Affirmative Action 1. Conservatives saw affirmative action as reverse discrimination and sought to abolish it at the federal and state level. White men were the most likely group to be opposed to affirmative action policies. 2. Liberals argued that the American economic and political system was still dominated by whites and that affirmative action was still necessary to even the playing field. 3. Supreme Court decisions in the 1990s and 2000s weakened affirmative action at the fringes although the policy remained largely intact in most university systems, the public sector, and in many industries. 4. Public support for affirmative action policies gradually eroded to a bare majority by the 2000s. F. Welfare 1. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) originated as part of the Social Security Act of 1935 during the New Deal. 2. Lyndon Johnson increased AFDC funding as part of his Great

13 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 13 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present Society 3. By the 1970s and 1980s, conservatives criticized AFDC as creating a generation of people dependent on government largesse The term welfare queen was used referring to unwed mothers who allegedly continued to have children in order to get welfare payments. Liberals argued that minorities were more likely to need welfare assistance and ending the safety net was inhumane. 4. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, 1996 a. It placed five-year lifetime cap on welfare benefits; 2-years maximum at any one time. It provided block grants to states to devise and administer their own welfare system. b. It ended welfare benefits for legal immigrants. c. It banned federal, state and local public assistance to illegal immigrants except emergency medical care, school lunches, and treatment for communicable diseases. d. Impact: The welfare caseload had dropped from 14.4 million in 1994 to 12.1 million before Clinton signed the bill. By August, 1997, the welfare rolls dropped to 10.7%, the lowest since States around the country began creating their own welfare-towork programs. G. Sex and Violence in the Media 1. By the 1980s, millions of American parents grew increasingly concerned with the level of gratuitous sex and violence on TV, in the movies, and in the recording industry. Social conservatives in particular decried the entertainment industry, especially Hollywood, of corrupting American culture and eroding traditional values. 2. Some liberals argued that any attempt to limit freedom of expression constituted an infringement of the First Amendment. 3. By the late 1980s, warning labels were placed on records, tapes and CDs to warn parents of material they might deem objectionable for their children. 4. The movie industry added the distinction PG-13 for movies as a way of warning parents of material that might be inappropriate for younger viewers. 5. The TV industry began using a ratings system although complaints about the level of violence and sexual content persisted; new technology allowed parents to block objectionable material.

14 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 14 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present H. Gun politics 1. Liberals increasingly called for gun-control laws due to the perceived increase in gun violence in American society. Two of the major reforms sought by liberals was to decrease the availability of automatic weapons and to institute background checks on those wishing to purchase a firearm. 2. The National Rifle Association (NRA) vehemently opposed any attempts at gun control in the four decades since a. The NRA strongly backed candidates who favored gun rights and spent prodigiously to defeat candidates who sought gun control. b. Even modest gun control reforms were mostly shot down by candidates backed by the NRA. 3. The issue of gun control became another wedge issue polarizing liberals and conservatives in blue states and red states. IX. Important trends in the late-20 th and early-21 st centuries A. Family 1. Divorce rates doubled in the decade after a. By 1990, 50% of marriages ended in divorce. b. The social impact of broken families had a profound impact on the lives of millions of children. c. Blended families became increasingly prevalent in society. 2. The proportion of adults living alone tripled between 1950 and Children born to unmarried mothers increased into the 21 st century. a. By the 1990s, 1 of 6 white babies was born to an unwed mother; for Latinos, 1 out of 3; for African Americans, 1 out of TVs came to replace many parents as the average child in the 1990s watched up to 15,000 hours of TV by age 16. B. The Graying of America 1. The baby boom generation was the largest in American history. 2. In 2000, the first of the baby boomers turned 60 years of age. 3. As Medicare and Social Security costs increased, a proportionally smaller percentage of Americans under the age of 60 were paying into the system. 4. By the 21 st century, the financial strain of paying for increased numbers of retirees strained the federal budget considerably. President George W. Bush sought to reform the Social Security system but caught a political firestorm in the process. 5. As the percentage of Americans over age 55 continued to rise, the elderly exercised an increasing level of political and social influence relative to previous generations.

15 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 15 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present C. Immigration 1. Immigration Act of 1965 ended the quota system established in the 1920s a. A flood of immigration from Latin America, Asia, and Africa resulted. b. Mexico was the largest source of immigration after c. The Vietnam War resulted in a wave of refugees coming to the U.S. from Vietnam and Cambodia. d. The Philippines became the largest source of Asian immigration to the U.S. e. Other major sources of immigration included Korea, the Dominican Republic, India, Cuba, and China. f. The Southwest saw the largest increase in immigration. 2. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (signed by Reagan) a. It attempted to deal with the problem of illegal immigration, mostly from Mexico and Central America. It increased penalties on employers hiring undocumented workers. It increased resources of Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to enforce the law. b. It offered resident alien status ( amnesty ) to 3 million illegal immigrants who had been living in the U.S. continually since c. Result: it reduced the flow of immigration until the global recession of the early 1990s. 3. By 2000, Latinos became the largest non-white group in America (Mexicans were the largest Latino group). a. An estimated 12 million illegal (undocumented) immigrants lived in America by b. The Latino population comprised 16% of the U.S. population in 2010 (up from 13% in 2000). Its political power was seen in the election of Barack Obama in 2008 and The recession of 1991 resulted in the rise of nativism. a. Proposition 187 in California banned social services (including education) for illegal immigrants and their children. The initiative was later invalidated in by the courts. b. Korean-Americans were targeted by African Americans during the L.A. Riots of Arizona (2010) and Alabama (2011) passed strong antiimmigrant laws aimed at deporting illegal immigrants. 6. The deportation of illegal immigrants accelerated significantly during the Obama presidency. However, he issued in 2014 an executive order to dramatically reduce non-criminal deportations while Republicans saw the

16 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 16 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present order as unconstitutional. D. Revolution in communication and technology 1. The personal computer a. The Apple personal computer, developed by Steve Woszniac, in the late-1970s signaled a technological revolution. b. By the late-1980s the IBM-based personal computer (PC) had become the industry standard and millions of American homes had at least one PC. c. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, developed a virtual monopoly on the operating systems used with PCs, becoming the wealthiest man on the planet by the 1990s. 2. Public access to the Internet in the mid-1990s resulted in a second revolution in communications technology. a. It enabled business to become more profitable and gave rise to new Internet giants (e.g. Amazon and Google). b. revolutionized communication in business and society. c. Social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter became ubiquitous. 3. Cell phones were used by a majority of the population by the 2000s. Smart phones, especially Apple s iphone, offered the power and storage of a PC. 4. The ipod, developed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, revolutionized how millions of Americans listened to music. E. Decline of Labor Unions 1. At the height of union power between 1955 and 1970, about 1 in 3 American workers belonged to labor unions. 2. The shift in the U.S. economy from an industrial economy to a service economy proportionally reduced the percentage of workers in unions. a. Service industry jobs included accounting, tradesmanship (e.g. car repair, plumbing), computer services, restaurants, retail sales, and tourism. b. Corporations in major industries began relocating their plants to other countries to take advantage of cheaper labor. c. Service industry jobs were usually not unionized. 3. By 2010, the percentage of American workers in labor unions had declined to less than 10%.

17 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 17 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present Terms to Know Election of 1980 President Ronald Reagan Reagan Revolution Evil Empire speech Solidarity Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Star Wars Reagan Doctrine mujahideen Nicaraguan Contras Sandinistas death squads Lebanon, Beirut bombing bombing of Libya Col. Mommar Qadaffi Mikhail Gorbachev INF Treaty Revolutions of 1989 fall of Berlin Wall President George H. W. Bush START fall of Soviet Union Reaganomics supply-side economics Economic Recovery Tax Act Reagan Recession deregulation Savings and Loan bailout air traffic controllers strike Sandra Day O Connor election of 1984 Geraldine Ferraro Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 Iran-Contra Scandal multi-national corporations Challenger explosion President George H. W. Bush invasion of Panama First Gulf War Operation Desert Storm Clean Air Act of 1990 Recession of 1991 Culture War Rev. Jerry Falwell, Moral Majority Religious Right Pat Robertson abortion issue Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Phyllis Schlafly AIDS Don t Ask, Don t Tell Defense of Marriage Act affirmative action Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act National Rifle Association (NRA) Graying of America Immigration Act of 1965 Steve Woszniak, Apple Computers IBM-based personal computer (PC) Bill Gates, Microsoft Internet cell phones Steve Jobs, ipod service economy

18 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 18 Unit 9.1: The Conservative Resurgence and the Culture War, 1980 to the present Essay Questions Note: This sub-unit is a low probability area for the essay portion of the AP exam. In the past 10 years, two questions have come wholly or in part from the material in this chapter. Below are some questions that will help you study the topics that have appeared on previous exams. 1. To what extent was the Reagan Revolution truly a revolution in American politics? 2. Analyze the reasons for the end of the Cold War. 3. How did the Culture War illustrate differences between liberals and conservatives? Bibliography: College Board, Advanced Placement Course Description: United States History, College Entrance Examination Board, published annually Foner, Eric & Garraty, John A. editors: The Reader s Companion to American History, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991 Kennedy, David M., Cohen, Lizabeth, Bailey, Thomas A., The American Pageant (AP Edition), 13 th edition, Boston: Houghton Mifflin 2006 Kennedy, Paul, Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, New York: Random House, 1987 Nash, Gary, American Odyssey, Lake Forest, Illinois: Glencoe, 1992 Patterson, James T., Grand Expectation: The United States, , New York: Oxford University Press, 1996 Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M., The Cycles in American History, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1986 Schultz, Constance G., The American History Videodisc Master Guide, Annapolis: Instruction Resources Corporation, 1995 U.S. Census, 2010, Weisberger, Bernard A., Cold War, Cold Peace, New York: American Heritage, 1985

19 AP U.S. History: Unit 9.2 Student Edition America in the Post-1991 World I. The First Gulf War ( First Iraqi War or Persian Gulf War ) A. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny oil-rich country of Kuwait, claiming it had historically belonged to Iraq. 1. Other Arab states feared Saudi Arabia would be invaded next. 2. President George H. W. Bush immediately ordered troops into the region. B. Desert Shield: the U.S. eventually sent about 500,000 troops to protect the Saudi Arabian border from Iraqi forces. 1. General Colin Powell, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, organized the mission. 2. UN Security Council Resolution 661 condemned the invasion and ordered economic sanctions against Iraq nations participated, several from the Middle East. C. Operation Desert Storm 1. UN Security Council Resolution 678 called for the restoration of the Kuwaiti gov t and the military checking of Saddam Hussein. 2. The operation was led by General Norman Schwarzkopf a. January 17, 1991: U.S. and other forces began a massive bombing of Iraq and Kuwait. b. February 23, the ground war began with 1 million Iraqis facing 750,000 allied troops (about 500,000 of which were U.S.) c. Iraq s forces were devastated in a matter of a few days. 3.. Kuwait was liberated in 5 days and a cease-fire occurred. a. Iraqi casualties amounted to hundreds of thousands and its infrastructure was devastated. b. The U.S. deployed Patriot missiles to down Iraq s SCUD missiles. Iraq sent several missiles into Israel and one missile hit a U.S. army barracks in Saudi Arabia killing over 200 American soldiers. c. Saddam pumped millions of barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf to prevent U.S. marine landings; it was ecologically disastrous. 4. No-fly zones were established in northern and southern Iraq in an attempt to prevent Saddam from attacking Kurdish and Shi ite populations inside Iraq. HistorySage.com 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com

20 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 2 Unit 9.2: America in the Post-1991 World D. The United Nations continued to monitor Iraq for over a decade hoping to prevent Saddam from producing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). E. Political aspect of the Gulf War 1. The UN-sponsored alliance paved the way for Middle East peace talks that significantly reduced tensions in the region in the short-term. 2. President Bush s approval rating shot above 90%; this was nearly unprecedented. 3. U.S. prestige in world affairs improved dramatically. 4. As the months progressed, many began to question why President Bush did not order U.S. troops to continue into Baghdad and kill or capture Saddam Hussein. a. Bush later cited major reasons for not going after Saddam: Arab nations would not have sanctioned a U.S. occupation of Iraq and the UN coalition would have crumbled. U.S. casualties would surely have mounted if Iraqis were forced to protect their homeland from occupation (this proved true in the next decade as over 4,000 U.S. troops were killed in the invasion and occupation of Iraq). The capture of Saddam was sure to be elusive. The Soviet Union would not have approved of a U.S. occupation; Bush did not want to reignite cold war tensions. Legally, the UN mission to free Kuwait had been fulfilled while Iraq was devastated and unable to pose a threat to the region. Any hopes at peace talks in the Middle East would have ended. II. Election of 1992 A. Democrats nominated Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas. 1. Clinton cast himself as a new Democrat and called for a middle-class tax cut, healthcare reform, welfare reform, and deficit reduction. 2. Al Gore, senator from Tennessee and the nation s most visible environmentalist, was selected as Clinton s running mate. B. Republicans renominated George H. W. Bush. 1. The Bush presidency was weakened by the Recession of His platform seemed defensive and it contained no new substantial initiatives. C. Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot formed a 3rd party, United We Stand. 1. It effectively split the Republican party (similar to how

21 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 3 Unit 9.2: America in the Post-1991 World Theodore Roosevelt split the Republican vote in the 1912 election with his Bull Moose party). 2. He advocated deficit reduction but did not disclose a concrete plan for reaching his goals. D. Results: 1. Clinton defeated Bush and Perot with only 43% of vote compared to 39% and 19%, respectively. 2. Democrats retained majorities in both houses. III. The Clinton Presidency: Domestic and economic policy A. Gays in the military 1. It was the first major initiative of the Clinton administration. 2. Clinton lifted the ban on gays in the military, resulting in a political firestorm 3. Compromise: Don t ask, don t tell policy adopted by the military. (see Unit 9.1) 4. DADT would later be repealed in 2010 thus allowing gays to serve openly in the military by September B. Social Programs 1. Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 a. It allowed family members up to 12 weeks away from work in any 12-month period (without pay) for giving birth, adopting a child, caring for a seriously ill child, spouse, or parent, or worker s illness. b. Only companies employing 50 or more were affected. 2. Health care reform: failed attempt at universal medical care a. Clinton appointed first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton as the head of a task force to design a new health care system. b. The attempt was successfully blocked by conservatives and some Democrats as it was deemed socialized medicine. c. Clinton received intense political backlash; it contributed to the public perception that he was an ineffective leader and traditional tax and spend Democrat. 3. A health care reform bill was passed by Congress in August, a. It made healthcare for employees more portable based on a minimum time of employment. b. It provided tax breaks for small businesses who provided health care for their employees. c. Yet, it did nothing for the estimated 40 million Americans still with no health insurance. C. NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement 1. Negotiated by the Bush administration; ratified by Congress at Clinton s urging in It reduced or eliminated trade barriers between the U.S., Mexico,

22 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 4 Unit 9.2: America in the Post-1991 World and Canada beginning in a. It was hailed as a boon to the North American economy by freetraders. b. Protectionists argued American jobs would be sent overseas. 3. As of 2013, many economists who favor NAFTA argue that it has substantially increased trade between the three countries, a boon to business. 4. Labor unions and consumer advocacy groups argue that NAFTA has resulted in the outsourcing of U.S. manufacturing and shipping jobs. 5. NAFTA represents a dramatic example of increased globalization in the post-1991 era. D. GATT (General Agreements on Tariff and Trade) -- Uruguay Round 1. Organized in the 1980s, GATT s Uruguay Round called for a reduction of tariffs and trade regulations in international trade. 2. In the late-1990s, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed to implement GATT. 3. In 1999, a huge protest in Seattle interrupted the WTO s annual meeting as protesters claimed the WTO was causing the exploitation of workers worldwide. Anti-WTO protests can be seen as an example of those who are opposed to the accelerating trend of globalization in trade. E. The Contract with America 1. The 1994 mid-term elections served as a repudiation of Clinton s agenda. a. Republicans swept both houses for the first time in 40 years. b. Newt Gingrich became the new speaker of the house, having campaigned vigorously on his Contract with America platform, a conservative manifesto to counteract Clinton s perceived liberal agenda. 2. Goals included a reduction of taxes, welfare reform, and a balanced budget amendment. 3. Clinton worked cordially with Gingrich and common ground was reached on several major issues resulting in increased popularity for the president. 4. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, 1996 (see Unit 9.1) a. Provisions It placed a five-year lifetime cap on welfare benefits; 2-years maximum at any one time It provided block grants to states to devise and administer their own welfare system. It ended welfare benefits for legal immigrants.

23 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 5 Unit 9.2: America in the Post-1991 World It banned federal, state and local public assistance to illegal immigrants except emergency medical care, school lunches, and treatment for communicable diseases. o Much of this assistance was reinstituted the following year. F. Defense of Marriage Act (1996) gave states the right not to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. (see Unit 9.1) G. Monica Lewinsky Affair 1. Some argue the scandal represented one of the climaxes of the culture war. 2. In early 1998, Clinton denied having had an affair with a young White House intern, Monica Lewinsky, during his depositions in a case concerning alleged sexual harassment of a former state employee in Arkansas. 3. An independent counsel, Kenneth Starr, was appointed to investigate the allegations of Clinton lying under oath. a. After Lewinsky struck a deal with Starr, he subpoenaed the president with new evidence of the affair. b. Clinton admitted publicly to an improper relationship with Lewinsky. 4. On December 19, the House of Representatives voted along partisan lines to impeach Clinton on two counts: a. Obstruction of justice (the same charge leveled at Nixon in Watergate) b. Lying to the grand jury in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case 5. Clinton was acquitted by the Senate in the subsequent trial yet suffered the indignity of being the only president, besides Andrew Johnson, to be formally impeached. 6. Ironically, the Republican Party suffered damage politically as a majority of the public did not see the president s denial of his affair with Lewinsky as constituting high crimes and misdemeanors necessary for impeachment. H. Government Surpluses 1. Clinton and Congress agreed to a balanced budget in Government surpluses began to appear in late 1998, the first time this had occurred in 30 years. IV. Peace-keeping missions in the 1990s A. Iraq 1. Clinton ordered the bombing of Iraqi military targets after Saddam Hussein violated the UN-imposed No Fly zones over northern and southern Iraq. 2. Clinton ordered further bombing upon confirmation that

24 HistorySage.com APUSH Lecture Notes Page 6 Unit 9.2: America in the Post-1991 World Saddam had planned an assassination of then-president George H. W. Bush during his late-1992 visit to Kuwait. B. Somalia 1. Under president Bush, U.S. forces were sent to Mogadishu for humanitarian purposes in order to stem mass-starvation resulting from vicious fighting between rival clans. a. The mission was successful in stemming the famine but several U.S. service men were killed. b. Bush and Clinton unsuccessfully tried to arrest the most prominent of the clan leaders, frustrating the U.S. public 2. Many Americans began to question U.S. military involvement in peace-keeping missions. C. Haiti (September 1994) 1. After a Haitian military general enforced a coup d etat, and later refused to allow the popularly-elected president to return to power, President Clinton planned an invasion. 2. Former president Jimmy Carter mediated a resolution at the 11th-hour and the U.S. invasion was averted. 3. U.S. forces were sent to police Haiti during the transition of power. D. Bosnia-Herzegovina , war broke out in Bosnia between Bosnian Serbs (supported by Serbia) and Bosnian Muslims who sought independence from Yugoslavia. 2. Ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims ensued and most of Bosnia was overrun by the Bosnian Serbs by Atrocities numbered in the hundreds of thousands resembling WWII s Holocaust. 3. In 1995, Clinton supported the UN peace-keeping mission in Bosnia and the Dayton Agreements calling for splitting Bosnia into Serbian and Muslim areas and making Bosnia s capital, Sarajevo, a multinational city. E. Kosovo 1. Perhaps the most serious foreign policy crisis of Clinton s presidency. 2. In 1998, a civil war broke out between separatists in the Yugoslavian region of Kosovo and Serbian (Yugoslavian) forces intent on preventing Kosovo s secession. 3. When it appeared that the Serbs were launching another ethnic cleansing campaign (like the one in Bosnia earlier in the decade), hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo fled the region in desperation.