Ch 40 The Reagan Revolution and Cold War: 1980-1992 The Challenger crew, 1986
Explain the social, economic, and foreign policy goals of New Right conservatives from the 1960s to the 1980s and assess the degree to which the Reagan administration succeeded in implementing these goals in the 1980s.
Republicans (pre-fdr) Big govt Lots of interference in economy Think Hamilton, TR Democrats (pre-fdr) Small government No interference in govt Think TJ, Cleveland Later Later.
2 nd Term Domestic Policy
Deregulation (begun under Carter) Reagan and Congress deregulated AT&T and the airline and trucking industries Consolidation of industries resulted Many multi-national corporations Black Monday (Oct 19, 1987) stock market index down 508pts largest 1 day decline Savings and Loan (S&L) Bailout Reagan pushed to deregulate S&L industry Made several risky loans Fed govt forced to bail out over $500 bil in bank failures at taxpayers expense
Economic Legacy A balanced budget was out of reach Lower taxes were supposed to increase govt revenue by stimulating economy Lower taxes + increased military spending widened deficit People happy low inflation, reduced interest rates Soon less standard of living, work harder In 8 years = $2 trillion more in debt More cuts in social spending Slowed growth of govt, contained the welfare state US is financed by foreigners (Japanese)
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 Attempted to deal with the problem of illegal immigration Increased penalties on employers hiring undocumented workers Increased INS resources to enforce the law
Offered amnesty to any individual who had been living in the U.S. since 1982 Result: reduced flow of immigration until the global recession hit in the early 1990s
Religious Right Religion permeated politics in 80s Moral Majority - Reverend Jerry Falwell minister from VA founded this political organization Against: sexual permissiveness, abortion, feminism, gay rights 1979-81 2-3 million voters Used radio, mail marketing, TV televangelists raised millions to promote conservative causes Like the 60s: Personal issues became political issues, used same tactics (blocked entrances, sit-ins, meetings) Later leaders got caught in wrongdoing (prostitutes, financial misconduct) didn t shake movement
Conservatism in the Courts Chief tool of conservatives Sandra Day O Connor 1 st woman on Sup. Ct 1984 job seniority outweighs affirmative action in promotion policies 1989 difficult to prove an employer used racial discrimination in hiring, easier for white males to argue reverse discrimination Webster v. Reproductive Health Services Missouri can impose restrictions on abortion Partially overturned Roe v. Wade Planned Parenthood v. Casey states can restrict abortion as long as no undue burden on woman
Challenger disaster, February 1986 7 astronauts died in the tragedy, including Christa McAuliffe, the first school teacher on a space mission. NASA s credibility was damaged and the feasibility of such projects as SDI came into question.
2 nd term Foreign Policy Ronald Reagan initially promoted tough Cold War policies abroad but later worked with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to dramatically reduce Cold War tensions between the two superpowers.
Reagan Doctrine: U.S. gave overt and covert support for anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in order to roll back communist expansion Ex support of Afghan Mujahedeen against Soviets in Afghanistan
Bombing of Libya, 1986 Libyan-sponsored bombing of a W. Berlin disco, killed two US servicemen Colonel Qaddafi terrorism against west
Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) U.S. backed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as Iran was a bitter enemy of the U.S. War ended in a stalemate but Saddam later used U.S. weapons to invade Kuwait in 1990 We secretly gave weapons to Iran as well
End of the Cold War Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union reform-minded -- He allowed for free speech (glasnost), capitalistic reforms (perestroika) and democratic reforms Gorbachev courted the West
President Reagan and Premier Gorbachev at the Geneva Summit, 1985
Reagan-Gorbachev meetings 1) Nov 1985 Geneva proposed less nukes, Reagan refused to give up SDI 2) 1986 Iceland another stalemate 3) 1987 DC signed INF Treaty banned all missiles from Europe 4) 1988 Moscow Reagan praised Gorbachev, wants to end Cold War
INF Treaty, 1987 December 8, 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Washington INF Treaty, which eliminated intermediate-range missiles in Europe.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! June 27, 1987: Reagan continued to pressure the Soviets to allow more freedoms in Eastern Europe.
Iran/Contra Scandal, 1987 Biggest crisis of Reagan s presidency American hostages seized by Muslim extremist groups in Lebanon 1985 US secretly arranged arms sales to Iranians for help in obtaining release of American hostages got 1 back Reagan asks Congress to provide military aid to Contras in Nicaragua - denied Reagan used $ from Iran arms deal to give to Contras violated Congressional decision News broke = controversy, Reagan denied involvement Investigation brought out the worse senile? Napped through meetings?
Herblock, Arms payoff for hostage release, November 11, 1986, Washington Post
Effects: Reagan was shielded from any wrongdoing in the scandal but his credibility among the public was damaged Dems take back Senate Lt. Col. Oliver North testifying during the Iran/Contra hearings