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United States History . Chapter 35: The Republican Revolution . Election of 1980. President Carter was plagued by a bad economy and the Iran Hostage Crisis, but was re-nominated by the Democrats Republican nominated former CA governor Ronald Reagan Promised to make American strong again
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United States History Chapter 35: The Republican Revolution
Election of 1980 • President Carter was plagued by a bad economy and the Iran Hostage Crisis, but was re-nominated by the Democrats • Republican nominated former CA governor Ronald Reagan • Promised to make American strong again • Enticed many Democrats to cross over • Reagan won in a landslide, with 489 electoral votes to 49 • The hostages in Iran were released hours after Reagan was sworn in as president
Ronald Reagan • Reagan was originally a New Deal Democrat, but switched • He garnered a lot of support across the board, but much of it came from a new political movement called the New Right • Staunchly conservative in politics • Supported by the Moral Majority, a fundamentalist Christian organization formed in 1979 by Reverend Jerry Falwell • Supported school prayer, strong defense, free economic policy • Opposed gun control, abortion, the ERA and many civil rights measures like busing
Ronald Reagan • One of the most defining characteristics of Reagan’s presidency was his economic policy • Reagan believed in a philosophy of supply-side economics • Low taxes will spur growth when companies create supply • People will have more money to buy the supply of goods • Also known as “Reaganomics” • Drastically cut tax rates, government regulation, and government spending • The economy did improve, with inflation and unemployment dropping • However, many, including minorities and industrial workers, still continued to suffer
Ronald Reagan • Reagan drastically increased military spending to fight communism • Called the USSR the “evil empire” • Increased budgets to develop more nuclear weapons • Most controversial was the Strategic Defense Initiative, or better known as “Star Wars” • Called to develop a missile shield in outer space • Would be able to shoot down incoming missiles from the Soviet Union • Would have cost billions of dollars on technology that was untested • Relations between the US and USSR sank further, making the Cold War as cold as ever
Ronald Reagan • Focused attention on El Salvador and Nicaragua in order to prevent communist uprisings • El Salvador fell into a civil war from 1979-1992 • Reagan funded moderate president Jose Napoleon Duarte, hoping to prevent communism • Finally signed peace treaties in 1992 • Cut off all aid to Nicaragua when the Sandinistas overthrew the government • Reagan claimed they were tied to the Soviets • Reagan funneled money to the Contras, a rebel army group, to fight the Sandinistas • Congress cut off funding for the Contras, but funding, secretly and illegally, continued
Ronald Reagan • In 1984, Reagan’s high approval won him a second term in one of the most lopsided victories ever • Ran against Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro • Became first woman on a major party ticket • Throughout his first term and into the second, worked to appoint more women to prominent government roles • Sandra Day O’Connor (Supreme Court) • Elizabeth Dole (Secretary of Transportation) • Margaret Heckler (Secretary of Health and Human Services)
Economic Bust in the 1980s • Because of high defense spending, the federal deficit continued to soar in the 1980s • Two major laws were passed to address the budget • Balanced Budget and Emergency Control Act: automatic across the board cuts if the deficit exceeded a certain amount • Tax Reform Law of 1986: eliminated certain tax breaks • Stock market troubles • Many were busted for insider trading • Market crashed on October 19, 1987, losing over $1 TRILLION in one day • As a result, many savings and loan banks (S & L) failed • Banks had made risky loans could not get their money • The government guaranteed these loans, so the tax payers had to foot the bill
Iran-Contra Affair • Congress outlawed aid to the Contras in Nicaragua • The US bargained with Iran for the release of American held in Lebanon by pro-Iranian groups • In exchange, the US sent weapons to Iran through Israel • The profits for these weapons were sent to the Contras • Reagan appointed a commission to investigate • Cleared him of any involvement • However, many White House officials resigned • Lt. Col. Oliver North admitted to funneling millions to the Contras and destroying key documents to the affair • He and national security advisor John Poindexter were convicted of lying to Congress and destroying docs • Later reversed on a legal technicality
Easing of the Cold War • In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was made leader of the Soviet Union • Because of severe economic and military problems in the USSR, he implemented two huge changes to Soviet life • Glasnost: openness and more freedom for Soviets • Perestroika: restructuring of Soviet economy, away from strict Communist principles • Soviets began to openly criticize the government and demand reforms • Quickly led to a collapse of Soviet style Communism throughout Europe • Signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Reagan in 1987 • Eliminated all nuclear missiles from Europe • Pulled all Soviet troops from Afghanistan
Life in the 1980s • The booming economy created a highly materialistic consumer society • Young workers were called “yuppies” • Single parent homes continued to suffer though • Technology exploded • Computers became commonplace • The space program created the space shuttle • Suffered a setback in 1986 when the Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff • While life expectancy rose, a new disease became the focus • HIV and AIDS began to spread quickly, with no sign of a treatment or a cure • Today, people with the disease can live for decades after the first sign, but only with expensive drugs
End of the Cold War • As the Soviet Union tried to keep up to American defense, their economy suffered • In 1989, Gorbachev announced that the USSR could not afford to continue supporting the satellite nations • Gov’ts in Poland and Hungary collapsed, with Romania and Czechoslovakia soon following • Protests wracked East Germany • The government began allowing people to cross the Berlin Wall • In November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down • By Oct. 1990, Germany was reunited • By 1991, the Soviet Union was on the brink • Gorbachev survived a coup attempt, but resigned • New president Boris Yeltsin declared the USSR dissolved • The USSR became 15 independent nations, including Russia
China Uprisings sprung up in China in protest to Communist policy as well However, the Chinese government crushed the rebellion of mostly students in the streets of Berlin and Tiananmen Square Hundreds were killed in the protest
George H. W. Bush 1989-1993 • Elected in 1988 after soundly defeating Dem. Michael Dukakis • Saw the end of the Cold War • Initiated the Persian Gulf War in 1991 • Saw many successes in domestic policy during his term • Invasion of Panama to capture Manual Noriega on drug trafficking charges • Americans with Disabilities Act • Nominated Clarence Thomas to Supreme Court (although after controversial hearings on sexual harassment) • However, a broken promise on taxes and a sour economy spelled doom
Persian Gulf War • In August 1990, Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait • Saddam Hussein ordered troops to secure oil fields of the oil rich nation • Sanctions were imposed on Iraq and the action was condemned by the UN • A deadline of January 15, 1991 was given for Hussein to withdraw troops • A UN coalition led by the United States attacked Iraq on January 16, 1991 • Known as Operation Desert Storm • Involved almost 700,000 troops, 540,000 of which were American • The capital of Baghdad and several other cities were bombed heavily by high tech weapons
Persian Gulf War • Ground troops were sent in on February 23 • Within a few short days, the Iraqis were driven out and the Kuwaiti leader was reinstated • About 150 Americans were killed, with another 450 wounded or taken prisoner • Over 100,000 Iraqis died in the short conflict • War was very different on many levels • Women had a distinct role for the first time, although not in ground operations or as combat pilots • Tomahawk cruise missiles and GPS guided bombs were mainly used to destroy targets • Led to the lifting of the ban on women in many combat operations in war, although women still cannot serve in infantry units
