Chapter 31 The Conservative Ascendency & the New Millennium

1. Chapter 31The Conservative Ascendency &the New Millennium

2. Essential Questions: • What were the reasons for the resurgence of conservative values? • What were the major goals of the New Right? • How did Reagan and Bush emerge as conservative leaders?

3. Goals of the Conservative Movement • Shrink the size of the Federal Government and reduce spending • Promote family values and patriotic ideas • Stimulate business by reducing government regulations and lowering taxes • Strengthen the national defense

4. The New Right • Pro- Life –Anti-abortion • School Prayer • Anti-Affirmative Action/Reverse Discrimination • Blocked the ERA • Personal Responsibility

5. The Conservative Coalition • An Alliance of: • Business Leaders • Middle class voters • Disaffected Democrats • Fundamentalist Christian Groups/Evangelical Christians

6. The Moral Majority • Televangelist Preachers

7. Ronald Reagan • Pres. Screen Actors Guild/ Friendly Witness (HUAC) • Elected CA Governor 1966 • Election of 1980 elected Pres • Attempted Assassination 1981 • Re-Elected in 1984 in a landslide

11. Conservative Policies under Reagan and Bush

12. Essential Questions • What was Reaganomics? • What changes occurred on the Supreme Court? • What were the results of deregulation in the Savings and Loan industry? • Who supported Conservatives Reagan and Bush in the 1984 and 1988 elections?

13. ReaganomicsTakesOver • Reagan wanted to reduce the size and influence of the Federal Government • Deep Cuts in Social Programs – Urban Mass Transit, Food Stamps, welfare benefits, job-training, Medicaid, school lunches and student loans. • Supply-side economics – Tax cuts by 25 %, money saved would be reinvested to improve business and productivity, lowering price. • Increased Defense Spending – MX Missile, B-1 Bomber, and SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)

14. Recession, Recovery, and the National Debt • Severe Recession – July 1981- Nov. 1982 • Tax Cuts and the 1983 Consumer Spending Spree sparked the economy • Stocks surged, unemployment declined, and GNP went up 10%. • ( Stocks crash 1987 then rebounded) • Federal Spending still exceeded Federal revenue due to the tax cuts. By 1984 the National Debt almost doubled.

15. ConservativeSupremeCourt • Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and a new Chief Justice William Rehnquist

16. Deregulating the Economy • Deregulation – The cutting back of Federal regulation of industry. • ( Increased competition and resulted in lower prices for consumers) Savings and Loan Scandal • Budget Cuts for the EPA resulted in more mining, logging of forests and more oil and gas drilling. Environmental risk?

17. Conservative Coalition 1984/88 • Businesspeople – wanted a deregulated econ. • Southerners – Welcomed limits of Federal Power + Fundamentalist Christian Groups • Westerners – resented federal controls on mining and grazing • Reagan Democrats- agreed with limited gov. and felt the Democratic party had drifted too far left.

18. Election of 1984 • Reagan (R) vs. Walter Mondale (D) VP under Carter • Landslide for Reagan • Geraldine Ferraro of NY Mondale’s VP candidate was the first women on a major party’s Presidential ticket.

20. Election of 1988 • George HW Bush (R) vs. Michael Dukakis (D) • Moral Majority, comfortable economy, no reason to change. • Bush “Read my Lips: no new Taxes!”

22. Social Concerns 1980’s • AIDS • Drug Abuse • Abortion • Education

23. Essential Questions: • What were the national concerns about education, drug use, health issues and urban problems? • What political, economic, and social gains were achieved by women? • How did conservative policies affect minority groups?

24. Health Issues 1980’s • AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) • Abortion – Roe v Wade 1973 • Pro-life • Pro-choice • Webster v Reproductive Health Care Services (States had the right to impose restrictions on abortion.)

25. War on Drugs • Nancy Reagan’s anti- drug campaign “Just Say no!” to drugs “This is your brain on drugs.”

26. Education 1980’s • A Federal Commission issued a report in 1983 called A Nation at Risk • 23 million Americans could fill out a job application or follow an instruction manual • School Vouchers were introduced “America 2000”

27. Urban Crisis • Flight to the suburbs hurt the inner city • High Unemployment • Homelessness • Crumbling Infrastructure • Lack of health services • Deteriorating Schools • Drugs (Crack) • Gangs (Crips & Bloods)

28. LA Riots 1992 • Rodney King was beaten by four white police officers after a car chase • Officers were found not guilty • South Central rioted for five days, 53 killed

30. Equal Rights 1980’s • ERA failed ratification in 1982 • 47 women were elected to the HOR in 1992 • 6 women in the US Senate • 2 women in Reagan’s cabinet • Pay Equality was fought for by women’s organizations

31. Fight for Rights • African American Mayors of many big cities • (Ex. Philadelphia –Mayor Wilson Goode) • 1992 L. Douglas Wilder became the Governor of VA • Jesse Jackson ran for President in 1984 and 1988

32. Gains for Latinos • 1988 Lauro Cavazos was appointed Sec. of Ed. • 1990 Dr. Antonia CoelloNovello was appointed Surgeon General

33. Native Americans Speak Out • Aid was slashed to Native Americans for health, education and other services • Native American campaigned for gambling casinos as a source of revenue

34. Asian American Population • They were the second fastest growing minority population in the US • By 1992 the Asian American Population was 8.3 million.

35. Advances in Gay Rights • In the 1980’s gay rights groups fought for civil rights • Direct Action groups called for an end to anti-gay discrimination. • By 1993, 7 states and 110 communities outlawed anti-gay discrimination

36. Foreign Policy After the Cold War

37. Essential Questions: • What changed in the Communist world that ended the Cold War? • What did the US do to influence Central American and Caribbean affairs? • What was the Iran-Contra Scandal? • How and Why was the US involved in the Persian Gulf War?

38. The Cold War Ends • March 1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the USSR • Glasnost – “Openness” • Criticism of the USSR • Freedom of the Press • Perestrokia – Restructuring of The Soviet Economy

39. Relations with the US • Summits with President Reagan • INF Treaty –Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) • Eliminated two classes of weapon and allowed on site inspections

40. Decline of the USSR • In Dec. 1991 14 republics declared independence from the USSR • Gorbachev lost power , the USSR ended • CIS (Common Wealth of Independent States) was established • Boris Yeltsin new leader of Russia, START II signed

41. Collapse of Communisim • Nov. 9th , 1989 East Germany opened the Berlin Wall • Oct., 1990 Germany united • Czechoslovakia divided, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania became independent • Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania transitioned from communism • Yugoslavia collapsed, igniting a brutal war among Muslims, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats

44. Tiananmen Square • Student in China demanded freedom of speech and a voice in gov. • April 1989, Students held marches in Beijing and other cities • The PLA under the order of Li Peng crushed the protestors

47. Nicaragua • US Marines left in 1933, but left a dictator Anastasio Somoza in power • Between 1977-79 The Sandinistas take control • Reagan viewed the Sandinistas as a communist threat • The US supported the Contras with CIA training and weapons • The Boland Amendment banned aid to the Contras for two years

50. Grenada • In 1983 Reagan sent in 2,000 US Marines to overthrow a Pro-Cuban government and rescue US citizens • 18 US solders were killed