New Hopes, New Fears: Reagan to Obama

1. New Hopes, New Fears:Reagan to Obama

2. The Election of 1980

3. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) Republican

4. Assassination Attempt • March 30, 1981 • John Hinckley fired six shots at Reagan, seriously injuring both the President and White House Press Secretary Jim Brady • Hinckley was only seeking publicity, had no political agenda • Reagan fully recovered, but Brady was paralyzed and would become a gun control advocate for whom the 1993 Brady Bill, which required federal background checks on persons purchasing handguns, was named

5. Lets Explain Reaganomics • Reagan raised interest rates, which restricted the money supply and controlled inflation • He also cut taxes by 25% on the rich • “Trickle-down” theory: by helping the rich, they will have more money to invest in new businesses, thereby creating jobs and the benefits will “trickle-down” to the poor (also called “supply-side” economics) • Reagan also deregulated the energy, automobile, and cable television industries to promote growth in competition

6. Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush • Reaganomics worked and the economy recovered and began to grow at a record rate • The average family income rose by 15% and 20 million new jobs were created

7. Yuppies • Young Urban Professionals • Ambitious, hardworking “white collar” workers who spent heavily on luxury goods as a symbol of their status • Helped drive the economic recovery through their consumerist spending on luxury cars, high-end electronics, and designer clothes

8. Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush

9. 1984 Election • Democrats nominated former vice-president Walter Mondale for president and NY Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro (the first woman on a presidential ballot) as his running mate, but they took only one state in the election as Reagan won re-election in a landslide

10. Conservative Policies Under Reagan and Bush

11. Terms to Know

12. Reagan and the Cold War Reagan abandoned all efforts at détente and negotiation with the Soviets, declaring them an “evil empire” and set out to win the Cold War by forcing the Soviets to deplete their economy through military spending

13. “Star Wars” • Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) • Reagan called for the development of a space-mounted weapons platform which could be used to destroy Soviet nuclear missiles before they could reach the US • The US spent about $100 billion trying to develop such a system (with no success), forcing the Soviets to spend money on how to counter such a system

14. Social Concerns of the 1980s • Health • Rapid spread of HIV/AIDS (rising costs of care) • Legalized abortion v. increasing restrictions • Rising drug use and drug-related crime • Education– book-“A Nation at Risk” • Lagging test scores • High illiteracy rates • Cities • White flight  decreasing tax revenues  high unemployment  crumbling infrastructure  poor sanitation, schools, health services  increasing homelessness

15. 1988 Election • Republicans nominated vice-president George Bush who made the famous campaign promise: “Read my lips - No new taxes!” • Democrats nominated Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis over civil rights activist Jesse Jackson • Bush won easily. Thanks largely to Reagan’s success as president

16. George Bush • 1924 – Present • 41st President (1989–93) • Last WWII vet to be president • Former head of the CIA, US Ambassador to the UN, and US Envoy to China • Only the second president in US history to have a son also serve as president • Has an aircraft carrier named after him (served as a Navy pilot in WWII)

17. Economy Falters • The end of the Cold War led to decreased US military spending and a down-sizing of US military forces as the nation tried to pay down some of its debt • As the economy slowed, many “Yuppies” began to focus on paying off their debts as well and reduced their consumerism, deepening the recession • In an attempt to jumpstart the economy, Bush was forced to break his campaign promise and raise taxes

18. Americans With Disabilities Act • 1990 • Forbids discrimination in workplaces and in public facilities against those with mental or physical disabilities • Forced businesses to become wheelchair accessible, provide signage in Braille, and offer closed captioned television

19. Foreign Policy After the Cold War • Nation: Soviet Union • Key Individuals: • Gorbachev, Yeltsin • Key Events and Trends: • Signing of the INF (open inspection of each other military installations) and Start II treaties • Exclusion of the Communist Party from any government role • Glasnost (the open discussion of social problems that was permitted in the Soviet Union in the 1980s) • Perestroika (the restructuring of the economy and the government instituted in the Soviet Union in the 1980s)

20. Foreign Policy After the Cold War • Nation: Germany • Key Individuals: • N/A • Key Events and Trends: • The opening of the Berlin Wall • Reunification of East and West • Democracy

21. Collapse of Communism • The Soviet’s inability to financially support communist states in Eastern Europe led to mostly peaceful overthrows of their unpopular governments • In 1989, the old communist bloc collapsed as communist regimes fell one after another • In late 1991, the Soviet Union itself collapsed after an attempted coup by communist hardliners failed to unseat Gorbachev and the communist party was banned in Russia – the Cold War was over and the US had won

22. Foreign Policy After the Cold War • Nation: China • Key Individuals: • N/A • Key Events and Trends: • Economic reform • Student marches/protests • Tiananmen Square demonstrations • Economic liberalization Inspired by the collapse of communism in Europe, Chinese students began a massive demonstration in Tiananmen Square in China’s capital of Beijing. The Chinese government ordered a military crackdown which led to the deaths and arrests of unknown numbers of dissidents

23. Foreign Policy After the Cold War • Nation: Iraq • Key Individuals: • Saddam Hussein, Norman Schwarzkopf, President Bush • Key Events and Trends: • Iraq Invasion of Kuwait- Hussein sent his forces to invade Kuwait and secure that nation’s rich oil reserves, thereby eliminating competition). UN Response- objected Iraq aggression, placed economic sanctions, placed deadline for them to withdraw. Iraq response- refused to withdraw. • Operation Desert Storm US-led forces attacked Iraq, launching six-weeks of air and missile attacks before beginning a ground invasion of Kuwait and southern Iraq • Gulf War- 149 Americans were killed in combat, 458 wounded; Iraq suffered between 20,000 and 35,000 military casualties; Bush liberated Kuwait but Hussein left in power

24. Terrorism • Reagan was the first US president to deal with foreign terror attacks on Americans • Beirut (Oct. 23, 1983): US Marines on a peace-keeping mission in Lebanon had their barracks attacked by truck bombs, killing 241 Americans • Libya (Apr. 15, 1986): After Libyan sponsored terror attacks in Germany, the US retaliated with an air strike aimed at taking out Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and terrorist training facilities

25. The Reagan Doctrine • Reagan believed that that the US had a moral obligation to show support for guerrilla groups who were fighting communist or pro-Soviet governments • This policy would lead to US intervention in several conflicts

26. Afghanistan • Reagan provided over $570 million in military aid to the mujahadeen rebels fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, allowing them to drag the fight out for 9 bloody years • In 1988, the Soviets withdrew after losing nearly 15,000 men

27. Nicaragua • Reagan began to secretly fund the “Contra” rebels in Nicaragua who were fighting the socialist Sandinista government • Congress banned any further US aid to the Contras, due to not wanting to damage US-Latin relations and because the Contras trafficked in drugs to help fund their cause

28. The Iran-Contra Scandal: “Arms for Hostages” Reagan administration illegally sold arms to Iran (over 1500 missiles) Congress banned CIA activity in Nicaragua U.S. CONGRESS IRAN Iran secretly requested arms from the U.S. to fight Iraq. Iranian terrorists in Lebanon were holding 7 Americans hostage. NICARUAGUA Democratic Contras fight the Cuban-backed Sandinistas. Reagan called the Contras “the moral equivalent of the Founding Fathers.” Denied “trading arms for hostages” $18 million of Iranian arms money illegally sent to the Contras Iran paid the U.S. $30 million; 3 hostages released (3 more taken)

29. The Iran-Contra Scandal: “Arms for Hostages” • Impacts: • Press hounded Reagan • Did he know? Did he not know? • Which was worse? • Reagan himself was cleared of wrongdoing • Reagan’s popularity dropped (only 14% of Americans believed Reagan had not traded arms for hostages) • Continued distrust of American government • Reagan’s image of honesty was tainted

30. Grenada • In 1983, Reagan sent US troops to the island nation of Grenada after a communist regime took power there; US forces overthrew the new government and restored the old to power • Reagan was concerned that Cuban and Soviet military forces could use the island to help destabilize the region

31. Invasion of Panama • December 1989 • Operation Just Cause • US military invaded Panama to oust dictator Manuel Noriega • US was concerned because Noriega was encouraging drug trafficking and threatening US interests in Panama, especially the Panama Canal • 23 Americans died in the operation • Noriega was eventually captured and sent to prison in the US on drug charges

32. The Space Shuttle • By 1981, NASA was ready to begin a new chapter in space exploration with its reusable space shuttle • US has spent over $170 billion on the shuttle program since its inception, building 6 shuttles (2 of which have been destroyed in accidents) and funding 135 missions through the final flight scheduled for next year

33. The Challenger Disaster • January 28, 1986 • Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff due to a mechanical failure, killing all 7 astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher who had been selected to be the first teacher in space

34. The 1990s and the New Millennium

36. The Clinton Administration’s First Term • Domestic Policy Accomplishments: • A diverse cabinet • Welfare reform (Workfare) • A failed healthcare reform bill • Put Hillary Clinton in charge; kept discussions/plans secret • Low unemployment (Internet boom) • “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

37. The Clinton Administration’s First Term • Foreign Policy Accomplishments: • The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) • Helping to preserve a fragile peace in the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia) • Increased trade with China at the expense of human rights

38. The Republican Congress and the Contract With America • What goals did the Contract set for Republican leaders? • Congressional term limits • A balanced budget amendment • Tax cuts • Tougher crime laws • Welfare reform • How did Clinton and the Senate undermine the Contract? • Opposed Republican budgets that slowed entitlements and federal aid programs

39. The Economy: Good News and Bad News • Good News: • Creation of ten million new jobs • Low unemployment • Bad News: • Flat or declining family incomes • Widening income gap between rich and poor • Rising healthcare costs

40. The Changing Face of America

41. W. Bush to Obama

43. The Bush Administration’s First Term • Domestic Policy Accomplishments: • No Child Left Behind education reform (higher standards and more accountability for schools) • Tax cuts ($1.4 trillion over 10 years) • September 11, 2001 • Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists destroy the World Trade Center in NYC, part of the Pentagon in DC, and crash a fourth plane in a field in Pennsylvania • Led to the creation of a new cabinet department (Homeland Security)

44. The Bush Administration’s First Term • Foreign Policy Accomplishments: • War in Afghanistan • Invasion and overthrow of the Taliban (harboring Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda) • War in Iraq • Controversial decision to invade even though Iraq had not attacked U.S. • Linked Iraq to Al Qaeda; Hussein accused of developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

45. Bush’s Second Term Troubles • Hurricane Katrina: • Category 5 storm flooded large portions of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast • Bush administration response was slow; FEMA and Homeland Security criticized • Bush accused of neglecting minorities • War on Terror: • No WMD in Iraq; more and more troops needed to fight insurgents (more Americans killed) • Osama bin Laden not captured • What was the end?

46. Bush’s Second Term Troubles • The 2008 Financial Crisis: • Banks extended loans to unqualified borrowers; bought up and sold “toxic assets” (properties that were worth less than paid for); major banks unable to pay loans and collapsed • Triggered a global financial collapse; worst since Great Depression • Unemployment reached almost 10% • Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)  $800 billion to bail out troubled banks

47. The 2008 Presidential Election