The Reagan Bush Years,

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CHAPTER 31

• The Reagan - Bush Years,
• 1981 - 1992

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I. The Reagan Revolution

• Are you better off? helps Ronald Reagan defeat
  Jimmy Carter, as does support of Christian Right
• Reagan is known as Great Communicator
• Strong staff aids Reagan early in term

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• Americas deficit grows
• Reagans greatest domestic problem is savings and
  loan disaster
• Proposals by president to tamper with Social
  Security bring strong public reaction

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II. Reagan and Foreign Policy

• Economy improves by late 1982, but Democrats gain
  seats in election
• Middle East troubles impact America, with Marine
  barracks in Lebanon attacked
• Star Wars plan contributes to decline of Soviet
  Union

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III. Social Tensions and Strains of the 1980s

• Cable television and personal computers change
  way Americans live
• Families experience growing problems, including
  divorce, single parenthood, and school problems
• Americans react to changes in very different ways

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IV. The 1984 Presidential Election

• Democrats jockey for nomination
• Walter Mondale emerges as candidate
• Reagan wins landslide victory

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The Election of 1984
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V. Reagans Second Term

• In response to presidents plans, major tax
  reforms are made in 1986
• AIDS epidemic divides Americans
• Soviets and Americans reach informal agreements
• Iran-Contra Affair damages Reagan presidency

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• Reagan has major impact on Supreme Court
• President names majority of justices
• Also names Sandra Day OConnor first woman
  justice
• Soviets pull out of war in Afghanistan and, along
  with United States, begin to remove weapons from
  Europe

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VI. The 1988 Presidential Election

• No new taxes vow brings George H.W. Bush to
  presidency
• Democrats seem unorganized with Dukakis
• Reagan legacy is mixed
• Not as good as his admirers claim
• Nor as bad as his detractors assert

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The Election of 1988
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VII. Kinder, Gentler George Herbert Walker Bush

• In office, Bush pushes for improvements at home
  but fails to address AIDS problem
• Foreign affairs claim much of presidents
  attention
• China mows down human rights along with students
  in Tiananmen Square
• American military seizes Panamas Noriega and
  brings him to justice

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• Americans lose faith in Bush over taxes
• Persian Gulf crisis brings America together to
  save Kuwait
• In budget battle, Bush appears to cave to
  Democrats
• Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination
  enthralls country
• Last years of presidency bring more anxiety

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Persian Gulf War, 1991
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