Aim: What goals were achieved during the second term of President Reagan?

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Aim What goals were achieved during the second
term of President Reagan?
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5. Continuing a Conservative Direction

• The sweeping victory of Ronald Reagan had been
  due to the different groups he was able to pull
  together into a conservative coalition or
  temporary alliance of people, parties and states.
• Their support made it possible for Reagan to
  change the direction of government during his
  first term in office.

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• However, Reagan had a setback when in 1982, many
  Americans replaced Republicans with Democrats.
• As the election of 1984 drew near, the question
  was whether or not those who supported Reagan in
  1980 would do the same in 1984.

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Election of 1980
The states in blue supported Ronald Reagan, the
red voted for Carter.
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US Congress Elections 1982
Party Total Seats (change) Total Seats (change) Seat percentage Popular Vote
Democratic Party 269 27 61.8 54.1
Independents 0 -1 0.0 0.3
Republican Party 166 -26 38.1 43.4
Totals 435 0 100.0 100.0
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5.1 Reagan Supporters

• One of Reagans biggest group of supporters were
  business leaders.
• Even though Reagan raised taxes in 1982, many
  business leaders gave him the benefit of the
  doubt and were pleased with many of his programs.
• Many people who opposed Reagan accused him of
  favoring business and the well-to-do at the
  expense of labor and the poor.

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• Another group of Reagan supporters were made up
  of religious conservatives who believed that
  American society became too liberal and
  materialistic.
• Many of these leaders believed that the US should
  return to patriotism and Christian ethics.
• Led by leaders like Reverend Jerry Falwell and
  Billy Graham, they formed a political action
  group called the Moral Majority.

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The Moral Majority
Reverend Billy Graham
Reverend Jerry Falwell
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• Members of the Moral Majority hoped to make
  changes in America.
• They wanted to have prayer in school classrooms,
  stop the use of federal money for abortion and
  cut down on the sex and violence on television.
• They formed a powerful group to push their ideas
  in Congress and worked to defeat liberals in
  office.
• Reagan also counted on groups that voted
  Republican in 1980 including blue-collar workers,
  southerners, white ethnic groups and the elderly.
  All of these groups were needed to help Reagan
  win in 1984.

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5.2 The Democrats

• The Democrats also hoped to form their own
  coalition.
• The Democrats attacked Reagan for cutting social
  and educational programs while putting billions
  into the military.
• Reagan was also accused of driving up the
  deficit, backing military governments and
  neglecting human rights in the US and in the
  world.

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• Eight Democrats decided to run for President in
  1984 but by the convention that number dwindled
  to three.
• The three major candidates were Walter Mondale
  (Vice President under Jimmy Carter), Senator Gary
  Hart and the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a civil
  rights leader and the first black male to try for
  a party nomination.

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Walter Mondale
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Gary Hart
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Reverend Jesse Jackson
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• Each candidate appealed to different groups of
  the Democratic Party.
• Gary Hart attracted young, educated urban
  professionals.
• Jackson directed his attention towards the poor
  and minorities which made up the party.
• Mondale, who won the nomination, appealed to the
  large majority of moderate Democrats.

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• From the beginning, Reagan led Mondale in all the
  major polls.
• In order to gain support, Mondale named
  Representative Geraldine Ferraro as his vice
  presidential candidate.
• Ferraro was the first woman to be nominated for
  the vice-presidency.
• Mondale also put forth a plan to reduce the
  deficit by raising taxes.

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Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro
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Ronald Reagan and George Bush
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5.3 Election of 1984

• Walter Mondales tactics failed to cut into
  Reagans lead.
• The Republicans raised questions about Geraldine
  Ferraros qualifications to become vice
  president.
• The Republicans also spoke out against Walter
  Mondales tax plan, stating the Democrats of
  being the tax and spend party.

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• The Reagan campaign, however, was upbeat. They
  stated the changes that were brought about under
  Reagan.
• Reagan had brought inflation under control, cut
  taxes and lowered interest rates.
• Reagan had also cut down unemployment and
  increased national security.

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• In the Election of 1984, Reagan received 59 of
  the vote and 525 electoral votes, breaking the
  record established by Franklin Roosevelt.
• The Democrats retained control over the House of
  Representatives even though the Republicans
  gained 14 seats. The Republicans kept control
  over the US Senate.

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The Election of 1984
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Reagan Wins Re-election!!!
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5.4 Domestic Affairs

• President Reagans domestic goals for his second
  term were basically the same as his first
  term---reduce the scope of the federal
  government, lower income taxes and build up the
  military.

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The Economy

• By the beginning of the second term, Reagan could
  boast that his policies were improving the
  economy.
• Reagan created sixteen million new job which
  lowered the unemployment rate.
• Reagan could state that family incomes were
  rising. By 1987, the increase from 1980 was 6.4
  percent.

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• Even though things were improving, American
  families were no better off than they were in
  1980.
• The wealthiest Americans income were raised while
  members of the middle class received small income
  tax reductions while their take-home actually
  dropped due to rising Social Security taxes.

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• The economic boom of the 1980s led people to take
  financial risks.
• Some people borrowed money to buy expensive real
  estate, banks loaned money to people without
  checking their ability to pay, brokers issued
  high-interest bonds called junk bonds which
  promised rich returns from risky investments.
• Large companies bought up small companies in the
  hope of selling them off at higher prices down
  the road.

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Deficits

• Despite the appearance of financial good times,
  some people worried.
• One worry was the federal deficit.
• Income from taxes was going down while spending
  on military weapons and other federal projects
  were going up.
• Month after month, the US Treasury borrowed
  billions to meet government expenses.

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• The trade deficit was another worry.
• The money that Americans paid out for goods from
  foreign nations, such as Japan, far exceeded the
  money coming in from the sale of American goods
  abroad.

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More Tax Changes

• President Reagan also hoped to reduce taxes for
  many more Americans by simplifying the tax
  system.
• Another tax reduction would give more money to
  spend and boost the overall economy.
• The result was the Income Tax of 1986.
• Many Americans welcomed the new law.
• Many business leaders complained that it shifted
  the tax burden from individuals to businesses.

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Reducing the Federal Deficit

• In an effort to reduce the federal deficit,
  Reagan signed the Gramm-Rudman Act in 1985.
• This law set up yearly deficit-reduction targets,
  amounts by which they hoped the deficit would go
  down each year.
• By meeting these targets, the government was
  supposed to reduce the deficit to zero by 1991.

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• Many people disliked the Gramm-Rudman Act because
  it seemed to take funds away from important
  social programs.
• Some members of Congress favored trimming the
  deficit with higher taxes rather than cutting
  back on aid to people in need.
• A number of analysts believed, however, that if
  the plan worked, it would keep the economy
  growing.
• In the end, the Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction
  targets were not met and the nation continued
  adding to its debt.

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Phil Gramm and Warren Rudman
Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Senator Warren Rudman (R-NH)
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Changing the Judiciary

• President Reagan used his power to appoint
  Supreme Court justices to help ensure that his
  programs stayed in effect for a long time.
• Reagan did not like liberal judges, known as
  judicial activists, who tried to bring about
  changes through judicial decisions.
• Reagan wanted conservative judges, who tended to
  follow the letter of the law.

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• Reagan appointed William Rehnquist to become
  Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• Reagan replaced Rehnquist when he appointed
  Antonin Scalia.
• When Lewis Powell resigned, Reagan appointed
  Anthony Kennedy.
• When Reagan left in 1989, he turned the Supreme
  Court in a conservative direction.

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Chief Justice William Rehnquist
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Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
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Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy
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5.5 Foreign Affairs

• President Reagan retained his strong interest in
  foreign affairs throughout his second term in
  office.
• Reagan used military might, financial investment
  and political pressure to try to stop Soviet
  pressure in various parts of the world.

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Trouble in the Philippines

• By the mid-1980s, many people feared that the
  leader of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, had
  become so and old and dictatorial that the people
  of the Philippines would be willing to accept a
  communist takeover.
• Marcos, planning to show that he had the peoples
  support, had a special election in 1986.
• Marcos was opposed by Corazon Aquino, the widow
  of a political opponent of Marcos who was
  recently murdered.

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The Philippines
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Ferdinand Marcos
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Corazon Aquino
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The Election of 1986
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• After the voting, which sparked some violence,
  Aquino and her followers claimed election fraud
  and organized a national protest.
• Reagan persuaded President Marcos to step down
  peacefully and then supported Aquino when she
  took office.
• Reagans action prevented further blodshed,
  supported a democratic government and prevented a
  communist takeover in Asia.
• The support allowed the US to keep an important
  naval base in the Philippines.

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The End of Ferdinand Marcos
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Terrorism

• Between 1980 and 1985, terrorism killed 300
  Americans around the globe causing alarm in the
  United States.
• By the start of his second term, Reagan promised
  to retaliate (strike back) against terrorists
  whenever he could.
• In October 1985, four Arabs hijacked the Achille
  Lauro in the Mediterranean Sea.
• The hijackers killed an American named Leon
  Klinghoffer and tried to seek safety in Libya.
• US troops arrested and jailed the terrorists.

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Achille Lauro
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• In December 1985, terrorist attacks killed 19
  people and injured 112 (5 Americans), at airports
  in Rome and Vienna.
• Acting on reports that Libyan leader Muammar
  al-Qaddafi sponsored the attacks, Reagan cut off
  economic ties between the United States and Libya.

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Libya
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Muammar al-Qaddafi
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• On March 24, 1986, Libya shot missiles at
  American planes accompany the US Navys 6th
  Fleet.
• Following the plan of retaliation, the planes
  fired back.
• Reagan also sent American aircraft on a heavy
  bombing raid to destroy targets inside of Libya
  as retaliation for a terrorist attack.

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Hostages

• President Reagan made it clear that the United
  States would retaliate when it was clear that a
  nation was responsible for a terrorist attack.
• There were times, however, where no action at all
  was possible.
• In Lebanon, hostages were taken by Shiite Muslim
  terrorists. Since there was no government to
  blame, the United States asked Iran to help free
  the hostages.

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The Iran-Contra Affair

• During 1985, Reagans aides also allowed American
  arms to reach Iran secretly and indirectly.
• Iran needed the weapons because they were in a
  war against the neighbor Iraq.
• The sale was kept secret because Reagan knew Iran
  was a nation that aided terrorists, so he did not
  want word to get out about this deal because of
  his position on terrorism.

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• Reagan believed that by supplying arms to Iran,
  their government would be able to persuade terror
  groups to release American hostages.
• After one hostage was freed, the US government
  authorized the sale of weapons to Iran.

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• The American in charge of the sale was US Marine
  Lt. Colonel Oliver North who was an aide to
  Admiral John Poindexter, the Presidents National
  Security Adviser.
• North then used the 12,000,000 from the sale of
  the weapons to help fund the Contras in Nicaragua
  fighting against the Sandinistas.
• This too was a violation of our policy because
  the US was seen as not aiding the Contras.

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• The public became aware of the arms sales from
  Iran and aid to the Contras in November 1986.
• A special prosecutor and presidential committee
  were named to investigate the matter.
• A committee of Senators and Representatives began
  a series of public meetings to see if any laws
  were broken.

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• In 1987, millions of people watched the
  Iran-Contra Hearings on nationwide television.
• President Reagan claimed to have known nothing
  about giving aid to the Contras.
• Reagan also stated that his subordinates had not
  informed him of their actions.
• This event weakened Reagans influence with
  Congress and his reputation with the American
  public.

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The Iran-Contra Affair
Oliver North
John Poindexter
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Reagan and Public Opinion
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Changes in Soviet Leadership

• The leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev
  died in 1982.
• His successors were elderly men who had very
  short terms in office.
• Reagan had found it extremely difficult to
  negotiate with the Soviets because of the changes
  in power.
• The situation improved when Mikhail Gorbachev
  became the leader of the Soviet Union.

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• Gorbachev was younger and more flexible than his
  successors.
• Gorbachev proposed broad programs to modernize
  the stagnant economy and relax the rigid
  political system.
• Reagan met Gorbachev in November 1985.
• The two leaders failed to break the nuclear
  deadlock but did agree to make an effort at arms
  control.
• When Reagan heard about this leader, he gradually
  softened his tone about the Soviet Union.

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Mikhail Gorbachev
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Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan
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Improving Relations

• In October 1986, Reagan met again with Gorbachev,
  this time in Iceland.
• The purpose of the meeting was to pursue an arms
  agreement.
• The meeting failed because of two reasons
• (1) Reagan did not understand how much European
  nations feared Soviet superiority in non-nuclear
  weapons.
• (2) Gorbachev did not like the fact Reagan
  refused to give up development of the Star Wars
  program.

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• In mid-1988, Reagan and Gorbachev had a more
  friendly summit in Moscow.
• Newspapers printed photographs of the two men
  strolling around Red Square, visiting Lenins
  tomb and chatting with Soviet citizens.
• Reagan did not abolish the Star Wars program but
  the two nations signed a treaty ending the
  development of medium-range missiles.

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Preparing to Retire

• By the time Reagan returned from Moscow, public
  opinion indicated his approval rating was at 70.
• This was due to two reasons
• (1) Americans forgot about the Iran-Contra
  Scandal
• (2) Americans welcomed the improved relations
  between the US and the Soviets.

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• Reagan was not eligible to run for President but
  his influence and popularity would boost the
  Republican presidential candidate in 1988.