Mr. White

1
Social Concerns in the 1980s

• Mr. Whites US History 2

2
Main Idea and Objectives

• Main Idea Beneath the surge of prosperity that
  marked the conservative era of the 1980s lay
  serious social problems.
• After this section, we should be able to
• Identify national concerns about education, drug
  use, health issues, and urban problems
• Summarize political, economic, and social gains
  achieved by women
• Describe how conservative policies affected
  minority groups

3
Part I Health, Education, and Cities in Crisis

• In the 1980s, the nation faced many different
  social problems.

4
Health Concerns HIV/AIDS

• One of the new health issues that Americans dealt
  with in the 1980s was the growth of HIV-AIDS
  (Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Acquired
  Immunodeficiency Symdrome)
• AIDS is a virus that destroys the immune system,
  and allows other sicknesses to attack the body of
  the infected person, or allows rare forms of
  cancer to develop
• Most of the early victims of the disease were
  homosexual men or intravenous drug users who
  shared needles
• However, many people contracted the disease
  through infected blood transfusions, or as
  children born to mothers with HIV-AIDs
• As AIDS and news about it spread, there was
  growing concern over its spread, prevention, and
  care

5
The Supreme Court and Abortion

• In 1973, the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade had
  established that first tri-mester abortions were
  protected by a womans right to privacy
• Opponents of legalized abortion organized under
  the term pro-life
• Most believed that human life begins at
  conception, and therefore abortions were taking a
  life
• People who supported legalized abortion described
  themselves as pro-choice
• Reproductive choices were personal health-care
  matters, many women had died from back-alley
  abortions
• Abortion restrictions vary from state to state
  today

6
The War on Drugs

• The late 60s and early 70s had seen a rise in
  drug use in the United States, and many people
  became more concerned with the countrys drug
  problem
• Some people argued that many drugs should be
  legalized, so that the organized crime that made
  money off them could no longer do so
• Some called for more treatment facilities and
  education to treat addiction
• The Reagan administration responded with a war
  on drugs
• Supported prosecuting users as well as dealers
• First Lady Nancy Reagan toured the country with
  the slogan, Just Say No!

7
A Nation at Risk

• A Nation at Risk was an education report that was
  published in 1983
• It said that American students lagged behind
  those in other industrialized nations, especially
  in math and science
• The report also pointed out many education
  failures for adult Americans some couldnt fill
  out job applications, or follow instruction
  manuals

8
American Education

• The commission that had written the report
  recommended more homework, longer school days,
  and an extended school year
• It also supported higher pay and merit raises for
  teachers
• Also supported more emphasis on basic subjects
  such as English, math, social studies, and
  computer science
• President Bush argued that choice was the
  salvation of American schools, and supported the
  use of public funds for children to attend
  schools of their choice

9
Urban Problems

• The problems with education were connected with
  new problems in the cities
• During the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, many people had
  moved from the cities to the suburbs
• Many of these people were whites who feared the
  immigration of minorities into the cities
• Some were attracted by the suburban style of
  living, and the interstate highways allowed them
  to live further from their jobs
• Some cities were already decaying, and this sped
  the process

10
Urban Decline

• As people left the cities, some bad things
  happened
• Tax dollars decreased
• Infrastructure (roads, buildings, utilities,
  schools) began to decay
• Businesses and industries began to leave the
  cities as infrastructure crumbled
• Social problems increased poor education, rise
  in crime rates, poverty and homelessness

11
Racial Issues

• South-central Los Angeles was an example of this
  urban decay
• In 1992, four white police officers had been
  video-taped beating a black American named Rodney
  King, who had been fleeing the police
• The four officers were found not guilty on
  charges of police brutality by an all-white jury
• Shortly after the verdict, riots resulted in Los
  Angeles, with 53 people dead

12
Part II Women Work for Equal Rights

• In the 1980s, women continued to work for equal
  rights.

13
Growing Representation for Women

• As we know, the Equal Rights Amendment was never
  ratified to the United States Constitution
• This amendment would have helped guarantee women
  certain rights such as equal pay in equal jobs,
  voting rights, etc.
• After the ERA failed to be ratified, women began
  to turn their attention to getting women into
  political offices to represent their interests
• In November of 1992, the number of women in the
  House of Representatives went from 23 to 47, and
  the number of women Senators went from two to six

14
Growing Economic Equality

• Women continued to work for economic equality
• Women still only earned about 75 cents for every
  dollar a man earned in a comparable job
• Female college graduates earned only slightly
  more than male high school graduates
• The poverty rate for women was higher than that
  of men, as well
• Fewer women were winning alimony payments in
  divorces, and some courts were not enforcing
  child support payments

15
Pay Equity

• Womens organizations and unions began proposing
  pay equity
• Government jobs would be classified based on
  amount of education, physical strength needed,
  and number of people supervised
• Men and women would then be paid on this pay
  scale
• By 1989, 20 states had adopted this system
• In the workplace, woman began to win government
  and corporate benefit packages
• Maternity leave, flexible hours and workweeks,
  job sharing, and work-at-home arrangements

16
Part III The Fight For Rights Continues

• Different groups of people continued to struggle
  for equal rights.

17
Increasing Black American Representation

• In the 1980s, black Americans made many gains
• Black American mayors led many American cities
  L.A., Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans,
  Philadelphia, and D.C.
• Also served as sheriffs, school board members,
  state legislators, members of Congress
• 1990 L. Douglas Wilder is the first black
  governor, Virginia
• Jesse Jackson ran for the Democratic nomination
  for president in 1984 and 1988

18
Mixed Gains

• In the economic and career sector, black
  Americans were making gains, as well
• Many middle-class black Americans held
  professional and managerial positions
• However, for poor black Americans, things were
  still not so good
• The Supreme Court made several case decisions
  that impacted civil rights, for instance,
  limiting the scope of affirmative action

19
Latinos and America

• In the 1980s, Latinos became the fastest-growing
  minority in the U.S.
• As the Latino population grew, many supported
  bilingual education many did not want to lose
  their heritage or language
• Bilingual Education Act, 1968 enabled
  Spanish-speakers to attend Spanish-speaking
  schools
• 1975 Amendment to the Voting Rights Act enabled
  Spanish-speaking people to vote in Spanish
• Many critics believed that these laws would slow
  the rate at which Spanish-speakers entered
  mainstream American culture feared a split
  between English and Spanish in America

20
Native Americans and America

• Native Americans also worked to increase respect
  for their heritage and culture
• Many organized schools to teach young Native
  Americans about their past
• Also began to fight for the return of ancestral
  lands that had been taken
• The Reagan administration slashed aid to Native
  Americans for health, education, and other
  services
• Many Native American groups opened casinos on
  their lands as a way to raise money
• These did bring in some income, but left many
  problems in Native American societies

21
Asian Americans and America

• The number of Asians immigrating to the United
  States also began to grow
• Some people cited Asian Americans as an example
  of a successful minority group in the United
  States
• Low crime rates, low school dropout rates, and
  low divorce rates
• Still, Asian Americans faced many difficulties
• Higher poverty rate than national figures

22
Gay Rights

• During the 1970s and 1980s, gay men and lesbians
  began to fight openly for civil rights
• AIDS had been a setback for the gay community, as
  it appeared to be a gay mans disease, but
  increased knowledge of the disease dispelled this
  myth
• The conservative movement largely condemned gay
  activism as an attack on traditional values
• However, gay Americans were able to get many
  states to pass anti-discrimination laws

23
Main Idea and Objectives

• Main Idea Beneath the surge of prosperity that
  marked the conservative era of the 1980s lay
  serious social problems.
• After this section, we should be able to
• Identify national concerns about education, drug
  use, health issues, and urban problems
• Summarize political, economic, and social gains
  achieved by women
• Describe how conservative policies affected
  minority groups

24
Wrap-up

• So
• One of the concerns about American education was
• Many people were concerned about drug issues in
  America because
• One of the health issues that concerned many
  Americans was
• One of the problems that cities were having was
• One of the gains that women made in the 1980s
  was
• One of the gains that minority groups made in the
  1980s was