The Reagan - Bush Years,

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POWERPOINT 31

• The Reagan - Bush Years,
• 1981 - 1992

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The Reagan Revolution

• Ronald Reagan wins landslide election in 1980
• Former governor of California
• Republicans controlled Senate for early years of
  his presidency
• Reagan in Office
• Great Communicator
• Chose effective staff
• Supply-side economics

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The Election of 1980
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The Reagan Revolution (cont.d)

• Iranian hostages released January 20, 1981
• Reagan shot March 30, 1981
• Dealt firmly with Air Traffic Controller Strike
• Budget Act of 1981
• Increased defense spending
• National debt rose sharply
• Deregulation causes problems for Reagan
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Savings and loan companies

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Reagan and Foreign Policy

• Economy improves by late 1982
• Took hard line with Soviets
• Supported Contras in Nicaragua
• Grenada invasion, October 1983
• Middle East troubles impact America
• Terrorist attack kills 239 Marines in Lebanon
• Strategic Defense Imitative plan contributes to
  decline of Soviet Union

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Social Tensions and Strains of the 1980s

• AIDS appears in U.S. in 1980s
• Cable television and personal computers change
  way Americans live
• Families experience growing problems, including
  divorce, single parenthood, and school problems
• Resurgence of evangelical Christianity in 1980s
• Moral majority
• Pro-life and pro-choice movements

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The 1984 Presidential Election

• Democrats jockey for nomination
• Jesse Jackson and Gary Hart
• Walter Mondale emerges as candidate
• Reagan wins landslide victory
• Carried 49 states

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The Election of 1984
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Reagans Second Term

• Major tax reforms are made in 1986
• Gramm-Rudman-Hollings
• Yuppie youth culture
• Challenger tragedy
• Soviets and Americans reach agreements
• Mikhail Gorbachev
• Perestroika and glasnost
• Iran-Contra Affair damages Reagan presidency
• Colonial Oliver North

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Reagans Second Term (cont.d)

• 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
• Reagan and Gorbachev visit each others capitols
• By 1987, agree to remove intermediate nukes from
  Europe
• Relations with Soviets improved

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The 1988 Presidential Election

• In 1988, George H.W. Bush wins presidency
• No new taxes
• Democrats run unorganized campaign
• Michael Dukakis
• Dirty campaign
• 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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The Bush Succession

• In office, Bush pushes for improvements at home
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Savings and loan debacle
• 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
• Americans lose faith in Bush over taxes

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The Bush Succession (cont.d)

• Gulf War brings America and world together to
  liberate Kuwait
• U.S. wins decisive victory against Iraq
• Saddam Hussein remained in power
• 1991 coupe led to collapse of Soviet Union
• In budget battle, Bush caves 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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Discussion Questions

• Ronald Reagan is a liked and disliked president.
  What were his successes and failures, and why is
  opinion so diametrically opposed about him?
• Discuss Reagans foreign policy. How did his
  relationship with the USSR develop over his
  presidency?
• Examine the domestic policies of George Bush.
  What were his accomplishments? Failures?
• What were the causes of the Gulf War? How was
  Bush able to pull together a coalition to defeat
  Iraq? Was Iraqs defeat a victory for the U.S.?