Reagan in Power

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Reagan in Power

• Roosevelt coalition continues to splinter
• Vietnam
• Civil Rights (Democrats lose Deep South)
• Republican party picks up pieces

2
THE REPUBLICAN RESURGENCE, 1980-1992

• America Past and Present
• Chapter 32

3
The Reagan Victory 1980

• Carters negatives
• Iranian hostage crisis
• economic ills
• Reagans positives win the election
• warm telegenic personality
• optimistic message
• draws Jewish, working class vote
• Republicans win majority in the Senate

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Cutting Spending and Taxes

• Reagans premise cut spending to encourage
  private investment
• Reagan cuts over three years
• federal spending by more than 40 billion
• social services included in cuts
• taxes cut by 25

6
Limiting the Role of Government

• Environmental regulations relaxed
• Attempted cuts in Social Security
• Neglect of interest-group opponents
• labor hurt in air traffic control firings
• lack of support for civil rights legislation
• women ignored in judicial appointments

7
Reaganomics

• Reagans reductions in spending and taxes prompt
  conflicting expectations
• Supply-side economists expect economic growth
• Reagans critics expect massive deficits,
  economic stagnation

8
Recession and Recovery

• 1981-1982--unemployment hits 10
• 1983--economic recovery
• rise in consumer spending
• prices remain level
• worldwide decline in energy prices

9
The Growing Deficit

• Basis for the Reagan hopes for prosperity
  includes
• massive deficit spending
• massive inflows of foreign investment
• 1983--federal budget deficit 200 billion
• Spending caps on defense, services
• 1985--U.S. becomes a debtor nation

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U.S. Budget Deficits, 1980-1997
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The Rich Grow Richer

• Gains of Reaganomics
• inflation reduced to 4
• employment grows after 1982
• growth in service sector jobs Losses of
  Reaganomics
• high-paying manufacturing jobs decline
• increasing social inequality
• wealthy benefit
• poor left in poverty
• middle class hurt

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Share of Aggregate Household Income by Quintiles,
1975-1995
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Reagan Affirmed

• Perception of improving economy
• 1984 election
• Reagan trounces Walter Mondale
• Republicans lose seats in Congress

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Reagan and the World

• Reagan determined to restore America's
  international position
• Steep increase in military spending
• Aggressive foreign policy

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Challenging the "Evil Empire"

• Reagan Soviet Union the "focus of evil in the
  modern world"
• Unfavorable deals on arms reductions
• U.S. response to Russian refusal
• deployment of cruise missiles in Europe
• development of anti-missile system
• SDI Strategic Defense Initiative - Star Wars
• Russians build up nuclear arsenal

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Turmoil in the Middle East

• 1982--Israeli invasion of Lebanon
• International response
• U.S., France send troops to maintain order
• PLO evacuates Beirut
• 1984--200 U.S. Marines killed in terrorist
  bombing in Beirut
• U.S. evacuation of Lebanon

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Trouble Spots in the Middle East
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Confrontation in Central America

• Intervention against Latin American leftist
  insurgents
• Covert subversion of Sandinistas
• October, 1983--invasion of Grenada

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Trouble Spots in Central America and the Caribbean
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Trading Arms for Hostages

• Advanced weapons sold to Iran for influence in
  freeing American hostages
• November, 1986--Iran-Contra scandal
• profit from Iran arms sales to Contras
• funding violates Congressional prohibition
  against trading with Iran!!
• Reagan escapes impeachment
• Col. Oliver North takes the heat

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Reagan the Peacemaker

• 1985--Mikhail Gorbachev assumes power in Russia
• 1985-88--Reagan-Gorbachev summits
• 1987--destroy intermediate range missiles
• 1988--Afghanistan evacuated
• Foreign policy triumphs restore Reagans
  popularity

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Social Dilemmas

• AIDS epidemic
• Drug abuse

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The AIDS Epidemic

• 1981--AIDS first detected
• apparent confinement to homosexual men results in
  early public inaction
• spread to drug users, recipients of blood
  transfusions prompts panic
• Reagan Administrations response
• fund research
• little funding for education, prevention
• 1987--appointment of AIDS commissioner

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The AIDS Epidemic (2)

• 1996--500,000 infected
• majority homosexuals, drug users
• 15 heterosexual, non-drug abusers
• 1996--AIDS death rate begins dropping
• new drugs
• safer sexual practices

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The War on Drugs

• Mid-1980's--crack cocaine introduced
• addiction spread through all classes
• exploding crime rate
• Reagan attempts interdiction of supply
• (H.W.Bush , Clinton continue Reagan policy)
• At the end of the century there seemed to be no
  end to the war on drugs

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The Changing Palace Guard

• 1985--Donald Regan chief of staff
• Second-term victories
• tax reform package
• appointment of conservatives
• Changes in the Supreme Court
• Senate blocks Bork appointment to Court
• Bush appointments help turn the Court more to the
  right

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Passing the Torch to Bush (H.W.)

• Republicans hope for major political realignment
• Factors reinforcing trend
• 1980s economic boom
• promise of the end of the Cold War

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The Election of 1988

• Republican George Bush
• Democrat Michael Dukakis
• Bush television ads attack Dukakis as soft on
  crime, unpatriotic
• Bush wins White House
• Republicans lose seats in Congress

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Bushs Domestic Agenda

• Problems of 1989
• savings and loan industry facing collapse
• ballooning federal deficit
• Bushs deficit reduction
• raise taxes (had promised otherwise)
• cut military expenditures
• Economic recession increases deficit

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The End of the Cold War

• June, 1989--Tiananmen Square
• November, 1989--Berlin Wall torn down
• 1991-1992--U.S.S.R. dissolved, Communist Party
  outlawed in Russian Republic
• Cautious response by Bush

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The End of the Cold War
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Waging Peace

• 1989--U.S. invasion of Panama
• August, 1990--Iraq occupies Kuwait
• January, 1991--Operation Desert Storm
• Outcome of Desert Storm
• February 24--Iraqi force collapses
• Bushs approval hits 90

35
Republican Economic Woes

• 1990 budget deal violated Bushs no new taxes
  pledge
• Also failed to reduce budget deficits
• Economic recession prolonged
• One term presidentrelatively unknown Gov. of
  Arkansas, William Jefferson Clinton will win in
  1992.