Chapter 29 american yawp

Flashcards of key vocabulary of the 1970s and 1980s.

New Right

Conservative movement of the 1970s–80s that emphasized limited government, free-market economics, traditional values, and strong national defense.

George Wallace

Segregationist Alabama governor whose populist, anti-elite rhetoric prefigured the rise of the conservative Right.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Supreme Court decision banning state-sponsored prayer in public schools; mobilized religious conservatives.

Phyllis Schlafly

Conservative activist who led opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment, promoting traditional gender roles.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion; became a major rallying point for social conservatives.

Jerry Falwell

Evangelical leader and founder of the Moral Majority, which mobilized Christians into conservative politics.

Moral Majority

Political organization formed by Jerry Falwell in 1979 to advance conservative Christian values in American politics.

Ronald Reagan

40th U.S. President (1981–1989); championed conservative policies, tax cuts, deregulation, and a strong anti-communist foreign policy.

Supply-side economics

Economic theory promoted by Reagan that argued tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy would spur investment and economic growth.

Jesse Jackson

Civil rights leader and Democratic presidential candidate who founded the Rainbow Coalition to unite minority and progressive groups.

Apple II computer

Early mass-produced personal computer (1977) that symbolized the beginning of the digital revolution.

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

Deadly disease first identified in the 1980s; disproportionately affected the LGBTQ+ community and was initially ignored by federal leaders.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

Reagan’s proposed space-based missile defense system, nicknamed “Star Wars,” intended to protect the U.S. from nuclear attack.

Iran-Contra Affair

Scandal involving secret U.S. arms sales to Iran and illegal funding of Contra rebels in Nicaragua during Reagan’s presidency.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last leader of the Soviet Union; introduced reforms like perestroika and glasnost that contributed to the end of the Cold War.

Perestroika

Gorbachev’s policy of economic restructuring aimed at reviving the Soviet economy through limited market reforms.

Glasnost

Gorbachev’s policy of openness and transparency in government institutions; allowed greater freedom of speech and press.

INF Treaty of 1987

Agreement between the U.S. and the USSR to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles, marking a major de-escalation in the Cold War.