Chapter 30

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

fortieth president of the U.S. Served two terms ruled by “Reaganomics”, a type of economic policy that prioritized tax cuts and deregulation in order to combat stagflation. He had the biggest landslide since FDR, winning all states except Minnesota, Hawaii and Georgia. During his term, federal debt rose, and social spending decreased. He prioritized a strong foreign policy and was not a fan of neutrality in terms of weapons.

Jerry Falwell/Moral Majority

Conservative, Moral Majority was founded in 1979 as a “pro-life, pro-moral, and pro-America" crusade that supported conservative candidates. Falwell had a radio station called Old Time Gospel Hour

Sandra Day O’Connor-

Appointed by Reagan in 1981, she was the first woman Supreme Court Justice. Reagan would continue to build a more conservative court, phasing out Burger’s court under Nixon.

Strategic Defense Initiative

costly program proposed by Reagan in March 1983, a computerized anti-missile system involving space lasers. Critics dubbed it “Star Wars”

Sandinistas v. Contras

socialists in Nicaragua that Reagan wanted to overthrow (saw them similar to Castro in Cuba). The contras were an army founded by the CIA that conducted raids and killed many Nicaraguan citizens.

Mujahadeens in Afghanistan/Osama bin Laden

Reagan's administration wanted to continue the anti-communist campaign in the Middle East, so they began secretly sending funds and equipment to Islamic fighters called the mujahedeen in order to get rid of the Soviets that had invaded in 1979. Radical Islamic terrorist and wealthy Osama bin Laden was a friend of the US’s at the time due to his funding of the mujahadeen.

Gorbachev

Soviet Premier; beset by economic problems and unrest in Eastern Europe, he worked to reduce superpower tensions with Reagan while reconstructing Russia’s economy, loosening soviet grip in Eastern Europe, and bringing more openness to Russia’s govt

Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty

signed by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987, it eliminated twenty-five hundred US and Soviet missiles from Europe. Led to Reagan’s visit to Moscow

Iran-contra scandal

the U.S. shipped arms to Iran in secret. In doing so, Reagan was trying to be favored by moderates in the middle east, especially Lebanon (to gain back U.S. hostages).

George H.W. Bush

former VP of Reagan only after serving as a WWII bomber polot, becoming an oil businessman and a congressman, he won the 1988 election against Massachusetts governor Dukakis with a “no new taxes” stance. His term is mostly seen as unmemorable save for the Persian Gulf War

Persian Gulf War

conflict in which a US-led coalition army ousted Saddam Hussein’s Iraq army from Kuwait in 1991; proved that Americans were prepared to use force to pursue national interests

Americans with Disabilities Act

act by Bush, barred discrimination against disabled persons in hiring or education

Bill Clinton

Arkansas governor and later forty-second president who served two terms. Clinton focused on the middle class. Was faced with many foreign challenges like Israeli-Palestine relations and the Soviet Union.

Al Gore

Clinton's VP, a Tennessee senator and environmental expert. He would later run and lose in the 2000 election during which he would win the popular vote. The electoral college was disputed due to a poorly designed Florida ballot at Palm Springs, but the Florida Supreme Court chose to uphold the original results, resulting in Bush’s victory

North American Free Trade Agreement

this pact admitted Mexico to the US-Canadian free-trade zone created earlier; some warned that this would lose jobs in the US as Mexico gained markets, but others claimed a net gain of jobs; this debate continues with both positive and negative economic effects

Hillary Rodham Clinton

a prominent First Lady, ran successfully for US Senate after her husband's presidency, devised a plan for universal healthcare (healthcare purchasing cooperatives, caps on insurance premiums, and limits on Medicare/ Medicaid payments to physicians. Higher tobacco taxes would cover startup expenses.

Christian Coalition

founded by Pat Robertson. An evangelical group with hundreds of chapters that had major influence over the Republican party.

Newt Gingrich

Republican congressman from Geogia who helped bring his party to power; elected speaker of the House in 1994; he mobilized republican discontent over various issues in over 300 congressional candidates signing the ‘Contract with America’ pledging tax cuts, tougher crime laws, antipornography measures, and other reforms

Welfare Reform Act

Signed by Clinton in 1996, it replaced the Aid to Families and Dependent Children (ADFC) program by setting up block grants with funding limits so states could choose their own temporary-assistance programs. Those on the welfare program were restricted to two years of continuous coverage with a five-year total during a lifetime. It would result in lower rates of those on welfare, not even reaching 1996 levels during the 2008 recession.

Globalization

– the removal of barriers to the flow of capital, goods, and ideas across national borders; international trade and finance increasingly shaped America’s foreign-policy interests; American cultural influence, such as movies, music, and televangelists, reached a worldwide audience; unfortunately, a widening chasm appeared between prosperous and poverty-ridden countries which sparked hatred, resentment, and terrorism; ancient ethnic hatreds also reignited

Monica Lewinsky/impeachment

a White House intern who was linked to sexual harassment rumors for Clinton. She denied everything with Clinton under oath and the rumors were settled with a payment of $850,000 to Paula Jones.

George W. Bush

43rd president, son of Prez George HW Bush, he promised to restore dignity to the White House; was TX governor; with powerful backers, a familiar name, and a folksy manner, he won the Republican nomination in 2000, called himself a ‘compassionate conservative, narrowly won the presidency after voting flaws in FL ultimately brought the decision to the supreme court

AIDS

sexually transmitted disease often preceded by HIV, the AIDS epidemic had a death toll of 458,000 by 2000 in the US, particularly affecting the gay community. Kushner’s play Angels in America and the musical Rent represent its cultural impact*.* The epidemic calmed down by the early 2000s thanks to HIV research on treatment and prevention but continued its worldwide impact particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Oklahoma City Bombing

April 19, 1995, explosives concealed in a truck demolished a federal office building in Oklahoma City, killing 168, including nineteen children in a daycare center. Timothy McVeigh, a Gulf War veteran obsessed with conspiracy theories, was convicted of murder, and executed in 2001. His co-conspirator, Terry Nichols received a life sentence.