American Yawp 29

New Right

political movement that was more libertarian in its economics & politically forceful in its conservative religious principles than previous conservatism
most influential wing of the Republican Party
harnessed popular distrust of regulation, taxes, and bureaucrats

George Wallace

exploited the racial, cultural, and economic resentments of working-class whites during his presidential runs in 1968 and 1972

record as a staunch segregationist made him a hero in the Deep South

advanced progressive proposals for federal job training programs, a minimum wage hike, and legal protections for collective bargaining.

conservative Democrat

Engel v. Vitale

Supreme Court decisions prohibiting teacher-led prayer

led some on the right to conclude that a liberal judicial system threatened Christian values

Phyllis Schlafly

known for opposition to feminism and the Equal Rights Amendment

advocated for traditional gender roles and family values.

Roe v. Wade

landmark Supreme Court case that established a woman's legal right to have an abortion and a right to privacy

outraged many devout Catholics and evangelicals

Jerry Falwell

founded the Moral Majority

directed the full weight of the Moral Majority behind Reagan

a Baptist minister and religious broadcaster from Lynchburg, Virginia

Moral Majority

political organization dedicated to advancing a “pro-life, pro-family, pro-morality, and pro-American” agenda

Ronald Reagan

embrace of free markets

rejected principles of active income redistribution and social welfare spending

Winner of the Election of 1980

Supply-side Economics

economic theories that had recently gained popularity among the New Right and were adopted by Reagan

lower personal and corporate tax rates would encourage greater private investment and production

promised that the resulting wealth would reach lower-income groups through job creation and higher wages

Jesse Jackson

the first African American man to run for president when he campaigned for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 1984 and 1988

a civil rights activist and rival to Walter Mondale for the Election of 1980 democratic nomination

Apple II Computer

first successful mass-produced microcomputer meant for home use

AIDS

acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

devastated, stigmatized, and energized the nation’s homosexual community

Strategic Defense Initiative

a space-based system that could shoot down incoming Soviet missiles

Iran Contra Affair

raised money to support the contras by selling American missiles to Iran and funneling the money to Nicaragua

violated the Boland Amendment

Mikhail Gorbachev

while a true believer in socialism, nonetheless realized that the Soviet Union desperately needed to reform itself

reached out to Reagan in hopes of negotiating an end to the arms race, which was bankrupting the Soviet Union

Perestroika

restructuring of the Soviet system

Glastnost

greater transparency in government

Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987

committed both sides to a sharp reduction in their nuclear arsenal

Sandra Day O’Connor

The first woman on the Supreme Court

Farm Crisis of 1980

Bankruptcy caused by the grain embargo put on by Carter combined with high interest rates

Reagan Doctrine

providing aid to anti-communist forces and resistance movements

MTV

TV program that angered conservatives