Albright Chapter 40

Proposition 13 (1978)

A successful California state ballot initiative that capped the state's real estate tax at 1 percent of assessed value. The proposition radically reduced average property tax levels, decreasing revenue for the state government and signaling the political power of the "tax revolt," increasingly aligned with conservative politics.

boll weevils

Term for conservative southern Democrats who voted increasingly for Republican issues during the Carter and Reagan administration

supply-side economics

Economic theory that underlay Ronald Reagan's tax and spending cuts. Contrary to Keynesianism, supply-side theory declared that government policy should aim to increase the supply of goods and services, rather than the demand for them. It held that lower taxes and decreased regulation would increase productivity by providing increased incentives to work, thus increasing productivity and the tax base.

Reaganomics

Informal term for Ronald Reagan's economic policies, which focused on reducing taxes, social spending, and government regulation, while increasing outlays for defense.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI or Star Wars)

Reagan administration plan announced in 1983 to create a missile-defense system over American territory to block a nuclear attack. The plan typified Reagan's commitment to vigorous defense spending even as he sought to limit the size of government in domestic matters.

Sandinistas

Left-wing anti-American revolutionaries in Nicaragua who launched a civil war in 1979.

Contras

Anti-Sandinista fighters in the Nicaraguan civil war. The Contras were secretly supplied with American military aid, paid for with money the United States clandestinely made selling arms to Iran

glasnost

Meaning "openness," a cornerstone along with Perestroika of Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's reform movement in the USSR in the 1980s. These policies resulted in greater market liberalization, access to the West, and ultimately the end of communist rule.

perestroika

Meaning "restructuring," a cornerstone along with Glasnost of Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's reform movement in the USSR in the 1980s. These policies resulted in greater market liberalization, access to the West, and ultimately the end of communist rule.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty (1987)

arms limitation agreement settled by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev after several attempts; the treaty banned all intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe and marked a significant thaw in the Cold War

Iran-Contra Affair (1987)

Major political scandal of Ronald Reagan's second term. An illicit arrangement of selling "arms for hostages" with Iran and using money to support the contras in Nicaragua, the scandal deeply damaged Reagan's credibility.

Moral Majority (1979)

Political action committee founded by Jerry Falwell to promote traditional Christian values and oppose feminism, abortion, and gay rights. The group was a major linchpin in the resurgent religious rights of the 1980s.

Black Monday

October 19, 1987. Date of the largest single-day decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average until September 2001. The downturn indicated instability in the booming business culture of the 1980s but did not lead to a serious economic recession.

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Organization formed from the former republics of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Operation Desert Storm (1991)

U.S.-led multi-country military engagement in January and February of 1991 that drove Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army out of neighboring Kuwait. In addition to presaging the longer and more protracted Iraq War of the 2000s, the 1991 war helped undo what some called the "Vietnam Syndrome," a feeling of military uncertainty that plagued many Americans

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990)

Landmark law signed by President George H. W. Bush that prohibited discrimination against people with physical or mental handicaps. It represented a legislative triumph for champions of equal protections to all.

Ronald Reagan

first elected president in 1980 and elected again in 1984. He ran on a campaign based on the common man and "populist" ideas. He served as governor of California from 1966-1974, released hostages on his Inauguration Day in 1980. He developed Reagannomics, the trickle down effect of government incentives. He cut out many welfare and public works programs. He used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict. His meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the Cold War. He was also responsible for the Iran-contra Affair which bought hostages with guns.

Margaret Thatcher

first female prime minister of Britain who served from 1979 to 1990

Mikhail Gorbachev

Head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. His liberalization effort improved relations with the West, but he lost power after his reforms led to the collapse of Communist governments in eastern Europe.

Saddam Hussein

president of Iraq through the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) and the first Persian Gulf War (1991). He repressed movements he deemed threatening to the stability of Iraq. US leaders continued to view him with deep suspicion following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He was deposed by the US and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Jerry Falwell

televangelist and minister from Lynchburg, Virginia, who founded the Moral Majority. Their rallying cry was "family values," anti-abortion, and favored prayer in schools.

Sandra Day O'Connor

first woman supreme court justice. appointed by Reagan

George H.W. Bush

Reagan's vice president who became the 41st pres. in 1988; went to war with Saddam Hussein

Boris Yeltsin

first president of the Russian Federation

Nelson Mandela

11th president of South Africa who spent 27 yrs. in prison after conviction of charges. He helped spearhead the struggle against Apartheid, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Manuel Noreiga

Panama leader who was overthrown in a 1989 US invasion; tried and imprisoned for drug trafficking

Norman ("Stormin' Norman") Schwarzkopf

Commander of US Central Command in the Gulf War; Commander of the coalition forces

Clarence Thomas

an African American jurist and a strict critic of affirmative action; he was nominated by George H. W. Bush to be on the Supreme Court in 1991, and shortly after was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill; hearings were reopened, and he became the second African American to hold a seat in the Supreme Court