Ronald Reagan: 1981-89

Reagan’s philosophy to end the Cold War was called…?

“Peace through strength.”

Reagan was also nicknamed the “T… president” due to his ability to rise above criticism and emerge relatively unscathed from it?

“Teflon”

Part of the “Reagan Recovery” consisted of :

• Reagan’s economic strategy was called?

• This economic strategy sought to renew what in the American people?

• What economic problem did it seek the recover and from which former president?

• “Reaganomics”

• the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people

• Stagflation, Jimmy Carter

• Give 2 tax acts in Reagan introduced in 1981

• Give 1 other tax act introduced in 1986?

• Aprox. over how many programmes would federal government spending be cut by the first act of 1981?

• The Omnibus Reconciliation Act and the Economic Recovery Tax Act

• Tax Reform Act

• over 300 (by the Omnibus Reconciliation Act).

What were the twin evils Reagan was forced to tackle?

Inflation and unemployment rising

• How many jobs did Reagan create throughout his presidency?

• What rose whilst interest rates were cut by more than 1/2? (Hint Gross…)

• Government spending also decreased from …% to just over 1%?

• 20 million

• GNP (Gross National Product)

• 10%

What did Reagan famously say about the evidence of success of his programme?

“I could tell our programme was working when they stopped calling it Reaganomics”.

• For Reagan’s 1984 Re-election campaign he launched an emotive television commercial entitled?

• What did this illustrate?

• “It’s morning in America”.

• The prosperity and instrumental reform had returned by the Reagan era after the years of Watergate, distrust/cynicism of the office of the president and humdrum Carter and Ford.

Reagan was known for appointment Sandra Day O’Connor as the 1st what in the Judicial System?

First woman justice

• Give an example of Reagan’s greatest gap between promise and achievement… the explosion of what…?

• It nearly t…(quantity)

• from $… billion to $… trillion

• Explosion of National Debt

• trebled

• $900 billion to $3 trillion

Give another foreign policy failure revealed in November 1986?

Iran-Contra Affair

Iran-Contra Affair

• US senior officials secretly sold arms to Iran to fund who? And what did they oppose?

• True/False, the US hated Iran, although they knew they would have to sell them weapons to count on them to free US hostages in Lebanon.

• They were known as an anti-… rebel group?

• What did they do that showed that President Reagan was deeply out of touch with his own administration’s illegal activities?

• What was the name of the amendment passed by Congress which prohibited the US selling weapons to Iran?

• The “Contras”, opposing the Marxist government in Nicaragua

• True

• anti-Sandinista rebel group?

• The “Contras” were involved in selling cocaine.

• Boland Amendment

In 1982, what serious of talks began for Reagan, but didn’t seriously make any progress until what Soviet leader took power in 1985?

• START, Strategic Arms Reduction talks, Mikhail Gorbachev

At the National Association of Evangelicals in March 1983, what does Reagan call the USSR?

Reagan also in his speech calls to pray for those living under “t… darkness”.

This rhetoric resulted in the end of what period… of softening relations between the USA and the USSR?

• “An Evil Empire”

• Totalitarian

• Détente

• True/False, Reagan’s “Star Wars” programme of March 1938 was extremely successful in ending Soviet threat and bringing the Cold War to an end.

• The Star Wars programme was also known as what 3 letters, and their meaning.

• Yes/No - Did it force the USSR into an arms race they could not afford, making them realise they could no longer keep up, whilst also demonstrating American technological and economic superiority.

• True

• SDI - Strategic Defence Initiative

• Yes

Define the Reagan Doctrine of 1985.

• What was the approach called that sought to impact Soviet influence? (Hint: Had been used before by General Douglas MacArthur, without Truman’s permission in the Korean War in 1951-July 1953)

• The Reagan doctrine would provide what 2 types of aid to anti-communist resistance movements. (Hint: o… and co…)

• Give 3 examples of continents were this was used.

• The Reagan Doctrine beneficial for the USA as they were able to avoid direct…

• Roll-back

• Overt and covert aid

• Africa, Asia, South America

• Military intervention

Gorbachev took power as leader of the USSR in 1985,

In November 1985, what Summit did Reagan and Gorbachev become acquainted for the 1st time?

• Geneva Summit

In December 1987, what Treaty was signed by Reagan and Gorbachev

The treaty agreed for both sides to destroy a whole class of …

This signing sought to illustrate the success of Reagan’s philosophy of “P…”, paving the way for a US Cold War victory.

• INF - Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty

• Nuclear weapons

• Peace through strength

At the Moscow Summit in May 1988, Gorbachev asked Reagan if he still believed just as he did in 1983 at the National Association of Evangelicals that the Soviet Union was an “evil empire” to which he replied “No… that was another time, another era”.

What did this signal the end of ?

Cold War hostilities.

The Lebanon Intervention:

• Was the Lebanon Intervention seen as a foreign policy failure for Reagan, why?

• What was the 1983 catalyst which signalled to Reagan that he must withdraw?

• True/False, it was viewed as a blow to American prestige.

• He had to withdraw US troops, seen as a failure of Middle Eastern strategy.

• The barracks bombings which killed 241 US service members

• True

Reagan and his wife Nancy as Hollywood stars, aspired to recreate the “Coourt of Camelot” (King Arthur/Arthurien legend) envisaged by JFK and Jackie Kennedy, were they successful? Yes/No

No.

What were the names of Gorbachev’s 2 Russian reforms that, alongside Reagan’s reforms paved the way for the collapse of the Soviet Union?

• Glasnost (Openness)

• Perestroika (Restructuring)

Reagan was also known as “The G… C”

He starred in 53 feature films and famously said, “I don’t know, I’ve never played…”

The Great Communicator

a president before