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What did Ronald Reagan believe in?
He opposed a big government and favoritism for minorities. He supported free-market capitalism, individualism, traditional values, and opposed liberal welfare programs.
Who won in the Election of 1980?
Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter.
What did Reagan do regarding the Iranian Hostage Crisis?
He was able to get the hostages released after 444 days.
What was Reagan’s biggest goal during his presidency?
It was to reduce the size of the government by shrinking the federal budget and cutting taxes. He did this by proposing a budget that called for cuts of $35 billion in social programs like food stamps.
What was one big thing that Reagan called for?
Tax cuts!
What were Reaganomics/”supply-side” economics?
Proposed by Reagan, he hoped that reducing taxes will enable businesses to produce more goods, which will lower prices, increase consumer spending, and create more jobs. In return, this would boost productivity, promote economic growth, and reduce federal deficit.
How did the Recession of 1982 happen?
It was because of unemployment and banks closing. This was caused by anti-inflationary polices from Carter's presidency.
What happened in the 1980s regarding individual wealth?
Wealth gaps widened.
How did the Recession of 1982 end?
It was because of Reagan's massive military expenditures like giving the Pentagon nearly $2 trillion in the 1980s.
What was Reagan’s strategy for dealing with the Soviet Union?
It was to initiate an arms race and outspend the Soviets. Reagan expected that the American economy could better support an expensive arms race than the Soviet Union's economy.
What was the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars)?
Proposed by Reagan in 1983, it would use laser beams to shoot down intercontinental missiles from foreign nations.
Who became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985?
Mikhail Gorbachev
What did Mikhail Gorbachev do to reform the Soviet Union?
He wanted to allow free speech and political freedom (Glasnost) and sought to adopt capitalistic economic policies (called Perestroika). These two policies required the Soviet Union to reduce the size of its military and concentrate aid on its citizens.
What did Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies do regarding the Cold War?
They started to end it.
What was the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty?
Signed by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1985, it banned all intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe.
What did Reagan do regarding American hostages in Lebanon and Nicaragua being ran by a Skandalis government?
Reagan decided to send weapons to Iran who would help free the hostages and send money to “fix” the rebels in Nicaragua.
Although Reagan achieved most of his goals, what were some drawbacks?
The national debt grew another 2.2 trillion dollars from deficits and loans to the Pentagon.
What was the Moral Majority?
Founded by Jerry Falwell in 1979, it was a group that preached against sexual permissiveness, abortion, feminism, and the spread of gay rights.
What were some court cases that made it more difficult to prove that an employer practiced racial discrimination in hiring?
Ward's Cove Packing v. Antonia and Martin v. Wilks
What happened in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services?
In 1989, the Supreme Court approved a Missouri law that imposed certain restrictions on abortion, saying that a state could legislate in an area in which Roe had previously forbidden them to legislate.
What happened in Planned Parenthood v. Casey?
In 1992, the Court ruled that states could restrict access to abortion as long they didn’t place a significant difficulty on the woman.
What was the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
Created by President Bush in 1990, it prohibited discrimination against citizens with physical or mental disabilities.
What happened on Black Monday?
On October 19, 1987, the stock market dropped 508 points, which was the largest one-day decline in history.
Who won the Election of 1988?
George H. W. Bush
What happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989 in China?
Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators protested, but China's autocratic rulers brutally crushed the movement.
What happened in 1989 regarding the Cold War?
Several communist nations collapsed like Poland, Hungary, East Germany, and Romania.
When did the Berlin Wall fall?
In December 1989
What ended the Cold War?
The demise of the Soviet Union.
How did the Soviet Union fall?
It fell when Gorbachev resigned and as the country dissolved into 15 republics loosely confederated in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
When happened when Iraq invaded Kuwait?
The United States and the United Nations led a massive international military deployment, sending 539,000 troops to the Persian Gulf region.
What was Operation Desert Storm?
Following the bombings the US sent to Iraq during the Persian Gulf Crisis, this was a land attack that lasted four days, eventually leading to Iraq’s surrender/cease-fire.
Who was running in the election of 1992?
Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ross Perot (Clinton Won)
Why did Clinton win the election of 1992?
It was because the Democrats promoted growth, strong defense, anticrime policies, and the economy.
What did President Clinton do in terms of hiring people for Congress and the Cabinet?
He hired a lot of minorities and woman, such as the first female attorney general, Janet Reno.
What was the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy?
Called for by Clinton, this essentially was an unofficial acceptance of gays and lesbians in the armed forces.
What were some benefits to Clinton during his presidency?
By 1998, his policies led to budget surplus a shrinking of the federal deficit.
Why were a lot of people starting to call for reform?
Because there were a lot of terrorist attacks such as the bombing on the Word Trade Center in 1993.
What was Contract With America?
It was a republican move that took advantage of Clinton’s failures as president. Led by Newt, Gingrich, the republicans were able to claim back seats in the House and Senate.
During Clinton’s second term, he was known as a ________
political moderate
Give an example of racial protests…
There were man riots in Los Angeles in 1992 when white police officers were found not guilty in the beating of a black person.
What were some things that made the economy go crazy (good crazy)?
It was through low interest rates and internet business.
What was The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?
Created in 1993, it created a free-trade zone (no tariffs) between Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
What was The World Trade Organization (WTO)?
Supported by Clinton in 1994, it promoted trade between the countries in NAFTA.
What was the Family and Medical Leave Act?
Created by Congress in 1993, it gave job protection to men and women who needed time off work due to family-related reasons.
What was the Lewinsky Affair?
In 1998, it was discovered that President Clinton had an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. This ultimately led to an impeachment to be created but it never actually impeached Clinton.
Who won the Election of 2000?
George H. Bush (NOT H.W.)
What did George H. Bush support as President?
He supported returning the federal budget surplus back to the people through tax cuts and through helping the poor.
How was the increase in Liberal Arts caused?
It was education in the US was great. Many people were getting degrees, finishing high school, going to college.
What was Trump’s “American First” agenda?
It sought to limit US involvement in the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. (this put a risk as the peace and prosperity of the entire planet)
How did George H. Bush do as President?
Absolutely terrible; he opposed welfare programs regarding environmentalist policies and rejected the Kyoto Treaty, which sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He turned a federal budget surplus into a massive budget deficit.
What was the Patriot Act?
Created by the Government in 2001, it expanded the government's ability to monitor citizens' communication, and it allowed immigrants suspected of terrorism to be deported.
What is the Department of Homeland Security?
Created by the Government in 2002, it protected the nation's borders.
What was the Guantanamo Detection Camp?
It was created on the American military base in Cuba to hold captured Taliban fighters from Afghanistan
What were the “axis of evil?”
Created by Bush in 2002, it included Iraq, North Korea, and Iran.
What were Bush’s goals regarding Iraq?
He wanted to desperately overthrow its dictator, Saddam Hussein. To do this, he made false claims to go to war (EX: they had weapons of mass destruction).
What happened after Saddam Hussein was defeated by the US and Great Britain?
There was Sectarian violence that spread throughout Iraq as between Sunni and Shia Muslims. This was because Sunnis were the minority and had power under Saddam.
What was the No Child Left Behind Act?
Supported by Bush in 2002, it required schools to help all students meet state-set standards to improve the quality of education.
Why was George H. Bush’s second term terrible?
It was because of of many factors:
The government was found to be illegally wiretapping American citizen communications, the government barely helped people after Hurricane Katrina.
How did President Obama/the government respond to the economic recession of 2008?
The federal government took over the country's two biggest mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and by taking over the world's biggest insurance company, the American International Group (AIG)
How was the economic recession of 2008 caused?
It was caused by a bursting housing bubble and the private banking system's poor lending practices.
What was the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP)?
This tried to keep the nation's banks and businesses afloat during the economic recession of 2008.
What was the American Relief and Recovery Act?
Supported by Obama in late 2000s, it was a stimulus bill comprised of tax cuts, spending for jobs programs, and funding for state and local governments.
This was to fix the recession of 2008
What was the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?
Created by Obama in 2010, it required all Americans to buy health insurance and prohibited health insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
What was the “Tea Party”?
Created in 2009, it was a right-wing, ultra-Republican party that opposed most of Obama's policies.
How did income inequality grow?
It was likely because of increasing global competition, reduction in high-paying manufacturing jobs, growth of part-time work.
What was one example that resulted from the inequality gap in the US in 2011?
"Occupy Wall Street" began as small demonstrations by young people who were upset about income inequality.
What was Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission?
In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations could not be limited in how much money they spent on political campaigns.
This helped Obama Win in the Election of 2012.
What was the Iran nuclear deal?
Created by Obama in 2015, it stopped Iran's development of nuclear weapons.
