‘In search of the American dream’ USA Topic: Unit 5, The Impact Of The Reagan Presidency, 1981-1996

Who is Ronald Reagan?

• Ronald was 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989.

• Prior to his presidency, he was the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, following a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader.

• From his mother quoting the Bible, he infamously quoted in his speeches lessons and ideas from the Holy Book, charasmatic to the Religious right

• After working on WW2 GI films to teach solidiers, he became the head of the Screen Actors Guild

• While delivering speeches as Govenor and President, his charisma and movement made him likeable and worth listening to

What were Reagan’s aims?

• Reagan won a landslide victory in the 1980 election (against Jimmy Carter).

• During the election, Reagan asked if people felt better off than they had been four years previously, and the answer was that they didn’t.

• He wanted a shift away from the ‘Great Society’ which he saw as encouraging a reliance on welfare, and he also wanted to reduce ‘big government’ (too much federal interference).

• The loss of confidence had been caused by a number of factors, including the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.

• Many people agreed with Reagan that it was time to return to individualism.

Why was Reagan controversial?

The presidency of Ronald Reagan was marked by multiple scandals, resulting in the investigation, indictment, or conviction of over 138 administration officials, the largest number for any US president.

• The Iran-Contra Affair – 1986. Reagan admitted that he had sold weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of 6 US hostages in Lebanon (unsuccessfully). Some of the money from the arms deal had been used to support a right-wing coup in Nicaragua.

What was the political system when Reagan came to power?

• 1979 – Carter, the US had a ‘malaise’ (an indefinatable discontent)

• A 1979 public opinion poll showed that, for the first time, the majority of Americans thought that their children's lives would be worse than their own (even during Watergate only 30% of Americans had thought that.) Showing that people doubted the Government and had severe doubts of the future

• Carter saw this, but his answer was to discuss the problems at length, appeal for austerity and all pulling together to fix the problems. This outlook and his public language was pessimistic.

What Reagan did that was ‘a breath of fresh air’

• Stressed that the USA had achieved before and whit it could achieve again; he promised to fix things. So when the election came, people voted for Reagan’s ‘I Can Fix It’ speeches

• Reagan was a commited Christian and a significant amount of the conservative coalition support that helped him to power were the Religious right.

• The Religious right believed strongly in traditional family values, compulsory prayer in school and opposed homosexuality, abortion and many forms of birth control. Reagan believed many of these too.

• Reagan spoke out against abortion, but made clear that his speeches on them and aspects of the Religious right was his personal beliefs

• Reagan gave jobs in the White House to the Religious right and tried to pass a law restricting access to abortion. But a combination of the opposition in Congress and the concern about the acceptability of the laws suggested to him by the Religious right, meant that his Government wasn’t as conservative as many of the Religious right who had supported him would have hoped

Similarities to FDR

• Both campaigned on a promise of radical change

• Both campaigned with a focus on the economic situation

• Both promised to control federal government spending (both failed)

• Both were charasmatic, campaigning to replace a President who wasn’t charasmatic

Differences to FDR

• Reagan wanted to reign in federal spending on those in need

• Reagan wanted to reduce federal government intervention

How and Why did Reagan benefit from becoming President in 1980?

• Promised change and to lead, not just to crisis manage, as Ford and Carter had done (in his opinion)

• He wanted to shift away from the ‘Great Society’ policies of Liberalism that he said were weakening the USA, by encouraging people to rely on welfare rather than looking for work

• Reagan vowed that his domestic policies would fix the economy, lower taxes and reduce ‘big government‘

• During his presidential campaign, Reagan asked people if they felt better off than they had been 4 years ago, with the answer he expected to use as an advantage, was that they didn’t. The confidence that was seen in the 50’s was gone

• With this being caused by the loss of the Vietnam War, the Presidency that had been tarnished due to the Watergate Scandal, the economy seemed to decline and many cities were badly dealt with by the administrations that followed Nixon such as the Oil Crises in the 70’s.

• This led many agree with Reagan that it was time to go back to the values of individualism that underpinned the American Dream

Monetarism

An Economic Theory that emphasises the role of money supply in influencing economic activity and prices, suggesting that controlling the money supply is crucial for maintaining economic stability and preventing inflation. Adopted in the 80’s,it was in hand to why Reagan had a smaller Government and led to the USA to be called the ‘Debt of Nation’

Reaganism and Reaganomics

Although Reagan presented himself as the face of change, there were many ways in which his administration was similar to the Republican administrations of the 1920’s.

Tax Cuts

• Reagan proposed a phased 30% tax cut for the first three years of his Presidency.

• The bulk of the cut would be concentrated at the upper income levels.

• The economic theory behind the wisdom of such a plan was called supply-side or trickle-down economics.

• Tax relief from the rich would ensure them to spend and invest more. This new spending would stimulate the economy and create new jobs

• Reagan believed that a tax cut of this nature would ultimately generate even more revenue for the federal government. The Congress was not as sure as Reagan, but they did approve a 25% cut during Reagan's first term.

Key Features of Reaganomics

• Cutting The Federal Deficit: Accompanied by a budget bill and a proposal for cuts on domestic spending. The budget aimed to reduce the federal deficit from 22% of the Gross National Product (GNP) in 1981, to 19% in 1986. This plan was put together so hastily that it had a significant number of errors and a footnote that admitted that the plan included ‘as yet unidentified’ cuts of $74 billion to be decided later.

• Personal & Business Tax Reductions: Accompanied by the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981

• Deregulation: Removing federal control in industry, state and local Government

• Planned Control of the Money Supply: To keep inflation down while expanding the economy

Reagan’s first actions

• To show his commitment to cutting spending, Reagan sacked many White House Staff members, put a federal government hiring freeze in place, told all departments there was a freeze on office furnishing and equipment and that they had to cut their travel expenses by 15%, also used a series of executive orders to set up new advisory groups, reporting directly to him on how to cut down ‘big government’

• The reality of this made him look like a very active new broom, but the financial savings were small and advisory groups don’t actually make changes

• From this budget Reagan had presented, we can learn that he wanted his whole budget policy through to 1984 in one bill and wanted to present a tax bill in the same session. His Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) had no time to follow the folloqing procedure for budget planning, they couldn’t ask each department for budget plans to then debate them and produce a draft budget, which would then be discussed with Reagan and re-drafted, This meant Congress had to acccept the whole package.

• This shows that Reagan’s economic plans could lead to income inequality and an increase in national debt

Getting Legislations Passed:

• There was a Republican majority in the House of Represenatives

• The White House only had to win the support of 26 Democrats in the House to pass its legislation, which made pushing through the budget and tax bills easier

• Senate passed the budget and it was sent to the House and, after some revision, was passed and became law in August as the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 (ORA)

• The Senate passed ORA with one change, to cut the tax reduction for personal tax from 30%-25%

• The Democrats felt as though they had been manipulated over the budget and saw the tax bill as a fight over control of the House. They made significant changes to the bill, with the White House offered tax concessions to some of the Democrats to swing the vote

• Democrats counter-offered incentives in areas they controlled and the process became an undignified scramble over concesssions

• In the end, a reshaped bill was passed and became law in August, as the Economic Recovery Act 1981 (ERTA), at the same time as the budget

• The Act cut marginal income tax by

  23% over 3 years and linked the tax bands to inflation, applying to all tax bands and so paying the higher tax benefited most. The highest income tax band rate fell from 70%-50%, the lowest fell from 14%-11%

• ERTA also allowed all working tax payers to set up untaxed IRA’s (Independant Retirement Accounts). Business tax rates were cut and businesses could revise their depriciation (wear and tear) costs. These were usually calculated years in advance so suffrered from inflation

• Business tax rates were reduced and various business tax breaks were offered, skewed to favour small and innovative businesses

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA/ORA)

On 13th August 1981, it proposed a variety of tax cuts that would take $35 billion out of federal spending; the initial bill presented by the White House had proposed $45 billion worth of cuts.

Economic Recovery Tax Act (EXTRA)

Cut marginal income tax by 23%v over 3 years, links to tax bands to inflation and offeres other incentives

Reaganomics

• The Economic Recovery Tax Act (1981) cut taxes by 25%.

• By 1982 there was a budget deficit of $200 billion. Reagan cut back on welfare.

• Federal aid programmes were cut.

• This affected the poorest children the most.

• Cuts were not sufficient and so continued to grow.

• Federal income was spent on a $1.2 billion defence programme.

• Federal investment supported the interests of the major Republican supporters.

• Federal regulations in health care, the workplace and the environment were reduced.

• 1980 – 1982 = unsuccessful. By 1984 the economy was improving.

Success/failures of Reaganomics

Stop inflation and unemployment?

Increase personal wealth?

Increase productivity?

Encourage people to save and invest?

Reduce the deficit?

Stop inflation and unemployment?

• Reagan’s first aim was to stop inflation. While ORA and ERTA were going through Congress, he put pressure on the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) to put tighter restrictions on the money supply

• It did: even tighter restrictions than the White House asked for. Reagan’s administration, unlike previous administrations, didn’t ask the FRB to lift these restrictions when unemployment rose

• The money supply restriction led to a sharp rise in interest rates. This hurt industries that had to buy supplies on credit (e.g. the car industry, farming) or had loans with a long pay-back period (e.g. construction)

• Many businesses were badly hit. Reagan came to power in the middle of a recession which deepend. Unemployment rates went from 7.1% of the population in 1980, to 9.6% in 1983. However inflation, which had been at 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980, did begin to fall

• In 1982, it was down to 6.2%, but it moved up and down afterwards, by 1996 it had never reached double figures again and spent the majority under 5%

Increase personal wealth?

• Personal wealth is a main issue that has caused a significant amount of debate. Everyone agrees that the tax cuts made many people richer, which worked, but the issue was, what sectors of the population became richer?

• Some historians say: ‘the rich became richer, the poor became poorer’, that the cut in the tax bracket for the rich was the deepest and that, therefore, they benefited most

• Others argue that it wasn’t as simple as that, those tax cuts hurt the rich the most and the poor the least, and that the tax payments of the rich helped the revival of the economy

Increase productivity?

• Productivity is complicated to measure and various factors can be considered.

• The most usual approaches are to calculate the output per worker per hour ( so measuring whether people are actually producing more per hour) or to consider the GNP (measuring whether the country as a whole is producing more)

Encourage people to save and invest?

• As the economycame out of the recession, towards the end of 1982, and businesses began doing well again, more people began to save and invest.

• However, policies to cut down ‘big government‘ led to deregulation in the financial sector. Increased competition led to problems, as financial organisations took increasingly dangerous risks to win more customers

• The personal savings and investments that the policies had been designed to encourage took place in a financial environemt that was increaisngly unsafe. This came to a head in the late 1980’s, with people losing both savings and investments druing a crisis in the savings and loans industry (only government intervention stopped it) and the crash of 1987

• Recovery from this crash was far more rapid than the 1929 Wall Street Crash. The FRB stepped in, encouraging banks to lend to each other and business and individual investors not to panic.

• Possibly because of the historical example of what damage could do, the crash was soon over. A significant number of individuals and businesses suffered, but not on the scale of the Great Depression

Reduce the deficit?

• Reduction of the deficit was one of Reagan’s most notable failures. In 1980, it was $59 billion; paying it off would cost 9% of federal spending in loan interest payments.

• What was worse was that it was increasingly funded by borrowing from abroad. This made the USA for the first time become a significant borrowing nation, not a lending nation.

• This failure was partly because of Reagan’s determination to cut taxes, despite the fact that it soon became clear that supply-side arguments (that the reduction in federal income from tax cuts would be covered by rising productivity and investments) didn’t work

• In addition, federal departments resisted cuts. While Congress toned down many welfare cuts planned by the administration. What was worse was the defence budget, with Reagan saying increased defence spending was necessary. He had fudged the issue of how he could do that and reduce the deficit.

• All through the late 60’s and 70’s, governments cut defence spending and increased spending on human resources. Under Reagan, the spending pattern reversed sharply with Human Resources being 28% of federal spending in 1980 - 22% in 1987, while tje defence spending in the same period grew from 22%-28%

Big Government

A Government that’s regarded as infringing upon the rights of individual citizens because of its extensive bureaucracy and intrusive regulations and policies

President Reagan’s inaugural speech, 20th January 1981

• That we are a nation that has a Government

• Work with us, not over us

• The government needs people to hhave freedom and go on their own terms in terms of work

• That the government is doing too much for the people

• Wanted to reverse Johnson’s ‘Great Society‘, but knew he wasn’t able to dismantle it

The ‘Imperilled Presidency’

• Although Ronald Reagan had been elected to what many considered the most powerful office on earth, some contemporaries (including Gerald Ford) believed the presidency had become an unworkable institution.

• Like Nixon, Ford said there was no ‘imperial presidency’ but an ‘imperilled presidency.’

The reduction of big government

• In the half-century before Reagan’s presidency, the big government philosophy of the New-Deal era dominated American politics – favouring large scale federal government intervention.

• Unlike his Republican predecessors, Reagan was willing to directly challenge the assumptions on which the New Deal was based. He failed to dismantle the New Deal but he halted New Deal interventionism and began to reverse it.

• Reagan called for a ‘New federalism’ – decreasing the size and scope of the federal government and returning regulatory authorities to the states.

• In the 1980 campaign Reagan had promised to sort out the ‘welfare mess’, he said he would eliminate ‘waste, fraud and abuse.

• ’New York’s Democratic governor, Mario Cuomo said ‘at his worst, Reagan made the denial of compassion acceptable.’

Examples of a ‘New Federalism‘ and ‘Waste, Fraud and Abuse‘

• Produce less federal interference in state and local affairs

• Replaced federal agencies with private sector ones and federal employees with volunteers

• Gave less funding for state and local government projects

• Gave less regulation on business expansion and greed

• Gave less control over foreign imports and less social welfare for the most needy

• Gave states and local communities more control over their own affairs

• Blocked grants

Significant areas that Reagan deregulated:

• Fuel Industry, 17th July 1981 - Deregulation on fuel price control

• Bus Regulatory Reform Act deregulated bus services, 20th September 1982

• Garn St Germain Depository Institution Act deregulated savings and loans institutions

• Deregulated natural gas supplies, 26th February 1983

• Shipping Act loosened regulations on US and foreign shipping, 20th March 1984

• Surface Freight Forwarder Deregulation Act, 22nd October 1986

So far, how successful was Reagan in reducing ‘big government‘?

Success:

• Achieved ‘big government‘ by firing people from many sectors in the White House, hiring his own people.

• Caused the price of goods to lower due to inflation lowering from deregulation

• Saw the rise of millionaires and billionaires

• Cut government spending in regards to welfare

• Gave a lot of power back to the States

• Deregulation of fuel prices

• Wanted and almost removed all of Johnson’s Great Society

Failures:

• National Debt Increased

• Replaced welfare funding to federal funding, showing how he would swap funds and not replacew fully

What did others believe about Reagan’s economy?

Many believed that Reagan was sabotaging the country economically.

With Japan’s cheap and low fuel costing cars having increased sales in the USA. Showing Americans wanted cheaper and more reliable products

What was the problem with removing government controls?

If smaller companies were struggling, big companies could and did buy them out. The lack of controls allowed big companies to expand while smaller companies struggled. It also brought lower prices through competition, but as big business grew, it was more likely that big businesses would ‘fix’ a price structure, so they didn’t have to compete

What was the savings and loan collapse and how did Reagan/deregulation made matters worse?

• The collapse was created since Reagan placed bank deregulation in place and applied it to the Savings and Loan institutions (S&Ls) in 1983. When these restrictions lifted, banks could offer high interest rates on savings.

• This was good for savers but awful for struggling businesses and people with long term loans (and couldn’t switch to a smaller one) like farmers. Banks and deregulated S&Ls competed for custom which was somewhat beneficial. But, S&Ls were run by people who used to make safe investments

• Before deregulation, they had mostly provided mortage loans at a regulated rate of interest. But after starting to compete with banks and other financial institutions, they had to make financially risky investments, lend at low rates and after high rates of savings to savers. This made S&L’s fail and cost $10 billion in loses

What effect did the decline of the US in the world economy have?

It was the main reason for the loss of 15% if all manufacturing jobs in the USA

Why did imports and the sale of domestic goods fall?

They fell due to the recession restricting the ability for American consumers to buy goods

Why has America been borrowing massively from foreigners?

To finance the huge budget and trade deficits and maintain the current standard of living

How much did the US owe at the end of Reagan’s administration?

$400 billion to foreigners

Examples of the US selling properties to foreign buyers.

Columbia Pictures and the Rockerfeller Centre

How did Reagan’s economic policies affect trade?

• Big government could also be reduced by not interviewing to affect markets: trade markets as well as the stock market

• World trade shifted against the USA, as buying power of the $ weakened. This meant that foreign imports became cheaper, so imports on foreign goods rose. Americn companies lost business

• The Textile Industry was particularly badly affected between 1980-1985, about 250 textile plants were forced to close and 300,000 lost their jobs

• Some political economists said cheaper foreign products were damaging the economy and also complained that the USA was a global borrower for the first time, rather than the ‘World’s banker‘

• American companies were being bought by foreign companies

Reagan’s reduction in ‘Big Government‘

• Reagan’s atempt wasn’t as successful as he had hoped. This is due to the government agreeing to deregulate oil prices, but blocked plans to remove regulations on environmental issues such as pollution and working conditions at nuclear-power stations

• Another reason was that state and local areas weren’t willing to take over areas of government and projects under federal control. This was due to them not wanting to pay for something that would otherwise be federally funded

• Congress persuaded Reagan to pass the Food Security Act on 23rd December 1985, which gave federal help to farmers who were struggling with falling prices and the failing value of farmland

Negative Effects of Deregulation

• Industry and bankind deregulation had led to people seeing the negatives of lifting regulation

• Many deregulated industries/businesses were more interested in their own benefit than public benefit

• By 1989, big companies corrected the initial price fall from competition. Prices were high, planes flew to fewer places and less often and were tightly packed

• States and local areas withdrawal of federal programmes often meant the fall of programmes through lack of funding

What was Reagan’s attitude toward those on welfare? Which example did he use to illustrate his point?

• Reagan's attitude towards those on welfare was complicated due to his views of 5 "deserving poor" and "welfare Scroungers".

• He believed the scroungers weren't willing to work and thought that the government owed them a living. The example given was of a person that didn't exist, a black woman in Chicago who was defrauding taxpayers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by welfare Veterans fraud, by using a variety of names, welfare cards and benefits for supposed dead veterans.

Workfare – What did this mean, what effect did it have on the poorest in society?

Reagan's administration was the first to state in the legislation, that claiming benefit was buying into dependency, therefore undesirable. The administration wanted to change welfare to work are, by requiring at least one working parent before it paid out family benefits. However, much of the work provided paid lower than minimum wage, Sometimes less than benefit, So families struggled. Another problem was that, despite government's promises of childcare, many single parents found it impossible to find childcare, making it impossible for them to work

Social housing – How did spending on housing change from the 70’s to the 80’s?

In 1970, there were almost 2.4 million low-income homes available to families that applied for them. By 1985, there were 3.7 million families that qualified for low-income housing, but couldn't move into one since none were available.

This was due to Reagan's administration Slashed government funding for building low-cost homes. In 1978, the federal government Spent  $32.2 billion on low-income housing projects, by 1988 it was spending  $1.2 billion. This led to a significant rise in the number of homeless people in the country, which was something the public found difficult to accept.

Homelessness – How did this issue and the reaction to it develop during Reagan’s time in office?

By the mid-80s, Reagan's administration could no longer ignore the growing problem of homelessness.

In 1987, Congress pushed through a bill giving some federal help to projects for the homeless. In 1984, federal funding available to the homeless was $300 million; In 1988 it was $4.6 billion.

The 1987 McKinney Act Set up the Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Program to be run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FEMA

• Matched State grants to local homeless projects half-and-half and the State had to choose the project and put the funding in place before federal money was given. This State or local government funding could be mailed through taxes, charities or donations.

• Set up a federal housing project for transitional housing (with the possibility of using under-used federal buildings), with emphasis on the elderly, disabled veteran families with children and Native Americans. Also gave emergency medical and /care to homeless people and education for homeless children and Job training. that Savoured homeless vets.

Which issues emerged regarding living and working conditions?

•Working families not on welfare, or those earning some allowances due to their earnings, were hit hard from the change) to family credit regulations and rising interest rates that pushed up housing costs, mortgage costs and rent

Between 1980-1987, average monthly debt increased by 30% and the rate of foreclosure quadruped & For many families, both some worked to meet ends meet.

Workers found themselves stretched in other ways due to the many Federal regulations on working conditions with many working longer hours and having no chance for lecture time

•In 1973, on average workers had 26hrs of leisure time a week; by 1987, it was 16 hours. Some people also felt pressured to work even harder, to take work home, in constant competition to be the most productive person.

It became harder for working mothers who might need time off if their child was sick, or had to leave on time to pick children up to hold anything but low paying jobs. 

Many were persuaded to move sideways and down into part time or temporary contract work, they weren't part of any benefits schemes and were paid the hours they worked

Younger people coming into the workforce became nouse eft than their elders had been A two-tier wage structure emerged in the many businesses with established workers keeping the wage rates while benefits were negotiated when they took the job

•Workers Joining the business could be offered a lower salary and fewer benefits for doing the same job, usually othered as a take it or leave it basis

This was usually offered to young people and to people with experience too, it was we to them being new to the business.

• Many were worried about job security as-employers shifted to hiring Part-time and temporary employees, felt they had to take the job

What criticisms of Reagan were there regarding civil rights?

Reagan's desire to cut back on federal involvement meant that the administration was unwilling to extend civil rights Legislations or push for affirmative action

-First 6 months of Reagan's presidency, the Civil Rights division of the Justice Department filed 5 racial discrimination lawsuits

- In 1982, The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP pointed out that the Reagan administration inaction was harming minor dy groups. Pointing towards his abandonment of busing Students in various schools (to promote Segregation) as something particularly harmful to black and Hispanic Americans,

Why was his treatment of women’s rights seen as mixed?

•Reagan appointed Sandra Day to the Supreme Court, even then women's rights floundered under him

• Reagan didn't support the Equal Rights Act and Spoke out against abortion - persuaded to not introduce anti-abortion legislation.

Winners and Losers amongst Black Americans

Hard working, middle-class, conformist black Americans could get ahead, especially women since they filled 2 minority 'quotas for cyclical businesses

-Undereducated Young, poor black men often went under

-Successful black people felt the constant pressure of being a minority es being held back and not promoted; of being seen as the "quoti hire, not someone hovel. for their abilities.

Jesse Jackson

• Civil rights leader and two-time

Democratic presidential candidate Jesse

Jackson (1941–) became one of the most

influential African-Americans of the late

20th century. He rose to prominence

working within Martin Luther King Jr.’s

Southern Christian Leadership

Conference (SCLC) and was at the

Memphis hotel with King when he was

assassinated.

• Through PUSH, the

organization he founded in 1971, Jackson

pressed for broader employment

opportunities for African-Americans.

During the 1980s and 1990s he negotiated

the release of dozens of international

hostages and prisoners.

• In his 1984 and

1988 presidential campaigns, Jackson won

16 state contests and millions of votes,

making him the first viable

African-American candidate for president.

The AIDS Crisis

• Famed US actor Rock Hudson

publicly emerged as having Aids

in 1984 and died the following

year in 1985.

• Hudson was privately homosexual

which became public after his

death. HIV/ Aids became widely

acknowledged as a growing crisis,

having been largely ignored since

the late 70’s/ early 80’s. It was

regarded as a gay disease until

the 90’s.

• Reagan was accused of not addressing the epidemic until the death of Hudson, whom he was friends with

How did big business grow under Reagan?

Big business grew under Reagan since they profited from reduced federal regulation, of lever wayes, working hours and working conditions, this deregulation meant that they could buy up or merge with other businesses

What was the case for small businesses, why?

For small businesses, Reagan said his administration was helping Small businesses With tax breaks, such as allowing them to pay personal tax, not corporate, But he also admitted that many small businesses had gone under in the 1981-1982 recession, but said that over 500,000 New Small businesses had been set up in each of those years. He also avoided the issue of the rising interest rates on long term Loans that many small businesses hedd, a reason many went under.

How and why was farming affected?

Farming was badly affected by high interest rates and federal non-intervention ban. In the 70's, the USA had supplied Wheat to the USSR and encouraged farmers to expand Coften with bigger and bigger loans) and grow wheat with wheat-growing Subsidies. When the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the USA Stopped exporting wheat in protest but at the same time, interest rates rate as the money supply was tightened. Things worsened in Pos, made worse by a drought in 1983. This made many smaller farms fail and later be bought out by agri-businesses or companies that didn't do any farming. In 1980, 17% of farmers were getting 60% of the Subsidy fund. The National Save the Family Farm Coalition was set up in 1986 by farmers themselves.

Which other industries suffered, why was this is, which areas in particular suffered?

Older manufacturing industries such as cars and industries were doing badly against foreign imports (made more cheaply) and exports dropped with the change in value of the dollar. 

The Reagan administration wouldn't impose  tarists on Foreign imports. Towns and cities like Detroit where car manufed turp was a main employer, were badly hit by this decline. In Baltimore and Cleveland, 20% of population was below poverty line, unemployment and poverty was hitting a workers. It also had an effect on these industries that supplied raw materials, as demand for those raw materials dropped

Which industries did well in the 80’s, why was this?

The East and West, the coastal states, had industries which did well in the 80's and increased the suburbs of the cities in those areas. These were computers and banking businesses or other important and new businesses of the 80’s, so the Reagan administration’s laws helped them

What did this mean for the population and who had the most success?

People who had the most success was the rich

The Presidency

A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation.

Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a single elected man or woman who holds the office of "president," in practice, the presidency includes a much larger collective of people, such as chiefs of staff, advisers and other bureaucrats.

Why was Reagan so popular?

Reagan was popular due to him promising change and keeping the premise of not doing what previous tresidents did like Nixon and Watergate, Ford's pardon of Nixon and Carter's awkward management

The fact he did less than he, and many of his more conserative Supporters, had hoped was less noticeable. The Slowdown in change was hidden behind the way he projected a presidential image and his foreign affairs Successes.

His followers were less able at playing the role. He started with an approval rate of 68. in 1981

Give an example of legislation blocked by congress

A legislation that was blocked by congress was laws to cut back on busing Children from poorer areas to integrated Schools

Give an example of Reagan being ‘pragmatic’

Regan was known to be pragmatic, especially on policy, such as him wanting prayer to be done in Schools.

Why was Bush less successful in his relations with congress?

Bush was less successful in his relation to congress due to him being a
poor communicator and was less able to charm the public. or present them with a clear vision of his policies

What prevented Clinton from getting legislation past congress?

Clinton's Failure of his first big healthcare Legislation package prevented
him from getting legislation past Congress..

The ‘Teflon’ President

Nickname for Reagan, as all the blame for his actions or issues in Government bounced off him

Iran-Contra affair

The Iran-Contra Affair

• Iran and Nicaragua
  

• 1986, expiades as scandal in media, they joined together

Nicaragua:

• Reagan was interested in a Regan Doctrine
  to USA)
  

• Sandista government, Socialist (Commie to USA)

• Contras opposition to the Sandista government.

• Boland Ammendment, prevents money going to contras

Iran:

• Islamic revolution, overturns the Shah in 1971
  

• Hezbollah-Islamic group supported by Iran, takes hostages in Lebanon
  

• US Sells weapons to Iran, Proceeds go to fund Contras

• Faciliated by Oliver North, official of National Security Council

EVENTS OF IRAN CONRA AFFAIR

• In autumn of 1986, the Iran - Contra Affair was uncovered.
  

• White Have officials had supplied arms to Iran in order to free several US hostages.

• The officials had used the money from arm sales to Iran Calony with money raised from private Sources), to Support Contra rebels in Nicaragu, who were sighting the existing president.
  

• White House supplied the rebels weapons.
  

• This was done without aknowledging Congress and against the policies of neutrality in the Iran-Iraq war and of not supplying the Contras with Weapons laid done by Congress
  

• Officials involved destroyed documents and other pieces of evidence
  

• Reagan was believed to have either known or didn’t know about the trading.

How the Iran Contra-Affair affected Reagan

Due to his mismanagment, a lot at those connected were arrested but later pardoned- by Bush

Had people question his leadership.

Strategic Defence Initiative

The Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), also. known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983 under President Ronald Reagan.

The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union. With the tension of the Cold War looming overhead, the Strategic Defence Initiative was the United States’ response to possible nuclear attacks from afar.

Although the program seemed to have no negative consequences, there were concerns brought up about the program “contravening” the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks years before.

For this reason, in conjunction with budgetary constraints, the Strategic Defence Initiative was ultimately set aside.

What could be said about the Republican Party and their way of thinking in this era?

During this era, the Republican Party and their way of thinking made it seem that Republican Politics didn't change enough with many Political analysists claiming the problem with the Republican party was that Republicans

Saw their victories as a sensible swing to their way of thinking rather than a temporary reaction to Democratic mistakes, so they didn't feel the need to change their thinking

What evidence is their of the Democratic Party being divided in the 80’s?

The Democratic Party was divided in the 80%.

Reagan was able to Swing enough Democrats in the House to get his 1981 legislation passed, they were split about Candidates with Jesse Jackson, Bartist Minister and Civil Rights activist, running in the 84 and 88 election candidate Spot but lost and his opponents/the winners of the spot always lost heavily.

How had Republican successes changed the direction of the Democratic Party?

Republican Successes changed the direction of the Democratic Party.

After their defeat in the 1984 election, they regrouped and formed the Democratic Leadership Council (OLC) to revitalise the party, ending the old Kennedy and Johnson Wiberal order.

A New Democrat ideology was born, Promoted by the chairman of the council in 1990. Bill Clinton. The new idedoty accepted the need for low taxes and low federal intervention, Shifting Democrats closer to conservative thinking.

However they stressed about the need to provide social welfare since welfare became increasingly synonymous with supporting the lazy.

Thus, the Democrats evolved a new take on it which was abolishing welsare and providing suppert Clinton Campaigned this premise in 1992, offering a New Covenant to the people.

How did Reagan change things for business?

Reagan charged things for business he brought it back into government. Businesses were bigger and money was no longer something shy about having Business made their mark on the USA more strongly than before with sponsors in Sport and of influence in Politics through huge donation campaigns.

This had knock-on effects when they supported particular political candidates as candidates with funding can buy wir-time on tv, run slicker and more affealing campaigns and give them a competetive edge that has nothing to do with political ideas or beliefs.

Which group also became emboldened under Reagan, how did he navigate this, why?

The Christian right became more outspoken and involved in political issues under Reagan.

They were outspoken on abortion, teen pregnancy and what should be taught in schools.

Their view was that it had given Reagan Support and brought in a lot of votes and expected, as a reward, government Legislations on these issues.

However, while Reagan's views were outspoken and coincided with the Christian right, he was advised against any actual legislation and was careful to make it clear that he's expressing his personal opinion, the was a successful president due to his willingness to adapt.

He might not change his mind over abortion but he wasn't going to try to force legislation through that would make him unpopular and be rejected by Congress.

What opinion is given about Reagan’s impact on the presidency and government?

Reagan was a popular president and changed the view of the public, media and political parties on the role of government, even if he didn't make Sweeping Changes in the legislation that he hoped for.

He made the presidency look like a proper political role again, becoming the leader who could affect policy and guide the nation. He made people feel as if the government was basically Sound.

Reagan’s legacy on Economy

Positive Impact:

• Cut the federal deficit, causing the US Economy to increase

• Reduced taxes on business and personal taxes

• Created deregulation in industry, state and government

• Planned control of the money supply

Negative Impact:

• Failed to Cut the deficit, causing mass amounts of debt from borrowing from abroad

• Cut down to ‘big goverment’ caused deregulation

• In late 80’s, people lost both Savings and investments during a crisis in the loans and savings industry

Reagan’s legacy on Big Government

Positive Impact:

• Was reduced since Reagan believed it would benefit the New Federalist policies

• Helped bring down cost of petrol and heating fuel by deregulation

• Created a federal strike force to combat government were lifted banks could offer high interst srand and waste, saving $6 billion in 6 months

• Replaced several agencies with private Sector ones and federal employees with volunteers

Negative Impact:

• Deregulation led to Smaller companies Strut Hong leading them to close or be bought but by bigger companies
  

• Appied banking deregulation to saving and Loans instuttions, when restrictions were lifted on banks, they could offer high interest on savings, this caused people with long term loans or struggling businesses to have it worse

Reagan’s legacy on Social Change

Positive Impact:

• Changed ‘welfare to workfare’ by having one parent working before family benefit was paid

• Created the 1987 Mckinney Act, set up the Food and Shelter program to be run by FEMA

• Appointed a woman, Sandra Day, to the Supreme Court

Negative Impact:

• His OBRA finance cuts targeted mainly federal spending on the poorest

• OBRA would also alter the aid to Families with Dependant Children Programme

• 1985: 3.7 million families qualified for low income homes, yet there weren’t any

• Reagan was unwillimg to do anything for rights on minorities or causes/needs like abortion

Reagan’s legacy on Impact of The Presidency

Positive Impact:

• Was viewed as the President that brought change

• He was prepared to be pragmatic and listen to Congress, especially on issues he believed which could be an issue, e.g Daily Prayer in schools and abortion

Negative Impact:

• Reagan did less than any other Conservative President

• A lot of Reagan’s legislation was urged on by the religious right

• In Autumn 1986, the Iran-Contra affair was uncovered, revealing the USA supplied Iranian Groups’s arms to free several US hostages. The officials used the Iranian money towards the Contra Rebels in Nicarugra 

How did the rise of 'New Right' thinking shape Reagan’s early presidency and political coalition?

The adoption of 'New Right' thinking meant rejecting the many assumptions in place since the New Deal about how involved in Society, and how liberal the government should be.

For Reagan's first term, we united a significant number of Republicand and Demaratic politicians under a conservative coalition banner.

This enabled him to push through his early legislation. The coalition was reacting against the political climate of the 70's as they saw it,

This caused them tom object the increase of lazy and weldare dependant poor; the rising number of strikes and demonstrations, the increasing lack of law and order; the support given by government to issues such as gay rights, women's rights, affirmative action and abortion

What was 'New Right' thinking, and how did it influence American politics during the Reagan Era?

New Right thinking - A term used to describe various right-wing political
groups and ideologies that emerged in response to the failures of Post-WWll Liberalism and the welfare state

New Right Thinking caught on in the 1980's due to the failures of Carter's policies and presidency of the country, as well as the effect of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society Campaign

The Reagan Era changed the Political landscape since the USA was in severe debt and now needed Presidents who could fix it, the religious right was now involved in politics along with religion in general, and the economy and wellbeing of individuals varied with some being well off and some weren't due to deregulation which kept going.

The 1980's

Political, Social, Economic and Culture

Political

• After Watergate Scandal and Vietnam War, People still don’t fully trust Government
  

• Rise of New Right and Conservative political movement
  

• Reagan's appeal to "Reagan Democrats" and his 1980 election victory
  

• Reagan's promises of: Smaller Goverment, tax cuts and deregulation

• Reagan Doctrine: Financial and Military Support for anti-communist efforts abroad for Countries like Grenada, El Salvador and Nicaragua-

• Iran-Contra affair: secret arms to Iran diversion of funds to Contras.

• Reagan's popularity and high approval ratings 

• George H.W Bush's 1988 election victory over Dukakis

Economic

• Economic crisis in the 70's: Inflation, Stagflation and High Taxes
  

• Reagan's Supply side economics: Tax Cuts, Deregulation, Cuts In Government Spending
  

• Initial failure to balance the budget, Military spending increased to $34
  million an hour
  

• 1982 recession: 9 Million unemployed, home and farm losses
  

• Recovery of the economy and growing support for 'Reaganomics",
  

• October 1987 crash, didn't cause a massive issue unlike the 1929 crash
  

• Record federal debt under Roujan
  

• Materialism of the 1980's, rise of the consumer-driven "Yuppie"

Social

• Declining in faith in fellow citizens and institutions Post-1960's and 70's upheaval

• Migration to the sunbelt due to urban decline and tax dissatisfaction.
  

• Rise of conservative evangelicals, anti-tax crusaders and disaffected liberals

• Emergence of the “Reagan Democrat"

• Yuppies seen as self-centered and materialistic, but also anxious and insecure

• Pop culture became an outlet for youth malaise, such as Michael Jackson's music and the emergence of rap and heavy metal
  

• Social discontent expressed through artists like Metallica, Public Enemy and Guns N Roses

Cultural

• 1980's consumerism and `Yuppie Lifestyle’
  

• MTV's debut in 1981: Music Videos Launched Stars like Madonna and Michael. Jackson
  

• Fashion trends were influenced by MTV and other Pop artists
  

• Era of Blockbuster Movies: E.T, Star wars, Indiana Jones, Deverely Hills Cop
  

• Teen Movies: The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Ferres Bueller
  

• Slasher Movie Era: Friday 18th; Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play,
  

• Popular TV shows: Family Ties

Reagan’s Political legacy

• Reagan had restored faith in the imperial presidency, which had been shattered in the 60’s and 70’s.

• In the 1980’s the USA shifted politically to the right and Reagan was able to hand power to his Vice President, Bush. However, this did not guarantee a Republican dominance, as demonstrated by Democrat Bill Clinton’s success in 1992.

• Clinton’s dream was more liberal (if not quite as progressive) as some of his supporters hoped.

Reagan’s Economic Legacy

• The national debt tripled due to tax cuts and defence spending.

• Future generations would have to pay for his policies e.g. 1989-90, $132 billions of taxpayers money was used to bail out savings and loans institutions.

• However, US prosperity continued through the 1990’s and into the early 21st Century.

• Reagan’s pro-business policies created opportunities for the development of new technologies.

Reagan’s Social Legacy

• By 1989, the gap between rich and poor had widened considerably.

• By 1990, the richest Americans owned 40% of the USA’s wealth.

• There was an increase in crime, violence and drug addiction.

• The nations Hispanic population grew in size and visibility. During the Reagan years the US had become both more divided and more diverse.

President George Herbert Walker Bush 1989-93

Why did Bush win in 1988?

• Reagan’s endorsement

• Promises – ‘Read my lips, no new taxes’

• Republican funding for the campaign

• Lowest voter turnout since 1942

• Weaknesses – of his opponent, Governor Michael Dukakis

• Appeal to the Christian Right

Other Info:

• Ambassador of Texas

• Went to Yale

• Was a Texas Oil man

• Was seen as a bad governor to some

• Said ‘no new taxes’ but did

• Was viewed as an invisible Vice President

The Gulf War (Operation Desert

Storm) 1990/91

• Iray, Ruled by Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait due to them believing it was Iraqi Land

• US created an international coalition to liberate Kuwait
  

• Iraq was defeated in 14 days, minimal US and Coalition casualties.
  

• Victory in Iran gave Bush a lot of popularity

The Cold War:

George Bush was fortunate to be in office when the USSR (Dec 1991) and Eastern Europe imploded, thus ending the threat to the United States.

Gulf War

• Arguably though, George Bush is remembered for his role in the Gulf War.

• In August 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein sent around 100,000 troops into the neighbouring oil-rich country of Kuwait.

• Bush assembled an international coalition, led by America to restore the status quo.

Bush’s Motives:

• Kuwait was a US ally, so credibility was at stake if they were threatened.

• Saddam Hussein was sympathetic to the Palestinian minority in Israel, and talked of a holy war against America’s ally, Israel.

• Saddam had used chemical weapons (poison gas) against the Kurdish minority in Iraq, and was rumoured to be developing Nuclear weapons.

• If Saddam kept Kuwait he would control a quarter of the world’s oil supplies and dictate the price of oil holding America and its allies to economic ransom.

Rodney King and the 1992 Los Angeles riots

• Rodney King was brutally beaten up by 4 white police officers for no good reason
  

• Verdict was not guilty to the men.
  

• Riots ensued due to this.

Why did Bush Lose to Clinton in 1992?

• Many health problems of his administration and his own caused many to question his stamina, especially as he was diagnosed win. Graves Disease
  

• Bush's selection of Clarence Thomas for Supreme Court cost him many votes from women
  

• The economy was in recession and Bush seemed slow to get organised, uninterested and out of touch with ordinary Americans and their economic problems and unable to do anything with them
  

• Bush's tax hike and his soft pedalling on the New Right Social agenda (Bush said he wouldn't mind a gay cabinet member) triggered a right-wing challenge from within the Republican Party
  

• Bush's 1992 campaign was poorly run, unlike his brilliant 1988 one. He seemed to affer no vision and underestimated his own popularity
  

• Bush's relationship with the press soured after they called him a “wimp" for being slow