Studied by 2 people
what was reagan’s background?
born in illinois to relatively poor parents
had a career as an actor, radio presenter and television presenter
became governor of california in 1966
lost the republican presidential campaign in 1968 and 1976 to nixon and ford
why did the religious right support reagan?
didn’t like liberal reforms and the permissive society associated with the democrats
moral majority - claimed supporters of abortion, easy divorce and military unpreparedness were agents of the devil
supported republicans as the platform condemned moral permissiveness and supported family values
what opposition did reagan face?
democrats tried to make his right-wing views central issues in the campaign
his age was criticised - he was 69
a third candidate, john anderson - moderate conservative, stood for the newly formed national unity party
what happened in the final television debate between reagan and carter?
until the final debate reagan and carter were equal in the polls
during the debate reagan asked carter ‘are you better off than you were four years ago?’ - many think this is what won him the election
what were the results of the in 1980 election?
reagan won a majority of the popular vote - 50.7% compared to carter’s 41%
he won an overwhelming majority in the electoral college - 489 to 44
republicans won control of the senate for the first time in 25 years
also gained seats in the house of representatives but the democrats remained in control
what happened at the assassination attempt in 1981?
he was shot in the chest and severely wounded
he told his wife nancy ‘honey, i forgot to duck’ - endeared him to many americans
what is reaganomics?
reagan’s economic philosophy
emphasised low taxes and deregulation - which was thought would stimulate the economy
what is supply-side economics?
if taxes were cut, especially for businesses, the increased money left from profits could be used to invest in growing their businesses and the economy
they would then expand and employ more people, also paying the employees a higher wage
the employees would then use their higher wages and low taxes to spend in the economy
this spending then helps companies make more money and the cycle continues
what were the issues with supply side economics?
corporations and shareholders tended to keep more profits than they reinvested into their businesses and the economy
the wealthiest gained even more wealth and the gap of inequality grew - furthered by the fact that less taxes meant less government spending
welfare programs for the poorest were reduced or cut
what is deregulation?
removing federal restrictions from businesses
e.g. minimum wage, hours
what did reagan say in his speech to congress in 1981?
tax cuts would revive the economy
wanted to cut $40 billion from the proposed 1982 federal budget by minimising and cutting welfare programmes
deregulation would allow businesses to grow - increased profits would increase tax revenue which would pay off the deficit
wanted to increase cold war military spending
different to the president’s usual first meeting with congress - he wanted his whole economic plan passed in one single piece of legislation
what was reagan’s budget program for economic recovery?
cut the federal deficit - reducing government domestic spending to decrease deficit from 22% of GNP to 19% of GNP
reduce taxes
deregulation - removing government controls, limit and power in the economy
control the money supply - aims to keep inflation low
what was the 1981 omnibus budget reconciliation act (ORA)?
reagan’s budget plan
initially wanted $45 billion worth of cuts - achieved $35 billion of cuts across 212 federal programmes after negotiations with congress
what was the 1981 economic recovery tax act (ERA)?
reagan’s tax reforms
phased in a 23% cut in individual tax rates over three years
top tax rates fell from 70% to 50%, whilst the bottom tax rates only fell from 14% to 11%
linked taxes to inflation, so people would not have to pay more taxes if the value of money decreased
how had the government changed since 1900?
in 1900, the federal government was small and did little to intervene - dual federalism, left most domestic issues for state governments to deal with
large change due to the new deal - government became heavily involved in people's lives, introduced government programmes to deal with issues like the great depression
interventionist philosophy continues after WW2 - e.g. GI bill, provided jobs and training to veterans, followed FDR’s example of keynesian economics
LBJ’s ‘war on poverty’ increased the size of the federal government - new departments were opened to deal with a range of societal issues
what were reagan’s goals?
wanted to cut back on the size and scope of the federal government
believed the american dream was when people improved their own lives, and they didn’t want a handout form the government - new federalism
wanted to bring america back to a nation that focused on individual liberty and entrepreneurship
hoped cutting the size of the government would help to balance the economy alongside the tax cuts - due to the tax cuts, the government wouldn’t be able to afford all of their programmes
was the reagan administration successful in reducing the size of the government?
cut department of education staff by 25%
cut education grants by 63%
cut benefits under aids to families with dependent children (AFDC)
civilian employment in the government rose by 3% - due to reagan’s focus on national defence, civilian employment rose by 11.5% in the defence department
what was the scandal with the savings and loans companies?
cost taxpayers a lot of money
reagan signed a bill that increased the amount of federal insurance available to savings and loans depositors and authorised them to make more risky investments
no attention was paid to the corruption of these companies and many collapsed in the late 1980s
$132 billion bailout was required from public funds - costliest financial scandal in US history
what problems were there in 1981-82?
in 1982, the government deficit nearly doubled to $110.6 billion and total national debt was more than $1 trillion
reagan passed the tax equity and fiscal responsibility bill in response - reversed some of the 1981 tax concessions to businesses, increased taxes on cigarettes and airline tickets
US entered a severe recession - many lost their jobs
reagan’s slogan was ‘stay the course’
what was the 1986 tax reform act?
reduced the number of tax brackets from fourteen to two
reduced tax rates - highest tax rate decreased from 50% to 28%
exempted millions of low-income families from tax payment
what was the situation by 1989?
there were 18 million new jobs - less unemployment
inflation problem was solved
increasing deficits in the balance of trade turned the US into a debtor nation - first time since 1914
national debt doubled from $1 trillion to $2 trillion - paying interest on debt was the third largest thing in the federal budget
what were the impacts of reagan’s reductions?
reduced size of government - not as much as reagan wanted
federal register (list of federal government rules and regulations) - cut from 87,000 pages to 64,000
big companies were often successful at the expense of smaller ones - bigger companies bought smaller ones when they started to fail, which saw a rise in conglomerates (big, powerful companies that controlled businesses in multiple fields)
utility companies reduced services to unprofitable areas - rural regions suffered
environmental issues suffered
trade shifted and imports rose - created competition and cheaper goods for customers, hurt american businesses
what was reagan’s opinion on environmentalism?
had little interest in ‘green issues’
took an anti-environmentalist position on the use of land for industrial purposes
did little to regulate the nuclear industry, which was responsible for some serious leaks from military complexes
vetoed the renewal of clean water act on grounds of expenses - cost $18 billion
vetoed the identical 1987 water quality control act - overridden by congress
what was reagan do about organised labour?
in 1981, 12,000 air-traffic controllers went on strike for higher wages and shorter hours - violated a no-strike agreement as they were members of the professional air traffic controllers union
reagan fired all of the workers, sent in the military and revoked the federal government’s certification of the union
he directed the department of transportation to train 12,000 people to fill the vacant posts
what did reagan do in foreign affairs?
his administration supported anti-communist movements across the world
after 1985, he established a cordial relationship with gorbachev
helped to bring about a nuclear forces treaty in 1987 - first accord for comprehensive nuclear arms control
what did reagan do about defence?
said ‘defence is not a budget item’ - spend huge sums on weapons
was interested in the notion of a space shield that would protect the US from soviet missiles - research was undertaken, star wars project
what did reagan do about welfare?
saw welfare programmes as a disincentive to work, which worsened the plight of the poor
sharp reduction in spending on food stamps, school meals and childcare
gave little help to the increasing number of homeless people
social security, medicare and farming subsidy costs rose under reagan
what did reagan do about civil rights?
supported the justice department in its efforts to undo affirmative action programmes
opposed bussing
in the 1980s, black males fell further than any group in terms of wages and jobs
upset the NAACP in 1981 by choosing to go horse riding instead of meeting them, and again in 1982 when he likened the welfare state to slavery
of his judicial appointments, only 24 were of an ethnic minority out of 368 - seven were black, fifteen were hispanic and two were asian
criticised the civil rights and voting rights acts
vetoed the 1988 civil rights restoration act - overruled by congress
what did reagan do about abortion?
persuaded congress to ban medicaid-funded abortions
discouraged the use of protection
encouraged anti-abortion organisations
created ‘chastity centres’
in brown v kendrick (1988), the supreme court denied federal funding to pro-choice clinics - supported the government move to block federally funded pregnancy clinics from even discussing abortion with patients
tried pass a constitutional amendment to overturn roe v wade and ban abortion - failed
what did reagan do about homosexuality?
did little during the AIDS crisis - conservatives believed it was linked to immoral behaviour
in bowers v hardwick (1986), the supreme court upheld a georgia state law that criminalised sodomy - another 24 states also had laws against ‘deviant behaviour’
some liberal states, e.g. massachusetts, passed laws that banned homophobic discrimination
what did reagan do about drugs?
it was difficult to to crack down on banks laundering drug money - mostly due to reagan’s deregulation programs
focused more on catching and punishing dealers and users, instead of tackling poverty and rehabilitating the addicted
nancy reagan created the ‘just say no’ campaign in 1982
what did reagan do about women’s rights?
opposed the equal rights amendment act
appointed the first female supreme court justice - sandra day o’connor, who was pro-choice
under reagan, more women entered the workforce and there was a slight shift in the gender pay gap - in 1980, women earned 62% of men’s salaries, in 1990 this had increased to 72%
what happened in the 1984 election?
ran against walter mondale
responded to a question about his age by saying ‘i’m not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience’
won 58.8% of the popular vote and every state except two
why was reagan popular?
he was amiable - known as the ‘great communicator’, had natural charm
got on well with congress - had the support and trust of the majority of the american people, often invited members of congress to the white house
worked well with the media - used his charm and charisma to cover any possible weaknesses
had a clear vision of the american dream - shared the view of many americans that people would achieve through independent hard work
assassination attempt - he won support when he apologised to his wife for ‘forgetting to duck’
economic and tax reforms - sweeping legislation proved that he meant business
re-election for a second term - crushed his opponent, received 525 of 538 electoral college votes
end of the cold war - many thought reagan forced the USSR into conceding the arms race
what was the iran-contra affair?
reagan supported the anti-communist contras in nicaragua, but they were largely funded by the cocaine trade - boland agreement prevented the department of defence and CIA from financially supporting them
he made a deal to exchange seven american hostages in iran for weapons
the US government allocated $30 million for the weapons - $18 million was channelled to the contras in nicaragua
lieutenant colonel oliver north admitted to diverting the funds but also that reagan knew about it
the tower commission said that reagan’s lack of oversight allowed iran-contra to happen but didn’t implicate him directly
why were reagan’s economic policies criticised?
unemployment remained high
under reagan the rich became richer - it is not clear that this ‘trickled down’ to the poor
the US economy experienced less growth than in the 1960s and 70s
the national debt tripled
the US became the world’s biggest debtor nation
trade deficit increased massively - by 1990 it was over $150 billion a year
foreign investors ‘bought’ up US real estate
why were reagan’s social policies criticised?
he showed little sympathy for the various minority groups
slashed welfare budgets
did nothing to enhance female rights
did little to help drug addicts, the homeless, people suffering from AIDS or those suffering from mental illness
despite standing for traditional family values, divorce rates and unmarried teenage pregnancies increased under reagan
why was reagan called the teflon president?
he was lucky and nothing ‘stuck’ on him
the fall in world oil prices came to his rescue economically
he was fortunate in foreign policy - the USSR was in difficulties by the 1980s
he managed to escape the iran-contra scandal, and a number of others involving public officials he had appointed
why was reagan’s political and economic skill praised?
he achieved most of his aims
he reduced federal taxes
after 1983, the US entered the longest peacetime period of uninterrupted economic growth in its history
he left the US in a stronger economic position
he boosted american morale
he was genuinely popular - his popularity strengthened the institution of the presidency
why was reagan’s foreign policy praised?
he stood up to the USSR in his first term as president
he responded creatively to gorbachev’s overtures after 1985
his friendly relationship with gorbachev helped to end the cold war - he helped the US win the cold war
what is reagan’s political legacy?
he seemed to have restored faith in the imperial presidency
in the 1980s, the US shifted politically to the right, and reagan was able to hand power to his vice president bush
the coalitions of economic and social conservatives who supported reagan were fragile and did not guarantee continued republican dominance - proved by democrat bill clinton’s success in 1992
what is reagan’s economic legacy?
during the 1980s, the US moved from deep recession to economic prosperity
despite fears that the tripling of the national debt, due to tax cuts and massive defence spending, prosperity continued through the 1990s
unemployment was low
the stock market boomed
there was a budget surplus instead of a deficit
reagan’s pro business policies created opportunities for the development of new technologies
what is reagan’s social legacy?
his economic policies benefited the rich - there is little evidence that their wealth ‘trickled down’ to poorer americans
the gap of inequality widened - by the mid 1990s, the richest americans owned 40% of the nation’s wealth
crime, violence and drug addiction increased in the poorest areas
what is reagan’s international legacy?
his policies contributed considerable to the break up of the USSR
the US was the world’s lone superpower for two decades after 1989
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Flashcard (76)