ch 38 key terms/people

Proposition 13

A successful California state ballot initiative that capped the state's real estate tax at 1% 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 administrations.

Tax Reform Act

Signed into law by President Reagan on October 22, 1986, the Tax Reform Act streamlined federal tax codes and reduced the tax burden for top-income earners. Its successful passage reflected the Republican Party's embrace of free market doctrine, or "supply-side economics," as a cardinal principle of governance.

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.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

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

Sandinistas

Leftwing anti-American revolutionaries in Nicaragua who launched a civil war in 1979 .Members of a leftist coalition that overthrew the Nicaraguan dictatorship of Anastasia Somoza and attempted to install a socialist economy. The US financed armed opposition by the Contras. They lost national elections in 1990.

Contras

Anti-Sandinista fighters in the Nicaraguan civil war. They were secretly supplied with American military aid, paid for with money the US 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

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

Major political scandal of Ronald Reagan's second term that was revealed in 1986. 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

Political action committee founded by evangelical Reverend Jerry Falwell in 1979 to promote traditional Christian values and oppose feminism, abortion, and gay rights. The group was a major linchpin in the resurgent religious right of the 1980s.

Identity Politics

Refers to the practice of using race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or religion--or any marker of personal identity--to mobilize political support. Practiced by both left and right, identity politics came into prominence in the 1960s. Sometimes criticized as a divisive regression to tribalism, it reflected an erosion of trust in public institutions and a weakening of shared national values.

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.

Operation Desert Storm

US-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)

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 participated in the McCarthy Communist scare. Iran released hostages on his Inauguration Day in 1980. While president, 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

Leader of conservatives in Great Britain who came to power. Pledged to limit social welfare, restrict union power, and end inflation. Formed Thatcherism, in which her economic policy was termed, and improved the British economic situation. She dominated British politics in 1980s, and her government tried to replace local property taxes with a flat-rate tax payable by every adult. Her popularity fell, and resigned.

Corazon Aquino

Elected in 1986, she was the first female president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992; she struggled to restore political stability, return to democracy, and rebuild the nation's economy.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet statesman whose foreign policy brought an end to the Cold War and whose domestic policy introduced major reforms. 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. He worked with Reagan to end the Cold War.

Saddam Hussein

Was a dictator in Iraq who tried to take over Iran and Kuwait violently in order to gain the land and the resources. He also refused to let the UN into Iraq in order to check if the country was secretly holding weapons of mass destruction. He waged war on Iran in 1980-1988 and in 1990 he ordered an invasion of Kuwait but was defeated by the US and its allies in the Gulf War (1991). Defeated by US led invasion in 2003.

Jerry Falwell

Prominent evangelical minister, leader of the Moral Majority. Leader of the Religious Right Fundamentalist Christians, a group that supported Reagan; rallying cry was "family values", anti-abortion, favored prayer in schools.

Sandra Day O'Connor

First woman supreme court justice. She was appointed by Reagan. A moderate conservative, she was known for her dispassionate and meticulously researched opinions.

George H. W. Bush

He was the 42nd president of the United States, previously being Ronald Reagan's vice-president. His policies and ideals derived heavily from his predecessor and were built on them. He was a well-to-do oil tycoon before devoting himself to the public. He served as a congressman, emissary to China, ambassador to the UN, director of the CIA, and vice president before becoming president.

Boris Yeltsin

Was the first President of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1999. The Yeltsin era a period marked by widespread corruption, economic collapse, and enormous political and social problems. In June 1991 Yeltsin came to power and on June 12 he was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, becoming the first popularly elected president in Russian history. But Yeltsin never recovered his popularity after endorsing radical economic reforms in early 1992 which were widely blamed for devastating the living standards of most of the Russian population. By the time he left office, Yeltsin was a deeply unpopular figure in Russia, with an approval rating as low as two percent by some estimates.

Nelson Mandela

ANC leader imprisoned by Afrikaner regime as a result of his efforts to end apartheid; he was released in 1990 and elected as president of South Africa in 1994. He was the first black president of South Africa.

Manuel Noriega

Leader of the Panamanian Defense Forces, Noriega supplied information to the CIA during the Bush administration, but was indicted in 1988 for drug and other charges and eventually captured and convicted after a military standoff with U.S. troops in Panama.

Clarence Thomas

An African American jurist, and a strict critic of affirmative action. He was strongly opposed by liberals for his views on abortion. 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.