US History Study Guide: 1980's decade Vocabulary and Key Questions

Modern US History - Mr. McGuire

(Vocab) Ronald Reagan

first elected president in 1980 and elected again in 1984 ( was a presidential candidate for a decade); he participated in the McCarthy Communist scare; he developed Reaganomics (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; was almost assassinated which made his approval rating go up

(Vocab) Jesse Jackson

most important civil rights leader of the time; ran for president twice and was a symbol of the left wing Democratic Party

(Vocab) Geraldine Ferraro

first female candidate for a major party; Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1984; trial-blazer

(Vocab) Gary Hart

democratic nominee in the election of 1988 but was forced to drop out of the race in May 1987 due to a scandal which said he was a womanizer; ended his career, this changed media coverage for candidates and made personal life fair game for the media

(Vocab) Cable TV

transmits a wide range of programming to subscribers through wires rather than over airwaves; had 50 channels (not just 3); was an important way for Reagan to communicate to the American people

(Vocab) MTV

Music Television Station; a big channel for young adults and teens; would play top 25 music videos

(Vocab) Michael Jackson

biggest entertainer in the 80s and had a large cultural influence; great music but had an addiction to plastic surgery; known for moon walk and red leather jacket

(Vocab) Live Aid Concert

about 16 hour concert; largest concert in history; 2 billion people watched; promoted and raised money for the famine in Ethopia

(Vocab) Sunbelt

states in the south and southwest that have a warm climate and tend to be politically conservative

(Vocab) Televangelists

term used to describe ministers who would spread their messages via television networks

(Vocab) Supply-side economics

theory that you can cut tax rates and still earn more money

(Vocab) Budget Deficit

a situation in which the government spends more than it takes in; the US has gotten very comfortable with debt

(Vocab) AARP

American Association of Retired persons, advocates with 50 year old people and older in mind for candidates

(Vocab) Mikhail Gorbachev

Last Soviet leader, associated with a peaceful ending to the cold war, decides not to use force to hold the union together

(Vocab) INF Treaty

Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty; arms control agreement; weapons were destroyed; improved human relations

(Vocab) Strategic Defense Initiative

Reagan's Star Wars defense system to shoot down missiles while they're in space

(Vocab) Apartheid

segrargation in South Africa that ends in 1989

(Vocab) Terrorism

political violence; someone who is not associated with the government wages war on another country by killing civilians; examples: hijacking planes and cruises, bombing, assassinations

(Vocab) Iran-Contra Scandal

A major scandal of Reagan's second term that involved shipping arms to Iran to free hostages and diverting the money from the sale of these weapons to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

(Vocab) Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

an interest group that supports the reform of laws dealing with drunk driving and increasing the drinking age from 18 to 21

(Vocab) AIDS

HIV, caused sexual behavior to change;
acquired immune deficiency syndrome; blood disease that shuts down your immune system (killed you slowly); caused a huge scare and changed free love; people thought only gay men could get it until some celebrities got it and people panicked; could be spread through sex needles and blood transfusions

(Vocab) “Just Say No”

an advertising campaign, part of the U.S. "War on Drugs", prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from engaging in recreational drug use; Mrs. Reagan was a huge supporter

(Vocab) Sandra Day O'Connor

first woman supreme court justice

(Vocab) Challenger Accident

space shuttle that exploded after launch in 1986; the first civilian was going to go to space on the ship

(Vocab) Crack

a powerful, ready-to-smoke freebase cocaine; more addictive than cocaine; increased gun violence between drug dealers

(Key Question) What were Ronald Reagan's strengths and weaknesses as a political leader? What were his most important successes and failures as president?

strengths:

~ set a good agenda (and made it public)

~ worked well with the Congress and bargained well with them

~ had a good relationship with the Democrats

~ didn't personalize disputes

~ wanted to help struggling people personally

weakness:

~ relied heavily on the chief of staff

~ believed everything he said

~ factually challenged

~ won't fire anyone

(Key Question) How did the American economy change during the 1980s? What challenges did these changes present?

~ job growth was up
~ taxes were cut
~ lost some manufacturing jobs

(Key Question) How did American attitudes toward religion change in the 1980s?

religion began to grow and new movements grew like mega churches and born again Christians

(Key Question) Why did the Cold War thaw in the 1980s? What were some of the other important foreign policy issues during the '80s?

~ Soviet Union collapsed economically
~ Reagan and Gorbachev helped end it peacefully
~ trade
~ apartheid in South Africa

(Key Question) How did technology change the lives of Americans during the 1980s?

~ entertainment and home life
~ personal computers, video games (Pac-man), microwave, cellphones (were just starting)

(Key Questions) What were the major social problems that surfaced during the 1980s?

~ AIDS
~ crime increase (doubles)
~ some cities were very dangerous to be in
~ racism -> LA race riots