ronald reagan and conservative ascendency

Jimmy Carter's Domestic Policy

characterized by economic "stagflation" (high inflation and unemployment), the creation of the Departments of Energy and Education, and a declining public mood captured in his "Crisis of Confidence" speech

"Crisis of Confidence" Speech (1979)

a televised address where President Carter criticized American materialism and a "crisis of confidence," which was perceived as blaming the public and contributed to his plummeting approval ratings

Camp David Accords (1978)

President Carter's major foreign policy achievement; a peace treaty brokered between Egypt and Israel where Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for diplomatic recognition

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979)

prompted Carter to take a hardline stance: he embargoed grain sales to the USSR, boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and authorized CIA aid to Afghan mujahideen rebels

Iranian Hostage Crisis (1979-81)

a 444-day ordeal where Iranian militants held 52 Americans captive at the U.S. embassy in Tehran; a failed rescue attempt and ongoing crisis symbolized American weakness and crippled Carter's reelection

Operation Eagle Claw

the failed, disastrous U.S. military attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages in 1980, ending in a desert crash that killed eight American servicemen

Rise of the Sunbelt

the post-WWII demographic and political shift of population and power to the South and West, which became a key base for the conservative movement and the Republican Party

Proposition 13 (California, 1978)

a landmark ballot initiative that slashed property taxes by 57%, sparking a nationwide "tax revolt" and demonstrating the political power of the growing conservative movement

The Religious Right / Moral Majority

a political coalition of conservative evangelical Protestants and Catholics mobilized in the late 1970s around social issues like abortion, school prayer, and traditional family values

Phyllis Schlafly & STOP ERA

a conservative activist who led the successful movement to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment, arguing it would undermine traditional gender roles and harm homemakers

Election of 1980

the pivotal election where Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter, capitalizing on economic woes, the hostage crisis, and the mobilized strength of the New Right and Religious Right

Reagan's Economic Program ("Reaganomics")

centered on supply-side economics: massive tax cuts (Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981), reductions in domestic spending, deregulation, and a large increase in military spending

Economic Recovery Tax Act (1981)

slashed personal income tax rates by 25% over three years and lowered the top marginal rate from 70% to 50%, a cornerstone of Reagan's supply-side economic policy

Reagan's Military Buildup

a massive increase in defense spending (34% by 1985) intended to outspend and pressure the Soviet Union, contributing to record peacetime budget deficits but also a U.S. strategic advantage

Iran-Contra Affair (1985-87)

a major scandal where Reagan administration officials secretly sold arms to Iran (to fund Contras in Nicaragua) and illegally diverted the profits, violating the Boland Amendment

Boland Amendment

a series of laws passed by Congress in the 1980s that prohibited U.S. military aid to the Contras in Nicaragua; its violation was at the heart of the Iran-Contra scandal

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty (1987)

a landmark arms control agreement between Reagan and Gorbachev that eliminated all U.S. and Soviet ground-launched intermediate-range missiles

"Tear down this wall!" Speech

Reagan's 1987 challenge to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, becoming a defining moment of his presidency and the end of the Cold War

Reagan's Legacy

revived American optimism and economic growth, helped end the Cold War, but also increased national debt, failed to shrink the federal government, and disappointed the Religious Right on social issues

Live Aid (1985)

a massive, globally televised 17-hour rock concert organized to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, featuring stars like Queen and U2, symbolizing 198s global pop culture

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

a hyper-patriotic action film that symbolized a cultural desire to reaffirm American strength and revise the narrative of the Vietnam War as a winnable conflict

Platoon (1986)

a gritty, realistic Vietnam War film that depicted the moral chaos, social divisions, and brutality of the conflict, offering a counter-narrative to more patriotic 198s portrayals

MTV (Launched 1981)

the music television channel that revolutionized pop culture by prioritizing music videos, shaping musical tastes, marketing, and youth identity through visual style and celebrity