Studied by 33 people
1980 Election
Reagan defeats Carter 489-49, GOP wins Senate majority, liberal John Anderson wins 8% of votes
John Anderson
Liberal ex-republican who ran as an independent in the 1980 election, humiliated by Reagan
Reaganomics
Reagan’s economic policy which shrank the government, dismantled bureaucracy, and freed markets
Proposition 13
1978 ballot measure in California which capped state property tax at 1% of the house’s value, shows success of libertarian conservative movement
Boll Weevils
Southern Democrats who voted for conservative causes during the Carter and Reagan administrations
John Hinckley Jr.
Man who attempted to kill Ronald Reagan in March 1981 to gain the favor of Jodie Foster
Tax Reform Act
1986 law decreasing income tax rates for top earners & streamlining federal tax codes
Supply-Side Economics
Economic theory declaring that deregulation and tax decreases would increase incentives to work which would increase production, drove Reagan’s policies
Yuppies
Young workers sporting flashy attire who worked white collar jobs in urban offices
Strategic Defense Initiative
Reagan’s 1983 plan to create a missile defense system using space lasers, demonstrated Reagan’s commitment to stopping Soviets
Sandinistas
Socialist anti-American revolutionaries who staged a successful coup against the previous Nicaraguan administration
Contras
Pro-American fighters in the Nicaraguan Civil War that secretly received US military aid
1984 Election
Reagan defeats Mondale/Ferraro ticket 525-13, losing only Minnesota and DC
Glasnost
Policy of openness in the Soviet government under Gorbachev, stops repression and institutes free speech
Perestroika
Restructuring of the Soviet Government to end central economic planning & free the market by ending price subsidies
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
December 1987 agreement between US and USSR banning all intermediate-ranged nuclear missiles from Europe, signed after three rounds of negotiations
Ferdinand Marcos
Filipino dictator who was ousted in a US-backed coup in February 1986
Corazon Aquino
US-backed Filipino leader who opposed the Marcos government after they killed her husband, became a beloved president who emphasized the free market
Iran-Contra Affair
Scandal revealed in 1986 in which the US sold arms to Iran for hostages and gave the profits to anti-Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua while also aiding Saddam Hussein, enemy of Iran
Identity Politics
The practice of unifying groups around political causes, became common in 1960s and 1980s
Ward’s Cove Packing v. Atonio
1989 Supreme Court case increasing burden of proof for minority workers alleging racial discrimination in employment practices
Martin v. Wilks
1989 Supreme Court case allowing white workers to appeal decrees calling for the hiring of minorities if they didn’t sign the original decree, making anti-affirmative action cases easier
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
1989 Supreme Court case ruling that Missouri’s law restricting abortion was constitutional
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
1992 Supreme Court case ruling that state laws restricting abortion were legal if they didn’t create an undue burden on pregnant women
Sandra Day O’Connor
Conservative judge who became the first female Supreme Court justice in 1981
Black Monday
508 point crash of the Dow Jones Index on 10/19/1987, indicating the instability of business growth in the 1980s, didn’t lead to the predicted recession
1988 Election
George H.W. Bush defeats Michael Dukakis (D-MA) 426-111 and 47.9 million votes compared to 41 million votes, shows failure of Dukakis’ bland personality to capture voters
Commonwealth of Independent States
Group of 15 ex-Soviet nations led by Yeltsin which focused on improving the free market and democracy
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II
1993 agreement between Bush and Yeltsin in which both countries agreed to decrease number of nuclear missiles by 2/3 by 2003
Nelson Mandela
South African black resistance leader who was jailed for 27 years, freed in 1990, elected president in 1994
Manuel Noriega
Panamanian dictator and drug lord who was arrested by US special forces in December 1989
Operation Desert Storm
February 1991 land invasion of Iraq and Kuwait by UN Coalition forces to liberate occupied Kuwait, largely successful
Operation Desert Shield
January-February 1991 equipment/personnel mobilization and air attacks of Iraq and Kuwait to prepare for February 1991 land invasion
Vietnam Syndrome
George H.W. Bush’s term for public belief that the US military was incapable of major success
Americans with Disabilities Act
1990 law banning discrimination based on mental & physical disability, requires accommodation for disability in publicly accessible places
Margaret Thatcher
UK Prime Minister who strengthened relations with Reagan, decreased power of labor unions, won Falkland Islands war in 1982
Jerry Falwell
Evangelical reverend who opposed feminism and gay rights, formed Moral Majority advocacy group
Saddam Hussein
Iraqi dictator who was supported by US during Iran-Iraq war but opposed after he invaded Kuwait in 1990, executed in 2003
Clarence Thomas
Conservative Supreme Court justice nominate by George H.W. Bush in 1991, confirmed 52-48 due to sexual assault allegations against him
Boris Yeltsin
Russian president who led CIS and helped free Russian government policy after USSR collapsed
Mikhail Gorbachev
Final Soviet premier who implemented glasnost and perestroika policies, negotiated arms treaties with Reagan, survived coup, dissolved USSR in 1991
Moral Majority
Jerry Falwell’s Evangelical advocacy group which opposed abortion, feminism, & gay rights
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