Unit 9: Conservative Revolution

Nixon Presidential Pardon

Gerald Ford gave President Nixon a complete and unconditional pardon for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.

Helsinki Accords (1975)

The Thirty-five-Nation agreement to conform to new national borders, economies, and political systems post WWII in order to bring general peace during the Cold War.

Election of 1976

The Watergate scandal, as well as Gerald Ford’s unconditional pardon of Nixon, paved the way for a Democratic victory in the Presidential election, with Jimmy Carter taking the seat.

Jimmy Carter

Previous governor of Georgia and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, being deeply religious Carter began an American resurgence of Christian influence.

Human Rights

Jimmy Carter pushed back against the typical self-centered American policy, putting _____ over expansion.

Panama Canal

Jimmy Carter made an agreement to return the Panama Canal to Panama by 2000.

Anwar Sadat (Egypt)

Egyptian President from 1970 to 1981.

Menachem Begin (Israel)

Israeli Prime Minister from 1977 to 1983.

Camp David Accords (1978)

The agreement created a temporary peace between Israel and Egypt. In return for the Sinai Peninsula, Israel would be protected from another Egyptian invasion.

Islamic Fundamentalist

Is a strict theocratic thinking interpretation of the Quran that often becomes intensely radical.

Ayatollah Khomeini

The new spiritual leader of the theocratic government of Iran after the Islamic fundamentalist rebellion.

American hostages in Tehran

Due to mounting U.S.-Iranian ideological conflict, the U.S embassy in Tehran was overtaken, and hostages were seized.

Oil Embargo

Iran cut off all oil exports to the United States, due to the Shah of the previous government fleeing to the United States.

SALT II

Under Carter’s administration, nuclear armament limits were put in place between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979)

Coined by Carter as “the gravest threat to world peace since World War II.”

1980 Olympics in Moscow

Due to mounting tensions in the Middle East, anti-Russian sentiment has once again been ignited by their invasion of Afghanistan.

Inflation rate

Due to failing foreign policy and rapidly falling Middle Eastern oil exports, inflation rates quickly rose in the United States as Carter’s administration failed to control foreign policy.

Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant

Near failure of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant, and a strong lack of public information on the issue. How this issue was handled quickly scared the general public out of Carter’s hopes of a Nuclear America

Love Canal

The site where Hooker Chemical buried nearly 22,000 tons of chemical waste. Love Canal was one of the biggest catalysts for environmental concerns among Americans.

Political Conservatives

A rise in conservatism began under the Reagan administration and continued into the subsequent several administrations.

Religious Fundamentalists

Individuals who take up an extremely literal interpretation of religious texts often become harmfully radical.

Affirmative Action

A way in which people with fewer opportunities are able to get the same outcomes and careers.

Racial and Ethnic Quotas

Due to the Affirmative Action trend, diversity quotas were set as a way to ensure equal representation. These quotas sparked great controversy as certain races felt less favored in interviews and applications.

Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke (1978)

When Allan Bakke was denied from medical school, while being greatly more qualified than many accepted applicants, he went to the Supreme Court to contest affirmative action.

Televangelists

TV and news hosts who cast their views of what they viewed as the ‘moral decay’ of the United States.

Moral Majority/Jerry Falwell

A product of the rapidly expanding conservative movement of the time, Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority. It served to lobby against liberal members of Congress, instead replacing them with their more conservative counterparts.

Roe vs. Wade (1973)

The Supreme Court ruled in a case ruling a woman’s right to abortion in the first two trimesters.

Lemon vs Kurtzman in 1971

Supreme Court case ruling in an 8-0

Election of 1980

Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter, running against Republican Ronald Reagan, lost, beginning a new era of conservatism.

Ronald Reagan

Republican winner of the 1980 election who began a new era of conservatism.

Reagan Democrats

Were rather conservative Democrats who often leaned in favor of Reagan’s policies.

Supply-side economics (Reaganomics)

Reagan believed in tax cuts to decrease government spending, thereby increasing private sector spending boosting the economy.

Firing of air Traffic Controllers (PATCO)

Reagan put a swift end to workers’ rebellions, much akin to Coolidge, as he believed they endangered the public.

Sandra Day O’Connor

First female Justice to serve in the Supreme Court, appointed by President Reagan.

The ‘Evil Soviet Empire’

Reagan’s term used against the USSR to portray them as not just a political enemy but a moral one.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)/‘Star Wars’

President Reagan’s extremely far-fetched and ahead-of-its-time plan to establish military dominance during the Cold War.

Grenada Invasion (1983)

Due to a communist rising in Grenada, the United States intervened, replacing the government with a government coined more ‘friendly’ with American politics.

Sandinistas (Marxist)

The Nicaraguan socialist party, which overthrew the Somoza dictatorship.

Nicaragua Contras

U.S supported anti-Marxist policies.

Boland Amendment

Prohibited Ronald Reagan from giving more money to support the anti-revolutionaries in Iran.

Iran-Iraq 8 Year War

Conflict between Iran and Iraq, when the United States sold Iran U.S weaponry.

Iran-Contra Scandal

Reagan’s covert funding of the Contras in Iran to fight against the Sandinistas and Iraq.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The last leader of the Soviet Union, known for his restructuring of the Russian industry and removal of strict censorship policies.

Glasnost

Opening of freedom of speech and removing suppression from outspoken groups.

Perestroika

Gorbachev’s restructuring of the USSR industry to modernize the region and bring more capitalist policies to the area.

Chernobyl

Large-scale nuclear plant failure, which became a large issue for Gorbachev’s office.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty INF (1987)

The first treaty, which decreased current armaments in both the USSR and the United States, instead of just limiting later production.

80’s Culture

A vibrant era highlighted by materialism and living like there’s no tomorrow, all the way to the 21st century.

Pro Life vs. Pro Choice

Movement mostly between Conservatives and Liberals on abortion rights.

Drug Use and Urban Decay

Increase in drug utilization throughout the United States supported by illegal imports.

‘War on Drugs’/Nancy Reagan

Campaign against the smuggling of drugs into the U.S and their use by citizens.

Election of 1988

The election between George H. Bush and Michael Dukakis had a swift Republican victory.

George H.W. Bush (Sr.)

Past VP of Ronald Reagan, who won election for two terms from 1988 to 1996.

Michael Dukakis

Massachusetts's governor lost the 1988 election due to his supposed ‘weak’ criminal policies.

Tiananmen Square Pro-Democracy Movement Crushed

A democratic protest in China which was violently put down by the Chinese Republic.

Berlin Wall Torn Down (1961-1989)

After the East German government lifted travel restrictions, thousands quickly fled westward, making the wall pointless.

Baltic States Declare Independence

Once Soviet military support was lifted from satellite states, nations quickly fled.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin

First Russian President post Soviet Union collapse.

START I (1991)

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between Gorbachev and President Bush, which ended the Cold War.

START II (1992)

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between President Bush and Boris Yeltsin.

General Manuel Noriega

Autocratic ruler of Panama was convicted of drug smuggling into the United States.

Operation Just Cause (invasion of Panama)

U.S invasion due to the denial of the democratic electoral process and drug smuggling.

‘New World Order’

George Bush called for a strengthening of collective security organizations.

Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait (1991)

Invasion for access to oil-rich land.

Saddam Hussein

Iraqi dictator who invaded Kuwait for its large oil reserves.

Desert Storm

United Nations operation to give back Kuwait’s sovereignty.

First Persian Gulf War

Name for the Desert Storm operation in Iraq and Kuwait.

American with Disabilities Act of 1990

Act protecting basic civil liberties for disabled Americans.

Exxon Valdez Accident

Oil super tanker was sunk after hitting a reef off the coast of Alaska, causing one of the largest oil spills in history.

Deep Water Horizon (British Petroleum)

Widely considered the largest oil spill in history had giant environmental impacts.

Twenty-Seventh Amendment 1789-1992

Amendment proposed to prevent U.S Congressmen from raising their own salaries.

Election of 1992

Election won by Bill Clinton against the Republican George Bush and Independent Ross Perot.

Bill Clinton

1992 presidential election victor for the Democratic Party, winning on economic policy.

Ross Perot

Reform Party of the United States of America running against specific economic policies.

North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Freed trade agreement, which Ross Perot, RFUSA Independent, strongly opposed.

‘It’s the Economy stupid’

Bill Clinton’s campaign plank was that the United States was in dire need of economic focus, not ideological change.