1981-92 Republican Dominance and its opponents

Across the years 1981-92 who were the presidents? What were their dates? What party were they?

Reagan (1981-89)

George H W Bush (1989-93)

What economic policies did Reagan believe in ?

Supply-side economics - eco growth through low taxes and little gov regulation

Why did Reagan win the 1980 election?

He was considered the ‘… … of …’

Appeal of lower taxes and end of big gov (also Carter’s dire track record)

the ‘great communicator of politics’

What % was unemp at when Reagan came in?

What was the state of inflation?

Pre-Reagan unemp was at 6% and inflation was high

Under Reagan defence spending ^ hugely. what did national debt ^ to under him?

$2.6 trillion

What % was unemp at 1981-83 under Reagan?

10%

After Reagan’s Budget that favoured the rich over the poor, by how much did homelessness ^ from and to?

200,000 → 400,000

How was RR’s approach to the air traffic controllers a success for him?

1981, 12,000 Air-traffic controllers ignored ‘no strike for fed employees’ clause. RR not expected to do anything but → him firing them all (military took their places whilst new ones trained)

Shows his hostility to unions

How did tax rates change under RR?

Top earners 50%→ 28%

Bottom Tax 11%→ 15%

How did huge defence expenditure benefit workers?

What % of the total budget did RR spend on defence?

Areas with big defence indust e.g West Coast

23.5% (the biggest in peacetime history of USA)

How many federal programmes saw cuts under RR (mostly food stamps and child nutrition programmes)?

212

How many children where living below the poverty line in 1984? How did RR worsen this?

13mil - decr benefits to Aid to Families with Dependant Children (AFDC)

What did RR do which made it harder for minorities to sue for emp discrimination?

Appointed 400 conservative judiciaries

What positives did Reagan oversee?

what is the counter to this?

• Decr top tax for top earners 50%→ 28%

• Inflation decr 13.5% → 4.7%

• 16 mil jobs created

Huge budget deficit caused by tax cuts and defence spending → problems for Ams

Why couldn’t RR get rid of schemes such as medicare, veterans benefits etc?

Public support for them

How many people were illiterate under Reagan?

What did RR do to help edu?

What did he think of Carter’s dep of edu? What did he do to it?

23 mil

Nothing

It was too extensive- couldn’t get rid of it but did decr by staffing 25%

The USA remained an e… g… under RR, still producing …% of world’s goods. However he left it economically … and with a huge … …

The USA remained an economic giant under RR, still producing 25% of world’s goods. However he left it economically weakened and with a huge budget deficit

Despite the budget deficit RR left the US in, it wasn’t all his fault. What other two factors played into it?

• Public demand for medicare/social security - huge contributors to deficit

• Consumer purchase of foreign goods

What did RR agree with Japan to try and stimulate US economy? Give evidence of this not being successful

Got Jp to limit exports to US → Jp opening plants in US to ^ jobs in USA.

Trade deficit with Jp reaching $50 bil in 1985 → accusing Jp of leading eco offensive

With a $2.6 tril debt what did RR say in response to the dire eco state?

‘It’s big enough to take care of itself’

80s saw a progression from a … trade balance to a … one. What was this due to?

Positive trade balance to a negative one

• Consumer spending e.g in discount stores (Walmart, cheap, good quality)

• $2 bil more spent of foreign goods than US goods

What did Bush pledge?

Decr in $2.7 deficit and agreement to ^ taxes

Why was Bushes pledge to ^ taxes significant?

• Showed acceptance that gov spent beyond its means

• Showed difficulties of democracy - promises that can’t be kept

• Weakened Bush’s campaign for re-election - repubs wanted repub agenda e.g low taxes

What was the Old Time Gospel Hour? How many radio stations broadcasted it per week in 80s?

Show promoting conservative christian values ‘pro-life, pro-family, pro-morality, pro-American’

300

What was the Christian Coalition?

How many members did it have by 1992?

1989 organisation to encourage gov to support conservative measures

150,000

How did RR establish a more conservative leaning political system?

Appointing 400 conservative judges in judiciary(‘reaganising’) → 50% of judiciary appointed by RR by end of presidency

How did RR disappoint the Rel Ri with the reality of his political system?

• Didn’t support Family Protection Act so didn’t pass through congress - ban abortion, school prayer, deny teenage contraception

• They appointed the right people to however didn’t put into practice what Rel Ri wanted

• Stronger rel ri candidates than Nixon e.g Pat Roberston

What was the main anti-abortion group? How many members did it have?

What other promotion did pro-lifers use?

Concerned Women for America - 500,000 members (more than NOW)

• Emotive mailings

• “If you believe abortion is murder, Act like it’s murder”

• Sit-ins preventing access to abortion clinics

How many were arrested in Atlanta for staging anti-abortion protests outside abortion clinics? What group arranged this protest?

1,200

Operation Rescue

What did Bush’s change of stand on abortion show?

Changed from Pro-choice to pro-life showing repub politician had to be pro-life if they wanted to be successful

What was the outcome of Webster v Reproductive Services of Missouri (1989)? What was one slight positive of this?

Missouri allowed to deny access to abortion clinics. However only 3 states followed Missouri’s example

What was the significance of Sandra O’connor?

1981 RR put her in SC despite her known pro-abortion sympathies

What was the significance of The 700 Club?

TV programme by Pat Roberston promoting trad values, against homosexuality

How many states had banned sodomy?

24

Why was the campaign against abortion more successful than that against homosexuality?

Abortion had argument of ‘murder’ whereas homosexuality didn’t

What did the rel ri call the ^ usage of drug?

How many drug related deaths were the annually?

‘The American Disease’

12,000

By what % did the belief that drugs where gravest threat to nat security ^ 1985-89?

How can this evidence be used in two way?

1% → 50%

Either awareness for drug issue has been ^ (e.g through ‘Just Say No’) or the problem of drug usage is getting bigger

Who set up the ‘Just Say No’ campaign?

What images were depicted in the media?

What Act did the campaign help to pass?

What did critics refer to this as?

Nancy Reagan

Her meeting ‘crack babies’

1988 Drug Free Workplace Act → ^ unrine testing to keep fed funded placed drug free

‘Jar wars’

How much was spent on drug laws by 1990? What did Critics say about this?

How did repub deregulation → ^ drug problem?

$10 bil+ - should’ve been spent on rehab or underlying issue of poverty not law enforcement and imprisonment

Cocaine cheaper and more available

What republican intra-party conflicts arose under Bush?

Bush not conservative enough - Pat Buchan (rival repub nomination in 1992) wanted ‘culture’ war on liberals.

What democrat intra-party conflicts arose?

Old Democrats (‘great society‘ ideology) vs New Democrats (e.g Bill Clinton) balanced gov budget and decr gov intervention

What inter-party conflicts arose?

• liberal SC decisions

• stance on abortion

What elements of Heavy Metal weren’t challenging in 1981-92?

What elements of Heavy Metal were challenging?

Not Challenging

• Popular in the 70s among young white men

• some white metal christian groups e.g Stryper

Challenging

• Subgenres e.g Death Metal

• Generated opposition from Parents Music Resource Centre (PMRC) but their campaign was unsuccessful

What elements of Rap weren’t challenging in 1981-92?

What elements of Rap were challenging?

Not Challenging

• Rooted in ghettos of Harlem

Challenging

• Challenging themes e.g racial injustice

• older and mc BA (‘buppies’)didn’t like it

• Association with violence (according to PMRC)

What did Madonna promote? What did the PMRC think she promoted?

Name a song by Madonna that was controversial

What was proof of her success?

Safe but liberalised sex vs ‘teaching young girls how to be porn queens’

‘Like a Virgin’

All her albums went platinum

Why were Pepsi pressured into dropping their sponsorship of Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’

Depicted intercourse with a Saint

What group of youths weren’t challenging?

Yuppies - BMWs gourmet food, designer clothes

What fraction of US households had a personal computer by 1990s? How was this significant change?

¼ Allowed for ^ individuality and showed ^ technology

When were cassettes first around?

What was the name of a popular portable player?

What did CDs and Cassettes allow for?

1970s - limiting sense of challenge

Sony Walkmans

Allowed further fragmentation of music taste and ^ sense of individuality

How did number of channels expand in the early 80s?

Give examples of challenging and non-challenging channels that were newly available in 80s

Cable was less regulated that normal TV → swearing every … mins

from 5 → several hundred

MTV - music videos and porn channels vs Disney Channel and The 700 Club

Swearing every 2 mins

What % of homes had cable channels by 1990?

90%

How many viewers did MTV have in 1982?

23mill

How was MTV non challenging?

Audience largely young white, rarely showed black artists

When was AIDS first identified?

What was the rel ri view of the AIDS crisis?

1984

It was a punishment from God

What was RR’s actions after death of actor friend Rock Hudson, from AIDS?

Asked for advice from Dr who suggested

1. abstinence

2. monogamy

3. condoms

4. sex education

RR refused to advocate for condoms and decr AIDS research funding

What did the AIDS crisis lead to within the gay community?

Growth in activism e.g first pride parade in NYC

Explain what happened to Ryan White? What Act did it lead to?

Schoolboy contracted AIDS through blood transfusion, banned from school (fear and stigma) → Ryan White Care Act 1990 $220 mil to help AIDS victims

How did Film and TV deal with Homosexuality in the 1980s?

Limited depiction of it. First Hollywood Film (longtime companion) tackling AIDS was 1989 and wasn’t popular

What → ^ depiction of sex in Film and TV? Give an example of a film

What was a film that was banned from cinemas?

Reagan’s deregulation of film industry e.g Basic Instinct (1992) - graphic sex scene

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) - depicting christ fantasising about sex

Give an example of an anti war film

Give an example of a patriotic film

Which of the two kinds of war films were more prominent?

Platoon - anti war

Stripes - patriotic

Patriotic films dominated (positive lame assertiveness, Vietnamese ‘subhumans’, women in search on husbands)

How was abortion presented in many movies?

How did some film and TV present women as strong?

Presented negatively - Criminal Law (1989)

Some films presenting women as defenders of family. Cagney and Lacey two strong female detectives

Give two political/legal improvements for Black Americans 1981-92 using the following prompts?

• 45-69

• Jesse Jackson

• NAACP campaigns → ^ position for BA. BA Congressmen ^ 45-69 in 2 years (1990-92)

• Shows ^ representation. Jackson Front runner of dem presidential nomination 1988 until controversial use of anti-semitic slur

How was political/legal status limited for BA? (two ways)

• Political progress in congressional districts not state elections

• Continued racism in legal system e.g Rodney King and BA and HA being 70% of road stops but 5% of drivers

Give 2 examples of how law enforcement continually went after BA?

• 1991 car chase in LA → police beating Rodney King. White jury found police innocent → riots → 55 deaths

• During 1981-92 BA ^ 39%-53% of all admitted to state + fed prisons

1970-90 BA in poverty and BA unemp was … that of WA. …% of BA lived in poverty.

1970-90 BA in poverty and BA unemp was Double that of WA. 30% of BA lived in poverty.

What → a growing Black middle class and an ^ in black students who went straight from high school to college?

Affirmative Action

Socially, how did schooling for BA improve then get worse?

1988, southern schools had 43% of Black kids in schools more than 50% white.

After 1988 white opposition → decr in desegregation and RR supporting constitutional amendment to stop bussing (didn’t get passed)

9% of BA lived where? What did this lead to?

de facto segregated, overcrowded ghettos

→ lower life expectancy (69.1 for BA, 76.1 ffor WA)

What did The Cosby Show portray? How many watched it?

Name some famous black role models of the time

Black middle class family. 30 millions viewers 1986-7

• Oprah Winfrey

• Micheal Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston

• Micheal Jordan

How was sporting representative of both progress and limitations for BA?

Successes e.g Micheal Jordan and 75% of Basketball players being black.

But few BA in sports management, BA only credited with physical attributes not intellectual

How was there political/legal progress for Hispanic Americans?

Rights orgs e.g LULAC and MALDEF → 80s knows as ‘hispanic decade’ → Immigrations Reform Control Act sympathetic to ‘undocumented aliens’

^ political representation e.g First hispanic cabinet member 1988 Lauro Cavazos

How did HA gain in eco status? How did they not?

• ^ hispanic mc from affirmative action

• 1970-90 Hispanic americans with college edu ^ 1/3

However…

• backlash to affirmative action

• ¼ still below pov line

How did California limit HA social status?

Proposition 63 - declared English as official language. Sign of opposing ‘hispanicisation’ in opposition to bilingual edu

How did the SC Merrion decision positively impact Native Americans political/legal standing?

They had authority to impose tax on non-natives doing business on their reservations, ^ sovereignty

How did the SC Duro vs Reina decision negatively impact Native Americans political/legal standing?

Tribes could eject non-natives from their land but didn’t have criminal jurisdiction over them - restriction to tribal sovereignty

Describe the economic status of NA in 1980-92 using the following prompts

• 1/2

• affirmative action

NA income less that ½ nat average

Affirmative action did^ nom of NA in college edu by 20%→ ^ future earning power

How many fed judges appointed by RR were NA?

0

How did congress show respect for NA culture?

How did Smithsonian National Museum of Art act as a positive and negative for NA’s social status?

1990 Grave Repatriation Act - NA could retrieve remains of ancestors from unis and museums

Produced exhibitions on white mistreatment of NA but → opposition from White repubs (threats to cut museum’s budget)

Describe the political/legal status of Asian Americans using the example of Vincent Chin?

Believing he was Japanese, 2 white car workers clubbed him to death blaming Jp for decr in emp in US car industry.

Lenient sentence of only 3 years probation

Describe the eco status of AA?

Only min ethnic group not to be poorer than WA on average

Who was the first woman appointed to the SC? When? Who was upset by this?

Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981

Upset Religious Right

Who was Geraldine Ferraro? How was she critiqued by the Denver post?

Dem vice presidential candidate

Denver post said “What if she is supposed to push the (nuclear) button to fire the missiles and she cant because she’s just done her nails”

Explain the case of Clarence Thomas with positives and negatives

Negatives

• Clarence Thomas 1991 accuse of sexual harassment of black law prof Anita Hill

• 96% male senate dismissed her testimony

• 5-4 witnesses not called

• Dismissive of Black women, Clarence Thomas put in SC in 1992

Positives

• → female activist standing for political positions→ nom of woman elected doubled → legislation to help women e.g Child Support Recovery Act 1992

• Black man made SC

How much did women’s wages ^ as a % of mens 1980-90?

What fraction of doctors + lawyers were women?

62%→ 72%

1/5

How was sexual harassment made illegal in 1980?

Equal Employment Opportunity commission said that sexual harassment was a form of sex discrimination and therefore under the 1964 civil rights act was illegal

Explain the Tailhook Scandal

• 1991 Tailhook (org support people in naval aviation) annual convention

• 100+ naval/marine officers said to have Sexually assaulted/harassed 80 women

• Rear Admiral Williams in charge of ivestigation said “a lot of female Navy pilots are go-go dancers, topless dancers or hookers”

• Eventually 100 people resigned including Williams