Conservative Movement

• 1953

• Describe conservatives in the United States since the mid-20th century and the New Right

• Refers to their traditional ideas that conservatives held before Progressivism

  • Feared big government and socialism

  • Wanted lower taxes, less business regulation, and reduced government spending and government debt

• Conservative ideas were promoted in the National Review Magazine

• Ronald Reagan was a key figure of the movement

National Review Magazine

• 1955

• Founded by William F. Buckley, Jr.

• Focuses on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs

• Helped develop conservative ideas, while establishing itself as a leading voice in the media

• Promoted Barry Goldwater heavily during the early 1960s

• Read by Ronald Reagan, who was a key conservative figure

Moral Majority

• 1979

• A political action group to further a conservative and religious agenda, including the allowance of prayer in schools and strict laws against abortion

• Formed in response to the social and cultural transformations that occurred

• Founded by Jerry Falwell, a religious leader and televangelist

• Established the religious right in American politics, who believed in traditional Christian values

• Elected Ronald Reagan to President

Ronald Reagan

• A handsome former actor, who was well-known

• A political conservative

• Supported Barry Goldwater for president

• Victorious in the elections of 1980 and 1984

• His supply-side economics policies advocated tax reduction, economic deregulation, and reduction in government spending

  • Reduced inflation and increased real GDP growth

• Enacted cuts in domestic discretionary spending, cut taxes, and increased military spending

• Roles in the Iran-Contra Scandal and the Iran-Iraq War

Nancy Reagan

• First Lady to Ronald Reagan

• Because Ronald and his staff took her seriously, she was able to influence much of Ronald’s decision-making and was one of his most trusted advisors

• 1982 - Began the “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign

Proposition 13

• 1978

• An amendment to the California constitution

• Established the concepts of a base year value for property tax assessments, and limitations on the tax rate and assessment increase for real property

• When a change in ownership occurs, whether full or partial, real property is re-assessed at its current market value as of the date of transfer

• Capped California’s real estate tax

• The California government cut social welfare to its citizens

John Hinckley

• An American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C.

• Was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster, and wanted to kill Reagan in order to attempt to impress her

• He was almost successful, wounding Reagan and several others

• Was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remained under institutional psychiatric care for over three decades

Laffer Curve

• 1974

• Proposed by Arthur Laffer

• Shows the relationship between tax rates and the amount of tax revenue collected by governments

• Used to illustrate the argument that sometimes cutting tax rates can result in increased total tax revenue

  • An optimal tax rate can lead to more government revenue and economic growth

• The idea of supply-side economics was that lowering taxes on the wealthy would cause “trickle down” to lower classes

Silicon Valley

• 1972

• Industrial region around the southern shores of San Francisco Bay, California

• A dense concentration of electronics and computer companies sprang up there since the mid-20th century

• Silicon made up the microprocessors that were used in computer circuits

• Famous companies included Apple and the Microsoft Corporation

• The home of the Information Age and an increase in computer manufacturing

Bill Gates

• A major entrepreneur of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s

• An active software developer, particularly in Microsoft’s programming language products

• 1976 - Co-founded Microsoft

• 1990s - Faced antitrust cases that wanted to break up Microsoft (but ultimately weren’t successful)

• A well-known philanthropist

Steve Jobs

• 1977 - Co-founded Apple Computers, Inc.

• Apple products promoted a user-friendly operating system and believed that personal computers are for everyone

• Apple was an immediate success, becoming synonymous with the boom in personal computers

• Introduced the iMac, an egg-shaped, one-piece computer that offered high-speed processing at a relatively modest price and initiated a trend of high-fashion computers

Sandra Day O’Connor

• 1981

• Served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006

• Known as a decisive swing vote in Supreme Court decisions

• Emphasized the importance of equal-protection claims

• Signaled a reluctance to support any decision that would deny women the right to choose a safe and legal abortion

Big Government

• 1976

• The size of the federal government was increasing, becoming more involved in states’ affairs and the economy

• The “Reagan Revolution” aimed to break up the Soviet Union and to decrease the size of the federal government

• New Federalism promoted the idea of states managing federal social programs

• 1988 - The Family Welfare Reform Act was passed, which restructured the welfare system

Muammar al Qaddafi

• Seized control of the government in a military coup that deposed King Idris

• Became the dictator of Libya

• Adamantly opposed to negotiations with Israel and became a leading figure in the Arab world in the rejection of the Egyptian-Israeli peace process

• Combined the nationalization of many economic sectors with a brand of populist government

• 1986  - Was the target of a US bombing raid

• Was eventually deposed and killed

Contras

• Various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua

• Committed numerous human rights violations and used terrorist tactics

• The Reagan administration tried using propaganda in the US to shift public opinion on the Contras, while secretly providing them aid

• When it was apparent that the Contras were unable to defeat the Sandinistas, Congress cut off aid

• Even after US support was banned by Congress, the Reagan administration covertly continued it, resulting in the Iran-Contra Scandal

Beirut Bombing

• 1982 - US Marines were sent to Lebanon

• 1983 - Terrorist bombs destroyed the US Embassy and the Marines’ barracks

• A group called Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombings

• Eventually led to the withdrawal of the international peacekeeping force from Lebanon

• A new policy was established concerning military involvement abroad

Invasion of Grenada

• The Grenada government became unstable and unable to manage the island

• 1983 - The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded Grenada in order to protect the US citizens living there

• Resulted in military occupation within a few days

• There was the question of whether or not this US invasion violated diplomatic agreements

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

• 1959

• The concept that two superpowers are capable of annihilating each other with nuclear weapons, regardless of whether they are attacked first

• Because both powers are extremely destructive, neither dares strikes first, resulting in a tense peace

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

• 1983

• A proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons

• Created by Ronald Reagan, who was against mutually assured destruction

• Wanted to render nuclear weapons obsolete

• Nicknamed “Star Wars”

• Was criticized for threatening to destabilize the MAD-approach potentially rendering the Soviet nuclear arsenal useless and to possibly re-ignite an arms race

• Was never implemented

Mikhail Gorbachev

• The last leader of the USSR

• After the Cold War, he implemented domestic reforms such as glasnost and perestroika

• He ended the Cold War and dissolved the USSR

• Participated in summit meetings with Reagan to maintain peace between the 2 nations

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty)

• 1987

• Required the United States and the Soviet Union to eliminate and permanently forswear all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles

• The first time the superpowers had agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals

• Effectively ended the Cold War

Walter Mondale

• Served as Jimmy Carter’s Vice President

• Lost the 1980 election to Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush

• 1984 - Won the Democratic presidential nomination and campaigned for a nuclear freeze, the Equal Rights Amendment, an increase in taxes, and a reduction of U.S. public debt

Oliver North

• A US Marine Corps officer who had a role in the Iran-Contra Scandal

  • Formulated the second part of the plan, which was to divert proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua, sales which had been specifically prohibited under the Boland Amendment

  • Granted limited immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying before Congress about the scandal

BIG PICTURE

• 1980s - Conservative resurgence + Ronald Reagan

• Personal computer → US economy grew

• Meetings + new technology → USSR can’t keep up w/ US

• Middle East - Terrorist attacks on Americans

• Iran-Contra Scandal